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  Aliiva dropped herself into the chair and the woman wrapped her knuckles on the table. “Stand up and try again. Use grace this time. Stand next to the chair and lean down while keeping your back straight, bend your knees to get you where you want to go.”

  Aliiva blinked. “What kind of training is this?’

  The woman grinned. “Deportment, etiquette and manners. With your skills, you are going to be a powerful talent and you will do your best work in threat detection. That means mingling in the highest circles and that means you need to learn traditions and rituals associated with polite behaviour. I am the one to teach you.”

  Aliiva stood and gracefully descended into the chair. “May I ask your name?”

  “Equilar Deeha, of the Moreski imperial family. My granddaughter and her husband are in the Sector Guard. Is that enough credentials for you?”

  Aliiva smiled. “I was not questioning your qualifications, merely your name. I am still getting used to being away from everything I know. Names are my only anchor to those around me.”

  Equilar’s face went from aloof to concerned in a moment. “Of course. I am sorry, they told me that your species doesn’t leave often, but I hadn’t realized how disconnected you would feel. That is actually a good thing.”

  Ali quirked her lips. “How so?”

  “You can keep your family in your thoughts but see each society through new eyes. Folk who grow up in a more travelled area often gain prejudices and stereotypes from those around them. You get to start clean with an open mind.”

  “Is that really an asset?”

  “Innocence can always be an asset.” Equilar smiled. “If your training progresses, you will travel to hot spots with another investigator and determine the truth of the situations.”

  She was confused. “I thought that the Citadel had personnel for that sort of thing. I am not an interrogator.”

  Equilar stood and put her hand on Ali’s shoulder. “You do not have to be. You will simply learn and report.”

  As the woman removed her hand, Ali brushed her fingers over that spot. She heard Equilar’s thoughts in her mind and blushed at both the compliments and the insult.

  “Thank you for liking the arrangement of my hair and I am sure that even an uneducated twit from Caneer can manage to learn how to use utensils on this table.” She smiled politely.

  Equilar blushed. “You got all of that from the brief contact?”

  “Yes.”

  The woman straightened and smiled. “Then we had better get started so that you can prove my first impression incorrect.”

  “Your impression is your own. I will learn because that is what I am here for.” Ali met the woman’s eyes with calm determination.

  Equilar sat across from her with a boneless grace. “In that case, get your elbows off the table and let’s begin.”

  Three hours of gruelling etiquette later and Aliiva was confident that she would run screaming from any table hosting more than six pieces of silverware. An apprentice came to collect her for her afternoon’s training and he bowed apologetically when she asked about lunch. “In the future, Madame will feed you. Today you will have to face your combat training on an empty stomach.”

  Aliiva was distracted by hunger before she asked, “Combat training?”

  “It is what the recruiter decided would benefit you most. Recruiter Jathi is very good at that sort of thing.”

  Ali smiled. “Will you always be shuttling me around like this?”

  “This is a service given to new recruits on their first week. Since this is our first year on Morganti, we have options to work with the Sector Guard during training.”

  “That sounds like fun.”

  “It can be, but most of them can kick your ass without effort, even the girls.”

  He sounded a little disgruntled about that last comment of his.

  She laughed. Tons of farm boys had the same problem. When a girl had a talent for lifting or riding a harvester, they tended to freak out a little.

  She held any further questions until she entered the huge room and her escort disappeared. “Hello?”

  Her voice echoed through the huge, empty warehouse.

  A masculine voice rumbled over her and she turned to face the Kozue warrior who was glaring at her. “So, you are the new arrival.”

  “I am. What are you going to try and teach me?”

  He went to the rack on the wall and removed one of the guns, “Fire this at the target at the end of the warehouse and we will see what you need to learn.”

  She hefted the gun and took aim at the far end of the warehouse. Without thinking about it, she adjusted her vision, focussed and fired. When she finished with the weapon, a snowflake had been crafted on the far-off target.

  “You have fired this kind of rifle before.”

  “Projectile rifles? Yes. We use them to hunt vermin and predators on the farm. I don’t have experience in energy weapons or anything of that nature.”

  He nodded and made notes on a data pad. “Fine, we will test you on the blasters next.”

  When she held the blaster backward, he touched her and adjusted her grip so that the business end was pointing at the target.

  The tiny contact left a trace on her skin and when she missed the target and he had to adjust her stance, another trace was left. After she finished missing the target, she put the blaster down and confronted her instructor.

  Her fingers read the traces and she stiffened with frustration. “Sir, I am not a whore, I am not useless and I am not trying to seduce you.”

  He froze. “What?”

  “You are thinking that I have the looks of a prostitute and have been sent here to tempt you out of your Kozue sensibilities.”

  He blinked. “I am impervious to mental invasion.”

  She snorted. “I didn’t invade your mind. You left your traces on me with every contact.”

  He backed away and muttered to himself before using the com unit on the wall.

  “Remain here. An apprentice will be here to escort you to your next appointment.”

  Aliiva opened her mouth, but he was already gone.

  She looked over the precisely labelled weapons and twitched her lips as she read all of them. Kozue were usually a little twitchy about psychic talents, but she had never met one who reacted this violently to the very idea of being read.

  “What did you do to Kannor?” The same apprentice appeared at her side.

  “I merely told him what he was thinking. It frightened him.” She shrugged.

  The apprentice burst into laughter. “You told Kannor what he was thinking? No wonder he ran for it.” The apprentice gestured for her to come with him.

  “Why would my talent freak him out?” She walked through the quiet halls with her companion.

  “Kannor’s biggest strength is that his mind is impenetrable. I am sure that there will be several folks who will want to learn your trick.”

  She winced as understanding ran through her. Kozue were sensitive for such a war-mongering species. She rubbed at her forehead. “So, I am his worst nightmare?”

  The apprentice chuckled. “More or less. The facility coordinator wishes to speak with you before you continue your instruction here. Are you willing to have the meeting now?”

  Aliiva sighed, rubbed her arms and quickly touched the spot behind her left ear where her family’s love resided. “Yes. I can have the meeting now. I am obviously not doing anything else with my time.”

  “It isn’t a great attitude, but I will take it.”

  It wasn’t the most auspicious start to her first training day, but it did make for a break from mourning her home.

  Chapter Four

  Baengar Lekkal was exhausted. Two weeks working with Sector Guard extraction teams had worked on his nerves and his body with equal measure.

  As he walked up the pathway to the Morganti Citadel, Apprentice Kalo came to him and took his bags.

  “What is it, Kalo?”

  “Tu
rnari needs to speak with you about a new recruit.”

  The exaggerated calm of Kalo’s tone was not lost on Baengar. “What is up, Kalo?”

  The younger man grinned. “You have got to hear it to believe it.”

  His curiosity overrode his exhaustion. “Turnari had better be more forthcoming than you are.”

  Kalo chuckled. “I will drop your bags in your rooms. Shall I dump them for a cleaning cycle?”

  Baengar gave him a dark look and the younger man moved down one of the corridors. Stomping down the halls, he reached the coordinator’s office and knocked on the door.

  “Come in, Baengar.”

  Turnari raised his head and rubbed at his forehead, his horns gleaming in the light of his lamps.

  “What is up, Turnari?”

  “We have a situation. Have a seat. The tea is fresh.”

  Baengar took a seat at the table set with two places and poured himself a cup of tea and a glass of water. Munching on a sandwich, he waited for the facility manager to finish his notes. Turnari got to his feet and joined Baengar at the table, his frame taxing the small chair.

  “Now, Baengar, let me preface this by saying that I know you have sworn off taking personal apprentices, but we have a situation.”

  He sipped at his tea and waited for the Dhemon to continue.

  “We have a recruit and she has a peculiar and amazing talent. She needs hand-to-hand and weapons training.”

  Baengar sipped at his tea and leaned forward. “How long has she been here?”

  “Ten days.”

  “And you haven’t started her training?” That was a bit of a surprise. Normally, an asset would begin immediately training to master their talents and whatever skills they needed to go with it.

  Turnari rubbed his forehead again. “I didn’t say that. She has gone through three instructors. They all refused to work with her again.”

  Curious now, he leaned forward. “Why?”

  “Because she is honest, homesick and blunt to the point of rudeness. No matter their mental shields, she can read whatever her instructors are thinking.” Turnari sat back in his chair. “You are the only one that I could think of who will not care what she reads.”

  “Thanks, I think.”

  “It is true. She is a very attractive female and that has thrown her instructors for a loop. They were unprepared when confronted on their admiration of her appearance. Frankly, she frightened them away.”

  Baengar nodded. “What will I be preparing her for?”

  “Full-on espionage. She has a skill for getting intelligence that makes a telepath look clumsy in comparison. She can gain delicate intel just by walking through a room. We need her and we need her prepared for anything that can come her way. Equilar is on etiquette and deportment and she seems to be coming along well in that regard.”

  Baengar let out a low whistle. “Equilar, huh? That is something.”

  “I know. She jumped at the chance after meeting Aliiva on Caneer. She saw potential in that young woman and I think you will have to see the files before you understand what your new trainee is.” He keyed in a set of secure codes and surveillance footage from Caneer came up.

  Baengar leaned forward as he watched the image of the woman bash the bomber over the head with some kind of melon. He blinked as she ran her hands over the man, closed her fists for a moment and then opened them to begin working on the bomb. It was a complicated device and as her thick platinum braid slithered over one shoulder, she kept her face calm and she worked until the unit was disarmed.

  When she finished her work, she slumped in relief, a bright smile on her face that quickly faded as she was arrested with the bomber. Resignation took over and Baengar couldn’t help but admire her composure.

  “She’s impressive. What does she do, exactly?”

  “She reads psychic residue. Any touch or extreme emotion copies a few seconds of thought onto her body and she can retrieve that thought at any time. Unlike a telepath, she will never show signs of what she is reading, because she does not read the information at site. Aliiva Egrar literally wears the intel she gathers until she has time to read it.”

  Baengar whistled. “More impressive. No wonder the intelligence service is waiting for her.”

  “We need to get her checked out on all weapons and some fairly intense hand-to-hand stuff.”

  He nodded. “So, when do you want me to start?”

  “Well, you look like hell, so how about tomorrow after lunch? That way, you can get a few meals and a good night’s sleep in you.”

  “You are taking it for granted that I am willing to do it.”

  Turnari grinned. “I saw what happened to you when you first saw her. You think she is the one.”

  Baengar fought the urge to growl and inclined his head instead. “It is possible, but I won’t know until I meet her.”

  “What if she isn’t interested in you?”

  “Then I will simply have to try harder.” He grinned and got to his feet. “Noon tomorrow it is. Will Kalo bring her to the firing range?”

  Turnari laughed. “Kalo has appointed himself her guardian. He helps her get from place to place and I think he sees her home sickness more than anyone else. I get the impression he thinks of her as a little sister.”

  “Good. I don’t want her being alone when I am not here.” Baengar smiled.

  “With her talents, it will probably be the other way around.” Turnari grinned.

  “So, I will be left waiting here while she travels?” The switch was not lost on him.

  “Probably. Or off on your own journeys while she works in the most elegant receptions in the Sector.”

  “I have to train her to my exacting specifications first. How do you think she will do?” He didn’t wait for Turnari to answer, leaving the room and heading for his own quarters.

  Baengar lay in bed after his shower, thinking about the woman he had seen on the vid. Turnari would not have shown him the vid if the woman had not been available. The moment that she had entered the security footage, he had felt the click of recognition that he had been searching for his entire adult life.

  Tomorrow, he would meet her face to face and his intuition would either prove itself or he would train yet another member of the Citadel who would put themselves in harm’s way.

  His last two apprentices had gotten into situations far beyond their training and both had ended up dead. He hadn’t wanted another trainee, but if he could do anything to keep that woman from harm’s way, he would. Whether she liked it or not.

  Chapter Five

  Aliiva took aim and blew up the targets, one after the other. She was dressed in her apprentice whites and lying on the range as she used the blaster. A shadow fell over her and she looked up to see a large male silhouette blocking the light.

  “Recruit Aliiva, I am your combat instructor.”

  She returned her attention back to the range. “I have heard that one before.”

  She blasted the target into oblivion and yelped in shock as she was lifted into the air, gun and all.

  “How would you get out of this position?” His voice was deep and resonant in her ear.

  She struggled, her writhing putting his mark on almost all of her body. The gun clanged to the floor and she tried to bring her elbows back to strike him, but she was shocked when instead of two hands on her, there were four.

  “Never try to wrestle with an Oefric. We can create a form for every eventuality. Fortunately, we are also very law abiding.”

  He turned her in his arms and she stared up into his eyes. “My combat instructor?”

  “Yes. I am Baengar. I have been assigned to you as your instructor in weapons and hand-to-hand combat.”

  His eyes were the bright blue of the Caneer oceans, his jaw was wide and the twist of his lips gave him a fierce appearance. His nose was long and straight while his brows arched wing-like over his thickly lashed eyes.

  The extra set of arms that held her emerged from under th
e normal set on his shoulders. “How are you doing that?”

  “You have your talent, I have mine.” He grinned and it made the high cheekbones of his face less severe.

  “Um. Can you let me go now?”

  She watched as his nostrils flared and his pupils dilated.

  “Of course.”

  She shifted in his grip. His hands were on her arms and waist.

  “Will you please let me go now?”

  He smiled and released her.

  “It seems that Equilar’s etiquette has sunk in.”

  She clenched her hands, but didn’t do a reading. At this distance, she wasn’t sure that she wanted to know what he was thinking.

  She cleared her throat. “I thought I had run through all of the available combat instructors.”

  He grinned. “I returned last night. Turnari asked me immediately if I would take over your training. It seems that you are cleared for accuracy. Now, let’s see how you do with speed drills.”

  To Aliiva’s astonishment, he ignored what seemed to be flaring interest between them and got down to the business of teaching her how to fire a stunner when she had a vision-restricting blindfold on.

  He kept speaking to her while she stumbled around, her eyes widening behind the gauze covering them.

  “You need to listen for the clues that you need to aim your stunner. Walk as lightly as you can, let your senses expand around you, increase your awareness.” His words were low and did not interfere with her ability to hear the minute whirr of the target.

  She knelt and fired, shocked when an answering blast went over her head.

  “The kneeling was a good instinct. The targets are set to return fire, but are on a low stun setting, so if you get hit, don’t panic.”

  She didn’t answer him but kept her attention on the sounds around her. Her eyes adjusted to the dimness of her wrap and she was able to increase her speed through the halls.

  The burn of a strike hit her upper arm and she fired at the attack point with the stunner. Another hiss struck next to her and she fired again.

  The second strike hit her in the chest and knocked her down, the third struck her head and the fourth shot over her as she lay writhing on the ground.