Broken Dreamer Read online

  She squeaked. “I wasn’t asking. I can do things fine on my own. I just needed clarification.”

  He laughed. “No worries. It isn’t a concern. Many of the new species try to flounder around for any kind of connection, including sexual. It is a trauma response. You don’t seem the type to panic and jump at the nearest male.”

  “Um, I am not. I was just confused by your interest. Now that I know it is financial, it makes sense.”

  They walked along. “What do you mean you do things fine on your own?”

  She blushed. “Ah. That. I mean, I can reach orgasm on my own. I don’t need someone else in the room. A few minutes of privacy, and I am calm again.”

  Drakus chuckled. “That explains one thing about you that had confused me considering your occupation. Can your species smell pheromones?”

  “No. Not that we can consciously determine.”

  He nodded. “Well, about half of the species out here can, including mine. You definitely smell like heat most of the time, but your body language doesn’t say the same, so it is wisest for trainers like myself to keep their hands to themselves. It keeps things professional.”

  She blinked. “Is it because I... uh...”

  “No. You have the need to take the edge off because you have a high hormone level. You were considered for the companion rating, but your high testosterone level made you a less than ideal candidate. Almost but not quite, so their loss is our gain.”

  “Oh. Cool. Right.” She grinned. “Next step then.”

  “Excellent. Well, this will determine if you have more than a career in cargo handling in your future.” He murmured, “I have also noticed that you have added height compared to most of the other human women here. Is that normal in your family?”

  She chuckled. “Yes. My dad always said it took a brave woman who could look her husband in the face every day and still love him. It was a family tradition that the women looked long and hard for a guy that had height and humour. I guess it dies with me.”

  “You might find a male that meets your criteria.”

  She grinned. “Not on the inside of a mech. It does reduce the dating pool.”

  He shrugged. “You seem to be a woman who can solve problems. I am sure you will tackle this one as well.”

  She chuckled, and they continued their hike to medical, where he opened the consulting room. A woman with rich brown skin and a twisted black braid that complemented her coronet of horns was sitting there with a smile. The medic was standing to one side, and there was an array of analytical materials.

  “Miss Lyra Lannark, please provide Medic Yosh with a blood and tissue sample, and I will begin explaining the position you are being considered for.”

  She nodded and walked up to him, sitting where he told her to sit and sitting still as the first withdrawal occurred. A hypo was pressed to her bicep, and a stinging pain struck her.

  “Pardon, I decided that a tissue sample would be useful for secondary testing. It saves a step.”

  He ran the sealant over her arm and then said, “I will just run the comparisons.”

  She nodded and moved over to the seat in front of the negotiator.

  The woman inclined her head. “I am Theelith. I hear good things about your skillset, and I will walk you through the possibilities if you match the criteria.”

  “Okay.”

  Theelith outlined things simply. “On one world, in particular, a Hmrain with his companion has decided to experiment on his own population. The people involved are volunteers, but they are developing in a manner that makes them unstable. A security force is needed, and they are given some of the same injections that the population has received, but theirs has been focused to include strength and stamina as the primary effect.”

  “So, it would be a constant drug?”

  “No, a genetic enhancement. Administered and activated, or not. If you do not activate the enhancement, you will be returned to the cargo-wrangling roster. The enhancement is needed to run the security units.”

  The medic was looking down through lenses, and he smiled. “Blood tests are authorized. Tissue sample beginning.”

  Theelith smiled brightly. “Excellent. A very good sign.”

  Lyra smiled. “Good. So, about the bond. How long would it take me to pay it off?”

  “If you work a standard full-time assignment, you should be paid off and earning for yourself in three years. Less, if you take the barracks instead of a private residence.”

  Lyra blinked. “That’s it? How dangerous is this job?”

  “Extremely, but you are also being paid for the alterations that you will undergo.” Theelith pressed some buttons on her tablet, and a projector lit up an image of a sleek mech that had a humanoid form in a glossy black. “This is one of the units that you would be controlling. It has a number of levels of protection and security. You would be wearing it for a six-hour duty shift, and you have already experienced the weight of the movement.”

  Lyra nodded. “It is difficult, but I could get used to it.”

  Theelith smiled. “Good, good. Excellent.”

  They went over the pay, accommodations, medical care, offshoot occupations once she had fulfilled her bond and everything they could cover in the hour that the tissue sample took to do whatever it was doing.

  A flicker of light came from the medic’s station, and he lifted his head with a nod. “She’s good to go.”

  Theelith nodded. “Good. Miss Lyra Lannark, if you accept this bond and all contingencies therein, you are under contract to the world of the Hmrain Rothin as a peacekeeper and unit runner. Completion of the bond is after seven million credits.”

  Lyra exhaled and put her thumb on the pad before signing. “Bond accepted.”

  “Good. Medic Yosh will start your injections, and then, you will be loaded and stored for transport. Lucky you, you are travelling express.”

  Medic Yosh was prepping a series of injectors. “If you will resume the seat here, please, Lyra.”

  She got up and walked over. “Can I say farewell to Drakus? He has been helpful.”

  Theelith was gathering her things. “He will receive his payout of five hundred thousand, so that is farewell enough. He will know what it means.”

  Lyra sighed and sat down, exhaling as the first injection struck. The rest of the injections were administered to large muscle groups around her body. She felt heavy, hot, and then, he sedated her.

  Hooray, I have a job! She muttered it to herself as she faded out, and her body felt like it was on fire. Still better than dying by inches.

  She began dreaming again.

  Chapter Three

  “Guard Lannark, on your feet.” The voice in the com got her attention, and she finished sealing her suit for the day.

  She opened the door and glared at her squad leader. “I am on my feet, Leader Emmers.”

  He blinked, his dual lids flicking back and forth. “I see you are. Ready for your first day at the rehab centre?”

  She nodded. “I look forward to it.”

  She walked with him through the training centre and into the dining hall. Her teammates were waiting for her, and she completed their quartet.

  Ziann grunted as Lyra gathered her breakfast and joined them.

  “You might regret that breakfast after a few hours in the suit.”

  Emmers laughed. “She pulls eight hours a day under heavy load with it. She’ll be fine as long as no one does anything stupid.”

  She worked rapidly through her meal, and on her last bite, she mumbled, “What do you mean by stupid?”

  She bolted down her fortified tea and looked around the table.

  Emmers sighed. “The patients get frustrated and like to torment new guards. They won’t hurt you, but they might bash you around a little.”

  She nodded. “Hazing. Got it.”

  She couldn’t tell them that she dreamed about today. She knew what was coming and had a
plan for how to deal with it.

  She smiled at the server, who took her tray away, and the guys chuckled. She looked at them with a slight smile. “What?”

  Johli smirked. “You are the only one of us to get their tray bussed by staff while they are still sitting at the table.”

  Lyra shrugged. “I guess they are tired of looking at your faces and are interested in something a little less grim in the mornings.”

  They laughed, and their group rose and headed into the transport that would take them to what amounted to physical rehab for superbeings.

  In the days after she had arrived, Lyra had been shocked to find out that the treatment offered by the Hmrain who owned Nazua had had a mutagen effect on the volunteers. Each village and town sent their best and brightest to see if they were compatible with the treatment, and if they were, a new hero was sent home to act as peacekeeper and judge.

  When those peacekeepers got in trouble, they needed a safe place to heal and recover. That was what the facility was for, and that was why heavy guards were necessary. Some heroes didn’t want to be inside, and some fans wanted a face-to-face meeting with the embodiment of their crush.

  They needed guards at the gates to keep the heroes in and the public out.

  When they got to the guard station, she was scanned in, stared at, and assigned to her unit. First days at work were always nerve-wracking.

  Her team walked with her to the units; she got into number six and strapped in. The actual work units were smaller than the practice unit she had moved on the ship, but her body had responded to the treatment. She could now bench about four hundred pounds, her bones were denser, and her tendons and muscles stronger. She didn’t look much different, but she certainly felt different. The funny thing was that all of her improvements didn’t classify her as one of the superbeings, which meant that they would be scary.

  Lyra activated her suit, and the other guys got up as they walked slowly to the outer walls of the rehab facility.

  “Lannark, north entrance; Johli, south entrance; Ziann, east; and I am going west. Call in when you are at your stations. Keep in touch during your shift.”

  She clicked and walked to the north entrance at a slow hike. She met the previous guard, they bumped fists, and she took up her post. Her voice came through the speakers in the unit as masculine, but she didn’t want folks to get used to her cadence. She still talked like a girl.

  Lyra stood at the gate and watched behind her and in front of her via the cameras. It had been a few hours on duty when there was a flicker behind her. She charged the stunner and used the heat sensors when she turned to face the incoming body.

  Two men came at her, the invisible one was low to the ground, and she put the unit’s hand on his head. He pushed the unit back, gouging grooves in the turf of the walkway.

  The flier came in and pressed against the front of her unit, going for the emergency releases. She put her hand out and hit him in the face with the stunner.

  He flew back in an arch and lay on the ground. The pusher paused and looked up. “You shot him.”

  She flexed her hands. “Please, get back inside.”

  The guy was a mix of black and purple, but the one on the ground was similar but not the same. She stomped over to the man on the ground and lifted him up, carefully not crushing the dragonfly wings that sprouted from his back.

  She hiked through the doors with the pusher at her side. The three other guards were in their units and standing around.

  The pusher said, “He got stunned in the face.”

  The three units went perfectly still.

  Johli said, “You shot him.”

  “Yes.”

  The pusher straightened up. “In the face. She shot him in the face.”

  She looked down at the man in the unit’s arms, and aside from the skin being purple instead of white, with black stripes and the wings, she couldn’t see anything specifically different about him. “His face is fine.”

  Emmers’ unit had a strangled tone. “Is he alive?”

  “Of course, he is. He is waking up.”

  The man stirred, and he stared at the giant six on her forehead. His eyes were solid black. “Guard Six, you charged your stunner prematurely.”

  “I charged my stunner when I saw your buddy rushing the back of my unit. Let me guess. Prank?”

  He chuckled and gestured for her to set him down. “It is a customary greeting. We like to see the faces of the officers we are working with.”

  “You could have asked.” She set him down and stepped back. He was tall. Nearly as tall as her security unit.

  Emmers called out, “No. It isn’t necessary.”

  He rubbed his temples. “I would offer to not have the report sent to my father, but all of your scans are sent to the overseer’s archive immediately, and anything that has to do with me is flagged.”

  “You are the overseer’s son?” She understood the tension in the gathering now.

  He inclined his head. “I am. And you are?”

  “Security Officer Lannark.” She could say that. It was on her roster record.

  He grinned, and the black outline around his eyes crinkled. “Would you care to spar, Security Officer Lannark?”

  She inclined her head. “If we could postpone that, it would be good. I am on duty. Are you well enough for me to leave?”

  He nodded, and his eyes narrowed. His nostrils flared, and his eyes widened slightly. He nodded again. “Resume your duties. I am just here recovering from a dislocation. You did no lasting damage.”

  She nodded again and walked back to the north gate. She settled in and kept her eyes on her monitors. She had two hours left in her shift, and then, she could head back to base.

  She saw the chronometer pass the time for a shift change, and she made a call. “Emmers, what is the situation on our relief?”

  “Ah, Lannark, the overseer decided that since you are so good at your job, you can do it for a full solar day. Sorry.”

  She nodded. “Right. You were going to tell me when?”

  “Right about now. We are heading back to base; see you tomorrow.”

  She wanted to growl, but this was her first day on the job. She had shot the boss’s son in the face. Lovely. Well, she just had to remain alert for two more shifts. No problem.

  * * * *

  Yatal walked into his father’s office with his wings folded down respectfully. “Good afternoon, Father.”

  His parent grinned and sat back. “You look to have recovered well.”

  “They do good work at the rehab facility.” Yatal took the seat that his father waved him to.

  “So, I noticed you playing with the new security officer today. Are you okay?”

  Yatal winced. “It is fine. No less than I deserve. I should stop toying with the officers on their first day.”

  His father nodded. “Security Officer Lannark is learning the lesson about keeping her stunner charged.”

  Yatal frowned. “She charged it when Gryemor showed up on her screens. I received an eighty percent dose. Wait. You know she’s a female?”

  His father snorted. “No one comes to this world without my authorization. I knew her specifics before she arrived here. So far, she has potential but has not proved that she can be anything exceptional.”

  Yatal frowned. “If she is in a security unit, she wouldn’t prove potential. She can’t expand either physically or mentally in those suits. How long has she been here?”

  His father pulled up the documents on his tablet. “Four months. She has sailed through her training and handles a security unit like a dancer, but nothing has manifested beyond the strength she needs for the unit.”

  Yatal sat back. “How long is she assigned to the rehab centre?”

  “Six months, and then, she will be transferred into the city.” He tapped on his tablet. “She is doing well so far today. Fourteen hours in the unit and minimal signs of fatigue.”<
br />
  “What?”

  “She shot you in the face. Your mother wanted to go and peel her skin off.”

  Yatal sighed and rubbed his forehead. “It was my own stupid fault. I should have outgrown that kind of crap years ago.”

  His father nodded. “Yes, you should have, and now, she is paying because you had a rush of juvenile impulses. So, you both learn a lesson. She learns who my son is, and you learn that other people can pay for your idiocy, and they might blame you for it.”

  Yatal frowned. “Can I see what she looks like?”

  The Hmrain overseer of Nazua looked at his son and smirked. “No. If you want to know what she looks like, ask her.”

  Chapter Four

  Two months after her first day at the rehab centre, Lyra got a day off.

  Emmers had given her instruction on the most bland and boring clothing to wear so that she wouldn’t cause much more comment than her exotic species would normally cause.

  One quick rider trip into the city, and she was in the middle of the shopping district, enjoying the day of nothing. She got a hot drink at one of the shops, looked at outfits in the windows, and watched the people on the street moving around in their winter clothing. She kept her hood up to minimize the exposure to the elements. She liked winter. Her boots crunched on the sidewalk, and she watched the flow patterns of the citizen so that she was moving correctly. They moved around each other easily. There was no stumbling, no body checking; they just stepped aside when someone approached. It was nice and civilized.

  There were children running around. Nazuans were the black-and-white striped beings that were the native population to the world. They could tell the originating continents by the placement of the stripes, but Lyra had no clue. She was going to have to learn.

  She followed the flow of pedestrians and heard a shriek of laughter and a familiar scraping sound. Lyra sped up and saw the last thing she expected to see so far from Earth. Ice skating on the lake.

  Her inner teen was shrieking with psychotic delight. Lyra looked around, and there was a kiosk to get the skates, so she didn’t hesitate.