Arguing the Basics Read online

  She looked up to see Iara explaining how to use the commissary.

  Paying attention was definitely a better idea than negotiating with a fluff ball.

  There would be time to work on emotional supremacy later.

  As the Citadel Master, Iara could and did assign Koara to a workout regimen and a lecture schedule. She was going to become a fully trained member of the Citadel, and she was going to earn her keep.

  Koara smiled and felt a small curl of pride as she realised that she was passing from being a kept pet of Trimel to a self-sufficient member of the Citadel. If she couldn’t have her home world, she would make a place for herself here.

  Sookar chirped at her from his bed at the foot of her bed, and she snorted. “Yes, I saw the little stairs. It isn’t a miracle that you got up there, you little twit.”

  He ruffled his pink feathers and settled down in a mild huff.

  She turned back to the com unit and checked her schedule. Her first combat tutorial was to begin in half an hour. She had better get moving.

  Iara’s assistant had delivered her bag from the station, so she dug a workout suit out of the fabric and changed into what she considered a suitable piece of clothing for having her butt kicked.

  “Are you coming?” She put her hair up in a long tail and arched her brows at Sookar.

  He chirped and flapped his stubby wings. She took the hint and scooped him up, setting him on her shoulder and waiting until he had his balance.

  Whistling softly, she made her way to the gym and the workout mats where she was to meet her instructor. Tether was supposed to be there, all three eyes ready to analyse her moves and the rest of him ready to flip her around.

  She waited in the gym for ten minutes, and when Tether didn’t show, she sighed and scooped Sookar up to leave.

  Ioko walked in and headed toward her. “Tether sends his apologies. He has been delayed.”

  She looked at Sookar and then at Ioko. “I am supposed to start learning physical skills.”

  He smiled and took Sookar out of her arms. “And you shall. Let’s begin.”

  “You are going to teach me?”

  “I am going to help you begin. The Kozue are warriors before they are anything else. Let’s get you started, little warrior.”

  He led her to the centre of the mat and used his hands to show her the proper stance.

  It was the beginning of a very long hour. Despite his cheerful smile, he did not pull any of his punches as he taught her how to begin to defend herself.

  After her last flip, she lay groaning on the floor. Ioko stepped toward her, and she lashed out with her foot, striking his knee and knocking him to the ground.

  He landed a few feet away, but he bounded back to his feet immediately. “Well done, Koara. I believe you are done for the day.”

  She rolled to her side and pushed up, feeling every twist, fall and contact strike under her skin. “I believe you are right.”

  She got to her feet and swayed. “I think I need a dinner and a hot shower.”

  “I will help you with the first, but the second portion, you are on your own.” He helped her to the edge of the mat as if he wasn’t the one who had been knocking her to the floor for an hour.

  Sookar hopped over to her, and she scooped him up; the pain in her body immediately eased.

  “Oh, that is what she meant.” Koara chuckled as her new companion snuggled against her. She could almost feel the bruising fade and the swelling subside.

  “The Yaluthu can take quite a bit of your pain, but you need to remember that they don’t just ease it, they take it inside them and process it for you. If you are badly injured, only let Sookar near you for short increments. For training, cuddling with him should be fine.”

  She looked down at Sookar, and he blinked up at her with those beautiful blue eyes, chirping with determination. He was confident he could heal any damage she incurred.

  Koara understood in a rush. “I am going on field assignments.”

  Ioko chuckled. “Of course. You need to see a society before you can direct it. Reading reports are so subjective. You need to live as they do, see them and understand what they need.”

  “And I need to defend myself in case things go badly.”

  “Correct. And now, you need a meal. Sookar’s job will be easier if he has fuel to build you new muscles.” Ioko smirked.

  She walked with him through the halls toward the dining area. Her tired feet picked up the pace when the scent of food crept into her nostrils.

  “I thought you would be returning to the Kozue.”

  He shrugged. “I will be. Visiting my family is a perfectly acceptable thing to do between missions.”

  “How old is Agren?”

  “Three months.”

  She finally asked a question that had been hopping in her mind since she met Iara. “How is it that your sister is a talent? I thought Kozue didn’t have talents.”

  He made a face. “We normally don’t. Iara had the ability to calm things from an early age. Our parents did something unthinkable. They sold her to a king who used her as a bodyguard but educated her as best as he could. When he was dying, he sent her to Thoola. From there, she entered the Citadel, and here she is.”

  “Who is the baby’s father?”

  “Rion. He is a member of the Udell Sector Guard. He goes where he is assigned, but he always comes home as quickly as he can.”

  There was something in his expression that told a story his lips weren’t mentioning.

  “Your family watches out for him when they can, don’t they?”

  He looked at her with surprise in his eyes. “You really are an excellent analyst.”

  “It is a weird talent, but it is mine.”

  Ioko helped her assemble her meal, so she was able to keep her grip on Sookar. He settled her at a table and headed off to get his own food.

  They settled in, and she looked at the seed packet he had included on her tray. With a smile, she opened the packet and held it for Sookar with her left hand while her right wielded the utensils in turn as she ate her meal.

  Sookar ate happily and sent her an image of a puddle when he wanted water. She lowered her cup, and he drank quickly. When he was done, she put her water glass back on the table and continued her meal.

  Ioko returned, and he nodded with an impressed expression at the dent she had made in her meal.

  “You are quite hungry.”

  She chuckled. “Working class. I eat when I can. My muscles may not be great for combat, but they do a wonderful job in my daily life, and they need support.”

  “I noticed your strength on a few of the punches you landed. With a bit of training, you will truly be a force to be reckoned with.”

  “How long are you staying on Lowel?”

  He shrugged. “I need to return to my clan ship tomorrow. I don’t know when I will be back, but I definitely will return.”

  She hid her disappointment. “Thank you for your efforts on my behalf. You have made my first day here a lot easier, aside from my kissing the mat time and time again.”

  He grinned. “You have done very well. I foresee great things for you.”

  Sookar poked his head above the table and chirped.

  “You too, Sookar. Take care of her, or I will come back here and remove your fluff.”

  Sookar chirped with irritation in his tone.

  Koara got the feeling that if she wasn’t holding him, he would have been up on the table and pecking at Ioko’s eyes. His healing instincts seemed to be reserved for her alone.

  She was about to say something about thanking him again, but a predatory screech rang through the dining hall, and a black and grey raptor with glowing eyes landed on the edge of their table with a thud.

  The urge to protect Sookar was strong, but he wiggled, and Koara lifted him to the table so that he could meet with his parent.

  Ioko chuckled. “That is Smudge, Y
aluthu to Winera, a scorcher. The Yaluthu here on Lowel are mostly her children, his children. I am never sure.”

  “Is this what Sookar will look like when he is all grown?”

  “Well, he will probably remain pink, but the shape will be the same.” Ioko smiled. “And here are Winera and Hyl, and Wiali and Braenar. Winera removes oxygen from a space, Hyl grows things, and Wiali is descended from two Avatars. Braenar was an Avatar until his world died.”

  “Oh. Wow. Even my skills can’t make sense of that combination.”

  He laughed, and as the others came over, he made the introductions.

  Winera admired Sookar’s name and smiled in surprise when she learned he was a he.

  “With that colouration, we have been telling him he is a pretty girl the whole time. How embarrassing.” Winera smiled and reached out to touch the pink fluff.

  He lifted his rounded beak and puffed out his little chest. His grandma was finally proud of him and acknowledging that he was male.

  Koara blinked. “He calls you grandma.”

  Winera grinned. Wiali laughed.

  “Iara must have her hands full with a Yaluthu and a baby.”

  Winera smiled. “Harmony helps out. Yaluthu are excellent babysitters, or so I have been told.”

  Hyl grinned. “We have yet to try it out.”

  Winera chuckled. “I have been busy.”

  Wiali grinned. “Us too.”

  Koara sighed. “No rush. You need to be able to assure that your child has a safe environment. Mind you, once Iara’s infant is a little older, it will be the perfect place to have childcare as well as a school for visiting dignitary children. While their parents go in for lectures, the children can learn about each other.”

  Ioko explained her words to the others. “Koara is a long-range strategist. That is her talent. If she has seen it, it might actually be feasible.”

  A few more Yaluthu came hopping up to their dining table and were fed by Smudge. They did not belong to any person in particular, but they all were interested in communicating with Sookar. Learning what they could from their sibling about the process of finding their person.

  Chapter Five

  Tether took over her physical training, and each afternoon, she spent time explaining to an auditorium full of listeners how the projection of social activity could be manipulated by small changes in environment.

  The sea of faces stared at her with rapt attention as she explained how to monitor the small changes for viable results. Social engineering was something that many worlds were interested in, to make the most of their exposure to other societies.

  During the question-and-answer period, someone raised their hand and asked. “What happens if we use these techniques on another world? A world not our own?”

  “While the changes outlined would work in the short run, the moment that the origin point was identified extra-planetary, there would be an uprising and it would have a backlash across the trading centres.”

  The dark purple woman nodded solemnly, and Koara could see her mind rearranging whatever she had been planning.

  “Social engineering is a dangerous activity. You have to make sure that the only place the society could go was in the direction you wanted it to. It is to speed up existing practices and traditions until the society evolves to a natural conclusion. You are not trying to change behaviours; you are trying to reboot a failing system, giving the majority a voice.”

  When she had been young, her mind had been focused on taking over the places that had been denied to her. As she aged, it became obvious that not everyone had an aptitude for the new social positions available. Her first shove at a world had set Trimel on a course that could not be altered, but monitoring it was her primary concern. She needed to make sure that everyone was where they were supposed to be and that the social changes were accounted for as she eased folks into their new lives.

  Regular checking in with the hot spots was part of her communication regimen. She constantly had to keep an eye on her parents’ situation, the local news and the mental health of Trimel himself. If he held fast, it would all come out in another decade.

  “Has there ever been a world you regretted altering?”

  Koara lifted her head and met the dark gaze at the back of the auditorium. “Yes. My own.”

  The crowd murmured.

  The man yelled out, “Why?”

  “I saw it with my talent but with a child’s wisdom. I saw unfairness and moved to make everything fair. Life is not fair. Luck, genetics, intelligence and personal drives were not accounted for in that original plan. I have spent every spare moment since the day my first plan was implemented altering it and shaping it to bring the maximum benefit to the most people, in the longest timeline. Undoing and changing my decisions has taken far longer than it took to make that first fateful plan.”

  She addressed the rest of her audience. “Change is easy. Managing the change is hard. Imagine spilling water on a flat surface. It runs in all directions, finds the smallest crevice and evaporates. If you don’t have a plan to control everything before you start the change, your plans will come to nothing.”

  Another hand went up. “If change is so hard, why try it?”

  “Because diverting funds for one round of new vehicles for government rental or even delaying the new vehicles by six months can cause a new plant to be designed, a new harvest to feed hundreds of thousands. That small diversion can save lives and begin the building blocks of a new society by removing the stress of finding food. One small change can turn a world from subsistence to thriving within a decade. All it takes is the foresight to see it.”

  The chime rang and ended her lecture. “Thank you all for coming.”

  As most of the crowd filed out, a few of them came forward to speak to her.

  “Please come with to my office, and we will discuss your issues further.”

  Koara scooped up Sookar and her data pads and display crystals. They walked to her office and settled in the large conversational area, talking about the particular issues of their worlds and how to fix them.

  The one that caused the most consternation was a continent beset by drought. Koara and Representative Lalupi sat with their heads together looking over data until the problem reared its head.

  “You have to be kidding me.”

  The representative looked at the information. “What?”

  “These plants and trees. They require irrigation.”

  “Of course. They have made that area financially thrive.” The rep had a solid share of pride.

  “They have traded money for water. Until the weather stabilizes, you are going to have to sacrifice the trade goods. The land didn’t grow those plants naturally because they couldn’t withstand the drought. With grazing agriculture and settlement, folks have sucked that continent dry.”

  “What do we do?”

  “Sacrifice the industry that has the least impact. Stop watering the trees and either slaughter or move the cattle to another area. It isn’t pleasant, but it is practical. It won’t solve the drought, but it will stop it from escalating.”

  “We have been putting in individual water restrictions.”

  “Industry takes ninety-six percent of the water. Restricting the four percent that the locals consume isn’t even going to touch the issue.” Koara shrugged. “I have given you what I could. Tampering with weather never ends well so...”

  The rep paused.

  “And you already tried it, and it has made things worse.” Koara rubbed the back of her neck. “Fine. Try desalinisation. Make the seawater potable and keep your people hydrated. Do not use this water for your crops. The plants would shut down in a matter of months if they had to process that kind of volume.”

  The rep made notes, and Sookar murmured, images of food dancing in his mind.

  “Please excuse me. It is time for the evening meal. It has been nice to meet you, Rep Lalupi. Remember, that all
attempts to alter the behaviour of the people will be met with changes in how they think. Those changes might not be what you expect.”

  “Understood. Thank you for your time, Miss Ulings.” The rep got to her feet, bowed and left the office.

  The others had left during the research portion of the discussion, so Koara was left cuddling Sookar to her as she made her way to the dining hall. She had definitely earned her dinner.

  Iara and Agren arrived while Koara was eating her dessert.

  “Hello, Koara.”

  “Citadel Master, Agren, Harmony. Good to see you again.”

  Sookar hopped across the table to greet his sibling.

  Harmony rubbed her fluffy cheek against his, and they muttered quietly to each other.

  “You are going on assignment, Koara.”

  Koara had been delving into the bottom of the bowl with the tip of her spoon. “I am?”

  “Yes, the Alliance has determined a new use for your particular skill set. You are going to assess a society that is approaching space travel.”

  Koara felt a weird sense of excitement. “I am?”

  “You are. You will have to leave Sookar here with me though. They are not ready for an alien species on your shoulder. Or any alien species at all. They want to know what effect space-faring races would have on the population, and you are the best judge of the societal fluctuations.”

  “Wow. Without Sookar? That sucks.” In the past few weeks, she had gotten used to him. She was even used to the way he nibbled at her fingertips to get her to wake up in the mornings.

  “He will be safe here. You will be dropped from a shuttle, and that shuttle will hide behind the moons while you travel the globe and learn what you can.”

  Iara slid a small, flat pad over to her. “Here is all your information. It is coded to ocular and fingerprint scan. When you are on the surface, there is also a genetic component activated to keep it secure in case you are separated from it.”

  The first image that came up was an average female, and Koara looked at Iara. “I am guessing that there is some physical work that will be necessary.”