Hardcore Green Read online

  Garoz sat across from her again and she looked up at him with a lump of regret and determination in her throat. "Call me, Green, and sign me up."

  He cleared his throat. "Are you sure?"

  "I am sure. You are my partner?"

  "I am. If you would call me Hardcore while we are on assignment, it would be best. My family is not appreciative of my chosen profession." There was a pleased gleam in his eyes. "You are really agreeing to join the Guard?"

  "It is best for my friends and family if I do. The carnival will be in danger as long as I am being shuttled around to start crops that nature could take care of. This isn't the first attempt on me and I know it won't be the last. What can you offer me in the way of protection in the Guard?"

  He shifted to sit beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "When you are in the Guard, you are an agent of the Alliance in a specialty branch. The crime for kidnapping or detaining you can be as high as death depending on the circumstances."

  That little piece of information and the cheerful manner in which he delivered it gave her a feeling of security that unfurled a little at a time.

  "Where will I live between assignments?"

  "Station 13. It is currently in orbit around Balen, which works out well for Tears of the Star and her husband Sovereign. Our commanding officer is Haunt, a Terran who can walk through walls. There are several guards there. Most are paired up. It is a preferred setup that the partners pair off."

  She chuckled. "So, we got off to a running start with that one."

  He laughed and squeezed her gently. "So we did."

  "What will your sister think of all this?"

  He closed his eyes and sighed. "She will think it is a logical conclusion to events and will declare herself to be pleased with it."

  "She really has no soul?"

  "It was removed as punishment for hiding what she really was. She was retrieved by the Alliance and sent to the Citadel for training as a contact healer. Her dispassionate nature has gained her both admirers and enemies."

  "That sucks. It must be hard on you as well." She yawned and nestled into his warm shoulder.

  "It is, but she is alive and safe and her new assignment on Teklan as their medical officer will bring her a certain satisfaction. If she can feel satisfaction."

  He was stroking the coronet of her hair that remained in a tight circlet on her head. She sighed and relaxed against him, letting his even breathing carry her off into sleep.

  Chapter Eight

  Garoz's voice was grumpy when she told him of her plan. "I don't like this. You are safe."

  "I know, but the carnival could be under fire. I can't risk injury to my family." She straightened and turned up the luminescence in the moss. "If I am becoming a guardsman, I need to buck up and fight for my own people. They are in danger because of me and I don't like that."

  Instead of continuing his scowling, he started to grin. "I knew you had it in you. Come on then, let's step into daylight and get this underway."

  "Daylight, crud." She quickly knelt and washed her hands, reaching into her bag for the solution and her contacts.

  "You are light sensitive?"

  "Very. My early development in the mines damaged my sight. I have wonderful night sight, but under the sun that makes everything grow, I am as blind as could be." She shrugged and put in her lenses.

  "Interesting. We will have a physician check you as soon as we are able. The teams that I sent for should be here by tomorrow."

  "Teams?"

  "Yes. The Sector Guard handles this sort of thing and with the addition of the Askuke, it is now a matter of some urgency."

  She blinked the lenses into place and stared at him. "You ordered the teams before you knew about the plants."

  "A large group of people being held at gun and cannon point by a government who kidnaps talents is also worthy of the Guard."

  She laughed. "Fair enough. Why did they only send one of you initially?"

  "It was thought I could handle it on my own. I am not egotistical enough to believe I could pull this off on my own." He helped her to her feet and held her while she snapped out her wings. "That is so amazing. That they are soft enough to sit on, but so sturdy."

  She chuckled. "Too sturdy. I bumped into a tent peg last week and cracked it in half."

  "I am one thing that will never break." He kissed her softly and leaned back. "Unless you never find your way back into my bed. My heart may break at that point."

  Her blush heated her face and crept below her neckline.

  "We should go." She clutched her satchel to her and led the way out of the cave. She slowed as she approached the entrance. A strange mist was coming in.

  Sylvain touched the wall, found moss and asked it what it saw. Images flickered of men and women in the woods, not of Porvin. They wore strange uniforms that fit tightly, but perfectly.

  She returned to her own eyes and looked at Garoz. "What do the Sector Guard normally wear?"

  "Fitted uniforms. A variety of colours, most pairs are colour coded when possible." He didn't need to ask why. A face formed in the mist and it spoke.

  "Hardcore, glad to see you alive. Reset will be pleased that you are up and about. She has been looking forward to seeing you again." The voice of the mist was thin but audible.

  "I will have the trees move. We will be out in a minute."

  "Thank you, lady. I look forward to a more appropriate meeting." The mist dissolved and backed out of their cave.

  Sylvain turned to Garoz, "Who is Reset?"

  He shrugged. "I have no idea. I am not aware of any guardsman by that name."

  With a grin at meeting those who might be working with her soon, she delicately moved the vines and branches aside, stepping into the light with only a few flicks of her lids. The strangers began to form an arc around her and when Garoz appeared from behind her, a female with chalky skin and blue hair cried out and ran to hug him.

  He looked at her in astonishment and then swung her around in his arms.

  The man with the face of the creature in the mist came and stood next to Sylvain. "Gralial has looked forward to this moment. It is good to see them together again."

  Jealousy stabbed at her heart until she remembered the name. Gralial, his sister. The one who had lost her soul. "How is she…"

  "It is a long story, but her people were forced to give her soul back. They carried out her sentence twice." He smiled. "I am Mist by the way. You may call me Canil off duty. She was known as Hard Hearted, but is now Reset."

  "It is good to meet you. I am Sylvain, but you may call me Green, I suppose." She grinned up at him and extended her hand. When he took it, a throat cleared behind her.

  "Please get your hands off my partner." Garoz was at her side, Reset beside him.

  She smacked him in the shoulder. "This is Canil, guard name Mist, my partner."

  Sylvain released his hand after the niceties had been engaged in. "Pleased to meet you."

  Reset reached out and took her hand after Mist let her go. "You have a lot of energy, Sylvain. And some damage. Do you wish to be repaired now or after we have given you some more appropriate clothing?"

  Sylvain looked down at the shreds and sandals that covered her, but not by much. "Clothing you say?"

  Reset chuckled and jerked her head. "The Deadpan is over there. Tech has already altered a female suit for your wings based on Hardcore's specs. It is a lovely metallic green as well. I think it will suit you."

  "Tech?"

  A woman next to another Kozue waved pleasantly.

  "That is Tech, Razer, Phase and Rupture. Stellar Storm is waiting for our signal."

  "Hard…Reset, how did you come to be here? I sent for Udell teams, not Teklan." Hardcore was acting a little unsettled by his sister's tone of command.

  "We were nearby with the Deadpan, so we swung around. It is a fully equipped medical bay now, so if anyone needed assistance, we were ready." She was flippant, but there was a stern tone b
eneath her light words. "I am better than I was before, Hardcore. Don't worry. All the experiences that I had since we left home now have amazing emotions attached. That is some serious shit I engaged in."

  The group at large laughed and they entered a clearing with a large shuttle covered by a netting of camouflage. "Sylvain, meet the Deadpan. My personal shuttle and the bane of Mist's existence. You would not think that a vaporous multiform could puke during atmospheric manoeuvres, but he spews like a geyser."

  The man named Mist rolled his eyes, but grinned at the wary look that Hardcore gave the shuttle. "I see you have flown with her a few times."

  Reset and Sylvain entered the Deadpan and the others stayed outside.

  Inside the gleaming metal, Reset opened a cabinet, pulled out a folded bundle and showed Sylvain to the lav. "You can take a quick sonic, then get changed. Tech can manage any minor adjustments, but we all felt it would be better if you had body armour."

  Sylvain looked into the lav and frowned. "I will need to disrobe and get dressed out here. My wings make it a little too restrictive in there."

  "That's fine. I will keep the others out."

  When the door was closed with an explanation to those waiting outside, Sylvain unfastened her neckline and let the fabric swish to the floor. She folded her wings flat to her back and entered the lav to enjoy the cleansing of the shower.

  Clean, scrubbed by soundless waves and ready for some new clothing, she tiptoed out to find Reset polishing a set of boots. "Do you need help with your bodysuit?"

  "I would like to try it first." She bent forward and put her feet into the suit legs, one at a time. She jumped, tugged and twisted until the suit was over her hips and then the open back made getting the uniform around her wings easy. The neck closure smoothed the lines and she was dressed from toe to neck in glistening green.

  The boots laced up tightly and Reset helped get them into place. "There. Wonderful. Would you like to try to move around outside before we head out?"

  "I would. But, could you check my vision? I am light sensitive and was wondering if there was anything that could be done?"

  Reset touched her face and looked at her eyes, though she was sure that Reset was looking through her hands. "I can work on it now, but you will need to remove your lenses. My talent will reset you to your species' genetic specifications."

  "That will be fine. I haven't seen a doctor in a decade, let alone been altered in any way."

  Sylvain looked around for her satchel and removed the lens case from it. "I am sorry, but I can't see to find my way back to you."

  "Don't worry about it."

  Soft hands pressed her to a sitting position and a ripple of energy flowed through Sylvain, given by the power of Reset.

  "Oh, wow."

  "What?"

  "Open your eyes. They should be less sensitive now." Reset was a few inches from her and looking at her in shock. "You are very… You are better now."

  In an effort to figure out what was going on, Sylvain lifted her hands up and blinked in shock. "I am green. Really green."

  "That isn't the half of it, my sister. Let's go out where you can look at your wings."

  Curious and delighted that she could now use her eyes in daylight, she hugged Reset. "Thank you. That has bothered me more than you could know."

  A chuckle from the female Kozue made her smile. "I know what it is to be unable to use your body or mind properly."

  "Oh. I guess you would."

  "Indeed. Now, come out into the sun and see what your genes had planned for you." Reset hauled her out of the shuttle and the guardsmen looked at Sylvain in shock. Only Hardcore smiled at her with a light of delight in his eyes.

  "I will be back in a moment after I put on my uniform. Green, you look amazing." He kissed her squarely on her mouth and then disappeared into the shuttle.

  Perplexed, Sylvain unfurled her wings and as their span grew as she extended them, the brilliant rainbow reflected and refracted the light in a thousand directions. Her wings had turned from leathery tissue with dark bands of veining, to crystal and precious metals.

  She gave a few experimental beats of her wings, lifting off the ground and hovering effortlessly in the air above the clearing. Her energy was propelling her upward and holding her there, nothing like the effort needed to escape the prefect's house. She could fly forever if she wished to. She knew it in her soul.

  When a figure with dark braided hair left the shuttle, Sylvain allowed herself to lose altitude. Hovering with her head just above his, she smiled at Hardcore and extended her hands. "I want to try something."

  He extended his hands and as the other guardsmen watched, she lifted him off the ground and into the air. "Your transformation is impressive, but I want you no matter what you look like or how your body is coloured."

  She sighed, "Is my face…"

  "An expanding rainbow leading to the dark of your hair. I can only imagine what colours your body now holds. I did enjoy your old colours, but these new ones are spectacular."

  "Your sister reset me to my genetic standards. I am guessing the time in the mines drained me of some colour." She was circling the clearing. "Should I put you down now?"

  "Is it difficult for you to carry me?"

  "No, if not for your grip on my hands, I wouldn't even notice it. There is a strange new energy in this change."

  "I believe we should begin the liberation of the carnival. You are now in a far better position to assist us than before." He grinned up at her as he dangled in her grip, confident that she wouldn't drop him.

  "So, this will be my first assignment?"

  He laughed as she set him down next to the others. "Consider it a training run while you get used to what you can do."

  She settled next to him on the grass and took his hand, looking at the others. "As my people say, let's start the show."

  Chapter Nine

  They attacked the guns on different fronts. Tech and Razer were on the east side, Mist and Reset on the west, Phase and Rupture came in from the north while Green and Hardcore hit theirs from the south.

  The Porvin military was not designed to withstand attack by the Sector Guard and when one of the guns did manage to activate before they got to it, a blast of energy from above reminded them that Stellar Storm was above and watching.

  Green had never felt more alive. When one of the soldiers took aim at her, she reached out her left hand and the vine she had turned into a wristband whipped out to disarm him. Ivy wrapped around her other arm and she used the whips to remove and occasionally sever guns from their owners.

  When the carnival folk realized what was going on, shouts came from inside the carnival as the soldiers posted there were disarmed and restrained.

  Hardcore took several strikes to the chest and limbs, but he merely shook them off and continued until he had rendered his fair share unconscious.

  "Hardcore. Are we done here?"

  "I don't know, Green. Can you tie them up?" He grinned at her and she wrapped a chunk of the ivy around the men, pinning them in a hedge with no roots.

  "Apparently I can." Her smirk made him laugh. "Now come along, we need to help those soldiers. My folk can be difficult when riled, but since they won't come back here, they will have no compunction about being harsh with the soldiers." Green fluttered up to get a better view and the soldiers were in the centre of camp, back to back with guns drawn.

  "We had better move fast. Either the soldiers will start shooting or the folk will attack."

  "Give me a lift and we will go faster." He turned his back to her and extended his arms. Green swooped in and lifted him with arms around his chest.

  The lack of effort to fly him surprised her, but it was a question for another time. She swooped in toward the soldiers huddled together and their joint appearance was enough to startle the men into firing.

  "Keep behind me, Green." Hardcore's voice relayed it as an order.

  She felt his body shift as some of the weaponry s
truck him, a burn along her left forearm made her hiss in pain.

  "Green?"

  "Yes?"

  "Drop me."

  She let him go in the centre of the soldiers of Porvin and fluttered to join her people.

  Shorvah was snarling at a soldier when she landed beside her. "Greetings, Shorvah."

  Four of the l'nal's eight eyes swivelled to look at Green. "You look different. More, somehow."

  Green primed the vines on each wrist and shot them at any soldier dumb enough to take aim. Once the other guardsmen arrived, the soldiers tried to scatter, but they ran afoul of weapon masters, beasts with nine limbs and some very irritated bearded females.

  In less than twenty minutes, the fray was over and the soldiers were kneeling on the ground in cuffs that Tech improvised from their weapons.

  Eckobar was staring at Green as he spoke to Hardcore, as if he had never seen her before. She winked and turned to Shorvah. "What colour are my eyes?"

  Her friend clacked her mandibles and tilted her head. "Rainbows. You are made entirely of rainbows."

  Zigar slid in next to Green. "Sylvain, what have you done to yourself? Are those contacts?"

  She grinned. "When I am dressed like this, call me Green. No, those aren't contacts. I received a healing that brought out the me I was born to be. I don't need the lenses anymore."

  Her handler hugged her. "So, what are your plans? Are you going to form a new act?"

  She sobered. "No. I have to talk to Eckobar."

  He released her as if scalded and backed away. "Well, Green, I hope your talk is very effective, because I can't see Eckobar giving you your freedom now. That wrist thing, those ivy strands, that will get attention and draw a crowd."

  She nodded and walked away from him, toward the man who saw potential in a scrawny little slave polishing the dust from his shoes and smiled. "Eckobar."

  He inclined his head. "Green. I have spoken with Hardcore and we are ready to release you to the Sector Guard. Not that we have a choice."

  "I know. But I feel I am a danger to the carnival." She extended her arms to show off her alterations. "Especially now."