Looking at Trouble Read online

  Camya found her when she was loading up her dinner tray, and for the rest of her meal, Reeda had to answer her questions about the Guardian. Other women who had been mooning after Bilro came by and asked questions about how Reeda had managed to get his attention.

  They didn’t like to hear that she had just been reading and he had approached her.

  After the meal, she retreated to her room and composed a letter to Mother, telling her about her day and that she had made a friend outside her own gender.

  When she finished it, she sent it off with a smile. Mother had sent her two messages since she had been at the Citadel, and the tone of both had been clear... keep writing.

  Reeda stretched and went to her living space, checking out vids on Ryamash III.

  When she next spoke with Bilro, she would have a mental image of the cities and countryside he described.

  It seemed that Bilro was determined to upset his companions. He was at the Citadel every chance he had, and some of the younger members would come screeching up to Reeda to tell her that they had seen the fiery streak approaching the Citadel.

  A week of fascinating conversations passed before the inevitable day arrived. Bilro showed up in a skimmer with the other Guardians and asked for the occupants of the Citadel to bring Reeda out.

  Reeda learned this in her morning etiquette class, and she smiled at the young woman who was whispering in her ear. Reeda inclined her head to her instructor. “Please, excuse me.”

  “Of course. Well done, by the way. You asked before you stood. You are learning.”

  Reeda stood, bowed and followed the child out of the classroom, through the hall and into the courtyard.

  Bilro smiled tightly. The other Guardians were waiting in the background. “I just wanted to come by and say goodbye before I leave.”

  She nodded in a short jerk. “I understand. Do you know where you are posted?”

  His smile relaxed. “They are sending me home. With retirements imminent, the senior Guardians have all decided to leave and pursue instructor positions on other worlds.”

  “So you will be a complete team?”

  He nodded. “We will. It will be nice to be amongst my peers.”

  Reeda glanced over at the skimmer full of green men. “Do you know who your commander will be?”

  He shrugged. “I suppose we will work it out for ourselves. If the Imperium doesn’t assign one of us as in charge, we will have to fight for it.”

  Reeda made a heroic effort not to smack herself in the forehead. “Perhaps they won’t want you fighting; it isn’t really in keeping with the idea of Guardians.”

  He shrugged again. “I suppose, but it will be one of us. There are usually only four Guardians assigned per world.”

  She nodded. “Well, enjoy yourself and I wish you success.”

  He stepped toward her and kissed her quickly. “I wish you success in your life, and thank you for the week you have given me.”

  She nodded and looked past him. “You may regret doing that, but enjoy your trip home. It will be good for you to work at defending your own people.”

  He touched her cheek, and she leaned into the small caress. Kimda cleared his throat and Bilro whispered, “Goodbye.”

  She replied. “Farewell.”

  He turned and left.

  She waited until the skimmer was out of sight before she returned to the Citadel and headed for the administrator’s office.

  A bright scream greeted her. Reeda smiled. “Hiya, Fixit.”

  He chuckled and shifted from side to side on his perch.

  Veera looked from her mental companion to Reeda. “How are you, Reeda?”

  “I am good. He’s on his way.” Reeda sighed.

  “Are you ready? This isn’t going to be easy. His species is notoriously pigheaded.”

  Reeda flexed her hands. “I am fine. I will deal with it. It isn’t Bilro that I will have the problem with. It is the other guys that are going to cause me problems. Bilro does want to remain part of their group and that is where the problem will come in. I will have to win them over, and he will follow.”

  “How are you going to do that?”

  Reeda shrugged. “I will do my job as their commander.”

  Veera grinned. “All I needed to hear. Are you packed?”

  “I am.”

  “Excellent. You will beat them home by a few days to let you acclimate.” Veera took a deep breath. “This is a huge step.”

  “I know, but the Imperium agreed to Mother’s demands. I go where she directs me. She rarely makes a false choice.”

  Veera nodded. “I have sent the request to the base. They will be waiting for you.”

  “My list of requirements is ready?”

  “Ready and on Ryamash III. Goodbye and good luck.” Veera smiled.

  Fixit screamed and flapped his wings. Reeda went over to him and stroked his chest. “I will miss you, too.”

  She turned and left the office to get her bag. She had enjoyed her time on Balen, but it was not for her. She had a destiny, and Mother was going to push her into it, as long as the contract was always in Reeda’s favour.

  She went to her quarters, got her bag and left her temporary home. She took a riot runner to the base and met her pilot. The woman was friendly, polite and shared as much as she could about how jumps worked as they left Balen and headed to Reeda’s new home.

  It was odd to be using a different trajectory than the guys and arriving two days before them, but that was space flight for you. The most direct path between two objects depended on their orbits.

  Her pilot promised to get her there ahead of schedule, and Reeda was relieved. She could use all the prep time she could manage.

  Being met by the current Guardians was a bit surprising. She smiled at them, and the tall, bald man with the slate-grey eyes stared at her and slowly answered her smile. When the other three saw that their commander was smiling, their shoulders relaxed in relief.

  “Reeda Rrkra? Welcome to Ryamash III.” The commander extended his hand.

  She pressed her palm to his, and a shock ran through them both.

  He grinned with startlingly white teeth and chuckled. “Good talent. Nice and strong.”

  “Um, thank you. Yours as well.”

  “Come with us, child. You are going to have your work cut out for you.”

  She sighed. “I know. I have met them.”

  He laughed and put his arm around her shoulder, laughing and talking casually as they left the spaceport and entered the covered skimmer.

  The base was a sprawling building with several outcroppings for a gym, workshop, kitchen and private quarters. It was one long line with spikes protruding to the left and right.

  She was shown to her quarters, walked through the protocols and fitted with the subdermal com unit.

  Commander Niam asked her, “Are you sure that you can manage it?”

  Reeda nodded. “I am here to work, not be liked. If you get called out tomorrow, may I come with you?”

  “Of course. You can also go through the files of the Guardians for the press conference.”

  She sighed. “That was my flight out here. I am ready to explain them, but I am not sure how to explain myself.”

  Commander Niam smiled. “Just use the term Command Control. They won’t figure it out until your first mission together.”

  “Thank you for helping.”

  “It is my pleasure. My nephew is one of those coming in, and I am fairly sure that Kimda had his heart set on command. He just isn’t suited for it.”

  “I will try to keep him calm. Are you retiring here or heading out to act as an instructor?”

  Niam smiled. “My wife and I are looking forward to a change in location. The Guardians have been my life for years. It is time for a change.”

  “The others feel the same?”

  “They do. They are simply ready to do something else for a while. It is our time while we can still enjoy our lives and have families in
a safe environment. Ryamash III is just a little too lively.”

  “Well, I wish you all the luck and happiness that I can.”

  Niam grinned. “I wish the same for you.”

  Her new com unit chirped, and she looked up as she touched it to listen in to the call.

  Niam smiled. “Ready?”

  “No, but let’s go anyway.”

  He clapped her on the shoulder and smiled. “That’s the spirit. Hey, is that l’nal silk?”

  She grinned and walked with him toward the skimmer. “Funnily enough, it is.”

  Chapter Six

  When the ship was entering the atmosphere, Reeda waited at the spaceport with Commander Niam. It was the protocol.

  Reeda had already introduced herself to the population via holographic projection and had heralded the changeover of the Guardians. The current Guardians were going to be ready for anything until the moment that the new ones were checked into the base and ready for action.

  Bilro was stunned to see her when he stepped through security. “Reeda, what are you doing here?”

  Commander Niam stepped forward when all four men were in front of them. “Gentlemen, welcome back to Ryamash III. May I present your commander, Reeda Rrkra.”

  Reeda was watching, and Kimda’s features went blank with shock. The other three were surprised, but Kimda was shocked.

  “That isn’t possible.” Kimda growled it, and a wave of his telekinetic energy slapped at them.

  Reeda saw the effect of his irritation, and she whistled sharply. “Kimda, pull it in. You are endangering the population.”

  He gave her a narrow-eyed look. “I always have control.”

  She took a few steps, grabbed his arm and turned him toward one of the scanning units swaying dangerously. One of the rivets holding it to the twenty-foot ceiling popped.

  There were several folk underneath the swaying structure.

  “Bilro, fly up there and hold it; Oldeck, move the bystanders; and Reaht, keep the locals calm.”

  To her relief, they all sprang into motion.

  Kimda looked at her with fury simmering in his eyes. “I could have stopped it.”

  She stared into his eyes. “And yet, you stood here while the innocent were in danger; was that to make a point?”

  He blinked rapidly and thought about it. “I...”

  Niam stepped in. “She has the ability to see trouble, Kimda. She has helped out on several missions and has an existing rapport with the population. They love her. That can go a long way.”

  Reeda and Niam had discussed it, and this gave Kimda an excuse for surrendering to her command without having to back down. It wouldn’t last long, but it might get them through a few days.

  Bilro had spot-welded the monitor to the post, the bystanders had been cleared and everyone else was wandering away from the spot.

  They returned to her side and looked at each other with quiet congratulations. Three out of four were willing to follow her orders. It was a start.

  At the base, Reeda was in her office and going over requisitions when Bilro came in.

  He sat in front of her desk and cleared his throat. “How long have you known?”

  “Four days before you left. Mother had something to do with it, but I am not sure what.”

  “She got you command of a Guardian base?” He looked skeptical.

  “Apparently.” She folded her hands and gave him a bland look. “I am sorry I said nothing, but it wasn’t certain until you were all assigned to the same base.”

  “Why?” He raised his brows.

  “Oh. In a word, Kimda. He has controlling tendencies but no leadership capability. He can bully you into doing something, but you know that there is only impulse behind it. You also cannot trust that he will not put you in a position that is unnecessary.”

  Bilro nodded. “I can see that. How did your mother arrange it?”

  “I don’t know. It would not have worked if I was not suitable. I know that, and I am assuming you do as well. The Imperium had to buy out my contract, and Mother would not let me go cheaply. They had to maintain the stipulations of my original agreement.”

  “Your mother sounds like a formidable woman.”

  “Oh, she is. I have told you before, she is a force to be reckoned with.” Reeda turned and brought the vid cube around to show him. “This is me and Mother.”

  Bilro stared at the image. “She’s a...”

  “Stunning brunette?” Reeda chuckled.

  “Definitely. You were raised by a l’nal?”

  “I was. Mother and my birth mother were friends, and when my birth parent passed away, Mother took me home with her, as per the will. She didn’t know how to raise a bipedal humanoid, but she did an amazing job. She has made my work clothing for me. It was a labour of love, and she gave me all the protection she could to carry with me.”

  He suddenly widened his eyes. “She is missing part of one leg.”

  “Yes. She said it made her unsuitable to be with her people.”

  “She has one severed leg and her name is Rrkra?”

  “Yes. Why did you go so pale?”

  Weakly, he said, “Oh, no reason. I just read about her in my alien races courses. Queen of the l’nal who would not take a mate. She abdicated her throne and left her world to live out her lifespan in the stars.”

  “Ah, well that is new information.” She blinked and rubbed her forehead. “I think I will have to continue my research. I have only gone back three decades. When did that happen?”

  “Seven decades ago.”

  She opened her mouth to answer him, but the com went off inside her head. She answered the message on the open line and then discontinued it. “Time to go.”

  He rose to his feet. “Are you going to fly like that?”

  “Yes. This is my mother’s gift to me. I will always wear it on duty.”

  Bilro nodded and ran out the door.

  She was the last person to the skimmer and grimly unsurprised when Kimda lifted off, heading for his home province... without her.

  Mentally muttering to herself, she went to the shadows and pulled out the riot runner she had insisted on. With practiced motions, she gunned the motor and took to the skies behind the shielded nose of the vehicle.

  She increased her speed and whipped through the afternoon sky, passing the skimmer without trouble and making her way across a lake, past a mountain range and over the outcropping of an ocean before she reached the portion of the city under siege.

  She landed her runner and went to the local peacekeeper commander. “What is going on here?”

  He looked at her and did a double take. “Command Control. Are the Guardians coming?”

  “They will be here in five minutes. Brief me quickly.”

  She got the information as rapidly as he could give it to her, and then, she focused on the two-story building, learning what she could via her talent. As the Guardian skimmer landed, she was speaking in low tones into the com.

  “Kimda, I need you to haul the doors open and hold them. Oldeck, suck the air out of the building. The only ones in there with breathing apparatus are the attackers.”

  “Bilro, fly in there and burn any man or woman standing. Drive them out. Reaht, use your connection and knock them out as they come through the doors. We are trying to operate without damage to the populace or any structures. Confirmed?”

  “Confirmed.” Reaht clipped it out.

  Oldeck chimed in. “Confirmed.”

  Eagerness was in his tone when Bilro said, “Confirmed.”

  There was a pause from Kimda. “Confirmed.”

  The skimmer landed, and the Guardians poured out, ready for action.

  Twelve attackers were inside the financial institution seeking the large deposit of gemstones that had arrived the day before. They had alarming amounts of projectile weapons, and there were at least two wounded hostages.

  The attack on the institution began, and she focused her talent on what was going on
around her and inside the building.

  The air came out, the hostages dropped and Bilro flew in. Reaht was waiting, and he dropped the first six men to flee the fireworks without trouble.

  Reaht was stunning them one by one, but a group of four was going to cause a problem. One of the men ran past Reaht and headed for the gathered bystanders.

  Reeda ran and put herself between the man and those assembled at what they thought was a safe distance. She worked through what would happen if she struck him, and she didn’t want three innocents dead. She let him grab her and grunted when he pulled her against him and held the gun to her head.

  The Guardians poured out of the building with the coughing hostages. The Guardians froze in place and stared as the man holding her shouted.

  “Let me go, or I blow her brains out.”

  Reeda rolled her eyes and worked out her plan of attack. When she moved, it was a dance so rapid that the eye could not follow it. She twisted her hand, shoved the weapon upward, whirled around and pulled it even with her chest. Reeda heard Bilro shout as the weapon discharged and Reeda staggered back, still hanging on.

  Six shots were fired into her chest, and she felt the air leave her lungs. When the clip was empty, she punched upward and felt his neck snap. She had to do it after he shot. There had to be a reason for his death beyond her certainty that he would not stop. His shooting of her was proof that she could use whatever means were available to kill him.

  Sighing, she brushed at the front of her top and dusted off the marks that the projectiles had made. Her silk had tightened to stop the incursion and relaxed back into a soft and rippling flow the moment the danger was over.

  She turned to the Guardians and nodded. “Check on the injured and make sure everyone is attended to.”

  She then moved toward the peacekeeper commander. “I apologise for the fatality. It was not my intention to injure anyone.”

  “We saw him fire first, several times. How is it you are still standing?”

  She smiled. “It is a gift my mother gave me. Now, what still needs to be done?”