Tales of the Citadel # 32 - Core Charge Read online

  She shivered. Holding the power was not her favourite part. “When do we work on that?”

  “That can wait for the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow, you will work on self-defence. We have volunteers from the Citadel coming over to sacrifice their bodies for your practice.”

  She walked with him to the exit. “I beg your pardon?”

  “You are going to work at stunning them or knocking them out with a sharp charge. Healer students and masters will be standing by.”

  “Great. I can’t wait.”

  “Well, Relay is expecting a visit from you today to discuss your message to your family.”

  She laughed, “Now I really can’t wait. Can we go now?”

  “We can.” He grinned and offered her his hand.

  She wove her fingers with his and walked through Fixer’s workshop, waving to the woman who was wearing her hair in a braid today, the dark rainbow maintained its clarity through the weaving.

  “How did it go today, Gwiette?”

  “Pretty well. I only shocked myself six times.”

  Stop snorted and Fixer’s laugh followed them into the hall.

  They got to Relay’s office and he whispered, “I will meet you here once you are done. Have Relay send for me.”

  She nodded and knocked on the door, entering when it opened without her touching it.

  Relay smiled and waved her in. “I hear that you want to send a message to your family.”

  Gwiette nodded. “I do. I want them to know that I am alive and well. And that I am safe.”

  Relay inclined her head. “I can send a message to the resistance, but there is an issue.”

  “What?”

  “Your sister has been protesting fervently since you disappeared.”

  “I know.”

  “If she stops suddenly, there will be suspicions. We can tell the resistance, but if your sister stops the protests, she will be questioned in a way that will be far worse than her worry.”

  Gwiette leaned back and rubbed her forehead. “Damn. Do I have an option?”

  “We can protect your family. There are agents on Resicor that can keep them safe. We almost have all the pieces in place to help you return and take back your world.”

  Gwiette opened her eyes. “What?”

  “We are gathering and organizing to free Resicor. Your population has an amazing rate of talents per capita, and they are disappearing. We have an idea of where they are going, some are being sent to work in facilities like you were, others are being experimented on, their talents turned into weapons.”

  It was repetitive, but she couldn’t help it. “What?”

  “Resicor will no longer hunt their talents. The general population does not want the hunt and stigmatism given to those with physical talents on your world. If they vote and do not want the talents, we will take them to another world where they are welcomed.”

  “Why is that offer only being made now?”

  Relay grimaced. “It has been made for the last decade. Resicor has refused to part with their people. We are going to do what the Alliance cannot. We are going to offer the talented population, and their families, a place to go.”

  “What if we outnumber the population that doesn’t want us?”

  “Then, we will round them up and evict them. It is your world, too.”

  Gwiette sat back and sighed. “When does this happen?”

  “It has already started. Bringing strategic talents off world before they were identified completely was the first part. Arranging the thousands of pieces in the correct order is the other. That part is being worked on right now. The plan is taking shape.”

  “When it begins, I want to be there.” Gwiette was certain of that.

  “Then, you had better work on getting control over your power. You aren’t going on any team until you have yourself under control and you have been tested in the field.”

  Gwiette found what she had been missing. She now had a purpose, a goal, and she would run toward it with everything in her.

  Chapter Six

  After a meal, she sat with her head down, her mind spinning.

  “She told you everything, didn’t she?” Stop’s tone was grim.

  “She told me enough. I need to do more. I need to be more.”

  “It will come in time.”

  She looked up and said, “Time is running out. I need to be better now.”

  He looked around and nodded. “I can help you with that, but it will come with a price.”

  Gwiette blinked. “What kind of price?”

  “It is not something to be discussed over a meal.”

  She looked down. “My meal is gone.”

  He got up. “Then, come with me and I will explain.”

  She followed him out of the dining room, down the hall to his quarters. She stepped inside after him and entered his masculine domain.

  He led her to his casual area and gestured for her to sit on the couch.

  “I can provide you with the means to tap into my talent and slow the world around you. It will enable you to move rapidly in the training centre and get additional training in. It will not be comfortable, but it will work.”

  “You still haven’t told me what it is.” She bit her lip.

  He crossed his arms over his chest. “It is permanent; it could alter your talent.”

  “What is it?”

  He winced. “My bone marrow. A transplant would provide you with the power you needed.”

  Gwiette blinked. “How do you know it works?”

  “I have done it before. My first wife was given a transplant to extend her life. We had decades more than she was initially given, but when she died, the power returned to me.”

  “You were married?”

  He grinned slightly and settled down. “I think this is the portion of our relationship where I tell you what I am and how I came to be.”

  “Good idea.”

  “Can I get you some tea? It is a fairly involved story.”

  “No. I am fine. You can proceed.”

  He sighed and rubbed his hands along his thighs. “I suppose I will begin with my parents. They were each Avatar candidates, and they were being trained together so that when the old Avatar passed, they would be good, strong bodies and minds to offer. Dolothun was a world accustomed to having his own way. He designed his people to be perfect Avatars for him. Well, my parents fell in love; it was forbidden. When my mother was pregnant, they had to run.

  “They snuck on board a shuttle, and from what I have learned, they remained on it for several weeks before it came under fire. They crashed on an ancient world and made it their home. There was an old, dying mind in that world, and it gave them power to heal themselves.”

  “What effect did that have on the pregnancy?”

  He winked. “Here I am, so she came through the pregnancy fine, but the world was indeed dying, and its atmosphere could not support them. They chose to die together, leaving me in the custody of Marsu. He used his waning power to keep me alive until a ship could be hailed. By that point, I was an adult and had discovered my talent, as well as gotten a grip on it.

  “The ship landed and I met Mirin. She was a medical officer with the Tival fleet, and she was wonderful. She taught me Alliance Common, etiquette and how to dance. We made a home together on Jeeko, and we lived together happily as she aged and I did not. What became apparent was that I do not move in standard time when it comes to aging. It is either because of my birth to two Avatar candidates of Dolothun or because of my time with Marsu. He could have put power within me that carries me beyond normal lifespans.”

  “Don’t you know?”

  “No. The Dolothun will not speak to me because my parents abandoned their duties. Marsu gave himself to the universe after I married Mirin. I cannot ask him.”

  She cocked her head. “Have you ever asked Gant to ask Dolothun?”

  He blinked. “No, I have not. I might send that request.”

  “Do. It could
n’t hurt.”

  “I will. Now, when Mirin began to die, we came across the possibility of a marrow injection under the skin. It would be held in a permeable membrane under your skin and provide you with the power you require to move four or more times faster when you need to.”

  “I will do it. Do we know how it would affect my regular talent?”

  He shrugged. “No clue. This is a chance and a minor surgical procedure for you. If you are up for it, I will contact Dr. Nywyn and make the arrangements.”

  “Do it. If it can make me more effective when the time comes, I will do anything.”

  Stop rubbed his thighs again. “There is one other thing.”

  “What?”

  “This is binding. If you have the implant, we are bound. You cannot pursue a relationship with any other men; I will feel it.”

  “I currently have not met any other men that I would start a relationship with. I have a mission, and you know what it is. We should get along just fine.” She smiled.

  “Are you sure? I have not been linked to another person in over a century. It is an intense bond.”

  “How intense?”

  “The connection will go both ways. With Mirin, I felt what she felt and the same for her. It is a joining beyond the genetic.”

  “So, you don’t want to do this?”

  He smiled. “You know better than that. I told you that I felt the connection with you the moment I saw you pinned in that web of wiring.”

  “Speak to Dr. Nywyn. I will be in my room.” She smiled and got to her feet.

  “I will let you know what he says.”

  She smiled and inclined her head, leaving him alone and exiting his quarters with her mind spinning. Again.

  In her quarters, she paced and her hands clenched and relaxed in a slow rhythm. She wanted to play an instrument, but there was none to be had.

  She sat at the desk and turned on the com unit. If shopping was possible, she would try to locate something to play with to blank her mind. Until her talent bloomed, her life on Resicor had consisted of playing with a variety of bands and orchestras around the country. Not having an instrument nearby caused an ache in her.

  “How do I get money?” she bit her lip. A music shop in the nearby village had a selection of instruments, and she could see a few stringed items. Now that she had control of her talent, she wanted to try to play again and see if she could find the same peace that she remembered.

  She worked her fingers over the keyboard and nodded when she found Relay’s contact information. She put a call in.

  “Hello, Gwiette. What can I do for you?”

  “I was wondering how I can lay hands on some funds.”

  “What for?”

  “I want to buy a harp.”

  Relay chuckled. “Go and see Fixer. She will make one for you and alter it until it is perfect.”

  “She can do that? She can make a harp?”

  “She can do just about anything. I will send her the request, and you can head off to her workshop. She doesn’t have any deadlines right now.”

  “Just like that? I can just go and ask for a harp?”

  “Just like that.” Relay’s voice was amused. “Fixer likes to do things a little different now and then. This is the perfect opportunity.”

  “Um, thank you.”

  “Any time. I mean it. Call me anytime. Effin is used to it.”

  “Thank you again. I might take you up on it.”

  “Have a good day, Gwiette.” Relay disconnected the call.

  Dismissed, she got to her feet and headed for the workshop. She couldn’t find any chronometers around and had to depend on her stomach or the sun in the sky to let her know what time it was. Since her talent had risen, timepieces had not enjoyed her company.

  She smiled as she entered the workshop because the sounds Fixer was making led clearly to her location. “Um, Fixer?”

  The butt that faced her tensed, and the thud that came from inside the cupboard was distinctive.

  “Oh, Gwiette, I had hoped to find this before you got here.” She got out, rubbing her head and brandishing a case with elaborate seals on it.

  Fixer was covered with grime, but there was a triumphant gleam in her eyes. “I have been wanting to find a project worthy of this. It was a gift from a world with sentient trees.”

  Gwiette followed her to a pristinely arranged counter top. “What is it?”

  “Wood, of a sort. How large do you want the harp?”

  Gwiette spanned the size with her hands and Fixer took measurements while bringing up a schematic on a large screen. The design was that of a harp in a classic style with double strings and detailed carving running around it.

  “It is lovely.”

  “Your harp will be a little different, but I needed to work on dimensions and string placement. Since I am aware of your talent, this will be customised with your energy pattern in mind. Oh, if this works, will you teach the kids here? Isabi plays lute, but the girls’ arms are too short still.”

  “Um, sure. Do you need me here for this?”

  Fixer smiled. “Of course, but since this is fairly involved, could you go to the dining hall and say you need a cart for me? They will set it up.”

  “Of course. Now?”

  “Please. This is going to take a lot of minute adjustments. I am going to need fortification.” Fixer was grinning and rubbing her hands together. She might be talking of work, but she enjoyed it.

  Gwiette left and went to the dining hall, asking respectfully for a cart for Fixer. With those words, the staff flew into action. Platters appeared and covered every inch of the cart. Carafes of beverages were tucked into small spaces, and when it was finally ready, they nodded and smiled.

  Trundling the cart back to the workshop, those that passed her gave her a smile, which indicated they knew who all the food was for. It was a joke that all of Morganti Base was in on.

  Fixer had laid out the pieces into a shape that was very similar to that of a harp. When Gwiette arrived, Fixer took a sandwich and munched while she stared at the assembly.

  Around her meal, she mumbled. “Now, I just have to get it to do what I want.”

  Gwiette pulled up a stool and watched as the master crafter went to work, connecting and easing the wood into position. The frame seemed to move on its own when they formed the structure.

  Fixer sighed. “Now for the hard part.”

  The food began to disappear as the strings were inserted with the tensioning pegs. Getting the strange strings through the wood was difficult, but after several hours, Fixer held the harp up in triumph. “There we are.”

  Gwiette took it when it was handed to her. “Shall I try it out?”

  “Please. If I need to tune it, I would like to try it now.”

  Gwiette set the harp between her knees and smiled at the familiar pressure. To her surprise, the frame shaped itself to her legs. Blinking, she automatically tucked the instrument in place and ran a scale. To her amazement, the notes rang clear, and the few variations she heard fixed themselves as they faded.

  “Let me try that again.” Gwiette smiled and ran a scale, faster. The notes hung in the air and faded away with the shimmering ring of crystal.

  Fixer sat down and poured tea for both of them. “Can you play something?”

  “I will try. I haven’t been able to play for years. I am a little out of practice.” She settled and flexed her fingers. “It is hard to play a harp when you electrocute those around you when you touch metal.”

  Fixer smiled. “Anything you can do is better than my best effort.”

  “All right. You asked for it.” Her fingers touched the strings, and she lost herself in the music for the first time in a decade.

  It was the first time in years that she felt normal.

  Chapter Seven

  The next day, she spent the morning stunning volunteers and working her way through the Citadel staff. By the time Stop called a halt, the Healers were sweating and the v
olunteers were flinching when she looked at them, and Gwiette could stun someone from fifty paces.

  Stop came up to her and said, “Effin will do the transplant if you still want to proceed.”