Wrapped in Starlight Read online

  “The jumps cause a ripple effect in gravity if too close to an orbiting body. Or so my recent education leads me to believe.” He chuckled. “Oh, it’s true. Too close to a planet and you can tear a hole in its atmosphere, too close to a sun and you can burn a system. It is better to keep to the jump points unless there is an extreme emergency.”

  “What constitutes an extreme emergency?”

  “Imminent death of more than six beings on your craft, anything less is a mere mild emergency.”

  She made a mental note and programmed in the destination of Feliancour. “What is their situation?”

  “Every three hundred years, their sun gets enthusiastic. It throws off enough power to scramble every electronic on the planet. The folk know when it will strike and have created shelters below ground. These shelters will keep them alive and well while the solar storm rages.” Harken was flipping through the mission manifest.

  “So, we will be arriving before the solar storm?” Having an idea, she began to check the Starlight. She breathed easier when she saw that the shielding was intact and functional.

  “We will arrive two days before the storm is going to hit. You will be given shelter that allows you exposure to the sunlight, and from there, you will be connected to the power systems. I will remain with you. I am not vulnerable to solar storms.”

  “Nine days?”

  “Ten. They will remain underground for an extra day to be safe. You will be processing a tremendous amount of power for several hours a day. Can you manage it?” His features were worried.

  She chuckled as the Starlight reached the first jump and she slipped on the halo to affect the transfer. Jumps were tricky things, and the speed of thought was the best option to get where you wanted to be.

  “Most folks wear the halo from the moment they settle in.”

  Kiiki looked at him with a wry twist to her lips. “Most folks can’t power the halo with a sneeze or a bright light in their eyes.”

  “Fair point.” He nodded.

  “Prepare for jump.” The effort to sound official almost strained her throat, but she shivered as the beacons in her destination area pronounced it clear, and she sent the power through the halo, and it sent the pulse to the jump engines.

  In one moment, they crossed to another star system, and as the journey continued, they ran through another jump and eight hours of travel before they arrived at Feliancour.

  Harken spoke to ground control, and Kiiki keyed in the coordinates for landing.

  She giggled, “My first assignment. I wonder if I get a cookie like I did from my mom when I got good grades.”

  He looked at her with a twist to his lips. “Cookies? I would have thought you wanted ink and paper for sketches.”

  “I always had ink and paper. My mother kept the cookies under lock and key. It was a matter of priorities and wanting what I couldn’t normally have. It was an exotic reward for mundane tasks.” She laughed. “When I went into the Dome, cookies became a reminder of love and home when they visited me. I knew how many times they had thought of me by how many cookies I got.”

  “Have you spoken with them since you came to Balen?”

  “Yes, twice a week. They are relieved that I am away from Resicor and delighted that I am in control of my talent. So far, they have not experienced repercussions over my leaving the Dome, but they are not sure that it isn’t just a matter of time.” Kiiki gripped the controls with white knuckles.

  “You are worried about them.” He stated it absolutely.

  “I am very worried about them. They are currently defended by their status in the community and government, but that will not last forever. Folks may forget about my existence, but paperwork remains forever. Eventually, the Waythorps will be forced to pay for my removal, and on that day, I will go home and return the gift that my parents gave to me.”

  They began entering the gold and red expanse of Feliancour, and she kept an eye on the monitors and displays.

  “What gift is that?”

  She glanced at him with her face showing her dedication to her words. “They gave me freedom, and I am going to give it right back.”

  He didn’t argue, merely watched her take the ship down, singing its cheerful song. They had a job to do.

  The representative of Feliancour was nervous, but he bowed over her hand, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “Welcome, Specialist Waythorp. We have been looking forward to your arrival. It will mean much to the families who had men in the repair lottery.”

  She smiled and pulled her hand back as the handsome feline tasted her skin. She wasn’t interested in handsome. She preferred bland and supportive.

  “What do you mean, repair lottery?”

  Geloan Vashin explained as they walked through the almost-silent city. Folk were tucking themselves into tubes that took them down into the ground for safety and only those finalizing preparations were left on the surface.

  “The men enter the lottery and climb to the surface every three days. If the sun doesn’t damage them, the EM pulse does. With you here, there is no danger to our population and the ninety men across the world will live healthy lives, not to mention the rest of our people down below. Thank you for coming.”

  Harken spoke, “When does the first flare hit?”

  “Thirty-two hours.” He dismissed Harken and smiled at Kiiki, “Specialist, the throne has been crafted to the Citadel specifications. Are you sure that you can do this?”

  “Let me see the work area, and I will tell you yea or nay.” She knew she could do it, but she would be tired at the end of nine days.

  “Of course. We have installed battery packs around our world that you will charge on a daily basis. You will know when they are charged, and you will be able to rest.”

  They were standing in front of a large door with a huge bar across it.

  That bar would lock her in. “What is that bar for?”

  Geloan looked innocent. “We didn’t want anyone messing with the arrangement before you had arrived.”

  Kiiki looked at Harken, and his expression was grim. They were going to be locked in together until the Feliancourans let them out.

  As the door opened, she saw the throne that would allow her to disseminate power across the world. A chair was on a dais and a cascade of wires was rigged into the structure of the seat itself. It was under a glass dome that would allow her full access to light day or night.

  “I will need to run a test. Do you have the batteries connected?”

  “Yes, they are ready to go. Do you wish to test them now?”

  “Please. Right after I have seen the lav and shower facility.”

  Geloan blinked, “Of course, of course. This way, please.” He walked to the wall and pressed a slick tile.

  The room was serviceable. Kiiki tested the water and found the temperature to be acceptable. “Will the pumps still be rigged to provide water when you are below?”

  “I will make sure that they are.”

  Harken was near her. “If you are locking us in, where are the beds?”

  Geloan blushed, “Of course. I am afraid we only provided one for the Specialist. Is that a problem?”

  Harken looked at the other male and smiled tightly. “Not a problem at all. I cannot leave the side of my partner, so it will work out well.”

  The insinuation was that they were intimate partners, so Kiiki couldn’t stop her blush.

  Geloan’s features darkened in anger, but he nodded tightly. “Good, then. Specialist, the demonstration?”

  She walked carefully to the throne and settled into place. It was comfortable, and when she reclined it so that her body was facing skyward, the power beckoned her. “Testing in three…two…one.” She released energy from the light into the chair.

  On the wall, a light pinged to life, followed by another and another until thirty lights were glowing bright.

  Geloan spoke into a small com unit and listened for the reply. “Excellent. The batteries are charged and waiti
ng. You can remove yourself from the chair now.”

  Smiling, she cut the power, but the lights remained on. “Those are the battery lights?”

  “They are. If they go out, the outpost they are at needs power. They all have different population levels, so just fill the batteries as best you can.”

  Harken asked, “Will you leave a communication device for us to contact you?”

  Geloan shook his head. “Once the flares start, they won’t work. You will have to simply wait it out for the ten days.”

  The men were staring at each other, and Kiiki stepped in to break it up. “Well, I had better get a meal and some rest. Do I have the freedom of your city?”

  Geloan looked around and frowned. “I would rather you stayed here.”

  She sighed. “Fine. Boring, but fine.”

  Harken smiled, “Bring her some paper and some drawing implements.”

  Kiiki perked up. “Yes, that will work. Something low tech, not affected by the radiation.”

  Geloan smiled tightly. “Of course. I will find something immediately. I need to get to shelter myself.”

  “Of course.” Kiiki walked over to Harken and wrapped on arm around his waist “Take your time, we will be occupying ourselves.”

  The official scuttled away, and Kiiki sighed, relinquishing her grip as she turned to look into Harken’s astonished face. “What? He licked me when he kissed my hand. That is all kinds of creepy.”

  Harken’s laughter could be heard down the hall they had traversed and into some of the descent tubes still open for business. His wasn’t a quiet amusement. It was the triumphant chortle of a man who was winning.

  Chapter Eight

  After getting familiar with her surroundings, Kiiki looked up at the fading sun. “It has a wild halo around it. No wonder they knew this was coming.”

  “I don’t see what you are looking at. I see the sun but nothing seems amiss.” Harken was finishing up the preparations for their stay, including a safe water supply. Despite the running water that had been provided, they didn’t have faith that the running water would continue after the flares began. She looked at him closely. “You really don’t see it? The sun is rioting. It is unhappy, to say the least.”

  “You can see it?”

  “It radiates in the corona. It flickers and pulses with desperation. It is like the sun is attempting to get attention.” She stretched and shifted as she tried to adapt her senses to the space she was in. The room was round, had a single door and was domed with thick glass. The scent in the air held the peculiar tang that came with electricity, more a feeling than an actual odour.

  “Do you think it is sentient?” His tone was mildly questioning.

  She blinked and looked up again. “No, I don’t think so. I think something is wrong with it, though. It doesn’t feel healthy to me.”

  “I will mention it to the Guard. After we are clear, they will send in someone to examine it.” He smiled and continued his preparations.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I am putting your food and water in shielded containers. Your body can handle the power, but no sense ruining your food supply.”

  “What will you eat?”

  “I don’t need to eat, per se. I will consume rations as I require them. Their edibility is not really a concern.” He chuckled as he closed the container.

  That made her blink. “You can eat anything?”

  “I could dissolve a hole in the floor if I were hungry enough.”

  “Okay. So, what do we do for two days?”

  He lifted the paper and utensils that Geloan had brought in. “I thought you could design me a ship.”

  Sighing and giving in to the inevitable, she took the paper and used a small desk pressed against the wall for her studio. Kiiki used the light of the setting sun to begin the design for the Shakun Teel. She laughed as she swept her writing implement across the page with the title. Ancient Resicorian was taught to few children, but she had been an avid learner.

  Kiiki felt Harken peering over her shoulder. “Shakun Teel? It sounds dramatic. What does it mean?”

  Kiiki kept drawing, measuring and changing the shape of the atmospheric stabilizers. “The puff ball.”

  He choked and wandered away.

  Humming to herself, she continued to design the smallest jump ship in the universe.

  She was drawing by the light of her own skin when Harken tapped her on the shoulder. “You need to eat and rest, in that order.”

  He handed her a heated ration pack, and she frowned but started to gnaw her way through the hard bread that came with the stew.

  He lifted some of the papers and whistled. “It is amazing. You just came up with this?”

  Kiiki felt gratified warmth inside. Compliments were always welcome. “Yes. I designed it to carry you in gaseous form. The entire ship is seven feet long with a jump engine.”

  The paper wavered alarmingly as he kept his grip. “Seven feet long?” There was amusement in his gaze.

  She blushed. “I was irritated at being told what to design, so I drew a ship that could be carried in any other Sector Guard ship and that your intangible form could direct with pressure plates inside. It even has the potential for a jump engine, but that would be up to your engineer and builder. I am just the designer.”

  “A talented designer. It is a pity that you could not have pursued this on your home world.”

  Kiiki sighed and finished eating her rations. “From the first time I lit up the house during a storm, my parents told me what was in store for me and what they would do to help me find a way through it. It was never an option to stay and design starships. Resicor does not even have a sky-borne presence. There would be no life for anything I created there.”

  Harken paused. “They don’t have spacecraft?”

  “No.”

  “How did the Alliance get involved with your world? It is unusual for them to attach themselves to worlds still developing.”

  She shrugged. “I have no idea. Most folk on Resicor do not even know that the Sector Guard or Citadel exists. It is a mystery to us as well. All we know is that in the Dome, there is a chance that we can get out and not die there like so many before us.”

  “How many are in the Dome?”

  “Currently, I don’t know. The numbers have been rapidly increasing, and no one knows why. The endless stream of new talents has gone from a trickle to a torrent.” She ran a hand over her hair and double-checked the coil of her braid.

  “Interesting—may we discuss your home? I forgot to ask.”

  She smiled and got to her feet. “Of course. It is still the place I think of when I need to comfort myself.”

  Kiiki excused herself to use the lav, and after she had taken a quick shower, she re-joined him near the desk. “Is it all right if I get some rest now?”

  He held up a sketch that she had tucked underneath the rest. “Is this home?”

  It was a drawing of the manor house where she had taken her first steps. “No. But it is where my home lives.”

  She left him puzzling over that, went to the room that had been set up for her, and flopped down on the bed. The scent of the sheets was strange, but she managed to ignore it as she let sleep approach her. She was on a strange world, on assignment, and her duty was to keep power flowing to the entire population. She really needed as much rest as she could gather.

  A cloud of mist joined her in the bedroom, and it crept over her. The light scent it carried with it was familiar, and she smiled as she recognised Harken.

  “No funny business, puff. I have to work in the morning.”

  The cloud shifted against her skin, and it was obvious to her that at long last she had a partner who was going to watch her day and night. He kept his touch above the covers, so she had no reason to object.

  A tiny smile crossed her lips, and it was still there when she woke.

  Chapter Nine

  “Finally. I was getting tired of waiting.” Kiiki sat in t
he throne and settled as the solar flares built up to the prime levels. The sun would be visible in moments.

  “I thought you would have more patience than that, Kiiki.” Harken was waiting nearby, calm written in every inch of his body. “I waited for something to happen for ten years. That was enough patience for a lifetime. Now, I want to do something.” She settled her hands on the arms of the throne and watched the lights on the wall. Out of thirty, three were flickering.

  Kiiki dragged in a deep breath, “Time to earn my pay.”

  She pulled starlight in and began a steady stream of energy, which turned into a controlled wave when the sun peeked over the horizon.

  “I will stop you in three hours for a meal and water.”

  She nodded as she concentrated on channelling the power to where it was needed. It was the beginning of an exhausting day.

  Kiiki was successful at keeping all of the lights burning bright all day. By the time the sun’s rays turned crimson, she was tired and ready for rest. She powered down and pushed on the arms of the chair with both hands.

  Harken was at her side, and he lifted her in his arms before she could do more than squeak. “Down. Put me down.”

  “I will put you down when you are in bed. You are exhausted, and you will have to do this again in twelve hours.”

  “I thought it was a thirty-two hour day?” She scrubbed at her face.

  “It is. You were on there for twenty hours stabilizing their energy supplies. I am convinced that they deliberately deceived you as to the amount of power you would have to output.”

  She sighed and relaxed into the pillows when he set her in the bed. “Fine. I will eat and shower in the morning. Sleep now.”

  In front of her eyes, Harken shifted into that comforting cloud. He moved over her and acted as a blanket.

  Warm and safe, she passed out.

  It was a perverse routine that began. Kiiki would wake covered by a cloud and nothing else. Her Masuo had shifted into an anklet to get out of the way.

  She eased herself out of the bed and walked to the lav, taking a shower and getting dressed before she ate the rations that Harken heated for her.