Wrapped in Starlight Read online

  He shifted into his bipedal form while she was in the lav to save her modesty, and he gave her a quick once over before he allowed her on the energy throne again.

  She powered up the failing batteries for twenty hours, with breaks for food and water, and when she was exhausted at sunset, Harken lifted her from the throne and put her in bed, shifting and covering her in a warm cloud.

  By the time the ninth day rolled in, Kiiki was so exhausted that she hugged Harken around the neck when he came to lift her from the throne, and she sobbed like an infant.

  “It’s over.” She sniffled against his shoulder. “I am so tired.”

  “Yes, I imagine that you are. Well, you did it. You kept their power flowing for nine days. For nine days, you lit up the world. You can rest now. I will stay with you and guard your sleep.” Harken pressed a kiss to her head.

  “Just don’t leave. I don’t want you to leave.” Her voice was a thread of sound, and she was asleep before they made it to her bed.

  Arms held her tight when she woke. “Harken?”

  His voice was low and his lips touched her ear. “I am here.”

  “I thought you had to take gas form.”

  “Only for an hour or so. The rest of the time, I held you. The Feliancourans have started coming to the surface. They locked us in.”

  She jerked in surprise, and he laughed. “I will get us out, but I need you able to defend yourself if I turn to vapour.”

  “I can and will. I just need breakfast and a shower.”

  “I suppose I need to let you go.”

  Kiiki blinked and enjoyed the warmth of his hands across her ribs and her hip for a moment. “I suppose so.”

  His arms turned to mist, and she groaned and rolled out of bed. She blushed as she looked down and saw that her Masuo had retracted while she slept. If Harken had been in his walking form, she would have grabbed the sheets, but since he was swirling happily against her calves, she simply hiked into the bathroom for her morning shower.

  Her hair was pale electric blue today. She had been losing pigment all week. Kiiki looked into eyes that were as pale as a raindrop and sighed. On Balen, her colouring had been becoming more vibrant, but nine days in rioting sunlight had bleached her.

  She cued her Masuo back into an opaque bodysuit and walked into the main room. Her ration pack was hot and waiting next to her morning water supply. Harken was gathering the rest of their supplies.

  When she had finished her protein, vegetable mix and bread, she folded away her kit with the rest of the supplies. The water was not enough, but if they were going to leave, she would have to wait.

  Harken lifted a small device from his pack and pressed a button.

  “What was that?”

  “I sent a confinement signal to the Sector Guard. Whatever happens next, they know that we were locked up and kept from our ship. When they can, they will send a reply and it will arrive through your suit.”

  “What do we do now?”

  “You try and get them to let us out, and after one day, we leave, as per your contract.” Harken smiled.

  “Where are my drawings?” She looked around, but they were nowhere to be seen.

  “I packed them with the high-priority items. If we have to run, I want them with us and not left behind for the Feliancour. They do not deserve the plans.”

  Kiiki sighed in relief and took a seat at the desk. “Good. Now, we just have to wait.”

  “It will pass quickly. Rest your head on the desk, and I will wake you if anything happens.” He rubbed his hands on her shoulders, and she relaxed as he kneaded her muscles.

  Her entire body was sore from the days in the chair, but his slow massage of her shoulders let her relax enough to nod off like a child in school, her hands folded on her desk waiting for home time.

  “Specialist Waythorp?”

  The hand touching her shoulder did not belong to Harken. Kiiki jumped back and away from the intruder.

  Her skin crackled with power again, and she blinked frantically, looking for her companion.

  The intruder remained in place. The woman’s dark suit was familiar.

  “Where is Harken?”

  “He is loading your shuttle. I was in the area, so I answered his restriction ping. My name is Starbreaker.” The woman smiled, and there was more than simply light in her eyes. She had a similar power signature to Olaris.

  Kiiki noticed that she was hovering a few feet above the floor with the power snapping around her. She lowered herself and extended her hand. “Kiiki Waythorp, pleased to meet you. Thank you for coming.”

  Starbreaker smiled and extended her hand, letting Kiiki’s power wash over her without any harm. “It was my pleasure. My husband was busy with our child, so I was able to sneak out on a meteorological intervention. It gives me the exercise I crave.”

  Kiiki watched the blue-white energy crackle and wind up Starbreaker’s arm before dissipating near her bicep.

  “Where is Harken, really?” There was no reason that he would leave her, unless there was something amiss.

  Something clicked in Starbreaker’s expression. She nodded grimly. “He is clearing a path for us through the city to your shuttle. They gassed you to keep you out, and it has been three days since he sent the message that you were being held.”

  “Should we get going?”

  Starbreaker held up her hand and pressed a small button on her collar. Two clicks responded, and she smiled. “Yes, we are good to go. Flying is best.”

  Kiiki wasn’t sure why flying would be best until they crossed the melted doorframe and worked their way through halls littered with groaning and gasping bodies.

  “He left an instant before I woke you. He didn’t want you to see him on active duty but didn’t want to leave you until there was someone to keep an eye out for you.”

  Starbreaker kept up chatter while they flew through the kilometre-wide swath of unconscious Feliancourans. They were all armed and that did wonders on retracting Kiiki’s sympathy for them.

  “Do you know why they were holding me?” Her head spun and her flight wobbled a little.

  “Generally, this sort of thing is driven by fear, but don’t worry, you were under contract to the Sector Guard, so they will be investigating. I have some theories, but I will have to do some detailed examination of their sun.”

  “I was hoping someone would look at it. It is sick. The light is missing something, but I don’t know what.”

  Starbreaker took her hand again, but this time, power rippled from the Guardsman into Kiiki. Light, pure and powerful light, came streaming into her, building up her flagging energy and lifting her spirits.

  The Starlight was waiting for them, and a cloud of vapour seethed around it. As they bypassed the ground and entered through the door, Kiiki whispered, “Hi, Harken.”

  Starbreaker took the helm, and when the roiling cloud had joined them in the Starlight, she sealed the doors and lifted off. “Time to get you back home, Specialist Waythorp.”

  Chapter Ten

  “Incomplete spectrum.” The doctor nodded and checked her results before nodding in confirmation. “You have basically been starved of the parts of the spectrum you needed to keep yourself healthy, Kiiki.”

  Kiiki sighed, “That is what it feels like. How long will it take me to recover?” Back on Balen, with Harken standing in the corner and scowling at her, she felt far better than she had on Feliancour. Starbreaker was leading a science team to investigate the sickness in their star, but Kiiki was done with them.

  “I am ordering the Citadel to keep you at their base for no less than ten days. You are to soak in the light of Saru and do nothing else.” The doctor was serious.

  “Can I go now?”

  “Yes, but rest, good meals and lots of light. Your system is a shadow of itself.” Dr. Leaka waved her off, and she walked with Harken down the hall of the Balen Base.

  “I suppose this is goodbye for a few weeks.” She tried to be chipper, but he had bee
n with her for longer than any being on record. She was going to miss him.

  “I will come by to visit in a few days. I am going to be taking a trip to Morganti, but I will be back once I have shown these designs to Fixer. Have the Citadel send a message to Morganti base if there is any trouble.” Harken’s face was serious, but he placed his hand on her arm, giving her a casual touch that sent her heart tripping in her chest.

  Flustered, she stepped away from him and looked to the sun, pulling in enough power to propel her up and away. “Have a nice trip!”

  She used every ounce of speed she had in her to send her back to the Citadel as fast as her power could carry her. Tabr was next to a new vehicle in the courtyard, and he looked concerned as she staggered into a standing position. “What did the doctor say?”

  “Rest and light for ten days. Whose shuttle is that?”

  “A visitor of Saru-Rolland’s. He is taking her on a tour. I believe she is his species.” Tabr’s face was still concerned. “Kiiki, you look so pale.”

  “Hence the rest and the proper light. Something was wrong on Feliancour, and it drained me every day I was there.”

  She walked into the Citadel outpost with a swing in her step to hide her limp. She had landed on the wrong foot and her body still ached.

  With a tea tray in her arms, she wandered into the seating area, taking a seat next to the window. She smiled at the light of Saru, but when she felt it coming from her back as well, she turned and got to her feet. “Hello Saru-Rolland. How are you this afternoon?”

  She inclined her head politely, and he grinned. The woman at his side shared more than just his colouring. She was obviously his sister.

  The woman smiled and extended her lavender hand. “Hello, Kiiki Waythorp. I am Psyche if I am on assignment, but since I am visiting family, you can call me Roha.”

  There was a look in Roha’s red eyes as she shook Kiiki’s hand, but Kiiki simply smiled and gestured to her table. “Would you care to join me? I was just having some tea.”

  Rolland chuckled. “You were drinking in the light. Was your assignment so bad?”

  Roha took a seat on one of the comfortable and well-stuffed chairs. “Tell us about it. Rolland doesn’t get to travel much. I think I would like some tea, Rolland.”

  Rolland sighed at his sister’s obvious direction. “I will be back shortly.”

  Roha laughed and leaned forward. “So, you are in love. Who with?”

  Kiiki blinked rapidly. “What?”

  “Your aura glows from your emotional centre. The love is new, but it is there.”

  “Uh, that is kind of personal.”

  Roha smacked her forehead. “Sorry. I forgot. I am one of the Sector Guard matchmakers. I am always on the lookout for solid matches. So, will you tell me who it is? Perhaps that handsome golden fellow outside?”

  Kiiki scowled. “No. It isn’t Tabr. I think what you are sensing…I mean…I was just on assignment with Harken. He took care of me, we talked for two weeks and now I don’t feel right without him. He is off to Morganti for a few days, so I expect that whatever this is will wear off by the time he gets back.”

  Roha snorted. “It doesn’t work that way. What species is your Harken?”

  “He isn’t mine, but he’s a Nishan.”

  Roha froze in mid-giggle. She cleared her throat and asked, “Has he chosen a handsome form?”

  Kiiki wanted to lie, but she shook her head. “Not really, he is plain and unremarkable. It is only when we are talking that there is a light in his eyes.”

  “Ouch. That’s rough.” Roha scowled. “Nishans are hard to figure out at the best of times, let alone where affairs of the heart are concerned.”

  Rolland returned with a tray and set it on the table. An array of sweets greeted Roha’s delighted eyes and Kiiki watched with amusement as Roha dug in.

  Rolland smiled apologetically. “Sorry for leaving you alone with her. My sister can have one specific train of thought when she isn’t concentrating on her own mate.”

  Roha mumbled, “He is getting an orientation of Station 13 from Haunt, and she wanted me out of there. Something to do with goo-goo eyes.”

  Rolland laughed. “It serves you right. You and Ruar are sickening when you get together.”

  “Jealous.”

  “Zenina and I can shake the planets and stars. Nothing to be jealous of.” He popped a sandwich into his mouth.

  Kiiki quietly watched this peculiar exchange. If this was what siblings were like, she had really missed something. She cleared her throat. “I am guessing that your status as Avatars brings the term safe sex into a whole new purview.”

  Roha choked lightly, and then, she howled with laughter while Rolland struggled to swallow while his cheeks darkened.

  It was the first foray into a conversation that soon had Kiiki bright pink with her hands pressed to her face to cool her.

  Once the siblings had let their sense of humour loose, she had listened to tales of intimate activities that had intrigued her at the same time that her face lit on fire.

  She was delighted to see Shivak nearing her table. “Oh, dear. I forgot to brief Shivak. I am afraid that I will have to cut this visit short.”

  Rolland leaned back in his chair and smirked. “Sure, run while you can. If you ever get Zenina started on this topic, you will get an earful of information you can’t un-hear.”

  Shivak was startled to see her bustling up to him, but he took the hint when she said, “I am so sorry I forgot our debriefing appointment.”

  “Of course. We have to get your assignments on record.” He gestured for her to come with him, and she followed him gratefully.

  They were quiet, and he finally asked, “Rough conversation?”

  “More than I am used to. Yes.”

  “Did you have your check up in medical at the base?”

  “I did. I am on strict leave to do nothing but soak up sun and rebalance my body.”

  He nodded. “You have lost most of your pigment, but we will discuss this in my office.”

  They discussed everything, from her work with Harken, his treatment of her while on assignment and his efforts to extricate her safely.

  “Would you partner with him again?” Shivak had added a weight to the question.

  “I would. We got along well enough, I suppose. I am not a good judge of interpersonal relationships.”

  He blinked, “Why not?”

  She explained about her ten years in the Dome, the suits that kept the physical talents from having sexual reflexes and contact and her visits with her parents. “I went into the Dome before I started any of the normal social rituals of my kind, and so, I have no idea what is going on from one moment to the next.”

  Shivak smiled and patted her on the back of the hand. “None of us do when it comes to love, Kiiki. You just have to accept that there is someone out there for you and someone here knows all about it. You can’t get around it when talents surround you. There are empaths, telepaths, matchmakers, seers. All of them can see what you can’t.”

  “It isn’t fair.” She pouted and flopped back in her chair.

  “How is it not fair? They can’t call the light and turn it to power. They can’t soar on the winds and the electricity they generate. Their bodies can’t save millions by doing what you can do.” Shivak was earnest, his red features twisted with sincerity and his horns gleaming.

  “Did you have anyone back on Dhema?”

  His face blanked for a moment before he shook his head. “No, not once it was known that I was a talent. The Dhemans have tried to extinguish the lines of power. We tend to get a little more aggressive than the average citizen in battle and business. Talents on my world are politely asked to leave.”

  “Ouch. Well, it’s nice to know I am not alone in being rejected by my own people.”

  He chuckled. “That is how the Citadel was founded. A race locked up their talents, but when disaster struck, they had to ask the talents for help. The talents agreed,
but they turned their prison into an icon of strength. They spread across the stars, finding those who needed training and help controlling their talents, and some, like you, who needed a place where they could use it freely.”

  Kiiki thought of all that had happened in the last two months and smiled at the dispatcher. “I guess I am once again in the right place at the right time.”

  He laughed. “Go rest or return to the dining hall and listen to Rolland and Roha tell dirty jokes. You have ten days to recover from your last assignment before you are available again. Have fun. Learn a language, watch some vids. That’s an order.”

  She giggled and left his office with a heart vastly lighter than it had been when she returned from Feliancour. Steeling herself for a round of furious blushing, she returned to the dining area and joined Saru-Rolland and his sister for an afternoon of off-colour jokes and innuendo that she was shocked to understand.

  An afternoon with friends was a great way to start her time off.

  Chapter Eleven

  Four days later, Kiiki had taken up jogging, weight lifting, learned Ikthian and watched nine vids on the Nishans. Roha had put her in touch with Reset and Mist on Teklan base, and she had been able to ask very pointed questions at a comfortable distance. Knowing he was Nishan made Kiiki far more comfortable with the Kozue appearance he wore. Resicor and the Kozue had a history, and it was bloody, to say the least.

  With the information gleaned on interspecies relationships from Roha, Saru-Rolland, Balen-Zenina, Reset and Mist, Kiiki was confident that she could botch her own love life with a few basic moves. She hoped she wouldn’t ruin her chances to keep Harken as a partner, but she had steeled herself to make the first move. When the shuttle landed across the valley at the base, she held her breath. Her suit did not give her any messages, so she sat in the courtyard, ostensibly absorbing more light.

  She shifted in her chair when the tumble of mist crossed the valley toward the Citadel. He was on his way, and she was nervous.