Recruiting Measures (Terran Reset Book 2) Read online

  She confirmed her trip to the healers with Ageka and was about to step out of the building when Ageka called out. “Where do you think you are going?”

  “Um, to the town so I can see the preparations for the festival?”

  “Alone?”

  “Well, yes. That is how I have been travelling around.”

  “I have been meaning to curtail that, and now that we have enough staff, I can.”

  Kyna groaned and muttered, “Who are you assigning to accompany me?” She pasted a bright smile on her face.

  “Obscure has volunteered for the honour of your company. Lord Akutan assures me that he is respectable, and as his sister Heela is here, I don’t think he will be doing anything untoward.”

  “Heela is still here?”

  “Sure. She is thinking about opening a proper dance studio and maybe a tea house on the way to the village.”

  “Wow. That is quite the expansion.”

  “It is. Well, Obscure should be with us momentarily. Would you like tea?”

  Kyna looked and knew that she wasn’t going to get out of there without her escort, and who knew when that would be happening. He probably had morning therapy appointments that he needed to keep.

  She had tea with her friend and shared some of the anecdotes of her travels, including the trip down the hillside.

  The custard buns made another appearance, and Ageka smiled. “How early do you have to get up to have these ready before dawn?”

  Kyna smiled. “Pretty early. They take about three and a half hours.”

  They split one of the buns, and that was when Daku appeared again, wearing festival day clothing and a polite expression until he saw the buns. He stepped forward and grabbed one from the tray, eating it in four bites. He mumbled, “What are these?”

  “They are just sweets.”

  “There were two on my tea tray this morning.” He smiled.

  Ageka poured him a cup of tea and looked at Kyna. “You don’t say. Normally, the staff gets to them before anyone else even knows they exist. You were very lucky.”

  Kyna finished her tea.

  “I felt lucky. So, Lady Kyna, shall we go?” He set the teacup down and extended his hand to her.

  She nodded and got to her feet. “Thank you for agreeing to escort me.”

  He took her hand in his and raised her fingers to his lips. Kyna was stumped. The only Rai folk that she had ever seen behaving like that were Akutan and Amethyst. She supposed it was understandable as Daku had also spent a lot of time off-world.

  She stared at his lips against her fingers, and he smiled. He walked her to the front hall, and she put on her shoes before stepping toward the main gate with her hands together.

  A sharp whistle spun her around, and a purse came hurtling toward her. She reached her hand up and caught it, nodding to Larada.

  She put the purse in her sleeve and turned back for the walk.

  “What was that?”

  “It was a purse and a shopping list for me to pick up while I am in town. Well, that is what it usually is.” They left the main gate, and she fished the small pouch and the note out. There was a happy face emoji on the page, and Kyna laughed.

  “What does that say?”

  “It says buy what makes me happy. For some reason, I can’t read or write Rai script yet, so I can’t read regular text.”

  “Why can’t you read or write the script?”

  “No one has any idea. I can understand the writing of twenty Nyal dialects and more on the Alliance side, but when it comes to Rai, I need to just do nothing but learn for as long as it takes, and I don’t have that kind of time. There is always something else that needs doing.”

  “How do you read reports like you were doing last night?”

  “They get translated from Rai to Nyal common. Then, I have no problem.”

  He frowned. “That is peculiar. I had a friend when I was a child who had that issue.”

  “Oh, how did they get past it?”

  He sighed. “He had managed to gain standard competency then he died in an accident. His learning process was painful to watch, and it took a lot of time, but he was so proud of his progress.”

  “I am sorry for the loss of your friend.”

  “As am I, but he died seven decades ago. Even around my home, there are few who remember him. Memory is a fickle thing; it stores everything but what you truly want to remember.” He folded his hands together.

  She slipped the bag into her sleeve again and mimicked his posture.

  They walked in silence for several minutes until the town came into view. Kyna knew the moment that they had been spotted. She heard a scream, a shriek, and then her nemesis attacked.

  “Lady! Lady! Where did you go; what did you see?” The group of children aged six to nine gathered around her.

  She murmured to Daku, “Do you wish to be guardian or man?”

  He inclined his head. “I was not expecting you to have so many admirers, Lady Kyna.”

  The children paused and stared at him. One of the older ones piped up and bowed low. “Lord Daku. Are you visiting Lady Ageka?”

  “I am indeed. What tales were you pressing the good lady for?”

  One of the little ones hid behind her older sibling and peeped around their legs. “She tells us about where she has been and what she has seen.”

  Kyna looked around. “Hm, I did promise you a tale. Where can we sit that we don’t get in the way? I will give you an extra story if you can get permission from at least two parents for us to be there. Come find me when it has been arranged.”

  The children scattered. Kyna smiled.

  “Do you always do that?”

  “Of course. Fear of the outside world is no way to grow up. It is better to tell them some fantastical tales that have the heart of truth, to give them caution, and facts with a blend of storytelling and morality tale.”

  She walked to greet her favourite vendors and congratulated those with increasing families. It was profitable to be stationed near the retreat and one of the favoured vendors. She stopped by the pastry shop and extracted a few coins. “Please, bring a tray full to the storytelling in about an hour.”

  The shopkeeper nodded and tried to return the coins. “Please, Lady Kyna, allow me. It is my children you are reading to, after all.”

  “It is my duty and pleasure to make sure that my presence never becomes a burden. It is the first day of the festival; consider this auspicious.”

  The shopkeeper smiled and nodded his head. “Thank you, Lady Kyna. In one hour.”

  She nodded and walked to the iced juice vendor. She did the same there. Lord Daku spoke with a few folk that he was familiar with while they walked, and she watched the games being set up before she had a tiny living fence in front of her.

  “Lady, we have found a place. There is even space for you to dance if you want to.” The little girl gave her a shy smile.

  Kyna grinned, and she said, “Lead the way.”

  Lord Daku was in conversation with one of the traders, and she nodded to him as the children grabbed her hands and led her to the small practice stage that had been set up for the performers.

  Chapter Nine

  The children filled the small rows of seats, and even some of the trader’s children had come for the story.

  Kyna smiled and got on the stage, flaring her robe out dramatically, drawing her fan, and holding it at her side.

  “Welcome, children, and let me tell you the tale of my recruitment of Siila. Now, for those who do not know, my duty here on Rai is to look for people who have skills beyond what they learn. Those skills are wonderful and can create amazing things, but I have to look at the skills that can preserve the lives of men and women hundreds of stars away from here. Those are the people that I seek out and recruit. Do not worry; none of you are on my list. You would need to grow up big and strong and be a good person who is good to your family, community, a
nd friends. Then, and only then, would I come for tea at your house and talk to you and your parents.”

  She lifted the edge of her sleeve and began her story.

  “I flew my shuttle south, down and down until I reached the town of Romati.” She opened her fan and flew it around in a circle, landing it on her open palm.

  “I was looking for a woman who could work with sounds, and she was hard to find. It seemed that everywhere I looked, she had just been there.”

  She dramatically looked slowly from left to right and back again. “I despaired.” She put the back of her hand to her forehead and bent back until she was nearly doing a hands-free back bridge.

  She spoke from that position. “That is when I realized that I had been chasing silence.” She slowly straightened. She held up her fan near her ear. “Wherever she had supposedly gone, it was quiet. No trees, no crickets, no rock crumbling under your shoes.”

  She moved, and her footsteps were silent with the aid of practice.

  “It was already night, and I am not a patient person, so I followed the silence up the mountainside, at night, in the dark, dressed like this.” She flapped her arms in a way no Rai lady would; the fabric billowed and twisted.

  The children giggled.

  She mimicked her adventure, walking up and down, bending her knees, and flexing around the rocks she described.

  “I walked on the mountain path, down into the valley, and from there, I found a quiet farmhouse. The lights were out, and I was tired, too, so I climbed into the barn and curled up using my sleeves as a pillow, and I slept over the yurmak and woke up when the family came out to feed their beasts, and I popped out of the hayloft.”

  She explained things to the family, met and talked with Siila, and then got her agreement with her family’s blessing.

  “So, with Siila contracted, I was free to return to my ship, and Siila was packing and visiting relatives for a few hours.”

  “I walked back through the meadow, over the hills, and onto the path in the mountains. The first thing that I heard was a light…” She bent over and made the feline chuffing sound. The children stared, wide-eyed.

  She said, “I knew that it wasn’t a good sound, but it was behind me, and above me, so I moved closer to the mountain and moved a little faster.”

  The children gasped when she made the noise again, and then, “I heard a thump behind me and turned to look. It was claws and fangs and fur and teeth. I said something I can’t say here, and I ran down the path. It was big, very big. It slipped off the narrow path and then had to claw its way back on.”

  “I went as fast as I could and felt the moment it hit me. It clawed the robe and threw me off the path, off the cliff, and off the mountain. I fell.” She spun in a whirl, and then she said, “And I was caught.”

  She arched her back and covered her face. “The branches I fell on had thorns, and the acu dug into my skin as I tumbled down and down and down until I ended at the foot of the mountain.”

  She spun and lay on the ground, breathing heavily. She pulled her legs in. “The acu thorns hurt. I sat there, and I cried. Time passed, and Siila would be waiting soon. I had to get moving, so I got up, straightened my torn robes, and walked back to my ship. I flew my ship up and over, landing it in the field and taking Siila away from her home and to the retreat where Lady Ageka took her in and started training her.”

  The children gasped, “But what did you do? Acu really hurt.”

  Kyna smiled and knelt. “I went to people I trusted, and they helped me with the pain and helped me get better just so I could be here today.”

  She grinned. “The end.”

  They cheered, and she inclined her head, getting to her feet and smiling. “And now, for being such a good audience and because today is going to be very long, I have asked your parents to bring treats.”

  She straightened her robes and checked to make sure that all of the pins were in place, and they thankfully were. She had forgotten to thank Daku for the pins. She looked around, and he was standing with a bunch of adults who had come to watch her story. She felt strangely embarrassed and stepped down from the stage, heading for the market and a cup of water.

  The children were already re-enacting her story and making it far more dramatic.

  She got a cup of water and swallowed slowly. A voice behind her caused her to tense. “So, you do that every time you go on a journey?”

  “Just when there are kids around. Reinforcing basic ideas of responsibility and adventure are authorized by their parents.” She handed the cup back and turned to see Daku, and there was a relaxed grin on his face.

  He inclined his head. “That was quite the tale. Do you have others?”

  “Oh, certainly. Me versus the volcano, me versus the migrating thelos herd, me versus the drunken village.” She smiled. “I think that last one is a crowd favourite. I mean, the crowd is nine, but still.”

  He smiled. “Did Heela teach you to dance?”

  “Oh. No. She never has time available. Lydeli taught me enough to get by. It is not like that is what I perform. It is just for play. The children are not big on music that their parents like.” She looked around. “I think I would be in the way. If you don’t mind, I would like to return to the retreat now.”

  He nodded. “Of course. Would you like a chair?”

  She snorted. “Only if you want to see breakfast come up. Those things are horrible.”

  She started walking and smiled at the folks who were prepping for the event. Banners were going up, and the scent of food was stirring in the air. She paused for two meat pies at her favourite butcher’s food kiosk, and she handed one to Daku. They ate them next to the kiosk and then walked out of the town.

  “You surprise me.”

  She blinked. “Why? Because I overpay because I can’t read the signs? It is a strange thing to surprise folks, I guess, but you have seen a lot, so I suppose it is the little things that amaze.”

  “Well, that settles one thing. I have learned the next thing I wish to learn.”

  “What?”

  “I want to learn how to teach you to read Rai. Writing is harder.”

  She paused. “Um...”

  “Surely others have offered to teach you.”

  “Yeah, but they get busy, and it doesn’t stick for long. You are probably leaving soon, so it doesn’t really pay to waste time like that.” She shrugged.

  “I can stay as long as I like. My guardian contract is over.” He smiled. “This world is my home, so this is where I will spend the rest of my days.”

  “Oh. I didn’t know that.” She blushed. She just assumed he was in for some repairs after his injury.

  “It has not come up. You have only been back to your home for a day.”

  She smiled. “It isn’t my home. It is just where I live.”

  He frowned. “Lady Ageka considers you a daughter of the house. She has placed you in the guest quarters.”

  “She has run out of places to stash me. I usually end up above the training building. Don’t get me wrong, it makes sense. I am not always there, and it is easier for her to move my hairbrushes than it is to move any of her permanent staff.”

  “Hairbrushes?” He chuckled. “I know women, and you have to have a lot more than that.”

  She smiled and shook her head. “No. Everything I am wearing, with the exception of the hairpins, belongs to Lady Ageka. She buys them and bills them to the guardian project, but anyone can wear them.”

  “Does anyone else wear them?” He frowned.

  “Heela and Lydeli do. Jinu prefers the trouser-style clothing.”

  Daku scowled. “That doesn’t seem right. What about your pay?”

  “I honestly have no idea. That part of the contract was written in Rai. I think they did that on purpose.” She snorted.

  He grinned. “That is a very unladylike noise.”

  “Thank you. I practice it when no one is listening.” She
sighed. “I never wanted to be a lady; I just wanted to experience things and learn how to walk a world. My life before the reset was just one disappointment after another. There were flashes of joy, but mostly, it was just a lot of waiting and absorbing information.”

  There were traders and travellers heading to the town, and it forced Kyna to the side of the road; and she managed for a few minutes, but then a cart passed, and she hit a trifecta of a stone, grass, and a pothole. She hit the ground hard, and the man with the cart stopped, as well as a few of those streaming into the town and assisted her to her feet.

  “I am fine. Thank you for your help.”

  Daku had been ahead of her, and she didn’t make a lot of noise when she went down. By the time he turned to speak to her, the others had her on her feet.

  Her ankle was twisted, and she had stone embedded in her left arm, but she smiled and thanked those concerned, walking back down the road with her face burning, and her body was pulling out all the stops to keep her walking normally until she was next to Daku.

  He frowned. “What happened?”

  “I fell.” She tried to move past him, but he grabbed her by the arm, and she hissed in pain. “Sorry. Pardon me.”

  “Are you hurt?”

  “Bumps and bruises. We are almost back to the retreat. I will get chewed out for getting the robe dirty, and then, Ageka will order me to the healer. It will be fine.”

  He snorted and picked her up, carrying her easily.

  She kept her head down but murmured, “Thank you for the hairpins.”

  He chuckled. “You figured it out?”

  “Right after I saw the handwriting. I couldn’t read it, but the writing looked like you. It was masculine, and I haven’t met many of the new clients here, and none of them could afford the pins. I would have told Larada to put them away, but she already had them embedded in my hair.” She blurted it out while cradling her arm.

  “I found them when I went to visit Akutan, and I bought them on a whim. I have been collecting things from around the sectors. The pins reminded me of something that I got on Possitt. They are in storage waiting for me.”