Thunder Struck

by Viola Grace

  She sighed. “I was still getting used to being around other people, even my family. Here I am with Halwis-Iskan and no one else.”

  Keeba had a peculiar expression on her features. “I hear that you have been doing missions for the Citadel.”

  Ked shook her head. “No, I have been doing them for the Sector Guard.”

  Weller paled. “Isn’t that dangerous?”

  She shrugged. “They send me out with a Minder for ballast while I am working. It used to be a Minder-Healer combo, but I gained control over my power-supply issues.”

  Halwis came in, robes swinging. “Please pardon my intrusion but I need to speak with Kedna.”

  Ked excused herself and followed Halwis out to the fountain square. “What is it?”

  “There is a Sector Guard ship on its way here. They need your assistance sorting a planet with a chronic drought issue. I will entertain your family until you get back.”

  Kedna wanted to say no, she wanted to flatly refuse, but this was the reason for her training and the pains Iskan had taken with her education.

  “I know you wanted to spend this time with your family, but I promise you can have them back anytime you wish. They all have clearance. That said, I am hoping you are back quickly.”

  Ked wasn’t optimistic. Changing weather patterns was difficult and time consuming. Her birthday was going to be spent with her mind in a foreign planet’s sky.

  “I will go and tell them that I have to leave.” She sent her mind skyward and felt the ripple in the atmosphere. “And I will be quick.”

  The ship would be down in minutes, so she had to get ready. She gave Halwis a quick hug and headed back to her quarters.

  Lira was in her room, looking around. “Excuse me, Lira. You can rifle through my stuff when I am gone.”

  “Gone? Where are you going?”

  “I don’t know. A Guard ship is coming in to take me to my assignment.”

  Lira cocked her head and then snorted. “Must be nice being chauffeured around.”

  As she stuffed bodysuits and robes into her bag, she snorted. “Not hardly. I can fly myself but I am not allowed.”

  “Why not?”

  “Two reasons. The first is that I am too large an asset to risk me being captured or killed on assignment. The second is that since using my talent repetitively comes close to killing me, I can land but taking off is a little dodgy.”

  Lira paused. “Kills you?”

  “Sure. That is why Dad had to fit me with the bio-bracelet. Since I was the only one without mental shielding, you made me into a toy and kept using me to entertain you. Dad thought I was doing it out of my own will, so he came running when the alarm went off telling him that I was nearly dead.”

  She closed her bag and went past her stunned sister. “You can resume pillaging.”

  Her parents were understanding, as were Niiko and Keeza. Lira was quiet and in the background.

  With everyone briefed, she stayed with them until the Guard shuttle landed beyond the city.

  “See you later.” She waved farewell and walked to the low balcony, jumping into the air and using the wind to carry her to the landing site.

  To her surprise, she recognized the Guardsman who came out to greet her.

  Haedock’s shock was apparent in his expression as well. “Kedna?”

  She nodded and stepped toward the ship. In reflex, he stepped back and let her pass. Out of habit, she stowed her bag and settled into the navigator seat, bringing up the mission specs and reading about what they needed her to do.

  “You have changed, Kedna.”

  She chuckled. “I grew up, Haedock, or is it Tend now?”

  “Haedock is fine until we land. I have to say, I never imagined that you would look like this when you reached maturity.”

  She looked down at herself and back up at him. “Why not? What is wrong?”

  He settled in the pilot’s seat and fired up the engines. “Nothing is wrong but my means of expressing myself. You look lovely and it tongue-tied me.”

  “Oh.” She focused on the diagrams of the planet and tried to come to grips with being thought pretty. Most of her other handlers were women so the compliments had never come up.

  She felt the delicate feathering of his mind on her shields. “I have learned to defend my mind against intruders, Haedock.”

  He lifted off and cleared his throat. “Apologies. I just wanted to know if I had offended you.”

  “Not offended. I just don’t know what to do. You merely observed a physical change in my body, so I do not thank you, but I haven’t dealt with many men, so I am a little out of my depth here.”

  “Understandable. Well, how about we begin again?”

  She chuckled. “Fine. Hello, Haedock. Nice to see you again.”

  “Hello, Kedna. Using your talent certainly seems to be agreeing with you.”

  “It is. It is. Have you heard the news about Iskan?”

  He blinked. “No, what is going on?

  “Apparently, the last few years of work that Iskan has been doing has been leading up to him opening up that planet as a Guard and Citadel training centre.”

  He looked at her in surprise. “Really?”

  “Iskan is an ideal location. It is empty and the perfect situation for world-wreckers like myself. Halwis and I have divided the world into different training areas depending on the talent of the individual involved.”

  “So, the plans are underway?”

  She laughed. “They are. As Iskan said when I questioned him, His planet, his rules.”

  Haedock inhaled and then exhaled sharply. “Well, that is certainly true.”

  “He feels your people had enough time to work their way out from planetary dependence and you didn’t do it, so he forced your kind off.”

  Haedock chuckled. “That is certainly blunt. I apologise for our first meeting. I was labouring under the opinions of my parents and hadn’t actually looked into the situation myself. I educated myself the moment we parted.”

  “Understandable. I have done the same with the exodus of the Iskanoi.”

  He nodded. “Iskan did what he could before he sent us off.”

  “It has been three hundred years. Are your folk still obsessed with getting back on the surface?”

  “Only a small faction, mostly descendants of Halwis. They consider Iskan family property.”

  “I would like to hear them tell him that.” She chuckled. It was an interesting mental visual.

  Their mission got off to a much better start than their first one and it continued that way until she brought up population records on Jul. “Oh, damn.”

  They were in the galley on the long stretch between jump points and Ked was trying to remember if she had brought her full-cover robes.

  “What is it?” He set her cup of tea in front of her.

  “The city we are landing near is inhabited by Rexko. They don’t like my species very much. Our home worlds have been at war for hundreds of years.”

  “That might be a problem.”

  “I know. I am trying to remember if I brought my full-concealment robes, but I will have to check. I was distracted while packing.”

  “Was Halwis-Iskan giving you a lecture?”

  She laughed. “If that was the case, we would still be on Iskan. No, my family is visiting me and I had to go from hostess to work duty in a matter of minutes.”

  “Sorry to have interrupted your visit. I am sure that they will still be there when we return.”

  Ked shrugged and drank her tea. “I doubt it. This is not a short one. The altering of an existing pattern needs a lot more attention than simply starting something new. I will be there for a few days.”

  “We will be there for a few days. Do you think that there will be an issue if they know what you are?”

  “Any of the other cities and no, there wouldn’t be a problem. This city? If they can recognize me, they might
think I am out to destroy them. They are a very paranoid people.”

  She admired how he had changed the topic back to work, but her safety was his responsibility. He needed to know that her species was going to make her a target of hate if anyone discovered it.

  Ked finished her tea and headed for the storage area. She grabbed her bag and returned to the tiny private quarters that were hers. With a cry of delight, she found the robes that she had been hoping for, and their internal nettings were intact.

  She switched from her flaring everyday robe and slipped the concealing robe over her head. It concealed the species markings around her eyes and the deep purple lip colour that matched them.

  Her black eyes were barely visible through the gauze and veils that lined the hood, and with her species obscured, she returned to the galley.

  Haedock looked her over. “That will do the job.”

  She laughed. “Just to make sure, announce me as Thunder Struck. My name would also be a giveaway.”

  “Thunder Struck?”

  “Ask your Great Gran. She laughed for weeks.” Kedna got another cup of tea before she settled down, prying the netting from her face carefully before taking a sip.

  “Isn’t that going to be awkward?” He winced at her contortions.

  “Oh, it is very awkward, but I just want to get in and out without too much trouble. If I have to drink through a straw and eat in the shadows, I will do it, and you will pretend it is normal.”

  He nodded. “Yes, Thunder Struck.”

  She wrinkled her nose at him but doubted he could see it. Six more hours until they touched down, so she needed to reacquaint herself with moving around in the heavy robes.

  Sprinting through a storm in a tent required a very particular skill set and she was a little rusty.

  Chapter Five

  Jul was messed up. Most of Kedna’s assignments were due to the populations fiddling with their weather systems, but this one was a little different. The damage to the weather was due to their removal of essential gasses from their upper atmosphere. Ked had come up with a plan to reset the protective layer, but it was going to require preparation and accuracy.

  The canisters were going to be propelled into the air, and from there, they would be set to explode at precise times. Ked was ready to move the air to catch not only the heat but also the gasses and smear them into an even covering over the world.

  She had worked out the theory of this manoeuvre years ago but had never been called on for this particular adjustment.

  Tend would fly her around the globe in a Sector Guard skimmer and she would do her work while standing in a frame designed to grip around her hips.

  Tend spoke to the mayor of the Rexko city where they were beginning their path. Kedna kept her mouth closed and only answered to Thunder Struck.

  Tend came to her and whispered, “Are you ready?”

  Four days of planning had finally culminated in this moment. She bowed.

  The mayor had been staring at her with curiosity, and he rushed up to her, reaching for her hand. “Thank you so much. You don’t know what this means to us.”

  She kept her hands folded together in her sleeves and she bowed again. It was the safest means to communication.

  The mayor looked disappointed but he gave her a beaming smile, his lime-green skin glowed in the interior lights. The sunlight outside now had enough energy to burn any of the inhabitants of Jul. The protective layer had been the only thing that made their world habitable.

  Please remind him that the seasons might change, and global averages are a thing of the past. We can’t put it back to the way it was.

  Tend nodded slightly. “Please remember that we cannot return the planet to the way it was. There will be changes of the global averages and the seasons may alter.”

  The mayor nodded. “We will deal with all that; we just need to be able to go outside without our skin blistering.”

  “As long as you understand. We are only here to restore the gas layer.”

  “It is understood.” The mayor nodded eagerly.

  It is time, Tend.

  He nodded and told the mayor, “Make sure everything is ready. When we give the signal, we need everything to go smoothly. We need every canister to fire in order or this will not work.”

  “All nations and city-states are ready. We wait for your word.”

  Thunder Struck set herself in the skimmer and strapped the harness around her waist. Ready when you are, Tend.

  He stepped behind the controls and lifted off, heading high up into the atmosphere.

  Lower us by two hundred metres.

  He didn’t argue. Their skimmer dropped and waited.

  He picked up the com and announced, “Ready. Launch now.”

  Thunder Struck began to pull the wind and remaining gasses together in a roiling wave. Keeping a bubble of breathable air around them, she waited.

  The missile streaked up toward them, and at the point where they had originally been waiting, it blew.

  Thunder Struck kept the roiling storm between them and the explosion and Tend took off. It was the first of a repeated pattern that would last twenty-nine hours.

  She was shaking when the rounds of storming the sky were complete. She hung limp, the strap around her waist the only support.

  Dazed, she remained in place while Tend unbuckled her and she fell into his arms the moment she was loose.

  “Sorry.” She muttered it as he held her against his chest. “Did it work?”

  “All signs are hopeful. Let’s get you tucked into bed and resting. You need healing.”

  He was already healing her, she could feel his mind skating along hers and pricking her into awareness. She healed best when she was awake and that bit of information was in her file. He had obviously done some research.

  The shuttle felt like home after so much time in the air. She tried not to be greedy, allowing him to heal her depleted energy completely. He had been flying just as long as she had been controlling the clouds. He had to be exhausted.

  “Tend. Knock it off. I am not going to die if you take a nap yourself.”

  He grunted. “I want to get us off Jul. You have done all you can, but I am sure they would want more. More might kill you.”

  He settled her on the medical bunk and strapped her in before she heard the door seal. The ship rumbled underneath her and they were up and away in moments.

  She faded in and out while he got them clear of Jul, but when he came to the medical bed and dropped next to her with his arms around her, she paid attention. For a minute, she fought to position herself against him without the netting getting in her way, but eventually fatigue won and she passed out.

  There was no way she could fight her way out of the robes, but she managed confined swirls of air under her suit and against her skin. If someone could see her bodysuit, it would look like something was trying to get out, but since it was just her under the layers, she found the moving air refreshing.

  Haedock had his arms around her and his mind was settled comfortably against her own.

  If she couldn’t feel his exhaustion, it would have been romantic. She had taken all he had to offer and he was sleeping it off.

  She gave a slight sigh. She could do nothing else. She needed to pee. With a bit of squirming, she got one arm free and patted his arm. “Haedock, wake up.”

  He grunted and held her tighter.

  She grinned under her gauze and spread two fingers apart, creating a crackle of lightning between them. She reached down and zapped his butt, causing him to jerk and roll away from her. Ked squirmed down and shucked out of the robes, leaving him wrapped in them.

  “What the hell was that?” Haedock growled.

  She held up two fingers and arced more energy between them. “Personal defense device. I will explain more if you are still awake when I get back.”

  Wearing only her shining black suit, she headed to the lav and
took a sonic shower, refreshed her suit and used all facilities available.

  Clean, relaxed and energized, she made some tea while Haedock continued his restorative sleep. She took a snack and her tea to the cockpit and had a seat. The ship was on route and everything was going well.

  She watched the stars run by and had to admit it was a lovely sight. She just preferred the constellations on Iskan. They were named after Iskan’s greatest heroes and heroines. Thousands of years of history could be traced from the observatory, but the lens of the telescope would probably need cleaning by now. It was done every six months and today was that day.

  Ked sat up at the thought of time. It was her birthday! She grimaced. She hadn’t been away from home on her birthday before and it felt weird.

  She checked the estimated time of arrival and she bit her lip. If they managed the full trip on time, she would have time to engage in a flight with Halwis-Iskan and drink wine under the full moons.

  It was a ritual that had started when she was legal age and was able to propel herself upward without causing a storm. She looked forward to it every year.

  They were approaching the jump point and she settled into the pilot’s seat. If he couldn’t trigger the jump, she would have to.

  Having only engaged a jump engine twice in her life, she was a little nervous as she set the halo around her head. The ready flash blinked twice and she activated the jump.

  Her mind and body were in two places at the same time for a moment and then they were cruising on to the next point.

  Ked sighed and took the halo off with shaking hands. Four more hours until the final jump that would take them into Iskan’s system.

  She got up and headed to the galley for a more substantial meal. She checked on Haedock quickly, and he was cuddled around her robes and a light wheeze was coming from his throat. She investigated and removed the mesh that was pressing against his mouth. She turned it and tucked it so that it was safe for him before she went to retrieve her meal.

  Eating alone in silence was something she was used to. She would see Halwis a few times a week and rarely did the visits coincide with mealtimes.

  She spent her time on her studies and practicing with the holographic generator. The only interruptions were the flights to strange worlds and untangling foreign skies.