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A Touch of Harmony
Magic, New Mexico Kindle World Novella
By Evelyn Lederman
A Touch of Harmony
A Magic, New Mexico Kindle World Novella
Chapter 1
The Planet Glacier
The visual splendor of Glacier never ceased to take Harmony Neutron’s breath away. Glacier’s vast sheets of ice were as deadly as they were lovely. From experience, she knew better than to judge a planet by its ethereal beauty.
Rather than docking her Tridbarrian transport immediately after contacting Glacier Space Command, Harmony circumnavigated the planet several times. It had been years since she had been home. Her job as a Space Ranger kept her off-world--mostly by choice.
Her father still lived on Glacier. Unlike her, Geo Neutron did not like to travel. Although he had married a woman from another planet, Geo never left the world of his birth. Father and daughter were as different as night and day.
Harmony did not have a permanent home. With all the travel her position required, it seemed a waste of credits to maintain her own quarters. The few belongings she possessed barely took up any room in her ship’s cargo hold. She had minimal material goods for a twenty-eight-year-old.
Figuring she had procrastinated long enough, Harmony guided her craft into one of Icela spaceport’s slips. Since Icela was the capital city, it had an enormous port. The facility was centrally located and attached to Glacier Space Command, as well as Space Ranger Headquarters.
A chill ran down her spine. Harmony was not sure if it was due to her cockpit’s temperature falling or being home again. She had a feeling it was not associated with how cold it became.
While she was on Glacier, she would be staying with her father. As soon as her dad had discovered she had been called back to headquarters, he contacted her and demanded she reside with him during the interim. If she was lucky, she would get her new assignment this afternoon and leave in the morning. She loved her father, but could not bear spending time with him. There was just too much history between them.
After the slip’s clamps adhered themselves to the ship’s hull, Harmony turned off the engines. She punched in the code for the post-flight diagnostic report. If any issues were detected, the Icela facility was the best place to get her craft serviced. A green light flashed, indicating no problems were found.
Harmony released her chair’s harness and rose to her feet. Normally she stretched her long limbs every several hours, but not this trip. Her legs were unusually tight. The cockpit was too small to perform any stretching that would relieve residual stiffness.
She was half-Titian. The Titian people had substantially more type-two muscle fibers than other species, making them the fastest race on foot in the known universe. Harmony was able to sustain her speed, since her Glacierian genetics allowed her to burn fat longer before her body started to breakdown sugar. There were very few outlaws who could outrun her.
Before Harmony left the cockpit, she grabbed the small duffle she packed with several outfits and toiletries for her short stay on Glacier. It also contained a small trinket she had purchased for her father. She had missed his last two birthdays.
The ship’s central walkway echoed with the thud of her boots as they moved along the metal grates. Her ship was usually quiet and her ears took in the clanking noise as an awakening. Maybe she should listen to music or training audios while she traveled from planet to planet. She had to admit, she enjoyed the peacefulness of silence.
“Open,” she said as she climbed the ladder leading to the forward hatch. The voice activated release option she had installed turned out to be well worth the additional credits she paid for the ship. A second exit was located in the cargo hold.
The openness of the port and the clean energy standards Icela required to dock within the city resulted in air not polluted with toxins. Her nose was not assaulted with noxious fumes she was accustomed to on some of the more backward planets she occasionally visited. She always preferred space stations and generally only accepted jobs requiring the apprehension of fugitives from such facilities.
Harmony nodded to a male Space Ranger she recognized, but did not recall his name. She did little socializing when she was on assignment and sought solitude when she was on vacation. Needless to say, she had very few friends.
Once she exited the port, Harmony walked down a hallway connected to a passageway to her father’s domicile. Where the docking facility was made of steel, the buildings were constructed of ice. Like other Glacierians, she had the ability to regulate her body’s temperature.
She passed a variety of people engaged in conversations. They laughed, smiled, and chatted with each other. The people seemed so at ease. Harmony felt like an alien. It was useless to feel sorry for herself. She chose to live a life in isolation, traveling from space station to space station. The sacrifices she made resulted in the universe being a safer place for others.
When Harmony reached her father’s building, she took the passenger conveyance to the third floor. The planet’s core energy powered the lift. Temperature resistant coating prevented the ice around the power source from melting. All Glacierian technology functioned in a similar manner.
When the doors opened, she walked directly into her father’s unit. She had grown up here. It was where she saw her mother waste away from a virus only the Titian race contracted. Harmony’s mixed heritage protected her from the debilitating disease.
Geo Neutron entered the hall and stopped in his tracks. Her father knew she did not like to be touched. Taking down an alien was part of her job, but any type of affectionate embrace was too difficult for her to accept. She had lost so much and could not handle losing anything more.
“You look well, Harmony,” her father said in greeting after surveying her.
Her father looked healthy and robust. He stood six-foot-six and possessed the muscle mass characteristic of Glacierian men. His light blue eyes shimmered. Harmony had inherited her father’s eye color, but not the glistening effect. She also had her father’s black hair, although his had begun to gray.
“Father, it is good to see you,” Harmony awkwardly responded.
She walked to her father, leaned over, and gently kissed his cheek. No other part of her so much as grazed her father’s body. Harmony swallowed with difficulty. How she wished she could show her father how much she loved him. It hurt too much. Echoes of her mother’s screams of pain still haunted the apartment. She caught a slight whiff of vanilla, her mother’s favorite scent. Harmony was not sure if she imagined it or if her father still used the fragrant candles her mom used to burn.
She placed the trinket she had purchased on the table next to him. The last thing she wanted was any fanfare related to the gift. Her father had ignored her birthdays since her mother’s death.
“How long will you be staying?” Geo asked. “It would be nice to spend some time together. I cannot remember the last time we actually talked. All you seem to do is run away.”
“My job requires I travel a great deal,” Harmony answered defensively. It was the standard response she gave her father. Her rote
answer prevented her from falling into the trap of having to defend her lifestyle choices, yet again.
“Very convenient.” Her father’s brief response barely disguised his anger. “That way you never have to get close to another living soul and run the risk of developing feelings. Are you still afraid of animals?”
“I have a meeting with my supervisor in an hour,” Harmony informed her father. She needed to end this conversation now. “That leaves me barely enough time to bathe and change clothing.”
Harmony walked toward her room, not bothering to answer her father’s question. Her hands shook with anxiety from the small exchange, as it was. Bringing up the incident that altered her life forever seemed like a bad idea. She needed to be in top form when she met with her supervisor.
***
Space Ranger HQ was within the Glacier Space Command facility. Aliens from all walks of life could be seen socializing in the main hall, as well as, conducting various business transactions. Anything dealing with coalition space occurred here. Similar facilities were located on each planet and space station within Coalition territory.
The main hall was massive. Her ears were assaulted with the roar of conversations taking place. She was used to the quiet of her ship. Rather than loitering, Harmony headed straight for her meeting.
Her boss Flautron was a retired Space Ranger. He had been injured trying to apprehend a particularly nasty Learian. Flautron still bore the scars of the alien’s sharp teeth across his face. Although he could have had his facial skin replaced, Flautron bore the disfiguration as a badge of honor.
His office had Coalition banners covering the ice walls. It made the room seem warmer, although the heat pumped from the planet’s core made the room comfortable. Harmony did not have to adjust her body’s temperature.
“What is up?” Harmony asked. There had never been any semblance of a supervisor/subordinate relationship between the two of them.
Her boss rose from his desk and stood before her. He was tall, like her father, and just as bulky. Even after retirement from active duty, Flautron continued to start each morning in the gym.
“I have an opportunity for you,” her boss replied.
Harmony looked into Flautron’s glowing blue eyes. She did not like the way he said “opportunity.” Her suspicions were proven true when Flautron broke eye contact first.
“We have known each other for too many years to play coy,” Harmony remarked. “You trained me. No one knows me better than you do.”
Flautron’s eyes roamed her body. She knew his hungry look all too well. Harmony kept her eyes glued to his face rather than at his growing erection. Her so-called boss knew how to fulfill her sexually without all the pawing men generally tried. He helped her fulfill a physical need, not an emotional one. Sex with Flautron was a good workout.
“I thought we would have dinner, some recreation, and then discuss your new assignment,” Flautron said.
“Not a chance,” Harmony snarled, growing impatient. “What is going on?”
A loud sigh of disappointment came from Flautron. The massive Glacierian male knew he had lost that particular battle. He returned to the chair behind his desk. He extended his hand, an unspoken command for her to sit.
“We have established a small spaceport on the planet Earth,” Flautron shared with her. “Two of our people are already on the planet and the Ruling Director felt a female should be added to the team.”
“Earth?” Harmony questioned. She knew about the world because of the scandal surrounding a former Space Ranger Frost violating protocols and landing on the planet. “It is in an undeveloped star system. Does the Coalition know about the port?”
“The Ruling Director is running the project and all personnel assigned report directly to him,” Flautron explained. “Headquarters will be advised you are on special assignment. You cannot discuss this mission with anyone. A nice promotion and pay increase has been processed.”
Harmony sat up a little straighter in the chair. “Wait a minute,” she cried. “I did not accept the offer. You know I do not take assignments on planets, only space stations or sterile environments.”
“This is too big of an opportunity to let your phobia get the best of you,” her boss stated. “Besides, the Ruling Director will not take no for an answer. Although a magical portal exists between Glacier and Magic, New Mexico, you are to take your ship. Coordinates are in your craft’s computer.”
“Magic?” Harmony asked, trying to stifle her anxiety.
“You will have a lot to learn about the very unusual characters who call Magic home,” Flautron answered. “The spaceport is just outside town. I doubt you will run into any wild animals and certainly nothing your blaster cannot handle. Spend a couple of days with your father and then head to Earth. From this point on, you report directly to the Ruling Director. Dreyden Skye will provide more information once you reach Earth.”
As if in a daze, Harmony left Space Command and headed back to her father’s apartment. How had she been manipulated into taking an assignment she could not decline? Space Ranger leadership had always been very accommodating in allowing her specific location requirements to be honored.
Her father was there to greet her as soon as she stepped off the conveyance. He handed her a glass of Titian wine and started to toast her new assignment. How had he known?
“Are you responsible for my being forced to a backward planet?” Harmony asked in disbelief. “I would have assumed if you were going to meddle in my life, you would want me here on Glacier.”
“I had nothing to do with it.” Her father raised his palms, motioning he surrendered to her anger. “I became aware of the assignment when the Ruling Director came to talk to me about you. It turns out a resident of Magic, New Mexico, asked for you specifically.”
How was that possible? Harmony had heard rumors about the unusual relationship between the small town on Earth and the Ruling Director. Why had she been targeted?
Chapter 2
Magic, New Mexico
Earth
Chase Bishop walked toward Prudence Hardt’s house as if he was walking to his own execution. He needed to relax. It was only lunch with his two best friends. How he managed to have females as his closest confidants was beyond his comprehension. They were constantly prying into his life, particularly his nonexistent love life.
Prudence or Prue as everyone called her, had been his first crush. He had been devastated when she moved from Magic when they were six years old. Patience had been there to pick up the pieces. From that point on, Pati Harper-Zabare had become the closest friend he possessed. The two had become inseparable all through school.
Both Pati and Prue had found their mates and were determined to find his perfect woman. Despite how close the three of them were, the two women were terrible matchmakers. Chase knew lunch today was not going to be a peaceful meal, but a continuation of the mating inquisition. It was that painful to him.
The wooden step creaked as he walked onto the large dwelling’s porch. As a child, he had ridden his bike past this house a thousand times, just hoping to catch a glimpse of Prue when she still lived with her grandmother. It was the sweet old woman’s death that brought her granddaughter back into town.
He opened the door rather than ringing the doorbell. In the past, both women had chastised him for being polite and pulling them from their activities in the kitchen to let him inside. They were always brewing something, be it magical or edible. Chase headed to the back of the house where both women were preparing lunch.
When he entered, Prue was pulling bacon out of the microwave and Pati was removing chicken from a frying pan. His nostrils flared with delight. His inner wolf perked up at the smell of meat. There was a large salad bowl full of fresh greens, chopped hardboiled eggs, and dressing that awaited the two additional proteins to be added. He would have preferred a barely cooked steak, but he was here for the company, not the meal.
“Oh, good, you are here,” the blond Pati sa
id.
Prue placed the bacon on the cutting board and proceeded to dice the strips into smaller pieces. Pati skirted around Chase and placed the chicken breasts next to the bacon awaiting Prue’s sharp knife. The smell of bacon permeated the room. His mouth watered and his stomach growled in response to the wonderful smell. As far as Chase was concerned, bacon was the sixth food group.
The table was set for three. Two pitchers of ice tea were in the middle, one unsweetened and the other sweetened. He couldn’t stand the cloying beverage, so the girls always had plenty of unaltered, black tea for his enjoyment.
Pati kissed him on the cheek. “How is my favorite werewolf?”
Chase was still taken aback by Pati’s now green eyes. When she was finally able to shift into her cat, her eyes changed from the baby blue he had grown up admiring. Pati always felt deficient not being able to change into her jaguar and a new confidence shown from within.
“I’m great,” Chase responded. “How is the kitty cat you married?”
Pati had mated with a jaguar shifter from another dimension. Although the two of them verbally sparred, Chase genuinely liked Danyal Zabare. His best friend loved him and Danyal valued Pati’s life above everything else.
“Keep calling him by that name and Danyal is going to show you how vicious his cat can become.” Pati’s voice barely disguised the humor behind her words. No one enjoyed the repartee between him and her mate more than Pati.
“I’ll be happy to meet with him during the upcoming full moon,” Chase informed her. “My wolf has been contained for too long. He’d enjoy the challenge. We are both tired of being locked in my basement three days every month.”
Pati leaned in and whispered in his ear. “Get yourself a girlfriend you can properly fuck and you won’t be so lonely.”
Chase could still remember the feeble sexual advances directed at Pati when he entered adolescence. Being best friends, she seemed the likely candidate to deal with his wolf’s continual horny behavior each month. After Pati’s magic turned him into various rodents, Chase’s wolf knew to avoid Pati when the moon was full and the two following nights. He still craved cheese from time to time.
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