by Viola Grace
Leo looked down at the list and snickered. “They are arranged in order of height?”
“Starting with the smallest.”
She shook her head. “Gold, take a snapshot of each of his forms and all the measurements, please. We will forward the information and get a new wardrobe for the good ambassador.”
“Eykanyo.”
“What?”
“My name is Eykanyo. Ambassador makes me feel old.” He winked his lizard-like eye.
The Gold Fairy chimed that she was ready.
“All right. Minski.” She looked at the image and watched him change into a small pixie-like figure. A flash of light took place when Gold had his measurements.
“Celaclon.” He changed into a slightly larger rocky figure.
She worked her way up the species scale until he was past the standard forms and into the species between seven and nine feet tall.
“Lorzidal.” She sighed with relief. Twenty-seven different shapes and each one was going to have a new uniform appropriate to the species. His wardrobe was going to dwarf her five skin-tight suits.
He loomed over her in his Lorzidal form. At nine feet seven inches tall, he took up a lot of space. Eykanyo stepped off the pad, and his suit creaked ominously.
“If you would assist in my return to a smaller form, I would be most grateful.” He extended his huge taloned hand to her.
She gingerly took his hand in hers. “Tosh.”
He shrunk back to the form he had taken earlier. “Thank you. It is always easier with help.”
“You are most welcome. Now, Gold will take the measurements and select appropriate styles for you. When we swing past the first station, we will be able to catch the clothing if we are very careful.”
“Can you be that accurate?” He was following her down the hall toward the kitchen.
“I can’t, but she can. Come on, I will find you some food that a Tosh can eat.”
“That is appreciated, but I can eat anything. My inner biology remains the same.”
“Good. Now, why can you change your body? I had Gold do some quick research on your kind when we were playing shape-shift. Your kind can only change faces as a rule.”
He grinned and his serpentine tongue flicked out.
“Oh, do not do that.”
“Apologies.”
“It is all right. It is simply disturbing.” She smiled and prepped two meals. Stasis always made her hungry, so it was natural to her that he might be in the same situation.
He asked her a strange question. “So, what do you do in your spare time?”
Eykanyo was pouring tea as she turned to deliver their meals.
“Um, that is a good question. I have always been fond of mythology, so I tend to read as much of the myths and legends of other races as they are willing to share. I also enjoy watching artistic displays.”
“Fascinating. I always thought that you and yours would be devoted to scientific pursuits.” He started on his meal with good appetite.
“No, we left those to the scientists who had an interest in them. We simply wanted to recover from our genetic maladies.”
He gave her a look of amazement. “You are ill?”
“Some days. I do not have a full cure, but I have a solid treatment plan that my people couldn’t create, so I am fairly pleased with how things have turned out.”
He spoke between neat bites of the goulash she had heated. “Do you ever regret coming out into the stars?”
She blinked, “You know an awful lot about my kind and this project.”
“Call it a point of interest. I am always interested in the changes that the Nyal Imperium is making in projects and policies. Your project was so well hidden that it took me months of searching to find you all.”
“You looked for us?”
“One of you in particular. I was on Yaccaro and had a portrait painted. The image was of my destined mate and in the background there was this ship.”
With her lunch under her, wafting the scent of herbs and pasta to her nose, she felt heat creep through her, starting at her feet and working upward. “A ship?”
“Not a ship. This ship, and you were the woman in my arms.”
She tapped her fingers on the table. “What was I wearing?”
“My hands.” He propped his head on his chin and looked at her through heavily lidded eyes.
Her cheeks caught fire. “Not looking like that, they weren’t.”
“No, I was wearing a form similar to that one you had me in when I exited the sleep pod.”
She tried not looking at her peculiar guest as she finished her meal and sipped at her tea. “How strange.”
“Even stranger, I have heard since that you have one of your own portraits. Who is on your image of the ideal mate?”
She mumbled into her mug.
“What?”
“You can’t make out his face. He is wearing a signet ring and that is all that you can truly see.”
Eykanyo pulled a ring out from a cord around his neck. “Like this?”
“Something like that.” Her heart flipped as the distinctive mark was right there in front of her. He was meant to be hers, so what was she going to do about it?
Chapter Three
His guise as a Tosh made up her mind for her. She had no interest in jumping his scaly body. One day after their first conversation, he was trying on clothing from the pod that Gold had snatched out of space and delivered to him. To her surprise, there was a packet inside marked Govern, as well.
Makeup in brown, black and white, designed for human skin. “What is this for?”
“Gah-tosh women do not leave their faces uncovered. They put on the thick makeup to hide their expressions.” Eykanyo twisted his lizard lips in a smile.
“And since I have been ordered into duty as your bodyguard…I have to cover up.” She sighed.
“Correct. When do we land?”
She wrinkled her nose. “In two hours. Do you know what pattern I am supposed to use for this stuff?”
“There are rank markings and class designations. Would you like assistance?”
“You would put makeup on me?” She arched her brows in surprise.
“Of course. I would also arrange your hair appropriately. As my bodyguard, you will be representing not only myself, but the Nyal Imperium.”
Leo sighed. “Fine.”
“Excellent. We should adjourn to either your quarters or the kitchen. I will need to stand behind you to arrange your hair.”
She wrinkled her nose. “My room then. I have a dressing table and a stool. It isn’t used much, but it will allow you access.”
“Good. Let us get to it. Your hair first, I think. We don’t want to mar the makeup.”
Shrugging, she led the way with her makeup kit tucked under one arm.
Her door opened as she approached. “These are my quarters.”
“Hm. I expected them to be more lavish, far less utilitarian.”
Leo wanted to smack him. “They are fine for my purposes.”
She walked over to the dressing table, pulled out her brush and hairpins and sat facing the mirror.
Eykanyo grew a little taller than he had been and slimmed his hands down to fingers of normal density and not the thick sausages that he had been using. He unravelled her hair, brushed it up from the bottom until the heavy mass was rippling loose down her shoulders.
He brushed her hair smooth, gathered a forward chunk and tied it into a tail. He moved back on her scalp a few inches and did the same thing again until she had a ridge of hair running across the centre of her skull. It pulled the attention to her cheekbones and made her look a little more skeletal than she was used to. She really needed to put on a little weight.
“Excellent, now turn and face me.”
She pivoted on the stool, and he smiled, his features slipping into something a bit more human. He opened the makeup kit, grabbed a brush and set to work.
“I am giving you military ran
k markings as well as some scholar marks. The effect will be striking, if not what you are used to.”
She sat still as he painted her face, right down the line of her jaw but nothing beyond. It took him twenty minutes to get her paint just so.
“All right. That should do it. You have been given Flight Master rank and scholarly details. It should be enough for them to overlook your soft skin.”
He stepped back and resumed is Tosh features.
Leo turned and gasped at the image in her mirror.
White, mahogany and black stripes were out in glossy formations. Her eyes looked huge, and the hairstyle made it appear that instead of hair she had scales and plates on her head. She committed the look to memory. It was going to be one for the books.
A chime from her Fairy and it was time to settle into the command chair. “Time to land. Hopefully Gold has obtained landing clearance.”
He offered her his hand, and she let him help her to her feet. He released her hand slowly, almost reluctantly.
Shrugging, she released his hand and strode out of her quarters to her station.
“Gold, do we have clearance?”
A bright chime rang through the room.
“Do you always communicate through sound?” Eykanyo explored and dropped the seat against the wall into a position that would allow him to strap in for the landing.
“Generally. If Gold wished to speak, she would, but we both get along well with the chimes, bells and buzzers.”
“So, there is a psychological component to it.” He nodded wisely.
“Just a little one. Talking to a person who isn’t there is bad enough, but knowing that your only companion is trapped in the walls might give the mobile person a little bit of a complex. This keeps us both safe while she learns and grows.”
He smiled and nodded while she took them down to Gah-tosh. Beacons were lit for them and they were on their way.
Walking the great halls of the Gah-tosh high palace, Govern kept her features even and blank.
Several highborn women passed with their faces marked in a similar fashion to Leo’s own, but when they took a look at her markings, they nodded shyly and quickly walked away. It seemed that she was going to be out of luck if she wanted to go for lunch.
Inside the council hall, she took up a post behind Ambassador Wikkio. When she was thirsty, she summoned a beverage bot and offered the ambassador one of the water glasses.
He quirked a smile and sipped as she sent the beverage machine on its way.
The rest of the negotiators blinked and shifted, staring at her in surprise.
The ambassador turned and resumed negotiations.
Gold was singing a tune inside Govern’s implants, and she tried not to hum along, but it was difficult. Music was her default setting. She loved it in almost all of its combinations and tones.
Standing at wary attention for six hours should have been hard, but her suit took most of her body weight. When the negotiations adjourned for the day, she walked next to the ambassador in silence.
He was exhausted, his shoulders stooped, but he walked out to the skimmer that Gold had provided, and Govern took the controls. Once they were above the pavement, she asked him, “So, how did it go?”
“Didn’t you hear?”
“I am not one for eavesdropping. I focussed on the three negotiators with blast weapons and let you do your job.” She slid the skimmer around the corner, and the Gold Fairy loomed ahead of them.
“Well, your ability to command the beverage and snack bots did not go unnoticed. How do you do that by the way?”
“The implants that keep me up and running allow me to send out signals to automated systems, in effect, controlling them.” She sent out one of those signals, and the cargo hatch of the Fairy opened up for her, letting her glide the skimmer inside.
She flexed her face a little; the makeup had not been uncomfortable until she was back in her own environment. Now, the mask had begun to drive her nuts.
She parked the skimmer in the clamps, gestured for Ambassador Wikkio to proceed. “I don’t know about you, but I am hungry.”
He grunted in acknowledgement. “If you could prepare it please? I have to get the notes down from the meeting.”
“Not a problem. What is the best way to get this makeup off?” She headed for the stairs, and she called it out over his shoulder.
“Try a pickaxe. It is the only thing I know that works.”
She snorted and left him to his notes as she hiked up to her living and command level. Two meal packs in the heater, she walked down the hall and headed for the lav. She had a few options to rid herself of the makeup, but the easiest by far was a solar shower that zapped the pigments and sloughed away the residue.
After the zapping, she took a quick shower, wrapped herself in a loose robe and walked down the hall to the kitchen. Eykanyo must have been a speed typist, because he had already set table and he was waiting for her.
She looked down to make sure her robe was concealing her attributes and settled down across from him. “That makeup was driving me nuts.”
“You do look a little relieved, but your hair still looks appropriate.”
“I like it. It is up and out of the way.” She smiled and started on her dinner.
“It is very soft. I wasn’t expecting that texture.”
She cocked her head. “Well, it is just average Terran hair. I brush it and it falls out just like everyone else’s. It drives poor Gold and the bots crazy. The medications make it grow faster, but it also releases more easily.”
As he blinked at her, she realized she had just wrecked the compliment he had been trying to pay her.
“I apologise, Ambassador. I forget myself with company. Thank you for the compliment.”
He grinned. “I am guessing that you spend most of your time with the ship.”
“Good guess. I read, I see virtual art exhibitions and I wait for calls.”
“Fascinating. How many types of assignments have you been on?”
“I specialize in picking up Guardians and candidates from worlds where atmosphere is not standard or breathable by most species. I send my bots out, and they round them up for me.”
“Rounding up Guardians? Interesting hobby.”
She leaned back and took a sip of tea. “It is more of a vocation, really.”
He smiled and his grin continued until a wave of laughter burst from him and he howled until he was slumped over in his chair.
“A vocation? This is the first time I have heard of time in the Guardian service referred to like a religious calling.”
“Well, it was a summons more than a calling, but I took the opportunity and I have not looked back since.”
“Then, it is my good fortune that you are here at all. I intend to enjoy every moment of my time with you.”
With that promise ringing in her ears, she was forced to say, “It will be a one-way enjoyment if you keep that face.”
He grinned, “I will only wear this until our business here is finished. After that, you can choose my features.”
“You don’t mind?”
“I don’t mind. I have been transformed for work, for subterfuge and for espionage. Shifting into a body for pleasure is not something I have had opportunity to do. I look forward to it.”
Leo looked at the heat in his serpentine eyes, and she felt a flip low in her belly. She was looking forward to it as well.
Chapter Four
Leo and dawn had never been best friends, but usually within the confines of her ship, she could ignore the rising of the sun. Today was an exception. Gold woke her up by blasting reveille, which jackknifed Leo out of bed and sent her to a shower.
A quick shower later and she felt decently awake. Her hair needed a little tidying from sleeping on the setup, but after a ten-minute fix, she was ready for the makeup.
A chime warned her an instant before the door opened to admit Ambassador Wikkio.
“Are you ready? Oh—”
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She followed his gaze and groaned. “Sorry about that.”
Leo moved as calmly as she could to the wardrobe and removed a bodysuit, slipping into it as quickly and gracefully as she could. When she had completed the seals, she turned to him. “Are you going to do my makeup again?”
“Please. We have to be back at the table in half an hour. This has to be quick.”
She sat down and faced him, makeup at the ready. His hands were faster this time, he had her painted and set in under five minutes.
She got to her feet, made a face through the mask into the mirror and inclined her head. “Ready.”
“Good. Let us be on our way then.”
Leo looked down at the hand he was holding out to her in all its scaly glory. She slipped her fingers into his, and she was surprised by the delicate care with which he closed his hand to grip hers.
Music swelled as they exited her quarters, and she pressed her free hand across her eyes. “Stop with the mood music, Gold.”
The sound of someone blowing a raspberry came through the inner hull of the ship.
Her companion asked, “What was that?”
“A sound of derision. She is going to do what she is going to do.”
“What was the significance of the music?”
“Ah, in Terran entertainment vids, there is music designed to evoke emotion. Those strains are to increase the feeling of romance.”
“You are sound sensitive?”
They had made it down to the lowest level and Eykanyo settled in the skimmer seat.
“Well?”
She thought that she had succeeded in distracting him, but he proved her wrong. “Yes, I am sound sensitive. The chronic illness I suffer from affects joints and connective tissue. Sound runs through them, and I feel it in every inch of me.”
She released the clamps and turned the skimmer around.
“Truthfully?”
“Of course. I only speak the truth. There is never any point to lying outright.”
“But you do disguise the truth.”
“Of course. You have the clearance necessary to learn about my medical stats. That means, I am trusting you with the truth.”