by Viola Grace
Link handed her a plate while they waited for the other two to return.
She felt tears well in her eyes. Starburst cookies. They had been her favourite for her entire childhood. Her hand shook as she reached out to take one of the brightly coloured pastries.
“I love these.”
He chuckled. “I know. You fought Kelbi for one of them when you were six. It shattered during the scuffle, but you said it tasted like it should. The same ingredients always gave the same result.”
“And the satisfaction was in the victory.”
He laughed. “That was it.”
She wrinkled her nose and crunched into the cookie. “This one isn’t really a victory.”
“No, Imgrace, but you didn’t have to fight for it. Take the win.” He winked and set the cookies down on the table.
“What the hell are you two talking about?” Shadow’s voice came through the headsets.
Shatter chimed in, “And are there really cookies?”
Link cleared his throat. “Concentrate on coming in. If you are all cleaned up and ready for a snack, the cookies will still be here.”
She chuckled at their anticipatory grunts and removed her headset. “Can I go for a walk? I need to stretch my legs a little.”
Link nodded and covered his own headset. “The grounds are fenced, so you can go anywhere your feet can take you.”
She moved to put the headset on the table, but Link said, “Take it with you. Just in case.”
She slipped it back on her ear and went exploring.
It felt so strange to be walking unaccompanied in a place where her coworkers would love to have set foot. The base was larger than she had imagined. There were outbuildings with bedrooms in them, large expanses where more Guardians could gather, gyms, pools; it was a city occupied by three men.
She grinned to herself and stripped off the bodysuit and headpiece. She slipped into a pool and began to pull herself through the water with long strokes.
She flipped when she reached the end and continued her journey back the way she had come.
When she heard the rumble of the engines coming, she looked up and yelped. Her selected pool was right on the flight path.
“Damn it!”
Her com was chirping, so she sloshed to the edge and put it in her ear.
Link’s dry voice said, “And by now, you have realised that they can see you. So, either stay against the edge of the pool until they land or jump out and take your chances. I would recommend against getting out, grabbing your suit and making a run for it.”
“Thanks for the help. How long have they been able to see me?”
Shadow’s voice came in, “Long enough. You need to lower your arm a little as you stroke downward.”
She blushed.
Shatter added, “And more power to your legs as you kick off. You could really improve your propulsion.”
She pressed her forehead against the cool stone of the edge of the pool.
The shuttle came into view, and it settled just a few buildings away. Imgrace pushed herself out of the pool, grabbed her suit and tried to stuff her wet skin into it. She was not immediately successful, but after a lot of yanking and two broken nails, she was wet and dressed at the same time.
“Link, do you have a nail trimmer?” She sprinted through the pathways and approached the main structure.
“The bots can help with that. Where are you?”
She came through the door and skidded to a halt. “Are they back yet?”
The door closed behind her.
“We are now. Nice view by the way.”
Shatter chuckled from behind her, and she yelped and sprinted for her room.
Her suit went into the refreshing unit, and she took a shower. When she was sitting down and brushing her hair, she realised that the earpiece was still on. “Apologies.”
Link chuckled in her ear. “Don’t worry. When you live at close quarters, accidental nudity is more common than you would think.”
“I am glad you guys are okay with it. I am still thinking of living in here.” She chuckled and kept brushing her hair until the refreshing unit chirped the completion of its cycle.
“Well, we are setting up for dinner, so if you could join us, the bots might feed us.” He chuckled.
“Did Shadow eat all my cookies?”
“He did. The bots have accepted a request for more. They might be ready for dessert if you ever come out of your room again.” There was wry chiding in his tone.
“Fine. I am on my way.”
She finished with her hair, put it in a loose braid and pulled out the suit. Once more, she wedged herself into the suit built for someone who didn’t have a lot of curves. The suit contained her, but neither of them were happy about it.
The guys didn’t make fun of her, but Shadow threw her a few intense glances. She shrugged and kept to her meal. The fresh cookies had just been placed on the table when an alarm went off.
Link and the others got to their feet, and she was alone in under a minute. She waited until she saw the atmospheric transport rise and take off before she asked, “I am guessing you guys have to go save someone?”
Shatter chirped in, “Sorry. Duty called and we forgot you were there.”
She nodded. “Right. I am just going to watch some news and then head to bed. Enjoy being heroes.”
She took off her earpiece and left it on the table.
* * * *
“Imgrace! Imgrace! Don’t watch...” Link sat back in the shuttle and rubbed his forehead.
Shatter looked over. “What is it?”
“Her identity is out. She has also been confirmed as a void. Her job with the city is over, and she is homeless. A riot burned out her apartment. Because we brought her here, her life is over.” Link swallowed.
It had been fun to pretend that everything was going to be fine, but if she was truly their shot at keeping their powers in space, he thought that the sacrifice was worth it. He was just wishing he had given her a choice.
Shadow tensed. “How do you think she will react?”
Link sighed. “I have no idea. I think she will be outwardly calm, but inside, she is going to feel that the tiny bit she has been able to carve out as her own life is gone.
* * * *
Imgrace looked at her apartment building and the interviews with her coworkers. They were expressing their shock and dismay at working next to a person without power. The city announced that because she had lied on her application, she was now without a job. That made her angry. She had never lied; she had simply agreed to pretend that she was a low-level organizational talent. It had been written into her employment contract and that was that.
Her burned-out shell of a home was what hurt. Some talent had gone and melted everything that meant anything to her. Her life, her accomplishments were all gone.
She sat with the plate full of cookies and remained still as the ashes of her home were kicked through and savaged by those who wanted to destroy any part of what they feared, and they feared a void.
At this time, she was probably in the safest place she could be, but being here was what caused the danger to start with. If this was home now, she was going to explore a little more of what made it safe.
She checked the time, and two hours had passed since she had pulled off her headpiece. She slipped it back in her ear and listened to see if she was interrupting.
She heard Link calmly addressing the survivors of an incident. “Medical treatment is on its way. Remain still.”
Shatter and Shadow were saying the same. Imgrace went to the vid and flicked it to current feeds, and she saw the burned-out remnants of a farming town, lost to ash.
The reporters said it had started as a bar fight that had gotten out of hand. Local peacekeepers had been unable to stem the tide, and the owner of the bar had tried to use fire to break up the fight. The fire had spread in minutes.
Shat
ter had created a firebreak to stop the spread outside the town, Shadow had been in charge of fire suppression and Link had directed the rescue efforts. Healers had been sent for and the injured were being taken care of.
Imgrace’s life had shattered on international news, but it was still hers and she was whole. She kept her irritation to herself and hoped that those who had been hurt by one man’s bad judgement made it through.
She would keep the cookies for those who deserved them.
* * * *
Shadow looked down at Imgrace, curled into a small ball on the couch. Tears marked her cheeks and she held onto a pillow, but otherwise, she was just as intriguing as the first moment he had focused on her.
He spoke to Link in low tones. “What did the Citadel say?”
“They will take her, they will train her and they will bring her back to us when she can defend herself. She will be our liaison to the Citadel, and the talent that travels with her will be the first of their kind—a Jrematan with power in the stars.”
“Only one?”
“That is all they are willing to train her for. She is not a battery, she is a citizen, and she should be accorded the same respect as any of the citizens who turn to law enforcement as a career path.”
Shadow reached out and moved a tendril of hair from her face. “She hasn’t chosen this.”
“But she will do it. She has always done what she had to to survive. She will do this.”
Imgrace stirred and she muttered. “She will do this tomorrow. Tonight, she wants to get back to bed.”
Shadow smiled, lifted her in tendrils of darkness and he carried her to the guestroom. She settled into the sheets with the cushion still in her arms. He smoothed hair away from her face and left her to sleep.
She was right. Tomorrow was soon enough.
Link stared at him. “You like her.”
Shadow smiled ruefully. “We all like her.”
Shatter chuckled. “She reminds me of the girl who sat next to me in school.”
Link shrugged and didn’t comment on his feelings. “Shadow, you are becoming attached to her.”
“I am, and so are you.” Shadow looked at the slightly older man and frowned. “How is it that you and she are so close?”
Link smiled. “You will have to ask her that. I am going to shower and get to bed. I smell like a smokehouse.”
Shadow watched as the commander left the room and Shatter followed him.
How did he feel about Imgrace? He mulled it over while he went to his quarters and took a shower. She was bright, she was cheerful and her kiss had been a butterfly caress against his lips that had powered him for half an hour in a place where his talent had never flared before.
He was a man, and the image of her swimming in the pool had caused a normal reaction. The urge to punch Shatter in the face for looking...that had been new.
Shadow wrapped a towel around his hips, dried his hair and checked the availability of his family. His father was still awake, so he called him.
“So’orn, congratulations on the work you did this evening.” His father smiled.
“Thanks, Dad. I have a question for you.”
“Go ahead.”
“What do you think of the reaction to the void?”
His father’s face clouded over. “It is horrible.”
“What do you mean?”
“She was taken to assist in an investigation, and because she is helping you, she has lost her livelihood, her home, her memories and she has nothing to come home to. The panic of a few built into a riot and the baser fear of lost power took over.”
“I still don’t understand.”
“They didn’t attack her because they feared her lack of power; they attacked because they fear losing theirs. Our society has made their talents the be all and end all of its status.”
So’orn smiled. “I can see your sociology degree peeking out.”
“I do teach for a living. It is why you caught me up, I was grading papers.” He smiled.
“What would you say if I brought her home while I was on leave?”
Professor Liro’os Maneki smiled. “I think your mother would have the bots set another space at the table.”
So’orn kept chatting with his father about students and schedules, but his mind was on the woman in the next room.
Chapter Five
Link woke her before dawn; he whispered, “We are sending you for some training.”
Imgrace sat up and clutched the bedding to her chest, but she was wearing the same suit.
“I am going where?”
“The Citadel has sent a vessel to pick you up. They have offered to train you.”
She rubbed her eyes. “Train me for what? I don’t have a talent.”
“And because of that, you have to defend yourself the old-fashioned way. You are going to learn hand-to-hand combat and weaponry. You will be able to use all the tools we have outlawed.”
“They are here?”
“They are waiting. All you need will be provided, including a suit that fits.”
She took his hand, and he helped her to her feet. She was ushered through the base, and it felt like he was trying to sneak her out. When two tall figures in bodysuits and robes came out of a small shuttle to get her, Link handed her over as if they were being chased.
Strapped in and rising quickly, she asked her com unit, “What the hell was that about?”
Link answered her. “Shadow is forming an attachment, but you need to be able to stand on your own two feet. The Citadel is going to train you, and in return, we gain an operative who can work with you outside of our planet, and you can kick some ass.”
“You really think I can do this?”
“Just imagine that someone has taken the last cookie. Talk to you when you land, Imgrace.” He cut the signal, and her headpiece wouldn’t respond.
The two folks that she was in the transport with were two males.
“Link called us yesterday and asked us to put the burners on. I am Trask and this is my twin, Trysk.” The pilot turned and nodded to her. The navigator nodded as well.
She blinked. It was the same face...almost.
“My name is Imgrace. I don’t mean to be rude, but you aren’t twins, you are mirror images.”
Trysk laughed. “And you are perceptive. It is an excellent adaptation to your circumstances. Less than one in a thousand people notice the subtle difference.”
She stared at their ears. “The more I look, the more differences I see.”
Their skins were grey-green, their hair was gold and they mirrored each other’s movements, one right handed, one left.
She watched them as they left the orbit of Jremat, and then, she fell asleep.
Citadel Lerat was a base dedicated to training operatives for the rather rough and tumble life in the Nyal Imperium. Jremat was a minor consideration due to the restrictions of its population, but as Imgrace was the only one of her kind, the Citadel had an interest in keeping her alive.
Imgrace was met at the landing pad by a medic and a man who introduced himself as Combat Master Nekron.
“Pleased to meet you. What happens next?” Imgrace rubbed her hands on her hips nervously. Nekron was tall and the embodiment of every childhood fear she had ever had.
Huge silver-grey horns came out of deep-purple skin, his teeth were sharp, canines pointed, and he had the manners of her grandmother. Terrifying indeed.
“You will be taken to medical and run through a battery of tests to find the baseline for you if you are ever injured in the line of duty. They can put you back the way you are now. I will be there to act as your interpreter. We have not yet come up with a teaching system for Jremat languages. The twins and I are the only folk at the base who have gone to the trouble to learn them. You can be put on an audio regime to learn a few of the common tongues, and when we learn how you process language, a teaching mechanism can be devised.”
As he talked, they walked into the nearest building with the medic chattering away in a language that she didn’t understand.
“Medic Alonna is very excited to be working with you. She has never met one of your kind before, and she wishes for you to relax and know that you would not come to harm during her tests.”
Imgrace smiled and nodded in relief. “Good to know.”
He translated for her, and Alonna bowed her head quickly and rushed ahead.
“She is going to set up the equipment.”
Imgrace nodded, and they followed the medic down a hallway.
Nekron watched over her and helped her to the cabinet where the medical robe was. When she was out of the compression suit, he stared at her in shock.
Imgrace wrapped her arms around her waist and headed for the scanning equipment. She muttered, “The suit was someone else’s.”
Nekron muttered, “Apparently. First stop, quartermaster.”
She smiled. “No, first stop, medical.”
Alonna helped her settle in the scanner, and all was fine for the first six passes, each a different frequency to analyze her energy output. At number seven, everything went wrong.
Imgrace felt something inside her tingle, and as the pass continued, it heated inside her, turning to fire. She clenched her hands, and her body tensed. She felt her body flexing and tensing, but she didn’t scream. She kept her pain in as the scan continued, and she could see a red glow behind her eyes.
She heard shouting and hands pulled her up and away from the machine. A multitude of hands pressed on her skin, and she gradually cooled and stopped twisting.
“Imgrace, it is all right. The pain will stop, and we have the answer your people couldn’t find.” Nekron stroked her hair. “Just relax and the healers will help soothe the fire.”
She nodded and rested as the hands soothed her.
About an hour later, Nekron returned, and he had folded fabric and a set of boots in his hands. “Since you are in dire need of proper clothing, I used the scans and got these for you. They are not the most fashionable, but they will suit the purpose.”