by Mary Andrews
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The Fireborn Chronicles
by Mary Andrews
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Science Fiction
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Swimming Kangaroo Books
www.swimmingkangaroo.com
Copyright ©2007 by Mary Andrews
First published in 2007, 2007
NOTICE: This work is copyrighted. It is licensed only for use by the original purchaser. Making copies of this work or distributing it to any unauthorized person by any means, including without limit email, floppy disk, file transfer, paper print out, or any other method constitutes a violation of International copyright law and subjects the violator to severe fines or imprisonment.
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Dive into a good book at
www.swimmingkangaroo.com
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THE FIREBORN CHRONICLES: Fireborn Found
Swimming Kangaroo Books, October 2007
Swimming Kangaroo Books
Arlington, Texas
ISBN: Paperback 978-1-934041-50-5
PDF 978-1-934041-49-9
Other Available formats: HTML, Mobi (No ISBN's are assigned)
LCCN: 2007937102
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
THE FIREBORN CHRONICLES: Fireborn Found © 2007 Mary Andrews
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part without permission.
Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or events is purely coincidental. They are productions of the author's imagination and used fictitiously.
Cover art by Laura Diehl
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before diving into the book.
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THE FIREBORN CHRONICLES: Fireborn Found
by
Mary Andrews
Swimming Kangaroo Books Arlington, Texas
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This old anvil has seen many broken hammers...
Time is a great teacher...
The fireborn are at home in flame...
—Carl Sandburg
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Much thanks and appreciation to:
Jeff Andrews, my husband, who helped when he could
and never hindered my need to do this.
Mindy Cavazos—my very first fan.
Kathy Cavazos whose lovingly harsh critiques
kept me on the straight and narrow.
Marquel White, who continues to teach me new things about writing daily.
Joe Trent, who helped me to think straight
and was there at all weird hours when I needed advice at the eleventh hour.
And to Dindy Robinson, who had faith enough in me to provide the stage.
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PART ONE
RAEL
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“What did I tell you about doing that here?” Marion Mahata scowled at her adopted son from the study doorway.
Rael shut down the access port of his mother's terminal and released his compu-link with a flick of a thought before the door whooshed shut behind her.
“You look lovely today, Momma M,” he lied.
Marion sighed as the give-away glimmer of the tiny temple plates beneath his shaggy platinum hair played out.
“Don't start with me, young man.” She stepped further into the room. Her usually jovial round face showed no hint of forgiveness this time. “Three different departments detected your presence in restricted systems."
Rael remained unflappable. “Which three?"
Marion glared back in silence.
Rael rose from behind the desk and lowered his eyes. “I'm sorry, Mom. I was just exploring the star base on-line, and I guess I got carried away."
Marion examined his still stoic expression and then sighed. Eighteen years, and this is as close to remorse as I'll get. Even as a baby, when she had rescued him from The Hive planet, she had never heard him cry.
“Rael, this station isn't like the others. The danger is real here. The entire outer level houses nothing but PSI operatives. Your compu-link disrupts their ability to function."
She stared into her son's dark eyes. “It hurts them, Rael. When you compu-link too near to them, you scald their senses. Why do you think I arranged for our quarters to be as far away from the upper levels as possible?"
Rael frowned slightly. “I thought it was to protect you—in case of attack or something. You're supposed to be in charge now, aren't you?"
Marion shook her head. “Why can't I get this through to you? We've never been housed near a branch of PSI Ops before, so this is going to get tricky, but I'm being called to the mat on this. The time has come to finally see what you can and cannot do."
She gauged Rael's almost empty stare with the insight of a mother. “Bottom line, we don't need highly placed officials campaigning to send you back to The Hive Planet, so you need to start paying more attention now.” She paused for effect.
Rael scooted out from behind her desk and dropped into one of the two seats before it. “Did I hurt anyone?"
“Not this time,” Marion replied, “but PSI Ops detected your activity on-line as did Payroll and Dark Ops security. Rael, you're old enough to be perceived as a threat, and these are the people who deal with threats in the known universe. Remember that next time you get curious."
Rael seemed intent on examining the carpet at his feet.
“Why didn't you wait? Didn't I promise you a higher security clearance for your birthday?"
“I must have back-doored the upper levels—maybe through a surveillance channel."
Marion's jaw dropped. What am I going to do with this boy?
“Why would Dark Ops keep watch on the main business and recreational levels? I was just skimming through surface lines.” Rael stopped suddenly. “Mom, are we being monitored here?"
“This IS a high security base, son,” she replied, but mentally, she resolved to look into it.
Rael leaned back into his seat. “I will be more careful from now on. I promise."
“Good. Now let's get back to business.” Marion Mahata seated herself at the desk and flipped on the intercom. “You can come in now."
The office door slid open, and a tall, slender woman, not much older than Rael, stepped into the room. She had crimson hair and a strong gait to her walk.
Rael studied her as she took the seat next to his. She dressed in the service standard gray uniform, wearing a rank he did not recognize and a Dark Ops insignia above her pocket instead of implanted on the back of her slender hand. Well, she's not an operative. He met her gaze, unexpectedly and stopped. “You have the most unusual colored eyes. Are they blue or green?” he asked without thinking.
The young woman smiled. “Both. They are blue-green, actually. I'm told it's a very rare side effect of genetic enhancement."
Rael's temple plates flickered as he flash-searched the subject through his mother's terminal. “It really is,” he told her. “If you want, I can
relay several extensive studies to your port. The data base here contains.... “He fell silent under his mother's icy stare.
“You see my problem here, Lythia,” she said. “It's like telling a fish not to swim."
Lythia smiled. “Then perhaps we should concentrate on teaching him how to map the waters instead."
Rael looked quizzically at his mother. “I don't understand."
“This is Lythia Lyconza. She is my new assistant here, and her first assignment is to indoctrinate you to the dos and don'ts of Dark Ops Central Command. After her tutelage, your security clearance will be raised, as I promised.” She turned again to her aide. “Lythia, my adopted son, Rael Pointe. Try not to let him drown you in the deep end."
Lythia smiled. “If you'll come with me, Rael, I'll show you around the base."
* * * *
Instead of hanging it up, Rael dropped his jacket onto the couch in his quarters. “Lythia, come on in,” he called back over his shoulder. “Sorry if it's a bit warm. I don't think I'll ever get used to this station's icy climate settings."
He luxuriated in the warmth, rubbing his hands together to reestablish circulation. “I thank God for thermostats every time I walk in here.” He started for the kitchenette. “Would you like something to drink? I found some imported coffees at the commissary."
“Sure.” Lythia noted the empty walls of his living quarters. “I guess you haven't started decorating yet, huh?"
“I like them the way they are,” he called from the kitchen before rejoining her. He settled a tray with two flash-cups and an assortment of coffee packets onto the small table before the couch. “I decided to let you choose for yourself.” He grabbed up a packet and poured its contents into the cup without examining it. It flash-heated, filling the room with a sweetly tinctured aroma of coffee.
Following his lead, she picked one at random and prepared it. A second, spicier scent burst forth. Lythia breathed it in and then ventured to taste the steamy liquid. “Mmmm, I've always wanted to try these, but they're so expensive.” She fell silent, realizing that Rael had comfortably sunk back into his chair and was grinning at her. “What?” she asked.
“You are not the usual frumpy old type of guardian I've always had to tolerate in the past. In fact, we're almost the same age, and you're a high-level computer specialist, aren't you?"
Lythia grimaced. “When did you get into my file? You haven't had access to a terminal since this morning, before you met me."
Rael sipped his drink and closed his eyes, savoring its warmth and flavor. “There's something almost sacred about coffee during that brief interval when it's at just the right temperature, don't you think?” At both of his temples, tiny flashes of silver played amidst unruly locks of hair.
She stared at him, momentarily dumfounded, then set the steaming cup onto the table. “How can you compu-link without a portal?"
Rael half-opened his glazed eyes and swirled the last of the coffee in his cup before draining it. “My portal is on the desk over there.” He pointed to the alcove across the room from where they sat. “When I was younger, I had to physically plug into compu-lines. But with age, little by little, I became able to achieve a wireless link. In fact, I can compu-link with any port in any room I enter. Just like this."
The terminal flickered alive at the desk. “I've turned the screen on for you to see what I can do,” he tapped his head, “in here."
Lythia crossed the room and looked. “You got this from your mother's personnel files, didn't you?"
“Yup."
“Why are you showing me this?"
“Because I'm tired of baby sitters. If you think you can teach me something useful, that would be great. But I could have given a better tour of this station than you did. And it took you all day to do it. Air ducts, escape pods, maintenance tunnels, special elevators, room sizes, portal locations, I already knew them all."
Station blueprints, schematics, area surveillance footages, all flashed across the screen at a dizzying speed.
“You can do all this without even touching a port?” Lythia asked.
Rael looked annoyed. “I said so, didn't I?"
Lythia returned his stare. “Well this confirms your mother's assessment of your skill level, so you can wipe that look off of your face, mister. If you ever want to become more than an anomaly of circumstance in the free universe, you need to shape up. You now have two years to hone these skills into a pliable trade and to learn respect for others.” She reached down and typed in a clearance code before calling up another file. “This is your real file,” she stated flatly.
It popped onto the screen.
“Now, give it a read."
Rael's smile faded as he scanned a lifetime's worth of data at the speed of thought.
“What's the matter? Did you never suspect these surveillances, not even once during all those years?"
Rael's mind raced at the ramifications. For nineteen years, he had been watched and studied; his every awkward endeavor had been recorded. He looked to Lythia with a new respect as he realized that the entire day had been meant to test him.
“Despite your arrogance, lack of social skills and your inability to fully grasp your own potential,” Lythia continued, “Dark Ops has deemed you suitable to train.” Menacingly she held his gaze. “This isn't some little service base or ambassador station you're dealing with now. This is Dark Ops Central Command for the Universal Government.” She searched his face for the answer to a question unasked.
Rael remained pensive.
Deciding to allow his silence, she clicked off the computer, walked away from the portal and seated herself across from him on the couch, turning all her attention to her drink.
“You can tap the flash on that cup and re-warm it a bit,” Rael suggested, breaking the silence.
Lythia stared at him, waiting. Rael's met her gaze with an unfathomable expression.
“I owe you an apology,” he finally said.
She smiled to herself. I can work with this. Setting her cup back onto the tray, Lythia considered her words carefully. “Will you be staying or leaving this station now?"
“I will stay only if you will train me,” he declared.
Lythia choked back her surprise. “Why do you say that?"
“When you entered your security code, you knew that I would have it, so I located and checked out your file after mine. You are only three years older than me, but you are genius level and our psychological profiles are compatible. I can learn from you. When do we start?"
“We have just finished our first session, Rael.” She stood up, intending to head toward the door. “That security code that you filched is yours; a birthday gift from Momma Mahata.” She smiled sweetly at him. “The rest is homework. We will not resume lessons until you find a way to circumvent detection within this system.” She motioned toward the port. “Go back and check out your file again."
Rael's temples flickered, and he shook his head. “This new security code is saving my transactions exactly like all the others did. There's no difference now, it's just another tool designed to spy on me. So, since surveillance has been this heavy all along, I'll never be able to circumvent detection from within the system.” He paused, a look of realization dawning across his face. “So, you finally want me to access The Hive System. Right?"
“Yes.” Lythia watched carefully as her charge considered facing what had to have been his lifelong nightmare. But she did not see any fear in his eyes.
He placed his empty cup on the table. “Does Momma M know about this? All my life she's insisted that The Hive is too dangerous for me.” He tapped his temple plates. “So far, I'm the only one that's ever gotten away."
“You're definitely uncharted territory,” she replied as she sat back onto the couch. “Nobody even knows if you can tap into The Hive. I mean, you're wired for it, but,” Lythia shrugged, “no one knows if the control drug is a necessary part of the actual interface. In fact, nobody knows much of anything abou
t how The Hive works, except for the corporation that owns it."
Rael found her pretty eyes to be a momentary distraction as she spoke, so he dropped his gaze to the table.
“Of course, the biggest danger is that you could become ensnared within it and lose your autonomy,” she finished.
“My life, you mean."
“Quite possibly.” She leaned forward. “Rael, I do not broach this subject lightly, but I must know your mind while there are still options."
“My mind,” he said quietly. “Finally, someone is asking what I want to do.” He stared right into her eyes, this time not noticing their color at all, and stated flatly, “I have always wanted to Deep-search The Hive. Whenever I'm near a Hive-link, I hear, no, I feel a purr, almost a hum, in the air. Without words it beckons, almost pleads for my attention, but all my life I have been held back and stopped from getting any nearer. It's like living on a beach and not being allowed to get wet.” He noted the surprise on her face.
“How do you know that this lure is not meant to trap you, to steal away your freedom, to condemn you to a drug-laced life of servitude?"
Rael shrugged and wondered at the concern and fear on her face. “So, can I or can I not finally find out? I've already located the offices with Hive temp-terminals here. With your help, we could arrange for someone to call in an absence so I can splice into that Hive temp-worker station when it activates. You can monitor me or whatever you want while I do this.” A small smile played across his lips in anticipation. “If I'm right, I should be able to back-door access any system The Hive links to. Lythia, imagine the possibilities, all the places I could go...."
* * * *
Momma Mahata sat, silently awaiting her son in the tiny office she had commandeered for the experiment. The sight of The Hive temp-terminal sitting ominous and dark in the corner was setting her on edge. “I know we need to do this,” she said to Lythia, “but I'm so afraid.” She looked to her aide for assurance. “Is there nothing more we can do to make this safer for him?"