by Viola Grace
Rathi took the seat that Olaris gestured to, but Jarrod stood at her shoulder, his hand pressed against her arm.
Olaris sighed and tented his fingers. “Dr. Yarmek has become aware of the fact that you are a very dangerous woman.”
Rathi cuddled Targo and remained silent.
“He has found that you have an unstable molecular assembly that could dissipate in a violent manner and blow this entire continent to hell in a matter of seconds.” Olaris remained serious.
“I see. So, I am a danger to this facility and even this world. That is unforeseen.” She felt a tightness in her throat.
Targo chirped and rubbed his head against her chest while the other Yaluthu resumed their routine around her legs.
Olaris looked at them. “How long have they been doing that?”
“About an hour. Targo seems to have called them, and I have to admit, I feel a bit better though the poor things look a little drunk when they stagger away.” Rathi grimaced. “What are my options?”
“I will ask Relay for ideas. She will be able to access requests that normal Guardsmen can’t handle.”
Jarrod stood straight and stated, “I want to go with her wherever she is posted.”
Olaris leaned back in his chair with a smile. “Relay won’t like that.”
“Tough. I am dispatched all over the place. The least you can let me do is choose my home base.” He crossed his arms, and he shifted closer to Rathi, his thigh pressed against her arm.
Olaris chuckled. “Well, Rathi, it seems you inspire loyalty in those around you. Man or beast.”
She shrugged. “I have never been awake long enough to do much of anything before. Is there a Minder on staff?”
He nodded. “Recall can pull out your memories, but I think you would do better with one of the specialists at the Citadel. They are always training new members, and it would do them good to see someone like you in a retrieval of lost information.”
“As an experiment?” She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
“As a new experience for them. Your example might help them save someone in the future.”
Rathi slumped back in her chair, and Targo rubbed against her chin again. She absently stroked his fur. “What was so disconcerting about me aside from the unstable molecular structure?”
Olaris grinned. “Yarmek was freaked by your telekinesis. There was no change in your brain activity, so you are constantly in a state of active psychic activity. You are a hot-running engine just wandering around and that can be a dangerous thing.”
She twisted her lips and nodded. “How long will I be allowed to stay here?”
Jarrod pressed more tightly to her arm.
Olaris was firm. “You will remain on Balen until you have another, safe home. I will make a quick call to the Citadel, and you can head over there with Jarrod whenever you are ready.”
She got to her feet and inclined her head. “Thank you for your assistance in this matter. I did not wish to be a burden.”
Olaris shook his head. “You are not a burden, but there is an astronomical reward for your capture alive. We have to keep you away from the Raiders and whatever they have planned for you. I am guessing that it would not be pleasant.”
“A reward?”
“A bounty really. They must bring you in alive and unharmed. That alone is peculiar. We are looking into what they want you for, but since they rarely let their experiments loose, it is not likely to be a good thing.”
She grimaced. “I understand. I have done a bit of research on the matter, and I agree that the Raiders do not offer me a proper solution or a chance at any kind of a life.”
“You will have a life with your own freedom, it just may be slightly less open than we had anticipated.” Jarrod placed his hand on her forearm.
Rathi gave him a determined smile. “One day of freedom is better than a century of sleep.”
She turned and walked out of the base commander’s office with her fluffy posse staggering drunkenly behind her.
Jarrod caught up with her, and he silently steered her out into the daylight, toward a collection of small flying vehicles.
“Do you want to fly on a vehicle or on your own?”
“I think I will fly on my own if you don’t mind. Can you take Targo?”
He frowned at the Yaluthu, but he nodded. “If it will stay put, I will take it.”
Rathi pulled Targo away from her, and he complained mightily. She tried to explain what was about to happen with pictures, but he counteracted with an image of her flying with him in her arms.
She sighed. “I will fly and carry him. He doesn’t want to leave me, and physically, I am not feeling as jittery as I normally do.”
He laughed. “Aim for the building with the tower across the valley. Wait for me before you go in. We want to give Olaris enough time to make that call.”
She lifted off and floated while he got the vehicle going. She let him get a head start, and then, she floated after him at a leisurely pace until Targo chortled with the urge to win the race. “Competitive thing, aren’t you?”
She increased her speed and flickered past Jarrod in a few seconds, landing two minutes before he set his vehicle down.
Another crowd of Yaluthu gathered around her, and they swirled in an endless pattern of creatures getting drunk off the power leaking out of her.
A woman in swirling robes and a bright gown came out with a bright-eyed raptor on her shoulder. “Hello, Rathi. I am Veera, Headmistress of the Citadel Balen. You are going to let one of our Minder’s look for repressed memories?”
Rathi smiled. “Hello, Veera. Yes, I want to know who I was before I became a weapon.”
The bird on her shoulder screeched and raised its wings. Targo chortled and flapped his wings excitedly.
“Whoa, little guy. Do you want down?” She tried to put Targo down, but he fought her, and she lifted him back to her hip again.
Veera smiled. “He is merely greeting Fixit. This is what your little fellow there will turn into in a few years or even months. Fixit is the oldest, but the next in line may be fairly close.”
Rathi looked down at Targo in surprise. “He is going to turn into a hunting animal?”
Veera grinned, “And when he changes, he will have his young, and they will grow over a ten-year period until they are the same size yours is now. Once they have their young, the cycle begins again. They are super cute while they are that size, aren’t they?”
“He is adorable, but I don’t think I can carry him around all the time and he fusses when I try to put him down.”
Veera gave her a sober look. “If he doesn’t want to go down, that means that he feels you need him, and with the size of the crowd around your legs, I am thinking that he is right. Now, come inside. Rebani is waiting to see you. She has a class of Minders and medics, and they will all be watching.”
Rathi frowned. “Will they see my thoughts and memories? I have some fairly violent incidences in my history.”
“They might see them, but since that is not the purpose of this investigation, they should ignore them. Is that acceptable?”
Rathi looked to Jarrod, and he nodded.
She hugged Targo tight and said, “Let’s do this.”
Chapter Six
Reclining in the chair made it easy for the Yaluthu to crawl all over her. She was coated in the fluffy and adorable creatures, and Targo was keeping his place on her chest.
Rebani was a Master Instructor Minder and a Garvor. Her red enamelled scales made her look like a walking ruby. “Are you prepared?”
“Of course. Are you clear on what you are looking for?”
“I am going back before you were the Destroyer to find your first memory. I will be careful and the students will be monitoring my mind, not yours.” Rebani smiled. “Veera will be watching everything.”
Veera was standing near the wall, and her hands were folded in front of her, but Fixit was on her shoulder, his eyes glittering with ale
rt attention. Jarrod was next to her, a fixed and concerned expression on his face.
Rathi took a deep breath, and Rebani sat beside her. The Garvor took her hand and they breathed slowly until their chests rose and fell in unison.
Rathi felt Rebani touch her thoughts, and she fought the instinctive reaction to destroy the intruder.
Rebani moved warily through her mind and sifted memory after memory, seeking the moment before the first time she exercised her talent in defence of her world.
The moment Rebani reached the first memory, Rathi braced herself, but what she was shown shocked both of them so much, Rebani retreated.
Rathi sat up and got to her feet, the Yaluthu tumbled to the floor, but she couldn’t be bothered with that now. Her thoughts reeled, and she distantly heard Veera calling to her, but she staggered out of the lecture hall and took flight. She didn’t care where she was going, she just had to get away.
Land passed beneath her, oceans and mountains. Finally, she paused and sat on a cliff face overlooking the open ocean.
A clone. She was grown from a combination of samples and designed to destroy. There was nothing before her life as Destroyer. That was where her life began.
Her life. It was laughable. She had been purpose built, and there was never anything else that she would have been allowed to do. To think that she was lucky that her world had died around her was horrible, but then, she wasn’t actually part of the population, was she?
The sunlight dimmed and reddened, and she turned around to find her way back, but since she flew blindly, she was lost. Rathi groaned and sat back down. She was going to have to wait until morning to determine which direction to fly in. The darkness was now complete, and she wasn’t aware of any of the constellations that could steer her back to the base.
Light streaked toward her, and a woman with pale skin and dark hair hovered in front of her. “Rathi? I am Zenina-Balen. I am here to help you get home.”
“I am lost.”
“I will help you. Take my hand.” Zenina extended her hand, and there was a series of sparks as Rathi made contact.
“Thank you.”
They flew together in silence, Zenina-Balen didn’t weigh her down with chatter, simply led her back to the base where Jarrod was waiting for them.
He thanked Zenina-Balen and wrapped his arm around Rathi, leading her back to her quarters and closing the door with him on her side. “I have your robe ready, take a shower, and we will talk.”
She stepped out of her armour and stalked across the room, she turned on the shower and let the water wash over her. Her eyes felt hot and water continued to run down her face even after she turned off the taps.
Jarrod was standing in the open doorway to her bedroom, and he had a robe for her. She slipped it on but her face still felt hot.
He touched her cheek and his fingers came away wet. “You are crying.”
“Am I?”
He reached out and pulled her to his chest. The contact shattered a barrier inside her and she sobbed against his chest.
“I am guessing that the Minder found something you were not expecting.” He was rubbing his hands up and down her spine.
She sniffled and hiccupped. “Something like that. I am not real.”
“You feel real.”
“Someone on Ichadra designed me. Several someones. My name is the first initial of every scientist and donor that was involved in my project. Even my name isn’t mine. It was designed as well.” She muttered into his chest.
“Ouch. That is something harsh to discover. It does explain why your memory started when you went on duty.”
She nodded, inhaling his scent and feeling the strength of his arms around her. Rathi looked up, and he stared down at her for a moment before he pressed his lips to hers.
The kiss went from something she had enjoyed in the abstract to a devastating fact. She clung to his shoulders and held on tight. When he leaned back, her heart was pounding and her limbs were shivering, but she didn’t feel as isolated as she had moments earlier.
He smiled and stroked her arms through the robe. “That is enough for now. Are you calmer?”
She nodded. “Confused but calmer.”
He led her to the recreation area and sat down with his arm around her. “Now, tell me what you discovered.”
She dragged in a deep breath and started her tale. “I was grown in a tank. They chose thirteen different donors from the population to give me the broadest spectrum of genetics, and they designed me with as much power and psychic activity as they could arrange. They wanted me to be the prototype of a global defence system, and once word leaked about my power level, the Ichadra came under attack.”
“This was all in your mind?”
“It was all in the first year of life before I began my work as the Destroyer. There is more if you want to hear it.”
“Go ahead.”
“They tried over and over to replicate their success with me, but one of the donors and designers died with all their bodily samples destroyed and buried with them in the Ichadra way.”
“You remembered all this from one short contact?” He hugged her and pulled her more tightly against him.
“My entire first year rushed in on me in that moment. I had to get away as the realization came to me in that same moment. I wasn’t born. I was designed. It is going to take some time to come to grips with it.”
“Why did they hide it from you?”
She snorted and snuggled against him. “Because I couldn’t come to grips with it.”
“What?”
“I started to lose my mind. I wanted things I could not have, and they brought in a Minder to remove my first year at the base, leaving me with the knowledge of my skills and the world I was on and nothing else.”
“They took your awareness of self and locked it away.”
“Yes. They left me with duty and destruction. It was not a good replacement, so they had to trigger me into dormancy in between defence actions.”
“You said you were the first, why weren’t there any after you?”
“A set of Vorwings tried to buy me, and when that wasn’t working, they demanded me or they would exterminate the entire city of Fashdora. They didn’t treat the threat seriously, and the entire research facility that I was decanted in was destroyed along with the city. I destroyed the attack ships and all those hovering in the immediate vicinity. They set me on the highest promontory, and I destroyed every intra-orbital vehicle that was sent after me. It took two weeks, but they finally stopped coming.”
Rathi sighed. “After that, they returned me to my training base and attempted to rebuild the research facility. Unfortunately, most of the contributing researchers were dead and the original samples were all destroyed.”
“So, you were alone and the only one of your kind.”
She shrugged. “I was the only power of my kind, but I was designed in the Ichadra pattern. The marks that I thought were of the Quen family are the marks of Fashdora city.”
“Which marks?”
She touched her cheeks and the dark marks around her eyes. “My cheeks’ marks are the city and the dark circles are the Ichadra marks.”
He chuckled. “They are very attractive. I guess that your lack of navel is also one clue that you were not born the normal way.”
She touched her abdomen. “I never thought about it but that does make sense. I would shower and step into my armour. The armour has design elements from all of the fourteen great cities of Ichadra.”
“How do you simply walk into your armour?”
She laughed softly and yawned. “I never thought about it. I simply need to be in it and I walk through it, stopping when everything is in the right place.”
* * * *
Jarrod looked down at Rathi. Her chest rose and fell evenly as she slept. She had drifted off between questions, and her weight was comfortable against him.
Olaris had panicked when Rathi had flown off. He had been terrifie
d that her mood was going to blow half the continent. Jarrod had wished that he was able to follow the Destroyer, but she had flown off without him.
Her body was stunning. Her armour had concealed devastating curves and skin that was softer than the finest l’nal silk. It was taking every bit of self-control he had to not ease the robe off her shoulder to view more of it, but considering that the woman he was cuddling had destroyed entire fleets of invaders with the power of her mind, he was not going to push his luck.
Olaris had a line on a world where Rathi would be able to be free and protected from those who were trying to find her. The species on that world was having a problem with being removed from their planet by force, so having the Destroyer in place would assist in their attempts at survival.
Despite the current attitude toward him joining her, Jarrod was enjoying his first romantic fixation since he had entered the Guard.
He lifted her and placed her on her bed. A light tapping at the balcony door showed the pale yellow Targo. Jarrod sighed as he let the other man in Rathi’s life into the room and helped him up and onto the bed.
The Yaluthu snuggled up against Rathi’s side, and she turned to cuddle around him.
Jarrod smiled and returned to the couch. He had to catch a bit of sleep. Keeping on his toes around Rathi was going to be a full-time job.
Chapter Seven
A strange noise and a fresh day woke her. Targo was in her arms, and he blinked his wide blue eyes at her. “How did you get in here?”
The noise repeated, and she looked toward the couch. Jarrod’s head was visible, and he was snuffling as he rolled over.
Rathi checked and she was still dressed, sitting up on the covers and wearing her robe. She picked up Targo and tiptoed over to watch Jarrod for a moment. When it was certain that he was deep in sleep, she walked over to the wardrobe and eased it open. A bodysuit in pewter and green hung there, and she put Targo down so she could get dressed. A pair of boots in her size fit just fine, so she walked over to Jarrod and stroked his forehead.
His lids fluttered and he smiled. “Good morning.”