“It’s certainly possible,” Olaf said. “We would want to test it first though.”
“All right,” she said. “If we test it and it works, how soon can we do it?”
“We can do it whenever we wish, so long as we are assured of your safety,” he replied.
“So, tonight?”
“You want to do it that soon?” Olaf asked in surprise.
“Why not?” Aisling asked.
“I don’t know,” Olaf replied. “I suppose I thought you would want to think about it first.”
“Olaf, you three are the men I love, the men I am meant to spend my life with,” Aisling said. “I am your Arima. What is there to think about?”
“Very well,” Olaf replied. “We certainly have no objection. In truth, knowing that you are fully gryphon when we reach Rathira will ease our minds.”
“Why?” Aisling asked.
“Because you will have the ability to shift into a beast that no man can harm,” Rudy said.
“And you will be extremely difficult to kill,” Rand added. “Most injuries will heal almost at once. You will need to avoid energy weapons, and magical weapons, but I doubt there are many of either on Rathira.”
“You guys don’t have a lot of confidence in my abilities as a warrior, do you?”
They all sensed the hurt hidden beneath her light, almost flippant question.
“Bilara, we have every confidence in your abilities,” Olaf said. “We only fear to lose what took us so long to find. We will feel better, but it is not because we doubt you.”
Aisling smiled, sensing his sincerity again. “All right then, you can tell me more about the perks of being a gryphon later. Right now I want a shower.”
She set her cup and plate on the bedside table, then remembered that she was naked beneath the sheet, and there were no clothes in sight. She hesitated for a moment, then remembered the lessons that Karma had given her. Did she dare? she wondered. Yep, she replied to herself. She dared. She dared a whole lot.
She smiled at her men, then tossed the sheet aside, focusing on moving her arm in the liquid, boneless way that Karma had taught her. She arched her back just a little, lifted her chin and pulled her shoulders back as she turned and slid her legs off the bed, pointing her toes to accentuate the long muscles in her legs. Moving as gracefully as she could, she stood up, arms relaxed, hands just so.
Then, just for fun, she raised her arms high above her head and stretched luxuriously, bending one knee so that her hip cocked to the side, displaying the long, lean lines of her body to what she hoped was the best effect. She lowered her arms slowly, as graceful as a dancer, and peeked at them over one shoulder. Their mouths were open as they sat motionless, hands frozen half way to their mouths with their cups and muffins, their wide eyes glued to her rear.
Very satisfying, she thought. Very satisfying indeed.
Now for the big finish. She took a slow deep breath and began walking, shoulders back, spine straight, hips loose and relaxed, one foot in front of the other. This had been impossible for her to pull off well with her limp, but she had practiced it anyway. Now she was glad she had.
She walked slowly, languidly, across the room and into the bathroom, turning around only when she was inside. She glanced at their faces and almost burst out laughing. Oh yes, she thought to herself as she closed the door, very satisfying.
An hour later Aisling stepped out of the bathroom and looked around the room, wondering where her clothes might be. She’d found her toothbrush and other toiletries in the bathroom, all put neatly away in the drawers and cabinets. But not a single item of clothing.
Olaf, Rand and Rudy were sitting around a table in the far corner of the room, watching her as she stood there wrapped in a towel.
“Oh!” she said. “I just remembered. Did the tele-fabricators deliver my order before we left Jasan?”
“Yes, they did,” Olaf replied. “We took the liberty of putting your things away for you. With the exception of one outfit which Karma refused to let us see. She is keeping that with her.”
Aisling smiled at Olaf’s grumpy tone when he mentioned Karma and the outfit, but she didn’t comment on it. Instead she crossed the room to the closet and flung it open.
“Wonderful,” she said happily as she looked at the familiar items hanging there. It had been so long since she’d worn her own clothing that she hardly knew what to put on first. After a moment she reached in and selected a pair of black kevlex leggings, a sleeveless kevlex top with a mock turtleneck, and a black leather vest with silver buckles and lots of loops and small pockets.
She looked down and saw several pair of boots, each one designed for a specific purpose or use. She reached for a soft, knee high leather pair in black, with silver buckles on the side and rubber-like soles. When she turned away from the closet she was a little startled to see all three of her men standing a few feet away, watching her.
“Is something wrong?” she asked.
“Not wrong,” Olaf replied. “But we are very curious about your wardrobe.”
“Curious? About my clothes?” Aisling asked, perplexed by the stern expressions on their faces. “Why curious?”
“To begin with, why are they so small?” Rudy asked. “Those pants aren’t large enough for the Dracons’ daughters, let alone you. Neither are the tops. We thought that the tele-fabricators had made an error, but when we asked Karma about it, she only laughed at us.”
Aisling grinned as she walked toward the bed and set her boots on the floor. She put her top on the bed, then held up the pants. “Haven’t you seen this fabric before?”
“No, though we did notice that it is quite soft to the touch,” Rand said.
“It’s called kevlex,” Aisling said. “It’s a combination of fibers woven together in a special way, in the precise shape and size needed. Look,” she said, stepping closer as she held the garment out for them to see better. “There are no seams. It’s made all in one piece, otherwise the integrity of the fabric would not be nearly as effective.”
“Integrity of the fabric?” Olaf asked.
“If you took a sword, or a knife, or even a razor to this fabric, you would damage your blade, but you wouldn’t mar the fabric,” Aisling said. “As it is now, it doesn’t protect against projectiles or laser weapons though. However, these fibers work in such a way that the thinner the fabric, the more effective it becomes against force impact. When I put these pants on, they will stretch to fit me perfectly, and in doing so, they will become more effective than heavy metal armor against most weapons. Even a strong punch or kick will have little to no focus impact on me when I’m wearing them. Such a hit will likely knock me off my feet, but it won’t give me so much as a bruise unless it’s very powerful indeed.”
“This is amazing,” Olaf said as he rubbed the fabric with his fingers. “Why have we never heard of this before?”
“My father created it,” Aisling said with a sad smile. “When I was a little girl, I took gymnastic classes. I was terrible at it. I don’t think there was ever a clumsier girl in the history of the school. My father got tired of seeing me come home covered with bruises from falling all the time, so he created this fabric to protect me. My teacher finally insisted that I stop taking the class. She was afraid I’d break my neck one day. But Dad continued working on the fabric off an on for years afterward. It was kind of a pet project.”
“You aren’t the least bit clumsy now,” Olaf said. “We’ve seen you in action.”
“It was eventually discovered that I had a problem with my inner ear which seriously effected my balance,” Aisling said. “Once that was corrected, my clumsiness vanished.
“When I decided to become a bounty hunter, I went to get fitted for protective gear, but it was all so heavy and bulky that I could barely move in it, let alone practice tiketa. That’s when I remembered Dad’s fabric. The technical specs for it were in the safety deposit box my Mom left me, so I dug them out and had a tele-fabricator make it for me
. Not long after that I sold some rights to it, so it’s fairly popular on Earth now.”
“This would be invaluable for our military,” Rudy said. “Just imagine the difference in weight alone.”
“Better than that, imagine making clothes for the young Princesses, or the Owlfen babies,” Rand said. “It would not keep them safe from abduction, but it would certainly help to protect them.”
“Yes, it’s handy stuff,” Aisling said. “I have the specs and you are free to use them if you like. I sold certain rights for certain things, which is how I’ve funded my search for Urwin, but I still own it. I just don’t want the Xanti to get hold of it.”
Olaf nodded in agreement and handed the garment back to Aisling. “Please, go ahead and get dressed so we can take you down to eat. All you’ve had is a muffin in over two weeks. You must be starving by now.”
Aisling took the pants and looked around the room doubtfully. “Um, underwear?”
“Over here,” Rand said, walking toward what appeared to be a blank wall. He reached out and touched the wall, and a drawer slid out. “It’s built into the wall for safety,” he explained, touching the wall again just below the first drawer, causing another drawer to slide out. “Furniture that isn’t built into the walls is bolted to the deck so it doesn’t move when the ship maneuvers, or if it takes a hit, or the artificial gravity fails.”
“Clever,” Aisling said as she inspected the wall. After a moment she saw the tiny indentations that Rand had used to open the drawers and pressed one. A third drawer opened, this one filled with an array of weapons designed specifically for her.
“Nice,” she said, reaching out to run her fingers over the soft leather of a weapons belt. “Thanks guys,” she said. She selected a pair of sai, a set of throwing knives, and a black belt with a silver buckle etched with the same double heart design that was on all of her buckles. She spotted a short black rod and took that as well before closing the drawers. A few moments later she took her selections into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.
“Wow, you look amazing,” Karma said as she hurried toward Aisling and threw her arms around her in a big hug. “I’ve missed you.”
Aisling returned the hug, then stepped back to get a good look at her friend. “I’d say I missed you too, but the truth is I feel like I just saw you yesterday.”
Karma laughed. “Great outfit,” she said, taking in every detail from boots to braid. “What’s strange is that it suits you.”
“Why is that strange?” Aisling asked as they turned to follow Olaf into the cafeteria.
“It’s strange because for the majority of the time I’ve known you, you pretended to be a mouse,” Karma said.
“Looks can be deceiving,” Aisling said with a grin.
“A lesson I will remember,” Karma replied.
“Is this table all right?” Olaf asked, gesturing toward a table in a back corner of the room.
“Perfect,” Aisling said.
Once they were all seated and had ordered, Aisling turned to Karma again. “Have you been practicing your staff work?”
“Yes, I have,” Karma replied. “The guys have been helping me, otherwise I probably wouldn’t have. Practicing strikes and lunges at an empty room is just weird.”
“She’s gotten very good,” Rand said. “She has a natural affinity for that weapon.”
“I thought so,” Aisling said. She turned to Karma. “Since you’ve been working so hard, I have a surprise for you.”
She reached into her boot and removed the short black rod she’d taken from the weapons drawer and held it out to Karma.
Karma looked at it, glanced at Aisling, and slowly took the object. “Um, thanks,” she said as she looked at the thing curiously. “What is it?”
Aisling held her hand out again and Karma gave the rod back to her. She closed her hand around the center of it and squeezed. Suddenly, instead of a seven inch rod, she held a five foot long rod. She handed it back to Karma who smiled as she realized what it was.
“This is the weight and thickness I like best,” she said. “Thanks Ash, this is perfect.”
“You’re welcome,” Aisling said. “There’s more. Do you have that ankh that Hope gave to you?”
“Yes,” Karma said. “Riata warned me to keep it with me always, so I do.” She reached into her pocket and pulled it out. “It’s kind of a pain though because it’s so big I need to wear something with big pockets all the time.”
“See that tube thing on the bottom of it?” Aisling asked, nodding toward the ankh. “Try putting that on the end of the staff.”
Karma’s eyes widened in understanding. She turned the ankh and slipped the tube over the end of the staff. It was a perfect fit. She pushed down on the ankh to be sure it was firmly seated and heard a soft snick. She looked at the ankh closely, then tried to tug it off the staff but it didn’t budge.
“If you want to remove it, try giving it a little twist,” Aisling suggested.
Karma did as Aisling suggested and was shocked to hear another soft snick before the ankh slipped easily off the staff. She put it back on and pressed down on it, satisfied when another snick indicated it was locked into place once more.
“I’ve been trying to figure out what this thing was meant for,” Karma said. “This would never have occurred to me in a million years. How did you think of it?”
“I’ve seen them before,” Aisling said, “though never one as nice as yours. I ordered it for you after you left with Lady Anne to help Lariah.”
“When did you get a chance to measure it?” Karma asked. “I keep it with me all of the time.”
“I didn’t measure it,” Aisling replied. “I just decided to trust in the weirdness. The ankh, your affinity with the staff, and the fitting on the ankh that I suspected was designed for a staff. I figured if it was meant to be used as I thought, for you specifically, then it would fit the size and shape of the staff you preferred.”
“Well, it certainly did. Thank you, Aisling,” Karma said, more touched than she knew how to express. “I will treasure this always.”
“You’re welcome, Karma,” Aisling said, pleased that Karma was so happy with her gift. She’d never had a really close friend before. Not one like Karma.
Karma retracted her staff and put it, and the ankh back in her pocket when the food was served. Aisling hadn’t realized just how hungry she was until she had a plate of hot food in front of her.
“Before we left Jasan, Prince Garen sent a message to Captain Singer of the Welfare ship Hartlyn,” Olaf said as they ate. “She has agreed to send a message on our behalf to King Rhobar, requesting that we be allowed to land and meet with him. He has agreed. Captain Singer has also agreed to meet us there, and accompany us to the planet.”
“It’s a good sized planet,” Karma said. “How do you know where Urwin is going to land and do his dirty deeds?”
“We don’t know,” Rand said. “But, according to Captain Singer, King Rhobar rules the most advanced civilization on the planet, and the wealthiest. If Urwin means to kidnap a female for money, Rhobar’s kingdom is the most likely target. Many of the other cultures don’t even have a real monetary system.”
“Were you able to speak with Captain Singer yourself?” Aisling asked.
“Yes,” Olaf replied. “She indicated that King Rhobar would not generally approve of an out-world fugitive taking refuge in his kingdom. She expects that we will have no problem with our request that we be allowed to hunt Urwin, though of course she cannot make any promises.”
“Good,” Aisling said. “I’ve come up against governments before who were unwilling to help me simply because the crimes Urwin committed were not perpetrated on their world.”
“Even if Rhobar refuses to assist us, we will capture this man and return him to justice,” Olaf said. “If we must wait in orbit for him to leave Rathira, so be it.”
“I would prefer to stop him before he causes harm on Rathira,” Aisling said. “But if the
y will not allow it, there is nothing we can do about it.”
“It’s a primitive planet,” Karma said. “You could land there and do whatever you want, and there isn’t much they could do to stop you.”
Olaf frowned at Karma, his stern eyes even more stern than usual. “We would not do such a thing,” he said. “The people of Rathira have a right to govern their world without our interference. Might does not make right.”
“Honestly, Karma,” Aisling said with a smile, “did you really think we would consider such a thing?”
“No, not really,” Karma said with a shrug. “Just checking.”
Aisling chuckled as she turned to Olaf and shook her head. “She wasn’t checking, she was testing.”
Olaf relaxed, understanding that Karma didn’t really want them to violate the law, though he didn’t understand why she felt the need to test them. It seemed that Aisling understood, and that was enough.
“Ash, why do you have a double heart design on everything?” Karma asked as she gazed at the buckles on Aisling’s vest.
Aisling touched one of the silver buckles with a finger, then reached for her juice. She took a long drink, then set the glass down.
“My Mom used to tell me this story of when she and Dad got married. Her wedding ring was a diamond with two star sapphires, one on either side. He told her that if he died before her, that he would not travel to the next plane, but would wait for her among the stars. When the time came for her to pass into the next plane, he would be waiting there for her so that they could go together.”
Aisling blinked away the tears that she couldn’t hold back and smiled at Karma. “I always loved that, and I always hoped it was true, that Dad was able to wait for her so they could stay together.” She reached for her juice again and took another drink to help swallow the lump in her throat. “The hearts represent my parents. They are a reminder to me that what I do, I do not only for myself, but for them too.”
“That’s very beautiful,” Rand said. “But, if I may ask, what is a wedding ring?”
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