Giles Kurns_Rogue Operator

by Ell Leigh Clarke

  Anne rolled her eyes at their unconscious assumptions.

  The sooner she could get away from these self-righteous people, and the bullying of Bridgette “drama queen” Mortimer, the better.

  She carefully closed the heavy kitchen door behind her and trotted off down the path into the gardens. Within seconds she had hidden herself in the shadows of the long hedges running down away from the building and out into the orchard.

  She patted her jacket to make sure she still had the metal disk with her. She felt powerful when she held it close. She knew it was important, but right from the beginning something had told her not to trust these people with it. They would succumb to its power. And though they were the ones schooling her on how to direct her abilities, intuitively she knew that she would surpass them very quickly. She was just getting going in her understanding of the realms - but Bridgette’s outburst a few days ago had only served to confirm her suspicions. Bridgette was afraid. They all were. And that was why they were sending her away. Far away to a land with no power.

  But she would be back. She knew that. And when she returned she needed to be able to retrieve this disk easily. At the same time, it needed to be somewhere where it wouldn’t be discovered - accidentally or otherwise.

  If it was far enough from where people would normally venture it would limit the risk of them picking up on its power. In her heart of hearts she knew the only person who was likely to detect it was the male elder she had overheard in the meeting room earlier that day, and he rarely ventured to the convent, let alone into the gardens.

  It would be safe here, she decided. She spotted an older-looking fruit tree. It was one that would occasionally bear fruit, and given that its roots were gnarly it didn’t offer a good sitting place for anyone who might want to sit out.

  She hurried over to it, keeping low to avoid her silhouette being spotted by anyone who might be looking out of a window back at the house. She located some softer soil near its base, and with a stick she dug as deep as she could in the time she had. Her hands were covered in dirt and soil, but she didn’t care. She knew what she needed to do.

  Reaching into her inside jacket pocket she pulled out the item and dropped it into the hole. She glanced down, seeing the ambient light glint off it. She felt a sadness well up in her as she had to part with it.

  Something about it still called to her. It was precious, she knew that. But when it was given to her she didn’t know anything of energy or realm walking or any of the things these Estarians had been trying to teach her.

  Now things were different, though.

  She was different.

  Boy, was she different.

  She glanced down at the talisman one last time before scooping up the soil in her bare hands and refilling the hole.

  When she was done she glanced around to make sure that she would remember where she had buried it. She didn’t want to have to go through the whole rigmarole of digging up the ground under each and every tree in the orchard, modest though it was.

  As satisfied as she was going to be, she headed back towards the house, dusting the dirt from her hands on her pants legs as she stealthily moved in the shadows.

  Crack.

  There was movement off to her right on he other side of the foliage. Just up ahead it turned into a continuous hedge. But here? There were gaps. Gaps for a person, or animal, to come through.

  She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She shuddered.

  Something wasn’t right.

  She wasn’t alone.

  She could smell something on the wind. The smell of people. Human people. But there wasn’t any more movement.

  Maybe she was imagining it. Her anxiety playing tricks on her.

  She hurried forward again, her ears focusing on any sound that would mean she was in danger.

  She never heard anything coming. Instead, the next thing she knew was she was being grabbed from behind by arms that seemed to come out of the hedge. She started to struggle and kick. But then something soft was clamped over her mouth and nose. She felt suddenly light headed. Woozy.

  Then nothing.

  ***

  “So you think this is the best drop off point?”

  Anne became aware of a raspy human voice nearby.

  “Definitely,” confirmed a second voice. “They get so much traffic through these ports no way we’ll be tracked. Besides, this was where they wanted her.”

  Anne slowly came to, vaguely aware of the two gruff voices in the dark. She was cold, and she ached, though she wasn’t cognizant enough to know from where.

  Or why.

  As the conversation continued she began to piece together what was going on. She was lying on a cold metal surface. And they were moving. So she was probably in a space van. The movement was smooth and rocking, so they were likely on a strato highway. That meant they were probably far from the convent now.

  Her mind raced as she wondered what would happen in the morning when the nuns realized she was missing. Perhaps they would assume she had run away. That’s certainly what Bridgette would suggest. Strongly.

  “And your mate will give her passage?” The first voice continued to question his partner.

  “For sure,” the second voice confirmed casually.

  “But will he know how to hold her?” the voice pressed. “The old guy was pretty adamant she was more powerful than any of the others we’ve taken.”

  Old guy? Anne thought to herself. Was that elder involved? What was his name? Charles. That was what Mother Superior had called him.

  “Will you stop worrying. It’s all in hand.”

  “Yeah, I know that. I’m just making sure we’ve covered all our bases.”

  “Yeah yeah. Bases covered…” The voice paused. “I need something to eat. We should stop before we get to the space port.”

  Space port! Anne screamed in her head. They were taking her off world. Maybe to that awful Teshov place if Charles had anything to do with it!

  She tried to calm her breathing. She hadn’t quite mastered how to use her budding powers when she needed to. They were normally just an extension of her emotions. And the last thing she wanted was them realizing that she was awake before she had a plan.

  She tugged at her constraints, wondering if she could cut through them with the energy tricks she’d been trying to master. But knowing her luck she’d end up burning her hand off or something. No. Until she could compose herself in peace and quiet she was going to have to hold off trying to use her powers.

  The voices continued to talk about their plan of action: supper. “And we have time?”

  “Plenty,” confirmed the guy who seemed to be in charge of their venture. “They’re not leaving until tomorrow. Only reason they want us there tonight is so that if we’re seen we can’t be directly tied to them.”

  “Interesting,” the gravelly voice mused. “Your mate runs a tight game.” He sounded almost impressed.

  “You bet he does. You don’t stay in this business as long as he has without knowing how to move your pieces around the board, as it were.”

  Anne listened, trying not to breathe - or move - for fear of alerting them that she was awake. While they thought she was unconscious they were hemorrhaging clues. Clues that might help her escape. Eventually.

  Her two kidnappers were silent for a while. Eventually the one who wasn’t driving spoke up. “You know, I still find it odd that these spiritual do-gooders would actually take a cut from this transaction.”

  “Well,” the guy who was in charge grunted, “it seems this guy isn’t quite as squeaky clean as those nuns think he is. And from what I’ve heard on the grapevine, a bit of human trafficking isn’t even the heaviest stuff he’s into.”

  The questioning voice sounded even more concerned. “You think we’re safe then? Doing this job?”

  “Yeah,” his partner assured him. “We just need to drop her off and then we’re home free.”

  “You sure about that?”


  “Course. Don’t worry about it. It’ll be fine.”

  Anne listened and tuned in to their energies. She could feel the anxiety in both of her captors. Even though one was reassuring the other she could tell he wasn’t that confident. That was something she might be able to use. She filed the piece of information in her mind, and continued to lay there quietly. Waiting.

  She would survive this. And she would get free.

  No matter what she had to do to survive. She’d gotten this far, after all, and her story was just getting started.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Aibek Moon, Orn System, Guardian Settlement, Computer Room

  There was a scuffling as Ammo and Mennynad joined the others in the computer room.

  Jendyg followed in a few seconds later. “What’s going on?” he asked.

  Gagai was sitting in front of the computer that monitored the force field. His face looked more disgruntled and serious than usual. “We have company,” he shared with him grimly.

  Jendyg pushed his way between his team mates to see the screen. “You mean people? Wanting to land?”

  Gagai shook his head. “No. Just a ship that has come into range of the scanners.”

  The others were silent. Jendyg tried to catch the eye of Naldrir, who was characteristically aloof, and just observing events from his position on the other side of the room. He was leaning against the far wall of the compact hut, unable to see the screen from his vantage point. He glanced over at Jendyg and shook his head ever so slightly, then lowered his eyes as if to deter Jendyg from what he was inevitably thinking.

  Koryss, Gagai’s right hand man, stood silently watching the blips refresh every few seconds. He knew that when Gagai wanted his opinion he would ask for it. Until then, he knew to watch and listen.

  “We should hail them!” Jendyg blurted out, knowing full well how his opinions were going to be received.

  Gagai turned in his seat, his large warrior mass testing the integrity of the wooden chair. “We will be doing no such thing,” he growled firmly, staring Jendyg down.

  There was an awkward silence in the room as the screen continued to blip and flash, showing the approaching ship.

  Gagai turned back to view it, but did nothing.

  Jendyg wouldn’t be deterred. “But they could help us!” he insisted. “They can help us get a message home. Or one of us could leave…”

  Gagai turned again, but this time standing and straightening up to the fullest extent of his natural height. His chest puffed up and his shoulders went back. “And by one of us I assume you mean you?” he boomed, glaring down at Jendyg, who had to take a few steps back to get out of the way and to just be able to make eye contact.

  Jendyg’s heart raced. He hated conflict but he wasn’t going to let his first chance in over seventy cycles fly on by just because he was too afraid to stand up to Gagai. “Yes. I’d be willing, since no one else seems to be,” he declared defiantly, his eyes flicking around at his comrades, assembled for this highly irregular event.

  Gagai’s expression was even more threatening now. His eyes blazed with anger. “No one will be abandoning their post. Not now. Not ever. This is a sacred duty. We owe it to our elders to make sure that this rock is never breached.”

  Jendyg felt himself crumble under Gagai’s assertion. He stumbled back another half a step, fumbling in his mind for the words that might win him his freedom.

  Gagai didn’t give him a chance though. “Go collect firewood. And don’t stop until the stock is replenished, even if it takes you all night,” he declared by way of punishment, winning the interaction.

  Jendyg felt his face flush with humiliation and frustration. All he wanted to do was leave, and his chance was right there, on the screen not four feet away from him. He glanced at the screen again and Gagai tracked his gaze and moved himself in front of it vindictively. “Now go!” he ordered.

  There were awkward shuffles from the others in the room who had watched the showdown. Jendyg never stood a chance. They knew that. And yet they never tired of seeing him try.

  Jendyg took another two steps backwards, still trying to withstand Gagai’s glare. And then he folded, turning on his heels and moving noisily out of the computer room and the hut. He slammed the outside door as hard as he could, rattling the whole structure.

  Once outside he allowed his anger to explode. He clenched his fists and jaw and expelled the energy through his tightened arms. He wanted to scream. To shout out in anger. But he knew that would cause him to lose face with his brothers. Anger was an emotion that was looked on poorly by the order. And as such they had been forced into long grueling exercises and meditations in order to ‘clear’ it.

  Jendyg hurried off, the adrenalin pumping through his limbs making him strong. And destructive.

  His large mass thumped on the ground as he walked, sending vibrations that made the small food-creatures scurry away unseen in the undergrowth.

  The freeze was coming and there was nothing he could do to avoid another grueling cycle. He looked up as if he might be able to see through the life-giving insulating dome that created their artificial oasis on the rock. It was a haze, lit brightly in places, and dimmer in others.

  He imagined the ship several kilometers above him, wondering who these people were. A part of him fantasized about them being able to hear his thoughts if he concentrated as hard as he could. Maybe then they’d find a way through and land. Maybe then they’d rescue him from his ‘destiny’ of mundanity and Gagai’s self-righteous rule.

  He shook the thought from his head and kept moving off into the woodland to find firewood. At least doing that he’d be able to work off some of this frustration.

  Aboard the Scamp Princess

  “Always the last place you look,” Beno’or remarked brightly as they returned to the ship.

  “Don’t I just know it,” Giles grumbled. “I was hoping the last place we needed to look was going to be one of the first two planets.”

  “As you said,” Arlene reminded him as she clattered back up the gridded ramp, “three is better than eleven.” She stamped the sand off her boots as she walked.

  Giles resisted the urge to turn his eyes to the ceiling. Instead he caught Beno’or’s eye. “I’m convinced this woman has an echoic memory,” he said as quietly as he could.

  Beno’or was about to respond, but Arlene’s voice interrupted. “And ears like a tundra!” she called up to the pair.

  Giles chuckled. “And ears like a tundra,” he agreed, less quietly now. “

  Beno’or had started taking off his outer jacket. “I’ll fix lunch,” he offered, heading into the make shift kitchen in the living quarters.

  Giles felt a new wave of warmth for the guy. “Thanks man,” he called after him. “That’s kind of you.”

  Beno’or called back to him. “Of course. We’re a team.”

  Giles sat down in the cargo area not far from Arlene and started taking his boots off. “So I guess we move to the last of the three we narrowed it down to, eh?”

  Arlene was packing some gear away and organizing some soil samples they’d taken. “Yep. Onward and upward,” she agreed.

  “Okay, I’ll go run the initial scans and get Scamp to position us over there. Then we can eat and we’ll be ready to move after food,” he told her, clearly flicking into work mode after being chastised by Arlene.

  “Good thinking,” she agreed. “Looks like someone has got his mojo back!” she added, her voice deliberately impressed and encouraging.

  Giles couldn’t resist this time, and rolled his eyes at her dramatically as he got up and padded out. Arlene scrambled for something appropriate to throw at him but he was out into the living quarters and beyond her reach far too quickly. She was going to have to up her game if she was actually going to hit him at some point.

  ***

  Not long later Beno’or and Arlene were in the kitchen. Having prepared the food, they were sitting down to eat.

  “Are you
coming to eat with us or what?” Arlene called through to the cockpit.

  Giles appeared at the door a few moments later. “I have good news and bad news,” he told them. His face was grim.

  Arlene stopped spooning out the brown dehydrated vegetation-supplement and looked at him. “What is it?”

  Beno’or stopped what he was doing, too.

  Giles sucked his lips to one side. “Well, the good news is, I think we’ve got our moon. The bad news is, the reason I think this is for real this time is because it has a force field around the atmosphere. No way we can land.”

  Arlene’s brow furrowed, creasing her otherwise smooth blue skin. “Okay, so we just need to figure it out,” she mumbled, taking up the spoon she had been using and dishing out the food again.

  Giles headed over to the table. He sat down, his mind churning. “Well, there are other complications,” he continued. “For a start it has a very low-level atmosphere. We need suits if we’re going out in it. Which means…”

  Beno’or finished his thought. “That I’ll have to stay on the ship.” Giles nodded. They hadn’t thought to bring full atmospheric gear from Kurilia when they agreed to Beno’or coming along, and being Zhyn he was much too large for either the human or Estarian suits they had on board for themselves.

  “There’s more,” Giles continued as he placed in front of him what Arlene gave him without looking at it.

  She remained silent, letting him explain. “There are life signs,” he continued. “Scamp is assuming they’re guards. They seem to occupy a small area which has an enclosed atmosphere and terraformed environment.”

  Beno’or handed out spoons to everyone. “Are we thinking that the temple is inside the terraformed section?” he asked.

  Giles shrugged, his face slightly gray. “We dunno. We can’t tell until we get closer. And I think we’d be silly to assume that they’re confined to that area even if the temple isn’t inside.”