by Viola Grace
“Ok Doc, but you do know the rules don’t you?”
“Rules?” He blinked rapidly, slightly confused.
“For examining a Reader.”
“Oh, yes of course. No physical contact with you and you’ll be covered at all times. Is that everything?”
“Yes. Thank you.” Relaxing slightly as she finished crossing the room and hopping up onto the examination bed, she waited for the scanning to begin.
It was surprisingly quick. When the machines had finished tracking her biological readings from head to toe the doctor stopped and frowned.
“Your heart rate is above normal for your species. Your hormone levels are off. There is a strange alteration of your circulatory system that is puzzling me.” He frowned at the readout on the small tablet in his hand. “If I can’t confirm the origin of these readings, you won’t be going anywhere, I’m afraid.”
Sarah’s eyes widened as she realized what those readings indicated. She thought that she had dropped herself into calm before heading out to medical, but apparently her arousal was still at a measurable level. She blushed furiously as she tried to come up with a non-embarrassing way of telling the doctor what was going on. She failed.
“Um, Dr. Kredhan. I think I have an explanation for you.” Sarah struggled to sit up and give a serene appearance and knew that if the sensors had still been active, her readings would have gone through the roof, but this time the blood was rushing to her face and not her groin and breasts.
“Really? What could that possibly be?” He met her gaze and she saw his eyes twinkle. Damn, the gig was up. He was going to make her say it.
“When you called, I was, umm…engaged in a private activity.”
“What sort of activity could have caused those responses Reader?” His hand was poised to enter her explanation as he waited for the answer. Yep. No doubt about it, he was laughing at her.
“I was engaged in singular sexual gratification.” The words came out in a rush. She then waited for his reaction.
“Are you sure it was singular?” He looked dubious. His voice was flat, but his face was contorting in an effort not to laugh at her.
“Well, physically yes. But I was involved with one of the male members of the crew on the astral plane.” There, it was all out now.
His smiled faded as he moved his hands and quickly turned off the monitors and recorders. “That encounter was not as private as you think. The crewmember that you chose had a psi recorder hooked up. If the pilot had not jumped when he did, you would be starring in an inter-species mating vid right now.”
“The jump caused him to blackout when you did. The pilot sent in maintenance bots to delete what he did manage to record. The rest of his encounter was removed from his mind by your suggestion.” The doctor shook his head. “You should really be more careful about those whom you link with.”
“Um, how did the pilot know?” She was relieved, mortified, embarrassed and felt just a little violated. Odd, considering that she had initiated the encounter.
“You’re staying in his quarters, and he was listening in to the music from your homeworld. He has monitors in all crew quarters as well. He tracked the signal that your mind was putting out and found the crewman involved. We have suspected him of putting out some of the more violent alien/Tival vids for some time, but now we were able to catch him in ‘the act’ so to speak.”
“You’re lucky that the pilot stopped him. He has a tendency to abuse his partners during mating to mark them. Even on the astral plane your avatar could have taken some permanent damage.” Dr. Kredhan turned to lay a hand on her shoulder and for just an instant she could see what he had witnessed. The disfigured women of multiple races flashed through her mind and she quickly ducked out from under his fingers. That they were only projections of a psychic rape did not lessen the effect on her senses.
“Ok, I get the idea.” Her hand nervously rubbed at the spot his hand had touched as if to rub out the memory she had acquired.
“What? Oh, stars Reader. I’m sorry. I forgot.” The doctor carefully curled his hand into a fist and dropped it to his side. “I had no intention of making contact with you, but comforting my patients is a reflex.”
“It’s alright. Thank you. I didn’t even think of any possibilities beyond my being with three males of incompatible species for the next six months.” She heaved sigh. “I’ll be much more careful in the future.”
“Your species cannot be too careful. You’re becoming quite the popular creatures to watch. Your responses are very close to that of the Selna, but since there are a limited number of you in space you are considered exotic.” His fingers moved rapidly across the tablet once again. Then turned on the recorders and monitors. “Now that you have calmed down, why don’t we try the scans again?”
The shock that she had just suffered had been quite effective at eradicating her arousal. The second scan was as quick and painless as the first. She was given a clean bill of health, and with another thank you to the doctor, she made her way back to her quarters. Leaning against the door she sighed deeply, “Pilot? Are you still monitoring?”
“Yes Reader. I’m sorry to have invaded your privacy, but felt it necessary to intervene.” The wry male voice emanating from the com unit sent shivers down her spine, the good kind of shivers.
“Thank you for erasing the recording. It could have proved embarrassing at a later date.” She crossed the room and sat on her bed facing the com unit.
“It was my pleasure. The Negotiator thought that you might take a ‘recreational’ break, and had me keep a close watch on you. The added bonus was listening to the music that she provided. Your planet has a most interesting collection of musical styles. It was most informative.”
“Uh, thanks. How the hell did she know?” Sarah shook her head in perplexity. Tyrell’s ability to predict certain trends had made her very good at her job, but guessing that Sarah would take advantage of the predominantly male crew to indulge her hormones was amazing.
“She wasn’t certain, but she asked me to keep an eye on you. So to speak.” He was amused. She could hear it as clear as day.
“Well, um. Thanks. I think.” Her lips twisted in a mischievous grin. “Did you learn anything interesting?”
“Oh, most definitely. By the way, in thirty minutes you will be required to attend a meeting of the team that is heading down to the planet. It is being held in the Captain’s ready room.”
“Do you have monitors in the shower?”
“No.”
“Good, then I think I am going to indulge in a cold one.” She shook her head at her own out-of-control reactions. Then she blurted out. “You have a great voice.”
“You know that it is only a projection, right? I am currently floating in a tank that actually precludes my speaking out loud.”
“Yes, I know that. But my hormones are still on overdrive. Talk to you later.” With the sound of masculine laughter ringing in her ears, she stripped to the skin, effectively stopping the amused tone coming out of the com unit. She headed into the shower and stood under the pulsing wash for as long as she could stand it. Shivering and shaking with cold, she stepped back into the main chamber and dug out some new lingerie. A brilliant blue stood out in sharp relief against her skin, glowing in the light of the chamber. The silky bra and panties were so comforting against her body that she had a smile on her face as she began to put the layers of clothing back into place.
First the boots were tugged on and then the under-robe was dropped into place. The hooded outer robe was belted over it and then, finally her gloves were pulled onto her arms up to the elbow. All of the Reader uniforms were grey, unrelieved grey. Not exactly a stimulating color. Even monks back on earth were allowed to wear more color.
Sarah viewed herself in the mirror. “This is as good as it gets.” She brought up the map of the ship on the com unit and wandered through the halls to the meeting.
She fortunately got to the ready room before the rest o
f the team, which let her get a good seat with her back to the wall. As the door slid open to admit Professor Ridwal, Tajn, and Kadeel she was poised and ready for anything. The Captain appeared in the doorway seconds after the team was assembled and sat at the head of the table, immediately to the left of Sarah’s position.
“Professor Ridwal, Reader Marks, pleased to see you. My name is Captain Lathrop. You are Tajn the archivist and secretary and you must be Kadeel, the biochemist and medic.” He nodded at each of them in turn as he identified them from the files on the data tablet in front of him.
“You all will be pleased to know that we are currently in orbit around the planet identified as Admar by the archivist Kyra Dannick. It meets all of the specifications from the records and could very possibly be the planet of the Admaryn.”
“It is for that reason that the Alliance has assigned you to be the team to confirm or disprove the theory. Your specialties are varied, and will complement each other in your exploration of the largest city on the surface. We are preparing a drop ship, and I believe that Tajn is a competent pilot?” The captain finally drew a breath and looked around him at the team that had been assigned to his ship.
Professor Ridwal drew a hissing breath and answered, “Yes, he is. But I fail to see the need for a Reader to be assigned to this mission. It is strictly an exploratory mission. If it is found to be the planet of Admar a complete complement of Alliance Archeology teams will be assembled.”
Sarah sat back and crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for the answer to that very question. Ridwal was only outraged because she had been assigned. Any other Reader would not have aroused a comment.
Two years earlier, Sarah had been assigned to a detail team on a planet that had been inhabited by the race of the Mdi. She had had no idea that Ridwal had published numerous monographs on the habits and social behaviors of the Mdi. He had depicted them as violent, brutish and hostile to their enemies, including sacrifice on the great altars that were found in every village, town and city.
The problem was that the Mdi were agrarian vegetarians who tithed a portion of each harvest to the priests who settled the harvest charts and determined the most auspicious planting days. The microclimate made a year-round growing season for the natives, and there was always a fruit or grain coming into season. This explained the reason for the altars everywhere.
Ridwal had been humiliated. His theories were proven incorrect and a whole new team took the place of his hand picked assistants on the planet’s surface. He had brought what remained of his influence to bear, and gotten her ousted from assignments from the Archaeological Departments. She had been left at the Citadel. Only occasionally, she had been let out to authenticate items for private collectors.
This was her first time out at a site since the Mdi debacle, and she still didn’t know why she was here.
“Reader Marks is here because the Alliance Council has determined that she has a particular insight to the Admaryn race. If this planet is Admar, it has a connection to her species that will give her an invaluable ability to investigate the city.” Lathrop’s tone did not brook any additional queries from the Professor.
“Are there any other questions?” The captain looked around the table, fixing each of them with his implacable gaze. “In that case, your drop shuttle is ready, the supplies are loaded, and all that is missing is you.”
“Are we all ready to leave?” Sarah looked around the table and was met with two curious and one slightly less hostile gaze than had been there when Ridwal first saw her at the table.
“Yes, we are all ready to leave.” The answers of her fellow travelers echoed with hers.
The captain stood up, “We will be in position to drop you in one hour. The sooner that you are in the shuttle, the sooner that you can begin to investigate that city.” Lathrop was pleased. The faster that he got rid of them, the happier he would be.
It would be up to the crew to catch up on the maintenance on the Stalix, and provide back up for any problems that they might encounter on the surface. They would relay the information that was discovered to the Alliance reps who had filed for the information as it became available.
Sarah stood and bowed to the Captain, then went back to her cabin to repack the few items she had unpacked. Then all tucked in, she put her bags by the door and activated the com unit.
“Pilot!”
“Yes?”
“I would like to thank you for the use of your quarters. It is a great consideration for you to let me use quarters that are saved for yourself.”
“It was a pleasure to have such a lovely lady such as yourself use my quarters. And at least you speak to me, several persons that are on the ship right now like to pretend that I am not here.”
“Don’t worry, they’re trying to pretend that I’m not here as well. Hence my getting packed and out of your room as quickly as I can. Thanks again. I have to run.”
The door opened and she gathered her bags together and headed for the shuttle bay. She was glad that she had hurried when the next person she saw was Ridwal, loading his baggage into the shuttle. She came up behind him and waited her turn at the hold.
A hostile glance at her was the extent of his exchange as he then moved into the shuttle. She carefully stowed her bags in a back corner, then wrapped them in the Citadel seals and shields, to keep her stuff from getting psychic transfer from the luggage of the others.
Kadeel was waiting behind her, and she nodded up at him. He looked down at her from his seven foot height, and smiled. His six feline legs left no marks on the floors, his upper two limbs ending in claws that efficiently stowed his bags on the shuttle.
When she climbed into the drop ship, she noted that Tajn was his usual early self, and running pre-flight checks. Kadeel lumbered aboard and strapped into his specially designed seat and harness.
“We are all here Tajn. Ready for the drop.” Kadeel’s voice was a bass rumble, the words barely audible.
“Professor?”
“Ready.”
“Reader?”
“Ready.”
Tajn got clearance from the pilot, and then began to maneuver the ship into drop position. As the communications between Tajn and the ship got further and further apart, suddenly the doors beneath the drop ship opened and they began their controlled descent to the planet. Which explained the ‘drop’ in the name.
Sarah kept her eyes closed and gripped her hands tightly together as the shuttle slowly descended to the surface. Seventeen people had used the seat she was in, two of them had soiled themselves on the drop and one had thrown up. Being a Reader in a common use vehicle was a headache.
Fortunately, Tajn was a very competent pilot. The swirling cloud formations passed the view port, and only a slight shudder went through the craft as they approached the target city. Sarah unclipped her safety harness as soon as they touched down on the surface. She was out of that seat and through the hatch before the others had even realized that they had landed.
She stumbled into the bright sunlight of the planet, and gasped at the un-recycled air greeting her lungs. The gravity also felt a little odd. The space crafts of the Alliance had a problem keeping the gravity constant. Sarah flexed her arms and legs, adapting to the weight of her body on this new world.
“Reader! What are you doing?” The professor’s hostile tones rang out of the belly of the shuttle.
“Getting some fresh air! What does it look like?” She collapsed on the ground and looked up at the blue of the sky.
“You have broken protocol! This will go on your record.” Ridwal came stomping out of the shuttle with a disagreeable look on his saurian face.
“Fine. Whatever.” She crossed her arms over her eyes and flopped onto her back. Absorbing the sunlight filtering through the clouds into her skin. It had been five years since she had been on an Earth-type world, she intended to enjoy every second of it. Her lips curled into a smile as Ridwal muttered and complained to the other two members of their par
ty.
Tajn merely laughed and shook his silvered head at her prone form splayed out on the grass. He had never seen her so relaxed. Kadeel stretched his six lower limbs and two upper, then ambled into the grass as well.
“Relax Professor. If I recall correctly, this is a Terran-type planet. Let her have her moment.” Kadeel’s bass rumble did not sooth Ridwal, in fact it seemed to irritate him even more.
“Let’s get this damned shuttle unpacked, then enter the city. We have a job to do.” Suddenly all business Ridwal opened the cargo hold and began to remove baggage.
“Ok. Fine. Let’s get to work.” Sarah hoisted herself to her feet, then wandered over and retrieved her bags. The Citadel screens were carefully folded and stored in a pouch just for that purpose, then the rest of her stuff was hoisted onto her shoulders and she turned to the city gates less than half a kilometer away.
She set out and was not surprised to see Ridwal pass her with Kadeel in a close second. But Kadeel was rather quick on his six feet, even for an Oesh, and soon overtook the Nordian professor. A harsh throat clearing from Ridwal however, and the biochemist checked his eager pace and fell into step.
In minutes, the entire team had reached the gates, then come to a halt in front of the amazing structure that loomed before them.
The gates seemed to have grown out of the ground. As strong as they were beautiful, they pushed against them to no avail.
“Um, how are we going to get in?” Sarah voiced the concern that spilled over all of them in grim waves. “Could the shuttle land inside the gates perhaps?”
“No. It was considered, but there is an electromagnetic field that spills across the top of the city. If we hit it, we would drop like a stone.” Tajn was using a portable recorder to take in the vast expanse of the gates and the wall that enclosed the city. For an Ontex, he was remarkably personable, his blue eyes taking up one quarter of his face, giving him the look of a silvery china doll.
“Well, in that case landing in the field was sensible. If a little less exciting.” She smiled and wandered closer to the wall, admiring the tiny black flecks in the pinkish stone. One of her gloved hands reached out to touch the cool wall. She was surprised when she felt a pulse of power under her fingers. Something was alive in there!