Duel Citizenship

by Cassandra Chandler

  Another Vegan, one Ari hadn’t seen before, stepped forward holding a tray with two thick bands of silver on it. Sarah looked to Cerulean for guidance. He took the bands from the tray and turned to her.

  “Earthling-Vegan Sarah, do you accept the role of Protector—granting permission for us to moor the Life Ship on your oceans, to assist in the healing of your world, and to work with us for the betterment of both our peoples?”

  “Sounds good to me,” she said. She smiled at Ari, her cheeks flushed. “I mean, I accept.”

  “Hold out your arms, please,” Cerulean said.

  She did, and Cerulean stepped forward, holding the bands underneath her wrists. They started vibrating, then sprang apart briefly before snapping onto Sarah’s wrists and rejoining in seamless circles.

  She stepped back in surprise, looking at the thick wristbands. “Um, what’s happening?”

  “All Vegans wear exo-suits to interact with our environments,” Cerulean said. “We began work on yours some time ago. Our engineers will immediately begin creating one for your bondmate.”

  Ari was going to get an exo-suit? He suddenly understood the Earth gesture of the fist-pump that he sometimes saw Brendan and Henry make while playing video games.

  “How is this an exo-suit?” Sarah asked.

  Cerulean grinned. “Give it a moment.”

  The wristbands started to glow. Metal unfolded from them, trailing up along her arms. Ari could see it moving down her spine under her dress before it appeared on her legs, wrapping thin, evenly spaced bands around them as well.

  The bands became thinner as more silvery substance swept up and over her head, until she was wearing a gleaming suit of…incredibly sexy mech-armor. The metal looked almost like jewelry—a perfect balance of sleek metal and smooth skin.

  The faceplate framing her face looked distinctly reptilian and the suit even had a tail. It dragged behind her, though, unlike the actual tails of the Vegans.

  Aside from the artistry that made the suit beautiful to look at, the technology was incredible. Ari could only imagine all of the things such a suit would be able to do.

  “Due to your physiological differences, the tail will take some time to adjust to,” Cerulean said. “Eventually, you will learn to control everything. The suit will respond to your thoughts. It will react as if it is part of you.”

  Sarah turned in a slow circle with her arms spread wide, watching her tail drag behind her. “This is either intensely cool or intensely terrifying. I haven’t figured out which, yet.”

  “Give it time. Soon—”

  Cerulean’s words were cut off as another vessel shot past them. Ari grabbed Sarah, trying to wrap his body around hers to keep her safe. In her new exo-suit, he found he couldn’t budge her.

  A group of Vegans scattered as the ship landed in front of them. Others remained close.

  The hatch opened, and three Vegans filed out. The first was Violet.

  “Seriously?” Sarah said. “Come on, Violet. We’re on the same side, now.”

  “Not yet,” Violet said. “The ceremony is not complete until you demonstrate full integration with your exo-suit. If you can’t control it, you can’t protect us.”

  “Okay, well, give me a minute.”

  “I claim the right of challenge,” Violet said.

  The Vegans on the dais gasped. Cyan covered her mouth with her fingertips.

  “Violet, I beg you not to do this,” Cerulean said.

  “I am within my rights to do so. I challenge the Earthling Sarah for the rank of Protector. It has not yet been decided.”

  “I don’t understand,” Sarah said. “I thought I was already the Protector.”

  “Violet is right.” Cerulean turned a deeper shade of green. “Until you have demonstrated control of your exo-suit, you will not officially be considered a Vegan. We were prepared to guide you through this during the ceremony.”

  “And she can just interrupt?”

  “Any Vegan can challenge the candidate when a new Protector is chosen,” Violet shouted.

  “We haven’t selected a Protector in centuries,” Cyan said. “Violet is taking advantage of outdated laws.”

  “But laws, nonetheless.” Cerulean turned to Sarah and sighed. “You don’t have to do this. If you forfeit, we will take you back to your treehouse and leave you in peace.”

  And if she did, Earth wouldn’t just be facing the threat of the Coalition. Ari was certain that Violet and her group had plans for the planet as well. If Violet took over as Protector, she would start with Earth and then expand from there. Ari wasn’t certain she and her group weren’t already colluding with other sentients. The entire galaxy was at risk.

  “Is this like a duel or something?” Sarah asked.

  Ari hadn’t encountered that word yet, and his cultural indoctrination session hadn’t covered it. “What’s a duel?”

  “Where two people fight for a common prize or to redeem their honor or something,” Sarah said.

  “It is like that.” Cerulean nodded gravely.

  “Who chooses the weapons?” Sarah said.

  Violet sneered at her. “There are no weapons. Just our exo-suits.”

  Ari couldn’t believe that Sarah was considering going forward with this, even with everything that was at stake. If something happened to her…

  He couldn’t face that possibility.

  He stepped forward, and said, “I’ll do it.”

  “No,” Violet said. “The challenge has been issued to Sarah and only she may accept or decline.”

  Ari’s stomach twisted. “Sarah, please. You don’t know what you’re getting into.”

  “Yeah, I’ve been hearing that a lot lately. But look at where ‘getting into stuff’ has gotten me. I’m on an alien vessel in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by new life forms. And I’m with you.”

  “But—”

  She stood on tiptoe so she could reach out and press a finger to his lips briefly. “It’s my turn to ask you to trust me.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Sarah could do this. She was sure of it.

  Mostly sure.

  Somewhat.

  “The challenge will commence now,” Cerulean said.

  “What, like ‘now’ now?” Sarah asked.

  Violet hissed and sprang at Sarah. Reflexively, she leapt out of the way.

  Leapt fifty feet out of the way. The exo-suit didn’t just respond to her thoughts—it increased her strength and speed, apparently.

  “Shit shit shit shit shit!” Sarah yelled.

  The Vegans beneath her scattered as she landed. She was able to roll to absorb some of the shock. Her exo-suit took the brunt of it, but it still felt like she’d rattled some teeth loose. She kept her inertia going, rising up onto her feet just like back in her gymnast days. The tail made it a bit awkward, but she still kept her balance.

  How did I do that?

  Cerulean had said the suit responded to her thoughts. All the years of training—even so long ago—had trained her muscle memory. Her mind and body remembered what it was like, even if she hadn’t kept up her practice. And she had been doing plenty of mind-body integration exercises lately, like yoga.

  Whatever was helping her out, she was grateful, because when she turned around Violet was right behind her.

  Sarah tried to punt her opponent, but Violet darted out of the way. This could get old fast. Especially if Violet intended to just wear Sarah down.

  “I don’t understand why you’re doing this, Violet.” Sarah dodged again, this time controlling her ascent more carefully and landing without the jarring impact.

  “I don’t expect you to understand.” Violet said. “You’re an unevolved creature with a miniscule intellect.”

  “I hope you’re as bad at fighting as you are at insulting people.”

  Violet planted her feet and bowed her head. At first, Sarah thought she might be relenting. Then Violet’s exo-suit began to glow.

  The metal fanned out, exp
anding in size while retaining the same shape until the armor was a little over five feet tall. The Vegan remained in the center of it, operating the exo-suit’s limbs as if they were her own.

  “You look surprised, Earthling,” Violet said. “Did you not consider that we would develop technologies to let us operate in environments made for sentients of varying size?”

  Sarah hadn’t had a chance to consider much of anything. Except the driving belief behind everything she was doing.

  “I still believe we can peacefully coexist,” Sarah said.

  “Why peacefully coexist when we could easily rule?”

  Violet swung around in a circle, lashing out with her tail faster than Sarah could react. She’d been too focused on Violet’s arms and legs. Sarah fell to the ground, scrambling to get back to her feet, but wasn’t fast enough.

  Violet was on her in an instant. She lifted Sarah from the ground and held her in the air. Sarah could feel pressure on her exo-suit. It was starting to register as pain. Sparks sprayed out as Violet’s metal claws dug into Sarah’s suit.

  She should have seen the tail coming. Violet was a lizard-person. A Vegan.

  But now, so was Sarah.

  Clearing her mind, she imagined her energy flowing down through the tail of her exo-suit, like she imagined her energy flowing through her own body in yoga. The tail twitched once, then lashed out and smacked Violet in the face. Well, smacked her ex-suit in the face.

  It was enough of a surprise to get Violet to drop Sarah. She pressed her advantage immediately, leaping forward and catching Violet somewhere near her suit’s “ribs” and lifting her from the ground.

  Violet bit down on the back of Sarah’s exo-suit. If Sarah had the same ridge of spines that ran down the Vegan’s bodies, that would have really hurt.

  But she didn’t.

  Just as Sarah had been thinking too much like an Earthling, Violet was thinking like a Vegan. And her arms and legs were much shorter than a human’s.

  Sarah struck Violet’s faceplate with her elbow, rolling her opponent off of her. Violet landed in a crouch, then immediately sprang forward again. Sarah was ready.

  When Violet was within range—an instant before she realized it, thanks to Sarah’s longer arms—Sarah punched Violet in the side of the head. The blow sent her reeling, small arms flailing as she tried to regain her balance.

  Sarah kicked Violet’s exo-suit in the leg, then wrapped her arms around the neck of the mechanical armor. Violet’s actual body was safely several inches below, so Sarah didn’t hold back. She lifted the suit, squeezing the vulnerable spot as hard as she could.

  Her own exo-suit responded to her thoughts perfectly—even memories of wrestling moves she’d seen on TV as a kid. Sarah stepped on Violet’s tail to keep it pinned.

  Violet’s suit twitched a few times, but no matter what Violet tried, she couldn’t get purchase to free herself. With Sarah’s grip on Violet’s neck, her tail immobilized, and her limbs too short to reach anything vital, Sarah had won.

  “Yield,” Sarah said.

  “Never.”

  All Sarah had available was the tail of her exo-suit. Very carefully, she imagined it rising and snaking through the rib pieces of Violet’s exo-suit. She watched it closely, stopping it just short of piercing the Vegan’s scaled skin. The tip looked sharp and deadly.

  “Yield.” Sarah did her best to sound menacing, even though there was no way she would actually hurt Violet.

  Violet didn’t have to know that.

  “I…yield.”

  Sarah didn’t trust Violet enough to let her go. It wasn’t until Cerulean spoke that Sarah knew it was over.

  “The challenge is complete,” Cerulean said. “The Earthling-Vegan Sarah has earned the rank of Protector.”

  The Vegans cheered even louder than before.

  Sarah lowered Violet to the ground, watching in awe as her exo-suit shrank back to normal proportions and seemed to meld with her scaled skin.

  “You showed me mercy,” Violet said. “Others will take advantage of that. How will you be able to protect us if you can’t even kill our enemies?”

  “Are you my enemy, Violet?” Sarah asked.

  Violet didn’t answer. Sarah stepped closer and said, “You underestimated me because I’m not one of you. And I kicked your ass because of it. What makes you think the Coalition will fare any better against us?”

  The corner of Violet’s mouth twitched up in a smile. It didn’t last long. Her expression returned to its usual grimace.

  Violet bowed deeply and said, “Protector.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Let me get this straight.” Ari’s commanding officer, Kira, rubbed a spot between her eyebrows. Her bondmate, Brendan, sat next to her at one of the tables in The Old Oak, his eyebrows hiked up his forehead as he also tried to process everything.

  Ari gave Kira a moment to collect her thoughts. He had given her a great deal of data in a short amount of time.

  She took a deep breath, and said, “The source of the anomalous readings was a sentient species that you believe to be the Vegans—and they claim they have permission from an Earthling to be on the planet.”

  “And this Earthling has formed an alliance with them,” Brendan added.

  Ari shook his head. “It’s more than an alliance. They now consider themselves both Earthlings and Vegans.”

  “And so does the human?” Kira said.

  Ari nodded. “She’s been integrated into their society.”

  “Is there anything more I should know about?”

  “Um…” Ari wasn’t sure how to explain the rest. Especially about him and Sarah.

  Sarah walked out of the kitchen of The Old Oak carrying a tray with five glasses filled with green liquid. Cerulean was sitting on one of her shoulders, perched more like a bird than a lizard. He was chittering and clicking. Sarah nodded in response.

  After the ceremony and festivities, Sarah had insisted they start teaching her how to speak in the Vegan language. Ari planned to learn it, too.

  Cerulean smiled at them. “Ah, this is your Sadirian planetary liaison.”

  Kira’s frown deepened. “You are the alien lifeform claiming to be from Vega.”

  “Claiming?” Cerulean clicked something at Sarah and she laughed.

  “Wherever they were from originally, they’re part of Earth now.” Sarah set the drinks down in front of each person at the table

  The confidence in her tone was well deserved after how well she’d adapted to the exo-suit. Its silver bands had melded onto her skin, looking like ornate jewelry around her neck, arms, legs, and…other places that he had carefully inspected. To make sure she was comfortable.

  Ari had helped her train a few times and couldn’t wait to receive his own. He’d be even better able to help her, the Vegans, and Earth afterwards. To help everyone in the Coalition.

  “That’s not your call,” Kira said.

  “Isn’t it?” Sarah said. “Who gets to decide then? You?”

  Kira’s deep voice remained level. “The situation is complicated.”

  “Complicated.” Sarah pursed her lips and nodded. “I suppose it’s a good thing we have a First Contact committee to sort things out.”

  Kira glared at Ari.

  Brendan leaned over and said, “I think you mean ‘Department of Homeworld Security’.”

  Kira turned her glare at him.

  “We know about the Sadirian vessel on its way to Earth,” Sarah said. “With the help of the Vegans, Earth will be in a much better negotiating position. The Coalition won’t dare make a move to piss us off.”

  “Except it isn’t all of Earth that has the Vegans,” Kira said. “It’s you. One Earthling living in a…treehouse.”

  “One Earthling and my Sadirian bondmate.”

  “Bondmate?” Kira closed her eyes, rubbing her temples. “That isn’t on record.”

  “Actually, it is part of the Vegan archives,” Cerulean said. “Which I believe you will f
ind are recognized by the High Council.”

  “If you actually are Vegans,” Kira said. “I’m not convinced.”

  Cerulean cocked his head at her. “You think it such an impossible chance to have encountered us again in the vastness of this universe. I say that it is much less probable that I should meet you—an awakened Sadirian.”

  Kira stiffened. “Awakened?”

  “It is our term for one who was born with the innate gift of controlling our technology with the mind alone,” Cerulean said. “Very rare among Vegans. Unheard of in any other species.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kira said.

  Cerulean laughed. “You have nanites living within your brain. They are a fundamental part of Vegan technology. I can hear them through my exo-suit. You can hear them without one.”

  She and Brendan exchanged a glance.

  Ari was too stunned to say anything. He knew the Coalition had installed a nanNet in Kira’s brain—something usually done to improve the functionality of citizens that were considered to be sub-standard in performance. It would give her better recall and increase her mental acuity. He’d never heard of anyone being able to talk to the nanites, though.

  “How the hell do you know that?” Brendan asked.

  Cerulean shrugged. “They told me.”

  “Okay,” Kira said. “I’m a little more convinced.”

  Brendan steepled his fingers and leaned back in his chair. “First order of business—I think we should invite Sarah to join the Department of Homeworld Security. We’ve been working on recruiting more representatives. I’ll contact the others as soon as possible and make sure they’re in agreement.”

  “I think the second order of business should be to reassign me to the Vegans,” Ari said. He wasn’t sure what “order of business” meant, but it sounded official.

  Kira nodded. “Agreed.”

  “And the third order of business…” Sarah lifted her glass high above the table. “A toast to Earth’s future. May our friendships help the world—or galaxy, I guess—become a better place for everyone.”