Much to his surprise, the fridge was filled to bursting and not a leafy green in sight. Lance did a double-take when he found two rib-eye steaks as thick as his forearm tucked behind the Coke and beer with a note from Patricia.
He tucked the note into his pocket for later and went to explore the rest of his cabin. There was no point in having a vacation as cover if you didn’t take the vacation, and besides, he had a day or so before Barnabas was due to arrive.
He jingled the keys, wondering what was in the boat shed.
The Etheric
The storm dissipated as Bethany Anne lowered her hands and released the energy. “Did you get that?” She glanced at Michael when he didn’t reply immediately. “Michael?”
Michael lost his thoughtful look. “I think so. How soon can you do that again?”
“Right now.” Bethany Anne waved a hand to move the golf ball-sized drone hovering around her head. “But it’s your turn to try.”
Michael eyed the storm in the near distance before facing Bethany Anne. “Very well, but I cannot see why we needed to record this. There doesn’t appear to be much difference between controlling cloud systems and controlling these storms.”
Bethany Anne raised an eyebrow. “Except the stakes if you fuck it up. Weather can’t kill either of us if we make a mistake.” She held out her hand, palm up. “I agreed to teach you on the condition you didn’t get all manly and heroic, which is why we are starting with an extremely small storm.”
A fast-moving cloud of Etheric energy detached from the storm and landed on Bethany Anne’s outstretched hand. The storm fragment grew to the size of a football before she stabilized it. “This is about will, pure and simple. You have the self-control to ride the energy and shape it without losing yourself to it. You can do this.”
Michael narrowed his eyes at the tiny vortex, his expression giving away what he thought about the training storm.
Bethany Anne nodded toward her hand. “Touch it.”
Michael extended a hand.
“With your mind,” Bethany Anne told him, pulling the mini-storm back. “It would be a shame if our session was cut short because you had to regrow an arm.”
Michael’s hand fell to his side when he did as Bethany Anne directed and the energy pulled at him. “Is it sentient?”
Bethany Anne shook her head. “Not in any way we’d recognize. It’s just energy, and energy wants to be used.”
Michael nodded, his brow furrowing in concentration as he felt a connection to the energy he’d never noticed before. “It’s nothing like controlling the weather,” he admitted.
What he didn’t admit to was his discomfort with the pull.
Bethany Anne smiled knowingly. “It’s okay, you get used to it.” She flicked her fingers to send the scrap of energy back into the storm. “You did well, but we need to save our energy. We have a long hike ahead of us, and there are no shortcuts.”
Michael grinned, shucking his pack to rummage in one of the side compartments. “We’re not exactly going to suffer from the effort of traveling a long distance.” He handed her one of the two packages of tracker beacons Eve had provided. “We have food to last a couple of days.”
Bethany Anne waved a finger in a circle. “Not forgetting the all-you-can-soak-up energy buffet.” She took the trackers and set off at a brisk jog. “This way.”
The mist around them lapped Bethany Anne and Michael’s feet as they ate up the kilometers. Like a tide it moved, drawn toward their movement and then cast into their wake as they went against the current.
Michael controlled his breathing, matching Bethany Anne’s slow heart rate beat for beat. “What are you searching for?” he asked as she dropped a beacon and made another turn with seemingly no guidance.
Bethany Anne pointed out a small but strong channel in the mists. “I’m backtracking the flow. TOM thinks there’s a wall where all of the storms are generated, so that’s what we’re looking for.”
Michael observed that the roiling mists were actually formed of a complex tapestry made from interwoven undercurrents. “This is how you locate the storms?”
Bethany Anne nodded, her attention on finding the point where the current she was backtracking split from the larger undertow. She found it a short way ahead. “Mmhmm. So far, I’ve found these undercurrents originate with a storm. I use the storm to follow the current to the next.”
“So,” Michael surmised, “your method of locating the storms by searching out these currents is sufficient, and what we’re looking for is merely a larger current.” He blinked to clear his vision of the patterns left behind when he looked away from the swirling mists. “Is there a connection between the storms we can use?”
Bethany Anne wrinkled her nose in consideration. “Sure. All energy is connected; that’s probably the only constant no matter what universe you’re in. Anne’s research was actually a lot of help in figuring that out. Despite the apparent flatness of this place, the energy here runs outward from somewhere, like streams down a mountain. The physics here are screwy, but if there’s an up, there’s a down. I think TOM’s ‘wall’ is going to look more like an ocean.”
Michael picked up the pace, unable to unsee the paths now that they had been revealed. “That would validate his theory that there is an originating point to be found.”
Bethany Anne narrowed her eyes to focus on the far horizon, where a band gave the only hint of separation between ground and air. “We’ll find out when we get there.”
11
Devon, The Hexagon, Immersive Training Unit
Tabitha sat with her boots up on the teacher’s desk she’d written into the classroom design based on her eighth-grade homeroom. She was waiting for her students to appear.
The teaching gig suited her, she had found.
Her time as Alexis’ and Gabriel’s guardian had prepared her for the demands and dramas of teen-equivalent students, as well as building her confidence as a mother before Todd was born.
She snorted softly, recalling the blind panic she’d been in when she’d found out she was pregnant with her son. It had all been for nothing, since loving Todd came as naturally as breathing. Besides, she had Pete to help her take care of the practical side of juggling parenthood with training the volunteer fighting force and teaching the Bakas some manners.
Peter wasn’t the only one making her efforts look seamless. Addix was practical and pragmatic and was proving to be the perfect choice to assist her with the running of her classes. Tabitha had expected the Ixtali an hour earlier, but the spymistress had sent a message to say she was caught up in something with one of her assets.
It was her loss. Personally, Tabitha couldn’t wait to see how her newest student dealt with her particular method of instruction, since her lessons were all structured around making the adolescent Bakas think about their preconceptions when it came to other species.
Her aim was simple: to teach them that not everything was a slight to their culture or their honor. That shit was cute as a plot device on a sci-fi show, but it wasn’t going to cut it in the real world.
Neither was the superiority complex ingrained in the males from birth.
Rather than the Bakas getting exterminated when they faced Ooken, Tabitha needed them working with the rest of the civilian force. Those who didn’t get it the first time had learned quickly enough when the consequences of their aggression played out the painful way.
Take Ch’Irzt, who was an extreme case. He had to learn that fucking up everyone’s hard work because someone he deemed as socially inferior was ahead of him in line was not acceptable.
Most of the males had accepted her as the superior warrior, allowing them to submit to her demands without infringing their personal honor.
Of course, Tabitha had no problem playing dirty, and Mahi’Takar had made it clear she was to be obeyed, or they would face their leader’s wrath.
Tabitha grinned. She hadn’t had as much trouble with the adolescents as with the older males
. The youths had all been born on Devon, and while they tended to clump together with the siblings from their birth group, they were more amenable to new ideas when it came to mixing outside of their community.
Alexis and Gabriel appeared at the door first, their avatars dressed in dark shipsuits. Alexis flashed a huge grin when she saw Tabitha at the desk. “Aunt Tabbie! Where’s Addix?”
Tabitha chuckled. “We’ve got a new student joining us today, and I’m here to make sure he integrates smoothly.”
Gabriel’s eyebrow went up. “Yeah? That should make it easier to form teams.”
Tabitha shrugged. “Maybe. We’ll just have to see how Ch’Irzt fits in.”
K’aia came through the door just as Tabitha mentioned the Baka’s name. “Not Trey’s cousin Ch’Irzt?” she asked, going over to the seat shaped for her frame. “That ass rubs his own mother up the wrong way.”
Tabitha winked at the disgruntled Yollin. “I met his mother. Nice lady. He won’t be an issue. Take your seats,” she told the twins. “The rest of the class is about to come in.”
Gabriel and Alexis dropped dutiful kisses on Tabitha’s cheek and took their seats as the other students filed through the door.
Trey was first in. He dropped into the seat next to Gabriel and gave Tabitha his brightest grin. “Com és el meu professor favorit avui?”
Tabitha frowned. “I’m good, if that’s what you’re asking.”
Gabriel leaned in to whisper to Trey, “Try, ‘¿Cómo está mi profesora favorita hoy?’”
Tabitha nodded at Trey and pointed at Gabriel. “That I got.”
Trey repeated the phrase slowly a few times. “Where did I go wrong?” he asked Alexis. “Don’t tell me—dialect, again, right? Human has to be the most complex language I’ve ever come across. I don’t know how you coped as a species before you developed translation software.”
Alexis shrugged. “If my mother is to be believed, which she is, the translation software did nothing to help humanity understand one another. According to her, they just shouted all the louder until she…” She paused in thought for a moment. “You know, it just didn’t help.”
Em’Ain, Em’Eir, and Kn’Ille, otherwise known as Eamon, Emer, and Connal when they were in class, snickered at Trey as they walked past. “Stupid waste of time. We’re here to learn how to fight with humans, not how to act like them.”
Trey threw a sour glance at his cousins as they took seats on the other side of the classroom. “The desire to communicate has to be there to begin with—to listen as well as speak. How else do you find common ground to build on?”
“You’re a special guy,” Tabitha told him, throwing a sharp look at the other three Bakas. “Someday you’re gonna make some pretty lady Baka—”
“Miserable and ashamed to be mated with him,” a sour voice cut in from the door. Ch’Irzt leaned against the frame in full battle armor, somehow managing to convey the impression that his fur reeked even in the digital space. “Who would have the runt? Talking about emotions like a female. He can’t even grow a proper coat. He’s a stain on his father’s honor.”
Trey shrank into himself, touching his dexterous fingers to his facial fur, which had yet to come in fully.
Tabitha’s lip curled in distaste. “You’re in my classroom now, asshole. I won’t tolerate any of that puerile macho bullying crap in here, so sit down and shut your mouth before you earn another correction.”
Ch’Irzt took a threatening step toward Tabitha and drew his blade. “How dare you insult me a second time?”
“Did you forget I already kicked your ass?” Tabitha reminded him. She snapped her fingers, and Ch’Irtz’s avatar was transmuted into a naked, warty green blob with the Baka’s eyes. “The penalties only get more embarrassing from here,” she promised. “You don’t want this to be your permanent avatar, do you?”
Trey snickered at the old film reference, along with the twins and K’aia. Eamon, Emer, and Connal missed the reference, having turned down Tabitha’s extra credit class on moviegoing as a social activity.
Ch’Irzt glowered, his gelatinous body wobbling in a way Tabitha took as a no. She snapped her fingers again, returning the Baka to his own form, minus the armor and weapons. “I told you to sit, Chet.”
Ch’Irzt took his seat without any more outbursts.
“Pity. He kind of deserves to be left that way,” Alexis whispered to Trey.
Trey rolled his eyes in agreement. “Suits him, right?”
Tabitha removed her boots from the desk and sat up straight, smiling warmly at her students. “Okay, class. Let’s continue with your homework assignments from last week. If you all recall, I asked you all to have a conversation with a Noel-ni and record the outcome in a report to share with the class. Who would like to go first?”
Emer raised her hand.
“Let’s hear it, Emer,” Tabitha encouraged.
Emer stood at her desk. “I spoke to Ricole. She did not understand the purpose of the encounter.”
Tabitha nodded. “How so?”
Emer let out a small growl. “I inquired about her day, and she seemed to think I was looking for work because she took me to Network Command and gave me a series of increasingly dull tasks to complete.”
Tabitha repressed her laughter. Mostly. “I’d say you got off lightly, Emer. Ricole was a bold choice. Well done. Who else would like to share?”
K’aia waved a hand in the air. “I had success,” she called.
Tabitha gestured for her to continue.
K’aia leaned forward in her seat. “Well, after I left training the other night, I bumped into an old Yollin who said he knew you. We got to chatting and ended up in that bar over near the old Warehouse. You know the place?”
“Mmhmm,” Tabitha hedged, wondering if this story was going to end in a place that was unsuitable for the younger ears in the room.
K’aia’s mandibles chittered her laughter. “To cut a long story short, this Yollin caused an argument between two Noel-ni by sniffing one and declaring her to be a liar. Weirdest night, great brawl.”
Tabitha raised an eyebrow. “I assume there was full-sugar Pepsi involved?”
K’aia winked. “I’m saying nothing.”
Tabitha shook her head at K’aia. “Hmmm. Someone with a more appropriate report, please.” She looked at Alexis and Trey, her good students—the two who never played around in class. She felt a sudden twinge of guilt for all the teachers she’d ever given a hard time.
Except for Barnabas, she thought to herself fondly. That fusty old ass deserved everything she could give him and ten percent more.
She called on Trey. “Wow me, kid.”
Trey got to his overly large feet and cleared his throat nervously. “I volunteer at the hospital when I’m not here at the Hexagon or taking care of my mom. I share stories with the young on the children’s ward in the evening.” He tapped his wrist holo, showing them a holovid still of an infant Noel-ni in a hospital bed, his mother sitting beside him with her hands in her lap.
“This is Torraien. He has an ingrown claw that got infected, so he’s segregated from the other young until the risk to him has passed. He was happy to tell me about his friends and how they play, and I recorded our talk for the class.”
The class watched the small Noel-ni describe his life, helped along by gentle questions from Trey and explanations from his mother.
Tabitha got to her feet when Trey wrapped his report up. “Okay, I’m impressed. That was a thoughtful and sensitive interview.” She smiled at the shy young male, then lifted her hands to get the rest of the class to stand. “We’ll come back to the rest of you in the next lesson. It’s time for today’s practical.”
The announcement caused excitement among the students, apart from Ch’Irzt, who remained sullen. Tabitha ignored him. He would get with the program soon enough—or he would learn to enjoy the loss of status that came with flunking a children’s class. His choice.
She snapped her fingers agai
n and the classroom dissolved around them, reforming a moment later into the scenario they were about to play. “Teams. Reds are Alexis, K’aia, Emer, and Connal. Blues are Gabriel, Trey, Eamon, and Chet.”
“What are the requirements to pass the scenario?” Gabriel asked.
Tabitha counted them off on her fingers. “You must join a league, get to know three things about at least one member of your team, and play to win.”
Ch’Irzt pounded a fist against his chest. “I always play to win. Out of my way, brats.”
He pushed past Eamon and Trey, then vanished, only to reappear back where he’d been standing a moment before. “What is this?”
Tabitha smirked and continued to reel off the rules. “The scenario is timed, and you must complete each task before you can move on to the next. Failure to complete a task will result in a reset to the start of the task, as Chet so kindly demonstrated for us all.”
Ch’Irzt continued to grumble.
Tabitha paid the big baby no attention. “Winning team gets a free afternoon to spend at the public venue of their choice with all the goodies.”
Alexis perked up at that. “What goodies?”
Tabitha shrugged. “Play to win and find out.”
Biorillium
Lance lit the grill as the night chorus got underway in the forest. A few insect repellant sticks took care of the worst of the bugs around the patio, and the smoke from the firepit took care of the rest.
He spread his afternoon catch out on the grill, then covered it with the lid before going back inside to find a cooler for the steaks and beers.
Having been so diligent in covering the food, Lance was perturbed to find the grill lid back in the upright position on his return to the patio.
“Damn animals.” He reached back inside the door for the rifle he'd placed there after he’d heard a large something snuffling around the cabin last night.
Lance shouldered his weapon and locked the grill in his sights. If there was a fish in the lake that vaguely resembled a salmon, he was going to bet ten to one he’d drawn in the planet's version of a black bear.
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