Chapter 11
Kaira, 33 Demaa, 4393, Orthodox Calendar
Sunday, 8 December 2007, Native Regional Reckoning
Chesapeake, Ohio (Native designation), Orala Nature Preserve, American Sector
Luck had been with them.
It only took them four days to find a new location for the settlement, and that was what was once the capitol of West Virginia, Charleston. It was only about 50 miles east of Huntington, and the downtown area of the city was almost exactly what they needed. It was a deep valley with suitably steep hills on either side, a narrow valley compared to the wide valley in which Huntington sat, but wide enough for them to live in and set up farmland. The valley was long, and it had two outlets that could easily be defended. The sides of the valley were just steep enough to make moving large vehicles over them extremely difficult. There was a narrow plateau to the southeast of that main valley where the horses could be kept and more farmland could be set, though hiding that area wasn’t going to be as easy as the valley.
The work helped Jason keep his mind off other things. He was utterly serious about leaving, and though every single person in the community tried to talk him out of it, except for Symone, he would not budge. None of them understood the crushing responsibility he felt for the lives of those poor people who had been taken, because he had been in a position to do something about them, but had decided to put his trust in the Imperium instead of depending on himself.
Not anymore.
Well, he supposed he should eventually call Jyslin and apologize. After all, she was just the messenger, and it was wrong to shoot the messenger over the message she conveyed. But he had been rightfully angry, and Jyslin’s attitude, worrying more about him than the people on that ship, it rubbed him a bit raw.
The other thing was the revelation that Symone had dropped on everyone. They all knew now that he was a telepath, and after a few days for it to sink in, he’d seen the way it changed everyone’s view of him. He had no idea what they were thinking, mainly because he wouldn’t eavesdrop, but some of the community seemed nervous around him now. A few actively avoided him, a few only gave perfunctory greetings and then hurried off on imagined tasks, but most simply didn’t engage him in conversation the way they used to. That hurt, more than he thought it would, but at least those who knew him longest and best seemed to not care about his secret. Clem, Leamon, Luke and Steve, Mary, most of the original community members, they’d been together too long for that to matter as much as others thought it should. They knew how devoted he was to the community and to his friends, and were willing to forgive him for his secrecy and accept him for what he was. He felt a little alienated now... but maybe that was for the best. He’d be leaving them soon. He needed to find a place to set up his base of operation, but that would have to wait.
He had other matters, more important at the moment.
After an extensive, 16 hour survey of the terrain and taking lots and lots of pictures, Jason, Tim, and Steve sat down and worked out how they were going to hide it. They realized that just one inverse phase emitter wasn’t going to hide the area they intended to secure, so they would have to build two, one on either side of the planned settlement. Those had to go in first, because they were going to hide the hologram system they had in mind. Once the emitters were installed, then they had to build the holographic screen.
A day’s research on CivNet produced a list of needs. They were going to need 24 separate projectors, each one separated by 550 yards, as well as six projectors arrayed in a roughly circular configuration to cover the plateau outside the valley. Those projectors were not cheap. They were C6,750 each, and that was a grand total of C162,000... just for the projectors. They were going to need a computer to control the system, as well as cabling, mounts, shielding, and some cable housing. They also needed the components for a second emitter. Add all that in, and the hologram system was going to cost them C194,574. It would take about two weeks to install, as long as they had a team doing it. It wouldn’t be hard at all, the money was the only issue.
Money. He swiveled in his chair and brought up CivNet, then visited the First Bank of Moridon. In his special, untraceable, completely anonymous account, he had C216,984.233. There had been three royalty payments since the last time he’d bought the cloaking equipment, payments received for the Imperium using his technological ideas for communicators on a water planet and to help control the population of a dangerous insect on another. That, he didn’t mind seeing. He’d never hand over his railgun to the Imperium, but if they wanted to use his hypersonic ideas for things that helped people, he had no objections whatsoever.
Given the state of his bank account, right now he could just barely afford to buy what was needed, after he paid Kumi her cut for transport and delivery... which would be her last. Her conscription was coming up, and besides, she was a Trillane. Even if she didn’t know what was going on with the slavery, he would soon become a direct enemy to her house, and he knew that after that happened she would not help him anymore. In fact, he would bet that she would seek to cut off his royalty payments using those shadowy connections she had, the same ones that had arranged to channel his payments into the account he held now. He was more or less planning for that. After Kumi went to start her conscription, he would be alone, and would be forced to find other, more creative ways to fund his rebellion.
He already had a few ideas. Gold was a precious metal, even for the Faey, and there was quite a bit of it lying around, if one was patient enough to comb houses for jewelry that had been left behind. It was useless to the squatters, and as such was not taken when squatters pillaged houses for useful things. Another option was the direct, black-market sale of certain things over CivNet, like food, or certain “collectibles” of Terran curiosities that collectors would be interested in. It turned out that the “archaic mass driver weaponry” that humans had used before the subjugation were collector’s pieces among gun collectors. A single pistol could go for upwards of C2,500 over the CivNet underground, depending on make, model, and rarity, and the military weapons, like assault weapons, could go for as much as C15,000. By selling off his guns, Jason could raise cash to buy the materials to make railguns. This would be tricky, because Jason had always just thrown everything he owned in with the collective community property. Even his house served an official community role, being the seat of the sensor system and a meeting place, as well as somewhere anyone could come to and voice a concern to Jason, who would pass that on to the council during meetings. Selling off his guns would force him to separate his possessions from community property.
But that time was coming, and coming soon. When he left, he had to take enough with him to support both himself and his mission, and that meant that there was going to have to be some sorting. Certain things, though, were going to stay with the community, no matter how useful they’d be to him. The replicator would stay, for example. They were going to need it, and besides, Jason would be securing assets in less legal ways once he got started. He fully intended to fully equip his “rebel base” at the expense of Trillane, by stealing what he needed from them. He had his panel, and if a certain idea worked out the way he hoped, he’d have complete and unfettered access to their entire system. Communications, troop movements, orders, logistical layouts, material placement... everything would be open and unlocked for him.
And the magic key that would open the bounty of the assets of Trillane laid within the small, supple, and dangerous hands of Eleri Trillane.
He remembered when she had put him into the Trillane encryption protocol. Eleri was a Countess, a very, very high ranking member of the house, and her mother was a Duchess. She answered only to the head of the house, the Grand Duchess. Eleri knew any number of Trillane’s secrets, and what was more important, she had access to the highest levels of Trillane’s computer network.
That was a target worth the rather dangerous idea he had cooking in the back of his mind. Well, Kumi had been after him for quite a while to go to Dracora before her conscription. He was just going to have to cave in. He would go to Dracora, get into her house, and do whatever it took to secure access to Trillane’s internal network and get access to their encryption protocols, which would let him decrypt their communications. But he had to do it without her knowing what he was up to, and he’d be doing it under the watchful, almost accusing eyes of Fure. He’d have to get past Fure, dupe Meya and Myra, and then steal what he needed from her without her knowledge.
If he had access to the Trillane network, he’d know when and where their forces were going to be, and that would let him strike for maximum damage with minimum risk. What to strike... that was the delicate issue.
There was much more going on here than just the Trillanes. Earth was the second largest food producing planet in the Imperium, and the flow of that food to the rest of the Imperium was something that was both the key to getting rid of Trillane and also the sword that could chop off his head. The objective here was not kicking the Faey off Earth. That wasn’t going to happen, not now. The Imperium depended on the food they produced on Earth, without it, people would literally starve. That food had to be disrupted just enough to force the Empress to pull Trillane off Earth, but not so much that he brought her wrath down upon the planet.
That was the very tricky balancing act.
Jason leaned back and pondered just what they would have to do. The entire philosophy of any kind of resistance movement would be to bury themselves so deeply that not even Faey telepathy was going to find them. From that secure location, they would have to sally out and engage in stealth warfare, guerilla warfare, striking at targets with speed and haste, then fading away before Trillane could organize an armed response. Because of the vulnerability of the strike team, it had to be limited only to those numbers that Jason could defend using talent... maybe four or five. And those other people couldn’t be very far away from him. Casualties in these strikes had to be kept to a minimum, controlled attacks with specific objectives. Humans may be working for the Trillanes, but they were not the enemy. For that matter, the Faey weren’t entirely the enemy either. He had no real malice towards the soldiers of Trillane; his enmity was placed more or less on the nobles themselves. Killing Trillane soldiers would bring him no pleasure, because he could be killing Faey like Symone. Not that he’d really get any pleasure out of killing nobles either. His vengeance was more or less focused on those who had been actively trading humans as slaves.
What they would need to do is harass Trillane, not engage in war with Trillane. But, he couldn’t escalate his attacks to such a point that it caused the Empress to directly intervene.
He looked at his list of written objectives. The first objective was to gain access to the Trillane system, and that meant dealing with Kumi. After that access was achieved, the objective was to use that access to locate cargo transports, then to use that access to disable sensors that would allow armed groups to intercept them, capture them, and take the cargo without Trillane organizing a response. Any food on those dropships would then be offered directly to the Empress herself, free. Trillane was paid for the food they produced. Jason hoped that by surrendering that food to the Empress, it would keep her out of what was entirely an internal matter for House Trillane, and assure her that the resistance wasn’t trying to break away from the Imperium, it was only engaging in violent protest against the house that ruled its planet.
Jason would love to do just that, to break away from the Imperium, but that was one stark reality that was not going to change. The Imperium now depended on the food from Earth, and they would fight tooth and nail to keep possession of it. What he wanted to do was improve the standing of humanity within the Imperium. If he could find a way to force Trillane off Earth, humanity would be in a position to bargain hard with the Empress over just who came to replace them, and wring some concessions out of her.
Not that it really mattered, he supposed. At most, he would be a minor irritation, he’d stir up some trouble, maybe do some damage, then he’d be captured. That was probably the reality of what was coming, but at least he could look back on it and say he tried. To him, that mattered.
The door opened, and Symone sidled into his room. Hey cutie, she sent lightly. When are you going to get out from behind that thing and come downstairs? Mika is cooking us some gumbo.
When I find everything I’m looking for, he answered. Buying the parts for the projector system is going to bankrupt me. Right now I’m exploring some other ways to make money.
How so?
He explained the two ideas he’d had so far. There’s plenty of old jewelry laying around, so that’s an option. But the community is going to need the guns, so I’m not too keen on that idea.
There’s an easier way, you know.
Oh? And just what that might be? he asked, turning to look at her.
You’d make a killing in the porn industry.
She laughed when he threw his empty water bottle at her. Actually, the jewelry idea’s a good start, but you should look at other stuff. Lots of the girls in my unit were into old furniture and shit like that. There’s lots of stuff laying around out here... you might be able to start up some kind of antiques trade. You might even be able to sell the jewelry as jewelry instead of gold.
Hmm, that’s actually a decent idea. I didn’t look into that. Of course, moving it out of here would be a problem, but right now everything’s just speculation.
Why the worry about money?
What Kumi set up, she can take down. After I start making a nuisance of myself, she’ll probably sabotage my income. How are they doing down there?
They’ve made two railguns, she answered. They haven’t tested them yet. Steve and Tim had to rewrap the coils around the ones that Luke and Leamon made, so that slowed them down.
I showed them how to do it.
Yeah, and you’re dealing with tolerances in the fractions of ketha, she answered. Given it’s the first time they’ve ever done it, I’m surprised that Luke and Leamon managed it. They’re mechanics, not technicians. Jason.
Yeah?
When you go, me and Tim are going with you, she told him.
You know what’s going to happen.
Yeah, and it’s something that might eventually happen anyway, she told him. Face it, hon. I’m a Faey, living in the human settlement. This is borrowed time for me. Eventually, they’re gonna catch me, and then it’s either prison or looking down the barrel of an MPAC. The only chance me and Tim have of living any kind of normal life is with you. I’d rather die fighting for a chance at that life than never have that chance at all.
There was little he could say to that, so he simply nodded and held out his hand to her. She took it, and that contact allowed him to see the grim understanding of what was coming, but also the hope that they just might succeed. She sat down on his lap and looked at his panel screen. What’s this shit?
He reached over her and tapped a few keys on the holographic keyboard, showing her Kumida, CivNet’s version of the old internet Ebay. CivNet spanned 72 star systems, so Kumida, which meant The shopping mall in English, was only one of the many trading sites. Kumida was one of the larger ones, as well as one of the ones where less than legal goods could be found for sale, if one had the patience to look for them. I was looking to see if I could pick up used models of the projectors we need, but they’re hard to find. It seems that theatres snap them up whenever one’s being sold. I’ll probably have to buy new ones.
You know, you could use Kumida to sell stuff, she reasoned. We just need to find a way to get it out.
Actually, Kumi already thought that up for me, he told her.
Oh yeah, the business idea. Think it’ll work?
I think it will... I’m just worried about how Kumi will interfere with that setup when I stop being friendly. How well do you know Faey business?
She laughed brightly. Cutie, I know shit about business. I’m a soldier. I’ll probably be a soldier all my life, because I haven’t been rated for any job that pays anything worth anything. Even if I was back outside, I’d be looking at a life as a factory worker or farmer if I left the service. At least in the service, I get free food and board, and more pay than I’d get stamping circuit boards in some factory on some uninhabitable planet that uses biodomes to sustain the populace.
Jason snorted. Well, it was worth a shot. I want to ask your opinion on something.
Shoot.
He used sending to convey his idea for stealing Trillane’s protocols from Kumi. What do you think?
I think it’s not very feasible, she answered. You have no idea where it is, and odds are, she’s got security around what you’re looking for. Last time I saw, you build things, you’re not a highly trained computer expert. Hell, even you admit that Steve is better at the computer shit than you are. I don’t think you could get what you’re after by yourself without getting caught.
I was hoping for a better assessment than that.
You’re about to move up into the big leagues, cutie. In the big leagues, you’re just a newbie. But there might be a way to get what you’re after.
How?
Just do it the way the pros do it, hon. When a noble wants something stolen, she hires a Kimdori. When a noble wants someone followed or information gathered, she hires a Kimdori. If you want the way to access Trillane’s security network from Kumi, you need to hire a Kimdori.
I hadn’t thought of that.
Well, good thing I’m here then, she sent grandly. And I just happen to be on very friendly terms with a Kimdori. I’ll give Thraama a call and hint that I might be interested in locating and hiring one of the more highly trained members of his clan. Thraama’s a diplomat now, he would know how to do what we need, but he wouldn’t do it himself. But, he would give us a name of someone who will.
And just how much would it cost me?
I really couldn’t tell you. Kimdori are weird. Sometimes they charge a million credits for a job, then turn around and charge someone else one credit to do the same job. With Kimdori, a lot of it depends on if she likes you or not. The only thing I can tell you for certain is that whoever Thraama suggests would demand a face to face meeting. No Kimdori will work for anyone unless they meet in person first. They call it the interview. That’s when they set the price.
So we’d have to go to New Columbus.
We’d definitely have to leave the frontier. One thing you should contact Kumi about now, before we burn that bridge, is having one of her shady friends set you up some fake IDs, so you can move around outside. Yeah, your face is well known, but if you whip out an ID that says your name is Ralph Mason from Oregrown Oregon.
Whatever. Anyway, if you show that ID with a different name and your projected thoughts match that ID, they’d let you go by.
That’s a good idea. It’s just gonna cost money, and money’s what I’m in short supply of at the moment.
You should at least call Kumi and see if she can get you a general price range. Once you have that ID, you can sneak across the border and visit that business thing you were talking about, or meet with the Kimdori. It could even let you get the projectors and shit without having to go through Kumi. That’s something I don’t think we’d want her to know about.
You’re right. So, the fake ID is the first order of business. Then the projectors, then the business. Then, if I have the money, we contact your Kimdori friend. Exactly what does Thraama do, anyway? Just out of curiosity.
He’s a diplomat.
He works for the Kimdori government?
The Kimdori don’t have what you’d call a central government, cutie. They’re a collection of clans, each its own independent entity. He represents his clan, not his government. But I haven’t talked to him in months, there’s really no telling what he’s doing now, she sent with an audible chuckle.
Sounds a bit wild.
Yeah, he’s a little wild, she agreed. But that’s what made him fun.
Alright then, let’s get this done. I’ll call Kumi and find out how much fake IDs will cost me, then I’ll go down and see how they’re doing with the railguns. Me and Steve have to talk about the exomech too.
What you’re going to do with it?
Actually, if we’re going to pull the power plant to use to power the projector system, he answered. Right now, the exomech’s more or less guaranteed to be dismantled. It” s too big to put in my skimmer, so we have to take it apart and move it in sections.
You’re keeping it?
He nodded. If I can’t use it as an exomech, I can use its parts. Did you ever log any time in an exomech?
Afraid not, cutie. I’ve never so much as sat in the cockpit of one
Well, it was an idea. Go on downstairs, let me call Kumi.
Sure. See ya in a bit.
Jason blew out his breath and immediately got right to it. He wanted to get this done, both so he could go get some of Temika’s excellent cooking, and so he could check and see how Tim, Steve, Luke, and Leamon were doing assembling the railguns. He’d replicated the cases and demonstrated to Steve how one was built, who was now overseeing the other three when Jason wasn’t down there. Jason had built two more in training Steve in the procedure, bringing their total up to four, but he hoped to get at least one built a day. They really weren’t that hard to build, only wrapping the barrel required any precision. Those four could build one railgun a day in just a matter of hours. As the wrapper did that delicate task, the other three could assemble the other parts of the gun, then simply put it all together when the wrapper was done. Jason only had the materials on hand to build 30 railguns, and he wanted to build 28, leaving spare parts on hand for repairs.
He dialed Kumi’s personal number after checking to see what time it was on Draconis, inwardly wondering how it was going to feel to talk to someone that he intended to betray. Well, not betray personally, anyway. Kumi was a good friend, but she was a Trillane, and very soon now he would be directly opposing that noble house. He wondered again if she knew anything about the slaving, even as the window holding the video link on his panel flickered. Kumi appeared on the other side, wearing a frilly bra. Jason pondered idly that every time he called her, she was either wearing her workout halter or a bra. Didn’t this girl ever stay dressed in her own room? “Eleri. Talk,” she said, not even bothering to look at the monitor after answering, standing up and turning her back to the monitor, preparing to put on a white shirt of some kind. She had on a short white skirt of some sort... it looked eerily like a tennis outfit, but they didn’t play tennis on Draconis. But the skirt was short and looked kind of sporty, giving it the illusion that it was. That, or he was just assigning his human customs to what he was seeing... there was no telling where she was about to go or what she was about to do.
“I was just wondering if you ever bothered to stay dressed in your room,” Jason noted.
She looked back over her shoulder, then laughed. “Why do you say that?”
“Every time I call, you’re either wearing your workout halter, or you’re in your bra and panties. I think this is the first time in a while I’ve called when you’re about to become dressed.”
“Well, far be it for me to break tradition,” she said with a smirk, tossing her shirt aside. She reached up and grabbed the clasp of her bra, where it connected at the base, between her breasts. “Want me to ditch this too? We gotta make sure you feel comfortable,” she added with a wink.
“But that’s not tradition,” he countered. “Tradition is bra on.”
“You’re no fun,” she said, sitting down at her desk. “Now, what’s on your mind? Need something?”
“Sort of. Actually, it’s more of an inquiry,” he answered. “I’m seeing if you can get me something. Something that’s not entirely easy to get.”
She looked at his face, then looked down and started typing on the keyboard under his field of view. Quickly, the call entered that secure, encrypted mode that made their communication private. “Sounds like it’s the kind of thing we’ll need this for,” she told him. “What were you thinking about?”
“I was wondering how hard it would be for you to find someone to make fake identification that would fool most people,” he asked.
She snorted. “Shit, babe, that’s way easy, but it’s not gonna fool anyone you meet face to face,” she told him. “I’ve thought about that since the day we met, but it ain’t gonna let you leave your preserve. The first time you flash that fake ID at a soldier, you’re busted. Even a perfect ID ain’t gonna get you past the first Faey you try to use it on.”
“But you can do it,” he prompted. “How much would it cost?”
“Two thousand’s the going rate for a fake ID. Now, if you want an entire fake persona, complete with fake birth certificates, records, shit like that, that runs about ten thousand. You’re a human though, so it’d probably be double that, since that means that they’ll have to hack a non-central system to plant the fake data. That’s more security to go through, so the price goes up. I’ll have to ask around a bit. I know any number of people that can do it. I’ll see how much they think it’d cost to pull it off. I’ll shop for the best deal, as it were.”
“I don’t need anything that fancy, Kumi. I just need something that’ll get me past anyone who stops me on the street, but it also has to be good enough to let me use that fake ID over CivNet.”
“Well, that’s not gonna work, babe,” she warned. “The name on that card’s not gonna match your thoughts. No ID is going to fool a Faey soldier.” Her eyes widened. “Unless you are,” she said, then she licked her lips. “Well, if you are, then I guess it’d work. Are you?”
“Let me worry about how I’m going to use it,” he said carefully.
“I knew it! You are!” she said happily, clapping her hands together.
“Kumi.”
“What?”
“Can you get the ID?”
“In an hour,” she told him dismissively.
“Good. Do it.”
She looked at him. “What hair got up your ass today, babe? You’re usually not this cranky. What’s wrong?”
He looked her right in the eye. “When you get the ID, I’m going to have you drop it off, just leave it at our meeting point and get back home fast.”
“What?”
“You don’t want to be here right now. I won’t let you stay.”
“What? Why the fuck not?”
“You should know,” he scoffed. “I’m surprised that wasn’t the first thing you started talking about.”
“What are you talking about, babe?”
He pursed his lips. “They must have covered it up,” he reasoned. They had to have, if even Kumi didn’t know... and she had very long ears. That answered one of his questions about calling Kumi. Maybe she didn’t know about the slaving.
“Covered what up?” she asked.
“The fact that Trillane has been kidnapping humans and selling them into slavery,” he told her, rather coldly.
“What?” she gasped. “Neme’s garland! You’ve gotta be kidding!”
“I’m dead serious,” he stated flatly. “I saw it personally.”
She sat back heavily in her chair. “Shit... well, shit. Shit,” she droned, looking at nothing in particular. “Holy fuck, if the Imperials find out about it, we’re screwed. Slaving is way illegal. Our house could lose its charter if it’s true.”
“They already know,” Jason answered. “The first thing I did was get in touch with my Marine friend. But, they wouldn’t believe me,” he said, a bit spitefully.
“But someone still ordered mouths closed, or I’d have heard about it,” Kumi reasoned, leaning forward on her elbows and looking into the monitor at him. “Did they attack you? The slavers? Are all your people alright?”
“We’re all fine, and thanks for asking,” he said with sincere gratitude. “But because of this, I’m moving the community. Too many people know it’s here, and it’s nothing but a big target. We’ve already got our new site selected and we’re gathering up the materials we need to hide ourselves.”
“Yeah, that’s not a bad idea,” she agreed. “But they wouldn’t target your community because you’re there. Nobody knows you live in it but me, and I haven’t told anyone.”
“Really? If nobody knows I’m here, how did that food shipment get dropped fifty shakra from our outer wall?”
She was about to say something, but her jaw clicked shut, and she furrowed her brow.
“That’s right. Whoever that was that hired you to bring you to me knows exactly where I am.”
“But she’d never...” she said, then she blinked.
“And just who is she?” Jason asked pointedly.
“I, I can’t say,” she said.
“Kumi.”
“I really can’t tell you, babe,” she said seriously.
“Kumi, you’re one step from being whipped.”
She laughed nervously. “All right, all right, but if you ever tell anyone I said, I’ll beat you. She was an agent from the Imperial Bureau of Science. The Bureau contacted me directly and told me that they knew I was helping you, and they wanted to meet you. They paid me a lot of money, but also hinted that me not helping wouldn’t be very healthy... and you don’t take those kinds of innuendos lightly, not when they come from Imperial agents. That’s why she could make your criminal record disappear. All she had to do was send a call to the Bureau of Justice, and your criminal record would just vanish like smoke.”
“She was Imperial?” Jason said in surprise.
“Yeah, she was Imperial,” Kumi nodded. “So, this means that Imperial Intelligence knows where you are, but they’re not telling anyone. Not even the Marines looking for you,” she mused. “And I’ll bet my panties that they’re actively interfering with Trillane and the Marines looking for you. They don’t want you to be found.”
“Okay, that explains a hell of a lot,” Jason grunted. So that was where that exomech came from! No wonder they didn’t mind dropping a million credit piece of military equipment into his community... they could definitely afford it! And the test was to see if Jason could puzzle out military technology!
And that certainly presented a new set of problems. If the Imperium knew where he was and was protecting him from capture, he had to vanish from them before he could start working in earnest to kick Trillane off Earth... or would he? Would the Imperium interfere in what would be a purely local matter? After all, his entire plan hinged on getting rid of Trillane without drawing the wrath of the Empress. If, as it looked, the Imperium wasn’t going to interfere... well, that left open some interesting possibilities. But that was only speculation. The fact of the matter was that the Imperium was actively courting him, and one of those things they were doing to court him was to actively disrupt the attempts of others within the Imperium to find him. It looked to him like there were factions within the Imperium, each with its own agenda. And there were ways to exploit that fractious organization.
The biggest question he had to find the answer to was, what would the Imperium do when they found out he was engaged in warfare against Trillane? Would they intercede to protect him, or spearhead the operation to capture him? Or would they simply stay out of it?
For that, he had no answer but to wait and see.
“Babe, I’m going to nose around a little,” she told him. “If someone in Trillane is involved in illegal slaving, I want to know who. I’m not above breaking the occasional law, but I don’t pull shit that can get our house’s charter yanked. You don’t do that. You just don’t do that,” she said grimly.
“You be careful,” he warned. “They buried this in a hole, and if you start digging, they may shoot you and bury you with it.”
“Miaari will help. Remember the purple winged thing that was with me that one time I visited?”
“The Kimdori?”
She grinned. “Oh yeah, I forgot you got a Faey there. Yeah, she’s a Kimdori. She’s also my best friend, and Kimdori have ways of finding things out. I’ll ask her to look into it, and she’ll find out what I want to know. It’ll never be traced back to me. When I find out who’s gambling with our entire noble house, I think I might start taking some steps,” she said in an ominous manner.
“Be careful, young lady,” Jason said sternly, though privately, he was thrilled at what he just heard. Kumi wasn’t part of the slaving, and what was more, she was outraged at it... but not for the reason he may have hoped. She wasn’t outraged at the enslaving of humankind, she was outraged that a renegade member of her house was jeopardizing its standing in the Imperium. But he’d take that outrage, if for no other reason than that it meant that he could trust her in this matter.
“I will. I’ll have that ID set up and shipped out as fast as I can. I think I’ll just have it dropped, I won’t come visit. Just have someone at our usual place watching for it.”
“Can do. Call me when you have news, okay?”
“You bet, babe. I’ll call back in two hours, my time, and give you the info about the ID.”
“I’ll be here.”
“Good. Later.”
“Be careful, Kumi.”
“Always,” she winked, then she cut the connection.
Jason leaned back in his chair, then leaned forward with his chin on his laced fingers before him. Kumi wasn’t going to like what he had planned for Trillane, but he was relieved that she wasn’t a part of it. He believed her reaction to his news, and the fact that Trillane covered it up helped reinforce his faith that she wasn’t involved. He wasn’t quite sure why it was being hushed up on the Imperial side, but they had to have a reason. Maybe they wanted it kept quiet to find those involved, or they were watching a suspect... or who knows, maybe whoever was behind it had paid off certain people in the Imperial government to forget it happened. Given the corruption prevalent in the Faey system, both at Imperial and house level, that was certainly possible. In the Faey system, much as the old American system just before the subjugation, money could indeed buy just about anything.
He sighed and got up, then went downstairs to where the others were working. They were building railguns, and though they’d already built two, but from the sound of it, they weren’t doing all that well. When he came down, he saw Leamon and Luke watching as Steve wrapped a barrel, as he explained to them that the coils had to be exact, that their precise placement along the barrel was what created the weapon’s power. Just one coil wrapped incorrectly would render the gun unusable, if it didn’t blow up in the user’s hands first. Introducing a wobble into a projectile traveling faster than 10,000 miles an hour was not good. “Hey guys,” Jason called as he came off the last step. “Just checking in. How’s it going?”
“Slow but sure,” Steve replied, pointing behind him. “We’re ready to test those two. I’m just showing Lacy and Luke how to wrap the barrels.”
“Good. Want me to test those?”
“Up to you,” Steve shrugged. Jason picked one up and activated it, but the backglass remained black. He flipped it over and saw that it had no PPG installed. He picked up one from the work table and inserted it with quick, practiced hands, then tried to turn the weapon on again. The backglass lit up, and it started the diagnostic test that Jason had written, so Jason was intimately familiar with every character that scrolled across that tiny screen. The weapon reported all functions normal, then went into its normal operating mode, that being in safety mode. Jason loaded a magazine into the weapon and disengaged both safeties, which caused the weapon to make a high-pitched whine as the coils charged, and the backglass display to turn red, warning him that the weapon was hot and capable of firing.
“Everything’s working the way it should,” he noted.
“Yeah, we did all that, we just haven’t fired it,” Tim told him. “We kinda wanted either you or Symone to do that.”
“Why us?”
“Armor,” he said, which caused the other three to nod meaningfully. “If we fucked it up and it blows up, we want someone with armor on to be the one holding it.”
Jason laughed. “I’d be offended if that wasn’t a reasonable precaution,” he said with a grin. “Let me go put it on, then we’ll test them.”
It didn’t take Jason long to put his armor on, because he’d had enough practice at it. He was back down in the basement in fifteen minutes, holding his helmet in one hand as the other held the handrail as he came down the steps. “Okay, I’m ready,” he called, coming down to where he could see them. “Come on outside, we’ll go down to the river. That’s the safest place to test it.” He pointed to a cabinet by the replicator. “Bring a bunch of full magazines. Testing it doesn’t mean we shoot it once. We’ll stress test it while we’re at it.”
“Man, that armor is so fuckin” sweet,” Leamon chuckled. “I’d love a suit of it.”
“Yeah, I like it myself,” he said, touching the phoenix enameled on the chest of his armor. “It cost me enough, though. I’d originally planned on buying a suit of it for everyone who worked security, but now I won’t have the money. Buying the projectors to hide the new settlement is going to bankrupt me.”
“Were we going to pull the power plant out of the exomech for that?” Steve asked.
“Well, that’s something we need to talk about,” he said as Luke filled a small backpack with magazines, and Steve picked up the two railguns that they were going to test. Jason continued to talk as they all started up the stairs. “If we can’t get it to power up, it’s best if we just pull the plant and disassemble it. As it is, it’s too large to move, and when we leave, we can’t leave it behind. So it has to go, either under its own power or in pieces.”
“Even if we can get it to power up, we can’t take it out of the box,” Steve reminded him. “It’s not shielded.”
“I know. We’d either have to invest a month into converting it to stealth or take it apart, but even that lends its own problems. Taking something like that apart isn’t going to be easy, and transporting it is going to take up valuable cargo space. But we can’t just leave it behind either,” he grunted as they stepped out into a refreshingly brisk early winter afternoon. The sun was shining, and the air was cold... that was probably Jason’s favorite weather. “That glorified paperweight is a pain in our asses no matter what we do.”
“Even if we could get it going, nobody can run it,” Leamon said.
“Oh, I can run it,” Jason said. “But I couldn’t pilot it in combat. Just driving it isn’t all that hard, from the looks of the manuals. It’s rather simple, actually. It’s when you get into all its other systems that it gets complicated.”
“So it’s not like a plane, where you have all that training?” Luke asked.
Jason shook his head. “No, just making it walk is pretty simple, it’s done with the foot pedals if you’re using the arms, or a control stick if you’re not. The machine walks itself, you just tell it what direction to go in and how fast to go. Just like my armor, it has an antigrav system that lets it travel at high speed. It kinda skates over the ground on a cushion of antigravity, but the manual I read doesn’t recommend using the antigrav during combat, because of weapon recoil turning the machine.”
“You think you could learn how to fight using it?” Steve asked.
“With lots of practice, maybe,” he answered with a chuckle. “And I wouldn’t be very good at it. Faey exomech pilots train for a year before they’re even allowed to use one in combat.”
They stopped near the riverbank, and Jason immediately took the railgun he’d loaded earlier from Tim and disengaged the safety. “Okay guys, now’s the test,” he said as he set the railgun on the butt of its stock and leaned it against his leg, then put his helmet on. The new railguns included smartgun links in them, because that was a part of the weapon’s design, and Steve followed that design faithfully. The smartgun link came active when he took up the weapon and grabbed hold of the grip, causing the pads in the weapon and in his gauntlet to link up and start communicating with each other. All the familiar data he was used to with the smartgun came up on his visor, complete with the crosshair that appeared whenever he was looking in the general direction of where the weapon was pointing, when the weapon’s aim was within his field of vision. “The smartgun’s working,” he noted as he shouldered the weapon, bringing it into a firing position. “I suggest you guys back up a little,” he warned as he took aim at the water near the opposite shore. “If it blows up, you don’t want to be right beside me.”
They all quickly backed off, moving nearly fifteen feet back, and Jason wasted no time giving the weapon a real test. He pulled the trigger.
There was the familiar BEE-yah! sound of the weapon, and the blue corkscrew of smoke that emanated from the barrel and traveled in a straight line over the river announced to the four behind him that the weapon did indeed work as intended. This weapon, just like his own, did not create a sonic boom... and he’d be damned if he still didn’t know what had caused that.
“Well, looks good,” Jason said as the four behind gave out whoops and gave each other high-fives. Jason held down the trigger, which caused the weapon to fire automatically, as fast as it could chamber the next round. The reloading system in the weapon wasn’t fast, set to coincide with the charging of the coils, which produced a shot about every half second. He systematically emptied the clip, firing until it was empty, both to test the weapon’s reload system and to test the ammo counter.
“I thought it fired faster than that,” Luke noted.
“Nope,” Jason told him as he lowered the weapon and changed clips with practiced ease. “The weapon can only fire as fast as it can charge the coils, and this is as fast as it gets.”
“Could you make it faster?” Luke asked.
Jason paused before shouldering the weapon again, glancing back at them. “Yeah, I guess I could,” he answered. “If I used higher-grade coil and a stronger power system, yeah, I could cut down the recharge time. But that kinda stuff gets expensive, and this thing started as something of a science experiment. I built it out of cheap, easy-to-get materials. It would also make the gun bigger and heavier,” he added.
“Well, actually, Jayce, I was looking at your design, and I think you could make it faster just by tweaking its operating system,” Steven ventured as Jason began firing again, quickly emptying another clip. “The way you have it set now, it totally lets the flux cabling discharge before starting a charging cycle. All you really would have to do is rewrite your charging sequence to have it begin charging the capacitors in sequence instead of charging them all at once after a shot, after so many milliseconds of discharge, and you could send a charging pulse to the caps while the weapon’s still firing. The charging units would recharge in cascade, in the same order the caps fire when they pulse the coils and create the magnetic catapult. Not only would it be faster, it also wouldn’t create a power drain on the PPG during a charging sequence. You’d have to update the reloading system,” he said quickly. “It’s designed to operate at the same speed as the charging sequence, but you can make that faster too just be rewriting your code. The hardware you have in there and your design for reloading can actually operate much faster than it’s currently designed to operate.”
Jason looked back at him. “Damn, Steve, I never really thought of that,” he said. “Then again, I’ve never really looked at these things since I built the first one. After I got it to work, I figured it was good enough. I never really meant to do anything with them,” he said. “But hell, if you think you can make it faster, go for it. You’re better at coding than me.”
Steve immediately held up a stick. “I kinda already did,” he said slyly. “I just wanted your permission before loading it into a gun. It’s your design.”
Jason laughed. “How much faster you think it is?”
“My simulation showed it firing four rounds a second,” he answered. “That’s double its original speed. It’s not as fast as a machine gun, more like an old Browning Automatic Rifle from World War II, but faster is better when it comes to guns.”
“Well, give me the stick, let’s test it,” he said, holding out his hand.
Steve gave him the memory stick, and Jason quickly inserted it into the weapon in his hands and caused it to load the operating system from it. The weapon’s processor rebooted using the new control system, and Jason saw absolutely nothing different except an operating system version of 1.1 instead of 1.0. Steve hadn’t changed anything else that he could see. Jason loaded a new magazine into the weapon and shouldered it as the weapon charged the firing capacitors and went hot, and pulled the trigger.
The weapon operated perfectly, and Steve had indeed doubled its firing rate, only by reworking how the weapon handled recharging for another shot. The weapon’s reloading system worked flawlessly at the higher speed, causing the weapon to fire a round every .25 seconds. The weapon’s report melded together with multiple shots, giving it a BEE-BEE-BEE sound when it fired multiple shots.
“Nice. Now update the other gun, so we can test that one,” Jason said.
Jason tested both weapons extensively and found them to work as designed, then, after a talk with Steve and Tim that got nowhere concerning the exomech, he went back inside, took off his helmet, and sat down at his desk in his room, in front of his panel. Kumi should call back any time about the ID, and he wanted to be close to the panel. He sat a while and pondered the exomech. He’d love to be able to use it in his future plans for resisting Trillane, but the simple fact of the matter was that there was no way he could think to do it. It would take them at least a month of intense work to refit the unit for stealth, and they needed that month to prepare for the move. Even if he could take it out of the box, all he could do is drive it around. It was useless to him as a battlefield weapon, because nobody knew how to pilot it. The best he could do would be to move it from one place to another.
But knowing where it came from now introduced an entirely new dimension into the equation. The Imperium had given him that exomech. It wasn’t a corporation, it wasn’t some rich noble, it was the Imperium. They’d given it to him broken to see if he could fix it, a test to see if he was worth their time.
And that was the other mystery. Why an exomech? They could have easily given him some other piece of technology to repair, something not quite so big or dangerous as an exomech. Why that? Why a piece of military hardware, that was fully armed?
Jason put his chin in his armored hand and looked at his panel’s screen, pondering it. Use it wisely, the note had said. Why would he use an exomech out here? And why would they want him to use one? If he did, the sensors would pick it up, and they’d be all over him so fast it wouldn’t be funny... and with more than just a dropship. They’d see that exomech on their sensors, and they’d send a heavy force down here to capture it, capture the entire community, and then start tearing into everyone’s mind to find out how they’d gotten their hands on it. Use it wisely? There was no way to use it, outside of spare parts for other projects. And even that wasn’t much of a help, given that he had no idea if any of its systems outside of the power plant even worked. They’d given it to him broken.
Use it wisely... yeah, right. The only way he could use it would be as spare parts.
His panel beeped at an incoming call, and he answered it immediately. “Hey,” he said, as Kumi’s picture appeared.
“Hey babe. It’s all done. I got it on the way. No charge,” she said with a wink.
“Good. When and where?”
“It’s going to be delivered in about half an hour, at the spot. One of the twins is bringing it.”
“She gonna get in without being seen?”
“Please,” Kumi snorted. “She’s coming in a Dragonfly.” A Dragonfly was a Faey fighter, which was small, highly maneuverable, and extremely fast. “She should be through the stargate by now and on the way there. You should start out for the spot.” She looked him up and down. “Why the armor, babe?”
“I was testing something that could have blown up,” he said, rapping his knuckles on the breastplate of his armor. “This was a precaution.”
“Smart.”
“Thanks. I didn’t know the twins could fly.”
“Of course they can,” Kumi said with a hint of edge to her voice. “It’s part of the job. Now get moving, I don’t want her to have to wait.”
“I’ll start out now,” he said with a nod.
“Coolies. Catch you later, babe.”
“Good luck, Kumi,” he said.
She nodded, winked, then cut the connection.
Jason decided that going in his armor wasn’t what he wanted to do, so he started changing out of it. He probably should have thought to lock the door, because Temika barged in on him just as he’d taken off the last of it. She stood in the doorway and gawked at him, her dark face darkening even further as a furious blush flushed through her skin. He gave her a steady look, not moving for a moment, then turned his back to her calmly. “In or out,” he said mildly. She was embarrassed, he could tell that without telepathy, and though he was a bit embarrassed himself, he figured that not showing it would make her feel just a little more comfortable. He also wasn’t going to make it worse by diving behind some piece of furniture like a teenager. “Pick a direction.”
“Ah’m so sorry, Jayce,” she said aloud, still standing in the doorway.
He stepped into his underwear and pulled them up. “If you were sorry, you’d have closed the door,” he said pointedly.
“Wha’? Oh, shit, sorry,” she said, quickly closing the door behind her. Ah didn’t mean tah... Ah didn’t think you’d be naked, Jayce, she quickly explained through sending.
It’s alright. Just do me a favor and knock, or send, if my door’s closed. I usually only close it for a reason. What did you want?
Well, just to see what y’all wanted for dinner, she answered. And find out when you wanted tah go over the border. You still wanna do that, right?
We’ll have to do that next week sometime, he told her as he continued to dress. We won’t need it for a while. We might not need it at all. When I leave, I’d rather prefer that the community is self-sufficient. They shouldn’t depend on me.
Oh, yeah. About that. Jayce, Ah, Ah honestly dunno what Ah want tah do. Ah’d love to pay those blueskin bitches back fo’ what they did tah me, but Ah’m not sho’ if Ah should leave the community. They need my tradin’, and Ah can’t trade no mo’ if Ah go with you. But, on the othah hand, Ah know fo’ a fact that y’all are gonna need telepaths, an’ Ah’m like one of the only foah you got.
It’s up to you, he told her, understanding how hard it was for her to say that. Whenever Temika was under stress, or angry, she reverted to a heavy Southern dialect. Sometimes, Jason had a hard time understanding what she was saying or sending. Yes, I could use you, but so can the community. But I will say that you shouldn’t come with me unless you fully appreciate the fact that it’s more or less suicidal. I don’t hold much hope of us accomplishing anything more than pissing Trillane off and getting captured or killed, but damn it all, I can’t sit here and do nothing. Even if it’s hopeless, I have to try. Do you understand, Mika?
Yeah, Ah understand, Jayce, she sent seriously. Ah’ll think about it. Ah don’t suppose theah’s much hurry fo’ me tah make a decision yet.
Nope. Take your time. I won’t be leaving for a while, so you have plenty of time to think it over. Now, I have to go meet someone, he told her as he sat down to put on his shoes. I’ll be gone about an hour or so.
Who?
One of Kumi’s bodyguards. She’s bringing me a fake ID I can use when I leave the preserve.
Oh, okay then. Want me to come?
No, I should be alright. If it’s who I think it is, I’ll be perfectly safe. Kumi would only send Meya or Myra, and either of them are alright. They like me.
They the twins you were talking about?
He nodded. Do me a favor and go to Regina and ask her to start organizing an exploration team. We have to go to Charleston and start surveying, find the power plant and substations, take a look at getting the water going, that kind of thing. It needs to be a good-sized group, and heavily armed, because odds are good that the place is inhabited by squatters. Tell her that Symone has to go. They might need her and her armor.
Ah can do that. You going?
If they’ll let me, he sent, then he grunted aloud. Some people may not want to go if I go.
Yeah, Ah noticed. Some folks are afraid of you now, cause they know.
I guess it was unavoidable, he sent with an audible sigh. I’m just glad Symone didn’t go nuts and expose you and Tim. At least you can keep going on like before.
Ah dunno if Ah like seein’ how they treat us, she sent, crossing her arms beneath her breasts and looking towards the window. That’s one thing Ah have to think about if Ah stay. If they find out Ah’m a telepath, they might not want me to stay. Ah don’t understand why they don’t act like that around Symone.
Because Symone is Symone, and because they knew that Symone has talent. Them finding out that I do is like a personal betrayal, a secret that I’ve been hiding. No doubt whenever they’re around Symone, they’re careful about what they think or at least are actively aware that she can hear their thoughts, but around me they were completely unguarded. The fact that I never listened unless I thought it was very important doesn’t mean anything to them... as far as they’re concerned, I’ve been listening to their every thought all these months, and now they think I know all of their darkest secrets.
Yeah. Ah’ll go talk to Reggy.
Good. Is my airbike in the garage?
Yeah.
Alright then, I’ll be back in an hour.
Make sure y’all are careful, she told him, coming over and taking his railgun from its mount on the wall, then handing it to him. Real careful. No matter how much you like her, remember, she is a blueskin.
“I will,” he said aloud, taking it.
Jason sat on his airbike on the edge of the clearing that was the overgrown parking lot that had abutted a swimming area in Beech Fork Lake, leaning over the handle bars and watching as a sleek craft descended gracefully towards the ground. It was a Dragonfly, one of the four fighter model types that the Faey used. The Dragonfly was the smallest of the four fighters, but it was also the most agile and the fastest. It relied less on armor and more on agility, making it a fast, evasive target to try to hit. Its design was tailored to that philosophy, for the fighter didn’t have much of a profile. It had a slightly long nose before a sleek fuselage that was barely wider than the nose of the craft, with four backswept wings that were stubby and tipped with weaponry. Two wings were jutting out perfectly horizontal, while the second set of wings were extending out from a downward angle from mounts just under the upper set of wings. This fighter was painted dark blue, and its engines made a thrumming sound as it descended gently into the clearing. The landing skids extended when it was about twenty feet off the ground, and they touched lightly down on the grass-choked sand, settling as the weight of the ship came down upon them.
Jason got off his airbike and started out into the clearing as the canopy opened. It didn’t raise like an old American fighter’s canopy would, instead it lifted just a bit and slid forward, sliding on tracks. An armored Faey stood up from the cockpit of the fighter, and it was armor that Jason recognized as belonging to the twins. When the figure took off the helmet, he saw that it was Meya. That was only smart, Jason figured, because Meya was more level-headed than Myra. They may look alike, but they had very different personalities. She reached down and picked up a small case, jumped down from the cockpit, landing lightly in front of him, then started walking towards him. “Mistress Kumi will be upset,” she called out.
“Why is that?”
“You’re not wearing your armor,” she said with a slight smile. “I suggest that you never show up at a meeting with her without it. She has, plans, for you.”
“Yeah, I know,” Jason chuckled.
“Yours,” she said as he reached her, offering the small case to him.
“Thanks, Meya,” he said, taking it from her. “Tell Kumi that I appreciate it. I’m not sure why she didn’t charge me for this, though, that’s not like her.”
“Oh, she was paid,” Meya smiled.
“I paid her,” a voice called out from behind.
Jason whirled to look, hand going for the railgun slung over his shoulder, but something soft and silky brushed over his arm. He turned again just in time to see charcoal colored fur, then tried to turn to keep up with it as that silky fur slithered along his side and stomach. Hands gripped him by the shoulder, and he found himself staring face to face with a curious dog-like creature, just a shade shorter than him, with features perfectly blended between canine and humanoid to give the face character. That face was decidedly feminine. The figure wore no clothing, but her entire form was concealed in fur.
“Miaari?” Jason blurted in surprise.
“Yes, I am Miaari,” she said, starting to walk around him again. He felt fur slither against his leg, and he realized she was pushing her tail up against him. Jason was amazed that she could get that close to him without him sensing it. He was usually much more alert than that. He turned to keep looking at her, but she moved faster than he could keep up, so he turned to look at Meya while the Kimdori circled him. “I paid her the money to get the IDs, because I wanted to meet you. Meya brought me.”
“I never saw you get out of the plane,” he blurted nervously.
She gave a tittering giggle. “Silly human, if you had, I wouldn’t be very good, would I?” she told him. He felt her press a soft hand up against the side of his neck. That touch sent shivers through his spine, much like the ones he’d felt the day he’d first seen her. “Strong.”
“Mistress Miaari?” Meya asked curiously.
“Nothing, nothing,” she said lightly. She came back into his view, sliding her hand along his neck, which caused his skin to tingle. She then circled away, trailing her hand against his neck and her luxuriously thick-furred tail against his legs. “I see what they see in you. All the traits that a Faey woman admires, even those they don’t admit to admiring, they lurk within you. But they lack your spirit. Faey have no faith, Jason Fox, and it is their weakness. Your faith is strong, and it gives your spirit strength. They chose well.”
“Chose? What do you mean?” he asked as she came back into view, looking into his eyes, and he found her stare slightly disconcerting. Her yellow eyes were penetrating, and he felt as if they were looking into his soul.
“Those who made the choice,” she said cryptically, trailing out of view again. “Events whirl and revolve as plans upset plans, Jason Fox, and you stand in the middle of it. If you walk the path you have set for yourself, you must be strong of spirit. Faith is a weapon, human, one of the most powerful there is. It is not something you can measure, it is not something you can capture, but it is something that you can give.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Understand?” she asked as she came back into view, putting her other hand on the other side of his neck, then sliding them down to his shoulders. He found himself staring into a pair of lucid amber eyes. “You think too much with your mind and not enough with your heart, human. You understand. You just won’t open your eyes.”
He stared at her in confusion, still feeling that strange tingle, that strange sensation. “You know!” he said without thinking.
She gave him a toothy grin.
“Uh,” he said uncertainly, but she put a hand over his mouth.
“What Kimdori know stay with Kimdori. We are a race of secrets,” she told him.
“B-But...” he stammered, looking at Meya.
“We are a race of secrets,” she repeated. “Meya also knows. She has known a while.”
“Know what? That he has talent? Of course I know,” she snorted. “No mind that can do what his does can do it without talent.”
“Meya will do nothing,” the Kimdori told him. “She will do nothing because I tell her to do nothing.”
“Uh,” he stammered, his mind swimming.
“You have what the Faey lack, Jason Fox,” she said in a whisper, leaning in and breathing into his ear. “But their gifts are yours. Have you ever wondered why?”
“Of... of course I have,” he told her, his voice confused.
“No, you haven’t,” she breathed in his ear. “Always for you, it is the what, the how. The why is what matters here, Jason Fox. Why do you have the gifts of the Faey? The Faey have made the same mistake. They have answered the how, but they do not understand the why.”
“I don’t understand. Why do you talk in riddles, Miaari?”
“She always talks like that,” Meya snorted. “They all do. Damn Kimdori.”
“Y... You mean that the Faey have figured out why humans have talent?”
“It’s genetic,” Meya told him. “But anyone could have told you that.”
“Genetic,” Jason hummed. “We figured the same thing.”
“Near as what anyone’s been able to figure, it’s just evolution,” Meya told him. “A handful of humans have evolved with the genetic footprint that allows talent. All the geneticists have to do is isolate the parts of human DNA that handle that, and they can test all the humans to find those with the genetic disposition for talent.”
“But what is the why, Jason Fox? That is the question that matters,” Miaari whispered in his ear.
“You know, but you won’t tell me,” Jason said, pushing her back far enough to look into her eyes.
She just looked into his eyes with a lilting smile.
“She never tells anyone,” Meya said sourly. “Sometimes I think Kimdori keep secrets just for the sake of keeping secrets.”
“Or they’re trying to tell us something when they’re not supposed to,” Jason said impulsively. “Miaari knows something that someone told her, but she can’t just say it. Kimdori are a race of secrets,” he said, looking into her eyes.
She smiled knowingly. “I know many things, Jason Fox. Kumi would kill you.”
He gave her a sudden stare.
“And what you believe is both right and wrong. You set a dangerous path, but it’s a path others are helping to carve from the wilderness. You’ll find your sister behind you, wielding your sword, helping you find your way.”
“What? I don’t understand.”
“You understand, Jason Fox,” she said with sudden seriousness. “You seek a Kimdori. I will send you one. I think my sister Kiaari would enjoy the task you have in mind. She always did like to play the game with me.”
He felt that strange shiver in his spine, that strange electric feeling on the skin under her hands, and he gaped at her. “You...”
She came close again, bringing her maw inches from his ear. “What you know, I know,” she whispered in his ear, lower than Meya could hear. “I’m not what you think. When we touch, we share. What is yours and mine become ours, but I’m practiced enough to hide what I bring to the joining, so all you see is your own offering. Don’t you feel the tingles?” she asked.
He nodded.
“Few can sense my gift, and it is that aspect of you that will lead you to your sister. Don’t mistake the sword in her hands as being held against you. She will not strike you down with it.”
He felt a sudden surge of fear. If what she said was right, then the instant she touched him, she gained complete access to his mind, in a way that made it impossible for talent to prevent. It was a merging from within, not an invasion from without... her touch must have created some kind of juncture between them which allowed her to access his thoughts and memories at a direct level, maybe through his own nervous system. That meant that she knew everything.
“We are a race of secrets, Jason Fox,” she told him with sober eyes, but a disarming smile.
“I, I understand,” he said weakly. She wouldn’t reveal what she knew about what he had planned... at least not directly. But it was still frightening to think that Miaari knew his every thought, memory, flaw, and desire, just in the lightest touch.
Good lord, what power. No wonder the Kimdori had the reputation for being who they were. They could, with a touch, find out anything. Add that to the fact that they were natural shapeshifters, and they were the most effective spies that God could have ever designed.
“And now you will be a keeper of secrets, Jason Fox,” Miaari told him lightly, but there was a very serious look in her eyes. And Jason got the distinct feeling that his life would hinge on his answer to that. What he had learned, he could never reveal. To anyone. Ever.
“I already am,” he told her.
She nodded to him, sliding her hands up his neck and against his cheeks. Those hands were warm and dry, felt like they had pads on them, and they were strong. “Meya?”
“Yes, Miaari?”
“Do you like Jason Fox?”
“Very much so,” she answered immediately.
“I’m glad to hear that. Give him your armor.”
“What?”
“You heard me. Give him your armor. He will need it.”
“It doesn’t fit him!” she protested. “It won’t fit anyone but me!”
“Trust me. He needs it more than you. Give it to him.”
“Miaari! This is my favorite armor!”
“It’s something you can easily replace,” she said dismissively. “I’ll pay for your new armor. I’ll even let you get all the toys for it that will make Myra scream out of jealousy.”
“I... hey, now that I can live with. Deal,” she said quickly.
“Why do I need Meya’s armor?” he whispered. “It won’t fit anyone but her.”
“Because you’re going to give it to someone that can make it fit,” she winked.
“Kiaari?”
She nodded. “She can be of great use to you, Jason Fox. I will send her here tomorrow to interview you. But that’s merely a formality. She will come because I tell her to come, and she will help because I tell her to help. I am older than her. Among my people, age is authority.”
“I, I thought you just meant she was going to... you know.”
“She can do that. But she can do much more, and her use to you as a friend and ally will be invaluable.”
“You’re sending her here to stay?” he asked in surprise.
“Would you deny her help?”
“Hell no!” he said quickly. “But, but why? You know what’s probably going to happen.”
“There’s more going on here than you can see, Jason Fox, and the Kimdori have a vested interest in that outcome,” she said with complete honesty.
“I don’t understand.”
“You will,” she promised. “Kiaari will be here tomorrow. You will like her, she’s... energetic,” she told him. “Meya?”
“I’m working on it,” she called. “I’m not going to like flying home naked. You know how cold the seat gets?”
“Well, I’m sure that Jason could give you his own in exchange,” she said, giving him a look. “I think your armor for his pants and shirt is a fair exchange.”
“You’re cruel, Miaari,” Jason complained. “It’s cold out here.”
“And it’s not for Meya?” she said with a wicked smile.
“She’s not riding an airbike home,” he said. “But she shouldn’t go home naked. Hold on, Meya,” he called, as she removed her second vambrace, and prepared to work on separating her breastplate. “I’ll go home and get you some clothes, and bring them to you. That way you don’t have to fly home naked.”
“Fine with me, Jason,” she answered.
“I will go with you,” Miaari stated. “I want to see something in your town.”
“Umm... fine,” he said. It wasn’t that it would matter, since she already knew everything. “You don’t mind riding with me? It might get cold.”
“I have this fur for more than beauty,” she chuckled. “Besides, if it bothered me, I could make myself much smaller. I’d ride in your lap, out of the wind.”
“Won’t you be heavy?” he asked impulsively as she removed her hands from his face.
“No, I’ll weigh as little as you please.”
“You can change mass?” he said in surprise.
“Easily. I won’t explain how we do it, it’s complicated. Here, let me show you.”
It may be complicated to explain, but it wasn’t exactly pleasant to watch. Jason got his first view of a Kimdori changing shape... and it wasn’t nice. He’d expected something, well... quick. Miaari’s transformation was not quick. It wasn’t silent, either. Bones cracked audibly as her body compressed, as her form dwindled, as her features changed, as she changed into a vulpar. The process took her about a minute, during which Jason watched with a morbid fascination. There was a strange, heavy smell about her as she underwent the process, smelling like wet dog fur. At one point, all of her fur was gone, as was much of her skin, showing an exposed musculature in flux, as a two-legged form became a four-legged form. It seemed that for her to shed mass, she literally had to expunge parts of her body, which left the remainder of that body visible to the naked eye. It was almost like looking at a cadaver with its skin and some musculature surgically removed... and it wasn’t pleasant. The worst part had to be the line of pinkish ribs exposed to his eyes. But that grisly sight lasted only a few seconds, as gray fur vanished and was replaced with dark reddish fur, and her tail split into two and poofed out with new fur. After it was over, a medium-sized vulpar stood where Miaari had been just a moment before.
“Wow,” Jason said in a low tone.
“Ugly, ain’t it?” Meya said. “But it works.”
“No, that wasn’t very pretty,” he agreed. “It’s a good thing I have a strong stomach.”
“Where is your airbike?” Miaari asked in a voice that sounded much different, and was much higher pitched.
He gaped at her. “You can talk like that?” he asked breathlessly.
“Speech is a function of vocal chords and mouth shape,” she said absently. “I control those. I only look like a vulpar, Jason Fox. I am not a vulpar.”
“You certainly do look like a vulpar,” he agreed. “May I pick you up? If that doesn’t offend you.”
“You may,” she answered with a nod. “Weighing me?” she asked with mischievous eyes.
“Yeah,” he admitted, reaching down and picking her up, making sure to be both careful and gentle. She only weighed about fifteen pounds. “How do you do that?” he asked in amazement.
“What did you smell, when I changed form?”
“You expelled mass through the air!” he exclaimed. “And you take it in when you want to increase mass you just reverse the process?”
She nodded in his arms. “We can metabolize ambient organic matter and convert it into flesh and blood. In effect, I suck up all organic matter around me and use it to build a body. As you can imagine, gaining mass can take longer than shedding mass. It depends on how rich my surroundings are with organic matter.”
“That’s not complicated,” he accused.
“It is when I explain the exact dynamics of the process. Would you like to know?”
He shuddered. “I think that would make my brain explode. I’ll pass.”
She gave a barking sound that had to be laughter. “It could take me a long time to metabolize enough mass to regain my natural form, depending on where I am. I’ll have to absorb sixty kram of matter to regain my original mass. If this was a poor environment, it could take me hours, but lucky for me this is a rich environment. I can just absorb part of a tree to recover my mass in a matter of minutes. In effect, eat the tree for its mass,” she told him. “Because of the problems with changing mass, most Kimdori prefer to simply change form without changing mass. It’s much easier.”
“Interesting,” Jason said sincerely.
“I’m going to change back now. If it bothers you, you may turn away, it doesn’t offend me.”
“No, now I’m curious,” he said.
Her transformation back wasn’t any prettier, but it was more interesting. For one, every plant within ten yards of her when she began her began to vanish. They didn’t die, they didn’t burn up, they didn’t wilt away, they simply... melted. She consumed all organic matter around her while she transformed back into her prior form. He didn’t see how she consumed it, but he suspected she had probably drawn it up through the ground. Her change back into that gray-furred, vaguely wolf-like form wasn’t any prettier, but it seemed slower. At least there wasn’t the sound of breaking bones when she changed back. The melting away of the plants around her seemed to pace her change back
She held her arms out and turned in place for him, letting him look at her. “And here I am,” she told him.
“Wow,” he breathed in amazement.
“Thank you,” she said demurely. “Shall we go?”
He brought her to his airbike, and with practiced ease, got it started and ready to go as she mounted the bike and put her arms around his waist. “We shouldn’t be long,” he called to Meya. “Just wait here. And don’t wander.”
“Why not?”
“It wouldn’t be wise,” he told her, giving her a steady look. “And put your vambraces back on.”
“You been having trouble, Jason?” she asked.
“No, but you might,” he told her. “Just do it.”
“Do as he says. He knows of this area better than you,” Miaari ordered.
“Yes, Miaari,” she said obediently.
Jason lifted the airbike off the ground and flew at over the hills and valleys to the north, over skeletal trees awaiting the warmth of spring before bursting forth with new leaves. He’d hoped to have been here to watch that rite of spring, but now he knew he would be somewhere else. He didn’t know where, but he knew it would be far from here. “Are you sure Meya won’t say anything?” he asked her as he adjusted his course to fly over route 152.
“She will obey me,” Miaari answered, putting her muzzle over his shoulder and leaning against him. “I would be doing nothing more than asking her to keep a secret she wishes to keep, Jason Fox. Meya likes you, and she will not cause you trouble.”
“Well, that’s good to hear. What did you want to talk to me about? Away from Meya, I mean.”
“Nothing. There is nothing more I need to say to you, Jason Fox. I have told you everything that I can. I just wish to see your town, and nothing more.”
“Oh. Well, you won’t see much of it, Miaari. Right now my community is upset, as I’m sure you know. Most of them won’t even talk to me now, because they know.”
“Symone was foolish to reveal that,” she said professionally.
“Symone sometimes acts foolishly, but we love her anyway,” he answered.
“Loyalty is a trait we much admire, Jason Fox,” she told him. “I won’t need to walk around. To see it as we pass over should be enough. I want to make sure you’ve taken all the necessary precautions, that’s all.”
“Oh. Fine.”
He did just that for her, did a wide circle of Chesapeake so she could look down, then he descended and parked the airbike in the garage. She got off first, then followed him into the house. Mary and Symone gaped when she came in behind him, watching as she strolled with him as he went up the stairs and to his room. She sat on the bed calmly as he went to his closet and started rooting through it, bouncing on it slightly with her furry hands on the mattress to each side of her hips. “Meya’s about my size, so she’ll fit in my clothes. She might need a belt though,” he reasoned aloud.
“Jason! Jason, you brought a Kimdori home with you?” Symone gasped from the doorway, with Mary hiding behind her, looking past Symone’s side to stare at Miaari in astonishment.
Miaari fixed Symone with a steady look. “I am Miaari,” she said in a stately tone, but it was heavy with thinly veiled threat. “And you are Symone.”
“I meant no insult, Miaari, I’m just questioning Jason’s sanity,” she answered immediately. “Bringing you here was very dangerous, both for you and for us.”
“I wished to see your town. Its defenses need work,” she said professionally.
“We never really intend to fight if it comes to that,” Jason reminded her from the closet. “Everything I have set up just delays an assault, it doesn’t stop it. That gives the people time to run.” He held up a pair of torn jeans, and an old tee shirt. “These should do,” he said. “She won’t be winning any fashion contests, but these are clothes I can afford to lose. We’ll get some rope she can use for a belt.”
“What do you need clothes for?”
“I brought Jason a gift. Unfortunately, Meya is wearing it. Jason was kind enough to come here to get her clothes to wear on the way home.”
“Meya’s giving me her armor,” Jason explained. “I need it. I don’t want her to have to go home naked, so I’m giving her these.”
“What use is her armor gonna be?” Symone asked. “Unless you think you can resize it?”
Jason looked at Miaari, who shook her head imperceptibly. She probably didn’t want to reveal that Kiaari was coming to interview him in front of the others. “I’ll explain later. Well, we’d better get back to Meya, before she gets in trouble,” Jason said, looking at Miaari.
“Yes, that would be best,” she said, standing up.
Jason, you have got to tell me what in Trelle’s garland is going on, Symone sent tightly. Even at that range, Symone was being cautious of sending with Meya not far away... which was a wise precaution. No doubt Symone had ordered Tim and Temika to cut their sending chatter as long as Meya was near.
Later. After I get Miaari here back to Meya and safely on her way home.
Jason escorted Miaari out of his room, but the Kimdori stopped when Symone moved to let her go by, looking at Symone and Mary. She gave Symone a long, curious look, then reached out her furry gray hand towards the woman. Symone turned her head meaningfully and exposed the side of her neck, and allowed her to trace her fingertips along the graceful line of Symone’s blue-skinned neck.
“You know our customs, Faey,” Miaari said with surprise that Jason knew had to be feigned. She’d touched him, so she knew everything that Jason knew about Symone, including the fact that she knew a Kimdori.
“I went to school with a Kimdori,” she answered modestly.
“Did you like him?”
“Yes, he was smart and very funny,” she answered. “He was one of my friends. I still keep in touch with him.”
“Who?”
“Thraama of Rixke,” she answered.
“Rixke? A fine clan,” Miaari said with a nod. “Oh, Thraama? I know him!” she said with a laugh. “He works for a consulate in Dracora! I live there! I will tell him I have met you, and that you are well.”
“I’d be grateful if you did,” she said. “I haven’t talked to Thraama since I came out here. He probably thinks I forgot about him by now.”
“I will tell him that you still think of him,” she said with a nod.
“I’d appreciate that.”
Miaari nodded and removed her hand from Symone’s neck, then followed Jason back down to the garage. After pausing to get a length of rope for Meya to use as a belt, they were back on the airbike and riding towards the lake. “Your walls need reinforcing in the northeast, and you need to move your tactical command out of your house. An attacker could destroy your entire chain of command with one strike. That’s not good.”
“We won’t be here long, Miaari.”
“You will be there long enough,” she retorted. “You have made enemies within Trillane, Jason. If they find out where you are, they will try to kill you. Others are trying to stop them from finding you, but they might get lucky. So be wise and prepare your people for an attack. Use that infamous clever bent to come up with something that could repel an assault. You plan to go to war, Jason Fox. Start preparing for it.”
“Part of what you told me about earlier?”
“Yes,” she said, shifting her grip around his waist and putting her muzzle closer to his ear. “I told you, there’s much going on that you can’t see.”
“I don’t see why they can’t find me,” he said, thinking a moment. “Just about everyone in the preserve knows about me, and where I live.”
“Yes, you would be very easy to find... if there weren’t people interfering,” she said pointedly.
“I guess I wasn’t as clever as I thought,” he grunted. “I thought they couldn’t find me because of the things I’ve done to hide us.”
“No, Jason Fox, those did help, immensely,” she told him. “Your tricks prevent them from finding you with their technology. They must rely on intelligence, and so long as they must rely on intelligence, they will find their efforts thwarted.”
“Because the Kimdori have a vested interest in me,” he reasoned, paraphrasing her earlier words.
“For that very reason,” she stated. “Continue as you have done, Jason Fox. Continue to prepare your people to move, but make sure that your new home is as protected from sensors as this one. But also prepare for disaster. Should one of your enemies get lucky and find out where you are, they will attack your community.”
“Do you have any suggestions, Miaari? I’ve never done anything, well, military.”
“Move your tactical command post in with the exomech,” she said immediately. “That is a hardened facility, capable of withstanding attack. Scatter caches of food and weapons throughout the area, away from your town, so your people have access to the supplies they would need to survive the winter if Trillane attacks your town before you’re ready to move. Continue to keep yourself hidden during the daylight hours, because now there are cameras searching the preserve for you. If you do go out, please, alter your appearance. Wear a hat and sunglasses, start wearing a windbreaker, anything that changes that signature blond hair and blue overshirt. I suggest a fedora or cowboy hat, a hat with a wide brim that goes all the way around. That will do much to hide you from space-based video systems.”
“What about the airbikes? They’d see them on those systems and immediately connect them with me.”
“Not entirely,” she chuckled. “There are quite a few airbikes roaming around the preserve, Jason Fox. A cargo dropship containing a shipment of airbikes suffered a pod locking failure and lost its cargo pod. That pod crashed in what you would call southeastern Pennsylvania about two of your weeks ago. A group of squatters found it, salvaged many of the bikes, and have been trading them. Trillane plans an expedition early next month to round up all the salvaged airbikes, but until then, they will see your airbikes and think that they come from the lost shipment.”
Jason laughed. “I take it that wasn’t an accident?”
“Silly boy,” she chided. “So long as you make no mistakes, you should be able to move your people. But once they move, ensure that they do not give away their position. The Imperium knows about your community, that it is unusual in that it has some technical skill given you’ve restored power, but they don’t know that you lead it, because certain people don’t want that information to be public. There has been active misdirection in the office of Imperial Intelligence. That’s why Trillane hasn’t found you, because much of their own intelligence is based on their spies in Imperial Intelligence.”
“My God,” he breathed. “Just who is trying to keep me a secret, who can monkey with Imperial Intelligence?”
“You would be surprised,” she hummed in his ear.
“Lorna? Is it Lorna?”
“She has a hand in it, yes,” she told him. “The power of a Marine General is far-reaching. You would be surprised how much influence she has within the Imperium. Jyslin is family, and Faey are firmly grounded in the tenets of family. She’ll do what she can to help her niece.” She hugged him firmly. “You should think about Jyslin, Jason Fox.”
“I do, all the time.”
“No, you should think about her. She loves you. And I know you love her.”
“I know... but it’s hard, with me out here and her where she is. It’s going to be a long time before we can see each other... if we ever do get to see each other again. And after that, I don’t know. If things were different, if we’d met in some other time, in some other place, I think I could spend the rest of my life with her. We’re a good match.”
“Then you should tell her.”
“And make it harder than it already is, Miaari?” he said, a bit spitefully. “She’s part of a government I object to. To marry her and live with her in the Faey system violates everything I hold dear. No amount of happiness I’d have being married to Jyslin could ever cover over the hate I’d carry against myself for betraying my beliefs and betraying the memory of what I once was. You should know that.”
He felt her put her hand against his neck, and again there was that strange, chilling tingle that ran up and down his spine. “You don’t fear me,” she purred in his ear. “You trust me, and have faith in my word. You are uncomfortable with the knowledge that I know all of you, but you trust that what I know will never leave me. That touches me, Jason Fox,” she said to him fondly. “But don’t fret... when we touch, we share. But we can’t remember all of you in that touch. We only remember what we need to remember. To try to remember all of you is quite beyond us. But we digress. Yes, we can see it. The very qualities which attract her to us also drive us apart.”
“Us?”
“Are we not sharing? What is yours is ours, just as what is mine is ours. When we share, there is no you or me, there is only we.”
“I don’t feel any we.”
“I’m not free to give to you in return,” she said with sincere regret, removing her hand from his neck. “We are a race of secrets, Jason Fox. I can’t give away those secrets. Not here, not now. Maybe in time, but not now. But you should know that I would not hesitate to share with you.”
“I appreciate that, Miaari.”
“I’m glad that you do.”
They landed beside the fighter, where Meya was leaning her back against the landing gear, playing with a stick she’d picked up off the ground. She tossed it aside as Miaari dismounted, and Jason tossed her the clothes from where he sat. “They’re not the perfect fit, and they’re torn up, but they’ll get you home,” he told her.
“That’s all that matters,” Meya told him.
Jason stayed on the airbike as Meya began removing her armor again, looking at Miaari. She had said so much... it would take him a while to sort it all out. It was times like that he wished he carried a tape recorder with him. From the sound of things, she knew something about his talent, but she couldn’t tell him, because it was a secret. So she hinted that he needed to do some research, find out why he had talent. Not find out how he had talent, but why. That didn’t make much sense to him, but there was something important there, so he had to think about it.
He also knew that there was something going on, something that reached all the way into the upper levels of the Imperial government, and it somehow involved him. He’d always wondered why they hadn’t found him, given how sloppy he’d been, how amateurish... well, now he knew. He was still on the loose because there were people in Imperial Intelligence actively preventing him from being found. They were probably falsifying documents, altering recordings, and misdirecting agents to keep them from stumbling across him. But, he also knew that his counter-surveillance systems did work, because they were preventing them from finding him using sensors. Someone with major clout was pushing Imperial Intelligence to keep him concealed, and Miaari hinted that Lorna was only one of them.
His first impulse to say it was the Bureau of Science. They’d given him that broken exomech, after all, so they probably wanted to keep him free, give him time to warm to the idea of working for the Imperium. They wanted to treat him with kid gloves. It fit that they would be in the background, quietly manipulating Imperial Intelligence to keep Jason out of custody.
And there was someone that was willing to help him, someone already helping him. The sister with the sword, that sounded like Lorna. She certainly had power within the Imperium, which could be a “sword” used in his aid, and she was already helping him. But how was she going to help him find his goal, which was the ejection of Trillane from Earth for their crime of practicing human slavery?
He watched as Meya separated her backplate from her breastplate, then turned her back to him as she shrugged them off, exposing to him a shapely, graceful, blue-skinned back. She certainly didn’t turn out of modesty, that was for sure... Faey women had little concept of physical modesty. Their modesty was behavioral, not physical. But from what he saw of her Meya was much like most Faey military women... thin, athletic, and very, very shapely. That slender back concealed impressive physical power, of that he had little doubt. He’d tasted the grip in Meya’s bare hands, and it was powerful. Symone herself was deceptively strong. She looked over her shoulder after stacking her breastplate neatly with the other pieces of armor, then gave him a puzzled smile. “What are you looking at?” she asked, not confrontationally, but out of sincere interest. “Do I have something on my back or something?”
“Just admiring,” he told her honestly. “If there is one thing I can say for the Faey, it’s that they are very lovely. You are a very beautiful woman, Meya, in both face and body.”
“Well, what a nice thing to say,” she said with a girlish bob of her head and a purplish blush of her cheeks. “Now I don’t feel bad about giving you my armor,” she added with a wink, then she turned around. “Make yourself useful, Jason, and come get this armor.”
“Yes ma’am,” he chuckled as Miaari sat back down on the edge of the airbike’s saddle, leaning back on it and watching him as he walked over. He knelt down and turned over her breastplate, then stacked the other pieces of armor into it. She leaned over and removed her greaves, then stepped out of her boots, and he added those to the pile as she handed them to him. She squirmed out of the codpiece, then placed it atop the pile herself just before he covered it over with the backplate, sandwiching all the armor together, and stood up with it in his arms.
“Wait,” she said, putting her hand on his neck. “I have to know. I just have to.”
“Know what?”
“Do you have talent, Jason?”
“Meya, I will never admit that. Not to you, not to Kumi, not to anyone,” he said, quite seriously.
“I’d never tell anyone,” she all but pleaded. “I’m certain that you do, but I want to hear you say it. I want to hear you send. You do know how to send, right? If not, I can teach you.”
“What is it with women and needing to hear something they already know?” he sighed. “It’s like a woman’s need to hear her husband say he loves her, when she knows he loves her. I guess gender even crosses racial boundaries.”
She looked at him, then she laughed delightedly. “I knew it! But you never admitted it,” she said quickly, with a straight face. Then she laughed again.
“I never said a word about that, Meya,” he told her evenly. “Not one.”
“Not a one,” she said, eyes dancing with suppressed mirth. Then she pulled him with sudden strength by her grip on his neck, leaned over, and kissed him on the lips. Her kiss was short, but certainly wasn’t chaste. She pulled back looked at him a moment, her eyes meaningful.
“Whatever it is you just tried to say, I didn’t hear it,” he told her with a slight smile. “I don’t have any talent, remember?”
She gave him a puzzled look, then laughed. “Suuuure,” she hummed. “Your Jyslin trained you well, didn’t she?”
“Believe whatever you want,” he said flippantly. “Now get dressed so you can get home.”
“That lucky bitch,” Meya grunted in a quiet tone as she dropped the jeans on the ground. “Why can’t I find a good man?”
“I should introduce you to Steve,” Jason chuckled. “He’s a nice guy. Smart fella, you’d like him.”
“He’s not you,” she growled as she held the shirt out, then pulled it up and over her head.
“I’m taken,” he told her.
“Faey men have lots of girlfriends,” she scoffed. “I don’t know any married man who doesn’t.”
“I don’t think Vell has any girlfriends. Maya would kill him,” Jason chuckled.
“Who are they?” she asked as she stepped into a leg of the jeans.
“Faey I knew back in New Orleans,” he told her. “Maya is Vell’s wife, and she doesn’t share.”
“You mean Vell is Maya’s husband, and I feel sorry for him,” she said primly, pulling the pants up, then buttoning them.
“Semantics,” he said dismissively, taking her armor over to his airbike, and placing it in the cargo compartment. “Meya.”
“What?”
“Thanks,” he said honestly.
“Hey, I’m getting new armor out of it,” she said with a wave of her hand. “And if it helps you, then it’s worth losing it.”
“It will help him,” Miaari said from the back of the airbike. She looked into Jason’s eyes, then smiled gently. “It will help him greatly. Now, prepare the ship for takeoff, Meya. I wish to say something to Jason that is for his ears alone.”
“Yeah yeah, just punt me out,” Meya complained, making a jerking motion with her arm as she turned and went to the fighter. She jumped up and grabbed a lip on the nose, then pulled herself up and into the cockpit by main strength. That little demonstration reinforced how deceptively strong Meya really was.
“She’ll get over it,” Miaari chuckled, rolling her eyes. “Kiaari will be here tomorrow, Jason Fox. To make things easier, I’ll have her come to you in the form of a human. If the satellites above saw a Kimdori roaming the preserve, they would come quickly.”
“What about you?”
“The eyes above are blind at the moment,” she winked. “I will have her come with a gift for you that she’ll share that you can use.”
“What?”
“She’ll bring you an understanding of how to use what you keep in your box,” she said intently.
She was talking about the exomech! She was saying that she would have Kiaari teach him how to operate it... but that couldn’t be done! Sure, she could share with him knowledge of switches and controls and what they did, but without practice, he’d flounder around with it. Knowing how it worked was knowledge, but actually piloting it was a skill, and skills could not be telepathically trained.
“But that’s impossible,” Jason protested. “Skills can’t be taught.”
“Not their way,” she smiled knowingly. “She will share it with you, not teach it to you. You will have to practice, of course. She is different from you, so it will take you time to adjust. But she can share with you what you need in order to make it work. It will save you many months of aggravation. That will be her gift. I wish to give you one of my own.”
“You’ve done more than enough, Miaari,” he objected mildly.
“Silly human, I give what I give out of friendship, not for any other reason.” She reached out and touched him, and he felt that same chilling tingle race through his spine. But this time, there was more in that touch. There was... something there, an alien intelligence, but it seemed both alien and familiar. It touched him, bonded with him, shared with him, bringing something into him that had not been there before. It was something given freely, given out of friendship and concern, something given with happiness, not a sense of duty.
She removed her hand from his neck, but the sense of that sharing didn’t fade. It lingered in his mind, until it felt as if it had been there since the day he was born. He skimmed through it quickly, and was amazed at what he found there.
She has imparted to him a knowledge of her native language. He now spoke Kimdori, and unlike the forced telepathic implantation Jyslin had done to him, there was no confusion, no garbled thought, no mixing up what was old memory with what was new memory. His mind had seamlessly assimilated this new information without any complications, and had filed it away quite efficiently within his memory.
“I have taken, and I regretted having nothing to give you in return,” she whispered in her native language, which he understood perfectly. “Now I have given. We have shared, Jason Fox. You have given something to me, and now I have given something to you. I hope my gift brings you pleasure.”
“Yes, I’m pleased, Miaari. At that trust you’ve shown in me if anything else.”
“We are a race of secrets,” she told him with a sly smile. “And revealing to you one of our greatest secrets was necessary. In time, you’ll understand why I did it. Until then, prove that humans too can be a race of secrets.”
“I will,” he promised as the Dragonfly’s engines came to life. Miaari stood up, then put her hands on Jason’s face, leaned forward, and put her forehead against his in some kind of ritual farewell. There were no tingles in his spine with her touch; he realized that she could touch him without sharing, if she chose to do so. Without her having to share, he knew he had to reciprocate, so he raised his arms and put his hands on either side of her muzzle, cupping her head gently.
“Good luck, Jason Fox.”
“Goodbye. Be sure to tell Kumi I came without armor.”
She laughed. “Evil to the core. That’s why I like you.”
“One does one’s best,” he said modestly. “That young lady still has a lot to answer for with her showing that picture of me to her friends. I’m nowhere near done with her yet.”
“When one has something beautiful, one doesn’t keep it to herself,” Miaari winked, removing her hands. “I thought it was an excellent picture. It captured your beauty quite well.”
“Not you too,” he accused, removing his own.
“I was the first one she showed it to,” she winked. “I’m her best friend.”
“You’re on the list, Miaari,” he warned.
She laughed. “You are welcome to try,” she told him. “I’m not quite so easy to get as Kumi is.”
“I enjoy a good challenge,” he said confidently.
“You’ll have one.” Miaari went over to the Dragonfly, then vaulted up onto the nose with one easy leap, displaying superhuman strength. She then began to transform, as a sudden haze of dark air surrounded a rapidly compressing body, as she expelled mass by converting it to a gaseous form. A vulpar emerged from that pall, which jumped into the cockpit of the Dragonfly. Meya waved to him as it closed, then the fighter raised up from the ground and rapidly ascended up and out of sight.
Jason watched it go, and after it was out of sight, he sighed and mounted the airbike. He felt he had made a new friend today in Miaari, but she had brought more questions than answers.
Well, he’d have time to puzzle out her words, but for now, the community’s needs took precedence. Miaari herself had told him that. He had to get them moved safely, and do it fast. Even now, she’d said, the members of Trillane involved in the slaving were hunting for him, so they could kill him. They didn’t want him around to either ferret out their operations, or testify in court as to what he saw. Either way, right now the move of the community was top priority. That meant that he had to get in touch with Kumi again to arrange to get the projectors, and finalize the plans to install them and the reverse phase emitters at the new site as soon as possible.
But right now, he wanted to get home and get some lunch. Any time Temika cooked, his stomach always kept his brain from losing track of time.
Jason brooded over all the information that Miaari had given to him all day, all evening, and most of the night. He lost half a night’s sleep as he went over and over what she said to him, trying to make some headway into the tasks she’d dropped on him, as well as try to understand why she had said what she did. The one thing, the only thing, he’d managed to be certain of was that she had revealed the secret of her race because she had had no choice. He’d figured that out faster than she may have thought, and he did understand why it had been necessary for her. If he contacted a Kimdori and had an interview, then it would come out. She revealed it in a controlled situation, and established a foothold of trust with him, as well as securing his promise not to reveal that secret.
The reason for it was simple; he could sense the Kimdori ability to share. That was why he felt the tingles when Miaari touched him, and perhaps that was why he’d felt that strange sensation the first time he’d met the eyes of a Kimdori, the first time he had locked eyes with Miaari. He could detect Kimdori. And since it was Miaari, who had met him once before, she had somehow noticed this, and had come back. He hadn’t sensed her yesterday because maybe he had been actively suppressing his talent, or maybe she could somehow hide it from him. He wasn’t sure how he’d not sensed her yesterday, but that wasn’t as important as the fact that somehow, he had the ability to sense Kimdori and their unique and powerful ability.
That was why she had revealed it. That was the main reason why she had come, he was sure of it. And he was also sure that he wasn’t the only one who could do that. He’d bet that it had something to do with his talent, and that meant that some telepaths had the ability to sense Kimdori, to see through their shapeshifting by sensing their ability to share. It was probably rare, and he’d bet that there were any number of corpses of telepaths lining shallow graves scattered throughout the galaxy, the graves of those telepaths who had the ability to sense Kimdori, but whom the Kimdori did not trust.
They had little to fear from him, though. Jason Fox knew how to keep a secret, and he rather liked Miaari.
And maybe that’s why Miaari was so willing to help him, why the Kimdori seemed to be quietly putting their hands into his situation.
No, there was more going on than that. Miaari had said so, in an indirect way. What had she said? Oh yes, plans whirl around him. He was a central figure in some kind of plot, but she was honor bound not to reveal it. It could be a convoluted Trillane plot to secure more power over Earth, or the machinations of some other house to weaken Trillane. The Imperials also had a stake in this, which was why the Bureau of Science was shielding him from capture.
Of course, that all seemed very odd, given that he really shouldn’t be that important. That was the part that didn’t make very much sense. Something else was going on here, but he didn’t know what.
Not that it really should make any difference to him. What the Faey did amongst themselves was really their own business. He had only two concerns; moving his people to a safe place, and then kicking Trillane off Earth. In that order. If he could use the scheming of others to advance his own cause, then so much the better, but he couldn’t get too involved in what they were doing and lose sight of what he was doing.
And that was exactly what he was attending to at that moment. Yawning, he authorized the purchase of the projectors he was going to need, and then ordered them shipped to a temporary warehouse where he had rented space. It bankrupted him, but it was necessary. He’d have to wait for another royalty payment before buying anything else, because he had exactly C3,758.25 in the bank. He wasn’t sure how he was going to get them here, because they would take a cargo ship to move, but he’d have to work with Kumi on that one. Those projectors were big, and he had 27 of them.
That was just one of several things that had been done. He had taken Miaari’s advice and ordered the distribution of some of the dry rations out of the community, creating caches of food, clothing, and some useful items that his people could use if they were forced out of town. They had made five caches, and there were plans on the table for six more. All those items and the food would be collected up just before the move, and plans would be made to create similar caches around their new home.
That new home would be visited today by a large team of surveyors. They were going to break up into elements, each of which would have a separate task. Jason would lead the team that would investigate sites for the projectors. Tim would lead a team to survey the electrical grid of the downtown area and begin making plans to restore it. Steve would lead a team that would survey the outlying areas and begin drawing up plans for defensive fortifications. Luke would lead a team that would investigate the water system of downtown and assess whether they could do in Charleston what they had failed to do in Chesapeake, and that was establish running water. Leamon would lead a team to search for possible squatter settlements within the city, and draw up plans to either eject them or invite them to join the community after Symone screened them.
He scrubbed his face in his hands, then turned and looked out the window. It was just past dawn, and he was tired. He’d only have a few hours of sleep, but his mind was whirling too much for him to sleep. He hadn’t told anyone that Kiaari was coming yet, mainly because he wanted to talk to her first. Miaari had said that she was coming under the guise of a human, so he wanted to see how she was going to play it before making any introductions. He did have a long talk with Symone about much of what Miaari had said, and she hadn’t been much help. He had to be careful about what he said so as not to violate Miaari’s secret, so there were some holes in his explanations that irritated Symone.
Someone knocked on his door. He cleared his monitor of the displays, then closed the top. “What is it?” he called.
The door opened, and into his room came a tall, athletic woman with fair, flawless skin, a beautiful face, and long, luxuriously thick blond hair. She wore a skin-tight black jumpsuit of some kind that seemed to merge with her skin, leaving not a wrinkle anywhere, like the most form-fitting spandex ever created. It was sleeveless, but its legs ended just below her knees. She wore no shoes.
It was just a borrowed form, however. Meeting her green eyes, he felt a strange shiver run up his spine, and that betrayed this woman as a Kimdori.
“Jason,” she called.
“Kiaari?” he asked.
She just gave him a long look as she closed the door. “I’m here to interview you.” She started walking towards him, and he stood up as she approached. She reached out a single hand, and placed it against the side of his neck. He felt that tingling sensation rush up and down his spine, and saw her green eyes seem to shine with an inner light for a moment. “Yes, I can work for you,” she stated calmly. “You wished to hire me. I accept.”
“I won’t ask how you got in here without being seen,” he chuckled as she removed her hand, then went over to where he had his armor and Symone’s armor sitting on their racks. Meya’s armor was stacked neatly at the foot of it. She picked up the breastplate and held it against her chest, checking its fit.
“I want to make sure I got the dimensions right,” she said.
Jason looked at her, and realized that she was the exact same height, weight, and body type as Meya.
“Yes, I think it’s going to fit,” she said in a humming tone.
Jason sat back down in his chair as Kiaari sat on the bed facing him. “Miaari shared with me,” she said immediately, using her native language. “So, where do you want to start?”
“Hold on,” he called. “Did Miaari explain everything to you?”
“She shared with me what you’re doing, and what I need to know,” she nodded. “You need me to help you penetrate Trillane so you can gain access to their communications, and do it in a way that you’re not detected and they don’t know that you’ve breached their security. This I can do for you, Jason Fox. Easily. I’m also supposed to be here to help you in other ways, with other missions. Our mission for now is to successfully transplant your group to a secure location without them being detected. After that, we must find a way to force Trillane to relinquish control of Earth by any means necessary, short of invoking the wrath of the Empress.”
“Right. The main thing here is that no one can know you’re not human, Kiaari.”
“I know. I traveled to your town in an animal form, then changed into this after I got inside your town walls, so I wouldn’t frighten anyone,” she smiled. “Your sentries are half asleep, so I managed to get here without being detected. I’m not in a fully human form yet because it’s cold out there, and I don’t have any clothes,” she chuckled, motioning at herself. “This is me. Miaari shared that humans don’t commonly go without clothing because of social custom, so I altered myself to make it look like I’m clothed. What you think is a jumpsuit is just my skin, altered so it looks like clothes. Now that I’m here, I can do a full change, I just didn’t want to trudge through the frost out there on feet that could feel the cold, and I didn’t want to offend your people’s custom.”
“Why didn’t you bring any clothes?”
“It was best if I didn’t come with any additional gear or clothing,” she said. “I can’t pretend to be a human squatter if I’m wearing clothes made on Draconis, can I? I can’t arouse any suspicion, even from your own people.”
“Good point,” he agreed after thinking about it a moment.
“Once I complete the change, I’ll be indistinguishable from any other human here,” she told him.
“Good. Miaari made it clear that we can’t do anything right now that makes us stand out, or it’ll invite an attack from those nobles that were doing the slaving. So you have to look like you belong here.”
“Understood,” she nodded. Her skin seemed to shiver, then shudder, and then the darkness drained away from it. Jason watched as her “jumpsuit” vanished, leaving behind what looked like perfectly normal skin. “There, now I’m completely human,” she announced, getting up on her knees on the bed and looking down at herself critically, making sure she had managed a flawless transformation. She looked like a carbon copy of Meya’s sleek form, just with pale skin instead of blue skin, and longer hair, and a different facial structure. In effect, she was a carbon copy of Meya, a body custom built to fit into Meya’s armor, just built as a human instead of as a Faey.
“And you’re violating one of those human customs,” he told her pointedly.
“I’m just making sure it looks right before I have to fool humans. Besides, the rules between you and me will be different,” she told him professionally. “We’re going to become romantically involved.”
“What?”
“Just a game,” she told him quickly. “The only way that us spending extended periods of time behind closed doors won’t arouse suspicion is if your townsfolk believe that we’re in a relationship. It gives you a perfect excuse to move me into your house, and of course, your girlfriend is going to go with you when you split from the community after the move.”
He turned that over in his mind. “Well, that does make a kind of sense,” he agreed.
“And be assured, I can separate business from reality,” she smiled. “We’ll sleep in the same bed, but aside from sharing warmth, that’s as far as it goes. So, our first step is me getting into your community. I’ll be impressed by you, and I’ll flirt with you, and you’ll take an interest in me. After a couple of your weeks after I gain citizenship, I move in with you. Then we become a couple, and that will let us do our planning without arousing suspicion.”
“That is a good idea,” he admitted. “I’m not sure I like the idea of pretending to be your boyfriend, but it does give all the convenient excuses.”
“You’ll do fine. You’re a reserved person, it won’t look too much out of character for you not to exhibit much affection in a public setting. Now, from our sharing, I saw that you’re going to Charleston today to survey the area. That’s where your people will find me, naked and injured. I’ll concoct a story that I won’t tell you so you can react to it with some sincerity, and we’ll work from there. That sound good to you?”
“Yeah, that should work.”
“Kiaari’s not a common name here. From this point forward, my name is Kate. That’s a common female name, isn’t it?”
“Common enough.”
“How many in your town speak French?” she asked, using the English word for the language.
He gave her a look. “Two or three,” he answered. “There may be more, but I’m not absolutely positive.”
“Good. You speak it, and I picked it up from sharing with you. We can use French if you want to say something sensitive to me in a public setting. We can’t speak Kimdori again once we leave this room.”
She was good. She had a quick mind, and she’d already started working everything out. Something told him that her coming here was going to be a great benefit to him. “Okay.”
“You’ll have to tell the other telepaths about me. Symone and the two humans. They’ll realize I’m not what I look like the first time they try to probe me.”
“They won’t do that, well, the humans won’t,” he told her. “They have explicit instructions about things like that. In fact, nobody knows they’re telepaths except the telepaths.”
“Ah yes, I remember now. I’ll keep them secret.”
“Good. Judging from what I’m hearing from you, you’ve been trained to fool telepaths.”
“Of course. I know how to present a false front, and with training, we can use our own gift to defend ourselves from telepathy. I’ve already prepared my telepathic screen as part of the disguise I’ll assume while I’m here.”
“Okay. I will tell Symone about you, though. She’ll have to probe you as a condition of gaining citizenship, so she’ll find you out one way or another.”
“Alright, so we let Symone know, but we keep me a secret from the other two. Right?”
“Right. At least for now, anyway.”
“Now, when do you want me to go after Trillane’s communications?”
“Later. Right now, the move is top priority,” he answered. “I’m not sure how much you can help with that, but that matters more right now than anything else.”
“I can pick up a box as well as the next person,” she chuckled. “I can also help with the placement of counter-surveillance equipment and security. I’ve been trained in those kinds of things. You can’t breach it if you don’t understand how to lay it out.”
He chuckled. “I guess not.”
“Good. Well, I’d say we’re about done here. I’ll get started for Charleston so I can beat your group there and get myself prepared.”
“Well, okay, I guess. Do you need anything?”
“No, I’ll be fine. Shikki’s tail, it’s gonna be weird staying in this form for a while,” she said, slapping her bare hips with both hands, then she ran her hands up her slender belly meaningfully. She then patted her lower ribs. “Not that there’s anything wrong with humans, Jason Fox. It’s just that all your internal organs are in the wrong places. I feel like a puzzle put together the wrong way.”
Jason laughed in spite of himself. “You’ll adjust, or at least I hope you will.”
“I’ll be alright. I once spent nearly a month as a Gambrian rock lizard. Now that was unpleasant.”
“Why?”
“If you ever saw one, you’d understand,” she said with a shiver. That shiver seemed to travel through her, setting into her skin, skin that began to darken again to conceal her nudity behind a veil of misdirection, as she changed her skin to hide the fact that she was unclothed. Her nipples and pubic hair and genitals vanished, transformed to support the illusion that they were covered over instead of completely removed. It was so complete that she even removed the separating cleft between her buttocks, making it look like she was wearing pants. Skin-tight pants, but pants nonetheless. “I’ll make sure I’m found. Just don’t forget to come,” she smiled.
“We’ll be there,” he promised. “We’re supposed to leave in about three hours. Is that enough time for you to get there?”
“More than enough,” she nodded. “I’ll fly.”
“You can fly?” he asked in surprise.
“I can when I take the form of a bird,” she told him with a smile. “I’m going to like working with you, Jason Fox. Oh, I almost forgot. I have something to share with you.”
“The exomech?”
She nodded, tapping her temple. “I received what you need to know last night, sharing with my brother. I’ll share it with you later. We’ll be able to pilot it. Not well,” she said quickly. “Sharing can teach a manual skill, but it can only go so far. Still, it’s a solid foundation. Practice can fix that... at least it could, if we could take it out of its box.” She laughed. “My brother wanted to come instead of me. He’s something of a dabbler in engineering, and he really wanted to meet you and see some of your inventions. Actually, he should have. He’s older than me, with more experience.”
“Why didn’t he then?”
“Because we already decided that whoever came would pretend to be your girlfriend,” she told him. “It’s the perfect cover. And no matter how good an actor my brother is, he couldn’t really pretend to be your girlfriend very well. He can take a female shape, but he doesn’t have a female mind. And I don’t think you’d much like the idea of playing that game, knowing you were pretending with a male.”
Jason shuddered a little at the thought of that. “No, I really wouldn’t like that,” he agreed.
“We didn’t think so,” she grinned. “I’ll get started. After I walk out, it’s as if we never met, remember that. I’ll look the same, but remember, I’m Kate.”
“I can manage,” he assured her.
“Oh, and don’t worry. Your people will find me injured, and though the wounds will look real, they’re not. I’ll shape them, just like I shaped this body. They won’t hurt, but I’ll act like they do. It’ll just be part of the game.”
“Thanks for telling me that,” he said with a grateful expression. “I’d have felt awful if I thought you went out and intentionally injured yourself.”
“You’re welcome. See you soon, Jason Fox,” she said, opening the door.
“Just Jason,” he said.
“Jason,” she mirrored with a nod.
“Good luck.”
She closed the door, and he turned and opened his panel again, then put his elbows on the desk and leaned his chin on his interlaced fingers. Kiaari was an impressive woman. She was professional, seemed quite smart, and seemed sincere in her desire to help. From the way it felt to him, this wasn’t just a job to her. She seemed genuinely interested in what he was doing here, and it felt to him like her help was more than just a command from her older sister. She wanted to be here, she wanted to help. He didn’t have a good idea of her personality yet, but something told him that he’d get along with her quite well.
Her presence here was certainly going to change things, and more than just locally. She’d have an impact on the community, that was for sure... but it was the fact that she was here that would change things. There was now an agent in the preserve, a spy whose eyes and ears would carry what went on here beyond just Earth. With Kiaari here, Trillane couldn’t run roughshod over humanity and get away with it. Even if they killed him, Kiaari could escape and report what was going on here to someone that could do something about it, maybe even the Empress. She was a symbol that Miaari was right, that what was going on here wasn’t just local, that there was something going on that involved other parts of the Imperium.
Of course there was. Trillane was selling humans into slavery. That was highly illegal in the Imperium. But now Jason knew, and he was going to fight Trillane to get them off his world, force the Empress to take Earth away from them. And Jason had told Jyslin, who had told Lorna, which would bring the Imperium into this. Now the Imperium knew that nobles within Trillane had been engaged in slavery. Those nobles knew who had discovered their illegal activities, and now they were going to try to kill Jason, either out of revenge or in an attempt to keep him from giving away anything else he might know, give away something that would trace the illegal operation back to names.
At least Kumi wasn’t part of it. He was so glad of that. He liked Kumi, and he’d have been crushed if she’d been involved. She was petty, immature, and maybe a little spoiled, but she was a good friend, and one of the few people he knew he could turn to when he needed help. She might blackmail him a little with her prices, but he didn’t mind that all that much. She deserved to get something for her trouble, and he didn’t mind at all paying her for the dangerous things she did for him. She could get into huge trouble if they found out she was helping him, now more than ever. If the slavers found out that she was helping him, they’d come after her. That was why she had to be extremely careful in what she was doing. Her life could be at risk. But at least she appreciated that fact, he knew she did. She’d be careful. He had faith in her.
His door opened, and Symone stalked in. She was wearing a heavy bathrobe and fuzzy slippers, insulation against the cold as she scurried over from her own house. Jason, who was that that just ran out of here? she asked.
I hope you didn’t try to stop her, he sent in reply.
No, but I’ve never seen her before. Who is she?
That was a Kimdori, he told her steadily.
A Kimdori? Symone sent in surprise, but with an audible gasp. How did she get here? Why is she here?
Miaari sent her, he answered. She’s going to be working for me.
How much is it costing you?
Nothing, he answered.
What? Jason, the Kimdori never work for free! They always charge something, even if it’s one credit!
Well, Kiaari didn’t quote any price at all. She said the interview was over, and said she would work for me. I think Miaari is paying for it, or maybe Kumi. Either way, it’s not me.
Weird. That’s just weird, she sent fretfully. That’s not how they do things at all. It’s just bizarre.
Well, I’m glad you’re here, Symone, he sent, motioning for her to sit. She did so, sitting on the bed. Kiaari is going to join the community undercover. She’s going to pose as a human squatter and get into the community. Since you have to screen her before she can get in, I have to let you know about her. But she’s going to be a secret from everyone else, including Tim and Temika. She’s already assured me that she can fool both of them.
Yeah, she can. Kimdori are trained to fool telepaths, because of us, she sent with an audible giggle.
Kiaari’s kinda under contract with me to do whatever I need her to do, he continued. She told me as much when she was here. Miaari told her to do what I need her to do. Right now she’s just gonna help us move, but afterwards, after I leave the community, she’s gonna go after Trillane and get us access to their communications, and whatever else we need. She’s going to be our spy. With Kiaari helping us, we actually have more than a snowball’s chance in hell. Shit, we might even have a chance to win.
True enough, Symone agreed. Kimdori are good. If she’s going to be around for the duration, we have a much better chance at getting Trillane off Earth.
We never talked about dates, but the way it sounded to me, she’s here to stay.
When is she gonna try to get into the community?
Today, he answered. She’s on her way to Charleston now. She’s gonna be found by our survey team She’s already prepared a story and picked a fake identity. We’re going to call her Kate. And part of the ruse is that she’s going to pretend to be my girlfriend. That way we can spend long periods of time behind closed doors without attracting attention.
Damn, that’s pretty clever, Symone sent with a hum. It wouldn’t attract attention, would it?
It also gives her the perfect excuse to leave the community and stay with me after I go, he nodded.
Smart.
Miaari’s idea, he told her. But a damn good one.
Symone laughed. I’ve spent weeks trying to get Temika into your bed, and now I have to drop it so she doesn’t interfere with the plan. I’ll have to come up with a viable reason to stop, or she’ll get suspicious.
Push her towards Mike Colbert, he told her. Mike’s the kind of guy she’d be attracted to, and Mike’s smitten with her. That’s all the reason you need to stop pushing her at me.
Really? I haven’t noticed it.
Trust me. If she pushes you, just tell her that Mike told you he was really interested in her, but was too shy to ask her directly, and he wanted advice from you on how to approach her since you’re her friend. That’ll get her going in the right direction.
Why would she like Mike? He’s all muscle. Faey women like muscle on a man, but not that much. I think it looks ugly.
That’s what Temika likes, he shrugged. She likes ripped guys.
Yeah, I think that’d probably work on the Temika angle. I suggest you don’t take what Kate does seriously, Jason. It’s just going to be a game to her, nothing personal.
Yeah, I know, she already warned me. I’m not sure I can pull off pretending to be in love with her, but she said I should do alright. I hope so.
You’ll do fine, she assured him. I just can’t figure out why they’re breaking the rules, she fretted. Kiaari should have bargained her price with you immediately after agreeing to work for you. No one should have paid for her work, because that implies that she was going to work before she ever showed up. Kimdori don’t do that.
Well, I’m not sure of the specifics, but I was given the distinct feeling that there’s something else going on, something bigger than what we can see, and the Kimdori are involved in it, he told her, dancing carefully around the whole truth to tell her what he could without violating Miaari’s confidence in him. For us, it’s just gonna be about kicking Trillane off Earth, but there’s another layer to this higher up than Earth that involves us somehow. What happens here is going to affect what goes on up there, and Miaari flat out told me that the Kimdori have a vested interest in what happens. That’s why Kiaari is here. She’s here to make sure that whatever interest the Kimdori have in Earth is protected. I’m not sure what that interest is, and how it involves me and what I plan to do, but I’ll take Kiaari’s help even if I don’t understand what’s going on. Even if I don’t see the big picture, what I can say is that I trust Miaari. She’s not going to sell us out, I’m positive of that.
You trust her?
Completely, he sent with conviction, his emotion reinforcing his thought. You weren’t there when we were talking, Symone. I can’t tell you what she told me because I’d be betraying a promise to keep it secret, but believe me when I say that I trust Miaari with my life.
I can respect that, Jason, she sent seriously in reply. And you forget, I’m friends with a Kimdori, so I understand what you’re saying about secrets, and about trust. If you trust Miaari, then I trust Miaari. It’s that simple. We don’t have to understand what they’re doing, mainly because I doubt we ever could. Kimdori are way smarter than most people realize. Odds are, their plan is just way beyond us. All we can do is our best, and hope that it’s enough.
Thanks, Symone, he sent gratefully, his sending tinged with honest gratitude. I was afraid that you wouldn’t understand.
I understand. There’s just one problem that I can see.
What?
I hope Kiaari isn’t the jealous type, she sent with a wink. She has to share you with another girl. Right now, it looks like it’s gonna be me.
He laughed. And what makes you think that?
“Pft,” she hissed aloud. She’s just gonna be pretend, and I doubt she’ll satisfy your needs the way I can. You’re going to be living with a woman you can’t touch, and that means that you need a woman you can touch available when you need it.
Symone, you haven’t done any satisfying since the first and only time we slept together, he sent with amusement.
Hey, that’s your fault, she replied with an accusing tone, pointing to herself. It’s right here whenever you need to get off, cutie. I haven’t been pushing it very much because I hoped you’d get horny and I could get you between Temika’s legs, but if I’m going to be pushing her towards Mike, then that means that it’s my duty as your friend to make sure you don’t go without.
You know I’m not comfortable with that, he reminded her. You’re my best friend’s girlfriend. Even if he does approve, to me, it’s just not right.
Yeah, that’s why I’ve been working Temika, she answered. She’s still the most needful woman on this entire planet in the most dire need of a good fuck. She desperately needs a good fuck, you need a woman who won’t think it’s a permanent relationship, and you wouldn’t have the same hang-up about banging her as you do about me. It was a good match.
So that’s why you’ve trailed off on the propositioning, Symone, he sent with a sly smile.
Yup, she sent with a grin. But now I’m back on the job. Any time I think you need some pussy, you’re getting mine. I won’t take no for an answer, so just deal with it, she warned. You’re my friend, and I won’t let you go around without. I don’t care if you have an issue with buddy sex because I’m with Tim. That’s just a hang-up I have to break you of, that’s all. And you’ll be easy to break of sexual hang-ups, she sent tauntingly. I know how to get you excited, cutie. I learned that our first time. Actually, I learned that from Jyslin, she laughed. She shared with me all the lurid details of her sex life.
She didn’t!
Of course she did, Symone answered. I told her all about Tim, too. Me and her are best friends, Jason. We both knew that if one of us was busy, that it was the other’s job to satisfy our men. If it was Tim and Jyslin here, she’d be doing the exact same thing, and I’m glad she would. Don’t think of us as two couples, cutie. Think of us as a quartet. A Faey will send her best friend into her husband’s bed if he needs attention and she’s too busy to give it. She’d also send her husband to her best friend if she needed sex, but her husband wasn’t available. I wouldn’t hesitate to send Tim to Jyslin if we were still in New Orleans. I never did, but I almost did, right before we left. She was starting to get bitchy, and I was about two steps from sending Tim to pop her spring.
Jason was a little surprised. He didn’t know Jyslin did that. He almost felt betrayed, but in a way, it wasn’t betrayal. What she said certainly fit into the Faey mentality. Symone and Jyslin were best friends. Given Faey behavior, it certainly fit that Jyslin would do what she did. After all, she was just taking steps to make sure that Jason was kept happy, at least in her own eyes.
I’ve been working on Tim in the same area, she told him. I’ve got him to where he understands you and me, but he’s still having a bit of an issue with the idea of him and Jyslin. He’s a bit self-conscious about the fact that one of the first things I’ll do after we reunite with Jyslin is have her fuck him. I guess I should work with you too about that, so you don’t take it personally, she reasoned in her sending, looking him in the eye.
Yeah, that does seem a bit personal to me, he sent honestly.
See? I knew I should have started sooner, she sent with an audible sigh. Think, cutie. I’m just doing what a Faey girl thinks is right. Jyslin’s not any different. She’ll do the same for me that I do for her, and that’s take care of my man, the same way I try to take care of you. She will because we’re friends, Jason. She’s just doing me a favor, and besides, she told me that she thinks Tim is sexy, so it wouldn’t be a chore for her. Friends don’t let friends go without, and friends don’t let a friend’s husband stay frustrated. It’s one of the marks of a close friendship when Faey share their spouses with each other when it’s needed. We’re not gonna be having daily orgies in the bedroom, she sent with amusement. Though I admit, I wouldn’t say no to the idea of the four of us getting it on in the same bed, since I think you’re hot and Jyslin’s my best friend. It’s just an aspect of us you already know and understand applied in a slightly different manner, that’s all. I hope you can understand it.
I think I can, he sent after a moment of contemplation. It creeps me out a little bit, but I think I can. It also surprises me, I’ll admit. I mean, I know you thought of me as friend enough to be willing to have sex, but I never really considered Jyslin the same way. I always thought of her as, well, as just being interested in me. It’s a shock to realize that she really would have sex with Tim the same way that you would with me, because he is her friend.
Just so, because he’s her friend, Jason, she sent, quite seriously. She’s still all about you, but she wouldn’t turn her back to a male friend in need, especially a man who’s your best friend. She’d take that as even more reason to be there for him whenever he needs pussy. And it’s just sex. That’s something you told me you finally understood.
Yeah, but it’s strange to think of applying it to Jyslin.
Well, then this wasn’t a bad conversation then. Just don’t think any differently about Jyslin, Jason, just as you don’t think any differently about me.
I don’t think I will, I just have to get used to the idea.
Good. Now, need some, cutie? I’m right here, we have some time, I’m naked under this robe, and talking about all this sex has me in the mood. Care to feed the pussy?
Why don’t you go see if Tim wants to play? he asked mildly.
You’re right here, and I fucked him last night, she told him, getting up and coming over to him. She sat on his lap and untied the belt of her robe, then opened it enough to let him see that she wasn’t lying about having nothing on under it.
No thanks, Symone, he sent sternly. I’m not in the mood, and I have a lot on my mind.
You’re not in the mood because you do have a lot on your mind. Every once in a while you have to just put it all on the top shelf and spend a little time on you.
I’ll have time for that when the community is safely moved and we’re in our new place, he told her.
There was a knock on the door, and it opened quickly. Temika and Tim were outside, and they looked in with some surprise. Tim just grinned, but Temika gasped and put her hand over her mouth. “Ohmahgawd,” she blurted. “What are you doin’?”
“What’s it look like, Mika?” Symone asked archly, dropping the robe off her shoulders to advertise her nudity openly to Temika. “I kept trying to get you to come over here and get involved with Jason, but you wanted to be stuck up about it, so I’m taking care of it myself. Jason’s a man, and he needs pussy from time to time. It could have been your pussy, but I’m tired of trying to get you in here. I’ve neglected Jason for weeks because I was trying to get him interested in you, and you interested in him. Well, honey, you have officially missed your chance. From now until he finds a girlfriend, when Jason needs pussy, he’ll get the one between my legs, not the one between your legs. Now shut the door. I’m not gonna let you watch when it could have been you sitting on his cock.”
Temika blushed so furiously her entire face turned almost black, and she fumbled for the doorknob for a moment before finding it, then slammed the door closed after she and Tim backed out. Jason gave Symone a surprised look, but her face screwed up into a silly grin, then she put both hands over her mouth so stifle the sound of her laughter. Think that justifies me not pushing her towards you anymore? she sent privately to him.
That was a front? Jason sent in surprise. It sounded real to me!
Well, I think it worked, then, she winked. I’ll go apologize later, and start pointing out Mike to her. That should get Temika out of the picture and give Kate an open door. Besides, maybe thinking about the fact that she could have had you will start making her think of finding a man to be part of her life, and we can get her fixed up with Mike and happy with herself again.
She’s gonna be pissed once she gets over her embarrassment.
I can handle it, she winked again.
Jason stifled a laugh. Symone, you are an evil, evil woman.
But you love me anyway, she sent grandly.
God help me, I guess I do, he admitted. Now put your robe back on.
Hell no, she sent with a lascivious leer, her sendings tinged heavily with sexual desire. She got off his lap and immediately grabbed his belt buckle, starting to undo it. They think we’re fucking, I’m stuck in here to maintain that illusion, I’m horny, and I can’t get to Tim right now. So, if you’re really my friend, Jason, fix it.
Oh my God, that will be such a chore, he sent dryly.
Shut up, she sent shortly, but she was grinning.