The Seek, page 10
part #2 of New Earth Series
Rexas, who was back in his seat and appeared to harbour no hard feelings about the beating she had dealt him, grinned. ‘Fire,’ he said, his face malevolent.
Kyn rolled her eyes at him. ‘Reetor?’ She prompted the clever, dark young man. He considered the two carefully. Kyn knew that he, along with Kendis, was an opinion-maker in the group. She needed him involved in this, engaged. She watched as he sized up the mat and the opponents. ‘Clagg,’ he said, and Kyn felt disproportionately proud of him. The evil mud was monstrous to fight in, but it also rewarded agility over strength. He wanted a fair fight. She would have kissed him, if she hadn’t already been making far too much of a habit of kissing young Avengers lately.
‘Clagg it is,’ she said neutrally, pressing the square carefully until the helio lit yellow then settled into dark green.
She stood at the edge of the mat, partway between the two Avengers, her two charges. She stood on the far side, so she could watch the class.
A subdued Rexas spoke, his voice a little breathy from the recent assault. ‘Permission to stand to observe, Magister?’
She nodded, and in a heartbeat the ten young men were gathered on the other side of the mat. She could feel them willing their champion on. She momentarily quailed, worrying for Mirren, then she steeled herself. The girl had been required to go through nothing that these boys had. She needed to be tested, by them, in front of them.
Kyn reached into her pocket and extracted a vientamite tube, glowing green with life-giving energy. She tossed it onto the mat carefully, and it rolled to dead-centre. ‘First to return the tube to me wins,’ she said, then she raised her hand and lowered it.
Kendis charged forward towards the prize, the Clagg sucking and dragging at his legs the moment he stepped onto it. But he was good. He kept his body mobile, and managed to move through it, even as the viscous muck pulled him in to his knees. Those old, sad eyes fixed on Mirren, but she didn’t move. She simply watched him for a few seconds.
Kyn was almost vibrating with impatience. It did not pay to underestimate Kendis, but as she watched the girl she realised this was not some tortoise-and-hare tomfoolery. The girl was observing him. And while she was not moving, and while he was fighting through the muck to the centre of the mat, her view was uninterrupted and her focus singular.
But Kendis was almost at the prize. He dragged his strong body through to the tube, and Kyn knew the combination of the effort of keeping his muscles moving against the force of the suction, and the effects of the slow poison that Clagg leeched into your skin, would have tired him badly, even after a short moment.
But still Mirren did not move.
Kyn watched the class; a few lips curling in disdain; a few prematurely triumphant smiles creeping onto their faces. It wasn’t hard to see what they were thinking.
And then, as Kendis reached down to grasp the tube, wrenching it from the Clagg, she sprang into action. The whole thing was so fast and so entirely surprising that it was hard to follow. Mirren’s feet seemed to dance across the muck before she vaulted into a single leap and landed on Kendis’ shoulders, forcing him further into the ooze.
Kyn had a horrible memory of that Hydrentian on the boy’s shoulders, so recently, but the thought evaporated just as quickly as she watched the action. Kendis had been caught by surprise, but he was a strong fighter. He grabbed Mirren’s hand as it closed on the tube held in his own and prised her middle finger backwards to make her release it. Kyn knew how painful the action would be, but Mirren responded quickly. She jabbed a brutal upper cut into the side of Kendis’ head with her spare hand, forcing him to release her finger.
Kendis spun wildly on the spot to try to shake the girl off, but his moment of inaction had seen him sink deeper into the Clagg and he didn’t have the freedom of movement he had the moment before. But he had strength. As the tube fell to the Clagg, he reached up with both arms and pulled at Mirren’s neck. She stood like an acrobat and vaulted off his shoulders before he could get purchase, landing in a light squat near the tube as ten voices groaned.
Kendis wasn’t done. He managed to extricate himself from the suck and drag, and propel himself forward as Mirren picked up the tube and made to vault the length of the mat to where Kyn was standing. His face was a dark mask as he advanced on her, blocking her trajectory to her Magister. Kyn watched as she weighed her options, before feinting to one side, then the other, faster and more together than the usually agile Kendis, whose grace had been slowed by the effects of the Clagg. The boy grabbed for her like a wounded bull charging wildly, but she sidestepped him and stepped lightly across the Clagg towards Kyn.
Not lightly enough. Her right foot sank deep into one of the treacherous uncertain pockets of the evil stuff, trapping her on the spot. And Kendis was upon her, twisting one arm up behind her back while he plucked the tube from her other. He carefully skirted her as she made for Kyn, but the girl was too fast. She shot out a surprisingly long arm and jabbed a finger deep into his diaphragm, forcing the breath from him and arresting his progress. The sharp, unexpected pain caused the tube to drop once again, and before Kyn could follow what and how it had happened, the two Avengers were rolling together on the Clagg, landing blows on each other’s bodies and faces in a vicious battle.
Finally, Mirren rolled on top of Kendis, one hand gripping an ear while the other landed a brutal punch on his jaw. Kendis grabbed for her hand as it drew back again and used it flip her onto her back. But she landed closer to the tube than he had expected and rolled swiftly to claim it.
Kendis reached out for her, but she was up and launching in a second. One forward roll and she was standing in front of Kyn — the tube held aloft, her eyes bright, her vanquished classmate reaching for her from the Clagg.
Kyn took the tube quietly from her hand. Mirren turned and extended a hand to the struggling Kendis, dragging him from the muck effortlessly. The boy stood panting before her, his shoulders rising and falling. But it was Mirren’s face that Kyn was watching.
How would she play it? How would he react? Her eyes briefly flicked to take in the faces of Kendis’ classmates, which were generally wide-eyed and close-mouthed.
Kendis stood quietly in front of Kyn, facing the girl. For the first time in all the time Kyn had known him, those old eyes looked alert, young. He considered her carefully.
‘Nice fight,’ he said finally, extending a hand towards her.
When the girl took it, he pulled his fingers forward to hold her forearm in the Avenger lock — comrade to comrade. And when Mirren released his forearm, the fingers of the two young people brushed lightly as they disengaged. Mirren, who had been looking down at the lock, glanced up towards Kendis, and he smiled at her. His face was open and warm.
‘Okay,’ Kyn said. ‘Enough of the drama. You all the get the point. We want her on our side. Now back to your seats.’
Kyn followed as the two young people settled themselves at the seats, Mirren taking the only empty seat, the one that had belonged to Pyten. Did Kyn imagine it, or was there the tiniest breath of a sigh from the boys in the room as she assumed the seat that had belonged to the fallen one?
She pushed the thought away.
We are adaptive.
Chapter Seven: Coming Home
Being locked in a battle-class vault during a shootout in deep space was about as much fun as facing down a Hydrentian Head-hunter with no sword. Kyn loathed being in danger when there was fuck-all she could do about it. Of course, she wasn’t wild about it when there was something she could do, either, but at least when that happened you felt like you had some agency in your own outcome. Like this — being on a ship, taking enemy fire — it was all up to the gunners and the navigators.
And Kyn’s skin crawled with pent-up adrenalin as she sat strapped in and powerless.
Tyrin, the big blond who was usually one of her more laid-back charges, looked like he was about to lose his lunch under his transit visor. ‘What do we do if it gets bad?’
Kyn laughed. ‘Worse than this?’
He pressed on, his already pale skin ashen and his sweet blue eyes standing out huge and terrified in his babyish face. ‘If the ship goes down,’ he prompted, his voice squeaking a little as he said the words.
‘Well,’ Kyn tried hard to sound like she was very cool with all of this as the ship took another direct hit, and the little room they were in felt like it was going to dissolve under their feet, ‘if we get the evacuate order we go to the pods.’
Tyrin’s colour improved marginally. ‘Escape pods?’
She nodded. She didn’t add that the things were like death traps — easy to out-manoeuvre and popular sport for swarming Tyverians. Like shooting fish in a barrel.
The boy swallowed hard. ‘Should we maybe go down to the deck now?’ His eyes flicked around to the others for support. ‘In case they give the order?’
‘No,’ she said sharply and Tyrin pursed his lips and closed his eyes. If that order was given they were as good as dead. Kyn sat tight and tried not to let the sixty-eighters see how hard she was holding on to the armrests.
A deep whining sounded and twelve heads snapped up. ‘It’s the leap alarm,’ Kyn said. ‘We’re going to try to outrun them.’
‘That’s good, right?’ She had to give it to Tyrin; he was the eternal optimist.
‘It sure as shit beats sitting here waiting to get blown to pieces,’ she agreed. Then she tried to work out what it meant, really, from what she knew. They’d been getting close to Earth Five. There was danger in leaping. They might overshoot. They might lead the Tyverians right to the carefully veiled space station, so they wouldn’t be doing it unless they were sure they were going to go down if they didn’t, and that Earth Five needed them there needed it badly enough to take the risk.
She marshalled her thoughts. ‘So,’ she snapped, injecting pure Magister into her voice to make sure they would listen. ‘You remember how this goes down? It will mess with you, absolutely sap you. You may lose consciousness, but it’s best not to, because if you do it will take you longer to recover, and we don’t know exactly what we’re stepping into. So try to stay with it.’
Twelve heads nodded.
She pressed on. ‘You remember how?’
Reetor spoke, his warm tones taking on the repetitive sing-songy quality of words he had learned chapter and verse. ‘Slow your breath, and with it your pulse. Relax your musculature, especially your neck and head, your shoulders. Focus hard on the skin of your face and head, keep it as warm and loose as you can.’ He cleared his throat. Goddamn, but he was good. ‘Don’t think about the leap. Don’t think about the impact.’ He grinned, finally, almost done. ‘Go to your happy place.’
Rexas the smartass redhead laughed darkly. ‘You don’t want to know just how warm and loose my happy place is.’
Kendis snorted, and Kyn was sure she saw him flick a look at Mirren, staring straight ahead and bolt upright in her seat. ‘You still reading those dirty v-tomes Rexas? ‘Cause that’s the only place you’re getting any warm and loose, you ugly fuck.’
Rexas shot him a dark look, and Kyn cleared her throat. ‘Focus, Avengers. Take your bodies to leap mode. On my count: one, two, three.’
And with that, they were all silent. Even though she knew they would be, even though Kyn had seen many times just how effective the Avenger culture and training was, she was still always amazed when they did exactly as she told them. Who would have thought? Who would ever have thought Kyntura Casters of Sweetheart, Georgia, would bark an order at twelve fine, strong young men and have them rush to obey. Life really was a very strange thing.
As the whining signal built in pitch and intensity, Kyn focused on her own body, slowing her breath and her pulse, unclenching muscles knotted from the tension of the fire fight. As she did, she heard but tried not to register the low growl of an incoming laser fuse. It sounded huge, and deadly. If the ship didn’t leap before the weapon connected, they’d never make the manoeuvre. They’d be toast.
But she couldn’t think about it. She needed to ready her body. She needed to arrive on the other side loose and ready. So she tuned out the whine, and the growl that hunted them, and turned inwards.
Three…
Two…
One…
When the impact came, her bones barely registered it.
***
The time during the leap is like suspended animation — something not real. And then you are there, and it all begins again. Life restarting, your body coming to.
Kyn flicked her eyes open and her first conscious act was to count how many had managed to stay conscious. Twelve sets of eyes blinked back at her. Triumph surged through her, thick and rich like the effects of old-school whiskey. But she couldn’t show them that she hadn’t been sure if they could do it.
She simply nodded. ‘Good,’ she said. ‘Now await the order.’
Twelve heads nodded back at her.
It came within seconds. ‘Avengers and crew,’ a voice she recognised announced. ‘We will be docking on Earth Five in three minutes. Stand by.’
Kyn tried not to smile. She hadn’t been happy to see that Krysto was leading munitions support on the flight. The last thing she needed was the distraction. But right now his voice sounded good — close and warm and good. And most of all, alive.
‘Take a little time,’ she instructed them. ‘You all did well, but you’ll need the three minutes to breathe back into yourself. I want you strong, and together. These people need Avengers. They’ve had a very tough time.’ Kyn had been briefed thoroughly on the battles that had been underway in Sector Five. Earth Five itself had managed to stay veiled, but her ships had taken a beating. And the Avengers, her Avengers, on the new star — the one they were calling Eden 13 — were close to crippled.
Avengers were more than military. They were a symbol. And goddamn if she would not give the poor, embattled residents of Earth Five a symbol that looked as young, fit and lethal as possible. Kyn knew from her time with Pietr — symbols mattered.
Beyond that, she would not think about the landing; she would not think about the other thing.
It had been too long. She did not know what to say; she did not know how she would play it. And she had no idea at all what he would think of her. She had tried so hard not to think about him — not to think about all of them — over the last ten years. Avengers don’t do visits home; they don’t send postcards. Until Jedro had told her so, Kyn had not known Asha was here on Earth Five, although of course she’d known he was an Avenger. She’d had no news of any of them in ten years.
For all she knew, they could all be dead.
And they probably thought she was too.
A moment later, the vault door slid open and Krysto was lounging in the space like sex on legs, his long frame leaning against one curved side. ‘Let’s go, Avengers,’ he said lazily, snapping a salute to Kyn. ‘Captain, the landing mission is yours.’
She nodded, unsmiling. ‘Thank you, Lieutenant. Sitrep?’
‘Earth Five was unimpeded. The ship docked smoothly.’
‘Damage?’ Kyn frowned at him, trying to work out how worried he looked. They had sure taken some fire before they leapt.
‘Some bad,’ he shrugged. ‘None bad enough to stop us leaping. Earth Five is well stocked. We should be able to repair here. Few days, week maybe. I’m guessing we’ll be here that long?’
Kyn eyed him levelly. ‘Maybe,’ she said. ‘That’s not something you need to know.’
He smirked at her. ‘Yes, Ma’am,’ he said, saluting crisply again. ‘The Governor will meet you up top.’
‘Thank you, Lieutenant,’ she acknowledged sharply. ‘Now fuck off while we get ready.’
Once he was gone, Kyn touched the fingerprint release on her seat and stood in the middle of her charges. ‘This matters,’ she said. ‘You know that. Remember the code. You are the best. The best these people have.’
They nodded.
‘Now stand, Avengers,’ she said. ‘And follow me.’
As they disembarked the ship, a small receiving party lined the deck. The Governor was marked out by the broad silver infinity medallion.
‘I’m Julieta,’ she said as she stepped forward to take Kyn’s hand. ‘Welcome, Captain.’ She paused. ‘You are really very welcome here.’
Kyn could feel the truth of it in the strength of the woman’s warm, strong grip. She was perhaps fifty, with warm brown eyes and a tight, lined smile. Kyn nodded. ‘Thank you, Governor.’
The woman went on, motioning to her right. ‘This is Praxus, my aide-de-camp.’
Kyn nodded low at the well-known figure. He had led the broken armies of Earth during the Ultimatum and the Apocalypse, and his ravaged face and prematurely silver hair were talismans of his efforts.
The woman gestured next to her left. ‘And the head of the resident Avenger contingent.’ She took a breath to commence the formal introductions, which were necessary and elaborate in Avenger politics, but Kyn cut her off.
‘Asha,’ she said, holding her arm out to the huge man with the beautiful face and the familiar chipped front incisor.
‘Kyntura,’ he said, his voice like honeyed gravel and insurrection.
How had a boy that bad ever made an Avenger? Kyn thought of her own indiscretions. I guess it can be done.
‘Long time, no see,’ Asha said.
The Governor smiled as if she were used to his breaches of protocol.
Asha held up his hands. ‘Although I’ve heard the odd thing about you over the last ten years, of course.’ He took her hand, closed on it in the regulation lock, then pulled her hard against him in an embrace, whispering in her ear. ‘I’m so fuckin’ glad you’re alive. And Tabi and Symon will — ’
‘They’re here?’ Kyn’s throat closed over at his words. Tabi. Symon. Asha. On Earth Five. All together and all alive, by the sounds of things. How would she explain it all to them?
