Alien Attachments (15 page)

Ria shrugged. “I think so, but it’s been a long time since I studied biology.”

Armond cleared his throat. “An element exists in our atmosphere which accounts for the dominance of purple flora.”

“Thank you, Armond. It’s crazy beautiful,” Dani said standing.

“
Si
,” said Gina. “And the colors, they are so bright.”

Ria bent down and picked a small, red flower off a shrub. “Wait till you see a partially cloudy day. The purple and green colors of the clouds are splashed everywhere like paint.”

“Literally?” Dani asked.

Ria flicked the flower at her. “No silly. The light filters through the clouds.”

Armond scoffed at her.

“Hey,” she said. “I’m on an alien planet, for crying out loud. How am I supposed to know?”

Ria threw a scolding look at Armond. “You couldn’t possibly know. Ask anything you want.”

Jared, who had been conversing with Battista, spoke up. “We have a question. Why all the old fashioned weapons? You guys created portals and laser guns. Why spears, shields, and knives?”

Marco turned to Jared. “Before all our high tech, Sandaria had a rich tradition in all kinds of hand combat. We’ve kept it alive with our games and comes in handy in the field. Nothing beats a good fight with swords and shields.” He danced around, pretending to ward off blow after blow.

“What are the games?” Dani asked.

Marco feigned another attack. “Like your Olympics. Only better of course. It’s a mix of high and low tech. Best time ever.”

“You’re right,” Dani said. “This place feels like a high-tech, medieval castle.”
Awesome.
Clusters of buildings formed a compound joined together by courtyards and park-like areas. The sun’s rays warmed her skin.
It may be an odd color, but it feels the same.
People came and went, attending to their own business. Some wore almost Victorian-era finery, while others contemporary Any-town, USA clothes. A young couple sat beneath a tree. The male laughed as he fed the woman something small and round. Dani wondered if they had grapes on Sandaria.

“How many people live here?” she asked.

“Do you mean the Cavacent grounds?” Ria said.

“Yes,” Dani said.

“The population varies,” Armond said in his deep, quiet voice. “Close to forty Cavacents and their direct relations live here. Their private residences are spread throughout this complex,” he said, motioning with his hand. “A significant number of the staff live here as well, although plenty commute from nearby towns. Like Ian, many are away for weeks or months at a time, so the population varies. I’d say between two and three hundred.”

“The compound can accommodate hundreds more, however,” Ria said. “During the Games, this place is a mad house.”

“I bet.” Dani’s stomach rumbled. “So, I’ve had some of your vegetable soup, what else you got to eat here?”

“Given our biological similarities, you’ll find our food to be similar as well,” Armond said.

Ria nodded. “Plus, as long as you’re in the Cavacent’s domain, you can get pretty much any Earth food you want. Mara’s always been a big fan of the stuff. Come on, we’ll show you where we eat.”

* * * *

The main dining hall of the Cavacent compound offered both cafeteria style and sit-down dining options. Rather than one large space, the facility was divided into six separate dining rooms. The EPs led Dani through the main entrance, past the cafeteria line, and into a smaller room. Once seated, waiters descended with the day’s drink and food options. Dani opted for the Sandarian equivalent of a veggie wrap. Aside from the fact the vegetables were more on the neon side of the color spectrum, and the hummus stuff was kinda purple, the wrap tasted very much like the ones from home
.
After lunch, the EPs led her to the training arena. A one-story building, it seemed to go on for blocks.

Dani recognized Mordo standing just outside the entrance. His dark hair brushed the collar of his calf-length cape.

“Enjoy your tour?” he asked when they approached.

“The compound is amazing. I’ve no doubt I’ll be getting lost on a regular basis,” Dani replied.

“You’ll meet me here tomorrow morning,” Mordo said.

“Sounds good.”

Ria held the door and they filed in.

Dani caught her breath as she took in the surroundings.

“What is this?” Gina’s hands came to her face as she took in the sight. The arena could easily hold three or four football fields. They walked down a short, gray hall to a railing that ran the length of the place. The field was a good twenty feet below ground level, and the ceiling four or five stories tall.

“Ha, it’s a Tardis right? Bigger on the inside?” Dani said, looking at the ceiling.

“A what?” Ria asked.

“Dr. Who?”

Ria shook her head.

“I’ll introduce you when we get back to Earth,” Dani said. “How is this not visible outside?”

“A simple bending of light,” Mordo said. “I believe your scientists on Earth are getting close to having the same technology.”

“The effect is cosmetic,” Ria added. “It’s hard to make such a behemoth building look good, so we just make them go away.”

Gina turned to Mordo. “How do you keep birds and your flying cars from crashing into it?”

Mordo nodded. “Good question. It emits a sound that’s audible to avian creatures. Our cruisers, of course, can detect its presence. Anything that flies is equipped to detect cloaked structures.”

“Assuming they’re transmitting,” Marco said.

“Yeah,” Ria winced. “There’ve been a few spectacular accidents caused by the transmitters not functioning. Entire flocks and a few cruisers. Pretty ugly. Hasn’t happened in a long time.”

Dani pictured a flock of geese smashing into the dome above. To the left and right of where they stood were stairways. The right led down to the arena floor, and the left up to what appeared to be a large viewing area. The rooms were spread out in intervals all the way around the arena.

“We’ll see ya in an hour or so,” Ria said, as she and the other EPs headed for the stairs. “Depends on how Ian is feeling today.”

Mordo led the humans up the other flight of stairs to a glass enclosed room, large enough to seat a hundred or more. Comfortable looking chairs sat configured like a movie theater. They sat closest to the window and waited.

Ian entered from the far side and the EPs gathered around him.

“Shouldn’t he be resting or something?” Dani asked.

“Do
you
feel like resting?” Mordo responded.

Dani thought about it. “Not even close. I’m almost fidgety.”

“It’s the psi. It generates a great deal of energy. We’ll put you to work tomorrow.”

The lights dimmed throughout the arena and the empty space morphed into a lush terrain with massive trees and grassy hills. Clusters of foliage provided ample opportunity for cover and ambush. The sim arena was like Ria’s practice room, only on a massive scale. The sound of a waterfall in the distance and multitudes of birds created a constant background noise. The arena was alive with creatures of all shapes and sizes, none of which Dani had ever seen before. The trees were full of three-legged spider-like creatures that gave her the creeps.

“Not wasting any time today,” Mordo said.

Ian moved with a natural grace, but his fists clenched and unclenched as he made his way to the center. She leaned toward Mordo. “How do you fight with all those distractions?”

“How indeed,” Mordo said.

“Oh, right. That’s the whole point.” Dani leaned forward with elbows on knees, and waited
.
She couldn’t help but follow Ian’s movements. A knot tightened in her stomach as she recalled what it was like to run her hands over his lean muscles. She pulled her gaze away and tried to focus on what was going on below.

Ian’s voice came through speakers into the room. “I hope everyone is ready for a workout.”

The EPs maneuvered.

“What’s the game?” Armond shouted out.

“Everyone for themselves,” Ian replied, as he fired at the tree shielding Marco.

Half the trunk exploded. Marco rolled and dove under some foliage. Silence reigned as Ian kept them all on the defensive.

Damn, that man is a machine.
Dani couldn’t take her eyes off the action below. Ian cycled through the team members, alternating between his sim weapons and his psi. At one point he had both Marco and Ria pinned against a small cliff while simultaneously pursuing Armond. Ian had to focus on the two at the cliff, which gave Armond an advantage he wasn’t going to waste. Ian grunted as Armond’s laser made a direct hit to his head. Marco and Ria dropped the ten feet or so to the ground and took off in different directions. The pace was relentless, and Ian showed no sign of slowing.

Mordo leaned forward with his brows furrowed. Dani jumped as a translucent blue beam shot out in front of Mordo’s face, straight into Ian’s head. Direct hit.

“What are you doing?” Dani whispered.

Mordo held up a finger for her to wait. His voice rang in her head quite clearly.
“Ian, you need to pull back. Your anger is affecting your judgment.”

“Don’t care, Uncle.”
Ian fired another shot, this time slicing into Ria’s forearm.

Dani grabbed Mordo’s arm.

“It’s all right,” he said. “The arena simulates injuries. She can feel it, but not too much. If it were a ‘mortal’ wound, there would be a great deal more pain, but only temporarily.” Mordo turned back to Ian.

“Stop now. Go to single sim, Ian. Your team doesn’t deserve this treatment,”
Mordo projected.

The beam or light, Dani wasn’t sure how to describe it, pulsed at this command, then disappeared.

“Halt,” Ian called out, breathing hard.

Marco stood up from a crouched position on the floor. “What’s wrong?” His chest heaved, and sweat dripped from his face.

Ria cradled her arm. “You’re in rare form today.”

“So I’ve been told. I’m going to single mode. You three join Mordo in the box.”

The EPs protested all at once.

“Now,” Ian said.

Ian paced, waiting for them to clear the floor.

Dani leaned into Mordo. “Does his anger always cloud his judgment?”

“Interesting choice of words.”

“They’re your words. You said it to Ian just now.”

Mordo’s face paled. “How did you know that?”

“I saw it. A light or something. It’s beautiful. Started about here.” Dani pointed to the spot in the air in front of his face. “It shot out, and nailed Ian right in the head. I thought you were shooting him at first. Then I heard you talking, and his response. Not with my ears though, in my head, with my psi, I guess. Sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I don’t know how to stop it.”

Mordo shook his head. “Extraordinary.” He spoke low so that Gina and Battista couldn’t hear. “You must not speak of this, child. I will help you make the most of these abilities, but there are perhaps some which you should keep between us. If the council knew that you could overhear a psi conversation…” He paused. “It could be very dangerous for you. Don’t mention it to anyone else.”

The concern in his voice made her nervous. “Okay. Problem is, I don’t know what’s normal and what’s not. I’ll let you know what else turns up.”

“Please do. If you’re uncertain, keep it to yourself and contact me.”

Dani wondered about the light. She was pretty sure it didn’t happen when Ian talked to her with psi. Maybe it was part of the strange connection they had.

The EPs filed in and sat behind the rest in the second row.

Marco plopped down behind Dani. “What’s up with him?”

“No kidding,” Ria said, sitting next to Marco.

Ian’s voice came over the speaker in a low rumble. “Sim level nine. Activate.”

“Did he say nine?” Armond sat down, and placed his arms on the back of the chair in front of him.

“Well this should be entertaining,” Marco said.

“And short,” Ria added. “The record for level nine is twenty-two minutes. And everyone knows Ian does better with live opponents.”

Forty-five minutes and six seconds later, Ian was “killed” and the lights came on. Trees, boulders, everything melted into the floor, returning the arena to bare gray walls. Everyone in the room started talking at once, and someone opened the windows, which slid up into the ceiling leaving the room open. A wave of hot, humid air blew in, then quickly dissipated. The lingering smell of damp forest presented a strange contrast to the now bare space below. Ian’s team gathered around the windowsill and called down to him.

“Over forty-five minutes, Ian. You rock, boss man.” Marco punched the air with his bulb-encased bony hand, and danced around. “Wait’ll the academy get’s a load of this.”

Ria nudged Dani and explained. “The academy is where all military personnel are trained. The old record was set five or six years ago.”

Ian held his weapon with one hand and pulled up his shirt to wipe sweat from his face with the other. Dani cursed his near perfect abs as he started for the stairs.

“I needed that,” he called up, smiling. The smile disappeared when he saw her. “What the hell is she doing here?”

Everyone turned to Dani, confused.

“Don’t look at me,” she said. “He’s the one that went psycho after I healed him.”

“You healed him?” Armond and Ria asked at the same time.

Open mouth, insert foot.
“Yeah, but I don’t really know how. It just, sort of, happened.”

Mordo leaned out the window. “She’s watching a training session, Ian. She has much to learn.”

Ian slammed his weapon into the thigh holster and stomped off toward the stairs. “My team in the conference room, one hour,” he called out as he headed for the exit.

“What was that all about?” Marco asked. “Why’s he so pissed at Dani? Sounds like he’d be dead without her.”

Dani cleared her throat, not wanting the conversation to continue along this path. She could still see Rucon and Ian’s expressions as she sat in his bed. The embarrassment still burned. Armond looked at her intently before turning to face Marco. “Perhaps we will find out what bothers him in the meeting.”

Yeah, not likely.
Whatever happened between us, that man doesn’t want to admit, let alone talk about it.