The other female had an amused grin on her face. “I am Recall or Tonya.” She gripped Rathi’s hand next.
“Rathi. I am new here.” She smiled, and the other woman’s open expression showed no hostility or subterfuge.
“Welcome. No matter where you end up in the grand scheme of things, Jarrod is a good person to have at your side.” Recall inclined her head with a wink.
Jarrod cleared his throat. “Thank you, Recall. Now, I need to get Rathi to the medical bay for her entrance exam.”
Recall smiled and bowed slightly. “Then, do not let us keep you. Dr. Yarmek is a good physician. He will be businesslike and thorough.”
Rathi sighed in relief. It was exactly what she needed to hear.
Chapter Four
In her memories, when she wasn’t fighting, she was being scanned, poked and prodded. Rathi didn’t have good thoughts when she remembered doctors.
Dr. Yarmek was an older male of the Azon species, and he gently asked her to remove her armour and step into the scanner.
Jarrod turned his back when she emerged naked. It drew a smile from her that he respected her personal modesty.
Dr. Yarmek helped her get into the correct position with light touches on her arm and elbow. She was settled, and the machine whirred to life in a few moments.
The physician was muttering in amazement as the scans worked over her. She felt herself tilted to her back, and the scans continued with a field of energy supporting her body.
Her stomach rumbled hungrily as the scans went on and on. Finally, she was finished with waiting. “I would like to end this now.”
Dr. Yarmek said, “What? Just a few more, please.”
Rathi forced the scanner to right itself and summoned her armour. “I am hungry now, as your scans must be showing. We can continue later.”
He was staring at her as she stepped into her armour. “You just managed that without any change in brain function.”
She gave him as sarcastic a look as she could manage. “Of course not. That is simply what I am.”
He frowned and then smiled hopefully. “Will you return?”
Rathi gave him a gentle smile. “Of course. I just need something to eat first. You have plenty of data to play with. Enjoy.”
Jarrod raised his brows as they walked to the dining hall. “Is everything all right?”
She frowned. “Why would you think otherwise?”
“You were in the scanner for two hours.”
“Oh. Well, that explains why I am hungry.”
He laughed.
“What?”
“I find it funny that you can sleep for a thousand years and then get hungry the moment you wake.”
“It is a matter of…well…matter. When I burn energy, I need energy. I can remain passive indefinitely, but when I need to use my talent, a snack is in order.” She gripped a tray and made some selections, nodding to a few people, as she walked to a table, that she had seen the night before when she ate with Olaris.
Jarrod sat across from her, and they both tucked into their selections. Halfway through her food, she asked him. “What species are you?”
“You can’t tell? You have run through every bit of data on the Sector Guard that you have been able to find.”
She tilted her head and stared. His skin had a silvery tint reminiscent of Nhavil, but there was an undertone that she had only seen once in a Vorwing. “You are a mix of species. At least four that I can identify, all very old though.”
They were also very powerful species, so it was no shock that he was able to bend light and block electronics.
He smiled. “Have you met all the species in person?”
She shrugged. “Ichadra was attacked by the Vorwings twice. The Nhavil were authorized visitors, but they did not stay long. The Rhenkahil is a bit of a surprise. They tend to be on the darker side of legal in most sectors, but the Wyoran is the most normal of your component species.”
Rathi chuckled. “Close your mouth or finish chewing.”
His jaw snapped shut. “You actually met a Vorwing?”
“He tried to purchase me from Ichadra soon after I became the Destroyer. When he refused to take no for an answer, I was forced to use my skills on him.”
She remembered his solid black eyes, the bright wings and the purple skin. His scream when she tore him molecule from molecule was something she wished she could forget. He had certainly looked surprised.
“You have seen them in person?”
She blinked. “Of course. Every time a new species asked to land on Ichadra, I was brought to greet the visitors, just in case.”
He absorbed the connotations of her comment and swallowed then shrugged. “Right. Of course.”
“Does that disturb you?” She watched as he thought about it.
He finally came to a decision. “Not as much as I initially thought.”
Rathi exhaled in relief. He was the one person that she felt a connection to, and if he had been appalled by the subtext of her comment, she would be completely alone once again. Suddenly, alone didn’t seem like such a comfortable thing.
A small prod at her calf made her look down. A butter-yellow Yaluthu with wide blue eyes was blinking up at her. It flapped its little wings and chirped earnestly.
Rathi looked at Jarrod. “What does it want?”
Jarrod peered under the table at the frantic little creature. “I think it wants up.”
Unsure, Rathi reached for the creature, and it stilled as she gripped it under its wings and lifted it. It made a small happy noise as she held it and a settled warmth moved from the point of contact with it, up her arms and across her chest.
“I feel strange.” She tried to put the creature on the table, but it ran toward her chest and cuddled against her.
“The Yaluthu go where they believe healing is needed. Apparently, you need a little attention.” Jarrod sat back. His amusement was palpable.
Rathi looked down at the little creature and held it tight, rubbing her fingers through the fluff that was a peculiar mix of fur and feathers. “Hello, Targo. How are you?”
Jarrod looked at her, “Targo?”
“It is in my mind, so it must have something to do with this critter.” She stroked the fur back and tweaked the ears gently. The beast chortled and burrowed deeper in her embrace.
“So, I don’t think I remembered to get Dr. Yarmek to make an appointment with a Minder. Can we take care of that now?” She smiled and it surprised her. She rarely smiled.
Targo chirped and rubbed his head under her chin. Rathi looked at Jarrod.
“Of course. We will head there right after we finish eating. Are you going to put Targo down?”
She tried, but her new friend did not want to go down. It wanted to be cuddled against her and squawked when she tried to leave him on the chair next to her. He hopped back onto her lap and made a peculiar thrumming noise.
Rathi surrendered and kept one arm around it while she worked on her meal.
She felt pressure on both legs and looked down as she finished her dessert. Rathi heard laughter in the dining hall and the cluster of Yaluthu around her legs was definitely the cause for amusement.
“Why are they here?” Whispering seemed appropriate.
“They think you need help, Rathi, and they are going to make sure you get it.” Jarrod was trying to keep a straight face, but his grin kept flashing out.
The Yaluthu wandered around in slow figure eights, taking turns making direct contact with her and then stumbling away and shaking their heads as if dizzy. When they regained their balance, they came back for more.
Rathi was getting worried. “I think I need to go to medical. If this many of the little ones are getting drunk off me, there must be something wrong.”
His grin faded. “You are correct. Let’s go.”
She got to her feet with Targo cuddled in her arms, and she waded through the crowd of the little creatures, but they waddled after her as she made her way down the hall.
When they entered medical, an assistant was sitting at a desk. She stood up in alarm when she saw Rathi. “Dr. Yarmek would like to meet with you in Olaris’s offices.”
Jarrod took her arm and steered her out of medical and down the hall. His face showed his worry.
Targo chirped, and the dozen fluff balls that were waddling after her answered his voice. The Yaluthu had her back no matter what happened, and it was giving her far more comfort than she would have imagined.
Chapter Five
Dr. Yarmek was speaking earnestly with Olaris, and he jumped as Jarrod, Rathi and her entourage entered the room.
Olaris’s features were grim. “I understand, Doctor, but she is now under our protection. We must deal with it as it comes.”
Rathi perked up, and as Dr. Yarmek backed off to hide behind Olaris, she asked, “Can you please make an appointment for me to see a Minder? I want to see what goes beyond my life as the Destroyer.”
He nodded nervously.
Olaris sighed. “Dr. Yarmek, you may return to medical but make that appointment, please.”
The doctor nearly ran from the office.
Rathi took the seat that Olaris gestured to, but Jarrod stood at her shoulder, his hand pressed against her arm.
Olaris sighed and tented his fingers. “Dr. Yarmek has become aware of the fact that you are a very dangerous woman.”
Rathi cuddled Targo and remained silent.
“He has found that you have an unstable molecular assembly that could dissipate in a violent manner and blow this entire continent to hell in a matter of seconds.” Olaris remained serious.
“I see. So, I am a danger to this facility and even this world. That is unforeseen.” She felt a tightness in her throat.
Targo chirped and rubbed his head against her chest while the other Yaluthu resumed their routine around her legs.
Olaris looked at them. “How long have they been doing that?”
“About an hour. Targo seems to have called them, and I have to admit, I feel a bit better though the poor things look a little drunk when they stagger away.” Rathi grimaced. “What are my options?”
“I will ask Relay for ideas. She will be able to access requests that normal Guardsmen can’t handle.”
Jarrod stood straight and stated, “I want to go with her wherever she is posted.”
Olaris leaned back in his chair with a smile. “Relay won’t like that.”
“Tough. I am dispatched all over the place. The least you can let me do is choose my home base.” He crossed his arms, and he shifted closer to Rathi, his thigh pressed against her arm.
Olaris chuckled. “Well, Rathi, it seems you inspire loyalty in those around you. Man or beast.”
She shrugged. “I have never been awake long enough to do much of anything before. Is there a Minder on staff?”
He nodded. “Recall can pull out your memories, but I think you would do better with one of the specialists at the Citadel. They are always training new members, and it would do them good to see someone like you in a retrieval of lost information.”
“As an experiment?” She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
“As a new experience for them. Your example might help them save someone in the future.”
Rathi slumped back in her chair, and Targo rubbed against her chin again. She absently stroked his fur. “What was so disconcerting about me aside from the unstable molecular structure?”
Olaris grinned. “Yarmek was freaked by your telekinesis. There was no change in your brain activity, so you are constantly in a state of active psychic activity. You are a hot-running engine just wandering around and that can be a dangerous thing.”
She twisted her lips and nodded. “How long will I be allowed to stay here?”
Jarrod pressed more tightly to her arm.
Olaris was firm. “You will remain on Balen until you have another, safe home. I will make a quick call to the Citadel, and you can head over there with Jarrod whenever you are ready.”
She got to her feet and inclined her head. “Thank you for your assistance in this matter. I did not wish to be a burden.”
Olaris shook his head. “You are not a burden, but there is an astronomical reward for your capture alive. We have to keep you away from the Raiders and whatever they have planned for you. I am guessing that it would not be pleasant.”
“A reward?”
“A bounty really. They must bring you in alive and unharmed. That alone is peculiar. We are looking into what they want you for, but since they rarely let their experiments loose, it is not likely to be a good thing.”
She grimaced. “I understand. I have done a bit of research on the matter, and I agree that the Raiders do not offer me a proper solution or a chance at any kind of a life.”
“You will have a life with your own freedom, it just may be slightly less open than we had anticipated.” Jarrod placed his hand on her forearm.
Rathi gave him a determined smile. “One day of freedom is better than a century of sleep.”
She turned and walked out of the base commander’s office with her fluffy posse staggering drunkenly behind her.
Jarrod caught up with her, and he silently steered her out into the daylight, toward a collection of small flying vehicles.
“Do you want to fly on a vehicle or on your own?”
“I think I will fly on my own if you don’t mind. Can you take Targo?”
He frowned at the Yaluthu, but he nodded. “If it will stay put, I will take it.”
Rathi pulled Targo away from her, and he complained mightily. She tried to explain what was about to happen with pictures, but he counteracted with an image of her flying with him in her arms.
She sighed. “I will fly and carry him. He doesn’t want to leave me, and physically, I am not feeling as jittery as I normally do.”
He laughed. “Aim for the building with the tower across the valley. Wait for me before you go in. We want to give Olaris enough time to make that call.”
She lifted off and floated while he got the vehicle going. She let him get a head start, and then, she floated after him at a leisurely pace until Targo chortled with the urge to win the race. “Competitive thing, aren’t you?”