“Miikor are not born with talents.” He scoffed but his eyes were unsure.
“Of course they are. My research has shown me nine different talents in this very province. If they wish training, we want to offer it to them. Imagine being able to control the weather, put out forest fires, have disaster personnel who can dig through rock. They can and will be a boon to Miikor.”
“How do you know this?”
She smiled tightly. “I have done my research.”
He swayed slightly. “Who do you want?”
“I want Vice Chancellor Altair Newshot to resign his position and come here as an assistant coordinator to liaise with the locals. I also want a local cook for the Citadel.”
He blinked. “You want him out of the government?”
“He is a solid personality who can be moved here with no power to sway your people.”
“Why him?”
“Because he has been in the news, and you don’t need him. You can simply declare this an ambassadorial post and move him from one position to another.”
The chancellor beamed and swayed. “Come to the capitol tomorrow. You can bring him back here with you.”
She inclined her head. “It was good to meet you, Chancellor. Have a good evening.”
He nodded, turned on his heel and pitched into the side of one of his guards.
Bright came up to her side, and he took her right hand in his. “What was that sweet smell?”
“Krisk sap. It acts to reduce inhibitions. Thanks for reminding me about the gloves, without the armour, he would have gotten me with the sap and I would have babbled like an idiot.”
“Does it wash off?”
She chuckled. “Yes, it does. Based on the timeline given, the Citadel should be complete by the time dawn rolls around?”
“Correct.”
“Then, I think we should get to sleep so that we can move in at dawn. I call the top bunk!”
He chuckled, and they made their way back inside the shuttle with her hand held out in front of her. She headed for the lav and scrubbed off the sap.
“It was good that you recognized the scent.”
She smiled and dried her hand. “I ran into a krisk bush when I was a teenager and ended up ostracized for several months when everything I thought came out of my mouth for two days straight. I know the smell and the effect.”
She pulled off the gloves, mask and shrugged out of the robes. Shiver stretched and checked the local vicinity. They were alone.
She pulled her boots off and crawled up and onto the top bunk in the sleeping chamber. The higher position and suspension let her feel anything coming close. She was going to sleep on alert.
“Good night, Bright.”
“Good night, Shiver.” He chuckled and settled in the lower bunk.
She watched as he closed his eyes. The light that he was still emitting shut off when his lids shut.
Her smile was still on her lips when she dozed off herself. She was home.
The predawn hum woke her, and she slipped out of bed, walking to the door and opening it as quietly as she could.
Dark lights were her friends. She stepped out and the small insects swarmed around her, touching her skin and skittering away happily. Nathaly had been twelve when she noticed that the insects were attracted to her aura, and many early mornings were spent in the garden with the dark lights visiting her.
“Hello, friends. It has only been a few days, but I missed you.”
The light sparks flowed in waves around her and led the way to the Citadel. The light glowed, and she followed the dark lights to the arched doorways and high walls around the delicate and intimidating structures.
She didn’t touch anything. She walked through the courtyard and up to the path that led into the primary tower.
It was perfect. It had the design of something important, something that would mark a change on Miikor.
Unable to resist, she headed out back to where the gardens would be. The raw earth was enclosed just as the buildings were. Her mother was going to have so much fun here; all that Nathaly had to do was get her out of confinement.
The chancellor would remember everything that was said the night before. The sap didn’t delete memory. Worvin had helped her come up with a plan of attack on their flight in. All she needed to do was to get her parents to sign a Citadel contract and the chancellor would have no recourse. He would have to hand over any citizen to the Citadel whose talents qualified them for Citadel service. Fortunately, Lord Newshot and his mistress both had minor talents. Rema was a sporadic seer, and Newshot had a strain of empathy that made him a very good politician and a great dad.
She felt the footfalls before she saw Worvin.
“Good morning, Worvin.”
“I thought we were coming here together.” He rubbed at his eyes, illuminating the area.
“The dark lights called me. I had to come.” She held out her hand and a ball of light tumbled into the field she emitted before it cascaded out in more waves.
“What are they?”
“Insects attracted by geomagnetic energy.” She smiled.
“Can we go to the door and power up the Citadel?” He watched the small creatures play in the light beams of his eyes.
She took the arm he offered her. “Of course, partner.”
They headed to the front gateway of the Citadel, and each of them took up a position on either side of the door. They pressed bare palms against the glowing stones on the sides of gate, and a hum took over the building. The power supplies came online and the Citadel came to life.
The doors slowly closed with a thud as dawn brightened the world around them.
Nathaly looked over. “What do we do now?”
“Breakfast?”
She chuckled, and they returned to the shuttle while the Citadel finished getting ready for guests.
Over breakfast, she asked, “I thought we would have to run wiring.”
“We would have, but this design accounted for it, we just loaded the spools. The power systems are a light-transfer design, and I have to admire the beauty of it.”
She laughed at him. “Obsessed by light?”
“Something like that. I am glad it is completed. The first supply drops are going to begin in a few days. Having a place to put the stores is an excellent start.” He rubbed his hands together.
Nathaly sighed, and when the dishes were put away, she gave him the directions to the capitol and suited up. The mask, gloves and robes were going to get her what she wanted. The two tablets secreted in her robes would protect the ones she loved.
Worvin just had to get her there.
He pulled on his own gloves, but the dark cut of his armoured suit was imposing enough. Bright had a grim look to him, and it suited him, the blue of his eyes and hair would otherwise have given him a more frivolous look. Only black or grey was appropriate for Bright’s uniform.
Nathaly held onto the grips on the wall as they approached the capitol, and as they landed, she muttered, “Show time. I hope this works.”
“It will. Head high and remember that you are Shiver.”
He stood and she gave him a quick kiss. “For luck. My luck.”
He blinked rapidly, and for the first time, she felt his name of Strobe might have been earned.
Chuckling, she headed for the hatch and opened the door, stepping out into the square and heading for the grand assembly hall where the chancellor had his offices.
Political prisoners were held under the stone that she was walking on.
Lady Lupik was waiting for them. Bright introduced them.
“Lady Lupik, this is Shiver, my partner and the administrator of Citadel Miikor.”
Shiver extended her hand to shake her godmother’s own. “You may recall my partner, but he has altered his name to Bright to suit his personality.”
“Shiver. I can’t tell you how happy I am that you were able to get here so quickly.”
“Nothing could have stopped me once I grasped the situation. Can you visit Rema Welling?”
Lady Lupik ran a hand over her feathers, and to Shiver’s surprise, she recognized something her mind had been blurring. Bright was the same or a diluted version of Lupik’s species. The pearly skin and the feathers were a dead giveaway.
No wonder she had been so comfortable with him from the moment they met.
“I can get in.”
“Good. Take this and get her to sign it. Tell the guards that it is a statement that her daughter was not involved in her actions. She must sign it. Are we clear?”
Lupik nodded. “We are clear, Shiver.”
“Good. Go. I have to go bully the chancellor.” She winked and headed up the stairs with Bright at her side. She hoped that she managed to keep her mind calm. This could go downhill very quickly.
The chancellor had a pugnacious expression on his face. “You are early.”
Shiver straightened her back and inclined her head. “We did not set a time, as you are well aware.”
“Last night is a blur.”
“The krisk sap you tried to dose me with does not interfere with memory. Simply hand over the vice chancellor and we will leave.”
“What about his mistress?” The chancellor looked at her with narrowed eyes.
“What about her? She was not part of our arrangement. You promised me a man with charisma and who is liked by those around him. Deliver the vice chancellor and issue a statement that he is being transferred as ambassador to the Citadel. You get rid of him, and I get a useful employee.”
The chancellor leaned back. “Take off your mask.”
Bright moved forward. “You dare?”
Shiver put her hand on her partner’s shoulder.
“Why are you trying to get out of our agreement after you attempted to drug me last night?”
He snorted. “You have no proof.”
She lifted her hand and tapped the ornate fixture on one side of her robes. “This records all interviews, conversations and that little stunt you pulled. If I am in uniform, and this is a uniform, I am recording and sending information through a relay link.”
He shifted and cleared his throat. She remained calm, but his chair began to rattle.
“What is it; what is going on?” He clutched at his desk, and it began to shake.
“I want what was promised to me. I do not ask for more. Bring me the vice chancellor.”
Books against the wall tumbled from their shelves, and she and Bright remained standing as the chancellor’s office shook itself into disarray.
She wanted to pull a knife and slit the greedy idiot’s throat, but she rattled him until he surrendered.
“Fine.” He bent and hit the button on the intercom. “Bring me the vice chancellor. Now.”
Shiver turned down the vibrations, but she kept everything rumbling under him.
Bright moved in next to her and supported her with his presence.
When her father was dragged in, she kept her face stony. She walked up to him and took out the data pad. “Sign this, Lord Altair Newshot, and become the ambassador to the Citadel Miikor.”
He scowled. “I am not going to sign.”
“Your daughter wanted me to make sure that you sign this. You can miss this birthday, too, if it makes a difference.”
He looked at her and quickly signed.
The chancellor blinked. “What was that?”
“What has passed between my employee and myself is none of your business.”
“He is still a citizen of Miikor.”
She held up the tablet. “Not according to this. According to this, he is a talent of the Citadel and answerable only to me. Let’s go, Lord Newshot.”
She grabbed one side and Bright the other. They hauled him out of the offices and down the hair.
“My daughter, is she safe?”
“She is afraid she is going to trip on the steps if you don’t pick up your feet. Now, I have to get Rema. By the way, you have diplomatic immunity on Miikor now. Just thought you would like to know. Hang on to this tablet. I have to go to the women’s holding center.”
When they reached the base of the steps, she turned to Bright. “Get him to the shuttle and lock the door. I will be there as soon as I can.”
Bright scowled. “I want to go with you.”
“Gender locks. You couldn’t come in if you tried.”
Shiver made her way through the halls and tracked the pulse of her mother’s energy; it leaked into everything around her.
The guards at the gate stared at her. “I am here to see Rema Welling.”
“You can’t. It is only family or equivalent.”
“It is a good thing that I am her daughter. Now, I want to see Rema Welling.”
One woman said, “She already has a visitor.”
“Show me.”
The guard blinked at her tone of command and led her into the holding cells with their bare walls and sparse bunks.
Lady Lupik was standing in front of the cell, clutching the tablet to her chest. She gave Shiver a smile and thumbs up.
“You are illegally detaining my employee. She has diplomatic immunity and can only be tried in an Alliance court.”
Shiver took the tablet and filed the paperwork with the court system.
“Lady Lupik, there is a shuttle waiting. Get on it.”
The lady didn’t hesitate.
Shiver turned to the guard. “I will remain here, but you will confirm that this is not a legitimate prisoner. I can and will shake this prison down and the assembly hall with it.”
She shook the guard, and the woman scampered back to the computer system.
“Who are you?” Rema stared at her between the bars of her cell.
“Really? I see you didn’t get all of the dough out of your hair.”
Rema gasped. “Is this some kind of scheme?”
“Yes and no. You are really my employee as of the moment you signed that paperwork. I think the role of gardener would suit you well.”
Rema beamed. “I think it will as well.”
The guard came back and unlocked the cell. “You are correct. She is free to go.”
Rema’s knees buckled, but Shiver gripped her arm and hauled her along. She was still wearing her dress and patches of flour were still on her. It was a reminder of the simple life that had been rocked with that one moment.
They left the detainment center and headed for the shuttle. Guards were watching with weapons drawn, but the weapons shook so violently that they couldn’t hold them.