Keeper (3 page)

The woman in the robes nodded.

“One of us born for family, one of us born for adventure, and so it has always been.” Martha quoted her mother and left the Volunteer Centre office with a sad smile on her lips.

Jake Lennox smiled at her and tucked her against his body. She put her arm around him and held tight as her daughters clung to her legs. They moved out of the centre and into the family car.

Jake drove while Marty closed her eyes and felt for Aggie. The link was dark, but it was still there. She hadn’t lied. Aggie’s mind was silent, but it was still alive.

Twelve generations of women with twins had culminated with Aggie and her. One was always an adventurer with keen senses, and one was designed for family. Marty wondered what she would have done if she was the adventurous twin. Would she have locked herself out in outer space, a criminal waiting for trial the moment she was found? The next letter from Aggie had better fill in details.

Marty could wait as long as their link remained.

* * * *

Getting on a tour to the moon base had taken some doing, but Aggie had been gone nineteen months and there had been no trace of her. The file that Marty received that week was very specific.

She was herded along with the crowd, and she sat in the auditorium to meet some of the trainers that ran the Volunteers through their paces.

Marty smiled at the displays of telekinesis, the analytical touch of a Reader and the physical capability of the combat trainers. She identified the one she wanted easily. He was cold as he went through his paces, but he was definitely beautiful. Aggie hadn’t lied.

When they were allowed to speak with the trainers, women surrounded him. Marty hung back and waited for his silver gaze to skim over her.

The moment he saw her was visceral. His whole body jerked, and he pushed through the crowd. He gripped her arm and pulled her against him tightly. “Agatha.” He inhaled sharply and frowned. He let her go. “No, you are not.”

Marty winced at the residue of his grip. “No, but she hates being called Agatha. It might be a little informal but she prefers Aggie.”

“Preferred.”

Marty led him from the disappointed crowd. “Not precisely. She is alive, but she is asleep. She has been asleep since she disappeared. Does that make sense?”

He nodded. “Cold sleep. Of course. Why would she do that?”

Marty passed him a small data crystal. “Let her explain it. Whatever information she wanted me to give to you, this is it. I know she is alive and she needed someone to find her and she trusted it to you. Can you send someone to look?”

He closed his fingers over the data crystal as if it was something precious. “She has communicated to you?”

“One message before she went dormant and one came this week. She told me not to read it, just get it to you. Somehow.” Marta smiled and patted his cheek. “I think she likes you.”

He gave her a narrow-eyed look. “What do you know about me?”

Marty walked to the edge of the viewing window and she looked out. “She mentioned you at least twice in every conversation we had. Her expression would get all soft and dreamy for a bit and then she would shake herself into being serious again. She spent too much time being serious.”

“What do you expect me to do?”

He crossed his arms and she watched his reflection in the thick barrier between her and the vacuum.

“I expect you to act on whatever is on that crystal. I expect you to find my sister, and I expect to be embarrassed when you both get into whatever is running below the surface.”

“You really feel what she does?”

“Remotely, like through a filter. She knew when I went into labour, but she also felt my shock when I realized I was pregnant. She came over with a six pack of fruit juice and held my hair while I puked for two hours.”

He looked at her via the glass. “You miss her.”

“I miss the life she brought to me. Everything was brighter when she was on the other end of the connection, now it is just blank. I know she is still out there, but she isn’t answering the call.”

“That must be frustrating.”

“Well, it has taxed my marriage, but hopefully, you will find her or find someone who can.” Marta smiled and turned to face him. “If you will excuse me, I have to rejoin the group. Good luck. My sanity and her life are now squarely on your shoulders.”

Ikvaro narrowed his eyes again. “You are trusting me with her life?”

Martha patted him on the arm. “Aggie trusted you with her life. I am merely trusting my sister.”

She fought the tears as she walked back toward the diplomatic tour. Her husband had called in every favour he could to get her on that tour, and she hoped he hadn’t wasted the effort. He would have hacked off his own limbs to make her happy, and it was nice to know he made the offer. Marty would never ask that of someone she loved, but she would do anything remotely possible to help someone she loved.

She really hoped that Aggie had been right about Ikvaro because it was all up to him now.

* * * *

Ikvaro spoke to the base commander and resigned his contract.

Trainer Ikvaro returned to his quarters and emerged in his Enforcer uniform. The ship that he caught was on its way out to Nodak station. He sent information ahead, and when he arrived, a ship was waiting. Commander Pen was also waiting for him, a smirk on his face.

“So, what are we hunting for? An escaped prisoner? An assassin?”

Ikvaro clapped him on the shoulder and moved past him, into the ship. “A missing Keeper.”

Pen came in behind him and stowed their gear with the ease of long practice. “Really? Why are you bothering with a Keeper?”

In the grand scheme of things, Keepers were one step above private security. They were not a highly prized occupation.

Ikvaro did the preflight checks and glanced over at Pen as he settled in the navigator station. “I am bothering with her because she and I have a connection that I wish to awaken.”

“A woman who didn’t fall over for you? This is a woman I have to meet.” Pen grinned, his exceptional good looks as irritating as always.

“Can you track her if I have something of hers?”

Pen nodded. “Of course. I can at least point us in the right direction. Where is she?”

“I don’t know. She went missing twenty months ago.”

He got clearance and eased them from the station. The transport from the moon base had been painfully slow. He wanted to get free and into untapped communication routes. He had no idea what was on that crystal, but he was hoping that it held clues to her location.

Ikvaro slipped the crystal into the reader and smiled at the display.

“Ikvaro, if you are seeing this, then I have been out of commission for a year and a half at least. My sister and I rated a secure connection because we are twins, but I wanted to send the sealed data to you so that the Minders couldn’t pick her brain. She would just have received this and then had to find a way to get it to you…but I digress. I sent this on a time delay so my sister will have gotten it to you as fast as she could.”

She inhaled and exhaled in a blast. “I did something stupid. Do you remember that I was told not to get too involved with my charges? I didn’t listen. A kid in trouble is still a kid in trouble. So, if you want to find me, start with the place I was last seen and ask my ship’s sisters where we went. If I am missing, so is the
Grey Talon
.

“If you send someone else, tell them to say
Marty
. I will get the hint.”

The vid went dark.

Ikvaro exhaled heavily. He had hoped that she sent the signal live from wherever she was hiding. This meant that her sister had been telling the complete truth. Aggie’s mind was dark because she was sleeping and even her ship was only equipped to keep her under for two years. They were running out of time.

He opened the secure box he had and removed one of the hair combs that Aggie had brought from Earth. It had put her over her travel weight limit, so she had asked him to hold onto it for her. Now, he was going to hand it to Pendrikan and have him use his tracking capabilities.

Having friends with talents who were chafing at retirement was a handy thing, but when it was all said and done, Ikvaro was confident that Pendrikan would want to enjoy his retirement with a Terran of his own. The species was addictive and Ikvaro had met half a dozen women that he wouldn’t have minded spending his life with, if he hadn’t met Aggie first. That one small woman had turned his life upside down and thrown him into uncharacteristic celibacy. It added a certain urgency to getting her back.

He took the box and brought it to the cockpit. Pen was arguing with the navigation computer.

“Enough, Pen. We need to head to Zenfar. I need to speak with the Avatar.”

“What’s in the box?”

“The only trace of Aggie that I have.”

Pen took it with reverence, catching on to Ikvaro’s mood. He was normally jovial, but he sobered while Ikvaro took the controls.

Ikvaro keyed in the coordinates of Zenfar and increased their speed.

“Uh, General, she was last seen on Hirwin Prime. Why are we going to Zenfar?”

It didn’t surprise Ikvaro that his friend had opened the files. “We are going to Zenfar because they just got a new Avatar, and he was the last person to see Aggie.”

“Right. We talk to him and then go to Hirwin Prime where I can use this comb to track your ladylove.”

Ikvaro focussed on the controls. “She isn’t my ladylove. Not yet. First, I have to thaw her out and then crack her out of her armour. Aggie is a woman with layers.”

Pen chuckled. “I am guessing that she is.”

“Hands off, Pen.”

“We haven’t even found her yet. Allow me to imagine what your true love looks like, General.”

“Her image is in her file.”

“I know, but tormenting you is just so much more fun.”

Ikvaro growled low and went silent. He had clues to follow and time was running out.

The full diplomatic welcome was a bit of a surprise. Ikvaro and Pen walked under full guard into the council chamber where the new Avatar was holding court. Wovian-Zenfar was strong, confident and he seemed to recognize Ikvaro the moment that they walked in front of him.

The first words spoken by the Avatar were, “Have you found her?”

Ikvaro shook his head. “I have only begun looking. What can you tell me about the warrants out for her arrest?”

“They have all been dismissed and a dispensation has been put through the Alliance records. She was acting according to her moral core and her responsibilities as a Keeper. She kept me from making the wrong decision until I could come to the right one my own way.”

Wovian-Zenfar got up from his chair. His tusks were full and polished to a high shine and his yellow eyes swirled with cerulean blue. He came down the steps and extended his hand to Ikvaro. “I am honoured to have met the man she talked about any time I let her get a word in edgewise. I had to talk about myself just to stop her talking about how perfect your ears are. Seeing them up close, they are rather fetching.”

Ikvaro felt his skin heat. Zenfar were huge and an adult male was taller than he was by a foot or more.

“Thank you. She really talked about my ears?”

“She just talked to keep me calm. You were the only topic she felt comfortable with, so she focussed on you the whole time. If you need any help finding her, let me know.”

Ikvaro nodded. “May we call for assistance? If she is in cold storage, she might need medical attention.”

“When you get close to finding her, send me a priority signal, and I will get you directions to the nearest med facility along with in-system jump clearance. She was the nicest person I have ever met, and I want her to be safe. Though, now that I see you, an opportunity to ask her to be my mate is out of the question. You are indeed very pretty.”

Pen was snickering behind his hand.

“Well, I have a file with all I know and all sightings of the
Grey Talon
. It has taken on the aura of a haunted ship but no one can get close to it.”

“That is because the ship knows what is going on. Well, Avatar. Congratulations on your rising.”

The Avatar inclined his head. “The previous Avatar waited until I was ready to take on the responsibility because Keeper Aggie got me enough space for negotiation. Talking about it took away the fear, just like she said it would.”

“She was very good at telling people what they needed to hear.”

“She was. She also had a calm look in her eyes. It was helpful.” He smiled wistfully.

“Are we able to leave Zenfar in search of her?”

“Please, use one of our new courier ships. They are jump capable and very stylish with room for cargo.”

Pen spluttered, “You are giving us a ship?”

“Of course. She gave me the world and the time to grow up on my own. When I was ready, Zenfar welcomed me and respected me for my decision. Finding her is the least I can do. She gave me time by sacrificing her own.”

That was it in a nutshell, as Aggie would say. They moved their articles from one ship to the other. The title was in Ikvaro’s name and Pen was the registered navigator. With full registry enacted, they took off for Hirwin at breakneck speed.

The courier ship had a jump engine and Ikvaro was willing and able to use it. While Pen sat with a vomit bag, they jumped from system to system, reaching Hirwin Prime in one day.

Once in Hirwin space, they settled in orbit and Pen went to work. He opened the case, placed his fingers on the comb before he closed his eyes.

They were standing in the small command centre and watching the rotating screen of the sector.

Ikvaro waited for him to absorb what he could, and when Pen was ready, he opened his eyes and a beam of light pierced the hologram and lit up a ringed world with asteroids in slow rotation.

Pen couldn’t see out of his eyes while he was using his talent. “Where is she?”

“In orbit in the Nefaro system. We have quite the distance to cover, but we should be there in four jumps. Do you think the engines can handle it?”