Tracking (Return of the Nine) (4 page)

They left the gym and Ianka was feeling much better. Her body was humming with energy and earned fatigue. She couldn’t sleep if she didn’t exercise, so she should be able to rest well that evening.

There was a tension on the way back that wasn’t out on the way there. She chuckled. “If you are this talkative now, I can only imagine how chatty you will be on the trip to find the survivors.”

To her surprise, a small smile that flitted over his lips. “I am lost in thought. I thought you were something else and I have begun to see that my supposition was mistaken.”

“Were you reading reports on my sister?” Ianka smiled. It happened frequently on Gaia that folk had met Vida and assumed that Ianka was just as frail. It seemed that the physical strength had gone to one twin and the mental capabilities to the other. Ianka was always happier when she could act and not think.

“I may have heard rumours about her being physically frail before she arrived. You seem a little more…fit.”

Ianka wanted to howl with amusement. “Again. Thank you for that observation.”

He looked like he wanted to say something else, but a cluster of Fury members approached them and something extraordinary happened the moment one of them looked at her. Derion got bigger.

He didn’t just shift his arms and legs, he went from six and a half feet tall to nearly eight feet with a corresponding increase in width as he snarled at the men looking her over.

Two of the men responded in kind, and while she stood there, there was a clash of fists and skin in the hall as they fought. There were claws, teeth flashed and bodies thudded to the ground. Ianka stayed out of the way, smart enough to know males in rut when she saw them. The other two males of the Fury stepped back and watched from the other side of the fight.

Security rushed to the scene and waited while the men sorted themselves out. One of the officers gestured for her to ease out of the potential damage area, but she shook her head. Instinct told her that if she moved, Derion would switch his focus and that might not be a good thing.

He sent one of his opponents skidding across the floor and the other one shifted and knelt at his feet, head down. It was a very formal pose, and Derion paused, stood straight and then cuffed the other male lightly on the side of the head.

They both shrank back to normal size and Ianka blinked. Their clothing had remained intact the entire time. The tailors of the Fury knew their stuff.

Security moved in and spoke to all concerned. Ianka was surprised to be questioned.

“How long have you been in a relationship with Attack Master Derion?”

She blinked. “We are not in a relationship. We haven’t had any physical contact whatsoever. All I know is those guys started looking me over and then poof, Derion got taller.”

“Did you touch him at all?” The officer had wings that flicked in agitation.

“No. I was warned against it. Is he in trouble?” She looked around to find him.

Derion was calm and he was speaking quietly with another officer.

“Yes and no. He will be taken to medical and a check will be made on his blood to see if he has triggered any mating reactions. If he was just being protective of you, he will be released immediately. If there was another reason, he will be treated.”

“Okay. Good. As long as he is released before we are due to leave. I don’t want anything to interfere with launch.”

The officer’s eyes widened. “Oh, you are
that
Gaian.”

She could feel her forehead wrinkling. “What do you mean?”

“All of our councillors have asked for participation in the action you are heading up. There are more volunteers than spaces on the ships, though if this fight gets out, that number might double.”

She asked the officer, “Why are you all so eager to fight?”

“We come from active and aggressive races. This is the first opportunity to go into action and we are all eager for the chance.”

The officers across the hall were trying to get Derion to accompany them, but he was shaking his head.

“I was charged with watching out for her, and I will see her safely to her quarters before I go to medical.” He crossed his arms over his chest and had an immovable stance.

The officers looked at each other but the one speaking to her raised his hand. “I will go with them and escort Master Derion to medical.”

Derion looked at him and nodded. “Acceptable, shall we go?”

Ianka nodded. “Lead on.”

The men gathered in the hall parted, and Derion and Ianka walked at a leisurely pace through the halls with the officer that had spoken to her. She could feel his gaze on them and there was approval at her back. It was nearly palpable.

At her quarters, she thanked Derion for his escort and smiled wistfully. “I guess that I will have to find somewhere else to exercise.”

He chuckled. “Why? The Fury fight often. With the gym closed, it just made it harder to find a place to let it out. If I had run into them an hour later, the result would have been the same, but it would have been in the facility.”

“Seriously? I wasn’t the cause?”

He rocked his head a little. “You were and you weren’t. Their interest was growing and you are under my charge. I had to stop two of them from escalating into interest in you and the others would be distracted.”

“It certainly was distracting.” She grinned.

He smiled. “Good. I was worried you would be frightened.”

“Nope, just a little surprised. You have a very good tailor.”

It took him a moment before he laughed and he grinned at her. “Have a good evening, Miss Senior. Welcome to the mother ship.”

She slipped into her quarters and closed the door as the officer took Derion back down the hall. It had certainly been an interesting evening, but she needed a shower and then she needed some sleep.

The probe was on its way and it would start broadcasting as soon as it got close to the target area that Vida had found. Ianka hated waiting, but perhaps she could find someone to show her how to fly a ship. How long could that take?

Chapter Six

The next morning, she ran the request for flight instruction past Ziggy, and an hour later Derion was at her door smiling slightly.

“I am here to give you instruction in the pilot’s seat.”

She blinked. “Just like that?”

“Sure. I was pronounced clean by medical so there is no danger that I will go into mate madness. Would you like to get a morning meal?”

She wrinkled her nose. “Please. I wasn’t able to work out the dispenser. It baffled me.”

He chuckled. “Come with me.”

She followed him, wearing another of the stylish bodysuits and the long robe over it. She felt more centred today. It was strange but she felt at home.

The walk to the restaurant was quick and the servers were attentive as she picked a few items that Vida had recommended on the first day and entered them into the ordering unit.

When their server returned, he set her selections down in front of her as well as a large pot of tea.

Derion poured her cup of tea before his own and sat back to enjoy his own meal.

“So, your check in medical was fine?”

He inclined his head. “I was found to be within my rights as your assigned escort. Things can escalate quickly here, so my actions were deemed appropriate.”

She smiled and nodded. “Good.” She sipped at the tea and got on with her breakfast.

“Were you worried?”

“Well, your father has assigned you to me during the mission, so I was concerned that you would be detained.” She used the eating utensils with growing confidence to increase the speed of her consumption.

He chuckled. “I am sure they would have found you another partner and pilot for the event.”

“I have a hard time dealing with strangers, and spending a few days in a shuttle with someone I haven’t met is a tricky prospect.”

“You seemed fine when we met.”

“I was told you were arriving, I have met your parent, so your scent is familiar, and by the time I finished my workout, I was used to you.”

He paused and raised a brow. “You identify folk by scent?”

She wrinkled her nose. “Yes. The air got acrid when those other guys entered the hall yesterday and grew worse when they started eyeing me.”

Amazement covered Derion’s features. “You have surprised me yet again. Strength and enhanced senses. Congratulations.”

“Thank you again for the observation.” She finished her meal and sipped at her tea. “Why did you agree to act as my escort on the ship?”

He chuckled. “The Fury have a strict hierarchy. We are a military unit. We may fight amongst ourselves during off times, but we are deadly serious about following orders from our commanders.”

“Ah. Right. So, do you have much family aside from your father?”

He smiled and his blood-red features softened. “My mother and younger brother are still at home on Neecrad.”

Ianka sympathised. “Is it hard to be away from them?”

He inclined his head. “Duty called and we answered, but yes, we do miss them.”

Silence fell between them for a moment and she nodded. “I can understand that.”

After their meal, he took her to a training centre where she was seated behind the controls, and he took the position next to her, explaining the controls and walking her through the preflight checks. By the end of the afternoon, she was hungry, her arms ached and she had managed to power up the simulator.

Vida and S’rin came to take her to dinner and Derion smiled. “Same time tomorrow, Miss Senior?”

She nodded. “I am going to get the hang of this before we leave. I promise.”

He nodded. “I have no doubt.”

It was routine by the day that they were ready to launch. Derion greeted her in the morning and they had breakfast together while discussing the information found by the probe.

The afternoon was spent on the simulator and Ianka had managed to take off, fly and engage in battle manoeuvres, as well as landing. She wasn’t graceful but she could get them where they were going.

The evening meals were spent with Vida, Ziggy and any other Gaians who had time. Late in the night, she answered the knock on her door and went out with Derion again for her exercise.

The day of the launch, she had her bag with her when the knock on her door told her it was time.

The flight time would be twelve hours. The larger ships had more power than the probe and could travel far faster.

She opened the door to see Vida and S’rin. “Morning, Veed.”

Vida smiled weakly. “Would you like some breakfast?”

Ianka chuckled. “Please. Never miss an offered meal. That is my motto.”

Vida laughed. “It always was.”

They linked arms and went for breakfast before the rest of the day shift had stirred into action.

It had less the feeling of a last meal and more of a holiday gathering. There was hope as they discussed the mission and Vida kept tearing up.

When she was escorted to the shuttle bay, S’rin stopped her with a glance and he bowed deeply. “Come home safely, sister.”

She bowed in return. “Take care of her and do not let her get too excited until we return. I expect a tense family dinner when we get back here. You will get to meet our parents, and though they are not talented in the same way Vida and I are, they can see things you could never imagine.”

She smiled softly in remembrance of her functionally blind parents and their vision that went far beyond the physical.

Vida lunged at her and squeezed her tight. “Take care of yourself. I want to see all my family together, not in pieces. I am going to see everything you do, so take care or I will kick the tar out of you when you get home.”

“Yes, Veed. I promise I will take care.” She whispered it in her sister’s ear and she heard Vida sob. “Vida you did the hard work; now, let me do my part.”

Vida leaned back and swiped at the tears in her eyes, moving back against S’rin.

Before she could start snivelling on her own, Ianka turned and headed for the walkway that extended into the ship she would be ensconced in. Derion stood aside as she entered, and once inside, she nodded to the guard on her left.

“To the right and down the hall until you see a staircase. Go up the staircase and then turn left.”

She nodded. He had briefed her the night before. As commander, he was the last one into the ship, because the moment he was in place, they would leave. She needed to be strapped in before he sat down or she could tip over.

Ianka kept on track with his directions, and after ten minutes, she was sitting in the cockpit on a jump seat with her bag stowed in a locked shelf behind her. She needed the contents of the bag for the mission and wanted to keep them close.

Two other members of the Fury were on the command deck and they linked to the probe that Ula had sent out and used that for telemetry. The moment that Derion was strapped in, they started the engines and the ship began to move.

Ianka was fascinated by the flight. It was so different from lifting off from a world. There was no pressure, no discomfort, only a slight indication of motion before all exterior signals ceased.

Humming to herself, she followed the motions of the crew and unbuckled her launch harness. She unlatched the storage box and removed her bag, fishing out the tablet with the information programs that she wanted to watch. She had twelve hours to kill and she was finding the history of the Nine fascinating.

Derion smiled and got to his feet. “Miss Senior, this is Uradik and Morwil. They will be at your disposal if you require anything. Medical is ready if you want to take a nap.”

She smiled. “I am fine. I can stay awake and alert for a few days if needed. I don’t need to use the bed in medical. Will this documentary disturb any of you?”

Uradik and Morwil shook their heads. Derion shrugged. “It will be fine. What are you watching?”

She flicked her fingers across the screen. “The origins of the Balance, since Vida is married to one.”

She set the volume down as low as she could and still hear it and settled in to watch the documentary. She might be able to make her way to the People of the Air if she kept her focus. With her blood singing in an urge to action, focus was all that kept her from screaming with tension.