Quoxor Province, Pavlovan.
Rain Datta eased her heavy kit bag over her shoulder and approached the ticket booth, sliding her I.D. card across the counter.
“Good morning.” Rain said politely.
The male leaned as far away as possible as he swiped her card.
“I need a ticket to the Neveks region in Quoxor Province,” Rain continued. “I should have credits in place from the military. My number is—”
He pushed the card back using one fingertip. “I can’t help you.”
Rain frowned. “You do operate a service out there?”
“Yes.” He glanced briefly at his screen. “Once a month. You just missed it.”
“It was supposed to run today.” Used to the vagaries of transportation outside the major cities, she tried again. “If I’ve missed the direct bus, there must be a way to get to Neveks using other routes, right?”
“Nothing that I can offer the likes of you.”
His sneer this time was loud and obvious.
“Hang on a minute,” Rain said, holding on to her temper by a thread. She’d already had a long day and was in no mood to make it worse. “Are you discriminating against me because I’m from Neveks? What century are we in?” She jabbed at her uniform. “I’ve served in the Pavlovan military!”
He still wouldn’t look directly at her. “There’s no point getting annoyed with me, female. I don’t make the rules. Due to new regulations regarding native tribes in this region, I’m not allowed to sell you a ticket without prior authorization from my manager, your current employer, and the Neveks authorities. According to my systems your name isn’t on any of those lists.”
Rain let out a long slow breath. “This is ridiculous. What am I supposed to do now?”
The clerk shrugged.
“I’ll buy her ticket.”
The voice came from behind her, and she swung around to stare up at the unknown male. He was tall and had striking pale blue eyes and a hard face.
He nodded at her briefly, and then returned his cold gaze to the ticket seller. “No member of the Pavlovan military should be denied a seat on a public bus. I’ll buy two tickets.”
“You can’t—”
“Get down!”
In a blur of motion, Rain was swept off her feet and rolled to the ground. From within the cradle of the man’s arms, she watched as a large vehicle careered off the side of the road and came spinning down the bank toward the bus station, brakes squealing, horn blaring. It swung around in a slow, perfect arc, almost as if it was a vidmovie, and took out half the building as well as the two empty buses waiting for passengers to board.
“Wow.” Rain breathed through a mouthful of dust.
There was a horrendous crashing and tearing of metal, and then everything shuddered to a stop. Rain pushed herself free and stood up, coughing in the smoke, and tried to assess the damage. It was early in the morning so there weren’t many people around, and she could see no obvious casualties who needed help. She cautiously lowered her telepathic shields. No one appeared to be hurt.
The clerk leapt to his feet and pointed straight at Rain.
“You did this! You caused this, Thought Stealer, Mind Thief!”
Rain didn’t bother to answer, but grabbed her pack, turned away, and headed out. It looked like she’d be walking, so she might as well get started before it got really ugly around there. Gradually the smoke and the dust settled behind her, and she breathed clean air. She could hear sirens and emergency vehicles and wondered whether the clerk would be dumb enough to send the authorities after her.
It wouldn’t be the first time someone from Neveks was arrested for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“Hey.”
She’d known someone was following her, so she wasn’t surprised at the shout. It was a shame the military hadn’t allowed her to bring her favorite weapon home, but she was trained in hand-to-hand combat so she could still hold her own. She didn’t stop walking, but slowed enough to let the tall male come alongside her. It was the guy who’d offered to buy her a ticket and thrown her to the ground like a real hero.
“You still planning on going to Neveks?”
During her military service she’d met people from all over the planet, but his accent was unfamiliar and his mind…was like nothing she’d ever encountered before. She slowed down and faced him.
“Of course.”
He studied her carefully. “How are you planning on getting there?”
“I’ve got these things.“ She pointed at her feet. “I’ll walk.”
“You don’t want to share the cost of a rental?”
“A what?”
“A hired vehicle.”
“No one in this town would rent me anything.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Why’s that?”
This time she stared at him for quite a while, but he didn’t appear to be joking. “Because I’m from Neveks.”
“The ticket guy called you a mind stealer. Does that have something to do with it?”
“Are you super slow or what?” She jabbed herself in the chest. “I’m from Neveks! We can read people’s darkest thoughts and sub thoughts and bonded-Triad thoughts. Nothing is safe from our horrible, devious minds.”
He regarded her impassively. “So what am I thinking right now?”
“You…are just weird.” She started walking again.
“How?”
She spoke over her shoulder. “I don’t have time to play games.”
“I can’t sense you in my head, so you’re obviously not that powerful.”
“You can’t?”
He shrugged. “Nope. I have excellent shields.”
“That usually doesn’t matter.” She stopped again. She couldn’t sense him, which was remarkably soothing. “You’re not from around here, are you?”
“I’m from planet Earth.”
She gave him her best don’t-fuck-with-me look. “They don’t have telepaths there, Earth man.”
“It’s hu-man, and let’s just say it’s an emerging talent.” He hefted his backpack higher on his shoulder, his expression calm. “Are we walking or not?”
She shrugged, which Jay took for assent, and he fell in beside her. He could sense her in his head just fine, but as long as she wasn’t aware of it, he was good.
“How long do you reckon it will take us to get to the Neveks region on foot?”
“A week if the weather stays fine and you don’t hold me up.” She didn’t bother to look at him. “I know a few shortcuts off the main route.”
“You’ve done this before?”
“You heard the man at the bus station. We’re not popular, so most Neveks learn to have a backup plan.”
“That sucks. I don’t think I’ve met anyone from your region before.”
That was the truth. The fact that he’d spent a month studying up on her culture, and all data available on her personally, was another matter entirely.
“That’s because most of my people stay home.” She sighed. “Which kind of makes anyone who does venture out into the world even more conspicuous and even less welcome. Why are you going to Neveks?”
“I’m actually heading for the Temple of Quoxor. I’ve got a big decision to make about my future, and that seemed like a good place to think it through.” That was another truth. “I’m not particularly religious or anything, but your Oracle does seem to have some extraordinary powers. I’ve heard it’s a great place to meditate, and I know one of the palace security team out there.”
“She’s not my Oracle. Neveks worship their own Queen Goddess who rules over our tribes.”
“You don’t go to the temple to find your Triad members?”
He knew most of this already, but he was trying to get her to trust him, and acting like the stranger in town was the best option available.
“No.”
Damn. She sure wasn’t chatty.
For a while she said nothing as they moved off the main highway and crossed into a wooded area. It was cooler under the trees and much quieter. He studied the unfamiliar trees and birds, his keen eye cataloguing each new sight and storing it in the A.I. database that masqueraded as his brain. Information came back to him, detailing which creatures were dangerous, which could be eaten, and which were poisonous.
He paused as a big blue bird laboriously flapped its way from one branch to another. His companion stopped as well, her face turned up to the filtered sunlight, her gaze everywhere. Her hair was black and tied at the nape of her neck, her eyes were as green as the foliage, and her skin…it was like watching a kaleidoscope in motion. Whatever she came near was reflected back in the changing shades of her melatonin.
“You’re staring at me again,” Rain said.
“I’ve never met someone from Neveks before.” He shrugged. “You’re like a chameleon.”
“A what?”
“It’s a creature we have on Earth that can change the color of its skin to avoid predators. I bet they loved having you in the military.”
“They tolerated me.” She smoothed a hand over her throat. “I had my uses. Are you military?”
It was only the second direct question she’d asked him. He wondered how much she could pick up despite his enhanced shields. It was one of the uncertainties about the Neveks telepathic reach he’d been directed to investigate.
“I was in the army on Earth. I was sent here with the Oracle’s heir.” He resumed walking and risked a question of his own. “Why are you going to Neveks?”
“My mother is ill. I’ve been given permission to visit her.”
Jay pretended to consider her answer, even though he knew exactly where the permission had come from. “Why do you need an invitation? Aren’t you going home?”
“I was kicked out when I was eighteen.” This time her impatience showed on her face. “Can we keep walking? I’d like to be out of this wood before it gets dark.”
“Sure, sorry. It’s just nice to have someone to talk to, you know?” He glanced down at her unresponsive expression. “I’ve been traveling by myself for four weeks already.”
She didn’t ask him anything about his journey or himself, which was fine by him. He didn’t like lying, and if she was prepared to tolerate him tagging along while he attempted to gain her trust and entry into Neveks? That was good enough for now.
“My name’s Jay. What’s yours?”
“Rain.”
“Like the weather or like a queen?”
“The weather I suppose.” She shrugged. “I didn’t pick it.”
“It’s nice.”
She gave him an eye-roll for that bit of pandering, and he stopped talking.
The scene at the transit center had been carefully staged to make her notice him being heroic. When the bus careered toward them, he’d relied on his enhanced hearing and speed to get her out of harm’s way. Not that she’d acknowledged his derring-do. She’d simply stood up, brushed herself down, and disappeared in the crowd. He’d already guessed from the speed with which she’d vanished that she was pretty good at taking care of herself, but at least he’d managed some kind of an introduction.
He dug in his backpack for his water bottle and held it out. “You want some?”
“I’ve got my own, thanks.”
He’d told her that he couldn’t sense her thoughts, but that wasn’t true. Like all telepaths on Pavlovan, she gave off a subtle signal that resonated with his enhanced senses. When he and the other guys had first arrived from Earth, the sound of that collective psychic energy had been a balm to their much-abused systems. It was only the second time in his life when he’d actually felt like he belonged somewhere.
“Do people from Neveks form Triads like the rest of Pavlovan?”
“Yeah.”
“But without the help of the Oracle?”
She shifted the strap of her backpack onto her other shoulder. “The Queen Goddess makes the decisions.”
“All of them?”
“Pretty much.” She glanced up at the angle of the sun. “We should keep walking for another hour or so, and then stop to eat. It gets steeper from here in as we follow the path through the mountains.”
“Which is your polite way of telling me to shut up and keep moving.” He surprised a quick smile out of her, which she quickly covered with a frown. “Lead on. I’ll try and keep up.”
She increased her pace, and so did he. He could walk for days without stopping, but she didn’t know that, and he didn’t want to make her suspicious. He’d monitor her body for signs of fatigue and match whatever she did. It was possible that she might try and evade him for reasons of her own. No matter what happened, he was sticking to her like glue. She didn’t know it yet, but the very future of planet Pavlovan might depend on it.