Chapter Seven
Jeth was a reasonable cook. Ki sat at the table with the others and watched as he chopped, flipped, and grilled dinner. It might have been lunch, but she was hungry.
Tren was looking at Mertwin like he had grown another head. “I didn’t know he could do that.”
“Do what?” Ki grinned. The fluffy critter was turning around and around to give Tren a better look.
“Speak to someone else. I thought he was mine.”
She chuckled and looked back toward the cooking show. “He isn’t yours. You are his chosen person. It doesn’t mean that he can’t talk to anyone else. He shares with you, and you take care of him. That is the basis of your relationship.”
Mathuan nodded. “So, she knows more about your pet than you do.”
She reached out and plucked one of his arm hairs. He yelped. She held the hair up. “He is as much of a pet as this hair was to you. Once bonded, they are part of the body and psyche. He heals and cares for Tren, and Tren feeds him. Tren, you still haven’t fed him.”
Tren cursed and got to his feet, going to a cupboard in the kitchen, dodging Jeth as he did so. The blue Guardian was collecting dishes on trays and didn’t look happy to have someone in his space.
Mathuan looked to her with a resigned expression. “I know you are going to ask, so I will just say that my hair extends and acts as an extra limb. I can use it for travel, as a weapon, or as a means of confinement.”
“I figured as much. It moves on its own.”
“And yet, you plucked one out?”
She grinned. “I had to get my point across.”
“You are a bizarrely jovial woman.”
“Yeah, I am. I had two parents in constant danger and as normal an upbringing as they could manage. It warped me a little.” She wrinkled her nose. “Does Jeth always cook?”
“Pretty much. Tren tries now and then.”
“You don’t?”
He grinned. “I shed. A lot. On purpose.”
She snorted. “Now tell me who is twisted.”
He shrugged. “Fair point.”
Tren came back with a bag of seeds and nuts. He poured a portion into his hand, and he sat with Mertwin while the creature ate happily. “Who is twisted?”
Before they could answer, Jeth called out, “I just cook it; I don’t deliver it.”
Ki and Mathuan rose and went to retrieve the food. The pots were huge and the portions enough for over a dozen. It should be just about right for four talented Guardians and one determined Yaluthu.
“So, Kiala, what did your parents do as occupations?” Tren smiled as they worked their way through the huge communal stew with the dozen small bowls of sides.
She cleared the mouthful she was chewing and asked, “Before or after I was born?”
Jeth smiled. “Did having you change their lifestyles?”
“You could say that. Before I was born, they were both assassins or, at least, part of the guild. They weren’t an approved match, so after I was born, there was a death order put on their heads, and we had to run. So, we ran.” She took another mouthful.
Mathuan blinked slowly. “When did your talent develop?”
“I think I was two. We were running and there was a shot. I heard a sound near me, felt pain and then the pain stopped. After that, nothing penetrated my skin, not even a tan.”
“Was it an old-growth forest with a lot of tall crystals?”
Ki thought about it. “I believe so. It was on Dr’nat.”
“Do you have any scars from the moment of impact?” Mathuan was leaning forward.
Tren cleared his throat. “Mathuan studies mutation due to external sources.”
“Ah, so you are going with the ancient crystalline infection. That has been posited before. The result of the investigation was that it is actually a mimicry talent. As we engage in missions, you will see what I mean.”
Jeth cleared his throat and fished around for another chunk of meat. “So, are you comfortable in your position as our leader?”
They waited while she finished choking. “What?”
Jeth sighed, “I have been acting as leader, but it is difficult. I am much better at making projectiles. I am a man of action, not a planner.”
She was still clearing spice out of her sinuses. “Do either of you two want the spot?”
Tren busied himself with the side dishes, and Mathuan went in search of an eating utensil.
She sighed. “I will take that as a no. Right. So, I will need all the records for every excursion you have had. All your stats sheets, a complete inventory of every useful and detachable item on the base, including food. We are going to work on this every waking moment that we are not out there getting into trouble. Are we clear?”
The guys nodded, and they all looked relieved.
So, it was decided by attrition. The last one in was now in charge.
Thousands of assassin curse words ran through her mind.
Two days of quiet were enough for her to get her Masuo, settle in, and find the soaking pool.
Mertwin was next to her and getting some sun when her wrist unit began to shriek. Ki got out of the water and let her suit resume its normal configuration.
The riot runners were lifting out of their underground garage, and she got to hers less than a minute after the alarm sounded.
The others were getting settled as she brought up information on the alarm. Apparently, it was a riot in a bar, and someone was using fire.
“Tren, you take point, tell us what is going on on the ground. Jeth follow close, and Mathuan and I will come in to wrangle the populace. This plan is subject to change if anything is severely on fire.”
They activated their runners and rose in the air in a staggered line. Ki loved runners. They gave you the freedom to charge at top speed in any direction, including up.
She crouched low over the console and pulled the controls to get her up and over the wall. She really hoped that the runner she was on had the identification code that would keep it from becoming shrapnel.
Their group flew in a loose formation toward Stohn, the capitol city. The bar in question was on the northern edge, known to be inhabited by the more unsavoury types looking to escape the conflict in the next system.
Luasa’s was the source of the tendrils of smoke curling up along the roofline.
“Master Navo, we have fire.”
“Nearest suppression system?”
“Fifty metres south.”
“Fine. I will grab that and start hauling; you work on evacuation.”
To their credit, none of the men asked if she could manage the suppression system.
She landed on the next block, located the compressed tank and nozzle, and broke the protective casing.
With a grunt and a quick shift, she hoisted the compressed gas, liquid, powder mix and grabbed the nozzle for distant projection. Once everything was strapped on, she climbed back on the runner and headed to the roof of the bar. Landing on a flaming building would be stupid, so she set the runner down on the nearest roof that she could jump from. The first hole she punched was at the front, the nozzle was inserted and a two-second blast of the icy contents shot out. Once she had created a safety zone, she moved to the rear of the bar where smoke was curling, and she made another hole, followed by another shot of the fire suppressant.
Seven holes later, she had put out the fire.
“We have them all, including the pyro.” Tren chuckled. “You nailed it in the first shot. They were keeping everyone in.”
“Good. I have to jump a roof to get back to my runner, but I will be down shortly. Make a note to recharge the suppression system that I just raided.”
She took a few steps and launched herself onto the next roof. She got back on her runner and landed next to the other runners, checking on her team and the locals.
Mathuan looked a little singed, but the ladies who frequented the bar looked properly appreciative. They were draped all over him.
Jeth stood by and spoke with what had to be Luasa. The woman looked angry, exhausted, and relieved.
Kiala wandered over, and Jeth made the introductions. “Madame Luasa, this is Master Navo. She is our new commander, and we are delighted to have her in charge.”
Luasa was a simple woman of hot pink skin and a blaze of white hair arranged in a thick braid. Her trousers were tight, and her blouse was pretty but basically opaque. Nothing was getting through there. Luasa was a woman who didn’t fool around.
“Why are you their new commander?” Luasa looked at Jeth protectively before glaring at the newcomer, as if she wanted to flatten Ki and walk on her corpse. It was cute.
“Because none of the guys want to do paperwork or inventory for that matter. My first day and I got stuck with it.” She switched the conversation around. “How is the structure?”
“Pretty good. The light stuff had just started going up when you blasted the idiot. Thanks for that, by the way. It was nice to see it nearly implode. I think my liquor storage made it.” Luasa glanced over her shoulder. “Would you like to take a look?”
“Sure. I just arrived this week and haven’t had a chance to take a look at local businesses and what they have to offer.”
Luasa laughed. “Sorry, you can’t see us at our best, but our best is not great either.”
The doorway didn’t have an open door. The scorch marks on the floor showed where the pyro had been standing. The talent had been blocking the entrance.
“Why are the feet so small?”
Luasa shrugged. “She isn’t a large girl. Her dad was drinking, and when he refused to come home, she said he could stay here, and the resulting damage is what happened.”
“Wait? A child did this? I didn’t see one outside.”
Luasa grimaced. “Her father took her home. Finally. He is an idiot, but she has a temper. The two are not a great combination.”
The interior was stained with smoke, but the majority of the damage was to the floor in front of the door. The girl had really been mad enough to kill.
The bar was intact, so Ki asked, “Do you need help cleaning up?”
Luasa smiled. “I will get the regulars to scrub the walls and floors. It is the least they can do.”
“Does anyone need medical attention?”
The bartender shook her head. “My staff are all trained medics. It saves on the bills if they can check on anyone who passes out. It also keeps me from being gouged by the local ambulance services.”
“Right. They have a pay-to-play system?”
“Yeah. Not the worst but not the best structure, but that is a conversation for another day.”
The bar was cozy, but there was one thing that stood out among the scorched and tattered wall hangings, an assassin mark. This bar was assassin friendly with no contracts being filled within its walls. It was an excellent thing to know.
She could actually have a drink here if she wanted. It almost made her wish she could tolerate alcohol. It was the one thing that she really missed.
“How did you get those holes in the ceiling? It was clever of you to use the suppression downward.”
“Oh, I punched the holes at the high smoke points. If there was already smoke getting out, my fist went in.”
Luasa looked at her hands and then at her face. “The roof is stone.”
Ki smiled. “I am very good with stone.”
The bartender looked like she wanted to continue the conversation, but Ki’s wristband went off. “Please, excuse me.”
“Of course, Master Navo. Come back anytime.”
Ki knew where they were headed before anything was said. “Which way to their house?”
The runners were engaged, and they took off. That little girl was either still angry, or her father was trying to end his problem.
Either way, they were needed.