The Seek, page 5
part #2 of New Earth Series
Kyn shook her head, trying to make sense of Jedro’s words as she moved from the girl’s face to her body. Meet your new recruit.
The girl’s cuteness pretty much ended at her chin. Her body was hard and strong — she wasn’t as tall as Amazonian Kyn, but the red suit afforded a clear view of her fitness. She had the natural musculature and lines for which all Avengers were chosen, with one difference: the severe uniform went no way to hiding the swell of her breasts.
Kyn’s eyes flicked to Jedro’s. ‘No way.’
He stuck out his chin and nodded. ‘Way.’
‘You telling me it’s an order?’
The General hesitated, then nodded. ‘Yep.’
Kyn could feel a petulant whine rise up inside her and tamped it down. She was the worst person to train this girl; the very worst. Kyntura would not go well for her. She would be far better off if she was trained by one of the men. Otherwise, there would always be this: they gave her to the girl. It would always hang over her. Did Jedro think she couldn’t remember her own training? Avenger Basic is brutal enough. But for a girl — the only girl, ever — it had been a whole other thing altogether.
The only thing that had stopped them from killing her during Basic was Pietr. And even then it had been a close call.
‘Why me?’
Jedro shrugged. ‘Because you’re the best.’
‘And why does she need the best?’
This time he guffawed. ‘Aw come off it, Captain, you think this is going to be easy for her?’
Bitter acid rose in Kyn’s throat, and she stared hard into the girl’s blue eyes. No, she didn’t think it was going to be easy for her. In fact, she knew damn well just how hard it was going to be for her. From bitter, bitter experience. ‘Do I look like I care?’
The General waved the girl towards the small ante room he had called her out from. She turned sharply on her heel and stalked back quickly. When she was gone, he started again. ‘You should care.’
‘Why? Because of some freakin’ sisterhood? All girls together? Maybe we could do a sleepover, have a pillow fight?’ Kyn imagined her hand lashing out to strike Jedro’s implacable face.
She let herself visualise it, savour it a moment. It would be so satisfying, to strike this brilliant, infuriating man, because she could tell by the set of his chin and that tell-tale tic just under his right eye that he wasn’t budging.
The General stood straight and tall, almost at attention. ‘Because she’s good, real good. And she could be even better.’
‘Who says?’
‘Asha.’
The breath fled Kyn’s lungs. Her heart squeezed painfully as she tried to make her senses steady themselves. Fuck you, Jedro. ‘Asha?’
Jedro nodded slowly.
‘You’ve been talking to him?’
The General nodded again.
Kyn closed her eyes. Asha. Asha and Tabi. And Symon. Symon. Her eyes flicked open again and she forced her voice to casual. Like she discussed the only people she had left, the people she hadn’t seen in ten years, all the time. ‘Where’d he find her?’
‘Her family were slaughtered — down at one of the trading posts. They were Traders. She was the only one who survived.’
Kyn said nothing, her brain whirring and creaking to take it all in. Asha.
Jedro pushed into the silence. ‘He saw her fighting. No, training. Said he’s never seen anything like it.’
Kyn grunted. ‘If she’s just lost her family, it’s all the more reason she doesn’t need this.’
Jedro raised an eyebrow at her, but Kyn would not squirm. They both knew what he knew about her. He didn’t need to spell it out. ‘Why don’t you just take a look at her?’
Kyn grunted again. ‘I just did. Cute. Nice dimples. Sure she’d make a great repopulator. Least plenty of New Earth boys would love the chance to repopulate with her.’
The General rolled his eyes. ‘A real look.’ He motioned to the training rounds. ‘In here.’
Kyn rubbed her hand over her eyes, suddenly feeling the weariness of the day crash across her. ‘So we take girls now?’
That eyebrow of his again: ironic, challenging.
But she wasn’t having it. ‘I don’t count.’
Jedro opened his palms. ‘You not a girl?’
Kyn shook her head. ‘Nope. I’m a killer.’
Jedro nodded. ‘And so is she.’
Kyn imagined her hand lashing out to punch some sense into him again. ‘You didn’t answer my question: We take girls now? The Council has decided?’
Jedro avoided her eyes. ‘Maybe,’ he said finally. ‘Maybe we’ve lost the luxury of choice.’
Kyn knew what he was saying. The losses had been heavy this last year. If they didn’t shore up their vientium stores soon, maybe even have some luck with The Seek, things were going to get more grim than they’d been for the last seventeen years.
‘So this is a test? See if the girl thing might work? No pressure on the poor little bitch then?’ Kyn’s palms itched thinking about the way they played with people.
‘No,’ Jedro said, but he looked like he wasn’t entirely sure. ‘It’s just training. For a new Avenger.’
She played her last card. ‘Okay, so she’s got some potential. You guys like what you see.’ She swallowed hard. ‘Asha liked what he saw. So why give her to me? It won’t go well for her. What she needs is credibility, not to be seen as being given a mommy.’
Jedro guffawed again. ‘Jesus H Christ, you really have no idea how you’re seen around here, do you? You really think people are going to see you as a free pass?’
‘I didn’t mean that.’
‘Yeah, well, you just leave the management decisions to me. Captain.’ Jedro didn’t pull rank much, but when he did he didn’t try and be all sneaky-subtle about it. She was surprised he hadn’t pulled out his real trump card. The thing he always had over her. It would have been so easy.
So she focused on logistics. ‘How would this work? I’ve got the next group coming online in a week. She going to slot in there?’
‘I’m giving the new group to Tyberus.’
Kyn’s eyes narrowed to slits. ‘That fat oaf?’
‘Captain,’ Jedro snapped, his eyes revealing he was just about losing patience with her rebellion.
Kyn cast her eyes down. ‘Sorry, Sir.’
‘Tyberus will do a good job.’ He paused. ‘A good enough job. He’ll get it done. And you will focus on training the girl.’
‘Yes, General,’ she muttered mutinously. Then she looked up at him again. ‘Which group will she join?’
‘The sixty-eighters. She’ll take Pyten’s place.’
Kyn’s stomach somersaulted unhappily. ‘That’s not a good idea. That group has bonded. They — ’
‘Kyn.’ Jedro’s voice was soft but sharp. ‘You’ll work it out. Make it work. They go to Sector Five in two weeks.’
Kyn’s jaw dropped open. ‘Two weeks? I have two weeks to train her?’
Jedro nodded brutally, and she knew the show of force was a cover for his discomfort.
‘From scratch? How can I do that? And bond her with the group, while they’re running prep missions?’
‘You’ll find a way, Kyn,’ he said. ‘You always do.’
The General was done talking. He stepped towards Kyn and patted her roughly on the shoulder. Their eyes were level as he looked into her face, his expression serious. ‘Find a way, Kyn. We need her.’
Kyn shrugged as Jedro walked away. ‘Sure, so I guess I’ll find a way.’
***
The girl stood at attention, facing Kyn. Her eyes were focused on a spot slightly above Kyn’s right shoulder, and her face was impassively respectful.
Kyn stood a few feet away from her, her arms folded across her chest, watching and thinking. She was in no rush. She knew she had to get it right. The first conversation was so important. But she’d never done it like this before. It was always to the group, and teaching them, from the very first, to think like a group, as well as thinking about the need and difficulty of saving their own skins while they did the things they had to do.
So she had no intention of rushing.
And for her part, the girl seemed unperturbed by her examination. She kept her eyes focused, her body poised.
Kyn ran through approaches. She knew Magisters who began with a beating — believed in the importance of teaching survival and the superior skill and knowledge of the Magister from the get-go. Others liked a little commiseration. You’ve been handed a crappy hand in the New Earth lottery, et cetera.
But this was different. Could she suppose this girl had volunteered? The story about Asha seemed to suggest it was possible.
Kyn ran a hand through her blonde buzz cut, deciding finally on a course. ‘What’s your name?’
‘Mirren.’ The girl’s voice was deep and raspy; an unusual sound, but not an unattractive one.
‘How old are you?’
‘Seventeen.’ Her eyes flicked up to Kyn’s at this, clearly checking if she would meet opposition.
Jesus. How many rules were they going to break for this girl?
‘And what’s my name?’ Might as well start as we mean to go on.
‘Magister.’ Mirren said it simply, as though it was a no-brainer. A small frown appeared between her eyes.
Kyn mirrored it. ‘Did the General tell you to say that?’
The girl paused. ‘Yes,’ she said.
Kyn smiled inside, both at Jedro’s attempts to school the girl to her liking, and also at her honesty. ‘What else did he tell you?’
The girl met Kyn’s eyes again. Hers were a startling blue. They reminded Kyn of the sky, back in the old days. ‘He said you’d refuse to take me,’ she said. ‘At first. And that he might have to order you to do it. But that I shouldn’t take it personally.’
Kyn tried to imagine the last time Jedro gave a shit about anyone taking anything personally. What the hell was so special about this girl?
Kyn grunted. ‘What did you say to that?’
The girl paused, and Kyn was sure she saw her chin set beneath those easy dimples. ‘I told him I didn’t want you anyway.’
Kyn’s internal smile grew, and she cautioned herself to get a grip. ‘Enough with the flattery,’ she said. ‘You’ll turn my head.’
The girl said nothing, but she shifted her weight the tiniest fraction on the spot. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I didn’t mean to offend you.’
The two women stared at each other. Finally, Kyn broke. ‘So why not?’
The girl shrugged. ‘I don’t want it to be a thing.’ She motioned at her breasts and then waved a hand in Kyn’s direction. ‘I wanted to come here, but not because of you.’ She went on hurriedly. ‘I mean, not especially because of you.’
‘S’okay, I get it,’ Kyn said. Oh boy, did she get it. ‘So you…volunteered?’
Mirren nodded.
‘You do know that’s not normally how this goes down, right?’
The girl nodded again.
Kyn thought about the two girls in the line at the club the night before, high on Connect and the prospect of taking an Avenger to their beds. Chattering like monkeys. ‘Well,’ she said. ‘At least you’re no chatterbox.’
‘No, Magister, I am not,’ Mirren said, her face still impassive.
Kyn sighed. ‘There’s lots we need to talk about. But for now, why don’t you show me what you got.’ She motioned to the training mats and started to walk towards them herself. ‘Freehand, okay?’
‘Check,’ Mirren said, following Kyn to the kit box where she followed her lead in extracting a vest and gloves.
Once they were fitted, Kyn motioned for the girl to face her on the helio. It could mimic any surface, and Kyn reached over and touched the control panel, turning the blue matting to ice under their feet. They seemed to be fighting on the ice fields more and more these days. ‘Take your boots off,’ Kyn ordered. ‘You’ll be screwed on this surface in those.’
Mirren did as she was told, with a swift economy of movement Kyn appreciated. Kyn watched as the girl pushed the boots together neatly a little way from the mat and scuttled back into place. She nodded her approval. ‘You move first,’ Kyn offered.
But Mirren didn’t move. She just watched. Very carefully and slowly. She looked Kyntura up and down, took in her stance, her hands, her legs and her face. Then she stepped slowly to the left, moving her weight onto that foot, then to the right. Then she slipped into a lightning fast left-right feign, dashed to Kyn’s left and planted a blow on Kyn’s kidneys with the heel of her hand. The blow winded Kyn, but not nearly as much as the surprise of the attack coming hot on the heels of the slow, deliberate assessment that had preceded it.
Kyn was impressed, but not so much as to ignore the muscle memory that barked orders at her. She snaked out a hand, reached for the one that had assaulted her, and twisted it back on itself, turning her own body at the same time and pulling Mirren forward with a swift yank. As the girl unbalanced, Kyn aimed a kick at the side of her body, sweeping her to the ground with a soft ‘oof’.
But Mirren was up quickly, leaping towards Kyn like a wildcat from the floor, grabbing for the sides of her face, and almost managing to capture them before Kyn intercepted the hands and used them to flip Mirren hard onto her back again. Mirren lay still for a second, seeming to marshal her resources, before one long leg swept out and kicked Kyn feet from under her. Kyn fell to join the girl on the icy mat. The hardness and coldness of the surface winded her, and Mirren pressed home the momentary advantage to regain her feet and deliver a sharp kick to Kyn’s semi-exposed belly.
Enough.
Kyn grabbed the offending foot, twisted it brutally until the girl yelped and then sent her to ice again. Then she reached down, grabbed her right hand and left foot from behind and twisted them to join each other, the ensuring bone-jarring crunch echoing through the training room. Kyn knew when to bend and when to break, and she stopped short of injuring the girl. She only had two weeks, after all. But she did know Mirren would be in excruciating pain.
Kyn straightened. ‘Good,’ she said. ‘Now get up and come at me again. Right now. And never, ever use two hands when you can use one.’
***
He was waiting for her when she reached her quarters, her body weary from three hours training by herself followed by two more with Mirren. While she was willing to bet the girl was twice as sore as Kyn, the last thing needed was boy trouble right now.
‘Lieutenant,’ she said, motioning politely with her head as she waved him aside with her hand.
‘You know, Captain, sooner or later you’re going to have to learn my name.’
‘Why?’ She eyeballed him, injecting into her voice as much sarcasm as she could muster after five hours in the training room. ‘You wanna go to a movie?’
He laughed. ‘No, Ma’am,’ he said. ‘I just — ‘ His easy cool evaporated. ‘I just heard about Pyten. Wanted to check if you were okay?’
Kyn sighed. ‘I’m fine,’ she said, clenching her fists. ‘Unfortunately getting stabbed by a Hydrentian asshole is an occupational hazard for an Avenger.’
He nodded. ‘Yep.’ And his loose brand of cool was back. ‘Helluva first gig, though.’
It was her turn to nod. Suddenly, she wanted very badly to shower and lie on her bunk, thinking nothing.
‘Kyntura,’ he said, moving a little closer and touching her face. The gesture, which might have caused her to twist the arm of anyone else who tried, provided a rush of comfort Kyn found vaguely disturbing. ‘I’m glad you’re cool.’
Kyntura stepped away from his touch but smiled lightly at him. ‘Cool is my middle name,’ she said. ‘Between “The” and “Dancer”.’
She really liked that he got it, and that he turned to go; that he didn’t hang around and press for more. He was lovely — long and sweet, and a warm dose of honey after hours on the ice. But he was just a boy. And they didn’t have any kind of thing.
Still.
‘Hey, Lieutenant.’
He turned back, affording her a great view of his square shoulders and lopsided half-grin.
‘What does your mama call you?’
The half-grin stretched into the full deal. ‘Krysto,’ he said, winking as he went on. ‘Let me know if you ever fancy another dance some time?’ Then he loped away.
Kyn slammed her palm against the entry pad on the doorway and felt cool relief flood her as she spied her bunk. Krysto. She imagined Tabi: Kyn and Krysto, sitting in a tree…
Now why the hell was she thinking that? It had been damned Jedro, and bringing up Asha. She worked hard not to think about them, any of them.
And anyway, it wouldn’t have been some young pup like Krysto that Tabi would be pairing with her best friend in the kid’s rhyme. It was always Symon. A smile tugged at the corners of Kyn’s mouth, but she refused to give it any airtime. She yanked her training kit off viciously, striding naked to the shower to pelt her body with hot, hard water and let it try to chase away memories from the past; memories of smiling, brown-skinned boys who smelled like cinnamon and apples.
Think about something else, anything else.
Think about Kyrsto’s lopsided smile instead.
But it was Symon’s full red lips that danced across her mind. Sweet Symon and his habit of ambushing her and pressing that lush mouth onto hers.
***
‘Go.’ His voice was low and broken.
‘No.’ They were almost at the woods. They could get there together. Kyn crouched down and tried to drag her mother to standing. But as she did, she could feel the warm wet patch on her mother’s chest spreading, slick and evil. Kyn put her face down to her mother’s, yearning to feel the kiss of her breath against her cheeks as she had every night of her life; every night that her mother had come in to sing songs and kiss her goodnight. But there was no breath. There was nothing. Her mother’s face was cold and wet. And her body was very still.
Her father crouched beside her. Where a moment ago he had been entreating and cajoling his wife, now his voice was hard. All the fight had gone from it. The edge in it made the twins wail louder.
