Blue and Alluring (3 page)

Olwick nodded. “Where is he now?”

“I have brought him home so that his own people may care for him. So that our people may care for him instead of him ending up in Janial.”

She stood and faced him, but it was the bride that cleared her throat. “I accept your offer to act as Olwick’s second. Thank you.”

“You are more than welcome, Yevika.”

Olwick nodded to her. “Are you ready to walk?”

“I am. I even wore my best formal and comfortable boots.”

Yevika grinned. “I wish I had thought of that.”

“Well, strike the gong and start the walk. We are with you.”

Illuma stepped to one side and let the bride and her brother take the lead. She would protect the rear.

The gong at the end of the walkway was rung, and the procession began.

She walked behind them, and since she was already off tradition, she sent tendrils of mist to the sides to keep the crowd back. It would be her first warning that someone was coming in. With effort, she kept the mist nearly invisible.

She protected the Lurings every step of the way to the ceremonial park. When the groom took the bride by the hand, her job was over and she faded into the crowd, joining her parents.

The rest of the ceremony went like clockwork.

Two hours later, the bride and groom had completed all the rituals and were bound for life. After that, the party started.

The Ambrehars stayed together in one place as everyone wanted to meet Illuma, and they marvelled over Lumina.

It was part of the social requirement of being from a wealthy, noble family on Breethin. She smiled tightly at her fiftieth lord who wanted to know how long she would be in town so that he could call on her.

Her father tapped her on her shoulder and gave her the nod that told her she had fulfilled what she needed to do. Illuma quietly faded back and snuck away to the buffet table.

She filled a plate and found a dark corner, nibbling at the tasty treats that she could only get at home.

“You really arrested my brother?” Olwick Luring appeared at her shoulder.

“I didn’t arrest him; I just kept him from getting away and handed him over to the local constabulary. Oh, and I numbed his talent for a while.”

“We were not properly introduced. I am Olwick Luring.”

She inclined her head. “Illuma Ambrehar.”

“The Nishan?”

“Half Nishan. Did you know that your brother was using your face and your name off world?”

Olwick looked shocked. “He was doing what?”

“He was using your name to debauch women and con men along with his talent.”

Olwick’s pretty features twisted. “It sounds like Deenar.”

“It definitely was. He tried his wiles on me, but I am not susceptible.”

“Fortunate for you.”

“For him as well. His last contact tried to kick him to death.”

Olwick sat next to her, and he sighed. “It sounds like he hasn’t changed.”

“No. It is too bad. The Citadel can always use folks with a charm talent.”

Olwick shook his head. “I wish I could help you, but there are no other talents of his nature in the family. My personal branch of power lends itself to assessment rather than manipulation.”

“Assessment?”

“I can look into a soul and know what I need to about a person. It is not an assessment I do lightly.”

“So you know what your brother is.”

“I do. I have always known and always hoped for better for him.”

“You always hope for better, but you have to give in and accept that folks will do what they feel is best for them in the moment. Sometimes, they look to the future, but usually, they concentrate on the now.”

He chuckled. “It seems you have given it some thought.”

“I have a lot of time to think while I am at work.”

“How long have you been with the Citadel?”

“Four years. They recruited me after I finished my last growth spurt.”

He looked her over. “Late bloomer?”

Her face did something she wasn’t used to, and she barked a rusty laugh. “You could say that.”

Her smile was one of amusement. She could feel the facial muscles pulling in a way she hadn’t felt before. It was a happy memory that had created a smile. The two things had never gone together before.

She wanted to touch her face, but her hands were busy with the plate and a sandwich. Illuma tried to memorize the feel of the laugh and emotion connected, but she wasn’t sure she could remember it.

He extended his legs and settled back. “How is Citadel Lowel? I took a course there last year. Iara was most hospitable.”

“You did?”

“I was finishing my own tour with the Citadel, and education is the biggest perk.”

She blinked. “You were in the Citadel?”

“I was an interrogation specialist. When my contract was over, I came home. Deenar was already gone.”

She blinked. “Wow, and we know what he was up to. Well the last six months of it anyway.”

“You tracked him back that far?”

“I did. While he was at the station for treatment.”

“What was he there for?”

Illuma sighed. “He came in to get his face reset to his original. He stopped being
you
in other words.”

“Well, if he is in custody here, I will go in and find out what he has been up to.” Olwick paused. “Thank you for your help today.”

“It was my pleasure to help fix a problem I created. I normally don’t get to follow up on any of my work until the event is over.”

He cocked his head. “What do you do for the Citadel?”

“I assist field agents with concealment and camouflage when they go to worlds that are not friendly to alien incursion.”

“How?”

“Medical and topical application of science.”

“So, no details.”

“No. Not unless you are on my table.”

He grinned. “That sounds like an invitation.”

She started in surprise. “Um, no, it is a fact.”

He laughed. “We will see. Now that Yevika is wed, I am no longer needed here as guardian.”

“Are you saying that you will be back in the Citadel?”

“I am saying that I am no longer required to be on watch for males trying to get to Yevika in order to get her inheritance.”

A smile flicked across Illuma’s lips. “You vetted her fiancé seventeen different ways, right?”

“Of course. I also had a one-on-one meeting with him and scanned him for any subterfuge. He is a stable man with a good plan for his future that doesn’t include any unnecessary risks. I trust him with my sister, and now, I can relax and work on my own life.”

“Was that an issue before?”

“Family comes first.”

She looked over to where her parents were dancing with other guests. “Yeah, I can see your point.”

Illuma settled back into her routine on Incognito Station with a few changes. She played Breethin music from the com system and occasionally danced with her bots while she had down time.

It had been a really good wedding, and Olwick had kissed her before she left. It had been a polite kiss on her hand, but it had still been a kiss. It was her first.

Her parents were enjoying a second honeymoon, and she was happy to be out from under all that warm affection. She loved them, but it was overwhelming.

The com chirped, and the music lowered in volume.

“Incognito Station, how may I help you?”

“This is Hremak at Citadel Lowel. We are sending you a new assessment officer. He needs to be kitted out for a Kremall colony.”

She whistled in her mind but spoke professionally. “That is a two-day job.”

“It is. He is ready for it.”

“Send me the files. I will have everything ready when he arrives.”

“They are on their way. Glad you are back. No one does the same job that you do, Specialist Ambrehar.”

She could have said,
I know; it is a special skill set that I inherited from my parents,
but she said, “I will be waiting. Com off.”

She wheeled over to the incoming system and looked at the scans of the biology that she would be working on.

The incoming assessment officer was an Azon, which made the transition to the passive Kremall tricky. She made notes on the tweaks she would need to make, and she felt the curl of satisfaction that solving a problem always gave her.

Officer Jerigar would be turned into a Kremall, and the social mores would have to be up to him.

She spent time doing more correspondence to her parents via secure relay than she ever had and painting. Her xenobiology studies were still progressing. Each day there was a new species, and each species needed to be learned.

Every now and then, she found herself smiling for no reason. A quick check in the mirror showed her face lighting up with an emotion she couldn’t pin down.

It was two weeks after she had worked over Officer Jerigar that she got another call. She had done a few cosmetic alterations since then but no other Kremall.

“Specialist Ambrehar, we need you to transform another agent into a Kremall. It is a rush job so go cosmetic only.”

She frowned at the image of Hremak. “No. The Kremall agents have to be altered all the way to the bone. They will be detected otherwise.”

“Our last agent was detected, and he has been arrested. He is being held on criminal charges.”

“That had nothing to do with me. He broke their taboos. He was a little fuzzy on the details when he left here and obviously had not done the proper research.”

Hremak paused. “How do you know that?”

“He moved wrong. I gave him all the details that I could, but he insisted on personal correspondence on the flight out. He ignored his own data collection.”

“So, if this new agent rescues him, you want him to have a social audit?”

“I think he should remain with the more active species. The Kremall are passive by social constraint. Their moves are calm, studied to keep from interfering in anyone else’s harmony. Disrupting harmony is death on Kremall.”

Hremak slapped his hand on his face. “Right. Can you come down and collect this one? We can’t spare anyone from the zip department.”

“On my way down.”

Illuma set her bots and machines to prep for the alteration, and she went to her zip launch, taking the pod down to Lowel.

It wasn’t the first time she had played chauffeur, and it wouldn’t be the last.

She was whistling music from the wedding as the zip cut through space at an alarming rate. When it stopped, it was nestled in the cradle at Citadel Lowel.

She popped the top and climbed out, hopping down to the deck and looking for her passenger.

She had her zip pod rotated to the outgoing lane, and she wandered into the waiting area. There was one person there, and the stillness of their body was beautiful.

She kept her tone modulated low. “Greetings. I am here looking for my passenger.”

He turned, and his Citadel robes flared out. “It is good to see you again, Specialist Ambrehar.”

“Agent Luring?” She was staring at Olwick Luring, but his mannerisms had changed. He was moving like a Kremall, every gesture calculated.

“Indeed.”

“Well, as you seem to be headed to Kremall, we had better get you ready.”

He inclined his head and smiled. “Thank you. Pardon my restraint, but I prefer to stay in character while doing any assessments.”

“It is wise. Please, come with me.” She slowly lifted her hand to wave him toward the doorway she had just passed through.

He glided through the doorway, and she followed.

She moved slowly around him and opened the zip pod.

“It seats two. Please settle up front and close your eyes if you have motion issues.”

When he was seated, she slipped into her spot and keyed in the departure code. The zip lined up, charged and they shot away from the Citadel and through the stars.

Amusement filled her as she watched his hands tremble.

“Specialist Ambrehar, how is it that you can be filled with amusement but nothing shows on your face?”

She looked at him on her table and felt the déjà vu of his features in front of her.

“I had a disconnect. When I was five, my father grieved for the loss of my mother, and he worked away from home. I lost my connection to the emotional world, and because of it, I can feel but my face doesn’t know what to do.”

“I heard a rumour that your mother was Nishan. Who was with your father at the wedding?”

She flicked a smile. “My mother. We got her body back.”

Illuma’s face turned to business, and she nodded to him. “You are going out. When you wake, you will be a Kremall. I have a wardrobe for you, and it will help you with your part.”

“Are you coming with me?”

“I will see what the orders say.”

“Don’t you need a transformation?”

She chuckled. “My change is considerably faster.”

He looked a little worried; his beautiful features were tense. She patted him on the arm. “Here you go.”

The hypo knocked him out, and the installation of the temporary organs began.

Kremall had two hearts and extra adrenal glands. Their control and societal structure was designed to handle the extra strength that was provided by the organs. It was what made the Kremall dangerous and so polite.

She did her own internal alterations while she waited for his. The memo had come through that she was needed to help with retrieving Officer Jerigar.

Identities were generated for them, and she memorized the details while practicing the moves required of a Kremall woman of high social class. It was more of a dance than a walk, but she managed to gain a bit of grace before Olwick woke up.

He was sitting up wearing the skin she had overlaid on his. His nose was flat, his skin a pale yellow and his eyes were liquid black.

Her features were similar, but the Kremall features were more impressive on him.

She moved into the room as silently as she could and placed the folded clothing at his feet. She turned slowly and made her way to the door.

“Lady, please wait.”

She turned and gave him a bland look. “I am waiting.”

He got to his feet, and the sheet that had been covering him fell to the ground. Looking him up and down, his skin complete with family marks, she had to pat herself on the back. She did good work.