Daughter of Destiny (17 page)

The minute she got home she
raced through the door, stripped off her sopping wet clothes and
called out, "Lights on. Comm on." She reached for a piece of candy
while waiting for the comm to power up, and then reconsidered her
choice. She sighed and headed to the pantry. Peanut butter sat on
the first shelf. She grabbed the jar, a package of dried veggies,
and a spoon. Not exactly fine dining, but it worked for now. Still
in nothing but her bra and panties, she sat down at the comm.
"Search 'slan' and 'Gaelic'".

The third hit provided a
translation:
Goodbye.

"That's what I thought,"
she said. Katarina took a deep breath. "Comm. Search 'inion' and
Gaelic."

She scowled when the hits
showed that it searched for 'onion' instead. "Not onion, you stupid
hunk of circuits." She set her bag of veggie chips to the side,
dusted the salt from her fingers, and typed the search.

"Oh god."

"Iníon:
daughter."

She reached for her cell
phone and then paused. Her vacation ended in less than thirty-six
hours. She already agreed to teach a summer class, which was coming
up fast. A trip to Ireland had to wait. She stared at her phone,
contemplating calling Naia, but what would she tell her.
Oh, by
the way, dad wasn't REALLY my father. I think maybe my real father
was this stranger I met in the woods, who happened to be a
faerie.

Katarina set the phone down
and turned off the computer. Her past wasn't going
anywhere.

Four months
later…

Katarina shook her head at
Naia and Robert's latest efforts to get her to join society, a
modern art showing at Dixon Gallery.
Why on earth did I agree to
this? I could be at the clinic monitoring the trials.
Never
mind that she knew little about the setup of phase three clinical
trials. It irked her to just wait and do nothing.

She turned on her heel,
leaving Naia and Robert to debate the esoteric meaning of what
looked to her like little more than paint splattered on a canvas.
The enclosed space trapped the energy of the patrons in the small
gallery. Combined with the lingering energy on the antiques
throughout the museum, it pounded against her walls, hammering
until her head began to hurt. She needed space. She headed for the
gardens outside, exiting through a side door. August's heavy hot
air slammed into her. She sought refuge under an ancient oak. The
girth of the trunk, larger than the circle of two people's arms,
attested to its age.

She spurned the nearby
concrete bench for the cool mossy ground at the base of the tree.
She settled into a spot barren of roots and leaned back. Flies and
mosquitoes buzzed close, but a whispered spell sent them off in
search of less elusive prey. She smiled as they flew away. Too bad
she didn't know that spell when she was a child growing up in
Texas, where it was as bad as a Memphis summer most of the
year.

The small expenditure took
the edge off the energy inside her. While she carried life inside
her, she dared not use sleep deprivation as a method of keeping the
energy from building up. Instead, she experimented with spells and
trying to control the flow of energy. She improved daily, but if
she went too long between sessions it became more of a pyrotechnics
display than anything else. Katarina sighed. Well, the broken lamps
and furniture weren't worth a fortune anyway. At this rate,
redecorating would become a necessity.

She rested her hands on the
small mound just beginning to show beneath her oversize t-shirt.
She reached inside to the twin sparks of energy within her and sent
warm loving energy as an apology for the panic and anxiety that
crept in on her at odd moments. Worse, due to the demands of work
she had made no progress in tracking down the man she suspected of
being her father. Her only consolation lay in still being able to
sense Zane. His thoughts faded from her reach ages ago, but a small
warm sensation at the center of her mind reassured her that, while
far away, he was still alive.

She closed her eyes,
letting the warm breeze and birdsong lull her. She thought of Zane
and calculated he would reach Yopmar soon, if he hadn't already.
Part of her hoped he changed his mind and stayed. If she could
sense him, that was enough, and she assumed he must still sense her
as well.

Yearning for Zane, she
centered her whole mind on their link. She sent one thought.
"I
love you."
The link flared and his love washed through her,
then the energy dimmed once more to its usual state. Surprise stole
her breath. Zane had not responded for weeks. A knot of tension in
her gut eased.

***

Zane tugged at his dress
uniform and across from him Coran squirmed in his as well. He
looked around the familiar waiting room. He couldn’t even count the
times he sat here waiting for an assignment or debriefing. Dull
metallic gray dominated the décor and mirrored his stormy mood.
Coran eyed him the entire trip, no doubt expecting him to turn into
a raving lunatic. Yes, the distance bothered him, like an itch he
couldn't scratch, but Katarina's phenomenal telepathic skills kept
him sane.

He scowled at the
monochromatic room with utilitarian furniture and realized how much
he loathed what the IGCF had become. Even the civilian secretary
sitting at her gray desk lacked any whisper of individualism. The
higher ups, like Xu raked in money and spent small fortunes on
whatever pleased them and harshly punished anyone who even hinted
at thinking outside the rules.

"You okay?" Coran
whispered.

"Fine," Zane said through
clenched teeth.
How many times is he going to
ask?

Katarina's mental touch
lingered in his mind, feeding his impatience to get this over with
and done. Sometimes he caught words and phrases, other times
emotions, but it was far beyond what scientists dictated as
possible. No living race could communicate telepathically across
such vast distances. There were legends of past races with such
skill, but historians believed the distances exaggerated by time
and myths.

Zane pulled a personal
memory card out of his pocket. He traced her image with his finger.
A fleeting smile crossed his face, recalling the taste of her skin,
the sound of her voice, her scent, making her absence a near
physical ache. He practiced trying to reach her every day, but he
couldn't discern if he did or if his efforts made any difference.
Zane put away the picture card and glanced at Coran. A serial card
with advertisements for the newest in communication software lay in
Coran's lap and he had his computer out running price comparisons.
Zane’s lips twitched in amusement. No doubt Coran had at least one
item picked out for purchase. The man’s home computer setup mocked
the mainframe IGCF headquarters maintained.

"Captain," the secretary
droned. "General Xu will see you and the lieutenant
now."

Zane nodded his head in
acknowledgment. Entranced by a new VR helmet's holographic ad that
turned and blinked stats, Coran made no movement to get up. Zane
leaned down and snatched the serial card out of his hands, causing
the holographic image to disappear. He tossed the ad onto the squat
gray table between the chairs.

"Hey!"

"Shopping will have to
wait. The general’s ready to see us." Zane fought the urge to laugh
at Coran’s annoyed expression.

Zane led the way into the
general’s office and once inside, brought his right fist up in
front of his chest to meet the palm of his left hand in salute.
Coran did the same and they held the salute until General Xu
returned it.

"At ease. Be seated,"
General Xu said in Standard. They each took a seat opposite the
general’s desk. General Xu seated himself in a cushioned, dark
green, desk chair. A middle aged Glimera, his huge wide set eyes
were set in a mottled green face with a large snout. Classed as
humanoids, spiky green fur covered their torsos and limbs, leaving
their heads bald. As Zane sat down it occurred to him General Xu
reminded him of an odd combination of an earth lemur and vulture,
only green.

In contrast to the
depressing waiting area, the general’s office dizzied Zane with its
many shades of vivid greens and browns. Zane imagined that if the
general closed his bright yellow eyes and held still he would blend
into the background. Zane sat with the quiet stillness of a
predator and watched the general with a hooded gaze. Their long
history of clashes made it difficult to view the man as anything
other than an adversary.

"Reports?" General Xu asked
in accented Standard.

Zane and Coran each handed
him a memory cube, a plastic cube which contained a set of memory
cards. Fitted with nano-circuitry a user could read individual
cards or download the whole set to a hard drive.

"Lieutenant, technology
summary?"

Zane zoned out while Coran
commenced reciting a mind-numbing amount of data, followed by his
subsequent analysis. He passed the time considering possible ship
models which met his requirements and fell within his price
range.

"Society
report?"

It took Zane a second to
realize that General Xu was speaking to him. He cleared his throat
and pinned the General with his gaze. A thrill of satisfaction went
through him when the general averted his gaze and focused on his
desk instead.

"After studying Earth's
cultures, I've concluded we can’t compare their progress with
accepted models derived from inner galactic cultures. Despite or
perhaps because of their diversity, our current computer models do
not correlate with their history of progress. The only constant, is
their diversity and adaptability. Most likely, they will fulfill
the technological requirements far sooner than the societal
aspects." It pained him to voice the truth, because life would be
easier for him if a formal relationship between Earth and the IGC
was established, but he couldn’t lie. Others would study the
reports and come to that conclusion anyway.

"Noted." The general
proceeded in an uncharacteristic display of loquaciousness. "We
have already begun constructing a communication relay to Earth’s
solar system. IGC may forgo the usual process and make first
contact."

"Why?" He remembered
regulations and added, "Sir."

"Politics, of course. Pesky
humans keep whining about wanting their own home world. News of
Earth leaked to the public and many systems are pushing for formal
relations. A special committee will examine your reports. I expect
a decision within the next few weeks. If there is nothing else?"
The general waved a hand, dismissing them.

Zane considered it heroic
he didn't voice his contempt and remind the good general he was
speaking to humans. Zane glared at the general and wondered what
the true agenda was. Did the other species want to get rid of the
humans? Zane understood the desire to find a home, but he wondered
how many galaxy born humans would feel at home on Earth. While it
might help political tensions here, a mass relocation would cause
serious problems for Earth. The small remaining loyalty he felt to
IGCF experienced a quiet inevitable death.

"Sir?" When the general
looked him in the eyes, he wrinkled his brow in a frown. Zane
pulled a memory card from another pocket and handed it to General
Xu. "I am resigning my commission."

Zane didn’t think the
general’s bulbous eyes could look any bigger, but somehow they grew
even larger at Zane’s statement.

"What do you want? Time
off? More pay? Promotion? Better ship?"

"Nothing. I have family I
need to care for. I cannot do that if I am on missions for extended
periods of time. I fulfilled my term of duty and respectfully
request you accept my resignation."

The general frowned and
pursed his lips, studying Zane for a minute. At last he inserted
the memory card into his computer and added his electronic
signature. He returned the card to Zane. "Take it to the deployment
offices to make it official."

Zane breathed a sigh of
relief. General Xu had no grounds to deny the request, but
considering their history of conflicts, he was a bit surprised Xu
agreed so readily. Maybe Xu was glad to be rid of him. Zane stood
up and Coran followed suit, saluting before leaving. The general
returned the salute and waved them out the door.

As they walked down the
corridors Coran said, "I’ll miss you Zane. If you ever get back out
my way again, look me up. If things go right, maybe I’ll get to
visit you and Katarina after all."

"Maybe, but right now I’m
just concentrating on getting back. It’s going to take at least a
month if not longer to find a ship and then make all of the
modifications. I’ll be around, so if you don’t get redeployed right
away, maybe we can go out for a drink or something."

"Uh-huh, what you want is
another pair of hands to help ready your ship."

Zane shrugged and grinned.
"If you’re volunteering, I’ll be happy to accommodate
you."

Coran shook his head. "No
way. Plausible deniability." Coran pulled Zane to a stop and looked
around to make sure no one was within earshot. "Are you sure about
this? Really? You seem to be holding up, so why not wait awhile and
see how everything goes?"