Govern (3 page)

“Just a little one. Talking to a person who isn’t there is bad enough, but knowing that your only companion is trapped in the walls might give the mobile person a little bit of a complex. This keeps us both safe while she learns and grows.”

He smiled and nodded while she took them down to Gah-tosh. Beacons were lit for them and they were on their way.

Walking the great halls of the Gah-tosh high palace, Govern kept her features even and blank.

Several highborn women passed with their faces marked in a similar fashion to Leo’s own, but when they took a look at her markings, they nodded shyly and quickly walked away. It seemed that she was going to be out of luck if she wanted to go for lunch.

Inside the council hall, she took up a post behind Ambassador Wikkio. When she was thirsty, she summoned a beverage bot and offered the ambassador one of the water glasses.

He quirked a smile and sipped as she sent the beverage machine on its way.

The rest of the negotiators blinked and shifted, staring at her in surprise.

The ambassador turned and resumed negotiations.

Gold
was singing a tune inside Govern’s implants, and she tried not to hum along, but it was difficult. Music was her default setting. She loved it in almost all of its combinations and tones.

Standing at wary attention for six hours should have been hard, but her suit took most of her body weight. When the negotiations adjourned for the day, she walked next to the ambassador in silence.

He was exhausted, his shoulders stooped, but he walked out to the skimmer that
Gold
had provided, and Govern took the controls. Once they were above the pavement, she asked him, “So, how did it go?”

“Didn’t you hear?”

“I am not one for eavesdropping. I focussed on the three negotiators with blast weapons and let you do your job.” She slid the skimmer around the corner, and the
Gold Fairy
loomed ahead of them.

“Well, your ability to command the beverage and snack bots did not go unnoticed. How do you do that by the way?”

“The implants that keep me up and running allow me to send out signals to automated systems, in effect, controlling them.” She sent out one of those signals, and the cargo hatch of the
Fairy
opened up for her, letting her glide the skimmer inside.

She flexed her face a little; the makeup had not been uncomfortable until she was back in her own environment. Now, the mask had begun to drive her nuts.

She parked the skimmer in the clamps, gestured for Ambassador Wikkio to proceed. “I don’t know about you, but I am hungry.”

He grunted in acknowledgement. “If you could prepare it please? I have to get the notes down from the meeting.”

“Not a problem. What is the best way to get this makeup off?” She headed for the stairs, and she called it out over his shoulder.

“Try a pickaxe. It is the only thing I know that works.”

She snorted and left him to his notes as she hiked up to her living and command level. Two meal packs in the heater, she walked down the hall and headed for the lav. She had a few options to rid herself of the makeup, but the easiest by far was a solar shower that zapped the pigments and sloughed away the residue.

After the zapping, she took a quick shower, wrapped herself in a loose robe and walked down the hall to the kitchen. Eykanyo must have been a speed typist, because he had already set table and he was waiting for her.

She looked down to make sure her robe was concealing her attributes and settled down across from him. “That makeup was driving me nuts.”

“You do look a little relieved, but your hair still looks appropriate.”

“I like it. It is up and out of the way.” She smiled and started on her dinner.

“It is very soft. I wasn’t expecting that texture.”

She cocked her head. “Well, it is just average Terran hair. I brush it and it falls out just like everyone else’s. It drives poor
Gold
and the bots crazy. The medications make it grow faster, but it also releases more easily.”

As he blinked at her, she realized she had just wrecked the compliment he had been trying to pay her.

“I apologise, Ambassador. I forget myself with company. Thank you for the compliment.”

He grinned. “I am guessing that you spend most of your time with the ship.”

“Good guess. I read, I see virtual art exhibitions and I wait for calls.”

“Fascinating. How many types of assignments have you been on?”

“I specialize in picking up Guardians and candidates from worlds where atmosphere is not standard or breathable by most species. I send my bots out, and they round them up for me.”

“Rounding up Guardians? Interesting hobby.”

She leaned back and took a sip of tea. “It is more of a vocation, really.”

He smiled and his grin continued until a wave of laughter burst from him and he howled until he was slumped over in his chair.

“A vocation? This is the first time I have heard of time in the Guardian service referred to like a religious calling.”

“Well, it was a summons more than a calling, but I took the opportunity and I have not looked back since.”

“Then, it is my good fortune that you are here at all. I intend to enjoy every moment of my time with you.”

With that promise ringing in her ears, she was forced to say, “It will be a one-way enjoyment if you keep that face.”

He grinned, “I will only wear this until our business here is finished. After that, you can choose my features.”

“You don’t mind?”

“I don’t mind. I have been transformed for work, for subterfuge and for espionage. Shifting into a body for pleasure is not something I have had opportunity to do. I look forward to it.”

Leo looked at the heat in his serpentine eyes, and she felt a flip low in her belly. She was looking forward to it as well.

Leo and dawn had never been best friends, but usually within the confines of her ship, she could ignore the rising of the sun. Today was an exception.
Gold
woke her up by blasting reveille, which jackknifed Leo out of bed and sent her to a shower.

A quick shower later and she felt decently awake. Her hair needed a little tidying from sleeping on the setup, but after a ten-minute fix, she was ready for the makeup.

A chime warned her an instant before the door opened to admit Ambassador Wikkio.

“Are you ready? Oh—”

She followed his gaze and groaned. “Sorry about that.”

Leo moved as calmly as she could to the wardrobe and removed a bodysuit, slipping into it as quickly and gracefully as she could. When she had completed the seals, she turned to him. “Are you going to do my makeup again?”

“Please. We have to be back at the table in half an hour. This has to be quick.”

She sat down and faced him, makeup at the ready. His hands were faster this time, he had her painted and set in under five minutes.

She got to her feet, made a face through the mask into the mirror and inclined her head. “Ready.”

“Good. Let us be on our way then.”

Leo looked down at the hand he was holding out to her in all its scaly glory. She slipped her fingers into his, and she was surprised by the delicate care with which he closed his hand to grip hers.

Music swelled as they exited her quarters, and she pressed her free hand across her eyes. “Stop with the mood music,
Gold
.”

The sound of someone blowing a raspberry came through the inner hull of the ship.

Her companion asked, “What was that?”

“A sound of derision. She is going to do what she is going to do.”

“What was the significance of the music?”

“Ah, in Terran entertainment vids, there is music designed to evoke emotion. Those strains are to increase the feeling of romance.”

“You are sound sensitive?”

They had made it down to the lowest level and Eykanyo settled in the skimmer seat.

“Well?”

She thought that she had succeeded in distracting him, but he proved her wrong. “Yes, I am sound sensitive. The chronic illness I suffer from affects joints and connective tissue. Sound runs through them, and I feel it in every inch of me.”

She released the clamps and turned the skimmer around.

“Truthfully?”

“Of course. I only speak the truth. There is never any point to lying outright.”

“But you do disguise the truth.”

“Of course. You have the clearance necessary to learn about my medical stats. That means, I am trusting you with the truth.”

“So, if I asked about your sexual history?”

“I would tell you that it is not necessary for you to know.” She glanced over her shoulder at him and grinned.

“Pity, I believe that that could have been an excellent conversation.”

Leo floated them through the city on a six-inch cushion of air and magnetic repulsion. They arrived at the hall with four minutes to spare.

She walked just behind him and to the left. Govern kept an eye out for anything peculiar or threatening. It wasn’t likely, but stranger things had happened. The big danger would occur during the payment exchange but that was a bit away.

Govern stood behind Ambassador Wikkio for three hours before her stomach rumbled. Skipping breakfast was never a good idea.

She circumspectly summoned a beverage bot as well as one carrying snacks. Despite her care, several men were looking at her in shock as she ate a few bites and washed them down with water and tea.

Govern glanced at the ambassador, but he was paying attention to the speech of one of the Tosh who was going on about sacred space and interlopers.

Suddenly, one of them asked, “Your guard, does she control all electronics?”

The ambassador turned to her and asked, “Do you?”

“It depends on the situation. I can if there is reason enough for it.”

The senior councilman got to his feet and said, “We are prepared to throw out all negotiations if you will assist us in an urgent matter.”

Govern poked Ambassador Wikkio in the back.

He spoke for her. “What is the nature of your urgent matter?”

The councilman’s tongue flicked out and back repeatedly. “We have a ship that crashed near an inhabited area, and it is leaking radiation. If you can send in and control bots, then you can affect containment.”

“Will this grant us the permission to build the station in your space without restrictions?”

The senior nodded. “Whatever space you need is yours. We have an area that is rapidly growing completely uninhabitable. A few more days and it might even reach the water table.”

She nodded and whispered to the ambassador. “I will do it. The faster the better. If they give us the coordinates, the
Gold Fairy
will meet us there.”

He gave the councillors the information and a contract was drawn up. All parties signed and they were given the location. The assembled men inclined their heads and wished her good luck.

Taking in deep breaths, she walked with the ambassador out into the bright daylight. “So, what kind of resistance to radiation do you have?”

“A fair amount. How about you?”

“I won’t be wearing this suit again if that is a clue.” She warmed up the skimmer and lifted it off.

“Will it be dangerous?”

“Not if there is a nice safe place for me to direct operations. If the area is evacuated, I will use a home.”

“Good. Well, this has created a simple answer to the negotiations if you are able to shut down the leak.”

“Let’s just wait and see. Hold tight. We are going to meet
Gold
in flight.”

“Why not just meet her there?”

“She can fly it in half an hour. It will take the skimmer six hours, and we will get bugs in our teeth.”

“Fair enough.” He chortled and leaned back with his hands behind his head.

The bulk of her ship lifted off and flew slowly away from the city. She elevated the skimmer and soared over rooftops. She couldn’t do it for long, but it would last long enough to get them inside the ship.

It wasn’t her smoothest entry into her home, but the moment they were inside,
Gold
sealed the hatch and took off toward their destination.

“I am going to grab a meal, care to join me?”

“Of course. Lead the way.”

Leo made her way up the stairs and sent a prep message to her sturdiest gizmo bots. They were radiation resistant and had enough tools to supply their own garages. She was starting with a full armament.

Once they were seated, Eykanyo asked her, “Are you sure you can manage this?”

“No, but I will try.”

“Will you be in danger?”

“No.”

“Good. Now, let’s eat before your stomach makes another alarming noise.”

She snickered and stabbed at her lunch, eating as fast as she could without courting a set of the hiccups.

“So, what are you going to do when you get there?”

“Well,
Gold
will let us out in a safe zone and then fly in to get the bots as close as she can. She will drop the bots, and I will direct them from the safe zone.”

“Sensible. That should reduce the risk.”

“I think so.” She drank a cup of tea and sipped at her water ration. “Do I have to keep the makeup on?”

“It is better if you do. The Tosh may show up once the radiation levels drop. You don’t want to be socially naked.”

She grimaced behind her mask of makeup. “Fine, but after this mission, you will be lucky to see me in lipstick, let alone this thick stuff.”

“Fair enough.”

Leo sighed. “Okay, a quick trip to the lav and we should be near the landing site. Promise me one thing.”

He blinked. “Within reason.”

“When this is over, I want to see your passive features. The ones you use when you aren’t thinking of anyone and nothing is shaping you.”

“You are joking.”

“No. I need to know what you are, what you really are.”

“Oh. I see. Well, I don’t, but yes, you will see my natural features.” He smiled.

“Excellent. Well, let me answer the call of nature and we will return to the surface for the mission.”

He inclined his head, and ten minutes later, they were on the edge of the radiation quarantine and
Gold
was moving into position the bots as close as she could. It was time to show the Gah-tosh what a living ship and its damaged pilot could do.