Jaded (3 page)

“How did you receive your training, if I may ask, Jayd?”

“It was a logical progression. I left my world under the volunteer act, but I had already been disqualified from the project. Nyal wanted me, so I was sent for immediate training as a Minder, but it became obvious that my talents lay in the legal sector. It involved a lot of legal training, but I managed. The rules here are not that different from my home. The main lav is to your left.”

It was quite spacious for a lav on board a short-range shuttle, but a judge had a certain dignity to uphold. Jayd also had a lav adjoining her quarters but that was her perk.

They passed through the private area of the ship and she paused. “Now, we enter the courtroom. Any other ship it would be the hold, but here, it has another purpose.”

Truanic passed her. “This is spectacular. Does the entire hold open?”

“It does. It splits right down the centre and folds open like beetle wings. If we need to, Harry can have it snapped shut in under a minute.”

He explored the galleries built into either side of the ship. “How many viewers?”

“Viewers? None. Those are for witnesses and the others are for the defense and prosecution.” She smiled. “No one watches an imperium judge in action. There isn’t anything to see.”

“Ah. Right.”

She did a quick search of his mind and found dozens of trials but none with an imperium judge. She was his first.

Chuckling, she stepped onto her podium and took her seat. “Would you like me to walk you through the protocol?”

“Please. It would be helpful. I was briefed, but I find that the thought of actually being involved on this level is rather overwhelming.”

“Tomorrow when you rise, after your morning meal, you will put on the concealer. It will cloak you in darkness from head to toe. Practice moving around in it as it can be a little disorienting.”

“I have worn one before to perform my duties. I understand.” He smiled and nodded as he paced out the edges of the room.

“Good. I will be wait in chambers, Harry will open the back of the ship and the courtroom will fill. There is usually one or two eager souls who want to get an image of the judge for the news reports, so we remain in concealers the entire time, even on com reports, we use concealers and access codes.”

“Understood. When can we break cover?”

“The moment we are off world and on our way to the next assignment. I am afraid that this was the last day that you would be able to walk a world without being hidden for the next three months.”

“Are you serious?” He seemed surprised.

“Well, we might be able to get a few days off on Gurrineer IV.” Jayd smiled. “It all depends on the trials.”

“Then, may law be swift and the trials be clear cut.” Truanic smiled. “I am very happy to be on board.”

“I am happy to have you.”

He gave her a slow smile and her blush came back in full force. Her judgement flew out the window, and she knew that her life was about to take a sudden turn. It was about time.

Day one of their trek together was uneventful. Truanic filed the court-arrival documents for two days later and they shared meals and small talk. All the polite chitchat wore on her nerves and she decided to let off some steam.

Jayd went to the courtroom and began her workout. Skipping rope was one of the smallest exercise machines she could carry with her and she used it whenever she was twitchy. Today was just such a day.

Harry blasted music for her and she skipped to the beat for half an hour until she was coated with sweat and Truanic was standing in her field of vision. “Music off, Harry.”

Truanic winced. “Music? Is that what you call it?”

She picked up her towel and patted her face. “I have heard Nyal music. It is a sound to sleep by.”

He snorted. “Shushan music is much more rhythmic with less yelling. My father was Nyal and he moved to Shushan to be with my mother. Her family had the law firm, and he got his certification when her family put the pressure on him to join their concern.”

“You do love sharing.” She chuckled and draped her towel around her neck.

“I do. I keep hoping that you will offer up information of your own.”

She grabbed her water bottle and sat on the edge of the dais. “What do you want to know?”

“Where do you come from?”

“Terra.”

He blinked in surprise. “Your appearance is not that of a Terran.”

She laughed. “I am well aware of that. I did mention that I was not suitable for the Volunteer program. There was an incident and I was contaminated with Ontex blood. It caused the silvering you see in my skin and opened my mind.”

“It is very attractive.”

She laughed. “Thank you, but I liked my old skin, and my old mind for that matter. I was a spinster, I was boring, but I saw my ancestors every time I looked in the mirror.”

“Spinster?” He scowled.

“Woman rapidly approaching sterility without a husband or child. It used to refer to an unwed woman over the age of twenty-four, but I was forty. The Ontex blood did quite the number on my appearance.” She ran a hand over her hair.

“What colour was your hair?”

“It was a brown so dark it was almost black. The waves are still mine though.” She chuckled and sipped at her water. “What else?”

“Why did you never find a mate?”

“I supported my family during my early adult years and there was never time to find someone. I looked up one day and I was in my late thirties. It was too late to start looking, so I just threw myself into taking care of my nieces and nephews.”

“Your siblings had children?”

“Yes. My youngest sister enabled me to keep a tiny piece of myself, actually.” She redirected the conversation and touched the moon on her forehead.

He looked at it. “Your skin is a different colour under the mark.”

“My sister thought I was dying, and she kissed me to bid me good luck. The combination of two strains of related DNA managed to keep the Ontex transformation at bay. It is the last piece of myself, so I had it protected with the tattoo.”

“What were you doing when I came in?”

“Oh, jumping rope. It is a cheap and space-saving way to exercise.”

“How do you do it?”

“You are kidding.” She looked at the imposing height he carried so easily.

“I am not. Would you show me how?”

She got the rope and walked him through the steps, demonstrating the surprisingly complicated steps to going up and over the rope while not falling on her face. He watched, asked questions and when she was done, he held his hand out for the rope.

“It will be more difficult for you as the rope is sized for me, but you should be able to manage a few skips.”

Truanic brought the rope over his head from behind and seemed to analyze the timing. The next time he stepped over it, and before she knew it, he had done two skips before tangling in the rope.

“Children do this?” He was surprised as he hopped and stopped again.

“Yes. Adults do it when they are in physical training. It occupies the mind and body at the same time.”

She sat and drank while he eventually got a rhythm going. Sweat gleamed on his neck and face. The rest of him was covered by his bodysuit and it was a damned shame. She would have liked to see how much of him glowed as he performed the innocuous exercise.

When he finally stumbled to a halt, she extended her water bottle to him. He gulped down the contents gratefully. “How was that?”

“We need to get you a proper rope and you can be skipping along in no time. The best part is when you can move around the room.”

He gasped and nodded. “I can see why you had the music. It would be easier to match a beat.”

“It is indeed.” She laughed. “Well, I am going to take a solar rinse. It is your turn to make dinner.”

He chuckled. “It seems to be my duty to provide sustenance.”

Over her shoulder, she said, “It does seem that way.”

She was putting on some casual clothing before her grin wore off. Her hair was loose and she was wearing a light pair of trousers and kimono top. Her feet were bare and she wriggled her toes on the deck plate before she joined him in the galley.

He was turning with his hands occupied by the hot plates, and he froze. “Jayd, you look…”

“Waiting for a descriptor. Is that mine?” she smiled brightly and took one of the plates from him.

“You have a lot of hair.”

She laughed. “I am aware of that. I keep it tied back unless I am having a day off. Today is that day.”

“Shouldn’t you be preparing for the case?”

“No. I am the judge, not the prosecutor or defense. I have to come in with an open mind and let the jury see the evidence while I make my own decision.” She shrugged and sat on the bench near the table, crossing her legs and eating her meal while he seemed fixated on her appearance.

“You had better eat, Truanic. Your meal is getting cold.”

“I am sorry. I was just not expecting you to look so…soft.”

She blinked and her blush crept up her cheeks. “What were you expecting?”

“I thought you would remain the businesslike woman I met in the courtyard. I had not expected you to have a relaxed side for some reason.”

She laughed and finished her meal. Jayd rose to her feet and prepared a pot of tea for them. “You cannot remain in work mode all the time. You have to make time to play and relax. Some folks do it by playing games, some read, some masturbate. I exercise and dress in comfortable clothing followed by a vid. What is your preferred method to unwind?”

His cheeks darkened and he focussed on his meal.

“Okay, that puts you into the masturbation camp.” She laughed and waited for the water to boil.

“Not solo pleasure, it is not my preferred method of relaxation. I prefer to spend a relaxing day with a companion.”

She cocked her head. “Then you had best hope for a few days off.”

Jayd poured the water into the teapot and leaned against the counter. Being attracted to her bodyguard slash executioner hadn’t been a problem before. The other guys had definitely not even been close to being in her attraction spectrum. He had her wishing for a few days off on one of the pleasure worlds herself. It was too bad that she had to sit on a case.

She poured two cups and put sweetener in his. He liked the equivalent of two sugars in his tea. Jayd set his cup down in front of him and began scrolling through her data pad looking for a vid to watch.

A Nyal romance was appealing, but it would be a little too hot for the current conditions.

“So, Truanic, do you have any siblings?” It was one thing that had not been discussed.

“I do, but I am not able to discuss them, given the nature of my job.”

“Ouch. Right. Sorry. I forget sometimes, but do not worry. The moment the concealers go on, you will be Ex-Hess.”

“Thank you, Jayd. My family means a lot to me and their anonymity is important.”

She blinked, but as she thought about it, he had not once mentioned anyone by name, though she could easily pick them out of his head. It was getting less and less appealing to pick his brain. She would far rather that he offered the data freely.

Sighing, she brought up the briefing folder on her new partner. His home world was confidential, but he had an extremely distinguished record. None of his charges were ever injured seriously. He always got them out alive.

“You have a good track record.”

He was sipping at his tea. “Um, thank you?”

“Even old Judge Mra came home in one piece. Pity. She’s a pain in the ass.” Jayd smiled slightly.

“You are reading my file?”

“Just the public briefing that was sent to me. I thought it was time that I did. You have a distinguished mission history.” She looked up and grinned, “I feel much safer now. Thank you.”

He snorted. “I doubt you frequently feel vulnerable.”

She shrugged. “It comes and goes. Do you have any recommendations for a nice, light vid? All of the romances are a little too heated for my tastes this evening.”

He took the data pad and pulled up a documentary on the Guardian project. “Here you go. This should be relatively entertaining.”

“Harry, can you play this documentary?”

“I can. Holographic generation commencing.”

“Thank you.”

Truanic looked at her curiously. “Why do you have the ship’s voice set as a baritone?”

She grinned. “Do you really want to know?”

“Yes.”

She settled in to watch the holographic projection as the lights dimmed. “I may be older than most of the Volunteers, but I am not disinterested in the opposite sex. Harry’s voice reminds me of that.”

She glanced at him and the surprise on his face was all the comment she needed. Honesty was the best policy, but you had to be careful what you asked for.

“All rise for Judge Dex.” Ex-Hess announced her and the room fell quiet as everyone got to their feet.

Jayd moved carefully in the concealer, and the bizarre feeling of being unable to identify her own limbs was as distracting as it always was.

She took her position on her dais and the dark shape of her partner spoke again. She opened her mind to the jury, and when they were assembled, she signalled Ex-Hess to commence.

“This is file nine forty-eight in the case of Ekalina Keeys, charged with wilfully infecting the population of Yiksadu with a designer disease.”

The woman in question was sitting with her council, a smug smile on her features.

Judge Dex sighed, “Prosecution commence.”

A day of listening to the witness statements and the smug satisfaction of the defendant remained unshaken. Her council was very good at making it seem that the men had chosen to take an aphrodisiac to be with the defendant. Once she had slept with them, the infection had spread to their wives until each infection had two victims and not just one.

Every dying man who took the stand was humiliated and that was what the defendant had counted on. He had hidden his indiscretion from his wife until it was too late for her as well. Ms. Keeys was the wealthiest woman on Yiksadu, bored with life and she wanted to take as many victims down with her as she could. A hypnotic and aphrodisiac combo in the drinks she forced her employees to have with her, and they were prime targets.