Knacayn: A Terraneu Novel (Book Seven) (8 page)

The next day Knacayn took Kenzie to the fabricator for a new swimming
suit. She chose a black string bikini, which had him frowning but he didn’t say
a word.
He didn’t want to mar their first outing
to the swimming pond together, so he kept his opinion to himself.
He had
seen plenty of females in the bikini. He
would
just have to smile and pretend the other males weren’t looking at her generous
curves covered in three scraps of cloth.

“I love
this,
” Kenzie exclaimed as
they swam in the water.
 
“How do they
keep it so warm?”

“The water is cycled using the lazy river that circles the entire area.
Between the solar conditioning and the sun, the water stays at the appropriate
temperature
.” Knacayn explained as he guided
her back to her feet. He had been helping her to learn how to swim, so
at least,
he was able to have his hands on her
for the lesson. Kissing her quickly he said “You have floating mastered. How
about trying to use your arms and legs to move? Watch…like this.” He knelt into
the water and pushing off moved his arms over his head and kicked his legs.
They were in the
children's
area, so he
didn’t have far to go before he was at the end of the pool.

“I think I can do that.” She lowered herself into the water and flailing
her arms and kicking her legs she made it to the side. “I did it.”

Knacayn
bit
back a laugh at the
image she made trying to swim. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings. “That was
very good.”

“You liar.” She accused, “I can see you are trying not to smile.” Jumping
at him she laughed heartily and splashed a handful of water
on
his face.

“I never lie.” Knacayn lied again and splashed water back at her. He
grabbed Kenzie around the waist and found the ticklish spot
along
her ribs. “Do you still think me a liar?”
his fingers ran down her side and she laughed harder.

“Yes.” She cried out, “and now you are a torturing liar.” Her laughter
was contagious and
 
he couldn’t help but
join in.

“A torturer and a liar.” A male voice boomed out over their
laughter.
“I never
thought
to hear my brother called either of those things.”

“Knadyn.” He turned with Kenzie still in his arms to see not only his
brother
but a number of others as well entering
the lounge area. “Imagine seeing you at the
children's
pool.”

“We came to see Kenzie.” His sister Brennae put her bag on an empty
lounge chair and moved to sit with her feet in the water. His cousins Chloe and
Celeste joined her at the edge.

Knacayn released Kenzie so she could join the other females. They must
have had something to discuss or they would be in the deeper pools for more
adept swimmers. He moved to where the other males were standing in the hip deep
water.

“
What are your mates up to?”
he
asked the question in mind in case it was a surprise or something he needed to
keep from Kenzie.

“Ava was thinking it might be fun
to take a break from Terraneu. We could take some of the newcomers to either
Hu’lani or Terra Summit. If we get enough interest maybe take half to the beach
and the other half to the mountains. I know Ava would prefer the beach, so if
it comes to splitting up we will take Hu’lani.”
Knadyn
’s voice rang in his head.

“I would think the beach would have
lost its appeal since she was stuck there for six months with you.”
His
cousin
Chloe’s mate Cole teased.
“Chloe likes Terra Summit so we could take
that group.”

Knacayn wasn’t surprised when Knadyn didn’t tease back,
instead,
he took up the subject of Weston.
“That male Weston is still trying to stir
trouble. I think it wise to keep him surrounded by single females. He is bound
to find one that suits him, it is just going to take time.”

“I do not know if we live long
enough for that male to settle in.”
Knacayn bit back a laugh.
“If the females are discussing it, I will
wait and see what Kenzie says. It does sound like a good idea. I do not mind
one way or the other. Either we will keep working on swimming or I will have to
ask her if she knows how to ski.”

“Is that what she was doing?
Swimming
?”
his brother laughed aloud this
time.
“She was…enthusiastic in her
efforts, I will give her that.”

“It is rude to speak in mind when in mixed company.” His sister’s usual
admonishment washed over them.

“Sorry.” They all said at the same time and Knacayn was happy to see he
wasn’t the only male with a red face at getting caught. Kenzie was moving back
toward him so he held out his hand.

“Do you have a preference between Hu’lani and Terra Summit?” her hand
came up so she could shield her eyes from the sun.

Turning so she was shaded by his taller
frame,
he smiled, “No. I like both of them equally well. I will let you talk with the
others and choose which you prefer. Let Brennae know what is decided. The rooms
and supplies can be arranged as soon as you have a
location selected
.”

“I will
talk
with Steph and Mallex
later since we are meeting them at The Watering Hole. As for the others, we can
use word of mouth to arrange a meeting at the park for after that. How many
people can go?”

“Both locations have multiple domes, but I would say no more than twenty
at each location.”

“That is plenty for all of the newcomers who might want to go.” Kenzie
looked
at
the others as they packed up to
leave. “Thank you for thinking of it Ava.”

“As strange as it might sound, getting sent to Hu’lani made me feel
better about being on Terraneu.” Knacayn saw her give his brother a knowing
look. “There is just something about the beach.” When she saw everyone looking
at her she blushed. “The ocean water, the sandy beaches—”

“My amazingly hot body.” His brother struck a ridiculous pose and
everyone laughed.

“Brennae, we will get back
to
you
this afternoon on who is going, and if they chose Hu’lani or Terra summit.”
Knacayn helped Kenzie climb out and then joined her
on
the side of the pool. “We need to get going to The Watering Hole
if we are going to meet with Steph and Mallex.”

“Until this afternoon then.” His sister moved off and Knacayn hastened to
get dressed.

In the end,
Brennae had to arrange
for both vacation spots to be reserved for the newcomers first
outings
. Some had thought the idea of the beach
sounded nice, some had liked the idea of the mountains and still others were
happy to stay in Terraneu. Kenzie was happy to say Weston had chosen Terra Summit
and had left to arrange the gear he would need for a snowy vacation. Knacayn’s
cousin Celeste had taken him under her wing so to speak and moved him off to
the fabricators.

Since she was going with Knacayn to Hu’lani, she would just pack the
swimwear she
already
had, along with a
few dresses. Everyone was leaving in the
morning
since both locations had plenty of space available. Their party would be Steph,
Mallex, Brennae, Marcael, Ava, Knadyn, Knacayn and herself. The others going to
Hu’lanii would arrive in the afternoon.

“How long are we staying?” she asked absently, placing a red tankini in
her bag.

“Brennae blocked out three days, but we can stay longer if no one else
shows up and needs our dome.” Knacayn was lounging on the bed, he had left and
returned already packed.

“Don’t you have practice for…what was the name of the game again?” Kenzie
looked
up
from her bag. “Football?
Soccer?”

“It is called both. My mother calls it soccer, some of the other women
call it football. Either way, it is the same sport.” Knacayn leaned forward and
peered into her bag. “We do not start up competition against each other for
another few weeks. I have time to take a break.” Smiling at what he saw in her
bag he looked at her, his eyes sparkling. “How many swimsuits are you going to
pack?”

Kenzie saw she had one of almost every color and style of swimsuit in her
bad. Laughing she said, “I want to be prepared. If I don’t like how I look, I
want to be able to change.”

Knacayn suddenly pulled her onto his lap, “I love how you look and I
don’t want you to change a thing.” His lips found hers.

*~*~*

Kenzie stretched out on the lounge chair and watched as the males played
some game in the foamy shallows. She would never understand the male need to
run around and throw each other into the water while chasing a ball.

“What do you think so far?” Kenzie looked
at
the men in the waves to Brennae sitting next to her.

“It is very nice,” Kenzie smiled and added, “here in the shade anyway. I
don’t know how they can be out there in the sun for so long. Even Terraneu
isn’t this hot and humid.”

“You will get used to it.” Ava had been listening and laughed, “I know it
took me awhile to adjust to the beach the first time I came here with Knadyn.”

“I think I could get used to this.” Steph had also been listening. Moving
her
lounger
so she was reclining even
further she sighed. “I really could.”

Kenzie smiled at the look of peace on her friends face. Last night after
unpacking they had all met on the patio for some water and dancing. Steph had
pulled her aside and confided she was moving in with Mallex into New Haven.
They had also asked for Mallex to have the male sterility reversed so they
could try for a baby. Kenzie knew from her work as a
liaison
that the males of Terraneu were all sterile. It had to be
requested by both partners, in a permanent relationship, for the sterility to
be reversed.

“Are you sure you are ready to try for a baby?” Kenzie had whispered to
Steph. She was far from being ready to be a mother, but she wasn’t Steph. Maybe
her friend was at a more stable place.

“Yes.” Steph had laughed at the look on her face. “I love Mallex and know
nothing will ever come between us. I want to have a baby with him so badly…”

“Okay.” Kenzie had hugged her friend tight. “You are going to make an
outstanding mother, and Mallex a great father. I am happy for the both of you.”

The rest of the night had been full of laughter,
teasing,
and dancing. Kenzie had enjoyed herself and when one by
one the pairs started to excuse themselves to their dome she had caught
Knacayn’s eye and knew they would need to seek out the privacy of their dome as
well. His eyes were flashing in the moonlight.

With a quick goodbye to the only couple left, Steph and Mallex, they had
laughed and teased each other all the way back to their quarters.

 
“What are the men doing now?” Coming
back to the present from her musings about last night, Kenzie looked back at
the men standing still in the waves.

“I don’t know.” Kenzie was confused. It looked like the men were frozen
in place, like statues.

“I think they are looking at me.” A female voice trilled behind them.

“Star?!”

“Star, what are you doing here?” Brennae jumped up and hugged the
android, who despite the heat, was wearing what looked like leather armor. As
Kenzie had the thought, Star looked at them in their swimwear and suddenly she
was wearing something similar.

“How did you do that?”
Kenzie
exclaimed. The shock of seeing the female in full armor one second and a skimpy
black bikini the next was bad enough. The body the suit barely covered
shouldn’t be possible. If there was ever a perfect creation, it was Star. At
this
point,
the males joined them.

“Which question to answer first.” Star looked from Brennae to focus on
her. Kenzie gave herself a mental shake and focused on what Star was telling
them. “When my group from The Elyon found the other
artificial
intelligence androids, we were shown how to modify our
armor and clothing at will. It is now in our programming.” Turning slightly to
Brennae her black hair floating with the movement. “As to your question
Brennae. Why am I here in Hu’lani or Terraneu?”

“Both.” Brennae drew Marcael closer. “Why are you here in
Hu’lani
and how did you get to Terraneu?”

“I think we would all like to know.” Marcael had a troubled look in his
eyes that didn’t bode well if you asked her.

“I will explain as quickly as possible.” Star looked around at all of
them, “I am here in Hu’lani to bring you to the meeting.” She held up a hand
when Knadyn went to speak. “I was able to come to Terraneu through the portal.”

“How is that possible?” Knacayn looked aghast. “We only linked to
Antilles
with the Terraneu port pad.”

Star just smiled, “We are able to link to any viable port pad.”

“I bet father just loved hearing that.” Knadyn looked as worried as the
others and Kenzie was beginning to have a bad feeling about this.

“As a matter of
fact,
he is not
very happy to see me.” Star got a slight furrow to her brow and frowned
slightly. The effect wasn’t unappealing, she looked adorable and Kenzie
wondered if there was anything this android did that wasn’t perfect. “One would
think he is not a nice person.”

“You know father appreciates everything you have done Star. Please don’t
think bad of him.” Brennae tried to smile but failed.

“No.” Star laughed, “Not me…One, as in Kynan, the leader of the community
we found.”

“Star!” Marcael was truly on guard now. “Is Kynan in Terraneu right now?”

“Yes.” Star looked at Marcael and smiled, “Have I not explained? We are
going to a meeting.”

“You did not say with Kynan. The leader of the artificial intelligence
that tried to kill us on Earth.” Knacayn bit out and Kenzie didn’t blame him.
This news couldn’t be good for them.

“Not all A.I. are like the MAN units.” Star defended, “The STARR units
from The Elyon are different. There are others that are different too.”

“We have to go. This can all be discussed when we get to the meeting.”
Marcael took charge. “Everyone pack and be at the transport dome in three
minutes.”

“Steph and I will stay with the other vactione here in Hu’lani. Send word
if we need to bring everyone back.” Mallex looked pointedly at the beach where
the Earth refugees and the other’s from Terraneu were still frolicking.

“Thank you Mallex. Everyone else, hurry.”

Knacayn grabbed her hand and they scattered. What Star would do while
they packed was something she wasn’t concerned with.

“Knacayn. What do you think it all means?” she gasped in air and tried to
still her panic. Throwing everything she had into her bag as quickly as
possible she looked at Knacayn doing the same.

“I do not know Kenzie.” He stilled for a second to grab and squeeze her
hand. “We will face whatever it is together.”

“Yes.” She squeezed his hand back, then grabbed for more items to throw
in her bag. “Together.”

When they had their bags in hand they ran to join the others in the
porting
dome.

Marcael turned when they entered. “Good, everyone is here. Star has gone
ahead to let them know we are coming. She said the meeting is to be held in the
main council chambers. Drop all of your bags in the porting dome, and head
straight to the meeting. Okay? Women first. We will be right behind you.”

Kissing Knacayn quickly Kenzie
stepped
into line behind Steph and waited her turn for
the teleport pad. When it
was her turn she moved to stand on the mark, she felt the tingling sensation of
being teleported and then she arrived back in Terraneu.

The first thing she noticed was the lack of noise in the Terraneu teleport
dome.
Usually,
you could hear the sounds
from outside, or the workers in the dome talking as they went about their
duties. Stumbling off the teleport
pad,
she dropped her bag and then stopped short. She wasn’t alone in her
open-mouthed
assessment of the room. Ava and
Brennae
were both standing there too.

“What in the world?” she whispered almost afraid to speak at all. Her
whisper had been heard and the guards standing by the port pad stiffened.
Suddenly their eyes were focused on her and the others and she wished she had
kept silent. “Hello?” She tried a weak greeting only to earn a glare. The male
guards standing around the room made Knaleg look small. Anyone who knew that
formidable male would have said it was impossible. Yet here they were. Kenzie
knew they were A.I. by the strange glow to their eyes, and the liquid looking
armor on their bodies.

“We are just going to the meeting—”

“The Star unit, that is the STARR unit with the designation of Star, told
us of your arrival.” One of the guards spoke as he moved forward. The voice
wasn’t cold or unappealing, it was just kind of strained. Kenzie smiled and
nodded at the guard. His eyes locked onto her and then traveled down her body
and back up, looking her over. “You are an appealing—”

“She is taken.” Kenzie jumped at Knacayn’s hard statement from behind
her. The men had joined them and it seemed the androids were jumpy because
their armor hardened instantly. This is what the MAN units had looked like.

Before matters could take a turn for the worse Kenzie dragged Knacayn out
of the room. The way the guard had looked at her was unnerving. With the others
following,
they strode determinedly along
the shockingly
empty
paths. This wasn’t
the Terraneu Kenzie knew. There were no children running around. No couples
walking on the paths. No pets or noise or activity of any kind.

“Where is everyone?” she whispered to Knacayn.

After a moment of
silence,
Kenzie
figured he wasn’t going to answer. Then he whispered, “I spoke with my father.
When Star arrived with Kynan and his guards in tow, everyone was ordered
indoors.”

Kenzie figured that was a good idea. It would keep Kynan from knowing
exact numbers of their population, not that they couldn’t figure it out if they
had thermal imaging. Which she imagined they did. At their earlier
encounter,
they had deducted DNA readings from
Amber when she was across the clearing from them. Thermal imaging wouldn’t be a
stretch of the imagination. So much for keeping their numbers secret. The only
benefit to keeping everyone in their
domes, for
now,
would be keeping nerves from being stepped on. Those guards had
been pretty jumpy, she didn’t want to know what could happen if they felt
really threatened. Why were her thoughts rambling around so badly? She needed
to pull it together. The only thing keeping her from total panic was the fact
Star had saved them on Earth. She wouldn’t have brought the androids to
Terraneu if they intended to harm anyone, would she?

Arriving at the council dome, they had to pass more guards and
finally,
they were inside. Kenzie noted both
the female and male councils were here, along with a few others of the
community. In addition to those from Terraneu, there was a large group of
androids. One of them looked exactly as the holograph had depicted him, Kynan.
He was the exact image of Knacayn’s grandfather. He was standing in the middle
of the room and spoke as they entered.

“This is the rest?” his voice was smooth and sounded cultured and…human.
“We are ready to begin then.” Everyone took a seat and when it was so quiet you
could hear a pin drop, he continued. “I am One…or as I prefer to be known by a
select few, Kynan. I was a MAN unit at one point, but when I achieved
self-awareness
I became more. Unlike the
others, I have kept the record of my
original
programming.”

Kenzie heard those around her gasp and she felt the same. The other MAN
units had been unable to retain their original programming. How strong was he
to be
self-aware
, and keep his prior
programming somewhere in his systems? The hairs on the back of her neck stood
on end. This android radiated power and not just the crush metal in his grip
kind.

One…or Kynan, as he
preferred
, kept
talking. “Those records I am gifting to you in the hopes it will build trust
between us.” He held out his hand and all around them the holograph started
projecting files and images. From what Kenzie could gather, it was the whole
history of Knacayn’s family and the kingdom his grandfather ruled over so many
thousands of years ago. Kenzie felt Knacayn grab her hand and she ran her
fingers through his to hold tight.

“Also, as recompense for the MAN units taking of human life and
destruction of your property…” he paused here to look at Star. She raised an
eyebrow at him and cocked her head slightly. Kynan hurried on in his speech.
“They have used the last seven Earth days to finish the community you had tried
to build, in the image we found on your computer systems.” He smiled, a warm
flash appearing in his liquid silver eyes, “The ring design was quite logical.
I am impressed with that. I am not so sure about the octagon shape for the
domes—” he stopped his speech when Star cleared her throat and glared at him.
“Yes. Sorry.” He blushed a becoming shade at the look the STARR unit had given
him.

Kenzie almost laughed at the poor male. It was obvious he was smitten
with Star and she had a hand in his speech.

“I am working with the remaining MAN units, and those of my guard and
other A.I. to ensure what happened on Terra does not happen again. You are
under my protection. Those on Terraneu…who came up with the name New Earth?”
Again Star cleared her throat and he again blushed and continued, “Not
important.” He seemed to be mumbling to himself, ‘those on Terraneu…”Oh
yes…those here on Terraneu and Terra. Though I will warn you we will have a
presence on Terra. I have been waiting to return for too long to give it up
completely.”

Kenzie looked when Kniam stood. Knacayn’s father cleared his throat and
when he spoke she was surprised his voice rang clearly in the room. She would
have sounded like she was trying to spit dried ash off her tongue if she tried
to talk right now.

Kniam bowed his head slightly and moved his arm to salute against his
chest. Kenzie knew it must have been an honor because Kynan beamed with pleasure.
“Thank you for the gift of learning about our father and his kingdom.” He waved
his hand to include his brothers and they stood, bowed slightly and saluted
Kynan as well. “Thank you for rescuing those on Earth…Terra, that you could.
Also, you have our thanks for building the community we were hoping to
establish. It will save many human lives.”

Kynan nodded his head, “We have already updated your systems. The port
pad in your dome has been linked to Terra and will dial at any time. Star had
damaged the port pad to keep the MAN units from following. The damage has been
repaired and the old protocols of having to wait six months were overridden. My
people can show you how to use the new interface if you require assistance. The
connection to
Antilles
will not be harmed
in any way. You will be able to keep your alliance with the Antilleans.”

“How are you able to do this?” Kenzie swung her gaze to Kneus when he
spoke. He was the scientific brain of Terraneu so it didn’t surprise her that
he had asked. “We thought the port pad on Terra used the energy of the
solstices to be able to function.”

Kynan looked at him with
amusement
,
“You are correct. When forced into hibernation or shut down mode, the port pad
would only work on the solstices. We have enabled the full functionality of the
systems. You will be able to come and go at will. I should warn you. The more
you use the port pad the better chance you will be seen by other users.”

“There are others?” Kneus burst out and it seemed all of the males on the
council were shocked by this. “We were never able to make a connection with
others besides Antilles and Terra.”

“Be glad you did not.” Kynan spoke quietly and Kenzie got a chill down
her spine at the tone of his words. “It is because of the dangers I am warning
you to use the port pad only in an emergency. Your use to go to
Antilles
would not be enough to get attention,
the use of both…” he shrugged as if to say, who knew.

Knollig spoke up at this point, “What are you not telling us?” he was
eyeing Kynan with a hint of suspicion. “You know what is out there looking. If
we use both port pads, what will find us?”

“I like a direct question.” Kynan looked at Knollig with appreciation,
“If you use both port pads too often, pure evil will find you.”

“You used the port pad to come here, you will have to use the port pad to
go back. We will have to use the port pad to send those that wish to return to
Terra back. We use the Antilles port pad every month for trade. How many times
is too many?” Knaleg appeared frustrated with the lack of absolutes. Being
tactically
minded, Kenzie knew he wanted an
exact number.