Stray (12 page)

Maze gave my shirt a quick frown – I'd forgotten about my mascot altogether – and then asked me lots of questions about Earth food and I ended up spending the entire lunch talking.  About fondue and then Nordic countries and skiing, a thing they don't do here at all, and then we swapped different sports that there's no equivalent to on either world.  Taren sports are mostly indoors, unsurprisingly, except for some kind of air races.  There's so many Earth sports that don't fit well here.  Golf and skiing and riding just for starters.

They'd booked a Kanza court for after lunch.  Kanza is a very strange game like hockey crossed with mini-golf crossed with Pac-man, except the pucks hover and skim and ricochet madly over the surface of three intersecting recessed circles.  The court was in the centre of a grassy amphitheatre where people were eating picnic lunches and watching the games.  You play in teams of three and you stand on the edge and hit your pucks all out at once and try and not go in any of the holes until you've passed over all the little floating balls of light.  If you keep your puck in play you get bonus pucks.  It's tremendously fast-paced and silly and Maze is idiotically good at it so I was glad to be on his and Lohn's team.  Zee sat out because of her leg, and Mara, Alay and Ketzaren were the opposing team and Ketzaren turned out to be really dry and funny and made this hilarious commentary and Lohn really played up to her.  I nearly fell into the rink a couple of times from laughing.

After our final round, while Mara's team was playing, Maze and Lohn went off to get everyone something to drink.  I was really tired from all the laughing, and sat with Zee watching the growing audience cheering Mara and Alay playing a duo game when I noticed a couple of people I recognised.  The Third Squad captain's twirly hair makes her pretty hard to miss, even when she's not in the black uniform.  She was standing up the top of the small amphitheatre with another girl, staring down with a really fixed lack of expression.  I wasn't surprised that it was Maze she was watching – half the audience was panting over him or Lohn and most of the rest were drooling over either Mara or Zee.  Really, there's hardly any of the Setari who aren't above average in looks.  It must be a job requirement.

I made sure to not be looking at the Third Squad captain by the time Lohn and Maze got back with the drinks, but I wondered if I'd earned myself an enemy because Maze handed me a drink and sat beside me and smiled and said I had to concede that this was better than a long walk occasionally hitting little balls, which is how I'd described golf.  It's hard not to enjoy it when someone so gorgeous and nice pays me attention.  But even though it's only six or seven years' difference, all the people I know on Earth who are in their mid-twenties are teachers, so I do feel out of place around First Squad.  I'm  fairly sure Maze doesn't mean anything, is just being kind and thoughtful.  And there's a sense that underneath it all, he's unhappy.  I keep feeling sorry for him.

When I was delivered back to my box, I was on enough of a high to not let the Fourth Squad captain's 'psychological aspects' drown out my thanks.  I think they all enjoyed themselves too and were genuinely curious about Earth, so it wasn't like the excursion was a total pity party.  And then I napped for what was left of the day and woke up in the middle of the night and really I have the weirdest life right now. 

Tuesday, February 5

A very busy day

I had an early appointment with Sa Lents.  And I knew about it beforehand!  I had a further boost of my interface functions, and found I have an appointment calendar.  I can look forward and see what they've scheduled for me for the rest of the year.  I literally do have appointments an entire Taren year ahead.  Almost all medical examinations.  I don't know if the increase in function is down to Zan, or Maze, or even the conversation I had with Ista Tremmar, but it's a relief to almost be a person again.

The appointments with Sa Lents are always uncomfortable.  I ask about Nenna, and he assures me she's improving.  She only wrote to me a couple of times, and then didn't reply to the last email I sent and I tell myself that she's probably in a lot of pain and not exactly in a chatty mood.  It's hard to imagine Nenna not being chatty though, and whatever else happens, I've changed Nenna forever and I think about that all the time when I'm talking to her father.

I tried to hide it by pressing him comparing dates on Earth to the things that are supposed to have happened on Muina, and he conceded that it sounds like Earth is very atypical.  I think Earth is beginning to make him really uncomfortable.  It's one thing for him to document another 'lost world' which fits the known pattern, and something altogether more difficult to try and fit a 'pre-dispersal settlement' into the mix.  Especially when I gave him my theory for Muinans originally being Earthlings.

Tarens clearly resemble both Asian and Caucasian people – or what you'd get if Asian and Caucasian people had babies for a few thousand years.  Some people with pink skin and 'round eyes'.  Some people with skin in golden shades and epicanthic folds on their eyes.  And pink-skinned people with epicanthic folds, golden-skinned people with round eyes, or blue eyes, or darker skin, and every combination you can think of.  I tried explaining to Sa Lents that he looks Japanese or Korean, but gave up the attempt because my language skills just aren't up to it, and he was smiling politely and not believing me at all.  I'm not sure Tarens even have the concept of race as we do on Earth.  Sa Lents acted as if I was explaining that red haired people were a distinct species from blonde haired people.

I don't know.  If the Muinans really come from Earth, why isn't Earth full of psychic people?  Or why doesn't Earth have stories of cultures ruled by psychics?  The Egyptians had their god-kings, true, but they weren't like those on
Stargate
.  Hm – must watch Tarens carefully in case their eyes flash mysteriously.

After Sa Lents, it was my regular session with Zan.  If possible, she was even more formal and correct than ever, and not at all communicative.  I thought about trying some personal questions afterwards, while we were eating lunch in the canteen, but there were a fair few Setari there and though I never saw anyone actually looking at us, I felt very centre of attention, so I played obedient student and asked what few questions I could think of about the training she was giving me.  I don't know whether to feel sorry for Zan or not.  For all I know she's done something to deserve people being nasty to her.  But I don't see any reason to give them any ammunition.

Next up was the big test chamber, this time with Zan, all of First Squad, and an in-the-flesh bluesuit, a man named Sur Gidds Selkie.  Bluesuits definitely seem to be the military people in charge.  'Sur' is his rank.  Squad captains are "See".  Lots of ranks and titles start with an 'S' sound but with just the faintest 'z' overtone to it.  Now that I can display names (title option on) again, I see I've been spelling them wrong.  Not an 's' or 'z', so much as 'ts'.  'Tsa', 'Tsur' and 'Tsee'.

Tsur Selkie was a slender, quite short guy who could probably do a great Clint Eastwood imitation if he had any idea who that was.  All the wrong colouring and everything, but a totally 'chipped from flint' attitude.  And I think he's the one making most of the decisions about me.  First Squad were really correct around him, though not nearly as formal as Zan, who scaled new heights of expressionlessness.  He didn't speak directly to me at all.

This was the first serious testing of the effects of my enhancement since my health break.  They started out with Zan, and I had the distinct impression that there was something about Tsur Selkie personally observing which meant they expected to get more information from watching her again.  Once Zan had picked blocks up and moved them around for a while, they swapped to Maze doing the same thing.  Then they very warily had Zan and Maze touching me at the same time, and using Telekinesis at the same time.  I didn't feel anything, as usual, but Tsur Selkie seemed to find something significant in it all, because he nodded and said:

"The best analogy is an amplifying container.  A limited number of talents fit into the container without any particular effect.  Too many, and the container is torn.  The different 'sizes' of the talents also appears to be relevant.  Until further notice, multiple contact is forbidden absolutely.  Surion, your squad will move on to testing the effects of enhancement upon each individual talent available to First.  A controlled test within the Ena of that category of skills will be arranged.  Namara, Twelfth Squad will cover First Squad's previously scheduled assignments for this rotation.  Briefings have been transferred to your mission file."

They all saluted, hand to chest.  I just watched.  Military equipment doesn't salute.  After he had left, closely followed by Zan, everyone relaxed and Zee surprised me by hugging me and saying: "Now I don't have to be so anxious about accidentally killing you."

I was glad for once that I was so bad at talking, since my immediate reaction was a sarcastic one about irreplaceable equipment, and First Squad don't deserve that kind of attitude from me.  I was really relieved I'd been assigned to work with them, rather than Twelfth Squad.  Zan I think I like, or would if she'd let me, but that Lenton guy isn't exactly high on my list of desirable people to be around.

It was a long afternoon.  No disasters, but between them they had a lot of talents and they examined them all carefully, finding occasional strange distortions, and drawing two tentative conclusions.  If they try to use a talent
on
me when I'm enhancing them it will be distorted in some way, though they can use their talents on me so long as they're not enhanced by me.  And the same if they try to use an Illusion talent while I'm enhancing them.  They think that my supposed ability to make illusions somehow interferes with any projections they try while they're enhanced.  I've yet to be able to produce anything like an illusion and though Alay tried to talk me through different methods people use, I still didn't get anywhere.

Although they were cheerful and upbeat, First stayed relatively formal and correct and I took my cue from the way they were using their surnames and was careful to remember that they were on duty and were probably recording everything to put in reports, or being watched by who knows how many people.

But when Zee, who had to go to medical to have her leg checked, was escorting me back to my box I took a chance to ask a few questions.

"Twelfth Squad, what mean do First assignment?  Pick which Ionoth kill?"

"We're assigned particular sections of the Ena to patrol, and clear them of potential threats before they have a chance to find a way into real space.  Twelfth Squad will be clearing the sections we would have been working."

Something about the way she said it made me ask: "That not good thing?"

She grimaced.  "Twelfth is the newest of the squads, and have little practical experience in the more complex situations you can encounter in the Ena.  Our assignment will be an extreme test for them."

Hard to say whether Zan would be pleased about that or not.  "Why rest Setari so different First Squad?"

"Different?" Zee asked, but I'd bet she knew what I meant.

"Too serious.  Competitive.  Less...human."

She thought about it a long time before answering.  "The senior Setari started the program later and early on lived with our families, attending KOTIS like it was a school.  When we began to show positive results, the program was intensified, the talented living onsite and allowed few visits with their families.  The younger Setari started earlier and were pushed harder and further and so are stronger than us.  And we will need that strength.  But they were given little chance to be children, and like us they're burdened by the magnitude of the task.  Without the Setari program, Tare would be a world of street battles and lurking death."  She opened the door to my box, and gave me an unhappy shrug.  "The younger Setari, don't misunderstand them.  They are weapons.  But they are not so different from you."

I thought about this for a long time after Zee left.  Mainly about how much harder and further they'd be willing to push me.  But also about growing up knowing you stood between your family and monsters. 

Wednesday, February 6

Outfitting

All my morning appointments with Zan have changed to morning appointments with Mara.  For me last week revolved entirely around seeing Zan, and now for all I know I'll never work with her again, and I really can't see her showing up unexpectedly and taking me to eat fondue.  The problem fidgeted around my head half the morning, and eventually I composed a little thank you note, doing my best to make it grammatically correct and everything – though I think that made it worse – and emailed it to her.  She treated me as an assignment, but she never called me 'it'.  And I really enjoyed looking at her apartment, which is something she didn't have to show me and something I bet she's pretty private about.

Mara is far more of a taskmaster with my dodging training.  I suppose they've decided I'm healthy enough to step it up a little.  She started with stretches and steps and all that stuff, but then she brought out a basket of balls and said I had to dodge them and threw them at me, one after another, harder and faster each time.  Not at all martial arts-like, but effective at making me
want
to dodge.

And also very glad to stop, which we did when Lohn showed up to take us to lunch.  I get the distinct impression that Lohn and Mara are a couple, for all they don't hang all over each other.  Hell, for all I know they could be married.  Even in the same canteen, it's very different eating lunch with Lohn and Mara – particularly Lohn.  He talks non-stop and makes big gestures with his hands, sprawls back taking up two chairs, and chats with every person who passes by.  He's the anti-Zan.  Al
l the Setari he talks to unbend to him at least a little.  One of the people from Second Squad, a woman named Jeh Omai, joined us.  Second Squad is the other 'senior' Setari squad, and Jeh is calm and relaxed and treats Lohn as if he's an overlarge but endearing great dane puppy.