Ghosting the Hero (5 page)

Together, they huddled on the couch and cheered on the mech pilots as they smashed the machines to pieces in organised combat. It was a girls’ night in to remember.

Lying on the massage table, Simry could feel N’kad staring at her. Too bad for him, she was the class dummy, and M’rin was demonstrating on her.

The sheets were tucked and draped across her hips and breasts. M’rin demonstrated how living tissue did not move like the simulators.

“Simry very kindly ran her talent to the edge, and now, she is a giant knot of muscle and pulled tendons. She is a mess. I want each of you to come here and examine what actual, genuine tension feels like, and yes, she is allowed to make noises.”

The six students converged on her and nearly everyone touched a limb or joint.

It was the fourth time that she was offering herself for groping, and at least, this class was being careful.

“Ow. Knee. Ow.” She twitched as the student tried to straighten her leg.

N’kad was at her feet with his hand just above her ankle. “Simry, where is your point of greatest tension?”

She looked down her body and up to his face. He was serious and intent.

“Left leg, calf and ankle. Inner knee.”

He nodded and edged the other student out. “May I touch you?”

“Yes, you may.”

The other students pulled their hands back with a jerk. It was the first rule of therapeutic massage at the Citadel that agreement had to be given before the treatment could start.

His examination was slow, and M’rin invited the other volunteers in to lie at the different stations. N’kad had asked for permission, so he got to work on Simry. She was the greatest challenge in the class.

He worked along her skin, applying a massage oil to let his fingers glide over her.

“You are right; this leg gets very tense.”

“I am surprised you figured out the permission thing.” She twisted her lips and relaxed.

“I picked up on the clue when Instructor M’rin said you were allowed to make sound.” He smiled slightly, but his eyes were focused inward. He was concentrating on what his hands were telling him.

She groaned when he lifted her leg slightly to test her range of motion.

“Could you turn onto your stomach for me?”

He held the sheets for her, and she rolled to her stomach. When she was settled, he put the sheets back in place over her hips but removed the one in the center of her back.

She lay face down, and he slid his hands up and down the backs of her thighs and calves. Her feet, toes and ankles were all given his complete attention.

When he moved to her back, her legs were limp. He worked on her lower back and discretely shifted her sheet to work on one hip and buttock at a time.

She smiled at the floor. Many students were afraid of working on the butt, but there was a lot of tension held in those large muscle groups.

“Why did you take this course?”

N’kad paused for a moment before returning to her back. “I thought it was a handy skill to learn, and you spoke so highly of the benefits of getting a massage that it seemed a good idea.”

“I spoke of it as an alternative to pain meds. It doesn’t do you any good if you are the one administering it.”

She was trying to get him to declare that he had some intent that involved her, but he didn’t seem to be willing to say it.

“I wanted to be able to help you in the same way you helped me.” He said it so softly, she barely heard it.

Tears pricked her eyes. She licked her lips and gasped when he eased one of her arms out away from her side. Her shoulder screamed from the small motion.

“What did you do here?”

“I have been a dummy for this class before. You learn better when the body has been through a bit. I did some pull-ups on my way here.”

“This doesn’t feel like your own work.”

“Fine. M’rin held onto my legs and I lifted both of us. She’s a high-gravity species.” She snorted.

“She is a good instructor. You two are friends?”

“I have a lot of friends here, but, yes. We are.”

M’rin wandered by. “She is immune to my charms but a lovely dancer. You are doing well, N’kad. Keep it up.”

Simry enjoyed his loosening of her shoulders, elbows and hands. When he finished her right arm, he tucked it against her side and worked on the left. When her left arm was completely limp, he brought it up next to her as well.

Breath whooshed out of her when he leaned carefully on her back in a rhythm as he moved down her spine.

“How long have you been doing this?”

“About eight days now. I practice every day until the instructor kicks me out or I am summoned back to the base.”

Simry groaned when he ran his thumbs down either side of her spine. “You seem to be a quick study.”

He chuckled and draped the sheet over the center of her back again. “Turn to your back please.”

She shifted and faced him for a moment while she adjusted the sheet across her breasts and the other over her hips.

He stepped behind her head and massaged the balls of her shoulders. If he kept going, she was guessing that there would only be three square feet of her that he hadn’t touched.

He spoke softly. “There is something about being paralyzed that makes you appreciate the slightest things. The movement of a hand or the texture of a woman’s skin, they are now precious.”

She swallowed when he massaged the tops of her breasts before smoothing his hands over her torso as he worked the muscles of her belly.

When he finished by rubbing her legs again, she sighed in regret. It had been her best hour in the last week.

She remained in the bed while the other students were dismissed. When M’rin declared the all clear, the volunteers slowly levered themselves upright and filled out a questionnaire on the student that had worked them over.

Simry gave him high marks on all counts. He had been discreet, polite, courteous and had not startled her frequently while he moved. He had used light touches to keep her aware of where he was, so she had always known where he was going.

“So, what do you think?”

Simry handed the questionnaire over. “He is good. Very good. Professional and careful. You are still better for direct pressure, but for a student, he was excellent.”

“Flatterer. Well, come on. You need water.” M’rin wrapped her in a clean sheet and walked with her to the change room.

Since she wasn’t on duty today, Simry got into her casual clothing after a quick solar shower. The lace-up top left a few inches of skin visible below the fabric before her trousers began.

She finished pulling on her boots and fluffed her hair. A quick pat down told her everything was where it was supposed to be, so she left the change room and followed M’rin to the dining hall.

She sat in one of the comfortable conversation chairs while M’rin went for a pitcher of water. M’rin poured for her and handed her the first glass of the pitcher.

“He did well. The other students are trying to get techniques out of him.”

Simry didn’t need to be told; she could see the cluster of new and old massage-class students surrounding N’kad. The women were asking him to demonstrate the techniques he had used on Simry’s hands and the men were taking notes.

“So, M’rin, do all the students in your class do it to try and get laid?”

M’rin poured her own water and she sat back. “About ninety percent of them, yes.”

“Where do you think N’kad weighs in? Is he in the ninety percent or the ten?”

“I would say he is one of a kind. He wants to relieve your pain so that you will be amenable to him trying to get laid.”

Simry sighed and closed her eyes. “Well, he does have wonderful hands.”

M’rin chuckled. “Good. I think he is ready to ask you.”

She opened one eye. “What?”

“To join him in the Sector Guard. I have heard the rumors that Fixer has made a custom couch for you in one of the shuttles and a suit has been crafted with your name on it.”

Simry opened her other eye. “You have to be kidding. I am not suited for fieldwork. All of my medical scans say so.”

M’rin shrugged. “Not for solo work, but with the right partner, I think that Reset might be willing to sign off on you. I mean, providing that your new partner can take care of you while in the field.”

Simry looked over to N’kad. “So, I am being drafted?”

“That is what it looks like from here. Drink your water, Guardsman.”

She lifted the glass to her lips and swallowed hard. She had dreamed of a life on active duty, but now, it seemed to be rushing up without her seeking it. Of course, that was just supposition. Until N’kad asked her, she was just a living ghost of the Citadel.

A knock on her door woke her at dawn. Simry grabbed a robe and stumbled to her door. She blinked when she saw N’kad in the security screen.

She pulled the door open and squinted up at him. “What?”

“I would like you to be my partner in the Sector Guard.” He took one of her hands, but his lips were twitching in amusement. “Though, now, I am having second thoughts. You in the mornings is something I was not prepared for.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Not everybody wakes up pretty.”

“You are adorable; you just look like something large was licking the back of your head as you slept.” He reached out and smoothed her hair.

“Come in and I will make some tea.”

“You might want to start with caf and work up from there.”

She squeezed his hand and released it, walking to her dispenser and ordering caf. “Mornings are hard.”

He laughed and walked into her room, straightening her bed and tidying her pillows.

She retrieved the cup and ordered a pot of tea, stumbling through her room and sitting at her table inviting him with a wave. “You can sit or rifle through my stuff. It is your choice.”

He walked over to her but then the tea chimed. He retrieved it and set it down on the table. “I will opt for both. I will have tea, and then, I will rifle through your things. You have been inside my mind; I just need to learn about you.”

“Am I having a weird dream or did you ask me to be your partner?”

“You are not dreaming. I did ask you. I have intended to for a week, but I wanted to make sure that we were progressing as companions before I pushed to partners.”

“What makes you think that I will get authorization to be a Guardsman? I have been rejected from all off-world assignments until now.”

“They want me as a Guardsman and I want you as my partner, so I have learned what is necessary to keep you maintained during an assignment. Reset will be the final judge, but I believe that I have done well in my pursuit of your safety.”

She slurped at the caf until the hot stimulant was gone, and then, she took the cup of tea that N’kad handed to her.

She sipped, and it was just the way she liked it. “You have been paying attention.”

“I have studied food, beverages, sleep patterns and fashion sense, as well as how to relieve you of the tension caused by your talent.”

“Wow.” Her eyes were gradually opening. She drank more tea and began to wake up. “Why me? I am sure that the Sector Guard would have found you someone suitable.”

“There is a social compatibility clause in my contract. They have to be acceptable to me, and you are the only talent that I trust.”

She nodded and held out her teacup for a refill. “Why are you here now?”

“Oh, you mean an hour before dawn?” He refilled her cup and added sugar and a dollop of cream.

Simry took her tea back. “Yes. That.”

“They have asked me to go on an assignment this afternoon, and in order for that to happen, I need a partner and you need to be suited up in an appropriate manner. Fixer will be waiting one hour from now to fit your suits. They should enable you to travel safely.”

“So, I have an hour to make up my mind?”

N’kad checked his chronometer. “About thirty minutes. The administrator has already been notified.”

“So, this is more of a head’s up social call.”

“Well, that and I need to bring you with me to the base.”

Simry nodded, and she slugged back the last of her hot tea, shivering as her body objected to the heat. “Right. Give me a minute.”

She got up, grabbed a clean uniform out of the closet and she went to her bathing room to take a quick solar shower. When she came out of her lav with her suit on, her hair brushed and feeling in more control of herself, she said, “Please, let’s go before I wake up. This is either going to be very good or very bad, but either way, I want to get it started before my brain knows what is going on.”

He had already tidied up her dispenser station, and he didn’t waste time. He opened the door, and they left her quarters without another word.

When they were outside, he moved swiftly, lifted her and flew her through the air to the Guard base. It appeared he wasn’t taking chances on her changing her mind.

Fixer was surprisingly perky in the morning. The moment N’kad put her down, Fixer hauled Simry into her workshop for her fittings.

“Congratulations on being upgraded to Sector Guard.”

Simry chuckled and put on the suit that Fixer shoved at her. They were behind a privacy screen and N’kad was waiting out front.

“Thanks; I don’t consider it an upgrade, more of a lateral move. I just work down the road now.”

Fixer chuckled. “You are still asleep.”

Simry sealed the suit and flexed, twisted and jumped to get the feel of it. “Pretty sure. I am trying not to have any thoughts that will jar me, though flying was a bit of a zap to my senses.”

Fixer clicked her tongue. “Come on, up on the podium.”

Simry stood while the suit was fitted to her with slow sweeps of Fixer’s hands. “Is Isabi watching the babies this morning?”

“Yup. The call to work was a bit of a relief. Carella explained the premise of a food fight this week and our quarters are a bit of a mess.”

“Are the twins throwing food?”

“Sort of. One is making it out of furniture for unlimited ammunition. The other one hides behind her brother, and the nanny is starting to bite his nails.”