Knell (3 page)

“Guardian Base Nixos. We are waking you from cold sleep. You got here quickly.”

She sighed and relaxed for a moment. It was quite peaceful with the warmth on her body and the soft something on her eyes. Out of reflex, she opened her mind.

The screaming was immediate and she arched as the voices called out for help.

“Specialist? What is going on?”

She arched against the hands trying to hold her down as the sound of rushing water and low, distant thuds of wood striking stone joined in with the screams.

The soft covering left her eyes, and she sat up, looking at the man who had done the speaking for the base. “I can hear something.”

He nodded and stood in front of her. “Tell me.”

She had to crane her head back to see his features. She described the situation, the words used in the cries for help and the strange noises of water and wood.

His expression said that he was listening to everything she said, but the moment she finished, he turned and left the room, leaving her alone in a medical facility with no idea what was going to happen next.

Four men returned while she was trying to get her legs to hold her upright. They were being difficult about the whole thing.

“Oracle, please repeat what you just told me.”

She nodded and leaned against the bed as casually as she could. “I relaxed and opened my mind and the screams began.”

The rest of the story was as she had told the winged leader. The other three watched and nodded at appropriate intervals.

When she was done, she tried to stand unaided, but she wobbled dramatically before she grabbed at the bed again.

One of the men had skin like stone, and he nodded. “It is what I told the council. The Clearik Dam would never hold.”

The man with brilliant sapphire skin inclined his head. “Are you sure it is that dam?”

The stone man nodded. “I checked the logging records. There is a storage yard upstream from the grand opening ceremony. The dam will break and that yard’s contents will fill the river.”

The winged man nodded. “I trust your judgement, Ralos. Clearik Dam will get our attention tomorrow.”

She cleared her throat. “I know it is anticlimactic, but I would like some introductions.”

The stone man smiled. “I am Ralos, this brilliant blue fellow is Yekesh, the wings over there is our esteemed leader, Loxin, and manning the com systems is the beige wonder, Jekross.”

She smiled and nodded to each in turn. “I am Dot, or Oracle, I suppose.”

Loxin rubbed the back of his neck. “You were given the code name Oracle to protect you from the population of Nixos and their surrounding worlds.”

“Why would I be in danger?”

Ralos patted her on the shoulder carefully. “Everyone wants to know the future, even if disaster looms.”

She sighed. “That is all I see.”

Yekesh smiled, “Then, we are happy to have you. Advanced warning is always better than searching for the dead.”

Loxin exhaled and lifted her. “We are going to your quarters and you are going to change into your uniform. It will help with your balance and support.”

His wings flexed a little, and when she raised her hand over his shoulder to touch one, she recognized the soft feel. “Why were your wings over my eyes?”

“Because my hands were busy.” He smiled. “You have been awake less than ten minutes and you have already had a premonition. This might work out very well.”

He was warm and she was still sleepy, but she wasn’t going to nap at this point in time. She had other things to do. “What time is it?”

“We are in mid-afternoon. Why?”

She sighed. “No reason.”

The base was clean, neat and had the sparkle of a new structure. He walked down the hall and all the way to the end. “I have given you my old quarters because they are out of the way and we do not wish to disturb you when we leave and return from missions.”

Dot sighed. “That is very thoughtful.”

“I do try.”

The door opened with a push of his hip and she noticed the distinct lack of closures. There was no way to lock the door.

He set her down at the edge of her bed and opened the wardrobe. “The Alliance sent us your body scans, so a wardrobe has been prepared. This is your uniform.”

He lifted out a bodysuit that was a full-skirted gown covered by a chest and back plate with sleeves. The entire thing was a robin’s egg blue with gold trim.

“If I am at the base, why do I need a uniform?”

“You are going to be recorded for the Nyal archives. This is a costume for posterity. There is even a hood that comes out of the back.”

She looked at it and wrinkled her nose. “Where can I change?”

He blinked. “Your kind have body shame?”

She blushed. “Not all of us, but I do. I am unused to shedding my clothing in mixed company. I have lived alone for the majority of my life.”

He nodded and walked toward the door. “I will return in five minutes to show you the rest of the base.”

With hands clumsy with cold, she stripped out of her grey trainee uniform and tried to stuff herself into the long skirt and armour. To her shock, they were one piece. He wasn’t kidding, it was a uniform.

The plates opened at the sides and that space let her drop the entire affair over her shoulders. Her hands wiggled through the sleeves, and with a final jerk, she settled the dress into place. The armour didn’t hesitate. It snapped together at the side, and to her astonishment, it flexed and hugged her tight, fitting to her precisely.

She released the hood and pulled it up over her tightly confined blonde locks. With a little digging in the wardrobe, she found some boots and yanked them on.

She was just finishing on her left leg when Loxin came back in. He paused. “You look good in blue.”

Dot got to her feet. “This feels a little odd, but it is comfortable. You were right. It is warming.”

He offered his hand and she took it. His wings shivered slightly but he smiled. “Come this way.”

He showed her the com room, the common areas, the gym, the kitchen and the dining room. All were in a huge expanse and separated by a change in the floor colour. It was a combination of greenhouse and warehouse. The place was huge. It seemed the only solid walls were in the bedrooms and lavatories. Everything else was thick, clear plexi.

She met the sand-coloured Jekross and he was indeed very beige compared to the others. When they entered, he set the com aside and got to his feet, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand. “Lovely to meet you, Oracle.”

“Call me Dot.”

“Oracle, when I am discussing you with news agencies.” He grinned. “You are entitled to your privacy.”

“News?”

“Indeed. If that tip pans out tomorrow, we will be at the right place at the right time. That is newsworthy. Also, we will need to explain why we are in the area without being called.”

She nodded. “Right. That makes sense. If you don’t have an explanation, they would blame you.”

“Indeed. Well, I am off com duty, so I am wondering if you are interested in sharing a meal.”

She cocked her head. “I don’t know if I am hungry, but I am willing to keep you company.”

Loxin sighed. “I am right here. Shouldn’t you ask me as well?”

Jekross chuckled. “I have eaten with you plenty of times, Lox. First meals are important for my people.”

Loxin sighed. “Fine, but you know the rules.”

“Yes, Commander. No fraternization during work hours.” Jekross winked at her.

Loxin tugged her hand, and they all walked to the kitchen where Jekross gave her an assessing look before he removed ingredients from the chiller and started chopping.

Loxin chuckled. “He just guessed at your likely favourite meal, and now, he is trying to make it. This is usually entertaining. He hasn’t been right yet but he keeps trying.”

Dot took a seat on one of the barstools near the kitchen island, and she watched as Jekross chopped, sautéed and boiled his way along.

When he waved at her to take a seat at the table, she was exceptionally nervous. Loxin sat next to her and he had an amused expression on his face.

To her surprise, his chair back narrowed to allow his wings to be comfortable.

“Is everything here some kind of smart furniture?” She looked at the other chairs with curiosity.

“The Guardian bases are experimental. That includes the furniture,” Jekross explained as he set food out on the table.

Dot was trying to figure out what Jekross had attempted, but she was drawing a blank.

Loxin was enjoying her discomfort. “Jekross is our resident acquisitions expert. If you want to find something, he can locate it in a matter of seconds. His talent is dependent on immediate need.”

“I believe that all of my needs are currently being met.” She chuckled, then swallowed heavily as Jekross began to arrange food on her plate.

He sat, and to her embarrassment, Yekesh and Ralos came to join in the meal.

“Eat up.” Jekross waved at her as he took a seat on her left hand side. With Loxin on her right, there was no escape.

The food on the plate was vaguely familiar in the same way that a giraffe resembled a horse. There was another corollary for this meal somewhere, but she didn’t know what it could be.

Everyone watched as she stuck a fork into the creation, and to her surprise, she recognized the taste. “Spaghetti and meatballs!”

Jekross howled with laughter and the others stared in amazement. Dot couldn’t help eating, it was great. It was just what she needed.

After dinner, they all watched the news vids, and to Dot’s shock, her image was already being circulated around Nixos. The image was from her entering the com office with Loxin holding her hand. Jekross worked fast.

She looked at him with narrowed eyes from her position on the couch.

He gave her an innocent shrug. “The people of Nixos needed to know.”

“And you always give people what they need.”

Jekross and the others gave her brilliant smiles. “You are catching on.”

Dot wormed her way forward. It was hard to get comfy in the armour. “Do I have to wear this all the time?”

Loxin chortled and the others snickered. “No, only for formal events. Today was your first but there will be more. We just wanted to see you in it.”

She made a face. “Fine. Is there a way to get outside the building?”

Loxin rose to his feet. “I will show you.”

He took her hand again and led her out of the living space and toward one of the huge seamless panels of plexi. “Touch it and it opens onto the observation deck.”

She reached out and a wide door swung open. “Does it work the same from the outside?”

“It does, but only on this panel, so keep that in mind.”

Dot nodded. His hand with hers held her back from the mad rush she was feeling to stare at the stars.

When they got far enough from the base on the paved surface with a long, low balcony rail, she looked up and her heart pounded. “I know those stars. I know each and every one of those stars.”

“I thought you might. Your drawings and paintings were scanned and sent to us. The detail was amazing, even the days of the incoming attacks were captured. It was the deciding factor in your acceptance.”

As she stood looking up at the sky, the screams started again. This time, there was a noise that came before the thunderous roar of water and the thudding of wood.

“Do you have sound samples on your com units? I need to find a sound.”

Lox quirked his lips. “Ask Jekross. He will find it for you.”

She nodded. “Right. Of course.”

Without a word, she released his hand and headed back into the base through the panel that opened at a touch.

“Jekross, I need something.”

He came to her and stared for a moment. “I have sound files stored in our archive. Let’s go.”

Ralos looked up. “What is it?”

“There is a sound that comes before the water roars. It is mechanical in origin and I need to find out what it was. It could be a shuttle or a long-range cannon blast. I need to match it precisely.”

Yekesh nodded. “Right, so we know where to look for the attack.”

“And so you will know what is attacking you. Knowing the weapon they choose is important.”

Jekross took her to the com room and set her up with sound samples. She listened for two hours before she found what she was looking for. Yekesh was on watch duty for her.

“This is it, Yekesh. This is what will destroy that dam and kill everyone downstream.”

He nodded. “A Niandi fighter. It is a good ship, but it carries many guns. Loxin will be pleased. He gets to play.”

“Someone will say these words,
And our lives will be made easier and safer by the new dam.
The attack will occur immediately after that.” She nodded.

He was curious. “Why didn’t you know all this before?”

“I was getting out of cold sleep for one thing, and for another, the future gets louder the closer it becomes. By tomorrow morning, I will make out conversations. When the time comes, may I be on the com to give a heads up for the attack?”

“Of course. Do you have com training?” He crossed his arms over his chest.

She mimicked him. “Of course. Even the Alliance can manage that.”

“I look forward to testing your veracity tomorrow. Are your visions always one day in advance?”

She shrugged. “I guess so. There is no way for me to verify it. And they are not visions; they are sounds. No visual link is provided.”

He nodded. “Fair enough. We will set you up with an audio library for reference purposes.”

“Good. The more I can do on my own, the faster this will be.”

“Your suit is also equipped with a recorder, so not only will your bio signals be tracked, but if you touch the icon on the left side of your neck, you can begin to record your experience and it will be sent to the base coms for us to check. The icon has been added to all your clothing so you can record no matter what you are wearing.”

“Creepy but convenient.” She nodded and yawned. “I think I am going to have to turn in for the night.”

“You have come far today. Get some rest. We will deploy near dawn, so breakfast will be early.” He winked. “I will come in and wake you if necessary.”