Lost and Sound (4 page)

They left the simulation chamber, and she stood with him at the monitor that showed her results. She had scored ninety-seven percent.

She laughed and did a little dance in place.

Nearing snorted. “I would say you need to go in and do better, but I don’t think my nerves are up to it. How did you manage that?”

“One of my sisters is into meteorology. I had to learn about wind and weather patterns to help her with her homework.”

“That is how you knew to ride the spots where lightning had struck?”

“It takes a few seconds to create a charge. It isn’t like a tap that keeps flowing.” She shrugged. “That is the way it works on Missambra anyway.”

He chuckled at the suggestion that the computer displayed.
Instruct pilot to reduce caffeine intake and meditate before flying.

“Wow. That is just snide.” She was still grinning. The computer wasn’t wrong. She did have quite the jolt that morning in preparation for her new status as Specialist.

“Allow me to treat you to a nutritious and stabilizing lunch.”

Yllin snickered. “Did you want to take a shower to get that fear sweat off?”

He grimaced. “No. I like to air dry.”

She laughed at him and waved at him to precede her.

He offered her his arm, and she followed etiquette, she took it.

Her tablet chirped during the meal.

Nearing sighed, “You are going to need to upgrade to a wrist unit or an implant. You need your hands free.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Do you mind if I check my pad?”

He waved his agreement. She was just keeping him company anyway. Her meal was long gone.

She opened her eyes for the scan and a small icon was displayed on her screen.

“Nearing, what does this mean?”

She showed him the mark and he chuckled.

“The flash of it that I saw was the dispatcher’s office. Your screen went dark the moment that it scanned my eyes.”

She blushed. “Oh. I am guessing that I need to go now?”

“It is usually recommended. Third floor of the administration building. The door is labelled.” He toasted her with his glass of water.

“Thank you for your help today. Ever since I heard about riot runners, I have wanted to fly one.” She nodded her head in thanks.

“You are welcome. I hear a good sweat like that is good for the pores.” He winked. “You had better get going. The dispatcher is not known for her patience.”

Yllin settled her pad on her back again and headed to the building where Nearing had directed her.

She got to the third floor, followed the signs and opened the door to Citadel Ohkhan Dispatch.

The receptionist was mint green and had a twinkle in her eyes. All six of them. “Specialist Yllin Gerocard?”

“Yes. I got a message?”

The woman grinned. “Please enter the director’s office.”

Yllin followed her gesture and blinked at the name on the door.
Director Nearing
.

She opened the door and looked at the figure who was definitely not Specialist Nearing.

The woman smiled, her scarlet skin and black eyes were complemented by waves of dark pewter hair. “Specialist Yllin. Please have a seat.”

“Director Nearing?”

The woman chuckled. “I see that you can see the resemblance to my son. He speaks very highly of you.”

“Um, thank you?”

The director laughed out loud. “And he did not mention that I am the dispatch director.”

“Not so much, no.”

“Well, he does speak very highly of you, as does Master Kibor and Master Loksel. They all describe you as businesslike and driven.”

Yllin remained quiet.

“You are going to need that businesslike attitude. I am sending you to work with an archaeological team. You will use their site as basecamp and any further dispatches for emergencies will be sent to you via this.”

Dispatcher Nearing tossed her a wrist com.

Yllin caught it handily, and she looked down at the sleek, flat screen. “Why am I being given this?”

The dispatcher sighed and smiled. “Because my son ordered it for you as a gift. He thinks you have amazing potential and will do great things. You make him want to be a better Specialist, and as a mother, I can only hope that this will last.”

Yllin looked wistfully at the com. “I can’t accept this. I mean, he is my instructor.”

“Keep it. You are of equal rank, and though he isn’t being charged for it, you are teaching him quite a few things. Now, your pilot is waiting on the tarmac. Get your gear and launch.”

“Just like that?”

The dispatcher grinned. “Just like that. Now put that com on. I want you to check in with the base once per day.”

“Yes, Director Nearing.”

“Well, Specialist, you are dismissed. Get to your shuttle.”

Yllin nodded and put the com on her wrist, blinking as it wrapped tightly without her having to do anything. She flexed her glove and the com lit up, pointing in the direction she was to go to get to her quarters.

She didn’t follow the directions. They were as the crow flies not as a biped could walk. She jogged to her quarters, grabbed her bag and was relieved when the extra suits were waiting in her delivery slot.

With her bag ready, she looked at her quarters, waved at the picture of her family and headed out the door, unsure of when she would return.

“You are my pilot?” Yllin let Nearing take her bag and stow it.

“I am a better pilot than I am a talent. I thought I might contribute to your little fund with a portion of my earnings from flying you around.”

Yllin buckled into the flight harness and watched him do the preflight checks. “Are you serious?”

“About flying you around? Yes.”

“No, about contributing to the fund. I am grateful, but you don’t have any ties to Missambra.”

She heard the hiss of atmospheric pressure building in the shuttle and he lifted off.

“I have the ability to recognize a good cause when I hear one.” He winked, and they took off, avoiding all air traffic from the largest city on Ohkhan.

All Citadel aircraft had to line up with the gap in the air routes and drop straight down as well as rise upward until they cleared the air traffic lanes. It was the part of shuttle flight that had given Yllin the most trouble.

She sat back and gave him a dark look through her lashes. “I met your mother.”

“I should have warned you, but I figured she would tell you. She is one for full disclosure.”

“Thank you for my com unit.”

He grumbled. “Too much disclosure.”

“She was very nice. Apparently, I am getting dropped at some kind of archaeological dig.”

“Yes. The data is on your com unit. It can give you mission information as well as act as a communication’s device.”

“Fancy.”

“It is the most upgraded model available. After experiencing your flight skills on a riot runner, I want you as safe as possible.”

She grinned and settled in as they flew toward the jump site. Yllin checked her wrist display and brought up her assignment specs. The projection made her whistle as she was able to enlarge and shrink all information depending on what was selected.

Yllin’s assignment was the underground city of Webar. The team that was digging there had suffered lost staff members and two deaths as a result of sprung traps. She was there to minimize future losses, and the amount she was being paid was staggering.

“Can I find out what my current Citadel account is showing?”

“Certainly. Go to the main menu and check on financial information. Your other accounts should also be linked there. By the way, this system is on a genetic lock. It only works because you are using it. If I grabbed your wrist and tried to work out information, I would be out of luck.”

She checked the financial information and stared. “If I do this one job for two weeks, I am out of debt with the Citadel.”

“Good for you.” He nodded and checked on the jump location. “Brace for jump.”

She exhaled, inhaled and by the time she exhaled again, they were in a new star system and on their way to the next jump point.

“How long until the next jump?”

He checked the instruments. “Four hours.”

“I will make some tea.”

Watching Nearing fly off left a lump in her throat. She was basically alone on Webar with the team watching her hopefully.

She flared her nostrils and dragged in a breath. “Where would you like me to start?”

The leader of the expedition opened a map, and she analyzed it carefully. “Can I make any modifications to this?”

He blinked at her with all four of the eyes in his slick yellow forehead. “Can you create your markings in a contrasting colour?”

She nodded and sent out a pulse, getting back what she had sensed the first time. With her fingers, she drew new paths, marked traps and highlighted chambers and buildings with collections of objects of differing densities.

The team was buzzing with excitement, and Dr. Kliask hugged her. “My dear, you have saved us months of work. You have accelerated our research.”

“Not yet. This is a map. We need to confirm these hallways, and I need to trip those traps in order to make it a safe workplace.”

She didn’t mention the dead in the halls. She would bring them out one by one during the night. No one needed to be with her when she brought out their friends and co-workers.

The doctor and his students and assistants huddled around the map and tried to decide where they wanted to go the following day.

Yllin sat back and sipped her tea, watching them with the indulgent smile of a babysitter watching four year olds debating.

Yllin waited until the crew was in their respective spaces for the night, then she grabbed a levitating sled and four sheets to enter the underground.

It took her two hours to find and retrieve all the bodies. She recorded the places she had found them and any clues as to type of death that she could find.

She brought the sled out of the underground city and lined the bodies up, each covered respectfully with a sheet.

With the chances of stumbling over a corpse the next day down to zero, she was able to sleep.

She set her alarm for dawn and was up and eating her ration packs before the rest of the crew.

When Dr. Kliask came in, she went to him and explained that she had retrieved the bodies of the fallen. He jerked and quickly moved to examine the remains of his lost students and assistants.

“I wish you had had one of us with you so we would know where they were found.”

She nodded. “I recorded it all and put it on your system. You should have all the information you would want. I simply didn’t want anyone to have the shock of stumbling on the deceased.”

He nodded. “Of course. Of course. We have storage pods. We will put them in storage until another ship can be arranged.”

“You will send them home when you have artifacts?”

“Of course.”

Yllin was determined. “Then, we will find you those artifacts.”

It was the beginning of a very long but very productive day.

Yllin dropped into her bunk every night and got up at dawn every day to lead the team into the underground city. Her blaster came in handy, as did the stun sticks that Nearing had given her during the flight. She was able to set off the traps from a distance, and stun any crewmember who felt the weight of the soil and stone over their heads.

She made it through her two weeks and the archaeological team got quite a bit of identification done on the artifacts that they had found with her help.

The moment that her com unit sent her a signal that Nearing was on his way for a new assignment, she could have wept with joy.

“Dr. Kliask, I will be leaving for a few days, so if you want to gather more artifacts today, it would be recommended.”

He blinked at her, all four eyes moving independently. “Where are you going?”

“Another assignment. I will return here when it is complete.”

“Oh, good. As long as it is only a few days. You are most useful to have around.”

She smirked. “I do strive to be useful.”

The team was gathered, and they went in to take full scans of all objects before anything was removed from the great library. Statuary was collected, as were strangely constructed books that flexed out on endless sheets of folded paper.

She didn’t tell them about the hidden room at the back of the library. It would be a surprise for them when she returned. She had no intention of letting them into that room without her. Something about that room had the potential to be wonderful or terrifying. The reading that her senses gave her was indicating that something in there could reflect her talent. That meant it was harmonized crystal or some sort of trap, possibly both.

Her com link chirped and announced the arrival of her ride. “Take what you can; we are heading out now.”

Dr. Kliask looked up. “We can leave here without you. It might take some time to work through the maze, but we will return to base camp without any issue. I promise.”

She quickly drew up a waiver. “Sign this. It absolves me of responsibility in case you get lost down here.”

He quickly pressed his thumb to her wrist, and it accepted his signature. Contract law was the first thing she had gotten when she took courses with the Citadel. They wanted their people to know that their services were valuable, and that meant teaching them to protect their work in the field.

She confirmed his thumbprint and got one of the assistants to verify the signature.

“Have a nice time. I will see you all when I get back.”

It felt weird to be leaving the team she had been working with for just over two weeks, but she had the opportunity to do something more than babysit a gathering of academics. She had a high tolerance for those who pursued active lives in academia. All four of her older siblings had obtained high degrees in their area of interest, and as the youngest, Yllin had been their study partner for every exam and proofreader for each essay. In a weird way, she found being surrounded by academics safe and familiar.

When she made it up the steps and into the light, she heard the arrival of the shuttle and gathered her travel bag to prepare herself for whatever she was getting into.