Ancient Hunter

I opened the door and was shocked to see Kelli standing there her medical gauntlet over her hand.

“Can I come in?” she asked.

“I thought I was contaminated,” I stuttered. That was one of the things I didn’t want to be, shunned by those I thought were my friends.

“You are not,” she said brushing past me and walking into my quarters.

“Then why have been treated like this?” I gestured to the white suit bundled into a corner of my quarters.

“For show,” she stated.

I stared at her open mouthed. “For show?” It looked like my avoiding repeating others words had gone out the window.

Kelli winced at my tone and I wouldn’t have blamed her. I sounded pretty angry. “It’s hard to explain. It’s better coming from Xenai she knows the details. Professor Neilson and her came up with this scheme.”

“Scheme?” I moderated my tone. I convinced myself that Kelli wasn’t to blame.

“Best Xenai tells you.” She waved her gauntlet over me.

“What gives. You told me I wasn’t contaminated?” I reined back my rising anger.

“You aren’t as I’ve already said. It’s force of habit.”

“Force of habit?” I really should be cutting back on repeating other’s words.

“Sorry it’s just that I failed to diagnose you properly when you needed it. I don’t want to make the mistake again.”

That made a lot of sense. “Why didn’t you tell me that earlier?”

“I’m saying it now.”

“Ok besides the examination why are you here?”

“I came to escort you to Xenai.”

“At least I’m wearing some proper clothes.”

“You got Francine to thank for that she wanted to make more amends after the Gala dress debacle.”

I remembered that dress the green and purple panels had made me look like a palace servant. The only good thing about it was it had distracted the Black Stripes from the original task of blowing up the hotel. They were too focused on killing me to set the charges. I suppose there was that to consider.

Kelli continued. “The rest of your stuff will be returned to you.”

“When?”

“Soon Xenai is working hard to keep up appearances.”

“App…” I stopped myself before I went too far I had to get back out of that habit. “Ok Macduff lead on?”

Kelli gave me an odd look. It was the only bit of Shakespeare I knew from school.

I followed Kelli down familiar corridors. We stopped outside the door to Xenai’s quarters.

“Xenai is waiting for you inside,” Kelli said then added. “She’ll be able to answer all your questions. But don’t start a shouting session we have your best interests at heart.” With that she left me alone.

I took a deep breath and pressed a button on the door console.

“Come in Gwen,” Xenai’s voice floated through the console’s speaker.

I briefly wondered how she knew it was me. I guessed it was because she couldn’t read my mind. I entered the room, it hadn’t changed much from the last time I was here. The doors to the other rooms were the same only colour of three-sided couch had changed it was now a pale green. Xenai was seated on one side of the couch, which curved around a central table. She was wearing a shimmery silver dress that changed to rainbow colours as she moved. Xenai put the datapad she was holding in the table and gestured to the seat opposite.

“Please take a seat.”

I sat in the place indicated.

“I’ll start with an apology,” Xenai said. “For the deception, we had to make it as real as we could.”

Meaning it wasn’t her decision alone. “In what way?” I fought to keep my anger down. The logical part of my mind telling me Xenai would not have done what she had done without a good reason.

“Did you want to passed from pillar to post?”

I was surprised of her use of an Imperial idiom. Then I shouldn’t be she was born and lived her teenage years on Paranova. I’d been there and knew how xenophobic it could be. She like Kelli had a Human boyfriend. But he betrayed her to the Night Guard. The Empire’s equivalent of the Black Stripes. I hated both with equal vehemence. “No.”

“It was the only way we could get you out of there without raising suspicions.”

“You mean you and Joyce,” I said to her.

Xenai’s lips cracked into a slight smile. “Exactly right.” She sounded pleased I’d worked that out.

“Go on?”

“After what I read in their minds,” Xenai said. She’d once told me she didn’t read the minds of her friends. But in my case the Keepers had stopped anyone from doing that anyway.

“Whose minds?” I asked carefully.

“The Prince, Rita Harding and Colonel Myers,” Xenai said promptly. “They wanted to exploit you talent for using the Stepping Stones.”

“My Keeper DNA.” The words stung in my throat. That was the worst outcome I could think of.

Xenai nodded. “Once they find out about that. You’ll be caged in some lab.”

I shivered at Xenai’s blunt assessment. “I get that.” The Empire would have done the same with or without Constantina’s permission. “And you?”

“You are family. I mean you are part of mine and not mother’s.”

The depth of her sentiment surprised me. Komana considered all those that served under her as part of her family. What Xenai was suggesting was more personal.

“Thanks,” I said and meant it.

“You are welcome sister.”

“Does that mean I free to walk around,” I asked hopefully.

“Not just yet.” Xenai turned serious. “I trust you, I don’t fully trust some of my crew. They maybe loyal to the TCA but some are susceptible to the lure of money.”

It was a sobering thought. “I’ll go stir crazy if I’m confined to my quarters?”

“Kelli and Jervic are permitted to visit.”

I was worried about the fact that I touched a crystal containing a toxin lethal to T’Arni. Even though Kelli said I was clean it was still on my mind. “What about contamination from the toxin?”

“When you were in the shower you washed off the toxin on you. Your gear is another matter.”

Thinking about that reminded me about the Guardian sword I had in my quarters. I remembered Joyce insisting that I took it with me. “And my sword?” It wasn’t mine it belonged to the Landottir. I should really get it back to Miranda.

“Professor Neilson told me how valuable it is. It isn’t something you leave around.”

That made it more perplexing as to why the Valkyrie hadn’t picked it up. That and why the Landottir dead had not all been returned to Alfheimir.

Xenai continued. “It’s worth a small city.”

I blinked shocked. I knew the metal was rare but not that rare. My bracelet was made of kovettunut, as was the sword. Her statement shocked me. “What?”

“That sword is made of kovettunut a metal only found on Alfheimir. It is exclusive to the Enari.” Enari was what the Valkyrie used to be called before they took the name the crew of the Marco the exploration ship from Earth had called them. “They get very annoyed if it falls into the hands of non Enari. There have been wars in the past about it.”

Which made it more than strange that my bracelet was kovettunut. “Shouldn’t Captain Skerifa taken it?”

“She refused she said it should remain in the hands of the Landottir.”

That meant me if my guess was correct. It was very strange she was a Samdar the Clan that refused to take back Solstrid’s bangle. The Clan Mother hadn’t but she wasn’t the whole Clan. There was something going on here beyond the normal Valkyrie politics. It made my head hurt just trying to wade through the surface. If things were going the way they were I had a lot of time to think on it. I regarded Xenai carefully. “I hate to admit it I’ve got a lot of questions to ask the Elders.”

Xenai smiled. “You have my permission to use the comms. Just don’t start a war.”

“I won’t there’s been too much blood shed on Alfheimir.”

“Well I’m glad of that Gwen.”

Just been here with Xenai made me realise it was good to be back among my friends I missed that.

Kelli was waiting for me as I exited Xenai quarters.

“How did it go?” she asked me,

“Fine,” I answered.

Kelli looked at me. “Just fine?” she queried and waved her gauntlet over me. “This says your stress levels are up.”

“Kelli please stop worrying over me I am fine. Just stop waving that over me. I’ll tell you if something is wrong ok?”

“Which you won’t.” She sighed. “It’s… No you are right I’m being over protective. So many bad things have happened to you. Xenai will pull me up over it.”

“Kelli I value you as my friend. I don’t need to be fussed over.”

“You are right.” Kelli pulled of her glove. “There satisfied?” she glanced at the gauntlet in her hand. “Even now I want to put it back on and run a scan on you. I realise it is a compulsive disorder. I need to make a conscious effort to stop it.”

“Shall we go?” I said cutting across her self-agonising.

“Back to my quarters that is why you are here.”

“Yes, sorry captain’s orders.” Kelli gave a half chuckle. “You do have a habit of wandering off.”

I remembered tricking my way to the surface of Saros by pretending to go shopping. Look where that ended up, me trapped in the Keepers cavern. “I don’t wander off I had a mission to fulfil.”

“Fulfil it some other time,” she said. “There is a surprise waiting for you.”

I frowned. “I don’t like surprises.”

“Oh you’ll like this one.”

Jervic was waiting for me outside the door to my quarters.

“Gwen I’m sorry,” he apologised.

“And how are you going to make it up?” I demanded.

“Any way you want to.”

I didn’t answer I winked at Kelli and pulled Jervic through the door.