Children of Zanar 1: The Zanari Inheritance Read online

  ‘Let’s get started,’ Thea said and turned in her seat. Kaya lowered her eyes to the table as Thea’s robe strained over her chest, and so was a little surprised when a silver medallion floated down in front of her. The metal disc looked like it had some form of engraving on it and Kaya reached out to pick it up. ‘Ah, no,’ Thea said, grinning. ‘You can look at it once you’ve succeeded in moving it.’

  Kaya looked up and frowned. ‘You mean–’

  ‘Telekinesis, yes. It’s lightweight and smooth. It’ll slide over the table without much effort. You just need to focus. Imagine reaching out with a finger and pushing. Want the medal to move.’

  So, it was a medal. For what? Well, there would be no way to find out until Kaya got down to making it move. She frowned at the metal disc, trying to get the same feeling she had had when she, unconsciously, activated the switch in her bedroom. She had been… frustrated. Well, if she could not manage to move the thing, frustration was likely to result, but that seemed like a poor way of using psi. She had to want it to move… Just because it felt right, Kaya reached out a hand, fingers spread, and tried to imagine reaching out to push the disc with her index finger. She gritted her teeth in concentration and pushed… And the medal jerked a couple of centimetres across the table.

  ‘Yes!’ Kaya exclaimed.

  Thea laughed. ‘Very good. You can look at it while I find something else for you to try.’ She got to her feet and padded off across the carpet toward the kitchen.

  Kaya dragged her eyes away from Thea’s legs, because Thea was off the fantasy list, and reached out to pick up the medal. It was engraved. The design was simple enough: a shield with a clenched fist over it. Beneath that was a line of text which read ‘in obsequium vitae,’ but Kaya had no clue what that meant.

  ‘It’s the Silver Shield Medal of Valour,’ Thea said as she walked back into the lounge with a large candle on a small, metal stand. ‘The words mean “in service of life,” or so I’m told. It’s actual Latin, not the bits of Latin that got tossed into the zanari language.’

  ‘It’s yours? You were awarded it?’ Thea gave a nod and Kaya asked, ‘What for?’

  ‘It’s awarded for being injured while saving the life of a zanari senate member. There’s a gold one too, but you can only receive it posthumously.’

  ‘Uh, oh. What did you do to get it?’

  Putting the candle down, Thea lit it, with a lighter not her mind, and sat back in her seat. ‘There was a diplomatic mission to the daformi and I was assigned as part of the protection detail.’

  ‘I’ve never heard of the daformi.’

  ‘Probably not. They’re a species from out beyond Zanar. They look sort of like insects, though there’s no biological similarity. They’re… easily offended, quick tempered. I’m honestly not sure why anyone felt it was worth talking to them, but I suppose you have to try. The senator leading the mission upset some general, or something similar, and the next thing we knew there were knives being drawn. The general went for our senator and I took his knife through my right forearm to stop him killing her.’

  ‘Great Mind! Then what happened?’

  Thea’s face flattened, turning very still. ‘I planted the general’s knife in his left eye.’

  Kaya’s eyes widened. ‘There was a war?’

  Shaking herself, Thea smiled. ‘No. Another thing about the daformi is that they respect someone willing to kill over an insult. They said that the general had insulted me by ignoring me as a threat, so my killing him was perfectly fine and demonstrated that the zanari were worth daformi attention. Seriously, I have no idea how the daformi survived to become a spacefaring civilisation. They should have all murdered each other. I never really got the hang of their culture, but supposedly they are very careful not to give offence unless they think they can kill you.’ Thea gave a shrug. ‘Anyway, for getting a knife through the arm while doing my job, I got that. Now…’

  Kaya put the medal down on the table. ‘Okay, what’s the candle for?’

  ‘Something a little harder. Make the flame dance.’

  With a sigh, Kaya reached out her hand again and tried to imagine how she could possibly make a flame dance with her mind.

  ~~~

  Kaya was sitting in her lounge focusing all her will on the candle flame in front of her when she felt it. There was a sudden flash of awareness of Cassandra, as though the woman was right there in the same room. And then Cassandra’s voice was in Kaya’s mind. Please come to the lounge, Kaya. I have news on the BCU Security investigation.

  Kaya blinked. Cassandra had never addressed her telepathically before. None of the others had, come to think of it. Was this some sort of acceptance or just a convenience? Well, no sense in sitting around wondering. Kaya blew out the candle and got to her feet.

  Cassandra was waiting in front of the screen when Kaya walked through. Thea and Fay were seated on one sofa, Jay on another. Kaya joined Jay since there was a spare seat there, and Cassandra nodded.

  ‘I have decrypted and analysed the files I acquired from BCU Security,’ Cassandra said. ‘I thought you might all be interested.’

  ‘I should like to know why they are so concerned about filarax raids,’ Fay said, nodding.

  ‘They are concerned about filarax raids because they have had several of them over the past three sexagoy. The cover-up of the “raid” on Sadrine’s Drift was performed under a BCU directive enacted three years after the last large-scale raid in four fifty-four. It was decided that any filarax activity uncovered after that time should be disguised in whatever manner appeared suitable.’

  ‘How many times have they done this?’ Kaya asked.

  ‘Four times recently. The other three were attacks on ships, not planets. The vessels were simply vanished. Accidents happen. Drives fail, reactors overload or suffer containment failure. Ships are lost and three more is just a statistical blip. I found no records of previous instances of the directive being invoked, but a search of my news archives uncovered six colony events which appeared suspicious and a further two which did not quite look right. These events are spread across the last twenty-five years and have gone largely unnoticed. However, if they are all related to Narra’s experiments, it would seem that covering up his work is the largest single source of colony failure within the BCU’s borders.’

  ‘That… sucks,’ Jay said, frowning. ‘It’s crazy. Where did this directive come down from?’

  Cassandra smiled. ‘Darvin Bowrain signed it.’ Jay gave a grunt of displeasure and folded his arms in a gesture of disgust. ‘This goes all the way up. Darvin has been head of the family for some fifty years now and is quite determined to see that the Bowrains remain at the top of the BCU. He pushed hard for a resolution to the filarax problem and took a lot of the credit for the eventual elimination of the threat. If that threat still exists…’

  ‘The old bastard would lose a huge amount of face,’ Jay completed for her. ‘So, they’re hunting Kaya to make sure she doesn’t dig too deep and uncover the truth?’

  ‘On the contrary. I could find absolutely no evidence that Security are seeking Kaya at all.’

  ‘But they came to that bar,’ Kaya said. ‘They–’

  ‘No,’ Thea said, cutting in. ‘They were all Abertine locals. They pointed our way and we assumed they were after you. Jinny and I were there on not entirely legitimate business. We could have been sold out. Of course, you were trying to obtain passage to an interdicted planet so getting caught with us would not have been good, but they may not have been looking for you at the time.’

  ‘Oh. So, if they never find out we were there, I could be in the clear?’

  ‘It would appear so,’ Cassandra replied.

  Kaya gave a shrug. ‘It’s still not like I really have anywhere to go but here. They won’t have me back at the university and I’ve no idea where else to go.’

  ‘As we have said, you are welcome to stay for as long as you wish.’

  ‘Yes. Thank you. I really don’t
know what else to do.’

  ~~~

  ‘What’re you reading?’

  Kaya looked up and flashed Jay a smile, and then looked back down at the text she was working through. ‘It’s a biology text Geogracus suggested. Turns out it can be useful to know some basic biology if you’re going to go messing around with people’s cells.’

  Jay dropped onto the sofa beside her and grinned. ‘Who knew? Of course, I’d feel better getting myself healed by him if he actually has some idea how it all works.’

  ‘Oh, he’s got a medical degree. An actual one, based on treating people the usual way.’

  ‘Good to know if I get shot on this gig.’ He paused and Kaya went back to her book for a paragraph. ‘You do have other options, you know.’

  Kaya looked up, blinking. He was quite close, leaning toward her a little. With the height difference, Kaya had to look up into his eyes which, she decided, were not exactly grey, more like a sort of sultry, cloudy blue. ‘Sorry?’

  ‘You have options. You don’t have to stay here when this is done.’

  ‘I’ve got no real skills, no home. I’d be starting from scratch with whatever cash I have left after I’ve got through this.’

  ‘You’ve got talent,’ he countered. ‘I know places that’ll take you on for vocational training. You’d work and learn.’ He grinned. ‘Warmer places than Abertine. Hell, you must know something about farming after growing up on Sadrine’s Drift.’

  ‘Well, yes…’ Actually, she had made a bit of a hobby of learning what she could about the family business before her psi talent developed.

  ‘So, you could hire on as a farmhand somewhere. Build up some savings, go back to university when you’ve got the money. You’ve got options.’

  Kaya looked down for a second or two, because looking at his face that close was a little distracting. There were alternatives to staying on the Oracle, she supposed. Farming was one, though it might take her a long time to get the money for training together working in agriculture. Some sort of vocational training might work, maybe a kind of apprenticeship. Then again, Geogracus and Sienna, and even Thea, could train her far better than anyone else, and there was the possibility that another teacher might notice that Kaya was not quite human…

  ‘I guess,’ Kaya said, ‘but I’d have no idea where to start. I’ve got nowhere to live. I can’t just… just drop in on a planet and figure out what I’m doing from there.’

  Jay shrugged and settled back onto the sofa, which took him to a more comfortable distance from Kaya. ‘Pretty much what I do. Though… Well, I have been thinking about putting down some roots. You travel so much, it gets tiring. You get… jaded. I’ve been thinking about buying somewhere permanent. You know, somewhere to go back to that isn’t a hostel room or a spaceship. I was thinking maybe… Maybe Giltanish. Temperate climate with a reasonable agricultural industry. Three major cities with large medical facilities. Some beautiful coastlines, very romantic. I might even be able to swing a house on one of the beaches. Of course, I’d still have to work so I’d be away for weeks, maybe a sexagoy at a time. Be useful to have someone there to look after the place, maybe help pay the bills…’

  ‘Well, that sounds great if you could find someone to– You mean me?’

  ‘Sure, why not?’ He made it sound like it was just an obvious thing to do, a no-brainer.

  ‘We hardly know each other.’

  ‘Really?’ Jay raised an eyebrow. ‘I feel like I know more about you than any woman I’ve ever, uh, known. I mean, that’s part of the advantage. I already know your biggest secret. We’d both be keeping it. And, well, you know…’

  Frowning, Kaya looked at him. ‘Know what?’

  ‘I’d really like to get to know you better.’

  Kaya turned away quickly as her cheeks started to redden. ‘Well… Well, I hardly know anything about you.’

  ‘Huh. What do you want to know? I’m pretty much an open book. Oh, I’ve got my secrets too. Everyone has secrets. But ask what you like.’

  ‘Okay, well then, what about your family?’

  Jay gave her a flash of a smile which seemed to have a bleak edge to it. ‘Sore topic,’ he said, and then went on quickly, ‘but I said you could ask, so… Both my parents are still alive. Not sure you could kill my father if you shot him with an anti-tank missile. Then there’s two brothers and two sisters. My little sister, Jacky, she’s the youngest and I was the next oldest. Big family, I guess, but we got on. Everyone doted on Jacky, of course. She was a decade younger than me and so cute. I mean, she’s still a decade younger than me, but she’s grown up now. Haven’t seen her for… nearly five years. Huh. Anyway, I screwed things up but before that it was a pretty good life. The family’s mainly in commerce, trading and shipping. Not rich, but comfortable…’

  Kaya listened as Jay told his story, but her mind drifted toward a beach with a house at the top of it, an ocean lapping up over white sand. A fantasy, but…

  58/1/483.

  They had moved into Kaya’s cabin at some point, she was unsure of the time, and Kaya had discovered that they had some of the light beer she had tried on Harroway in stock, or something like it anyway. Maybe drinking it was not the best idea she had ever had, but she had decided that she liked it, and Jay was still telling her stories. Actually, things had started to get a little silly.

  ‘First girl I ever kissed?’ Jay asked in reply to Kaya’s question. ‘Really?’

  ‘Yeah. Why not?’ Kaya replied, grinning.

  ‘Okay… Okay. Her name was Karrin Dannery. I met her in school and we thought we were so in love. I mean, we were children and we didn’t know any better. Her parents didn’t approve so we kept it a secret. The big secret that, of course, everyone knew about. What about you?’

  ‘Me?’

  ‘I think a question like that deserves some reciprocation.’

  Kaya knew she was blushing, but she had asked… ‘Norrin. Norrin Lutine. I was twelve, and he’d just turned thirteen. And we kissed behind the school, and then I ran home and I was sure that my mother knew all about it. She didn’t.’

  Jay chuckled. ‘He can’t have been the last. A pretty girl like you has to have had a few boyfriends.’

  ‘No…’ Kaya turned away. ‘I’m not that pretty.’ When she looked back, Jay was frowning. ‘What?’ she asked.

  ‘Anyone else, I’d assume you were fishing for compliments.’

  ‘What? No. I’m just not that pretty. If I was, then… I’m not.’

  Jay narrowed his eyes. ‘Have you looked in a mirror lately?’

  ‘Every morning.’

  ‘Maybe you should look harder.’

  Jay was looking. He was looking right at Kaya’s face with the kind of scrutiny reserved for fine paintings. After a second, it started to feel uncomfortable and Kaya turned her face away. ‘I’m not–’

  His hand on her cheek pulled her back to him. He was close, very close. She could feel his breath on her face. ‘You are,’ he whispered, and then his lips were against hers. It felt almost as though he wanted to consume them. She felt his tongue against her lips, parted them, felt him enter her mouth, and her tongue responded, fighting a rear-guard action for the territory which it seemed to not want to win. This was so not the same as Norrin. This was hot, passionate, everything Kaya had dreamed of after watching late-night romance streams. This was–

  Jay pulled away, turning from her and getting to his feet. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said.

  ‘What? What for?’

  ‘That was… inappropriate. It’s… I’m a little drunk. I should go.’

  ‘But–’

  ‘No, Kaya. We… I shouldn’t be doing… It’s late. We should both get some rest.’ He headed for the door and was gone before Kaya could muster another response.

  ‘Well… cào,’ Kaya grumbled and headed for the shower. She was going to need something to get her to sleep and Cassandra had better not be watching.

  ~~~

  Kaya was not quite sure
how to behave around Jay when they met in the communal lounge the following morning, but Thea, Cassandra, and Jinny were there too and Jay seemed to be all business. It was as if he had not kissed her at all while Kaya felt like she could still taste him on her tongue. Still, she took his example and listened as Cassandra told them about the planet they had been in orbit around for almost the last hour.

  ‘Teladish Prime,’ Cassandra said.

  ‘Total dump,’ Jinny added.

  ‘It looks nice,’ Kaya said, looking at the planet displayed on the screen, which was about half ocean with some fairly pretty clouds shining a warm orange as they passed over the sunward side.

  ‘No,’ Jay said, ‘she’s right. It’s a dump. I mean, almost literally given that the atmosphere’s not breathable due to toxic waste.’

  ‘Technically,’ Cassandra said, ‘the air is breathable, but if you spend long enough doing it, you’ll probably die of heavy-metal poisoning. Teladish is the primary industrial planet of the Ishara Complex. The oceans are heavily polluted and the atmosphere contains a number of relatively mild but unpleasant substances. It’s advisable to wear a filter mask with visor when outside since the air will also irritate your eyes.’

  ‘Oh,’ Kaya said. ‘So the clouds aren’t orange because of the sunlight…’

  ‘No, that’s due to pollutants carried into the upper atmosphere from the oceans. Population is relatively low at three point six billion. Much of the factories and plants are automated. People tend not to live here if they can avoid it.’

  ‘Then why are these mercenaries here?’

  ‘Ishara,’ Jay said.

  Cassandra nodded. ‘Ishara own a twenty percent share in the Kraggans. They like to have an officially independent agent they can use to handle “industrial issues.” The Kraggans gain a corporate sponsor and a substantial amount of land on Teladish on which to base themselves. Their field exercises are generally conducted in battle armour so the atmosphere is not an issue.’

  ‘The Kraggans primarily deploy light-powered-armour troops,’ Jay said. ‘They’ve got a couple of units of heavier armour, APCs, a couple of light tanks. They mainly use their cruisers, three of them, and their aerospace fighters for ground support.’