Chapter Three #2
Keska was checking a tablet and chuckled. “This is going to go beyond sending Kessie to college; this thing will send her to the moon.”
The diagnostic bees finished their work and took their positions in the main unit, which was about four inches wide. Hemma got dressed. “Hive diagnostics.”
Keska grinned. “I knew you would think of a catchy name.”
Hemma finished pulling everything on and stepping into her running shoes. “That’s just the product of a lot of reading. Zera will give her left tit if you let her make that unit.”
Keska laughed. “That’s an image. Speaking of images. Holy hells, Hemma. They took you apart and put you back together.”
“Don’t tell Ekbert.”
“He doesn’t know?”
“It was done before he activated. They didn’t know I would be useful. They kept me with the dangerous actives, and that is how I met Zephyr and Chaos. When Chaos killed her husband, the cells had a party. She was thrown back in, and Zephyr got her out. At that point, people forgot about her.”
Hemma looked at the images of her gills and all the connections that had been severed. “Well, that’s what it feels like.”
Khytten looked at it and shuddered. “I really want to shoot someone.”
“Apparently, Chaos has been playing in that vein.”
Keska looked at her. “Do you know where she is?”
“Precisely? No. Zephyr has a better idea of what is what. Don’t you have to go and get ready to travel?”
Keska sighed. “I don’t like to leave you like this.”
“I have Zephyr and Ekbert to keep an eye on me. Go have your family day. You need to sit and have Sorooth bring you cool fruity drinks while Kessie meets her cousins and plays in the surf.”
Keska sighed. “You make a good point. What will you be doing while we’re gone?”
“Deep cleaning, starting at the nest and working my way up. Then, replenishing food and, after that, watching a movie.”
“Can you get the celebration plans for the Uradda festival?”
“Sure. Do you have a list of performers?”
“Not a list, it will be more voluntary. Bex-adra. You. Whomever else you can press into service. You know. A party.”
“I can throw a party.” Hemma smiled. “Budget?”
“Hah. You know better. If you need money, ask Caska or Ava. The budget is unlimited. We want a hopeful celebration.”
“Understand. Location?”
“Around the refugee centre.”
“Okay. Food trucks. Lots of food trucks.”
“I have just added to your evening plans. Sorry.”
“Hah. Go and have fun with your family. It is about time.”
Keska hugged her, and they left the workshop and headed for the back yard, where everyone had trickled, and Salat was playing on the exercise structure to the delight of his toddlers.
Hemma looked at Ekbert, and he grinned. “Did you ever do that?”
“No.”
Zephyr walked up, back in Ekbert’s sweats. “Did you want to try?”
“No. I still have some issues.”
Zephyr froze. “I thought they would have fixed that.”
“Costs extra.” Hemma shrugged.
“I know you. You are saving everything.”
“I never need to run or rush. I have found ways to move around it.”
Ekbert paused. “What are you talking about?”
Zephyr said, “They cut her tendons nearly through. If she lifts too much or moves too fast, she can snap them. It’s an invisible tether. She looks cute and moves gracefully because if she tries to burst into action, her strings get cut.”
“Thanks, Zeph,” Hemma muttered. Her brother looked horrified.
“Hem. Does it hurt?”
“No. It did, but now it’s like a persistent ache.”
Her com chirped, and Zera was there again, looking pale. “We have a compromise to offer. I got the files from Keska. Unlimited medical administered at Z-Corp, and courtship dates only. No masks.”
“Wait. What?”
“You already know what they look like and vice versa. You aren’t in danger of stalking them, and if they try to do it to you, we will scorch their dicks off.”
Zephyr leaned over. “What’s she talking about?”
“A lot of the guys I was forced to interact with want a chance to... uh... date me.”
Zera smiled. “And after you have been repaired, you will be tested for the limits of your activation, and then we can see which of them will be a match.”
“Wait. What?”
“Oh, they don’t get to touch you just because they want to. If their bodies would injure yours, or vice versa, no match. Our goal is to put complimentary actives together, not put you in harm’s way. Come into Z-Corp on Monday, and we can walk you through the protocol to get you into better shape.”
“I will have to check it with Keska. They will be coming home tomorrow. I don’t know what their new family schedule will be, oh, and yeah, what if there is more than one guy that physically is compatible?”
Zera shrugged. “Then, they both have the right to take you out on courtship dates, but nothing more until you want to change your classification.”
“I need to talk to Keska about this. Oh, and the guys have to be neutralized just in case. That’s not negotiable.”
Zera blinked and then grinned. “Oh, the complication.”
“She’s very cute, and I love her to pieces, but I am not equipped to take care of something like that on my own. I don’t have the resources.”
Zera nodded. “Fair enough. Eight in the morning, Monday?”
“If Keska says it’s in my best interest. Bye.”
She closed the call and blinked. She looked at Zephyr. “Am I doing this?”
Ekbert frowned. “What do they want you to do?”
“I will tell you as soon as the family is gone.” She spoke to Keska, and Keska laid it out in a way that meant Hemma understood it to the fullest.
The family gathered together. Keska and the others were together, and then a shadow wrapped around them, and they were gone.
Ekbert turned to her. “Okay, explain.”
She walked over to the lounge and sat down. “All right. You are old enough.”
With Zephyr nearby, she laid it all out. Ekbert was horrified and looked ill.
When she finished, she said, “On the plus side, if I choose the right Hyreno, you can have your pick of research posts.”
Ekbert blinked. “Do not pimp yourself out for research.”
She chuckled. “No pimping. In this case, from the inference Zera was laying down, the males in question are actually willing to engage in courtship. But I will have my body back under my control.”
“Courtship, like toward marriage?”
“Or whatever their country has that passes for marriage.” She shrugged. “Or I stay an escort but offer additional services. That is an option as well.”
Her brother was stunned. “Why would you?”
“Because I get lonely, and you are going away soon, as you should, and then I will be more lonely. I might like a bit of companionship.”
He frowned. “Keska remained alone for years.”
“Keska had her family at her beck and call. Kessie was only a call away, and they had visitation four times a year. She wasn’t lonely. She chose to live alone. There is a difference.”
She tried to put it into phrasing he would understand. “You know that when you go to Hyreno and activate your gills, there will be young ladies in your social circles. Are you going to remain on your own the whole time? No companionship? No friends to hang out with?”
“Of course I would... oh.”
“Yup. There you go. I am not a monolith, nor am I a nun. I am just woefully unable to do anything with the inch and a half I have left. I mean, I can hide coins in there but nothing else.”
He looked at her and laughed. “Right. Remind me to only take digital credits from you.”
She grinned. “So, you will get used to the idea?”
“Right up until I run into one of your dates.”
“Well, he has to be able to physically manage with me without either of us being damaged.”
“So, Hyreno then.”
“Oh. I guess so. Some Sethir and a Serothoan.”
He grinned. “So, how many in total?”
“I don’t think it matters.”
“Wow.”
Zephyr cocked her head. “More than three?”
“Yes. Eighteen. At last count.”
Zephyr laughed. “Wow. Wait. Not at the same time?”
“No. Holy... no!”
Ekbert laughed at her expression. “What was Keska asking you to do?”
“Oh, organize the Uraddan celebration.”
“Nice. What are you doing?”
“Videos on a big screen. Projections by Bex-Adra, and would you sing, Zephyr?”
“No, that’s your purview. Well, you and Chaos, but she curses a lot.”
“If I knew where she was, I would call her.”
Zephyr smiled and brought up her arm to talk on her com. “Hey, sweet. Yeah, I am in Aksalla for a bit. Hemma is here. She is planning a Uraddan celebration for the city, and she needs some singers or other entertainers.”
There was a muffled answer.
“Yeah, I know you swear a lot, but come on, Chaos, your voice gets folks energized.”
There was more muffled talking, and Zephyr chuckled. “Did you just want to come so we can talk this out?”
There was another muffled sound, then a crack of lightning, and there was a shy-looking girl with dark hair and bright gold eyes.
Hemma got up and walked over. Chaos made a happy sound and rushed toward her, hugging her tight and spinning her around. “Hemma, I didn’t think I would see you again. Is that your little brother?”
“Yes. Please put me down.”
Ekbert was blinking. “Did you arrive on a lightning bolt?”
“Yup. I am Chaos, and I was emergency power for the labs of Uradda until Zephyr got me out and over to Renovik.” She smiled brightly.
Zephyr grinned. “No more crackling?”
“Nope. I am all under control. Turns out, I just need a lot of caffeine.”
Zephyr laughed. “That is irony. This is Ekbert.”
Chaos shook his hand and murmured, “Did you know that your sister named you?”
He looked at Hemma and said, “What?”
“Yup. They let a five-year-old name you.” Chaos patted him on the shoulder. “She also named me.”
He looked at her. “Chaos?”
“Well, she named me ChaCha, but she was two at the time. I don’t know what they were thinking.” Chaos grinned. “In Aksalla, I am now Char.”
Hemma blinked. “Where are you working?”
“At Z-Corp. I am a barista in the lobby.”
Hemma smiled. “I will be walking past that kiosk on Monday. I am getting some repairs.”
Chaos sighed. “Oh, thank goodness. You are full of disconnected pathways.”
Hemma glared at her. “Quiet, or I will get a spray bottle and squirt you.”
Chaos laughed.
Zephyr smiled. “What we need is Breen to get the band back together.”
Ekbert blinked. “Band?”
“We were all chained in the same room so that any of us acting out would kill the other.”
Chaos sighed. “Or we would kill Hemma. They were very good at using hostages.”
Hemma shrugged. “I was entertaining.”
“That you were, bug.” Zephyr smiled.
Ekbert looked like his head was spinning. “Who is Breen?”
“Oh, she got out early. She was a kidnapping for genetic sampling. She lives in the capitol, and no one believes she isn’t an active. Her entire activity is mainly her appearance, and she’s a heavy-hitter.”
Hemma looked at her com and called Breen. It took a minute, and then Breen answered. “Hemma? Did Kes give you this number?”
“No, I have always had it. I just wanted to let you know that Chaos and Zephyr are in town, and we thought of you.”
Breen’s expression softened. “I am in the capitol right now.”
Zephyr grinned. “Give me the address. I can put you back in an hour.”
The address was given, and Breen was pulled into the yard. Ekbert stared, shook his head, and walked away.
They hugged and laughed and went inside to raid the fridge, and for one hour, they were just women who had been bonded by something that was so horrific, no one wanted to hear it, and here, they laughed about it.
They all got a plan together for the Uraddan party, Hemma made a list of people to call, and they all took some of the names and got to work.
Hemma smiled. This was what she had been missing. Working toward a goal. By the end of the afternoon, the party was set, and the permits were acquired and confirmed. Food trucks with Uraddan delicacies that the actives had been forbidden to eat were arranged, as well as standard Aksallan fare.
Licensed premises were arranged. An enormous screen was arranged, and a stunning sound system was going to be there. Security was booked, and it had to be actives.
Hemma smiled when Breen hugged her, and Chaos nodded before she left in a crackle. When Breen was home and it was just her and Zephyr, Hemma asked, “Wanna go grocery shopping?”
Zephyr grinned. “I haven’t done that in ages. Let’s go.”
They went to the garage, got into Keska’s daily driver, and backed out. In a few minutes, they were driving down the street and heading for Hemma’s favourite market.