Chapter Eleven
Diena finished getting the suit snugged, and the charge in it was palpable. Keska was smiling as Kessie and Sorooth made sure it was sitting correctly.
Ithal frowned and did the same for Diena. “Sis, you are fighting for family honour.”
“Yes, Ithal. I know.”
He nodded seriously and paused. “Do you know why I hate some Hyreno and not others?”
“Ah. I can think of one very specific reason. The colours. The colourful ones don’t make you alert, but the ones who blend in do.”
His eyes went wide. “So, Judge Techor?”
“He’s blue and stripey under his suit. If he ever offers a swim lesson, you will see. But he feels like a Hyreno and looks like a normal Aksallan, so your brain thinks he’s a dangerous spy.”
“I think that is close to the issue. Thank you. It has been confusing me since I met Tigel.”
“Ah. You were also with friends, and your mom was relaxed. It’s a good environment for meeting new people.” She twisted her hair up into a ponytail.
He hugged her. “Don’t disgrace our mother.”
“Ouch. Thanks.”
He grinned. “No problem.”
Keska smiled and looked at her. “Ready?”
“Yup. Helmets on.” She pressed the mark in the centre of her chest. The field rose around her head, and the ventilation began.
Keska nodded. “So that works.”
“My compliments to the inventor.”
“Thank you. Okay. Let’s go through the protocol.”
They stepped forward, confirmed there were two in their group, and stepped into the arming room. She took a gun rated for her size as did Keska.
The next chamber was filled with windows that showed the array of courses. The room rotated, and they looked at each other. “This is cool,” they said together and then laughed.
When the rotation was complete, they stepped toward the door, and the cartridge was provided. It was huge and locked onto the top of their guns. They stepped forward and were shown the practice targets. As one, they lifted their guns and fired.
They paused and nodded. One shot per squeeze.
They stood through the welcome-to-the-course speech given by an automated unit. There were two gateways offered to them, and they each picked one. When a chime rang, they got moving.
Diena shot at targets that popped up, slid across her path, and around corners. Her training in the program kicked in, and she moved through the course smoothly. She grinned and enjoyed the hunt until she got to the last stage, where she was going to face off against Keska.
Keska came through six minutes later and looked around the space warily. There had been an alert to warn her that the hunt was on.
Diena hit her from cover. Three shots, nice and tight.
Diena’s gun went dead as did Keska’s. Keska looked down. “I definitely felt it, but it wasn’t bad.”
Diena grinned. “That’s fun.”
“Yeah, I can tell by your score. You win a t-shirt.”
Diena beamed, set her gun down, and shrieked and giggled as she jumped up and down.
They laughed, hugged, and headed back for the photo area, and then it would be back to street clothing.
“This is going to be a thing. Possibly more popular than the playpark.”
They laughed and went back where Ithal stared at her. “Sis. You looked like a reaper.”
“Ssh. Don’t scare Keska.”
Keska looked at her. “You have training?”
Diena held her finger and thumb apart by an inch. “A little, since I was three.”
Keska snorted. “That explains the grouping.”
Sorooth murmured something about kissing it better.
Ithal wrinkled his nose. “Ew.”
Kessie chuckled. “He’s waited for eight years to be able to say that, and now he can, so he’s gonna.”
Ithal nodded. “Dr. Jenaki thinks the same way. He didn’t know what he was looking for, and then she was there, and now he’s not letting go.”
Diena ignored the fact that her cheeks were warm. “So what kind of t-shirt should I pick?”
The kids were full of ideas, and they all agreed to have some hot chocolate and donuts to decide.
Once they were back in street clothing, they headed back to the food court.
They were having a competition to put whipped cream on each other’s noses when Sorooth lifted his head. “Diena, I believe that is for you.”
Diena turned her head with her white nose marker on full display, and there were Zera, Jenaki, and Dr. Kritz.
Diena looked at Ithal. “Do I have whipped cream on my nose?”
Everyone at their table grinned and said “No!” and dissolved into giggles.
She got up and walked over to the three adults waiting. “I am assuming you have the contracts?”
Zera looked around with astonishment. “Yes. We do. Kritz is here to verify the purity.”
She looked at Jenaki. “And why are you here?”
He bent and licked the whipping cream from her nose. “For dessert.”
She laughed, and the laugh was lost in a kiss.
The kiss was sweet and relatively chaste. When he lifted his head, he sighed. “I have been looking forward to that all day.”
She grinned. “I will finish business, and then I will find out whether you are a good shot or not. We are testing the new paintball range, and so far, I am the winner.”
Kritz was staring; he looked tired.
Diena smirked. “Right. Business first. My office is this way.”
She smiled and looked at Jenaki. “You don’t have to come along. Keska has the unlimited food passes. You can get something to eat.”
He smiled. “I can wait.”
“Okay. Let’s go then.” She looked at Zera and Kritz. “Unaccompanied grownups, stay with me.”
As they walked to the administrative offices, Kritz asked, “What is this place?”
“It’s a playpark for children. We have a section for toddlers when your little one is up and running. A nice, contained track with fall-fields. The little waddlers can get themselves tired and drop into a nap without injury.”
Kritz looked around with wonder. “This place is amazing.”
“The idea is that active and non-active siblings can play together on an even set of challenges. Kids can have parties here, and schools can bring kids here on field trips. We have a museum with the history of actives in Aksalla and different places around the world. Retired team members are safety officers for the more advanced attractions, like the boxing. Some are height- or age-restricted.”
Kritz inclined his head. “Thanks for creating this.”
“Well, it was me and Keska and a few local investors. Some have kids, and some don’t.”
She opened her office and waved them in.
She sat at her polished wood desk. Zera sent over the contracts, and Diena read them carefully, highlighting them and looking for hidden text. When they were clean and clear, she filled in her routing information and signed.
Zera blinked. “How long until we get the minerals?”
Diena leaned to the left, knocked twice on the desk, the top slid off a hidden container, and she lifted the sealed case out.
She sent Zera an acknowledgement of receipt and slid the case toward Kritz. “There you go, you grubby little tech wizard.”
He grinned and opened the case. The gasp was gratifying. He pulled an instrument from his pocket and scanned the first canister. His hands started shaking. He continued with the next two and looked at her in astonishment. “These are the purest samples I have ever seen. How did you refine them?”
“Oh, one of the Khaskik actives. Purification is her thing.” She smiled. “Killing anyone who touches her without permission is another thing. She’s complicated.”
Kritz was still looking at the mineral readouts in wonder. “This... this is amazing. Can we get more?”
She looked at Zera. “Sign the receipt of goods, and pay the nice lady, and we can discuss it.”
Zera authorized the receipt, and the payment arrived a few seconds later.
Diena sighed and moved the funds from the drop account. They were in the trust account that she used to help survivors of the Lorn Empire.
She smiled. “Would you like a tour of the facility? Salat wants to zip through the paintball area with Khytten. I think they like the idea of getting messy.” She shrugged.
“I don’t judge. I am kicking around the idea of having a late-night paintball for adults.
Sober adults. It will involve more suits, but I think the seamstress wouldn’t mind. ”
Diena brought up a holographic projection of the suits.
Zera stared at it. “What is that?”
“Lacing to contract the suit to fit a variety of forms. Metabolics always need to let out or retract their clothing, for example. This suit automatically fits the body as long as height is taken into account.”
Zera blinked. “Would you be willing to send the design to our R and D department?”
“Nope. It is the proprietary design of the creator. She’s having fun with this, and I don’t want to dissuade her from future participation.”
Zera nodded. “I see. I have to ask, what do you wear with the markings?”
Diena put a hand over her eyes. “About two yards of fabric, arranged strategically.”
“How does it stay on?”
“Sweat.”
Jenaki snorted. “She isn’t wrong. That is the traditional application. The gauze goes on over sweaty skin. That’s my job.”
Diena glared at him. “Self-designated consort?”
He grinned. “Absolutely. There was a vacancy, and I stepped in.”
Diena looked at him. “Let’s go test out that range. I am getting the urge to shoot you.”
Jenaki laughed. “Okay. Let’s see you in action.”
They left the admin offices with Kritz fanatically holding the minerals. Diena just hoped he didn’t name them. That would be creepy.
Diena was wearing one splat of paint, but Jenaki was wearing a tight grouping after their short but intense paint fight.
He grinned. “I expected nothing less.”
Their weapons were dead, and they walked back to the change rooms. When they got back to the lobby, Alody and Eskin were there. Alody grinned. “Still a sharpshooter?”
Diena shrugged. “I got it from you, Mom.”
Alody grinned. “I thought that stance was familiar.”
She laughed. “So do you have academic employment?”
“I do. Dental and everything. Thank you for buying that house. I love a short walk to work.”