Page 73

Ianka looked at her sister from the walkway that led away from the ship bays. Vida was clenching her hands together and a large dark figure was behind her, his hands on her shoulders

Ianka tried not to run to the door that separated them, but she got there in seconds and waiting for the panel to slide open took an eternity.

Face to face with her sister, she had no words. She hugged Vida carefully, and to her surprise, her twin had grown several inches taller.

Vida chuckled. “I will have to explain the height, Eek, but that can wait for later. I am so happy that you have come.”

Ianka parted from her sister and tears were running down both their cheeks.

They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment before laughter began and another hug ensued.

The man with Vida cleared his throat. “Ladies, I believe we should take the reunion to an area where we are not blocking traffic.”

Ianka turned and gave the men behind her a blank stare. They shifted and moved around her, edging around their little group.

Sighing, she turned back to her sister. “Your mate is right. Is there somewhere else we can make spectacles of ourselves?”

Vida linked arms between them and started hauling them along. “Ianka, this is S’rin of the Balance. His people are a little unusual, even for the Nine, but we get along. S’rin, this is my twin, Ianka Senior. Her skills are as physical as mine are not.”

She chuckled.

Ianka nodded to him around her sister’s increased height. He nodded in return.

“It is an honour to meet you, Ianka.”

“And you as well, S’rin.”

Vida dragged them to a series of pods and explained the inner ship transport system to her sister. Ianka smiled at this new world that her sister was so keen on. It was good to see her excited about something that wasn’t her habit of staring at the stars.

Twins always knew that one day their worlds would part, but Ianka had never imagined it would be literally.

“We live in the area used by the Balance. It is the quietest section of the ship, so it will be easy to talk, and the food is peculiarly attractive.”

Vida smiled.

It had been two hours since her meal at the embassy, but if Vida wanted to eat while they spoke, Ianka would jam in whatever would fit.

They settled in the pod, and without any delay, they were whisking through the ship and Ianka took in everything around her.

Seated across from her sister and S’rin, Ianka looked into his hood and smiled, “So, are those stars everywhere or just on your face?”

He jumped a little and looked at her more closely. “You can see through the shadows?”

Vida said proudly, “She can see through fog, run faster than local predators and find anything that has left a trail. Your little hood trick is no match for her sight.”

He chuckled and lowered his hood, exposing the stars that floated under his skin with the occasional streaking meteor.

Ianka could only imagine what his skin looked like under his robes, but it didn’t stir her at all. He was Vida’s and that was the end of it.

Ianka drank tea while they ate and nibbled at bits that her sister recommended from the platter of designs crafted from food. It was almost too pretty to eat.

Vida winced a few times during the meal. S’rin stopped and held her hand while she breathed through whatever spasm she was having.

“What is going on?”

Ianka wanted to know. Vida was wearing a tight bodysuit, but it seemed to be nearly structural in places.

Vida sighed. “I had a break in my arm that was treated here, but they haven’t calibrated the treatment for Gaians yet, so there were side effects. My normally brittle frame is being reinforced on the molecular level and my bonding to S’rin is increasing my height. There are definitely twinges as the change progresses.”

S’rin continued to hold her hand. “She is unfit for spaceflight. I am afraid that there was no option but to contact you in an effort to rescue your parents.”

Ianka let that sink in for a moment and sipped her tea. “Rescue?”

Vida smiled and leaned forward. “They are alive, I have found the description of the star that they are nearest to, and I was inside Dad’s head. He and Mother are both alive and well. Well, not well, but they are alive and together. With S’rin’s help, I was able to see through his eyes. Things were blurry, but we found the likeliest location.”

Ianka remained silent and leaned back, sipping at her tea for a moment. When she set the elegant little cup down in the saucer, she looked at her sister and smiled. “When do I leave?”

Vida nearly upended the table as she cried out happily and flung herself into Ianka’s arms.

S’rin rescued the table and got to his feet. He waited until Vida was finished with her hugs before holding her chair for her and helping her seat herself.

S’rin turned toward Ianka. “You will need a round of medical scans and some ship suits. We will assign you to a pilot and he will take you to the location. The ideal outcome will be for you to find all the Gaians who were taken, but if you do not, bring home your family.”

“If Vida can see them, I can track them. Find someone to get me to that world and I will bring them home, just make sure that the ship is big enough.”

She knew every member of the missing by scent. Despite her frustration at her sister’s obsession, she had gone to every private residence and memorized the scent of all the missing. Her frustration had been at her own inability to track her family through space. She was being offered a chance to change that, and so now, she was going to do everything she could to make the most of this opportunity.

If they were on that world or moon or station, she was bringing them home.

After dinner, it apparently was time to get her kitted out. There was no hesitation and no time to waste. A rack came out with a series of suits hanging from it. The shadow plucked several selections and S’rin nodded. “She will take them all and boots as well.”

Ianka watched as S’rin swiped a small chit. “You shouldn’t pay for me.”

“Dearest sister, it is an honour and a privilege.”

He bowed low.

She blinked as the shadow handed her a suit. She could see the man inside the swirling darkness and he was smiling. “There is a change room off to the left there. If you would care to put this on, you can be a little more comfortable.”

She blushed. “Thank you.”

With a nod from Vida, she headed to the change room and slipped the dress off with relief. Tight clothing was not really her forte. She liked it to hug her but not restrict her and the dress was highly restricting when she moved her arms.

She tugged on the bodysuit and it formed to her, leaving her feeling covered but free. Her bust was incredibly grateful. She got support and was uncompressed. It was a nice feeling. She smoothed the closures together and exited the change room with her dress over her arm.

S’rin coughed and Vida elbowed him. “We are not identical twins, stop staring.”

Vida held out a robe. “Here, this might stop the gawking while you are on the mother ship.”

Grinning, she tossed the dress to S’rin and turned her back to Vida so she could slip it in place. Once the sleeveless robe was on her shoulders, her more noticeable assets were camouflaged. She twirled. “Better?”

S’rin had her dress over his arm. “No, but it will be better for morale. You have a striking figure.”

Vida wrinkled her nose. “She really does. I have always envied it.”

Ianka grinned. “And I have always envied you your perky nose.”

S’rin chuckled. “And I will be the envy of every man on the ship but only if we can get out of here so that I can show you off.”

The amusement seemed out of his character, but Vida moved close to him, and it was obvious that the joy was coming from her and out of him.

Their little trio left the shop and headed for the medical centre.

They had to wait for half an hour but Dr. Meevin beckoned them into her office to wait. Ianka’s presence was causing a bit of a stir. Members of the Nine were popping by medical just to get a look at her.

“Why am I such a draw?”

Ianka was looking at her sister with suspicion.

Vida chuckled. “Every Gaian woman that they have seen has found a mate in the population of the ship. They are just trying to increase their chances.”

Ianka snorted. “They would run the other way if they had seen me enter the embassy. I was a little on the wild side.”

“The Wilders might have taken a shot.”

Vida laughed and took a chair.

“Not if I was upwind, I had been walking for five days.”

She wrinkled her nose.

S’rin blinked. “Where had you been living?”

“In the wild. No Gaians, no politics, no having to face the wreckage of where our parents disappeared. It was cowardly but I just couldn’t take it anymore.”

Vida sighed. “It wasn’t cowardice, it was survival. I was constantly looking for the path that only I could see and you were stuck trying to track something that wasn’t there. You needed to be active and I forgot about that. We both went mad in our separate ways.”

It was said. They had both gone mad. Ianka walked over and took her sister’s hand. Vida had already found her balance. Ianka was going to have to work for hers.