Gaze (7 page)

“Tough. I am putting some clothing on.”

He sighed and surrendered. “Fine. The bots got the blood out of your gown.”

She perked up. “Can I wear it again?”

“Of course. It is an all-purpose gown.”

Gwyn laughed, and while she got dressed, she kept waiting for any biological traces that weren’t her own to emerge from her body. Nope. Nothing. “So, there is nothing when you have a climax?”

He chuckled, and as she watched, he formed a uniform on his skin without lifting a finger. “Not unless you would prefer it. I mimic physical reactions and translate them into something I can appreciate.”

“I see. How long have you been mimicking bipeds?” She slipped her gown over her head, straightening it with short strokes of her hands. It felt peculiar to be out of a bodysuit, but as long as she was within the ship, she would be fine.

“Two Nyal emperors now. About three hundred years.” He shrugged, and she watched him become more solid with every passing second.

“Are you gathering yourself in?”

“Yes. I can spread thin enough to cover this entire ship if need be.” He completed his reassembly and grinned. “Ready for breakfast?”

She snorted and headed out into the hall. In the kitchenette, she dialled up three breakfasts and popped them into the heater. He stood beside her and fixed a pot of tea as well as a pitcher of water. It was a routine they had gotten into on day two. It was strange how intimate it felt now.

She looked down and saw a column of mist around her waist. “That is very disturbing.”

He glanced at her. “You wish me to stop?”

“No. It is just something I will get used to. So, how many other people have you been?”

The heater pinged, and she set the table with two meals for him and one for her. She put out the utensils, and when she was seated, he scooted in next to her instead of taking the position across from her.

She snorted. “Is contact with me part of your courtship?”

“Yes. Now, as to how many people I have been, it is around forty. I have been many more creatures, trees and animals in my day. It took a while before I decided to leave home and travel the stars.” He poured tea for them both and then settled in on his food.

“So, you are quite old.”

“Ancient by your reckoning. I live my lives with friends and family and then change my form and move on when they fade away.” His voice was intent.

“So, after I am gone, you will lose your Kozue form and move along?”

He blinked and his cheeks darkened. “Not if you don’t like this form. I can choose something else.”

Gwyn swallowed and turned to him. “You don’t have to change. You are you, I am just a little jealous of the women who have enjoyed your perfect features.”

He blushed full on. “None. The Kozue form is new. I mimicked a cousin of mine but made myself prettier.”

“Is your cousin in the Alliance by any chance?” She chuckled and kept eating. The Sector Guard might be top secret, but there were some aspects in which the Alliance and the Imperium shared resources.

“He is. He is partnered with a healer, and they are living quite happily.”

She grinned. “You wish to follow his example?”

“Well, once I took a biped form, I gravitated to the masculine. Seeking out a female partner seemed very natural, so I began to look into it five decades ago. It took a lot of trying to figure out what I wanted, and then, I took that list and tossed it out the window when I went to see the Yaccaro matchmaking seer. The moment I saw the image, I knew it was right.”

“Can you have baby display the image?”

He made the request, and she was looking at herself wrapped in Durz’s arms, thick mist at her feet and the
Blue Fairy
in the background.

“I am wearing the same dress I am now.”

He nodded. “I am aware. When Hargu offered me my choice of clothing for you, that was the one I picked.”

She laughed. “Hedging your bets?”

“Doing my best to make a dream come true.” He finished his meal and picked up his cup of tea.

“Well done.” She grinned. “I am always a fan of a good plan.”

They tidied up from breakfast, and he asked something that he had not asked her before. “What do you do in your off time?”

She looked from side to side. “Come here.”

She stroked her hand along the wall and depressed a hidden panel. The door slid back, and she entered with Durz at her heels.

“This is the library, video centre, activity centre, everything. This is what I do in my off time.” Gwyn twisted her lips and watched his expression.

He went to the wall and stroked one of the three hundred crystals. A catalogue of the books in that crystal appeared in front of him. “How many books do you have here?”

She twisted her lips. “Somewhere over fifteen thousand. I am trying to get through them all.”

“May I ask why?”

She sighed and walked to the wall, selecting her favourite book of ancient Admaryn fairy tales. “When I was growing up, books either had to be read to me or I had to pick from a limited selection in braille. It was awkward, difficult and when my schoolmates thought it was funny to flatten my books, I was stuck. They were all special order.”

“That is cruel, but what is braille?”

She explained and brought out one of her old books to show him. The Kama Sutra in braille had been crafted as a joke, but she had found it fascinating. She taught him the first few letters and folded the book shut.

“Hey, that was just getting interesting.”

She laughed. “I would like to see some of the town if it isn’t too much to ask. I haven’t felt the wind on my skin in quite a while.”

“Of course. The skimmers we stole should still be there.”

Gwyn bit her lip. “Can you maintain the shield on my skin if we are flying separately?”

“Of course.”

“Then, let’s go. If I am not uncomfortable in an hour, I will do some shopping.” She grinned.

He offered her his arm, and they walked out of her library. “So, you are going to show me how to finish reading that book, right?”

“It is no more detailed than the Vavorik manuals.”

Durz perked up. “Really?”

She elbowed him and skipped in front of him on the way down the steps.

It was a lovely day in Agathon, and once they had parked their skimmers in the public-access area, they wandered around the town, poking around in shops and trying to figure out uses for items they had never seen before.

His shielding for her held, and after dinner with Hargu and Niyu, she enjoyed the flight back to the
Blue Fairy
, sharing a skimmer and enjoying the feel of Durz’s arms around her.

She had felt the ping during dinner but had not wished to cut the evening short, so a quick request for a delay was sent to Nitza and the agreement was received gratefully.

“I think Nitza has an assignment for you.”

He pressed a kiss to her shoulder where it met her neck. “Does she?”

“She called during dinner.”

He sighed. “I was hoping to have more time.”

“You can have all the time you want as long as we are in the air.” She laughed as he parked at the spaceport and they both picked up her shopping to carry it to the
Blue Fairy.

“Yes, Captain.”

“The address is Pilot Gwendolyn if you want to be precise.”

He grinned, and she felt a column of twisting air climb up her inner thigh. As she mounted the steps, that column slid inside her, making her gasp.

“Why are you doing that?”

“Because, Pilot Gwendolyn, I can, and your hands are full.” He chortled evilly and followed her closely. More columns of mist wrapped around her, and she was lifted off her feet and carried to the upper level and her quarters. He bounced her gently on her bed, and she twisted from side to side as the sensation of having him inside her brought her to the edge of orgasm.

She shrieked and arched, her clothing on and her body gleaming with sweat.

Durz leaned over her and kissed her, his nebulous touch caressing her from head to toe while it removed her sweat and the slick traces of her orgasm.

“Well, that is something I am going to have to flush out of my mind.” Nitza’s voice came from her image displayed by the ship.

Durz put himself between her and the projection. “What do you wish, Dispatcher?”

Nitza grinned. “I need your diplomatic touch to extract an ambassador convicted of spying on Yerio. Get him out before he is given the death penalty.”

Durz shook his head. “Yerio is very strict regarding their penalties.”

“I am aware. Our ambassador is a Guardian who has been running undercover, and we don’t want him to have to break out on his own.”

“Understood. Send the files, and I will prepare my case. Will they hold off on full sentencing?”

“They will. They are waiting for you for five days. You had better get moving. You too, Gaze.”

“Yes, Dispatch.”

Nitza disappeared and Durz sighed. “Well, there went my plans for the day.”

Gwyn laughed. “I have to grab my uniform and get us airborne. Get off my skirt.”

He pinned her down, kissed her until she felt a return of the throb deep inside her, and after she was completely incapable of thought, he leaned back with a grin.

He sauntered out, leaving her to gather her wits and stagger to her wardrobe. One pilot’s suit later, she was on the command deck and plugging into the
Fairy.

They had an assignment, so it was time to push off. A quick clearance from the spaceport and they were on their way. She just wished that her body would stop asking to continue what he had started.

Yerio was quiet. Gwyn wore the heavy cloak and walked swiftly through the streets. If she were still blind, she would have thought she was in a dead city. There was no noise aside from the occasional rustle of clothing.

The
Blue Fairy
was under guard at the Yerio spaceport, Shiver was acting as General Korwait and Gwyn was plan B.

Each ship was equipped with their own toys, and her
Fairy
was all about optical illusions. The heavy belt around her waist kept anyone from seeing her as long as she moved slowly. Once she was out of the spaceport and approaching the public sidewalks, she turned the unit off.

The disguise was probably a good thing, as her formfitting suit would probably cause her to be incarcerated immediately. The Yerio had very specific requirements in dress, and there was no clinging clothing for men or women.

The prison was locked with a standard keypad and palm print. Attached to her belt was a scanner with the prints she needed as well as the keypad crack.

It took her thirty seconds to make it through the prison gates and five minutes to find her target. She beckoned Ambassador Wikkio when she opened his door. He looked at her in confusion, but when she peeled off the outer layer of her cloak for him, leaving her with a lighter version and providing him with camouflage, he nodded and followed her lead.

She put her hand on his chest and clipped the adjacent invisibility unit to him. As long as he was within ten feet of her, he would remain cloaked, but in the silence of the prison, they couldn’t converse.

Outside the prison, she activated the invisibility unit. They would know he escaped, there was no getting around it, but they wouldn’t know how or who. As far as the Yerio knew, General Korwait travelled alone.

Gwyn kept hold of the ambassador’s cloak to keep him near her. It was an expression of affection on Yerio and the only one allowed. She could do nothing else to keep him with her.

She kept her head down and her shoulders slumped as they moved through the spaceport. When they worked their way past the guards, she opened her cloak to hide the opening of the hatch. She shooed the ambassador past her and slipped into her ship.

Once the door was sealed again, she breathed and flipped her hood back. “Upstairs and to the left please. I have a sealed unit for you to hide in.”

He frowned. “You are not my council.”

“No. General Korwait is my partner. We have been assigned to get you out of here, but they rushed to judgement, so I had to break you out.”

She removed his cloak with efficient movements and removed the stealth unit. “Please, either go and rest or step into one of the cold-sleep units. That will lock your life signs as well.”

He frowned. “I don’t want to be caged again.”

“Then, stop being a prat and pick your poison. Comfortable room until we take off or cold sleep and I will wake you when we get there.”

He scowled and looked around.

The klaxon that the
Fairy
set off made her mind up for him. She punched the ambassador in the belly, kneed him in the jaw and when he was slumped and dazed, she shoved him into the nearest tube, engaging the full shielding.

The blaring noise was her warning that the escape had been detected and to expect armed guards invading her private space.

Knowing the drill, she double checked that the ambassador’s tube was completely invisible, and then, she headed for her library. It was time to hide.

The
Fairy
showed her the troops examining her hull from the inside out. Gwyn kept calm by reading and occasionally checking on the display that was up for her convenience. All of her clothing was in here with her. No trace of a woman was left on the ship.

She watched as Durz sat in the command chair, and when the last member of the Yerio guard had left, she sighed in relief. The first leg of it was over. Now, she just needed Durz to return for the night, and they could be on their way.

She munched on a pack of vegetable sticks and tried to read as the time ticked by.

The display outside showed her that night had fallen and there was still no sign of Durz.

She began to pace as the night went on and still no sign. Finally, she saw a tendril of fog. Something inside her soul tugged at her a little, and the fog moved faster.

“Open a crack, baby.”

The ship opened the hatch and the fog with Durz’s bio signature eased through the crack after thickening on the ground to the point where the guards looked down and dismissed it.