Grady's Awakening (3 page)

Now he was discovering he could feel that same rush of energy without the life or death circumstances. He could feel the same determination to survive—multiplied tenfold—without doing anything but
thinking
of what was to come. It was a fantastic thing. Something he wanted to explore further. Unfortunately, that would have to wait. A second communication to his personal unit directed him to meet a specific scout ship at the landing area.

A brisk walk down a maze of corridors and he was in the sunshine. The yellow sun of Earth was a beautiful sight to a man who’d spent decades on a space ship preparing to land and who-knows-how-many years before that in stasis on the same ship, preserved by the ship’s computers for the long journey here.

Grady Prime loved everything about their new home. The wild places called to him and he thought back fondly on the times he’d camped out in the forests and deserts, doing his job. He wondered where the hidden base would be. Would it be in a forest, surrounded by towering trees? Or would it be on the rocky slopes of the highest mountains, covered in snow? Would he be going to a desert? Or would it be a secluded tropical island? He was eager to explore all those possibilities.

There was a spring in his step as he entered the landing area and located the ship. It was a small, nondescript transport, with nothing to differentiate it from any of the others sitting nearby. Grady Prime recognized the pilot leaning against the fuselage, waiting for him. The man had been Sinclair 2 until the disappearance of the Past Prime. Grady Prime supposed he was Sinclair Prime now, though in rare instances rankings didn’t always follow predictable patterns.

“Grady Prime, it is good to see you again.” The other soldier held out his hand for a greeting of equals, signaling his new status in a subtle yet undeniable way. Grady Prime returned the gesture.

“Congratulations on your ascension to Prime.”

“Thank you, though it was not something I had anticipated or needed.” A dark look passed over the new Prime’s face as they both turned toward the open ship. “But we will talk of that as we travel. I’ve been instructed to speak to you as if to one of my men, which is something unexpected, yet welcome.”

Grady Prime waited to speak until the hatch was closed behind them. “I assume the ship is secure?”

“It is. And I assume you were also granted leave to be candid with me about the reason for your new assignment?”

“To a certain extent,” Grady Prime allowed. This new Prime had earned his respect as a young officer when their respective squadrons had trained together. This man, in particular, had saved the lives of several of his men when a malfunction had caused the young soldiers to become trapped in a burning ship. He had darker coloring than most Alvians, with a burnished gold light in his longer-than-regulation hair and a healthy, golden tan to his skin.

“As second in command, I was aware of the genetic modifications for which my former Prime volunteered. I was even tasked by Mara Prime to observe Prime Past after he took the treatment. I know you’ve become part of the follow-up study.”

“Are you observing me as well?” Grady raised one eyebrow as they settled into their seats, and Sinclair Prime started the engine.

The new Prime laughed. “No. I’m through spying on my friends. I hope I can call you that, Grady Prime. I have had great respect for your abilities and your style of leadership for many years.”

“And I have admired your courage since the training mishap,” Grady Prime allowed.

As they rose above the city, Sinclair Prime turned to him. “We are completely unmonitored in this ship. Now that I’m Prime, I find myself in a unique position. I never expected Prime Past to abandon me or the squad. He was our leader and I always thought that if and when he stepped down from that role, he’d still be around to guide me as I took over. I’ve had to fly blind more than I ever anticipated, and I’m afraid the squad has suffered for it.”

Most startling to Grady Prime was the real echo of fear and uncertainty he could hear in the young Prime’s voice. “The Council told me you were created from a combination of Alvian and Avarel DNA. I know from personal experience that soldier stock is more aggressive and has more remnants of feeling than our less combative Alvian brethren. You have an added element in your DNA. I’ve been wondering since I found out about it, what that entails for your emotions.”

Respect showed on the young Prime’s face. “We feel more. It’s not something we encourage and not something we talk about, but it’s been documented. We don’t have real emotions. We feel stronger echoes than even the most aggressive of warrior lines. It’s what made Prime Past volunteer for the first experiment. He told me so himself.”

Grady Prime was silent as he thought through that revelation. He’d liked this young officer for a long time and liked even more the honesty with which he seemed to want to start their closer working relationship. Here was an ally.

“That’s the very reason I chose to participate in the experiment. All my life I felt these echoes of…something. And then as I observed the Breeds interacting, I wanted to understand them. I wanted to
feel
. Just once, before I die.”

“Are you that certain it will kill you? Prime Past seemed to think it would free him, not kill him.”

“I’m fairly certain it will drive me mad in the end. I’ve made a study of our history and that is the fate of most unmated males. I have little hope I will find a Resonance Mate to keep the madness at bay. Our women have no understanding of emotion and rarely resonate with anyone. I had some small hope about the three women in the study with me, but I’ve touched them all and there was not a single Hum to be heard.”

“What about a human woman?” Sinclair Prime shot him a questioning look and it was not lost on Grady Prime that he used the word the Breeds called themselves. Somehow this soldier had contact with the Breeds and had come to be familiar with their language.

“There are so few. It hardly seems fair to seek among them. After what our people have done to them, it’s unlikely any of them will accept an Alvian—much less a warrior Prime¾as her mate. I had some small hope of it before emotion began to manifest. I understand the impossibility of it now. Most of them will never forgive us for what we’ve done to their planet and to them.”

“The Chief Engineer has a human mate.”

“Callie was the exception to the rule, as was Davin. He was a throwback to begin with. He always had emotions. And Callie is an empath. She understands him in a way few people can.”

“You know them?”

“I’ve known Callie since she was a baby. She is a beautiful woman, inside and out. As is her mother.”

“I didn’t realize you had such close contact with them.”

“I visited the family often as part of Mara 12’s guard. Then in later years, I would go out to drop off supplies and pick up data collected by Mick O’Hara. Sometimes I shared meals with the family. They are a boisterous group with many young who are curious enough to ask impertinent questions.” A smile curved his lips as Grady Prime thought of the O’Hara clan.

“You like them,” Sinclair Prime accused with a smile.

“Yes,” Grady acknowledged. “I feel great affection for them all.” Now there was a statement. Grady Prime still marveled at the fact that he actually could
feel
things. “They were kind to me when I couldn’t appreciate it and have continued to be so. Caleb O’Hara is helping counsel those of us in Mara 12’s experiment and he has been of great help.”

“You are fortunate to have an ally to aid you in this trial. I was briefed on the experiment before Prime Past took part in the initial experiment. Part of my duty was to observe him, since my normal duties involve routine observation of highly placed Alvian citizens.”

“Then you’re¾”

“
Zxerah.
The whole squad is. We are part of the ghost squadron, and you are among the very few to know that for certain outside the Council.”

Grady Prime was shocked. “I was going to guess ghost squadron. I’ll admit you’ve taken me by surprise with talk of the
Zxerah
Brotherhood. I thought they were only a myth from ancient times.”

“I can assure you, we are very real. All of us with wings are
Zxerah.
No winged soldiers exist beyond the Brotherhood, but there are more
Zxerah
who are unable to fly. The Patriarch authorized me to speak freely to you. For some reason, he believes you may hold the key to our future plans.”

“I’ve heard rumors of a ghost squadron. I discounted most of the wilder claims about them. Even the worst of the conspiracy theories never mentioned the Brotherhood. All
Zxerah
were supposed to have been lost before the migration.”

“Not all,” Sinclair Prime said. “A few survived to pass down the skills. It was the Patriarch who first put forward the idea of adding Avarel DNA to our line. A previous Patriarch had approached Mara Prime Past with the idea two generations ago. He was refused. The current Patriarch reissued the request once we awakened on the ship and the current Mara Prime agreed to try, with approval of the High Council. My squadron and I are the result. Other
Zxerah
were not given wings to act as a control group. They continue to live in a secret enclave.”

Grady Prime knew the history. The
Zxerah
were a warrior clan that had lived in a remote mountain region of the home world. They had not had contact with the outside world, but had allowed pilgrims to join their ranks if they proved worthy. They had lived ascetic lives, studying fighting and concealment arts day and night. They had been accredited with feats of skill, strength, endurance, stealth and bravery that were so fantastic as to be unbelievable. Most Alvians thought they had died off before the mass exodus from the home system.

Perhaps not. That there was a
Zxerah
Patriarch still living was incredible. All modern Alvians were separated by genetic lines, each holding a rank within their genetic line based on age, skill, accomplishments and other factors. Primes were the best of the best of their line. No line had a Patriarch. Such designations had died out as the geneticists took control of the vast majority of Alvian reproduction.

The
Zxerah
had always been different. If any group could retain their ancient identity, even with the changes wrought to all Alvian DNA, it would be them. Grady Prime also supposed that the Council liked having the
Zxerah
to use as a secret, deadly and highly skilled weapon. No wonder they let them keep their anonymity.

“I’m impressed and astonished,” Grady Prime admitted. “I thought the
Zxerah
were only a legend. But if any Alvian sought the power to fly, it would be the fabled
Zxerah
. I should not have been so quick to credit the scientists for coming up with the idea.”

“The
Zxerah
had the Avarel genetic samples. Avarel kept in contact with the
Zxerah
long after they’d cut off communications with the rest of our race. It is said the Avarel respected our
ability to control our aggressive tendencies and our desire to seek enlightenment. The
Zxerah
embraced the genetic changes the geneticists proposed many generations ago, always looking for ways to improve themselves. The Patriarch told me he had begun to believe we’d gone too far. Control of destructive emotion is a good thing, so the ancient teachings say, but complete lack of emotion is not. The Patriarch had hoped the addition of Avarel DNA would return what was lost in addition to giving us the ability to fly. It worked to a very limited degree. As I said, we feel more than other soldier lines. It’s still not much. We don’t really understand humans at all, though we try.”

“Your revelations astound me.” Grady Prime wasn’t sure why he was being trusted with such sensitive information and was wary of it.

“I tell you this now, so you will understand what you see when you meet my men. We are all winged, and we are all
Zxerah.
” Sinclair Prime faced him in the small cockpit. “Mara Prime is our keeper, our observer. We also observe him, and many other top Alvians as part of our duty to both the Council and the
Zxerah
Patriarch. Our allegiance is to the Alvian race, not necessarily the Council. Too often of late, they have asked things of us, which make us uncomfortable. Capturing humans is one example.”

Grady Prime sighed with regret. “I have done my share of capture at their direction. My only defense is that I didn’t understand the implications of my actions. It is no excuse, and I will spend the rest of my days regretting what I’ve done to certain people.”

“I hoped you would say that. I must ask that if you do find Prime Past, you take that into consideration. It is my belief that he failed to kill his assigned target specifically for that reason. He was not a man who
could
miss a target. If he did, it was deliberate, and he had to have had a good reason for it.”

“You feel strongly about this,” Grady Prime observed.

“I do. Though the irony of your wording is not lost on me. It is because Prime Past was starting to manifest feelings that I believe he acted in such a way. I’ve had many months to think about this, and it’s the only conclusion that makes sense.”