“Don’t you have another source for answers now?”
“I do, but I’m asking you.”
“We boarded three days ago.”
“I vaguely remember something about going to Earth.”
“We are. We’ll change ships there and get going on our mission.”
She leaned away from him, distraught. “We’ve lost Rappor?”
“For now. She’ll be reconditioned, brought up to date when they can fit her into the schedule. We’re getting a fast ship, one with all the latest upgrades. The Queen is seriously concerned about your well-being.”
“What about Stven and M’Sada and the rest of the crew?”
“All here.”
She smiled and stood up. “Then it’s okay. I need some exercise. It’s been days and days. Care to join me?”
He grimaced. “If you insist. I’ve been skipping my workouts, too. This room’s too small. Let’s go to the exercise room.”
“Can’t it be just the two of us? I don’t know if I’m ready to face the world yet.”
“I don’t think the exercise room is used much. Come on.”
“Let me change first.”
“Don’t bother. This won’t be a serious work-out, just some stretching and a little exercise. You can go as you are.”
Borg, her Protector, waited outside the room, but at a signal from Tarn, he padded away. Krys took Tarn’s arm, but then realized she didn’t know which way to go. In fact, she didn’t even know what ship she was on, but it didn’t matter at the moment. Their mission lay in the future, her present was perfect, and she wasn’t going to disrupt that perfection with details. It was just her, Tarn, and Maelia, and she felt like she was still in a dream, a perfect dream.
Tarn led her to the exercise room, and they settled into their stretches, each silently experiencing the joy of each other and of muscles warming up. She was stretching across one leg with her hands around her foot when a stranger entered the room, the largest man she’d ever seen. Muscles bulged from the arms of a short, white shirt that left his midriff exposed, and baggy pants covered massive legs, each the size of her torso.
He saw her, and brilliant white teeth illuminated his dark brown face in a smile. Large, wide-spaced eyes stared at her for a moment, then he nodded and looked around the room. It was a large room, but he picked a spot near her and sat on the deck. He started his own stretches, and she was surprised at the flexibility of such a large body. He caught her staring at him, and she blushed as she went into another stretch of her own. She couldn’t help herself, so amazed was she at the sheer size of this man who moved so gracefully. She couldn’t keep herself from studying him.
He looked up, caught her eyes on him, and smiled again. “I’m Terry Washburn. Have we met?” he said with a wonderful, mellow voice. However, Galactic High Standard was clearly not his first language. His diction needed a lot of improvement.
“I don’t think so. I’m Krys.”
The man’s eyes moved to Tarn with a questioning look. “Tarn Lukes,” Tarn said brusquely.
“Pleased to meet you,” he said, his diction rough but understandable. He looked at Krys, and she sensed he was looking for the right words. “You have only one name?”
“Just Krys,” she said with a smile.
“It must be a cultural thing,” the man mumbled to himself. His words were in another language, and Krys didn’t understand, but Maelia did. She translated as quickly as the man spoke.
›How did you do that? You know what he said?‹ she demanded in surprise.
›I do. Hmm, this is interesting. He spoke in Mike’s language.‹
›He’s from Earth? You know his language?‹
She felt Maelia smiling, one of the few direct emotions she had felt from her new Rider. The two of them still had a long way to go as two independent people learned to share her body.
›Consider my roots, Krys. I come from Jake, the First Knight’s Rider, and I have Jake’s memories. Of course I understand Mike’s language.‹
Krys leaned forward with her legs out to each side, her elbows resting comfortably on the floor between her legs. She rested her chin in her hands as she studied this giant of a man. “It’s not a cultural thing. It’s just the only name I have.”
He straightened and shook his head. Clearly, he did not understand her words. “Sorry.” He reached into a pocket and pulled out three translator pins. He tossed one to Krys, one to Tarn, and put one on his own ear. Borg chose that moment to enter, and the man tossed another translator to the Great Cat.
Krys had never seen a translator before, let alone needed one. She followed the man’s example and put it on her own ear, then repeated her statement.
“It’s not a cultural thing. It’s the only name I have.”
“Krys,” he said, tasting the name. “A fine name, especially when it’s the only one you have. Pleased to meet you. You too, Tarn Lukes.”
She continued to study him with her chin resting in her hands. He went back to his stretches, but his gaze remained on her. She liked his eyes. His gaze seemed to penetrate, and she sensed intelligence and caring.
“You’re from Earth,” she said.
“I am. And you?”
“I’m really not certain where I’m from. I never knew my parents.” Why had she told him that, she wondered? It wasn’t something she usually shared.
“I’m sorry. That must be hard. I grew up in a large family.”
“Not so hard if it’s all you know, but it would be nice to have a family. I’ll have one of my own one day, if I live that long.” Why had she said that? She glanced at Tarn who was frowning at her choice of words. She reached over and squeezed his hand.
Terry Washburn stopped moving. “If you live that long?”
“Sorry, it just slipped out. Don’t concern yourself. We’re headed to Earth. Are you being sent back?”
He went back to his stretches. “Not exactly. I’m on assignment.” Her eyebrows rose in a question, but he shook his head. “Sorry, Krys. People in my line of work don’t talk about assignments.”
“What’s your line of work?”
“I’m a soldier, and from time to time a ship’s gunner.”
“So that’s why you’re here. Have you seen any action?”
“Some.”
“Some? Is that all you can say?”
“I don’t know how much you know about what’s going on.”
“I know enough to know that you men of Earth are here to counter the Chessori. Have you met them yet?”
“Met them and killed them,” he said matter-of-factly.
“So you’ve experienced the scree. ”
“I’ve seen it in action. To me, it’s just… nothing.”
She shuddered. “I didn’t know that Chandrajuski’s new recruits had seen action yet.”
“I don’t think they have, though I really can’t say. I’m part of another group.”
She sat up straight. Who this man was suddenly fell into place. “You’re with Mike.”
“Sir Mike, Krys. So you know him. Have you heard about what he’s been doing?”
“In general terms. I know you took out a Rebel light squadron at Brodor. Were you involved in that?”
“I was. I was in charge of the gun crews, and I went aboard the cruiser we took over. I think I was the first Terran aboard, though I’m not sure. We were a little busy at the time, and I was just one of three teams penetrating the ship.”
“Terran?”
“It’s what we call ourselves,” he said kindly, the bright smile back in place.
“If you were on Brodor with Mike, you must have met Otis, too.”
He nodded. “I’ve met Sir Otis and passed his course.”
“You’re a Protector, then?”
“The Great Cats are the real Protectors, Krys. Together, we make a good team.”
He had apparently finished with his stretches, because he got up and went over to study the exercise equipment. He ran his hands over a couple of pieces, then stood back and stared at the equipment with his back to Krys and Tarn. It was clear he had no idea how the equipment worked.
Krys got up and went to his side. “These are quite specific. What part of your body would you like to work on?”
“All of it,” he said with a surprised look. “Isn’t that what workouts are all about?”