Chapter 5
The red light beeped again and that awful whine went off….
“Ladies bloody eyes,” she yelled
“Smoother, smoother,” Maynard chimed in an unsought suggestion
“You smooth it,” she snapped
She was practicing on one of Urha’s safes, she hadn’t even known it was there till Maynard found it.
“you’re close, just a little more gently, you can’t bludgeon your way in,” he added
He had been teaching her how to crack safes, disable security systems and the like…for in this galaxy you needed credits to get food and things…credits had to be earned using your skill in a job or the like…Kiraea’s job would be as a thief taking credits and valuable tings off other people. Colm Maynard had had a long career as a professional thief so that was what she would be too.
“Now reset it, remember the sequence,” he instructed, she scowled
Maynard had been a useful teacher, like an uncle…he had ended up destitute on Nar Shadda after being caught stealing from a Hutt named Myzm…he escaped but not before being tortured with a neural simulator – a device that fooled nerves into believing say a limb had been cut off when it hadn’t. It left him with a number of co-ordination problems and damaged his fine motor skills, such that he could no longer ply his trade, and he was left trying to steal a ship to get off Nar Shadda when she had…dominated…him.
She didn’t quite understand the concept of theft at first…she didn’t understand why someone would take someone else’s things…Aethans held most things in common…except clothes, a few toys and bits of jewellery…but it had never entered in her mind to want what was someone else’s without them knowing….
Something smashed in the next room distracting her, she heard Adaea and Lyaea chatting over something…they found all these items strange and had broken more than a few trying to work out their function, even with Maynards help.
She went back to work resetting the lock. Urha had credits in the bank thing, but she had spent most of them to get Lyaea and Adaea back…there were more things Maynard had helped her sell in the safe but it wasn’t enough for all of them for long he had informed her.
They had helped each other in a way, Maynard got a way off Nar Shadda, and to be honest a new purpose in life in looking after the three Aethan girls, and they had someone who could help them navigate the galaxy, and by teaching Kiraea his skills, find a way to provide for them
She went back to using the aether to try and unpick the lock and disable the system…Maynard was a canny operator, after seeing her abilities he had quickly realised her potential. She had even secured a better deal when selling Urha’s valuables, encouraging the weird four armed creature with the aether…she smiled at that…she didn’t really have a grasp on controlling alien minds yet…her attempt to make the alien fence desire the goods had been…extreme…the four armed thing had ended up in passionate love with red robes clothes and paid a vast sum for them and tried to mate with them as soon as he got them! it had been soo funny.
“Concentrate,” Maynard said checking his data-wrist thing that should read outs of her progress.
She focused on the small components, twisting and zapping…the door swung open…
“well done Kiraea,” he said “now do that 30 more times and you might be close” …he reminded her of Karintha saying that…Until you can do it without thinking, you don not truly know how to do it.
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“You’re going to have to go….” He said as that ate what passed for food here.
“I don’t understand why,” she said for like the millionth time
“ughh…” he rubbed his face in frustration that was coming through the aether
“Kids have to go to school…people will notice and report you eventually…you don’t want the police here asking questions…I can handle the paper work,”
“don’t children just learn like normal?” Adaea asked, she seemed less resistant, but still confused about the concept of a place where all children learnt things…normally you just followed your parents around, and picked up on things…Aethans passive aetheric abilities let them learn things from the patterns of thought and concentration in others…it was how they mastered every skill in Aethan society so quickly….had Maynard still been able to perform his lock picking Kiraea could’ve used that to become an expert faster.
“No they…you just have to do it, trust me…” he sounded slightly defeated.
With her mind domination was still in effect she knew he was telling the truth, or he would be trying to rip his own face off by now….At any rate it was no use having him here if she didn’t at least follow his advice.
“Fine we’ll all go…” she said, Lyaea looked downcast…she was so young…Kiraea leaned over to hug her,
“We’ll do it together,”
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School was a very strange place…young creatures from all about put in rooms of ten with an older creature to learn things. She had kept quiet for most of the first few days, silently siphoning knowledge and understanding from the other human students.
As strange as it was though, it was helpful, she was learning a lot, Maynard had been right about that.
“Who can tell me the about a Reduction Oxidation reaction,” the ugly old bat of a teacher asked…he was wrinkled and grey haired…Aethans got old but they never looked like that. “Kiraea,” she pointed to her,
“Oh…it’s a reaction that has the transfer of Aylactrons from one reactant to the other one it,”
She paused as she heard sniggering behind her,
“Girls,” the teacher said sternly
“Has two basic forms Oyxaydateeon which is when one loses Aylactrons, that’s the increase in Oyxaydateeon state,”
More sniggering
“and Rayduction, the gain of Aylactrons…” more sniggering made her anger bubble, “a decrease in Oyxaydateeon”, she turned around sharply on the two girls who were laughing at her, “Will you shut up!”
“Kiraea! sit back down, Y’Shalla, Xeanna, you should know better than to laugh at someone for having a different accent,”
At the meal break she sat with Adaea toying with what they called food here…disgusting inedible stuff…not real substance compared to what she had back home. Her eyes were fixed on Xeanna in the other corner…
“Don’t Kiri…” Adaea warned nudging her in the aether, “you’ll get in trouble…Maynard said….”
“I don’t care what Maynard said…that Falalaleen tralk is going to get it for making fun of me,”
“I think it’s Faalleen,” Adaea quietly corrected her, “Don’t do it…”
“They won’t know…even babies are stronger than these things….” She gestured around her at the masses of other students and teachers…all little better than corpses in terms of aetheric power.
Xeanna got up with her friends and wandered toward them, Adaea reached over and grasped Kiraea’s hand in a supplicating gesture…
They stood at the end of the table,
“Sharing Aylectrons!” Xeanna said pointing at their linked hands eliciting a giggle from her friends, “breathing in the Oyxaygen!” more laughter
“Real funny greeny,” Kiraea snapped back, she pushed out in the aether, “why don’t you go shove your head in a bin where it belongs,” The other girls laughed, Xeanna’s eyes went glassy, she could feel the Faalleen trying to resist the urge to obey…but like trying not to scratch an itchy nose…she just couldn’t…pushing past her friends she ran to a nearby bin and shoved her head in it, her friends were stunned, a shockwave of laughter and amazement spread through the room.
Adaea looked slightly disappointed, but couldn’t keep from smiling…
“I thought you were going to kill her,”
Kiraea shrugged and patted her hand, “I guess I’m learning restraint!”
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She sat on the balcony of the mansion overlooking the gardens…untended and neglected the people on the holo-channel about gardening would say…returning to its natural state she would reply.
The stars were different here…she couldn’t see Varens and Anderis, the Wise brothers, Aphrodaea and her Daughters, or even Aertemisaea’s bow in them.
The sounds were different here…instead of the gentle rumble of gormin’s as they slept on the paddocks was the hum of hovercars from the city.
The smells were different, her father had always kept blue Ladies Bells beside her bed…they had been her mother’s favourite he had told her…she had died when she was very young from an infection…instead it stank of steel and ferrocrete
For all these thing she couldn’t sleep…She just wanted to go home…to wake from this pain….like a hopeful child she would wake every morning thinking maybe today, maybe today the Guardians will come for us…and like the silly gobril in children’s tales she would go to bed every night thinking maybe tomorrow….
She hated this…hated that she had to be the one in charge, the one to do everything…she wasn’t ready for this…
“I don’t like it here too,” a quiet voice behind her agreed,
Lyaea was wrapped in her blanket watching her, she turned and spread her arms, the girl rushed into her hug.
“Will we ever go home?” she asked her eyes big and glossy in the starlight,
“I don’t know…” she answered honestly, obviously she had been making waves in the aether as Adaea came out next and joined them in their hug while trying to put out comforting feelings.
“It might be a long time before we go home…” she said after a time looking at the stars… “we just have to keep trying…” she wasn’t sure what they were trying for really…but then survival was sometimes the best you could do,
Lyaea yawned, “Can we sing,” she asked,
“Of course,” said Adaea, “which one?”
“Nothing too long” Kiraea added, “We have school tomorrow,” they would often sing in the evenings or tell tales back home some of them were very long though, “Just a regular lullaby,”
Lyaea thought for a moment then started, soon joined by her and Adaea….
“There’s blood on the soil
There’s death in the sky
The Goddess is burning the sith with her eyes
Run little children,
Run back to the vale
Hide under the mountains
Old grey and pale
Aethenaea will you teach you
Aertemisaea will hide
Aephrodaea will love you
And the Guardians guide”
The light winds of the aether lifted their voices back to their home.
