Rumble let out a long strand of sound, and stretched happily in the sheets.
She tickled him and then got to her feet, heading for the sonic shower before she made her way out to the common space for breakfast. One of the indoor suits was definitely in order, in case the horticulturalists were in the common space.
With Rumble humming his happy song on her shoulder, she walked out of her room and out to get some tea and breakfast.
She paused when the six new members of the Citadel Iratho greeted her.
She waved good morning to everyone and then got her breakfast. Dawn was barely flirting outside the windows, but the plant-obsessed woke early.
Deahlia walked up to her and gave her a hug. “Hello, Aunty. I am afraid that things went a little peculiar yesterday. I was just so relieved to be rid of him. He doesn’t like me. He refers to me as a traitor.”
Rumble was still making his happy sound.
Addy hugged her niece. “He hates to be thwarted. You were close to being me but not quite me. It frustrated him.”
“I can only imagine. And can I say, you look just like my sister Hagatha.”
“You look just like Gertrude. It seems that cloning runs in our genes.”
They sat together on couches in the common area. The other specialists were watching them. The green one, Er-Hathu, asked, “Where is the dangerous talent stationed here at the base? I have been terrified of setting it off.”
Addy raised her hand. “That would be me.”
Rumble chirped confirmation.
Deahlia looked at her with a sad smile. “They couldn’t know. Your identity is a closely guarded secret. We all had to be sworn to secrecy in case we end up elsewhere.”
Addy snorted. “The secret is out. There is a bounty on my head. We have had one attack so far.”
Deahlia blinked. “What?”
“It’s fine. They were dealt with.” She smiled tightly.
Rocky piped up, “Here is the visual from the base sensors as well as the orbital station sensors.”
The display took up the wall, and Addy blushed as she saw her self sprint to her action station, paused, aimed, and flicked her finger. The splintering of metal was the precursor to a high-speed spiral into the ground. In the next visual, the dragon jaws clamped on the ship and flew off with it. There must have been a time lapse because the next thing on the screen was the ship being dumped into the volcano.
Her guests stared at her, and Deahlia looked at her finger as if it was a bomb.
“You could do that with one finger?” Er-Hathu whispered.
“Yes. I have been practicing control, so that was as minimal as I could get it.” She shrugged. “If he had gotten clearance, he could have landed.”
Deahlia cleared her throat. “Okay, so that is explained now. We were all wondering when we could come out to this posting, and this definitely is a good reason for waiting.”
“I am fine now. I can keep it from breaking the island into chunks, so you are all safe now.” She smiled, and Rumble made a louder sound of happiness.
Deahlia cleared her throat. “Are we able to head down to the surface for soil testing today?”
“Sure—”
“Adelheid, you will remain here until I can take you down to the surface. I do not want you on one of their riot runners.”
She twisted in her seat to smile at Rokar. “I don’t even know what that is.”
Rokar grabbed his favourite backless chair and sat next to her, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
All eyes were on them, and she blushed as he waited for her to return the light caress.
She turned and brushed her lips lightly across his, and he smiled. “Good morning, Adelheid.”
There was a hopeful rumble on her shoulder. She laughed. “He wants a kiss, too.”
Rokar rolled his eyes but pressed his lips to the top of Rumble’s head.
The joy that sparked through the Yaluthu made Addy laugh. “I think he really liked that. Now, he feels part of the family.”
Rokar sighed. “I did not want him here.”
Deahlia raised her hands. “I am not taking him back.”
The room at large laughed, and Addy shifted closer to Rokar, gripping his hand. “So, how am I going to get down to the surface?”
“I will take you. When Iratho gives you his energy, you will be able to fly on your own.”
She stared at him. “Seriously? I get to fly?”
“Fly, jump, run at top speed. You don’t have wings, but you will be able to get around Iratho on your own.”
Deahlia smiled and then an expression of awareness came over her. “Damn. Aunty, I have a surprise for you.”
“Do you?”
“Yeah, it is in the container that was dragged outside the door. It’s from the family.”
Rokar took the remains of her meal from her. “Go and look. Rocky has scanned it, and it is fine.”
She got to her feet and looked down. “Ah, this suit should be fine.”
She went to the exit, opened the outer door and stumbled back, spitting. “Okay, that is going to have to wait. Sand storm.”
Rocky’s voice sounded. “Not a sand storm, the biological materials for the first planting are arriving. The ship is fairly large and very close to the island. It will be past in a moment.”
She dusted herself off, and Rumble shook the dust off his fluff. “Okay, cup of tea while I wait it is.”
Rocky spoke softly, “Perhaps you should head to medical for a scan, now that you have bonded to your Yaluthu.”
“His name is Rumble, but sure. I am on my way.”
She excused herself and headed to medical. She tried to get Rumble off her shoulder, but he was firmly attached. He growled when she tried to take him off.
“Fine. He’s coming into the scanner with me.”
“Good. It will be interesting to see him in action. You know the drill.”
She settled on her mark, raised her arms forward and gripped the handhold, and the scan began.
Rumble made a concerned sound and cuddled against her head, so she sent a warm and comforting thought to him, holding as still as she could.
“Adelheid, we are done.”
She sighed, soothed Rumble, and left the scanner. “So, what does the scan show?”
Rokar was in the room with her, and he was looking at the results. “It shows that I am an idiot and that I should have allowed the damned thing here sooner.”
She peered around him and looked at the baseline scan taken thirty years earlier. “Wow. Aside from the huge fluffy growth on my shoulder, I am reading normal right now.”
“Not quite, but you are calm and your brain is having time to repair itself from the stresses of your talent.”
She leaned against him and smiled when Rumble did the same.
“Why didn’t you want him here?”
“They self-replicate. He will moult, gorge, and his meal will go from seed to meat, and then, there will be an unknown number of offspring. He will complete his metamorphosis and end up as a raptor.”
She smiled, “What is his lifespan?”
“What is your lifespan? They live as long as their bonded companion.”
She blinked. “Seriously? I would have been dreaming of Yaluthu as a child if I had known they existed.”