CalltheMoon by Viola Grace Page B

her lack of physical talent for the last time.
    “Naka Gwyn?”
    She stared at the man, his horns reflected the minimal light in the space. His skin was deep red, hair black and woven into minute braids tipped with silver bands. She didn’t look at the half dozen guardsmen that had guns trained on her, this stranger took up all her senses.
    “Are you Naka Gwyn?” The man was impatient. His sensuous lips were flattened in displeasure.
    “I am.” Her instinct was to curtsy for some reason, but she held back and lifted her head.
    “Come with me. We have a ship to catch.” He held out his hand, and the dark robes he wore slid back to expose a heavy metal cuff on his wrist. It had an ornate pattern on it that she would have loved to explore, but his impatience was palpable.
    With a feeling of finality, she placed her small, pale hand in his larger burgundy grip, and he closed his digits around hers, turning and simply walking away from the dome.
    She felt ridiculous as he hauled her along the barren flats toward a shuttle. Her mind screamed a thousand insults at his back during their journey. She hated being treated like a child.
    When they entered the shuttle, she noted that it was geared for his body, his height, the breadth of his shoulders, everything was meant for someone of his physical presence. She felt like a child in the seat next to the pilot’s controls, but she let him buckle her in place for the journey.
    Her life had ended the moment that they put the suit on her, so wherever she was going now was bound to be an improvement on jogging through a dead city to keep her mind out of the planet’s crust.
    It had been such a little earthquake, after all.

Chapter Two
    Viiko sighed. The puny, pale creature next to him did not look strong enough to rip a planet apart, but that is what the Resicor file was stating. According to her own world, Naka Gwyn was a deadly creature that had to be removed or destroyed.
    The Citadel had stepped in and offered to take the unstable woman off their hands. It had taken quite a few communications, but finally, they had gotten in touch with Viiko. When her circumstances were explained, he agreed to acquire her for the Citadel, but his agreement did not pass that. He would take her to Teklan, get her suit reprogrammed and then deliver her to her assigned world.
    Piq was undeveloped, up for colonization, but very unstable. If Naka could use her talents in any way to stabilize the planet, she would earn back her rescue fee.
    The moment he had touched her, the Citadel had started running a tab for her. She would have to earn back everything they would spend on her during her training and outfitting. All food rations, shelter, equipment would all be placed on an account that she would have to earn her way out of.
    It was the same for every member of the Citadel, being part of the largest psychic guild in the Alliance had a cost but most were willing to pay it.
    Viiko sighed silently and set course for Teklan. Whatever that suit was that she was wearing, it was on record as needing some detailed work that Reset was ready and willing to provide.
    His organic assessment work on Piq had been interrupted to do this run to retrieve the woman, and he was in no mood to coddle a female who had killed her own people. The Resicor had been very specific. She was a killer.
    * * * *
    The man was silent. She didn’t even know what he was. His handling of the shuttle was no-nonsense, and she waited until her body felt oddly detached from her mind before she asked, “Where are we going?”
    “Sector Guard Base, Teklan. Your suit needs some work.” The disapproval in his tone was unmistakable.
    She blushed as she ran her hands over her slick, silvery suit. It had taken this form on its own. She had no say in the matter. Her torso was completely covered, but her legs were dressed in small swirls and jags of fabric.
    “I didn’t have a choice. They bonded it to my skin.”
    He paused slightly, his