ShakenandStirred by Viola Grace Page A

Dalpha, but only if they gave themselves over to the government for experimentation. With this many witnesses, Tosha was only going to have one destiny ahead of her. Life in the lab. Her hidden talent for shifting a planet's crust was now out in the open.
    The whirring windstorm lifted off and did the most peculiar thing. It pressed against the wall of the cliff and began to throw dirt and debris from inside the cliff face outward. It was making them a pathway.
    With the beetles finally turning around to raid their normal food sources, having lost half their number to the fissure, Tosha and Alara joined the crowd waiting until the wafting air of the higher reaches came through the opening.
    None of the previously friendly tourists was willing to speak to her, so Tosha grimly faced her fate as soon as they reached the shuttle and returned to Dalpha.
    The whirling windstorm was off to one side, humming idly as it spun. It was not a force of nature but rather one of will. Tosha could tell.
    Alara smiled at Tosha. "I think the tornado has a crush on you."
    She looked at her cousin and tried to determine if the stress had cracked her mind. "You have to be kidding."
    "No, I am not. I called ahead."
    Alara J'tak's cryptic words would not make sense to the other tourists waiting to get on the shuttle, but Tosha knew what she meant. "You can't be serious."
    "Yes, I can. I think you should be standing ten feet to the left, however. Don't worry, I will see you soon." Alara smiled as Tosha started backing away from her.
    Tosha knew that she was not the only talent in the family, but for Alara to go on a limb for her was touching. She would be questioned, but she was ready for it, the surety blazed in her eyes.
    The moment she was clear of the crowd, the mysterious whirlwind started moving. Tosha closed her eyes as the wind threw grit and dirt into the air. She lost her breath for a moment before two strong arms lifted her in the air. She opened her eyes in surprise to see a man in the centre of the storm.
    "Hello." It was silly, but there was nothing else to say as his solid blue eyes smiled down at her.
    "Greetings. Hold tight, we are going airborne."
    She held perfectly still as the whirling surrounded them. With her eyes focussed on her rescuer, she kept herself calm as they passed above the shuttle and into the hills beyond. When they touched down, she was able to breathe again.
    Tosha was trembling uncontrollably. "That was…"
    He chuckled. "You get used to it. I am Vortex. May I confirm your name?"
    "Tosha C'sar. Thank you, but where are you taking me?"
    He let out a sharp whistle and a ship appeared in front of them. A shuttle with sleek and graceful lines gleaming in the daylight.
    "I am taking you to safety. Your cousin sent an urgent message to the Sector Guard requesting that someone be here today. She was vague, but our own seers confirmed that something would happen here to benefit Teklan base. Here you are."
    The shuttle opened at Vortex's approach. She was a little surprised to find herself enjoying the novel sensation of being carried. He placed her gently in the nav station and she buckled in out of reflex.
    "Not that I am not grateful, but what the hell is going on here?" She turned and faced him.
    He laughed as he struck a few keys to start the atmospheric action of the shuttle. They lifted off with no sound and he filled her in. "You are being invited to join the Sector Guard. But, given the Dalpha propensity for caging its talents, we thought to get to you before they did."
    "What of my cousin?" Their height was now such that she could see the tour shuttle on the ground. One lone figure staring up at the sky with patience.
    "She will be seen to but through other channels." Vortex banked sharply and struck a few toggles. "We are going to stealth now. It makes the ship rather twitchy, but she can handle it."
    Tosha scowled, "What do you mean other channels ?"
    "I don't know. It is what I was told. You don't need to