“Yes, she got her track. Yes it’s enforcer related. You know I’m not going to talk about it over the network. She’s also applying herself at alchemy. No.”
I wake up to hearing Marcella yelling at someone.
“I said no. You can wait until tomorrow after she recovers!” She’s got her head in her hands when I sit up.
“Are you okay?”
“Sorry Kimber, I should have taken that call somewhere else. The Boss is demanding to see you.”
I walk over and hug her from behind. “I’m not that big a deal, what’s going on?”
“Heh, don’t underestimate your accomplishments. You’re half right though. You were last to initialize, but you and Marcus got Tracks yesterday. Medvedev wants to analyze your sheets for himself and Parker’s been whining about you stabbing him for months. All in all, I expect it to be a chaotic-stupid encounter.”
“Leave it to criminals to ruin my good day with bureaucracy.” I mumble into her back.
“Yeah, I expect to get a call later when he’s calmed down. Probably agree to some kind of congrats dinner plus meeting. He likes forcing people to act against their nature by offering a polite gesture with a distasteful order.”
“If you helped put him at the top, why do you take this from him?” She stands and pulls me over her shoulder to slam us both on to the bed. She suppresses my squirming to free myself and we settle with her half laying on me.
“It’s a tough spot for both of us Kimber. He needs to enforce his authority to keep face with the rest of the officers, and I itch for independence but don’t want to be in charge. In essence, my presence lends to his authority, so if I behave, he humors my projects and defends me to the other officers.”
I make heaving gestures, enjoying the frown I get for bouncing her around. “Politics are yucky.”
“As much as I would like to shield you under my wing forever, tonight you’ll have attention of your own to handle as Kimber Novarro instead of my protegee. You going to be ready for that?”
I lick my pinky and shove it in her ear.
“GYAAH! You’re so gross!” She leaps away from me, trying to wipe the spit from inside her ear.
“Not grosser than politics!” I stick my tongue out and grunt at her with indignance.
“You owe me a tonic for your nasty germs.” That comment breaks my ability to take my offense seriously and I just start laughing.
“I’m really glad you picked me.”
“Me too, Kimber. Me too.”
***
I decide to make more balm, but there’s a restorative variant that uses blood. It takes a few extra steps for separating the solids out of the blood, but it seems doable for my level. At the low-heat evaporation stage for the oil extraction, I set up a form and a Bunsen burner for a side project I’ve moved to.
I half-fill a box with molding sand, jab in my favorite glass stirrers and then pack the rest of the box with moist sand. I set a crucible on a ring stand above the burner and toss clipped and coiled wire in the cup. I pull the glass rods and pour a crucible of copper in each of the resultant holes. Don’t get me wrong, I like the rustic whisk I made, but I won’t always have time to clean my aether transfer implement between steps.
The copper rods are rough, but they are straight. I like the bulbous ends on some of my glass stirrers so I try heating the flattened top of one of the pours and see if I can round it in the flame. When the copper is bright and starts flopping, I round it out on the stainless steel table and smile at the cute little lumpy boy. I sand and lap the rods then throw them in the autoclave with the other tools I used.
The aether imbuement comes in two steps this time. First, adding aether to the extract when adding the blood is supposed to keep precipitants from falling out, having to focus on teamwork and togetherness. So I think of me and Marcella when we’re at the gym or bantering in the room. I get a slightly different color than described in the book, but the mix is a clear purple. With that success I’m emboldened to mix it with the liquid fat with another aether infusion.
I of course had to stuff myself with aether products to manage the infusion, and in the process discovered that it is unlikely that I will ever be at risk of accidental aether poisoning. Watching the color deepen back into the vibrant lavender that the mixture was before adding it into the fat. Neat. I write the color variant in my notebook, enjoying having something physical to write in as well as the inserts Tova has written in my digital copies. She’s rightly decided to keep my musings out of that copy, such as ‘I wonder if the kind of blood I use matters?’
Alright, seems the chat bubble in my HUD with an up arrow through it is solid yellow . . . skill upgrades? Can we have it flashing for new skill acquisition as well? It starts flashing yellow just before Tova displays the messages.
/Alterations that lead to success reward additional experience.
Alterations? What did I change? Sure I used my blood, instead of maybe animal blood, but that shouldn’t have changed the recipe.
Your aether is aligned now. The book recommends un-aligned aether, perhaps for this reason.
Hmm, I’ll have to see if we can un-align some when I have more time? Maybe we can get a glossary of aether or something. Not that I have time to look now. Marcella wants to head back to the Organization’s casino after lunch. I didn’t bring any of my nice clothes here, so I’ll have to change when we get there, or order new here? That seems wasteful though, since I don’t even know if I’ve stopped growing now.
I message Danielle and CC Marcella on that little nugget of a question. I stuff a tin of the new balm in my hoodie pouch and make my way back up to the room for a shower.
I put on gym clothes and a loose t-shirt with my sneakers then stuff the rest into my slightly compressed space backpack. I never go anywhere without this thing. When I walk out, Marcella is sitting on the bed with two food boxes, waiting for me.
“Great! You’re ready to go. A car is waiting for us.” She stands and hands me a box.
“Are you serious? I thought you said we’d be invited for dinner.”
“I forgot how petty he can be when I tell him no. He’s organized a meet and greet for the four sponsored kids and some other promising trainees for all leadership. He’ll likely let everyone know I was the one that caused this inconvenience.” She pulls me out the door and toward the elevator.
“I take it we’re in a hurry because we both need to change and the event is in less than an hour?”
“See? Clever. We need to be 15 minutes early, and I already ordered you new clothes.” She pushes me into the back seat and starts digging into her lunch as she climbs in after.
I want to throw something at her, but if she’s brought me food, then we’re likely not going to get a decent amount of food at the event. There are no aether foods in the box, and I don’t want to pay a delivery fee for a bottle of juice. Bah, I guess I can wait until we get to a terminal.
Sister dearest takes pity on me and allows me to grab some jerky and a jug of juice to pound while I get ready for a spite-based get-together. There are two suits laid out on the bed, one is a black pin with a maroon shirt that has white cuffs and collar. The smaller one is a deep maroon with a faded bronze shirt with white collar and cuffs. Hells, Marcella, these are gorgeous.
We both dress quickly and after she slides her pumps on, she hands me some nice zip-up boots. The leather is soft and flexible and feels amazing, as do the fine clothes. She definitely spent the money to have me match her in color and quality.
“Not going to put on the Jacket?” She asks as she slides her jacket over her shoulders.
“If that’s what we’re going for, sure. Otherwise, could you braid my hair while I look for an accessory?”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
She tilts her head in curiosity, “Well, you’ve caught my interest.” She says, grabbing my hair up and begins to braid.
I look through hats and put maroon as a filter, I scroll for a few seconds to find what looks like the perfect match. I scream internally at the 13 credit price, but select it and pay the Mark delivery fee. I hear a soft poof a few seconds later, but Marcella jerks my hair when I go to retrieve it.
“There, finished. Now let us see that accessory.”
I smile as I walk forward and lean over to roll the bowler with a white band onto my head. I give it one pat down and turn to see my Mentor.
“Mmm, I like it, roll up your sleeves a little and let’s go.”
We take the elevator down to the third floor and the East Ballroom. A bunch of folk are milling about, but none of them seem dressed up like we are. Are we sending a message? Or are these people just gossips? Marcella doesn’t so much as pause on our way to the ballroom doors, so quick step to the door and open it for her, following closely after.
A large spread of food, ornately covered stand-up tables and a string quartet are present to view our arrival, but few people beside the event staff are present.
“Good. We’re first among the officers. It’s fun when they see me talking to the ley folk and think I’m fomenting rebellion. I don’t do betrayal, but it’s still fun to ruffle some feathers.”
“I’m remain amazed that you’re still a part of this Organization.”
“Eh, I got to meet you. Worth it in my opinion.”
My chest fills with gratitude and I almost miss it when another person comes to talk to us. Marcella mutters something and the girl rushes off. “Gosh, if you keep saying such sweet things, I might just get attached to you or something.”
“Pfft. I already know you, weirdo. Like I know that you won’t take a private room because you don’t like to sleep alone.” I punch her in the hip.
“I love you too, ass.” A server comes by as I’m swearing at her and gives me a death glare. What did I do?
She sets down and lines up two rows of sparkling liquid and a man comes up behind her and sets down an array of small bites. I toss them a Mark each and they scamper off. I just hope that gets us treated well for the whole event and they don’t expect that tip for every visit.
I start mowing down on the mushroom and meat things, and the tomato and cheese on bread things are also tasty. Marcella elbows me, probably for attacking the food instead of being fancy about it. Fine, I straighten up and start sipping the sparkly stuff. Kind of sweet, kind of tart, not bad.
“Go easy on that kiddo, I do not want you drunk in front of these people.”
“Then why would you line them up in front of me.?”
She shrugs, “You’re not really an adult, but I’m also not your mother.”
“And I appreciate you not trying to be.” I tilt my glass at her and take another sip.
Watching other groups of people walk in with uncertainty is just as entertaining as Marcella said it would be. Kids my age with patrons come in looking between us and the event staff wondering if they should go back and change. When the officers trickle in, they know the game and dressed up for the occasion. Marcus and Bell are dressed in matching color schemes as they enter the room with who I assume are their sponsors behind them. I stop being able to focus on anything else when I see Bell in a blue ballgown—its full, flowy and absolutely her.
I don’t know who dressed her, but they are certainly leaning into the young, sweet, and innocent vibe. She looks around with a sense of wonder until she spots me across the room. A keen interest is betrayed in how long she looks and then turns to whisper to her patron. He then talks to the other officer and they both make their ways over to us. I nudge Marcella to grab her attention.
“Greetings Gentlemen, and Miss Gooding, how are you on this fine afternoon?” Her tone and her expression are not in synch. It makes me smile that she can sound so cordial and look completely disenchanted.
“As can be expected, Lady Fontaine, who might this dashing young lady be?”
“Kimber Novarro,” I announce with a bow, “Well-met gents.” I touch my hat toward my ex, “Bell.”
The astonished look on their faces at my new appearance is satisfying.
“The experiment I put her through had some interesting results. She and I are quite satisfied with the outcome though.” She reaches over and holds out a glass to Bell’s sponsor. “Champagne?”
“Will we be privy to the details of the experiment?” Marcus’ sponsor asks while moving to grab a glass and a stuffed mushroom.
“Eventually. Kimber was but one subject, and the doctor in charge is loath to make statements until the data is analyzed. Though I am confident that this year’s crop of selectees would benefit.”
“What about our protegees? Can we help advance them with these methods?”
Wow, talk about desperate to stay ahead. I guess they can see the considerable changes besides my face.
“Afraid not. Or at least not for a while. Sorry gents. Though I do hear that Belle is making great strides with Marcus.” She tips her glass and grabs another, a sly grin curling her lips as she sheds the burden of conversation.
“Oh yes! Quite. It seems that her work with Kimber opened a path to identify what Marcus needed help with. She has become quite the prodigy.”
“Yes, and Marcus has been making surprising strides in reforming the males of the general populace during our efforts to socialize his discomfort away.”
“No shit? Good work Marcus. The world needs fewer perverts.” I reach forward to shake his hand and he actually takes it. I smile big at that and return to my spot. “Belle. Glad your job is working out for you.”
Bell’s neutral face cracks a little when I say that with a dismissive tone. Never thought I’d be petty about it, but here we are. I try to get a better understanding of what I’m seeing and a sense of regret leaks out for just a moment.
Huh. So maybe she really does think she bailed for her own good. Doesn’t fix things, but feels better that she might not have lied to my face. Nope, don’t feel sorry for her, she made her choices and I made mine.
“So do either of you know what the Boss has planned?”
“Not specifically, but rumor has it He’s going to praise and embarrass, per usual.”
“Even money on embarrassing us?” I say before I can think better of it. Marcella scowls at me and the man behind Marcus gleams in anticipation.
“I’ll take that bet. Say 100 credits?” I look up at Marcella.
“I’ll witness the bet, but this is on you kid.”
I sigh. “How about 50? I spent a lot on crafting supplies this week.”
He nods, “A common malady, 50 it is.”
“Witnessed.” She says.
“And twice is a contract,” the man behind Bell adds. A brief flash and a quiet pop happen before me and something round lands in my hand.
I look down to see a roll of paper wrapped with a ribbon. I unroll it and find the terms of our bet. What the hell? I gesture it toward Marcella and she takes it in hand for a read. She bends over to whisper in my ear.
“I think I’m going to like your Track, Hermana.”
“Why, what is it?”
Her grin turns sinister before saying, “Justice.”
The man who took my bet blanched when he read it and dropped the page like it bit him. He left dragging the other three with him, the other officer chuckling.
“Did I just manifest a binding contract?”
“Seems so, but he rarely honors bets he loses. It would be Justice to see him forced into it. I’m hoping that’s why, or you are going to be run ragged with interdepartmental requests for assistance.”
“In the effort of transparency, I may be developing magical brain powers too?”
“Yikes, not the time to talk about it, and you need to hide from anything you share from your sheet. The aether stuff too. If anyone asks, I’m supplying you with crystals for the Alchemy.”
Hear that Tova?
Yes, and I will reduce the data to include only three talents and hide any skill related to mental and aether abilities.
Have a second set ready that shows some aether abilities and skills in case someone calls bullshit on me having no magic. I just manifested a contract after all. She chirps in confirmation.
The next half hour sees the two of us looking around for Parker and Jamie and her patron. Medvedev is also clearly missing. Marcella gets a message that pisses her off, and she takes off toward the lobby without me. Well, guess I’ll head to the food and walk around.
“Hey stranger.” I turn around to see a brunette about my height, bright green eyes and a matching sparkly dress. She looks familiar but I can’t place it. “Perhaps if you had a cookie and my hands were like this?” She puts her hands behind her back and looks up at me.
With the cookie hint it clicks. “No way! Jamie, how are you? Sorry about that interrogation.”
Immediately I can tell she appreciates that I remember her. “No need. I learned a lot in that course, and I think you slapped some sense into me.”
I take a deep breath and try not to feel too guilty about that, “Looks like the past few months have treated you well.”
“Same to you. If it weren’t for the rolled cuffs and the body language, I wouldn’t have recognized you.” She reaches over to squeeze my arm and I unconsciously flex for her. The hell am I doing? “How’ve you been?”
“That’s a lot to cover, Jamie.”
“I have time for you.” Oh em gee. I think she’s flirting with me! Do I want that? I dunno. How does it feel? Pretty good, honestly. I shrug mentally and physically.
“Come back to my table and have a glass,” I hook my arm out like the movies show the boys to and she takes my elbow. I feel a tingle up my arm and it makes me giggle.
Jamie takes a sip and her face brightens and takes another. “So, you were about to tell me about you?”
“Nice segue. After the warehouse, I got put on Harlow’s team as a sniper and lookout. Ran with them for a few months, got to play with explosives and rockets, but only sat in on one interrogation. Got thrown halfway up a building once too, that was frightening. It was a good time, I learned a ton, but I was glad to get back to Vegas.”
“That was you? The big guy on Harlow’s team would not shut up about a suicidal kid that watched too many action movies. That team only ever referred to you as ‘the Kid’.”
“You met them? How are they doing?” I take a sip, but am sad there are no more snacks over here.
“A few times. They dragged a bunch of people back to Barstow and most of our interrogation class filtered through interrogating the goons they captured. I got offered to interview for a few squads after we finish our CQB course.”
“Still in that? I though that was supposed to end two weeks ago.”
She shakes her head, “We only came back from Barstow a week ago.”
“Daaang. No wonder you look so skinny.”
She smirks at me and rolls her eyes.
“How long are you back for?”
“Six weeks, then I figure I do the interviews and work on getting level 8 and my next modules.”
“Oh yah? Did you pick grindable hobbies?”
“That’s a bit of a personal question, Kimber.” She says with a straight face.
“Are we not getting personal? Jamie?” Her pixie cut is the only part of her that doesn’t blush. She looks away from me and I can’t help but think about how cute it is. I start laughing and apologies.
“I’m sorry, that was too much. I’m ridiculous sometimes.”
She looks up at me again. “I don’t mind. You just caught me by surprise. I’d like if we could see more of each other?”
She is flirting with me! This is so exciting. What do I do now? “I would too. But I really have no idea what people are supposed to do with their free time.”
She laughs at me with mirth in her heart, “I would be happy to show you.”