Viky had intended to be back at her suite before Jieleem returned from work. It wasn’t a necessity; she carried his daughter, fulfilling this rotations obligation towards him and the Coalition. But it was logical to keep him on side and reasonably happy. Young couples were supposed to fall in love and be happy, whether the bonding was arranged by your elders or chosen by oneself, and Viky was not unhappy. No doubt it would all implode sooner or later, or a slow inevitable drifting away would occur. The people who had been in her life from childhood, who had watched her learn to walk and talk, and whose children and grandchildren she had played, gathered, and foraged with, had betrayed her. If she had somehow failed to inspire a single shred of loyalty, friendship, or even basic human compassion from the adults of her clan, what chance did she have with a man she had known less than half a rotation. Her parentals had loved each other, more than light, so there were exceptions. Who knew, perhaps she and Jieleem could hold each other’s hearts in their hands and not either squeeze too tight or let love slip through open fingers. But it was unrealistic to rely on that happening, foolish to trust, and so back-up plans were made.
Unfortunately losing track of time was one of her superpowers, and he was waiting for her. Again.
Jieleem stood, and gestured a greeting with a hesitant smile. She had chosen well. The parent of her child had rich, brown skin, handsome broad features and a physique that including more muscles than she had believed anatomically possible prior to bonding. The child they produced had every chance of being healthy and strong. Jieleem’s four fractals had been the deciding factor in her choice, giving her daughter every chance of inheriting powers.
“How was your day, dear heart?” Jieleem gave her the compulsory greeting kiss on the cheek and a tentative smile.
“Not too bad, you?” Viky fished the flask of Caraff from the canteen out of her backpack.
“Fine. Yeah, everything ended up okay.” Jieleem selected mugs.
“I’ve been invited to a Memorial to commemorate the death of Maddiisa’s parent tomorrow.” Why was it always her responsibility to initiate conversation?
“A memorial, that’s good. How is Maddie coping now?”
Viky didn’t know, but wasn’t going to admit that. Poring the caraff gave her the opportunity to consider an answer.
“She and Gabreel appear to have a solid friendship.”
“It hit her hard. Poor thing. Not that I guess the death of a parent is ever going to be easy. Stephaan found out she had plans to take off back to Jiuliing. She would have if we hadn’t stopped her. It was a worrying time.” Jieleem’s brow had become furrowed.
Maddie had tried to leave Stephaan? Leave Chruciaal. Break her contract and obligations. Maddie? Who always had seemed so compliant, had thought of risking her life, by going against the will of the Coalition?
“What happened? Everyone just expects me to know all about it.” Well, maybe not everyone.
“Yeah, well I guess bad news usually traves fast and it became public knowledge. Too many people involved to keep quiet.” Jieleem sighed, not pleased to need to give an explanation. Viky plastered the most appealing look she could on her face, and the big man relented.
“Maddie’s parent was a Commander on the Council in Jiuliing. You know much about Jiuliing?”
Viky shook her head. “Not as much as I’d like.”
“Well, I’ve never been there but apparently the city is divided, an old part of the city, and the newer suburbs all around. Different parts of the Council oversee various sections. It was all very unexpected. There had been some falling out between the different suburbs since creations beginning. Nothing unusual, get any two groups of Commanders together and there is bound to be some tension. No one is sure of the specific details, or if they are, we were never informed. Never heard a group claim responsibility, but nearly ninety-nine men, a third of the City Council ended up dead. Whole teams were wiped out. Maybe some of the teams started fighting and then their supporters joined in, and everything just got out of hand. Hard to say, there’s not a lot left after a body had been consumed by Phasing. Maddie’s parent, well he was well known as a skilled Phaser.”
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“But there would have been a lot of people in the city able to use Phasing.” Viky pushed a mug across to him.
“Not really, you can’t just buy a purple fractal, not like red, magenta and orange ones.”
Viky took a sip of her lukewarm beverage. That didn’t account for people who inherited the power.
“Maddie’s parent, was he specifically implicated?” She asked.
Jieleem frowned. Okay, he hadn’t understood the word ‘implicated’.
“Did they think Maddie’s parent was the one who started it, not just a Commander defending himself?”
“Yeah, maybe.” Jieleem answered slowly.
“Why? How could they tell it was him?”
“Well, you see, there are lots of different sorts of Phasing. And then your strength and ability varies depending on experience, training and how your Phasing interacts with any other fractals you have. And we all get extra training, so a man’s specific Phasing skills get known. Phasing becomes as distinct as your personal glyph. Maddie’s parent could combine Bolt and Stream, that’s almost unheard of, and it was used in the attack at the start of the battel, even against members of his own team.” Jieleem drained his mug, then stared at the dregs with regret.
“What about a person who had inherited?” Viky asked.
“Without proper training a person inheriting Phasing would end up killing themselves. It’s not like inheriting Speed or Strength, where you just need extra food and practice. Or even most of the orange Endurance family talents. Even with the best instruction Phasers have the highest death rates among trainee Commanders. We lost a teammate our in our first rotation of training and have had a few close calls since.” Jieleem stopped talking and looked sheepish, realising he may have said to much.
“Thanks for explaining, it helps me understand Maddie.”
Viky sought to slant the conversation to a socially acceptable angle. The sisterhood was supposed to be close, share secrets, but Viky was sorry she had asked. The conversation had revealed no new information and talking about Phasing and death roused morbid memories. She searched her mind for another topic of conversation.
“Do you know anything about Hunn body chains?”
“Isobeel has a set. Look extremely uncomfortable. Can see why they aren’t in fashion any longer.” Jieleem said.
“What do they look like?”
“Shiny, and gaudy. To many bright colours all together, you know, like some of the stuff you see around Chruciaal. Makes a person wonder why the artist didn’t create something useful if they had that much skill and time.”
Viky nodded, but recognised the statement was very much a reflection of the attitude of people of the Rifts. A lot of other peoples valued excessive showy ornamentation. She poured Jieleem another drink.
“What were the chains made from?”
“Sorry love; don’t know, so I can’t tell you. Lots of coloured gems involved, flashy ones, arranged to look like a plant I think. But I wasn’t paying much attention. If you’re interested I am sure Isobeel would love to show you.” Jieleem’s smile was not as forced.
Viky returned the gesture, and struggled to think of another topic for conversation. The men not knowing the Body Chains were missing would work to her advantage. Commander conditioning made it difficult for them not to think they needed to take control and with greater resources Jieleem’s team would have advantages she didn’t. Viky wanted the reward.
“Jess and I had a talk today. She wanted to reassure me that I was welcome in the Sisterhood.”
“That’s great.” Jieleem’s smile became genuine. “Jess is a good woman. It’s nice she wants to reassure you.”
A good woman, yes that described Jess. Nice. Yes, in an over syrupy sweet sycophant sort of way. But then everyone had thought her sister was nice. Viky included. Until her parentals had died, until the betrayal. And all the people of the Whip Makers Clan, she had thought them good people. Loved them, thought she was loved, until none had come to her defence. No one rallying to help when she needed them.
“It is possible she is just concerned about you.” Viky suggested. Jieleem was popular with all his teammates, did they feel sorry for him, bonded to her?
The furrow returned. “You don’t think she was trying to be helpful?”
“Why does she assume I need help?”
Jieleen shrugged. “Doesn’t everyone need help?”
Viky pursed her lips and shook her head. A lock of red hair escaped to fall softly against her cheek. They were just trying to interfere with her life. And it hurt, hurt excruciatingly, to love people and have them break your trust.
“Well, maybe, then, they need your help. Your real clever love, like, brainy, the smartest woman I’ve ever met. I am sure Jess never wanted to be the speaker for the sisterhood. She’s such a timid little thing. I bet you could help her heaps.” Jieleem went to brush the hair from her cheek, but stopped himself mid-action, unsure if it would be appreciated.
“Thank you, it’s kind of you to say so.”
Viky considered Jieleem’s words and felt foolish. What if Jess didn’t have ulterior motives? Was she even bright enough to scheme? Viky was sure she didn’t want help, but the line between interference and a genuine offer of assistance was not always easy to determine. However that was a problem for another day. For now she knew what had to be done.
Taking Jieleem’s still raised hand she drew it to her lips with a gentle kiss. His expression relaxed and a soft sigh escaped curling lips. It wasn’t necessary, but at least this part of her obligation was not the nightmare she had imagined.