Jason woke up from a dead sleep when his wrist started vibrating. He tapped it and saw it was an incoming call from Sol system, but not military band. He tapped the projected hologram and a pale woman’s face appeared. She had long black hair and golden eyes. His heart nearly stopped when he saw her face. He’d only met her once. They hadn’t spoken since. She spoke and it was the same firm, imposing tone he’d heard before.
“Hello, Mr. Wanjala. I trust all is well?”
He stammered a few times before speaking.
“Isis… what… why are you calling?”
She looked him up and down with her golden eyes. He felt much like he did when they’d met in person, like a predatory cat was sizing him up to determine what kind of meal he would make, and not in the sexual way.
“I met the child. She has grown. You put her at risk. Our arrangement was that she would be loved, kept safe and out of harm’s way. You begged us for a child when you did not win the child lottery. You said your wife was desperate for one, you swore the child would never know a world without love, that she would be safe. And last evening she arrives with a gaping wound in her abdomen. You understand I gave birth to her. Part of me exists in her. I made a promise you have made me break that promise.”
Jason felt like he was trapped between two opposing predators. On both sides stood ancient vampires. Of the two Isis frightened him more. The other seemed quite pleasant but could make his life a living hell should she choose.
“The president told me she needed to be recruited to the military. I was just doing what she said. She said it was important. She also told me she needed to go on the patrol yesterday. What am I supposed to do? Say no?”
Isis’s lips pursed.
“I see. Did she happen to mention why these two things needed to happen?”
Jason shook his head.
“Very well. I will investigate. Mr. Wanjala, the child must never know her true origins. One of your military’s medical staff told her she is a dhampir. She will have questions. You will handle them. Or there will be consequences. Do you understand?”
Jason nodded.
“I understand.
*****
Saint Sarah of Savia Secondary School, Eden Prime Colony
Allison was bopping her head to a song that only existed there, it was a song from the last Bollywood holo-remake she’d seen. The colony of Eden Prime was primarily made up of people of African, middle eastern and Indian descent. The culture reflected that. A lot of the music and other media that was consumed were of that cultural heritage as well. There was other media of course, the Alliance-net spanned two galaxies and thirty star systems split between them. Allison could easily watch a music video from NAFTA dome, or a surfing video from the Pleasure Domes scattered throughout the alliance. She tended to stick with the music her parents and friends listened to. She spoke several African languages, Hindi and the Alliance standard of the colony which was mostly English with a few Swahili, Hindi and Bengali words mixed in.
Usually, she would be more dour about having to go to school but after the exhilarating patrol she’d experienced the day before and, came through it mostly unscathed she was on top of the world and the song from the last movie was a celebratory one about a woman’s betrothed returning from war. She felt like jumping around and waving her hands like they had in the movie today. When Tyler bumped into her while staring at the floor and trying to get to his locker she winched slightly because she was still healing from the injury, but she just moved to the side and forced herself not to skip towards Sister Silra’s classroom. She missed the other students staring at her and their soft whispers.
She sat at her desk. Tyler arrived just after her and sat beside her. The rest of the homeroom class filed in one after the other. To Allison’s surprise Trixie took her seat just before she would have been late. Allison didn’t care. Not much would dull her mood today. Even with her full flight status currently revoked she would be hard pressed to find something to be upset about. That was standard for an injured pilot. They didn’t want someone with a recent injury out on solo patrol. Though it occurred to her after her last patrol she’d be lucky if her dad let her off world before she was in her thirties. Her golden eyes focused on the holo-projection at the front of the class. Sister Silra was discussing why charitable work was central to the proper worship of the Dark Mother.
The rest of the morning passed the same way. She was in such a good mood Trixie’s verbal jabs in the hallway and Ajay’s glares did little to dull the shine on her day. Tyler sat down across from her at lunch straight away. She even nodded to him politely which is far more then she would usually do to acknowledge someone’s presence. Ajay’s two minions and Besho showed up seeming to be intent on causing trouble for Tyler or herself. Something in Allison’s eyes must have scared them away because they beat a hasty retreat when she looked at them and smiled. Tyler didn’t even notice how close he came to an attempt to make his day worse with a bit of bullying. The pair said nothing for the entire lunch. Both were lost in their own thoughts.
Allison was starting to get ready to head to her afternoon class and knocked her tray by accident and her silverware clanged as they hit the floor. She reached down and winced. Apparently, she could walk and sit just fine but anything that required flexibility caused pain to shoot through her from her injury. Tyler seemed to have noticed her discomfort and crouched down picking up the knife and fork. He put them in Allison’s hand, his fingers touched her palm, and she felt a tingle. Tyler looked uncomfortable at the touch and grabbed his tray and retreated. She didn’t even get a chance to say thank you. She shook her head and picked up her tray.
“Weird kid.”
As Allison started her afternoon classes, she was thankful for one blessing above all others. Her mother was so used to her not having access to a communications device at school she didn’t bother calling her holo-phone. She was not looking forward to seeing her that night. When she remembered she needed to sign up for the Newcomer Welcomer onboarding session after school that night she was extremely happy. Tyler continued to sit near her in every single class. The only class they were not near each other was Gym, and that was likely because she was forced to sit out. Her injury was classified yet still the military found a way to pass along she should not be taking part in any physical education for a few days.
They were playing outdoors. Allison had forgotten she had not used her usual coating of sun block until they were halfway through the period and she panicked suddenly and ran inside. She looked at her skin but it was still the pale white it always was. The solar radiation of Eden Prime’s sun was not kind to those of European descent. Especially the pale ones. She should have been red already and burning up. She looked in the mirror in the girls’ changing room her face looked fine as well. She had no reason to assume it was more than a fluke, maybe it was a low radiation day. She stripped down and rushed to the sun block dispenser and requested a coating. Nothing happened.
“Why isn’t the sun block working?”
The school’s computer helpfully communicated with her.
“Your biofile was recently updated. As a dhampir you are immune to the solar radiation produced by Eden Prime’s sun. You may proceed outside.”
Allison blinked a few times. She’d heard the word before. The doctor had mentioned something to do with vampire blood. She shook her head and pulled her uniform back on. By the time she got back outside Tyler was sitting on the bleachers, his knees and elbows were scraped up. Allison sat down beside him. He looked up and saw who it was and immediately found a spot on the blue-green grass to stare at. Allison shook her head and looked out to the field. They were playing soccer today. When it came to classes, she was good at only three, math, science and gym. The rest she could muddle through, but she was no genius.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“Who was it?”
Tyler looked behind himself as if trying to figure out who Allison was talking too. He adjusted his glasses.
“Ajay and Sam.”
Allison nodded.
“Yep, figures.”
The ball came to the side of the field they were on. Allison hopped off the bleachers. Leth was holding out his hands expecting her to throw it to him because he was closest. Allison had other plans which she might regret but she did it anyway. She pulled her foot back and kicked the ball hard. Ajay wasn’t looking and took it to the side of his face. He went flying three feet and hit the ground hard. She blinked. He wasn’t getting up. She blushed and went back to her seat. She hadn’t quite expected that result. Maybe some redness. Not a KO and dirt nap. She sat back down and winced. Yep, she shouldn’t have exerted herself that much. She looked at her blouse to make sure it wasn’t turning red because she reopened the wound. She was relieved to see no blood. Tyler stared at her for several seconds. She shrugged.
“Next time he should remember who he’s pissed off recently.”
Tyler adjusted his glasses again.
“Mr. Jane said you’d hurt your ankle so you should sit out, but you seem to have an injury to your abdomen. I saw three kids following you last night, because of me, did they hurt you?”
Allison shook her head.
“No, they ran away when I noticed them. My fighter might have also told them she was authorized to use lethal means to protect me.”
Tyler seemed to be more interested in her after she mentioned her fighter.
“Your fighter… spoke to them?”
Allison pushed her auburn bangs out of her face and behind her ears.
“Of course, all Synthlin fighters have AI’s built in. Mine is named Bit, she’s well, she’s my best friend.”
Tyler adjusted his glasses again, they had slid down his nose.
“But she’s an alien intelligence? How do you relate to each other?”
Allison shrugged.
“How should I know? She gets me, and I get her. There’s a mental link we can activate if we want to between us we can hear each other’s thoughts, feel each other’s emotions. It ties us closer together, like a symbiotic relationship. She’s had other pilots but most humans can’t manage a neural link without some sort of hardware. And they have no hope with a Synthlin fighter. I’m weird. System’s Alliance R&D said some technobabble I wasn’t really paying attention.”
“Are you linked with her now?”
Allison made a face.
“No, why would I be? She’s sitting in a hanger in sleep mode until I need her. I mean we talk on hololink sometimes, but she spends most of her time in sleep mode when she’s not needed. She says she’s sat around alone enough for one AI’s lifetime.”
Tyler inched closer.
“If the bullies didn’t hurt you… who did?”
Allison shook her head.
“I’m not hurt. I just slept wrong.”
Tyler adjusted his glasses.
“Why are you lying?”
Allison quirked her head to the side.
“Well, if I were lying it would probably because whatever happened is something I’m not allowed to talk about.”
“Oh, I see. You smell different then yesterday.”
Allison blinked a few times.
“What?”
“You smelled like coconuts yesterday, now you smell like ash.”
“Wow, that is the strangest thing I’ve ever heard someone say to me.”
Allison stood up and moved away from Tyler, she leaned on a chain link fence shaking her head. Tyler looked confused, possibly a bit hurt. Allison didn’t care, commenting on someone’s scent was just weird. The class came to an end. Allison didn’t wait around. She headed straight to the onboarding she’d signed up for. Pretty much what she expected. Show the newbies around the colony try to be friends. Generally, make the newcomers feel connected to the colony. The motto for the volunteer organization was: Forward Together. It was basically the System’s Alliance way of manipulating people into putting roots down on the colony worlds. As they were leaving she was sent a message containing her newcomer. She groaned. She had half expected Tyler, but she was never that lucky. It was a photo of Trixie and her name Beatrice Wallace. She looked up and spoke.
“Dark Mother if I have done something to offend you couldn’t you just kill me instead?”
She heard the rapid tap of an amused Sauroid’s tail behind her. Which should be no surprise Sister Silra and her husband were the organizers of the onboarding. Sister Silra’s amusement showed in her voice.
“Ah, the Dark Mother and her Father often put us in places we do not want to be, but are where we need to be, my young friend.”
Allison turned to the sister.
“Yes, but you put me in this place, not her or her father.”
Sister Silra shook her head.
“No Allison, the computer put people who it decided would make good friends in a pool together then selected random names.”
Allison held up her wrist.
“Obviously the computer is broken.”
Sister Silra’s tail slapped on the tiled floor again.
“You human teenagers are always so dramatic. You never gave her a chance.”
Allison narrowed her eyes.
“I didn’t give her a chance? She accused me of helping enslave the entire human race because I joined the military. She does know who my parents are right?”
Sister Silra put her arm around Allison’s shoulders.
“Old wounds still fester within the people of the Earth Sphere. Just as they do on the Origin Sphere. Some of my people still see only the enemy when they look at the people of eternal night.”
Allison sighed.
“Yes, but it’s only been like twenty years for you, it’s been a thousand for us. Yet she looks at me, sees the color of my skin and calls me a slaver? No one cares about skin color, these days, you don’t like it? Change it. Bet she assumes I picked this look.”
Sister Silra patted Allison’s shoulder.
“Assumptions and miscommunication are what this organization are meant to avoid. Give it a try, please?”
Allison sighed.
“Not for her sake, just because you asked, Sister and I need to make amends for acting out in your class.”
Sister Silra nodded and released Allison’s shoulders.
“Now I believe you should be getting home, after the news report I saw it seems like your mother might want a word or two with you.”
Allison shook her head.
“Maybe I should go introduce myself to Trixie tonight.”
Sister Silra’s tail slapped the tiles again and she chuckled.
“You have time, young sister. Go, I’m sure your mother will be proud of you, on the Origin Sphere such deeds would earn you an award from the Council of Gray scales.”
Allison rolled her eyes.
“Here it just gets you yelled at and lectured, and probably grounded in more ways than one.”
Sister Silra patted Allison’s shoulder one last time and released the teenager. Allison left the school proper and waited for public transit.
*****
Maria looked up from the tablet she was reading over when she noticed someone watching her. She wasn’t surprised to see golden eyes looking down at her. She was expecting this visit. Few beings could get access to her so easily. Only two had any chance, her niece Eyre and Isis, the oldest vampire that still existed. Maria put down her stylus.
“Isis, how may I help you tonight?”
Isis leaned on the desk her marble like fingers spread out. She was showing an uncharacteristic amount of emotion for an ancient vampire.
“I thought we agreed the child would be free to forge her own destiny.”
Maria nodded.
“We did, that was before I realized my sister left me this.”
Maria tossed a tablet in front of Isis. Isis picked it up and started reading through it her eyes growing wider with each line. She put it down.
“How? She didn’t even know she existed.”
Isis dropped the tablet on Maria’s desk. Maria picked up and locked it in a drawer.
“With my sister anything is possible. You know what she really was… is. The text only appears when its time. I guess she didn’t want us reading ahead and spoiling the ending.”
Isis shook her head.
“This feels wrong. Your sister hated being controlled and manipulated. Why would she do this to her own child?”
Maria shrugged again.
“You know as well as I do that my sister always had a method to her madness even when it seemed like insanity. She was right, look what happened yesterday. She identified two new species, one is a possible ally, the other is definitely an unknown enemy species. A species so dangerous a young vampire would be in trouble. Whatever they are they have the ability to really hurt us. She would be dead if not for the fact her nanites activated. Would have been convenient for my sister to tell us about that considering if the System’s Alliance at large figured out what she had floating around in her blood she’d be top of the most wanted list.”
Isis nodded.
“And her latent vampire abilities activated too. I could sense it. She will realize something strange is happening soon. I warned the adoptive parents she would have questions and that they would need to find convincing answers.”
Maria sighed.
“Why will you not let us just tell them the truth? The twins deserve to know who their real parents are, that they have family.”
Isis shook her head.
“No. I gave their mother my word they would have normal lives. If they found out… if the System’s Alliance found out. Or the Church of the Dark Mother. We both agreed they’d be safer after what happened to Amee before the civil war. Mortals and their religious beliefs… it is not a good mix.”
Maria frowned.
“Neither is stupid. There are only four people in existence with eyes like yours, the twins, your daughter and yourself. You shouldn’t have shown up at Pluto station today if you wanted them to remain in the dark.”
Isis rubbed her forehead.
“I had to see her. I carried her for two years in my womb. It feels like I gave away a part of myself. She won’t remember I erased her memories.”
“You forget who her mother was. She is likely immune to most mental manipulation by vampiric powers. She was also wearing contacts that record everything. You’re just lucky I managed to delete the files containing you before the military got ahold of them. It was careless, especially for you. I don’t remember having children but I don’t think I was ever that reckless for them.”
Isis laughed.
“You took on a Roman legion to protect your grandniece and her unborn child. I assure you, you were that reckless. You are right, I’ll need to be more cautious going forward. I heard she was hurt. I know what she is and what she has floating in her blood. It shouldn’t have been possible.”
Maria lifted up her tablet and showed video of the alien that attacked Allison.
“If there are more of these out there, we have far more to be concerned about then Allison Aurelius finding out who she really is.”