Syrail has lived her whole life in the Eckobar Carnival. She travels from world to world, growing things, ensuring crops and bringing life to dead soil. Her talent for bio-forming has saved thousands of lives, but when one world does not want to let her go, the Alliance has to call in assistance. Station 13 has offered up one of its own, Hardcore, to come to her rescue. With steel for bones, Hardcore is surprised to find his heart pounding at the sight of the slight leaf-winged pixie. Something flares to life between them and the people of Porvin want it to stop.

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Hardcore Green

Copyright © 2011 Viola Grace

ISBN: 978-1-55487-816-1

Cover art by Martine Jardin

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

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Hardcore Green

A Sector Guard Crossover

By

Viola Grace

Chapter One

Sylvain popped out of the capsule she travelled in and fluffed out her wings. "Where are we today, Zigar?"

Her onsite handler smiled and checked her capsule for damage. "Porvin. We are on schedule for your ritual, three days early actually."

She stretched and flipped her thick, dark chestnut braid behind her. "Good. Why so early?"

"We caught a good solar stream. The soil looks good, you shouldn't have to work too hard to spur the growing season." He made a few notes for maintenance and gallantly offered his arm. "Would you care for an escort to your tent, M'Lady?"

"Why thank you, Zigar, that would be most welcome. Where did you put me this time?"

"Near the animal enclosures. That should cut down on your admirers."

The light of Porvin was weak, but it still caused Sylvain to blink as her eyes struggled to adapt to it. "Good thing you are leading me. I am completely blind right now."

He laughed. "Stick with me, kiddo. I won't steer you wrong."

She sighed. "How I wish that were true."

"Sure, hold that one time I forgot to retrieve your pod from orbit against me."

"Funny that I would do something so callous as to consider being floated in orbit and running out of air as a bad thing." She snorted as they passed the animals. She could tell by the smell even if everything was a series of blurs. Too much light assailed her from every angle.

"You never have had a sense of humour about that, have you?"

Despite their banter, he was moving her safely between animals, posts and people as they approached her quarters for their weeks on Porvin. "No, I took it horribly personally. Are we there yet?"

"Yes, you little weed, we are here." Zigar pressed the door closure and the rigid canvas swung open.

In the dim light, her eyes adjusted and she sighed happily that everything was in its place. "No place like home."

Zigar let her go and took a seat on one of her couches. "It is sort of sad that we consider this kind of small domicile home."

Sylvain laughed. "My home has always been with the carnival. My role has simply changed from year to year."

He stretched his legs out and flexed the multiple joints in his lower appendages. "Eckobar will be here shortly. The prefect has been extra clingy since we arrived. Watch your wings, missy, something is up."

The warning to watch her wings came from the episode when she had tangled in the trapeze the summer as a teen when she wanted to do something different at the carnival. Basically, it translated into don't do anything stupid, Sylvain.

Speaking of her wings, she rotated the bases and folded them flush to her back. "Are my clothes here yet?"

"In the trunk on your right. Shorvah will be here to help you into your gown soon." Zigar got to his feet and stretched, grazing the top of her home.

Sylvain knelt and waved goodbye as her handler went out to go about his tasks, which included finding her some food and bringing in a supply of local water so that she could synch her system to the planet beneath her.

The heavy buckles on the trunk gave way beneath her bio-print and she grunted as she lifted the lid. A rainbow of gowns was nestled on top, sandals beneath them and her pride and joy at the bottom of her trunk. Data crystals and a reader filled with images from around the Alliance filled her hands and she quickly tucked them into her desk. Shorvah was a good assistant, but it had taken Sylvain years to accumulate the vids and data files, so she wasn't taking chances on them getting broken.

Her light-assisting contacts went into her eyes with only a little struggle and she thought about the irony of a biologically stimulating talent with a specialty in plants being photosensitive. Being born in a mine had done damage to her eyes while she developed and years in the carnival had not been able to afford the repairs after she had become one of them at the age of ten. The lenses were as close as she got to normal vision.

Singing softly to herself, she selected a gown and went behind her privacy screen to strip off her pod suit and get into the gentle and feminine gown that the local peoples liked to see her in. In their minds, she became a goddess of fertility when she opened her arms and made their fields ripe and productive.

It was tricky to sling the gown low enough to fall under her wings and only stepping into it, pulling it up to her hips and then bending over to jack her wings away from her butt enabled her to tie the halter around her neck. She shifted her breasts until they were comfortable in the custom-made gown and stepped into her living area, carrying her sandals by their straps.

Shorvah came in, her eight eyes wild with excitement. "Oh, you are dressed already."

"Yes. I wanted to look around before I have to meet with anyone."

The huge l'nal took up a lot of space in her quarters, but she was faster as a dresser than any other creature in the carnival. She was in charge of each costume change and had a complete inventory of every item within her domain.

Sylvain looked up at her friend with hope and held out her sandals. "Shoes?"

The giant spider crouched and reached out to take the footwear. "Whoever designed your species didn't think things through, did they?"

"Since we still haven't figured out what the hell I am, I would have to agree with you." She held out her left foot and Shorvah had the laces in place in a matter of seconds. The right took a few seconds extra.

"You aren't going to have time to go for a walk. Eckobar is on his way with the prefect. He should be in here within two minutes." Shorvah groomed herself unconsciously, her front manipulating legs tidying her fur.

"Do you have a date?" Sylvain couldn't help but smile at the effort that Shorvah was going through.

"Well, Vostos has been casting glances in my direction. He asked me to refit his costume."

Sylvain grinned, "But, Shorvah, he performs in the nude."

A giggle came from the costume mistress. "I know."

Sylvain got to her feet and flicked out her wings. If she was getting company, it was best to greet them on her feet.

Shorvah gave her a four-eyed wink and left her alone in her quarters.

Syl gave her wings a few flutters, lifting her to her toes. Her wings had expanded in the last year and she could almost fly. Flying had haunted her dreams since childhood. It was always tantalizingly out of reach, but getting nearer with every passing day. She would be able to fly soon and then she would have a decision to make.

Would an eternity in the carnival satisfy her, or was there something greater for her out in the stars?

A knock at the doorframe was the only warning she got as Eckobar entered her private space with the prefect of Porvin in tow.

Eckobar was pale, very pale. His normally red skin was a sickly pink and his spikes were drooping slightly.

The prefect swept forward with a graceful bow. "Lady Sylvain, bringer of life, welcome back to Porvin. We have arranged other quarters for you. You will be very comfortable there."

An imperceptible nod from Eckobar told her something was horribly wrong. "Of course. Allow me to collect a few things, please. I will be happy to accompany you."

The prefect's smile was polite, but his eyes were cold. "You have one minute."

Sylvain went to her chest, grabbed a pack and got her data crystals and reader from her desk as well as contact solution and the case. "I am ready. We can go now."

The prefect politely took hold of her arm and led her out into the sun. Sylvain swallowed heavily, armed officers of Porvin were pointing weapons at the carnival staff. She was led to a skimmer and as they took off, she saw the ground-based weapons aimed at the Eckobar Carnival. They weren't going anywhere, but Sylvain was.

Chapter Two

Hardcore took the front line and guarded the crew loading the dignitaries onto the shuttle. A stun bolt struck him head on and he shrugged it off, taking aim at the shooter with precision and rendering him unconscious.

More bolts and a few projectiles struck him as he continued as a living shield for the other crewmembers.

"Hardcore, we have them. Take off in fifteen," Commander Rech called out as they finished loading the dignitaries.

Hardcore moved to block the shuttle door while returning fire. He held the attackers off until the shuttle lifted into the air and he pulled and locked the door for exiting the atmosphere exactly fifteen seconds from Rech's warning.

The dignitaries were looking at him in horror and he looked down. "Damn. Please excuse me while I find a new uniform." He nodded formally to those they had rescued and pulled a sealed pack with his uniform from storage.

The lav was occupied. So in typical fashion for a Kozue warrior, he stripped off in the middle of the shuttle and pulled on a fresh uniform. "Haunt is going to kill me."

Commander Rech laughed. "Did you trash another uniform?"

Hardcore slid into position at the navigator station and plotted their course to the jump site that would lead them to the warship waiting for their passengers. "I didn't trash it. I can't help it if they were better shots than we had anticipated."

"They need to put more armour in your suits."

"They did. Can't be helped if I get hit with acid and pulser strikes." He shrugged and worked at the data streams entering the details of the rescue. "Where are we going next?"

"Well, I have to take these good people to a relay station. You are going on a solo mission. There is a carnival being held hostage on Porvin and we need someone to go in undercover to break the eco manipulator free." Rech punched up the file. "Read up on it. We have you going in as the indestructible man."

Garoz shook his head. "What is the big deal with the eco manipulator?"

"She runs a cycle in that system and every good harvest for the last five years has been her doing. Porvin has decided that they want to keep her and that is making the other planets suffer."

Since his own sister had suffered for the decisions of others, Garoz's protective impulses immediately surged to the fore. "What does she think?"

Rech shook his head. "No one knows. No one can get near her. Even the carnival is being kept apart from her and they won't leave without her."

"Loyalty is a wonderful thing."

The commander of the strike team laughed. "Either loyalty or she has the keys to the shuttles. Either way, she is out of communication with her people and they are not happy about it."

Garoz pulled up the file and started reading. "What species is she?"

"No one can figure it out and the carnival has never sent her for testing. They are her legal owners, but there are no records of her origin." Rech punched the engines to full power and sent them spinning through the darkness. "Let's get you to the drop point. You are joining a carnival, my friend."

Garoz shifted in the costume that was taking the place of his uniform. His journey to the planet's surface had been uneventful, but getting past the blockade that was surrounding the carnival had been a matter for his stealth skills.

Now he stood in front of the carnival owner and he had to admit that the Horkin was an impressive male of his species.

"I am Garoz and I have been sent by the Sector Guard to assess the situation." He stood in front of the carnival owner and let the man take in his obviously Kozue form.

"The prefect won't allow you to remain here unless we stipulate that you were a contracted act who was delayed due to family matters. What can you do?" Eckobar's voice took on a commanding tone.

"I am the indestructible man. No matter what happens to me, I recover. Most damage that would kill others does not even break my skin." He tensed as a calculating look took over

"May I test that?" Eckobar nodded to someone behind Garoz and Hardcore felt three impacts on his spine.

"It is rather hard on my clothing to have daggers thrown at my back." He grinned and looked behind him at the multi-armed Wasku with blades in her hands.

"We have an excellent seamstress, Garoz, was it?" Eckobar extended his hand. "Welcome to the carnival. I believe I know how to get you to Sylvain, but you will have to engage in some acting."

Garoz inclined his head. "Perhaps we should engage in this discussion in private."

"Sylvain's home is probably the only place in the camp that isn't bugged. Come with me." The huge man led the way and for the first time in a long time, Garoz felt small.

The container-turned-tent was a brilliant green, an attention getting structure if ever there was one.

"Inside, please." Eckobar held the fabric door open and waved Garoz to precede him.

Garoz reached into his pack and withdrew a jammer, placing it on the centre of a low table. "Even if they are listening, nothing will make sense."

"Thank you. Have a seat."

Garoz sat and waited for his spiked host to speak. This assignment was getting very convoluted and to his mind, it hadn't even started.

"Sylvain is our biologic talent. She has the ability to stimulate growing in any plant and occasionally animal that she touches. She can also do a wave stimulation that causes whole fields to sprout and flourish."

"I see. I have been given to understand that the Porvin have taken her?"

Eckobar nodded. "A week ago. I have heard that the prefect is offering her services to the other planets for a hefty sum."

"So, she is a slave." Garoz saw a picture behind the couch and crossed the room to lift it. "Is this Sylvain?"

"It is. She used to be a feature in the evening performance." There was pride in his tone. "The gymnasts would throw her from the high wires and she would use those wings of hers to glide above the crowds, tossing flower petals to the onlookers."

Garoz looked at the image, taking in the huge dark eyes, waves of chestnut hair, delicate frame and fluttery green wings. A tiny tattoo on her ankle caught his eye and he looked closely at it. "Do you know what this is?"

"It's a stamp of some kind. It was on her when I bought her from the mine at Kolat-sing."

"Bought her? She is a slave?"

"She is owned by the carnival. Yes. There was no other way for the mine to part with an uncontrolled race." Eckobar stood next to him and reached a taloned finger out to caress her two-dimensional cheek. "It was almost a pity when her talent manifested. She had a great career ahead of her on the main stage."

Garoz took another look at the young woman in the picture. "When was this made?"

"Ten years ago. She is taller now, her wings fuller."

"Eckobar, I believe I have a solution to this issue, but I need to send a message to my team. There are some authorizations that I need to acquire and the sooner I get in touch with the Guard, the faster we can get Sylvain out of the prefect's clutches." There was a germ of an idea flourishing in his mind and if he stopped to think about it, he might back out.

Chapter Three

Sylvain looked out the window at the expansive field that was showing the first signs of blooming. She jerked away from the glass when a throat was cleared behind her.

"Sylvain, I do believe that you should reconsider my offer." Tenario puffed himself up and flared the flaps of skin along his neck. The inhabitants of Porvin were a peculiar blend, but lizard was very high in their gene pool.

"I cannot stay here and I will not marry you. This is not the way to go about getting my cooperation, either." She raised her hands and the shackles jingled. "Have you sent a messenger to the carnival?"

"Not yet. I am not comfortable ordering them to go about their business quite yet." Tenario tried to look haughty, but it turned his face into something shifty. "Have you completed today's growing cycle?"

Sylvain nodded. "The crops you have selected are peculiar though. They seem to soak up the energy."

He chortled and rubbed his hands together. "Askuke hybrids. They will make me a fortune."

Sylvain was shocked. "You…do you know what those will do?"

"Bring in money, buyers from all over the system will flock here for those pods and you will grow them for me."

Her wings flexed and fluttered, but she kept her heels on the ground. "They are addictive!"

"And one of the best stimulators of breeding in nineteen species. They will beat a path to our orbit." He was almost salivating with greed.

"You can't have me growing those year after year. They will destroy the soil." She took two steps toward him and stopped with a jerk. The chains weren't letting her get near him.

"We can move the settlements. Follow the fallow fields." He seemed perturbed that she was not appreciating his genius.

"You won't have fallow fields if you plant the hybrids! They poison the ground that they grow in and you know it and if you don't know it, do some fucking research!"

He folded his ruffles flat against his neck. "I can see that I will have to visit you another time. You are not properly grateful for this opportunity."

Tenario stomped out of her rooms and she returned to the window seat, tears in her eyes. They had planted Askuke hybrids. The plants would remove all of the minerals from the soil, but they wouldn't stop there. The very life energy that soil contained would go into the plants, stealing every bit of potential from the ground until nothing was left but dead dust.

She groaned and pressed her forehead to the glass to cool her feverish skin. They weren't giving her enough water and it was shaking her concentration.

Only the prefect was allowed to speak to her and he didn't listen when she told him that the supplies were not up to standards.

She lifted the window until it was open a few inches and inhaled the air that brought in traces of the planet, humidity and the soil. If the guards caught her, they would simply close the window, but for now, she was enjoying every second of it.

Voices seemed to be raised by the front gate. She tilted her ear to the short space in the window and listened intently. All of the voices were male. One had the same subsonic vibration as Eckobar, the other was fascinating and cool. A voice in control of the situation. The high shrill tones were those of the guards and after a five-minute discussion, they took on an acquiescent tone.

Silence fell for a few minutes and she reluctantly closed her window and paced the ten feet that she had available on her chain. She fluttered her wings to move the air in the room, waiting for something to happen.

She didn't have to wait long. The prefect blustered into her room with a look of fury on his face. "This is outrageous. How could you?"

Sylvain was blinking in surprise. "How could I what?"

"How could you have neglected to tell me you were married?" His neck flaps were opening and closing violently.

A Kozue warrior entered the room and Eckobar was right behind him.

Relief flooded through her just before she was struck by Tenario's words. "Married?"

The male's hair was navy blue, his skin a silvery grey and his eyes burnished gold. The rest of him was all taut muscle fighting for acknowledgement under his tunic. "I am surprised that you would forget such a momentous moment in our life together."

A marriage. It was a way out of Porvin. Sylvain smiled softly as she looked at the Kozue as she noted Eckobar's approval. He was nodding slightly and she took her cue from him.

"What possible reason could there have been for me to refuse you, other than my husband's existence?"

"Why did no one know of it? The prefect of Gossin knows nothing of it."

Sylvain forced herself to blush as she took slow steps toward the Kozue. "His people value pure bloodlines. I don't even know what I am. We agreed to keep it quiet so that his people would not feel compelled to kill me to preserve their line."

The male came to her when she ran out of chain and pressed a heated kiss to her lips. Her surprise swiftly fell beneath a passion that roared up from inside her. Whoever this man was, he sure knew how to kiss.

His fingers wrapped around her waist and stroked the bottom base of her wings. Her low moan and the arch of her body against him gave him signals that no one could mistake.

When he broke the kiss, he looked down at her with a gleam in his eyes that turned them to molten, swirling gold. "Hello, wife. It is good to see you again."

Her swollen lips parted and she drew her tongue across her lower lip to answer, "I am happy to greet you, husband."

He was very happy to be pressed against her, that much she could confirm.

"Why is she chained?" Her husband was glaring at the prefect.

"She…I…It was necessary to keep her under control. She can be violent." He was shrinking under the glare of the man who held her.

"Take them off. Now."

The prefect ran to the door and got the key from the guard. He handed it to her husband and scuttled away. It was amazing what the presence of an alpha male did to the prefect's manner.

Her husband lifted her hands and unlocked the cuffs, releasing her from the hated weight. When her hips were free of the final chain, she stepped toward the man in her arms and he stepped back, giving her the space that she had been unable to reach before this. "Oh, thank you."

"My pleasure."

She threw herself forward and hugged him the way she would have hugged Eckobar if he wasn't covered with spikes.

"Eckobar, I still do not wish to part with Sylvain. She needs to continue with her treatments and it will be easier for her and her husband to remain here than to return to the carnival and back every day."

Eckobar looked as if he would argue, but he noticed the short shake of the Kozue's head and he nodded. "Of course, though I would like for her to attend a party we are having for our seamstress. She is with egg."

Flustered, the prefect nodded. "Of course, what day?"

If Sylvain hadn't been holding the Kozue, she wouldn't have felt him press three fingers to her hip.

Eckobar smiled. "Three days. At sundown. Shorvah will be excited to see her again. The carnival has been worrying."

The prefect nodded, but didn't look happy about the addition to the room. "I will have meals for two sent up."

"Two extra carafes of water, please." The lack of water was making her weak and if she could get some by using the threat of the Kozue, she would.

Tenario nodded briefly. "The guard will remain outside. If you wish to walk the grounds, he will follow you."

Her husband nodded. "Understood, now please leave us. We have been parted for too long. This might get loud."

The Porvin prefect darkened several shades while Eckobar stifled a laugh. He left them with a wave that held four fingers up. The everything-is-under-control signal that was used when an animal that had broken loose was found and restrained again.

Sylvain smiled and leaned her head against the broad chest of her husband and when the prefect left, she breathed deeply. She went up on her toes and whispered in his ear, "What is your name?"

He chuckled and whispered back, "Garoz. You will be free from this place in three days."

She tried to move out of his arms. "I think we need to get to know each other before this kind of contact is appropriate."

"I believe that the guard has been told to listen for sounds of copulating. So while it is a little awkward, I believe that we should maintain the ruse." His hands were stroking the base of her wings again as if he knew what he was up to.

She shivered in his arms and processed his statement. "Are you saying that we need to have sex to sell the pretence that we are married?"

He kissed the side of her neck while his hands worked her wing base. "Something like that. Also I have not been able to get the thought of you with these wings fluttering above me out of my head."

She pushed out of his arms and whispered, "I don't even know you!"

"Eckobar vouched for me. That will have to be enough for now. Simply know that you can trust me and I don't wish you any harm. My goal is to get you out of here in one delectable piece." He tilted his head and gave her a soft smile. "It is your choice whether we do it the easy way or the hard way."

She licked her lips and he focussed his attention on her tongue. "Let me think about it."

"You have three minutes and then the guards are going to come in to see why we are so quiet."

Sylvain took a deep breath. "Fine. Get on the bed. I want to keep my wings out of this."

Chapter Four

Garoz's smile made her stomach flip and when he unbuttoned his tunic and lay back on her bedding, she had to remind herself to breathe. The expanse of his silvery skin was calling to her hands, she carefully straddled him while lifting her skirt out from under her legs and with a soft sigh, she stroked the hard flesh of his chest and shoulders, easing the fabric aside.

She was leaning down to kiss his chest and take a taste of that enticing skin when the door flew open and two trays were brought in by guards while a third watched the door.

Garoz lifted his hands to her waist and glared at the guards until they left the room, bowing as they closed the door behind them.

"Do you think they believed it?" She was still less than an inch from his skin and whispering.

"I think that the guard at the door is still listening. Are you still willing?" He stroked her face and rubbed his thumb along her lower lip.

She shivered. It had been a while and he was so very…perfect. "Yes."

Her breath mingled with his as she reached down to kiss him. As they kissed, tongues twining, her hands stroked his chest while he caressed her thighs under her skirt. His dexterity was amazing as he stroked past the tiny barrier of her panties and rubbed against her centre. The slick moisture that she was producing eased his strokes as he rubbed her clit in a rhythm that brought her to the edge of screaming in under two minutes.

She was biting her lip in an effort to stifle her cries when he brought one hand to her neck and pulled her down to him. "Sing for me, Sylvain."

Syl gasped as he thrust two fingers into her and the strokes combined with the pressure of his thumb had their entanglement broadcast to anyone within hearing distance.

He continued slow strokes until she ceased to clasp his fingers with pulsing intensity and then he withdrew his hand, bringing it to his lips and tasting her.

"Now, without so many clothes." His voice was husky, the skin of his face tight across his cheekbones and his eyes glittering with intensity.

She knew she was blushing, but she sat up on him and reached behind her neck to release her dress.

The gauzy fabric pooled around her waist, but she didn't have time to feel cool air. Garoz's hands were on her the moment the fabric hit her waist. She leaned her head back as he cupped her breasts and she shifted her hips on him until she was rubbing against the hot ridge under his trousers.

Tension spilled through her and she pressed her hands over his while she enjoyed the moment before she released his hands and started working on the clasp on his trousers. She eased his cock free and heard as well as felt her panties disappear.

Sylvain bit her lip again as she stroked him with intensity, loving the heat as well as the strength in his flesh.

"Put me inside you, sweetling."

She trembled and rose on her knees, positioning him at her slit and rocking her hips to coat him with her moisture. She braced her hands on his chest and eased him into her, inch by inch. She looked at his face and smiled, his chest was heaving, his eyes were narrowed to slits and when she seated herself fully on him, his hands cupped her hips and started to move her before she could find her pace.

His pace started slow and then as cries started to break from her throat with the friction of her clit against his pubic bone, it took on a blinding speed that scorched her with the heat of flesh against flesh.

Broken cries echoed in the room as she got closer and closer to the edge, but when he reached up, pulled her forward and firmly gripped the base of her wings, she came apart.

Searing rainbows burst behind her eyes and her body shook uncontrollably as he arched up into her and shouted his release.

Sylvain had her head on his chest, facing the door when it opened a crack to show the face of the prefect. She kept trying to hold back her breathing, but when the door closed, she let out a chuckle.

"You were right. They did check."

His fingers were stroking her neck. "It is a male reaction. He wanted to make sure that you were not faking your marriage. I believe that we just proved it."

Sylvain lifted her hips and let him slide free of her, she dismounted from him and put the top of her dress back into place. Her dress appeared demure, but she and Garoz were both aware that it was all that stood between her and complete nudity. "There is a lav over there."

She gestured to the panel door and he nodded, leaving her for a moment before returning with a washcloth. "Lift your dress, Sylvain. As much as I like my scent on you, it will be uncomfortable after a few minutes."

Blushing furiously, she lifted the dress to let him clean between her thighs. The cool cloth soothed her, but she was too embarrassed to enjoy it. When he was done, Syl went to the small table and set one tray for him and the water-heavy tray for her.

"There is no need to be embarrassed. I will explain more to you when we are at the carnival, but for now, you only need to know that I will keep anyone from trying to confine or harm you. You will be safe with me." His words were whispered into her neck as he helped her settle on a backless stool.

"I believe you." She smiled. It was true. Nothing he had done had been aggressive or endangered her in any way. Less danger than some of her carnival acts had put her in. A little public sex was not one of her hang-ups. In fact, it was kind of funny to have the prefect poke his head in.

She poured a glass of water and he stopped her. He took her glass, sniffed it and then handed it back to her. "They can't poison me. They need me for a week."

He chuckled. "You have a point. If they could harm me, I am sure they would."

She didn't ask him what he meant by that. If they were being monitored, it would stand out as glaring if she had to ask him why he could not be harmed. She turned to the greens and vegetables that she had been served and concentrated on them.

"So, Syl, what have you been up to since I last saw you?"

So, there was a way to work around it after all. She put a coy tone into her voice. "I forget, how long has it been since you jaunted off for family business? One would have thought you had forgotten your poor wife."

"It was only two months, love." He lifted her hand to his lips and he flashed a wicked smile. "I can remind you of our last time together after the meal. Now, what were you up to?"

"Just the usual, the planting on Osharin, then the next world and now Porvin."

"Did they threaten you when they took you?"

"No, but the guns at the carnival and the cannons aimed at the ships were giveaways that they meant business." She bit a small pod in half viciously. The threat to her people had been her biggest hot button.

"The cannons were still there when Eckobar informed me that you had been taken." His words came in between mouthfuls of food.

"I see. That isn't good. I wish I was back there." She stabbed at her salad and drank half a carafe of water.

"Have you ever considered leaving the carnival?" His casual tone dropped the words between them.

She swallowed and then spluttered as she inhaled the water. "You know very well why I can't."

"Things change, Syl. Things are changing right now." He finished his meal and sat back. "If no one decides to move forward, everyone stays in place."

She was going to snap at him for digging at the topic, but a knock on the door got their attention.

Tenario straightened his shoulders. "Sylvain, you are needed in the fields. The special crop requires your attention."

She felt her face tighten as she stood. She gulped down the other carafe of water and nodded. To her surprise, her sandals were still in place. Even frolicking with Garoz hadn't managed to do more than eradicate her underwear.

When he got to his feet next to her, she took his hand in a move that probably surprised him. She didn't care. She wanted him next to her.

"He can't come."

"He is my husband. He will be at my side." She didn't stomp her foot, but it was implied.

Garoz casually closed his tunic and wrapped his arm around her hips. "It is a sensitive time for her. She is in heat and gets irritable and irrational if I am not nearby."

Tenario scratched his head. "No one has mentioned it before."

"She was still maturing. Her kind takes almost four decades to reach adulthood."

Sylvain fought not to show the shock that ripped through her. Apparently, she was not the only one of her kind Garoz had ever seen. That was going to be pillow talk for the evening if he stayed with her.

Chapter Five

The field of Askuke was suffering. Sylvain left the guards and her man behind to wander through the field. When they had been single-leaf seedlings, she hadn't recognized them for what they were.

The Askuke were deadly to the soil. Not only would they drain the soil, but they also would start a ripple effect that would skew the harvests of the rest of the planet forever. Tenario's kidnapping of her now made sense. The plants absorbed life and their pods were both a narcotic and an effective treatment for infertility. Eating them gave you the life that they took from their planet.

With a daily dose of her talent, the Askuke might make it to maturity and the rest of the local growing area might make it to harvest. There was no way to be sure.

In a stopgap measure, she sent a burst of her growing energy through the wilting plants. With the waves of energy sucked in by the plants, she didn't know how long she would be able to maintain their growth.

Her feet didn't even enjoy the feel of the soil. There was no life in this field, no joy, no wonder. It was a sucking black hole of greed and need. She didn't think she could fill it.

Tired and emotionally drained by trying to feed this one field, she stomped back to the men waiting for her. "I don't know how long I can do that."

She took a breath for another sentence and pitched forward into Garoz's arms.

* * * *

Garoz caught her and lifted her while being cautious of her wings. "Has this happened before?"

The prefect looked pale and kept darting his gaze to the field. "What? Oh, no. She was tired the first time, but didn't faint."

Hardcore looked down at the female who was legally his wife, a citizen of the Alliance and a free woman. Her lips were chalky and her skin was grey. "What is in that field? It sucked the life out of her."

"It's classified. Bring her back to her room. She will be better after some rest." The hopeful tone was not lost on Garoz.

Porvin was a patriarchy. The husband had full say in his wife's activities and if Garoz put his foot down, Sylvain wouldn't have a chance to say yes or no.

If he guessed correctly about Tenario, the prefect wasn't sure that Garoz knew the rules. When Sylvain woke, they were going to have a talk. If her life was in danger from using her talent, she was going to go into retirement in less than a day.

He carried her through the town, answered the villager's questions about the health of their green queen and in that moment, he understood why Sylvain did this year after year. The looks on the faces of these people showed genuine concern for the woman, not the talent.

When he walked up the steps to her room, he checked her pulse. It was slow but steady. "Bring more water. As much as you can. She needs it to bond properly to your planet, or did no one tell you?"

Tenario swallowed. "She mentioned it, but I thought she was being difficult."

Garoz snarled, kicked the door closed behind him and he took her to the bed. The maids must have tidied up the moment that they left, the pillows were fluffed and the blankets were neat.

He carefully laid her down on her stomach and started to massage her wings. They were stronger than they first appeared. He could see metallic strands in the veining of the huge panels.

As he rubbed and stroked the wings, they swivelled in their ball joints and he slowly folded them against her back.

He grinned as he worked the wings into a column down her back. He had heard of Vorwings before, but had never seen one. The dot on the inside of her ankle had sparked a memory in him from a species he had learned of in Kozue legend.

Vorwings always bred true, but they never mixed with their own kind. The small mark just under her calf was the hidden spur that ancient Vorwings used during mating flights. The female would latch onto the male in midair and that is where mating would take place. When their frivolous attitudes blocked them from entry in the Alliance, they were turned into a slave species.

Without constant exposure to their own kind, they died out. Less than a dozen had been reported in the last nine years and he had fallen head over heels with her before he had seen more than her picture.

The woman under his hands was one of a dying race and he was here to make sure that she would not be the last of her line.

He grinned. His sister would be the hardest thing for her to adjust to in the life that he had planned. Since Gralial had lost her soul, she could no longer enjoy life, but she would be able to be a good friend to Sylvain when they would meet. First, he had to convince his Vorwing to leave the carnival, then he would arrange her introduction to his family.

Station 13 needed a plant specialist and her talent fit the bill.

* * * *

Someone was rubbing her wings carefully and with strength. She tried to mutter into the pillow, but he quickly rolled her to her side the moment she flicked one of her wings.

"Get up, Syl. Time to get you some water."

He left her while she pushed to a sitting position. "You folded my wings. No one ever knows how to fold my wings."

"I am a Kozue warrior trained in battlefield medical treatment and my sister is also a very powerful healer. She taught me a few things." His grin warmed her and the water he held was ambrosia to her dry throat.

"I can see that. Why are you and your sister talents? Don't the Kozue forbid that kind of thing?"

"Throwback genes, I suppose. Gralial and I were never given a chance to investigate it. And lately, I have been too busy."

"Rescuing damsels is a hobby of yours?" Her lips twitched.

"One that I will retire."

There was a subtext there that she almost missed, but she muttered, "Thank goodness for that."

He grinned and stroked her hair away from her face while she slugged down the water. "How long is your hair anyway?"

"Past my knees. We haven't been able to find a substance to cut it. It seems to be similar in construction to my wings." She flicked them slightly and smiled at how neatly they were folded. He had not tried to force them at all.

"What caused you to faint?"

She gulped and coughed in surprise. "Tenario didn't tell you he was growing Askuke? It is why he needed me to start with."

Her words shocked him, she could tell. He knelt in front of her and took her hands in his. "Be very sure of this. He has planted Askuke hybrids?"

"He has."

"Then you are not safe here." He stood. "Damn, I thought we had more time."

The glint of the metal bands inside his wealth of dark hair caught her attention for a moment. He transformed from a charmingly confident male to one of deadly intent as she watched.

"Finish drinking that other carafe and prepare to join me. We are getting out of here." He paced restlessly, stalking back and forth like an animal.

"And where will we go? The carnival is under guard." She gathered her vids and satchel in a quick sweep. She bolted the water down and burped delicately. "What now?"

He ignored the door and moved to the window, opening it with a jerk. The pins that held it shot out around the room as he shoved it open. "Now, we get out of here and hide in the hills."

"You have to be nuts. You can't possibly survive the drop, let alone the armed guards."

"Don't worry about me. I am invincible, or at least relatively indestructible. Now, hop into my arms and prepare to fly." His hand was held in invitation.

"I have to confess something."

"Yes?"

"I can fly. A little. Indoors."

His smile was encouraging, "Then best to try it outside to see what you can do when you have the wind in your hair and up your skirt."

She froze. "I don't have any underwear. This could be ugly."

"It depends on your point of view, now come along, dusk is here. It is the best time for escapes."

Sylvain moved to take his hand. "I never realised there was a scheduled time for this. If you drop me, I will never forgive you. Which way are we going?"

"North, we are heading north, as far away from the carnival as we can. We don't want them getting into trouble over our escape."

Garoz positioned her in front of him, holding her with an arm around her waist, her wings tight against his body. He whispered, "Now, go," and with little ceremony, he threw her out the window.

Chapter Six

Nine hundred curses ran through her mind as he flung her out the window and the thirty-foot drop began. Her wings snapped into flight position and wind filled them for the first time in her life. She soared up and away from the house of the prefect. Sylvain saw Garoz drop from the window after her and land on the ground in what should have been a crippling jump. He ran northward through an echoing call to alert the guards and Syl did what she could. She flew north as fast as her wings would carry her.

Her confined fluttering had gained her some stamina, but she was exhausted only ten minutes after she heard the last shot fired. She glided in along the tree line until she spotted an opening and then she let herself drop in a controlled spiral to the ground.

She snapped her wings shut to keep them from tangling in the saplings and headed into the woods as deep as she could. Sylvain didn't have the skills to survive in the forest, but her eyes did know what they were doing at night. Working in the fading light, she pulled her contacts out and put them into their case. She was thankful she was able to hang on to her satchel.

She touched a vine and stroked the leaves gently. Syl breathed in the freshness of the greenery and the rich scent of dirt. Her sandals crushed moss and grass under her feet as she carefully made her way into the thick of the trees. If they were looking for her, they would have to look very hard. She was going to blend in with the trees as much as she could.

In a flash of inspiration, she touched a nearby ivy and wrapped it around her arm. A slow burst of energy later and it wound itself around her body, concealing her pale skin in a flurry of green leaves.

She leaned against a huge oak and closed her eyes, listening to the forest through her talent. She waited for a sign from Garoz.

The living plants of Porvin gave her their energy and helped her in her hunt. Through the green expanse of the forest and to the grasses beyond, her mind searched for a trace of her warrior.

A vibration through the grasses gave her his direction and he was making a beeline straight for her. She kept still and quiet until she saw him and then sprinted up to him and punched him in the shoulder. "You threw me out a third-story window."

He chuckled, pushed the ivy from her face and kissed her softly. "And you flew."

She blinked at him, her eyes widened in shock. "I did, didn't I?"

"You did. But now we need a place to hide. Can you find one for us, as well as slow our pursuit?" His words were low and urgent.

"I can try. This isn't the sort of thing that I have done before." She anchored herself to the tree again and sought a safe place. While she let the forest lead her to a cave surrounded by trees, she grew a waist high hedge in the forest in a staggered pattern of moss vines and saplings.

With their path hidden behind them, she took him by the hand to lead him to the hiding place the trees had given them. "It is this way."

"Lead me. My night sight isn't as good as yours is."

She chose paths that smoothed out as the forest did her bidding, it took them the better part of an hour, but they were in the cave and hidden from sight, the trees growing and casually twisting to block the entrance.

"This is a good place to hide. Is there a way to make light?" He was near her in the darkness.

Sylvain stroked the smooth side of the cavern and found moss. Convincing it to take on the glow of its cousins was not difficult and soon they were standing in a muted glow.

"There is water this way. The moss grows right to the bank and then there is a pool beyond."

There was a surprised note in his tone. "You learned of all this from the plants?"

"The plants of this world and I have learned each other very well. It knows I wish it only the best and it wishes the same for me."

"I meant the moss and water." He brushed the ivy from her shoulder.

"Ah, the moss grows in the damp and reaches through the rock to the surface. It sees the light and joins the forest. Once it touches the forest, the knowledge it holds is passed to all." She sat next to the water and leaned down to drink, sipping gently from her hand.

* * * *

Garoz looked upon his chosen female and he marvelled. Dressed in light gauze and the twined ivy, she was a creature of the natural world and he was blessed to be in her presence.

"You look lovely in those leaves."

She looked down and he thought he saw a blush in her cheeks. "I had forgotten I was wearing them."

"They suit you."

He sat across from her and sipped at the water, the cool trickle down his throat relaxed him. "We can last here over a day, but we will need food. I don't suppose your satchel has any?"

"No, but I can have something brought to us, nuts and berries if needed."

She had surprised him again.

"What about other calls of nature?" He was challenging her knowledge and he wasn't sure why.

"You can either slip outside and to the left or there is a smaller cave off the pool's edge if the weather is bad."

He nodded and sat back, watching her dabbling in the water with delight. The leaves wrapped her, showing tiny flecks of skin and covering everything else.

Her moves took on a pensive manner and he knew she was going to start asking the questions that he had been waiting for.

* * * *

"Who are you, really? You are not a carnival performer, you don't hold yourself correctly." Sylvain kept her gaze on the pool, watching him in its reflection.

"My name is Garoz, but I am also known as Hardcore of the Sector Guard Base Station 13." He pressed his hand to his chest and bowed.

His words shocked her. "The Sector Guard? Here? Why?"

"Your carnival put out a distress call through some back channels and I was in the area." He leaned back against the wall of the cavern and smiled. "When I saw your carnival poster, I recognized your species and then I had to meet you."

"Why the ruse of a marriage?" She kept her gaze down and away.

"Because the Porvin are patriarchal. As a husband, I would have full access to you and have final say in what the prefect tried to get you to do. He would have to file for a dispensation to take you from me and we didn't give him enough time for that."

"I see. It was well thought out then."

"I thought so, Eckobar agreed and we provided Tenario with all of the proper documents if he should go looking." His smile was crooked and he met her gaze in the pool.

Startled, she looked into his warm gold gaze and smiled shyly. "That seems like a lot of fuss for a carnival performer."

"You are not a simple carnival performer and you know it. The talent endemic to your race is the kind of power that many dream of and others plot to control. I have an offer for you." His words were casual, but he took her hand in his own, rubbing his thumb across her knuckles.

"I am listening." She gave the ivy the command to remove itself from her body and allowed it to wrap into a dense band on her left wrist.

"Nice. Can you recall them?"

She looked down at her wrist. "I suppose so. I haven't thought about it."

"You should. If you are going to be a member of the Sector Guard, you are going to need all of your talents under your control." He raised her hand to his lips and their gazes stayed locked as his kiss sent her spinning into a world of confusion with a hint of lust.

It took her a few seconds to process what he had said before his distraction. "What?"

Chapter Seven

"A guardsman? Me? I don't think so." She wanted to pull her hand from his, but she was so stunned, she couldn't.

"Why not? Your skills are far more adaptable than you could imagine. Consider being dispatched to help those who need you most, not those who have gotten too lazy to do their own irrigation and fertilization." Garoz's face was earnest.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

She pulled her hand away and hugged herself. "I am not a free woman. I was born in the mines and was bought by the carnival when I was about ten or so."

"Freedom can be achieved. Eckobar and I have discussed the possibility. If you return to the carnival, you will be more of a liability than an asset. While your existence has propelled them through the stars, they were a successful carnival before you arrived and will be when you leave." His words were not unkind, but they were direct.

"I have never thought of my life outside the carnival. What would I do?" Her voice took on a plaintive tone and she winced.

"You would come with me, become a member of the Sector Guard and learn what you are truly capable of when you are engaged in missions that test your cognitive and survival abilities. You would have an armoured uniform for protection and a partner to watch your back."

Sylvain wrapped her arms around her knees and placed her head on them, watching him. "A partner?"

Garoz blushed. There was no other word for it. "That would be me. To be frank, it has all been arranged. All that is needed is your signature and you would need to select a Guard name."

Syl didn't reply. She simply sat in thought. Garoz left her for a moment, walking to the front of the cave, presumably to attend to nature.

Life without the carnival was inconceivable. She wanted to see them, to hear them and to be with them on every world she travelled to. Tears fought to the surface. This incident on Porvin was only the last in a long line of attempts to capture her person. The difference here was that they didn't try it by stealth, Tenario had a plan and he had enacted it the moment that she landed.

How many worlds were out there waiting for her to step out of the carnival and put her family at risk?

She sniffled as she remembered the event that had spurred the use of pods for her landing on each new world. It had been five years ago on a far off world…

Eckobar was setting up the main stage and Shorvah was fitting a costume for the new triad act. Three beings in one body was quite the draw for audiences.

Sylvain tiptoed out of the camp toward the marketplace, her eyes focussed on the hair combs and jewellery.

The shopkeeper was surprised to see her, but helped her make a selection and enjoyed the bartering process.

Triumphant, Syl walked back toward the carnival, which was still stretching and groaning as it settled into its operating status.

Three men rushed at her, knocking her down, lifting her and her scream was cut off in seconds. They hauled her into the forest and chained her to a tree, thinking to ransom her to the carnival or their government.

She had talked to the grass and trees, setting off a growing surge that sent sprouts through the links of the chain. The moment the chain snapped, she ran to the carnival. She found all of her people in an uproar, Eckobar was throttling one of her kidnappers and Shorvah's fangs were out, gleaming with venom.

She announced that she was safe and her people enveloped her in a crowd of bodies that did not match any species precisely.

The government apologized to the carnival and offered reparation, but Eckobar packed them up and had them lift off in their assorted shuttles to join their orbital ship high above.

It was the last time that Sylvain had been allowed to walk alone, the last time that she hadn't had to wait until they were set up and ready to act as bodyguards before she arrived. They sacrificed their time to keep her safe. She could not repay them by putting them in more and more danger.

Garoz sat across from her again and she looked up at him with a lump of regret and determination in her throat. "Call me, Green, and sign me up."

He cleared his throat. "Are you sure?"

"I am sure. You are my partner?"

"I am. If you would call me Hardcore while we are on assignment, it would be best. My family is not appreciative of my chosen profession." There was a pleased gleam in his eyes. "You are really agreeing to join the Guard?"

"It is best for my friends and family if I do. The carnival will be in danger as long as I am being shuttled around to start crops that nature could take care of. This isn't the first attempt on me and I know it won't be the last. What can you offer me in the way of protection in the Guard?"

He shifted to sit beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "When you are in the Guard, you are an agent of the Alliance in a specialty branch. The crime for kidnapping or detaining you can be as high as death depending on the circumstances."

That little piece of information and the cheerful manner in which he delivered it gave her a feeling of security that unfurled a little at a time.

"Where will I live between assignments?"

"Station 13. It is currently in orbit around Balen, which works out well for Tears of the Star and her husband Sovereign. Our commanding officer is Haunt, a Terran who can walk through walls. There are several guards there. Most are paired up. It is a preferred setup that the partners pair off."

She chuckled. "So, we got off to a running start with that one."

He laughed and squeezed her gently. "So we did."

"What will your sister think of all this?"

He closed his eyes and sighed. "She will think it is a logical conclusion to events and will declare herself to be pleased with it."

"She really has no soul?"

"It was removed as punishment for hiding what she really was. She was retrieved by the Alliance and sent to the Citadel for training as a contact healer. Her dispassionate nature has gained her both admirers and enemies."

"That sucks. It must be hard on you as well." She yawned and nestled into his warm shoulder.

"It is, but she is alive and safe and her new assignment on Teklan as their medical officer will bring her a certain satisfaction. If she can feel satisfaction."

He was stroking the coronet of her hair that remained in a tight circlet on her head. She sighed and relaxed against him, letting his even breathing carry her off into sleep.

Chapter Eight

Garoz's voice was grumpy when she told him of her plan. "I don't like this. You are safe."

"I know, but the carnival could be under fire. I can't risk injury to my family." She straightened and turned up the luminescence in the moss. "If I am becoming a guardsman, I need to buck up and fight for my own people. They are in danger because of me and I don't like that."

Instead of continuing his scowling, he started to grin. "I knew you had it in you. Come on then, let's step into daylight and get this underway."

"Daylight, crud." She quickly knelt and washed her hands, reaching into her bag for the solution and her contacts.

"You are light sensitive?"

"Very. My early development in the mines damaged my sight. I have wonderful night sight, but under the sun that makes everything grow, I am as blind as could be." She shrugged and put in her lenses.

"Interesting. We will have a physician check you as soon as we are able. The teams that I sent for should be here by tomorrow."

"Teams?"

"Yes. The Sector Guard handles this sort of thing and with the addition of the Askuke, it is now a matter of some urgency."

She blinked the lenses into place and stared at him. "You ordered the teams before you knew about the plants."

"A large group of people being held at gun and cannon point by a government who kidnaps talents is also worthy of the Guard."

She laughed. "Fair enough. Why did they only send one of you initially?"

"It was thought I could handle it on my own. I am not egotistical enough to believe I could pull this off on my own." He helped her to her feet and held her while she snapped out her wings. "That is so amazing. That they are soft enough to sit on, but so sturdy."

She chuckled. "Too sturdy. I bumped into a tent peg last week and cracked it in half."

"I am one thing that will never break." He kissed her softly and leaned back. "Unless you never find your way back into my bed. My heart may break at that point."

Her blush heated her face and crept below her neckline.

"We should go." She clutched her satchel to her and led the way out of the cave. She slowed as she approached the entrance. A strange mist was coming in.

Sylvain touched the wall, found moss and asked it what it saw. Images flickered of men and women in the woods, not of Porvin. They wore strange uniforms that fit tightly, but perfectly.

She returned to her own eyes and looked at Garoz. "What do the Sector Guard normally wear?"

"Fitted uniforms. A variety of colours, most pairs are colour coded when possible." He didn't need to ask why. A face formed in the mist and it spoke.

"Hardcore, glad to see you alive. Reset will be pleased that you are up and about. She has been looking forward to seeing you again." The voice of the mist was thin but audible.

"I will have the trees move. We will be out in a minute."

"Thank you, lady. I look forward to a more appropriate meeting." The mist dissolved and backed out of their cave.

Sylvain turned to Garoz, "Who is Reset?"

He shrugged. "I have no idea. I am not aware of any guardsman by that name."

With a grin at meeting those who might be working with her soon, she delicately moved the vines and branches aside, stepping into the light with only a few flicks of her lids. The strangers began to form an arc around her and when Garoz appeared from behind her, a female with chalky skin and blue hair cried out and ran to hug him.

He looked at her in astonishment and then swung her around in his arms.

The man with the face of the creature in the mist came and stood next to Sylvain. "Gralial has looked forward to this moment. It is good to see them together again."

Jealousy stabbed at her heart until she remembered the name. Gralial, his sister. The one who had lost her soul. "How is she…"

"It is a long story, but her people were forced to give her soul back. They carried out her sentence twice." He smiled. "I am Mist by the way. You may call me Canil off duty. She was known as Hard Hearted, but is now Reset."

"It is good to meet you. I am Sylvain, but you may call me Green, I suppose." She grinned up at him and extended her hand. When he took it, a throat cleared behind her.

"Please get your hands off my partner." Garoz was at her side, Reset beside him.

She smacked him in the shoulder. "This is Canil, guard name Mist, my partner."

Sylvain released his hand after the niceties had been engaged in. "Pleased to meet you."

Reset reached out and took her hand after Mist let her go. "You have a lot of energy, Sylvain. And some damage. Do you wish to be repaired now or after we have given you some more appropriate clothing?"

Sylvain looked down at the shreds and sandals that covered her, but not by much. "Clothing you say?"

Reset chuckled and jerked her head. "The Deadpan is over there. Tech has already altered a female suit for your wings based on Hardcore's specs. It is a lovely metallic green as well. I think it will suit you."

"Tech?"

A woman next to another Kozue waved pleasantly.

"That is Tech, Razer, Phase and Rupture. Stellar Storm is waiting for our signal."

"Hard…Reset, how did you come to be here? I sent for Udell teams, not Teklan." Hardcore was acting a little unsettled by his sister's tone of command.

"We were nearby with the Deadpan, so we swung around. It is a fully equipped medical bay now, so if anyone needed assistance, we were ready." She was flippant, but there was a stern tone beneath her light words. "I am better than I was before, Hardcore. Don't worry. All the experiences that I had since we left home now have amazing emotions attached. That is some serious shit I engaged in."

The group at large laughed and they entered a clearing with a large shuttle covered by a netting of camouflage. "Sylvain, meet the Deadpan. My personal shuttle and the bane of Mist's existence. You would not think that a vaporous multiform could puke during atmospheric manoeuvres, but he spews like a geyser."

The man named Mist rolled his eyes, but grinned at the wary look that Hardcore gave the shuttle. "I see you have flown with her a few times."

Reset and Sylvain entered the Deadpan and the others stayed outside.

Inside the gleaming metal, Reset opened a cabinet, pulled out a folded bundle and showed Sylvain to the lav. "You can take a quick sonic, then get changed. Tech can manage any minor adjustments, but we all felt it would be better if you had body armour."

Sylvain looked into the lav and frowned. "I will need to disrobe and get dressed out here. My wings make it a little too restrictive in there."

"That's fine. I will keep the others out."

When the door was closed with an explanation to those waiting outside, Sylvain unfastened her neckline and let the fabric swish to the floor. She folded her wings flat to her back and entered the lav to enjoy the cleansing of the shower.

Clean, scrubbed by soundless waves and ready for some new clothing, she tiptoed out to find Reset polishing a set of boots. "Do you need help with your bodysuit?"

"I would like to try it first." She bent forward and put her feet into the suit legs, one at a time. She jumped, tugged and twisted until the suit was over her hips and then the open back made getting the uniform around her wings easy. The neck closure smoothed the lines and she was dressed from toe to neck in glistening green.

The boots laced up tightly and Reset helped get them into place. "There. Wonderful. Would you like to try to move around outside before we head out?"

"I would. But, could you check my vision? I am light sensitive and was wondering if there was anything that could be done?"

Reset touched her face and looked at her eyes, though she was sure that Reset was looking through her hands. "I can work on it now, but you will need to remove your lenses. My talent will reset you to your species' genetic specifications."

"That will be fine. I haven't seen a doctor in a decade, let alone been altered in any way."

Sylvain looked around for her satchel and removed the lens case from it. "I am sorry, but I can't see to find my way back to you."

"Don't worry about it."

Soft hands pressed her to a sitting position and a ripple of energy flowed through Sylvain, given by the power of Reset.

"Oh, wow."

"What?"

"Open your eyes. They should be less sensitive now." Reset was a few inches from her and looking at her in shock. "You are very… You are better now."

In an effort to figure out what was going on, Sylvain lifted her hands up and blinked in shock. "I am green. Really green."

"That isn't the half of it, my sister. Let's go out where you can look at your wings."

Curious and delighted that she could now use her eyes in daylight, she hugged Reset. "Thank you. That has bothered me more than you could know."

A chuckle from the female Kozue made her smile. "I know what it is to be unable to use your body or mind properly."

"Oh. I guess you would."

"Indeed. Now, come out into the sun and see what your genes had planned for you." Reset hauled her out of the shuttle and the guardsmen looked at Sylvain in shock. Only Hardcore smiled at her with a light of delight in his eyes.

"I will be back in a moment after I put on my uniform. Green, you look amazing." He kissed her squarely on her mouth and then disappeared into the shuttle.

Perplexed, Sylvain unfurled her wings and as their span grew as she extended them, the brilliant rainbow reflected and refracted the light in a thousand directions. Her wings had turned from leathery tissue with dark bands of veining, to crystal and precious metals.

She gave a few experimental beats of her wings, lifting off the ground and hovering effortlessly in the air above the clearing. Her energy was propelling her upward and holding her there, nothing like the effort needed to escape the prefect's house. She could fly forever if she wished to. She knew it in her soul.

When a figure with dark braided hair left the shuttle, Sylvain allowed herself to lose altitude. Hovering with her head just above his, she smiled at Hardcore and extended her hands. "I want to try something."

He extended his hands and as the other guardsmen watched, she lifted him off the ground and into the air. "Your transformation is impressive, but I want you no matter what you look like or how your body is coloured."

She sighed, "Is my face…"

"An expanding rainbow leading to the dark of your hair. I can only imagine what colours your body now holds. I did enjoy your old colours, but these new ones are spectacular."

"Your sister reset me to my genetic standards. I am guessing the time in the mines drained me of some colour." She was circling the clearing. "Should I put you down now?"

"Is it difficult for you to carry me?"

"No, if not for your grip on my hands, I wouldn't even notice it. There is a strange new energy in this change."

"I believe we should begin the liberation of the carnival. You are now in a far better position to assist us than before." He grinned up at her as he dangled in her grip, confident that she wouldn't drop him.

"So, this will be my first assignment?"

He laughed as she set him down next to the others. "Consider it a training run while you get used to what you can do."

She settled next to him on the grass and took his hand, looking at the others. "As my people say, let's start the show."

Chapter Nine

They attacked the guns on different fronts. Tech and Razer were on the east side, Mist and Reset on the west, Phase and Rupture came in from the north while Green and Hardcore hit theirs from the south.

The Porvin military was not designed to withstand attack by the Sector Guard and when one of the guns did manage to activate before they got to it, a blast of energy from above reminded them that Stellar Storm was above and watching.

Green had never felt more alive. When one of the soldiers took aim at her, she reached out her left hand and the vine she had turned into a wristband whipped out to disarm him. Ivy wrapped around her other arm and she used the whips to remove and occasionally sever guns from their owners.

When the carnival folk realized what was going on, shouts came from inside the carnival as the soldiers posted there were disarmed and restrained.

Hardcore took several strikes to the chest and limbs, but he merely shook them off and continued until he had rendered his fair share unconscious.

"Hardcore. Are we done here?"

"I don't know, Green. Can you tie them up?" He grinned at her and she wrapped a chunk of the ivy around the men, pinning them in a hedge with no roots.

"Apparently I can." Her smirk made him laugh. "Now come along, we need to help those soldiers. My folk can be difficult when riled, but since they won't come back here, they will have no compunction about being harsh with the soldiers." Green fluttered up to get a better view and the soldiers were in the centre of camp, back to back with guns drawn.

"We had better move fast. Either the soldiers will start shooting or the folk will attack."

"Give me a lift and we will go faster." He turned his back to her and extended his arms. Green swooped in and lifted him with arms around his chest.

The lack of effort to fly him surprised her, but it was a question for another time. She swooped in toward the soldiers huddled together and their joint appearance was enough to startle the men into firing.

"Keep behind me, Green." Hardcore's voice relayed it as an order.

She felt his body shift as some of the weaponry struck him, a burn along her left forearm made her hiss in pain.

"Green?"

"Yes?"

"Drop me."

She let him go in the centre of the soldiers of Porvin and fluttered to join her people.

Shorvah was snarling at a soldier when she landed beside her. "Greetings, Shorvah."

Four of the l'nal's eight eyes swivelled to look at Green. "You look different. More, somehow."

Green primed the vines on each wrist and shot them at any soldier dumb enough to take aim. Once the other guardsmen arrived, the soldiers tried to scatter, but they ran afoul of weapon masters, beasts with nine limbs and some very irritated bearded females.

In less than twenty minutes, the fray was over and the soldiers were kneeling on the ground in cuffs that Tech improvised from their weapons.

Eckobar was staring at Green as he spoke to Hardcore, as if he had never seen her before. She winked and turned to Shorvah. "What colour are my eyes?"

Her friend clacked her mandibles and tilted her head. "Rainbows. You are made entirely of rainbows."

Zigar slid in next to Green. "Sylvain, what have you done to yourself? Are those contacts?"

She grinned. "When I am dressed like this, call me Green. No, those aren't contacts. I received a healing that brought out the me I was born to be. I don't need the lenses anymore."

Her handler hugged her. "So, what are your plans? Are you going to form a new act?"

She sobered. "No. I have to talk to Eckobar."

He released her as if scalded and backed away. "Well, Green, I hope your talk is very effective, because I can't see Eckobar giving you your freedom now. That wrist thing, those ivy strands, that will get attention and draw a crowd."

She nodded and walked away from him, toward the man who saw potential in a scrawny little slave polishing the dust from his shoes and smiled. "Eckobar."

He inclined his head. "Green. I have spoken with Hardcore and we are ready to release you to the Sector Guard. Not that we have a choice."

"I know. But I feel I am a danger to the carnival." She extended her arms to show off her alterations. "Especially now."

Reset and Mist arrived, but stayed at a distance until Green took Eckobar's hands and he kissed both her cheeks.

"We have rounded up the prefect, but what can we do about the hybrids? They are resisting being burned and yet are not growing." Mist was scowling.

Reset patted his arm. "He used to be an enforcer. Those plants bug the hell out of him."

Green nodded. "I can take care of it. Is Stellar Storm nearby?"

A voice came out of Green's neckline. "I am here. Welcome to the team."

"Thank you. Can you meet me at the field?"

"Will do, see you in three minutes."

Hardcore gave an imperceptible nod. She was welcome to go without him and that little freedom meant more to her than anything he had said or done with her so far.

"Back in a bit." She fluttered her wings and shot into the sky.

As she shot toward the Askuke field, she smiled again at the feeling of freedom that the bodysuit also gave her. She could hover, flutter or fly and every part of her was covered. It was a small thing, but it mean she wouldn't be vulnerable.

A streak of light shot from the sky and as it slowed, she met Stellar Storm, dressed in a uniform similar to her own but wingless with loose hair that flowed over her shoulders.

They landed together at the edge of the field and introduced themselves. "Stellar Storm, at your service."

"Green, glad to be on the team." She giggled and the other woman laughed.

"Might I say, you have the look of a fairy from tales my people told thousands of years ago. Only more sparkly."

"I have just gotten a hint as to what species I am, so it will be a matter for research in the future. Now, as for this crop, we need to destroy it completely. I can reverse its cycle to the seed stage, but I will need you to irradiate it from there. Can you do that?"

"It will destroy the soil. Nothing will grow in it for years, but yeah, I can do it."

"The soil is already dead and the plants' hunger will continue to spread across the countryside. This is for the best." Green knelt at the edge of the field and plunged her hands into the soil. The dry death surrounded her hands and made her lightheaded, but she forced power into the soil and spoke to the plants, encouraging them to recede.

Nothing happened for thirty seconds and then the leaves folded in and retracted below the ground. She asked the plants to give up the energy they had taken in, but they refused. Sighing, she advanced them to the point where their casings cracked and the first seedlings were fighting to the surface.

"Now. Stellar. Do it now."

"You are too close."

"Then start in a wave on the far end of the field and I will get out of the way the moment I feel you."

She shook her head, but took off, "I don't like this."

Green scowled, Storm didn't have to like it, she just had to do it. Holding the plants at the stage where they were most vulnerable was difficult and the Askuke were starting to fight.

Green could feel the wave of death approaching and the smouldering pods exploded beneath the soil. When the wave was almost upon her, she kicked back and up, flying away from the radiation in an instant.

She hovered at a safe distance while Stellar Storm destroyed the seedlings. Her wings flicked and fluttered, adapting to the wind and when every carefully measured hole was smoking with destruction, she joined the Storm.

From their vantage point, Green could see another Sector Guard shuttle, but this one was outfitted with a number of weapons. "Do the bases have different shuttle designs?"

Stellar Storm smiled. "Each is more prone to certain assignments, yes. Morganti is for natural disasters and experimentation, Udell is the battle base and Teklan is for investigation."

"What about Station 13?"

"Small-force extraction. Not all new worlds welcome Alliance personnel. Whether it's an explorer team or a set of dignitaries, if things go wrong, they call Station 13."

They were almost to the carnival, so Green concentrated on the view from above. She wanted to keep it in her memory as she travelled the worlds and systems of the Alliance.

The colours, the sounds. She regretted that Hardcore had never seen a performance or walked the midway. Even the rides were powered by the carnival folk, some of them requiring tons of force to move and through a series of gears and pulleys, they could be moved by only one or two managers.

Green sighed. She should have known that Zigar would not be pleased with her leaving. As her handler, he received a portion of her earnings and that would now leave him with the new acts to prey off.

As Eckobar always told her, "You can't please everyone. So do the best that you can with what you have."

She sighted Hardcore and swept in to land next to him. He placed his arm around her waist and continued his conversation with Eckobar before stopping and asking, "How did it go?"

"They exploded. We are good."

"Excellent. I was just asking Eckobar to keep us apprised of their location. We may be able to visit in the future. Would you enjoy that?"

She grinned. "I would. Thank you for thinking of it."

"My duty as your partner is to think of things to keep you in a good frame of mind."

She almost asked what would put him in that frame, but his gaze dropped to her breasts and she giggled. That was one mystery solved.

The other guardsmen were rounding up officers of the Porvin army and arranging them in an open field.

"What is going on?"

"An Alliance warship is here to engage in an open court for the prefect and those who went along with him. Your testimony has already been recorded."

"How is that possible?"

"I have subdermal implants. When activated, they record anything I need and send it to the Sector Guard Relay."

Green flinched, "When, precisely, were they recording?"

"When you were at the Askuke field with the prefect and just now, Stellar Storm recorded the destruction of the plants. Our suits are not just decoration. They are tools to record everything we need to back our actions in Alliance courts."

She sighed and leaned against him. "I just want to get on with the next thing I have to adapt to."

"Reset will see to your burn and then we can take my shuttle to Station 13. Have you piloted a shuttle before?"

She shook her head. "No. With my sight problem, it made flying awkward."

"Well, since that is no longer a problem, prepare to receive instruction." His fingers splayed open on her waist and he stroked the curve.

Her mind twisted to a lascivious path, "I look forward to it."

Chapter Ten

"Grab the handles there and there." Garoz was being serious, but Sylvain was having a hard time not giggling.

They had taken leave of the carnival and Porvin. The other Guard ships had stayed with them for several hours until a flurry of jumps occurred around them.

Alone at last with the shuttle on automatic, Sylvain was holding onto the ceiling and the gravity was off. So was her clothing.

Garoz declared that each colour on her body held a different flavour and he was out to discover them all. Laughter spilled from her, highlighting her embarrassment, but the slick moisture coming from her channel could not be ignored as he licked and kissed his way down her belly.

She hung onto the handles in the ceiling, sure that they had not been invented for this purpose, while he tasted her with quick flicks of his tongue before he groaned and made a meal of her. He nipped at her clit, tongued her opening and wallowed in her until she tensed from head to toe and thrust her hips at him.

Syl screamed and twisted as he continued to stimulate her, turning her into a writhing mass of energy that clasped his cock gladly when he pressed into her.

Garoz gripped her hips and pounded into her, his own feet locked into rungs on the floor to make this possible. She wrapped her legs around him and the moment that he stroked the base of her wings, she started whimpering.

Heat and tension coiled inside her as he thrust into her with enticing speed. She screamed and bucked against him, holding him tightly as her consciousness shattered around her. He followed her with a guttural shout and she let herself slip into his arms as she released the handles.

Learning to fly was definitely one of her more fascinating new hobbies.

"Station 13, requesting docking permission for unnamed shuttle containing Hardcore and Green." She was smiling at Garoz as he nodded encouragement.

"Station 13 acknowledges. Welcome to the team, Green. Follow the beacons to bay four and dock in slot nine."

She looked at the flashing icons and darted a glance to her partner. "Are you sure that you don't want to park this thing?"

"You have gotten us this far."

"Well, you were the one who had the common sense to rip off the back of my seat."

"Most of the Sector Guard shuttles have adjustments for wings. It won't be a problem in the future." He patted her shoulder. Since their coupling in the shuttle, he was constantly touching, stroking and occasionally sniffing her.

She tensed as she steered the shuttle along the path laid out by the electronic signals of the docking command. Her entrance was not practiced, but she was still able to manage a wobbling parking job in the docking bay that opened at her approach.

She powered the shuttle down with shaking hands and pressed those hands over her face in relief.

"Why cover your face?"

"Because my impulse is to lean back and since there is nothing to catch me that would not be a good thing." She tilted her head to the side and grinned. "Are we dead?"

"No. You saved us. A true hero who can park her shuttle." He took one of her hands in his and planted a kiss on the emerald skin.

Her colouring had become more vivid as time passed. The mirror in the shuttle lav had shown as much.

"I suppose we should meet my new commanding officer." She smiled as he helped her to her feet.

"After you are introduced to her husband. The good doctor is skilled at dealing with those outside their species specs and always does an intake exam when new guardsmen come on board."

"Aside from your sister, I have not seen a doctor in years." They exited the shuttle and pattered down the hall, their boots falling softly on the metal.

"Dirven Lacoss is a man who considers it good fortune that his wife can walk through walls. That says more than anything."

Sylvain chuckled. It did say a lot that the man had a wife who could become intangible. He could never be assured of privacy with a woman like that and if he didn't mind, he was a rare man indeed.

They knocked on the door to medical and when a voice answered, Garoz escorted her inside.

"Welcome, Green, Hardcore. Garoz, please hop on the scanner so that we can get your post-assignment check-up out of the way. Sylvain, if you could shut your wings? Oh, I am Dirven by the way."

"Greetings, Dirven." She bowed as if he was an audience and snapped her wings back, flat and down so that they ran down her back, mimicking her legs.

"Impressive. I did not know you could manipulate them so easily. Nor do I remember the description of your colouring as so vivid."

"It changed."

Garoz was standing in an upright scanner. "Any time, Doc."

Dirven smiled and activated the medical device. "Impatient?"

Sylvain laughed. "Perhaps he is upset that he is not as pretty as his new mate. Don't look so surprised, Garoz. I figured it out when you offered me a place as your partner."

Dirven scowled. "What am I missing?"

"Garoz, or rather Hardcore, bought my freedom with the rescue of the carnival. They are not citizens of the Alliance but rather the opposite. Nomads without a home. They had no right to call for help from the Sector Guard unless they were offering something in return. That something was me. So, either you bought me, or they sold me. Either way I am a free woman with one exception, I am a wife."

She stood casually, arms crossed and watching Garoz in the scanner, frustrated by his inability to come to her. When the scanner beeped the end of its cycle, he crossed the room in two steps.

"You knew."

"I knew. I could be angry, but I was a slave and now am free to be myself, wings and all." She reached up and caught his hair in her fists, pulling him down for her kiss.

Heat flared between them and she was held against him, thighs around his hips when a throat cleared.

Gasping, Sylvain looked over her shoulder and saw a pale woman who shared a species with the Stellar Storm. "As much as Dirven is enjoying the display, we need to scan you so that any alterations or injuries will register. So, welcome to Station 13, Sylvain. I am your commander, Haunt or Kaylee, which I prefer. Now, get yourself on that scanner."

Chastened, but still aroused by the connection between her and Hardcore, she stepped onto the scanning plate and took her turn.

She watched the displays behind Dirven and the expression on his face while he read the reports. He whistled softly and Kaylee darted around to say, "That is really impressive."

Sylvain didn't comment, merely stood until the cycle finished and then moved to step off the disk.

"Wait. I want to run another scan. Can you flare your wings for this one?"

"Sure, do you want me to pout as well?" She crossed her arms and flicked her wings out, her irritation made them larger than usual and she had to pull them back in slightly.

"Pouting won't be necessary. You have a very unique chemical signature."

"Well, as Garoz has told me, I am a rare breed."

Dirven wasn't listening anymore, he was chortling over his data streams.

This time, when the scanner signalled its completion, she snapped her wings shut and stepped away.

"You have an amazing physiology. I can hardly wait to study this in depth."

Sylvain cuddled up against Garoz. "There is nothing wrong, right? I can go and find something to eat?"

Dirven scowled. "Based on this, you don't strictly need to eat."

She laughed. "I know, but it's a good habit to keep. Makes me feel a little more normal."

"Fine. There is a lovely dessert selection in the cafeteria today. Go, but if I need blood samples, I will leave a message in your quarters."

Garoz didn't need to be told twice and whisked her out of medical and down another endless hall.

The introduction to the staff was easy when he started every conversation with "Gralial has her soul back."

They were so excited that they wanted to know Syl's impression of his sister and when she replied, "Smiling and huggy." They were shocked.

Garoz winked at a few of the female crew and Sylvain narrowed her eyes. "You were a tramp, weren't you?"

He swallowed and blushed. "I enjoyed my time away from the clans."

"Will you be able to settle for just me?"

He lifted her hand to his lips and promise sparkled in his eyes. "It would be my honour to settle for you until the stars burn up. May I demonstrate?"

She looked at his plate, "Have you had enough?"

His laugh rolled through her. "Not yet. I will tell you in the morning."

Epilogue

The arrow was flying straight at her head so Green turned and let her wing take the impact. The bolt shattered as it struck and she flicked away the residue.

She hauled her stun rifle to her shoulder and started to fire.

"Send Hardcore and Green to a desert planet, she said. Sounds fun, she said. Haunt has something to answer for." She fired again, taking out a row of the small attackers with cold precision.

"Yes, dear. Haunt will be in trouble, dear. Shoot that one on the right, dear." Hardcore was enjoying the weapons fire as they ejected power packs and stunned an entire tribe of folk who had no interest in communication with the Alliance.

Laughing, Green took to the skies, firing as she went, replacing spent charges from the bandolier that was specially fitted to her torso. They were only missing one of the first contact specialists and as Green soared over the now-empty village, she spotted the female staked out in the sun.

"I am here to retrieve you." Green leaned down and cut the leather straps that bound the unconscious woman to the ground. It never hurt to announce herself. It reduced the fist-to-face ratio.

A noise from one of the small huts had her whirling to face one of the folk that were cornering Hardcore at the shuttle. The female looked at her face, the wings and smiled, bowing low.

Not wasting a moment, Green lifted the Alliance team member and took off before the creature could change her mind and fire.

She replayed the moment as she tied the last crewmember into a bunk, giving Hardcore the all clear for take-off. There had been recognition in the woman's eyes but something else. Green wished that she knew what the woman had been thinking.

* * * *

The gods have returned.

Maaski smiled as she watched the graceful flight of a creature that existed only in their legend.

The people of the Alliance had been aggressive in their insistence on putting a base on their world. Only the actions that they had finally been driven to had gotten their point across.

The female Vorwing radiated power and before she could forget the image, Maaski painted it on the interior of her home. Few, if any, of her people would have recognised the importance of this creature, but the lands they inhabited had once been lush and green. When their lone Vorwing had left, the land reverted to its original state. The blessing of the gods lost to their people forever.

Maaski painted the vivid colours of her face, the ivory, gold and red blending into a blue neck with her green hands visible outside her green suit. The wings were living rainbows, hard to catch with her paints, but she did what she could.

Standing back, she smiled at the stories she would tell her children, of the gods that may one day walk their world again.

Where there was one, there had to be others.

Author's Note

Greetings! This story was designed to be read after Hard Hearted. Writing linked books across the publishers was fun and the creation of the Vorwings as a race of earth-goddess fairies was just too tempting.

Thanks for joining the Sector Guard.

Viola Grace

Viola@violagrace.com

http://www.violagrace.com

http://www.extasybooks.com

http://www.devinedestinies.com

About the Author

Viola Grace was born in Manitoba, Canada where she still resides today. She really likes it there. She has no pets and can barely keep sea monkeys alive for a reasonable amount of time. Her line of day job tends to be analytical which leaves her mind hopping to weave stories. No co-worker is safe from her character analysis. In keeping with busy hands are happy hands, her hobbies have included cross-stitch, needlepoint, quilting, costuming, cake decorating, baking, cooking, metal work, beading, sculpting, painting, doll making, henna tattoos, chain mail, and a few others that have been forgotten. It is quite often that these hobbies make their way into her tales.

Viola's fetishes include boots and corsetry, and her greatest weakness is her uncontrollable blush. Her writing actively pursues the Happily Ever After that so rarely occurs in nature. It is an admirable thing and something that we should all strive for. To find one that we truly like, as well as love.