Fic: Wizards of the Sky
Second post to this community - and this time, it's a lot more serious, multichapter story.
Title: Wizards of the Sky
Author: Araine
Pairing(s): Kit/Nita, Original/Original, Dairine/Roshaun
Rating: PG-13 (for violence and romance)
Warnings: Spoilers for... everything. But this story should stand alone - if you haven't read all of the books, and aren't worried about some spoilers, don't worry.
Summary: An interplanetary empire is on the verge of open civil war, something the wizards want to try to prevent at all costs. Faith, sacrifice, and love of all kinds is called for. And once again, Nita and Kit are called on Errantry. Because some stories are too timeless to let die.
Chapter Summary: Nita and Kit receive an assignment, meet a friend, and are sent off planet.
Author's Note: I hope you all enjoy! I'd like to thank Angels and Airwaves for providing musical inspiration, and various Terraspace arts on DeviantArt for visual inspiration. Also, I'm looking for someone who would be interested in beta-ing for this story - if you're interested, leave your email, and I'll check you out! Thanks a bunch, you guys, and I hope you enjoy!
www.fanfiction.net/s/5358145/1/
Nita folded open her Paperback Classics Edition of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet stubbornly, and glared at the text, as though daring meaning to rise to the surface. The little black text stared back at her, inscrutably revealing nothing other than what it actually said. She sighed and turned to Act I, Scene II to begin her reading - they had already read through the very first Scene.
This was no way to read a book, she knew. And it normally was not the way she read things - especially fiction. Normally, Nita guzzled fiction like it was her favorite lemon soda on a hot day.
This one was different. This was one project she was determined to hate.
Reading Romeo and Juliet as their Shakespeare book for Junior English had been well-received by most of the class - it was by far the most well-known of his plays. It was only Nita who seemed to have any reservations. This was not because Nita disliked the play (though she had her personal gripes with it) but because there were so many stories and plays by Shakespeare that were better.
They could have read Hamlet. They could have read The Tempest. They could have read A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and at least had a laugh out of it!
‘If only they weren’t two love-struck twits,’ Nita thought. Give her a good fantasy, a good comedy, a good sci-fi any day, but she was not one for love stories.
She had all of winter break to battle through reading this and write her essay, at the very least. Only a few little things to handle on the Wizardly side of things - which was almost a disappointment. And she had read more difficult things in her time - Shakespeare’s poetry, while wordy, was nothing compared to conjugating verbs in the Speech.
She just had to grit her teeth and get down to it…
The phone rang downstairs. Nita ignored it. She grabbed a pencil to begin her annotations.
Muffled voices from downstairs. The sound of a conversation being held over the phone.
Nita turned to the text and began her reading--
“Neets! Phone!”
Salvation!
Nita rocketed out of her desk chair and crossed to her door in two strides. “Coming, dad!” she called, even as she was in the hallway and bounding down the stairs.
She reached the kitchen, and took the receiver from her father. “That was quick,” he commented, as he handed over the phone.
Nita ignored the comment. “Who is it?” she asked him.
“Tom Swale,” he said. “I think he might have some business for you.”
Nita’s happiness at having been spared homework for the moment swelled into elation. She cradled the phone to her ear. “Hi, Tom,” she said.
“Hey, Nita,” he said. “I hope you’re not busy.”
“Nope,” she said. “Well, I was working on some homework, but I can put that off.”
“Homework? Over winter break? Isn’t that illegal or something?” The humor in Tom’s voice was obvious.
Nita grinned wryly. “Tell my teachers that. Did you need me for anything?”
“Yes, actually - would you mind popping over here for a minute? I’d like to explain the details to you and Kit together.”
“Alright, Tom,” Nita said. “See you in a minute.”
---
“C’mon, Kit-fox, right here!”
“Pass it!”
Kit turned around and passed the basketball that was currently in his hands. The boy he had passed it to - a lanky, athletic kid named Patrick - took the ball and made a swift, easy basket. “Yes, two points!” he said, pumping his fist.
“Come on, let’s take a break,” one of the guys complained.
Another boy seconded the motion, and most of them headed for the edge of the court, where their water bottles lay. Patrick grinned at Kit.
“Nice pass, Kit-fox,” he said, raising his hand for a high-five.
Kit returned it. “Thanks,” he replied, a grin plastered on his face. They weren’t exactly playing for points - but it always felt nice to be acknowledged. He headed for his own water bottle, parched from the exercise, but still satisfied.
It was nice to just hang with some guy friends, he reflected, just be a normal kid. Wizardry was wonderful and it was a huge part of his life. But sometimes things were… complicated.
“Jeez, man, stop being such a pussy.”
“Yeah, just ask her out already!”
The story was, one of the guys - Jason - liked a very pretty girl, who was probably interested in him. He had been talking about asking her out for some time, but had yet to do anything about it.
“What’s the worst that can happen?” Kit chimed in his two cents. “She’ll probably be flattered.”
Jason rolled his eyes at Kit. “Easy for you to say, Fox,” he said, sardonically. “You’ve already got a girlfriend.”
It was Kit’s turn to roll his eyes. “I’ve told you guys a million times, it’s not really like that,” he said. “Nita and me are just…”
“Together all the time, always secretive about what you’re doing, she’s sexy - don’t tell me you guys haven’t done anything, man.”
Kit shook his head, protesting his innocence, though hearing Nita described like that gave him a moment’s annoyance. “We’re just friends, really,” he said, a little futilely. He knew that they didn’t believe him. “Really good friends.”
“I call BS. It’s so obvious you two have a thing for each other. This is like, the first weekend this whole year you’re not hanging with Nita.”
No, we’re just doing wizardry together, he thought. But of course he couldn’t say that - like they would believe him.
“Really guys, we’re not,” Kit said. They gave him skeptical looks, and might have said more, but for a telltale song that came blazing from Kit’s bag. He immediately jumped to grab it. “One sec, guys,” he said, diving into his bag and picking up his cell phone.
“What’s up?” he asked as he answered it.
“Hey, Kit, it’s Tom,” the voice said over the other line. Kit grinned at the sound of the Californian’s voice. “Are you busy right now?”
“Not really, just hanging,” he said, with a bit of a shrug. “What is it?”
“We’ve got some business that we’d like you and Nita to help with,” Tom said. “Can you pop over here? I’d like to give you the details in person.”
“Yeah, of course,” Kit said. “Just give me a few minutes.”
“Thanks,” Tom said, and hung up.
Kit flipped his cell phone closed, and headed back to his bag. The topic of conversation was no longer girls, but instead food. He grabbed his bag, and flipped it over his shoulder.
“I have to go guys,” he said, with an apologetic grin. “Sorry to leave the teams uneven.”
“No problem, man,” one of the guys from the opposite team said. “We were losing, anyways. You’re pretty good.”
“Thanks,” Kit said, appreciating the praise. He began to walk away from the basketball courts, toward a break between the buildings that was invisible from the court. He reached it in a minute, and then began reciting the words that would bring him directly to Tom’s house.
---
Kit appeared in Tom and Carl’s living room with only a slight ruffling of displaced air. The moment he appeared, a couple of the dogs started barking. He looked around to see if he could find anyone.
“We’re in the kitchen!” the familiar voice of Carl Romeo called from that general direction.
Kit walked from the living room to the kitchen, to find the two Seniors there, as well as Nita, who was eating a sandwich. “Hey, Kit,” she greeted him between bites.
“Have you had lunch, Kit?” Carl asked. “You want a sandwich? Or anything to drink?”
Kit shook his head. “I already ate,” he told them. “But something to drink would be nice.”
“We’ve got Coke, or orange juice, or water - take your pick,” Tom said, opening up the fridge door.
“Coke, please,” Kit said, and Tom tossed him one, which Kit caught and opened - quickly slurping up the fizz.
“Well, now that you’re both here, I suppose we should get to the heart of why we asked you guys to come here,” Tom said, with a grin at the two of them.
“Let me guess, you were hoping we would do yard work for you,” Kit joked. “We charge by the hour, just so you know.”
Carl chuckled. “This is a little bit more serious than yard work,” he said. “Though we appreciate the offer.”
“Then what is it?” Nita asked, curious.
“We recommended you two to join a small diplomatic council of wizards from around the galaxy,” Tom said. “It’ll probably last around ten days, and you guys are on a break from school right now. If you’re really busy, we can ask for someone else, but I think you guys would be good at this.”
Nita and Kit both shrugged and looked at each other, then back at Tom and Carl. Kit nodded. “Sure,” Kit said. “You know we’re up for anything you throw our way.”
“I’m in - I don’t have too much homework, at least,” Nita seconded him. “What kind of diplomatic council is it?”
“I don’t suppose either of you have heard of the At’kokaldra Shy’selorat Heavenly Galactic Imperium,” Tom said, and both Nita and Kit shook their heads. “That’s alright - your manuals will tell you more in depth, but in short, it’s a government spread across four planetary systems. It’s always been a mainstay in galactic politics, but inner turmoil is threatening to tear it apart.”
Nita frowned, looking straight at Tom. “So you want us to…”
“We want you to see if you can find a diplomatic solution to the Galactic Imperium’s troubles. Of course, you won’t be alone - we are hoping for twenty one Wizards from throughout the galaxy in total.”
Nit smiled. “I’m up for it. How about you, Kit?” She looked at her partner - they always did things together, and she wasn’t about to leave him out of the decision making.
Kit looked a little bit confused still. “Only two from Earth?” he asked.
Carl shook his head. “Three Wizards each from the six closest, most densely populated planets - plus three from the Galactic Imperium itself. We’re already sending an Advisory from Earth - he’s an old friend of ours.”
Suddenly, Nita felt a lot better about this. She had been on Errantry plenty of times before, but there was something about guidance from more experienced Wizards that always helped her feel better. Not that she was about to voice this opinion.
Kit seemed to realize that he hadn’t given his answer yet. He nodded decisively. “I’m in,” he said.
The relief was visible in Tom and Carl’s eyes. “I knew we could count on you guys,” Carl said. Immediately, the two of them seemed almost to relax.
Nita had to wonder about the amount of stresses the two Seniors underwent, just day to day. She had seen her own fair share of danger, for sure, but she did sometimes wonder what it must be like to sit back and advise and know that her decisions would affect people other than herself, and hope that she made the right ones.
Suddenly, she had a strange feeling that she was about to get a taste of just that. For a moment, Nita felt a strange weight on her, oppressive and cold and terrifying, and she felt like she couldn’t move.
And then it was gone. She was still standing in Tom and Carl’s kitchen.
“So, when do we Gate out of here?” she asked the two Seniors. Right now, positive action kept the shivers at bay.
Carl looked at an open book on the dining room table. Nita could see several numbers - some of them changed minutely.
“Tomorrow at 8:30 AM?” he asked, and he sounded a little apologetic. “We want to get you there as early as we can.”
“Sounds great.”
---
That night, Nita dreamed of skimming over the clouds. She dreamed of a bright, ringed moon hanging low in the sky. Liquid brown eyes stared her down, as a deafening cry of defiance swelled in the distance.
She dreamed that someone’s fingers intertwined with hers, and she held on tight.
---
Grand Central was crowded in the early morning. Kit and Nita moved through the high density of people heading to work and various other places, unnoticed by anyone. They were not invisible - that may have caused more problems than it solved - but they may as well have been. Their conversation was as lost as their presence, among all of the passing commuters.
“Did you do your reading?” Nita asked Kit.
He nodded, as he was jostled by a brisk businesswoman carrying a briefcase. “Yeah,” Kit said, ignoring the fact that the woman had not said sorry. “I did - I’m not sure I understand it all, though.”
Nita gave a half-grin. “Me neither,” she said, glad that she wasn’t the only one. “There was a lot about the escalating conflict, the beliefs of the two sides - but very little about the conflict’s origin.”
“Maybe they don’t know where the conflict originated,” Kit said, sounding a little dubious. Nita, too, was unconvinced.
“I’m sure we’ll learn when we get there,” she said, sounding as positive as she could. “The gate should be somewhere around here.”
“You must be Kit and Nita,” a man said, from behind them. “Carl and Tom said you’d be here.”
The two of them turned around, to come face to face with a fair-haired young man - perhaps in his late twenties - with a small, sleek black cat perched on his shoulder. He was scratching the hard-to-reach spot between her ears.
“Dai’stiho, Rhiow,” Kit greeted the cat. He turned to the man Rhiow was currently using as her perch. She responded in turn. “You must be Tom and Carl’s friend - the advisory.”
“Dai’stiho. I’m Alex Monnier,” the fair-haired man said, reaching his hand out to shake first Kit’s hand, and then Nita’s. His grip was strong and assured, his smile bright and inviting. “It’s nice to meet you two. I‘ve heard a bit from Carl.”
“I hope they’re good things,” Kit said, jokingly.
Nita smiled. “I’m afraid we don’t know you,” she said.
“I live in Pennsylvania,” Alex said. “I work as an Environmental Engineer - both as a pedestrian and as a Wizard.”
Nita brightened. “You’re a geomancer,” she said, a little excited. Of course, that was merely the English equivalent of the Speech word for the Wizards who helped to regulate a planet’s environment according to the needs of both the inhabited and the inhabitants.
Alex nodded. “Right in one guess,” he said.
Suddenly, Rhiow spoke up. “The gate is about to become patent,” she said. “If you want to wrap up your conversation.”
The three wizards all looked a little sheepish. “Of course,” Alex said. “You’re making all of the necessary arrangements.”
Rhiow washed her paw, looking absolutely nonchalant. “Of course,” she said. She inspected her paw, and then leaped off of Alex’s shoulder. The sleek black cat sighed. “Back to walking around near feet,” she grumbled.
“Riow is going to temporarily shield the gate from any passerby, while we pass through,” Alex said. “The gates are shifting a little, lately.”
Nita nodded. “I see,” she said. She was glad to have a gating expert like Rhiow around - she and Kit had experienced trouble with moving gates.
Rhiow’s sat down in the center of the three humans. Her green eyes fairly glowed, as she stared off into the emptiness of space. It was almost unnoticeable, but the flow of the crowd around seemed to divert.
“Your gate will be patent in five seconds. Four. Three. Two. One…”
A ripple opened in the air, through which metallic colors and the alien shapes of late Liline architecture could vaguely be seen from the right angle.
“Have a nice trip,” Rhiow said.
The three wizards stepped through the gate, and into the Crossings.
The Crossings was a large, confusing building - or collection of buildings, Nita could never quite tell - that stretched in all directions as far as the eye could see. It was full of alien species of all types imaginable, from sentient foliage to humanoids to large, formless globs. All were passing through on business, never staying for too long. Rirhath B did not have a large permanent population.
It was scarce seconds after the three of them had stepped out onto the expansive floor of the Crossings that what looked like a large centipede constructed from metallic-blue beach balls approached them at rapid speed.
“Nita! Kit! Dai’stiho!” he called enthusiastically at them.
Nita grinned widely, and waved. Sker’ret, the current Station Master of the Crossings, had always been one of her favorite aliens, ever since they had worked together on Errantry to save the Universe years ago.
Sker’ret stopped not far from them. “Dai’stiho, and well met on the journey,” he said courteously to Alex, before turning back to Kit and Nita. “Carmela told me you were coming.”
Kit laughed. “Did she also mention that she sent along some chocolate?” he asked. “Free of charge, too. She said it was a gift for her favorite alien - and also as thanks for overlooking a few things.”
Sker’ret’s many body segments rippled with excitement. Chocolate, among aliens, was a very rare commodity - something that Kit’s sister, Carmela, had taken full, lucrative advantage of.
Kit pulled his backpack off of his shoulder, and rummaged into a side pocket. During this interim, Alex introduced himself to the Rirhait, who seemed impressed with the geomancer. He pulled out two bars of Godiva chocolate - one 50% dark, the other a mixed box of truffles. He handed them over the Sker’ret, who took them gingerly. He politely abstained from eating them, and merely tucked the precious boxes in an otherspace pocket.
“I miss Earth’s sugar-based foods,” Sker’ret admitted truthfully.
Nita, remembering how the alien had fairly raided her family’s cupboards during an extended stay at her house, believed this wholeheartedly.
“I’ll walk you to your gate,” he said.
Kit seemed a little bit surprised at this. “Are you sure? I mean, aren’t you busy? Not that I mind, of course,” he said.
Sker’ret laughed a little bit. “I’m very busy,” he said. “But I can always make time for old friends. Besides, I should be there if the gate starts giving you trouble.”
Immediately, Nita was alarmed. “Are the gates acting up again?” she asked.
Sker’ret shook his head no. He had taken up his old habit of approximating human gestures around them fairly quickly. “It’s not as serious as that, thank the Powers. The At’kokaldra sometimes mess with the gates on their end, as a kind of… protest. There’s plenty of backups in place, though, especially for this council.” Sker’ret quickly assured them of this fact, as he skittered along beside them.
Nita raised her eyebrows at Kit. The look he gave her was serious and even.
‘I didn’t know it was that bad,’ she thought, sharing her thoughts with Kit.
‘Me too,’ he replied evenly, although she could tell that he was worried. Nita was worried too.
“So, how is your sister?” Sker’ret asked. He was clearly changing the subject, but Nita was glad for that.
Nita grinned, at the thought of Dairine. “She’s practically living on Wellakh,” she said. “Well, she comes back for school - but she spends all of her weekends there. Something about adjusting the atmosphere… I didn’t really get it.”
Sker’ret nodded. “I see,” he said. He paused. “And have the people accepted her?” he asked.
Nita’s expression became wry. “I think she’s going to make them accept her,” she said, truthfully. “Still, she has been working on doing a lot of good for the planet, and she did restore their Sun King to them-”
“I’m not sure they’ll be entirely grateful for that,” Sker’ret said, trying not to sound too dubious, but still obviously doubtful.
Nita remained wry, at the thought of the political mess her sister was getting herself into. Still, far be it for her to assuage Dairine’s will - and Dairine knew the risks, more than Nita did. “Yeah,” she agreed. “That’s true. Still, she seems well.”
Sker’ret seemed happy at that news. The skittering of his various legs slowed, slightly, as they reached their gate. He looked at the interface, skimming over the various statistics quicker than any of the humans could follow. When he turned to them, he looked a little grim.
“I’m afraid I have to reroute your gate - the main one is out,” he said, a little apologetic. He didn’t wait for a response, merely went back to the glowing, metallic blue computer interface and began typing furiously.
There were a few moments of tense silence as the three humans waited for Sker’ret to finish. Nita fiddled a little bit with the charm bracelet that was the physical manifestation of her personal power matrix. She pulled on the charm that doubled as a shield, so that it was ready to activate - Sker’ret’s earlier assessment of the planet’s situation, and the problems with the main gate, had put her on guard.
Sker’ret turned back to the three of them. “You’re good to go,” he said, indicating the space of floor that was now shimmering various different colors. Numbers on a floating display counted down the seconds.
The three of them stepped onto the fluorescing square of floor, waiting tensely as the numbers slowly reached the twenties, then the teens, then the single digits, and then zero.
The worldgate opened. The three of them stepped through.
A moment later, Nita was glad she had thought to ready her shield. The three of them had stepped into a blazing firefight.
Title: Wizards of the Sky
Author: Araine
Pairing(s): Kit/Nita, Original/Original, Dairine/Roshaun
Rating: PG-13 (for violence and romance)
Warnings: Spoilers for... everything. But this story should stand alone - if you haven't read all of the books, and aren't worried about some spoilers, don't worry.
Summary: An interplanetary empire is on the verge of open civil war, something the wizards want to try to prevent at all costs. Faith, sacrifice, and love of all kinds is called for. And once again, Nita and Kit are called on Errantry. Because some stories are too timeless to let die.
Chapter Summary: Nita and Kit receive an assignment, meet a friend, and are sent off planet.
Author's Note: I hope you all enjoy! I'd like to thank Angels and Airwaves for providing musical inspiration, and various Terraspace arts on DeviantArt for visual inspiration. Also, I'm looking for someone who would be interested in beta-ing for this story - if you're interested, leave your email, and I'll check you out! Thanks a bunch, you guys, and I hope you enjoy!
www.fanfiction.net/s/5358145/1/
Nita folded open her Paperback Classics Edition of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet stubbornly, and glared at the text, as though daring meaning to rise to the surface. The little black text stared back at her, inscrutably revealing nothing other than what it actually said. She sighed and turned to Act I, Scene II to begin her reading - they had already read through the very first Scene.
This was no way to read a book, she knew. And it normally was not the way she read things - especially fiction. Normally, Nita guzzled fiction like it was her favorite lemon soda on a hot day.
This one was different. This was one project she was determined to hate.
Reading Romeo and Juliet as their Shakespeare book for Junior English had been well-received by most of the class - it was by far the most well-known of his plays. It was only Nita who seemed to have any reservations. This was not because Nita disliked the play (though she had her personal gripes with it) but because there were so many stories and plays by Shakespeare that were better.
They could have read Hamlet. They could have read The Tempest. They could have read A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and at least had a laugh out of it!
‘If only they weren’t two love-struck twits,’ Nita thought. Give her a good fantasy, a good comedy, a good sci-fi any day, but she was not one for love stories.
She had all of winter break to battle through reading this and write her essay, at the very least. Only a few little things to handle on the Wizardly side of things - which was almost a disappointment. And she had read more difficult things in her time - Shakespeare’s poetry, while wordy, was nothing compared to conjugating verbs in the Speech.
She just had to grit her teeth and get down to it…
The phone rang downstairs. Nita ignored it. She grabbed a pencil to begin her annotations.
Muffled voices from downstairs. The sound of a conversation being held over the phone.
Nita turned to the text and began her reading--
“Neets! Phone!”
Salvation!
Nita rocketed out of her desk chair and crossed to her door in two strides. “Coming, dad!” she called, even as she was in the hallway and bounding down the stairs.
She reached the kitchen, and took the receiver from her father. “That was quick,” he commented, as he handed over the phone.
Nita ignored the comment. “Who is it?” she asked him.
“Tom Swale,” he said. “I think he might have some business for you.”
Nita’s happiness at having been spared homework for the moment swelled into elation. She cradled the phone to her ear. “Hi, Tom,” she said.
“Hey, Nita,” he said. “I hope you’re not busy.”
“Nope,” she said. “Well, I was working on some homework, but I can put that off.”
“Homework? Over winter break? Isn’t that illegal or something?” The humor in Tom’s voice was obvious.
Nita grinned wryly. “Tell my teachers that. Did you need me for anything?”
“Yes, actually - would you mind popping over here for a minute? I’d like to explain the details to you and Kit together.”
“Alright, Tom,” Nita said. “See you in a minute.”
---
“C’mon, Kit-fox, right here!”
“Pass it!”
Kit turned around and passed the basketball that was currently in his hands. The boy he had passed it to - a lanky, athletic kid named Patrick - took the ball and made a swift, easy basket. “Yes, two points!” he said, pumping his fist.
“Come on, let’s take a break,” one of the guys complained.
Another boy seconded the motion, and most of them headed for the edge of the court, where their water bottles lay. Patrick grinned at Kit.
“Nice pass, Kit-fox,” he said, raising his hand for a high-five.
Kit returned it. “Thanks,” he replied, a grin plastered on his face. They weren’t exactly playing for points - but it always felt nice to be acknowledged. He headed for his own water bottle, parched from the exercise, but still satisfied.
It was nice to just hang with some guy friends, he reflected, just be a normal kid. Wizardry was wonderful and it was a huge part of his life. But sometimes things were… complicated.
“Jeez, man, stop being such a pussy.”
“Yeah, just ask her out already!”
The story was, one of the guys - Jason - liked a very pretty girl, who was probably interested in him. He had been talking about asking her out for some time, but had yet to do anything about it.
“What’s the worst that can happen?” Kit chimed in his two cents. “She’ll probably be flattered.”
Jason rolled his eyes at Kit. “Easy for you to say, Fox,” he said, sardonically. “You’ve already got a girlfriend.”
It was Kit’s turn to roll his eyes. “I’ve told you guys a million times, it’s not really like that,” he said. “Nita and me are just…”
“Together all the time, always secretive about what you’re doing, she’s sexy - don’t tell me you guys haven’t done anything, man.”
Kit shook his head, protesting his innocence, though hearing Nita described like that gave him a moment’s annoyance. “We’re just friends, really,” he said, a little futilely. He knew that they didn’t believe him. “Really good friends.”
“I call BS. It’s so obvious you two have a thing for each other. This is like, the first weekend this whole year you’re not hanging with Nita.”
No, we’re just doing wizardry together, he thought. But of course he couldn’t say that - like they would believe him.
“Really guys, we’re not,” Kit said. They gave him skeptical looks, and might have said more, but for a telltale song that came blazing from Kit’s bag. He immediately jumped to grab it. “One sec, guys,” he said, diving into his bag and picking up his cell phone.
“What’s up?” he asked as he answered it.
“Hey, Kit, it’s Tom,” the voice said over the other line. Kit grinned at the sound of the Californian’s voice. “Are you busy right now?”
“Not really, just hanging,” he said, with a bit of a shrug. “What is it?”
“We’ve got some business that we’d like you and Nita to help with,” Tom said. “Can you pop over here? I’d like to give you the details in person.”
“Yeah, of course,” Kit said. “Just give me a few minutes.”
“Thanks,” Tom said, and hung up.
Kit flipped his cell phone closed, and headed back to his bag. The topic of conversation was no longer girls, but instead food. He grabbed his bag, and flipped it over his shoulder.
“I have to go guys,” he said, with an apologetic grin. “Sorry to leave the teams uneven.”
“No problem, man,” one of the guys from the opposite team said. “We were losing, anyways. You’re pretty good.”
“Thanks,” Kit said, appreciating the praise. He began to walk away from the basketball courts, toward a break between the buildings that was invisible from the court. He reached it in a minute, and then began reciting the words that would bring him directly to Tom’s house.
---
Kit appeared in Tom and Carl’s living room with only a slight ruffling of displaced air. The moment he appeared, a couple of the dogs started barking. He looked around to see if he could find anyone.
“We’re in the kitchen!” the familiar voice of Carl Romeo called from that general direction.
Kit walked from the living room to the kitchen, to find the two Seniors there, as well as Nita, who was eating a sandwich. “Hey, Kit,” she greeted him between bites.
“Have you had lunch, Kit?” Carl asked. “You want a sandwich? Or anything to drink?”
Kit shook his head. “I already ate,” he told them. “But something to drink would be nice.”
“We’ve got Coke, or orange juice, or water - take your pick,” Tom said, opening up the fridge door.
“Coke, please,” Kit said, and Tom tossed him one, which Kit caught and opened - quickly slurping up the fizz.
“Well, now that you’re both here, I suppose we should get to the heart of why we asked you guys to come here,” Tom said, with a grin at the two of them.
“Let me guess, you were hoping we would do yard work for you,” Kit joked. “We charge by the hour, just so you know.”
Carl chuckled. “This is a little bit more serious than yard work,” he said. “Though we appreciate the offer.”
“Then what is it?” Nita asked, curious.
“We recommended you two to join a small diplomatic council of wizards from around the galaxy,” Tom said. “It’ll probably last around ten days, and you guys are on a break from school right now. If you’re really busy, we can ask for someone else, but I think you guys would be good at this.”
Nita and Kit both shrugged and looked at each other, then back at Tom and Carl. Kit nodded. “Sure,” Kit said. “You know we’re up for anything you throw our way.”
“I’m in - I don’t have too much homework, at least,” Nita seconded him. “What kind of diplomatic council is it?”
“I don’t suppose either of you have heard of the At’kokaldra Shy’selorat Heavenly Galactic Imperium,” Tom said, and both Nita and Kit shook their heads. “That’s alright - your manuals will tell you more in depth, but in short, it’s a government spread across four planetary systems. It’s always been a mainstay in galactic politics, but inner turmoil is threatening to tear it apart.”
Nita frowned, looking straight at Tom. “So you want us to…”
“We want you to see if you can find a diplomatic solution to the Galactic Imperium’s troubles. Of course, you won’t be alone - we are hoping for twenty one Wizards from throughout the galaxy in total.”
Nit smiled. “I’m up for it. How about you, Kit?” She looked at her partner - they always did things together, and she wasn’t about to leave him out of the decision making.
Kit looked a little bit confused still. “Only two from Earth?” he asked.
Carl shook his head. “Three Wizards each from the six closest, most densely populated planets - plus three from the Galactic Imperium itself. We’re already sending an Advisory from Earth - he’s an old friend of ours.”
Suddenly, Nita felt a lot better about this. She had been on Errantry plenty of times before, but there was something about guidance from more experienced Wizards that always helped her feel better. Not that she was about to voice this opinion.
Kit seemed to realize that he hadn’t given his answer yet. He nodded decisively. “I’m in,” he said.
The relief was visible in Tom and Carl’s eyes. “I knew we could count on you guys,” Carl said. Immediately, the two of them seemed almost to relax.
Nita had to wonder about the amount of stresses the two Seniors underwent, just day to day. She had seen her own fair share of danger, for sure, but she did sometimes wonder what it must be like to sit back and advise and know that her decisions would affect people other than herself, and hope that she made the right ones.
Suddenly, she had a strange feeling that she was about to get a taste of just that. For a moment, Nita felt a strange weight on her, oppressive and cold and terrifying, and she felt like she couldn’t move.
And then it was gone. She was still standing in Tom and Carl’s kitchen.
“So, when do we Gate out of here?” she asked the two Seniors. Right now, positive action kept the shivers at bay.
Carl looked at an open book on the dining room table. Nita could see several numbers - some of them changed minutely.
“Tomorrow at 8:30 AM?” he asked, and he sounded a little apologetic. “We want to get you there as early as we can.”
“Sounds great.”
---
That night, Nita dreamed of skimming over the clouds. She dreamed of a bright, ringed moon hanging low in the sky. Liquid brown eyes stared her down, as a deafening cry of defiance swelled in the distance.
She dreamed that someone’s fingers intertwined with hers, and she held on tight.
---
Grand Central was crowded in the early morning. Kit and Nita moved through the high density of people heading to work and various other places, unnoticed by anyone. They were not invisible - that may have caused more problems than it solved - but they may as well have been. Their conversation was as lost as their presence, among all of the passing commuters.
“Did you do your reading?” Nita asked Kit.
He nodded, as he was jostled by a brisk businesswoman carrying a briefcase. “Yeah,” Kit said, ignoring the fact that the woman had not said sorry. “I did - I’m not sure I understand it all, though.”
Nita gave a half-grin. “Me neither,” she said, glad that she wasn’t the only one. “There was a lot about the escalating conflict, the beliefs of the two sides - but very little about the conflict’s origin.”
“Maybe they don’t know where the conflict originated,” Kit said, sounding a little dubious. Nita, too, was unconvinced.
“I’m sure we’ll learn when we get there,” she said, sounding as positive as she could. “The gate should be somewhere around here.”
“You must be Kit and Nita,” a man said, from behind them. “Carl and Tom said you’d be here.”
The two of them turned around, to come face to face with a fair-haired young man - perhaps in his late twenties - with a small, sleek black cat perched on his shoulder. He was scratching the hard-to-reach spot between her ears.
“Dai’stiho, Rhiow,” Kit greeted the cat. He turned to the man Rhiow was currently using as her perch. She responded in turn. “You must be Tom and Carl’s friend - the advisory.”
“Dai’stiho. I’m Alex Monnier,” the fair-haired man said, reaching his hand out to shake first Kit’s hand, and then Nita’s. His grip was strong and assured, his smile bright and inviting. “It’s nice to meet you two. I‘ve heard a bit from Carl.”
“I hope they’re good things,” Kit said, jokingly.
Nita smiled. “I’m afraid we don’t know you,” she said.
“I live in Pennsylvania,” Alex said. “I work as an Environmental Engineer - both as a pedestrian and as a Wizard.”
Nita brightened. “You’re a geomancer,” she said, a little excited. Of course, that was merely the English equivalent of the Speech word for the Wizards who helped to regulate a planet’s environment according to the needs of both the inhabited and the inhabitants.
Alex nodded. “Right in one guess,” he said.
Suddenly, Rhiow spoke up. “The gate is about to become patent,” she said. “If you want to wrap up your conversation.”
The three wizards all looked a little sheepish. “Of course,” Alex said. “You’re making all of the necessary arrangements.”
Rhiow washed her paw, looking absolutely nonchalant. “Of course,” she said. She inspected her paw, and then leaped off of Alex’s shoulder. The sleek black cat sighed. “Back to walking around near feet,” she grumbled.
“Riow is going to temporarily shield the gate from any passerby, while we pass through,” Alex said. “The gates are shifting a little, lately.”
Nita nodded. “I see,” she said. She was glad to have a gating expert like Rhiow around - she and Kit had experienced trouble with moving gates.
Rhiow’s sat down in the center of the three humans. Her green eyes fairly glowed, as she stared off into the emptiness of space. It was almost unnoticeable, but the flow of the crowd around seemed to divert.
“Your gate will be patent in five seconds. Four. Three. Two. One…”
A ripple opened in the air, through which metallic colors and the alien shapes of late Liline architecture could vaguely be seen from the right angle.
“Have a nice trip,” Rhiow said.
The three wizards stepped through the gate, and into the Crossings.
The Crossings was a large, confusing building - or collection of buildings, Nita could never quite tell - that stretched in all directions as far as the eye could see. It was full of alien species of all types imaginable, from sentient foliage to humanoids to large, formless globs. All were passing through on business, never staying for too long. Rirhath B did not have a large permanent population.
It was scarce seconds after the three of them had stepped out onto the expansive floor of the Crossings that what looked like a large centipede constructed from metallic-blue beach balls approached them at rapid speed.
“Nita! Kit! Dai’stiho!” he called enthusiastically at them.
Nita grinned widely, and waved. Sker’ret, the current Station Master of the Crossings, had always been one of her favorite aliens, ever since they had worked together on Errantry to save the Universe years ago.
Sker’ret stopped not far from them. “Dai’stiho, and well met on the journey,” he said courteously to Alex, before turning back to Kit and Nita. “Carmela told me you were coming.”
Kit laughed. “Did she also mention that she sent along some chocolate?” he asked. “Free of charge, too. She said it was a gift for her favorite alien - and also as thanks for overlooking a few things.”
Sker’ret’s many body segments rippled with excitement. Chocolate, among aliens, was a very rare commodity - something that Kit’s sister, Carmela, had taken full, lucrative advantage of.
Kit pulled his backpack off of his shoulder, and rummaged into a side pocket. During this interim, Alex introduced himself to the Rirhait, who seemed impressed with the geomancer. He pulled out two bars of Godiva chocolate - one 50% dark, the other a mixed box of truffles. He handed them over the Sker’ret, who took them gingerly. He politely abstained from eating them, and merely tucked the precious boxes in an otherspace pocket.
“I miss Earth’s sugar-based foods,” Sker’ret admitted truthfully.
Nita, remembering how the alien had fairly raided her family’s cupboards during an extended stay at her house, believed this wholeheartedly.
“I’ll walk you to your gate,” he said.
Kit seemed a little bit surprised at this. “Are you sure? I mean, aren’t you busy? Not that I mind, of course,” he said.
Sker’ret laughed a little bit. “I’m very busy,” he said. “But I can always make time for old friends. Besides, I should be there if the gate starts giving you trouble.”
Immediately, Nita was alarmed. “Are the gates acting up again?” she asked.
Sker’ret shook his head no. He had taken up his old habit of approximating human gestures around them fairly quickly. “It’s not as serious as that, thank the Powers. The At’kokaldra sometimes mess with the gates on their end, as a kind of… protest. There’s plenty of backups in place, though, especially for this council.” Sker’ret quickly assured them of this fact, as he skittered along beside them.
Nita raised her eyebrows at Kit. The look he gave her was serious and even.
‘I didn’t know it was that bad,’ she thought, sharing her thoughts with Kit.
‘Me too,’ he replied evenly, although she could tell that he was worried. Nita was worried too.
“So, how is your sister?” Sker’ret asked. He was clearly changing the subject, but Nita was glad for that.
Nita grinned, at the thought of Dairine. “She’s practically living on Wellakh,” she said. “Well, she comes back for school - but she spends all of her weekends there. Something about adjusting the atmosphere… I didn’t really get it.”
Sker’ret nodded. “I see,” he said. He paused. “And have the people accepted her?” he asked.
Nita’s expression became wry. “I think she’s going to make them accept her,” she said, truthfully. “Still, she has been working on doing a lot of good for the planet, and she did restore their Sun King to them-”
“I’m not sure they’ll be entirely grateful for that,” Sker’ret said, trying not to sound too dubious, but still obviously doubtful.
Nita remained wry, at the thought of the political mess her sister was getting herself into. Still, far be it for her to assuage Dairine’s will - and Dairine knew the risks, more than Nita did. “Yeah,” she agreed. “That’s true. Still, she seems well.”
Sker’ret seemed happy at that news. The skittering of his various legs slowed, slightly, as they reached their gate. He looked at the interface, skimming over the various statistics quicker than any of the humans could follow. When he turned to them, he looked a little grim.
“I’m afraid I have to reroute your gate - the main one is out,” he said, a little apologetic. He didn’t wait for a response, merely went back to the glowing, metallic blue computer interface and began typing furiously.
There were a few moments of tense silence as the three humans waited for Sker’ret to finish. Nita fiddled a little bit with the charm bracelet that was the physical manifestation of her personal power matrix. She pulled on the charm that doubled as a shield, so that it was ready to activate - Sker’ret’s earlier assessment of the planet’s situation, and the problems with the main gate, had put her on guard.
Sker’ret turned back to the three of them. “You’re good to go,” he said, indicating the space of floor that was now shimmering various different colors. Numbers on a floating display counted down the seconds.
The three of them stepped onto the fluorescing square of floor, waiting tensely as the numbers slowly reached the twenties, then the teens, then the single digits, and then zero.
The worldgate opened. The three of them stepped through.
A moment later, Nita was glad she had thought to ready her shield. The three of them had stepped into a blazing firefight.