Beams of Power: Book 1 - Galaxia Alia AIR Read online

  Beams of Power

  Book 1 - Galaxia Alia AIR

  Callie Bourde

  Callie Bourde

  Contents

  Book Description

  1. Jump Station Delta, Delta Sector, Galaxia Alia

  2. Jump Station Beta, Beta Sector, Galaxia Alia

  3. Beta Memorial Auditorium, Jump Station Beta

  4. Travelers Inn, Jump Station Beta

  5. Beta Memorial Auditorium, Jump Station Beta

  6. Beta Memorial Auditorium, Jump Station Beta

  7. Beta Memorial Auditorium, Jump Station Beta

  8. Command Central - Security, Jump Station Beta

  9. Jump Station Beta, Beta Sector, Galaxia Alia

  10. Hangar Construction Site, Jump Station Beta

  11. Beta Memorial Auditorium, Jump Station Beta

  Copyright

  Book Description

  Artist in Residence Series, Galaxia Alia

  Readers who love Tales of the Citadel, Terran Times Second Wave, and Mechanical Advantage will enjoy the unique universe of the Galaxia Alia, its resourceful females, and sexy males...

  Beams of Power

  Light Sculptor An’Ish Dy is on Jump Station Beta for her big break -- a major concert starring Klonee singer, Quuee. She’s met dishy Commander Mazim Edun and things are going well… Until there’s a major construction accident.

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  1

  Jump Station Delta, Delta Sector, Galaxia Alia

  League Galaxia Commander Mazim Edun noticed her as she exited the ped-track. His initial observation was second nature. A security specialist, he was aware of his surroundings and everyone within. Always.

  She had two travel crates and handled them like a pro. Further evidence of her experience, the crates were a heavy-duty matched set, designed to clamp together and travel as one unit. A quick glance showed that they were high-end and each had its own antigravity unit, so it didn't matter which way they were stacked. They seemed to be marked on all sides — An'Ish Dy Light Sculptor.

  She guided them straight to the cargo loading area. The attendant waved his identi-wand, said something to her and they laughed. She replied and turned away, still smiling. Seeing her smile, he straightened, his previously casual interest now more focused and personal.

  He shouldn't have been on this flight. He shouldn't have seen her. In fact, if Trinee hadn't insisted on the schedule change...

  He put it in context. Forecaster Anurahdi Trinee had made the request. So, this likely meant something, and if he was lucky, it meant something significant.

  As it happened, she took a seat across from him in the boarding area. She glanced around, and he felt her gaze pass over him like a caress. He'd heard about this — allun gonu — but hadn't dared to hope that he would experience it himself. Thank you, Trinee. The thought was silent but heartfelt.

  She was his potential mate, now all he had to do was convince her.

  After her initial glance around the seating area, she ignored him and his League Galaxia uniform. He was amused to note his disappointment. While he didn't consider himself vain, he was used to garnering attention, especially in uniform.

  Her sparkling eyes, green skin, and dark red hair identified her as Chill'ra... and if he remembered his bio-geography correctly, the dark, almost emerald tones said she came from one of their outer planets. She wore a well-tailored charcoal gray jumpsuit, low boots with gripper soles, and had a beautiful but practical cross-body bag strapped across her chest. Her mode of dress indicated that she was prepared for unexpected gravity loss. She looked every inch the experienced traveler.

  A short while later, the computer generated boarding announcement was made in Galaxia Alia's approved six languages. Three different subtitles were displayed on the screens along with the standard percussion translation for those races that processed information by vibration. Jump Station Delta served four incoming jump points. Like all the Jump Stations, it acted as a major travel hub, so it hosted a myriad of species.

  In response to the announcement, his potential mate leisurely finished whatever it was she'd been reading on her tablet and stowed it back in her cross-body bag.

  When it was time to board, she was two passengers ahead of him and he noted that she didn't even reach his shoulder. That surprised him. All the Chill'ra he'd known — male and female — were his height, or close to it.

  "Welcome aboard Jump Shuttle 405..." The steward glanced at his chip and added smoothly, "Commander Edun."

  He nodded politely. "Thank you. Are we on schedule?"

  "We are, with no delays expected."

  Jump Station Beta, their destination, was undergoing a massive expansion, and Mazim had run into landing and departure delays several times. He was happy to hear that none were expected today, but privately bet himself there was at least a 50-50 chance of an unscheduled delay.

  He looked past the steward to see the light sculptor — his light sculptor — snag one of the workstations set in the outer perimeter of the cabin. Demand for the desks was usually strong because many commuters wanted to work during the flight. This flight was off hours, so there was less competition.

  He chose a seat two rows over, but with a clear view of her.

  Throughout the trip, she worked hard, her professional grade tablet fully extended and both screens active. She had the audio set to private and from what he could see over her shoulder, she was watching a performance of some type on one screen while taking notes on the other.

  He passed the time gleaning as much information about his potential mate as possible. He started with a universal search for Light Sculptor. He hadn't seen many live performances of any kind, and so that world was unfamiliar. Next, he added her name to the search string and discovered she was well known with an extensive work history, which obviously explained her travel experience. He visited her comm-net site which had a list of upcoming performances. She was scheduled for a series of concerts on Jump Station Beta, their destination.

  He read with interest. She created the lighting for performers — singers, dancers, any kind of live performance. He noted that she also provided support for the Galaxia Alia Artist in Residence program. Based out of Delta Sector, she worked all across Galaxia Alia. No wonder she was a relaxed traveler.

  He ran distances in his head and was amused to find that she'd probably traveled more than he had as a member of the League Galaxia. At the jump point, she'd ridden out the momentary discomfort as though it was nothing, and now he understood why.

  As the shuttle approached Jump Station Beta, she folded her tablet into carry mode and pulled up an app.

  The crease between her eyes implied that the app was unfamiliar. He was amused when she shook the tablet, her frustration evident.

  Standing behind her as they waited to exit the shuttle, he could see two apps on her screen. One he didn't recognize. The other was the familiar Station Positioning System app.

  He passed through the gate and the attendant greeted him. "Welcome back, Commander Edun. I hope your trip was pleasant."

  "Thank you. It was. No delays."

  There were few travelers, and the attendant took the extra time to chat. "Yes, sir. We're having a good day today. This station construction project has been a challenge."

  "And seems like it is going on forever?"

  "Very much, sir. I've heard that it is 75% complete, but my bet in the station pool says the last 25% will take as long as the first 75% did."

  "I suspect you are correct, unfortunately." With a final nod, he left the arrival gate and its attendant.

  Throughout the conversation
, he'd been unobtrusively watching his little Chill'ra. She'd just collected her travel crates, and consulting her tablet, she started to move.

  Still intrigued, he drifted behind her, careful to appear unthreatening. He expected her to head directly to the luxurious main station, possibly to the large theatre at the center of the complex. Instead, she surprised him when she turned toward the utilitarian shipping bays.

  2

  Jump Station Beta, Beta Sector, Galaxia Alia

  An'Ish consulted her tablet, again, and surveyed the information provided by the Find App. It was supposed to home in on the tracking chips embedded in her equipment boxes.

  She cocked her head as she tried to decipher the unfamiliar app. Usually, her assistant Felif handled this, but he wasn't here for this job. He was at the far side of Delta Sector, supervising the breakdown on one job and the set-up on another job.

  This series of concerts had been added at the last minute, and An'Ish would be covering it all herself from set-up to tear-down, with help from a stage tech on station. She was on her own.

  She checked the clasps on her stacked travel cases, grabbed the integrated handle, and headed off.

  She entered the working portion of the station, toward the shipping bays. Sound rang off the hard surfaced walls and floor. Little effort was made to dampen the sound beyond what was needed for practicality's sake and there was no attempt to beautify the functional construction. It was strictly utilitarian, although well lit. The signage was clearly provided for workers, rather than station visitors or tourists.

  Pedestrian traffic was moderately heavy, and much later she remembered seeing respectful nods and salutes happening as she passed... directed somewhere behind her.

  After fifteen minutes travel, she was deep in a shuttle hanger, staring at her two road boxes. Evidence of the station expansion was everywhere and here in the bowels of the facility, building materials and equipment filled every available space.

  At a quick glance, the situation with her road boxes appeared good. At a quick glance... But as she looked more closely, her heart sank.

  The two long custom-built crates were secured to their also custom-built grav sled. Seeing how crowded this end of the station was, she knew she'd hit the lottery because there was enough room to get the grav sled out of its parking slot. Unfortunately, although she knew for a fact the crates had left her warehouse properly stacked, somewhere along the line they'd been reversed.

  The one on the bottom should have been on the top, since it was the one with the tie downs for her travel cases. With the travel cases secured to the top of the road boxes, one person could handle the sled. Now, however, that wasn't an option.

  Further complicating things, there wasn't room beside the grav sled for her to set the crates while she swapped them off. And even though each crate had its own antigrav unit, if they were going to be swapped, it was still a two person job with a person at each end.

  While there was personnel traffic moving through this bay, it was clear that everyone was working, so asking for help was not an option.

  She checked the station map on her tablet and tried to calculate distances. According to her notes, the stage tech was only available for another hour or so today. If she wanted to stay on something that resembled a reasonable schedule, she and the road boxes needed to arrive at the venue as soon as possible.

  Although she knew there were no tie-downs on the top of the road box, she put a toe on the narrow edge of the sled, raised herself as far as possible and felt around the top of the road box.

  Nope.

  No miracle had occurred in the last five minutes. There were still no accessible tie-downs.

  "You need some help?" The voice, deep and silky, came from out of nowhere.

  An'Ish froze, then slowly turned her head. Standing on the grav sled and tiptoeing, she still had to look up a little.

  He looked familiar? Maybe? She'd been so intent on her work... Oh, wait! She did recognize him.

  It the League Galaxia officer she'd seen on the shuttle. He looked like some vid director's idea of a hero. The crisp black and gold uniform set off his broad shoulders, his chiseled cheekbones and piercing eyes continuing the theme. Judging from his dark coloring and slick skin, he was even U'ngoloph, just like the current reigning King of Action Vids. He was considerably taller than she was, but that wasn't anything new. She was on the short side of Galaxia Alia citizens.

  "Errrr... Ummmmmm." She stammered, then closed her eyes briefly. How embarrassing. Opening her eyes, she started over, resolutely ignoring what could have been a glimmer of amusement from him. "Not unless you want to help me get this grav sled to the station concert hall." At the last minute, fearing that she'd been too abrupt, she smiled.

  He smiled back.

  "I'd be happy to help you. I am Commander Mazim Edun, League Galaxia."

  She blinked. He was willing to help her? A League Galaxia officer? Perhaps in response to a flash of disbelief, he nodded encouragingly and repeated, "I'm Mazim."

  She found herself responding automatically. "Commander Edun, I'm Artist An'Ish Dy."

  He gave a slight bow in her direction and startled her.

  She fought the urge to look around for someone who deserved a bow. The Galaxia Alia military was generally respectful, the League Galaxia perhaps most of all, but there was still a wide gulf between those who protected and everyday citizens, especially those who created.

  "Please, just Mazim."

  "An'Ish."

  "An'Ish." He drew out her name. "An'Ish, what can I do to help you?"

  Conscious of how valuable his time must be, she explained the problem concisely, finishing with, "In my defense, when I ordered these road boxes, I did order tie downs on all of them. But, there was a problem with the order and I got one case without them. Because of that, it's the last one we use, and we try to minimize the issue by making sure it's placed on the bottom, but obviously, this time that didn't work."

  He looked over the situation, a shrewd and calculating gleam in his eye. He looked at her. "You don't actually need to reverse the crates then, if you have someone to handle your travel crates?"

  "Not if I have someone to handle my travel crates," she agreed, not sure where this was going.

  This time he executed a full bow, accompanied by a charming, knee weakening smile. "Madam An'Ish... at your service."

  Her theatrical instincts kicked in and she gave a deep, end of performance curtsy. Hey, she might work backstage, but that didn't mean she didn't know onstage protocol. "Thank you, kind sir." On impulse, she batted her eyelashes outrageously.

  To her amazement he threw his head back and laughed delightedly.

  The startled reaction from three uniformed TiDens passing by reinforced her instincts that this was not a common occurrence.

  "Well, then..." He stopped laughing, although, there was still a twinkle in his eye. He went straight to the point. "Would you like me to take the large crates?"

  She cocked her head, considering. "Have you any experience with handling boxes like these. Because they're awkward and annoying."

  "Not exactly like those."

  "In that case, how about I take these, since I know all the tricks, and you handle my travel cases."

  In no time at all, he had her cases clipped to his and they were on their way.

  As they walked side by side through the broad corridors, he asked thoughtful questions about her work. He seemed genuinely interested and she found herself answering in far more detail than usual.

  "So this job came through at the last minute. We were already committed to several jobs in Delta Sector. Fortunately, they were shows that I'd designed previously, so my assistant could handle them without me. The biggest issue was equipment. All my good stuff is out on other jobs so I'm here with the dregs. You know, the lights that don't quite work or that were on the replace as soon as possible list." She laughed. "I can do it, but there might be some interesting moments."

  They'
d been walking for some time and were now at a large intersection. Mazim pointed left. "If we go this way, it should be considerably shorter."

  A heavy grill blocked the hall he pointed to. Off to the side, there was a high tech security keypad with print reader. The very look of things was far different from the utilitarian general access corridors she'd traveled in the past. This one was also barebones, with no ornamentation and on the other side of the gate was a clearly restricted area. An'Ish hadn't known this part of the station existed.

  She looked at the map on her tablet then pointed to the Authorized Personnel Only signs. "My Station Positioning System App doesn't even show this corridor. I don't have access for this part of the station and I don't want to get in trouble. I can't afford to lose any time." She'd had a vague sense of the station, having worked other jobs here, but she'd never had to collect her road boxes from the far end of beyond. She didn't have any idea of how to get to the auditorium, let alone the backstage loading dock.

  Mazim held up his right hand and wiggled his fingers. "Ah, but I do have access. I promise you, you won't get into trouble."

  She considered, then asked. "It's shorter?"

  He nodded. "Much."

  "And I won't get arrested?"

  He smiled. "Not if you are with me."

  That was when she noticed the dimple. He had a dimple. The League Galaxia officer had a dimple!

  With difficulty she pulled herself from the dimple distraction. Time was passing. She looked down the broad passage and considered the situation. She was running behind schedule. She HAD to get to the theatre while the tech was still there to give her access. Otherwise, she'd end up camping in the lobby overnight, making sure her equipment didn't get stolen.

  "Alright. But only if you promise to get me released from the station brig... unless they'll arrest you, too?"