Page 28 of Ancient Rising
The shuttle cruised in for a landing, and Harwin kept a watch on the sky.She tapped the side of her crown and said softly, “Shuttle, please remain in place with defensives active.”
“Who is speaking?”
“Harwin, Queen of Aten and consort of Ra.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Thank you, pilot.”
She kept her gaze skyward, and only when one of the attack vessels slipped through that she got to use her favourite trick.She opened her arms, lined up with the vessel, raised her arms so that it looked like she would clasp the vessel, lowered her aim, and clapped.
She sent a psychic blade through the air and then waited.When the ship sheared in two and dropped to the ground, she stopped the blade.“Oh, that was fun.”
She turned, and there were now two vessels left.She swung wide to catch the one closest to her and not in the line of fire.Another clap and a blade shot forward, splitting the ship in two and sending it sliding into the sand.The pilot had dodged the split, so she grinned and used the same move on him.He fell into two parts, leaving the icky blue staining the sand.
The last vessel was out of the sky, and Ra was returning.She tapped the temple piece of the crown and said, “Pilot, it is safe for your passengers to emerge.”
Ra streaked toward her and landed next to her, not even breathing rapidly.“Harwin, are you all right?”
“I am fine.”
“That is an interesting trick.”
She smiled, looked at him, and slowly rose until they were at eye level.“I was just a little weak.For some reason, I am quite a bit stronger now.”
His stellar eyes gleamed.“You can fly?”
“Short hops for now.The psychic blade is my favourite achievement.”
“It is effective.”
“I think so.Glad I can use it again.”
He caressed her cheek.“Your first humans are here.You should greet them.”
She looked past him at the thirty women in baggy boiler-style suits.They looked weak and unwell, though some of that stemmed from them not being standard human colours anymore.A rainbow of hues walked toward her with human features.A few were multicoloured, and Harwin recognized a few of the patterns.“They were blending them.”
“Correct.”
“Oh, damn.”Harwin walked forward, and only when she was within fifteen feet that something else struck her.She switched to English and said, “Hello, and welcome to Aten.The Hmrain Ra is overlord here, and I am Harwin, Queen of Aten and survivor of Earth.”
The women blinked, and a dark blue woman said, “Earth?You are human?”
“As much as you are, and for much the same reason.My alteration came along with a badly programmed healing unit set for another species, and yours came in a lab to see what humans can easily blend with.”
The blue woman nodded.“Several of us had past head trauma, and that categorized us as unsuitable for some of the more challenging positions, so the education station rounded us up and dumped us into the research arm of the station.That is where we have been until you offered for us.”
“You are welcome.Aten is honoured to stand in as your home until you decide if you want the settlement to be permanent or just a place to get back on your feet so that you can choose where you live for the rest of your life.If you want to settle down here, you are welcome to.”
The women relaxed.
“Now, come inside, and we will get you settled.You are going to be staying here until provisions and dispensers are fully set up in the city.There was a certain urgency to transporting you as you can appreciate.”
She turned and saw gold.“Oh, and this is Overlord Ra.He owns this system, and yes, the architecture here is familiar for a reason.”
Ra wrapped his arms around her and then shifted his grip and lifted her for a kiss.When they parted, he smiled.“They need time in the regeneration units.Some of them have conflicting genetics in action and need that smoothed out.”
“Can you tell me which ones?”