Tracking (Return of the Nine) Read Free

a quick and bumpy trip.”
    She nodded and swallowed quickly. “It will be my first.”
    He showed her to the front of the shuttle and he demonstrated how to buckle into one of the dozen seats, all without touching her. She snapped the harness into place and he nodded with satisfaction. “Right. We shall be on our way.”
    Ianka swallowed again and curled her hands on the armrests. The shuttle started to move and then they were tilting upward. She felt the tugging as the engines pushed against the atmosphere.
    She closed her eyes at the pressure and held tight until there was a switch in the drag downward. It went from overwhelming to steady and even in a few moments. From that moment until they entered the huge vessel of the mother ship, she concentrated on her breathing and not crushing the armrests in her grip.
    A curl of excitement ran through her and she sat up as much as she could. Vida was seeing her arrive. They would be together again and the pain of the separation would finally ease.
     

Chapter Three
     
     
    Ianka looked at her sister from the walkway that led away from the ship bays. Vida was clenching her hands together and a large dark figure was behind her, his hands on her shoulders
    Ianka tried not to run to the door that separated them, but she got there in seconds and waiting for the panel to slide open took an eternity.
    Face to face with her sister, she had no words. She hugged Vida carefully, and to her surprise, her twin had grown several inches taller.
    Vida chuckled. “I will have to explain the height, Eek, but that can wait for later. I am so happy that you have come.”
    Ianka parted from her sister and tears were running down both their cheeks.
    They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment before laughter began and another hug ensued.
    The man with Vida cleared his throat. “Ladies, I believe we should take the reunion to an area where we are not blocking traffic.”
    Ianka turned and gave the men behind her a blank stare. They shifted and moved around her, edging around their little group.
    Sighing, she turned back to her sister. “Your mate is right. Is there somewhere else we can make spectacles of ourselves?”
    Vida linked arms between them and started hauling them along. “Ianka, this is S’rin of the Balance. His people are a little unusual, even for the Nine, but we get along. S’rin, this is my twin, Ianka Senior. Her skills are as physical as mine are not.” She chuckled.
    Ianka nodded to him around her sister’s increased height. He nodded in return.
    “It is an honour to meet you, Ianka.”
    “And you as well, S’rin.”
    Vida dragged them to a series of pods and explained the inner ship transport system to her sister. Ianka smiled at this new world that her sister was so keen on. It was good to see her excited about something that wasn’t her habit of staring at the stars.
    Twins always knew that one day their worlds would part, but Ianka had never imagined it would be literally.
    “We live in the area used by the Balance. It is the quietest section of the ship, so it will be easy to talk, and the food is peculiarly attractive.” Vida smiled.
    It had been two hours since her meal at the embassy, but if Vida wanted to eat while they spoke, Ianka would jam in whatever would fit.
    They settled in the pod, and without any delay, they were whisking through the ship and Ianka took in everything around her.
     
    Seated across from her sister and S’rin, Ianka looked into his hood and smiled, “So, are those stars everywhere or just on your face?”
    He jumped a little and looked at her more closely. “You can see through the shadows?”
    Vida said proudly, “She can see through fog, run faster than local predators and find anything that has left a trail. Your little hood trick is no match for her sight.”
    He chuckled and lowered his hood, exposing the stars that floated under his skin with the occasional streaking meteor.
    Ianka could only imagine what his skin