Hi, there, me again... and in better spirits, too. Thank you for reading and reviewing, and for being so kind. It's back to work for me, tomorrow. Returning to the regular schedule. ;)

27

In the upper reaches of the atmosphere, very high over Japan-

Having found a "parking spot" amongst all those massed freighters and passenger liners, Kayo pressed a few switches and dropped out of stealth mode. At that, with a brief, blaring comm-signal, Thunderbird Shadow flickered back into view and plain scanner-sight.

Up here, cheek-by-jowl with hundreds of waiting spacecraft, Kayo could see the curve of the Earth… mostly ocean, from this vantage… plus part of the pale, setting moon. The sun was directly off to her right, but Shadow's canopy went automatically darker to cover its blistering glare. They were about as high up as Shadow could safely operate and (hopefully) well disguised by those milling, thronged vessels. So much for cover. Now, to find Scott.

Captain Rigby was already hard at work, trying to tune in her brother's wrist comm and body cam. Tanusha left him muttering to himself and tapping away at the device screen, which gave his halfway-handsome face a bluish-white cast. He was wearing a pair of foolish, endearing wire-framed glasses; felt that they made him look more professional, or something.

There was more than one way to hunt, though. While Wayne Rigby focused on his electronic tracking, Kay took a different route. Didn't pull her helmet off… too well trained in high altitude survival, for that… but did unstrap, and get as comfortable as she could in Shadow's tight cockpit. Not her first rodeo, as Uncle Lee would put it. She'd been involved in long stakeouts before, watching buildings for hours, sometimes days. Whatever it took, to hunt down a criminal. This time, her aim was different.

See, some months earlier, she'd gone with her father to the stronghold of the Kanes, who were cyborgs, like the Mechanic. There had been a meeting in progress, of all the "families"; genetically modified bio-weaponry dating back to the conflicts. (If she'd understood Dad correctly.) There, she'd encountered Nikorr Kyrano, who was… a distant cousin, maybe?

Whatever, he was extremely handsome, and he'd demonstrated some startling telepathic abilities. More, he'd wakened them in Kayo, too. Now, as Wayne mumbled and tapped behind her… as Shadow reverted to auto-flight… Kayo took a deep, shaky breath, and visualized Nikorr. Tall, green-eyed and dark-haired, like her. Well-built and slightly brooding.

Wasn't certain, really, how you went about psionically "calling" someone. Think their name very hard? Imagine a conversation? Was she supposed to just…?

-BLINK-

She'd moved. Was somehow no longer in Thunderbird Shadow, but someplace else. Only a slight feeling of pressure on her back and legs reminded the girl that her current surroundings were just a projection. And what surroundings!

Several swift, darting glances showed her to be in an ornate and glass-domed tropical garden. Looking around, she saw marble statues of people and horses, tinkling fountains, exotic plants and jewel-toned, twittering birds. At least one lazy, meandering brook brimmed with fat, golden fish. An arched wooden bridge spanned the watercourse, inviting a stroll. The soft tones of a windchime filled that fragrant air with gentle, rainwater-music. All just a little too perfect. Too bright and beautiful. Kayo believed not a whit of it. Not even the Wyoming landscape, glimpsed outside of that graceful dome.

"Where are you?!" she demanded, taking an aggressive step forward. The path at her feet appeared to be made from tiny, crushed gems in a rainbow of colours, and… for her own part… Kayo was dressed like a princess in filmy gold cloth and bright jewels. Ridiculous.

"Here," she heard, from far too closely behind her.

Whirling, the girl turned to face her vexingly handsome young cousin. Nikorr stood at ease on the path, holding two scratched and mismatched drink glasses brimming with pale amber fluid. Kayo took a cautious step backward… which did not result in any more space between them. Her cousin smiled slightly, saying,

"What you are experiencing is a group projection. A sort of meeting place, mostly produced by me. You haven't power or experience enough, yet, to influence the collective dream."

His own clothing remained what she'd seen in Scotland; a tight-fitting black bodysuit, with spidery crystals crawling all over his chest and wide shoulders. Weird, and unsettling.

"I would like you to stand farther away," she told him, after another quick back-pedal got her no further from Nikorr.

"We are technically quite far apart… but, very well. I shall retreat, somewhat."

And somehow, the space between them just seemed to stretch. There was a psychic analogue, too. His mental presence felt fainter. More withdrawn.

"Better?" he asked.

Kayo nodded suspiciously, accepting a glass from Niko. Looking closer, she saw that it was one of Grandma's old jam-jar drinking cups; the ones they used for everyday, back at the ranch house. The drink inside turned out to be warm, slightly spiked apple cider, with a cinnamon stick. Her favourite. Kayo scowled.

"How did you know about…?"

Nikorr snorted, then drained his own cup in a single, stiff-wristed gulp.

"We are in mental contact, Tanusha. You opened your mind, when you called me. I assumed that you would be comforted by familiar touches. Thus, the drinks and these tropic surroundings."

If anything, that stubborn, willful scowl simply etched itself deeper.

"You're reading my mind?!" she demanded.

"Slightly. Your shields are nonexistent, your power completely unfocused. My predecessor moved in and made use of your talents, but provided no training, whatever. A child could best you."

For a second or two, the girl considered flinging her drink in his face, but… cider. Too good to waste on a wise-arse who'd probably just make the stuff vanish. Seething, Kayo drank it down. Best she'd ever tasted: warm, spicy and just sweet enough, with a hint of a bite, from whatever Lee or her brothers had dumped in the punchbowl.

"I'm looking for my brother, Scott," she told Niko, handing back the empty glass. "Something tells me that electronic searches won't do any good, but that you could find him, if you wanted to."

The young man's green eyes narrowed, in something like disgust, or reflexive contempt.

"He is not your brother," growled the Kyrano, making their drink glasses vanish, along with most of the beautiful garden. "He is the muddied and fouled descendant of a runaway government test subject. Our ancestors fought for their freedom. That first Tracy fled, like a coward. You consort with mongrels, Tanusha. Not your fault… the previous Kyrano's doing… but unforgiveable, now that you know better."

Their clothing had changed, Kayo noted. She was wearing jeans and a short-sleeved green tee-shirt, now. He had on a smart, charcoal-grey suit. Looked expensive, but she was too angry to very much care.

"Do… you…know…where…he…is?!" she growled, through tight-gritted teeth.

Nikorr folded both arms across his broad chest; stood there, regarding her with perfect, unruffled calm.

"I do," was all that he said in reply.

"Can you help me to get to him? Is Scott in any danger?" she prodded, refusing to ask whether or not her brother still lived.

Nikorr's head cocked slightly leftward, sending a few strands of black hair into his deep-green eyes.

"Why would I wish to? One less Tracy can only be regarded as a positive development."

"Because I'm asking you for help, that's why! Because, what if they come after you, next? Unless…" her slim, dark brows drew together, in sudden consternation. "Unless you're the one who's kidnapped him! Is that it?! Are you holding Scott hostage?"

Nikorr snorted with laughter, and conjured more cider. Stronger, this time, and served up in much larger cups.

"My dear, confused Tanusha," he began, but…

"Not your dear anything, Git!" she snarled, moving into a fluid crouch; thence to spring up and kick the illusory drink right out of his hand.

Well, that was her intention, anyhow. The blow never landed, and Niko did not even flinch. Her spiked drink disappeared, but the smug young Kyrano got to finish his.

"This is not a physical place," he reminded her, making his emptied jar go away. "And you are not in control, here."

Then, as she stood there, glowering,

"I will make… what is the term… a 'deal' with you, Tanusha. Favor for favor."

Progress. She wasn't going to agree to just anything, though. Not sight unseen.

"What're you really after?" Kayo asked, as tropical blooms were replaced with icy scarps and wind-driven snow.

"A chance to tell our side of the story. I do not wish you to leave the Tracys. Not yet. Having an agent among them is good, especially as they've been harboring that butcher, Kane. I simply wish you to learn of your true family." Niko waited, but Tanusha said nothing, so he went on speaking. "Your father, my father and Vikran… the so-called 'Hood'… were brothers. Only one remains alive, and he is manifestly unfit to lead this family. You or I should be the Kyrano… but you were stolen away by Jeff Tracy."

"He saved me," she whispered, thrusting aside long-ago terror and pain. Did not want to go back. Refused to examine life before the family that loved her.

"Your parents saved you. Tracy merely found you, afterward. Your mother was unworthy; a half-blood, herself… but the Kyrano was besotted. Wanted to open us up to still more of the vermin. He would not listen to my father's reason, or the Hood's threats."

"So, they killed him and Mama," she accused, in a small, barely-there whisper.

Nikorr shook his head. The stream had iced over, by this point. Still incongruously bridged in delicately-carved wood, though.

"No, Tanusha. Vikran killed both of our fathers. I was full-blooded, young and of little consequence (having a low-ranked mother). I escaped his notice. Also, he was and remains a colossal fool. Well, the vermin have him, for now, and I am Kyrano. There is no quarrel between us, Tanusha. I would welcome you home, once certain matters are resolved to my satisfaction."

Kayo took a deep breath. The snow-scape around her grew blurred and shaky through unshed tears, but she would not break down. Not in front of her arrogant cousin.

"I am home," she insisted, in a ragged low voice. "Like my father, the Colonel says: there is nothing you can do or say to ever change that, Kyrano."

Nikorr's head jerked back, and his green eyes narrowed, as if the depth of her furious emotion had come as a slap. He…

"…okay, Miss Tracy? Kayo? Can you hear me?"

Somebody's hand was on her left shoulder, gripping warm and tight, and shaking her slightly. All around her, the welcome and wonderful sounds of Thunderbird Shadow beeped, rumbled and chirped.

Reflexively, Tanusha reached up to seize the big hand that was patting her shoulder. Wayne, she remembered suddenly. Wayne Rigby. And then, up there near space, surrounded by traffic, she started to cry.