Frisk by Viola Grace Page A

sign of a weapon she had missed.
    The Guardians and half the Peacekeepers left, and it was four hours before the pickup ship arrived.
    The pilot of the ship was cybernetically enhanced but obviously a Terran. Lera gripped her hand. “Hello, cousin.”
    The woman winked. “Hello, cousin. Peacekeeper?”
    Lera laughed. “Exchange program with the Enforcers. You?”
    “Surgery to repair some genetic damage. The Alliance wouldn’t do it, but the Nyal Imperium would, so they made the arrangements, and here I am. Tobitha Morris.”
    “Lera Douglas. Pleased to meet you.”
    They weren’t able to continue chatting. The prisoners were loaded on board, and Tobitha waved farewell. “Sorry, duty calls. This is my sector, so if you want to go for caf next time I am in the area, I could call you.”
    Lera grinned. “I would like that. Peacekeeper Outpost Feural. Ask for Frisk.”
    They hugged quickly. “See you then, Frisk. Call me Gadget.”
    “Bye, Gadget.”
    The last of the groggy prisoners was locked in the transport, and Gadget was on her way.
    Lera marched away with the rest of her unit and watched as the ship flew off. It was a high-tech restraint transport. Gadget’s implants let her control every motor and mechanism on the ship. The prisoners were locked in place by their own susceptibility to magnetic fields. Lera had seen the setup before, but in that case, the transporter was a Nyal male, not a Terran woman.
    Private Toimar walked with her on the long trek back to the city, his long legs creating a challenge for her to keep up. “So, are you going to go to the recruitment tomorrow?”
    Lera grinned under her helmet. “I might, but as an observer, not as a participant. It might be fun to watch.”
    Lieutenant Hormik chuckled. “Would you care to meet for dinner, Private? You can regale me with tales of your home.”
    Lera grinned at the gender-neutral lieutenant. “That sounds nice. I am going to hit the groomers in the morning, so I should be presentable by the evening.”
    Hormik shook its head. “I look forward to seeing it, and I hope your groomer is up for the challenge.”
    Lera wanted to smack her current commanding officer, but instead, she sighed. “I hope you are right.”
    She chuckled to herself as they made their way back to the barracks. “Enjoy your paperwork, Lieutenant Hormik. Ping me and tell me where you want to meet.”
    “Will do.”
    Private Toimar elbowed her. “May I come too? I am interested in seeing your magnificence.”
    Lieutenant Hormik shook its head. “No, she does not need to be written up for fraternization. She has seniority on you and having her returned to the Alliance is not in the cards for me, so I will meet her alone.”
    Lera laughed. Hormik loved to act as chaperone. It had no urge to see her returned to the Alliance, and they had a strange sort of relationship. One day, Hormik would have to choose a gender, and it was gathering all the information it could from Lera on what it meant to be a woman in the Peacekeepers.
    Back in the barracks, Lera stood in front of her wide locker and stripped off her armour, one piece at a time. Her helmet went back on its stand, her body armour hung on a rack and her weapon was deactivated and locked in the case at the base.
    With only her city suit on, she grabbed her baton and headed back to her beat. It was time to check in with the citizens of Feural and make sure that all was well in her section of the city. Being law enforcement had never been on her list of things she wanted to be when she grew up, but now, she couldn’t think about doing anything else.
    * * * *
    Lance looked around casually, and he nodded toward the Peacekeeper who was talking softly with the proprietor of a fruit stand. “I can’t believe that they have female Peacekeepers in this city.”
    Coma snorted. “It took a while to get them to authorize it, but the population is warming to it rapidly.”
    Lance watched the gentle sway of the woman’s hips,