Here you'll find

 

Traces of Doubt

 

 

 

 

8. Unburdened

Juri eagerly followed Orwel out of the Command Center, absent-mindedly marveling at the way the man's back muscles shifted underneath the snugly fitting uniform jacket as Orwel walked ahead of him along the corridor. Orwel glanced over his shoulder and slowed down a little so that the two of them were side by side.

"I hope you're not put off by my brother," he said dryly. "He really behaves so much like a teenager every now and then that I have trouble remembering he's actually older than me."

"I think it's 每 refreshing," Juri confessed. "As you might've heard, being relaxed and thinking about such frivolities as living a little are things that our commander on Ashanti rather frowns upon."

"So I've understood," Orwel nodded. "Well, things are different here, as you'll certainly see for yourself soon enough."

"So, those two are a couple?" Juri wanted to hear it. Orwel chuckled a little.

"Very much so. They're absolutely head over heels. And they aren't the only all-male couple around."

Orwel stepped out of the door and Juri squinted in surprise. The suns were up high, the air outside was blazing hot, the sky coppery bright. "Oh 每 I thought it was evening already?"

"It is," Orwel said. "We're following the central time, which has nothing to do with the suns anyway. No human could possibly adapt to their rhythm. Of course it might be a problem, if you're mostly used to Terraform planets with a more easily adopted day-night pattern, but you'll get used to it."

"I'm sure I will!" Juri looked around and guessed, quite correctly, that the long, low building ahead would be the promised canteen. He could see people moving about on the open stretches between buildings, many of them looking remarkably similar 每 ah yes, the clones 每 as well as the outlines of a few dangerously beautiful fighters standing placidly by the runway. The air around him was vibrating with heat, and he was happy to follow Orwel into the carefully air-conditioned coolness of the canteen building.

The place was obviously enormous, but numerous dividing walls split it into smaller, cozier, more inviting sections. The smell of food mingled with talking voices, laughter, the clatter of cutlery and the thump of glasses on tables, making the place feel instantly comfortable. Juri looked around, spotted numerous black-brown and curly reddish-brown heads around the tables cluttered into groups all over the place, as well as the occasional blond here and there. He turned his head a little more, then his gaze stuck. He certainly recognized that particular shade of nearly white blond, especially when spiked in that way...

Orwel watched the stealthy steps of their dark newcomer and nearly snickered, following a few meters behind. Juri was walking with catlike grace towards his destination, looking intense and casual at the same time. The two men sitting and talking by the table didn't pay him any attention until he leaned slightly against a low dividing wall and smirked.

"Well if it isn't Mr. Blowjobman himself?"

Vanya started at the husky voice nearly in his ear, whirled around in his chair and peered incredulously up. "What the 每 waaait 每 am I seeing things?"

"Depends on what you're seeing," Juri purred, satisfied with his surprise.

"Juri Lombard!" Vanya roared, jumped on his feet and hugged the smaller man who nearly vanished from sight in the embrace of muscular arms. "Chameleon himself! Man, what're you doing here?"

A gasping Juri tried ineffectually to punch Vanya in the stomach. "Well, I certainly didn't come here to be squeezed to death by big brutes who've no idea how damn strong they are," he huffed. "No, seriously, I was on mission and encountered this T-clone, then brought him here. I'll be contacting Ashanti tomorrow, I guess, to report and ask for further instructions."

"What 每 you certainly weren't on mission here, so are you trying to tell me that you've dared keep Quenty waiting while you've been traveling interplanetary?" Vanya shook his head. "You're sure to get a thorough scolding!"

"Had no choice really," Juri sighed. "This is the first time since heaven knows how long that I'm feeling relatively clear-headed."

"Poor you!" Vanya slapped him on the back. "But now, sit down, Juri, sit down! I want to introduce you to somebody very special. And Orwel, I can see you lurking there, the invitation includes you as well!"

"Thanks," Orwel said with a smile and slid into a chair across the table. "Though I hardly need to be introduced any more."

"Nope, but Juri does!" Vanya beamed to Juri and extended an arm to gesture at Corinn. "Now, Juri, take a deep breath and look across the table. Rest your eyes on this absolutely gorgeous specimen of the male sex, and say hi to my partner Corinn Jakunschek!"

"Nice to meet you!" Corinn grinned a little and his big palm engulfed Juri's slim hand in a friendly greeting.

Juri granted him a dashing smile in return, inspecting the strong features of the tanned, brown-haired, brown-eyed hulk of a man in curiosity. The warmth in Vanya's voice was telling, he thought, and no wonder 每 if he put together all the clues he'd managed to pick up from the man's past affairs, this Corinn was exactly the kind of a person likely to capture and hold Vanya's interest. Very tall, very masculine, very muscular, handsome in an unassuming way, eyes glittering with good humor, with a low, slightly throaty voice. And most definitely an enthusiastic and entertaining sex partner, that had to come in the package as well. Even though Juri had never been intimately involved with Vanya, he knew that the blond man wasn't one to just hold hands if he was interested in a guy.

"Hi, Corinn, nice to meet you!" he said aloud. "I have to say that you fit the bill perfectly 每 to be the guy to capture Vanya!"

Corinn looked momentarily embarrassed. "I've been lucky enough," he murmured, unable to smother a pleased smile.

Vanya reached out to ruffle his hair affectionately, then quickly snatched his hand away with a yelp when Corinn's teeth snapped together barely an inch from his fingers. "Oops, have I forgotten to feed you, Gorgeous? Oh boy, at least you need a refill... what about you, Orwel and Juri? A beer?"

Both men nodded and Vanya sauntered to the serving area while Juri eyed his surroundings in curiosity. This place sure was a far cry from the austerity of Ashanti, one reason of course being that there was space available here. Jainah boasted a friendly planet surface to build on, unlike Ashanti where everything had to be hidden underground and connected to the moon's hostile exterior by as few passages as feasible.

But that wasn't all. Juri could feel the relaxed atmosphere, and savored the feeling. All right, these people were united by their commitment to the rebellion, but also by something else: there was camaraderie, friendship, invisible ties. He looked at a group of dark-haired youngsters sipping what looked like lemonade with three curly-haired men and women, gave himself a firm mental shake in order to not stare at their amazingly identical faces 每 moron, what did you expect, they're clones after all! 每 and took in their casual postures. S-clones and M-clones off-duty, Orwel informed him. Juri nodded and inspected the sight for a moment longer. Fascinating.

"We're of course keeping them in top shape as fighter pilots and technicians and whatever else they're specialized in," Orwel explained, following the direction of Juri's gaze, "but we're also doing our best not to treat them as just a faceless mass. We're trying to let them be individuals as well. And all this is part of learning to interact with 'random' humans, as they call us... you know, random genetic combinations. If somebody calls you a 'random person', it has a quite specific meaning here!"

Juri laughed. "All right, I'll bear that in mind!"

"I think we might do wisely to pick another table," Corinn interrupted and nodded towards the door. "We're going to have company, and this table is too small for all of us."

"You're right," Orwel said. "Let's go over there, that corner is still free if we're quick!"

He stood up and gestured to three people who'd just entered the canteen. The tallest of them, a sandy-blond man with a moustache, jerked his head questioningly towards the table Orwel was pointing at, and they all headed to the indicated direction.

Orwel introduced the latest arrivals to Juri, who didn't know who fascinated him most. Was it training officer Dean Blaine whose looks were very close to the type that invariably tended to sweep him soundly off his feet? Or the very slim, almost disconcertingly beautiful Lancer who sported a silver-blond ponytail and had a shining pair of greenish eyes? Or perhaps it was the sharp-looking Scott whose facial features looked somehow too familiar, even though his height and smoothly muscular body misled Juri for a moment before realization dawned.

"Aren't you... I mean, you look somehow so... are you a clone as well?" he asked. Scott nodded easily.

"Yes. I am originally S-clone SC-077. I was the first one to join the rebellion."

"But you look so different from the others," Juri pursued his train of thought. "You're clearly taller than anyone else, and you're also 每 you look more adult."

"I am from the earlier batches," Scott explained. "Very few of us are alive any more. I am older than the others are, and besides I started growing when my growth was no more regulated artificially."

Juri looked horrified, and Orwel nodded to him. "There's a lot of information about the clones that you might want to hear at some point, but I don't think we need to hit you on the head with all that now... ahh, thanks!"

Vanya had spotted their changed location and placed the filled glasses on the table. "Sorry, folks, I'd have brought some for you as well if I had noticed you earlier!"

He took a seat next to Corinn, playfully squeezing Lancer closer to Scott on the cushioned bench so that both young men oomphed.

"Oh, don't bother!" Lancer slithered effortlessly out of the corner. "I'll go get our drinks. Beer for you, Dean?"

Juri observed with interest that Scott's gaze never wavered from the graceful figure walking towards the serving area. Vanya nudged his arm with an elbow and waggled his eyebrows meaningfully.

"You're close friends?" Juri asked.

Scott turned to look at him, and a radiant smile transformed his calm face. "Yes. We are lovers."

"I see!" Juri nodded, profoundly touched by the dark clone's proudly possessive tone. "That's great. So, what do the two of you do here 每 work with clones, I understood?"

"Yes," Captain Blaine said. "Scott's primarily a pilot trainer, and they're both my best assets in teaching the clones about everyday life."

"How was training today, by the way?" Orwel inquired and Blaine rolled his eyes good-humoredly.

"Business as usual," he grinned. "Answering a billion questions and all that stuff. You might want to be cautious with Lancer right now, he's been through two episodes of 'Back to the Beat' with his group and just finished complaining that he'll scream if anybody asks him another question tonight."

"What's that?" Juri asked, intrigued.

Everybody around him laughed, even the serene Scott.

"Oh, it's a family drama series. And before you even ask," Orwel added, "they're a wonderful way to teach the clones about such mundane and endlessly baffling things as families, friends, school, going to work, going to the mall to buy new clothes, and so on."

"Oh boy..." Juri thought about this for a while. "I'd never have thought about that. Of course they don't have any idea about anything that we tend to take as granted."

"No, we do not," Scott said. "And there is so much to learn before we can even think about going to the outside world. It will take a lot of time."

"You see, as I said earlier, we want to equip the clones for life outside this base," Orwel explained. "It's going to be a really long process, but we don't want to be unable to cope anywhere else but here. Sooner or later they'll have to be able to interact with other people as well, even if they continue to live here, and we want to do what we can to prepare them, at least somehow."

"And not everybody can be as lucky as Scott," Corinn interjected, "you know, having someone like Lancer who can introduce them to parents and old friends..."

Everybody looked at Scott, clearly knowing to wait for the enthusiastic smile that lit up Scott's face in an instant. "You see, Juri, we visited Lancer's parents some time ago in Sanherno, on the other side of the planet, and it was such an experience. I got to meet his old friends, and we went shopping, and drove around, and..."

"And Scott got his first haircut from a real hair stylist, and bought new clothes for himself," Vanya added.

"That must've been interesting," Juri admitted, then looked in awe as Lancer returned with three glasses and somehow managed to snake back to sit next to Scott without spilling a drop. "Wow... you're really something! I used to train acrobatics when I was a kid, but I'm still not sure I could accomplish that."

"Oh, just wait until you see him on high heels!" Vanya winked and Juri nearly choked on his drink. "Lancer baby's a professional drag artist, you know. Him and Andr谷 on stage are a really breathtaking experience!"

"Thanks for the advertisement, handsome," Lancer drawled and grinned at Juri's expression. "One has to use one's talents, as you know, Mr. Blowjobman..."

Scott's arm wrapped self-evidently around his narrow waist and pulled him closer while Vanya tried to look modest. Juri looked around and basked in the pleasant glow of friendship hanging around the table. Geez, I've been here under twelve hours and already I think I'm going to miss this place...

"But hey, I don't think we know yet what has landed you here?" Blaine asked over the rim of his glass. "You're from the Wolves of Ashanti, yes, but what's happened?"

Juri repeated a slightly abbreviated version of his story to a fascinated and more than a little appalled audience who didn't hesitate to express their outrage at the way Salvador had been treated. At some point their group attracted the attention of yet another enormously big dark-haired man and a lithe, bright-eyed young S-clone, whom Corinn introduced as Fonzo and Shaun, and Juri had to do yet another quick rerun of the events he had so far covered.

More than one of the listeners were shaking their heads when he reached the end of the story.

"Sounds like a nasty puzzle all right," Fonzo rumbled sympathetically. "Poor thing."

Shaun nodded eagerly in agreement. "Yes, I hope they will be able to help him! Oh, look, Adrien and Wilson are there! Maybe they could tell us more?"

"Don't get your hopes up, kiddo," Fonzo said. "Remember, Juri has come here only today with Salvador. You're always so impatient!"

Shaun looked up at the big man with a grin. Juri turned to look towards the door and did a double take. Somehow he'd assumed, probably because of the name, that he'd see Adrien with yet another boyfriend, but even though the red hair of the clone's companion was cropped extremely short, the facial features and especially the smooth curves of the figure were unquestionably female.

"Wilson, eh?" he said curiously. "Is that a first name, a family name, or a nickname?"

"It's her name," Corinn said, then lowered his voice to a whisper. "Actually it's Juliette Wilson, but if you value your life, you forget right now that you ever even heard the first part."

"Thank you, I value my life pretty highly," Juri said solemnly. "So you just whispered it in my deaf ear. She looks like a person whom I wouldn't like to cross."

"Clever man!" Vanya nodded. "Wilson's a great pilot, and besides she has a sharp tongue and a very mean straight right."

Suddenly he blinked and fixed Lancer with his gaze. "Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever heard which part of your name we're regularly using?"

"My family name," Lancer said. "Just like Wilson's."

"His first name is Robin," Scott supplied and got a quick kiss on the cheek. "When we were visiting Sanherno, everybody called him Rob. It was so strange to me."

"Well well, the things you learn!" Vanya said ruefully and shook his head. "One of my best friends here, and I only hear his full name tonight..."

"Dad!"

Juri choked again when he noticed the three faces that appeared behind Orwel's chair. Obviously I still need more practice before I won't have a near fit every time I see some clones 每 but what the heck did they just say?

Orwel turned around and cocked his head at the Shaun-lookalikes who stood there with arms folded on their chests, pouting adorably. "Yes, darlings? What're you up to now?"

"You promised to play with us tonight," said one of the apparitions accusingly. "We were waiting for you."

"No you were not," insisted another, a girl by the voice. "We were waiting, me and Scharm. You were running around with the T's."

"Anyway," the first one went on, "we would like to play now. Please?"

"I'll be coming in a while," Orwel promised. "You know I've been busy. But before you trot off, I want you to say hello to Juri Lombard, he's only come here today. He's from the Wolves of Ashanti."

The trio immediately snapped to attention and three pairs of dark blue eyes were fixed on Juri.

"Pleased to meet you," said the boy smartly 每 the same one, Juri assumed, who'd spoken a moment ago. "My name is Sholiss Dahomey."

"I am Sharon Dahomey," piped in the girl.

"Scharm Dahomey," added the other boy, his voice considerably softer than the others'.

Juri greeted them all in confusion and looked questioningly at Orwel who went more serious.

"These youngsters are the only ones alive of my original group," he said wistfully. "You see, I used to be a Union officer in this base. To cut a long story short, I managed to get these three to our side, but all others were killed in subsequent battles."

He swallowed and looked at the three clones fondly. "I've officially adopted these three rascals," he added. "And yes, I think I'll come with you now..."

"Great!" The three youngsters dashed off, and Orwel heaved an exaggerated sigh.

"Family duties calling," he said and gulped down the rest of his drink. "Good night to everybody!"

The others sitting around the table waved to him, and Vanya turned to Juri.

"Just tell us when you start feeling like having some shut-eye," he winked. "We promise to get you to your room and tuck you to bed safely!"

Juri nodded and took another swig from his glass, observing in passing that the little alcohol it contained was definitely rising to his still sleep-deprived head with considerable speed. He didn't want to leave the company, not yet, when he was feeling so wonderfully at home. Oh yes, I'm definitely going to miss this place when I have to go, he thought. I just hope they won't require me on Ashanti too soon...

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