Free Mandate by Viola Grace Page B

you the language flash and an educational link and we can begin.”
    She nodded and took the flat screen from him, tapping it to begin the download of languages into her mind. The educational link was a bit more involved, and when it had been inserted into her skull, she lay for the initial scans and the baselines for her pre-alteration records.
    It was time to get the party started.
     

Chapter Two
     
     
    A month in the tank passed quickly. With oxygenated fluid in her lungs, Wren bobbed and used her implant to send the monitor near her tank flicking from one file to the next.
    Wren was now used to the greyish-pearl cast that her skin had taken on. Her hair had unfortunately fallen out during the procedure and the soft fuzz that was growing in was a slightly darker grey than her skin. The mirror that they held up to her on a daily basis was showing the differences in her appearance, but when she was able to bring the mirror up in front of her without using her hands, they appeared both excited and nervous.
    From her position in the tank, Wren moved small objects around the medical bay and returned them to their original places. Her enhancement was kicking in.
    On her monitor, she looked into the W’lyn government, procedures and etiquette. She tried to find the donor for the alterations that were coursing through her blood, but she was told that they were simply due to the blood coming from a member of the W’lyn Guardians and it was left at that.
    The amount of access to information that they had given her was amazing. She was even more surprised at her ability to absorb it. Never in her life had she been much of a reader, but now, she could not get enough information on the Terran working as an analyst on W’lyn. The fixation bordered on obsession, and an instinct, she was surprised to discover, pushed her search for information to midwifery and cross-species breeding.
    Every now and then, a doctor or tech would analyze her data preferences, and when they spotted her looking into medical information, they would offer her complementary monographs that she would not have found otherwise. The tank was a very nurturing environment for her.
    While floating, she forgot the harsh moments after Emily had passed away, and she began to turn her mind to a future where alien races passed her in hallways and checked on her tank temperature. The day that her decanting came, she was on the edge of panic at the thought of leaving her safe little haven.
    She wasn’t given a choice and was hoisted from the tank and left to throw up the liquid in her lungs, coughing violently as the air rushed in, harsh and dry.
    “Easy, Wren. Breathe slowly and we will put you on a med bed for your new scans.”
    She nodded and worked at inhaling and exhaling before another coughing fit grabbed her and squeezed her lungs, ejecting more fluid.
    Finally, she was shaking but her breathing was even. They carried her to the bed and ran the scans over her newly silvered skin.
    “You have fully amalgamated the W’lyn DNA. Rest for a few hours and your training will begin.” The doctor smiled.
    Wren read concern, amazement and pride in the emotions of the man next to her. She blinked in surprise. Normally, she could only get those senses from someone she was caring for; receiving from the medical staff around her was going to take some getting used to.
    “The tank was psychically insulated?” Her voice was hoarse but they understood her.
    “Yes, though we have your little exercises on our scans. You put everything back where you found it, so thank you.” The doctor grinned.
    A tech wrapped her in a soft blanket and smiled slightly. “We don’t want you to get cold.”
    The man found her attractive, which surprised Wren. She hadn’t thought much about the sexual dynamic of being a single woman in the stars. She hoped it wasn’t as bad as travelling abroad on Earth.
     
    “Wren Silverberg, I am your instructor.” The woman’s voice was low and