Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Devlin's Team # 1: Dancer
    Devlin's Team # 1: Dancer
    Devlin's Team # 1: Dancer
    Ebook353 pages4 hours

    Devlin's Team # 1: Dancer

    By Lazette Gifford

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    (Updated June, 2014)

    Devlin is a top agent for the Inner Worlds Council Security force -- a spy in common terms -- and she's not very happy with an assignment to the backwater world of Forest. Settled by the Work for Man fanatics, the government has restricted not only the use of tech equipment but also regulate nearly every aspect of life for the small population. The settlement is boring and the people don't like outsiders.

    There is one anomaly, though: The brutal show known as bear dancing pits a human against a native life form. Devlin's work is to learn about the show and report what she can about the bears themselves because there is suddenly outside interest.

    The people involved in the bear dance are secretive. She's gathered all the information she thinks she can, and she's ready to move on. However, when a top-ranking scientist arrives on world, Devlin thinks she might be able to pick up a little bit more information.

    And that's something the locals fear.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherA Conspiracy of Authors
    Release dateMay 28, 2012
    ISBN9781936507207
    Devlin's Team # 1: Dancer
    Author

    Lazette Gifford

    Lazette is an avid writer as well as the owner of Forward Motion for Writers and the owner/editor of Vision: A Resource for Writers.It's possible she spends too much time with writers.And cats.

    Read more from Lazette Gifford

    Related to Devlin's Team # 1

    Titles in the series (6)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    Science Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Hero’s Daughter

      Oct 1, 2023

      AS USUAL, THE other kids wanted to meet at the statue of her father. It was located at the edge of their village and made a great base for games of hide and seek. Deeyah found it mildly annoying. Though she was very proud to be the daughter of a reno

      6 min read

    • Article

      Crescent City

      Dec 1, 2021

      Crescent City
      5 min read

    • Article

      What Lies Beneath

      Apr 29, 2023

      What Lies Beneath
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Symmetry Of Ruby Margot

      Feb 6, 2020

      The Symmetry Of Ruby Margot
      10 min read

    • Article

      What Lies Beneath

      Apr 28, 2023

      What Lies Beneath
      6 min read

    • Article

      Diablo IV

      May 2, 2023

      Diablo IV
      4 min read

    • Article

      Concerning The Future Of Souls

      Mar 19, 2024

      As a toddler she had caused a sensation in her family when she announced she wanted to live in a little hole like the ant. Not an ant, the ant. This might have been misheard. She was an easygoing child, not particularly thoughtful and stubbornly inar

      13 min read

    • Article

      Bob Dylan’s Exquisite Bullshit

      Jul 22, 2019

      Martin Scorcese's new film about Dylan's 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue is very much in the spirit of its subject: vital, wild, and highly fictional. The post Bob Dylan’s Exquisite Bullshit appeared first on The Millions.

      8 min read

    • Article

      Nicky Haslam

      Jun 3, 2019

      Nicky Haslam
      1 min read

    • Article

      Whom He May Devour: Saving her planet would ban her from paradise.

      Jan 7, 2016

      Lydia watched Ahad play the guitar. He leaned against a boulder, eyes shut, his face positioned to catch the last warm rays of the setting sun. His long, slender fingers caressed the strings, producing a slow, haunting melody. The music almost made h

      17 min read

    • Article

      ‘Phantom Thread’ Is Reportedly Final Film For Daniel Day-Lewis, Our Greatest Living Actor

      Jan 5, 2018

      In addition to the terrific ensemble acting and the pleasures of watching an expertly designed human board game being played out, director Paul Thomas Anderson is showcasing the self-immolation of an artist who is both inspired and undone by his muse

      3 min read

    • Article

      Forfeit

      Jan 1, 2021

      Forfeit
      7 min read

    • Article

      Doodlebug & Dandelion

      Mar 1, 2020

      Doodlebug & Dandelion
      3 min read

    • Article

      I Met Myself Coming Back

      Oct 6, 2022

      I Met Myself Coming Back
      6 min read

    • Article

      Six Million Reasons

      Jul 9, 2021

      Six Million Reasons
      6 min read

    • Article

      O Fortuna, Velut Luna

      Sep 15, 2018

      What is Miss Treece’s trouble, according to a popular notion? The man A has failed to show up. Arousing herself at the restaurant, she fixes her lipstick when her solo supper concludes and takes herself down the stairs situated behind the bar. There,

      3 min read

    • Article

      Named

      Mar 19, 2018

      Named
      10 min read

    • Article

      Visions of Summertime Sadness and Solitude in ‘The Green Ray’

      Oct 23, 2023

      Romance, like film, is in large part projection. The post Visions of Summertime Sadness and Solitude in ‘The Green Ray’ appeared first on The Millions.

      10 min read

    • Article

      To Save Arrhinsal

      Nov 1, 2021

      Tolin lives on Arrhinsal, an island that floats in the sky two miles above the land below. One day, while hunting in the maze of tunnels that run through the island’s thick hedges, he encounters a girl who, her sword raised, has turned to face a huge

      6 min read

    • Article

      Safety

      Mar 1, 2023

      IT WAS only a dream, a bad dream, and nothing else. The man in Vidal’s dream was stalking a woman, spying on her from the shadows, following her down a dark alley as she sought refuge from a downpour. The woman was vaguely familiar to Vidal, though h

      13 min read

    • Article

      10 Literary Witches To Hex Trump

      Mar 24, 2017

      In case you hadn’t heard, witches across America—including Lana Del Rey—are uniting to take down Trump via a binding spell, which calls on the spirits to keep the President from doing harm (it already seems to be working). Covens, communities, and so

      5 min read

    • Article

      Left To Lose

      Jul 10, 2022

      Around the time she gives up her name, it starts to feel like this entire revolution isn’t worth it anymore. The world is probably lucky that Kelian—she still remembers Kelian, in spite of everything—is there to pick up the pieces, the way he always

      11 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Devlin's Team # 1

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Devlin's Team # 1 - Lazette Gifford

      Devlin stood beneath the rows wooden benches stretching level upon level over her and tried not to wince every time she heard a creak or groan from the wood. The last set of bleachers had collapsed ten years ago, killing more than fifty people and maiming dozens of others. Safer now people assured her, but she didn't believe them. Devlin didn't trust low tech work on backwater worlds.

      And she didn't think much of Forest anyway.

      Devlin's plans hadn't included coming to see the show today. She'd watched one bear dance and found the show a disgusting display of brutality. Pitting a human against a local animal was barbaric, and she didn't understand how these people could watch and call it entertainment. The show repulsed her, and the people annoyed her, and that was not a good combination.

      Devlin couldn't decide why anyone would send someone of her rank and tech abilities to such a low-tech world. This case didn't need a field agent (especially of her rank and background); someone from the office could have filed these reports. She'd enjoyed working on Caliente better than she liked being here, and she despised that world. Forest might be a beautiful planet, but she hated the people. Hated them all by this point ... and knew she'd lost her objectivity.

      The reason Devlin had chosen to come to the show today finally stepped into the ring. The locals rated Dancer as the best Bear Dancer ever to enter the ring, which was apparently why he held the name rather than one like Wind, Silk, Cloud or the like. She thought he must be the oldest of the elite group, though he couldn't be more than in his early twenties. He wore close-fitting brown pants with a bright colored vest, his bare chest showing a couple scars, which meant he'd survived at least one dance gone bad. His light brown hair curled around his face, and she could see his calm, almost serene expression. Unlike the other Bear Dancer she'd watched, this one didn't acknowledge the crowd. She suspected he didn't care if they watched or not.

      So why was he here? This was someone who finally intrigued her.

      Sky, the other dancer she'd viewed, had strutted into the ring, raised his arms to win the shouts of the crowd and signaled for the bear. He'd made a few moves that kept the bear focused on him, but before long the dance changed into a fight, his powerblade scoring wounds against the bear, though not killing it cleanly.

      Today's bear stepped from a tunnel at the far side of the ring: a tall, golden-furred biped with arms held down, and head moving from side-to-side as the creature watched the people. He came closer and towered over the human, whose hand didn't even move towards the powerblade at his belt.

      The crowd began shouting his name: Dancer, Dancer, Dancer.

      The bear began to sway. Dancer moved slightly to the left of the bear and mimicked the creature's movement. Within a couple heartbeats, they seemed to be entirely in sync with one another. Devlin felt her heartbeat pick up as she watched, almost hypnotized by the actions as they began to dance.

      Both turned, leapt and swayed, and turned once more.

      Enthralled, Devlin moved closer to the open area. The crowd fell silent, breath held for this amazing show. She saw nothing barbaric in this performance. Devlin felt all her convictions drop away...

      A change in sound swept through the benches. At first, she thought the crowd showed signs of growing restless, as though the spectacle wasn't enough for them. Then she saw the real trouble as two more bears rushed into the arena.

      A shout went up from the crowd, and for a moment Devlin saw desperation on Dancer's face, though he never missed a beat. Sway, turn, leap and never slow. He did what she thought would have been impossible and caught the attention of the other two bears until all three of the creatures danced with him.

      A few people shouted louder, startling the bears. Dancer lost them from one sway to the next, and she saw a clawed hand draw bloody furrows across his arm and side. The other two bears leapt in to attack as well, and Dancer barely moved out of the way as he drew his powerblade to defend himself.

      Devlin reached for her laser pistol beneath her jacket, and damn the local regulations which stated no one could carry such a weapon in town. She could get a clear shot and she dared not fire for fear of hitting him. He killed two bears, leapt out of the way more claws, and finally killed the last. Quick kills, despite his own serious injuries.

      He went to his knees. Devlin expected someone to help him. She expected --

      Anything but the sounds of displeasure from someone in the crowd.

      Walk away!

      The words rose in a chorus by others, punctuated by other shouts of anger. Part of the show: A dancer had to walk away from the ring. She knew that rule, but they couldn't really hold him to it after that show!

      Dancer bled from deep wounds, and the longer he knelt there, the more she feared he wouldn't ever get back up. Hs hand brushed very gently, across the fur of a dead bear.

      She shoved her pistol away and lifted her wrist, ready to call in the port medic, but she saw someone going out to Dancer and grabbing him up by the arm, escorting him to the same gate where the bears had appeared. People in the bleachers booed and stamped their feet as they prepared to leave. She heard people talking about disgrace, which was a local form of ostracism.

      Finding an Inner Words Council soldier dressed in the usual white uniform did not improve their mood. She didn't want to start a riot -- well, not unless she thought she could beat some sense into these fools. Devlin stepped aside, bowed ever so politely (so they couldn't see the anger in her face) and let the groups pass while she worked her way, step-by-step, into a shadowed recess where they couldn't see her.

      By the time the crowd cleared out, Dancer had disappeared, and she hoped someone took him to get care. The locals knew the IWC threatened intervention if they left anyone to die from wounds. Even the Founders, with their perpetual battle of wills with the IWC, didn't take the warning lightly.

      With everyone gone, Devlin slipped out of the shadows and slid along the edge of the arena, glancing at the dead bears with regret she must have borrowed from Dancer, remembering how he had so gently touched the one dead animal.

      Devlin silently made her way towards the area where the bears entered the ring, walking down the dark incline of the tunnel until she came close enough to spot the cages. No sign of Dancer here, so they must have taken him somewhere else. Blue light cubes lit the area which she hadn't expected. They were a sign of technology, which was almost entirely forbidden on Forest.

      A man stepped out of a room to the side, anger in his face. Not allowed here, porter.

      I have questions, she replied, not in the least deterred by his words. She'd gotten far too used to local rudeness and being called an outsider -- someone from the port -- wasn't much of an insult anyway. How did the bears get loose?

      Not your concern. He out-bulked her, but Devlin knew she could take him. She didn't want a fight though. Well, actually she did -- but she knew it wouldn't help.

      "If you don't tell me, then you'll have to deal with the Port Commander. Do you want me to send him here to ask questions?"

      He scowled. They got the locks open.

      She glanced past him to the palmlocks on the cages. Very high tech for Forest.

      She nodded and said nothing as she turned to leave.

      The man lied, of course.

      She headed back out, intending to return to the port and write a report: a non-judgmental, even-handed report on how these stupid, barbarian bastards would have let the boy bleed to death for their damned show and lied to her about what had happened.

      No, this wasn't going to be easy.

      #

      Devlin still felt as annoyed the next day and knew she dared not go near the locals. She spent most of the day catching up on her report writing, which didn't put her in a better mood, either. In the late afternoon Devlin took an aircar and headed off into the wilds. She couldn't land the aircar anywhere on the soft, unstable ground but at least she could make lazy circles over a river without worrying about anyone else in the air. There was a total of four aircars on the entire world, and three of them belonged to the IWC troops stationed at the port. The last belonged to the people at the Bear Camp.

      Devlin spent the time thinking about this job. Her assignment had been specific: learn what she could about bear dancing and about the bears in particular. The people who ran the Bear Camp wouldn't let her see the animals and going out in the wilds on her own was out of the question. The bear dance was as close as she had come to seeing a bear.

      She couldn't do this job. Devlin hadn't walked away from many assignments in her career, even when she went against some surprising odds. Giving up on this one was going to be hard to explain. Her pride said not to give up; her training said she had lost all ability to continue here as an uninvolved outsider.

      As though a sign from the heavens, she saw the odd, tell-tale contrail of a shuttle coming in to the port. There hadn't been one on the usual schedule. The shuttle meant she could leave this world.

      Devlin turned the aircar towards the port although she needn't hurry. Regulations said the shuttle must remain grounded at least ten hours while crews went over the craft. She had time to return, pack her few belongings, and tell Commander West she intended to leave.

      A glance towards the ground unexpectedly showed a group of bears at the edge of the water. They were the first she'd seen outside the ring. Devlin wished them well; wanted it more for them than she could to the humans at this point. She couldn't stand by and watch another kid attacked in the ring for the pleasure of these fools. Knowing she had reached her limits might make her wise in many ways.

      Heading to the port brought her close to the Bear Camp. After a moment's hesitation, she turned and flew low over the scattered buildings. The aircar's vid system would record the scene below, and she could add the layout to her report.

      Devlin had gained more cooperation from rebelling port rats in the midst of war than she had from these people. Hell, she'd had more cooperation from the Lindy Pirates when they settled on Caliente.

      She passed the camp and saw the tiny town of Woodvine, a scattering of buildings which might have been rated as a village on other worlds but was this place's largest population center on Forest. The Founders Hall stood on the higher ground, a massive gothic structure, grotesquely out of place. The people who controlled this world lived there but last few members of the second-generation Founders were old, and Forest would be a mess when they died. They'd ruled too long. Someone should have stepped in before now.

      Not her job. Not even her assignment. She swept past Founder's Hall and on to the port, which lay far off behind the Hall and hidden from view, so no one thought about the outside universe, and the opportunities it offered.

      Devlin skimmed over the tall trees growing at the edge of the port and landed in the small, cleared area near the shuttle. Trees grew everywhere. There was a fortune to be made in Forest Tree wood, but the Founders controlled all exports and the people never prospered.

      Lt. Devlin! someone shouted.

      That couldn't be good. The Bear Camp must have already sent a complaint about her forbidden trespass in their air.

      Commander West wants to see you, Lieutenant. The young man looked her over with a little frown. He did not salute. Everyone knew she couldn't be a regular soldier with the way she came and went at will. As soon as possible, if it's no problem, he said.

      Thank you.

      Commander West hadn't used the commlink to contact hear, which made this something he didn't want the people at the Bear Camp to know since they were the only people with the ability to listen to communication devices. At least he wasn't going to make the dressing-down public.

      Ten minutes later she took a seat in his office. West was an older man, his hair a bit gray along the edges, his dark face showing creases of worry. She regretted flying over the Bear Camp and creating more work for him.

      I shouldn't have flown over, she admitted with a sigh. Admitting to mistakes wasn't one of her better skills.

      He waved a hand, dismissing the words. They complained. I told them to file a report with the Inner World Council.

      She could imagine how much those words would have annoyed Governor Spring. Then she realized he must have called her here for another reason. There's something else? The shuttle?

      The shuttle brought an etech, Cha Hao Chan. He's one of the IWC's top ecoscientists.

      "Damn. I know the name, though I've never met him. What the hell is he doing here?"

      He's arrived for the fifty-year ecology check. Forest is about due for one, but I get the feeling there's more going on. He's too high ranking for a low-level job on this backwater world.

      She nodded, knowing the feeling. West had no idea how high in rank she stood, though. I need to talk to him and as soon as possible.

      He headed straight out to see the Founders, West replied and gave a surprising little smile.

      He got an invitation?

      No, he did not. The smile widened as he tapped his comp and turned the screen to her. She saw the face of an oriental man and a list of what appeared to be some prodigious credits. Not many people of pure oriental blood showed up in the colonies, though. The Bio Plague had decimated much of Earth's Eastern populations, and they'd never done much in colonization. Etech Cha Hao Chan was a true rarity, in fact. He met Governor Spring within half an hour of landing, and she took him to the hall after he threatened to have the guards take him in instead and blow the door open if need be. And he has the clout to order it, too. He got in with no explosions, alas.

      Hell. I'm impressed, she admitted, sitting back and rethinking her plans.

      The Founders will cooperate rather than have the Inner Worlds Council Science Board send in a full team to back him, and perhaps post people on world indefinitely. I would like you to go and pick him up and stick with him, Lt. Devlin. He obviously doesn't understand the dynamics of the world, and he could set things off. He could use a guard and an official liaison. His position isn't going to protect him from most of the people.

      Why not send one of your own people?

      Two reasons: you've spent more time outside the port than any of them, and I thought you might find this useful to work with someone who is also looking at the world.

      Good points. But damn ... she wanted off this world. The regular ship would be here in two weeks, though. She could give this a try and see if working with him helped.

      I'll watch over him. Devlin tried to sound professional and not annoyed to find her wonderful plan to escape come to such an abrupt end.

      Good. Thank you. Take your aircar to the Founders Hall and collect him. When they took me there, they left me to walk back to the port with night falling. Damned lucky a treedog didn't get me even with the path cleared through the woods. Oh, and he plans to stay in town. I've already arranged for him to have House 7 out in the new sector and sent his equipment on with a guard.

      Equipment? Tech stuff? In Woodvine?

      They have to allow his equipment for the official IWC study of the world, and I think this is another reason why he needs you, Devlin. The people are going to protest if he's too obvious about it. You need to keep him safe. We don't want to lose someone this important on Forest.

      Devlin agreed. She thought this might even be interesting.

      Chapter Two

      Cha stood in a massive room with shadows growing everywhere the light didn't reach ... in fact, the sun had probably never reached fully into this archaic, anachronistic travesty of a building. The place reeked of an ancient time, modeled after a style that had disappeared on earth long before this world had been settled. He had grown up in buildings far older than this, and yet something here whispered like ancient ghosts.

      Cha might have enjoyed the place better if the woman with the horrible screeching voice would stop lecturing him.

      We will not allow such perversity to invade our world! The other two on the dais nodded in agreement although he suspected they didn't understand. Old, very old -- like the building, he supposed. He had known they would be, but seeing these three feeble people came as a shock, knowing they ruled the world. Even with the gift of regen and longer lives, age inevitably crept closer. He thought death himself might be lingering in those shadows, waiting. The reaper would not be held back much longer. For we have known the evils of the worlds outside! She glared at him, watery grey eyes narrowing in rage. We know you covet our world, outsider!

      She referred to an incident long ago when the IWC tried to talk the Work for Man group out of a paradise of a world they had won in the lottery. However, the IWC hadn't tried to take Forest. They had stuck to the rules of the game.

      Cha feared she would never shut up.

      The tao which you can name is not the true tao...

      The mantra helped. Calmer. Cha pretended interest in her continuing tirade, but he watched past her to where the sunlight caught the dust motes and made pretty patterns in the air. He could trace the room's circulation systems in the pattern which proved an interesting little pastime. Far more interesting to track the dust rather than try to parse what she said. Something about the first settlers, he thought, and he gave a slight nod.

      He thought Governor Spring might have realized his disinterest. Spring glanced his way, a little color coming to her cheeks. He plainly didn't show enough deference to the Founders.

      The dust still fascinated him.

      This is our world, Lady Kralin yelled. And we are the law, scientist. You have no rights at all, except what we give you here on our world.

      She stopped. He focused on her, almost annoyed when he had to abandon his dust mote study. However, he gave her a little bow. He didn't care about her threat.

      She saw his disinterest. I can have you removed.

      Actually, you can't. I have come to Forest on an IWC Mandate to study this world, as we study all worlds every fifty years, starting after their first settlement. You have no say, and neither do I. I will need to see your computer records. I know you have the computer here in the building and you are required to keep full records of population and climate.

      He half expected her to say they'd torn the computer to pieces. These people hated technology.

      You will have access when we say you can have it.

      "Then I believe we are done here for now." He gave another little bow.

      And set her off once more.

      We will not be treated with such disrespect! she shouted. Maybe she was mostly deaf. Her face grew red, and he worried she might have a stroke. Cha supposed if he went for his scanner, she'd get worse. So, he would have to be calmer, and perhaps politer.

      Your pardon, he replied when she took a breath. I had not meant to be disrespectful, only to point out the facts.

      There will be a report sent to your precious IWC about your deplorable lack of manners, she warned, and plainly relished the idea.

      Well, that would be interesting. Cha had a legendary record for courtesy, and the Science Board often sent him to trouble areas for this reason. He suspected this might be the reason he found himself in the current situation. Forest, after all, didn't rate an etech of his standing.

      You are dismissed, outsider.

      He gave another bow and followed a servant who appeared to be almost as old as the Founders. Governor Spring had not left with him. Just as well. He feared she might have lectured as well, and even Cha had a limit to how much he would take from bad-mannered people in one day.

      Watching the Founders had given him an odd feeling. They looked old and lost in this huge building, and he was glad enough to leave them behind. He followed the silent servant through the hall, the man glancing his way at every chance, as though he feared Cha would touch something. The place fascinated Cha who saw nothing but old things: paintings, glass, tapestries, and some perhaps from Earth. He walked through a shrine to another world.

      The servant reached the door to the outside, and Cha almost gave a sigh of relief. He wanted out and to get to work. He would have to come back, but he would do so later after he completed the other work. He could grab the data from the computer before he left the world and do the reports on the way back to Mars.

      Cha stepped through the door and out into an alien world. Tall plants called Forest Trees grew everywhere giving the skyline a ragged look. He caught the odd scent of the mossy grass he had noticed on his way in and appreciated all the more after the dusty, dry interior. Quiet, too, which was the good side of a low-tech world. He took a deeper breath and left the Founders behind. Calmer.

      He sensed movement to the right and spun with a little surprise to find a woman in IWC Whites pushing away from the wall by the door.

      Sir. She gave a bow of her head. I'm Lt. Devlin, your new liaison.

      He didn't want someone in uniform tagging along with him. He almost said so, but Governor Spring arrived, and Cha decided he didn't want to discuss the matter in front of her. Besides, Spring appeared annoyed when she saw Lt. Devlin.

      What are you doing here? she demanded. This is no place for someone from the port.

      I came to make certain Etech Cha Hao Chan had a ride, she replied, her voice perfectly calm.

      Spring went red with embarrassment though Cha had no idea what set her off. Then take him. Neither of you is welcome here. And don't bother to ask, etech. You will not be given access to the Bear Camp, either.

      Spring stomped down the steps. The door closed behind him where the servant had listened so he could report back to Kralin, no doubt. They should have had vidcams up.

      That went well, Devlin said with a bright smile as she watched Spring stalking across the yard. Shall we go?

      He found himself smiling as they headed away from the building. She had proven to be the most pleasant person he'd dealt with on this world. But even so... Lt. Devlin, I'm not certain it is in my best interest to have an IWC guard.

      I'll help you out for a couple days and make certain you're settled in well, she offered with a glance at him and a little frown.

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1