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bars. She unwrapped one and chewed slowly.
    “So, I have to make a speech?”
    He chuckled. “Yes, you can view ours if it is necessary.”
    She smiled with a cruel twist to her lips. “I think that would be fun.”
    Mordem sighed. “Well, for the next few weeks, I am your training master only. If you wish to resume our physical interaction, you will have to completely master your own biology.”
    Cam scowled. “You are serious?”
    “Yes. The last thing we need is to injure each other in an intimate moment. When you were not Gifted, I could hold back as I have with other women, but the energy that changed us will fade all control. Sex with both partners Gifted is raw and, frankly, dangerous.”
    She walked up to him and pressed her hand to his chest, “But you want to do it anyway.”
    He closed his eyes and exhaled. “Every time I see you.”
    She went up on her toes and kissed his jaw. “Good. So it is in your best interest to help me through this adaptation phase so I can stop thinking about your protein content.”
    He grinned. “Well, as long as we are on the same mission, I will get you another breather and you will make your rounds on the track again.”
    “I do love a mission statement. Ready when you are.”
    Mordem nodded and got her a new mask made of a different material. The training portion of her change had begun in earnest.
     
    When the Guardians were called out, the apprentices had to remain behind. To kill time, Camile queued up the interviews from the current Guardians on their first time in public.
    Kelmin tried to encroach on her personal space on the couch, but she zipped to the other side of the room.
    “Don’t try anything else, Kelmin. I can rip parts off you, and you wouldn’t even realize they were gone until your heart beat again.”
    He blinked in surprise. “Yes, ma’am.”
    She got the impression she had just rapped a puppy with a newspaper, but he took it well.
    Vendiuk just smiled. “Don’t look at me. You aren’t my type, and I am content with all my parts attached.”
    She laughed and started the first vid. Comyo was speaking and talking about the honour of being chosen.
    It was short and sweet. Linz kept appearing and disappearing in front of the cameras.
    Mordem appeared in fully metal mode and spoke eloquently about the honour of being the second member of his family Gifted in the last two generations.
    Daymoth’s speech was a bit of a surprise. He changed colour and puked halfway through it. He was from a previous group of Gifted, a contemporary of Taliak.
    Kelmin was sniggering, but Camile gave him a serious look.
    “Have you spoken in front of a few million people before?”
    Kelmin suddenly turned grey.
    Vendiuk laughed. “Serves you right.”
    The healer turned to her. “Have you experienced that particular situation?”
    She shrugged. “No, but I have been on a podium in front of thousands of people who thought I was a whore, so I have knees of steel.”
    They discussed tactics for the speech and eventually got up and practiced in front of each other. It was a little weird, but they were building a team.
    Kelmin only threw up the first time.
     
    She had changed her Masuo to a sombre grey that matched that of the other Guardians. She stood in front of the podium and began her speech.
    “Citizens of Namkor, I know that I am not what you wished for in one of your Gifted. I do not know why I was chosen or even how. I am a little fuzzy on the entire process for that matter.”
    There was a ripple of laughter through the crowd.
    “So, I have already confessed that I don’t know why the light stuck to me and spun me around, but because it did, I am in training to become one of your Guardians, and the lives of the Namkor citizens are my only priority.”
    The crowd applauded, and the hovering vid cameras caught every moment.
    Kelmin and Vendiuk joined her for the question-and-answer segment.
    Everything was going along fine until one reporter asked, “Gifted