By Rebecca Vinyard
Published by Awe-Struck E-Books
Copyright ©2004
ISBN: 1-58749-432-9
Electronic rights reserved by Awe-Struck E-Books, all other rights reserved by author. The reproduction or other use of any part of this publication without the prior written consent of the rights holder is an infringement of the copyright law.
Abandoned Elvan Cruiser
Sentari Space
Terran year, 3749
Elvan, 17, 506
Unity, 151
How could they be dead? Jack Stryker refused to believe his eyes. He'd heard stories that Kaylith's ship had been sabotaged, but he'd clung to the hope the rumors had been false. Now with every step he took in this derelict vessel, it looked more and more as if it were true.
But it couldn't be true. It just...couldn't.
Straining to see beyond the narrow ray of his helmet's flashlight, he blinked as the beam sliced through the utter darkness of the stasis chamber. Floating shards of broken permaglas threw off rainbow reflections that temporarily dazzled Jack's eyes.
Listening as his eyes adjusted, he could hear the soft hum of the stasis chamber's power generators. For easy transport, each tube was built as a self-contained unit with its own power supply. The sound did much to lift his flagging spirits.
Then the light fell on a blast hole fracture in the first tube and his hope wavered. He stepped closer, the heaviness in his legs having nothing to do with the magnetic soles of his prezskinned feet. He'd dedicated his entire life to this moment, only to have his faith in destiny shattered.
He wanted to punch something. Kaylith was supposed to be alive. Dammit, she was supposed to be alive!
"Jack, haven't heard from you in a while. Everything okay?" Orna asked over the com line. "I almost have the main batteries on-line."
"I'm fine, Orna," Jack replied. "I've found the stasis chamber."
"Terrific! Is the crew all right?"
His helmet light flashed on the face of the first tube's occupant. Vacuum had preserved the body perfectly. Flaming red hair framed the man's face. But there was no fire in his frozen blue eyes. That light had been extinguished forever.
The heaviness in Jack's limbs spread to the pit of his stomach as he began examining the tubes one by one. The next cylinder belonged to a beautiful blonde woman. A ghost of her living smile curved her dead lips. Permaglas shards imbedded in her shoulders glittered like diamonds.
"Jack? Do you copy?"
"Copy, Orna." Something, probably permaglas, crunched under his feet as he continued down the row. His breath caught in his throat when the helmet light illuminated the sharp features of an Elvan woman. Kaylith?
He exhaled. No, the eyes that glittered back at him were frosty gray, not deep green. The lids were open wide, as if the woman had been startled from stasis sleep before she died.
Jack shook his head at the senselessness of it all and moved on to the next tube. This one held an Elvan man, dark of hair, eyes, and skin. The man looked uncommonly strong for an Elvan. Yet his strength hadn't saved him. He'd been helpless when his tube was sabotaged.
"Jack, talk to me. Tell me what you ssee!"
Dread now shadowed his every step. The next cylinder held a Tjorn woman. She'd been frozen for all time with her fists raised defiantly, her mouth open in a war cry. Permaglas chips sparkled all over her blue skin and hair.
"They're dead. It looks like someone used their tubes for target practice."
"Oh, no!" Orna's cry echoed his own despair. "All of them?"
He'd reached the last stasis tube. Jack turned toward it, wanting to shrink from what he might see, but still determined to know.
To his astonishment, his helmet light illuminated a smooth, intact surface. Cryogas drifted in a lazy white mist around the long, lean body inside.
He traced the vague outline of the figure with his helmet light. Gentle curves were revealed here and there. It was a female's body. He looked down and saw a tiny green light glowing on the tube's floor panel. Make that a live female's body! Could it really be-- "Kaylith?" Jack whispered. "Is that you?"
"Sstryker, ssay again?"
He couldn't answer. He wasn't sure he could even breathe. A rush of images and voices, some real, some not, flashed through his mind. He'd been searching for Kaylith for most of his life, convinced beyond all reason he would find her.
"Sstryker! Talk to me!"
The concern in Orna's voice snapped him out of his daze. Even so, he still didn't feel as if he was thinking straight. His mind felt heavy--cluttered. "Orna," he said softly, "We-we have a live one here. I think it's a woman."
There was a long pause on the com line, then Orna finally said, "Really? Are you ssure?"
Jack glanced at the tube's floor panel again. The tiny light that indicated the tube's active system stasis continued to cast a cheery green glow. "Yes, I'm sure. Hurry up and get the lights on, then bring the nullgravs over here!"
Stryker heard Orna's excited hiss over the com line even as he strained to see past the cryogas to identify the person inside. He'd known the Corban long enough to visualize her fingercoils knotting with delight.
"Is it the Great One?" Her voice held volumes of hope, fueling his own growing optimism.
He opened his mouth to reply, then hesitated. It looked like Kaylith. And with everything he had he wanted to believe it was Kaylith! But no, beyond being able to establish the woman's sex, he couldn't be sure who was in there.
Before he could speak, a third voice, one belonging to their crewmate, Dal, came on the com line. He was back on Needle, monitoring their progress from the cockpit. "Of course it isn't her," Dal said. "I've been telling you both all along that this is a complete waste of time. We're in the wrong sector."
"Ignore him, Jack," Orna said. "I always do. Am sswitching the main power batteries on...now!"
The stasis room suddenly became ablaze with light, revealing the extent of the damage to the tubes. Despite the grim sight of the five frozen bodies, Jack smiled when he heard Orna's whoop of triumph.
"Whoever it is, we will be the toasst of Unified University for rescuing her." Orna always looked on the bright side. It was one of the things Jack dearly loved about her.
"Not unless you slither over with the nullgravs now!"
"Keep your prezskin on. I'm coming."
"Hurry," Stryker said, peering into the stasis tube. His reflection in the icy permaglas superimposed itself over the occupant. He frowned, straining to see past the translucent image of his own blue eyes and dirty-blonde hair. Try as he might to see the woman inside, he couldn't tell if it was Kaylith.
No one had believed he could find Kaylith the Cursed...Kaylith the Legend. But the facts of this find supported his theory.
Fact one: this damaged ship was an Elvan Fleet cruiser class vessel. It was the exact same model as Talon; a ship Kaylith's Elvan crewmember Zar, who could very well have been the Elvan female in the stasis room, had stolen from the IML over a 150 years before. Orna's initial spectrum scan dated this vessel at 150 years.
Fact two: according to Elvan Mindmaster accounts, Kaylith's vessel had been sabotaged on its return journey from Sentarl. This vessel's starboard section had a blast hole the size of a flitter. The damage appeared to have come from inside. And it was definitely adrift in Sentari space.
Lastly, this cruiser's stasis tubes held six bodies. Two were Elvan, two more human and the other Tjorn. There'd been two Elvans and a Tjorn included in Kaylith's crew. The rest were said to be human, save Kaylith.
Jack's hand fisted on the permaglas barrier that separated him from his destiny. For years, he dreamed of Kaylith, never knowing why or how the dreams had begun. He'd delved into every vid, every file about her. Visited over a dozen worlds of long-lived races to get eyewitness accounts.
He knew her better than he knew himself.
On some worlds, she was considered a saint. On others-- an outlaw. Kaylith had been the enigma of her age, a walking contradiction no one had ever solved. Her death had been as mysterious as her life-- a life that still influenced the Unity today.
Despite Dal's doubts, he knew this woman was Kaylith. He knew it just as surely as he knew the sliding sound of Orna drawing near. Without turning around, he held out a hand for a nullgrav clamp.
A coral shaded appendage sheathed in clear prezskin deposited a clamp into his palm. "Now I know how grave robbers feel," Orna said, her gaze roaming over the frozen bodies. "Excited we have found them, and yet somehow guilty for disturbing their tomb."
"It's not a tomb, Orna. It's a stasis chamber."
He looked over and saw her staring up at the Tjorn woman. Orna looked uneasy...sort of excited, afraid, and sad all at once. "This one died fighting, didn't sshe?"
"Looks like it. She always was a hell of a warrior."
"What?"
Jack cleared his throat. "Nothing. Let's get this tube ready for transport."
Orna slid to the other side of the tube, pulling a clamp out of her utility belt. While her third and fourth tentacles worked to attach it, she reverently placed the hands of the other two onto the tube, her attention more on the woman inside than on attaching the clamp. Being a Corban, Orna was quite capable of doing more than one thing at time.
"Sstrange," she said. "I didn't think she'd look so human."
"She is human." Jack bit his lip as he attached his clamp to the tube. His hands felt sweaty beneath the prezskin. "Well, partly human, anyway."
"But I thought she looked more like an Elvan."
"She did. Kaylith was part Elvan too."
He didn't bother to point out the third part of her heritage, since Orna well knew Kaylith's story.
"Well, quit keeping me in suspense! Do you think this is the Great One or not?"
"Yes...I mean...I don't know!" Jack stammered in frustration. He'd been ridiculed too many times to risk being laughed at now--not now, when it mattered the most. "Be quiet, and let me work."
Orna let out a hissing sigh and turned her full attention to the job at hand.
For a Corban, she was quite beautiful. Her tail scales were a deep orange that graduated like a sunrise to the pale coral of her upper torso. Her four 'arms', really more like tentacles, had neatly buffed sets of seven appendages, giving her twenty-eight fingercoils in all, one in each set acting as an opposable thumb.
Beneath her helmet, he could see the thick quills that fell between her diamond shaped eyes in an inverted "V". Her pupils were solid gold and she rarely blinked. Two delicate nasal slits formed a second "V" which framed her iridescent peach-pink lips.
She bared her ivory fangs as she finished attaching the nullgrav, the Corban equivalent of a human's sardonic grin. "Are you ssure we can move her without interrupting the tube's power ssource?"
"The tube's power cells are fine. Why do I get the feeling you're teasing me?"
"Because you are acting like a cranky Tjorn. You've found her, Jack. You did what everyone, especially Dal, ssaid couldn't be done. Why aren't you happy? I am. I feel like I could sing."
Why wasn't he happy? What if Dal was right? What if this woman wasn't Kaylith? But he knew she was... knew she was.
"Well?"
Jack let out a sigh as he detached the tube's anchor cable, then switched on the nullgravs. They fired up with a reassuring high-pitched whine. "Maybe because after all these years of searching, I can't believe I've finally found her. It's just too good to be true."
Orna pushed at the now-floating stasis tube with a fingercoil. It drifted a foot or so towards the door. "Then let's get back to the sship, wake her up, and let her prove you and Dal wrong."
* * *
Needle was a standard issue science vessel. Her name belied her stolid lines, as she was built more for carrying scientific payloads than for stealth or speed. Her crew numbered three... four if you counted the skinbot, which nobody did. By mutual agreement, Needle's skinbot stayed locked in its storage closet since it usually hindered their missions more than it helped.
Dal was waiting for Orna and Stryker in the med lab. His Elvan face was set in austere lines, Dal's usual expression. Yet, his large gray eyes betrayed excitement when his gaze settled on the stasis tube.
Like most Elvans, Dal was tall and ethereal, all flat planes and acute angles. His elbows and knees stuck out in sharp points as he knelt to adjust the thermofilter on the med bed. "So, this is the Legend?" he asked, not bothering to use his voice or hide the skepticism in his mind.
Orna hissed and purposely slid over Dal's exposed foot with her heavy tail, then reached down a fingercoil to yank one of his elongated earlobes.
The right one, which held seven black quakka stone piercings.
Dal let out a yelp and glared at the passing Corban.
Jack chuckled as he removed his headgear. "Dal, you know your mindspeak gives Orna headaches."
"She should have evolved beyond that by now."
"Sshe will bite you next if you don't open your Elvan mouth," Orna said, depositing her headgear onto the nearest console. "If you were a proper telepath, it wouldn't bother me."
"I come from one of the oldest tiers of El--"
"Oh, ssave it," Orna snapped. "If you had the higher powers, you'd be ssitting pretty in Trinar, not sslepping about in this med lab."
"Orna, some day you'll go too far and I'll--"
"Enough!" Jack said. Ordinarily, he might enjoy listening to his crewmates bicker, but not now. Not today. "We have a patient here. Let's get to work."
"We will have to take it slow," Dal said, using ordinary voicespeak to appease Orna. "Over a dekkeon of stasis sleep, combined with the Legend's unusual anatomy makes a quick-wake risky."
"If she is the Legend, then waking her at all could be risky. The vids ssay she had the same powers as a Mindmaster."
"More powers than a Mindmaster," Dal corrected. "No one hears her mind unless she wishes it. No one can hide their thoughts if she wills it."
"Not that old Elvan quote again," muttered Orna. "What about the Ssentari fighting pheromone? Sshouldn't we take precautions?"
"We'll wear masks to guard against the pheromone," Jack said, donning a filter mask and passing one over to Dal. "Although her medical records state she was required to take hormone injections to counteract it. Stasis should have preserved her hormonal status, but it wouldn't hurt to be cautious."
Once Dal had pulled on his mask, Jack deactivated the nullgravs. The stasis tube settled gently on the med bed. His hand shook as he turned the stasis tube's simple control knob past the Elvan symbol for 'quick wake' to 'wake'.
Before their eyes, the permaglas dissolved and the cryogas streamed upward to reveal the long, lean figure of the woman. Hair as dark as space fanned beneath her head. Her pale skin held an unhealthy bluish tint that nearly matched the blue of her form-fitting sleepsuit. Her facial features were mostly Elvan. She had a sharp nose and chin, though her lips were full and her earlobes were not elongated.
They looked as if they'd been crudely altered instead.
Jack couldn't believe his eyes. If the story was true...and he had good reason to believe it was... her mother had clipped the lobes off when Kaylith was five years old. The woman had performed the mutilation in full view of her court as punishment for disappointing Sentarl's queen.
The med bed's monitors beeped and chattered as it tried to understand the inexplicable. "She may not be the Legend, but whoever she is... she is unusual," Dal said, as he reached out to help the machines along.
Jack held his breath as they waited for the woman to release hers. Her chest rose slightly, then fell.
The Legend lived.
* * *
Flicker. A flash of light in an everlasting void... where?
Flicker. There! Kaylith groped for it, praying to the five moons it wasn't another dream. She'd had enough of dreams, save the One.
Flicker. The sea cave. Howls and misery. No. Not here. Anywhere, but here.
Flicker. Mount Trinar. The five moons circling above. Overwhelming loneliness. No!
Flicker. Terra, the Carolinas. Her feet dangled from a porch swing as she watched the sunset. Beads of moisture made the glass of lemonade in her hand slippery.
Nice dream, but this wasn't the One.
Flicker. A Tjorn plain, staked to the ground, her every breath agony. No!
Flicker. On the Talon, Black Tarna laughs as she ambushes a Corban freighter.
No!
Flicker. "You are safe here, Kaylith. Rest now and be well."
She'd found the One. With a happy sigh, she stopped fighting and allowed her mind to drift.
If she must dream, then she prefers this... the dream of her heart. She could not see his face, but she knew it well. Jack was Terran. He had deep bronze skin, dark blonde hair and cobalt blue eyes. He was kind, but strong.
And he loved her, as no one had ever loved her or ever would love her. She'd never met him and never would, since he didn't exist.
She should know. She'd been searching all her life for him.
"That's right. That's good. Rest, Kallie, rest."
He was the only one who would dare call her by a silly nickname.
She liked it. It was the secret name he'd given her.
"You are on the Unity science vessel Needle. The Elvan year is 17, 506. Unity year, 151. Terran year, 3749."
No. That wasn't right. It couldn't be.
"Her bio levels are sspiking again!"
A Corban? She was in the same room as a Corban? Shallog, save her!
"Levels sstill climbing."
"Shut up, Orna. He can see that."
"Sshut up your mind, Dal. My head's already ssplitting as it is."
Elvan with Corban? Impossible! WHO ARE YOU?
Silence greeted her mindshouted demand. This was wrong... the wrong time... the wrong people... all wrong.
Others had never intruded into her dreams with the One. And certainly not races that were at war. She wanted to demand an explanation, but felt too weary and heartsick to try again.
"Oola's sshell, she's sstrong," the Corban whispered a moment later.
"How's your head?" the Elvan asked in husky voicespeak.
"It may never be the ssame. Her mindshout is sstill ringing in my ears."
"You don't have ears."
"Certainly not as prominent as yours, Elvan."
"Kaylith, can you hear me?" asked Jack. "You are on the Unity science vessel Needle..."
She tuned him out and said nothing. Somehow the One person who she thought would never betray her had done exactly that. Another sea cave nightmare was preferable to this.
Well, no, not THAT. Still, this wasn't her usual dream of the One and she refused to take part in it. If she willed it, it would go away.
Kaylith fought, but the dream remained. No new dreams appeared in its place. How very odd. If nothing else, dream images were something she could always control.
She gave up, deciding maybe her mind had at last surrendered to madness. She'd always suspected it would.
"Her bio levels are sstabilizing. At least, I think they are. She has very sstrange anatomy, doesn't she?"
"What did you expect?" asked the Elvan. "She's a genetic experiment gone horribly wrong."
"She is NOT," her dream lover snapped.
"Jack, the Legend said so herself in her vids, remember? Everyone from the Trinar Masters to the Fleet Physicks said so too."
"She is NOT a freak," her lover insisted.
How she loved him so for defending her. He always had. Even though Jack was terribly wrong this time. She was a freak.
Always had been and always would be.
"Whatever and whoever she is," the Elvan said, "I do not think she will wake soon. For most species, a slow wake takes at least two hours, sometimes as long as two rotations. With her genetic makeup, there's no predicting her wake time. Who wants to take the first watch?"
"I will," her lover said instantly.
"Fine. Chime us if sshe wakes then," said the Corban. "It's time for my afternoon bask anyway."
Shuffling of feet and coils, then silence. Kaylith held her breath, waiting for Jack to speak again.
She focused her mind on this dream's acoustics, and was rewarded with the whisper-soft sound of prezskin being removed and flushed away. Then footsteps. Near and away. Near and away.
Inside, she smiled. Her dream lover was pacing. He'd always been an impatient one.
Near and away. Near and away. Would he never stop? She should tell him to stop. She should open her eyes, but of course neither of these actions were possible. She was in stasis. This was just another tube dream, nothing more.
Or was it? Why would she dream of a Corban and Elvan working together? It didn't make sense.
And why wasn't Jack talking to her? If nothing else, she'd always loved him for never holding back and because she could tell him anything too. They had a bond of absolute trust.
Nor was he touching her. His touch could excite her like no other. In her dreams they always ended up making love. Sometimes it was hard for her to tell where she ended and he began.
This was not her usual dream of the One. It was a new dream and she was not sure if she liked it.
Then he caressed her hand...
The touch was like having a shocking sword sear her insides. Every nerve in her body focused on the place where their skin connected. This felt real. This was real! Instinctively, her fingers curled around his.
They felt solid. Squarish and roughened by a few calluses. Warm and firm. It was his hand. And it was real.
She heard a quick intake of breath. "Are you awake?"
Maybe, Kaylith thought. You tell me, dream man.
"Kallie...I mean, Kaylith, please hear me. You are on the Unity science vessel Needle. The Elvan year is 17, 506. Unity year, 151. Terran year, 3749."
Unity year? What in Shallog's name was a Unity year?
"My name is Jack Stryker. You are on the Unity science vessel Needle. The Elvan year is 17, 506. Unity year, 151. Terran year, 3749."
So he'd said. Several times. He was gripping her hand hard now, as if willing her to wake. She wondered if he really was, so tentatively she opened her mind to his.
Kallie, Kallie, Kallie. I've searched for you forever. Open your eyes and talk to me. I have so much to tell you. So much I wasn't able to say before. You are the One, Kallie. You always have been the One.
Startled, she slammed her mind shut. In her experience, a little knowledge was usually a dangerous thing.
This was absolutely treacherous. Her dream man was real... and if that was true, her universe had changed. Maybe this time for the better. Shallog's mercy, she hoped so!
"You are on the Unity science vessel Needle. The Elvan year is 17, 506. Unity year, 151. Terran year, 3749."
Where and when. He'd given her the answers to two important questions. The last would take longer since no one had ever been able to answer it, WHY?
But if anyone could answer it, her dream man could.
"Kaylith, damn you, open your eyes!" She could feel his breath on her cheek.
"I prefer Kallie," she said, opening her eyes and her heart to his. "At least, I do from you, Jack Stryker." She blinked several times and saw nothing. "And it would appear I am quite blind."
Science Vessel Needle
Sentari Space
Terran year, 3749
Elvan, 17, 506
Unity, 151
Luminous green eyes blinked sightlessly. Jack blinked back. Staring into Kaylith's eyes was like looking into a Corban forest pool. Deep green and without bottom. One glance from her and he was a man drowning.
Her hand, which still gripped his, wiggled. Without knowing how, he knew she was prompting him for an explanation.
"Stasis effect," he murmured, not knowing what else to say. His mind was tumbling with emotions. And questions. Thousands of questions.
"Ah yes, stasis effect," she said, her pinkening lips curving into a seductively wry smile. "Then I should be able to see again... in time." Color was swiftly returning to her face, turning the bluish tint to a soft ivory hue.
"Do you know where you are?" He should move away. He was too close. He should let go of her hand. But he couldn't move... couldn't let go. Not yet.
Maybe not ever.
"I am on the Unity science vessel Needle." Her voice mimicked the rhythm of his perfectly. "The Elvan year is 17, 506. Unity year, 151. Terran year, 3749."
Her smile faded. "Not that it makes any sense to me. We should never have been in stasis that long. Where in Shallog's name is this Unity? I've never heard of the place."
"That, I'm afraid, will take a while to explain." He patted her hand and intended to extricate his, but with strength incredible for someone emerging from deep stasis, she held him fast.
Her fine, dark eyebrows creased into a frown. "Is there someplace else I need to be?"
The question struck him as odd, but he answered without hesitation. "No, Kallie. All you need do now is rest."
"And you, Jack Stryker? Do you have somewhere to go?" She sounded wistful now.
"Right now, there's nowhere I'd rather be."
"Then please, let me touch you. I've waited a lifetime for this."
A lifetime? What did she mean? Before he could ask, she reached out with her free hand to touch his face. The merest whisper of a caress swept along his cheek, his brow, faltering when she reached the filter mask that covered his mouth and nose.
With a lightning fast movement, she shoved the mask up and out of the way. He knew he should protest, but when her fingers resumed their search, sliding down the bridge of his nose, the words died in his throat.
As her fingers traced his lips, Jack felt as if she were setting fire to his skin. Desire coiled his insides tighter and tighter with each touch. An overpowering urge to touch her back... to taste... to mate... swept through him.
"You are beautiful," she whispered. "I knew you would be."
"You are more beautiful than I ever dreamed," he murmured against her fingers. "I must be mad." Mad, maybe. But he gave into the urge and kissed her fingers anyway.
She closed her eyes and chuckled. "Yes, you must. You're the only one who has ever thought me beautiful."
"Could this be the infamous Sentari fighting pheromone at work here?" he teased, kissing her fingers once more.
Her eyes flew open and her hand jerked away from his face.
"Is that what you think?" Her voice was hard now... angry. She tried to free her hand from his, but this time, he held on.
"I don't know what to think. I've never been exposed to the pheromone before."
She let out a bitter laugh. "Be grateful you haven't, human. If the pheromone was active, we'd be mating by now. So would anything or anyone else living on this ship."
"I've offended you," he said. "I'm sorry."
Her eyes... he was drowning in her eyes again. He could feel the turbulent emotions boiling through her mind as she said, "Dreams are dangerous enough, but reality is more so."
"I am sorry," he said again, kissing her hand that was still joined with his.
"And you are real. So very, very real." She sounded as if she couldn't make up her mind whether or not to be irritated by that.
"As are you." He let her go and rose to his feet. "We'll find out how dangerous that is later. You should rest."
"I am tired. And blind. Are there private quarters on this ship?"
"We should really stay in the med lab. What if--"
"Please? I'm not too particular. Just as long as there's a lock on the door."
"You're perfectly safe here."
Kaylith let out an inelegant snort. "Like I haven't heard that one before."
"There's no reason for you to worry."
"No reason to worry--that'll be the day. I'm blind and tired, I couldn't fight if--" Her frown deepened into a scowl. "Where's the rest of my crew?"
Jack hesitated, but no, he couldn't lie. Not to her. He just couldn't. "Your ship was sabotaged. There's a blast hole on the starboard side, and it appears your companions' stasis tubes were also damaged... and--" He fumbled in his mind for a way to break the news gently.
Kaylith was already way ahead of him. "They're dead, aren't they?" Her hands balled into fists. "Naturally, I lived." Her voice seethed with self-loathing.
"Yes, they died. I'm sorry for your loss." What else could he say? "They were a brave crew."
"Brave? You don't know the half of it. Why do you think they call me the 'Cursed One'? I'm death to any who dare befriend me." She glared sightlessly. "Do they still call me that--Cursed One?"
"On a few worlds--" He sighed. There was so much he needed to explain, but not now when she was too tired and angry to take it in. "Yes, some still do."
Kaylith smacked the med bed. "Damn Meeral to a Corban swamp! Roar Far must have been pissed to go out like that. I'll bet her family never forgave me."
Jack knew who Meeral was... Kaylith's mother, Queen Meeral. Roar Far... he'd dreamed of her once. She was a Tjorn warrior, perhaps the most famous of them all.
"She was a very brave, very crazy Tjorn," she said, echoing his thoughts. "A warrior dying like that-- where is the honor?" She shook her head, sending a tear down her cheek.
"And the others--Higgins and Zar, my good friends... Deke and Tith, my half-brothers! They didn't deserve this. My fathers must curse the day they met me." Her voice cracked on a sob. "It's my fault. All my--"
"Kallie please! Don't cry." Here she was, the Legend of the universe, and he'd made her cry in just ten minutes. He knelt beside her and stroked her hair. It felt just as silky as it looked. "You're alive and that's all that matters."
She sniffled, turning her head so that it was cradled in his hand. Tears dampened his palm. "How can you say that? You don't understand--"
"I know, I know. I don't understand anything about you. I know all about you, but I don't know you." He didn't want to stop touching her! Touching her had haunted his dreams for decades. "But I want to. I've never wanted anything so badly in my life. Will you let me?"
"Not if you're going to make me sleep in an unlocked med lab." She sounded just plain pitiful now.
"You can sleep in my cabin," he said, striving to sound soothing. In that moment, he'd given her everything he had if it would make her smile. "All right?"
He was rewarded with a ghost of a smile as she said, "I wouldn't dream of sleeping anywhere else. Lead me there?"
Sea Cave, Sentarl
Terran year, 3598
Elvan, 17, 355
Unity, B.U. 26
Kaylith slept with her knees drawn up to her chest; hugging her small body because she had nothing else to hang on to. The five-year-old dreamed of a better world. A world where no one talked of conquest... no one lusted for power. No one tested, jeered, or maimed her.
She found the dream quite peaceful from her everyday world, so she lingered there, focusing her young mind on the task of remembering the feeling when she woke. Remembering this peace would help her face what she knew awaited as soon as she opened her eyes.
Peaceful, yes, feeling peaceful was definitely better than any feeling she ever experienced waking. Lonely, though; she didn't see another soul, not even her brother Rock. She didn't see much of anything. There was simply warmth and light.
But this warmth and light was better than anything else she'd ever known. It felt...safe.
Her dream body sat as she concentrated on her empty surroundings. If she concentrated really hard, perhaps she would sense more. She breathed slowly...in...out...in...out... willing her mind to open to everything around her.
She heard humming. It sounded like a boy. Rock? Maybe. She saw only the same white light. There was no up or down, only a bright, white void, as empty as a blank vid screen.
But she still heard humming. She didn't know the song. Indeed the musical tones sounded completely alien. There was joyfulness to it, another emotion she'd never experienced, yet immediately recognized for what it was.
She risked a mindshout, WHO ARE YOU?
The humming stopped. Then... very faintly, "Who are you?" An echo? No, this was someone else. Kaylith was sure of it.
WHO ARE YOU? As she repeated the mindshout, this time she focused all her will on finding the source of the response. She barely registered the sensation of a soft breath of wind. She took a step toward it.
The wind strengthened.
"Where are you?" came the reply from behind the breeze. The voice sounded closer.
HERE. RIGHT HERE! She began walking, although there was no ground to walk on. Her feet moved and she was propelled forward, the wind increasing around her all the time. It tore at her hair and shrieked in her ears.
"I can't see you. Can you see me?" It was a boy's voice. Different, though. Not Sentari at all. His words were all wrong, yet she could understand them perfectly. Not Sentari? How could that be?
NO. WHAT ARE YOU? She was bending her head to the wind now. Each step was an effort, but she forced herself to keep moving. She had to see. Had to know.
"I am--well, I am me. What else would I be?"
Close. She was very close. Desperate to reach the source, she began to run. The wind became a gale...so strong it lifted her feet out from under her. She did not run now, she flew.
She ignored the flying sensation, turning all her focus on the One speaking instead. She could sense his mind now. The energy of his lifeforce shone like a beacon. Distant at first, but the more she focused, the brighter it grew.
I SEE YOU! her mind cried as the dim shape of a boy flickered within the beacon.
"And I see you," he shouted. He looked as if he were flying too. Flying straight towards her. "You don't look real."
Funny, she was thinking the same thing about him. His body looked broader than a Sentari boy's. Shorter, but stronger.
They were coming at each other fast. For a second, Kaylith thought she would fly past him. She held out a hand even as he reached out with his...
Contact.
The wind ceased. The world turned back to a white void, only now Kaylith was not alone. They stood nose to nose, blinking at each other.
His eyes were blue.
She'd never seen blue eyes before. Sentari eyes were always brown, except for her own, but then, she didn't count as a true Sentari anyway.
His hair was so blonde it looked almost white. It stuck out at odd angles all around his head. He wore a strange, sparkly tunic, black, but very shiny just the same. The kind of garment one might wear to a celebration. He held a stuffed animal, one with yellow fur, round ears, a fat belly, and a red T-shirt.
His left hand still held hers. Shyly, she yanked it away. He chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you." His smile was replaced by a frown. "Although it looks like somebody already did. What happened to your ears?"
He reached out to touch one of her damaged earlobes. Even in her dreams, Kaylith could feel the throbbing pain.
At his touch the pain oddly began to recede. When the boy dropped his hand back to his side, it returned. She longed to ask him to touch her ears again, but didn't think it was a good idea to ask such a thing from a stranger. Even if he appeared to be her age. Even if this was just a dream.
Or was it? The boy's touch had felt real!
My mother did it, Kaylith confessed.
"Your mother?" When she nodded, he added tentatively, "On purpose?"
Kaylith nodded again.
"Why?"
She was disappointed in me for trying to find my fathers.
"That's all?" He sounded as if he didn't believe her. "Why would she be angry about that?"
Kaylith shrugged. She didn't like it when anyone doubted her word. She never lied. Lying was what Mother did best and she did not want to be like her mother.
"No, really," the boy persisted. "Why would she be angry?"
It's forbidden, Kaylith explained. I wasn't supposed to tell them about us, but I did. Now they're coming. I want us to live with them, and Mother won't let us go. And--
She sighed when she noticed his blank expression. "You don't have the slightest idea what I'm talking about, do you?"
"Not exactly, although this sounds familiar," the boy said. "I don't care how angry your mother was, she was wrong to hurt you. Why doesn't the police put her in prison?"
It was Kaylith's turn to look blank. Nobody ever dared say Mother was wrong about anything. And what was that other thing? The what?
"The police." When she just stared at him, he gestured with his toy, swinging it around by a fuzzy leg. "You know... the police."
I've never heard of them. Do they live far away?
"They're the police! You know... the good guys who catch the bad guys?"
Kaylith shook her head. You're not making sense. Only mother's guards and soldiers put people in prison. But most of the prisoners are good. At least, the ones I know are.
"Now you're not making sense. If a person is good, why would they be put in prison?"
Because Mother wants them there. You ask funny questions.
"You give funny answers. And how come you only use mindspeak?"
How come you only use voicespeak?
"Because I don't know how to mindspeak."
Oh. Who was this boy? Everyone on Sentarl used mindspeak! Sentari had a voice language too, but it was genetic and nobody except Sentaris could understand it. Not even Tarmags, and they were genetic cousins. Usually, on the rare occasions when Tarmags and Sentaris met, they relied on mindspeak.
She wished the Tarmags would listen to her mind right now. She'd been trying to reach them for days. Out of habit more than hope, she sent out a desperate plea to them again.
"You look sad," the boy said. Apparently he hadn't heard her mindshout to the Tarmags. "Would you like to play with my Pooh Bear?" He held out the fuzzy toy. She took it, smiling when she saw the black button eyes and stitched smile on its toy face.
It's sweet. What did you call it?
"Pooh Bear. He's a little raggedy 'cause I sleep with him every night. He's my first mate and... hey, I just remembered! I'm asleep right now!"
So am I, Kaylith said. This must be a dream.
He pinched her arm. "But you feel real."
She scowled and rubbed the spot, then pinched him back. She felt smug when he let out a yelp. You feel real too.
He glared at her for a moment, then broke out in a laugh and sat down. "This is really weird. How can you be real?"
She sat down beside him... although there really wasn't 'ground' for them to sit on. They simply floated in a sitting position.
How can you be real? You don't even look Sentari!
"I'm not. I'm Terran. You're Sentari?"
When she nodded, he said, "Huh. I guess I'm dreaming about you because of Grandpa Alex. He was telling me a story about the Legend tonight. She was from Sentarl and because of her, all the civilized planets decided to join in Unity."
As he told her this improbable story--Sentaris shunned other races, except when they wanted fresh genetic material, so the idea of a Sentari unifying any worlds was ridiculous--Kaylith hugged poobare or whatever he called it to her chest. The toy felt soft and warm. She'd never seen the like of it before.
Come to think of it, she'd never held a toy before. Experiments, especially failures like her, didn't get toys.
The boy was still telling her about his legend, although she wasn't really paying attention. She liked the rhythm of his voice though. He knew how to tell a story very well. Almost as good as her sister, Tanith.
She closed her eyes, hugged the toy, and listened, savoring and memorizing every nuance of his voice. He sounded like hope and happiness, two more emotions she'd never experienced.
She still heard his voice in her mind, even after Rock shook her awake to tell her another baby had died.
Science Vessel Needle
Sentari Space
Terran year, 3749
Elvan, 17, 506
Unity, 151
Jack carried Kaylith instead of leading her to his cabin. One arm was under her knees, the other cradling her shoulders. His gait felt smooth and sure, as if he held her with little effort. She could hear the boom of his heart in her ear and couldn't imagine a more wonderful sound.
All along the way Kaylith strained to catch scents and sounds. Anything that would help familiarize her with the layout of Stryker's ship. Musky wood smell, definitely the scent of the Corban. A faint whiff of coffee and tiber tea, most likely from the galley.
If the ship's engines were running, she could not hear them. Strange, almost every ship hummed in some way or another. For a second or two, she heard a splashing liquid sound. A fountain? Shower? She could not be sure.
Being blind left her physically vulnerable, but she felt completely safe in Jack's arms. There was a chime, followed by a soft swish of air.
"Here we are," Jack said, setting her on a firm, yet yielding surface. A smooth and cool material, like cotton, slid between her fingers. She knew without seeing them that the sheets were a soft green. They'd always been green in her dreams.
She attempted to sit up to unbuckle her sleepsuit boots. She needed to check her feet; they'd been burned when...
Her dark world whirled like a defective gyro. She couldn't see it spin, but she certainly felt it. "Ooo, not good," she moaned as she flopped back to the bed.
"Dizzy?"
"Ever been on an Amusian Centrifuge Carousel?"
She heard a deep chuckle. "That bad, huh?"
"Worse." She grimaced as her feet sent a warning tingle. Soon they would be throbbing. "Would you mind taking off my boots? They're bothering me."
"Your wish is my command," he teased. She felt his fingers slide beneath the leather to pull the boots down. A pleasant tingle accompanied the brush of his knuckles against her calf.
"I should warn you," Kaylith said. "You might not like what you--"
"WHAT IN THE FARKING HELL HAPPENED TO YOUR FOOT?" Jack roared as soon as her boot slid off. She heard a slight thud as it hit the floor.
"--see," Kaylith finished. "And it's feet, not foot. Really, Jack, they hardly hurt at all now, so don't--"
"You're going back to the med lab!" he growled, scooping her off the soft bed and into his arms...again.
"--take me back to the med lab," she finished...again. "I mean it. Put me down right now."
"But your feet--"
"--are fine. Put me down."
She sensed his hesitation as she hovered in the dark with only the feel of his arms to comfort her. He felt...angry.
Then she was deposited on the soft bed again. "They've been treated--"
"By who? Ernai fate wardens?" He yanked off her other boot and lifted her foot, presumably to be examined. "Just wait around and see if these burns kill you? Right? You should have told me about this before I brought you here."
"It's only a few blisters," she protested.
"Hardly." There was a pause, and then he demanded, "Did your mother do this?"
She sighed. "It's a long story. I thought you brought me here to rest."
"Yes, dammit. But--"
"We'll talk about it later. I really need to sleep now."
"Fine." His voice was clipped. Still angry. But not at her, so Kaylith didn't mind. "I'm going to the med lab to get something for those burns."
"Stubborn," Kaylith said over a yawn. "But then, you always were." She heard him murmur something strange in reply, but was too sleepy to understand what it was.
* * *
"Pot calling the kettle black," Jack whispered as he watched Kaylith close her sightless eyes. "Old Terran saying. It means you're just as stubborn as I am."
She didn't argue. Whether that was because she knew he was telling the truth or because she was asleep, he didn't know. He supposed it didn't matter. A glance at her feet set his insides seething again. He turned on his heel and headed for the med lab.
He hadn't known about this! She'd never told him. The door to his cabin closed behind him. Jack stopped and sagged against it.
What was he thinking? He'd just found her!
Yet from the instant she awoke, he'd acted as if they'd known each other forever. It hadn't even occurred to him that it was strange she'd acted as if she knew him too. He dreamed of being with her too many times. Talking to her seemed as natural as breathing. Touching her felt like coming home and...
Jack forced himself to take a deep breath and push away from the door. His legs felt unsteady as they carried him back to the med lab.
There was only one logical conclusion. She'd dreamed of him too. Somehow, across nearly 150 years of time, she'd dreamed of him, a man who hadn't been born yet.
How was this possible?
Jack shrugged and busied himself with gathering up the medkit. How was it possible that he'd dreamed of a woman who went into stasis 150 years before?
Moons, this was confusing. He really needed to think this through. And he should let Dal and Orna know the Legend was awake.
But he didn't want to do that... not yet. He wanted more time alone with Kaylith. They needed to get this dream business sorted out first. He knew Dal and Orna wouldn't understand. How could they when he'd never understood it himself?
Kaylith was sleeping by the time Jack returned to the cabin. He treated the burns on her feet quickly and efficiently, then pulled up a chair at her bedside.
You are real. So very, very real, Kaylith had said.
"So are you," Jack whispered. "Ah, Kallie, how will we make them believe us? How do we make us believe us?"
New Columbia, Terra
Terran year, 3724
Elvan, 17, 481
Unity, 126
Five-year-old Jack Stryker refused to go to bed. "But Grandpa Alex, I don't want to go to sleep. How come Tory gets to stay at the party?"
Actually, Grandpa Alex was his great-great grandpa, but everybody called him grandpa. As his sister Tory liked to say, 'We have too many grandpas and grandmas.'
That was the problem with having people live so long...or so Grandma Zirtha liked to say. It had something to do with medicines improving life spans, Jack didn't quite understand it, but he knew he would...someday.
"Because Tory is thirteen, almost a lady. You'll understand when you're older." Jack chuckled. If what everyone said was true, then one day he should understand everything. His grandfather gestured at Jack's boat-shaped bed. "No more arguments, young man. It's time for you to sail away in your dream boat."
"It's not fair," Jack protested, although he climbed into bed anyway. He picked up his Pooh Bear and hugged it to his chest. "Tory isn't a lady at all. She belches when she drinks Star Cola and likes to play tackleball."
"I let you keep your party tunic on, didn't I? Now be a good boy and go to sleep."
Jack couldn't argue with that. He hadn't wanted to take off his party tunic. It was the first time he'd worn such grown-up clothes, although secretly he wished for a short cape like his Grandpa's.
Capes were dashing. Superheroes wore capes.
Still, he didn't want to go to sleep yet. "At least tell me a bedtime story. Grandma Zirtha always does."
His grandfather glanced towards the door as if he hoped Zirtha stood there. But she didn't. She was back on Elvan with the trade delegation. He let out a weary sigh and sat down on the starboard side of Jack's bed.
"What kind of stories?"
"Oh, anything. Sometimes she tells me Elvan history or Terran Myths. Sometimes she reads me fable vids, like the one about Pooh Bear and Christopher Robin."
His grandpa smiled. "I see you have Pooh Bear right there with you."
Jack made one of the stuffed paws on his bear salute his grandfather. "That's right, sir," Pooh-Jack said, in a squeaky voice. "I'm first mate of the dreamboat."
"I see," Grandpa Alex replied gravely. "And what kind of story would you like to hear, First Mate Pooh Bear?"
Jack made Pooh Bear scratch his head, as if considering the question. "I don't know," the bear eventually squeaked.
"This being Unity Day, what say I tell you about the Legend?"
"The legend?" Interested, Jack let the bear fall into his lap and sat up straighter. "Which legend, Grandpa?"
"Why, the Legend, my boy! There is only one, you know. Hasn't your tutor told you anything about the Legend yet?"
Jack blushed. He hated it when old people made him feel stupid. Which was often, considering the number of things he didn't know. Because of this, he asked questions...a lot. He knew it sometimes bothered the grown-ups, especially his mother and father. But never Grandpa Alex. Jack knew it was okay to ask him anything.
"I guess not. What is the Legend?"
"The Legend is not a what, she's a she. Her name was Kaylith and she brought all the known worlds together in Unity. It is because of her that we celebrate Unity Day."
Jack frowned and thought hard. He remembered a bit about this from his lessons. "Oh. I thought Unity Day was the day the civilized worlds signed the final alliance treaty."
Jack wasn't sure what the final alliance treaty was either, but he wasn't going to let Grandpa Alex know that.
"Yes, it was," Grandpa said. "But if it hadn't been for Kaylith, there would have been no treaty." Grandpa Alex's eyes looked sad now. "I knew her, you see. Not well, I don't think there's anyone in the universe that can say that. But because of me--"
He stopped and smiled. "There now, I'm getting ahead of the story. If you and Pooh Bear will lie down, I'll tell it to you from the beginning."
Always happy to learn something new, Jack obeyed his grandfather and laid back in the bed with Pooh Bear clutched to his side.
"She was born about 180 years ago on Sentarl."
Jack popped back up. "Sentarl! But Grandpa, that's an exiled world!"
His grandfather gave him a mock glare. "Do you want to hear about her or not?"
"Yes, yes!" Jack said. "I'm sorry. Go ahead."
"As I was saying, she was born on Sentarl. Her mother was their queen, Meeral. Now, since Sentral is an exiled world, we don't know much about the people there, but one thing we do know about Sentaris is they love to tamper with genetics. They like experimenting so much; they've been known to kidnap other races to get new genetic material. They fuse the new material to their embryos in their gen labs."
"Why don't they just ask the races for help instead of kidnapping them?"
"Sentaris trust no one. And I suppose they think the other races might object, which in most cases is true. Anyway, we're wandering from the story again. Let's get back to Kaylith."
Jack nodded and laid back against his pillows.
His grandfather went to the beverage dispenser. He selected a bottle of water and waited for it to appear before continuing with his story.
"Kaylith was created using one of the queen's eggs. This is a high honor for a Sentari, because it meant that she was destined to take the queen's place one day. The egg was fertilized using Elvan and Terran genes.
"Only something went wrong in the lab. You see they were trying to make one person out of Sentari, Elvan, and Terran genes, but the egg divided into three embryos. Kaylith was born with a brother and sister. They were triplets."
"It's said the sister got mostly Sentari genes, but she was born blind. The brother had mostly human genes and was healthy. His mental abilities were weak though. Kaylith had mostly Elvan genes and strong mind powers. She could mindspeak almost from the day she was born."
Jack let out a huff. "That's impossible. Nobody can do that."
"Kaylith could. Her mind was very strong. According to her, Sentaris are psychic, and of course, Elvans have many mind powers. Humans often show strong latent abilities as well."
"So in a way, the queen's experiment was a success because in Kaylith, the mental abilities of the three races were combined. She had a stronger mind than any who had come before. But the Sentaris considered the experiment a failure because Kaylith had a rebellious streak. Almost from the start, she refused to cooperate with her mother. She had no desire to be Sentarl's next queen."
Jack felt himself getting drowsy, but he fought it. He wanted to know more about the Legend.
"From what I understand, the Sentaris have a most violent history. They began as many races do, as a scattering of tribes across their world. These tribes often fought for supremacy. Over the centuries, one tribe began using biological and genetic weapons. The most nefarious of these is of course the Sentari Fighting Pheromone. The purpose of the pheromone was to gather new genetic material from their enemies, thus making their tribe stronger through diversity.
"This tribe went on to become the Sentari royal family. The royal family has been repressing the other people on their planet for centuries. People there have no say in their lives; the royal family decrees everything their citizens do...especially how they breed.
"So this was Kaylith's family history. And she wanted no part of it. Even though she was just a child, she felt what the royal family did to the people was wrong. She felt how she was created, via genes from unwilling donors, was wrong too.
"One day, she found a way to send a message to her two offworld 'fathers'. How she found out who they were I don't know. Anyway, these men turned out to be officers in the Interstellar Merchant's League." Grandpa peered down at Alex. "You do know what the IML was, don't you?"
"The traders' organization before Unity," Jack mumbled quickly. "It was divided up into the D-corps, Corporate, and Fleet. Tell me more about Kaylith. What happened after she sent her fathers a message? What did the message say?"
"The message said, Fathers, we are your children. Please save us."
Jack yawned, closed his eyes, then asked, "What did the men do?"
Grandpa Alex chuckled. "Ah, well these men were legends in their own right. They did much to bind Terra and Elvan's worlds closer together. Ordinary men might have ignored such a plea, but these men didn't. They went to Sentral and demanded to see their children.
"Queen Meeral refused. Instead, she hid the children where the men could not find them. Just to be sure, she hid all the children from Sentarl's gen labs. So the men searched the planet and--"
Jack tried to listen to the rest, but his grandfather's voice started fading away. He began to drift in his dreamboat, with first mate Pooh Bear at his side.
Bit by bit, the waking world disappeared. He and Pooh Bear were engulfed in a white light and his dream boat vanished beneath him. There was no sound, nothing. Just whiteness everywhere.
Still, Jack wasn't afraid as he climbed to his feet. He had Pooh Bear by his side and Grandpa Alex must be somewhere near, still telling him the story. For fun he began to hum one of his favorite songs, The Space Traders Chantey, a tune Grandma Zirtha taught him. It was a rollicking song about a reckless spacer who took on a band of Mechs all by himself.
Then he heard the mindshout, WHO ARE YOU?
Jack stopped humming and immediately replied, "Who are you?" He wasn't distressed at all by the mindspeak, since Grandma Zirtha used it often.
WHO ARE YOU, the mind shouted again. Jack felt a soft breath of wind. He took a step toward it.
The wind strengthened. Jack looked around, but didn't see anyone, only the white nothingness. "Where are you?" he asked the wind.
HERE. RIGHT HERE!
Jack began walking forward, moving mainly on instinct. He was certain the mind wasn't far. With each step he took, the wind grew stronger. It tore at his party tunic and shrieked in his ears.
"I can't see you!" Jack shouted. He clutched Pooh Bear closer, since the wind now threatened to snatch him from his hands. "Can you see me?"
NO. WHAT ARE YOU?
What a silly question. He was Jack, the captain of his dreamboat, of course. "I am--well, I am me. What else would I be?"
Close. The shouting mind now seemed very close. Determined to reach the source, he began to run. The wind became a gale...so strong it lifted his feet out from under him. He did not run now, he flew.
Wow! He was flying! For a moment he forgot about Grandpa Alex, the dream, and the mindvoice and simply enjoyed the sensation. The winds were carrying him and Pooh Bear off on an adventure! Maybe they'd fight smugglers or maybe...
I SEE YOU!
The exultant mindshout caught his attention. He craned his head around until he saw the figure of a girl flying straight toward him. She looked like a bedraggled fairy with her tattered white cape and black hair billowing out behind her.
"And I see you," he shouted. "You don't look real."
They were coming at each other fast. For a second, Jack thought she would fly by him. He reached out his hand, straining forward to catch hers and...
Contact.
The wind ceased. The world turned back to the quiet white void. They stood nose to nose, blinking at each other.
Her eyes were an unusual shade of green.
He'd seen green eyes before. Many of the Unity's races had them. But this girl's eyes were different. They were...brighter, he guessed. The longer he stared into them, the more dazzling they became.
Her hair was as black as space. It was long, tangled, and messy as if nobody ever made her brush it. He hated brushing his own spiky hair. She wore a dirty white gown with a matching cape. Jack couldn't help noticing the cape, since he wanted one so badly.
His left hand still held hers. Shyly, she yanked it away.
She looked so scared, Jack chuckled. Why would anyone ever be afraid of him? "Don't worry, I won't hurt you."
Then he noticed her ears. Maybe she had good reason to be scared. Her ears... somebody had cut off the lobes of her Elvan ears! Only a barbarian would do something like that!
"Although it looks like somebody already did," Jack continued. "What happened to your ears?" He reached out to touch one of her damaged earlobes. The girl winced, as if expecting him to hurt her, but then relaxed and let him examine the injury.
Odd, but his chest started to feel very tight. When he dropped his hands away from her ears, they curled into fists. This was wrong. Who could hurt a child like this?
As if answering his unspoken question, the girl said, My mother did it.
"Your mother?" He couldn't believe his own ears, but then she nodded.
"On purpose?" he asked, hoping the answer would be no.
But the girl nodded again.
Jack just couldn't understand. His parents might yell at him sometimes, but they'd never hurt him. Not like that! "Why?"
She was disappointed in me for trying to find my fathers.
"That's all?" Strange, but that sounded familiar. Where had he heard this before? "Why would she be mad about that?"
The girl shrugged. She looked pitiful. Jack felt the sudden urge to hug her, but being a diplomat's son, he knew some races were offended by hugs. Looking at her mangled ears, he thought, most races are offended by mistreated children too.
Since she didn't explain, Jack asked again, "No, really. Why would she be angry?"
It's forbidden, the girl explained. I wasn't supposed to tell them about us, but I did. Now they're coming. I want us to live with them, and Mother won't let us go. And--
Why couldn't he remember where he'd heard this before? Where had he--
The girl sighed and gave him an impatient glare. You don't have the slightest idea what I'm talking about, do you? she asked.
"Not exactly, but it sounds familiar," Jack replied. "I don't care how angry your mother was, hurting you like that is wrong. Why don't the police put her in prison?"
The girl's expression turned blank. The what?
"The police." When she just stared, he swung Pooh Bear around by a fuzzy leg. How could he make her understand? He just didn't have the words. "You know...the police."
I've never heard of them. Do they live far away?
"They're the police! You know... the good guys who catch the bad guys?"
The girl shook her head, looking impatient again. You're not making sense. Only mother's guards and soldiers put people in prison. But most of the prisoners are good. At least, the ones I know are.
"Now you're not making sense. If a person is good, why would they be put in jail?"
Because Mother wants them there. You ask funny questions.
"You give funny answers. And how come you only use mindspeak?"
How come you only use voicespeak?
"Because I don't know how to mindspeak."
Oh.
Who was this girl? Jack couldn't remember ever seeing such a sad person in his life. It disturbed him even more because she looked to be his age. She needed help, but it didn't seem as if there was anyone to help her. Faintly, as if an echo sounded in his mind, he heard a desperate cry for help.
It was the girl's mind voice, but she wasn't talking to him. She was calling to someone else. It didn't look as if anyone was answering her though.
At that moment, all Jack knew was he wanted the girl to feel better. He wanted to see her smile. His mind raced for something--anything--that would make the girl happy.
Then he remembered Pooh Bear. It was his most treasured toy, but if it made him happy; surely it would make her feel good too. "You look sad," he said. "Would you like to play with Pooh Bear?"
She took it, and he was rewarded with a beautiful smile when she stared down into Pooh's face.
His chest felt tight again, but this time it was a goodish kind of feeling.
It's sweet. What did you call it?
"Pooh Bear. He's a little raggedy cause I sleep with him every night. He's my first mate and--Hey, I just remembered! I'm asleep right now!"
So am I. This must be a dream.
Even though he knew he shouldn't do it, Jack reached out to pinch her arm. It felt solid and warm. "But you feel real."
She scowled and rubbed the spot, then pinched him back. Jack noticed she smirked when he cried out in pain. You feel real too.
He glared at her for a moment, then laughed and sat down. It was silly to get angry when he'd pinched her first. "This is very strange. How can you be real?"
How can you be real? You don't even look Sentari!
"I'm not. I'm Terran. You're Sentari?"
When she nodded, everything suddenly began to make sense. Grandpa Alex! In his worry over the girl's hurts, he'd forgotten Grandpa's bedtime story.
"Huh. I guess I'm dreaming about you because of Grandpa Alex. He was telling me a story about the Legend tonight. She was from Sentari and because of her, all the civilized planets decided to join in Unity."
The girl didn't reply. She just hugged Pooh Bear closer to her chest. For some reason, his head began to hurt, but Jack kept talking because she seemed to like the story. Then suddenly, right when he got to the part about the Legend's decision to find her lost fathers, the girl vanished.
Pooh Bear stayed behind, dropping to the white void at Jack's feet. That's when it hit him... the Legend... lost fathers... the Legend's name.
He'd been talking to her all along.
"Kaylith!" he shouted. "Legend, where are you?"
Wind whistling in his ears was the only reply.
Sea Cave, Sentarl
Terran year, 3598
Elvan, 17, 355
Unity, B.U. 26
"Kaylith, wake up!" Rock mindshouted, shaking her by the shoulder.
"Poobare," Kaylith murmured, half-heartedly batting at Rock's hand.
"I'm not kidding," Rock said. "We need you to get up. Now!"
She opened her eyes, saw the dank algae covering the walls of the sea cave, and quickly shut them again. "Please, just a few more minutes," she begged. "I want to find that dream again."
"Tinar's dead." Rock grabbed her arm and jerked her to her feet. No one else would dare to do that. "The others are scared. You have to mindspeak them."
"No! No more," Kaylith moaned.
This was all her fault. If she hadn't had the Tarmags send that message to her fathers, Meeral would never have punished them this way. Truly, she didn't think the Tarmags could do it, but somehow, they had found a way.
She'd known Meeral had a vast intelligence gathering network, but she thought the Tarmags were her mother's blind spot. They were cousins to the Sentari, a tribe that long ago used their genetic knowledge to take to the sea. No one knew how many there were or how they lived... they were just out there... living peacefully in Sentarl's seas.
Kaylith had heard stories that occasionally Tarmags would mindspeak with common Sentaris, but never with the royal family. She decided to ask them for help, since no Sentari would lift a finger again the queen. All Kaylith wanted was to get she and her siblings away from Meeral... and the life that had been planned for them.
Because Kaylith was royal family, it had taken her months to get a Tarmag to listen to her pleas in the first place. She'd been surprised when one did. She'd been even more surprised when the Tarmag readily agreed to help.
His name was Grinkor. He told Kaylith she could not come live with the Tarmags in the sea, since Meeral would surely find her there... but he agreed to get a message to her fathers in the stars.
Six days ago, Kaylith had been called from the gen lab nursery for an audience with the queen. Meeral's throne room was grand and glittery. Precious metals and jewels adorned every available surface. The floor and carved columns were highly polished pink and black ragla stone.
The domed ceiling held an enormous antique chandelier made of the carved bones of defeated enemies. It was said to hold the bones of an entire tribe from the southern islands. Kaylith felt sick every time she walked beneath it.
Her cousins, second cousins, and all the other courtiers smirked and laughed as Kaylith crossed the cold floor in her bare feet. They were all grandly gowned in soft, shiny materials. Palacite crystals, crystals known to enhance mental powers, dripped from their ears, throats, and fingers. She could hear their minds tittering over her ugly Elvan ears and long gawky legs.
Kaylith hated them all.
But she hated Meeral the most. She climbed the thirty-six steps to stand before her mother's seat of power. Meeral's throne was carved from a single block of pink palacite in the fluted shape of a seashell. The glittering throne gave off energy in palpable waves.
Kaylith cursed the woman's existence every step of the way.
She refused to kneel when she reached the top. She simply stood there, in her plain white smock and bare feet, and looked the witch directly in the eye.
Meeral was beautiful. But then, she'd been genetically designed that way. Her blue-black hair had an artful streak of cyan in it. Last week, it had been scarlet, which in Kaylith's opinion, matched the woman's russet brown eyes better. Those eyes turned redder whenever the queen was angry.
They were ruby-bright right now.
"Kneel," Meeral said, surprising Kaylith by using voice-speak.
I will not.
"Kneel or you will die."
I care not.
Meeral gestured with a languid hand. Kaylith gasped when a guard dragged Tanith out from behind Meeral's throne. "Kneel or your useless blind sister dies."
Kaylith knelt.
Satisfied, Meeral told the guard to take Tanith away. "We will use voicespeak. I want everyone in this room to know what you have done."
Kaylith cleared her throat. She did not use voicespeak often, but the Sentari language was embedded in her cells. A Sentari could speak from birth, even though no other race could understand it, since the language changed every few minutes or so.
Sentaris were designed this way so they could never divulge their scientific secrets to lesser species.
"What have I done, Mother?"
"You have...disappointed me."
"I have always disappointed you," Kaylith answered wearily.
"Yes, but this time more than usual. I have had word that your fathers are bound for here--our world--with a fleet of warships. They plan to take you by force."
Exultation surged through Kaylith. Yes! They'd heard her plea for help and come.
"Contain your joy, child. Know this, they will never take you."
Yes, they will, Kaylith thought. You wait and see.
"Why do you seek to leave us?" Meeral said, ignoring Kaylith's mindspeak. "And what could you have possibly said to convince those men to take you by force?"
"I did not speak to them," Kaylith said, ignoring the first question. That was the truth. She was amazed at her fathers' response even though it pleased her. Perhaps they would love her. Perhaps...
Kaylith's joy shattered when Meeral slapped her cheek. "Liar! How else would they have known of your existence? Their genetic material was gathered by my best soldiers--their minds wiped afterward. How then do they know of you?"
Kaylith shrugged and did not reply. There was no point. Anything she said would only anger Meeral more. The sting on her cheek was warning enough.
"From the day she was born, this child has defied me," Meeral announced to her court. "I have indulged her because she is the strongest of her generation. Though she is only five years old, no mind can compete with hers. Her strength makes her worthy to succeed me. She would be your next queen, except she lacks the desire. Is this not true, Kaylith?"
"It is true."
"Why is this so? Answer me this time. You could have this world lying at your feet, but you choose to turn your back on me. Why?"
Kaylith hesitated. What game was Meeral playing? She knew why!
"We can bring out your worthless sister again if there is need," Meeral drawled.
Kaylith spoke quickly. "I would not have the world at my feet, since it would mean stepping on the backs of everyone else. The very idea of ruling as you have done disgusts me."
"And yet, if you were queen you could change the way Sentarl is ruled."
Kaylith shook her head. "Were I to change one thing, the royal family would kill me. Truly, I am surprised no one has tried before. I am an inconvenience to those who seek the succession."
A smile slithered over Meeral's face. "What makes you think no one has tried?" Her smile turned malicious. "Ah yes, I see you truly don't know your own strength. It is of no consequence. We will save those stories for another time."
Meeral leaned forward, her ruby eyes gleaming. "Come here and receive your punishment."
Kaylith willed herself to look away, but she could not. She refused to rise though. "Guard," Meeral said in a bored voice. "Bring back the useless one."
"I will take my punishment," Kaylith snapped. She stood and moved to kneel at Meeral's feet, expecting the usual lash or staff across her young back.
Or perhaps Meeral had something worse in store. It did not matter, Kaylith was used to being tortured. Whether it was Meeral or the GenMasters in the lab, it made no difference. Pain was pain.
Meeral seized Kaylith's arm. Her long fingernails, painted deep blue, dug into her flesh. "No, you will stand and take your punishment. Know that if you use your mind to defend yourself in any way, your sister and your brother will die."
Use her mind for defense? She was a five-year-old child. What could she possibly do? She wasn't even old enough to release the fighting pheromone. Kaylith had been puzzled by this very thing before, yet had never found an answer.
This weakness you have for others is so pathetic, Meeral mindspoke using intimate mode. I killed my siblings before I reached puberty.
Why are you afraid of me? Kaylith answered. Why not kill me now and end both our pain?
"Funny you should mention pain," Meeral said aloud. "For that is exactly what I have in mind. Guards, seize her."
For an instant, Kaylith thought Meeral's guards hesitated, but surely this wasn't possible. Then three of them had their hands on her... holding her arms, head, and shoulders.
"I will ask you this only once again, child, so listen well. How did you reach your fathers? Even your mind cannot speak across light-years."
Never. She would never tell Meeral it was the Tarmags. If she did, it would give Meeral an excuse to commit genocide against their peaceful cousins. She only glared in reply, her hatred growing ever stronger in her heart.
"Very well," Meeral said. "You leave me no choice."
She extended her hand and a servant deposited a large pair of scissors in her palm. "Perhaps the problem is you don't look like a true Sentari. It's those ugly Elvan ears. However, this can be remedied with simple cosmetic surgery."
"Wait!" Kaylith shouted.
Meeral's face lit up with triumph. It dimmed when Kaylith said, "Order your men to release me. By my word, I will not move an inch."
Meeral impatiently waved her men away. "By the time I am through," Meeral said, "you'll wish you had those men to prop you up."
"I said I won't move and I meant it. Do your worst--Mother."
She watched in horror as Meeral brought the scissors up to her ears. The flickering light of the great hall's bone chandelier sizzled along the length of the blades.
Slowly, ever so slowly, she applied the scissors to Kaylith's elongated left earlobe. The pain shot through her nervous system like laser fire, but Kaylith refused to cry out. She refused to acknowledge her pain...her fear... her anger. She simply shut down, crawling deep into her mind to a place where only her meager hopes and dreams lived.
Knowing her fathers were coming had made a tiny bud of hope bloom inside her heart. She clutched on to that fragile blossom as she ignored the searing agony of Meeral applying the scissors to her right ear.
When her mother was done, Kaylith stood tall, blood dripping from her ears down to her white smock and all the way to her bare feet. Her earlobes, her beautiful Elvan earlobes, were tossed into a bowl.
"Burn them," Meeral ordered. Her voice sounded oddly strained as she washed her hands using a palacite crystal bowl her servant now held. "You may go now, Kaylith."
Without a word, Kaylith turned and walked down the thirty-six steps, leaving two thin trails of blood in her wake. The courtiers were not laughing now. There was something different in their eyes, something more like respect or... fear.
"There! You see!" Meeral called out to the audience just before Kaylith left the room. "She didn't flinch, didn't make a sound, even though she is only a child. Why can't just one of you have half her strength?"
Hearing that, Kaylith thought the worst was over, but she'd never been so wrong.
* * *
When the fathers entered Sentari space with their warships, all the children in the gen lab nursery were herded to a flitter, then flown to this sea cave. Kaylith had no idea where the cave was located.
For the first two days, gen techs were there to care for the babies. But on the third day, they'd woke to find them gone... with all the food supplies too. Though a few of the children were older than the triplets, they all looked to the siblings, especially Kaylith, to take care of them.
But this proved hard. Genetic tampering more often led to failure than success. Many of the children were failed experiments with infirmities far worse than Tanith's blindness. They had special needs and the siblings simply didn't have the skills to take care of them. Yesterday two had died, and now this morning... Tinar.
Kaylith pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes. I am just a child, she wanted to scream. Sea Goddess, what do you want of me? I can't do this. I can't do this anymore.
Hungry. Kaylith felt the soft mindtouch of one of the infants. Very hungry. This set the others off and soon she was pelted with pleas for food.
"We've got to find a way to feed them," Kaylith told Rock and Tanith.
"Are they yelling for food again?" he asked. Rock could barely mindspeak with his sisters. For this, even though physically he was healthy, he had a strong body and darkly handsome features; he was still considered a failure. Kaylith wished she could trade places with him right now. Anything to get those pleading little minds out of hers.
Rock eyed the algae on the cave walls. "Maybe we can eat the scum. The bugs do."
"What if it makes the babies sick?" Tanith asked. Her blind black within black eyes blinked rapidly as she shivered delicately. "Then they would cry even more. I don't think I can stand it if they do."
Tanith had average mind powers and a Sentari's slender build. Average mind powers could be enhanced by palacite crystals... especially crystals as big as the royal throne. If Tanith hadn't been blind too, then maybe Meeral would have considered her as the successor instead of Kaylith.
At least, this is what Tanith often thought when Kaylith wasn't around.
"We've got to get them out of here," Kaylith said, rising to her feet. "We've got to get us out. Our fathers could be looking for us even now." She scanned the walls for the thousandth time, and mindshouted Grinkor and the Tarmags again.
So much for her much-lauded mind powers. She couldn't help anyone.
Kaylith had to give Meeral credit, this sea cave made the perfect prison. There was a fresh water supply from a natural spring, and two small pocket chambers the children used as privies. The only way out was through the top...and that was over two hundred meters above them.
If only the gen techs hadn't taken all the food. Kaylith mentally kicked herself for not predicting their flight. They'd certainly been scared. Kaylith had wrongly guessed they were more frightened of their queen than they were of her fathers.
She should have known. The Sentaris were a race of xenophobes. They barely tolerated the Tarmags!
"I still say we could climb it," Rock said, following Kaylith's gaze with his. "We should try."
"And leave me here with--them?" Tanith stammered, capturing her siblings' attention. "Please, Kaylith. You can't do that."
"The older children will help you," Rock argued. "You just have to tell them what to do."
"No one listens to me," Tanith said. "They only listen when I'm telling them stories."
"Then for the Sea Goddess' sake, do that!" Rock growled. "Maybe it will take their minds off their bellies."
Kaylith tried to shut out their conversation and concentrate on the walls, mentally plotting the climb. Rock could be right. If they were very, very careful, perhaps they could reach the top. It would be a hazardous climb though, no matter how well she planned it.
Even if they reached the top, what then? Were there people nearby who would help? Try as Kaylith might, she couldn't connect with any minds outside.
What do I do? For a moment, she thought she heard the echo of a cry, Kaylith! Legend, where are you? An image of the boy from her dream flashed into her mind. She wished she could go back to sleep and talk with him again.
She sighed. That was just a dream. This waking nightmare was real.
She had to do something. She could not just sit there and let them all starve to death. Some of the older children, Charn especially, had mentioned the possibility of eating the dead babies.
No! Kaylith would not let it come to that. She would find help. She would find help now. She turned to her brother and sister, who were still arguing about leaving Tanith behind. This went against all of Kaylith's instincts. From the instant of their birth, Kaylith had always protected her sister.
Tanith would have to manage on her own. And it would only be for a little while, Kaylith thought. It should take them only a half hour or so to reach the top of the cave.
"Kaylith?" Tanith asked. "What do you want us to do?"
Kaylith smiled, striving to show a confidence she didn't feel. "Simple. You tell the little ones stories. Rock and I climb. With any luck, we'll be out of here in no time."
Young Kaylith prayed it would be so.
Science Vessel Needle
Sentari Space
Terran year, 3749
Elvan, 17, 506
Unity, 151
The first thing Kaylith saw when she opened her eyes was Jack's elbow. Ordinarily, this wouldn't have been her first choice of a view, but considering the circumstances, his elbow looked beautiful!
"I can see," Kaylith murmured.
She heard Jack stir and clear his throat before he said, "There's good news."
"I don't get good news very often."
"Me either." He lifted her hands to his lips. "Maybe together we can reverse the trend."
The press of his mouth against her fingers sent tingles to all points of her body. She'd never felt quite the like of it before.
Not while she was awake anyway.
She drew in a breath and began, "We have to--"
"--Talk. Yes, I know."
"I never thought you were real."
"I knew you were." When she blinked up at him, he smiled. "Well, hindsight is always 20/20."
She let out a nervous laugh. "How fortunate for you. I always thought my dream man made me crazy."
"No, not really. In my time, everyone else thought my dream woman made me crazy."
"Unfortunate for you then, I suppose."
"It's certainly made life interesting."
She could tell this was an understatement. A tinge of guilt pricked her. "Has it--was it difficult for you to explain?"
He let go of her hand and leaned back in his chair, running a finger idly over the wall behind him. "My family thought I was obsessed because I kept insisting I could find you. My friends and associates stopped taking my calls. I lost my post with the science academy and had to sell my soul to finance this expedition."
She closed her eyes, guilt stabbing at her. It sounded as if she'd made the man's life a living hell!
"Kallie," Jack said softly. "I wouldn't have had it any other way." She opened her eyes to see the truth in his. "I found you. We're together. That's all that matters--at least, that's all that matters to me." He tilted his head, eyeing her questioningly.
What was this strange feeling? She couldn't quite recognize it. Her belly felt as if she'd swallowed a jar of Tjorn flutterbys. "I am--pleased--no--more than pleased--glad! I am glad to see you."
She wrung her hands, something else that was new. "I fear I am not saying this how I mean."
He put his hands over hers, staying their telltale nervous movement. "Perhaps we don't need to say anything at all. Can I kiss you?"
She blinked at his sudden change of subject. "What?"
His grip on her hands tightened. "Kallie, I'm going to go out of my mind if I don't kiss you. Soon. Don't you want me?"
Want him? Sky Gods, yes! She wanted him. She'd waited a lifetime for him. But they'd only been together that way in dreams. In real life, she'd never made love with a man before.
If they kissed, she knew it would end with them making love.
She had to explain how new this was to her...make him understand that...
He let out a sigh and closed his eyes. You're afraid, aren't you?
She sat up, stunned by the jolt of his mind touching hers. His mindvoice sounded exceptionally strong. Far more powerful than it ever had in dreams.
Jack, you can mindspeak? But you're--
Terran? Yes, I know. I've never been able to do this before except in--
--except in our dreams.
"Yes," he said, opening his eyes. "Damn if it doesn't give me a headache."
That was because he was trying too hard. Sometimes when they'd been mindspeaking in dreams the same thing had happened. He'd get horrible migraines just from exchanging thoughts with her. She knew that working together, they could ease his pain. She could teach him how to regulate his thoughts so that they wouldn't...
"Later," he growled, pulling her into his arms. "Teach me how to mindspeak later." Then his mouth gently brushed hers.
His slightest touch had made her skin tingle. But this--this kiss set her nerves humming. When he deepened it, slipping his tongue between her lips to touch hers, those nerves began to sing.
She moaned and slid her fingers into his hair to pull him closer. His hands slid down the curve of her back to the base of her spine. It felt just like their dreams! There was this special spot, a little above her right hip, and when he applied pressure there, a blast of heat went straight to her loins.
He lifted his head, staring into her face with eyes bluer than a Tjorn sky. "Better than dreams for me," he said. "You?"
"I'll let you know," she said, gently pulling on the back of his neck to bring his lips back to hers. "I need more to compare--"
A chime sounded. "Jack! The Legend iss missing from the med lab."
Kaylith froze. Hearing the Corban's hissing voice was like having a bucket of ice water poured over her.
Jack swore and released her. "I take it back," he said. "At least in our dreams we're usually able to finish what we start."
"Jack! Can you hear me?"
He reached across Kaylith to slap on the com panel, which was set just above the bed. "I hear you, Orna. Don't worry. She's with me." He smacked the com off, then kissed her again. Hard. Before she could gather her wits, he let her go. "We have less than ten seconds before she pounds on that door."
A series of loud bangs erupted from the door panel. Jack chuckled. "Five seconds. Orna's more impatient to meet you than I thought." He rose to his feet.
Kaylith seized his arm. "Don't let her in," she whispered.
"What iss going on?" shouted Orna from the corridor.
Why is there a Corban on your ship?
Jack patted Kaylith's grasping hand. "Don't worry. She's a friend."
Corbans want me dead. Tell her to go away.
"You're one of their heroines now, Kallie."
She shook her head, her heart pounding in time with the hammering on the door. Corbans honoring her? Preposterous! The very idea of sitting in the same room with one turned her stomach. They were greedy, two-faced, dishonorable creatures.
That was long ago. Much has changed in the 150 years you slept.
I will NOT talk to her!
"Fine. Have it your way," Jack said, prying her hand off his arm. He went to the door, giving her a last glance over his shoulder. He looked... disappointed.
Then he was out the door and gone before she could say anything else. She heard the Corban immediately demand entrance, but could not make out Jack's reply.
Much has changed in the 150 years you slept.
Maybe the universe had changed, but she hadn't. Because of Corban greed, millions of Tjorns had died. She could never forget... forgive that. Even if it meant disappointing her dream man. She felt guilty about that, but knew Jack would understand.
At least, she hoped he would.
Without Jack to provide a distraction, she began to feel the throbbing of her injured feet. They were a painful reminder of the mistakes she'd made on her last visit to Sentarl. She'd thought she could trust Tanith, but by Shallog, she'd been wrong there and...
No. She wouldn't think about it. She'd go mad if she did.
Instead, she gazed bleakly at her surroundings. She'd been right about Jack's sheets... they were green. His cabin was small and spare, but the décor was done in soothing Terran shades... soft greens, blues, and browns. A stringed instrument was propped in the right hand corner. Made of dark, polished wood, the antique guitar had intricately carved panels.
Kaylith knew Jack could play it well. He'd often serenaded her in dreams.
The com panel above the bed was the only outward sign of technology. She noticed the surface of the nightstand glowed. Closer inspection revealed a swiveling touch panel.
Intrigued, she pulled it towards her lap. There were icons, just like the ones on the liquid displays in her time. She touched a finger to a graphic shaped like an antique monitor. A holographic screen appeared above the panel. It solidified into a crystal clear display screen.
Kaylith smiled. How nice! She wondered how else the universe's technology had advanced. Jack was right. She had 150 years to catch up on. Where should she start? Several ideas came to mind, but she settled on the first thing she hadn't understood.
"History archive," she ordered. "What is Unity?"
"Text or vid?" a disembodied voice asked. It sounded male and Terran.
"Let's start with text. Terran, Tjorn, and Elvan perspectives. We'll get to the vids later."
"Collating... completed." The screen divided into three scrolling pages, giving her the answers in the coinciding viewpoints of the three different worlds.
"Very nice indeed," Kaylith murmured. Ignoring her aching feet, she began to read.
* * *
The cabins, cockpit, and med lab of Needle surrounded a central living area that the crew called the galley. It was here where the crew took their meals, held meetings, and generally relaxed with each other.
Unfortunately, no one seemed relaxed right now.
"What do you mean sshe doesn't want to talk to me?" Orna flopped her lower coil onto a red puff chair, her eyes flashing deep gold, a sure sign of Corban anger.
"Don't take it personally," Jack said. "Remember, in her time Corbans were her enemies."
"Corbans honor her name!"
"Now they do. 150 years ago, they had a bounty of 70,000 credits on her head. They went to war rather than help the Tjorns and--"
"Yess, yess," Orna hissed irritably as Dal joined them in the galley. "But now Corbans put peace ahead of profit."
Now Corbans do. Then Corbans didn't. Have respect for the Legend's feelings.
Orna bared her fangs at Dal. "Like you have respect for mine, Elvan?"
Before Dal could reply, Jack said, "Please, you two. Let's not turn this into a hissing contest. Dal, use voicespeak. Orna, quit threatening to bite Dal's head off."
His crewmates looked rebellious, but they quit bickering.
"Look, it's not like she's an inanimate artifact. She has feelings and we need to respect them."
"But I have questions!" Orna protested.
"As do I," said Dal. "Surely she will grant us interviews, if only to reward us for rescuing her."
"I'm sure she will," Jack said. "Just give her a little time to get her bearings, all right? I'll let you know when she is ready."
Neither of them answered. Dal looked as if he bit into a lemon and Orna's tentacles were knotting and unknotting jerkily, another sure sign of annoyance.
Jack sighed. "Why is this a problem?"
"Why would she want to talk to you?" Dal countered. "I am Elvan. She should have asked to see me first."
"Maybe it's because she ssaw him firsst," Orna guessed.
"No, that's not it. It's because--" Oh moons, they'd never believe him! He'd purposely chosen not to tell his crewmates about his dreams. He'd figured it was easier to work with people when they didn't think you were crazy.
Now, they probably would.
"Becausse?"
"Because--" He stood up and folded his arms. "--because she knows me."
Dal's eyes narrowed. "Not possible."
"I know it's not possible, but it's the truth. We've known each other since childhood."
"Hers or yourss?" Orna's voice was laced with skepticism.
"Both." They stared as if he'd sprouted horns. "Look, I'm not mad. Kaylith can confirm my story."
"When she talks to uss," Orna muttered.
"She will," Jack promised. He really didn't want to discuss this right now. His place was with Kaylith. In his mind, he caught an image of her reading text files. He smiled. Already figured out the holoreader, have you?
Kaylith's image looked startled. You can see me?
Yes! And what a lovely sight you are!
A coral-colored tentacle flapped in front of Jack's eyes. "Jack, are you all right?"
"I'm fine, Orna."
I will not talk to that Corban! Kaylith growled and winked out of his head like a vid shutting down.
Or maybe more like a door slamming.
"Your eyes looked sstrange," Orna said.
"He was using mindspeak," Dal said. He pointed towards Jack's cabin door. "With her!"
"What were they ssaying?"
Dal gave Orna a scornful look. "How should I know? They used intimate mode."
Jack rubbed his head. It had hurt before, but now it throbbed with pain. He needed to go to the med lab... again.
"Sshe must have contacted him first. Jack cannot mindspeak."
But he had! He'd spoken first! And it was more than just mindspeak, he'd seen her as well. How was that possible?
"Jack, are you sstill talking to her?"
"No," he said, turning around to walk to the med-lab. "I just have a headache. Can't we discuss this later?" Dal and Orna got up and followed him. He swore under his breath, then prayed for patience as he dug through a med kit for a pain suppressant.
"Look, I realize this is hard for you two to understand--"
"Not hard at all," Dal said. He moved to shout right in Jack's face. "Finding the Legend is the discovery of the dekkeon and now you want to shut us out!"
"That's not it at all--"
"Jack would never do that, Dal," Orna said. "We are a team!"
"That's right--" Jack tried again.
"We are hired help," Dal interrupted. He thumped Jack on the chest. "And not paid very well at that. The only reason I stayed on was because I thought we'd at least share the discovery credit. Now though--"
STOP IT!
Again, his crewmates blinked at him in amazement. He'd mindshouted that!
What's wrong? Kaylith asked.
Great. He'd shouted loud enough for Kaylith to hear. Now she would be upset and... He'd mindshouted that loud?
What is wrong? Kaylith demanded again.
He closed his eyes. My crewmates think I'm keeping you all to myself.
He had a vision of her lips curving into a smug smile. Suits me, she thought.
Moons! His head was splitting! He felt like banging it on the med bed. Your head hurts, Kaylith added. I will make them stop.
"How did you--" Dal began.
Jack heard a cabin door swish open. In his mind's eye, he saw Kaylith step through. Her hands were fisted at her sides and her green eyes flashed with the light of battle as she limped on her bandaged feet to the med lab.
Even limping, she was magnificent.
He felt, rather than saw, Kaylith push Dal aside. Felt, rather than saw, Orna gaping at them. "Leave him alone," Kaylith ordered his stunned crew. She picked up the med kit, then wrapped her fingers around Jack's arm to drag him from the room. "Leave us alone!"
For the third time in ten minutes, his bickering crew was speechless.
Sea Cave, Sentarl
Terran year, 3598
Elvan, 17, 355
Unity, B.U. 26
Kaylith and Rock had been scaling the cave wall for a quarter-hour, but had only climbed about 30 meters. There were still about a hundred and seventy meters before they reached the top of the cave. This was going to take much longer than she'd thought.
Hungry. Hungry. Hungry.
Try as she might, Kaylith could not dampen the mindspoken demands of the children below. She was trying to climb in Rock's 'footsteps', but did not have the advantage of his height to help her. She couldn't reach his last handhold and was searching with her fingers for another.
"This is strange," Rock said. "The rock wall is starting to turn to crystal."
"Not so strange, this cave was probably formed by a volcano."
"Well, strange or not, I think it'll be hard to climb this stuff. It looks brittle."
"Should we go back?"
Rock inspected the wall, his expression intense with concentration. He looked above them, and then below.
Hungry. Hungry. Hungry.
He blew out a breath. "No. We keep climbing."
As they climbed for another five minutes, Kaylith began to see what Rock meant. The surface of the cave wall became slick as the rock gradually turned to crystal. It was an odd crystal, mostly black in color, but shot through with gradient shades of gray.
She'd never seen the like of it before.
Hungry. Hungry. Hungry.
The children's mindvoices seemed fainter. Were they losing strength? Kaylith looked down, but all she could see was the majority of them gathered around Tanith. She supposed her sister was lulling their hunger with a story.
Kaylith forced herself to forget about the children and concentrate on climbing.
A few minutes later, she looked up to see Rock reaching for a crystal ledge that jutted from the wall. It looked like a safe place where they could stop and catch their breath. He swung himself up to the ledge and stood, searching out his next target.
The crystal ledge suddenly crumbled to dust.
ROCK! Kaylith mindshouted as he fell. She reached for him as he fell past, and managed to catch hold of his tunic sleeve. His eyes were wide and oh-so-scared as he held out his hand to hers.
Then the sleeve's fabric ripped and Rock slipped out of her grasp. Horrified, she watched her brother fall. ROCK! TANITH! HELP HIM!
She saw her sister blindly look up even as her brother hurtled down. He landed on the clump of children gathered around Tanith. Shouts and wails immediately followed.
WHAT HAPPENED? Kaylith demanded, still clutching Rock's sleeve. IS HE ALL RIGHT?
No reply. All she could see was Tanith bending over Rock's sprawled form... the children forming a circle around them. Rock's right arm and leg lay at unnatural angles.
TANITH? IS HE ALL RIGHT?
Again, no reply. But this time Tanith's head turned towards her. "I can't understand you!" her sister shouted.
"IS ROCK ALL RIGHT?" Kaylith shouted back. Frantically, she began to climb down.
"I'M FINE," Rock roared. "Keep climbing."
"He's NOT fine," Tanith yelled. "I think his right arm and leg are broken. He may have internal injuries. We must get him to a med tech!"
Kaylith hurried her descent. For moment, she thought she heard echoes of mindspeak, but they made no sense. Then she heard Rock shout, "STOP! CAN'T YOU HEAR US?"
She halted, her hands trembling on the cold crystal. What should I do? she asked in mindspeak. No answer. She tried again, mindshouting, WHAT SHOULD I DO?
"We can't understand you," Tanith called. "What are you trying to say?"
"What should I do?" Kaylith shouted. "I want to come down. I can help Rock."
"If you want to help me, then for the Sea Goddess' sake keep climbing!"
Why couldn't they hear her mind?
"You have to reach the Tarmags!" Rock added. "Kaylith, we're all depending on you. Understand?"
She didn't understand anything. She didn't understand why they couldn't hear her mindspeak. She didn't understand why her mother would abandon them to this cave. She didn't understand why...
"Kaylith? Can you hear us?" Tanith asked. "You've got to get the Tarmags to help us!"
"I hear you," Kaylith called. "I will get them." She forced herself to reach for the next rock, whispering, "I have to--I just have to!"
* * *
The strange black crystals crumbled beneath her fingers again and again. Never for a second did she trust her full weight to the crystalline handholds. An eternity passed as she groped, crawled, and dragged herself up the side of the cave wall. All the while she worried for her brother's life, her sister's sanity, and the children's safety.
They were all depending on her. She had to do this!
Her muscles began cramping. Blood trickled through the cuts on her hands. She ignored the pain and kept going. She tried to mindspeak with her siblings, but they couldn't hear her. The only bright side about this was she couldn't hear the children's pleas of hunger either.
Never had she felt so alone. She needed someone... anyone to help her through this.
I hear you. Where are you? Faint, this was very faint. Who? The boy from her dream?
I'm here! she mindshouted.
No reply. She didn't really expect one.
In her mind though, she began to replay the merry song the boy had hummed in her dream. The silly, alien tune gave her climbing a rhythm and helped her ignore the spasms of pain coming from her arms and legs.
She didn't dare look down and couldn't bear to look up. She simply hummed the boy's tune and kept climbing.
Then she reached out and touched only air! Looking up, she saw the stars and night sky above her.
She had made it! Trembling, she hauled herself over the lip of the sea cave. She saw nothing but the darkness below and the sparkle of seawater beyond. They were on an island.
Sentarl had countless uncharted islands. They could be anywhere. She moved away from the edge of the cave, sitting down on the first flat surface. Her blood-crusted fingers dug into the ground, sifting through only dirt and plain rock. She didn't feel the black crystal.
I'm here! she mindshouted. Nothing, no reply. She couldn't feel even the barest touch of her sister or brother's minds.
She put her head in her hands, tears of frustration slipping through her fingers. If they could not hear her, how could anyone else?
She would make them hear her. She had to!
Gathering her strength and will, she readied herself, opening her mind to all that was around her. She felt the soft gibberish of animals below, but no Tarmags or Sentari minds. No sentient minds at all. Farther... she would have to reach out farther.
She imagined her thoughts going out... over and under the sea. Across the lands and up into the air. She looked to the stars... yes, she would reach out to them if need be!
GRINKOR! TARMAGS! FATHERS! HEAR ME! she mindshouted. SENTARI! HEAR ME! QUEEN MEERAL HAS LEFT US HERE TO DIE. PLEASE, WE ARE ONLY CHILDREN! SOMEONE SAVE US!
Where are you? answered the dream boy weakly. Very faint, but she could hear him. What good was the boy? He was just a dream and...
Then... WHERE ARE YOU? Different minds, many minds. She felt the touch of Tarmag and Sentari... and minds alien. Her fathers? It didn't matter. They heard her!
HERE! WE ARE HERE! She gave everything she had to her mindshout. She pictured her mind as a beacon... a light to guide them. Again and again, she broadcasted their position, although with each effort, she felt herself weaken.
She hung on, sifting through the voices in her head...trying to find a mind she knew. Where was Grinkor? Where were the fathers? Where were...
You stupid, stupid, child. I should have killed you the day you were born.
Meeral? Oh Sea Goddess, please not Meeral!
I know where you are. I will get there first and then I will kill you. I will kill you all!
Not if I kill you first! Kaylith thought back weakly. Maybe it was an idle threat, but she would die before she let Meeral harm the others.
She screwed herself into a ball and kept broadcasting to the others. Please, please hurry. Meeral will kill us if she gets here first!
Over and over, she begged the others to hurry.
Vaguely, she began to hear the hum of a flitter. She opened her eyes and saw a tiny point of light streaking towards the sea cave. Other lights flew behind it. Not one, but many flitters. Then lights began to emerge from the sea. In wonder, she watched the ships of sea and sky fly towards her.
And prayed Meeral didn't get there first.
* * *
"You will not touch this child," said her Elvan father, Captain Lir of the IML's Interstellar Fleet, laying a hand on Kaylith's head. "Twelve battle cruisers now orbit Sentarl. One word from me and this planet will be turned to dust."
Meeral's flitter had landed first, but only just. By the time the queen had made her way up the volcano to Kaylith's position, ten other ships had also landed. Some closer and some farther away.
Her fathers had landed closest of all! Elvan and Terran, the two men, had raced from their ship the moment it touched the ground. They were at her side before Meeral could reach her.
She now stared down at Kaylith coldly. Kaylith met her eyes, willing herself to stand erect and proud. I beat you, Kaylith thought triumphantly.
I should have won, Meeral countered. This cave is covered with Malacite crystal, which dampens mental powers. I never dreamed you'd climb out.
I guess my dreams are more powerful than yours.
Meeral ignored her and turned to the fathers, surprising Kaylith by using the traders' language. "These are my children. You have no right to them. You have no right to threaten my world. Be gone! Else I will take your actions as an act of war!"
The Terran father, Commander Terrel, also of Fleet, spoke. He was a big man with reddish hair and deep green eyes, eyes very much like hers, but his voice was soft when he said, "You stole from us to create them. We have every right to take them back."
Do not deny this, Lir mindsaid. He was slender, but very tall. His hair was as dark as Kaylith's and his eyes gray. Looking up into his face was nearly like looking into a mirror. We have proof of your treachery.
"Your threats of war mean nothing to us," Terrell added. "Sentarl has no allies, and no weapons beyond the genetic and biological kind. War will only bring death to your world."
Meeral pondered this a moment, then said, "What if the children don't want to go with you? Would you take them from me against their will?"
Kaylith laughed at this and pointed down at the cave. My brother is down there broken and bloody. Several of the babies have died. After this, would any of us choose to stay? I choose to leave. I know the others will too!
Meeral said nothing. She simply smiled at Kaylith, a bitter cold smile of victory.
Kaylith thought her mother mad, but when the choosing was done... only Rock and herself chose to leave. The others, including her blind sister Tanith, chose to stay.
Science Vessel Needle
Sentari Space
Terran year, 3749
Elvan, 17, 506
Unity, 151
"How is this possible?" Jack moaned as Kaylith led him to his bunk. The pain suppressant tabs were working on his headache, but not fast enough. "I've never been able to mindspeak before--never!"
"You're certainly doing it now," Kaylith said wryly. She gently pushed him onto the pillows and slid his legs under the covers. "You shouted so loud the Mindmasters probably heard you in Trinar and you managed to give yourself a mindshock. Hurts like hell, doesn't it?"
He watched as she dug through the med kit until she found a sleeping spray. "Trust me, you need this," she said as she injected the spray in his neck.
Jack didn't argue. Sleep sounded really good right now. Anything to get away from the pain crushing his skull. "How do I dim these lights?" she asked.
"Lights thirty percent," Jack ordered absently as he removed his T-shirt. He was more concerned with what she'd said than what she was doing. Did she really think they'd heard him in Trinar?
Surely not.
As the room darkened, the pain between his eyes immediately begin to ease.
"Better?" Kaylith asked, moving to sit on the other side of the bed.
"Much. Thank you." He took her hand and held it over his heart, something he'd done countless times in dreams. Kaylith sighed and melted against his side. The feel of her body against his felt so familiar... so right... even though they'd never lain together before.
At least, not when they were awake.
"I'm not surprised you can mindspeak with such power," Kaylith said, toying with his fingers. "I often heard you in my time--when I was awake I mean. For you to do that across 150 years is--well, unbelievable."
"I heard you from time to time too," Jack murmured. "Even though most of the time you weren't talking to me. I thought I was crazy."
Kaylith let out a dry laugh. "So did I. I never told anyone I heard you.
"I tried to tell my family and friends about you. They thought--" He sighed. Some time he'd have to tell her just how crazy they thought he was.
Later when he could think clearly.
"They thought you crazy," Kaylith finished for him.
"Yes. Why does my head hurt? Is that usual for telepaths?"
"No, but most people are born telepaths. You weren't." She gently stroked his forehead. "I'm no mindhealer, but I would guess it hurts because your brain is firing neurons it has never used before."
"You lived in Trinar with the Mindmasters."
Her hand stilled. "Don't remind me. I hated it there."
"I know, but did you ever hear of anything like this before? With Terrans, I mean."
"No, not ever."
He wanted her to stroke his head again. A sigh of pure bliss escaped when she did. His body started feeling heavy as he grew drowsier. "I saw you too, that's how I knew you were using the holoreader. Ever heard of that before?"
"No," she whispered again. "Not ever."
"I wonder what that means?" He was definitely drifting. Kaylith's reply seemed to come from far away.
"It means you possess an amazing gift." She kissed his forehead, but he could barely feel it. Then she sighed. "And it means--trouble."
"Ahh, trouble," he murmured. "At least that's not something new--" he drifted off to sleep before he could finish the sentence.
Kaylith laid her head on Jack's shoulder and simply listened to the soft sound of his breathing for a time. Being with him felt like...home. Funny, but in all her wanderings she'd never found a place to call home before.
Maybe that was because Jack wasn't there.
She smiled up at his face. Even asleep, he was smiling too. Why shouldn't he be? After 150 years they were together!
The problem was she knew nothing ever lasts. And she knew her sweet man had no idea what he'd just done with that mindshout.
But she did.
Tentatively, she opened her mind to the broadest spectrum possible. It wasn't a mode she used very often, since it meant shifting through trillions of minds. The babble was like a blast of white noise, but she quickly focused the spectrum to search for searchers.
To her dismay, she found them.
She heard them calling, 'Who said that? Identify.'
Definitely Mindmasters. There was something or someone else listening too, something she could sense, but not identify. Sentari? Maybe...
With a shiver, she shut them all out. She wrapped her arm around Jack's waist and held him tight.
No sense in talking with Trinar now, she thought. They'd be hearing from the Mindmasters soon enough.
And as for the other mysterious presence, she hoped she never sensed it again.
New Columbia, Terra
Terran year, 3731
Elvan, 17, 488
Unity, 134
"You will take the xenopolitics course and that's all there is to it," Jack's father, Dane growled.
Twelve-year-old Jack Stryker looked to his mother, Shauna, for support, but as usual found none. "Your father's right. How are you going to get into the D-Corps if you don't start preparing for it now?"
"I don't want to be in D-Corps," Jack said. "I want to study xenoarcheology."
Dane sat poised with his fork in midair, while Shauna delicately, but firmly, set down her crystal goblet. "What did you say?" she asked coldly.
Tory tried to warn him with a kick under the mahogany table, but Jack ignored his sister and squared his shoulders. This time he wasn't going to back down. "I said I want to study xenoarcheology."
Dane's fork clattered to his plate. "Are you going to plague me with that nonsense again? Our family helped establish the D-Corps. It is your duty to insure the D-Corps continues in the spirit in which it was created."
"Well, Tory's doing that, isn't she? She's already a representative on the trade council and it's only a matter of time before she's assigned to the Corban embassy. Why do I have to be a diplomat too?"
His parents stared. Both had cool Nordic features, although Shauna's eyes were an icier shade of blue than Dane's. His sister Tory could have been their mother's clone with her white blonde hair and sharp features.
"What is wrong with you, boy? You know why--it's because we Strykers are traders and diplomats, not scientists," Dane said. "That is how our family has made our fortune."
"I'm not interested in fortune. I want to learn about the history of the Unity races. I want to know how--"
"You will take the xenopolitics course this semester and forget this archeology nonsense," Shauna said. "End of discussion."
She turned to Tory, dismissing Jack's dreams as easily as she dismissed her servants. "Tory, dear, tell us what happened at today's council meeting."
Tory sent Jack a sympathetic glance, then began to recount the latest news from the council. Jack's ears burned as he picked at his food and prayed for the meal to be over.
He wouldn't be a stupid diplomat or trader. He'd show them. He'd show them all!
* * *
Jack felt very much alone as he went to bed that night. If only someone understood and believed in him. He lay there wishing with all his might for Grandpa Alex or Grandma Zirtha. They'd probably take his parents' side, but at least they'd listen.
Tory would listen too, but then he knew what she'd say. 'It doesn't matter what you want--the family must come first.'
Why couldn't he be like the rest of them? Why didn't he share their passion for increased trade and profits? It certainly would make life easier if he did.
But he didn't.
He wanted to explore the universe, to find out how other races lived and died. He had so many questions. His family made him feel like a fool for wanting answers. He wanted to choose his own future. He couldn't stand the thought of it all being decided for him. If only someone understood, then maybe he wouldn't feel like such a freak. But there was no one...no one.
He lay back and put an arm over his eyes, wishing with all his soul for someone to talk to. He was still wishing as he drifted off to sleep...and into the white void...
He hadn't dreamed of this place in seven years and yet he immediately recognized it. This was the dream world where he'd met the Legend, the one called Kaylith. He'd tried to tell his family about that dream, but they'd dismissed it as childish chatter.
Yet even then he'd known it had been more than a dream. Through the years that followed, he tried calling out to her from time to time with his mind. He didn't know why he did. After all, he wasn't Elvan. He couldn't mindspeak. He just felt like he should.
Sometimes he thought he heard echoes of her mind answering, although he never knew for sure. Last year, he'd told Grandma Zirtha about it, certain she was the one person that would understand. She'd patted him on the head and said, "That's nice, dear. Shall we read about the Mech incursions on Ernai today?"
Maybe Father was right. Maybe there was something wrong with him. After all, he spent much of his free time reading and watching vids about the Legend. Her life had been chronicled on various worlds and he never grew tired of learning about her.
Time and time again, his family had said this wasn't normal. A boy his age should be interested in sports or the latest vid stars. Instead, he begged for more time on the holoreader.
When Kaylith was twelve, she wasn't sitting around begging her fathers for a chance to study her interests. She was on Elvan in Mount Trinar, learning how to expand her mind from the Mindmasters.
At least they had understood her!
He thought of these things as he walked the white void of his dream. Maybe Kaylith would understand! Maybe she could tell him how to convince his parents to let him choose his destiny.
"Legend, are you here?" he called.
Nothing, not even the strange wind from before. Only whiteness everywhere. She had to be out there... somewhere. He closed his eyes and concentrated hard, picturing the Legend's face and imagining the sound of her voice.
He felt a breath of wind on his cheeks and opened his eyes. There! Something shining in the distance. Kaylith? Maybe...
He stepped towards it and the wind grew stronger.
"Legend," he called again. "Can you hear me?"
Nothing. Not even an echo.
With each step he took, the shining grew larger...brighter, and the wind blew harder. It whipped at his hair and howled in his ears. This time it didn't feel as if it wanted to carry him forward. It felt as if it was hurling him back, dragging at his feet instead of lifting him up.
He bent his head and plowed on towards the light.
One step. Two. His legs turned leaden and he turned his focus to lifting one foot, bending a knee, and setting it down again while the wind pounded from all directions.
He could reach it, he thought, peering through his lashes at the light. It wasn't far now. He could make out that it was rectangular in shape... like a door. One step. Two. He reached out, even though the wind felt as if it could snap his arms like twigs.
One step. Two. Then... contact.
The wind died and the light winked out as soon as he touched the portal. His fingertips touched cool, smooth wood...dark wood the same color as his parents' mahogany table. Midway and to his right was a tarnished brass knob.
He slid his hand down to turn it, then yelped and yanked his hand away. The knob burned him! He flapped his hand, and then examined it for blisters. There were none, yet his hand still burned with pain.
He tried to circumvent the door on the right side and was met with an invisible wall. The left side had the same inexplicable barrier.
There was no way around this portal except through.
Perplexed, he stared at the door. It looked like an ancient's door, complete with rusty hinges to match the tarnished knob. Carefully, he reached out to touch the wood. Definitely cool... almost cold.
"Legend?" Jack knocked on the wood, then put his ear to the portal. He heard nothing...yet maybe he sensed... no, he was sure he sensed her on the other side.
How he was sure, he didn't know. He just knew she was there.
He put his hand near the knob, but didn't touch it. Heat radiated into his palm. He looked down at himself. All he had on was a T-shirt and sweatpants, his usual sleepwear. Why couldn't he have dreamed of having a toolkit too?
He had to get to the other side. He had to talk to her. But how?
Insulation. He needed protection from the heat. He pulled off the T-shirt and wrapped it around his hand, then cautiously tried the doorknob again. Heat immediately flared through the material, but he could grip the knob. Quickly, he turned it, yanked the portal open and stepped inside.
He found himself confronted with another glowing door. The white void was gone, replaced by darkness. The only light came from the portal ahead, a greenish, sickly kind of glow. The air felt hot, stifling. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the wooden door had disappeared.
The new portal looked metallic and was secured by a trio of old-fashioned padlocks. He tested the metal surface with a fingertip. Heat again. Very hot this time.
"How in the five moons of Agda am I going to get past this?" Jack asked aloud. His T-shirt-covered fist hit the metal with a harsh clang.
One of the padlocks fell open.
Surprised, he banged on the door twice more and the other padlocks dropped open. "Too easy," he whispered, pushing the door wide. Jack instantly knew he was right.
Hell awaited him.
Below a river of hot lava bubbled and oozed over glowing boulders, occasionally crashing against the rocks in fiery sprays. Directly ahead, a slender rock bridge spanned the breadth of the river. Red-hot coals littered the walkway.
He couldn't see what lay on the other side.
Jack looked down at his feet. They were bare, of course. Who slept with their shoes on?
Sleep, that was the answer. This was a dream. He could simply wait in this hellish place until he woke... or maybe... if he focused hard enough...
"Kaylith?" he called. "Can you hear me?"
He definitely sensed her near, but it felt as if she were closed off... her mind not open to anything or anyone.
If she wouldn't help him, he'd have to help himself. Eyeing the hot coals on the bridge, he remembered stories of humans who walked across hot coals without injury. Mind over matter, that was the key. The hot doorknob had hurt, but hadn't actually injured him. After all, this was only a dream, right?
Right, he thought with a sigh. If this was only a dream, why was he sweating?
Don't think about the heat, he told himself, as he put his T-shirt back on. Just concentrate on getting to the other side. Screwing up his courage, he set a foot onto the walkway.
Pain seared the sole of his foot. He ignored it and took another step. Now both feet burned. Ignore it, he thought. Think cold. Think icebergs, snow, ice cubes. Pretend your feet are sheathed in insulated boots.
Above all, keep moving. Concentrate on Kaylith. Tell her you want to see her!
With each step, his concentration grew. The pain in his feet faded to nothing. He continued on, completely focused on cold and Kaylith.
In less than a minute, he reached the other side. He looked back and was amazed to see an ice floe had replaced the fiery river. The fiery sprays of lava had turned to frozen fountains. The coals on the bridge now sparkled with frost.
Adrenaline pumped through Jack. He'd done that! He'd used his mind to alter the dream. If that were so, then nothing could prevent him from reaching Kaylith.
Then he turned to face a solid rock wall. There was no door, no visible way to get through it. The wall of rock towered past his line of sight. It would take hours to climb.
I don't need to climb it, he thought, buoyed by his newfound confidence. I'll simply think my way through!
Jack's hand trembled slightly as he placed it on the rock wall. It felt neither hot or cold, just solid. He could sense Kaylith's presence stronger than ever.
Closing his eyes, he imagined the rock giving way, forming a tunnel. At first nothing happened. Then, bit-by-bit, the wall beneath his fingers began to move.
Encouraged, he pressed harder, intensifying the image of the tunnel in his mind. The rough barrier disappeared beneath his hand. He opened his eyes and saw a dark tunnel ahead.
Elation soared through him and he began to run, plunging into the darkness. He couldn't see a thing, but the air around him crackled with electricity. The hairs on his arms and head tickled and stood on end.
He was close now, very close.
The tunnel suddenly curved and dipped downward. Jack crashed into the dark wall and lost his footing on the unexpected slope. He tumbled and rolled, his body reeling from a half-dozen hurts as he bounced off the stone floor. He landed flat on his face, his arms and legs splayed out. "Moons, that hurts," he moaned.
Who are you? How did you get here? a mindvoice demanded.
Kaylith's voice.
Jack lifted his aching head and stared into deep green eyes shadowed by a Mindmaster's dark hood. "Hello," he said. "I hope you don't mind me dropping in."
Mount Trinar, Elvan
Terran year, 3605
Elvan, 17, 362
Unity, B.U. 19
Kaylith blinked at the boy spread out on the cavern floor. There was no way he could be here, yet here he was.
The boy pushed up to his knees and pointed at himself. "I'm Jack," he said. "We met in a dream once. Do you remember me?"
When she hesitated, he added, "I let you play with my Pooh Bear."
Poo Bare. Yes, she definitely remembered that. The boy had changed though. His white-blonde hair had darkened, although it still looked badly in need of a comb. He was leaner and taller, but his shoulders were still broad and squarish.
And his eyes... that brilliant shade of blue. She'd never forgotten them.
"Yes, I remember you. How did you get here?"
He laughed and fell back on his bottom, stretching his rangy legs out before him. "It wasn't easy, I can tell you that."
"You shouldn't be here at all," Kaylith said. "I'm shut down."
He frowned with his eyebrows, but never lost his smile. "You're what?"
"Shut down. I have to stay shut down or else the Mindmasters will be--" she sought to find the right word, but failed to find it. "They'll be annoyed."
'Annoyed' hardly described their usual punishments, but it would do.
"But I thought you were here to--" The boy winced and shook his head.
Kaylith knelt at his side. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know," he gasped. "My head hurts."
She laid a hand on his head. Instantly, her mind was flooded with waves of terrible pain. How could he stand it? She was no mindhealer, but she tried to will it away from him anyway.
She could tell it wasn't helping. "Think it away," she murmured. "Imagine--"
"Yes, I know," he said, closing his eyes. A few seconds later she could feel his pain begin to recede.
As she lifted her hand from his head, she realized she had gotten nothing else from him. No thoughts. Not even a sense of his emotions. Just pain...
How very strange.
"Better now?" she asked.
"Yes, much." His eyes had dulled somewhat, but his smile had returned. "This is a strange dream. Not at all like the one before."
"I'm not dreaming," Kaylith said. At least, she didn't think she was.
"Well, I know I am. I'm asleep in my bed on Terra. Where are you?"
"I told you, I'm shut down. The Mindmasters--"
"Just what does that mean exactly, shut down?"
She blinked at him again. What a foolish question! Everyone on Elvan knew why--wait, he'd said he wasn't on Elvan, so he wouldn't know. She sat down beside him with a sigh. "It's hard to explain."
Those blues eyes of his grew bright again and narrowed. "Try."
"My mind powers are--strong," she began. "Too strong. My fathers thought it best if the Elvan Mindmasters taught me how to control my mind."
"Control? But I thought--" Again he winced... this time he cried out too.
"What is it?" Kaylith said, gripping his hand.
He breathed deeply, in...out... for a moment, then said, "I'm not sure, but I'm beginning to get an idea. Show me why they thought you needed to control your mind."
She started to speak, but then realized he'd said for her to show, not tell him. Easy enough to do with their hands linked, even when she was shut down. The Mindmasters would never know. At least, she hoped they wouldn't.
Here is what happened, she thought.
After leaving Sentarl, she'd lived with her fathers in space for a time. But it soon became apparent there was a problem. Whenever she tried to mindspeak with anyone except Rock, it caused the Elvans and Terrans great pain. She had to settle for using the trader language to communicate whenever she could.
But that was only part of the problem. When she slept, her thoughts sometimes created havoc, causing others to see her dream images.
Her Elvan father, Lir, had decided she needed to be placed with the Elvan Mindmasters. Her Terran father, Terrell, had argued, but in the end, he agreed. They separated her and Rock, who went on to Terra with Terrell. Lir brought her here to Mount Trinar.
After leaving her with his family, he'd not visited her since.
She was not allowed to play with other Elvan children, even her half-siblings and cousins. Not that many of them wanted to do so...who wanted to play with a freak? Often she'd heard them think of her as the 'cursed one'.
Oh, how she hated that!
She spent most of her days with the Mindmasters in Trinar. They'd told her she couldn't be allowed to mix with regular Elvans until she learned to control her unruly mind.
The Mindmasters grew angry at the way she could pluck their thoughts from their minds effortlessly. Recently, she'd had a dream so intense, it had been broadcast to most of the minds on the planet. Even the heavily shielded ones.
That unfortunate event had led the Mindmasters to teach her how to shut down. They had taken her to a chamber in the deepest recesses of Mount Trinar. She'd been here... alone... for almost nine days. She was supposed to imagine her mind as being surrounded by multiple barriers, constantly erecting new ones, and...
"Doors," Jack murmured. "Now I understand."
"Well, I don't understand," Kaylith said. "How did you get here?"
The boy chuckled. "I guess you could say I found the back door. It wasn't easy though. You really didn't want anyone to come in here."
"Of course, I don't! The Mindmasters said if they heard so much as a peep from my head, they'd clobber me with mindshocks. Do you have any idea how much that hurts?"
"They dare threaten you?" Jack sounded stunned.
"They're the Mindmasters. They do what they think is best."
"Best for who? Certainly not you!"
"Best for--best for Elvan, I suppose."
The boy muttered something under his breath. Strange, she should be able to hear it in his mind... their hands were still joined, but she didn't.
Maybe he was right. Maybe this was a dream. She'd been lying on the floor, concentrating with all her might on shutting down her mind. She could have easily drifted off to sleep without knowing it.
Oh, bleeding Shallog! What if this dream was being broadcast to the rest of Elvan again? The Mindmasters would surely...
"It isn't right," Jack said, interrupting her thoughts. "What they are doing to you isn't right."
Kaylith shrugged. "Right or wrong, it just is." If she was dreaming, then she couldn't help that either. Let them punish her! She wasn't sure if she cared any more.
"You should leave this place. Leave this place right now and--" His hand gripped hers hard. "Moons, that smarts!"
She let go of his hand to touch his head again. His pain was much worse than before. "What can I do to help?" she cried.
"Nothing," he panted. "Give it a second and it will pass."
She waited, willing his pain away. Whether it was her mind or his that caused it to fade, it did. "What keeps causing this?" she asked. "Are you ill?"
"No. I'm fine. Or rather I will be once I wake up." He caught her hand and removed it from his head. "Do you have any water?"
"Yes. I'll get you some."
Kaylith leapt to her feet and hurried over to the cistern. She took her tin mug from its peg and dipped it into the water.
Her chamber offered few comforts; she had a bed, a privy and the water cistern. Her meals were sent down via an airshaft. Even though the inner chamber had ventilation, if felt oppressive... as if she could feel the weight of the entire mountain above. With nothing to see except rock, and more rock, there was nothing else for her to do except focus on shutting down her mind.
She hated this place. It reminded her all too well of the sea cave. Except here she had no one to talk to. She missed her brothers and sisters. It was so lonely here!
When she returned with the water, the boy accepted it gratefully. He drank in greedy gulps, and then set the mug aside. "There are rules in this dream world," he muttered. "I'm beginning to see that. Messing with the past must be one of them."
Whatever did he mean? She picked up the mug and moved to fetch more water. Perhaps he was delirious? She had no medicines for a sick Terran. Of course, he said he wasn't sick, he was dreaming.
What if he wasn't telling the truth? What if this wasn't a dream? Without being able to read his thoughts, there was no way to be sure. This was a new experience for her. She'd never met a mind she couldn't read.
Never.
Why couldn't he explain how he'd broken through her mind barriers? The Mindmasters hadn't been able to reach her, so how could he, a Terran boy, succeed where they had failed? It didn't make sense. Was this some kind of trick? A new test?
She handed him the mug. He thanked her and drank it just as thirstily as the first.
Was she awake or dreaming? She'd been shut down for so long, she couldn't be sure.
Well, maybe that wasn't so. When she was awake, all she did was think up more barriers to hide her thoughts behind. She'd been giving this her full concentration because she feared what might happen if she failed to appease the Mindmasters. They might keep her shut in here forever! She'd go mad if they did.
So maybe she was dreaming. She certainly remembered the boy. And what else could explain him suddenly appearing out of nowhere? She had to be dreaming. Why then would she dream of the boy again? True, she'd thought of him from time to time in the last seven years, sometimes she'd even thought she'd heard his voice, but had never dreamed of him. Why now?
He answered her in mindspeak. Because I wanted to talk to you.
Kaylith took a step back. You read my thoughts? How could he? How could he!
I don't know. He sounded as baffled as she. I can't mindspeak when I'm awake.
I don't believe you, she thought.
Well, it's true. I swear it, Kaylith. The Mindmasters didn't send me. When I went to sleep tonight, I thought of how much I'd like to talk with you. I thought--
Jack let out a dry laugh, then said aloud, "Never mind what I thought. My problems seem trivial compared to yours."
But why--?
I said never mind! The point is when I did fall asleep, I dreamed of the place of white void and winds, do you remember it?
"Yes, I remember." She sat back down beside him. "Please use your voice. I'm afraid they'll hear us--up there." She pointed at the roof, which hid the mountain above them.
"All right, but I really don't think they can hear. Anyway, I found a door in the void, sensed you were on the other side, and followed your lifeforce. It's as simple as that."
Simple? He found it simple to get into her brain? "I thought you said it wasn't easy."
Jack blinked, then shook his head shyly. "Oh no, don't misunderstand--it wasn't easy at all. Like I said, you really made it hard for me to get here."
"Did I?"
"Oh yes. I thought about giving up a couple of times."
That made her feel much better. "Then why didn't you?"
"I just--I really wanted to--" His cheeks reddened and he looked away.
"Talk to me," she finished for him.
"Yes. But like I said, it's not important now."
"No, no. You've got me curious. What did you want to talk about?"
He shrugged. She nudged him in the ribs with her elbow. "Ah, come on now. I've told you all about how I've messed up things here on Elvan."
"You have NOT messed up anything! They are the ones that don't--"
Kaylith nudged him again. Harder. Though he was only a dream, she liked him. And at the moment he was the only friend she had! "Tell me," she ordered.
"You're bossy, do you know that?" He wagged his head from side to side and gave her a goofy smile. The gesture reminded her so much of her brother Rock, she felt a bittersweet pang of longing.
"Yes, I am. And I'm stubborn too, so you might as well tell me why you wanted to talk."
He let out a deep sigh. "My parents are diplomats and traders. They expect me to follow in their footsteps."
"But you don't want to be a diplomat or trader, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, that makes sense. You don't seem the type to do either of those things."
"I don't?" He sounded glad. He sat up and started speaking faster. "What I want to do is study xenoarchaelogy. Learn about how the civilized races lived and developed."
He gave her an odd sideways glance, his eyes suddenly intense again. "I especially want to learn about important historical figures. Why they did the things they did. Stuff like that. Does that make sense?"
"Yes. My brother Rock has the same problem. He wants to be a marine biologist, but our Terran father, Terrell, wants him to go into the fleet service."
"What do you want to do?"
Now there was an interesting question. Nobody had ever asked her that before. The truth was she'd never given her future much thought. She was always too busy dealing with the problems of the here and now.
"I don't know. I guess I'd like to go to Terra to see my brother. I think I'd like to visit a lot of worlds. Maybe I could find someplace quiet where I wouldn't bother anybody." She shrugged and gave him a wry a smile. "Not much of an ambition, is it?"
"Sounds like--" Jack paused as if considering his words carefully. "Sounds like a good life to me. I hope you find that place."
He rose up on his knees and took her hand again. This time she could sense his thoughts. He was wishing for only good things for her. Warm. Safe. His thoughts made her feel warm and safe. Just like in the dream before. "I hope I dream of you again, Jack."
"I hope you do too." He looked up, as if hearing a soundless call. "I think I hear the morning's chime. I have to go." He started to rise and she clutched his arm.
"You will try to dream of me again, won't you? I--" she paused. She couldn't explain why, but she knew she really wanted to talk with him again. "--I'll miss you."
"I promise," he said, patting her hand. "I'll be seeing you--" He disappeared, leaving her clutching only air. "--in our dreams," she heard in her mind. "Bye for now."
"Bye," she whispered.
Science Vessel Needle
Sentari Space
Terran year, 3749
Elvan, 17, 506
Unity, 151
Dal sat in Needle's galley, sipping a cup of Tiber tea. Orna had gone back to her cabin to sulk. Dal intensely hoped she stayed there. Just listening to the Corban complain about being kept away from the Legend was enough to give him a headache.
Headaches, he thought with a snort. Between Orna and Jack there were certainly enough going around. If things kept up this way, they'd need to put in to a supply port for pain suppressants and soporifics!
Try as he might, he just didn't understand. How had Stryker, who was only a Terran, suddenly been able to mindspeak? He'd never shown a trace of the ability before. And that mindshout! Dal would never have been able to shout that loud, not even with the help of the palacite crystal he wore around his neck. As it was, the crystal only enhanced his mind enough to allow him to mindspeak with non-Elvans.
Not that the non-Elvans on this ship ever allowed him to do so! Perhaps that was his fault. He'd never explained how much it meant to him to try out a new mind power. Then again, he didn't want to admit how little he had to begin with. Most of his tier had gone on to study at Mount Trinar. Not him!
And now--now when he'd finally done something to earn his tier's respect, that hope had been snatched away. All because of a selfish Terran!
Jack is not selfish, Elvan. In truth, he's the most unselfish man I know.
Startled, Dal rose clumsily to his feet, knocking both his chair and cup over as he whirled to face her. "Legend," he whispered. "I am honored to meet you."
She stood just outside Stryker's cabin door, her arms folded, an eyebrow raised. She'd obviously showered since he last saw her. Her clean dark hair floated around her blue sleep suit like a blue-black robe. Even though her feet were bare and bound with fresh bandages, Dal found her far more daunting awake than asleep.
You have tea all over your lap, the Legend informed him.
Dal glanced down and saw this was indeed so. A wet stain even now blossomed across his crotch as the tea continued to trickle down his legs and into his ship boots. His cheeks and ears burned in a decidedly non-Elvan way as he frantically snatched up a napkin and dabbed at the tea stain.
Don't worry about it, thought the Legend. It's only tea and it will dry.
He watched, struck dumb by humiliation, as the Legend limped to the beverage dispenser. "How do I work this thing?" she asked.
"Simply push the 'request beverage' key and state your preference," Dal replied.
"Two cups of hot Tiber tea," she said, tapping the key. "Efficient," she murmured when the tea appeared. She picked up the cups and brought them to his table.
Sit, she ordered, doing so herself.
As if of their own accord, his muscles obeyed, even though his chair was no longer in an upright position. He swore an unprintable Elvan curse as his bottom hit the floor.
The Legend laughed.
Beyond embarrassment now, Dal felt like crawling back to his cabin on his hands and knees. Perhaps, in thirty or forty years, his tier would forgive him for the shame he'd brought down on them this day.
Oh, Dal. Stop thinking like an ass and have some tea with me.
Dal blinked up at her. He wasn't at all surprised that she knew his name, but her words certainly shocked him. After such a blundering meeting, he'd felt certain she'd dismiss him from her presence immediately. Instead, while the Legend certainly looked amused, her expression wasn't at all scornful or mocking.
Have some tea with me and explain why you keep thinking of me as 'the Legend'. Can't say I like the sound of that at all.
Stryker didn't tell you? Dal couldn't believe that. The two of them had been together for hours now. Hours!
He certainly planned to catch me up on the last 150 years, if that's what you mean. However, Stryker has managed to give himself a mindshock and is beyond telling me anything at the moment. He always did have an interesting sense of timing. Her mindvoice sounded peeved, yet concerned for Stryker too.
He was telling us the truth, Dal thought. You really do know each other.
There is more between us than mere knowing. She sipped her tea, then smiled down at him. Will you please get off the floor? Looks damned uncomfortable to me.
Of course, Legend! He quickly pushed himself up...and rapped his forehead against the edge of the table. Stars flashed before his eyes.
Oh, for Shallog's sake! The next thing Dal knew, a strong pair of hands gripped him under his armpits and hoisted him into a chair. "Well--it looks like you've finally managed to hurt yourself," Kaylith said aloud. "Where's that blasted med lab again?"
"Next to the Engine Room. But you don't have to--"
"Oh, shut up and stay there!" she snapped.
"Yes, Legend," he muttered meekly.
And stop calling me that! Makes me nervous.
Dal clutched his aching head and felt blood trickle between his hands. A moment later, he felt a cool, damp cloth pressed to his wound, followed by an adhesive bandage.
He'd been so excited to meet the Legend... so sure it would bring him the respect he craved. Now, after dishonoring not only his tier, but also his race so shamefully, he'd be lucky if any of them ever acknowledged his presence again.
If your family is that easily disgraced, then you're better off without them.
Dal's eyes snapped open. The Legend was standing beside him with her hands on her hips. "Elvans," she said aloud. "It takes them eons to choose sides during a war, but should one of their own fall on his face at a diplomatic reception? Oh the scandal! The poor little prat-faller has to spend the rest of his life atoning for it."
She returned to her chair and picked up her tea. "Stupid, that's what it is. Just plain stupid." She glared at Dal from across the table. "You take it from me, Dal of the Third Ascendant Tier. If they don't respect you now, then there's no reason in trying to get them to respect you later."
"You know my lineage?" Truly, the Legend really could pick any thought from another's brain. She'd known he was worried about disgracing the tier and she knew which tier...
"Those are quakka stones jammed in your ear, aren't they?" she growled. "Doesn't take a mind reader to figure out you're from the Third Ascendant Tier."
"As were you--I am five generations removed from your half-brother, Tith. That makes me--"
"Speaking of Tith, have you brought his body over from Talon?"
Her question threw him. Since she and Jack had hidden themselves away, neither he nor Orna had even thought of...
The Legend waved a hand to cut off his rambling thoughts. "Never mind, I understand. Once Jack wakes up, retrieving my crew is first on the agenda, understand? Even if it's 150 years too late, I insist they be returned to their worlds for a proper burial."
"Of course, Legend--I mean, Kaylith."
She nodded and sipped her tea. Pleased to have a moment to compose himself, Dal did the same. After a few moments though, he grew uncomfortable with the silence. He should ask her something...say something...anything!
Family. People were always interested in their families. Dal cleared his throat and said, "You'll be pleased to know your father Lir is now First Ascendant Mindmaster and--"
"Oh, Shallog's titties," the Legend swore, slamming her cup to the table. "You're telling me Lir's still alive?"
Dal, stunned by the Legend's outburst of profanity, could only nod. She certainly had a colorful way of expressing herself.
"First Ascendant too," the Legend muttered as she mopped up her own spilled tea. "Figures. If nothing else, Lir always did know how to bully his way to the top. No way I'm going anywhere near Elvan now!"
"But Legend, Elvan's your home. You must want--"
Dal, if you call me Legend one more time, I shall be forced to strike you. Do you understand? My name is Kaylith. "Kaaay-lith," she added aloud. "Got it?"
"Yes, Lege--er--I mean, Kaylith."
"And I don't consider Elvan as my home. Never have. Got that?"
"Well--er--yes, but if you would just--"
"Whatever it is--no, I won't." She rose and glared down at him. "What I'm about to do is extremely rude, especially between strangers, but I've a feeling I don't have time to wait for Jack to show me what I need to know. And what I've been reading in the ship's archives makes no sense. So forgive me, Dal--"
She placed a hand on his head.
Whirlwind. Suddenly, he felt as if he was caught up in a whirlwind, tumbling, rising, and dipping. White noise filled his ears even as a white light blinded his eyes. How long this went on, he didn't know. When at last the winds in his mind began to dissipate, he felt Kaylith's presence. A presence that didn't feel happy at all.
What pretty lies they made out of me. Be smart, Dal. Don't believe any of them. I'm no Legend. Whatever I did, whatever I've done--it was because I didn't have a choice. Here I'll show you--
Dal cried out as image after overlapping image began to flow through his mind. He saw death, despair, and loneliness. He saw...
"What are you doing to him?" a voice cried. "Sstop or I'll sshoot!"
The illusory whirl of colors and images winked out to the very real image of his Corban crewmate holding a weapon on the Legend.
Three weapons in fact. Orna, NO! Dal mindshouted.
Before he could shout again, Kaylith's mindvoice roared, DROP THOSE WEAPONS, CORBAN!
The stunners seemed to leap from Orna's fingers as they clattered to the floor. Orna gaped from the stunners to Kaylith. "How did you do that? What were you doing to him?"
"Nothing," Dal croaked.
"Did sshe hurt you?" Orna demanded. She began to slither towards them. "I saw your face--it looked like sshe was hurting you."
"No, we were just talking." When Orna didn't look convinced, Dal added, "We were talking in an Elvan way, something too civilized for you to understand."
"Well, you ssound like your usual ssnobby self again, so I guess you're okay." Her gaze returned to Kaylith, who hadn't moved or said a word since ordering Orna to drop the stunners.
Loathing filled Kaylith's eyes as Orna reached the table. "I apologize, Great One," Orna said. "I misunderstood the ssituation. My name is Orna. Will you accept my tentacle in friendship?" She extended a coral-colored appendage.
Kaylith said nothing, but Dal recognized the revulsion in her face as she stared at Orna's seven fingercoils. He had a good idea why...now. Even though Kaylith had been unable to complete transmitting her vision, he'd seen enough to understand why the woman despised Corbans.
They are not like that anymore, Dal thought to Kaylith. Orna may annoy me, but I'll admit she's a prime example of how much the Corbans have changed.
"I accept your apology," Kaylith said tensely. "You were defending a crewmate. But I cannot take your hand. For the love and honor of my crewmates, I cannot."
"But, Great One," Orna protested, "I have sso many questions--"
Kaylith simply turned around and began limping towards Stryker's cabin.
"Wait, please!" Orna cried, lurching after her.
Dal caught her by the tail. Orna swore and tried to break away, her tentacles knotting and unknotting at a furious rate. Dal refused to let go until Kaylith had slipped inside Stryker's door.
Orna rounded on him. "Why did you do that? I have to make her understand that Corbans have changed and--"
She understands, Dal thought. But she is having a hard time accepting it.
"She did do something to you, didn't she? What did she do?"
Dal picked up his tea. The cup felt cold in his hands now. "She told me the truth, Orna." He took a sip. Sure enough, the tea was cold. How long had she shifted through his mind? "And she exposed some lies."
"What is that ssupposed to mean?"
Dal sighed. "It means everything we know is about to change."
Science Vessel Needle
Sentari Space
Terran year, 3749
Elvan, 17, 506
Unity, 151
Kaylith leaned against the cabin door and glowered at Jack, her anger rising like a wave. In a few furious strides, she crossed to his bunk, clasped his shoulder and shook him. Wake up! Why didn't you tell me? she demanded. Why didn't you stop them from spreading such lies?
He groaned and groggily pushed at her hand. When she stopped shaking him, he rolled over and presented his back to her, then softly began to snore.
"Stupid sleep spray," Kaylith muttered, trying hard not to admire the sleek planes and angles of Jack's bare shoulders and back. "It works too good."
Even though he was asleep, she couldn't hear his mind at all. That didn't make sense. It took Elvans years of training to be able to shield their minds in sleep. And even then, it took a Mindmaster to be able to conceal every echo. But then again, Jack had been able to conceal his thoughts from her in their dreams.
Was he really a Terran? If not, then what was he?
Whatever Jack might be, he was no Mindmaster. One of the first things he'd told her after she'd awakened was that he'd never had waking mind powers at all.
Then how are you doing this?
No answer. Not that she really expected one.
Still fuming, she walked around the bunk and glared down at him.
Her eyes softened as she recalled her conversation with Dal. 'There is more between us than mere knowing'. She had not lied about that. She not only knew this man, she loved him.
Ever since she'd opened her eyes to this new dekkeon and the real Jack, her body had been gnawing at her with need. And once they'd shared that passionate kiss she'd known he yearned to be joined with her too.
Funny, she thought, slowly easing down beside him. In all their dreams, she'd never seen Jack asleep. She'd seen him angry, happy, sexy...moons, yes sexy.
But I've never seen you like this, she thought, lightly tracing a finger around the outline of his lips. So still. So quiet. Even though you look peaceful, you also seem more in control... more powerful. Maybe because this Jack is one I don't know.
"It's all so confusing," she said to his sleeping face. "I don't understand why you didn't tell me." And she didn't want to wait for him to wake to get an explanation.
I'll go to sleep, Kaylith decided. If I can't reach him here, I can reach him there. She closed her eyes and began running a Tjorn sleep ritual through her mind.
During her time with the Tjorns, she'd learned how to naturally induce sleep at any time. If she was to fight well, a warrior needed to rest whenever and wherever she could. Kaylith concentrated on her breathing, slowing and deepening it with every breath. In her mind, she imagined walking down a gradually darkening corridor until she reached a small wooden door. As she opened it and crossed the threshold, her conscious mind drifted off to sleep.
To her relief, Jack was waiting on the other side. She hadn't been forced to search for him in the dream world, which was a first. Maybe that was because he was with her in the waking world already.
I was hoping you would come. He smiled and held his arms open, inviting her to step inside his embrace.
Not so fast, she thought. You have some explaining to do.
Can't I explain while I'm holding you? Jack's mindvoice sounded wistful. She couldn't bear to see his welcoming smile fade.
I suppose it wouldn't hurt, she thought, walking into his arms. But no kissing, she added, pushing at his chest as he dipped his head towards hers. I'm not going to let you distract me. I'm very angry with you.
He kissed her exposed neck instead. A trickle of pleasure danced along her nerves. You don't sound angry, he thought with an audible chuckle.
"Well, I am," she said, ducking beneath his arms to escape. "And I can see I'll have to keep my distance to get you to take my feelings seriously."
He sighed. "Oh, all right. Let's create a comfortable spot first. Where would you like to be?"
"Outside. On a beach somewhere... I don't care where."
"Nighttime?" he asked.
"Whenever. You decide." She could tell her lack of enthusiasm was getting to him and couldn't help feeling a bit smug. Serves him right!
Then he took her hand to show her the place in his mind. A moonlit beach...a balmy breeze... sand as white and soft as spun sugar. A plaid blanket was spread out for them to sit on. An open picnic basket held crystal goblets and a bottle of chilled wine for sipping, and a tray of chocolate-covered strawberries for nibbling.
Are you trying to piss me off? she asked.
I thought I already had.
Yes, but now you're making me angrier.
What's wrong with this? You said you wanted a beach.
It's too romantic and you know it.
Jack laughed and gave her hand a lover's squeeze. But you like it, don't you?
Yes, she admitted reluctantly. What's not to like?
So c'mon. Let's go there. If you're going to be mad at me, at least let it be someplace nice.
She felt as if she was losing the upper hand, but decided she really didn't care. After all, it did look like a nice place. A beautiful place. The music of the surf was soothing. The night sky glittered with countless stars and two golden moons. The lowest moon on the horizon was a sliver of crescent, the higher moon fat and full. Their combined glow shimmered across the undulating waves like gleaming rivers.
Fine, she thought. Let's go.
She held his vision in her mind and willed them there, while he did the same. For a brief moment, their wills became one.
A soft breeze caressed her cheek. The scent of the sea filled her nose... they were there. Kaylith instantly released his hand and sat down on the blanket. She picked up the basket and set it in the middle. "I'll sit here," she said, pointing to the other side of the basket. "You sit there."
He stared at her for a long second, and then shaking his head, moved to take the place she'd selected for him. Without a word, he reached into the basket for the glasses and the wine and poured.
While she watched, she reflected on what they'd just done... created a new world within their dream world. Some might find such an ability remarkable, but for them, it had become virtually an every night thing.
It had been Jack who'd figured out how to think themselves to wherever they wanted to be in their dreams. They'd been twelve, back when she was miserably stuck on Elvan. During his second Elvan dream visit, he'd suggested they try visualizing being somewhere else besides that damned inner chamber. He'd hated it as much as she did.
She'd asked to see his home and though it had taken several tries in several dreams, eventually they'd managed to think their way there.
Over the years, they'd become quite adept at creating dream worlds. They took each other to places they'd never seen... but the places were always as empty as this virtual beach. It never occurred to either of them to include other beings. Their dreams belonged to them and they'd never felt the need to share.
As Kaylith accepted a glass from Jack, he asked, "May I propose a toast?"
"To what?"
"To dreams coming true."
She couldn't argue with that. When she touched her glass to his the crystal chimed softly. The wine tasted dry and tart. Bubbles tickled her nose. It never ceased to amaze her at how real their dream worlds could be. Wouldn't it indeed be wonderful if those dreams came true?
Jack set his glass aside and picked up a strawberry. He offered it to her and she shook her head. With a shrug, he bit into it and chewed.
"Delicious," he said. "All right. I feel fortified enough to withstand your wrath. Go ahead and let me have it."
"How could you let them spread such lies about me?"
"Ah," Jack said, picking up another strawberry. "Been probing Dal, have you?"
Kaylith was taken aback. "How could you possibly know--"
"Did you ask for permission first? Or did you just walk up and--"
"He--didn't seem to mind. Quit trying to change the subject."
"So, you didn't ask. You simply reached into the poor man's brain and snatched out what you needed to know." He made a familiar and thoroughly irritating tsking sound. "Very impolite, Kallie. Knowing the way Dal feels about you, I'm surprised he didn't wet himself."
Remembering Dal's tea-stained lap made Kaylith involuntarily squirm. "It was an accident." Seeing Jack's quizzical expression, she clarified, "That he spilled tea in his lap, I mean."
Jack blinked, then roared with laughter. "Moons! I wish I could have seen that!"
All right, so I probed him without permission! Satisfied? she thought, angrily cutting through his mirth. After what I learned, I'm not the least bit sorry I did. How do you know I probed Dal anyway? Could you see us in your sleep?
"You haven't been talking to me, I know you wouldn't have talked to Orna, so that leaves Dal as your only logical prey."
Prey! You go too far, Jack. You dare accuse me when you allowed the universe to believe in such lies?
I didn't allow anything, he shot back, his eyes gleaming like twin lasers in the moonlight. I was born over a hundred years after the lies began, remember?
Ah. He had her there. Still, she wasn't backing down from this fight so easily. But you knew--I mean, you know what they say about me isn't true.
"Yes, I do," he snapped. "I know the Elvans forced you to go back to Sentarl. You didn't agree to go out of love for the IML or for your homeworlds. You went because of your love for the Tjorns and your brother. I know you didn't gift the Corbans with visions of a better world. Instead you confronted them with visions of their own evil from your mother's blasted palacite throne and scared the profits out of them."
His voice softened. "I know you've never done anything out of material greed or a lust for power. I know you became a smuggler only to give life back to the Tjorns and the forgotten worlds. All that you did was because you felt you had to do it. You were given no other choice."
Kaylith felt a tear roll down her cheek. Jack reached across the basket to wipe it away with his thumb. "Then why didn't you tell them?" she asked.
"I tried. No one believed me," he replied. "No one except those who knew you then. And as you well know, some have good reason to let the lies stand. Without those lies, they'd have been unable to form the Unity."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
He sighed and leaned back to pick up his glass. "I tried. Over and over I tried."
"You mustn't have tried very hard. I don't want to be this Legend they've made of me. I could have done something to stop it if you'd only told me what to expect!"
"You think I didn't try?" Jack suddenly yelled and grabbed his head, flopping back the blanket.
Kaylith was on her feet and stepping over the basket instantly. "What is it? Another one of your headaches?" She knelt beside him to touch his head.
His arms snapped out and wound around her waist. The next thing she knew, he had flipped her onto her back and pinned her to the blanket. "Get off me, you--you sneak!" she shouted, trying to buck him off as he straddled her.
He shook his head and kept a firm grip on her shoulders. "Looked familiar, didn't it? After our first dream, almost every single time I tried to tell you anything from the future, I'd get one of those blasted headaches! Sometimes, they'd go on for hours after I woke!"
"But why?"
"How in Agda's five moons should I know? Time's rules, I guess."
Time's rules? She looked into his eyes and knew he was telling the truth.
"Sweetness, believe me. I knew what you would think; how you'd feel once you learned what they had done in your name. I was born too late to stop it. Time wouldn't let me warn you. All I could do was search like hell to find you so you could set the record straight."
He let go of her shoulders and began to stroke her hair. "And--so I could also find the other half of my heart. Don't you see, Kallie? You're not alone this time around. You have me. And no matter what you say or do, I'm not going anywhere."
Her tears flowed freely now. "Everyone I have ever loved or has loved me has been hurt. I couldn't bear anything happening to you. You are the only one who has always been there for me. Always."
Jack bent his head to kiss away her tears. "I'll always be here for you, Kallie," he murmured. "We were meant to be together."
She sniffled and pulled her head away just enough to look into his eyes. "And how can you be so sure of that, Jack Stryker?"
He kissed her lips gently. "Woman, we've been meeting for a quarter century in dreams across time and space. I searched for you in the here and now, and against outrageous odds, found you. If that isn't destiny, then I don't know what is."
When he deepened his kiss, she eagerly returned it. "Moons, I hope we wake up," Jack whispered. "I've waited thirty years to make love and it's high time I lost my virginity."
"You've never--with another woman, I mean?" she asked, nipping at his lower lip. A rush of pleasure poured through her. Jack was a virgin too!
Jack groaned and rolled them over to lie on their sides. "You're kidding me, right? Why would I even look at another woman when I had you?"
She sighed as his hand traced the outline of her left breast. I'm a virgin too, she thought.
I know. Want to try to wake up? Maybe we can think ourselves awake.
I don't see how it's going to make that much difference. Truly, what he was doing with his hands right now felt quite wonderful. What could be better?
Sweetness, speaking as a man who has spent countless mornings as the victim of headaches and wet dreams and countless days feeling the--ah--need for you, I think I can honestly say, it's going to make a difference.
Maybe it would, but she wasn't so sure she was ready for their matings to become real... not just yet. Not until she knew whether or not anybody else would hear them.
New Charleston, Terra
Terran year, 3612
Elvan, 17, 369
Unity, B.U. 12
Eighteen-year-old Kaylith woke up in a sweat. As soon as her eyes opened, she leapt out of bed and went to her media-com to check her messages, hoping the results of her Fleet entrance exam had arrived.
Rock had already received his acceptance from Oceanus. He was to leave for New Atlantis to begin his marine biology studies sometime next week. As far as she knew, most of her classmates had already received notifications from their respective colleges and academies. Why were her results taking so long?
Nothing. She didn't have any messages...voice, vid, or text. She glared at the viewscreen, wishing she could yank her scores out of it. As if answering her wish, the com-link beeped at her.
Eagerly, Kaylith opened the link. Now she would know and... wait, it wasn't a vid from Fleet. Instead the red-haired image of her Terran father, William Terrell appeared.
"Good morning, Kaylith," he said. "I trust you slept well."
"Very well, Father," Kaylith replied, trying not to blush. Her dreams were getting really weird lately. Last night she and Jack had spent more of their dreamtime kissing, than talking. Things might have gotten out of hand if she hadn't woke up. "And you?"
"Good, good," William said. "There are some people downstairs who would like to meet you. I've--ah--invited them to breakfast. Please join us as soon as you can, all right?"
Kaylith instantly sensed her father's misgivings. He wasn't sure if he wanted her to meet with these people at all, but apparently didn't have much say in the matter. Not many people had the power to push her father around, so whoever was downstairs must be important indeed.
She didn't like the feel of this situation, but couldn't think of a way to avoid it. "I'll be right down," she replied, switching off the comlink.
Her uneasiness grew as she washed and dressed for the day. Who were these people? What did they want? Perhaps they were from Fleet! With that hope in mind, she put on a soft housedress of silver and blue Fleet colors.
Of course, she could have simply scanned the downstairs to pick up the thoughts of its occupants, but since leaving Elvan five years ago, she'd strictly adhered to the disciplines and etiquettes of traveling Mindmasters.
Which basically meant; use only the mindpowers the natives of offworlds already have. Terrans had many latent abilities, and were more accepting of mindpowers than most non-telepathic races. Still, since she wanted to stay on Terra, she didn't take any chances and kept her mind shielded most of the time. She only let herself be open with family and friends.
Her life on Elvan had improved significantly once she'd learned how to shut down. She'd even made a few close friends, most notably her half-brother Tith and a Third Tier girl named Zar.
Even so, having friends didn't make up for missing Rock. She'd begged Lir to allow her to visit her brother on Terra. When he'd refused, she'd pestered William Terrell with messages until he relented and came to Elvan for her.
She'd never had any intention of coming back. Her 'visit' turned into six months, then a year. After a while, William stopped talking about taking her back and Lir stopped asking when she was going to return.
She liked Terra and the Terrans. Though most of the population embraced all the latest technological lifestyles, there were still a few metros that clung to their history. Such cities worked hard to construct the technology of the present in harmony with the treasures of the past.
New Charleston was such a place. Located on the North American continent in an area once called the Carolinas, its citizens, including her father, had a passion for preservation. The facades of most buildings were built to keep as much of the feel from two millennia ago as possible.
William Terrell's home was replicated to look exactly like an eighteenth century plantation-style house, with majestic white columns and a wrap-around veranda. Scrub oaks and cedars lined the front drive while the backyard faced the Atlantic Ocean.
Kaylith and Rock spent many a pleasant evening sitting on the back porch swing, sipping lemonade and watching the ever-changing beauty of the sea.
Besides Rock, she'd been delighted to learn she had a Terran half-brother named Deke. Deke liked to play tackleball and was always full of energy.
His mother had died a few years before, and from Rock's stories about her, Kaylith regretted never having the chance to know the woman. She sounded sweet...nurturing... like she'd been a real mother to the boys. Deke claimed their father, William, hadn't been quite the same since she'd died.
Finished with her dressing, Kaylith began plaiting her long hair in the intricate braid Fleet officers preferred.
Her girlfriend, Nikki Higgins had shown her how. Higgy, as Kaylith liked to call her, was a hoot. She was always concerned with the latest Fleet clothing and equipment and with trying to get Kaylith to go out on double dates with junior Fleet officers. Kaylith wasn't interested in either clothes or boys.
Nope, none of that silly man chasing for her...not unless she ever met a boy like Jack. Which, of course she hadn't and never would... Jack didn't exist!
In a way, that was fine with her. Not dating gave her more time to study. And how she'd studied for that Fleet exam! She desperately wanted to make her father proud by going into the Fleet service too.
Rock had never been interested in Fleet service and Deke seemed destined for professional tackleball. Which left her to follow in their father's footsteps. Since the man had saved her first from Sentarl, then from Elvan, Kaylith felt carrying on in the Terrell family tradition was the least she could do.
Besides, Fleet Service sounded exciting. She'd get to visit new worlds while protecting the ships of the Interstellar Merchants' League. She'd be protecting peaceful colonies from the likes of Mechs and smuggler scum too. It had taken her a few years to make up her mind, but now that she had, she wanted to be in Fleet with all her heart.
Why hadn't the results of her exam been sent yet?
She checked her braid in the mirror, smoothing a few stray hairs with a gliding swipe of her hand. All right...she looked sharp, no-nonsense, absolutely professional. Ready to take on the world. Or at the very least, her father's unexpected guests.
As soon as she stepped out onto the landing, she could hear the voices of her brothers downstairs. "Kaylith's not going to like this," Rock said. "She's not going to like it one damn bit."
"I don't understand," Deke replied. "They're here because she scored so well. What's not to like?"
"Deke, are you nuts?" Rock growled. "These guys are not from Fleet, they're D-Corps. Trust me, Kaylith does NOT want to have anything to do with D-Corps."
Damn right, I don't, Kaylith told them.
"Fark!" Deke shouted. "No fair sneaking up on us like that, Kay." He stomped up the curving, red-carpeted stairway, with Rock following at a more leisurely pace.
Deke, a natural athlete, was half a head taller and half a hand broader than her twin. Deke could hit or catch any ball, could out-run, out-muscle any opponent. He had William's piercing green eyes and red hair, although he wore his shaven short instead of long like William's flowing mane.
By contrast, Rock looked more wiry than muscular. His shoulder length dark hair was tied into a ponytail with a leather thong. He liked tattoos of sea animals; dolphins danced in a circle around his right upper arm and his left had a pair of eels entwined around it. Rock had the deep brown eyes of a poet as well as a poet's soul.
The girls at school went crazy for both of them. Higgy, especially. Although she did switch her preferences for Kaylith's brothers at least once a week.
"I wasn't sneaking," Kaylith said. "I simply overheard--"
"Eavesdropped," Deke corrected as he approached. "Which is okay, since we were staying out here to warn you about the visitors anyway."
"They're D-Corps," Rock said, joining them. "But they said they were here because of your Fleet exam scores."
"Why would D-Corps care about my Fleet scores?"
"Exactly," said Rock. "I'm telling you, sis. I didn't like the feel of them at all. They want something from you."
Kaylith laughed. "What could I have that they'd possibly want?"
"Maybe it's your conch shell collection," Deke suggested. "Perhaps the Corbans have figured out a way to turn seashells into golden ingots."
"Joke all you want," Rock said. "I know what I felt, and Kaylith, it isn't good."
"Why don't you let her hear what they have to say first?" Deke asked. "Moons, man! You sound paranoid."
"Sentaris are born paranoid," Rock snapped. "And has it occurred to you the reason they are here is because we are Sentari?"
"Oh, lighten up. The IML gave up on trying to tap the Sentari palacite trade years ago."
Yeah, like when our mom tapped Deke's dad for his genes, Rock thought. Kaylith coughed to cover up a laugh. Deke hated it when she and Rock mindspoke around him.
She had to admit Rock had a point though. Years ago, they'd learned William and Lir had been part of a trade delegation to Sentarl's fourth moon... yet another failed attempt to convince Meeral to open up Sentarl's vast palacite resources for trade.
Meeral's ambassadors had only stayed on the moon long enough to steal their fathers' genetic material. Sentarl's interstellar policy consisted of one rule only: never negotiate. Take what you need, then go.
Their policy hadn't stopped the IML from continuing to try though. Rock and Kaylith had always followed their efforts with interest. Not that they thought the IML had a chance in hell of cutting a deal with Meeral. Just that it was about the only news of Sentarl they ever heard.
"Well," Kaylith said, linking arms with her brothers. "There's only one way to find out. Let's go meet our visitors."
They walked down the wide curving stair three abreast and made their way to the family's dining room. Ordinarily, the family had breakfast out on the veranda or in the kitchen. The dining room was too formal for any of their tastes.
Kaylith paused, as she often did, to look up at the crystal chandelier over the cherry wood table. No bones of dead tribes up there. Just pretty bits of brass and glass.
Then she lowered her gaze and saw...Jack!
Her feet stumbled, her hands clutched at her brothers' arms. She might have fallen if she hadn't been walking between them.
Rock and Deke peered at Kaylith with concern. "You all right, Kay?" Deke asked. "You're pinching the hell out of my arm."
What's wrong? Rock demanded. Do you know them?
It was Jack! He was standing right there, right in front of her with his cobalt blue eyes and his tawny blonde hair. She blinked. No, wait. His eyes weren't as blue, the curve of his mouth was wrong, his body too thin, and his shoulders smaller. And older... Jack was definitely younger than this man. Still, the resemblance was so similar they could be brothers.
It took a moment for her father's words to sink in over the buzzing in her ears.
"Kaylith, this is Trade Ambassador Zirtha of the Fourth Tier and Trade Ambassador Alex Stryker of New Columbia. They've come to discuss your future."
The man offered his hand for Kaylith to shake. She released her death grip on her brothers' arms and took the man's hand.
There was no tingle at his touch. Nothing. This definitely wasn't Jack.
Although... he and this man shared the same last name. Did this mean Jack was real? A relative of the man, perhaps? She longed to probe the man's mind for an answer, but considering there was an Elvan ambassador standing beside him, she didn't think it was a good idea.
"We are honored to meet you, Kaylith," said Alex Stryker. "It's not every day one meets the top scoring Fleet candidate."
"Top score?" William asked. When Stryker nodded, William beamed at Kaylith. "Congratulations, daughter! You've truly made the grade! This calls for a celebration. Rock! Deke! Make yourselves useful and whip up a round of mimosas."
Kaylith felt stunned. Top score? Why... that meant she would be able to choose any duty she wanted. With such a wide range of opportunities available, she would have a hard time choosing.
Or maybe not, she thought, eyeing the Elvan ambassador. It looked as though maybe Fleet already had something else in mind. The Elvan woman was quite lovely in an ethereal kind of way. Tall and slim, the dekka stones in her elongated right earlobe gleamed white against her dark hair and skin.
When their eyes met, Kaylith sensed the woman was trying to mindspeak with her. She let her shields down and asked, You wish mindspeech, Ambassador Zirtha?
Yes. My, what incredibly strong shields you have. Your father Lir would be proud. It is imperative Alex Stryker and I speak with you alone.
Important for me or D-Corps?
Both.
I trust it can wait until after breakfast? I wouldn't like to deprive Father of entertaining such eminent guests.
Kaylith sensed hesitation. Whatever the woman wanted to discuss, she seemed to expect resistance. Yes, of course. I am interested in seeing what this mimosa tastes like anyway. "I thought a mimosa was a kind of Terran tree," the woman added aloud for William's benefit. "Is this drink derived from it?"
While William explained the mechanics of mixing orange juice with champagne, the group took their places around the breakfast table. Kaylith was content to let the others handle the conversation as the meal progressed. She'd had three shocks in the last ten minutes and was quietly trying to regain her composure.
First, she meets a man who strikingly resembles her dream friend Jack. His presence sitting next to her was unnerving enough. Then she learns she has the top score on the Fleet entrance exam. Certainly, she had studied hard, but she'd never expected to do that well. And lastly, this mysterious private discussion with the Ambassadors.
What did they want? Like Rock, she sensed whatever it was...it wasn't good. No matter how high her score, D-Corps ambassadors did not visit the homes of promising Fleet cadets.
"You're a quiet one," Alex Stryker said, interrupting her reverie. Shallog's hairs, even the man's voice sounded like Jack's. "I would have thought you'd be pleased with your Fleet exam results."
"I am pleased, Ambassador."
"You do not look pleased. You look--wary, I suppose."
"That's because she is a Sentari," Deke said, winking at Rock. "In case you didn't know, Sentaris are born paranoid. They trust nobody."
"Not even their own kind?" Zirtha asked.
"Especially not their own kind," Rock replied. "Are any of you familiar with the Borgia family from Old Earth's renaissance period?"
"Fond of poisoning their enemies as I recall," said William.
"Exactly. Multiply their sins tenfold and you still wouldn't have the kind of machinations that exist within the Sentari royal family."
"Oh, come now, Master Rock," said Zirtha. "Surely you exaggerate."
Rock leaned forward, fingering his glass of mimosa. "Oh no, Ambassador. If anything, I'm understating the case. It is quite common among Sentari royals for sibling to kill sibling, child to kill mother, mother to kill child, whatever it takes to advance one's status. Not only is it common, it is more or less expected. Indeed, in some cases, it's demanded."
"Which is why Rock and I were considered horrible failures in the genlabs," Kaylith said. "We've never had any interest in killing each other."
Rock laughed. "Well--there was that time you ate my science project. I sort of had the urge to kill you then."
"How was I to know those jellybeans were a DNA diagram? Besides, Deke ate some too!"
"Yeah," Deke said. "But I was smart enough not to get caught." He raised mock eyebrows as he sniffed at his glass. "Are you sure it's safe to drink this now?"
Rock laughed and nudged his brother's arm. Deke's mimosa spilled.
"All right, all right," said William. "That's enough foolishness. As you can see, Ambassadors, I have high-spirited children. Strong-willed too. They definitely have minds of their own and can't be coerced into doing anything they do not wish to do."
He rose to his feet. "You may have your meeting with Kaylith now. Boys, let's give these folks some privacy."
Kaylith thought Rock started to protest, but when he saw the look in their father's eye, he held his tongue. Her stomach fluttered as she watched her family walk away.
"Your father is quite the strong-willed man too," Alex Stryker said. "I suppose that is why he is considered one of the most valuable officers in the Fleet."
"And perhaps that is why you have chosen to follow him into his profession," Zirtha added. "We've come here today to discuss other options with you."
"Options within D-Corps?" Kaylith asked. When Zirtha smiled and nodded, Kaylith said flatly, "Forget it. I'm not interested."
"But you haven't even heard yet--" Alex began.
"I can guess. You want me to join a delegation to Sentarl, right? All that priceless palacite lying around on one planet--it's a trader's dream."
"Not just a trader's dream," Zirtha said. "Think of all the minds that palacite could enhance. The possibilities for exchanging medical, biochemical, technical, and genetic information are endless. A trade alliance would benefit Sentarl just as much as it would benefit the IML.
"Well, you can forget it. One, because Meeral would rather cut off her head than establish trade with any alien race. Two, because I would rather cut off my head than go back to Sentarl. Is that clear enough for you?"
"Crystal," said Alex.
"But Alex--" Zirtha began.
"No, Zirtha, she's made her position regarding Sentarl quite clear." He turned in his chair to look Kaylith in the eye. "And considering her experiences with her mother, I don't blame her. But Kaylith, there are other ways you could use your talents to help the IML and D-Corps."
"Which talents might those be? My astronavigation skills? My proficiency on the weapons range? Those are hardly the talents of a diplomat."
"Ambassador Stryker was referring to your natural talents," said Zirtha. "Talents that you owe a debt to Elvan for teaching you how to use."
I owe Elvan nothing, Kaylith thought vehemently.
"I'm sure your teachers would be grieved to hear that," Zirtha replied.
"What did she say?" Alex asked.
"It's not important," Zirtha snapped. "What is important is that we do not let this girl waste her talents by playing the role of a common Fleet officer."
"I'm right here," Kaylith said. "And I don't like it when people talk around me. Nor when they insult my family at our breakfast table."
"I meant no insult to your father," Zirtha said quickly. "Just please, hear us out."
"Please?" Alex added. Damn his blue eyes! He looked too much like Jack.
Kaylith folded her arms and leaned back in her chair. "Okay, go ahead and make your pitch."
"Pitch?" Zirtha asked, frowning in puzzlement.
"She means tell her what we have in mind," Alex said. "The D-Corps arm of the IML does more than simply trade with other worlds. We are explorers as well."
"In the interest of opening new markets," Kaylith added cynically.
"You say that like it is a bad thing."
"Depends on the world. What if they have no interest in trading?"
"Then we would, of course, leave that world alone," Zirtha said. "We are not the greedy fiends you make us out to be."
Kaylith held her peace. Did they think her stupid? She'd learned to read between the lines in all her Interstellar Trading History classes. Several worlds had been cajoled, perhaps even coerced, into joining the league against their better interests.
"Your telepathic talents would be of enormous value to the IML in first contact situations," said Alex. "Why, even as we speak, we are trying to establish contact with a most promising new world, Tjornak. Have you ever heard of it?"
"No."
"Of course you haven't, because this is an entirely new race of humanoids! No other race has ever set foot on the planet."
"But the IML intends to leave a footprint there," Kaylith growled.
"I can see this is getting us nowhere," Zirtha said. "Perhaps it is time for us to be blunt. Fleet doesn't want you."
"Excuse me?" Kaylith couldn't believe her ears. "I had the top score on the entrance exams and both of my fathers have served in Fleet with distinction."
"Yes," Zirtha agreed. "But you are also of Sentari blood, which poses a problem for the common soldier."
Kaylith sighed. "You're talking about the Sentari Fighting Pheromone, aren't you? Rock and I take hormones to counteract it."
"What if you crashed on a planet and had no access to your medical supplies?" Alex said. "What if for some reason the hormone stopped working?"
"Fleet feels they can't risk exposing their crews to such a danger," Zirtha added. "Which is why, even though you have the top entrance exam score, your request to join Fleet will be denied."
Denied? Kaylith couldn't believe it. She'd worked so hard to get into Fleet. Father William would be so disappointed. All her hopes of seeing new worlds and protecting the weak... all denied. All because she was Sentari.
She barely heard the words Alex Stryker was saying now. "Kaylith, Fleet may not want to take a chance on you, but D-Corps does. Think of it this way, if you'd been allowed in Fleet, all you would do is enforce trade policies. Working in D-Corps will allow you to create trade policies instead."
"You could help us set the tone towards a more peaceful universe," said Zirtha. "Is that not the most worthy cause of all?"
"Yes," Kaylith murmured. "Peace is a worthy cause."
"Then you'll think about it?" asked Stryker, putting a paternal hand on top of hers. Kaylith nodded and looked down at his fingers. They were the exact same shape and length as Jack's, her dream man.
Alex Stryker patted her hand. "Good girl."
Don't think too long, Zirtha mindspoke. Our ship leaves in two days and we'd like for you to be on it. You will study with our top D-corps trainers on Elvan.
Kaylith extricated her hand from Stryker's and rose to her feet. "I'll let you know," she said, then walked away.
As she left, she heard Zirtha mindspeak to Stryker using intimate mode. Think she will accept?
Stryker replied, "Does she have a choice?"
With a sob, Kaylith ran upstairs to her room. She cried for hours, refusing to speak to her family when they tried to comfort her.
Kaylith had learned the lessons of the universe all too well. Just as sometimes there were no choices, sometimes there was no room for comfort either.
New Columbia, Terra
Terran year, 3737
Elvan, 17, 494
Unity, 140
Eighteen-year-old Jack showered and shaved before going to bed. Instead of joining his classmates in search of dates for the Unity Day dance, he was turning in early for a date with his dream girl.
Crazy? Maybe. His family already thought he was obsessed by the Legend. What would they do if they knew he courted her every night in his sleep?
Probably have him quietly committed to a discreet mental wellness center.
Well, they wouldn't know because he wasn't going to tell them. It had been hard enough to convince his parents to support his decision to major in xenoarchaelogy. No way he'd let them know he planned to use his studies to help him find his soul mate.
She was out there... somewhere... waiting for him to find her. Unlike the rest of the scholars of the civilized universe, he didn't believe she was dead. How else would they be able to speak to each other across space and time? They were destined to be together. He knew they were. So she had to be alive. Had to be.
But he had to find her first. Even if it meant disappointing his family's expectations. Even if it meant missing Unity Day dances and being considered an obsessive Legend lore freak. He didn't care. Finding Kaylith mattered more.
Once Jack finished shaving, he stepped into his closet to consider his choice of sleepwear. What does a guy wear to impress his imaginary woman? He smiled. What if he wore nothing at all? What would Kaylith do then?
"Ah, face it, Jack," he said, picking up a sweatshirt with cutoff sleeves and sweatpants. "You're too chicken to find out."
He dressed and hurried to bed. He was so excited about being with Kaylith that sleep took a long time coming. Yet come it did...
Walking in the white void, Jack called Kaylith's name. As time ticked past without an answer his eagerness began to fade. He could sense her presence, but just barely. It was as if she didn't want to be found.
"Kaylith, where are you? Talk to me," he called.
Go away, Jack. Leave me alone.
Not the greeting he'd expected at all. "What's wrong, Kallie?"
Nothing. Go away.
"Sweetness," he said. "This isn't like you. What's wrong?"
I SAID GO AWAY!
Her mindshout echoed around his brain. Perhaps because her rejection left him feeling hollow. Kaylith had always been glad to see him. What had happened to make that change?
If she wouldn't come to him, then he would go to her. He focused on her presence and willed himself there. At first nothing happened, but suddenly the white winds lifted and tugged at his body. He floated instead of fought, letting the airstream carry him along, knowing it would take him directly to Kaylith.
He appeared in a pleasant bedroom. The walls and furnishings were decorated in soothing shades of blue. An old-style media-com sat on an oaken desk. The eastern side had a magnificent view of an ocean via a glass door and windows. Through the open door he could smell the surf and hear the sea.
He could also hear Kaylith sobbing. He followed the sound to the far side of the antique four-poster bed. There he found Kaylith curled in a pitiful ball, her back propped against the bed as she faced the ocean. Her tearstained face rested on her knees. Tears slipped through her closed eyelids and down her cheeks.
Jack's chest felt tight and his hands curled into fists. He couldn't understand what had happened to upset her. History had no helpful clues. As far as he knew from his studies, this was the happiest period of Kaylith's life.
"Why are you hiding from me?"
She jerked and glared up at him. "How did you get here?"
"Your room? I've been here so many times, I can find it in my sleep." When she didn't reply, he added, "That was a joke."
Again no reply. Though she said or thought nothing at him, he could sense her willing him away. Well, Jack thought, that isn't going to happen. Not until I know why you're crying.
He considered probing her mind to find out... but decided it might upset her more if he did. He would simply wait until she was ready to tell him. He sat down on the bed above her. From there, he could watch her without her watching him.
It looked as if Kaylith had fallen asleep still dressed for the day. Her hair was bound up in a tight braid, instead of loose the way he liked it. She wore a silver and blue streaked housedress...also not her usual attire. Not that he objected, it looked soft and fit her curves well...
He could have punched himself. Here she was upset and... crying...Moons, he'd never seen her cry. But now that she was, all he could think about was how badly he wanted to take her into his arms and kiss her. What a jerk!
"I met a man today," she whispered. "For a moment, I thought it was you."
Startled, Jack didn't know what to say.
"But it wasn't you," Kaylith continued. "His name was Alex Stryker. Any relation, Jack Stryker?"
Well, Jack thought, he's my great-great-great grandpa. The instant he thought it, he caught a warning tinge of headache. As if he needed a reminder not to tell Kallie. He knew damn well time wouldn't let him.
I asked you a question.
Yes, I know. But I can't answer it.
Why not?
"I--just--can't. I wish I could. What did Alex Stryker want?"
"To tell me I had the top Fleet entrance exam score."
He lifted her blue-black braid and wound the tip of it around his index finger. He always liked playing with Kaylith's hair. It was soft, yet strong and she certainly had a lot of it. He played with her hair so often; it had become an unconscious gesture. Neither one of them noticed it.
"Well, that's good, isn't it?" he said.
"Not really. My score doesn't matter since Fleet is denying my application. They don't want me."
Jack thought about this a moment. History never said Fleet had denied Kaylith's application. Instead, it was written she'd chosen a career with the IML's diplomatic corps. He'd always wondered why she devoted her studies to Fleet courses if she intended to end up in D-Corps. Time's rules had never let him ask.
"I don't understand, if you had the top score, how could they deny your application?"
"Alex Stryker and Zirtha of Elvan said it's because I am Sentari. Shallog forbid the good soldiers of Fleet to be exposed to a ticking time bomb like me."
Kaylith's hurt radiated off her in waves. The anguish of it ripped at his heart. "Time bomb?"
"You know, the infamous Sentari Fighting Pheromone. Never mind I've been taking the hormones to control it for years or the fact that I've never caused a single episode of avareeka since I've left Sentarl. Neither has Rock for that matter. Yet, I'm considered a risk to Fleet's troops." She let out a bitter laugh. "Frankly, Stryker, I'm surprised you risk associating yourself with a pestilence like me."
Jack tugged on her braid. "Ow!" she cried.
"Now you're talking stupid," Jack retorted. "You are not a pestilence and you know it!"
"Tell that to Fleet," Kaylith said.
He yanked on her braid again, harder this time.
"Ouch! Dammit Stryker, let go of my hair!"
"Not until you quit talking like an idiot. There is nothing wrong with you--it's them! They're trying to--"
A sharp pain pierced through his skull. Dammit! Jack thought, clenching his fists, which caused him to grip Kaylith's hair tighter, wrapping her braid into a tight coil around his hand. He ignored the warning glare in Kaylith's eyes as he fought to keep a stoic face.
I SAID LET GO OF MY HAIR!
Her mindshout was nothing compared to the throbbing in his brain. Alex and Zirtha...his great-great-great-grandparents... had they caused this? He fought the agony in his head to remember. In Kaylith's time, they were junior diplomats of a grade that didn't initiate IML schemes; instead they merely implemented them.
So they must have been sent by their superiors to give Kaylith this news. The IML had wanted Kaylith in D-Corps...wanted her enough to pressure Fleet into rejecting her. Something like that would have come from the upper echelons of Corporate. It also meant they'd been planning to force her into their service for some time and...
His head suddenly rocked back and a loud crack sounded inside his head, followed by an explosion of light flashing before his eyes.
Kallie had punched him in the nose.
Despite this new and added source of pain, he didn't let go of her hair. When she swung at him again, he caught her wrist with his free hand. "Are you crazy?" he roared. "I think you broke my nose! What in the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Serves you right!" she barked. "I told you to let go of my hair! Are you trying to snatch me bald-headed? LET GO!"
He looked down at his hand and saw he was clutching her braid almost to the roots. No wonder she'd taken a swing at him! He instantly let go of her hair and her wrist.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I wasn't thinking. I mean, I was thinking... maybe I was thinking too hard." He buried his aching head and nose into his hands. "Ah, to hell with it. I hurt you and I'm sorry."
The instant Jack released her; Kaylith leapt to her feet prepared for battle. She stood surveying him with her hands on her hips. He certainly looked miserable. Maybe more miserable than she felt... although for the life of her, she couldn't imagine why.
She tried to hear his thoughts and heard nothing. Like so many times before, his mind was completely shut off from hers. How was he able to do that? No one else could.
Kaylith let out a sigh. There was no sense in worrying about it, since this was only a dream. Perhaps her mind had created Jack to give her someone with a greater power than hers. If that were true, then how could she explain his resemblance to Alex Stryker, a man she'd never met until today? Not only did they look alike, they had the same last name. The coincidence was... bizarre to say the least.
Whatever the case, her dream man looked pretty miserable right now. And adorable, blast his hide! The muscles in his arms bunched sleek and smooth. She longed to run her hands over every inch and...
I am sorry, Kallie, he mindsaid. She could sense he was indeed deeply sad for her. They had no right to deny your Fleet application.
Funny, now that she knew how miserable he felt, she felt better. She sat beside him on the bed and patted him on the back. "It's all right, Jack. Maybe it's like Alex and Zirtha said--this might be a good thing for me."
He lifted his head to give her a sideways look. To her relief, his nose appeared undamaged, although his eyes looked a little red and watery. "I've got to hear this one. How could they possibly think being denied Fleet is good for you?"
"Well, Alex and Zirtha said I would be helping the IML to shape new trade policies. I'd have to study diplomacy, of course, for a while on Elvan, but I'm sure I could get the hang of it. They told me about a new world, Tjornak, I think they called it and--" She stopped because Jack's face had turned ashen and his jaw was set so hard, she could see a muscle twitching in his cheek. "What's wrong?"
"Let's just say--history is rewriting itself even as we speak." It sounded as if every word cost him an effort.
"What in Shallog's name does that mean?"
The muscle in his face jumped, and then went still. "Nothing, Kallie. Nothing. Have you decided to take the IML's offer?"
"Alex Stryker seemed to think I didn't have a choice." She watched in fascination as his cheek started twitching again. "Perhaps he's right. If Fleet doesn't want me, I doubt many other interstellar employers will. And I do so want to see space."
His frown descended like a thundercloud.
"Jack, why are you so upset about this? Why won't you tell me if Alex Stryker is related to you?"
He stared at her, his deep blue eyes filling her world as she waited for him to reply. What secrets did he hide behind his shutdown mind? Why couldn't she see...
I love you, Kallie. Do you know that?
Startled by his sudden change of subject, Kaylith didn't know what to think. Nobody, not even Rock, had ever said they loved her before.
I love you, he continued, taking her hand in his. And I can't stand having to sit by and watch while others make you unhappy.
I'm not unhappy. Well, she was...but being with Jack was making her feel better.
You just said you were a 'pestilence'. I know you, Kallie. Fleet's rejecting you made you feel like a freak, just like back on Elvan.
I AM a freak, Kaylith thought glumly. Everyone in the universe thinks so.
You are NOT! he mindshouted. "Moons, woman! You are smart, funny, and sweet! You have a tender heart and a powerful mind!"
Every word he said was turning her powerful mind to mush. Nobody had ever spoken like this to her before.
"And to top it off, you are blindingly beautiful." He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her fingertips. A shiver trembled from her fingers all the way down to her toes. "Maybe the combination of all your wonderful attributes scares some people, but anyone who really knows you counts themselves lucky to be your friend. And any man would want--" He let out an uneasy laugh and let her hand go.
"Would want what?" she asked, disappointed the kissing hadn't continued.
"Never mind," he said, refusing to look her in the eye. "I think you know what I mean. And that's not what you need right now."
She thought about it a minute, then her eyes widened. "Jack Stryker, are you saying any man would want to mate with me?" When he didn't answer, she added, feeling flutterbys in her stomach as she did so, "Or did you mean you want to mate with me?"
Moons! thought Jack. How was he supposed to answer? Of course he wanted to mate with her! The idea consumed his every waking and dreaming thought. He knew, intellectually, most guys his age were obsessed with sex. But he also knew, emotionally, he only wanted Kaylith. Mating with others wasn't even an option.
She slid a hand up his arm. Her touch felt like a thousand volts of electricity heightening his already heightened arousal. "Jack?" she asked, her voice tremulous.
He couldn't take it anymore. He turned, reaching out with his hands to cup the back of her neck. He pulled her to him until their foreheads touched. Her emerald green eyes widened, drowning him in feelings he'd never dreamt having.
Want you? I burn for you, he mindsaid, his thumbs caressing the tips of her mutilated earlobes. They were beautiful to him, just like the rest of her.
"Show me," she whispered. "Open your mind to mine."
Kaylith was immediately assailed with overlapping images...visions. He was kissing her, touching her, and she kissing and touching him.
Then his mouth claimed hers, augmenting the visions with reality. How could there be reality in dreams? As his kiss deepened, his tongue moving in and out in an imitation of mating, Kaylith realized she didn't care. This dream felt so...right.
She kissed him back, her hands sliding beneath his sweatshirt, desperate to feel the heat of his flesh. He groaned and pulled her down onto the bed, his hands clutching the hem of her dress and lifting it over her thighs.
Minds and bodies soon became one. When Kaylith awoke to the new day, she greeted it with joy.
Science Vessel Needle
Sentari Space
Terran year, 3749
Elvan, 17, 506
Unity, 151
From her puff cushion in the galley, Orna glared at Jack Stryker's cabin door, willing the Legend to come out. Nothing happened, not that Orna expected anything to happen. She didn't have mind powers. She'd never met anyone with real mind powers before... not like the Legend's, anyhow.
Telepaths like Dal, yes. But someone able to control a person's mind and body like Kaylith, never!
The way Kaylith had yanked those stunners from Orna's hands... now that was scary. At the time, Orna's body had felt as if it were not her own.
She hadn't liked that one bit.
Yes, Kaylith's mind was powerful, just as the legends said. Maybe too powerful. Look at the way she was controlling Jack! And Dal...Oola's shell! Whatever the Legend had done to Dal had certainly changed him. Ever since the incident here in the galley, he'd been polite... Dal polite!
It was simply unbelievable.
He wouldn't tell her more of what the Legend had shown him...which in Orna's mind was selfish. She was a member of the crew and had a right to know what was going on. Instead, everyone was shutting her out. For the first time since she'd joined this expedition, she felt on the outside looking in.
She didn't like that either.
When she'd told Dal as much, he'd said; "Patience, Orna. The Legend will talk to you when she is ready."
Patience! Patience had never been her strong suit.
She sighed, drumming one set of tentacles on the table, another groomed her quills, while the third and fourth entered text notes into her personal log. She was trying to get a handle on her emotions and writing had always helped her do that.
Feeling a tad forlorn, she glanced the last passage she'd written.
Is the Great One controlling the males on this ship? If so, what can I do to stop her? I am worried about Jack. What is happening to him? Is he in pain because of her?
And I do not understand the Great One's animosity towards Corbans. Before she went into stasis, she gave the gift of enlightenment to our race. Because of her, Corbans began to think less about profits and more about expanding their minds and resources. If not for Kaylith's gift, I would probably be stuck on some dull old freighter doing trade runs instead of doing exciting work on a science vessel.
Maybe it's not Corbans she hates... maybe it's just me.
Tears filled Orna's eyes as she read the sentence. She'd been so excited about meeting the Great One. She wanted to know details about the visions that had changed her world. She wanted to know how Kaylith had found it in her heart to forgive Corbans and give them the gifts of her spirit.
Instead of forgiveness, she'd found hate. It was so unfair to be judged by the deeds of her race...deeds that had happened long ago. Surely the Great One knew that. I know I'm a good person, Orna told herself. I don't need the Great One's or anyone else's approval.
But oh... how she desperately wanted it!
She also desperately wanted somebody to talk to. She felt so desperate; she was considering knocking on Dal's door. The snooty Elvan was better than having no one to talk to at all... and she did want to know what he meant about all that 'truth and lies' stuff.
As if indeed summoned by her mind, Dal's cabin door slid open. He held a gift-wrapped object in his hands. When his gray eyes settled on her, he straightened and walked over to join her in the galley.
Stiffly shoving the gift into her face, he said, "Here."
She reached out her fourth tentacle and he deposited the gift into her palm. The package felt ponderously heavy. What in Oola's name could it be? "What is thiss for?" she asked.
"You protected me when you thought the Le--Kaylith was doing me harm. I am expressing my gratitude for your concern."
Now I've seen everything, Orna thought. Dal expressing gratitude? To her? Nope, this couldn't be happening. "I--I don't what to ssay."
"I believe 'thank you' is the appropriate response," he replied, taking a seat at the table.
"Thank you," Orna murmured, staring down at the gift in her lap. "But it issn't necessary for you to give me anything. I'd have done the ssame thing for Jack too."
"Nevertheless, I want you to have this. Please open it and let me know what you think."
Using all four hands, Orna had the package open in a flash. Pearly white stone gleamed in her hands. It was a dekka stone statue of an Elvan woman... no wait. It was the Great One! Confused, Orna looked at Dal for an explanation.
"I thought this statuette would look lovely in your water garden. I hope you'll agree."
"Yess, it is quite lovely. The workmanship is amazing."
It was, too. The sculptor had caught the Great One in an active pose. The woman's hair whipped around her like a cape as she held her arms upraised in a victorious salute. The artist had chosen classical Terran clothes for his subject... a flowing toga garment of some kind. The pearly white stone felt pleasantly cool as her fingers stroked the minute details of the carving.
Orna wondered what the Great One would think of it. Perhaps she could show it to her... as a way of breaking the ice.
"She's not controlling us, Orna," Dal said softly. "And even if she was, there'd be nothing you could do to stop her."
"What?" Orna said, surprised by Dal again. Then she realized he'd been reading her personal log. Her quills bristled. "Hey, Elvan. Keep your nosse out of my logbook."
"You left it open," he replied. "It's not my fault if I'm curious about the workings of your inscrutable Corban mind."
"Inscrutable Corban mind, iss it? Dal, compared to you, I am an open book. Why won't you tell me what the Great One sshowed you when you were linked?"
"Because--" Dal shifted in his chair uneasily. "I suppose because it is not my story to tell. Some of the things she showed me--they would upset you, Orna. I know they would. They've certainly upset me."
"How can you be so ssure she was sshowing you the truth?" When Dal frowned at her, Orna said, "Look at the facts, Dal. She's got Stryker convinced he knows her and--"
"He does know her. Never doubt that."
Orna ignored him and continued, "Now he's being affected by these ssevere headaches and I think--"
"He got mindshocked, Orna. That's much more than a mere headache."
"Who mindsshocked him if not her, Dal? Don't you see? Sshe's trying to--"
"He mindshocked himself. His mindshout was loud enough to be heard throughout the universe. For a Terran to do that--" Dal shook his head. "--well, it's simply incredible."
"Are you ssure he hurt himself because that's what you know--or is it because that's what sshe told you?"
Dal sighed. "She doesn't hate you, Orna."
"You could have fooled me! I offered my tentacle in friendsship and sshe all but sspat on me." Orna fought the tears of frustration building in her golden eyes.
"She did no such thing and you know it," Dal snapped.
"You ssee? Now sshe has us fighting over her!"
"We fight every day."
"Yess, but this iss different. Thiss time, ssomeone else is causing us to fight instead of us fighting for fun. I don't like it, Dal. I don't trust her!"
"Suits me just fine, Corban, because I don't trust you either."
Orna felt like banging her head on the table. Great. She'd ticked off the Great One once again. She looked over to see Kaylith approaching the galley. Orna felt so angry, she heartily wished the Great One's limp pained her.
"I want to know what you've done to Dal--and where's Jack?" Orna demanded. "What have you done to him?"
The Great One ignored her; instead she was staring at the statue in Orna's hands. "What in Shallog's name is that abomination?" she asked.
"It's a gift--from Dal to me," Orna snarled. "I think it's lovely."
"Give it to me," Kaylith ordered.
"No! Dal gave it to me and it's going in my water garden, you--you witch!"
I said, give it to me.
"What are you going to do? Rip it out of my hands with your mind again?"
I was defending myself.
"Yeah? Well, I was defending Dal, so I guess we're even!"
I did not harm your crewmate. Ask him for yourself.
"What good would that do? You can make him believe anything you want."
The Great One folded her arms and glared at her. "I would never tamper with a person's thoughts unless it was completely necessary."
"And I'm ssupposed to believe that? What about Jack? What kind of delusion did you plant in his mind to make him believe you two are old friends?"
Kaylith raised an amused eyebrow. "I believe lovers is a more apt term."
"Lovers!" Orna let out a scornful laugh. "I've got news for you 'Great One', Jack's celibate. I've sseen him turn down more women than--"
"He was celibate because he was already mated to me. Is that clear enough for you, Corban?"
Orna rose, her sinuous body ascending gracefully from the cushion. She slid over to Kaylith, no longer awed by her celebrity. In truth, Orna was beginning to wonder if waking the Great One had been a huge mistake.
"No, nothing's clear right now. Ever since you've sset foot on this ship, the men have changed. I ssaw you probing Dal's mind! He may ssay he's okay, but I don't believe it. Why else would he ssuddenly start being nice? If you did that to Dal, Oola only knows what you've done to Jack."
Orna stood nose to nose with the Great One by the time she finished speaking. Kaylith met her stare without flinching, her expression impassive rather than angry. Then she said, very calmly and quietly, "Jack and Dal were right. Corbans have indeed changed in the last dekkeon."
"What is that ssupposed to mean?"
The Great One dropped a hand on Orna's shoulder. "It means I like you, Corban. I find your concern for your crewmates quite admirable." She gave Orna's shoulder a pat, then stepped back and offered her hand. "And quite unlike any Corban it's been my displeasure to meet. Will you take my hand in friendship?"
Orna stared at the woman's hand. How could she be sure whether or not the Great One was trying to manipulate her? Perhaps this...this Sentari only wanted to lull her into a sense of trust so that she could continue doing whatever it was she was doing to Jack and Dal? "No," said Orna. "I won't take your hand. Not until I know I can trusst you."
"Orna!" Dal scolded. "Have you lost your mind? How dare you insult Kaylith like this! Take her hand and apologize at once!"
Emotion flickered in the Great One's eyes. Orna wondered whether it was anger or disappointment. "No," Kaylith said, letting her outstretched hand drop to her side. "She doesn't have to apologize. I understand her feelings. And I respect them."
Then the Great One sighed, her gaze dropping to the statuette still clutched in Orna's tentacle. "Please tell me such statues are rare." Her voice sounded weary.
"Ah--unfortunately, no," Dal said. "There are statues all over the universe in your image."
"Bleeding Zaphron turds!" Kaylith growled. She muttered something else, then headed for the galley.
"What in Oola's name is a Zaphron?" Orna asked. She was trying to get her bearings... she'd just confronted the Great One and the Great One had backed down! Not what she'd expected from Unity's Legend at all.
"Giant Tjornak herd animal," Kaylith said absently as she scanned the beverage dispenser. "They're very mean and very, very dumb. Does this dispenser have Blue Mountain Tjorn Elixir?"
"It might not since there are no Tjorns on our crew, but it can make it, providing you know the molecular structure of the drink. It is preprogrammed, however, with thousands of beverages, so there's a chance it already has the recipe." Dal said, moving to join her. "The system combines molecules to simulate the taste of any beverage. It replicates the needed glassware as well."
A half-smile appeared on the Great One's lips. "Does it also simulate the effects of any beverage?"
"Well, it can. But--"
"That's all I need to know," Kaylith said, tapping on the 'request beverage' key. "Dispenser, I'd like a shot of Tjorn Blue Mountain Elixir." She looked around the room at Dal and Orna. "Make that three shots. And don't kill the effects, okay?"
She patted the machine as three shot glasses full of a bluish liquid appeared. "Nifty little thing. Beats those clunky auto-dispensers from my time. You had to keep those stocked with the actual beverages. Bet this saves you tons of cargo space."
She handed a glass to Dal, then walked over to Orna to offer her one. Orna eyed the glass warily. "I have never heard of thiss Tjorn beverage before."
"Well, thank Shallog your dispenser has because I have no idea what the molecular composition is."
"You sseem extremely concerned with its effects. What does this beverage do?"
With a shrug, Kaylith tipped the shot glass to her mouth and gulped its bluish contents. She let out a satisfied sigh and wiped her mouth.
"Not bad. An adequate substitute. What Blue Mountain Elixir does, my suspicious Corban friend--now there's something I never thought I'd say--is give you a swift, hard, kick in the pants. If you and Dal are too delicate for that sort of thing, hand yours over and I'll drink it for you."
Orna hissed. So...if the Great One couldn't manipulate her, she'd settle for getting her drunk! "No," Orna said. "I prefer to keep my wits about me."
"Suit yourself," Kaylith said, downing the other drink. "But I think you'll be sorry. In some situations, it's better to let your wits go. Fortifies the rest of you for whatever happens."
Truly, this woman was too much. "And what iss going to happen that requires our fortification?" Orna demanded. "Are you planning to take control of the ship?"
Kaylith let out a bark of laughter. "What in Shallog's name would I want with a science vessel? I doubt you have any armaments at all. And your cruising speed--hmm, well, I'm willing to bet stardrives are a lot faster now, so I'll let that go." She blinked woozily at Orna. "What were we talking about?"
"Orna wants to know what you're planning," Dal said. Orna watched the Elvan sniff, then sip his drink. He lifted his eyebrows, as though surprised, then aping Kaylith's manner, swallowed the rest of it.
"Ah," said Kaylith, heading back towards the dispenser. "Well, Corban, I have only one plan right now."
"And what would that be?" Orna asked, gliding over to the Great One's side. "Drinking yoursself into oblivion?"
"This beverage is excellent," Dal said, setting down his glass. "Could I have some more?"
Nodding, Kaylith keyed the dispenser. "Another round of Elixir, you wonderfully efficient machine." She handed one glass to Dal after it appeared, then took one for herself.
"I assked you a question!" Orna snapped. "What iss your plan?"
"My plan is to retrieve my crewmates from the Talon. I was going to wait for Jack to wake, but who knows how long he'll sleep? Excuse me if it hurts my legendary image, but I need a few stiff belts before I see their bodies. They were good people--good souls. I'm not looking forward to seeing them dead."
She handed Orna a glass. "If you don't want to drink with me, fine. But at least do the considerate thing and drink to them. They deserve a drink in their memory."
Orna took the glass. Kaylith clinked hers with Orna's, then Dal's. "To the crew of the Talon. May their souls find peace."
Like Dal, Orna felt compelled to sniff before tasting the drink. It smelled like...like wildflowers. She sipped. It tasted sweet and tart at the same time and didn't burn as it went down like most intoxicating beverages. Quite good, actually.
Dal and Kaylith had already downed their shots. Orna hesitated, her tail twitching, fully aware the others watched her. With a sigh, Orna said, "To finding peace."
Then she drank the tasty beverage down to the last drop. Immediately, her mind was filled with a sense of well being... while her body... well, her body was swiftly becoming a little numb.
Orna set the glass down on the table and turned to Kaylith. "Okay, Great One, let's go get your crew."
"Thank you," Kaylith said. "But Orna, if you ever call me 'Great One' again, I'll tie a knot in your tail."
Orna playfully slapped her tail onto the deck. She barely felt the impact of it on her scales. "Not if I wrap it around your neck and squeeze you first," she replied. But she smiled when she said it.
Talon
Sentari Space
Terran year, 3749
Elvan, 17, 506
Unity, 151
It broke Kaylith's heart to see Talon floating adrift in space. The gaping breach in her starboard hull reminded her of a mouth hanging open in a scream, a scream that grew wider to the eye and louder in her mind as she and Orna used their suit thrusters to fly along the docking cable towards it.
Dal was back on Needle monitoring their progress. Kaylith only had a peek at Needle's cockpit and computer library, but she'd seen enough to know she had a lot to learn about ships in this time. In the meantime, she was content with letting Dal manage the ship.
Eyeing Orna floating sinuously before her, Kaylith thought, I have a lot to learn about everything. She'd never met a Corban she did like until now. Though it would take some time, she supposed she could get used it.
Kaylith glanced at the suit monitor on her left wrist. Two rows of green lights burned steady. Though she'd used prezskin in her time, she'd never quite trusted it. It seemed too flimsy a barrier to have between her and space.
This prezskin was different from what she'd known before. For one thing, instead of putting it on via a skin shower stall, it sprayed on from the connector rings at her neck, wrists, waist, and ankles. The spray came out as a fine mist that solidified in seconds creating a pressure suit that was so flexible; it felt almost as if she had nothing on at all.
Flexible was all well and good. What concerned Kaylith was durability. When Orna wasn't looking, she'd tried to punch a hole in the thin layer of the pressure suit with her fingernails. She couldn't make a dent. Still unsatisfied, she locked her helmet on and followed the Corban out of Needle's storage bay door and into space.
She immediately felt swallowed by the vast blackness, lit by the icy pinpoint lights of distant stars. Her stomach lurched as she looked at them. She'd never liked space walking. Sure, sometimes you had to in an emergency. But why go outside a perfectly good spaceship?
Kaylith gulped the artificial air of the helmet's life support system. She could do this. She had to.
As they floated outside Needle, Orna gave Kaylith a quick lesson in how to operate the suit thrusters. They were located in the waist and ankle connector rings and according to Orna, had over two hours worth of gel fuel. More than enough to make several trips between Needle and Talon to transfer the bodies of her crew.
Kaylith wasn't sure she was up to making even one trip. If seeing her damaged ship hurt this much, she couldn't imagine how she'd feel once she saw her crew. They'd been through so much together. And Meeral had...
Her eyes narrowed as she approached the hull breach. Meeral had done this. If not Meeral, then someone from the Sentari royal family had sabotaged her ship, killed her crew, but left her alive.
Such senseless actions were pure Sentari.
If it was the last thing she ever did, Kaylith intended to find out who and why.
"Hey Great One, you doing okay?" Orna asked, floating in front of the hole like one of Rock's beloved octopi.
No, Kaylith answered honestly. I am far from okay. And I told you to stop calling me Great One.
"Ssorry, Great One. Force of habit." Kaylith could see the Corban's grin through her helmet. "You know, it's funny. Your mind speak doesn't bother me at all. You sshould give Dal some mind speak lessons. Then maybe I wouldn't get a headache every time he tries to use it."
"I heard that," came Dal's voice over the helmet's com line.
"Just checking to make sure Kaylith's elixir didn't put you to sleep," Orna replied. Her smile faded. "Kaylith, if you don't think you can do thiss right now, we can turn back and wait until Jack wakes."
No. I owe them this. Let's go on.
Orna eyed her for a moment, then let out a sigh. "You're the Great One. Let's go." She used her thrusters to guide her through the hole.
Kaylith followed her, intent on scolding the Corban for using that stupid name again, but before she could, Orna asked, "So--what caused this hull breach?"
A small cluster bomb--I think. We only had a minute or so to reach the stasis tubes after it happened.
Kaylith closed her eyes. Those last frantic moments were as if they'd just happened yesterday. There'd been no warning. Just the ship suddenly being rocked by the blast and the warning klaxons blaring. The smell of smoke and sound of shouting as the crew worked to save themselves and...
Kaylith shivered and opened her eyes. To her, it did happen yesterday. This room used to be the ship's environmental chamber. Whoever had struck wanted to kill her and her crew.
This had to be Meeral's work. Had to be.
Orna shook her head, pointing out the smooth metal around the rim of the hole. "A clusster bomb would have left a jagged blast hole. This looks more like the hull was melted, not blasted. It had to be ssomething else. Ssome kind of laser weapon maybe?"
I don't know about this time, but in mine no hand laser had the power to blast through a ship's hull.
Orna continued to examine the melted metal. "Very weird. The blast hole is way too large for a hand weapon anyway. It had to be a bomb of ssome kind, but what kind leaves a hole like thiss? Perhaps a corrosive acid instead? Hmmm. That could be it."
What could be it?
Orna ignored her question. It was as if the Corban was off in another universe somewhere.
"Yeah," Orna said. "A leaking acid container would be undetectable to your ship's ssecurity scans. Easy to disguise too, ssay maybe as an oxygen container? That would explain why you and your crew didn't receive a warning. Wouldn't need a timer, the sskulker who did it would know it would seep through sooner or later. But it would either take a lot of acid for a breach this size or somehow have to be self-replicating once released."
Kaylith found herself impressed by the workings of the Corban's mind. No wonder Jack had made her part of the crew. Orna definitely loved solving puzzles.
Orna muttered to herself for another minute or so, then said, "If you don't mind, I'd like to chip off some ssamples and run metallurgic and spectrum scans on them later."
Mind? No, of course I don't mind. I want to know what caused this breach too. So I can blast the culprit to smithereens, Kaylith thought.
Orna's second and fourth tentacles knotted fretfully, while her first and third busily collected hull samples. "I take it your mind is sset on vengeance?"
Startled, Kaylith stared at the Corban for a few seconds, then said, "How did you know?"
"Ha! Doesn't take a mind master to guess that. The look on your face gives you away." She capped her samples, then tucked them away in the pocket of her tool belt.
Kaylith sighed. I guess I should hide my feelings better.
"Why? You feel what you feel. There is no shame in wishing to avenge a friend. I would probably feel the ssame if I were in your sskin."
Kaylith said nothing, but inwardly, her reluctant liking for the Corban grew. "The stasis tubes are this way," she said, briskly pushing off towards a door on the far side of the room. She could see light on the other side, so either the ship's batteries managed to hold a charge or perhaps Needle's crew had replaced them.
The environmental chamber connected the main living area with the engine room. She'd been in here countless times, yet it felt as if this were the first. In zero-g she bounced along the walls like a rubber ball.
"I know," Orna said, following along effortlessly. Her tentacles and tail allowed her to easily steer towards the door, although it looked more like swimming than steering. Kaylith had never seen a Corban in zero-g before. Orna looked quite... graceful.
"I helped Jack bring you out of here," Orna was saying. "He didn't give me much time to look around once he knew you were alive though."
When she caught up with Kaylith, she reached down with her third tentacle and pushed a button on one of Kaylith's ankle connectors. Immediately, Kaylith's feet sank to the floor. How had the prezskin turned into gravboots?
She took a tentative step and found it quite easy to lift her feet. This was far more efficient than gravboots, thank goodness. Her injured feet probably would have protested walking around in the old-style clunky boots.
"Bet you think that's pretty 'nifty' too, don't you?" Orna said. "The prezskin in your feet has magnetic properties. You can activate it in your hands too. Just press thiss." She indicated a button on Kaylith's right wrist connector.
Thank you. This prezskin is better than nifty. I hated using prezskin in my time, but I could get used to this.
"Ah, the prezskin you had in B.U. was ...what did you call it? Ah yes, a bleeding Zaphron turd. I don't blame you for hating it. Prezskin iss much better now."
Orna gestured towards the door at the end of the corridor. Kaylith could see fresh scratch marks on the partially open portal. It looked as if Jack and Orna had used crowbars to force it open.
She hesitated at the threshold sensing... what? Kaylith couldn't be sure, but it felt oddly familiar. Maybe it was simply dread. No. This was something else. Something like... a presence. A very angry and familiar presence.
Roar Far, Kaylith's mind whispered. Is that you?
Nothing.
Kaylith shivered.
Nothing except the sense of the presence growing stronger. And angrier.
"Uh, Orna," Kaylith said, striving to keep her voice casual and failing miserably. "How does Corba stand with the spirit world these days?"
Orna looked startled. "What do you mean?"
Never mind, Kaylith answered switching to mind speak. Her hands and feet were tingling. The presence felt very strong now. What about Tjornak? Is there peace between your world and theirs now? Dal said there was--but I don't think he--
"We have tried to make amends," Orna interrupted, stiffly. "I think Corba could do more. And I ssometimes think the Tjorns wish we would do less. Kaylith, why are you asking these questions?"
Because we are in the presence of a Tjorn spirit. A very strong, very noble, yet very angry Tjorn spirit.
Orna blinked. She hardly ever blinked. "You sure this issn't that Blue Mountain Elixir talking, Great One?"
Don't call me Great One, Kaylith thought swiftly and irritably. The tingling in her extremities was turning into numbness. I am concerned for your safety. This spirit might react violently to your presence.
"You're telling me you're in contact with your Tjorn crewmate, your dead Tjorn crewmate, iss that it?" Orna tentacles curled and uncurled uneasily.
Not exactly. She isn't speaking to me, but I can sense her presence. It's very strong and very Tjorn. It has to be Roar Far.
Orna looked around them, then peered through the door skeptically. "I don't ssee anything."
I tell you she's there! Kaylith insisted. Waiting to strike. She's a hunter, Orna, and I think you are her prey.
"Prey?" Orna laughed. "Now I know it's the elixir talking. Sspirits cannot harm the living."
They both jumped when a loud bang sounded in the next room. Orna's second tentacle grabbed Kaylith's hand. Kaylith gladly held on to the Corban's fingercoils. Between the coldness in her arms and legs and the rising roar of the spirit's wrath in her mind, she needed something solid to hang on to.
"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Kaylith whispered. "Tjorn spirits are--different."
"It's probably just ssome debris floating around," Orna whispered back. Another bang sounded, louder than the first. "Or maybe not," she added, gently squeezing Kaylith's hand. "Are you all right? I can feel how cold you are right through your prezskin."
Happens when you contact spirits. She's very, very angry.
"At you or me?"
The formless fury seemed to whirl around them now. Both of us--I think.
"Well, that issn't good. What sshould we do?"
I guess I keep trying to talk to her. You should go back to the ship. Now.
"If I left you alone and ssomething happened, Jack would never forgive me," Orna said. "We either both go in or both go back."
Kaylith bit her lip. I have to take my crew home.
Orna sighed and let go of Kaylith's hand. "Then we go in."
If you won't go back, then at least wait here. Let me try to reason with her first.
"You've talked with the dead before?"
Kaylith winced. "Once," she said. "But it wasn't anybody I knew and I had to go through three days of Tjorn rituals to do it." Orna looked confused. Kaylith added, "Long story. Maybe I'll tell you about it sometime."
"Not that either of you care what I think," came Dal's voice over the com line, "but I advise we abort this task and try again later."
"You're right," Orna snapped. "We don't care what you think." She noticed Kaylith's raised eyebrow and added, "Ssorry, Dal. Your advice is noted and probably correct. But the Great One has to retrieve her crew. Right, Great One?"
"Stop calling me that," Kaylith answered wearily. "Stay here. I'll let you know when it is safe." Without waiting for the Corban to reply, Kaylith stepped through the doorway.
At first, the living areas looked heartbreakingly normal. All the doors were closed, save the one to the stasis chamber. Then a movement above caught Kaylith's eye. She looked up to find a vortex of debris circling her head.
Chairs, tables, pillows, beverage bottles, and possibly Deke's underwear. It looked as if everything that wasn't bolted down... and some things that were... now whirled around the ceiling at a furious rate.
"Oola's Sshell! That trash tornado wasn't there when we got you," Orna said from behind Kaylith.
Kaylith jumped, but her magnetic soles kept her feet on the floor. I told you to stay back.
"You think I'm going to hang around and wait for your sspirit friend to get me? I like my chances better with you!"
Kaylith couldn't really blame her for being scared. But the spirit was so angry and...
HOW DARE YOU?
The spirit's mindshout was loud enough to bring Kaylith to her knees. Or maybe they gave out from the chill settling into her bones. Kaylith didn't know and didn't care.
TARNA, HOW DARE YOU BRING A CORBAN TO MY PLACE OF REST!
Well, at least now she knew it was definitely Roar Far.
WAS IT NOT ENOUGH YOU LED TO ME AN UNWORTHY DEATH?
Spirit or not, that wasn't fair. She had begged Roar Far to stay behind. Just like she'd asked Orna to stay behind. Was it her fault nobody ever listened to her?
WAS IT NOT ENOUGH YOU LEFT MY SPIRIT WITHOUT RECEPTACLE?
We went into the stasis tubes, Kaylith mindsaid, ignoring Orna, who was shaking her shoulder and demanding an explanation. No one was supposed to die.
YET I AM DEAD, AM I NOT? DEAD AND CONDEMNED TO DWELL IN THIS EMPTY SHIP!
We came here to take your body back to Tjornak for the death ceremony. Orna shook her harder. Kaylith jerked her shoulder out of the Corban's grip, keeping all her concentration on staying in contact with Roar Far.
WHAT GOOD IS A DEATH CEREMONY WITHOUT MY SPIRIT?
Kaylith took a deep breath and spread out her arms in submission. She'd expected this question. I offer myself as your vessel. My mind is open. Join with me.
She felt the spirit hesitate. Closing her eyes, Kaylith could imagine Roar Far's face as she considered her offer.
Blue skin. Dark almond-shaped eyes. The delicate, yet prominent, bone structure of her cheeks and nose. The left corner of her mouth would quirk up once her temper had cooled and reason reigned. Then Roar Far would smile and...
No, Tarna, Roar Far's spirit said, its thoughts sounding calm, almost tender now. I won't let you sacrifice yourself. There is another way.
Before Kaylith could ask what she meant, Orna began to scream.
Tjornak, Southern Continent
Northwestern Plains, Khouree Territory
Terran year, 3616
Elvan, 17, 373
Unity, B.U. 8
Kaylith fell in love with Tjornak from the moment she stepped from the flitter.
Tith, her Elvan half-brother, stood beside her. They shared the same father, Lir. Tith had been one of the few friends she'd had when she'd lived on Elvan as a child. It had been nice to get reacquainted with him.
They'd grown closer during the last few years as they'd studied together under the same interstellar diplomacy trainers. Like her, he was a junior diplomat with this IML trade delegation, only he represented Elvan interests, not Terra's.
Everything is so blue, he complained. I can't tell the ground from the sky.
Of course you can. The blue grass waving in the breeze is the ground, the lighter blue is the sky. And look at their sun! Its white-blue light makes everything look heavenly.
You like it?
Her eyes drank in the azure hills of the endless plains. Cloud formations sparkled above with fanning rays of sunlight occasionally spearing through. It's beautiful. So peaceful and--well, spiritual. Can't you feel it? It's as if the land sings.
"Only," Kaylith added aloud. "The song sounds so sad."
Father was right, Tith mindsaid. You are too fanciful to be a Mindmaster.
"Thank Shallog for that," Kaylith said turning towards him with a smile. "Since I never wanted to be one. How about you?"
Tith had some nerve calling her fanciful when he wore his blue-black hair in the style of Elvan's ancients...long and tied in an intricate series of braids. His eyes and skin were dark brown, an unusual color for an Elvan, and heavily lashed, just like Rock's. His quiet manner reminded her of her twin brother too.
Kaylith had come to be quite fond of the Elvan.
He did follow convention by wearing a row of quakka stone piercings, symbols of the third tier, in his left ear. He'd trained in Trinar and had nearly reached Mindmaster status. But he had yet to pass the final test...whatever that was... and seemed in no hurry to try.
I will be a Mindmaster one day, Tith replied, returning her smile. Just not today. "Ah look," he said aloud. "Our masters beckon."
He was referring to the group of senior diplomats that stood near the second flitter. Kaylith could make out Zirtha standing with Alex Stryker, both of them newly promoted to senior status. Kaylith couldn't help but wonder if this was their reward for forcing her to join the D-Corps.
Alex Stryker's resemblance to Jack still gave Kaylith a shock every time she saw him, but she'd learned to conceal her reaction. Just as she'd learned not to ask Jack about the resemblance anymore.
Every time she did, he got one of those damned, inexplicable headaches.
Zirtha waved them over. "You don't suppose they want to tell us their plans for raping and pillaging this beautiful blue land, do you?" Kaylith hissed. "Shallog, how I hate this!"
Sister, Tith chided, even as he gripped her arm and physically urged her to move along. You know the IML plans no such thing. We seek a fair trade alliance with these people, nothing more. We're here to help, not hurt them.
"Tell that to the Tjorns," Kaylith said, forced to fall in step with him. "Maybe they'll believe it. I'm not so sure I do."
Cynic, Tith taunted as he continued to lead her towards Alex and Zirtha.
A moment later, the long blue grass near the flitter's landing area quivered imperceptibly as a Tjorn warrior turned to face her elder.
"Why can't we simply kill them?" the warrior asked. "You heard the woman. She rides with them and yet even she believes these traders have no honor."
"Yes," the elder replied. "I heard the woman. I will speak with her first."
"First? But Elder, if she knows they do evil, yet rides with them anyway, is she not more unworthy than the rest? I say we kill her first instead!"
"Roar Far, your mind is clouded by our tribe's pain," said the elder. "Do you not remember how the spirits told us an otherworld champion would come?"
He nodded towards the tall, pale woman who was now joining the others, her eyes constantly gazing off into the hills of the Khouree's plains. "She is the one. She can already hear our land's cries of pain."
Roar Far glared at Talks To Spirits. Shaman he may be, but she didn't think the spirits could help the tribe with these Otherworlders. Since Otherworlders had brought the tribe nothing but death so far, then surely these Otherworlders should die to avenge those deaths.
"The spirits can only do so much," Talks To Spirits said, as if reading her mind. He did that annoyingly often. "That is why they sent for her. Now I am sending you to bring her to me."
Roar Far grinned. She would bring the woman...or maybe just her head.
"You will bring her unharmed, Roar Far. And you will bring her quietly."
"Yes, Elder," Roar Far said meekly. But as she gazed at the Otherworlders building an odd temporary shelter out of a laughably thin fabric on Khouree land, she felt anything but meek.
* * *
"I am surprised no one from the local tribe has come to greet us today," Alex Stryker said at the start of the delegation's afternoon meal. They had finished constructing a conference center, and were taking a break before pitching the sleeping tents. "By all of our scouting accounts, Tjorns are quite territorial."
"They are out there--watching us for now," Zirtha said. "Aren't they, Kaylith?"
Kaylith had sensed the presence of the Tjorns nearly all day. It had started when she'd first talked with Alex and Zirtha by their flitter. By her estimation, there were hundreds of Tjorn minds encircling the camp from at least a mile away. Minds that felt for the most part very angry.
"Yes, they are watching us. And they are angry."
Zirtha looked startled. "I sense no anger. Do you, Tith?"
Tith shook his head. "No, but I trust Kaylith's senses more than I do yours or mine."
Zirtha quirked an eyebrow at him. "Indeed? And why is that? Were we not all trained in Mount Trinar? Were we not--"
Her powers far surpass ours and you know it, Tith mindsaid, using group mode to include Alex Stryker. To think otherwise would be folly.
Kaylith sighed. "I know they are angry, Zirtha. What I don't know is why. Why would the Tjorn's be angry with us?" She looked from Zirtha to Alex, but they both refused to meet her gaze.
"So it's like that then, is it?" Kaylith growled. "You lied to me. This isn't a first contact situation, is it? The Tjorns have a reason for their anger. You know what it is, but you won't tell us. How are Tith and I supposed to help you on this mission if we don't know what you have done?"
"What we have done?" Alex countered. "Kaylith, I can assure you the Terrans and Elvans have caused no harm to Tjornak."
"That leaves just another dozen or so major races in the IML--" Kaylith began.
It was the Corbans, all right? Zirtha mindsaid, also in group mode. Happy now?
"We don't know for sure if the Corbans--"
Oh, yes we do, Alex, Zirtha cut in. And as Tith said, there's no sense is trying to deceive the girl. She'll find out what happened here sooner or later anyway.
"Corbans," Kaylith said. "The greedy bastards, what do they want with the Tjorns?"
Before any of the others could answer, Kaylith's eyes widened in understanding. "Palacite. It has to be. I can feel crystal near."
"You can feel crystal?" Alex asked.
Oh, Shallog's feet! She shouldn't have told them that! "Yes," said Kaylith. "I grew up surrounded by palacite. I always know when it's near."
"It's said your Queen Meeral has a throne carved from a single crystal," Tith said.
Kaylith shuddered. "Tith, if you are truly my brother you will not mention that woman's name in my presence again."
"My apologies for bringing up unpleasant memories. Is it true though? Does--er--your mother have a crystal throne?"
Alex and Zirtha leaned forward as if interested in her answer too. She felt like screaming. Why should they care about Meeral's blasted throne? It was not as if Meeral would ever allow any of them to see it.
And Kaylith would die happy if she never saw it again.
Greed, she thought. Maybe Terrans and Elvans acted more civilized than Corbans, but they were just as greedy when it came to palacite. One common trait throughout the universe was the desire of most races to enhance their mental powers. How far would the IML go to force the Tjorns into giving up the rights to their crystal?
Kaylith was sure she didn't want to know. But she knew she had to find out and wasn't sure she'd get an honest answer from Zirtha and Alex Stryker. They'd already lied to her once. What would stop them from lying again?
"Kaylith?" Alex asked. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," Kaylith replied, rising to her feet. Her head suddenly felt as if she were swimming in a tub of aromatic Ernai muck. Dizzy. As if she were being slowly suffocated. "I need some fresh air."
"I'll join you," Tith offered. "We can pitch our sleeping tents together."
"No, finish your meal. I won't be gone long." She hurried away from the table before anyone else offered to join her. She needed to be alone. She needed to sort this out. What had the Corbans done?
As soon as she stepped from the tent, she could sense the presence of the Tjorns...of many Tjorns. She sensed their anger too, although oddly enough, most of it did not seem directed at her. Instead she felt as if they were--well, waiting for her.
Waiting for her to do--what?
This didn't make sense. How could the Tjorns have known she'd come to Tjornak in the first place?
She walked towards the tall blue grass, feeling the Tjorn presence growing stronger with every step. They had been there all day. If they'd been waiting for her, why would they not show themselves?
She continuing walking away from the camp for several minutes, pretending she didn't sense them.
When she decided they had watched her long enough, she said quietly in trader speak, "I am Kaylith. I know you are there. Please talk to me."
Her answer was a heavy blow across the shoulders that sent her to the ground. Kaylith flipped in the air as she fell and was ready to face her assailant before she hit, landing on her backside instead of her belly.
A Tjorn woman stood over her, holding a dark staff in her hands. Kaylith could not see the woman's facial features as her body was shrouded in shadow, but she could make out muscular blue skin and a long curtain of blue hair braids.
She shifted the staff in her hands to position it in front of Kaylith's face. "You were quick, but I could kill you now," the woman spat in broken trader speak.
Kaylith stared at the staff's many splinters just inches before her eyes. No, she mindsaid. You would have killed me already if you could. Somebody told you not to.
"Aiiee," the woman hissed, jerking the staff closer to Kaylith's eyes. "Otherworld demon! Get out of my mind!"
I'm not in your mind. If I were--you wouldn't be shoving that stupid staff in my face. I'm simply using mind speak so you can understand.
When the woman didn't move, Kaylith added. Or at least, I hope you understand. Would you please get your staff out of my face?
"No. Elder wants to talk to you. You will come or die."
Relief swept through Kaylith's body. She held out her hand. That's just what I wanted to do. Help me up and we'll talk to him.
"No. No touch Otherworld demon." She shifted the staff to prod Kaylith's legs. "You stand. We go. You scream. You die."
I get it, Kaylith mindsaid, slowly climbing to her feet. You don't want me to warn the others. Fine. I swear I won't call out. I'd rather talk to your elder without them anyway. I want to hear the Tjorns' side of the story.
She stood eye to eye with the woman now, which was unusual. Not many females could match Kaylith's height. The woman's eyes were almond shaped, dark, and sparking with loathing.
Whoever this woman was, she had no love for 'Otherworld demons'.
She wore paint in a darker shade of blue in diagonal stripes across her face. Her soft leather garments were also randomly striped with blue... perfect camouflage gear for the tall plains grass.
She nudged Kaylith with her staff and pointed towards a set of hills northeast of the trade delegation's camp. Kaylith obediently began walking in the indicated direction.
Curious to her captor's frame of mind, Kaylith sent a gentle probe her way. Nothing, except the sense of the woman's dislike. She tried a little harder and could sense nothing more. The Tjorn woman had an amazingly strong psychic shield.
Good. At least now she knew mind masters couldn't coerce them. That is, Kaylith thought with a glance back at her captor, assuming this woman's mind powers were average for Tjorns.
"What you looking at?" the woman growled. "Keep walking."
I AM walking. I was wondering if all Tjorn women were as formidable as you.
The woman chuckled. "You fear me, Demon? Good. Very good."
I fear nothing. Not exactly true but the Tjorn wouldn't know that.
"Only a stupid warrior fears nothing."
I am not a warrior. I am a diplomat. Or at least that's what I'm supposed to be. It's kind of hard to feel diplomatic after being whacked in the back.
The woman walked for a few minutes in silence, and then said, "Maybe you are not a warrior--yet. But you will be."
I doubt it. I don't like fighting.
Again the woman said nothing for several minutes. Kaylith used the time to examine the sky and surreptitiously figure out the way back to camp.
The woman had them marching in a straight line northeast towards a large grouping of hills. When they reached the base of the first one, the woman steered them around it.
It was the first time she'd changed their direction. Again Kaylith tried to probe the Tjorn's mind. All she could tell was that the woman's dislike had been replaced by curiosity.
"You say you don't like fighting, and yet you attack me," the woman complained. When Kaylith looked at her, the woman tapped her temple. "Up here."
I mean no harm. I am simply curious.
"Or you seek a weakness. Do not waste your time. I have no weakness. I am strong. I am Khouree."
Ah, but she did! If she sensed Kaylith probing her, then that meant she was consciously defending herself. Her mental shields were not as strong as Kaylith had believed. If Kaylith tried hard enough, she'd be able to break through. Also, the warrior had not tried to return Kaylith probe.
Was it because she couldn't or because she chose not to?
"What is Kaylith?" The woman asked. "Is that your tribe?"
Startled, Kaylith said aloud, "I am a representative of the Terran delegation. Kaylith is my name."
Now the woman looked startled. "You give your name to an enemy? Why?"
"Well, I've always considered introductions a polite way to meet people."
The woman shook her head. "Speaking your name gives away power. Foolish."
"Is that why you haven't told me yours?"
The woman gave Kaylith a knowing look. "I am not foolish."
She indicated they should move to their left, completing their circuit around the hill. They now stood in a small grassy valley surrounded by hills. She immediately began moving them towards a hill to the northwest.
"You do not smell like the rest of your tribe," her captor commented. "I do not think you are of these Terrans."
"You have a most discerning nose," Kaylith said, refusing to say more. Two could play the Tjorn's close-mouthed game.
"You do not trust them," the woman said baldly, as if she knew the statement was fact.
"I trust nobody," Kaylith countered. Well, nobody except Rock, Deke, and her dream lover, and now maybe Tith, but she didn't feel the need to tell the Tjorn all that. "That is why I want to hear what the Tjorns' have to say."
"What would you have us say?" the Tjorn asked sarcastically. Kaylith noticed the woman's trader speak was improving rapidly. "Oh, thank you, Otherworlders, for killing thousands! Welcome to our world?" Her dark glare was as hot as the blue-white sun.
Killing thousands! "Otherworlders killed Tjorns?" When the woman nodded, Kaylith demanded, "Who? The Corbans?"
"Are they the snake-people who shot the sick little ones down from the sky?"
Sick little ones? Now Kaylith was completely confused.
"Several tribes learned your trader language from the sick little ones. When we try to help them, they refuse, and then many Tjorns become sick. Then the snake people come back and say they are sorry for shooting the little ones down from the sky. The snake people say they can give us medicine, but they want many, many, spirit stones in return. Tjorns must keep the stones. They belong to the spirits. They are not ours to give."
Wait a minute! Wait a minute!
"What?"
Can we sit? I need to think about this.
The Tjorn looked disgusted. "You are tired? We have only walked a little way."
Actually, they had walked at least a dozen kilometers, but Kaylith wasn't about to argue that. Not now. Not when the Tjorn had given her the clues to sort this mess out. No, I'm not tired--I need to think, dammit!
"Think on your feet then, Otherworld Demon. We are almost there."
Kaylith nodded and kept walking. Sick little ones... that had to be the Ernai. The diminutive Ernai believed fate ruled their lives and because of this, did not believe in medicine. If an Ernai became sick, then whether they lived or died was the will of fate. If they died, they believed it was because they did not have enough faith in themselves.
Sometimes though, when a particularly virulent disease appeared, the Ernai would try to help fate along by sending their infected people off in plague ships. How this differed in the Ernai's minds from simply curing the disease was beyond Kaylith. She only knew that this was so.
Ernai plague ships were known to look for unpopulated worlds to colonize. The IML's policy was to simply avoid contact with them. The worlds infected Ernai colonized fell under quarantine and IML ships were barred from trading with them.
But this Tjorn said the snake people, which had to be the Corbans, had shot down the Ernai ship. So, however indirectly, the Corbans had caused the infection to be passed along to the Tjorns, and then offered them the cure.
In exchange for their palacite.
Which meant they'd had known all along how to cure this particular Ernai virus. Kaylith had to wonder if that was because the Corbans had created it and then infected the Ernai in the first place.
She wouldn't put it past them.
Then they would have had to herd the Ernai ship here to shoot it down. Or perhaps misled the Ernai into thinking this world was uninhabited and then shoot them down? Either way, such subterfuge would have taken the Corbans years to plan and initiate.
All because they wanted to get their hands on the Tjorn's palacite crystal? How did they know the Tjorns had crystal in the first place? It didn't make any sense.
Unless...
"Did the Corbans--I mean snake people--did they visit Tjornak before the little ones came?" asked Kaylith.
The woman shrugged. "It is said they met with the Tynak tribe once--long ago. The Tynaks made them go away. I do not know if this is true. Tynaks live far from the Khouree--across the great ocean. Our spirits rarely speak with theirs."
"Why is that?"
Another shrug. "Because they don't. I am not a shaman. I have no knowing of the ways of spirits."
Kaylith nodded and picked up her pace, though her heart felt heavy. The Tjorn gave her an odd look, but immediately fell in step with her. Kaylith, lost in thought, barely noticed.
The Corbans had purposely brought this plague to Tjornak, she felt certain of it. Surely, the IML had laws governing such despicable behavior. Yet, they'd sent the Elvans and Terrans here to negotiate instead of punishing the Corbans.
Which meant the IML was either turning a blind eye to the Corbans' treachery in exchange for palacite profits or they didn't know.
Kaylith found it hard to believe they didn't know. Alex and Zirtha had lied to her. They'd said this was a first contact situation when obviously they'd known the Corbans and Ernai had been here first. They'd lied and she'd believed them. Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid!
She was jogging now, as if trying to outrun the shame she felt. No wonder the Tjorn called her an Otherworld Demon. To the Tjorns, death was all people from other worlds had brought them.
She jogged right around the northwest hill without the Tjorn's objection. She wasn't sure where she was going. And right now she didn't care.
She turned north and again, the Tjorn said nothing. Kaylith had almost forgotten she was there. She ran full out now, her lungs and legs pumping as if trying to purge the disgrace from her soul.
Kaylith ran for nearly fifteen minutes, then stopped. Three hills stood before them. She immediately began walking towards the hill on her left.
"How did you know?" The Tjorn asked. Kaylith noticed the woman had barely broken a sweat, while she was panting.
Now it was Kaylith's turn to shrug. She didn't know why, but somehow while she was running she'd felt as if she were being pulled here. As they approached the hill, Kaylith became aware of a slight depression in its south facing side. When she moved towards it, the Tjorn called out, "Wait!"
"What?" Kaylith asked, turning around to face her.
"You will tell me right now how you knew of this place."
"We are where you wanted us to go, yes?"
"Yes, but how--"
"Then I thank you for the safe journey. I would like to talk with your elder now."
The Tjorn's face was impassive, yet Kaylith could sense the woman's bemusement. She was probably worried about the tribe's security, but Kaylith couldn't explain how she'd found her tribe's camp. She'd just known it was here.
Even though to all appearances, it looked as if they'd found nothing at all.
Then her captor smiled an odd, lopsided, smile that tilted her lips up on the left side. She lifted her staff in the air. Tjorns suddenly began to appear as if by magic from out of the grass, behind the rocks...from everywhere.
In a few seconds, Tjorns surrounded her. From behind, she heard a dry, hoarse voice say, "Star sister, we are so glad to meet you. Welcome to the Khouree Tribe."
Unity University, Terra
Terran year, 3741
Elvan, 17, 498
Unity, 144
For the third morning in a row, Jack woke from a dreamless sleep. Instead of waking in the comfortable bed of a private campus apartment, he now woke on a tiny pallet in one the University's dorm rooms...a room he shared with three other students.
After completing his first four years of college, his parents had again pressured him to switch to D-Corps classes instead of continuing on for his doctorate degree. During the resulting argument, Jack had confessed that his fascination with xenoarchaelogy had to do with finding Kaylith... alive in this time.
His parents had not taken the confession well. After a failed attempt to commit him to a mental wellness center, they'd cut him off without a credit.
So now he lived in the dorm while he pursued his doctorate degree.
His feet tended to hang over the side of the mattress and the room tended to smell of dirty socks, but Jack didn't mind. At least now he was free of his family's interference. He yawned, deactivated his privacy screens, then stretched...his muscles protesting. He'd worked three odd jobs yesterday. And hoped to find three more today, which he would have to somehow squeeze into his class schedule.
After a quick trip to the dorm's common bathroom, he grabbed a coffee from the dorm's temperamental beverage dispenser, sent out a prayer of gratitude that the coffee was really coffee and actually hot, then meandered back to his room to boot up his holoreader.
Quickly, he scanned the University's employment board. He'd been supplementing his tuition scholarship and supporting himself via snapping up every odd job available on the campus. If he didn't have the required skills, he bluffed his way through. If bluffs didn't work, then he brazened his way through.
And he had a nice, satisfactory nest egg to show for it. Plus the satisfaction of not needing a single credit from his family.
One day, he hoped he could save enough to fund a mission to find Kaylith. He knew she was out there... somewhere. He just had to find her.
Only today, his faith was a bit shaken. For three nights in a row, he'd been unable to contact Kaylith in his dreams. He'd gone through all the usual mental rituals with no results. He hadn't even been able to reach the place of white winds. What was wrong?
Perhaps he was working too hard. Or perhaps, and this possibility was one he didn't want to consider, perhaps Kaylith was avoiding him.
But why? The last time they'd met had been the night before she landed on Tjornak. She'd been excited certainly, but she'd given no indication she was displeased with him. Jack smiled as he recalled their last erotic encounter. Indeed, her reactions had been quite the opposite.
No, something was wrong. He didn't know what it could be, but was determined to find out. He went through his text files for Kaylith's Tjornak mission...again. Other than mentioning she'd left camp on her own to negotiate with the Tjorns, there was no mention of what had occurred while she was with them.
"You appear disconcerted. Is something wrong?"
Jack looked up to find his Elvan roommate, Dal, watching him. The Elvan had a way of sneaking up on a guy that annoyed most people. He also had a pompous sort of personality. Jack, accustomed to Grandma Zirtha's quiet, prideful ways didn't mind... much. He liked Dal. He doubted anyone else in his dorm did though.
"Everything's fine, Dal," Jack said. "I was just scanning the job board again."
"Perhaps you should take a day off from your labors. You look as though you could use one."
Maybe Dal was right. He had been working terribly hard. Though it hadn't been affecting his grades, it seemed as if he had to study twice as hard to pass his classes. Perhaps it was exhaustion that kept him from dreaming and being with Kaylith.
"Perhaps I shall. What have you got going on?"
Dal grimaced, and started brushing his short dark hair. "I have an appointment to meet with that Corban lab partner to work on our a xenobiology project. She is most--unsettling. But it is due tomorrow, so I have no choice."
Jack laughed. "Ah, Orna isn't so bad for a Corban. I like her."
"You like everybody."
"Orna more than most. Give her a chance, Dal. She's amazingly smart. Maybe smarter than both of us put together."
Dal opened his footlocker and set his brush inside. He shut the lid, locked it, and then sat down. "What is the old Terran saying--'a smart aleck' is more like it. Seriously, Jack, you don't look well. You've lost weight, your face is pale, and there are dark circles under your eyes. A trip to the infirmary might be beneficial."
The infirmary? Yeah, Jack could picture that one. 'Doc, my dream lover has stood me up for the last three nights. Got a cure for a broken heart?' He had a feeling the doctor would also want to ship him off to the nearest mental wellness center.
But, Dal did have a point. Jack not only looked lousy, he felt lousy. Searching for Kaylith night after night didn't exactly make for restful sleep. Working and studying his ass off all the time didn't make restful days. Perhaps a break was just what the doctor...or Elvan in this case... ordered.
"Did you hear me, Jack? I think you need to go to the infirmary."
"I'm considering your advice. Maybe you're right. Maybe I could use a day off."
"There is no 'maybe' about it. I am right," Dal said, with his typical arrogance. Then he sighed. "In the meantime, I am off to work with that Corban. I will be so glad when this semester is over. I vow I will never work with a Corban again."
Jack chuckled. "Never say never, Dal." The Elvan grimaced and left the room without saying good-bye. Typical Dal behavior.
His smile faded as he considered the employment board again, then turned the holoreader off. He would take a break from working today. But first... first he needed to attend his classes.
He showed up for all of them, but clearly his mind was elsewhere. When his xenohistory professor, Z'arnathall, asked him to explain the key events leading up to the Mechs expulsion from the Unified Council in Unity year 96, he'd incorrectly answered the Fifth Quadrant massacre... an event that occurred two years later.
Professor Z'arnathall had ridiculed his wrong answer for at least five minutes. Jack spent the time damning the professor back to Agda's overrated universal library.
He allowed himself the luxury of supper at a real restaurant rather than at the student's mess. When he arrived back at his dorm at sunset, he was ready for a night filled with dreams.
Instead he got three message chips from the dorm's skinbot monitor. Two from his parents and one from his sister, Tory.
Jack hated skinbots. He didn't know anybody who didn't, except maybe their creators. They approached all their tasks with the single mindedness of an Amusian in search of a night of hedonistic fun.
What he wouldn't give for a little of that!
"Jack Stryker will return these messages," the skinbot said. "If not, it would appear as if I am negligent in monitoring this dorm. That is unacceptable. Jack Stryker will return these messages now."
Knowing this would go on until he returned his family's calls, Jack headed for the nearest com line. The skinbot trailed in his wake, still demanding the calls be returned at once.
Seeking to save time, Jack inserted all the message chips simultaneously and punched the return call commands. The skinbot complained about that, but Jack ignored him. In a few seconds, the com monitor displayed his father, his mother, and his sister via split screens.
"What do you want?" Jack asked without preamble.
"Must you always be so rude?" Shauna complained.
"Are you all right?" asked Tory. "You look terrible."
"It doesn't matter how he feels," Shauna said. "His presence is required at home."
"Your concern is as touching as always, Mother," Jack replied. "And as I recall, you told me never to darken the family's door again."
"Your father wants you here," Shauna said. "That's all you need to know. This issue is too sensitive to discuss over a dormitory com line. Anyone could be listening"
Jack eyed his father, who had yet to say a thing. The man looked vaguely uncomfortable, but certainly in the peak of health. As did his mother and sister. Whatever the problem was, it didn't appear to be family illness.
"Well, Mother, one of the perks of being cut off from the family's purse strings is I don't have to come running when you call. I'm rather busy right now and--"
"You will come home and you will come home now," Shauna snapped.
"Why? What's the problem?"
Nobody spoke. "Well? Anybody? I know you and Dad are used to instant obedience, but unless I know why, I'm going to sign off and go about my business."
"Jack, please," Tory said. "It's important."
"He doesn't care about us, Tory. He never did. Can't you see that?" Shauna said.
Jack shrugged. "I've often thought it was the other way around, but whatever. Since you won't tell me what this about, I'll just be signing--"
"How dare you work at menial jobs!" Shauna exclaimed.
"Ah," Jack said. "The light of illumination finally dawns."
"You did this to embarrass the family, didn't you?"
"No, I did it because I have to eat. Is that all?"
"No, that is not all. People, important people, have been calling to ask if the Strykers are in need of financial aid. Can you imagine the shame? It's the talk of everyone in high society."
"Not that I really care, but how did you find out?"
"Did you or did you not clean the university's reflecting pool?"
"Yes--and I was paid well for it. The tiles are too delicate for a machine cleaning. What's it to you?"
Shauna's cool Nordic face turned an interesting shade of crimson as she sputtered indignantly.
"Jack," Tory said, "surely you can understand why our parents find such occupations distressing. Dozens of people in our social circle saw you."
"Since I am no longer part of your social circle, I don't give a rodent's bunghole who saw me. Just tell your society friends--"
For the first time, his father spoke, "Son, surely there is a way we can reach an agreement. Your mother is terribly upset. If you would only give up this outlandish dream of yours and switch courses to xenopolitics--"
"We both know that's not going to happen, Dad."
"You would do this? You would bring shame on our family?" Shauna shrieked.
"If our family is ashamed of having a member that's willing to actually work for a living, then perhaps a little shame is due," Jack growled. "This discussion is pointless. I love you all, but I've got to go. Bye."
He quickly cut the connection, in the process cutting off yet another of his mother's indignant shrieks. Glancing up at the skinbot, who'd been peering over his shoulder the entire time, he said, "There, I returned the calls. Happy now?"
"Acceptable." The skinbot began toddling along his way.
"If you spent more time fixing the beverage dispensers than fixating on com messages maybe I could get a decent cup of coffee every morning."
"Beverage dispensers are functioning optimally," the skinbot declared just before he scooted off to his closet.
"Yeah, sure they are," Jack muttered, as he climbed the stairs to his dorm room. Dal wasn't there, but his other two roommates, an Amusian entertainment major named Svellis, and a Ronlian technician trainee called Hroc, were.
Svellis was immersed in a hologame, which appeared to have something to do with naked Amusian females. He giggled softly as Jack walked by. Hroc was sitting in his underwear reading a technical journal on his holoreader, giving Jack more of a view of his hairy pelt than he preferred.
Hroc greeted Jack with a wave and a grunt. Svellis took no notice of him at all. Which suited Jack just fine. All he wanted to do was go to sleep and find Kaylith.
Thank the moons for privacy screens, Jack thought as he activated his. Three thin walls immediately rose from the floor to surround his bed. The walls did a fair job of keeping out light... not so good at dampening sounds. He could still hear Svellis giggling.
It didn't matter, Jack thought as he removed his clothes, letting them fall where they may. Once he went through his usual sleep rituals, he wouldn't hear anything.
He left his boxers on, then slid into bed, closed his eyes, and concentrated on Kaylith.
Her face...her eyes...lips...smell. The way she laughed at his stupid jokes. The way she purred when he nibbled that special spot on the back of her neck. She was the One... his true soul mate. He had to find her this time. He had to.
It seemed to take longer than usual, but at last he found the white void.
Yet he didn't sense Kaylith anywhere.
He began walking, hoping to pick up some sense of her. The winds barely stirred. All he felt was a soft breeze on the back of his neck. He called her name time and again... and felt nothing. No recognition... no sense of her soul.
Kaylith was not there.
He put everything he had into it. He called to her with his mind as loud and as long as he could. Nothing... no wait, something? Yes, definitely something.
Whatever it was it wasn't Kaylith. He knew that immediately. Despondent, but curious, he moved towards the stranger's presence.
"Who are you?"
A whisper... he couldn't make it out. The presence didn't feel Terran or Elvan or like any presence he'd ever known. He tried again, this time with his mind.
Who are you?
Faintly, his mind heard, Guide.
You're a guide? Jack's despondency began to lift. Maybe this guide could take him to Kaylith!
Yes, I am a guide. I can take you to her. She needs you. Her mind cries for you. The mindvoice grew stronger with each word, even as the winds lifted Jack up and carried him along.
This journey will be difficult. Are you prepared to accept the danger?
I would walk through the fires of hell to help Kaylith, Jack responded. The presence's mind seemed to envelop his. He could now feel this 'guide' all around him and yet saw nothing except the white void.
He sensed the guide was laughing now. You do not wish to know what the danger is? it asked. You do not wish to know what I am?
If you can take me to Kaylith, then that's all I need to know.
The powers above chose well. We go then.
The white void vanished instantly, only to be replaced by the blackness of deep space. Jack felt no cold and none of the effects of vacuum. Instead he felt pain. Not just any pain, but a roaring pain that seemed to seep into every neuron, every cell in his body.
He screamed soundlessly...all the while aware of the guide's presence around him, fitting itself to his mind like prezskin.
Hmm--interesting, the guide thought. I hope you can withstand this.
Withstand being taken apart atom by atom? Jack thought through his agony. Piece of cake. He poured all his concentration into willing the pain away. It helped. A little.
What is cake? the guide asked, even as Jack felt them begin hurtling through the stars. A brilliantly colored gateway appeared and the guide steered them towards it. Ah, I see this cake is a confection of some kind. I think I used to like sweets.
Used to? Jack guessed the guide was trying to distract him from the searing agony of his body. He gratefully seized onto the spirit's inane conversation.
Spirits don't need to eat. The guide's mind sighed. Sometimes I wish we could.
You are a spirit? Of who?
Of the land, of course.
Land? What land?
The gateway now hovered only a few kilometers away. Inside, Jack could see a rainbow colored river of energy. A wormhole maybe? It didn't look like any wormhole he'd seen in astronomy vids.
Tjornak, the spirit's mind said. I am taking you there--now!
With that it plunged them through the gateway. Instantly, the agony in Jack's cells increased ten-fold. Though he knew he was not in his physical body, it felt as if it were melting... slowly dissolving into nothingness.
Was this what it felt like to die?
Oh, no, the spirit assured him. Death hardly hurts at all compared to this.
How comforting, Jack replied, as he desperately fought to keep his body together.
No, no! Don't fight the stream, the guide advised. Flow with it. Focus your will on your existence. You must continue to be.
Flow with it. Right. Just let my body completely disappear?
The spirit chuckled. You think you are not in your body anyway, remember? Let it go. It will return when you need it. Think about Kaylith. Think about how much she needs you right now.
Jack tried to wrap his mind around the spirit's words. They didn't make sense. If he wasn't in his body, why then did the spirit say it would return?
Think of Kaylith, the spirit ordered, sternly this time. Now!
Her face...her eyes...lips...smell. The way she laughed. The way she purred. She was the One, the only One... his true soul mate.
My soul mate, he chanted in his mind. My soul mate.
Yes! That's it! We are almost there now. You must bring us out of the river.
Me? But how--
Think of Kaylith. Think of how your heart beats only for hers.
Kaylith. Soul mate. Kaylith, Kaylith, Kay--
Suddenly, they were out of the rainbow river of energy and back in the cold confines of space. A bright blue world sparkled like a sapphire below them.
Ha! the spirit thought triumphantly. I knew you could do it!
Tjornak, Southern Continent
Northwestern Plains, Khouree Territory
Terran year, 3616
Elvan, 17, 373
Unity, B.U. 8
This is Tjornak! Jack thought.
Yes, said the spirit. Tjornak when.
Jack thought he felt his eyes blink, although he couldn't be sure. Did he still have eyes? Tjornak when--what?
Tjornak when Kaylith needed you. Feel her presence. Hear her cries.
Jack reached out for Kaylith with his mind. Instantly there was contact.
Jack, Kaylith mindsaid. Is that you? Her mind felt weak. And sad. Utterly sad.
Yes, Jack replied. I am--before he could finish the thought, his being winked out of space. Only to appear standing next to Kaylith, who was lying naked and staked out on a blue-grassed plain. Her skin had been painted various shades of blue. "Here," he said, finishing the sentence. "What the hell?"
"Jack!" Kaylith exclaimed. "I'm not dreaming!"
He immediately knelt and began untying her wrists. "Kaylith, what the devil is going on? Who did this to you?"
"I'm not dreaming," Kaylith repeated, sounding somewhat dazed. "I can't be dreaming. How can you be here? Do they see you?"
"They who?" He'd finished untying her right wrist and now worked on her left.
"Them," Kaylith said, weakly gesturing with her free hand. "The Khouree."
He looked in the direction she indicated and saw they were surrounded by a ring of dark-eyed Tjorns. A small fire, which produced clouds of noxious smelling green smoke, burned nearby.
"They did this to you?" When Kaylith nodded, Jack shouted, "YOU BASTARDS!"
None of the Tjorns so much as twitched, although Jack could hear them chanting softly now.
"Well, I guess that answers my question. They can't see or hear you." Kaylith sighed. "What a relief. Maybe I'll pass their ritual after all."
"Ritual? You mean to tell me you let them do this to you?"
"Well yes, Jack, it was necessary. It's the only way I can join their tribe." Before he could tell her what he thought about that, she asked, "Would you mind untying my feet?"
Trying to get a grip on his sanity, Jack moved to untie her feet. They had staked her out spread-eagled. She'd been vulnerable, totally exposed to the elements. "How long have you--"
"Three days," Kaylith said, sitting up and rubbing her chafed wrists. "Four, if you count today."
"But why?" He'd untied her right foot easily, but the knots on the left one were giving him trouble. "Why would they do this?"
"It's the last of the four rituals."
"Four rituals?" The stupid knots wouldn't budge.
"The first two were easy. Only--" she glanced at the chanting Tjorns, who'd yet to notice them. "--don't tell them that. First, I had to best one of their warriors in a fight--she's the tall one sitting next to the old man, he's their shaman. Hell of a fighter. The woman, I mean. Not the shaman."
Jack glanced at the warrior woman. Her bulging muscles looked like steel. "I'm sure she is," he said, returning his attention to the recalcitrant knots.
"She would have beaten me, except I used some Fleet school moves she'd never seen before. Anyway, then I had to purge my body of toxins by eating this quick-acting laxative stuff. That was disgusting, but easy. Now the third ritual was tough--I had to jump into an ice-cold spring filled with carnivorous fish. Do you need help?"
"I'm getting it," Jack grunted, as the last knot began to wiggle free. "Go on. What happened after that?"
"Oh--where was I?"
"Ice-cold spring filled with carnivorous fish," Jack prompted laconically. The ends of the rope finally pushed through the last loop. Kaylith was free.
"Can we move away from the smoke first? I fear after breathing it for so long--"
Without a word, Jack picked her up and carried away from the fire and the zombie-like Tjorns. She felt heavier than in their previous dreams somehow. And colder. Too cold. He needed to get her warm fast.
Unconcerned with whether he woke the Tjorns or not, he lifted a blanket from off the shaman's lap. The shaman didn't even blink. He just kept on chanting.
"What did you mean when you said you weren't dreaming?" Jack asked, setting her feet down on a grassy spot outside the ring of Tjorns. She swayed on her feet as he wrapped the blanket around her. Once he had her covered, he pulled her into his arms and began rubbing her...everywhere.
"Well, I can't be dreaming, can I? The smoke contains a stimulant. The fumes really burn your lungs, but they definitely keep you awake." She frowned at him fuzzily. "If I'm not dreaming, then how did you get here?"
"I had to use a guide," Jack said. "I was getting frantic because I couldn't reach you in dreams for days and--"
"A guide? Really? What sort of guide?"
"It said it was a Tjorn spirit. Why don't you sit--"
She threw her arms around him, causing the blanket to fall to the ground and her cold, nude, blue-painted body to be pressed against his.
This also caused his blood pressure, among other things, to rise.
"Oh, Jack! Don't you see? The spirit heard me and went to get you! I've passed the ritual!"
"Uh, no. I don't--"
She kissed him soundly on the mouth. Her lips were cool, yet wonderfully vibrant. "At least I think I passed the ritual. Maybe not. A spirit didn't untie me, you did. Does that count, I wonder?"
It counts, said the spirit. I could have untied you myself, but your mind was screaming for your Jack, so I brought him to you.
Kaylith's eyes widened. "Why is the spirit's voice coming from your mind?"
The spirit ignored her. Since Jack does not exist in this time, he too can be considered a spirit.
"What do you mean he doesn't exist in this time?"
Jack knew better than to try to answer that one. He wondered if the spirit could. Instead, he picked up the blanket and wrapped it around Kaylith again.
I cannot take the time to explain.
Ha, Jack thought. You mean you CAN'T explain.
All you need to know is we asked the higher powers to allow this time deviation and they agreed. But they will never allow another deviation again. Your destinies must evolve as the powers intend.
"Are you saying I'm really here?" Jack asked. "Who are these higher powers?"
This time the spirit ignored him. Know this--there are other realms of existence. Places beyond mortal imagination. You, Jack Stryker, and you, Kaylith of Sentarl, have been chosen for great destinies. Your lives will decide the fate for trillions of mortal souls for the millennia to come.
"What?" Kaylith exclaimed.
"Why?" Jack asked. "Why us?"
He couldn't explain how, but it felt as if the spirit smiled. Some souls feel such love for each other, they will do anything, even cross the barriers of time and space to be together. They are two halves of a whole.
"Soul mates," Kaylith whispered with a shiver. Jack felt a shiver himself as he pulled her close.
Yes, soul mates. In other realms, other times, and places, you and Jack have always found a way to be together. And will probably continue to do so in other lives, other realms.
"How can we truly be together in these lives if we can only meet in dreams?" asked Jack.
You already know the answer to that, Jack Stryker. All you need do is believe in yourselves, your destinies--and your love.
"But--" Kaylith began.
The time deviation interval grows short. Kaylith, it is important you remember this. When the Khouree ask for your Tjorn spirit name, tell them it is Tarna.
"Tarna," Kaylith repeated. "I'll remember. What does it mean?"
Again Jack felt the spirit smile. It means Legend.
Jack's mouth fell open. Kaylith didn't seem to notice. "Can't say I like the sound of that. What about Jack? Does his name have meaning?"
The spirit's mental smile grew wider. The Powers' Gracious Gift.
Kaylith smiled up at Jack. "It fits."
Kiss him, Kaylith. He really likes it when you do. Then you must say goodbye.
"No, wait! I haven't told him about what the Corbans did yet. Jack, they shot down an Ernai plague ship--"
"What do you mean," Jack interrupted, "'shot down an Ernai plague ship'?" He couldn't believe his ears. Unified history claimed the Ernai crashed on Tjornak because of stardrive failure. If the Corbans were responsible... then that changed everything.
"Just listen, okay? The Corbans caused the plague to come to Tjornak and now they're using the cure as a bargaining chip for the Tjorns' palacite. The IML knows all about it, I'm sure of it. I have to help the Tjorns!"
Better kiss Jack fast, the spirit mindsaid. The powers are bringing this interval to a close.
Jack took the hint and quickly claimed Kaylith's mouth with his. She responded eagerly, her desire swiftly spiraling to match his.
This kiss feels different, Kaylith mindsaid. It feels--real.
That's because it is real, Sweetness. At least, I think it is.
I don't want it to stop, she thought. I don't want it to--
"End," she whispered, as Jack disappeared in her arms. Without Jack to hold her up, her legs gave out and she sank to her knees.
"Damn you spirit!" she shouted, shaking a fist at the sky. "We weren't finished! Bring him back! You didn't even tell me your name!"
No? the spirit replied, even as he carried an indignant and protesting Jack back towards the gateway. Call me Wikvaya. It means One Who Brings.
With a sigh, Kaylith lowered her fist. "It fits," she said.
Science Vessel Needle
Sentari Space
Terran year, 3749
Elvan, 17, 506
Unity, 151
Dal froze as Orna's scream shrieked through the com line.
This was turning out even worse than he'd thought.
He'd become more and more concerned as he'd monitored Orna and Kaylith's progress aboard the Talon. The last two minutes had held him spellbound as he'd watched Kaylith contact the Tjorn spirit...watched Orna desperately plead with Kaylith to leave... then what?
Even after seeing it with his own eyes, Dal wasn't sure what had happened.
It had looked as if Kaylith were offering herself to the spirit. Then Orna screamed. Now debris from the trash tornado was raining down on both of them.
An instrument console bounced off Kaylith's head. Her vid monitor went blank. From Orna's screen, Dal saw Kaylith floating unconscious with her magnetic soles still activated. She bent this way and that, like an aquatic plant rooted in the sand and waving gently in the water's current.
Orna continued to scream, her tentacles flailing wildly before the monitor's lens.
"Kaylith! Orna!" he shouted into the com line. "Can you hear me?"
"Get out of my mind!" Orna shrieked. It looked as if she embraced Kaylith, protecting the Legend's unconscious body with her own as she cried, "No, no, don't! You're killing me! You're killing both of uss."
"Orna, listen to me," Dal yelled. "You've got to get out of there! Now!"
"It's too late," Orna moaned. "It's too--"
The vid and com lines went dead. Dal spent several precious minutes desperately trying to bring them back up without success. His desperation grew with each passing second. He smacked his fist against the console as he gave up.
What should he do? He had to help them!
He bolted from the cockpit and headed for the storage bay. He'd had to get to them. He had to--
Dal skidded to a stop before the storage bay's doors. Wait, he couldn't go. Not without a back up. That was the cardinal rule of space exploration. You never left your ship without a back up.
"Jack," Dal whispered. "I have to wake up Jack."
Whirling around, he headed for Jack's cabin. He sent up a prayer of thanksgiving when he found the door unlocked.
"Wake up!" Dal cried, as he hurtled through the doorway. Jack lay unmoving on his bunk. Dal hurried to his bedside, gripped Jack by the shoulder and shook him...hard. "Jack! Jack! Wake up!"
Jack didn't open his eyes. Dal continued to shout and shake him. "Jack, wake up! The Legend and Orna are in trouble!"
Nothing. Jack's eyelids didn't so much as twitch.
Glaring at his crewmate's inert form, Dal clutched the palacite crystal around his neck and mindshouted, JACK! WAKE UP!
Jack moaned and tried to turn over. Good, Dal thought, perhaps he could make contact with Jack's mind and wake him that way. Touching him might help.
Dal knew his weak telepathic powers needed all the help they could get.
Still clutching his crystal in one hand, Dal reached out with the other and placed it on Jack's head.
ORNA AND KAYLITH ARE IN DANGER! WAKE UP! WAKE--
A searing bolt of energy struck Dal's brain. He screamed. His head felt as if it was splitting in two, but Dal refused to release contact. Intense images and emotions flashed into his consciousness, crippling his own thoughts.
Dal fought to maintain contact. JACK! JACK? WHY CAN'T YOU HEAR ME?
He felt Kaylith kissing him--or rather Jack. Then he saw her naked and staked out on a blue plain... saw her dressed in black, a wide-brimmed hat pulled over her eyes, sitting with her black boots propped on a dusty table. Earrings that looked like black tears brushed the tips of her shoulders.
Pain, unbelievable pain. As if every molecule in his body were being taken apart and then put back together.
How could anyone survive such thoughts? WHY would anyone have such thoughts?
Images of children now, two girls, one dark, one light. They were very pretty children in sparkling yellow dresses. A chair--throne maybe--made of pure palacite? Fire! The throne was surrounded by it. More hideous pain. Hundreds, thousands, maybe millions, of minds whispering, speaking, shouting at him.
How could so many other minds be in Jack's brain? How could he stand listening to them? Dal felt his own mind slipping away, perhaps into madness.
Beyond despair now, Dal mindshouted out one last time, putting everything he had into it, JACK! HEAR ME! ORNA AND KAYLITH ARE IN DANGER!
Dal, Jack's mind answered faintly. Is that you?
YES! THANK TRINAR'S MOONS, YES! YOU MUST WAKE UP! ORNA AND KAYLITH ARE--
He stopped, because now a perfect image of Orna and Kaylith being bombarded with debris flashed into his mind--from Jack's thoughts! How could Jack know--
There is little time, Jack said, his mind voice stronger. Dal, you must break contact.
No! If I do that, how--
Listen to me! There's a medkit over on the nightstand. Dose me with as much stimulant as you think I can take, understand?
Yes, but--
DAL! GET OUT OF MY HEAD AND DO IT!
The contact winked out like a slammed door. Dal found himself lying on the floor at Jack's bedside. He leapt to his feet and rushed to the nightstand, knocking Jack's holoreader to the floor as he snatched up the medkit.
Why did his fingers feel so clumsy? He tried reading the names of the medicines on the vials, but the words kept blurring before his eyes.
Red, Dal remembered. The stimulant vials were red.
He extracted three, dropped one, and inserted one into the sprayer. He injected it into Jack's neck, praying it was the right med. He let out a sigh of relief as Jack's eyes fluttered open.
"Do it again. Another dose," Jack whispered. "Quickly."
Dal fumbled to comply, his hands even clumsier than before. Jack winced as Dal administered the injection. "One more," Jack said, his voice hoarse and cracking. "Only this time, it's for you."
There weren't any stim vials left in the medkit. Dal dropped to his knees and started to search for the one he'd dropped on the floor. His head and eyes felt so heavy. He really needed to--
"Oh, no you don't," Jack said, slowly pushing Dal up to a sitting position. "Don't go to sleep, Dal. I need you here. Kaylith and Orna need you!"
"I can't find it," Dal said, even as his searching fingers brushed against the vial. He made a weak grab for it and missed. His head throbbed and he felt so tired. He had to close his eyes, just for a minute...just for a...
SMACK! His right cheek stung. SMACK! Now his left cheek hurt. Dal didn't know why his cheeks were stinging and didn't care. He needed to sleep. Then he felt another sting, this time in his neck. The sprayer! Jack had given him the shot.
The stimulant rolled through his veins like hot lava. Dal opened his eyes and found Jack's face just inches from his.
"You okay?" Jack asked, rising to his feet. He moved slowly, very slowly. His muscles had to be stiff from sleeping so long.
"That really hurt," Dal complained, although he wasn't sure which pain he was complaining about. He hurt all over, physically and mentally.
"Sorry. I had to slap you," Jack said. "Mindshock was taking you under."
Dal didn't doubt that. What he'd seen in Jack's mind was enough to shock anybody. "We have to get Orna and Kaylith!"
Jack cocked his head, as if listening to invisible music. "They're okay, just unconscious. But they'll need air and soon!"
Air? How could that be?
You've been lost in my head for nearly an hour, Jack mindsaid, answering Dal's unspoken question. Their O-tanks are almost empty. I'll suit up.
"You? Jack, you've been unconscious for two revs!"
Jack patted Dal's shoulder, and then reached down to pull him to feet. His grip felt strong, stronger than Dal's muscles felt. "Trust me, buddy. I'm in better shape than you. Get to the cockpit and be ready to let us back in."
With that, Jack went to his closet, pulled out a coverall and began putting it on. "Are you sure you can do this?" Dal asked.
"No. But I'm sure I will do it," Jack replied, zipping up his coverall. He laughed as he noticed Dal's incredulous expression. "Don't worry, Dal. I'm not crazy. At least, I don't think I am."
Having glimpsed the havoc in Jack's mind, Dal wasn't convinced.
"Just go back to the cockpit and try to relax a little, okay?" Jack said, taking Dal's arm and leading him outside the cabin door. "Everything's going to be fine."
He left Dal standing there, staring after him as he headed towards the storage bay.
"Relax, the Terran says," Dal muttered. "I may never relax again."
Talon
Sentari Space
Terran year, 3749
Elvan, 17, 506
Unity, 151
Jack had told Dal the two women were unconscious and running out of air. He knew this was definitely true.
What he hadn't told Dal, and also knew to be true, was they had a third consciousness with them.
An awake, and more importantly, hostile consciousness.
He glided through the hull breach easily, and floated down to the connecting doors, reaching out a hand to stay him. Then he activated his magnetic soles and peered around one of the doors.
He saw Orna thrashing about the now randomly floating debris. She had her tentacles wrapped around her throat, as if trying to strangle herself.
"Uh, hello?" Jack said. "Sorry to interrupt."
Orna froze and uncharacteristically blinked at the doorway.
"Who are you?" she demanded. "What do you want?"
"My name is Jack--Jack Stryker," he said, stepping through with hands spread before him. "I have no weapons and I'm a friend of Kaylith's. She's hurt and needs air. I've come to help. What's your name?"
Orna said nothing. She just continued to blink at him.
"That's okay. You don't have to tell me your name," Jack said, casually sauntering towards Kaylith. Her magnetic soles kept her attached to the floor, but the rest of her floated freely. "I already know it. We met once before--at Kaylith's Khouree initiation ritual, remember?"
Orna said nothing, but her eyes tracked his every move. He was just a few feet from Kaylith now. "I mean, I saw you there. We didn't actually meet. I'm not sure if you saw me. Wikvaya brought me to free Kaylith."
"I saw you," Orna said. "Tarna said you were her dream mate, not a spirit."
"Well, maybe it's the same thing, depending on how you look at it. I'm going to tend to Kaylith now, okay?" He reached Kaylith's side and ran his hands over her body, feeling for broken bones. Thankfully, he didn't find any.
Other than the dent in the back of her helmet, Kaylith seemed fine. Jack unstrapped his carryall from his back and slid it around to open it.
He'd just removed the O-tanks when he heard Orna begin moving awkwardly towards him. She slid in fits and jerks, her tentacles waving erratically. "Kind of hard to move around in someone else's body, huh? Maybe you should give it back."
"She is the enemy and must die."
"Roar Far," Jack said, gently. "Your war with the Corbans was over 150 years ago. Tjornak won. Leave Orna alone."
"She violated my place of rest."
"She came here to help Kaylith take your body and those of the rest of the crew back to their homeworlds for burial," Jack argued as he replaced Kaylith's O-tank. He checked the gauge on the old one and saw it had about a minute and half left.
Talk about cutting it close. Now he needed to replace Orna's. How in the Moons was he going to convince Roar Far to let him do that? She was nearly on him now, still waving her tentacles clumsily.
The look in Orna's eyes was menacing enough. Jack took a step back. "Look, I don't want to fight," Jack said. "But Orna needs my help too. She'll die if you don't let me--"
"GOOD!" Orna lunged at him. Jack slid around Kaylith, putting her body between them. Not the bravest thing to do, but probably the smartest. He felt certain this spirit would never hurt Kaylith.
"She's my friend and I won't allow you to hurt her," Jack said from behind Kaylith's helmet. He wasn't sure, but he thought he saw Kallie's hand move.
"What kind of warrior hides behind his woman?"
"I'm not a warrior. I'm a--a scientist," he corrected quickly. "But yes, think of Kaylith. She'd be angry if you hurt me."
"Tarna will understand. She always does." Orna/Roar Far tried to grab him, but Jack leapt out of the way of her flailing tentacles. When Orna lunged again, this time she stopped and looked down at him with an odd expression. "Hard to breathe--"
"Yes! That's because your tanks are running out of oxygen. You need to let me help--"
"No!"
Then she dies and the receptacle for your spirit dies with her!
Jack blinked at Kaylith. That was her mind speaking, not his. Her green eyes glared at Roar Far through her helmet.
"Ha! I can simply use Talon as a receptacle again."
And never reach home? Roar Far, I know that's not what you want.
"I'll use your mate then," Orna/Roar Far gasped.
Doubtful, Jack thought, giving Roar Far's mind an imaginary shove. To his surprise, Orna's body staggered in response. I won't let you.
Trust me, Roar Far, Jack's more of a warrior than you think. No one gets in his head unless he lets them. Not even me.
"This--Corban--must--die!"
"Can't let you do that either," Kaylith said. "Orna's a friend."
"Look into her mind, Roar Far," Jack suggested. "You'll see she's not evil."
Orna didn't move. Jack reached out, still clutching the O-tanks with one hand and caught her by a tentacle with the other. No reaction. Orna was out.
"I've got to get these O-tanks on her," he said, suiting actions to words.
He quickly opened Orna's backpack and took out the empties. As he placed the full canisters inside, Kaylith said, "You better sedate her before she wakes up. Or else we'll end up arguing with Roar Far all over again."
Jack nodded as he turned the tanks on. Then he dug into Orna's medkit. As he fitted a sedative to the sprayer, Dal said over the com line, "Orna's vital signs are erratic."
"She's still trying to kill her," Kaylith whispered as Jack gave Orna's body the shot, then slapped a patch over the pinhole in her prezskin. "She's trying to kill Orna's mind." STOP IT, Kaylith's mind roared. I'm telling you she's a friend!
"Vital signs are dropping," Dal reported.
"She won't stop. She won't listen," Kaylith groaned. "Roar Far never gives up on a fight."
"She'll give up this time," Jack said. "I can't let her do this."
"But what can you--" Before Kaylith could finish the sentence; Jack seized all four of Orna's tentacles and then pictured his mind diving into Orna's.
He plunged into absolute darkness.
WHAT IN SHALLOG'S NAME ARE YOU DOING? Kaylith mindshouted. She sounded light-years away. Jack, looking this way and that, ignored her and tried to get his bearings.
Below he saw two pinpoints of light, one orange and one blue. He imagined himself diving towards them. Even as he flew, the lights clashed together again and again; setting off brilliant sparks in arcing fountains of orange and blue.
LADIES, BEHAVE YOURSELVES, Jack shouted. The lights stopped, as if peering up at him, then resumed their fight.
I SAID, BEHAVE! He imagined an impenetrable barrier springing up between the lights, himself floating above it. It materialized instantly, working better than he'd hoped.
What iss this? Orna's mind asked. Jack, what have you done?
I will kill her! Roar Far's mind shouted. Her blue light battered at the barrier's invisible walls ineffectually.
Oh, will you sshut up already! Orna moaned. Her orange light seemed to curl into a ball. You're giving us such a headache.
That barrier will stay there until you decide to play nice, Jack told them.
She sstarted it, Orna protested. Tell her to get out of my head.
Corbans started it, Roar Far growled. Tell her to die!
Die, die, die, Orna chanted mockingly. Can't you talk about anything else?
Corbans killed millions of--
Yes, they did and I'm ssorry. Orna sounded sincere now. But that was long ago. I didn't have anything to do with what happened.
The blue light beat against the barrier for a few more seconds, then stopped and flared up to twice its size.
I am a Tjorn spirit, it said. You cannot keep me here if I do not--It smashed against the barrier and bounced off.
Wanna bet? Jack thought. I made that barrier unbreakable.
The blue light bounced off the barrier again and again. Jack sighed. Fine, knock yourself out. I'll talk to Kallie while you calm down.
Jack! Please don't leave me here with her!
What do you expect me to do, Orna? It's not like I can take you with me. You'll be okay. I promise.
No, Jack, don't--
Jack imagined himself pulling out, pulling away, rushing back into his own mind. He awoke to find Kaylith mindshouting his name and punching his chest.
"Kallie? Why are you hitting me?" he asked, mildly. He felt a little tired, but other than that, not too bad.
Jack! What in Shallog's name did you do? Kaylith demanded, her fist drawn back and poised to swing. She looked like she couldn't decide whether to hit him again or hug him.
"I made them behave," Jack said, taking her into his arms. He couldn't really feel her body through the prezskin, but he didn't care.
"Orna's vital signs are stable--strange, but stable," Dal said, his voice sounding strained. "Jack's vitals have returned to normal."
Jack glanced at Orna. She floated vertically, her chest rising and falling evenly as if she slept. "What did you do?" Kaylith asked, wrapping her arms around his waist.
"I put them in time out."
"What?"
"I separated them." Jack shrugged. "I knew what I had to do because I saw it happen before. I can't explain it, Kallie. While I was sleeping I saw things, a lot of things. Events, people, battles. Some from the past and some--some from the future."
"The future? Jack, that's crazy. There isn't a single known race that has developed reliable prophecy powers. Only Tjorn spirits can see--"
"Haven't you ever heard of human prophets?"
"Yes, but most were charlatans who bilked gullible humans with vague predictions. There are very few documented cases--"
"In this time, yes. But what about the religious prophets of Earth's early centuries? Not to mention that over a millennia ago, back around the 22nd century, many humans were clairvoyant. They even managed to gain some level of political control, although obviously not enough to stop the global wars. When you think about it, humans have shown growing prophetic abilities all along."
"Then what happened? Why aren't any human clairvoyants around today?"
"Who knows? A lot of Terran history was lost during the global wars. Once the wars were over, the clairvoyants had disappeared."
He bumped his helmet against hers until he could look her in the eye. "Trust me, Kallie. I know what I've seen is real. I can show you later if you want."
"You scared me, Jack," she whispered. "I thought you had died."
"He did die," Dal said over the com line. He'd been silent for so long, Jack had almost forgotten he was there. "He was dead for thirty-two point four seconds."
Kaylith's green eyes went wide, then narrowed. "Don't you ever do that again, you hear? I've waited too long to be with you and you can't--"
"Kallie," Jack interrupted, "everything's fine now. We need to go back to Needle and rest. We'll take care of your crew later."
"But Jack--"
"Kaylith, think about it. Everyone on Needle has health problems. Orna is possessed by Roar Far, Dal's got a mild case of mindshock, you have a bump on the head and me--" Jack let out a dry chuckle. "Well, let's just say I've got a lot going on in my mind. We all need to spend some time in the med lab to get ready."
"Ready? Ready for what?"
Jack sighed. "We've got company coming."
Tjornak, Southern Continent
Northwestern Plains, Khouree Territory
Terran year, 3616
Elvan, 17, 373
Unity, B.U. 8
Kaylith's disappearance sent the IML's trade delegation into a panic. In the last four days, Zirtha and Alex Stryker had sent out one search party after another, even though Tith kept reassuring them Kaylith was fine.
She just didn't want to be found.
On the morning of the fifth day, Tith was once again in the delegation's conference center, trying to convince his superiors to call off the search.
Only this time it was different. This time, Tith was not leaving until he had some answers. The stealthy arrival of an Elvan cruiser this morning had signaled an end to patience.
"I tell you, she's fine!" Tith said. "She's contacted me once every day."
"You have yet to explain why she would contact only you!" Zirtha said. "Ambassador Stryker and I are her superiors."
"Maybe because I'm her brother and she trusts me?" Tith snapped.
"We've given the girl no cause to distrust us," Zirtha replied, stiffly. "The next time she contacts you, you will order her to return to the delegation at once."
"She's won't do it," Tith said. "She's with the Tjorns now and that's exactly where she intends to stay."
"But why?" asked Alex Stryker. "Doesn't she know the consequences--"
"Kaylith is well aware of the consequences," Tith said. "You wanted the delegation to gain the Tjorns' trust, right? Well, Kaylith has achieved that and more. The question is, after all she's learned from the Tjorns, why should she trust you?"
"What in Agda's five moons' names are you talking about, Tith?" Alex Stryker said irritably. "As Zirtha said, we've given the girl no cause to doubt our word."
The tight lid Tith had been keeping on his temper started to slip. Kaylith and he had talked about more than her welfare. He now knew exactly what the Corbans had done to the Tjorns. Would Alex and Zirtha admit they'd been aware of the Corbans' treachery all along?
Since they hadn't thus far, he sincerely doubted they would. The very thought of their lies made him furious. There was a remote...extremely remote...possibility they didn't know, but Kaylith didn't believe it.
He didn't believe it either.
They'd known all right. And were quite content to take advantage of the Tjorns' desperate need for a cure if it gained the IML access to Tjornak's palacite.
"I said," Alex Stryker repeated, "we've given the girl no reason to doubt our word."
"You lied about the Corbans being here first. Kaylith figured that out before she left. Remember?"
Zirtha and Alex at least had the good grace to look uncomfortable. "Yes," said Zirtha, "but we admitted it."
"Why didn't the Corbans succeed in establishing trade relations here? It's said Corbans could sell ice to a Ragnorakian. Whatever happened to their legendary powers of persuasion?"
Zirtha and Alex looked even more uncomfortable. Alex said, "They have tried to establish relations here for many years. We think perhaps they made a bad first impression with the Tjorns--"
"Yes, I would say opening a palacite excavation without the Tjorns' permission made a poor first impression," Tith growled. "Especially since the Tjorns utilize palacite as receptacles for the spirits of their ancestors. To them, palacite is not a commodity. It is sacred."
"Yes, yes," said Zirtha testily, "but these are just the superstitions of savages. Once they see the benefits--"
"Savages?" Tith said. "Is that why the Corbans felt justified to kill them? Because the Tjorns are savages?"
"Tith, you go too far. The Corbans have not harmed a single Tjorn."
"Oh no? So when they shot down an Ernai plague ship six months ago and thus infected the Tjorns, they were helping these poor savages? Please explain this to me, Zirtha. How did this help?"
"That Ernai ship crashing here was an unfortunate accident, nothing more."
"That's not what the Ernai survivors told the Tjorns!"
Zirtha ignored him. "The Corbans offered a cure to the Tjorns right away. The offer stands even now. It is the Tjorns' fault they are too stubborn to accept it. All they have to do is exchange an equitable trade of palacite for the vaccine."
Tith stared at the two ambassadors for a moment, then let out a harsh laugh. "You two are truly amazing! Damn ethics, right? Or for that matter, damn simple decency. And you dare call the Tjorns savages!"
Alex Stryker sighed wearily. "Tith, like it or not, this is business. The Corbans deserve a fair price for their medicine."
"You don't even realize it, do you? You don't have a clue what you are asking these poor people to do."
"All we are asking for is fair compensation--"
"No," said Tith, rising to his feet. "You are asking far more than that. You are asking them to become allies with an organization that cares more about profit than compassion. Call them savages if you will, but I'd say their reluctance to deal with the IML proves they are far more civilized than us."
Without waiting for a reply, Tith turned and walked out of the conference center. Zirtha and Alex made no attempt to stay him. He continued on until he was well past the edge of the encampment... until tall blue grass surrounded him on every side.
He reached into the breast pocket of his cape, retrieved his com unit and said, "You guys copy that?"
"Every word," the Fleet officer replied. "ETA to rendezvous is ten minutes."
"Acknowledged. Tith out." He thumbed off the com and replaced it in his pocket.
He stood there, staring up at the blindingly blue sky of Tjornak. Well, he'd done it now. If only he knew for sure that it was the right thing.
"Of course, it's the right thing. They've left us no choice."
A man of lesser control might have jumped at the unseen voice coming from the grasses. Tith simply smiled and turned to face his sister, who emerged from the grass like a blue-striped specter.
Paint in various shades of blue covered her body. Her braided hair had been tinted blue too. She wore a leather tunic and breeches, diagonally slashed with the same shades of blue. Except for her green eyes, Kaylith looked every inch a Tjorn.
Another woman, similarly dressed and painted appeared beside her. On her back was a bow and quiver of arrows. An oddly shaped sword was sheathed in a holster at her waist. She was tall and muscular, not a woman to be taken lightly.
Tith noticed neither Kaylith or the woman bothered to introduce her.
"They'll kill us if they catch us."
"Does that scare you, Ell-van?" asked the woman. Her almond-shaped eyes snapped with distrust and contempt.
"Not particularly, I'm just stating a fact." He smiled when he saw he'd disconcerted her. "What's happening to your people is wrong. I believe that as strongly as Kaylith does. I just wish we had more time to think of another way to do something about it. I've never fancied myself a pirate."
Kaylith smiled and hooked her arm around his. She began leading him through the grasses, her brawny companion trailing after them sullenly. "Would you feel better if you had a pet zoon and an eye patch?"
"We'll need more than zoons if we're going to take on the IML. They could reduce this planet to rubble if they want."
"What? And blow up all the precious palacite?" Kaylith smiled and shook her head. "I don't think so. Wouldn't be profitable."
"The Corbans have already used the Ernai as a biological weapon. What's to stop them from using something else? Something worse?"
Kaylith sighed. "Are you going to be this pessimistic all day?"
"Maybe I'd feel more optimistic if you'd explain how Talon can reach the rendezvous point without being detected? Besides the Embassy Ship, there's three escort cruisers in orbit with her."
Kaylith laughed. "Care to explain it to him, warrior?"
Tith looked back to see the woman shrug. "The land will protect us."
"Come again?"
The woman simply shrugged again. Tith smiled and returned his attention to Kaylith. "Doesn't say much, does she?"
"She doesn't need to."
Tith glanced up at the sky again. "Well, I hope she's right because in about five minutes, Talon is going to need all the protection it can get."
The ground beneath his feet began to tremble.
"Don't worry, Tith," Kaylith said, quickening their pace to a run. "Help is already on the way."
* * *
Expecting a Zaphron stampede as compared to experiencing one were two entirely different things, Kaylith thought, as she watched the great beasts descend upon the IML encampment.
From a distance, it looked as if the hills suddenly sprang to life with the sole purpose of trampling everything in their path.
Zaphrons were blue, like almost everything else on Tjornak. Their long, hairy pelts resembled the prairie grass from a distance. They had small heads and beady little eyes in comparison to the rest of their bodies. They relied largely on their acute sense of smell, thanks to a trio of elongated snouts. One was on top of their heads; the other two were where most Terran animals had ears.
The earth trembled beneath the weight of their ponderous feet whenever they moved. Multiply the shaking by about thirty or so Zaphrons racing out of control and you had a regular earthquake on your hands.
Or rather, thought Kaylith, watching the destruction of the IML's camp through spyglasses, an earthquake with an attitude. The Zaphrons weren't simply trampling through the camp; they were leisurely setting about destroying everything in sight. What they couldn't crush with their feet, they smashed with their heads and bodies.
This shouldn't have surprised her, since the Khouree had warned her Zaphrons had mean tempers. On the other hand, they weren't particularly bright and it was easy enough for the Tjorns to rile them up into stampedes any time they wanted.
All they had to do was get one's attention--and run. Any other Zaphron in the vicinity immediately joined in the chase. Fortunately, Zaphrons couldn't run as fast as the Tjorns. The warriors that had led the animals to the camp were probably long gone by now.
Kaylith hoped Zirtha and Alex Stryker were long gone too. Though she was angry with them for their deceptions, she didn't want to see them dead. After all, they were only following orders. And for all she knew, maybe they hadn't known about the Corbans treachery. Whatever the case, she didn't want them dead.
Out of the way, yes. Dead, no.
"Well, what's happening?" Tith demanded.
"Here, have a look," Kaylith said, handing her brother the spyglasses. "I think it's safe to say Alex and Zirtha have their hands full."
"An understatement," Tith said grimly. "I suppose this takes care of Talon being detected on the ground. What about the ships above? Do Zaphrons fly too?"
"No, but the shaman says Talon's been cloaked since it achieved orbit."
"And how exactly did this shaman manage that? If he's built a cloaking device, the IML would pay more for that than palacite. Nobody can hide a ship. Such technology doesn't exist."
Kaylith hesitated. She knew Tith to have an open mind, but she wasn't sure how he'd feel if he knew Talon's safety was now in the hands of Tjorn spirits. She barely believed the spirits could hide the ship herself.
"He's a holy man, not an engineer, Tith."
"So he's going to pray the other ships away?"
Kaylith swallowed. "Sort of."
Tith sighed. "We're all going to die, you know that, don't you?"
"The land will protect us all, Ell-van," said Roar Far absently, her attention focused elsewhere. "Tarna, look to the east. Is that not your friends' flying vessel?"
Kaylith followed Roar Far's gaze and indeed saw a speck of silver on the eastern horizon. It grew larger with each passing second. "Come on," she said, breaking into a run. "We have to hurry."
"If we can see it, why can't the ships?" Tith protested, as he easily caught up with her. Roar Far was right behind him.
"Spirits make them see what they expect to see," Roar Far explained. "We see what they don't."
"Oh well. That explains everything," Tith growled. "Thanks so much for--"
"They're landing! Hurry!" Kaylith sprinted ahead, wanting to be the first to greet Talon's crew. She already knew the officers on board. Zar and Nikki Higgins, two of her oldest and dearest friends.
They'd just proven what good friends they were by laying their Fleet careers, possibly their lives, on the line in answer to her desperate mindshouted pleas. Kaylith had been amazed at how easy it had been to contact them. Once she'd shown them what the Corbans and the IML had done to the Tjorns, they'd been quick to volunteer their help.
Zar had been given command of Talon for her valor in fighting Mech incursions on Agda. It was an Elvan cruiser, fighter class, built for stealth, speed, and firepower. She'd been nearly two sectors away, but Zar had pushed the cruiser's stardrive to reach Tjornak in record time, with only a single stop along the way to pick up Nikki Higgins at an Amusian star base.
As she watched the ship land, Kaylith thought for a moment she heard Jack's voice sardonically say, "And so the career of Black Tarna and her crew begins."
She skidded to a stop and shook her head. Why would her dream man say a fool thing like that?
When she didn't hear anything else, she focused her attention on Talon. The ship had sleek lines, except for the armaments that bristled all along her delta wings. The ground, still trembling from the Zaphrons nearby, shook harder as the ship's reverse thrusters braked its descent. The landing claws deployed, making her look very much like a hawk gliding in for a landing.
The ship gently touched down. Immediately, the exit ramp opened. Two women, one Elvan, the other Terran, stepped outside. Kaylith's mouth fell open when a third person appeared in the doorway.
Her father William Terrell was going to kill her.
"Deke!" she cried. "What in Shallog's name are you doing here?"
Tjornak, Southern Continent
Northwestern Plains, Khouree Territory
Terran year, 3616
Elvan, 17, 373
Unity, B.U. 8
Even after he'd swept her into a bearhug, Kaylith couldn't believe Deke was really there. "Nikki and I were together when she got your message," Deke explained. "No way I was going to let my sister take on the IML alone."
"She's not alone," Tith said. "She has me."
"Yeah, but I'm family."
"As am I."
"Well," said Deke, releasing Kaylith to stand nose to nose with Tith, "pardon me for saying so, but she needs fighters, not diplomats." He spat out the last word like an epithet. "Diplomats caused this mess in the first place."
"If you doubt my fighting abilities, Terran, I'd be happy to demonstrate."
"Enough!" Kaylith shouted. "We don't have time for--"
"Tarna, let the stupid men fight." When Kaylith rounded on Roar Far, the Tjorn simply smiled and shrugged, as if to say, why not? Should be amusing.
Zar stepped into the fray. "Kaylith is right; we don't have time for this. We need to hide Talon as soon as--"
"Do you see your ship now, Ell-van?" Roar Far asked with a malicious smile.
"Well of course, it's right--" Zar paused, her eyes growing wide. "It was right here. Where did it go?"
It did indeed look as if Talon had simply vanished. But Kaylith knew the Tjorns had simply dropped a few Zaphron hides over the hull. Even now, several warriors stepped from the grass to form a ring around the new arrivals.
Kaylith laughed. "Meet the Tjorns, Zar. Masters of the art of camouflage."
* * *
"It has to be the palacite," Tith said. "There's got to be just enough in the area to disrupt sensor scans."
Kaylith and her friends, new and old, were sitting around a campfire debating their options while they ate their midday meal. The offworlders ate from dry ship's rations, while Kaylith and Roar Far ate sweet grain cakes and dried Zaphron strips.
Zaphrons, despite their mean tempers, were actually rather tasty.
Tith sat with Zar on one side and Roar Far on the other. Higgy and Deke sat together, really together. If they were any more together, they'd be in each other arms.
Kaylith couldn't help smiling every time she looked at them. So Higgy had made her choice at last. Deke over Rock. Kaylith wasn't sure how Rock felt about it, but Deke certainly looked happy. And Higgy looked ecstatic.
It occurred to Kaylith how much she wished Jack could be here to share something as simple as a midday meal with her. Crazy thinking... since he didn't exist in the first place.
Roar Far made an exasperated sound. "How many times do I have to say the land protects us? What you say about the pink rocks is true, but do not forget the spirits. They are like the rocks, always here. Always watching over us."
The others, except maybe Tith, looked skeptical. "Unfortunate they weren't watching when the Corbans shot down the Ernai then," Zar said.
"Spirits protect, but they cannot change destiny," Roar Far countered.
"Oh, so it was destiny that brought the plague down on the Tjorns?" Higgy said. "I thought you said it was the Corbans. What is your name anyway? I don't think we've been properly introduced."
Roar Far looked at Kaylith. "These friends of yours offend me. If I cannot kill them, can I not at least hit them?"
Kaylith sighed. "They just don't understand. Let me try. Look," she said, addressing the others, "I left camp five days ago. The Fleet and IML search parties couldn't find me, right?"
"Much to Zirtha and Alex's frustration, yes," said Tith.
"No one noticed Talon when she landed, yes?"
"Yes," said Zar reluctantly, "I still don't understand how these Tjorn spirits managed that."
"But you agree they managed it?"
"Yes."
"Then why don't you think they can hide Talon again?"
"You're asking me to put my faith in something I cannot see," Zar said. "I have faith in you. That is why I came here to help. But what, exactly, do you intend for us to do?"
"If the IML won't give the Tjorns the vaccine, then the only option we have left is to steal it."
Everyone around the campfire stared.
"Kaylith, you can't be serious," said Deke, breaking the silence. "You want to steal from the IML?"
"Why not, hu-mann?" asked Roar Far. "They are killing Tjorns. To steal from murderers is not a sin."
"Yes," said Deke, "but we will all die if we do this."
"At last," said Tith with a wry smile, "someone who agrees with me."
"Zar and I have already risked our fleet careers to come here, Kaylith," Higgins said. "And we came out of love for you. But if we do what you ask, we can kiss our careers good-bye."
"Not to mention our lives," added Zar. "The best we could hope for would be a swift and painless execution."
Roar Far surged to her feet. "Why did you ask these cowards to come here, Tarna? They are useless. Send them back now!"
Zar glared at Roar Far. "You have no idea what kind of security the IML has on their ships. I sincerely doubt your spirits can protect us against it."
"I do not care about this IML security. I do not care about your weak and spineless lives! All I care about is my people. They die every day. Hundreds, thousands!"
"What Roar Far says is true," Kaylith said. "I have seen the plague camps myself. And I can tell you one thing, Zar. The Tjorn's deaths are neither swift nor painless. These people are suffering."
"You went to their plague camps?" Tith asked, his voice choking with horror. "By Trinar's peaks! You could be infected too."
"What do you care, Ell-van?" Roar Far snapped. "You keep saying you're all going to die anyway!"
"Calm down, both of you," Kaylith said. She let out a deep sigh. She knew these were all good people. How could she make them see how wrong this all was? "Tith, I haven't really been to the camps, so I'm not infected. The Khouree's shaman showed me. If you like, I can show you."
Another long silence. This time, it was broken by Roar Far's angry snort. "It is as I said, Tarna. These offworlders are all cowards."
Tith's glare was dark and hot. "I'm getting tired of being called a coward, Tjorn."
"Then prove me wrong, Ell-van. Either fight me or let Tarna show you what she has seen."
Kaylith folded her arms when Tith looked over at her incredulously. "It's a fair challenge, Tith. What's it going to be?"
Tith, still glaring at Roar Far, growled, "I don't know. I'd really like to punch this lovely Tjorn right in the mouth."
Kaylith reached over Zar to lay a hand on his knee. "But you won't, will you?"
Tith sighed and lowered his head. "No, I won't. Go ahead and show me."
Kaylith patted his knee and held out her hand to Zar. "Everybody join hands. It will make this much easier."
Deke and Higgins had to scoot over in order to join the circle. Tith mockingly extended his free hand to Roar Far. For the first time, Roar Far looked uneasy. "I have seen my people die with my own eyes, Ell-van. I do not wish to see it again."
Tith let out a scornful laugh. "And you dare call me a coward."
Without a word, Roar Far angrily sat down and took Tith's hand. The circle was complete. "All right," Kaylith said. "Close your eyes and open your minds."
She watched as one by one, the group shut their eyes. Kaylith knew she could do this. But should she do this? Was this really a fair way to give her friends a choice?
"Well," said Deke. "We're waiting."
Fair or not, she had to do it. It was the only way to convince them. Closing her eyes, Kaylith opened her mind until she felt it contact each member of the group.
She quickly sifted through their thoughts... Tith surprisingly was thinking more about the feel of Roar Far's hand in his than anything else. He was wondering what her name was. Just as surprising, Roar Far felt equally attracted to Tith. She liked his dark eyes and long braids. Unfortunately, Zar was attracted to Tith too. Always had been, although Tith was too hardheaded to notice.
Uh-oh, a real problem could develop there, Kaylith mused. Meanwhile she sensed Higgins and Deke both couldn't wait to be alone again. They were thinking about making love to each other--soon!
Kaylith almost laughed out loud. This group seemed more concerned with their libidos than the problem at hand. It was a good thing they couldn't hear her thoughts, or else Roar Far and Zar might start fighting over Tith in earnest.
What's so funny? Tith mindsaid in group mode.
Sorry, Kaylith answered. I got distracted. Here's the shaman's vision.
A bright star falling from the sky. Tjorns joyfully running after it and finding the Ernai's ship. The Ernai, their small bodies littering the inside of their broken ship. The Tjorns, trying to help them. Their help refused; the Tjorns tried to help the Ernai by force, taking them to their camps to care for their injuries.
The Ernai stubbornly refused medical help, just as they always did. But they were grateful to the Tjorns for their compassion and set about teaching them the traders' language. By the time they could explain their ship was shot down by Corbans and they were infected with plague, it was too late. The plague virus had already infected the Tjorns.
The virus was slow, insidious. A ravenous parasite that destroyed respiratory and immune systems. A virus that turned internal organs to mush. Boils would scar and scab a plague victim's skin. The lungs would fill with blood. Blood would pour from the victims' mouths as they desperately coughed and wheezed to cling to life.
Men, women and children were dying by the thousands. So many, the Tjorns were hard-pressed to find spirit receptacles for them all. Some died without passing their spirits on, a tragedy beyond compare for the Tjorns.
Their bodies were stacked in caves like cordwood. Too many to bury, too many even to burn. Some tribes didn't have enough healthy people left to care for their dead. They simply left their villages behind, desperately seeking safety even as they carried the plague to other villages.
The spirits of the dead cried for the living... for the land... and for revenge. Kaylith let them hear what she had heard ever since she'd set foot on Tjornak. The moaning, wailing, sounds of suffering too sad to bear.
She let them smell the stench of sickness and death that covered the lands. Let them feel the agony of the infected Tjorns.
It was too much. She had to stop. Tears streamed down Kaylith's cheeks as she opened her eyes. She looked around at her friends' faces and saw theirs were wet too.
Well? Kaylith mindsaid. This is what the IML has done. Do we let them get away with genocide?
Deke was the first to open his eyes and clear his throat, although the others swiftly followed. "Sister, you have my vote. If you think the only way to help them is to steal the vaccine, then that's what I'll help you do."
Terrible, Tith mindsaid. It is worse than I ever dreamed.
"Those Corban bastards!" Higgins cried. "How could they do this to the Tjorns?"
"Because all they care about is profit," Zar replied. "We cannot let them get away with this. If we do, we will never forgive ourselves."
Kaylith looked at Roar Far. "Well, warrior woman, what do you think of my friends now?"
Roar looked down at her hand, still joined with Tith's. She slowly pulled her fingers free. "Perhaps they are Tjorns after all," she said quietly. "We will see."
"Then it is agreed?" Kaylith asked. "We steal the vaccine?"
"YES!" Everyone shouted.
"We must be mad," said Higgins. "Are we mad?"
Deke pressed a light kiss on her lips. "Definitely. I'm mad for you, my dear."
Higgins playfully pushed him away--but not too far, while Tith chuckled. "I can see the wanted posters now--10,000 credits for the capture of the pirate Black Tarna and her fearless crew."
"Is that all?" Deke asked, sounding peeved. "Surely our heads will be worth more than 10,000 measly credits if we pull this off."
"You mean--when we pull this off, don't you?" Tith said. "If we're going to do this, we have to think positive."
"You just said 'if," Deke pointed out.
"No fighting, boys," Kaylith said. "It's time to get serious now. The first thing we need to do is find a supply of the vaccine. I'd say the Embassy's ship is our best bet."
"What with the Zaphron stampede, I doubt Alex and Zirtha have even noticed I'm missing," Tith said. "I volunteer to find out if the vaccine is there."
"Fine. You're our man inside," Kaylith said.
"What's a Zaphron?" Higgins wanted to know.
"Didn't you hear our warrior woman? The land protects us. A Zaphron is a hill that moves," Tith answered, winking at Roar Far. "Isn't that right, warrior woman?"
Roar Far smiled. "We don't have time to put you through all the rituals, but you may call me Roar Far, Ell-van."
"Be still my heart! She finally told us her name!" Tith said, dramatically placing his hands over his chest. "Does this mean you trust us?"
"No," Roar Far said with a scowl. "But against my better judgment, I think I'm beginning to like you."
"Not too much, I gather," Tith said. "But it's a start."
Science Vessel Needle
Sentari Space
Terran year, 3749
Elvan, 17, 506
Unity, 151
"GET OUT OF MY MIND!" Orna shouted. "GET OUT OF MY BODY!"
"Shut up, Corban!" Orna shouted back. "I mean it this time!"
"What are you going to do, sstrangle me with one tentacle? I control the other three."
"I control the tail. I could dash us against that bulkhead."
"Not if I have anything to ssay about it, Tjorn."
Jack couldn't take it anymore. "If you two don't stop, we're going to have to sedate you again."
Orna said, "Go ahead" and "Oh no, you don't" in rapid succession. Her fourth tentacle kept slapping at the other three as she sat awkwardly coiled on her puff chair. Jack, Dal, and Kaylith sat on the opposite side of the conference area, as far from her jerkily thrashing tail as possible.
"Sshe keeps trying to get the third tentacle back," Orna complained.
"It is not fair she has three tentacles while I have only one," she growled.
"You sshouldn't have any tentacles at all," she snapped.
Dal let out a sigh. He looked paler than usual, obviously suffering from the residual effects of mindshock. Sitting there watching Orna argue with herself was doing nothing to improve his state of mind.
"I had a difficult time interacting with Orna already, now this--this." He gestured helplessly towards the Corban thrashing around on her beanbag. "Surely, there's something we can do."
"There is," said Kaylith. She and Jack sat on a couch unit perpendicular to his, so she had to lean forward to look Dal in the eye. Her color was fine, but her body had wilted into the pale blue cushions. "You'd have to be willing to give up that chunk of rock around your neck though."
Dal gripped his palacite crystal protectively. "This crystal is mine--I saved for years to get one. I'd never have waked Jack from his mindshock without it. And I need it to mindspeak to other species."
"You can barely mindspeak with it," called Orna. Even possessed, she couldn't pass up a dig at Dal. She then snickered with a decidedly un-Ornalike laugh.
"Well, at least they are starting to get along," Jack said in a low voice. He had his arm around Kaylith's shoulders, occasionally allowing himself the discreet pleasure of stroking the soft skin on the back her neck with his thumb, all the while fending off the sense of urgency enveloping him.
The Mindmasters were definitely coming--as well as something or someone else he could only sense, not see. "But don't worry, Dal," he added. "Somehow I think we're a long way from convincing Roar Far to transfer her spirit to your crystal."
"I'll talk to her," said Kaylith, idly reaching up to catch his roaming hand and intertwine her fingers with his. "Maybe she's calmed down enough to listen."
As they watched the Corban slap herself in the face, then hiss and bite her fourth tentacle, Kaylith sighed and added, "Or maybe not."
"What have you done?" Orna roared, her fourth tentacle flopping uselessly.
"It's a local numbing poison," she replied. "If I can't use that tentacle, then neither can you."
"YOU MONSTER!"
"Takes one to know one," Orna hissed. "Can't you feel how dry our sscales are getting? We need to go to my water garden to take a bask."
This was what had started their current argument in the first place.
"TARNA, I DEMAND YOU KILL THIS CORBAN!"
"Roar Far, it's her body," Kaylith told the spirit soothingly. "She can bite it if she wants to."
"I'll bite it again if this stubborn Tjorn doesn't let me have a bask. Do you know how hard I've worked to have perfect sskin? At this rate, I'll start sshedding in no time."
"You are a stupid, vain Corban," Roar Far countered. "What do I care if our skin starts to shed?"
"Ha. You ssay that now. Wait till our tail starts to itch. When it does, you'll be the only one to feel it and I'll refuse to sscratch."
"We could always sedate you, then use the null-gravs to carry you to your water garden," Dal offered, a little too eagerly.
"Forget it, Ell-van," and "No thanks, Dal," were the Corban's two replies. "Either sshe agrees to work with me, or I'll just keep trying to get control of my lower body," Orna added. "I've already got three tentacles, my upper torso, and my head."
"Not for long, Corban."
"Keep it up, Tjorn. I'll bite my tail and drag myself to my quarters if I have to."
"For the love of Shallog, Roar Far, let her have her bask," Kaylith said. "We could all use a little rest. Jack says we are going to need it."
"Why?" asked Orna. Jack thought she sounded like the original Orna.
"Mindmasters are coming--and something else." Jack said. "I fear all our psychic activity has attracted them. We need to either be ready to face them or else leave these coordinates soon."
"And why should we believe you, Terran?" asked Orna. This time it sounded like Roar Far.
"I can sense them too," Kaylith said. "Jack and I need to figure out what we're going to do."
"Then I take it we have no say in this?" Dal asked, his dark eyes flashing. "You two seem to forget we're a team. Each of us has a vote."
"We already know what your vote is, Dal," said Orna. "You'd vote to be the firsst to bend over and kiss the Mindmasters' arses."
Roar Far snickered again.
"You go too far, Orna!" Dal shouted. He made a visible effort to calm himself, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath before he spoke again. "I don't understand why the rest of you see this as a problem. The Mindmasters are not evil. If they are indeed on their way to meet with us, their intentions could only be good."
"Is that how the Mindmasters were in your time, Roar Far?" Orna asked herself. "Always on the sside of good?"
"They forced Tarna to go back to Sentarl by threatening to send her brother Rock in her place," Roar Far replied. "They are heartless and cruel. I would never trust them."
"Thought so," Orna said, smugly. "Sso if Roar Far and I don't trust the Mindmasters, and neither does Jack or the Great One, I'd ssay you're outvoted, Dal. I think it's best we let Jack and Kaylith decide how to deal with them."
"I agree," Roar Far said. "For a Corban, maybe you are not so stupid."
"And maybe you're not so stubborn for a Tjorn. Sso, we go take a bask?"
The Corban sighed. "I suppose it would pass the time." With that, Orna rose unsteadily from her puff chair, then began a lurching, uncoordinated slide towards her cabin, her fourth tentacle hanging limp at her side.
"At least they finally agreed on something," Kaylith commented as she watched the Corban's lumbering progress.
"Yes, even though they are both completely wrong," Dal said. "We have nothing to fear from the Mindmasters."
"Dal, I know you admire them--" Jack began.
"They embody all a true Elvan should be," Dal said.
"No, they embody all a true Elvan should despise," Kaylith snapped. "They set themselves above the general population--all they care about is enhancing their own mindpowers. Didn't you learn anything from what I showed you?"
"I believe the Mindmasters in your time committed a great wrong against you," Dal replied evenly. "But this is a different age and--"
"And my father, Lir, is first ascendant, so you've said. Believe me when I say knowing this does nothing to comfort me. You also said you had to work for years to earn your precious chunk of crystal."
"Yes, so I did. What of it?"
Kaylith leaned forward, shrugging Jack's arm off her shoulders. Her deep green eyes burned with intensity. "What of it? Dal, if the Mindmasters were truly benevolent rulers, why wouldn't they simply give palacite to those who have need?"
Dal threw back his head and laughed. "You think they should simply give palacite away? That's ridiculous. It's the most precious resource in the universe!"
"Is it? What if I told you the Mindmasters have enough to supply the entire population of Elvan and still have tons in reserve?"
Dal blinked. "I d-don't know," he said, his voice wavering with uncertainty. "I'd have a hard time believing it."
"I can show you if you like."
"No thank you!" Dal rose to his feet, his hands held protectively in front of him. An expression of fear washed fleetingly across his face. "Perhaps Orna is right. Perhaps I should leave you and Jack alone to discuss this." As he walked towards his cabin, he yelled over his shoulder, "Not that anyone ever cares what I have to say anyway!"
Jack sighed as he watched Dal storm into his cabin. "You know, you shouldn't be too hard on him, Kallie. Between being mindshocked by me and probed by you, everything he's ever believed in has been shattered. He's afraid."
"You don't need to explain it to me," Kaylith said, leaning against him and closing her eyes. "I know exactly how he feels."
Jack closed his eyes too and savored the moment. To simply sit with his woman... feel her next to him...was a joy that had been too long denied. But his mind wouldn't allow the moment to last for long. Soon, wild images began flitting in and out of his thoughts, like so many aimless swarms of flutterbys.
The one that bothered him most pertained to the woman curled up all warm and soft against him. She would leave him. He didn't know when or why, but he definitely saw a time when they would not be together. A time when he would have to search for her all over again.
The very thought of that happening made him angry. He'd found her beyond the boundaries of space, time, and mind. And she loved him. He knew that with a certainty as constant as the stars. So why then would she leave?
It hadn't happened yet and who knew? Maybe it would never happen. But he didn't really believe it. The images were too vivid. Just like the one he'd seen of Roar Far possessing Orna and that had definitely come true.
For whatever reason, she would leave, and go back to being an outlaw again.
He felt a tug on his sleeve. "What are you thinking about?" Kaylith asked.
He opened his eyes and found hers searching his face. So beautiful. He could not resist brushing her lips with his. She gave him a soft smile in return, which caused the anger twisting in his gut to evaporate completely.
Kaylith was with him now. That was all that mattered.
"I suppose like Dal, I have some adjustments to make," he said. "I can't seem to turn off my mind."
"That's funny," Kaylith replied, settling back against his shoulder again. "The last thing I want to do is think right now."
"Could that be because you have a knot on your head the size of a lemon?"
"Oh, it's not that big," she scoffed. "Why do humans always have to exaggerate?"
"I suppose that's because we've never been able to overcome our perception that size matters."
"Bigger is better, is that it?" Kaylith grinned.
"I thought you didn't want to think about anything?"
"Yeah, but making fun of Terran perceptions passes the time."
He chuckled and gave her ribs a playful caress. "I can think of better ways to pass the time."
Kaylith stiffened and her grin immediately faded. "Uh," she said. "I think we need to talk before we try them."
"Okay."
She eyed him suspiciously. "Is that it, just okay? You're not going to argue?"
"What good would that do? You're obviously not going to let me get to first base while we're awake until we work out whatever's on your mind."
"First base?"
"Surely, you've heard of baseball."
"Well yeah, Deke was--" her voice hitched when she mentioned her brother's name. "Deke was really into sports. Even though he became a professional tackleball player, he played baseball too. I fail to see what first base has to do with our problem."
At least she'd called it 'our' problem. Jack wasn't sure she was ready to talk about whatever it was yet, or whether he was for that matter, so he decided to distract her from the issue. "You know, there's something that's always bothered me. How did Deke go from being a tackleball player to a member of Talon's crew?"
"He tore a knee tendon and broke his wrist the third year he played. The team sent him to Amusia for a little R and R and he became involved with Nikki there. When I asked her to help with the Tjorns, I had no idea she and Deke were lovers."
"How did your brother Rock feel about that? You told me once that Nikki was putting the moves on both your brothers."
Kaylith laughed. "Rock only cared about his fishy friends." Her laughter died, then she frowned. "Is he--is he still--"
"Alive? Yes," Jack took her hand into his. Her smile seemed to light up the conference area. "But he's almost obsessive about maintaining his privacy. It took years to get him to agree to meet me."
Kaylith smiled. "That's Rock. He always was more stubborn than a Tjorn. How was he? What did he look like?"
"He seemed healthy enough. I'd say his Sentari and Elvan genes must have boosted his human lifespan naturally. He is getting on in years though. I doubt he looks anything like you remember."
"Could you show me?" she asked, her tone wistful.
"Sure. Here." Jack formed a picture of Rock in his mind, then linked with hers. Rock still wore his thick hair long and pulled back with a leather thong, although now that hair was as white as a dwarf star. A neat mustache and goatee adorned his lips and chin. His skin was wrinkled and spotted, but his body looked as firm as ever and his eyes still glowed with that serene light Kaylith had always admired.
"We'll visit him as soon as we can," Jack assured her. "Maybe you can mindspeak him before then."
"I will try, but not now," Kaylith said, adroitly severing their link. "I know you. You've been trying to sidetrack me. We have other matters to discuss besides my family."
"Which would you prefer? The Mindmasters, the weird thing, or making love?"
"Weird thing?"
Jack made a lackadaisical circular gesture with his free hand, even though this subject made every nerve in his body tense. "Yeah, the thing that's coming besides the Mindmasters. I can sense its presence, but I can't tell what it is, can't hear its thoughts and can't see it either. All I can tell is the thing is there and is headed this way."
"Oh," Kaylith said with a sigh. "That thing."
"Care to clue me in on what it is?"
"I'm not sure, but I think maybe whoever or whatever it is, it is Sentari."
Jack narrowed his eyes at her. "Why?"
Kaylith shrugged. "I can't explain it, it just feels Sentari to me."
"So is it one Sentari? A ship full of Sentaris--?"
"I don't know. I think whoever they are, they have malacite crystal."
Jack blinked. "Malacite crystal? Never heard of it before."
"It's a black crystal, I've only seen it twice. The first time was--" he felt Kaylith shudder. "--was in the sea cave."
"Oh baby." He kissed her forehead and gave her waist a sympathetic squeeze. "I'm sorry to have to bring it up then. What does this malacite do?"
"From what Meeral told me, it forms a field that dampens mental powers, sort of the opposite of palacite."
Jack screwed his face into a scowl. "Well, that doesn't make sense. Why would the Sentari want to do that?"
"In my case, it was to prevent me from contacting my fathers. For these Sentari?" She shook her head. "To shield their thoughts from us probably. I get what you're saying though. Why would they carry around crystal that would prevent them from using mindspeak? Sentaris hardly ever resort to speech unless Meeral orders it. They find it beneath them."
"So maybe it's not Sentari."
Kaylith cocked her head to the side, as if listening to invisible music. In a way, maybe she was. "No, I definitely sense a Sentari presence. It's much stronger than the first time I noticed it. But like you, I cannot hear them."
She turned her attention back to him, drowning him in the deep green of her eyes. "And of course, I'd never have seen them anyway. How is it that you can?"
"Hell if I know. Why do you think I would?"
She sat up, straighter now, removing her hands from his and placing them firmly on her knees. "Ever since I got here, your mental abilities keep growing."
Jack let out a shaky laugh. "Thanks for the vid flash, darlin'. Tell me something I don't know."
"You seem so calm about it. Does this not trouble you at all?"
He laughed again, and this time there was nothing half-hearted about it. His new mental abilities were doing more than merely 'troubling' him.
He didn't understand why it had happened, couldn't explain it either, and really, wasn't sure if he felt inclined to try. What was happening--was happening. Information flowed through his mind faster than he could process. Since he couldn't think of a damn thing to stop it, he guessed his only option was to accept the situation and learn to live with it.
"I'm serious, Jack. From what Dal said he saw in your mind, most humans would go mad, not be sitting here having a rational conversation."
"I don't understand. You'd prefer I froth at the mouth or something?"
Kaylith rolled her eyes. "Make that a semi-rational conversation."
"If I had my way, we wouldn't be talking about this at all." He rose and headed across the room towards the galley. Kaylith leapt to her feet and followed.
"Jack, wait! We have to talk about it."
He'd reached the beverage dispenser. "I'm having a cup of coffee. Want some?"
"Why are you avoiding the subject?"
Jack ordered his coffee, and then rounded on her while it appeared. "Why are you avoiding me? Are you afraid?"
Kaylith folded her arms and glared. "I'm not afraid of you."
Jack picked up his coffee, took it over to the table and set it down. He sat, picked up his cup, sipped, and then said, quite softly, "The hell you aren't. Every time I so much as mention making love, you get tense. Is that because the real man doesn't measure up to your dream lover?"
Her glare grew hotter, but she said nothing.
"Or maybe it's because the real man can get past your mental shields and you can't get past mine."
He set his cup down, his eyes locking on hers and returning her glare. "Maybe...maybe the Legend doesn't like the idea of being vulnerable to someone, even if it is the man of her dreams--the man who loves her and would never, ever hurt her."
They stared each other down for a minute, but at last Kaylith's shoulders slumped and she looked away. "You're right, that's part of it."
He felt as if she'd stabbed him. "Which part?" he whispered. "The part where I don't measure up or where you feel vulnerable?"
Her head whipped around to face him. He could see tears forming in her eyes. "If you don't know the answer to that, then you are stupider than a Zaphron."
Her tears and answer steadied him. Nevertheless, he said, "It would be nice to hear you say it, Kallie."
"I love you," she snapped, dropping down into the chair next to him. "Happy now?"
"Well, yes, I do feel a little better. But no, I'm far from happy."
"What I feel for you has nothing to do with this. The problem is I don't know what to think about these new abilities of yours. And as far as our making love goes--" She stopped and shook her head.
"Go on," Jack prompted.
She refused to look him in the eye. Instead, she kept her gaze on the table. "You have never made love. I have never made love."
Jack couldn't stop a wolfish grin from spreading across his face, so he was glad Kaylith wasn't watching. "Well, we have and we haven't," he said. "Depends on how you look at it."
She winced. "You know what I mean. When we make love in dreams, the energy--the power of it--well, you have to admit, it's something."
"Oh, I'll definitely agree it's something, darlin'."
"Stop trying to sweet talk me," she growled, finally raising her eyes to meet his. "And stop looking so damn smug. I'm trying to explain something here."
"Yes, ma'am," he said, schooling his face to a serious expression and failing miserably. It was just that she looked so sweet and embarrassed and annoyed all at the same time...not to mention the topic they were discussing...all this was rousing certain areas of his body that never needed much coaxing in her presence anyway.
It made him want to nibble on her in all kinds of interesting places.
"My point is should we mate-- here--in the physical world--we have no idea what could happen."
"Of course we do. Unbelievable pleasure, immense satisfaction, definitely unconditional gratitude on my part. If we're not careful, children. But, since we are going to have children some day, I figure there's no time like the present to get started."
The color in Kaylith cheeks deepened and her breathing quickened. Oh yeah, he didn't need to read her mind to know he was getting to her. "You've seen our children?"
Jack nodded, hesitantly. He felt positive the two little girls in sparkling yellow dresses in his visions were their children, although really, he had no way of truly knowing that. He simply felt it was so.
Kaylith thrust out a hand, palm up. "You see? This is exactly what I'm talking about! My mind is powerful, there's no denying that. Yours--from what little I've seen so far--is unlike anything the universe has seen before. What do you know about avareeka?"
Her sudden change of subject caught him completely off-guard. "Not much," he answered, slowly. "I know the word describes the physical state of anyone exposed to the Sentari Fighting Pheromone. Are you worried making love with me will activate it?"
She ignored his question. "But you've never seen the pheromone in action, have you?"
"No one living has--except, of course, Sentaris. Kaylith, what has this got to do with us? If you worried about not taking your hormones, I'm sure we could go to the med lab and synthesize--"
WILL YOU PLEASE SHUT UP AND LET ME EXPLAIN THIS? she mindshouted. She scowled and blew out a breath. "Now see what you made me do. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry. Nobody but me heard you," Jack replied, somewhat sullenly. He felt like a pouty little boy being told there'd be no candy in his future, perhaps never.
Even though the vision of the little girls in the sparkling yellow dress contradicted that.
Kaylith leaned forward to take his hand. The sensation of her fingers curling around his made his heart beat faster. "Dear one, there is nothing I'd like better than to have you pleasure me as I know you can. You are not the only one who has lived a life of sexual frustration."
His lips twitched from a pout to a small smile.
"But Jack, let's consider all the possibilities, okay?"
"I'm definitely open to possibilities, Kallie," he said, sliding his index finger over her wrist. He could feel her pulse rising.
"When Sentaris are in a state of avareeka, their joinings transcend the physical. Other minds can become involved in the participants' actions."
"I'm not sure what you mean," Jack said, even though now she had him envisioning some kind of bizarre mental festival of flesh. "Perhaps you should show me."
"Oh no!" She tried to jerk her hand away from his. He held on tight. "I don't think that would be wise," she said, her voice softer. "Given our extreme attraction to each other the physical images alone would probably be too--" She blushed. "Well, too much for either of us to handle. Let me try to explain this instead."
"All right." Jack sighed and sipped his coffee. Ugh. Lukewarm. Just like his love life was going to be apparently. He set his mug down and pushed it away.
"As I said, the joinings transcend the physical. There is a psychic joining too--more than the two minds involved. Everyones."
"Everyones?"
"Well, everyone in the immediate vicinity anyway. The size of the area affected depends on the strength and number of minds under the influence of the pheromone. The combined psychic energy begins to build and build, until eventually it releases in a massive backlash."
"It sounds like you're describing a group orgasm."
"Try a global orgasm." When Jack couldn't hide his skepticism, she added, "It's happened on Sentarl before. There's even a certain day Meeral sets aside for--oh never mind. I wish you'd quit looking at me like that."
He fought to stifle a laugh and failed. "Well, moons, Kallie, what do you expect? We're talking about global orgasms here."
"No, I think we're talking about galactic orgasms here."
He squeezed his eyes shut for a second, unable to believe his ears. When he opened them again, there was Kaylith, still looking completely sane and serious.
He felt like grabbing and shaking her. "Excuse the pun, but come again? Galactic orgasms?"
"My mind is powerful. Your mind is powerful. When we mate in our dreams, I believe our physical world is shielded from the psychic backlash of our joinings because we are in a subconscious state. If we make love for real, while we are conscious--well."
She shrugged. "Both of us can mindspeak across the stars, Jack."
"Let me get this straight--you're worried that if we make love the rest of the universe will hear us?"
"In part, yes. But that's not all."
He blew out an exasperated breath. "What else could there be?"
She looked as frustrated as he was exasperated. "How can I explain this? When a global event occurs on Sentarl, even unborn children feel it. A Sentari mind is capable of absorbing the resulting psychic and sexual energy since it is part of our genetic heritage."
"I'm beginning to see the problem. You're worried what would happen if other races were exposed to the energy."
"It certainly worried Fleet."
"Those people were idiots!"
"True," Kaylith agreed, with a ghost of a smile. "But we are not. Our mental gifts carry a heavy responsibility. Even with the best intentions, using it to influence others can cause more harm than good." She wearily propped her elbows on the table and put her head in her hands. "Trust me, Jack. I know."
"I doubt the Corbans and Tjorns would agree with you there," Jack said, sliding his hand under her chin to force her to look at him.
"What's important is for you to agree our mutual desire could result in a galactic catastrophe. We need to be sure--"
The hell I agree with that, he thought as he stopped her words with a kiss. Not just any kiss. He put his heart and soul into it, slowly letting her feel just how much he wanted her... needed her.
Her response made his senses reel. Her soft lips parted eagerly to allow his tongue to mate with hers. When his mind demanded she give him more, she did--and then suddenly she pushed him away.
He stared at her a minute thinking, No. Not this time, Kallie. You're going to have to learn that in this time, you can't control everything. Moons, she looked so sad.
And so sweet. He was tired of being patient and waiting for her to come to him.
She let out a yelp as he scooped her purposely into his arms and began carrying her towards their cabin. That's how he thought of it now...their cabin.
Because everything he had was now also hers.
When she fought to get out of his arms, he shifted her onto his shoulders leaving only his back and butt for her to beat on.
Better his back and butt than his face. "You want this just as much as I do, sweetheart," he said, slapping Kaylith on her own butt lightly. "So stop fighting me."
"Dammit, Jack! Haven't you understood a single word I've said?" she snarled as they crossed the threshold. "It doesn't matter what we want. We have to consider what could happen if--"
He dumped her on the bed and began removing his shirt. The hell it doesn't matter! he mindshouted. You've got yourself all worked up over something that might never happen. How will we know unless we try?
A tear slid down her cheek as she watched him kick off his shoes and remove his pants. The longing in her eyes was unmistakable. "I've hurt too many people," she whispered. "I can't bear the thought of hurting more."
"I have an idea how we can avoid that, Kallie. I think it will work--provided you are willing to trust me." He now stood before her naked...and completely aroused.
He could feel her determination waver as her gaze raked his body. She licked her lips. "Just what do you have in mind?"
He smiled. "Safe sex."
Science Vessel Needle
Sentari Space
Terran year, 3749
Elvan, 17, 506
Unity, 151
"I can see why you like this basking," Roar Far said. "It's very--relaxing? Is that the right word?"
They peered up through the leafy canopy, squinting against the bright heat lamps. Warm water splashed and sparkled as it fell from a ceiling-to-floor fountain, enveloping their shared body in a steamy mist.
Plants of all colors, sizes, and fragrances surrounded them as they watched the water flow in and out the grooves and channels of the fountain. A concrete slab inscribed with delicate symbols was set in the center of the garden. Orna had languidly coiled them on top of it.
How very strange, Roar Far thought, to see the world through a Corban's eyes. She'd assumed a Corban's odd, diamond-shaped eyes saw things differently than Tjorns. Yet, the corporeal world looked much the same through Orna's sight as it had with her Tjorn vision.
Being a spirit was what made her see things differently.
"Relaxing is definitely the right word," Orna agreed, lazily. "You need to sstop thinking so much and let me get some rest."
"Tarna says a person can never think too much. It's only through thought that the races can achieve understanding."
"The only undersstanding I care about is that you agree we take a nice long nap."
"I agreed to take this bask, and I'll admit, I'm enjoying it. The heat from the lamps and mist feels good for our muscles and skin. But, I did not agree to go to sleep. There is danger near."
"Kaylith and Jack will call us if there's need," Orna grumbled, closing their eyes and shifting their position on the slab. "I'm tired. It hasn't been easy fighting you for control of my body all day."
Roar Far chuckled, not feeling the least bit guilty for causing the Corban trouble. Orna had proved to be a worthy adversary, showing bravery and determination she'd never expected from a Corban. It took some effort, but she managed to slit their eyes open again and spotted a white statue standing gracefully in a pocket of ferns. The features of the pallid stone face looked very familiar.
"Is that a statue of Tarna?"
Orna sighed. "You're not going to let us ssleep at all are you?"
"No. Is that Tarna or not?"
"Why are you afraid to go to ssleep?"
"I am a spirit."
"You're telling me sspirits never rest?"
"Be glad we do, Corban. Else I'd have taken you the first time you boarded Talon."
"Huh." Orna rolled them over so that their underside was exposed to the moist heat. Roar Far thought it felt very nice. "I wondered about that. So you were ssleeping on the job then?"
A rush of anger flashed through Roar Far's mind, but she let it dissipate as quickly as it came. The Corban was right. She had been sleeping on the job. She'd only awakened when she'd sensed Tarna's conscious presence. "Yes. I fear--"
Roar Far stopped herself. What was the matter with her? You never revealed a weakness to the enemy! And the Corban was her enemy...wasn't she?
"You fear what?"
Roar Far let out a snort. "I fear you'll never tell me if that statue is Tarna or not."
"Yes, it's the Great One. Dal gave it to me, but Kaylith hates it. She wanted to ssmash it on sight."
"Ha! Now that sounds like the Tarna I know!"
Orna picked up two sponges with her first and third tentacles and dipped them into the water. She squeezed the sponges over their torso, letting the warm water trickle over their skin.
Roar Far tried to suppress a groan of pleasure, but couldn't.
"I can tell you're not being honest," the Corban said. "That's okay. We all have our little fears. Most of the time, they do no harm."
"Are you saying my fears could cause harm?"
"Well, you've already possessed and tried to kill me," Orna pointed out. "Although I think anger had more to do with that than fear. You're a sspirit. What could you possibly fear?"
Now it was Roar Far's turn to sigh. She was afraid all right, but didn't want to admit it. Still, she needed someone to talk to. Tarna's mind was too powerful to understand. And that Terran--Jack--Roar Far still wasn't sure what to make of him.
She sensed his power already surpassed Tarna's--and it was still growing.
As for the Ell-van, Dal--forget it. Though he seemed very intelligent, he didn't strike her as particularly brave. And even though she'd come to love an Ell-van in her time, she didn't trust them. For a telepathic race, most Ell-vans had no imagination.
So that left this Corban, a person she should distrust most of all, and yet she felt closer to her than anyone else on board.
Maybe because they were sharing the same skin?
Roar Far had always regarded Corbans as sneaky cowards. Now, against all instinct, she found herself grudgingly coming to like Orna. Orna gave as good as she got. She wasn't afraid to speak her mind. She had the soul of--a warrior.
Orna wasn't a coward at all. If anyone was frightened here, it was Roar Far.
"I fear--" Roar Far began, then stopped. Orna said nothing, she merely waited. "I fear--" Roar Far said, stronger this time "--I am not a good spirit."
"You'll get no argument here, what with you possessing me and all," Orna said, adroitly regaining control of their eyes to close them and lift their head into the mist. "But--I have to ask, why do you think you're not a good sspirit?"
"I--there are no--" Horrified, Roar Far felt a sob clutch in their throat.
"Sssh. Sssh," Orna hissed soothingly. "It's okay."
Water leaked through their closed eyes. Tears! She was making them weep! Roar Far felt like slithering away in embarrassment. "It is not okay," Roar Far cried. "I am a stupid spirit!"
"Oh, c'mon now," Orna said. "I'll admit, I think you're kind of thick-headed, but you're not dumb."
"Yes, I am! There's supposed to be guides here. Other spirits. They're supposed to teach me what to do--how to help my people--how to--be a spirit. But the Sentari took the sword with my ancestors away. It has left me blind. I didn't even know you people were here until Tarna woke up! Why didn't I know you were taking her from Talon?"
There, Roar Far thought, angrily slapping at the concrete slab with their tail. She'd done it now! She'd not only confessed her weakness, she'd shown it to the Corban. Surely, she'd made a mistake.
But she felt so--so ignorant. Spirits knew how to protect the land. Spirits knew how to do--well, miracles! All she'd managed to accomplish so far was to possess first Talon and then Orna.
That had been more out of her instinct for self-preservation. And what good had it done? She hadn't even managed to possess Orna completely. How could she exist as such a failure?
"I ssee the problem," Orna said. "You don't know what to do with yourself."
"YES! That's it exactly. By all rights, I shouldn't even be here."
"Perhapss when we take your body back to Tjornak, you'll be able to contact other guides and they'll explain what you're ssupposed to do."
"You don't understand! Even though the Sentari took my sword, I should be able to contact the voices of my ancestors now!"
"Have you tried?"
"Yes. But they don't answer. Perhaps the Sentari keep them from answering. Or perhaps I am simply doing it wrong." Roar Far hung their head. "I feel--ashamed. Spirits aren't supposed to possess the living. Only for special times and then only if the host is willing. Otherwise, it is forbidden."
"Then by Oola's sshell, why did you possess me?"
Roar Far mentally shrugged. She didn't have control of their shoulders to do it physically. "I just wanted to watch over Tarna and didn't know what else to do. Her mind--the power of it--scares me. I didn't want to share consciousness with her. That's why I possessed you instead of Tarna."
"Is this your way of saying you're ssorry?"
"No. I wanted to punish you too."
"Because I'm a Corban."
"Yes."
Orna laughed. "Well, cheer up then. If you wanted to punish me, I'd ssay you are succeeding admirably."
"I don't--I don't really want to punish you any more," Roar Far confessed. "For a Corban, you are--tolerable."
"You're not bad company either." Orna dropped the sponges into the water. "Let's go get a towel, okay?"
"Why? I thought you wanted to sleep."
"Well, since you either can't or won't let us, we might as well get some work done. I'd like to run some tests on the ssamples I took from the Talon's hull and stasis chamber. Maybe they can tell us who sabotaged your ship."
"Good. Then we can hunt them down and kill them!"
"Uh--maybe," Orna said. "We'll ssee."
Together, they slid over to Orna's towel bar to dry themselves with an orange cloth as big as a blanket. Roar Far was more than willing to cooperate. At least the Corban had thought of something for them to do besides basking.
Maybe Deke's old Terran saying was right. Confession was good for the soul. Roar Far felt better already.
* * *
Like Jack's cabin, Dal's quarters were strictly utilitarian, although he did favor the soft pinks and browns of his homeworld for his furnishings. Dal could feel his heart pounding as he prowled the confines of his room. He didn't know if his restlessness was due to lingering effects from the stimulants or because of the mindshock he'd gotten from Jack or because he was still angry at being outvoted by the others.
Probably all of the above.
Whatever the case, he couldn't sleep even though he knew he desperately needed rest. His mind raced, unable to shut off the images he'd seen in Jack and Kaylith's minds.
"I must calm myself," Dal muttered aloud. "Perhaps mental exercises will aid me." With that in mind, he sat on his bunk and tucked his long legs into a lotus position. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and clutched his palacite crystal in his left hand. Then he reached out with his senses...
And felt nothing. No Mindmasters. No Jack or Kaylith. Moons, he couldn't even sense Roar Far and Orna in the cabin next door! Why hadn't he been given the psychic gifts so many of his people were born with? All he'd ever been able to do is mindspeak.
It rankled him that he had no say in what happened when the Mindmasters came. Untalented as he was, he'd never so much as been in a Mindmaster's presence. He wanted to believe they were wise and all-knowing, as he'd been taught, instead of as Kaylith thought them, greedy and lustful for power.
He was too angry to concentrate on this mental exercise. Perhaps he should try to meditate instead. If nothing else, examining his own thoughts always soothed him. So he took another deep breath and began again, this time focusing his attention inward.
Turmoil. He tried to let the images in his mind flow, but most of what he saw came from his mental links with Kaylith and Jack. Lies... perhaps Orna had been right, they had been lied to.
The question was...by who?
So much psychic energy around him... and he couldn't sense any of it. Perhaps he never would. The very idea of that sent him into despair. His thoughts took a dark turn, foreseeing a future where he would ever strive to improve his mind, and always, always fail.
There was no honor in failure. He just needed to try harder, that's all.
Again he clutched the crystal. This time, he imagined all of his mental energy being channeled into the pendant. It seemed like hours as he gripped the stone and concentrated. Sweat formed on his brow and pooled in his palms.
A trickle of energy...a vague sensation of his essence leaving his body and then the cabin itself. Yes! He'd done it! He could sense Orna/Roar Far now. They were chatting, quite amiably, about her water garden.
His elation began to fade. Perhaps he imagined it. Why would Orna be friendly with the angry spirit that had possessed her? Even for Orna, that didn't make sense.
He tried sensing Jack and Kaylith, but again sensed nothing. Their mental shields were far too powerful for even his enhanced mind to penetrate.
He had to know if he'd learned how to sense other minds or not. Mastering a new mental ability meant everything to him. He'd try one more time... and think big.
He imagined his thoughts going out beyond the physical barrier of the ship. Beyond this empty section of space... out there. His mind began to feel cold and empty, yet he doggedly hung on. I'm here, he mindsaid. I'm here.
Just when he was about to admit he'd failed yet again, he heard the barest mental whisper. Who's there?
It felt far away, and yet he immediately detected a hint of menace. Startled, he tried to sever the link.
And became more frightened when he discovered the mind on the other end wouldn't let him go.
* * *
"Safe sex?" Kaylith frowned as she tried to remember what in Shallog's name they'd been talking about. "What do you mean?"
Jack made it difficult for her to concentrate. He stood before her in all his naked glory with a maddeningly sensual smile curving his lips. He certainly looked... uh... ready. And good.
Mouth-wateringly good.
Golden hair lightly dusted his sleek, muscled chest and flat belly. It tapered to a fine line and darkened as her eyes roamed past his belly-button to the nest between his narrow hips. Then she noticed his erection.
That pretty much diverted her attention away from everything else. She'd never seen an aroused man before. Not while she was awake anyway.
Somehow, it looked more...well, just more real than she remembered from their dreams. When he sat beside her and nuzzled her neck, she couldn't take her eyes off his lap. "You shield me, and I'll shield you," he murmured. "We link in every way possible."
She shivered at the warmth of his breath and lips against her skin. What was he talking about again? Linking. Oh yes, she wanted to link with him very much! Every way possible sounded good too. As if it had a mind of its own, her hand reached out to stroke the tip of his penis.
The texture of his shaft's skin felt like sun-warmed velvet. A tiny pearl of moisture appeared in response to her caress. Fascinated, she touched a finger to the pearl, then traced a moist circle around its source.
Her hand tingled as if she'd touched a shocking sword.
Jack groaned, grabbed her wrist, and kissed her. She welcomed the onslaught of his mouth ravaging hers and the touch of his mind demanding the link. "We do this together," he whispered, his voice rough with need. "What you feel, I feel."
He unzipped her blue sleepsuit all the way and parted the fabric to stroke her belly, her ribs, her breasts. When her left breast was uncovered, he ran his tongue around her nipple. Then he gently sucked it.
"Yes!" she cried, as a shudder of pleasure jarred her insides. With it came a rush of hungry desire...not just hers, but Jack's too. "What you feel, I feel."
Excitement and anticipation shimmered through every nerve in her body. Her clothes only hampered her quest to lie next to him, flesh pressed to flesh. No sooner had she thought this than Jack began to strip her.
He took his time about it though. They both felt how he savored watching the slow peel of the sleepsuit from her body. They both felt the tingle of cool air as her skin was exposed. When he'd bared shoulder, he lightly ran a fingernail down her arm. It tickled, but not in a way that made them laugh.
Instead they held their breath as sharp prickles of pleasure followed the path of his finger. Goosebumps popped up on her arm, and she noticed he had them too.
When he stopped, they exhaled and savored the lingering sensation. Such a little gesture, a mere caress between most lovers. But to Jack and Kaylith's linked minds, the action and reaction mingled into one incredible sensation.
"Moons!" Jack muttered, through clenched teeth. "I don't know if I can last long like this." He sat up into a kneeling position and gently urged her to do the same. Naked and face to face now, they had full access to each other's bodies.
Kaylith's hands roamed over his chest and shoulders. "So beautiful," Jack said, sliding his palms along the curve of her neck, then her collarbones on the way to cup her breasts. His thumbs gently tweaked the tips her nipples. They both gasped in sheer delight as her body arched in response.
They wanted more. She looked into the hot blue of his eyes and saw the cool green of her own. His smile mirrored hers as their excitement continued to build. Their hands smoothed and mouths sampled the curves, textures, and flavors of their bodies. Every touch, every taste, fed the duality of their passion. Action and reactions blurred as the sensations spiraled higher, harder, and faster.
As one, they reached for each other, their mouths fusing into a torrid kiss. Kaylith moved to straddle to him, eager to take him into her and put an end to their excruciating need.
Somewhere in the back of her mind came the thought sex was supposed to hurt a virgin. She ignored the thought as they both took a deep breath and she impaled herself on him.
Pain sliced through them. And indescribable pleasure too. "Easy, easy," Jack soothed. He wanted them to take it slow, to allow her time to adjust to the feel of him inside her.
But she also knew he wanted to bury himself deeper in her and his need for completion drove hers. She felt as if they would die if they stopped now. She lifted herself slightly and then opened her legs wider as she rolled her hips forward to slowly take him all the way in.
He felt the painfully exquisite sensation of his penis stretching and filling her. She felt the delicious warmth of herself enveloping and surrounding him. Linked in every possible way, their minds burned bright in the splendor of their pleasure even as their bodies sought the sweet release of their need.
Their voices and minds cried out joyously as they reached their climax together. Hearts beating as one, they clung to each other as their bodies shuddered through the aftermath. "Better than dreams," Kaylith murmured against Jack's lips just before she kissed them.
"Not bad for our first time," Jack agreed. He flopped onto his back, pulling her along so she remained on top of him.
"Not bad?" She gave his shoulder a playful slap, then propped her elbows on his chest to stare down at him. A satisfied half-smile curved his lips. And his eyes...had they ever been such a tranquil shade of blue? They looked as calm and clear as an icy mountain pool. "We were wonderful and you know it."
His smile widened. "Yeah, but we were so turned on, it didn't last long."
"Oh, don't be greedy. How long should paradise last?"
"With you? Forever, I hope." Though he gave her a reassuring kiss, his smile faded and his eyes darkened, replacing his expression of satisfied serenity with something else. She tried to search his mind to find out what it was, but much to her frustration, found nothing. How could he hide his thoughts from her so well?
And why now, when their bodies and minds were still warmed by the afterglow of their mating?
Well, she was not going to let him get away with that! Lovers were supposed to share everything, their pleasures... and their pain. "Something's bothering you," she said. "What is it?"
When he didn't answer right away, fear gripped her. She tried to push away, but he caught her arms and wouldn't let go. "The Mindmasters! They heard us!"
"Calm yourself, my love," he soothed, gently folding her back into his embrace. "Your dire predictions of galactic orgasms did not come true."
"Thank Shallog for that." Kaylith said. "Are you sure?"
"Listen for yourself."
She did, cocking a mental ear for the sound of other minds. She didn't hear anything from the Mindmasters, but she could hear Orna and Roar Far discussing organic acids in the med lab. And Dal--wait! Something was wrong with Dal. She could barely sense him. The Elvan had never displayed such strong mental shields before!
"Someone has captured Dal's mind," Jack said, even as Kaylith realized it. He gave her a light kiss, then let her go. When he rolled from the bed, her feet hit the floor on the other side at the same time. He tossed her sleepsuit at her and she threw his pants at him.
"It's not a Mindmaster. I'm sure of it," Kaylith said as she shrugged into the sleepsuit again. Really, she needed to find something more comfortable to wear. She wouldn't have minded having time for a shower either, but Dal needed their help now!
"Yeah, you're right. It's the weird thing." He pulled his pants on and tied them shut. "Still think its Sentari?"
"If we hurry, maybe we can find out."
Barefoot, they ran out the door and raced to Dal's cabin.
Talon
Tjornak Orbit
Terran year, 3616
Elvan, 17, 373
Unity, B.U. 8
"We should have heard from Tith by now," Roar Far said for the third time in thirty minutes. She prowled the bridge of the Talon like a caged feline, driving the rest of the crew crazy. "Why can't you hear him, Tarna?"
"A bit antsy today, aren't we?" Higgins said, without looking up. She kept her eyes glued on the scanner console in case any of the IML or Fleet ships suddenly noticed them. Even after their undetected arrival, Higgy found it hard to believe the Tjorn spirits could hide their ship.
Kaylith couldn't blame her. She knew it was hard to put your faith into something you could not see. Even though she'd spoken with Wikvaya... knew the spirits were real, she wondered how much help they could really be.
Kaylith supposed they were about to find out.
Deke sat at the next station, monitoring the systems display. Kaylith figured he'd volunteered for the position more out of his desire to stay near Higgy than his mechanical aptitude. He watched the women's conversation with interest.
"Antsy?" Roar Far asked. "What is this antsy?"
"An ant is a tiny Terran insect," Higgins replied. "It runs around all day--"
"You are comparing me to a bug?" Roar Far sounded incredulous, as if she were really asking, 'Do you want to die?'
"No, Roar Far. Higgy wasn't doing that," Kaylith said soothingly. "She meant maybe you should sit down and relax a little."
"How can I relax when Tith--"
Kaylith got up from the flight seat and put a comforting arm around Roar Far's shoulders. She guided her--again--to the weapons station.
The Tjorn knew nothing about IML tech, but she liked the idea of shooting things. Kaylith had shown her how to aim and fire the laser canons to pass the time. Unfortunately, the Tjorn caught on too fast and was back to being antsy. "Trust me," Kaylith said, "Tith is fine. He'll let me know as soon as he finds the vaccine."
Roar Far nodded and sat down, apparently reassured for the moment. But only for a moment. Ten seconds later, she sprang to her feet again. "You should have sent me with him instead of that Ell-van woman."
"Oh, Moons!" Higgy said under her breath.
Deke chuckled. "Here we go again."
Kaylith sent them a quelling glance, then went to Roar Far. "We've been through this about a dozen times now. You're a great warrior and I've no doubt you'd do your best to protect him, but--"
"I could protect him far better than that Ell-van woman. I bet I could snap her skinny arms like twigs." Roar Far made a break-a-branch gesture with her fists.
"Yes," Kaylith said, feeling it safer to agree, "you could. But your presence on the Embassy's ship would attract too much attention."
"If the spirits can hide this ship, then surely they could hide me."
Kaylith held her breath as she felt the tingle of Tith's mind seeking hers. "Hang on," she told Roar Far absently. "It's Tith."
Now the rest of the crew was holding their breath too.
They tried to fool us, sister, but not too hard, Tith's mind said. The vaccine is on one of the escort ships--the Corban ESS class cruiser.
Well, that makes sense, Kaylith answered. Are you sure it's the real thing?
Ah yes, it's the real thing. Tell Roar Far that I win our bet.
"Tarna, what does Tith say? Is anything wrong?"
What is it with you two? She's been driving us nuts worrying about you.
My sweet little warrior is upset?
Sweet little warrior, was it? Just how close did these two get after Kaylith took to her blanket last night?
"Tarna, if you don't tell me what Tith is saying, I will hit that Higgins female!"
Your sweet little warrior is threatening to beat up Higgy right now, Kaylith told Tith.
"Hey," Higgy protested. "Why pick on me?"
"Tarna is Khouree. I cannot fight a sister. Deke is too slow. You are the only one here worth fighting. You might last ten seconds against me."
"Hey," Deke objected. "What do you mean, I'm too slow?"
"Ten seconds?" Higgy growled.
"Besides," Roar Far added, ignoring Deke and Higgy's outrage, "you called me an antsy."
She just misses me. Tell her we'll be sharing blankets again by sundown.
Congratulations on your active love life, but you can tell her that yourself when we rendezvous down on the planet. Fifteen minutes, okay?
Make it thirty. The Ambassadors have company--Corban officers from their cruiser.
The hairs on the back of Kaylith's neck stood up and an unpleasant buzz sounded inside her ears.
They've seen you and Zar?
No, no one has, but with Corbans you have to worry more about scent than seeing. Zar and I are hiding in an air vent over the delegation's conference room.
"Tarrrrrrna!" Roar Far said, shaking Kaylith's shoulder. "What does he say?"
"He says be quiet, you'll be sharing his blanket by sundown," Kaylith growled. "Happy now?" To Tith, she added, Forget the rendezvous. We will attempt to board the Corban ship now while their commanders are away. Time to find out whether the spirits can hide us or not! You and Zar get down on the surface and find a shady spot until I or the Tjorns contact you.
Tith began to protest, but Kaylith easily shut out his objections. At least this way if they were caught, Tith and Zar should be in the clear.
Even as she made this rationalization, Kaylith knew it wasn't the real reason. The buzz in her ears was turning into an overwhelming siren of urgency. Even though she had a really bad feeling about this, she knew they couldn't delay.
The time to strike was now. They must not wait.
"Higgy, make for the Corban's ESS cruiser. Deke, get ready to man the grapples. Roar Far, get Talks To Spirits on the com line and tell him to start praying."
Kaylith scowled at the view screen controls while she barked her orders. When she looked up, she saw her three friends were staring--at her. "What are you guys gawking at?" she asked. "Let's go!"
"Uh sis, that wasn't the plan, but okay," Deke said, swiveling around to activate the grapples. Higgy said nothing, but she narrowed her eyes and shook her head before turning her attention to the Talon's navigation controls.
Roar Far on the other hand, didn't seem to care. She was too busy telling Talks To Spirits to get ready.
Kaylith returned her attention to the viewscreen, bringing the cams around to focus on the Corban's ESS cruiser. She couldn't blame her friends for feeling confused, because she felt confused herself. She didn't know why she'd decided to deviate from their plan...she just felt this crazy sense of urgency.
And it grew stronger with each passing second. It was as if there were a thousand voices in her head screaming 'Now! Now! Now!'
"Distance 36,000 kilometers and closing," Higgy said, even though Kaylith could see their progress on the screen. "Guess we'll find out any second now whether or not the Corbans can see us."
What if the Corbans did see them? Oh, Shallog, Kaylith prayed. I don't know what I'm doing. Give me wisdom. Give me...
Flicker. A face. Cobalt blue eyes, blonde spiky hair... her dream man. Jack gave her a dazzling smile and said, "Relax and think, Kallie. You can make sure they don't see you. Just use your head."
In the blink of an eye, Jack's image and words flashed through her mind. She gasped at the vision's intensity and clarity. "Kaylith," Deke asked. "Are you all right?"
"Ten seconds until we're in docking range," Higgy announced. She glanced over her shoulder. "Kaylith, you're swaying. What's going on?"
Think, he'd said. She had to think. Closing her eyes, she opened her mind. Instantly, she heard the clamoring mindvoices of Tith and Zar. Wait, she told them, turning her focus towards the cruiser.
Ten Corbans. No, Eleven. They were not aware of the Talon's approach yet. She couldn't let them see! Darkness, she thought. The Corbans must see nothing. Hear nothing. Feel nothing. Say nothing. Only darkness and silence must fill their minds!
"Tarna, what is wrong?" Roar Far demanded.
"Must focus," Kaylith said, through her clenched teeth. Her legs wobbled. Her stomach twisted with revulsion. She tried to open her eyes, but her vision immediately grayed. She closed her eyelids tight and fought to ignore the acrid bile gathering in her throat.
The Corbans' minds repulsed her. None of them cared about the Tjorns dying on the planet below. Some of the Corbans even took pleasure in the Tjorns' suffering, deeming it just retribution for their refusal to open Tjornak for trade. How could these Corbans be so greedy? So merciless and cold?
Try as she might to find some vestige of compassion in them, she couldn't. The Corbans were simply cold, dark, and evil.
She could use that though. She could turn their own darkness against them!
"Attach the cables as soon as we are in range," Kaylith murmured. "Then prepare to board the cruiser."
"Are you nuts?" Higgy cried. "How are we going to keep the rest of the fleet from seeing us?"
"Do not disturb her," Kaylith heard Roar Far say. "Can you not see she is in a sacred trance?"
"Sacred trance my ass! She looks like she's going to pass out. Deke, take your sister to medical. I'm aborting this mission."
Don't, Higgy, Kaylith's mind cried. I'm okay, but it is a strain to keep the Corbans distracted. Deploy the cables now!
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about," Higgins shouted. "But, I'm turning this ship around!"
The hell you are, Kaylith thought. "Roar Far, stop her!" she cried.
From far away, Kaylith heard the crash of a sword hitting the console. "Do what Tarna says, hu-man," Roar Far said, her voice deadly calm. "Today, we save my people."
Silence was broken only in Kaylith's mind by the bewildered thoughts of the Corbans. They were scared now, really scared. Yeah, as well they should be after what they'd done to the Tjorns. She wondered how the Corbans would like it if it were their people who were dying by the millions?
Spitefully, Kaylith filled their minds with visions of Corba being infected by the plague. Images of the Corbans dying in the streets, their houses, their conveyances. Their pleas for help met only by the Tjorn's scornful laughter.
The Corbans were beyond scared now. They were frozen in fear. Kaylith struggled to keep them that way.
"Cables deployed," Deke said, his voice still faint in Kaylith's ears. It was as if her reality was slipping away and her visions were becoming real. She shuddered, but forced herself to keep transmitting the images. "Activating docking clamps now," Deke said. "Docking complete. Looks like we're ready to board."
"If we did this right, we should walk right into their cargo hold," Higgy said. Then she added, "Roar Far, I'd appreciate it if you lowered your weapon."
"You call this a mere weapon?" Roar Far scoffed. "This is a shocking sword, hu-man. A fine blade powered by the spirits of my ancestors. If I wanted to--and I do--I could fry your neural net with one pulse."
"Impressive," Higgy said. "But could you please lay off the warrior queen routine long enough for us to steal the Corban's medicine?"
Roar Far opened her mouth to reply, but her com line beeped and then they all heard Talks to Spirits say, "Roar Far, tell Tarna to release the Corbans. The spirits have control of them now. They thank Tarna for showing them the way."
"What?" Deke and Higgy shouted together.
Roar Far didn't hesitate. She shoved her blade into its scabbard, then went to Kaylith and shook her. Kaylith barely felt it. "Tarna, let the Snake People go," she ordered quietly. "You have shown the spirits the way. They can protect us now."
"Are you sure?" Kaylith murmured. When she open her eyes, it looked as if Roar Far were shouting at her from the end of a long tunnel. Her voice and body were far away. "What if they--"
"I'm sure. Turn your thoughts away from the Snake People. You must trust the spirits. If you open your mind, you will hear them."
Terrified she was doing the very thing that would get them caught, Kaylith released the Corbans' minds.
As soon as she did, there it was... that buzzing sound again. Only this time Kaylith realized it was the sound of thousands of disembodied Tjorn minds. The spirits spoke soothingly. She sensed their fierce joy. They were happy about being able to help their people.
They were happy at this taste of revenge against the Corbans.
Kaylith bid the Tjorn spirits farewell, then wearily shut out their minds. She didn't share their joy. What she'd just done to those Corban crewmen was cruel.
It was something Meeral might have done.
For the first time in her life, Kaylith knew she was capable of using her mind with the same spiteful malevolence as her mother. She didn't like it. She didn't like it one bit.
She sighed, then looked over at Deke and Higgy. Her half-brother and best friend stared back as if she'd turned green. Maybe I am green, Kaylith thought. I definitely feel sick to my stomach.
Deke was first to break the silence. "Mind if I ask what that was all about?"
"You'll find out soon enough," Kaylith snapped. She could tell her answer pissed him off, but she didn't care right now. All that mattered was for them to get the job done and get the hell away from the Corbans. "Let's just go get the damn vaccine, okay?"
She headed for the airlock without giving them the chance to reply.
* * *
Deke reached out with a hand sheathed in a thick pressure suit glove to touch the cowering Corban. The creature completely ignored him. Its tentacles flailed at some unseen enemy over its head instead. It hissed and wailed in a pitiful way that made Deke shudder.
Then again, he'd been spooked ever since Kaylith had gone into that sacred trance or whatever it was. From the moment he'd met her, he'd known his Sentari half-sister was different.
Certainly different than good ol' Rock, although... Rock could do some weird things with his mind if he got anywhere near palacite. Still, Deke could tell just from the way they mindspoke that Kaylith's mind power was way different than Rock's. Different than any telepathic mind he'd encountered before.
But this... well, this went beyond being different. This was flat-out weird.
Three Corbans had been on guard in the cargo hold. He'd called a warning out to Roar Far as she entered, but the Tjorn simply walked right past the guards as if they didn't exist. Or maybe... as if she didn't exist for them. Whatever. It was weird.
Kaylith followed right behind Roar Far, even though from the look on her face, she wanted to puke so badly she couldn't stand it. Deke brought up the rear, glancing over his shoulder one last time at Higgy.
Higgy looked pissed. And not because she needed to stay behind as their back up either. She was pissed because he hadn't tried to jump Roar Far when the Tjorn had held the shocking sword to her throat.
Deke shrugged and blew his lovely blonde a kiss, then headed on his way, hearing Higgy slam the air lock door behind him. Higgy would get over it. She never stayed mad... well, not for too long anyway.
Besides, Deke thought as he shouldered his rifle and fell into step behind Roar Far and Kaylith, it was all Higgy's fault they were there in the first place. She'd been the one who'd wanted to come. Deke would have been happy being back on Amusia, resting his bum leg on some sultry beach.
But no, Higgy had nagged him about duty to friends and family, about doing what was right instead of what was easy. Didn't he want to make his father proud? With his busted up knee, a Tackleball career wasn't going to last forever. And so on... and so on.
For years, she'd pestered him and Rock with her flirtations. Letting her catch him on Amusia had seemed like a good idea at the time. Now, looking down at the Corban guard squirming around his feet, Deke wondered if he hadn't made the biggest mistake of his life.
Too late to back out now, he thought. Somewhere along the line, he'd fallen hard for Higgy and he wasn't about to let her go now.
He looked up and saw Kaylith examining storage box labels. "I think this is it," she said, her voice husky and hushed. Her eyes were wide as they met his. "We did it. We've found the vaccine."
Tjornak, Southern Continent
Northwestern Plains, Khouree Territory
Terran year, 3616
Elvan, 17, 373
Unity, B.U. 8
On a sandstone bluff high above the Khouree Plains, Kaylith lay on her back staring up at the stars glittering in the blue-black dome of Tjornak's night sky. If she happened to look down, she could watch the progress of the IML Fleet soldiers on the plain below. Their searchlights snaked around the hills and through the valleys as they vainly sought to find her and the Khouree tribe. From time to time, the Embassy shuttles would do fly-bys, but not once did they seem to notice their campfires.
The spirits were making sure the soldiers couldn't find them.
By the time the ground troops reached this place, she and what remained of the Khouree should be long gone. So she stared at the stars while she thought over and over again... what have I done?
Oh yes, she and her friends had found the vaccine and brought it to the Tjorns, who even now were sending riders out in all directions to distribute the medicine to the other tribes. By this time the next day, the vaccine would be well on its way to healing thousands of infected Tjorns.
What then?
From all appearances, the Tjorns did not have the technology to replicate the vaccine for the millions more who needed it, although Talks To Spirits kept telling her not to worry. The spirits had already told the shaman healers what to do.
Despite their ability to shield the Tjorns from Otherworlders, Kaylith had a hard time believing these ghosts could perform medical miracles. If they could, why then didn't they just cure the Tjorns in the first place?
Destiny dictated events worked out this way, Talks To Spirits had said. The workings of the spirits would become clear in time.
What if destiny now dictated the spirits couldn't figure out the ingredients for the vaccine? Kaylith refused to take that chance. She had Zar running an analysis on it using the Talon's computers. Just in case. It never hurt to have a back up plan.
Since she could do no more to help in this area... after all, she wasn't a scientist...she turned her mind to more immediate and troubling worries.
Would the Corbans demand retribution from the Tjorns because of their thievery? If that were the case, the Tjorns wouldn't have a chance, spirits or no. The Corbans would not rest until they had they decimated Tjornak down to the very last tribe.
Had she saved the Tjorns from the Ernai's disease, only to watch them die by war? No! That was not going to happen. She couldn't let the Corbans blame the Tjorns.
That meant... she had to put the blame on herself. She could do it. She could easily convince them it had all been her idea.
But if she did that, it would also mean incriminating her friends. She couldn't let that happen either. She had to find a way to make herself the sole scapegoat.
That might be possible. After all, as far as the IML knew, today's theft had been the work of Kaylith and the Khouree. Then again, maybe not. It was quite possible they blamed Tith too, since he'd disappeared from the Embassy's camp the day before it happened. But as far as Zar, Higgy and Deke were concerned, they could probably return to old lives with the IML none the wiser.
Probably. By Shallog's hair, Kaylith silently swore. I wish I could be certain.
"The spirits say you are thinking hard," said a stick-dry voice behind her. Kaylith tilted her head back and saw the wizened figure of Talks To Spirits standing behind her.
She gestured towards the lights of the searchers below. "That's because I have a lot to think about."
The old man sighed as he lowered himself to sit beside her. "The Khouree asked for your help. We are also to blame for the Snake People's anger. You do not have to take this all upon yourself."
Kaylith swore silently again. Tjorn spirits could be real tattle-tales when they wanted to be. "Yes, I do. If the Corbans blame me, then they'll leave your people alone. Maybe they'll leave my friends alone too."
"Maybe they will, maybe they won't. There's no sense in worrying about it until it happens."
She gave the shaman a sideways glance. "I thought Tjorn warriors are always prepared. Doesn't being prepared mean anticipating your enemy's next move?"
Talks To Spirits chuckled. "You forget, I am not a warrior. Neither are you for that matter, although your destiny requires you to walk the warrior's path from time to time. You've only begun your journey. You have very far to go before you reach your destination."
Kaylith studied the holy man's wizened face as he talked. The lines in his face temporarily faded even as his dark pupils dilated until she could no longer see the pale blue of his outer eyes. The timbre of his voice grew in strength until it was no longer the dry wheeze of an old man. It became deep, full-throated, and resonant.
She shivered, unsure if it was the unexpected gust of wind or Talk To Spirits' transformation that chilled her. She could only watch and listen, feeling a growing dread over what he was saying.
"The people and spirits of this world will always protect you, Tarna. Never doubt this. We will be there with you until the time comes for you to walk the warrior's path no more. This world will change because of what you did for us today. There will be suffering, but there will also be great joy for all the tribes of Tjornak. And for you."
He turned to look her in the face, his black within black eyes freezing her with their intensity. "You are right about the Corban's wrath. Our conflict with them is not over. And for a time, only you can stay it. You must take the blame for stealing the vaccine. But when you do, you must take the blame in your Khouree name. You MUST. Do you understand?"
Kaylith nodded, too numb to speak.
"Do not be mistaken. They will hunt you. They will chase you far across the stars. But you need never truly fear them because your greatest challenges will always come from your own blood."
Her own blood? Did he mean her Sentari blood... Meeral?
Who else could he mean?
"We will be with you. He will be with you. The man from your dreams. Remember, you never walk alone. Powers be with you, Star Sister."
With that, Talks To Spirits closed his eyes and bowed his head. The lines in his face returned. Once again, he was only an old wizened man, with stick-dry voice to match.
"Guess you were right and I was wrong," he said, opening his eyes. "I am sorry, Tarna, for what you must endure in the days to come."
"Was that you talking or one of your spirits?"
"It was--many spirits. They can be--tiring. Would you help an old man back to the campfire?"
"Of course," Kaylith said, leaping to her feet. She extended her hand and he gripped it feebly. When he couldn't gain his feet, she lifted him. His body felt as light as a flutterby's as she carried him back to camp.
Neither of them said a word. The Spirits had already said all there was to say.
* * *
"Attention all IML vessels. My name is Tarna. I claim responsibility for stealing the Corban's vaccine. In one hour, I shall present myself to the Terran and Elvan delegation's base camp. According to IML interstellar law, I am entitled to a trial by a jury of my peers."
Deke sprang forward and severed the com connection by smashing the panel with his fist. "What in the farking hell do you think you're doing?"
Kaylith calmly folded her arms and faced her furious half-brother. To her surprise, the rest of the Talon's crew was standing behind him. She hadn't sensed them coming! That--and the expressions on their faces ruffled her composure.
Why... they looked as if they felt betrayed. How could that be?
It didn't matter. Kaylith lifted her chin defiantly and said, "You heard me. I'm turning myself in. There's nothing any of you can do about it."
Her crew, save Roar Far, responded all at once.
"Of all the stupid stunts!" Deke shouted.
Tith mindsaid in group mode, Do you really think we'd let you?
"We'll just see about that," Higgy hissed.
"Your actions are irrational," said Zar.
Roar Far stood apart from the rest, her eyes sad, but filled with understanding. Strange that she alone had already figured out Kaylith's motives. Motives that should be obvious to the rest of them.
"I thank you all for your concern," Kaylith said, "but I have to do this. I cannot allow the Corbans to harm the Tjorns any more than they already have. And I WILL NOT allow any of you to throw your careers away on my account."
"Trust me, Deke," she said, putting a hand on his arm. "This is best for everyone."
With a muffled oath, he jerked away. "Everyone except you, right?"
Kaylith shrugged. Deke was right, so what was the use in arguing?
"And that's supposed to make it okay?"
"I'll be fine, Deke. You'll see. What's important now is for the rest of you to get on with your lives." Kaylith blinked back unexpected tears. "You've been the best brothers, the best friends anyone could ask for. Thank you for that. And thank you for helping the Tjorns. I'll never forget you."
She gestured to the still-solemn Roar Far. " We've got a lot of ground to cover in the next hour. Let's go."
Roar Far, with only a nod to acknowledge Tith, headed towards the landing ramp. When Kaylith moved to follow, Deke and Tith immediately blocked her way.
You will not pass, Tith mindsaid.
"You're not goin' anywhere," Deke added.
Why couldn't they understand? "Look," Kaylith said, "this is my destiny, not yours. I'll be all right. The shaman and the spirits said so."
"Well," Higgy said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "that makes it okay then." She moved to stand beside the men. "I don't think so, Kay. We love you. And unlike the Tjorns and their spirits, we're not willing to let you sacrifice yourself for us."
"I'm telling you, I'll be fine!" Kaylith shouted, her fists clenching in frustration. She didn't want to use her mind against her friends, but they weren't giving her a choice. "Now step back, or I swear you guys will be sorry."
"We're already sorry," said Zar from behind her. Quick as a flash, she injected something into Kaylith's neck. "Sorry to deceive you like this, but it is for your own good."
Clamping a hand to her neck, Kaylith looked over her shoulder. "Zar, what have you done?"
Zar smiled serenely. "It's only a sleep shot. By the time you wake up, Tjornak will be far behind us."
Kaylith's knees buckled. Tith caught her before she hit the deck. No, no, no! Kaylith mindshouted. This isn't the way it is supposed to be!
Maybe not, Tith answered. But this is the way it's going to be. Roar Far, get your lovely blue butt back on this ship!
Kaylith was asleep before he finished the thought.
* * *
As the Talon rose like a miniature sun from the surface of Tjornak, Talks To Spirits watched until its lights faded into the atmosphere. "Thank you, Tarna," he said as the last light winked out. "The powers will watch over you."
Science Vessel Needle
Sentari Space
Terran year, 3749
Elvan, 17, 506
Unity, 151
"Dal!" Jack snapped his fingers before his crewmate's unblinking eyes. Nothing. The Elvan continued to stare sightlessly ahead, his ethereal face twisted in a grimace of horror.
"Whatever has him is completely locked into his mind," Kaylith said. "Don't you dare think about going in there after him!"
That was exactly what Jack had been thinking. He'd been able to help Orna when Roar Far possessed her, maybe--
"Maybe whatever has him will also get you," Kaylith said, flatly. "You knew it was only Roar Far before. We have no idea what this is, so forget it. I have no intention of watching you die again."
Jack sighed. She had a point. Still, what if they combined their mental strength?
"That might work," Kaylith agreed. "We'll try it."
Jack briefly wondered how she was able to read his thoughts right now, but decided it didn't matter. "Okay then...link with me."
He took Kaylith's hand and instantly made contact with her mind. This link felt different from the one they'd shared when they were making love. To him, it seemed as if they stood together in the white void of their dream world. But how could that be? They were awake!
Kaylith's surface thoughts flitted through his consciousness like flutterbys. She was worried about him keeping things from her and was trying to probe him.
Sorry, babe, Jack mindsaid, effortlessly shutting off certain sections of his mind. He didn't know how did it, he just did. He felt Kaylith hesitantly try another probe.
Some things are best left alone. You don't want to know what's going on back there. How do we reach Dal?
What are you trying to hide?
Kaylith, focus. Dal, remember? What do we do now?
Kaylith blinked as Dal, still sitting in lotus position, suddenly joined them in the white void. He floated in the air a few meters away, his face contorted with fear. Waves of terror radiated from his mind.
"Ooookay," Jack uneasily drawled. "I didn't do that. You?"
Kaylith shook her head. "Uh-uh. Jack, doesn't it seem like we're in the white void from our dreams?"
"I was going to mention that," he said, gripping her hand a little tighter.
"How can that be? We're awake!"
"Exactly what I was wondering." He stared blankly at the hovering Dal, then shrugged. "I guess this is what happens when we link like this."
"It didn't happen when we were making love though, did it?"
"I don't think so. To be honest, I was too distracted by your charms to notice anything else."
She sighed. "Me too." When he smiled down at her, she added, "Your charms, I mean, not--oh never mind. What should we do about Dal? I can't bear how scared he is...and the way he just floats there--" she shuddered. "It creeps me out."
"What do you suggest? Try to link with his mind?"
"We'd risk the same danger as before. The weird thing might get control of us too."
"Surely, we're stronger here--" Jack began.
"There's got to be another way," Kaylith said. "You're the big brain, the science guy. Think!"
"Yeah, but you have more experience with using mind power than me."
"We need to know who or what has him--"
"Then that's what we do. We make the weird thing reveal itself."
Kaylith rolled her eyes. "And just how do we do that?"
"Same as when we are dreaming. We think whatever it is out of him."
"Jack, this is the real world, not--"
"Is it? Look around, Kallie. Does this look like the real world to you?"
What with Dal floating there in the white nothingness, Kaylith had to admit he had a point. Still...
If you have a better idea, I'm open to suggestion, Jack mindsaid.
"I--I don't know what to think anymore," Kaylith said. "This doesn't seem possible."
"Then it's time to try the impossible." He stroked her cheek with his free hand. "Trust me, Kallie," he whispered. "I know we can do this."
"I trust you," she replied, although now she felt like she had tingly flutterbys dancing in her stomach. "Tell me what to think."
"How about something simple like--whoever you are, release Dal and show yourself?"
"Works for me. Let's try." Together, they focused all their concentration on Dal.
Release Dal and show yourself. Release Dal and show yourself. Release Dal and show yourself. Release Dal and show yourself. Release Dal and show yourself. Together, their minds chanted the command over and over again.
Nothing happened. Except for the horrible twitching in his facial muscles, Dal didn't move.
It's not working, Kaylith mindsaid.
Focus. Give it everything you got.
Release Dal and show yourself. Release Dal and show yourself. Release Dal and show yourself. Release Dal and show yourself.
Kaylith could feel sweat forming in the palms of their joined hands. A low throbbing pulse began tormenting her stomach flutterbys, turning the tingling into something a lot like nausea. She forced herself to ignore it. Forced herself to give everything she had to the task at hand.
Release Dal and show yourself. Release Dal and show yourself.
Nothing happened.
It's not working, Kaylith mindsaid...again. She could feel sweat on her brow now. Her legs were starting to shake.
It has to, Jack replied. His mindvoice sounded a little shaky too.
I think I'm going to throw up.
"If you have to, go ahead," Jack said, his voice sounding hoarse from the strain. "But whatever you do, don't break the link."
Release Dal and show yourself. Release Dal and show yourself. Release Dal and show yourself. Release Dal and show yourself. Release Dal and show yourself. Release Dal and show yourself. Release Dal and show your--
Kaylith's vision grayed. She knew she couldn't last much longer. Jack mentally urged her to keep trying, even though she could sense his will weakening too.
Then Dal screamed. His sightless eyes rolled back until all they could see was white. The throbbing in Kaylith's belly increased sharply. Her legs gave way, bringing her to her knees. It took all of her strength to hold on to Jack's hand.
How Jack was still standing, she didn't know. She looked up at him. His lips were moving, chanting their command aloud now, but his voice sounded light years away.
"Release Dal and show yourself. Release Dal and show yourself. RELEASE DAL AND SHOW YOURSELF!"
As Jack shouted his last command, a small, masked figure suddenly appeared beside Dal. It was gowned in a simple black robe that hid every inch of its humanoid body. The mask covered the being's head completely, the only hint of the living presence inside was its black within black eyes.
The front of the mask glowed neon pink and was carved in the shape of a woman's face. When the figure looked down at the now convulsing Dal, Kaylith caught a glimpse of a mirror image of the pink carvings etched into black crystal on the back.
The mask had two faces.
Palacite in the front and malacite in the back, Kaylith thought dimly. Interesting choices for a mask. How could a being use the two crystals together without them canceling each other out?
Dal screamed again. The agony in his voice tore through Kaylith's heart. He'd come out of the lotus position, his arms and legs thrashing violently.
"RELEASE HIM NOW!" Jack bellowed.
Dal's cries and body stilled as the figure turned its attention to Jack.
What are you? it asked. I've never encountered such raw power before.
Its mindvoice felt hauntingly familiar. Kaylith gasped as the glimmer of recognition solidified in her mind. No. This could not be!
I must know what you are-- it mindsaid, thrusting the full brunt of its will to probe Jack's mind.
Jack reeled, his hand nearly slipping from Kaylith's. With a cry, she grabbed his fingers and held fast. Together, they turned the being's probe aside...barely.
Kaylith could sense Jack's rage through their link. He was gathering himself to send a probe back at his attacker.
"Jack, don't!" Kaylith cried.
At her plea, he hesitated, his expression confused. Before Kaylith could explain, the being mindsaid, You should be dead, you know. Dead like the rest of your sorry crew. Why won't you die?
"YOU killed them?" Kaylith whispered. "Why?"
Before the being could answer, Kaylith's link with Jack was shattered. She found herself kneeling at the foot of the unconscious Dal's bed. And Jack--Jack lay cradled in all four of Orna's arms.
She realized the possessed Corban had pulled them apart, severing their link.
"Tarna, what in the power's name is happening?" Roar Far/Orna asked.
"It was Tanith," Kaylith said, choking back a sob. "Shallog help me, my sister still wants me dead."
Science Vessel Needle
Sentari Space
Terran year, 3749
Elvan, 17, 506
Unity, 151
"Your ssister?"
When Kaylith didn't answer Orna, Roar Far did.
"Tarna's sister is a bleeding Zaphron turd. Of all the people to kill me, why did it have to be her? I bet she still has my sword too! Sneaky, backstabbing, whooek!"
"Whooek? What iss a whooek?"
Still cradled in the Corban's arms, Jack wondered if he'd ever get used to watching Orna talk to herself. Oddly enough, Orna looked comfortable with having Roar Far's spirit inside her now. She'd always been quick to adjust to any situation, but this was ridiculous.
"A whooek would share their blanket with anybody for a trinket. That Tanith killed me. I will not rest until I have killed her and got my sword back too."
"We don't know whether or not she killed you, Roar Far," Kaylith said, wearily wiping her tears away. Jack yearned to put his arms around her, but the four tentacles wrapped around him held fast. "She didn't admit it. It could have been someone else."
"Oh, I know. And you know too. How many more dekkeons and deaths will it take for you to admit it?"
"She didn't say she did it."
Orna made a derisive sound Jack had never heard her make before. It was a cross between swearing and a raspberry. "Your sister is as evil as your mother, only worse. Meeral only wants you to be Sentarl's queen. Tanith won't be happy until you're dead. If she didn't kill me, then she ordered someone else to do it! Either way, the next time she comes near me, she dies."
"You don't know that--" Kaylith began.
"How can you still defend her after all that's happened? What will it take to convince you? Maybe we should ask this poor, twitching, Ell-van here... or better yet... maybe we should go over to Talon and ask Tith and Deke what they think? Oh wait, we can't, because they're dead!"
Kaylith used the bed to push to her feet. Her movements were slow...deliberate. The pain flashing in her emerald eyes tore Jack's heart. He tried to send a comforting thought her way, but she shut him out. "I'll get a med kit for Dal," she whispered, then limped out of the room.
Jack tried to follow, but the Corban wouldn't let him go, ignoring his increasingly frantic efforts to get her tentacles off.
"That wass harsh," Orna admonished Roar Far.
"You have to be harsh with Tarna sometimes. Her heart has always been bigger than her head." Orna's second tentacle smacked the still-struggling Jack on top of the head. "Quiet, hu-man!"
"Ow! Orna, was that you or Roar Far? I thought you controlled the tentacles."
"Me, but she wanted me to do it, sso I did."
"Why?"
"Because she wants to tell you ssomething important."
"Fine, but can you both please let me go?"
Orna/Roar Far snorted. "All you'll do then is chase after Tarna. She needs a moment alone."
"She's had quite a sshock. Let her be."
"Yes, let her be and listen, hu-man. You need to know this." A fingercoil stroked his stinging head as if in mute apology. Jack impatiently shoved it away.
"When we went to Sentarl, Tanith betrayed Tarna. She promised to aide us, but she tried to kill Tarna instead."
Despite his worry for Kaylith, Jack realized this was the part of her story he didn't know. So he stopped fighting his losing battle with Orna's tentacles and asked, "What happened then?"
"Tith, Deke, and I were locked up in a very nasty chamber. There was no food, very little water, and it had Sentari and some other kind of corpses rotting in it. Green things." Orna/Roar Far closed her eyes and shuddered. "Only a barbarian would put a living creature in such a place. When Tarna rescued us, she said Meeral forced her to choose."
"Choose what?"
"Choose between their lives or the Fire Circle," Kaylith said from the doorway. "I chose the fire--for all the good that did us." Holding up the medkit, she moved to sit at Dal's side. As she checked the Elvan's pulse, she glanced over and asked, "Will you two please let Jack go? I could use his help here."
Orna's tentacles unwound from Jack's body and gently set him on his feet. It was only then Jack realized he probably could have tried forcing Orna to let go with his mind. Good thing he didn't. Things were getting weird enough on this ship. He didn't want Orna/Roar Far pissed at him too.
"He's breathing fine, but his pulse feels slow. I think we should give him a stimulant," Kaylith said as he moved to the other side of Dal's bed. Jack stared down at his friend. A thin trail of spittle leaked from the corner of Dal's mouth and his right hand twitched. His skin looked ashen, perilously so.
"He's already had a stim injection," said Jack. "I don't think it's a good idea to give him more. Elvans can get really strung out on stims. Orna? What do you think?"
"Slap him!"
When Kaylith and Jack stared incredulously up at Orna, she shrugged and said, "Hey, don't look at me. That wass Roar Far's idea."
"Then what's your suggestion?"
"I think Roar Far is on the right track. But what ssay we put him in the shower instead?"
"Slapping would be quicker and less messy," Roar Far argued. Dal groaned, drawing everyone's attention. They watched him for a moment and when nothing else happened except more twitching and drooling, resumed their discussion.
"He's been hurt enough," Kaylith said. "I think the shower is our best choice."
Orna brushed aside Jack and Kaylith's helping hands to easily lift Dal with her tentacles. She slid over to Dal's concealed shower stall, opening the door with her third tentacle. Gingerly, as if Dal were made of spun glass, she set him on his feet in the shower, propping his body up with her own. "Cold sshower," she ordered.
Icy water blasted both Dal and the Corban from all angles. At first, the Elvan didn't respond, but just as Jack was about to suggest they try something else, Dal shrieked and his eyes flew open. His fists and feet flailed at Orna as he tried to twist free from her grasp.
Of course, Orna's tentacles weren't letting him go anywhere. "You're okay, Dal," Orna said soothingly. "Quit hitting me."
"Yes, quit yelling and hitting us you ungrateful Ell-van," Roar Far added. "See? I told you slapping him would be easier. Now our scales are all cold from this water. Orna and I shall have to take another bask."
"Dal? Are you okay?" Jack asked. Kaylith came to stand beside him and he instinctively took her by the hand. But his thoughts were on his friend, not his lover.
Why are you doing this to me? Dal mindsaid, his inner voice sounding bewildered. Let me go. LET ME GO!
At his mindshout, Orna's tentacles released Dal. He promptly fell to the pink tiled floor of the shower, where he let out a pitiful moan and curled into a fetal position.
"Oola's shell!" Orna swore. "Now he's doing it!"
"What do you mean?" Jack asked. He sensed Kaylith sneakily trying to probe his mind and glared at her. "Not now!" he hissed, giving her hand a none-too-gentle squeeze.
She looked contrite, but he doubted she truly was. Kaylith was determined to find out the thoughts he hid in his head, even if it meant shuffling through his mind when he was off guard.
He didn't like it one bit, but now was not the time to argue. "What do you mean, Orna?" he asked again. "What did Dal do?"
Orna slid out of the shower, leaving a glittering trail of water in her wake. She didn't take her eyes off Dal. "He made me let go. With his mind. Just like the Great One did with the sstunners!" She let out an exasperated sigh. "I am getting very tired of everyone taking control of my body."
"But how'd he do that? Dal has never had that kind of mind power before."
The Elvan in the shower made a sound somewhere between a sob and a chuckle. "Maybe I didn't have the power before," Dal wheezed. He looked up at his shipmates, water dripping into his gleaming gray eyes and smiled triumphantly. "But I do now."
Free Space
Terran year, 3616
Elvan, 17, 373
Unity, B.U. 8
"Tarna, why do offworlders smell so bad?"
"We all smell bad, Roar Far," Kaylith replied absently, her attention on the star chart display. The crew of the Talon had been on the run for weeks and the stress was starting to take its toll. "Sonic showers are okay, but I think we could all use a proper bath with soap and water."
"And proper food!" Deke chimed in. He sat at the nav station, idly tossing a tackleball in the air. "What I wouldn't give for a steak and potatoes."
Zar sighed. "Fresh Trinarian berries."
"Ice cream," breathed Higgy.
Ragnorak ale, mindsaid Tith.
"Bah, what a bunch of babies you are," said Roar Far. "Always thinking with your stomachs."
"Well, perhaps we won't have to be hungry for long. There's a trade station not far from here." Kaylith keyed up the star chart on the viewscreen. "Right there. Second star system on the left. The station's beacon shows up on one of the ringed gas giant's moons."
"Pretty," Higgy said, as Kaylith zoomed in on the system's fourth planet. An orange and green world surrounded by a stunning set of five rings appeared. A dozen or more moons orbited the gas giant. The trade station's beacon blinked cheerfully from a middle-sized moon in an equatorial orbit. "Any record of it?"
Zar had already fed the station's coordinates into the computer. "No data in the ship's libraries." She sighed. "I wonder if that's a good or bad thing."
"I'd say good if the IML doesn't know about it," Deke said.
"Or IML knows about it, but didn't think there was anything worth buying," Tith added.
"Won't know until we go there," Deke replied. "Should I set a course, Kaylith?"
They all looked at her expectantly. Kaylith felt like screaming. The rest of the crew acted as if they considered her the captain. She didn't want the responsibility. They hadn't listened to her when it really mattered back on Tjornak, so why did they expect her to make every little decision now?
They'd acted that way ever since they'd left Tjornak and it was driving her crazy.
"I don't know," she said slowly. "Do you think they'll take IML credits there?"
"Good question," said Deke. "But again, we won't know until we go there. If not, surely there's something we can use for barter on this crate."
"Yes, Nikki Higgin's perfume for one thing," Roar Far said.
"What's wrong with my perfume?"
"It stinks, hu-man. You should smell yourself sometime."
"Well, if my perfume has to go, so does your shocking sword."
Roar Far looked appalled. "My sword? Are you out of your mind? The souls of my ancestors are in there."
"You wave it around too much," Higgy sniffed. "One of these days you're going to hurt somebody with that thing."
Roar Far advanced on Higgy menacingly, drawing the offending blade as she went. "It will be you, hu-man if you ever--"
"All right, enough already!" Kaylith shouted. "For the love of Shallog, yes, Deke, set course for that station. If nothing else, it'll give us a chance to take a break from each other."
"Suits me," Higgy said. "I for one could use a break from the warrior queen."
"And I could use a break from your stink," Roar Far retorted.
* * *
The people of Elsbeth Station weren't exactly friendly, not that Kaylith could blame them. Set in the middle of nowhere, this station was probably more used to being hailed by free space traders, smugglers, and exiles than an IML Elvan class cruiser.
However, once Tith put his considerable charm and diplomatic skills to work, the controllers of the flight tower soon became putty in his hands. They were given landing clearance, with the stipulation that all members of the crew present themselves for a weapons search in the hangar.
The hangar proved to a be a vast underground complex. Ships of all shapes and sizes were docked via auto-sensor. Talon had been directed to a spot by the hangar's main doors. The nearest ship, a sleek and painfully black Mech slayer was at least 75 meters away. Cannons and gun ports jutted from nearly every available surface.
"What an odd group," Deke said out of the corner of his mouth as the station's guards approached them. "An Ernai, an Agdan and what the heck is that third one? Looks like a big purple fish! Not to mention the Mechs over in the corner."
"Never seen an Agdan outside of a university," Higgy whispered. "And certainly not one who looks like that!"
"Be more concerned with the Mechs," Kaylith whispered back. "I don't think they are part of the station's crew." She'd sent out gentle probes as they'd walked down the landing ramp. The station guards seemed friendly enough, curious even, but the Mechs...most decidedly hostile.
"You sensed something?" Deke asked.
"Doesn't take a mind reader to guess their intentions," Zar replied before Kaylith could answer. "Mechs hate everyone, even each other."
"What an odd group you are," said the Agdan woman as the guards approached. Like all Agdans, her skin and four eyes were deep green. She dressed strangely for an Agdan though. Her yellow diaphanous garments looked more like a pleasure dancer's than a scholar's and left little, if anything, to the imagination. "Terrans and Elvans, we don't get many of your kind out here. And what are you, my fierce blue one? Never seen the like of you before."
Roar Far, be nice, Tith and Kaylith both mindsaid at the same time.
"I am Khouree," Roar Far answered, albeit through gritted teeth.
"Khouree? Never heard of it," the Agdan tittered. "Always a pleasure to meet something new though. My name is N'arthal, chief of security for Elsbeth station. The little one is Wansit and the other--" she made a sound similar to a person gargling. "Hard to pronounce, I know. Atlunian names can be difficult. You may call her Gug for short. Now if you would all be so kind as to stand still while my associates reassure us of your good intentions."
Wansit and Gug approached, the Ernai man bearing a scanner and the fish woman a very large customized blast rifle. Wansit looked like a typical Ernai. He had dark hair and skin and wore the usual Ernai white shirt and kilt. His kilt revealed muscular truncated legs and knee-high sandals. His face was flat with small, dark eyes and a pug-like nose.
Gug wore a purple pressure suit, although water sloshed in her helmet, not air. Her bulging eyes were blue and the scales on her face a purplish color. She had legs of a sort, but they were oddly flat and she moved with a shuffling kind of gait. Her blast rifle nestled comfortably between a pair of flippers. The trigger mechanism had been adapted to suit the limited flexibility of her appendages.
The quartet of Mechs in the corner also held rifles, although as Kaylith well knew Mechs usually had guns grafted onto their bodies too. The biological parts of their bodies, those that showed anyway, were basically humanoid. The mechanical parts, of course, were not, and their functions varied according to the user's whims. Sharp metal spikes bristled on their black metallic arms and legs. They wore half-helmets that looked like skull caps, but were in truth bio-mechanic plates that controlled various aspects of their arsenal.
They didn't look happy. Were Mechs ever happy?
"We were here first, N'arthal," one of them hissed. The Mech's voice sounded metallic and static-y. Like a busted vid speaker.
N'arthal flapped a negligent hand at them. "So you were, Artax. Sorry, but Horne's orders were to clear this group first. You know it takes forever to deactivate all your weapons systems. Don't be an old pruset."
Wansit interrupted. "N'arthal, the blue one is carrying a sword of some kind."
N'arthal made a tsking sound. "Did I not tell you people all weapons would be confiscated?" She held out a beautifully manicured green hand. "Hand it over, Khouree."
Kaylith guessed Roar Far was about to hand over the sword via stashing it in the Agdan's lovely neck. Tith intervened before she could.
"Most lovely and gracious N'arthal," he said, sidling between the Agdan and Roar Far, "my companion's blade is more of a ceremonial piece than a weapon. She carries the souls of her ancestors in its hilt. On her world, to ask for her blade would be considered a grave offense and as such, would require extreme duress on all our parts to get her to relinquish it."
"She will however let you examine it," Tith added, gripping Roar Far's arm. "Sweetness, show her your blade."
Kaylith was willing to bet Tith had been mindspeaking Roar Far the entire time, telling her not to kill the Agdan. Just in case though, she sent Roar Far a silent admonishment too. Roar Far blinked and shook her head, then grudgingly pulled her blade from its sheath and presented it hilt first to N'arthal.
"Pretty," said the Agdan as she took the blade into her hands. "Are those palacite crystals embedded in the hilt?" Gug and Wansit looked over with interest. The Mechs seemed very interested too. Too interested.
"No. They are the souls of my ancestors," Roar Far said, curtly.
N'arthal turned the blade over in her delicate hands. "Strange, it certainly looks like palacite to me. I don't suppose you would be interested in trading this piece for station credits? I'd give you ten thousand for it. You could buy just about anything you wanted here with that."
Don't kill her! Kaylith mindshouted. She doesn't understand what the sword means to you.
Roar Far glared first at Kaylith and Tith, then at N'arthal. "The Khouree do not use their ancestors for barter. You are a very rude woman."
"My apologies," N'arthal said, returning the sword to Roar Far. Kaylith let out a relieved sigh when the Tjorn jammed the blade back into its sheath. "I suppose it'll be all right to let you keep it. But mind you, should you draw even the tiniest drop of blood with that blade on this station, I will have you and all your friends executed. Is that clear?"
Just say yes, Kaylith silently urged.
Roar Far nodded resentfully, but Kaylith heard the Tjorn think, I don't have to draw blood with this to kill you, you stupid naked green woman.
It was a good thing Agdans weren't mind readers.
"The others are unarmed," Wansit announced, who had continued scanning the rest of the crew during this exchange.
"Excellent," N'arthal said. "Allow me to list our humble station's rules. No fighting. No stealing. No entry into any area marked employees only. Violation of any of these rules will be enforced by station security. We will not take responsibility for any damages, injuries, loss of goods, or currency that might occur during your stay."
"Kind of a contradiction there, isn't it?" Deke said.
"If you don't like our rules, you are free to take your leave," N'arthal replied smoothly. "If I may continue?"
Deke nodded, but he didn't look satisfied with N'arthal's answer.
"Rule infraction penalties vary from confiscation of goods to execution, but that's only in extreme cases. We choose not to incarcerate offenders as we have neither the space or the inclination to do so. The station honors any currency, including IML, but several of our free-lance vendors prefer barter instead. Do you understand these rules and agree to abide by them?"
"We agree," Kaylith said. "Do you have any recommendations for supply stores or hostels?"
N'arthal shook her head. "The only advice I have is watch your back and your ship. Even though our station has rules, there are always those who try to break them. I must see to these Mechs now. Enjoy your stay."
With that, N'arthal and her guards moved on to inspect the Mechs. "Well, what do you make of that?" Higgy asked. "She gives us this long spiel about rules and regs, then basically tells us their security won't be around to enforce them."
"Sounded like a bunch of cover-their-arse talk to me," Deke said, adding in a mocking tone, "Oh, we have rules, but if you get hurt by anything, tough luck."
"I think someone should stay with the ship," Kaylith said. "I volunteer to take the first watch."
"Talon has an IML security system," Higgy said. "It should be safe."
"Better safe than sorry," Zar replied. "I will stay with Kaylith. The four of you enjoy yourselves."
"You sure?" Tith asked, even as he took Roar Far's arm. When Zar nodded, he said, "Alright then. Roar Far and I will be back next rotation so you two may have a turn."
"Com us every few revs," Kaylith said. "Just so we know you're okay."
As Zar and Kaylith watched their friends walk through the hangar doors, Kaylith could sense Zar's pain. Even though the Elvan woman had competent mental shields, her aching for Tith radiated off her in palpable waves. Her gray eyes were moist with unshed tears of longing.
Zar had never discussed her unhappiness with anyone except Kaylith and then only through mindspeak. She didn't want Tith to know her feelings. If he did, she felt he might come to her more out of pity than love. Still, it had been hard for her to put on a brave face as she watched Tith and Roar Far take to their sleeping quarters whenever their desires struck them.
"I'm sorry, Zar," Kaylith said, wrapping an arm around the woman's shoulders. "I know how hard this has been for you."
"Tith has never seen me as more than friend," Zar said, leaning her head against Kaylith's. "I know I should accept his preference for Roar Far, but I can't."
Kaylith sighed, thinking of her dream man. She knew she should accept she'd never really meet Jack, but somehow she couldn't do that either. "A couple of incurable romantics, that's you and me."
Zar smiled and mindsaid, Yes, you love a man who doesn't exist and I love one who doesn't know I exist. What a sad pair we are.
Well, may Shallog see fit to drown our sorrows. We still have a couple of bottles of Blue Mountain Elixir on board. What say we--
Before Kaylith could finish the sentence, the Mechs started shooting.
* * *
Roar Far had seen many technological wonders since she'd left her home world, but for the most part she'd been unimpressed by them.
True, the Otherworlders had ships that could fly through the stars and weapons that could kill others from a distance, but once she'd been taught the basic principles of their workings, she'd been too uninterested to want to learn anything more.
Seeing the stars had been nice, but the spirits had shown her people many worlds via the shamans during evening rituals. The Khouree knew there were places where people revered technology over land and sky. But knowing and living an Otherworlder's life were two different things. The air on Talon never smelled right and the close quarters had grown tiresome. She longed for the blue grass and sky of Tjornak where she could run and breathe.
Stepping through the hangar's airlock into Elsbeth Station on the other hand, now that was an impressive thing. She'd been unprepared for the myriad of sights, sounds, and scents that assailed her senses.
It was simply the most beautiful place she'd ever seen.
A huge glass dome covered all, allowing one a stunning view of the orange-green planet. The stars and dark of space could only be seen in slices here and there on the horizon. The bright glow of the giant illuminated everything with its orangey-green light, while the station's fractured reflection glittered in the ice crystals of the planet's rings.
Her eyes watered with emotions she'd never felt before. It felt like--music maybe. No, more than that--joy. No--it was--she had no words for it. Tith tugged on her arm, urging her forward. Roar Far forced herself to look away from the magnificent dome to see where Tith was guiding her.
Ahead lay a path jammed with market stalls filled with goods and people she also had no names for. The vendors and customers babbled in tongues she could not understand, some voices sounding musical, some guttural and harsh. The variations of sweet scents and acrid odors kept Roar Far's nose twitching as they walked along the main aisle. She felt overwhelmed by the wealth of goods around her. Here glimmered the bright sheen of silks. Exotic fruits and vegetables were everywhere she turned. Trinkets, appliances, tech devices.
It was all too much to take in.
"Right," Higgy said, "who wants to look for clothes?" Before any of the others could answer, she headed for a stall crammed with silk gowns and leather jackets.
"We're supposed to be loading up on groceries," Deke said, dodging a trinket cart to catch up with her. He took her arm and tried to pull her away from the clothing stall.
Higgy didn't budge. "Of course we are. But we'll have plenty of time for that later." She held up a sheer red robe. "Ooo, I think this is Wegra silk. Very rare and very expensive. Wouldn't I'd look great in this?"
"700 credits," the hairy Ronli vendor said, snatching the robe from Higgy's hand. "No fondling the merchandise."
"Oh, come on," Higgy retorted. "It's worth only 200 and you know it."
As Roar Far and Tith moved to join them, she asked, "Why would that Higgin's woman want a robe like that? You can see right through it."
"One should never interfere with a Terran woman on a fashion quest," Tith replied. "It can be more dangerous than taking on a Mech."
"It looks like something a whooek would wear."
"Look at Deke's face. I think that's the idea."
Roar Far considered Deke. The Terran man's eyes had a glazed look and he wore a goofy smile. She tilted her head and considered Tith. "Do you wish to see me in such clothes?"
Tith laughed. "Sweetness, I don't think it's your style."
"That's because I am not a whooek," Roar Far agreed. "Let us leave these silly hu-mans to their haggling. We are wasting time while they waste money."
"Looks like it's Deke's money Higgy is wasting," Tith said as they watched Deke pull out his credit chip. "But you are right, Higgy might decide to shop for clothes all day. Besides, I see a store a few stalls down that will be more to your liking."
As he guided her to the store, Roar Far felt her eyes grow wide with surprise. Then pleasure. It was a weapons store. The gas giant's orange-green glint on the various guns and blades in the display cases dazzled her.
"You're right," Roar Far said as they approached the stall, "this is my kind of store."
* * *
"Oh my," said N'arthal, gazing down at the steaming pile of Mechs at her feet. Sparks crackled as their various mechanoid systems continued to overload, but it didn't matter. All four of the Mechs were obviously very dead. "Never seen anything like that before." She looked over at Kaylith and Zar as they picked themselves off the tarmac. "I believe you owe me an explanation."
"They were shooting at us!" Zar exclaimed, cradling her right arm to her chest. "If anyone should be explaining, it's you!"
Kaylith's left knee smarted from their fall. She said nothing and rubbed it as N'arthal and her guards approached with weapons drawn. She'd sensed the Mech's attack only a second or two before it happened. Her instinct had been to dive for the ground, taking Zar with her.
And all the while, her mind had shouted, NO!
Somehow, Kaylith knew she was responsible for the dead Mechs. How? She didn't have a clue. It only felt as if this were so. She remembered the conversation she'd had with Meeral the day the queen had cut off her Elvan earlobes...
"Were I to change one thing, the royal family would kill me. Truly, I am surprised no one has tried before. I am an inconvenience to those who seek the succession."
"What makes you think no one has tried? Ah yes, I see you truly don't know your own strength. It is of no consequence. We will save those stories for another time."
Meeral had implied there had been members of the royal family who'd made attempts on her life. What had happened to them? Were they as dead as these Mechs?
"You did it, didn't you?" N'arthal said, as she stopped to stand in front of Kaylith. "There's something very odd about you, but I can't put my finger on it."
"They were trying to kill us," Zar protested.
"Yes, yes," N'arthal said impatiently. "Even so, it's passing strange they ended up dead instead. Without a single shot fired in self-defense. I would like to know how."
Kaylith shrugged. "What can I tell you? I don't know what happened either."
"You don't know or you won't say?"
"What does it matter? They are dead and by your station's rules, you would have had to kill them anyway, right?"
"Yes, that's true," N'arthal admitted. "However, you have presented me with quite the dilemma. I can't have Mechs dropping dead on this station. They're good customers once you deactivate their weapons systems."
"Since they died trying to kill us, don't you get to confiscate their ship? Surely, once you take it apart to analyze their tech secrets, any subsequent profits from that will help defray a loss in Mech trade."
N'arthal laughed. "You've had IML D-Corps training, haven't you?"
"Yes. And because of that, I know I'm right."
"Of course you are. There remains the question of what to do with you though."
"We are the injured parties here," Zar protested. "I think the question is, what will you do for us?"
"N'arthal, bring them to me!" a deep disembodied voice boomed over the hangar's sound system. "Now!"
"Oh my," N'arthal said again. Her four green eyes blinked rapidly. "It would seem this little ruckus has attracted Horne's attention."
"Who or what is Horne?" Zar asked.
"She's the station manager. Not to worry, I'm sure she won't eat you on sight."
"We did nothing wrong," Zar insisted. "You cannot take us prisoner."
"Think of yourselves as guests then," N'arthal replied smoothly. "And don't worry about your ship. Wansit and Gug will guard it for you, won't you my dears?"
The Ernai and fish woman nodded.
"There, you see? All settled. Now let's go talk to Horne."
What could they do? They didn't have a choice. "Fine," Kaylith said. "But first, Zar and I need a med kit to tend to our injuries."
"Your injuries will be tended, strange one. After you talk to Horne."
Elsbeth Station
Terran year, 3616
Elvan, 17, 373
Unity, B.U. 8
As they walked down the corridor from the hanger to the station manager's office, N'arthal told them Horne was of a race Kaylith had never seen or heard of before--the Ursians. One look, and Kaylith felt fairly certain she never wanted to see or hear from an Ursian again. Horne looked somewhat like a cross between a tarantula, a shark, and a wolverine, only on a much, much larger scale.
She sat or lay, depending on your perspective, on a multi-colored easy chair, seemingly made of swirls of art glass, before a curved desk of a similar colorful transparent material. Her considerable girth gave the impression she was jammed into the seat with her eight black and furry legs hanging at various angles over the chair arms and desktop.
Rows of teeth like a shark's provided channels for the unending stream of drool coming out of her mouth. Her snout was long and dog-like, capped by a red nose with four nostrils. Over a dozen compound eyes swirling like faceted rainbows regarded Kaylith and Zar as they were herded before her.
Kaylith could sense a large concentration of palacite in the room, although she didn't see any. Maybe there was palacite built into the colorful art glass? She could see pink swirls here and there.
"Now what in the nine worlds of Ursia are you?" Horne asked as she looked Kaylith up and down. "Face like an Elvan, save the eyes, those look Terran, but you don't smell like either one."
"I noticed there was something strange about the girl too," N'arthal agreed. "What do you think it could be?"
"We will shortly find out." With that Horne's third set of legs shot out from her body and over the desk as if they were made of rubber bands. However, when she attempted to land the hooked ends of her feet into Kaylith's scalp, Horne let out a yelp and retracted her legs as swiftly as they had appeared.
"How did you do that?" Horne demanded, rubbing her third set of legs with the pairs above and below.
Kaylith shrugged. "I don't know. I'm beginning to think I might have a built-in defense mechanism."
"You think? Surely if you had this attribute you would know."
"Well, nobody has tried to kill me lately--except for today. But I've been told when I was young others tried and failed. I don't know why they failed, indeed I don't remember any such attempts at all, so a genetically built-in defense is the only reasonable explanation. I wouldn't put it past my people to try something like that."
Horne gnashed her many, many sharp teeth, which was truly a fearsome thing to behold. "I wasn't trying to kill you, girl. I merely wanted a peek into your mind."
Zar laughed and mindsaid in group mode, Good luck with trying that! Nobody gets into Kay--er, I mean Tarna's head unless she lets them.
Horne frowned, another fearsome sight to behold. A dozen rainbow-colored eyes squelched into a tight knot on her forehead. "She is one of your Elvan Mindmasters then?"
No, Zar replied. She is stronger than any mere Mindmaster. Go ahead. Try and pick her brain. She paused dramatically then added, If you dare.
While this exchange was going on, Kaylith mindspoke Tith and gave him a brief description of their current situation.
We will come at once, he answered.
No, wait. I'll let you know if anything else bad happens.
She cut him off before he could protest. "Look," Kaylith said to Horne, "if it will ease your suspicions, I'll allow you to probe my mind."
If you dare, Zar repeated.
Stop that, Zar, Kaylith mindsaid in intimate mode. We're in enough trouble, don't you think?
I am angry because they are treating us like criminals when the Mechs were the ones that--
"Then come forward, girl, and allow me to lay legs on you," Horne said, interrupting Zar's thought. "I promise you won't come to any harm. Indeed, I'm beginning to wonder if such a thing is possible."
With a sigh, Kaylith reluctantly moved around the desk to stand directly in front of the station manager. Unfortunately, Horne's smell wasn't much better than her looks and Kaylith had to fight the urge to gag. She also had to fight to keep her mind open as Horne cautiously laid her third set on Kaylith's head again and--
Contact.
Desert. Red sky above and redder sands below. A jeweled cave surrounded by twisted orange trees that smelled of licorice. The joy of being a young one, scrambling all around the cave walls and in and out of her mother's mouth. Pain! Terrible pain as palacite crystals are implanted into--
"You've got palacite embedded in your butt?" Kaylith asked as the images from Horne became far too clear. She shut them off with a shudder. "Doesn't that hurt?"
Horne sputtered. "How did you know that? No one knows that!"
"We do now," Zar said, wryly. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
"I'm sorry," Kaylith said. "I didn't mean to give any secrets away. Your homeworld looked lovely though. Loved the orange trees and sparkly cave especially."
"Never mind that," N'arthal said impatiently. "Did you get anything from the girl?"
Horne shifted on her throne as if the palacite crystals were indeed paining her lower body. "Nothing. Nothing except a glimpse of some watery world and a Terran guy with blonde hair. I thought you were going to open your mind to me?"
"I did," Kaylith said. "Well, I mean I tried to keep it open. It's hard because I was taught by the Elvan Mindmasters to keep it shut down most of the time. We could try again if you wish."
"No," Horne said, hastily. "I'd rather not. No telling what else you'd be able to get from me. I have many secrets that I'd prefer not to share. My life on Ursia was one of them."
No one said anything for a moment. Horne continued to stare and drool while N'arthal restlessly shifted from one dainty green foot to the other. Finally, Kaylith couldn't stand waiting any more. "Are we free to go then?" she asked.
"I'm thinking," Horne said. "Give me a minute."
"What is there to think about?" Zar said. "We are the injured parties here. Those Mechs had no reason to--"
"Oh, come now, we know that's not true, don't we?" Horne replied, her deep voice laced with sarcasm. "Seems I remember N'arthal telling me about an IML bounty for a band of outlaws spacing around in a stolen Elvan cruiser. Wanted them dead or alive. I got the impression dead was the preferred choice of the Corbans. The other IML worlds expressed a wish for the latter, but should Corban hunters find you first, I doubt the others would put up much of a fuss. "
Kaylith felt her blood turn cold. No, they couldn't turn them over to bounty hunters. They wouldn't!
Would they?
"And from what I recall," N'arthal added, "you and your crew fits the description of these outlaws--perfectly."
"How much is the IML offering?" Horne asked.
N'arthal sniffed. "At last report, it was something in the neighborhood of 20,000 credits. Not that much, I'll grant you, but it's enough to make bounty hunters take notice. Besides, from what I hear the size of the reward keeps going up all the time."
"Oh farking hell," Kaylith swore. "Look, if you want the reward, then take me. I'm the one they really want anyway. Just let my crew go, okay? It's all my fault they got mixed up in this in the first place."
"Trinar's moons, no!" Zar cried. "We didn't let you sacrifice yourself for us on Tjornak. What makes you think we'll do it now?"
Thoroughly exasperated, Kaylith closed her eyes and said softly, "Zar, shut up."
"But K--er, I mean Tarna! I can't let you just--"
Kaylith rubbed her forehead as she interrupted Zar. She had the beginnings of a truly nasty headache. One bad enough to compete with her dream man's migraines. "If you have any love for me, you will shut your mouth right now. Got it?"
Before Zar could answer, Horne mused, "Truly remarkable. Such self-sacrifice and loyalty for each other. Have you ever seen the like, N'arthal?"
"Not on this station," the green lady replied. "It brings a tear to the eyes. I think this group could serve us nicely, don't you?"
"Oh yes, I do indeed," Horne said. "I foresee our profit margins for this quarter doubling, maybe tripling already. I do so love rising profit margins."
Kaylith reluctantly opened her eyes. The sight of the naked Agdan and the ugly Ursian made her wish she could close them again. "What are you talking about?"
Horne smiled a drooling, toothy, sly kind of smile. "You and your crew are already wanted for piracy. With the bounty on your heads, those Mechs are only the first of many who will die trying to kill you." Horne turned to N'arthal, "You know, we could make a mint on bounty bets alone, considering we know this Tarna here can't be killed."
"Inside information is a good thing," N'arthal agreed. "I think I'll contact the station's bookmaker as soon as we're done here."
"Put 10,000 credits down on the next attempt to fail, won't you?" Horne said.
"I'm so happy our problems will help fatten your credit accounts," Kaylith growled. "Can we go now?"
"Go? Tsk, tsk, my dear. You are missing the point altogether."
"Then WHAT is the point?" Kaylith roared. "Shallog's hair, you're lucky Roar Far isn't here. She'd have lopped off both your heads by now!"
"So you're not a total pacifist I see. Good, good. You and your crew should fit the bill nicely."
WHAT BILL? FOR THE LOVE OF SHALLOG, WILL YOU PLEASE SAY WHAT YOU MEAN? Kaylith hadn't meant to mindshout, but her patience with these two money-hungry females had reached its end. All she wanted was for them to say what they wanted so she get back to the ship and away from them.
The two money-hungry females looked stunned. Then they both started laughing. Zar and Kaylith looked at each other, then at the giggling Horne and N'arthal in utter confusion. Kaylith decided she'd had enough. She sent a ripper of a probe at Horne's mind. The jolt of contact cut off the station manager's laughter in an instant as the Ursian made a valiant effort to shield herself.
Kaylith contemptuously tossed Horne's mental shields aside. She quickly discovered that while the Ursian was capable of mindspeak, her ability was weak and needed palacite to work.
The only true psychic attribute Horne had was an uncanny sense of intuition common to her species. The palacite embedded in her arse enhanced it significantly, which was why the Ursian had been able to carve out a small empire in this forgotten corner of space. She could sniff out profits better than a Corban at an IML trade fest.
And my oh my, did Horne smell credits aplenty right now.
Are you out of your mind? Kaylith asked incredulously in group mode. You want us to steal for you?
"Well, you're already wanted as pirates aren't you?" N'arthal said mildly. "Where's the harm in adding to your reputation?"
Horne said nothing. Kaylith's probe still had her in its grip. The Ursian twitched and drooled at ever-increasing rates. You wouldn't have to steal very often, simple smuggling past IML patrols will do, Horne thought even as she still struggled to break free. Kaylith relentlessly probed her harder. OW! Stop it! You'd be helping any number of backwater worlds get goods they desperately need. They'll make you heroes!
"We only took what we needed to help the Tjorns," Zar protested in reply to N'arthal's last question. "We're not really pirates."
"With that bounty on your head, you might as well be," N'arthal said. "And surely, you and your crew need a means to support yourselves."
We will of course deny all knowledge of your activities, Horne mindsaid, while we provide you a safe haven between jobs. We'll even give your ship a complete overhaul to help you get started. Room and board paid while you wait. All we ask is a tiny commission on every transaction for our help and silence. Say, twenty-five percent? It's a great deal. You and your crew should take it.
Before Kaylith's stunned brain could formulate a coherent reply, Tith and Roar Far burst into the room and they were bristling with weapons. Tith had a blast rifle in each hand and two stunners holstered on his hips. Roar Far held her shocking sword in front of her, but two more blast rifles were strapped to her back along with yet another stunner attached to her leg.
"Somebody moves and I won't shoot!" The Tjorn shouted. Her blue face looked somewhat purple as she panted for breath.
"That's nobody moves or you will shoot, Sweetness," Tith corrected in a quiet wheeze. He looked red faced and sounded out of breath.
"Ah excellent," N'arthal said, her elegant smile never leaving her dainty face. Her double set of green eyes ogled Tith with frank appraisal. "It would seem the rest of your crew learns quickly. May I ask what you've done with our security guards?"
"Out ran them mostly," Tith replied. He paused to suck in a few gasps of air. "Although Roar Far might have shocked a few here and there. They should wake in a little while."
N'arthal shook her head in disgust. "I knew I should have confiscated that blade. You're aware those guns won't work until station security activates them, aren't you?"
"Don't be too sure, Agdan," Tith said. "Higgy figured out the activation sequence."
N'arthal laughed. "Doubtful, but it's a nice bluff."
"Where are Deke and Nikki?" Zar asked. Her gray eyes were wide with wonder.
"Watching for more guards at the end of the corridor. Let's get out of here."
You see? Horne mindsaid Kaylith. Your crew already has the necessary skills of the trade. Why not make it easy on yourselves and accept our help? What do you say?
I don't know, Kaylith answered. We'll have to talk it over.
What's to talk about? You're their leader, aren't you?
Whatever gave you that idea?
Horne's mind cackled jovially. My dear, with your powers how could you be anything else?
You're crazy. These people never listen to me. I TOLD Tith not to come up here, but nooo--
Tarna, isn't it? Listen, Tarna, they may not obey you, but they follow you. They are willing to die for you. That makes you their leader, whether you like it or not.
"Kaylith?" Tith asked, passing a hand before her eyes. "Whatever you two are mindspeaking about, you need to break the link. We have to get back to the ship."
Ignoring Tith, Kaylith mindsaid to Horne, Well, I don't like it. I don't want anyone to follow me. And I certainly don't want anyone to die for me!
That's too bad, Horne replied. Because sooner or later it's bound to happen.
Kaylith felt as if a dark knife had been thrust and twisted in her heart. Because Horne was right. She knew the Ursian was right.
She severed the link, heartily wishing she was back on Terra, sipping lemonade on the veranda with Rock. Or maybe dreaming of a moonlit beach and Jack.
Anywhere, but here.
"N'arthal, call off the guards and you there, big Elvan man with the rifles, tell the rest of your crew to join us," Horne said. "We mean you no harm. Indeed, we have an interesting business proposition to discuss."
"What kind of business?"
Horne made a dry cackling sound. "Ask Tarna, your leader. She knows."
When Tith sent Kaylith an inquiring glance, she shook her head and turned away.
Science Vessel Needle
Sentari Space
Terran year, 3749
Elvan, 17, 506
Unity, 151
Lost in the myriad of voices, sounds, and images thrashing around in his mind, Jack sat in Needle's cockpit and fought to ignore them. It wasn't so bad when the others were around. He could concentrate on interacting with them then and push the intruding thoughts aside. But once he was alone the noise and visions returned with a vengeance.
Even now he felt himself slipping into the vortex of sights and sounds storming through his brain. To tune them out, he focused on Talon drifting portside like some cosmic child's forgotten toy. A glimmer of a thought about using the docking cables to tow it flashed through his mind, only to be replaced with a vision of an explosion blasting through the Talon's hull.
In an eye blink, the vision vanished.
Past or future? Jack wondered as he rubbed his ever-aching head. He couldn't tell.
Did it matter? He needed to get a grip on his sanity. He had to get the chaos in his head under control. But how?
Kaylith. His first instinct was to go to her, but he ignored it. What was with the sneaky probes she kept sending his way? She seemed to purposely pick the worst possible times to try them too. Didn't she know by now she could trust him? If anyone had a reason to be suspicious, he did. After all, he knew she was going to leave.
Of course, she didn't know what he knew. And wouldn't unless he told her. Maybe if he did, it would make a difference. But what if telling her set off the series of events that made her leave?
Stupid visions. They were causing this rift in the first place. Which brought him back to square one, what was he going to do about them?
Jack sighed and continued to watch Talon. The vision returned, this time looking like a semi-transparent vid being run continuously backwards and forwards... forever unexploding and exploding in an endless loop. The vision overlapped the solid background of reality, where Talon remained whole. As he watched, the phantom flames sucked in and then blasted out of the hull again. And again.
Let's face it, Jack thought, unable to glance away. There's a very good chance I am going insane. Maybe that's why Kaylith leaves me.
"Credit for your thoughts?" Kaylith asked from the cockpit doorway. Damn her husky voice. It set every erotic nerve in his body a-tingling.
"Oh? You're trying to buy my thoughts instead of steal them now?" Jack replied without turning around. She'd bathed. He could smell the sweet scent of soap and clean woman. His woman. He inhaled deeply as Talon in his vision exploded again.
"I suppose I deserve that," Kaylith replied, slipping in the seat beside him. He watched her move out of the corner of his eye. Her long hair floated about her head like a blue-black nebula cloud. His hand ached to reach out and touch it.
But he didn't.
"Even though it's all your fault anyway," she added, folding her arms and leaning back against the cushions. She took a deep breath, held it, then let it slowly out.
The way her sleepsuit clung to her rising and falling breasts should be against the law. His mouth actually watered. With a sigh of disgusted resignation, Jack gave up on pretending not to look and swiveled round to face her.
"My fault?"
She smiled, obviously realizing she'd scored a little victory by gaining his full attention, but her smile faded as swiftly as it came. "I thought lovers shared everything. Isn't that the way it's supposed to be?"
When he didn't answer, she went on. "I know what true love looks like. I've seen it with Tith and Roar Far, and even with Deke and Higgy. There's trust and complete openness and--"
"You're going to leave me."
He watched her face as his words hung in the air like a curse. Her emerald eyes widened as she froze in mid-sentence. Then narrowed as her brows beetled down into a defiant frown. "Zaphronturds," she whispered, shaking her head.
"I know it. I've seen it."
"Then you must have seen it wrong. I'm not going anywhere."
Jack shrugged and looked away to watch Talon explode yet again. He knew what he knew. At least he'd been honest and told her. "What happened in the fire circle?"
She hesitated for a few seconds, then said, "If you think you can drop a bomb on me like that and then change the subject--"
"I told you something you didn't know, so it's your turn to throw me a bone." Talon unexploded...again.
"A bone?"
The bewilderment in her voice sounded too adorable to resist. He turned away from yet another explosion to take her hand and kiss it. "Complete openness, isn't that what you said? Tell me something I don't know. Tell me what happened in the fire circle."
A variety of emotions played across her face as she considered his request. He saw--no, sensed--tenderness, irritation, and regret. "It's a long story," she finally said. "And we don't have the time. We need to retrieve my crew and leave this place. Tanith and the Mindmasters--"
He cut her off with a thought, Why don't you want to tell me?
Did you hear what I said? We don't have time.
Recalling his earlier thought, Jack slapped on the com unit. "Orna?"
"Yess? What is it, Jack?"
"Do you think we could tow the Talon if we hooked on more docking cables?"
There was a short pause. Kaylith squeezed his hand while they waited. Jack knew how much Talon meant to her. If they could salvage the whole ship--
"Perhaps," the Corban said slowly. "It would depend on whether Talon's hull is sound enough to take the stress. That's a brilliant idea. We should have thought of it in the first place."
"Which would be faster, retrieving the crew or rigging the Talon for a tow?"
Again, Orna didn't answer right away. "Well," Kaylith demanded impatiently, "which is it?"
"Be still, Tarna," the com unit replied. "Orna is thinking."
Kaylith laughed. "Feeling protective of her now, are you?"
A strangled growl came from the speaker. Kaylith laughed. "And you say I'm the one with a soft heart. Admit it, dear sister. You like Orna."
"Towing would be faster," Orna replied. Obviously Roar Far wasn't going to admit anything. "I'd like to sslap a spare hatch or ssomething over the hull breach first."
"Need any help?" Jack asked.
"No, Dal's here and he could use the exercise, couldn't you, Dal?"
"Actually, I've been trying to--" They heard the Elvan begin to say. Whatever it was, Orna didn't give him the time to say it.
"Right. Get your prezskin on and let's go," she interrupted. "You'll keep an eye on uss, won't you, Jack?"
"You bet," Jack said, hoping he wouldn't see Talon explode while he watched Orna and Dal work on her. At least Kaylith was here to keep him from freaking if he did. He turned off the com, then gave her hand a squeeze. "Looks like we have time for the fire circle story now."
Kaylith closed her eyes and muttered, "Zaphronturds," a second time.
* * *
Dal's stomach rumbled queasily as he guided his loaded sled out of the airlock after Orna's. She knew how much he hated going outside, which was probably why she'd volunteered his services. Any little thing to needle him, that was Orna.
Dal couldn't argue that this patch job needed to be done. After his experience with Kaylith's sister, Tanith, he was in no mood for more psychic confrontations. If only he could understand what had happened. Ordinarily, he'd have tried meditation, but since Tanith seized control of his mind last time, he didn't want to risk it.
So that left research and Orna had interrupted his reading of text on psycho kinesis, or PK as the researchers called it. PK was the ability to move objects via thought. He had seen Kaylith use a version of it on Orna during the incident with the stunners. And he had a feeling Jack had also used it on Orna on Talon right after Roar Far had possessed her. He knew he'd used it on Orna as well in the shower.
The problem was Dal didn't know how he did it. It had been an instinctive kind of thing. He'd wanted Orna to let go, and he'd made her let go--with his mind!
How? Dal didn't have a clue.
He'd learned other things, dark visions from the madness that was Tanith's mind. He didn't have the courage to examine those nightmare visions right now.
Maybe he never would.
Although, he thought with a sigh as he watched Orna brake her sled beside Talon's ruptured hull, he had a feeling those visions would haunt him for a time. Perhaps always. So he would have to deal with them sooner or later.
"Are you ssure you're all right, Dal?" Orna asked. Her golden eyes gleamed like amber lights inside her helmet. "If you don't feel up to this, I could probably manage by myself."
"Oh so now you give a splig about how I'm feeling?" Dal growled. He had the momentary satisfaction of seeing Orna look contrite, but it faded fast. "Don't worry about it, I'm fine. Did your tests on this hull turn up anything?"
She hesitated, probably considering whether or not to accept his abrupt change of subject. Dal held his breath while he waited. The last thing he wanted to talk about was how he was feeling! Anything but that. Something felt wrong, but he didn't know what it was. Better to not think about it at all.
"I haven't had time to run a full analysis, but the sspectrum scans showed traces of a molecule made up of unknown elements."
"Care to run that by me again?"
"Just what I ssaid. Whatever caused Talon's hull to rupture is made of something our universe has never encountered before. And I think--" Orna paused and shook her head.
"You think what?"
"Stop interrupting her, Ell-van," Roar Far snapped.
Dal doubted he'd ever get used to two voices coming out of Orna's mouth. What amazed him was how easily Orna had adapted to it. She smoothly went on to finish her explanation . "Well, it could be biological or perhapss biomechanical in nature. But that's not the weird part."
"What's the weird part?" asked Kaylith over the com line. "Just wait a minute, Jack," they heard her add. "This is more important."
Jack's com wasn't open, but Dal gathered he wasn't happy with the interruption when he heard Kaylith say, "Too bad. I promise we'll talk about it later. Go on, Orna. You were saying?"
Dal briefly wondered what Jack and Kaylith had been talking about. Whatever it was, Jack felt it was more important than finding out what had damaged Talon. Dal quickly decided he didn't want to know that either. Those two had a relationship and powers that defied understanding. Just one more thing for him to think about...some day.
"Well," Orna drawled, "the weird thing is that one of the elements I could identify was palacite. Palacite ground sso fine, you need a scope to see it."
"I don't understand. Why--"
"Tarna," Roar Far said gently, "Orna believes the explosive was triggered by thought. Only the Sentari could have made such a weapon. Your family really did kill me."
Silence over the com line. Not that Dal expected Kaylith to say anything. What could she say? With no answer forthcoming, Orna turned her attention to Talon's hull breach.
She'd loaded their sleds with laser welders and enough scrap metal to seal three hull breaches. Dal's mind began to wander as Orna sorted through the various sheets of metal. The stars glittered with icy light, mere pinpoints in the vast darkness of space. It was small wonder the Talon hadn't been found in this void. The nearest starship lane was parsecs away. And the people of the nearest inhabited system--Sentarl, rarely left their planet.
Did they even have stardrives on Sentarl? If they didn't, it would have taken them a long time to reach Talon's current position outside their system, especially if you took the drift factor into consideration. It didn't make sense, when you considered the Sentari were a race of xenophobes. Supposedly, they never traveled farther than their moons.
Still, someone must have left Sentarl long enough to finish the job by blasting the stasis tubes. But why would they do that if they thought the ship had exploded? Especially since the Sentari surely knew Kaylith couldn't be killed by blasters.
Questions, questions. Dal wondered if they would ever know the answers. "Dal? You doing okay?" Orna asked, sounding a little testy.
"Of course I'm okay."
"I had to say your name five times to get your attention. Get off your ssled and bring a pair of welders with you."
Reluctantly, Dal gathered the tools and left the dubious safety of the sled using his ring thrusters to reach Orna's position. She held a huge sheet of metal in her third and fourth tentacles and was fitting it into position when Dal braked beside her. It covered perhaps a third of the breach.
"Okay, hand me a welder," Orna said. "I'll take the top part, you take the bottom."
"And I'll be in Scotland before ye," Jack sang over the com line.
"What?" Dal and Orna asked together.
"Old Terran ditty. Never mind," Jack replied. They could hear Kaylith giggle.
Dal and Orna stared back at Needle for a moment. He gets stranger and stranger every rev, don't you think? Dal mindsaid in intimate mode.
"Aren't we all?" Orna replied with a sigh. Then as if to prove her point, she added in a gruffer tone, "Too much talk, Ell-van. Work faster."
"What's your problem?" Orna asked her other self.
"Something--I don't know. Something feels wrong. I think we should hurry."
Orna did a passable imitation of a human shrug with her upper arms. "You heard the ghost. Let's get this finished." She fitted the metal sheet into place. As Dal placed the lower portion against the Talon's hull, he felt the zing of palacite crystal tingle against his prezkinned fingers.
A trickle of apprehension made its way down his spine. Uh Orna, wait a minute. Roar Far is right. Something's wrong, he mindsaid.
Orna flicked on her welder. Ruby light gleamed crimson in the darkness. "Oh, you two are like a couple of old women. What could possibly--"
A fiery explosion of heat, light, and sound engulfed them
Science Vessel Needle
Sentari Space
Terran year, 3749
Elvan, 17, 506
Unity, 151
NO! Kaylith mindshouted as the explosion blasted out of Talon's hull. She watched in horror as Dal and Orna's bodies were swallowed by flame.
"No," she heard Jack whisper as suddenly and inexplicably, the flames reversed. It looked as if the blast was being playing backward on a vid. One second, she saw Orna and Dal's bodies hurling out into space along with fire and debris, and the next--it was as if it had never happened.
How could that be?
Eyes wide, she slowly turned to Jack. His right hand was splayed against the vid screen displaying his shipmate's cams, his blue eyes glowing eerily as he stared at it.
The cams only showed the original gaping hole in Talon's hull.
"Orna? Dal?" Jack asked, sounding maddeningly calm. "You okay?"
The sound of raspy breathing came over the com line. "Check their vitals," Jack said quietly. Kaylith frantically searched the unfamiliar displays.
"W-which one?" she stammered.
Jack pointed toward a panel with his left hand, saying, "Orna? Dal? Do you copy?" His eyes and right hand never left the vid screen.
"They are alive, but unconscious," Roar Far's voice replied. "I think maybe I--"
"Never mind that," Jack growled. "Put them on a sled and bring them back to the ship. Now."
"I don't know how to drive these sleds," Roar Far argued. "I wasn't paying attention when Orna--"
"Just get them on the farking thing, aim it at the ship and go!"
"But I don't know--"
"Dammit, Kaylith. Tell her how to use it!"
"Jack, you have to tell her what to do," Kaylith said. She laid a hand on his arm and felt muscles rock-hard with strain. "I don't know how to pilot those sleds either."
"You don't understand. I can't hold--ah, hell."
The explosion rolled out of Talon again.
Then it rolled back in again.
Kaylith stared outside and wondered if she was going mad. When she looked back at Jack, he held up his left hand. "Help me," he said, sounding desperate now. "Link."
She took his hand and immediately felt herself being sucked into the vortex of Jack's mind. He was holding the explosion back by sheer will. How, she couldn't even begin to understand. But he was doing it.
The problem was his will weakened every time he had to concentrate on anything else. Just think it away, Jack mindsaid. You have to believe it didn't happen.
She followed his instructions, thinking with him as one now. There was no explosion. It didn't happen. There was no explosion. It didn't happen. Over and over they willed the impossible to be possible.
Kaylith dimly heard Jack talking to Roar Far over the com, telling her how to use the sled--how to open the airlock--how to close it. She ignored the com conversation, concentrating only on keeping the explosion from happening. Again.
Hold on for a few seconds more, sweetness, Jack mindsaid encouragingly as he released the docking cables.
Kaylith could feel Needle's engines start, then accelerate. Jack was piloting them away from Talon--fast. He let out a sigh. "Okay, I think we can relax now."
As soon as she broke the link, Talon exploded one last time.
* * *
Roar Far lay on the med bed fuming. That human, Jack, hovered over her, waving blinking, beeping things. Medical scanners, he called them. Why didn't Otherworlders ever use a shaman instead of these metal soulless things? Who could trust anything without a soul?
"There are no burns," the man muttered. "I don't see any physical injuries at all. Kaylith? How's Dal?"
"He appears uninjured as well," Tarna replied. "A miracle, considering they were blown up twice!"
"It wasn't a miracle," Roar Far said, slapping at Jack's hand with one of Orna's tentacles. He held some kind of pointy instrument and she didn't like the look of it. "It was me."
"It's only a stimulant," Jack said soothingly. "It will help Orna wake up."
Roar Far hated it when people spoke to her as if she were a child. "No pointy shot things. Let Orna rest," Roar Far argued, slowly lifting Orna's upper body to an upright position. "She hasn't slept since I joined with her."
"Well, whose fault is that?" Jack snapped. "If you had a shred of decency, you'd vacate her body right now."
"I told you, I saved her body, you ungrateful hu-man. I saved the Ell-van too."
Tarna came over and laid a soothing hand on Orna/Roar Far's head. It never bothered her when Tarna treated her like a child. They were sisters. That made it different. "How did you save them, dear one?"
"I--I'm not sure," Roar Far admitted slowly. "I felt something was wrong before it happened. There was a presence--" she shook Orna's head. "I don't know what it was, but that Ell-van felt it too. All I could think was I had to protect them, shield them from it--like when the spirits hid us back on Tjornak, remember Tarna?"
"I remember. Go on. What happened next?"
"Well, the blast happened. I--I sort of grew larger--big enough to envelope them." She shrugged Orna's shoulders. "I can't explain it. It was as if I was outside and inside Orna's body at the same time. All I know is I shielded them both times Talon exploded--although I still don't understand that. How could it explode twice? And why did it explode?"
"Perhaps the heat from the welding laser--" Jack began.
"No, Orna was not careless," Roar Far insisted. "She tested how the elements reacted to the heat of the welding laser in the lab. Nothing happened."
"Then it had to have been triggered by thought," Jack said as he sank wearily onto a nearby stool. His dark skin looked pale and his strange blue eyes dull.
No one had a reply to that. Roar Far thought there was no need. It was obvious this explosion was somehow that whoeek Tanith's work. At least the human had enough sense not to remind Tarna of that!
Tilting Orna's head towards him, Roar Far said, "The hu-man did it, didn't he, Tarna? He stopped the explosions."
Tarna smiled sadly and nodded, a warm glow lighting her eyes. Roar Far had never seen Tarna look at a man that way before. As she watched Tarna move to comfort Jack, a brief yearning for Tith stabbed Roar Far's heart. He'd been so infuriating, that Ell-van. And yet...
Closing Orna's eyes, Roar Far shut out the memories. What was to become of Tith's body now? Had it been destroyed in the explosion? Would his soul be at peace in the stars? Didn't she owe it to him to be sure?
And what of her own body? Strange, Roar Far had no desire to see it, but she supposed Tarna needed to take it back to the Khouree for the death ritual. After that, she would be free of this Corban's body... of Orna. She would then learn how to be a true spirit of the land and help her people.
Somehow, being released from Orna and learning how to be a true spirit didn't seem as important as Roar Far knew it should. Recovering Tith's body mattered more. She didn't know why, but it did.
She opened Orna's eyes to see Tarna wrap her arms about Jack's shoulders and kiss his cheek. The human reached up to take one of Tarna's hands. Slowly, their fingers intertwined. Roar Far tried to speak, but for a moment no words would come. The two of them looked so beautiful--so right--together. Light and dark. Yet somehow one and the same. It had been like that with Tith. It had been so...
Roar Far blinked and touched Orna's cheek. Orna's eyes were wet. Why were they wet?
"Roar Far?" Tarna asked. "Are you crying?"
"Of course not," Roar Far huffed. "Warriors never cry."
"Maybe grieving spirits do," Jack said, lifting those strange eyes that saw far too much. A glimmer of the laser blue had returned to replace the dull sheen. "You were thinking of Tith, weren't you?"
"I want to know what happened to him--and the others," Roar Far said. "I know it's not safe or sane to want to go back there--where are we headed anyway?"
"I set course for the fastest way out of Sentari space. That means we're headed for the Riddian sector. We should be there in half a rev. I don't think we should go back without more--"
"But Jack!" Tarna cried. "We have to go back. We can't just--"
"You've got five dead crew members, and we almost lost two more just now." Though the human's words were harsh, his tone was tender. "That place is the black hole of bad luck. We'd be idiots to go back."
The human was right, even though Roar Far didn't want to admit it. They had to recover Tith!
"What's the worst that could happen?" she said.
"You have to ask?"
"I'm already dead," Roar Far argued, ignoring Jack's question. "Tarna can't be killed. And you--" Roar Far pointed Orna's second tentacle at him. "I don't know what you are. I'm not sure I want to know! But something tells me you're probably as hard to kill as Tarna. If that's true, then Orna and Dal are the only ones who have anything to fear and they're both out of it. I want to go back, hu-man. Take us there."
"Absolutely not," Jack said, his voice hardening. "It's too dangerous."
Roar Far blew a raspberry with Orna's forked tongue. "Coward!"
"Better a coward than a fool, Roar Far. Do you really feel like taking on Kaylith's sister again--and the Mindmasters?"
"I can hide us from them. I know I can."
"But you've never done it before, have you?"
She opened Orna's mouth to reply, then thought better of it. Still, she wasn't ready to admit defeat. Her best defense had always been a strong offense. "Tarna, tell this stubborn hu-man to turn this ship around! If not for me, then he should do it for Orna. She wants us to go back. I know she does."
"For Orna?" Jack let out a dry laugh. "Kallie, tell this stubborn spook she's out of her mind."
"Spook?" Roar Far frowned. "What is spook?"
Tarna started chuckling. Jack and Roar Far broke off their argument to stare at her. She met their eyes... and laughed harder. She laughed until she grabbed her ribs and bent double. Jack stood and tried to take her into his arms. Giggling and shaking her head, she backed away.
What' so funny? Jack mindsaid in group mode.
Us. You. Roar Far. Everything, Tarna replied. Roar Far could hear the hysterical laughter playing like music in her sister's mind. Look at us. You are arguing with my best friend, whose spirit has taken possession of your best friend. Since you've found me, your powers have grown from mindspeak to seeing the future to reversing explosions. I have five dead crew, you have two unconscious crew. My homicidal sister and the Mindmasters are seeking us. And there are you two, discussing the meaning of spooks. It's just too much.
"Is--it--any--wonder--I'm called the--cursed one?" she wheezed aloud. "Look what I've--done to you! To ALL of you!" Tarna's laughter abruptly turned into tears. Still holding her ribcage, she sobbed fiercely now.
"Look what you've done, hu-man!" Roar Far exclaimed. "This is all your fault!"
"My fault?" Jack said, putting a hand over his heart. "What did I do?"
"She's hysterical because she thinks she's failed us...Talon's crew. She blames herself for our deaths."
"I d-did fail you!" Tarna sobbed.
"There! You see? You see what you have done, hu-man? Your harsh words have upset Tarna. Turn this ship around!"
"No, Roar Far. It's not happening."
"Orna and I will never forgive you if you don't!"
"You DARE speak for Orna, you--you Tjorn body snatcher!"
"Body snatcher?" Roar Far slowly slid off the table, the light of battle firing in Orna's eyes.
Such fire was wasted on the hu-man. Throughout their argument, his attention always returned to Tarna. He stood there now, biting his lip, still trying to reach out to her. But for the moment, Tarna wanted nothing to do with him. Every time he laid a hand on her, she knocked it away.
The look on the man's face tore Roar Far's heart. His love for Tarna, his need to comfort her was so strong, Roar Far could feel it too. Her anger died, snuffed out by sensing such love.
Roar Far sighed. She decided to try being as 'reasonable' as this Jack appeared to be. "We have to at least go back for Tith's body. It's very important that we find him before--"
Before what? Roar Far still didn't know. But her sense of urgency was growing. It may already be too late.
"Before what, Roar Far?" Jack asked. "Have you seen something?"
Should she lie? He might go back if she lied. She could see the hu-man was holding his breath as he waited for an answer. Even Tarna stilled her crying to hear what she would say next.
Roar Far sighed again, this time in frustration. Warriors never lied... well, not to friends anyway. Even if she was dead, she wasn't about to lie now.
She shook Orna's head. "No, it's not something I've seen. It's something I know. Don't ask me to explain, hu-man. Can you explain how you reversed the explosions? Or how you knew you'd find Tarna alive in your time?"
No answer. Not that Roar Far expected one.
"I don't care about finding my body... but the others and Tith's--Tith's body is especially important. Something very bad will happen if we don't find him."
Still no answer. Roar Far desperately wished one of them would say something!
"I don't know why it's important. Please understand, I am new at being a guiding spirit. And I know I am not doing it rightly--taking possession of Orna's body was wrong--but for now, I have no choice except to continue as I am. There are no ancestors here to teach me. The shaman used to say that whatever happens, it is how destiny meant it to be. I wish I had listened to him more when I was a warrior. Then maybe I could understand what I am meant to do and how I am to do it."
Zaphronturds, Roar Far thought. She knew she was babbling, but she couldn't stop. "You are right, hu-man. Only a fool would want to go back to that bad luck place. Tith told me once, 'Fortune makes fools of us all'. And here--now--in this time, fortune dictates we take the fool's path. We must go back! I know it--and deep down, hu-man--with your new powers, you know it too." When he again remained silent, she added desperately, "Don't you?"
The hu-man still didn't answer, but his blue eyes seemed to delve into Orna's. For an instant, the eerie glow returned. He shook his head and turned to reach for Tarna. This time she let him take her into his arms.
Once there, they both turned their attention back to Roar Far. She did not know for sure, but she guessed they were mindspeaking in intimate mode.
"Well?" Roar Far demanded nervously. "Are you two going to stare at me until the stars grow dim or are you going to give me an answer?"
Jack kissed Tarna's forehead, then let go of her with a sigh. "I guess we are all fortune's fools, Roar Far." With that, he left the med lab.
Roar Far rounded on Tarna. "And what was that supposed to mean?"
Tarna smiled, wiping the last of her tears away with the back of her hand. "It means you win, dear one. We're going back." As she reached out to touch Orna's damp cheek, she added, "I hope we all live long enough to regret it."
Mount Trinar, Elvan
Terran year, 3623
Elvan, 17, 380
Unity, B.U. 1
Kaylith led the crew of the Talon into the main hall of Mount Trinar. She did not pause as they passed the diplomatic contingents of Corbans, Terrans, Tjorns, and other IML worlds. Her eyes stayed fixed on the Elvan delegation. Garbed in velvet robes colored in a variety of jewel-toned hues, the Elvans stood above the rest on the rough hewn stairs that led to the upper caverns.
The first thought that came into Kaylith's mind was--spooky. Why did Mindmasters always have to look so spooky? She met the gaze of her Elvan father, Lir. His cold gray eyes stared back beneath the shadow of his midnight blue hood.
Kaylith sighed. Even without a mental probe, she knew nothing would deter Lir from this course. He'd gone too far, taking Rock hostage, even though he already had plenty of leverage. His actions didn't make sense. Surely, he knew the promise of amnesty would be enough to lure Talon's crew here. Why drag Rock into it and piss her off all over again?
When Elvans didn't make sense, Kaylith knew it was time to worry. There was more to this 'peace' summit than the Elvans wanted the rest of the universe to believe.
"Ah, at last the crew of Talon joins us," Lir said. "Welcome! For seven years you have eluded capture by bounty hunters, Corbans, and the IML. How gratifying it must be for you to walk into the halls of Mount Trinar as outlaws no more. Your amnesty is now official. On behalf of the IML, I welcome you back into the fold."
"I want to see Rock," Kaylith said, stopping about ten feet away from him.
Lir smiled. "Ever one to get straight to the point. I've always admired that about you."
Deke nudged past Roar Far to stand beside Kaylith. "Look, you can take your admiration and stuff it--" He stopped with a growl when Tith held up a hand.
"You must forgive their anger, Father," Tith said. "They are understandably upset about their brother. Once they see Rock is unharmed, they'll be more--agreeable to your peace proposal."
Lir lowered his voice to a whisper. "You dare call me 'Father'. I disowned you both years ago."
Tith looked wounded, but he replied evenly. "A slip of the tongue, Mindmaster Lir. Do not worry. It won't happen again."
"How does one 'disown' their blood kin?" Roar Far said, gripping the hilt of her shocking sword. "Blood is forever! Only a demon would think otherwise."
Zar put a hand on the Tjorn's wrist. "Shh," she whispered, "Remember, you promised Tarna not to kill anybody--today."
Roar Far nodded, even though she looked anything but quiet. She didn't remove her hand from her sword.
Lir ignored the exchange between the Tjorn and Elvan, choosing to answer Kaylith instead. "If your brother means that much to you, then I suggest you agree to our amnesty proposal--now."
Kaylith glared and asked through gritted teeth, "Can't we talk about it first?"
"There's nothing to discuss," Lir replied. "It's very simple. You agree to a diplomatic mission to Sentarl on behalf of the IML. In exchange, the Corbans agree to end their dispute with Tjornak--"
"Dispute? Millions of my people died because of a dispute?" Roar Far growled.
Again, Lir ignored her. "--with the promise they will receive the first Sentari trade rights. The IML will in turn lift their trade sanctions against Corba. Corba agrees to make restitution to the Tjorns. But all depends on you. Your cooperation will insure peace and prosperity in every sector of the civilized worlds. You'll be a hero--and oh, your brother Rock will be returned to his beloved Oceanus on Terra. There, you see? Everybody wins."
"Nobody wins," Kaylith countered. "How many times must I tell you--the Sentari are a race of xenophobes! They'll never open their world to galactic trade!"
"If you do not agree, we will simply send Rock in your place."
"Meeral will have him executed on sight."
"You don't know that."
"Oh yes, I do."
That shut Lir up for a few seconds. Kaylith sent a swift probe his way, while he formulated his reply. Before he could speak, she said, "The Mindmasters think to change the perception of the universe?"
Lir blinked. "How did you--" Kaylith smiled. His mental shields were no match for her probe. She'd gotten much stronger in the last seven years and had slid in and out of his head without notice.
"Let me see if I got this straight--you--and the Mindmasters--think that if you only had enough palacite--even though you already have sufficient metric tons stockpiled to supply all of Elvan three times over--that you'd be able to alter the collective perception of the universe into your own vision."
"What? Elvan has that much palacite in reserve?" asked one of the Corbans. He spoke for many of the delegates, since just about everyone in the room, except the Elvans on the stairs, looked startled by what they heard.
"Pay her no mind, my friends," Lir said, without sparing the great hall a glance. He continued to glower at Kaylith instead. "Apparently this girl feels compelled to sow dissension among us. Do not be swayed by her distortions of the truth."
Meanwhile, in intimate mode, he told Kaylith, You will not speak of this before the council or your brother dies, do you understand?
I understand you Mindmasters are power mad idiots, Kaylith mindsaid. You're as bad as--no, wait--you're worse than the Corbans! At least they're just greedy. But you--you Mindmasters want to arrange the universe to suit yourselves.
Don't you see? With all the palacite Sentarl has to offer, we can change the way the universe perceives itself. We can bring peace everlasting.
By controlling everybody else's thoughts and perceptions? Kaylith countered. Uh-uh. I don't think so. Not everybody wants to live their lives the Elvan way. Wonder what the Corbans would think if--
You've already said more than enough. Do any more damage and your crew will surely regret it.
So this is the Elvan way? Kidnapping and threats?
It is when we are forced to deal with a child who has more power than common sense! It is because of you and your interference that the races have gone to war.
"Gee," Kaylith said aloud. "And here I thought it was all about the fact that the Corbans set loose a plague on the Tjorns. How's that working out for them by the way?"
The Corban delegation hissed almost as one.
"Ssee here, Lir!" spoke the same Corban male again. "We didn't come to this peace ssummit to be inssulted by a petty thief!"
"Petty thief is it? Listen, snake boy, you and I both know I'm an exceptional thief! Just ask the Tjorns where their serum has been coming from, they'll tell you." A cheer came from the Tjorn delegation. The Corbans hissed again. "And this is the thanks I get, trying to save your scaly ass from these velvet-robed fanatics. Can't you see what's going on?"
The Corban male drew up to his full height, which was an imposing ten feet. His scales gleamed in various shades of gold. "I am High Minister Slooshal and you will rue the day you dared sspeak to me with such disrespect."
Kaylith smiled. "You know what, Slooshal? I'm aware of Corba's caste system. The more wealth one has, the more respect they earn, correct?"
Slooshal nodded reluctantly.
"Well, run a credit check. You'll find I have more credits than all of Corba's ruling council. We might have been on the run all this time, but other than that, life in the Forgotten and Exiled worlds has been very profitable. My stock portfolio alone would make you drool with envy. Why don't you try our line of work instead of killing millions of innocents for palacite that is of no use to you?"
"No use?" Slooshal roared.
Kaylith chuckled. "Kind of hard to use palacite when it's inhabited by Tjorn ancestors, isn't it? It was one thing when you thought the Tjorns were simply refusing to trade, but once you learned most Tjorn palacite doesn't work because their ancestors are already using it, you gave up and started searching for bluer pastures."
"That's why you're salivating over the chance to trade with Sentarl. The Corbans see this peace summit as a way to get out of a war you caused with profit in your pockets. Because for Corba, it's all about the profit, right?"
Slooshal said nothing. His eyes narrowed and his tentacles knotted and unknotted several times.
"Well, whatever these Elvans and Terrans have told you about Sentarl's wealth, forget it. Sentari do not and will not trade with other races. End of story."
Slooshal glared from Kaylith to Lir. "You would send thiss--thiss ill-spoken pirate to be our representative? Are you mad?"
"That's what I've tried to tell him. He's crazy if he thinks sending me to Sentarl will accomplish anything--well, except getting me killed, of course."
"In that case, it's worth it," Slooshal snapped.
"Aw, pay him no mind, Kay," Deke said. "He's angry that his precious Corban fleet hasn't been able to catch us! How much did Corba spend on hiring all those extra bounty hunters and Mechs? Must have cost you snake-heads a bundle!"
"Indeed, we've been one big loss column for you Corbans," Higgy replied with a wicked smile. "How many have we killed defending ourselves?"
"Dozens," Roar Far said. "Maybe hundreds. I lost count after a while."
"Quiet!" Lir shouted. "That is enough. I will not have this council disrupted by taunts and insults."
"The loud-mouthed snake-head started it," Roar Far protested. "If it wasn't for his people killing mine, we wouldn't be here."
More cheers from the Tjorns. From the far side of the great hall, the Corbans hissed yet again. A swift exchange of escalating insults followed. A few seconds later, both sides rushed across the width of the hall towards each other, blue hands clasping weapons on one side, fangs bared on the other--
Suddenly, they all hit the ground. Stunned, neither the Corbans or Tjorn combatants moved. A shocked gasp blew like a gale through Trinar's great hall, followed by an ever-rising murmur of disbelief and anger. The voices blended and echoed, creating a discordant music that grew louder and louder.
"Elvan will not tolerate violence," Lir said above the din. "Still your voices. Cease your resistance. Now."
Absolute quiet enveloped the vast chamber. No one spoke. No one moved.
Except Kaylith. She'd sensed the sudden rush of mind power and had raised her mental shields instantly. Walls, walls, walls.
Those long, lonely days in Trinar's lower Caverns were paying off now. The Mindmasters' commands were like the softest of whispers in her mind, easy to ignore.
She turned in a slow circle, surveying the extent of the Mindmasters' control. Her crew looked frozen, although on closer examination, she could see signs of Zar and Tith's resistance. They rolled their eyes and made jerky, strained movements from time to time. Deke, Higgy, and Roar Far, did not so much as twitch.
Beyond her crew, she saw the Tjorns and Corbans lying like discarded war toys across the floor of the main hall. The Terran delegation made an interesting tableau--some delegates had been frozen in angry mid-protest--others looked mildly confused. Kaylith jerked, startled, when her gaze landed on Alex Stryker. She'd never gotten used to his resemblance to her dream man, but that wasn't what unnerved her right now.
Unlike the rest of the Terrans, he seemed immune to the Mindmasters' control. Perhaps Zirtha was shielding him somehow. The Terran man and Elvan woman stood close together and she could sense they were mindspeaking in intimate mode. Odd, that.
They both looked as surprised as she was. Somehow, she found that comforting.
She looked past them at the other delegations-- the Amusians, the Agdans, the Ronli--almost every race in the civilized worlds was here.
None of them spoke or moved.
"Nice trick," she said, turning back to the Mindmasters. "Do you really think turning this entire peace summit into a bunch of farking statues will win Elvan friends?"
The whispers in her mind grew slightly louder. She mentally pulled up a few more walls to make them go away. "Give it up, Lir. Nobody gets in my head."
"Elvan will not permit any altercations at this summit," Lir said tightly. The Mindmasters behind him had their heads bowed. The mental power that emanated from them was palpable. She could sense a change of tactics.
Spooky? Nope. Downright scary now!
Kaylith let out a dry laugh. "I'd say that's obvious. How will you explain yourselves once they are free? Do you really think the Corbans--or the Terrans for that matter--will be happy about this little power play?"
"They will have no memory of it. Instead, they will believe all parties agreed to the treaty without hesitation."
"So you are altering their perceptions?"
"Exactly. This day marks the first step into a wonderful new universe, Kaylith. We will have peace. We will have unity. What we do here today and for all the tomorrows after is for the greater good."
"How are you altering their perceptions?"
It was Lir's turn to laugh. "Ah, child. If you think I'ld be foolish enough to put that kind of knowledge in your hands, you are seriously mistaken."
"Uh-huh," Kaylith said, dropping her mental shields. "We'll see about that." She opened her mind and sent her thoughts out, basically replaying her and Lir's conversation. The Corbans seemed especially receptive. Perhaps because she'd messed with their thoughts before and--
"What--what are you doing?" Lir yelped, stumbling up a step and treading on the ruby red robe of a fellow Mindmaster. "What--stop that! Stop that right now!"
She ignored Lir and concentrated on the Corbans. Some of them moved now, pulling themselves upright by their tentacles and tails.
Stop her. Stop her now! Lir mindshouted to the other Mindmasters.
The massive mindshock came too fast for Kaylith to shield. The last thing she saw as the great hall of Mount Trinar faded to black was High Minster Slooshal of Corba lifting his weapon to fire on her father.
* * *
"Well, that could have gone better for the IML," Tith was saying. His voice sounded galaxies away to Kaylith. "Now instead of the Elvans and Terrans fighting the Corbans--the Corbans and Terrans are fighting the Elvans."
"They are all stupid," Roar Far said. "I hope they kill each other. It's too bad that snake-head didn't kill Lir. I wonder what they will do now?"
"I doubt we live to see the outcome," Zar said. "The Elvans will probably kill us first."
"Bah, Tarna won't let them."
"Kaylith is unable to protect anyone right now. It is a miracle she still lives after what they did to her."
Zar had that right. An unending series of explosions were going off in her head... mindshock aftershock. She'd never had it this bad before. At least her hearing seemed to be improving, but her aching head wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.
"Oh, shut up! Shut up all of you!" Deke shouted.
Not a good thing. Deke, would you please not yell?
Apparently, he couldn't hear her anguished mindwhisper since he kept on shouting. "She's not going to die! None of us are going to die!"
"Deke?" asked a quiet male voice. Kaylith felt her heart skip a beat. "Kaylith needs you to stop yelling. Her head hurts."
"She's awake?"
"Sorta. Just back off and give us a moment, okay?"
Rock? Kaylith tried to open her eyes, but the tiniest sliver of light sliced through her eyelids and set off more aftershocks. With a groan, she squeezed her eyes shut and groped for her brother's hand. She knew it was truly her brother the instant she touched him. Oh Rock! Are you okay?
Better off than you, he replied. I'm sorry I got you into this mess.
It wasn't your fault. Blame the Mindmasters, blame mother, blame ME, but don't blame yourself. Understand?
If I had only escaped, then you--
Don't make me slap you.
Rock laughed. My dear sweet sister, you don't have the strength.
Frustrated, she banged her head on whatever she was laying on. The soft surface cushioned the blow nicely. I wish I could see you. It hurts when I open my eyes.
Ssshh. I know. The tone of Rock's mindvoice and the touch of his hand stroking hers soothed her jangled nerves. Don't worry about it. At least I can see you.
I had to come, you know that, don't you? I would never let them take you back to Meeral. Never. She'd kill you.
Maybe she would, maybe she wouldn't. Does it matter?
"Of course it matters!" Kaylith shouted. Or rather tried to shout. Her voice sounded like the weak croak of a dying frog. Disgusted, she immediately switched back to mindspeak. Rock, you matter more to me than any one in the universe.
Has it ever occurred to you that I feel the same way?
It's a doomed mission, we both know that.
All the more reason why I should go. You've already sacrificed so much. Let me do this for you.
The hell I will! Kaylith mindshouted. It made her head hurt worse, but she didn't give a damn.
Do you really expect me to let you?
They want ME to go. You're just leverage.
"Gee, sis, don't sugarcoat it. Give it to me straight."
The humor and warmth in his voice tore her heart. Gritting her teeth, she forced her eyes open. The light blinded her, slicing into the nerve endings of her battered mind. She ignored the pain and was rewarded with a dark fuzzy blob on her right. Everything else--well, everything else sort of looked like the white mist from her dreams. She had no idea where she was, and at the moment, didn't really care.
As she concentrated, the fuzzy blob slowly resolved into her dearest brother's face. His dark eyes brimmed with tears and concern. They closed when she reached out to stroke his cheek. He was still beautiful. He'd always been beautiful.
"Rock, listen to me now, okay?" Kaylith whispered. Shallog please, for just this once make someone listen to me! "I want you to go back to Oceanus, find a nice girl, and have lots of little Rocks. I want you to have hundreds of birthday parties for us. Put both our names on the cakes. You get what I'm saying, brother?"
"Yeah," Rock's voice was grim. He opened his eyes and the soft gaze of the poet was gone. "You're saying I'm supposed to live out a long and happy life for the both of us. Sounds great, sis. But where does that leave you?"
"At peace. If I know you are safe and happy, then nothing else matters."
He squeezed her hand. "It's not fair."
"I know that."
"You're not being fair."
"I know that too. But you'll do it? For me?" When he didn't answer, she added, "Rock, please. Please do this one thing for me."
"It's not like you have a choice, brother," Deke said, moving to stand beside Rock and put a hand on his shoulder. "The IML wants Kay. They think it's the only way to stop the war now--or at the very least, put it on pause for awhile." Rock looked at him and said nothing. Deke grinned. "Besides, no need to worry. I'll be there to protect her."
"And me," Tith said, stepping up to the other side of Kaylith's bed. "She's not going anywhere without me."
Rock gave Kaylith a familiar half-smile. You don't want them to go either, do you? he mindsaid.
Of course I don't. But I gave up on talking sense into them years ago. I'm hoping that you care for me enough-- love me enough--to do as I ask. Please Rock, let me go.
Rock bit his lip as he stared down at her. While he made up his mind, Kaylith took a moment to enjoy the sight of her three brothers standing together. Sentari born, Terran born, Elvan born. Three races, and yet, thanks to Meeral's machinations, they were all her brothers.
She loved them so much. And might never see them this way again. A little shiver in her insides told her she was probably right. Tears began flowing down her cheeks when the shiver crystallized into certainty. "You'll do it?" she asked with a sniffle. "Please say you'll do it!"
Rock sighed. "Like Deke said, looks like I don't have a choice." He took her into his arms and whispered in her ear. "I love you, Kaylith."
"I love you, Rock," she whispered back. "Live for me--for us, okay?"
He sighed again and let her go. "Okay."
Sentari System
Terran year, 3623
Elvan, 17, 380
Unity, B.U. 1
Kaylith could sense Sentarl long before the auto-piloted Talon swung into the planet's orbit. The emanation of its malevolent psychic presence surrounded her mind and body like a physical force...squeezing the air from her lungs and scattering her thoughts to the ethereal winds.
The mental climate behind her was just as stormy. Apparently, her efforts to counteract the Mindmasters attempted power grab had been successful. The Corbans and many of the Terrans remembered the mental attack in the great hall of Mount Trinar. Those that didn't were swiftly convinced to take their peers at their word.
The result? War had indeed been declared--again. Only this time the Elvans were the focus of the IML's fury. This mission to Sentarl was somehow supposed to salvage Lir's ham-fisted peace treaty, although for the life of her, Kaylith couldn't see how. She supposed, for the IML, at least--money fixes everything.
"Is this stupid ship still a slave to the Elvan's autopilot?" Roar Far asked.
"For the hundredth time, yes," Higgy growled from somewhere in the depths of a bulkhead. She'd been trying to override the Elvan's autopilot for days with no success. She did, however, have Roar Far's incessant queries to keep her company.
"Why can you not set it free? If you set it free, then we can fly away from this bad place and go back to Forgotten Worlds."
Higgy's blonde head poked out from beneath the bulkhead. "Maybe because I have a big blue pain in the ass driving me crazy?"
Roar Far blinked. "You are afflicted with blisters?"
"Something like that. Look, just give me a few more--"
"Give it up, Higgy, Meeral knows we're here already," Kaylith said. She stared with loathing at the beautiful blue planet on her view screen. She'd never seen Sentarl like this. It looked so...peaceful.
So much water... with only little strings of islands for land. The cloud layers danced above the surface majestically. She couldn't see a single tell-tale swirl of a storm system. Maybe because the Sentari had learned to control their weather dekkeons ago.
Kaylith cynically wondered if the IML would rather have weather tech over Sentarl's palacite. She doubted it, even though to her mind, weather tech was more useful.
"You can sense Meeral?" Tith asked.
"I'm trying not to," Kaylith replied. "But she's like a Zaphron in a hut, kinda hard to ignore. I think she's rounding up the royal family to have a go at my shields."
"So what's next?" Higgy asked, rising to her feet. As if in answer, the ship's lights began to blink and the com channel switched on with a burst of static. "What the fark?" Higgy cried, nudging Roar Far out of the way to reach the engineering panel. She tried several commands, but nothing worked. Slamming her fists into the panel, she swore, "Those farking Elvans! How did they program all this?"
Lir's voice filled the cabin. "The Interstellar Merchant's League sends greetings to the royal family of Sentarl."
"Oh great," Deke said. "Him again. Kaylith, do you think your people could just shoot us down now and get it over with?"
Kaylith simply shook her head while Lir's voice droned on. "We have sent these representatives to offer a profitable trade alliance with your people. To show our good faith, your daughter, Kaylith, heads this delegation. We look forward to years of peace and prosperity between our civilized worlds and yours. Consider the possibilities of--"
"Can't somebody shut him up?" Deke shouted over Lir's sales pitch.
"I can," Roar Far said, unsheathing her shocking sword. She immediately started hacking away at the com panel. Sparks flew everywhere, but five strokes later, Lir's voice fell silent.
"Great." Higgy giggled hysterically. "This is great. I knew this crazy blue woman would be the death of us all. Now we can't call for help."
"Who would come to save us?" Zar replied.
"She's got a point there," Kaylith said. "Let me guess, Higgy, you're still locked out of propulsion and navigation?"
Higgy giggled and nodded. Deke moved to take her into his arms. "Ssshhh, we're not dead yet, love."
"That's supposed to be--comforting?" Higgy gasped. Her laughter turned to tears. "Don't you get it? We're stuck here!"
Deke stroked her hair. "It's okay. We've been in worse situations before. We'll find a way out of this. We always do."
"Not this time, Deke," Higgy sobbed.
Talon suddenly lurched as if an invisible hand had seized the ship to drag it down into the atmosphere. One look and they all knew...Talon was not in a proper entry angle.
They were going to burn.
"You see?" Higgy wailed pushing Deke away. "Tell me this isn't bad!" Still sobbing, she flailed away at the unresponsive controls. Deke stood by in frustration. Zar had her eyes closed, her lips moving in a quiet prayer.
Tith reached for Roar Far. The Tjorn turned her face up to him and they began to kiss--
WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?
No mistaking Meeral's mind shout. Crashing, apparently, Kaylith replied.
KAYLITH? IT IS YOU, ISN'T IT?
Yeah, Mom. Your long lost daughter has come home to die. Point a cam this way and you'll be able to get it all on vid.
Silence. Well, silence if you tuned out Higgy's sobs, Zar's prayer, and the smacking noises Tith and Roar Far made. Kaylith kept her eyes on the view screen. She could no longer see the black of space, only Sentarl's blue glow growing brighter by the second.
Talon stopped its descent. Higgy shrieked, "I think I have control now!"
Kaylith sincerely doubted it.
THIS DEATH IS TOO QUICK. TOO EASY. WE HAVE MATTERS THAT NEED TO BE SETTLED FIRST.
Talon began to descend again. On a proper landing vector this time. Higgy swore, "How the farking hell are the Elvans doing this?"
Kaylith sighed. "I don't think it's the Elvans this time. It's Meeral. They're using auto-dock to land us."
"What's the difference?" Deke said. "We still don't have control."
"Exactly," Kaylith said. "I'll tell you one thing, I'm getting tired of it!"
"Well, what can we do? Higgy's busted her beautiful butt trying to--"
"We aren't going to do anything. This is between Meeral and me. When we get down to the planet, you guys will not leave this ship. Once I get off, nobody enters and nobody leaves. Get your weapons and be ready for anything. Got it?"
She turned to face them all. "I mean it this time. If you try to go with me, I swear I'll mindshock you all into comas."
Roar Far whispered to Tith, "Can she really do that?"
Tith nodded, his eyes meeting Kaylith's. "She can and she will. For once, let's not argue. We do it your way, Sister."
"It's about damn time," Kaylith growled, wishing heartily she'd threatened them with mindshocks years ago.
* * *
Amazing. Meeral's throne room hadn't changed a bit. Jewels and glittering metals embedded every surface. Tittering lackeys and relatives filled up the sidelines. The bones of the conquered south island ancestors still dangled from the domed ceiling. This time Kaylith didn't cringe as she walked beneath them. Instead all she felt was rage.
The rage of the helpless and the hopeless... yet, it was rage nonetheless. Not fear.
Her mother hadn't changed a bit either. She still had a streak of color in her black hair, emerald green this time to match her flowing gown. She lounged lackadaisically on her crystal throne... as if seeing Kaylith again bored her to tears.
A young woman stood at her right, wearing odd pink spectacles. Palacite jewelry dripped from her ears, neck and wrists. Tanith? Yes, it was Tanith! Kaylith felt a quiet surge of joy at seeing her sister again. Her joy swiftly faded. The sightless eyes behind Tanith's glasses held no expression at all.
Kaylith longed to know what her sister was feeling, but she didn't dare let her mental shields down in Meeral's presence. She had them maxxed out, which prevented even simple mindspeak. This tactic immediately annoyed Meeral.
Sentarl's queen gave her a derisive smile. "Forgot how to mindspeak?" she asked in Sentari's genetic language. Her retinue tittered as if on cue.
"No," Kaylith answered in kind. "I just don't feel like mindspeaking with you."
The tittering stopped.
"I see," Meeral said. "So, you came here to die? Isn't that what you said?"
"Yes."
"And for some odd reason, you choose to die with a ragtag collection of aliens in tow? You choose to die as a trader shill for other worlds?"
"No."
Meeral frowned. "You make no sense. That Elvan Lir said--"
"Lir's a deluded asshole. I told him you would never open Sentarl to trade with any world."
"Then why did he say--"
"Long story short--he held Rock hostage and forced me to come. You do remember Rock, don't you?"
"One of our gen lab's worst failures, how can I forget?" Meeral shifted on her throne to sit imperiously straight. "Apparently you are the one with the faulty memory. Twice you have interrupted me. For that alone you should die. Can you give me one reason not to have the guards strike you down where you stand?"
"No. Go ahead. Give the order. The results should be--interesting."
"Mother, no!" Tanith said, laying a hand on Meeral's shoulder.
Kaylith felt another surge of joy. It was obvious her sister was on her side!
Meeral didn't spare Tanith a glance, she kept her attention on Kaylith. "Hmm, yes, that cursed self-defense mechanism of yours. It's really a shame we haven't been able to breed it into anybody else."
Kaylith didn't reply. What was the point?
"Of course, we could just kill your companions," Meeral speculated. "Slow deaths, with you there to watch, of course. That might be amusing."
"Not a good idea," Kaylith replied quickly. She had an idea of her own forming. "Besides, you'd have to break into our ship first and--"
"No need, we've already captured three aliens. Gen techs are harvesting their DNA right now."
Cursing silently, Kaylith lowered her shields enough to mindspeak Tith. Tith? Can you hear me? No answer. Zar?
To her relief, Zar immediately answered. I tried to stop them.
Shallog's hair! Who left the ship?
Tith, Roar Far, and Deke. Higgins is frantic with worry. Have they been captured?
"Of course, we haven't killed them--yet," Meeral was saying. "I believe they have other, more important, uses."
Yeah, like leverage, Kaylith thought glumly. I know this game all too well. To Zar, she mindsaid, Yes, they've been captured. I will negotiate to free them here. Do NOT under any circumstances leave that ship!
She maxxed her shields out again before Zar could answer. "Okay," she said to Meeral, "let's cut to the chase. What do you want?"
Meeral smiled. "Me? I want nothing. You are the one who came here begging like a peasant for trade alliances and--"
"No, I was forced to come here. I don't want anything from you or Sentarl. What will it take to free my companions?"
"You act as if you have something I want."
"Don't I? Just think what your gen techs could do with my genetic material."
"You forget, we already have ample supply of your genes."
"Then what? You must want something. Otherwise, you'd have killed my companions already."
Instead of replying, Meeral turned to stare at Tanith, obviously mindspeaking her sister in intimate mode. Kaylith wished she could overhear the exchange, but that would mean dropping her shields. Tanith momentarily looked startled, then oddly resigned. She nodded to Meeral and began to walk away.
"Tanith?" Kaylith called after her. "It's good to see you again, sister."
Tanith paused. Then she continued on as if she hadn't heard Kaylith. Kaylith watched Tanith leave until she passed through one of the arched side exits and out of sight. If they could only have a few minutes alone, then maybe...
"Tanith is such a devoted child," Meeral was saying, her voice reeking of sarcasm. "You really should be proud of your sister, Kaylith. Despite her physical limitations, she has become the strongest contender for the throne."
Kaylith waited for the other slipper to fall.
"Next to you, of course. You want your friends to live?"
Kaylith nodded, her stomach lurching.
"Then your path is simple. Face Tanith in the Fire Circle. If you win, I will free them. Oh, and of course, you will remain as my proven heir afterwards."
Kaylith stared in disbelief. In twenty years, virtually nothing on this stupid planet had changed. "If Tanith fights me, she will die."
"Probably," Meeral sniffed. "But I'm not terribly fond of the girl, so no big loss there." More tittering from the lackeys. Kaylith could feel the blood lust rising in the room. They wanted to see a fight... a death. To them, it didn't really matter who.
"You would pit us against each other?" Kaylith whispered.
"It is our way, is it not?" Meeral replied. "I had to face several of my brothers and sisters to gain this throne. Why should it be any different for you?"
"Maybe because I don't want your farking throne! Why can't you get that through your head? I never have and I never will!"
Meeral laughed. "Circumstances have changed though, haven't they? No fathers with war fleets to save you. Friends in peril--what other choice do you have, my dear?"
Kaylith bit her lip, her mind racing. Desperate, she decided to try another tack. "Doesn't it bother you that all the civilized worlds consider Sentarl a backward planet with a pathetically archaic governing system?"
"No. Why should Sentari care what inferior species think?"
"I could just let Tanith kill me, you know. If I don't want to hurt her, then the self-defense mechanism doesn't work." Kaylith wasn't exactly sure this was true, but from previous experiences, she thought it might be.
Meeral obviously didn't agree. "I doubt your innate instinct for self-preservation would allow you to do that. Although who knows? With your mind powers, anything is possible. It will be interesting to see which side of you wins--mind or body?" Meeral lifted a languid hand. "Guards, escort my daughter to a quiet chamber. She needs time to prepare for the Fire Circle."
"We're your children," Kaylith pleaded as the guards gingerly approached and laid their hands on her arms. They began to gently pull her away. "How can you do this?"
"I do this for Sentarl," Meeral replied. "And to be honest, I do this for me. I will enjoy watching you kill your blind sister. How I hate the both of you! Afterwards, no matter who dies, I will proclaim a festival day."
"Festival! Festival! FESTIVAL!" chanted Meeral's retinue.
Saddened beyond measure, Kaylith let the guard lead her through the cheering crowd. Despite the madness and pain avareeka festivals sometimes caused, the people of Sentarl still loved them. Usually, it took the threat of death to bring on avareeka. However, Meeral had long ago figured out a way to generate the pheromone from her palacite throne using her enhanced mind powers.
Animals, Kaylith thought glumly. The guards took her to a chamber just a few steps away from the throne room. Neither of them spoke along the way, although they treated her with courtesy, opening the door for her and gesturing politely for her to step inside. When she entered, they remained outside. She heard a bolt thrown after the door closed.
The chamber had only the one door and no windows. It was comfortable enough. A soft green chaise snuggled against the far wall with a palacite table laden with food and drink nearby. Kaylith barely spared these comforts a glance. She immediately tried to contact Tanith.
Tanith? Can you hear me?
Sister! How lovely to hear your mind again.
Tears clouded her eyes as Kaylith smiled. At least her sister seemed glad to have her back. She'd missed and worried about Tanith every single day since she left. Maybe, together, they could figure out a way to outwit Meeral.
It's good to hear you too, Kaylith mindsaid. Where are you? We need to talk.
I am visiting with your friends. My, what interesting creatures they are!
Are they all right?
* * *
Tanith smiled, taking in the sight of her sister's 'friends', these loathsome fiends from other worlds. Her palacite glasses gave her the ability to 'see', even if it wasn't sight like anyone else experienced without mechanical means.
The glasses allowed her mind to sense heat registers and interpret the patterns into multi-colored shapes. The prisoners sprawled out on the floor of the cell beneath her looked mostly deep red...their bodies overstressed by the various procedures the gen techs and Meeral's wardens had put them through.
They would probably die in this cell. Tanith shrugged. Whether these repugnant aliens died or not was not her problem.
Kaylith was the problem. Had always been the problem.
Why yes, your friends seem fine, Tanith replied to Kaylith, as she lifted the primitive blade one of the wardens had taken from the warrior woman. Strange, it had palacite embedded in the pommel. Tanith tried to send her thoughts through the crystal--and got a nasty shock in return.
"Fark!" Tanith yelled, dropping the blade. Wringing her hands, she kicked it away. The blue warrior woman in the cell below laughed. Tanith made a mental note to make the bitch pay for that.
Why can't I mindspeak with them then? Kaylith whined.
Oh, shut up! Tanith thought. Why did her sister care so much about these stupid creatures? Odd. You're saying these--people--can mindspeak?
Tith can--but usually I can get any of them to hear me. Tanith, I'm so worried about them. They have been dear friends for many years. Is there anything you can do?
As if she would do anything except execute this vermin. Why Meeral was bothering to keep them alive was beyond her. Surely, the genetic material they had already gleaned from them would prove to be inferior. Even it wasn't, why let them live? Drown them! Freeze them! Fry them! Their very presence on Sentarl was a threat. It made her skin crawl just to be standing this close.
Tanith?
Sorry sister, I was--thinking. No, there's nothing I can do. Meeral has their cell heavily guarded. Tanith smiled at her outright lie. There were no guards because there was no need. No one escaped from this particular cell of Meeral's. The numerous Tarmag and Sentari corpses that littered the floor were silent testimonies to its effectiveness.
It was a malacite-lined pit, just like the sea cave. Tanith suppressed the involuntary shudder the mere thought of the sea cave always evoked. At least this time, she was outside of Meeral's wrath. Always a good place to be.
Can you at least come to me? We have to talk! Kaylith mindsaid.
We are talking, Tanith pointed out.
I mean, really talk. Meeral intends to pit us against each other in the Fire Circle!
Tanith shook her head as if to clear it. No, this couldn't be! Say that again?
The Fire Circle, Tanith. She wants us to fight it out--to the death! We've got to think of a way to stop her.
I'll be right there, Tanith replied.
Hurry. I don't know when--
Her sister's thoughts cut off mid-sentence. Tanith swore, fighting the waves of fear flowing over her. Kaylith could not be killed, everyone on Sentarl knew that.
Which meant Meeral had just written Tanith's death sentence. "I'm not dead yet," Tanith whispered through clenched teeth. "You'll see, Mother. I'll show you. Kaylith is as good as dead already. And once I'm through with her, it will be your turn."
"And as for you vile creatures," Tanith said to the prisoners beneath her. "My first order as queen will be to have you all flayed alive. Maybe I'll upholster a chair or something with your skins."
No reaction from any of them. These alien creatures were too stupid to understand Sentarl's genetic language. "You--die--soon!" Tanith shouted in trader speak.
The warrior woman shouted something back, shaking her fist impotently. Tanith laughed as she walked away. At least they understood they were going to die. She found their fear comforting.
Sentari
Terran year, 3624
Elvan year, 17, 381
Unity year, 1
Kaylith clenched the warfen bone tight in her hands. She ducked an on-coming blow, then retreated across a strip of flame, heedless of the agony in the soles of her bare feet.
Tanith had privately agreed to put on a good show, but this--she ducked another swipe--this was too much like the real thing. What are you trying to do, Tanith? Kill me?
She instantly regretted using mindspeak. Tanith lashed out with a lightning bolt of a mindshock that sent Kaylith reeling. Cheers erupted as Kaylith teetered on the edge of the circle. She threw herself forward, singeing her feet again as she dodged another blow.
Of all the places in the universe, Kaylith had never thought she'd end up here--in the Fire Circle. Built in the belly of a dormant volcano, the Fire Circle had originally been a temple to Shallog's mate, the fire god, Rillnek. In ancient times the ruling families had sent yearly sacrifices to die in the temple's rivers of lava, ash, and steam. These days, the temple was used exclusively as the proving ground for the royal family's heirs.
Damn if Tanith didn't act as if she had something to prove! What was she doing? They had agreed--Kaylith reared back to avoid the warfen bone swinging inches away from her nose. She used her momentum to whirl around and leap across a lava flow, putting some distance between herself and her sister.
Coughing from the fumes, she eyed her opponent in confusion. Tanith, red-faced and wheezing, glared back. She crouched in the center of the fire circle, her pink palacite spectacles held in place by an elastic band. Her jewels glowed more pink than red in the light of the Fire Circle's flames.
Tanith had told her the spectacles allowed her to see heat variations, among other things. Kaylith wondered why the flames and heat of the circle didn't distort the images, making it hard for her to see. Maybe it did--a little--since the accuracy of her sister's blows seemed to suffer whenever they fought in the hottest areas of the circle.
"Are you going to fight or stare at me all day?" Tanith asked in Sentari's genetic language. The crowd, packed with the usual collection of relatives and a few of the common folk, jeered with her. They sat on tiers of stone. Meeral's lavish box seat, complete with air conditioning, was stationed at Kaylith's back. The seats ended where stone met flame--the wide lava river that ringed the fighting area's circumference.
"What's the point?" Kaylith called back. "If I win, you die and I'm never going to take the throne, and if you win, well, I die and you're Meeral designated heir already. This whole thing is stupid."
"The point, dear sister, is Meeral wants you dead. I want you dead. I want your friends dead too. Once I've beaten you, it will prove to everyone that I am the strongest and I will be queen of Sentarl." With that, Tanith leaped across the lava flow. Kaylith jumped back to the other side. She kept moving, zigzagging across the length of the circle and putting as many cracks of fiery lava between them as she could.
Shallog's hair, maybe she could just wear her out. Tanith couldn't hit what she couldn't catch. Or see, Kaylith thought, taking up residence near a baby zaphron-sized geyser of steam. Tanith stood near the circle's center, craning her head back and forth.
Ah ha, she's lost me for the moment, Kaylith thought. Time to come up with a plan. A new plan, since apparently Tanith's word was as good as a Corban's. But what?
She crouched by the geyser, sweat oozing from every pore, feet stinging from dozens of burns, and trying to think of something--anything--to get her and her friends out of this mess. Only one thing came to mind, the same thought she'd had minutes before, but Kaylith didn't like it. Still--
The crowd began to boo. Some were actually pointing out her location to Tanith--bastards. Tanith turned towards her and--
Kaylith dropped her mental shields and sent out a ripper of a mindshock. Tanith gasped and fell to her knees. The crowd gasped, Meeral gasped. In a heartbeat and with a single thought, Kaylith had incapacitated every single being in the temple.
Dropping the warfen bone with disgust, Kaylith intensified her psychic assault. She looked past the lackeys clasping their aching heads and bellowing with pain to her mother. Meeral seemed to be faring better than the rest--but not by much.
You wanted a festival--I'll give you people a farking festival! Kaylith mindshouted. Maybe they could hear her all the way back on Elvan, not that she cared. I'm killing you all, do you get that? You're dying--all of you--dying!
Oh they got it all right. With a resigned sigh, Kaylith watched as avareeka began to break out all around the temple. Threatened with death, the crowd's Sentari Fighting Pheromone played traitor with their minds, sending them all into the mating fury.
Everyone, including Tanith and excluding Meeral, was affected. Tanith dropped her weapon and scurried across the stone bridge for the tangle of thrusting bodies in the tiers. See what you made me do? Kaylith mindsaid to Meeral.
You traitorous child! All of Sentari is in avareeka now!
Look at it this way, at least they're getting the festival you promised. Kaylith gave Meeral her favorite Terran finger gesture, then ran for the stone bridge and the nearest exit. As she ran, she found herself thanking the IML for creating the hormone that made her immune to the pheromone.
For once, being a member of the civilized worlds was working for instead of against her.
Her crew shouldn't be affected either. At least, she hoped they weren't. She'd insisted they all be inoculated with the hormone as soon as Talon left Elvan. Still, there was no way of knowing if the medicine had worked until she found them.
Zar? she tried as she bolted from the exit and headed across a red ragla-stoned plaza towards Meeral's palace. Bodies in various mating positions littered the ground. She forced herself to ignore them. Can you hear me?
Nothing. Ah hell. What if her mindshock had knocked her crew out?
Better knocked out than knocked up, Kaylith mused as she stepped over more squirming bodies on the palace steps. No one attempted to stop her as she dashed through the intricately carved doors and down the main hall.
She skidded to a halt when she entered the empty throne room. There were exits located all around the circular room. Kaylith desperately fought to remember the way to the dungeons. It would take her a half dozen revs to try them all and she knew she didn't have that much time. Avareeka festivals usually lasted about a rev or so.
Usually. She had no idea how long a festival induced by massive mindshock would last.
As Kaylith continued to consider her choices, her gaze landed on Meeral's empty palacite throne. She tried to look away, but unexpectedly became mesmerized by the depths of its pink crystal. The crystal called to her...beckoned her. Her feet began moving across the gleaming tiles. She tried to stop, wanted to stop, but her feet kept moving--towards the throne.
It was as if an unseen force had taken control of her body. Why? Of all times, why now? This had to be Meeral's doing. Had to be. But why?
Don't worry about it, love. Let whatever happens happen.
"Of all the stupid things to say," Kaylith snarled at her dream man. Sometimes--most times--having an imaginary lover was no help at all. "Can't you see I'm in deep, deep trouble here?" She tried to twist and turn away from the steps, but her feet climbed them smoothly.
When she reached the top, her body whipped around and sat. It felt as if invisible hands turned her, then pushed her into the seat. She struggled to rise, but couldn't move.
Whatever wanted her to sit on this blasted palacite chair fully intended to keep her here.
Let whatever happens happen.
"Dammit, Jack! Not now!" Kaylith yelled. She found she could pound her fists on the throne, but still couldn't push herself out. Tith? Zar? Roar Far? Can you hear me?
Nothing. Nothing. No...wait. Something? Something.
Something enormously powerful.
What the fark--
We must see all you have seen. The powerful mindvoices sounded like a huge choir, many voices merged as one, heavy in the bass register. It felt as if Kaylith was being drenched in a virtual tidal wave of thought. We must know all you know. Open your thoughts to us. More. Your mental shields are too strong.
Who the fark is 'us'?
There is no time for foolish resistance. Please, you must let us in. You MUST LET US IN!
Then a whisper, Jack again saying, Let whatever happens happen. Trust me.
I trust you, but I sure as hell don't trust them! Who are they and what do they want?
Another whisper, too soft for her to hear. Her invisible captors continued to plead with her to drop her shields. We only want to see. We only want to know. No harm. No harm will come to you. We can help. We can help make things better.
They sounded so sincere, Kaylith felt tempted to give in. She didn't sense malice or evil, but there was something terribly wrong about them. Something... she couldn't put her finger on what it was...something other worldly--or more precisely, something from outside her universe.
As soon as the thought crystallized in her mind, Kaylith knew she was right. Whoever or whatever these beings were, they were not on her plane of existence.
Go away! Kaylith put everything she had into the mindshout. Leave me alone!
But you are alone, aren't you? Whoever they were, her mindshout hadn't fazed them. You've always been alone. Even when surrounded by your friends, you feel alone, don't you? We can change that. We can bring you to your soul mate.
Dammit, who were these guys? I can tell you're not Mindmasters. I don't think you are even from this universe. Are you Tjorn spirits?
No. Our existence is difficult to explain and there isn't time. You must trust us. You must let us in. It is extremely important you let us see into your mind.
"Important to who?" Kaylith said. "You?"
Important to what is--what will be. Please. Do not be afraid.
What choice did she have? Really? She had no idea how much time had passed and apparently, whoever these new beings were, they were not going to let her go until she let whatever was going to happen...happen. She had to save her friends!
"Fine. Great. Whatever. Just hurry up and do whatever you've got to do, okay?"
She took a deep breath and dropped her shields, leaving one little, but powerful, corner of her mind protected. She blinked and nothing happened. She blinked again and--
Voices...white winds and dreams... living and dying. Extreme sensations and visions cycled through her mind too fast for her to comprehend.
Flicker. A flash of light in the everlasting white void... where?
Flicker. The sea cave. Howls and misery. No. Not here. Anywhere, but here.
Flicker. Mount Trinar. The five moons circling above. Overwhelming loneliness.
Flicker. Terra, the Carolinas. Her feet dangle from a porch swing as she and Rock watch a sunset. Beads of moisture make the glass of lemonade in her hand slippery.
Flicker. Her dream man Jack takes her into his arms, capturing her mouth in a passionate kiss. Kaylith moves closer, her lips warming and tingling as he--
Flicker. A Tjorn plain, staked naked to the ground, her every breath agony.
Flicker. Tjorns dying by the thousands. The agony and tears of their loved ones. If only the Corbans could feel the Tjorn's anguish. They should feel it! They should know the pain of watching all you love die.
For a moment, she relived that horrible moment above Tjornak when she had incapacitated the Corbans on the ESS cruiser with visions of Corba being hit by Tjornak's plague. She replayed the images of the Corbans dying in the streets, their houses, their conveyances. Their pleas for help met only by the Tjorn's scornful laughter.
She fought the beings in her mind to make the visions go away. Instead, she could feel the visions being sent out across the universe...all the way to Corba. She could hear millions--billions of Corban voices shrieking in despair.
The sounds of their torment gave her no pleasure. They terrified her.
Stop it! What are you doing? she tried to mindscream. There was no response from the beings. All she could hear was the Corbans' screams going on and on--
Flicker. Suddenly she was standing before Lir in the great hall of Mount Trinar, pleading with him...begging him...don't hurt Rock. Don't send me to Sentarl. Lir and the Mindmasters attack the trade delegations... the Mindmasters want to alter the perception of the universe. She had to stop them! Kaylith counters their false visions created for the 'greater good' with the images of reality.
Again, she felt these images of her past being sent across the universe. First to Elvan, then Terra, then Tjornak, Corba, Agda, Ragnorak, Ronli...her thoughts seemed to go out and on forever. She saw the dying Tjorns again. She saw the children dying in the sea cave. She saw herself fighting Tanith in the Fire Circle. She felt Meeral slicing off her earlobes. She was in the place of the white winds... she was on Terra... she was everywhere...and everywhen... all at once.
Mindshock...darkness...pain.
Kaylith fought to stay conscious. Whoever and whatever these beings were, they had opened her mind up for all of the universe to see. And more horrific, now she could see and hear all of the universe. Every laugh, every cry. Every battle. Every birth. Every death. She could see everything!
Their pain, their petty evils...the sheer immensity of the thoughts and voices were killing her. She could feel it.
Desperate, she mindshouted, STOP! STOP IT ALL OF YOU! IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY!
It stopped.
Sweat-drenched and shaking, Kaylith weakly rose from the palacite throne. The great throne room remained empty. She took a cautious step, and discovered she still didn't have control of her body. For the moment, she felt too dazed to care. She didn't fight it when her body started walking, why bother? Whatever happens...happens.
Still, she felt relieved when this time her traitor feet took her unerringly to the exit that led to Meeral's dungeons.
* * *
"I want to sleep for a million years," Kaylith said wearily. Zar and Higgy were helping her into a blue sleepsuit. She felt too battered, burned, and bruised to do it herself and welcomed the assistance.
"Then sleep," Zar said soothingly. "From the looks of you and your poor feet, you've had a really bad day."
"We've all had a bad day," said Roar Far from somewhere near Kaylith's feet. She kept trying to apply a salve to Kaylith's burns, apparently unable to wait until Kaylith was dressed to treat her. "I've never been so glad to see Tarna! Thank her and the powers that she rescued Deke, Tith, and me from that stinky dungeon."
"You're lucky you were in that stinky dungeon," Zar said. "The walls protected you from Kaylith's mindshocks." She waved vaguely at the planet Sentarl, which they could see dwindling in the distance from Kaylith's viewscreen. "Not to mention the whole flesh festival thing."
"Yeah," Higgy agreed, zipping up Kaylith's suit for her. "My head still doesn't feel right. What the hell happened?"
Kaylith plopped down on her bunk and sighed. "Shallog only knows. I'm having a hard time remembering anything after I left Meeral's throne. I have a vague recollection of finding the dungeon and tossing a rope down to Tith, but after that--" She shrugged.
"That's because you passed out," said Deke from the doorway. "You didn't miss much except Roar Far fighting with us because she wanted to get her sword back more than she wanted to escape."
"Stupid hu-man. Don't you understand? My blade contains the souls of my ancestors and now that whoeek Tanith has them. Who knows how she will make them suffer?"
"Dear one," said Tith, appearing behind Deke, "it was our only chance to get away. We had to go." Roar Far didn't look appeased. "We'll get you another sword, I promise."
"Don't want another sword, Tith. I want my sword! It is shameful for a warrior to lose her blade."
Tith said something else soothingly, but Kaylith barely heard him. She was so tired. She really did feel like she could sleep for a million years. All she knew was she was exceedingly grateful they had escaped from Sentarl--all of them. It truly was a miracle. She said a silent prayer of thanksgiving to Shallog.
As her eyes drifted shut, she heard Higgy telling Deke something about her and Zar defending Talon. Had Zar been unable to answer because they'd been under attack? Kaylith wanted to ask, but couldn't work up the energy to do so.
Seconds later, she fell into a deep sleep. She dreamed of walking in the place of the white winds, searching for her dream man. "Jack?" she called. "Jack, can you hear me?"
He didn't answer. She had to find him. He knew who those beings were--at least, she thought he did. She began to worry when he didn't appear right away. They'd just been together last night. It had been lovely. He'd listened while she'd spouted off about how much she hated Lir and Meeral and the IML. Then he kissed her and held her and told her everything would be okay.
He always made her feel like everything would be okay. Even when she knew deep down it wasn't.
She had to find him. It was important she know who those beings were and--
A man and a woman appeared. She didn't sense them before they arrived either, just bam--there they were standing before her.
They stood side by side, hand in hand. They had Terran features although the top of their heads seemed strangely elongated. The man had light hair, the woman dark. Their clothes resembled the white mist--it was hard to tell where their garments ended and the mist began.
Who are you? Kaylith asked.
We are your future. We are your past, they answered together in mindspeak.
Right, Kaylith mindsaid. You're the people from the throne room. Where the farking hell do you get off taking over my body and my mind like that?
The interference was necessary, they replied. Just as this intrusion into your dream world is necessary. We are here to take the memory of us from your mind.
"Uh huh," Kaylith said aloud. "What if I don't want you to?"
They looked at each other, then mindsaid, You cannot stop us. Events have been set into motion and must now follow their natural paths.
"Look, I'm nobody's puppet--" Kaylith began
The man and woman stepped forward and laid their hands on her head. The powers be with you, Kaylith of Sentarl. Sleep the sleep of legends. When you awaken, you will be more powerful than you ever dreamed. And next time, you will fight with your soul mate at your side.
She tried to duck out from under their hands. Their touch made her mind feel fuzzy. She couldn't focus. Couldn't hold a thought.
She began to search the white void for Jack again. Where was he? There was something she needed to ask him, something very, very important, but now she couldn't remember what it was.
She jerked awake to the sounds and tremors of an explosion, followed by Talon's alarm klaxons.
WARNING! shouted the ship's computer. HULL BREACH IN THE ENVIORMENTAL CHAMBER. ALL HANDS REPORT TO THE STASIS CHAMBER. WARNING! HULL BREACH IN THE--
Deke dashed into her cabin. "C'mon, sis! We've got to go!"
"What happened?" Kaylith cried as she leaped to her feet. Then she yelped as the pain from her burns ripped through her nervous system.
"Hell if any of us know." He grabbed her arm and yanked her into the corridor. Smoke immediately poured into her lungs. "Higgy thinks it might be sabotage."
Coughing, shouting to each other as they headed for the stasis chamber, the crew of Talon worked quickly to save each other. Tith shoved Kaylith into the first stasis tube. She saw Zar flick on the power unit.
And then she fell into an endless dream...
Science Vessel Needle
Sentari Space
Terran year, 3749
Elvan year, 17, 506
Unity year, 151
"Tith's not here! Where is he? Why can't we find him?"
Jack let out an exasperated sigh. It was hard enough to keep his visions at bay, he didn't need a Tjorn spirit breathing down his neck too. "Roar Far, if you ask me that one more time, I swear I'm going to give you a double dose of tranquilizers."
"Stupid hu-man. I'd like to see you try," Roar Far retorted, waving Orna's tentacles menacingly. "It's been at least three revs! Why is it so hard to find Tith?"
Kaylith laid a reassuring hand on Orna's shoulder. "He's trying. Please, you have to give him a chance. There's debris everywhere."
"You know, we might have to--" Jack bit his lip and paused. Nope. He did not want to have that discussion with Roar Far.
"What?!" Roar Far demanded.
"Never mind," Jack said quickly. "We'll keep searching. I'm getting hungry though, aren't you? Do you think you could bring us some food?"
"You can think of food at a time like this?"
Jack shrugged. "Hey, don't blame me. Blame my empty stomach."
"A warrior always fights better hungry."
"We're not fighting, we're searching. I search better with a full stomach."
"So?" Roar Far asked. She looked rather comical putting all of Orna's tentacles on her 'hips'. Jack doubted he'd ever get used to seeing Orna's body used for Tjorn gestures.
"So--go get me a sandwich or something," Jack said.
"Why can't you get it?"
"Because I'm searching, remember?" He started to rise from his seat. "Unless you want me to quit--"
"Oh, sit down!" Roar Far yelled, slamming one of Orna's fingercoils against a bulkhead. "I'll get you a bleeding sandwich or something. Just don't blame me if it's full of Zaphron turds. You are a very rude hu-man. You didn't even say 'please'." She spun around and slid out of the cockpit.
Kaylith chuckled as she sat in the seat beside him. "Now Roar Far is teaching you manners. Life just keeps getting stranger and stranger in this universe of yours."
Jack smiled. "It's your universe now too, love. I wonder how long it will take Roar Far to figure out the food dispenser?"
"Long enough for you to tell me what you didn't want to tell her."
He quirked a brow at her. "You figured that out, huh?"
"Distraction is easier than arguing when it comes to Roar Far. Took me a lot longer than you to figure that one out."
Jack punched in a new set of coordinates for the sensors. He stared intently at the screen while the results began to come in. Nothing. No organic matter at all.
"So what don't you want Roar Far to know?"
With a sigh, Jack swiveled his chair towards Kaylith, taking her hands into his. He didn't need their link to know she was feeling fragile. Dark smudges ringed her eyes, and her shoulders drooped with fatigue. "We need to accept the fact we might never find the remains of your crew." He gave her hands a squeeze. "I'm sorry."
"Why?" Kaylith asked. "You have all this scientific equipment--surely it must be good for--"
"It's like you said, Kallie. There's debris everywhere. The blast sent parts of your ship flying dozens of kilometers in all directions." He paused, hating what he had to say. "Even if we did find your crews' bodies, there's no guarantee they would have remained--intact."
She lowered her eyes to stare at their joined hands.
"I'm sorry, Kallie. I really am. There's something else we need to consider." She looked up at him. "Your sister? The Mindmasters? They're out there too--somewhere."
"I can't sense anything," Kaylith said wearily.
"Neither can the ship, and that really worries me."
She pulled her hands away from his and slouched down in her seat. Jack stared at her a moment, then swiveled back to the sensor panels. "We should be picking up the Mindmasters' energy signatures. Or at the very least, their navigational beacons. But, according to this, nothing's out there." He threw up his hands in disgust. "Nothing! I don't understand it."
She didn't answer. She simply stared out at the vast expanse of space on the viewscreen before them. He couldn't blame her. What was there to say? They'd failed. The sooner he could get her and Roar Far to accept it, the sooner they could leave this section of space for somewhere--anywhere safer.
"Is it possible there's something wrong with your sensors?" she asked quietly.
"I've run three diagnostic checks, Kallie. Everything is working just fine."
"Fine? Then what's that?" She sat up and pointed off to the starboard side.
"Probably just a--" Jack looked closer. Then he snapped, "Magnify viewscreen, starboard side, twenty-five degrees."
The screen reset and focused.
"It's a stasis tube," Kaylith whispered.
Jack leaped up to plant an enthusiastic kiss on her lips, then headed for the grappler controls. "You're farking right it's a stasis tube!"
A groggy-looking Dal appeared in the doorway. "That ghost is cooking something horrid," he complained. "The galley stinks like a zoon's cage."
"Never mind that, Dal," Jack said, impatiently. "Get down to the storage bay. I'm bringing in a stasis tube." He grimaced, then added with a wry smile, "You look good for a man who blew up twice. Glad to see you alive and kicking."
"It wasn't a dream?" Dal asked, his eyes widening. "I really blew up?"
Jack and Kaylith nodded. "Twice? I blew up twice?" They nodded again. "Oh. Well. That's very interesting. It explains a lot. Thank you. I'll just be going down to the storage bay then."
He turned around and headed vaguely in the direction of the storage bay.
"That poor man," Kaylith said, "Once we get him planet side, I doubt he ever sets foot in space again."
* * *
Dal wandered down to the storage bay, giving the galley as wide a berth as possible. Orna--Roar Far--whoever it was--saw him anyway.
"Where are you going, Ell-van?" she asked, deserting whatever noxious substance she'd been preparing on the cooking unit to chase after him.
Insane, Dal thought, not bothering to answer the ghost. I'm going insane. Who wouldn't? Finding out everything he'd ever believed in was a lie. Jack turning into some kind of super psychic. People taking over his mind and body. Learning two new mental powers in a single day.
Getting blown up--twice.
He was having a particularly hard time assimilating the last one.
He'd felt it! Twice! He'd felt his body blown to atoms, then reassembled, then blown to atoms again, then re-reassembled.
He'd awakened alone and screaming in the med lab. For a few minutes he'd lain there, convincing himself the explosion had just been a bad dream.
A very bad dream.
But now he knew it had indeed been real and he wasn't quite sure how to deal with it. One minute, blown to atoms. The next-- hale and whole. Blown to atoms--hale and whole. Such things were not possible!
And yet, here he was...standing in front of the storage bay. Why was he here again? Oh yes, Jack had said something about bringing a stasis tube inside. He checked the door panels and saw the grapplers had already retrieved the tube and the chamber was depressurized.
With a sigh, he slapped the pressurization button on.
"What is it? Is it Tith?" asked the ghost as she slithered up beside him in Orna's body. Dal barely spared her a glance.
"Blown to atoms," he mumbled, watching the pressure gauge rise.
"Blown to atoms? Who? Tith?" the ghost demanded.
"Not him. Me," Dal replied. The gauge moved up into the green. He opened the door and started to step inside.
Two tentacles grabbed him. With a resigned sigh, he waited for the ghost to release him.
"Explain the blown to atoms thing," the ghost said.
"Didn't you hear?" Dal asked. "I blew up--twice." He looked Orna's body up and down. "Come to think of it, so did you. Didn't you feel anything?"
"You never blew up, Ell-van. I shielded you. Twice."
"I know what I felt, Orna--Roar Far--whoever you are. I was blown to atoms. Twice."
"And I know what I did, Ell-van. I saved you! You were never blown to atoms!"
"I--felt--it!" Dal insisted.
"It--never--happened!" the ghost replied.
"Fine. Whatever. Could you please let me go now? I have to see whatever or whoever Jack's brought inside. With our luck, it will probably be a Mech or another new kind of palacite bomb."
"It's Tith! It has to be!" the ghost exclaimed. She pushed past him and slithered with break-neck speed into the storage bay.
Dal followed the Corban's possessed body at a leisurely pace. Funny, he'd never have believed it, but he actually missed Orna. The real Orna. Sure, she'd never passed up a chance to tease him, but that was preferable to this obnoxious warrior queen.
"Zaphron turds!" the obnoxious warrior queen shouted. "It's Zar." She pushed past Dal. "I have to make them look again. We have to find Tith!" She then slid away, zooming back towards the cockpit.
Feeling almost blissful to be alone again, Dal moved towards the battered stasis tube. He absently pressed the series of buttons that released the grapplers and moved the tube onto the freight loader belt. With a sense of detachment, he watched as the tube rolled on the belt towards him, slowly revealing the face of the occupant behind the shattered permaglas.
Beautiful, Dal thought, his pulse quickening. She had a classic Elvan face and wide gray eyes. She looked so sad. So beautiful.
So dead.
He had to help her.
* * *
As Roar Far stormed into the cockpit, she heard that hu-man Jack telling Tarna, "The sensors should have registered the tube. You're right, there has to be something wrong with them. But the diagnostics--"
"You found Zar, hu-man," Roar Far interrupted, tapping him politely with one of Orna's tentacles. "Not Tith. Where is Tith? He's the one that matters."
"To you, maybe," the hu-man replied. "Don't you give a damn we recovered Zar? She was your friend and crewmate for years. Why don't you care about her?"
Roar Far blinked, momentarily taken aback by her own selfishness. What was wrong with her? The hu-man was right. She should be happy they'd found Zar.
But Tith was the important one. She knew it. Time was running out.
"I apologize, hu-man. I am indeed glad we found Zar. It's just that Tith--"
"Is very important," Jack said, interrupting her this time. "I know. We'll keep looking. How--I'm not sure--since the sensors are--"
"Another tube," Tarna cried, pointing below them to their left. Tarna had been standing with her face pressed against the viewscreen, searching for their lost crewmates the Khouree way--trusting her eyes, not stupid soulless sensor things.
Jack moved to look down with her. "I see it!" he said, excitedly. He swiveled around to hit the com line. "Dal! I'm bringing in another tube. Do you have the first one secured?"
No answer. "Dal?" Still no answer. "Dal!" He glared at the com panel as if willing it to speak. "His com signal registers in the med lab. Why doesn't he respond?"
"The Ell-van has gone lakka," Roar Far said.
"Lakka?"
"Crazy," Tarna explained without turning away from the viewscreen. "Khouree word. I think can make out a third tube--about ten degrees down and five to the right. Can you see it?"
"Keep your eyes on it," Jack said, reaching for some odd levers that looked like gloves. He stuck his hands in them. "I'll bring in the other one first. Orna--uh, I mean, Roar Far? Could you see what's keeping Dal? I need him to move the tubes off the loading belt."
"I told you, the Ell-van will be no help. He's gone lakka. He does not believe I saved him. I will move the tubes for you. Orna's body is stronger than his anyway." Roar Far whirled to hurry back the way she'd come.
"Wait!" Jack called. "You'll need to pressurize the chamber or else put on some prezskin and anchor ropes--"
Roar Far didn't wait to hear the rest. What did the hu-man think she was? Stupid? She'd watched Dal pressurize the chamber just minutes before. Maybe she didn't like machines, but that didn't mean she'd never used them. After all, she'd lived on Talon for years.
She followed the same procedures Dal had and eagerly hurried into the chamber the second it was pressurized. Another tube waited for her on the belt.
Her eagerness immediately died. It wasn't Tith in the tube. It was--herself.
"Roar Far?" Tarna asked over the com line. "Everything okay?"
"Yes," Roar Far replied, staring at her lifeless body. "It's me. I mean, it's me in the tube thing. Give me a moment to move it."
A huge lump formed in Orna's throat. Roar Far felt a tear trickle down Orna's cheek. She touched the tear with one of Orna's fingercoils, then laid the moisture on Orna's tongue.
I can taste and touch, Roar Far thought. I feel like I am alive. Yet here I am--dead.
No time to mourn herself right now. They had to keep looking for Tith! She reached for the tube with all of Orna's tentacles and to her frustration, found she couldn't lift it.
Use the null gravs, Orna thought in their shared mind. It felt sort of like mindspeak, but different. The voice in her head sounded clearer--and very tired. Those black ssquare things in the tool box by the belt.
"Orna!" Roar Far exclaimed, "You're awake!"
Barely. My half of our head really hurtss. You're crying?
"I am being stupid, that's all," Roar Far huffed, opening the box Orna had indicated. She pulled out four of the black things. "What do I do with these?"
Attach the clampss to the corners of the tube. That's you in there, issn't it?
Roar Far didn't answer. Couldn't. She moved quickly to attach the clamps to the tube. "What do I do now?"
Sswitch on any of the clamps. It will activate all of them. I'm sorry, thiss must be very hard for you. You were a beautiful woman.
"Tith used to say so," Roar Far said with a slight sniffle as she switched on the clamps. She heard a soft hum, then noticed the tube rise a little bit above the belt.
When she reached for it, Orna warned, Gently. The tube will move at the sslightest touch now. How are the others?
Roar Far poked lightly at the tube. It floated off the belt like a puffball petal on the wind. She began guiding it towards the chamber door. "Tarna and that Jack are in the cockpit searching for Tith. The Ell-van has gone lakka though. Not sure what he is doing, but he is awake."
Be nice to Dal, Roar Far. Teasing him is my department. And why don't you like Jack? Everybody likess Jack.
"It's not that I don't like him, he--well, he just makes me nervous," Roar Far said as she effortlessly sent the tube outside the chamber door. When she lifted one of Orna's tentacles to close it, the appendage stopped and hovered over the button.
Are there more tubes? Orna asked.
"You're getting control of your tentacles back," Roar Far said with a resigned sigh. "And yes, Tarna spotted another one. They might have found more by now."
They're my tentacles, Orna reminded her gently. It would be faster if we used prezskin and left the chamber depressurized. Step inside and I'll show you how to put it on.
"I should tell that Jack what we are doing first."
Go ahead then. I'll put the prezskin on while you're talking to him.
Orna's mindvoice sounded stronger by the minute. Unlike Dal, she didn't seem at all fazed by being blown up twice. Perhaps she didn't remember, Roar Far thought as she commed Tarna and Jack and explained the situation.
"Orna's awake?" That Jack sounded delighted by the news. "Why didn't she com me then?"
"I don't think she's got control of our voice back yet," Roar Far said, vaguely aware of Orna using all four tentacles to attach bracelet things to their neck, wrists, and tail. "Anyway, she's busy putting prezskin on us."
Roar Far gasped as a fine spray came from the bracelets. Even as the spray solidified, Orna was attaching an anchor rope to the conveyor belt, activating the prezskin's magnetic soles, and jamming a helmet over their head. It never ceased to amaze Roar Far that Corbans could do so many things at the same time.
"I could use her help up here," Jack said over the com line. "The sensors are still acting screwy."
"Well, we can't be two places at once," Roar Far snarled. He was such a bossy hu-man. "Did you find any other tubes?"
"Yes, we see another one. That means only one more tube left to find. Let's bring in the next one. Are you ready?"
"Yess, Jack. We are ready," Orna answered, as she switched on the magnetic rings of their prezskin.
"Orna! Glad to hear you. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Jack. We can get caught up after we've retrieved all the tubes."
"Gotcha. Depressurizing, now."
Roar Far heard a faint whooshing sound as the freight doors opened to space and the grapplers began extending outward. The pair of robot arms looked like giant claws slowly opening to snatch prey as they passed through the doors.
"Oola's Sshell! What in the fark is THAT?" Orna asked once the grapplers cleared the doors. Before Roar Far could speak, Orna began shouting, "Jack! Jack! There's a sship outside! Can't you farking ssee it? Detach the grapplers and sshut the doors! Do you read me? Sshut the doors!"
No answer. Corban and Tjorn spirit stared with horror as the small dark ship darted towards the open freight doors.
Science Vessel Needle
Sentari Space
Terran year, 3749
Elvan year, 17, 506
Unity year, 151
Orna pounded out the override sequence for the freight doors as the flitter continued its approach. The doors stubbornly refused to close as long as the grapplers remained extended. In an emergency, the grapplers could be detached--from the cockpit. Not here.
Jack and Kaylith still weren't answering their coms.
She gave up, detached their anchor rope, and ran for the nearest weapon's locker as the flitter entered the storage bay. Roar Far shouted over the screech of the ship's engines, "Who are they?"
"Mindmasterss," Orna hissed as she entered in the locker's security code. She could smell the exhaust of the flitter's dying engines. "Farking Elvan Mindmasterss! It's a flitter from one of their cruiser class sships." As soon as the code was accepted she yanked the locker open.
Neat rows of blasters and stunners sheathed in packing material awaited them.
"Ah, very good, weapons," Roar Far purred, reaching for a blaster. "Lots of weapons!"
"Do you know how to use these thingss?" Orna asked, reaching for another blaster and two stunners. At the moment, it felt as if they both had complete control of her body. How could that be?
Orna decided not to worry about it right now unless it became a problem.
"You use the weapons. I will shield you like I did before," Roar Far said. She glanced over their shoulder. "Their landing ramp is coming down. We must take cover."
"I doubt hiding is going to do us any good. Ssurely, they know we are here already," Orna said, as Roar Far crouched their body behind a storage crate. "And why doesn't Jack or Kaylith answer their coms?"
"I don't know, but look, the grabbing thing is gone and the doors are closing," Roar Far replied as they peeked around the side of the crate.
Bewildered, Orna saw this was indeed so. "How could they do that?"
"Maybe Jack and Tarna did it."
"Chamber'ss repressurizing too. I hope Jack and Kaylith are on their way."
"No time to worry about that now," Roar Far said, grimly. "Here they come!"
* * *
"Orna, I have the tube," Jack said as the grapplers closed around it. No answer. "Orna? Orna!"
Kaylith looked away from the view screen to see Jack scowling at the com panel. "What's wrong?"
"Her com's dead. It's not registering a signal."
"What about Dal?"
"His signal is still coming from the med lab."
Inoperative sensors. Inoperative coms. This situation was beginning to feel all too familiar to Kaylith. "Something's taking control of the ship," she said.
"You sense it?" Jack asked.
"No, but I know it. You were right, Jack. We shouldn't have come back here."
"Too late to worry about that now."
They stared at each other. Kaylith could feel his love for her burning in his eyes. No recrimination. No 'I told you so'. Just unconditional love.
She felt the same for him too.
Well, what do we do? he mindsaid in intimate mode. They'd been avoiding mindspeak or using their senses to locate the tubes for fear of drawing the attention of Tanith or the Mindmasters.
Now it looked liked they'd drawn their attention anyway.
Before she could answer, a smaller panel to Jack's left suddenly flashed red.
"Weapons fire?!" he yelled. "What the fark?" Kaylith leaped to hurdle through the cockpit door. WAIT, he mindshouted.
She caught herself on the doorframe and twisted around to face him. "But Jack, we have to help them!"
"Give me a second. We don't even know who or what they're fighting!"
When she saw him trying to bring up the vid from the storage room, she felt a hysterical laugh bubbling its way up her throat. "Do you really think you're going to get the vids to work? Face it, Jack. Someone else has control of this ship!"
He stood up, his face grim. "Then we have to take it back. Suggestions?"
"You're asking me? It's your ship!"
"Yeah, but you have more experience with this sort of thing."
He had her there. The only problem was--"Before, when the Elvan's had control of Talon, we never found a way to override. Higgy worked for days trying to get navigation back and nothing--"
"So maybe the control problem's not physical, it's mental. They're overriding our systems with their minds."
"What? Jack, that's impossible!"
Jack walked towards her with an outstretched hand. Without thinking, she took it. His face softened as he drew her into his arms. "Kallie, we both know nothing's impossible, don't we? I mean, look at us. Here we are, against all laws of space and time--together. Right?"
She lifted her face to his and nodded.
"And despite the visions in my head, I know we're going to stay together. Always. No force inside or outside of this universe is ever going to separate us."
"I couldn't bear to live without you again, Jack."
He chuckled. "It's a good thing you won't have to then."
She looked away. What if he was wrong? What if--
"I love you," he whispered against the shell of her ear.
"I love you too," she whispered. Jack cupped her cheeks with his hands, gently forcing her to meet his eyes again. He smiled and gave her a quick, light kiss...pulled away... then dipped back to kiss her again. Deeper. Sweeter.
Forever. This kiss felt like forever.
In that instant, she felt as she had in that long ago dream. Safe. Warm. Happy.
With a sigh, he let her go, but not before he planted one last kiss on her forehead. "Ready to see what's going on out there?"
No, she wasn't ready. But she knew whatever it was, she could face it--just as long as they were together.
* * *
Dal had been right. Something did smell like a zoon's cage in the galley. Jack motioned to Kaylith to stay behind him as he peered around the corner. He didn't see anything in the common room, but--
Storage bay door's open, he mindsaid. No sign of--
Zat-a-zat-zat! Weapons fire inside the chamber! He started forward, but Kaylith grabbed his arm and yanked him back.
We don't have any weapons, she reminded him. It's time we stopped being careful. Link with me.
He had a brief vision of Dal convulsing again under Tanith's control. Are you sure? What if they take control of us? Or mindshock us back to Agda's moons?
Zat-a-zat-zat! More weapons fire!
You have a better idea?
Nope. Sure we should link?
Yes! Just follow my lead, okay?
He sighed and saw Dal drooling and jerking again. Was it memory? Real time? The future? Moons, he wished he knew. Willing the disturbing vision away, he reached for Kaylith's hand.
Contact.
Zat-a-zat-zat! A scream along with the sound of weapons fire this time.
* * *
"I can do this," Dal told the Elvan woman on the med bed. "I can bring you back."
The woman remained silent...and dead.
"Even if you were frozen and exposed to space for a dekkeon, we have to remember you were in stasis first. The tissue damage should be minimal."
"I can do this," he told the woman again. "Trust me. I can help you."
He'd already hooked her up to the active power unit they'd retrieved with Kaylith's tube. With trembling fingers, he turned the dial to 'slow wake'.
Then he grabbed his head and screamed.
* * *
Roar Far felt very proud of Orna. The Corban had shot two of the seven velvet-robed boarders as they came down the ramp. The Mindmasters had scurried for cover and were careful not to expose themselves again.
Still, whenever Orna saw so much as a scrap of velvet, she fired at it.
For a Corban, Orna was a splendid warrior.
These Mindmasters though, they were cowards, not warriors. Always had been, using their nasty mind powers instead of the strength of their arms to fight. Tarna hated using mind powers on people. For the Mindmasters, using mind control and mindshocks was their only way.
Right now, Roar Far could feel the Mindmasters minds battering against the shield she'd created to protect Orna. She didn't try to shield the others on the ship. That Jack and Tarna could take care of themselves.
As for the Ell-van, Dal, he wasn't here, so he was on his own. Too bad for him.
She sensed a massive build-up of psychic energy. The Mindmasters? Tarna and that Jack? That whooek, Tanith?
Zaphron turds! What if it was all of them? How could she be expected to shield--
The power continued to grow. Roar Far began to get a bad feeling deep in the pits of Orna's stomachs. "Stay down!" she told Orna. "Big mindblast coming!"
Having warned her friend, Roar Far put everything she had, everything she was into shielding Orna from the coming storm.
She heard a distant scream. The Ell-van, Dal! He was being hit hard by mindshocks!
Oh, spirits, Roar Far silently prayed, give me strength. Don't let them hurt Orna.
* * *
Mot of the second ascendant tier had been a Mindmaster for over 200 years. He'd been a relatively young man when assigned to the Legend's containment force, but his mental powers had always been strong and had never let him down.
Well, once they'd let him down, but that had not been his fault. He hadn't been in charge back then. For the last dekkeon, he hadn't been tested, but he and his subordinates had spent that time honing their abilities.
They were ready. After a century and a half of waiting, they were more than ready.
And once we fulfill our mission here, Mot thought, who knew? Lir might not remain First Ascendant Mindmaster for long. Surely, a promotion would be Mot's just reward for destroying the Legend.
If he could destroy her. He felt confident he could since his powers had grown so much and...
Mot, this is ridiculous. How can we even think of taking on the Legend when we can't defeat a single insignificant Corban?
His subordinate and mate, Daynah, had never been happy with their assignment. Though he loved her, he wondered if he wouldn't have found a better mate had he not been stuck in this powers-forsaken sector of Sentari space.
Daynah, we can do this, he mindsaid in group mode, rather than responding in the intimate mode she'd used. We must remember our training. If we blend our powers and act as one, then the Legend and these renegades will be powerless to stop us.
Mot took a deep breath. Now, he mindsaid, let our powers build and blend. Do you feel it?
His subordinates indicated they did. NOW! Mot mindshouted.
He channeled their shared energy into an enormous mindblast. As a group, they could feel the energy going out, a hard, fast mindshock sure to devastate any unshielded mind in its path.
They all heard the scream of a wounded mind. As one, they let out a silent mental cheer. It had worked! Mot lifted his head over a packing crate to survey the Corban's incapacitated body.
The non-incapacitated Corban immediately shot him with a stunner.
MOT! Daynah mindshouted. ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?
Getting zapped by a stunner was a lot like being zapped by a mindshock, only it tended to hurt a little less. He could still mindspeak. Barely.
Gather our teams' powers again, Daynah. I will guide you. Together we can--
You can what? interrupted the Legend, pulling all of the Mindmasters' minds into some strange white void. Piss me off a little more?
Legend! shouted Mot from the ground, or more precisely, floating on his back. He had no idea how or where he and his team had been taken. He'd never seen such a place before. White mists surrounded them. At the Legend's side stood a tall blonde Terran male. They were holding hands. To Mot's surprise, the pair looked more annoyed than frightened or angry.
The Legend looked at the Terran and said, "Shallog's teeth! I hate it when people call me Legend."
The Terran shrugged. "You might as well get used to it. Almost all of the unified worlds call you that."
"Or Great One. Corbans call me that. I can't decide which is worse."
The Terran nodded towards Mot and his team. "We're forgetting our uninvited guests. What should we do with them?"
"Don't you mean--to them? What should we do to them?"
Another shrug from the Terran. "To them, with them. Whatever. Ladies choice."
"Fiery death maybe?" asked the Legend. Mot and his team screamed and covered their faces as flames sprouted all around them. The flames vanished as quickly as they had appeared. "Nah," the Legend said. "Too easy."
She gestured and Mot found himself standing on his feet. "How's about you tell us what you and your crew are doing here first?"
"Tell the truth," the Terran added, "and I'll try to talk her into going easy on you. We'll know if you try to lie."
What is this place? How did we get here? Mot mindsaid.
"Ah, ah, ah," the Legend said, waving a finger at him. "I'm asking the questions. Remember?" Again flames appeared and disappeared.
They seemed hotter this time.
"You know," the Legend said to the Terran. "I think I'm beginning to get the hang of this."
"Me too," the Terran agreed. "Bet we can make the flames really hot next time."
"Stop! Please stop!" Mot shouted, his hands out in front of him defensively. "Please! Don't do that again. We were just following orders."
"Whose orders?" the Terran asked.
"Lir! He sent us to watch over Kaylith and her crew. We made sure they went to Sentarl. Then after--"
"You blew up my ship?" The Legend looked angry now. Her eyes had a hot green glare.
Mot could swear he felt flames even though he didn't see them. "No, no! It wasn't us! We came after and--"
"And blasted the crew's stasis tubes, right?" the Terran said. His blue eyes had an eerie glow. "But you got a nasty surprise when you tried to shoot Kaylith's tube, didn't you?"
Mot nodded and began to cry. Truly, he felt afraid for his life now. Even more shameful, his team could feel his fear too since they were still linked.
"Lir ordered us to do it," he blubbered. "You couldn't come back, don't you see? Not after your visions caused the peace. The civilized worlds had at last achieved true unity. War might have--"
"It wasn't my visions Lir was worried about. He didn't want me to spread the word about the Elvans' plan to shape the universe to suit themselves. Shallog damn him!"
"But you--you did spread the word--about the plan, I mean," Mot said, blinking the tears from his eyes. "Your visions went out to all the worlds."
The Legend looked confused. "They did? But I don't remember--"
"It's not important," the Terran interrupted. "What matters is Lir wanted Kallie dead, right?"
"Kallie?"
The man jerked his thumb towards the Legend. "Kaylith! He still wants her dead, right?" Mot nodded. "Fine," the man said calmly, as he let go of the Legend's hand. In an instant, the white void disappeared. Mot found they were standing in front of the flitter in the storage bay. He let out a sigh of relief.
He inhaled a breath of fear. The Terran had him by the throat.
* * *
"Jack, what are you doing?" Kaylith asked warily. She'd never seen such a look on his face before. His expression was beyond furious.
"Negotiating--my way," Jack snarled. "I was never in the D-Corps, remember?"
It looked more like he was strangling the Elvan to Kaylith, but who was she to argue?
"Do I have your full attention, Mindmaster--Mot. That's your name, isn't it?" Jack asked.
The Mindmaster made a gurgling sound.
"Good. I love an Elvan when their shields are down. All of you guys' heads are like open books to me. You tell Lir that if anyone so much as touches a single hair on Kallie's head, I'll rip his balls off and feed them to him. Got that?"
Mot let out an affirmative gurgle.
"And if that doesn't convince him, you can tell him about this!"
Jack closed his eyes. All of the Mindmasters let out a high-pitched keening scream. A few seconds later, Jack released Mot with a contemptuous shove. The entire group of Elvans collapsed onto the storage bay's floor.
"That'll teach you idiots to stay linked when you're talking to me," Jack growled. His eyes glowed laser blue when he opened them.
Mot looked up at Jack and gasped, "Who are you? What are you?"
Jack laughed. "The name's Jack Stryker. And me--I'm Kallie's dream man."
"Or Lir's worsst nightmare," Orna said, as she slid up to join them. She was still in prezskin and helmet and held blasters and stunners in all her tentacles. "Take your pick."
Thunderstruck, Kaylith dumbly stared as Jack and Orna herded the dazed Mindmasters back onto their ship. What had he done? Shallog's hair, he'd scared the crap out of her! She could only imagine the fear he'd put into them.
"Do you really think that was a good idea?" she asked when Jack rejoined her. They watched the flitter depart... faster than normal safety procedures recommended.
"Probably not. I showed them some pretty scary stuff, so Lir's gonna be gunning for me now." He slid an arm about her shoulders and pulled her close. "Couldn't help it. Stupid Mindmasters really pissed me off."
"I'll say. I've never seen you look so angry."
Orna laughed as she slid past them. "I have. Wait until you meet his family."
"She's right," Jack chuckled. He kissed Kaylith's cheek, then swung her around to guide her towards the door. "Sorry if I scared you, love. But nobody, and I mean nobody, is going to hurt you again. Not while I'm around."
Orna stood outside the chamber waiting for them. She was absently taking off her helmet and staring down at the still-floating tube that contained Roar Far's body.
"Did you release the grapplerss?" she asked softly.
Jack tightened his hold on Kaylith as he stopped them short of the Corban. "The grapplers? Moons, no! I had just snagged the third tube when--" He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Aw, shit."
Science Vessel Needle
Sentari Space
Terran year, 3749
Elvan year, 17, 506
Unity year, 151
"We've lost Tith, I know it," Roar Far's voice was strangely calm. "He's beyond our reach now. That whooek Tanith has him."
"You don't know it," Orna said, her voice comforting. "Now that the Elvans are gone, I'm sure we can get the ssensors working and--" She started to head towards the cockpit, but then swiveled around the other way.
"No. It's no use. Tith's gone. That lakka Dal needs our help now," Roar Far said. "He's in the med lab."
"But Jack needs help with the ssensors!" Orna exclaimed. Once again, she turned for the cockpit, only to spin around and start heading the other way. Then she stopped, her fingercoils knotting and unknotting.
"Cockpit," Orna hissed through clenched fangs.
"Med lab," Roar Far snarled.
"Stop it! Both of you, stop it!" Jack yelled. The Corban glared at him. Jack glared back. "Roar Far, is Dal hurt?"
"I heard him scream," she replied.
Jack looked back at Kaylith. "So did I," he said.
Kaylith nodded. She'd heard the scream too. Debate over. The three of them ran--or rather in Orna's case slid--for the med lab.
Jack reached the room first. He slapped the door's release button. The door slid open and he started to rush inside, then stopped. "What the--"
Kaylith rushed up behind him and peered over his shoulder. She saw Dal kneeling in a pool of blood, vomit, and Shallog only knew what else.
But that wasn't what instantly grabbed her attention.
Orna nudged Kaylith from behind. "What iss it?" she asked. "What's happening?"
Dal coughed, then spat out a nasty gob of blood-tinted saliva. His eyes were a mirror of madness as he grinned up at the three of them. A thin line of drool dripped from the corner of his bloodstained mouth.
"She'th alive!" he lisped. "I knewth I could helpth her."
Zar lay on the med bed.
Breathing.
* * *
"You can't bring me back, you lakka Ell-van," Roar Far said, mildly. "I'm dead. Well, my body is anyway."
"Don't try to talk!" Orna yelled when Dal shook his head and began to answer. "You almost bit your tongue off." She had already used a laceration sealer on the wound and was currently applying a soothing ointment.
He looked a bit comical with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. His eyes, however... what Kaylith saw there wasn't at all funny. Dal glared at the Corban, then gestured from the still-breathing Zar to Roar Far's lifeless body, which was now being preserved in the active stasis tube.
Don't you see, he mindsaid in group mode, I can bring you back. Then your spirit can leave Orna's body and return to where it belongs!
"How do you know that's where I belong?" Roar Far said. "How do you even know if Zar belongs here?"
Dal rolled his eyes. She's alive, isn't she? What further proof do you need?
"Ellvan, for all you know, she might be very angry at being forced to return from the spirit world. Or the powers might be. The Khouree believe once we die, we must pass on because it is our destiny."
What about Orna's destiny? Doesn't she deserve to live out her life without--you? Orna, tell this crazy Tjorn you want your body back!
Orna stared at Dal for a moment, then quietly began packing the instruments she'd used back into the medkit.
Orna? TELL her!
Orna sighed. "Dal, Roar Far has a point. I don't think it's a good idea to revive her body until we know Zar's true condition."
Trinar's moons! Are you mad?
Orna shook her head. "No, but you might be." Dal made a disgusted sound and folded his arms. "Lissten," Orna said, "I'm not so much worried about Zar's spiritual damage, but her physical damage. Her brain and motor functionss could be impaired or worse. Despite what you think, her body had to have ssustained some kind of damage after being exposed for a dekkeon to sspace."
She's fine! I'm telling you, she's fine!
"I hope she iss, Dal, really I do. But what's your hurry? Roar Far's body iss back in stasis."
I should think you'd be the one who would want to hurry. Don't you want to get that Tjorn's ghost out of you?
Orna tilted her head as if listening to invisible music. Maybe Roar Far was mindspeaking her, Kaylith couldn't tell. "No, there's no hurry," Orna finally replied. "Roar Far iss my friend. I won't risk trying to bring her back until I know she'll be okay."
All of a sudden, she hugged herself with all of her tentacles. Orna laughed, but tears came from her eyes at the same time. "Roar Far? What are you doing?"
"Being an emotional warrior. You are a sister to me now, Orna. Just like Tarna."
"Wanna take a bask?"
Orna let herself go and grinned. "Yes! Let's go have a nice relaxing bask!" The Corban put down the med kit and headed for the door.
"But Orna--Roar Far," Kaylith said as they passed by her. "What about retrieving the rest of the tubes?"
Orna/Roar Far did their imitation of a Terran's shrug. "I told you, Tith's gone. Whatever happens now is in the hands of the powers."
The Corban continued on her way, the spirits inside her chattering happily.
They're mad, Legend. We should do the revivification procedure anyway, Dal mindsaid.
"Stop calling me Legend!" Kaylith snapped, more harshly than she intended. But after hearing Mindmaster Mot call her Legend too, she wasn't in the mood to hear it again so soon. For the love of Shallog, she was a woman, not some farking legend!
Sorry, I forgot, Dal mindsaid. Sadness tinged his thoughts.
"Well while you're at it, forget about reviving Roar Far's body too. They don't want you to try," Kaylith said. She put a hand on his shoulder. "After all you've been through lately, do you really want to piss off a Corban and a Tjorn spirit too?"
As Dal looked up to meet Kaylith's gaze, a good portion of the disturbing sheen faded from his eyes. He sighed and shook his head. No, I suppose I don't.
"Smart man," Kaylith said, as she gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze. "I'm going to see if Jack's having any luck finding the other tubes. Care to come with me?"
No. I want to be here for Zar.
"Good man too." She gave Dal's shoulder one last pat. "Do you need me to get you anything? I'd be happy to bring you some Tiber tea or something."
No, I'm fine.
She started for the door, then paused and turned back to him. He looked so--devastated. It could be the mindshocks or his injuries, but she thought it was something else--something deeper and harder to explain. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?"
Dal stared blankly for a second, then he began to laugh. Apparently that hurt his tongue, because he stopped and grabbed his chin. Finally he mindsaid, Somehow I doubt it--Kaylith. But thank you for caring.
* * *
Jack cursed and widened the sensor band. He'd found the grapplers easily enough. They were drifting right off the port side. Easily recoverable.
But the tube they had held seemed to be zooming away from them. It wasn't with the Elvan Mindmasters' ship, since sensors showed the Mindmasters moving in the opposite direction.
Weird thing was, the sensors didn't detect another ship moving with the tube. So how could it be moving?
Vids were working, coms were working. Every system on the ship read optimal efficiency. Could he believe the readings though?
The thought made him laugh. He was beginning to understand Roar Far's distrust of machines.
"What's so funny?" Kaylith asked as she entered the cockpit and slid into the co-pilot's seat.
He flicked the propulsion engines on and plotted a course after the retreating tube. "I'm beginning to think like Roar Far."
He glanced over her and found Kaylith eyeing him with a lifted brow. "Really? So I'm like a sister to you now?"
"Hardly, m'dear. I have many feelings for you, but none of them are brotherly."
She smiled and licked her lips. "You'll have to tell me all about them later then. Where are we going?"
He checked the tube's course and sighed. "Well, I'd say that's up to you."
Her smile faded. "I don't like the sound of that. What's wrong?"
"The tube we had snagged in the grapplers--it's gone."
Kaylith nodded. "Just like Roar Far said."
"The good news is the sensors found it."
"What's the bad news?"
"It's heading straight for Sentarl."
Kaylith put her head in her hands. "Zaphron turds," she mumbled. "Tanith."
"Just like Roar Far said. How much you wanna bet Tith is in that tube too?"
She let out a deep sigh and scrubbed at her face. "The other tubes?"
"Sensors spotted them right away. We can pick them up whenever you want."
She didn't move, she just sat there with her head in her hands. Jack didn't have to link with her to know what was going through her mind.
She didn't want to go back to Sentarl. Not now. Not ever.
But that meant abandoning Tith's body to whatever fate awaited it. Normally, Jack would assume that would mean nothing more horrible than an autopsy and a burial. But now...since Dal had revived Zar...anything was possible.
There were also Roar Far's warnings to consider. She'd been a hundred percent right about everything she'd said she knew. She'd said something terrible would happen if they didn't recover Tith. And they hadn't.
He could feel it in his bones, whatever the terrible thing was...it would happen.
Just like Roar Far said.
Whatever the case, the Tjorn had accepted their failure.
As if she were indeed reading his mind, Kaylith said, "Roar Far said whatever happens now is in the hands of the powers."
"Considering her record, I'm inclined to believe her," Jack replied.
"Me too." Kaylith sighed and rose to her feet. "So let's just get the other tubes and get the hell out of here. Okay?"
He stood and kissed her. "Okay."
* * *
She and Jack worked well together, Kaylith thought as she watched the last tube roll along the loader belt towards her. Between the two of them, they'd managed to retrieve the grapplers and the last two tubes within less than a couple of revs.
Neither of them had mentioned asking Orna or Dal for help. It was better this way. After they'd brought the grapplers in and reattached them to their controls, Jack had gone to the cockpit, leaving Kaylith to welcome her lost crewmates on her own.
She preferred it this way and had told him so.
The first body was Higgy's. Or what was left of Higgy. The upper section of the tube had been torn off in the blast. All that remained was her lower torso and legs, along with a few wisps of her long blonde hair stuck to what was left of the permaglas.
Kaylith had nearly lost it when she saw her. She didn't tell Jack, but he knew right away. I'm so sorry, sweetness. His mind surrounded hers with loving comfort. She'd clung to the feeling.
Sorry. I'm trying not to fall apart here. It's just she was such a great friend.
Want to stop now?
No. Please, let's get this over with!
The storage bay's space doors closed even as the final tube came to a stop in front of her.
Deke.
His body was whole and except for scorch marks here and there, unharmed. She'd loved her Terran brother so much. He'd always had a smile, always had been a strong shoulder to lean on...to count on. And now...what should she do? Should she let Dal bring him back?
If he could bring him back. Suddenly exhausted, she collapsed beside her half-brother's tube, sitting Khouree style as she touched his freckled cheek.
So cold. She yanked her hand away.
Then she began to cry...
* * *
"Here drink this," Jack commanded, holding a shot of Blue Mountain Elixir under her nose. Kaylith looked paler than death and he was hoping it would put some color back in her cheeks.
She took the glass from him numbly, then held it as if she'd never seen such a thing before. They were in his cabin, having put Higgy's remains into cold storage and Deke's into stasis, using one of Needle's more advanced stasis machines.
Dal had barely said a word when they'd brought Deke into the med lab and rigged his tube to Needle's machine. He simply sat beside Zar, never taking his eyes off her.
Then Jack had guided Kaylith back to their cabin. She'd sat on his bunk like a fragile china doll as he stripped off her prezskin, removed her sleepsuit, then wrapped a blanket around her.
"Drink it, baby. Please."
"Why?"
"Because it will make me happy."
She gave him a confused look, then shrugged and downed the Elixir. He took her glass, poured another shot, having had the foresight to get the dispenser to create a full skin of the brew, then handed it back.
"Trying to get me drunk, Jack Stryker?"
He chuckled, poured himself a shot and sat beside her. "What if I am?"
She tossed back the drink, then placed the glass on the floor. "Well, I'd say it's working. Where are we headed?"
He downed his drink and set the glass on the end table. The Blue Mountain Elixir quickly began swimming through his veins, numbing his senses satisfactorily. Thank the powers he hadn't had any more visions since the last one of Dal's mindshock.
He sent up another silent prayer that they would stay gone forever. Somehow though, he doubted the powers were listening. "I set course for Terra. Someplace you'd rather be?"
She shook her head. "It'll be a circus wherever we go, won't it?"
With a sigh, he laid back on the bunk. "Pretty much, yeah. It's not every day a legend comes back from the dead."
"Yeah," she said, moving to curl up beside him. "I can see the vids now. 'Come see the ancient pirate and what's left of her crew!'."
"Now Kallie, nobody's called you a pirate for ages."
"That's supposed to make me feel better?"
"No. But maybe this will--" He pulled her to him and kissed her. They kissed for a long, long time. Somewhere in the duration, she managed to remove his clothes and was now laying on top of him, the blanket long ago tossed aside.
She pushed up from his chest. "What about your family? Do you think they'll like me? Orna said--"
"They'll love you just as much as I do."
"And if they don't?"
Jack smiled. "You're all the family I'll ever need. Will you marry me?"
Kaylith laughed. "You're my dream man, remember? There's no sense in fighting destiny."
Husband and wife then?
Yes. Forever and always, Jack. Yes.
They consummated their vows with their own private and enthusiastic ceremony. Outside Needle, the stars became blurred rainbows as Jack and Kaylith moved towards their destiny.
To learn about other books Awe-Struck publishes, go to the Awe-Struck E-Books website at http://www.awe-struck.net/
1-58749-432-9
Awakening
Rebecca Vinyard
3/23/2004
Awe-Struck E-Books
Science-Fiction