by Drew Seren
When the rest of his classmates started for the door as the tone signaling the end of class sounded, Skylar spun around and caught the gaze of the Pantherian girl sitting three rows back. There hadn’t been anybody sitting between them, and she had a mischievous gleam in her ice blue eyes.
Skylar stood and strolled back to her. “Are you that one who’s been flicking me?” He tried to sound serious without sounding overly confrontational. Most people knew better than to antagonize a Pantherian. They weren’t known for their calm demeanors and tended to fly off the handle at the least little provocation.
She shrugged and yawned, exposing her fangs. “Maybe. What’s with your ear anyway? A bad gene splice?”
“No.” He glared.
Standing, she stretched. Her thick mane of gray and white hair fluffed out. It started along her back and worked its way outward. Shaking her head, she cracked her neck, and finally extended her claws and shook her hands. A huge smile crossed her white furry face that made her silver whiskers lift. “Good. I thought you were pure human. Just deformed then. Well, I’ve got to get to my next class.”
The other students and the teacher had all left the room. Del waited near the door. Skylar touched her arm as she started past him “So you spent nearly an hour flicking my ear just so you could ask me about it? And how were you doing that?”
She arched a light gray eyebrow as she looked down at him. “You are new to this whole psi thing, aren’t you? I’m a mover. That means I move things with my thoughts.” She jerked her arm out of his grasp with a flash of fang. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’ve got a class to get to.” With a swish of her long, mottled white and gray hair, she stomped past Del and out of the room.
“She’s not really someone you want to upset,” Del said as Skylar walked up to him. “You know Pantherians are notoriously high-strung and unpredictable. There aren’t many species who can compete with them in the dangerous department.”
“I’ve only met one. Phil, the one who brought me here.” Skylar started walking down the hall, not waiting for Del to lead them to their next class.
“Well, now you’ve met two.” Del dropped his voice. “I bet Solaria isn’t anything like Phil. First, she’s female.”
“I kinda noticed that.” Skylar wondered if the females were more dangerous than the males. He knew in a lot of societies that was true.
“She’s also a mover. Rumor has it she’s not very strong, but there’s not a lot of movers out there, so there are already recruiters looking to place her in one of the corporations. Movers are in very high demand.” Del stopped near a door and gestured that they should enter. “Just be careful around her.”
Solaria sat in the back of the new classroom. Skylar looked at the only two empty desks in the room—they were next to her. “Guess we get to see if we can make friends.” Even if his feelings had been manipulated by Phil, he had still liked the Pantherian feeler. There was something about Pantherians that made him think he should try and be friendly to her. At least if they were friends, she’d be less likely to eat him.
Del sighed as he headed for the desk farthest from Solaria. “Tell you what, if she squashes you in the hall, I’ll pick up the pieces and get you to the med bay. It might take a while for the swelling to go down though.”
Skylar chuckled. “She’s not going to squash me.” He took the seat next to her. “Looks like we’ve got at least two classes together. I didn’t mean to sound grumpy about the flicking thing. Like you said, I’m new to this ‘whole psychic thing.’ I guess you get to break me in.”
A feral, predatory grin crossed her face and her fangs flashed again. “It’s almost like you just gave me permission, human.”
He offered her a friendly hand. “I’m Skylar. I just found out I’m a psychic. I was actually brought to the station by a Pantherian named Philaneo Clawson. He was cool.”
Her look softened as her hand curled around his. Her claws pricked the back of his hand. “Solaria. So, you’re the reason Uncle Phil stopped by but couldn’t stay. Ms. Grissom didn’t give me any details.”
“Phil’s your uncle? But you two don’t look anything alike.” As the words left his mouth, Skylar kicked himself for fear that he may have just alienated her. He was always good at putting his foot in his mouth.
She sighed as she released his hand. “My mom is his half-sister on their sire’s side. I look more like my sire than my mother. So where did Uncle Phil find you?”
“Hummassa, after a Boarisk raid. They killed my mother and all my friends are missing or dead. Phil helped me deal with it.” For the first time, Skylar started to see that maybe Phil’s manipulation had been more for his own good than just yanking him around by his emotions. Even if people didn’t like not having constant control of themselves, psychic manipulation might be able to be used for good, under certain circumstances.
“He’s a level ten feeler. He’s good at that.” She dropped her voice as the teacher, a human, came into the room. “Look, if Uncle Phil brought you to the academy, then you must be okay. I’ll cut you some slack, I suppose. But get out of line, human, and I will rip you apart. But, then again, my uncle would probably appreciate me keeping an eye on you.” She pursed her lips and slowly inclined her head. “You could be interesting. Predators hate when things—or people—get boring.”
Skylar nodded. Not the best start to a new friendship, but it was a first step. He’d had worse over the years. “Thanks.”
The teacher called the class to order and all talking stopped. Skylar found it a little easier to stay awake and pay attention as he got his first formal explanations of psychic morals and responsibilities. There was a lot more to it than he’d expected. Like Del had said, there were standards for different types of psychics. Readers were held to a very high standard, expected to only use their abilities to the benefit of those around them, and never for selfish reasons. Since they could be the most intrusive, they were considered the most dangerous. Feelers were given a bit more freedom, but they could still directly influence people, as Skylar well knew, but again, it was supposed to be for the person’s own good. Movers were deemed the least likely to be personally invasive and didn’t have the strict monitoring the other two did. He’d been amazed to find out that some really strong movers could teleport themselves from place to place. It was extremely rare in an already small group of people.
The thing that surprised him the most was that each skill had its own form of licensing a user had to undergo before the psychic could lawfully use their powers. Unlicensed psis were a constant problem for the Central Galactic Council, and there were special people to deal with them. Hunters. These were barely touched on, and Skylar wanted to know more.
With a new friend on either side of him, Skylar felt ready for the challenges of the class and life in the academy. With Del’s brains and Solaria’s brawn, he figured he’d be just fine. The questions that arose in him were what was going to happen to him after school, and just where was he going to fit into the galaxy.
Chapter 8
What Is Skylar?
JERKING AWAKE had become a common thing, and it was something Skylar wished would go away. Every night he relived the fire and his mother’s death. In his dreams, he kept hearing screams like he’d never heard before from a creature, or something. He never actually saw a screaming creature, so he had no idea what it was. Then there was the dark man who never moved out of the shadows, never came into focus. As he looked at the ceiling waiting for his heartbeat to stop racing, he was just thankful he hadn’t woken up Del, Connor, or Fin. That would’ve been more embarrassment than he wanted to deal with.
Like he’d done the previous two mornings, he slipped out of bed and hit the shower before the others woke up. The water helped him clear his head and get ready for the day. There was so much new and strange information coming at him every day he hadn’t been bored—well outside of history class. That was the same no matter where he went, although history at Stars’ End included psych
ics’ roles, where those had been neglected at the school on Hummassa.
As he walked back into the main dorm room, there was a slight buzzing in his head. He glanced at his dermal com. The name ‘Philaneo Clawson’ glowed just above his skin. It was his first communication from someone outside the school—although when he stopped to think about it, he didn’t really know anyone other than Phil off the station. Everyone else was either dead or missing.
Skylar tapped the com to activate the call. The glowing name was replaced by Phil’s image. “Hi, Skylar. I hope I got the time difference right and you’re awake.”
“Nightmares.” Skylar shrugged. “I get up early.”
Phil frowned. “With everything you went through, that’s perfectly understandable. If you decide you need to talk to anyone about it, I’m sure Fiona…ah, Ms. Grissom will be happy to listen.”
Skylar shook his head. “Probably not.” He really didn’t want to spend a lot of time around Ms. Grissom.
“Okay. Unfortunately, I call bearing bad news. We’ve finished locating the survivors of the attack. I had time to go check your home.” Phil looked down and sighed. “Your house was destroyed in the fire that ravaged the jungle around it. I’m still amazed you survived unburned.”
“So, there was nothing.” Skylar’s heart sank. Even though he was getting used to receiving bad news on a regular basis, it still hurt.
Phil brightened slightly. “I didn’t say that. I took a little while to dig through the rubble and see if I could salvage anything.” He held up a small locket and a matching ring.
They were pieces his mother had kept in a small jewelry box in her bedroom. She wasn’t big on any kind of personal adornment, so she didn’t wear them much, just on really special occasions. She’d told him they were pieces her mother had left her and had been handed down in the family for generations. Skylar’s throat tightened, and he pursed his lips to keep them from trembling. “They were Mom’s.”
“I figured. I’ll keep them with me and bring them to you the next time I drop by to see you and Solaria. You’ve met my niece, haven’t you?”
Skylar welcomed the change of subject. “Yes, she’s taking some getting used to, but she’s nice.”
Phil laughed. “She better be, or I’ll scruff her hard.”
Skylar tried to envision anyone, even Phil, picking Solaria up by the scruff of her neck. It made him smile.
Before he could say anything, his com buzzed in his ear. A soft electronic voice said, “Ms. Grissom.”
“Phil, Ms. Grissom is calling. I need to take this, but before I get off here, anything about Teir or his family?”
Phil shook his head again. “I’m sorry, they’re on the officially missing list. I wish I had better news. You better take Ms. Grissom’s call.”
“Thanks.” Skylar tapped his com to change calls.
“Are you finished sleeping, Mr. Mars?” Ms. Grissom started talking before the holographic image of her appeared over Skylar’s wrist.
“Phil connected with me right before you tried to. Sorry about that.” He wasn’t really sorry, and he hoped the distance between them kept her from reading his mind.
She waved off his comment. “I didn’t have to come get you, so you’re okay. I need you to report to my office this morning.”
Skylar’s heart sank. He hadn’t even been in school a week and he was already being called into the office. “What time?”
“As soon as possible.” Ms. Grissom glanced at something Skylar couldn’t see with the limited view the hologram gave him. “I’ve already informed your teachers you’ll miss your morning classes. You should be finished by lunch. I’ll see you shortly.” She disconnected before he could respond.
“I bet you’re going to get tested,” Del said from where he was sitting on the edge of his bunk, the one under Skylar’s.
Skylar frowned. “Tested?”
Fin chuckled as he pulled on his blue tunic and finished getting dressed for the day. “You really don’t know much about being a psychic.”
Del softly kicked Fin in the butt. “Be nice—you know he didn’t grow up the same way we did.” He looked at Skylar. “Every psi gets tested, most of us when we’re in our early teens, or before. You’re a little late, but we already knew that. Don’t worry. It’s not like she’s going to shove electrified needles into you and see how you jump. It’s fairly simple. But she knows you’re already dressed, so you better go get some breakfast and get to her office. If anyone asks, I’ll let them know. Honestly, I figured this would’ve happened either your first day, or yesterday.”
Tested for psi skills. Skylar took a quick look in the mirror and adjusted his hair that was still a little spikey from his shower. His mother would hate him being tested for psi skills, particularly after what Ms. Grissom had said about him having gene markers. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know what he could do or not.
SKYLAR WATIED for Ms. Grissom to answer her door. He shifted from foot to foot and wished his brown jumpsuit had pockets. Then he could’ve stuck his hands in them, or at least found something to do with them.
The door opened and his heart pounded like crazy.
“Ah, Skylar.” Ms. Grissom came out to meet him. “I thought I heard you out here. Come along. I’ve got the testing room set up.”
“There’s a special room for testing?” He wasn’t sure what to expect, other than Del said it wouldn’t be painful.
She nodded as she led him down the hall toward the classrooms. “Yes. It’s specially shielded to keep anything that might arise down to a minimum impact on the other students.”
Her phrasing didn’t calm him any. He couldn’t imagine what kind of things would arise from simply testing him for talent that would affect his classmates.
They walked past the classrooms, and then she turned down a hallway that Skylar had never taken before. It was the other way from the locker rooms and gym located at the far end of the education halls. Then she stopped at a panel and tapped a code into the lock. The door slid open and she waved him into the room.
There were a series of screens on the far wall where empty graphs appeared to be waiting for input of some kind. A large cushioned chair sat in the middle of the room with a bright light above it. A couple of smaller chairs were at different spots around the room.
“Please take a seat in the chair,” Ms. Grissom directed him. “And try not to be nervous. I need you to relax for me to get proper readings.”
Skylar settled himself into the chair. It was cold and felt like it was engulfing him. “I’ll do my best.”
“Thank you.” She went over to one of the panels. “Maybe it will help if I do some explaining while the sensors start doing their work. Do you have any questions?”
“About what?” Skylar knew she was trying to put him at ease, but sitting there in the chair was one of the more awkward things he’d done lately. There was something about the quiet room with all the screens that felt odd, and almost dangerous.
“I know your teachers have explained some of the aspects of being a psychic to you. They probably left you with more than a few questions, unless Del has been so good as to bring you up to speed.” She tapped the panel in front of her and it brightened.
Skylar didn’t want to tell her that Del had told him a lot more than his teachers had. “I’m not exactly sure how the various skills are ranked. I know Phil is a level 10 feeler, but I don’t know what that means, other than it has to do with how strong he is.” Del had tried to explain things to Skylar, but like a lot of the other smart kids he’d known, Del got too complicated and it had gone over his head.
Ms. Grissom walked over to another panel and tapped it. “A good place to start. Also, a fairly complex subject. The levels are a little different for each skill, although feeler and reader levels are fairly similar. For them it’s an indication of either their range or how many people they can influence. The lower the level, the less range and fewer people. Also, the less complex things they can pick up
or project.”
“Del says he’s a level two feeler, so that means he can’t pick up a whole lot.”
“That’s right.” Ms. Grissom stared at one of the panels and shook her head. “I doubt Del could really influence another person’s emotions very much. Level twos just don’t have it in them.”
“Can levels change?” Del had made it sound like psi skills were a bit like muscles, and could be strengthened with time and practice.
“All the time, but your base gives us an idea of what you’re capable of. Think about how some people have the physical build to be extremely strong. You can’t expect a really skinny person to ever be able to lift several hundred kilos even with a lot of training—they just don’t have the bone structure to handle the muscle stress of it. This is a lot like that.” She did something on the screen in front of her. The lights in the room dimmed slightly and the chair vibrated around him.
The sudden motion startled him and he jumped slightly, looking down at the chair and hoping it wouldn’t do that anymore.
“Sorry. Got to get things warmed up.” The counselor moved on, to the only panel she hadn’t stopped at yet. “But anyway, that’s what we’re going to do today. We’re going to see if I can figure out which gifts you’re gene-active for and what level you have.” A spiral helix appeared on the screen in front of her. “It took me a little while to study your DNA, and it’s interesting that you have markers for every known skill. That’s extremely unusual in someone who doesn’t have any non-human markers. If I had to guess, I’d say your father is a very powerful psychic with multiple active genes, but without knowing who he is, we can’t be sure.”
She was frowning when she turned away from the screen. “Every time I try and track anything down, I hit a datablock. I’ve got our IT department working on getting past them, but someone in your family doesn’t want to be identified. With so many of the big corp families using illegal gene splicing on themselves and their offspring, it makes it difficult to accurately track families. I’m trying to look beyond your psi genes and find basic traits I can track.”
