by Drew Seren
“Yeah, if it’s one of those things, we’re giving it back to Pathal and let it hatch in his dorm room.” Skylar gave the idea a thumbs up. “That will take care of those pathetic corp-brats.”
Solaria shook her head. “Nope, even a Michellian Gluttenpeal deserves better than to be tortured in its egg by those fools. Keep going, Del. I mean I guess we won’t really know what it is until it hatches, but you’re giving us some good info.”
“The Rigelian Wren looks relatively harmless, although they do grow pretty large, largest songbird in the galaxy. Solar Drakes look interesting but there’s not a lot of info on them. They seem fairly decent. Although it says they bond to telepaths.” He looked from Skylar to Solaria. “You’re both readers, so you might want to be careful around it. The Timathian Titmouse-”
Solaria’s snicker cut him off. “I would love to know where the idea of a titmouse came from and why we seem to have them on every planet.”
“Well, the first titmouse was named—” Del started to explain, but Skylar held up a hand.
“I think she was making a joke.” He’d let his attention wander to Del’s reading of the various things that might be in the egg. The light from outside the window alerted Skylar to the entrance of the stargate. Even not looking, Skylar still felt a little something as they entered the gate to be propelled across the galaxy and back to the system where Stars’ End orbited. He tried to convince himself that it was just his imagination. No one could actually feel when a ship entered a stargate.
Del frowned at the two of them. “Fine, so on to the Unisconian Iguana. Again, relatively harmless, until it starts growing and doesn’t stop until it’s about the size of a small shuttle. And lastly, it could be a Zilobrathian Mini-Ostrich. Much like the standard Sol Three birds, but smaller.”
“Smaller might not be such a bad thing, since we’re in a school and all,” Solaria purred.
Del frowned at her again as he laid his tablet on his workstation. “You do realize that you’re probably not going to be able to keep whatever comes out of that thing? The faculty will have a fit that we’re even bringing it back with us.”
She clutched the egg to her chest. “We’re not bringing the egg back. I am. If there’s a problem with it when it hatches, if it’s something I want to keep, I’ll call my parents and they can come to school and get it for me or find some way of invoking the old rules about students being allowed a pet as long as they keep their grades up.”
Skylar cocked his head and looked at the egg. “We’re allowed pets?”
This gave Del the opportunity to explain how, since there are teachers with families in residence, that pets are allowed, but only under special conditions. Skylar had never had a pet. His mother said there were enough animals out in the woods around where they lived that he didn’t need one in the house too. He wondered what it would be like to have a life that needed him to take care of it.
“OKAY, SO what are we going to do with it?” Del asked as they drew near Stars’ End.
Skylar looked at him, trying to figure out what he was talking about. “Do with what?”
“The egg,” Del gestured to the seat where Solaria was cradling it and still purring.
“We’re keeping it,” Solaria said. Her words were soft, and Skylar was thankful they were in a small cubby in the hallway. There weren’t any other students around at the moment so no one could overhear their conversation.
Del rolled his eyes. “I can see that. But have you forgotten about the bioscanners as we exit the ship? They’re going to detect something. We’ll get stopped, and Ms. Grissom, Old Fussy Pants, or one of the teachers will come in and confiscate it.”
It was something Skylar hadn’t considered. When he’d gotten off Phil’s ship and onto the school ship, nothing had made a sound, so he hadn’t stopped to think about the scanners, which were most likely built into the walls of the airlock. That’s where they always were in the games he played. “Do we have a way to shield it? Solaria, you’ve said you were good at shielding.”
“We’re both good at shielding,” Del corrected him. “We’d be able to keep the teachers from sensing it once we get it on board, but the bioscanners are different from thoughts and emotions.”
There was a slight bump that told Skylar they’d docked with Stars’ End.
“Right, and remember to shield your mind about this little one from the teachers. Skylar’s got his dampening bracelet, so we don’t have to worry about his mind being read. We’ll shield ourselves and the egg.” Solaria slipped the egg into her shoulder bag and stood. “Now, just follow me. I’ve got an idea.”
Skylar wanted to ask what her idea was, but there was a soft chime and the hall suddenly filled with the other students, all headed toward the airlock. He fell into step with Del who was trying to follow Solaria as she wove in and out of the rush of people like she wanted to be the first one off the ship. She slowed next to a boy about her height and matched his pace. Several other students made it through the airlock ahead of them, then the alarms went off.
Around Skylar and Del, several other students moaned and stopped moving forward. Over the heads of the people between them, Skylar saw Solaria wave to someone, and keep walking while the boy she’d been walking next to hollered, “It’s just me.”
Del chuckled.
Skylar glanced at him. “What’s so funny?”
“That’s Kaljin—he’s a Kinajar. He’s got a really fast metabolism and is always eating, particularly fruit and honeys. Every time he’s on a field trip, the bioscanners stop him.” Del grinned.
Suddenly Skylar understood. Solaria had walked into the airlock with someone she knew would trigger the sensor. If the teachers knew it too, they wouldn’t think to stop her and see what she was carrying.
Ms. Grissom showed up and inspected the things Kaljin pulled out of his bag. They weren’t close enough to hear what she had to say, but Kaljin’s narrow shoulders slumped and he kept nodding. Ms. Grissom took the bag from him, then called out, “Sorry for the delay. If anyone else has something to declare, now is the time.”
“I want to see it light up when you take the egg through,” Pathal whispered in Skylar’s ear. He’d gotten close enough while Skylar was paying attention to Ms. Grissom that Skylar jumped.
Del turned and glared as Skylar did. “What egg?” Del looked completely innocent.
Before Pathal could say anything more, the line surged forward and they were through the airlock without any other alarms.
IT DIDN’T take them long to find Solaria. She was in the common room near the cafeteria. Skylar didn’t need to read her emotions to know something was wrong.
“Del, can you take my pack to the room? I’m going to go see what’s wrong with Solaria.”
Del took his pack. “Sure. I’d go with you, but I want to go send the museum curator a thank you for showing us around and giving us an awesome tour.”
Skylar nodded. He’d watched Del spend the entire tour doing his best to impress the various museum employees they encountered, so he wasn’t surprised at him wanting to do something polite. The odds were that, other than from the teachers, it was likely to be the only thank you the staff received. “Okay. You go do that. I’ll catch up to you in a bit.” He followed Solaria.
He found her sitting on one of the couches furthest from the door. She was just taking the egg out of her pack when he reached her. “Hey, is something wrong?”
Her furry face was set in a frown. It made her look angry and more than a little dangerous. “I’ve been thinking.”
Skylar settled into the spot on the couch next to her pack. “About what?”
She started stroking the egg. “This little one. I don’t think I can take it to my room. I don’t think that my roommates will understand that I want to hatch it. Plus, our room is colder than galactic norm. That might not be good for the egg. None of the eggs this size come from cold climates.”
That did sound like a major problem, and something Skylar ha
dn’t considered. Without knowing what was inside the egg, they didn’t know what kind of care it needed. “You’re trying to decide what to do with it?”
Before she could answer, Pathal and his posse strolled past. The corp-brats all glared but didn’t say anything to either of them.
Solaria warily watched them go by before she continued. “Yeah. I really want to keep it and help it hatch, but what if spending too much time in my room would kill it? What if my roommates kill it and eat it?”
“Eat it?” Skylar scrunched up his face. “What are your roommates?”
“Two of them are Pantherians like me, but the other one, Dorma—she’s a Pinipedian. Some people think they are actually bigger predators than we are. She’s a bit more aggressively predatory. I don’t think her system would tolerate even slightly cooked meat, and she never eats vegetables. I think they put us all together as opposed to risking putting one of the more prey-based species with us.” Solaria shook her head as she stroked the egg. “The egg just wouldn’t be safe. Part of me says take it to a teacher and let them figure out what it is, and return it to where it belongs. I’d love to know how Pathal and his idiots got hold of it. Who was the pig they were talking about?”
“They might’ve stolen it from the museum, in which case we need to return it,” Skylar suggested. Things housed in the museum belonged there, but he hadn’t seen anything alive in there, and the egg was definitely alive.
“No. It was a museum, not a zoo. I didn’t see or smell anything living there except us and the staff. I mean, they might’ve stolen it from someone, but it wasn’t part of the museum proper.” Her shoulders sagged. “I don’t know what to do. I really want to see what it turns out to be. Watching those jerks abusing it triggered that protective mother instinct in me. My mom always said there was nothing more dangerous than a mother Pantherian. After what I felt as they tossed this egg around and feeling the little life inside knowing fear, I understood.”
“If it can already feel fear, then it’s fairly close to hatching.”
Solaria nodded.
“We wouldn’t need to keep it hidden very long, just long enough to see what it is, and then we can decide what to do with it. Would you be okay with me taking it? Our room is standard human temperature. Del and Fin wouldn’t mind, and we can probably convince Connor to keep his mouth shut, at least until it hatches. Once it hatches, we’ll work everything out, provided it’s not a Michellian Gluttenpeal that eats all of us as soon as it hatches, its offspring consuming all the students and staff over the course of a few months until all that’s left is Gluttenpeal eggs laying around waiting for some unsuspecting traveler to come by and take them to a planet where they can do it all over again.”
“Putting it that way, I wonder why Michellian Gluttenpeals aren’t a restricted species. They sound really dangerous.” Solaria looked at the egg in her hands. “I don’t get the feeling that this egg is harmful. It just wants to be loved.” Her gaze landed on Skylar. “If I let you take it, will you bring it to me every day? Maybe we can take it up to the garden area or someplace so I can just sit and hold it. And if it starts to hatch, get me quickly.” She frowned again. “This would be easier if females were allowed in the male rooms.”
“Yeah it would, but even that kid—I can’t remember her name—that Guppod girl that is in the middle of changing from boy to girl… anyway, she can’t get in the rooms anymore. I heard her saying she went to visit her old roommates and the force field popped up to keep her in the hall. She was a little further along in her change than she thought.” The event had happened in his first couple of days at school and had totally confused Skylar at the time until Del had gone into his normal explanations about how Guppods and a few other species could change sex depending on environmental conditions. As far as he was concerned, it was all perfectly natural. It sounded strange to Skylar, but he let it go. He was getting used to a lot of stranger things than boys turning into girls and vice-versa.
“Yeah, I know what you’re talking about.” Solaria looked happier and more relaxed than she had when they got off the school ship. “Okay. I’ll let you take the egg, but you’ve got to bring it to me every day and as soon as it starts to hatch.” She looked thoughtful. “You know, I should try and figure out a way to either get some grains or fresh meat for it, so it stays happy when it hatches.”
“That might not be a bad idea,” Skylar agreed. For the next couple of minutes, they discussed the egg and the possibilities it presented until the lights in the common room dimmed, indicating that the station was going into nighttime phase and they needed to vacate to their respective rooms.
Solaria slipped the egg back into her pack with a final caress before she handed the pack to Skylar. “Take care of it and return my pack tomorrow. Also, let me know if you have trouble finding somewhere comfortable for it to be. I might be able to help you make something.”
Skylar nodded as he accepted the pack and carefully held it to his chest. “I’ll keep that in mind. See you tomorrow.”
A strange energy flowed from the egg to Skylar. It somehow reached beyond the dampening bracelet, and he wondered how powerful the baby inside the shell was. Carefully clutching it to his chest, he realized he hadn’t actually touched it since Solaria took it from Pathal. Even with the dampening bracelet blocking his powers, he could still feel something inside the egg reaching out to him, like it wanted him to take care of it. He wondered if the feelings were why Solaria was so protective of it. If it was broadcasting on such a high level, how badly would it be affecting him if he didn’t have his dampening bracelet on? What would happen if it proved stronger than what Solaria and Del could shield and the faculty found out? Skylar wasn’t sure if that idea scared him, or excited him.
“What are you going to be, little egg?”
14
Coming Toward Center
“SO, SKYLAR, have you been doing your meditative exercises like I showed you?” Professor Aduncus asked as he removed Skylar’s dampening bracelet.
Skylar didn’t bother hiding his exasperated sigh. His mentor would be able to read it in his mind anyway. “I’ve tried. Del’s been pushing me, but the calm quiet thing is something I have a lot of trouble with.” It was hard to be still and introspective. Sometimes he felt he was going to come crawling out of his skin, and getting introspective made him think of his mother, and he wasn’t ready for that.
Setting the bracelet on the small acrylic table where he always put it as soon as he took it off, Professor Aduncus nodded. He keyed in a code to the control panel next to the door. He did this every session, and had explained to Skylar it set up a psi dampening shield which blocked their training sessions from others on the space station and kept out any unwanted thoughts or energies that might disrupt them.
“Do you think that something more physical might help better than something calm and quiet?”
“I don’t know.” Skylar cocked his head at Professor Aduncus. “What sort of physical?” He wasn’t sure how a physical action could help him quiet his brain. The idea seemed counterproductive.
The professor walked to the center of the empty room. “In the past, on many planets, there have always been those who found mental balance in simple physical acts. Some groups use dance.”
Skylar frowned at the idea of dancing. He wasn’t overly coordinated. Plus, most of the native dances on Hummassa had been fairly complex. When he watched Teir and the other kids dance at school, it had looked so beyond him. He didn’t see how that could be relaxing.
Aduncus smiled. “I can tell you don’t like dancing. There have also been groups who used simple martial arts to find mental balance and tranquility.”
“What are martial arts?”
The professor dropped into a half-crouching position with his hands held before him. “In most sects who practice them, they are a form of fighting, but many people also see them as a style of meditation and enlightenment. Through the physical movements, as the body adjusts, the mind
relaxes. For any psychic, that’s the level of relaxation you’re trying to achieve. Once you reach it, you’ll control your mental powers. Until then, they will control you.” Aduncus made a sweeping motion with his right hand. “Now, join me.”
Skylar stood next to his mentor. “What do I do?”
“Simply follow my movements. I’ll keep things simple for the moment. As you relax, speak with your mind, not your mouth.” Professor Aduncus held his hand with its palm outward.
“I’ll try.” Skylar mimicked the movement. It felt easy enough.
For several minutes, he mirrored his instructor’s movements. His body complained slightly at the positions he wasn’t used to, but there was something simple and basic in the movements that helped him relax. When he messed up a motion, Aduncus would chuckle softly and request Skylar redo it. They finally reached a position Skylar couldn’t get right.
“Why can’t I do this?”
“Let us move back to the previous motion,” Professor Aduncus suggested. “That one did not give you this much trouble.”
Skylar performed the sweeping hand movement with ease.
“Good. Now, let’s do this one for several minutes. The motion leads into the other one naturally.”
As he went through the motion, Skylar continued to relax. The simple form began to feel good and natural. “This really is a lot easier for me than trying to sit still and calm my mind.”
“I suspected it would be.” His mentor chuckled again. “You are not a naturally calm young man. You are more action-oriented. That is why I thought these exercises might be just what you need.”
Skylar started to nod but stopped. He’d figured out that one of the points of the exercise was to control his body, and thus control his mind. “I am feeling much more relaxed than I have before.”
