Awen nodded.
“Who was your master?” Valerie asked.
“Elder Willowood. Why, do you know her?”
Valerie nodded. “Felicity Willowood is my mother.”
14
Awen stared at Valerie, suddenly aware of the woman’s likeness to Willowood. How was it even possible that she would meet the daughter of her mentor on a Novia starship in the middle of the Omodon quadrant? The odds were… beyond comprehension. There was no other explanation than that the Unity had brought them all together.
“That’s who was speaking to me in Worru,” Magnus said to Valerie.
“Excuse me?” Valerie asked.
“The person who told me to come here. She called herself Willowood.”
“You were with my mother?”
“No, no. She was in my head.”
“In your head?”
“Telepathy,” Awen said.
“I know what it is,” Valerie said curtly, not even bothering to look at Awen. “What did she say to you? Did she say where she was?”
Awen got the feeling that Valerie hadn’t seen her mother in a long time. Now that Awen thought about it, Willowood had mentioned that she’d had a child what felt like “a lifetime ago.” She hardly talked about it, so Awen had dismissed it. Apparently, “a lifetime ago” had referred to Valerie’s lifetime. Awen would never have guessed that Willowood’s daughter was only a few years older than she was.
“No,” Magnus replied. “She just said that we needed to get off Worru fast and that Awen and Piper needed one another.”
“She did, did she?” Valerie asked.
“That’s what she said, yup.”
Valerie gave Awen a stern glare. “Piper needs Awen…”
What in all the mystics is this about? Awen held Valerie’s stare without blinking. “Is there something I can help you with, Valerie?”
The woman’s attention snapped back to Magnus. “And why didn’t you tell me this before we came here to Ki Nar Four?”
“Honestly? Because I didn’t think anyone would believe me. Splick, I hardly believe it myself. Plus, it’s not like I knew who this Willowood person was. Is. Whatever.”
“Well, next time a voice starts talking to you in your head, you should share it with your crew. Or at least with your doctor.”
“Doctor?” Awen’s eyes darted between the two of them. There was an awkward pause in the conversation. Finally, Valerie sighed, scratched an eyebrow, and then sat back in her chair. “I’m sorry. I’m… this is…”
“Hey,” Magnus said, reaching across for her hand. “It’s okay, Valerie. Everyone’s under a ton of stress. And it sounds like you just found out that your mother is—I don’t know, alive, maybe? Like it’s news to you or something?”
“It’s news to me, yes.”
“Then we get it. Cut yourself some slack.”
Valerie’s shoulders relaxed. The woman was wound tight. And it was Magnus who was helping her unwind. As in, Valerie trusted him… maybe even liked him.
Suddenly, it was Awen’s turn to tense up. Magnus was staring at Valerie an overly long time. So Awen straightened her back and looked at Piper, trying to get her mind off whatever corgachirp trail her thoughts were headed down. Speaking of corgachirps, Piper had a very nice stuffed one in her hands.
“I like your corgachirp,” Awen said, trying to change directions.
“Thank you, Miss Awen. His name’s Talisman.”
“Where’d you get him?”
“He was a gift. From my… my…”
“From her grandmother,” Valerie said softly. “When she was just a baby.”
“So,” Piper said, wrinkling her nose, “does this mean that Awen’s master is my grandmother?” She clutched Talisman and stared into the stuffed animal’s eyes.
Valerie placed a hand on Piper’s head and began to stroke it. “Yes, darling. That’s what this means.”
As Valerie sat there, running her hand over her daughter’s blond hair, a heavy silence fell over the mess hall. The entire conversation over the last twenty minutes—from Magnus’s daring rescue on Oorajee to his betrayal by the Republic and even Awen’s account of their three-month stay in an alternate universe and her own escape from a hit team—had all been incredibly surreal.
“We have to go back for her,” Valerie said at last.
Magnus sat up straight. “What?”
“We have to go back for my mother. If she’s in trouble, then we have to help her.”
Magnus cleared his throat. “Valerie, I’m not sure how much you caught of what happened back there, but we’re outmanned and outgunned. There’s no way we’re walking into that again with any hope of survival let alone mission success.”
“I must agree with Magnus,” Abimbola said, speaking up for the first time since they’d sat down. “The Luma are far more prepared for battle than I would have ever suspected. These are not the Luma the galaxy has come to know and trust.”
Awen understood Abimbola’s sentiment. Before her encounter with So-Elku after the ambush, the Luma Master had been the epitome of dignity and integrity. But with him trying to strip her of the stardrive, combined with Magnus’s account of the incident on Worru, he was no longer the man she’d once known. That the Luma master and the Elder Guard would try to stop Magnus with force—would try to kill him and his team—was simply the next step in his evolution toward becoming… whatever it was he was turning into.
If Willowood was still alive, she needed rescuing, as did any other Luma still loyal to the Order. Given that Willowood was able to communicate with Magnus telepathically, Awen guessed her mentor was somewhere close to Elder’s Hall—presumably in an underground jail of some sort. And given that possibility, there would be others with her—Awen was sure of it—who could amplify Willowood’s abilities to reach Magnus.
But freeing Willowood and the other Luma wasn’t the only problem they faced. There was still the issue of Kane’s reconnaissance team that had stalked Awen on Itheliana. Magnus’s theories about Kane and his team of rogue Marines made as much sense as anything else. Whatever the operatives had been sent to do, it couldn’t be good. There was the very real possibility that Kane would gain access to the same discoveries that Awen had made. And now that So-Elku had a book from the temple library—something she needed to check with Azelon about—who knew what sort of power he was wielding? Kane’s forces had to be stopped as much as So-Elku’s.
Lastly, and most importantly, there was the issue of Piper. Based on what Magnus had told Awen about the little girl’s abilities and what Awen had just witnessed herself, Piper needed help. Fast. In fact, Awen was amazed that the little girl hadn’t killed anyone else yet. It was as if someone had managed to keep her powers tempered. Or something, Awen thought, looking at the stuffed corgachirp in Piper’s hands. Valerie had said it was a gift from Willowood when Piper was a baby.
Awen sent her soul into the Unity and was instantly aware of the bright aura surrounding Piper. As she’d suspected, the little girl was the epitome of a true blood. Every cell in her body seemed to resonate in perfect harmony with the Unity, shimmering like a star’s surface. She was almost too brilliant to look at. Almost. For as much as Piper’s soul radiated, there was something else holding the explosive power at bay, like a dam resisting the waters of a mountain lake.
There, stuffed in Piper’s arms, was a dampener. Awen didn’t know how, and she couldn’t have replicated it if she’d wanted to, but the stuffed animal was acting as some sort of ethereal governor. So strong was the effect, and so bright was Piper’s soul, that Awen wondered what would happen if the child was ever more than a few meters from the item. Even with the corgachirp in her escape pod on the Bull Wraith, the little girl had unwittingly killed her father. No wonder the toy had been named Talisman.
Piper’s powers were… well, they were greater than anything Awen had ever seen before. In fact, Awen doubted she’d be able to teach Piper how to control her abilities. The task wou
ld take time, especially considering how young the girl was. And it would take ingenuity. Awen would have to come up with new ways to keep Piper from hurting anyone while she trained—Talisman wouldn’t be enough. But once she was taught, she would… what?
Awen tried to fathom just how strong someone with Piper’s natural giftedness would be when fully equipped in the Unity. Piper was—more than anyone Awen had ever met—the quintessential true blood, a being born to be one with the Unity. There was no telling what she’d be capable of when her training was complete.
Why the universe had chosen this moment, of all times, to gift someone like Piper to the cosmos was another question worth answering. If Kane and So-Elku’s combined evils were as great as Awen suspected, then perhaps it was no doubt that someone like Piper had come along.
Awen looked at the girl with a mix of sorrow and wonder—sorrow because it seemed that no one had told her the truth about her father’s death, and wonder because… Piper, you may just be the answer the galaxy is hoping for.
“I know what we need to do,” Awen said.
Everyone turned to face her. A plan was forming in her mind, emerging like a sunrise on a foggy morning.
“Say again?” Magnus asked.
“I know what we need to do. But I’m not exactly sure how to do it, though I have a hunch.”
“Well, Star Queen,” Ezo said, “it’s safe to say that we’re all ears.”
“I am not all ears,” Rohoar protested. “I am Jujari, with only two ears. Do not include me in your frivolous descriptions.”
“It’s an expression.” Ezo rolled his eyes. “If it’s not bots, it’s Jujari. Somebody’s gotta train ’em.”
Awen cleared her throat to regain everyone’s attention. “The way I see it, we have three important objectives.” She looked around and saw all eyes fixed on her. Magnus, Abimbola, Rohoar, Valerie, Piper, Ezo, and even the two bots were intent on whatever she was about to say. Good, she thought. ’Cause this is gonna need all of us to pull off. “First, we know that Willowood and her contingent of Luma need to be rescued on Worru.” She held up one finger. “Second, Kane’s operatives on Itheliana must not be allowed to leave the planet with anything they find.” She raised a second finger. “And Piper…” Awen hesitated. “Piper needs to go to school for her powers.”
“Is it going to be a boring school?” Piper asked. “I hate boring schools.”
“Piper,” Valerie said, shushing her with a finger on her lips.
“No,” Awen replied. “I don’t think it will be boring in the least.”
“And you plan to do all this how?” Abimbola said.
Awen pushed some loose strands of hair behind her ears. “Well, that’s where Azelon comes in.”
Everyone looked at the gleaming white bot. Suddenly self-aware, the bot placed two hands on her chest. “Me? Why, certainly. How may I be of assistance, Awen?”
“The way I see it,” Awen explained to the group, “time, not force, is our greatest obstacle. Abimbola, you have enough Marauders to create a sizable fighting force if we need one. Magnus, you have enough experience to train just about anyone in the art of war, as does Rohoar. And Rohoar, you have an entire fleet if we ever needed one. But time is what we really lack. It takes time to mobilize resistance. It takes time to plot strategies. And it will take time for me to train Piper. So what’s the one way we can buy time?”
“By going back to metaspace,” Ezo concluded.
“Exactly.”
“The time dilation,” Magnus said. “You want to take us all back through the quantum tunnel and set up shop on Ithelinelli?”
“Itheliana,” Awen corrected.
“We can leverage the time dilation and square away whatever we need to,” Ezo said. “It’s brilliant, Star Queen. You can train Piper, we can raise up a fighting force of some kind, and then by the time we get back here…”
“Only a few days will have passed if we spend another three months over there,” Awen concluded. “So-Elku and Kane won’t even know we’ve left the protoverse.”
“Okay, a few questions,” Abimbola said. “First, where are we getting more soldiers from?”
“Right,” Awen said. “So, I haven’t figured all of this out yet, obviously. But that’s where you all come in. I don’t think we need that many more hands. At least not yet.”
“What do you mean?” Magnus asked.
“Well, the operatives that assaulted us in the Novia’s capital city, Ithnor Ithelia, numbered maybe about… I don’t know. What would you say, Ezo?”
“Ask ’Six. He’s the one who got the count.”
“I counted twenty-four operatives using Repub tactics,” TO-96 replied.
Awen pinched her lower lip. That was more than she remembered. Magnus wouldn’t like those odds.
“No way,” Magnus said, confirming her worries. “Twenty-four former recon Marines in full kit? We’ll need reinforcements for sure.”
“Okay, so we pick up some Marauders and Jujari from Oorajee, then Azelon gets us back to metaspace.” Awen looked at Abimbola and Rohoar. “Problems so far?”
“Several of my Marauders would be willing to come—I am sure of that,” Abimbola said.
Rohoar nodded. “I also believe that I could secure a few of the Tawnhack—if it is what my oath bearer wishes.”
“Oath bearer?” Magnus said in surprise.
Apparently, that was a new term to Magnus. Awen still found the entire arrangement quite entertaining. The elite Repub warrior, sworn to slaughter Jujari, was now bound in covenant to one Jujari unto death. Awen wondered if Magnus even knew that part of the arrangement. Probably not—he most certainly wouldn’t have agreed to that. We’ll keep it a surprise.
Rohoar ignored Magnus’s comment and continued speaking. “We could take the Shining Bright Star of Mwadim Furlank over a Thousand Generations back to Oosafar and collect the needed reinforcements while you go on ahead to found a village.”
“Found a village?” Magnus chuckled.
“That would give us a good start,” Abimbola said.
“Azelon,” Awen said, “we’ll need a place to train on Itheliana without being detected.”
“I’m sorry, Awen,” said the bot, “but I do not think that is the wisest course of action.”
Awen was taken aback. “Why not?”
“Depending on what this enemy reconnaissance team is excavating, the planet will not be safe for any of you until it is cleared of all hostile threats. Additionally, So-Elku has stolen the codex, which means he is also aware of the temple and its significance, even if at the most fundamental level.”
So it was true. So-Elku had stolen a book—the temple codex, whatever that was.
“Well, there goes that piece,” Ezo said.
“Not entirely, sir,” TO-96 said. “It seems that the Novia’s star system is host to another habitable world that can easily accommodate our specific needs.”
“TO-96 is correct,” Azelon said. “The likelihood of detection by the enemy stands at 3.4711 percent. Less, so long as they do not find a way to leave Itheliana’s surface within the allotted time frame.”
“Let me see if I get this straight,” Magnus said to Awen, resting his elbows on his knees. “Rohoar and Abimbola return to Oorajee to rally a few more hands while the rest of us set up camp on one of TO-96’s other planets. Then Azelon jumps back to this side of the quantum tunnel to pick up Rohoar, Bimby, and whoever else they’ve collected. From there, I help coordinate interdisciplinary battle readiness while you work with Piper. Then, when the time comes, we stage an assault on the Novia’s home world to take out the rogue operatives. When that’s done, we head back to Worru to put an end to So-Elku and rescue Willowood and any other Luma.” Magnus seemed out of breath and slightly exasperated. “Does that about sum it up?”
“Well, when you say it like that, it does seem a little outlandish.” Awen wasn’t sure whether something was wrong with Magnus or if he was just tired, but his skepticism caught her
off guard. This wasn’t the man she remembered. Then again, what did she actually know about the Marine? She scolded herself, realizing that she’d probably spent more time fantasizing about him than actually being with him. But wasn’t this the trooper who’d just risked his life in an impossible attempt to save hostages held deep in Selskrit territory?
Cut him some slack, Awen. The guy’s probably frayed on all sides. You would be too.
“But… yeah,” Awen resumed. “That’s the long and short of it.”
“I like it,” the giant Miblimbian said.
“You do?” Magnus asked, sounding bewildered.
“So do I, scrumruk,” Rohoar said.
Magnus snapped his head to the Jujari. “Okay, but we have no idea what kind of resources we’re going to have at our disposal. Plus, I have no idea how long it will be before we’re ready to take on a highly trained group of rogue operatives, let alone confident enough to face the numbers we saw on Worru. Not to mention the fact that they have all their supernatural splick that, frankly, scares me to death.”
“Yeah,” Awen said, “but so do we.” Her eyes rested on Piper. The little girl was holding her corgachirp, eagerly looking at everyone’s faces.
“Are we done talking now?” Piper asked. “I’m bored.”
“Trust me,” Awen said, ignoring the little girl’s comment. “When Piper and I are done, I’m not sure it will matter what the enemy throws at us.”
Magnus stared at Awen for a second then appeared to study Piper. Each member of the group exchanged glances and nods.
Is this actually happening? Awen pushed another strand of hair behind her ear.
“I’m in,” Valerie said.
“Me too,” Piper said. “As long as we can eat first.”
“Well…” Abimbola flipped his poker chip, checked the result, then looked up. “I’m in.”
“Ezo is in,” Ezo said.
“And Rohoar. Rohoar is in as far as he can be and then even more after that.”
“I would like to report, for whatever it is worth, that I, too, am in, as it were,” TO-96 said. “Perhaps not as deeply as Rohoar but as far as a modified navigation bot can go.”
Ruins of the Galaxy Box Set: Books 1-6 Page 80
