‘You’ve breathed in that heavenly atmosphere, too, and your biology is now in sync with it,’ Ringbalin reasoned.
‘But I’m pulsing light!’ Taren found this somewhat distressing.
‘We all are,’ Ringbalin reminded her, ‘you’re just absorbing less light and rejecting more of it now and so it is more obvious. Lights on.’
‘It also seems to suggest that your biology has undergone an evolutionary advancement,’ Dr Portus concluded.
‘I want to do a photon count on you asap,’ Ringbalin added, ‘as I am also guessing that you are emitting much less than the ten photons of light that your average human being emits in the same area, time and frequency.’
‘That would explain a whole lot.’ Taren’s thoughts had turned to her own research. ‘Like the unprecedented results I have achieved in healing the test subjects in my current trial.’ Ringbalin nodded to agree, and was startled when Taren gasped. ‘If I have been affected by the atmosphere of Oceane, then wouldn’t Zeven Gudrun also be affected?’
‘No doubt.’ Ringbalin raised an eyebrow, knowing that the macho pilot would probably be freaked out to discover that his biological structure was now attuned to some higher alien frequency.
Taren found the fact rather amusing. ‘Well, let’s run some tests on me first. No point in alarming the poor man needlessly.’
‘What about Leal Polson?’ Ringbalin wondered about the pilot who had rescued them from Oceane.
Taren shrugged. ‘He never disembarked or breathed in the atmosphere, so I doubt he will have been affected.’
Zeven had been very open with Taren about his interest in the Powers—from an observer’s point of view he found it all very fascinating. However, Taren didn’t think he would appreciate the information that his experience on Oceane may well have accelerated his biology to a point where his own dormant Powers might be activated.
Taren drew a deep breath, not wanting to get too far ahead of herself. Let’s just take this one revelation at a time.
It had been a rather eventful day, Taren considered, as she lay in the large round sleeping pod in her darkened room, staring out into the vastness of space through the floor-to-ceiling windows of her quarters.
She raised a hand to observe the faint green light-pulses of her body which were noticeably lessening in intensity the longer she lay in the dark. Why always me?
No matter how much she wished to downplay her psychic Powers, some strange quirk of fate kept landing her in situations where she was forced to promote the unfashionable fact that she was capable of feats that science, on the whole, refused to accept were possible—no matter how many experiments she did to prove them wrong. ‘Well, seeing is believing.’
Just as Ringbalin had expected, her biophoton count was way down, strongly indicating that she had undergone a quiet evolutionary leap.
Which should mean I can now perform other psychic feats that I could not previously, she reasoned to herself. What should I try?
On her bedside table a small round clock caught her attention and she focused upon it, of a mind to try to make it rise. In her mind’s eye she imagined that it lifted off the table, but when nothing happened, Taren gave up…a single heavy thud from the vicinity of the table startled her. She scampered to the table to inspect the clock. When she tried to lift it off the surface, Taren found that a heavy magnet in the base of it prevented her from lifting it more than a fraction. She let the clock drop and gasped when she recognised the heavy thud.
A buzz at her chamber door gave Taren a start, and she drew a deep breath to calm herself down.
‘Coming!’ She pulled on some trousers and a shirt, wondering who the hell would be visiting her five hours into downtime. Didn’t people realise that she needed to sleep sometimes?
Taren switched the lights on and, checking through the peephole, she was surprised to see no one there. Did I imagine that?
The buzzer startled her again but there was still no one in sight through the peephole.
‘If someone is playing a practical joke…’ Annoyed, she opened the door, to find the good captain in a crumpled heap on the floor hugging a large bottle of spirits that was near empty.
Oh, dear heavens. ‘Professor, this is not a good look on you.’ Taren squatted in front of him.
‘Call me an idiot,’ he suggested, ‘everybody else has.’
‘You’re not an idiot.’ Taren sympathised with his sad state of dishevelment, and she smiled in reassurance. ‘You are a brilliant man. Never let anyone tell you otherwise.’
‘Ha!’ he said mockingly. ‘Sure, brilliant enough to allow everyone to pull the wool over my eyes.’ He took another long swig from the bottle, which Taren confiscated. Too late, it was empty.
‘So, you’re a bad judge of character.’ Taren took hold of his arms to haul him to his feet and get him into the privacy of her cabin before anyone on the crew saw him this inebriated. ‘Join the club.’
‘That’s why I’m here…’ He cooperated with her efforts, although he staggered about like a sailor who hadn’t found his sea legs. ‘I figured that if I had been so wrong about the people I thought were my friends, then I have probably been wrong about those I assumed were my enemies.’
Taren wasn’t too sure how to take the comment. ‘I’m so flattered,’ she chided, as he would never remember this conversation anyway. ‘I’m not your enemy, professor.’ She was glad to deposit him on a lounge, and called the order for her door to close.
‘I realise—’
‘To the contrary, I am one of your greatest admirers,’ she concluded, placing hands on hips as she looked down upon the man spreadeagled on her couch and wondered what to do with him.
‘Admire?’ He struggled to sit upright. ‘My project is just a front for MSS operations…I bet they funded the entire thing!’
Taren was disappointed by his attitude, but he could hardly be blamed for being down on himself at present. ‘Well, good,’ she stated defiantly. ‘Now that you know, you can have the ultimate pleasure of doing them out of their investment.’ Lucian smiled and cocked an eye, impressed by her comeback. Taren shrugged. ‘Even in the worst of situations, there is always opportunity.’
Lucian nodded, knowing she was probably right, but he was not feeling very opportunistic. ‘Kassa has resigned and I accepted it,’ he informed Taren, not happy with himself, but he couldn’t imagine how he could trust Kassa again.
Taren was dismayed, and a little angered, by this news. ‘She cannot be held accountable for what has happened, any more than I can!’
‘By saying nothing, she was an accomplice,’ Lucian argued.
‘She couldn’t prove it, professor,’ Taren lectured him. ‘Oh yes, even if she had come clean with you, I’m sure you would have believed her!’ she finished sarcastically.
‘I would have investigated—’
‘Rubbish! I saw the way you regarded your wife. Before all this, you were completely infatuated! The only way anyone was going to get you to believe Amie’s treachery was over her dead body, and even then you wouldn’t—’ Taren realised she’d gone too far as Lucian held up a hand to beg her to stop, bowed his head and collapsed into tears.
‘I’m so sorry.’ Taren fell on her knees in front of him in an unconscious gesture to beg forgiveness. ‘I am not a subtle woman, professor, and I—’
‘No…’ Lucian wouldn’t hear her apology and he brought his emotions back in to check. ‘I came to see you because I knew you would set me straight. And you’re right, I wouldn’t have believed it…I still can’t believe it,’ he confessed in utter bewilderment.
Taren’s heart exploded in her chest. She had never wanted to take someone else’s pain away as much as she did in this moment. ‘I know how it feels to be so deeply betrayed, believe me I do. I came to learn from a very young age that I am the only person I can rely on. Be that as it may, since landing on AMIE I’ve formed some amazing friendships, with some truly amazing people, all handpicked by you—’
‘But how many more of them have been got at by the MSS and not remembered, as you did?’
Taren shook her head. ‘Except for Amie, no one on board this vessel has betrayed you of their own free will. These people are completely devoted to you, professor. Your vision made their dreams come true…that’s why the MSS had to use underhanded means to get them to cooperate. So don’t you dare let one bad apple ruin all that you have achieved here. I tell you in all sincerity that if you let Kassa go, you’ll be losing one of the truest friends you’ll ever have.’
Lucian was gazing at her, wide-eyed with wonder at her impassioned words. ‘I just—’ Too compelled to even finish his sentence, Lucian kissed her, and Taren, hesitant at first, lost her reservations in seconds and returned his kiss with fervour.
In a moment, the intense encounter was over, leaving both of them dumbstruck and awkward.
‘That was unexpected.’ Taren broke the silence.
‘It certainly was.’ Lucian was somewhat dazed, although the smile he was suppressing seemed to indicate that he was not remorseful. ‘I should go,’ he said, although he made no attempt to do so.
‘A coffee might be in order first.’ Taren rose to make it, her heart doing somersaults in her chest, flushing her face with waves of heat.
‘Good call,’ he seconded.
He doesn’t want to leave! she deduced as she quietly went about making the coffee.
When Taren turned to present the coffee to Lucian, she found him happily snoozing in a horizontal position on her lounge. ‘He is not capable of leaving, more like.’ She pouted in brief resentment.
The professor would not remember their encounter and as he was drunk, and on the worst of rebounds, perhaps that was for the best.
‘Oh, stop this! You’re not here to fulfil some silly schoolgirl crush,’ Taren told herself sharply. Now, if she could just stop her heart from palpitating every time she looked at the man, she might be able to focus on why she was here.
CHAPTER 9
THE VOID
Consciousness attempted to lure Lucian from his slumber, but the pain that awaited, tormenting him in brief bursts, did nothing to encourage him to emerge fully from his dreams.
These people are completely devoted to you, professor. Your vision made their dreams come true.
An image of Dr Lennox invaded the twilight of his sleep.
You are a brilliant man. Never let anyone tell you otherwise.
Her smile was disarming. Why was she being so sweet to him, when he had been so mistrustful of her?
If you let Kassa go, you’ll be losing one of the truest friends you’ll ever have.
In his vision, Dr Lennox was the most beautiful, sympathetic, fairminded and forgiving person he’d ever encountered, and he felt an overwhelming urge to kiss her.
Lucian awoke with a start, but recoiled from consciousness as his throbbing head forced his eyes closed and he groaned in agony.
‘Captain?’
His eyes shot open. What the hell is Dr Lennox doing in my quarters first thing in the morning? He gave a silent prayer that he had not acted on his drunken desires as he rolled over and unexpectedly fell onto the floor. ‘What the—’ Fully awake now, he looked around and realised that he was not in his chambers, but in Dr Lennox’s. He looked at Taren, who was smiling down at him, a cup of coffee in her hand.
‘Are you all right?’ She suppressed an urge to laugh.
‘Fine, I think.’ Lucian hauled himself up to take a seat on the lounge. ‘Just pride-bruised, hung over and very embarrassed, I expect.’ He accepted the coffee from her and was almost too afraid to ask: ‘Why am I here?’
‘You said that you suspected I was not your enemy,’ Taren told him and he cringed.
‘I apologise if I caused you any offence.’ Lucian sipped at the coffee, infinitely grateful that it was a strong brew.
‘Not at all,’ she assured him, heading back to her kitchenette to fetch herself some juice.
Lucian frowned as he dwelt on the bits of conversation he’d recalled before coming fully awake. He wondered how much of it was accurate. ‘Did we discuss Kassa’s resignation?’
Taren nodded. ‘I think you decided that you wouldn’t have believed her even if she had told you the truth much earlier.’
Lucian cringed again. If that much of his recollection was accurate, what about the rest? Had he kissed Dr Lennox? She had already said that he had not offended her in any way. He felt befuddled enough right now and was not game to inquire any further. He poured the remains of the coffee down his throat and placed the cup on the table. ‘Well, I feel sure I have imposed upon you enough.’ He stood and headed meekly to the door. He half turned to look at Taren. ‘Please allow me to apologise again. I assure you that I do not normally drink to such excess…I do not normally drink, period. I shall never inconvenience you in such a manner again.’
‘That’s a bit of a shame really…you are rather charming when you let your guard down.’
Was he still drunk, or was Dr Lennox flirting with him? ‘I wish I could remember what you mean by that.’ Lucian played ignorant as her comment seemed to indicate that he had sexually harassed one of his crew whilst under the influence—that would look wonderful on his résumé. ‘I don’t know what I was thinking. I am never drinking again.’
His discomfort was plain so Taren did not try to detain him. She wanted to put his fears to rest. ‘It’s forgotten.’
‘That’s easier for me to say than you, unfortunately…but thank you, Doctor. You’ve been most gracious.’
Eyes to the ground, he exited Taren’s quarters and felt a rush of relief as the door closed behind him.
‘Whoo-hoo!’ An implicating whistle sounded from up ahead.
Lucian was embarrassed to find a flight crew, Leal and Zeven among them, returning from night shift. Obviously they had seen him exit Dr Lennox’s quarters and, as his clothes looked slept in, they’d jumped to the obvious conclusion. ‘It’s not how it looks, I assure you.’ Lucian downplayed their envious jeers and whistles and Zeven’s resentful glare. ‘Anything to report?’ Lucian asked in an endeavour to change the subject.
‘I’d say your morning has been more eventful than ours,’ Zeven commented rather coolly.
‘The inter-system gateway to Maladaan is in view,’ Leal jumped in to prevent the young pilot’s jealousy getting him in trouble.
The inter-system gateways were built in ancient times to speed the rate of travel between the major star systems within the United Star Systems. Each gateway in the system was a huge superconductor and could connect to any other gateway within the system by attuning to the same sonic frequency to form a bridge through space—the stations were fuelled by a refined form of liquid metal that had the capacity to reach into high-spin states when heated to excess, hence the super-conductive nature of the gateway system. The technology of the stations was so ancient that it was no longer completely understood
—the USS knew how to maintain the system, they knew how to build the gateways, but had long since failed to fathom how it worked—who or what had originally built the system was just another universal mystery.
‘We’ll not reach the station for a few days yet,’ Leal finished his report.
‘Call me if I’m needed.’ Zeven headed straight to his room.
As the rest of the crew headed for the mess the captain detained Leal.
‘Have the crew at the station our side of the gate had any word from Maladaan?’ Lucian hoped he’d missed something.
‘Nothing,’ Leal was sorry to say. ‘The same goes for the station on the Maladaan end of the gateway.’
‘Have they sent a scout to investigate?’
‘They have, but it’s going to take even their fastest solar-hawk cruiser a few days to reach the capital. I’ll keep you informed, of course.’
‘Many thanks.’ Lucian’s head was throbbing, and he massaged his temples to ease the pain so that he could think straight.
‘I think yo
u might need to see Dr Madri,’ Leal commented. ‘You appear positively green.’
‘No. I’ll go and rest.’ Lucian only wanted to retire to his bathroom where he could purge himself of the excess liquor churning in his gut. ‘Could you do me a favour?’
‘Anything.’ Leal knew how much the captain had been through and was eager to help.
Lucian just couldn’t let Kassa go on thinking that he hated her, nor let her carry on in fear of his reporting her to the PMD, the Psychic Monitor Database, and so be held in contempt by many on Maladaan. That was the very fate she had lied to him to avoid. Lucian was not ready to speak with her, his feelings still raw, but that was no reason to prolong her torture. ‘I need you to deliver a message to Dr Madri for me…tell her that I refuse to accept her resignation.’
‘Resignation!’ Leal, predictably, was alarmed to hear this, but Lucian wasn’t in any fit state to explain. He was inwardly compelled to turn and make for his quarters, only metres up the hallway, with the greatest haste.
‘I’ll take care of it at once,’ the co-pilot confirmed in his wake.
Lucian gave him a thumbs-up, as the door to his quarters opened and he charged towards the solace he so urgently required.
When Kassa received Leal’s request for a meeting, she assumed he was trying to arrange the private chat she’d promised they would have after the Oceane debacle had blown over, and which she had since managed to avoid. Now that she had resigned, Leal was bound to learn the truth and she would much prefer that he heard it from her first.
As she awaited his arrival, Kassa rehearsed her confession, and was unable to avoid feeling a bit like a dirty old woman who had taken advantage of, and used, the younger man’s overactive imagination. Still, she needed his forgiveness if she was ever to forgive herself.
So it was that when Leal arrived Kassa would not let him speak first, despite his eagerness to do so.
‘Leal, please. I have to get this off my chest or I shall go insane!’
‘It sounds serious.’ Leal yielded to her request and took a seat. ‘Does this have anything to do with you resigning?’
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