“Okay, I get it. I’m stuck with you, but can we stop using these creepy terms that I am not comfortable with?”
“I’m sorry, Ellie, but no, I cannot. You have to accept our relationship because I truly believe that your will is strong enough to override your father’s protection. Until the Kyroibi fully manifests, I have no method by which I can explain how truly important it is that you accept that I belong to you.”
She understood what he was saying, to a point, but there was far more that she could not reconcile.
“Julian, slavery is universally wrong. This is not simply an Earth mindset. I mean, isn’t the whole point behind hiding the Kyroibi to keep Svoryk from using it to take over the galaxy or something? What kind of a hypocrite would I be if I used slavery as a means to this end? I want help. I need your guidance. Especially if I can’t trust my mother to see past the lure of power, but Julian, I want you to choose to do this of your own accord. There’s got to be another way—”
“Ellie, stop,” he admonished, putting his finger against her lips. That he was capable of doing so only proved that Ellie still fought her dominion over him. “Please don’t finish that thought.”
“I’m trying, Julian, I promise,” she said, sighing hard in frustration. “But surely you understand my conflict?”
“You said you trusted me, Ellie,” he reminded her. “If you trust me, then accept that I am free. With you, I am freer even than autonomy will allow. I need you to remember this. Please, do not turn me loose, Ellie. For you, for me, and for the greater good of all mankind.”
His words caused a familiar, yet wholly unwelcome flutter just beneath her heart. It was the same semi-tangible feeling she’d had when she first glimpsed Julian standing in her mother’s London office four years prior. She turned away in shame, disgusted with herself for the sudden and inappropriate emotions.
“My mom was right,” she said, not daring to meet his eye and knowing her confused emotions were probably broadcast by the literal neon sign on her face. “I’m not strong enough.”
“Just admitting that proves you are stronger than you know,” Julian assured her, pretending he hadn’t noticed her accidental revelation. Their situation was tenuous enough without the compounded confusion of unintended emotional outbursts. “It is often when we think ourselves invincible that we realize how fragile we really are.”
“Great. I’m sure that would make a lovely inspirational poster,” she muttered, and breathed a little easier when Julian chuckled. “When I said I wanted to save the world, I kind of meant one person at a time. I’m no galactic superhero.”
“Not yet,” he said with a warm smile.
The momentary levity made her laugh, but the awkwardness of the moment quickly returned. “You realize I can’t just change my philosophy on a dime, right?”
“No, of course you can’t and no one expects you to, but I think I can help, if you will let me.” Julian stood and held a hand out to Ellie, who eyed it suspiciously. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
After another moment’s hesitation, she stood. The chair and console vanished, leaving them again in a featureless void.
"Clear your mind of doubts,” Julian instructed, stepping forward to place his fingertips on each side of her head.
Instinctively, she wanted to pull away, but found herself incapable of doing so. Instead, Ellie’s own fingertips found the triangular pattern of diodes on Julian’s temples and mimicked his actions. As if a circuit was completed, a rush of energy surged between them. Images flashed in rapid succession, but nothing solid or recognizable. With each pulse, another blast of incomprehensible data assaulted her mind and she wanted to pull away, but Julian held fast.
“Don’t fight it, El'iadrylline." Julian's command was intensified by the fact that the message was essentially being implanted directly into her brain. "Do not shy away from the difficult truths."
Her mind erupted with horrific images. Violence, abuse of power, and the horrors of war played out with such vivid clarity that Ellie could no longer distinguish them from her own memories.
“No…”
Were it not for the physical connection of their diodes keeping her upright, Ellie would have collapsed. She was inside Julian’s mind. He was giving her access to his memories. She tried to pull away as countless atrocities played out in painful detail. Atrocities performed not just by the malevolent Emperor, but by her own mother.
“El’iadrylline...” Julian’s voice, though inside her head, was a distant echo beneath the rising tide of her emotions. “Accept your dominion. You cannot change the past, but you can prevent this from happening again. Take what is yours and end this for all of us.”
Dominion.
The very concept she fought against. And yet, as she tried to shield against the tormented memories, something inside of her snapped. In an instant, the very definition of the word changed. Just as Julian vowed to protect El’iadrylline with his life, Ellie found herself reciprocating.
"You do belong to me, Julian," she said, surprising herself with the strength of both her voice and conviction.
A brilliant light enveloped them, washing out the terrifying images and leaving behind a zen-like calm that was most welcome. Ellie shut her eyes and waited for the blinding light to ebb. When she opened them, she again found herself staring into the hypnotic rings of gold, yet still in control of her own mind. Despite her newfound immunity, she turned away.
“El’iadrylline?”
Julian’s voice was soft and thankfully, spoken aloud and no longer in her head, but the single word held many questions, most of which she was incapable of facing just yet.
“Sorry,” she said, taking a step back and dropping her hands awkwardly to her sides. “I think that took a lot out of me.”
Chapter 10
Julian dimmed the lights and checked the stability of their orbit before leaving Ellie to slumber in privacy. Though the encounter had left him just as drained, he could not afford the luxury of rest. Slipping into the maintenance corridor that ran alongside the spatial displacement apparatus, he ran through a thorough, if not completely unnecessary check of the displacement core. Unfortunately, the ship was so well built that there were no maintenance issues that required enough of his concentration to provide a distraction from that which was now out of his control.
Though El’iadrylline now accepted her dominion as true master, Julian still needed to see El’iadryov’s plan to its conclusion. They needed to return to Earth and a quick mental calculation told him they needed to do so soon. Bringing Ellie into space had been his only option, but Julian feared it may have been a mistake. Already the ship was receiving standby notifications for navigational commands that only Ellie was capable of giving. Once the Kyroibi was fully awake and functional, there would be no overriding the set course.
Most alarming, however, was the fact that Julian found himself contemplating the ramifications of ignoring his mission. El’iadryov had given him a direct order. While this should have meant that he was incapable of defiance, he found himself making rationalizations as to why keeping Ellie away from Earth was for her own protection. His instructions had been to stay with El’iadrylline and Isaverlline and ensure the safety of both women when the Kyroibi manifested fully.
That he now considered leaving the Korghetian to fend for herself on Earth was wrong for many reasons. Isaverlline’s actions had been deplorable, yes, but outside her control. He knew full well that the power hungry monster who used unnecessary torture methods to keep dominion over him was not the benevolent Alliance leader who only wanted what was best for her people and her family.
Julian pushed aside the disturbing thoughts. He had no business entertaining ideas that would not only drive a wedge of distrust between El’iadrylline and himself, but also weaken any chance of attaining Ghowrn independence. He shut down the diagnostic and left the displacement core. It was time to return to Earth.
Ellie awoke with a start, disoriented as she to
ok in her sterile surroundings, the remnants of what was becoming a reoccurring nightmare lingered at the forefront of her mind. It was a long and terrifying moment before she remembered where she was, though she still had to wonder if it all wasn’t just a very strange and vivid dream.
She heard a soft noise behind her and sat up as Julian entered through a door that seemed to materialize out of the nothingness. Finding her awake, he bowed his head, keeping his eyes lowered in what only served as an awkward reminder that she had accepted his subservience as their new normal.
“I trust you are well rested?” Julian asked as he raised the command console and began the necessary preparations for their return to the solar system.
“Actually, I can’t remember when I’ve ever slept better,” Ellie replied with genuine amazement. The cushioned chair had been a lot more comfortable than it looked and seemed to conform to her body in a way that put to shame even the most high tech and expensive sleep system on Earth.
“The diagnostic network maintains a constant communication with your own diode matrix and adjusts accordingly to eliminate minor discomfort and prevent long term damage.”
“Damn,” Ellie said with a low whistle. “You ever think about marketing these things? You’d make a killing!”
“As I understand it, the engineer who developed the technology made a tidy sum doing just that. However, if you are insinuating that I misrepresent myself as the designer and sell them to Earthlings, I’m afraid that would be unlawful even if it wasn’t too far in advance of anything terrestrial scientists have yet to fathom.”
“Well, I certainly didn’t mean for you to steal the idea,” Ellie muttered. “But you didn’t have to insinuate that we’re all just a bunch of bumbling backwater hicks, you know.”
Despite being an alien herself, hearing Earth referred to as a primitive planet put Ellie on the defensive. Even if in the grand scheme of things it was true, she liked her primitive planet. Besides, given the exponential growth of technological breakthroughs that had happened in her lifetime alone, she didn’t feel it was a necessarily fair assessment.
“You’ll have to forgive me once again, Ellie. The ship’s regenerative matrix takes care of all of our needs, but I didn’t take into consideration that with your Korghetian biology, you may require a more traditional sustenance.”
“My what now?” As if on cue, Ellie’s stomach let out a mighty rumble. She glared up at Julian. “Did you just insinuate that I’m cranky because I’m hungry?”
“Make of it what you will,” Julian said while attempting to hide a smirk.
“I don’t suppose this thing is equipped with a food replicator, is it?”
At that, Julian let out a genuine laugh.
“No, I’m afraid not. Though there are emergency rations in the event that the ship is damaged, I suspect you’d prefer to order a pizza when we get back to Earth.”
Ellie turned sharply. “We’re going back?”
“We have to, Ellie.”
“But isn’t Svoryk still there?”
“Your family is as well,” Julian reminded her. “Even with their judgment clouded, they are still family.”
Ellie didn’t need a mirror to know that her face was ablaze with feelings of guilt. She’d hoped to avoid thinking about her mother and the conflicting emotions she still held.
“You’re right, of course,” she said with a deep sigh of resignation, but almost as quickly, a sense of dread came over her. “Hang on. You said something…” She thought back to the argument with her mother at the lake house. In her mind, it seemed some time ago. “You said Svoryk found me because of the Kyroibi.”
“I did.” Julian set the return coordinates before adding, “But you needn’t worry that he is tracking us now. Pulse trails are impossible to detect in open space and this ship in particular was designed to be the primary transport for the true master of the Kyroibi. However, even if neither of those were true, the Kyroibi’s draw is not a precise beacon.”
Ellie noted not only what Julian said, but also what he didn’t say. Forgetting the fact that Earth is a huge planet filled with billions of people, it would have been all but impossible for Svoryk to pinpoint her exact location. Either Julian was wrong and the Kyroibi’s draw was precise, or he was wrong and Svoryk had help. Very likely help in the form of someone she’d trusted for years.
Either way, she didn’t want to think about it. Instead, Ellie turned her attention to the navigational display that Julian had opened for her benefit. She now understood just enough about astronavigation to identify the blinking lights as a star map she could follow back to Earth, but the fact that she felt no movement at all, not even the slightest hiccup or bump, made it difficult for her to get into the mindset that she was indeed in space. And then there was the incomprehensible fact that they were traveling light years in less time than it took the Eurostar to cross the English Channel.
“We’re nearing Earth,” Julian noted just a few minutes later. “I don’t expect issues, but I would recommend remaining seated as the chairs are equipped with additional inertial dampeners in the event of unforeseen difficulties.”
“Got it,” she said, leaning back against the headrest that molded perfectly to her form. “Though you may need to drag me away. Did I mention these are really comfortable?”
“We’ll be back soon,” Julian assured her with an amused grin as he guided the ship into the solar system. After deftly navigating the gravitational pull of the gas giants, Julian sat back and shifted his appearance. Once again, he looked like an attractive, yet nondescript white male of English descent.
Ellie watched the transformation, fascinated that she could now faintly detect Julian’s diodes against his pale skin.
“I um… I guess that’s an assassin’s tool as well, is it? Changing your appearance?” she asked, worried that the question was too personal, but too curious to let it go.
“It would seem, but no,” Julian explained as he guided them through a series of short pulses as not to leave any trace as they entered Earth’s upper atmosphere. “Adaptation is a trait shared by all Eidyn.”
“So, I can change my appearance as well?” Ellie asked, eyes going wide as she contemplated the possibility.
“I can’t say for sure, but it is unlikely.”
“Well that doesn’t seem fair,” she huffed. “Might have been useful in hiding my spots… err… diodes.”
“Actually, no,” Julian said with an apologetic smile, holding up his own glowing hand. “The diodes are non-mutable aspects of our physiology.”
“Okay, fine, but I could have lightened my skin to better hide them and maybe not have had to deal with a bunch of insensitive cows.” Ellie’s mood darkened as she remembered some of the worst comments made about her appearance, mostly made by late night television hosts who didn’t seem to understand the difference between humor and vicious personal attacks.
“That you were subjected to ignorance and maliciousness was indeed unfortunate, but suddenly changing your race might have raised a few eyebrows as well.”
“You just had to bring logic into it,” Ellie taunted, but soon found herself distracted by the warnings on the console. They’d landed. She had felt nothing. A moment later, the ship disappeared and Ellie made the mistake of looking down. “Oh!”
“Sorry, I should have mentioned the safety protocols,” Julian said and made his final adjustments to the security array. “The ship is cloaked. We are not visible from the outside, but this allows us to see the entirety of our surroundings before disembarking.”
“I just didn’t expect to be up so high,” Ellie stammered. The floor of the cavern was at least several stories below her feet, which appeared to be standing on thin air.
“The displacement core is below us,” Julian explained. “Give it a moment to shift and we’ll be able to walk out onto solid ground.”
Ellie’s stomach dropped as the ground rushed up to meet them. Rather than watch, she looked up at their surrou
ndings. They were in the Arctic Circle. Not exactly at the North Pole, but not far either. Julian hid the ship in a large cavern of ice, which glittered when the sun filtered through the trapped sediment, creating a breathtaking view. Ellie worried that they’d be frozen the moment they opened the ship’s hatch, but then she remembered standing above the clouds on the snow covered mountain top and feeling no discomfort. For that matter, she never did seem to be terribly put out by freezing temperatures and often thought her mother was being overly dramatic when she fussed and carried on about winter.
“Eidyn is a cold planet, isn’t it?”
“Ia’na Eidyn orbits a white dwarf star. T’al Eidyn is far enough from the Ghowrn binary that its classification as a planet within the system is debatable.”
The air shimmered briefly, allowing Ellie to see the hatch that had opened, leading out into the cave.
“Huh,” she let out a snort and watched as her breath curled away in the dry, icy air. “And yet I’m not a fan of skiing.”
“Shall we?” Julian smiled and held out his hand.
“Let’s do this,” Ellie said and braced herself for pulse travel.
They were again traveling an indirect path through as many energy-dense regions as possible. After several stops, mostly in largely unpopulated areas, Julian brought them back to the top of the Himalayas. For Ellie, it was just as breathtaking as the first time.
“Thanks for stopping here again,” she said in a hushed voice, squeezing Julian’s hand and sending a pulse of gratitude as she looked out over the immeasurable expanse of clouds at their feet.
“I thought you’d want a chance to appreciate the view, though we will have to move on soon.” He turned to her, pleased to see that she was beginning to mask her emotions. The diodes on her face still held a faint glow, but it was no match for the measure of emotion she communicated through direct transfer. “Would you like to try controlled pulse travel on your own?” he asked.
A Space Girl from Earth (The Kyroibi Trilogy Book 1) Page 10
