Spacer Clans Adventure 3: Naero's Fury

by Mason Elliott

  Naero sighed and looked down.

  How could she argue with all of that?

  She hated it when even Vane started to make sense to her.

  8

  Naero survived three more days of sparring, practice, and instruction with the Three Orders. She continued to make friends among the other adepts. Not everyone cared for her, but that was as it always was.

  The other Chaos adepts finally agreed to play with her, and their first real practice session was pretty fierce.

  It more or less broke down into a free for all. But Gaviok and the contraries were on her side–usually–so that made a big difference. The others could not simply decide to swarm on her with impunity.

  And the new third eye forcebeams that the four of them used evened many scores. The other Chaos adepts struggled to adapt, and began to mutter that they wished Naero would find a way to upgrade some of their abilities and techniques as well.

  None of them possessed the ability to quicken others in quite the same way that she could. And as Naero shared her gifts freely with the other adepts of the other orders, the sulking Chaos adepts quickly found themselves to be at severe disadvantages when they sparred with the others.

  She’d help them out eventually, but let them stew on that for a while and suffer being outmatched.

  Naero trained and worked more and more with the High Masters each day she was assigned to one of them.

  They carefully studied her every power and ability in great detail. They mindlinked with her as she performed certain actions and techniques, studying the flows of Cosmic energies through her brain, mind, and body. They tried to duplicate some of her feats and abilities. Some they could, to varying degrees. Many others they could not. Certain abilities remained unique to her in both kind and degree.

  Surprisingly, Naero found Master Tree almost as difficult and unyielding to work with as Master Vane. In his own way, Tree was relentlessly demanding, exacting, and exhausting–almost brutally so.

  Everything had to be perfect.

  Everything had to be exact, precise, and complete.

  Sessions with the Order Master were relentless tests of endurance bordering on physical torment and agony. It was a paradox that Tree was at once kind and understanding, and yet still a very harsh taskmaster. He used every moment of their time together efficiently and effectively.

  Naero got used to needing a nap after their marathon sessions.

  And worst of all–Tree demanded to understand the minutiae of every, little, thing. Naero wasted almost an entire day with him trying to perceive and understand the KDM within her. Yet those efforts remained a complete bust in the end.

  At least Naero felt more reassured, now that none of the High Masters would ever be able to sense Om within her mind–since he was part of the KDM.

  Her sessions with Vane were, as he promised, kept to the bare minimum. No less, no more. But she did manage to learn things from him as well. The opportunities were always there if she looked hard enough. But she could never expect anything extra at all.

  She actually began to appreciate their Cosmic sparring sessions together. Whatever stoic position he claimed, Vane still enjoyed beating on her, and he was in fact, an opponent like no other. Vane remained a superior foe that she could endlessly strive to best, and measure the overall progress of her skills against.

  From her experience, that only made her better in the long run.

  Truth be told, Naero enjoyed her sessions with Master Jo most of all. She seemed to learn the most from him, and Change wisdom made the most sense to her. It fit in the most with her patterns and general view of things. To Naero’s way of thinking, Enlightened Change made all things seem possible.

  On top of that, High Master Jo was a hoot–the most delightful prankster–a true mercurial trickster after her own heart.

  At the most unexpected moments–maddening moments–he would pull off some of the most astonishing gags with perfect timing, in ways that were both masterful, inspiring, and scintillating.

  Like when he filled the cave they were practicing in with horrible smelling gas, and laughing, holographic apparitions within the glowing vapors.

  He stink bombed them all!

  But what Naero cherished and learned most from Master Jo was a true sense of joy and sheer appreciation. He did everything with a sense of élan and even pure whimsy, whenever he could manage to get away with it. The Eternal Wise Child–he could be both completely serious, and infinitely playful at the same time.

  Another truly wonderful paradox.

  More than any other power, Naero could sense High Master Jo’s love and compassion for all things. They seemed boundless, infinite. Vane seemed incapable of such; his was a raw, harsh justice, stark and untempered by any mercy, whatsoever. Tree was somewhere in the stoic middle between the two. Doddering, verbose, ponderous, slow to act–and more concerned with order in the end than fairness–as one might guess.

  But it was Master Jo who truly seemed to have full empathy for things, and he was never afraid to change his mind, or look foolish, or do what needed to be done in order to accomplish the right and best thing. Truly Wisdom and Justice, tempered by Mercy and Compassion.

  With the help of all three High Masters, each in their own way, Naero began to truly perceive the value and the wisdom of each order, and how they all grudgingly cooperated and worked together to form a rational, and consistent, working whole.

  It was never perfect–it never could or would be–but it did manage to work. It could work, but only if everyone tried in good faith to make it work.

  The overall objective: To create a Harmony of thought, principle, and idea that were the basis for an enlightened, forward thinking path–a path for Spacers–or any sentients who could see and accept the value of it.

  Finally the first, seventh day came. The first Free Day for the adepts, including Naero, Jan, and Gaviok.

  She met with them at midnight, as soon as their free day actually began. They all embraced, and Shalaen joined them as well. She had not tested to become an adept herself, but she did stay around to work with the High Masters and Intel very closely, in an attempt to locate and contact her people, the Yattai.

  Naero wanted to hear all of their stories, but first–more than anything–she wanted to get back onto The Flying Dagger, and pilot her own ship back up into orbit around Thanor-4.

  To get away from the pressure and sleep in her own quarters, and sup in her own galley with all of her crew would be an indescribable luxury, suddenly.

  So much had changed within the space of a mere week.

  Tarim and Zhen met her at the wide-open, rear loading bay, the ship all prepped and ready.

  They fell in behind her, and Naero walked through the start of a small, cheering, applauding gauntlet of her twenty-one other crew. They welcomed her back aboard, as she made her way almost frantically toward her bridge:

  Jima Ortega

  Juan Keller

  Fenton James

  Prentiss Fox

  Kayleen Flynn

  Tommis Barrett

  Naero passed through into the midship decks of her vessel.

  More crew waited for her, lined up on either side in the galley.

  Harra Ahmed

  Spenser Gordon

  Chandra Adams

  Trudi Cheyenne

  Lakara Donovan

  Her cook, Tolen Kothari, had a special late meal of steaming, Hovari blue crab prepared and waiting for her. One of Naero’s favorites. She could smell the unmistakable succulent aroma of the Hovari bay spices in the air.

  She could almost taste the melted butter and sliced, white lemons, waiting in small dishes, ready to drizzle and dip the long, thick, juicy tubes of crab meat in before devouring them.

  “I can bring your supper to you as soon as you are ready, Captain.”

  Naero licked her lips eagerly.

  The assistant cook, Eugene Blooding, called out from over at one of the stoves.

  “Capt
ain Naero. I’m fixing up a nice pot of my special black gravy that you like so much. I’ve got fresh, medium-rare, Gynarian cattle steak, and Loshin sweet bread and butter to enjoy it with. We’ll bring it all up with your big platter of blue crab.”

  Naero almost stopped and feasted right there, but she wanted to get up into orbit first, and then contact Baeven privately in her personal quarters.

  After that, then she could relax and eat.

  She passed through medical, and then the crew quarter deck.

  Finally, she reached the open bulkhead leading to the bridge.

  A final cheering gauntlet of her bridge crew, plus Rendar Nelson, her chief engineer, shouted their ecstatic welcomes at her.

  Enel and Surina grinned at Naero, and spun her captain’s command chair around for her to take her rightful place.

  Then they all took their posts. Enel as pilot, next to cute co-pilot, Sying Lii. Enel’s radiant lover, Surina, at her comstation. The other bridge crew were already waiting.

  Naero settled in and almost cried. Even after just one week, it felt so good to be home.

  Her home–the one she had made for herself and her people.

  Her ship.

  Her fingers touched her controls with the tenderness of a lover.

  “Prepare to launch,” she commanded, choking up.

  They shot into the sky seconds later.

  The freedom Naero felt.

  In minutes, they were in high, geo-synchronous orbit above the Spacer Mystic colony on Thanor-4. She could see Nashara below them.

  Naero breathed a sigh of relief, and turned helm and command over to her pilot, her second.

  “Enel, I…I need a few moments to freshen up.”

  She went into her private quarters to be alone for a short while. On a whim, she curled up on the soft, luxuriant black nanofloor.

  It pweaked around her, form-fitting as if she were a small white-and black jewel. It warmed to the perfect temperature. The way it was used to doing, whenever she chose to sleep naked and alone on her floor.

  She got up and went to her comstation.

  The call to Baeven went out. It had to.

  Was he still nearby?

  Was he still waiting to hear from her? She hoped so.

  Naero took a few minutes, snuggled back down, closed her eyes and breathed evenly. Even without pweaking up her oval nanobed, she could relax at last in her own space, and feel comfortable, secure, and safe.

  But time passed, and no response came from Baeven or his ship.

  She called Enel and Surina. “Hey, either of you have any word from The Shadow Fox? Are they gone?

  “I have an update, Captain,” Surina said. “Let me join you in your quarters.”

  It must be something important, then. Naero made sure all of her security was up and running properly. Security systems Baeven had helped her install.

  Rina appeared at her entrance and chimed, a second later.

  “Enter,’ Naero said. Her panel slid open, and Rina step within, allowing the panel to close behind her.

  “Captain, The Shadow Fox departed two days ago. Something important came up.”

  “Did Baeven say anything? Did he provide any details?”

  “He said that he was leaving a coded message for you on your private comstation–one that only you could decipher and listen to.”

  “Thanks, Rina. Rotate the duty shifts so that everyone can take a turn with me in the galley. They don’t have to bother bringing anything up. I’ll be down in less than a quarter hour. I expect a full report from you on the trade fleet’s activities.”

  Surina smiled. “Ready and waiting, sir. Captain Max and the others are really raking it in. Did you hear that he just got engaged?”

  Naero’s heart fell only a little. “Who’s the lucky gal?”

  “Vanna Fae. Word is they got together somehow, and now they can’t keep their hands off one another. Each of them is besotted with the other.”

  “Captain Vanna Fae, Piper’s older sister? She always was a stunning beauty all right.” And she was almost as tall as Max, too, dammit. Curse the tall.

  Naero smiled with good nature. “Well good for them, Rina. Sounds like a great match. They’re both great people–part of our family–and they deserve their happiness. I’ll check in with them both at some point, tomorrow. Let’s make sure some greenhouse flowers reach them. Something radiant, fragrant, and pretty for young lovers.”

  “I’ll take care of it, sir. See you down in the mess hall. Very glad to have you back, even if it is only for a day.”

  “Sure.”

  Surina left even as Naero decoded Baeven’s message.

  It was self-erasing, so she made a quick copy just in case there was something she needed to listen to again.

  Baeven’s voice spoke calmly.

  Sorry I had to leave, Naero. Good to know they’re not going to execute you right away, at least. I’m sure Master Vane is disappointed. My cloaked sensor drones picked up traces on the deep space borders of our long lost friends–those two alien vessels–the Dakkur hordeship and the G’lothc cruiser. They laid low for a while, hiding out since their attacks on the Mystic Homeworlds failed. But if they have returned to our quadrant, I’m guessing they’re planning some new trouble for us all. I’d better check it out, for the sake of everyone.

  It seems as if you’ll be relatively safe for a while, as you continue your training. I’ve done what I can to study the alien obelisk on Thanor-4 from a safe distance. Trust me, that is the best way to do so. It is indeed one of those damn things, so whatever you do, don’t go near it. Don’t even look at it. Try not to even think about it–even in your dreams or especially on the Astral Plane. You don’t want it to notice you, key on you, or focus on you and your mind as a target. It seems mostly dormant now, but such artifacts are completely unpredictable–and if it fully awakens–it will become dangerous and unstoppable. Stay away from it, at all costs.

  We can have a long talk when I get back, and I’ll tell you about my fateful encounter with a similar device back on Janosha. It involved your mother, too. And the resulting disaster was a major reason for my becoming an outcast, and being sentenced to death by the Mystics.

  Whatever you do, Naero. Don’t go near it. Take care of Jan and Gaviok. Don’t let them near it, either.

  The relatively brief message ended, and the original dissolved completely. Naero did not need to hear it again, and erased the temp copy.

  She sighed deeply and left to join her crew in the galley, for a good meal and to catch up with Jan and everyone else.

  By the next night at midnight, she’d need to be back onworld to continue her intensive training with the Three Orders.

  Yet being kept in the dark always bothered her. She would rather know exactly what she was up against. It was unfortunate that Baeven had to leave.

  Fear of the unknown was the worst.

  9

  Naero didn’t mean to sleep in the next day, but she had stayed up very late the night before, celebrating with Jan, her crew, and friends. After hearing all of their mostly good news about how their weeks went, it seemed–as if for once–something might work out in their favor and possibly go their way. At least now there was an overall chance of it.

  She dozed peacefully in her oval nanobed in her serene, darkened quarters, and listened to the watch chime nine bells.

  She almost never slept that late, despite the fact that she had been up to nearly four.

  It was actually Om who mildly startled her out of her sleep.

  Naero. I love you. I can’t help it. I have to tell you exactly how I feel about you.

  She snapped awake, blinking and knitting her brows. Huh? Om–what?

  I’ve figured out what’s wrong with me. Why I’ve been dealing with all of these sweeping, crippling emotions. I know now. Like so many others…I’m falling in love with you.

  Seriously, Om. I know you’ve been goofing around with your emotions and developing your own sense o
f humor and all–but this isn’t funny. I’ve got waaay too much on my plate right now for anything like that–especially from you.”

  I…I’m sorry Naero. You’re right, of course. But I just can’t help myself. You’re all I think about, and it’s driving me batty.

  You’re inside my head. We can’t do this. And any way, you’re an AI. What do you know about love?

  I feel everything you feel, Naero. I know everything you know about such things.

  Yeah. That’s helpful. I’m certainly an expert. She stretched under her zilken sheets and nanocoverlet.

  Please. Just hear me out. I’ve given this a lot of thought. It’s actually perfect. What could be more natural? We’re always together. We’re already as one mind, body, and soul. We’re part of each other. You go out of your way and always find excuses not to have relationships. You don’t have or make time for anyone else, and with our–condition–you worry about taking a lover and hurting him in his sleep. That could never happen with me. We can be happy together, if you just let me try to love you.”

  Whoa and triple whoa, Om! You’re racing. Do you even hear yourself? This is completely crazy. We can’t have a romance…the two of us…in my head?!

  No, listen. I’ve thought of everything. I know how frustrated–both physically and emotionally–you’ve been for a very long while. If you are worried about the sex–

  Sex.

  Sex? Holy Ka-rap, Om. Haisha! And double Haisha! What in the bloody hell are you talking about?

  I’ve accessed all of your thoughts and memories on the subject of passionate fulfillment, Naero.

  Oh, please. Kill me now. Om, snap out of it. Again–

  Who could know what you want and like, better than me? I feel and understand your every desire, things you keep only to yourself. Things you don’t tell anyone else. Not even your closest family and friends. I know what you want…what you need.