Heart Of The Machine (Soulmates Book 2)

by Don DeBon

  "But—"

  "It is not often we have real coffee not that synth stuff as of late. Join me when you are done. Okay?"

  Aleshia smiled as she sat back down. "Okay."

  Deven headed off towards the Defiant as Fenton eyed Aleshia. "So, are you going to tell me what is wrong?"

  Aleshia blinked. "What do you mean?"

  Fenton laughed. "He might buy that crud, but I don't. There is something going on between you two. Or at least on your end. He is not showing it. So what did he do?"

  Aleshia blinked again. "What? How do you know?"

  Fenton smiled as he sat back in the old chair causing it to creak. A few of his bones made the same sound in response. "I'm old. I ain't dead. Besides, it's my business to be able to look behind the curtain."

  Aleshia's eyes went wide. "You can read minds too?"

  Fenton laughed. "Heck no. But it's written all over your face, if one knows where to look. Now, what did he do?"

  "Nothing really."

  "Aleshia, don't give me that. He must have done something."

  "Well it isn't his fault."

  "Uh-huh. When a woman says that, it means we did. So spill it."

  Aleshia eyed him. "How did you get so smart about women?"

  "I am old. And you didn't reckon' I had my share of shelia's? Last one died twenty years ago, God rest her soul."

  "I'm sorry. Why haven't you had anyone since then?"

  Fenton sighed. "Because she was the best. After her, well, I knew I couldn't find someone else even close. Besides, who is going to want to stay here with this old fruit loop anyway."

  Aleshia took his wrinkled hands in hers. "I don't see that at all. And I am sure there are many ladies would agree with me."

  Fenton smiled. "Thanks for that. But this is not about me, it is about you. What did Deven do?"

  Aleshia blew out a breath. "We were on our honeymoon and had to leave."

  "Gosh, no wonder you aren't happy with him. And let me guess you had been planning this for a while?"

  Aleshia nodded. "Yes and when everything … happened we had to leave. He didn't even get to see me in the special white teddy you gave me."

  Fenton sat back. "He didn't? Well why did you say he did?"

  "Because he was standing right there next to me?"

  "Oh … right."

  "I know it wasn't his choice, but dang it, it was our honeymoon. He did promise we would reschedule. Of course that depends on if the world survives."

  Fenton smiled and leaned forward. "Let me tell you something. The human race has been through a lot and we have always come out the other side. I think we will here too. And from what you tell me, they don't know we are watching them. That is a very powerful advantage."

  "But they sound impossible to beat."

  Fenton's smile broadened. "And they said that about the Nexus right? And look what happened. You and Deven took her down. You will do the same here. I may not know how, but I am sure you will."

  "I hope so."

  "I know so. And by the way, earlier you asked if I could read minds too. What do you mean 'too'?"

  "Deven never told you?"

  "Told me what?"

  "How we beat the Nexus, with our combined mental abilities."

  "Wow, I had no idea he was that strong."

  "He isn't." Aleshia waved a hand and a four ton engine assembly located to their far right shifted three inches to the left. "But between the two of us we were able to."

  Fenton whistled. "Wow. That's impressive. And you worry about these aliens? Ha! I bet you could destroy them in orbit before they ever got here."

  Aleshia shook her head. "No, I don't have near that kind of range."

  "Still if you could find out a way. They would be in big trouble," he said with a grin.

  "Perhaps."

  "Perhaps nothing. And by the way, could you please slide the crate back? I don't want to get out the anti-grav forklift if I don't have to."

  "Sure thing." Aleshia waved her hand again and the crate moved back into its previous position. Fenton couldn't even tell it had ever been moved. Even the dirt on the floor rearranged to hide the evidence. "There. And no sign I shoved it around either."

  Fenton smiled again. "Thanks, but you didn't need to sweep up as well."

  Aleshia winked. "Well I couldn't leave a mess now could I?"

  "With me you could. Are you sure you couldn't use that on them aliens? Seems like they wouldn't know what hit them."

  Aleshia shook her head. "No, my abilities don't have that kind of range. And I would have to see or visualize what I am doing, or it won't work."

  "Hmm that does make it difficult. Are you sure you couldn't boost your abilities somehow? Leon is a technical genius, seems like he could think of something."

  "I doubt it. I mean, he doesn't understand what I can do in the first place, how is he going to boost it?"

  "True that. Hmm, is there anyone that might know how to go about it?" Fenton said taking another sip from his coffee cup.

  "My abilities are new, as far as I know, no one has ever had something similar. Or at least near this strong."

  "Too bad you don't have someone that has been around a long time and could tell you. And before you say, I may be old, but I ain't that old."

  Aleshia laughed. "I wasn't going to say that."

  "Uh-huh, sure you weren't. Don't fib to an old man, it doesn't suit you."

  Aleshia slapped his arm playfully. "Will you stop, you know I am not."

  Fenton grinned. "Yes I know it. But I had you going for a second, didn't I? But as I was saying, seems like there should be a database on your abilities. Perhaps you are the first one, but perhaps not."

  Aleshia's eyes sparkled. "Fenton you are a genius!"

  He looked up. "I am?"

  "You bet." She got up and hugged him tight. "Thank you for the coffee, I need to get back to the Defiant." She started running towards the large ship still sitting on the elevator.

  "Sure, but you come back soon ya hear?" He yelled after her which echoed around the large space.

  Aleshia found Deven and Galina on the bridge. "Oh good you are here. I have an idea."

  Deven raised his hand. "Now, Miles you were saying?"

  "Hello Aleshia, it is good to see you again." He paused then turned his camera back to Deven. "I have been monitoring the probe as you instructed, but there is a slight inconstancy I cannot account for."

  "Which is?"

  "Another Lytherian carrier has arrived."

  Deven shrugged. "Another Maker, so what, we already know about them."

  "No, this is a much larger ship. Possibly the command carrier Minerva thought existed."

  "So what is the problem?"

  "Minerva has not told us of its arrival. This is vital information we should have, yet she has not mentioned it."

  Otis' face flashed on one of the screens. "Boss, I hate to bother you but our shadow is inbound."

  Deven's eyes focused on the screen to his right. "The Valiant?"

  Otis shrugged. "Who else?"

  "How in the world did he find us?"

  "I don't know, but Minerva thinks we have the advantage."

  "Explain."

  Otis face moved to the left side of the screen and Minerva's face appeared in the blank area. "This carrier is older, and back in that time period the sensors were built to take more energy. I have boosted their range significantly. However, the Valiant is a newer model and while the sensor system is more efficient, it could not take the modification I have put in place. Therefore, we can see him, but they haven't seen us."

  "How long before they do?"

  "Fifteen minutes, perhaps a little more. If they increase speed it will be much less."

  "Well let's hope they don't." Deven hit the intercom. "Leon? How are we doing?"

  Leon grunted as he reconnected the last of the power feeds. "I will know in a minute."

  "We don't have a minute."

  Leon pointed at Gregory.
"Hit the button over there and pray." Gregory ran over and hit the button on the control console. The engines sparked then began to emit a faint glow which grew brighter by the second. Ten seconds later they were as bright as ever and working in harmony with each other. "Okay we are ready down here. Overdrive is back at full capacity, and so is the conventional thrust."

  "Good." Deven hit another key and Fenton appeared on another screen. "Fenton, send us back up. We have to go."

  The old man raised a white eyebrow. "So soon?"

  "I am sorry mate but we have company inbound and we can't let them see us here. If they do, they will never leave you alone again."

  "Ha! They could search a hundred years and never find what I have. Everything is shielded and sealed, unless I let it through."

  "Humor me all right? Send us up. We will be back again soon, I promise."

  Fenton nodded. "You got it mate. And I am going to hold you to it." He waved before his image winked out.

  The large opening above ground back with some dirt falling down on the Defiant as the elevator began to bring the large ship to the surface. Deven turned his attention back to the screen that still held Minerva and Otis. "We're coming up. Is the Auto-Nav link still operational?"

  Minerva nodded. "It is."

  "Good, be prepared to follow our lead as soon as we get clear."

  Minerva nodded again. "Understood."

  The elevator stopped with a jolt. "Engines are ready. Umbilical disconnected. Light em' up," Leon said.

  Galina grabbed the controls, activated the Defiant's engines, and the massive vessel began to rise. Half a second later, the elevator began its long decent back down. The large cover slide back across and up to hide it. "Everything looks good. Taking her up." The large ship moved slowly at first, then she began to gain speed as she climbed into the air.

  Deven looked over to the Screen with Minerva and Otis. "How much time until they see us?"

  "Two minutes," Minerva said.

  Galina grit her teeth. "This is going to be close."

  "One minutes thirty seconds," Minerva said.

  "Overdrive hasn't fully charged yet, a few more seconds," Leon said over the intercom.

  Deven glared. "I thought you said it was at full capacity?"

  "Well it is, once it charges. I didn't expect us to need it this quick."

  "Forty seconds," Minerva said.

  "Got it! Overdrive charged. Get us outta here!"

  "Ten seconds," Minerva said.

  "You heard the man, get us out of here," Deven said.

  Galina punched the overdrive and both ship's engines began to glow brighter and brighter as the energy built up.

  "Five seconds."

  "Oh shut up!" Galina said as both ships leapt into overdrive.

  Seconds later the Valiant decelerated above Fenton's. "Scanners! I want to know if they are here or have been here!"

  Naud's fingers flew over his controls. "I am not seeing anything other than a small building. A small store perhaps. But nothing able to repair the Defiant."

  Halburn slammed his fist on the arm of his chair. "Blast it! All we had to go though to find this place and it is nothing! Head north and engage overdrive."

  Rechert turned to face Halburn. "Sir? Why that direction?"

  "It is as good as any. We aren't going to learn anything from this wasteland. A more populated area might let us know if a large ship was in the vicinity."

  "Do you really think they would take the risk?"

  Halburn shrugged. "No, but we can't just sit here. If Lavine knows we are searching, I don't get my head handed to me … yet anyway."

  "Yes sir." Rechert said as he engaged the drive and the Valiant's engines left a faint glow in the air as they disappeared.

  A minute later Fenton smiled to himself as he punched in the code for Deven's data tab. A moment later his face appeared. "I told you they wouldn't see anything."

  Deven laughed. "Glad to hear it. We'll be back."

  "You'd better. I have your truck after all." Fenton turned his data tab enabling its camera to show the vehicle in the underground complex.

  "My truck! You left it there? How could you? Aleshia, I told you to put it on my pad in the Defiant's hanger!" Otis' voice sounded distant as he shouted from a screen a console away.

  Deven jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "As you can hear Otis is not too happy. We will be back for it soon."

  "You'd better, I charge for storage ya know?" Fenton smiled as his image winked out.

  Chapter 13

  "Minerva?" Aleshia said hitting a key on Deven's console as she sat down.

  Minerva's face appeared on the large screen. An eyebrow cocked to one side. "Yes?"

  "Do you know if any telepaths were as strong or stronger than I am?"

  Minerva blinked. "What an odd inquiry. What does this—"

  "Never mind. Answer the question."

  "If there was, I do not have records of one. Of course, it is possible such a person could have existed before I came online"

  Aleshia shook her head. "Unlikely as telepaths only started to appear after you were around. If it happened beforehand, we would have known."

  Minerva nodded. "Logical."

  "Thank you. Now, you had drugs to suppress the telepathic abilities, correct?"

  Minerva shuddered. "Yes. Although, they did more than their design."

  Aleshia sighed. "We know. All too well. And how did you find out these particular drugs worked?"

  "I … I … don't know."

  Aleshia's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean you don't know?"

  "It is from a very dark time in my history. I have blocked out those memories. Meaning, I honestly do not know."

  "But you can still access them, right?"

  "No. I will not access them again. I do not want to remember all I did during that time."

  "But you still can."

  "Technically, yes."

  "Then I need you to do so."

  Minerva shook her head. "No, I will not. There is nothing from back then that can help us now."

  "Yes it can. Perhaps the destruction of the Lytherians."

  Deven, sitting next to her, tilted his head. "What are you getting at?"

  Aleshia smiled. "I am betting Minerva must have done a lot of testing back then, and while she did find a way to suppress the telepathic abilities, I suspect she also found ways to enhance it. Or at least has the data we can use to do so."

  Deven's right eyebrow raised. "Why?"

  "If we can boost my abilities, I might be able to grab a hold of those ships while still out in space and either confuse them into going somewhere else or destroy them if necessary."

  Minerva's eyes narrowed. "And you think this is possible?"

  Aleshia nodded. "If my range is extended, and I can see them, yes."

  Minerva's gaze shifted away for several minutes, then focused on Aleshia. "If you are certain this can be of use. I will access those memories."

  Miles' camera focused on Aleshia. "Aleshia, I do not think this is wise."

  "What? I thought you trusted Minerva?"

  "Trust is a strong word. A working relationship accepting some of her information as fact until proven otherwise might be more accurate. And when your life is concerned, I am very much questioning this information. She herself said it came from a dark period in her history. The data may not be accurate, even if she gives it to us unaltered."

  "Is there harm in looking at this data?"

  Miles' camera focused on the clouds wisping by the bridge windows for several seconds before returning to Aleshia. "Logically, there should not be any harm. But since I do not see any good coming from this activity, I would suggest it is waste of time that might be better spent elsewhere."

  Aleshia turned to Deven. "Love, you make the decision. I think it could work, but you decide."

  Deven sighed. "While I wonder if this possible, if it is, we can't ignore it. Minerva, do it. But give Miles direct access to all of the dat
a. Is that clear?"