by S. E. Weir
The group was silent as the implications sank in.
“This is it, then. Our people will be extinct within a turn of the moon.” He-Who-Listens sank in on himself at the realization. She-Who-Mourns realized her work was not done. But soon. Soon it would be.
“We cannot give up. That is still time for someone to come and help us.”
He-Who-Acts scoffed in disbelief. “Even if someone comes, there is no guarantee they will help us or have the supplies we need. Even if they do drop supplies off such as some have done, that is only delaying the inevitable.”
She-Who-Mourns used her su’adon as she spoke to give the other leaders faith to back up her words. “While there is life, there is hope, my friends. We need to do our best to hold on to that life.”
Even if it seemed like it would take a miracle.
Chapter Twelve
QBBS Meredith Reynolds, Diplomatic Institute
Phina had eaten a quick snack before the class started. Link and Anna Elizabeth had taken themselves off to do whatever they did, but Jace had joined Braeden and Phina in Cultural Studies.
The students had put their heads together and were whispering as they walked in, though Phina suspected it had to do with her alien friend. It certainly wasn’t because Jace tweaked her braid before moving to his seat.
After sitting down, Phina reflected that it felt odd to sit in class. Maybe she just felt odd in her own body? She’d had so many changes and unexpected things happen that she couldn’t keep up.
Braeden began speaking in a calm, measured way that implied a sense of inner peace. The students relaxed, and a number seemed interested in what he had to say.
“The Gleeks are primarily a peaceful people…” She mentally snorted. Until they laid down the law on someone who’d wronged them and wiped them out. But yeah, a totally peaceful people.
Braeden ignored her, although he could still hear her thoughts.
No, it felt odd to sit here because Phina felt like there was something else she needed to be doing instead. What was it? She wracked her brain but couldn’t remember. Once she realized almost half the class had gone by, she decided to relax and pay attention, letting her mind wander wherever it would. Perhaps it would pop into her mind if she didn’t try so hard.
“The Gleeks’ physiology is different than that of humans. You see the elongated limbs and extremities, particularly our fingers. You see that we are hairless and have a cranium that’s larger and more elongated than your own, with its ridges. What is not obvious is what differentiates us inside our bodies.” He gestured as he spoke, using one of his elongated fingers.
“To begin with, Gleeks have two hearts.”
Phina was amused to hear a student to her left and behind her quietly squeal that Braeden was a time lord.
“The purpose of being dual-hearted is twofold. First, to pump our blood with sufficient strength to reach our extremities. The second is to provide us with greater endurance as we travel to other planets and survive conditions other species might not be able to withstand. To that end, our lungs are hardier and also provide greater filtration than other species we have encountered.
“These internal features allow us to fulfill our self-designated purpose—to gather the largest amount of information in the known universe.”
Phina’s senses tingled. To be able to sift and search through that level of information would be amazing! She had an epiphany and almost missed Braeden’s next point, but alarm ran through her.
“However, our greatest gift is…”
Stop! Braeden, don’t mention your mental abilities! It’s important. I’ll explain later.
“Well? The gift of what?” A student demanded when Braeden had hesitated for a moment too long as his eyes bored into Phina, likely trying to determine why she had stopped him.
“Of being able to seamlessly mesh technology and nature to create a balanced ecosystem,” Braeden continued smoothly.
Phina sagged in relief. Now she had time to put together what had caused her to stop him…since she currently didn’t know herself.
Braeden had always been good at keeping secrets. Not lying, since that was not something the Gleeks did, let alone become proficient in. However, Braeden had learned early the value of holding back certain information and keeping revelations from affecting his responses.
So, when Phina had mentally shouted for him to stop, it had surprised him, but he had been able to cover his momentary lapse. She had been correct in thinking that he could still hear her mental thoughts. The increase in her ability let him hear her better than anyone else he had come across. In fact, the degree to which he could hear her thoughts was concerning, so much so that he began to wonder if he would still be able to hear her through her shielding. And through his.
After the class finished, Braeden and Phina went to one of the office areas available for temporary teachers. Jace had wanted to join them, but he had reluctantly left after Braeden told him the two of them wouldn’t be able to concentrate with him there.
“Do you wish to explain now or wait until after we have addressed your mental protections?”
Phina looked up from where she sat across from Braeden on the floor with a smirk on her face. “What, you aren’t going to just read my mind?”
He gave her a small smile. “I would rather hear your fully formed thoughts.”
“Okay, my reaction was instinct, but as I sat in class, I figured out that the reason I stopped you is that physical abilities are much more easily understood by humans. People can be faster and stronger, and humans won’t blink an eye since we have a lot of Wechselbalg and Yollins around, though some might be envious. Unless they are enraged or in battle, there is usually little fear from them.
“We even have a few of what were called vampires on Earth, which is what Empress Bethany Anne is rumored to be. Vampires are feared by humans because of the historical rumor that they drink blood, but they’re still accepted, especially by our people once Bethany Anne became the Empress.”
Phina paused, looking uncertain for the first time since she had woken up. Thankfully her memories were almost intact now, though mental processing still took a moment longer. “When it comes to mental abilities, humans tend to be unsettled and are afraid. I think it’s because people can explain away physical abilities, and they are relatively easy to understand. Mental abilities like telekinesis and telepathy are not well-known or understood, so they are feared.”
Braeden took some time to wade through her thinking. “You believe that if I reveal we Gleeks have telepathy and telekinesis, humans would be afraid of us and treat us differently, even though most of us don’t have much of an ability for either outside of our species?”
She appeared relieved. “Yes, that’s my concern. You can still reveal it if you wish. I just wanted to make sure you had a chance to think it through first. It’s practically guaranteed that some of those in the higher ranks already know after the events on Vermott with the Baldere a few months ago, but they aren’t likely to share the information. What you talk about in class will eventually become common knowledge.”
He nodded, satisfied. “Thank you for sharing this concern with me. I will think about it. Now, are you ready to continue with your shielding? You need as much time as we can manage for this.”
Before they began, Phina pulled out her tablet and sent a message to her training partner that she would practice without him after they were finished with the shielding.
Much to Braeden’s relief.
Because one piece of information he had been holding back since he had seen Phina again was that her mental abilities were greater than he had indicated, so much that it took most of his concentration to hold onto the shielding for her.
The other tidbit he had kept to himself was that he had been greatly surprised by the recovery of her mind and memories after that overload. The last time a similar situation had happened, the person had lost their mind and memories, becoming little more than a puppet t
o be directed. That Phina had apparently recovered just about everything, with perhaps a little loss of memory, floored him.
And caused him to become very curious as to what made her so different from anyone else he had met over his three hundred and forty-eight years.
QBBS Meredith Reynolds
Phina wandered through the station, taking her time. She was relieved. For the first time since her new abilities had emerged, her mind felt like her own, without other people’s thoughts and intentions pressing in.
Sure, Braeden had told her this was preliminary shielding and that she would need to practice to strengthen her shield walls. She could tell he felt responsible for teaching her to shield, and she appreciated his time and effort. Really appreciated it.
Like, she had to control herself to keep herself from skipping, she felt so happy and relieved!
Sighing, Phina turned a corner and sprang forward and grabbed the rail of the rolling walkway. Usually she avoided those, but she decided she would rather expend her energy flying around the obstacle course than use it walking all the way there. This way, she would get there faster and wouldn’t need to sit or stand still.
It wasn’t until she was almost at her destination that she remembered the epiphany she’d had during class, and she stumbled forward when the walkway ended. She staggered to the side, not seeing or caring what was going on around her.
The solution was so simple! Why hadn’t she thought of this before? Just use the lower tones as a command key to change to the next word grouping. They could figure out the translation protocols and be ready to go. Addison Stone had been working on a way to synthesize the language so they could communicate and had indicated she was close to figuring it out.
Elated by her double cause for joy, it barely registered when ADAM pinged her.
>>Phina?<<
“ADAM!”
He hesitated, but she barely noticed in her excitement. >>Yes?<<
“I figured it out! The language markers. I think I know what to do.”
>>That’s great news, Phina.<<
She felt a jolt of unease at his tone. “What’s wrong, ADAM?”
>>We need you to come get tested. We have some ideas about what happened, but we need to evaluate you to know for sure.<<
Nothing like a dash of reality to tone down her excitement. “Do I need to come now?”
>>Yes. The sooner we figure it out, the better for you. Especially since you might be leaving soon.<<
She agreed and changed her direction. On the way, she messaged Addison Stone about her new idea. Not five minutes later, she had received a message saying that it looked like it would work.
Yes!
Phina jumped up and down since she didn’t have room to do any tumbling around the people who swerved to avoid her jubilant display. She continued to the medical center with a much lighter heart, feeling like the language translator might actually work. Hopefully, the people were still alive when they got there so they could use it.
Once she reached the location ADAM had directed her to, she found one human and one machine in the room. The blonde woman looked up from her tablet with a welcoming smile.
“Come in. Seraphina Waters, correct?”
She cleared her throat nervously. “Phina, yes.”
“I’m Doctor April Keelson. Relax. All we are doing today is assessments.”
The doctor waved her over to the Pod-doc, a long tube-like machine with various attachments and screens disrupting the smooth surface. She began poking her fingers at a display on the side.
“How long will this take?” Phina asked nervously as she began to remove her clothing.
“A while. This will be a long assessment to examine you on the microscopic level. It will be far longer than a check-up and a good bit longer than when you are sick.”
“I’ve never been sick.”
The woman looked up from the display in surprise. “You’ve never been sick?”
Phina fingered the pocket that held her tablet as she thought, then shook her head and removed her pants. “No, not that I can remember. Is that…odd?”
“It’s rare for your age, certainly. Most people have been in at least once for an illness or an injury.”
The woman looked at her, considering. Phina began to feel uncomfortable. “Shouldn’t you have known that I hadn’t been sick before? I would have thought you kept records.”
Dr. Keelson broke her stare with an eye roll and a laugh. “Normally I would, but ADAM and company insist on keeping me in the dark for this one. I don’t have access to your files.”
The hair on the back of Phina’s neck stood up. “Why would he do that?”
ADAM interrupted through the speaker in the room. “To protect you both.”
Phina had been developing an urge to run far away the more she heard, but what stopped her was the reminder that ADAM was her friend. She took a breath and tried to relax. Phina trusted him; there had to be a reason.
Not that it would stop her from grilling him about it later.
“I get it, ADAM, I get it.” April waved her hand before moving back to the display. After a moment, the long tube slid open.
“Well, here you go.” Dr. Keelson directed her to place herself inside the machine. Phina climbed in and was about to lay down when she realized the doctor had not answered her question.
“So, how long is this going to take?”
April’s head peeked over the side, her dark hair falling forward. “I’m not certain. This is only an assessment at the moment. It could take an hour, or it could be longer. I’m guessing for the type of testing ADAM thinks is needed, it will be at least an hour or two.”
Phina nodded as she laid down and settled herself. “Okay.”
One hour. No, that felt too long. Sixty minutes. She could do sixty minutes.
QBBS Meredith Reynolds, Phinalina Residence
“Stars, where have you been?”
Phina jerked her head up as she entered the apartment near midnight. Alina rose from the couch with concern on her face. After blinking a few times and trying to form an answer, Phina finally shrugged.
“It’s been a long day.”
Alina’s eyes narrowed as she crossed the room to grasp Phina’s arms. “Talk to me, bestie. You aren’t getting away with that little bit of an answer.” Her fingers moved as her mouth turned up in a sly smile. “I have ways of getting you to talk. You don’t want to mess with me.”
Phina giggled and shrieked as her best friend tickled her. “Okay! Okay! I’ll tell you!”
“You’d better!”
Alina stopped tickling Phina and made to punch her arm as she normally did but realized her friend wasn’t there. She had darted away as soon as Alina’s fist began to move. They looked at each other in surprise since that hadn’t happened before.
“Phina, what’s going on?” Alina looked uncertain.
Sighing, Phina moved to the couch and sat with her arms wrapped around her legs. Alina still stood in the middle of the floor. Phina reached out a hand for Alina to hold. “It’s a long story.”
After Alina had come to sit with her, Phina told her everything that had happened recently. Alina gasped and looked horrified and outraged at the places Phina expected her to do so. When it was all told up through the seven-and-a-half-hour assessment she had just left, Alina squeezed her hand tight.
“Why didn’t you tell me any of this before?”
Shrugging, Phina looked away. “I didn’t want to worry you. Everything got worse around the time you and Maxim went on your first date. I didn’t want to mess anything up for you guys by giving you something to worry about when you should be happy about that.”
“Seraphina Grace, you’re the most brilliant person I know, but sometimes you can be really stupid.”
Phina turned back to Alina with an incredulous look on her face. “What?”
Alina leaned forward, looking more serious than Phina had ever seen her. “You heard me. How will you figure eve
rything out that you need if you don’t share what’s happening? You’ve always been amazing, but you’ve forgotten that we always talked things over when you got stuck. Sharing the issues always helped you get unstuck with whatever the problem was.”
Phina froze. “You’re right. I did forget.”
Patting Phina’s hand, Alina leaned back with a smile on her face that almost looked like a smirk. “Besides, there’s something all of you are forgetting.”
Phina wracked her brain but couldn’t think of anything. “What?”
“If these people are alive and they’ve been without food a lot of this time, or it’s been dwindling, they are also going to need clothes. People only spend time on clothes if they don’t need to find food.”
Phina looked at Alina in surprise. “That’s true.”
Playfully rubbing her fingernails on her shirt and then blowing on them, Alina winked. “Go ahead, you can say it.”
“We don’t know what they look like. What if they don’t wear clothes?”
Alina stopped and pouted. “Well, then we will be prepared. Better to be safe than sorry.”
Phina smiled and threw her arms around her friend. “You’re amazing.”
Alina returned the hug. “And?”
Huffing a laugh, Phina added their childhood favorite, “And you’re better than chocolate sauce.”
Squeezing her, Alina whispered, “Nothing’s better than chocolate sauce except you.”
Phina drew back to see her face. “And Maxim?”
Alina winked. “Maybe Maxim. Probably. Okay, fine, yes.”
Grinning, Phina poked her and received a grin in return. “So, know where we can get some clothes?”
“I just might.”
Chapter Thirteen
Etheric Empire, QBS Stark
“Do you think we have enough?”
Phina finished pulling in the transfer cart and wiped her forehead. “It’s going to have to be. At least initially. I don’t think we can fit any more.”
