Things stopped and he noticed how the medics were clearly wary. A quick surface touch to their minds showed that none were Gathering to bar his unnoticed entry and what he found was strange to him. They were clearly terrified, even without the fear he could suddenly scent. They had all been sworn to secrecy by the captain into knowing what he was, but someone had hacked into his fighter’s cameras and showed what he did yesterday to a heavily defended planet. Their fear was understandable, but what was alien was that they admired his control to spare the victims, even after seeing just a taste of his capabilities sometime during the night when someone hacked into the ship’s systems.
To alleviate some of their fear he came over and greeted by saying “Hello everyone. How are you doing?”
“You kids need to breathe before you pass out.” Said a spritely little woman with light blonde hair and lavender eyes laying on a bed. Her hands lay over her belly as fluids to speed regeneration of her lost left leg were pumped into both arms. Through Oliver’s eyes and with aid of the chip he read her name as ‘Xandra Mcneall. Age: 671 E.S.’ E.S. meaning Earth Standard now he could connect to the ship’s extensive memory. Yet she looked no more than early twenties and thin. Clearly someone who was space born. “We are doing much better all thanks to your rescue, young man.”
Oliver smirked at being called young. He decided to have a little fun, but before he could say anything Steven and Visor had come in right then and beat him to it. “No one called Oliver young since we found out he’s dame near eighty five and a half million years old. The Captain calling him Lad is about as close as we can do it.”
Xandra blinked and began to sputter as she looked to Oliver and could understand what that smirk meant.
“Take all the fun out of it why don’t you.” He lightly smacked the Hunter upside the head which only made Steven laugh and punch Oliver’s arm.
“Eighty… Eight five million… you’re an…” another on a bed choked out.
“Easy you guys. Just relax and take a deep calming breath. And Steven, no old fart comments.”
“Now who’s taking all the fun out of a loaded comment like that.” Steven smirked a moment before the room chuckled to relieve the tension.
Oliver came closer and smiled in such a serene way his telepathy revealed it had lightly eased their mounting rise of blood pressure. “Yes, apparently I was told to be that old, but I’ve barely got eleven months of memories since I was found without any form of a remembered past. Keep it a secret when you get off and return to your families.”
“What are you? Some kind of Creelin subject?” another asked.
“No, he’s the only known true blooded Solarian still alive.” A rather fearsome looking woman in a medic’s white clothes got up and said “You five need to rest. You had it the worst. Mr. Void, may we speak privately?”
“Sure thing, Carmen.” He said, reading her displayed name hovering above her head. She led over and his weight made it impossible to go completely silent, but was softer than she had expected. “What do you need?”
She spun around and spoke softly as she had to look way up, standing barely at his diaphragm in terms of height. “First I’d like to say thank you for putting a stop to those tyrannical excuses for human beings. Secondly I’d also like to thank you for saving my favorite student.” Oliver cocked his head and Carmen explained. “Renee. I mean Renee Dorgen. I was her advisor and teacher when she was taking the medic program. She’s a genius geneticist and an excellent field medic top of her class of all I had the pleasure of guiding in the most demanding field there is. It’s why I personally came and declined Captain Dorgen’s most generous payment for the top healers in their fields… and a bonus to keep quiet of your true nature.”
“You needn’t flatter me. Renee spoke highly of you, but I didn’t make the connection till now. I can see why you two hit it off. I get the feeling you’ll kick me in the balls too.”
Carmen smiled brilliantly to show off pristine and pearly white teeth. “More like castrate with a sharp and jagged rock. I’ve yet had time to check up on her and she’s been so distracted she’s yet to notice me. Can I ask you her mental state?”
Glowing suns carefully gazed in consideration before saying “She’s strong and will persevere. My woman is far from her normal hard-ass self, but she isn’t letting the experiences haunt her. I can tell she was heavily traumatized from being raped repeatedly, but not to the extent the other captives are. Her core self remains solid and unblemished, but it will certainly take time for full recovery. Thankfully though Sparky used telepathy to remove the emotional component to the experiences.”
“I assumed that much when she ran out like a flash a few minutes ago. It was just a glimpse, but I saw her smiling. I’ll run a psyc eval later on for just how far along her PTSD will become. Her Drake too. They’ll help each other, but what is done is done.” She crossed her arms. “Now, about you, you’ve yet to be fully checked out after over six months on a quarantined planet. You may not be showing symptoms of a carrier or shown to be a cause for disease spreading, but you need a full workup. I know Renee has been your personal and only physician and if you want her to do it, I will understand if you are more comfortable under her, but…”
“No need. I understand you are worried any pathogens may mutate into something you’ve never seen and will be unable to cure. And I can tell you will keep my results in confidence… but knowing I’m a Solarian will be dangerous enough to your health if someone happened to read you and forced you to spill all you know to get to me or Renee. There are things you will figure out and the result could potentially threaten your life. I’m sorry, but the answer is no. What I will tell you is not to worry. My biology isn’t human and my cells make antibodies near instantly to contagions and contaminants within minutes. It was proven when it was my own antibodies that made the cure to the MMEZ-032 virus Renee privately published before going to Havannah.”
“Wait… you? You cured the only few known incurable viruses?” Her eyes bulged.
“Yes, and Renee used herself to harvest antibodies for eleven other diseases thought incurable. It’s why I can’t let you. You don’t need to worry, but any detailed knowledge could be taken from you easily. I can’t risk it even though your intentions are clearly for my health and welfare. Please understand the overall situation for your own. When Renee returns from lunch I’ll let her do it and she’ll tell you the results. You can do the PTSD though. That isn’t too dangerous.”
“Fine, but you cough even once and I want you in here for an exam. Is that a compromise?”
“It is.”
Carmen leaned around to look at the solidly built Hunter with an eagle on his shoulder. “Make sure of it.” Knowing the Hunter had heard it all due to augmented hearing by spliced pointed ears.
“Yes, Ma’am.” Steven shifted weight to the other leg. “So, Brother, got any plans or can you help me out with something?”
“I haven’t forgotten. Is Stone and Satellite already up with Stephanie?”
“They sent me down so you didn’t sleep the day away. Besides, I needed a little walk after Stone kicked my ass early this morning.” Unconsciously he rubbed a glove over a sore posterior covered by the battered silver Hunter’s armor.
“You all feel better soon. We still have about two more weeks of FTL till we reach Verard. We can chat later.” Oliver waved as he and Steven walked out.
“How did it feel to sleep in a bed again?” Visor clicked his beak as soon as the med bay doors closed and they walked down a bit to the ship’s elevator network. The floor, walls and ceiling were made of rustic wood panels combined with microscopic crystal nanite particles which seals any damage to the wood that remains very much alive through great advancements in genetic manipulation and nanites. The dark wood was smooth and had a slight shine, making for a nice décor compared to metal halls. Lamp lights went up and down the hallway and made plenty to navigate warmly.
“It was great not being attacked seve
ral times a night. I barely could control the urge to jerk thinking Netul was going to throw a rock upside my head again during levitation sleep. This morning though before I woke up I found I had levitated me and Renee about a meter off the bed.”
Steven busted out in guffaws along with the golden eagle. “Whole new meaning to the airhead daydream. I’m surprised Renee didn’t wake up and kill you. She hated being pushed around. I should know. She shocked me before for pushing her down by accident.”
“I got lucky I didn’t disturb her. She’s not a nice person first thing in the morning without a little loving. She was rather evil when I was waiting to Fracture and constantly sleep deprived.”
“Not just her, Brother. You two fought so much a whole Hunter community would turn tail and flee. I lost count how many times you pissed her off and were flung into a wall.” Steven said as he hit the elevator button to rise up one level and travel two kilometers towards the bow of the ship. Elevators were able to move in a tube network that transports to all areas except restricted aboard the massive free sailing freighter.
Idle chatter went back and forth between the three of them during the trip till the door slid silently open to the eighth floor belonging to labs and only Stephanie and Jessica called it home. Most other crewmen lived up on the seventh where general quarters were.
About fifty meters from the elevator Steven knocked on the first and most used artifact research area to speak up. “Mrs. Menann, he’s finally awake!”
“Come in.” Came Stephanie’s soft and collected voice as the doors opened. Inside were rows and shelves filled with historical and archeological items complete with tags showing what it was. Needless to say it was one crowded room despite the size of it. Stephanie was sitting at her desk reaching over and Oliver watched as invisible currents left her fingertips to surround an object on a shelf and levitated it over. Her long blonde hair was braided and lay across a slender shoulder. Off to the side was Stone lounging in another chair, Satellite standing on a knee as they quietly were watching some form of mixed martial arts for entertainment and for ideas to further their skills in combat. Stone closed down the vid as they came inside.
“Good morning, Stephanie, Stone, Satellite.”
“Morning.” they responded in unison. “Give me a few seconds.” Stephanie said right after.
“So, Stone, I see you already selected new toys.” Oliver observed as carefully placed on stands were two large azure hatchets with a hole in their faces, closely resembling the ones he normally used, but were a bit larger. Beside them was a ruby red battleaxe sporting a spike from the shaft between the two opposite crescent blades. The battleaxe was so large it could only truly be used to full effectiveness as a double handed weapon. Each blade was three quarters of a meter long, easily able to chop a person in half flawlessly.
Beside them was a spear and crimson flail belonging to Steven.
Stone’s dark skin contrasted with how white his smile is. He was a calm individual like Oliver and is why they were good friends. “Can you blame me? They are beautiful and have near endless functions. I always envied Elder Scythe’s weapon, but most battleaxes are unbalanced. This one is perfect.” He touched it.
“You do realize your hand is going to break doing three right?”
“I do and am ready. All I need is your permission and the captain will allow us to wear them and replace our own.”
“As long as you are ready I see no reason you can’t since these Star-sabers can’t use a normal sheathe.” Oliver readied his vambrace and went about binding Stone to his desired weapons. Aside from a clenched jaw that twitched, the Hunter made no sound. The same could not be said as everyone heard bones crack as his hands were crushed down onto the handles. Oliver did a medical scan and counted ninety hairline fractures in Stone’s hand and told him nothing needed to be reset, but he’d be in pain for awhile. It didn’t matter as the Hunter touched his new equipment and caressed it like a lover without fear as it recognized him. They all began to shine like stars in the sky at first touch. They slid on perfectly and a leather baldric hooked into Stone’s armor made for an ideal hold on the battleaxe’s spike.
Steven meanwhile was playing with his double balled flail and spear. At long last, welcome home. He thought with a wicked grin, lifting the ideal weapons he had wet dreams over for many months. The flail began to howl in his left hand as he worked the handle of the perfect grip into a spinning motion to get the pegged balls working. The sound was mildly haunting as the chains themselves created the dirge. The spear in his dominant right hand worked in precise maneuvers and proved themselves more suited than the originals he had customized nearly forty years prior. He noticed Stephanie scowling over her shoulder, but not at him specifically. He could tell she was unhappy he was playing in a room full of artifacts of more importance than his own guarantee of a Hunter’s presence to ensure safety.
Not one to raise the ire of the captain’s sister-in-law, Steven hooked and slid the flail handle in the ring loop on his hip and it fit smoothly. Proximity allowed it to still shimmer without touch. He peered at the lance a head taller than himself to wonder if it collapsed and found it was proven. Despite scans showing it was solid. The long smooth shaft didn’t collapse in pieces like scales, but simply shrunk to a miniature spear version that didn’t increase the grip girth and the leaf pattern of the blade remained unchanged. Making it more like a double edged shortsword. It made Steven grin as many interesting ideas began to form.
“Excuse me. I must go ice my hands.” Stone said, already wearing his three new weapons proudly. The excuse wasn’t contested as the burly black man left to do just that as the others saw the meaty mitts were swelling.
Steven took an empty seat and Visor stepped off a shelf to glide in for a smooth landing. Steven continued to marvel as the light played off the spear’s surface, making it extend and retract to find he could control the speed of the length change by focused thought. He didn’t pay any attention to Oliver and Stephanie as their conversation was too dull and boring for his taste. Something about what he was doing before leaving. Steven wasn’t sure as his new toy held complete attention.
Two hours passed and Steven grew bored. Visor was sleeping which was hardly a surprise since the two others in the room were still going on and on. Stone hadn’t returned, probably licking wounds Steven knew all too well fucking hurt and would take weeks to gain full function again.
Tired of the monotony Steven had an idea. Let’s see how well the Creelin truly trained you, Brother. Curiosity trumped logic of what may happen after also remembering last night’s viewing from the Flare recordings. Thinking that Oliver and Stephanie were completely off their guard Steven decided on a harmless explosion.
Delicately as Steven could manage, sitting in Oliver’s blind spot directly behind and unnoticed he used some of his Gathered energy he constantly used even in sleep. With it he formed a kinetic blast no larger than a marble on the inside of his curled index finger. He withheld the amperage from any lethal results as amps killed, not volts. He wanted to make noise and light, not destroy anything. Not yet anyway.
It made no sound Steven’s acute hearing could detect from the compressed ball of blue-white energy. Tucking a thumb underneath and adding a little pressure he flicked it up and over.
One moment Oliver was kicked back in pleasant conversation and the next he was up, armed and held a blade at Steven’s throat, snuffing out the harmless kinetic blast. And in that instant his clothes had just as swiftly exploded into fearsome spiked black armor.
A bead of blood welled as Steven’s eyes crinkled with mirth. “Well, damn. I didn’t expect that kind of reaction. I’d say sorry, but I need to go change my underwear. I think I pissed my pants a little… never mind. I feel wet warmth confirming it.”
The round shield lowered from the disconcerting mask as the cutlass pulled away. A swelled chest deflated with a sigh. “I’m sorry, Steven. My reaction was too severe. When I heard and sensed a compressed
blast… well let me just say Netul and Callier weren’t gentle. I was attacked in my sleep, during casual conversations about their family and often when I was indisposed taking a leak.”
“I’m not mad you scared the piss literally out of me.” Steven got up with a now awake Visor quickly realizing what his brash partner did. He hooked the now appearing sword in a clip at his lower back to continue “I just forgot how damn fast you move. Being hyperaware will keep you alive. Stay aboard a starship long enough and you lose that edge. Seems mine needs some polishing itself. After I clean up, can you meet me down on ten for some training?”
Oliver changed attire as he put the weapons away and turned to Stephanie shaking her head, his heightened hearing picking up her whisper of “Seventy two years old and acts like a twelve year old.”
“You had a birthday, Steven?”
“Two months back. Brought down a Praying Mantis who put up one hell of a fight.”
“Damn Hunter hearing.” Stephanie grumbled and the two men laughed along with Visor.
“Were we about done, Stephanie, before the interruption?”
She looked to the larger of the men and pursed her lips for a moment. “I’m satisfied for now. We can finish up later. But before you go, did you look over Jess’s ideas for the new Gravity Forge?”
“Yes and it is promising. The thing is I’ll need to practically fuse the two innermost cores together for her idea to work in the long term. And my practically I mean the crevice must be precisely leave one molecule of space between them. I’m going to come up with ways to do such a difficult task so let me think on it. And please inform her to wipe Davan Took’s databanks. I don’t have time or patience to deal with him. As we talked I used my chip to find out it was he who hacked my fighter’s systems to get the recordings of the last fight.”
“Oh, really? I’ll take care of it. Jess was pissed she couldn’t trace the source. What do you want done to him? Jake informed the crew to leave everything concerning you alone. Living months on a harsh planet does tend to make a person unsettled. Your reaction moments ago proves his point.”
Void's Psionics Page 20
