The Anuan Legacy

by Traci Ison Schafer

  “And his mother? She gets along fine here? She doesn’t stand out?”

  “Anuans and Kians are both humans, so there’s no reason she’d stand out. Her speed, strength and extrasensory abilities may not be quite as strong, but any human can improve those abilities to varying degrees. Anuans have just been honing their skills longer, for generations. She works hard to catch up, though.”

  “I have a million questions. How did she end up here? And how did she meet Conner’s father? And—”

  “We’re here.” Gaige stopped and motioned with his head to the door to our right. “She’ll be able to tell you everything. Conner should be here, too.”

  It was comforting to know that being part Earthling hadn’t caused Conner any disadvantages. I would soon find out how difficult it had been for a full Earthling to acclimate to this life without the benefit of even one drop of Anuan blood to dominate in any way—a glimpse at my future, for whatever length of time it would exist here. Maybe only a day or two. Maybe longer.

  CHAPTER 59 -

  VICTORIA

  When the door opened to my quarters, I took one step inside but could move no farther. My eyes scanned the entire room, looking for anything identifiable as a spaceship. There was nothing. I glanced behind me at the door we’d entered, which looked like it belonged in a spaceship, but that was all. Aside from the door, if I hadn’t known better, I would have sworn we were standing in my bedroom back home in Florida. I ran my hands along the wall. The smooth surface with the customary glow had been replaced by dull, rough drywall, painted in the light rose color of my bedroom. I stepped to the bed and pressed my hands into the soft comforter that covered the thick pillow-topped mattress. The bedding sank, engulfing my hands until they disappeared into an ocean of pink and gray mosaics. Lifting the comforter to my face with both fists, I closed my eyes and inhaled a long, lingering breath through my nose. The aroma of my favorite detergent scent, spring rain, filled my memories with nights snuggled in bed, reading until the early morning hours. Everything in the room was exactly the same as at home, right down to the two photos on the dresser—one of me with my real parents and one of me with my aunt and uncle.

  “This is your surprise. But we can change it if you don’t like it,” Gaige said.

  “No, this is perfect.” Something familiar in a future of unfamiliar was exactly what I needed. Releasing the comforter, I walked over to the window and looked out, expecting to see the space in which we floated. Instead, my eyes were met with my sunny backyard in Florida.

  “You can change it to either of your homes.” Gaige slapped the wall next to the window and the scene changed to the yard outside my apartment in Ohio, dead and frozen with a skip of fresh snow barely coating the brown grass.

  “How did you do this?” I asked.

  “We worked the angles on some of our surveillance satellites,” a female voice said. “They’re live feeds.”

  I turned toward the new voice and saw a woman standing next to Conner, bearing the same features and coloring. I only topped her by an inch or so, but next to her tall son, she appeared relatively petite. She wore a pale yellow outfit similar to Zada’s, and had on very little makeup. Her natural beauty made even that much unnecessary.

  Conner couldn’t have been any older than me, but when he smiled, soft little crow’s feet formed at the edges of his eyes. His mother’s smile could have melted butter, and I saw the same crinkles at the corners of her eyes. Standing in the room with her made me think of my mothers, both of them. I missed them more than I realized.

  “They’ve been helping get your room ready,” Gaige said.

  “Thank you,” I said. “I’m sorry I didn’t realize that you were here. I mean, I knew you would be, but I forgot when I saw the room. It’s really amazing.”

  The kind smile remained on her face. “It’s okay. So you like your room? We wanted you to feel at home.”

  “Yes, I like it very much. It’s perfect.”

  Conner raised a hand toward his mother. “As you’ve probably already figured out, this is my mother, Bec.”

  “I’m so glad to meet you, Victoria.” Bec put her arms around me and gave me a surprisingly firm hug. Her efforts in building strength had paid off.

  Still enveloped in her embrace, I spoke into the soft cascade of auburn hair that lay against her shoulder. “I’m so happy to meet you. And thank you for the room.”

  Bec released me, still smiling. “You’re very welcome.”

  “Victoria,” Gaige said. “Would you like me to stay for a while?”

  I knew I’d be comfortable with this new person, this Earthling. “No. Thank you, Gaige. Go ahead to your meeting. I’ll be fine.”

  “Well, you ladies probably have a lot to talk about.” Conner kissed his mother on the cheek then made his way toward the door. “Gaige, I’m grabbing a sandwich, and then I’ll see you on the bridge. You’re in good hands, Victoria. Love you, Mom.” And Conner was out the door.

  Gaige placed his hands on my shoulders, leaned down, and kissed me on the forehead. “I’ll see you soon. Okay?”

  “I’ll be fine, Gaige.”

  “Yes, I’ll help her get settled and we’ll have a nice talk,” Bec told him.

  Gaige left the room, looking back over his shoulder. I waved to him and smiled until the door closed between us. I wanted him to know I’d be okay. With Gaige and Conner both gone, the answers to my gnawing and endless questions stood before me, with just the right perspective behind them.

  CHAPTER 60 -

  TAS

  Daigon remained on the bridge performing his captain’s duties while I waited for Gaige in Daigon’s private planning room, off one side of the bridge. I needed time alone to speak with Gaige both as commander and as friend before we moved on to the other business that needed to be addressed.

  Chairs lined the large oval conference table that dominated the center of the room. One also sat behind Daigon’s desk. I knew sitting would not squelch my anxiety, so I stood at the center of the space-view window, staring out. The window took up most of the outer wall, from floor to ceiling. The vastness of that view helped keep everything in perspective and helped me remember I was not alone. I had the entire universe to draw from. One could shut off any connection and become an insignificant grain of sand, like the Kians chose to do, or tap into it and become as expansive as the whole. One with it all.

  Silencing my rampant thoughts, I reached out, pulling in strength from the universe to help me deal with whatever lay ahead. Gaige and Victoria had grown too close, too fast. It wasn’t supposed to happen that way, but her senses were keen. If my intuition was right about the other potential problem, the issues with Victoria may pale in comparison.

  “Gaige requesting permission to enter,” the computer said.

  “Grant permission.”

  The door slid open and Gaige passed through. His color was good, eyes bright, energy high. If it hadn’t been for his tattered flight suit, I would have never guessed the ordeal he’d been through.

  “Gaige. How are you doing?”

  He looked down at his flight suit and grinned. “Better than I look. I’ll change after our meeting. I didn’t want to hold anything up.” He gazed past me at the view, probably searching for help from the universe, just as I had. “Victoria’s doing really well, too.” The grin melted from his face, leaving a hollow sadness behind.

  He knew, but I had to say it anyway. “Gaige, you and Victoria are becoming too close.”

  “Yeah,” he said, quietly. “I didn’t mean for her to attach like she has.” He paused. “And like I have. She’s so much more open to energy exchanges than I’d expected. I tried to filter myself, to block her. But I haven’t been very successful.”

  “Conner said the same thing. And the shuttle crash threw you together too soon. If she’d been approached more gradually, like we’d planned, we might have been able to assess everything better and adjust.”

  It wasn’t Gaige’s fault, we’d
all underestimated her. But, still, a correction needed to be made.

  Gaige lowered his head. “I’m sorry, Tas. I know how important the mission was—is—to you, and that you didn’t want her decisions clouded by me.” He looked me in the eyes then. “She’s just amazing. Her skills, I mean. There’s no way she wouldn’t want to be here, with us, all of us. She belongs here. She has to know that, regardless of how much she may or may not be attached to me.”

  I stretched my neck from side to side, trying to work out the tension. The situation sounded simple enough when Gaige put it like that, but was far from it. “Or is that just our interpretation, because we want her to stay?” I approached the conference table and willed a chair out far enough for me to sit down.

  “Well,” Gaige said, taking a seat across the table from me. “Maybe. Maybe I am seeing what I want to see. I have to admit, she has me muddled. I suppose I probably have her muddled, too.”

  “That’s the problem.” Dreading what I had to say, I paused, borrowing a few extra seconds before telling Gaige what had to be done. “I have to pull you from the mission.”

  Gaige nervously tapped his finger on the table. I knew he’d resist. He had to be choosing his words. After some time, he appeared to notice his nervous habit and clenched his hand into a fist. “Look, Tas, I understand why you would want to do that, but she trusts me. She’s comfortable with me.”

  “Too comfortable. Things can’t progress with you and her. She has to know the truth first. She has other decisions to make first.”

  “I know that. And, under these circumstances, I would never cross any lines with her.”

  “What if she pursues you? If any kind of connection is there, regardless of whether she can interpret it properly or not, she’ll be compelled to follow it.”

  “Yes, she will.” Gaige pounded his fist on the edge of the table and pushed himself back. “And has,” he added, under his breath. He made a few laps around the room then sat back down. “But, I can be strong. For her. She’ll be confused and upset if you pull me away from her. It could set her emotions spinning. She’s far from adjusted yet. I’ll accept your decision as commander, of course, but please, Tas, think about what I’m saying.”

  He did have a point, especially considering what Zada had told me about her. Gaige waited for my response with so much pent-up, anxious energy that he looked like a caged animal ready to burst free. Before I could answer, or even know what my answer would be, the door slid open and Daigon walked into the room.

  “Is there anything I can help with in here?” he asked.

  “Seems your son and I have a difference of opinion, Daigon,” I said.

  Daigon sat down at the table with us. “I can imagine.”

  He couldn’t be surprised. We both knew how much Gaige already cared for Victoria, long before the mission.

  “Could you use a neutral viewpoint?” Daigon asked.

  “I think you could be of some assistance here,” I said. “Your son has made a good case, but you know my concerns. Both Gaige and I are somewhat vested, though, and perhaps clouded. So, old friend, I would be interested in your opinion.”

  “Of course,” Daigon said. “All right, Gaige, I know what Tas is worried about—you and Victoria getting too close, of her becoming the other half of you, before she can comprehend the whole of who she is and before she can decide where her future lies. Perhaps it’s somewhere else. Being tied to you before she can sort all that out wouldn’t be fair to her.”

  “I agree. But, keeping me away from her could disrupt the stability she currently has. She’ll need that when all the Anuan energy finally overwhelms her. She’s soaking us in quickly. It’s amazing. She’s even communicated with me telepathically. I didn’t mean for it to happen.” Gaige shook his head and sighed. “It just did.” He put his head down, apparently regrouping his thoughts, and then continued. “But I think it’s a comfort to her. Everything and everybody here are still strange to her. I think it helps to know she can connect to me whenever she might need to. You know, and not feel alone. Don’t take that away from her. It’s only a matter of time before she’s absorbed more energy than she knows how to manage. She needs to be in as steady a place as possible when that happens. I’m that place for her. It wouldn’t be good to change what she’s used to right now. I can be strong. For her. For both of us. I won’t let things go any further with us.”

  Daigon’s eyes searched mine. “He doesn’t know?”

  “No, he doesn’t know,” I answered aloud. “I haven’t gotten to that yet.”

  “Know what?” The fear in Gaige’s eyes contradicted the strength of his voice. “Is something wrong with Victoria?”

  “Victoria is doing as well as you think—right now,” Daigon answered. “But her transition may be much more difficult than you think, and her future somewhat predestined, if she stays here.”

  Gaige looked from Daigon to me, trying to read us. “I don’t understand.”

  “Do you know of my great-grandmother?” I asked.

  “Yes, she was Head of the Supreme Council.” The realization flooded Gaige’s face. “Wait. You’re not saying . . .”

  I nodded my head. “Yes, we are. Her levels of awareness are higher than any we’ve seen in decades. As high as my great-grandmother’s.”

  “The Council will want her to serve with them.” Gaige left us sitting by ourselves and lost himself in front of the space-view window. “They can’t. It’s too much,” Gaige muttered, more to himself than to us. “She’d be overwhelmed to be approached with this—” Gaige spun around from the window then. “Did you know this? Before the mission, did you know?”

  “No, Gaige,” I said. “All we knew was that she had abilities beyond a typical Kian. With her being closed to her potential on Earth, we only saw small indicators that she probably wasn’t even aware of. We had no idea they’d end up being so strong. When she started opening up around you, we saw signs of what she might be capable of, but didn’t realize the magnitude until she got here and Zada ran her numbers. Apparently, The Council suspected, but only told us once Zada’s tests confirmed it.”

  “Gaige, sit back down with us,” Daigon said. “And relax, for Victoria’s sake. She doesn’t need your tense energy. The Council will not approach her with this now. They realize it would be too much for her to handle at this point. It’s a decision that will be far in her future, after she’s completely acclimated and her skills are trustworthy. And only if she would decide to stay with us. But you can understand Tas’s concern that her decision about where her future lies has to be made without your influence—in any way. Staying here with us could lead to big responsibilities at some point, if she should choose to accept that honor.”

  Gaige sat back down and breathed slowly, in and out. His anxiety began to dissipate, but only a little. “I worry about her taking on too much, that’s all.”

  “And that’s why you were chosen for the mission to begin with,” I said. “I knew you’d take great care with her. But now . . .”

  “So, Gaige,” Daigon interjected. “You thought you could be strong enough for the both of you. Knowing the potential strength of Victoria’s connections, are you still sure you’d be able to do that?”

  Gaige was quiet at first, not saying yes or no. It would be an incredible challenge. One I wasn’t sure he, or anyone, would be able to handle. And good reason to pull him from the mission.

  “Yes. Yes, I can do it.” Gaige said, firmly. “I’m not saying it will be easy. But I can do it. For her sake, I will do it.”

  Daigon didn’t say another word. He closed his eyes and sat quietly for a long while. It was a difficult decision, made between two of the closest people in his life—his son and his best friend. We’d grown up together as children, raised our own together, and had many wonderful times throughout the years. There were the tough times, too—a war no Anuan wanted, the rebuilding of our planet, and such a personal loss I thought I’d never recover from it. Maybe I hadn’t. Tha
t made the outcome of this mission, and this decision, all the more important. But Daigon was a master at removing emotions and making his decisions based purely on the facts. That’s what made him such an exceptional captain.

  Daigon finally opened his eyes. “You both have some very valid concerns, but we have to look at the most critical issue for Victoria right now. Damage caused from an emotional energy overload could be as devastating to her as any physical injury. Maybe worse. If it’s too much, she may not recover from it. What might have been in her future wouldn’t matter if that happens. I think it’s best for her environment to stay as steady as possible and Gaige is a part of that environment. She already relies on his support. He’s going to have to be strong, no doubt. But I think what’s most important right now, and over the next few days, is to keep Victoria’s new world as stable as we can.”

  Gaige didn’t say a word, just waited for my decision. After hearing Daigon lay things out so simply, I knew there was only one decision I could make.

  “Gaige,” I said. “Can you really manage this?”

  “Yes, absolutely. Knowing the consequences will keep me strong.”

  So many scenarios had floated through my mind. I hadn’t been able to be objective enough to grasp the most likely. But Daigon had made things clear. If Victoria didn’t survive her transition, it didn’t matter where, how, or with whom she would have wanted to spend her future. She would have no future. “Then stay with her. Help her adjust. But nothing else, Gaige.”

  Gaige reached his hand out to me. I gripped it and shook. An Earth gesture for this girl from Earth who meant so much to both of us.

  “Thank you, Commander,” Gaige said. “I won’t let you down. Or Victoria.”

  CHAPTER 61 -