by Amy DuBoff
“Your dad is coming with us, right?” Leon asked.
“Yes, being the first educational tour about the rift, he wanted to set the tone, or something.”
His classmate nodded. “I guess he’d be able to do that better than anyone.”
“We’re lucky we get to see the rift while it’s still around,” Jason said. “They’ll have it closed eventually.”
Leon shook his head. “The scale of it is still mind-blowing.”
“And it’s now two-thirds the size it was at the end of the war.”
“And no more pathways to the civilized worlds.”
The Bakzen’s almost undetectable backdoor for attacking us. It’s brilliant and terrifying at the same time. Jason nodded. “The loose threads have been tied off and they’re healing the biggest wounds.”
Leon chuckled. “Talking like that makes it sounds like space is a living thing.”
“From the way my dad talks about it, maybe it is. The energy pathways follow an ancient order we have no way of understanding from our vantage.”
“Dude, that is way too mind-boggling to think about this early in the morning.”
Jason smiled. “Never mind. I’m sure we’ll have all sorts of perfectly boring explanations during the tour.”
Raena grinned as she approached with Ryan. “With who’s coming on this trip, there’s no way it will be boring.” They took seats across from the couch where Jason was sitting.
“I might take your advice and keep my mouth closed for once,” Jason replied. “We’ll see how resourceful people get to generate excitement without my generous inputs.”
“First off, I don’t believe for a second you could go on a field trip and not make at least one scene,” his sister stated. “And secondly, I’m pretty sure traveling to a super-energized habitable pocket between subspace and normal space qualifies as excitement enough on its own, with or without your antics.”
She may have a point. It’s too unique a place for there not to be something interesting—especially with our luck. His mind flashed back to the Aesir and the Priesthood’s bold move to apprehend Raena and Ryan. I’m actually surprised they’re letting us out of Headquarters at all.
He sent Raena a telepathic hint of the latter point and she nodded solemnly. “I think that’s why Dad is coming along,” she stated. “It’s not a coincidence that he’s going on the tour at the same time as us while other Primus Elite Agents are leading the tours with other groups.”
“In this case, the favoritism toward you works out to all our advantages,” Leon commented, unaware of the subtext to their conversation. “It’s cool getting to learn about the rift from the former Supreme Commander himself.”
Jason was about to tell Leon how much his father hated the use of that title when a low vibration began to emanate through the floor.
Raena’s face lit up. “Oh! We’re about to head out.”
“Do you recall how long of a jump it is?” Ryan asked.
“A good five hours, I think,” she responded.
Ryan groaned. “I guess that’s why they gave us this digital binder of reading materials this morning.”
She scowled. “Do you really think they’re going to quiz us?”
“I always take the threat as a serious possibility,” he said.
Jason shrugged. “With Dad, you never know.”
Outside the window, the space surrounding the Vanquish began to take on a blue-green hue as a spatial distortion formed around the ship.
“I’ll never get tired of that view,” Raena breathed.
Jason cast her a sidelong glance. “Too bad you agreed to be heir. I doubt you’ll get much chance for interstellar travel once you’re stuck in a life of politicking on Tararia.”
“I’m sure I can invent a reason or two for travel,” she said with a smirk.
Jason noticed that Ryan remained strangely quiet during the exchange, careful to avoid eye contact with anyone while the discussion of Raena’s political future was on the table. Though others now knew they were dating, Jason realized that most of the trainees would assume the relationship was just a fling while both were trainees within the TSS. The truth about Ryan’s true linage and future place within the Tararian elite would surely come as a shock.
“Well, I’m going to stay in the TSS for as long as they’ll let me,” Jason declared. “Touring the stars and doing fancy things with my mind sounds like the life.”
“And here you thought you were going to be a beach bum college student in California,” jested Raena.
He sighed. “In retrospect, I should have known that was never going to work out.”
“We had no way of knowing just how different things would be.”
This time, Raena and Ryan did make eye contact, and Jason detected a brief telepathic exchange between them.
“Well, we should probably get to all that reading,” Raena continued.
“Right.” Ryan stood with her. “We’ll see you when we arrive.”
They headed out of the common room.
Leon watched them depart, his eyebrows raised. “That’s a hookup in the makings if I ever saw one.”
“I don’t care,” Jason said truthfully.
Leon sighed and leaned back on the couch. “I guess we really should do that reading.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Jason pulled out his handheld and began absently scanning through the materials.
Most of it was information he’d already come across in his previous research into the Bakzen War. The refresher was useful, but he allowed his mind to wander.
Why are they so intent on sealing the rift? he wondered. And why show it to us now?
* * *
Despite what others might think they were up to, Raena had stepped aside with Ryan simply so they could have an uninterrupted conversation out loud.
“Thanks again for helping with that distraction last night,” Raena said as soon as they were alone in a small conference room near the common area housing the rest of the students.
“Of course.” Ryan embraced her. “I do have to say, it was nice getting to have breakfast together without needing to pretend like I wasn’t looking specifically at you.”
She smiled. “Yeah, it was.”
He released her. “Where… do we go from here?”
The question didn’t need any elaboration. They cared about each other a great deal—and had for some time—but their circumstances had maintained a degree of physical and emotional boundaries. There were moments where Raena had desired to be with him more than anything, but she also took comfort in things being just the way they were—much more than friends, but not a proper couple, either.
“I’ve never had a serious boyfriend,” she said after a slight pause.
“I’ve never really had a serious girlfriend, either.”
She eyed him. “Maybe not in a proper relationship sense, but you’ve been with other girls.”
He nodded.
“Well, I haven’t.”
“I know. And that’s why I’d never push you into anything.”
“It’s not pushing me,” she clarified. “I care about you, and I want it. But I also know there’s more to it…”
“Bonding,” Ryan supplied.
“Right.”
“For what it’s worth, I already can’t imagine my life without you.” He took her hands. “I want you to know that I’m ready to take that step whenever you are—whether that’s tomorrow or years from now. I’m not going anywhere.”
She stretched onto her toes and kissed him, releasing his hands so she could reach around his neck. They savored each other for a minute before parting, slightly breathless.
“I’m not gonna lie,” Ryan said into her chestnut hair, “it’s becoming increasingly difficult to stop here.”
I know that feeling. She smiled up at him. “I do love you, Ryan. It’ll be soon—I just want to wrap my head around a few more things first.”
“I love you, too.” He gave he
r another light kiss.
The words of affirmation they had first exchanged several months prior weren’t spoken aloud often due to their shared quarters, but Raena always felt the adoration in his mental tone. She considered herself incredibly lucky to have such a caring and attentive partner.
Ryan took a step back from her. “So, right, I think we were supposed to be reading something.”
“Yes, that.” Raena sighed. “All right, let’s dive in.”
They settled into the chairs around the conference table—with Raena opting to prop up her feet on one of the empty seats—and began reading on their handhelds.
The reading materials provided a survey of the years following the Bakzen War and the attempts to seal the rift. Teams of Agents had been working together for more than twenty years to re-weave the fabric of space where threads had been rended from their natural pathways. The rift was a wound that needed to be healed. What the materials did not cover, however, was how the rift was created in the first place, and why, if it was such a ghastly mar on their reality, they’d take students to tour it.
“Something doesn’t add up,” Raena commented to Ryan after she’d finished reading.
Ryan glanced up from his handheld, apparently not quite to the end yet, but he nodded. “I’m guessing there’s no profound conclusion that wraps everything up with a nice bow.”
“Quite the opposite. I’m frankly not sure why this many resources are being dumped into sealing the rift. Based on everything I’d heard before and what’s reiterated in these materials, spatial rifts do exist naturally, though on a much smaller scale, and they’ll self-correct over time. If we just left it alone, it’s not going to get any worse.”
“And traveling into it doesn’t seem like it’d help the healing process.”
“It actually actively sets it back,” Raena said. “I checked one of the citations in the last chapter, and that pointed to a report about how subspace jumps near a newly repaired rift corridor can re-tear the spatial fabric. They’ll send a team in after us to re-stitch the frayed threads caused by our presence.”
Ryan frowned. “That makes zero sense why we’d take a field trip here.”
“It has to be more than just viewing a war monument.”
“But what?”
Raena thought about it. “Maybe there’s something that can be done or seen in the rift that’s not possible anywhere else?”
“Such as…?”
“Something with our abilities, maybe? With the heightened energy in the rift,” she speculated.
“That’s as good an explanation as any,” Ryan replied. “I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”
They returned to the common room and found that the chairs near Jason were now occupied by his roommates, so they selected a pair of plush chairs with a good view out one of the viewing windows along the back wall of the common room.
Fifteen minutes later, the view outside the window changed from the light of subspace to the most bizarre sight Raena had ever witnessed.
At first, it appeared to be a normal spacescape with an expanse of stars in every direction. But upon closer inspection, everything was… off. It was almost like looking at an old double exposed photograph with a ghost image, where the stars were only an echo of their full form.
Her brow knit. “This is so weird.”
“And do you feel that?” Ryan asked.
Raena nodded. The air around her almost hummed, charged with much more energy relative to the environment of normal space. She tested herself ever so slightly with nudging one of the empty chairs nearby, willing it to shift position on the floor. It responded to her silent will as if she’d given the action her full attention. “This is incredible,” she said to Ryan.
“I feel like I could do anything,” he agreed.
Raena was about to test a scaled-back version of that theory when the room suddenly silenced. She looked over at the entry doorway and saw her father standing with Michael.
“Thank you for accompanying us here today,” Wil said. “As I’m sure you’ve surmised, we’re now inside the rift.”
“Why does it look so strange?” Nora asked.
“It’s a product of the rift’s position between subspace and normal space,” Wil explained. “What you are seeing are elements of our physical reality bleeding through to this plane. You won’t ever be able to witness people or ships, but something on the scale of a star or planet has a powerful enough signature that its presence can be detected here. The gravity wells aren’t as pronounced as in normal space, but any pilot needs to be careful when navigating through the rift.”
“Why did you bring us here?” Jason asked from the couch, jumping straight to the point, as usual.
Wil nodded. “I know it doesn’t seem like there’s a lot to see here, but the rift has some unique properties. We won’t always have it at our disposal, so I wanted to take advantage of it while it’s still here.”
“If it’s so handy and special, then why are you trying to get rid of it?” Leon asked.
“Because as great as it is, it’s also a poison,” Wil replied solemnly. “You can spend some time here now with no long-term ill effects, but prolonged time in the rift will make it nearly impossible to feel fulfilled in normal space. The power is intoxicating. We need to seal it while we can, because sooner or later someone would try to possess it and rip it wide open again. Doing so has the potential to cause a cascade effect throughout the fabric of space, and we can’t begin to speculate about the negative effects that might cause.”
“Our presence here isn’t helping with that healing,” Jason pointed out.
“No, but it does yield invaluable information about your future as Agents.” Wil smiled slightly. “You see, while in the rift, you will be able to glimpse your future abilities.”
Except I’ve already witnessed some crazy things in normal space, Raena thought to herself. What more will I be able to do here?
“So, we’re here to be tested?” Jason clarified.
“Not a test, exactly,” Wil replied. “It’s more to gather some data about how we can best guide you in your advancements.”
“How will you evaluate us?” questioned Raena.
“That,” her father replied, “requires a bit of a demonstration.”
The echoed starscape outside shifted while the Vanquish changed position. As the ship turned, Raena saw a darkness at the edge of her view into the surrounding space, where the stars suddenly ended.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“The edge of the rift,” Wil explained. “The easiest way to view your inner abilities is to link with the energy you manipulate when exercising those skills—and what better way than to directly interact with that fundamental energy network underlying our reality?”
He gazed out the window. “The aim here is to join in the healing of the rift. You must detect the frayed threads and return them to their natural state. The approach you take to this task will reveal much about your innate aptitude.”
Leon and Ned exchanged glances. “Isn’t that normally done in groups?”
“Yes, in groups of four, typically,” Wil confirmed. “You’ll be attempting it just with me.”
“All right…. So, how do Agents work together to make the repairs?” Adaline asked.
“It’s easiest if I just show you,” Wil replied.
Raena expected him to call on her, but to her surprise, he said, “Ryan, care to join me?”
Ryan glanced at Raena, then rose from his chair and stepped forward. “Sure.”
“Now, I know not all of you have experience focusing telekinetic energy, but my understanding is that you’ve been over the basic principles of observing the use of abilities?” Wil said, casting an eye toward Michael.
“Yes,” Michael stated. “But I think it’s now time for the big reveal.”
Raena perked up. Reveal of what?
Wil smiled. “Very well. This would be an easy exercise with Junior Agents, but without
advanced visualization skills in electromagnetic patterns, it’d be challenging for you to see how the threads are woven together. For that reason, we have devised a bit of a visual aid.”
Michael walked over to a storage cabinet in the side wall of the common room and produced a domed object the size of a dinner plate. He approached the bank of windows along the back wall with Wil and placed the dome on a low table between two chairs.
“This is a specialized holoprojector,” Wil explained. “Back during the war, we came up with a method to relay telepathic perceptions back through a ship’s computer and use it for visualization. The device here is a simplified version of that visualization processor.”
“It will let us see what you see?” Raena asked.
“Yes.” Wil’s attention lingered on her for several moments longer than the reply warranted. He then turned to Michael. “At this early stage in your training, it’s unfair to draw direct comparisons in capability. Your abilities will emerge at different rates, and that has no bearing on your future potential. For that reason, we’d like to meet with each of you individually.”
I don’t think that’s the only reason, Raena realized. They don’t want the others to know what I can do—or what Jason can do. Suddenly, it made sense why Ryan had been selected.
“Still,” Wil continued, “it’s easier to only have to explain the process once. Are you still okay modeling the activity?” he asked Ryan.
Ryan nodded. “No problem.”
“Good.” Wil waved his hand over the dome on the table and it lit up with a blue ring around the base of its perimeter. “Join me over here,” he instructed.
When Ryan was standing on the other side of the device from Wil, a telepathic connection formed between them, viewed as a silver conduit in Raena’s mind’s eye. She detected a telepathic conversation but was unable to listen in.
A moment later, both of them stared out the window and a holographic image materialized above the dome, depicting a grid of silvery blue threads against a black backdrop. Several threads were gathered together in a tight bundle with frayed edges.
“This is a visualization of a segment of the spatial tear we know as the rift,” Wil explained. “The task is to return the treads to their natural place, which will, in turn, seal the rift in the designated area.”
