by Lori Beery
“Is the image right?” she questioned with her brow furrowed.
“It is what I requested,” I said smiling. “Go ahead and make-it-real.”
She nodded. Her eyes loss their focus for an instant and a glass appeared on both shelves.
“Very good,” I complimented her. “Let’s see if you can specify your image. Beltrain wears a ring on his little finger. Try to add his ring to your image.”
“Okay”, she said nodding. She scrunched up her face as she worked on altering the hand in her depiction. In short order, she accomplished her task. She looked up at me and asked, “Should I continue?” At my nod she did. The glass on Jacarr’s shelf vanished. Only Beltrain had a glass on the shelf he held.
“Excellent”, I said nodding. “Jacarr, Beltrain come take your seats”. They returned to the table and sat down. Beltrain carried the glass with him and placed it on the table. “Lucera how are you doing?” I asked her. “It looked like you were struggling a little.”
She swallowed visibly before she responded, “I am getting a little tired and I was worried the hand in my image wasn’t very good. It didn’t seem to matter. I did have trouble with Beltrain’s ring. I didn’t remember what it looked like exactly.”
“That didn’t seem to be too big of a factor,” observed Beltrain.
“Perhaps, because Jacarr doesn’t wear a ring,” suggested Marleah.
“Good point,” I said acknowledging her statement. After a pause I continued, “Let us shift gears. Marleah, would you go fetch the crystal?” She nodded and left the table. “We are going to work on drawing power from an outside source. It is a technique that will allow you to complete a job without draining yourself to threshold or dangerous levels. It is a skill taught to healers to prevent the loss of the patient or the healer.” Marleah returned. She handed me the crystal and then returned to her seat. Once she was settled, I placed the crystal on the table’s center and continued speaking. “This crystal has a rhombo-cubic lattice structure. It takes three of these structures to form the characteristic hexagonal shape of the whole crystal. Energy is stored in its bonds and can be held in its structure as light. We are familiar with this crystal because it glows when we nudge a few of the bonds like so.” A soft glow began to emanate from the crystal’s center. “Depending on the strength of the nudge, the radiance spreads throughout the crystal as it attempts to even out the increased vibrations.” As I spoke, the light spread from the center out towards the crystal’s edges. It was an obvious brilliance but just so. “It is this light energy that we are interested in today. We want to bleed off this energy and use it instead of our own personal energy. It is generally easier to substitute sources when your own is somewhat depleted.”
“You mean when you are tired like I am?” Lucera asked.
“Exactly”, I acknowledged. Looking away from Lucera I said, “Jacarr, KwinJai, please set the wards. Enclose this room only.” Both men rose from the table and went about the necessary process. Shortly, I felt the familiar tingle as their shields spread below and above me respectively, on their ways to flow together about mid-wall. With the suite’s main room lined with the shield, Jacarr and KwinJai reseated themselves at the table.
“Are you expecting trouble?” asked Lucera her brow furrowed.
“It is a precaution,” I answered gently. “I do not want to disturb the operation of the Paradise with her crew trying to pinpoint a power anomaly,” I explained. Looking into her concerned eyes I asked, “Are you ready?” At her nod I continued, “I am going to demonstrate how to draw from an external source as I build a tree from these coins.” I held three coins in my fingers so they could see them. Placing them on the table, I began to draw a tiny thread of light from the crystal. As the light trickled, I commenced deconstructing a coin. Moving the atoms above the smallest coin, I began constructing the tree. First, dark roots spread across the coin. Then, a stem sprouted with leaves of the lighter colored metal. The stem grew in length and thickness with branches jutting from it. Leaves burst from buds and opened out. I built the tree allowing it to ‘grow’ mimicking the process a real tree would follow. Shortly all three coins had been incorporated into the tree. It was very small and very detailed. I kept the flow of light going and allowed the tree to ‘decay’ back into the three original coins. Once I was back to my starting point, I stopped the flow of light. I looked up at my Hexacle, “Questions? Comments?” I asked.
“That was cool!” exclaimed KwinJai. The rest murmured assent.
“Can I try?” asked Dulain.
“Of course. You can all try. But I want Lucera to try the technique first,” I told them. Turning to look at Lucera I asked, “You are still feeling a little tired, right?”
With a visible swallow Lucera nodded. “Can you locate where you are tired?” I questioned.
“It feels like it is inside here above and behind my eyes,” she answered, placing her left index finger across her eyebrow and the thumb of the same hand just beyond her temple. That location matched where I felt this type of tiredness.
“Is it behind both eyes?” I asked her, trying to better define the area.
“Yes,” she said.
Nodding I said, “You are doing well. Can you identify when and where you reach for your personal power?”
“I think I’m reaching here,” she said indicating the same area as before. “I reach for it right after I begin the make-it-real step.”
“Okay, when we get to the make-it-real step, I want you to reach for the crystal. But first let us practice the technique. Please take my image of a candle and make-it-real.” She did. The candle appeared on the table in front of her. “Good”, I complemented her. “Your task will be to light the candle. At this point I do not want you to use the make-it-real process. I want you to light the candle using the crystal as your power source. So, as you gently pull a thread of light toward the candle, use the thread to ignite the wick.” She began pulling light from the crystal. A thick rope moved toward her. “Keep it near the center. Yes, good, now see if you can make it a finer cord.” The rope became like twine. “That’s it. Make it finer still. More like a thread.” The twine narrowed to yarn. As she continued to work at it, the yarn thinned to a filament. “Excellent, now use it to light the candle wick.” She did it! She used the light strand to light the candle. “Nice Job,” I said with a smile. “Do you have it or do you want to repeat the exercise?”
“I want to repeat the exercise,” she answered.
“Okay, blow out the candle and begin when you are ready,” I instructed.
She blew out the candle. This time, she started pulling a thread of light. She lit the candle. The entire process was done with ease.
“Very nice,” I praised her. The rest of the Hexacle clapped their hands. She beamed. “Are you comfortable enough to image using the crystal?” I asked her.
“I think so,” she said in a whisper.
“Okay, alter the candle image by making the candle pink and adding a flame; a small flame to the wick,” I suggested. She complied. “Start pulling the light strand. Then, execute the make-it-real process.” She drew a light strand from the crystal. She made the image real. This time I saw her reach for the strand before I found myself at the end of the process. In front of her was a lit, pink candle.
“Yes,” I responded enthusiastically. Again the others clapped and cheered her success.
“Blow out the candle and do it again but make the candle purple,” I requested.
She complied easily. She beamed with well-deserved pride.
“Very nice,” I complemented her. “It looked like it was easier the second time.”
“It was”, she admitted happily. “The practice helps,” she added with a shrug.
“Yes, it does,” I agreed. “Dulain, do you want to try drawing from an external power source?”
“Yes,” he replied excited. Dulain accomplished the candle lighting exercise on the first try, just as Lucera had. He struggled less when it cam
e to pulling a tiny thread of light from the crystal. He then tried the tree growing exercise. He found that one a lot more difficult. Sorting the elements by color and placing them in the correct place to mimic actual tree growth was harder than he thought. It took him several attempts to make it flow correctly.
After his triumphant tree exercise, I had each of the others try drawing power from the external power source. They all succeeded with the candle lighting experiment. Beltrain and KwinJai had a little trouble. Both of them had no trouble tugging a light strand from the crystal. Instead, they had trouble reaching for the external power source. They discovered their personal power source was not in the same place as the rest of us. We found that Beltrain’s was located above his hearing mechanism while KwinJai’s rested below his hearing mechanism and on top of his spinal cord. Once they each realized that, they easily accomplished their task.
Only Marleah and Jacarr attempted the tree experiment. They successfully accomplished it. It did take Jacarr a little while to get the color scheme correct. But other than that he got the process very quickly. Marleah worked slowly and got it perfect on her first attempt. In terms of time, Jacarr used less. In each case, my coins ended up the same as when I placed them on the table. I retrieved them.
“Alright, congratulations everyone. You all succeeded in drawing power from an external energy source,” I praised them. “I think that’s enough for now. Jacarr, KwinJai, please remove the shield.” They rose from the table and brought down the ward. “Thank you,” I said when they had finished. “We have some time to get ready for dinner. Please remember we are meeting with Captain Lawrence afterwards.”
“What are we wearing?” asked Lucera in chorus with Marleah and KwinJai. Their surprised expressions brought chuckles from the rest of us.
Still smiling, I suggested, “Hexacle garb.” Everyone nodded and departed to get ready.
Chapter 6
The meal had been excellent. The service was prompt and amicable. We lingered over our dessert and kahvi, a drink Jacarr choose when coffee was not available. My Hexacle and I were enjoying each other’s company. By some marvel, we had been seated together at the same table. While we may not have learned if any of our fellow passengers knew anything about the Altera System, we did get a chance to relax. That alone was a nice change.
“Nickoli, it appears we are keeping the servers from finishing their tasks,” said Beltrain softly. Peering around the hall, I saw that we were the last guests. The servers were obviously waiting but they made no move to hurry us along.
“So it does,” I responded. “Is everyone ready?” I asked looking around the table. Lucera still had a bite of dessert on her plate and Jacarr had some kahvi left. Since Lucera put her fork down, KwinJai scooped up the last of her dessert for himself. He smiled mischievously as he swallowed it. Jacarr drained his cup. “Ready? We should be going,” I said as I stood. The others came to their feet. We moved across the hall toward the doors. As we passed the servers I called, “Thank you very much. We enjoyed the meal. Sorry to have delayed your work.”
They turned to us with smiles and waves. “You’re welcome,” “Glad you enjoyed it,” and, “No worries”, they chorused as we made our way out of the hall.
At the end of the corridor from the dining hall doors, a crewman waited. He drew himself to attention as we drew nearer to him. He was tall with short brown hair, and his uniform was crisp and bright. He held his hat in his left hand.
Stepping into the hallway in front of us, he said, “Good evening, Lord Hexator and Hexacle. I am Ensign Parker.”
“Good evening, Ensign Parker,” I responded.
“If you will follow me, I will take you to Captain Lawrence,” he said.
“Thank you,” I replied. “Please proceed.”
Ensign Parker led us up a service stairway. We walked up four decks before he took us along several hallways to, what turned out to be, the Captain’s Dining Room. It was a nicely appointed room with a large round ornate table in its center. Nine seats surrounded it.
In the room farthest from the door, three men clustered talking softly. I recognized the captain with his dark hair, greying at the temples, and square, strong jaw visible in profile. He wore his Imperial dress blues, as did the other two. The taller one, although bald, appeared to be the next oldest. He had a fit build and carried himself with confidence. I assumed he was the first officer. The shorter one looked to be the youngest. He had short black hair and a slender build. He was probably the doctor. I could not confirm their identities because all three of them were shielded, externally. Humans with mechanical shielding was an odd but more comfortable situation. The obvious question was ‘Why were they using the shielding?’ Did they have something to hide? Or, were they attempting to be thoughtful? I broadcasted to my Hexacle that the shielding was being used and that this was going to be an equal interview, meaning I was counting on them to be alert and observant.
Ensign Parker knocked on the open door to get the attention of the three officers.
“Ah, there you are! Please come in Hexator Nickoli and Hexacle”, said Captain Lawrence as he stood to face the entry way.
“Thank you, Captain,” I replied as I moved into the room enough to allow my Hexacle to file in behind me. They went three to my right and three to my left. “I hope we have not kept you waiting too long. I apologize that we lost track of time while we enjoyed our evening meal.”
“Do not be concerned, Lord Hexator. We did not specify a definite time only the vague ‘after the evening meal’,” he stated. “And that is precisely the current time.”
“You are kind,” I acknowledged, inclining my head to him. I felt like I did when I arrived later than the prearranged meeting time with my grandfather. The difference was this man was gracious where my grandfather would not have been. Pushing the feeling away, I stepped up to the table. Meeting the Captain’s gaze, I gestured to the bald man beside him and said, “This must be your first officer.”
“Indeed it is. This is Commander Grant Fisher,” replied the Captain. Commander Fisher smiled and inclined his head during his introduction. “And this is Doctor Marc Paris,” stated Captain Lawrence as he gestured toward the other man. The doctor, also, inclined his head while the Captain named him.
“We are pleased to meet you,” I responded looking from the Commander to the doctor. As I brought my gaze back to the Captain, I introduced my Hexacle starting furthest to my left and working toward my right. The Captain, the Commander, and the doctor all nodded to each member of my Hexacle as I presented them.
When I had finished, the Captain said, “Please be seated.”
We sat at the chair nearest to each of us. The captain took the seat across from me. The commander sat to his right and the doctor to his left. When we were settled the captain asked, “Would you like anything to drink? Water, soda, and kahvi are available.”
“Thank you, Captain. I would like water please,” I replied so that my Hexacle would make their choice if they so desired.
“I would like water as well,” requested Lucera somewhat shyly.
“As would I,” said Beltrain.
“May I have a kahvi?” asked Jacarr. This did not surprise me. Jacarr liked his hot, stimulating drink. I did wonder if he would get to sleep tonight.
“If you please, Ensign,” commanded the captain. The ensign quickly brought the beverages to us. When he finished the captain dismissed him with, “Thank you, Ensign. You may go.” Once the door closed the captain cleared his throat before saying, “As I said when we first met, we do not get such esteemed guests aboard the Paradise very often. May I ask why you are here?”
“Of course, Captain. We are traveling to our place of service,” I replied easily.
“And that would be?” he asked.
“The Altera System,” I answered. After a pause I added, “Dinave specifically.”
The Captain turned to his commander. They exchanged a long look. Then, the Commander’s brow furrowed as
he said just above a whisper, “That’s way out near the rim.”
“Yes it is,” said Beltrain who was seated next to the Commander.
Both the Captain and the Commander flicked their eyes to Beltrain then turned their gaze back to me. “You know, Hexator, pirate activity is on the rise out there, right?” questioned the Captain concerned. “We just got a report from Thendara Station about two separate convoys being attacked within four sectors of there. It appears the pirates are becoming bolder.”
“No, I was not aware of this development,” I responded. “Would it be possible for us to have access to this and any other reports concerning the sectors immediately around Thendara Station and beyond Thendara toward the Altera System?” I requested.
At a nod from the Captain, the Commander said, “We will provide you access to what we have.”
“We don’t have much beyond ten sectors of Thendara Station,” the captain warned.
“We appreciate any information you can give us,” I assured them.
“If you will excuse the Commander, he will go and make the necessary arrangements,” said the Captain. I nodded. The Commander exited the room. The Captain leaned back in his chair. He seemed to be pondering how to ask a question. Shortly, he leaned forward and slowly stated, “I am surprised that you are not traveling with any bodyguards. Why is that your highness?”
“So… my name gave me away did it?” I asked hoping to sidetrack his question.
“That and this,” he replied flipping a coin into the air. The orange rim glittered as it spun upward. It was an orzi, the Imperial coin that depicted the current Crown Prince.
I watched as the coin dropped back into his hand. When he caught it, I inquired, “May I see it?” Without preamble, he slid it across the table to me. I picked it up and inspected it. On the coin, there was the portrait of Crown Prince Joram on one side and the Imperial crown on the other, all encircled with the characteristic orange rim. “Ah, his Imperial Highness Joram. I have been told I resemble him,” I stated as I returned the coin to him.
