by Debbie Behan
‘You’re kidding me! A high-tea party!’ She nudged Bree as they trotted together past them and up to the teapot house. Both girls held back a loud shriek of incredible disbelief. Not even Cassie had warned them of what to expect and both girls turned to her. Cassie chuckled as she trotted past them, her head held high, at home with this weirdness.
Their horses came to a halt, Bree almost falling off due to leaning over too far while she whispered how surreal it was. Both stifled their amusement as Caitlin steadied her and received a sour look from Axon as he and Rory dismounted. Both men were very serious, which made the girls refrain from any more skylarking. It wasn’t polite to poke fun at the locals.
While Axon, Kayden and Rory went to speak to the ruler of the constellation, Woody gave the order for them to have a stretch but not to go too far from the horses. Both girls dismounted, and Caitlin’s amusement skyrocketed as weird dog-like critters appeared and nuzzled up to them for a pat. Woody pulled out his sword, scaring them. ‘They are star critters, called dogitters, but you have to be wary of them as they change shape and the other head that appears will give you a nasty sting if they bite.’
They felt sorry for the little brown fluff-balls that tripped on long floppy ears. That was until they grew a distorted second head with a set of vicious, snapping teeth. The yapping critters attempted without success to nip at Woody before they ran off.
Strangely enough, Caitlin felt comfortable here amongst it all. The dogitters did not worry her at all, but she refrained from encouraging them further to listen to Woody’s teachings regarding life on these planets. The session was interrupted by the return of the three negotiators
No one mentioned to Kayden that Bree’s horse had a limp and yet he knew and bent to check the mare’s hoof. He pulled out the offending splinter, and brushed off his pants as he stood.
‘Mrs Lekett—’ Caitlin now knew the ruler’s name— ‘was pleased to see so many of us here to protect her home world. The Leketts are a peace-loving community and keep no weapons here for any line of defence. The Centureans, their neighbours, have put up shields to safeguard their own world. Unfortunately they didn’t have the resources to help the Lekett family out too.’ With that, he lifted Cassie on to her horse.
He glanced around, ‘In other words we have a lot to do so get a move on.’ He sounded frustrated none of his team had begun to mount. Cassie leaned over to him, smiling. ‘They are waiting for the rest of it, sweetie. You know they love her so-called tea.’
‘Okay, the Lekett family are having a tea party with some of the rulers later, to celebrate if they win. We are invited!’
‘Yahoo!’ Woody and his men let out hollers and cheers, slapping hands as they climbed on to their horses.
Never had Caitlin seen grown men so excited over tea. She must make a sure fine pot.
Kayden turned to Axon. ‘I’ll leave it up to you Axon. You may have other plans for your team later.’
‘Haven’t been to one of Mrs Lekett’s parties in a very long time, and I believe as you do that to mingle and socialise with the rulers, is a vital essence of camaraderie when engaging in peace-talks with them at a later date.’ Axon eyed Rory, his mouth twisted in a grin. ‘What do you think, commander?’
‘My first thought was, No! As a few of my team have been mucking about, but, I guess I could turn a blind eye if a certain someone, the ringleader, would start behaving.’ He turned to Caitlin, and his look had a tone of, quit your nonsense.
Caitlin had trusted Rory never to split their team up, but that was before Bree. Would he dump me now things have changed? She had already grown to love what she saw so far and that thought scared her. In an attempt to loosen him up a bit she straightened her posture and her left hand came up and saluted. ‘Yes boss!’ In all this strangeness, could she keep her trap shut? Agreement to try was all she could promise for now.
Caitlin caught Kayden’s look of surprise. She had already worked out that Kayden saw her as a bit of a wag and he definitely looked a slight bit guilty for poking fun at her. His stirring now had Rory getting stuck into her.
Rory helped her up on the horse. ‘Don’t make me regret agreeing to stay, Cait.’
Kayden jumped in, leaving Caitlin’s mouth open, not giving her a chance to answer and get into any more trouble. ‘It’s settled then.’ He nodded to Woody and Rory. ‘Time to get your teams ready for travel, men.’ He gave a sharp and direct order.
****
Back up in the sky above, Caitlin was happy with where Kayden had positioned her and Cassie. They were out of the line of the Supernova, yet close enough to watch all of the action. She gave Bree a wave after her friend settled into position with her equal, Conor. Both girls from the day they’d met had been drawn to each other. They’d hung out after work, shopped for hours at time, gone out to clubs at night and trained side by side with Rory and the boys, every chance they got. They were fit, happy and the best of mates until Rory scored with Bree. Now Caitlin was unsure where their friendship lay. For now, they were teammates and all of her personal concerns had to take a back seat. She could see how nervous Bree looked and was worried for her.
Axon, Kayden and Rory were huddled to her left, chatting. Caitlin figured they were plotting a course of action if plan A didn’t pan out. Cassie had already told her how unpredictable it could get out there. Caitlin watched Rory with a careful eye, knowing he would absolutely love all the power given to run his own team in conjunction with Kayden. She just hoped it didn’t give him too big a head. Going crook at her in front of everyone was just about the last straw. If Kayden hadn’t jumped in she would have told him just what she really thought. They may be friends and he may now be her boss, but he needn’t think he was going to start treating her differently. She had forgiven him for leaving her at the club to be with Bree, but this latest attack on her was pushing it.
Disturbed by the message Kayden sent them through telepathy, Caitlin returned her thoughts to his orders. Cassie, hold your position or both of you could end up in the thick of it and don’t move without taking Caitlin with you, okay.
She didn’t move a muscle and yet he put his thumbs up. ‘You can talk back. Can I do that too?’ Caitlin asked her.
‘Secret squirrel stuff Cait. The lads don’t know I can do it. If they did, they would try to tap into it. It’s hard enough for Kayden to concentrate as it is without hearing everyone’s thoughts.’
‘But he can hear my thoughts. I don’t get it.’
‘He talks to one or all of us at any one time and switches some on and some off. You have linked to me so he can hear you too.’ Cassie noted Caitlin’s look of dismay and smiled. ‘It’s okay. Rory can’t. Kayden hasn’t let him have that power yet. It’s just too dangerous unless you know what you’re doing so keep it on the low down that you even know about it.’
‘Can Kayden hear me all the time? Sheesh I’ve been running off at the mouth since I got here.’
‘He can turn you off and most likely has by now. Don’t worry, he thinks you’re funny.’
Caitlin sat quiet without thought for a while, listening to Kayden’s orders to everyone. She and Cassie were to hold steady until needed and when they were, their job was to redirect the Supernova to a location rendering it harmless to other home worlds, allowing time for the rest of the team to give chase and extinguish it. Kayden kept reassuring the others it was not a dangerous situation unless the Supernova exploded before they could put it out. The trainees were to stick to their equals, but not intervene, just observe the part they would play when they were on their own.
The Supernova came in sight and it was then Caitlin concentrated on Cassie, watching the technique she used of closing her eyes to help build up her power. Caitlin’s immortal gifts were similar to hers, so she was interested to see what her equal did to control the force and use it as a weapon. Kayden had already told her she would be able to do exactly as Cassie did once she had a couple of sessions with Woody. However, as with everything new, Ca
itlin was like a sponge, soaking up what she could, always learning, always observing and already getting the gist of how Cassie worked. She may have been a slow starter in life but since with Rory and his team, she was hell bent on never missing a trick or allowing a chance to learn pass her by.
A sudden movement by Cassie startled Caitlin as her arms opened out in front of her, hands only a few inches apart, and the glare of a laser flare shot from her hands. The force catapulted the lightning source towards the Supernova, the electrical charge spread around the lower half of the sphere, lifting it high into the sky above. The speed and accuracy of the hit floored Caitlin and all the new team members. The split second it moved, Kayden’s team sped off after it, Rory’s team in pursuit, keeping close to their equals. Even though they were now only a blot in the sky, Caitlin could still feel and hear a loud rumble from man, beast and the weapon that fought to destroy anything in its path.
Cassie and Caitlin, hold your positions. Kayden’s order came through loud and clear. Conor and Jason, get out of there! It’s too unstable.
Kayden was having problems extinguishing the globe of burning gas that began to break apart. The lines that appeared on Cassie’s forehead had Caitlin worried. A jolt from Caitlin’s horse had her hold on tightly as Kayden had them race to the rescue. ‘What the hell!’ Caitlin scolded Kayden as the mare turned a tight right and shot straight up, nearly tossing her off. ‘Give me a flipping bit of notice next time, you rat!’ She screamed the last words as she steadied herself at the same time putting Cassie off and making her slip a bit as she giggled at her.
‘I’m used to it. Just get ready though. This is major if he’s pulling us up there this fast.’
As if Cassie had tapped into her, Caitlin felt her own mind controlled as her own powers kicked in, the heat within her growing like a hot flush. ‘Cassie, have you got control of Cait too? I need both of you! This damned thing is about to blow. Shit! He cursed.
Got it Kayden, step aside and let us girls have a crack at it! Cassie sent to him by telepathy. Caitlin was shocked she could hear everything she said too. Man, this chick has balls. Her thoughts flitted as the danger became apparent. The supernova was on fire and exploding shards of steel. Massive flares shot out from all angles, the giant star, hot and threatening, scaring the life out of her. Never had she felt the raw emotion of such danger as she stared death in the face. How good was her equal, how good was she?
Cassie eyed her, listening to her every thought. We’re about to find out. This is where we sort out the men from the boys. Hold on girlfriend, I need you to copy me exactly. Can you feel me?
You bet! But what are you packing me with?
Steady your mind, trust me and do as I do.
Caitlin nodded. She would learn all this but for today, she just wanted to live. She trusted that Cassie had done this many times over and so she would do as she was commanded. Breathing deeply, she allowed Cassie control of her mind to do what her equal did best, to target and eradicate all dangerous matter regardless of size or mass.
All teams clear, Cassie; it’s all yours. Kayden sounded calm, his faith in Cassie obvious in the tone of his message to her. Show that sucker who’s boss.
Cassie took over the mission. Cait! Now! Caitlin felt her eyes close and in her mind, saw the Supernova and measurements that tallied to the amount of energy needed to destroy it. The way Caitlin saw it she could reach only to half the energy needed to destroy it and hoped Cassie had a little extra. They needed to vaporise it completely before it hit the home world it headed towards. Together, in the same split second, Caitlin threw her arms out, as did Cassie, letting go of the pressure growing inside her. The energy was so intense she ejected it out with force, tossing it towards the offending mass. The two streams of light hit it so hard; the backdraft hurled both horses and girls in a circle as they spun out of control. Caitlin and Cassie used every ounce of strength to steady their stallions and finally stopped to view the damage.
A blue electric charge crackled and snapped at the circle, covering its mass and preventing it from any further bursts out into the atmosphere. The death star exploded, the remains literally crushed into nothingness as only dust remained.
The girls slapped hands. ‘Well done Cait, you can ride with me anytime.’ Cassie’s face was alive and glowing happily. ‘Sure you don’t want to get rid of hunky Axon and join us?’
‘Hell no! Kayden’s a damned maniac. You can have him. I nearly lost my lunch back there. Your boss is one scary piece of work; wouldn’t work with the man if you paid me. Hey do I get paid for this?’ She continued the joking around with Cassie, her mood on a high, until Kayden reached them.
‘I can see I better split you two up tonight.’ With a shake of his head and a smile that etched the corners of his mouth, he turned to where the supernova was. ‘Job well done, ladies! Now get your arses back to the Teapot before I slap you both for hanging it on me. I heard every word,’ he said, his mood improved now there was no danger. ‘Oh and Cait, you had better hold on girl because I’m about to make it a lot worse for you after those cracks.’
A hearty laugh bellowed from him before the horses jolted off with a jerk, the unexpected movement and speed almost tossing Caitlin off the back.
‘Shysters!’ she called out in a continued shriek.
Cassie kept up with her and cracked up at the look on her face as she battled to stay on her mount.
‘You’re a funny girl Cait. Do you ever shut up?’
Cait ignored her, continuing the onslaught of insult at Kayden. ‘The ratbag. I’m telling you now, when we stop I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.’ She squealed as he put her in another spin, her abusive language getting a little livelier.
Cassie laughed harder at Caitlin. She nearly fell off her own horse. Kayden came to the rescue, helping Cassie to regain control, disciplining her for encouraging Caitlin’s behaviour by laughing at her.
Cassie tried to defend herself, wiping away the tears. ‘She’s the one doing it. She’s absolutely a mess, a feral and funny as all hell.’
Kayden turned to Caitlin. ‘Damned girl, you’re going to give Axon a coronary when he has to deal with you on his own. He hasn’t got my sense of humour you know. I best quit stirring you up. Let’s just call a truce because I’m not giving in and you’re going to wear it off Rory again with that gob of yours if we don’t do something.’
‘What, he can hear me?’
‘I’ve relayed everything.’
‘Are you serious?’
Her serious no nonsense expression caught him off guard. The cheerful light in his eyes turned to concern. It made her laugh so hard she had to take in gulps of air to calm herself.
‘Gotcha!’ she put her hand out to him, ‘Deal!’ Think we’re even now. You should have seen your face.’ They shook hands.
‘Why you little –? Okay, guess I deserved that. But, no more!’
‘Promise,’ she crossed her fingers behind her back using her other hand. In Caitlin’s dictionary no more meant no more until next time.
Okay men, enough fun. Let’s go celebrate. Our girls just did all our work for us so we deserve one of Mrs Lekett’s brews while they go pretty themselves up. They look like chimneysweepers! Come on scrubbers. He had to get the last laugh in, the teams enjoying the commander’s sense of humour as they made their way back to the Teapot’s home world.
Suddenly the feel of a power serge alerted Caitlin that Cassie was up to something. Caitlin twisted her body, turning slightly in the saddle to see what. Cassie was about to knock Kayden off his horse for his comment and even though funny, Caitlin tried to warm him. At the same time Cassie’s hands thrust towards Kayden with an energy force and her warning was too late. The magical beam that resembled a burst of light shot from her faster than Kayden could move and it knocked him off Zoltan. His horse let out a snort of disapproval as it flew to retrieve its rider. The teams laughed so hard they could barely see through the tears of hysteria.
‘Call me a scrubber.’ Cassie eyed him trying hard not to show amusement as he remounted his horse with one leap.
Kayden, back on Zoltan, gave an order, forcing all the horses to take off at a high-speed which, caused most of the team members to fall off and it was a mad scramble to pull themselves on to a horse that neared them, many now riding double.
Teach you lot to laugh at the boss and that undisciplined wife of mine is going to cop it when we stop. Kayden laughed with them all.
Sagittarius
On the way back to the Teapot, Kayden lost the plot and pulled Cassie onto Zoltan with him so he could keep mucking around with her while she was in such a funny mood, giving Rory control.
Caitlin settled down. She knew when to behave and it was times like this Rory looked for her support and she wanted him to know he still had it. His nervousness was obvious to her. She rode silently beside him as he used telepathy for the first time, gaining confidence, making his whole team proud of him. Landing both teams safely, she noticed that even Axon had a pleased expression, shaking Rory’s hand when they dismounted. He patted his back and threw an arm around him while quietly congratulating him on taking control of not only both teams, but the terribly undisciplined one.
Caitlin knew he meant her and rolled her eyes as she passed him. ‘Got a problem Boss, tell someone who cares,’ she said, as she flicked her hand in the air, swaggered her hips and walked off with her nose high in the air.
Bree and Lisha caught up with her, lifting her in a sandwich bear hug. They were so excited with what she had done.
Meanwhile, after letting Cassie go with Conor, Kayden set off with Woody, Jason, Rory, Nate and Jarvis to talk to the prince. ‘We won’t be long, gang.’ He spoke generally to them. ‘It’s best if we are able to resolve the war before discussing it with Klim. For the newbies, Klim is the guardian of the Milky Way and should be arriving here anytime soon.’ He turned to Axon. ‘You sure you want to stay.’
