3013: SYNERGY: A 3013 Novella (3013: The Series)

by Laurie Roma

  “Poor Commander Jacobson. How dare people bother you with such mundane information,” Morgan mocked with a grin. “I have no sympathy for you. Compared to the amount of idiots I have to deal with, you have no reason to complain. Besides, most of the people you talk to everyday you can just order to leave you the hell alone.”

  “Very true. Or hide in my office like I’m doing now. I was out there earlier, and there were people everywhere.” Olivia shuddered comically. “I’m going to be so damn happy when this grand opening bullshit is over.”

  “I can’t wait to hear your speech for that.” Morgan tried to hold back her laughter when Olivia’s face paled slightly.

  “I…have to give a speech? You’re kidding, right?”

  “Nope. Not at all. You’re the commander here. You have to welcome everyone, and I don’t know, declare the space station officially open or something.”

  “Can’t I do that with a freaking memo?”

  “Not a chance. Speaking of memos,” Morgan began as her own wrist unit beeped. She looked down at the message and sighed. “I have to get going. Some of the off-loaders that recently arrive have space sickness and are out of commission for a few days. Director James offered me up as a temporary replacement to help do inventory in the storage areas as punishment for what happened last week.”

  “That man needs to needs to learn how to relax, or he’s not going to last long here. We’ve got enough shit to worry about located near this new planet we know practically nothing about. I don’t need a director that no one can work with here on X21.”

  “Everyone else gets along with him okay…he and I just seem to clash. He’s just one of those people that thinks I should be able to control my abilities better. You know, tough love to push me to my full potential,” Morgan said in a mockingly deep tone.

  “That’s just stupid.”

  “True, but I’ve dealt with it before. Some people don’t understand that my abilities work differently than other empaths.” She sighed. “At least I don’t have to deal with anymore people today. I’m tired of being nice.”

  “Suck it up, buttercup. Day’s not over yet.”

  “Don’t remind me,” Morgan moaned as she stood and zipped up her uniform jacket.

  “Go take a nap in one the storage areas like the rest of the off-loaders do.”

  Morgan laughed at that, and headed toward the entrance as the commander’s young, fresh-faced assistant appeared when the doors slid open.

  “I’m so sorry to bother you, Commander Jacobson. I was just notified by security that there’s been another…umm, incident at Asylum. You told me you wanted to be informed when—I mean, if it happened again.”

  “Damn it!” Olivia’s expression darkened as she slapped her palms down on the desk and rose to her feet. “I can’t get through one damn day without those two males trying to maim their customers. I swear I’m going to kill them this time!”

  Morgan wasn’t surprised that security had been notified…again, since the sanctuary was a hotspot of activity. After all, Asylum lived up to its name in spades. However, she was fascinated by the mix of anger and interest that flared within her friend as she ranted. A part of her felt bad that she was peeking into Olivia’s personal feelings, but then again, it’s not like she had a choice.

  She was friends with Zade Tavish, one of the two brothers that ran Asylum. The older brother, Axton, was intimidating as hell, but she respected him. The lower level of the sanctuary was probably the most secured and well-protected area on the space station, and that was where the three Tarin females were currently living. Still, the bar upstairs was a favored place for patrons to let loose and have fun. Since all Krytos sanctuary’s operated by their own set of rules, it seemed like the security force on the station still hadn’t figured out how to handle the Tavish brothers.

  “I’ve had enough of this shit!” Olivia raged as stormed out of her office.

  Morgan followed her furious friend out, then watched as Olivia stomped down the hallway. Her friend’s anger at the two Krytos brothers made her smile, and she couldn’t help to call out, “Suck it up, buttercup!”

  “Suck this.” Olivia’s hand shot up into the air.

  Morgan laughed when her friend held up her middle finger in an old human gesture that had lasted throughout the years. Feeling lighter, Morgan turned and headed down the hallway in the opposite direction. She wished she could have been at the sanctuary to watch the explosion when Olivia confronted the Krytos brothers, but she had responsibilities to deal with instead.

  A nap wasn’t a bad idea, Morgan thought with a sigh. Not that she’d really do that when she was supposed to be working. Maybe. She didn’t mind helping with inventory, though, and dealing with supplies was preferable to dealing with people at the moment. She might as well enjoy the peace and quiet while it lasted.

  Perhaps she should plan to get punished more in the future.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Nothing was wasted more than time.

  D’Aire Ambassador Orion D’Sil sighed to himself as he waited impatiently for their shuttle to enter the docking bay of Alpha Station: X21. It seemed like he’d spent countless hours waiting on other space stations and planet docking bays, so much so, that he wondered just how much of his life he’d wasted over the last few years.

  He ignored the sound of the voices of those around him. Usually, he only traveled with two friends who doubled as guards, but for the last few weeks, he had been joined by two more D’Aire males on his travels. Orion had allowed Ivan A’Gar and Lorn T’Mir to attend the grand opening event on the new space station with him since they were the two candidates that the Conclave—the group of advisors that governed the D’Aire race—had suggested as candidates to be the next ambassador to the Alliance.

  The D’Aire race had formed a cohesive bond with the Alliance since their first meeting, but they worked hard to keep that connection strong and lasting by having key representatives act as emissaries for each race. Orion knew the connection between the two races was something that was worth nurturing, and he was proud of the part he played in keeping that bond strong.

  D’Aire males and females were analytical, placing a high importance on logic. They made sure to never let their emotions rule their actions, unlike humans. Those differences made it difficult for many of the D’Aire to understand the elites they interacted with, but Orion believed that his people benefited from the connection they had with the humans, especially for those who found the keeper of their hearts. Because once a D’Aire found his or her keeper, they were as emotional as a human, driven by instincts and love.

  Orion’s lack of emotions had served him well in his duties, but as the years went by, he had begun to feel an emptiness inside that made it difficult to care about anything. It was something the D’Aire who didn’t find their keepers had to be cautious about, since they couldn’t relate to the complexities of emotional responses or sentimentality that went against logic. It was their burden to bear, and that was why Orion knew it was time to go home.

  He’d been tasked with assessing Ivan and Lorn’s suitability to replace him when he retired, and so far he wasn’t impressed with either of them. Ivan was a male that desperately needed to learn how to relax. He had a very rigid demeanor, which would surely clash with the elites that he would be working with if he got the position.

  The other male, Lorn, was the opposite. He was easy going, cheerful, and almost too accommodating. Perhaps it was because Orion was suspicious by nature, but something about Lorn’s attitude read false to him, which put his guard up. Not that the male had done anything specific. However, it seemed like Lorn went out of his way to act as he thought an ambassador should a little too much for Orion to believe him.

  Added to that, both males had an entitled air to them that made it difficult to like either of them. He wasn’t sure why Ivan or Lorn had been chosen as his potential replacements, but he knew that the other males came from families with a lot of influence back on th
e D’Aire home world, just as Orion did himself.

  At least, Orion’s family used to have influence…when they’d still been alive.

  Now, only he and his brother remained.

  Orion’s father used to be the leader of their clan, and the floating isle they lived on had been a peaceful, wonderful place. Their family had been the ones the others on the isle looked to for guidance and stability. But not all of the people who lived there were satisfied with their station in life or following someone else’s rule no matter how benevolent they were.

  A raid lead by insurgents had stormed the D’Sil’s palace, killing Orion’s father, mother and his two younger sisters. Many guards and extended family members had also been slain in the massacre, but Orion and his older brother, Raiden, arrived back at the palace in time to stop the insurgents from completely taking over. Raiden and Orion had been attacked, but they were strong D’Aire warriors who had cut through their enemies with a vengeance born of pure rage.

  With the help of their friends and followers, the D’Sil brothers had reclaimed their home, but the damage that had been done had changed Orion forever. Raiden had taken his place as the leader of their clan and had restored peace on their isle, but Orion had never felt the same about the home he had once loved.

  To escape the pain of what had happened, Orion had petitioned the Conclave to become an ambassador to the Alliance, allowing him the time away from his home world that he needed to heal. His friends, Blaiz V’Kyr and Daven S’Bir, were a few years younger than he was, but they had also lost their parents in the attack on the D’Sil palace. It seemed natural that both of them would join Orion as his guards when he had started traveling, and the three of them had been together ever since.

  All of them knew how to fly their vessel, but Daven had quickly volunteered for that duty on this voyage. Orion figured he did so in order to close himself off in the control room so he wouldn’t have to deal with their guests. Blaiz had been far more blunt about the situation. He had made it clear that he did not care for Ivan or Lorn, and wanted to spend as little time with them as possible.

  Honestly, Orion was envious of his friends at the moment.

  He read a message on his wrist unit, then quickly typed out a short response before sending it. He knew he was being rude by not interacting with the males across the room, but he’d been entertaining them for weeks now, and he had tired of their company. He’d wanted some quiet time before they landed and he was forced to interact with the public. Orion gave the position of ambassador the respect it deserved, but he had grown weary of the responsibilities that weighed on him, and it seemed to get worse with every passing day.

  After he had lost his own family, Orion had become a mere shadow of who he once was. He’d felt disconnected to the people around him, and had struggled to find purpose for his life. He had completely devoted himself to his position as an ambassador for his race, and for a few years, that had been enough for him. But as time passed, he had continued to travel in the hopes that he would find his keeper. After witnessing so many of his people finding love outside of their own race, he had wanted to find that happiness for himself.

  But that was a hope that he no longer felt.

  Orion had searched the stars for his keeper, seeking that guiding light that would complete his soul. That search had helped ease the discomfort of being so far from his home and everything familiar to him, but the pain of disappointment was getting too difficult to bear. His spirit had grown weary, and he felt more disconnected to the world around him with every passing day. He could no longer perform his duties with the same enthusiasm he once did, and the truth was, he simply didn’t care about much these days besides the desire to return to his home.

  Pushing aside his morose thoughts, Orion forced himself to get up and join Lorn and Ivan as he finally felt the shuttle land in the docking bay. “We should be allowed off the ship soon,” he told them. “Now that we’ve landed, it shouldn’t take them long to clear us.”

  “Are we to stay in the same quarters?” Ivan A’Gar asked, looking as if that were the last thing he wanted.

  “That won’t be necessary,” Orion assured him. “The space station will be filled to capacity this week, but I contacted the commander of the base and was able to reserve our rooms far enough in advance to request separate quarters for all of us.”

  Ivan relaxed. “That was kind of you.”

  “I was just telling Ivan that this station is bigger than others I’ve been to,” Lorn T’Mir said. “I’m looking forward to seeing the inside of it.”

  “I am, too,” Orion agreed. “It was meant to replace one of the older stations, but the Alliance wanted it moved here instead.”

  “Strange,” Ivan commented. “Why would the Alliance want such a high-tech space station out here in the middle of nowhere?”

  Orion paused before he answered Ivan. The truth was that the new space station had been moved because a new planet had been discovered. Actually, Xenthian wasn’t a new at all. They had been around longer than anyone knew for certain. The Xenon had isolated themselves using magic to cloak their planet so no one could find them, but recently an Alliance vessel crash landed on the surface, and the female elite commander of that ship was now the soulmate to the Vasili—or king—of their planet.

  The Alliance was planning to invite the Xenon to participate in the upcoming Ministry of Nations meeting of representatives from each race. The meeting would take place on the Delta Station—a high security vessel with an undisclosed flight path. Until then, information about the Xenon was being kept quiet, but everyone on the space station already knew why they had been moved to the edge of Alliance-controlled space, so it wouldn’t hurt to tell Ivan and Lorn the truth about the situation.

  Orion told the D’Aire males about the discovery of the Xenon, and filled them in on the little history he knew about the race. It concerned Orion that he wasn’t able to read their reactions. All of the D’Aire were able to perform mind scans on people. When doing a deep search, the process was dangerous to both parties involved. It was a merging of the minds so one could see memories and feel the emotions of another. Some of the D’Aire were more adept at it than others, and fewer had been given the ability to read emotions and thoughts without connecting mind to mind.

  The D’Aire called those individuals seekers, and Orion was one of them.

  He wanted to know how Ivan and Lorn felt about the discovery of the Xenon. In fact, he wanted to know how they felt about several issues that would be important if either of them were to become an ambassador, but they both had strong mental blocks that kept him from reading them, and that caused a deep sense of unease.

  “Fascinating,” Ivan murmured after Orion finished his explanation. “Do they wield magic like the Dragon Warriors?”

  The Dragon Warriors were one of the most powerful races known in the universe. They had magical powers and could shift into their dragon forms, allowing them to be a commanding force on both land and in the sky. The D’Aire had a cautious respect for them, but most stayed far away from the magic wielders.

  Before Orion could answer, Lorn asked, “If the Xenon king’s soulmate is a human, do you believe they are also compatible with the D’Aire? Could our race find their keepers within the Xenon?”

  “Perhaps. We still don’t know much about them, so it might be possible. It will be interesting to see what the future holds in store for us. Their magic works different than the Dragon Warriors, but they are still a powerful force we would be better off having as allies rather than enemies.”

  Blaiz appeared in the open doorway interrupting their discussion. “We have been cleared to disembark.”

  All the D’Aire looked similar with their long white-blond hair, tall, lean frames, and iridescent blue eyes, but Blaiz had a strange black streak of hair in the front that he had been born with. Others of their race saw it as a flaw, a genetic defect. It made him look slightly intimidating, but Orion was used to his friend’s unusua
l appearance and simply saw it as something that made Blaiz unique.

  Duty calls, Orion thought with a sigh. Each male carried a bag of their belongings as they left their ship to enter the docking bay. Before Orion could walk down the gangway, Daven took his bag from him. “What are you doing?”

  “Appearances, my friend,” Daven said with a wink. “We wouldn’t want the elites here to think a D’Aire Ambassador actually carries his own bags, do we?”

  “You are an idiot,” Orion accused softly so only Daven could hear.

  Daven laughed, but sobered again when they joined the others at the bottom of the ramp where a male elite waited for them dressed in the steel-gray jacket with black sleeves, standard black pants and boots that all elite officers wore.

  “Greetings to you, ones of the light,” the man said with a slight bow. “Ambassador D’Sil, I’m Officer Talbot. I would like to welcome you to Alpha Station: X21. We are pleased you could join us for the grand opening of the base.”

  “It is our pleasure to be here” Orion replied as he stepped to the front.

  “If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you and your entourage to your quarters.” Officer Talbot turned and started toward the sliding doors leading into the main area. Lorn and Ivan wasted no time asking the young elite questions about the new space station, which the man cheerfully answered. Orion, Blaiz and Daven kept back a few paces, allowing the elite to lead the other D’Aire males away from them.

  “Now we’re your entourage?” Blaiz grumbled under his breath.

  “Would you rather be called my servants?” Orion raised a brow.

  Blaiz grunted. “Call me that, and I may have to beat you.”

  Orion chuckled and shot his friend a grin. “You could try.”

  “Come now, children. Let’s not fight,” Daven chided. “Save it for next time we are sparring. That way I can enjoy it as I watch the two of you act stupid.”