by Petra Landon
“Sseela, this is Captain Zoran Hadari-Begur-Kor. He helped free you from the slavers.”
Sila blinked, as the name struck a chord in her. She had heard of the Hadari’Kor — terrors on the battlefield. The First Commander claimed acquaintance with a Hadari’Kor mercenary, she mused in wonder. It seemed that much had changed in six months. The First commander’s attire for one. Instead of the rippling armor that sheathed him like a second skin and seemed to undulate with every movement, he was attired in the same black uniform as the Hadari’Kor Captain, plain with an insignia over the right breast.
“Thank you” she directed at the mercenary, deeply grateful for his assistance.
“My pleasure” he said simply, in a voice with a pleasing husky quality to it.
Sila noted that the Hadari’Kor Captain spoke fluent Alliance Standard while the First Commander used his translator to communicate with her. Yet, she had vivid memories of his broken but functional Alliance Standard reassuring her in the cage to not be afraid. Perhaps, her mind had conjured him up to give her a measure of hope, she mused. And in the process, given him a mastery of the language, a huge improvement from six months ago.
“I dreamt of you, First Commander” she said impulsively, a whimsical smile playing about her lips. “You asked me about the cage and the collar around my neck. And you told me to hold on until you could get to me.”
At her words, something nameless leapt into the gold eyes to leave them glittering fiercely.
She held his gaze. “It helped me — when I was struggling to not succumb.”
Zh’hir shot a sidelong glance at the Hadari’Kor Captain, whose dark eyes rested on Sila with an air of puzzlement. It was time to break free of the past, he resolved. This mission to Sector Araloka was a chance at a future for the Ur’quay, but it was also an opportunity for him to make a fresh start, question the old traditions and break some of the long-held taboos of his people. If he who believed that the Ur’quay had lost their way and must learn to coexist with others, could not throw off the shackles of the past, what hope did the people on his isolated world have? And if he had to make a start by trusting someone, it would be the Hadari’Kor male. In the past few days, Zoran had more than proved himself a friend. Without asking awkward questions or demanding any explanations, the Captain and his mercenaries had taken on the slavers and the might of Keeyor 9, all because the Ur’quay Captain had requested his assistance.
“It was not a dream” he interjected softly.
Sila’s beautiful eyes tangled with his, a confident half-smile flashing across her face.
“Yes it was, First Commander” she murmured, not quite awake to her surroundings. “You spoke in my thoughts and I know you’re not allowed to do that.”
Zoran stiffened at her words, an improbable and fantastic suspicion assailing him. Was she implying that the Ur’quay male had communicated with her telepathically? That would explain the Star Captain’s inexplicable and mysterious confidence in Sila’s whereabouts soon after stepping foot on the Trade Sphere. Stunned, Zoran turned incredulous eyes on the Ur’quay Captain. Legend had always hinted at the unusual powers of their warriors. But he had put that down to the myth of the Ur’quay that persisted in Sector Araloka.
His dark eyes brushed against exotic gold irises for an electric moment while a disoriented Sila looked on unaware.
“I’ll give you a minute” Zoran said to the Star Captain, making a Herculean attempt to tamp down his emotions. He would not ask the Ur’quay Captain to reveal any secrets in return for Hadari’Kor assistance with Sila.
Zh’hir gave him a nod and watched the mercenary exit the chamber. Finally, Sila seemed to come alive to the undercurrents in the chamber.
“Should I not have said what I did about the dream?” she inquired uncertainly. “It was a dream. Was it not, First Commander?”
“It was not dream, Sseela.” His voice was quiet, the gold eyes fixated on her.
“But … if it was not a dream … your laws ...” she paused, struggling to articulate the dire consequences he had courted by breaking the stringent rules of his people.
“Do not worry about Zoran. He is a friend.”
So not merely an acquaintance, but also a friend.
Sila subsided. She had other questions to ask him.
“This is not the Henia, is it?” she asked uncertainly. From what Sila remembered of the Ur’quay starship, it would never look this shabby, rundown or crammed.
“No” he shook his head. “We are on Keeyor 9.”
She looked astonished. “The space station where we … the Passenger Transport?”
He gave a soft sigh. “The Keeyori who took you from your world sold you to the slavers on this station.”
Sila straightened. “How did you …?” she stopped.
For the first time, amusement gleamed in his eyes — a crack in the serious mien that Sila took note of.
His lips quirked. “Zoran and his mercenaries helped me break you out.”
“Break me out” an alarmed Sila repeated after him.
“Zoran’s starship is docked here. This chamber will hide you until we get you aboard it.”
Fear surged through her as she realized that the slavers were hunting her.
But before they could drown her, he reassured her, a promise in his words. “Do not worry, little Terran. As before, you will be returned unharmed to your world.”
Sila, uncertain of the future, said nothing. Once free of this station, where would she go, she wondered? Terra Agri 5 would not welcome her back. Elder Arturo had warned her about it with a hint of shame in his voice. Six months ago, things had been less complicated.
“You have been practicing, Sseela” he directed at her, an undertone of approval in his voice.
Sila glanced up at him. “My thoughts?”
He shook his head. “Nothing is drifting to me.”
She looked inordinately pleased. “I used the Examiner device you gave me to train every day, First Commander.”
It has been a long six months.
“I have another Examiner for you. I brought it with me from the Henia.”
“Is your presence here no longer a secret, First Commander?” Sila was puzzled. Six months ago, he had asked her to keep the secret and she wondered if circumstances had changed since then.
“It is. Only Zoran and his mercenaries know what I am. That is why we used Zoran’s starship and not the Henia.”
The exotic eyes wandered her face, taking in her confusion and exhaustion.
“Rest now, Sseela. There is nothing to fear.”
Sila slid down the bed, burrowing under the warmth of the blanket.
He plucked something from the overflowing seat she had noticed before to place a neat bundle on the bed. “Use this in the chamber” he said.
It was a robe, Sila noted. It struck her that with the slavers on the hunt, buying any female attire on this station might bring suspicions down on him.
“There will always be Zoran’s mercenaries in the chamber with you. Do not be alarmed. They are here for your protection” he informed her.
Sila’s eyes fluttered shut. “I understand, First Commander.”
For a moment, he said nothing, curiously reluctant to correct her. “It is Star Captain now, Sseela.”
The old rank tied them together in a strange bond forged months ago under trying circumstances — when an Ur’quay warrior and the Terran female he had accidently acquired under his care had learned to trust each other.
t
“Terilian ale. Piping hot please” Zoran ordered as the server girl bustled up to their table with her tablet in hand.
He turned to his companion who shrugged, leaving the choice up to him.
“The same for my friend” he informed the server.
The two Captains were in Trader Pik’s — a popular alehouse on the Trade Sphere.
“Have you tasted our alcohol yet?” Zoran inquired of his Ur’quay counterpart once the server girl had slipped away.
The Star Captain shook his head.
“You’re in for a treat” the mercenary remarked.
The open seating area looked out onto the busy thoroughfare. Keeyor 9 was back in action after the inexplicable blackout and ensuing chaos. But for a keen observer, there were still lingering signs from the event. Unlike before, guards in the same uniform as the slaver establishments could occasionally be seen on the upper rings of the Trade Sphere, albeit accompanied by station personnel. There was also a heavy presence of station personnel in most public areas, though that did not generate much talk. Loud whispers postulated that the slavers had pressured the station personnel to keep the exit sensors offline until they could search the Trade Sphere and recapture their escaped prisoner. Clearly, their request had been denied for the sensors had been brought online sixteen hours ago, after a delay of almost four hours. The station was now slowly returning to normal.
“The laws of my people state that any communication of the mind is punishable by death” the Star Captain stated abruptly.
A startled Zoran turned his eyes from the hubbub on the public thoroughfare to his companion.
“Are you talking of telepathic communication?” he inquired hesitantly, after a short pause. His tone held a note of incredulity.
“Telepathic communication” the Star Captain repeated slowly. “Yes, that is close to what I mean.”
Before the mercenary could react, the server girl set two mugs of steaming Terilian ale before them. Zoran watched his friend take a sip.
“What do you think?” He gestured at the mug of Terilian ale.
“I like it.” The Ur’quay Captain looked appreciative. “It is spicier than our ales.”
“I thought you might.”
They drank companionably for a few moments, the hum from the alehouse patrons drowned out by the din of the thoroughfare outside.
“This is where I met Saakshi” Zoran remarked.
“Here?” The Ur’quay male looked surprised, his eyes taking in the crowded establishment. The alehouse was busy, despite the late hour.
“She worked as a server here. Pik, the owner, bought her prison contract from the Ketaari.”
So, Zh’hir mused, this unassuming alehouse had provided the venue for a singular meeting. One that had resulted in a new and fledgling coalition between the Alliance and Budheya rebels. He knew that Zoran wanted the coalition very badly and had made a strong case for it to Commander Kerovac.
“I like your Saakshi of Budheyasta” he remarked.
“I like her too” Zoran admitted, with a serious air.
A short silence descended between them.
“This ability to communicate telepathically is common on your world?” Zoran inquired softly.
The Star Captain took another sip of the hot and spicy drink he guessed could prove very potent. “Every Ur’quay is born with the ability.”
The mercenary’s eyes widened. “The myth about the Ur’quay’s powerful and mysterious abilities begin to make sense” he drawled. When it came to the Ur’quay, it had been hard to separate myth from reality, especially after their four hundred year absence from this corner of space.
“No, Zoran.” The Star Captain shook his head. “This is a secret the Ur’quay have guarded for centuries. No one outside our world knows of this.”
“Every Ur’quay child is taught to barricade his mind” he explained. “It is considered an invasion of privacy to lower our mental shields or attempt to penetrate others’ thoughts.”
“You are not allowed to use your ability?” the mercenary inquired, trying to understand Ur’quay custom and laws. This was a dangerous gift to possess and Zoran knew that the repercussions of the secret would be far-reaching if revealed.
His companion shook his head. “Like I said, it is an offence punishable by death.”
The Star Captain was repaying his trust, Zoran realized. And had paid him a huge compliment by entrusting him with a secret of enormous implications that the Ur’quay had kept hidden from everyone else. He also realized something else.
Zoran’s gaze tangled with alien gold eyes. “You broke your law for her.”
The Ur’quay male did not shy away from the truth. “Yes” he confessed baldly.
Interesting, Zoran mused. But now that the Star Captain had trusted him with the truth, the mercenary gave his curiosity free rein. “Can you communicate telepathically with anyone you choose to?” he inquired curiously. “Any species?”
His companion shook his head. “Only others with the same ability as mine” he admitted.
Zoran straightened, stunned momentarily into silence.
“You mean … the girl …” he sputtered.
“She possesses the ability too.”
“Her people can …” Zoran tried to make sense of it. Scattered across a handful of worlds, the agrarian Terrans tended to not stray from their chosen profession. How had they hidden this dangerous secret for years, he wondered.
The Star Captain shook his head. “No, just her. She is unique on her world.”
As Zoran continued to look gobsmacked, the Star Captain explained. “On the Henia, I heard her in my rest-chamber praying hysterically to her deity from the holding cell she was in.”
There was a short silence as a stunned Zoran processed the revelations. Despite the Star Captain’s carefully chosen words, he understood that while the Terran might share the Ur’quay’s secret, there existed a gulf when it came to control over this dangerous ability.
“This secret … the secret of your people is safe with me, Zh’hir.” He met the unblinking gold eyes. “The Ur’quay have stringent laws and you are taught to control it.”
Zoran paused, to choose his words with care. “Her secret is also safe with me, but from what you say, she doesn’t possess your control. It would be unfair of me to ask my mercs to risk having their thoughts breached, even accidently.”
The gold eyes studied him. “Thoughts can be read over greater distances than voices can be heard, Zoran. That is how I could communicate with her while she lay caged fifteen rings below us.”
The Hadari’Kor Captain’s eyes flickered as he understood what the Ur’quay male was telling him.
“It is true that Sseela doesn’t have an Ur’quay’s control, but not when it comes to reading minds. What she has trouble with is guarding her thoughts, because she has never needed to do so on her world.”
Zh’hir paused to let his words sink in. “If she could not successfully filter out the thoughts of those around her, Sseela would go mad by the constant stream of voices bombarding her mind.”
“I see” Zoran murmured. The Terran had survived the congested Trade Sphere, despite the drugs the slavers had forced on her and her terrifying ordeal at their hands. Yet, she seemed imminently normal to him. This ability, he was starting to realize, was as much a gift as a curse. For her, it had been something to surmount and keep secret from everyone around her, while struggling to negate its effects on her sanity and well-being. What the Star Captain described as being under constant attack from the thoughts of everyone for miles around was not something to be overcome without determination, skill and persistence.
“On the Henia, for the first time, she encountered others with her ability” the Star Captain continued, as Zoran seemed to finally grasp Sila’s predicament. “And Sseela realized that she must also learn to guard her mind — that protecting herself from the other voices might not be enough.”
For a moment, Zoran was silent.
“Are there others with this ability in your corner of the galaxy?” he asked curiously.
“None that our starfaring ancestors encountered before we isolated ourselves.”
“What about Sector Araloka?”
“Only Sseela, but we have mingled little with others yet.”
“This would be a tough secret to hide” Zoran countered.
“Yes. Unless it is a predominant trait in a race, like it is with the Ur’quay, others with it will
face the same struggles as Sseela. Only those strong enough to protect their minds will survive.”
The more Zoran pondered the matter, the more it seemed incongruous to him. “Were you surprised to discover Sila’s ability, Zh’hir?”
The Star Captain answered readily. “The Ur’quay consider this trait unique to us and I was stunned to discover it in someone from a world so far away from Ur’Qia. She was also shocked to discover an alien with the same ability. When she was aboard the Henia, I tutored her. She has made great strides in six months.”
You also protected her from falling afoul of Ur’quay law, Zoran mused silently. It was clear that Sila’s ability had rendered her especially vulnerable on the Ur’quay starship.
“Ur’quay have phenomenal control of our gift and that is the only reason I could get through to her in the cage. You have nothing to worry about with Sseela, Zoran. I give you my word” the Ur’quay male pledged quietly.
Before Zoran could respond, they were distracted by a flurry of activity. Pik walked in, accompanied by a slaver guard and a male in the distinctive uniform of the Trade Sphere’s station personnel. Personnel on Keeyori-owned Trade Spheres tended to be Septaakians, a race characterized by their strapping builds. Though not particularly proficient as fighters, they were useful in maintaining order on stations where the rule of law was minimal. Their burly presence alone was usually enough of a deterrent to prevent the Trade Spheres from descending into complete chaos.
“You may search my alehouse and the back chamber through there” Pik proclaimed in a loud voice, pointing towards the little room in the back that doubled as storeroom and office.
“But I cannot permit you to search dormitories or other private chambers on the Trade Sphere” he reiterated to the Septaakian station personnel.
The trader glanced around the crowded alehouse, many of whose patrons watched him avidly, to zero in on the Hadari’Kor mercenary and his companion. Pik made for them, directing a curious glance at the Star Captain.
“Captain Hadari-Begur-Kor” he greeted the Hadari’Kor heartily. “I hope you will join me in convincing the TSF that private chambers on the station should be exempt from any searches” he declared.