by Petra Landon
“Exactly” confirmed Zoran.
“Can we tell which of the Budheya might be capable of telepathy, Doctor?” Yaneou Tirovac asked the question.
“Not yet, I’m afraid. I see no clues in their genetic material that points to anything like telepathy. Though perhaps, it is not something embedded in their genetic code” the doctor acknowledged slowly.
“Is there anything that separates the three Budheya?” Zoran asked. “That might give us a clue.”
“Based on the data we have, I can find nothing to distinguish between them yet, Captain.”
As the others pondered the puzzle silently, it was the Ur’quay who offered up an extraordinary suggestion.
“Perhaps, it is the combination of all three” suggested the Star Captain.
D’raar’s gaze tangled with that of his Captain as he seconded the suggestion. “It is possible that the Ketaari have managed to find a way to utilize the combined minds of the three Budheya to extend the range of their capabilities.”
In their archives, the Ur’quay had vague references to mind-readers working in tandem to increase their powerful abilities, before the strict laws had come into effect. In a way, the law had had been a direct result of such kinds of experimentation.
“Is that possible?” inquired an astonished Tirovac.
“Anything is possible” the Star Captain said gravely. “If the Ketaari can suddenly uncover a mind-reader or three, they could certainly manipulate their abilities to weaponize them.”
Commander Kerovac agreed with the Ur’quay Captain. “This is unchartered territory, Yan. We must keep an open mind and explore all possibilities, no matter how unlikely they seem.”
“Breaking down the composition of the drugs in their systems might tell us more. I will make that my priority” Dr. Uish interjected.
“Did you get a chance to look at the scans of the Ketaari life-signs on the ship, Doctor?” Jolar inquired.
“Yes I did, Commander Jolar. Nothing anomalous there. All have pure Ketaari genes — not unusual since the Imperial Forces only allow purebreds to serve. But there is nothing to distinguish one from the other in terms of genetic abilities.”
“How sure are we that the telepath is one of the Budheya?” Zoran asked the question, his dark eyes encompassing all the attendees.
“Such a faculty may be acquired in two ways, Captain” the Commander laid it out in his precise and methodical manner. “Since we have discarded the possibility of an augment, it leaves us with natural causes. The telepath has either inherited the ability or acquired it as part of evolution. The Ketaari’s obsession with staying pure makes it unlikely that they have inherited this from intermingling with another species. And since they have never been known to have this ability, I doubt evolution has suddenly granted them telepathy. The Budheya, on the other hand, have a rich history of inter-mating. And there is a mystery to the ones on that ship. If we can solve the mystery, it might lead us to the truth.”
Zh’hir found himself silently agreeing with the Commander’s logical case for the mind-reader. He knew that Sila had inherited it. The chances were that these Budheya had too.
“We must find out who these Budheya are” Kerovac said into the silence. “Where there is one, there might be more. We have to get to the bottom of this quickly if we are to counteract the threat successfully.”
The Star Captain offered a suggestion. “If there are Budheya born with this ability, there might be rumors on their world, Commander Kerovac.”
The Commander agreed. “How do we get to the rumors on Budheyasta?”
“We could ask the rebels we currently host” Jolar suggested.
Zoran shot a glance at the Star Captain. “It might even be worth a run to Budheyasta.”
“Tilabok, the rebel leader we made first contact with, would be willing to help us. We could ask him to make inquiries” he suggested to the Alliance Commander.
“A very good suggestion, Captain. But we have little information about these Budheya. Budheyasta had a population of five hundred million before the Ketaari occupied it. Even for the rebels, that would make looking for these three Budheya the equivalent of a needle in a haystack” Kerovac noted.
“There might be a way to narrow the search, Commander Kerovac” Dr. Uish piped up thoughtfully. “We have had no any access to Budheyasta for the last hundred and fifty years. But many Alliance worlds have Budheya records archived from before. The Budheya were social and known to share information and engage with many worlds. If I can get access to Budheya records from before they were isolated, I might be able to narrow the identities of the cousins down to a particular region or even family. That would make it easier for the rebels to dig up information on them.”
“There is no common Alliance database on the Budheya, Dr. Uish” ADC Tirovac said knowledgeably. “But, like you say, many of the member words had prior and prolonged contact with them. I will send out a general request for all information on Budheya to the member worlds. If we are lucky, we might find a match.”
“It is worth a try” the doctor assented. “Even a partial match might narrow it down for the rebels.”
Tirovac turned to the Alliance Commander. “I’ll send out an urgent request in your name, Ray. And transmit the data to the doctor as it comes in.”
“Zoran and I will wait on Dr. Uissh before making contact with Tilabok of Budheyasta” the Star Captain said to the Alliance Commander.
Commander Kerovac inclined his head. “Thank you, Star Captain.”
“I have some contacts within the Empire” Zoran offered. “They are patriots and will not leak any information they consider detrimental to the Empire’s interests. But I can ask them what the military makes of the Emperor’s Special Envoy having talks with the Alliance Commander. And about rumors of the Imperial Forces using Budheya collaborators to fight the Alliance. That should be vague enough to test the waters.”
“Thank you, Captain. The Alliance appreciates your assistance.”
“I think the Ketaari will find that they have upped the ante in a way they didn’t anticipate, Commander” Zoran remarked softly, his eyes flickering to the Ur’quay Captain and his deputy. “With this new antic, they have made thwarting the Empire personal for more of us.”
“The Ur’quay will not stand idly by if the Ketaari or anyone else attempts to forcefully invade minds or use mind-readers as weapons” the Star Captain said quietly, delivering his message with a forthrightness and an unequivocation that was not lost on his audience.
“Being allowed to safeguard our thoughts is one of the most sacred of rights that Ur’quay law guarantees an individual” the First Commander added.
“We had better get some answers then” Commander Kerovac announced into the pregnant silence in the chamber. “And quickly.”
d
“What do your warriors make of it?” Sila asked the Star Captain in the guest chamber on the Juntafeyore.
He had given her the gist of Dr. Uish’s conclusions from the sensor data on the Budheya as well as their suspicions about the Ketaari’s manipulation of the three cousins’ mental abilities. The latter had disquieted Sila. But for her birth on a provincial planet, she might have found herself in a similar boat as the Budheya.
Invited to the parley by Commander Kerovac, Sila had made the decision to stay away from subsequent discussions. She had wanted to send the message that her part in the mission to hunt down the telepath was over. And the Star Captain had backed her.
“I have only spoken to the First Commander, Sseela. The Ur’quay are working in shifts with the Hadari’Kor to decipher the data from the rendezvous.”
“D’raar is astonished by the presence of Tseka’ki in Sector Araloka” Zh’hir admitted.
“Tseka’ki?”
“It is what Ur’quay call the ability to communicate with the mind.”
Sila stared at him. “I’d thought that the Ur’quay of all people would not be surprised by this. Unlike others, you have actu
ally possessed this faculty for generations.”
“Our people have always believed that the evolutionary process for the Ur’quay has been different from that of species native to your sector of space” he pointed out gently.
Sila looked puzzled. “Different, how? I thought Dr. Uish confirmed that our physiologies are not that different” she said haltingly.
“He has” Zh’hir agreed. “But we are not the same, Sseela — even at first glance without delving deeper. All of the Ur’quay senses are more attuned than that of the species here. And, we have a well-developed sixth sense, if you want to call it that.”
“The physiological differences, minor as they are, separate us from the Aralokan races” he explained. “An example — we see as well in the dark as we do in light. No species here has night sight. Even the ridges along our tongues can sense more than what your tongues can.”
“Your people think they’re more evolved than us?” Sila exclaimed, taken aback by her conclusion.
“No” he shook his head emphatically. “The evolutionary process has been different — that is all. Those native to our sector of space have more in common with us than the races our ancestors encountered here. The Ur’quay left behind detailed notes and evidence of their observations from Sector Araloka.”
As Sila continued to look astonished, he expanded. “I was shocked and amazed when I discovered your ability, Sseela. And I’ve had a lot of time to come to terms with it since I met you. For my warriors though, this is an enormous surprise. And not a pleasant one. From their point of view, not only have they uncovered species here with an ability we thought not from Sector Araloka, but those with the gift feel free to exploit it to harm others instead of governing themselves with the strict self-discipline the Ur’quay follow.”
He bent down to undo his boots and Sila watched him step gracefully out of them.
“I think Commander Kerovac understands how the Ur’quay feel” he added, discarding his arm-band. “Though ill experienced with reading emotions, he is no fool. He sees the telepaths as a threat to his pact with the Ur’quay.”
“So, they are angry?” she remarked. Sila had been afraid of this.
“Enraged” he admitted succinctly. “This news will not be contained for long on the Henia. The discovery of Tseka’ki will spread like wildfire to the rest of the fleet and the home world. The Ur’quay Fleet has been eagerly waiting to engage the Imperial Forces, because we are warriors and because we want to return the favor to our new allies who have been good to us. Now, they will also fight because they are angry and want to dismantle the Ketaari Empire that has dared to use forcible mind-probes as a weapon. It is a volatile situation, Sseela. If the Ur’quay discover the existence of member worlds where the gift exists and is misused, they might turn on the Alliance.”
“Like me” Sila said with resignation.
“No, not like you” he disagreed vehemently. “You did not use your talent to ram into another’s mind. You learnt to tune out the others, to protect yourself and the privacy of everyone around you. In the absence of a teacher, you did the best you could, Sseela, under very different circumstances to the Ur’quay.”
“Will the other Ur’quay see it as you do, Star Captain?”
“They will” he said.
“And if they don’t?” she asked.
“That will be a mistake.”
He strode to her. “No one touches a hair on your head, Sseela. No one” he said fiercely, the gold eyes glittering. “Zoran is right — the Alliance owes you. Without you, the Ketaari would have wiped out the Armada with no one the wiser. And you … You have been exiled once from your world for helping them. I won’t allow the Alliance or the Ur’quay to do the same to you.”
“I know how to protect what is mine” he reiterated quietly, the exotic eyes holding her captive.
Sila wondered what the Ur’quay made of what was his.
Something flared in the gold eyes that had her heart thump a little faster. “They are envious of me, little Terran.”
Her eyes widened.
“Despite only a few months in a distant corner of the galaxy, I have a beautiful and accomplished mate whose world grows food for the Ur’quay and who is personally responsible for alleviating the food scarcity on Ur’Qia. They wonder how I have achieved what many Hadari’Kor on the Juntafeyore would give their left hand for.”
There was a note in his voice that had color surging up her neck.
“I know how many on TF124 pursued you, Sseela. Zoran told me” he admitted. “My warriors are aware of it too. They are friendly with many of Zoran’s mercenaries.”
“You chose me, Sseela” he said softly.
“Star Captain.” Sila reached blindly for him, overwhelmed by the passion and conviction with which her warrior loved.
She stood up on her toes and he bent a long way down to allow her to kiss him.
Zh’hir let out a short and hoarse chuckle. “It seems I must try harder to not be Star Captain.”
The gold eyes held her as he took a step back. Stripping off his uniform shirt, the webbed hands reached for his hair, unbraiding it with quick, efficient movements. His hair, shorter than his warriors, had nevertheless grown to under his shoulders in ten months. Sila watched him silently, taking in the graceful and sure movements as he disrobed before her. Once, she had peeked at him fearfully, heart thundering at a similar disrobing. Now, she watched him, unable to take her eyes off him while her heart galloped for a different reason.
Striding to her, he took her mouth in a hungry kiss, only withdrawing with a hiss as her palms touched the naked skin on his chest. Sila could swear she felt his skin sizzle under her palm. Passion flared between them in the blink of an eye. A passion the Star Captain had forcibly kept at bay during their days on TF124. Sila, who had noted his caution in furthering their physical intimacy, had remained silent, confident that he had his reasons. She knew Dr. Uish had given them the green light. The Star Captain had mentioned it in passing as they had progressively become more comfortable with each other.
Sila reached up to feel his hair but the difference in their heights made it difficult. The Star Captain swung her into his arms to perch on the edge of the bed with her draped over his lap. One large hand cradled her head while his mouth captured hers again. As his lips, mouth and tongue kissed, nipped and licked at her, it struck a dazed Sila how subtly different this was from before. He was bolder, his touch on her surer, his handling of her very possessive and his desire for her not as understated as before. Before, there had always been a slow build up in intensity. Now, his ardor and fervency were instantaneous. Perhaps, he had been afraid of frightening her with his hunger, as he had bluntly laid bare before. She sensed that whatever had been holding him back had been vanquished. She had come a long way too, Sila knew. Though she still found herself occasionally overwhelmed by him, it was because this was her first experience of a passion that burned so fiercely and brightly.
I want your first time to be perfect, baithoni.
Sila wrenched her mouth away from him. “It is” she assured him. Before she could say more, his lips captured hers greedily again.
There are subtle differences between us and I wanted to be very sure I knew how to handle them.
Floundering under the intensity of his ardor and in the grip of her own desire, Sila attempted to ask him to clarify the differences between them. He shifted his hold on her. She felt herself being lowered on his lap as a hand cupped her breast, the thumb unerringly finding her nipple through the gown she wore. She arched into his hand with a strangled gasp that his mouth swallowed while his tongue tangled with hers in a passionate dance.
Zh’hir lifted his mouth from hers to gaze down at the girl who shuddered in his arms, her lips rosy and puffed from his kisses. A territorial glint flashed savagely in his eyes. By the High Mountain Deity, he dared anyone to lay a finger on his Sseela. He’d met his baithoni against all odds and she had ignored everything — the boundaries of
species and history, as well as all differences and circumstances — to choose him. He would allow no one to keep him from her, he pledged silently.
Sila caught a glimpse of glittering gold eyes as a blunt finger slipped under the thin strip of gown that covered her shoulder, to caress the soft skin before delicately sliding the sleeve down her arm. Sila breathed faster as he uncovered a pale breast, her chest rising with her silent pants. For a moment, he stared down at her.
Ur’quay females do not have this.
Sila tried to gather her scattered thoughts together. How?
He adjusted her subtly to bring his mouth closer.
Only sprouts when a youngling is born.
Bending down, he swirled the forked tongue around the breast before closing his lips on the rosy tip to suckle. Sila moaned softly, her hand reaching for him to tangle in the sleek, straight hair. Zh’hir growled gutturally from the throat, a primitive howl of mingled passion, possession and want. He reached for the sleeve that hid her from his gaze. Feeling him struggle with it, she undid the buttons, silently inviting him to take it off her. His hands bared her to her midriff, the gown pooling around her waist. He stared at her for a moment, the gold eyes naked with emotion. She took in the signs of desire on his face, the dilated gold eyes and his ragged breathing. The hot mouth descended slowly to lavish attention on her, his abrasive tongue swirling slowly around the stiffened nipple. She trembled, hanging on to the powerful shoulders.
Passion, mindless and all-consuming, seemed to take over the silent chamber. Eventually, he laid her on the bed, to strip Sila’s gown efficiently off her. The Star Captain came down over her, his expression tightly drawn and the gold eyes slumberous with desire. His mouth caressed her — lips, nape, collar bone and the shadow between her breasts. The rust-colored hair swung sleekly over his shoulders, swishing softly. A quivering Sila ran her wondering fingers through it while he paid homage to her.
A calloused finger skimmed her skin to follow the trail of his lips. It caressed her between the breasts to dip below to her navel. He followed, his lips searing her skin. The powerful muscles flexed under Sila’s hands as his tongue swirled in her navel.