by Drew Seren
He stared at his rescuer. He was getting tired of people telling him to calm down. “Who says I want to leave this planet? Maybe this is my home! Can you make me leave here?”
She winced like he’d just hit her.
The burly cat-man stepped around her. “Son, you need to calm down. Your anger isn’t helping anyone here.” His gaze bore into Skylar’s.
Something in that look stabbed through him. His agitated mind dulled. Skylar gulped as his anger drained away, leaving only a hollow spot where fires had burned moments before. “What are you?”
The smile that crossed the man’s furry face appeared almost predatory, but there was a soft friendliness to it. “A level ten feeler. The strongest empath we have on planet right now. I think you need to relax and let us get you up to the med ship. Hopefully, we’ll find a relative to connect you with.”
Deep inside, Skylar wanted to keep his anger. The anger gave him something to hold on to so he didn’t break down, but with the emotional control radiating from the Pantherian, he could only nod. He realized why his mother had been so wary of psychics: they could literally make you do things you didn’t want to do. They were dangerous.
The cat-man looked at the nurse. “Is he ready for the next shuttle?”
The nurse nodded. “There’s nothing more I can do for him here. There are others that need my attention.”
The Pantherian gestured for the nurse to leave. “Then we’ll take it from here.”
Once the nurse left, the big cat man squatted down on the floor in front of Skylar. Being on the same level made Skylar feel more like they were equals. “Skylar, you’ve got a lot of anger in you. I understand it. The horrors the Boarisk perpetrate are just unthinkable. But there’ll be time for your vengeance later. That is what you want, isn’t it, vengeance?”
Skylar nodded as he leaned back against the examining table. “Yes, sir.” He couldn’t believe he was being forced to be calm, almost sedated. It didn’t feel right. He felt like he was betraying his mother with his reaction, but there was nothing he could do about it.
“Good, that’s a healthy response. Don’t ever forget it, but don’t let it eat you alive either. You’ll learn control. When the time comes, I have no doubt you’ll make those raiders pay for what they’ve done here.” The Pantherian extended digits that were more like a paw than a human hand. “Now, we didn’t get formally introduced. I’m Philaneo Clawson, most people just call me Phil.”
Skylar’s anger receded further back as he took Phil’s hand. Even his fear of psychics faded. It was the first time he’d ever touched a Pantherian. The fur under his fingers was soft and silky. “Thanks, Phil. I’m Skylar, but I guess you already knew that.”
Phil inclined his head. “That I did. But it’s nice to make it formal. Gina told me about your loss. I’m sorry.” Phil straightened up. “I need to ask Gina a couple of questions before she goes back out to look for more survivors. She’s got the coordinates of your home, and she’ll handle the salvage once rescue phase is complete. I’ll be going up to the hospital ship with you, so I’ll be right back.”
Numbly, Skylar nodded. “Okay. So, we’re leaving soon then?” He wanted to get fixed up, but beyond that, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. Everything was muddled. At least someone would be checking his home for anything that had survived the attack.
“On the next shuttle. I’ll be right outside if you need anything.” He gestured to Gina and the two of them walked out, leaving Skylar feeling more tired than anything else.
He eased back up on the examining table, since there wasn’t anywhere else to sit. With a deep breath, Skylar tried to relax. As quiet descended and the pounding of blood in his ears dropped, he found he could hear Phil and Gina on the other side of the tent flap. Even though he could tell they were trying to keep their voices down, they were close to the thin fabric and their conversation carried to him.
“You were right to get me in here, Gina,” Phil said. “The boy is really strong for his age.”
“He was more than I could handle. I’m just sorry the nurse set him off before I could get here. Any idea what we’re going to do with him?” Worry colored her voice. “We can’t turn him loose on an unsuspecting galaxy.”
“Have you gotten anything back from the DNA inquiry?”
“Just a mitochondrial match to the woman whose remains were found in the jungle. I’d say his mother. It matches his story. Haven’t had time to check official documents for things like wills and such. Too much going on.”
Skylar gulped. Inside, he knew he should be crying at the confirmation of his mother’s death, but the strange emotional slump Phil had put him in wouldn’t allow even that. He was too numb. What did they mean by “really strong?” He wasn’t any stronger than any other human boy his age. There was too much coming at him too quickly. It was getting very confusing.
“There’s time for that later. What about a match for his sire? Surely the boy has a father.”
“I’ve been trying, but there’s some kind of black hole in that data. Actually, for the mother too. It’s like someone has purposely removed them from the galactic database. That or they were both born on a primitive world, but he’s obviously human. From the look of him, I’d say he can trace his ancestry back to Sol Three without even trying. He doesn’t have any of the trace sequences we normally find in any of the known engineered species.”
Phil sighed. “Well, we’ve got to find somewhere safe for him. Luckily, Intergal has authority to place orphans when we need to. When they go through the local computers, let me know if his mother made any arrangements for him. Until then, I’ll handle things. Once I get him up to the hospital ship and they do a regeneration session, I’ll make some calls. I think I know somewhere that might be perfect for him.”
“That would be good. He needs someone on his side.”
“I have a soft spot for pure humans, you know that.”
Gina giggled. “I know. I better get back out there. So far, we’ve only got about twenty-five percent of the area searched. Still haven’t gotten to the swamps west and south of town. The jungles to the north are thick and people may have fled there. We might find a few survivors.”
A tiny spark of hope lit in Skylar’s chest. Teir’s family was in the northwest side of the city. Not far from where he lived, where the jungle and swamp came together. There might be a chance they were still alive.
“The Boarisk raiders probably took off with the rest of them,” Phil continued. “There’s been chatter all over the communications channels that they’re hitting planets in this area looking for the able-bodied. Something about needing more workers on some new mining planet.”
“Slavers.” The word sounded like she forced it out from between clenched teeth.
Their voices dropped below what Skylar could hear. A shiver went through him. Everyone knew that slavery was wrong, but that didn’t stop raiders from taking slaves, particularly from backwater worlds like Hummassa. But Skylar was more interested in what the Intergal Rescue folks were going to do with him. Was she right and he was ‘pure’ human? His mother had never even hinted that might be the case. Even most of the corp-brats had some kind of gene-manipulation done to them that made them less…or more…than human.
Before Skylar could ponder very long, Phil came back in. “You about ready to go? The shuttle’s back and loading.”
“I guess.” Skylar slid off the table. He surveyed the white canvas walls and grass floor. It felt like he should have something to take with him, but everything he owned was back at home, the house he and his mother fled the previous night. All he had left was himself. He didn’t even have a home anymore.
SKYLAR LOOKED around as he followed Phil out of the room. He’d been in regeneration therapy for nearly half a day. When his ear had failed to grow back perfectly, the doctors suggested cutting it back and trying again. It was the first thing since he’d met Phil that he’d been able to work up the emotional energy for, and he rejected
the idea.
It surprised him that Phil backed him, even after Phil explained that he could feel how important it was to Skylar to keep the scarred ear. As they walked down the sleek, sterile hallway, Skylar kept glancing at the new top of his ear in every reflective surface they passed. It was withered and slightly pointed. It was his first scar.
“If you let your hair grow a bit, it’ll help hide it,” Phil suggested.
Skylar shook his head. “I don’t want to hide it. I want it out there for the world to see. I want to see it every time I look in the mirror so I don’t ever forget what happened on Hummassa.” Not that he thought he could forget, unless some telepath went in and wiped the memory from him, and he wasn’t about to let that happen.
“Don’t worry, I don’t think you’ll forget.” Phil turned down a wider hallway. Skylar obediently followed. “You’ve got one of the strongest wills I’ve ever encountered in a human. I don’t have any doubts that you’re going to be a force to be reckoned with in the galaxy. Just don’t let your need for vengeance get the upper hand over your intelligence.”
“I’ll try.” Skylar didn’t know where they were going. Phil had been vague when he’d come out of the chamber, but the Pantherian seemed happier than he was when Skylar went into the regeneration session.
“So Skylar, you said on the ride up here you’d never been off-world before. I guess it’s safe to say that you’ve never been through a stargate either.”
Skylar nodded. “Yes, sir.” In school, he’d learned about the stargates that connected most parts of the galaxy. His mother often said she wished she could share the experience with him, but claimed they couldn’t afford a trip that entailed the use of a gate. It had sounded like a lot of fun when some of the corp-brats at school talked about the trips their parents would take them on to distant spots in the galaxy. The graphics of going through a stargate were awesome in Galactic Explorers.
“Then you’re in for a treat.” Phil stopped at a doorway.
At the end of a short hall stood a heavy-duty door. It sealed that section of the medical ship from the airlock behind it. Past the airlock, Skylar hoped there was a ship. There weren’t any windows in the door, so he couldn’t see what lay beyond it, but it looked like the one they’d come through when they took the shuttle up from the surface.
“Where are we going?” Skylar asked as Phil entered a code into the numeric pad by the door.
“I’ll let that be a surprise for now.” Phil smiled. A wave of calm, like the ones that had hit him back on the planet, washed over him. It didn’t dull the excitement that was building in him about the trip through the stargate, but it did push aside the building questions about where they were headed. “But I think you’re going to like it. It’ll be interesting, at least until we can find some family for you to make the decisions that really need to be made right now.”
The door rolled open with a slight whoosh, revealing the short airlock behind it. Once they were through, Phil closed the first door before opening the second. “We’ll use my personal ship for our little trip.”
That took Skylar by surprise. He’d never known anyone who had his own ship before. “Your ship? That’s really cool.”
“Not really. It’s a perk of being a level ten feeler.” After they both cleared the second door, Phil closed the outer airlock, which was bright and hospital clean, and the ship door which had a nasty scorch mark across it. “I never know when I’ll be needed somewhere. There aren’t a lot of level tens in the galaxy in any of the psi talents. There are only a hundred or so feelers, a few dozen readers and less than ten movers that are level tens. Those of us who decide to use our gifts for the good of the many and work for Intergal or other, neutral, aid organizations get yanked around a lot. To make it easier, we get our own ships. The ones who just want to use their gifts to line their own pockets…well, they have ships too, they’re just fancier than ours.” He chuckled as the lights came on. “It would be nice if the ship came with a crew, but luckily flying this little beauty isn’t as hard as a big ship. The nav computer does most of the work for me.”
Skylar couldn’t think of what to say. The ship wasn’t as shiny and clean as the hospital ship, but had a nice, lived-in atmosphere to it. It was comfortable—like Phil made him feel. His concern about Phil being a level ten feeler didn’t seem as important as what was about to happen. He was about to go into space. His life was changing fast, and he suddenly wanted to be ready for all of it.
The first room was obviously the galley and seating area. There was a small food dispenser with a few colorful drips running off its silver front edge. Several chairs were stacked high with clothing. For a moment, Skylar was acutely aware of his lack of belongings. His blue synth shirt and pants were battered, but at that point, along with his synthleather shoes, they were the extent of his possessions. He didn’t have any money, so he wasn’t sure how he was going to get anything else.
Phil cut in before he could dwell on it. “So, do you want to join me on the flight deck, or would you rather ride back here? Some people don’t like watching the stars go by.”
Right at that moment, there was nothing Skylar wanted to do more than star gaze. “If there’s room for me in the pilot’s cabin, that would be great.” He’d been in simulators, but he suspected they were nothing like really going into space.
“Okay, but it might get a little boring. We’re a few hours from the nearest gate. The one for Hummassa is a couple of planets over for some reason, not in lunar orbit to the populated planet like a good number of them. Overall this is going to be about a twelve-hour trip.” Phil strolled toward the door Skylar assumed led to the flight deck. “But don’t worry. I’m fully stocked with food. My dispenser will do any cuisine you can think of, even though I don’t get passengers very often.”
The deck had three plush flight chairs, two of which sat near the window that looked out onto the stars before them. The hospital ship filled the left portion of the window, but beyond that, a tapestry of stars spread out before them. The instrument panels stood in front of both chairs. They appeared to be standard touchscreens. Here and there, dark scuff marks marred the off-white edges, evidence Phil tended to rest his hands and arms on the rims when using the controls. At the moment, the panels were unlit, obviously waiting for Phil’s commands.
Phil sat in the left chair, and Skylar hopped into the right. The excitement for his first stargate trip bubbled up in him. It was really going to happen! He wished his mom were here with him.
His throat and chest tightened, but then a numb feeling swept over him. It was almost like he couldn’t grieve. It didn’t feel right, but the excitement of leaving the planet he’d always called home pushed it away.
As the control panels lit up, Phil touched some buttons. “Hospital Ship Curry control, this is Philaneo in Rescue Paw One. I’m ready for departure from docking port thirty-four.”
Skylar couldn’t hear anything, but he didn’t expect to. When Phil tapped his fingers together, he realized the Pantherian must have a sub-dermal communications device. A lot of the corp-brats had them, but most of the populace of Hummassa still relied on older forms of communication, either video- or radio-based.
“Thanks,” Phil said. “I guess I’ll see you guys in a couple of days unless they need me elsewhere.” The ship shook slightly. Skylar leaned forward in his seat, hoping to see the airlock retracting from the ship, but it was too far back. He suddenly wished the med shuttle he’d flown up to the bigger ship in had been designed to have windows. He’d missed everything on the way up.
He straightened in his seat and stared wide-eyed as they drifted away from the hospital ship. The stars didn’t look any closer, but there was a strange feeling of distance between them and the larger vessel. For a moment, Skylar wondered if space would just be able to swallow them whole.
Taking the yoke that slid out from under the panel below the control screens, Phil chuckled. “That’s nothing. Sit back and enjoy the ride.” Then the
little ship shook again and started moving away from the hospital ship. When the bulk of the other ship was behind them, the view of the stars really opened up. They were moving slowly enough for Skylar to make out some of the constellations he was familiar with. They all looked much brighter and more colorful without Hummassa’s atmosphere distorting them. He glanced around wanting to see everything possible. There was so much to see he wasn’t sure he could ever see everything.
“We’re lucky this is a small system,” Phil said as he touched a series of places on his control panel. “In some of the larger, underpopulated systems, it can take a day or more to go from the inner planets to the stargate when they aren’t in lunar orbit. It also helps that the stargate and Hummassa are on the same side of the sun right now. The calculations would be a bit trickier if we had to navigate around the sun.”
“Is it hard to learn to fly one of these?” Skylar asked. In that moment, as they flew away from the planet he’d called home for all of his fifteen years, he knew he wanted to learn to fly spacecraft. Even with the weight of his mother’s loss still present, he felt free.
He’d heard some of the other kids talk about wanting to go into space when they were old enough, signing onto any passing ship needing extra hands, but he never really understood until he experienced space for himself. There was something incredible about being off the planet, with the universe opening up before him. He wondered how hard it would be for him to get a ship and just make space his home. Maybe he’d never have a house and family, but he could have a ship and possibly a crew. It would make hunting Boarisk easier.
“With the modern nav-coms, it’s fairly easy.” Phil settled back in his chair and let go of the control yoke. “Centuries ago, when the Central Galactic Council was still forming and setting up the stargates and their tech, it was a different thing. Back then, the pilot had to do all the calculations to make sure you didn’t accidently fly through a sun, black hole, or asteroid belt. There’re still a few places where you have to use manual. Not all of the galaxy is completely charted.” A faraway look crossed Phil’s furry face. “There’re still places that need exploring. I wish I had more time for that.” He turned and looked at Skylar. “Kid, if you get the chance, explore the universe. There’s nothing like going somewhere no known species has ever been.”