“I do.” He seemed unbothered by the facts being presented
“I want you to tell me something, Colin. According to the data we retrieved from your consciousness, along with the investigative reports of the crash, there is something more out there that we did not expect. Can you recall anything that would point us in the right direction?”
Colin took a deep breath. He folded his arms and thought well about the meaning of my words. He was still digesting everything. I did not want to push him too far nor did I wish to bring up Leo directly.
“There is something.” His eyes trailed the white floor then back to me, “But first I want to know something myself.”
“Present your query.”
“Is the mission to Sirius still in effect?”
I blinked unnaturally, “Possibly. Why?”
“Because if it is, then you need to know that there are more malevolent forces out there, waiting for you to cross that region.”
My head tilted in curiosity, urging him silently to continue
“When… I jumped with the remnants, I… connected with them. Telepathically. I’m no expert in telepathy but I do know when it happens. My wife was telepathic herself. I’ve had many experiences. The jump, I’m not sure if the space-time configuration distorted our consciousness, or what exactly happened, but I saw into the minds of the Sirians. There’s an army out there. Repairing themselves… restocking, recovering, gaining new heights in power…”
“Why don’t they attack us here?”
“They won’t. Your technology has advanced strong enough to fend them off on home grounds, but out there in the Sirian region, they can sneak and hide. They’re no longer a civilization. They’re some kind of, rebellion. I don’t know exactly where they are but I know they’re out there and I know…” Colin pointed to his head, “It’s in here. I have to unlock it.”
I kept looking at him sternly. A random thought probed my mind saying, ‘Do you have the slightest clue that my husband died because of you?’
But I wouldn’t let that thought pollute me. I shrugged it off and kept my emotions controlled, “Is it?”
Colin nodded at me. I could sense his innocence. It’s not truly his fault for what happened to SEEK and Leo. Just another stroke of fate in the universe
“Do you mind?” I asked him, pointing to the temple on my head, then pointing to him
“Telepathy?” He asked
I returned the same nod he gave to me.
Colin looked around the room suspiciously before giving me an answer – “Okay.”
I locked eyes with him directly and bolstered my concentration on him and him alone. The rest of the world faded as I entered his thoughts.
‘How does she know how to do that? Where did she get that capability? Adria?’
That’s not what I’m looking for…
‘Josh… is my boy okay? Father, mother… are you safe? Did I do what’s right for Mars?’
That’s not what I’m looking for either!
‘So many of them, all over. The mission has to continue. Must warn others in the future…’
That’s along like it
‘So… many. Adria, she’s… reminding me so much. Astraea, can you hear this? Why do you come to me so cold now? You were always warm. What did I do to you? What did I take?’
That’s it.
“Stop!” My voice grew harshly shutting his wild thoughts down immediately. He immediately grew weary of his mind and honestly, embarrassed – “I am not her!”
I got out of the chair and briskly proceeded to exit the room before saying one last thing, “And you are not him…”
Colin remained in the room dumbfounded. The council met me in the observation room equally confused; more wondering if I was able to handle the stress of the mission at this point in time. Truth be told, it was half and half. Delving into Colin’s thoughts revealed much more than what I bargained for. Indeed, there was something locked away in there but I had to shift through all the queries and all the feelings, the emotions…
“What happened?” Monasos asked me for the rest of the council
“We can’t send him back.” I confessed in a defeated tone, “He’s telling the truth. There is something out there but it will take me some time to properly get into the depth of his mind. We have to take him to Sirius.”
“What?” The council was ready to counter the request
“It is without any doubt, I know this sounds irrational, but we need to upgrade Colin through our science, make him suitable to our standard people and take him with us.”
“Halt, Astraea…” Monasos stopped me, “You’re suggesting we take this old space man further away from his time and possibly jeopardize our efforts to fix an ancient disease that’s been plagued throughout history in our genetic makeup? Why?”
“Because there’s something out there that only he knows about.”
The council looked back to the observation window, peering at Colin with new eyes
“And I’m going too.”
Monasos folded his arms thoughtfully at me, “You’re supposed to be on vacation. This is not the time for you to continue your work. You need time to recover and rest, especially concerning the death of Leo.”
A nerve snapped in me, but it was not rage.
It was a controlled anger – “If we want this mission to succeed, if we want to go to Sirius and meet with our ancient forefathers to fix our genes without losing more and more people to a stupid old war? Then Colin Sphere has to be a part of the team and there is no one better here on Mars to handle him than me. Therefore, I am going as well.”
The council remained speechless. They were not in a position to disagree
“Can I talk to you for a moment? In private?” Monasos requested
“Sure.”
We abruptly moved away from the rest of the council
“This has nothing to do with his spirit lineage, does it?” Monasos scolded
“Absolutely not. This is a matter of our global security and to the success of the mission.”
“Astra…” Monasos sighed, “You were the one who was the most adamant about sending him back once he was repaired and now you’ve changed your mind.”
“Not exactly.” I stopped him – “Once the mission is complete, we will send him back to his time.”
“You do know that still won’t make a difference in our time if he is to go back to his time, right?”
“Naturally.”
Monasos steered into my eyes challengingly. He knew there was not an ounce of uncertainty in my words. He knew he could trust me to get the job done, “So be it. We’ll upgrade Colin Sphere and get him ready for the mission. As for you, you’re right. There’s no one better qualified to handle him than you, and in addition, you would be an asset on this mission. I cannot deny that part.”
“Then it’s settled. Give me two weeks to prepare myself.”
Monasos nodded in agreement, “I hope you’re right about this…”
“I am.”
That day I went home twisting and turning my thoughts how I’d break the news to Pleija. She’d just found out about the death of Leo, now she’d be hearing of her sister’s voyage to a space beyond the place of his graveyard.
“Why?” Pleija would ask me, her jaw fastened in fear for me
“It’s for our people. Don’t you want this great journey our kind has suffered with to be over?” I’d contest
“Astra… I don’t care. I don’t care about that mission and I don’t care about why. I know why you’re going out there. You’ll never admit it directly, that’s the kind of person you are. Always shouldering the load without any complaint but inside Astra? Inside? Inside I know what’s happening to you.”
“I’m fine.”
“That’s what scares me.”
Scares you?
“You and Leo were like bread and butter, water and earth; two inseparable elements and yet you still keep going. No tears, no worries; and yo
u still keep going.”
“What choice do I have Pleija? Such is life.”
She’d hug me immediately after I’m done talking and hold me tight, “You don’t owe our people anything Astra. And you don’t owe Leo anything either. You’ve done more than enough, please, stay…”
I wanted to tell her again that I can’t but I knew this was a time to be silent and just, embrace my sister. I rubbed her back gently as a soft whisper left my mouth, forming into lyric after lyric. Soon I’d be softly singing her a song.
“I know you’re going. No one can stop you. Promise me one thing.”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Promise me you’ll come back.”
“Naturally.”
“No I want you to promise me, Astra. Promise me you’ll come back as the Astraea I know.”
I looked at my sister’s ready-to-weep eyes cautiously then I echoed the words – “I promise.”
The night would bring no sense of rest either. Colin’s thoughts were reaching out to me, miles away. He didn’t stop. He kept going and going, thinking of me, of his son, his family and his time. What I could not bring myself to fathom, is if he wanted to see his loved ones so much then why, tell me why was he so adamant about staying?
Colin’s thoughts would deceive a casual telepathic user. His thoughts would often conflict with themselves, then correct itself and come back to this cycle of evaluation, perfection and purpose. The purpose to fulfill the final part of this mission no matter what the cost or however long it should take. In that respect, I could fully understand why he wanted to see the success of the trip to Sirius. His family had been plagued with generations of Zero’s intended mission. The many hiccups they’d endure would only be a step toward this moment.
And here I sit, sorting through his thoughts.
Trying my best to comfort him.
Let him know, it will be alright.
Pleija’s earlier words bothering me, ‘Always shouldering the load without any complaint.’
If I didn’t my dear sister, who else would?
Every second I spent evaluating Colin, I felt that much closer to Leo. It’s something I truly would never reveal. At least not to him, not yet. Pleija had asked me once if I encountered any of my people in former lives. I did, Leo included. Colin’s an older incarnation of Leo and one thing that is for certain without as much as an ounce of doubt, is that love has penetrated spacetime, gone beyond his time and beyond mine and somehow, it’s there. Death cannot stop that connection; the same connection Colin had to my former life. The lifetime I walked as the woman he once knew to be none other than his deceased wife – Adria.
I was in outside in the garden alone when the sexual thoughts began influencing me. A natural occurrence in the human being. One of great importance. One that shouldn’t being neglected, which is something I’ve been doing for a long time. After Leo’s death, there would be times I couldn’t even eat properly or simply, forget about some of my most important needs.
Tonight would be vastly different. It didn’t matter to me that I was out there in the garden. I was very aroused anyway. I could feel Leo’s hands around my shoulders. I could feel them embracing my calling, naked body – just the two of us, alone and unafraid. A slice of time put aside for me to wrap my leg around his waist and drive him closer into me. Our lips would make contact across multiple regions of our skin. He’d feel my breasts, and my womanhood embrace him in this moment. This one time for our eternity…
My right hand slipped down my cleavage, past my stomach and between my legs as the thoughts raced wildly through my head, pushing me for a release I desperately needed. I could feel him so strong, I could feel him next to me. Stay with me, just this once. Don’t go till I say. Remain here, my dear… It’s cold out there.
One thing I’ll happily admit, despite all the grim and the grand that has happened or should happened; whatever – point is, that night I had my release and I enjoyed it oh so greatly. The next morning I’d have to wake up to break the news to Lilith. I’d be unmoved to find her so supportive of my decisions. It’s always the relationship Lilith and I had. One based on respect for each other’s free will and the direction we chose to unfold our own lives. Pleija would still be sulky but she too would come to this realization as well.
The next few days I’d live with my family in harmony, except for one, undeniably overwhelming issue: Colin. He never stopped thinking about me, be it, what I was doing, if I’m coming back and sometimes every now and then, a thought or two of me exposed to him alone fully.
Above all, the thing that troubled him most is not if we’d be successful on the trip, rather, when are we getting out there to just go and get the job done. So I decided that it’d be wise to see him before my two week prep time was over.
“I knew you’d come.” He tells me looking over the horizon, the rising sun highlighting the biodome chamber he was sitting in. Colin was kept in secured facilities during the upgrading process. He had to familiarize himself to our environment and air, along with a long list of other factors which would take time for him to adjust.
“When a man is as troubled as you and he seemingly has no one else to turn to but me, one can’t help to pick up on such thoughts. Especially when they’re pointed in my direction.” I told him, keeping a secured position behind him – watching.
His back was turned to me but I could feel the warmth, or the beam of him as if he were smiling – “I’m sorry about that. There is a lot on my mind. I shouldn’t be pointing it to you.”
“You speak as if you have control over your telepathic pulls.”
“To a certain extent…”
I moved to his side, still standing and looking down on him while he kept his eyes on the growing sun. My presence removed the glue from his eyes. He faced me like a magnet drawn to its missing piece, “Care for a seat?”
I sat myself down, using my body motion to silently answer his request, still keeping my eyes locked on his. He could not return the gaze for too long. Colin felt overwhelmed by me, so he turned back to the horizon with a faint smile.
“Your wife taught you?”
“Only the basics. She said telepathy could be a dangerous thing to the novice mastering it.”
“In that regard, she is of correctness.”
“I thought you’d say that. Hey, I hope I haven’t been a bother to you… I’m not sure who else I can turn to. Everyone here is so different from my time, yet the same. And back in my time, I still didn’t have that many options to turn to, if I had options at all…”
Colin took a gulp and sighed, “She was the only one until you came.”
“You know fully well I am not her.”
“Of course. I only speak of the strange connection I have with you. I’m sure you can’t deny it.”
Now it would be my turn to gaze endlessly into the sun and try and lose myself in the moment. I did not wish to respond to him right away, however, I know very well that he was trying to keep himself under control. Alone and in a different world with no one to turn to? It could be a difficult thing. It’s not as if Colin wanted to end up here. This is life. It takes us to places we never dreamed of.
“Come with me.” I instructed him as I got on my feet, waiting for him to get up. He didn’t question. He became water; flowing in time, listening without any mistrust. As he got to his feet, I realized Colin had become very critical of his thoughts; often fixing and correcting them or apologizing to me if he accidently pulled too much. Truth is, he didn’t. Not anymore. I wanted to be here out of my own volition.
I think what surprised most of the Martians who were taking care of him was that he didn’t have as much interest in our technology or advancement as previously expected from an ancient space man. His interest was painstakingly dedicated toward me and the completion of the mission yet I could sense a mask, covering an underline frustration.
“You keep suppressing and you are going to explode.” I warned him as we made way to my wor
ldship.
“Good advice. I wonder why you don’t do the same?” He countered
I halted walking to look at him directly, my worldship only a few feet away
“What?” He also stopped
“Are you saying I’m ready to burst too?”
“I don’t think you’re the ‘burst’ type Astraea. I’m just wondering how long it’s gonna’ be before you tell me I’m the reason why your husband’s dead.”
I wanted to respond but my tongue wrapped in silence
How did he find out that information?
“This must be very awkward for you. I know it is for me. All I can say is, I’m sorry. I never wanted any of this to happen. I didn’t want to come to your time and mess up everything. I didn’t want to cause you grief, when all you did was give me hope in a dark time…”
I still stood there, unable to respond. All I could do is watch and listen
“You don’t have to do this. If you don’t want me here, or if I’m a bother, or whatever – tell me. Send me back, get rid of me, have me face trial; just don’t give me the cold shoulder. All I want to do is fix all of this.”
“You can’t fix anything.” I coldly told him, activating the beam-up device from my ship.
We were materialized inside the ship where I briskly made way for the controls while Colin stood looking at me, stunned by my comment.
“You’re not here to fix anything. The only reason I haven’t sent you back is because we may be walking into a trap without you.” I turned around and crossed my arms, glaring at him seriously – “You and I are the only ones that can prevent another catastrophe. Do you understand? What happened to Leo, has nothing to do with you. Just drop it and don’t apologize.”
Colin nodded respectfully, “Then tell me. How do we stop what we can’t see?”
“The picture isn’t always readily readable. It takes time to investigate an impaired consciousness like yours.”
“Are there other telepathic people in this world like you?”
“Yes, there are others.”
“Why were you alone chosen to operate on me?”
“It’s not a matter of just telepathic capability. There are factors, psychological, experience, and obligational duties. I fit all the requirements necessary to operate on you. Unfortunately, our ship leaves in a few days, so this will be an ongoing process.”
Zero Sphere: A Space Opera Thriller Page 24