"Do Aledan's get much food from the sea?" Chelle asked Hankura as they walked barefoot along the shore on the second day.
"Yes. That's where we get the plant for trelp and a kind of slug that we use to make presh. The Tharn natives use a lot more that they don't ship to our area. Before we go home, I'll take you to Tharnel to sample some of their rarer delicacies."
"I'd like that." she agreed. "What about swimming here? Are there any creatures that would consider us rare delicacies?"
"Not here," he assured her with a grin. "On the far shore area, there are some large, carnivorous amphibians that might find us tasty, but we could sense their presence if they came near us."
"Good." she murmured with a thoughtful expression. "One thing I don't understand, though, Hank. How come no one else is here enjoying this magnificent stretch of beach? A place this beautiful is so rare on Earth."
"I really don't know. Tharnel is the only large settlement on the shore--perhaps because the water is salt. The bodies of water on the plains are fresh and provide water for the cities around them as well as cheap transportation for goods.
"I remember there was a well-frequented resort near Tharnel, but nothing this far north--particularly not with the kind of creature comforts that Aledan's have come to expect. What we are doing here, so simply equipped is not a usual pastime on Aledus. Life was more simple for me on Velran and for you on Earth so we can appreciate the tranquility of this place."
"I just wish we had more time."
"If we spend too much time here, people will think we are crazy--especially Mother and Father." He grinned at her fondly and drew her into the circle of his arms.
"We're not crazy." She grinned back. "We're lovers. . .."
"Is there a difference?"
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Well, here I am. They don't look thrilled to see me, either. Chelle thought, walking nervously into the partly filled classroom at Salla University. As she took her assigned seat in the third tier of four rows, other students openly stared at her. She stared back at them in defiance and turned on the computer screen in front of her.
"That's the Terran psion," Farra whispered to her friend Arianne. "Unconditioned, grade eight-point-three, the sheet says. Can you believe they actually let her in with us?"
"A grade eight yet!" Arianne muttered, glancing at Chelle in disdain. "At least you don't have to sit beside her."
"Well, Landis has to work with her in the lab. Is he ever mad!" Farra told her. "Marcus refused to assign him another partner. When Landis threatened to drop the class, Marcus told him to do it. It was all the same to him."
"What do you expect?" Arianne murmured back. "He was an instructor on Velran for twenty-five standard years. There were millions of psions there. They don't faze Marcus."
Half listening and half reading their thoughts, Chelle smiled to herself. Looks like I get a fair chance after all.
A series of bleeping tones signaled the start of their lecture, and a detailed image of a human cell appeared on the screen before her as Marcus started to speak. At the finish of the lecture, the computer was set to eject a microdisk to each student for future reference and review.
With microdisks that could easily fit into a pocket to store text and lectures, there was no need for students to lug around heavy textbooks; though there were still some real books in existence. During training, the student would accumulate dozens of lectures on a single disk to keep and review for their regular examinations.
Throughout the lecture, Chelle paid close attention to all that Marcus said, gently probing his mind for anything she didn't quite understand. Even then, it was difficult for her to grasp everything because the concepts and theories were a little advanced for her limited education. However, she was less disconcerted as she sensed that the other students were about as confused as she.
Reviewing her disk later with Hankura to help her to understand would be enlightening. As her psi-mate, he knew just how to relate the information to her in terms she could understand. It was clearer than ever now that she'd never get through the training successfully without his help.
At the finish of the lecture, her machine popped out its disk, and it went rolling on the floor before Chelle could catch it. Know it belonged to her, Landis vindictively ground his heel into the tiny plastic disk and smashed it to a dozen pieces.
"That was rather childish." Chelle faced him calmly. "Just what did you prove?"
He didn't answer, but she sensed his cold dislike of her--because she was an alien psion.
"You think I'll quit because you give me a hard time?" she demanded. "Well think again." She held out her hand, palm up, and met his gaze levelly. "It's too bad your disk got crushed. I'll take mine now."
"And what if I don't give it to you?" He looked at her worriedly. "You wouldn't . . .wipe my mind?"
"Do you want to find out?" she dared. Of course, she wouldn't. She wasn't that skilled yet, but he didn't know that.
Seething inwardly, Landis grimly handed her the disk. Arrogant slit.
"I'm not overly fond of you either. I certainly don't like your attitude." Her eyes narrowed, and she wanted to hit him, but she held her ground with an outwardly calm demeanor. "Nobody says we have to like each other. Treat me fairly, and I'll do the same for you. Take it or leave it."
"Just go straight to hell, bitch!" he hissed and stalked out of the classroom ahead of her.
"We'll see," she murmured defiantly after him. "We'll see."
Slipping the disk into the small pouch sewn at the waist of her drab, loose-fitting coverall, she sauntered down the corridor alone, oblivious to the snide remarks from her fellow students. They were merely words. Any acknowledgment on her part would only increase their harassment; she had learned that lesson young in life. It was when they started hitting or hurting her in some real physical way that she fought back.
Tall and slender with a shapely figure, her blue eyes enhanced her exotic beauty, so Capra had told her. "You really look great since you filled out a little," Capra added as she was experimenting with Chelle's hair to help her choose a new style. Chelle could see in her mirror that her high cheek boned face was less gaunt than when she had arrived. The food at the complex was good, and there was always plenty of it. That in itself was wealth to Chelle.
Away from the hardships of life on Earth, she could look forward to well over a 200 or more years of good health and maturing beauty--and she had Hankura to share it with her. It could have been worse--a lot worse.
In that light, the others' taunts seemed irrelevant. She had already faced worse things on Earth. Those times seemed long past, she mused with a sigh. Lost in her thoughts, she almost bumped into a young man who was deliberately barring her path to the exit. "Excuse me, I'd like to pass." She tried to go around him, and he stepped in front of her again.
"Are you in a hurry?" he taunted with a smug grin.
"Yes," she muttered. "I--"
"Aah! Chelle," Trevin drawled from behind her. "There you are." She turned as he strode toward her. "Do you want a lift back to the complex with me now?"
"Thank you, I would," she smiled gratefully. "Hankura will be busy for some time yet."
Trevin nodded and took her arm, leading her from the building. "I figured something like this might happen."
"Is that why you just happened to be here when you did?"
"I didn't think it'd hurt. I knew Hankura couldn't make it." He shrugged carelessly.
"I'm glad you did," she grinned. "I was about to resort to violence."
"Yeah, so was he," Trevin scowled as they stepped onto the beltway.
It was Chelle's turn to shrug. Violence was nothing new to her.
Profiled, evaluated, classified and duly labeled; Hankura was finally cleared to work at Salla Medical Center out of a private office suite. Mulling over the red tape he'd completed, he hesitated then pressed the button to gain entrance to his study that was set adjacent to a series of well-equipped treatment cubicl
es. He walked inside, stopped, and glanced around the off-white room. The floor was covered with a thick beige carpet with a curved brown and black desk centered at the back of the room. There was a large comfortable looking chair behind the desk and three others like it against the wall on the right. Near the corner of that same wall was a refreshment dispenser. The opposite corner held an artificial tree and on his desk was a computer holo-terminal. Otherwise, the room was nearly bare. No windows, probably the least desirable office on that level, but not bad. It was his.
Momentarily, a young blond man in his late twenties came in from the direction of the treatment cells. His face lit with a genuine smile of welcome that reached his amber eyes. He held out his hand to Hankura in an amiable manner. "Hello, Hankura. I'm Mikal, your chief assistant."
Pleasantly surprised by Mikal's sincere friendliness, Hankura took his offered hand and shook it. "Where are the other two? I'm supposed to have three techs to go into surgery. What the hell's going on?" Immediately, he sensed Mikal's reluctance to answer. "No assistants?" Hankura understood.
"Well---" Mikal rested his hands on his waist just above his hipbones.
"You're the only tech who agreed to work with me," Hankura verbalized his answer before Mikal could. "That's just great. I need those two techs or no surgery."
"I know two others who might come, but they don't come highly recommended," he offered. "Then, Fargo's a real bastard to work for. They might be a little leery of you, but I don't think they'll refuse to work for you."
"They any good?" Hankura looked at him dubiously.
"Fairly good in my opinion."
"Get them here, and I'll see 'em. I've got to have somebody," Hankura bit off. "What made you agree to work for me when no one else will?"
"Didn't they tell you--?"
"Belderon, of course. Psions live like human beings there." Hankura grinned suddenly. "So, you're from Belderon. What made you come here?"
"Lania, my eldest wife has a complex near Lenth. We came here three years ago to supervise the crops. She was born here, but her parents took her to Belderon before mind conditioning would have been enforced. I understand you were sent to Velran for the same reason."
"Yeah, it's all in the records," Hankura was unable to hide a note of bitterness from his new colleague. "That's why I can't get any techs---that and this damned blue psi-patch." He jerked his head toward his left sleeve. Pacing to the curved desk, he turned to face Mikal again. "I don't know what I'm worried about. I probably won't get many patients anyhow."
"You're right there. You only have three today--all off-worlders from the Searching Star exploration ship. It's all on the computer." Mikal gestured to the screen link on Hankura's desk. "Your code's listed on the left ID panel. I figured you'd want a complete body scan. They should be arriving any time now."
"What about--?"
"The other two techs?" Hankura finished for him. "In my tight schedule, I might find time to interview them."
Mikal nodded sympathetically. "Don't feel bad. Lania is not happy with life here either. She's pregnant to top it off, and she's carrying to term. We lost our first to an "accident" in the Fetal Nurtury."
"Happens to Psion offspring all the time in Salla," Hankura answered dryly. "Chelle and I will never have children on Aledus."
"Well, ours won't be living here for long. A couple more good crops and we're heading for Zevus Mar."
"Zevus Mar? Don't think I've ever heard of it," Hankura remarked.
"Not many have. It's just a little mining and agricultural colony settled in the last two centuries or so," Mikal explained. "It's in Sector Four near the rim in the same string as Tregas and Sol."
"I know where you mean. I just came from Earth a couple months ago. My wife is Terran."
"She a psi, too?" The question held no malice.
"Yes. We're psi-mates. She's in the Tech One course at Salla University."
"She's in for a rough time. I trained on Belderon. We got plenty of psions transferring in--all fed up with the hassles at Salla."
"Don't remind me." Hankura sat down and started checking the readouts on his patients. The first was a Captain Beras. "Carfen 23 bacterial infection--says they used Frentex. That should have cleared it up," he murmured half to himself.
"The Federation sent them here for medical clearance before they will let them leave this sector."
"Hell, you're qualified to report on this!" The Aledan switched off the terminal irritably, drawing his dark brows together in a disgusted frown.
"The record calls for a physician's print," his assistant pointed out. "You might as well face facts. Your skills will rarely be taxed here. You'll get a few leery Aledan psions and most of the off-worlders, probably not much surgery."
"So I'm a token Psion to hold up for show to the others," Hankura muttered and made a bitter sound.
"That's about it," Mikal agreed, shaking his head. "That's just the way it is here."
Captain Beras was a hard military man with forty-five years of service behind him in the United Galactic Federation Defense Force. More years of his service were spent fighting wars than he cared to think about. Honored many times for his courage in the Sargus Wars, he retired from the Defense Force to take command of a Federation Exploration ship that employed both civilian and military personnel.
Slightly shorter than Hankura, Beras was stockily built with a squarish face. His graying hair bushed thickly under his military issue cap, and his face was barely wrinkled despite his eighty years. To Hankura, he looked in good condition for a man half his age.
As Hankura glanced at the Captain's readouts, he sensed Beras probing his mind tentatively.
You're being here is merely a formality as you have guessed. There's nothing wrong with you. The physician indicated.
"Regulations," Beras murmured blandly. "Aledus just happens to be our last stop on our way out of this sector. It's the only reason we came here for the report. You won't find anything wrong with Jabe or Cran either."
"I didn't expect to. I just have to check for the report."
"I suppose you have nothing better to do," Beras' tone grew dry. "What did you expect here, Aledan? After all this is Aledus. Without Federation clearance, I'd never come here."
"There are a lot better places for a Psion to live, but I had my reasons for coming back. After twenty years on Velran, I wanted to see my home again. I don't know how long my wife and I will stay."
Not long I'll wager. Educated on Velran—right? You won't stay long. From what I know about Velran and what I sense in you; you'll only take so much of this refuse before you start striking back. Then, you'd better get the hell out. They'll try to break you because of what you are. In your shoes, I'd launch that Mran fast. A man like you could do a lot better than this do-nothing job."
Not on Aledus. Hankura indicated with a rueful grin. It beats doing nothing at our agro complex. It'll fill my time until we're ready to leave.
"But don't wait too long son," Beras spoke aloud again.
"I know. Thanks for your concern." He eyed the other man a bit self-consciously. He knew the stronger telepath was gleaning a great deal of information from his memory--most of what was bothering him at the moment.
The Captain learned about his psi-mating and his trip to Earth. He learned about his brush with death, Chelle's healing ability and a lot more. Had Hankura shielded his thoughts, Beras would have respected his privacy. But it felt good to share them with this understanding stranger.
Beras understood how Hankura's homecoming had been less than warm and reassuring. In more than a month, his conflict with Natar over her attempts to dominate his life and her resentment for Chelle had hardly lessened. His brother and sister would rarely be seen with him and Chelle in public; except that Trevin seemed to have appointed himself personal protector for her.
Hankura knew that Trevin was fonder of his wife than he would like. But, he couldn't justify in making objections to their friendship. Trevin respected Hanku
ra's relationship with Chelle, and he knew Chelle would only allow friendship between them. What could he say?
Then his father was caught in the middle of everything. In addition to all that, Hankura still had qualms about taking Chelle from Earth and bringing her to Aledus. So far, life on Aledus was proving nearly as much of a challenge as the hard life she'd led on Earth. But she was doing her best to fit in.
Hankura hated for her to be subjected to the daily harassment at the University, but he couldn't help being caught up in her enthusiasm in everything she was learning. If he weren't so damned stubborn, he would take her someplace else to study; he just couldn't bring himself to leave without making a stand this time. Chelle's understanding of his feelings helped, but he got a case of guilt every so often for exposing her to the humiliations of a psion's life on Aledus. Still, it wasn't all that bad. Those days and nights at Tharn...
Hankura flushed slightly, shielding those intimacies from Beras. With a careless tilt of his full mouth, he sighed to himself. "I'll give you and your men clearance for duty. Let me know if I can be of help to you in the future. I'll do whatever I can." It was more than just a casual remark. He meant it. In the span of those few minutes, they had become friends, and Hankura hadn't found many friends on Aledus.
"I appreciate it." Beras nodded. "I think you're a little crazy for staying here, but I understand. You've got guts, I'll say that for you. It's been a pleasure meeting you."
Back in his study, Hankura found Nathan and Sharlel waiting nervously to see him. He strode briskly into the room and sat down in his chair without a word to either of them. He looked at one and then the other for several long moments. Sharlel was a tiny wisp of a woman with small features and large gray-green eyes wide apart in her pointed face. Her shapely figure filled out the blue and white tech uniform in all the right places.
The Aledan PSION: The Aledan Series Book 1 Page 14