Nebula Nights: Love Among The Stars

by Melisse Aires

  ~*~

  The day of the battle, while others were still repairing damage, Lieutenant Commander Palrion called all of the psionics on the Reverence to the gym. Once there was a small company of people, and Kala had been escorted to the gym as well, he dismissed everyone who was not psionic. Once his team stood alone, he began to speak with them. “All of us have some psionic discipline. Among us are telepaths, telekinetics, a pyrokinetic, three different types of empath and one psionic sensor. No, we weren’t used in the last, and won’t be used in the next battle, but that doesn’t mean we relent on our training. The moment we do that is the moment we are confirming the prejudice that is affecting that woman’s decision.”

  Several members of the psionic team whispered among themselves. One started to snap her fingers and a small flame appeared, before she blew it out. Another stared at one of the fighting rods across the room, and it started to spin. A third and fourth seemed to become almost stuck together, but clearly intimidated. Kala could sense all of their discomfort, as well as each one’s attempt to seek an inner silence. The change in orders and the preparation that had gone and would go unused bothered each one of them.

  Finally, Kala spoke to Palrion. “Every one of us is here by Senate mandate. Each one trained, and at this point, ready to do what we need to in order to be of service to our fleet. Why should we continue to work for people that clearly don’t want us?”

  “It’s not a people Kala. It’s one woman who has personal issues with psionics, and has way too much power. Xenonia needs us. I’m in contact with the Senate. I have a representative assigned to the task of overseeing psionic involvement, and training. I speak directly to her, and even though I’m just a man, she listens to my words. At times, she’s overridden the Fleet Commander on the bridge.” Palrion watched his people fidget but pay close attention.

  “We need to stay on our toes, and when we know we can participate, we will. There’s no doubt in my mind that it can be and will be done. One change from this point out…” Palrion paused long enough to be certain he had his team’s full attention. “Look to each other for support. Remember the face next to you and around you because they know what is going on. They know how to handle something, or they know how to reach the person or people that do.”

  A young man in the back spoke up timidly. “Will Kala continue to keep us up-to-date on the ship’s plans?”

  Palrion looked right into Kala’s green eyes, and silently conveyed his surprise before speaking, “Yes, Kala will continue to convey what she learns as it relates to our group, and the expected plans of this ship.”

  “Good. She seems to be able to know everyone’s thoughts.” The girl with the flame fingers spoke confidently.“She and I have spoken many times in the last week. I trust her to keep us appraised of the situation.”

  Lieutenant Commander Palrion shook his head slightly. “Alright, are we on the same page? We stick together and keep in contact with one another. Come to me if you have a problem that you can’t easily resolve, or you need to resolve in the chain of command.” Once everyone was in agreement he dismissed them, and escorted Kala back to her quarters. When they were in the room, alone, Palrion spoke to her directly. “How many of the other psionics have you spoken to recently?”

  “All of them.”

  “All on this ship, Kala or all, all? As in the fleet?” Dak’s voice was gentle but firm.

  “As in every psionic in the fleet. The psionic mind is easier to connect with through the interference caused by the barrier.”

  Dak Palrion closed his eyes and tried to imagine how much telepathic ability it must take to reach beyond a barrier, and to speak to more than a hundred other minds. “How many can you connect to at once?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve only tried two or three.”

  “Ok. Your role in this small group now, Kala, is communications. If we need to convey an order, thought or plan to another ship, it is your duty to do that. Understood?”

  “Aye sir. I understand, and will perform to the best of my ability.” Her eyes remained focused on her teacher and mentor. “Thank you for your attempt to bring the psionics into a more unified group.”

  “Kala, that was the senate’s goal in the first place. All of you were assigned to the primary fleet for a reason. This is the strike force, this is the defense force and this is the one that is intended to keep our enemies out of Xenonia. The other two smaller fleets stand at the ready, one surrounding Xenonian space, and the other defending the colonies. This is where we are needed. This must be where we are strongest. This is where we must be ready to help the moment it’s possible.”

  “Understood. I should meditate, and prepare for when Private Sar can finish what she began.”

  “Agreed. “

  Lieutenant Commander Palrion left her quarters and soon after the Reverence. He held meetings with all of the psionics on every ship in the fleet over the next four days.

  ~*~

  The morning of the attack, Kala listened to the final meeting preparation with the strike team commanders. Although the Captain confirmed they were detected by the planetary scanners, there was still reason to be confident this strike would be successful. She told the teams that there had not been, and continued not to be signs of Ven ships. She anticipated a simple battle according to plan strategy that would be successful. She also took the time to remind the team leaders that this planet was once Xenonian, and there may be some survivors to rescue. Once everyone was briefed she dismissed the teams to their assignments. As expected, Palrion’s teams were told to hold fast until required. Kala relayed this message to the rest of the psionic fleet members.

  The armory and shuttle bays became busy and full of vigorous action before the meeting concluded. The strike teams were suited, armed and boarding their assigned shuttles. Each man and woman involved was confident that they would be able to take the planet back with ease. As the shuttles began to depart, Kala felt a shift. Something about this wasn’t right. Something lay in wait near the fleet. Her hearts raced, and she tried desperately to use her communicator to contact the Fleet Commander and captain. When she was repeatedly ignored, Kala resisted the desperate inclination to reach past the psionic barrier and into her mind. Instead, she reached out the Lieutenant Commander Palrion, and shared her empathic sense with him, but by then it was too late.

  Reports started coming in of shuttles never making it to the planet. A Ven defense force was waiting under a cloaked field. They let the teams leave, but never let them arrive. Four shuttles were gone in the moments after the last departed the fleet’s bays. Then eight. Then ten more shuttles were gone. Kala could sense their death, and the loss of so many ran down her face as tears.

  On the bridge, the captain was taken by surprise. “I thought only the Cybernetics had a cloaking field like that. Get our people back now!” She watched in horror as shuttle after shuttle engaged much greater enemies. “Move in and protect those shuttles! Get our people back to the ships!”

  Her broadcast went out to the entire fleet only moments after the Ven revealed themselves, and began to attack. Few shuttles made it back.

  As the fleet moved into position and began to protect the shuttles, a few finally made it safely onto ships. “Take out that defense force. Eliminate them, completely.” Captain Tangl knew the fleet was in trouble. Eighty teams were sent out and only five returned. She turned to her commander. “I’m going to manage fleet coordination. You are acting Captain.”

  She left the bridge and walked across the hall into a room that was dimly lit, but had screens everywhere. On the main screen was the fleet and the movement of the enemy. On the console before her was the computer’s multiple battle simulations and results. When she was standing before the main screen, she had a small wall on her left, and a communications channel to the fleet open. She could switch between any of the one hundred ships in her command. To her right was a stack of data tablets with background information on each battle plan, an
d each species they have and may encounter. She focused her efforts on determining the flight pattern of the Ven defense force. Once she determined that her fleet easily outnumbered the defense force, Fleet Commander Tangl ordered her ships to swarm and overwhelm them.

  As the Xenonian fleet took out the first Ven ship, something else unexpected happened. A pulse cannon fired at them from the planet. The first shot took out one of the smaller vessels in the fleet. Tangl cursed under her breath, but told them to continue. She turned to her communications channel and addressed one of the more maneuverable, Truex Class, vessels ordering them after the pulse cannon on the surface. As soon as the captain accepted the orders, the channel went dead. Tangl looked at the screen, and saw it destroyed from another pulse cannon blast. She slammed a fist down on the console. She then gave the order she had been fighting not to give. The Fleet Commander ordered the retreat of the Xenonian fleet.

  The moment the fleet was out of the occupied space, the reports started to flood in. During the span of ten minutes a lot had happened. One hundred ships had dropped by twenty. Six hundred and thirty two lives were lost on the shuttles alone. Ten thousand more lives were gone at the loss of the ships. The lone Reverence shuttle to make it back to safety had injured. The Fleet Commander sat in her office, the lights off, still stuck in the moment she dispatched the shuttles.

  ~*~

  Lieutenant Commander Palrion ordered Kala to triage. He said that the medical bay was full, and she was needed there. The triage center was set up in the main shuttle bay. When Kala arrived, she saw all eight people from the only Reverence shuttle on makeshift med beds. She stood by as nurses and a doctor tended to all of them. Some were minor electrical burns while others looked like the bulkhead had crushed them. Then there was one who caught her attention. It was a familiar stout figure, on the far side of the triage. His dark hair was matted to his face, and he screamed out as the nurse pulled another sharp metal shard from his bicep. Kala noticed a small stack of bloody metal shards next to his bed and her hearts sank.

  She walked to the nurse’s side. “How can I help?”

  The nurse didn’t take the time to look at her. “You can get him a pain reliever. This is going to be an excruciating process. They are on the supply table. Get a direct to wound injector instead of the standard needle or hydro press.”

  “Aye.” Kala moved quickly to the supply table to retrieve what she needed. She returned quickly to the nurse tending Maddux. After seeing the injection administered she asks,“Can I do anything else?” He cried out in agony as the nurse started to work on a piece that was deeply embedded into his shoulder.

  “Not unless you have better pain reliever, because we’re out of anything that will knock him out so I can do this.” The nurse continued to work, being as careful as she could, but knowing there was little she could do to comfort the solider she was working on.

  Kala reached for Maddux’s free hand. “You’ll be fine. She’ll get you cleaned up, and you’ll be recovering and back to work in just a few days.”

  His eyes met hers, the enduring agony is clear with every movement and every action taken by the nurse. Tears welled in his eyes, and blood dripped from his wounds along the side the nurse was working on.

  Kala wished there was something she could do. She wanted desperately not to allow her friend to remain in agony. As she held his hand, she suddenly felt it warm. An odd sensation ran through her, and her mind quickly mapped the pain points in his body. As her mind retreated into her own again, she screamed out. The pain was all consuming. Every part of her body ached. Every ounce of pain running through her was more than she had ever experienced in her life. It was unbearable, and she didn’t know how she came to hurt like this. Maddux fell silent.

  Just before she crumpled to the ground, the nurse explained, “You took his pain. He’s at rest while I work.” She motioned to someone else to help Kala, worried she wouldn’t be able to handle herself.

  The nurse completed taking the last of the shards from Maddux, and she sealed the wounds while Kala screamed on a med bed next to him. Once she was done with Maddux, she walked to Kala and placed a hand on her. “I’ve worked with psionic healers before. You’re of the same class. You can release this. I wish I knew how she focused to do that, but I know it can be done.”

  “I can help her.” Maddux spoke up. His voice shook slightly as he continued. “I’m not a healer, but I can help her focus.”

  Concerned for Kala’s safety the nurse moved the two closer together. “Then please do. I’ve seen others recover so much faster than the original patient could have. If she can absorb it, she can release it.”

  Maddux reached for Kala’s balled up hand, and opened a connection to her mind. He tried to help her find a way to focus past the pain, but on his first try he was able to feel the unbearable pain again. This forced him to release her hand, and she curled up on her side and cried. Not able to watch her suffer because of him, he tried again, and again he had to retreat. Kala cried harder with every effort and every retreat.

  Maddux opened the connection once more. He worked to help her focus through and past the agony she pulled from him. Rouen walked her through the pain management lessons they had learned as a tool for the battle field. He helped her locate and find the way to shut down the pain receptors. This time, because he was able to hold on longer, and help her through it, the pain started to subside. He pulled from her mind, and waited for her to complete the task. He watched as Kala’s features started to return to normal, and her eyes dried.

  When she looked at him calmer, he spoke to her. “Welcome back hero.”

  Kala managed a very slight smile. “Thanks for leading the way.” She sat up as the original nurse came over. “Thank you.”

  “There’s nothing to thank me for, Sweety. I wish I knew you were going to do that. I’d have been better prepared, but then the way things happen, I’d bet you didn’t know you were going to do that.” The gently aged features of the nurse were as comforting as her voice.

  Kala shook her head slightly. “No, I didn’t. I’ve never done that before.”

  “Well, it looks like you’ve got a good teacher and friend for part of it. He’s all patched up, but it’ll be a few days before he, or any of the others, are released.” The nurse smiled. “Healers are all good people with good hearts. Obviously, regardless of what is being said of you, you have a good pair of hearts too. You’re fully healthy, and able to go, when you want to. We’re done in here.”

  Kala turned, and looked at her friend again. He just helped her overcome the most excruciating physical pain she had ever endured. Words of gratitude escaped her, so she leaned over and kissed him softly on the forehead before leaving for her quarters. One more ability for her to learn had surfaced in an unexpected manner, as had happened before she was exhausted from it. She entered her quarters and walked straight back to her bedroom. Kala stretched out on her bed and rapidly fell asleep.

  Chapter 7

  On Volashun, the heart of the Ven Empire, a Xenonian shuttle touched down outside of a high profile hospital in the center of the city. Ignoring protocols that applied to others, Greshna released the security lockouts and activated the Xenonian tracking beacon. She left the shuttle and entered the hospital.

  As she entered, the doors slid open, and she stepped into a wide area filled with counters, chairs, and many people. Security approached her on her way to the lift, but she walked past them. Nurses and doctors tried to stop her, but she ignored them as well. When she got to the lift, she had to input a code. A security agent stood over her shoulder as she did. His imposing stature hunched down when he noticed a specific sequence in her code. His voice trembled slightly while he apologized for any offense he may have shown her. She continued to ignore him as she stepped onto the lift.

  When the doors slid shut, she ordered the hospital computer to take her the the Turaant Level treatment floor. After stepping off the lift on the correct floor, she closed her eyes for a mo
ment, and started to walk carefully past each door. A nurse walked over to her trying to speak with her, but Greshna lifted her hand to silence the woman so she could focus. When she found the direction she felt strongest, she walked to that room and stood by her brother’s bed.

  His long brown hair rests unbound and spreading across his shoulders. His facial features moved between contorted and calm. This indicated he was still suffering damage from the Dentonian. His doctor entered the room, prepared to give her a report, but she scanned him telepathically. Displeased by what she learned she chastised the doctor. “You’ve left him in a medical coma for a month?! Are you incompetent?”

  The doctor responded, “He has lobe damage. His treatments take time to repair it. Due to the nature of his position, and ours, we selected the safest approach to the best results.” He maintained a calm tone, hiding the fear of retribution that always came from dealing with the Turaant Society members.

  Greshna noted the soft gray hair and deep creases in the man’s features. Even as his appearance betrayed his age, his rank was not clear to her. She narrowed her eyes and spoke to him in a commanding tone. “First of all, you will address both my brother and myself by the correct rank, Turaant Red. Second, if this medical facility does not know how to treat the psionic lobe of the brain, then he should have been transferred. Third, I’m here now, I’ll address this. You will assist.” The man folded his hands behind his back. She reviewed her brother’s monitors and reports before turning her attention back to the doctor. “Retrieve a psionic lobe attuned scanner and a Torla.”

  “Turaant Red of the house of Grex, this room is not prepared for the use of a Torla.” The doctor attempted to speak up, but quickly learned it wasn’t a wise choice.

  Greshna snarled. “You would question me? Does your wife need to have a conversation with a Turaant Black?”