Nebula Nights: Love Among The Stars

by Melisse Aires

  “I have removed the safety protocols. I have taken off the lack of blood you see in your training simulations. If you cut a soldier that can bleed, it will. If you are cut by one, you will.” The room silently acknowledged his words, before he continued. “Now, we have an added layer. Your Ven attackers will feel very real. No, you’re not accustomed to training with an active psionic attack posed against you, but you have battled with them. Consider this the same. One of our own will be pressing the telepathic and psionic attack.”

  Several people in the room begin to mumble among themselves, not pleased by the set up.

  “You wanted action. This is as close to how you will experience it as you can get. Anyone who persists in their complaints is here by relieved of this testing process.” He watched as the soldiers returned to attention, and became silent about their thoughts. “Good. The simulation is simple. Eliminate your enemy using your psionic abilities and related or required combat training.” He looked back at Kala for a brief moment, then to the groups before him. “Now, Telekinetics take position inside the training area.” In perfect form, the remaining telekinetics stepped into the hexagon shape, and an energy force shield appeared around them, blocking any attempt to leave the arena before the mission was complete. “Computer and combatants, begin.”

  The battle began the moment the word was given. The telekinetic team moved in against the combined Ven and Android team. As each one threw punches and utilized various fighting styles in close quarters hand to hand combat. One stood alone. He watched the other Xenonian telekinetics fight, and he reserved his strength. When an Android approached him, this dark skinned man raised a hand slightly, and the Android flew into the barrier holding them in. It slid down, and hit the floor with a thud, but was back up and in the fight within moments.

  Several of the telekinetics fell in this battle. Overzealous combatants found the direct approach fell short when Android attackers crushed limbs, and snapped ribs. Others encountered vicious debilitating blows to pressure points, combined with the telepathic attack. They were forced to succumb to the trauma. The reserved, telekinetic man pulled each of the fallen team members to safety.

  He systematically began to take apart the uninjured Ven and Android team. He relied on his telekinesis to do the hard work of severing the Android bodies from themselves, and choking the life from the Ven. Soon, what began as six formidable enemies were only two. As these two pushed toward the man with vehemence, he focused, and severed one of the Android’s arms, then used it to impale the Ven solider. A moment later, like the other simulated soldiers before him, he vanished from the fight.

  As the lone Android pushed toward him, the man felt a searing pain of an intensely focused telepathic attack. At the point in which the pain became blinding, the man focused intently upon his Android enemy. A moment later the other arm and a foot flew backward, leaving the Android to limp toward him. After it landed a solid kick to his chest, the man staggered back and waved his hand wildly, throwing the Android attacker backwards into the barrier. He blinked through the pain that persisted. As he did, he looked over his previously injured associates to account for the injuries previously inflicted. The Android charged him. He looked up, waved his hand more broadly, and it flew backward once more. Even with the intensifying pain that plagued in his mind, he severed the legs from the body, and it slid down the shield and disappeared.

  The shield dropped, and the telekinetic man stepped from the hexagon. A flash of light covered the combat area the moment he was clear, and his team was gone. The relocator above the training area moved them to the medical facility, and the telepathic attack on his mind subsided.

  Lieutenant Commander Palrion looked him over momentarily, and then ordered him to stand with Kala. Palrion then returned his attention the controls, resetting the combat simulation. Once the computer reset the Android and Ven team Palrion spoke to the group. “We have three Cryokinetics, two Astro-projectors, and a handful of Electrokinetics. All of you take positions.” They stepped inside the hexagon, the shield moved into place, and Palrion gave the order. “Computer and combatants, begin.”

  Like the previous, the battle began the moment the word was given. In an attempt to confuse, the astro-projectors made life like copies of themselves and their teammates. This quickly filled the vacant space around the Ven and Android simulated team. The real electrokinetics and cryokinetics moved among the images, and were able to gain quick access to the Ven and Androids. One by one, Androids became shuddering piles of electrical parts.

  Ven started their approach by trying to attack the projections. They found they moved through each image of the Tellurian soldiers. When a Ven happened upon a real astro-projector, her projections were interrupted by the fight that ensued. With the fight down to three Ven against the combined Xenonian team, one of the cryokinetics moved to help her. The Xenonian woman stumbled in the fight, and took a hard fall with a Ven pinning her down. The cryokinetic man reached over, and yanked the Ven soldier from his teammate. With ease, he slammed the Ven hard onto the ground. The Ven glared at him. Both the cryokinetic and astro-projector felt searing pain run through their psionic lobes, and out to the tips of their toes, causing everything in between to hurt. They became incapacitated by the overwhelming pain.

  Kala held back her tears.

  An electrokinetic grabbed a ven soldier from behind, sending an electrical current through them until the smaller combatant disappeared. Another Ven attacked a second astro-projector. As the fight persisted, she was aided by both an electrokinetic and a cryokinetic. The team members ripped the Ven out of the fight and attacked him, both in physical combat and through use of their abilities, until there was only one Ven soldier left.

  The astro-projectors dropped their projections, making their numbers clear. The Ven gave the image of what would be an intense telepathic attack, and Kala mimicked a realistic Ven telepathic attack. That didn’t stop one of the electrokinetic women who lunged at the Ven soldier ferociously. She blinked through the increasing pain and found a way to dominate the simulated attacker. When the last Ven disappeared, the shield holding them in dropped.

  “Step out.” Palrion’s voice resonated through the otherwise silent room.

  The mixed discipline team stepped from the hexagon. The soldiers who fell in battle were relocated to the medical facility. Once the hexagon was clear, he ordered the first half of the pyrokinetics into the combat area. Palrion stepped back and indicated others should as well.

  “Things will get hot in here.”

  The battle started and ended very quickly. There were no Xenonian injuries beyond the persistent telepathic attack. That pain let up the moment the shields dropped. The next half of the same psionic discipline repeated a nearly equal performance. Palrion took careful note of how the battles were waged, and how the pyrokinetics operated as a group of individuals, instead of a team.

  After exchanging glances with Kala briefly, Lieutenant Commander Dak Palrion turned to the remainder of the untested psionics. “All of you will need a very different psionic testing.“ Palrion turned to the varied telepaths and remaining empaths, “You’re about to face a very difficult situation. Because each of you are combat trained, some more intensely than others, you will face each other. There are three disciplines left and not enough positions for all of you. Step into the hexagon and you will be timed, distracted, and faced with each other.”

  Without hesitation, Private Hennessa Sar, Private Merx Tol, Private Phelian Crex, and Private First Class Rouen Maddux moved into the hexagon. The remainder of their teams and disciplines followed closely, as if they were following their team leaders.

  Kala watched her friends step into a battle ring against each other. Two telepaths, one Humanoid Empathic Manipulator, and one Tactile Telepath were ready, among the others, to battle each other into submission. Three of them were her roommates, and she could acutely sense when their psionic barriers went up. She also sensed the unclear pain that crossed both Privat
e Sar and Private Tol as they prepared for this. Each discipline filed in next to the person who appeared to take the lead in their ability. What happened next surprised everyone.

  Privates Sar, Tol and Crex waited for the shield to activate before they turned on their own disciple and worked together with PFC Maddux to subdue the others. Between the four of them, it became clear that a telepathic attack wouldn’t be enough. Some of the telepaths and empaths charged the small team. Maddux quickly aligned himself with Sar, and the two fought to stop the physical attack without injury to the smaller team. Their efforts were successful.

  When it became clear to Palrion that this small group had planned their strategy, he knew the rest of the teams in there arena would not make it out without relocation to the medical facility. Believing the small team had it too easy, he turned to Kala. “You have the ability to stop all four of them at once. You have a stronger natural ability, and you have the ability to pull from others.”

  Kala looked up at him, confused and uncertain she wanted to attack her friends, “Pull… from… others? As in their psionic energy?”

  “No, Kala. As in their ability.”

  “How do you know this? What do I do?” Kala glanced back at the intensified action in the hexagon. All of her friends still stood against the more physical attack that came from the other Tactile Telepaths and her hearts were satisfied by this. “They are fighting well. Each of them as a team, as you wished.”

  “Kala, there’s been an ever present uniqueness about what I’ve perceived from you, ever since that day in the market. I had not been able to be certain why until I researched some of the other disciplines I thought I sensed from you. I found a channeler can and will portray many disciplines at once, even before they can use it.” Lieutenant Commander Palrion glanced over at the combat arena and gestured to the small group inside. “They are fighting people with less desire and less focus on developing their abilities. No, they don’t train as long as you do, but you have to train on many different disciplines. They are as dedicated as you are to being prepared for anything. You are the only one standing here that can give them a challenge. “

  Still very confused and uncertain, Kala looked back at her friends and then to her mentor. “What do I do?” She bit her lip, and waited for him to explain it.

  “You establish a telepathic link to the psionic mind of any individual. Then you follow any steps you have seen, or have read in their mind, identically. It is likely you will have to practice with every new ability, but for now, you and I are the only ones who know you can do it at all.” His tone was low, so only she could hear him. “This gives you an advantage.”

  Kala acknowledged him with a gesture, and hesitantly walked toward the hexagon. One side of the shield dropped, and she stepped inside. She stood among the fallen telepaths and empaths. Carefully, she prepared her mind as well as she could in that moment. She projected to her friends. ~I’m sorry.~

  Henessa Sar projected back, ~Don’t be. Just know that no matter how much affection we have for you, we will not be gentle.~

  Kala nodded and took a deep breath before she raised the last of her own protective psionic barriers. She knew that a direct telepathic attack would be something they would all prepare for. With her pulse ringing loudly in her ears she established her first link to another discipline. Her mind touched that of a pyrokinetic, and her focus shot a single line of flame toward her friends that never made contact. Her success took her by surprise. She attempted a second connection to the electrokentic, but felt her mind burn in pain, and only a slight spark erupted from her fingers. She released that link, and returned to the first.

  Her efforts also took her friends by surprise. They knew they were faced with more than they expected. Maddux walked around the outside edge of the hexagon to come up behind Kala while Sar, Crex and Tol distracted her by attempting to focus on her mind. None of them got through.

  Kala could feel her head begin to ache from the psionic link to the pyrokinetic so she released it. When Maddux was almost directly behind her, Kala connected to a telekinetic and pushed the other three further away. Unfortunately, she also pushed many of the fallen who had succumb the pain of battle.

  Maddux stalked silently behind Kala. After she began to sense him through the chaos, she spun to face him. He moved to restrain her. With her arms pinned at her side she leaned up and kissed him. She used the contact to open a direct telepathic connection and quickly made the much larger man drop onto his knees.

  Free of his grasp, she turned on her heels to find her friends had untangled themselves from the other telepaths and empaths that were tossed at them accidently. She searched for a new connection.

  Merx Tol stepped forward and looked right at Kala. In that moment, he took a different approach. He flooded Kala with emotions of affection and concern for those around her, adding to and amplifying what she was already experiencing.

  Kala looked at the people in pain, and at her friends, as she was overwhelmed. In moments, she collapsed on the floor in tears. The shields fell down while Kala sat there, shaking, and sobbing. Henessa moved to her side, and helped her up. Merx, Phelian, and Rouen walked with the women as the hexagon was cleared by the relocator.

  Lieutenant Commander Palrion looked over the people left standing. All of them were battle ridden, and in some level of pain. Knowing he had to test Kala once more, he turned to her. “Help them.”

  She looked at him, trying to dry her tears, and acknowledged his order. Palrion watched as she walked from person to person, and pulled their pain from them. By the time she reached her friends she could barely see from the intensity of the pain she had taken, but she didn’t slow her efforts. When she stood ready to take the pain from Rouen Maddux, he grabbed her hands and shook his head. She looked up at him, and was unable to hold back the tears as she buckled from the pain. He lifted her from the ground, and carried her to one of the tables.

  Angry that she was expected to do this after a battle, he snapped at Palrion, while he carried her. “She needs time to recover.”

  Palrion barked, “In battle there is no time. She needs to learn to dissipate the pain as she goes, not when she’s done.”

  Maddux felt his jaw set, and he looked down at Kala still writhing on the table, and his voice softened toward her. “Just let it go, Kala. You remember how to focus. You can release it.”

  Henessa, Merx, and Phelian moved to her side, and watched, hoping she could release this without a trip to the medical facility. Several moments passed, and the telekinetic man approached the table with concern for her. The astro-projectors, cryokinetics, and electrokinetics joined the small group as well. Another moment or so passed before one of the pyrokinetic women hesitantly approached the group. She stood near Kala quietly watching and waiting for her to recover.

  In that moment, Lieutenant Commander Dak Palrion made his final selection.

  Chapter 10

  Within hours, the orders and reorganization of the psionic team members had been completed. The covert ops team and their support had been assigned to the experimental ship, Enpassant. Some secondary teams were assigned to the sister ships, Wrath and Ire. The Enpassant was the most well equipped ship in the entire Xenonian fleet. The shields were as flexible as the Reverence and as dangerous. The weapons were pulse directed energy weapons that could target all sides if needed and the speed of this small ship was beyond the ability of any other in the Xenonian fleet. Light speed and better wasn’t uncommon among any of the warring species, however the Enpassant was experimenting with space tunneling. The concept allowed the ship to travel from one point to another without deviation at a speed even the Ven couldn’t accomplish.

  The new crew started to arrive on the Enpassant within hours of the adjusted assignments. Most were unsure as to what their task would be in their duty time, and those who knew were keeping their psionic blocks up and their mouths quiet about it. Quarters were assigned prior to arrival, and each person received them when they w
ere released from the relocator. Henessa Sar and Merx Tol were surprised to find their room assignment the same. Phelian, Kala, Rouen, and several other friends were assigned near the couple. Inside, the rooms were not very large, but every one of the select team had their own quarters. There was a bedroom, a living area with a couch, and experimental food generator few knew how to work in every room. Each transferred member of the crew learned their new ranks through the uniforms that were waiting on their beds.

  Henessa Sar’s uniform surprised her. She was moving from the rank of Private to the rank of Commander in security stripes. Merx Tol found himself looking at a Commander’s uniform as well, in engineering stripes. Henessa gently projected to her friends to inquire what they found for their ranks. After a brief conversation she looked into Merx’s eyes.

  “Love, he’s made us the Senior Officers for the duration of this mission. Kala’s in the medical bay. Phelian is in communications, Rouen is pilot and second in command to Palrion. “

  After considering the implications carefully, Merx finally spoke up. “That would make Kala third. Or maybe you and Kala third. I don’t think there is another ship in the fleet commanded by two men, let alone two psionic men. Palrion is shaking things up, and I know Tangl isn’t going to like this.”

  “We don’t report to her right now. Our ship is assigned to the first fleet, but we report to the Senate. She has no control over any of this.” Henessa began to unpack her things, and prepare for a much needed shower.

  “We’ll have to deal with her when we return to the fleet at the end of this mission, or missions.” Merx took her things from her, and kissed her neck. “Go take your shower. I’ll take care of this.”