Eomix Galaxy Books: Illusion

by Christa Yelich-Koth

  Trey thought back to when he’d had the first new dream. The change had occurred shortly after Daith’s arrival on his ship. Had she somehow triggered the rest of Jacin’s memories?

  Why had Jacin given them to Trey in the first place? Unless the memories were for a purpose. Maybe to teach him about Jacin’s gifts. If this ability to make the jump from mental energy to physical change was so rare, then Daith might be a bigger prize than Trey could ever have imagined.

  Trey made the decision there and then to stop taking the dream-deflector pills. He needed to see the rest of these memories, to learn from them, and determine how to use what happened to Jacin to

  control Daith.

  Chapter 9

  Trey’s eyes stung at the harsh lights of the meeting room. He shook away the lingering grogginess. Having these dreams felt like he hadn’t slept at all. Now wholly awake and trying to focus on the day, he questioned his decision to stop taking them. If they were messages from Jacin, he didn’t want to miss them, but if they were simply memory echoes from Jacin’s life with no meaning—Trey didn’t have time to not be fully alert.

  The decision would have to wait. Right now he had oter things to concentrate on.

  Daith sat patiently at the end of the oval table. Trey noticed how even the harsh lighting in the room brought out the highlights of her dark hair. She really was stunning, and if things had been different, if he had time, maybe….

  He took a seat and shook the notion from his head. She couldn’t be anything more than, than what? His protégé? His tool? His gift to the galaxy?

  “Good afternoon, Daith.”

  “Hello,” she said, eyebrow raised. Her gaze peered behind him. “I thought I was meeting Dru?”

  “You are. I wanted to check in on you. I left you quite abruptly this morning in the simulation room.”

  “I’m fine.” Daith chewed on her lower lip. “I’m really sorry again.”

  Trey smiled and touched his face gingerly. “I assure you, it’s not bad.”

  “I really don’t know what happened, Commander—”

  “Trey,” he insisted.

  “Trey,” Daith corrected.

  “You have natural reflexes. It’s not a bad thing. Besides, I felt awkward enough myself.”

  Silence hung in the air as they remembered his verbal purge of his past.

  “Dru should be along in a minute,” Trey told her to fill the space. He wasn’t even sure why he’d shown up. His brother was only going to ask him to leave, and yet, he couldn’t help but want to see Daith after what had happened. He wanted to explain he wasn’t usually like that—he didn’t normally blurt out his life story to a complete stranger. But he couldn’t say anything. Embarrassment that the outburst had happened at all kept him quiet.

  The two of them waited in silence—Daith absentmindedly picking at her fingernails—until Dru came into the room. He paused and registered Trey’s presence. “Morning, Commander.”

  “Morning. I wanted to check in on Daith and wait with her until you arrived.” The lie was flimsy even to Trey.

  “Very thoughtful of you,” Dru said slowly.

  Careful to keep his face neutral, Trey let a slow anger fill his chest. Dru might be superior now, but things would be different soon enough. “All right then,” Trey said, doing his best not to snarl the words. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

  “Not that I can think of.”

  “I think I’m fine,” Daith added. She put her hand on Trey’s arm. “I—”

  “I’ll leave you two alone then,” Trey said, pulling away. “Call me if you need anything.”

  Trey paused outside the room after the door closed and let out a deep breath. He didn’t know what Daith would say—probably another apology—but he couldn’t stand her mentioning anything about what they’d discussed earlier.

  Not in front of his brother.

  *

  Dru mentally sorted through what he’d read in Trey’s report. The details included the assassination attempt and the reason for Daith’s memory loss, but he hadn’t found any indication why someone tried to kill her. The report ended with a note stating her home had been destroyed and her family murdered.

  Dru had struggled all night with his decision to work with Daith. He didn’t enjoy the idea of lying to her about how she lost her memories, since, as her doctor, he would need to establish a bond of trust, but maybe her recovery would be better this way. With a clean slate, she now had the chance to live whatever life she wanted without her father’s actions hanging over her. And if she did possess his abilities, she would be able to learn about them in the company of those who wouldn’t judge her for her father’s mistakes.

  Mistakes? More like catastrophic blunders.

  He’d finally decided none of his thoughts mattered unless she had Jacin’s abilities. But first he had to get her to open up.

  “How are you feeling today?” Dru asked.

  “Fine.” Her tone was clipped and she laced her hands together on her lap.

  “Did you sleep all right?”

  “I guess. I woke up early this morning, though. Couldn’t get back to sleep.”

  “How come?”

  Daith shrugged.

  Still guarded. “Dreams?”

  Daith nodded.

  “What did you dream about?” Dru pulled the datapad closer to take notes.

  Daith pinched her eyebrows together, skeptical. “You really want to talk about my dreams? Don’t you want to ask if I’ve remembered anything yet?”

  “Have you remembered anything yet?”

  Daith pursed her lips. “No.”

  Dru gave her a half-smile. “I didn’t think so. What did you dream about?”

  “You don’t have to be smug about it.”

  The smile vanished. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I guess my bedside manner is a little weak.”

  Daith hesitated before answering. “The dream is pretty hazy. I only remember intense heat and someone grabbing at me and—,” she stuttered. “I don’t know. Nothing else I guess.”

  Dru wondered at the break. Could she be holding something back? “Maybe you’re trying to remember what happened right before you came here—a ship landing and Commander Xiven’s crew taking you on board?”

  “I thought you didn’t know what happened to me?”

  “Commander Xiven sent me a copy of the report last night.”

  “Oh.”

  “It seems like your mind is trying to reconstruct some events of your life. This could help narrow my choices for tests. Let’s first try to access these memories, or dreams, for now.”

  A pause, filled only with the constant background noise of the air recycling system. Dru watched Daith’s shoulders fall, her hands unclasp.

  “So what’s the next step?” she asked.

  “There is a series of memory-retrieval techniques I’ve had high success with when dealing with dreams. I’d like to start you on those. They place you into a semi-conscious state where we maintain verbal communication. It’s similar to dreaming, except we can talk to each other. What do you think?”

  “Is it dangerous?”

  “Not in the least. If at any time while we are working the outcome exceeds the safety parameters, the program ends.”

  Daith thought for a few moments. She inhaled deeply and let the breath out slowly. “Let’s do it.”

  “Great. We’ll use simulation room one.”

  “I’m familiar with it,” she said with a small smile.

  “Good. I will need a couple of days to set up the programming.”

  Daith’s body tightened. “Two days?”

  “I’m afraid the simulation program is a bit complicated, not to mention connecting the system’s computers with my sensory-data collecting program. I know it seems like a long time, but—”

  “It’s fine,” Daith said abruptly.

  Dru sensed a prickling on the back of his neck. “All right then. Over the next two nights I’d like you
to relax your whole body before you go to sleep. Give your muscles and mind the opportunity to slow down. The process should increase the chance of dreams, which could help us. Shall we say, two days from now at the same time in simulation room one?” Dru asked, rising from his chair.

  Daith agreed.

  “I’ll see you then.” Dru exited and headed toward Trey’s office. Once inside, he was surprised at his brother’s reaction.

  “She’s been having dreams?” Trey asked.

  “Yes,” Dru said, confused by his alarm. “But so far they are a bunch of garbled images.”

  Trey rose from his desk and paced. “Listen, we can’t have her memories resurface through her dreams. Talk to Doctor Ludd and see if he can start her on some dream-deflector pills. I don’t want to risk having to run her through the M.M. again.”

  “Dream-deflector pills? I’ve never had a patient use them.”

  “They are...experimental, but work incredibly well.”

  “Do they have any side effects I should be aware of?” Dru asked.

  “No,” Trey told him, and then paused. “Perhaps heightened anxiety or irritability.”

  “Those shouldn’t pose a problem. I’ll talk to Doctor Ludd later today about starting her on those pills.”

  “Good. And make sure when you give them to her, she doesn’t know what they really are. Tell her…tell her they are needed for some medical purpose, to help with your program.”

  “Fine,” Dru said. He left the room, his stomach queasy at the thought of more lies.

  *

  Dru headed toward the medical treatment room to speak with Dr. Ludd, his mind heavy with thoughts. This whole situation seemed wrong to him somehow, and yet everything Trey had told him made sense.

  Dru rang the chimes for Dr. Ludd’s office and the door slid open.

  Dr. Ludd’s lipless mouth spread into a huge, floppy grin. “Ah, Doctor, how good it is to see you again.” He hovered around his desk to greet Dru, his body wobbling on the gravlift.

  “It’s been a long time,” Dru said.

  Dr. Ludd slapped a flippered hand on Dru’s shoulder. “It has. And what unusual, and if I may say so, horrifying circumstances, what with Jacin Jaxx’s death and your visit with your brother and how you went your separate ways, but I assume things have progressed since you are here again working with him on such a highly sought-after project with Jacin’s daughter, Daith, who seems like quite a lovely individual—”

  “Yes, Doctor,” Dru interrupted. He’d forgotten about how the doctor would continue to talk if not stopped. Dr. Ludd had explained the reason to him once—on his planet and in his native language, the spoken word was considered an art form. Individuals could go on for days describing something as simple as how they woke up in the morning. Dr. Ludd had told Dru when he’d learned Universal, the language which most of the planets in the Eomix galaxy learned for travel and commerce purposes, he’d found the mode of communication lacking. All the words seemed too short and didn’t give enough detail for each situation. He’d said it explained why so many species argued—they never took the time to fully explore and give accurate details for each point of view.

  “Commander Xiven sent me to pick up dream-deflector pills for Daith.”

  Dr. Ludd’s pink, gelatinous face drooped. “Why?”

  Surprised at the shortness of the question, Dru didn’t answer right away. “Oh, um, he worries if she starts dreaming again, her memories will resurface. She’ll be under the impression they are needed to help monitor her nervous system throughout my programs.”

  “Yes, of course, that makes sense and we don’t want her memories to return, especially with everything we’ve done to ensure she doesn’t have any memories of herself and her past, because that will make things easier for us—and her of course!—I didn’t mean to say Commander Xiven doesn’t know what he’s doing, I mean after all he has done to reunite this cause and—” Dr. Ludd’s mouth slapped closed.

  Dru eyed him, suspicious. “Is something else going on Doctor?”

  “What? No, of course not. I mean, even if there was, it’s not my place to say anything. You should speak with the Commander if you want to know anything else and frankly I was merely letting my mouth run away with itself, not literally of course, but—”

  “I understand,” Dru said. “I can ask you this, however. Do you feel, as a physician, there is any way these pills will harm Daith?”

  “Harm her? Not at all. She may be more susceptible to frustrating situations—quicker to irritability, less patience, things of that nature—but nothing to cause any physical or long-lasting damage.” Dr. Ludd placed a bottle on the table. “She needs only to take one before bed each night.”

  Dru grasped the small bottle, lightweight in his hand. Somehow he’d expected the container to be heavy—like the thought of giving it to her.

  Dr. Ludd gurgled to get Dru’s attention.

  “Doctor, Daith is a special woman.”

  “Yes, I know,” Dru said.

  “What I mean to say is, if you plan to take her down the road I believe she is to travel, no amount of dream-deflector pills will keep her memories from resurfacing.”

  Dru tucked the bottle into his pants pocket. “What do you mean?”

  “As one of the only other individuals to work with Jacin Jaxx, I am aware of many of the abilities he had. Things you couldn’t dream of, Doctor. And he had a way of knowing things he couldn’t know.”

  “I know. It’s called telepathy.”

  Dr. Ludd shook his head, his cheeks jiggling. “Beyond that. He knew things even if you weren’t thinking about them. He knew things about others who weren’t near him. And if Daith explores the same route, she will find out who she really is. And who we really are. Will Commander Xiven continue to run her through the Memory Machine each time? She will not stay ignorant forever.”

  Dru stood for a moment, unsure of how to respond. Dr. Ludd was right. Even if her own memories didn’t return, she could become powerful enough to sense everyone’s lies.

  “It won’t matter,” Dru said. “Trey’s only goal is to give her a chance to learn about her abilities without the stress of her past weighing in on her. Once she’s established those skills, he plans to restore her memories and let her decide what she wants to do. She’s never had that choice before.”

  Dr. Ludd’s face returned to neutral. “I see. He told you he plans to return her memories. Well, then, my comments are unwarranted. Good luck with your sessions, Doctor. Please keep me updated on Daith’s progress.”

  Not expecting such an abrupt dismissal, Dru waited for a bit before muttering a thank you and leaving the room. He headed toward Daith’s quarters to give her the pills and wondered about the doctor’s reaction. But perhaps Trey hadn’t told Dr. Ludd his entire plan. He hadn’t told Dru everything until he’d agreed to work with Daith. Trey had good reason not to trust everyone around him after the Aleet Army base’s destruction. After such a betrayal, how could anyone blame Trey if he only sought out those who’d been with Jacin from the beginning, or who were young enough not to know much more than what the history vidlinks told them about Jacin Jaxx.

  Dru rang the chimes to Daith’s room. She answered, a tray of food propped precariously on the edge of her bed.

  “Hey,” she said, welcoming him in. “Did you forget something?”

  “I did.” He held up the small vial. “I picked these up from Doctor Ludd.”

  “What are they?”

  “They contain a special dye that magnifies the nerve responses in your body,” he said, feeding her the lie he’d concocted. “The equipment in my programs will monitor this to see how you are responding to the process. You’ll need to take one before bed, but I need to build up an amount in your body, so I’d like you to start taking them tonight. Then, in about a week, you’ll need to check in with Dr. Ludd.”

  Daith took the bottle. “Easy enough.” At the comment the tray fell off the bed and splattered her meal on the flo
or.

  “Oh, stars!” she swore.

  Dru bent to help, but Daith brushed his attempt aside. “I’m okay,” she said, her cheeks tinged with pink. Her beauty still held strong even through her embarrassment. “I can handle it. But thank you.”

  Dru straightened while she picked up the clumpy pieces from the carpet. “All right. See you in two days then. And good night.”

  “Night!”

  Chapter 10

  A dreamless sleep left Daith feeling completely refreshed the following morning. Even though she knew her dreams could be memories trying to resurface, she enjoyed awakening without a film of sweat on her skin.

  After washing quickly, Daith wondered what she should do with her day. She didn’t have to meet Dru until the following morning and Trey hadn’t given her any suggestions. What would she have normally done with her time? She had no clue. There were no inklings about hobbies or passions she enjoyed. Was she an artist? An athlete? Did she enjoy games or reading or…anything?

  The dark cloud over her mind remained resolute. Daith had all this time on her hands with nothing but her own thoughts—which led her nowhere.

  Her stomach gurgled unexpectedly.

  Daith patted her belly, happy to have a distraction. “All right, you hungry monster. I’ll order some food.” She tapped the controls on the wall, but before she chose anything, she paused. Did everyone dine in their rooms? Or was there a place where everyone met to eat?

  Daith called up the ships schematics on the panel. The vessel, which consisted of five floors, each spread out in cross-shaped patterns, indicated a mess hall located in the center of her floor.

  Excited, Daith turned off the monitor and exited her quarters. She made her way to the center room. Several rows of tables stretched in front of her. A mix of spicy, fruity, and burnt smells filled her nostrils. The room wasn’t packed with people, but quite a few small groups of crewmembers congregated in different sections. Perhaps the crew ate breakfast later? Or maybe they ate in shifts? Either way the design indicated the area could hold a lot more than this.