Daith sat back in her chair. None of this was fair. It wasn’t her fault she had these abilities. And just because some man in the past had the same abilities as her didn’t mean these Controllers could use her like a toy in the middle of their idiotic war. They had no regard for life. They’d killed her whole family on the chance she’d been with them. They wanted to kill her because she wouldn’t join their cause.
“What does all this mean?” she asked.
“I suppose that depends on you.” Trey sat, reached across his desk, and took Daith’s hand. “We would like your help. I know it’s a terrible thing to ask, after everything you’ve been through, but we are out of time.”
Daith focused on their hands, the pressure warm and a bit sweaty. “I don’t know. What do you want from me?”
“I’m not quite sure yet. It’ll depend on how comfortable you are with your abilities. But Daith, there’s another part to this—a part I hate to ask, but I truly believe is necessary.”
“What is it?”
“You would have to stay on the dream-deflector pills. I know it’s the best way to get your memories back, but your dreams may end up being a full-access pass to our whereabouts. I cannot let that happen. Your memories may still resurface on their own, but I can’t have you dream. And Dru of course would still be here to help you, if he decides to stay.”
Daith’s head throbbed and her tongue felt thick. How could she give up the best way to get back her memories? But how could she let the Controllers get away with what they’ve done? She reached for her glass, nearly knocking it over, and brought the container to her mouth. She swallowed an awkward mouthful.
“What happens if I decide I can’t help you?” she asked.
Trey let go of her hand and gestured away from himself. “You can go wherever you wish. The training will have to stop, of course, since you will be dreaming again, but we will drop you off on the nearest inhabitable planet with enough currency to make your way wherever you want. If you choose that path, I can promise you will not be left alone for long. Even though the Controllers will know you aren’t on our side, they won’t give up their search for you. I don’t say this as a threat, but as fact. I want you to be prepared to live on the run. With your abilities, you will probably have a higher chance to evade them, but I don’t know how much.”
Daith’s heartbeat rose again, this time in anxiety.
“I’m sorry if your life seems pre-determined. I wish more than anything you could have a clean slate. But you are involved because of who you are. At least now you have options and—friends—who can help.”
“I... I think I understand.”
Trey pushed back his chair and stood. “Please, take your time and think, really think this over, but I’d like your decision in two days.”
“I’ll let you know.”
A slow, thin smile spread across his face after Daith left the room.
Trey absentmindedly cleared away the items on his desk. He recalled the conversation and couldn’t find anything out of place. His trap had been set perfectly and he was positive she would take the bait.
Now only the final piece remained.
A chat with his dear younger brother.
Chapter 34
Daith’s head spun with information. This group called the Controllers had killed her family, they’d made her lose her memories, they were still trying to get to her through her dreams—and now Trey wanted her help to stop them once and for all.
It’s too much, she thought, entering her quarters. She didn’t know what to do. Joining sides in a war? What if she hurt someone? What if something went wrong?
Daith sat on her bed, her knees like jelly. She wanted to cry, but no tears came.
A soft beep came from her communications panel. She let the message play.
“Hello Miss Tocc. This is Lieutenant Commander Cenjo. This message is to inform you there is an open position available in my beginner level combat class and Commander Xiven has approved you to join. If you are still interested, we meet tonight at 1800 hours in simulation room four. Please wear comfortable clothing that provide easy movement. Cenjo out.”
Daith glanced at her time-reader and noted the class started in a standard half hour. Wanting any kind of distraction from the jumble of thoughts in her head, Daith changed and made her way to the simulation room.
Upon arrival, she found the room quite empty, with nothing except for Cenjo, ten other trainees, and a few mats on the floor.
Cenjo beamed. He gestured for Daith to join the other students.
“Trainees this is Miss Daith Tocc. She will be joining us for this evening’s class.”
“Ahh—zee sehteek ‘as lowered herzelf to our leval. She sinks she is so much better zen us.” A tall, muscular, female Mesquirian muttered under her breath. Two of the other trainees snickered.
Daith tried to ignore the insult. She presented a composed front, focusing on Cenjo’s words while he described their warm-up routine, but she couldn’t help imagining the satisfaction she would feel if she punched the Mesquirian in the face. I’d probably break her nose, she thought to herself. She’d deserve it. Where does she get off judging me? Does she think I chose to come aboard this ship, lose everything, and have abilities that separate me from everyone else? Does she think I enjoy having everyone stare at me like I’m some kind of abnormal creature ready at any moment to just—SNAP!
A loud crack rang through the room followed by a shriek.
Cenjo’s words died on his lips and everyone turned toward the Mesquirian woman.
“By doze!” She held her hands over her face. Blood poured through her fingers. “She broke by doze!”
Everyone stared at Daith.
“What?” Daith asked, shocked. “How could I have…?” But she couldn’t finish. She knew she’d done it. She’d projected her thoughts toward the woman and these, along with her anger, had broken the Mesquirian’s nose. Daith could feel the warmth in her body receding. She hadn’t even noticed the buildup had started.
“I’m sorry!” Daith sputtered at the woman. “Maybe I can help?” She reached out toward her.
“Squa-touk!” the woman screamed, terrified. Daith stopped in her tracks. Though she didn’t understand the language, the woman’s plea for Daith to stay away rang clear.
“Class dismissed. Someone take Sequiria to medical.” The students filed out.
Daith shook. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “I didn’t mean to. I don’t even know why I was so angry. She just… and my talk with Trey… and I’m sorry....”
Daith sagged to the floor. Her mind swirled with a plethora of confused thoughts and feelings. They spun in front of her, a tangled web woven in blackness she couldn’t unravel. Her breath came in hiccups. Tears rolled down her face. Panic engulfed her. Her throat closed up. She couldn’t breathe. The world swam in pools of gray and black.
And then sharp pain across her cheek brought her back.
Cenjo had slapped her.
“Sorry!” he said. “Please come out of this!”
Daith’s shaking subsided, and the abyss pulled back like an ebbing tide. “It’s okay,” she croaked, her throat raw. “It’s okay. I’m okay.” Cenjo squatted across from her, his olive-skinned face creased with concern.
She gulped in several breaths of air. Her pulse slowed. “I’m sorry if I scared you.”
Cenjo laughed, sounding relieved. “Scared me? I’ve never seen someone’s face gray out so fast. You all right now?”
“I think so.”
“What happened?”
Daith thought about it. “I don’t know if I really know. I felt like I was—losing myself. Into nothing.” She shuddered. “It was terrifying.”
“Did you really break Sequiria’s nose using your mind?” Cenjo asked, tentatively.
“I think I did. I didn’t even really focus on the thought. I was angry and wanted to hit her and—and it just happened.”
Cenjo whistled. “So you can really do what eve
ryone’s been talking about?”
Daith wrapped her arms around her knees. “I don’t know. What have they been talking about?”
“They say you can read minds and move things by thought. I didn’t really know what to believe myself until this. Even after the first time I met you.”
“When I followed you from the mess hall?”
Cenjo’s forehead crinkled before realization hit him. “Of course. The memory loss.”
“You mean to say you’ve met me before?”
“Yes. About nine years ago.”
Daith’s eyes sparkled with eagerness. “Really? How did we meet? What was I like? Did you meet any of my family?”
He shook his head. “Nothing like that. I commanded a rescue mission to find you and bring you to safety.”
“What happened?”
“You really don’t remember, do you?”
“No. I don’t,” she said, her words tinged with a bite. “And I can’t tell you how maddening that is.”
“Well,” Cenjo continued, “we’d gotten to your location and were bringing you back to our ship when the Controllers ambushed us. Do you remember them?”
“No. But Trey told me about them, and the war.”
“Not much happened after,” Cenjo went on with a shrug. “We were outnumbered and outgunned. They killed two of my men and seriously injured a third. We had to surrender.”
Daith paused. “You don’t like the Controllers, do you?”
“They weren’t too bad at first,” he said. “I think they were scared of something they didn’t understand. But later, they did some pretty low and cutthroat things in the name of freedom and justice.”
“What else did you think of me?”
“Can’t you read my mind?” he asked, teasingly.
Daith blushed, recalling her attempt to infiltrate his thoughts and emotions in the mess hall. “I’d rather you just tell me.”
He cocked his head to the side. “You really are something else, Miss Tocc.”
“Please, call me Daith.”
“Daith it is. You might as well cut mine short too and call me Cenjo. ‘Lieutenant Commander’ is quite a mouthful at times.”
“Deal.” She paused. “And, thank you.”
“For what?”
“For giving me answers. There aren’t a lot of crewmembers willing to talk to me. You treat me like someone normal—like everyone else.”
Cenjo laughed. “You’ll come to find no one is normal, Daith. You happen to be not normal in ways some don’t know how to deal with. Their problem, not yours.”
“I wish I could dismiss their reactions that easily.”
Cenjo stood and offered his hand. He pulled her up with such force she bounced on the balls of her feet. “It’s always easy in theory. Real life is a different story.”
“I’m starting to understand all too well.” Daith paused. “Thanks again for everything.”
He patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t mention it. Have a good night and pleasant dreams.”
Daith watched Cenjo leave the room, thinking about the pill she’d have to take so no one could invade her mind while she slept. “I wish.”
Chapter 35
Dru sat across from his brother, his foot tapping nervously on the carpeted floor. He had no idea what to expect. Daith hadn’t talked to him since their session earlier in the day and she’d seemed upset with him for not giving her the answers she so desperately wanted. But what could he do? Trey held the power about what to tell her, not him.
But when Trey spoke about what his conversation with Daith had entailed, Dru’s surety wavered.
“So now you’ve told her the Controllers are responsible for her family’s death and her memory loss?” Dru asked.
“Yes.”
Dru’s eyebrows furrowed. “And you mentioned Jacin Jaxx as the leader of the Aleet Army, but not her father?”
Trey leaned back, grimacing when the chair squeaked. “If she knew that fact, she would be in the same spot as before we erased her memories. This is the only way to give her the chance to live freely, away from her family’s history.”
Dru’s stomach squirmed. “She might have been happy. You said yourself she was at an academy for gifted students. Maybe enough time had passed since her father’s death and she’d moved on?”
Trey tossed a datapad at Dru, anger in the gesture. The pad showed Daith’s records from Fior Accelerated Academy. “She never once used her abilities. She simply plodded along through her classes, barely passing each year, never pushing herself to graduate. She hid herself in that place—safe from the galaxy, from her power.” Trey’s face softened. “Who could blame her? Do you think eight years is long enough for everyone to forget about Jaxx? Or eight decades? She was probably terrified to use her abilities. Could you imagine her life? Frightened every day she might make a mistake, which could expose her for who she really is?”
Trey pointed at the datapad. “We can give her the chance to explore her gifts without this fear. I’ve been salvaging what’s left of Jaxx’s army after the attack on our main base. This whole crew, what’s left, would do anything to protect Daith. They are the only ones she can rely on.”
“I guess. It’s just…” Dru churned through all the lies and secrets he kept. He felt conflicted. How could she trust him when he wasn’t telling the truth? “I hate having to lie to her.”
“I don’t like lying either. But it’s the only way to give her this chance at a new life. You understand, right?”
“Yes, but—”
“There can be no ‘buts’,” Trey interrupted. “You have to be sure about this. You have to know what you tell her is right. You can’t waver in your thoughts.”
“Why not?”
“Isn’t it obvious? You are working on her empathic and telepathic abilities. You are allowing her access to your mind. How long before she can sense when you lie? She’s already tried to probe my thoughts and feelings.”
Dru gaped. “What?”
“At our dinner. I could feel her trying to connect with my mind.”
“She hasn’t told me she can do that.” Dru thought back to their last session when she had to locate him in the room and how Daith had seemed shaken. Had she felt his emotions and didn’t want to tell him? Why would she keep that ability from him?
“She will be able to sense the truth from us, eventually, but when that happens, she will also know our intent. She will see everything we’ve done was to help her. Until then, she’s too powerful and too fragile to be left on her own.
“And there is one more thing,” Trey added.
“What?”
“I’ve asked Daith if she’d like to join my crew. Permanently.”
Dru hadn’t expected that. “Why?”
“I think she could be happy here. Of course, I’d like you to stay on and continue to work with her, but I didn’t want to speak for you. If you are interested, I would extend your contract.”
Dru paused, considering. “What did she say?”
“She had to think about it.”
Dru realized he had some thinking of his own to do. “You really want me to stay?”
Trey’s gaze flitted downward. “I know we’ve been estranged, but I feel these past weeks have proven how well we can work together. I respect how much you’ve accomplished with Daith in such a short period of time. You really are gifted at what you do.”
Dru beamed inside. He’d never heard praise like that from his brother.
And yet—
Something still bothered him. He thought about how the crew reacted toward Daith—nervous, jumpy. But then he realized he felt the tension all the time, too, whether Daith was there or not. The whole ship hummed with it.
“Trey, is something else going on?”
Trey raised his head and blinked. “What do you mean?”
“There is a tension on this ship regardless of Daith’s presence. I know something else is happening.”
Trey’s jaw twit
ched, but his stare remained locked with Dru’s. There was a long pause before he spoke. “You’re right. We are on a mission. If you decide to stay, then it must be to help. And Dru, brother, I need your help.”
“Help with what?”
“You know what happened on Sintaur. You know the lives taken, the families ripped apart. You know what we lost. And then Jaxx changed everything.”
“I know, Trey, but after Jaxx died—”
“Yes. After he died, the old government came back full force and took over. Old hatreds rose and war broke out again. But I believe we can reestablish peace.”
“How?”
Trey hesitated. “I can’t give you all the details, yet, but if you decide to stay on, help Daith, help us, we can do some real good.”
“You want her to control them like her father did?” Dru guessed.
“No. I want her to get a feel for what’s going on so we can gain an edge on their thoughts and plans.”
“What if she decides not to help you?”
“Then we will fight for what we believe in without her.”
“You mean start your own war?” Dru was shocked. “You can’t.”
“The stars I can’t!” Trey cursed. “We lived through what those innocents are going through right now. How can you stand by and not want to do something, to stop that injustice? I’d like to try a peaceful method if I can, with Daith’s help, but if she isn’t ready, then I will do what I have to do. I can’t turn my back on our own people.
“I want to do this without a fight. And I want you to be there. We can give our fellow citizens on Sintaur a second chance, like we are giving Daith, like we are achieving as brothers.”
“What if I can’t?” Dru asked slowly.
“Then you are paid after your work is completed and free to go. No different from when you started. I only want you in this if you are in all the way.”
Dru’s head spun. “I don’t know.”
“Your contract ends in two days. You can wait until then to decide.”
Eomix Galaxy Books: Illusion Page 21