by Saxon Andrew
Twig looked at her instruments and said, “It’s starting to rise, but slowly. Don’t waste time.”
Sprig entered Tommy’s and Cassie’s minds and felt the love they were feeling. Here we go,” he thought.
Chapter 14
A week had passed as Linda Kay and Twig waited in the conference room. Twig had almost stopped the process as the temperature of the nerve center continued to rise. Just before she halted them the temperature quit rising and leveled off. She continued to monitor the center but it did not change. Linda Kay was worried. Tommy and Cassandra did not move and their breathing was very shallow. They seemed to be in a coma. Wes would come in and watch his two friends and leave as duties demanded. Linda Kay looked at Twig and said, “How are they doing?”
“I can’t tell. They are so deep in each other’s minds that I can’t reach them. Even Sprig is lost to me. I don’t know if I can bring them out even if I want to do so.”
Linda Kay continued to watch and worry. Twig had an idea and thought to Tgon-Gee, “Tgon-Gee, do you have a moment.”
“Who is this?”
“I am called Twig, Tgon-Gee. I am one of the adolescents on board the Kosiev.”
“I know you. What do you need?”
“Would you look at Tommy and Cassandra’s auras and tell me what you see?”
“Send me a visual,”
Twig turned the com toward them and sent it to Tgon-Gee.”
“By the creator, what are they doing?”
“Why, what’s wrong,” Twig asked?
“Neither one of them have an aura. What have they done?”
“I’m not certain. I just wanted to know what you saw.”
Tgon-Gee thought, “Rose, answer me.”
“Hello, Tgon-Gee. What do you need?”
“Tommy and Cassandra no longer have an aura.”
“What!” Rose turned her attention to her brother and saw them in a trance. “What have they done,” she asked Linda Kay?
Twig said, “Allow me, Ensign Johns.” Twig then explained what was happening.
Rose said, “Give me your coordinates right now! I’m on my way.”
Tommy thought to his sister, “That won’t be necessary.”
Linda Kay and Twig jumped up and started hugging the three that had been locked in a trance.
Rose said, “What have you done? Tgon-Gee tells me that you and Cassandra do not have an aura.”
“Really, that’s interesting.”
Rose said, “Duke Gardner, explain to me what you’ve done.”
Tommy said, “Alright, Alright. We have just had a tune up?”
Rose was speechless. Tommy saw Tgon-Gee on the com and said, “I’ve learned about auras during this melding. An aura is released from a person with psychic skill when their powers are not functioning at full efficiency. It’s like one of the old combustion engines that released smoke from their exhaust when they weren’t operating efficiently. If your psychic skills are efficient, then the aura is not seen easily.”
Tommy got up and walked closer to the com monitor, “Look now Tgon-Gee.”
Tgon-Gee looked at his screen and as Tommy got closer to the monitor he could see right up against Tommy’s skin was an aura that was darker than any he had ever seen. “I see it now. May I see Captain Dodd’s?”
Cassandra walked over and stood next to the monitor. “I don’t see an aura around her. Have you lost your psychic ability?”
Cassandra gave a rueful smile and said, “No, the inside of my aura is clear. The outer edge of my psychic sense is where the coloring is located.”
Rose and Tgon-Gee waited for the other to ask the question. Finally Rose asked, “uh, where is the outer edge?”
Tommy answered, “The last we saw of it, it had passed the outer edge of this universe.”
Twig looked at Sprig and he nodded to her.
“Tommy, whatever you and Cassandra did; did it help?”
“Rose, you have no idea. I’ll discuss this with you but we are going to talk to the Captors about changing their ways. I’ll keep you up to date but we have not had anything to eat for,” he looked at Linda Kay, and she held up her fingers, Tommy’s eyes opened and he mouthed, “Really,” Linda Kay nodded and Tommy said, “seven days.”
Rose sighed and said, “I’ll talk with you later,” and broke the connection.
Tgon-Gee said, “Good luck and make sure you come back safely.”
Tommy nodded and turned off the com. He then looked at Linda Kay and said, “Were we really here for seven days?”
Twig said, “Yes you were.”
Twig entered Sprigs mind and was shocked. Sprig thought to her, “Yes, I’ve been changed by this process. You can look around if you like.”
Twig was amazed at his mind. It had a depth and clarity she had not seen before. Perhaps we should absorb each other again,” she said.
Sprig gave her a mental smile and thought, “Maybe we should.”
Wes came running in and hugged Tommy then grabbed Sprig and hugged him, too. “Welcome back; I’ve missed you two.”
Cassandra looked at Wes and said, “Wes will you and Linda Kay come here for a moment?”
Wes and Linda Kay walked up to Cassandra and she told them, “I want each of you to hold the other’s hand and then take one of mine.” Wes and Linda Kay looked at each other then did as she asked. Cassandra said, “Close your eyes and think about how much you mean to each other.”
Wes and Linda Kay closed their eyes and just holding hands reminded them how much they had missed each other for the last seven days. As they thought about it, Wes could hear Linda Kay telling him how much she loved him. Wes said, “Linda Kay, she told us to think about it, not say it.”
“I was just thinking about it; I didn’t say anything.”
“But I heard you.”
“And I heard you.”
Cassandra released their hands and said, “I have learned during the last week that if you truly love someone, it is easy to make a mental connection. From this day forward you can hear each other’s thoughts no matter where you are.”
Wes looked at his wife and thought, “Can this be true.”
Linda Kay started and thought back, “I hear you.”
Wes reached for her and held her close. Tommy looked at his best friend and his wife and keyed his com, “Effective immediately, Captain Cassandra Dodd is resuming her duties as the commanding officer of the Kosiev. We will be jumping into the Captors galaxy in six hours. Please make sure your stations are ready for possible hostile action.” Tommy turned his com off. Then he looked at Cassandra and said, “Let’s go get something to eat where we can talk.
Cassandra smiled and said, “I thought you’d never ask.” He took her hand and noticed that there was not a shock as they left the conference room. Sprig was wrapped up in Twig’s limbs and didn’t notice when they left.
Tommy and Cassandra sat at a table eating a meal big enough for three other people. As they ate, Tommy thought to her, “Now I understand. I couldn’t see the turmoil your new skills were causing you. I was the trigger that you were waiting for to release you.”
“Yes you are. I think we would have stayed apart except for the Captors. I think that your sense of them is what drove us together before our time. We could have been killed and my primary function would have terminated. Now that you have come into me completely, I feel at peace. My anger at the Captors was due to our not being able to be together so my skills were looking for a means to remove them.”
“Cassie, I have never seen such a gentle heart, except in my mother. I thought you were an uncontrolled warrior with a hardened heart. I can also see that all you did in the academy caused you many sleepless nights.”
Cassie stopped eating and looked at Tommy, “I could not understand why I was deliberately hurting you. After each time I was so mean, I hated myself for doing it but then as soon as I saw you I would do it again.”
“We know that it was to protect us and our univ
erse. If we had made contact back then, the particle in energy space would have exploded.”
Cassie looked at Tommy and said, “I felt something when you were in my mind.” Tommy tilted his head and stopped eating. “I think my main reason for existing is to do exactly that, explode that particle. I think your parents were brought together to have you so that this process could happen.”
“I didn’t see that, Cassie. What do you mean?”
Cassandra shook her head to clear it and said, “I think our universe was started by someone just like me in another universe. They deliberately exploded that particle and our universe started. I can feel the particle calling to me. It is ready to start a new one. I had to have you in order for my psychic power to develop. Like us, I think that particle is ready.”
“Cassie, that would destroy our universe; you can’t allow that to happen.”
“I’m not feeling that, Tommy. I think that it would start a different universe from ours. I’m not ready to actually do it, but I think that when the time comes, I will know what to do.”
Tommy paused, “So there is a creator that made our universe.”
“No, not like that; the creator created a system that provides the means to recreate itself. That creator is much larger than I can encompass in my mind. Someone like me is made to start the process as each universe matures but I couldn’t do it until I found the trigger to release my psychic skills. Only after that trigger and I reach equilibrium can the process start. I can sense that it is a very difficult thing to make happen. The first and probably the most important step we just accomplished with our melding. Do you feel differently now.”
“Yes, Cassie; I love you with my heart and mind. It is no longer driven by physical impulses alone.”
Cassie looked at Tommy for a moment and said, “I hope the physical impulses are in good working order. I’m fighting hard not to jump you right now.”
Tommy smiled and said, “It’s good to have impulses. However, we have a ship to prepare to go talk with a bee. Have you thought about how we want to do that?”
“Yes I have but we’re going to have to go interrupt the kids. I want to talk with the Captors on an electronic frequency and not telepathically.”
“Why do you want to do it that way?”
“It will allow us to see if the Captors are trustworthy.” She lifted her com and said, “Ensign Johns, how many sensor buoys are there on the Kosiev.”
“Just a moment,” Linda Kay said. “We have ninety six.”
Cassie looked at Tommy and said, we have a lot of work ahead of us before we can make contact. Will you ask Mikado to bring us a shipment of five hundred more sensors immediately? When he’s ready to deliver them, we’ll give him our coordinates.”
“What are you planning?”
“A rather large shell game,” Cassie answered.
Tommy immediately understood what she was going to do, “I think we might have a few dizzy bees before this is over.”
Cassie smiled, “You think.”
Lt. Edward Jones was standing in the landing bay surrounded by ninety six sensor buoys. He was listening to Captain Dodd explain what she wanted done. The two Algean adolescents were listening attentively. I thought we would just take the Kosiev to all of the sites for these buoys but you can teleport them right from this landing bay can’t you, Sprig.”
“Sure, if you have the coordinates you want to send them.”
“Each of these buoys has a specific transmission frequency. Mr. Jones, I want you to number each one of these buoys from one to ninety six and I want a list of their operating frequencies put on a list matching their designated number. Call your crew in and get busy.”
“Aye, aye, Sir,” and Ed turned and began issuing orders to his team.
“Sprig and Twig, I want to teleport each of these buoys directly opposite of each other in relation to the Captors planet. Picture their planet in the middle of a large box. Send the first buoy to the bottom right corner of the box as far away as possible from the planet but still in range of transmissions. Send the second buoy to the top left hand corner. Send the third to the bottom left hand corner and the fourth to the top right hand corner.”
Twig said, “You’re trying to make sure no two consecutive buoys are anywhere near each other.”
“Exactly, and we want as much distance as possible from the planet. Go to the longest distance our sensors can transmit to the Captors planet. If they destroy one buoy then the next buoy will be on the other side of the galaxy from them.”
“Well, actually we can put them in different star systems or out in empty space outside their galaxy,” Sprig said.
“Now you’re getting it,” Cassandra said.
“Ok, we’ve got the coordinates for the buoys,” Twig said.
Cassandra started and said, “That fast.”
Twig said, “Captain, don’t be sarcastic. We took four seconds. We’re sorry it took so long but we thought about putting one of them inside the atmosphere of that gas giant. We think that they won’t see us do it because they won’t be looking there and the storms will mask the buoy.”
“What a great idea; see if it works. If the Captors see it and destroy it, we will take it off the list and skip it in our transmissions,” Cassandra then said loudly to everyone in the landing bay, “Oh, and one more thing.” Edward and the adolescents looked at her and Cassandra said, “Admiral Mikado is delivering five hundred more in an hour. Please do the same with them.”
Ed’s team moaned at having to move so many buoys; Twig said, “I’ve got your coordinates, Captain.” Cassandra laughed out loud.
“Twig looked at Sprig and thought, “What’s so funny?”
Sprig shrugged and thought, “Lt. Jones must have made her laugh.”
The bridge of the Kosiev was almost crowded. The two adolescents were standing beside Tommy’s chair which was slightly above and to the left of Cassandra’s command chair. Tommy said, I think we are ready; are the buoys all placed and checked out?”
Wes said, “Yes, Your Majesty, we’ve sent a beam to each and they all responded.”
Tommy looked at Cassandra and said, “Are you comfortable transmitting from them telepathically?”
“I learned how to do it from Atlas. He does it electronically but it isn’t that much harder to just do it with my mind. I’m certain that they cannot track telepathy. Wes, I want you to record all of our transmissions. I am going to say out loud what I’m thinking to the buoys. I’m ready if you are, Duke Gardner.”
Tommy thought to her, Oh, so now you’re calling me formal names. You didn’t do that when you were hugging me thirty minutes ago.”
Cassandra couldn’t help herself and smiled at the thought, “We must maintain the discipline of titles on board ship, especially for one as important as you.”
“I’d be careful if I were you; you’ll soon be a duchess yourself.”
Cassandra took a quick breath. She turned around and looked at Tommy and he was smiling at her. She turned back around and faced her display with a red face but felt her heart was singing. “He wants to marry me,” she thought. “He wants to marry me.”
“I was thinking about doing one more thing, Captain Dodd.”
Cassandra turned around and looked at him quizzically.
“Do you think we could mask the ship like you did with Earth?”
“Sure, a ship is easier,” she said.
“Then I want you to jump in to these coordinates once you start transmitting.”
Cassandra looked at the coordinates and smiled. “You do have a way of making a point, Your Majesty.”
Cassandra closed her eyes and outside the viewport of the Kosiev a dark mist began to form; suddenly, the Kosiev disappeared. She handed the coordinates to Twig and said, “Teleport the ship to this location when I raise my hand.”
Twig looked at the location and said, “Standing by, Captain.”
Cassandra leaned forward and triggered the first buoy then closed her
eyes and began speaking her transmissions.
The First Male was checking the status of the nexus to see if a watcher could use it when he heard an electronic transmission, “I would like to talk with the leader of the red ships.”
The First Male sent a message to five hundred ships and ordered them to follow the trail of the transmission to its source and destroy it. The five hundred ships began jumping out from the planet on the line of the transmission separating themselves by one light year between each of them. The transmission then said, “You may know me as the one who killed five of your ships at the planet in the new system you are moving to occupy.”
The First Male turned angry and said, “Have you found it?”
“Yes, we have it is just a primitive electronic buoy hanging in space.”
“Track it back from where it came,” the First Male ordered.
“There are no tracks, First Male.” One of the ships destroyed the buoy.
Cassandra keyed the next buoy. “I’m going to offer you one chance to talk with me and if you refuse then we will assume that it is destruction you intend for us and we will respond accordingly.”
Now the First Male saw the track coming from a different direction opposite of the first one. He ordered five hundred more ships to go. He decided to give them time by communicating with whoever was speaking. He sent a message on the same frequency, “Who are you.”
Tommy tilted his head and shrugged at Cassandra. “We are the race that lived on the planet you destroyed when you moved to our fifth planet.”
“Obviously, we didn’t get all of you.” The second buoy stopped broadcasting.
Cassandra keyed the third, “No, however you were coldblooded when you systematically killed every settlement in the system.”
The First Male dispatched five hundred more ships. “They were close to our home.”
“That system was our home and you destroyed it with no attempt to see if we represented any danger to you.” The third buoy stopped and Cassandra keyed the fourth.
The First Male said, “It doesn’t matter, it was now our home and you were too close.”