Chrystal Bones (Finding Home Book 1)

by Billie Jo Hanlin

  Her range of being able to see things with her mind had expanded. She could close her eyes and see where everyone was, both on the ship and on the station. The one thing she didn’t know much about was the way the shield worked. Except for when it had pushed the guys away in her living room on Earth it had not made another appearance.

  Of course she hadn’t needed it except on the mud hole against the Ragillians. They had no emotions and she was pretty sure that was what it took to activate it. The chrystal had a specific purpose and that purpose was related to Shillidon and the chrystals that were its life’s blood.

  Jayden and Idris were not in engineering when Blue got there. She opened her mind to find them and saw that they were in the exercise room. That’s odd, she thought, weird time to be exercising. She closed down her mind’s eye and went to them.

  They were fighting and it was not a practice session. They were very serious in trying to hurt the other, at least Idris was. Blue watched for a few seconds noticing that Jayden was mostly defending himself against Idris’s blows. She could feel the anger pouring out of her brother. The intense look of purpose didn’t bode well for Jayden. It didn't occur to her that they were fighting because of her until she heard Idris shout at Jayden.

  “She is my sister not one of your play things.”

  Her mouth dropped open at Jayden’s reply, “She is not a toy to me. I only told you because you are her brother and you have a right to know that we are involved. I love her Idris and want her to be my bonded.”

  Idris stopped his fist in mid swing, his face going pale. “You can’t. She belongs on Shillidon, not Haldairia. I will not let you take her from us again.” He renewed his attack on Jayden.

  Blue didn’t know who she was angrier at, Jayden for thinking he had to tell Idris about them or Idris for thinking he had any say in who she got involved with.

  She waited until the combatants separated then stepped between them. Idris was unable to fully stop the fist that was headed for Jayden’s face. Blue dodged the blow and in the same motion she sent her fist into Jayden’s stomach with all the force she could manage. She heard his harsh intake of air but knew she hadn’t really hurt him. Then she kicked out sideways with a boot clad foot and sent it into Idris’s stomach.

  That blow had a lot more force behind it causing him to double over. “Now that I have your attention would either of you care to explain what’s going on here?” she asked them in a pleasant tone that belied the fury rising inside her.” Oh, she knew what was going on but she wanted to hear it from the both of them.

  The two men looked at each other wondering what she had heard. When they didn’t speak she turned to Jayden, “What makes you think what we do is any of his business?”

  That answered that question, Jayden thought. She had heard enough. Thinking quickly he said, “He is your brother and my friend. He has a right to know what is going on.”

  “No…. he doesn’t,” she said. “And even if he did you had no right to take it upon yourself to inform him. Just who do you think you are?”

  “I am your lover, that is who I am.”

  “If you think that gives you the right to make decisions for me or about me,” she poked him in the chest, “Then you won’t be my lover for long.”

  Blue turned to face Idris, “And you, you may be my brother but you haven’t been around for most of my life. You don’t get to decided anything for me either. Who I choose to get involved with is none of your business. Not now, not ever. Got that?”

  Idris started to say, “But you have to go to Shillidon.”

  She cut him off before he said anything else, “I know I have to go there. You don’t have to keep throwing it in my face. You have told me enough times that I am the only one who can save your precious planet,” her voice was so cold it could have frozen the sun. “You really don’t have to keep reminding me. I told you I would go. I never said I would stay.”

  “But it is your home,” Idris said.

  “No, It is your home. I don’t even remember the place.”

  “But.”

  “No buts. You can’t play big brother now Idris, it is too late.”

  She stepped away from them and walked away. When she reached the doorway she turned back to find them looking at her. Jayden with annoyance and Idris with concern. “You can beat each other bloody. I really don’t care, just leave me out of it.”

  The quiet was deafening when she left. The two men who had been closer than brothers for so long looked at each other. Jayden had been sure that Blue understood where their relationship was going. Now he was left with the uncertainty of not knowing if she felt the same way. For the first time he was left wondering if he was going to be able to keep her in his life.

  Idris was left reeling. He had thought he was making progress with her. She had told him that his sister had died and for the first time he was starting to believe it. She was right, he had no right to interfere in her life. If she wanted Jayden that was her choice and he had no say in it whatsoever. If she chose to leave Shillidon he had no say in that either. They could hardly imprison her to keep her there and even if they did he had no doubt that she would find a way to escape. That thought brought a wry smile to his face.

  Jayden smacked him on the back of his head, “What are you smiling about? In case you did not notice she just handed both of us our heads on a platter.”

  “Idris’s smile turned into a grin, “I know. She is great. She had a temper when she was little too.” Laughing he pounded Jayden on the back. “You are going to have to work hard to keep her.”

  Jayden frowned at him in suspicion, “You changed your mind about us awfully fast.”

  “I was mad at first but the more I think about it, the more I think she will be good for you and you for her. One thing is for sure. She is going to run rings around you.”

  “She is mad at you too, you know,” Jayden pointed out.

  “I know, but I am not the one sleeping with her.”

  Idris left the room still laughing. Whether she wanted to be or not she was his sister and he would never give up on her.

  Jayden looked around the empty room, absently rubbing the spot on his stomach that had connected with Blue’s fist. Out of all the blows Idris had landed the only one he felt was that one. He had not needed Idris to tell him she was going to run rings around him. Thank Shalla she was not a weak woman. A weak woman would bore him in no time. Blue might drive him crazy but she would never bore him he thought with a smile. His mood improved and he spoke aloud into the empty room, “I have a month to get her over her mad.”

  Chrystal Bones Billie Jo Hanlin

  Chapter 28

  Blue and Jayden were in bed quietly talking after making love. She was slowly opening up to him and telling him more about her life on Earth as she learned more about his. It had taken the guys little time to get used to them being together and they were full of good natured teasing.

  She no longer tensed up and moved away when Jayden touched her in casual affection in front of them. She kept her room even though she spent most nights in Jayden’s. She was starting to trust this thing between them and was becoming resigned to, if not comfortable in having others know about their relationship.

  They were both strong people and little disagreements popped up now and then. Jayden could be relentless when he wanted something and he had the tendency to push until he got what he wanted. What he wanted was Blue, body and soul. He had her body and he had spent the last weeks pushing her to come out of the shell she had encased herself in for most of her life.

  The first time she had thrown a wrench at him in frustration he had just laughed and kissed her until she went weak in the knees. She was beginning to get used to this new life. It would take her some time to trust it as it had with her old one. At least in this new life she didn’t have to hide from anyone and that allowed her more freedom than she had ever had. She was free to be who she was and the weight that lifted from her shoulders was a huge re
lief.

  The only aspect of herself that Jayden was uncomfortable with was the astral projection. She hadn’t done it since that first day aboard. Mainly because the ship was traveling at such speed that she wasn’t sure she would be able to keep up and they didn’t have the time to stop and let her explore.

  He didn’t understand what she did and neither Dro nor Blue could explain it to him. The light in her eyes when she tried made him very uneasy. He knew it had a pull on her that he would never understand or feel comfortable with when her essence or spirit was out of her body.

  Jayden tucked Blue under him in his favorite sleeping position. His body surrounding hers in a protective barrier against anything that might hurt her. It had taken Blue time to get used to being surrounded by him in what should have been a suffocating embrace but was instead comforting. Secure in their own little world they drifted to sleep only to be abruptly awakened by the alarms blaring throughout the ship.

  Jumping out of bed and pulling on clothes they ran to the control room. Both were already talking telepathically to Vihan who was on shift. A Ragillian ship had just dropped out of hyper into their path. For the second time on this journey it was as if they knew right where the Trilleion would be. That just was not possible. No one but the people aboard were aware of where they were or where they were going. There had been too many delays and side trips to accurately predict where they would end up and they had not contacted anyone to update them on their position.

  Somehow the Ragillians knew where to find them to set up another ambush. Jayden and Blue ran into the control room followed closely by Idris, Sparks and Dro. Jos had gone directly to Engineering.

  “What is our situation?” Jayden demanded in complete control striding to the middle of the room. Sparks slid into his station and brought up all view screens just as three more Ragillian ships took up position around them.

  “We are surrounded Jayden. Any direction we go, we are going to get hurt but we should be able to break through,” he said.

  Dro spoke telepathically to them all, “We are going to have to take out at least one ship completely to create a hole to slip through. Once through we can probably out run them.”

  It went against the grain for all of them to run when their natural inclination was to fight. If it was just one ship or even two there would be no hesitation but surrounded as they were by four it was going to be a little trickier.

  Jayden’s mind raced through the options as he studied the ship’s computer automatically labeled Red One through Four in the order they had appeared.

  “Vihan get ready to fire all weapons at Red Two.” He pointed to the enemy ship that was to the right of the one directly in front of them. “Idris as soon as he fires bring the stealth system on line.”

  “What good is that going to do us? They already know we are here.”

  “Yes, but Sparks is going to move us five clicks towards Red Two. They will not expect us to move closer. As soon as we are in position I want you to drop out of stealth. When he does Vihan I want you ready to fire at Red One. Sparks at that point swing us around and head directly between Three and Four. They will have their weapons aimed at us and hopefully we can get them to hit their own ships a few times.”

  Blue thought the plan was brilliant and probably the only one that gave them a shot at escaping this trap. It would take some fancy flying but Sparks was the best.

  “Incoming message,” Sparks announced as the com lit up. This did not come as a surprise as the Ragillians always called for a ship to surrender before firing upon it. The chance to collect new DNA for cloning was paramount in their orders and this time should have been no different. Except this message left them all reeling in shock.

  “Commander Napreyio of Haldairia I greet you in the name of the Ragillian Empire. You have thirty minutes to turn over the Shillidon Princess to us. If you comply, you and your crew will be free to go on your way unhindered. If you chose to fight I assure you, your ship and all aboard will be destroyed,” the voice was flat and utterly emotionless. The speaker didn’t care one way or the other but he had his orders and he would carry them out or die in the attempt.

  The control room was dead silent. Blue felt the shock coming from each of the men. How? How could they possibly know she was on board let alone who she was. The only people in the universe who knew were right here on this ship and she knew to core of her being that none of them had said a word to anyone else. So how could the Ragillians know?

  Jayden’s face was set in stone. His expression never changed as he listened to the Ragillian’s demand but the anger inside him threatened to boil over and overwhelm her. She threw up another layer of shielding in her mind to mute it so she could think. None of them would give her up and neither would they allow her to give herself up.

  Jayden’s plan was still their best and only hope of getting out of this. Maybe not in one piece but they had a chance. She wished there was something she could do to help but she would just get in their way. They had been a team for so long that they worked together seamlessly and she would disrupt that if she tried. No, it was best if she stayed out of their way and let them do their job.

  Dro’s mental shout shot through all of their minds. “Jayden they have a Minder,” his voice held a fatalistic dread that Blue didn’t understand but the look of horror on all of their faces clued her into the fact that this changed the game.

  “What is a Minder?” she asked. Her voice broke through the silence that had fallen like a bomb. Jayden looked at her and she could feel his mind whirling and scrambling for a solution to this new problem. It was Idris who explained.

  “A minder is someone who can take control of the ship’s computer systems with the power of his mind and render us unable to operate the ship. Leaving us a sitting target.”

  “How can someone do that?”

  “No one really knows,” he shrugged. “I am not even sure they know how they do it. Of course, no one has ever asked either because whenever one is found they are either killed outright or captured and made to work for their captor. No one wants to come across a Minder.”

  “There is no way you can block them from the computers?” she asked.

  “We have the codes to access the computers on a continuously rotating pattern but even then it will not take a strong minder long to break through. That is why they gave us thirty minutes to turn you over. They think they can get control of the ship before the time is up,” Idris explained.

  “Why are they killed and not recruited to serve on ships to protect them,” even as she asked the question she knew the answer. It was the same as the Humans, kill what you don’t understand and are afraid of.

  She closed her eyes and breathed deep. This time it was her anger she needed to get under control. When she opened her eyes Jayden was looking at her.

  “I am surprised that the whole race hasn’t been destroyed if that is the way everyone feels,” she said flatly.

  “Minders come from all races. There is no way to know by looking at someone whether or not they are a Minder. There are very few of them that are strong enough to take control of a ship’s computer system. People are afraid of them so anyone who shows any hint of being able to do it are quickly killed,” he said softly.

  She asked him just as softly, “Have you killed any of them?”

  Before he could answer her Dro announced, “He is through the first layer. At this rate it won’t take him long to get through the last two layers.”

  Jayden looked at her and spoke to her mind, “We will be okay. Trust me.”

  She did. She realized that she trusted all of them.

  Life had settled into a routine for the crew aboard the Trilleion over the last weeks. Sometimes Blue was anxious to get to Shillidon and sometimes she wished the trip would last forever. There was still so much for her to catch up on and she enjoyed learning all of it.

  As with the first part of the trip each of the guys continued to help and answer any questions she
had. Her favorite times were spent in engineering with Jos taking apart and putting the different systems back together. Engineering was the heart of the ship and she had an aptitude for it according to Jos.

  One night when they were all gathered in the dining area Idris had regaled her and the others with stories about her as a child and some of the things she had done. He told her of her love for all things involving space. One story he seemed to relish involved a trip to the space port shortly before that last fateful trip when she had disappeared.

  Their parents had gone to the port to meet a visiting dignitary from a neighboring system, taking her with them. While waiting she had wandered off without anyone noticing she was gone until it was time to do the meet and greet.

  The panic that followed had overshadowed the dignitary’s arrival and he was ignored while the port was closed down and searched. It was the dignitary who found her. She had gone aboard his ship, made her way to the engine room and proceeded to take apart his Hyper Drive.

  When he had walked off his ship with her hand in his, her fancy dress and face were smeared with grease and she was happily chattering away with the man. She was telling him that she had not sneaked aboard but had walked right in. The dignitary ended up becoming a good friend as well as a valuable trading partner.

  Idris had all of them laughing and the evening had been reduced to a free for all with childhood stories and laughter. Blue had never spent an evening like it. She had never had anyone but Riley and Leo and evenings with them tended to be pretty quiet. That was not to say that there had never been good times and laughter, there had been. Just not like this. After that she felt a bond form with the guys.

  Now someone was threatening them and she was not going to let some Minder take control of the ship so the Ragillians could kill them. No matter how sympathetic she was about the treatment they received.

  Knowing Jayden would try to stop her if he knew what she was about to do, Blue sat on the floor next to Leo and leaned back against the wall. She gathered herself and left her body behind without letting him know. He knew the instant she left her body and turned towards her.