Cosmic Catalyst (Shamans & Shifters Space Opera Book 2)

by Jenny Schwartz

  “I am Shaman Justice Alex Ballantyne,” Alex said as two Sidhe and a Vaski guard ran around the dome, blasters primed. A Ptero flew in over the heads of the staring students, a blaster in either claw as its leathery wings glided it in fast. The Pteros looked like dinosaur bats with bodies the size of whippets. “There is no danger. Stand down.”

  “Yes, Shaman Justice,” the shorter of the Sidhe said, lowering her blaster. A quick flick of her hand ordered the other guards to do the same. The guards wore headpieces. They’d have been fed identifying information on Alex, as well as on Vulf and me. It was interesting, though, that they accepted Alex’s right to command them.

  If I became a Shaman Justice, they’d obey me, too.

  The female Sidhe guard turned suddenly to look at me.

  Despite the telepathic bond between Vulf and me, I didn’t think the guard had read my mind. Someone had communicated pertinent information about me to the leader of the security guards on the ground—and in the air. The Ptero glided back and forth above the lawn.

  Vulf dropped Alex.

  My former foster parent landed without a stumble. “You can release the sha shield, Jaya.”

  Vulf said in my mind.

  I tugged him back a couple of steps from Alex, and reduced the sha bubble to protect just Vulf and me.

  Alex looked at my hand on Vulf’s arm and at the way Vulf positioned himself to stand between Alex and me.

  It was obvious that the security guards meant nothing to Vulf. It was Alex, and the hurt he’d done me, that occupied Vulf’s attention.

  “We need to talk privately,” Alex said. “There’s been an incident at the Academy.”

  Chapter 7

  Years ago I’d been on a school trip to the planet Origin. We’d visited Proper University, Parliament House, and the Galactic Court. We’d caught the tram and picnicked on the wharf, enjoying the salt scent of the sea. On that visit, I’d seen the public rooms of the court house. On this visit, with Vulf at my back, I followed Alex behind the scenes, passing a number of cubicles and staff who stared with less than hidden interest at us, until we finally reached his office.

  The door closing behind us was a relief. It cut off the curious gazes.

  Now, it was my turn to indulge my curiosity.

  Unlike the impersonal room he occupied at the Star Guild Shaman Academy, this small office space was crammed with mementoes of his travels. They crowded shelves and even hung from the ceiling.

  I saw Celine’s face in a portrait bust of her on a central shelf. The artist had captured the memory I had of her, the way she smiled as if whoever was with her brought her joy. I began to smile back, a slow, wistful smile—that froze as I saw the framed photo to the side of the bust.

  I glanced quickly at Alex.

  He had paused at the side of his desk, watching me.

  I ’pathed to Vulf.

  My mate was a straightforward man. He picked up the framed photo. “When was this taken?”

  I recalled the dark gray utility suit with its line of blue along the outer seams. I’d chosen it with such care. It was the suit I wore on my first starship shaman contracted voyage. I’d bought five of them, and new boots. I’d been so excited and hopeful, newly graduated from the Academy. The photograph showed my excitement and resolve. I’d looked happy and eager.

  Alex stared at the photo Vulf held. “Dan took the photo for me. Daniel Carson, the weapons master at the Academy. He’s a friend.”

  I wasn’t sure how I felt about being surreptitiously photographed.

  “He was taking photos for a strategy lesson in infiltration. He saw Jaya…and thought of me. So he said.” Alex dropped into his chair behind the desk. “Jaya, Dan says you’re the only mistake I ever made, and that I keep making it.”

  “What does that mean?” Vulf growled.

  Alex answered him, but looked at me. “That when you love a person, you should tell them. And you should be there for them.” He sighed and raked a hand through his short brown hair. “I never stopped feeling like your father, Jaya. I just stopped acting like it.”

  “I have a dad, now.” I hadn’t consciously decided to respond. “Thor Trent.”

  The emotions that stormed from Vulf to me were so intense that they were akin to a breath-stealing hug.

  Alex’s face became a blank mask. “And your biological father, Rick Jekyll?”

  The shifter clans would have to revise their security if Alex knew so much about my private life on Corsairs.

  “I’ve met Rick,” I said noncommittally.

  There was a heartbeat of silence in the office before Alex waved a hand at the visitors’ chair in front of his desk. “The incident at the Academy…”

  Apparently, personal time was over.

  Vulf and I sat down.

  Alex activated the viewscreen on his desk. It was positioned at a comfortable reading angle for him, and one difficult for Vulf and I to scrutinize. “I’ve been receiving reports from Dan and a couple of other Academy staff on the situation, as well as reports from the mediator AI monitoring the situation on San Juan. Then there’s the media coverage.”

  A video started rolling on the viewscreen on the far wall.

  “There are soldiers surrounding the Academy?” I stared in mind-blown shock. The uniforms were familiar. “San Juan soldiers? Our own people?”

  Vulf posed a more useful question. “Are they protecting the shamans inside the Academy or holding them prisoner?”

  Alex rubbed the bridge of his nose with the heel of his hand. It was a gesture of annoyed resignation that I’d seen before. It said that he recognized the stupidity of people, and sadly, wasn’t surprised. “The intent is for the army to breach the Academy and gain control of it on behalf of the interstellar human governments. President Hoffer has assumed leadership of the ‘Humanitarian Union’.”

  Vulf snorted. “That’s new.”

  “Yes. It was formed after Jaya’s dramatic departure. Although I suspect that the details of it had already been negotiated. Jaya’s jailbreak simply gave them an excuse to go public with their plans.”

  “But…they’re breaking the Charter of Galactic Union.” Even after President Hoffer’s attempt to control me at the Academy, I couldn’t believe this recklessness. “Humanity isn’t allowed a government that reaches beyond a single planet. Even for the leaders of each planet’s government to get together requires permission from Galaxy Proper’s Trade & Diplomacy Department—and the Academy is the only organization that reliably gets that permission.” My speech slowed as I heard what I was saying. “Those weasels! They used us.” The government ministers had used the Academy’s meetings to assemble and kick off their irresponsible schemes.

  “Yes. Your display of power accelerated a few people’s plans.” Alex swiped his desk screen. The footage on the wall altered to show blue-skinned humanoids in light armor.

  “Freels?” Vulf got up and prowled closer to the viewscreen. “They’re standing inside the circle of human soldiers.”

  “Winona hired them.”

  Vulf’s head snapped around to stare at Alex. “The Chancellor of the Academy hired Freels to defend her students? That was not wise.”

  “It was unwise for many reasons.” Alex switched off the viewscreen. “The Academy faculty and staff are divided as to the best way forward. That is contributing to the current stalemate. The students are safe. Dan and his allies refuse to allow any Freels inside the Academy building.”

  “Children are trapped inside?” Vulf’s protective instincts brought his wolf to the surface. His eyes were icy-blue and furious. “What are you doing about it?”

  “I’m hoping to hitch a ride with you on the Orion to San Juan,” Alex said calmly.

  “Like hell,” Vulf exploded. “Jaya isn’t going anywhere near San Juan. You’re a Shaman Justice. Portal there.”

  “Portals require a significant investment of sha
energy to set up. Reaching the Academy isn’t critical enough to justify the use of one, especially since Jaya needs to be there, too.”

  I grabbed Vulf’s arm as his weight rebalanced, preparatory to a lunge; probably across the desk at Alex. “Why do I have to be there?” I knew the answer that felt true to me, but what was Alex’s reasoning?

  “You’ve become a symbol, Jaya. Like it or not, your choices will help define the future of shamans in the galaxy, and of humanity in Galaxy Proper.”

  “Crater snake shit,” Vulf swore. “You don’t get to put that on my mate.”

  “I didn’t. Fate did. The AI has run any number of scenarios. You are the wildcard, Jaya.”

  I released Vulf to fold my arms. “No.”

  Vulf’s gaze went from my folded arms—a gesture that screamed defensiveness and fear—to my face. “We’re leaving.” He bundled me in front of him, heading for the door.

  “I can show you the AI’s scenarios on the journey to San Juan,” Alex said.

  Professor Summer’s warning flashed back to me, along with the whistling regret that had shaded his words. He’d foreseen something of this. He’d told Vulf and me that we would never have all the information, that an informed choice was an illusion—or delusion—but that we had to decide from the truth of who we were. From our hearts.

  Vulf was doing so. All that mattered to him was my safety.

  And because I could trust him to focus on that, it meant I was free to look beyond my fear that symbol or not I couldn’t bear the weight of deciding things for all shamans, let alone all of humanity. I couldn’t see the forces pressing on us or where our decisions would lead, but I could make the right decision here and now.

  I dug in my heels. “We’ll go to San Juan.”

  “Jaya!” Vulf protested.

  “I can’t leave the students surrounded by Freels. I was one of those children, once. They need us to fight for them. Children deserve protection.”

  I knew my mate and the devotion shifters gave their children. It was the one factor that would reach through his fear for me to consider the needs of others.

  Peripherally, I saw Alex wince. He hadn’t sacrificed his peace of mind to protect the child I’d been.

  “All right,” Vulf agreed unwillingly. His hands were warm as he rubbed my upper arms. He turned his head to address Alex. “Send the AI’s scenarios to the Orion.”

  I pushed against Vulf’s resistance. If there was still anywhere I, and my power, could hide, it was behind Alex.

  Vulf said.

  I touched his hand in a fleeting, grateful caress.

  Instantly, his hand turned to tangle his fingers with mine. “Shaman Justice, if you intend to hitch a ride on the Orion, we’ll be leaving immediately.”

  “I have a bag packed.” Alex lifted a knapsack from his side of the desk, standing as he did so. He studied us intently. “You two just communicated. There are old stories of shifters telepathing with their mates…”

  Vulf’s response was to flick on his communicator. “Ahab, we’re going to have a passenger. Prepare Bunk C for Alex Ballantyne. Monitor him at all times. Ready the Orion for departure. Thanks.” He pocketed the communicator and addressed Alex. “To me, you’re not a Shaman Justice who deserves respect. When I look at you, I see the bastard who deserted Jaya after her mom died.” He meant Celine, my foster mom.

  Alex’s expression lost its curiosity about Vulf’s and my relationship. Whether the blankness of his expression hid annoyance at Vulf’s attitude, affront that he’d dared mention Celine, or an acknowledgement that he’d earned Vulf’s condemnation was unclear.

  The journey to San Juan was going to be purgatory.

  Bunk C, that Vulf had so cryptically referred to in his orders to Ahab, turned out to be one of the four fold-down bunks in the Orion’s upper deck cargo hold, the cargo hold that doubled as a prison. Just looking at it gave me happy shivers. This had been my space when Vulf and I first met. He’d held me prisoner here: the kindest, most baffling jailer a woman could have. Within a couple of days, I’d been upgraded to the guest cabin opposite the captain’s, but it wasn’t mine any longer. Not now that Vulf and I were together. Moreover, Ahab had been renovating while the Orion had been docked at Origin, and the AI had moved fast.

  Inside the captain’s cabin, the desk was gone and with the space that absence provided, the narrow bed had been widened to comfortably accommodate two people. It wasn’t the captain’s cabin anymore. It was ours.

  “I love it.” I leapt at Vulf and he caught me, not seeming to mind when my legs wrapped around his waist and he had to hold my whole weight.

  “You can choose a different color for the walls, the bedding, whatever you want.” He smiled at my excitement. “I just want you with me.”

  Aww. Sweet. “You’ve got me!” I would have kissed him, but he turned his head to one side.

  “Ahab—”

  “I forgot,” I whispered. Ahab was observing my reaction to Vulf’s and my new-look cabin in its beautiful shades of blue-green and pale sand. I’d been told he was with us, where he normally gave us privacy in our cabin. I’d just forgotten. “Thank you, Ahab. No need to discuss colors with you. I love it! You have the best taste.”

  “You’re very welcome, Jaya. I’m vanishing now. Have fun.” Laughter faded, letting us know he’d withdrawn. As the starship’s embedded AI, Ahab was everywhere, but he was also the essence of tact.

  Vulf grinned at me, a very wolfish grin, and kissed me.

  The wider bed was one of his very best ideas, and I made sure to show my appreciation. Since he seemed equally intent on showing me every advantage of the new bed, we had a fabulous time.

  Other people might have worried about transporting a Shaman Justice whom we didn’t exactly trust, but Vulf and I had met while he’d been pursuing my grandfather, a rogue shaman with a huge bounty on him. Vulf knew how to deal with shamans, and so did Ahab. The two were an effective team.

  The journey to San Juan would take just under two days. For humanity, the newest species to join Galaxy Proper, to have a planet so close to Origin seemed impossible, but the route required traversing two wormholes that were marked on star maps as perilous. For most starships, wormholes that rated as perilous were too dangerous to risk entering. However, when a starship shaman guided the jump, the journey was usually safe. Hence, shamans settling on San Juan.

  I’d just have to stay alert.

  Vulf and I finished celebrating our new look cabin and returned to the recreation cabin. There was time for dinner before we reached the first wormhole and I’d worked up an appetite. I grinned at Vulf who’d definitely helped with that.

  He ran a caressing hand down my back.

  I told him.

  He positioned me in front of him, so that he could continue with somewhat discreet caresses, while ordering dinner from the food dispenser. “Pot roast, mashed potato and beans?”

  “Sounds good,” Alex said from behind us.

  Vulf’s hand stilled at my waist.

  I ordered three dinners, and stepped away from Vulf to pour us all coffees. I also checked that my sha sensor net remained in place. I didn’t think Alex intended us harm, but the Orion was my home, Vulf was my mate, and Ahab my friend. I wouldn’t risk them by being lazy about precautions. With the sha sensor net in place, I’d know if Alex started gathering sha energy for some purpose. Then I’d have to decide how to respond.

  Dinner might have been awkward, except that Ahab had a topic he could discuss for days: home decorating. In the past
his interior design talent had been mostly squashed by Vulf’s disinterest, only finding outlet in his annual Haunted Starship extravaganza when he and Vulf docked the Orion at Corsairs so that children could scramble through it, exploring variously themed rooms that ranged from innocently marvelous for the youngest to terrifyingly fun for the older teens. I knew all this because Ahab had shown me the videos and provided a non-stop commentary. I’d fallen even more in love with Vulf knowing that he’d scheduled his bounty hunting work around this yearly event that Ahab reveled in.

  “Polka dots? On a bed Vulf is going to sleep in?” I threw my arms in the air. Just because I trusted Ahab, didn’t mean I wasn’t going to argue with him.

  “Gray polka dots,” Ahab said with mock solemnity. All of Vulf’s utility suits were a boring, utilitarian gray.

  I laughed and the banter continued.

  Vulf smiled occasionally, content simply being with us. Once we finished eating, we moved to the living area and he sat beside me on the sofa, adjusting himself readily when I cuddled into him.

  Alex sat in an armchair and stared at the viewscreen that was currently in its one-way glass mode, and displayed the black void of space as we travelled through it. Every so often, he’d glance at Vulf and me before refocusing on the view of empty space. It was interesting that he hadn’t retreated to his bunk or into his work. He’d brought a tablet onboard so he could have continued to work.

  “Wormhole entry in nine minutes,” Ahab interrupted his own argument in favor of draping a silk curtain across the entry to Vulf’s and my cabin—never going to happen and the teasing AI knew it—to report on the upcoming jump.

  Vulf would want to be on the bridge for a wormhole jump marked on the star maps as perilous, and although I could guide the Orion through the jump from anywhere onboard, I’d go with him; which would leave Alex alone in the recreation cabin. Well, alone unless he changed his current behavior pattern and actually spoke to Ahab.

  I’d have thought that with the number of AIs that worked for the Galactic Court, Alex would have been comfortable conversing with Ahab, but he wasn’t.