“Tease you,” they answered together, then stalked away laughing. Vely rolled her eyes and turned towards Becce.
“How long are we going to be here?” she asked.
“I believe the Captain said we’d be here a month. The repairs and upgrades will take some time, but I’m told we’ll have some advantages when raiding ships,” Becce said.
“Raiding ships?”
“Ah, right,” Becce said, pressing a finger to her chin. “That was Liza.” She turned her gaze back towards Vely and grinned. “We are pirates after all.”
Vely knew she should be appalled; after all, she’d spent her entire life on the Moon having her basic freedoms and needs limited, while the leadership of the Moon and the Enforcers benefited from their poverty. Something else burned in the pit of her stomach - excitement? Without thinking, Vely grabbed Becce’s arm.
“Will I get to go on one of these raids?” she asked, feeling her excitement build. Becce grinned.
“I’m sure at some point,” she answered. “With the plans that the Syndicate are pulling together, I imagine we’ll be pretty busy after we leave here.” Vely clapped her hands together.
“Sounds exciting.”
Doctor D and Corbin were in the middle of telling a story of their time with a different crew on The Kraken when a loud alarm blared throughout the Cove, accompanied by flashing red lights. Everyone flinched at the sudden cacophony of noise.
“What is that?” Vely cried over the sound. A few grinned.
“I think that means we’re going to move,” Corbin announced. The two large men stood up from the table and motioned for the others to follow. “Come on! We have to get a good view!” Vely scrambled up from the table, flanked by Weed and Speed, and followed Corbin, Becce, and Doctor D. The other pirates followed them towards a narrow metal staircase that led up to the wide landing several meters above the floor that gave a view out the wall made entirely of windows. The platform allowed a partial view of the docking area, and a large portion of the asteroid’s exterior. The alarm stopped blaring, and a low tone followed for a moment, until the entire Cove went silent, including the pirates.
Somewhere below, or at least it felt like it was below them, a rumbling sound crescendoed until it filled Vely’s ears. Through the windows, she could see a large panel of the Cove moving, revealing engines. Between the excitement of the pirates and the roaring of the Cove, a large amount of tension was mounting.
The roaring noise stopped, and silence fell once more. Vely frowned, thinking something was wrong, but before she could open her mouth to ask, the engines below flared to life, and the Cove began to move, faster than anything Vely could have expected. She lost her balance, nearly toppling over, but Weed and Speed caught her. A few other pirates fell into each other. They picked themselves up, laughing and shouting over the engines.
Vely tried to watch out the window, to get some sort of idea of how fast they were moving, but there was nothing to watch. Whatever had been visible out the window was already gone. She could only feel the force pressing against her body.
The speed only lasted a few minutes, and the Cove stopped so abruptly that most of the pirates flew forward, crashing into each other once again. This time, Vely was one of those who fell, with Weed and Speed landing on top of her. She laughed while she tried to push the twins off of her.
“Look!” Corbin shouted. Someone grabbed Vely by the back of her shirt and hoisted her to her feet. She pressed her hands against the window, and behind her, she could feel the crush of the other pirates who wanted a better view.
On the surface of the Cove, small glittering yellow lights appeared at equal distances from each other. Vely’s mouth dropped open. From each individual light, an arc of yellow-orange light appeared, connecting one light to the next one, creating a yellow grid over the exterior surface of the Cove.
The true spectacle began when someone shouted, “We’re disappearing!”
Vely pressed herself closer to the window, trying to see what others were seeing. The furthest point of the Cove that she could see disappeared, each section of the grid disappearing one by one.
“How is this possible?” Vely asked. Corbin rested his heavy hand on her shoulder.
“The grid functions to bend the light, or any electromagnetic radiation, around the Cove, to provide some cloaking ability. We’re not actually disappearing,” he explained. Vely’s jaw dropped while she continued to stare out the window at the place where she had been able to see the Cove before. The Cove erased itself from existence.
“Most people never see this,” Corbin said. “The Cove doesn’t move often, if it doesn’t have to, since it requires so much power. I was just a child the last time I got to watch the Cove’s cloaking shield activate.”
“It’s amazing,” Vely whispered. Beneath their feet, the ground began to rumble as the engines powered up. The gathered pirates swayed a bit on their feet at the initial movement. The sensation of moving increased until a heavy lurch sent pirates colliding into each other once again. After righting themselves, they descended the steps to the main level when another alarm blared, this one different than the previous two. Vely was about to take a step around someone when she was lifted off the ground, her feet no longer making contact with the floor. She screamed, and she wasn’t the only one. Pirates were rising up all around her, waving their arms and legs uselessly.
The alarm stopped and was followed by a voice coming from speakers somewhere. “Apologies. The artificial gravity generator was damaged by an engine malfunction. Please remain calm while we repair it.”
Vely blinked, looking around her as people and anything that wasn’t attached to the ground drifted up towards the high ceiling. She twisted and saw Corbin, Doctor D, and Becce lounging in the space beside her.
“Zero gravity is fun sometimes,” Becce said. “Did the generators on the Moon ever go out?”
“No,” Vely replied, still feeling horribly uncomfortable at not being able to feel her own weight. She never realized before that being held down by gravity gave her a sense of security.
“VELY!”
She looked around but was blindsided by the twins before she realized what was going on. They each grabbed one of her arms and pulled her along through space, laughing in her ears.
“What are you doing?” Vely shrieked. The three of them approached the ceiling, and before they hit, Weed and Speed turned themselves around and planted their feet to stop their movement, then pushed them off, sending them in another direction. Vely shrieked, feeling somewhere between having fun and feeling terrified.
36
At Gwen’s advice, Liza tried to control her temper and her willpower for the next several days. She tried not get in trouble and draw attention of the officers. Liza knew she walked a fine line. Colonel Morre had made sure she knew that right away. In spite of his continued assurances that she wasn’t very powerful, Liza noticed that he seemed to spend a lot of time observing her while she was in her various training and research sessions. It made her uncomfortable knowing that his eye was always on her, and she wondered why he had singled her out.
Even Gwen couldn't provide much help there.
“I noticed that, too,” Gwen said after Liza asked about Colonel Morre following her around the training facility. “He’s never done that to any of the others, at least to my knowledge.” Liza frowned.
“It’s creeping me out,” Liza said, crossing her arms over her chest. “If I’m so weak, then why should he care?” Gwen snorted.
“I told you that you’re not weak. He’s probably only saying that because he’s insecure with his own power,” Gwen said.
“Or he’s a huge prick,” Liza suggested, and Gwen shrugged her shoulders.
“Also entirely possible.”
After Liza blew up the Research facility, all the trainees’ schedules were rearranged to include more training time while the Research facility was repaired. No one seemed particularly fazed by this. Liza found the a
dditional training sessions to be useful. Unlike the Test sessions, Training only included Kathos. None of the brown uniforms were present. Gwen’s theory was that the Fakes needed to learn to control their powers in a different way than those with natural powers.
Colonel Morre spent much of his time observing the training, and occasionally stepping in to help. According to Gwen, that behavior was normal since he was the head of the Kathokinesis training. But it was still unsettling to Liza that every time she glanced around the room, she’d see his eyes lingering on her.
One of the techniques that Liza learned quickly was to create a tether. While some of the Kathos struggled to leave their power behind, Liza had no problem parting with the little arcs of power, leaving them on an object or door to secure and protect it from others. In between sessions, Liza would practice on the door to her room, endlessly annoying Gwen when she returned from the showers only to be locked out, as one Katho could not negate another’s tether.
After mastering the tether, Liza focused on learning to direct her power without using her hands. Some of the Kathos around her could stand perfectly still, their hands at their sides, and send objects and each other flying around the room at incredible speeds. Even Gwen had mastered that technique and was attempting to help.
“Nothing is happening,” Liza complained. She looked down at her hands at her sides, which were glowing with power.
“This is a more mental exercise,” Gwen said, pointing towards the metal weight that Liza was attempting to control. “You have to use your mind to control the power and send it in the proper direction.” Liza tried to focus her mind on sending her power in a specific direction, but again, nothing happened. “It’s a difficult thing to do. Each Katho sort of develops this ability on their own, so my technique won’t work for you. Try again.” Liza focused on the metal weight, trying to use her mind to send her power there, but again, nothing happened.
“No good,” Liza grumbled. Frustrated, she lifted her hands up and pushed, sending the arcs out towards the weight, lifted it, and tossed it into a wall.
“Your temper is inhibiting you from succeeding,” a voice said at her shoulder. Liza glanced back only to see that Colonel Morre had crept up on her. Liza pressed her lips together to try and keep herself from getting in trouble.
“What do you suggest?” she asked through gritted teeth. Morre leaned closer.
“Stop resisting,” he whispered. Liza shuddered and stepped away from him, rubbing her ear on her shoulder, as if she could wipe away his words. Morre laughed and walked away towards another group of Kathos.
“I hate him,” Liza snarled. Gwen rested her elbow on Liza’s shoulder.
“He might have a point, Strange.”
During the next mealtime, Liza picked at her food. She knew she should eat, but she wasn’t hungry. Colonel Morre’s words haunted her, not to mention Gwen’s admission that he might be right. Liza swelled her power, the little arcs jumping down into her plate of food, lifting it from the tray before letting it plop back down. Gwen snagged a forkful of the faux meatloaf from the air and stuck it in her mouth.
“What’s up with you?” Gwen asked. Liza sighed and set her fork down.
“Just thinking about what Morre said,” Liza grumbled. Before Gwen could try to comfort her, Liza looked around at the other trainees. “How come everyone here is so complacent?”
Gwen lifted an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“Hasn’t anyone tried to escape?” Liza asked, which caused Gwen to press her lip together in a line.
“Some people come here willingly,” Gwen said. Liza’s mouth opened in surprise. “Some of us are sold to the SSA.” Liza looked around the hall again.
“And the brainwashing?”
“Make sure everyone is on the same page of loyalty to the SSA,” Gwen said, looking bored now. She too began to pick at her food. Using her own power, Gwen made her fork dance around her plate.
“Why would anyone join these people willingly?”
“Money. Security. Being part of the Supersensory Division is a really good career, if you can ignore the atrocities the SSA commits, which are bound to be worse now that Walnad is involved,” Gwen answered.
“The pirates are starting to sound like the good guys,” Liza commented. “They want to stop Walnad and the SSA from completely taking over the solar system.” Gwen smirked.
“You know Walnad is doing that because of the pirates, right?” she asked, laughing. Liza shrugged her shoulders. Gwen smiled and stood up from the table. “Come on. If we’re not going to eat, we might as well get first dibs on the showers.”
Her dreadlocks dripping, Liza wandered back to her room, wrapped in one of the standard issue towels. She froze when a familiar face appeared in the hallway, walking towards her. It was Cedrick, looking worse for wear. According to Gwen, Augur training wasn’t very rigorous, which made Liza question Cedrick’s haggard and exhausted look. She stopped walking to wait for him to approach.
“Liza,” he mumbled as he got closer.
“No one has killed you yet?” Liza asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Cedrick shook his head.
“You’re the only one that wishes me dead,” he said, though the potential venom in his words fell flat from his toneless voice.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing you should concern yourself with,” he muttered, and brushed past her. Liza spun around to say more, but she reined in her snarky comments. Not that she cared, but there was definitely something off about Cedrick. Something that Liza was too curious about not to investigate.
Liza dressed quickly and headed back out into the hall. Gwen hadn’t returned yet from her shower; more than likely she was with one of the other dark-skinned girls. They had some secret knowledge about the proper way to do their hair, to which Liza was not privy. Instead, she wandered the hallways, looking for anyone wearing a yellow uniform.
She eventually located a small group of the Augur trainees in a commons area, sitting in a circle and talking quietly. A few of them were scribbling on tablets. As she approached, their conversations dropped off, and they all turned to stare at her.
“What do you want?” one of them asked. Liza frowned at his attitude.
“Do any of you know Cedrick?” she asked. Blank faces stared back at her. Apparently, none of them would be willing to talk to her. Liza wasn’t aware that any animosity existed between herself and Augurs. “Fine,” she huffed and turned to leave. Just before she reached the hallway again, someone whispered her name. She spun and saw that one of the yellow uniforms had crept away from the rest of the group, who had gone back to talking and scribbling on their tablets.
“Liza Strange,” he said, leaning close to her. “I’m Cedrick’s roommate.”
“What’s wrong with him?” she asked.
“He hasn’t slept since he got here. Claims he keeps having prophetic nightmares,” the boy said.
“How does he know they’re prophetic and not just nightmares,” Liza asked.
“We just know.”
Liza was going to ask more questions, but the Augur skulked back to the group. Liza watched after him for a moment but turned to leave when the yellow uniforms began to stare at her, looking angry. With no other leads now, Liza returned to her room.
On the walk back, she passed by several people in blue uniforms, mostly women. They nodded to Liza as she approached but didn’t engage her in conversation. Instead, Liza listened as she passed by.
“I heard Carte and Howards talking. Apparently, the Cove has moved, so Howards is forcing the Augurs to try and figure out where they relocated to. The SSA thinks that many of the top-ranking members of the Galactic Syndicate are there right now, conspiring.”
“I don’t understand why the SSA has such a hard time taking them out. They’re just pirates.”
“You haven’t met any pirates, have you? They’re ruthless murderers.”
Liza smirked to herself as she moved out of ears
hot of the Tranqs.
37
Now that the Cove had relocated, much of the tension on the satellite had dissipated. The pirates felt that they were safe for the time being, and their discussions of how to deal with the SSA could continue.
Vely was far from someone who would be included in these discussions, so she spent much of her time with the other members of the crew, learning new ways to be useful. Weed and Speed taught her basics about the ship’s weaponry, Dr. D continued to teach her about medicine, Corbin taught her to cook, and Becce taught Vely about the navigation systems on The Gypsy Star. Vely soaked up the knowledge as fast as she could.
In between all her informal lessons, she continued to practice with her Tranquility. If she didn’t wish to be disturbed, which happened often when the twins were bored, she would leave a tether in her room, which worked to dissuade the others from knocking. Vely only did this when she was feeling at her worst, when her regret over finding and losing her sister quickly threatened to overtake her. She continued to look through the tablet of Liza’s that Vely had found in the room, using it as a connection to her sister by reading and rereading all the information that Liza had saved. It gave Vely some insight into what her sister was thinking.
When the crew wasn’t working on the ship, they were down in the Cove drinking, eating, and enjoying themselves. Parties were almost completely unheard of on the Moon, and there had been a ban on alcohol long before her parents were even born. Watching the pirates drink, dance, and perform ridiculous stunts in the name of laughter was a sight. They seemed to have an amazing ability to be recovered enough by the next morning to start the process all over again. Becce explained that some of the Sun Stations had age limits for drinking, but the pirates didn’t adhere to such notions. Even so, Vely had no desire to partake. At least not anytime soon. Being untrained and unbalanced with her power, she worried that any relaxed inhibitions might end up with a room full of people overdosed on Tranquility.
Psychogen (Galactic Syndicate Cycle Book 1) Page 21