Finish the Science Fiction Story, Part II

Cafe Society
21

In the third paragraph of post 19 I made an error. It should have read “not much more than a fainting spell.”

“Are you a doctor?” asked M’Kayla. “Can you tell me what’s going on?”

“Oh, I’m a doctor, alright” said Shaista, with a smirk in her voice that her facial features couldn’t reproduce. “It’s just the other staff here doesn’t know it. Those idiots think I’m just an exceptionally bright nursing student.”

Puzzled by both her words and attitudes M’Kayla tried again. “Can you tell me where Kal is, Kal Trontiann? We were together. Is he hurt too?”

“Not nearly as bad as you were. Have you figured it out yet?”

“Figured out what?”

“What happened to you” said Shaista.

M’Kayla was becoming irritated, in spite of her exercises. “Either you spell it out or I’m calling for a real doctor!”

Shaista was already turning to go. “Don’t bother. I was on my way out anyway, but I couldn’t resist stopping by to “check up” on you. Let’s just say that “calling” is going to be a lot more difficult for you from now on, And don’t bother alerting security, I have a special friend there that will delay them long enough for me to get away” and she slid out the door.

Angrily, M’Kayla shouted for help anyway, but it seemed Shaista had gotten away cleanly.

22

M’Kayla dismissed the conversation from her mind and began her relaxation exercises anew.

She had again reached the second set when she was interrupted again. Annoyed, she refocused on the here and now, and her annoyance fled.

“Kal!” she cried out. “Thank Bast you’re safe!”

23

"M’Kayla, what the frell has been going on?"asked Kal. “First the staff wouldn’t let me see you because you were being treated. Then it looks like every security goon in the place is headed for your room, and nobody would tell me what happened. Now, finally I can see you!” He stopped ranting long enough to take a breath and get a really good look at M’Kayla.

“You look a whole lot better than the doctors lead me to believe. You look fine! I… thought I was going to lose you.” and at that the tough commander collapsed into a chair at her bedside." After a period when they both just stared at each other, Kal ventured “Can you tell me now what was happening with Security?”

M’Kayla related the puzzling incident with Shaista. Kal bared his teeth slightly without knowing it when told of the insults offered to M’Kayla. “I’m going to find that frelling lizard and roast the truth out of her” he grated.

“It’s probably going to be hard to find her, but believe me, I want the first piece of her.” was the response. “I’ve been trying to do my exercises, to relax and concentrate on what she meant by “figuring it out” My dear, if you can give me just a little longer…” Kal took the hint, but was still reluctant to leave. “Call me soon?” he whispered.

Out in the corridor a nurse approached him. He had a small folded red paper in his hand and asked Kal if the patient was awake. “She’s occupied just now” Kal replied. What do you want?"

The nurse held of the red paper. “this is an urgent message we had recieved. The only addressing was to the name of the patient. How anyone off planet knew she was here we don’t know. It’s coded obviously, and the sender is listed as ‘Martel’. Does that mean anything to you?”

“Sure, Martel is her cousin. Well, that’s the closest human word for the Xavvian relationship.” Here Kall frowned. “But they’re both couriers. Their talent doesn’t need hardcopy like that. I wonder why Martel is doing it?”

Almost at the same time Kal spoke the name of Martell he heard a wail of despair from M’Kayla’s room, then “Kal, Kal, it’s gone, gone, gone!”

24

Then M’Kayla noticed who had entered with Kal. “Granthiaxav?” Grav moved closer to M’Kayla and they exchanged traditional greetings. “I’m a bit surprised to see you here. Does this mean the problems in Xancour are under control?”

“For the most part, yes. This particular Xandel holding has been having trouble with its security droids but that’s not important right now. How are you feeling?”

“Empty.”

An alarmed Kal asked, “Your crystal is gone?”

“No, no, it’s there. Something, or rather someone, has made it go dormant.” M’Kayla took Kal’s hand. “I feel so incomplete,” she kissed the back of his hand, “but better with you here.”

Grav thought for a moment. “There’s a Thosti here who may have some ideas about how to reconnect you with your crystal.” Grav keyed his comm. link and was about to speak into it but then it occurred to him that whoever did this might be monitoring communications. He gave a warbling whistle instead.

Grav was becoming concerned when Skoop finally entered the doorway. The reptilian looked like she had been in a fight. “That droid still giving you trouble?”

“Not this time. Someone tried to stop me from coming here.”

25

Baker’s post wasn’t there when I previewed. How should we resolve this situation?

26

Ack! Simulpost! Jeff, I like yours better, why don’t we go with yours and I will consider another, OK?

27

Sure, if you want. That’s certainly easier than trying to figure out how to fix mine.

28

For continuity link, see post 19

Kathy said thoughtfully “Maybe we will need to go to Sevastol ourselves” Martel and Ian looked at her in surprise.

“What for?” asked Martel. “Even the ordinary comm links can get us news and information almost at once.”

Kathy rolled her eyes. “I know that! What I mean is, if M’Kayla is still alive, we need to know at first had why she can’t be contacted by you Martel. I’ve never heard at all of a courier “Switching off” like that. Even if she didn’t want to talk Martel here should still be able to feel something, right?”

“As far as I know.”

A new voice spoke up “I know farther” and Jacob Kenezr entered the room. Kathy had wondered how long it would take Kenezr to arrive to see Martel. “I can tell you, that in all my research I have found only four cases of a courier losing their ability, without losing their crystal as well, or their life. And they were all in the last two years, since the, ahem, Vorpal Incident.”

Typical of the man, thought Kathy. He stopped to do frelling research before at least first making a simple call to find out personally how Martel was faring. Kathy respected her former mentor for his talents and his brilliance in the knowledge of crystal science, but she hadn’t ever recovered an ease in his presence, not after how he’d tricked her into courier work. That it turned out she was one of it’s brightest talents, with absolutely unique abilities, was beside the point.

She sighed “I imagine there’s a reason you are telling us this?”

Jacob beamed, her irritation lost on him. “Of course my dear. I found that all of those cases occured on or in space near to Sevastol, where Capt. Trontiann and his lady were heading. They were all Xavvians to, like M’Kayla. Perhaps something in the physical makeup of Xavvians accounts for this. Think of what we could learn!”

Ian Scott was struck by an idea and before he could help himself he blurted out “Maybe it’s something else!”

The higher ranking S-KI officials looked over to the first year student, who suddenly wished he had a crack in the floor to trickle into. “Yes, Ian?”" said Kathy, in a “You’d better not be wasting our time” sort of voice.

"Well, what if the switch offs aren’t accidental? What if Xavvians are being targeted by someone, or something? maybe it ties in with the ‘droid’ problem mention on the news report.

“Mr. Scott, that’s quite an idea to think up on such short notice” said Martel to his student.

“I get it from my dad, he studies conspiracy theories. But he’s not a crackpot!”

“We didn’t say he was” interjected Kathy. “Jacob, Martell, what do you think?”

29

Shaista shut herself in her apartment. As a “student” at the facility, she had her own quarters, because she was basically on duty around the clock during her training. In reality, most med students were able to have a slight social life and some off-time, but it wasn’t as free as being a full-fledged doctor.

She locked the door behind her. The administrator of the facility would have been surprised at the additions Shaista had made to her quarters. The least of which, a state of the art communicatinos center that no med student should have been able to afford, was hidden ingeniously in an unobtrusive cabinet.

Shaista rubbed her hands over a globe sitting on a credenza near the door. A humming sound emanated from it, and then there was a flash of blue light. Once the masker was in place, Shaista accessed the communication panel.

“Major Shaista Revnix here,” she broadcast. “Reporting in. Are you there?”

30

“I’m here, Major” said the voice. There was no visual. “Go ahead”

“I had some good luck, and have been able to neutralize another Xavvian. Not one on my schedule, but it could be important.”

“Who was it?”

“It was [I}M’Kayla*! You know the one I mean? She’s been an associate of that new Institute on Valis 5!”

''That was superb work Major."

“Not my best I am afraid. She’d been injured and I helped treat her. But she knows I’m responsible for her loss.”

“How is that?” came the sharp retort.

Shaista put off blaming herself by saying “I don’t have time to explain. Security won’t be too far behind me, so I’m going to have to be extracted from this posting.”

“Make the arrangements then. I’ll have the usual pilot pick you up. Don’t be late”

“I won’t be. Major Shaista out.”

Shaista’s contact hissed a string of swearing as he broke the communication link. Shaista had probably let her mouth run away with her again. Well, there were solutions for that sort of mistake, fatal solutions.
___________________________

Back on Valis 5 it had been decided to make the trip to Sevastol. On hearing of those plans Victor Channing Jr. had volunteered a VMC vessel of his own for transport. It was an Echo II-A, with the latest updated facilities. Echo III plans were already in the works, as R&D on transport never stops, but for now the Echo II-A was the best. It had the new advantage, one exclusive to the model, of being able to communicate through non-space, while the ship was in hyperdrive.

Two days later, before boarding Kathy spoke with Victor. “Vic, I just wanted to say again I was sorry about our last meeting… It was rude of me to break things off like that. I spoke with my mother, and she really let me have it. She’s making up for lost time I guess.”

“Don’t worry Kathy, you can make it up on our trip. If things get straightened out, maybe we can get a little holiday in ourselves. I’ve been to Sevastol, and they don’t call it a ‘paradise planet’ for nothing.”

31

Skoop continued, “He must have been watching the compound to see who would venture over here. Caught me by surprise, but I had some surprises of my own. Those self-defense classes really paid off!”

“Where is this being now?” asked Grav.

“Most likely in a holding cell, waiting to be interrogated. When he wakes up.” Skoop turned toward M’Kayla. “Now, what do we have here?”

“I’ve been disconnected from my crystal,” replied M’Kayla, dejectedly.

“Another one? That would explain the attempt to waylay me. As with the other incidents, something happens to keep my staff and I occupied. I believe the same is true of all the other scientists in the area.”

“Can you do anything about this?” asked Kal.

“There is something I’d like to try, but she needs to get to better-equipped facilities. We need to hurry.”

As they prepared to move M’Kayla, Grav asked, “What do you mean ‘other incidents?’”

“Voniaxav didn’t tell you? Figures. This is at least the fifth.”

32

Shaista reclined in her bubble bath, letting the nearly boiling water caress her body. She loved bubble baths, but she restricted herself severely, only allowing her indulgence when she successfully completed a mission.

She was just about to add more narcotic fizzles to the water when her doorbell chimed. Sighing, she keyed the communications padd near the tub to find out who was disturbing her.

When the image clarified, she sat up, gasping in fear.

“What the frell are you doing here?” she cried. “How did you find me?”

“Does that really matter, my dear?” The face relaxed into a cold smile. “Open the door. Now.”

Shaking, Shaista hurried to comply. She had been trained too well to refuse, although time away had weakened the link.

Not enough, she thought, as she quickly donned a robe and rushed to the door. When would she ever be free?

33

“You have done well,” commented the creature entering her room. “I was worried that the droid attack may have killed the woman.”

Shaista shuddered at the unatural vocal inflections of the creature. “it was a close call, I’ll admit,” she admitted ( :wink: ), “But I disabled her crystal. Well, disabled it for her, anyways. It remains active in the network.”

“Yes. Remaining active. That is the important thing.” Looking around Shaista’s room with those odd movements characteristic of his/its species, the creature added, “All this is lost now, of course. You will have to go.”

“Go?” she asked, surprised. “Go where? Why?”

“Always with the questions, you flatliners. Yours is not to ask! You knew that parts of your… assignment … might be unpleasant. Now! Cover your nakedness… your … luscious … nakedness. And dismantle this post. I shal be waiting in the commons area. Meet me in one hour!”

Never having been around species wih a nakedness taboo, Shaista had the common habit of conversing with alien species, whether in person or by vidset, in whatever state she happened to be in at the moment. She hadn’t bothered with fastening the robe and she was still damp from the bath. The creature’s attention to her shapely form, though, unsettled her to the point of revulsion. Self consciously, she donned regular tourist clothing, even tho now alone, and proceeded to dismantle the room’s devices.

34

I have finished a complete recap of the first “Finish the Science Fiction Story” I have also done a recap for what has been written so far in the current thread, and will send either one, or both, to anyone who wants/needs them. We would still welcome new authors to the thread too.

Kathy was deep in the best sleep she had had in quite a while. The trip aboard Victor’s Echo II-A, Searcher, was most definitely not a pleasure cruise. But freedom from the ordinary demands of her now so busy life, had let her and most everyone else relax somewhat. Victor Channing Jr. was being charming again too, and now she was dreaming of him a little. But gradually her dream changed, and she was “watching” herself and Tobermory, whom she’d not seen since he left on a secret mission. She frowned without knowing it, subconsciously recalling the Wayre warning. Kathy was seeing a canyon, with herself on one side and Tobermory on the other. He was shouting to her, but she couldn’t hear the words.

Then the ground beneath her feet started to shake, and with a snap Kathy woke up, to a hand jogging her shoulder. “Miss Swanson, please wake up!” It was a young female Searcher crewmember disturbing her. “There’s an *non-space message coming through for you on the bridge!”

35

Shaista jumped as her comm padd buzzed again. She keyed it on, then rolled her eyes.

“Yes?” she asked in annoyance.

“Major, I have your new assignment for you. I’m sending the co-ordinates now.”

Shaista shook her head. “I can’t.”

“What do you mean, you can’t?”

Shaista looked fearfully toward her door, then bent her face close to the viewer. “Help me. Please.”

Victor Channing frowned. “Major?”

“Please.”

36

“Non-space?” said Kathy in surprise, as she hurried along with the crewwoman. She knew the Echo II class could make that kind of call, but on such a short(relatively speaking) journey, less than four ship days, nobody would expect a message of such urgency that it couldn’t wait. A non-space call used enough power that it was usually reserved for only the most important communications. Kathy wondered if it might be something to do with her dream, and Tobermory, as her “dreams” and visions had had significance before.

But it appeared it was not the case. As she entered the bridge Victor Jr. was speaking to a man on the comm screen, one whose features, except for the gray color of his hair almost matched his own.

“You know, Dad, it might have been better if we had known about this before we left!” Victor Jr. loved and respected his father, but that didn’t keep him from getting annoyed.

“You think I don’t see that? Frell, I KNEW she was probably a double agent for SOMEBODY. But better the devil you know, and all that. It’s not like I trusted her or anything, it’s just that having a few ears in the right places can give you an edge on the competition sometimes.”

“Dad!”

“Well, well” thought Kathy. “What have we here? A little industrial espionage?”

The younger Channing turned his head, saw Kathy, and motioned her over with a wave of his hand, then looked back at the screen. “Here she is now” he said. Kathy stepped into the pickup of the screen. “Hello Kathy” said Victor Sr. no time for pleasantries, we have a Level 5 emergency." Her eyes widened at that. The elder Channing went on to quickly explain about his periodic communications with “information agents” and Shaista in particular. “But I didn’t have time to find out what she meant” he finished “She seemed nervous and broke the link almost at once. All she really said was Help, please and The couriers weren’t my fault!. Since Vic tol me about Martel’s problem, and since you are a courier, and headed to Sevastol, I figured it was something you all should know.”

“This Shaista didn’t say anything else? Can you tell us how to find her?” Victor Sr. gave them contact information, then said “But I do have some good news.”

“Oh?”

“I got a regular line call from Tobermory. Seems it came in just after you slipped into non-space, and he couldn’t get hold of you.”

Seeing the light that came into Kathy’s eyes Victor Jr. muttered to himself “Oh thanks a lot Dad,” then mentally slapped himself. He wasn’t jealous, was he?

37

On Sevastol, the creature was contemplating the beautiful scenery with annoyance and disgust. His manner was offputting to anyone who came close enough to notice the slightly odd behavior. Everything from his posture to his jerky half movements to his constant mumbling to himself just made people (of all species) a little bit uneasy.

As he moved around in that odd way though, he was taking in and analysing everything about his surroundings and whoever happened to be nearby. Even the slight eccentricity, or precess, in Sevasol’s rotation was felt by his amazing senses.

Though relatively unknown to most of the inhabitants of the Known Worlds, his species was very slightly reptilian looking. But they were not at all related to the various reptillian humanoids native to this region. In fact, they were not reptillian at all. They were most closely related to Xavvians, even having the same shape shifting abilities as some of the adepts of Xavvia do. No one in the Known Worlds knows if they have courriers, or anything about their crystal capabilities.

The creature knows.

And the creature is uneasy. Something is happening in non space and the focus is somewhere near. It’s Shaista! he realised and quickly made his way back to her quarters. He burst into the room and found it completely empty, save for the built in furniture. Even the sophisticated surveilance and communication equipment was gone. A feling of shock and fear came over him as he sought for her essence. He could sense nothing at all.

How can this be? he wondered. Then, he felt something else. A faint distraction form a very far away place. If he hadn’t been trained in the networking of crystals through nonspace he might have missed it. But he was. And he knew the harmonics of the crystal being tapped as though it was his own yellow/brown bony hand. It was that Human, Kathy Swanson.

Though he couldn’t tap into crystal conversations, the recipent of the communication was nearby, so he could grasp images and thought patterns. One pattern came to the fore and it enraged him as he put two and two together to decipher who was behind his current trouble.

Involuntarily, his lips tightened, revealing his primal fangs. Thrashing about the small room, he made quick work of destroying the built in furniture and appliances left over. One word came to his mind with the image recieved. One word kept repeating during his violent rampage.

“Tobermory!”

38

Shaista quickly made her way through the medical facility, hauling what belongings she had to have on an anti-grav pallet. She only had one chance, and not much time.

M’Kayla’s jaw dropped as Shaista burst into her room. Kal discreetly laid a hand on his disruptor until he could ascertain the intruder’s attention.

“I don’t have time to explain,” Shaista babbled. “I was the one who disconnected you from your crystal. I’m the only one who can reconnect you. But you have to get me off-planet. Now. Please.”

Kal scowled, but Grav shrugged. “We don’t have much choice, do we? Let’s go.”

39

Skoop, bristling at Shaista saying that she was the only one who can reconnect M’Kayla, spoke up. “You can’t just traipse out of here. There’s a war zone between us and the transport facility, remember?”

“Frell!” Shaista put a dent in a the wall with her fist. “I must get off this planet! My life is in danger!” Tell me about it ran through Kal’s mind, his hand still on the disruptor.

Skoop said, “I have some equipment at the support base that will give you an edge.” Skoop indicated Shaista. “If what you say is true, we’ll need to avoid the heavy traffic areas.” Skoop smiled. “First order of business is to make you disappear.”

40

As the Searcher moved into low orbit around Sevastol, after slipping from non-space, Kathy returned to her own cabin to initiate crystal communication with Tobermory. They knew each other so well that their frequencies connected almost at once.Her own special talents allowed her to “see” what she was receiving, as she had with the Wayre agent the week before. Tobermory, and most other couriers, could only “hear” mentally.

“Tobe dear! It seems like so long! Can you tell me now what’s happening with you? You can’t be all that far off if we can link like this.”

“Ah, mistress, it has been too long.” He teased her with the term, a holdover from the days when he had been her housecat. “I wish we had the time to chat, but I have some important information for you. Did you get a Holomail from me?”

“Why yes, I did, but there was something odd about it.”

“No wonder, it wasn’t from me, but I found out about it later.”

“Were you on Earth then anyway?”

“Actually I was, and even after stolen crystals and their mechanisms. It may tie in to the Sevastol problems, but there’s something else more important. Who all is with you, and have you actually reached Sevastol yet?”

Puzzled Kathy replied “We’re in a parking orbit for now I think. As for those on board there’s me, Victor, Martel, Jacob, a couple of advanced studenst ready for some field, and the Searcher crew of course.”

“You don’t have contact with tKani’sav?”

"I don’t think so. Is it important? "

"Great Mother peserve us, yes! I can reach you in under eighteen standard hours.
Tell Victor that nobody should leave the ship until I arrive. And make contact with tKani’sav so we can link up when I get there. Grav will know how to get in touch.

“Tobe, are okay You look so tired?”

“Never felt better” he lied. Just tell Grav to tell tKan that he was right to be worried"

“About what?”

"To be worried about AlKani

“But he’s dead!”

“He may not be. And if what I found out is true, well, it would take too long to explain from here. Just remember, DON’T LEAVE THE SHIP!”