Finish the Science Fiction Story

Cafe Society
41

Kathy was not a person who was often or easily frightened. Consequently, the unfamiliar emotion soon morphed into anger. She strode indignantly back to the bridge of the Exegesis to confront Tobermory.

“Will you tell me what in the multiverse is going on, already?” she demanded. "You and Professor Kenezr seem to have made all these plans for me without my knowledge. Or consent, I might add.

“Obviously, you’ve done something to me - I mean, other than make me your ‘courier.’ What gives you the right? And what is this ‘crystal’ thing, and how, exactly, did it get here? Damnit, why are you doing this to me?” She burst into tears.

Tobermory listened to her tirade with growing dismay. He rose from his seat and approached her. He touched her gently on the arm, and spoke softly.

"Forgive me, Kathy. I never dreamed that Professor Kenesr would leave you in the dark. This is a job that should only have been given to a willing participant. You were so calm up until now that I thought you knew!

He sighed. “Where do I begin?”

42

As they ate Tobermory began to speak.

“I know that Prof. Kenezr was a mentor of yours. It was from him I learned about your frustrations at feeling “different”, and how you had difficulty making friends. Many of the other students were uncomfortable around you, and made catty(sorry for the pun) remarks about you, didn’t they?”

Kathy agreed to this, around a mouthful of sandwich.

“Did you ever think about why this was so? After all, you don’t look odd, in fact, for a human, you’re quite attractive.”(This last statement pleased Kathy, for some reason)"

" I don’t know. Sometimes I thought it was because I didn’t have a lot of money. I wasn’t part of the “in” crowd, I was on a scholarship. But sometimes…"

“Sometimes what?”

“Well, it didn’t start happening until I was a teenager, but it was like I could feel people’s attitudes. Not their thoughts, I’d just get the impression that what they were saying didn’t match what they meant, if that makes any sense. Someone could act all sweet to my face, but I could tell that inside they thought I was an idiot.”

“Prof. Kenezr believes that your “impressions” were a real phenomenom. The empathic feelings could have been a latent ability, triggered by physical maturity, but your parents were also registered sensitives, many musicians are. Did they ever tell you that?”

“No! I never knew!”

"That surprises me. Anyway, the professor measured your senstions surrepticiously and he was astounded at what he found. The word “mutant” gets tossed around too much, but you may be a sort of “super telepath”, a person who combines all sorts of psychic abilities. "

“But what about this crystal and courier business?” Kathy insisted again “What is it for?”

43

As they ate Tobermory began to speak.

“I know that Prof. Kenezr was a mentor of yours. It was from him I learned about your frustrations at feeling “different”, and how you had difficulty making friends. Many of the other students were uncomfortable around you, and made catty(sorry for the pun) remarks about you, didn’t they?”

Kathy agreed to this, around a mouthful of sandwich.

“Did you ever think about why this was so? After all, you don’t look odd, in fact, for a human, you’re quite attractive.”(This last statement pleased Kathy, for some reason)"

" I don’t know. Sometimes I thought it was because I didn’t have a lot of money. I wasn’t part of the “in” crowd, I was on a scholarship. But sometimes…"

“Sometimes what?”

“Well, it didn’t start happening until I was a teenager, but it was like I could feel people’s attitudes. Not their thoughts, I’d just get the impression that what they were saying didn’t match what they meant, if that makes any sense. Someone could act all sweet to my face, but I could tell that inside they thought I was an idiot.”

“Prof. Kenezr believes that your “impressions” were a real phenomenom. The empathic feelings could have been a latent ability, triggered by physical maturity, but your parents were also registered sensitives, many musicians are. Did they ever tell you that?”

“No! I never knew!”

"That surprises me. Anyway, the professor measured your senstions surrepticiously and he was astounded at what he found. The word “mutant” gets tossed around too much, but you may be a sort of “super telepath”, a person who combines all sorts of psychic abilities. "

“But what about this crystal and courier business?” Kathy insisted again “What is it for?”

44

The hamsters *forced * me to double post!

45

Still, the uneasyness of her panicy terror lingered, though she had it well under control. One of the reasons she was chosen, she finds out later, was this quality of working through her fears.

As she and Tobermory were talking, and the little ship was being tugged through nonspace, small subtle changes were occuring all over the ship.

In hindsight, this is what caused the next problem. For as Kathy and Tobe were chatting, he was checking the calibration of their instruments and had not noticed just how close they were to the cruiser towing them.

Proximity (as in towing) and nonspace travel are a very dangerous dance, yet the Xavvians do it all the time.

Tobermory was explaining, “The purpose of implanting crystal in empaths is to…” when the towing beams were severed, sending their little shipp tumbling out of control. And they were still in nonspace.

“Don’t touch the controls!” Kathy screams out. “I can stop it!”

Slowly the pithing and spinning of their ship subsided, finally smoothing out to nothing.

“That’s not an empathic control,” Tobermory says in awe. “That’s is Kine!”

Very slightly confused at what she just did, Kathy didn’t notice the ancient religious term Tobe had used in regard to her.

Kine was not nelieved in now. Few outside of the Order of Wayre even knew what it meant.

Tobermory knew. And now, HE was beginning to grow fearful, for only the second time in his life.

46

Huh?

47

I think he meant “believed”. :slight_smile:

48

Ah. Believed. Onwards…

Professor Kenezr gathered together his holographic imagers and some dusty old tomes, preparing to walk Kathy through her abilities and her role as a courier. He was also eagerly looking forward to seeing his protege, Tobe again. Giving Kathy the morphed Tobe was a perfect decision, given the state of the Empire now.

He quickly checked the appropriate passages in the books, making sure he had the correct ones. Everything seemed to be in order, when his comlink chirped. “Hello?” he called out absently.

“Granthiaxav here,” the voice said. “Professor? May I have your clearance code?”

Krenezr spoke in a strange tongue, and Granthiaxav seemed satisfied.

“Very quickly, Professor. We were towing the courier and her companion when the beams severed suddenly. I suspect sabotage from a sympathizer on my ship.”

“What are you saying?”

“We’ve lost them. They’re somewhere in nonspace and I have no way to track them.”

“How can you have no way to track them?” Kenezr asked, stunned.

“The sympathizer was very…thorough. I would suggest you link up with the other couriers and see if they can help. Granthiaxav out.”

Kenezr slammed a book down on the table. He simply did not have the time for such wrinkles. He quickly threw on his robe and made his way out of his apartment, heading for the University.

49

The Exegesis II was miraculously under control again.

“The crystal manifests itself differently in every person,” exclaimed a surprised Tobermory. “There can be no doubt it has given you both telepathic and kinetic abilities. But, that’s only the beginning.”

“You don’t need to say it out loud.” Kathy was picking up more of the picture from Tobe’s thoughts. She was beginning to see where she fit in.

The crystal was the product of intense refinements to Prof. Kenesr’s original ELO machine. Rather than a bulky apparatus filling a whole room the crystal held billions of bits of information that accessed organic networks. The machine had been replaced by Kathy Swanson herself. But, why?

Tobe spoke, “Your father found the recording that brought all of Prof. Kenesr’s work together. You see, Kathy, we are all connected by music. Every soul is like a note, a tune. The songs can be played to bind everyone into a single harmony. The recording was called Lifehouse. Its composer is still a mystery to us. But it is clear they had a great vision and only lacked the technology to put it to use.”

50

On the second Kaalon ship, Commander Trontiann struggled with his controls. Whomever had sabotaged his partner’s vessel hadn’t been aware that Krenezr hired two escorts, a fact the pilots themselves hadn’t known about the other until just before they rendezvoused with the Exegenis II. Someone had managed to damage Trontiann’s ship but it had to have been a rush job and could be easily repaired, given enough time. Then he heard something unusual.

bing

This old girl hadn’t done that before. Must be related to the sabotage.

bing

Now this is getting irritiating. I’ll have to find a way to shut it off.

bing

He found the noise was the result of sabotage, just not the way he expected. The saboteur made a mistake when trying to disable the ship’s computer, the noise was related to the Exegenis II! He had an intermittent bead on it! He punched his comlink to let Granthiaxav know. Nothing. He tried again. Still nothing. Trontiann leaned back in despair and frustration. He had an idea where the courier was going but following would be difficult and communications were out.

51

Oy, looks like I made a mess up there. [ul][]The two gunships may have been sabotaged by the same being but not necessarily.[]The rush job was the result of the saboteour (or saboteours) not getting enough notice about the second escort.Trontiann is a pilot, not a mechanic. He’d be better off getting some help instead of trying to make repairs on his own.[/ul]

52

There was one thing Kathy still hadn’t had time to tell Tobermory yet. Now she spoke up

" I still have a million questions, about Kine and the Order of Wayre you mentioned…"

“But I *didn’t * speak of it out loud!” Tobermory said, stunned yet again. "You must have read it in my mind!

“So what if I did? I haven’t had time yet to figure out how not to pry with these new abilities. I hope Prof. Kenezr can work with me on that. But there’s something that has me scared, scared like you were when you heard me mention Wayre. When I woke up to this, when I was still in the cabin back there, I was hearing voices. AT first I thought it was you speaking on the com, but then I could tell it was in my head. So I closed my eyes and I started seeing faces! The one was saying ‘Help us’. And when I tried to I saw a human face, all wavy and blurry. But I knew him!” Here Kathy began to blink back tears.

“Was it someone from Laxis Prime?” Tobermory queried.

"NO! What scares me is that the person it seemed to be is dead! Tobe, I,… I think it was my father. But that’s impossible, well, isn’t it?

53

Trontiann had no choice. If half of what Tobe had transmitted was true, the courier would have to be rescued, alive and in good health.

He zipped a quick message to Grav, in Captain’s Only code, and then ordered his helmsman to follow the blip. Then he called on his secret weapon.

For Trontiann, unknown to his superiors, had a rogue courier on board. To everyone else, M’Kayla was his mistress. And she was, on occassion.

He focused his thoughts as she had taught him, and concentrated on sending a quick picture of his predicament. M’Kayla was currently studying some type of music called One Hit Wonders of Ceres, but within moments she was on the bridge.

“Hello, darling,” she cooed, then lolled in the observation chair, holding a small computer. To everyone else on the bridge, she was simply continuing her research near the captain.

But Trontiann noted she had turned the observation chair so she could watch the helsman, and her pretty brow furrowed in concentration as she attempted to match the location of the blip on the screen to the location of the lost Exegenis II.

54

[aside]
Hoo! This is getting interesting! :slight_smile:
[/aside]

55

While M’Kayla worked, Kal Trontiann allowed himself to relax and he reflected on how he ended up here. He was the youngest, and perhaps the best, pilot ever to come out of the Academy but he always felt something wasn’t quite right. It was as if his presence was tolerated and nothing more. He had to endure many years of being issued substandard equipment, which led directly to getting involved with the Xavvians. He was in an old Viper-class scout when a malfunction forced him down near a Xavvian colony. Fortunately for him, the colonists were friendly and they fixed up his ship better than new.

Years later, Trontiann felt he may have proven himself when the Alliance awarded him a command. The very first Kaalon had just come off the line and with great fanfare it was awareded to him! He later realized it was mainly for show, the Kaalons were produced on his homeworld and the one of the stipulations in the contract was that the first command had to go to someone from that planet. Even upon retirement, Trontiann still felt the old resentment. Kaalons were about to be phased out and the Alliance gave him one, the same one that he had been commanding. Not that he minded much.

56

President Astrid Vorpal stepped onto the bridge of the Jewel of Novon. “Captain Verless, when will we reach the Laxis system?”

“We should arrive in less than ½ a standard hour,” said Captain Verless from the command chair.

“Good. When we arrive deploy the sensor probes and take up an orbiting vector behind the secondary star. Avoid detection at all costs.”

“Yes, sir.”

“The Exegesis II is sure to arrive shortly. I want to capture Kathy Swanson alive but, if we are left no other choice, destroy her and her feline friend.”

President Vorpal was under control for the moment. Having a clear and immediate objective helped him focus. “Alert me to any change,” he said. “I’ll be in my listening chamber.”

Exiting the bridge President Vorpal made his way to a small room two decks below. Spartan and meticulously clean, the white-walled room contained only a short, padded stool and plain metal table. On the table was a single, oblong gray box about the size of a ream of paper. The sides of the box were smooth and flawless. The edges were sharp. There were no markings of any kind.

Vorpal ran his fingers along both sides slowly then quickly placed him palm on top of the box. A latch clicked and the top opened to reveal a set of three egg size, deep crimson crystals comfortably settled on a foam bed. They were to color of blood. Also in the box was an instrument similar in shape to a pistol; only it had a fatter than normal barrel; large enough for a crystal to fit inside.

Slipping one crystal into the gun, President Vorpal pressed the point of the barrel firmly into his abdomen and pulled the trigger. With a burst of light and a muffled report the gun fired a crystal deep in Vorpal’s belly. For a moment he doubled over with intense pain and fell to the floor. Gritting his teeth Vorpal hissed, “I’m ready for you now my lovely Miss Swanson.”

57

[outraged reader]Hey, that’s not fair! Vorpal can’t turn himself into a courier! [/outraged reader]

Continue. I love all the twists and turns, and just when I thought when I knew where I could take the story next…you guys throw in a curve.

58

Aside:

Sorry, ivylass, I figured Vorpal may have been the original carrier. He was there when Kenezr made the first machines. It seems to me that Vorpal became intoxicated with the effects. But, he may not have the same abilities as Kathy. Remember, the crystals work differently on different people. Plus, I think there are different types of crystals.

59

Captain Largo arrived at Laxis Prime about an hour before President Vorpal’s ship was set to arrive. His contact within the Brotherhood had already arranged for his safe passage through customs despite his status as a traitor, wanted criminal and pariah among his own people and the Alliance.

Though Laxis Prime was the Yebeshim homeworld, more than 2/3’s its people were currently off-planet, working in various capacities for the alliance, as teachers and instructors throughout the known universe, or as missionaries spreading the teachings of the ancient Yebeshim religion and its twin ideals of Knowledge and Self-Awareness. The streets of Laxis City were crowded mostly with humans, as well as the occasional representatives of a dozen other inhabited worlds. Very few Yebeshim were in evidence, which was just as well. Though the chances of another of his own species recognizing him were quite high, to most members of other species, the famously self-regarding humans especially, one Yebeshim looked much like another.

So, Largo was able to slip into the main Alliance University building without incident and, using the codes his contact had given him and his own memories of the layout of the building, quickly worked his way to the office of Professor Kenezr.

The office was empty when he arrived, so he settled in to wait. The Professor would arrive eventually. Sitting in the Professor’s chair, he fingered the Transport Vortex triggering device nestled in a pouch of his uniform. Once the Professor was in Vorpal’s hands, things would finally begin coming together.

“Tobermary,” Largo muttered under his breath. “Soon you will die by my hands.”

60

Oops. ivylass, I made a continuity error in my last post. Most of it was okay, but I had Kathy revealing to Tobermory that she was hearing voices and seeing faces. In you post of 5/6/03 you already had her revealing this. Hmmm, I can’t cut out either post, so in my next one I will try to figure out a way to smooth it over, even if it is the sort of explanation “the whole last season was a dream of Pam’s”