Gemini Ecliptic : : Chapter 2
The texts of the ancient world note more instances of oracles than I dare count, but conversely, they record an even larger number of charlatans who pretended to see the future for their own personal gain. The remarkable work in this field by our young Jeffrey Morgan brought to sharply to my mind the grand arrogance of the final generations of Terra, and arrogance we ourselves have not fully escaped. We give primacy to that which can be seen, measured, repeated on command. The inherent danger we face is the out-of-hand dismissal of mystery and enigma. I cannot help but think that we continually miss something vitally important. Our myths, both ancient and new, give us essential clues to who we are, and of what we are capable. In this light, that true oracles exist only in those myths should warn us all. If oracles do in fact exist among us, our arrogance blinds us to them, and consequently, to one of the richest parts of humanity, past, present and future.
- Pontifex Muthologia Celebras Lethon, from “Man and Myth,” AT 3130
Jared and Jensen insisted they go alone to greet their families. Whatever motives the others chose to read into that, the simple truth was they wanted a final walk through town alone. The snow from the night before left an undisturbed blanket of white from the heated sidewalk of the cabin to the main road. Few travelers headed from town in this direction. The solitude, and the pure whiteness of the winter world around them, settled their souls with deep peace.
They opted to wear their dress coats. the heavy fabric brushing along the surface of the snow. Though they wore black leather gloves, they held hands the entire way. The path into town unwound before them like a ribbon of white satin, flanked by massive firs, their branches drooping with heavy snow. Grey clouds hung low above them, a sign more snow was on the way, clipping off the very top of the massive peaks that walled off the valley. Less than a kilometer down the road, the trees parted, the path widened, and the tall wood and stone buildings of the village came into view. The roofs laden with snow, made them appear startling like the curious miniature houses the boys had seen in Ella’s store, made of cookies, candy and frosting.
Some people in town even honored some ancient tradition in which they put thousands of tiny lights all over a giant fir tree in the center of the village. Every time they came into town, they stopped to stare at it, the countless twinkling lights like stars scattered among the branches. After the second time they saw it, they made a silent agreement that next year, they would carry on this tradition at the cabin.
If.
In quiet moments lying in bed, as they drifted off to sleep in each other’s arms after their lovemaking, they allowed themselves to dream. Of a time after the war was over and won, when they were not soldiers, but people doing their best to live well. In those dreams, they lived here. Surrounded by their many wonderful friends, carrying on mundane conversations about the comings and goings of ordinary lives. One day, they told themselves, they would come here to simply be.
It was a lovely dream, one they held close to their hearts for somedays and maybes.
The late afternoon was cold, but they felt warmed from the shared memory. Standing on the edge of the village, they sensed the presence of friends moving toward them. Jensen suspected they tripped some kind of alarm every time they set foot on the path into Ouray that alerted someone that they were coming. Jared thought it was some weird psychic thing. Jensen reluctantly agreed. They’d caught glimpses, odd patterns of light that sometimes bled into their regular vision. If the townspeople were Adepts they were not of types the cadets were familiar with, and not of a strength that would be of much interest to the government. They both suspected that the Justicar knew all of this, and was responsible for the town acting as a safe haven to Adepts.
The two young men had no doubt that news of their families’ arrival had spread throughout the town. Secrets simply didn’t exist here. Some might view this with distaste, but Jensen and Jared embraced the transparency. They knew too much of secrets. They continued the short trek into the main thoroughfare, warm smiles and waves greeted them. They had been fortunate. Though this marked one of the biggest tourist seasons for the town, the locals worked diligently to make sure the adepts didn’t get snared in groups of curious onlookers. Their long, formal, severely-tailored coats only served to draw attention to them, but they had learned that with the faintest projection, they could easily distract unwanted pursuers. At first, they felt uncomfortable with the manipulation, but Morgan had picked up on it, and persuaded them that it wasn’t unethical. In fact, the older man had chuckled when they explained what was going on, and asked if they could teach him how to pull that off.
Today, however, the townspeople had almost cordoned off a path to the port. A few people were walking out the large doors at the front of the massive building that marked the far edge of the town, but it seemed that some local liaison had met all of them and was hurrying them to their destinations. When they entered the giant domed-structure of the embarkation area, they were largely alone.
They waited only a few seconds before the play of light that marked materialization on the teleporter pad began. The light show faded and Alan and Donna Ackles were standing in front of them. They saw Jensen’s older brother Josh and younger sister Mackenzie behind them. Teleportation was disorienting to anyone who had not grown accustomed to it through frequent use. They could sense the vertigo Jensen’s family were suffering, but knew it would pass in a few seconds.
Though Jared really didn’t know these people, he felt Jensen’s happiness as though it were his own. The love that passed through him for his counterpart’s parents felt as though it had originated within him. They hadn’t considered this complication. A frisson of worry passed through them, but they were set upon with hugs and greetings before they could consider it fully.
The group basically doubled with the arrival of the Padaleckis and the frenzy continued until an all too familiar voice cut through the din.
“So these are the people responsible for you two?”
They turned to see Loretta, wearing a mischievous smirk. Before anyone could react, she moved forward, approaching the mothers first, her expression transforming into the perfect warmth of the consummate hostess.
“Now don’t you worry,” she said. “I have been working myself to the bone to make sure these two are eating like they should be. I swear, left to their own devices, they would waste away to nothing.”
In about ten seconds, she had completely won them over. They had to hand it to Loretta; she had the instincts of a master tactician. With their mothers handled, the rest of the clans fell in line. Before they knew it, everyone was headed effortlessly out the door.
“Now I know you all must be exhausted from that infernal contraption,” she contented glibly on. “I hate those things, but they just can’t be beat for convenience, can they? Anyway, I know how trying traveling by teleporter is, so I have taken the liberty to prepare a little refreshment for everyone.”
As Donna and Sheri began to fuss over the trouble, Loretta smoothly cut them off. “Oh, it wasn’t any trouble at all.”
Jared and Jensen thought to themselves that Loretta had no qualms with taking liberties.
“I heard that!” She called over her shoulder at them. She patted both of their mothers’ arms. “I know you two did everything in your power to bring those boys up right. Boys just always seem to be difficult, don’t they?”
The ensuing chatter over the challenges of mothers raising sons carried them all the way to the diner, their fathers smirking at each other, knowing they were in the presence of a great handler of people.
The two adepts brought up the rear of the small parade, and smiled at each other, feeling a bit of relief chip away at their nervousness.
The boys took great enjoyment showing their families around Ouray. Every shop and storefront held some wonder that appealed to some member of their group. Every Ouraian made great efforts to welcome their families and help them feel at ease. By the time they arrived back at the cabin, night had fallen, and everyone chatted with and easy banter. Jensen and Jared knew that once they entered the house, the reality of their situation would once again assert itself in force. They loved the men and women waiting for them, but with them came insignia and rank and all of the trappings of war. They inwardly shrugged. No time like the present.
The introductions were short and effortless, as their parents had all met their superiors before. The usual pleasantries were exchanged, and before an awkward silence could seize them, the boys escorted their guests to their rooms. As they settled in to their quarters, they each trickled back into the main living area. When both families and their comrades were all accounted for, Jared and Jensen sat forward in their seats. The time was now.
“We know that you have questions,” Jared began softly. “And we want to do our best to answer them.”
Alan and Jerry shared a grave look, but their expressions softened as they turned to the boys.
“First of all,” Jerry said in his deep voice. “We are very, very proud of both of you. You have become men of extraordinary character and strength. No father could feel anything but proud.”
Alan nodded his agreement and continued. “We want to know, most importantly, that you are both alright.”
“Yes, sir,” Jensen answered. “its been hard, we won’t lie, but we truly are alright.”
“So why don’t you try to explain to us what exactly has happened to the two of you,” Jerry asked.
The adepts took a deep breath. Jared began,”You were there for the aftermath of the beginning. It’s kind of difficult to pick one thing to explain. I guess one of the biggest developments is the transducer kineses.”
The blank stares that met them, urges Jensen to speak. “Adepts all produce a type of energy with their abilities, and each type is unique to their class or skills. Medikinetics produce a very different type of energy from, say, macrokinetics. And those kinds of energy are different from say electricity, or the dark energy reactors. What we discovered is that we could take these different types of energies and transform them into any kind of energy that we needed.”
“So, you can take electricity and turn it into the energy that heals people?” Jared’s sister Megan asked.
“Exactly,” Jared answered her. “So, we can gather up this huge mass of other energies and transduce it into healing, or deflector, or microkinetic energy. And that allows us to do a whole lot more without having to rely solely on the amount of energy we can produce ourselves.”
Josh, Jensen’s older brother, regarded them with slightly narrowed eyes. “And that makes you what exactly? A pankinetic? You can do everything every other kinetic can do?”
“We hadn’t really thought of it that way, no,” Jensen answered. “I suppose if you only look at kinetic energy types, then yes. But the biggest problem with that is we have limited experience with these other skills that adepts who have lived with them for most of their lives have mastered. We can technically replicated Misha’s empathic field, but he can do more with that field than we could. He just is much more skillful than we are.”
Sherry smoothed out a nonexistent wrinkle in her slacks, never looking up as she asked, “Is that why you so often end up in the infirmary?” Jerry’s arm immediately went around her shoulders, and Alan repeated the same comforting gesture for Donna.
“No, momma,” Jared answered. “Sometimes, we have to marshall so much power to do what has to be done that it overwhelms us. It taps us out. We are left with very little of our own energy to keep us going, and we just need to rest.”
None of the four parents looked particularly mollified by this explanation, and Jensen continued. “We have figured out that we need to recharge after really big events, and everyone around us knows and understands that. They are working as hard as they can to keep us safe.”
The quiet of the room discomfited the two young men. Finally, Morgan’s deep baritone washed over everyone.
“Our highest priority right now, is not to find a way to get the boys to the front. Our highest priority is to keep them safe. Keep them healthy. We haven’t succeeded nearly enough for my liking,” he cut a sharp look at the two adepts. “But, we are constantly striving to do better, take more precautions, to understand their extraordinary gifts.” The other officers, lined up to either side of their leader, nodded their emphatic agreement.
Jeff, Jared’s older brother, asked incredulously, “What do you mean, you don’t understand their gifts? Isn’t that what Psi Min is for?”
Morgan answered him. “No one, at any point in recorded history has ever seen any adept with the powers these two have. You need to understand, that in the two hundred years of Psi Min, we have moved from barely registering ones on the Ostigo scale to fives. That’s it. Your brothers have leapt so far ahead, we can’t even begin to calculate where on the scale they register.”
“Then guess,” Josh challenged.
It was Samantha who answered him, her tone icy and fierce, the model of a mistress of disciplines. “If you simply cannot function without a number, somewhere around 2,100. The Ostigo scale is algorithmic. This kind of jump and guessing where they fall is meaningless. First, we have no way to even measure their abilities. Second, we have no idea how far their abilities go. Third, with every major strain on their talents, they come back stronger. You wanted a number, so I made one up to make you happy, but it is meaningless. This isn’t about numbers or scales. This is about your brothers, and you would do well to remember that.”
Jeff’s hackles were up. He pointed at Jensen and shouted “He is not my brother!”
Jared and Jensen recoiled. Samantha’s ferocious reply blasted the room.
“You have two choices here,” she said with a perfectly placid tone that hid none of the threat and anger behind it, making everyone in the room know they would regret challenging her. “You get on board with this, you realize that Jared and Jensen are now intrinsically linked. Irreversibly, incontrovertibly, linked. They do not function nor exist without the other. You man up, put away your prejudices, your ignorance, understand that this is fundamentally not about you, and become part of the support system they need. Or, I will gladly escort you back to the teleporter.”
Shocked silence filled the room.
“No one is an exception to this. You may struggle to understand, and that’s fine. We are all struggling to understand, but the moment anyone in their sphere makes this about his or her selves, and not about the two young men we are here to support, I will cut you out of their lives with a surgical precision that will leave you reeling.”
Even Morgan looked stunned at Samantha’s ultimatum.
“Are we clear?” She demanded. Even Jared and Jensen nodded their compliance.
No one dared speak for long moments afterward, until Samantha gently placed a hand on each of their mothers’ shoulders. “I’m asking you to embrace them both,” she said soothingly. “Of all the frightening things that have happened, the best and brightest is that you each gained a son.”
Jensen took the opportunity to interject. “Its more than that,” he said softly. “This isn’t some romantic, poetic idea of love. I am not really sure how to even describe it. We think and feel the same things.”
Jared jumped in. “And its not even like what he feels, I feel. Its more like our emotions don’t originate with one and are shared with the other. We feel the same things at the same times. When the Ackles appeared on the platform, I felt happy to see my family again.”
“Just like I felt when the Padaleckis arrived. The most difficult part of this visit for us, is that Jared has all of the emotions and memories I have of growing up, of loving all of you. You see him as a new addition to your lives, but he sees all of you as people he has known and loved for as long as he can remember.”
Jared looked to his family. “And Jensen is the same way. You are his family. I know it will be hard for you to treat him just like you treat me, but you have to understand. When you treat him like a stranger, it hurts both of us. It feels like our families are rejecting us. And we really don’t know how to make it easier or better for you.”
Donna reached up and patted Samantha’s hand that still rested on her shoulder. “You don’t. You don’t spend one second worrying about us. I can’t promise we will always get it right, but every last one of us will try our best.”
In one motion, she and Sherry got up from their seats and embraced the newest additions of their families. The hugs lasted for long minutes, and both adepts found tears in their eyes. When they were released, Jared, still holding Donna’s gaze, said. “Its good, you know. This thing between Jensen and me. We will never be alone, because there is always someone who understands me and loves me with a perfection I don’t think anybody has ever known. I don’t have to worry about what he’s feeling or thinking. I just know it.”
Donna nodded, her eyes still clouded by tears, and she and Sherry switched places, to hold their youngest sons close.
“It is good, momma,” Jensen said, his voice slightly muffled by the embrace. “No one has ever been loved like we love each other.”
Eventually, the two young men were embraced by every family member present, the first real attempts to knit two family groups into one whole. Fortunately, even before this, Megan and Mackenzie had hit it off, as they perused the wares of the shops in town. Even Josh and Jeff had found some common ground. The large group had sorted itself off into smaller components. The brothers standing together. The sisters sitting close, and their parents forming a cohesive unit, focused on their sons.
Sherry wiped her eyes, and took Donna’s hand. “I think we should probably get dinner started.” Donna nodded eagerly, clearly ready to do something familiar, productive, and familial.
The two young men were immediately grateful for the work some of their friends here in town had done in preparation for the visit. Loretta, Ella and Lauren turned up a couple of days ago to help them prepare the cabin, doing things neither young man even thought of like airing out rooms, making sure the linens were fresh, extra towels in the bathrooms and bedrooms. They all headed into town for a supply run, and Ella and Lauren drafted their husbands to help them carry it all back. Jared and Jensen thought they’d gone a bit overboard, pointing out how they would be taking most meals at Loretta’s.
Ella asked “are your mommas coming?” When they answered in the affirmative, the three women shook their heads at their obvious ignorance, and proceeded to put everything away in the kitchen. The young men were handed a list of chores to get done and their helpers streamed out the door to leave them to it. When they finished, everything was in place, at least as far as they knew. They had no doubt the moms would find fault, but they would play the “I’m your precious baby boy and an incompetent bachelor” card and get off scot free.
Sasha volunteered to help Donna and Sherry in the kitchen, and Samantha joined them. Their fathers emerged from the other room with steaming cups of coffee, distributing them to Jeffrey, Misha and Jager, a silent invitation to join them at the table and chairs in the dining area. Josh and Jeff, having recovered remarkably well from the rebuke they had received not minutes earlier, plopped down on the sofa, and began arguing playfully over what to watch on the holoset. The two young adepts stood on the periphery, holding hands, and watching their families settling in. They smiled at all of the activity, and slipped off to a quieter corner of the big house, a small sitting room with a stunning view.
The sat snuggled close together, thankful the first storm had passed, and retreated into the sanctuary of each other.
The walls felt cold, smooth and hard. Their impenetrable blackness somehow absorbed all light but maintained a flawless sheen, like obsidian glass. They couldn’t see anything emanating light, but everything had a sharp, bright contour, as though a neon outline of everything around them had been laid over the top of their vision. The effect was disorienting.
The corridor branched off into four different directions, and they instinctively knew which path to take. It led them upward, and the occasional openings off the main passage showed groups of silicates engaged in unidentifiable tasks. They varied somewhat in size, and each of their carapaces bore unique markings and patterns. Some resemblance between groups of the creatures might indicate the silicate form of race. No sound came from any of the aliens, but a strange series of incomprehensible noises constantly came out of the walls. However the silicates interfaced with the giant machinery of the ship, they could not begin to fathom. Nothing like displays or holopads or even neural hookups could be found anywhere. Only the strange sound.
The path ended in a large open room, which like every other room they passed had no door. Inside scores of silicates lay prone and motionless, forming a great spiral that wound inward, terminating with a single being, not visibly distinct from the others. Somehow, they knew this to be a sort of leader. The floor rose with the spiral, and it appeared to have alcoves carved into its surface, one for each of the silicates in the nautilus configuration. The leader rested in the highest alcove. The sounds were much more prominent here, a cacophony of clicks, tones, chords, pings. The longer they stood at the edge of the spiral of silicates, the more they realized the sounds moved about the room, not only along the circumference, but from all over the domed ceiling. The sounds were definitely directional, and yet, the aliens made no corresponding sound.
After a length of time neither could be sure of, they could successfully filter out the sound, and begin to sense the far subtler undulations of a psionic net. It was unlike anything they had ever encountered before. At first, it seemed a wild wreck of tangled waves, but it was an intensely woven web, a delicate and complex mesh not created by any one being. It came from all of them. The urge to know, to connect overwhelmed them, and they reached out, ever so gently, to “touch” the gossamer. Before they could even get close, one of the silicates, the one nearest them, jerked forward out of its cove, its body giving a violent twist, before it fell to the floor lifeless. Within a second, the next silicate in line did the same thing.
The psionic web began to disintegrate. Before either of them could fully disengage, over half of the beings in the room lie dead, scattered around the great spiral, toppled over one another. Then, they felt a quivery touch from the mind of the silicates, a query, almost a plea. They desperately wanted to answer, but before they could respond, they watched the filaments of the network that had touched their own psionic energies seize up. The entirety of the hive-mind completely unraveled before them in seconds, finally fading into nothing. Every silicate on board the ship was now dead, and though it made no true sounds, the screaming, screeching, cry of the thousands of strands in the alien web as it imploded echoed in their ears.
When they emerged from the dream, they were both breathing heavily, coated in cold-sweat. They clung tightly to each other, sobs breaking up their frantic breathing. The jumble of their minds took long minutes to sort itself clear, and only then did they realize they weren’t alone.
“Mom,” Jared said, in the small frightened voice of a child.
Donna’s breath hitched. She walked to the side of the bed he lay on, and gently stroked his hair.
“It’s okay, baby, I’m here.” Her eyes teared up when she heard the man whimper. She sat gently down on the bed, one hand still lightly petting Jared, the other rubbing soothing circles into Jensen’s forearm, which was wrapped tightly around Jared’s torso.
In time, the two young men’s breathing returned to normal, their sobs had stopped, and they had managed to restore their calm.
“You want to tell me about this?” she whispered.
She had almost given up expecting an answer, when Jensen’s husky, sleep-gruff voice answered her.
“Its not a dream, or a nightmare, its a memory,” he said. “We’ve had it seven times now.” She gasped, but he continued.
“The only difference each time is that we see more detail. Its like replaying a holovid again and again and noticing new things each time.”
Jared put one of his large warm hands on Donna’s. “How did you know? Did we cry out or something?”
“No, Jared,” she said with a sad smile. “We all could feel your terror. The others are downstairs now. Whatever it was you were feeling, we felt it, too.”
“We’re sorry,” he whispered.
“No, baby,” she soothed. “Don’t be sorry. We’re family. We’re here to help you in every way that we can. You two have been through so much in such a short time. If you didn’t have some kind of psychological reaction, then something would seriously be wrong.”
“We thought we were shielded,” Jensen said in a miserable voice. “We’ve always managed to block projecting while we’re asleep. We don’t know what happened.”
“I can’t answer that one,” she replied. “But I’m glad. Now we can help you deal with this.”
“Thanks,” Jared said, and she leaned forward and kissed his temple.
“Always,” she whispered against his skin. She continued to lovingly soothe them, and finally she sat up. “Why don’t you two take a few minutes, and when you are ready, come on downstairs. This is serious, and you have a lot of people who love you both dearly. Its time to let us all help, okay?”
Jensen and Jared exchanged glances, and nodded their assent. She rose silently from the bed and walked quietly out, the door snicking closed behind her.
Jensen and Jared took their time, calming their hearts and minds, relaxing into the only sanctuary they had: each other. They laid touching each other from head to foot, no movement, just soaking up the comfort of being together. In their minds, they saw the nine people gathered around the large dining table downstairs. Samantha had left the day before to begin the preparations for the upcoming term. Her absence was expected. Josh, Jeff, Mackenzie and Megan had all volunteered to stay at Ella’s inn, to give everyone staying at the cabin some elbow room, and they were all four fortunately not present. Jeff’s aura shone brightly. They still didn’t know what to make of the Justicar’s continued presence. They doubted even Loretta’s influence could have kept him hear this long. They refused to take an empathic glimpse into the mind of their leader, but worry continually seeped through. They had no idea how to assuage it, and they felt increasingly guilty that the most powerful man in the Republic had been ripped from his duties and was now forced to play babysitter.
Their three mentors sat side-by-side, and without any effort, they picked up on MIsha’s emanating concern. Their parents sat across from the three adepts, but the figure at the end of the table was the surprise. They had no idea why Loretta was here at this time of morning. The only explanation they could think of made them very uncomfortable.
They took a few minutes more to orient themselves, then dressed and headed down to the others. They didn’t bother trying to read the room. They would only find the same thing and it didn’t take an empath to see it. Loretta rose to meet them, hugging them both, and offering them seats right beside her own. Every face around the table looked strained, tired, and bleary-eyed. The presence of coffee cups and decanters said clearly this meeting would not be short. The two young men sighed inwardly, and settled in for what promised to be a long and uncomfortable conversation.
“How long?” The rough, quiet question from their leader caught them off guard. He just stared at them both.
Jared cleared his throat before answering. “This is the seventh time.”
The revelation met with some murmurs around the table. “And why did you withhold from us that you have been having recurring nightmares?” the older man said, his tone hard as stone.
Jared squeezed Jensen’s hand under the table. This was the part they had wanted to avoid at all costs, but they were caught out, and no matter what, they refused to lie to any of the people around this table.
“Because it isn’t a nightmare, sir,” answered Jensen.
“You woke nine people out of a dead sleep with a bone-chilling wave of terror, and you say it wasn’t a nightmare,” Misha countered, looking angry and incredulous.
“Wait, nine people?” Jared asked, turning his eyes to Loretta.
She sighed, folded her hands into her lap and said, “its not like the two of you don’t already know. Anyone with any ability can’t hide it from you. Its nothing big or special, but yes, I have a strange form empathy. And you two brought me straight up out of bed, dripping in sweat and breathing like I had just run up the mountain.”
“Anyone else in town?” Jared asked, his voice sounding frightened.
“I don’t know,” she answered. “I am sure I will find out in a few hours if there were.”
“We are off topic,” Donna interrupted. “You need to explain what you mean by this not being a nightmare.”
“Its not a nightmare,” Jensen restated. “Its not built like one. This is memory.”
“So you are remembering the attack?” Sherri asked softly.
“In a way,” Jared answered. “It’s so hard to explain.”
“We aren’t seeing the attack like we’re on the ground, in the Core,” Jensen said. “Its like this memory is a really short moment during those events, and we are walking through the alien ship.”
They immediately felt fear sweep across everyone at the table. “What do you mean?” Jeff asked, trying but failing to sound comforting.
Jared rubbed his hands down his face, before turning to their leader. “Exactly what he said. I really don’t know if we can get you to understand this, because we don’t clearly. During the fight, there was a second when we could sense the minds of the silicates. We could tell they were intelligent, even if we couldn’t understand what they were feeling and thinking. This memory is of that second, but its like as our power reached out to sense the aliens, we were right there, able to see everything going on in the ship, like the edge of our ability became our eyes. We could see all the aliens. We could see the ship. And we could see the control room.”
Their parents gasped. Sherri looked on the verge of tears, and Alan didn’t look much better.
“Do you think you were tampered with?” he asked. “I mean could they have implanted something in your minds when you were scanning them?”
Jensen and Jared looked at each other and back to the expectant eyes watching them closely.
“No,” Jensen answered firmly. “It’s worse than that. We know what caused this war.”
The soldiers around the table leaned in very closely, while their parents and Loretta looked on in shock. Jeff broke the silence.
“You are telling us that you have been re-experiencing a dislocated memory of a second in time during the attack?” he asked, using his objective duty voice.
“Yes, sir,” they answered.
“And that somehow, you are able to see, physically see, everything inside the ship that your psionic senses touched?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And that this memory has revealed to you the true cause behind a war we have been fighting for over twenty years. A war that we have never been able to figure out why it started?”
“Yes, sir.”
The older man looked sharply at Misha, clearly expecting a report. Misha closed his eyes, a grimace on his face to express his disgust at having to probe the two cadets. They knew what was about to happen, so they dropped their defenses, lowered their barriers, and opened their minds to their mentor. Several minutes later, Misha’s eyes opened and his expression cleared.
“I have no reason to call into question anything they are saying,” he reported. “It unusual, to be sure, but I have heard of a few instances where the mind constructs physicality around psionic impressions. I don’t know if I have ever heard of anything so clear and so persistent, but haven’t we pretty much tossed the rule book at this point?”
Jeff seemed satisfied, and Jager just looked hungry for them to get to the main point. The two young men tried to explain what they had seen, tried to put into words this memory/nightmare that haunted their sleeping moments. By the time they finished describing the horrifying final moments in the control room, everyone was staring at them with wide, frightened eyes.
“I don’t understand,” Gerry said. “What does this mean?”
Jared looked at his dad, knowing he couldn’t soften this in anyway.
“It means,” he said slowly. “That whatever energy it is that gives psionics their abilities, just being exposed to a tiny amount of it, causes the silicate hive-mind to disintegrate. It kills them, and they have no defense.”
“You are saying that the psionics caused this war,” Sasha whispered.
“No,” Jensen answered as startled faces turned to look at him. “Its not that simple. Every human mind has this kind of energy. We can see it in everybody. Its just not nearly as potent as it is in psionics. We obviously don’t know how much or how close or anything detailed about the effect, but we think that even a single non-adept human can trigger this collapse. It’s probably a slower decay, but we think it would still happen.”
“So, the aliens don’t have a choice,” Loretta’s soft voice broke in. “Either they survive or we survive. Its a zero-sum game.”
“Yes,” Jared replied just as softly. “There simply can never be peace. It’s just not possible.”
Silence enveloped the room, like a thick, suffocating, cold fog. No one moved until, finally, Jeff reached up and rubbed his eyes. He took a deep sigh, then looked at each face around the table in turn.
“So you say this ‘memory’ had popped up in your dreams seven times now?” he asked.
“Yes, sir,” Jared answered. “But each time, its like its clearer. We see and understand and spot things we didn’t before.” His voice trailed off and Jensen picked up for him.
“And it gets stronger each time,” he said. “We have been able to block any kind of broadcast, until tonight. And tonight was the first time we understood what was going on, what was actually happening and why.”
“So you think it will stop, now?” Jager asked, his voice a mixture between concern and curiosity.
“We honestly don’t know,” Jared said. “We hope so. Its really not something pleasant to go through.”
“Sir, we,” Jensen addressed Jeff. “We know that you can’t really take this to the Praetor. Its not like you can present it as fact.”
Clearly the cadet was leading up to something, and Jeff chose to wait him out.
Jensen squirmed a bit before continuing. “Do you remember, months ago, when I was in your office? And you said that I could take control over what I was studying at the Academy?”
Jeff silently nodded.
“We would like to work on a plan,” he said. “We want to take this intel, and we want to weaponize it.”
Their parents gasped. Loretta swore. Jeff sat stock still, and finally Jager asked the burning question. “What are you talking about?”
Jared looked down at the table, and Jensen wrapped his arm around the younger man’s shoulders. Finally, he looked up.
“If we are right,” he explained. “Peace is not an option. Never has been. Never will be. If we are right, then their greatest weakness is contact with psionic energy. But we don’t fight land battles with them anymore. So, we have to find a way to use this weapon during the only real battles we have.”
“Space,” Misha said. His brow furrowed as he continued. “You want to create some kind of psionic net that extends from ship to ship. If they fly through it. . . “ He trailed off.
“Is that even possible?” Sasha asked. No one answered her.
“We believe that it can be done,” Jensen said. “But it will take a lot of time and effort.”
“And a few fellow cadets,” Misha observed.
“And some interesting equipment,” Jager noted.
“And you just requested to be trained as fighter pilots, while training other students how to form this ‘net,’ and they will also have to be trained as pilots,” Jeff said. He sounded less than pleased.
“Yes, sir,” Jensen answered, in an almost whisper.
Jeff looked at the three mentors, assessing how they felt about this suggestion. Three stern faces looked back. They were clearly on board.
“You think you can handle this?” he asked them. Even Jensen and Jared took a few moments to consider before nodding with the others.
“I don’t have a problem with getting the equipment, rearranging student schedules, and giving you the time and support you need on this,” the older man said. “However, I have one enormous problem with this. So enormous, I don’t think you can convince me otherwise.”
Jensen sighed. “To test it, we have to fight the enemy, in ships, in space,” he said.
“I’m willing to give you the go ahead on working with the others,” Jeff stated flatly. “I will even authorize pilot training simulators. But understand this. I expect you to develop this, teach it to trained, battle-hardened pilots, and keep your asses planted at the Academy. Am I clear?”
Jared and Jensen looked at each other. It wasn’t exactly what they wanted, but they knew he would never concede to letting them test this against an actual alien squadron. They shrugged, shared a small grin, and looked back to the end of the table where Jeff sat watching them.
And the deal was struck.
Jensen and Jared had all but dozed off, the adrenaline of the nightmare memory wearing off, leaving only exhaustion. From their quiet corner, they had full view of the giant, lake-facing windows of the great room. The large deck, some three meters deep had managed to remain clear of snowfall thanks to the heating of the umber-colored wood slats. The gently floating flakes of the current light dusting of snow visibly melted on its surface. Beyond that, the lake, with its thick, hoary ice covering, stretched out for kilometers, flanked by frosted firs, and the high, stony sierra, the pinnacles cut off by the heavy, low-hanging clouds.
The two young men watched silently as a lone figure walked out onto the decking, leaning against the railing and standing perfectly still. It was clearly Alan Ackles. Jared knew of the animosity between father and son. It troubled him for any number of reasons. He innately sensed that Jensen should go to him, and only Jensen. The immediate tension in his mate’s muscular body communicated as effectively as their bond his opinion of that course of action. Jared snuggled closer, pouring all the concern and comfort he could muster onto his beloved. Eventually, Jensen relented, a silently communicated “when this goes bad, its your fault” before he rose to join his father.
The sliding glass panel glided silently back into place, leaving Jensen alone with his father. He didn’t move to approach the man, but stood stock still, studying him. He had considerably aged since Jensen left the ranchstead over a decade ago. He could allow himself now to realize Alan had aged much more than the years since their separation could account for. Deep in thought, the adept nearly missed what his father said.
“So many sins,” the older man whispered. “So many mistakes I made with you. I don’t think anyone can get through life without some regrets, but the things I did to make you think I didn’t love you, that’s the one that will haunt me.”
Jensen made no movement or response. He knew Alan needed to get this off his chest, and it was difficult enough for the man without interruptions.
“The moment I first held you in my arms, I knew. There was something very different about you. I loved all my kids, proud of all of ‘em, even if I don’t say it like I should, but I knew in that moment, you were an adept, and a damned powerful one. Never told a soul, not even your mother. I buried it deep down, worked like hell to make sure you never had a chance to tap into that power of yours. And then, you did. Angry at me, that force just blasted out of ya, and every nightmare I had from the moment you were born came true. They came and took you. Snatched you away from your family. Dressed you up like a little soldier and started working you over so they could throw you to those damned creatures. Everything I had ever done, to try and keep you away from them, turned into everything you needed to run right to them.
“Now, you aren’t just one of a million bodies to be target practice for those monsters. No, you are the best chance we got. You and that boy will be marched front and center, right up in front of those things. Like a sacrifice, ready to be consumed. And I’ll hold your momma while she cries. I’ll stand proud and straight when we lower your coffin in the ground, no doubt with all the pomp our government can provide. And then I’ll go home, and spend ever day left of my life hopin to die.
“No, Jensen, I never loved you as much as your brother and sister, I loved you a whole lot more. It seems like everything I ever did was wrong, and there won’t be any time to set it right.”
The silence hung heavy. Jensen reeled from the shock of all he had heard, could feel Jared softly weeping through their bond. He clenched his fists to the point of pain, and when he could finally find his voice, it exploded out of him.
“Don’t!” he yelled. “Don’t stand there weeping for a dead son when I’m right here, damn you! For all of my life you have buried me under might bes and could bes, when I was right there, at that moment, in front of you needing you to be my father! I didn’t need a fortune teller. I needed a dad!
“Jared and I might die tomorrow. Hell you might die tomorrow, but how dare you wrap yourself up in self-pity when you have people that need you! Mom and Josh and Mack need you! I need you! Dammit, Jared needs you! You’ve wasted so much time. You wasted my entire life, and you can’t ever get that back, but you have right now. It’s all anybody’s got. So you better fucking use it!”
He spun away from the older man, breathing heavily, fighting tears that he refused to let fall. In moments, the calm, loving reassurance of his mate washed over him. He had just managed to restore his breathing to normal when he felt a hand resting on his shoulder, gently tugging him to turn around.
Something in Alan’s eyes, something he had never seen before, startled him, kept him silent. His father’s work-rough hand cradled the side of his head, the thumb gently sweeping over his cheekbone.
“All I’ve got is today,” the older man said in a soft, broken voice. He pulled his son him, hugging him tightly to himself, softly kissing his hair, and murmuring over and over again.
“No more wasted time.”
Jensen let himself be held, just as he let his tears fall.
Time in the valley always seemed to exist in a paradox for Jensen and Jared: everything felt more laid-back, less rushed, like the minutes just lingered longer, but they also couldn’t believe how quickly their vacation had gone by. Their parents would be leaving the next day, giving them one week more before they returned to the Academy.
Everyone would gather for one more giant meal at the cabin, but for now, the cadets sprawled across one of the large, soft couches in the great room. Their parents occupied the other two. Since the morning of the nightmare, everyone had calmed some. The pervasive worry that filled the cabin before had ebbed, but not completely. They doubted if it would ever truly disappear, certain that it would remain for the duration of the war.
Fortunately, the frozen landscape outside the giant window of the great room held all of its viewers in thrall. The pine trees’ branches drooped under the heavy weight of the new snow that fell earlier in the day. The peaks towered impossibly large in the distance, like jagged teeth of purest white, and the frozen surface of the lake glistened and sparkled like so many billions of diamonds as the sunlight danced upon world. The fire raged in the hearth, hissing and popping and crackling as it flooded the room with warmth and golden light. Jensen and Jared absorbed it all, storing it away to be recalled as a perfect moment.
The tranquility in the room rippled as Gerry softly spoke. “This next term, its gonna be rough on the two of you, isn’t it?”
Jensen squeezed Jared tighter, as they took a moment to measure their response. Deciding on honesty, Jared answered his father. “Yes, sir. It is.”
Samantha had contacted them earlier that day. The leading deflector and particle physicists in the worlds had yet to make any headway with what was now being called the “Gemini Deflector Wave.” They barely understood what they were looking at, and had become completely stymied by the process of getting a machine to replicate the waveform. Dr. Richard Speight, arguably the finest mind in the field of particle physics, had requested time to work with Gemini directly to perfect a new deflector generator. Both Jensen and Jared had taken particle physics in their tenure at the Academy, and given the choice of working once a week with a renowned scientist or retaking advanced tactics for the third time, they opted for the former.
The Justicar had taken their request seriously, and they had flight training, a seminar called “Experimental Psionic Tactics” in which they would try to teach other adepts to link, and a session with each of their mentors. They would not be taking any standard courses. They suspected a plan on the part of Jeff and Samantha to keep them largely removed from the student body at-large, and any trappings that might come from their newly acquired fame. Regardless, they looked forward to the challenges ahead, but both knew this would be the most difficult term at the Academy either had ever experienced.
Jensen cleared his through to speak, as he felt the worry in the room increase. “Don’t worry too much. I think after last term, Loretta has the Justicar on a short leash. I fully expect he will ship us both up here at the drop of a hat.”
Everyone chuckled, and Sherri commented. “She is something else. I would never want to get on her bad side.”
Instantly, the two young adepts recalled the angry confrontation between the two in the embarkation room. So many different factors made up this supreme complication their lives had become. They toyed with the idea of trying to get their parents to understand, but decided it might be best to leave them unaware. They had enough to be concerned about.
“It just makes things better,” Jared said softly. “Knowing that we have a place to get away to if things get too hectic.”
Affirming murmurs sounded around the room. The fire crackled on, and the frozen world outside began to take on hues of red and orange and purple as the sun sank below the mountains.
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