Beyond the Stars: INEO (18 page)

We looked at each other in agreement. I could tell no one seemed happy to have Loic around. In the time I spent with him, he was obnoxious, loud, and arrogant.

“Why does he call you G?” I asked to break the rising tension.

“Speaking of the past,” Zaric said with a rascally look.

Azil leaned across the table. “Sami, now that’s a funny story. Gaelen
earned
the name G when he was a young cadet.”

Gaelan bit his lip. “I got the nickname during my second year of academy. In order to move forward in the program we had to pass a real-life exam. Both Zaric and I were participants. Our assignment was to repair a disabled class one vessel with the tools at hand and fly the craft in a race across a finish line.”

“Did you fix it?” I asked.

Azil chuckled. “Are you kidding? Our father had Gaelan, Liam, and I building things all of our life.”

“It’s great Collin taught you,” Noah said with a hint of sadness or jealousy.

I could sense the pain in his voice after I had recently brought up his parents passing.

“Pfft,”
Gaelan scoffed. “He didn’t teach us. If something needed fixed, he would hand us the manuals and tell us to figure it out. We thought it was a challenge, to make us independent. I didn’t learn until I was much older that he had no mechanical inclination whatsoever. He was just using us to do his dirty work.”

Noah’s face brightened and his brows rose with thought. “That’s good, though; it made you resourceful.”

He sounded glad to hear it wasn’t always easy for Gaelan.

“True,” Gaelan agreed.

“Sami, Gaelan was one of the first ones to fix his ship. Sorry, love,” Azil said to Zaric before she placed her eyes on mine. “Zaric didn’t place; he had to retake the test at a later date. However, Gaelan ended up in a bloodthirsty battle to win the race against a guy named Yenko. And with both of them being competitive, things got ugly.”

“I wouldn’t say
ugly,”
Gaelan muttered.

Azil ignored him and continued. “Yenko had a small lead, but was threatened by Gaelan’s tailing ship. He decided to take a shortcut to the finish line by traveling into the open gorge of a nearby valley. Of course, Gaelan realized this would cause him to win and followed suit. The two vessels popped up near the finish line with their craft practically touching, and that’s when Gaelen decided he wanted to pass Yenko. He maneuvered his ship under Yenko’s and punched it. Unfortunately, he flew in way too low and much too fast. People had to scramble to get out of the way. And, everyone did, except for one professor judging the race, Professor Biddle. He was a real prick, too. No one liked him. He was known for making his students’ lives miserable. Anyhow, when Gaelan’s craft zipped over his head, the heat from the engines nearly caught him on fire. He looked horrific when they put out the surrounding flames. Everyone in the entire crowd gasped when Professor Biddle emerged from the lifting smoke. His hair and eyebrows were completely singed, and his clothes were all covered in black soot. Unfortunately, he was fine—not even an engine blast could get rid of that man. Once the firefighters stopped hosing him down, we all realized that he was incredibly angry. He started jumping up and down with his hands clenched into fists as his body continued to smolder with steam and started yelling
‘G, G, G, damn that G!
’”

We all burst into laughter.

Azil spoke between laughs, “He was
so irate
he couldn’t recall Gaelan’s name. It was hilarious, so it stuck.”

My palms were sweating just from hearing the story. “I hate flying. You guys are all nuts,” I scolded. “He could have died. Someone could have really gotten hurt. It’s a miracle none of you crashed and turned your ship into rubble.”

“Actually …” Gaelan rubbed his chin and gave me an impish grin. “Zaric took care of that.”

Everyone laughed even harder.

Zaric turned up both of his hands. “What can I say? I was busy watching Gaelan and Yenko. It could have happened to anyone at those speeds. I swear
that
hillside came out of nowhere. It should have known to get out of my way.”

“Oops, I’m sorry,” I muttered to Zaric, feeling embarrassed for the faux pas.

“Nah, don’t worry about it. It taught me the importance of tuning out distractions.”

I gave Zaric a slight smile, feeling thankful for his good nature. “Well, Gaelan, did you win?” I asked, wanting to hear more.

“Yes and no. I was disqualified for endangering the life of a superior officer,” Gaelan said sourly.

“That’s not the entire story,” Azil chimed in. “What he did next was epic.”

Zaric leaned forward and lowered his voice in confidence, “Of course, Gaelan couldn’t let it go. He knew he had won and was unhappy with the verdict, so he went into research mode. He found the original bylaws governing the race. No had bothered to read them in over sixty years. We had been handed out the assignment without any discussion of rules. Not only did the bylaws fail to mention anything about endangering others, it stated that a contestant could use
whatever
means necessary to win. Gaelan was reinstated as the winner of the race.”

“That’s what we mean, Sami, when we say Gaelan always comes out on top,” Azil explained.

I leaned over and gave Gaelan a quick kiss. I loved hearing stories like these. It helped fill in the gaps of Gaelan’s mysterious past. Although Gaelan was open to answering my questions, he wasn’t always willing to share the details of his life without a little prodding. I still had a lot to learn about him.

CHAPTER 11

VISITOR

That night, as Gaelan and I went to sleep, I assumed my usual pose of wrapping my legs around his. Attaching my body to Gaelan’s stopped me from picturing our ship hurling through the darkness of Space, and dispelled my nagging sensation of drifting aimlessly without a tether. The warmth of his body made me feel safe. I never fully explained my clinging pose. I was tired and started to drift off. I dreamed about Jack.

“Sami,”
he called to me.

I found myself standing in a forest on a clear sunny day. Jack was sitting on a large moss-covered rock in a small clearing. My shin accidentally brushed against a pine tree branch as I swiftly made my way over to him. I paused for a brief moment to glance down at the passing tree’s bristles. They were unbelievably soft and full and the most vibrant emerald green I had ever seen. Beautiful. They were not native to Earth. I ran across the tall grass to join him.

“Jack, you’re alive,” I cheered. “What is this place?”

I gave him a big hug. His body felt strong and young and so familiar. “Why can I see you?”

“Because I was sent to you—”

I kissed him. My old feelings for him came rushing back as our lips touched. It felt as though he had never left me. I remembered how much I loved him. He was mine. It left me feeling a little dizzy.

“I’m sorry. Old habits are hard to break,” I said when he pulled himself away.

Jack gave me an odd smirk, but continued to embrace me. Then he scooted back on the rock, appearing uncomfortable with my advance, while his face morphed into one of seriousness. Did he not feel anything? Was the spark gone for him? He reached out and took my hand in his. His quick change in demeanor and uncharacteristic behavior made it seem as though he was being scolded by someone only he could hear. Was this all that was allowed? I suddenly wondered if we were being watched when he glanced past my shoulder, appearing to look at someone in the distance.

“I came to see you because you asked for me,” he explained.

I studied his face. It had been such a long time since I’d seen it. He looked and sounded the same, but I could tell something was unfamiliar … different. He no longer seemed human. He appeared too perfect. His skin was soft, and his hand felt as though it was radiating a palpable sensation of pure energy. It felt powerful and raw.

“Yes, I remember now. I wished you were there to help me on Dalinova, and then I wished you could teach me how to defend myself on the Grulanti ship. So, it was really you? Jack, what’s happening to me? How are you here? You died. Am I dead?”

Jack let out a small laugh. “No, we are in a place that knows no time. Sami, I may have left Earth and the life you know, but don’t be foolish; I didn’t disappear.”

I pushed any doubts out of my mind that it was really him and prayed it was.

“Sami, listen to me. You have been given a rare gift. You have attracted a supernatural force, something more powerful than you can imagine. It gives you the ability to lift a veil of ignorance that is placed on you while living in your world,” he explained.

“I don’t understand. What veil?”

“An entity has latched itself onto you.”

“What? Like a parasite?” I asked.

“Yes, but you’re the benefactor. It lends you its power instead of it sucking it away. You will be able to surpass your natural preconceived abilities. That’s why you can do strange things, like talk to me. Part of its energy was transferred to you. You can control how much of its power pours into you as if you were adjusting a faucet. Become aware of your own inner power and allow it to channel itself through you—your life and others will depend on you using it correctly.”

“Something is strange. I can’t explain it. I feel like things are happening for a reason, like something is pulling at me, trying to get my attention. I don’t feel like myself.”

“I want you to trust your intuition and focus your attention on what it is you really want. It can only affect your reality when you let go of any doubt. You must use it to your advantage before it is too late. It won’t stick around forever. Stay positive. This thing can work against you if you let it,” he warned.

“That sounds more like a curse.”

Jack laughed. “No. It’s a living dream for someone like you. Think of it as a test. It’s a genius’ ultimate challenge. You will need to strengthen your mind in ways you never thought possible. You’re ability to think will have immediate repercussions in your reality when you channel it properly.”

“So, I have to be careful of what I think? Jack, that’s impossible. I need you to help me. You’re more optimistic than I ever was. Please I need you to stay with me.”

Again, he looked past my left shoulder as though someone was watching us. I knew it. We were being observed. I turned around to follow his eyes, and saw nothing, only the surrounding woods.

“I will be nearby. Now, you have to go back. You don’t belong here,” he said with a tone of caution.

“Wait, I have questions,” I pleaded.

“You will figure it out. You must keep your mind open …”

“Jack,”
I shouted as his image faded. As he dissipated, so did the tranquil forest around me. Without any support, I felt my body fall backwards. Hurling downward—falling from the sky, I shouted,
“Jack!”

I reached out to find him. Instead, I found myself battling with the covers. I bolted upright in bed and rubbed my forehead as I analyzed the strange dream. I didn’t know why I kept imagining Jack. He felt real when I touched him—when I kissed him. Maybe he was an angel trying to help me. Had I attracted the attention of something bad? He had all but validated my fear of being possessed. Did he think I was in danger?

“Gaelan,” I said sharply when I noticed he wasn’t next to me.

“Good morning,” he said, coming out of the bathroom fully dressed.

“I just had the weirdest dream.”

“About what?” Gaelan hesitated. I could tell he was nervous since the last time I had a nightmare, I was really kidnapped by the Dreons. It was when they had implanted me with their tracer.

“Nothing to be concerned with, except the fate of the world depends on me using some superpowers. Oh, and I have to be careful of my thoughts,” I said, remembering what Jack had told me. Wow, my imagination was going into overdrive.

“Okay, superwoman, you get right on that,” he teased.

“Yes, I will, after I get a few more hours of rest,” I replied, playing it down. Maybe I dreamt it because I’d been so worried about that Katarian myth. Regardless, the dream felt scarily real.

“Go ahead, but be there at ten,” he said softly as he leaned down to kiss me on the forehead. “I have a surprise for you.”