Episode #1 - "Torn": Star Chasers (Volume 1)

Copyright © 2014 Emily Asimov

All rights reserved.

ISBN-13: 978-1493581627

DEDICATION

For my grandfather who taught me to believe in future possibilities and to never stop dreaming.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I want to thank everyone who read my early drafts and believed in my story. I also want to thank Mrs. Moore for professionally editing my manuscript and Jane for proofreading the final work.

Had it been a dream?
Ty opened his eyes uneasily, attempting to sit. As he did so, everything shifted, and he wrapped his hands around his head to stop the movement. Soon his eyes began to focus and the world came into view. He saw a hand holding out a glass, took it, and gulped down the thick bitter liquid. The pounding returned and he pressed hard against his ears until the pain took over his senses. He saw a woman’s face beyond the hand now and recognized its beauty.
Shilastar,
whispered a voice in his mind. He was just about to say something when she shouted, “You have five minutes to regain your senses, or so help me I’ll force you!”

    
The throbbing returned and Ty wrapped his hands around his head. It was a futile effort to stop the room from spinning. His heart started pumping and his thoughts raced.
Rhyess was really gone.
He stared blankly at Shilastar until his anxiety eased, then cursed himself for staying too long in one place. He had sworn he would never do so again, but he had. He looked away from Shilastar, lest her beauty bewitch him. The sooner he departed, the better.

    
He stood and stumbled past Shilastar as if she wasn’t there. The spinning slowed and then stopped as he washed in the purifier. Afterward, he took an account of his belongings, pacing back and forth as he did so. He came across a small silvery band with a clasp at one end, and puzzled over it for a moment before returning it to Shilastar, suddenly acknowledging her. He continued inventorying his possessions until he discovered that one object he had been looking for. He ran his fingers over the tiny interlaced figure eights of the chain and the cold metal of the teardrop-shaped medallion at its center, smiling as he remembered. Then he turned away, laced his shoes, and started out the door, pausing under its frame.

    
Shilastar watched his movements, too amazed to comment. In the midst of all that had happened, she couldn’t believe what she witnessed just; but then as Ty stopped, looking back toward her she forgave him. She waited for him to come to his senses or at least say something, but when he didn’t her anger took over again. “Who do you think you are? Am I invisible? Do you think you will escape what comes?”

    
Ty turned away from her probing eyes. “I really don’t have time to debate this, Shilastar. Let me go in peace. I will not forget you.”

    
Shilastar mocked him. “‘I will not forget you. Let me go in peace.’ Just who do you think you are?”

    
Her words fell away as he sought to distance himself from her. But Shilastar’s long legs carried her faster than he could retreat. He momentarily considered making the jump right in front of her. When it became clear he was not going to make an easy getaway, however, he stopped.

    
“You are a witness,” Shilastar said, “you can’t just leave. Do you know what they will do?” She threw her hands up in the air, saying more to herself than to Ty, “He knows what he is doing, but he still does it. Of all the selfish things I have ever seen...”

    
Now Ty chased after her, saying, “You don’t understand. I have to go. I have to get as far away from here as I possibly can.” He paused to catch a breath, and grabbed Shilastar by the shoulders, forcing her to look at him. “Shilastar, there is grave danger if I stay. You must understand.”

    
Shilastar released all the scorn that had been building up within her. “You are cold and heartless, Ty. I hope you will be comfortable wherever you end up. Don’t bother to think of me or any of us! And don’t worry, we will not say that you were here or had any knowledge of this. And though they will set the slow death upon me for my part in the deed, I still w
ould not say.”

    
“If it were just me—”

    
Shilastar cut him off by brushing away his hands. Tiny veins across the sides of her forehead swelled and throbbed. She clenched her fists, vowing that if he said one more word to her she would hit him as hard as she could. Disgusted, she turned and walked away from him.

    
Ty said, “You would really do that for me?” Shilastar turned and punched him, the blow landing deftly on the side of his head. She regarded him briefly as he fell, then walked away.

    
Ty rose to his feet, favoring his lip. Shilastar packed a much bigger punch than he had expected. He set about easing the pain. The power flowed from his hands to his swollen lip; and although he concentrated, the power flowed with a trickle rather than its usual force. He strained to maintain the flow until the pain ebbed and then ran to catch up to Shilastar. “Wait, I was mistaken. I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”

    
“And just what did you forget?” inquired Shilastar. Ty’s face went blank with the bluntness of her words. Shilastar smiled. “You really did forget something, didn’t you? Or maybe you’re so confused you can’t leave. There are no ships in the sky this day.”

    
She menacingly waved at the sky. Ty wanted to call her bluff, but she had him, even though she didn’t quite understand his reason for being unable to go. He wiped away his emotions before he replied. “I was wrong. I don’t know what came over me.”

    
“Say it,” she stated simply.

    
“Say what?”

    
“Tell me the truth, if you have it in you.”

    
“I was wrong. I’m sorry. What more do you want me to say?”

    
“The truth is all I want, and I think you owe me that. I thought he was
our
friend.”

    
Ty shrank away from her but spoke his mind anyway. “He was our friend but now he’s gone and we have to go on.”

    
Shilastar continued hurriedly away, entering her father’s house, and closing the door in Ty’s face as he followed. She didn’t make him wait long though before she unlocked the door. She smiled then, having baited him along almost as much as he had done to her.

    
Phaylio observed as Ty entered and the dark shadows lightened from beneath his eyes. He had not found sleep during the hours between night and day. He had seen the early sun rise, then the late, and then he had watched as the two suns mounted the sky. He wasn’t surprised to see Ty, but he was relieved. The waiting was over. He stood and beckoned to Ty.

    
Ty was amazed as the disarray of his mind cleared. How bare the room suddenly seemed. A faded spot on the wall hinted at where a picture once hung. Small lines of dust on the floor suggested something had once rested along the wall, but Ty could not guess what. Of all the things in the room, only the bed and its matching dresser remained, looking obscure tucked into the far corner.

    
“Are you going somewhere?” asked Ty.

    
“Not I,” returned Phaylio shaking his head. His stance was awkward, seeming unsure whether to sit or stand, or perhaps he was considering where to sit. Knowingly, Shilastar brought him a chair from the kitchen, retreating without a word, but she did stare at Ty. Phaylio sat momentarily then suddenly stood as if burned. His eyes scoured the room, and then he began filing through the dresser drawers, raising his eyes every now and again as if in deep consideration or remembrance.

    
Apparently unable to find what he had sought, Phaylio returned to the chair. Phaylio studied Ty for a time, rambling to himself as he did so. “Do not worry so, Ty. It will take days for them to come. We have time, you and I. Did you know the consequences of your actions? Did you think or did you just run?”

    
He paused to gauge Ty’s unspoken response then continued. “I have said this before and I say it again. I consider and trust you as my son. Where would you run to? And why? You were a witness, nothing more. If you have done something in the past that shames you, I don’t think they will discover it. They will go about their investigation and not pay you any mind, of this I can assure you.”

    
Ty objected. He felt about as tall as a speck of dust on the floor. Phaylio repeated his words, hoping Ty would accept them as much he wished them to be true, needed them to be true. Ty didn’t speak, so Phaylio started anew. “If I cannot dissuade you, perhaps I can appeal to your sense of worth and your sense of things worldly. Do you know what penalties could be levied against us, against all my kin? And do not think your secrets are so adequately kept. I can read your thoughts even now.”

    
Ty sat rigid now. Staring at Phaylio, he doubted the old man had the power of the Mynd. He contemplated his response and then said, “I wish the slow death upon no one. Do you really think they would have gone so far with it?”

    
Phaylio flinched in pain. “It is the law. And you, most of all, should know they will adhere to it. Not that I would not accept it, mind you, granted certain concessions, but there is no need. Wait and you will see that they will come and go as if on the wind. There is naught to keep them here. There is no love lost between our kinds. But still it is the law and so they will come. Not because they want to mind you but because they have to. They will keep the delvings proper and then go on their way.”

    
“How can you be so sure?”

    
“Ty, Ty,” chuckled Phaylio. “I am sure. Come, let us go have a nice repast, you and I. I still have not eaten this day, and the growling in my stomach will mend only if I eat something. Let us have a feast. And perhaps, if you toss in a kind word, Shilastar will even serve it up.”

    
Two days passed much as Phaylio had said they would, calm and quiet, but not quite serene. Anxiety levels cycled, rising and falling on a whim with a passing word, the rustle of the wind. Ty used the time as a chance for reflection. He watched the twin suns set and rise each day, mulling through many concerns.

    
Shilastar behaved quite the opposite of Ty. Her emotions raged outward. At times, she smiled and laughed as though a weight had lifted off her and she was suddenly free, finding she had wings. There was always a touch of sadness in her eyes, however. The second morning had taken her to Ttuirre on official undertakings. And although Ty had not accompanied her, she had made the most of the trip, securing the items Phaylio had requested.

    
Phaylio bore the black talisman of Shilastar’s freedom. Dark sullen circles seemed engraved beneath his eyes. He did not adjust well to waiting, even though he had waited for what occurred longer than either Shilastar or Ty realized. Although he often engaged in light conversation, he kept mostly to himself. He busied himself with his plants, watering them and tending to their every need.

    
It wasn’t until the evening of the third day that they all knew the waiting would soon end and the trial would begin. Initially, a pair of scout ships appeared, deploying fully their host of probes. An Alderian ship, starship class, followed in the backwash of the previous two, but heralds only went forth when a transport ship from the Sendian system arrived and entered the outer atmosphere.

    
The delegation dispatched to the surface was small. The offworlders held to the rule of eight, one for each sector of the known galaxy, forming a single arm and a single unit. No proceedings were held this night, but formal introductions were made and lodgings given. As the village elder, Phaylio conducted the orientation and the first oration.

    
Ty made it a point to make himself scarce, remaining indoors and out of sight. He would not botch things up for himself this time by being unnecessarily zealous. Many concerns played in his troubled mind. He had seen a tribunal arrive before and knew that nothing good would come of it, yet he vowed to do his part so long as it did not jeopardize his position. Sleep followed at some time later, but Ty could not recall when.

    
Phaylio’s village had one hall from and to which the summons were issued. As the accused, Aehrone was seated precariously under the eye of the tribunal. Ty hoped that the focus remained here. He fought to keep a circle around his innermost thoughts, hoping the clouded thought would protect him. He did not want to give anyone reason to be suspicious, and he refined his story as he waited.

    
Ty listened closely now as Phaylio was the first to be summoned. Phaylio regarded Ty momentarily, his eyes seemed weighted with burden. He spoke in slow, sporadic bursts, mending his words with the emotions of his heart. Phaylio was also nervous, but he hid it well. Although Ty picked up on it, he hoped it was only because he had known Phaylio for so long.

    
Ty studied the tribunal members, careful not to dwell too long on any one. He guessed the origins of most by their demeanors, their stance behind the elongated table and by many other small idiosyncrasies which he had been trained to look for. To him it seemed that the primary host had changed by a count of two.

    
He repeated the order of old as he knew it in his mind, moving from right to left.
Alder, Rhal, Send, Tarid, Kpar, Oranth, Beu, Dant,
he told himself, stumbling on the origins of the second and third from last. They were wrong. A sudden shift of surrounding pressures told him to retreat from their minds. He would dwell no longer on things that did not pertain to him. The proceedings of the outside were beyond his concerns.