Starfall: A Starstruck Novel (33 page)

Once he was up to speed, Mr. Stuart outlined his preliminary ideas for a more extensive and secure communications network and how it might be implemented. Finally, I took care of the last item on my agenda by appointing Kyna as new head of the Council. Not only was she now the oldest member but, more importantly, she’d demonstrated both loyalty and wisdom by voting against what was done to Rigel, but refusing to leave the Council to be run entirely by Royals.

Well before we adjourned, Molly, Sean and their dad returned from the movies. Though Mr. O was clearly surprised to see Mr. Stuart here, he merely bowed respectfully as he passed the living room and followed his children into the kitchen.
 

When Kyna officially closed the meeting, it was past midnight. As everyone stood to say their goodbyes, Nara motioned me closer to her holographic image.
 

“Excellency, I would very much like to speak with you further about your
graell
bond, if that would not be too presumptuous?”

Remembering her earlier excitement, I smiled, though I was a little wary. “What do you want to know?”

“Well, you see, the
graell
has never been properly studied, which is why most of our people consider it a myth. If you and Rigel would consent to have a small team of Scientists independently verify and quantify the various aspects of your bond, it would be a valuable addition to our body of knowledge. And once our people are convinced the phenomenon really does exist, it should help overcome any, ah, resistance to the idea of you pairing with Rigel rather than Sean.” Eyes bright, she clasped her hands in front of her as she waited for my answer.

My first impulse was to refuse. The last time
Echtran
Scientists “studied” our bond, it was just so they could devise an antidote to it. Still, I had to admit her reasoning was sound. Having the
graell
properly studied and the results publicly shared probably
would
go a long way toward getting people to accept us as a couple. Which would substantially cut any risks to Rigel from outraged
Echtrans
.

“Maybe you’re right, Nara. I’ll need to discuss it with Rigel, but you can message me with the details and we’ll see what can be arranged. Um, discreetly arranged.”

“Of course! I’ll speak with a Mind Healer friend of mine and a few Scientists who have studied genetic affinities and let you know how they’d like to proceed. I know they’ll be as eager as I am to learn more about the
graell.
Thank you, Excellency!” Bowing deeply to me, she vanished, the last to leave.
 

Molly was already asleep by the time I got upstairs, so once I was in bed I took advantage of our wonderfully increased telepathic range to reach out to Rigel.
 

Are you still awake?

Yep! Dad just got home, so I waited up, hoping you’d let me know how it went.

I told Rigel all about the Council meeting and also mentioned Nara’s request to have our bond studied. After I shared her reasoning, Rigel agreed it made sense, especially if swaying people’s opinions would make me safer. I was more concerned with
his
safety, but knew that wouldn’t carry as much weight with him.

When I got home the next day, I messaged Nara that Rigel and I were willing to answer questions and let her researchers perform a few tests. Within minutes, she responded to ask if the testing might take place that very evening.
Way
sooner than I’d expected!
 

Though Nara’s eagerness was unnerving, I figured if we were going to do this at all, it might as well be soon, so we could start turning public opinion (well, Martian opinion) in our favor as soon as possible. After touching base with Rigel again, I reluctantly agreed.
 

Maybe it was silly, but because of what happened after the tests done on Rigel and me at the O’Garas’ last year, I suggested meeting at the Stuarts’ house this time, instead. Both Rigel’s parents and Nara were fine with that and within the hour, Dr. Stuart called Aunt Theresa to invite me to dinner.

*
   
*
   
*

“You’re not having second thoughts, are you, Excellency?” Dr. Stuart pulled her car to a stop in front of the big, yellow farm house, once so familiar to me.
 

“No, I think we’re doing the right thing.” In fact, I was having an irresistible flashback to a similar scene almost exactly a year ago, when Dr. Stuart had driven me to their house for what turned out to be practically a trial, to determine if I really was the Princess. We’d used the coming-to-dinner excuse on Aunt Theresa that time, too.

Tonight shouldn’t be nearly as nerve-wracking, I told myself. I was really, truly the Sovereign now, and
this
examination was completely voluntary—and wouldn’t involve any scary blood tests with antique equipment. Still, the memory sent a tiny shiver down my spine.

“I hope you’re right.” I could tell she was anxious, too—probably also remembering that evening, plus the much worse one at the O’Garas’ a couple months later, when Allister ordered Healers to concoct an antidote to my bond with Rigel so we could be permanently separated.

“It’ll be fine.” The reassurance was as much for myself as for her. “Allister isn’t calling the shots this time, I am.”

She nodded, her gorgeous auburn hair glinting in the late-afternoon sun as we approached the front door. “Of course.”
 

Together we walked into the Stuarts’ big, cozy living room. I glanced involuntarily at the chair I’d sat in last year for my “inquisition” before registering the other people present: Mr. Stuart, Rigel (also a little nervous), Healer Fiona, who’d helped develop that “antidote,” and two men I didn’t recognize.
 

Because I sent a quick
Don’t you dare!
Rigel was the only one who didn’t bow at my entrance. Instead, he just inclined his head slightly, trying to hide his sudden grin.
 

“Hello, everyone,” I said. “Thank you for coming. And please, let’s not stand on ceremony tonight. I prefer to keep things informal whenever possible.”

One of the unfamiliar men stepped forward. “Thank
you,
Excellency, for agreeing to have your, ah, unusual situation studied. I’m Blair Hagan, head of genetics research at the World Health Organization. Shim Stuart was a colleague of mine before leaving for Nuath. This is Mind Healer and NASA psychologist Donnan Caith, and I believe you have already met Healer Fiona?”
 

“Nice to see you again, Fiona. You’re a friend of Dr. Stuart’s, aren’t you?”

“I am, Excellency. She suggested I be present, as I’ve already done some research into the genetic affinity you share with her son. I’d…like to take this opportunity to apologize for the use to which my initial research was put. It was never my intention—”

“I know. You were following Allister’s orders. I don’t hold you responsible. Now, how did you all want to, um, proceed? Nara seemed especially interested in Rigel’s and my telepathic link?”

Donnan nodded eagerly. “That ability has been quite rare among our people, though occasionally something of the sort has been known to develop over time between paired couples.”
 

“I’ve heard that.” I managed not to glance at Dr. and Mr. Stuart, since I didn’t think it was generally known what they could do. “Our link developed a lot faster, within a month or so of our bond forming. Which, by the way, wasn’t intentional—or avoidable.”
 

“So I understand. If you’re amenable, we’d like to begin by taking the two of you into separate rooms to answer a few questions, after which we’ll conduct empirical tests of your telepathic ability. These will be tabulated for our records and included in our final report. If you, Excellency, will go with Fiona, and Rigel, if you’ll come with me?”

Rigel shot me a quick, concerned look.
You sure?

Should be okay. I don’t sense anything but curiosity from any of them.

I followed Fiona into the kitchen, while Rigel and Donnan went upstairs, leaving the Stuarts with Blair in the living room.
 

“Now, Excellency.” Fiona sat across from me at the big kitchen table where I’d spent so many happy hours last fall. “I have about two dozen questions to go through, then we’ll attempt a few pre-arranged tests, shall we?”
 

“Go ahead.”
 

For the next ten minutes I answered various questions about how our
graell
bond had formed, at what point we’d been able to sense emotions and then thoughts from each other, as well as the unpleasant physical symptoms we’d experienced every time we’d been separated since then. Some of the questions were simple, some more complex. She recorded all of my answers on her omni, which seemed to have lots of special Healer apps installed.
 

When I’d answered the last question, she made a note of the time. “Now for the empirical tests. The distance between you and Rigel may well prove too great for communication. If that’s the case, I’ll have Donnan bring him back downstairs. As long as you can’t actually see each other, the tests will be valid.”

“I, um, think we’ll be fine.”
 

She looked dubious, but pulled up a different holo-screen, again noting the time. “Very well. See if you can send the sentence displayed to Rigel’s mind.”

What numbers are you being shown?
I read off the screen.
 

Rigel immediately reeled off a series of eight numbers, which I repeated out loud to Fiona.

Then, from Rigel,
What colors, in order, are you being shown?

Fiona’s screen now displayed eight color blocks, one at a time.
Red. Purple. Brown. Yellow. Blue. Green. Orange. Purple again.
 

They progressed to more and more complicated questions, which Rigel and I had to take turns relaying to each other, then answering. Finally, Fiona deactivated her screen and smiled.
 

“That concludes this portion of the test, Excellency. Thank you for your patience. Shall we rejoin the others?”

We reached the living room just as Rigel and Donnan did. Donnan synched his device with Fiona’s to tabulate their results, then looked up in surprise. “This is remarkable. Not a single error on either side.”

Rigel took my hand and we exchanged a smile.
We
weren’t surprised. “Is that it?” I asked.

“Not quite.” Blair came forward. “I’d like to take a few genetic readings as well, to compare with the data Fiona gathered last year. If you’d each be willing to provide me with a hair follicle?”

Just like we’d done that day at the O’Garas,’ we both plucked strands of hair from our heads and handed them over so he could feed them into his tricorder-thingy. As he watched the display, his eyebrows rose.

“Interesting. The genetic affinity you shared then is much more marked now. Have you noticed a commensurate increase in your joint abilities?”

“Um—” I exchanged a glance with Rigel. “We can communicate over greater distances than before.” We’d already agreed not to reveal just
how
great a distance. Keeping a few secrets seemed wise after all we’d been through over the past year. Rigel had also urged me not to mention my emotion-sensing ability, insisting it would be less valuable if everyone knew about it.

“I understand the two of you are also able to generate an electrical charge? Shim told me that you disabled an Ossian Sphere last fall when Faxon’s adherents attempted to use one.”

Rigel frowned. “We, uh, haven’t tested that since getting back together. We only ever used it to defend ourselves.”

“Then there were other instances than the one involving the Ossian Sphere?”

I tightened my grip on Rigel’s hand. “A few. The very first time it happened, Rigel was defending me from a bully and we, er, accidentally shocked him.”

“Was he injured?” Fiona looked genuinely concerned.
 

“I don’t think so.” Rigel shrugged. “Just stunned him for couple seconds. He thought I’d hit him. But he didn’t hassle M again after that.”

“I imagine not,” Blair said drily. “Very well, let’s see if we can get a read on that particular ability. Excellency, if you’ll step over here?” He set a small gray box on an end table and punched up a holo-display.

Letting go of Rigel’s hand, I walked over to the box. “Um, it only seems to work when we’re touching.”

“I understand. But I’d like to get individual readings from each of you first. Now, if you’ll please use your right forefinger to touch this spot here? Slowly, as it may register before you actually make contact.”

Nodding, I extended my right hand toward the dime-sized red circle he’d indicated. I was maybe an inch away from it when a spark skipped from my finger to the dot, giving me an all-too-familiar static shock.

Blair examined the screen’s readout. “Hm. Rather impressive, Excellency. The average
Duchas
produces somewhere on the order of fifty to one hundred millijoules of electricity with a static touch, whereas the average
Echtran’s
touch tends to be roughly two to three times that, for physiological reasons I won’t go into right now. However, you registered nearly one joule just now—three to five times normal for an
Echtran.
”

“Huh. No wonder I’ve always tended to fry electronics.”

“Yes, I imagine that might be rather inconvenient at times. Rigel, if you’ll do the same?”

Rigel’s result was about half of mine, but still more than twice “normal” for a Martian.

“And now, if you two will link hands and try with one of your free hands?”

We did. Oddly, we actually produced
less
power than either of us had done alone. Blair seemed at least as surprised as Rigel and I were. After staring thoughtfully at the readout for a moment, he turned to us. “You say you’ve only used this…power for defensive purposes in the past?”

We both nodded. “When we were really upset or scared,” I added. “Maybe that makes a difference?”

“Perhaps. It also seems that when you are not stressed, together you are able to control your static output more easily than either of you can do alone. Fascinating.” He tapped a finger thoughtfully against his nose, then shrugged. “I have no wish to upset or frighten either of you, of course. But perhaps if you could, ah,
pretend
to be upset for a moment, just as a test?”