Tiva Boon: Royal Guardian (38 page)

“I do not wish to burden you.”

“That’s not what I mean.” Caedm sighed as the lift doors opened. “I offered my help and I will stand by my word. I’ve trained many people in my life, you will not be an issue…all I am saying is,
we are your friends now. We are a very close group of people and over time, you’ll feel more comfortable around us. Jimmi is a bit overbearing, but he’s only looking out for you in his own backwards kinda way. Not to mention he really has the hots for you.”

“Hots?”

“Um…yeah, he’s attracted to you, probably seeks your companionship.”

“I sensed his attraction, though he did not mention anything about wishing to court me.”

Caedm chuckled and motioned to the end of the corridor. “Earth men haven’t done that for centuries, and the rest of the guys here wouldn’t know how to court properly even if you explained it to them. They’ll usually find excuses to talk to you or get close….some will even argue and pick fights just to get your attention.”

“Why do such things?”

“I haven’t a clue, and that’s even after a few lifetimes worth of research.”

“You are long lived?”

“I guess you can say that,” she said, swept a lock of hair from her face and opened the hatch to the flight deck. Tiva walked into the storage type room first. Several sleek crafts hung from a metal contraption on the ceiling. Captain Maar was speaking with an engineer, and a few other crewmembers were scurrying around obviously preparing them for flight. Tiva turned her attention back to Caedm, but she was walking toward the captain. She hurried and followed, but remained behind.

Maar dismissed the engineer and handed both her and Aliri a datarecorder, and looked down at them. “The cargo ship is supplied and ready, what is our status, Caedm?”

“We should be in the Arillo galaxy any moment, sir. Nassut is on his way.”

“Excellent.” He squeezed his hands together and turned. “Boon, grab a few extra plasma guns and store them inside. There is a weapons locker in the corner.”

“Yes, sir,” Tiva said and crossed the large room searching for the locker. Without turning, she sensed both their eyes following. Not daring to open her mind with Caedm near, she prayed they were not talking about her.

After retrieving the guns and returning to the cabin, Tiva found the security console inside, took a seat, and reviewed the datarecorder. The Speego Colony, located on the second moon of a planet called Syfark was in desperate need of medical supplies and food rations. The Colony, settled mostly by refugees from the polluted planet, was building a temporary living space for the majority of the people while Union environmentalists cleaned up the air and water on the surface.

Some type of natural disaster had occurred on the planet a few dozen years before and despite their efforts to contain the decay of their environment, ninety percent of the planet had become uninhabitable. Government heads and scientists still resided in the small expanse of livable land, the rest of the citizens moved to the colony. The colony leader, Kik Voxx, requested the supplies and the Union was happy to oblige.

The operation itself seemed easy enough, yet she secured a second plasma gun in her boot, and checked her belt. Each side held a weapon, her Timbur and primary gun. For a moment, she felt like a guardian again. She frowned slightly when the bay doors opened and Nassut, Maar, and Caedm entered.

The pilot moved to the front of the craft. Captain Maar staffed the weapons while Caedm took over the science and communication. Having little to do on such a small craft, Tiva familiarized herself with the other sections in case anyone needed her help.

Maar ordered Nassut to make for the planet.
Caedm smiled as the craft dropped from the ceiling and flew backwards out of the
Tolox
. Once out among the stars, Nassut turned the craft, and guided it toward the colony’s coordinates.

Tiva studied the datarecorder and ships functions. A quick glance to the console showed the moon on the displayer still far off in the distance. Getting there would take quite some time.

Caedm’s soft voice filled Tiva’s mind halfway through the flight
, If you wish to do some practicing while we have the time, we can head to the back.

Tiva glanced over and nodded.

“Sir, I’m going to show Ms. Boon the type of supplies we are bringing to the colony.”

“Sure, I’ll call you when we’re close,” he said, turning back to the star chart.

Tiva followed her into a cargo hold lined with hundreds of boxes with a symbol printed on the side. Back against the wall, cylinders of food rations. The amount of supplies in the hold was enough to feed and medicate every Royal Guardian and legionnaire for half a cycle.

“How many people are we supplying?” she
asked.

“Over four million I believe.”

Tiva’s eyes widened. “Such vast numbers, are many planets populated so heavily?”

“That’s nothing, Tiva. I came from a planet that had over thirty
-five billion people, most planets range somewhere in the medium to high millions.”

“Amazing.”

“Yeah, I was quite surprised myself when I first left my planet. I never realized the universe was so inhabited…anyway, let’s get to work.”

“Tell me what I must do.”

“First clear your mind of thought,” Caedm said. Tiva complied and closed her eyes. She relaxed her body first, allowing her emotions to float away. Memories clouded her, but she forced them aside. She felt Caedm inside her head, and tensed at first, then used her as a guide to release all thoughts.

All right, Tiva, now I want you to raise your barrier and try to block my invading thoughts. Concentrate only on thoughts, do not worry about emotions yet.

She did as instructed and tightened her shield. Caedm’s voice disappeared, but deep in the back of her mind, she sensed her trying to break through. Tiva pushed back, forcing the energy to flow through her and center on her task. Again, she tried to break the barrier. Tiva shook and balled her hands tight.

Do not force…

Tiva heard the words in her mind, but was unsure what she meant. How could she keep something away without forcing herself? Trying to decipher Caedm’s riddled words, Tiva attempted to use her energy to strengthen the shield instead of pushing the invading thoughts back.

Good.

She concentrated on her shield, but felt a strain on her body. Staggering back, she opened her eyes and a powerful blast hit her. Tiva gasped and steadied herself against the nearby wall.

“I’m sorry,”
Caedm said. “I pushed too hard, but you did very well.”

“I do not understand, how can I have done well if I continued to hear your words in my mind?”

“There are not many people who can block me. I’ve studied telepathy for many years and have abilities far beyond most known races of the universe. That is not to say I am the strongest, I am not. The fact that I was only able to get a few words past your shield is very promising. You are a quick study. Now, let us carry on a simple conversation. The more you use it, the stronger it will become.”

Very well
,
Aliri
, Tiva responded.

Aliri and Tiva returned to the cabin. Captain Maar and Nassut were chatting about ancient Oninus weapons. Raife Nassut apparently had firsthand knowledge of the captain’s home world, and they seemed to get along rather well. Their banter was friendlier then she expected.

“I was wondering when you two were going to come back, our supplies are not that interesting.”
Raife grinned as his fingers slid across the flight control panel.

“Someone has to ensure her safety, Raife.” Aliri slid into her seat.

Tiva settled in her chair, and picked up a few emotions from Raife. He was intrigued with both herself and Caedm. She felt ten cycles again, new to the palace and guardianship, everyone watching to see how she would fare. In a sense it fit, she was starting anew, though she had far more experience this time around.

The captain broke her silent thoughts with orders to sweep the colony. She did as told and brought the sensors online to scan the moon. Relaying the incoming data to everyone, she watched as the moon came into view outside the window.

“I’m within range for communications, Captain,” Caedm said.

“Excellent, inform the Minister we are here and coordinate a landing site with Nassut.”

“Aye, sir.” She quickly tapped on her console, as did Raife. Captain Maar rose from his seat and tapped Tiva on the shoulder.

“Let us ready the supplies.”

“Yes, Captain,” Tiva said, following him back to the cargo hold. Inside, she searched the room for some type of moving device.

Maar moved to the back of the room, opened up a side compartment, and pulled out a hover platform. He pushed it toward the middle and began loading the supplies on top. Tiva joined him.

When they were through, Aliri and Raife entered. She opened up the hatch, and Raife took out a portable scanner.

“The supply manifest is entered in the datarecorder, Captain. The Minister eagerly awaits our arrival.”

“Well done. Let’s move out.”

The group exited the cargo ship to a dusty gray sky. Around them, jagged hills and rocks covered the surface. Tiva noticed the air was thinner, and found it harder to breathe than on Uucor. She wondered the effects it might have on her body, the constant change in atmosphere, and made a mental note to ask someone later.

A short bronze-headed figure neared. He extended a hand to the captain, and removed a mask from his face displaying a crooked grin on his small mouth.

“Captain, Captain! You’ve made it. Bless the Union, you are most welcome.” The man was undoubtedly overjoyed.

“We are glad to help, Minister…”

“Wargo. A pleasure to meet you all.” He looked up at everyone; his childlike features disappeared for a moment.

The captain introduced everyone and Wargo handed each a mask. “This will help keep you safe from the harsh air on the moon. Sadly, the air here is full of dust particles and they will irritate you after a while.”

Tiva placed the mask over her face and felt better immediately. The others donned their masks, and then followed the Minister. Towing the supplies behind them, she noticed several clear domes in the distance. Tiva gathered a sense of happiness when she lowered her shield. Despite the suffering of these people, they were content; that surprised her. Not allowing herself to take her eyes off the captain for any length of time, Tiva moved closer to his side.

They entered the first dome after Wargo ordered the shield open, and immediately Tiva felt a change from the people. Many stopped what they were doing to look at the strangers. Wargo waved frantically to a group of men and women. Tiva’s hand went to her side, and she moved next to the captain.

The stares continued. Petite by the standards of Tiva’s planet, the people of Syfark possessed stealth and quickness beyond anything she’d seen before. The entire group was in front of them before anyone spoke.

“Captain…” Aliri began.

Maar held up his hand, and glanced over at Raife.

“I cleared him, sir.”

“Secure the cargo, something does seem odd...”

“Agreed,” Raife said, and moved back to the supplies and activated a charge-field around the hover platform.

Wargo greeted the group and then turned smiling. “We will relieve you of the supplies now.”

“We are ordered to leave the supplies with your leader, Prime Minister, Kik Voxx,” Captain Maar said sternly. He motioned back to the hover platform. “Once he is present I will release the field and you may take the food and medicine.”

“Kik is on the planet surface, we need these supplies now!” a tiny female said from behind Wargo.

“The Union gave the orders, and we shall stick to them, Miss.”

“Wargo we have no time for this! Contact Kik,” the tallest of the group grumbled and moved to the head of the group. Wargo rushed away heading to one of the structures in the middle of the dome. “Forgive us, Captain. We recently had an altercation with a group of rebels.”

Tiva felt her skin crawl at the mere mention of the word. Aliri’s hand was on her shoulder suddenly and when their eyes met, the voice filled her head again.

Keep yourself calm, Tiva. I will need you to focus and gather a sense of these people, I cannot determine if they are lying or not.

Tiva nodded, and turned her attention to the group. As far as she sensed, they were being truthful. The crowd inside the dome was anxious and nervous, but not for the reasons she first thought.

“What happened?” Maar said.

“A few hundred people who blame the government for the pollution on Syfark have stolen supplies from us and attacked our camps,” the tall man said. “They caused trouble at home, and felt the need to keep up with their plight here on Speego. Forgive me…I am Head Minister Calbe. If you speak with Kik on a subspace displayer, will that confirm your orders sir? We really need these supplies.”

Maar looked back at Aliri, she agreed, as did Raife. “Yes, Minister, that will suffice.”