Void's Psionics (31 page)

“
More the merrier.” Renee
said and they all ate.

By the time sleep called they headed back and
Renee was overjoyed to find her medic mentor aboard and they spent
a few hours catching up. Renee also told her no, but did the sample
tests and told her his antibodies killed all pathogens she’d later
isolate for new cures before they all turned in. And also underwent
the PTSD tests to hate every minute of it. Turns out the negative
side effects were minimal oddly enough compared to her
baseline.

At last they reached Verard where awaited
families of those taken as well as analysts of the military for the
contents of the merc vault to go after anyone who used their means
to illegally circumvent the empire’s laws. Oliver and Renee stayed
out of the spotlight as Jake Dorgen and Amanda Loke spoke to the
press how they found a weakness in the enemy mainframe to cause
everything to self-destruct. Jessica’s unparalleled hacking skills
falsified the evidence that no one could crack. And the victims
were true to their word about not letting slip only a single man
had actually saved them. But before their families arrived aboard
the victims all privately thanked him one last time, his secret
being kept safe. No one other than Jake and Sparky knew, but Sparky
carefully manipulated the minds to make the person be unable to
tell of Oliver. They could think how thankful, but would get a sick
feeling if ever they let try to slip about actual events. Sparky
didn’t like it, but knew it was necessary and no one else knew
about it.

Only the original crew would remain when
medics and victims disembarked.

All four hundred sixty four crewmen.

In the following days Jake Dorgen was hailed
the destroyer of another great enemy and also dumped a few hundred
trillion credits into the Verard economy.

Surprisingly though Oliver got a call from
Vanishing Claw telling the ligament splicing was unanimously
approved by the Elders and word had spread to all Hunter colonies
about reporting to the nearest Splicing center for the enhancement.
Every living Hunter from now on would get a scaled down version the
human body could sustain, but would be faster than ever. It would
not be publically available for a few years, yet lives had already
been saved on multiple accounts as other Hunter Elders could react
and save others in speeds they couldn’t use before, gaining
enthusiastic approval when they tested it on the front lines. They
could reach places faster and dodge enemies that would have taken
them down without the splicing.

Stone and Steven were eagerly among hundreds
that day reporting for the ligament enhancement and as soon as they
got aboard they were taught by Oliver how to best use their new
physical attributes. The Dorgenox stayed in port for a full week
readying for future endeavors which gave the Hunters plenty of time
to adapt.

But despite their new skills they still could
not match Oliver’s speed even doubling up and not holding back. He
was still beyond them in terms of reaction time and unorthodox
moves beyond human reflex. Vanishing Claw’s style and Creelin
fights surpassed human abilities.

But the only downside was Renee sometimes had
nightmares and both Sparky and Rose started sleeping with her and
Oliver. Sometimes she would wake up gasping in a cold sweat
clinging to Sparky for dear life. Having him and Rose sleep
temporarily close was a help when the first really bad night
happened when she wouldn’t wake from a nightmare and Oliver could
do nothing. It was Sparky who mentally brought her back, sending
soothing images over being raped and beaten. He had used such
masterful care to do no damage, telepathy far more intricate than
Oliver could manage without causing damage to her psyche.

And as promised, the Drake privately tutored
on telepathic abilities, building upon Callier’s lessons.
Strangely, Drakes were by far the better teacher despite being much
younger. Besides, Drake telepathy far exceeded Creelin and just
above the Keptl by a wide margin.

And when supplies were restored they hopped
into FTL after a week at port, resuming the hunt for the elusive
breadcrumbs left behind by the vanished Solarian people. During the
flight in subspace Oliver and Jacob Wrench got started in their
spare time on the second version of the Gravity Forge. Oliver had
figured out at last how to get the materials so close together and
it resulted from higher mathematics to reconfigure the recyclers
which produce items that had been disposed of. It was coming along
slow as this Forge would be three times larger than the original.
Meaning they had to move it to another shop as Steven’s private one
proved too small.

It wouldn’t be completed for a few months as
it was a side project and Oliver and Jacob were both busy men.

The next adventure awaited and was making the
crew increasingly excited to look for more hidden secrets buried in
the past.

Chapter 8

So this is Drakken
Prime.
Thought Oliver as he looked out over
the opened deck holding orbit over the breathtaking planet, just
behind the thin barrier of photons separating him from space’s
vacuum. Even from orbit he could see the surface clearly, well
eighty five percent to be accurate, is covered in near endless
snowcapped mountains. Drakken Prime had a thick atmosphere similar
to prehistoric Earth, but with much more tectonic shifts resulting
in near endless mountains. Hills and valleys were shrouded in the
shadows of the majestic mountains and active volcanoes. The only
green forests seemed to grow around the middle of the mountains
that got its fair share of solar light yet some plants evolved
where little to no light could ever reach, aptly named ravine
forests. Many dimly glowed and were crawling with giant Tarantula
Beasts and other predatory insects… some plants too were carnivores
in areas lacking adequate nitrogen in their soil.

Winds on the Drake home world were deadly to
even experienced pilots, but Drakes thrived, their double wings
able to be undaunted no matter how deadly the mountains kicked up
storms.

Only three human cities called it home, but
only because the Drake council of Elders allow it as humans can do
thing they cannot and vice versa. A symbiotic relationship, but
Drakes had their pride and wanted their planet to remain untouched
as best possible. Since it was their home, the Empire respected the
wish.

“
Finished marveling at my
home?”

Oliver turned to find Rose gliding over
casually to join him, landed and folded her wings along her body.
“Not really. It is a beautiful and rugged place.”

“
So it is. I too can stare
for hours.”
She mentally sighed, wrapping
her dark pink tail around her body.
“It
calls to me. It is where I hatched, lived and made my own nest of
many young. It has been near nine years since I last looked upon my
home. All of my brood know I have returned and are eager to see
their mother and matriarch. At times like this it makes me remember
what is truly important.”

“
Your people are more social
than humans anyway. It hits harder and I can tell how much by
reading your emotions.”

“
My mate has taught you well
these long weeks. You will never be Drake, but you excel above
nearly every master human telepath not bonded to my people… by the
way, has Steven’s wounds healed?”

That made him chuckle.
Rose’s eyes crinkled though Drakes can’t smile, you can tell by
emotion in their eyes. “I told him not to, but he doesn’t listen to
anyone. He just
had
to sing opera in front of Sparky in the mess hall. He can’t
carry a tune to save himself, but Sparky knew it was intentional.
Steven deserved those bite marks Sparky’s teeth inflicted through
his armor.” He chuckled again. “I’ll not forget Renee sewing the
bite holes with his ass sticking out over a bench and followed it
up by spanking the man right on the stitches. I’ve yet to see him
sit in the past six days.”

“
I like music, but opera
hurts my ears unless the volume is low. My mate loathes it and
wishes that form of music had died out in the humans’ history like
rap no one could understand.”
Rose told and
turned her neck around to the sound of the normal door rising
instead of the elevator as Stone and Satellite came in. Stone
carrying his weapons and wore gauntlets again since his hands had
both healed up and were stronger because of it.
“Greetings, Stone. Satellite.”

“
Good morning, Mrs. Rose.”
Satellite chirped. “I see you are eager to go home. Any news when
we may be seen by the Drake Council?”

“
Yes, about twenty minutes
prior word returned to me. We will be seen at sunrise tomorrow
since they already retired for the afternoon. The remainder of this
day will be spent introducing you to my brood. I was also told my
old nest had been given to a more needy young pair so we will be
allowed to nest under the guest area reserved for dignitaries since
our arrival is most ideal. It is the perfect windy season. Wind
will be too strong for most flying ships to land in the area. With
Oliver, we will have no fear of Wind Quakes that can damage flying
ships. We will be free to do as we please without anyone of great
human importance for several weeks… if we gain
approval.”

“
What are our chances since
you so kindly brought it up? I take it the Dorgenox’s deep scans
can’t find this castle we’re looking for like most Solarian tech
that disguises things until you’re standing right in front of it?”
Stone wondered.

“
Correct. Nothing has been
found. Just as it has been since your people found us a few
centuries ago. On the other subject… I’m uncertain how my Elders
will react to our request, but we too are curious as a species in
search of knowledge. Since Sparky was a lesser Elder of our race
once, it helps. If they know not about a castle, they will likely
allow us permission to see what we have yet to discover of our own
past since we too evolved by Solarian seeding. Seeing our world’s
secrets and exploring it is as looked towards as much as meeting
new and nice individuals. If they do know, we will need to wait for
a response. Either way, I believe we have a decent chance.”
She believed.

“
Here’s hoping.” Stone said,
crossing his fingers.

After that Steven and Visor
arrived before Renee and Sparky showed up. Due to the dangerous
wind conditions and unpredictable shifts, only three ships would be
headed to the surface. Known as Wind Quakes, the mountain planet’s
storms could create winds that go from a gentle breeze to a gust on
average of seven hundred kilometers an hour in bursts that come out
of nowhere. The windy season was like a short summer as updrafts on
the thick atmosphere made the winds worse. Only Drakes didn’t fear
the Wind Quakes. Shuttles, ships and fighters often perished and
only ace pilots would dare risk it in only an emergency situation.
Rest of the time it was
strongly
recommended to wait for the season to pass in
another month.

No time like the present. Oliver jumped into
the Flare, Renee piloted the River Skipper with Rose and Sparky
while the Hunters got in their Seekers. The Flare’s systems were
far more advanced than ever before since Oliver did more tinkering
and was first out of the dock. The River Skipper slid out next as
it too had been upgraded, much to Renee’s delight. It’s silvery
sails reflected light from Drakken Prime’s young single white star
as it came out. When Stone and Steven caught up Renee’s face came
up on the surface of the cockpit window of the Flare. “Lead the
way, Idiot.”

Oliver skillfully flipped completely around,
making the ship’s namesake appear as the plasma from the thrusters
created a flare of energy fly out as it flipped in nearly an
instant. He pressed his right foot down on the accelerator and shot
ahead. Turning his neck around he witnessed Renee flying behind
with the others lining up single file.

Before reaching the atmosphere, warning
lights came up on screen showing turbulence exceeding safe flying
conditions, but Oliver took care of it by creating a barrier a half
kilometer wide that held back fierce Wind Quakes like a cylinder of
unbreakable steel that would never succumb to weathering. It was
effortless to him, the tunnel hadn’t made a vacuum, just blocked
winds. The burn of reentry hit the Flare brightly and safely,
deflecting off her own automatic barrier systems. Then it
cleared.

Majestic snowcapped peaks far as the eye
could see whipped up storms. The blown snow visually showing how
fierce and beautiful the storms were. One scene made him laugh when
he zoomed a camera over on a slope where a royal blue Drake was on
a sled and was skiing down the face and seemed to be having the
time of his life. When he reached the bottom he lifted off the
ground and flew back up to do it all over again. It did look like
fun.

A smooth flight lasted the entire journey and
Rose gave Oliver a mental image on what to look for and flying over
a few more mountains in the gradually setting eastern horizon
showed one of the much larger mountains dotted in thousands of
unnaturally uniform caves. He angled towards the space between the
middle pine forest and the base. Soon he visually located the
landing cave where ships could park because of landing lights and
both humans and Drakes were moving across the open space. It was a
bit of a spectacle as the four ships came in and dropped for a
landing. Oliver hopped out and placed a palm on the reader to lock
his fighter completely down for anyone who might want to have a
peek. A few new tricks were installed to keep curious noses from
sniffing where they ought not.