Aurora Rising (6 page)

The image of the large, burly man came to him, and he tried to picture what his granddaughter would look like. Keyen managed not to grimace at the female version of Jattin, and hoped for the girl’s sake all she favored in Jattin was a strong talent and that she looked like one of her other ancestors. The comm sounded announcing her arrival, and Keyen stood turning to the portal as Hiymm moved to greet the newest member of his team.

The woman who stepped into the room was younger than he expected, looked nothing like her grandfather and was not a total stranger. Slightly over medium height, her body was lean, athletic but nicely curved. Rich brown hair hung halfway down her back in a thick braid. She greeted Hiymm with a friendly smile that changed to an ‘oh’ as she caught sight of him.

She looked back to Hiymm. “I’m sorry, I was told to come in. I didn’t know you were busy.” Her eyes came back to him, and Keyen realized she did have something of her grandfather, though on her face, shadowed with dark eyelashes, her eyes looked like deep, clear emeralds.

“It’s all right, I wanted you to meet. We were just discussing you.” Hiymm caught her hand drawing her into the room. “Rori, I want you to meet Keyen Saegun, blue team leader. Keyen, Aurora Straye, your new team member.”

Keyen watched as the information settled in her. Her eyes widened slightly and intensified as she studied him. He wondered what she thought. He doubted it was what he was thinking. Though there were no rules about dating team members, it was probably because it hadn’t come up before, and it probably wasn’t a good idea. Keyen reined in his thoughts before they could get any more out of hand.

“Aurora.” He stepped forward extending his hand, while letting her name slide from his lips. She flushed slightly and he wondered if maybe she felt the same connection he did.

When his hand closed around her smaller, feminine one, the same jolt that hit him the night before struck him again, and he knew it was going to get complicated between them. “I believe we’ve met.” Though now she was dressed in lightweight pants with multi-pockets and a plain shirt, he pictured her, as he had done several times since seeing her the night before, dressed in the brief sleep outfit. “How is your foot?”

Her blush deepened. “Fine, thank you. It’s all healed due to Medic Areathea.”

“You’ve met?” Hiymm cut in.

“Yes, last night after she rescued Tad.” Keyen took his eyes off her briefly.

“That didn’t show up on the recording.” Hiymm looked between them.

Keyen nodded. “There was some debris hanging in the way.” He knew, he’d looked at the recording himself to see her.

Hiymm joined in the nod. “Why don’t we sit down so we can go over Narrasa’s report?”

Rori started to move and found her hand still caught in Keyen’s. She stared at it in surprise. Funny, it felt so natural to have it there. His eyes followed hers down, and he released her hand, leaving her missing the touch.

“Let’s see what Narrasa found.” Hiymm was already speaking before she settled in her chair. He brought up the report on the computer. “Well, I can’t say this is surprising. You’re a full level empath with reading abilities. You are also a top level tracker and strong shielder. He thinks possibly the strongest we’ve ever had, but you will have to be trained up to see. It seems he had a great deal of trouble reading you. He says it’s like your talent shifted and evolved as he tried to probe it. I’ve never known Narrasa to have trouble reading anyone, but he says here you may have other talents that he couldn’t detect. You are definitely an extremely, strong multi-level talent. Your numbers almost equal Keyen’s here, and he’s the top of the charts.”

Rori wasn’t sure what to say. She was so used to being lower mid-level that she still almost believed that it was all a mistake but evidently not. Still, to think she was that high level was strange to her.

“So,” Hiymm continued, “what will happen next is I am putting you in Keyen’s hands. He will oversee your training. He is quite qualified, and since you are on his team, it will give you more time to get used to each other.”

Rori felt the air leave her lungs. “I’m going right out on a team without any training?”

“Yes, I’ve thought very seriously about this and feel it’s for the best. Especially after everything that has happened since your arrival. Your quarters are finished. They are right next to Keyen’s so he can show you where. Your belongings have already been move there. The voice commands have been set for you.”

Rori glanced to the man sitting next to her, her team captain. He was watching her. His light brown eyes were intense. Her heart kicked up a beat and she fought to steady it. Now was not the time to develop a crush on a man, especially her team captain. She hauled in her runaway thoughts.

“Areathea already gave you a physical and says you’re good to go. Though, she does want you in her lab at the end of the day to put in your IPI.”

“My what?”

“Your IPI, I forgot, we added that after your grandfather left so you wouldn’t know about them. It stands for an Integrated Personal Intel. It is a tiny implant that monitors your vitals, and has a direct link to us. We can track your whereabouts it and has a built-in computer that is voice activated or touch controlled. The monitor is projected with the mind and operated by hand movements, beside vocal commands. She prefers to put it in right before you go to sleep. It lets your mind integrate with it while you’re asleep.”

Rori looked to Keyen who nodded and she felt a wave of reassurance come from him. “It’s painless, quite easy to use and amazingly helpful,” he assured her.

“Okay.” She looked back at the director. “If you say so.”

“Good. I will get back to you with the time, but why don’t you plan right after dinner. For now, I will leave you to Keyen to start your training. I will warn you, he can be a hard taskmaster. He learned under your grandfather, but don’t think he will be soft on you because of that. He takes the safety of his team very seriously. That’s why he wants you to be the best you can be. Any questions?”

Rori shook her head, not sure what she could say. It was all happening so fast.

Rori wiped the sweat off her forehead. She knew she was in good shape, but the run Keyen had just taken her on, had just about done her in. She gulped in air and sent mental thanks for Med Areathea’s healing abilities. Rori could just imagine running with an injured foot, and she had no doubt Keyen would still have made her run. And to think, she thought she was attracted to him. She glanced over at him, pleased to see he was as winded as she was. Still, the man was sadistic.

Leaving Manning Hiymm’s office he’d shown her where her quarters were. Giving her just enough time to get changed into some exercise clothes, they started their workout, which meant running until she dropped.

Rori liked to run, she really did, but if she could, she’d hit him right then. She wondered if she could do it with her mind. Before she could make an attempt, he spoke.

“You did great. I didn’t expect that. Wow.”

She looked over, and he flashed her a crooked smile. A burst of adrenaline zinged through her. “Question?” she managed to get out, “do you always try to kill off your new team members?”

His smile changed to a wicked grin and faint laugh lines appeared at the corners of his eyes. “Only the ones that seem to try to out-do me, are you always this competitive?”

“Competitive? I was just trying to keep up.”

“In other words, you don’t give up easily. That’s good to know. Good to have at your back when in trouble. I just wish you’d told me before we about killed each other.” He rolled his eyes in mock tease. “All right, let’s see how you are at flexibility and balance.”

“Do we get a break first?” She interpreted the look on his face and answered. “I guess not.”

“I just want to see what you can do. I saw you out there rescuing Tad, so I know you can handle heights, but there can be a lot more than that going on. Tomorrow we’ll start with simulations, for today, just stamina, strength, and flexibility.”

She nodded. “What about intelligence?”

“I’m afraid I can’t teach much of that. I have to work with what you’ve got, but I can improve the other.”

Rori gave him a wry look but he just smiled back at her before leading her to the middle of the track where an obstacle course was set. “This is pretty basic. You go from here to there.” Keyen pointed to the other end. You have to go over, under, or around. For today, there will be no victim markers. We’ll just see how you handle it.”

Rori glanced around the course and nodded. “All right.” She took a start stance then looked back at him when he started to move off. “Are you running against me?”

“No, I’m going to observe from up there.” He pointed to some walkways above them that extended out over the course. He quickly made his way up. “Go,” he called down without any further warning.

Rori took off, hurdling the first two obstacles. Catching the edge of the next, she pressed up until she could swing her legs over. She dropped to the other side, started forward then almost went down as the floor tilted and shifted under her feet. Rori gasped out as her shoulder connected with one of the forms. She used it to catch her balance as the floor shifted again.

Staggering forward, she let her hand trace along the structure, following it around several bends until it dead-ended. Not letting it stop her, she caught a piece of piping, using it to pull herself up until she was able to reach a ledge. Crossing it, she found another handhold. Rori climbed to the top of the structure.

Rori felt the stir of talent across her mind and turned just in time to see a brick sail through the air toward her. She threw up her arms to block it at the same time she subconsciously pushed out with her mind. The brick dropped away before it connected with her. When it bounced several times, she realized it wasn’t real but a formed of a soft material.

“Nice,” Keyen said above her. “You can shield.”

Another brick hit her from behind almost knocking her from the wall. “But you need to work on keeping your attention on your surroundings.” There was laughter in his voice, and Rori sent a glare in his direction, then dodged again as she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye.

“You’re telekinetic,” she gasped out and took off along the top of the wall, dodging and trying to consciously block the objects sent at her. Several made it past her shield before she successfully managed to stop one.

“Good,” Keyen said, but she didn’t stop. Reaching the edge, she dropped down, barely missing the next object Keyen sent at her. Scrambling under an overhang gave her some protection but he was waiting. When she emerged, she ducked the first foam brick and dodged the second but the next hit her.

“Shield!” Keyen ordered.

“I don’t know how!” She jumped to the side to miss the next.

“You did it before.”

Rori took shelter around a wall section. “I barely saw it coming toward me. I thought it would hurt. I didn’t think about it. It just happened.”

“Well think. Picture it out in your mind.”

“It’s invisible.” She ducked to the side to avoid another object he sent at her.

“It’s still there.”

Rori studied the course for the next cover and made a dash for it. She almost reached it when a blast of air caught her, sending her to her knees.

“The air’s invisible but I can still move it,” Keyen said pointedly.

“But it’s still there,” Rori yelled back, her frustration rising. Getting to her feet she turned to glare at him a second before leaping between two sections to miss the next block.

“So is what you do to shield.”

Rori ignored him, making a run for the end of the course, slowing to hurdle and dodge several obstacles. She was almost to the end of the course when a large piece hit her square in the back, sending her sprawling across the finish line. Though the ground was cushioned, it knocked the air from her and felt like it jarred every bone in her body loose. It took all the strength she had to roll over on her back. Draping one arm over her eyes, she fought for breath.

Rori didn’t know how much time passed before she became aware of someone standing over her. Shifting her arm away, she looked up at Keyen, who scowled down.

“What?” she demanded defensively.

“You need to shield.”

“I told you, I don’t know how.” She wished she had something to throw at him for a change. “Besides, you didn’t say you’d be throwing things at me. It was an obstacle course.”

“And they were some of the obstacles.” He tilted his head back and sighed with his own frustration before dropping to the mat beside her.

She sat up.

“I’m sorry. I forget that you’re new at this. You handled the first so easily, naturally. I guess I’d better back up. Okay, try to think of what you felt when you made the shield before.”

She wrapped her arms over her bent knees and looked over at him. “That’s the thing. I’ve only done it a couple times and didn’t think of anything.”

He looked thoughtful. “When else have you shielded?”

Rori shrugged and dropped her chin to her arms, not sure what to say because she wasn’t certain.

“When I watched the recording of Tad hanging from the beam, it looked like a piece of debris was knocked away from hitting him.”

“I don’t know. I remember seeing the piece break free, coming at him. I felt a need to protect him and a surge of power but−”

“Okay, when else?”

Rori paused, not sure how to explain it. She really didn’t remember it but couldn’t doubt it happened. Finally, she started. “Right before I came here, there was a landslide. An Ag-transport was just making it out of the canyon. I don’t remember, but I guess I held it back.”

“The landslide or the transport?” Incredulity was evident on his face.

“The landslide. I drained power off everyone around me. When it was free I passed out. I was running so hot that it took everyone at the station to absorb the … after burn.” Rori glanced at him to see how he took it, but instead of looking at her like she was a freak, he just nodded.

“It was kind of like that when my talent came out, though probably not that strong.” He looked at her with understanding.

“My grandfather thinks my talent was always there. I had just dampened it so long that, when it burst out, it was like a flood tide of its own.”

“It makes sense. That’s why you were just being tested.”

It wasn’t a question, but she nodded. “I had been tested before but …” Rori let it fall.

“But you had dampened your talent. So now that it’s free, how do you feel about it?”

No one had asked her that question yet, and her first instinct was to brush it away, but for some reason she couldn’t. Rori looked at the man that sat beside her and wondered what drew her to him. She wanted to tell him−for him to understand. And though she acknowledged there never could be anything between them, still he was her team captain. She’d have to turn to him for instruction. Maybe he would−could understand. “Nervous, I know what they’re expecting of me, and I just don’t know if I can do it.”

“I understand. If it helps we all feel that way. It is a lot to bear.”

“It’s not just that.” She took a deep breath. “I don’t know what I can do.” Rori looked to him. “What if I try something and it goes wrong? I could hurt someone.” It was out. The fear that had wedged itself in her since she’d recognized the power surging through her. She’d looked at the exhausted faces of the med-techs around her and knew right away she’d caused that drain. She’d tried to pull in the energy but couldn’t force it back down. The best she could do was to contain it.

Rori was surprised when a smile lit his face.

“What?” Her heart sank a little. She’d really hoped he would understand.

“You’re a high empath. Your reaction is totally understandable. You need to help, protect. You have an inner core that demands it of you. I think we have just found the key to your talent. You are a natural guardian, a protector. I don’t think you’ll have a problem shielding when the time comes, though we will have to get tricky on bringing it out in practice.”

He tapped a finger against his chin. “Your grandfather told me something once. I think I’d better tell you now. It might even be more applicable to you than it was to me.” He took a deep breath and turned to her. “The greatest challenge you face when battling, is you won’t want to cause harm to anyone. You will have to come to accept that sometimes you might have to hurt one to save the many. You won’t be able to save everyone. And there are some that won’t want to be saved.”

She nodded, accepting what he was saying.

“No, Rori.” He stopped her, holding up his hand. “It’s not that easy. Believe me, there will come a day when you may have to use your talent to hurt someone, maybe purposely destroy someone. As an empath, in rescue it gives you extra strength. Then, I don’t think you have to worry as much about hurting someone. But at the other times, when we have to bring someone down, and it will happen, not often, but it will happen,” he stressed. “You cannot let it destroy you.”

Rori wanted to ask him why he was telling her this now, but even as the thought crossed her mind she knew. At any time they could get called out, and they wouldn’t know what they were facing until it happened. There might not be time later.

“Now, besides being nervous about doing harm, how do you feel about your new talent?” There was a knowing look that passed over him as his lips twitched up slightly.

She found herself starting to smile in return. Inside her, another piece seemed to settle in. “Good, like it was always a part of me.”

“I think Jattin was right. It was always there, you just had to accept it and for some reason you didn’t, and,” he held up his hand, “I’m not going to probe why not. We have other work to do. Using your talent to shield should be similar to my lifting things. Mass isn’t as important as length of time and amount of control. That’s not saying when something is big or really heavy it doesn’t take more power, it’s just not as much comparative to the length of time and the amount of control. Something that is small but has to have precise control takes more effort or energy than chucking a piece of rock if it doesn’t matter where it goes.

“You were a seeker before. When someone was lost, you’d pick up on them, go that direction then pick up again until you honed in on them because you couldn’t keep up a link the whole time.” Keyen stopped, reading the look on her face. “Obviously, bad example. When you locked on someone you remained with them.” It was not a question as he read it on her expression.

“I … Yes. No one ever told me that wasn’t normally how it was done.”

“I’ve never known a seeker who could sustain a link for an entire search.”

Rori looked embarrassed. “I was only fifteen on the first search I helped with. They hadn’t been able to find her. When I sensed her, I was afraid I might not be able to locate her again, so I stayed with her. She was so scared.”

He shook his head in amazement. “And no one realized. You must have quite a good recovery rate.”

“One hundred percent on alive and conscious. Unconscious, I drop a little. Body recovery I’m not good at.”

“There are no emotions for you to tap into,” Keyen acknowledged. “Okay, so this gives me a base to work with on helping you train. But for now, it’s time to eat and then I am to deliver you back to Areathea for the IPI.”