The Sac'a'rith (11 page)

He sighed. For the first time ever he looked old and tired. “I will tell you more later. Right now I want you to get the magi to teach you telepathy and teleportation. I hope you have those down to a fine art before we reach the hospital.”

“Me? Teleporting?” I asked. I had no idea what that would entail, but I was sure it wasn’t something that I could do.

“Yes; now go and give them the good news about their freedom,” he said and turned back to his controls.

I waited a moment but knew better than to push for more information. Instead, I went to find Felix and Crivreen. I found them working on the airlock where we had left them. To my surprise, Crivreen was directing the work and Felix was unquestionably following orders. It was a complete reversal of their normal roles.

“Well, I doubt that you’re going to believe this, but you’re both freemen now,” I said.

“What?” they exclaimed as one.

“Yes. Narcion used his connections and substantial bargaining power to arrange for your freedom. He even got them to pay for Jammer’s care once we get to the hospital,” I said.

“Why?” asked Crivreen.

“Because, despite his rough exterior and killer negotiation skills, he is a decent guy at heart. I don’t think I fully realized that before now.”

They looked at each other in silence for a while. Eventually Crivreen spoke up and said, “What happens to us once we get to the hospital?”

“Well, I am not sure, but I think you will be welcome to stay. Narcion wants me to learn teleportation and telepathy from you,” I said.

“So he thinks you’re a magus,” said Felix.

“ME? No way,” I said.

“Only a magus can hide from sensors like you did,” said Crivreen.

“Only a magus can learn to teleport and use telepathy,” said Felix.

“Me? I am just a dumb warrior. I don’t know anything about all this fancy stuff you do,” I said.

“And that is what Narcion wants us to change,” said Felix.

“But how?” I asked.

“How? Well, we will teach you,” said Felix.

“No, how did I get this way?” I asked.

“You didn’t. Magi are born as magi,” said Crivreen.

“That is what Narcion said, but he calls me a Sac’a’rith,” I said.

“Can’t help you on that one; I’ve never heard the term. I’ll tell you what: Crivreen here is the expert in this kind of repair,” he said, gesturing towards the airlock. “Let’s work on telepathy and leave him to handle this.”

“Sure. Why do I get the impression I am not going to like finding out what telepathy is?” I asked.

He smiled, “Because you almost ripped Crivreen’s head off for it once. Well … something like it,” he said.

I sighed. I was sure I did not want to follow this path. “What is the point of it?”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Well, how does it help me on the battlefield, for example?” I asked.

“Oh, that’s simple. Real-time, secure, reliable, instantaneous communication with full sensory input that does not require external noise of any kind.”

“Sounds too good to be true,” I said. The warrior in me could easily see how that kind of communication could turn a battle.

“You will know soon enough. Come, let’s begin,” said Felix.

That week passed slower than any week in history. Every day I worked with Felix on telepathy. As much as I hated the idea that I was some kind of freak like them, I had to admit the prospect of being able to use powers like theirs was attractive. The ways in which learning these skills could be helpful were abundantly apparent. I just could not accept that I was a freak. I could not stand the thought that I had been freed from being a slave to a common street thug only to be turned into some bizarre creature, different from other people.

Still, Narcion wanted me to train, and I was still his employee, so train I did. Each day was filled with grueling mental exercises. One day, I sat for hours doing nothing but focusing my thoughts on a single candle flame. Felix wanted me to project my mind into the flame. Though I was not sure how to tell if I had succeeded, I did try. It was head-splitting work, but at least pain was something I understood and knew how to deal with.

Another exercise was counting the clicks that were randomly generated by the computers. The goal was to be focused enough that no matter how quiet the clicks were, or how monotonous they got, I would catch every one of them. They would walk into the room carrying on a conversation or shine flashlights in my face to distract me. I lost count numerous times, and even fell asleep a few times. But as the week wore on I got better at it.

On and on, every day I did nothing but these mental gymnastics. When training physical combat under Narcion we did the same kind of pattern. I would repeat some seemingly simple move over and over again for what seemed to be an eternity. All that repetition turned into faster reflexes and greatly improved my skills. I was not sure how the exercises I was doing with Felix would end up helping, but I assumed it was the same concept
.

When we arrived at the hospital, I was given a much-desired break from the mental exercises. Narcion stayed on the bridge and had me run things for him. I contacted the station, and once the formal greetings were complete I said, “We have one patient in a hyberpod in critical condition. I am sending the readouts to you now. None of us possesses the skill to understand them.”

“I see,” he said. After studying the readouts he said, “I am moving you to priority one. Dock your vessel at Docking Arm Five-B. A medical team will board your vessel shortly after you dock and have further instructions for you,” and then cut the channel.

“That can’t be good,” said Felix.

Thankfully, Crivreen was not in earshot. “Narcion, did you get all that?” I asked over the intercom.

“Yes. Once we are docked, let them on and give them whatever they need,” he said.

It was not long before we reached the docking arm, and the medical team was already waiting at the airlock when we secured ourselves to the station. I opened the door and said, “This way to sick bay.”

After they were set up, I had to physically pull Crivreen out of the room so that they could work. I could tell by their demeanor that they did not have time to talk, so I just made sure everyone stayed out of their way. From what I could tell, our medical bay was fully stocked and seemed fairly advanced to me,
so I was sure they would have all they needed in there.

Crivreen nervously paced back and forth in front of the door. I wished there was something I could say, but really there are no words for a time like this. It seemed like hours before anything changed, but suddenly Crivreen stopped and said, “He didn’t make it.” He collapsed in a corner and did not move.

“How do you know?” I asked.

He did not respond, but I heard Felix’s voice in my head: “
Crivreen has been using his telepathy to watch from out here.”

I jumped a little, looked at him, and said, “How di … ?” but he cut me off.

“
No words. Remember the candle exercise. Focus your words as a thought aimed at me,
” he sent.

“
How?”
I wondered.

“
Just like that,
” he sent back.

“
You are reading my mind?”
I thought but then something clicked. I had willed the ‘how’ comment in his direction. “
Like this?
”

“
Yes, exactly! I can only read what you will me to read. At least, that is all I can do without trying to break through the defenses you’ve learned to build
,” he sent back.

“
If it was this easy, why did you wait till now?”
I sent back.

Before he could answer, the doctors came out of sick bay and one said, “I am very sorry. We did all we could. The damage was just too extensive. Even had we been at the scene of the incident I doubt we could have saved him.”

“It’s okay. We knew it was a long shot,” I said.

He looked over and saw Crivreen in the corner and said, “I presume they were close?”

“It was as if they were brothers,” said Felix as he walked over and sat with Crivreen.

The doctor led me away and then said, “If you like, we can take care of the remains for you.”

“Can you arrange to return them to his family?” I asked.

“Certainly. We will take him with us. It would be best if you included a message explaining what happened.”

“Thanks. I will get that to you before we leave.”

“And if you want, we can send someone over to help him,” said the doctor while gesturing back towards Crivreen.

This seemed like a perfect use for a private comment, so I tried thinking at Felix again. “
Felix? They want to send someone to help Crivreen. What do you think?”

“
I don’t think that would be a good idea,”
he sent back.

“I think we will pass, but thank you,” I said with a sigh. It probably would have been good to get him some grief counseling. I wondered why Felix wanted to avoid that, but I had to trust that he knew Crivreen best.

“Well, if you change your mind, let the station know,” he said. His team then packed up, collected the body and left.

I went over to Crivreen and knelt down before him. I could not quite get all the way down to his level, but I got as low as I could. “Hey, we need to write a letter for his family. Are you up for doing that? If not, I am sure Felix and I can come up with something.”

“No, I’ll do it,” he said and then wandered off.

“Too soon?” I asked Felix.

“Perhaps, but what’s done is done,” he said and then followed Crivreen.

I felt really bad for Crivreen. It was obvious he’d cared a lot for Jammer. Later, when he was feeling better, I would have to find out more about Jammer. It seemed wrong to lose a man and not know more than just his nickname. I decided to let that thought go for now to give them time, and headed up to the bridge to bring Narcion up to date.

As I entered the bridge he said, “Your mental focus is significantly improved.”

“Huh?” I asked. I had been deep in thought trying to make sense of my ever-changing reality. I wondered if I’d missed part of his comment, because what he said seemed so out of place.

“Your mind: it is sharper. I can sense less of it,” he said.

“Is that a good thing?” I asked.

“Excellent thing,” he said. “
Can you hear this yet?
”

“Yes, but it is still a bit odd to hear someone talking without speech,” I said.

“
And send?
” he asked.

“
Yes,
” I sent.

“Excellent! You are making great progress,” he said.

“Am I a magus?” I asked.

“We need to undock and free this arm for any other emergencies that come along,” he said.

As he turned away, I held his shoulder to stop him and said, “No, not this time, Narcion.” I needed to know, and I was not going to put up with his redirection.

He chuckled. “I figured sooner or later you would start pushing back a little. This term ‘magus’ is an odd one to me, but in the sense I think they mean it, yes. Understand, all that really means is that you have the natural ability to tap and use the energy of the universe itself.”

I was stunned for a moment at the success of my insistence, but that passed and reality sank in. “So I am a freak.”

“No, you are not. The universe is a vast and varied place. You represent one tiny little variation in the vast dynamic sea of life.”

“Why didn’t you tell me before?”

He set the autopilot to undock, then looked me in the eye and said, “Zah’rak, I hope you understand that I completely trust you; you are the only family I have out here, but I can’t tell you everything all at once. Think about it for a moment. That first day we met, if I had told you that you would be using knives to fight spirits and dead people, what would you have thought?”

I had to cede his point on that one. “That you were crazy.”

“And if I told you I planned to teach you telepathy?”

Again, the point was his. “That you were a freak.”

“Right. I have so much more to teach you, but we have to get there in baby steps.” He paused for a long moment and then sighed. “Those two down there are a different case. Right now they are helpful for your training, but I think we will need to drop them off somewhere. Felix’s history makes him a man I can’t trust, and Crivreen is too malleable.”

“So what do you plan to do?” I asked.

“Well, you are going to continue your training with them for the next couple of weeks. We need to pick up supplies, so I have programmed a course to a place where I can buy some safely. It is a major trade hub, so we will give them some money and supplies with which to restart their lives, and leave them there.”

“We could use the help, and I think they could too.”

“You think we should keep them on?”

“I think we should offer it. Why can’t you trust Felix?” I asked.

“In a day or two he is going to get a message with an offer that he will not be able to turn down.”

“What kind of offer?” I asked.

“The Wolf Pack will tell him that either he helps them kill me, or they will kill his family,” he said.

“Wolf Pack? More bounty hunters?” I asked.

“No, assassins. The best,” he said.

I thought about that for a bit and then said, “So kicking him off the ship protects him and his family.”

“Exactly. We are about two weeks, maybe a bit more, from that station, so I will have to buy him time,” he said.

“How do you know about this?” I asked.

“I know that the Wolf Pack has already contacted him, and I know how they operate. It is just a matter of time before they send that message,” he said.

“So they’ve already asked him once and he turned them down?” I asked.

“Actually, he simply did not respond, but he did tell me about it,” he said.

“Does he know your plan?” I asked.

“No, and do not tell him yet. I am sure Felix will understand, but Crivreen needs time to mourn and is not ready to handle thinking about moving on yet. As we get closer to the station, you can talk to them about it. Now there is something I need to do that can’t wait. The ship is yours till I return. Farewell, my brother.”