War Of Fates (Chapter 4)

Cure

The dim lighting of the classroom reflected softly around the room. Leila’s head rested on her hand, propped up against her desk. Her eyes were halfway shut; she tried to pay attention to the demonstration video. She already knew, accelerator… go, brakes… stop. She didn’t understand how it was possible to make a half-hour long movie out of that. Why wouldn’t Andrew say anything? Tap her on the shoulder? Give her the fuel to stay alive? Her head nodded forward and she caught herself before her head hit the desk.

\Andrew? Come on… I’m board. / She sent to him

Andrews’s head popped up and looked at her. He shot her a quick glare before giving her a smile, a smile that didn’t reach his eyes today. He ripped a small piece of paper, and passed her a note. It said, “You have got to teach me that.” She smiled as she replied.

\Just talk to my dad, mind you, he’d be furious if he found out knew what I had told you, or what I’d been doing. Besides, I really am not a good teacher. /

The next note simply read “WTF?”

\It has something to do with a block in your mind, unlocking it. Supposedly, anybody can learn how to do it, but there are few that can teach effectively. I’ll try with you again, the first thing that I could do was a classic spoon bend. /

Another note. “What? Is that easier than telepathy?”

\Much/

“Jeez”

\I’ll teach you how, as long as you promise not to make people think that they’re possessed. /

“You have my word.”

She looked at him, and gave him a sly smile. At least they were in two classes together, better than nothing. Her eyes were still heavy, and she yawned. Leila lost control of her body. Her eyes closed, and they didn’t open.

Andrew winced as he heard Leila’s head hit the desk with a sharp crack. He hoped she didn’t just bust her skull in. Nobody else in the class seemed to notice, but hardly any of them remained conscious anyway. The substitute teacher in the back of the classroom didn’t really seem to care about any of the goings on in the room. He just continued to stare blankly at the television, and didn’t even glance over.

Andrew wondered when Leila had started with her whole telepathy thing. It must have been a relatively new skill, but than again, she was always surprising him with things she had known to do for years, but had never actually demonstrated. She did start not long after the party at Mats house, and Andrew was not exactly sure what she had against Mat anyway. What could she have seen in him to make her feel that way? She tried to talk to him after the… well; he wasn’t too sure what he could call it. She pretended to be all right with him, and pretended to ask if she could come again next time. Andrew knew she was pretending by the way she decided that the next date wouldn’t work out, coupled with the fact that Andrew knew she would be home alone on next time.

Andrew sighed, her parents weren’t going to be home on the given date, she would be home… alone, and he would come in to find the smell of alcohol on her breath, the same way that she would normally see him pull in smelling of smoke, but Andrew had given it up, and Leila had given him such a cold shoulder when he had told her that she should stop drinking. She claimed that drinking was “healthier than those cancer sticks.” She would also go on a ranting rampage about how the bible permits it, and how she never gets drunk, about how she always drank responsibly, though Andrew knew all too well that she wasn’t being truthful. He heaved another huge sigh, Leila had no idea how special she was to him, and how beautiful she really was, he’d often tried to express that towards her, and show her that he cared, but every time he did, she got cold and distant. She would always just stop talking, and the awkward silence would begin. Sooner or later, she would listen to him; stop drinking, and they would get together. He knew how he felt about her, but would she ever figure out how he feels? And when she figures it out, would she return the feeling? So many dilemmas on his mind, and all this crap to deal with.

He was doing atrociously in school, he was going through so much stress, trying to quit smoking, and pass grades, trying to beat back all these girls that couldn’t stay away from him. The worst part about it was, Leila loved to watch him squirm away from all the women making his life a walking nightmare. There were so many things that he couldn’t begin to describe going wrong at the worst possible time in his life. What was he going to do with himself?

The boredom of the class began to get to him. He decided to do the exercises. He stretched out, as she put it, and closed his eyes. Stretch out, he thought, reach out with his feelings. He had to let go of all conscious thought. To fill the void in his mind with an essence. A blankness. How am I supposed to do this? He thought.

“I don’t know, keep it down Andrew.” His friend said from behind him.

“Did I just say something?” Andrew said rudely behind his back, “I know that I didn’t, get your ears checked.”

You dumb piece of crap. He thought again.

“Dude! What the hell?” Bob whispered severely to him.

“What did I just say? Tell me now!” Andrew had a tough time keeping his voice down now.

“You called me a dumb piece of crap. What the hell did I say to you?”

“Shit… that’s what I was afraid of, I’m sorry just ignore everything I say man.”

“Damn straight.” Bob rested his head on the desk again.

“Is there a problem here?” The substitute inquired.

“No, no problem at all.” Andrew quickly defended, sure, now the teacher gets involved.

“My involvement doesn’t concern you, now you stay on task or I’ll write you up.”

His own thoughts weren’t safe now. How do you control them? He was in a panic now, as the class started to stare, and he continued to mumble to himself about how much he needed a smoke, and how much he loved Leila, all the while his lips weren’t moving. The smoke comment was the one however, that got him sent up to the guidance office, and a long meeting later, he finally emerged, feeling quite tired, after talking with the counselor for way too long. He heaved his way over to where he hoped Leila would be waiting.

On his way over to the main bus loop, he remembered with agony every pulsing second under his mothers watchful hawk like glare, she had left for home an hour prior, and left him to the mercy of the counselor, telling him about the programs that would be available for him if there was any trouble in the near future, that he would have to take a mandatory drug test, from then on. Every month or something, he wasn’t sure, as he had stopped listening before he’d even come in, his ears had been buzzing the entire time, and he still didn’t understand why things were happening. Had he really sent telekinetic messages throughout the classroom? To make matters worse, nobody believed him when he told them that he had quit smoking, and that he was trying desperately, and earnestly to come clean. All that berating for smoking and Leila still won’t stop drinking. She’s hopeless. Andrew thought with little satisfaction.

He was no longer under any watchful eyes, surprising considering how much they had believed him. When he was dismissed they simply reminded him of the drug testing. Like he really needed any reminder.

God! I need a smoke! He muttered to himself. He glanced around, but nobody had appeared to hear him.

He wasn’t sure about how long he’d been wandering around, trying to find where Leila usually was, along the side of the bus loop. She usually met him around here. When had he gotten to the bus loop? He was amazed at how little he had to think to get around as of late.

The girl had lately gotten into a bad habit of sneaking up on him when he knew exactly where and when to find her; she had always managed to get past. She also had a bad habit of not being there when he needed her the most. This happened to be one of those times.

He tried hard to scan the terrain; he knew that for his own mental well being he had to find her first. As usual, he failed.

“Looking for a smoke?” The familiar voice called from behind.

“You should know better.” He said, all the while putting on his fake happy face, “I need to ask you for a favor.” He got himself readily prepped for anything.

“My father should be more than willing to help a friend of mine. I know what your problem is, and he’s helped a load of his friends with this treatment, and he told most of them that it was just a hypnosis.” She gave him a strange look, “And there’s something else I think you should talk to him about.”

“That was more along the lines of what I was thinking. He can help me quit?” Andrew was amazed that her father could have helped him quit all along, “I know what I have to talk to him about, but what would he do to you?”

“You know that it doesn’t matter to me what my father would do, besides, I think he’ll be very understanding in the matter.” She didn’t sound so sure of her own words, “Look, he isn’t going to punish you for my doings, what happened today is my fault, and…”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Andrew interrupted. “You had nothing to do with…”

“It was my fault.” Leila took her turn in interruption. “If I hadn’t been so adamant in trying to teach you, I wouldn’t have shattered your block.” Leila paused, and took in a deep shaky breath, “My father has to teach you now, or you’ll be a danger to both yourself and others. If you don’t learn now… the power could overwhelm you, and corrupt or kill you.”

Andrew didn’t say anything; he wasn’t sure what to make of what he’d been told. He wasn’t sure if he was upset, or angry with Leila for not telling him this before. He wasn’t sure if he was now afraid for himself, or for what he might do to somebody else. Or worse. Leila. He could feel emotion well up inside of him. In the end, all he could do was whisper.

“Why did you do this?”

Leila looked taken aback, “I wanted to open up a new world to you, to show you something beyond all your wildest dreams. You always said you wished you could do what I could do, so now, I gave that to you. I was too impatient, and I could have ruined everything for you.” She took his face in her hands, to direct his gaze to her eyes. Andrew looked into her eyes. Blue today, but not always. The eyes that haunted his dreams, eyes that filled his every waking thought. He could never escape, and now he gazed into them, and he could suddenly see right through her, and he knew that for the first time in her life, she meant what she said next, “I’m sorry. I had no right to do that to you.” Andrew could see that her eyes were shining with unshed tears.

Andrew wasn’t sure what he should do; he never had been in a situation like this. He didn’t know what to do; he was never very good at helping somebody when they were crying. Especially girls, he didn’t even realize that he was stammering until Leila pat his hand, and said, “Don’t worry, you don’t have to say anything. I’ll understand if you never forgive me.”

What was the girl getting at? What was there to forgive? If he broke open his barrier wrong… whatever that meant, it was his fault and not hers. He moved cautiously, watching every word that he said. “Leila, I could forgive you for anything, you know that.” Perfect, he thought, now she can’t get angry for forgiving her for something she didn’t need forgiveness for. It was perfect!

She seemed to move right past it, and found something wrong anyway, “You don’t think that it was my fault do you?” She took his silence for assent, “You just don’t understand the power at my disposal. I could see what was blocking you, and knew that if it was gone, you could tap into it easily. I destroyed the block, and now the power you are capable of wielding could destroy you. I don’t know how to fix it, but my father can. Please talk to him for me. What happens to me would be nothing compared to what will happen to you if you let this destroy you!”

“Tap into what easily?” Andrew knew that he had asked the wrong question immediately.

“You know what I’m talking about, and you know that I can’t describe it to you any more than you can control it,” she said with a slightly irritated voice.

“It can destroy me?” he asked now, more afraid than upset.

Leila sighed, it was the sigh of somebody that felt surrounded and pressed down on all sides. “The power that is now opened to you is enough to make you go mad, and destroy everything, including yourself.” He didn’t need her to mention herself to hear the message hidden in her words.

“I’ll talk to him tomorrow,” Andrew said, defeated.

“Today,” she said firmly.

“Tomorrow morning?”

Leila only looked at him with reproachful eyes. Andrew let out a defeated sigh and nodded. Leila put on the smallest of smiles, and almost looked happy. Andrew nearly sighed again, he hadn’t seen her happy since elementary school, and even than she had few happy moments.

“Come on,” She said quickly, “My sister won’t mind giving you a ride.”

Andrew said nothing, only nodded again. His feet felt like lead, and it took every once of self-control he had to not run away. He might have, had he been able to run. Andrew followed Leila as closely as he could as she made her way through the winding crowd. He wasn’t quite sure why he was thinking more about Leila herself right now, but he often realized how much he really desired to really hold her. Not those quick one-armed hugs that she often gave him, he itched to hold her in his arms. There had never been anybody else like her in his life. He snapped his attention on the task at hand. He was about to tell somebody that his daughter had taught him to use psychic abilities and that she single handedly destroyed his block, and now he could end up killing himself and others. He was also expected by his daughter to take it lightly; somehow, Andrew didn’t think that this was one of those things that fathers liked to hear about their daughters.

Andrew was in a complete daze, he didn’t even realize he’d entered the car, and buckled up. He had been conversing distantly with Leila’s sister, though not hearing the words spoken, or what was said to him. Tiffany was only distantly observing him, as she pretended to have light conversation with him, though a crease in her eyes showed that she suspected what might be wrong… or maybe she could sense it. Tiffany could channel too… right?

He slowly let himself back into the waking world and began to actually understand what was being said.

“… there isn’t a problem with wanting to teach somebody Leila, but destroying the block could be fatal, you know that as well as I do.” Tiffany said to Leila, Andrew immediately knew what they were talking about.

“Who have you been teaching?” Leila shot back at her sister. “All I’ve heard you talk about is how people shouldn’t teach if they aren’t ready. Now it’s all right?”

Tiffany snorted with a quick laugh, “No, you’ve just proven my point. You’re not ready to teach, or this wouldn’t have happened.”

“What? And you are?” Leila snapped. “I need to know who you’ve been teaching.”

“If I wasn’t, I would have broken his block a long time ago.” Tiffany stated so plainly to her face that Leila turned red.

“So, while you were out preaching about how younger people shouldn’t be teaching others because they’re too irresponsible. So you’re out teaching somebody else? You don’t have a right to put somebody else at risk again. Don’t you ever feel remorse for your mistakes? Don’t you understand that I am being more responsible than you ever were? I’m going to dad to fix this… what would happen to Andrew would be worse than what dad would do to me.” Leila continued on in a rage.

“Leila…” Tiffany tried to say, but Leila kept talking.

“You were too afraid to accept the consequences of your actions. You didn’t tell anybody until you saw what it did to her.” Leila’s voice was steadily getting louder, and Tiffany’s face was growing redder, “She died because you were afraid! She almost took you with her! It’s been only 6 months! Do you realize how hard we worked to save your sorry ass after you killed your best friend? I’m not going to do that to Andrew!” Tiffany’s attempts to be heard went unnoticed, “I care too much about him to care about what my father would do to me!”

“Leila please!” Tiffany shouted, but was once again unheard.

“She was my friend too! Why did you keep preaching it to me? I didn’t mess up like you did! Don’t you ever compare your faults to mine!” Leila was crying now, her voice cracked as she yelled. “I’m sorry I made this huge mistake! It was huge I know! But I’m going to fix it!”

Leila seemed done, and Andrew realized that the car wasn’t moving anymore, stopped on the side of the road. Andrew remained silent.

Tiffany was just staring at the steering wheel; Leila ignored the streams of tears running down her face, sitting next to him in the back seat.

“Do you think that I don’t feel horrible all the time Leila? If you had the wish to read my thoughts, you would know just how much it destroyed me. I’m trying to make good for all the damage I caused, by helping somebody, and show them a world that they never knew existed. He hasn’t learned much; I’m taking my time teaching him. I wont make the same mistake twice. I just have to prove to myself that I can do it.” Tiffany said quietly.

Andrew wasn’t sure what to make of the awkward moment neither girl said anything. So Andrew gave Leila a quick poke, and after a quick squeal, she glared at him. Andrew tried to smile, and shrugged, though he wasn’t sure what he did that changed her glare to a look of concern, or maybe pain? Andrew knew that he should try to say something to make everybody feel better, but in situations like this, words weren’t exactly his strong suit. Leila suddenly stopped looking at him, and he realized that she had been staring at him. The awkward car ride continued in silence until they reached Leila’s home. Andrew wasn’t sure if he was ready, but knew deep inside of himself that he had to go through with it for the good of himself and everybody else around him. Mostly for Leila.

“Andrew?” Leila began, “I think you should think about how you tell him what you want to be done, but just let me talk to him first, I think that it’ll be best if he hears it from me first.” She didn’t give him a chance to answer, and she ran into the house, leaving Andrew standing in the driveway with Tiffany.

“What does she expect me to say if she’s already telling her father everything?” Andrew asked her.

“I don’t know. My advice to you is to just roll with the punches, wait by the door, I’m going to have go out and do some things.” Tiffany left without anymore of a word, got into her car, and was gone in a flash.

He reached the door and found himself waiting for some time. He shifted uneasily on his feet, he found himself playing with his hair in his reflection. He looked at himself more closely, into his eyes. Always a light blue, almost sky blue. He tried to ignore all the features of his face and just look into his eyes. What was it about him that he liked? Just his eyes really. Everything else looked like a mess, his nose, face, and mouth. His entire body really just makes him want to scream, knowing that nobody would ever envy his body, or at least find it the least bit attractive. Maybe if he…

“Well Andrew, looks like we have some work to do with you. Come on inside.” He recognized Leila’s fathers voice on the spot.

“Yes Mr. Farnum. I’ll be right along.” He said breaking his attention from the window.

Andrew followed him inside, only able to see his back. He wasn’t sure exactly what was in store for him yet, not until he could see his face. Once in the house, he made casual observations of the familiar interior of the home, though his eyes scanned more than they actually took in. He saw the scenes run by in quick flashes.

“You seemed to have stumbled through your barrier, with a little assistance. We’ll talk about that later, but first, I’ll get to work on your addiction.” He said calmly, leading Andrew to the back of the house. He let him enter a room he’d never actually seen before. Andrew had always assumed the door had been a closet.

The room was very plainly adorned, with a number of easy chairs, a desk, with a computer on top, with a few cheery pictures on the wall. A family portrait rested on the desk next to the computer.

“Have a seat.” Leila’s father instructed.

Andrew quickly found a seat on one of the recliners, a brown fabric that seemed to pull him into the chair. Mr. Farnum took a seat in a swiveling computer chair.

“Leila never told you about my job,” he began calmly, “I work as a therapist at home. I never put a sign up, but I’m sure you noticed a door on the side of my house. Well, the long and short of it, I specialize in drug addictions. Most of my patients have or have had problems with drugs in their life. With their consent, I have performed a technique that cured them of their addictions. I also erased their memory of the entire encounter, so that I’m not found out.” He smiled to himself for a moment. “There are so many doctors that want to know what I do to help these patients get over their addictions. I tell them that I give them something else to do with their time. In the long run, that’s usually what happens. Not one of my patients have come to me and said that the addictions have returned, unless they admitted that they did whatever they did because they’re bored. You have obviously tried to quit, and are having a hard time dealing with it. I’ll give you the chance to help yourself, with your consent. I’ll also allow you to remember this… because I am going to teach you how to harness your telekinetic abilities. Do you understand?”

It was a lot for him to take in all at once, but he understood, and nodded.

Mr. Farnum nodded, “Recline your chair all the way. I need you to get yourself comfortable.”

Andrew reclined, and soon Mr. Farnum stood over his head, and put his hands on either side of his face. “This is going to feel a little strange.” He told Andrew, before a piercing cold penetrated his body.

Leila knelt silently beside the door, and used an eavesdropping technique she had learned. She listened to everything that was being said. She wondered why Andrew had been so quiet throughout all of this. She knew he must have been afraid, and she didn’t put it past him. She would be afraid if her father found out she was addicted to alcohol, and used the same technique on her. Not that she was an alcoholic of course…

Her father had strangely not been too angry about her mistake. He told her that it was a serious thing, and that she should be more careful. He quickly went to Andrew after she explained everything. She now knew that he was healing Andrew, purging him of his addiction. The feeling of somebody’s addictions forced out of their mind had become familiar to Leila, and she had grown used to it. It made her shiver, and a cold swept throughout her body. Something felt different about the cure; the purging was different. She felt desires being swept out of her body as well, things she didn’t even know she had, it was like a connection to her was being swept up, and being cleansed. She was unsure of this feeling, and she was becoming tired.

The earth was getting larger in the view-port screen. The illusion of a window was complete, the view was taken from a hangar about a half-kilometer away from where Flintuanticus was standing, watching the blue-green sphere grow in size as they approached.

The changes that had occurred in Shelinack and his bodies were considerable. The gene therapy had completely rearranged their body structure, and had changed them into humans. The pain relievers he had been taking had altered his personality slightly, he had been quite irritable, and sexual tension rippled through his body like a primitive beast. Shelinack told him that the feelings were the same in her body, though she said it was the human mind, and not the drugs. Did humans truly live in this constant state of sexual desire? He hoped not, perhaps it was simply adjusting to the human’s growth hormones.

They had learned the human language, or one of them, so that they could communicate with them once they landed. They would be landing near the humans most advanced technological area, in a peninsula located within the planets most powerful country. He tried his best to anticipate the mission, but always found his thoughts migrate back to Shelly. Shelinack… whatever he should call her, it must have been the human growth hormones

Shelly seemed to enjoy becoming human, she looked at her features, and said that the clothing she had been given wasn’t human enough. She told him that she was going to take him “Shopping”, in which humans ritualistically choose garments to wear. Her defense was that fitting in was key to the success of the mission; but in his opinion, she seemed to really look forward to this strange ritual.

He looked at her, standing next to him… quite nervously, though he couldn’t explain where the nerves came from. Her golden Shesh hair had all but disappeared, and she now wore in on top of her head in what she told him was a “ponytail” and was a common form for a human to wear hair. She had also done something to his hair after she cut nearly all of it off, he wasn’t sure but he knew that his hair made him look more human. His own tan hair had turned into a dark human brown. His eyes didn’t change very much, just the general shape of the eye socket, his eyes were narrower, and seemed more piercing than his own had been. Shelinack’s eyes looked smoother, and gentler than his did, hers were also a blue color. In fact, everything about her features as a human was lighter, as they had been as Shesh, she had blue eyes, he had brown, she had golden hair, he had dark brown hair, even her skin was a few shades lighter than his. The gene therapy had not changed their heights, and Shelinack said that they were moderately short for humans, though they wouldn’t have any difficulty blending into the crowd.

“Flint?” She said suddenly, seemingly as a thought emerged in her head.

“Yes Shelinack?” He asked, using her proper name.

“Call me Shelly, you don’t want to slip up in front of humans do you?” She gave him a weighing look.

“No, I don’t, Shelly.” He said, correcting himself.

“Good,” she confirmed offhand, “You know the mission starts today?”

He nodded, a human gesture that she had taught him, meaning “yes”.

“How are we going to find the leaders of humans and warn them? There is no absolute ruler; there is no ultimate throne that controls all the territories. Only this one country manages to control most of their world, and the most powerful man in the government has nearly no real power. How can we succeed? How… when we are doomed to failure from the beginning?” She looked defeated.

“We aren’t doomed to failure, the Sklitna won’t get this planet, and we’ll get another ally, you’ll see.” He said to comfort her.

She nodded; sometimes the gesture had an effect that words could not achieve. From that, he knew, she accepted that they had to do what needed to be done, and that they should go to the ship now.

The simple gesture also reminded him that there would be many nuances of human culture he would have to be wary of, to avoid offending them. Much like the Rannan’s, he remembered scratching his forehead had offended them more than any curse he could’ve known.

When they finally made it to the ship, Flint helped Shelly to carefully step inside. The captain of the ship eyed them suspiciously.

“You’re ready?” He asked them.

“Yes sir.” Flint and Shelly told him in unison.

“Good. We’ll be departing soon.” He said as he turned around to approach the ship.

They entered the ship after he did. The door clamped shut behind them. Flint looked around nervously. He was about to land on an alien planet for the first time in his life. All the precautions had been taken to prepare the crew for the imminent landing. Over the course of the trip, the gravity had been increased to the mass of the earth, and the atmospheric conditions were changed ever so slightly. The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was incredible, though he supposed the humans barely even noticed. It was another reason to arrive on the planet, to encourage the humans to take care of their planet, it wouldn’t last much longer without Shesh intervention. Twenty years at best before the whole planet would fall into a state of complete disarray.

Flint buckled himself into the ship, next to one of the view-ports, so that he could observe what was happening outside. Not that he would really see much, though he expected that they would see a few human cities on the way to the surface. He supposed now was as good a time as any to watch the descent into the planet.

Shaiv looked down at his new host body a little bit more. He was unused to being assigned to a female host. Most of the time, assignments kept the Sklitna assigned to a host of it’s own gender. He let out a sigh. He supposed this host would do for now. She didn’t know much, in fact, she was much less intelligent than the Macha seemed to indicate. He wondered if the race really was as intelligent as they seemed. This human had almost no understanding of the political system under which she lived. Shaking his… or rather, her head, he hoped that this miserable creature was no representation of the human race. At least in terms of intelligence.

“General?” A small demanding voice began from behind him. “It seems that a Shesh Cruiser has arrived in orbit around the planet. It’s large, containing at least 50 thousand.”

Shaiv didn’t even say anything, in fact, he made little visible sign that he’d even heard him. He just stood for a moment, letting the moment sink in. They all knew the Shesh were coming, it was just sooner than anticipated.

“Sir…?” The initiate nobody began, but Shaiv just held up his hand.

It was such a small hand, delicate, almost perfect. She may have been weak, she may have been rather dumb, but he wanted to keep this host alive. He’d looked at holograms of humans, and he felt that this one did represent all that was beautiful in the race. He would keep her alive, as a symbol of the beautiful conquered race. He would also try to get a beautiful male specimen. Yes… the first male infested would have to be beautiful as well. The invasion would begin tomorrow… and he would hand select the next infestation, and give the male to a high ranking member of the Sklitna army. Somebody with finesse in warfare, somebody that formulated a battle plan, as an artist composes a grand symphony.

“Sir, we should respond…”

“Yes, initiate,” Shaiv began. He turned around and noticed that the soldier had a Shorna host. “Tell them to prepare the prototype, and raise the E.M.P. shield. I’ll be there momentarily to oversee things.”

“Yes sir.”

Without another word, the little Sklitna left the room. Shaiv just wanted to bask in the beauty of this specimen for a little while longer. The mirror reflected back the most wonderful images. When she smiled, it revealed her true beauty.

“It’s a shame that such a lovely specimen has to go out onto the frontlines. If I knew that you wouldn’t try to defend yourself, I would allow you to walk free, and stand as a symbol of your race.”

Rot it hell! Was it’s only response.

Sleep. It consumed her. The emptiness of sleep overwhelmed all sensation. She grew colder with each passing breath, losing herself to the sweeping motion of the cure. She had lost all awareness, and was floating in the endless cold void. Andrew… the cure… it all seemed so distant. She’d been here all of her life. Prolonged suspension, she could sense no movement.

Leila felt her bodies desires swept out of herself. The alcoholism… had she really desired it so much? That was gone…

Dim awareness seemed to revive in her head. She was lying on the floor, face first. The rug left a dim, red impression on her forehead. She tried to stand, but she felt dizzy. Was all that desire really gone from her body?

Andrew was unconscious in the easy chair that Mr. Farnum had placed him in. Casual observation would have led anybody else to believe that Mr. Farnum was asleep in his chair. But he channeled fiercely into the young mans head. His mind was as sharp as an arrow. He was ready to cure this boy once and for all.

First the infection of the mind had to be isolated. Addictions were always mental, a result of the brains dependence on foreign substances to receive the same effects of natural chemicals normally produced. The introduction of these foreign substances, such as nicotine, and THC, caused the brain to stop the production of the hormones that normally induce happiness. The first step was to cleanse the body of all present traces of the foreign substance, to clear the mind of its intoxicating effects. Afterwards, the brain would have to be “tickled”, and he would coax it to produce the hormones normally. It was a long time consuming process for somebody as far as he was in the process of addiction.

He could sense Leila’s mind nearby. She was eavesdropping again, the way she always did. This time, he could sense something different. His thoughts seemed to open up to her, but it was not his doing. A glance in Andrew’s direction showed that he was receiving Leila’s thoughts through the connection in Andrew… it was a strange feeling. Unlike anything that he’d ever encountered before. Mr. Farnum gripped his daughter in his mind, and began the process of the cure on both her and Andrew simultaneously. He wouldn’t have his daughter drinking on him, not quite yet.

He began the process with relative ease. It had been a while since he’d channeled so much at once, but he had longed for the opportunity to arise for some time.

Upon the completion of the cure in both of them, he released his hold, only on Leila. She would regain her consciousness soon. Now, the task of building a wall in Andrews mind was to be done. This was more difficult, and required his immense concentration. A single slip could result in Andrew’s death.

Flint was looking warily outside of the window… it was a Sklitna vessel all right. A class 1 orbital base, it seems that this planet was a top priority target. The situation was beginning to look even more grave than they had anticipated. The Executioner was prepping itself for a full out attack on the base. He recognized the motions they were going through. The pilot had turned on the red alert buzzer, and they were strapped in tight. The small cruiser accelerated to a dangerous speed, and Flint held on for dear life, but warily watching the outcome of the impending battle. It could very well decide the fate of the mission.

The Sklitna vessel in front of them was indeed a class 1 orbital base. He had, seen more action than any existing Shesh general. He’d been in service for his entire life. The security corps, a necessary job. No planet was a perfect utopia, and crime always existed. Somebody always wanted more than they were given. Somebody would always want to get somebody back for that wisecrack that they just couldn’t avoid making about their family. Mental illness would always exist, as would depression, anxiety, suicide. No matter how perfect a civilization had modeled itself, there would always be flaws. Every diamond would have a flaw, no matter how microscopic; it existed, if you knew where to look.

He knew the ins and outs of combat, he had seen more than anybody else on this ship. He had been taught the ancient techniques of warfare, and he knew all the dirty tricks. He also had a tactic that hadn’t failed him yet. The general had lost his share of battles, but none so momentous as this. Failure was not an option.

Failure was not an option. Shaiv paced the bridge with a confidence that only he could muster. The human form gave him a sense of power over the other creatures. It was a quaint sort of dignity that he’d never felt from any other creatures that he’d infested. When he gave orders, they seemed more compelled to listen than they used to. Or perhaps that his new position of general would have something to do with it. Nevertheless… he was sure of his actions, and felt very glad to explain himself. He did so in a manner that would convey a sense of arrogant accomplishment. He wanted to display just how much he really knew about the enemy. If your soldiers trusted your judgment, they would fly with you to the depths of a black hole! If they didn’t trust your judgment, force them to listen to you, and explain your logic as arrogantly, and haughtily as possible.

“They have General Greil onboard that ship. As you should know, he is one of the most heavily decorated generals in the Shesh military. He has since used the same strategy to completely disable orbital bases, such as ours. He has single-handedly freed over 500 thousand hosts. Those hosts turned against us, and half of them went on to become soldiers for the Shesh military. He would always attack the rear of the ship with a single EMP missile. The rear is always the least protected portion of the ship. So… the plan, is on my word, to completely shut off all the external light sources at the time of impact. Divert all shields to the rear at once… well? Go!” he smiled as his orders were obeyed in a hurried fear. “The main weapon is charged… correct?”

“Yes General,” the nearest officer informed him.

“Good. After they strike us, they will move in just outside of our normal attack range. They don’t know about this new weapon yet. They wont know what hit them.”

The missile flew true out of the launch tube. The technology was old, but effective against the Sklitna militia. The attack would be a feint, the missile would curve over the base and strike the rear. They never saw it coming usually, they would panic and divert the shields to the front. And even if they saw what was happening, he did have another surprise up his sleeve. Another missile would be launched just prior to impact, aimed for the front. He just had to wait patiently for that moment to arrive.

Flint was afraid. He wasn’t sure what to expect. The edge of the planet’s atmosphere was nearly in view. The missile was only moments away from impact. It closed in, and flew up and around the back of the base. Exploding in a cascade of electrical energy.

The wall was nearly complete, Andrew was almost safe for sure from destroying himself. A few finished touches and he allowed him to awake. “How do you feel?” he asked Andrew.

“The power’s out,” Shelly said to Flint from beside him. She was also warily watching the events from the window.

“I don’t know… a little better. How am I supposed to feel?” Andrew inquired upon waking up.

“All right. Move in a little closer, keep out of range, their cannons may still be operable,” General Greil said.

“Another missile is going to hit. I wonder why they launched a second one?” Flint observed.

“Well, can you feel a better control over your telekinesis?”

“All right… now get ready to enter the ship to eliminate all the Sklitna remaining.”

“Now…” Shaiv said with an absolute conviction.

“Yeah… I’m not just sending out my thoughts randomly am I?”

“What in blazes is that thing?” Greil yelled at nobody.

A giant sphere had appeared over the Sklitna vessel. Blacker than black, it seemed to feed on the surrounding darkness, and it grew larger.

“No. You aren’t. Can you try to send me something in thought speak?” Mr. Farnum asked.

“Flint? What is that thing?” Shelly screamed.

The black sphere launched towards the Shesh vessel with alarming speed.

“I can try,” Andrew said. He concentrated for a moment. \Can you hear me?/

Blacker than black. It absorbed all light into a pit of nothing.

“Attack it! All arms fire upon that sphere!” Greil shouted at the top of his lungs over the intercom. He already knew that it was hopeless.

“Good. Yes. I heard that. You have incredible power at your disposal. That is why you have to learn to control it.”

The sphere absorbed their attacks, and grew in size. It moved as if to completely envelop the Shesh vessel.

“I don’t know Shelly! I’ve never seen anything like it before!”

Greil only wished that he could have seen his wife, one last time.

Shaiv smiled with malice as pure as it comes.

Her lips curved upward with a smile that wasn’t hers… it wasn’t her body anymore! God! Make the pain stop!

The sphere made contact with the Shesh vessel. No grand explosions accompanied the contact. The Executioner simply sank within its depths.

Greil barely felt the pain as he died… he was stunned. Disbelieving that he would meet such a grotesque end. Then there was nothing. An absence of sensation. A complete nothingness took hold on him, pain, sensation, emotion, all ceased to exist.

Pain. Incredible pain filled Mr. Farnum, and he fell to his knees. It was unbearable!

Leila convulsed on the rug, still unable to get up. The pain was too much. She lifted her head, and retched onto the carpet.

Andrew’s head felt like it wanted to burst… he could feel something was wrong.

Flint held his head in agony. Head splitting… so much pain!

Shelly felt sick. The screams of a thousand dead rang through her head.

Retching… she can’t move! Must get help!

Oh God! Why wont the pain end? Mr. Farnum wanted to scream!

Screams… the never ending screams of anguish! The dead were relentless!

His head was going to burst! Flint could barely stand it!

It seemed that all her stomach’s contents had been emptied onto the floor.

What was wrong with Mr. Farnum? Why was he whimpering? Andrew’s head was getting better…

“Good job men,” Shaiv said triumphantly.

All lost… it was all lost! Flint wanted to cry.

Alcazar was barely conscious. The pain made him dizzy.

She was wrong… she had plenty of content left in her stomach… it spewed out again.

Where was this pain coming from? Mr. Farnum held his own. He needed to remain resolute for the boy.

“The battle is ours.”

Leila couldn’t bear it anymore. Tears fell freely from her eyes, she continued to vomit.

Mr. Farnum was crying out loud now. Andrew was beginning to grow afraid.

Flint tried to block the pain, but he couldn’t maintain control long enough. It was awful!

Shelly was finally getting control… the pain wasn’t so bad anymore. She’d never known…

The pain was subsiding. Leila wiped vomit from her mouth and sat up with her back against the wall. She was still crying.

“Now is the time. This is the turning of the tide.”

Shelly now cried, freely and openly. Now that the pain was gone, the emotional pain set in.

Flint cried. Pain, and emotional pain both just made him lose his control.

Not a creature on the Shesh landing ship was left without tears. For more than one reason.

Mr. Farnum got back up, tears fell freely down his face. “What the hell just happened?”

“We are going to win this war, and this is the proof.”

Not a trace of the sphere, or of the Executioner were left. No signs had shown that the most devastating battle in the history of the war had just taken place. No memorial would be erected. Just an empty memory of the horrible turning of the tide.

Andrew just watched in astonishment. He had no idea what happened.

Leila finally found the strength to get herself up. She hobbled her way to the kitchen, to grab a sponge and carpet cleaner.

“Now we have to get together. Bear arms and begin the first campaign in the end of the war. After this war is won, we will control everything! We will be able to stop the fighting and allow the life you’ve longed for to begin! I don’t have to ask who’s with me, because I know that you’ll all stand by my side, and trust my judgment. This invasion will be slow. It will be precise. We will follow my plan exactly as I have specified. We fight for the Empress! For domination! Long live the Empress!” Shaiv finished his speech.

His conclusion was met by a round of cheers, and a repetition. “For the Empress!”

He looked around at all his loyal subjects. Nothing would ever thwart his plans. It was up to the humans to defend themselves. The best part was, the humans won’t know what’s going on until it’s too late to stop!

In her home, Leila cleaned up the mess she had made without a word. Those sensations she had just had had given her a strange glimpse of something. She wasn’t sure what it was, but something was going to happen. It was going to be big. Her father was looking over her with dark eyes. He wasn’t angry with her for making a mess, in fact, he seemed unusually empathetic to her. He had just asked her what she felt, and he told her that he had felt it too.

“Leila,” he began. “You have much to learn. You are very inquisitive, but sometimes it worries me that you don’t ask certain questions.”

“Like what Dad?”

He shook his head. “Nothing… forget I said anything.”

Leila was standing by the sink, washing her hands of the rug cleaner. Sometimes, her father was just too weird.