Vai

The corridor was slightly cool as Warpaint and I exited the elevator. The two security officers didn't hinder us as we entered the bridge. Owen sat in the new chair that had been set up near the captain's chair. His short legs didn't reach the floor. He looked more like a child instead of the 18 year old he would soon be. Especially since he kept pushing the command button on the arm of the chair that caused the chair to swivel back and forth.

Captain Axa was doing her best to ignore him. I was surprised she hadn't told him to stop. The other people on the bridge would sneak glances at my friend, but no one said anything.

Owen saw me and jumped from the chair landing lightly on his feet. "My friend," he said. "I relinquish the next shift to you." He swept his arm out grandly to the new chair.

"Thanks," I said.

He drew closer to me and motioned for me to lean in closer so I did.

"Remind me why we have to take shifts on the bridge again," he whispered.

He knew. We had been over it many times, but instead of explaining it all again, I just whispered back, "Because the captain ordered us too."

Owen frowned at Captain Axa. She in turn lifted the ridge above her right eye, but didn't say anything.

"It's pointless," Owen whispered as he turned his attention back to me. "The Corruption is not stupid enough to attack the G.E.F. Especially now that they don't have any spies in the fleet."

"Maybe," I whispered back, "but the G.E.F. hasn't been hiding it's schedule. The Corruption has already tried to attack us on some of the colonies and the Starwatcher homeworld. And the Gathering council is paying us now as official Light Specialists."

"Yeah, but - "

"Gentlemen," Captain Axa interrupted our whispering. "You can talk later, when Vai isn't on duty."

"Of course, friends. No problem," Owen said. He gave me a look and then left the bridge.

I sat on the seat Owen had just vacated. I wouldn't admit it out loud, but secretly I agreed with Owen. At least partially. I thought it was good that we be included in meetings discussing the Corruption and colony safety, etc. But I wasn't sure why we had to take shifts on the bridge. It allowed us less time altogether and less time to train. And if the Corruption attacked the fleet, what could we do? Shel and Minmin knew the internal workings of the ships and commands, but the rest of us didn't. We didn't have the authority to order the ship to attack if we thought the Corruption were attacking.

In the middle of the bridge was a projected image of the Shadow and the space around it. It showed the nearest G.E. ships. Space was quiet around the G.E. ships. The ships jumped into a new section of space led by the Shadow. Two officers currently worked at the F.T.L. stations. There was one person at the science station. I recognized her as one of my dad's people. I supposed all the science officers were my dad's people. She was a Starwatcher with dark gray fur. I couldn't remember her name.

There were of course other stations. The pilots for example worked closely with those at the F.T.L. stations. Then there were those at the Aether field station and the weapons and shields stations and the engineering station. I didn't recognize any of them. They didn't say much to us when we came on our shifts. If anyone thought we shouldn't be there, I never heard it.

The good thing about having a shift on the bridge, is that I finally got paid. It wasn't much, but it was my own money and not my dad's. We were officially on the Gathering payroll.

We jumped to another part of space.

"Sensors are picking up other ships in the area, Captain," someone said.

"They just jumped in after we did," one of them stationed at the F.T.L. said.

Captain Axa stood. "Show me," she said.

The projection of the Shadow zoomed out to a wider area. It revealed more of the G.E.F. and below us - if you can say below in space - were several K'thaktran ships.

"These ships are the missing K'thaktran ships," someone told the captain.

Warpaint stepped closer to the chair I sat in.

"Sound the high alert to the rest of the ship," Captain Axa said. She turned to me. "Do you think the miasmids are onboard."

"Undoubtedly," I said.

"Can you confirm?" she said. "I don't want to attack if they are coming to us for help."

"We have not been able to open communications with them," someone else said.

The captain watched me. Other heads turned to me. It was obvious the Corruption was involved, but I closed my eyes and lifted out of my body. My spirit spanned the distance in a blink. I didn't have to get too close for my light to tell me the K'thaktra inside the ships were filled with the Corruption. I jumped back into my body and opened my eyes.

"It is the Corruption," I said.

The captain turned to her bridge crew, "Inform the rest of the G.E.F. captains that we will wait for them to make the first move. The miasmids are already trying to paint themselves into something good and us as something bad to the citizens of the Gathering. We cannot give them a reason to discredit us." The captain turned to me. "Tell the Awakened One and the other light specialists to be ready. They are the only ones I will allow at this time to fight in space."

I nodded.

"This time, light specialists include Lieutenant Tanpo," Captain Axa said.

There was a reason she only included Lieutenant Tanpo and the light specialists to fight in space. Although everyone on the G.E.F. had been practicing in space, we were still the best at it. We had been able to strengthen our shields more than anyone else and we were the only ones who could hear each other now through the light without actually having to leave our bodies. Communication was fast on the G.E.F. ships, but not as fast as direct mind to mind communication.

I stretched out with the light and almost immediately connected with the others to relay the captain's instructions. When I focused back on the bridge, the K'thaktran ships were much closer to the G.E.F. ships than they had been moments before.

"They are still not answering us," the communications officers said.

It was at that time that red streaked from the K'thaktra's lead vessel and struck the Eternity. The Eternity's Aether shield managed to keep out most of the damage, but several red streaks followed the first from different K'thaktran ships. They all targeted the Eternity.

"Vai, send your group out into space," Captain Axa demanded. "Make sure they stay within Lieutenant Tanpo's shield."

I only half listened to her as she gave commands to the others. I didn't close my eyes because I wanted to relay what I saw on the projection to my fellow light specialists.

Move out, I told them. Stay in Lieutenant Tanpo's shield. That includes you too, Awakened One. He would like us to believe otherwise - but his shield could not keep the miasmids out like Lieutenant Tanpo's could. He didn't say anything to that, but he wasn't rebellious. At least, he hadn't been with us. I didn't think his own people were too pleased with him for getting involved.

I followed them with my green light as they exited the Shadow. In the next moment they were near the Eternity. They attacked the first ship that had damaged the Eternity. Minmin's white lightning rolled off the metal of the K'thaktran ship, but didn't do any damage. Same with Owen's fire and Esther's power.

Shel on the other hand was able to get his purple light passed the enemy shields. Ever since Minidtin he had been able to use his power without touch, but not on as great a scale or he would faint again. But wherever his purple light touched on the red K'thaktra ship, that small area would crush into itself over and over again leaving a small hole in the ship. It wasn't a lot of damage, but in space, a little bit of damage could cause deaths.

The Awakened One's light did the most damage. His gray light touched the metal of the K'thaktra ship and the metal was ripped away in great heaps. I pretended I didn't see the K'thaktra that were sucked out into space, but it was difficult. The need to heal them as they died in space was strong, but even if I had attempted it, we couldn't get them back into safety before the effects of space hit them again.

I let them die.

Through the projection on the bridge, I saw the K'thaktran ships had got through the Eternity's shield and were now doing real damage to it. Their attention was soon divided now as the other G.E.F. ships joined the fray.

Red zapped from the K'thaktra ships my friends attacked. It split a hole through Lieutenant Tanpo's shield. The Awakened One grabbed her and pulled her behind him just as the red blast hit him. His gray shield managed to keep it out.

Why can't I stop the beam? Lieutenant Tanpo asked.

Its composition is different from that of the Corruption, the Awakened One said. My shield can keep it out, but yours can't.

I felt the Corruption more than saw them even though I was on the bridge of the Shadow and my friends were closer to them. The enormous pink cloud did not show up on the image being projected on the bridge of the Shadow.

Above you, I warned my friends. The mass of Corruption streaked towards my friends. Lieutenant Tanpo refocused her shield around them and kept the Corruption out. A second red streak from the K'thaktran ship cut through her shield. The Corruption rushed through the opening. Many got in before Lieutenant Tanpo could close it.

Minmin's lightning and Owen's fire took care of the ones that managed to get inside. Esther used her power to push the Corruption outside the shield away. A third red streak cut through Lieutenant Tanpo's shield. More Corruption rushed inside. Esther managed to push some back outside the shield, but not all of them. Minmin and Owen continued to take care of the ones that managed to break through Lieutenant Tanpo's shield.

The Awakened One and Shel continued their destruction on the ship. Shel continued to crush smaller holes into the ship while the Awakened One's power tore the metal free. The Awakened One not only tore the metal away, but used that metal as artillery to cut through nearby K'thaktran ships.

Something was off. I studied the projection on the bridge, but didn't see anything other than the obvious to make me feel this way. I centered on my light and my friends, but I already knew the Corruption was there. I wished I was out there with them. But on second thought, my power was to heal and that wasn't much help to my friends at the moment, so maybe I was better where I was.

What was it that I was missing? The urgency tightened around my chest. There was something.

The Shadow rocked. I lost all focus of my friends in that moment and was squarely back on the bridge.

"There is a hull breach on deck 2. The science labs."

And that was it. That was what I missed. I was already off my seat and moving to the door.

"What caused it?" Captain Axa asked. "Where are you going?"

I reached the door. I paused and looked back at her. Now that I knew where to look, I knew what I had missed. "There is a small camouflaged ship just outside the science labs," I said. "There are ten K'thaktra, 3 humans and 3 Brist on board."

"Tell security," Captain Axa said to one of the people on the bridge, but I didn't stay to listen.

Now that I knew they were there, that they blew a hole in the ship directly in the science labs, I knew what they were after. It was the same reason the Corruption had targeted me all along. But they had never really been after me. They were after my father.