Chapter 8

Pleasant dreams and pleasant company were rudely interrupted by an obnoxious, insistent banging on Kurana’s cabin door.

The first loud thump jerked the new lovers into a semi-state of wakefulness, and the subsequent, unrelenting poundings forced them guiltily out of Kurana’s tiny bunk, where they had entangled themselves, a human knot of limbs and, in Kurana’s case, hair. Without a word they quickly extricated themselves from each other, and then Eric was watching Kurana’s (quite attractive) backside as she hit the intercom button on the door’s control panel.

“Yes?” she asked calmly, although those who knew her could hear the edge of irritation in her voice.

“You two need to come downstairs.” Michael’s voice was a surprise. Not only did he rarely come on board the ship when he wasn’t training, but his tone was almost always jovial, even somewhat irreverent. This time, he sounded... grim.

Kurana’s eyebrows shot up as she was apparently struck by a similar observation. That, or the fact that her tryst with the leader of the Terran Defense Force was already public knowledge. But none of that escaped into her voice as she replied matter-of-factly, “We’ll be right down.”

Eric sighed, knowing she was making the right decision, but wishing that he could spend the rest of the morning with her in the tiny little bed. The fact that she sighed the same way was warming, though.

“I wonder what could be so important?” Eric mused aloud as he searched for various articles of his clothing and pulled them on.

“I don’t know, but I can feel it ... something is different, different in a big way.” Kurana replied, pulling new clothes from her wardrobe.

Eric chuckled lightly. “I’ll say. I think I would know exactly where you are if you were in China.”

Kurana flashed him a grin, with the hint of a blush. “That is the Bonding. Its effects are not influenced by distance or age, but by emotion. I should have warned you about that, but honestly I didn’t think it would happen so suddenly. When two highborns ... join, physically and emotionally, a link is created. It is, fundamentally, a bridge of Essence between two people, irrespective of normal space and time.” The last words were muffled as she pulled a shirt over her head.

Eric paused. “Bonding, huh? Irrespective ... so it’s permanent?”

Kurana looked at him, and this time her blush was quite noticeable. “Yes. I’m sorry, I didn’t think it could happen so quickly. Bonding is fairly rare in the Empire, as it requires two people who actually care about each other and want to get closer, usually over a number of years. Is this...” she hesitated, as her face became stone. Through the link they shared, Eric could feel her chagrin and horror when she continued. “This isn’t something you wanted, is it?” Her direct look was steady, but the emotion he felt coming from her was almost pure despair.

Quickly he stood up and crossed the distance between them, and taking her in his arms, kissed her as honestly as he could, doing his best to convey his delight in her. True, he found it unsettling to be permanently linked to someone he had spent one night with, but if it had to be anyone ... Relief flooded through the soul they shared as their kiss deepened.

After a moment, the two mutually parted, looking into each other’s eyes, and finding what they hoped to see in their partner. With a reciprocated smile, they turned and headed out the door.

The corridor was almost empty. Shiloh was walking towards them, but the instant he saw them coming out, he abruptly turned and entered his XO’s quarters. Without so much as a word of greeting or apology, the door hissed shut as the two passed by.

Kurana frowned. “What was that about? I know for a fact that Shiloh isn’t making time with Berydan. She only desires women.”

Eric shrugged. “He’s avoiding us. Doesn’t want to get caught in a conversation. I’ve seen that sort of thing quite a bit.” Slowly, Kurana nodded. Neither of them spoke, but both couldn’t help but wonder what he didn’t want to talk with them about. Eric fought the temptation to find out by looking in his head. A door wouldn’t stop him any more than 20 floors of rock and earth had in that underground base, now a lifetime ago.

They did not pass another soul on the way to the airlock. Eric had never seen the ship so quiet, and it was fairly obvious that Kurana was feeling the same sort of unease. As they closed the inner door, an odd thought struck Eric as he pondered the Bonding thing.

“Did you say a ‘bridge of Essence?’”

Before she could answer, the airlock cycled, the outer door hissing as the pressures equalized, and then Eric wasn’t concerned about the people on the ship or the theory behind Bonding.

Sirens filled the air, the staccato reports of semiautomatic gunfire echoed from all directions, but thankfully somewhat distant. On the northern skyline a dense storm system nursed what was quite obviously a tornado in the middle of New York City, while dark black smoke darkened the morning sky to the east. Looking behind him through the cloaked ship, a brightly glowing yellow ball of something was slowly rising above the city, standing among the skyscrapers like it belonged there.

Michael was standing where he usually stood, waiting for Eric. Gone was the fluorescent Hawaiian shirt, the khakis and loafers. This Michael was wearing urban camouflage and combat boots. There was also no mistaking the Glock holstered on his thigh, illegal in the city, although it was doubtful if even the cops would fault him at that moment.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed, he asked the first thing that came to his mind.

“So this is what happens when you don’t wear one of those shirts?”

“ ... so as near as we can figure, some time around midnight last night, people started ‘waking up’ to the Essence, and it’s been chaos ever since. It’s pretty clear that nobody knows what to make of this, except us. Those of us in this room, as you know, are some of the more powerful Essence carriers in the area, but there’s a lot more out there.” Michael took a sip of water as he briefed Kurana and Eric on what had happened in the last 12 hours. Then he made the glass float back to the table.

“The religious nuts are out in force. The police are completely overwhelmed, the national guard’s been activated. And while it seems that the city experienced these symptoms first, the effect is spreading beyond the United States’ borders. CNN reported outbreaks in London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong ... needless to say, it’s not easily contained. With a little margin for error, it’s reasonable to expect this to cover the globe in about 24 hours.

“Riots in every major city, freak storms, earthquakes, miniature volcanoes popping up in intersections, flooding in places well above the water level, just general mass hysteria ... The mayor was on the tube a little while ago, said something like nineteen thousand deaths had occurred in the five boroughs alone in the last 24 hours. Christ, it’s making 9/11 look like a practice run.

“On the plus side, our team has found it very useful ... Jason took a hit of weed and then spent the next three hours minutes typing furiously on his laptop. Convinced Tim to do the same. He says their code is ‘next level’ ... whatever that means, although I’d be surprised if it wasn’t something extraordinary. That would have been great, but then he started getting silly and juggling fireballs until he slipped and burned Tim, who promptly struck back with some sort of electricity bolt. We had to separate the two of them, they’re sulking in different rooms now, and I’ve mandated no mind-altering substances until we get to the bottom of this, regardless of results.

“Miranda and Jamie are at the build site. They’re fashioning hull pieces. With their minds. The stuff they make is a lot denser than the RRU’s can create, and they do it faster, too. They think they’re pulling the material out of the ocean water.

“I’ve been trying to hold down the fort, but there are just some things I can’t do. The random crazies on the street respect a good dose of telekinesis and for the really cocky ones, displaying a willingness to use my sidearm has kept them under control. That glowing whatever-it-is above the city feels powerful, and I can’t touch it. Same thing with that storm to the north. I just don’t seem to have any talent for that.”

Kurana nodded. “Most of what we’re witnessing are the results of very specific sets of genomes. Usually, these savants are fairly powerless except for one particular skill or trait, but with that skill they are extraordinarily powerful. Weathermongers have been fairly common in the Empire’s history, they are actually bred by the great houses, it’s a very useful ability, especially in agricultural districts. I’ve never heard of an ability to create the sphere though, and honestly, it could be harmless. Even useless.”