Meltdown Ophilion - Book One

26_TENSION

Fel looked over at the Regalan. "Jenna?" he asked, then paused as if reconsidering his question; but it was too late, everyone was watching him now. "Do you think that the agents will choose us to be relays too?" He indicated to Orion.

Orion was glad Fel had asked; he had the same question but was too self-conscious to put it into words.

"You have been chosen by the agents," Jenna replied without hesitation. "You have pendants with your names on them. Among the Regala I am the only one who has one of these, but it's the same as yours. We were chosen – all four of us, that much is clear. Whether you will be relays, I don't know, but that's not the goal, just a means – a tool.

"The way my people understand it is that when we do what we have the power to do, we receive assistance, and that multiplies as we proceed. That's the way it's worked for three-hundred cenro. That's why the Merenthaal came to help us in the first place. And even though we don't understand a lot about them, we are grateful. I don't think we would even be successful as the Regala without their intervention."

Celli felt reassured after hearing Jenna's explanation. She would move forward gradually and try to adjust to these changes and see where they would take her.

Celli's episode had distracted them but now they turned their thoughts back to their present condition in the asteroid belt. The time of the summons had come and gone and they were alone. The agents had not attempted to contact them by means of relay and there were no further instructions or clues. They had no path forward. Their only option was to return to the surface - to Portos-Caas - and take Menaro to a med-center.

They sat quietly looking out the windows of the command deck hoping for a signal. All was peaceful and very quiet.

Celli decided to make use of the mental abilities Jenna said she had. She didn't fully accept Jenna's explanation yet, but in this place, forty thousand CTs away from their planet's surface, in the middle of hex-pirate territory, she was willing to give it a try.

She breathed deeply and attempted to project her thoughts in order to feel whatever was out there, or whether she could sense the mind of an agent. The others noticed her and watched in silence, hoping that she would be able to tell them something.

She spent a full minute in concentration. "They're here," she said quietly, in that same faraway voice she used in the forest before they found the sphere, "they're here...waiting for us." She nodded. The look on her face became serene. "I can feel it." She waited half a minute, just sensing; endeavoring to see with her mind what was invisible to her eyes. But beyond the feeling there was nothing; no words, no relay. She looked around at her comrades. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't hear anything. Did you Jenna?"

"No," Jenna replied, shaking her head. "But I have never tried doing what you just did – projecting to sense something like that. Maybe I should try; but I don't think I would sense more than you did just now."

They waited for more ideas.

"Celli," Fel said, "what did you mean when you said that they were already here? You mean... already on the asteroid?"

Celli tried to relive the feeling. "Actually... yes, I think that's what I felt. I know it sounds crazy because there is nothing on the scanner, but... yes I think they are here."

"Who did you feel?" Orion asked. "Merenthaal agents?"

"Yes, I think that's what it was." She looked at them with wide eyes. "But I'm not sure. It was a strong impression." She looked to Jenna. "What do you think?"

Jenna took a deep breath. "I don't know why they would have us come out here to meet them, but... yes, I think you could be right. They can operate in the First Dimension, that means they can be invisible and undetectable to us in our dimension - the Second Dimension." She looked at Celli. "Unless we use methods like the one you just did." Jenna looked over the floor of the crater from one side to the other. "At this point I wouldn't really be surprised at anything."