Split Between Stars

Comets

"No no no. No way. Vlad said you're not supposed to be in zero grav for at least another day," a tall Halpha boy said sternly. Danny knew this boy had introduced himself earlier, but he couldn't remember his name in the tangle of Halpha names he had heard. He stood squarely in front of the zero grav doors, arms folded stubbornly.

"But I feel fine!" Danny insisted. "Come on, how's he going to know?"

The boy gave him a sly smile.

"He's the one who trains us."

"What? How does that work?" Danny asked.

The boy pointed up a staircase nearby.

"Here. Go up those stairs and down the hall until you see the windows. You can watch the training session and see for yourself. Some of the others are probably already up there. Not all of them are allowed to go to training yet."

"So I'm supposed to be their babysitter?" Danny clarified glumly.

"Don't worry! You'll get your chance in there soon. But I gotta agree with Vlad on this one. You still don't look so good."

Danny slumped up the stairs, hands in his pockets. In all honesty, he still felt vaguely like he might throw up. But the chance to go into zero gravity was still almost too tempting to stand. He followed the boy's instructions, going up the stairs and down the hall. Sure enough, three young Halphas stood clustered around the wide windows looking into the training room.

D'yani was among them. She bounced forward and dragged him toward the windows.

"Check it out!" she said excitedly, pointing down into the sealed chamber.

Danny peered through the window. Five teenagers were spread out on the distant floor, many of them stretching and talking to each other. All of them were wearing tight, long sleeved shirts and pants along with protective shin guards and arm braces.

Vlad stood in the center of the group. He was holding something small and green in his hand. As Danny squinted to see what it was, the lights in the training room dimmed and all the Halphas stopped what they were doing. As Danny looked on in confusion, Vlad tipped the thing in his hand into his mouth. 

The gravity shut off, the group began to float, and Vlad transformed before Danny's eyes. His silver hair began to glow white, his skin shifting to a pale greenish blue. From this distance it was hard to tell, but Danny almost thought he saw Vlad's very muscles structure begin to change, becoming more lithe and streamlined. It was almost like...

"Is he some sort of shapeshifter?" Danny asked, awestruck as the training session began. 

"Kind of," D'yani shrugged. "He says he's a kind of alien called a Plasmus. If he has another alien's blood to drink, he can morph his DNA to mimic it. In training sessions, he usually takes a sample of our blood to help us learn how to use our powers. Some days he uses different species for variety."

"Ewwww. He drinks blood? I knew that guy looked like a vampire."

Bolts of green light began to fly through the zero grav chamber, illuminating the scene. Halphas were floating in the empty space, using their bursts of energy to direct their flight and aim at Vlad and the army of drones. It looked stressful, almost deadly. 

But as a Halpha girl shot past the observation window, Danny saw an unmistakable smile on her face. Every alien in the room now had a full head of radiant white hair as they darted and weaved around each other. 

"How does this work? They're all glowing, but look like they're having fun. I've only ever used my powers when I've been scared or freaked out!" Danny exclaimed.

"It's because you haven't learned to control them yet," D'yani explained patiently. "Vlad says eventually you can use your powers at will, unconnected to your emotions. Though-" she admitted, "they still seem to be stronger when you're feeling a lot of adrenaline."

Danny leaned against the window, watching his fellow Halphas soaring like glowing comets. He still didn't know a lot about this place. But he knew that he wanted to learn.