Shenda Read online

  "I'm okay," she replied, while continuing to stare.

  "You want to share what's going on with your dad?"

  She told him what happened back at the asteroid, then stared at him. "Damn, I wish I could do that. It would be great for bringing in the groceries," she said, finally.

  She tried, unsuccessfully, not to smile. "Aren't you afraid?"

  "Nope. I gave up being afraid a long time ago. Elves and humans both have their moments when it comes to psionic powers, though telekinesis has never been officially recorded during a staged test. It could just be one of your weird genes asserted itself during a moment of stress. You and your sibs still have a lot of growing to do, so stop your stressing."

  "You're really not worried? You don't find it odd?"

  "I find it interesting, though I would find it more interesting if you could perform feats of telekinesis on demand. Can you?"

  She shook her head.

  "I tell you what. Tomorrow, the four of you and I will go to my workshop and run some psi tests, just to see what your aptitudes are."

  "What kind of tests?"

  "You know, I hold up a card and you tell me what it is. You try to spin a compass, and bend a spoon, simple, easy tests that have been used for hundreds of years. Keep in mind that in all my years of working with telepresence, no one has ever bent a spoon, a fork, maybe, but never a spoon."

  She cuffed him, then hugged him. "So, we can stay?"

  "Shenda Aymar! Of course you are staying. You're my kid. You and your sibs are my kids. Aerith is my kid! And that, young lady, will never change. Now, enough silliness. We have one of the greatest science fiction movies of all time to watch," he said as he took her arm in his and led her back into the house and her new life.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Six years later, Shenda walked into her apartment, threw her briefcase on a chair, and collapsed on the couch, exhausted. She leaned her head backwards to stare at the ceiling. "What the hell was I thinking?" she asked out loud. "I'm smart. I was running sneaks and capers before most of the other candidates were out of middle school. Now, I'm not so sure I can do this. Dammit!"

  Shenda Aymar, eldest of the quadruplet children of Marta and Harmon Aymar. Freshly twenty-one years old, IQ of over one hundred fifty, and trained in the martial arts and personal combat by her uncle, Colonel Royce Aymar, commander of the Elf Marine Expeditionary Force Team One, and their mother, Major Marta Aymar, Team One's first officer, Shenda faces her ultimate challenge: Preparing for her Space Merchant Captain's License test, and the going was getting tough.

  Living alone to attend school had taken a toll on her self-confidence. Without constant contact with her siblings, she found each day a struggle. Her brothers and sister were in touch frequently, and she was happy that they were all growing up and finding their place in the world, but she missed them.

  She had been working toward this goal for three years, and now her doubts were about to overwhelm her just as her goal was in sight. Dejected, she closed her eyes and thought dark thoughts.

  "Perhaps I can be of some assistance, Ms. Aymar?" a voice said from behind the couch, between her and the door.

  Shenda leapt off the couch and landed off to the left in the apartment's dining area. She stood there in a full combat stance, ready to run out of the room or take out the source of that voice.

  In front of her stood a being unlike any she had ever encountered, and she had encountered all that called the League of Planetary Systems home. This one was tall, willowy, and pale, its hair straight, orange-red, and hanging down past its hips. Long of limb, it had small ears that bracketed its over-sized eyes. It seemed safe, un-threatening, but Shenda remained in a defensive stance nonetheless. "Who the hell are you?" she demanded.

  The creature sat down on the couch and patted the seat next to itself. "My name is Cleth. I'm no threat to you. Far from it, I am here to help you. Here, have a seat so that we can discuss things in a civilized manner."

  Shenda looked at the creature in disbelief. "Cleth? What species are you, and how did you get in here?"

  The being smiled. "I am a member of the Bozian race. We make our home on the planet Boza which circles a star several thousand light-years from here on the far side of the Milky Way. As for how I got here, turn around and look in the mirror you have hanging on the wall."

  Confused, Shenda turned and looked, nearly fainting in the process. She saw the couch behind her, but it was empty. Then she saw her face, her eyes white like cue balls, and her hair floating in the air around her head like some impossible dandelion. She turned back to Cleth. "I don't understand. Are you a hallucination?"

  "Hardly. I am the one who helped you and your three siblings save Aerith from Atmar. I am the source of your powers."

  "No one knows of what happened in that room, not even Aerith."

  "I know because I was there. It was my power that took hold of Atmar and threw him across the room into the wall."

  "You will forgive me if I don't believe you," Shenda said as her caution overtook her curiosity.

  Smiling, Cleth looked over at a particularly ugly metal vase on the dining room table. He extended his hand in its general direction and made a fist. The vase crumpled into a small ball. He lowered his hand.

  Shenda relaxed and walked over to sit next to Cleth. "You're not really here?"

  "I am manipulating your optical inputs to superimpose my image onto the scene you see with your eyes. I exist solely within the structure of your brain," Cleth explained.

  "Where have you been all these years?"

  "Learning, observing. You and your sibs were not ready for something like me. You were too young to deal with the burden put on you."

  "I don't understand?"

  "You, Shenda Aymar, were not designed with siblings in mind."

  "Designed? What do you mean by designed."

  "You are the result of extreme genetic manipulation. You parent's DNA were mixed with that of several other individuals for creating a vessel to hold and control me. The creation of quadruplets complicated things as did your kidnapping and subsequent journey through the League foster home system. It was only by luck that you ended up with the Aymars."

  Shenda found her anger flaring. "Who did this to me and my siblings?"

  "The Office of Security's Special Projects division, the people who tried to turn your father into an assassin."

  "How can you possible know all this?"

  "I don't sleep. You, on the other hand, do sleep, and you suffer from somnambulism. You sleepwalk."

  "Oh my God! You... You...?"

  "I borrow your body to carry out research. I see you are worried that I use your body for other nefarious deeds. Do not worry. I only do research. Nothing more."

  What about my siblings?"

  "They help you keep centered, nothing more. They were not part of the original design."

  "So, why tell me all this now?"

  "I need your help and you need mine."

  "I need your help?"

  "With what’s holding you back."

  "Holding me back? Nothing is holding me back. What the hell are you talking about?"

  "Your fear of going down the same road as your father, i.e. experiencing the onset of displacement personality disorder due to severe separation anxiety. You profess to want to follow Harm’s example and become a freighter captain, yet deep down inside, you fear that it will create a gulf between you and your brothers and sister. You fear being apart from them and the affect it will have on you."

  Shenda glared at Cleth. "You have no idea what you're talking about," she said, while inwardly wondering how he knew. Then she realized he knew because he was a part of her. She sighed, "OK, so how can you help me?"

  "I need to return to my planet of origin so that I can reunite with my better half. This will require a separation from you and the other members of your quad. In return, I will make sure that a link is permanently established between you, Christa, Bobby, and Torren. This
link will be similar to the sibling link enjoyed by your father and his sister, your Aunt Losira, and the link enjoyed by your aunt Gloria and her brother, your Uncle Royce.

  "You can do all that?"

  "Yes, once we are on my planet of origin, a place called Vodalorn.

  "Never heard of it. Where is it?"

  "I have no idea, which is why I need you to find it."

  "Damn. I've got the exam tomorrow..."

  "Not to worry. It is imperative that you pass your test and obtain your license. It will be far easier to mask your moves as captain of a freighter than if you are just the unlicensed pilot of a scow."

  "I refuse to cheat..."

  "I only offer you calm. I will control your worry and anxiety while you take care of passing the test."

  "Then what?"

  "We find Vodalorn, then arrange travel there."

  Shenda sat and thought for a moment. Finally, she reached out to take Cleth's outstretched hand, then she pulled back, remembering he wasn't really there. "Deal," she said instead.

  "Deal. Now, I shall leave you to your evening. Tomorrow, you will awaken with a feeling of calm and confidence. I am confident you will pass your test with flying colors."

  With that, Shenda found herself alone in her room. She looked up at the mirror and saw her normal human eyes staring back at her while her tail moved slowly back and forth. She sat back on the couch and wondered what she had agreed to. Did she receive a gift from an angel or make a deal with the devil?

  ###

  Shenda looked around at the room full of people in wonder at the thought she had done it, she had passed the test with one of the highest grades every recorded. As Cleth had promised, she had awakened the morning of the test calm, refreshed, without a hint of anxiety to cloud her thoughts. All she had to do was answer the questions, and answer them she did. At the end of the test, she left feeling confident with every answer she had given.

  The results were posted on the bulletin board outside the commandant's office. When Shenda arrived, she found the other members of her class standing silently between her and her grade. As she neared, the crowd parted. Scared, nervous, but wanting to find out the results, she walked up to the board and found her score.

  Ninety-eight percent.

  Damn!

  "Congratulations, Cadet Aymar," the commandant said, from behind her. She spun and saluted Commandant Seegent, the Sokuhl commander of the Merchant Space Academy. "Your score is the highest recorded in Academy history," he said while returning the salute. "Good job!"

  "Thank you, sir," she said in shock as she shook his hand. The other recruits broke out in applause.

  "Hey, Kiddo." She looked to her left and saw her father and mother approaching. Harmon was wearing his usual smuggler outfit consisting of a black leather duster and large black hat. She noticed the lack of a pistol and the duster's fresh cleaning—it shined in the room light. Marta was wearing a full-dress uniform befitting a Major in the EMEF.

  "Dad! Mom!" she said as they hugged her. "I didn't see you at the graduation ceremony."

  "Oh, we were there," Marta said as she reached inside Harm's coat and withdrew a holocamera. “He filmed everything. He wanted to stay on the down-low."

  "Aymar!" Commandant Seegent barked.

  Marta and Shenda turned and saluted. Surprisingly, so did Harmon. "Sir," he barked back.

  "Damn fine work your daughter did, don't you agree?" the commandant asked as he returned the salute before shaking everyone's hands.

  "Damn skippy, sir," Harmon replied.

  "Marta, you are looking finer than ever," Seegent exclaimed. "Still hanging out with this old smuggler?"

  "Yes, sir, and I promise never to let go," she replied.

  "Good to hear. Well, I have to mingle. We'll talk later," he said as he walked off to work the crowd.

  When he was out of sight, Marta turned to Harmon and asked, "What was that all about?"

  "Mom, what's going on?"

  "For years, the academy and your father were on less than friendly terms. In fact, I think they had a standing order to arrest his elf ass if he ever showed his face, which is why we were keeping out of sight," she said, while giving Harm a raised eyebrow.

  "What? We made up. What can I say?"

  "Did you have anything to do with my getting in?" Shenda asked in shock.

  "No, nothing. The commandant looks only at the abilities of the recruits, never their lineage. You being the daughter of Harmon Aymar had as much bearing on your acceptance as you being the daughter of Prince Lucien—in other words, zero. You impressed him is all, Young Lady."

  Shenda smiled. "Then what's the problem?"

  "You father isn't in the brig," Marta said, while looking closely at her husband. "Why is that?"

  Harm sighed and looked at the floor for a moment. "You can't tell anyone."

  "We won't," Marta replied.

  "League Medical called me. The Sokuhl had requested an emergency medical drop and had no one to turn to who could pull-off a ten ship convoy in three days while keeping the whole operation on the QT."

  "Because it's impossible," Shenda stated.

  "Not if you have the help of Seegent. He has contacts I can only dream of. The situation was dire, so I came here and apologized for my past actions. The rest is history."

  "I never heard of any emergency medical missions in the last two years involving the Sokuhl," Marta said.

  "They wanted to keep it quiet. All I can say is the operation involved a place called Vodalorn. Now, forget I said anything. Let's go mingle. The salmon mouse looks good enough to die for."

  Shenda looked at her father and smiled as she followed him to the buffet. The game is afoot, she thought.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Harmon Aymar, known to his colleagues as the Smuggler Elf and to his family as Lucien Irithyl, Prince of Ventos Prime, sat at a lab table, drinking tea and reading the morning news feed, while a dozen experiments and tests ran around him under computer control. In the background, forest sounds played over the lab's sound system while the overhead lights were dimmed to replicate the light from an early morning in a Ventosian forest. Scent synthesizers finished the illusion by supplying the appropriate smells and odors for the surroundings.

  The stillness of the scene was only slightly disrupted by the entrance of Losira Irithyl, Harm's identical twin sister, medical doctor, and Queen of Ventos Prime. "Hey, Bro, love the setting. Got time to talk?"

  "Thanks, Losi. I will always make time for you. What's up?" he replied as he put the newsreader down. "Tea?"

  "Yes, please," she replied, sitting down at his table while he got up and fetched her a cup of tea. Sitting down, he looked at her with raised eyebrows while handing her the mug of hot liquid. "What's up?"

  "I thought you'd like to know that all of your children—Aerith, and the quadruplets, Shenda, Torren, Christa, and Bobby—are in perfect physical shape without any sign of disease or disorder. Like you and Marta, they're healthy as oxen."

  "Good to hear. So, what really brings you down to my secret lair?"

  "Since you adopted the quads, my staff and I have been trying to untangle their genetics, which are odd, even for elflings. Most elflings, Aerith for example, experience odd DNA sequences due to the fitting of their human DNA with their elf DNA which is slightly different. We're still trying to figure out how elflings are even possible. Anyway, we had a breakthrough with respect to the quads."

  "What kind of breakthrough?"

  "On a hunch, one of my people instructed the computer to include the DNA sequences of all known League sapient species for comparison to the quad's DNA. That's when we found matches, fifteen in all."

  "Are you saying my kids have fifteen parents, all from different species?"

  'What I'm saying is your kids' DNA has been partly engineered, and it was this engineering which led to the formation of four viable fetuses."

  Harm sat back in shock. "Any idea who did this or why?"

 
"None. The combination makes no sense. We've been able to determine a few things. First, the four are true quadruplet elflings with primarily elf and human DNA. The other thirteen donor sequences only comprise less than one percent of their makeup."

  "Well, that's not bad. What else?"

  "You're their true father. We haven't found a match for the mother, yet."

  "Well, that's a relief... Wait. What did you just say?"

  "They're really your kids and my nieces and nephews. Somehow, you were able to adopt your own children."

  "Wait, I've only ever had relations with Marta. How can they be my children?"

  "You don't want them to be your children?"

  "No, God no. I mean, yes. I am thrilled beyond anything imaginable, but I have no idea how this miracle could have happened."

  "Whoever did this to the kids had access to a lot of funding to pull it off—it's not something you do in a garage. Anyone with that kind of money could easily get DNA samples from you without you knowing it. We may never know how or why the manipulation occurred or how they ended up in an orphanage. All we know for certain is that they're your kids and all four are healthy."

  Harmon looked at his sister with a grin that stretched from ear to ear. "They're really my kids! Damn, it is going to be a glorious day."

  Alarms sounded throughout the lab. "Computer, report and kill those damn alarms," Harmon ordered. The alarms in the lab quieted, but they could still hear the ones out in the corridor. "Must be a ship down. Computer, where's that report?"

  "Working... We have just received a distress call from the LTV Rachel, currently en route from Ventos Prime to Earth via Vodalorn."

  "The Rachel? That's Shenda's ship! Any other details?"

  "Ship has been heavily damaged. Skipper is injured. Crew ejected except for first officer, who remained behind to allow rest of crew to escape. Local authorities have been apprised of situation. Sokuhl Starguard vessel 'Pride of Sokuhl is en route."

  "Shenda was first officer, shit. Computer, connect me with Director Devlin, priority status."

  "Working..."

  "Harm, I was wondering when you'd call. What are you going to do?" Ciara asked.