Rivers of Orion by Dana Kelly (a court of thorns and roses ebook free .TXT) 📕

“What do you think humans evolved from?” asked Mike.

Torsha gave it some thought. “It’s not dolphins?”

“No, it’s not dolphins,” said Mike.

“Well, it definitely wasn’t tigers,” she said.

He laughed to himself. “That’s very true.”

“Miguel Santos, were you able to acquire any information regarding the status of our journey?” asked Nimbus. His water tank bubbled as he spoke.

“Some,” said Mike. “From what I overheard, we’re accelerating at 2Gs. The captain’s got the flight data on the bounty hunters, and they’re on an overtake course. Unfortunately, the bridge is still under constant guard. I’d have to hack into a remote station to confirm anything.”

“I can interface directly with this chamber’s security lock and gain access to the starship’s navigation modules,” said Nimbus.

“Thanks for the offer, but the answer is no.” Mike unwrapped a meal bar and bit down. “The Falcon military network is crawling with red ICE. If you tried to hack through that, it could kill you.” He moved a plastic cup close to Nimbus.

“I am grateful for the warning. Direct interaction with a reduction-cycle intrusion countermeasure executable certainly has the potential to be fatal,” said Nimbus. Water flowed into the cup from the cooler’s nozzle.

Mike took a long pull. “I’ll figure something out.”

“If I do the recon, you wouldn’t have to hack into anything,” said Torsha.

“Not if they catch you,” said Mike.

“I can hold my own,” said Torsha.

“For a while, sure, but there are more than three-hundred people aboard this ship. Some of them are Falcon’s best, and they have guns.” Mike set down his food and drink, hoisting himself up onto the bin. “No, there’s a lot less at stake if I do the recon.”

“Yeah, I guess,” said Torsha. “Hey, how come you never joined up? I thought Falcon made everyone serve two years straight out of high school, royalty or not.”

Mike tapped the back of his head. “Because of my injury. With all this hardware, the military won’t touch me. My recruitment officer said I could join the star navy reserve if I had it removed, but my doctor won’t sign off on it.”

“After the miracles she worked putting you back together, I don’t blame her,” said Torsha. “If I was her, there’s no way I’d let you dive headfirst into that meat grinder.”

Mike looked at her sideways. “Meat grinder? Falcon’s not involved in any active conflicts.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Torsha crossed her arms and leaned against the bin. “They take good, loving people and grind ‘em up, till there’s nothing left.”

Mike scooted over and rested his hand on Torsha’s shoulder. “I’m sorry about your dad.”

“Why? I’m not.” She wiped at her eyes. “He’s a stupid space marine, so you know he’s not sorry.” A tear dropped from her cheek. “For anything.” Torsha passed Nimbus her cup, and he poured. “How much longer are we stuck in here, anyway?”

“Torsha Madagan, it is impossible to accurately estimate without additional data,” said Nimbus.

“Maybe another week,” said Mike. “Maybe two.”

Torsha groaned, opened a meal bar, and plopped down on the deck. “I should’ve stayed home.”

◆◆◆

Aboard Watchtower, a chime sounded from Orin’s door. The lock indicator turned green, and the door swung slowly inside. Overhead passageway lights shone garishly upon Orin’s back, diagonal blades that cut through the gentle darkness of his quarters. He breathed evenly.

April set a square, tin plate on the nearby desk. She placed a water pouch beside it. Steam rolled from a mound of scrambled eggs and breakfast sausage. She watched Orin for a moment before closing her eyes and extending her consciousness toward him.

Like an electric shock, she touched the surface of his dreaming mind. Suddenly, April found herself standing upon a black stage of inestimable scale. Glowing wisps winked at her from the wings. They’re studying me, she thought. A dozen motes of light floated in the air, then hundreds more, and then thousands. “Hello!” she called out, and the luminous particles rushed toward her like a surging stream. They’re stars, she thought. No, they’re galaxies!

They encircled her, dancing, and they joyously buoyed her higher and higher still, until the stage vanished completely. The music of the cosmos filled her senses. Spinning her playfully, they sent her hurtling through the void, cradling her as they gently pulled her back down. She couldn’t help but laugh.

A voice thundered, “April!”

In the first instant that followed, she didn’t know who or what an April was. In the next, she knew every word for it in every language, and what it meant to every intelligence everywhere, for whom it held meaning. She lost herself in rivers of light and significance.

“April!” shouted Orin, and she crashed back into the physical world. She was lying on her back now, flat on the deck. He hunched over her, propping her head under a pillow.

“What… what happened?” she asked.

“You’re more than a telepath!” His eyes were bright with wonder.

“I’m really not.”

He stepped back, grinning. “Well, when I woke up, you were just hovering there in the doorway!”

“That’s amazing,” she breathed, and she sat up slowly. “I didn’t do it, though, I assure you.” She shifted slightly and returned Orin’s pillow to his bed.

He held up his hands. “No fire. None, so it couldn’t have been me. April, it had to be you!”

“I’m a telepath, not a kinetic, or a waveformer. It’s literally impossible for me to have hovered in place by my own doing.” She got to her feet. “Your dreaming mind must have caused me to hover while I was in there. It persisted into your waking state, but without your focus, it could only last a moment.”

“My focus?”

“Your blue flame,” she said. “It’s a reflexive manifestation that helps you visualize and channel your powers in the primary world, but it’s not necessary to use your powers. In fact, most binaries outgrow the need for a focus, given enough time and practice.”

“Wait.” Orin shoved his hands in his pockets. “You were inside my head?”

“I was!” April smiled excitedly.

“Without asking?”

“I didn’t even do anything differently,” said April. “It was as if your mind