Galaxy's End: Book One by LeRoy Clary (pdf ebook reader txt) 📕

“You’ll protect me,” he said slyly.

“Let me tell you about that,” I answered in the same tone. “We are going to drop out of the wormhole at a nexus in the middle of nowhere. The only thing there is a military base where they are building warships.”

He looked puzzled.

I continued, “You see, two ships that belong to the group that hired you, are right behind us. They will drop into normal space when we do, not expecting to be surrounded by a fleet of warships.”

“Why would you do that?” he said as he sat up.

“All three ships will either be captured or destroyed. We’ll exit with our radio begging for help and protection. We’ll tell them those two ships followed us within the wormhole, so they have technology aboard that can change the course of their war.”

He settled back. “They will want to take you, prisoner, not destroy the ships.”

“Take us, prisoner. That includes you. We won’t hide what you did. It is a military outpost. Killing your captain is a major crime, I’d think.”

That sly smile came again. “So, you’re here to bargain with me?”

“Nope.”

The smile faded.

I said, “Chance, I just thought I should tell you the truth and we can all see where that goes. We might not have a say. Or we might. I came for a different reason.”

“What?”

“You, Captain Stone, and I share empathic abilities. We all have family on Prager Four. We might even be related because the population there is so small. Have you thought about that?”

He shook his head.

“For me, I believe I left Prager Four when I was a small child. I have no idea of who my parents were, or what happened to them. All I know is that I grew up by myself on Roma and that I have a little empathic ability. I have been too scared to use it, had no way to learn, and I’m here as one empath asking another for help.”

“No deal?”

“Oh, I could promise you to escape, but we both know when the military comes aboard, assuming they do not destroy us, all bets are off. But if that’s what it takes to get you to help me understand, I’ll promise to try and keep you alive.”

He closed his eyes and said nothing for a long time, then his eyes opened, and he said, “Would you promise to contact my people and tell them what you can?”

I nodded. Captain Stone had already mentioned she wanted to visit Prager Four and do some research. Contacting his family was a natural avenue for us to travel. “No matter how this comes out, or what information you do or do not give to me, if you provide me with the contact information, I’ll be sure they get it.”

“What do you want to know?”

“How to use the power. The distance. What makes it work better? How can I mask my contacts? How much can I change in a person’s mind?”

He chuckled. “I know only a little. I believe you’re already perceptive enough to understand most—at least, what I know. But I’m game.”

I said, “Okay, I understand a little. For instance, I know that I can’t make people do what they don’t want to.”

“Not true,” he said flatly as he shook his head.

That stunned me. My mouth fell open, but no words came forth.

He saw my response and continued, “Think about this: a man was bitten by a tensi-spider from Radnor as a young man, no he was attacked by dozens of them. They pinned him to the ground and devoured his left leg, which took three days and nights. They started on his right hand when he was rescued, and all the spiders were killed. He still dreams of them. The sight of a silk web sets him shaking in fear.”

“I’m thinking I am scared of tensi-spiders.”

“Yes. Now, suppose you know this man’s fear and you want him to place all his money in a bag and hand it to you—or else you will open the container in your hand and release five tensi-spiders. He may not want to give you his money, but he will.”

Damn. I’d never thought of such a thing.

Chance said, “No, I’ve never done that, but I have convinced people to do something they might not normally do. That was just an extreme example.”

A good example. No, a bad one because even though I didn’t know what a tensi-spider was, I instinctively understood what he was telling me about empathy, although taken in the light of the story he’d told, empathy seemed the wrong name for a power that could be used in such a devious manner.

 Instead of responding to his partial apology, I allowed my mind to consider what he’d told me. No wonder people were so afraid of us. In the past, there had probably been individuals who had done such things and maybe worse.

An idea formed. Without thinking it through, I asked, “Does empathy work on other races?”

He shook his head. Then he relented and nodded slightly. “Maybe. But only within their races, I think. Mine works with humans but not others. I can tell you that for a fact, but not that yours won’t work on others—or which ones it will work on.”

“You’re talking in circles.”

“There are not places where they teach this stuff. It’s all gathered as life goes on, from rumors, hints, lies, newscasts, street corners, and strangers. I’m guessing. I suspect it is just within our race and I’ve never heard of it in another. Not a great answer but all I have.”

“There are a lot of different races,” I muttered more to myself than for his ears.

“There’s your problem with your question, Kat.”

I looked at him in confusion.

He sighed and said, “We