Nova's Yaara Page 3
Exhausted, I fall asleep, but what seems like moments later, I'm awoken by my comm’s buzzer. I glance at the time and realize that it's late evening and that I've slept for almost fourteen hours. Grudgingly, I press the comm’s answering button and see Jorn’s ghostly pale face. “How Ya doin’, love?” he asks me. “Peachy” I grumble. I’m about to bark at him to stop calling me ‘Love’, a habit he’d developed recently, and inexplicably rubs me the wrong way, but I immediately remember how worried I was about him not long ago, and my heart softens. “Sorry, Jorn, I'm not very good company right now”. I apologize. “You're really pale” I add to change the subject. “Ain't that the pot calling the kettle” he says in a weird accent he probably picked up from old clips, and blows me a kiss through the screen. “How long will you stay with your parents?” I ask, not knowing which answer I'm hoping for. He shrugs and answers “it depends, are you up for a roommate?” He sees I'm hesitant and says “take all the time you need, Love. I'll stay here, and if my parents will kick me out, I can always bunk with Lorivahl” he smirks. “Sure” I reply absently and hang up. A second later he calls again “you hung up on me, but that's alright. Just wanted to say that I really do love you” and this time, he hangs up on me before I can catch my breath. I feel lost. I try to convince myself that he meant that he loves me the same way that I love him, as my best friend, but I'm not so sure. I'll think about it tomorrow, I echo something I've heard somewhere, and go back to sleep.
When I wake up, I request my usual breakfast from the RM, and eat my scrambled eggs and a protein shake while sitting on my bed. I take a quick shower, and put on a hint of blue eyeliner that makes my eyes pop, because I know in my heart that Orin is around somewhere, and one never knows when I might bump into his presumably broad and sexy chest. I spend the day at the History Department, this time choosing to read about Nova’s first century again. I’m so grateful for their sacrifices, that I made a habit of reading those files once in a while - my own little remembrance ceremony. Those days were hard on everyone, though I wish I could have been there to watch the thirty one remaining giant spaceships, each shaped like half a citrus segment, when they finally left the Solar System and maneuvered to join together to form the big sphere that Nova is today. I’m sure it was a sight to behold! I find myself daydreaming, imagining the excitement, the beginning of shared life with people you’ve never met, without even the many conveniences that Nova scientists developed over the years, and I’m almost late for my appointment with Ayesha.
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The last two wars, The Religious Wars, were the final driving force that led to the actualization of an idea which was the brainchild of multi-billionaire Jes Amirian. During the first war, Jes, who declared himself an atheist and had no stake in any of the belligerent factions, was horrified by what was becoming of his home world, and began planning an outlandish venture to gather every scientist who was of same mind as himself, and leave Earth altogether. It started as a dream, but as the global madness and destruction continued, he became obsessed. Jes was very charismatic, and was able to recruit nine other like-minded billionaires whose money funded the most ambitious enterprise ever taken on by humans. A fleet of thirty two ships was built in orbit around the moon, and less than twenty years later, one year after the Second Religious War broke, shuttles from all over the planet delivered the scientists, as well as a group of select secular military professionals, and the funding parties who later became known as the founders, to their ships, and took off towards their unknown future.
Seventy six years later, when the fleet had finally left the Solar System behind, they began the colossal task of maneuvering thirty one ships to form a sphere. It took almost two hundred days and most of the fleet’s workforce to finish the undertaking without a single casualty. The only deviation from Jes’s original design was the missing section where ship number 8 should have been. Thus, the third Novan holiday was declared on 77.7.12 as Terra Nova Day.
(From The Jes Amirian Files)
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The physician attaches various electrodes to me, gives me headphones to put on, shines lights in my eyes, and generally renews the poking and prodding. I hear a series of peculiar noises come through the headphones and stare at nothing in particular while she and one of her staff check a myriad of screens in front of them.
Suddenly the noises become coherent words. It's not one of the languages I’ve heard before in the HisDep, but I definitely understand it. “36,592” I answer out loud. “What was that?” wonders Ayesha, and I mumble absently “you asked me how much is 285,637,152 divided by 7,806”. She returns to her screens, enters something on her wrist comm, and continues silently. After a while she pulls up a chair and sits in front of me, removes the electrodes and headphones, and takes my hand. “We want to run some more tests under light anesthesia. Nothing invasive, but we do need your brain to be free of any distractions. We'll begin now; you'll sleep here tonight while we take some more scans”. I feel my heart rate rising but moments later I get drowsy and I wake up the following morning surrounded by some very notable people, as well as my parents. That alone would have given me a coronary, had I not been sedated.
“We need to test her, to examine her full capability” rumbles General Dahvit whom I recognize from the last two Remembrance Days’ ceremonies. “Or we can wait and see where this takes her” my father objects softly. “The MedDep cannot find anything wrong with her, she's not yet twenty, let's just let her be a teenager” he adds calmly. There is a hushed argument that goes on for a few minutes until I raise my voice “SHE is right here and if you tell me what's going on, I can make an informed decision for myself!” To my astonishment, it's the head of the Force who says “Quite right” and pats my hand appeasingly.
Ayesha makes her way through the group, holds my hand, something I already recognize as preceding bad news, and says “your brain's functions are still rising steeply. We cannot find anything physically wrong, nor what's causing it, but it worries me. We don't know if there will be adverse effects, if there is a limit to how much your ability can grow, nor what happens if you reach such a limit. I would like you to stay here under observation until we know more”. I glance at my parents; my mother nodding in agreement, while my father shakes his head emphatically “I believe that you need to go about your life as before, make the most of your last responsibility-free months, and see where this new development takes you”. I wait for General Dahvit to present his arguments, but he just looks at me silently. Several other department heads weigh in but my eyes are fixed on Dahvit, wondering why he refrains from influencing me, or worse, issuing a command. Finally, the room goes quiet and all eyes are on me. For the first time in my life, I don’t feel the need to step back and sort my thoughts. Rather than having the usual slew of simultaneous emotions and ideas ricocheting in my mind, I see every aspect clearly and objectively. Furthermore, I can instantly envision my future for every potential path I might take, yet I turn to face the wall, close my eyes and say “I need to think. Please leave now.” It's just an excuse, of course, but I simply want to be alone. Finally by myself, I think about my parents’ opposing views; staying indefinitely in sick bay as a bedridden person is out of the question though I know it means that Meenah will be constantly worried. However, going on with my life, rotations and parties, feels so trivial and unappealing now, childish even, therefore I can't agree with Deelahn either - there is a new, unfamiliar sensation whirling inside me, relentlessly pushing me forward. I stare at the ceiling in the darkness of my unit, still attached to several apparatus that I'm surprised to realize I now know exactly how they work, and what they do; I sit on my bed to look at the readouts on the screen, and everything makes sense. Wow, I think as I lie back, this is awesome! I spend the rest of the day devouring books on my comm, and learning three of Earth’s languages just because… I’m not really sure why, possibly to prove to myself that I can; I now know the origin of many Novan words. When night time arrives, I
close my eyes and instantly feel the same shadow that I felt the night I was injured, hovering above me. For a second I think it might be Orin which causes my heart to leap excitedly and I jump out of bed, instantly being overcome by a wave of dizziness and having to grab the cool metal frame. As I look up, there is nothing there except the dimmed sickbay lights. Something is off, it's definitely not Orin! His presence felt warm, comforting... An uneasy, cold sensation pervades through my body as I crawl back to bed and try to keep my eyes peeled. I'm terrified that the shadow will return.
It's bigger than you, the shadow hisses dispassionately from within my bones. It's time for our children to return home. I created you! It is your destiny!
I wake up covered in cold sweat, shivering, my convulsed fingers clutching the damp sheets. I hear my monitor going off in alarm and in seconds I'm surrounded by the night staff. “It was just a dream” I mumble, “can you give me something to keep me awake?” I ask hopefully however the physician shakes his head, saying “no, but we can give you something that will prevent you from dreaming for one night. Would you like that?” he strokes my damp hair from my forehead. I know it wasn't really a dream and I'm terrified that if it happens again I won't be able to wake myself. I need to remain lucid, I decide, so I thank him but refuse. “I need to blow off some steam” I tell him “can you please disconnect me so I can go to one of the holohalls?” “I don't think it's a good idea” he says kindly. “Am I a prisoner here?” I ask aggravated. “No, of course not, but…” “so either you disconnect me or I will have to tear off everything, because I'm leaving!” Listening to my aggressive, rude even, voice, is so bizarre. It's so unlike me - I’d never been the rebellious teenager, had always talked with respect to everyone, yet here I am… The physician cocks his head, pats my hand and disconnects me reluctantly. As soon as I'm free, I run out of sickbay before remorse overcomes me. Since it's the middle of the night, there is no one at the holohalls center when I enter. I choose one of the small, one person units, select a racquetball setting, and lock the door behind me - I don't want to be interrupted. I start playing against a virtual player, however my sickbay gown prevents me from taking long steps, thus interfering with my intense game. Without thinking, I take it off and throw it in the corner. I'm surprised that my left arm is completely healed and feels as strong as my right; I can barely detect remnants of delicate scars. In fact, I notice that I'm much faster, powerful and have more endurance than ever before. I've been playing for quite a while now, yet not a drop of sweat and my breathing is even and controlled. “I wonder if it has to do with my enhanced brain” I mumble to myself, and nearly jump out of my skin when a warm, somewhat amused voice answers “probably”. I feel a little self conscious when I remember that I have nothing on and pull a towel in front of me. "I'm sorry for barging in uninvited,, though I'm happy to see your arm has healed so fast” he smiles and I recognize those perfect teeth; Orin. My heart starts racing in my chest. “What are you doing here? How did you get in???” I try to sound indignant to cover my thrill. “How's your knee?” he ignores my outburst, and in a flash I realize that he has the exact same unbelievably green eyes as the medic. Ugh, I groan inwardly. It's the same guy. Now I'm torn between Orin, my new crush, and Orin, the condescending jerk. “How did you get in here?” I repeat. “I locked the unit behind me” I decide that outrage is the way to go for now. “Just making sure you're safe” he disregards my inquiry. He really is the most beautiful man I've ever seen, I muse and quickly admonish myself for my shallowness. “Why wouldn't I be?” I ask curiously. “Oh, I've noticed some shadows around you” he mutters. My skin prickles in goosebumps. Could he be referring to the shadow that entered my dream and frightened me half to death?! “What do you mean?” I ask, but he's already gone. I don't know whether to hope he's a hallucination or not, drop the towel and just stand there, pondering his words, until I hear Edana’s worried voice coming from outside the door. “Are you okay, sweetie? They were looking for you in our pod… said you should have been back from the holohall hours ago!” Hours? I wonder, that can't be right. “I'm fine, just needed some time alone” I say as I pick up the towel and put the gown back on. I unlock the door and am instantly greeted by her arms around me and a sigh of relief. “You had us worried” she comments lovingly. “Come on, I'll walk you back to sickbay”. “Not going back there” I say dryly and add “I didn't mean to stay that long. Sorry you were worried”. She suddenly looks so young to me. I glance at my reflection on the holohall screen, and see that I look just as young as she does, but I feel older. Much older.
We return to our pod, I take a shower and change into a pair of boxers and a worn out cropped shirt that began its life as a five year old’s garment. That was the shirt that Deelahn prepared for me on Advancement Day when I started First School. I couldn't let go of it for sentimental reasons, and never returned it to the RM. By the time I'm ready for bed, Jorn is already waiting in my alcove. We haven't seen each other since that fateful night, but honestly, I didn't have the presence of mind to miss him. We hug, yet I know something has changed between us. “Listen” he opens as he sits on my bed and pulls me onto his lap. “I’m sorry I put you on the spot the other day… it's just that I had all that time on my hands at my parents’ pod and all I could think of was you. I really do love you, but that's my problem, not yours... just know that I'll always be here for you…” I kiss his forehead, turn to face him so I can look into his eyes and say “I’ll miss you so much”. Tears that have been pent up since this episode began, flow freely down my cheeks - drops of sorrow, stress, self pity - all come down in a maelstrom of emotions. Jorn hugs me close and waits out my outburst. His hand caressing under my shirt, up and down my back in a calming motion. Finally, I run out of tears, take a deep breath and a sense of catharsis envelopes me. “What will I do without you” I whisper against his soft hair. “You'll never have to find out” he smiles “because I'm not going anywhere, I'll be right here whenever you need me. For anything” he adds smirking mischievously and groping my bottom in jest. A wave of relief washes over me.; the status quo has been restored to our relationship. I feel guilty because he deserves someone that would love him completely, in every way, but I can't give him up. Not yet. Yes, I know I'm being selfish I rebuke my criticizing self. Now hush!!! I pull him down to my bed, no longer the palatial bunk we had before. He lies on top of me, pulls my clothes off and starts kissing me. Gently at first, his lips light as feathers, and gradually more and more intensely. I moan lightly, and try to undress him, but he grabs both my arms with his hands above my head and whispers into my mouth “Nope. This is your penance...” uncontrolled laughter bursts out of my throat and into his lips, but I contently remain his prisoner.
When we're both finally exhausted, we fall asleep on my tiny bed, Jorn spooning my back and that's how we wake up around noon. I try to sneak out of bed to surprise him, but he hugs me tight and murmurs groggily “where are you going?” “To dismantle the partition” I answer “this time it's going securely under the bed! Get up and help me” I throw his pants at him. We spend the day in bed, both free of any duties, him because he’s still recuperating and me… no one really knows what to do with me and I've still got to figure out the new situation on my own. I lie across the double bed that we've rearranged, my head on his abdomen, my ear grazing his pronounced ribs and I say “I've decided to join the PDF”. He pats my head as if I'm slow witted and says absently “I know, love. We all are, next Advancement Day” I notice that I no longer cringe at his pet name for me; in fact it makes me feel warm and, well… loved. I also realize that he isn't aware of all that has happened to me. I decide to tell him a watered down version, the same one I told the other three, about a somewhat enhanced brain activity. “So you see, I can't just hang around for five months. I want to understand what has happened to me and I believe that the PDF will be able to help me” I end meekly. He gently rolls from under my head, and crawls on all four to lie on his side next to me. He stares int
o my eyes while his fingers play with the short hair on my nape. “Is this goodbye for us?” he asks quietly. “Of course not” I stroke his slender, graceful neck with my thumb. “Keep our bed warm for me, they do let us come back to civilization occasionally” then I rethink what I've just said and add “on second thought, it isn't fair to ask you to wait for me. If you want someone, go for it. You deserve it, really. Just… let me know when you do - I want to be happy for y…” he shuts me up with a kiss. “I'm serious” I whisper into his lips, and for some inexplicable reason, I feel homesick.
Chapter 2 - The PDF
395.5.1 NT
I enter General Dahvit’s office, unsure whether I'm doing the right thing. However, all my other options appeal to me even less. I'm stunned to learn that he left a standing order to let me into his office the minute I arrive. “I knew you'd make the right choice” he smiles at me and holds out his hand to shake mine. His tall stature has a commanding presence, though not unfriendly. I notice that his short curly black hair has a hint of gray which adds a somewhat grandfatherly appearance. “Please, sit down. We have a lot to discuss” he holds out a chair for me, takes his place behind his desk and waits patiently for me to start talking. “I know what to expect if I choose one of my other options, however, I'm not sure what my future will look like if I join the PDF” I say plainly. “Straight to the point. I like that. As you know, the PDF’s duty is not only to make sure everything on Nova runs smoothly with no undue interruptions, but also to train relentlessly towards a day that we might meet hostile entities. We don't know if such a day will ever come, mind you. Nevertheless, we do not only train, we’re also vigilant in our pursuit of better defensive and counter attack capabilities for Nova. I believe that you are uniquely qualified, not only because you somehow developed these extraordinary abilities, but right now, you are also free of preconceptions and biases”. “You want me to develop weapons?” I ask incredulously. “I want you to think out of the box” he grins. “You would, of course, have to volunteer to join the Force before your twentieth advancement. If you agree, we will fast-track you through all our units, this way you'll have a clear picture of what each one does, and what might be their hypothetical needs in order for them to be as ready as possible for the unknown”. I smile inwardly; my ulterior motive for choosing the Force over other options, was to learn as much as possible about defending myself and my people. I'm convinced that both Orin and the shadow want something from me, and I'm putting my boxing gloves on!