Voices by M J Marlow (most popular novels TXT) 📖

Voices
Jarusian was a colony world that had grown into an
important hub for the sector of space it resided in; mostly because
of its stubborn neutrality. Beyond this fertile world lay the Hazri
Empire within the Neutral Zone that served as a buffer between
Federation space and the Romulan Empire. The northern and
southern regions of Jarusian were all set aside for farms; the
eastern region was for recreation; the western region was filled
with archaeological sites, and the central region was the
governmental seat and education center. The colony had been
under dispute until about thirty-five years ago; the Hazri, who
marketed the strange sound-responsive sona-crystal from the
mountain caverns, had not been pleased to see human colonists
moving in. But they were a practical people; so they agreed readily
to a contract with the humans and continued to market the crystal.
Life settled down after that, but there were still hard feelings in
many minds.
The day dawned like any other day in the planting season.
The farmers were up and about their duties as usual. People in the
city were just beginning to stir to begin their days. In his office in
the City Government building, Governor Natan Dav was waiting
with his best friend Lorn Aken, the Hazri Magistrate. A call had
come in from his daughter. They had been stranded on a mining
colony and they were in trouble. He had contacted the Federation
authorities for assistance and now it was a matter of waiting for
news. When it came it was not good. The entire team had been
found murdered. The only survivor was his six year old
granddaughter Melaura. And I had been so traumatized by what I
had seen that I had blocked it out of my mind completely.
For days I would not speak to anyone. I jumped every time
someone approached me too quickly. Natan gave me into the care
of Grandmother Franka, an old woman in the farming regions
north of the Jarusian capital; who was reputed to have healing
powers. He knew she was a very gifted telepath and empath. She
was also a close family friend. Natan remained with the woman
and I for several weeks as Franka drew me out of the place I had
retreated into and I began to live again. He decided to leave me in
the care of the woman’s son and his wife so that he could devote
time to finding out what had happened on the mining colony.
Nine Years Later
I woke from a restless sleep late one night and went to get a
sedative. I needed to get some sleep and, side effects or not, the
pills would help. I had one out and nearly had it to my mouth,
when I saw my shaking hands. I was actually afraid of going back
to sleep. My guardians had given me a sedative to take after the
first night I had woken up and found myself curled up in the corner
of the closet, whimpering. I had taken it the next two nights, but it
left me groggy and unfocused for most of the next morning and I
did not like that. So the fourth night I had slipped the pill into the
pocket of my robe and lay down to sleep. The event was even more
focused until I could almost see the faces and feel the emotions
associated with what happened. No longer as fearful as I had been
those earlier nights, I put the pill back in the bottle and went to bed
to put on the circlet that had been among the items salvaged from
the crash. It would enhance and record the dream images, the data
files had told me, and let me relive them with a clarity I had never
had before. I had to know what had happened. So I lowered it onto
my head and lay down and closed my eyes. The nightmare was not
long in coming.
The meteor storm had damaged the shuttle and the Solace
could not use its transporters as the ionic interference increased. I
went with my parents and the others into the mines with the
colonists and we waited until the worst of it was over. Papa called
the ship and they told him that they had suffered damage and
needed to go for immediate repairs. He sent them on and we
settled down to wait out the weeks it would take for the Solace to
return for us. The colonists were good people. We had been here
before and I had made friends with some of their children. I ran off
to play; leaving the adults to deal with the situation and everything
was peaceful for a while. But then the explosions started. The other
children and I turned to see fire shooting down from the sky;
destroying buildings. I cried out for my parents with my mind and
felt their fear and their pain. I snuck back and watched as men in
black uniforms appeared out of the air. Transported, I remembered
the term. The colonists were herded away and only my parents and
their people were left. The biggest man said something and Papa
responded. The man slapped him. I ran at him and beat on his leg.
“Don’t you hurt my Papa!” I shrieked in my loudest and
most grown up voice. “You let him alone!”
“Melaura!” Mama cried out in alarm and tried to pull free
of the man holding her arms behind her back. Her eyes went to the
man as he grabbed the back of my shirt and lifted me off my feet
while I kicked and struggled. “Please don’t hurt her!”
“Hurt her? When she’s the reason I’m here?” the man
laughed and turned me so I could see his eyes. Eyes so pale I
thought of ice. In my fanciful child’s mind I was facing the Ice
King and could almost feel the cold coming off of him. “Fierce
little thing, aren’t you, little one? We’ll soon beat that out of you.”
“You hurt my Mama and Papa!” I cried and tried to hurt
him back. “Let them go!”
“Are you going to make me, little one?” the man
responded. I frowned at him; there was something funny about his
voice. He tossed me into the air and I shrieked for another reason
as I was suddenly flying through the air. “Do something with
this!”
A second man caught me and I bit his hand hard enough to
make him cry out. He slapped me and I could see funny lights in
front of my eyes. I could hear Mama begging them not to hurt me
as the man yanked me up. I was all wobbly and I was finding it
hard to use my legs. He carried me away under his arm while I
kicked and screamed for him to let me down and shoved me into
one of the miner’s houses. I heard him doing something to the door
and I beat on it and demanded to be let out.
“You just sit quiet, little one,” the man ordered and beat a
tattoo on the door, making me back into the corner, “and we’ll be
gone real soon.”
This wasn’t right. Those men were hurting my parents and
our friends. I tried to open the door again, crying for them to stop
hurting my friends and their voices sounded really far away. I saw
the window and it was open. I crawled out and made my way back
around so I could see what was happening. My ears were buzzing
so badly now that I couldn’t hear as I made my way. I started
crying. Why was everything sounding so funny now? I was terrified
that my parents and our friends were getting hurt and I could not
help them. I didn’t hear the man coming up behind me as I tried to
think what I could do. He clamped his hand over down my mouth
and carried me back out to the street. I saw them all lying on the
ground; except for Mama and Papa. The man nodded and a knife
sliced into their throats and they dropped. They were all wet with
blood. I shrieked as it sunk into my child’s mind what had
happened.
“She’s immune,” the first man said as the men holding me
opened his knife. “We don’t kill the child. She still has a very
important role to play in our future.”
“You’re not the one she bit,” the man who had caught me
twice muttered. He looked at the teeth marks in his hand. “The
little monster drew blood.”
“Good for her,” the first man smiled, as he nodded to the
third man. He gave me a shot of something that made me feel
really dizzy. “She’s going to be something fierce when she grows
up. I look forward to seeing that.” He cocked his head as
something struck near his feet. He saw the colonists coming at
them, armed. He held me so I could see his icy eyes and I felt cold.
“I’ll be back for you, little one,” he promised before he dropped
me and ran off with his men.
I woke up and looked around my bedroom, frowning as I
remembered every last detail and emotion. This time the images in
the dream had been crystal clear and I was completely confused. I
got my sketchbook out and drew their faces while I could still
remember them; noting every last detail of their clothing and their
manner. I would give it to Magistrate Aken when I arrived in the
capital. My guardians told me it was better to forget what was past
and concentrate on the now; but I had an uneasy feeling that
forgetting was just going to make it harder to deal with what had
happened. I got dressed and went downstairs to find Bekah setting
out breakfast. She nodded towards the dishes she had used to
prepare the meal and I started washing them.
“Aren’t you excited to be going, child?” she said as she
rearranged the settings at her husband’s place so they met his
exacting standards. “You’ll be seeing other worlds now.”
“I am not leaving to ‘sightsee,’ Bekah,” I reminded the
woman. “I am going to be on the medical ship if they accept me.”
“I am sure they will, Laura,” the woman replied. She
nodded as I put the last pot in the washer. “You are exactly the
kind of candidate they look for.”
“I hope you’re right,” I mused as I went to stand beside my
chair. Joris Greyson came into the kitchen. A large, stern-faced
man; he nodded briefly at his wife and me and then sat down. Only
when he was settled did he look at me with his nut-brown eyes.
“You’re looking pensive,” he said simply as he looked over
at me. “What is bothering you, girl?”
“I can’t really put it into words, Joris,” I replied. “I
remembered more about my past last night.” I saw I had his
attention with those words. Joris might be detached, but he loved
and cared far more deeply than most people gave him credit for. I
told him what I remembered from the enhanced dreaming. “Those
men killed my parents and our friends on purpose.” I saw his
patience with me, and knew he shared my fear. “I have to know
why.”
“You’ll speak of it to your grandfather and Magistrate
Aken,” he saw my mind. I could see his worry, but he let me make
the decision for myself. “You’ll be ready to leave by mid-morning
tomorrow, then,” Joris told me. “Moris Tulin will be ready to take