Episode #1 - "Torn": Star Chasers (Volume 1) (11 page)

    
They arrived at a minuscule chamber lacking even simple elaborations. The plain walls were smooth and metallic like the ceiling and floor. The room held only a single, long-legged couch with a declined back and upturned seat where knees would be. Ty was disappointed and confused.

    
Sit...

    
Ty sat.

    
Close your eyes for a moment, linger only until your windows are clear and all are open...

    
Ty closed his eyes with a wide yawn. He was slow to return his lids, feeling a sense of relaxation sweep over him. He opened his eyes, and immediately his disappointment waned. He understood the emptiness. His thoughts began spiraling and unfolding, but at once he was overwhelmed, seeking to retreat inward.

    
Through the six, you can call to mind any of them that you wish. Yet as you see, taking in all at once is a feat not easily attained. He would split them thus, as I will show you, doing so once more still after he had fully settled in. Twenty-two viewports in all, with three times as many satellites. Paliy 3 has five moons of its own, though not all had that many. He kept two free at all times, but the others remained constant only varying in positioning.

    
Ty sought to close his eyes, but his mind was so enraptured, he could not even hope to look away. Images dazzled above, beneath, to the right and left, forward and back. His head spun around to follow them, but he could not keep track. Soon he was dizzy and sick. The shapes and figures twisted and merged, wavering all around. His head whirled faster and faster, round and round. His eyes spun all over.

    
Ty saw planets from a distance then up close their surfaces, orbits, and rotations, in a blinding blur of frenzied pictures, even long after Paliy had blanked out the holos and all was still and black. His mind continued to spin and thrash as he attempted to assimilate everything. The flashes wouldn’t stop, and he couldn’t drive them away.

    
Ty! Listen to me close, and listen very well! You have to stop them, they will not end, until you push them away! Ty...
Paliy’s thoughts grew grim and dark as he thrust his presence on Ty.
Ty, push them away! Push them away! Push them away! NOW!

    
Hearing the pleas, he couldn’t adhere to their wishes. He wanted to see more, he wanted to see it all, yet it was carrying him away with it.

    
Now do you understand Ty? Do you understand? The depths, the agony of it, the levels of power it takes. It was just too much for most, and none found the benefits here that he did. You could split it, but it would not be the same. And who would want the chance of a rival at the door? There is always respect, always. And yet now there are some who could... and much, much more... No, alas, you are not ready for this... PUSH IT OUT, TY! Find the darkness and solace in it!

    
For a brief, brilliant moment, Ty found absolute clarity. He saw it all; he was it all. Then a hollow point of black found its way into his mind, and he readily leapt toward it, searching for a way to embrace the emptiness. Once he found it, all thought stopped, and the instant cessation ripped Ty’s mind asunder. All faded to darkness, and it would be two days before Ty regained consciousness.

    
Shilastar never knew what had happened, and it was never discussed. She cared for Ty over the ensuing days, biting back the bitterness of her earlier words to him. Paliy mostly left her alone with Ty, finding them only at appointed times counted as the three repasts of the day. Her time was consumed caring for Ty, who appeared to be wrought with fever.

    
Ty smiled as he awoke to Shilastar caressing his brow. A day and a night followed before Ty returned to strength. He and Shilastar sat at a table just after supper, staring at the holo before them.
Solferino,
thought Ty, lost in his own contemplation.

    
“Ty, I have been thinking it’s time to move on. We are getting no help, and I really don’t like it here. I want to be as far away as possible... Can we leave soon? Will you be okay to travel? Can you endure the burden of transporting two again?”

    
Not two, twenty-two,
thought Ty. “Yes, I think it is time we said our goodbyes.”

    
“Where is he, do you know?”

    
Yes, I think so.
Ty sighed. “No, I don’t... Just wait, I think he will return soon.”

    
“I was worried about you,” admitted Shilastar. “The fever was so strong and high. Are you sure you are all right? You still look a little peaked...” She broke off. Ty’s eyes were distant. “I found time to mourn Ty...” she whispered shallowly, not expecting him to hear.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Emily Asimov grew up with books. Libraries raised her. When she was ten, she discovered the writings of her grandfather and started dreaming of being a writer one day. She read every fantasy and science fiction book she could find.

    
Somewhere along the way though she lost the writer’s dream. She never stopped writing, but the very idea of being a writer one day faded away. At least until, she found her voice again and was encouraged by others to share her writing with others.

    
As a life-long fan of all things science fiction, her goal is to write and publish sci-fi adventures for all ages. The characters in her Star Chasers books explore the vast reaches of the galactic empire controlled by the Order of Eight.