All That Glitters Ch. 27

"What could she do if she decided that she wanted to be a real power?" Heyya let that thought hang for a moment. "She needs training, before she inadvertently does something that she and others will come to regret," Heyya finished.

"Does that mean she has to go to Hollander's World?" Fayad asked.

"By the Gods, Heyya, we do need to bring this one home at least once," Gillaya giggled. "Can you imagine what would happen if we dropped her in the middle of a Grand Congress of Empaths?"

The three women grasped hands and then reached out to Junelliea, who took Gillaya's hand on one side and Fayad on the other. Fayad in turn held Hanalei's hand, who completed the link by grabbing Anaya's hand.

The people watching were mesmerized by what they saw. The four empathic women almost seemed to glow, their hair of all in the chain lifted from their heads, a sight that was more evident with Junelliea, Fayad, and Hanalei and their softer, fairer hair, which almost leapt from their heads like they were in the middle of a static electric generator, while the heavier, feather-like hair of the other ladies did not move as much but did move.

The six broke the link, looking flustered, as if they had just had great sex...

"Oh, my," Junelliea said.

"Good thing you are named Junelliea," Gillaya quipped.

"Why is that," Fiona asked, while not wanting to. This was, after all, Gillaya.

"Makes it easier to add a Y to her name," Gillaya stated, to the laughter of Heyya and Anaya.

"What do you need," Fiona asked, intrigued by what she had just witnessed.

"A private place to work," Heyya said. "The presence of as many of us from Hollander's World as we can get on this platform to assist. I know of two others, which will allow us a small Congress of five, plus Junelliea. Fayad and Hanalei will need to be there with her every time we get together. They are, after all a married Trine and they must understand what is going on with Junelliea.

"And there will be people who will want to monitor our actions and Junelliea's responses for scientific reasons, so some of Dr. Hitron's team.

"Someone to coordinate all of this for us. I have a couple of people at the hospital who are very good at making group appointments. Then we just need a place to work and we need to start sooner rather than later, as Hanalei and Fayad have just indicated that Junelliea is unconsciously manifesting her abilities," Heyya finished.

"Alright. I'll defer to your experience in this issue. I'll let you set up a group appointment, in the meantime, I'll find a place where you can do your meetings, just let me know what kind of specifics you need. Though I can already tell that being in someone's quarters will not suffice. Maybe conference room two or one of the smaller empty construction bays?" Fiona mused.

"But we need to get this lovely trio into their own home and get Fayad back to work," Fiona stated flatly. "We've missed you Fayad, we need you back at the helm as soon as possible. She pointed to a runner.

"Diana, would you escort this lovely Trine to HR? Sorry, Fayad, but we need you back to work on tomorrow's first shift. Anything else?" Fiona asked. There wasn't.

"OK, I have to get ready, we have Navy VIP's coming aboard," Fiona said, dismissing the group.

The Runner guided the Trine to HR, where they met with Dianne Ancien, the head of HR. Dianne was delighted to have the two lovely ladies, the first civilians on the platform not working for the platform, the Navy, nor for LMC.

They were shown to their accommodations which, by platform standards, were large. They were the first to be assigned a family unit which consisted of a master bedroom with a king-sixed bed, and a smaller bedroom with a double bed, a kitchen, a small dining nook, a large bathroom with actual shower, and a living room. Since they were on the outer wall of the platform, they had plasteel windows that gave them a view of the Piscium 8 gas giant. While the rooms were perforce smaller, they added up to considerable space for accommodation on the platform.

The next point of call was the Malton University Campus of Liramor-23, where they gave their transcripts from the courses they began at the University of Liramor Prime, Liramor City. Prof. Zilina Smeldt greeted them personally, as she too was enamored of the fact that there were now civilian spouses on the platform, the professors at the campus working for Liramor-23 and didn't count as civilians.

When she saw the honorifics after Hanalei's name, she of course had to ask, and was fascinated by the story, even though Hanalei couldn't tell her much of it because it was still classified prior to Andjuran's trial.

Next, they visited the hospital, where Dr. Heyya spoke to them. The first thing Heyya asked of them was whether they would continue needing their contraceptive implants. The two ladies blushed and looked to Fayad.

"This is our home now, at least for some time. If you wish to start our family, this would be as good a place as any, and the hospital seems eager to open its maternity ward," he told his wives with a smile.

Heyya was amazed at the shades of blush the two ladies displayed, but she was aware that each of them was ready to become a mother. She gave the Trine a beautiful smile.

"My favourite time as an Intern was when I was on the maternity ward. I assure you that our doctors are very eager to get back to that aspect of our profession," she said, giving them a beaming smile.

The ladies returned the smile and gave Fayad a smoldering look.

"I suspect that my wives and I will be coming to see you before too long to have our contraceptives removed. They'll let you know when they are ready," he told Heyya with the boyish grin that Heyya loved seeing on his face.

The four of them briefly discussed the implications of removing the contraceptive implants. Heyya told them to come see her when they were ready.

Conference Room One, Liramor-23, Piscium System

Fiona sat at the table with her senior military personnel, Raymond, Gillaya, Dr. Hitron, the four UDC personnel, Adm. Ramison, Adm. Heist, and Lt. Ishanvi Mehrotra, commanding NS Ora Evanest. They had just finished watching the weapons demonstration of the previous week.

"Impressive," Ramison stated. "Did it get the results we wanted?"

"It would seem so, at least at first glance," Fiona stated. "They openly acted like they were caving to our demands; however, their comms encryption is not up to our standards so we are able to listen in on their conversations. What they say behind the encryption is what you would expect of a warrior-based society. They still plan to take one of our ships and then attempt to reverse engineer it.

"Their scientists have raised doubts on this issue. They indicate that they are completely clueless when it comes to understanding the energy readings they see when we jump into space near them. The Jurte Pair do not accept this and want the scientists to analyze a probe, should they capture one," Fiona finished.

"So, meek and mild for the cameras while holding an open blade behind their backs?" Ramison inquired.

"That would be a good way of putting it," Fiona acknowledged. "We did put the fear of destruction into them by telling them that we have arranged for the probes to self destruct with spectacular results should they be captured."

"Nice bluff," Heist smiled. "Although opening a still functioning Marilon generator could have devastating consequences for their ships. Have they backed off trying to capture the probe?"

"So it would seem, for now," Fiona told them. "I wonder how long that will last, though. We will have to be on our guard at all times when it comes to having them on our ships.

"What we need is a means of keeping them out of the Union, while allowing them the thought that they might become a part of the Union in future, once their Warrior Class relinquishes power. I'm just not sure how to do that," Fiona groused.

Gillaya suddenly perked up.

"Oh! I just might know how to accomplish that! Have you ever heard of the Holo-vid series 'The Prime Directive'?" she said with a smile...

First Congress, Construction Bay Twenty-One, Liramor-23, Piscium System

The group met in the middle of the small bay that had once been used by Gerrard Guillemette. Despite being a small bay, it was still much larger than they needed.

There was a soft, padded rug to sit on, with a number of throw pillows to lean against. They made themselves comfortable while someone made herbal tea.

The Congress consisted of Heyya, Anaya, Gillaya, Katanya, and Silliya, the later two being nurses at the hospital, both were doing what Heyya had done and were working towards their medical doctorates.

There were actually two groups in the bay. The first were to be the 'Congress' while the second were the 'watchers'. The latter consisted of Dr. Hitron with six of her specialists and their instruments, plus Dr. Galt, the psychiatrist assigned to Liramor-23's hospital.

Heyya spoke for the Congress...

"A Congress, as we call it, is a group of five or more empathic members of Hollander's World, the larger the number in the Congress, the more the Congress can accomplish.

"There are different levels of Congress, from the simple Congress we have here, to the Grand Congress of Empaths, which is summoned to act on behalf of all the empaths of Hollander's World. The Grand Congress of Empaths can only be summoned by the Council of Empaths, the governing body of all empaths on Hollander's World.

The empaths of Hollander's World who are recognized by the Council of Empaths, are given a suffix of YA for females, and YEA for males. The Council of Empaths sets the rules by which all empaths on Hollander's World must live by. It usually calls for a lifetime of service for its members. My service is in the medical trade, Gillaya's is in security, thus a lifetime of service does not necessarily mean working for others with little or no pay," Heyya said with a smile.

"The Council of Empaths sets the standards and the rules by which all empaths recognized by the Council must adhere to. They inform us under what circumstances we can use our powers, how we are to use them, and for what purposes we can use them.

"Using our powers to influence people for illegal means will mean you run afoul of the laws of the Council and will be subject to punishment from the Council," Heyya let that thought sit for a moment.

"A Congress is called for many reasons," Heyya continued. "Some for important issues, some just for fun. With young members, such as teenagers, who are not fully formed in their powers, we refer to such a gathering as a 'Crush'. Crushes tend to be overenthusiastic in everything they do, regardless of whether it is about their empathic abilities or about the mundane world around them.

"Crushes are usually formed of teenagers of the same level of power and maturity, they tend to be in their exploratory phase, which means they will be exploring both their physical and mental worlds. As members progress through their maturity in a Crush, sex becomes a major aspect of enhancing their power. It can at times be overwhelming for the members of a Crush but the Crush will be there to support them and lead the way to maturity in their powers. They will form a bond from the experience that will last for life.

"Like the teenagers in a Crush, you too, will initially be overenthusiastic by what you are discovering. This Congress is here not only to help you learn how to use your gifts, but also to help your navigate this new world you will be experiencing," Heyya ended, giving Junelliea and her Trine the time to mentally digest all she had so far explained.

"There are a number of ways empaths and other sensitive people experience the universe," Heyya continued.

"The first, is through the bounds of empathy itself. You have already experienced this in a limited manner when you first met us the other day and likely in many other ways prior to that, that you might have not understood. We will show you how to expand on that.

"Empaths come into their powers in different ways, though the usual method for people outside of Hollander's World is from some very strong emotional experience. People in this category usually develop their skills from a traumatic experience, such as in war or in a household in tension. They learn to trust their instincts in order to survive.

"They start by being sensitive to other people's attitudes and prejudices, picking up on very subtle clues. Eventually, they will be able to sense a shift in the tiniest changes in their environment and be able to react to it before others. It is a deep survival trait.

"This kind of trauma usually causes hyper vigilance but it can also lead to the ability to pick up on the emotions of others in a way that is unparalleled with the human norm. This is what WE, refer to as empathy.

"Once empathy is fully formed, the energy in a room can be felt by minor empaths. Major empaths, such as yourself, can manipulate this energy, causing that energy to manifest itself in different ways.

"A Congress, too, can manipulate this energy, which is why we like the Congress so much. It allows minor empaths to experience what major empaths are capable of.

"Hanalei has already told us how you can quelle an argument with a single word, that when you arrive in a party, it takes on a different vibe. People are loath to let you go, groups get jealous of other groups when you move between them. These are the traits of a major empath.

"What you should be aware of is that 'Problems have solutions, and solutions have problems. Basic sociology," Heyya stated.

"Also basic psychology," Dr. Gault slipped in from outside the circle. Heyya smiled toward her. She liked how Leonora could so easily sync with others.

"You could learn a great deal from Dr. Gault, her profession allows her to get into the minds of people, in a good way," Heyya said.

"The Second way that empaths experience the universe is through the eyes of lovers. This can lead to disaster for empaths though, if they find themselves linked to toxic lovers. Those kind of people tend to prey on empaths because they can sense the energy they contain. Toxic lovers can feed off that energy to further their own aims and their agenda.

"Fortunately for you, you have fallen into a Trine that truly loves you for you and you love them for them," Heyya gave them a smile, but the smiles returned were more for the other members of the Trine, showing Heyya the depth of feelings they had for each other.

"The third way empaths see the universe is through the tragedy of others. They can become emotional sponges, absorbing negative energy from others, even if it is not theirs to carry. This is because no matter what happens to them or to the universe around them, empaths tend to remain open to love and to people.

"Because of this, other people give their trust to empaths, even if they do not understand why they do so. They will inevitably open up and tell empaths their life stories, their most private secrets, whether they mean to or not. They sense the trusting nature of the empath and gravitate towards it.

"Empaths tend to wear their hearts on their sleeves. When an empath cries emotionally, the people around them come to help them in their sorrow...

"Empaths are normally people of the light, a beacon for others to seek out, but their sorrows are incredible to behold or be part of. For this reason, empaths must learn to shield their hearts from misery, even as they act to relieve that misery in others.

"Because of these traits, empaths tend to be natural healers able to help heal the emotional issues of themselves and others and tend to gravitate toward the medical and social sciences fields, though the more adventurous will gravitate toward security fields.

"Conversations with an empath can result in cathartic healing on both sides -- or they can end in exhaustion for the empath if an empath is not fully empowered with healthy boundaries. That's where training comes in.

"The dark side of healing is that empaths often forget to heal themselves, and wind up carrying burdens that they should not. The death of a patient in the care of an empath can destroy the mind of the empath without proper training. Training in this situation is to teach the empath where the boundaries between themselves and those they are helping should be, to understand what is truly the empaths burden and what is not.

"Empaths can not only heal, but they can wield a great deal of power to make others do their bidding. An empath's biggest issue is how to use that power tactfully.

"Most empaths can tap into their power for limited use over one or two people for specific purposes, however, using their power over a larger group for an undefined reason is difficult and leads to breaks in the empath's psyche. This is because most empaths are very finely-tuned to individuals and not to groups. They tend to be more successful in identifying problems within a person than within a group setting.

"You have a tremendous amount of raw empathic ability. You can shape it to do your bidding on a larger scale. According to your Trine, you have already intuitively done this without training.

"Empaths can sense an issue as they move towards it, one group angry at another for unknown reasons, and powerful empaths can radiate calm at a level that alters the attitude of even large groups. Powerful empaths can radiate all manner of emotions, love, hate, anger, calm, trust. You have the kind of raw power needed to influence a large number of people but you need the training to be able to use it wisely.

"The downside of this is when self-doubt disturbs the empath's natural peace. Most empaths come to their power through trauma and a lifetime of people telling them they are freaks or monsters. They tend to hide their abilities and only use them when the need is uppermost, in order to save their lives or the lives of others. Without training, they shy away from using their powers. This weighs down the empaths self esteem and clashes with the empaths natural abilities by forcing them to hide that ability. The psyche gets damaged, often severely.

"The upside is that empaths tend to dream big and move toward making those dreams a reality. That can happen very swiftly, overwhelming an empath with the speed and level of the abundance of love and apparent good fortune they receive. They can know love at levels most of us would be unable to fathom IF they are open to positive experiences.

"But being open to positive experiences also leaves an empath open to negative ones. If the negative experiences out way the positive, it can have devastating consequences in the life and mental health of an empath...

"While empaths are natural healers, they are also natural spiritualists and tend to be naturally intellectual. They are at their best when they realize they can bring both their intuition and their intellect together, seeking out what their souls are most naturally aligned with.

"Empaths tend to flourish when they surround themselves with other empaths, or with people of a like mind, which is why we on Hollander's World do things through a Congress, a meeting of minds. We can swiftly tell who is open to what and then form a smaller congress of people that are attuned to you," Heyya paused to take a sip of tea.

"An empath of your raw ability will never be comfortable with the level of power you can achieve because of what you need to go through to find the upper limits of that power. That's where training comes in for you. We can allow you to find the limits of your power, without the trial and errors that most empaths not from Hollander's World have to go through.