All That Glitters Ch. 35

"You are Mayute, we met at the Byandi gala not long ago," Junelliya stated.

"I am surprised you recognize me, Junelliya," Mayute returned. "We have not spoken since."

"You are Tougrate, and you are Malnar. Both of you are medical specialists with your people, what we would think of as a doctor and a senior nurse, though I cannot explain how I know this," Junelliya told them.

"Junelliya?" Fiona asked, starting to get worried.

"Poda-La said I was starting to manifest powers that neither we, nor the Pod-Drran have. She said that while we do not use these power, other sentients do. I think I understand what she meant now," Junelliya replied.

"Mayute?" Fiona asked, worried about Junelliya.

"I cannot explain this, Ms. Marsh," Mayute answered. "It is not like our touching of the minds, though there are similarities."

The room was silent for a few moments.

"Can you tell us more about what happened, Junelliya?" Fiona asked finally. "We only got your side of the conversation and only because Mind-Ur was able to translate it."

"I was in some kind of mist, sounds were very distorted, but I thought I could make out voices," Junelliya began. "I moved toward those voices, but it felt like I was swimming through water rather than walking through mist.

"Then it was suddenly clear and I was in that room, the room we saw in the picture," Junelliya told the, pointing to the image in question, now mounted in a frame on the wall.

"They didn't know I was there until I spoke. "I said, 'Your Poda-La', and that startled everyone in the room, who could make no sense of why I was in the room or how I got in.

"I got the sense that they had placed some kind of barrier around the room to prevent prying ears from hearing them. When I spoke, they linked and gave their power to Poda-La, who sent it at me, telling me to obey and not to resist.

"I tried to take that power into myself, as I normally do, however, I could not do so. I asked for power and suddenly I had it, familiar power, from my Fellowship. Using that, I was able to keep the other's at bay and to analyze what they were sending at me. I could then use their power and sent it back at them, changing it to motherly love and calm. That surprised them.

"They asked again who I was, so I named myself, Junelliya Atohan Herlan. They caught onto the name Atohan, and I told them about defending the Kumaraie from attack and earning the name.

"Poda-La warned me that the Kumaraie was still under attack and that a new assassination attempt was now in play, to prevent her from breeding with the new Kumaroe. That means they will likely attack soon, though how soon that is, is the question. From what I got from her; it is likely that we do not have a lot of time.

"Poda-La said that she will be reborn to her people, soon. That I would recognize the Marti, and that I would identify the 'Light', the one that will guide the people in future toward a more prosperous life, if she was born.

"She said that the Marti must be a supporter of and probably close to the Kumaraie or her life would not be at risk. We must stop the attack if possible, save as many people as we can otherwise, as we do not know who the mother of the new Goddess will be.

"I think I know how it is that I will recognize her, the same way that I knew the names of these Toolend. I am developing new powers, Fiona," Junelliya stated.

"We need to contact, Councillor Petronellaya, Junelliya," Vangeliya said. "She may have answers."

Hanalei called up the comms unit. "Confirm that we have ICS contact with Hollander's World?" she asked the unit.

"Confirmed, Twelve Union Planets are currently in the link, Hollander's World included." The unit replied.

"Junelliya called up Petronellaya's e-mail code and requested a face-to-face. A couple of minutes later, Petronellaya's image appeared before the group. Hanalei sent it to the main monitor in the family room.

"Hello?" the Counsellor asked, when she saw all the people in the room.

"Petronellaya, it's Vangeliya. I am on Liramor-23. Junelliya has had a rather remarkable adventure and we wonder if you could tell us anything historically significant about it.

"I am here with Junelliya and her Trine, Mind-Ur of the Pod-Drran, a good friend of Junelliya, the Jurte-Pair of the Fleet Shem and two of their guards, also good friends of Junelliya, Raymond Clark, Liea Samson, their bodyguards Kim and Gillaya, Ambassador Mayute of the Toolend, Tougrate and Malnar, two members of the medical staff of the Toolend, of Fiona Marsh, and Cdr. Malteyea, her aide-de-camp." Vangeliya identified everyone.

"So that is where you wound up?" Petronellaya asked of Malteyea. "Are you ready to submit for testing?" she asked.

"Yes, and no, Madame Councillor. I am indeed past ready; however, my position does not currently allow me to make myself available for the needs of the Council of Empaths," Malteyea responded.

"I am aware of your position, young man," Petronellaya replied. "We have more than enough Grand Masters to fulfill our needs. We would prefer to draft someone who wants to be drafted, those who can not be involved in Council business due to their current work requirements we usually abstain from drafting. The Navy does take precedent over Council Business, Commander. You can still be assessed and granted Grand Master status and not worry about council business."

"Then the next time I am at home, I will make myself available for testing, Madame Councillor," Malteyea said.

"Madame Councillor, before we get to the issue at hand, I would ask for the Council of Empath's support for the Toolend," Junelliya interjected, pointing out the three Toolend.

"The Toolend are telepathic and have a basic code of conduct similar to ours, but nothing as defined or as structured as our own Council of Empaths ethics. Could I ask you to allow the Ambassador to contact you at a future time to receive some instruction as to how we are structured and how we conduct ourselves?" Junelliya asked.

"That, sounds like an interesting project, young lady. I would be delighted to speak on this issue with the Ambassador, at his/her availability," Petronellaya replied.

"Now, what is happening with you Junelliya?" she asked.

"Madame, Councillor," Fiona began, "Junelliya has had two pregnancy spikes. One of them let her capture an assassin, who was protected by a sophisticated Marten Web, sent to kill Raymond Clark.

"The second may have sent her back in time almost 34,000 years to speak with a long dead member of the Pod-Drran who has come to be revered as the Goddess, one Poda-La.

"However, after the second incident, Junelliya began displaying new powers, similar in structure to the Toolend, who are telepathic. Junelliya doesn't seem to be telepathic, yet. The best way to describe what she is experiencing is to say that she seems to know things when she meets with new people. Things like their names, and their occupations without having any prior knowledge of these people. She does not, however, seem to have deliberate control over this ability," Fiona told her.

"That is consistent with what we have seen before of people with powers as high as hers are," Petronellaya told them. "They tend to display new and often bizarrely unexpected capabilities as they grow into their powers.

"There is a caveat though. The more varied the powers they develop, the harder it is for them to mentally keep track of all that they are doing. Eventually, they tend to be overwhelmed by their new abilities to the point that the have mental breakdowns.

"Junelliya is in a position of unique circumstances. She is young, is very powerful, has a strong hold on reality, is surrounded by people that will help her at the drop of a button, and is uniquely situated with new sentients that have experience with the kinds of power that she is displaying.

"What disturbs me is that she went backwards 34,000 years. This is unprecedented. In all of human history, the legitimate clairvoyants have only been able to look forward a few hundred years. The most significant time jump that is known is just over 1,100 years.

"What Junelliya has experienced has never been recorded before. I think that the fact that there was an anchor point at the far end enabled Junelliya to make that large a leap into the past," Petronellaya finished.

"That makes sense, actually," Junelliya stated. "Poda-La said she could see far into the future by contacting her future self, those who are part of her direct lineage and harbour a part of her being. However, she said that she could see herself as my contemporary because she is to be reborn in our time. That suggests that she is using her future selves as anchor points to allow her to look so far into the future from her standpoint of time.

"She was able to predict the Great Disaster, the destruction of the Pod-Drran's original home world which was ten thousand years into her future. She was able to see things that developed after that, even into this century, 34,000 years into her future.

"I think the group was giving her power to look into the future and I unexpectedly reacted to her attempt and was pulled back in time to meet her. We are not related, but we have related powers and of the same level," Junelliya speculated.

"That's as good an explanation as I have ever heard before, Junelliya," Petronellaya admitted.

"So this is something that can happen again?" Fiona asked.

"No, I don't think so," Petronellaya told her. "This I believe is a one of situation and is unlikely to be repeated. First, it takes a lot of power to do what was accomplished here. Then, Junelliya was in the right place at the right time and in a receptive state. We are unlikely to see those circumstance repeated, though it could happen. Last, Poda-La said she is to be reborn in this timeline. Once she is, she will have a direct link to her future self, one that Junelliya will not be able to connect to.

"As to the new powers, I think Junelliya should start training with the Toolend. They have experience in this field and can help her sort out what is happening, even if she never gets to their level of capabilities, she will be able to benefit from their training to help her keep her mental state under control.

"As for the Toolend themselves, the Council of Empaths would be delighted to hold a symposium to explain how and why we do things.

"Junelliya, do you have your Council badge available?" Petronellaya asked.

"I do," Junelliya admitted.

"Please show that to them and explain it's significance. That will be a good start on how we do things.

"This call is expensive, so I will sign off now. Please do not hesitate to call if things develop further. We will see if we can arrange transport for a handful of the senior members of the Council of Empaths to come to Liramor-23 for the mentioned symposium.

"I'm sorry, Junelliya, that I could not be of more help to you, but I hope that I was of some use?"

"Actually, Madame Councillor, you have helped me understand what might have taken place and why, and you have given me valuable instruction to train with the Toolend. I cannot thank-you enough for those two items.

"I am sure that the Toolend will be delighted to learn how we do things within the Council of Empaths. Have a good day, Petronellaya, and thank-you for your input," Junelliya said.

They cut the link.

"Don't worry about the cost on this one, Junelliya. We will put that down to platform business," Fiona told her.

Junelliya went and got her Council badges, showing the original to the Toolend while wearing the larger form that Fayad had had made for her.

"The badge has the crest of the Council of Empaths on the front of it and my name and unique Council number on the rear," Junelliya explained while showing them what she was speaking about.

"All new members of the Council of Empaths must agree to abide by Council rules on the use of their power. When we are wearing this badge, we are on Council business or are acting in accordance with Council dictates. It identifies us as Empaths and identifies us as members of the Council of Empaths who are acting under the rules and regulations of the Council.

"Those who break those rules are subject to sever punishment, even for minor infractions. There is a reason for this but I will let the Councillors explain that to you when you speak with them again.

"The Council also encourages members of the Council of Empaths to work for the community at large. Many work in fields such as medicine or security, where they can make good use of their powers. Others become councillors or psychiatrists.

"This is dangerous though, as empaths tend to risk becoming too close to their clients and becoming afflicted by their problems. Empaths in these fields tend to work on the razors edge where their mental well-being is concerned.

"The reasoning behind giving back to the community, is to lessen the perceived threat of empaths within the community. You are less likely to be perceived as someone dangerous if you are working to help people," Junelliya explained.

"Most of the empaths on this platform work in the hospital, one is a bodyguard, and one is in the Navy. I and Vangeliya work for the betterment of relations between humans and the sentient species. You will have to determine for yourselves if we have done a good job or not," Junelliya declared with a smile.

"You have done an excellent job so far, Junelliya. We, the Toolend, will be happy to assist you in your training. However, you have another task today that must now be given your full attention," Mayute said.

"Yes," Junelliya admitted. "Fiona, we are going to have to go to the Pod-Drran home planet, damn, they need a name for that planet maybe Pod-Saar?, and assist as needed. We may not be needed, but better to be ready to act than sorry we weren't prepared.

"The major impression I received from Poda-La is the assassination attempt will be sooner rather than later. We need to be ready, now.

"I know you have banned me from going there until after the baby is born, however, I have to ask you to let me go on this one," Junelliya said.

"Fayad, you will go with your wife. I am sorry, Hanalei, that means you have the home front. Hopefully, this will be the last of these issues for awhile," Fiona stated.

"Raymond, the show is yours," Fiona said.

"Raymond, may we observe what is about to take place?" Mayute asked.

"I am sorry, Mayute. However, this is an internal matter to the Pod-Drran and we are providing support to their people. They are the only ones that can allow you to observe, not us," Raymond stated.

"I must agree with Raymond Ro," Sha-Ret. "As a Jurte of my people, we cannot allow unknown people interfering with internal matters of this rather sensitive nature. Fiona has promised us a few hundred supporters for our 1,200 combatants plus transportation. That is the extent of the human support to our Kumaraie, that and Junelliya of course.

"Regardless, the humans are a known factor, your species is as yet unknown to us," Sha-Ret ended.

"I understand," Mayute replied. "Thank-you for not rejecting us out of hand. Internal politics are a sensitive matter for all species."

"It is time to go," Raymond said. "Junelliya, Fayad, please make ready, we leave in fifteen minutes."

The Wanderer in Orbit, Pod-Drran Home Planet, Twelve Light Years from the Piscium System

Six ships came into high orbit over the Pod-Drran home world. Sha-Ret opened the comms and contacted planetary control.

"This is Jurte Sha-Ret Sai-Rai. I would speak with the Kumaraie or the Kumaroe. Connect me immediately," she demanded.

"I am sorry, Jurte Sha-Ret, but communications with the Imperial Palace are down at the moment," came the disembodied voice.

"What do you mean down?" Sha-Ret asked, angrily.

"Just that, Jurte Sha-Ret, we have no contact with the Imperial Palace."

"And you do not think this is significant? You do not think that a warning should be issued to all due to this?" Sha-Ret demanded.

"Please, Jurte Sha-Ret. You are creating a Gantor out of a Shorta. There is no need for any hysterics," the voice came back.

"Identify yourself immediately," Sha-Ret replied.

"I do not need to identify myself to you, Sha-Ret," the voice said.

"Any and all Pod-Drran hearing this message, the Kumar-Pair are under attack and need your support. Go to the Palace immediately and render assistance in the Kumar-Pairs' name.

"Those of you loyal to the Kumar-Pair in Planetary Control, seize the one who was speaking to me and detain them until they can be dealt with. That Pod-Drran has broken protocol and must be supporting those attacking the Palace.

"This fleet will descend into low orbit and launch shuttles with combatants in support of the Kumar-Pair. Any who get in our way will be summarily dealt with. You have your orders. I am Jurte Sha-Ret Sai-Rai and I declare my support of the current Kumar-Pair," she finished.

The six ships descended into low orbit and began to launch shuttles to the planet. A couple of Pod-Drran armed shuttles tried to interfere but were quickly destroyed by Valour Class ships coming from the Wanderer. No other interference manifested after that display of power.

A couple of the Valour Class descended into the atmosphere with the shuttles to provide cover for them, knocking out several aircraft attempting to attack the rescuers.

The shuttles landed at the Imperial Shuttle Port and disgorged their load of Pod-Drran and human combatants. They were immediately confronted with those who wanted to block their progress to the Palace, blocking the only route to the Great Hall from the Shuttle Port.

The four hundred enemy combatants were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of attackers who then found themselves blocked by the massive doors of the Great Hall.

Marine Combat Engineers placed explosives and blew the doors open, allowing the combatants into the space, where they were confronted by several thousand Pod-Drran of the Great Houses who had not offered fealty to the Kumaraie under the eyes of the Atohan and the Chlaerge.

Kim, Gillaya, Tin-Ur, and Kord-Ur, had been working over the last day with the Pod-Drran from the Fleet Shem to show them how to work together as a team, emphasising that while the Pod-Drran would like nothing more than to capture Kirlen, their ultimate goal was to save the Kumar-Pair and the current government from being overthrown.

The training proved very effective and the attackers bowled over those of the Great Houses, taking them down in pairs or in small groups. The enemy was attempting to challenge the rescuers who basically ignored them and knocked them out with stun rifles or stun rods, then secure them with plastic ties that could not be cut by the Kaldars the enemy carried.

Marines used their armoured bodies to step before enemy forces with beam weapons. Many Marines were injured but still they stepped in to protect the others who wore not armour.

As soon as she entered the Great Hall, Sha-Ret opened her comp link and called the Kumaraie.

"My Kumaraie, Jurte Sha-Ret Sai-Rai. We are in the Great Hall with 1,800 Pod-Drran combatants and six hundred Human Marines. We are currently taking down those in the Great Hall," she said into her comp.

"Sha-Ret, It is good to hear your voice. We have secured ourselves in the small throne room thanks to the warning from Raymond Sai-Ro. We have taken many injuries among the Kumir-Rai/Ro, your Kumaraie and Kumaroe are not injured and have the blood of our enemies on our Kaldar," the Kumaraie replied.

Those in the Jurte's vicinity who heard this gave out a great cheer and renewed their attacks on the enemy, who were quickly overwhelmed by the rescue force. Sha-Ret broke off a quarter of her force and sent them into the halls behind the Great Hall, looking for those who were attacking the small throne room. They found them and took them down.