All That Glitters Ch. 38

"You four have a much stronger ability than the others here," erht said, including Vangeliya, Violletiya, Malteyea, and Heyya. "Some of the others have no ability at all except that which they are included in," and here erht included Hanalei, Fayad, Dr. Galt, Fiona, the scientists, and the children. "And then there are the animals."

"The Cats have a higher form of intelligence for creatures with such small brain size, they have the ability to read emotions like the members of the Fellowship, and they have the ability to amplify the emotional awareness of those who have the same ability," Mayute advised the other Toolend. "They are not inconsequential friends and Pod mates of the Trine."

His comments got nods from most of the Fellowship and some of the Toolend who already had experience with the Cats.

"So noted," Mandenn replied. "What do your training sessions actually involve?" erht asked.

"That depends on what we are seeking to emphasize in the training. It is tailored in each session" Vangeliya answered. "Tonight, we are seeking to boost Junelliya's awareness of the emotions of multiple persons, however, she has shown us that she can do this by her actions already in broadcasting the emotions of a pair of infant minds to all of us here. That is something that most empaths are unable to do."

"Nor most telepaths," Mandenn admitted. "She is also able to sense the emotions of everyone in this room, including all of the Toolend, the infants, the Cats and, she can mindread.

"I am surprised that the Cats have so much 'colour' in their thinking," Mandenn apprised the group, using a term that the others could understand vice that which only the Toolend would.

The Cats responded to the evident praise, trilling their excitement at being addressed in such a way by the Toolend.

"I see what you meant by your earlier comment," Mandenn said to Mayute. "They are most unusual."

The babies stirred. Instantly, the Cats gave all their attention to their human sisters, Hanaya dropping down so that Ikekia could touch her, while Juneya dropped down to rub her head against little Zarrenia, getting a giggle from the little girl. As Junelliya was still focused on the children, the shock wave of the burst of laughter from the little girl rattled through the link. The emotional overload from Zarrenia's tiny mind burst on the others, sharing the child's glee at having Juneya rub her head against her, marvelling in the sensation of the Cats' fur against her little face.

All the Toolend responded to the emotional outpouring from the infant, their own emotions swept away in front of the child's happiness.

"That, was truly remarkable," Mandenn spoke quietly. "I have never experienced such a link!"

"The Toolend have informed us that their telepathic link does not pass emotions very well," Junelliya told the Fellowship. "As such, they are usually very happy to be included in something of this nature.

"I believe that those who have honed their empathic powers, may actually be able to tap into the ability of telepathy with a little training, however, that is only speculation on my part, as I have still to open myself fully to the ability."

"Are you certain of that?" Vangeliya asked.

"You remember how I taught you how to get around the Marten Web?" Junelliya asked, getting a nod from Vangeliya. "It makes me confident that I can do the same with what the Toolend are currently teaching me but only if you have higher abilities. That would mean someone of GME ability."

"You have given me an idea, Junelliya," Augraf stated. "Please try to touch the emotional side of Mandenn and share it with the others."

Junelliya focused some of her power on Mandenn, looking for some emotion that she could link to and bring to the Fellowship. She found that Mandenn had shut himself off. She understood that it was not intentional, but a natural instinct on the part of the Toolend from being unexpectedly touched by another mind. While the Toolend could speak mind-to-mind, they also could choose who touched their minds. They could, and instinctively did, close their minds to unwanted and unexpected intrusions, as Mandenn had just done to Junelliya.

Junelliya was having none of that. She worked around the shell of erht's mind and delved deeper into the emotional outpouring that came forth when erht discovered that she could slide through his shield with such ease. She found the evident emotion of surprise and pulled that from him, adding it to the link.

You should not have been able to defeat my shield! Erht thought to Junelliya.

Why? she asked in return. Your emotions are simple to see and pull from you.

Why do you think this is a simple thing to do, Junelliya? Augraf asked her. A Toolend shield is quite powerful in its own right. To break a shield is quite remarkable.

Did I do something wrong then in moving around it? Junelliya asked in a contrite manner. Was I wrong in sharing his surprise for the Fellowship?

Of course not, Junelliya, you were invited. Augraf admitted. It was just that you did so in such a conclusive and swift manner. It is possible for any Toolend to defeat the shield of another, with much time and effort. You took no time and did not seem to expend much effort.

Erht did use a great deal of her power to get around my shield. Mandenn stated, miffed that he had been so easily defeated until he had explored the amount of power she had expended.

Augraf gave out a burst of Toolend laughter. "Do you not realize what you are doing, Junelliya? You have tapped into our link and are speaking with us mind-to-mind," erht told the Fellowship.

Junelliya's head snapped up. She was so surprised that she initially lost the emphatic link she had formed. Once she was aware of this, she swiftly reformed it, surprising all the empaths in the room with the speed with which she did so.

"Junelliya seems to do things best when she does not think of the process but simply does it," Fayad stated.

A thought ran through all the Toolend at the ramifications of Fayad's words. The thought was only half-formed when Mandenn silently told them to wait until later to analyze this point.

Augraf sent a thought directly to Junelliya. Are you able to sense my thoughts now? erht asked her.

I can, though it is not as distinct as it was a moment ago. Junelliya admitted.

"That is not unusual with our young," erht replied, aloud. "They make the initial connection, then sometimes are unable to attain it again for awhile or it is not as distinct for a time, as is happening to you. With practice, it will come clearer.

"For now, I would suggest you end this session. Making the connection means making changes in your mind, this will cause you some headaches. We will not do an analysis of your mind patterns tonight. We will need to let you recover for a couple of days before we can do that," Augraf told her.

Junelliya closed the link, gently withdrawing from everyone. Immediately, Heyya pulled a medical sensor and swept it over her.

"Yes, there are some minor lesions on your brain, indicative of new formations. That they have developed so fast will bring on some serious headaches. Take these before you go to bed tonight, she said," passing her a couple of pills encased in a foil pouch. "They will help."

"Augraf, I could sense the underlying sensation of your people speaking with each other, though I received no indication of what was being said," Vangeliya told erht. "I also got that from Junelliya when she tied into your link."

"Junelliya may be right," Mandenn mused. "If you can sense the link, you can conceivably tap into it in much the same way as Junelliya did."

"We can teach empaths how to make sense of the sensations they make of the emotions they encounter," Violletiya spoke. "Do the Toolend do the same?"

"We do not," Augraf stated. "It is mostly an individual hit or miss attempt on the part of our people. Eventually, some will find the way to do what is necessary, however, our people have never found an acceptable way to teach telepathy to our kin.

"If this is something that you can do for yours, then we would be interested in learning this technique. If we can do so, it will help us to bring more of our people into our new telepathic community," erht finished.

"Did you ever decide on a name for it?" Junelliya asked.

"It is still being debated..." erht replied, with more than a little amusement in its voice.

As the group broke up, Mayute and Augraf held Fayad and Fiona back for a moment.

"We are aware of your Operation Sandcastle," Mayute informed her without preamble. "We did not seek out this information intentionally, however, we are telepaths and such information can be gleaned from those who are intensely concentrating on a given subject as they walk around.

"Please, do not worry. We have no intention of using this information in any manner. In fact, doing such now goes against our new principles as telepaths."

"I see. While the Toolend would be of value to us in this endeavour, this is purely an internal human matter. We must deal with it ourselves," Fiona stated.

"Yes, we suspected you would say as much," Augraf returned. "Having said that, we did want you to understand that we do know and that what we know will remain only between the two of us. We have not informed other members of the Toolend. However, other Toolend will also be able to ascertain this information. Should they bring it to us, we will instruct them to keep the information to themselves."

"That is appreciated," Fiona nodded. "It also goes quite a ways in our eyes to the validation of your new principles and controls in your new telepath's organization.

"I would know...now that Junelliya has started to show telepathic ability, will she be subject to your rules and regulations?" Fiona asked.

"Yes, as she received instruction from us, she would be bound by our codes. This is something that Petronellaya told us she imposed on Junelliya when the Council of Empaths took her in." Mayute informed them. "She still has some way to go before we would consider binding her to our new laws and, in truth, we still must bind our own to the laws.

"Junelliya could help us in this respect. Having her willingly accept and bind herself to our new laws could push other Toolend to accept the inevitable," Augraf stated.

"Why is it considered inevitable?" Fayad asked.

"Because the Toolend ruling family has decided that no telepath will leave Toolend space unless they comply with the new legislations. This is to bring confidence in the process to other species," Mayute informed them.

"A formidable task ahead of you then," Fiona commented. "Fayad, please let Junelliya know that as she progresses, she will have to adopt the new laws regarding telepaths, including the wearing of the telepath's symbol."

Fayad acknowledged her order. He spoke to the members of his extended family later that evening.

Conference Room One, Central Control, Liramor-23, Piscium system

"Central Control, this is NS Julia Thenton, Lt. Brendon Palid commanding. We have the Commander Sector Forty-Two aboard and are requesting docking at Liramor-23, over."

"Control, roger, you are authorized VIP Bay One, Position Two, over."

"Thenton, roger, Bay One, Slot Two. We will be twenty minutes to docking. Commander Sector Forty-Two is requesting all senior personnel, especially Navy personnel, to meet him in conference room one, over."

"Control, roger, we will pass that message along, out."

Twenty-five minutes later, FAdm. Charles Thenton, his Aide-de-camp, an unknown Navy Commander, and Lt.(N) Palid marched into VIP arrivals to be greeted by Cmdre. Fiona Marsh, Fayad Piscium, and Cdr. Malteyea.

"Greetings, sir. To what do we owe this auspicious occasion?" Fiona asked.

"Good afternoon, Cmdre. Marsh. I'll let everyone know once we get to conference room one. I hope everyone is present?" Thenton asked.

"They should be, sir," Fiona replied, turning to guide FAdm. Thenton to the conference room. A few minutes later, they entered the conference room while someone snapped, 'ROOM', on their entry.

"At ease," Thenton stated. "Capt. Fillertan, if you would."

"Attention to orders! Captain Damyanti Balakrishna, step forward, sir," Fillertan ordered.

Damyanti stepped to the line before Thenton.

"F-447835-992 Captain Damyanti Balakrishna, you are hear-by ordered to relinquish your position as Civilian Liaison Officer for Liramor-23," Fillertan intoned.

"Sir, I relieve you," Thenton said as he removed the Liaison Officer's braid from Balakrishna's shoulder.

"Sir, I stand relieved," she replied, giving him a salute after the fact.

"F-447835-992 Captain Damyanti Balakrishna, you are hear-by ordered to HD-115153, the Punarjanm Star System, where you will assume the duties of Captain of the Fairling Class Frigate F-11675 NS Saraswati," Fillertan spoke into the silence.

Thenton watched as Damyanti reacted to the name of the ship.

"Congratulations, Captain Balakrishna, you have your first ship and a more fitting First Captain for a ship so named I could never have. Unfortunately for me, you will be leaving my command and going to Sector Twenty-Three, under the command of FAdm. Wilhelmina Holstern. Your ship will be part of the command of Cmdre. Liana Dostier in the Punarjanm system, who you may remember.

"The Saraswati is a reclaimed pirate vessel captured by Dostier's people and is currently under refit to modern standards. You will take her through trials and I expect you to be part of Operation Sandcastle," Thenton ordered with a smile before finally returning the salute to Damyanti.

Damyanti's smile lit up the room. "Really, the Saraswati?"

"Really, really," Thenton replied, his own smile evident.

"Harold, if you would continue, please," Thenton spoke to his aide-de-camp.

"Cdr. Malteyea, step forward, sir," Fillertan said.

Malteyea stepped up to the line.

"H-677882-891, Commander Malteyea, you are hereby ordered to relinquish your position as Aide-de-camp for Cmdre. Fiona Marsh," Fillertan continued.

"I relieve you, sir," Thenton spoke as he took the Aide-de-camp's braid from Malteyea. "Do not move, sir."

"H-677882-891, Commander Malteyea, having completed the Senior Commanders Course, you are hereby promoted Captain Navy, with all rights, privileges, and responsibilities that such rank is endowed," Fillertan said.

Thenton signalled Fiona, who was now well practiced at the next step. She removed the Commander's insignia from one sleeve and replaced it with the Captain's insignia that Thenton passed to her, while Thenton worked the other sleeve.

Malteyea gave a salute that was returned by the pair.

"H-677882-891, Captain (N) Malteyea, you are to proceed to Liramor-23 Navy Command, under command of Cmdre. Fiona Marsh, where you will take up the duties of Civilian Liaison Officer," Fillertan spoke.

Thenton placed the new Liaison Officer's braid on Malteyea's shoulder.

"Congratulations, young man," Thenton said, shaking Malteyea's hand. "I am also aware that you have attained the rank of GME within the Council of Empaths while you were on Terra. Well done, Capt. Malteyea."

Malteyea smiled and gave a salute to Thenton, then stepped back to his new position to the left of Fiona.

"A-332457-23, Commander Jane Fillertan, hm, hm, no relation," Fillertan spoke quickly, getting laughter from those present. "You are hereby ordered to the Piscium System where you will take up the position of Aide-de-camp for Cmdre. Fiona Marsh."

Thenton passed Fiona the braid for the Aide-de-camp and let her place it on her new aide. She took the salute and then Cdr. Fillertan took her place one place behind and to the right of Fiona. Fiona gave Thenton a salute and thanked him for his support to her command, then the party began.

"The Wanderer will be going to the Punarjanm system," Thenton informed Damyanti. "You can get a lift with them to your new command. Check with Raymond before you get too involved in your going away party, Cdr. Balakrishna."

"I will be ready, sir," Damyanti assured Thenton.

Military Control, Pallanders-4 Shipbuilding Station, HD-115153 (Punarjanm) Star System, 132 Light Years from Terra

Capt. Beverly Davis went to the new office of her boss, Cmdre. Liana Dostier, now in the split section of the Central Control.

"Nice office," Beverly said, truly meaning it this time.

"It is a step up from the former office I had," Liana admitted, looking out over the new Military Control Center. Her former office had been little more than a broom closet and she had needed to book a conference room in order to speak to more than two of her ship's captains at any one time.

"I received a note saying that my ship has been directed to support Operation Sandcastle, whatever that is. The dispatch advised me to report to you," Beverly told her boss.

"We are about to conduct a raid on the Alliance of Planets to get back our citizens kidnapped by pirates," Liana told Beverly without preamble, shocking her friend.

"No shit!!"

"Nope, nary a dropping," Liana confirmed with a smile. "We will be receiving half of all the ships directed towards anti-piracy from all fifty-eight sectors over the next few days. That will top out at 1044 ships from the other sectors, plus, we have been holding back on the shipment of new Valour class and Whippet Class ships. That will give us an additional 276 Valour Class and 64 Whippet Class.

"Pallanders-4 is also making a rush on finishing new ships still in their inventory. They tell me that they could push out another twenty-eight Valour Class and ten Whippet Class by the end of the week. That will give them time to do trials with the new crews and have them ready to participate in Sandcastle.

"As well, our prize ship, The Maderan's Reach, should finish it's refit in time to participate. Capt. Damyanti Balakrishnan, currently Fiona Marsh's Civilian Liaison Officer, will be given command of what will be known as NS Saraswati, who is the Hindu Goddess of knowledge, music, and art, the deity that modern Hindu women of education revere. Quite apropos if you ask me considering that the Alnitah Pirate Syndicate has little regard for women.

"The Panther, from our defence force, with Cdr. George Drake commanding, will also participate. As well, NS Dewfall, Capt. Henadi Noor commanding, is set to finish its trials in time to become my command ship for the fleet.

"I will be in overall command of OP Sandcastle. We have been given three weeks to prepare for the operation. That does not give us much time but all the plans are ready, they just need to have ships plugged into their respective spots on the plan and then to practice their specific roles," Dostier finished.

"Well, shit. Who is drawing up the plans?" Beverly asked.

"Raymond Clark, currently at the Anti-Slavery Task Force on Liramor-23. They will be bringing the planners here and then things will get busy. We plan to have a conference with all the captains in three days time, providing they all get here on time," Dostier told her, aware of the vast distances in play and the current problems with inter-ship communications without the use of the ICS.

PV The Wanderer, Liramor-23, Piscium System

The trine had been given two state rooms on the second VIP level, the three adults in one and the babies and the Nanny in the other. There was state room for Hanalei's bodyguard, Violletiya, and another for the impending hire of a PA. Violletiya was with the Hanalei, at the moment.

"Nice rooms," Junelliya said, never having stayed in one of the staterooms before.