Hunting Cari (First Wave) (9 page)

“Son…”
The choked voice of the man on the far right drew her attention. An older
version of her Uncle, it was obvious that this was his father.

“Father,
it is good to see you.” The effort it was taking her Uncle to hold in his
emotions was very evident in his voice. He squeezed her hand slightly, and she
squeezed it back in support. Cari couldn’t imagine what it was like for either
one of them to see each other after so long. After spending so many years
thinking they would never see each other again, this moment must be taking a
huge emotional toll on both, one that she could feel.

“Son,
I have no words to express to you, the joy your mother, and I felt at hearing
that Commander Torenson had found you.” Cari could see a lone tear sliding quietly
down the man’s face, as he spoke. He clasped his shaking hands in front of him
tightly as if he knew he couldn’t touch his son, but had to stop himself from
trying nonetheless.

“I
too was happy to learn that you and mother were still well, Father. And I look
forward to seeing you both again. It’s been too long.”

“She
looks so much like Mikel. And she’s very beautiful.” Cari turned her head to
look at the woman who had spoken her father’s name. Cari’s breathe caught in
her throat when she realized this woman must be her grandmother. Slightly
taller than Cari, the woman had the same eyes and hair as she had, and looked a
lot like her. Their facial features were a different, but other than that they
resembled each other enough to leave no doubt that they were related. 

“Councilor
Lakatis, I apologize for my lack of manners. I should have introduced you to
your clan daughter immediately. Councilor Lakatis, this is Cari Lakatis, Mikel
and Ann Lakatis’ daughter. Cari, this is your clan mother, Caretia Lakatis.”
Uncle Randor bowed slightly to the woman.

“Randor,
from what little we have learned from Commander Torenson of the fate of my son
and clan daughter and the lengths you went through in order to protect her;
there is no reason to stand on formality. As her adoptive father and sole
protector, you are very much a part of our clan now as you are your own. I’m
sure I can speak for Councilor Macner when I say that my clan daughter is also
a part of your clan now as well as my own.”

“Although
this situation is almost unheard of except during a mating between clan
members, the counsel has agreed that under the unique circumstances we are now
facing with the survivors of the outpost and the children created, it warrants
this approach. There may be many more parents of our clan children that have
been lost to us. And many others like yourself, who put the pain of their loss
behind them in order to protect and raise the children of others.”

“We
cannot expect these children to turn their backs on their adoptive parents, nor
the protectors to do so either. For these situations, all the Council members
have agreed to grant dual clan ship to both protectors and children. And I am
honored to have you in my clan Randor. If not for you, my clan daughter, the
only thing left of my son, would not be standing there with you now.”

Cari
thought the woman had done a fantastic job at containing her emotions
throughout her speech, until she mentioned her own son. Her last sentence ended
in a series of broken sobs, and she covered her face with shaking hands. Cari
felt overwhelming sympathy for her clan mother. It had to be devastating to
learn that her son had been alive for so many years after they’d ended up on
Earth, and if they’d only tried harder to find them, he could have been with
her.

“Caretia,
I thank you for the honor of becoming part of your clan. And thank the council
for their foresight in understanding the bonds that have been forged between
not only Cari and I, but the others like us, who have ‘adopted’ each other through
the years.” Randor said to them all gratefully. He was glad that they weren’t
going to try to separate him and Cari. Normally unmated males and females from
other clans could not be alone together. Nor could they visit each other
without prior clan approval from both clans. As Cari’s 'Father', he would not
tolerate interference with his duties to his daughter.

“As
Councilor Lakatis stated, we are honored to accept Cari into our clan as well.
And we mourn the loss of your mate and child my son. And we are very proud of
your actions in accepting responsibility for Cari when she was in need.”
Randor’s father was obviously still trying to contain his emotions. Cari could
feel the sorrow mixed with joy coming off of the man in waves. His emotions and
those of her clan mother were beating at her head and heart as they were the
strongest in the room. The other Councilor’s were experiencing a confusing
mixture of hope, joy and sorrow as well. She was beginning to have a hard time
trying to dampen the intense emotions swirling through her.

Cari
was brought out of her thoughts abruptly as Uncle Randor squeezed her hand a
little tighter and looked at her expectantly. She realized that he wanted her
to say something, and quickly recounted the conversations to figure out how to
choose her words wisely.

“I
know I’m supposed to say something. To be perfectly honest with you all, I’m
overwhelmed. Uncle Randor has told me about my father’s people my whole life,
but I truly didn't expect this day to come. I never expected to meet my clan
mother, or to even be in a ship circling another planet.” She paused trying to
fight through the emotions in the room to gather her thoughts.

“I
am truly in awe and honored that you would accept me into your clans and as
part of your people…” Uncle Randor squeezed her hand in encouragement, and she
knew he could feel the impact of her confusing emotions.

“I
am also very grateful that you have all accepted our relationship and have
considered the feelings of others, like me, that we may find in similar
circumstances. As overwhelming as all of this is, if faced with the loss of my
second father, it would be much more difficult for me to deal with. Losing my
real father was hard enough. I look forward to learning more about him from you
Councilor Lakatis. And hope to share my memories of him and my mother with you
as well.” Cari decided she’d said enough right now. The emotions in the room
were fairly choking her and making it difficult for her to center her thoughts.

“Please
child, call me Mother Caretia, as is custom on our world. It would please me
greatly for my son’s child to call me that.” The woman’s pain and sorrow were
nearly crippling. Coupled with the heavy emotions of the others in the room,
Cari could barely think. Clutching her stomach and doubling over, Cari tried
desperately to filter through and dampen their emotions, but knew that she was
starting to ‘bleed’ them out to Scaden and her uncle.

“Cari!
What is it?” As if in a tunnel, Cari could hear Scaden. It felt as if she were
battling through their emotions to even speak. She felt strong arms around her,
heard someone talking to her gently, but couldn’t make out the words. As she
concentrated on the warmth of the person holding her, she was able to clear her
head enough to understand.

“What’s
wrong Cari? I’ve called Amun, just hang on
Amalaya
.” She recognized
Scaden’s voice and realized it was he that was holding her tightly in his arms
and whispering quietly to her.

“Their
emotions… there’s so much pain, and sorrow… it’s so strong I can’t filter it
all.” Cari whispered weakly to him. The pain of their emotions beat at her
strongly and now fear was added to the already overwhelming mix. She couldn’t
filter it well enough to know if it was fear of her or for her.

“She
can feel our emotions? We aren’t even physically there!” Cari heard a new voice
utter in astonishment.

“We
have no idea of the strength of the gifts the children have. And have never had
the time or ability to test them in any way. Not only were we limited by the
resources of the planet, but we also weren’t even sure how to begin testing
them. Obviously, she can feel your emotions, and it’s too strong for her to
shield herself.” Randor told them, the concern evident in his voice, although
he tried to control it so as not to add to what she was already feeling.

“We
need to get her out of here and back to her quarters until she can handle this.
Amun, see her there, and make sure she is comfortable. Monitor her brain scans
and see if you can determine a way to help her control her gift or find a way
to help dampen it in some way. She cannot be put through this.” Cari heard
Scaden say in his commanding voice as he transferred her into Amun’s arms. Amun
settled her gently, and walked quickly from the comm room, shouting orders to
someone about gathering equipment.

“How
is this possible? I don’t understand. Will she be alright? Randor, I’m so
sorry. I never thought that she could feel what I was feeling. I would never
cause her any pain!” Caretia exclaimed in anguish.

“I
know that Caretia. And to be honest, I never knew her gift was this strong.
Again, we had no way to test it. She has the ability to dampen the emotions of
the Earth people. This she has done many times over the years when we had to
mingle with them to get supplies. And I’ve always tried to control my emotions
around her, so as not to affect her. I had no idea she would be able to feel
yours in your holo-forms or I would have warned you to try to control
yourselves.”

“It
may be that the emotions of our people are able to break through much more
strongly than those of the Earth people. We won’t know until Amun can do some
testing on her and determine the extent of her gifts.” Randor told them
honestly. He was just as clueless as they were as to her reactions to them. And
he was anxious to make sure she was alright.

“Is
this the kind of thing we need to try to expect with the other clan children
that may be found?” Councilor Satiya asked Randor.

“Unfortunately,
we won’t know until we find them. We had so little time to be around each other
that we know almost nothing about their gifts. What we do know is that their
mother’s all had some form of special ability, and it was passed down to the
children, but somehow enhanced because of the addition of our DNA and unique cell
structure. In Cari’s case, her mother was a powerful empath, but she didn’t
have the ability to project her emotions the way Cari does.”

“I
think it best that when the ships arrive at your location that we immediately
bring Cari here, where she belongs.” Caretia said.

“NO!!
She’s not going anywhere! She belongs on this ship!” Scaden growled angrily at
the woman. There was no way they were going to take her away from him! He would
not let that happen; he thought clenching his fists at his sides. She belonged
to him! Randor looked at Scaden with shock.

“Scaden!
What is the meaning of this?” Councilor Torenson demanded. What had come over
his son, to be so offensive to a council member?

“If
I may, sir, Scaden is right; she can’t leave the ship. You saw the reaction she
had to your emotions, and you aren’t even here. Can you imagine how bad it
would be for her on a planet with so many others like us? And it wouldn’t
matter how many times you warned people to try to shield themselves around her;
their hopes, fears and sorrows would bombard her anyway. The only other option
would be to lock her away from everyone but a select few. This would make her
little more than a prisoner.”

“At
least on this ship, not only is everyone so well trained that it is easy for them
to guard their emotions, but she has become used to them, and she’s not become
overwhelmed once while on this ship, the way she has in your presence. Besides
the ramifications due to her gifts, did you think to ask what she wants? We
have never been able to force our will on other sentient races from other
planets. It is against everything we believe, so we can’t force her to go if
she doesn’t want to. And I know she will not leave until Jess is found.” Randor
tried explaining to the council, looking at each member in turn to judge their
reactions.

“She
is Valendran and a female; she must be brought home where she belongs! We can
have the MedTech’s here evaluate her gifts and find a way for her to control
them enough for her to live comfortably.” Councilor Davos stated as if the
discussion were over.

Randor
could see Scaden getting ready to verbally erupt again and knew he needed to
intervene before the situation got out of control.

“With
all due respect, all due respect Councilor, you are incorrect. She is only HALF
Valendran, and HALF Earthling. She is not fully Valendran, and as such we can’t
impose our will on her any more than we could someone else of two worlds. In
fact, we can’t do that to any of the children we may find. You are essentially
asking them to become our prisoners if you do. Like any other person from
another world, we can’t force them to do something that they don’t want to do.
Not even for their own protection.” Randor argued.

“You
have a very wise argument Randor. I have to say that I also would not feel
right about forcing these children to do something against their will.
Although, they are a miracle to us and to all the families that thought their
loved ones gone, we can’t violate their rights.” Councilor Satiya agreed.

“We
are in a unique situation. One, we could not have ever imagined facing. And one
we must think of more before making a rash decision. I too, do not believe we
have the right to violate the free will of the children we may find. Including
Cari, even though our initial reactions are to bring them here and protect them
as we would any of our females.” Councilor Ivint Torenson added.