Skylar's Guardians (12 page)

Tralec returned and harnessed himself into his seat as Troy activated the resonance unit. “They are going to want to spend time with her without us,” he said moodily.

“What are you talking about?”

“The council. They will want us to share her,” Tralec repeated. “I do not want anyone else touching her like we do.”

“She will not connect with anyone else, but if they have a need to discipline her, we might have some difficulties. They need to be taught so they do not harm her.”

“That is my concern. Will they be willing to learn from me? I am a minor researcher in their eyes.”

“They will not challenge your claim over her, and they will be quick to accept that you have greater expertise on the culture than they do. Leeza will support us there. She is a mentor and her pod-mate is a creator, and both carry strength in the council. They will want to learn her language to communicate effectively as well as study the manuals. What is troubling you? Has the council ever given you reason not to trust them? Have Leeza or Leannz ever caused us harm?” Troy looked confused.

“No, never. So why would I feel mistrust now? What is this feeling I am experiencing? It makes me want to lock her away out of everyone’s sight.”

“You’re the anthropologist, brother. The manuals indicate an emotion called jealousy sometimes develops when possessiveness is felt.”

“Yes, I recall that term. Can that feeling awaken without cause? The council has no knowledge of her yet and these thoughts are purely imagined.”

“That is for you, the scientist, to determine. I am simply your pilot and a sounding board for your ideas.”

“You are more than that. You know Calipi nature and are an expert at predicting behavior. I rely on that skill more than I rely on my research findings.”

“That is why we are such a powerful team. Are you ready to go?” Troy asked. Tralec nodded, closed his eyes, and gripped the seat in preparation. Troy laughed. “I love your enthusiasm. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for choosing Calipi Air for your transportation needs. Check to make certain your harness is properly adjusted and your seat is in a full recline position.”

“Will you please just shut your mouth and fly?” Tralec groaned. “What is happening to you? I have never seen you so rebellious.”

“How am I rebellious?”

“This display of humor. You know it is an undesirable trait among our people.”

“Our people need to, how does Skylar say? Lighten up. Laughter feels good. Why should we not indulge in it?”

“Because it leads to a lack of control and civil unrest. You know that.”

“If you say so. I think society has simply suppressed it because they are afraid to experience something they cannot regulate or limit,” Troy opined, pressing a series of buttons and wrapping his hands around the two bars that rose vertically on either side of his seat. “Here we go,” he announced as he inhaled deeply, mentally directing the launch. The cruiser rose silently, its engines a mere whisper as the vessel hovered above the trees. The panel signaled the skies to be clear of any machinery, and he released the ship to burst upward.

Tralec gritted his teeth as the speed of the vertical climb increased. The break through the atmospheric band always seemed to take far more time than he preferred.

“We’re almost there,” Troy reassured. “Hold on for a count of ten…”

“Shit,” Tralec muttered, surprising himself. He was learning some of Skylar’s colorful vocabulary and found it effective in relieving stress. He mumbled several other words as he felt the strain of the cruiser as it fought Earth’s gravity and repeated the same string of terms when the vessel finally popped through that invisible barrier.

“Damn…” Tralec exhaled in relief as the ship began to unfold and stretch to its regular size. “I will never get used to this.”

“You alive?” Troy asked, removing his hands from the bars.

“Barely. I’m going to go awaken Skylar and bring her to the control room.”

“I’ll be waiting with bells on,” Troy teased cheerfully.

“What are bells?” Tralec wrinkled his brow.

“I have no idea,” Troy grinned, playfully punching Tralec’s shoulder and ignoring the protest. “But it does sound interesting. We will ask Skylar.”

Tralec grumbled while rubbing his shoulder and deactivated the suspension gas that flooded into Skylar’s cubicle. He waited patiently for her to open her eyes and smiled as she yawned sleepily.

“How are you feeling, darling?”

“Hmm? Achy, but rested. When are we leaving?” she answered, sitting up and carefully stretching her sore limbs.

“We are already past your moon. We wanted to give you the chance to see your galaxy before we entered the dimensional shift.”

“Really? You would really let me look?” Skylar sounded excited.

“Yes. It was Troy’s idea. He is in the control room waiting for us.”

Tralec smiled down as the girl clutched his hand, staring into the abyss of space. Her mouth hung open, her eyes unblinking as she tried to take in the infinite beauty of her surroundings.

Troy placed a hand around the back of Tralec’s neck and leaned against him affectionately. He looked out of the portal with a sigh. “Do you remember when we saw space for the first time?”

“Yes,” Tralec said quietly. He stroked Skylar’s hair and smiled down at her as he told the story. “We were in our third level program. Troy had just received permission to pilot. As a reward, the flight-mentor took us for our first interplanetary flight and allowed Troy control of the ship.”

“Tralec got so sick,” Troy informed Skylar, who listened halfheartedly as she stood spellbound before the vision in front of her. “I thought he was going to glow green. I am proud to say he did not. It would have been very embarrassing.”

“I hated space-flight from that moment on. If it were not for you, brother, I would not attend planetary research operations.”

“You don’t like this? But it is beautiful,” Skylar whispered.

“This is the pleasant part. You will sleep through the dimensional shift and the landing.”

“I’m not scared. Please let me…”

“No,” Troy intervened. “I agree with Tralec. Your body is not designed for the strain of the shift. You will stay in suspension until we land.”

“That’s not fair!” Skylar stomped her little foot.

“We have both warned you that if you are strong enough to argue with us, then you are strong enough for a spanking.” Troy wagged his finger.

“One of these days I am going to bite that finger right off of you. Stop putting it in my face,” Skylar scowled.

“You already know your little teeth don’t hurt me, remember?” He tweaked her nose. “You need to trust me on this. And up here, I’m the boss-man.”

“Pft,” Skylar huffed.

“That is a new sound. Is there some kind of medication she can take for that?” Troy teased, ruffling her hair affectionately.

“You think you are so funny, don’t you?” she glowered.

“Not yet, but I am learning. Trust me,” Troy kissed her nose, “Tralec is as displeased with the humor as you are. He has yet to appreciate the phrases I am learning.”

“Because they are ridiculous,” Tralec grumbled. “You are a warrior and are designed for protection, not for whatever this nonsense is.”

“I am also a Calipian,” Troy reminded him, “and am intrigued by new experiences. Being able to laugh freely is a new experience.”

“Is it not enough that you tease and insult my appearance on occasion? That is, in itself, rebellion to our societal mores,” Tralec scolded.

“Nope. I am finding it to be more enjoyable to annoy you this way.”

“Is this my fault?” Skylar asked, looking back and forth between them. “Humans can get into some ugly fights and lose relationships because of careless words. Maybe your society has a point with restraining itself emotionally.”

“That is what I told him. Lack of emotional control will lead to the breakdown of our civilization,” Tralec stated firmly.

“Only if we are foolish enough to allow it. Think of what we have missed, Tralec. Have we resigned ourselves to be nothing better than a biodrone?”

Tralec did not answer as he wrapped his long arms around Skylar’s body and inhaled her scent. “You smell good,” he murmured.

Troy laughed, throwing his arms into the air. “And that is how Tralec wins an argument. He changes the subject… Is anybody hungry? I am going to grab a canister.”

Skylar did not require much convincing to return to the cubicle after several hours had passed. To Tralec’s disgust, she drank a good portion of the canister offered by Troy, proclaiming it to be ‘pleasant’ and its flavor resembling a ‘rich vanilla.’ With a full belly, the excitement of the launch, and the exhaustion from dealing with her multiple injuries, Skylar was caught nodding off on Tralec’s lap. He carried her to the bunk and leaned across to kiss her forehead, which was incidentally the only area on her poor face not painted with a bruise.

“I wonder what you will look like once these heal and you add some weight on this little, frail body,” he said in a faint whisper, running his hand over her swollen cheek. “I bet you are stunning and even more beautiful than the stars.”

Skylar murmured, rubbing her face into the cup of his hand before flipping to her side. He tucked a stuffed teddy bear under her arms, grinning as she instinctively nestled it to her body. It would be a surprise for her when she awoke. The manuals always referred to these soft stuffed toys, and he wanted to be certain that she would have one of her own. Patting her cheek, he lowered the dome of the cubicle and activated the restorative gas to allow her to gain more strength before they readied to shift.

“Night, Daddy,” Skylar purred, inhaling the gas deeply. “Thank you for caring about me.”

“We will always care about you, princess. Sleep well.” Tralec smiled as he walked to the hatch and dimmed the cabin’s lights.

* * *

“Hold onto your wallets, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride,” Troy proclaimed, directing the ship toward the shifting zone.

“What is a wallet? Those human images that Skylar introduced to you are for entertainment only, not so that you use them as speech patterns. Really, you need to… oh, hell…” Tralec groaned as the cruiser caught the current and began to spin wildly.

“Look! No hands!” Troy laughed, exhilarated by the tremendous surge of power around the vessel and the dizzying speed of the stars flashing by their line of sight.

“Damn it, Troy. Will you please resist repeating these ridiculous phrases? What has gotten into you?” Tralec snapped, gritting his teeth.

“I told you that I am trying to experience the human’s need for laughter. Besides, I’m not the only one who learned some new things from our little human. I meant to mention it before. Nice language, Tralec,” Troy teased. “Just watch it in front of our girl.”

“Skylar was right. You are an ass,” Tralec hissed. “How much longer?”

“Hang in there. We have a short way to go,” Troy snickered. “Just sit back and enjoy the ride.”

“The child is fortunate to be in suspension and not have to deal with this.”

“That is a matter of opinion. I suspect she would enjoy it. She is very similar to me in that manner.”

“She is intelligent, sensitive, and rational. She is much more similar to me, Troy.”

The two men glared at each other before breaking out in loud laughter, shocking Tralec with its power. Troy was correct; it did feel good to release some control.

“We sound like the human parental figures in her manuals,” Tralec exhaled with relief as the ship jolted and returned to a normal speed and leveled its position. “I am confused, however. Did we read about that comparative behavior or watch it? I cannot remember.”

“I don’t recall either. Perhaps we are just starting to assimilate this information. There are many things I am learning from just being around her in this short time. It is as though she has brought something to life within me,” Troy commented. “As much as you protest this laughter, you must agree that it is pleasant and uplifting.”

“My protests are based solely on societal needs. Loss of emotional control leads to unrest. Unrest leads to fighting, and fighting to war. Our planet has been free of true violence for hundreds of years because we have been able to produce new generations that are not driven by these emotional needs.”

“Why can’t it be possible to have emotions and sensibility at the same time? I don’t understand.”

“The emotional nature of a sentient being is influenced by its surroundings. The more stimulus, the greater the response. If the wrong emotion is stimulated, then problems occur. You are a student of behavior, Troy. The ability to anticipate a reaction has allowed you to keep our researchers safe from beings who believe us to be threats. The only difference between our research studies and now is that we are in full, direct connection with a creature who breeds these emotions.”

“Yes, but why can’t we choose not to react to the stimulus? Can’t we simply be aware of it and make the decision not to proceed in a negative or harmful direction? Control the reaction to the emotion instead of allowing the emotion to be in control.”

“Of course, but history tells us that the possibility of an emotional being making the correct choice in a tense moment is unlikely. I reiterate. You are a warrior. You have seen what is required to protect me when we visit places that are driven by instinct rather than logic. We must not allow our society to regress. Emotions are not contagious, but they can be learned.”

“Are you certain they are not contagious? I see you smile when Skylar laughs in that painful, high-pitched tone. It hurts your ears, yet you respond back with laughter. I also know that intelligent people have the ability to distinguish right from wrong. We can choose to be emotional and also choose to not hurt others. Tell me… How do these new sensations feel to you?” Troy asked with curiosity.

“It is difficult to describe. It is as though these genetically repressed feelings are suddenly wakening out of a hibernation. They are very… odd and can be uncomfortable. I need some time to consider what is occurring within us. The council will require an explanation to any changes they might observe,” Tralec responded, taking a deep draught from a canister. He shuddered. “Nasty stuff. I cannot believe you encouraged Skylar to like it.”