Being of the Field (16 page)

Taren was completely baffled, then it dawned on her. ‘You saw Professor Gervaise leaving my quarters,’ she assumed, shaking her head to control her rising anger at being so quickly judged.

‘Professor Gervaise…that’s rather formal, isn’t it? Yeah, I saw Lucian leave
at dawn
, looking like he’d had a real good time.’

Loose objects hanging around the flight bay began to rattle as if the ship was experiencing mild turbulence, which was impossible on a vessel the size of AMIE. Zeven was fuming so hard that he hadn’t noticed anything yet. Taren feared that he was the cause of the disturbance.

‘If I really don’t turn you on, just say so. Don’t hand me some crap about being all professional and then go sleep with my superior!’

‘Zeven.’ Taren held up her hands in truce. ‘Please, calm down—’

‘I will not calm down!’ He shook a fist at Taren, whereupon several loose tools went flying in her direction and although she wrapped both arms around her head for protection, a huge metal wrench hit her right between the eyes.

After several hours of being sick, several more hours of sleep, a shower and something to eat, Lucian had only just found his sense of wellbeing when Aurora arrived at his door to advise him that Taren Lennox was in surgery in a critical condition.

‘How did it happen?’ Lucian was out the door and heading to the medical chambers before Aurora could turn around.

‘She was hit on the head with a wrench.’ Aurora burst into tears. Lucian ceased his charge and returned to ease the information out of his assistant with a bit more sensitivity.

‘Was it an accident?’ He gently placed both hands on her shoulders, as she sniffled and brought herself under control.

‘No…’ She shook her head, tears welling for a second coming. ‘Zeven Gudrun was the only one with Dr Lennox at the time.’

Lucian was shocked to the core. He’d seen the look of resentment in the pilot’s eyes this morning, when Zeven had witnessed his exit
from Dr Lennox’s chamber. It made Lucian groan in frustration to think that his own drunken foolishness might have played a large part in Taren’s current plight. ‘I cannot believe Zeven capable of such a malicious act.’

Aurora was relieved to hear him say so, but all she could do was cry.

‘I’ll get to the bottom of this,’ he assured her. ‘Where is Zeven now?’

‘In your office.’ Aurora wiped her tears away with a tissue.

‘Let me know the second that Dr Lennox is out of surgery.’ Lucian headed for his office to find Zeven looking hollow-eyed and sorry for himself.

‘I didn’t do it,’ he insisted straightaway, staring Lucian square in the eyes. ‘I don’t know what happened in there, but I swear I didn’t touch her.’

‘So what did happen?’ Lucian folded his arms to listen, neither man taking a seat.

‘I don’t know.’ Zeven threw his arms up in frustration. ‘It’s like she suddenly turned into a human magnet. All these tools came flying at her from every direction and we were the only ones there!’

Lucian didn’t know what to make of this, but with all the psychic phenomena he’d witnessed since Taren arrived on board, he could not discount Zeven’s version of events.

He took a more personal tone. ‘I saw the daggers in your eyes this morning, Zeven. I don’t know what has transpired between you and Dr Lennox, but I do know you jumped to the wrong conclusion this morning when you saw me stagger out of her quarters. All Dr Lennox did was feed me coffee and let me crash on her lounge because I was too inebriated to move anywhere.’

‘What an idiot!’ Zeven muttered to himself.

‘Hey!’

‘I meant me,’ Zeven said morosely. ‘I’m the idiot.’

‘Can you honestly tell me that you were
not
angry at Dr Lennox at the time of the accident?’ Lucian asked, to clarify whether the pilot might have taken temporary leave of his senses.

Zeven clenched his jaw, angry at himself. ‘I admit I was mad at her, but I could never
hit
her…or any woman! I swear to you, her injuries are not of my doing!’

‘Actually, they probably are.’

Zeven and Lucian looked towards the door to find Ringbalin had snuck in unannounced.

‘Um, sorry.’ He knocked belatedly and entered. ‘I came seeking information about Dr Lennox’s condition, overheard your dilemma and believe I can be of some assistance.’

‘How is that?’ Zeven was perturbed by this breach of his privacy.

Ringbalin explained that he’d been working with Dr Lennox for the past few days and of their discoveries. ‘Dr Lennox was coming to fetch you for a photon count when the accident occurred.’

‘I have the Powers?’ Zeven didn’t know whether to laugh or scream—this was insane.

‘It’s a very distinct possibility, but we won’t know for sure until you are tested,’ Ringbalin said, trying to make a dent in Zeven’s scepticism.

‘Hold on a moment.’ Having taken a seat to hear Ringbalin’s story, Zeven was back on his feet. ‘You’re saying that
I was
responsible for the attack on Dr Lennox!’

Ringbalin shrugged. ‘The shoe fits.’

‘Why, you…’ Zeven charged Ringbalin and Lucian was forced to step in between them and hold Zeven back.

‘You cannot control your emotions,’ Ringbalin said, continuing to bait the pilot. ‘You wanted to hit her, own it.’

‘I will not own it!’ Zeven barked. Objects started flying violently in Ringbalin’s direction while the scientist batted most of them away with his clipboard.

As Zeven realised Ringbalin had just proven his case, all the objects dropped to the floor.

‘It was me,’ Zeven moaned and staggered to a seat, utterly devastated.

Lucian finally found his tongue. ‘You can hardly be held responsible for a deadly talent that you didn’t know you have,’ the captain attempted to console the pilot.

‘My spiteful intent may have killed her.’ Zeven’s head fell into his hands and, as anger was no longer a safe outlet for his frustration, he collapsed into tears.

While Ringbalin took Zeven to be tested, Lucian sat back in his office chair, staring out the window, feeling completely drained. It seemed as if his entire reality had gone down the gurgler!

This morning Lucian had felt that he’d finally reached a comfortably numb state, beyond care. He’d had it in his head to resign from his position at the institute…provided his home planet was not in ruins or under siege by some previously unknown hostile force, of course. He thought perhaps he’d move to the Maratosh system, where he could vanish into obscurity and lie on a beach pondering his misadventures alone, in peace.

The news of Taren’s accident, however, brought home another reality. It was beginning to dawn on Lucian that there was still someone who inspired him to remain involved in this life he’d created for himself. It was a wonder to him that in a broken, drunken delirium he’d been more in touch with his true feelings and instincts than he had heretofore. Taren Lennox had sparked a flame in him last night, and although he couldn’t remember most of what had been said, he suddenly felt more attached to her than to anyone else in his world.
I don’t want to lose her!

‘The immediate threat is over.’ Kassa answered his unspoken fear and Lucian spun around in his chair to find her at his office door.

He smiled and rose to welcome her. ‘Kassa, old friend, that is good news.’

‘I can see that it is,’ she mocked affectionately, and Lucian knew at once that she had picked up on his revelations about the previous evening.

‘Now, don’t you start jumping to conclusions,’ Lucian warned her. ‘This is all very weird for me just now and I’d rather we didn’t go there.’

‘It’s wonderful.’ Kassa gave a little clap, in an attempt to downplay her excitement.

‘Look…’ Lucian couldn’t believe he was actually grinning and embarrassed; he felt like a schoolboy. ‘I was very drunk and she was just being polite—’

‘Rubbish,’ Kassa insisted. ‘She’s had a crush on you for years!’ The doctor immediately covered her mouth and scolded herself. ‘I did not say that.’

Lucian was absolutely gobsmacked. ‘Really?’

‘No.’ Kassa said, trying to back-pedal, but Lucian’s smile had widened. ‘Damn it. I’ve spent so many years keeping secrets that now the floodgates have opened, well…’ She shrugged, as if she didn’t give two hoots any more. ‘By the way, I accept that you don’t accept my resignation.’

Lucian was so pleased to hear this that he actually embraced her. ‘That is the very best news I’ve had all month.’ He let her go to observe her. ‘I don’t have so many good friends that I can afford to lose one.’

‘It will never happen, kiddo.’ She made a fist and gave a soft nudge to his jaw. ‘I assure you that from now on, I shall use my talent to this project’s greatest advantage, and not my own.’

‘Well, now you have that choice,’ Lucian proffered.

‘Yes, I do,’ Kassa responded, looking very grateful for it.

Lucian’s concern returned to Taren, and Kassa answered his unspoken thought.

‘There wasn’t as much damage done to her frontal lobe as I first feared. Just a lot of swelling and clotting, so I had to operate to ease the pressure,’ Kassa advised, as if that were the good news.

‘But?’ Lucian prompted her.

‘Physical damage seems to be minor. But because the wrench hit her centre forehead, between the eyebrows, the knock may have impacted on what those, in metaphysical circles at least, would term her third eye.’

Lucian rolled his eyes. ‘Kassa, I am a scientist, not a witch doctor—’

‘Several ancient cultures,’ she spoke over his sceptical protest, ‘believed that those of us with the Powers use our third eye to access inner realms of consciousness, which is why clairvoyants like Taren are known as
Seers
, because they see within themselves and beyond this realm of time.’

‘Oh, please,’ Lucian argued. ‘I’ve toured through every accessible system in our galaxy and I have seen nothing that would lead me to believe that there is some grand inner realm hidden within this universe. Be that as it may, I assume you are implying that Taren’s psychic ability could be impaired.’

Kassa nodded. ‘It’s a possibility. I’m sorry to be spouting ancient belief at you, professor, but when it comes to the realms of the esoteric it is the only doctrine I have to work with apart from the works of Dr Lennox herself.’

‘We are all breaking new ground at present, which is what we set out to do…’ He raised his brows at the realisation, and softened his stance. ‘Although I hardly imagined it would be like this. I claim to be open-minded but I see I am going to have to be far more so if I am to make sense of any of this mission and its repercussions, whatever they may be.’

Ringbalin led the pilot to his lab. Zeven had gone very quiet since his emotional collapse in Lucian’s office.

‘I broke down in front of the captain,’ Zeven said awkwardly. ‘I haven’t cried since I was in junior space camp!’

‘Shock and remorse tend to make you do that. I cry all the time,’ Ringbalin stated unabashedly and shrugged it off as no big deal.

‘Really?’ Zeven found this odd. ‘Why?’

‘Beauty,’ Ringbalin said as he stopped and faced Zeven. ‘The beauty of the natural world never fails to bring tears to my eyes.’

Zeven nodded, kind of relating. ‘That’s how I feel when I get behind the controls of a powerful vehicle.’

Ringbalin frowned and chuckled. ‘You and I are very different creatures, methinks.’

‘Oh, yeah,’ Zeven agreed, as both their pagers went off.

Aurora had put out a general bulletin advising that Dr Lennox was no longer in a critical condition and was resting comfortably.

‘Praise the universe.’ Zeven breathed a great sigh of relief. ‘I thought I’d killed her.’ He was nearly overwhelmed by his emotions once again, but he managed to pull them back into check. ‘You have to help me, Malachi. I’ve never been scared of anything and now I scare myself.’

‘Hey, don’t freak out, that’s the worst thing you can do. Learn to control your emotions, instead of allowing them to control you. If you can do that, then you shall master your Power and you will have the potential to truly be a superhero.’ Ringbalin was glad he almost roused a smile from his petrified crewmate.

‘You think?’ The idea held appeal.

Ringbalin slapped Zeven’s shoulder in encouragement. ‘Let’s just get you into my darkroom and see what the photomultiplier has to say.’

Zeven frowned, having no idea what the scientist was talking about. ‘What’s the photomulti-what’s-it do?’

‘It counts light, photon by photon.’ Ringbalin led Zeven through the greenhouse towards his labs. ‘Hence the need for a darkroom so that the prevailing light conditions don’t interfere with the count. Dr Lennox conceived of it several years ago to assist with her experiments.’

‘There’s a strange irony in there somewhere!’ Zeven was amazed to discover just how much Taren’s research had impacted on modern science. ‘Jeez, I knew she was some hotshot scientist—I mean she has to be, to be on AMIE—but I didn’t realise she’d done anything really famous.’

‘Are you shitting me!’ Ringbalin would have been outraged if the comment hadn’t come from someone so uninterested in the world of science. ‘Taren Lennox is one of the greatest, if not
the
greatest, visionaries of our time. She is conducting experiments to answer questions that most of us haven’t even fathomed yet. Hell, Gudrun, if you’re going to hit on a girl—no pun intended—at least go to the trouble of finding out who she is first…you might get further.’

As they passed one of the labs, Ringbalin waved to Dr Portus who was running some experiments and she smiled at him warmly and waved back.

Zeven gave her a wave also, which she ignored, looking back at her work.

‘I thought her labs were down in the marine module?’ Zeven was suddenly intrigued by Ringbalin’s good rapport with women and saw this as an opportunity to pick his brain on the subject.

‘There are too many men in the marine department for Dr Portus’ peace of mind, especially now that Amie is out of the picture,’ Ringbalin advised. ‘So she prefers it here, where she can work in peace.’

‘So what are you, gay?’ Zeven replied sarcastically, trying to gauge what the story was with these two.

Clearly the pilot was fishing for information, but Ringbalin did not take offence. ‘Not at all, just more focused on the job than most.’