Chapter 24: Rock and a Hard Place

"Please hurry," Chris pleaded. I could see he was trying to refrain from reminding Blade that someone's life was in a whole lot of danger.

     Blade's calm thought that he was going as fast as he could registered in my mind, slicing through the thoughts of panic that were building up there.

     Chris' face was lined with worry, his eyes clouded over with an emotion I hadn't ever seen there--fear. 

      I'd never seen him this way. And I've been his sister for...as long as I've lived, of course. (Which actually isn't very long.) We get along okay, and don't really talk a lot to each other, but strangely enough, I'm very tuned to his moods.

     Anxiously, Ajax paced beside Blade, keeping an eye on the monitors and panels. The Solstice wouldn't last much longer under the barrage from the siege drivers. The Horror Armada was closing in through the void of deep space, and we were all scared. 

     "Amy's still okay, right?" I asked, nervously. I felt like my head was going to explode. I shouldn't be here. This is all wrong. Pleayus will triumph again, just as he's always done in the past. There's never anything we can do! 

     "As far as we know. We're the only thing that stands between Khan, Pleayus, and her," Ajax responded grimly, for once not speaking in telepathy.

     That didn't help me calm down any. Amy was ultrapthic, and extremely powerful. If Khan or Pleayus got their hands on her, as they eventually would do, things would go down fast. Telepathic abilities can be moved from one mind to another, and Amy was genetically modified so her brain could allow for even more abilities than even the most powerful human Anomaly. Her genetic code would be extremely vital to Pleayus or Khan. And we couldn't let them get her.

     "Oh, dear God, help us," I prayed, as I saw the Horror Armada just less than a few yards away. They were going to disintegrate us. I wasn't scared of what was after death, but the pain of death.

      Ajax froze.

      Not a good sign.

     "My ship's great...but we're outnumbered," Ryker grudgingly admitted.

      The system is very unstable, Blade informed us, sweat trickling down the side of his face. Once again, his soothing voice helped to calm me.

     "Could you upset the system completely?" I asked, as an idea dawned.

      Are you trying to kill me?!Blade demanded angrily.

     "Make the system collapse! Then the fleets weapon systems will be brought offline..." I trailed off.

     "YES!" Blade shouted.

     I clamped my hands on the side of my head. "Ow, ow, ow, ow."

      "Sorry!"

     But he didn't really sound sorry.

     We fell silent again. Below us, a bloody battle was going on between Amy and the Mikara and Khan and Pleayus' separate groups of ground forces. We knew if we couldn't get down there fast enough, Amy's side would lose. I'd never met her before, but the thought of her dying because of our delay was horrendous.

     Blade was sweating profusely (as we all were) as he recklessly tramped through the system.

     Ryker snapped, "Quit the grunting!"

     Blade quieted, and then, suddenly, his eyes popped open, and a groan escaped him. he let his head fall into his hands as a horrendous headache overcame him. 

     "Are you okay?!" his sister Tempest asked anxiously from over by her gunner's position.

      "Yes," he assured her in a grunt.

     "We need to get out of here," Chris said, still pale.

      "Put it in warp drive," Ryker instructed.

      "Sure," Albany acknowledged.

     I closed my eyes for a brief moment, fighting back the nausea at the thought of the blood and gore that goes with every battle we fight. I mean, I'm only fourteen. A telepathic one, but that just means the government expects more of us. At some times, the missions are pretty simple and exciting. Other times, I just want to cry. I want to wake up every morning and be able to lie around in bed, or watch TV. Or go to amusement parks and complain about school. But I can't. I don't have time for that. And now here I am, with a group of extremely powerful teens, all of whom I barely even know. Or trust, for that matter.

     "Sis, get over here," Chris called, and I hurried over, shoving away my thoughts for the time being.

     "Yeah?" I asked, hoping he couldn't detect the quaver in my voice.

     "Suit up." He pointed to an array of different exo-suits. I choose the one that had something to cover my head. I wasn't going to take any chances with the only brain I've got. 

      He eyed me for a moment, before sucking in a deep breath.

      "No matter what's happened in the past...I love you, sis."

      I smile past the lump in my throat and the tears that threaten to flow down my cheeks, as thoughts of all the silence and mistrust between flood my mind. The words I'd always wanted to say, but never knew how to say them or how he would react to them flowed effortlessly out of my mouth. "I love you too, Chris."

       He grinned, now, looking relieved. Was it possible that he'd felt the same way I had, all along?

      Before I could say anything more, he strapped two long swords on his back. "Let's get out there and kick some butt."

       I grinned in reply. They say there's nothing like a hard time to pull people together or rip them apart. I'm pretty sure it pulled us together.