Safe Haven - Chapter 2

Jennifer Sweet is compelled to remember what happened four years prior.

        

It had taken a week to arrive, since the Jenar had destroyed the octagonal rings that allowed wormholes to form from one space station to another. As soon as their transport reached sensors and communications range, they received a warning to leave.

"May I?" Jennifer requested.

Ambassador Williams nodded.

"This is Jennifer Sweet, speaking on behalf of Ambassador Mira Williams. Requesting permission to land in order to commence negotiations." They were granted permission all right, but little did they know the take over had already occurred.

An involuntary shudder ran through Jennifer as she dreaded what she knew would happen next. But she persisted in her memory, feeling compelled to remember.

As the transport descended into the atmosphere, several energy beams struck its hull, causing the dozen occupants to lose their balance. It had only been equipped with minor shields since this was a diplomatic mission, not a military one.

Three more shots caused the pilots to lose control and the ship plummeted towards the ground in a nose dive. They were able to regain control enough to level the ship, but were incapable of preventing the crash altogether.

Several hours later, Jennifer awoke to the shouting of Jenar warriors as they descended upon the wreck, miles away from civilization. She scrambled toward the still unconscious Mira, trying to rouse her.

The ambassador moaned as she regained consciousness; she was still very weak. "Jenny? What?" Then she heard the Jenar. "They're coming. Jennifer, listen to me. We weren't here to negotiate. We were here to rescue the governor and his household. You must give him the coordinates to the Invizi."

"The Invizi?" She quickly recalled that while an Invizi transport was invisible and undetectable by scanners, it was unable to broadcast any communiqués. "You were able to smuggle an Invizi here?"

"Yes." Then Mira whispered in her ear, two sets of coordinates, the location of the governor's hiding place, and the location of the Invizi.

"Why can't you tell them?"

"Survive, Jennifer, if you can. Survive. You're the strongest Queller left." As the Jenar grew closer, Mira's sense of urgency increased. "Put... put a memory block on yourself. They can't know about the In..."

"You're not dying! Ambassador?" Her voice quivered. "Ambassador?" But Mira was gone. "No!" Jennifer heard the Jenar burst through the docking port. She took a deep breath and then focused inward. A memory block formed, beginning with when Mira said, "They're coming..." and ending with the present moment.
Then the Jenar warriors entered the bridge. Immediately, Jennifer and three other survivors were pinned against the bulkhead, by the telekinesis powers of the Jenar. "Which one of you is Ambassador Mira Williams?"

        Jennifer looked down at the body, and gasped. "She's dead!" she exclaimed, genuinely surprised. She tried to move, but she couldn't.

        The guard glanced down at the body and then back up to Jennifer. "Why are you here?"

"We're a diplomatic envoy. We received permission to land, and then we were shot down."

"Yeah. Well you're too late, Peluri scum. Tadara is ours again."

Jennifer suddenly found herself unable to breathe as an invisible force started choking her. And then she passed out.

 

***

 

The next thing Jennifer knew, she was inside a prison cell, with a force field taking the place of one wall. She struggled to make sense of what had happened. Then it all came to her. She had been talking to the ambassador one minute, and then... the Jenar appeared and Mira was dead. Then she felt the memory block in her mind which only confused her even more.

What could have happened in a few short moments that would require something as drastic as a memory block? She was tempted to remove it and find out... but only for a few seconds.

No. There was a reason for it.

Then Jennifer heard approaching footsteps. Two Jenar guards came into view and turned the force field off. They took a hold of her and marched her down the palace halls to a spacious but largely empty room.

Save for seven men and women, sitting in a semi circle around a table of the same shape. She was standing before the council. The council! She could hardly believe it.

"We are the praetors of Tadara," a voice declared. "I am Madame Blair. You claim you were here on a diplomatic mission, but we have reasons to believe otherwise. The former governor is still at large. Why did you come here?"

When Jennifer refused to answer, she felt a pricking sensation, and realized that the woman speaking was attempting to access her mind.

Madame Blair soon discovered that she could not, prevented by the barrier around Jennifer's mind. She pushed deeper, but her efforts were futile. Anger flashed across her face as she realized she had failed to penetrate it, and she summoned her colleagues to her aid.

Suddenly, the probe was joined by six others. Jennifer pressed her hands against her head in pain. "Stop!" she pleaded as she fell to her knees. She tried to push them away, but it was all she could do to keep herself from passing out. "Stop! Please! You're hurting me!" Jennifer sobbed.

"Stop!" a new voice called, and immediately, the gale force ceased. Jennifer collapsed to the floor and the Jenar who had spoken ran to her, and helped her sit up. "Are you all right?"

She stared at him in surprise.

"Are you all right?" he repeated.

"Yes."

"Madame Blair, you ought to know better than to use gale force on the Peluri. You could've killed her and then we would know nothing." He turned to Jennifer. "I need you to let me access your mind."

Jennifer quickly shook her head in fear, and scrambled away from him, still in shock.

"I need to know if you're telling the truth. I promise I won't hurt you."

She glanced at the council.

"They will not even approach you." He gave them a pointed glance. "You will not be harmed."

Could she trust him? He seemed sincere. Hesitantly, she lowered her mental shield.

She felt the others approaching, but before she could react, they shrank away from her, and Jennifer felt the echoes of a whiplash. She looked into the Jenar's eyes: filled with anger. She guessed he was berating them through a mental link she couldn't detect.

Then Jennifer felt him approach. Cautiously, carefully, soothingly. He dove into her mind, scanning her recent memories. Her anxiety grew when she felt him approach her memory block, afraid that any moment he would reveal what she had done... whatever that was.

One word, no, one thought, from him, and they would converge, forcing her to remove it.

But he said nothing. Relief washed over her, as he merely left her mind, and Jennifer re-erected the mental barrier. But not before she caught his name: Kyel.

"She speaks the truth. She doesn't know," he announced, more for her benefit then for theirs.

Know what?

He glanced at her, and Jennifer knew he caught her confusion, but he didn't give her an explanation as she hoped.

"Very well," Blair conceded. "Guards, take her back to her cell."

***

 

Jennifer sat alone in her cell for several hours, wondering what they were going to do with her. She vacillated between meditating on Scripture and praying to keep herself calm.

"Ms. Sweet."

She looked up to see the compassionate Jenar she'd met earlier: Kyel. Uncertainty clouded her face. "Yes?"

"Come with me." He switched the field off and gently grabbed her arm, taking her down the hall.

"What's going on?"

"Allow me access."

"What?"

"Do it!"

A pause, and then she heard his thoughts. I am trying to save you, Ms. Sweet.

"What?"

Don't speak! I can hear your thoughts! he chided.

Sorry.

They're planning on killing you. And I can't let that happen. I'm taking you to an transport hangar. There you'll board a class C13 pod. It's not much, but it'll take you to where you need to go.

Wait! Jennifer protested. What about the others?

You were strong. The others were shred to pieces instantly. Nothing remains of their minds. I'm sorry.

They used a turbolift to reach the bottom level where the transport hangar was located. The lights came on as soon as they entered and the outer door started rolling up. Jennifer quickly realized that Kyel was using telekinesis. The C13 ship that he referred to lifted from the ground and floated outside.

"Go," he urged her out loud.

Jennifer immediately jogged outside and opened the hatch to the pod, stepping inside it. She spun around to see that Kyel had followed her. "Why are you doing this?" she asked, completely bewildered.

"You are a servant of the One. So am I." With that, he shut the hatch in front of her and ran away, and the mental link between them slowly dissolved.

As the pod took off and gained altitude, Jennifer decided it would be safe to remove the memory block. She sat perfectly still as the recent memories unspooled themselves in her mind. She remembered everything.

Would the com system work? She checked the controls; they were operational. Of course. How else would she be able to contact Safe Haven, to identify herself? Quickly entering the first set of the coordinates the deceased ambassador had given her, she transmitted the second set.

Well the Jenar didn't know it, but he'd done more than save her life. He saved the very enemies his people were looking for.

I thank you, Kyel, she had privately thought to herself.

And you are most welcome, Jennifer, a voice replied with a bit of irony and humor, snapping her back into the present.

Jennifer saw Kyel starting at her at her with a bemused smile on his face. A realization hit her. He'd been reliving the memory with her! Embarrassment washed over her, followed by anger. How could he have slipped into her mind unnoticed?

Then suddenly, Kyel withdrew, leaving behind vestiges of an apology.

But that didn't satisfy Jennifer. She made her way through the crowd, right up to him. "Why me? Why are you so interested in me?"

"We're more alike than you think."

"How did you get inside my mind?" she demanded. "What about your inhibitor?"

"Believe me, Ms. Sweet, if I didn't wear this inhibitor, you'd know it."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You opened your mind to me without meaning to. But when you became aware of my presence, you cut me off. I only had enough time to apologize."

Jennifer stared at him stunned. "I cut you off?"

He nodded.

"But you're a Jenar. I'm only... "

"The memory we shared together was a pivotal moment in both of our lives. My conception of the Peluri was radically altered when I met you, and I hope the same concerning the Jenar was true of you."

Jennifer nodded. "I'll see you at the negotiations." She turned and headed toward the nearest exit, then she glanced over her shoulder to see that Kyel was still staring at her. He gave her a smile, and she smiled back. Picking up the pace she didn't stop until she entered the hall and rounded the corner out of his sight.

She tried to quell the pounding in her chest, but it was impossible. She stared at her arms; they were shaking; her entire body was shaking.

How could he have such an effect on her? She took a deep breath, and resolved that she wouldn't let her emotions get the best of her.

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get his face out of her mind.

Reviews

[by S.D.]

I recommend you put the flashbacks in italics. That would make for an easier read. Good portrayal of society especially.

[Jules]

I think what you have here is really good. It's unique, and well-written. The one problem I have with it, and it could very well just be me, but I've found it kind of confusing. Other than that, it's really good! (I started reading at the Prologue)