Star Chasers Read online

  Monitor answered. “Precisely. And she was chosen with the potential of an Avatar in mind.”

  Cross resumed normal viewing of her room, and he tried to guess how tall she was. The pod had given him no clear view, and she was a different colour now. “What happened to her skin tone? She used to be blue.”

  “She takes on the colouration of her surroundings. She was in blue gel, she became blue gel.”

  Cross looked at the sleeping woman in surprise. “Why can I see her now?”

  Monitor responded. “The robe she is wearing has active crystals that vibrate at a complementary frequency. She will remain visible to you as long as she is wearing it. That will last until her suit is ready.”

  Cross paused. “You are that confident?”

  I ordered the suit. She will have it the moment that I take up residence in her.

  “You don’t mean that she will be your Avatar?”

  Of course, she will. You both will. I pledged to have you remain as my Avatar until you chose to retire, or until your body can no longer contain me.

  Cross was conflicted. “She isn’t even the right species for you.”

  Her mind is close enough, her body has the correct frequency. I simply need to bolster her cellular structure, and then I can move in.

  “She signed up for that?”

  She agreed to any necessary alterations, so I am altering her.

  The tone of the star didn’t brook any disagreement. Cross had been put in his place for now. He was going to keep an eye on the new arrival, and if Polarium stepped over the line, Cross would take measures. He didn’t know what they would be, but he would think of something.

  I would expect no less.

  * * * *

  Ember got up and grimaced at the room around her. She was hungry again.

  She stretched up, aiming for the ceiling with her fingertips. Her clothing was surprisingly unwrinkled.

  The food dispenser chimed, and the monitor said, “Good rising to you, Ember Velar.”

  “Call me Ember, please.”

  “Ember.”

  “Thank you. Good... uh... rising to you.”

  Monitor laughed. “I am always here, Ember. Your meal is ready. Once you have eaten, the Avatar will depart, and you can enter the com center.”

  “Why do I have to wait?” She pulled out the tray of dishes and sat down to start eating.

  “The Avatar is highly radioactive. You are not resistant to the radiation, yet.”

  “Yet?” She mumbled it around a mouthful of something that was close to oatmeal.

  “Because of our proximity, coding has been installed in your cells that will increase your body’s ability to process the radiation.”

  Ember flexed her hand. “I don’t feel very different.”

  “You won’t. That is the design. It is supposed to be unobtrusive in execution. In a few days, you will be able to withstand the energy output of a star at close range.”

  As Ember continued to move her left hand, a slight sheen moved across her skin.

  “Is the shine part of the process?”

  “No, you need a bath. It is residue from the pod.”

  Ember coughed as she laughed. “Right. So, the bathroom is where?”

  “The main bathing facilities are on the level below, but I think that the bath that is located in the left wall behind your bed should be suitable.”

  She laughed. “I am taking the hint. So, do I get a change of clothing?”

  A wall panel moved to let a wardrobe slide forward. “Choose what you like.”

  She finished her food and stuck it back in the slot. The tray was pulled in, and it went wherever dirty dishes on a space station went.

  Ember found the bathroom, and after asking the monitor for a few pointers on how to manage the plumbing, she went for a quick shower to get the coating from her skin.

  Damp and clean, she wandered into her room and opened the wardrobe. There were versions of the robe and gown in a variety of vivid colours. She picked a combination in ruby red.

  “You look lovely. Now, the Avatar has departed, so you are clear to view the com center.”

  “Oh, hooray.”

  She blinked at the sound of sarcasm coming from her own mouth.

  In a more polite tone, she asked, “Monitor, what can I learn at the com center?”

  “You can learn what we do. We are here to protect hundreds of universes. You are going to join us in our efforts.”

  Ember blinked. “That is kinda pushy.”

  “I am aware, but another Avatar was desperately needed, and you were a perfect fit. The more training that we can put you through before Polarium joins with you, the faster you will gain control over your skills.”

  “Polarium will what?”

  “Follow the bot to the com center. I will explain it there.”

  She swallowed nervously and did as the monitor asked. It wasn’t like she had anything else to do.

  Chapter Five

  Three days of staring at the projection all around her was enough. Ember got out of the command chair and left the com center without saying a word to the monitor.

  She walked to the end of her allowed path and stared out at the stars. She pressed her hands to the force shield that kept the atmosphere in place, and she watched the flickering light of the Avatar of Polarium move in the quadrant nearest the base.

  It had taken the monitor two days to convince her that she was needed. The last day was her figuring out where she was going to start.

  “Monitor, when does the Avatar return?”

  “He will be here in a few hours. Why?”

  “Because I believe I am ready now, but I am going to lose my nerve.”

  “I will send the message to Polarium.”

  She nodded and continued to watch the miniscule figure against the huge bulk of the swirling star.

  Her skin was coated with a soft gold sheen. The colour was now permanent, and it would allow the star to provide her with life support when she left the station. It was one of the changes that had been made to her body. The other changes were far less visible, but she could feel them.

  The ports had all been removed from her body. Even if she wanted to, there was no way to get back into the pod now. The needles would bend against her skin. She had tried it with a fork.

  Monitor had sent a message to the Alliance, but there hadn’t been a response yet. There was no word to let her know if her daughter had made it to the stars.

  Ember kept her hands pressed against the clear barrier, and she waited. She waited for any bit of information that would change what was happening right now. Right now, she was in between everything, and she was tired of it.

  “Polarium wishes you to go to level fifty and wait at the viewing area closest to the star.”

  Ember smiled. “Good.”

  She turned her back on the star and walked toward the lift. Whatever was going to happen, it would be a step in a direction she had never imagined.

  She was at the point and waiting, facing the star. Nothing happened for ten minutes, so she asked, “Monitor, what now?”

  There was no answer from the station. A bright ball of white came out of the star, and it was heading directly toward her.

  Ember exhaled slowly and pressed her hands against the surface of the barrier once again. She leaned into the approach and kept her breathing even.

  “You are either very brave or very stupid.” A masculine voice spoke from behind her.

  She turned to see who was talking and the rush of white energy struck her. The impact sent her spinning across the width of the station.

  Fire was all around her. She could see it, hear it and feel it coursing through her veins. It skated along her skin and burned in her gut.

  You were not quite ready for this, but you are close enough. I am Polarium, and you are my Avatar.

  She tried not to scream, and the fire soon merged and became part of her completely.

  Ember felt him movin
g through her mind, turning over her thoughts and memories. When she touched his consciousness, she saw millions of years. It was too much for her overtaxed body. She let her mind go black.

  There was darkness in front of her when she opened her eyes. Transparent, shimmering darkness.

  I am glad you have joined me. Don’t try and take control of your body. You don’t know how to use my energies yet, and we need to take care of this rift.

  She watched as her own hands stretched outward and a pulse of power was sent out to seal the hole in space. The cascade started as a solid jolt that changed into a pulse matching the frequency of the universe below.

  If Ember stared long enough, she could see other planets, other stars, and if someone was out there, they could see her.

  The edges of space thickened and the distant universe faded under the repair.

  Well done. You haven’t panicked, and you have allowed me full access to your motions. We shall return to the station, and you may ask me questions there.

  Um, thank you. The form of propulsion that the star used wasn’t anything that she could quantify. It wrapped energy around her and moved through space like a wave of radiation.

  You will be able to control these methods of transport as well. Even solid light teleportation will be available to you in time.

  That sounds intriguing.

  You can visit a thousand universes, and millions of planets, without putting your body at risk.

  Can you just get me into a place where there is something to breathe? I know that I don’t need to right now, but I really want to.

  She felt an amused ripple in her mind, and the station got closer at an incredible rate.

  When they were fifty meters from the station window, she closed her eyes and felt a jelly-like touch wrap around her before she was in the climate-controlled area.

  You can breathe now.

  She inhaled deeply, her body didn’t react. It was perfectly fine. It was her mind that was relieved.

  You are adapting well. Your body is nearly complete.

  She looked down. She was wearing the same ruby gown and robe she had been wearing when Polarium had struck her.

  “Is this how you got your other Avatar?” She flipped out the robe, and she glanced around the wide open space.

  Cross was traded to me. His folk came through on a ship, and I was in a destroying mood. They begged me and offered him to me, so I accepted him.

  She was taken aback. “Ships come through?”

  Cross came in, and he answered her question. “Of course. That is why Polarium needs us. He needs us to communicate for him. If you check, you can speak nine hundred languages now.”

  “How would I check—” She paused when she realized she wasn’t speaking English and hadn’t been speaking it since she arrived. “Oh.”

  Cross nodded. “He has been in your mind for a while, and your pod was programmed for Alliance languages. You have been learning for decades.”

  Ember looked at him as he approached and took in the silvery cast to his face, the shades in his hair and the fact that he was quite a bit taller than she had first guessed.

  Six-foot-eight or nine would be her current estimate of his height. His shoulders were wider than hers by half her body width. He was in a suit that mimicked her initial bodysuit in the pod, but his had heavy bands of metal that ran through it. The patterns didn’t have any meaning for her, but the blazing star icon on both of his shoulders definitely looked like Polarium.

  “Hello. I am Ember.” It was all she could think to do. She extended her hand to him.

  He grinned and stepped toward her, putting his hands on her arms and pulling her into his embrace. He kissed her on both cheeks and once on the forehead. “Welcome, Ember.”

  The radiation in her body had nothing to do with the sudden surge of heat to her face. When he stepped back, she kept very still.

  “So, you have not yet gotten your suit?” He cocked his head.

  Ember swallowed as a wave of power took her mind over. “I am still deciding on what she will wear as my Avatar. There are a number of options open with her gender. Her body may make it less acrimonious when it comes to dealing with lost ships. Look at this form. Isn’t it distracting?”

  Ember was mortified as Cross looked her over. He nodded. “She does have an elegant frame. It would make a difference in getting the folk back where they belong. Many cultures perceive a woman as less threatening.”

  “Whether that is true or not. Excellent. See? She is providing options we did not have before her decanting.”

  The words were coming out of her mouth, but they had nothing to do with her thoughts. Polarium was working through her and talking about her as if she was a hostess on an aircraft.

  Cross chuckled. “I can see that she is not too pleased to be used as a conduit. Ember, be at ease. He means well.”

  She had control of herself at last. “I understand the urgency of this situation and the importance of it. I just don’t want to be flying around in a gown and robe without underwear.”

  Cross laughed. “Right. Come this way. I will take you to your appropriate garb.”

  Ember looked at him and the knowing look in his eyes. “He had you flying around naked, didn’t he?”

  Cross extended his arm to her, and she took it, walking slowly with him across the expanse and toward a flickering image in the center of the space.

  “Only for the first two decades. After that, I put my foot down.”

  She giggled, and a door opened in front of them. Through the opening in the electric field, she could see a female-figured bodysuit suspended in a blue-lit column. It was beautiful, and she sighed when she saw there was a floor-length sleeveless robe to match.

  “Thankfully, he saw the sensibility in giving you a radiation resistant suit on day one.” Cross pulled her forward.

  Ember walked up to the suit that was decorated in designs of crimson, blue and shocks of gold. The base was the same glowing colour as Polarium, but the patterns on the reinforced seams of the suit were incredible.

  “Wow. That is a work of art.”

  “Indeed. It is yours. You can try it on.” Cross hung back.

  She glanced at him. “Are you sure that it’s mine?”

  He grinned. “It definitely isn’t mine. That cut is all wrong for me.”

  Ember turned back to the suit, and when she reached for it, it reached back. It was an effort to climb into it, and Cross had to turn away as he was in danger of choking on his laughter as she pulled it on under her gown and then shimmied it upward in a move she learned in high school. It was amazing to think that a move she had learned in a locker room had served her in a distant part of the universe.

  Chapter Six

  Ember stood in the shuttle bay of the Hycroth ship, and she looked at the tentacled aliens that she had to work with. “Greetings from Polarium. I am here as the Avatar of the star in order to help you back to your own universe.”

  The captain stepped forward and cocked his bulgy head. “Where are we?”

  “You have flown through a hole in space. We wish to put you back where you belong.”

  One of the subordinates came forward. “What are you?”

  “I am a being of this universe, I also speak for the star. We need you to cut all engines, keep life support to a minimum, and hang on.”

  The captain stared at her. “Who are you to tell us this?”

  “I am an Avatar of Polarium. I am the voice of the star, and if you do not follow my direction, you will fall into an endless orbit that will only end in your destruction. You have a choice. Send a signal if you are prepared to comply, and you can go home.”

  Ember watched as Polarium lifted off the deck plates and he flew her back toward the door to the shuttle bay. The part that would truly disturb the aliens was Polarium phasing her through the hull. That was the reason for the suit. Not just any fabric could pass through matter. It took a special designer to make a suit like that. It was o
ne of Polarium’s passions. He loved dressing his dolls up.

  Ember took over control of her body once they were out of the ship. She flew a distance away and then turned to watch the ship.

  She slowly twirled and twisted around as she waited.

  When the ship slowly powered down, she grinned. Polarium summoned Cross, and Ember moved to place her hands next to the ship’s hull. It wasn’t a push, so much as she was positioning herself between the gravity of the star and the hull. With Polarium pulling the strings, she had enough energy to keep the two things apart.

  The glowing bolt that was Cross flew up and pushed against the ship. He moved it, and once it was in motion, she joined him. They didn’t need to speak. Polarium moved them both into the right position for the manoeuvre.

  With the propulsion off, they could move the ship easily as long as Polarium gave them the barrier to push against.

  Once the ship was moving, she stopped pushing and started to weave lines of energy on either side of the tear. When Cross was on her side, and the ship was on the other, she pulled at the lines of power and sealed the hole, shutting off the light from the other universe.

  Cross flew up to her and smiled. He waved, did a slow arc and headed off to another rift.

  There were two other float-ins that Ember had to attend to and one of them was heading right for the star. She flew off to get in front of it while Polarium sent a signal via their com system.

  It was odd to listen to a conversation in another language that didn’t seem to be made of anything other than deep gurgles.

  Polarium’s direct conversation using their ship’s systems seemed to be enough to get them to cooperate. They shut down and prepared for the push.

  She flew toward the ship on waves of radiation and extended her hands toward the hull. She saw the crackle of energy before she felt it, and it coursed through her with no effect.

  That was very impolite.

  Ember didn’t comment. She shoved hard and got the ship moving. When the weapons array pointed toward her, Polarium gave her the power, but it was her body that redirected the energy back at the ship. The rear of the vessel exploded, and interior atmosphere streamed out. The ship picked up speed and vented whatever they breathed. The ship shot through the tear, and she closed the energy rip behind them. They could limp home in their own universe.