SAIF

Where was Rachel? 

Saif’s mouth flooded with sweetness and he dove after her mind. It was easily found, and not surprisingly in close proximity to Tom. She had spent more time with him lately than anything else. Something of a worrying development. It was time to put a stop to this behavior. He had never needed to control or alter her thoughts before, this would be the first. It was a little jarring to cut that streak of loyalty, but this behavior had to be corrected, there was no other choice. He constructed the single seed he needed, but before he planted it in her mind he hesitated. It felt wrong to betray her like this. He pulled back the seed and stored it away. He had almost gone through with it, it had been close, too close. A tendril reached out from Rachel’s thought stream, there was something prominent, something special about it. He followed that tendril, through the stream and between thoughts. As he suspected, it was rooted with that cluster. The cluster he had discovered earlier, the one which might contain the soul and manifestation of a person. The thought cluster had tendrils that reached all over the stream, touching and dictating all of Rachel’s actions. It was tempting to give it a try, it sat there and taunted him. He grabbed at it and tried to yank it loose. Pain shot through her and so he abandoned the attempt. The cluster was too embedded to be removed. He committed the cluster’s location to memory. Maybe Rachel would calm down about Tom if he just talked to her, she used to be a reasonable woman and so it should work.

Saif waved his hibernation team away. He and the others had been asleep for a full Earth year, but now they had arrived at their destination. An American controlled planet. And not a small one either. Its capital stretched across half the planet’s surface. The American greed.

His hand terminal chirped. It was Admiral Harris. Their fleet had halted outside the solar system’s border. Saif dove into the Admiral’s mind. The thought stream was wider than in most people, which was not surprising given the age of the man. He yanked out the relevant thoughts. The Americans had sent a fleet to intercept them. They had not been allowed to approach the planet’s solar system even, not even in a single ship. Americans liked their borders and the made-up belief that they worked. There would be casualties if they had to cut their way through the American fleet. He pulled out from the Admiral’s mind and returned to his own body.

Saif got dressed and injected thoughts to Tom, and he asked if Rachel could come too.

The Synapse’s bridge was occupied with the regulars; Admiral Harris in his seat, Navy men and women around fulfilling their functions. Tom and Rachel stood by the open bulkhead door that led to the bridge. Saif exchanged nods with them, they followed him in.

Saif let the sweetness retreat.

“Explain the situation, Admiral,” Saif said.

Admiral Harris coughed. “The Americans intercepted our fleet with their own. It is formidable, as we expected. Ranging from their smaller corvettes to their larger juggernauts.”

Something struck him. Why had every nation its own definition of starship classes? It made fleet compositions more difficult to understand and compare. When he controlled more of humanity, he would rectify this mistake. Even his Asian allies would have to step in line. Trident? Come on, what a stupid name for starship! At least ‘juggernaut’ carried some power behind the word. 

“They like their guns. But the one thing they like more than their guns, is to show them off,” Saif said. “Is this all of their fleet?” Saif pointed at the main view screen.

“We don’t think so. We are getting some pings behind asteroids and the usual hideouts. There are some indicators that they have stealth ships, but it is impossible to confirm,” Admiral Harris said.

Saif nodded. “Not impossible. Tom, find me those stealthed ships. I want them,” Saif said.

“Yes, sir,” Tom said.

Saif felt the boy’s change in mental state as the sweetness rushed into his mouth and his manifestation awakening.

“Admiral, have you warmed up our weapons? This will get violent,” Saif said. “When they realize what we are trying to do, they will be pissed. But don’t lock targets just yet, I want to take advantage of the situation.”

“Yes. Your strategy has merits, but we can do more.” Admiral Harris leaned forward. “Fill the shuttles with combat suits and ignite the engines. Unless the shuttle bays are opened, the preparation will go unnoticed.”

“Great! Get to work, people,” Saif said.

The Admiral was nervous, his voice had trembled. Saif injected a change of mind. Admiral Harris’ posture changed, showing more confidence and bravado.

“Found them. There are twenty three corvettes equipped with stealth functions,” Tom said, with his eyes open. “I am keeping a light grip on them. What do you want, sir?”

“Here, I said I wanted their technology. Disengage their weapons and move them here. If the crew tries anything, execute them. I need those ships whole,” Saif said.

Tom closed his eyes again.

The twenty three stealthed ships became visible on the main view screen. Tom’s manifestation must be to blame, the invisible force must interact weirdly with the technology.

“Incoming!” Admiral Harris said. “Weaponry, lock targets and open fire. Send out boarding parties! Compensate our trajectory.”

Nukes and rail gun shots were exchanged among the two evenly matched fleets. Laser beams lit up the darkness of space. The main view screen presented the carnage. Nuclear explosions breached ships and cooked crews instantly. Men and women dying by the hundreds, their minds blinking out of existence. It was too fast and the sheer amount of deaths too large. At the facility it had always been slow and steady, one subject at a time. Saif had been in control, but out here it was chaos. True, utter chaos. This was his first battle in space.

“Tom, keep those stealth ships in our hands. Don’t let them be destroyed. But you need to help our fleet too. Claw back control to me,” Saif said.

A few weeks of focused training had evolved the boy. Tom’s power and control had improved significantly, the strength and precision behind his invisible force was art. The stealth ships were dragged through the clashing fleets, straight through the field of battle where nuclear bombs raged and laser beams sliced after them. Tom pulled and shoved the stealth ships in just the right directions and distances to avoid all the threats. Sweetness rushed into Saif’s mouth and he dove inside the boy’s mind. Synapses were firing and that core cluster of thoughts and its tendrils lit up every time Tom accessed his manifestation. It was a more colorful show of fireworks than the space battle that took place outside the ship. He realized that without Tom, they would never have been able to pluck those ships right out from the Americans’ hands. Decha and his portals could never have been able to achieve this. That Asian lunatic, with his hook leaning towards madness, it was difficult to get him to do what he wanted even with the vines. No. Decha made good use when thrown into a stalemate, when all you wanted was chaos and destruction. But when you wanted control and precision, Tom was unmatched.

One of the stealth ships blew up.

Saif’s lips pulled to the side. A loss, but not too great. Tom just had to keep going at it.

“Communication incoming,” Admiral Harris said.

The face of a man slid into the view screen, partially covering the star chart and the ongoing battle. The man was calm and collected, not even a small twitch that could reveal anxiety. 

“I am Commander Jackson and this system is under American control, you fucking lunatics. Abort, turn and fly away. You think you can step into my house and kill my men? You are wrong,” Jackson said. “And those stealth ships are mine.”

What a rude prick. Commander Jackson was the one who had started hurling nukes at them and now the curses flooded from his mouth.

“Let’s get one thing clear, Commander Jackson. Your ships and planets, those are mine now,” Saif said, righting the collar of his uniform. At what distance did Commander Jackson sit at? Maybe it was time to join the fight. Saif found the sweetness and searched the battlefield, but the Navy Commander’s mind was nowhere within his reach. It was far to the capital planet and the Commander was not dumb enough to engage Saif’s fleet in person. Saif returned to his own body.

A rumble went through the ship and Saif stumbled but regained his balance. They had taken a hit. A big one.

Commander Jackson must have observed, because a smile widened in his face. “I heard what you did against Putin. How you turned his own people against him. You mind pervert. You think you are the only one with magic users? Think again, asshole.”

The view screen changed, Commander Jackson vanished and the battlefield took the entire surface. And magic, the wielding of manifestations were not magic, it was evolution. How could the Americans have manifestees? There had been only one natural snapped person ever and that was himself. All others were created by his hand, or rather his mind. And no one was unaccounted for. Could Commander Jackson be bluffing?

“Tom, how are you doing?” Saif asked.

Sweat trickled down the boy’s face, he was struggling. “I have lost three more to their nukes. It is too difficult to keep track and move all the ships at the same time in different motions and directions. And also assisting the general flow of the battle.”

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“Let go. Hold onto fewer, but be sure to keep those whole. We don’t need all of them. Admiral Harris, add support for the stealth ships,” Saif said. “Now.”

It was time to join the fight. Saif reached deep into his own mind. Blood. Blood. He was in control, he was always in control, his control was unchallenged; the control of the mental world. The red colored deposit grew distinct, the distance to it shortened. Milo had changed the game for everyone. Saif reached for the deposit, it was so close! 

But it would not be. His strength stumbled, the blood deposit was lost in the darkness of his mind. He sought the water instead, its sweet taste flooding into his mouth. He dove away from his physical body, out and away from the ship. All available minds lit up like light bulbs. Like the Russians, there would be a lot of simpletons, it was just the nature of the two cultures. For some reason, stupidity was spread among them.

Saif dove into a juggernaut’s Captain. A sturdy mind, a veteran Navy man. Weathered through many battles before, but there would be little for him to weather when Saif clawed at his mind. The Captain’s stream of thoughts grew clear, he seeded all around it and injected orders directly into the stream, pulling at the Captain's anxiety. Madness, madness turned into chaos. Enemies at all corners, no allies, alien monsters roaming the corridors. Saif pulled out and dove into more victims, still within the same ship. One person would not be enough for a critical mass. The Captain went berserk, pulling his sidearm and started to laser down his own line of officers, except the ones that Saif had started to turn. 

The mutiny came into full effect, Saif seeded more and more of the crew until enough the critical amount was reached. Then he jumped to the next juggernaut. The turned ship discharged their weapons at their previous allies. Betrayal made the toughest of beings crack.

“Help!” Tom yelled at his physical body.

Saif pulled away and dove back home. “What? I am turning the tide and you dare to interrupt me!”

“I placed the stealth ships behind our fleet. But one blew up anyway,” Tom said. “Not even one of their nukes or laser got through. It just blew.”

Saif had his suspicions, diving into the mental realm again and searched. There was a mind moving into one of the stealth ships. He went closer. It was located inside its reactor core. How can that be? The ship blew, turning into radioactive slag. But Saif didn’t leave the hunt, his mind unaffected by the physical dangers. The mind of the culprit floated across to the next stealth ship. Locked. Saif dove into the mind. A man. The man’s thought stream raged with purpose, there was strength behind his mind. Saif yanked thoughts right out from the stream and studied them.

A natural born manifestee. It was true what the Commander had said. Then there were two of them. Lieutenant James Charles. With the manifestation of nuclear power. That was why he was able to be inside the reactor core and survive the nuclear explosions. And somehow James’ barrier was strong enough for him to travel through vacuum. A blood fueler, maybe? A natural born manifestee that had learned to fuel with blood on his own presented new paths this war could take. Maybe his aptitude to learn new deposits was stronger than Milo’s even? Lieutenant James Charles would be pulled into the fold.

Saif seeded him. Vines sprouted from the seeds, but the radiation burnt them and the seeds into crisps. A mental attribute. Saif licked his lips. James was formidable.

“Tom, grab him and hold tight,” Saif said. “The nuclear man. He hides within the reactor core’s radiation. Slam him into the walls. Weaken him.”

Tom nodded. “Yes, sir. But I will have to let go of most of the ships.”

“This treasure is better,” Saif mumbled, preparing a volley of new seeds. “If only one of the stealth ships make it, the cost is worth it. Give me the nuclear man.”

The ship rumbled again. Were they losing the battle?

“His barrier is failing,” Tom said, panting. The task took its toll on Tom, all this long distant fighting demanded much from him.

Saif dove back into James’ mind and seeded the nuclear man again, they rooted and showed no signs of burning. Vines sprouted out and climbed around the stream of thoughts, grabbing control. Victory.

He pulled out and dove back into his own body.

He exchanged a smile with Tom. Tom waved his arms violently through the air. 

“No!” Saif yelled.

But it was too late. The nuclear man’s mind flew across the battlefield, back towards behind the enemy lines. Saif dove after it, reaching for the accelerating mind, his mental fingers almost grasping the edge. Lieutenant James Charles fell out of his reach. He dove back to his body.

Tom was lying on the bridge’s floor and Rachel knelt beside him, seemingly using her manifestation to heal him. The effect was immediate, Tom looked better, his eyes more awake.

“What did you do?” Saif stepped forward. “What did you do?”

Rachel met his eyes, with her hands on Tom’s shoulders. She looked afraid.

“Tom,” Saif said.

Tom coughed. “Your seeds were burning after you left his mind. The radiation was too much. Sir, you were just too busy cheering your victory to see that you were losing. James would have gone nuclear the second he stepped into this ship. We all would have died. I saved us, all of us.”

Saif bit down, hard. The sweetness rushed back into his mouth and he dove into Tom’s mind. The boy had somehow been able to circumvent his control. He inspected the seeds and vines around Tom’s thought stream, but everything looked alright. How had the boy done it? He yanked thoughts out from the stream and studied them, but they all told the same tale. Tom had acted according to the orders that had been given to him. Saif swallowed and returned to his own body.

“Alright, Tom,” Saif said.

The battlefield had turned quiet when he traveled mentally. Admiral Harris looked relaxed and his officers breathed calmly. The fighting was over. The star chart displayed how the remains of the American fleet had cut its losses, turned tail and was flying away from this solar system.

Saif sighed. “Tom, how many stealth ships survived?” Maybe there was still something left to gain from this disaster.

Tom straightened. “One. I saved us, I really did. You saw it inside my mind, I am telling the truth.”

“I know, boy,” Saif said, turning away from Tom. “Admiral Harris, bring the stealth ship into our dock. Reverse engineer its stealth function. Highest priority. And move our fleet into our new system. Map and mark anything of importance.” Saif looked at his vanguard. “Tom, Rachel, with me.”

-

It looked no more than any of their standard equipped corvettes, really, as the single stealth ship rested on the shuttle floor. But the inside was what counted. The stealth tech would be very useful, but it would never be better than the treasure that the nuclear man had represented.

Rachel and Tom walked side by side, she kept a hand on his side. If Saif had not known better, he would have believed that she had a thing for Tom.

“Tom, give the ship a pat down for me,” Saif said. “I want to know if it is rigged. We cannot have it explode in our faces.”

Minutes passed as Tom prodded the ship. “I am not finding any traps. Not even in the stealth drive’s proximity.”

The Admiral engineers stood by, waiting for instructions. They looked hungry, they wanted to know how that ship functioned. Saif turned to them.

“Go ahead. Get me that stealth drive,” Saif said.

-

Tom followed his mental command and pressed his back to the wall, Saif towered over the boy.

“How did you disobey my order? By murdering that manifestee. He could have made a decent addition to the team,” Saif said.

Tom’s face looked cold and lacking emotions, just like he had been told. “He posed a danger. A danger I needed to deal with.”

“By flinging him into space!” Saif yelled an inch from Tom’s face, spit landing on the boy’s face. “Unnecessary and not all the orders I gave you. You should have brought him in alive.”

Rachel stepped to his side, her presence alone making him relax, his shoulders fell back again. “Actually. You spat out many commands. Instead of being angry, listen to what Tom is trying to say to you. If Tom had not acted, that nuclear man would have blown our ship and killed us the moment he stepped inside. You didn’t see that your seeds were burning.”

“That is not how it works!” Saif yelled. Why was his own woman standing up against him and protecting the boy? “My mental command should be followed by the letter, there should be little room for improvisation. Lieutenant James Charles was not going to blow up our ship. I had control, my seeds were not burning.”

“So you are saying that there are no loopholes, none at all? If you say to Tom to protect our lives and your behavior endangers them, why should he not be able to act?” Rachel said.

“This behavior was outrageous. Rachel, why are you doing this?” Saif asked.

Rachel frowned. “Doing what?”

“This discussion is meaningless. There is no reason for you to take Tom’s side. He is just another subject, another manifestee under my command. Why do you care so much for him?” Saif said.

“I… I don’t like how you treat him. I like him. I like him very much,” Rachel said.

Saif sighed. “You are forcing my hand. I thought it would never come to this, but I was wrong.”

Rachel’s eyes widened. “No. Not that. Please.”

“Rachel, Rachel,” Saif said, shaking his head. “I am seeding you. I cannot have you behave like this. It is just another hurdle for us to vault. We are vaulting this one together, okay? It has to be done.”

Rachel’s face contorted, she was afraid. “No. No. Not that. Please. Anything, but that. I will behave. I will be nice. I don’t like Tom, I promise.”

“Your pleading confirms my superstitions,” Saif said.

Saif found the single seed which he constructed earlier, giving it just the correct tweaks to correct her behavior but not to compromise other thoughts or emotions. Hopefully it would be enough.

Rachel was down on her knees, face in her palms. She looked so frail. “Please, Saif. I don’t want to, I don’t need to be seeded.”

“I think this will be good for us both,” Saif said.

Saif sucked down the sweetness and dove into her mind, her stream of thoughts became distinct right away. Where would be a good spot? He placed the seed underneath the stream, rooting it just at the edge of it. Vines cracked the soft shell and shot out, clinging and climbing around the stream, in search of the rogue behavior. There. It had been done. He pulled out, his physical body awakened again.

“It has been done,” Saif said.

Rachel looked calm, the only evidence left of her being upset was the streaks of tears along her cheeks. He helped her up, wiping off the tears with the back of his sleeves.

“There. You will feel better now,” Saif said. “You know, Rachel, I have been thinking about doing this for quite some time. Your behavior changed once we folded Tom into the vanguard. Something changed in you and you care a little too much about him. But now you will feel better. I promise. Go back to my chamber and prepare a meal.”

The command was picked up and Rachel walked away, focused to do his bidding. Maybe this was just what she needed, a narrower path to walk along.

“Tom, don’t think you will get off as easily,” Saif said.

Tom reacted. There was an intelligence to his eyes. Sweetness flooded into Saif’s mouth and he dove into the boy’s mind.

As he suspected. The vines around Tom’s thought stream had deteriorated, allowing the boy to construct thoughts that had potential to circumvent his commands. Control had to be established again. Sometimes vines would crack if the subject was experiencing severe stress or anxiety, even if the subject could not know, or didn’t know how to fight, the body instinctively did. He mended the damages and planted a handful of new seeds, which all sprouted the moment they rooted. The vines went after any rogue elements in the mind and destroyed them. If the boy had any feelings for Rachek, they would be gone now. The trap thought he had engineered all those months ago, still lay dormant, he had almost forgotten about it. If the degradation grew too severe, he could always deploy the trap thought and shut down Tom’s mind.