The pair of teenagers found themselves back in the white isolation room. Tearyn blinked at Allison. She spoke in Qual’sa, which Allison seemed to understand as if she’d been speaking it since she was a child.

“I am sorry, I do not know what happened. It was like your memories and mine were incompatible when it came to the Silwrath.”

Allison rubbed her temples. The connection had been fine, with no pain but now her head was throbbing. She was physically fine, but her brain… was so tired she stumbled and had to catch herself on the couch. She finally collapsed into the cushions. Allison held up her hand when Tearyn moved to help her. The Qual’sa seemed to be a touchy feely people. Likely because that was how they preferred to communicate.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Just a bit dizzy. Is that because we didn’t break the link ourselves.”

Tearyna nodded.

“Yes, I’ve never had it happen before. I’ve never heard of it happening before.”

Tearyna rubbed her own temples.

“Perhaps next time we should avoid anything to do with the Silwrath or approach it differently. I was trying to share my memories of them.”

There was a buzz at the door. Allison pulled herself up.

“Look, I need to go, just, think about what I said, they’ll ask your opinion, you are royalty after all, but if they do, you might want to keep your status… quiet. Just one question before I go, why wouldn’t you talk to anyone else but me?”

Tearyna frowned.

“They are Tal’nal’sa, not the people. Betrayers.”

Allison blinked a few times.

“Why?”

“They have dark skin, only the Tal’nal’sa have dark skin. They broke the circle. They betrayed their people. My people. I have memories of the civil war. I do not trust them. You rescued me, we linked, you I trust. And the ones that grabbed me and tried to force a link were mentally feeble. As much as I despise their kind, I would not destroy their minds for touching me against my will.”

Allison rubbed her face. Dark Skin? Her new friend was a racist? While some still held to the old grudges for the most part the human race of the 30th Century were color blind. They had seen dinosaur people and dragon people… A cluster of intelligent cells in armor. Now elves. Vampires and Wolf-born had always existed. It was hard to worry about skin color these days unless it pertained to the viability of survival on a colony world and only for the fact certain human skin pigments made them immune to the solar radiation.

“I am probably going to regret this… but uh, can you show me those memories through the link?”

Tearyna who was also mentally exhausted still nodded. She sat beside Allison and took her hand. Their consciousness merged and Allison was taken back to one of Tearyna’s ancestor’s memories that had been passed from Mother to Daughter for fifty millennia. Two sisters one dark skinned, one light skinned fought over the throne. The civil war spanned half the Andromeda Galaxy. Planets cracked in half, terrible superweapons that could destroy stars. The Queen shredding an entire fleet with her telekinesis alone. A war that was so terrible that the Qual’sa retreated to their homeworld and ceased travelling the stars long before the humans climbed out of the mud. The dark-skinned ones, the Tal’Qual’Sa travelled past the galactic rim on vast colony ships, never to be seen again. Tearyna released the link and both were back in the waking world.

“Tearyna, we humans do not care about skin color. There were too few of us left to bother worrying about such things. You’re going to see mostly dark-skinned humans here bec-”

“They are criminals and betrayers. What crime have you committed to be stuck here?”

Allison took a deep breath. Yep, this was going to be a difficult conversation.

“No crimes were committed. People entered a lottery and were selected for the colony. The System’s Alliance does that because we don’t want to overwhelm supply chains and planetary ecosystems. Our homeworld and the Sol system where we’re from is overpopulated. The only people eligible for this placement have very specific skin pigments that make them immune to the solar radiation. I was sent because my parents were posted here. It has nothing to do with social status, crimes or whatever. So, the majority of the people on this colony world, Eden Prime, are going to be darker in complexion but only because they suffer no ill effects from this system’s sun. That’s it. I am different… I just found out and it’s probably the reason I can join your link with no ill effects and fly a Synthlin fighter. So please, if you want to thank me, pay me back, reward me for my rescue of you, please treat everyone here with respect until they prove differently. These people are my friends, my colleagues and my family.”

Tearyna seemed to consider her words carefully, her magenta eyes focused on Allison’s Golden eyes.

“It will be challenging, but I will honor your wishes, my new friend.”

Allison smiled.

“Thank you, uh, what should I call you? Majesty? Queen?”

Tearyna gave a musical laugh as she heard Allison name off various titles.

“Please, just Aryna. It’s my name among friends. Tearyna is my full royal name. Te, is our honorific for Queen. Before I became Queen I was Learyna, or Princess Aryna in your Alliance Standard. May I call you Ison?”

Allison stifled a giggle.

“If you want, but my name is actually Allison.”

Allison tapped the black board on her shoulder with one thin golden line of thread.

“My rank is Ensign, I’m the lowest ranking commissioned member in our armed forces. Because I’m part of the Space Navy, I am an Ensign, if I was ground forces, I would be a Lieutenant junior grade. Between us there was no way I’d work out in the ground forces; Green is definitely not my color. Clashes with my eyes.”

Aryna laughed.

“I haven’t laughed this much in many cycles. Thank you, Allison.”

There was another buzz. Allison glanced at her HUD. Their entire conversation, the memories, the link, it had only been ten minutes.

“Look, I do need to go, that buzz means they’re getting impatient. I’ll be back as soon as I can, Aryna.”

Aryna stood up and waited for Allison to leave. She sat down and picked up the tablet again. Allison ran into the same Major outside who looked her up and down.

“Ensign, how are you speaking her language?”

Allison glanced at the door that had sealed itself.

“I do not know sir, but it feels like I’ve been speaking it forever. I have some intel.”

He motioned towards the SCIF.

“The president is waiting for you.”

The Major escorted her to the SCIF and opened comms to Earth. The President looked at the Major.

“Thank you Major. You may leave.”

The Major looked a bit shocked but he quickly hid the expression and left the room. Maria waited until the room was confirmed secure by the base VI.

“What did you learn, Ensign?”

Allison stood at attention and opened her mouth to speak. Maria pointed to the chair at the head of the table.

“Sit down, be at ease Ensign, Allison, think of me like an Auntie.”

Allison sat down and placed her cap on the desk. Aunties on Eden Prime were kind, but feared if one was up to no good. Considering the President an Auntie didn’t really help her calm down.

“Ma’am, first of all, they do not communicate or think like you and I. They have perfect recollection of memories. They can hear, sense, smell, see, feel, taste, relive the emotions. If someone can join the link they can share their memories and pull you into them. They apparently can also transfer memories. Aryna, I mean Tearyna is the repository for every memory of her entire race. Tearnya’s mother transferred all of her memories to Tearnya. It is usually done over time but she absorbed them all at once. Ma’am, Tearnya’s mother… and now Tearnya have the memories of every single death of their race. They experienced the genocide Qual’sa by Qual’sa. Her mind is on the verge of collapsing and she is of no real help for the intelligence you need.”

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Maria’s full hologram leaned forward in the seat across from Allison.

“You got something, did you not, Allison? I can see it on your face. You are frightened.”

Allison gripped the edge of the table from underneath tugging on it.

“Ma’am, if they still exist and they swarm we’re doomed. The League of Sentient Races nuked entire worlds and wiped out their own armies and still the Sal’nash didn’t die. I wish I could show you the memory like she showed me hers.”

Maria frowned.

“So, she’s not useful.”

Allison looked at a spot on the table.

“I didn’t say that ma’am. I think we could help her remember; It just might not be… conventional.”

Maria’s deathly pale blue tinged lips curved into a smile.

“What is your plan, Allison?”

Allison bit her lower lip.

“Ma’am, I think we should put her in school. Move her in with a foster family. She is about my age physically. Though she is over two hundred earth years old. Not including stasis.”

Maria leaned back tapping her fingers on her own conference table.

“Very well. She is your new assignment, Allison. Your parents have a sizable estate on the colony. More then enough room for her.”

Allison opened and closed her mouth a few times.

“I’m not sure I’m good enough for that ma’am.”

“Allison, I trust you with this.”

Allison froze for a few moments.

“Ma’am, I might be, but my mom…”

Maria smiled and leaned back in her chair.

“It will be fine Allison, I will tell the Joint Chiefs and Eden Prime Security Forces this is the way it is going to be. Now on to the other thing I wanted to discuss with you.”

Allison was now very confused.

“Ma’am?”

Maria stood up and her hologram walked around the SCIF’s boardroom table and sat on the edge of it.

“You may have noticed you are going through some changes.”

Allison blushed. Was the President of a budding Republic that spanned three galaxies giving her the birds and the bees conversation? Allison started to fiddle with the brim of her cap while she stared at Maria like a startled deer. Maria continued.

“You have heard the word dhampir. I know because I heard everything the doctor said to you. The curse of being a vampire ancient. Supernaturally good hearing, and pretty much every other sense. Here is the thing about dhampirs. You have all of our vampiric strengths and none of our weaknesses. You will heal miraculously fast. You will take the kind of abuse that would kill a normal human and you will keep fighting. You are an apex predator. Do you know why you knew how to kill that Sal’nash?”

Allison blinked at the President and shook her head.

“Allison, it is because we vampires, and dhampirs process information far faster then a normal human. We assess threats, then we assess their weaknesses. Then we end those threats. A human in that situation would have died. Vampires when we are reborn in unlife have access to all of our abilities almost immediately, but for dhampirs, it is a combination of puberty and adrenaline. I could tell in the video when you activated your latent abilities. Time slowed down for you, just before you drew your combat knife, did it not?”

Allison nodded.

“I bet you felt exhausted afterwards.”

Allison nodded again. Maria smiled.

“You are probably feeling pretty exhausted right now. Something you cannot quite put your finger on. You could describe it as a general fatigue, a malaise even.”

Allison quirked her head to the side.

“I am sorry, if this is inappropriate ma’am, but if you’re a vampire, how do you know what it feels like to be a dhampir?”

Maria smiled.

“Because, Allison, I was born a dhampir. My father was the first vampire. He could still have children. I was never really human. The fatigue you are feeling is the energy in your blood being depleted. Think of it as a vitality normal human do not have. This vitality will allow you to be superhuman, but it is a limited supply, and when it runs out you are going to feel exhausted. There was some blood loss as well. Usually wounds would heal much quicker, but something about these Sal’nash is capable of hurting us supernatural creatures in a way that compromises our enhanced healing. Likely the toxin they seem to inject. We will have to experiment with it, the Vampire Council already has samples. So, you are going to be healing for a while, still faster than a normal human. A normal human would have died from that injury.”

Allison couldn’t help her curiosity.

“Ma’am, why are you telling me this and not some VI on the Alliance-net.”

Maria smiled.

“I have a special interest in you, and your career, I will be assisting you with this transition. Normally we would send a representative of the vampire council to assist you but Eden Prime’s sun is somewhat unhealthy for vampires. I’m still working on a solution. Until then you’re stuck with vampire lessons from me. At this point, the next big conversation we’ll need to have about your vampiric heritage is when your fangs show up.”

Allison blinked.

“Fangs? What?”

Maria went to touch Allison’s hand but of course being a hologram their hands passed through each other.

“You are part vampire Allison. You can gain sustenance from blood. You can also use it to replenish that vitality I spoke of. Your retractable fangs will show up in time. And your enhanced night vision. Your ident chit would already have been dissolved by your body. You’ll need a replacement. No one else on the colony requires an organic one, so there are none. You’ll receive a package; It will include instructions, follow them precisely. This is probably a good time to tell you that you will never be able to get cybernetics or enhanced bio-organs. Your body will reject them and just regrow what was taken out. I have had a case of Synth-O sent to your home. Three bottles a day until you heal, otherwise you will be exhausted. It is not flavored. You can switch to that later, but for now you need to get used to the taste and feel of drinking blood.”

Allison threw up a little bit in her mouth at the thought of consuming blood.

“Blood?”

Maria nodded.

“And before you ask, no we cannot just give it to you intravenously your body will not process it that way and we would just be adding more blood to your veins then your body could handle. You should get home.”

Allison stood up at attention.

“Aye, ma’am.”

Maria stood up. She seemed to want to say more but hesitated, finally she said.

“Good luck, Allison. If you notice anything strange, any new abilities you’re having trouble controlling contact me immediately. I’ve sent my direct comm link to your holo-phone. Don’t share it please.”

Maria’s hologram vanished. Allison still felt like the President had left a lot of what she wanted to say unsaid. Allison left the SCIF. The Major was waiting outside he looked at her expectantly. Allison put her hat on.

“Sorry, sir, she’s gone.”

The Major frowned. His greying beard did little to hide his disappointment.

“You’ll need to be debriefed.”

“Sorry sir, she gave me orders to head straight home. I will report for debriefing tomorrow after school.”

He grumbled and checked something on his AR HUD then motioned towards a row of chairs.

“There will be a delay before your transport leaves. Apparently, it will have another passenger. Have a seat, Ensign.”

Allison scooped her skirt up under her legs and sat down. She crossed her legs and started surfing the Alliance-net. She was deep in a post about another release of twenty-first century media from Winter Wolf Corp. She wondered how they kept finding these massive caches. It was exabytes of data. Not that the quantum computers of the 30th century used binary anymore, but the terminology had stuck. The company’s primary shareholder had been sixteen when she founded the corp and was very reclusive. Allison wondered what it would be like to be sixteen and have a fortune to rival the Aurelius family. She was only a third of the way through the list of movies and TV shows that were in the latest cache by the time the Major returned. There were literally millions of video files. She waved her hand and sent the article she was reading to the edge of the AR HUD her contacts provided. It was added to the other hundred tabs she had open. Likely to be forgotten like they had been.

Allison stood up and saw Aryna walking towards them with an Intelligence officer and two corporals escorting her. She was wearing a black flight suit with no mission or squadron patches. Likely the only thing they had that would fit the girl’s slight figure. Allison smiled at her and went to follow her outside but the Major stopped her.

“Ensign, a word please.”

Allison laughed nervously.

“Okay, but only one sir.”

The Major did not look amused. He wore a turban with his SAI badge instead of the typical hat.

“Ensign, I hope you didn’t make a mistake in suggesting this. She could be dangerous. She is also our most valuable resource when it comes to the Sal’nash and the Silwrath threats.”

Allison wasn’t entirely sure the Silwrath were the threat they had been made out to be. Her own memories of them were forever intermingled with the conflicting memories Aryna had shared with her.

“Sir, she has the memories of her entire species, her mother and the Sal’nash war jammed into her head. We’re lucky she can form words. She needs time and that room you had her in was not the solution. I just suggested it, the President made the decision. I mean, with all due respect, sir.”

The Major’s lips pursed.

“In my opinion the President is putting too much stock in a child’s ideas. I don’t know what her interest is in you, Ensign, but politicians are capricious at best and their favor is fickle and when it is gone, you’ll still be here with us. Next time you have an idea, speak to a superior officer before you share your ideas with the civilian government. We have a chain of command for a reason, and we do not look kindly to those who work outside of it for attention.”

Allison felt like he’d just slapped her. She stood at attention and saluted. He saluted back.

“You did good yesterday, but you have a lot to learn. I just hope the lesson doesn’t cost innocent lives. Dismissed, Ensign.”

Allison didn’t run, but she was definitely walking at a quick pace to get away from the Major. If she were more mature she might have taken his dressing down of her for what it was, constructive criticism, but as a sixteen year old girl who was at the best of times emotional he may as well have told her she was the dumbest idiot in the entire System’s Alliance.

Allison pulled herself into the transport. Aryna smiled at her. Allison didn’t notice she was too busy staring out at the passing fields. Harvest time was upon the colony of Eden Prime, and she could see the robotic harvesters in the fields working diligently to bring the crops in. A few tears dripped down her cheeks. She felt Aryna’s fingers slip between her own and through the link the pair was back at the Qual’sa royal gardens. Aryna was hugging Allison from behind.

“Are you alright?”

Allison wasn’t sure how she was so comfortable with Aryna so quickly. Perhaps it was the intimacy of the link the Qual’sa were so fond of communicating through. Allison felt like they had been friends, maybe even something more for their entire lives and she’d spent maybe fifteen minutes with the girl. She leaned back against Aryna.

“It is just a lot.”

Aryna squeezed her more tightly.

“I understand. I am glad we have each other. I’ve never had a friend my age. As princess I was always preparing for taking over from my mother. I did not have time for friends. And I was always kept apart. I don’t know if this is normal for my people. But I feel like I know you and have for my entire life.”

Allison nodded.

“I feel the same, it is so strange.”

Aryna released Allison and motioned for her to follow. They walked down the garden path.

“There are stories amongst all species in the League, of two souls that will always find each other. No matter where they are in time and space.”

Allison smiled.

“Soul mates?”

Aryna shook her head causing her silver hair to bounce against her shoulders. She got an image of true love… romance from Allison.

“No, not like that, it could end up that way, just that two souls belong together. As friends, enemies, or lovers. Our bond already feels like that. I am glad we did not meet each other as enemies.”