The world was black. Korsha sat in the lotus position in the center of that darkness. In here there were no external distractions. Yet even still Korsha could not find her center. The emotions within her swirled, guilt and pride collided together, two opposing forces that somehow seem to flow into each other. Not to mention the irritating stings that wrapped around the top of her head. She closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing. Several more agonizing minutes passed and she let out an angry sigh.

In response to her intention to leave the blackness was split at the horizon by a thin white light. The light grew and colors flooded in. Soon the chamber was fully split and she stepped out into her private chambers aboard her ship. It was a large room, having once been the ship's cargo hold. Yet Korsha had realized that if she were to combine her room with the meditation chamber in here it would free up the other rooms up at the upper level of the ship. It had been a suggestion that had pleased her master and he had given her his blessing.

Most of the room was filled up with the large hexagonal shape of the meditation chamber but she was okay with that. She didn't need much in her room and it reflected that. A small bed bunk had been affixed to the far wall. She'd outgrown it but didn't want to bother her master with getting her new one. And she preferred to curl up while she slept anyways. Beyond that was simply a workbench where she could clean her armor and perform repairs.

Korsha stretched, trying to work the kinks out of her neck and shoulders but these, like all the other problems currently plaguing her, persisted. It didn't help that she'd banged her head earlier that morning on the empty upper bunk and was thus fighting off a headache. She dragged herself over to her bed and plopped down. She knew what she needed to do but she wasn't eager.

Just get it over with. The sooner we do it soon were back to meditation preparing ourselves for our next mission. Yet even after thinking that her mind came up with another solution. She could just take a painkiller. Sure it would muddy her mind and cost her several hours but she could sleep during that time.

She bit her lip in indecision. What if her master needed her to leave immediately for something else? She had to be ready in season and out. With a scowl she sent her attention inward. Instead of examining the tainted well of energy within her, she studied the threads that went out from her spirit. Finding the appropriate one she grabbed hold. Her jaw clenched as she shook her head, disgusted with herself.

"I grant you purpose."

A dozen paces away the spirit erupted from the orb in a burst of flame. It landed on the floor in front of her chest armor that was leaned up against the opposite wall. She cast her eyes down, disdained look upon her face, as she watched the spirit scurry over to her. It's name was Aunaku and it was an elementus. A primal spirit made from the essence of fire. A rare find she'd lucked into on one of her earlier missions. The spirit's spider-like body was small, carried by long spindly legs. She groaned as she realized that she needed to feed the spirit lest it burn itself out as it tried to heal her.

Lifting herself up, she was cautious to not hit her head on the upper bunk. Her head was hurting enough as it was. She made her way over to the workbench and flopped onto the chair. Aunaku followed her like a faithful pet. The small spirit jumped onto the side of the workbench before scuttling up onto the tabletop.

Unlike the rest of the room, the workbench was a crowded thing. With various power tools, welding kits, cybernetic packs and other such tools. She reached out and grabbed the torch from the placeholder on the wall. Checking the cartridge she saw that it was half-full. Satisfied that she wouldn't have to go out of her way, she flipped the igniter and watched as the blue flame sparked to life.

Out of the corner of her eyes she could see Aunaku's body trembling with desire.

"Feed."

That was all she had to say for Aunaku to act. The tiny spirit jumped into the flame. It's body writhed in pleasure as the red and blue flame mingled. Aunaku's body grew. It had started out being small enough to fit into the palm of her hand and now after several minutes it was large enough that she would have to cup both her hands together.

Stolen novel; please report.

She flicked off the torch. Aunaku lifted its front leg, reaching for the fading flame. She eyed the spirit. Her guts churned as she reached out her hand and placed it upon the workbench. She hated that she had to rely upon the spirit. It took days of meditation to get rid of the influence it wove into her mind. She figured out long ago that the spirit wasn't trying to bind her but that it was trying to make her more receptive to it. Practically the same thing but we have to do this.

Taking a deep breath she looked up at the ceiling and suppressed a shiver.

"Bind my wounds."

A second later Aunaku was crawling up her arm. Her trained senses allowed her to feel the pinprick of its legs as it skittered up her arm and onto her shoulder. She clinched her eyes shut fighting the nauseating sensation that rose up within her as the spider crawled up on her head. Within heartbeats the stinging just above her ear became dull and then ceased altogether. Aunaku then set to work on the chain circlet's pin pricks which had left a faint bruising.

Korsha let her mind drift as the spirit continued its work. She concentrated on her breathing. It was hard for her mind not to keep going back to Aunaku's skittering along her scalp. A heaviness in the pit of her stomach caught her attention. It was Enaru calling. He wants answers. Answers he won't like and I can't give. Not right now at least. Enaru had seen her master's daemon. He'd watched her disappear along with the spirit fragment. He was going to question her about why she didn't stay in what she had done to the woman's spirit.

He had been furious the first time she'd done it, ranting on about ancient traditions and sacred rights. Things that the Imperial Dominion did not care about. In the end it was only results that mattered. Steady progressing pragmatism. Enaru was a thing of the past, something that couldn't understand the complexities of what she lived under. Her master, and by extension the Dominion, had spent considerable time and resources training her. They were going to demand a return on that debt, as was their right.

What bothered Korsha, what dug beneath her skin like a spike and pierced her, was the fact that Enaru's own disappointed expression was the same one that Deidra had had. The flicker of that image within her mind was enough to create a vast hollowness in her chest that caused her to hunch over, fighting back the stinging in her eyes.

The world jolted.

Korsha jumped up. Her head darted back and forth as she scanned her surroundings. Where was the ship? Why was she in a concrete tunnel? Her nose scrunched up as she inhaled the grotesque stench of garbage. Glancing down, bile rose in her throat as hot fetid sewage flowed past her bare legs. Other people appeared, their feet slapping against the cold murky water causing some of it to splatter upon her barely clad stomach. She shivered as she took sight of the thin orange shirt marked with the number 001.

The others passed her. They were the same height as she was yet they were… children? Her brow furrowed as her mind churned, trying to process why she was seeing.She'd always been on the shorter side of average height but she was definitely not the size of a child.

The world jolted again.

Now standing at the end of the tunnel, the air was frigid, a cold gale twisting its invisible claws through her hair. Before she could react a hot force slammed into her back, the heat radiating out. Her pained wale was stolen from her as the scorching pain raced over her skin. She dropped to a knee, her hand pressing against the smooth wall. The sound of her heart pounded in her ears. Yet somehow she heard the heavy footsteps of someone coming up behind her. She pushed off the wall, turning to face her attacker. Materializing from the darkness, her eyes widened. She knew them…

Korsha ripped Aunaku away from her mind. The spirit smashed against the wall and then fell to the workbench. Its legs curled in on itself as its body spasmed. She marched over to her armor and ripped the orb out of the chest socket. Returning to the desk, she found Aunaku struggling to right itself. She wasn't going to give it that chance. She slammed the orb against its ethereal body, the gem reacting to the spirit as though it were made of physical matter. Korsha watched in satisfaction as Aunaku was yanked into the orb, its essence now floating within the orb like a reddish mist.

With an agitated huff, she flopped back into her chair, her heart still racing from the vision that Aunaku had tried to implant her mind. The damned thing was supposed to be a healer but spirits were complicated, much in the way that people were. Enigma’s of potential and possibility that required lifetimes to understand. In the end she really knew little of the spirit as she’d been putting her examination. She didn’t want to expose herself to the spirit’s influence any more than was necessary. In the back of her head she could hear her technomancer teachers berating her for not understanding all the tools at her disposal.

Standing up, she headed back to the meditation chamber. She needed to clear her mind before she reached Hyperion III. Stepping into the chamber, she plopped down onto the soft bottom. Once more the world disappeared and was placed by comfortable blackness.