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<12/01/2011 - 14:50 | Saffrin Middle School (Math), Austell, GA, USA>

Just as it was last month, my growing excitement was already through the roof. I came out of Wahsega with a refreshed soul and renewed outlook on life. As I sat around some of the people I knew in school, Lumina and I were planning the biggest event of our lives unbeknownst to anyone else. In full pair with her, I patiently waited for her report on all preparations.

"So, you remember the exact time for the start of the operation? My team must depart to the temple in under three hours."

"Of course I remember. Six thirty; that's the time I need to be ready."

"And you've checked to make sure it's going to be cold, right? Really cold!"

"It will be Lumina. I promise, I've been looking into this all day." The temperature right now isn't too impressive, only forty-five Nixus, but once the day grows older, thanks to a welcoming cold front, the air outside will drop right to freezing, at the time I'm to be prepared.

"Good. I'm going to need all the energy I can get."

Her comment was still strange to me. Lumina let on that she was storing a ton of psionic energy for today, but I never understood what the purpose would be for. "If I may say so, you seem kind of nervous."

"I'm surprised you're not, even just a little."

"It's nothing to fret about. I don't have to be afraid to do this Lumina. But I am really excited about this; I can barely contain myself." Even now, I couldn't hold back the sharp smile on my face, though I've been trying to hide any signs of additional excitement from my classmates, in fear they would ask me some personal questions.

"Okay, that's good then. I'll need you to be in top shape tonight Reed. I'm counting on you."

I've been drinking more water than usual, ensuring there's no issues, clearing my home schedule to remove the possibility of homework, and keeping some of my excitement in so that I can calmly save my own energy. I'm not sure what Lumina is up to when it comes to the secondary aspect of this. "I must ask you something... What exact actions will I need to take in the specific moment? I mean, I know nothing about the process there, or what to do when you arrive in the Altiri Temple."

"I have some time to explain it to you, so pay attention."

Before I did, I checked around me to make sure I was left alone. Only Banarus, Maddison, and Kate were around me, but they were too preoccupied with school work to notice anything about me. I was totally left alone, which is what I wanted today. "I'm all ears."

"I'm going to arrive and dock with the Cy-Stars fleet at exactly eighteen-twenty." She referenced military time format, though I understood it immediately, having gotten used to it. "After we sign-in and everything is taken care of, we will be let into the adjacent throne room, which will have already been redecorated for this occasion. But here's what matters for you. I need you to shut yourself inside of your room, remove any and all possible distractions, and then focus on me and only my senses."

"I don't understand. It's almost as if you're asking me to take over your role and observe everything through you, but I've never really been able to do that before. I mean, if we had a strong connection, it might be easier, but it usually takes a lot for only a few seconds or so. The whole sensory shift act is kind of delicate."

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"You and your brain. I'm the expert on psionics, and I know that it won't be a problem this time, cause I have a plan. I've been saving a lot of psionic energy all day for this very moment. Once it starts, I'm going to use all of that energy to invoke my greatest telepathic amplification ever. I'm going to boost the connection as far as it will possibly go, and force sensory shift to occur on a constant rate. This will make it very easy for you to drown in my senses. Everything I perceive will wash over you entirely."

"I didn't even know you had the power to do that." I understood what she was saying at last. In the past, whenever I've been able to see through her eyes and into her world, the view I would have of it overlaps onto my own at a specific transparency. In a stronger connection, that transparency level gets reduced, enhancing the detail level, but I've never been able to get anything more than 90% opacity. If Lumina's plan works the way she thinks it will, she can turn her entire world's opacity to about 100% as it's mapped over onto my senses. I'll essentially be living inside of her own body and mind. Now that I think about it, that's how it's always been for her - relative to my senses. This time, the role will be reversed, and I'll get to see what it's like to be in Lumina's shoes for a change.

"I'm perfectly capable of it, but only for a limited duration. As it's going on, you and I are both going to dehydrate at a more rapid rate. So, you'll need to make sure you have a large supply of water on hand before we start, and I want you to practice taking sips without having to devote any brain power to it at all."

Hold on! I've never done this before! "Will I even be able to return my thoughts to my physical world to be able to sip on that water?"

"If you practice. Think of it like performing an action in your sleep, easy and automatic. Once you understand how it works, it will be easy and self-explanatory. However, the connection dominance will still be in a limited state. You have to keep focusing on me the entire time. If you lose that concentration, even for a moment, you'll return to your original state of senses. If that happens, we can restore the sensory shift, but it would take a minute or two each time per disruption. See why it's important to not be distracted now?"

"Okay..."

"So, you have to fix everything. I need you to curtain up your blinds to block out as much natural light as you can. You then need to soundproof your entire room. Nothing around you should be noisy enough to break your focus, understand?"

"I... I understand. I just hope nobody will be there to interrupt me." I still don't live on my own. My parents are not quiet people, and Mr. Peterson can be quite the hassle. I'll have to find a way to keep everyone away from me today.

"If they do barge in on you, it's going to be very hard to explain it to them. All of your senses will be synchronized to another world, so it's not going to look normal if anyone sees you in that moment. Barricade your room doors and make sure nobody bothers you. That includes placing your cell on mute."

"Got it." I was still lacking demonstration for why all of this was so important, but I trusted Lumina enough to take every aspect seriously. If disruptions are that important to block out, I'll have to do my best today. "Anything else?"

"When we get to the temple, you'll meet some of my friends from other aggressor groups I know. It will take a while before the ceremony begins. Once it does, you'll need to be on your best behavior and ensure you are ready to agree to our vows."

"It sure sounds like a lot to keep up with, and it's surely different than a human wedding, but I've been preparing for this for a long time. You can count on me to ensure everything goes perfectly."

"Good. I'm counting on you for that. For now, I'm going to phase the connection. You're still in your final class of school, and I know we have time before we get there, but I can't have any distractions while I navigate the ship into the docking area. I'll call you back once I've arrived and docked with the station."

"You got it Lumina." With that, Lumina phased the connection out, effectively muting our ability to share all sensory information with each other without breaking the connection.

This is it! Today is the day I'll be getting officially married to Lumina, wed to be husband and wife forever. There's no way I could contain my excitement anymore. At 18:30, we'll be starting the new chapter of our lives.