"Okay, let me get this straight. My Choosing is over and Dex is my new anchor?"
"Yes, Lieutenant."
"That is fine by me. Now, you're saying you want me to fly our new, shiny, out-of-the-box spaceship using my psi-implant? Are you insane! I'm not a cybernetic psionic. I don't interface with electronics. The psi-implant is used to monitor my health, not do anything else."
"You're placing limits on yourself. Stop that. Let me put it to you this way, young lady. If you don't use that very gifted mind and talents we gave you, we will all die. Do you want that to happen? Even your precious Gatoan husband will be killed."
"Dex," Jewels whispered, her heart giving a painful squeeze at the thought of losing him. "No, I won't let that happen! I still can't believe Psi Ops manipulated my DNA, and right now, I don't care. Understand this, after I'm finished kicking wolf butt, I'm done. I'm not going to stay on Earth. I'm going with Dex to wherever he decides to take me. And you can't stop me."
"Fair enough. Are you ready? The Jewels II is over there," Brion gestured out the left window.
"Wow," Jewels whispered and stared at the large, sleek ship. She wasn't much on spacecraft, but even she could tell this vessel packed some power. She gulped and thought about becoming one with the ship. That's how Brion described it. For Dex and Jeremy, who mattered most to her, she would do as Brion asked. It was her turn to keep the men in her life safe. She missed the secretive smile Brion cast in her direction as she prepared to do the impossible.
"We're docking now," he announced. The shuttle jolted a little as it glided into place.
Jewels heard the clang of the docking clamps and the door opened. She stared as the President stuck his head inside.
"Brion! Took you long enough. The Gatoans are getting pounded. Two of their four ships have been disabled. I'm sending out two squadrons right now to assist." The President turned to Jewels. "Don't just sit there, girl! Get up and follow me. We have your seat warm and ready."
Jewels flinched, stood and followed the President from the shuttle. The ship was huge and she didn't have time to get her bearings as she was escorted to the elevator. She fidgeted on the way up and practically ran out into the command center when the doors opened. She tried to take in the entire area and failed. It was huge, oval shaped and in the middle was a giant metallic seat with cables running down the back of it and disappearing into the floor.
Flaring outward from the main seat were four large consoles each with three seats behind it. Stationed in each chair was a psionic that she recognized or had worked with in the past ten years, including two ex-anchors. She did a double take. Shock hit her first, followed by denial and then anger.
"Is this someone's idea of a joke?" she snarled and whirled around to glare at the President.
"Joke?"
Jewels ignored the President's stony expression. "You have two of my former anchors here. If I understood Colonel Brion's explanation, this ship responds to psionics. Any anchors that worked with me in the past would be burned out."
"Ah, I see. Colonel, if you would do the honors."
"Of course, Mr. President. Lieutenant, I am happy to inform you that your power is not lethal as we once thought it to be. You can thank Skylar and Eric for helping our psi-doctors discover that what you drained wasn't an anchor's natural abilities, but their power to shield. Any other gifts they possessed before the pairing, they retained."
She paled and her gaze went from Brion to Skylar and Eric, who both had the grace to flush under her angry scrutiny. "I...see." She felt the tension rise in the room and she didn't care.
Jewels rarely got worked up, but at the moment she felt like making an exception. She wanted to lash out and hurt everyone for not being truthful with her. It was the only thing she ever asked of those she considered friends and comrades. She felt betrayed. Her attention shifted when she saw Jeremy emerge from beneath the console between Skylar and Eric.
Jeremy stood up, dusted his hands off and chuckled. "Jewels! Hey Kid, how about you sit in that seat and let's kick some alien tail!" He slid into the center seat between the two ex-anchors and looked at her expectantly.
Nonplussed, Jewels wavered between giving vent to her frustration or obeying Jeremy's cheerful yet admonishing order. Habit and training won out. She moved toward her seat.
The psionics cheered and Jewels decided that her very long talk with Psi-Ops command would have to wait until later. No one lied to her. No one!
All eleven psionics brushed against her mind and introduced themselves to her once again.
::First Sergeant Patrice Riley reporting as ordered.::
::Hi, Patrice! I haven't spoken to you in ages. How is your son?::
::Oh, you know how he is. Five years old and thinks he's grown.::
Jewels chuckled. ::It's really good to see you again.::
::Likewise, Jewels. Likewise.::
::Lance Corporal Robin Van Dyke here and glad to see you again, Lieutenant::
::Thank you Robin. Looks like congratulations on the promotion.::
::I told them I didn't want to move up in rank, but I guess when you take a bullet for an officer that means something.::
::Did it hurt?::
::Like the dickens, but I got to play hero so chalk up one mark for the nerd team.::
Jewels giggled and focused on the rest of the introductions.
::Dr. Yasmine Fores. I will be keep track of everyone's health, specifically yours and Colonel Lingley.::
::Duly noted.:: Jewels nodded. She understood what the good doctor was saying and it irked her. Once again she felt like a lab rat, running through a Psi-Ops maze.
::I'm Dr. Melinda Reed. We met once when you were six. Dr. Cosmit is my sister.::
::I thought you looked familiar. It is a pleasure to meet you.::
The male psionics decided to keep it brief, only announcing their names in quick succession.
::Captain Michael Stein::
::Major Nathan Retton::
::Lieutenant Colonel Skylar Anderson::
::Lieutenant Colonel Eric Perez::
::Major Tyler Nonan::
::Captain Lionel Jamison::
::Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm Smith::
Jewels was mollified somewhat. The psionics before her were good people and she felt wanted, welcomed and in control. She stepped up to the command chair and sat. The chair molded itself to her body and she felt the head rest adjusting. She had no warning before the interfacing needle plunged into the back of her neck and connected with her sub-dermal psi-implant.
She yelped as pain lanced through her mind and she forgot to breathe. Her body convulsed and Jewels fell into what she privately thought of as her psionic wellspring where her powers resided.
::Easy, Jewels. Don't force it.::
::That's easy for you to say, Jeremy! You're not the one with a needle being jabbed into your neck!::
::Kid, the system's interface was designed for you. Focus on the vid-screen and react, yet do so with caution. The machine is intuitive and capable of learning, but dead is still dead if you overreact to anything. We are all here to assist you and to use our unique abilities to save humankind. Your mind now has the downloads of our psi-profiles. Command us, Jewels. We are ready.::
::Thank you, Jeremy.:: She was enveloped by eleven reassuring mental touches. ::Let's go!::
The ship responded easily to her will as they flew from orbit and headed toward the fight. Jewels felt a ferocity bubbling beneath her normal emotional calm. Dex had named her his Onugrass and she would prove his words true.