Chapter 6

Three days later, Orin wanted to scream in frustration. There had been five catastrophes in Engineering. At this rate, he would never get to see Tasa and start her training. But the commander wanted him to work overtime today to fix everything. He was delusional.

Orin needed to get out of Engineering—and quick.

Setting down his screwdriver, he approached his Second, Leon. "I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

Leon grinned, his blue-silver eyes dancing with mirth. "You need a stiff drink, don't you?"

It was almost too easy. "That would be great, actually."

Leon cracked his knuckles. "I got everything under control here. Go get that drink, my man. I mean, sir."

Orin smiled. "I owe you one."

"And I will collect," Leon said. He made a shooing gesture with his hands. "Now, get out of here! I got work to do!"

Chuckling, Orin left Engineering. He considered that stiff drink but knew he couldn't be gone too long. However long it took to get Tasa's training going would probably be too long as it was.

He made his way to the concealed hallway, trying to look natural and not guilty. Truth was, he hated deceiving everyone, but helping Tasa and Falda escape was too important to abandon in a fit of conscience.

"Orin? What are you doing all the way over here?"

The commander! Orin's pulse spiked. He spun around, rearranging his expression to one of getting things done. "Sir, I was just looking for a specific type of fitting. I was told there was a storage room around here that might contain it."

He hoped that would suffice.

"Oh." The commander made a vague gesture up ahead and to the left. "I believe it's that way. Although I am no engineer." He laughed, and Orin forced himself to laugh with him. "I don't suppose you have time for a quick bite to eat, do you? You can fill me in on all the changes you're making to make this ship run more efficiently."

"I'd love to, sir, but I have a bunch of things to fix in Engineering, if you recall."

The commander looked pained. "Yes, I remember. Actually, I should probably get back up there. Who knows what your Second is getting up to. See you around, Orin."

Orin smiled at the commander's retreating back.

He made himself invisible and hurried to Tasa's cell. The hidden door had not been fixed yet, so he was able to just slip in there and close the inner door.

His need to see her eclipsed everything else, and he wondered…

No way. Their people were enemies, and they would probably go back to being enemies after this was over.

Just like before, Tasa and Falda were busy mending garments. Tasa's face looked a bit less swollen, to his relief. She was healing—at least physically.

He made himself visible. "Hello again, ladies."

Tasa gasped. "You scared me!"

"I'm sorry. I was almost caught by the commander. Had to get rid of him quickly. I didn't want to take any more chances of being noticed."

"So where do we begin?" Tasa asked.

"At the beginning," Orin said solemnly. How to pack a lifetime of training into a few days?

"Explain that, please," Tasa said, moving closer to him. But she was careful not to touch him, not even a little bit.

"I wish I could join you," Falda said. "But I have no psi abilities."

"That's not true." Tasa turned to Falda. "You have 'feelings.'"

"What do you mean, Tasa?" Orin asked, intrigued. "This could be useful."

"It's nothing," Falda scoffed. "Just, here and there, I get feelings about things. Like you and Tasa, for instance?—"

Tasa's eyes widened. "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing," Falda said with a sigh.

"You had a feeling about me? And Tasa?" Orin's voice quivered just a bit, and he hoped Tasa didn't feel his apprehension. Or curiosity.

"Well, yes," Falda admitted. "But I shouldn't talk about it."

Tasa's face flushed. "This is awkward."

Orin wouldn't look at her. He didn't want to see the rejection in her eyes. "We should probably begin..."

Orin took a deep breath. "So, you know about psi energy, right?"

Tasa blinked. She'd had to teach herself everything. "Yes, absolutely."

"Well, the basic idea is to take your psi energy and touch it to another person's," Orin explained. "When I was first learning, I pictured my own energy as a mist and imagined it reaching out to touch someone else. Obviously, psi energy isn't a mist, but it helped me visualize it."

"Oh, how incredible," Falda murmured.

Tasa shook her head, her gut twisting. "I...I don't think I understand."

"All right," Orin said. "Try something for me. Hold your hands out, like this." His hands touched hers, and a pleasant warmth settled in her body. Her heart lurched at the contact, making her worry about the taint, but she forced herself to continue. This was too important. Orin pulled her hands apart, palms facing each other. "Direct your psi energy between your hands. When it feels ‘full,' release it to touch me. Try it."

Tasa took a deep breath. Her fingers itched to do more mending. She was afraid they'd get caught. Maybe she should pretend to be working? But she needed to try this, so she focused on finding her psi energy, which to her felt warm and tingly. Heavier than air. She gathered it as Orin had instructed and filled the space between her palms until it was about to overflow.

"That's enough! There's so much," Orin said in awe. He ran a finger through it, and it felt like the brush of a cool breeze. "You feel that, don't you? Good." He put his hand on her wrist. "All right, now send it to me."

She closed her eyes. It helped her focus. She pushed on the energy with invisible hands, toward Orin.

He let go, crying out as he flew backward and tumbled to the floor. Pain flared where he'd gripped her wrist.

"Orin, are you all right?" Falda asked.

Tasa knelt next to him, her heart racing. "What happened? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," Orin said, a bit breathless. His eyes danced with mirth. "You knocked me on my ass, Tasa! Nice job."

Tasa's eyes narrowed. "You aren't hurt?" She didn't think it would be proper to start feeling him for injuries, so she stayed still.

"Just my tailbone," Orin said with a chuckle. "Come, let's continue."

Footsteps in the hall.

"Uh-oh," Falda whispered. "The commander."

A jolt of fear went through Tasa. What if he caught Orin here with them?

She lifted a hand to her cheek and scratched it hard, enough to hopefully draw blood. It stung, but she bit her lip to keep from making any noise.

The commander opened the door and entered the room.

Orin said, "Commander! Hello."

"You're bleeding!" Falda whispered. "What…"

"How did you get in here, Orin? This area is restricted."

"Of course, I do recall Johnal telling me that," Orin said, glancing at Tasa, who turned slightly so he could see her cuts and the blood that seeped out of them. "But the outer door was open, and I got curious, and I found these two women in here. As you can see, one is bleeding. Sir, who are they?"

The commander paled, and Tasa felt his fear at his secret being discovered by Orin. "They are our menders, Orin. Nobody of any consequence. Why don't you get back to work, hmm?" He glanced at his watch. "You still have two hours left of overtime." He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. Tasa could feel the rapid pulse of his heart.

"I was hoping to treat her wound," Orin said firmly. "She is bleeding, sir."

Tasa was impressed—he radiated absolute confidence in everything he said and did. Surely the commander would believe him.

The commander glanced at Tasa, arching a brow. "What are you doing for her, then? Slap a bandage on her and get back to work." He turned to leave, but then faced Tasa. "But wait. How in the world did you cut yourself, mender? You have nothing to cut yourself with."

Tasa held her head high. "I tripped and fell over there." She pointed to the left side of the bench she shared with Falda. "I fell in an odd position and the corner cut my cheek."

The commander made a dismissive gesture. "Get back to work, all of you." The hate and annoyance poured out of him, making Tasa feel a bit queasy.

He turned to Orin. "Where were the guards?"

Orin shrugged. "I do not know, sir. I will try to contain my curiosity from now on."

"You do that," the commander said, and left.

Orin let out a sigh. "That was close. Nice work with your cheek. We really should bandage it." He looked around, probably trying to find first-aid supplies.

"I can take care of it." Falda had a strip of dark fabric and some medical tape in her hands. "Go, before you get into more trouble."

Orin smiled. "Thank you. Tasa, practice what I showed you, all right? I'll try to be back tomorrow."

Tasa bit her lip. "You shouldn't come so often. It will be harder to explain."

Orin reached out to her, and she froze. She shouldn't let him touch her––it was too much?—

"Please," Orin said softly.

She knew she shouldn't do it, but at this moment she didn't care. He mesmerized her.

Orin took both her hands in his. She felt calm. His touch was soothing. It didn't feel like her soul was being tainted. "I will figure out a way to make this work. We have to keep building on what you've learned. Otherwise, you won't get to any competent level of use." Orin lifted her hands to his lips and pressed them to her knuckles. "Till tomorrow, my Princess Tasa."

Heart beating triple-time, Tasa said softly, "Till tomorrow."