Paranormals (Book 2): We Are Not Alone (27 page)

In the meantime, Alan again raised his hand, but this time he started speaking without waiting to be recognized. “I have a suggestion ... well, more of a theory, really ... just hear me out. You, uh, you said that the Cargaun is the only known being to have paranormal abilities before the conversion wave. And you said that the conversion wave hit about forty years ago, right?”

Shining Star nodded.

“When did this take place in the big scheme of things? I mean, had the war started yet? Were the Verauns already attacking Taal and their other neighbors?”

For the third time, Shining Star faltered before answering what struck Steve as an innocent question, and this time it was more noticeable than before. Takayasu threw Steve a look; his expression was neutral, but the pause clearly hit his radar, too.

Finally, Shining Star answered, and the seeming harmlessness of his reply made the hesitation rub Steve wrong even further, dampening his previous exuberance. “The conversion wave erupted from the living stars a few weeks after the invasion of Taal.”

Alan continued, “So the Cargaun had already started his personal rampage across that part of the galaxy?”

“Yes.”

Alan grunted. “Okay,” he said to the room at large, “hear me out here. It’s been established for those in the, uh, galactic community that the Seven Stars are alive in some weird way, right?”

Shining Star did an odd backward roll with one shoulder — Steve guessed it was the Taalu equivalent of a shrug. “The biogenic energy has been well established. What exactly that energy
means
has been debated since the end of the last interstellar wars. But the term ‘the living stars’ has become quite prevalent.”

“That’s very interesting,” Alan commented, his energy perking higher, “very interesting. How long ago did the previous interstellar wars end?”

“About three-and-a-half centuries ago.”

Alan grunted. “And why did the debates about the living stars start
then
?”

“I ... I’m not sure, really. I think that’s about the time that the biogenic energy was first detected by the Daluvanians.”

“Uh-huh, uh-huh. So until then, the living stars weren’t considered ‘living’?”

“I suppose not.”

“So, let me see if I’m following you here.” Alan read from his notes as he rattled off, “The previous interstellar wars ended. The biogenic energy from the Seven Stars was identified. Three-hundred-and-fifty-odd years later, the Verauns started another big war, and the Cargaun — the only known super-being at the time — was their leader. And very shortly after that, the conversion wave erupted from the living stars, and the wave has the same biogenic properties, and it sometimes creates
new
super-beings. Did I get all of that right?”

Shining Star nodded, but his expression suggested he might not be happy about it.

Alan grunted. “Okay, hear me out ...”

“We
are
hearing you out,” Shockwave groused.

“Okay ... okay, what if ... what if the conversion wave was a
reaction
of some kind to the Cargaun?”

Huh?
Steve asked, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, what if the whole creation of new super-beings was a response by the living stars to the Cargaun’s existence — or at least his behavior? You’ve got this super-Veraun, who’s bringing an end to peace that has lasted for three-and-a-half centuries — the same time at which the Seven Stars became the
living
stars, at least as far as anyone can tell, right? The Cargaun, who has enough personal power to make him a threat to the whole galactic community, starts really tipping the scales from order to chaos ... and suddenly there’s this wave of energy that’s giving
other
people powers? Think about it!”

Steve did, as did the others. Granted, they had just learned all of this intergalactic stuff, but at first look, Alan’s theory sounded reasonable enough. Why not? If the stars were alive, maybe they could also be
intelligent
in some way? Surely this humble group from out-of-the-way Planet Earth weren’t the first to consider this ...

That was when Steve realized that Shining Star was remaining silent — no, as much as he hated to admit it, the better description would be
suspiciously
silent. He was just sitting there.

Someone else noticed his silence, too.

“What about it, Shining Star?” Powerhouse insisted. “You can’t tell me your people haven’t wondered what triggered the White Flash. Has anyone considered what Alan’s saying?”

Speaking with obvious deliberation, Shining Star answered, “My people have been effectively cut off from the galactic stage since we went into hiding. We’ve had extremely limited contact with the—”

“I’m not talking about all the other aliens out there,” Powerhouse snapped, “I’m talking about
your
people. Your dad went paranormal, you’ve gone paranormal, your sister, your brother, your cousin. Do you really expect us to believe that none of your people, none of your
family
, haven’t wondered what triggered the White Flash?” He leaned forward. “Unless you already know.”

“Hey,” Steve said, “come on, man. How are they supposed to know what a bunch of
stars
did? Shining Star’s told us where it came from and what it is. I’m sure if they knew what caused it, he’d tell us. Right, Shining Star ...?”

But Shining Star’s head had lowered again. Alien or not, his whole body language screamed
Guilty!

And then he confessed.

“Some of my people believe that ... that it’s
possible
my grandfather may have contributed to the eruption of the conversion wave in some way. Or ... or that he may have somehow
caused
it.”

A heavy silence fell over the room ... for all of two seconds.

Powerhouse bolted to his feet, his chair tumbling away behind him. He drove his fists down onto the wooden table, cracking it in half, then threw his arms upward and apart, hurling the two halves of the table out of his way. Alan yelped, Ardette screamed, and Shockwave cut loose with a glorious string of invectives, but Steve and Takayasu were already vying for position, each thinking furiously what to do next.

Strangely calm, Shining Star was still sitting when Powerhouse reached him. He seized the alien by the shoulders, cape and body suit bunching up in his grip as he jerked Shining Star from his chair. Powerhouse lifted him bodily from the floor, so that his shorter victim was nose-to-nose with him.

Lincoln was trembling. Through a tightly clenched jaw, he growled, “You’re gonna give it all to us. Everything you know. All data, all studies,
everything
 your grandfather used to do this to us. Do you understand me?”

“Lincoln! Stop!” Steve yelled. He pulled on Powerhouse’s left forearm just as Takayasu yanked on his right, but of course, neither of them were accomplishing anything.

Powerhouse ignored them. “Do you understand me or not, you son of a bitch?”

Shining Star, who had remained impassive, finally stated in a cold voice, “We have no data, no studies. We have no idea what my grandfather did,
if
 he—”

“Bullshit!” Lincoln snapped, and over and above the obvious anger, Steve could hear a trace of hysteria. “No way he pulled something like this off without leaving notes or recordings or— or— or
some
 kind of information about
how he did this
!” He gave Shining Star a hard shake.

His voice colder still, Shining Star responded, “If ...
if
... my grandfather did have such information, it was lost forty years and two worlds ago.”

“Lincoln Roberts,” Takayasu snapped into Powerhouse’s ear, “I am ordering you to let this man go. Right now.”

Lincoln guffawed. “He’s not a
man
,” he spat, continuing to glare into Shining Star. “You ... you people did this to us and now you want to
live
 here?!”

Speaking slowly and with crisp enunciation, Shining Star commanded, “Release me.”

Powerhouse tightened his grip, bellowing into the alien’s face. “Fu—!”

Shining Star raised his arms and, to the amazement of all, knocked Powerhouse’s hands away. Simultaneous to this — and now hovering off the floor — he glowed brighter than Steve had yet seen. In a brief flash of intense heat and concussive force, a blast of his energy sheath erupted from his chest and slammed into Lincoln’s. Powerhouse was stunned as the blast sent him flying across the room and most of the way through the far wall.

Holy shit!
wobbled through Steve’s mind.

Steve and Takayasu were also staggered by their proximity to the event, and Shockwave — who had been moving around behind Powerhouse in anticipation of his partner’s order to help get him off Shining Star — had to throw himself to the floor to avoid a collision with the paranormal-turned-projectile.

Shining Star remained hovering, his expression angry and haughty. “This,” he said, addressing the room as a whole but favoring Steve, “is exactly why I was trying to avoid speaking of my grandfather’s involvement in the conversion wave —
if
he was involved at all. We have no conclusive evidence as to what actions my grandfather did or did not take after he disappeared from Taal-ceky.” He levitated another inch or two from the floor, and although the air in the training center was still, Shining Star’s cape rippled out behind him. “I sympathize with your plight, and you are correct that we have come here as vagrants.” Shining Star’s chest puffed out even further. “But I am Grand Lord Callin Lan, the Shining Star
of the Taalu, and I will 
not
be abused!”

Powerhouse shoved the collapsed portions of the wall away from himself and stumbled to his feet. The front of his shirt had burned away, and the skin beneath was visibly singed.

Jesus
, Steve thought,
if he could do that to
Lincoln
, that blast probably would’ve gone straight through any of the rest of us
.

“Stand down, Powerhouse,” Takayasu ordered, his hand slipping inside his coat. Following his lead, Shockwave also lifted his fists, both aimed at Powerhouse.

“Yes, Powerhouse,” Shining Star agreed, his own hands now glowing brighter than the rest of his body, his tone of voice still a little haughty for Steve’s taste, “stand down.”

Powerhouse finally regained his balance. His eyes bore into Shining Star. “
Why
?” he demanded. “Why did he do this? Why
would
he do this?”

Shining Star maintained his own glare of indignation for a few seconds. Then, in a softer tone, he said simply, “I don’t know.”

Powerhouse deflated again. “Didn’t he have any idea how this would affect ...
everyone
?”

“I don’t know,” Shining Star repeated. “Maybe Alan is right. Maybe the living stars did this in response to the Cargaun. Or maybe it all would’ve happened anyway.
I - don’t - know.
No one does.”

Powerhouse dropped his gaze, nodding. He lumbered over, collected his chair, and returned it to where they had all been gathered. He sat heavily, as though very, very tired. “Sorry about the table, Vortex.”

Then, his head so low his chin nearly touched his chest, Powerhouse began to cry.

PCA

After that, the discourse fizzled. As amazing as it was to have an alien in their midst, Lincoln’s outburst and subsequent breakdown rained on everyone’s parade.

Lieutenant Takayasu conceded to sitting on his knowledge of Callin’s presence until the following morning, to allow Callin to reconnect with his people. After that, Callin agreed to formally announce their presence and intentions.

Perhaps even more importantly, they all agreed to keep the Taalu’s knowledge of the White Flash private amongst their group. What if other people, particularly other paranormals, reacted as Lincoln did? This topic would have to be addressed sooner or later, but for now, they were hoping to make it later. Even Lincoln agreed to this, if only with a quiet nod of his head as he sipped the camomile tea Ardette gave him.

When Callin announced that he would be leaving for the night, Steve escorted him outside. “I’m sorry about the, uh ... the thing with Powerhouse,” Steve offered as they walked together.

“You have no need to apologize,” Shining Star said. “And neither does your friend. As I said, I knew the topic could be volatile, which is why I tried to avoid it.” He turned to fully face Steve. “We, honestly, do not know what exactly my grandfather Calacus’ involvement with the conversion wave might have been. Larr and Jere told me that his behavior after their escape from Taal was erratic, addled. You see, my grandparents lost a son a few years before that, and my grandmother was eleven months pregnant with my father and aunt when the invasion struck. Carrying twins was already a strain on her health, and the chaos of their escape took its toll. When my grandmother went into labor, there were complications that our limited medical staff were unable to handle, and she died. At first, my grandfather refused to accept it at all, verbally attacking the doctor who delivered the babies. Then he withdrew from everyone, which was
not
 what my people needed during that time. Finally, he left Taal-ceky altogether, after recording final instructions that were distraught, and often nonsensical.” He grimaced. “I saw the recording a few years ago. It was ... disturbing.” Then his expression shifted more to distaste. “I understand he never visited his children, never laid eyes on my father or aunt, before he left.”

After a moment of silence, Steve asked, “What did the recording say?”

Sighing, Callin answered, “That’s difficult to answer. Some of it was logistical, like how he wanted the government run until my father came of age —
that
 caused a lot of problems in itself. But he also referred to the Cargaun as ‘evil,’ which is not a term my people use as loosely as yours. He talked about the living stars, and his dreams, and restoring the rightful way of things. He also talked
to
my grandmother as if she were still alive, telling her that he would set things right.” He looked up into the night sky, toward the Seven Stars, and Steve looked with him. “A few days later, the conversion wave erupted. Most of my people still
dismiss his final recording as nothing more than the ramblings of a brokenhearted maniac, but ...” He glanced down as he lifted his right hand, and as he closed it into a fist, it shone brightly with silver light. “Did my grandfather cause it? I don’t know. But the proof that
something
 extraordinary and wondrous happened out there is undeniable. Isn’t it?”