《Scarlet》


 Prologue

    Twenty years ago¡­


    FSV Satoshi [Deep Space Explorer]


    In a system, far, far away from Earth, the entry-burst of a Federation-ship bathed a small segment of the sky in radiation as it broke through the barrier between hyperspace and real-space. And then, silence, while the ship and its crew were busy listening, interpreting the light that started hitting their passive sensors, telling them about the past, a past that was the present when the light started its journey.


    ¡°Sir, we have spotted a planet in the habitable zone. No artificially modulated radiation detectable. Requesting permission to use active scanning.¡± the science officer, Lieutenant Robert, called out.


    ¡°Permission granted. Helmsman, hold our position, relative to primary.¡± The Captain granted the request, gathering information in the darkness of space was their job after all. Shortly afterwards, the ship sent out a strong pulse on multiple frequencies, announcing its presence to everyone who might have missed the entry-burst. But at the same time, the known characteristics of the pulse allow for accurate readings of their surrounding.


    Again, tense silence ruled while everyone had to wait. Light, as fast as it is, was rather slow when considering the size of a star-system. Finally, the light returned from the object of interest and the computer started to analyse what the reflexion can tell them.


    ¡°Sir, my first guess is that it is a living world. But it is¡­ strange. The readings are all over the place, they make little sense-¡± the scientific officer called out after looking at the readings displayed on his terminal.


    ¡°Lt. Robert, elaborate.¡± The Captain asked, his voice curious. Lt. Robert was an experienced officer, having worked his way up from enlisted man and his confusion suggested an extraordinary discovery.


    ¡°Yes, Sir. The gravimetric readings suggest that the planet has about one-point-one times the mass of earth and visual sensors give it roughly the same radius.That¡¯s all I can say from here, other than that the planet seems to give off a radiation that I have never seen before and it interferes with our sensors.¡± Lt. Robert explained, still mostly focused on his console.


    ¡°Mr. Takei, take us closer. Let¡¯s find out what this planet can offer the Federation.¡± the Captain ordered.


    ¡°Yes, Sir. Course set.¡± the helmsman answered as he set the course.


    The engines engaged and the Satoshi accelerated towards the unknown world. Tense silence filled the bridge, apprehension towards the unknown warring with the excitement of discovery inherent to anyone enlisting in the Exploration-branch of the Federation-Navy. Only those who volunteered are posted on Exploration-ships and only those driven by relentless wanderlust and curiosity volunteer. Months upon months, seeing nothing but empty space and desolate rocks, having little to no contact to civilisation and little respect from the other branches, that is the live of an exploration-crewmember. And now, finally, the crew of the Satoshi might have found their motherlode, but who knows if that motherlode already belonged to someone that is getting ready to demonstrate to the Satoshi that they don¡¯t take kindly to strangers showing up at their door?


    As the ship approached the planet, the sensors gathered more and more information, or at least they tried. The radiation only grew more intense during their approach until finally, the Satoshi made it past the systems moons, keeping enough distance from either to allow for unforseen circumstances.


    But even then, loitering between the planet and its two moons, the sensors only received fragmented information, forcing the computer into trying to extrapolate results from the fragments and there were far too few good data points to allow for such an extrapolation. .As such, the readings came in two variants, the actual data, some of it useable, most partially corrupted and some outright discarded as too unreliable, leaving blanks, and the other extrapolations made by the computer, but based on far too little hard data to be anything but guesswork.


    ¡°Sir, the only sensors giving us descent results are the visual sensors.¡± the science officer announced, confusion clear in his voice. Something that could essentially jam all the different types of scanners a deep space explorer had, except the simplest, visual scanners was unheard of. The whole point of deep space explorers was to gather information, so their sensors were state-of-the-art, second only to experimental crafts.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    ¡°On the screen.¡± the captain ordered, intrigued by the puzzle this unknown world presented. On the screen, a marble appears, looking very much like one of the dozens of known Gaia-type planets, coloured in some blues, some greens and browns and some white clouds covering the world below.


    ¡°Well, it looks very much as if we truly have discovered a new, living world. Mr. Takei, keep us in high orbit, maybe with some more time, our scanners can give us a better picture. Lt. Robert, gather as much information as you can. Commander Pyke, you have the bridge.¡± the captain ordered and retreated into his quarters, going over the readings by himself.


    The various high.resolution cameras of the Satoshi started to capture images of the planet far below them, all the while the other sensors gathered more data in the hopes to get lucky enough to get some sort of useable information, despite the radiation.


    The cameras of the Satoshi were easily able to gather as many images, all of them high-resolution images, as Lt. Robert wanted but that just meant that he had a lot of data but very little information. Most of the images showed similar a similar picture, undisturbed nature, relatively familiar to what one would expect on a Gaia-world. Some of the images could have been old images from Earth, or pictures of the few remaining Nature Conservatories, at least that was Lt. Robert¡¯s opinion until he saw the first sign of fauna.


    ¡°Sir, I think you and the Captain will want to see that.¡± he called out to the First Officer as he displayed the image on the screen.


    ¡°Are you joking with me?¡± the First Officer asked in reflex, not believing what the screen was showing to him. On the screen, two apparently huge monsters were fighting, the computer generated scale telling that either was easily dozens of meters in length. But that was not what shocked him more, one of the two, looking eerily similar to the lizards found on many worlds, was breathing fire at its adversary.


    ¡°No, Sir.¡± the science-officer answered, his voice serious. Sometimes, people played pranks in the exploration-fleet, trying to break up the monotony of the endless dark but that was not one of those times.


    ¡°Captain on the bridge.¡± another crew member called out as the Captain entered, after the First Officer alerted him. By now, there were more images showing the strange fauna on the planet below them, animals that seemed to hail straight from works of fiction, or maybe from the realm of nightmares. And not just the fauna, there were things that seemed to be plants but as the cameras recorded, one of them started to move, like an animal, walking away on its roots.


    ¡°We wanted a discovery and I would say we just got one. Helmsman, can you take us closer?¡± the captain asked, looking at the images with undisguised awe.


    ¡°Respectfully, Sir, that is a bad idea.¡± the officer in charge of the ship¡¯s defenses answered.


    ¡°Explain, Mr. Korf.¡± The captain ordered, curious why a planet without any apparent intelligent life would need to be avoided.


    ¡°Sir, ever since we got past the outer moon, the shields started to draw more power. It is still in easily safe levels, but approaching the planet will cause the shields to fail.¡± he explained,displaying the energy-draw curve. It seemed to be the beginning of an exponential curve and the energy draw was extrapolated to reach critical level long before the ship was close enough to gain more information.


    ¡°Interesting. There is no civilisation, so slingshotting a drone through the upper atmosphere should get us some samples and more information about that strange radiation. Lt. Robert, take care of that.¡± the captain decided, wondering what the drone would tell them.


    Three hours later, they knew. The drone had been launched on such a course that it would work, even as a purely ballistic projectile and that had been a wise precaution. The entire system of the drone had shut down on planetary approach and once it was caught again after its trip through the atmosphere, analysis showed that the electronic was completely burned out. However, the simple, mechanical systems prepared for just such an eventuality had captured samples of the upper atmosphere and the damage the drone had taken told the crew more about the radiation. It was an interesting type, highly energetic and resonating with the metals used in wiring but probably completely harmless to humans, unless they had prosthetic parts.


    But the real discovery came from the chemical laboratory, the atmosphere had traces of a previously unknown substance, a metallic crystal that had a highly interesting property. It was naturally multi-phasic, interacting with the higher spaces, mainly hyperspace, without any obvious effort. That property made it the maybe most important discovery of the last century. Multi-phasic materials were known but the amount of energy and effort needed to produce them and their high decay-rate were a bane of modern spaceflight, a natural material could change the Federation.


    Knowing that, the Captain ordered to break orbit and head towards the heart of the Federation, knowing that no effort would be spared to bring the system under control.


    Monsters be damned.

 Chapter 1

    Planet Pandora


    Psychic Command [Psy-com] Main-Training Facility


    Holding Cells


    ¡°Now, I¡¯ve done it¡­¡± Scarlet thought to herself, looking around the stark interrogation-room. Maybe, just maybe it had been a bad idea to reject the advances made by one of the other trainees so¡­ vehemently. But there was no way that she would let anyone do that to her, not against her will. Growing up in the slums of Nova Yor, she had learned early that going along with people like that was not a solution, it just led to more pain and suffering. Take the earliest chance to retaliate and, once you do, make sure that your first strike is the only strike needed to end the threat in a permanent manner. Somehow, when the instructors appeared, only minutes after she had used her powers to defend herself, they had been rather uninterested in the fact that she had been attacked and only defended herself. And now, she was sitting in an interrogation-room while they decided what would happen with her.


    It was not the first time that she had used her abilities as a psion to defend herself against someone who saw her slender and petite figure and thought her to be prey. But no one who survived in the slums was easy prey, those who were easy prey either died or suffered an even worse fate. Just thinking about that made her shudder.


    She had learned early on that brute, physical force was a fool¡¯s game for one with her physique but she also learned that humans were squishy, if one knew to press the right buttons. A concealed knife, hidden somewhere on, sometimes in, her body, always ready to slip into an attacker, that had been the ultimate skill to keep her alive. No matter how big, no matter how strong they were, a swift stab was a convincing argument if she couldn¡¯t talk her way out of things.


    Until that fateful day four years ago. The day she learned that the tricks she used on other people were rudimentary psionic abilities, marking her as one of the truly powerful psions. The day, she had taught another asshole a lesson so very similar to the lesson she had taught the other trainee. It had been the start of her journey to Psy-com.


    She had been one of the lucky ones, one of the few who had, for some reason, inherited the markers for psionic talent and manifested the gift at a high level. It was a barely understood process, the markers were known and in more than half the population but a successful manifestation only occurred in a small fraction of society. Those with power tried to breed their children to be psions but the effects were mediocre at best. Wild talents, like Scarlet, were stronger than the greenhouse-flowers bred by the upper classes in an effort to gain control over the psions. The result was that psy-com did their very best to scour the worlds of the Federation in an effort to gather all psions under their banner. And under their control.


    As she was musing, the door opened, granting a figure clad in the black uniform of Psy-com entrance. It was a slightly older male, just starting his middle-age and the rank-insignia identified him as a Colonel. Reflex, long since beaten into Scarlet, caused her to jump to attention, or at least she tried. The shackles that bound her to the table cut the attempt short, causing her to awkwardly land back in her chair. At least, she had not fallen.


    ¡°At ease, Ms. Jones.¡± the form of address and the sardonic smile on his face made her stomach clench. It was customary in the training center to use first names and rank, a custom stemming from the fact that a disproportionate number of trainees had the surname Jones, the name given to those born without proper papers. The children of slum-dwellers, the abandoned and unwanted.


    While she was off-balance, the Colonel got a good look at her, comparing the person he was seeing to the pictures contained in her file. The young woman in front of him was wearing a uniform similar to his own but the image she presented was greatly different. Where he was rather tall, she seemed to be too small to even pass muster, reminding him that she was only in the military due to her psionic talents, convinced to join up by whatever means possible. But where the original pictures showed a stick-figure of a girl, malnourished and fragile, the years in the Psy-com training center had changed that, added some muscle and flesh to her frame. She was still small and slender but it was no longer the slenderness of deprivation but more the sleekness of a gymnast. But her figure was not the most remarkable thing about her, the most remarkable thing was easily her hair. On the old pictures, it had been a long and wavy mass of vibrant red and even now, cut short to regulation-length, the colour was striking, making it obvious where she got her name. In addition to those features, she had emerald eyes and a slight dusting of freckles over her high cheekbones and small nose. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    After straightening her posture, she was able to get a good look at the Colonel. His face, topped with short, black hair, that started to turn grey at the temples, seemed harsh, almost hawkish but in his steel-grey eyes, was a small, barely noticeable tinge of compassion. Even before understanding her psionic talents, she had relied on her ability to read people in order to survive.The Colonel was either an accomplished actor or he was genuinely concerned about her and trying to help her. Or maybe, it was both.


    ¡°Now, Ms. Jones, I¡¯m sure you know why you are here. After inspecting the cameras and sifting through the remains of Cadet Samue¡¯s mind, we know that she attacked you, using both psionic and physical means. In that regard, you have been well within your rights to defend yourself.¡± he started and the uneasy feeling in her stomach increased by an order of magnitude. If that was the case, than things had gotten political and when things got political, those without connections could easily be crushed between the millstones.


    ¡°Which leaves us, and with us I mean this facility and Psy-com as a whole, with a problem. We can¡¯t officially punish you but at the same time, Cadet Samue is also the daughter of Mr. Corma, President of Starburst-Industries and even with a lot of intensive, psionic care it is doubtful that Samue Corma will ever be more than a drooling idiot.¡± That announcement made Scarlet flinch despite her best attempts to keep her calm. Starburst was one of the more important ship-building companies, making everything from military vessels to high-end hover-cars and the Corma-family was undoubtedly part of the rich and connected class at the highest strata of society. Losing a daughter, especially a daughter talented enough to get into Psy-com, to some random trainee would most likely be a good enough reason to pay someone to make her vanish. All her instincts went into fight or flight-mode, ready to defend herself if the Colonel tried to attack with his undoubtedly powerful abilities.


    ¡°I see, you are aware of the meaning of that. I have looked at your files and your scores are easily in the top half of your class. When only looking at the scores for skill and power, you would be at the top. But at the same time, you seem to enjoy defying authority, sometimes with good reasons and ideas behind your defiance, sometimes with nothing more than a gut-feeling and your scores reflect that.¡± Scarlet cringed a little, hearing that.


    She had been fiercely independent ever since she had left the group-home at roughly the age of fourteen, deciding that no home was better than what she had there. Joining Psy-com had not been a decision she had been able to make, it was presented to her as a fait-accompli after a Psy-com officer had visited her in an interrogation-room so very similar to this one. But back then, she had just fried to mind of one of a gang enforcer and getting away had been prudent. In addition, she had since learned that the Federation had a dim view when it came to independant psions, their potential for harm was far too large to let them roam the wilds, thus their recruitment was rather enthusiastic at times.


    ¡°So, what happens now, sir?¡± she asked, using the honorific in a conditioned reflex, her mind running through possible ways to escape, not just the room but the base and ultimately the planet. Vanishing was not easy but it was possible, she¡¯d either have to go into the fringe-systems or into the slums of the core-worlds. Neither sounded good to her, but it depended what was behind door number two, which the colonel would hopefully present to her.


    ¡°Have you ever heard of the Verdun-System?¡± the colonel asked in response.


    ¡°No, Sir.¡± she answered, frowning a little before smoothing out her features.


    ¡°Good, I would have had to start an investigation if you had. The Verdun-System is classified as secret but considering that you will be stationed there, you obviously need to know that it exists.¡± he explained with a slight smile.


    ¡°I have looked at your files and you already have the required grades and skills to graduate and enter service, so that is what we will do. You will graduate and begin your commision, a commision you will serve on Verdun-3. It will remove you from the public, hiding you in a secret system so there will be no temptation for the Corma-Family to take their displeasure out on you, forcing Psicom to take official notice. It is the best solution for everyone, don¡¯t you think?¡± the colonel asked.


    ¡°Yes, Sir.¡± there was little else she could say.


    Serving on some secret base for years sounded rather boring but compared to getting kidnapped and tortured to death in order to assuage the bruised ego of one of the ultra-rich, it sounded like a good idea.


    ¡°Good. Lieutenant Ryker will take you to your quarters, allowing you to gather your personal effects before giving you your marching orders and travel plans.¡± the Colonel stood and there was a soft fluttering in the mental realm as he gave the telepathic order for the junior officer to enter and take charge of Scarlet.


    Another officer entered, this one with the rank-insignia of a Lieutenant, accompanied by two security officers. After salutes and greetings, the four of them moved towards the barracks, There was little to collect, slum-dwellers rarely accumulated more than they could easily grab and carry with them and once she was done, she looked to the Lieutenant, asking for the next step. Her question was answered in an unexpected fashion, a sharp prick at the back of her neck and the world quickly turned blurry and then, dark.

 Chapter 2

    With a groan, Scarlet opened her eyes, blinking away the film that blurred her vision. Not that there was a lot to see, a white ceiling, apparently made out of cheap plascrete, some light filtering in from a nearby window, nothing that gave her an idea where she was. It took her a moment to remember what had happened and she almost chuckled at the prudence Psycom had shown. She had played with the thought to learn more about the Verdun-System and possibly giver her minders the slip, going underground. It seemed that such an action had been warded against, by simply knocking her out for the journey. If she was on Verdun, that is.


    Curious about her surroundings, she exerted her will, pushing outwards in a basic psionic trick, called by some a Mind Scan, looking for minds in the area. If there were psions around, they would know about the scan but she had to start somewhere and moving around would be discovered by more common ways to keep an eye on people, like cameras. The scan told her that there were two minds in the next room, both awake but one strong, the other weak. Just from the feeling of strength, she knew that one was another psion, the other probably not. In addition, there were three unconscious minds nearby.


    Just as she thought about her next step, the door opened causing her to push herself into a seating position and look towards the door. A female face looked into the small room and spoke.


    ¡°Good, you are awake. You are the second of your batch to wake up, why don¡¯t you come out and I¡¯ll introduce you to the Doc?¡± the one at the door asked, causing Scarlet to frown, confused.


    ¡°Batch? Where are we, Verdun? Why was I drugged?¡± she asks, her mind still a little sluggish from the unconsciousness.


    ¡°Psicom sends people over in batches, every so often. But the Doc will explain, come on.¡± the other urged Scarlet on so she stood, only now noticing that she was no longer dressed in the Cadet Uniform of the Pandora-Training-Center but in a new uniform, looking almost like the normal black Psycom-Uniform, but not quite. For a second, Scarlet thought about knocking the woman still looking in out and trying to run but trying to do so on in an unknown facility on an unknown planet seemed a bad idea. And if they wanted to do something to her, they had her unconcious for who knew how long and thus had plenty of times if they, whoever they were, had nefarious plans.


    So, following the siren¡¯s call of information, she walked over to the door, getting a good look at the other woman. She was about average in height, making her a couple centimeters taller than Scarlet¡¯s own, diminutive, height and likely quite a bit heavier, given that she was a little plumb around the middle. Her face on the other hand was friendly and open, a smiling face that seemed to infuse pleasant feelings into even the biggest of grouches. A face that would serve a teacher, a nurse or a con-woman very well. In addition to that, the sixth sense that every psion developed told Scarlet that she was not hostile.


    The other stepped back, letting Scarlet out and gesturing towards another door. Scarlet walked over and stepped into a wide room that looked like a mixture of reception-room and shop. On a nearby armchair, a tall man was sitting, reading a book. That simple thing made Scarlet take notice, books, real, paperback books, were rare and obsolete. But as she took notice of that book, she also realised that in the short time she had been awake, she had not seen a single piece of modern technology. There was a light-fixture on the ceiling but even that looked to her like it had fallen out of a museum.


    ¡°Good Afternoon and Welcome to the Jungle. No, we don¡¯t have fun and games.¡± the sitting man greeted her with a smirk, causing her to frown. Her first impression was that she wanted a shower, just looking at him.


    ¡°Lieutenant Scarlet Jones, Psicom.¡± she introduced herself, unsure about the situation.


    ¡°Oh, dear, you are precious. Doesn¡¯t matter who you are, doesn¡¯t matter who you were, here on Verdun that means jackshit. But, for what it''s worth, you can call me Doc Oak, everyone does. You see, Verdun is the place where Psicom sends their problems, here they can¡¯t cause real trouble and they can be useful. Congratulations, you have been a problem. But, you are in my territory, so I guess I should show you the ropes so that you can cease to be a problem and become an asset. I suggest you focus on being an asset, problems have a habit of being terminally solved.¡± Scarlet watched as the Doc placed a marker in his book and stood, walking over. Her sixth sense warned her that he was dangerous but it was not a hostile danger, just that she should not cross him.


    ¡°So, Verdun and why you are here. You see, this planet was discovered twenty years ago and despite their best efforts, it resists the Federations colonisation-efforts. Not because it is particularly unpleasant, it''s a nice, Gaia-type planet, good air, no toxic fumes, little extreme-weather and so on. No, what stopped them is the native fauna and flora. Or, something. Originally, they wanted to name the planet ¡®Fuck You, Darwin!¡¯ or something along those lines but it got shot down.¡± he explained with a snicker, confusing Scarlet. She had heard the name Darwin, an ancient scientist and one of the first to describe the concept of Natural Selection. But why name a planet after him in such a way?


    ¡°The name would be a joke, you see? Because this planet spits in the face of everything we know about evolution, or at least half of it does. There are two different forms of beings here on Verdun, one sort is what you would expect of a Gaia-class planet, the normal flora and fauna, without any really big surprises. But the other form is what drives those studying them to drink. Let me show you a video, of what happened when we first got here.¡± the doctor moved towards a door, gesturing for Scarlet to follow, which she did. She needed information and apparently the rambling doctor was currently the only source unless she wanted to run head-first into the unknown, which seemed to be a bad idea.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    In the small office, stood a computer that just looked as if it should be in a museum. The monitor looked like an old cathode-ray screen and the tower was just bulky. But as she looked closer, she noticed that it was not so much that it was old, it was shielded, heavily so. ¡°Is there radiation-danger?¡± she asked, as she saw that. Radiation Sickness was not a fun way to go, but better know in advance, so she could put her things in order.


    ¡°Not for us, just for anything electronic. Everything we use on Verdun needs specially constructed shielding or it will fry within seconds. That¡¯s part of the reason why the Federation has been unable to fully colonise the place.¡± while he spoke, the computer had booted up with a strange, electronic flourish.


    ¡°But, now, behold the terrible reality that is Verdun.¡± the doctor spoke with incredible pathos, making one think he was preaching. What he did, was open a video-file and play it. Scarlet¡¯s first impression was that he was having her on. Some sort of hazing-prank or something in that avenue. On the screen, two beings battled that could only be described as monsters. One was a huge, winged lizard, at that moment in the process of breathing fire over its opponent. That opponent seemed to be some sort of armadillo-like beast, all hard scales and a club-like tail.


    After the stream of fire from the winged lizard ended, that tail bashed the ground and multiple, huge blocks of rock, emerged, without leaving holes behind, as if they simply appeared. Another bash and those rocks shot at the lizard without any other effect being involved. Telekinetic power was known, Scarlet herself had it in a minor form, she could lift a feather without touching it, as long as the feather was directly visible to her and no more than two meters away. But it had never been observed in animals.


    The scene on the screen shifted and she noticed the trees around the two monsters. They seemed tiny, lending some scale to the events. Unless they were fighting in someone¡¯s bonsai-garden, the two monsters on the screen were the size of a small house. The combination of such beasts and the mentioned radiation that scrapped electronics gave her an idea why colonisation was problematic. But there was enough tech that could be used to circumvent that, using kinetic strikes from orbit was one of them. A few rods from above would easily kill such a beast, no matter how sturdy it was. They would need a few tries but she doubted that there were many of those beasts. Add in boots on the ground, armed with old-style gunpowder mass-drivers and it should be quite possible.


    She voiced those thoughts to the Doctor and he looked at her with wide-open eyes. ¡°My, you must be a genius or something. How could the Federation forget about things they used for hundreds of years, to great effect? Shit, they should ship you back and promote you to Admiral, with such genius.¡± Electronics might not work on the planet, but sarcasm obviously did, it was so thick that it might be useful to fight against those monsters.


    ¡°Of course they thought of that. The result was quite sobering, they lost over seven-hundred thousand soldiers here on this marble. And what had they to show for? Nothing, not a god-damned thing.¡± The doctor snorted, anger in his voice.


    The number shocked Scarlet to her core, seven-hundred thousand was a huge amount, it was an invasion-force. If she previously had to make a guess how many boots the Federation could put on the ground, at some far-distant planet, she would have guessed two, maybe three million soldiers. Not so much due to lack of soldiers but because of logistics. Most spaceships used a small crew, even a destroyer had less than hundred souls aboard, and the large battleships maybe two-thousand. That meant there had been a major fleet action and despite that, the monsters on the planet had withstood it? That scared her.


    ¡°Those monsters, they are the reason you are here. You see, they are not quite what they seem. We are not sure what they should be classified as, we are not even sure they should be considered alive. What you saw on the screen was, to our current understanding, a solid illusion, projected by a resonance between a mineral crystal and the radiation unique to the planet. We have no real idea why it happens, just that it does.¡± He explained and pulled a crystal, maybe the size of a walnut from a bag at his waist. When she saw it, Scarlet noticed that there was a mental pressure around it, as if someone was suppressing it using mental domination-techniques. But using mental domination on a rock?


    ¡°We call them monster-crystals and here is why.¡± he tossed the crystal and as it flew, Scarlet noticed a shift in the air, the pressure receding. And just as it did, the crystal flared and as it landed, it had turned into a dog-like creature, maybe half a meter high and almost fluffy looking. But it was quite obviously not a normal dog, or maybe even a real dog.


    ¡°What the hell?!¡± Scarlet cursed in surprise.


    The doctor sniggered a little and she felt that the mental domination was now targeted at the dog-like creature in front of her.


    ¡°As I said, we are not sure what to call them. They come in almost any shape you can imagine, from small and harmless-looking things, that seem to be based on flowers to the huge monsters you saw on the screen. And when we tried to invade, there were rumors of even bigger monsters that were seen from orbit, some of them even without telescope. But those are just rumors.¡± he explained.


    ¡°So, why are we here? Why doesn¡¯t the Federation put a marker, saying ¡®Here, there be dragons!¡¯ or something like that and doesn¡¯t bother?¡± Scarlet asked, now seriously spooked.


    ¡°The crystals. When harvested properly, they are a natural multi-phasic material, almost priceless for the right people. The small crystal that houses Buddy over there, if there was any non-sanctioned trading it would be worth about twenty million Fed-marks.¡±


    The explanation and the cost shocked Scarlet almost as bad as the amount of people lost, ten Fed-marks were roughly the amount of money needed daily, to live an adequate life. Slum-dwellers could make it on a fraction of that, but it was not a good life. That meant the doctor was casually waving around enough money to feed a family over multiple generations.


    ¡°The problem is the harvesting. Unless the consciousness in the crystal is harvested beforehand, the crystal shatters and only dust remains. Harvesting the consciousness can only be done by another crystal, at least as far as we know. It seems to be their whole reason for existing and creating those projected shells. They fight each other and devour the consciousness of the other crystal, gaining in strength. Hell, we have even seen crystals suddenly change their projected shell, getting bigger and stronger, once they devoured enough energy. And yes, that is where you and all the other Psions come in. You might have felt that I dominated the crystal. We can keep them in a dormant state, with its consciousness still inside and use the dominated projection to fight and harvest other crystals. The Federation exchanges the crystals for what we need on this wonderful planet and if you harvest enough and accumulate enough credit, you can even get yourself a ride off this dirtball. If you live long enough, that is.¡±

 Chapter 3

    Doctor Oak had shown Scarlet a couple more videos and images of the strange monstrous beings on Verdun, before he started to shut down the workstation again.


    ¡°Well, those are the monsters out there. Your job, as I mentioned before, will be to dominate a few crystals, permanently, and use them to harvest more. The more you use the consciousness in a particular crystal, the stronger your hold on it, so you can even hold it after it gets stronger by devouring the consciousness of other crystals. In addition, you will have to condition yourself to never drop containment of your crystals, if you do, it can kill you. Start with a single crystal, maybe two if you think you can handle it and go from there. In their dormant form, dominating them is incredibly easy, dominating them while they are manifested is harder.¡± the doctor continued his explanation of Verdun and what would be expected of Scarlet.


    ¡°Doctor Oak, the next two are coming around.¡± the nurse called from the other room and the Doctor handed me off to her, asking her to tell me a little more about the community they had here.


    ¡°Okay, the settlement here. It¡¯s not really nice, very frontier-like and not much in creature comforts. The only real computer is in there and us normals don¡¯t even rate the handheld devices they give you psions. But in turn, we normals get a salary and don¡¯t have to leave the settlement to go hunt or whatever you want to call it.¡± the nurse started to explain, walking into the main room.


    ¡°How many people are there? And how many settlements on the planet? Oh, and what¡¯s your name?¡± Scarlet asked, trying to gather even more information. What she had heard sounded rather grim.


    ¡°You can call me Aida. Here in Albertina, there are around five-hundred normals, most of them working in the food-production, and maybe fifty to seventy-five psions, going out and do the hunting. All in all, on the planet, there are maybe thirty or forty settlements of similar size, so, do the maths and call it fifteen or twentyfive-thousand people. You have all the space you will ever need if you venture outside the settlements, which you will have to.¡± Nurse Aida explained, making Scarlet wonder just how big a world this was. Just the slum-area where she¡¯d grown up had housed about ten million people and here was a whole planet with just a fraction of that.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t really matter. Moving between settlements is next to impossible, not just the distance, but even that would be a challenge but also the high-power areas in between.¡± Aida continued.


    ¡°What do you mean, high-power areas? And how far is it, really?¡± Scarlet asked, her curiosity peeking out.


    ¡°Follow me, you¡¯ll see.¡± with those words, Aida showed her back into the reception-area where Doc Oak stood with two guys, dressed in the same black Uniform as Scarlet.


    ¡°Ah, and there is another one of your batch. Scarlet, meet Roger and Nedri, both new arrivals, just like you.¡± Doc Oak introduced and greetings were exchanged while Aida got an old fashioned globe out of a cupboard.


    ¡°You are showing her the globe? Roger, Nedri, pay attention, then I don¡¯t have to repeat that part.¡± Doc Oak chimed in as Aida placed the globe-model on the table.


    ¡°To give you some scale. The equatorial radius is about the same as the radius of Earth and maybe you noticed that the gravity is slightly higher than Earth-normal.¡± Aida started her explanation and Scarlet¡¯s mind started to boggle with scale. It meant that for each human, there were hundreds of square-kilometers out there, maybe even thousands. She was not certain about the exact numbers, but on Earth, there were over fifteen billion people and here, on roughly the same landmass, there were only twenty-five thousand?!


    ¡°Albertina is here, on the third continent, between the western mountain range and the ocean. You wanted to know where the next settlement is, Scarlet, the geographically closest is on the central plains, let¡¯s call it two-thousand kilometers, as the eagle flies. If you want to walk that distance, well, knock yourself out.¡± Aida chuckled and the impossibility was driven sharply home. Without some sort of transportation, it was next to impossible, it would take a hundred days of concentrated walking just to get there. Walking without consideration for terrain, without consideration for supplies.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Before you ask, there is no advanced transportation. What would you even use without modern technology? A bicycle? Rollerskates?¡± Doctor Oak tossed in, chuckling to himself. ¡°No, you are pretty much stuck here and that means you work for me. There is a quota that you have to achieve to get food and lodgings, I suggest you make sure that you meet it. If not, well, those who don¡¯t work, don¡¯t get the wonderful comforts of the settlement and can be lazy as much as they want, there is an entire planet out there, just for them.¡±


    Hearing the Doc, Scarlet knew just how boned she was. And not the fun kind of boned, not that she had experience with that. It was the kind of boned that she had been while living in the slums, trying to evade those who thought of her as prey. The realisation that she had survived a similar situation made her calm down quite a bit, it was just a different kind of jungle.


    ¡°That¡¯s bullshit, old man. Who died and made you ki...?!¡± Roger, one of the newcomers, shouted and at the same time, Scarlet felt that he struck out using his mind. He wasn¡¯t weak, there was plenty of power in the attack but she felt that the Doc easily swatted it aside, like a pesky fly. And just like one did with a fly, he didn¡¯t just take it, he struck back with the mental force of a sledgehammer. Roger hadn¡¯t even managed to finish his declaration of defiance before he was just a crumpled heap on the floor, blood seeping from his nose, ears and eyes. Even some of the smaller capillaries under his skin had burst, causing strange blotches to form.


    ¡°Aida, show the two where the biological trash is to be disposed.¡± Doctor Oak ordered, without any agitation, as if he had just asked her to put the globe back into the cupboard. That nonchalance made Scarlet certain that if she ever tried to challenge the Doctor it would not be in any sort of fair fight. While she wasn¡¯t sure how powerful Roger had been, the difference between the two had been one of magnitudes.


    Suppressing a shudder, she helped Nedri to pick the corpse up and the two of them followed Aida outside. The town was about what one would expect from a frontier town in some sort of technophobe community. There were a few buildings out of Plascrete forming a perimeter around the building they had just left and further back, a wall out of the darker Duracrete was visible. Scarlet focused on those mundane details to help ignore the fact that she was carrying a corpse. It was not the first she had seen, it was not the first she had to touch but still, there was something deeply disturbing about the whole situation. It did not get better when Aida guided them to a small patch at the wall, calling out as she walked. Another man joined them, by the feeling also a psion and he had a similar feeling of danger as the Doctor had.


    ¡°Ah, drat, one of them mouthed off, right? I had placed a bet that all of them would be smart enough to survive until their first trip outside. The odds were just too good to be true and I guess they really were.¡±


    At the wall, Aida gestured for Scarlet and Nedri to place the corpse on a table before starting to undress him, quickly and professionally.


    ¡°At least he didn¡¯t soil himself, I hate that.¡± Aida muttered while she worked. Scarlet quickly looked away once she started, preferring to focus on something else, like the fact that the unknown guy had pulled another of those crystals from a pouch and tossed it, letting the monster inside materialise.


    This one looked a little like a badger, only that it had quite impressive claws and golden scales. There was another mental wave, coming from the man, and suddenly, the strange golden badger stabbed both claws on its forelimbs into the ground and the earth parted, forming an easily six feet deep chasm, just the right size to bury someone in.


    ¡°Well, toss him.¡± Aida ordered, causing Scarlet to look back to her. Roger¡¯s remains were now devoid of clothing so after forcing herself to continue to breath, Scarlet joined Nedri in picking the corpse up and together they carried him over to the hole. They shared a look and realised that they would either have to simply toss the corpse into the hole or one of them would have to climb down and hug the corpse to get it down in a semi-dignified manner. Neither of them showed any inclination to crawl into the grave, so they stepped away a little and tossed the corpse into the grave. The unknown man sent out another mental wave and the earth moved together again, making it look like it had never been disturbed at all.


    ¡°Come on, maybe the last one in your batch has now woken up. The Doc will want to get on with the introduction.¡± Aida ordered and somehow, obeying her seemed like a very good idea, so they followed after her, as she carried the carefully folded clothes back to the Doctor¡¯s building.

 Chapter 4

    AN: Miraculously, the planet was left too long in the dryer and shrunk, making it roughly the same size of Earth, even that is more than enough space for everyone and I won¡¯t need to resort to too strange things later.


    When they got back to the building Scarlet had woken up in, the doctor was waiting with two others, one a female of amazonian build, tall, broad in the shoulders and muscular, the other a guy of average build, making him look a little weedy next to the statuesque woman next to him. But what both of them had in common was the feeling of strength that distinguished Psions from normal people. In a reversal of the physical, the guy felt stronger than the woman, not by an order of magnitudes, but there was a clear difference. Nedri, who had followed along silently, apparently just as disturbed by the previous events, slotted neatly between the two, leaving Scarlet to wonder how she measured up. It was a slight annoyance that estimating one''s own strength was almost impossible without the right tools, almost like it was impossible to see one¡¯s own eyes without the help of a mirror. There were tests that could give absolute figures but it was hard to compare the absolute figures with the internal, subjective perception at any given time.


    ¡°Ah, good, now that you all are here and awake, we can go over your duties from now on. But first, introductions.¡± The doctor greeted them and continued to introduce the Amazon as Keera and the guy as Mendar, both gave a polite nod to the other and the doctor made them sit and started to lecture.


    ¡°Now, let me welcome you again, to our wonderful town of Albertina, a currently unaffiliated town under direct Federation rule. It is our job, meaning your job, to gather the crystals we call Monster Crystals, or a rather long, scientific name that doesn¡¯t really matter all that much. As I have shown each of you, Monster Crystals resonate with the radiation field of Verdun to manifest strange creatures that we call Crystal Monsters, creative, right? To harvest a Monster Crystal, you need to mentally overpower them and if you weaken them beforehand, it gets easier, but you will see that, later.


    ¡°The deal is thus, I will help each of you to get your first Monster Crystal so you can get going and afterwards, you go out and gather Crystals so we can make the quota and in turn, you get food and shelter. Doesn''t that sound great?¡± his tone of voice made it clear that he was just as enthusiastic as one would expect, he sounded as if he was about to get an exam that one only spoke about with trusted friends, after drinking enough to lose the ability to speak their native language.


    ¡°Anyway, in addition to the first Monster Crystal, you¡¯ll get a portable detector, it¡¯s one of the few pieces of actual technology that we have hardened to the point that it is useful on Verdun, it allows you to get a reading of the radiation-strength that influences the strength of Crystal Monsters. It also allows you to get a reading of a particular Monster Crystal but only at very close range and it takes a bit, so trying it in the wild is a rather bad idea, the monsters are generally hostile to humans and it will get you ripped to shreds.¡± Doctor Oak finished his explanation and handed out small, hand-held devices, looking almost like a museum-level mobile phone with a hard-screen, a small solar-cell and a few buttons before explaining how to operate them. It was incredible simple and the shape made it obvious that the case was mostly shielding, making Scarlet wonder if she could use it as an improvised blunt weapon or hammer if there was ever a need for it. Just from the heft of it, she decided that yes, it could do some damage if she smacked someone with it.


    Part of her assessed the others that had been transferred, wondering if she could trust them. From what Aida had said, she got the impression that Verdun was where Psicom put those that were problems for the organisation, possibly even outright criminals, what better way to make sure that criminal psions won¡¯t reoffend than to put them onto a remote and hostile planet and control the very resources they needed to survive? It made her realise that while the outside world was a jungle like the one she had visited for a few survival exercises over the year, the inside of the compound was much more like the slum she¡¯d grown up in. Old instincts, partially buried during the training, came to the front. During training, she had been forced to work with others, to play nice with them, now, she would have to watch her own back, or a knife would be planted in it.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    ¡°Excuse me, Doctor Oak, where are our personal effects?¡± she asked, caring less about the few memorabilia she had brought with her but caring a lot about the slender knives she had acquired during training.


    ¡°Nurse Aida will show you. For now, I will take one of you out into the forest, so they can get their first crystal. As a warning, don¡¯t move about in groups in the forest, we are not quite sure what draws the crystal monsters but if we move about in groups, they gather and are generally much more hostile. Two, maybe three can move together but more is plain and simply suicide. The first to join me, in looking for his first monster is Mendar, then it will be Scarlet, followed by Nedri and finally Keera. Yes, we go in the order of you slackers shaking off your unconsciousness.¡± Doc Oak answered and moved towards the door with Mendar in tow.


    Scarlet, on the other hand went to go after Aida who had vanished into another room, possibly to put away the uniform she had taken from Roger. It took her only a moment to trace her to a store-room and what she saw there, made the question superfluous. She recognised her bag, sitting on a nearby shelf with other pieces of luggage sitting next to it.


    ¡°Excuse me, could you let me pass?¡± Scarlet asked, startling Aida a little but the Nurse stepped aside, letting her get to her bag but otherwise ignoring her. Feeling not very welcome, Scarlet just opened her bag, using her body to hide what she was doing with it. The clothes she was wearing were similar enough to the original uniform that her sheaths fit under them, allowing her to conceal her knives on her person. Feeling that hiding knives was something best done in private, she just put them under her shirt, hiding them but in a way that they couldn¡¯t easily be accessed and looked for the most private place she could think off, the privy.


    It took her a few moments to find it and as she searched, she realised something she had not considered. If there was no modern electricity, was there running water? The answer to that question was provided by Aida, whom she asked when she was unable to find the facilities. To her horror, it turned out that it was no, there was no running water, other than a nearby stream. She was directed to a row of actual outhouses, set in place near the spot where they had buried Roger. The implications of that left her shuddering in disgust and the state of the facilities did not improve her mental state in any meaningful way. For a second, she wondered if it was possible to avoid using the facilities for the next four years, if she was actually allowed to simply leave at that point and it was not just a ploy by that Colonel, but no, she could put off the inevitable but it was just that, inevitable.


    A few minutes later, she left the outhouse, knives hidden under her clothes in such a way that she could pull one of them from nearly any position and walked over to the flowing water, washing her hands there. It was quite obvious that the running water was just a small channel, used to guide water from a stream outside the wall around the town into the enclosure with grates installed to make sure nothing ventured inside the protected space.


    As she walked around, she noticed that there were almost only guys out and about, making her wonder for a moment. But it made some sense, most people around her were normals and most likely chosen at least partially to do physically demanding work, something normally left to machines. When it came to supervising robots doing the work, the physical strength didn¡¯t matter but here, without machines to fall back on? Here, strength did matter for the normals. She felt a slight headache creeping in.


    After her excursion into the wonderful experience that was the local plumbing, she ran into the Doctor and Mendar on the way back, coming from the forest. Mendar¡¯s face was in a pained grimace and she could feel his mental strength fluctuate a little. In addition, there was a bleeding scratch on one of his arms.


    ¡°Ah, good, I won¡¯t need to go back to the clinic now. Mendar, go back by yourself and let Nurse Aida treat your arm. I¡¯ll go with Scarlet here and we will look for her crystal.¡± the doctor announced, sending Mendar on while gesturing for Scarlet to follow him, guiding her outside the conquered, man-ruled space for the first time.

 Chapter 5

    The Doctor led Scarlet to the town''s gate, a massive piece of metal set onto rails, but not to the gate itself, but to a small door set into it. Through that door, the two of them left town.


    It gave Scarlet the first, unobstructed look at the forest outside, it might have been on almost any Gaia-planet during spring, the trees were carrying leaves and some buds and on the forest floor, underbrush made it difficult to move about. But despite that familiarity, there was something in the air, a feeling of danger, drifting along the smells of nature. It made Scarlet¡¯s hairs stand on end, as if there was something out there, something watching them.


    ¡°Try to move silently, we don¡¯t want to attract too much attention. If you are able to use concealment-tricks, use them.¡± the Doctor told Scarlet as they crossed the clearing around the wall, where the trees had clearly been cut back to prevent anything from using them as cover to approach the wall. Scarlet brought one of her oldest tricks to the forefront of her mind and set her power against the world, projecting a field of irrelevance, subtly influencing anything perceiving her that she was harmless and not worth notice. In addition to that, she concentrated on moving silently amongst the trees, avoiding stepping on dry twigs or rustling leaves, as avoiding notice was always better than misdirecting it.


    Next to her, she noticed that Doctor Oak was only vaguely noticeable, even knowing that he was there. She was not quite sure how he managed to do so but the effect was strong and seemed to be physical, not just mental. The implications of that were rather curious, it hinted that either he was able to manipulate the physical realm on an impressive scale or he was cheating, using one of the monsters in some unseen way. Either made him even more worthy of fearful respect as he had been before.


    The two of them crept through the forest, Scarlet observing the soft mental probing used by the Doctor, possibly to scout for Crystal Monsters. Feeling that it was a good idea to make her mistakes while someone was there that might prevent them from being fatal, she mimicked him, concentrating on the soft and untraceable aspects. The whole process was challenging enough, sneaking, projecting her irrelevance-field and scanning, causing her to miss the look of approval in his eyes.


    What she noticed was that the forest around her was teeming with life, more so than any forest she had ever been in. There were normal animals in the trees but nothing alien enough to make her think of a Crystal Monster so she just followed after the Doctor.


    After maybe ten minutes of walking, he raised a hand to stop her, causing her to focus on her scan, seeking for whatever it was that he was sensing. Focusing on the scan made it slightly increase in range and she felt a disturbance, a tiny ripple in the fabric of life that filled the forest. Knowing that it was there, she zeroed in on it, correlating the mental disturbance with the reality around her and looking at that spot.


    Slightly higher, hiding in the trees, a cat was lounging around, only that the feeling that it gave off was not that of a cat, or any animal. Once she had noticed it, Doctor Oak stepped forward and pulled a crystal from his belt-pouch, gently tossing it towards the tree the cat was occupying. In the dim light of the forest, Scarlet noticed that there was a slight glow in the crystal, as if a small, green light was set inside. She felt the Doctor retract his mental domination, allowing the monster within to materialise.


    Even seeing it the second time and carefully watching, she could barely believe her eyes. First, the crystal was flying through the air, like any object would when tossed, when suddenly the world seemed to twist and shimmer, as if it had a small hiccup and where the crystal had been, a monster was occupying the surrounding space. In this case, the monster looked a little like a tree from some strange nightmarish fairytale, gnarled and twisted. The disturbance below had alerted the cat and it was hissing and growling but neither the Doctor nor his tree seemed overly impressed. There was another mental wave from the Doctor and the tree-monster started moving in a very un-tree-like manner, its roots bursting from the ground below the tree the cat was still sitting on, rapidly reaching upwards, causing the cat to leap aside. That might have just been what the Doctor wanted, for he simply gave another mental command and one of his tree¡¯s branches elongated and smacked down, smashing the airborne cat before it had even a remote chance to get into contact with anything to try to dodge.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    The hit looked rather interesting, to Scarlet¡¯s perception, it was not just a physical impact, even if there was a big component of that, there was also a strange repulsion between the two disturbances she was perceiving, as if the two projections were unable to exist in the same space. As a result of the hit, the cat landed hard, even if it had managed to get its paws under itself and contrary to anything Scarlet would have imagined, it tried to attack the tree-monster, hissing and leaping towards it, its claws extending far beyond what she would have thought possible.


    But even that act of defiance was pointless, as such acts often were, and only resulted in the roots bursting from the ground again. Scarlet would have sworn that she saw one of the roots rip through the cat but other than a short flickering, there was no indication that it was true, no blood or even ruffled fur. The roots were enough to ward off the cat and the Doctor finally spoke.


    ¡°That should be enough, now it is for you to show that you are worth the food you¡¯ll eat.¡± he told her with a slight smile on his face.


    Knowing that it was a test, Scarlet focused on the battered cat, focused not just on the sensation her physical senses were showing her but also the sensations her mind was detecting, the disturbance she had felt before. She knew that the Doctor had said that it would be easier to capture one that was weakened, so she focused on the change between the previous and the current sensation, hoping to find the key there.


    With that as a starting point, she followed the change in sensation inwards, supplementing her perception with the knowledge that the creature was projected outwards from a crystal, so there had to be one within. And that crystal, or rather the mind within, was her target.


    Inwards she went, into the disturbance and finally, she found the mind within, radiating fury and pain in an intensity that made her flinch. The second she made contact, the cat reacted, whirling around and focusing on Scarlet. Despite the heavy hits the cat had already taken, it leapt again, this time not towards the tree-monster but towards Scarlet, clearly intent on ripping the new assailant to shreds.


    More feeling the attack coming, Scarlet managed to dodge aside and took the moment of its miss as an opportunity to strike back, forming her mind into a sharp spear to rip into the cat¡¯s mental realm. In the mental realm, Scarlet and the cat¡¯s strange not-quite ego wrestled, Scarlet using her training and determination to counter the sheer savagery of the cat, managing to avoid the brutal strikes it was sending her way, using every expenditure of power that it made against it. Fighting at the speed of thought, the two adversaries clashed, again and again, until finally, seconds after their titanic battle had started, it ended almost as abrupt as it had begun.


    The cats projected form flickered for a moment, before vanishing, leaving behind only the crystal that was its real, physical shape. The cat had been mid-leap, trying to attack Scarlet in the physical realm and the crystal followed a ballistic trajectory, only to have Scarlet catch it in the air. It was slightly smaller than the crystals she had seen the Doctor use, The crystal was mostly clear, with only a glimmer of bluish light shining from within but there were some small off-colour particles encased in the crystal, forming reddish patterns that caused the light to refract.


    Now that the crystal was dormant, Scarlet was able to gauge how it affected her, to keep it down. There was a slight force, pressing against her mental seal but it was easy to keep it up. But given that she would have to keep that up at all times, even that small, mental exertion would take some time getting used to.


    ¡°Can I try releasing it?¡± Scarlet asked, again, hoping that if she made a mistake, the Doctor might help her avoid making it a fatal one. He just nodded and she focused on her crystal again, slowly letting her mental control recede and she felt a sensation of outflowing, causing her to drop the crystal, only to have the cat land on its paws, right in front of her, looking up at her. She felt what she thought were its instincts mingling with the contact she had established, slightly pushing and prodding at it, almost as if curious about the intruder within its mind.


    Now that the cat was no longer actively trying to introduce her organs to the outside world, Scarlet had some time to take a closer look. The first thing that stood out was that it looked like a normal cat, maybe a little larger, only that it had two tails, sinuously moving around. It¡¯s coat was a tan colour with reddish streaks running through it, similar to the pattern of the crystal. All in all, she wondered if it was too late to ask for another monster, it seemed so underwhelming compared to the nightmare-tree and even the dog the Doctor had used before.


    ¡°Put your monster away and we go back to town.¡± the Doctor ordered, recalling his own Crystal Monster and walked away.

 Chapter 6

    Using her mind to push the cat back into the crystal, Scarlet picked it up and followed Doctor Oak back to town, again, cloaking herself and stepping carefully. What had previously been a challenging exercise in psionics was now one step harder, due to the need to constantly keep the crystal under control, making her realise that the control of the crystal needed to become something natural to her, as natural as breathing, a process that didn¡¯t stop, even when she was asleep. It made her respect for Doctor Oak grow, he was not just keeping one crystal dominated, unless she was wrong about the cloaking effect, he was keeping at least three under control and was able to use two active monsters at the same time.


    When they got back to town, they entered through the same gate they had left through, only that now, Scarlet noticed that it had no way to open it from the outside, they could only enter after being allowed entrance from within. The Doctor continued on to the clinic and Scarlet, again, followed behind.


    In the clinic, Mendar had obviously been tended to, the gash in his arm cleaned and bandaged, and now he was sitting with Nedri, softly talking. Keera, on the other hand, was standing at the back, looking slightly awkward and embarrassed. It was a strange look on the statuesque woman, as if she was blushing furiously but her dark skin was preventing it from showing on her face.


    ¡°Nedri, it is your turn.¡± the Doctor called out, causing the two of them to fall silent and Nedri rose, following behind the Doctor who went back out, leaving Scarlet behind. Aida stepped out from the back and handed Scarlet a belt-pouch, identical to the ones she had seen used by the Doctor and the man outside to carry around their crystals. There was a tradeoff between having the crystals in a predictable place against having them easily accessible. The pouch itself was well designed, sturdy and with five individual slots, each with its own button to hold it closed and big enough to hold a single item, giving her space for five crystals, or four crystals and the hand-scanner.


    After thanking Aida, she placed the pouch on her belt and, a little unsure if she should strike up a conversation with the two others, simply sat a bit off to the side and focused on her crystal, trying to find out if there was a better way to hold it contained.


    ¡°Hey, Scarlet, right?¡± a voice broke her out of her focus and when she looked up, Keera had moved over, looking as if she wanted to sit down next to her. Knowing that alienating those in the same boat as her would be a bad idea, Scarlet gave her a friendly smile and gestured for her to take a seat.


    ¡°Yes, hi Keera.¡± Scarlet answered, while putting her crystal away.


    There was a soft, snickering sound, coming from the front of the building, where Mendar was sitting, but Scarlet ignored that for now, focusing on Keera.


    ¡°I just, I wanted to ask you if you wanted to team up with me?¡± Keera asked, the insecurity incongruent with the sheer physical presence she had. It was a valid idea, having someone with her could mean the difference between life and death. But could she trust Keera, that was the one-million mark question. Knowing that a long hesitation had the potential to make the decision for her, she made the snap decision to take the risk. She had already seen that death could come at any moment and that the outside was not in any way safer than the inside of town. Hadn¡¯t the guy who had helped bury Roger complained that his bet had been that they would die on their first outside excursion? So, having a partner was a good idea and a female partner might prevent problems stemming from the lack of available females in the settlement.


    ¡°Yes, teaming up seems like a good idea. I would be happy to do so.¡± she answered, keeping her voice friendly and quiet. The acceptance made Keera smile in thanks and sigh in apparent relief.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    They sat together in a bit of awkward silence, neither comfortable enough to even make smalltalk due to the strange and uncertain environment. Knowing that getting the mental process to dominate the crystal down pat, Scarlet returned her focus on that, mentally probing it, trying different thought-forms to hold it, similar to one might try different ways to carry something, searching for the best way to hold it.


    She barely noticed it, when after some time the Doctor returned with Nedri and gestured for Keera to follow him. But her probing slowly got results, the curiosity she had felt earlier was still there and it seemed that if she let some of her awareness of the outside world seep back into the crystal, it became almost docile in its suppressed state, as if its main struggle was to gain back awareness of the outside.


    When she examined her hypothesis, she noticed that it seemed plausible. After all, sensory deprivation was used to soften targets up before having psions invade their minds, the threat of repeated deprivation making them more pliable. During her training, she had been subject to the treatment used to soften up interrogation targets, so they could defend against it, if they were ever subjected to interrogation themselves and it had been torturous. Being trapped in the darkness of her own mind, with nothing but her own thoughts as company, her resistance had quickly been broken. Not that any of her classmates had fared that much better, for some it had taken slightly longer but none of them had lasted more than two days.


    Shaking off the memories, she refocused on her environment, taking note of the fact that Keera was gone and that Nedri and Mendar were talking amongst themselves. Deciding that she needed more information, she went looking for Aida, finding her stripping the bed she had woken up in previously.


    ¡°Excuse me, do you have a moment for me?¡± she asked, knowing that politeness would get her further than anything but psionic assault. And the Doctor¡¯s reaction to knowing that she had ravaged the mind of his nurse was not worth thinking about, she could imagine easier ways to commit suicide.


    ¡°If you want to hit on me, no, I don¡¯t, I won¡¯t even learn your names until you managed to survive the first month.¡± was the slightly annoyed sounding answer.


    ¡°No, no hitting, either metaphorically or physically, planned.¡± Scarlet answered with a laugh before continuing, ¡°I wanted to know more about life in Albertina. You know, things like, where do I sleep, where do we eat, those pesky little details.¡±


    ¡°Once you all have your crystals, you¡¯ll be shown to the barracks, you will bunk there until you can make your own dwelling, either by yourself or by trading for the work. For food, there is a mess-house where you can eat, it¡¯s across the path from the barracks. In addition, there is some entertainment in the area where the normals live but you should be careful, if you kill one of them, even in self-defense, you¡¯ll have to pay a fine.¡± Aida explained, while continuing her work. The warning at the end seemed a little odd to Scarlet, why would she kill someone, just by being there.


    ¡°You¡¯ve not yet twigged what Verdun is, have you?¡± asked Aida, apparently having seen her expression. ¡°It¡¯s a prison, or maybe labour-camp would be a better word. You psions have to harvest crystals and if the town doesn¡¯t meet the quota, we don¡¯t get food send down from above and we don¡¯t make enough to feed everyone. On the other hand, the normals have to do all the manual labour that has to be done, including growing what food we can. The problem is, the normals are here for the rest of their lives, the feds won¡¯t waste fuel to lift a convict back to orbit, even if they claim they will, I don¡¯t buy it, not for one hot minute. You are a smart girl, so I¡¯m sure you can imagine that most that are sent here are the scum of humanity, the pedophiles, rapists, murderers and people who talk at the theatre. And here¡¯s the happy thought. Of the roughly thousand normals, nine-hundred are guys.¡±


    ¡°Gather around, newbies. The next part of the wonderful introductory course, Survival on Verdun, is about to begin. If you want to skip, feel free but the grading on the exam is murder. Literally!¡± the Doctor shouted from the front of the building, causing Scarlet to hurry there, the revelation given by Aida playing in a loop. Her situation seemed more and more like a nightmare.

 Chapter 7

    At the front of the building, the Doctor was waiting for Scarlet, Mendar and Nedri to join him and Keera. Scarlet noticed that Keera looked a little rattled, maybe the situation they were all in had taken until now to fully seep in. Once they were assembled, the Doctor looked them over and spoke.


    ¡°Now, you all have your first crystal. To warn you, the strength of the projection is limited, you saw how my monster attacked the wild ones before I let you try to dominate them. It works in both directions, if your monster is attacked too much, the crystal can¡¯t keep it active and the projection will cease to exist and the crystal will enter a dormant state, similar to the one you force it into.


    In that state, other crystal monsters can devour the consciousness held in the crystal, leaving it as just a pretty rock, devoid of power and incapable of ever forming a projection again and the devouring monster gets stronger. That process is deeply ingrained into the monsters, even if you dominate one, it is quite hard to stop it from following its deepest instincts and devour its prey.


    Over time, we have experimented with crystals and their projection and developed something that helps our crystals to recover their energy faster, using a liquid that has the shattered remnants of other crystals suspended in it. If you rub that liquid over your crystal, it will recover some of its strength. Aida should hand out a small bottle of that suspension to everyone of you, just in case. It would be quite bad if you were to lose your first crystal, you know?¡± The doctor explained and as he did, Aida came from the back, carrying four backpacks.


    ¡°Sadly, not everyone has the necessary strength to keep their crystals under constant control and it would be bad if your control fails in town. So, you will have to spent the next five days outside of town as final exam, concerning your ability to be a valued part of our community.¡± he continued, as Aida handed him the backpacks.


    He opened one of them, showing the group its content. There were a few pre-packed rationbars, obviously shipped in from offworld, two water bottles, two changes of clothing, a strange small bottle with a screw-cap, a small rag, a sleeping back and a thin tarp to place under the bag. The personal supplies were rather basic but it was to be expected, for one, it was questionable if they would survive so giving them a lot of gear could be tantamount to throwing the gear away but another thing was that they had to carry it, possibly in rough terrain. In addition to those supplies, the Doctor suggested that they split up into two groups, as there were only two small shovels, but for not having a shovels, the other two backpacks came equipped with matches. Either tool could be fashioned from local resources but having them encouraged cooperation between the newcomers, or it would make them steal from the others. Either way, it was added fuel to the crucible that would harden them to the mercilessness that was Verdun.


    ¡°This is the suspension I spoke about, I suggest using the rag to rub it onto the crystal. We have yet to encounter any adverse effect to humans but it would be bad if you were the first one and we had to amputate your hand, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± he gestured to the small bottle.


    ¡°Do we get any water purification tablets or anything of that sort?¡± Mendar asked after the doctor had finished.


    ¡°No, you better get used to the water we have here. You might get the runs and I hope if you do, you get over them.¡± the doctor answered, his voice clearly unconcerned.


    Frowning and digging deep into the recesses of her mind, Scarlet found a half forgotten memory of the survival training she had done. It had dealt with not sourcing as much food as possible locally, keeping the long-living supplies in reserve whenever possible. Sadly, even if some plants or even animals on a new planet might look just like their counterparts elsewhere, their biochemical makeup might be different, causing problems. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    ¡°Is there a guide what of the local biosphere is fit for human consumption?¡± she asked the doctor who nodded, looking slightly proud as if one of his students had just come up with a good solution.


    ¡°Yes, we have one. You¡¯ll have an hour to look through it and in that hour, we¡¯ll also have to calibrate your handheld-scanner, so that you can access the strength left in your crystal. Once you get more used to your crystal, you will be able to do so without the scanner, just by feeling and experience but until you get there, you can use the scanner. We go in the opposite order compared to before. Aida, please give Scarlet the folder of digestibles.¡± the doctor continued, gesturing for Keera to follow him again, heading into another part of the building.


    Aida handed a thin binder to Scarlet, who sat down with it, causing Nedri and Mendar to set up behind her, looking over her shoulder. She felt deeply uncomfortable with them being so close to her back, but once again, she forced herself to accept it as something not worth causing trouble over. But only part of her mind was focused on the binder in her hand, the rest was distracted by the figures looming over her.


    Luckily, the folder was not thick and the pages mostly filled with images, showing which parts of the local biosphere could be consumed by humans and what caution needed to be taken. For some plants, only the root was edible, with others the leaves needed to be cooked in water before drying them, there was a variety of possible edibles, if one knew where to look. When it came to carnivorous tendencies, most animals were edible when cooked but a few could only be eaten raw and bloody, as cooking them would cause them to become inedible, poisonous even, making their consumption something only done when absolutely necessary for survival.


    There were even recipes how to prepare the various items for a halfway decent meal, causing Scarlet to half-remember an old joke, told by the instructors on the survival training, it had never made sense to her, something about southern zoos and having not only descriptions of the animals but also recipes for each of them. She was not quite sure what the cardinal direction had to do with it, but the one telling the joke had seemed to consider it funny.


    After a few minutes, Keera returned and Nedri was called off. Keera seemed to take one look at Scarlet¡¯s face before interposing herself between Mendar and Scarlet, pushing him back. She didn¡¯t take up the same position of looking over Scarlet¡¯s shoulder but sat next to her, looking sideways onto the folder. Mendar grumbled a little but a glare from Keera caused him not to press the issue.


    Scarlet took the opportunity to engage with Keera, using the files in the folder as a pretext to make smalltalk, commenting on particular looking plants or making jokes about the names noted for some species. It helped Scarlet to get a feeling for Keera, not just using her psionic powers but mostly using instincts honed on the streets of Nova Yor, what felt like a lifetime ago. But even after years of training, those instincts came back in a rush.


    They went through the folder together, each of them trying to commit as much as possible of it to memory, knowing that it might be the difference between living or dying.


    Their studying was ended by Nedri coming back and the Doctor calling Scarlet into the back, causing her to hand the folder to Keera so she could continue.


    In the back, the Doctor stood next to a strange contraption, another piece of hardened technology. The doctor gestured for Scarlet to place her crystal in a container filled with liquid and her scanner was plugged into a receptacle.


    ¡°And that is?¡± she asked, once she had done so. Asking for information seemed to be encouraged, disobeying orders, not so much.


    ¡°It¡¯s the same suspension as in the bottles, just much more concentrated. The idea is that your crystals power will be completely restored and measured afterwards. That gives your scanner a baseline with which it can compare later scans. Sadly, we have yet to come up with an absolute measurement, research is rather complicated without the required machines.¡± the machine ended his musings by beeping and Scarlet was sent on her way with her newly calibrated scanner.

 Chapter 8

    After everyone¡¯s scanner had been calibrated, the doctor unceremoniously kicked the four newcomers out of town, telling them that they had about four hours until dusk and that the area in an roughly ninety degree cone in front of the gate should be devoid of crystal monsters for about a kilometer, as it had been the area where they had captured their current crystals.


    Keera and Scarlet had announced that they would form a team, with Keera taking the shovel and Scarlet taking the matches before setting out. As they walked across the clear-cut area around the wall,they looked over to Mendar and Nedri who were heading roughly in the direction the Doctor had pointed out as the center of the cone they had hunted in. Seeing that, Scarlet gestured for Keera to stop, moving close to speak.


    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t head in the cone. I have a feeling that the Doctor might have something more in his pocket, he said what we are doing is his exam. I wouldn¡¯t put it past him to only let us back inside if we have managed to get extra crystals.¡± Scarlet quietly told Keera. Getting into the habit of talking softly and walking stealthily seemed to be a good idea, looking forward. The look on Keera¡¯s face made it clear that she had not considered that there might be a wrinkle in the Doctor''s task, one might even say a trap.


    ¡°You know, from what I¡¯ve seen, you are probably right. Nedri said that the Doctor killed the guy that woke up with him, merely for talking back, so, yeah, I could see him adding something like that. I could even see him disturbing those who thought to play it safe in the cone he mentioned, even lying about it. Where did he take you, for your crystal?¡± Keera asked, quickly catching on the game that might be played on Verdun.


    As Scarlet pointed out the direction, she felt a need to clarify something.


    ¡°Not quite, yes, the Doctor killed the guy but not for talking back. That other guy, I think Roger was his name, I didn¡¯t get to know him, he challenged the Doctor and attacked with his powers.¡±


    ¡°Hrm, he didn¡¯t tell me that. Not that it matters, now. Judging by the direction you went in and the direction I was taken in, what the Doctor said about the cone should be true. Let¡¯s move that way and follow the river. That way, we don¡¯t have to look for an extra water source.¡± Keera suggested and after a nod from Scarlet, she set off, with Scarlet following behind.


    As soon as they were in the forest, Scarlet started to hide herself with her mind, thinking that it would be a good thing to step carefully, but in front of her, Keera moved with the grace of a bull in a china shop, using her shovel to push aside or even hack apart the underbrush whenever it was in her way.


    Scarlet let her move like that in the beginning, before hissing at her to stop.


    ¡°Do you want to announce to everything with ears where we are?¡± she snarled after catching up. ¡°Didn¡¯t you pay attention what the Doctor was doing when he led us?¡±


    Once again, it was only her dark skin that prevented a furious blush from showing clearly on Keera¡¯s face but even without that, her body language was obvious enough.


    ¡°No, I was a little overwhelmed. I¡¯m a city person, I hate the wilderness.¡± she admitted, causing Scarlet to utter a few choice curses. In the back of her mind however, a very different calculation took place. If she taught her, Keera would be indebted to Scarlet, depending on her character that could be an invaluable hold to have on her. But it was a hold that only held if Keera let it bind her.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you have survival training?¡± Scarlet asked, hiding her deeper ruminations under a mask of annoyance. It was a problem, if she wanted to survive, she would most likely need allies. But who could she trust, on a planet filled with criminals and those inconvenient for Psicom and maybe the Federation in general? After all, what better place to get rid of problematic influences than a planet that, by its very nature, prevented any rescue?


    ¡°It¡­ it has been a while.¡± Keera admitted, causing Scarlet to grumble some more, before gesturing for Keera to let her take the lead.


    ¡°Copy what I do. But for training you, you owe me. Keep an eye out behind us, just in case someone thinks that it is easier to take our crystals than getting them in the wild.¡± Scarlet grumbled and took the lead. The concentration and deliberation needed to move silently combined with the mental scanning and her concealment-technique slowed her down to a pace that most snails would deem slow, but it was a trade-off, security against speed. It also allowed her to be vigilant, in case she had misjudged Keera. Another thing that limited her speed was that she kept one hand on her crystal, always ready to use it, if she missed something relevant. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    She moved in the direction of the nearby river, seeking to follow it on while looking for crystal monsters and a good camping spot but she was not planning to get close to it, at least not carelessly. While mental scanning was quite useful, she was not willing to fully rely on it, Mental scanning partially relied on familiarity, something she was lacking in regards to the local fauna, so she might feel something that was harmless and think it was not, or vice versa. Or she might overlook something entirely, if it was asleep or in a mental state that she didn¡¯t recognise.


    Behind her, Keera tried to copy her movement to the best of her ability but it had been a decade since she had the two-weeks survival course hosted by the academy that had trained her and since then, she had not needed anything remotely like it. She had worked on one of the urbanised planets, where green-spaces were carefully maintained and the only dangerous animals were other humans. But alas, now she was on Verdun and if she wanted to survive, she needed to get with the program.


    Watching the smaller woman, barely more than a girl, move with almost serene grace through the woods, as if knowing what lay on her path before ever seeing it, made her feel clumsy and coloured her previous behaviour in a shameful light. Trying to copy Scarlet¡¯s movements was nigh impossible but it showed her a way to move, not the way she would have to move, her larger and stronger frame was not suitable for that, but it gave her ideas, allowing her to focus on her own movement.


    Scarlet, on the other hand, had an almost feeling of deja-vu as she walked through the forest, she had the feeling that she had seen the area around her before, that she knew the rocks, trees and bushes that surrounded her. Allowing herself to be guided by her feeling, moving more by instinct than by conscious thought allowed her to focus on her senses, to make sure that nothing bad happened to her. He heard the changing sounds behind her and felt that Keera was focusing quite hard, her focus quieting her mind. It was a trick that worked quite well but it had its problems, her instructors had shown her better ways to keep another psion from casually understanding her mind.


    For about half an hour, the two of them followed the winding river, keeping their distance from it but never to the point that Scarlet lost her perception of it. After that half-hour, Scarlet decided that they had enough distance between them and town, just in case the Doctor was not above throwing wrenches into his exam or someone had bright ideas concerning the two new females and their crystals. Now, it meant that she had to look for a good spot to make their camp, maybe even a cave, if it was not already occupied.


    It took some time, but she managed to find a good spot, a recent storm had blown over multiple trees and they had formed a protected space between their branches, almost like a primitive tent.


    ¡°Good, we can make camp here. We have more than enough time until it gets dark, enough time to scout the surroundings and make sure that we can spent the night, maybe even the next few days here.¡± Scarlet announced, putting her backpack down and gesturing for Keera to do the same.


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll dig a fire-pit, I think I remember how.¡± Keera answered while putting down her pack.


    Just as she did, Scarlet felt a slight tugging sensation at the edge of her perception, making her raise a fist in warning, gesturing in the direction she felt the sensation. It was coming closer and unless she was very much mistaken, it was the sensation of a crystal monster.


    ¡°Crystal Monster. Cover me. I¡¯ll deal with it.¡± Scarlet whispered to Keera before moving toward the sensation.


    It was not just a test for herself, if she was able to deal with an attacker, it was also a test directed at Keera, a preliminary show of trust, while keeping very vigilant to an attack from behind.


    Scarlet pulled out her crystal and tossed it, withdrawing some of her will to allow the cat out. At the back of her mind, she realised she needed a better name for it, names helped with psionic powers. Not in a way that they added any actual strength but that it helped the subconscious processes to have a distinct designation for something. It was rather confusing but sadly, Psionics were only partially understood. But that was for another time.


    She had yet to see the attacker, so she mentally directed her cat to move up a nearby tree, giving it the ability to strike from above. It was similar to the way she had first seen it, hiding in the branches.


    When Scarlet saw the attacking monster, she almost giggled, it looked so very much like a large rat that it was funny. Whiskers, long, naked tail, dirt-brown fur, without the strange, mental sensation, it could easily have been a normal rat on some other world. And she had set the cat on it. From her crystal monster came a feeling of hunger and anticipation as it made itself ready to pounce as soon as the rat had passed below the branch.


    It never had a chance. The cat pounced, coming from above and behind, its overly large claws ripping into the middle of its prey and its mouth biting into the rat¡¯s neck. It was no contest, after those attacks, there was a surging sensation coming from the cat and the rat¡¯s body looked as if it was made of sand and wind was blowing it away, only that it was blowing into the cats body. Scarlet instantly understood that it was the feeding action the Doctor had mentioned. It only lasted for seconds and once it was done, Scarlet made the cat pick up the small crystal in its maw and carry it over to her. It was barely the size of her thumb, making her realise that the Doctor most likely had made sure that their first crystal monsters were not just run of the mill fodder.


    What surprised her, was how much feline character the crystal monster showed, its body-language looked just like some videos she had seen on the datanet and in the mental communication was an element that seemed to desire praise and adoration. It was a strange feeling, coming from what she knew was simply a rock the size of her hand. She made a mental note to observe her monster further, knowledge and understanding were power after all.


    And power would keep her alive.

 Chapter 9

    Watching her crystal monster scurry towards her, Scarlet decided to act as if the image she was seeing as a representation of the outward existence of the core inside and treat the being as such. It helped that relating to it as if it was a living being was far simpler than trying to relate to its crystal form.


    When it reached her, she crouched down, gently taking the crystal it had brought over from its mouth and, in turn, scratched it behind its ears, copying what she had seen in a cat-video on the data-web. Its reaction made it obvious that it was the right action, purring and rubbing its head against her hand, a feeling of content radiating outwards. In turn, she projected the desire for it to return to its crystal, pushing the thought onto it and, when it didn¡¯t comply, she pushed it inwards, tightening her control of it until it shimmered and flowed inwards, leaving Scarlet to catch the crystal.


    Turning back, she noticed that Keera was watching her with a strange look on her face, causing her to raise an eyebrow in question.


    ¡°That seemed so easy¡­¡± Keera said, her voice barely more than a whisper.


    ¡°It was. I think the Doctor deliberately guided us to relatively powerful crystal monsters, powerful enough to allow us to take down most of the local monsters until we can establish ourselves and venture out further.¡± Scarlet explained, her mind sweeping the area, just in case the one rat had not been alone.


    ¡°You think he would care?¡±


    ¡°I think he¡¯s smart enough to watch out for his own interests. I thought about the system the Federation has here for a bit and I¡¯d guess that the town¡¯s quota is set depending on the amount of people sent here, so it¡¯s in the Doctor¡¯s interest to keep us alive. I doubt that the quota would be measurably reduced if he claims that we all died, as there is no way for the Federation to check. That¡¯s why I think he tries to give us the tools to succeed but tests us so that we don¡¯t waste resources if we can¡¯t hack it. It¡¯s a balancing act for him, between pushing us from the nest to see if we can soar and keeping us alive.¡± Scarlet laid out her thoughts, linking what she had seen the Doctor do and how he had acted.


    ¡°That¡­ makes sense. So, sending us out here is really a test, a test if we can soar, as you put it.¡± Keera admitted, looking a little happier than before. ¡°I¡¯ll start clearing a spot for the fire-pit.¡± she added and started moving the debris away until she had a nice patch of bare ground. Scarlet watched for a moment, before decided that she should make a round around their camp-site, just in case she had missed something and that she knew her way around, in case something happened later. It also allowed her some distance from Keera, allowing her to relax some of her mental defenses and let go of some of her vigilance.


    As she walked, she decided that the whole motion of throwing the crystal might be the second that killed her, if she ever failed to spot a danger. Keeping the crystal cat under control once it was manifested had been a little more taxing but not that much, maybe that would change with time or if she needed to keep it from doing something in its instinct, but time would tell.


    With that in mind, she pulled the crystal out and let Cyca emerge, as she had decided to dub her little monster. There was a sensation of happyness and the small monster looked at her for a moment before padding alongside her, as she mentally commanded it.


    It was interesting, Cyca seemed to have senses equal to a cat, maybe even a little better and thanks to the connection between them, Scarlet was able to feel its sensations, allowing her to parse the smells of the forest, looking for things that were out of place. Even the rat they had killed before had left a trace on the floor, one that Cyca seemed to remember. There were other tracks, but Scarlet was not quite certain what the impressions she was getting from Cyca meant. It was a mix of disregard and disinterest but not much more. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    Regardless of those tracks, she was unable to detect anything that might be a threat so, after looking in on Keera, who had started digging her firepit, she decided that checking out the route to the river and the river itself was a good idea. She kept Cyca moving next to her, using the monsters better senses to gather more information. But other than the scent-tracks she had already noticed, she was unable to find anything, until she actively sent Cyca after one of the tracks, following it until it got to a small hole, making her realise that the tracks Cyca was uninterested in, were just the tracks of small forest animals, in this case likely a mouse.


    Unless she misunderstood the nature of crystal monsters, they had no interest in normal food, just the energy of their brethren, so hunting normal animals was pointless. That line of thinking brought her to a slight tangent, wondering why they were apparently aggressive against humans, who, strictly speaking, should just be another type of animal. Sadly, she could only file it away as a curious fact that she had yet to understand.


    Nothing happened on the rest of the way to the river, but as she approached the banks, she felt unrest from Cyca, making her wonder what waited below the water. The river itself was relatively unspectacular, a meandering band of clear water, maybe fifteen meters across, simply flowing along. From the grassy banks, trees stretched their branches almost half-way across, shading the water and causing the few rays of sunlight to paint a wonderful image of light and shadow. The surroundings made Scarlet feel content, it was one of the magic moments that one wanted to last forever. It was a beautiful image, not spectacular but a wholesome, calm beauty that invited to lay one¡¯s head down and rest.


    But Cyca seemed very cautious of the area closer, causing Scarlet to focus on all her senses, trying to understand just what had the crystal monster spooked so bad, making it act in such a cautious manner. But her senses were unable to detect anything but a few fish, their minds feeling as tranquil as the water surface. Sadly, estimating the size of an animal from its mental feel was next to impossible, unless one had extensive experience with that particular type of animal and could draw rough comparisons, but even then it was more a guess than anything concrete. As Scarlet had never even seen the fish that lurked below the surface, she was unable to even say for certain that they were fish, they might be something else.


    Seeking more information, she picked up a branch and tossed it into the river, close to where she felt one of the fish below the surface, causing a brief spike in its mental activity which she attributed to a flight-reflex, before returning to its tranquil mental state.


    Wondering if the stick was just not good enough to rouse it, fearing that the fish were similar to phiranias, Scarlet focused on Cyca, ordering her to follow the closest track of a small forest animal. Cyca seemed to be quite happy to oblige and get away from the river, instantly scurrying after a set of tracks that smelled slightly different from the mouse-track they had followed before. They followed it for a minute or two, until Scarlet felt a feeling of excitement from Cyca, who was feeling the thrill of the hunt. Looking where her monster sensed its prey, Scarlet saw a small squirrel-like animal sitting on a branch, grooming itself. Not quite sure how to best take down such an animal, Scarlet gave Cyca the mental order to kill it, unsure if such a relatively vague order would work. Previously, she had given exact orders, without much room for interpretation, now, Cyca would have to find its own way.


    The result was quite shocking, literally. Instead of stalking forward, Cyca¡¯s two tails moved in a sinuous manner, rubbing together, until they suddenly moved apart and, with a soft, cracking noise, a strangely slow, pale-gold lightning bolt connected the animal above and the spot between Cyca¡¯s tails. The small animal started to react but not fast enough to dodge the lighting bolt, even if it was clearly slower than lightning should be. Cyca turned to Scarlet, her body-language and mental impression displaying a tired but smug look with a feeling of ¡®praise me¡¯ floating in her mind. Behind Cyca, the still smoking carcass of the squirrel dropped from above, landing with a soft plop, startling Scarlet from her stupor.


    Before even approaching the killed squirrel, Scarlet took the time to gently pet and groom Cyca, knowing that crystal monsters seemed to have even more surprises hidden within than she had anticipated. Once Cyca gave of a feeling of content satisfaction, Scarlet picked up the crispy critter and walked back towards the river, curious what could make a cat that threw lightning bolts so anxious.

 Chapter 10

    Armed with the crispys critter¡¯s carcass, Scarlet went back to the river, Cyca trailing behind, almost hiding behind her as they approached the water. After making sure that there was some blood seeping out of the electrocuted squirrel, Scarlet threw it into the river, close to the presences she felt.


    The result was incredibly underwhelming, the squirrel floated for a moment before sinking into the river and the presences below reacted in no different way compared to the reaction, or rather non-reaction, they had had when she had thrown in the stick. Disappointed, Scarlet tried to think of another way to safely find out what had Cyca spooked, coming up with the idea to fashion herself a spear and maybe get some dinner that way. The book provided by the Doctor had a few edible fish in it but it had been lacking in warnings for possible predators, lurking in the water. The reasoning behind that particular lack was most likely the opinion that, if the newcomers were unable to deal with the ordinary but untamed wildlife, the crystal monsters would have them for breakfast, possibly literally.


    On the way back to Keera, Scarlet decided to let her larger and physically stronger companion do the fishing, while she watched from the side, making sure that nothing sneaked up on Keera. It added another layer of protection, just in case what she felt in the water were not harmless fish as she by now thought but some sort of ambush-hyper-predator.


    Back at the camp, Keera had finished digging the firepit and started to gather reasonably dry wood in the area, wondering just what she had done to deserve her fate. She knew, of course, what she had done but kept wondering if she would have acted in the same way, if she had known just where her path would lead. Into the forest of an uncolonized planet, lugging around wood and wondering just where to take care of private business that was getting more urgent by the minute.


    She heard a soft sound, like someone clearing their throat and looked up, only to almost take care of that business then and there, when she realised that the younger woman with whom she had teamed up was standing close to her, without her noticing. She was not bad with mental scanning, something she had used quite often in her previous job, but she had completely missed the approaching woman, thanks to a quiet nifty concealment-effect. The barely concealed amusement on her pixie-like partner¡¯s face did not help her mental state, but she knew, if she had had an accident, the amusement would be even worse.


    ¡°Come on, it¡¯s time that we get ourselves dinner.¡± the younger one announced and Keera looked around, searching for whatever the other wanted to get.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Keera asked, trying to get a good read on the younger woman but other than amusement masking vigilance and tension, she was unable to discern anything about the other.


    ¡°I scouted the way to the river and there seem to be quite a few fish in the shallows, so I thought it would be a good idea to go fish. And seeing that you are, quite frankly, physically a lot stronger than me, I thought you could help with the work.¡± Keera could hear the condescension dripping from the other¡¯s words, an unspoken, ¡®you don¡¯t do anything else, do you?¡¯ almost audible despite never been spoken.


    ¡°Yes, I guess.¡± Keera agreed, knowing that she was not the dominant in the partnership, no matter how it grated at her. But, she had barely managed to scrape by in the Academy, years ago, and had been a glorified receptionist ever since.


    ¡°Good, let¡¯s look for a suitable branch, that we can fashion into a spear for you.¡± the other said with a slight smirk and turned away, starting to walk amongst the trees. Only now, Keera noticed the two-tailed feline stalk behind Scarlet, recognised the crystal monster of the other and wondering why she was having it walk with her, instead of keeping it contained in its crystal, which needed far less focus and mental energy.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Still, she knew that she needed Scarlet, if she wanted to live. The other had offered to teach her how to survive and Keera was not ready to roll over and die. So, she would put up with condescending pixies.


    After talking to Keera, Scarlet started looking for a suitable stick, at least two meters long, as straight as possible and two, maybe three fingers thick. It didn¡¯t take her long to find one, maybe a little too long and too thick, but it just meant that Keera, who was following along, silently sulking, had to put some more effort into it. Indeed, it wasn¡¯t really a branch, what she had discovered was a small tree in its own right, young and about the right size. It would never turn into a full-sized tree, but that was just bad luck. If took her a moment to contemplate how to chop down the tree, luckily, she had an idea when Keera snarkily remarked if Scarlet had an axe hidden on her person. One of her knives might have been enough to cut down the tree but only with a huge amount of effort, possibly destroying the blade in the process.


    But Cyca had previously shown that she had very impressive claws, especially when she had tried to gut Scarlet during their first meeting, so Scarlet had no problem to mentally transmit the task to her, making it clear the she was to use her claws, not try to use the strange lightning. That was something Scarlet wanted to keep to herself, just in case she needed an ace up her sleeve.


    Cyca hopped back a step or two before leaping at the young tree, her claws extending to an impossible degree, reminding Scarlet that her partner was more than she looked like. Just like before, when Scarlet had surprised her, Keera gave a little squeak, something that sounded just too adorable coming from the physically impressive woman. Scarlet suppressed a giggle and stepped forward, to keep the tree from falling over. Cyca¡¯s claws had shredded through it, leaving splintered wood behind, but hopefully it would serve well.


    ¡°I will hack off the branches.¡± Keera said, taking the spear-in-progress and walking back to camp, with Scarlet now following behind. As they walked, Scarlet noticed that Keera was walking slightly strange, wondering if the other had misstepped or pulled a muscle or something like that. She seemed to waddle a little but unless Keera brought it up, Scarlet would not either, feeling that the other needed to be hardened or she would remain a burden. And Scarlet would not carry some useless burden without some sort of benefit, other than heavy lifting.


    At camp, Keera started to use the shovel like a machete, quickly trimming the thin branches and afterwards watching how Scarlet and her Crystal monster cut off the top part and sharpened the end, leaving a three meters long pole with a pointy end. In addition, Scarlet and Cyca cut into the wood about a hand behind the tip, letting a sliver point out on each side, forming crude barbs to help keep their prey attached. Sadly, neither of the two had any knowledge on survival tool-creation, so using fire to harden wood or similar processes was not possible. Thus, they only had a pointy stick, with which the two of them moved to the river, again, Scarlet in the lead and Keera following behind.


    When the two of them got to the river, Keera took the spear and Scarlet moved a little aside, telling Keera that she would watch her back and make sure that nothing attacked her. Finding the tranquil presences in the water was quite easy and moving along the bank, so that the closest was in range was no challenge for Keera either.


    Stabbing with the unfamiliar weapon was a little strange but, whether it was luck or supreme survival skill, the first try struck true, driving the pointy end of the improvised spear through one of the idling fish below, the disturbance making the other fish scatter as their brethren thrashed in pain but was unable to get off the spear. Keera managed to pull the thrashing fish ashore, only to drop the spear once she realised the reality of her action and saw the fish flop around, blood seeping down the spear.


    Scarlet, on the other hand, finally understood just why Cyca had been so agitated near the river. When Keera had pulled the fish out of the water, its thrashing had caused quite a bit of splashing, even into the area where Scarlet had waited. Some of those splashes had hit Cyca and the mental reaction to getting even slightly wet was extreme distaste. The realisation that she had taken the agitation for a sign of a serious threat and not just a very feline dislike for water caused her to giggle.


    Looking over to the spot where Keera had stood, she saw the spear and their dinner, but no Keera. Shrugging, she moved over and picked up the spear, making a rough estimate of the weight of the fish, it looked quite large to her so it might be enough. She made a mental reminder to look for some wild vegetables on her way back, to add to their meal.

 Chapter 11

    After her success at spear-fishing and seeing the fish flop around at the tip of her spear, Keera had been in shock for a moment, the reality that she had just killed another living being, with her own hand, seeing it suffer and feeling its mind dim and fade, it had been something she had not been prepared for. But the soft laughter coming over from the spot Scarlet had watched from, it brought reality crashing in and caused her to bolt into the forest.


    As she ran, her mind went back to the decision that had sent her on that path, the idea to use her position as a glorified receptionist, ostensibly a guard against hostile psions infiltrating a medium-security research facility, for personal gain. She hadn¡¯t meant to hurt anyone, only to give her partner and herself the life they deserved. Selling some of the information had been relatively easy, there was always a market for classified information and as the one to guard against psionic intrusion, she had been able to use her powers to gently take the information right out of the minds of the researchers. For a year, they had been able to live the life, enjoying life as they deserved, but that life had come to an abrupt end when a group of black-clad commandos had broken down their door one morning, draggin her from their bed and out of her life. There had been a trial and she had been sentenced to four years in a prison secured to hold psions. She had been returned to the holding facility she had been in, only to feel a prick in her neck and black out. Her awakening, hours earlier, had been slightly jarring, alone and a mental voice had told her where to go, to meet the Doctor.


    After being shocked out of her mind by the revelations laid out by him, she had tried to flirt with the nurse, hoping to get some more information, only to spectacularly flame out, being told that she, the nurse, was not associating with mayflies and to come back once she had survived the first month. The fact that it had happened right in earshot of two of the other newcomers had not helped, especially when one of them started to describe how the Doctor had killed a fifth newcomer, just for talking back, telling her that the Doctor might take umbrage at her, flirting with his nurse, so she might want to write out her last will.


    It was at that time, that Keera had realised that the whole planet was the prison she was incarcerated in and the myriad of jokes regarding prison-rape came floating back, some told, others heard. It was not a nice idea to be incarcerated with who knew how many men for each woman, causing her to form the idea to hitch her wagon to the other woman, she looked quite a bit younger but she could feel the concealed power in her. Once the other had come back from her trip with the Doctor, she had approached her, despite seeing the vigilance and distrust with which the other viewed the world. The other, Scarlet, had accepted and some time later, the two of them had set out into the wild. It had been only then that Keera had realised how truly out of her depth she was, the Doctor had simply guided her, secure and confident in his power, but Scarlet was different. She seemed to be a predator, ready to pounce at any point, only keeping her around for her own, twisted amusement. Maybe getting used as sextoy by the two guys would have been a better plan, who knew how long Scarlet would find her amusing and what would happen if she no longer entertained her.


    Finally, she stopped her flight, confused where she was, confused and frightened. Stretching her mental senses, she was unable to detect anything but it was no surprise, she remembered the mental cloaking Scarlet had used and, once again, wondered just what Scarlet had done to be sent to Verdun.


    Scarlet, on the other hand, had moved back to camp, wondering just where Keera had run off to, it seemed so incredibly stupid to run into the unknown. On her way back, she had noticed a few leaves that she recognised from the edibles-folder she had read, they belonged to a root-vegetable reminiscent of sweet potatoes, so she had taken some time to dig up a few, thinking about the best way to make dinner. The lack of cookware was annoying, but it should be easy to use flat stones to hold their food while it cooked.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    She made the track between river and camp once more, looking for suitable stones in the shallow water, now quite convinced that there was no dangerous predators in that spot, not with the fat fish idling again, where just a short time before, one of their brethren had been taken as food. Keera was still not back at camp when she returned and a soft voice at the back of her head drove her to go, look for the other. Scarlet had told her she would teach her how to survive and it would feel wrong to leave her to her own devices, even if she might deserve it.


    Grumbling, she walked back to the river and started to follow the tracks Keera had made, it was quite easy, she seemed to have gone back to her bull-in-a-chinashop approach to making her way through the forest. Even without Cyca¡¯s nose, Scarlet was able to follow the tracks to a small, empty clearing. There, the underbrush and grass was disturbed and trampled down but she was unable to find the tracks that left the clearing, but her mental connection and domination over Cyca allowed her to find the quite obvious scent-track that she had left behind. It wasn¡¯t as if there were many humans to leave their scent all over the place.


    With Cyca in the lead, she followed the tracks some more, wondering just why they were going in circles. The forest was not dense enough to fully block out the sun, offering a simple, if crude, way to keep track of directions but Keera¡¯s tracks were meandering around, without even a hint at her goal. After a few minutes, Scarlet was able to lock onto the other using her mental scanning, the other¡¯s agitation standing out like a beacon.


    Catching up took a few more minutes, thanks to the fact that she was able to cut through the forest, cutting out the circles Keera had walked.


    ¡°If you want to leave, you should take your things with you.¡± Scarlet spoke up from Keera¡¯s side, causing the other to jump in surprise, mentally clamp down on her crystal and squeak again. Only, this time, the surprise got the better of Keera and she felt nature break forth, causing her to feel humiliated on top of the confusing mishmash of emotions that was gripping her. Anger, insecurity, humiliation, fear but also relief that she was no longer alone in the forest, all those emotions bubbled up and caused tears to well up in her eyes. Keera was simply at the end of her rope and knowing that she had just soiled herself like a child in front of the hateful pixie was just the rotten cherry on the shit-sundae she was being fed.


    Scarlet, on the other hand, was simply stunned, her innocuous question causing the other to burst into tears was not what she had expected and when her mental connection to Cyca brought an acridic scent to the forefront of her mind, making her realise what had happened. For a short moment, Scarlet considered getting rid of Keera, either by simply leaving her to her fate in the forest, maybe even taking her crystal and gear, or by taking direct action.


    But as fast as the idea sprung to her mind, she dismissed it, she had her own honour, her own set of values, and she had never compromised them, even when she had been living in the slums as a teenager. One of those values was that she kept her word. And she had told Keera that she would teach her how to survive, even if that task seemed far harder than she had originally thought, if she wasn¡¯t even able to take care of her own, biological needs. She had never wanted children, never even considered having any, but she felt as if she had just been handed a child.


    Swallowing her annoyance, Scarlet walked up and took Keera¡¯s hand, trying to soothe her like she would try to soothe a child, making baby-noises and speaking assurances in a soft voice. Thinking for a moment, Scarlet decided to lead Keera back to the river, cleaning her and her clothes the first step. Once that was done, she could try to establish what the first step of training should be for her.

 Chapter 12

    The two of them started back, towards the river, and at first, Keera went along, her mind in too much turmoil to realise what was happening with her, but after a minute or two, her whirling mind slowed down enough for her to make sense of the situation. And the situation greatly confused her, Scarlet, the hateful pixie, was gently leading her along, speaking baby talk in a strangely calm voice. If Keera previously had suspected to have a nightmare, now she was doubting her sanity for only if she was having some sort of mental breakdown, her mind would have conjured up such a strange scene.


    Ripping her hand away, she screeched in an angry tone, ¡°What are you doing?!¡± causing Scarlet to look back at her, for a moment, there was a look of confusion in her mind, quickly replaced by an angry glare.


    ¡°I gave you my word, my promise, to teach you how to survive here. I don¡¯t break my word and right now, you need to get yourself cleaned up. Your scent is rather distinctive and your legs will chafe if we don¡¯t, either can be serious trouble.¡± Scarlet answered, her voice scolding and angry but collected.


    Again, Keera¡¯s mind had been in too much turmoil to realise what the strangely wet and warm feeling at her lower body was, but Scarlet bringing her attention to it caused realisation to bloom, alongside a fierce blush, strong enough to even show on her dark skin.


    ¡°After you have washed yourself, or do you even need help for that? Anyway, after you have washed yourself, we will head back to camp and start with your lessons. Maybe once your mind caught up with the situation you won¡¯t be as useless.¡± Scarlet continued, more of her anger evident in her voice.


    ¡°Why? Why are you doing this?¡± Keera asked, confusion about the hateful pixie and her intentions making her abandon all pretenses and come straight out.


    ¡°For one thing, I gave you my word and I keep my word. And another, you are one of the few on this rock who I know don¡¯t have a previous allegiance, something that might be important down the line.¡± Scarlet answered, a little more honest and straightforward than she would normally have done, but her nerves started to show.


    ¡°Allegiance? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°We are in a prison, a prison of planetary size. The wardens are obviously those under command of the Doctor, but what other groups are out there? I don¡¯t fancy getting made a whore anymore than you hopefully do so being subservient to anyone could lead to trouble. And that trouble could last for the rest of our lives, even if such trouble would likely shorten them considerably.¡±


    ¡°For the rest of our lives? We just need to fulfill our quota and at the end of our sentence, we can get out of here, right? What have you done that you got a life-sentence?!¡± Keera blurted, her voice getting hysterical and her mind conjuring more images of Scarlet, standing in the darkness with a bloody knife, raising it to her mouth and licking the blood off, before spreading it across her lips, like a macabre lipstick.


    Scarlet noticed the agitation sweeping Keera and she started to laugh, despite herself.


    ¡°Yes, certainly, and magical unicorns from space will come striding down a rainbow to carry you back into the waiting arms of the Federation. Right. Pull the other one?¡± Scarlet asked after she managed to get herself mostly under control, only chuckling as she spoke. The mockery caused Keera to frown,wondering what Scarlet knew that she did not.


    ¡°Do you really think that the Federation will use a tremendous amount of resources to lift anyone back to space, just because they served their sentence? On a world where they need to use about the most primitive, chemical rockets to do so? I doubt it. No, it¡¯s the carrot and the stick. Withholding food is the stick and our freedom the carrot. And those who act in their stead, the Doctor and his cronies, I¡¯d bet they get something extra, or that they are those who commited bad enough crimes to warrant a life-sentence. Doesn''t really matter anyway, unless we cross them. They couldn¡¯t rule without upholding their own rules and without all the other psions, they couldn¡¯t keep the quotas.¡± Scarlet explained, gambling that it would allow her to make Keera see reason and draw her into her own camp.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    ¡°How can you know that?!¡± Keera asked, her frown deepening as she considered the situation laid out by Scarlet.


    ¡°Obviously, I don¡¯t know it. But think about it, if you have a planet that destroys modern tech, you need to go back to the basics. We¡¯ve already seen that they can make primitive computers and harden them enough to work but I doubt that it would be possible with something like a modern space-drive. So they will have to use some ancient lander-system, with chemical rockets to boost it back into outer orbit. And boosting a couple of rocks to outer orbit is a lot easier than without such pesky things like life-support or needing to adhere to human acceleration tolerance.¡± Scarlet explained her thoughts on the matter, causing Keera to consider them carefully.


    ¡°They¡­ could. But it would be a huge risk, in the past, whenever they had a prison-colony, they would eventually throw off their shackles, either peacefully or in a bloody revolt. Here, there would be no need to throw of shackles, just to grow our own food and we could tell them to get their monster crystals elsewhere. Unless they would try to root us out with orbital bombardment, they would be screwed. And orbital bombardment would just force us into the forests, unless they wiped the biosphere. It would be a no-win scenario.¡± Keera laid out, hoping that she was right.


    ¡°Unless¡­ they considered that.¡± Scarlet answered, after a moment of consideration and with a heavy voice. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t really matter, we need to get you cleaned up, so let¡¯s get going.¡± she continued, while shaking her head, as if she wanted to get rid of the thought and continued on her path, leaving Keera to follow or stay.


    In Scarlet¡¯s mind, there was a simple, elegant solution to the problem of rebellion. The Federation had them all sedated, what if they simply sterilized everyone shipped to Verdun? It would be easy and get rid of two problems at once, one of them the possibility of an independant long-term community on Verdun, the other the possibility of woman getting pregnant while serving their sentence. Such a pregnancy could cause quite a few problems, so better prevent them from the get-go. And while they were at it, they could harvest the zygotes from the females and a lot of sperm from the males, maybe for research on the genetic component of psions, it wasn¡¯t as if the prisoners on Verdun needed them, right?


    Behind her, Keera wondered of the sudden change in Scarlet, she was certain that the other had a theory, but a theory that caused her a lot of agitation. Keera was still not certain about her younger companion and she seemed to have her own agenda, but it might be an agenda that could be useful to herself. It wasn¡¯t as if the crowds were gathering to support her, so despite the hatefulness of the pixie, she was the only one currently helping her.


    At the river, Scarlet made sure that there was nothing new in the water, using quite a bit of power to scan, a slightly risky maneuver compared to her previous caution but it helped her to get the thoughts out of her head.


    Looking back to Keera, she nodded to her, ¡°It¡¯s safe, nothing new in there. I¡¯ll keep watch so you won¡¯t be caught with your pants down, literally.¡±


    The bad joke caused Keera to laugh despite herself, before she took of her shoes, socks and jacket, tugged up her shirt and stepped into the water, her pants still on. They needed to be washed anyway and she was not fully comfortable to strip in front of Scarlet, even if it was no more exposure than she had in the gym showers back at home. In the water, she removed the pants, letting the water wash away the remains of her accident but also driving home the fact that running water now meant the next river or stream.


    The realisation that, if Scarlet was right, she would never be able to have a hot shower again almost caused Keera to drown herself then and there.


    Washing herself, without soap or anything alike, did not take long and she pulled on her pants again, modesty driving her, even if it would be rather unpleasant to wear them back to camp. She didn¡¯t see Scarlet shaking her head in wonder, thinking that the woman had just wet herself in front of her, like a toddler, but thought that seeing her in the buff would be embarrassing.


    But Keera was out of the water so Scarlet started back towards their camp. They had a latrine to dig and Keera had to be told some uncomfortable truths.

 Chapter 13

    Back at the camp, Scarlet gave Keera enough time to make herself halfway presentable while planning the next steps. As she sat on a fallen log, Cyca jumped, unbidden, from the spot where she had made it sit and landed on her lap, again acting very much like a domesticated cat and demanding to be scratched and petted. The action of her crystal monster made her rather curious, she would have taken almost any bet that Cyca had never interacted with a domesticated cat, so why would she, for some reason Scarlet¡¯s mind had assigned her cat the female pronoun, act like one. How would she even know how a domesticated cat acted towards a human and why would a being that was, in actuality, a fist-sized piece of rock act like a domesticated cat, just because the shell if formed looked to Scarlet like a domesticated cat. Just trying to make sense of that caused her to run into enough unknowns to start a migraine, so she re-focused herself on the training-plan for Keera while satisfying the demand for scratches placed onto her by Cyca.


    The first step would be general rules, dos and don''ts for the camp, things like how to roughly navigate using the sun, how to dig a latrine, things like that. Afterwards, they would have to try and learn more about their crystal monsters, as Scarlet had no doubt that the abilities of their monsters and their control over them would ultimately the skill that could make or break them on Verdun. Not just because they needed them to harvest other crystals, which would allow them access to the town, food and some out-world goods but also because their abilities might be the best tool to keep themselves safe from predators, both the four and two-legged kind.


    Unless she was mistaken, the Doctor was using something she had never heard of to boost his ability, when he had struck against Roger just after they had woken up, she had felt the difference, not just between Roger and the Doctor but she had gleaned a rough, very rough, idea of the difference between the Doctor and herself. That she had felt the difference without being on the receiving end was enough to scare her, as it meant that the Doctor was more powerful than herself by an order of magnitudes. Unless the Federation had exiled one of their most powerful psions, maybe even the most powerful psion alive, and sent him to harvest crystals on a secret planet, it would mean that the Doctor had boosted his power level more than experience, age and continued meditation could account for. All those could boost a psions power, the reason why ranks in Psicom roughly correlated with personal, psionic power, but only to a point, the baseline was still the foundation for their power.


    And if there was one thing Scarlet had always craved, it was personal power, the power to keep herself safe and to reject those she wanted to reject. For the first time since coming to Verdun, she thought that maybe, just maybe, being sent here was not such a bad thing at all. She would be satisfied with being the biggest fish in a small pond, the queen of a kingdom of one, so to speak. If she just had the power to keep her kingdom, to defend her pond and smite those that challenged her rule. Looking over to Keera, who was now dressed again, she realised that maybe, her Queendom didn¡¯t need to be of just one.


    At the other side of the clearing, Keera had first stripped her drenched clothes off, hanging them over a branch to dry before digging into her pack, looking for a change of clothing which she found stuffed together with the sleeping back. But there was still no towel, causing her to use her hands to get as much water off her as she could before slipping into the other clothes, realising that it was a one-size-fits-no-one-overall that barely fit her tall and muscular frame. Moving a little in the, now slightly clammy, clothes, she noticed that if she moved too much, she would quickly bust one or more seams. But it wasn¡¯t as if she was able to do anything about it, it was not like she was a seamstress, doing more than sewing on a button was not something she was capable of.


    Looking up, she noticed that Scarlet was sitting with her back to her, looking lost in thought as she stroked her cat-like crystal monster. After a few moments of Keera watching Scarlet, the other turned to her and there was a strange look in her eyes and a slight smile on her face. The smile gave Keera hope that she might truly have misunderstood the pixie, maybe she wasn¡¯t that bad afterall. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about you, but I¡¯d like to get some food before we start your training, how about you?¡± Scarlet asked, after she had noticed Keera watching her.


    ¡°Sounds good. What flavour do you like?¡± Keera asked, looking at the ration bars the Doctor had given them.


    ¡°No, no ration bars, have you forgotten that you got us food earlier?¡± Scarlet asked with a smile, moving to pick up the fish from the rock she had placed it on.


    ¡°You mean, we eat that?¡± Keera asked, again looking rather insecure.


    ¡°Sure, or do you don¡¯t like fish?¡± Scarlet asked with a wide, slightly mocking grin, saying, ¡°Are you really that picky?¡± without using any words.


    ¡°No, fish is fine.¡± Keera¡¯s words did not match her mien, but Scarlet used a bit of selective ignorance and simply ignored her, sitting on one of the logs and gesturing for Keera to take a second one, nearby.


    ¡°Now, it¡¯s been a while since I had my survival training and obviously on another type of fish, so don¡¯t expect miracles but watch closely.¡± Scarlet ordered.


    Keera suddenly got very big eyes when she noticed that Scarlet had a not only a fish in her hand but that her other hand held a slender, black knife, quite obviously not designed as anything but a concealed weapon. There was just one, small glimmer of steel running down the blade, where it was sharpened, the rest was matte black, making the knife hard to see. It looked just like what would want to use to stab someone¡¯s back in a dark alley, as even cutting a throat might be too much stress for the thin blade. The weapon brought images of Scarlet back to Keera¡¯s mind, images that scared her.


    Scarlet noticed the gasp but chose to, again, apply selective ignorance, trying to gut and scale the fish. Cutting through the fish¡¯s flesh was easy thanks to the razor edge but once she got to the bones, things changed, her knife too slender to succeed. Even thinking about scraping off the scales made her cringe in pity for her poor knife, but it was not the only blade she had, so she simply put it aside, not wanting to place the dirty knife back in its sheath. With a small movement, she pulled a second knife, a push-knife concealed in her belt and used the much more solid blade to start scaling the fish. It worked a lot better, even if the shorter blade made her make a bigger mess and sully her hands.


    To Keera, the silvery scales, some fish blood and guts, coating Scarlet¡¯s hands made her lose focus, even as she tried to keep her eyes and mind on the process those hands were engaged in, it was almost impossible, her mind conjuring up images of Scarlet¡¯s hand red with blood, sometimes standing over a corpse, sometimes gleefully cutting someone apart, conjuring knives from somewhere she couldn¡¯t see. The frowning, concentrated look on Scarlet¡¯s face as she prepared the fish was replaced with a chilling, gleeful smile in Keera¡¯s mind, a smile that, for some reason, drew Keera in, the movements of the hands turning almost hypnotic, drawing her mind in, almost like the dance of a cobra, drawing her in, despite the fear she was feeling.


    It took Scarlet some time, but she managed to get quite a bit of cleaned flesh from the fish, placing the fleshy bits on the rock she had prepared as a pan, hoping that the fire would heat them enough to cook them in a reasonable time. Afterwards, she used some water to clean her knife, knowing that it would be no different from the river water and cleaned and cut up the vegetables she had collected earlier, placing them next to the fish. Lighting the fire was quite easy, there was a lot of dry brush and twigs around, giving her more tinder than she needed but also making her wonder about forest fires. But the fire-pit Keera had prepared was quite large and the ground around it was cleaned in a large radius, just in case of sparks.


    With the fire gaining strength and the rock already placed next to it, Scarlet looked at Keera, who seemed to be lost in her mind.


    ¡°So, after your accident, I would say we need a latrine-pit, for the future.¡± Scarlet said, a slight smirk on her face, startling Keera out of her visions.

 Chapter 14

    ¡°Food¡¯s ready.¡± Scarlet called out to Keera, who had been digging their Latrine behind a conveniently dense bush. While Keera had been busy there, Scarlet had prepared a few primitive eating utensils, borrowing from the idea of chopsticks, even if her version was just a short, sturdy branch, stripped of its bark. But it would allow them to eat without burning their hands, which was a great plus. To Scarlet, every bit of resources that they could scavenge meant a tiny bit of power, a tiny bit of independence.


    Keera came back into their camp, taking a seat on one of the blown over tree-trunks, watching as Scarlet carefully lifted the grilled, or maybe roasted, food from the hot rock and placed it on another rock, washed smooth and thin in the river.


    ¡°Enjoy your meal.¡± Scarlet said softly, after placing the food-rock between them, seating herself on another trunk she had pulled close and handed Keera her not-quite chopsticks.


    Keera eyed the food with suspicion but when she saw that Scarlet simply started to dig in, picking up chunks of fish and root-vegetable, she shrugged and started to eat. The fish tasted slightly boring, Keera thought she could hear it call out for lemon-juice, but the root-vegetables made more than up for it, their sharp and spicy taste bringing tears to her eyes, something that also happened to Scarlet, as Keera noticed slightly gleefully. For the first time, she saw what she considered a normal, human reaction in the pixie. Strangely, that sign of humanity, maybe even weakness, made Keera feel a lot better, compared to the almost casual indifference she had previously observed in Scarlet.


    After eating, Scarlet spoke up. ¡°Would you show me your crystal monster? I¡¯d like to learn more about them and their usage, so comparing our experiences might help.¡±


    Keera shrugged, and pulled the crystal that she was mentally clutching, not sure how much pressure was truly needed to control it, out of her belt-pouch. Scarlet was observing her actions closely, not just using her eyes but also with a good chunk of her mental abilities, only keeping a rough scan of their surroundings and control over Cyca, who was back in her lap, active. The crystal looked very similar to the one housing Cyca, roughly the same size, maybe a little bigger, and almost entirely clear, only a few, golden-brown flecks adding colour to it.


    But the interesting things happened in the mental realm and what she felt was not filling her with hope. Keera seemed to clamp down on the crystal and only letting go with jerky and abrupt steps, making Scarlet wonder if she hadn¡¯t even tried to use her crystal before. The crystal monsters were their lifeline, probably literally, and Keera seemed to be more afraid than curious.


    But after a few mental jerks, the crystal started shining and Keera dropped it and stepped back. The light engulfed the crystal and around it, a brown-scaled being materialised, it looked almost like some strange cross between an armadillo and a badger. The moment it appeared, Scarlet was distracted by Cyca who seemed to instantly want to pounce on the new crystal monster, hunger emanating from her, but Scarlet tamped down on her, forcing her to stay in her lap. Looking closer at Keera¡¯s crystal monster, it reminded Scarlet of the crystal monster the other guy in town had used to dig the grave for Roger. Only, Keera¡¯s monster was smaller and its claws were a lot less impressive, but still, if it also had the ability to move earth, maybe even rock, it would be a very useful ally while out in the wild, depending on the exact limitations.


    But for now, the poor thing seemed paralysed as Keera had clamped down on it, as soon as it had appeared.


    ¡°So, what can it do?¡± Scarlet asked, curious if Keera had seen anything while capturing it.


    ¡°Not sure, the Doctor simply smacked it down and I struck before it could get back up.¡± Keera answered, with a slightly embarrassed smile. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Well, make it do something. I saw a similar crystal monster in town, it was able to shift the earth somehow, it looked similar to telekinesis. Maybe yours can do that, too. And if not, I¡¯d guess its claws and maybe teeth are likely its weapons of choice.¡± Scarlet suggested, looking quite curious.


    Keera looked to a fallen branch and closely guided the crystal monster to strike it with its claws, it was a movement she could easily imagine, unlike the nebulous idea of shifting the earth. She had never been able to use telekinesis so using that as an analogue was not an option. On her mental command, the crystal monster moved forward and started hacking into the branch, wood shavings flying into the air.


    To Scarlet, the movements of the crystal monster looked stiff, almost mechanical, like a puppet hanging on strings and she quickly realised that Keera was guiding every single movement, making the projected body move in inefficient and unfamiliar ways, treating it like a machine that needed every action spelled out in its programming. Scarlet, on the other hand, had taken the crystal monster as a living thing, even if it was a very strange one, and used simple, mental commands, leaving the actual execution of those commands to the crystal monster. The only thing she really did with the mental connection was curbing and controlling the feral impulses of Cyca, like the impulse to rip both Keera and Scarlet to shreds and the impulse to devour Keera¡¯s crystal monster.


    After the crystal monster had hacked through the branch, Keera had started to maneuver it around the cleared space, still keeping control of its every move. As she did so, Scarlet noticed that slowly sweat was forming on Keera¡¯s brow and her face formed into a frown, the strict mental control taking its toll on her physical body.


    Scarlet decided to demonstrate her own method and spoke up. ¡°Watch how my crystal monster moves.¡±


    With that, she mentally ordered Cyca to move from her lap and walk over the clearing, letting the monster¡¯s intelligence and ego decide how to accomplish that task. As Cyca moved closer to Keera¡¯s monster, Scarlet had to add a little extra power to her control to make sure that the instinct to devour another crystal monster was suppressed but other than that, it was quite easy. After letting Cyca walk over the clearing, Scarlet made her climb a tree and jump from one branch to another, with the final jump ending up back in her lap where Cyca got scritches, a gesture the crystal monster seemed to appreciate.


    ¡°Did you see the difference?¡± Scarlet asked and Keera looked rather annoyed.


    ¡°Yes, I saw. So, you are a much better and more powerful psion. Tell me something I didn¡¯t know.¡± Keera complained.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t demonstrate to show off. Unless I¡¯m wrong, you try to control your monster, as if it is a machine. I direct my monster, letting it decide how exactly a specific task is to be handled. It¡¯s far easier on you and your monster moves a lot better. But take care, you need to keep strict control over the monsters instincts, or it will attack one of us.¡± Scarlet explained, trying to find the words to describe what she was doing, the exact mental processes were not something she could form into words but she hoped that with the description, Keera would be able to come up with her own ways to control the monster.


    With a frown, Keera tried what Scarlet had described, not controlling but directing. It was rather difficult, mental domination had never been something she had either enjoyed or had been good at but under Scarlet¡¯s direction, she continued to try. She had some limited success, the biggest problem was to only suppress the monster¡¯s instincts, often putting a too broad suppression on it, but she was feeling that erring on the side of caution was better.


    ¡°Ok, enough for now.¡± Scarlet said, pulling Keera from her attempts to control her monster.


    ¡°Hrm?¡± Keera asked, looking up while clamping down on her crystal monster once more.


    ¡°You¡¯ve overdone it, you have a nosebleed. No need to continue working right now, we have the next couple of days. If you don¡¯t manage tomorrow, we will continue for some time, even after your nose starts bleeding.¡± Scarlet explained.


    Keera wiped the blood away and, with a grunt, banished her crystal monster back into its stone form, feeling annoyed that her body had started to make problems. Bleeding from the nose was the first stage of psionic exhaustion, the next would be bleeding from her ears and gums, afterwards bleeding from the tear ducts and the last stage, the stage that her instructors had described as the do-and-die stage, where brain-damage was more likely than not, was sweating blood. The smile on Scarlet¡¯s face and her explanation felt rather ominous to Keera.

 Chapter 15

    ¡°Do you want to take first watch? I don¡¯t think we should both sleep at the same time.¡± Scarlet asked, some time after their training.


    ¡°Nightwatch?¡± Keera asked back, but a yawn cut her question short.


    ¡°Well, I guess that answers it. You go ahead and try to get some sleep, I¡¯ll wake you in a few hours.¡± Scarlet suggested and Keera, seeing the point went ahead, rolling out the tarp and crawling into her sleeping bag, taking off the overall once she was inside, sleeping in just her underwear. Scarlet had to hide a smile at that, wondering what the other would do if they were attacked during the night. If she was embarrassed by being seen by another girl, fighting or fleeing in her underwear might pose a problem. But likely, necessity would trump embarrassment in such a case.


    ¡°Do you have a good way to anchor your mental domination?¡± Scarlet asked, remembering that Keera had less training than she did and thinking that it would be a shame to kill her off for failing to control her crystal monster.


    Keera had to think for a while, dredging up half-remembered lessons on mental domination, shielding and combat, trying to remember if there was such a way to keep a domination going, even while unconcious. But the lessons on mind control had mostly been for the advanced students, those who would never leave Federation service.


    ¡°No, do you?¡± Keera asked, admitting her inferiority, no matter how it grated at her.


    Closing her eyes for a moment, Scarlet examined her memories and decided what would be the best method to teach Keera. She had been trained in a few of them, some more suitable for the task at hand, others less so. The one that was best suited made her cringe inside, when she realised what would be necessary to teach Keera the mental processes and disciplines. It had taken weeks, months for some of the students, her included, to get them down, pat, when faced with conventional instruction at the institute. Granted, there had been other subjects and a limited amount of instructors per student but still, normal teaching would take a week, if Scarlet even managed to describe the concepts in an adequate fashion.


    Adjusting the skill to work with a mental control instead of the mind shield it was designed to do, that seemed rather simple and the base-pattern of the upkeep-pattern would remain the same. She shuddered, remembering the training she had undertaken to learn that particular skill, holding a mind shield in place, no matter what happened to the body holding it had been rough. The instructors had literally beaten the ability into students, even going so far to use torture in their efforts to check the durability of the mind shield. Mental attacks while sleeping, using the showers or even the head had been a regular occurence from that point in training onwards, infrequent and irregular but always when you least expected them.


    She went through the mental patterns, adjusting them where needed and scrubbed as much of her personal feelings and memories from the information necessary to perform the upkeep, knowing that Keera would end up with small parts of her mind, stray thoughts and memories, no matter how careful she scrubbed. And she was not happy with that, but it seemed to be the only way to ascertain that Keera would be able to perform.


    ¡°Yes, sit up.¡± Scarlet ordered, unhappy about the required actions, it was a quick and dirty fix but nothing she would enjoy.


    Keera wondered what the other was planning, even to the point that she forgot about her state of undress.


    ¡°God, I hate to do this. I¡¯ll need to meld our minds for a moment, so please, relax, and it will be easier for both of us.¡± Scarlet grunted, mentally preparing to enter Keera¡¯s mind, overcoming the subconscious shielding and copying the prepared package over. That way, Keera would get the understanding without days of dedicated training, something for which they just didn¡¯t have the time.


    Keera looked just as overjoyed about the plan Scarlet was muttering but she felt her mind slowly fogging from exhaustion and knew that she needed to learn that skill and learn it now.


    She felt a warm hand placed on her brow, and then, she started to hear, a soft, melodic noise, like wind blowing through the trees, a complex harmony that made it easy for her mind focus on the sounds. Part of her wanted to tense up, knowing that the strange noises were not noise at all, they were a psionic illusion, they had to be. And it was one designed to make her conscious mind focus on them, allowing a psionic intrusion on a parallel pattern, similar to a different voice in a music-piece.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    For her tired mind, it was far too easy to let the music lull her into a carelessness, even as the probe entered her subconscious and that was an intrusion she felt, almost like a sharp and painful poker, entering the deepest part that was her. Her reaction was purely instinctual and she pushed the intruder out, shattering the melody with the psionic equivalent of a scream.


    Scarlet had expected such a reaction and had been prepared, it was almost impossible to suppress the instinctual reaction of their mind, she had heard of people, romantic partners that shared their minds on a regular basis, who were able to let feeling and memories flow between them. Just the idea to trust anyone to that much, to allow anyone free reign and access into the deepest part of her, the part that made her who she was, her dreams, fears, hopes and desires, it was inconceivable.


    Even to allow someone what she had just done, breaching that core to drop a packaged memory was something she would have to be incredibly desperate to do, something that seemed similar to Keera, judging by the look she had when Scarlet had suggested it.


    Keera sat motionless for some time, her mind reeling with the memories springing from the package, some of them personal memory fragments from Scarlet, far too short and out-of-context to understand, barely flashes of thought but the important part, the ability to keep the mental domination, or a mind-shield, in place was there. Integrating the memories into her own mind would take time but she knew how to perform the ability, allowing her to keep the psionic process that kept her crystal monster in its dormant state going, even if she was not focusing on it. There were drawbacks and it would take time for her to get used to it, but she would be able to sleep.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Keera said, her voice soft and stifling another yawn. Not even managing to open her eyes again, she simply sacked back down, pulling her sleeping back around her and falling asleep.


    Scarlet, on the other hand, wiped the blood from her nose, the intrusion had taken quite a bit out of her, but what had to be done was done. Afterwards, she made sure that her gear was put away before comfortably settling in for her watch. The main part of her vigilance was keeping up a passive scan of the surrounding area. After about an hour of resting her mind, she got a little itchy and curious, so she started to probe the connection between Cyca and herself. She had noticed it before, there was not just a flow of commands from her to her crystal monster, the way she kept Cyca under control allowed for a bi-directional flow of information.


    Sadly, she was only able to make out that there was the obvious connection she used to control her monster and that in that connection, there was a feedback that allowed her to partially tap Cyca¡¯s senses, maybe more. As with many things Psi, it was not an exact science, especially without laboratory conditions and double-blind trials. It would take a lot of time to understand and unravel the strange sensations she was feeling and experiencing through the connection, but if there was anything she would have in the future, it was time, not like there was a lot of entertainment on Verdun.


    Once she had exhausted what she could find out about the connection to Cyca, she simply sat and let her mind wander, wondering about the future and consciously working through the experiences she had in the day. Every so often, she actively scanned the surroundings, in addition to her passive vigilance, but her senses were not roused. She was entirely relying on her psionic senses and the connection to Cyca, her ordinary senses next to useless. While her hearing was unimpeded, maybe even more sensitive than normally due to the absence of loud noises, it was unhelpful due to the fact that she had no idea what the constant soft noises meant. Was the rustling of leaves in the trees just the wind, or something more nefarious? Was she hearing one of the squirrel or mouse-analogues scurrying around, or was it something more dangerous? Experience would teach that but for now, she would have to rely on other senses.


    Interestingly, Cyca was able to see even in the almost absolute darkness of the forest and that sight gave Scarlet an idea where things were on their clearing, adding to the memory she had to form a comprehensive picture. Luckily, the handheld scanner had a clock in it, allowing Scarlet to make a circle around the camp every hour and after doing six such circles, she decided that her watch was over and woke Keera up by shaking her shoulder.


    Keera felt a touch at her shoulder, her mind slowly coming back to wakefulness, confused by the near total darkness around her.


    ¡°Sam? Where am I? What¡¯s going on?¡± Keera asked, sleepy and confused.


    ¡°Wake up, it¡¯s your turn to stand watch. And there¡¯s no Sam here, just me.¡± Scarlet grumbled, staying awake had been quite difficult for the last hour, her body reminding her that the day had been exhausting and the drugged unconsciousness not the same as restful sleep.


    ¡°So it wasn¡¯t a nightmare.¡± Keera muttered, crawling out of her sleeping bag, forgetting her near nudity.


    ¡°How the hell do I watch if I can¡¯t see anything?!¡± she asked, her voice still thick with sleep.


    ¡°Your ears and psionic abilities. Now, let me sleep.¡± Scarlet said, walking over to her own sleeping bag, pulling off her shoes and crawling into it. Cyca was called into the bag as well and forced into her crystalline state. Sleep came almost instantly, her mind shutting down due to physical fatigue and mental exhaustion.

 Chapter 16

    Keera had little fun during her night watch. Sleeping on the hard ground had not been restful, her body was sore and aching all over and her mind was calling for a real bed in which she could rest. Somewhere far away, far away from insane, technology hating planets, strange monsters and mocking pixies. Her dreams had not helped her state of mind, nightmares haunting her in her sleep. Images of Scarlet with her bloody knife hunting her, of a crystal monster feasting on her body and of strange, faceless men having their way with her, even a strange dream of fleeing through a dreary city, being hunted by something. Some of the images had been so vivid, so real, it was frightening.


    And even now, in the waking world, the strange, unaccustomed sounds of the forest around her made her mind conjure up monsters lurking in the darkness, ready to pounce on her and murder her. Every so often she looked over to the dark shape that was the sleeping Scarlet, to make sure that she was still there. She was not sure of what she was more afraid, that she would be gone or that Keera would miss some monster that would pounce on Scarlet. Or maybe Scarlet would suddenly stand up and decide that Keera was too much of a burden, either leaving her behind or gutting her for the fun of it, letting her blood run over her hands, smiling that sweet smile of her.


    She finally managed to calm herself a bit and moved to a slightly lighter spot, looking up through the a hole in the canopy, seeing the stars and a moon. The constellations were unfamiliar but even the small opening that let her see the sky allowed her to see more stars than she had ever seen on her old home. There, the lights had been bright enough to blot out the stars, on Verdun, there was no artificial light pollution that hid the faint star light, letting the sky show itself in all its glory.


    Keera was not sure how long she stared up in the sky, watching a second moon join the first on their journey through the sky until finally, the sky started to slowly get brighter, even as the forest clearing stayed dark.


    When she heard a noise behind her, she spun, her neck burning from the strange posture she had held for so long, realising that Scarlet was moving in her sleeping bag. Suddenly, a powerful pulse burst from her, scanning the surrounding forest with impressive strength. Keera felt the power flow around her, not intruding but clearly mapping her existence, some of it rebounding, some of it flowing through her.


    ¡°Good Morning.¡± Keera said, watching as Scarlet was crawling from her sleeping bag. She cringed a little inside when she realised that the other had one of her knives drawn and ready in hand, an image that evoked half-remembered nightmares and fears. But it also made her realise that she had not guarded well, she had stared into the sky like a fool, her mind lightyears away. An army could have snuck up on them and she likely wouldn¡¯t have the slightest idea.


    Scarlet only answered with a grunt, slowly rising and working the kinks out of her body while examining the picture drawn by her scanning pulse. There were a few small animals but nothing that had the feel of a serious predator or a crystal monster.


    Thinking for a moment, she slipped into her shoes, grabbed the spear they had fashioned the day before and walked towards the river, not sparing Keera another glance. Before she got into any serious thinking, she needed breakfast and while they had ration bars, she wanted to conserve them as much as possible, who knew how well the supply given out by the Doctor was. The bars would keep for years, they were designed to have a shelf-life of a decade. As she walked, she realised that she¡¯d have to check their manufacturing date, hopefully it was not too long ago, it would be annoying if the use-by date was already gone, even if it wouldn¡¯t really surprise her. The Federation would use such old supplies to make room for new supplies and it was not as if those living on Verdun could complain. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    On her way to the river, she pulled her crystal out again, slowly unravelling the mental process she had set up to keep the domination going during the night so it wouldn¡¯t cause a headache when it broke. Once she held the domination with her conscious mind, she gently tossed the crystal forward, letting Cyca come out and land on her path. She felt her world expand when the sensory input from Cyca allowed her to experience more of it.


    Together, they continued on their path, the way to the river now almost routine, a realisation that caused Scarlet to stop short. Things turning routine was something she¡¯d have to avoid, until she had a better idea of the dangers that might be lurking behind the next tree.


    Tightening her stance, she started to take care where to step, silencing her footsteps and using the cloaking she had used the day before to avoid notice. She also intensified the attention she paid to her passive mental senses, just in case something was out there.


    When she got to the river, she noticed a few animals that looked like deer were in the area, looking her over warily but not immediately scattering.


    ¡®They must not know what to make of me, maybe they¡¯ve never seen a human before.¡¯, she thought as she walked closer, ready to react if the herd reacted in an aggressive way. Cyca seemed to be more wary of the water than the deer, adding to Scarlet¡¯s confidence in her approach. When she was only twenty meters away, the herd decided that it was close enough or maybe that they had drunk enough and scattered back into the forest, away from Scarlet.


    With the interlopers gone, she decided that fish was a good idea for breakfast and stretched her senses into the river, looking for the fat carps they had caught the evening before. They were still there, still idling below the water, ripe to be plucked. Spear in hand, Scarlet moved closer and, using the mental image as her guide, stabbed into the water, spearing through one of them, causing the others to scatter. Pulling her catch out, she noticed that it was little smaller than the one Keera got so she decided to catch a second one.


    The stupid fish returned far sooner than Scarlet had anticipated, allowing her to spear a second one without waiting too long, maybe half an hour, making it a respectable catch. She decided to clean breakfast right here, using some of the large leaves to carry the cleaned fish afterwards, so she sat and started to work. This time, it was easier thanks to the practise and experience she had the evening before, allowing her to harvest more of the flesh with less fishbones in it, making her smile.


    After she was done, she noticed that she could smell herself, something she was never happy with, especially as a fishy smell clung to her, due to the work she had just done. Considering that she was next to one of the few sources of running water in the area, she decided that it was a good idea to bath before breakfast, actively scanning the area once again before stripping off and wading into the water. The water was a little chilly but not truly cold, so she submerged herself fully, using her hands to scrub herself. There was no soap or conditioner but that was something she¡¯d have to get used to again, it was not as if she always had those things growing up.


    A flash of information from Cyca caught her attention, her monster had remained a few steps away from the river, horrified to see her walk into the water, and now there was something that had caught Cyca¡¯s attention. Pushing her wet hair out of her face and shaking her head a little to get rid of the water in her ears, she noticed that Keera had come looking for her and was just moving out of the woods, into sight of the river.


    For a second, Scarlet considered her actions and decided that she had two options, either treat her state of undress as nothing worth notice and simply ignore the presence of another woman or hope that Keera wouldn¡¯t defy her if she ordered her to go back to camp. Feeling that the first was a lot less risky, she decided to simply ignore Keera and finished her washing before slowly walking out of the river, using her hands to wring water from her hair and brush some of it from her skin. Seeing a nice patch of early morning sunlight, she decided to use the sun to dry off some more, in a deliberate show of dominance. Once she was stretched out in the sunlight, Cyca quickly joined her and only then, Scarlet allowed herself to take notice of Keera, who had been rooted to the spot since she had caught sight of Scarlet.

 Chapter 17

    When Scarlet first woke, grumbled and stumbled off, Keera felt it was funny, the previously highly competent and controlled pixie had been turned into a coffee-zombie. Just what would it look like when she realised that there would be no coffee forthcoming? That thought turned serious, quickly, when she noticed that there was a convenient target for Scarlet to vent her frustrations on, if she chose to. After a moment of thought, she decided that discretion was the better part of valour and waited in camp for the pixie, using the latrine and checking the supplies but doing nothing that might trigger the other.


    When half an hour had passed she started to wonder, decided that she¡¯d wait for another ten minutes before starting to look for her. Those ten minutes passed without a sign, so she decided to go looking, starting at the river, Scarlet had taken the spear with her after all.


    Finding the river turned out easier than she¡¯d thought, even the few trips they had taken had created a small path that she could follow.


    When she got to the river and stepped from the trees, she felt for a moment as if she was being stared down by a predator, deciding if she was breakfast or just an annoyance. The moment passed and she noticed Scarlet in the water and for a second or two, she just stared. The other was petite, tiny even, compared to her, but there was a deadly grace in that small frame, despite the obvious lack of weapons, or clothes come to that.


    As she was watching Scarlet stand and walk out of the water, she was reminded of a hot date she had been on, ages ago. The date had been at the zoo and one of the cages had held an animal from Earth, a tiger. When she and her date had been standing there, watching, the tiger had decided to leave the water it had used to cool itself in the sweltering heat. Scarlet¡¯s movements reminded her of that calm and deliberate gait, the tiger had considered itself ruler of its domain, despite the cage, despite the fact that it had been bred in captivity, it had been a predator. And here, on Verdun, there was no cage, no bars and no moat.


    ¡°Do you want to take a bath as well? If not, would you bring the fish back to camp and start a new fire? And maybe fill the bottles again.¡± Scarlet called out, startling Keera out of her inaction. Trying not to look at Scarlet, Keera focused on the two fish placed on a wide leaf, picking them up and scurrying back into the forest.


    When she did, her movement and behaviour reminded Scarlet of the deer that had fled earlier when she approached, causing her to chuckle. It seemed her gambit had worked quite well in putting Keera in her place. Petting Cyca, she enjoyed the sun on her skin, letting the warmth seep into her bones. It felt great, lying in the sun, breathing the fresh air, air that had likely never entered a human lung, let alone an air-scrubber. As she focused on it, she noticed that the air had a taste to it, natural and subtle, a taste she liked. It tasted like nothing she had ever experienced, unconstrained and free.


    Knowing that her display would have the best effect if Keera was shocked again, when coming to fill the bottles, she waited until her psionic scan registered her approach, standing and casually walking over to her clothes, turning her back to the approaching woman and bending over right as she came out of the woods. Thanks to the fact that Cyca was closer and had better ears, Scarlet heard the soft gasp escaping Keera as she saw her. Working to seem nonchalant and completely unconcerned, not that it was hard, years of communal showers had erased what little modesty she had left after her time on the streets, Scarlet picked up her clothes, stepping into her underwear and pulling it on, all without acknowledging Keera in any way. Finally, after she had her pants on, she turned, still topless and looked the other woman over.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    ¡°Thank you. Would you hand me one of the bottles? No need that you do everything yourself.¡± she asked in a calm and friendly voice, again startling Keera more than any harsh language would have. Again, she heard a soft noise from her, thanks to Cyca, and noticed her throat working for a moment.


    Finally, Keera hesitantly walked up, looking like the mouse before the cat, and handed Scarlet the empty water bottle. Scarlet took it and started walking upstream, before bending down and filling the bottle from the stream. Looking through the clear bottle, it was obvious that the water was quite clean. It would have to do.


    After filling her bottle and watching Keera do the same, Scarlet finally decided to put on a top, after binding her still-damp hair into a ponytail.


    ¡°Let¡¯s have breakfast.¡± Scarlet suggested, trying to slowly adapt Keera to take her suggestions as orders, not even questioning her. In Scarlet¡¯s eyes, Keera was currently obeying due to knowing that if she wanted to survive, staying in Scarlet¡¯s good graces was her best bet. Scarlet wanted to cement that dependance, ultimately forming it into unquestionable obedience. But that would take time and patience. For now, Scarlet would suggest things that Keera would want to do anything, slowly making her feel that obeying Scarlet was what she wanted to do.


    ¡°Yes, sounds good. Could you show me what those roots we had yesterday look like above ground?¡± Keera asked, slowly getting her wits back, the image she had seen when coming out of the forest still flashing into her mind from time to time.


    ¡°Get used to moving silently.¡± Scarlet said after they had walked a bit, bringing Keera¡¯s attention to the fact that she was stepping onto every twig and leaf that crossed her path while Scarlet was carefully placing her feet to avoid such noisemakers.


    ¡°Over there, there are the vegetables we had yesterday. And I think that over there,¡± Scarlet pointed to another plant, ¡°the leaves are edible, apparently similar to lettuce and such. We should add them to our diet.¡±


    The two of them harvested from both plants, just enough for a nice breakfast and maybe lunch. Scarlet looked around, trying to see more foodstuff, maybe something sweet for breakfast, some fruit-analogues if it was the right time in the seasonal cycle. It was something she would have to find out, just what season it was and what type of climate they were in. It seemed a moderate climate, judging from the vegetation but she knew that it could just be a false conclusion, drawn upon invalid comparisons.


    When they got back to their camp, Scarlet considered that they had left their supplies, which might very well preserve their life, unguarded and in the open. It was something she would have to be conscious of in the future, to avoid such a situation. Again, Scarlet took it on herself to prepare the food while Keera watched, cooking the fish on the same stone they had used the day before, placing the lettuce under it and using some of the roots to garnish it, letting the juice from the vegetables seep into the fish.


    After the food seemed to be ready, she passed some of the food to Keera, before taking some for herself. Again, they sat on logs opposite each other, Scarlet noticing that the food was even better than the evening before, the taste mashing even better together and the salad adding some crunch to the food that was needed.


    They ate in silence, Scarlet noticing that her stomach was a little upset but settled once food was introduced. She considered plans for the day, trying to come up with the best course of action. Part of her wanted to stay and make some primitive tools, maybe shaping some wood into boards that could be used as plates, or something similar. Another part wanted to go hunting, looking for more crystal monsters, getting another crystal or two, but she had a feeling that it would require them to range further than might be a good idea. Looking at her scanner, the radiation in the area was in the lowest range, the range the Doctor had described as safe. Finally, she decided that staying in the area would likely be the best, making sure that they had some extra food that they could transport before heading out the next day. That way, they could venture away for about a day and have two days to return to town, hopefully impressing the Doctor and gaining an advantage over Mendar and Nedri.


    Power, that was all that mattered in the end, either personal power to keep herself safe, power over Keera or power lent to her by the Doctor, the more of it she had, the better. The more of it she had, the safer she would be.

 Chapter 18

    ¡®Ultimately,¡¯ Scarlet thought in the evening, ¡®it was the right call to stay here, in the area.¡¯


    The day had been unpleasant for Keera and her, the reality of Verdun fully hitting home.


    After breakfast, Keera had been easy to convince that staying in the area for the day was the right call, even if she hadn¡¯t looked too convinced that travelling further up the river the next day would be wise.


    They had spent the day training to move silently through the area and whenever Keera had felt up to it, she had called out her Crystal Monster and refined her control. Scarlet had noticed that there was a bit of strain on her mind after a few hours of having Cyca out but she had not shown that, considering that she would likely get more resilient and more powerful by exercising her power.


    So, to make up for that part of training that Keera did without her, she had worked with Cyca to cut two slabs of wood into rough board-shapes before using her knife to refine them. As she worked, she watched Keera with her monster and she was pleased with Keera¡¯s progress. The evening before, she had only managed to move her monster for about fifteen minutes before starting to show signs of trouble. On her first session in the morning, after Scarlet had explained some of her thoughts on controlling the crystal monster, Keera had managed to keep it under control for almost an hour.


    Later, when Scarlet had gotten some gravel and sand from the river to smooth the plates she had made, Keera did another session, lasting for a bit more than an hour, doing exercises.


    But the biggest reason Scarlet was grateful that they had not moved on was that both of them vanished quite often into the shrubbery, where they had dug their latrine. It seemed their digestive system was not all-to happy with the new, unfiltered water and their wholly natural diet of unprocessed food.


    They explored some more of the area around their camp, finding a few fruit-bearing trees, adding something new to their diet. In an opportune moment, Scarlet even managed to have Cyca down two rabbits, which she gutted on the spot, returning to camp with her catch. Keera turned rather green seeing her return, but it did not stop her from enjoying roasted rabbit, wrapped in lettuce and garnished with the root-vegetables.


    The next day, they packed their things after a breakfast of fruits and left-over rabbit, before moving further along the river. This time, Keera was leading, with Scarlet following behind quietly giving lessons. Not that Scarlet commented often, only every hour or so to correct the mistakes Keera was making, allowing her to improve upon them.


    They had a decent path, following an animal track along the river and taking in their surroundings. Verdun, for all the problems they were facing and the comforts they were deprived off, was a beautiful planet. Almost totally untouched by human hands, the land was free and wild. Where before, neither of them had ever lived in a place that wasn¡¯t crowded, now both of them knew that they were the only humans in a few kilometers.


    To Scarlet, that feeling was liberating, it allowed her to stretch her psionic senses to the limit, without being flooded with human emotions. For the first time, she felt an ebb and flow of the world around her, soft but everywhere. It was like a whisper, light and almost impossible to hear but it was not just from a single voice. For a split-second, she was able to feel every living thing, every blade of grass, every tree, every insect, everything. A deafening whisper. A moment of total clarity, as she was letting her mind experience the totality of existence around her. It was similar to her hearing, in a quiet room, it was easily possible to hear the beating of her own heart. And now, in the quiet forest, with only a shielding, human mind as company, she was able to hear the heartbeat of the world. But it didn¡¯t, it couldn¡¯t last long, her reverie was shattered by a stray-thought from Keera that bubbled to the surface, and escaped her mind-shield. It felt to Scarlet¡¯s relaxed senses like a psionic shout, causing her to flinch. She reigned in her senses, not angry with Keera, if not for her, something else would have caused such an effect and it could have been far worse. Just imagining what death would feel like, for some small animal to be beset by a predator, blasting their emotions out into the world. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    It made Scarlet curious, to experience that feeling of expansion again, to get in touch with life. She wondered what it would feel like without Keera nearby, without any human influence at all. Not only to delve into the beauty of life that surrounded her, but also to experience the ultimate liberty.


    No social norms to dictate, no customs to obey, just freedom. Of course, there would be hardship, just the work that needed to be done to sustain oneself. And that was not going into the need to have companionship, humans were a social species after all. But still, it had a certain appeal, maybe she would head out alone after they had settled it and Keera was fully and totally obedient.


    During the early afternoon, as they were walking across a meadow with only a few shrubs, Scarlet started to feel a slight pressure with her psionic senses. It took her a moment to understand what she was feeling, it was unlike everything she had ever felt, a strange sensation that made the hair on her neck stand up and a shiver to run down her spine. With a whispered command to Keera, she took cover in a nearby bush, hiding from prying eyes, just in case. It seemed a good idea, as the closest thing to a native guide they had with them, Cyca, had the exact same impulse, only curbed due to the mental control, holding her instincts in check.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Keera asked, as she noticed that Scarlet had goosebumps all over and sweat was welling up on her brow.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but we need to hide!¡± Scarlet answered, while pulling the scanner from her pouch. It read a light yellow, slightly higher than the safe, green, level but nothing that screamed immediate danger. It would be a good idea to turn back, but Scarlet grabbed Keera¡¯s arm when the she wanted to stand.


    ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± Scarlet hissed, as the sensation she was feeling intensified. Now, Keera was also feeling it, not understanding what it was but that something was there.


    Right then, Scarlet was able to pinpoint where the feeling was coming from and looked up, into the sky. At first, she wondered what kind of bird was flying high above them, until she noticed that it vanished into a cloud for a moment and her brain started to cope with perspective. Or at least, it tried.


    Her mind struggled with what her eyes were seeing, not wanting to believe the reality in front of her eyes. She tried to come up with another conclusion to the input, but the only was that the being that was flying high above them was big. As in, really big.


    It looked like a huge bird, more the size of an airplane than a living being but the size wasn¡¯t even what made her mind boggle the most. It was the fact that it had a strange swirling aura around it, looking similar to the heat-haze above a fire. But at the distance, her mind refused to believe that it was that. It couldn¡¯t be, could it?


    As the bird, or whatever it was, made its path through the sky and approached the point where it would be closest to the meadow, Scarlet felt herself start to shiver and shake, wanting to cower and hide, even as she was cowering and hiding below the bush. If she had ever wanted to know what it felt like to be the mouse and seeing the shadow of a hawk above, she now knew.


    And she hated the sensation. Previously, she had thought that getting enough power to stand up to the Doctor, if she ever so chose, would be enough for a good life on Verdun. But seeing the monstrous bird in the sky, she knew better. If she wanted to have her agency, her freedom, her safety, she would have to be even more powerful. Powerful enough to be able to stand up, right at that moment, and swat the bird from the sky, to impress upon its body that she, Scarlet, was the ruler of her domain.


    And within her core, her heart of hearts, she knew, she would gain that power, whatever it took. Or she would die. But, as someone had once said, it was better to die free than live as a slave.

 Chapter 19

    Once Scarlet had herself back under control and the monstrous bird had vanished into the distance, she looked over to Keera, realising that the other had taken the influence better than she had. Maybe her higher sensitivity was not just an advantage.


    ¡°That was¡­ sporting. The Doctor told us that there were huge crystal monsters, but I never expected to see one just yet. Or maybe at all.¡± Scarlet said, while carefully scanning their surroundings for enemies, just in case. When she was reasonably sure that there were none, she crawled out from the bush and stood, looking at the world with slightly new eyes. Cyca came out as well, jumping into her arms, possibly seeking comfort. Scarlet oblieged, gently stroking her smooth fur.


    ¡°How big do you think it really was?¡± Keera asked, having seen the same monster but estimating sizes without reference was a tricky business.


    ¡°Big. Too big to fight, for now.¡± Scarlet answered with a wicked grin. ¡°But I would estimate its wingspan somewhere around thirty meters, but that¡¯s just me, guessing.¡±


    Keera only nodded in slight disbelief, before Scarlet gestured for her to continue on their way.


    They walked for a few more kilometers before seeing a nice, protected area in one of the river¡¯s meanders. It was a good spot to make camp, protected from the elements, near the water and out of the way for animals that were just moving around so Scarlet suggested to make their camp for the night. Not seeing a problem with the space, Keera agreed and they walked over, placing their packs between a few larger bushes that would hide the two of them.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you go ahead and do your psionic training, while I look around for trouble?¡± Scarlet asked, knowing that Keera needed the training and maybe a compliment or two, to motivate her.


    ¡°Yeah, sure, sounds good.¡± Keera agreed and walked towards the river. The river had deposited quite a bit of sand in one of the curves, forming a bit of a beach and that was where Keera went, taking off her shoes and walking in the warm sand, before she called out her crystal monster.


    Seeing that, Scarlet walked towards the other side at first, focusing her senses towards her front and the area where they had come from, carefully scrutinising her surroundings for possible danger but also looking for food. Not that there was a huge need for it, they had found a couple of edible plants on their way, so even when the river didn¡¯t seem to have fish in the area, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem.


    As they neared the water, Scarlet noticed that Cyca was tense once more, as if the water would jump out and bite her, causing Scarlet to chuckle and pick up her sweet, little crystal monster.


    Looking over the river, Scarlet feeled quite calm, despite the scare they had earlier. Now that it was over, it exited her, not just hearing about monsters that were powerful enough to challenge the Federation, as long as it was on their turf, but seeing one with her own eyes, even if only from a huge distance. If she had such power, she could truly control her fate, nobody would attempt to make her a plaything, nobody would dare to even insult her.


    Shaking her head, she started to walk along the river, looking around when she noticed a disturbance towards the beach, as if someone wanted to remain hidden. Or something.


    Dropping Cyca, Scarlet broke into a run. The idea to lose Keera, to lose the inroads and the progress she had made to control her, she headed towards the beach at top speed. When she heard a shouted curse, shortly before coming into view, she ordered Cyca to lead forward, following behind as fast as she could. Cyca demonstrated that she was more than a normal animal, speeding ahead, despite her shorter legs and size.


    Seconds after the shout, Scarlet burst through the last bushes obstructing the view and saw a snake slithering from the water. What she could see, looked rather nasty, a triangular head, about the size of her fist, a small, pink tongue tasting the air from time to time and a rather interesting body, with a very distinct colour pattern. The snake¡¯s back was covered in dark blue and brown scales, arranged in clear bands. The belly, on the other hand, was a much lighter, clearer blue, almost reminiscent of the sky above, glistening in the sunlight.


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    What stood out to Scarlet, as she took in the situation, ordering Cyca to engage the monster, was that near Keera was a large, strangely wet, area and Keera¡¯s crystal monster was lying a meter or two away from it, wet and its form was flickering strangely, as if it was lacking the power to keep itself active.


    The snake seemed to eye Keera for a moment, before slithering towards the downed crystal monster and Scarlet realised that only her order kept Cyca from pouncing and devouring Keera¡¯s crystal monster outright.


    Seeing the charging cat, the snake turned and focused on the new challenger, confident that the other prey was down for the count. When Cyca came near, she slid to a stop in the sand, just as the snake lunged forward, its maw opening wider than it had any business to, showing wicked looking fangs that tried to take a strike home in the attacking cat.


    To Scarlet¡¯s joy, Cyca managed to dodge to the side, the snake literally biting the dust, or sand, allowing Cyca to rake its side with her claws. The snake¡¯s form flickered for a moment but the attack seemed far from enough, so the two combatants moved apart a bit, looking very much as if they were taking the other¡¯s measure.


    From the corner of her eyes, Scarlet noticed that Keera had forced her monster back into its crystal form and had pulled the spray given to them by the Doctor from her pouch, spraying the crystal with a generous measure and rubbing it in with the rag they had been given. Not that it likely would make a difference, but it was a good idea.


    Back towards the water, the two enemies seemed to have the other¡¯s measure and the snake slowly moved towards Cyca, before making a swift movement forward, as if it was lunging but did not. Cyca, fooled by the feint, jumped aside again, so once the snake actually attacked, she was in the air, without any way to dodge. She managed to twist a little, so only one of the fangs hit but it still caused Scarlet to gasp. Not just because her strongest, most important ally and tool was wounded, but because there was a light feedback over their connection, not quite pain but the knowledge that strength had been lost.


    Cyca moved back a little, stumbling towards the water, and Scarlet ordered her to use her lightning attack, hoping that the strange attack would help to turn the tide. Just as the spark started between the tips of her twisting tails, the snake reared back, despite the fact that the distance was far too long for another lunge.


    But it didn¡¯t try to lunge, it simply reared up and a jet of water shot from its maw, causing Cyca to jump again, barely avoiding the biggest part of it. She was still splashed and again, Scarlet knew that her partner was hurt, even if not critically. And that was when the spark between her tails turned into another golden lightning bolt, striking out and into the snake, hitting it slightly below the head and travelling downwards, grounding into the earth but causing havoc all over it. An insane thought inside Scarlet almost expected the snake to open its mouth again and breath out a cloud of smoke but no, even as the lightning ran through its body, the tip of its tail shot from the water, striking Cyca, who was still in the air, and hitting her almost like a baseball bat, for the home run.


    The hit dealt little damage, there seemed to be something strange at play, but it was enough to bat Cyca away, causing her to catch quite a bit of air and tumble towards the water. That tumble allowed the snake to get distance, zeroing in on its original target, the crystal in Keera¡¯s hand.


    Annoyed by the sneaky snakey, Scarlet decided to take a risk and took a deep breath, before starting to attack the snake with her mind, confident that it was greatly weakened and hoping that she would be able to keep two monsters under control. The snake hissed angrily, instantly changing her target from the crystal to the attacking Scarlet ignoring everything around it, just to get to her.


    Taking a deep breath, Scarlet refocused her mind and pressed the attack against the snake, trying to force it under her control and back into her crystal form. Her attack was so strong that even Cyca turned back into her inert crystal form, just as Scarlet noticed that the snake was starting to flicker. That was all the encouragement she needed, needed to dig deep into her mind, looking for reserves of power she wasn¡¯t sure she had. But she found some and the snake started to flicker faster, the crystal more and more subject to gravity between the flickers, before she felt something snap and the monster was gone, only the crystal remaining behind.


    Scarlet sank to her knees, feeling the mental exhaustion hit her and she tasted blood. There was no question, she knew her nose had to bleed and her gums were bleeding as well but she had done it.


    Gathering her mind, she forced herself to her feet, walking towards the fallen crystal as if nothing had happened. When she crouched to pick the crystal up, she noticed the differences between that one and Cyca¡¯s crystal. Where Cyca had quite a bit of clear crystal with some impurities, the new crystal had quite a few swirls of colour, changing from soft blue to purple, depending on the light. The snake¡¯s crystal was a little bit bigger than Cyca¡¯s but less spherical and more a ellipsoid shape, as if it was made for the long and thin body of a snake, compared to the larger torso of a cat.


    Putting it into her bag, she nonchalantly walked over to Cyca¡¯s crystal, picking it up as well. It was a deliberate move, allowing her to wipe away the blood from her nose and spitting most of the bloody foam in her mouth into the shallow water. After that, she and started to treat Cyca¡¯s crystal with her own spray, knowing that at that moment, she was at her weakest.


    It was only then, when she felt the liquid seeping into the crystal, that she looked over to Keera, whom she had deliberately ignored.

 Chapter 20

    Knowing that she had been handed an opportunity to greatly advance her control over Keera, Scarlet forced herself to stand tall - well, as tall as she could with her petite frame - and project an air of strength and confidence, as if the fight had happened exactly as she wanted and everything had been under complete control. That meant ignoring her blinding headache and hoping that Keera didn¡¯t notice the blood that had seeped from her nose or that she was tasting on her tongue.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± she asked, looking at Keera.


    Keera only nodded, still rubbing the spray into her monster¡¯s crystal and looking quite shaken.


    ¡°Good. Do you want to go back into the middle of the area or do you want to join me and take a bath? The rest of the area seems to be safe, but look out nonetheless, okay?¡± she asked, turning back to the river, because she felt a trickle of blood seeping from her nose.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ll go back and prepare a fire pit.¡± Keera stammered.


    Hearing that, Scarlet stealthily let out a sigh of relief and started taking her clothes off. She now knew why there had been no fish in the area, the watersnake had probably been the cause for that, occupying it. She didn¡¯t even want to think about keeping one of her monsters under control but still, if it was a moment of do or die, she would have to try. Knowing that, she placed Cyca¡¯s crystal in such a way that she could let her out at any moment without shredding her pouch.


    As soon as she was naked, she walked out into the water, letting it flow around her and kneeling down to wash the sweat that was pouring from her off. The short, psionic combat against the snake had taken a lot from her and even now, she was able to feel resistance. It was nothing she couldn¡¯t handle and the actual strength seemed to be about the same, maybe a little higher, than Cyca¡¯s but the snake had not yet given up. But Scarlet would control it, she would control Crysna, as she had decided to name it. And she would be strong enough to control both Crysna and Cysa at the same time, so they could fight together.


    Dunking her head under water, she washed her mouth out and cleaned her nose, getting rid of the blood that had leaked, before starting to deal with the rest of her body, letting the water carry away the dirt and sweat from a day of walking. After washing, she laid on her back, keeping a leg in the dirt below to hold her position, and floated, letting the water wash around her and take away the headache she was feeling.


    When her headache had mostly subsided and she felt clean, she got her clothes, washing them in the river before getting out and looked for a patch of sunlight. There was a nice, large rock rock that would allow her to spread herself next to her clothes, letting the warm rock below and the warm, sinking sun above take away the water.


    Lying there, she thought about Crysna and its powers. It had used water and a strong bite but when she had gotten out of the water, the two damp spots where it had attacked with its water attack, as she was sure that had been the thing to do Keera¡¯s monster in, had no longer been damp. She was curious what that meant, the water wouldn¡¯t have dried or drained away, would it? She just didn¡¯t know, but she didn¡¯t think so. Getting up, despite her quite comfortable position, she walked over and checked. But she couldn¡¯t make out a difference, the sand seemed uniformly dry, not even a little damp.


    She would have to find out, even if only to assuage her curiosity. And if the water Crysna made was somehow not real water, or whatever it meant, it might not be safe to drink. But calling Crysna would have to wait for the next day, before that, she didn¡¯t want to bother. She would let the snake stew in its crystal, letting it out for her convenience on her own time.


    Finally, she felt up to project power in front of Keera again, it wouldn¡¯t do for Scarlet to show weakness, it might undermine her plans. And it would be a shame if Keera turned out to be useless.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    Getting her feet under herself, she walked to camp, carrying her clothes over her arm. Mentally, she was feeling out her mind, trying to assess how much of her strength had returned, if she was capable of having Cyca next to her when she came back. It would show how little she had been affected, of course, having Crysna with her would be even better but sadly that was completely out of the question.


    She decided that the appearance of strength was key, so she let the crystal drop from her hand, carefully letting Cyca out. The instant Cyca was out, Scarlet knew that it wouldn¡¯t be as easy as before, it was as if Cyca could feel the other crystal and her instinct was to devour it, powering herself up. And there was no way Scarlet would let go of her new monster, so she would have to blot that instinct from Cyca¡¯s mind. But only as it related to Crysna, other monsters would still be food.


    She felt her headache return, even intensify, but not to the point of becoming unbearable, so she pushed it down, forcing a calm mask on her face as she walked up to camp. Keera was sitting at a fire-pit, staring into space with tears running down her face. Somehow, Scarlet felt her headache intensify, as if another type of headache had been added to the one from overusing her psionic powers. She had quite a few skills but dealing with crying, emotional people was something she was not adept at. So, she dealt with it in the only way she could, by ignoring it.


    Instead, she simply walked to her pack, put on her second set of clothes and used a nearby shrub to hang up the mostly dry set. The unisize coverall didn¡¯t fit her well but there were a few buckles to tighten it so, while it bagged around her, it didn¡¯t hinder her.


    Once dressed, she looked around if Keera had already started on a latrine and then digging one, behind a dense bush. It took some time but the repetitive labour helped with the headache, even if she started to sweat again.


    Afterwards, she started to gather some dry wood and at that task she was joined by Keera.


    ¡°Thank you, for saving me back there. I¡¯m really not sure what I would do without you.¡± Keera said, having dried her eyes, even if she was still a little hoarse.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I told you, I will teach you. I hope you will listen to me, even if you might not know why I tell you to do something.¡± Scarlet answered.


    ¡°Mhm, I will.¡± Keera answered, with a wan smile.


    ¡°Good. Now, let¡¯s get some food.¡±


    With that, Scarlet gathered the wood she had and moved back to the firepit. Preparing food was quite simple that evening, there was no meat or fish, so they just added together the various plants they had gathered during the day and roasted them when it was needed according to their memories of the binder from the Doctor. Some of it was bland and boring but they had stumbled across a plant very similar to wild mustard which added more spice than either of them was really comfortable with. Both of them laughed about the heat and drained their water bottles, knowing that they easily could replenish them. The laughter helped with the tension they both were under, even if neither of them would have admitted it.


    ¡°Could I take first watch? I doubt that I¡¯ll be able to sleep any time soon. My mind goes back to the snake shooting out of the water and instantly attacking. I froze, you know? I had my crystal monster out, and still, I froze.¡± Keera asked.


    ¡°Sure, I could sleep. But if you need me to listen, I can do that.¡± Scarlet answered, hiding the fact that amongst the things she liked to do, listening to someone''s problems was quite far to the bottom of things. She had once heard that listening to another¡¯s problems was a good path to gain their trust, so she offered.


    ¡°Maybe tomorrow. I don¡¯t even know what I could say.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll try to come up with a better way to train you, maybe I¡¯ll have a great idea sometime in the night.¡± Scarlet assured her, while starting to open her sleeping back and crawling into it, together with Cyca, before pushing the other back into crystal form and anchoring the control over both crystals into a continuous, sustained process.


    She was lying there, looking into the sky. The night before, she had been in the forest, the canopy hiding the sky. Now, they were just between a couple of bushes, so she was able to see the sky in all its glory. It made her wonder, which of those stars were those of the Federation.


    But, under the moons of Verdun, she realised that it really didn¡¯t matter. On Verdun, it didn¡¯t matter if the Federation had hundreds of planets. On Verdun, only the power of an individual mattered.


    With a smile on her face, she fell asleep. Dreaming dreams of power and freedom.

 Chapter 21

    It was morning when Scarlet decided to wake Keera, after her own watch had passed without anything happening. She had taken the time to probe her abilities a little more, getting a better feeling how much it would take out of her to keep Cyca active and Crysna suppressed. Even after a good sleep, she had a feeling that she wouldn¡¯t be able to keep Cyca going as she had before hand, at least not until she got more powerful. But keeping Cyca active was pushing boundaries and something else was doing so even more.


    During her watch, in the middle of the night, she had tried to find the strange, hyper-aware state again, the one that she had found the day before. It had been fascinating and she wanted to learn and understand more. Sitting cross-legged, she remembered how she had let her mind open up, not focusing on anything but letting the impression of her surrounding flow into her.


    It turned out that searching for that state was harder than finding it but after a while, she simply gave up trying to reach it and relaxed. It was in that open and relaxed state that she felt her surroundings, the whispers of the world. Not focusing on anything, she let her mind float, trying to take in as much as possible.


    Her reverie couldn¡¯t have lasted more than a few second but the amount of information that was flowing around her was immense and so was the strain on her mind. The headache she had felt the evening before came back with a vengeance, forcing her to close her mind back up, only keeping her senses open to perceive threats.


    The headache subsided after an hour or so but she decided not to push herself until morning, to preserve her strength.


    Once the sun was peeking over the horizon, Scarlet started to prepare breakfast, the smell causing Keera to wake up before long. As always, Scarlet handed Keera the food, before taking some for herself. She had considered plans for the day, mostly when the best time to return would be, and decided that they should explore the area until noon and head back downstream then. It should bring them back to town with time to spare on the fifth day and they might have a chance to find another crystal monster, so they would both have a crystal to trade with on their return.


    Scarlet had made a mental list of things she wanted to trade for, mostly items of convenience, like a set of metallic survival cookware and those would take the equivalent of money. And, if she managed to assist Keera in taking down a crystal monster on her own, it should add some positive reinforcement to her training. If Keera broke down, it would add complications, nothing that couldn¡¯t be dealt with, but complications nonetheless.


    ¡°Let¡¯s scout out the area. I hope we find a few more crystal monsters around here, so we can trade the inert crystals for equipment.¡± Scarlet suggested after breakfast and while Keera seemed even less confident than the day before when they had started their track up-river, she nodded and soon they were on their way.


    Scarlet suggested to head east, at least that was what she called the direction the sun was in when her scanner said it was nine-o¡¯clock. The town was south of them and they had been moving north, with the river on their right, western side, using classical cardinal directions.


    ¡°Can you lead the way today?¡± Keera asked, looking timid.


    ¡°I can do that. But you will be responsible for our safety, so get your crystal monster out. You need to learn and train.¡± Scarlet ordered after accepting.


    Keera let her crystal drop, the golden badger-monster landing on its paws and moving alongside Keera. Scarlet led, but kept quite a bit of attention on the monster, realising that it was moving a lot better than the day before.


    The further they got away from the river, the lighter the forest got and more and more shrubs impeded their way, making it difficult to move. Every now and then, Scarlet looked at her scanner, checking that they were not in a more dangerous area than a light yellow. She was not sure how dangerous a higher level would be, but after seeing the flying monster the day before, she would be more cautious.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    After about an hour of walking, she noticed a slight presence, similar to the very first monster she had defeated and started angling towards it, not telling Keera about it. It would serve as a good test for the other, so she suppressed her anxiety and didn¡¯t change her posture, not even putting her hand to her belt-pouch. It was risky but previously, all crystal monsters had shown more aggression towards the other crystal monsters instead of the human psions, until the psions used their powers against them.


    A minute or so later, Keera quietly spoke up, ¡°There¡¯s something out there. Don¡¯t you feel it?¡±


    ¡°Do you want to take point to take care of it?¡± whispered back, while keeping her vigilance up.


    Keera must have realised that it was, indeed, a test and took the lead-position, allowing Scarlet to place a hand on Cyca¡¯s crystal, standing ready to help, just in case. The crystal monster, very similar to the rat she had killed before, burst from a brush, instantly trying to take a bite out of Keera¡¯s monster and Scarlet heard a soft hiss of ¡°Dodge to the right!¡± from Keera and her monster did just that, evading the attack.


    ¡°Now, Scratch!¡± Scarlet heard Keera mutter, now a little louder.


    The crystal monster badger jumped forward, just as the rat¡¯s mouth snapped shut and tried to bury its claws in its opponent. The rat managed to twist part of its body out of the way but the strike hit true, causing some of the strange interference when the bodies of two crystal monsters met.


    When the rat landed, it landed badly and out of balance, allowing Keera and her monster to take over the momentum of the fight.


    ¡°Again!¡± was muttered and by now, Scarlet understood what was happening. Keera seemed to unconsciously mutter what she was commanding her monster to do. When Scarlet focused to the mental realm, she noticed that the mental waves from Keera swelled with those mutterings, as if she was using her voice to convince herself that she was commanding her crystal beast.


    The rat managed to dodge the first attack but at the cost of what was left of its balance, allowing Keera¡¯s monster to land a good hit, even as the rat tried to bite into the striking paw. Both monsters flickered, Keera¡¯s monster just a little, the rat quite a bit.


    They both had their distance, the strike against the badger, costing some of the momentum, when Scarlet heard Keera muttered the command to Earth Spike.


    Curious, Scarlet looked closely and noticed the badger hitting the ground with both paws and a thin pillar of earth rose below the rat¡¯s belly, punching into it and launching the rat into the air. Not high up but it was clearly something Keera¡¯s crystal monster had expected and Keera as well.


    Keera muttered to finish it and her badger leapt forward, using both claws at the same time, almost as if it was clapping. Both paws and all eight wicked claws ripped into the rat, causing it to rapidly flicker out and it¡¯s projected form vanished. Keera¡¯s crystal monster caught the crystal in its paws and for the second time, Scarlet was able to witness the feeding, small particles of light being absorbed into a crystal monster. It was no less fascinating than the first time, only that now, the badger was growing stronger.


    But that was fine with Scarlet, making Keera stronger was indirectly making herself stronger, once she had Keera completely under her control. She was well on the way to that and barring any complications, it should work out just fine.


    ¡°Very well done. Can you gauge the strength your monster has left? Do you think I should take over our protection?¡± Scarlet asked, making sure that her voice was friendly and praising.


    After Keera picked up the new crystal, she turned around and Scarlet gave her a friendly smile. Keera closed her eyes for a moment, as if looking inward before speaking.


    ¡°Better take over. Badgy performed great but he¡¯s taken some damage.¡± Keera answered and it was the first time she heard Keera refer to her monster with a name and even a sex.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. Say, where did you get the idea that your Badgy could shift the earth like that?¡±


    ¡°When the snake attacked yesterday, with the water, and your cat with the lightning. You told me about the similar monster in town, that could shift earth, so during my night-watch, I experimented. And it worked. So, I wanted to try it.¡± Keera explained, smiling proudly.


    Scarlet complimented her, praising her dedication to training and her accomplishment, before the two of them moved on, looking for another enemy and maybe some more food, now with Keera leading and Scarlet with Cyca following behind.

 Chapter 22

    The two women continued on their way, Scarlet looking for trouble and ways to improve her power. For an hour and a half, they used the sun to keep their direction, adjusting for passing time on the fly. After about an three hours, Scarlet made Keera take over protection again and took the lead in turn, claiming that Keera needed to exercise herself but in truth, Scarlet was feeling a little pressure keeping a monster active and out and the second crystal dormant. She could likely keep Cyca active for another four, maybe five, hours but it would leave her almost as drained as the fight the day before. And she wanted to experiment with Crysna later.


    After some time with Keera leading and Badgy ambling along her, Scarlet found a couple of bushes filled with edible berries and decided to have lunch, eating berries directly from the branch. It tasted great and made a good meal, combined with some of the vegetables they had in their packs.


    Once they were sated, Scarlet decided to try out her new crystal monster, so she pulled the longish crystal from her pouch and gently tossed it, letting Crysna out for the first time. There was a moment of mental struggle, to determine what of Crysna¡¯s instincts needed to be suppressed and what could be left alone, but after that moment, Scarlet was able to force Crysna to open up and let her fully in.


    It was good that Keera had her badger next to her, it allowed Scarlet to instantly recognise the hunger Crysna had for the other monster and suppress it. What was fascinating to Scarlet was how different the sensations flowing back from her new monster were, compared to Cyca. Crysna added a thermal vision, allowing them to get a rough outline of Keera, compared to the colder background. Interestingly, even the crystal badger stood out on the thermal vision, not as much as Keera but still, it was another fascinating aspect of those beings, why would they give off heat, it clearly was not part of any metabolism or anything similar.


    In addition to the thermal vision, Crysna had a quite acute sense of smell, tasting the air around them and presenting a riot of information to Scarlet. Some of the scent-traces had an impression linked to them, like a scent-trace of the rat-like crystal monsters, others were just blank, making Scarlet understand that those were some that Crysna didn¡¯t know.


    What made Scarlet giggle a little was that Crysna, for some unfathomable reason, presented as male, something she had not expected. Again, Scarlet was not sure why they even felt like they had a sex, it was not as if rocks were sexually dimorphic, as far as she knew, but still, the snake was clearly giving off the information that it was truly he.


    Ignoring that strange aspect, she decided to take care of another question she had been curious about. Looking at a nearby rock, she mentally ordered Crysna to use the strange water-attack on the rock while holding back as much as possible. The snake hissed and reared up, causing Keera to frown a little, she had watched Scarlet and Crysna with a mix of interest and jealousy and the hiss sounded dangerous.


    As ordered, water shot from the snake¡¯s mouth and onto the rock, splattering around but quite a bit landing in a shallow area of the rock, causing Scarlet to smile and watch what happened next. While watching, she explored the connection to Crysna, putting more hooks into the snake¡¯s mind. Within five minutes, the water was gone and the rock was dry again, as if there had never been water in the first place.


    ¡°That can¡¯t really be, can it?¡± Keera asked confused, after noticing Scarlet¡¯s actions.


    ¡°I would have agreed but obviously, it just happened. It¡¯s certainly not hot enough that water would evaporate that fast, certainly not in the shade.¡± Scarlet was at least as confused as Keera, she just hid it better. But there were only two possibilities, either their eyes were deceiving them or they had accurately perceived reality as it had been but what their premisses were faulty. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    Knowing that doubting her own senses and perception was a quick way to insanity or death, Scarlet started to think which premisses could be false. The first was obviously that the snake was not spitting water, it would make some sense, though not a lot. Especially since the amount of water the snake had spat was, by her estimation, more volume than the snake actually occupied which was, according to her knowledge of physics, impossible. Or rather, not impossible in theory but the only way she could think of was some sort of energy-matter conversion and that would mean that the snake was somehow storing enough energy to make even the biggest Federation-bombs look like party-toys, which seemed just as impossible. She could simply not believe that the snake was able to store and convert enough energy to turn the planet into molten slag, and not just once.


    Feeling a headache setting in, Scarlet decided to simple accept that the laws of physics seemed to have taken a look at Verdun, gotten together with biology and decided to get falling down drunk, both of them ignoring the tomfoolery that was going on here.


    ¡°Let¡¯s gather some extra food and head back.¡± Scarlet said to Keera after mentally shaking over her confusion.


    ¡°But¡­ That can¡¯t be real, can it?!¡± Keera asked, sounding slightly hysteric.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go down that route, you need to trust your senses. It happened, we both saw that. We just need to treat it as real, just like all the other, seemingly impossible, things that happen on this planet. If you start to question your senses, you will either end up mad or dead. I would rather avoid either of those.¡± Scarlet explained, looking Keera in the eyes.


    ¡°Mhm, right. Ignore that the laws of physics seem to be broken.¡± Keera shook her head a little, rocking back and forth.


    ¡°The laws of physics, some of the cornerstones of biology and I¡¯d guess the only reason we haven¡¯t seen the laws of chemistry broken is that we aren¡¯t equipped for experiments.¡± Scarlet said, forcibly keeping her voice calm, hoping that her calm would keep Keera from mentally checking out.


    Thinking that manual labour might help, she pulled Keera up and gently pushed her towards the bushes after handing her a few, wide leaves that would serve as wrapping for the berries. Together, they harvested quite a few berries before Keera called her monster in and took the lead, keeping the sun on their left side, moving roughly west-south-west. They knew, as long as they kept going west, they would run into the river they had followed, the river that would lead them back to town.


    On the way back, they stumbled upon one more crystal monster. Scarlet felt it first, taking the lead from Keera as it was during her time of readiness and intensified her efforts to conceal herself. She was quite surprised when Crysna did something very similar, hiding his presence from psionic senses and rolling a little, adding some dust to his back, allowing him to blend with the first.


    When they were almost upon the other monster, Scarlet stopped thought for a moment, carefully planning the best attack. The monster was a small bird-type crystal beast, sitting a few meters up a tree, on a branch. Part of her wanted to order an attack with the water-spitting attack but it might be a waste of power, so she ordered Crysna to try a sneak-attack. He continued on, silently slithering through the forest and up the tree, moving in such a way that he was not noticed by the bird. The psionic concealment seemed to do the rest, until he was in a position to strike.


    And striking he did, a perfect lunge, fast as a, well, striking snake, he managed to catch the bird by surprise and skewer it on his fangs before pulling it back to the tree. The one attack had been powerful enough to cause the bird to instantly flicker before vanishing in a surge of light only moments later.


    Leaping off the tree, Crysna leapt at Scarlet, causing Keera to gasp in fear, the leap looked so very much like the earlier lunge, only that Scarlet felt that it wasn¡¯t that. There was an almost playful feeling coming from Crysna, so she caught him as good as she could taking the crystal from his mouth with one hand and letting him wrap around the other, gently stroking his head while smiling happily.


    Scarlet was ecstatic, Crysna was just as powerful as Cyca and worked in a different way, where Cyca was an ambush predator, Crysna was a stealth-predator. Both had a similar approach and maybe, if she became stronger, she would be able to use both at the same time, allowing them to become even stronger.

 Chapter 23

    Somehow, seeing Albertina again was both uplifting and depressing to Scarlet. Last night, the two of them had camped on another clearing, before continuing their way south, keeping the river nearby while looking for crystal monster that they could hunt and looking at the scanner every now and then. About an hour after they left in the morning, the radiation-level went down to green, signaling that only few and weak crystal monsters would live here.


    They had paced themself, focusing on stealth-training instead of speed, so it was early afternoon when they entered the area that was cleared of trees and Keera had recalled Badgy.


    When they started walking to town, Scarlet started to wonder. She had noticed that, while Keera had gotten used to things a little, she still seemed jumpy. It would be interesting to see her behaviour and actions once they were in the relative safety of the town, whether Keera would try to latch onto another or stick with Scarlet. With more time, she was quite certain that she could have trained Keera to the point of total obedience but with just five days to work, it was impossible to condition someone to that extent. Maybe, with a non-psion and if she had liberally used psionics to attack their mind, shattering and shaping it. But even in such a case, it was much more likely to result in a nothing more than a burned out husk, at least when done by someone of her skill-level. It was not impossible, it was, after all, the highest crime a psion could commit under Federation law and it was the only crime Scarlet was aware of that carried a compulsory capital punishment.


    She shook of those thoughts as they approached, calling out to the wall and a male head appeared above it, looking down on them.


    ¡°Ah, it''s the two of you. You are late, you know? The other two were here at dawn, waiting to be let in.¡± he called out.


    Scarlet flicked her hair back, putting on an air of nonchalance. ¡°Not like the Doctor told us when we should be back, other than after five days. Open up, would you?¡± she called back.


    Keera seemed a little annoyed that they could have been back in town for hours by that point, even if Scarlet was not quite sure what good it would do. It wasn¡¯t like the creature comforts in town were that much better, to her, it was only worse. With just Keera in the vicinity, she had been able to let her guard partially down after a few days, knowing that the other needed her more than she needed Keera. Now, in town, she was surrounded by potential enemies, some of them with the potential to kill her.


    In addition to that, she had just started to figure out how to ignore Keera¡¯s presence when opening her mind to nature, as she had started to think of the state in which she felt all living things around her, strengthening her power and learning more than she had thought possible. It was fascinating to see what her mind could do without the shackles placed upon her by the proximity of many humans, it was as if every human was giving off noise that drowned out the world.


    Her progress over the last few days made her curious, it seemed to be so much more effective than the training she had before. Was it something about Verdun that strengthened her or was it the simple fact that she needed to keep up a scan at all times, or risk getting attacked?


    Shaking off her contemplation, she followed Keera through the smaller metal door into town, looking at the town with new eyes. Sure, the wall and the few guards under the leadership of the Doctor had some strength but just remembering the huge bird they had seen, she wondered what would happen if such a monster attacked them. While it was hard to judge at the distance, just from the oppressive feeling it had given her, she was quite sure that it would turn into a massacre, making her want to have some option to get away, if such a monster ever came by for tea and dinner.


    After a word of thanks to the guard, who eyed Keera with clear appreciation, they walked to the central house, where they had awoken and met the Doctor.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    ¡°Ah, you finally showed up. I thought you¡¯d been killed by some monster.¡± Mendar laughed when they entered, looking a little thinner than before and a little disheveled..


    Scarlet just looked him over before turning away, ignoring the stupid bait for what it was.


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry, we just took our time exploring and getting started on our harvesting here. I want to avoid going hungry or begging for alms from the Doctor.¡± Keera answered, looking very smug.


    Just as she finished, the Aida came from the back and greeted the two women.


    ¡°Good, there you are. Let me get the Doctor, now that you are all here, he will want to finish your orientation.¡± she said, before turning and walking into the back of the building.


    ¡°You explored. I¡¯m not sure if you are brave of foolish. I¡¯d rather learn more about the situation before stumbling into the unknown.¡± Mendar continued his taunting with a smirk.


    ¡°And what makes you think that anyone will give you information for which they have bled without remuneration?¡± Scarlet spoke up, getting a little annoyed by the obnoxious behaviour.


    ¡°They need everyone¡¯s contribution, so why wouldn¡¯t they want us to have as much information as possible?¡± he asked, still laughing.


    Scarlet suppressed the laugh that wanted to bubble up, wanting to scold the idiot for his foolishness. When had any human, ever, given away anything for free, if they could use it to their advantage?


    Instead she just shook her head, dismissing the fool, and focused on the door to the back, waiting for the doctor.


    Keera sat nearby, obviously enjoying the feeling of a soft sofa beneath her, after sitting on logs for the last few days.


    A few moments later, the Doctor entered, with Nedri and Aida on his heels, Nedri limping a little. The Doctor looked Keera and Scarlet over for a moment, before speaking.


    ¡°Good, you all survived. That means you are now full members of Albertina and can live inside the walls. As full members, you are expected to work for the good of the town, mostly by gathering monster crystals so we can fill our quota. If you don¡¯t fill your quota, there are measures to motivate you to do better the next month.¡±


    Scarlet decided to speak up, feeling a little antsy and caged within the house, as if the walls were closing in on her.


    ¡°Excuse me, Doctor, you mentioned before we left that we could exchange crystals for off-world goods. Is there a list of goods we can exchange for?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Sure, but just so you know, I obviously won¡¯t take your original crystal. You need that one to gather resources.¡± he answered, with a slight smile.


    ¡°Obviously. But we had five days, even without you, we should have been able to detect a monster or two, shouldn¡¯t we?¡± she remarked, trying to gauge his reaction on her statement that he had something to do with the acquisition of their original monsters. She thought that there was a short moment of surprise, but could not be sure.


    ¡°That depends, whether you stayed in the nearby area or ventured into unknown. Aida, get the supply-list, let¡¯s see what our two new girls have brought back.¡± the Doctor ordered and Aida left.


    ¡°Oh, and I have another question. Is there a limit to the crystal monsters? You¡¯ve shown me that video but how rare are such monsters?¡±


    ¡°Luckily, those with the size and power in that video are rare. You might have noticed that Crystal Monsters have a territorial instinct and they will attack if you violate that territory. Monsters such as those rarely travel and have their territory in the regions with high radiation, so you are advised to steer clear of them.¡± he explained, looking slightly haunted.


    ¡°I think we saw one, but from a great distance. It looked like a enormous bird and the air was a little hazy around it.¡± Scarlet revealed, hoping for more information.


    The Doctor twitched a little but otherwise kept his poker face.


    ¡°Well, rare doesn¡¯t mean that there are none. Hope that you don¡¯t see such a monster again, or at closer range. They truly deserve the title of monster.¡±


    Aida came back, carrying a sheet of paper that she handed the Doctor.


    ¡°Here it is, our current supply. You fulfilled your orientation, so you get ration bars for ten days, afterwards, you will have to exchange for more. If you want better food, you can exchange, if you want tools and such, exchange. Oh, Aida, please get the area map, so they can get orientated and know where the danger-zones are.¡± the Doctor added, sending Aida on another errand.


    ¡°But you asked for the list, the value of your crystals depends on their size and composition and we use a credit-system. You need twenty Credits each month for basic supply, more will get you additional comfort and such.¡±


    With that, the Doctor handed Scarlet the list and she started reading.

 Chapter 24

    Scarlet took the list from the Doctor and started reading. The entries started simple, with a ten-day box of ration bars for two credits, continued with survival gear, a tent for twenty credits or cookware for five and so on. But there were also more interesting things, like a map for ten and even training from more experienced harvesters that would show you the ropes.


    What she didn¡¯t know was what her two crystals would be worth, or if Keera would add her crystal to her two.


    ¡°Could you assess what these two are worth?¡± Scarlet asked, showing the Doctor the two crystals her monsters had drained.


    The Doctor, when seeing the two crystals, gave a wide smile, showing clear approval.


    ¡°Certainly.¡± he picked them up and gestured for Scarlet to follow, walking into the room with the large scanner. Scarlet followed after him and watched as he put them into another slot. The machine made a whirring noise for a moment and numbers started to appear on the screen.


    ¡°Not too shabby for orientation, I¡¯d value them at somewhere between two and three credits.¡± The Doctor explained and it caught Scarlet short. She wanted the survival cookware for five, meaning she either had to convince Keera to give her the single crystal she had, beg for credit from the Doctor or give away Crysna. None of those ideas appealed to her, so she stalled for time. He took the Crystals out and dried them before looking at Scarlet expectantly.


    ¡°Could you add this crystal¡¯s exact data to my scanner?¡± she asked, pulling Crysna¡¯s crystal from her pouch, seeing the Doctor¡¯s smile widen but there was also a sharp edge to his eyes.


    ¡°My, oh, my. You are either brave, lucky or stupid, I¡¯m not sure which. You can already control two crystals, impressive.¡± he took the crystal and placed it into the fluid bath and Scarlet placed her scanner in the receptacle, waiting for the machine to work again.


    ¡°Would you tell me why you are so eager to risk yourself?¡± the Doctor asked, looking intently at her. Scarlet felt as if she was under a microscope, her every motivation circumspect. It was not psionic, of that she was reasonably sure, but still, it set her on edge, convincing her that trying to bullshit, or prevaricate, as her instructor¡¯s had called it, the Doctor would be a bad idea. So, instead she went with the truth.


    ¡°I assume you¡¯ve read my file? If so, you know that I¡¯m here because of politics, I was attacked by a scion of an ultra-wealthy business-clan and defended myself. As a result, said scion¡¯s mind burned out, likely making her a vegetable permanently.¡± she explained and the Doctor nodded, but his gaze didn¡¯t soften in the least.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that, our files are quite sparse, but it doesn¡¯t matter. Even if it¡¯s a clear miscarriage of justice, the rules of Verdun apply to everyone equally. But go on.¡± he urged her to continue.


    ¡°Exactly. But I tell you that so you can understand my motivation. I didn¡¯t resist getting sexually assaulted just to be raped over and over again, on some inofficial prison-world. So, I need the strength to make such an undertaking requires the undertaker afterwards. It is quite likely that I will need to either kill someone or burn out their mind before I am left alone as I wish but if it is that or getting raped, well, now you know where I stand.¡± Scarlet explained, her voice steeled and her mind ready to pull a knife and jam it into the Doctor¡¯s chest, if it became necessary.


    For a tense moment, the Doctor examined her, until finally, his gaze softened a little. It wasn¡¯t enough to make Scarlet relax and when the machine next to her gave off a beep, she almost pulled a knife, she was that wound up.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ¡°While I won¡¯t claim that I know your fears, I can understand and empathise with them. And I know that nothing I can say or do will keep you as safe as you desire, so I¡¯ll just remind you that there is a thirty credits fine if you kill one of the normal workers. There has yet to be a serious fight between psions in town and I hope that doesn¡¯t change. Even the biggest fool should know better than to try raping a psion, what with emotions potentially boosting their powers to the extreme.¡± the Doctor had ignored Scarlet¡¯s twitch and was operating the machine, taking Crysna¡¯s crystal back out and drying it with a small cloth.


    ¡°Hand me your original crystal, that way the calibration gets better and you know how much power your monster gained.¡± he tod Scarlet.


    Again, the crystal was submerged in the liquid and Scarlet had a sudden idea.


    ¡°Doctor, you said that we¡¯d get ten days worth of Ration-bars for completing the orientation and according to the list, that¡¯s two credits. Could I use my two crystals and those two credits to trade for a survival cooking gear?¡± she asked, hoping for him to agree.


    Again, he looked her over with quite a bit of interest.


    ¡°Yes, I think we can do that. Not a normal thing, but hell, what¡¯s normal on this dirtball anyway.¡± the Doctor agreed and a little emotion about his situation shone through.


    Before Scarlet could thank the Doctor, the machine beeped again and Scarlet picked her crystal and scanner after a nod from the Doctor. Cyca seemed to have strengthened a little, even if it was rather minute.


    ¡°What does that mean?¡± she asked the Doctor, showing him the new numbers.


    ¡°These are the absorption-rates, the radiation-rate and a few other metrics that crystal monsters seem to have in common. We tried to get a rough classification-system and noticed that there seem to be thresholds that trigger a macro-change in your monster, a sudden evolution, if you will. Once they evolve, they get quite the boost in power, sometimes gaining quite interesting new abilities, you¡¯ve seen them, right?¡± he asked, waiting for Scarlet to nod before continuing.


    ¡°Sadly, these thresholds seem to be specific to each type and there are hundreds, maybe thousands of types, with every monster of a type having a slight variation. Nearby, for example, there are mostly rat-type, a few squirrel-types and bird-types as the majority. There are a few others, like your cat-type, that are rare, so count yourself lucky.


    ¡°Anyway, the more you calibrate your scanner, the better our data gets and maybe, we¡¯ll be able to fully understand crystal monsters at some point. That understanding might enable us to make significant contributions to the Federation, to the point that we will not only be freed but be freed and rich.¡± For a moment, the Doctor¡¯s eyes shone with desire, making his motivation quite clear.


    Hearing him, Scarlet wondered about her earlier suspicions that the prisoners were actually not allowed to leave Verdun at the nominal end of their sentence. Hearing the Doctor, there were two ways to interpret it, either she was right and the Doctor knew that they were stuck until they had something that the Federation desired enough to allow them to bargain or she was wrong and the Doctor had been given a sentence long enough to make waiting it out unfeasible.


    Either was possible, but the second seemed less likely, she doubted that the Federation would leave someone with such a sentence in charge, even on a dog-eats-dog world like Verdun.


    ¡°Interesting. I¡¯ll make sure to bring my crystals every so often, that evolution-thing sounds useful. Could you tell me more about the special abilities, I¡¯ll guess those vines your tree-monster used when helping me were one of those and the earth-moving that the badger-monster used to bury the guy you killed for mouthing off. How do they work?¡± Scarlet asked, fishing for knowledge without giving anything away.


    ¡°Good question. My current conclusion is that the monsters have different energies within them, the first is the one that keeps them active and depletes due to attacks until they can¡¯t stay manifested any longer and become easy prey.


    ¡°Then there is the energy they absorb when devouring other monsters, from what I¡¯ve seen, it is not the same but there are some correlations.


    ¡°And finally, the one that they use to fuel those abilities, even if I have no idea how they work.There is a correlation to the second one that they absorb but not to the first one. Otherwise, I have honestly no idea how the abilities work, only that some monsters learn them, seemingly on their own, and that they greatly vary in power and effectiveness, depending on your monster and their target.¡± The Doctor explained before gesturing for Scarlet to follow him as he left the room.


    While the explanation in itself made sense, somehow, it left Scarlet with more questions than answers.

 Chapter 25

    The Doctor and Scarlet came back into the main-room, where the other three newcomers an Aida were waiting for them. Aida handed the Doctor a folded-up paper and stepped back, out of the way. The Doctor moved to the nearby table and spread the map out, gesturing for everyone to gather around.


    The map was clearly made from orbital images, with some guesswork thrown in when necessary but it gave a great overview of the region.


    ¡°This here, is Albertina.¡± the Doctor pointed to a small sign roughly in the middle of the map. To Scarlet, it looked as if the town as in a huge, forested plain between two mountain ranges. The mountains were quite far away from Albertina, roughly three-quarters of the way to the edge, and the terrain remained forested until it became rocky, making Scarlet guess that it was the tree-line. She had no idea at what altitude it was on Verdun, but it seemed that the mountains were quite high.


    ¡°Over here, this is the river outside the door, we mostly call it the Alb and it flows from the mountains north of us, meandering through the area until it joins with another, larger river flowing west until it reaches the sea. That¡¯s about five-hundred kilometers away, just for scale.¡±


    Scarlet¡¯s eyes followed the river north, to the edge of the map, curious what was beyond it. A quick glance to the scale told her that, if she wanted to find out, it wouldn¡¯t be easy, the edge of the map was about one-hundred and fifty kilometers away. Judging by the angle of the two mountain ranges, they would soon after join together into one.


    From the mountains on the side, more rivers and streams led out, most of them joining the Alb, as the Doctor had called the river, downriver from Albertina.


    ¡°Now, for some reason, we don¡¯t really know why, the radiation in most of the valley is relatively low, with Albertina built roughly at the lowest point. To stay safe while out there, try to stay in the area until you found your legs and have become more powerful. As long as the scanner shows green you should be fine and even in the yellow areas you can work if you are careful.¡±


    While we need you to pull your weight, it would be regrettable if you died, especially after I had to dispose of one newcomer already. Take your time to gather crystals, don¡¯t rush in and perish. If worst comes to worst, there might be options to make up for lacking crystals, when payment is due.¡± The Doctor explained, strengthening Scarlet¡¯s resolve. She had no desire to find out what other options there might be, it sounded reasonable but she suspected that it would be a proverbial deal with the devil.


    ¡°Obviously, there are other groups and individuals out there, I would suggest you steer clear of them, not just because that way you cover more ground but also because some of them are a little¡­ rough. Here in Albertina, we can mostly keep order, out there, things might be different.¡± The Doctor continued.


    Scarlet had to suppress a groan when the Doctor indirectly confirmed her suspicions, driving home the point that trusting anyone would be foolish. Unless she had the ability to, at least, assure her own survival getting closer to anyone, even Keera, might be foolish. What if, as soon as Keera had the tools to survive without her help, she would see Scarlet as a target, ready to be taken down in the night, for her crystals?


    Studying the map, she tried to burn it into her mind, especially the small signs that showed locally high levels of radiation. Not that it would be truly helpful, without some sort of landmark it was difficult to pinpoint ones location and knowing that a particular high radiation-area was two-hundred-fifty-seven point eight kilometers away from Albertina, if heading into a direction that was fifty-three point two degrees off north was only as useful as the ability to locate that location on the ground. Meaning, it was useless. She had read about using stars to navigate, something that had apparently worked out fine in ancient times, navigating the oceans, but there were a few problems. One was that she wouldn¡¯t be on the ocean, but in the forest, reducing the amount of sky one had to navigate with. But the bigger problem was that, even if she had all the sky at her disposal, she had no idea how to navigate using the stars or the tools to help with it. For now, she would have to slowly build her knowledge of the area, likely by careful exploration and learn the landmarks.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    It was not unlikely that someone would sell the information she needed but that would require her to gather more crystals to pay that person and it would require her to rely on information from another to guarantee her safety. Even trusting the Doctor was a risk but at the end of the day, it was a necessary risk. He had shown nothing but benevolence to her and clearly demonstrated that, if he needed to take another out, he would do so, without trying tricky schemes with fake information.


    ¡°That should be enough. If you want to buy a copy of the map, you¡¯ll have to pay for it using crystals. Aida, why don¡¯t you show our newcomers to the barracks and give them their box of ration bars? Scarlet, stay for a moment, please.¡± The Doctor ordered, softening the order just a little for Scarlet, but it was clearly an order.


    ¡°Yes, Doctor. Just a moment.¡± Aida addressed the three that were supposed to follow her, before walking into another room deeper in the building, coming back with four packs of ration bars, handing one to each of the Newcomers.


    ¡°Now, follow me.¡± she told the three newcomers and left the building, without looking back.


    Scarlet held onto the box she had been given, until the room had only the two of them in it, before handing it back to the Doctor.


    ¡°Here, as agreed upon, I want to trade.¡± Scarlet told the Doctor, eliciting a slight grin.


    ¡°Of course. Follow me.¡± he told her and walked deeper into his building, passing the rooms Scarlet had already seen and through another door that he opened with a key. The door seemed to be quite solid and inside, Scarlet was able to understand why. There were shelves filled with items, some of them packed into boxes, others just standing in the open.


    It was as if a luxury store had collided with a survival shop, on one shelf were bottles filled with liquor, at least that was what the labels said, on another were small baggies filled with powders and strange crushed leaves, next to a strange assembly of glass tubes that looked like it should be in a chemistry-lab, pipes and papers. On the other side of the room were tools made out of shining steel, next to canvas-tents, well-made bottles, sturdy backpacks, better shoes, everything one would want to use in the wild.


    Looking around, Scarlet tried to make sense of what she was seeing, looking for a common trend but other than what she had first noticed, there seemed to be none.


    ¡°Everything one needs to make life on Verdun bearable. As a friendly advice, stay away from the drugs. They will make you feel good, no doubt, and they are great to motivate those fools who are addicted to gather more crystals so they can get their fix but in the long run, they will kill you. Either directly, at least the harder stuff, or you overexert yourself and die out there. I have plans for you that don¡¯t involve using an addiction to control you.¡± The Doctor warned her, while grabbing a set of survival cookware from a shelf. He even added a spoon, fork and knife-set, handing both to Scarlet who gave the two crystals in trade, knowing that he had given away something for free.


    That made her almost as uncomfortable as him talking about his plans for her, those could be positive for her or not. She had assumed that he had plans for everyone, even if only very rough ones. Nobody kept power over a community like Albertina without making plans and controlling for chance. Trying to go against the Doctor, at least openly, was a surefire way to end up six feet under, next to the latrines, an area Scarlet didn¡¯t want to visit, so she simply smiled the sweetest smile she could muster and thanked him for the items, before bidding him farewell, turning around and leaving, hiding the unease she felt when he talked about his plans and controlling her.


    Keeping her movements steady, she left the building in a smooth, unhurried manner, knowing that showing weakness was a bad idea. Those around her were predators and she had to make sure that everyone saw her as another predator, not prey.

 Chapter 26

    Outside, back in the sun, Scarlet felt herself calm some more, as if she had just left the den of a vicious beast. She wasn¡¯t quite sure why she had been so disturbed by the Doctor¡¯s talk, it wasn¡¯t as if he was the first who wanted her in a specific role, maybe gaining his patronage and protection would even be the best for her. But it disturbed her and if there was one thing she had learned on the streets, it was to trust her instincts.


    Looking around, she noticed Keera standing together with the gate-guard, smiling and talking. Just in the short moment she was watching, Keera moved closer to him, putting her hand on his chest, the very picture of a flirting woman. Slightly shaking her head, she understood that Keera was planning to use the next few days in town to establish herself, using whatever means necessary to get a position for her, even if it was on her knees or back. It was the one thing Scarlet had always avoided, even if she wasn¡¯t quite sure why. It was the one thing she had never done, even when she had been forced to beg or, more often, steal, she had never resorted to that. Looking back, she knew that she was more willing to murder than to let anyone have their way with her.


    ¡°There you are. Come, I¡¯ll show you where you can sleep.¡± Aida¡¯s voice spoke up behind Scarlet, causing her to quickly turn and internally curse, she had been too distracted by her thoughts and failed in her vigilance. Luckily, it was only the Doctor¡¯s assistant and not someone with a knife destined for her back.


    ¡°Sure, thanks.¡± Scarlet answered, forcing a smile and her mind into a vigilant state so nobody would be able to sneak up on her.


    ¡°Your friend seems to have found someone else to flirt with.¡± Aida said with a soft snort, causing Scarlet to raise an eyebrow in question.


    ¡°Oh, she tried it with me the first day. Did she never try her moves on you?¡± Aida continued, almost causing Scarlet to stumble. Just remembering what she had done to keep Keera off balance and in her place, made it a necessity to clamp down on her embarrassment, or she would have blushed bright red.


    ¡°No, she never did. Maybe I¡¯m just not pretty enough.¡± Scarlet allowed, trying to laugh it off.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that¡¯s not it, Sweety.¡± Aida answered, with a smile, her tongue darting out to softly lick her lips. Now, Scarlet did stumble and blushed brightly red.


    ¡°Don¡¯t joke with me, please. You said you¡¯d show me where to sleep?¡± Scarlet managed to keep her voice steady as she admonished Aida.


    It was not something she wanted to even think about. Letting people in, letting them that close to you, it was not healthy. Even if she was able to dominate a normal person like Aida, turning her into nothing more than a puppet, unless she was certain it wouldn¡¯t get her killed by an enraged Doctor, she wouldn¡¯t risk it.


    ¡°You are a shy one? Fine, fine, don¡¯t get your underwear in a twist.¡± Aida smirked and they continued on in silence.


    Scarlet looked around, noticing that there were two types of buildings, one were modern looking, prefabricated buildings that looked incredibly uniform, as if they were all built from the same mold, using duracrete, glass and plasteel, and the other were¡­ not. The second type of buildings were all unique in their construction, the only commonality was that they were all built out of wood, rock and some glass. It made her curious, obviously, those buildings were not built by the Federation or by their orders, so who lived there. Breaking the silence, she asked Aida.


    ¡°Those? Once you established yourself, you¡¯ll probably leave the barracks. That means you want something for yourself, especially for the guys that¡¯s true, they use the combination of having their own building and a promise of protection to lure one of the girls into a relationship. The rest of the normal girls, without a protector, have banded together, protecting each other as best as they can. I told you before, there are not too many females here on Verdun, so there is some competition between the guys, competing who¡¯s the top dog. But they are all dogs.¡± Aida explained and Scarlet noticed some anger in her voice.


    Scarlet understood, it was a transaction as old as humanity itself. And not one she would ever voluntarily take part in, at least not as commodity.


    ¡°Here, there we are.¡± Aida announced, opening one of the larger prefabbed buildings and gesturing for Scarlet to enter. Inside was a long hallway, a box similar to a mailbox on the wall to their right. Down the hallway, was a multitude of doors and on each door was a small box.


    Aida reached into the large box, pulling a sheet of paper out. Scarlet could make out a list of sorts, but not more, due to her position and the dim light in the hallway. Aida grumbled for a moment, before pulling a pencil from her pocket and writing on the sheet.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    ¡°Great, we¡¯ve got you a room. The rooms are numbered one to twelve, even numbers on your left, odd numbers on your right. You¡¯ll sleep in room seven, there was an opening. If you are interested, Keera is in room four, I prefer to spread the psions out, just in case.¡± Aida explained, even if she failed to say in case of what. Scarlet had a pretty good idea, it was in case of attack, either of two-legged foes or many-legged foes from outside the walls.


    Aida went ahead, to the fourth door on the right side, opening it and letting Scarlet witness her new, official quarters. Not that she was planning to spend a lot of time here, but it was where she would sleep when in town.


    The room was empty, apart from the furniture. There were five bunk beds, one on the far side, between two windows, and two each on either side. On one end of each bunk bed was a closet, each with two doors. All but one of the closet-doors were closed and all but one mattresses had some bedding on them. The one exception was the upper mattress between the windows, making it quite obvious where Scarlet would be expected to sleep.


    ¡°If you want, you can take a load off and I¡¯ll introduce you to one of your dorm-mates.¡± Aida told her, grabbing a sheet of paper from the box outside, one that was looking similar to the one in the first box. Again, she read for a moment, mumbling to herself.


    ¡°Ah, yes, there it is. Come, I¡¯ll introduce you to Butch.¡± Aida said, a smirk back on her face. Scarlet was wondering what was going on in the others mind.


    ¡°Come, come, you¡¯ll want to meet her, right?¡± Aida gently grabbed her hand when Scarlet made no move to put her pack down and pulled her out of the room and even the building. Once they were back outside, Aida let her hand drop waiting for Scarlet to move beside her.


    ¡°Butch is currently on laundry duty, that means she¡¯s at the river. We¡¯ll have to go outside, but that shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± Aida announced, quickly walking to another part of town that Scarlet had not seen yet, until they got to another gate. Only this one was open, with a guard standing slightly outside of it. He, as the Doctor and the guard at the other gate, had a belt-pouch that Scarlet started to associate with Psions. Reflexively, she looked for the telltale signals and quickly found them. The guard was no powerhouse but he wasn¡¯t a slouch. He gave a friendly smile and nod to Aida, before a measuring gaze settled on Scarlet.


    ¡°That¡¯s one of the Newcomers?¡± he asked, looking at Aida.


    ¡°Why, yes. Dale, meet Scarlet. I was just about to introduce her to Butch, the two of them will room together.¡± Aida explained, causing a surprised expression to settle on Dale¡¯s face, if only for a moment.


    ¡°Are you sure¡­?¡± he started, only to be cut off by Aida.


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m sure, it¡¯s a great idea.¡± Aida explained, the smirk back on her face. Dale just shrugged, causing Scarlet to wonder what the deal was, as there clearly was one.


    Outside town, Scarlet was able to see the fields, row after row of plants, with men walking around everywhere. It looked almost like some old documentary from earth, but there were no beasts of burden or technology visible. Just manual laborers, toiling with their hand and body, using quality versions of primitive tools. A bit apart, next to the river, was another group of people, standing at the water, causing suds to float downwards.


    ¡°As a general rule, you want to go to the middle part of the river to wash yourself, or to the small channel inside the walls. To get drinking water, better go upstream of town. If you piss or shit into the water upstream and near town, expect to get lynched. Simple rules, really. Just remember that the river is our main water source and if you or anyone soils it, the town might just die.¡± Aida explained while walking towards the washing people, looking around every now and then. Scarlet mirrored her vigilance and noticed that quite a few guys stopped to point, but she wasn¡¯t sure if they were pointing at her or Aida.


    Soon, they were at the river and Aida called out to someone. ¡°Butch? There you are Butch.¡± she said, her smirk back in full force.


    Butch, the, likely, woman she was walking towards, looked up and Scarlet instantly understood where the name came from. She was easily as tall as Keera, maybe even taller, standing almost two meters tall and looked, in a single word, mean. She reminded Scarlet of a few of the female gang-members she had seen while living on the streets, not the dolls that some of them kept around for other things but those that had gotten their place in the gang the old-fashioned way. While Keera looked to have more muscles, that Butch-woman looked like she knew her way in a streetfight and Scarlet would have placed almost any bet that she had at least one knife hidden on her person.


    ¡°Aida?! What do you want?¡± The woman asked, her voice curiously controlled, making Scarlet wonder what emotion she was forcing down.


    ¡°Why, I wanted you to meet your newest roommate. Meet Scarlet, she came here just five days ago, so tonight is her first night in town. When I saw that the room you live in had an opening, I just had to put her there.¡± Aida explained, her smirk getting deeper.


    For a moment, the woman¡¯s eyes stuck to Aida before scanning over Scarlet, her eyebrows rising just a little when passing her middle.


    ¡°Well, hello, I guess. Gotta go back to work.¡± she explained, not letting Scarlet get a word in. Aida frowned for a moment, before turning back to Scarlet.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go back to town. Want to join me?¡± she asked, her face showing a bit of disappointment


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so. If Keera, or anyone, asks, I¡¯m back out there, probably back in a week or so.¡± Scarlet announced, before starting off, this time walking south instead of north. Going without Keera was a risk but also an opportunity to get some power that nobody knew about. It might be the difference between living and dying, if it ever came to that.

 Chapter 27

    Walking off, Scarlet heard a soft snicker behind her, coming from one of the people washing in the river. She ignored it, knowing that there was no point, she had ground to cover before it got dark. Staying too close to town was not on her list to do. Before she entered the forest, she noticed that there were two males standing guard, looking outwards to the forest and having their hands on belt-pouches. Once she was on the clear area between the fields and the forest, she pulled Cyca¡¯s crystal, letting it drop and her cat bounce out, allowing her to roam a little. Scarlet knew that she¡¯d have to push herself if she wanted a permanent monster out and protection during her sleep-cycle was even harder but compared to staying in town, she felt safer out in the wild.


    In town, she couldn¡¯t ever be sure of the others intentions, the Aida¡¯s strange behaviour had driven that home. There had been some sort of agenda in introducing her to Butch, what agenda that was, she didn¡¯t know, but now that she was thinking about it, it was a little strange that Aida had taken the time to introduce her, even if it was quite obvious that she hadn¡¯t done so with Keera or one of the guys, just judging from the timing. She would have to find out what was going on there, but she doubted it would give her a real advantage.


    Entering the forest, she let herself relax and spread her mind, scanning her surroundings and hiding her presence. The itching feeling between her shoulders slowly receded, allowing her to breathe freely. Even her connection with Cyca feeled easier, taking less power to keep her under control, maybe because there was no other human in the area. Staying near the water, Scarlet decided that speed was more important than stealth, at least for now, trusting her power to keep her safe if a crystal monster attacked her. This close to town, there shouldn¡¯t be any powerful monsters.


    In a light jog, Cyca and Scarlet headed south, keeping their senses open and ready to fight. They continued on, until they reached another, smaller, stream that joined together with the Alb from the east, cutting off her path. Above the joining, the Alb was quite wide, almost thirty meters, wider than at any point Scarlet had seen before, giving her an idea.


    Softly speaking to herself and Cyca, she weighted her options.


    ¡°You know, I think we should move to the other side of the Alb. I¡¯ll get wet anyway and I think it would be good. I¡¯d love to move to the higher ground there.¡± she muttered.


    Cyca gave a clearly disproving hiss, so Scarlet continued.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t get wet. You can either ride on my shoulder, or, maybe better, retreat into your crystal and Crysna can join me. He likes the water, unlike you.¡± she told her cat with a grin. Cyca seemed not too happy about that and jumped into her arms. Scarlet gave her scritches to placate the cat, causing happy purrs to come out. After a minute or five, she finally decided that she wanted to move on, so she pressed a soft kiss onto Cyca¡¯s head and gently pushed her back into her crystal. She dissolved and Scarlet placed the crystal back into her pouch, pulling Crysna out.


    Her snake-companion came out a meter away from her, after she gently tossed the crystal and the first thing she felt was a difference in resistance. Crysna was far less agitated about her mental domination, as if he was allowing it. She had grown more accustomed to him and he to her, but still, the difference was palpable.


    ¡°So, Crysna, have you settled in?¡± she asked, not quite expecting an answer. The snake slithered towards her and used her leg to climb up her body, placing his head onto her shoulder and looking into her eyes. There seemed to be something akin to acceptance but it might have just been her projection. Nonetheless, she softly let her fingers run down his scales, feeling the smooth coolness of them under her fingertips. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    ¡°Crysna, could you find out how deep the water is?¡± Scarlet asked, while adding a mental directive, ordering her snake to go swimming. She wanted to know if she could wade through the river or if it was too deep to do that.


    He let his tongue slip out for a second, as if sticking it out at her, before letting himself drop down, quickly slithering over the ground and into the water. Scarlet was able to follow his advance thanks to their mental connection and only moments later, she was able to see that the water was neither too deep nor too turbulent, making it easy to cross. She would get wet, that was for certain, but she felt it wasn¡¯t a problem.


    She started stripping off and let Crysna have a little more freedom, allowing him to do as he pleased, as long as he didn¡¯t move too far away. She kept a mental eye on him and had to giggle at his antics. He was chasing the various animals a little, not maliciously, not even trying to hurt them, but he seemed to delight moving stealthily next to the fish that were idling in the water, only to suddenly poke them into the side, startling them into frenzied action. It was then that Scarlet understood why in his part of the river had been no fish, who would want to live next to a mischievous snake?


    She wrapped her clothes together and put them into her backpack, placing it on top of her hand and holding it with one hand there, while carefully stepping down into the water. It wasn¡¯t cold, more a cool, pleasantly chilling sensation after her quick jog away from town. She called Crysna to her side, hoping to use the water-dwelling monster to her advantage, if she lost her footing. It would be rather annoying if her pack would fall and get wet, so she carefully placed one foot after the other, as she made her way across. There were a few rocks that shifted a little, but altogether, the crossing was easy.


    When she got to the other side, she decided to wash herself, taking advantage of the fact that she was already in the water and needed to dry off anyway. After tossing her pack out, she went under, feeling Crysna swim circles around her giving off a feeling of happyness to have her in his element. She let herself relax, playing with him a little, he darting around her, and she bopping him on the nose when he darted at her. It was fun, not wondering who would stick a knife into her back the moment it was turned. A small part of her mind called it an illusion, that, if her control ever faltered, Crysna would happily take her down but she ignored that part. She was having fun, she could laugh without being judged, she didn¡¯t need to fulfill anyone¡¯s expectations. The only thing she needed to do was find food, which shouldn¡¯t be a problem and even if she didn¡¯t she had her ration bars. Not that she fancied them, but she had them, if needed.


    Her revelry was suddenly ended when she felt a psionic scan barely wash over her, coming from the south-east. She was quite sure that the scanning psion was still some distance away but it meant that she might have been found, or possibly Crysna. She doubted that anyone would let a crystal monster in the area get away, so she quickly left the water, calling Crysna after her.


    Cloaking herself as best as she could, she ordered Crysna back into his crystal, using a little more force than with Cyca before, grabbed the crystal in one hand and her pack in the other and took off, moving deeper into the woods, using them to hide herself.


    The bushes scratched her naked body and the uneven ground hurt her feet but she wanted to get some distance between herself and the other humans. There were more scanning pulses now, coming every minute or so, driving her onwards. She was reasonably certain that they were unable to get a clear reading, not with the powerlevel she was feeling, the distance she was estimating and her cloaking in place. It was only the first pulse that made her wonder, but there was nothing she could do about it.


    She had run for maybe ten minutes when she stumbled into a clearing. Her feet were telling her to stop for a bit, put on shoes and clothes, before continuing in another direction. It was a good idea, so she wrung out her hair and started to pull on her clothes, her run having shaken off most of the water. There were a few bleeding scratches but they were only superficial, so she simply ignored them.


    As soon as she had her shoes on, she turned south, continuing onwards, hopefully passing the scanning psion without them getting curious and crossing the Alb. She debated to send out a pulse herself but decided not to. The Doctor had said that humans avoided one another but if they had detected her with the first pulse, pulsing now, as if to acknowledge might be seen as weakness. So, she kept cloaking and hiding herself as she moved further south.

 Chapter 28

    Scarlet had been walking for some time, maybe half an hour, when she felt comfortable stopping and orienting herself. She hadn¡¯t felt the pulses for ten minutes and felt them go past her even earlier. Now, she just needed to know where she was. The pulses and the sun had helped her to roughly keep her direction, but that only meant that she had the vaguest idea where she was, not where to go or how to get there.


    After a few minutes remembering the map she had seen, she decided to continue her way south, until she came upon another stream flowing down from the western mountains. That way, she¡¯d just have to follow that stream, first back west, towards the mountains, and afterwards back east, until she reached the Alb and then following the Alb back north, until she got to Albertina.


    Nodding to herself, she let herself relax a little and started to spread her awareness, which she had contained within herself to hide, feeling the area around her. In addition, she pulled her scanner and checked the radiation, grinning when the reading was already at the boundary between green and yellow. She wanted to take down as many crystal monsters as she could, not just to pay her dues, without needing whatever ¡®other options¡¯ the Doctor had in mind, but also to strengthen Crysan and Cyca.


    With the higher danger-level in mind, she let Cyca¡¯s crystal drop, letting her cat accompany her. Cyca seemed happy to be out again, making Scarlet, once again, curious what circumstances had led to the existence of the crystal monsters. There seemed to be no natural explanation, so clearly, she needed more information.


    For now, she continued on her path south, looking for food to be harvested and crystal monsters to be slain. She perked up when she noticed more of the deliciously sharp vegetables she had eaten before, ready to be harvested. Digging them out, without the advantage of a shovel or Keera¡¯s crystal monster was annoying but after some digging, she had enough of the roots to last her a few days, if she added something else to the food. Maybe some fish, cooked in her new cookware, into some sort of stew. The spiciness should work great for something like that, she thought, licking her lips.


    Her smile turned vicious when she realised that either her or Cyca¡¯s presence had drawn a crystal monster to them. For a moment, she wondered if she should look into using that effect, if she could understand it, to draw enemies to her, like moths to a flame. But that would have to wait, the monster was almost upon them.


    Cyca went into higher alert and Scarlet tried to add her own sensory impressions to the link they had, so that Cyca had access to them, eliminating blind spots thanks to a second viewpoint. If it worked like that, she didn¡¯t know, but was quite sure that it would help.


    Scarlet had to suppress a giggle when she realised just what was attacking them, it was another one of the stupid rat-type crystal monsters. She felt Cyca ready herself, when the monster burst from the bushes. Seeing it, she noticed that it was a little bigger than the ones she had seen before and there was a feeling of strength coming back from Cyca.


    With a leap, it tried to go for Cyca, its mouth opening impossibly wide, far wider than a jaw should allow, and there was a strange, darkish glow around the teeth. Cyca had long since been prepared to dodge, easily avoiding the attack and, while in the air, she used her electric attack, the lightning bolt slamming into the rat¡¯s back. Golden lightning cascaded around its body, most of it grounding into the earth, but some sparks remained.


    The rat seemed to be shaken, or maybe, shocked would be a better word but not defeated. Cyca landed against a tree, pushing off to attack again, while the rat was stumbling. This time, Cyca went for the direct attack, her claws elongating in order to rip into the other crystal monster. The rat tried to dodge, but its movement was still jerky and uncoordinated, allowing Cyca¡¯s attack to land right in its side. The glowing claws seemed to simply go through it, causing flickering in its form.


    As the attack landed, the rat tried to use its own claws to strike back and the two monsters stuck next to each other, clawing at the others form with frantic abandon.


    Scarlet wanted to intervene, but she knew that there was little she could do, trying to attack the rat with her mind would only cause Cyca trouble, so she kept back, only giving Cyca directives if she noticed something that her monster wouldn¡¯t see, due to the perspective.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    The clawing furball lasted only for a few moments, until the rat dissolved into sparks of light, which Cyca happily absorbed. Scarlet felt Cyca perk up, exhausted but satisfied. It dawned upon Scarlet that she¡¯d have to be careful with her visual assessment, the rat they had just fought had clearly been stronger than the one they had fought on their first day, or the rat Keera had fought. That meant that wild crystal monsters also got stronger, just like the Doctor had described for the monsters she controlled.


    Feeling that she should check Cyca, she made her go back into her crystalline form, before picking both crystals up, the one containing Cyca and the one that was now empty of consciousness. The rat¡¯s crystal was almost completely clear, with barely any impurities in it. What little there was, gave the crystal a smoky hue, making it quite pretty. But at the end of the day, how pretty it was didn¡¯t matter, just how many credits the Doctor would spit out for it.


    Putting Cyca¡¯s crystal in front of the scanner, just as she had been shown, gave her a little better impression of her status. The scanner showed that her overall-power, had risen some, but in turn, the power she used to manifest herself was greatly depleted, only about half remaining.


    Scarlet made a note that, if she needed to fight again, she would use Crysna. Not that she thought there would be a second fight, she planned to remain in the area and doubted that there was another crystal monster nearby. It would go against what she had seen before.


    Placing Cyca in her pouch and letting Crysna out, even allowing the snake to wind around her left arm and be carried that way, she continued on, looking for a good camping spot for the night. She had enough water for the night and was sure she would find more the next day so she was not too fuzzy. When she noticed a burrow, possibly rabbit, she directed Crysna into it, letting the snake do his thing. The sensations were a little strange, the snake was not fully adapt at hunting below ground, but Scarlet¡¯s connection to it allowed her to keep him calm and add direction and encouragement. When he came upon a rabbit, it was already shaking in terror, forced into a corner. Crysna slithered forward, almost gently biting through its neck, letting the blood spill into the earth. Dragging the corpse out was more difficult, but again, with encouragement and time, it worked.


    Once she had the dead rabbit in hand, Scarlet quickly cleaned it, placing the useable meat in her new cookware before continuing. She had no need for the fur or guts, so she simply left them for another predator. Her thinking was that, if she left them here, out in the open, a predator might be already fed and no longer in the mood to look further and not run into her camp. And burying the waste seemed to be pointless and exhausting.


    She continued her way, until she noticed a huge tree, reaching into the sky. Seeing it, she decided that she had her spot. Not only was the space around the tree free of bushes and nicely dry, the tree added nice shelter. Using a branch like a broom, she cleared some of the ground, cursing under her breath that she was lacking a shovel to dig a fire pit, but soon, she had an area free of debris. For the next half hour, she carried rocks over, lining the cleared area with them and added dry wood. Lighting it on fire was easily done, the thin wood and dried moss quickly catching fire and burning merrily.


    Once the fire was burning, she added some bigger wood, with Crysna looking on from a few meters away.


    While softly speaking to Crysna, or maybe herself, Scarlet made dinner, rabbit-stew with the strange roots, the taste not going as well together as the combination of fish and the roots, but it tasted good.


    Once she had eaten, she felt a little hot from the spicy food and sitting at the fire, so she decided that the night was warm enough and she didn¡¯t need the risk to burn down the forest due to her carelessness. Moving back, she directed Crysna to gently use her water attack, putting out the flames. Her monster seemed almost gleeful, rearing back and soaking the fire, causing it to smoke, splutter and vanish within moments.


    Once it was done, Scarlet noticed that she had been lucky that whatever the substance that Crysna was using was, it seemed to put out fires like water would. Maybe not quite as good, it seemed to absorb less heat due to vanishing on its own, but it had worked.


    Looking up, into the darkening sky that showed between the large tree and the surrounding forest, she decided that she needed to think of a way to keep herself safe during the night. Thinking for a moment, she decided that the easiest way would be to climb into the tree and sleep between the branches.


    Climbing the tree was surprisingly easy, the bark was split and gnarled in places, giving easy hand-holds and within moments, she was up in the crown, quickly finding wide crotches that would easily let her rest, without a risk of falling. She wedged her sleeping back between them, so that she couldn¡¯t fall, no matter what, and called Crysna into his crystal, placing it into her pouch. Before sleeping, she placed Cyca¡¯s crystal in front of the scanner again, happily seeing that the manifestation-energy was back up.


    After that, she went to sleep with Cyca¡¯s crystal clutched to her chest, knowing that having it handy might be the difference between life and death.

 Chapter 29

    Scarlet was startled back to wakefulness, not quite knowing where, who or why she was. Even just the concept of thinking needed a moment to emerge in her head but the process of waking was greatly sped up when there was a snuffling sound below her, combined with some scuffing.


    Keeping very still, she let her awareness out, covertly feeling out her surroundings. Below her, on the ground, were animals, she couldn¡¯t quite tell what kind of animal, only that they were moving around and that they were hungry. Careful mental probing made it clear that those were not crystal monsters, but normal animals. She was quite grateful for that, the idea to face a good dozen monsters at the same time was not a pleasant one. Sure, the Doctor had told her that crystal monsters were generally territorial but there had to be exceptions.


    She let out a sigh of relief when she was quite sure that the animals below made no attempt to climb the tree and decided that letting Cyca out for her night vision capabilities was a reasonable risk to take. She pulled herself into a sitting position and placed the crystal on her lap before relaxing the control, letting Cyca emerge. The moment she did and their minds linked in the more direct fashion, the world changed. Gone was the pre-dawn blackness, replaced with a grey scaled view of the world. The resolution was quite bad and she couldn¡¯t see as much, but it allowed her to follow Cyca¡¯s vision.


    Reaching with her mind and quietly speaking, she explained her problem.


    ¡°There¡¯s something down there, can you show me?¡± she asked, transmitting the idea via their link.


    Cyca hopped from her lap and Scarlet closed her eyes, focusing only on the sensation coming from Cyca. Cyca hopped over to another branch, looking down and Scarlet saw a group of hogs milling around the tree and investigating the remains of her fire. The image made her smile, not because hogs were harmless but because she was quite certain that, no matter what they did, they had no chance to either climb the tree she was on or bring it down. Up, in the branches, she was safe.


    Suddenly, there was a bright light, burning through her eyelids and into her eyes. The surprise caused her to blink and keep blinking, to clear the flecks before her eyes. Below her, there were squeals and panicked sounds, making her curious.


    It took a moment, but the fact that she had her eyes closed in the initial flash, helped a great deal. Looking around, her surroundings were illuminated, not quite as bright as day but almost. The source of the sudden brightness was Cyca, or rather her two tails, between which arcs of golden light flashed, connecting them and forcing back the darkness. The light allowed her to look down with her own eyes and watch the boars flee. A wicked smile spread over her face, thinking of having bacon for breakfast.


    ¡°Can you electrocute one of them?¡± she asked Cyca, adding the mental question to it. Not quite a directive, she didn¡¯t want to order it, if there was no chance of success.


    Cyca seemed to think so and for a moment, the arcs between her tail grew stronger, until a bolt of lightning shot out, striking one of the smaller pigs, in the back of the sounder. The bright discharge and followed darkness caused both Scarlet and Cyca to lose their night vision and Scarlet had no desire to climb down there, not knowing if the boar was dead or just waiting for her, to go hog wild.


    She felt through her connection to Cyca and noticed that there was a bit of lethargy, telling her that while Cyca could attack a few more times, it would leave her drained. Thinking for a moment, she asked for more light and Cyca obeyed, again causing lightning to spark between her tails and driving back the darkness.


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    Looking down, Scarlet was a little disappointed, there was no crispy bacon waiting for her, the boar seemed to have managed to get away, despite the attack. There were some strange marks on the ground, hinting that the pig had fallen at first but gotten back up but at the end of the day, or the start, if one wanted to be literal, it didn¡¯t really matter.


    Pushing the problem out of her mind, she sent Cyca back into her crystal and stretched out as best as possible, trying to get some more sleep. She dozed off a little, until the sun got back into the sky, tickling her nose through the tree she was sleeping in. Stretching as best as she could in the tree, she worked out the kinks in her muscles.


    Before climbing down, she let Cyca out and down, using her senses to make sure that nothing was waiting for her. The area still smelled of pig, choking off Cyca¡¯s sense of smell but looking around a little, there was no danger so Scarlet climbed down. Thinking for a moment, she decided to eat the rest of dinner cold, not bothering to make a fire to heat it up. Her stew was still quite tasty and soon, she was back on her way, further south. Part of her wanted to find out what had happened to the pig, but the prospect of running into the sounder without the benefit of a secure refuge made her think twice.


    Scarlet and Cyca continued on their path until they finally found the stream she had expected for a while. From the Doctor¡¯s map, she knew that the Alb was roughly in the middle of the valley, with more and more streams joining it as it moved south, until it left the valley and joined a larger, currently unnamed river that continued on, until reaching the sea. The small stream she found that morning came from the western mountains and, once she had checked for danger, Scarlet happily pulled off her clothes, washing herself and the clothes she had worn the last few days. The stream she had found was smaller than the Alb, only a few meters across and crystal clear, allowing her to see the sandy bed, a good meter deep. The flow was far faster, great for washing and when she tasted the water, it was gloriously tasty. The Alb-Water hadn¡¯t been bad, but the water here, in the unknown stream, was simply better. She quickly drank her fill and filled her bottles, making note to use the stream whenever possible. Maybe she would call it Crystal, for the clear water flowing in it.


    Afterwards, she found a nice rock, stretching out and enjoying the sun on her skin, letting the heat dry her and her clothes. Lying there, she drifted off again, simply enjoying the warmth and general contentment. She started thinking and had to giggle softly, despite the fact that she was in a quite dangerous environment, she felt relaxed. Not because she believed herself strong enough to defeat whatever came at her, but because she felt that she knew what to expect.


    Before coming to the untamed wilderness of Verdun, she always had been forced to deal with humans, all of them with their own agenda, never knowing when a particular human would stick a knife in her back. But despite that danger, she was forced to work and rely on them. She had been strongly encouraged to join Psicom, not that it had been necessary, she had believed that joining up would open up incredibly possibilities for her, but in the end, they had thrown her away as soon as she became a liability. Not to their organisation, but because her death would have caused an embarrassment, forcing Psicom to take action in a way they didn¡¯t want. After all, what good was a governmental organisation that couldn¡¯t defend its members from attack? No, better hide the problem, create a top-secret paper trail that can be used to discourage any question.


    She pushed those thoughts away from her, refusing to dwell on them, instead focused on her environment. Not just the sun¡¯s heat, soaking into her skin, but letting her mind roam, as she had before.


    Again, she started to feel every living thing around her, especially the mind of Cyca, radiating contentment on a nearby rock, doing what she did, lazing in the sun. But there was more, small insects in the ground around her, grass a little further away, algae in the water, a cornucopia of life, hidden from her sight but so radiant in her mind. The seconds slowed down, each beat of her heart taking hours, as her mind struggled with the diversity that was life around her.


    Thumb¡­


    Thumb¡­


    Thumb¡­


    Thumb¡­


    After four beats of her heart, the world snapped back into focus, her mind reeling from the short glimpse at infinity. Her mind throbbed in glorious pain, telling her that she was reaching for things beyond her. Laughter bubbled from her stomach, breaking free and joining the gurgling of the stream next to her.


    Reaching, she was reaching for infinity. And she would grab it, if she had anything, it was time.

 Chapter 30

    Over the next two days, Scarlet followed the small stream she had decided to call Sparkle, after realising that Crystal might cause misunderstandings, considering the monsters were called Crystal Monsters. She quickly noticed that her path was slowly ascending, despite the huge distance to the mountains. It shouldn¡¯t have surprised her, after all, she was following a waterflow and water was flowing downhill.


    Walking along the Sparkle, she had taken her time, not hurrying, not even deliberately pressing onwards. She knew that there was nothing waiting for her, her aim was simply to find more crystal monsters and have Cyca or Crysna defeat them. After she had rested at the Sparkle that first day, she had started to think about her tactics and realised that hurrying was pointless. It wasn¡¯t as if she would be spotted in every monsters territory, especially not with her concealment ability active. And she wouldn¡¯t spot every monster, not even close, especially if they had a concealment ability on their own. She might spot a monster without one at two-, maybe three-hundred meters and with one, it went down to hundred meters, maybe even less. During her first hike with Keera, they had covered twenty, maybe thirty kilometers and only found four monsters. That felt far too little, even in a predominately green area.


    Once she had that worked out, she started to find ways to better search for crystal monsters, not just by simply scanning for them, but by working with Cyca and Crysna, hoping to find ways to better detect them. It was a little difficult, as she always had the mental connection to the two, but she pressed on, whenever she wasn¡¯t walking or trying to relax into that state of expanded consciousness in which she was aware of everything. Just the act of doing so gave her a strange thrill she could hardly explain, which made her try again and again, despite the headache she was giving herself.


    And Scarlet¡¯s efforts paid off in a myriad of ways. The fact that she took her time and looked around closely paid off in food, she managed to spot far more edible plants than she had before, filling her pack with food, even if she never took more than half of any cluster. She made a mental note to ask the Doctor about seasons, she doubted that her foraging would be as easy in the winter. Unless it was winter, which she doubted, the region she was in gave her the feeling of being in a temperate climate. But she was on an alien world, so who knew if her feeling was correct.


    But for now, she was able to forage and Cyca even managed to bring down a small doe using her lightning, bringing meat to the table. Cutting up the animal had been difficult and Scarlet had no doubt that she had wasted quite a bit of good meat but she had done her best. Once she was done, she had made a large fire and dried the meat out into something resembling jerky, or maybe shoe-leather, hopefully making it a little less likely to spoil.


    Another way that her efforts paid off was that, during the afternoon, she stumbled into another crystal monster, this one looking more like a squirrel. During the fight, Scarlet wondered if one of the plants she had eaten had hallucinogenic properties nobody had told her about, for some reason, the squirrel had created and thrown nuts. And the nuts had exploded. Just trying to wrap her head around what she had been seeing had been a challenge, even as Cyca was able to dispatch the squirrel with a electric bolt and a couple scratches. Scarlet still posited that Reality should pay attention and tell Verdun that it was tired of the planet¡¯s shit, but until that happened, she was stuck with how things worked.


    In the night, she slept in another tree, after a dinner of roasted deer and vegetable-soup, just in case she was disturbed again. She wasn¡¯t and on the second day of following the Sparkle, she managed to find two more crystal monsters, one a strangely huge caterpillar that Crysna dispatched easily, to her great relief, she didn¡¯t even want to think about a caterpillar the size of her arm. The other was another bird-type, that one a little less plumb compared to the one she had already fought and it had spotted her before she had spotted it, but Crysna had managed to blast it while it had been in the air, before wrapping around it, sealing its attempts to fight back. The bird still tried to push back the inevitable, pecking with its beak, scrabbling with its talons, even trying to move its wings, but a combination of biting and constricting had soon destroyed its projected form, allowing Crysna to absorb its essence. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    During that fight, she had noticed something, a strange peculiar sensation, a disturbance in her perception of reality, almost like a psionic smell. That was the best she could compare it to, it was a faint sensation but when she focused on it, she was able to trace it.


    With some more experimentation on Crysna and Cyca, she managed to pin down what she was perceiving. Crystal Monsters, or rather, their manifested forms, left something behind as they moved, a faint disturbance that she wouldn¡¯t have noticed without directly looking for it after a brutal fight.


    When Crysna carried the defeated monster¡¯s crystal to her, something happened that surprised her to her core. Not only did Crysna drop the crystal before her, he retreated into his crystal without prodding. She carefully examined his crystal, using her psionic senses and realised that he was weakened, with less than half his strength remaining. Curious, she used her scanner and it confirmed her thoughts, Crysna was at maybe thirty percent of his strength.


    That behaviour allowed her to form a hypothesis why the monsters had been becoming easier to control. They might have realised that it was to their advantage. From what she had seen of their behaviour, Crystal Monsters were seeking strength, to devour other Crystal Monsters and their essence. But doing that was always a risk of getting devoured themselves, even the strange caterpillar had tried to attack Crysna using sticky threads it shot from its mouth.


    However, if they were with Scarlet, they could simply retreat into their crystal and let her, or rather, another monster, deal with trouble for a time.


    As she thought about it, it seemed strange, an alien behaviour, but at the same time, it accounted for their actions and behaviour. At the end of the day, who was she to say that the behaviour of rocks had to make sense to her organic mind?


    At any way, she picked up Crysna¡¯s crystal and placed it into her pouch, letting Cyca out for the rest of the day and continued on her way, looking for those traces she had found. Shortly before she would have started looking for a space to rest for the night, she found one and started following it, with Cyca on her heels. Following the trace was not too hard, the monster seemed to have been running along a game-path for most of it and after maybe twenty minutes, Scarlet found what she had been looking for. Her senses had picked up the monster and it seemed as if it had spotted her as well.


    She moved Cyca in front of her and the two of them stepped into an open area with rocks strewn around. In the middle of that area, Scarlet saw the monster they had been following and she blinked a little in surprise. It looked like a small wolf or medium-sized dog, quite a bit bigger than Cyca. But that was not what confused her, it was that the dog was slate-grey and had protrusions on its back that looked like rock. Not just a carapace or maybe some strange bone-protrusions, but normal rocks sticking out of its grey fur.


    The dog growled a challenge, at least that was what it sounded like to Scarlet, and Cyca answered with an angry hiss. Maybe, even on an alien planet, with both merely projections around crystals, dogs would be dogs and cats would be cats. It certainly caused Scarlet to smirk as she thought about it.


    Both monsters started clashing and quickly, Scarlet¡¯s smirk vanished. Cyca¡¯s electric bolts caused sparks to fly from the dog¡¯s rocky fur and her claw-strikes seemed to do little more than that. On the other hand, the dog was able to shoot out rocky projectiles, that Cyca had difficulty dodging, but when one hit her, Scarlet felt the hit, even through their connection. It had been worse than any of the hits she had taken, worse than the damage from a complete battle.


    Cyca fought, and fought bravely, but Scarlet quickly made the determination that she would lose if it continued like that. She played with the thought to try going after the dog herself, trying to dominate it, but doubted that she would be able to keep it down.


    So, she did the next best thing, she ordered Cyca to dodge into her direction and just as she did, she forced her back into her crystal. The dog gave a triumphant growl, only to suddenly be snout to maw with Crysna, whose crystal Scarlet had thrown out shortly before moving to catch Cyca¡¯s.


    And Crysna had been warned, opposed to the dog, and ready to fight. He instantly struck, using his water attack to blast the dog, hitting it full-on. The previous attacks from Cyca and now the powerful blast from Crysna caused its form to start flickering, which Crysna instantly abused, ignoring a weak counter-attack from the dog and sinking his fangs into its projected form. The bite managed to finish the job, causing the dogs form to vanish and Crysna to instantly pounce on the crystal, devouring the essence as fast as possible. Scarlet felt it was a little unfair that Cyca got nothing, but at least, she had been able to get away. That had to count for something.


    Nonetheless, Scarlet decided not to look for more trouble, simply climbing a suitable tree and munching on some vegetables after collecting Crysna and the dog¡¯s crystal.

 Chapter 31

    Once again, Scarlet woke due to the light filtering through the leaves of the tree she had been sleeping in. During the night, she had been awake for quite some time, looking up, into the starry sky and thinking about life, the universe and everything. Sadly, there had been no light, shining down onto her, enlightening her, thus, her questions remained. For example, the question why the strange rockdog had been able to dominate Cyca and shake off her attacks, whereas it had been quickly taken down by Crysna. Was it just because of the surprise and the fact that his attacks had hit full-on or was there something more?


    In the morning, she checked for enemies on the ground before climbing down and deciding to make her way back to the Sparkle before breakfast, maybe she would get some fish in the river, or, even better, she thought to have seen a couple of berry-bushes while following the rockdogs tracks.


    Out of curiosity, she tried to find the traces of Cyca from the day before, but was unable to find more than a few, spotty remains, nothing she would have been able to follow, without the game-trail. On her way, she found the bushes and was able to harvest a lot of berries, enough for a couple of meals. The survival-cook-gear showed its use again, allowing her to store the berries without dirtying her backpack but it also meant that she would be a little limited, with only one metal pot remaining berry-free.


    Once she got to the Sparkle, she carefully looked for fish in the water and was happy to find that there were some. But getting them out of the water would be problematic, as they were not the lazy carp-like fish she had seen before but another type, one that was quickly traversing the river downstream.


    But she had a solution for that, Crysna was adapted to water and had even some power over it, so she gently pushed Cyca back into her crystal and let Crysna out. The snake quickly slithered into the water, his scales almost blending with the sandy streambed and then both, human and monster, started to wait. They didn¡¯t have to wait too long, a few minutes later, a fish wanted to swim by, only to be attacked from below and thrown from the water, onto a nearby rock. There, it flopped around for a moment, until Scarlet managed to grab its wet scales and use her knife to end its suffering. The fish was big enough for breakfast, so she let Crysna act as he wanted, watching as he played around in the water, while she prepared breakfast.


    Soon, the mouth-watering smell of grilled fish spread and she sat on a nice sun-rock with Crysna next to her while eating. Sitting there, she had to grin, her life could hardly be more different compared to what it had been a little more than a week before. Before, she had been training to be one of the elite-interrogators, investigators and spy-hunters, guarding the Federation from threats, external and internal. Now, she was sitting on a planet that could only be described as a primitive, prison-hellhole, by any objective standard, but she felt free and happy. As her teeth sank into the fish, enjoying the crunchy texture, she examined her feelings and thought about their reasons. Maybe, it was because here on Verdun, she might gain true freedom. Back in the Federation, she would never be able to leave society, always forced to obey one set of rules or the other. Allways forced to accept social norms and expectations.


    On Verdun, if she felt like it, she could simply strip off her clothes and jump into the water next to her, the only law she had to obey was that of the jungle. It was the one law she could live with, either she would manage to claw her way to the top or it wouldn¡¯t matter. After all, the dead had seen the end of war, the end of struggle.


    Her hand started to idly stroke Crysna¡¯s scales, enjoying the sun-heated smoothness, before she decided that yes, whimsy was good, and stripped off before jumping into the water. Crysna soon joined her, and together they played in the water for a while, before climbing back out and lying in the sun, to dry off.


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    Afterwards, she pulled on her pants and shoes but decided that the feeling of the sun, soaking into her skin was preferable to wearing her shirt and jacket, so she started walking, with only her backpack on, and even that she would have preferred to leave off. After a few steps, she started giggling when Crysna came out of the water and wrapped around her upper body, placing his head on her left shoulder, getting some extra sun. His smooth scales tickled her, but the contentment he radiated made up her mind, accepting the closeness.


    She continued hiking along the Sparkle for some time, looking for the disturbance-traces left behind by Crystal Monsters moving through the area. In addition, she stopped from time to time, spreading her mind out, causing herself a nosebleed but she felt herself make progress, managing to gleam a tiny bit more understanding, a slightly longer glimpse at the marvel that was life. After some time hiking, she found another crystal-monster trace. Looking at the direction it was headed, she decided that struggling through the brush without a shirt would be a particularly painful and unpleasant idea, she pulled on her shirt again and started after the trace.


    Following it took almost no time at all and she saw another of the squirrel-monsters that made her question her sanity. A small, detached, part of her mind wondered just where those nuts were coming from, until it decided that, no, she didn¡¯t want to know where the squirrel pulled them from. Sadly, Crysna had extreme problems to fight with the highly mobile enemy, it jumped from tree to tree, either dodging or ignoring his water-attacks and he was unable to fully dodge the exploding nuts. The detached part, started to wonder if Crysna was going nuts.


    In a move, similar to the one she used the day before, she forced Crysna back into his crystal while having him jump towards her, catching his crystal while throwing out Cyca¡¯s. She did it that way, out of fear that she might fail to correctly direct her second monster against the enemy, for them, either crystal monster was a target and their weakened teammate was a juicy one. But, once she had the crystal in hand, the standard behaviour rules that she had psionically drummed into them worked. Crystals that she, or another human, held were off-limits. Period.


    Cyca had less problems, the lightning was far faster and harder to dodge and Cyca was just as agile as the squirrel, so after a few exchanges, it ended with Cyca happily glomping down on his energy, absorbing it and proudly carrying the depleted crystal over to Scarlet. She quickly scanned Crysna¡¯s crystal and decided that Cyca would stay out, letting him rest.


    For the rest of the day, she managed to track down two more crystal monsters, one a rat-type and the other a bird-monster, both of which were quickly dispatched by Cyca. She even managed to fry the flying bird while mid-air, striking it down with a single, electric bolt, earning her extra scritches in the process. Those two brought her total of collected crystals up to nine.


    One of them looked quite impressive, the one that had previously manifested the rockdog, there were flecks of amber enclosed within the clear matter, along with streaks that were a little darker than the rest of the clear crystal. The crystals she had gotten of the two nutty squirrels had colourful imperfections as well, however those were swirls of green and turquoise, making them pretty. Similarly, two of the other crystals, she thought those she had gotten from the birds had turquoise flecks in them and one of the remaining had greenish-brown flecks. The rest of the crystals were completely clear.


    She was quite curious why some crystals had those imperfections, or rather, why the monsters that seemed to have special abilities had those imperfections. She made a mental note to keep a closer look on the correlation between crystal-colour and special abilities, maybe she would be able to come up with something. Currently, it seemed as if the types of monsters all had different colours but there were similarities between the crystals she had gotten from the squirrels and the birds, for some reason.


    In the late afternoon, Scarlet looked at her scanner once again and decided that she had gone far enough. Her scanner¡¯s indicator-colour had shifted from the light yellow it had held the days before into a slightly darker colour, indicating that the danger-level was getting higher.


    She tried looking for landmarks, but, other than the Sparkle next to her, there were only trees. Simply turning around felt like a bad idea, so she started following the sun. Luckily, both Cyca and Crysna were able to quickly climb into the trees, allowing them to get an unobstructed view for orientation-purposes, even when the forest was dense. She knew that bad weather and the unknown condition of the terrain were both potential dangers, but felt that it would be good to challenge herself.

 Chapter 32

    Three days after leaving the Sparkle behind, Scarlet was wondering if she had chosen the right path. Navigating had been a little challenging, but on the other hand, she had managed to find even more Crystal Monsters, hunting down eleven of them over those three days. She didn¡¯t happen upon new types, only fighting two rockdogs, four rats, three birds and two nutty squirrels, but, she had managed to gain some more understanding. With a little trial and error, she had ascertained that the rockdogs were easily defeated by Crysna and that Cyca had an easier time with the birds and squirrels. The rats on the other hand, were quickly dispatched by either of her monsters.


    What made her consider her choice was the fact that, while Crysna had been able to find a few small brooks and puddles with pretensions of grandeur, using some sort of water-sense, she was missing something. Those small water-sources had allowed her to fill her bottles, even if the water in them was far less tasty than the water she had tasted in the Sparkle, there hadn¡¯t been enough water to bathe, forcing her into splashing water onto herself, if she wanted to wash up. She made a mental note to focus further exploration along the waterways, even if that meant she would cross longer distances for less reward.


    She decided that she should head back towards Albertina and made a few guesses when it came to directions, knowing that, if she went east, she would, sooner or later, run into the Alb and could follow it back. That led to her thinking about Keera and the way she had ditched her. Her departure hadn¡¯t been thought out, just a combination of uncomfortable feeling regarding the Doctor and his machinations and utter disgust towards Aida and her sneaky social predator-games had driven her away from town and into the wilderness. Not that she regretted the last few days of journeying alone, it had been liberating, to say the least and she had greatly enjoyed it. Maybe, there would even be an advantage to be gained, if Keera had been unable to find another partner and hadn¡¯t had the courage, bravery or stupidity to go out alone, she would realise her dependance on Scarlet, allowing Scarlet to further place her hooks into the other woman. The thought of putting Keera into her place, firmly beneath her thumb, made Scarlet smile.


    Suddenly, a beeping sound she had never heard before pulled her from her thoughts. It came from the scanner in her bag, which made her frown and look at the display. What she found caused a shiver to run down her spine, the display showed a deep orange, bordering on red. She had taken readings every so often, but apparently, her path had taken her into a dangerzone. For a moment, she considered simply walking back, the way she had come from when a strange sound caught her attention. It sounded like a mix of rumbling and groaning, sending her senses into overdrive and making her consider simply running


    It was then, that she saw the source, maybe a hundred meters before her. The forest was rather light in the area, so she could see the earth moving upwards, as if there was some gigantic animal, or rather monster, beneath it, just waking up. The mound that raised itself was easily ten meters across and a meter high, while still growing. Next to her, Cyca emenated panic, her tails spread and lightning arcing between them, ready to strike, if need be.


    Her mind needed a moment to pierce together what she was seeing, vines, or maybe tentacles pushed the creatures body up, some earth falling down but other parts seemed to be pure creature. Calling it anything but a nightmare would be lying. She had no doubt that she was seeing a crystal monster, only that it was huge, massive, now almost two meters higher than before and the vines were spreading around it, forming a network almost like roots. When the thing started to move, it startled her out of her stunned state and made her start backing off, fearing to force a reaction with a sudden movement. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Cyca, in her panic, broke through Scarlet¡¯s mental hold and shot lightning at it, easily hitting the huge form but the effect was about what Scarlet had expected. There was none. On the other hand, the creature began moving towards them, pulling itself along the forest, knocking over trees and started to shoot clumps of earth at Cyca, who just managed to dodge a few of them, before getting hit and thrown back, barely able to keep her form.


    Scarlet turned, grabbing Cyca¡¯s crystal and just running, clumps of earth impacting around her, some of them with enough power to break branches and even knock over a small and thin tree. She considered using Crysna for an attack but there was just no point, he wouldn¡¯t be able to slow down the attacker, even if he sacrificed himself.


    Her mind racing, Scarlet did the only thing she could think of to gain distance, before one of the clumps managed to hit and knock her down. She used her own talent in an insane, all-out strike, slamming against the earthen mound, not even trying to dominate it, merely trying to disable it. It felt as if she had hit her head against a wall, multiple times, the backlash bad enough to make her fall. But deep within her, a stubborn part was still alive, the part of her that survived, no matter what. Barely conscious and seeing through a red tinge, she stumbled onwards, no sense of direction, no nothing, only following the simple, primal direction from the primitive part of her brain, the directive to flee from the threat.


    Later, she had no idea how much later, she stumbled again, falling to her knees, breathing raggedly, her lungs sucking in oxygen as best as they could. Her whole body was filthy and shaking in exhaustion, but the fall caused her mind to snap back into focus.


    Alive¡­


    She was still alive.


    That simple thought bubbled to the forefront of her mind and she started to giggle, losing it, until she was laughing and crying at the same time, the memory of terror and the blinding headache mixing with the relief of her escape, making her lightheaded and almost causing her to faint.


    She dragged herself to the next tree, sitting against it and, some minutes later, managed to get herself far enough under control to take stock of herself. Her whole body felt beaten and sore, scrapes and scratches decorating her arms, legs and face. Her mind was still only firing on half its thrusters and she was tasting blood. Using some of her water, she rinsed her mouth, spitting the bloody foam out, before using one hand to investigate the sticky sensation in her face and over some of her upper body.


    Her hand came back bloody, giving her an idea how badly she had overdrawn her mental abilities. She had managed to cause herself to sweat blood, not just in her face, which was, according to her instructors, something that had a good chance to cause lasting brain-damage but even further down to her collarbone. It was something they had never even mentioned, so the fact that she was not a vegetable seemed to be a good thing.


    With some effort, she managed to pull out her scanner again and was relieved that it showed a calming, light-yellow colour. Unwilling to move more than necessary, she started to apply the Doctor¡¯s lotion to Cyca¡¯s crystal. There was a tickling sensation in her mind, through her link with Cyca, and she felt Cyca¡¯s relief pour into her mind.


    She stayed beneath the tree for another hour or so, until she noticed that the sun was slowly setting, somewhere above the trees. Forcing herself to move, she pulled herself up and started to walk again, stumbling at first but she wanted a secure place to spent the night. She was quite sure that she had managed to lose the earthen mound, or it would likely have caught up to her by now, but still, she wanted to be up a tree, especially because her mind felt like cotton and she doubted that she would be able to control either of her monsters if she let them manifest.


    Once she noticed a suitable tree, she started to climb it, wedging herself between a couple of thick branches and pulled one of the rationbars from her pack, munching on it with a handful of berries. The bar tasted like cardboard, reminding her of another reason why she had stuck to foraging. After washing her meal down with some water, her mind simply shut down, sending her into a deep, exhausted sleep.

 Chapter 33

    A low moan sounded in the forest, with nobody around to hear. What was it that made those horrifying sounds, was it a tortured ghost, was it a tortured soul? Or was it a young woman, slowly struggling back to wakefulness, after a night, spent in blessed unconsciousness?


    Obviously, it was Scarlet, waking up in the late morning, after her experience with the earthen mound. Her body felt as if it her body had been used as a pi?ata beaten with sticks, but what made her glad was that her head was no longer feeling as if someone had used it as a percussion-instrument. Before clambering down the tree she had slept in, she let Cyca¡¯s crystal drop, making sure that her domination was still going strong. Cyca easily landed on her paws, looking around and making sure that nothing would attack her master.


    Climbing down was a challenge, many hours of sleeping in the tree had caused her sore muscles to stiffen, causing her to fall the last meter or so, landing awkwardly, stumbling a little and falling onto her behind. With a lot of moaning and groaning, she struggled to her feet and forced herself to start stretching, slowly working out the kinks in her muscles. As she moved, her mind went back to the day before and, again, she started laughing. She had been careless, lulled into a sense of security, forgetting that while the forests of Verdun were not dangerous in the same way human society was, they had their own dangers. Until she had the power to reign supreme, controlling monsters that could defeat all comers, she would have to keep her wits about her. And likely even then, being careless here would kill her as fast as it would have in the slums.


    She ate some of her foraged food and started on her way. The day was cloudy, preventing her from using the sun to navigate and her panicked flight the day before had left her without any idea where to go. After a moment of contemplation, she decided that Crysna had shown an uncanny ability to find water, so she changed monsters, letting Crysna wrap around her arm and explaining what she wanted.


    ¡°Now, Crysna, you found water for me before, right. Do you remember the two rivers we walked along? Can you find them?¡± she asked, adding some mental imagery to help convey her meaning. Her snake started hissing, his tongue darting out, as if tasting the air, and their mental connection gave her an impression of direction.


    Shrugging, she decided that following that impression was certainly no worse than picking a direction at random, likely walking circles, and started walking. Having learned her lesson, she looked at her scanner much more often, about every ten to fifteen minutes, hoping that a rise in radiation would warn her of dangerous areas before encountering another walking hill. Even while thinking that, she realised how lucky she had been that the monster she had encountered had been some kind of ambush predator, almost like a carnivorous plant. Any other type of monster, with that kind of power, would have hunted her down and either killed her outright or drained her crystals of their power, an idea she found disturbing.


    Curious, she examined her feelings in that regard, her attachment to the two monsters she was connected to. The idea to lose them, or, even worse, to use them as distractions to get away, something she had considered using Keera for, on more than one occasion, caused her mind to shudder. She became conscious of the fact that she was subconsciously considering them part of her, like her limbs, and sacrificing them was as palatable as cutting off an arm to use as a distraction for a carnivore. She continued pondering that curious tidbit, coming to the conclusion that it was due to the continued mental connection and control she had over them, as if they actually were part of her mind. She wondered if she would be able to let go of that contact, without deliberate and concentrated effort. Controlling them had become a habit, like that moment after waking up in which she made sure that her surroundings were safe.


    As she walked, she kept doing what she had been doing the last few days, looking for wild crystal monsters, so her controlled monsters could become stronger. Whenever she found a tracce, she checked her scanner to prevent running into dangerous areas, before following it, hunting down the monster with a smile on her face.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    She continued that pattern for another two days, following Crysna¡¯s nose or the sun, whenever she could see it, sleeping in trees and foraging for as much food as possible. Sadly, her two favourite activities, sleeping und hunting had been mediocre those two days. There had simply been few traces to follow, only five of them, bringing her total to twenty-four crystals, something she blamed on the fact that most of the time, she had been in green-territory. Three of the crystals had been on the first day after her meeting with the earthen mound, two the day after, and, in the early afternoon, three days after meeting the mound, she had still not found a crystal that day. Sleeping, on the other hand, had been restless, dreams of tentacles and vines, wrapping around her, ripping her apart, had haunted her. Intellectually, she knew that it was because of her experience with the earthen mound, but sadly, that knowledge didn¡¯t stop the nightmares.


    Finally, after those two days of wandering, she came upon a sight she thought to have seen before, a stream of slow-moving water, filled with fat carps, one of which was soon on the bank, flopping on land, to be her lunch. She was quite sure that the area was a stretch of the Alb, maybe five kilometers north of Albertina. Smiling, she noticed that she had to have overshot, at some point passing the town by, without knowing. Not that it really mattered, her plans had worked out quite well.


    After a cursory search for danger, she stripped off and slipped into the water, enjoying to wash off six days of sweat and grime. As soon as she felt clean, she made lunch, letting the fire and what little sun shone through the clouds, dry her body. Once her body was dry and lunch was eaten, she decided that she would head back to Albertina.


    Her mind surprised her, when she started wondering how Keera had done. She shrugged, decided that her interest was due to the fact that she wanted to recruit Keera into following her and the fact that she was the only human on Verdun with whom she had spent any real time. Maybe, there was a part of her that needed some human interaction, or at least enjoyed it. Shaking her head, she packed her things into her backpack before heading back into the Alb, laughing that she had just dried off and was now going back into the water, to cross the river. It was a little deeper, the Alb was not as wide here as at the spot where she had crossed before, but she managed to get to the other side without dumping her pack into the river.


    On the other side, she dried herself off and started her track back to Albertina, considering how much she should show the Doctor. Scanning her two crystals had shown that both of them had gained quite a lot of energy, but neither of them had undergone a macro-change, as the Doctor had explained might happen. To her, that simply meant that she would have to hunt more. Her vigilance told her to buy something cheap from the Doctor, maybe some storage containers, and head back out in a day or two, this time with Keera. Maybe hinting at the fact that she needed to collect more crystals to pay her quota, even if she could already pay her share. There was simply nothing that interested her in Albertina, nothing that would allow her to strengthen herself, only humans to be wary off, preventing her from relaxing.


    She reached the clearing without incident and maybe a kilometer before reaching town, she started to actively search for presences, using her psionic powers. It was something she had avoided before, not because it was strenuous but because it gave her position away.


    But now, she wanted those in town to know about her, that someone was coming back to town. Not only that, out in the wilderness, she was relatively confident to avoid humans, thanks to her passive perception and concealment, unless they were actively going after her. If that was the case, it would be a contest of ability and while she had good training, those who might hunt her, had been on Verdun for longer, learning in the school of hard knocks. It wasn¡¯t a contest she wanted to take part in, despite her self-confidence.


    On the clearing north of town, she pushed Crysna back into his crystal and putting it into her pouch. Once she was near the gate, she called out a greeting, stating her name and asking for entry. An unknown head appeared, taking a look at her and vanishing again. A minute or so later, the head appeared again, shouting a greeting and telling her that he would open the gate. Part of her wondered about the actions, but she quickly decided that asking about them might entangle her into the local politics, which she didn¡¯t want. It would likely happen, at some point, but the longer she could postpone it and the more power she could gather before, the better.

 Chapter 34

    Upon entering Albertina, Scarlet instantly felt a familiar feeling settle between her shoulders, almost like an itch that she couldn¡¯t scratch or shake. That itch that prodded her to keep her eyes open, her back covered and an escape-route prepared, the feeling she got when she was around other humans.


    For a moment, she closed her eyes, making sure that her mental shields were in place and strong before continuing onwards, into town. There were a few things she had on her agenda, she wanted to talk to the Doctor, she wanted to talk to Keera, or rather, have Keera come to talk to her and she planned to sleep at least one night in her bunk-room, even if it was with one eye open.


    And that was her first destination, she planned to place her backpack in her locker, not feeling a need to carry it around all the time. But at the same time, she was not certain that nobody would disturb her stuff, luckily, there was an easy fix for that. Cyca¡¯s crystal looked similar enough to the other crystals in her pack, so that, if she placed it with those and they were stolen, Cyca¡¯s crystal should be taken as well. Only that it had still an ego inside, connected to her mind, so that she could either go after it, or, even easier, unleash her monster to wreak havoc on the thieves. Unless her things were stolen by another psion, justice would be swift at the claws of her dear cat.


    She was a little surprised when the bunk-room was not deserted as she had expected, but that there were two women sitting on two bunks. Neither was fully dressed, one only in underwear and the other just dressed in a long shirt. When Scarlet entered, one of them looked up, seemingly exhausted and listless and it took her a moment to squeak, which caused the other to look up and, in an display of exhausted prowess, jump to her feet.


    ¡°Who are you?!¡± the jumpy one asked, her voice trying to project malice, but the intimidation was instantly dashed when she failed to suppress a yawn.


    Scarlet, not feeling terribly anxious about some powerless con trying to defend her territory, simply glared for a moment, adding just a small, almost subliminal projection of psionic fear before answering.


    ¡°Cut that out. The name is Scarlet and last week, I was told that I would bunk here. If you have a problem with that, it is your problem and if you try to make it my problem, you will have a real problem.¡± she answered, keeping her voice pleasant and friendly but ramping the projected fear up, just a little bit. Still, not enough to consciously register, just a suggestion to the woman¡¯s subconsciousness.


    She noticed how the other woman¡¯s eyes flickered to her pouch for just a moment, before returning to her face.


    ¡°Butch told us about you. Please, I¡¯m sorry for Deidre¡¯s behaviour,¡± her eyes flickered to the other, standing, woman, before she continued,¡± it¡¯s just that there was some trouble.¡±


    Scarlet simply nodded once, while walking to the bed Aida had pointed out to her.


    ¡°I was told that this bed is free, correct?¡± she asked, feeling no need to get tangled up in some inane prank, if Aida had played one. She doubted it, but felt that an olive branch of politeness might be a good idea.


    ¡°Yes, it is.¡± the woman still sitting on her bed answered. ¡°Oh, my name is Jasmine, I¡¯m sorry for not introducing myself.¡±


    Scarlet answered with a simple ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± without even looking over to her, busy checking the locking-mechanism on her locker. It was a relatively simple mechanical combination-lock, that could be changed on the inside. Not foolproof, but then, anything could be opened, either by subtlety or by force. Given the fact that justice would be exceedingly painful and terminal, she decided that it would likely be no problem. She set the lock to a new number, using part of a location in the slums where she had spent a few months, and carefully placed her backpack inside, taking off her belt-pouch and adding Cyca¡¯s crystal to the backpack.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Just as she was rummaging in her backpack, the door behind her was opened with enough force to slam it into the opposite wall and a female voice spoke up.


    ¡°There you are, bitches, and there¡¯s even one mo¡­¡± That was as far as the voice got. The banging door had caused Scarlet to instantly turn, her fight or flight-reflex hanging in the balance for a moment. Flight was no option, but, if they turned out to be hostile to her, fight certainly was. Three females had moved into the room, all of them with mean smirks on their faces and when the talking leader fixed her eyes on Scarlet during her speech, Scarlet decided that it was hostile enough to defend herself.


    Almost by reflex, she let Crysna snap out of the pouch in her hand, making him wrap around her arm so that his head came up behind her shoulder, but the main attack had nothing to do with Crystal Monsters and their peculiar powers. The main attack was what she had used against Deidre, only a minute before, projected, psionic terror.


    But the difference was, with Deidre, she had held back, making it subliminal and just a subconscious influence. With the three attackers, she was not so kind. Her only kindness, if one could call it that, was to make sure that their minds wouldn¡¯t break from the terror she projected into them, raw and utter fear, pushing their bodies past their fight and flight-responses and right into the territory where the only possible reaction was to curl up and wait for death to arrive.


    All three of them sank to their knees, their faces turning as white as their complexions would allow, shaking in terror. To add insult to injury, their leader had apparently not used the outhouse in some time, causing a stain to spread across her pants.


    ¡°Now, what do we have here?¡± she asked, her voice accompanied by Crysna¡¯s hissing. He was feeling her anger through their bond and wanted to add his own blend of violence to the mix. As she asked, she pulled back most of the terror but it had given her enough time to work her mental claws into all three of them, paralyzing their bodies from the shoulders downwards.


    ¡°That¡¯s the trouble I was talking about.¡± Jasmine answered her question, causing Crysna to glance over to her, his perception filtering into Scarlet¡¯s mind, whose eyes didn¡¯t wander from the three intruders.


    ¡°Explain.¡± Scarlet answered, her voice again accompanied by a hiss from Crysna.


    Words started to tumble from Jasmine¡¯s mouth, the snake¡¯s stare having an obvious effect on her.


    ¡°The Doctor and his guards don¡¯t care about what happens in the bunkhouse, they only care if the work gets done. A few of the others have started to push their work onto us, making us do their work.¡±


    ¡°And that works, why?¡± Scarlet asked, not quite understanding. Each room should have roughly the same number of people, so why would there be a power-dynamic.


    ¡°That works because if we don¡¯t do as they say, they attack us during the night. And we can¡¯t retaliate because another psion sleeps in their room so if we try to get them back, we disturb her as well.¡± Deidre answered, making Scarlet frown.


    That sounded like an absolute pain in the behind.


    After a second, she decided that she had no desire to have her sleep interrupted, so she gave directions to Crysna, without taking her eyes off the three on the floor. When Crysna slithered over to them, their eyes were instantly riveted to the large snake, coming towards them. He reared up a little, his tongue going over each of their necks, one after the other, learning their scent, before slithering back to Scarlet and up her body.


    As Scarlet watched, she noticed that by now, some liquid had dripped from the leader¡¯s pants onto the floor.


    ¡°You made a mess. Clean it, before you leave. If anyone disturbs my night-rest, my lovely snake now knows your scent, and I¡¯m not above asking him to pay you a visit.¡± Scarlet explained, her voice calm and friendly again, but with the added subliminal terror. It wouldn¡¯t be as useful on the three of them, not after the mind-numbing fear she had attacked them with before, but it would help her get her point across. She was quite sure that the three of them would do anything in their power to prevent anyone from going into the room during the night.


    Once she released her hold on their bodies, the three of them instantly used their clothes as rags to clean the liquid off the floor, before running out as fast as they could, the leader pressing her jacket into her crotch to avoid further drippage.


    Scarlet, on the other hand, simply ignored the looks she got from the other two, looks that conveyed an equal part of fear and respect and went back to her locker. She had seen a thin bedspread in it and needed to make her bed before lying down. Soon after, she shed most of her clothing, completely ignoring the other two, and clambered up, into her freshly made bed. There was no way she would wear the clothes she hadn¡¯t washed for days to bed. She didn¡¯t plan to sleep, merely to relax for a bit, so she let Crysna curl up next to her, allowing her to keep an eye on things while seemingly having her eyes closed.

 Chapter 35

    Scarlet relaxed, stretched out on her bunk, watching the other two women in the room through Crysna¡¯s eyes. She suppressed a smile, seeing them almost petrified, like mouses before a, well, snake. Neither of them moved or talked, they just sat there, almost too terrified to breathe. For a moment, Scarlet wondered if they would pass out from lack of oxygen but decided to help them out.


    ¡°Relax, everything is fine.¡± Scarlet said, without even looking at them, again, accompanied by soft hissing from Crysna. When she realised that her kind gesture had not reassured the two in any way, she made Crysna wrap around her arm, before using parts of him as a pillow. He wasn¡¯t cuddly, but his cool and smooth softness worked decently well and it seemed to have helped the other two.


    She laid there for some time, letting her mind wander, until the door opened again and more people entered. Instantly after they entered, they were shushed into silence by Jasmine, at least it sounded like her. Scarlet watched Butch enter, followed by six other woman. Most of them looked quite average, each in their own way, fitting into the various categories of human. Two of them stood out, because they looked rough, reminding her of the female gang-members she had seen in her youth, just like Butch. Another girl stood out as well, walking in the middle of the group. Scarlet instantly pitied her, the girl, as Scarlet wanted to call her reflexively, had a cuteness that, combined with her petite stature, made her seem harmless. Scarlet had to suppress a grin, when she realised that she wouldn¡¯t be the smallest person in the room but she also made a mental note, not to underestimate the other woman. She, herself, knew how to overcome physical disadvantages, so she would take most bets that the other had learned that lesson, depending how long she had been on Verdun.


    After a moment of quietly whispered words between them, Butch moved closer to Scarlet¡¯s bunk, staying a respectful two meters away.


    ¡°Excuse me, Scarlet, was it? You should get up if you want to eat dinner in the mess.¡± the woman said, her voice friendly but respectful.


    Scarlet opened her eyes and pushed herself up, Crysna taking his usual position with his head atop her shoulder. It allowed her to get a good look at them, without the slightly strange resolution delivered by his eyes.


    ¡°Thank you, Butch.¡± Scarlet answered, after looking the other over for a moment. ¡°But I guess I should introduce myself to all of you.¡± Scarlet continued, before jumping off the bunk, softly landing in front of Butch. Her words had caused all of the women in the room to focus on her.


    ¡°As you probably all have heard, my name is Scarlet. I¡¯m new on Verdun and I will spent most of my time in the wilderness, outside of town.¡± She introduced herself, while sweeping them with her gaze. When she got to the cute girl, the other smiled brightly at her, as if she had just met her best friend. It made alarm bells ring in Scarlet¡¯s head, accompanied by flashing lights.


    In the moment of silence, the others introduced themselves, not that Scarlet cared to remember most of their names. Only Bea, the cute, most likely exceedingly dangerous, little girl was likely worth remembering. Riley and Cleo, the other two physically powerful women stuck to her mind, even if she hardly cared. One of them, Cleo, walked up and moved towards the closed locker assigned to the lower bunk.


    ¡°I¡¯m the one sleeping beneath you. I hope we can get along.¡± she said with a careful smile.


    ¡°Sure. You said something about dinner and a mess?¡± Scalet asked, addressing the whole room, while noticing the distribution of sleeping space. Riley was standing next to the door, on the left side, right where the door would open and had opened the locker for the lower bunk. Butch was on the other side of the room, and near the window, and, finally, Bea was sleeping in the lower bunk on the right side, next to the door, positioned in such a way that her bunk would be the last that anyone would see, when entering the room.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    That distribution told Scarlet quite a few things, most important of all that Bea was likely the hidden leader of the normal humans sleeping in her room. Butch was likely the official leader, with Bea the brain behind her, using her harmless nature to lull people into a sense of security.


    It was Cleo who answered her question. ¡°Yes, we normally go all together, for protection. Not that you need us for that. We go to the river, wash up, and then it¡¯s time for dinner.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I think I will join you today. I simply don¡¯t know the town that well, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve spent more than, oh, about five hours within the walls.¡± Scarlet answered, adding a slight, friendly smile. She knew that playing harmless would be pointless, they all knew she was a psion and as such, far from harmless, but being friendly might come in useful in the future. She had no great expectations for normal humans, but a few minions could come in useful, especially to get a baseline of information.


    Scarlet got her own clothes and got dressed, while the others around her did their own thing, some changing into comfortable clothes, others getting rags to use as towels, and so on. Scarlet pushed Crysna into his crystal, not wanting to send the wrong message, just in case walking around with a materialised Crystal Monster was against some sort of town-rule. She knew that trying to fight with Crystal Monsters would be a foolish idea, fighting another psion would be a foolish idea in any shape, at least for now, but if she was forced to fight, her best bet would be to take out the opposing psion before their monsters, undoubtedly much more powerful than her own, could intervene.


    Soon, everyone was ready and Butch opened the door, leading the way. Scarlet stayed back a little, following behind without making herself part of the group. They all walked to the small channel that allowed everyone to wash while within town and Scarlet noticed that a lot more people were around and that they were overwhelmingly male. Most of them moved in similarly in groups, likely for the same reason. She took another look, this one assisted with psionic power, looking for the ripples from other psions, while looking for the crystal belt-pouches she had gotten from the Doctor.


    There were only two guys walking with one, both of them walking on their own, projecting an aura that Scarlet knew all to well. It wasn¡¯t a psionic skill, it was sheer arrogance, they were secure in their superiority. Not that it wasn¡¯t partially justified, without modern technology, psions ruled supreme, even without the crystal monsters that further amplified their power. Even a weak psion, if sufficiently ruthless, could kill every normal human in town, simply killing by burning out a brain or two before hiding.


    Scarlet had no need to draw their attention, if she knew humans at all, some of them would love to rub their superiority over everything and there was just no sport in dominating someone who hadn¡¯t the slightest chance of resistance. No, dominating and breaking another psion would give such sadistic bastards the extra kick. Officially, the Doctor had told them that there would be no fights between psions in town, but Scarlet trusted his assurances as far as she could comfortably punt him.


    They all washed up at the river and Scarlet followed them to one of the largest buildings in town, realising that she should simply have gone after the smoke, there was just one building with a smoking chimney.


    Inside was a huge mess hall, row after row of tables, most of them currently occupied. Near one wall were large cauldrons of stew and plates of bread, so that everyone could get their food. Scarlet noticed one psion standing off to the side, keeping the chow-line in sight, likely to make sure that nobody stepped out of line. It made Scarlet curious, just how the Doctor organised things, there had to be some sort of system in place to keep everyone in line. But, once again, she pushed the thought back, it would just get her caught up in local politics.


    She went through the chow-line, mostly copying what the others were doing. She had eaten a great lunch, so she was not too hungry, but her youth had taught her the lesson to eat whenever there was food.


    Dinner wasn¡¯t bad, she had eaten worse, mostly on the streets of Nova Yor, but the stew was warm and the bread free of mold, In addition to that, she had a roof above her head and a table in front of her, all things that made eating a lot better, even with the bland taste. She was halfway done, when a figure she had been waiting for appeared.


    Keera had just entered the building, noticed her and was coming her way.

 Chapter 36

    Watching Keera approach her, Scarlet had to suppress a smile, instead focusing on the food in front of her. She had seen the signs Keera was showing before, the signs of a beaten human, trying to muster a last resistance. The signs, right before they rolled over and simply gave up. A look of defiance, coupled with weariness and hopelessness, the shoulders slightly slumped, as if the whole world was pressing down on them, while they tried to keep their posture upright and erect. Scarlet could make an educated guess that the days Keera had spent in Albertina had not been pleasant, that the best case scenario, at least for Scarlet, had occurred. The world had ground Keera up and spit her out, so if Scarlet could spin it the right way, she would have her. That knowledge sent a small thrill through her, something she hid deep down within her. She had to show kindness and compassion, mixed with a little disbelief that Keera actually wanted to join her, making sure that Keera blamed herself for any unpleasantness she had suffered during the last few days.


    Scarlet tried timing it in such a way that Keera was a few steps away, when she looked up. She got it a little wrong, Keera was closer than planned, but her plan could still work.


    Looking right at Keera, she made herself smile her most sincere and friendly smile, as if she was genuinely happy to see Keera. She actually was, but for other reasons than the other hopefully thought.


    ¡°Keera, Hi. It¡¯s so good to see you again. How are you?¡± she asked, her tone not sugary sweet but decidedly friendly. Keera stopped for a moment, just a split-second, in which Scarlet could see her back straighten a little more and a glimmer of hope appear in her eyes.


    ¡°Hello Scarlet. I¡¯ve been¡­¡± there was another moment of hesitation and her eyes flickered to the others at the table, who focused far too hard on their vegetable mush to not be listening but she continued, ¡°good.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great. Why don¡¯t you get your food and join us? These are my bunk-roommates, I¡¯ll introduce you.¡± Scarlet suggested, adding a tiny bit of enthusiasm to the first part of her suggestion.


    She looked at the others, without giving Keera a chance to reply. ¡°You don¡¯t mind, do you?¡± she asked, her voice still friendly but with an undertone that told them all that if they did in fact mind, she would break their mind. Just for fun.


    Bea was the one answering, her voice just as friendly as Scarlet¡¯s had been. ¡°No, of course not. Your friend is another newcomer here on Verdun, right?¡±


    Scarlet had to marvel at Bea¡¯s skill, she could hear no falsehood in her voice, truly a gifted actress. Part of her was tempted to crack open the other¡¯s mind, just to see what was lurking within, even stretching her mind in that direction, peeping at her surface thoughts, but even those were friendly and harmless. There was just a tiny bit of rippling, something she had never felt before but one of her instructors had talked about, it was a sign of a normal human, using mental discipline techniques to control their thoughts.


    ¡°Yes, she is, we did our orientation together.¡± Scarlet confirmed, playing her part of the friendly acquaintance who really wanted to be Keera¡¯s friend.


    ¡°Sure, I will sit with you.¡± Keera agreed, before trotting off to get herself food.


    As soon as Keera¡¯s back was turned, Scarlet gave Bea a hard look, not quite glare but making clear that if Bea disturbed her play, there would be hell to pay. Bea managed to keep her composure, only a tiny widening in her eyes showing fear, and gave an almost imperceptible small nod.


    When Keera returned, Scarlet was all smiles again, introducing the roommates whose names she could remember and making a show of it, adding some humor to take the sting out of the names she had forgotten. Bea helped out a little, playing into it, by introducing the three whose names Scarlet hadn¡¯t bothered to remember, as Grace, Leyla and Nora. Everyone took their cues from Bea, either consciously or subconsciously, and they made a bit of an effort to make Keera welcome.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Scarlet didn¡¯t want Keera to have a breakdown right there in the mess, as it would only humiliate her. No, it would be better if the breakdown she assumed would soon happen, occured in private, with only her there to see and console Keera. That way, Keera would associate Scarlet with hope and the lifting of her bad feelings, instead of possibly blaming her for the breakdown.


    To prevent Keera from thinking too much, Scarlet consciously made smalltalk, talking about the weather of all things. Not just because it was about as safe a topic as she could think of, but also because it was one she needed more information on. What she learned, mainly from Bea, who seemed to have picked up on what she was doing, was that the cloudy weather they had the last few days was atypical, that it was late spring and that the weather would generally stay pleasant for the next few months before, during late fall, there would be a lot more rain. Bea confirmed a few of Scarlet¡¯s thoughts about the local climate, that there was only a short winter, often even without any snow, thanks to the shielding mountains, but that during the spring-thaw the various brooks, streams and rivers in the area would swell up a great deal. In addition to that there was the rainy time, during late fall, with a few weeks of almost constant rain, causing a similar effect, that then, everything would be soaked.


    Summer would be the time during which most work could be done, long days, not too hot, not cold and mostly good weather. Bea told about the multiple harvests that they could bring in and that she had heard that the fields were rotated every couple of years, that the worked area to the south would go back to wild meadow and the area north of town would be cultivated, so that the land wouldn¡¯t be overworked. It reminded Scarlet of ancient history class, talking about rotating crops.


    Part of her wondered about the way the quota system would work in the winter, would they either have to harvest enough during the summer to pay their way in the winter or would the quota be reduced? While she had managed to harvest a month¡¯s quota in ten days, it would be harder with two people. Not impossible, but difficult. There was a sneaking suspicion in the back of her mind that the quota-system was at least partially used by the Doctor to control people, with him the benevolent agent of an unjust system above.


    That conversation allowed Keera to simply sit and eat, without getting drawn into a conversation about her situation and soon, she was finished eating and Scarlet noticed a strange look in Keera¡¯s eyes. Bea must have noticed something as well and spoke up.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about your dishes, we¡¯ll take them away.¡± she said to Scarlet, who smiled, thanked them all and asked Keera to walk with her a bit, for digestion. Not that it was really needed but she wanted to get the other out and away from people.


    They walked for a bit, away from the people, towards the walls. When Scarlet judged that they were alone and Keera would start speaking any moment, she went first, making her voice as compassionate as possible.


    ¡°Are you alright? You said you are, but, you seem, I don¡¯t know¡­ down.¡± Scarlet asked, trying to sound as young and worried as possible.


    Keera almost stumbled and Scarlet noticed that she was shaking, so she turned, to stand in front of her, looking into her eyes and waited for a moment. The shaking intensified and then, as if a dam was breaking, tears started streaming down Keera¡¯s face and sobs started to escape her throat.


    Internally rolling her eyes, Scarlet pulled the other into a hug as best as she could, their disparate sizes making it a little awkward but the moment she did, Keera¡¯s knees buckled, bringing her down to a more manageable level. With Keera¡¯s face buried in an embrace, Scarlet could, for just a moment, let her facial expression go, she had been almost started to cramp up from schooling it the whole time. Only the laughter that wanted to escape had to be suppressed, but she was smiling, a smile that spoke of plans working, even better than hoped. A smile that would have fitted better onto the face of someone who had just bought a particular rare treasure, triumphant and possessive.


    Scarlet stood there, holding Keera who thoroughly soaked her shirt with tears, gently stroking her back. She even considered making soothing noises but decided against it, thinking it would be too much, instead, she simply kept silent, letting Keera cry herself out as much as needed. She knew that every bit of compassion she was showing now, would be worth it in the end, cementing her position in Keera¡¯s mind as the lifeline she would clutch, the one, shining light of hope in a dreary existence. If she managed to pull off what she was planning, Keera would be hers, even tighter bound to her than she could be bound using mental domination.


    After all, she would be bound, by a chain of her own making.

 Chapter 37

    After what, at least to Scarlet, felt like hours upon hours of sobbing cries that had lasted, in reality, for maybe five minutes, Keera had cried herself out. Hiding the grin on her face, banishing the laughter into the depths of her being, Scarlet schooled her faces into a mask of compassion and pulled back a little, so that she could see Keera¡¯s face.


    ¡°Good Gods, what happened to you?¡± Scarlet asked, compassion again thick in her voice.


    ¡°You vanished. You, you were just gone and the nurse told me you wouldn¡¯t be back for a week.¡± Keera responded, new tears welling up and a slight accusatory tone sneaking into her voice.


    ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t want to work with me. You were so tense around me, as if you were afraid of me. And the first chance you got, you didn¡¯t even wait for me, you instantly went looking for another partner.¡± Scarlet answered, her voice quivering, almost breaking, as she was doing her very best to sound young and vulnerable. In addition to that, she made her eye-lashes flutter a little, as if to hold back tears, while in reality, she was using a trick to make them water, even managing to get a tear to run down her face. Deep in the privacy of her mind, she congratulated herself to her performance and from the horrified look on Keera¡¯s face, she had swallowed it, hook, line and sinker. Now, Scarlet only needed to reel in her catch.


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t mean to¡­¡± Keera¡¯s voice broke again, more sobs coming out and Keera clung to her once more, causing Scarlet to roll her eyes where she couldn¡¯t see it, wondering how long the crying would take this time.


    But when she realised that the sobs were, in fact, choked off words, she focused on her role again.


    ¡°Sorry¡­ I¡¯m so sorry... ¡° a stream of apologies came falling from Keera¡¯s lips, as she convinced herself that all the bad things that had happened to her, had been her own fault. Guilt for the thoughts she had, about Scarlet killing her, back when they had just started out. Even dreams that had featured Scarlet flashed back into her mind. And her guilt almost crushed her when she realised that despite all that, despite the way she had pushed Scarlet away, hurting the poor, young woman for no reason, Scarlet was now here, embracing her, caring for her.


    Back in her role, Scarlet started to mirror the apologies, even managing to make her voice crack and add a few more tears to her cheeks, while clinging to Keera, holding her tightly. A tiny part of Scarlet noticed that it actually felt good, to be held in an embrace, even while she kept her wits about her, to make sure that nobody could sneak up on them. Curiously, she was not too worried about Keera, doubting that the other had the mental faculties to be a threat in the current situation. And, unless she had managed to find a very well concealable knife, she knew that Keera was unarmed.


    They clung to each other for a few minutes, until Scarlet noticed someone approaching their dark corner of Albertina. From the feeling the mind gave her, Scarlet was easily able to conclude that it was another psion, a male one at that. Neither Nedri nor Mendar, she knew the feeling of their minds, it was one she hadn¡¯t closely observed. Not that that fact narrowed the possibilities in any way.


    Shortly before the figure reached them, Scarlet gently removed Keera¡¯s arms, pulling her up and turning the two of them so that they faced whoever was approaching together, holding hands. To conceal the fact that Keera had cried a great deal more than she had, Scarlet used her sleeve to wipe her face, while taking a deep breath, making it look like she was gathering herself. Internally, she was triumphant, with a little luck, it would be a golden opportunity to cement her hold over Keera. If the creepy sensation she felt from the approaching mind was spot on, she doubted that she could have staged it better.


    ¡°Who goes there?¡± Scarlet asked in the darkness, a part of her wishing that the sky wasn¡¯t clouded or that she knew the customs for having Crystal Monster materialised in town.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Male laughter came from the darkness and a dark shape became roughly visible.


    ¡°I was looking for my newest plaything.¡± a male announced and Scarlet noticed that Keera started to shake. Scarlet cursed internally, it could be the perfect opportunity that had delivered itself to her, but it was a risk. After a split-second, she decided that sometimes, she just had to roll the dice and take the risk.


    ¡°Keera is not a plaything!¡± Scarlet answered, her voice agitated and a little rough from her dramatic actions before.


    ¡°And who are you to say that?¡± the voice asked, but the male made no further attempt to approach, staying in the dark.


    ¡°I¡¯m her friend!¡± Scarlet announced, internally cringing how cheesy it sounded, but the fact that Keera¡¯s hand squeezed hers made her think that it had been the right choice.


    She felt a casual probing, soft and insidious and missdirected it, guiding it into a mental trap, a simple memory-snippet of searching through the trash and grabbing something sharp. Just the surprising pain, nothing more. There were more painful things she had felt, but the suddenness of that particular memory made it excellent to use in traps.


    She heard a sharp hiss in the darkness, getting a slightly better idea of her opponent. Experienced and certainly not weak, but not well trained. A street-brawler, compared to her formal education in combat. Not an enemy she would want to face, especially not without a very good plan in place, but also not an enemy that could walk over her.


    ¡°Better hope we never meet out there, plaything¡¯s friend. Or you will be another plaything.¡± the voice announced and the dark shape turned, vanishing into the dark. Scarlet could still feel him and was quite sure that she would have to keep an eye open for him but wasn¡¯t too worried. His words told her that he wasn¡¯t willing to risk a serious, psionic battle within the walls and out in the wild, she would fight fair, using her definition of fair. Any fight that she walked away from was fair.


    ¡°Did he hurt you? While I wasn''t¡¯t here?¡± Scarlet asked Keera, her voice soft but with a bit of an edge in it. For the first time, she didn¡¯t need to fake the emotion, she truly hated that sort of sexual predator. Preying on those weaker than them, on those too weak or scared to fight back.


    She saw Keera nod next to her, before the other started to walk to the wall, pulling Scarlet along with her. There, Keera sat down, leaning against the wall behind her and pulling Scarlet down, next to her. Scarlet let her have that bit of freedom, that bit of control.


    Sitting there, the whole story came tumbling out.


    After Keera had been shown to her room, she had gone and talked to the guard, trying to learn more about Albertina and the way the town was run, flirting a little to ease the guard¡¯s tongue.


    Some time later, Aida had approached and told her that Scarlet had ditched her and would be back in a week or two, laughing while she spoke, insinuating that Keera was too useless to even make another newcomer want to team up with her.


    Keera managed to pull some more information from the guard before going to eat and that was where she was found by Telram, the guy who had approached them before. He had just returned to Albertina, after a some time out there. At first, he was sympathetic, flirting with Keera and offering all kinds of help, even to take her out there. Keera admitted that she had been ecstatic, an experienced person, offering to help, without asking for anything in return.


    Scarlet had to suppress a scoff, nothing in life was free, ever, but she held her peace.


    Keera continued, describing how Telram had gone out with her, guiding her through the forest for some time, even managing to track down two monsters that he killed.


    It made Scarlet curious what sort of monster someone who had harvested for months, maybe years, had but again, she held her tongue. It didn¡¯t matter at that time.


    Keera¡¯s voice got very quiet when she described the night and how Telram had forced himself onto her, overpowering her physically and mentally, making her a prisoner in her own body.


    Hearing that, Scarlet got to her knees and simply pulled Keera into a hug. Her sympathy wasn¡¯t even faked, while Scarlet had always managed to defend herself, she had been overpowered before and knew the fear. The only thing that had saved herself had been her psionic power, combined with the will to use it with reckless abandon.


    Sitting there, Scarlet was quite surprised when she realised that, if the chance arouse, she would happily destroy Telram, at least if she could do it without great risk or fear of consequences.

 Interlude: Bea I

    Looking into the sky, Bea, formerly Beatrice Lienhard, illegitimate daughter of Desmond Lienhard, cursed her fate once again. There was another capsule descending, the second she had seen. That meant, she had been on this hellish planet for two years. If she hadn¡¯t messed up and gotten herself shafted by the system, she would likely be on her way to an early release.


    Thinking back, to her monumental mistake, she was still bitter.


    Growing up had been easy for her, her mother had been the lover of Desmond Lienhard, an affair that had caused her to become pregnant with Beatrice. Even now, contraceptives were not perfect, at least that was what her mother had always claimed, Bea thought that between a one-in-a-million contraceptive-failure and her mother getting pregnant on purpose for a permanent link to the Lienhard-Fortune, well, Bea wasn¡¯t willing to bet more than a Federation-Centum on the contraceptive failure.


    For years, her father had been content to pay her mother off, and, in turn, her mother had been happy to give her daughter all the education she needed to trip up some young, wealthy second or third son, miraculously managing to land under him. Some of the tricks she had been taught had probably been old when the Sumerians started out, but even in the Hyperspace-Age, they still worked, showing that, when the chips, or clothes, were down, humans were still the apes they always had been, happily grunting and rutting away.


    Sadly, her pleasant youth had only lasted to her seventeenth birthday. Shortly afterwards, her father had decided that he wanted to go into politics and that a lover and an illegitimate daughter could be used against him, so mother and daughter were shipped off into the boonies, out of sight and out of mind.


    Her mother had quickly ditched her, once her value as a connection was gone, hitching herself to another hapless fool.


    What was left to do for an educated young lady, accustomed to the lap of luxury? Simple, she used her education and started her very own, covert data-acquisition service. Data-security had been paramount for a long time, at first, there was the danger of electronic intrusion and later the danger of psionic attacks. So, the vast majority of security was against those avenues of attack, leaving the oldest trick in the book open, for, say, a young lady, exquisitely educated and supremely cultured, to exploit. That trick, obviously, was to seduce some feckless fool, using them to gain access to the data to be acquired, and let them take the fall while she was out, scott-free.


    And it had worked, she had quickly gained a bit of an reputation for both excellence and discretion that allowed her to regain the status she had been accustomed to.


    All had been well, until something had gone wrong on her last job, the police had believed her dupe far faster than ever, she knew that they must have started after her before fully arresting him. And thus, she had been caught, trying to get off-world, using a different false identification, locking her up. She had cooperated, even managing to fool the psion they had brought in, letting him think that it had been her first attempt to steal data. It was a rare skill, difficult to learn and pull off, but it had worked, causing her to have the sympathy of the defender and even the prosecutor, while she shed tears on the stand, showing all kinds of remorse, playing the desperate young woman to the hilt.


    She had thought herself home free, maybe being locked up for a few years, getting out early with good behaviour. She had thought herself so damn smart, having gamed the system and gotten away with it.


    Until the Judge read the verdict, giving her the maximum sentence, going even higher than the prosecutor had suggested. She had talked to her lawyer but there seemed to be nothing to be done, going to a higher court would likely take years, but he promised to get the gears turning.


    It had only been on the prison-transport that she had managed to convince a guard to let her see the full trial file, and that had been when she realized just how badly she had screwed up. Her dupe, the fool she had set up to take the fall, had been married. Married, to the Judge¡¯s daughter.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    That information had caused her to curse up a storm and to make plans for her retrial, plans to crucify the Judge, nailing him for miscarriage of justice, humiliating him for all the world to see.


    She had been a little confused when she and her fellow convicts had been herded into a strange-looking dropship, with locking harnesses in which they were secured. Her confusion hadn¡¯t lessened when the guards had carried a few guys in, all of them comatose, placed them into a couple of seats, strapped them in and placed an infusion into their arms.


    And finally, it had peaked when the guards had all left the compartment, leaving the convicts and the sleepers alone.


    There had been some vibration, some turbulence and a lot of shaking, until they stopped with a bone-jarring landing, still locked into their seats, some shouting, some yelling, some praying and all of them clueless.


    That had changed when the hatch was opened and a group of rough looking guys, led by a black-clad figure appeared and started to open the harnesses. To Bea, they didn¡¯t look like guards, they looked more like convicts than the convicts she had been with, and when one of those who had been on the shuttle with her tried to attack one of them, Bea¡¯s blood started to run cold. The scruffy looking guard simply glanced at the attacking convict and the attacker crumbled, blood seeping from his eyes and noses. Part of her wondered what the chances were that it was only a single psion, but the uniformity in their looks, and the self-confidence they all radiated made her realise that it wasn¡¯t one psion, they might all be psions.


    The newcomers were herded through a primal looking forest, away from the large meadow on which the strange capsule had landed, while the scruffy looking guys loaded a few crates into it, before stepping back and watching the capsule rise again, flying into the clear sky like a homesick meteorite.


    The surroundings had flabbergasted Bea, a pristine planet, used to house convicts instead of feeding the ever-thriving expansion of the Federation? There were limited directions the Federation could expand, she knew that, even if the general public did not, so who would do such a thing.


    When the revelations started, she had balked a little. At first, she had wondered if it was all a huge prank, some sort of reality programm, to provide entertainment to those who could afford it. Next, she had doubted her own sanity, wondering if she had cracked.


    Finally, she had accepted the reality on Verdun. And that had been when she had gone to work, doing what she did best. Make friends and influence people.


    As she watched the capsule descend, her mind went back to her first night in the room she had been assigned, mentally assessing those with her in the room. Judging them, their worth and how easy it would be to manipulate them.


    One had stood out, tall and muscular, looking so very masculine that she had wondered at first. She had forced herself to keep her face expressionless when she had learned that the woman was called Butch.


    It hadn¡¯t taken her long to manipulate Butch, getting her to dump her girlfriend, an annoying harpy named Aida, and get her all caught up with herself. Once she had that muscle at her disposal, she managed to bring those in her room into the fold, following Butch as their leader. Of course, being the leader¡¯s girlfriend brought quite a few perks as well, even if she couldn¡¯t get out of the various tasks that had to be done.


    After the capsule vanished from her sight, she started to wonder if the last bed in their room would be filled. She wasn¡¯t sure where the woman had vanished to, or rather, what had killed her. There were a few ways to die on Verdun, some avoidable, others not so much. Getting killed by one of the strange monsters was avoidable by always staying behind one of the psions.


    Getting killed by one of the other convicts was avoidable by giving them the sex they so often desired, convincing them to think that you enjoyed it and making sure that they knew that you would be willing to go again. Killing a willing and enthusiastic sex-partner was an easy way to get killed in a messy and brutal fashion, after all, there were only so many females on Verdun.


    It was similar with the male psions, only that they could be even more dangerous. Some of them had slightly strange tastes, using their powers to abuse their partners, but if you managed to suppress yourself to the point of being their happy puppet, it worked out. Luckily, there were only few female psions, they were harder to manipulate, but also less prone to violence. Four of them had banded together, making their own house, leaving only one in the barracks. That one was a bit of a pain in the ass, even if only indirect. Those sleeping in her room used her presence to dump their tasks on others, threatening force during the night while having the safety of a room with a psion to retreat back into. Trying to mess with them during the night was a good way to disturb the psion and that would leave to painful and likely messy object lessons.


    She shook those thoughts off, getting back to her work, washing dirty clothes. Dreaming of the past would only bring her pain. She needed to plan for the future. Maybe, that capsule had brought change.

 Chapter 38

    The two of them stayed there for some time, short moments of conversation interrupting the silence between them. Scarlet learned that what she had thought of as a coincidence hadn¡¯t been one, Telram had approached Keera each evening, since they got back into town. Keera had been too frightened to resist and went along with him, swallowing the humiliation and whatever else he wanted to throw at her.


    It was then, that Scarlet felt she needed to speak plainly, hoping that it would sent Keera onto a path to become useful.


    ¡°You know, I grew up in a society, not too dissimilar from the one here on Verdun. Sure, it wasn¡¯t about surviving on a primal planet, threatened by monsters outside the walls. We had to survive on an overpopulated planet, scrabbling for scraps, like rats. Hope was in sparse supply and you either learned to look out for yourself, became someone¡¯s follower or you died.¡± Scarlet started, her voice forlorn, remembering the feelings of her youth. The pain, the loneliness, the hopelessness, all trying to bring her down. Remembering the guy who had thought to make her a pet, only to have her clumsily strike with her powers, escaping and getting noticed by Psi-Com.


    ¡°Those like Telram, they like what little power they have, they like to show others how great they are and thrive of putting others down. You stand at a crossroad right now, with three paths to choose from.¡± Scarlet stopped herself for a moment, realising that while she was doing the right thing, it was likely not the smart thing. She had to smile a little, she had been caught up in memories of the past and repeating the lessons she had learned.


    ¡°One is to crawl back to him, to swallow what he dishes out.¡± she felt Keera tense next to her, and continued.


    ¡°Another one it to stand, on your own, to take the world by the throat and make it hear you roar.¡± she chuckled a little, at the mental image. It wasn¡¯t accurate, she knew that. She hadn¡¯t grabbed the world, or anything, by the throat. When the guy who had cornered her had suddenly started to bleed from eyes and nose, she had started freaking out, crawling away as fast as her pain-wrecked body had taken her before starting to run, never looking back, not even realising that she was bleeding as well. She had run until she reached the more affluent parts of the city and that was where the police had picked her up. Those injuries might have been what brought her to the Psi-com¡¯s attention, even if they claimed otherwise.


    ¡°And the last, is to follow me. I won¡¯t promise you that there won¡¯t be pain, I won¡¯t promise you meadows filled with flowers, or smooth paths to into a wonderful world. I don¡¯t deal in salvation, like the preachers in church promised. I promise two things, one is that I will train you. It will be painful, it might even break you. But I will mold you into something that can survive. And I promise you that if anyone else else ever hurts you, I will avenge you. You will be mine.¡± her voice had been a solemn whisper during the last declaration, promising endless pain to those who wronged her.


    She felt Keera tense up next to her, not answered, she wasn¡¯t even sure if the other was breathing. Then, there was a sigh, air softly rushing from her before Keera took a deep breath.


    ¡°You know, part of me wants to joke, to make light of things. But there really is nothing to joke about. I know that I can¡¯t stand on my own, the last couple of days have shown me that. So, there really is no choice, no matter what you claim.¡±


    Again, silence filled the air between them before Keera spoke again.


    ¡°I will follow you.¡± Keera¡¯s voice was almost a whisper, but it was filled with sincerity. Scarlet knew that it came from deep within her, a conscious choice had been made to trust her. Such choices were important, those one consciously made, they would strongly influence the subconscious mind. They didn¡¯t dictate to it, but it was a step in the right direction, at least in Scarlet¡¯s eyes. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    She knew that she had taken a risk in pushing ahead as she had done, by putting things so plainly before Keera. Her emotions had gotten the better of her, something that hadn¡¯t happened in a while. But it had worked out, in the end. Keera¡¯s conscious submission had felt real. She thought about pushing further, ordering Keera to open her mind to Scarlet, maybe with some sort of pretense, like helping with possible nightmares, but decided against it. It would be too much, too soon. It would be too close to the actions she had endured at Telram¡¯s hands, at least the mental aspect.


    Standing, she held her hand to Keera, who took it, letting herself be pulled to her feet.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get back into our dorms. Tomorrow, I¡¯ll talk with the Doctor and afterwards, we will be out in the wilds.¡± Scarlet told her, deciding to cut her stay short. They would have to be careful, getting caught by Telram outside, without any prepared advantage, would be¡­ problematic. She believed that she might manage to win, but there were two words in that thought, that she didn¡¯t like. One was believe, the other was might. For a fight, she wanted to know that she would win, even if it meant to sneak up on them and attack from behind.


    Keera nodded, falling into step with Scarlet, walking back to the dorms.


    As they walked, Scarlet let Crysna out, to give her at least some sight, the night was cloudy and dark after all. Keera¡¯s expression was a little strange when the snake wrapped himself around Scarlet¡¯s arm, his head resting on her shoulder but she didn¡¯t say anything.


    Scarlet didn¡¯t speak either, her mind was busy considering possible future events, mentally remaking her plans and contingencies for problems she had invited with her actions that evening.


    The important part were the coming days, out in the wild with Keera. They would be crucial, showing her if her feeling regarding Keera¡¯s submission had been real or not. She was quite sure that the fear Keera had towards Telram had been real, but there was always the possibility that Telram was using Keera as some sort of trojan horse, positioning her in such a way to get behind Scarlet¡¯s defenses, stabbing her back, maybe even literally, at an inopportune time. It was an unlikely possibility, simply due to the need for previous planning and effort. Why would anyone prepare a trap for someone they didn¡¯t know and had no previous dealings with?


    The only dealings she had were with the Doctor, who was powerful enough not to need such games and Aida, who was a possible instigator for such actions. Her thoughts went back to the Doctor and she decided that he was back on her suspect-list, it might be that he wanted to deal with her outside town, so that there wouldn¡¯t be any way to trace her demise to him. It was hollow and unlikely, she still doubted that he would need such subterfuge, but it wasn¡¯t certain.


    She made plans to exhaust Keera mentally, pushing her with psionic exercises under the guise of training, to the point that she could at least read her surface thoughts. It was possible to condition someone to behave loyally and even think loyally but, at least according to her knowledge, that required a lot more time. If Keera¡¯s surface mind was loyal and submissive to Scarlet, it would be good enough.


    ¡°I will get you in the morning, wait for me in your room. I doubt that Telram will attack inside the dorm, but he might try something. Please, be careful.¡± Scarlet told Keera when they reached her room, Scarlet putting concern back into her voice. She had risked a lot with her previous emotional behaviour, now she would have to reign herself in and use her brain. It was her best asset after all, not just because of her psionic powers.


    Keera nodded and wished her a good night, so Scarlet went back into her own room. It was dark and Crysna allowed her to see that everyone was already under their covers, warm shapes in a cold room. She moved to her own locker, letting Crysna check for foreign smells, just in case someone had messed with her things. She knew that Cyca¡¯s crystal hadn¡¯t moved, but caution never hurt. Satisfied with the fact that nobody had been in it, she opened it, got her sleeping bag out, and climbed back onto her bed, placing her clothes beside herself and crawling into the bag. Not that she would sleep deeply, not in a room with potential enemies who could kill her just as fast as any psion, if she wasn¡¯t careful.

 Chapter 39

    A noise caused Scarlet to wake once again, from an uneasy slumber. Her mind had been on the edge of waking all night, every time one of the others in the room moved too much, or turned around in their sleep, she had taken notice, her powers ready to strike, if the person made a move towards her. When she noticed a bit of light, just the glimmer of dawn, outside the window, she decided that trying to get real sleep would be futile. With a thought, Crysna materialised next to her and she closed her own eyes, letting her mind look through his eyes, even as her body relaxed into a near-sleep state. Not quite sleeping, not quite awake, hovering on the boundary of the waking world, almost like a dream.


    Some time later, when the others in the room seriously started to stir, she was startled from her not-sleep, still a little tired, but ready for the day. Deciding that she had Crysna out for quite some time, she pushed him back into his crystal and, when she got dressed, took her things from her locker, letting Cyca out. Cyca preferred to walk next to her and she had no problem with that, at least while indoors. Outside, she would put her away, but for now, her little monster could roam freely. She had noticed that her monsters preferred to project their presence and felt that working with them, as if they were pets, got better results than treating them as tools. Maybe they were both, pets that she liked and took care of, and tools that helped her amass power, while amassing power themselves. Symbiotic, one of the teachers at the training-institute would have called it.


    She declined to go with the others, instead going to wake up Keera. She sent a short, psionic jab into the psionic mind she could feel sleeping in the room Keera was assigned to, pushing against her sleeping mind, causing her to startle awake. She giggled a little when Cyca¡¯s hearing allowed her to hear the thumb inside the room, followed by muttered curses, telling her that Keera had fallen from her bed and was not happy with it.


    There were steps coming towards the door and the next moment, she witnessed a monster. She had seen Keera in quite a few states, but in that moment, Scarlet was afraid. Blood-shot eyes with a slightly insane look in them, hair that looked like something a few birds had made their nest in, before having a hardcore rave and trembling hands.


    Pushing down that slight tinge of fear, she spoke with a cheery smile. ¡°Good Morning!¡±


    She would have to talk to Keera about getting that particular look down, pat, it would frighten off anyone she used it on. For a moment, she let the other get away with it, before meeting her eyes head on. ¡°Cut that shit out, or I will rip your head off and shit down your throat.¡± Scarlet warned, her glare ice-cold, designed to remind Keera of who was boss and who the follower. Or servant. Maybe even slave.


    It seemed to work, Keera flinched, as if slapped and lowered her eyes. ¡°I am sorry, I didn¡¯t sleep very well.¡± she said, by way of apology.


    ¡°Nightmares?¡± Scarlet asked, her voice compassionate once more. When the other nodded, she feigned to think for a moment.


    ¡°If you want, I can try to help with them. Up to you, though.¡± Scarlet offered, before continuing, ¡°For now, get your things ready. If we manage to get to the Doctor right now, great, if not, we leave without meeting him.¡±


    Keera nodded and went back into the room, coming out only a minute or so later, carrying her pack. Scarlet was quite glad that she still had it, but on the other hand, if Telram took it, he might get into trouble with the Doctor for it. It was in the Doctor¡¯s best interest to have his psions able to go out there and harvest, even if the quotas might be lower than he stated, something Scarlet suspected. The quotas and he as their sole arbiter, it was just an opportunity too juicy not to abuse.


    The two of them left the barracks, quickly walking towards the clinic instead of following the stream of people walking to the mess.


    ¡°Say, what¡¯s breakfast like in this place?¡± Scarlet asked, slightly curious what culinary delights she was missing.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°They claim its oatmeal. Not sure if they are lying or not, I¡¯d just call it warmed up, grey slime. It might be useful to use in construction, substituting mortar or something.¡± Keera answered, the look on her face taking away what little curiosity Scarlet had before. Her camp-cooking wasn¡¯t great, maybe not even good, but the fresh ingredients and maybe the primal atmosphere of the forest made it far more appealing than eating in the mess.


    Scarlet opened the door to the clinic, at least that was what she called the Doctor¡¯s building in her mind, leading the way inside. She waited in the reception-area for a moment, feeling that the Doctor was inside and awake, just from the powerful emanations of his mind. Normally, they were concealed but it seemed he just didn¡¯t care that moment. Or he was too distracted, doing who knew what. She certainly didn¡¯t know and didn¡¯t want to know.


    It took about ten minutes for him to appear, greeting them with a single raised eyebrow.


    ¡°Good Morning, Scarlet, Keera. What brings you here, this early in the morning?¡±


    ¡°I want to exchange a few crystals for supplies.¡± Scarlet answered, keeping her answer short. After their last meeting, she wasn¡¯t quite sure that she wanted to give the man too much of an opening.


    ¡°Of course. What is it that you need? Or, what is it that you desire?¡± the Doctor asked, giving his best, smarmy smile. It reminded Scarlet of the street-stalls in the slums, selling brand new electronics, fallen off the back of a robotic mover.


    ¡°On your list was a set of air and watertight containers, some sort of insulating plastic, I think, for two credits.¡± Scarlet told him, before showing him two of the rat-crystals.


    ¡°Ah, yes, those. But those are surely not all you want, right? We have some great things back there, why don¡¯t you come with me, to look at them?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Keera, could you get them? I need to rearrange a few things in my bag. You don¡¯t mind, do you, Doctor Oak?¡± Scarlet asked, sending Keera into the beast¡¯s den.


    Keera nodded, apparently not getting why Scarlet hadn¡¯t prepared her bag in the room. The Doctor¡¯s smile seemed to grow for a moment, before he simply smirked.


    ¡°No, of course not. Come with me for a moment.¡± The two of them left and Scarlet messed around with the things in her pack, shifting the crystals around pointlessly, just in case someone was keeping an eye on her. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed Aida, looking a little rumpled, but ignored the other woman. Nothing good would come from getting involved with her, or anyone, really. She just wanted to leave town, leave the intrigues, the oh-so-human power-plays and all the mess.


    It didn¡¯t take Keera long, returning with a slightly shocked look on her face and the set of plastic containers Scarlet had bought with her crystals.


    ¡°Thank you, Keera. Pleasure doing business with you. The quota is due in fourteen days, right?¡± Scarlet asked, taking the containers from Keera and putting them into her bag, quickly closing it to conceal the amount of crystals she already had.


    ¡°Yes. If you are out longer, there will be a penalty for late delivery, so keep that in mind. It is annoying when the guards need to get me, if you are not on the list.¡± The Doctor warned, his smile never faltering.


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go, Keera.¡± Scarlet startled Keera out of her strange state, not quite pushing her to the door.


    On the way to the gates, Keera started to almost gush.


    ¡°Have you seen all the things back there? Bourbon, good stuff and even what looked like quality bud.¡±


    ¡°Yes, all one needs to make people addicted. And, guess what, he¡¯s the only dealer in a few hundred miles. Control is the name of the game on this planet. You will not spent a single crystal outside of the quota without talking to me, understood?¡± Scarlet ordered, her voice calm.


    ¡°But¡­¡± Keera started, only to be cut off by Scarlet.


    ¡°There¡¯s no butt, other than the one I¡¯ll kick if you disobey. You¡¯ve shown that you can¡¯t keep others from controlling you, whether it¡¯s Telram or the Doctor, that¡¯s why you asked me to lead you or did you already forget about that?¡±


    Keera let her head hang on the way to the gate, while Scarlet¡¯s vigilance switched into the highest gear, if they managed to get away without being seen, they could likely use the river to hide their tracks, just in case someone tried to get them. Once they were in the deeper wilderness, she would feel a lot more secure, even with the monsters out there. At least, those were honest in their intentions, unlike the two-legged monsters in town.


    For a second, she chuckled, realising that she was one of those two-faced, two-legged monsters. But that was fine with her. Monsters didn¡¯t need to be afraid.

 Chapter 40

    ¡°Let¡¯s have breakfast as we walk. We can have a real dinner, later. I hope you still have at least some of the ration bars, do you?¡± Scarlet asked, after they passed the gates of Albertina, passing a curious looking guard.


    ¡°Yes, I have.¡± Keera answered, taking her bag off as she walked, pulling a bar out, like Scarlet did. Eating such a bar only took a few bites and the taste didn¡¯t invite one to savour them, so before they even managed to get to the forest, the bars were gone. Scarlet kept going towards the river, slowly increasing their speed. She had a couple of ideas to get away from possible pursuit, just in case Telram or the Doctor had nefarious plans for them. She dropped Cyca¡¯s crystal and, as soon as they reached the river, started to increase her pace, until she had a comfortable speed, almost moving at a jog. She wouldn¡¯t be able to keep it up the whole day but at least for some time she would manage. It was a little reckless but she trusted herself to deal with the monsters that appeared in the green areas. She remembered that there had been a small brook coming from the west, somewhere further north. It would take most of the morning to reach it, even with the speed she was pushing, but she thought it was their best bet to make their tracks vanish.


    Keera ran after Scarlet, the pace punishing, her longer legs forcing her into an uncomfortable gait, wondering why the other was in such a hurry. After an hour of jogging, Keera felt herself flagging, but forced herself to push on. She had a feeling that Scarlet was testing her, pushing, maybe punishing, her. Her sleep during the night had been strange. There had been nightmares, some of them more disturbing than others. She had started to dread sleeping, due to nightmares over the last few days, ever since going into the wild with Telram. In town, he had been friendly and even charming, but once he had her in the wild, he had changed. An involuntary shudder passed over her when she remembered what he had done to her.


    But there were also the nightmares featuring Scarlet and her bloody knife, those confused her to her core. She just couldn¡¯t understand why she was having them, Scarlet had never acted against her. Sure, the smaller woman was abrasive and curt, but compared to the things Telram had done to her, she was a regular teddy bear, sweet and cuddly. And there was something else, something that had made Keera listen up. When Scarlet had talked about her past, there had been sincerity in her voice, sincere compassion, as if the other truly knew what Keera was feeling. As if she knew the feelings of helplessness and disgust, not only with her situation, but also with herself, for being too weak to defend herself.


    Keera¡¯s thoughts faded, as her body started faltering, her mind solely occupied with the arduous task of setting one foot before the other. Part of her wanted to call out, but there was the fear that Scarlet would simply leave her behind, too useless to be taken along, too weak to survive.


    Scarlet focused on her own running, at one point, there was a crystal monster homing in on them and she made Cyca dispatch it, with haste. It was another of the rat-types that seemed to populate the forest in huge numbers, and for once, Cyca got direct orders how to fight. There was to be no mercy, no care for her own wounds. If necessary, Scarlet would use the solution from the Doctor to heal her, but speed was key.


    Cyca jumped the rat, claws out and started attacking without holding back, not even trying to dodge the feeble attacks the smaller being tried, pressing her advantage to the extreme. The rat got a few bites and scratches in, before it flickered out of existence and Cyca devoured the energy that remained before picking up the crystal and catching up to Scarlet who had never even slowed down. Speed was of the essence.


    Some time later, Scarlet heard a crashing noise behind herself, turning to find Keera splayed out on the trail behind her. Frowning, she turned and walked back, her breath going in deep gulps, to get enough oxygen into her body. She got to Keera¡¯s prone body and after a few moments, her breath was controlled enough to talk.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°Are you still alive?¡± she asked, while carefully kneeling, so she wouldn¡¯t stress her trembling legs overmuch. Keera¡¯s breathing was even more laboured and a quick check told her that her pulse was racing and next, she heard a groan coming from the other. Scarlet stood back up, her world trembling for a moment, while Keera started to move, pushing herself to her knees, and forcing herself to her feet. Scarlet quickly grabbed her when she started to sway.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say something?!¡± Scarlet asked, her voice scolding.


    At the same time, she stretched her mind, guessing that Keera¡¯s mind was still confused and disturbed, possibly allowing her to get a glimpse at her thoughts. She doubted that the collapse had been played, as some sort of distraction, but she couldn¡¯t know.


    Keera was blinking owlishly, her mind too out of it to think about the question asked, so she answered without thinking. ¡°Didn¡¯t want to slow us down, didn¡¯t want to get left behind.¡± she mumbled, her mind still not quite booted up.


    Scarlet found Keera¡¯s shields tattered, not fully anchored, allowing her to get a glimpse into the others mind and what she saw calmed her. There were a few strange thoughts and mental images, some of them featuring her with bloody hands, some of them featuring her without clothes, some of them featuring her with both, making her wonder just what Keera was thinking about. But everything she could see told her that Keera¡¯s submission had been genuine and that fear was driving her. She knew that, if she wanted to survive as anything other than a sextoy, she needed Scarlet.


    Scarlet quickly retracted her mental probe, before Keera could realise that it had been there and spoke. ¡°You slowed us down more by collapsing. I will not leave you behind, not without a good reason. Now, slowly, but move.¡± Scarlet ordered, watching as Keera placed one foot before the other, not yet fully stable but it seemed she wouldn¡¯t instantly collapse. But it was fine, they had managed to move for almost two hours, covering almost as much distance as they had covered during a day of sneaking through the forest. It might have been reckless and risky, but it had paid off, the small brook Scarlet was aiming for was only a kilometer or so away.


    That kilometer took some time, even as Keera¡¯s legs stopped shaking. Scarlet passed the brook at first, continuing their path for some more time, changing their direction into the forest, going deeper into the forest for some ten minutes, deliberately breaking twigs, ripping off leaves and leaving a few more tracks. Then, on a small clearing, she stopped Keera in her tracks, telling the other to carefully move back, mostly on their tiptoes, to avoid leaving more tracks.


    Keera looked confused, but obliged. Walking back those ten minutes, meticulously caring not to disturb the tracks they had left on the way in and making sure not to leave more, they got to the river. Scarlet backtracked some more, until they found a fallen tree, hanging into the water.


    ¡°Strip.¡± Scarlet ordered Keera, while taking off her own clothes, packing them into her backpack while ordering Cyca into her crystal and letting Crysna out. When in water, she wanted to have her snake at the ready.


    It took Keera a split-second to obey, but obeying she did. Only a few moments after Scarlet was ready, Keera was, too. With Crysna leading the way, Scarlet slipped into the water, using the fallen log almost like a ladder, to prevent leaving tracks going into the water. Crysna looked for a good point to cross, while they moved further downstream, wading in the hip-deep, for Scarlet, water. Before they got to the brook Scarlet was aiming for, Crysna found a decent crossing, so Scarlet moved to the other side, continuing her path there, still holding her pack on her head.


    Once they got to the brook, Scarlet continued her path in it, staying in the water and moving against the flow, away from the Alb for almost twenty minutes before leaving the brook, still careful not to leave tracks.


    ¡°Good, that should have taken care of tracks. I doubt that it would be easy to follow our trail. Even if followers guess that we used the river to shake them, that leaves a lot of places to search.¡±


    Keera only nodded, her mind understanding Scarlet¡¯s action in hindsight, realising that they were designed to shake pursuit from Telram. She felt a weight lift from her shoulders, a weight she hadn¡¯t even realised had been there, taking a deep breath, before thanking Scarlet.

 Chapter 41

    Once Scarlet felt that they were far enough from everything to be safe, she turned to Keera.


    ¡°Now, I promised I would train and shape you. I guess I should apologize in advance.¡± she said, mustering Keera. ¡°The first lesson you need to learn is that your mind is more powerful than you think. You were taught to stay in safe limits, to back off when you start feeling pain, but there are moments when you have to push through the pain.¡± Scarlet explained, before going into an explanation of techniques she had been taught and a few of her own expansions of them, allowing to push on, even if the mind wanted to back off. A scholar on the subject of psionic power development would have been incensed, hearing her recklessness, but deep in the forest, there was nobody to protest.


    It took Keera a little to understand what was required of her and she started the exercises that would allow her to push herself further and soon, she was starting to get a headache and nosebleed, at which point she would have ceased to strain herself before but now, she forced herself on, using the mental disciplines to keep her mind on track, not wasting any power. She almost blacked out from the pain, as if barbed wire was pulled through her brain and she tasted blood. Her mind wanted to back off, away from the pain but suddenly, she felt a presence, pushing, prodding at her mental defenses. Out of reflex, she tried to mount a defense and felt herself entangled, forced to keep defending, despite the pain and her suffering. She thought her mind would break, shattered from the unrelenting onslaught, when the presence backed off, letting her sink into blessed unconsciousness.


    Next to her, Scarlet wiped off the blood from her nose, pushing into another psion¡¯s mind and engaging them on their turf, without damaging them, was supremely difficult and nothing she would normally do. But it had allowed her to prod Keera some more, showing her just how far her mind could go without breaking. It also had the advantage that she had a good idea how Keera¡¯s mental defenses were structured, something she instantly used, delving into the others memories. Without Keera¡¯s exhausted state, both mentally and physically, her plan would be nigh impossible, at least without excessive and obvious mental attacks, but in the collapsed state her victim was in, she could manage.


    Like before, when Keera had collapsed on the path, Scarlet slipped into her mind, only this time she didn¡¯t just look at the surface, conscious mind, she went deeper. There, she was amongst the arcane and barely understood concepts that made up who Keera was, most of them too alien and complex to understand but she suspected, or maybe hoped, that there would be something signifying the decision to follow Scarlet. Scarlet had no concept of time, delving into another''s mind as she was doing, but she managed to find what she was searching, tangled together with other parts that made up Keera¡¯s character, but it was there. Using more instinct and carefully applied force than anything else, she gently pushed that submission, that desire to follow Scarlet, into prominence, strengthening it, not by much, only to the point that it might grow from there, becoming a deep-rooted and important part of Keera¡¯s psyche.


    Retreating from Keera¡¯s mind, she considered what she had just done. She had thought quite some time about the best way to ensure Keera¡¯s loyalty but had failed to come up with a way that would do so, reliably. But with Keera¡¯s willing submission, she had hoped that there might be an opening, a small sapling that could be nourished into something bigger. Time would tell if it had worked as she thought it might.


    After waiting for a moment or two, she got some water from the brook next to them and splashed it into Keera¡¯s face, quickly waking her.


    Keera sputtered for a bit, shaking her head to clear it, of both the pain and the water.


    ¡°That was the first lesson. We will try again in an hour.¡± Scarlet announced, causing Keera to wince. ¡°Get up, we continue on our way.¡± Scarlet ordered, grabbing Keera¡¯s hand and pulling her to her feet.


    ¡°You want me to continue, now?!¡± Keera asked, looking a little horrified.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ¡°Let me put it like this: Do you want to continue living in town, after the two weeks of grace period are up? You have a single credit right now, or did you manage to get more?¡± Scarlet asked, already knowing the answer from Keera¡¯s story.


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t get any more, I already told you that.¡± Keera answered, quickly deflating.


    ¡°So, get moving.¡±


    The two of them continued on their path, Scarlet keeping Keera from stumbling too much, even if her mind was hardly at full power. At the same time, she looked for the traces left behind by crystal monsters, not telling Keera what she was doing.


    Soon, she found a trace, quickly following it, causing Keera to stumble from the sudden change in terrain. Before, they had stuck to the relatively even ground next to the bubbling brook, but when Scarlet veered off into the brush, that changed.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Keera asked from behind.


    ¡°Just follow me, you will see.¡± Scarlet answered, continuing to focus on the trace she was following.


    Once Scarlet had the monster on her mental radar, she looked to Keera, ¡°Do you feel ready to fight with your crystal monster?¡± she asked, causing Keera to blanch but she pulled her crystal from her pouch, dropping it. Badgy flickered into being and instantly, Keera started to hold her hand, swaying, as if in great pain. Moments later, she sunk to her knees and Badgy vanished back into the crystal, stunned.


    ¡°I guess not.¡± Scarlet looked on, letting Cyca surge forward to meet the wild crystal monster that had noticed them. When she realised that it was another of those nutty squirrels, she smiled a little, knowing their tactics. Cyca managed to dodge out of the squirrels attacks, thanks to Scarlet¡¯s mental commands, striking back with lightning bolts, until the squirrel dropped. She picked the crystal up, walking over to the still kneeling Keera.


    ¡°You will have to train that, your monster is your lifeline after all.¡± Scarlet told her, pulling her to her knees, once again.


    Keera kept her eyes down when she answered. ¡°I know. It¡¯s just that Badgy started to resist my control, pushing back whenever he¡¯s free.¡±


    That made Scarlet mentally take notice, wondering why Keera¡¯s monster was getting uppity, while her own were only getting more mellow, their connection strengthening and allowing her to control them even better.


    ¡°Oh? That¡¯s interesting.¡± she said, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m not quite sure when it started. I heard from Holgur, that¡¯s one of the guards in Albertina, that most people switched their monsters every two month, euthanizing the old one because they get too difficult to control after a few months. But I already feel him pushing back now, after just two weeks.¡± Keera explained, sounding very annoyed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, your training will help with that.¡± Scarlet pushed away her concerns, thinking about possible reasons why it was different for her. There was that small voice, telling her that she deserved it, that she was the chosen one. It made her giggle, even thinking, in her own mind, that she was that very special snowflake seemed utter hubris. No, there had to be something that set her apart, either in her mental make-up or in her actions. Or maybe both.


    Understanding, it came all down to understanding. She had once heard the saying that to know oneself and know one¡¯s enemy was the key to win a hundred battles. Knowing herself was difficult, especially because she would have to take the alien influence of the crystal monsters into account, both the influence they might have on her and the influence they had as part of her powers.


    Knowing the enemy, that was easier to do, she just needed to quiz Keera who seemed to have gathered some knowledge during the ten days she had been stuck in Albertina.


    ¡°What else do you know, about the customary actions of the other psions?¡± Scarlet asked as she turned back, towards the small brook they had followed before.


    Keera scratched her head, thinking back to the conversations she had held and the actions she had seen.


    ¡°Mhm, what I¡¯ve seen is that they don¡¯t let their monsters out in the city.¡± she looked over to the cat-shaped crystal monster, ¡°And Telram didn¡¯t let his monster out, unless it was fighting.¡±


    ¡°Oh? What kind of monster was it?¡± Scarlet asked, curious what might hunt them.


    ¡°It looked like a wolf, only more ferocious and clad in a rocky armour. He mentioned that it was becoming problematic and that he¡¯d take it down soon.¡± Keera explained, causing Scarlet to shudder a little. The description sounded very much like a more powerful version of the rock-dogs she had fought, maybe after going through the strange change the Doctor had mentioned.


    Pushing those thoughts away, she asked a few more questions, how many monsters the different psions Keera had talked to had, had she noticed them training, things like that. The more knowledge she had, the better. After all, knowledge was a type of power.

 Chapter 42

    Later that day, after two more training-sessions driving Keera to the brink of brain-damage, Scarlet finally conceded to start making camp. On their journey, she had taken down two more crystal monsters, one rockdog and one nutty squirrel, so things were looking up. While Keera was, once again, unconscious after a brutal, mental exercise, Scarlet considered what she had learned from her.


    She took the tales related to her with more than a grain of salt, more with an entire salt-mine, considering that they had been told by either flirting or bragging psions, possibly with a deeper agenda.


    It seemed that most psions constantly rotated their monsters, not letting them grow and that, for some reason, just days after a core was harvested a new monster appeared in roughly the same area. So, most psions had their routes, a circuit spanning a few days march, that they simply walked off every month, taking down enough monsters without ever risking their monsters or themselves.


    The explanation made sense to Scarlet and told her quite a bit more about Albertina and why it worked the way it did. It was, essentially, a feudal society with Doctor Oak as King and the psions as noble caste. Not by God¡¯s Grace, but by the ancient tradition of might makes right. Doctor Oak was likely the most powerful psion which gave him control over the supplies, which, in turn, was used to keep people under control.


    The mundanes were the lower caste, whether you wanted to call them peasants, serfs or whatever, they lived simply because they were useful, either for lowly and hard labour, or ot be used by the psions as diversions. And that was why Albertina worked, the peasants could choose between dying in the wilds, ripped apart by crystal monsters and normal animals, or they could live under the psions control. The psions, in turn, could either live like nobles in a feudal society, pushing the mundanes around, abusing them for their entertainment, or they could try to make it on their own, on a rather hostile planet, without medical supplies and so on. On their own, they would be reduced to hunter/gatherers, which was great for short stretches of time, but without a way to either repair or replenish tools, even Scarlet wouldn¡¯t want to live off the land full-time. It would be highly difficult and that was without considering winter-time.


    In addition, the other psions ceased to work in pairs as soon as possible, using simple routes and rotating crystal monsters to avoid having to work too hard. That way, they were ten, maybe fifteen days out, for every month. The rest of the time was used to guard the town, which was rewarded with credits, earned in relative safety, a cushy job the Doctor used to reward loyalty to him. It was, in Scarlet¡¯s opinion, a brilliant system of control, as long as the Doctor controlled the town, the psions would obey him, either to retain their cushy gig of guarding the town, living very much like the nobles of a bygone era, or to get access to off-world goods. Once you were addicted to one of the recreational drugs, you wanted to keep taking it. Scarlet had seen addicts in her youth, they could be the worst sort of scum, the type that would happily slit their own mother¡¯s throat, just for their next fix. She had no doubt that the Doctor used that addiction to the fullest, like a carrot dangling on a string, pushing them to gather as many crystals as they could, allowing him and his cronies to fulfill their quota without ever leaving town.


    Shaking those thoughts, she tried, once again, to understand why her two crystal monsters obediently tagged along with her, to the point that the mental connection was more one of sharing instead of controlling. Part of her wondered if that was the reason, but it seemed circular, her monsters didn¡¯t fight her, thus she was able to give them more mental leash, thus they didn¡¯t fight her. It simply didn¡¯t work like that. She tried to remember when she had noticed that it became easier to control them, but again, nothing in her memories stood out, it had simply happened.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Was it simply because she treated them like sentient, maybe even sapient, creatures, not just tools? But such a simple explanation was just that, too simple. Even if the vast majority of psions were criminals, wouldn¡¯t they have noticed something? It seemed ridiculous, but it was the best explanation she currently had, weak as it was. But did she really need to know what set her apart? It was a curiosity but maybe it was just one of those things that had to be accepted, not questioned, like the question why some humans developed psionic abilities. The answer might even be related, that the individual circumstances of her power-development had led to the compatibility with Crystal Monsters.


    ¡°So, Missy, want to tell me why you seem to be obedient, unlike your brethren? It¡¯s not a very feline quality, is it?¡± Scarlet asked, as she picked Cyca up to give the cat that was rubbing against her leg some scritches. The crystal monster might know the answer to the question Scarlet was pondering, but if she did, she did not tell.


    But the voice seemed to have shaken Keera from her post-exercise coma, and she pushed herself up with a groan of discomfort.


    ¡°You are making progress, Keera.¡± Scarlet told her, her voice chipper.


    Keera looked over, still a little bleary eyed, ¡°You know, if you want to encourage me, you are doing it wrong. Sitting there, with your cute cat on your lap, petting it like some movie-villain, that¡¯s not encouraging.¡± Keera complained, her voice trying to project levity. But even knowing that she was Scarlet¡¯s follower, pupil and general dependant on her, seeing her stretched out, almost lounging, on a rock facing towards the setting sun, soaking in the rays with her feline monster curled up on her lap, purring contently, was just too much to bear for Keera, who was just coming around after having tortured her mind to the brink once again.


    ¡°I could show you the measures taken in the Pandora-Institute, I have the memories. Are you sure you want their version of encouragement?¡± Scarlet asked, her voice similar to Keera¡¯s but with a slightly threatening edge.


    Keera instantly shook her head, remembering the memory fragments she had received with the one skill Scarlet had transmitted to her. It had made her rather glad that her psionic talent was limited, compared to that of her new partner. Or maybe thinking of her as her leader was better.


    ¡°Thought so. Anyway, I think we¡¯ll have to think of a way to get your Badgy at least some combat, you are no use when you are a stumbling wreck. Maybe train three times a day, before breakfast, during lunch and after dinner, that would give you quite some time in which you can be useful.¡± Scarlet suggested, her voice mellow again.


    Some time passed, Keera getting her hurting head under control by submerging it in the cool brook next to them while she was considering her situation and Scarlet¡¯s latest order.


    ¡°You really don¡¯t need me, do you?¡± Keera asked, once she had put everything together.


    ¡°Define ¡®need¡¯. I managed to get along without too much trouble for ten days, gathering a boat-load of crystals, enough to pay my quota for a month, with some left over. I also almost died during those ten days, not that your presence would have prevented that,¡± Scarlet started to explain, deciding that, with the seed she had placed into Keera¡¯s mind earlier, she could tell a little more of her inner thoughts.


    ¡°You are, to be honest, an investment. For now, I invest time and effort into training you and making sure that you survive, hoping that you will be useful down the road. To be honest, I don¡¯t think I would be satisfied to stay in the valley for the rest of my life. And I¡¯m not sure I trust the Federation to let any one of us off-planet.¡± she continued her thoughts, falling silent at the end.


    ¡°Dean, one of the guards, told me that psions are allowed off planet at the end of their sentence, as long as they showed good behaviour. A few even shipped out already, although not many, but that¡¯s not too much of a surprise, Albertina is only a few years old, so not too many have served their time.¡± Keera answered, remembering what she had been told.


    ¡°Oh? Wonderful, now, would you tell me what my time is? My crime was ¡®being inconvenient for Psicom¡¯.¡± Scarlet answered, her voice sharp and cutting, before she caught herself, ¡°Ah, whatever, forget about it. I¡¯m going to bed.¡±


    With that, she left a speechless Keera sitting on the ground, looked for a good tree to sleep on and rapidly climbing up, not wanting to talk any more. She had already said too much.

 Chapter 43

    When Scarlet stalked off, quite obviously in a mood, Keera was left flabbergasted. Her diminutive companion had never talked much about herself, or anything, really, mostly just giving orders or explanations about the tasks at hand, but there had always been an air of danger around her. It had been that air of danger that made Keera question what she had done to be on Verdun, that and the various knives Scarlet had hidden on her person had fueled her imagination with visions of murder and intrigue. However, her parting words painted a very different picture, making Keera question just what had happened, while doubting that Scarlet would actually tell her.


    And she wasn¡¯t willing to push Scarlet on that, not after the time she had spent alone in town, calling it stressful would be putting it mildly. Even as harsh as Scarlet was, her actions seemed to have purpose, she was trying to help Keera become able to survive on the harsh world. Unbidden, visions of Scarlet leading her through the water, making sure that potential enemies had no chance to pursue, them came to her mind, making her blush. Forcibly banishing those thoughts from her mind, she looked into the remains of the fire, trying to think of something else, anything else.


    Some time later, she jerked up from her dozing near-sleep, wondering what they would do about night-watches. Scarlet had vanished into the darkness and she had no idea where the other had gone and she was not willing to call out, for fear of attracting some predator to their fire. Despite the order to keep her mind concealed and hidden, she send out mind-pulses, like a radar, reflecting back from thinking minds. She felt a mind nearby and merely seconds after she started, she heard Scarlet hiss a command in the dark.


    ¡°Stop it, fool. Those pulses can be felt for miles!¡±


    Keera looked around, having only a rough heading for the mind she had felt when suddenly, something large and heavy landed in the darkness to her side. She tried to turn, jump away and take a defensive posture, all at the same time, causing her to fall over her own feet, landing in a tangle of limbs.


    ¡°What did I tell you about concealing your mind?!¡± Scarlet hissed, having just leapt down the last bit from the tree she had slept in.


    ¡°I¡­¡± Keera started to stammer ¡°I just wanted to know what to do about a nightwatch.¡±


    Scarlet was quite annoyed. She had found a nice tree to sleep in, after getting annoyed by Keera¡¯s wide-eyed optimism, only to be awakened when a searching mind-pulse washed over her. Her mind needed a moment to rouse itself from sleep and into something resembling rational thought, realising that the searching mind was Keera¡¯s, causing her to hiss in annoyance.


    After getting down from her tree and causing the other to clumsily fall over, her mood didn¡¯t get better, especially when Keera looked ready to cry. For just a second, she was ready to abandon the project to make Keera useful, to simply dump her in the forest and go her own way, let the fool become one of the village whores, it would be no skin off her back. But, she realised, Keera was her best bet to mold someone into a reliable partner, someone she could rely on to her back, if only because she had planted the mental seed. If she gave that seed enough time to grow, sometimes slipping into Keera¡¯s mind when she was unconscious, she should be able to forge Keera into a follower that would go to her own death with a smile on her lips, if it meant that Scarlet would be rescued.


    Such a follower, or maybe calling it a slave would be more accurate, would be priceless and hoping that she managed to get someone pliable enough to mold in such a way was a long shot. It had worked with Keera due to a measure of trust the other had in Scarlet and the relationship the two of them had and the desperate state Keera was in. Making use of those emotions, linking them together and focusing Keera¡¯s mind onto Scarlet as the deliverance from her state was comparatively easy, laughably easy even, compared to other major mental reconstructions. It was not a topic she was well versed in, having only brushed about the effects of mental reconstruction and how to spot such a thing when looking for spies.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    Forcing down her annoyance, she reached out to Keera, pulling her to her feet.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for barking at you, but scanning for minds is dangerous. I really don¡¯t want to risk a fight with another prisoner, not if I can help it.¡± Scarlet explained, almost biting her tongue to be friendly and nice to Keera, even allowing the other to hug her and hugging her back, knowing that it might be an effect from the seed she had planted. Positive reinforcement was useful, especially when the seed was first taking root.


    Rolling her eyes when she noticed Keera crying, she patted her back, waiting her out. There were blubbered attempts at speech and after a few of those, Keera managed to get actual words out, apologizing to Scarlet for making her angry, pleading to not be left alone and similar nonsense. Scarlet simply kept reassuring Keera that everything would be fine and similar platitudes before showing her how to climb the tree she had slept in, showing her how to wedge herself and her sleeping back between branches to make sure she wouldn¡¯t fall and so on. It was annoying to almost tuck a grown woman in but she calmed herself with the mental mantra that the kindness would be fertiliser for the mental seed.


    After looking down to the remains of the fire, making sure that they wouldn¡¯t be wakened by a sudden forest fire, Scarlet went back to sleep herself.


    The next morning, Scarlet woke with the sun, looking over to Keera¡¯s still sleeping form, happy that the other hadn¡¯t managed to wiggle free from the tree and fall down. While it would have amused her, Keera might have been hurt, slowing down their journey and that would have been annoying. So, short term amusement that she would have been forced to hide against long-term annoyance?


    After stretching a little, Scarlet climbed down, letting Crysna out to move around a little as well. She was planning to let Cyca do most of the fighting for the day, so Crysna would mostly be in his crystal form and she had noticed that her monster¡¯s behaviour was happier, for lack of better word, and the effort keeping them in their crystal form was lesser when they were allowed to play in their projected forms for some time each day. That and the sometimes very feline behaviour of Cyca made Scarlet wonder just how the Crystal Monsters came to be. They were certainly not acting like animals and their minds were structured very different from animals as well, making her curious.


    During the days she had hunted alone, she had imagined a few scenarios, some of them more outlandish than the others, imagining everything from ancient, alien civilisations creating them for their own enjoyment, something of a world-sized amusement park that was now explored by humans or some sort of recreation project. She had tried to come up with natural explanations but had been unable to come up with anything that sounded even remotely plausible. She still considered a natural explanation the most likely reason, even if she had no idea how, but she was quite sure that her own lack of information was to blame for that.


    While Crysna happily swum around in the brook, Scarlet washed up, enjoying the cold water on her skin. Once she felt clean, she started a new fire, planning to prepare breakfast. But before that, she climbed back into the tree, carefully waking Keera up.


    ¡°Good morning, sleepyhead. If you want breakfast, you¡¯ll have to come down and complete your first round of mental training. By the time you are done with that, I¡¯ll have food ready.¡± Scarlet told her when Keera was blinking the sleep from her eyes.


    Scarlet had to suppress a grin when Keera looked around owlishly especially when it became so obvious that she had noticed Scarlet¡¯s state of dress, or rather, undress, blushing bright enough to be used to signal the Federation-forces in orbit. Climbing back down, Scarlet heard soft muttering from Keera but ignored it while starting to make breakfast. She was soon followed by Keera who was still bright red, but again, Scarlet ignored the others state. When Keera instantly sat down cross-legged, in the position she preferred for her meditation for some reason, Scarlet hummed in approval. She knew how painful the exercise Keera was using were, having used them in the past, but discipline was one of the keys to psionic power.


    With that in mind, she tried to make sure that the breakfast was a tasty reward, a carrot to motivate Keera in her training. And to make her think of Scarlet as the benevolent mistress that took care of her.

 Chapter 44

    After Scarlet had prepared breakfast, she waited for Keera to keel over, surprised that it hadn¡¯t already happened. But it gave her a minute or two to consider her actions in the future, how to behave to make the seed she had planted in Keera¡¯s mind to sprout in the way she wanted to.


    Ultimately, she wanted to have Keera bound to herself, convinced that she was following and obeying Scarlet because it was what she wanted. An invisible cage, anchored deep within her consciousness, a cage she couldn''t escape, ever. That was what she wanted, but how to get there, that was the question. There were a few roles she considered, a superior, similar to military ranks, but those didn¡¯t quite signified what she wanted. Sure, she wanted to be able to command Keera but a superior was just another cog in a larger machine and the loyalty was seldom to the individual, but to the idea. Another role was that of a family member, similar to a parent but she quickly discarded that as impractical, partially because she, Scarlet, had no idea how to act as a parent.


    And lastly, she considered the role of a teacher, remembering how her own teachers at the training-facility had acted, and how they had made sure to always remain aloof and distant. If she used that as a model, a teacher, pushing the student but making sure the student felt it was to their own good, that might be the way to go.


    Scarlet¡¯s musings were interrupted by a soft thud caused by Keera falling over, blood running from her nose. Seeing that, Scarlet smiled a little, happy to see that Keera was coming along better than she had anticipated. After a moment of consideration, she walked over, shifting Keera¡¯s body onto one of their sleeping-bags and propping her head up on a pillow. For just a second, she had considered using her own lap as pillow, but decided that it would be too forward and send the wrong message.


    Once Keera was situated more comfortable, she got a cloth and some water from the nearby brook, cleaning away the blood and sweat from Keera¡¯s face, gently taking care of her. Just as she was about to be done with that, Keera¡¯s eyes fluttered open, exactly as Scarlet had planned. She wanted the gesture to seem natural but also caring and comforting, more fertiliser to the seed.


    ¡°Good, you are awake.¡± Scarlet said, smiling gently at Keera. ¡°Breakfast is ready.¡±


    Keera blinked in surprise for a second, blushing just a little, before accepting Scarlet¡¯s hand to get up. Breakfast was still a rather simple affair but overall, Scarlet¡¯s cooking had improved some during the time they had been apart. While she was greatly lacking in spices, the raw materials were fresh, without the blandness of previously frozen ingredients, reducing the issue.


    ¡°How long do you need to be able to fight?¡± Scarlet asked, ¡°Part of getting stronger is knowing and assessing your own strength, so it is your choice when you take the lead. But remember, a lot of the power you stand to gain is tied up in your crystal monster, the more powerful your crystals are, the more power you have at your disposal.¡±


    Scarlet was not quite sure how to interpret the look Keera shot at her, nor did she understand the blush creeping up on the other.


    ¡°Give me about an hour.¡± Keera mumbled, after closing her eyes for a moment, looking inward.


    ¡°An hour it is. But for now, we should get going, I doubt monsters will come to our camp, to be destroyed and bagged.¡±


    They quickly cleared up the camp, making sure that the fire-pit was covered in earth and started on their way. As Scarlet had promised, she went ahead again, with Cyca bounding next to her. Neither of them made any voluntary noise, even if Keera was still learning the art of silently moving through a forest, but even Scarlet had yet to perfect it. Only Cyca moved truly silent, as befitting a creature based on a predatory cat.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    In the time Scarlet had the lead, she managed to hunt down another crystal monster, one of the birdies, and gladly sent Cyca to take it down. For once, the fight was rather interesting, the bird-monster apparently a particularly strong example of the type, even if the outward appearance was very similar to the others they had taken down.


    The bird managed to detect them before Cyca was able to sneak up on it, to take it down with a single, powerful attack from an ambush and the bird instantly took flight, getting into a position that would allow it to strike its earthbound foe with impunity or flee, if the need arose.


    The bird¡¯s first move was to rapidly beat its wings for a second or two, fully arresting its forward movement and causing a strange gust, or airblast to strike down towards Cyca. The cat tried to leap aside but the area covered by the pressure wave was too large, the backblast catching her in the air, causing her to tumble and lose track of her assailant.


    ¡°Over there!¡± Scarlet shouted, pushing her sensory information and view through their bond, allowing Cyca to dodge the next blast, this one far more concentrated, making it smaller but stronger.


    In response, Cyca tried to get it with one of her lightning blasts, attacking while the bird was still trying to get its speed back up after attacking. But it proved cagey, letting itself drop almost to the ground to evade the sudden attack.


    ¡°Quick, strike now!¡± Scarlet called out, pushing a tactic to Cyca, showing her how to get the bird before it could get back into the sky. Going along with the plan, Cyca leapt to one tree, not even trying to get a grip, merely using it to push off mid air, towards another tree and finally a third one that allowed her to artfully intercept the bird just as it was trying to climb back into the air.


    Scarlet blinked in surprise when there was a flash of lightning coming from Cyca¡¯s claws, not just the normal, clear phantom extensions, but extensions made from the same lightning she shot out to attack. But the attack wasn¡¯t just new and obviously powerful, it managed to hit right between the bird¡¯s wings, and with a cat just slightly smaller than it was having its claws lodged into its back, the bird had no chance to continue flying. Their momentum combined, causing them to tumble through the air, until Cyca demonstrated that even crystal monsters that merely imitate the shape and mannerisms of a cat land on their paws. Or, in this case on the bird they had in their paws.


    When the bird had yet to dematerialise and let Cyca absorb its essence, the cat used her superior position to bite into its neck, ending its suffering. The birds body turned into the familiar surge of light, flowing into Cyca and once it was done, the cat took the surprisingly large crystal into her maw, carrying it over to Scarlet, proudly presenting its kill to her mistress.


    After quickly taking and pocketing the crystal, Scarlet gently picked up Cyca, rewarding the excellent fight with scritches and general petting. It only took moments for Cyca to happily purr and, while Scarlet led them back to the main path, she continued to give Cyca all the attention the cat loved.


    ¡°You know that¡¯s not a real cat, don¡¯t you?¡± Keera finally asked after a minute or so.


    ¡°That entirely depends on your definition of real, I guess. Do I know that it is not a member of the animal kingdom, the chordata phylum, the mammalia class and the felidae class? Yes, I know that.¡± Scarlet answered, not stopping to gently stroke Cyca¡¯s fur.


    ¡°So, why are you treating it like that?¡±


    ¡°Why not? I¡¯m quite certain that Cyca is a thinking, feeling being. I can feel her enjoyment over the link I use to direct her so why shouldn¡¯t I try to reward positive behaviour? Just because I can force her to do my bidding?¡± Scarlet asked, turning to Keera. She almost added that she could force Keera to do what she wanted, but managed to stop herself, realising that the processes involved were not too dissimilar. She wanted to tame Cyca, so that the cat obeyed her and did her best to follow her commands, just like she wanted to train Keera to follow her commands. She even used mental control for both tasks, only that she was less open about the way she influenced Keera. Knowing that such an explanation would destroy all the progress she had done on Keera, she simply hid her thoughts with a smile.


    ¡°I think part of the reason I have such an easier time to control my crystal monsters is that I treat them as living beings, not just as tools to be used and discarded.¡± Scarlet volunteered, hiding her own thoughts on the matter.

 Chapter 45

    For the next few days, Scarlet and Keera continued the routine of the first days, travelling west along the brook, slowly making their way towards the far distant mountains. As they travelled, Scarlet focused on gently teaching Keera, helping her to better control her Crystal Monster while hunting down as many crystal monsters as possible.


    On the second day, Keera finally got curious enough to ask how Scarlet was able to suddenly veer off into the surrounding forest, quickly finding crystal monsters to fight and harvest. That was when Scarlet started to show her how to look for the minute traces that crystal monsters left in their passing. Once Keera knew what to look for, Scarlet was in for a surprise. They noticed that, for some reason, Keera was able to pick up the traces easier than herself, now that she knew what to look for. While there was a small part within Scarlet seething with annoyance that her pet was better than her at something important, she hid that annoyance, showing nothing but pride and excitement at Keera¡¯s accomplishment. It helped that it allowed them to find more crystal monsters, even hunting down one of the badger-like monster that was the same type as Keera¡¯s partner.


    That particular battle was one in which Scarlet experimented a little more about with varying efficiency of a monster¡¯s attacks, depending on the enemy. Remembering how badly Crysna had beaten Keera and her badger, she used him again and lo and behold, calling the result a fight would be an exaggeration. Crysna managed to hit the badger full-on with his water-spit, keeping the stream focused on it and within mere seconds, the badger turned into light which was swallowed by Crysna.


    Scarlet made a mental note as she picked up the earthen-brown core from the defeated badger, happy to see that Keera looked slightly apprehensive at the ease with which Crysna had dispatched a monster similar to hers. It was just an indirect lesson but Scarlet was happy that Keera was seeing how easy it would be for Scarlet to overpower her. She wanted to be seen as the powerful but benevolent Mistress, a force to be seen with respect and fear.


    On the third day, Scarlet was a little surprised when, for the first time, Keera joined her when she bathed herself in the morning. Before, Keera had always blushed prettily when she had done so, and she still did, but had only hesitated a little before stripping. Scarlet simply shrugged, carrying on as always. not caring one way or the other. In close-quarters she would have insisted on Keera taking regular baths, but in the open forest, she would have to smell like a skunk to bother her.


    Finally, on the fourth day of their journey together, after harvesting a few more Crystal Monsters, they left the forest, walking onto a wide-open space. Before them, sparkling in the sunlight, was a large lake, too big to easily guess at the distance to the other shore. It had to be a few hundred meters, they could make out trees but no more details than that. Both, Scarlet and Keera, stopped for a moment, simply taking in the natural beauty before them. Nature, untouched by civilisation, wild and primal, was something neither of them had been able to enjoy before coming to Verdun, on most planets of the Federation, nature had been tamed, civilised and made safe. The only time Scarlet had been in a wilderness before, it had been during survival training and the trainers had something to say to anyone who wanted to stop to take in the sights.


    So, the image of the mirror-still surface before them was a treat for both of them.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± Keera struggled for words for a second, before settling on the simple ¡°beautiful.¡±


    ¡°That it is. Cyca, come back to me.¡± Scarlet called out, pulling Crysna¡¯s crystal from her pouch. If there were enemies, she wanted a monster that was at home in the water, if not, she was quite sure that Crysna would enjoy the lake a lot more than Cyca with her kittenish dislike of water. When Crysna appeared, he looked around for a second before slithering into the water at Scarlet¡¯s mental command, making sure that nothing was lurking in the shallow water.


    ¡°But let¡¯s not get struck stupid by the environment, we can look at it all we want after making sure we are safe.¡± Scarlet continued, taking a look at her scanner. It showed a slightly threatening yellow, but not to the point that she was concerned.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Keera looked over to her before mirroring the look at the scanner. Sadly, even with all the control-training for Keera, they were unable to have their monsters fight together, their instincts too strong to allow that. They could suppress them far enough to make it work, but the result was that their combat-instincts were just as suppressed, making it not worthwhile.


    ¡°Let¡¯s find out how big the lake is.¡± Scarlet suggested with a smile, turning to follow the lakefront south.


    They walked for about an hour before Scarlet felt a mental tug, Crysna warning her that there was an enemy in the water. Not sure what they were facing, she called him out, hoping that the enemy would follow, possibly fighting at a disadvantage outside its natural habitat.


    Crysna burst from the water, splashing water into their general direction and Scarlet warned Keera of the incoming enemy.


    For a moment, nothing happened, while the three of them stared out, into the lake, waiting with bated breath. The moment felt as if it stretched into hours, when suddenly, a figure burst from the water. It was no large figure, about the size of one of the badger-monsters, slightly bigger than Cyca, but the water concealed most of its features.


    Crysna instantly dodged aside and a blast of water ripped away the grass where he had been waiting, when the monster made its opening move.


    Now, Scarlet was able to see more of it and once again, she started to wonder. It looked like a turtle, the shell very similar in colour to the lake-bottom, allowing it to hide during its approach. The other side was an almost sky-blue and after a second, Scarlet understood that it was most likely camouflage, hiding it from predators deeper in the water.


    Not sure what the best approach to fighting it was, Scarlet let Crysna have his will, observing and looking for openings to exploit. The two monsters went at it with a similar tactic, maybe because they were both water-based ambush-predators. They used their water-blasts, trying to cause the other to stumble, so they could close in and use their jaws in an attempt to finish off their foe.


    ¡°What do you think, can you manage two monsters by now?¡± Scarlet asked, looking over to Keera. The water-turtle would be a good complement to her badger, at least in Scarlet¡¯s mind. Keera blanched a little, uncertain if she had the mental strength to manage but unwilling to look useless in front of Scarlet once more. Scarlet noticed her apprehension and decided to, once again, play the gentle Mistress.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to force yourself, I¡¯m sure there will be more monsters worthy to catch.¡± Scarlet told her companion, aware that it would be a stretch for Keera to keep two monsters. Not impossible, and it would make her more useful, but a stretch. On the other hand, she was relatively sure that the growth she had experienced since coming to Verdun was at least partially because she was using her psionics at all times, to keep her two monsters under control.


    The gentle voice calmed Keera, who looked at the monster, still dodging Crysna¡¯s attacks, and decided that she would try.


    ¡°I want to try.¡± she stated, squaring her shoulders.


    ¡°Do or do not. There is no try.¡± Scarlet admonished, quoting something she had heard ages ago.


    ¡°I will do it!¡± Keera mumbled, pumping herself up.


    After another exchange of attacks, the turtle looked slightly worse for wear, its form flickering a little, but Crysna didn¡¯t look much better. At that point, Keera decided that it was time to strike, pushing with her mind at the crystal that was visible when the form flickered. The turtle instantly turned, ignoring Crysna entirely and attacking Keera instead. Keera jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding another water-attack, and Crysna took the presented opening, striking with all the speed the snake could muster, sinking his fangs deep into the flickering form. Scarlet noticed too late that her monster was still in fight-mode, not quite prepared for Keera to already make her move.


    The moment Crysna¡¯s attack sunk into the monster, Keera gave a piercing scream, tumbling to the ground and convulsing, clutching her head in pain. At the same time, the monster turned into light and was absorbed by Crysna, to the sound of Keera¡¯s screams. When the last of it vanished, Keera¡¯s form stilled, only the light movement of her chest hinting that she was still alive.


    The development caught Scarlet by surprise and she quickly made sure that Crysna was alright before calling him back and having Cyca guard her back while she took care of Keera.

 Chapter 46

    ¡°What a mess.¡± Scarlet muttered to herself, checking Keera¡¯s pulse. Finding it was easy and it felt strong, if rather fast. Another check made sure that Keera¡¯s monster crystal was still secured in her pouch. After a second of hesitation, Scarlet took it into custody, until Keera was back on her feet. She was simply not sure if Keera¡¯s mental control of the crystal would break at any point and if it did, having it near her person would allow Scarlet to handle the monster without harming Keera in the process. If it jumped out right in the pouch, its first actions would most likely be to savage the back the pouch was pressing against.


    After placing a hand on Keera¡¯s forehead, Scarlet stretched her senses towards the others mind, curious what she would find. It was almost completely blank, not just passed out from over-exertion but in a deep state of unconsciousness. Without the physical contact, Scarlet might have missed the signs of continued mental activity and put Keera out of her misery. While coming out of a full vegetative state was not unheard of, it would be foolish to hope for a full recovery without dedicated care, which Scarlet was neither able nor willing to provide.


    ¡°Some sort of feedback? That means I should make sure to never let a monster I¡¯m controlling be defeated straight up, instead forcing them into their crystal or severing the connection.¡± shaking her head, she decided that she wasn¡¯t willing to find out. Luckily, Keera had managed to find the first pitfall, another reason to keep her around.


    With that in mind, she placed Keera in a stable position, making sure that she wouldn¡¯t suffocate on her own tongue or some equally embarrassing death, and walked over to the treeline, looking for the best spot to make camp in the vicinity. Even if Keera woke up the next moment, she doubted that Keera would be up to continue and forcing her seemed needlessly cruel.


    What she found wasn¡¯t the best of locations, but it would do. After a second of contemplation how to best move the unconscious body, she grabbed Keera slightly below the chest, letting her feet drag after them. As Scarlet laboured, she muttered curses under her breath, wondering just why Keera needed those jugs lying on her arms. And why she needed to be that tall and heavy. But luckily, the way wasn¡¯t far so Scarlet was only slightly tempted to cut off pieces to make the work easier, not that she would ever have admitted that.


    After making sure that Keera was reasonably comfortable, Scarlet decided that making camp then and there, allowing Keera to recover at least somewhat was likely the best idea. It showed care for her follower and it allowed her to look at the beautiful lake some more. She truly wanted to see it in the light of the setting sun.


    Soon, there was a small fire burning near the still unconscious Keera and Scarlet took out the various crystals she had acquired, comparing them. Maybe the most interesting were the crystals of Crysna and the strange turtle-monster she had fought before. They were very similar in size, but, at least judging by hand, Crysna¡¯s crystal was a little heavier. But what made them truly interesting was that both crystals had a similar blue hue to them, only that the blue swirls in Crysna¡¯s crystal existed next to a distinct second set of purple swirls and the turtle¡¯s crystal was lacking those and the imperfections were not in the form of swirls but looked almost like small starbursts within the crystal.


    Scarlet¡¯s first theory was that the colour of the crystals was something akin to camouflage, both monsters had been water-based and, at least to a point, ambush predators. So, having crystals that blended with the water was not too big of a leap. At least if one ignored that normally the crystals were not visible at all. Or maybe she was looking at it from the wrong direction, maybe the colours of the crystals decided what form the projected monster would take, even if she saw the projected monster-form as the ¡°true¡± form of the monster, it was likely the other way around, the crystal being the true form and the projection merely being that, something used to interact with the world. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    That in turn led her to the question where the colours came from, the Doctor had not mentioned anything regarding some colours of crystal being more valuable than others, so either the differences were not in chemical composition or the differences didn¡¯t matter to the Federation. Or, another possibility was that all colours were used in some sort of research or that the differences in their value just didn¡¯t filter down to Verdun. That last idea was the least likely, why should the Federation care to hide it if one form was more advantageous, it wasn¡¯t like the prisoners on Verdun could truly pressure them. Not unless and until the prisoners managed to throw off their shackles, which would require time, leadership and a lot of effort.


    A small part of Scarlet¡¯s mind, the part that had enjoyed the mundane, sociology lessons at the institute was a little curious what the population of Verdun would look like in ten or maybe a hundred years. From what she had gathered, Albertina was only a few years old and the prisoners had mostly kept to the routine set by the Federation, not experimenting and venturing from it.


    That likely was due to convenience, trying to venture from it would require resources and without tools, gathering those would be difficult. And getting the tools would, in turn, require at least some infrastructure. If the Federation carefully controlled what was coming down, making tools more sophisticated than tying rocks to sticks would be complicated. But that would be the required starting point, unless someone managed to con the Federation into sending down tools that allowed to circumvent some of the process, for example some sort of kiln would help a great deal.


    But even something as simple was working metal would require the appropriate tools and likely knowledge that the people of Verdun lacked. She made a small, mental note to check out what kind of tools the workers in the field used, if the Federation was careful, those would either be made from one of the highly resistant alloys, something that needed insanely high temperatures or absurd physical forces to change its shape, or they would be some hard duraplast, something that burned rather than melted, making it impossible to reshape into whatever tools the prisoners needed to break from the Federation.


    No, the Federation would most likely carefully control what came down, to make sure the prisoners were unable to make their own tools, unless they wanted to go back to the simplest tools. And if the question was whether someone wanted to work with tools made from stones and sticks or follow order from, literally, up high, people would follow the orders.


    Suddenly, Scarlet had a thought that she had ignored before, when the refracting light drew her eyes back to the crystals. The monsters seemed to break all sorts of normally established rules of physics and she had already seen them used as working creatures. Who said that there wasn¡¯t a monster with the ability to shape metal, similar to the way the badgers shaped and formed earth, or the rockdogs used their rock spikes? Or maybe a monster that controlled fire in such a way that allowed working with metal?


    Either of those would likely be more powerful than what was conveniently used by the prisoners, but maybe Scarlet could get there.


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you can arc-weld?¡± Scarlet asked Cyca, who padded over, hopping into Scarlet¡¯s lab and demanding scritches instead of showing off her talent as a welder. Shrugging, Scarlet put away the crystals she had previously held, busying her hands instead in Cyca¡¯s soft fur.


    She sat there for a while, petting Cyca who took the attention with the indifferent arrogance only a feline could muster. But Scarlet hardly noticed, her eyes looking out over the lake, her mind busy thinking, at least until the lake seemed to become alight as the setting sun peeked through a gap in the trees, causing the red and orange lights to refract in the water. It was an awe-inspiring vision, almost as if the lake was made from liquid fire, a thought that seemed absurd, but on a planet that broke all kinds of physical laws, as she knew them, she was not certain that she wanted to make that claim.


    Finally, she managed to drag her eyes from the spectacle and as she did, she took another look to Keera, who was still completely out of it.


    ¡°You know, that could be a problem. I don¡¯t think I can drag her into a tree for safety.¡± she told Cyca. Leaving Keera down here was a large risk, so, after a few more minutes of contemplation, Scarlet decided to keep watch throughout the night and decide on a further course of action in the morning.

 Chapter 47

    After carefully wetting Keera¡¯s lips, trying to get at least some water into the unconscious woman, Scarlet settled down for the night, trying to find a state of aware tranquility. Her body was rather tired, thanks to the efforts of the day, as was her mind, but it would just not do to fail in her set task.


    As she sat there, her eyes looking out over the lake without seeing it, she slowly felt herself calm, only focusing on her breathing. It was almost like her meditation, just that she didn¡¯t try to lose herself in the exercise, she just wanted to rest her mind and body. In the beginning, she only focused on her body, the beating of her heart, the pulsing of her blood and the slow, measured breaths flowing into her nose and out of her mouth.


    But with each beat of her heart, she was able to notice a little more of the world around her, at first, she just heard the wind blowing. A few heartbeats later, she heard the soft noises of the woods, the rustling of the leaves as the wind blew through the trees, the creaking of the branches and even trunks as they shifted.


    With just the beats of her heart as a measure of time, she quickly lost track of it, letting her mind roam, listening to the sounds of nature, many of them unknown to her. Some might be animals, some might even be crystal monsters, but neither her mundane senses nor her psionic, sometimes called sixth, sense was warning her. She felt perfectly calm, peaceful. It was a pleasant sensation, one she had not known at many points in her life.


    A small part of her mind felt it was hilarious, she was on one of the most dangerous and primal planets known to man, but she felt more at home than she had felt in Nova Yor, the city that had birthed her.


    Suddenly, she felt her nose scrunch up and something akin to a bad smell intruded into her senses. Not that it was anything as mundane as a smell, no what she felt was a vicious smell, a desire to cause pain and humiliation. It was just inside her ability to sense, too far away to sense in anything but the state of tranquility she had reached before, but as soon as she had smelled it, her calm had fled, anxiety over a possible confrontation with what-, or rather who-, ever gave off that smell disturbing her mind.


    At first, she tried to force herself to calm down but after a few moments, she noticed just how contradictionary that was. Pushing the thoughts of danger and her anxiety from her mind, she completely focused on her breathing, trying to think of nothing but the air rushing in and out of her body. Once she was fully aware of her breaths, she added the beats of her heart to her awareness, feeling how each beat sent blood flowing through her body, thinking of nothing but those functions.


    Again, she felt the smell intruding, but now, she simply accepted its existence, not trying to frantically focus on it, instead keeping her mind on her breathing. The not-smell spurred some memories, her mind almost unconsciously making the connection, remembering where she had felt the sensation before. She had smelled it in the darkness when Telram had stalked Keera and her. Scarlet¡¯s tranquil frame of mind was gone, the knowledge that someone was after them, and quite close, was too disturbing.


    She had a rough idea where the sensation had come from, but what she should do with that knowledge, she wasn¡¯t sure.


    Keera had told her that Telram was not notably more powerful than she was, but that was only what he had let her see, only what had been necessary to keep Keera under control. Scarlet was quite sure that she needed to take the information with a sack of salt, not just a grain, considering that every psion on Verdun was in an unspoken competition for control and power. She had found a few interesting tricks concerning the control of Crystal Monsters and she knew full well that she wouldn¡¯t share those, unless she got something equally valuable in return. So, thinking that others would show their full strength and casually reveal possible trump-cards was foolish. No, she had to treat Telram as seriously dangerous and capable of killing her.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    She considered abandoning Keera, simply booking it into the night, but that would cost her a valuable resource for no real gain. Even if Telram took Keera, made her his in any way possible, Scarlet doubted that it was Keera who he was after. No, she had stood up to him and threatened him, he would come after her and fleeing would only postpone the confrontation, probably allowing him to choose the circumstances.


    Another question was how he had found them, while it could be coincidence, she strongly doubted it. She believed in coincidences, they happened every day, but for the single person who had cause to pursue them, just accidentally following the same path they had taken? That was no coincidence.


    Then it dawned upon her, he might have felt the search-pulse Keera had given off on their first evening, found their abandoned camp and followed after it, slowly catching up to them. After the first day, she had hardly tried to conceal their tracks, so confident that she would have lost any pursuers on that day. Before she could get angry at herself, she pushed the annoyance away from her, there was time for recriminations later. Now, she had a pursuer to deal with. Not knowing how long Keera would be unconscious meant that he would find Keera the next day, there was no way Scarlet would be able to carry Keera, certainly not fast or far enough to get away from him.


    No, she would have to take him out if she wanted to keep Keera and herself safe.


    After a minute of consideration, she took off her backpack and thought about taking off her crystal pouch. She was just not sure if there was a trick to detect dormant crystals, so she placed it next to her pack, knowing that if it came to open combat she was in trouble anyway. There could be no fairness in this fight, so every slight advantage when it came to sneakiness was valuable. After a moment of hesitation, she applied the same passive sealing-trick she used during sleep, allowing her to focus every bit of her attention elsewhere.


    With stealth in mind, she walked down to the lake, using mud to liberally cover her face and hands, every bit of skin that was exposed, even her hair got the mud-treatment, hopefully hiding it in the dark.


    Thus covered in mud and dark thoughts on her mind, she slowly started towards the sensation she had felt, her mind solely focused on staying undetected, her mind blank of everything else. Her mind needed to be nothing but a whisper in the wind, unexpected, undetected, until she struck with explosive violence.


    Focused on nothing but setting one foot in front of the other, she didn¡¯t feel the passing of time, didn¡¯t notice the mud slowly drying on her face, only focusing on that sensation of malice she had felt before, following it as if it was a bad smell in the wind.


    Once she was close enough, she started looking for traps, not necessarily to hurt or hinder approaching foes, but simply to alarm a sleeping person that someone was coming. She had considered using something like that but had put it on the backburner due to lack of tools.


    Her caution proved warranted, there were thin threads between the trees, dark and hard to see in the darkness. Following one, she found a small box filled with rocks, the simplest noise-maker one could imagine. Now even more cautious, she carefully stepped over them, almost expecting another set right behind them. But no, they seemed to be solely focused on animals and such, maybe he felt secure in his position as a predator.


    Careful not to disturb any leaves or cause any noise, Scarlet sneaked closer until she noticed a sleeping form next to a burned down campfire. Still cautious of a trap, she waited, ascertaining that it was a living, breathing human, not a decoy placed there if he was attacked in the night.


    Finally satisfied that it wasn¡¯t a trap, that it was their pursuer, she moved forward, not in haste, not in fear, moving with deadly purpose. For the first time, she would strike to kill, not to immediately defend herself, but preventive.


    Poised to strike, she stopped herself, changing her aim. Originally, she had planned to strike into the left side of his chest, hoping to get his heart before cutting into his throat, going for the jugular. But no, that would be stupid, she realised.


    With all the speed and strength she could muster, she stabbed, once, twice, three times, into his stomach, each time twisting the knife before ripping it back out. It only took seconds, the sudden pain too much for Telram to do more than expel the air in his body in a pained scream. Once that was done, Scarlet turned, running as fast as she could.

 Chapter 48

    Scarlet was focused on nothing but keeping her footing in the dark forest, trying to get as much distance between herself and the clearing she had stabbed Telram on as she could. She was certain that the wounds she had caused him would be fatal, the only remaining questions were how long he would remain alive and how long he would take to understand his situation. Right now, he was busy giving off pained noises but far too soon, he would likely try to avenge himself.


    The first strike came after she had taken just a dozen or so steps, a savage psionic attack sweeping over her, battering at her mental shields. She easily managed to keep her footing, mostly due to the undirected nature of the attack, she had a feeling that he hadn¡¯t managed to find her, despite the relative close distance. Maybe he was just in too much pain to think clearly. So, without knowing where to strike, his attack felt like it had been directed in a huge arc, hoping to get her to stop hiding. Not that she had any interest to do so, no, she just wanted to get away.


    Two more attacks swept through the forest, making her wonder what he was trying, if she had struck with such ferocity, she would be nursing a headache, maybe even bleed from her nose, so it seemed to be a lot of power wasted purely to lash out. Surely, he must have realised that he wouldn¡¯t get her, after his first attack had failed.


    Suddenly, she felt a strange sensation behind her, just before the dark forest was illuminated by an explosion of flames, strong enough to cause her to stumble and take cover behind a tree. She cursed silently, having a relatively good idea what was happening, Telram had a reserve crystal monster, likely just at the edge of what he could control, trained up and kept there, as an ace in the hole. The only thing she was not sure about was whether he had unleashed it to hunt her or if he had lost control over it, either due to the pain or simply by dying. Not that she wanted to find out and without her own crystals, she had no desire to go against a monster.


    She calmed her breathing and made sure that she was still as psionically well hidden as she could manage before slowly continuing her way through the dark forest. There were a few more explosions behind her but strangely, the forest didn¡¯t catch fire and she was unable to detect a following monster, crystal or otherwise. Hopefully, she had been able to get away cleanly.


    For the rest of the night, she criss-crossed through the forest, using the brook to wash away any possible scent-trails, before, just about the time the sun was slowly rising across the horizon, she got back to the camp, guided by the link the her crystals. Thoroughly exhausted, she gave a cursory look over to Keera, seeing no obvious change in her and sank down near the cold remains of their fire, her mind still reeling from the events of the night.


    She had, for all intents and purposes, murdered a man. Sure, she could pretty it up for herself as much as she wanted, tell herself that it was no different from the previous times she had used her psionic talent in self-defense, but it felt different. The two times she had been forced to defend herself, she had just reacted, someone attacked her, she had tried to fight back, she had been overpowered and then, without conscious thought, she had struck with her psionic powers, the first time, when she was just a teenager, without even knowing what she was doing, the other time, just before she had been banished to Verdun, she had more control, but so had her assailant.


    Now, she had sneaked through the forest, silently making her way to a follower and stabbed him. Sure, she was certain that Telram had meant to harm Keera and her, yet, there was a small part of her that felt uneasy.


    Not far from the silently brooding Scarlet, Keera slowly came back to consciousness.Her head felt like it was about to split right down the middle, freeing the band that seemed to be playing inside. But why did they have to go so heavy on the drums? You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    After a minute or two of silent suffering, her mind was aware enough to remember the events before she had passed out, trying to control the turtle-monster and then, a sudden, splitting pain in her head, a pain that still seemed to linger. Still, she needed to get up, or Scarlet might leave her behind, if it hadn¡¯t already happened. It took effort to open her eyes, they were sticking together because of dried crud on them, still, she persevered and managed to force them open, only to slam them right back shut, thanks to light flooding into them.


    Slowly, just squinting, she opened them a second time and that was when she became aware of the monster that was nearby and started to scream, while scrambling away.


    Scarlet was completely lost in thought, slowly turning the knife she had used during the night in her hand, remembering what it had felt like to slide it into Telram¡¯s belly, hoping to cause him a mortal wound, but one that wouldn¡¯t kill him too fast, so that she had time to escape, before he lost control over his monsters. She had been relatively sure that the pain of getting stabbed in the gut would prevent him from following her, so his monsters had been the main danger, in her eyes.


    The sudden scream, coming from right next to her, caused her to go into complete fight or flight-mode, her psionic powers bursting out in a search-pulse, while her mind reeled with the sudden influx of information. Her eyes flickered around while she leapt up, forcibly breaking the lock on Cyca¡¯s crystal, letting the cat burst out in an attempt to get as much power ready to react to whatever danger there was.


    When neither her eyes nor her mind were able to find the danger that had caused the scream, she focused on the source of it, Keera. The other had scrambled away a little, only to trip on the uneven ground.


    ¡°What is going on?!¡± Scarlet barked, her voice slightly hoarse from exhaustion and annoyance. Her heart beat a hundred miles an hour and adrenaline flooded her system, making her twitchy. Cyca must have felt her agitation and joined her, sparks jumping between her tails as the two of them advanced on Keera.


    ¡°What¡­ Who¡­?!¡± Keera mumbled, incoherent babbling coming from her lips.


    ¡°Words, NOW!¡± she ordered, slowly continuing her advance on Keera.


    Finally, Keera seemed to gathered enough sense to realise just what she was looking at. The mud-covered form with the bloody knife had to be Scarlet, the voice and general form fit, even if nothing of her features was visible.


    ¡°Scarlet?¡± she asked, still not sure if she should try running away.


    ¡°Who else do you think would drag your worthless carcass to a camp?¡± Scarlet growled back, her worry now warping into anger at high pace.


    ¡°What happened to you? Why are you covered in mud?¡± Keera asked, causing Scarlet to realise that the mud she had used to mask herself during the night must have dried. She had been so lost in thought, she hadn¡¯t really realised it.


    ¡°Your dear boyfriend, he managed to follow us.¡± Scarlet grumbled, turning away from Keera and walking towards the lake, calling Cyca to follow her.


    ¡°WHAT?!¡± Keera exclaimed, panic engulfing her. Just the memory of the time she had been dominated by Telram was enough to make her despair.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about it, he won¡¯t harm you. Ever again, I made sure of that.¡± Scarlet answered, raising her hand with the still bloody knife.


    Keera followed, wordlessly, her still aching head not quite able to make sense of the words she was hearing.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± she asked, despite being quite sure she knew the answer.


    ¡°I guess he felt you a few days ago, when you carelessly sent out a search-pulse. That said, we will have to cover our tracks, when you just startled me, I used one myself, who knows if there is anyone nearby. It won¡¯t be Telram, of that I am quite sure, he is done for.¡± Scarlet explained, stopping at the waterline, kneeling down to clean her knife first before stopping for a second and changing her mind and stripping off her clothes, keeping her knife in hand and simply walking into the lake, cleaning herself and her knife at the same time.


    Luckily, she was unable to see Keera¡¯s expression, given that she was focused on the lake in front of her, it would just not do if she got ambushed by some water-dwelling crystal monster.

 Chapter 49

    Standing in the shallow water, Scarlet wondered why she had been so angry at Keera. Sure, the observation that Keera¡¯s blunder might have brought Telram onto their trail would have been useful to induce feelings of guilt into Keera, binding Keera tighter to herself but she hadn¡¯t even thought about choosing her words to that effect, she had merely lashed out. Feeling the water around her, she decided that having Crysna with her might be a good idea and, carefully controlling her mind, let him out of his crystal as well. She wasn¡¯t able to have both of them out to fight, she was quite sure that if she were to try, the fight would turn into a wild free-for-all, with only one monster remaining at the end, maybe one of hers, maybe their opponent, but keeping them controlled outside of combat was quite possible.


    The snake slithered into the water, obviously enjoying that it was in his own element before curling around Scarlet and getting petted a bit. The smooth and cool scales made it an unique feeling, even as she felt a tinge of jealousy from Cyca who stood at the shore, watching the other two in the water. Feeling clean, Scarlet waded out of the lake, carefully ignoring Keera, wanting the other to come to her, seeking her approval and forgiveness. Instead, she picked a reasonably smooth looking patch of grass, stretching herself out in the sun with both her crystal monsters making themselves comfortable on her, looking for some more attention. Giving it to them, allowed Scarlet to relax her mind, their simple pleasure flowing back through the controlling link, soothing her mind. She had to keep herself from relaxing too much, the combination of her monsters¡¯ contentment and the warm light of the sun was conspiring with the exhaustion from her nightly endeavour and tried to make her fall asleep.


    Luckily, it only took a few minutes for Keera to fold and Scarlet felt the familiar presence come closer, yet, she continued to ignore her, even when she blocked part of the warm sun. She wasn¡¯t going to give Keera an inch of an opening, until the other was figuratively, maybe even literally, on her knees, asking to be acknowledged.


    ¡°Scarlet?¡± Keera¡¯s voice asked, soft but not yet desperate enough for her taste, so she merely opened her eyes, while keeping her face a stoic mask. Keera looked guilty, just the way Scarlet wanted her to feel, so she simply kept eye-contact, giving the other a chance to speak, to grovel.


    ¡°What exactly happened? I only remember to try subduing the crystal monster and I think Crysna attacked it. After that, nothing, until I woke up and saw something crouched nearby, caked in mud, holding a bloody knife. Please, just tell me what is going on.¡± she asked, her voice turning pleading at the end.


    Feeling that the proper order of things was mostly restored, Scarlet closed her eyes but opened her mouth to speak.


    ¡°First of all, step aside, you are blocking my sun.¡± she ordered, her voice calm, bordering on bored. The contentment of her monsters allowed her to project absolute carelessness. Instantly, the warmth of the sun was back but no footsteps hinted at the fact that Keera had moved away, no, the other was waiting at her leisure. As things should be.


    After letting her wait for a few moments more, she started speaking.


    ¡°You remember correctly. It seems that, when a crystal monster is attacked during the subdual-process, there is some sort of feedback, rather violent, it knocked you out for quite a while. I might have to check if you suffered any further damage, later.¡± Scarlet mused, her voice still deliberately calm, as if the possibility of Keera having brain-damage was no more exciting than the fact that she had been blocking her sun, maybe a little less so.


    ¡°Anyway, I dragged you into camp, made sure that you¡¯d be comfortable and all that but in the evening, I noticed something at the edge of my detection-range and when I investigated a little, I realised it was Telram, following us.¡± she continued.


    ¡°After the effort I went through to make sure we couldn¡¯t be followed on our first day, I went through the events since then, trying to figure out how he managed to follow us and the only thing I can think of is your outburst, that he picked up our trail from there, following after us to teach us a lesson.¡± she let that idea hang there and, in the following silence, she easily heard that Keera¡¯s breathing was a little laboured, as if she was about to go into a panic-attack.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    ¡°I won¡¯t let him hurt you.¡± Scarlet broke the silence, trying to project as much confidence and strength as she could, her words carefully chosen to send a certain message to Keera.


    ¡°And he won¡¯t, I made sure of that in the night. He won¡¯t come after you, ever again.¡± Scarlet finished, the statement similar to what she had said earlier, only this time, the message had changed.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Keera¡¯s voice, barely audible, sounded just like Scarlet wanted her to sound, shaken and grateful.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Now, I want to check if you were hurt yesterday.¡± Scarlet got up, Crysna wrapping himself around her arm and placing his head on her shoulder, while she kept Cyca in her arm, gently stroking her fur. Looking over, Keera was kneeling on the ground nearby, her legs folded beneath her.


    ¡°Don¡¯t resist.¡± she told Keera, reaching out with her free arm, placing her hand at Keera¡¯s temple, the contact amplifying the mental connection.


    On the surface, Keera¡¯s mind looked just fine and Scarlet deliberately made a show of not looking at Keera¡¯s surface-thoughts, instead only looking for possible damage. It wasn¡¯t something she was good at, her talents were in other areas. In addition, while using psionics to heal mental conditions or assist in treating some physical ones was possible, it was a highly specialised subject that needed special and very advanced training.


    Part of her wondered if Doctor Oak had such training, he called himself a Doctor after all, but she didn¡¯t know and, for herself, knew that she¡¯d never let anyone monkey with her mind on the necessary level. She¡¯d rather die. It was testament of the developing trust that Keera¡¯s mind was as open to her as it was, something that Scarlet, in the privacy of her mind, greatly welcomed.


    ¡°It looks like that, other than that bit of a scare, you are just fine.¡± Scarlet said after retreating from Keera¡¯s mind. On an impulse, before pulling her hand back, Scarlet caressed Keera¡¯s face, just a little, feeling that some positive reinforcement was a good idea, after Keera had literally be brought to her knees.


    ¡°What did you do to Telram?¡± Keera asked, after a second of thought.


    ¡°Do you truly want to know?¡± Scarlet asked in return, knowing that Keera¡¯s mind would most likely conjure up a much better, more heroic, version of the story, compared to the truth. ¡°He won¡¯t attack anyone, ever again.¡± she continued, before waiting for Keera¡¯s response.


    Keera looked pensive for a second, still looking up at the standing Scarlet, before nodding.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so. Thank you, again.¡± Keera admitted.


    ¡°Good. Now, I would like to get some distance between us and the camp-site, I let out a search-pulse, who knows who noticed it.¡± Scarlet finished their conversation, deliberately turning around and walking towards her discarded clothes, picking them up before walking over to their camp, pulling her other set of clothes from her pack.


    Keera had followed behind her, so Scarlet decided that Keera could do some extra work. She felt her empty stomach protest at the idea to continue their march without some breakfast, which was the right task for Keera. Taking the knife, that had claimed a life only hours earlier, she turned to Keera, holding the cleaned knife at the blade, with the grip towards the other.


    ¡°Could you prepare breakfast? I need to wash my clothes, they got a little dirty in the night.¡± Scarlet asked she noticed that Keera hesitated for a second, before carefully taking the knife. To add to the message she had been trying to send, Scarlet turned around, slowly walking towards the lake with her dirty clothes. As she did, her senses were on high alert, just in case her ¡®show of trust¡¯ was misplaced. But no attack from behind came, just the sound of Keera starting to go through their packs, deciding which of their supplies to use for food.


    At the water, Scarlet wondered if she should have checked whether Telram had anything useful with him, some tools or something like that, but at the same time, she wasn¡¯t sure about the rules they were operating out here. For now, the main rule seemed to be, that there were no rules. But what if that was more a case of ¡°Don¡¯t get caught!¡± and the Doctor would be willing to use looted equipment against them? She was reasonably sure that the Doctor needed to operate within his own rules or he would get a revolt, so he wouldn¡¯t go after anyone without reason, some sort of justification that he could hold up to rally the psions behind him. Shaking her head, she knelt, watching how Crysna slithered into the water, and started washing the dirty clothes.

 Chapter 50

    After breakfast, Scarlet and Keera continued to move, Scarlet dragging a little, due to her lack of sleep. Not that she would have admitted it, so she did her utmost to keep her head up and her senses sharp, even if she wanted nothing more than curl up somewhere and sleep for a while. They kept themselves near the water, staying on the grassy, solid strip between the waterline and the forest, ready to react to any threat coming from either area. At the same time, both of them were carefully looking for crystal monsters, knowing that every monster they killed was an extra crystal in their pouches and a little more power for their monsters.


    The first shift of hunting was left for Keera and her badgy, even if Scarlet kept an eye open and Cyca¡¯s crystal at the ready, just in case badgy got in over its head, fighting the monsters lurking in the depth of the lake. Scarlet had formed a few theories regarding the habitats of crystal monsters and the influence of habitat to abilities, even if they were rather rough and limited. The few examples she had seen so far hinted that monsters like badgy had problems with monsters living in water, partially because one of badgy¡¯s biggest strengths was to use the ground against his foe, tripping them or using his control to create small earth-spikes. In addition, it seemed as if the badger was not a huge fan of water in general, so, after about an hour, they decided to have Crysna out to deal with monsters in the water and Badgy would deal with those in the forest.


    Shortly after Crysna was let out and wrapped himself around Scarlet¡¯s arn, head resting on her shoulder, Scarlet felt that he wanted to take to the water. She allowed it, his hunting drive keying her in that there was a monster in the water. A short moment after Crysna leapt into the water with a soft splash, a second,larger splash occurred and Crysna and his prey landed on the shore. It was a strange, fat carp-like crystal monster that instantly started to flop around, apparently trying to get back into the water. Not that it had a chance, Crysna was following right on its fins, instantly wrapping around the fish, stopping its ineffectual struggles and starting to viciously bite into its projected body. Just seconds later, it was over, the carp starting to flicker, allowing Crysna to get the final blow and he started to gorge himself on the precious energy, strengthening his own core.


    ¡°I think Crysna would like to stay in the area.¡± Keera remakred with a smirk, as the snake was slithering back towards Scarlet, obviously planning to take up his accustomed position on her shoulder, carrying the crystal of its vanquished foe in his mouth.


    ¡°I agree.he seems rather happy.¡± Scarlet agreed, even as she got used as a towel by Crysna wrapping around her leg to slither up her body. Still, he had done a good job, so, after he had dropped the crystal into her hand like a dutiful dog, he gently stroked his head, just like he seemed to enjoy it.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to see if it is worth it. While I would love for him to get stronger, the same goes for Cyca and Badgy. Maybe we could fashion a fishing-rod from some wood.¡± Scarlet continued, laughing at her own joke.


    ¡°Yeah, right.¡± Keera joined in, obviously happy that the tension from the morning had been dispelled by a bit of walking.


    They continued on, Crysna taking to the water three more times, each time landing, wrapping and destroying a fish-crystal monster in short order. During the same time, Keera and Badgy managed to take down a single rat-like crystal monster that she had spotted in the forest.


    The two of them found a nice spot, large, clean rocks facing the sun, to have their lunch. It was a spot that made one want to linger, to enjoy the sun and its warmth. After they had taken out and eaten the rest of their breakfast and some of the foodstuff they had gathered over the days, Scarlet leaned back against one of the rocks, closing her eyes and enjoying the sun. Both, Cyca and Crysna were had taken up position next to her, enjoying the rays and getting petted at the same time. To Scarlet, it was paradise, the warmth of the sun on one side, the heated rock on the other and a sense of security, thanks to her two monsters next to her.


    Nearby, Keera decided to emulate Scarlet, finding a good spot to catch some rays while bonding closer with her monster. As she did, she thought about the time she had spent alone in Albertina and what people had told her. Nobody had mentioned anything about bonding with their crystal monsters but it seemed such an obvious idea. Everyone she had talked to had referred to them as monsters, talking about them as if they were tools, weapons, not living beings. Maybe that idea came from the fact that they turned into rocks when they were defeated, making their existence something fundamentally different compared to humans and similar living beings. Part of her wanted to ask Scarlet but when looking at the other, she couldn¡¯t do it. Scarlet looked so uncharacteristically relaxed, only a small trace of vigilance on her face, almost as if she was asleep. Instead, she pushed her question away, focusing on the smooth, almost carapace-like surface of Badgy. He seemed to enjoy the treatment just like Scarlet¡¯s monsters did. Maybe that was the reason why Scarlet¡¯s monsters seemed to be easier to control, that they wanted to work with their master.


    Softly, so that she wouldn¡¯t disturb Scarlet, she started to talk with her Badgy.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°Hey little guy, do you like this?¡± she asked, as she gently stroked his back. Through their bond, she felt something that she thought was acceptance and enjoyment, similar to earlier. Emboldened by the apparent communication, she continued.


    ¡°Do you think you could behave better? If I don¡¯t need to focus so much on you, to keep you in line, I would be able to control a second monster, that way, we all would be safer, including you.¡± she asked but the content feeling she was getting from her monster didn¡¯t change. Still, she didn¡¯t feel discouraged, continuing to softly speak with him while stroking his back.


    What Keera didn¡¯t know was that Cyca had very sharp ears and in Scarlet¡¯s relaxed state, she had opened her mind to her monsters, using their connection to exchange sensations. It was a bit of an experiment on Scarlet¡¯s part, she wanted her monsters to know each other, to learn that the other was a partner in combat, not a prey to be devoured. If she could get them to understand that simple concept, their battle-power would go up by a lot.


    Amusement flickered through their bond, Scarlet listening to Keera¡¯s soft voice but at the end of the day, she was doing the same, just their methods were different.


    ¡°You neglected your lessons yesterday.¡± Scarlet mentioned, not opening her eyes, simply reminding Keera that she had something else to do.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of protecting us in the afternoon, so push yourself.¡± she continued and, even without any psionic power, she would have been able to feel the hesitation emanating from Keera. She could even understand it, the psionic exercises were difficult and painful but at the same time, they were the fastest way to strengthen Keera¡¯s powers, if Keera put in the effort. And Scarlet was making sure that she was.


    A moment later, Scarlet opened her eyes, looking over to Keera. Seeing that the other had pushed her monster back into his crystal and was submerging herself in the exercise, Scarlet nodded in acceptance. Keera was mostly accustomed to following orders, taking Scarlet as a higher authority than her own mind. That was the right was to condition her and it was coming along nicely. She watched as Keera started to sweat, knowing that the exercises were scaling in intensity and it wouldn¡¯t take long for her to keel over. She contemplated for a moment and decided that a bit of kindness would help in driving the lesson that obeying her was the right thing to do so Scarlet got up, readying herself to catch Keera when she eventually finished.


    A minute or two later, she heard a soft grunt from Keera and the other started to sack, unconscious. Mentally, Scarlet made a note to scold Keera later, telling her off for taking the risk of banging her heads on the rocks as she quickly moved, catching her before that happened. It didn¡¯t take long for Keera to regain consciousness and when she did, she found herself on her back, with a bit of cloth under her head.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t do those exercises on rock, you almost cracked open your head.¡± Scarlet gently reprimanded her, as soon as Keera sat back up.


    ¡°Come, let us continue on our way. It will give you something to think about, besides the headache.¡± Scarlet continued, offering Keera a hand-up.


    For the afternoon, Scarlet decided to let Cyca take up the role of the protector and for a few hours, they continued on their way without much luck when it came to finding monsters. Cyca managed to use her lightning powers to strike one of the bird-like monsters from the sky, but that was it. It got to the point that Scarlet considered letting Crysna out, hoping to find monsters in the water, when she felt a surge of fear coming from Cyca. It was strong enough to make Scarlet stumble and, caught unprepared, she was pressed to keep control over Cyca, to prevent her monster from simply darting into the forest.


    ¡°Run!¡± she managed to gasp, knowing that the panic from Cyca most likely had a good reason, she started towards the forest when a shadow in the water caught her attention. Both, Scarlet and Keera were running when a shadow caught up to them, large and looming, big enough that Scarlet took a glance over her shoulder and what she saw almost caused her knees to buckle.


    Intellectually, she had known that Crystal Monsters could become big, huge even. She had already seen a strange plant-creature the size of a small house, but the monster that was raising its head from the water was eclipsing it, both in size and intimidation-factor.


    It looked like a massive snake, the head shaped different from Crysna¡¯s and strangely, the head had whiskers. Her mind was managing to take in the small details, like the shape of the head or the way the sun was glinting on the scales but trying to conceptualize the entire creature only made her shudder in fear. Just the looming head was easily three meters in size, sitting on ten meters of body above the water. She had no idea how much body was hidden in the dark waters and she didn''t¡¯ really want to know, she just wanted to get away.


    When she heard a strange, hissing noise, Scarlet decided that she needed to improve their chances. The noise sounded like Crysna when he used his water-attack, only dialed up a few orders of magnitude and Scarlet had no desire to find out how much that would hurt. With pure, mental strength, she forced Cyca to take the last spot, mentally commanding her monster to use the booming flash they had used when faced with the sounder of wild hogs. It might not help against the massive monster behind them, but Scarlet wasn¡¯t willing to force her monster to use anything else, it would have to be enough.


    The next moment, two things happened at once, the colours in front of Scarlet were washed out for a split second, thanks to the intense light coming from behind while a thunderclap boomed behind her, thanks to Cyca. However, at the same time, Scarlet felt the ground shaking and tumbled to the side as the massive jet of water coming from the monster dug a trench where she had been running just moments earlier. She felt a sharp pain coming over her link with Cyca and knew that her monster had taken some damage. Following the link, she spotted the cat tumbling over the ground, her body flickering due to the massive damage.


    Not leaving her monster behind, she sprinted over, grabbing the cat, while the monster seemed to be a little disoriented from the flash. It allowed Scarlet to flee while pushing Cyca into her Crystal, carrying it with her, while running after Keera.

 Chapter 51

    Scarlet was running as fast as she could trying to keep up with Keera¡¯s longer legs when the other woman before her started to slow down, maybe two-, three-hundred meters away from the shore-line. Both women were gasping for breath, unable to speak and Scarlet felt herself stumble as her lungs tried to supply her screaming legs with oxygen. Her mind was still reeling with the awe-inspiring existence they had just fled from, her body shaking from the fear of another near-death experience.


    ¡°Take over¡­¡± she managed to gasp out, before sucking in another breath, forcing herself to keep walking, to prevent her muscles from locking up on her. Next to her, Keera was doing little better, her biggest advantage was that her monster had been in its crystal and didn¡¯t try to break her control in a bid to flee. The limited awareness of the crystal-state had been a blessing for her. Still, Keera heard Scarlet¡¯s words and interpreted them as an order to take over guarding them, just in case a crystal monster attacked them in their weakened state, so she dropped Badgy¡¯s crystal, despite the lingering headache from her psionic exercises.


    Despite their bodies whimpering in protest, they forced themselves to continue walking, ready to give it their all if they heard the monster leaving the lake and pursuing them.


    ¡°What in the darkness of space was that?!¡± Keera asked, once she had enough air to talk without sounding like a landed fish.


    ¡°Remember what the Doctor told us?¡± Scarlet replied, taking another deep breath before continuing, ¡°About the first crystal monsters they discovered? That they had the size of buildings? I think we just met a medium sized one.¡± she finished, before the lingering adrenaline and resolving tension caused her to start giggling at the thought that there were bigger, more ferocious monsters out there.


    ¡°I thought that was hyperbole¡­¡± Keera muttered, almost to herself.


    ¡°No, not quite. I saw a different monster when I was out alone, it was smaller, only the size of a small house, but hey, that was big enough to make me a believer.¡± Scarlet replied after getting her giggles under control.


    ¡°And you went back out?!¡± Keera asked, almost incredulous.


    ¡°Of course. I refuse to be hemmed in. I told you that it¡¯s rather likely we will stay on Verdun for a long time, maybe until the day we die. I refuse to live in fear! And there is only one thing to make sure that I don¡¯t need to be afraid. That¡¯s to be the biggest monster there is.¡± Scarlet replied, her voice turning a little harsh.


    ¡°You see, I want to be the very best, to travel this world they want to make our prison. To make it my own. I will travel across the land, searching far and wide and every challenge along the way will make me stronger.¡± she stopped for a second, taking another deep breath.


    ¡°I will battle every day to claim my rightful place.¡± again, she paused, this time not for breath, but for effect.


    ¡°Or I might die tomorrow, but that¡¯s just fine with me. I once read that some ancient people had a saying. ¡®Live free or die. Death is not the worst of evils.¡¯¡±


    The sheer intensity in her voice caused Keera to tremble. It made it obvious that Scarlet was speaking from the depths of her heart, that she meant every word.


    ¡°You are not going to stop until either outcome is reached, are you?¡± Keera asked, mostly rhetorically. She already knew the answer, that Scarlet would either accomplish her goal or she would die. And, when looking into herself, she felt that she was lacking a similar conviction. The only thing she could see was that she wanted to stick with Scarlet, to help the other to reach as high as possible.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    At the same time, there was another realisation, one she wasn¡¯t ready to share. From what she had seen in Albertina, the other psions were mostly contend, looking for their own personal safety and comfort. She doubted that they would just continue to train and struggle after seeing such a monster, let alone seeing one every time they went out. She had a feeling that they stuck to the areas they knew, where they felt relatively secure, simply collecting their quota with as little risk as possible.


    But what if the controlled crystal monsters could feel that? Keera had noticed that Scarlet¡¯s crystal monsters seemed to obey much easier and part of her doubted that it was only because Scarlet treated them like actual, living beings. It seemed to easy an answer. But if they felt Scarlet¡¯s conviction to become the strongest? That would mean that their existential drive, to devour other crystal monsters and become powerful, aligned with Scarlet¡¯s conviction, that both parties wanted the same thing. It was a scary idea, that the monsters were capable of such calculating thought but it seemed to fit with what she had seen.


    She just needed a away to test it. She knew that she was lacking the pure drive to power that Scarlet had expressed but she felt that she could stick with Scarlet, following after her. She wouldn¡¯t be the best, the strongest. But she would be strong. Maybe that was enough of an conviction for Badgy, if her idea was anything but a delusion. She would have to find out.


    ¡°Keera, are you paying attention?¡± Scarlet asked, shaking Keera from her pensive thoughts.


    ¡°Nothing important, I just had a thought.¡± Keera waved it off and focused on their surroundings, making sure that no monsters were sneaking up on them.


    Scarlet, on the other hand, had taken out the healing-solution that the Doctor had given them and was following after Keera while carefully spreading it over Cyca¡¯s crystal. Internally, she was a little torn, part of her was disappointed that Cyca had tried to shake her control when confronted with the massive monster but, when she looked at it realistically, she knew that it would be too much to ask most creatures to face a monster so much more powerful than them instead of trying to save themselves.


    Maybe, now that she had carried Cyca along with her, taking a risk, the monster would understand that working together, even to the point of risking their lives, was the strategy to success. She also considered if she should let Crysna out but was a little apprehensive, fearing that he might try to devour Cyca¡¯s crystal. Even coming too close to Badgy was something she avoided while Cyca was weakened, feeling that it was an unnecessary risk.


    They continued on, Scarlet letting her monsters rest, while Badgy took out another crystal monster, this one of the nutty squirrels. Scarlet was still under the impression that the varied forms and abilities of crystal monsters were contrary to everything she had ever learned about biology, even xeno-biology. Part of her wondered how long it would take for the existence of Verdun to become known to the rest of the Federation and if the Federation would be forced to let researchers travel to the planet to find out more.


    Just the idea was making her grin, once that happened, the Federation would have a major problem. Currently, the Federation could keep control by restricting materials that were send down, it was hard to build things without a way to mine and process iron but if researchers wanted to work on the planet, it would mean that a certain amount of development would have to be done. And that would allow the current prisoners to dictate terms, by simple virtue of power. The Federation had tried to pacify the surface, trying it again with an added guerilla force would end in the same kind of disaster as the first try. And the prisoners were in the ultimate survival training-camp, where a brutal, natural selection was separating those who could fight from those who couldn¡¯t.


    After about an hour of continuous walking, Scarlet felt that it would be a good idea to make camp and rest. She wasn¡¯t operating at full power, merely pushing on thanks to her willpower and stubbornness, unwilling to show weakness.


    ¡°I think we crossed enough distance to be sure that the monster won¡¯t follow us. And those trees over there,¡± Scarlet pointed to a couple of easily climbable trees, ¡°look like we could make camp here.¡±


    Keera just nodded, taking off her pack and starting to prepare camp by having Badgy use his ability to manipulate earth to dig a fire-pit. Scarlet on the other hand decided that it wouldn¡¯t hurt to sit for a minute, simply to get off her feet.


    It was a surprise to Keera when she heard a soft, purring snore from behind her and when she turned around, Scarlet was visibly asleep, leaning against a nearby tree. Smiling, Keera decided that, for once, she would take care of the other and started to prepare some food, planning to rouse Scarlet when they could eat.

 Chapter 52

    When Keera had prepared food and shook Scarlet awake, she started smiling, as she looked at the other woman. Scarlet was completely wiped out, even as she was gently shaken awake, her mind was clearly not active, the normally ever-present mask of vigilance that even remained on her face when sleeping, was gone. For the first time, Keera saw Scarlet as the slender, young woman that she was, without her strong personality clouding the issue.


    Once her eyes fluttered open and, with great effort on her part, stayed open, Scarlet managed to shovel some food into herself, even as both her body and mind were screaming at her to shut down. The sleepless, stressful night, the days march and finally, the adrenaline rush caused by the gigantic water-serpent-dragon-monster, they all contributed to her weariness. Part of her, the cautious, paranoid part, tried to keep up her vigilance but no matter what, she just had nothing more in her tank.


    Keera was eating in silence, trying to make sense of what she had seen when a soft, clanking noise roused her attention. She had given Scarlet her portion in one of the metal bowls of their cookware, together with a spoon but apparently, Scarlet was just too tired to eat and had fallen back asleep while eating. Shaking her head, Keera walked over, putting the bowl away, planning to eat it later. But first, she wanted to make Scarlet more comfortable, at the end of the day, she had done the same for her, just last night.


    Placing her own bowl aside, she carefully slipped off Scarlet¡¯s boots, unrolled her sleeping bag and gently placed the smaller woman inside it, making sure not to wake her up, if that was even possible at this point. Once she had situated Scarlet in such a way that she thought the other would be comfortable, she took both bowls and settled in for her night-watch, trying not to think about the monster that had caused them to flee from the lake.


    When Scarlet opened her eyes in the morning, she was disoriented for a moment, her mind slow to boot into a wakeful state with half-remembered fragments of dreams she had during the night swirling around, confusing her. It didn¡¯t help that her recollection of the previous evening was shrouded in mist hardly more definite than the dreams she had during the night. And what little she remembered of them was strange enough, vague images of the forest, even vaguer impressions of hunger. Without any idea what they might signify, if they signified anything at all, she shook her head to clear it and started to take in her surroundings.


    She was still mostly dressed, lying on the ground in her sleeping bag but there was a lump snuggled to her chest. Looking down revealed the identity of that lump, it was a cat-shaped crystal monster that had manifested at some point and, for some reason, sought out warmth, closeness or something along those lines. Not sure how she was supposed to react, she decided to, for once, go with the flow and simply started stroking Cyca¡¯s fur while trying to puzzle together what had happened.


    ¡°Are you awake?¡± a friendly, if tired, voice asked from nearby and, even with Scarlet¡¯s hazy mind, she recognised Keera.


    ¡°Yes, I am.¡± Scarlet agreed, a fuzzy memory of Keera handing her some food popping into her mind.


    ¡°Did you keep watch throughout the night?¡± she added, while slowly crawling from the sleeping bag.


    ¡°Yes, I did. You were tired enough to fall asleep while eating.¡± Keera answered, suppressing a yawn.


    ¡°Thank you. Why don¡¯t you take a nap for a couple of hours? Then we can move out.¡± Scarlet suggested, trying to get a glimpse towards the sky, for an idea what time it was.


    ¡°Sure, if you say so.¡± Keera agreed, turning to get her own sleeping bag out of her pack.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Meanwhile, Scarlet continued to take stock of herself, stretching to get the kinks out of her body and trying to figure out just why Cyca had been able to manifest her projection. Had her control lapsed due to exhaustion? It was possible, but if that had happened, why was Cyca still with her, why hadn¡¯t the instinct inside taken hold and she had devoured Crysna and Badgy, possibly after killing Scarlet and Keera.


    Part of her was curious, wanted to withdraw her control, allowing Cyca to act fully on her own volition but at the same time, she was afraid, afraid that she¡¯d have to fight, possibly to the death, the crystal monster she had come to like. While she idly watched Keera crawl into her sleeping bag, she sat on a nearby rock, carrying the still sleeping Cyca with her while her mind went in circles. She felt a soft, mental nudge from Crisna, the snake trying to manifest his projection while Scarlet still controlled his existence.


    Almost automatically, she allowed him to manifest and coil around her arm, his head resting on her shoulder. Somehow, simply having the two crystal monsters around her calmed her mind, allowed her to relax. That realisation made her check the mental connection she had to both of them, normally, that connection would require some power and mental strength, constantly draining her, especially while the monsters were projecting their manifestation.


    She first checked the connection to Crisna and it was almost unchanged in strength and scope, it had strengthened a little and become slightly easier to maintain, maybe because of her mind getting used to it, maybe because of Crisna getting used to being controlled, the exact mechanism was unknown to her. It was just there, of that she was certain. Closing her eyes, she focused on what she perceived as colourful streams of light flowing between the two of them and, with a bit of evaluation, she felt confident in her assessment. Controlling Crisna outside of combat remained easy but in combat, she was still limited, especially when it came to his feeding, the deep-rooted instinct to monopolise food would be hard to overcome.


    After Crisna, and while one hand slowly stroked the scales of his head, she turned her focus to the connection with Cyca, curious what she¡¯d find.


    ¡°Wow¡­¡± she softly muttered under her breath. The connection between her and Cyca was still there, still strong, but it seemed to have fundamentally changed. When looking at the connection to Crisna, there was a part of his instincts that needed to be forcibly dominated, that would try to rebel against her control, if necessary. The biggest of them seemed to be the desire to feed on defeated crystal monsters.


    On the other hand, in Cyca, the connection was flowing through her entire being, penetrating into the deepest parts of her being and, apparently, doing so without resistance from Cyca¡¯s part.


    ¡°How¡­ Or maybe why?¡± Scarlet continued to mutter, trying to make sense of the strengthened connection, trying to figure out how it had happened. Part of her thought of the flight from the water-dragon monster and the moment she had forcibly controlled Cyca, forcing the monster to strike back, despite Cyca¡¯s absolute instinct to flee. It might have happened in that moment, that she had forced her control into the deep instincts and changed something. Or it might have been something else, something she wasn¡¯t aware of.


    Even if she wanted to experiment, to try to force Crisna into the same type of connection, she wasn''t sure where to even start. If it was as she hypothesized, that the connection had deepend in that moment of terror, why hadn¡¯t something similar happened when she had fled from the earth, plant monster she had been forced to flee from while she was alone? Shaking her head, she started scratching Cyca behind her ears, causing purring noises to vibrate from the cat¡¯s chest.


    ¡°What do you think, should I try to dominate a third crystal? Or should we first help Keera to dominate a second one? I think she should be able to manage now, the last few days she has trained hard and her subconscious mind seems to have accepted that she needs strength, that she needs power.¡± Scarlet muttered, softly as to not disturb Keera but it felt better to speak out loud, even if only to her crystal monsters. They were great listeners, especially Cyca, she made the appropriate purring noises but never talked back.


    ¡°At the same time, maybe I should focus on that strage macro-change that the Doctor told me about, that, once you devoured enough crystals, you¡¯d undergo some sort of large-scale change. Just looking at the state of our connection, I¡¯m quite sure I could control you even after that, right Cyca? You wouldn¡¯t try to fight back, wouldn¡¯t try to struggle against me, would you?¡± on her lap, she had rolled Cyca onto her back and was tickling the cat¡¯s tummy, causing curious wiggling motions, not to escape but hilarious looking nonetheless.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to see, you little fluff-ball.¡± Scarlet muttered, delighted at the crystal monsters reaction.