Chapter 375 - Far Future Ch. 85 – A Secret Right out in the Open (1/2)

Shelbi nodded and held out her hand. ”Use your blade and show me what you are looking at.”

The same lines of force, whitish-silver in color, snapped up, and Captain Donnal belatedly recognized them as a diffused mindblade. Shelbi's hand closed over Mar-c's, adding a layer of gold to the mindblade, which again played over the abused armor, focusing on several areas which didn't look any different to his eyes.

”Huh. Would you look at that,” Shelbi mused, turning back to glance at the captain, who just looked on. ”Captain, you want to look at this?” she asked casually, as if it was to be expected.

”I am not a psion,” he replied calmly... and she blinked. She looked at Mar-c, who looked back at her, and they both looked at him again.

”Captain,” she said warily, ”I don't want to belabor the obvious, but the bloodline that makes you a Legionnaire comes from the Emperor, who is the almightiest psion who has ever existed in the human race. There is 100%, absolutely no way, you are not psionic.” She indicated the armor. ”This suit is designed to be worn by a being with psionic potential. Do you really think that is a mistake, when it is a standard AMT pattern?”

It was Captain Donnal's turn to blink. That certainly sounded both logical... and impossible. ”I was tested before I became a Legionnaire, and found to have no psionic potential,” he stated firmly.

”And after?” she asked archly.

He started to reply, and stopped.

”Right,” she said, still staring at him and nodding. ”Well, fuck that. Stone!” she turned and called out.

A big Ancient hauling another damaged prop in casually by hand, instead of using a forklift, looked up from halfway down the crude hangar. ”Wassup?” his deep, rolling voice sounded back, carrying easily despite the distance.

”I need you to key this Legionnaire!”

”No shit?” He took a few more long strides, was waved away by the repair crew waiting there, and headed over, almost bouncing despite his height and heavy build.

Captain Donnal was not surprised to see the Ancient was a couple inches taller than he was, with bulging muscles and thick bones, the pronounced cranial ridge, flat nose, and broad chin... and pale green eyes darting about with clear intelligence.

”Captain,” the Ancient saluted him, showing a sergeant's rank on his cheek tats. ”What's this now, Shelbi?” he asked curiously.

”I could do it, but,” she held her hands out, one above the other, ”might be a bit awkward.”

”Hah! Alrighty.” He reached back into his thick hair, and brought out a flat crystal, turning back to Captain Donnal. ”Captain, this is a standard psicrystal, nothing funny about it, you've probably seen lots of them.” The Marine just nodded at him. ”I'm going to use it to set up a projecting telepathic bond. No mind-reading involved, just sending out thoughts. This whole process should take no more than thirty seconds. All you have to do is imitate what I am doing, and this will get done quick.”

Captain Donnal nodded warily, but the body language of the Ancient was so casual about it, it couldn't be faked. Truly, this was not a big issue for him.

Stone calmly reached out and pressed the flat crystal to the forehead of the alert captain. ”No need to drop any defenses, I'm just broadcasting.” Stone closed his eyes, and Captain Donnal could feel the beaming thoughts coming in at him.

They were incredibly strong and tempered, flexible, alert. The mind of this Ancient was as formidable as his body, if what he was feeling was any measure.

Stone took a step and set his stance. Feeling the broadcast motion, Donnal replicated it, resetting his own feet. Stone lifted his arm slowly, and Donnal mimicked the motion, the flexing of the arm to bulge the muscle, opening the hand and closing it, and then reaching out and twisting and –

It was a jolt, like a muscle, only inside his head, turned and twisted and flexed in a sudden shock of pain. Captain Donnal jumped five feet back in reflex even as he swore, blinking away his relaxation, instantly ready for a fight.

Stone glanced down at the captain's hand, nodded. ”Worked fine.” He snapped off the golden claws around his own hand, and completely ignoring the captain's expression and body language, headed back to work.

Donnal stared at the humming sapphire blade in his hand, crystal-sharp and ready for use, looking almost identical to the first tactical knife he had ever used, sixteen inches of cutting edge along one side.

”Definitely a psion. Mindblade instead of mindclaw, see.” Shelbi flicked up her own golden claw, while Mar-c materialized a less defined white blade.

”Sergeant Stone!” Captain Donnal called out, and the Ancient paused and looked back curiously. Captain Donnal gestured to the members of his squad, waiting nearby in their armor, watching all this with suddenly wide eyes. ”Can you do that with all of them, Sergeant?”

The Ancient looked a little confused. ”Sure, it's not like it's hard, Captain!”