and watch his two friends and leave as duties demanded. Linda Kay looked at Twig and said, “How are they doing?”
“I can’t tell. They are so deep in each other’s minds that I can’t reach them. Even Sprig is lost to me. I don’t know if I can bring them out even if I want to do so.”
Linda Kay continued to watch and worry. Twig had an idea and thought to Tgon-Gee, “Tgon-Gee, do you have a moment.”
“Who is this?”
“I am called Twig, Tgon-Gee. I am one of the adolescents on board the Kosiev.”
“I know you. What do you need?”
“Would you look at Tommy and Cassandra’s auras and tell me what you see?”
“Send me a visual,”
Twig turned the com toward them and sent it to Tgon-Gee.”
“By the creator, what are they doing?”
“Why, what’s wrong,” Twig asked?
“Neither one of them have an aura. What have they done?”
“I’m not certain. I just wanted to know what you saw.”
Tgon-Gee thought, “Rose, answer me.”
“Hello, Tgon-Gee. What do you need?”
“Tommy and Cassandra no longer have an aura.”
“What!” Rose turned her attention to her brother and saw them in a trance. “What have they done,” she asked Linda Kay?
Twig said, “Allow me, Ensign Johns.” Twig then explained what was happening.
Rose said, “Give me your coordinates right now! I’m on my way.”
Tommy thought to his sister, “That won’t be necessary.”
Linda Kay and Twig jumped up and started hugging the three that had been locked in a trance.
Rose said, “What have you done? Tgon-Gee tells me that you and Cassandra do not have an aura.”
“Really, that’s interesting.”
Rose said, “Duke Gardner, explain to me what you’ve done.”
Tommy said, “Alright, Alright. We have just had a tune up?”
Rose was speechless. Tommy saw Tgon-Gee on the com and said, “I’ve learned about auras during this melding. An aura is released from a person with psychic skill when their powers are not functioning at full efficiency. It’s like one of the old combustion engines that released smoke from their exhaust when they weren’t operating efficiently. If your psychic skills are efficient, then the aura is not seen easily.”
Tommy got up and walked closer to the com monitor, “Look now Tgon-Gee.”
Tgon-Gee looked at his screen and as Tommy got closer to the monitor he could see right up against Tommy’s skin was an aura that was darker than any he had ever seen. “I see it now. May I see Captain Dodd’s?”
Cassandra walked over and stood next to the monitor. “I don’t see an aura around her. Have you lost your psychic ability?”
Cassandra gave a rueful smile and said, “No, the inside of my aura is clear. The outer edge of my psychic sense is where the coloring is located.”
Rose and Tgon-Gee waited for the other to ask the question. Finally Rose asked, “uh, where is the outer edge?”
Tommy answered, “The last we saw of it, it had passed the outer edge of this universe.”
Twig looked at Sprig and he nodded to her.
“Tommy, whatever you and Cassandra did; did it help?”
“Rose, you have no idea. I’ll discuss this with you but we are going to talk to the Captors about changing their ways. I’ll keep you up to date but we have not had anything to eat for,” he looked at Linda Kay, and she held up her fingers, Tommy’s eyes opened and he mouthed, “Really,” Linda Kay nodded and Tommy said, “seven days.”
Rose sighed and said, “I’ll talk with you later,” and broke the connection.
Tgon-Gee said, “Good luck and make sure you come back safely.”
Tommy nodded and turned off the com. He then looked at Linda Kay and said, “Were we really here for seven days?”
Twig said, “Yes you were.”
Twig entered Sprigs mind and was shocked. Sprig thought to her, “Yes, I’ve been changed by this process. You can look around if you like.”
Twig was amazed at his mind. It had a depth and clarity she had not seen before. Perhaps we should absorb each other again,” she said.
Sprig gave her a mental smile and thought, “Maybe we should.”
Wes came running in and hugged Tommy then grabbed Sprig and hugged him, too. “Welcome back; I’ve missed you two.”
Cassandra looked at Wes and said, “Wes will you and Linda Kay come here for a moment?”
Wes and Linda Kay walked up to Cassandra and she told them, “I want each of you to hold the other’s hand and then take one of mine.” Wes and Linda Kay looked at each other then did as she asked. Cassandra said, “Close your eyes and think about how much you mean to each other.”
Wes and Linda Kay closed their eyes and just holding hands reminded them how much they had missed each other for the last seven days. As they thought about it, Wes could hear Linda Kay telling him how much she loved him. Wes said, “Linda Kay, she told us to think about it, not say it.”
“I was just thinking about it; I didn’t say anything.”
“But I heard you.”
“And I heard you.”
Cassandra released their hands and said, “I have learned during the last week that if you truly love someone, it is easy to make a mental connection. From this day forward you can hear each other’s thoughts no matter where you are.”
Wes looked at his wife and thought, “Can this be true.”
Linda Kay started and thought back, “I hear you.”
Wes reached for her and held her close. Tommy looked at his best friend and his wife and keyed his com, “Effective immediately, Captain Cassandra Dodd is resuming her duties as the commanding officer of the Kosiev. We will be jumping into the Captors galaxy in six hours. Please make sure your stations are ready for possible hostile action.” Tommy turned his com off. Then he looked at Cassandra and said, “Let’s go get something to eat where we can talk.
Cassandra smiled and said, “I thought you’d never ask.” He took her hand and noticed that there was not a shock as they left the conference room. Sprig was wrapped up in Twig’s limbs and didn’t notice when they left.
Tommy and Cassandra sat at a table eating a meal big enough for three other people. As they ate, Tommy thought to her, “Now I understand. I couldn’t see the turmoil your new skills were causing you. I was the trigger that you were waiting for to release you.”
“Yes you are. I think we would have stayed apart except for the Captors. I think that your sense of them is what drove us together before our time. We could have been killed and my primary function would have terminated. Now that you have come into me completely, I feel at peace. My anger at the Captors was due to our not being able to be together so my skills were looking for a means to remove them.”
“Cassie, I have never seen such a gentle heart, except in my mother. I thought you were an uncontrolled warrior with a hardened heart. I can also see that all you did in the academy caused you many sleepless nights.”
Cassie stopped eating and looked at Tommy, “I could not understand why I was deliberately hurting you. After each time I was so mean, I hated myself for doing it but then as soon as I saw you I would do it again.”
“We know that it was to protect us and our universe. If we had made contact back then, the particle in energy space would have exploded.”
Cassie looked at Tommy and said, “I felt something when you were in my mind.” Tommy tilted his head and
