Torl's Journey

Lerot felt a pounding sensation throughout his entire being. It was a continuous pulsating sensation, like the heartbeat of a thousand people crushed in around him. Every beat made his very soul hurt.

Slowly, he realized that the pulse was constant and regular... It was like the vibrating of starship engines... Yes, he could recognize it now through the fog of pain he felt in every fiber of his body. He was aboard a star ship and it was in flight. Then memory returned.

He and Alaes had been returning to their rooms on Sheltered Six when they had been attacked. He had felt the sting of a stun gun just before losing consciousness. ...But, this did not fit. If they had been captured by the authorities, he would be in an interrogation room now, not aboard a star ship. If they had been captured by the Witch Hunters, they would be on public display being tortured to the cheers of crowds of people. Who else would wish to do them harm? Why were they aboard a star ship? ...He heard talking near him...

“...little wench nearly disabled the ship. captain says to bring up the male as soon as he recovers. Thinks that he can be used to control the girl. I think we should just jettison them and cut our losses. This idea of using witches scares me mate. Can’t never tell if they are going to act proper or not. How ’bout you Sinle?”

“Don’t know nuthin ‘bout no witches, but I sure as hell ain’t gonna cross the captain. He’s one mean son of a space tyrant. Didn’t get where he is by bein’ nice. I seen him skin ol’ Haller alive when he crossed the line. Did it just to set an example. Ain’t gonna be me next. That’s for sure! We best get this guy up there an’ do what the captain says.”

“Yea, guess you’re right. I ain’t no match for the old tyrant. ’sides, if this gadget works, he says that we won’t have to buy any more fuel. Just catch a new witch every now and then and use them ’til they burn out. If it don’t work, he’ll probably just jettison them anyway.

How you want to handle this guy? Reports say he used some kind of weird moves to take out Pauly and Jenks on Sinale Seven. Jenks’ is still healin’ his collar bone.”

“Let’s don’t take no chances. Keep your stun gun at the ready. You in front of him, me behind. We make him walk his own self to the chamber. Let’s put his hands in shrink rope before he comes out of it.”

“How come I gotta go in front? He goes for it, likely he’ll hit the front man first.”

“’Cause I say. An you ain’t tuff ’nuff to say differnt.”

“Alright, alright...don’t go gettin’ riled. I was just askin’.”

Lerot decided to play along for a while. The girl they were talking about had to be Alaes. And it didn’t seem too profitable to take out these thugs before he knew what he was up against. Best to play the good little captive for now. But what was this about using witches instead of fuel?

He knew of a lot of ways to use the power colors but he had never heard of using it to power a star ship. The monks had taught him how to use tele weaves to move around but it left one completely exhausted for several hours. And that was just moving one person, not a whole star ship. And teleportation was not a common skill among witches. Most who had that skill could only move themselves or objects about the same mass as they were.

He felt the rough hands of one of the thugs, putting the shrink rope around his wrists. Then they were slapping him and telling him to wake up. He still hurt in every fiber of his body and this handling did nothing to make him feel better. So he opened his eyes and rose shakily to his feet at their urging. They were not going to let him have any chance to escape. Just as Sinle had said, they both aimed stun guns at him, one walking in front and one behind.

They didn’t say anything more about what was going on during the walk to meet with the captain. Their appearance led Lerot to believe that this was not any kind of an official ship. It was most likely a pirate ship. Both men wore uniforms, but they were not the same. And both were torn and dirty. The uniform worn by the man behind him even had a hole in it that looked suspiciously like it had been made by a laser. The man in front of him had a uniform that didn’t seal properly.

Both men were unclean, filthy was a better word, and in bad need of a facial hair treatment and a refresh unit. These men could not work on any official star ship. The captain of any but a pirate ship would have them beaten until they cleaned up and dressed properly. This was not good. Not good at all. Lerot sure hoped that Alaes was okay and that she had not angered the “captain” too much. It could be very unhealthy to anger the captain of a pirate ship...

The two men escorted Lerot down a long dark corridor that looked as well kept as they did then pushed him towards what probably passed for a transport on this ship. Every time he lagged to orient himself, still groggy from the effects of the stun gun, the man behind him gave him a shove in the middle of his back along with a few choice words that seemed appropriate for the individual issuing them.

At last they reached the transport and pushed Lerot into it, carefully entering the transport so as to always have a stun gun pointed at him and never be closer than arms distance away from him. ...Lerot must have made a real impression on someone when he defended himself and Alaes from the thugs that had tried to rob them...

Surprisingly, the transport moved smoothly toward its destination. Lerot decided that the captain of this vessel, while not interested in cleanliness, must have a great deal of concern about operability. This thought, too, made Lerot uncomfortable. It spoke of a captain firmly in control of his ship and crew. It would not be easy to get them out of this one...

When the transport finally came to a stop, the men escorted him out into a much cleaner hallway that had only two access doors on it. This must be the executive suite.

Without any hesitation, the men marched Lerot over to the nearest door and announced themselves in a very respectful manner.

In a fraction of a minute, the door opened on to a very large and richly decorated but somewhat messy room. ...This was obviously the captain’s private office.

At the far end of the room sat a very large man with burn scars on both of his cheeks. His black curly hair stuck out around the brim of his hat and his eyes were even darker than his hair. He was dressed like any other captain Lerot had seen before but he looked more like a warlord than a captain.

Everything about this man spoke of his confidence in his physical abilities rather than his intellectual prowess. Only the fact that he was obviously in control of this ship and the men that ran it allowed Lerot to believe that he was facing a man with intellect.

He stood and impressed Lerot again with his size. This man stood a full head taller than Lerot and his shoulders and arms bulged with muscles. He stood like a cat waiting to pounce and moved like a Lonl Sprit. This was a very dangerous man and Lerot instantly recognized that a physical contest was out of the question.

Even his own formidable skills would not be enough to overcome someone so large and obviously well practiced in the arts of battle. The man spoke and the room seemed to shake with the vibrations of his voice. Lerot could see why the two who had escorted him here were afraid of this man.

“You two pigs are dismissed. Come back in one hour to pick up this sack of garbage.” he said with some disgust in his deep voice.

“Yes Sir”, they cowed and departed.

Then turning towards Lerot, he barked out, “Torl, I presume, or are you still going by Lerot?” But Lerot said nothing.

“It seems that you have really impressed that little witch in the short time that you two have been traveling together. She nearly shut down my ship before I knocked her unconscious. Said she would not do what I told her until she knew you were okay. More guts than brains. Made me almost respect her.“, the captain said thoughtfully as he scratched his beard.

“Anyway, I need her to test my new power conversion unit. Otherwise, you would already be in the parts coolers. You still might be if you can’t convince her to do what she’s told. Took me more than half a year to locate a witch with enough power to activate this damned contraption, but I’ll part you two out and find another if she tries to shut down the engines again. Understand?”

“Yes, Sir. What is it that you wish us to do?”

The captain angled his knife like an ax and swiftly chopped an apple on his desk in half. “That little witch Seala knows what to do. You just gotta get her to do it...”

Seala? Torl? How did he know who they were? He must have been tailing them since they left Jelru’s place. Of course, how else would he know that Seala was a witch? But did he know of Torl’s true nature, that was the important question to be answered. If not, they might have a chance. The captain was still talking...

“...room is monitored. I warn you, if you even think about escape or talk about anything but doing what I say, I’ll turn you both into spare parts so fast that you won’t have time to think about the pain. And just in case you’re thinking about trying me, I saw the tapes of your fight with my men and you ain’t even close to good enough to take me. You’re pretty good, but I been fighting since the doc pulled me from my mother’s loins.”

As he finished that statement, he kicked Torl in the chest, and knocked him clear across the room. He had moved so quickly that Torl had only enough warning to tuck and roll, reducing only slightly the impact of his body against the wall of the room. Tears came to Torl’s eyes as he felt the pain of several broken ribs. If he had had any chance of handling the man before, the broken ribs would slow him down enough to end that.

This guy really did know how to stay in control of the situation. Torl sucked in the pain and stood as best he could. It would not be good to show too much weakness. This “captain” obviously did not respect weakness. Better do what they were told for now.

“Yes, Sir.“, Torl found himself saying.

“Good. You do have some guts, and some brains.” He laughed as he stood over Torl, then kicked him again, probably just for good measure. “Maybe if you do well, I’ll keep you around for a while. It could be useful to have a comp tech around here. Especially one with a little backbone. Now get your scroungy ass back over to the door. I want you to get that damned witch to work as quick as possible.”

Torl did as he was told and soon found himself at another door several levels below the captain’s quarters. At the captain’s direction, he pressed the entry button and waited for the door to open. When it did, he saw Seala, slouched unconscious in a chair that looked like one of the torture chairs that the Witch Hunters used.

There was a metal cap strapped to her head with several transmitter bumps on its top. Torl wondered if this was an instrument of torture or the device that the captain seemed so intent on getting her to operate.

He entered at a much slower pace than he wanted to and it was a good thing. When he entered the room, he suddenly felt very weak. Then he noticed why. This room was completely void of the power colors, except for the steely gray of the earth metals. How was this possible? The power colors were part of everything and everyone. How could a room be devoid of them?

Torl was confused, but he still had enough presence of mind to try not to let the captain see that he had noticed anything unusual. He walked unsteadily over to Seala, hoping and praying that the captain would dismiss the unsteadiness as weakness from the trauma he had recently received.

When he reached Seala, Torl gently lifted her head and felt the anger boil up in him. The captain would pay for this, he would pay dearly. Seala’s face was a bloody mess. She had obviously been beaten severely. Through the blood, Torl could see cuts and bruises swelling above her eyes, on her cheeks and nose, and around her mouth. He turned on the captain with the anger barely under control.

“What did you do to her? She is so badly beaten that she will probably not be able to do what you want her to do. Do you have a doctor aboard?”

“Shut your trap! The doc will see her when I say so, and not before! Wake her up and get her to do what she was told to do or neither one of you will have any need for a doc...NOW!”

Torl felt the muscles tighten in every part of his body as his body prepared for battle. Only the pain of the broken ribs kept him from attacking the captain right then and there. He fought against the urge to draw the power and blast this man’s mind into a million little pieces...

NO, Torl. It’s not time yet. I don’t think he knows that you have the power but this room drains you of your energy. Wait until we know more. Do what he says for now. You must bide you time until we know more about this place. I already tried to blast him and the room absorbed the power. So I tried to shut down the room. But he caught on and hit me. Please wait. Find out what you can.

Seala! She was in his mind. Torl’s anger melted away almost instantly. It was replaced with elation. Seala was alright! She had spoken to him and she was alright.

“Are you Okay? Jesul, I was so worried when I saw what they did to you.”

“Yes. I’m alright. It hurts, but I’m alright. Are you Okay?”

“Yes.”

Torl let his muscles relax and turned to face Seala again.

“Seala, are you Okay? Answer me honey, please.”

“Torl! Oh, I’m so glad to see you. Are you Okay? Did they hurt you?”

“No. They didn’t hurt me. But they will if you don’t do what they want. Can you do it?”

“Yes. I can do it...

Captain, I will do what you want but you better keep Torl okay or I’ll quit. You know you can’t make me do it. But as long as he is okay I’ll do what you want...Understand?”

“Now you listen to me, you little witch. You will do what I want or I’ll salvage him one piece at a time. I run this ship and I make the rules. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand. But if you hurt him, or if he is not available when I want to see him, I’ll stop. I’ll stop immediately.”

Torl could not believe what he was hearing. Seala was standing up to the captain. She was more than holding her own ground. And after what the jerk had done to her! She really did have guts. And the captain, however much he hated or respected her for it, seemed to need her to run the machine even more. He was actually backing down.

“Okay. But you stop, even for a moment, and I’ll start salvaging this pile of garbage.“, he barked as he pointed to Torl.

And Torl believed he meant exactly what he said. If Seala failed to do as he told her, the captain meant to start chopping Torl up. He would not find this as easy to do as he apparently thought, but there was no doubt in Torl’s mind that he meant what he said.

“Okay. Turn the thing back on. I’ll run it.”

Torl swelled with pride. Seala had stood her ground and backed down a man that obviously was not used to backing down to anyone. In addition, she was taking control and giving directions.

“Seala, be careful. I think that you have pushed about as much as is possible with this man. I promise I’ll find a way out of this for us. Just don’t overdo it. I love you.”

“I, I love you, too. I’ll be careful. I’ve met people like this captain before. I’ll be careful. You better be, too. They have Witch Hunters on this ship.”

“Hey you... Torl. Get over here. I’m going to turn this thing on and I want you out of here when I do.”

Torl went hesitantly over to the door. And at the captain’s direction, he stepped outside. Once outside the room, his strength returned with a surge so great that he automatically straightened his posture and almost smiled. He suddenly felt great. Had the power become so integral to him that it’s reduction and restoration could create such changes in him? He looked into the room again just as the captain stepped out of sight.

In a fraction of a minute, he came back into view and stepped out of the room, too. Before the captain could close the door however, Torl noticed the great massing of power colors around Seala. The colors had been gone when he entered the room, now they were everywhere and Seala was gathering them into a great mass which she wove masterfully.

Once again, he began to swell with pride. She had the ability to gather power and was weaving it as he had told her to do. Soon, she would have an extremely potent mixture of the power colors. With that skill, and the mass of colors that he could now see gathering in the room, Torl could not believe that anyone had been able to stop her from doing what she wanted. But how could someone stop and start the presence of power that way?

The captain closed the door, leaving Torl to wonder about the instrument that could remove and restore power colors. He had never heard of such a thing before. Then the captain cursed at him again and directed him back down the hall with a shove. Torl remembered his evaluation and feelings about the captain and returned to his part as an obedient prisoner...

The captain continued to direct Torl back to his office, where the same two crew members waited patiently to escort Torl back to his cell. Without a word, the two pulled their stun guns and escorted him back to the room they had gotten him from. There they deposited him unceremoniously and left, locking the door behind them.

As soon as the men were gone, Torl felt Seala’s contact again.

“Torl, I am trying to disable the witch detectors. No luck. They are located in the room immediately above yours and appear to be on random search. Don’t use power until they are off.”

“Torl, you’re hurt...lie down and let me help you heal. That captain...he’ll pay for this!”

“Seala, be careful. Don’t mess with anything except the witch detectors until I can help. We need to know more about this machine that can start and stop the flow of power colors before we do anything. Understand?”

“Yes. But the machine won’t let me near it. As soon as I try, it shuts off the power and I go blank. Maybe you can get to it after I get the detectors disabled?”

“I’ll try. How are you?”

“I’m okay. Just bruised the skin, not the will or the power. I’ll heal.”

“Okay.”

“Someone’s coming... break...”

Torl stood up again and felt his ribs. Seala had done a very good job; they were just slightly tender now. Better be careful not to let on, wouldn’t want anyone getting suspicious. He wondered again just how powerful this little girl was. She was running the machine, searching for a way to shut down or confuse the Witch Hunter’s machines, mind speaking to him, and administering healing power to his body all at the same time. He could not have done much better himself. This kid was really something...

Torl looked around his new living quarters. The cell had nothing in the way of convenience. There was a waste station, a primitive food station, and a sleep station that was permanently attached to the floor. No windows, no refresh unit, no table. It was just plain and dirty. And for a moment, his thoughts wandered back to the monastery.

This room reminded him of his abbey quarters except that they had been clean. The monks had said that too much luxury detracted from the studies one must attend to. With that thought in mind, Torl dialed up a meal, no choices here, and went to his sleep station to eat and review the things that he had learned about this ship and his captors...