“You came! You really came!” Lashina gushed as she held me.

“I promised I would.” I said and hugged her back. “I thought I would have a much harder time trying to get to you, though.”

Lashina giggled and the sound was music to my ears. “I've been staying outside The Order compounds and churches for the whole tour.” She said and let me go, then took my hand. “That way, it wouldn't cause any disturbance in the flow when I asked to stay here.”

“That's sneaky.” I said with a smile, and she tugged on my hand.

“Let's get inside before someone shows up unexpectedly and sees me with you.” Lashina said and dragged me over to the house and up the stairs, then inside.

A woman shut the door and she bowed to me. “Welcome to my humble home.”

“Thank you for...”

“We can exchange pleasantries later!” Lashina exclaimed and cut me off, then she dragged me up the stairs and into a bedroom. “Hurry! Let me see it!”

“Lashina...”

“Please.” Lashina begged and her eyes were wide and she stuck out her bottom lip. Her cuteness overrode my sensibility and I opened my bag and took out the present I had for her. It had taken weeks of playing around and a lot of help from Luxea to get it just right.

“I wanted to give you this when I had to leave.” I said and handed the small wrapped box to her. Lashina's hands shook as she held it without opening it. “You're mentally blocking me.” She said, her eyes alight with curiosity.

“It was the only way to stop you from ruining the surprise.” I said and nodded at the box.

Lashina tore off the wrapping and opened the lid to the small box, then gasped at the sight. “Oh, Aaron! It's beautiful.” She moaned as she lifted out the gold chain with a medallion on the end. I had used a few of the machines in Luxea's workshop to create the casing and carved the forest scene with a rising sun in the middle of it. The sun was actually the edge of a bright yellow focusing crystal.

“It's going to take you a day to adjust the focusing crystal to your own Presence.” I said and helped her put it on. “You can't turn it on until then.”

“Turn it on?” Lashina looked at me with raised eyebrows. “What does it do?”

“It's a personal shield that will only work for you.” I said, and her mouth dropped open in surprise. “You... you're using a focusing crystal... as a shield?!?”

“Believe me, it took a lot of work and calculations to get it to function properly, once I had the idea to modify Luxea's powered armor idea.” I tapped my chest to show the armor I was wearing. “She did a lot of the intricate electronics for the shield after I assembled the components. There's a small rechargeable battery to keep the electronics powered; but, it's the focusing crystal that's the main power source for the shield.”

“Aaron, I... I don't know what to say.” Lashina said and stroked the medallion.

“I know you're not really someone that likes to fight, so since I can't stay with you, I wanted a way to protect you without actually being here.” I said. “I just wish I had thought of it before, when... well, before when...”

“It's okay. You can stop blocking me now.” Lashina said, and I let some of my considerable mental barriers down. Tears immediately sprung to her eyes and she pulled me down into a hug. “Oh, my poor sweet Aaron!” She whispered and held me tightly for several minutes without saying anything.

“Lashina, I...”

“Shh.” Lashina said to stop me from explaining, then she eased her hold on me and leaned back. She kissed me lightly on the lips and smiled. “You don't need to say anything, remember?” She said and then spoke to me in my head for the very first time. I didn't think you would like talking like this.

I didn't think I would, either. I thought back to her. My time with Ozahith taught me so much more than I thought it did, and I learned that having you in my head before let me get even closer to her.

I'm both happy and sad that she let you keep your vow, now that I know what really happened. Lashina thought and kissed me again. This time, she pushed her feelings into me as well as her Presence.

I accepted the offering wholeheartedly. Me, too. I thought as I poured my Presence into her and started to undress her. I've been tempted several times to cheat on my promise to you.

Lashina chuckled as her robes fell to the floor and she started to undress me, too. No you haven't. She thought, then her feelings turned serious. Only that once did you regret that you didn't share yourself with someone else.

When she died, it hurt so much, and I don't know why. I thought, and she felt my anguish.

It's because you already accepted her into your heart. Lashina thought as I pulled off her long sleeved t-shirt, then she gave me feelings of comfort and support. It's all right. I'm not angry or jealous that you did. She started to slide my uniform top off of my shoulders and it dropped to the floor because of its extreme weight. That's really heavy. She thought in surprise, then went back to her train of thought. Ozahith was a remarkable woman and I regret not getting to meet her in person.

I think you would have liked her a lot. I thought and took off my pants. She really liked all of the memories I had spending time with you.

Lashina took off her skirt and looked at me from my head to my feet as we both stood there in just underwear. You've grown in height and you have grown a lot in strength. She thought as she used Presence to take off my blast shield mask and set it aside.

I've also grown in my need for you. I thought and opened my mental defenses a little more to show her.

Lashina gasped as she felt my urgent desire to be with her. Yes, my dearest love. She thought and let out a similar urgent desire for me. It's been a long year for the both of us to wait.

Let me try to make up for all of that lost time. I thought sincerely as I picked her up and carried her to the bed, then took off her bra and panties and made love to her. I dropped the rest of my mental barriers and poured out everything that I was into her. I let her feel all of my repressed feelings about everything. She was surprised by the intense anger that I felt for The Order and for everything they did to me, which included keeping me away from her for a whole year. Lashina responded in kind and let me feel how much she had missed being with someone who cared about her for who she was and not for her abilities or for what she could do for them.

Our Presences flowed out of us, faster and faster, and they swirled and mixed together. We both gave ourselves over to our passion, to our power, and to the flow of Presence. Our individual Presences became so much more that they could have been on their own, because neither of us held anything back. That afternoon turned into evening, then into night, then into the next morning.

I was six feet tall after growing for a year and she was still only four feet tall, and yet the differences in our body sizes didn't matter, because we had accepted each other with open hearts and with open minds. Lashina and I lost all meaning of time as we shared ourselves completely and bared our inner selves to each other. Neither of us felt like stopping to eat or anything else and we explored everything that we used to be, everything that we were, and everything that we could possibly become. By the end of that second day, we had exhausted ourselves physically and collapsed onto the bed, covered in sweat and our mutual satisfaction.

“W-w-wow.” Lashina panted as she rested her head on my chest, while our subdued Presences still swirled together through our bodies. “Aaron, that was... I've never...” She took a deep breath and let it out. “By the Goddess Chaiya, I love you.”

“I love you, too.” I said and hugged her tightly. “Over the years it's built up, little by little. Now with you here in my arms, for the first time in my existence, I finally know what it means to really love someone.” I touched the side of her pink-skinned face and then stroked her long white hair.

Lashina lifted her head and looked at me. “You've always known love in some form.” She said and gave me a kiss. “Your parents loved you very much and did everything they could to protect you.”

“I do love them, and they are very important to me.” I said and gave her a kiss back. “I know my guardian Emari loved me, too. What I feel for you is so far beyond both of those that I don't have words to describe it.”

“I... I feel the same way.” Lashina said, and I felt her sincerity.

Our Presences settled down and calmed, while still mixed together, and stayed that way.

“You know I've taken men to my bed before.” Lashina said, and I nodded. “Sometimes it was for fun, once it was for an obligation, and most times it was because of necessity.” She said. “The last time it happened, which was decades ago, I lost interest and swore a vow to never do it again.”

“Boy, did we just completely destroy your vow of chastity.” I said, and she laughed.

“I've been alive for a long time and I've never felt this way about anyone else.” Lashina said as her emotions turned serious and she stared into my eyes. “It's going to hurt me a lot when you leave.”

“We have almost a whole week left before you have to think about that.” I said and closed my eyes. “I should advise you to do what I do. Bundle that injustice into the rest of the things The Order has done and let it simmer, then use that anger to help drive you.”

“Aaron, you can't keep it repressed like that.” Lashina said and put her head down on my chest and closed her eyes. “It'll eat you up if you don't vent it.”

“Who said I'm not venting it?” I asked. “You've seen everything I've done, haven't you?”

Lashina nodded. “You are so lucky that you are still technically my patient and I can protect you.”

“Unlike what my friends believe, I wasn't worried about you turning me in.” I said. “Your staff on the other hand, or perhaps some random person while I travelled, those were the real threats.”

“My dearest love.” Lashina whispered. “No one that works for me will ever cross me.”

“I assumed as much.” I said and used several mental techniques to restore my mental defenses. “I need to get some sleep, so forgive me for cutting you off mentally.”

“I'm doing the same thing.” Lashina said, and I felt her barriers go back into place. Surprisingly, our Presences stayed mixed together. “Just because we are safe with each other, doesn't mean we want to be vulnerable to everyone else.”

“We really should take a shower.” I said and felt sleep try to claim me.

“We can... worry about it... in the morning.” Lashina said and yawned. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” I said, and let sleep claim me.

We got up in the morning, had a shower, and were completely famished and needed food. So, we left the room and were assaulted by the woman that owned the house. She berated us for not eating for several days and had wasted the delicious meals she had prepared. I told her if she still had them that I would gladly eat them, even cold. She was mollified by my sincerity and said she had given it to the staff instead. She made us breakfast and we talked, then Lashina had an appointment to attend. She was gone until lunch, and I spent the time meditating. When she came back, we ate lunch together, then we went back to her room to spend more quality time together.

We were more mindful of our antics and took breaks, then stopped for supper. Lashina had the bright idea to go for a walk afterwards, so the woman who owned the house could give us a tour around the little town. I was quickly disguised and we were led around to all of the local sights. After that, we went back to the house and excused ourselves, then went to bed. We spent the next few days making love and sharing each other, while our connection with Presence became deeper and more intense.

Neither of us had ever done that with another person, so by the end of the week, our energies were almost completely in sync. What had happened between Ozahith and myself was only the tip of the iceberg compared to doing all of the same things with another experienced Presence user. Our hearts, our minds, and our bodies knew each other so intimately, that we didn't need to actively share to feel each other's emotions or moods.

During our last day together, Lashina turned on her personal shield to test it. It formed around her body in an oblong shape so she could still move around while wearing it, and we were both surprised when I could put my hand through it and touch her. It meant that the shield medallion would protect me if I was close enough to her when she used it. Just for fun, I handed her my Light sword and she marvelled at its design and construction. After a quick explanation of how to use it, Lashina turned it on and claimed that it felt right in her hand. She laughed at my surprised expression and handed it back to me, gave me a kiss, then took me to bed and we spent one last night together.

When we woke up in the morning, I looked at my wrist communicator and checked my schedule, then sighed. There was a knock on the bedroom door, and the woman that owned the house told us that the driver was waiting for me. We got out of bed and dressed, and Lashina quickly packed my small bag.

“Make sure you empty this bag and wash those dirty clothes as soon as you get back to the ship.” Lashina said and handed the bag to me.

“I wish I could stay longer.” I said.

“So do I.” Lashina said. “Unfortunately, we both have to leave today.”

“You're leaving, too?” I asked, surprised.

“My tour of The Order churches is scheduled for another three months, with a week at each one.” Lashina said. “I made sure to deny as many appointments this week as I could... so I could rest.”

That made us both laugh, and I knelt on one knee to take her into my arms.

“Aaron, thank you very much for giving me your first time.” Lashina said and gave me a kiss. “You know how much it meant to me, and you will always have a place in my heart.”

“We're actually saying a final goodbye, aren't we?” I asked, and she nodded.

“Unless you can overrun The Order's home planet of Ulathall, I won't be allowed to leave again and you won't be allowed to visit.” Lashina said and kissed me again for several moments. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” I said, and the woman knocked again. “I have to go.”

“One more thing.” Lashina said and bit my lip to make it bleed.

“Hey, what...” I started to say, then she bit her own lip to make it bleed, too.

“By the Goddess Chaiya, I gift to you all that I am and all that I will be. All others I have or will have in my life, from this point forward, are only shadows compared to my love for you.” Lashina said.

I felt her Presence become like a heavy weight in my chest. With the way I felt about her, I knew it was right to respond in kind to her vow. “With god as my witness, I gift to you all that I am and all that I will be. All others I have or will have in my life, from this point forward, are only shadows compared to my love for you.”

We stared at each other as our blood dripped from our lips, then we kissed passionately. The flow of Presence inside us and in the room churned and swirled like a tornado around us as our blood mixed together and we swallowed it. Our bodies glowed slightly as the oath was completed, and the weight of Presence that seemed to hold us down at first, lifted us up and energized us. We broke the kiss and saw that our lips were healed and all of the blood had disappeared, including the drips that had fallen.

I stood up and she let me go, and without another word, either verbally or mentally, I left the room and then the house. The driver took me back to the airport-like building and dropped me off. I went inside and had the receptionist check my ticket, then she sent me over to the proper shuttle landing pad and I waited. My detection range had doubled in size, much to my surprise, and I had to use a mental technique to limit what I could see.

The shuttle arrived an hour later. I boarded it and it took me up to the same passenger ship that I had been on coming here, and I even had the same room. It took a day to gently float out to the hyperspace jump point, another eighteen hours in hyperspace, and a day to get back to the space station. Once there, I took out the small device that Luxea had given me and activated it. Ten minutes later, my ship docked to the passenger pick-up temporary dock and I stepped aboard.

I felt Luxea as she came from the cockpit at a jog. When she was a few feet away, she stopped walking and caught her breath as my Presence flowed out and touched her. I closed the hatch and told Rhubin to go, then stared at Luxea as the ship undocked and left the system. She didn't say anything as she basked in my Presence and I could feel how she felt. She cared a lot about me, and the seeds of love were there for us to cultivate, if she decided that she wanted to try and let it grow.

Luxea crossed those last few feet and held a hand out to me, and I took it without hesitation. My Presence surrounded her and held her, and she closed her eyes for a moment. She took a breath and looked at me, then led me to the cockpit. Once there, she and Rhubin told me that they had completed the plan we had devised for my showdown with (Undecipherable). We couldn't make the mobile weapons platforms I had initially wanted, since we had sold and traded away nearly all of the shipboard weapons we had salvaged, so Luxea had the brilliant idea to make them mobile deflector screens instead. I thought that was the best thing in the universe, and she had blushed when I told her.

Luxea and Rhubin had worked the whole time I was with Lashina and placed the deflector screens in strategic places where (Undecipherable)'s ship frequented. With those in place, and with me back, all we had to do was activate them and wait. I thanked them both for all their hard work, then excused myself to go back to my room to unpack. Once there, I opened my small bag and took out my dirty clothes, and a small wrapped bundle fell out of it. It was covered in Presence similar to my own, so I absorbed it and opened the bundle.

It was an Order chip reader.

I picked up the small card and read it aloud. “Happy Birthday, Aaron. I hope you find what you are looking for. Love, Lashina.”

I skipped the rest of my unpacking and called Luxea on the ship's intercom, then I retrieved the two unmarked chips from the safe. She came to my room and was surprised by what I wanted her for, because it wasn't to have sex with her like she thought.

Luxea came over to the bed and picked up the chip reader, then gasped. “Hunter, this... it's unlocked. The security code is already entered.”

I handed her the first chip and she checked it, then gasped again. She showed me the absurd amount of credits on it, then I gave her the second one. It had a similar amount and I held in my laughter. When this had all started, we had kind of struggled with how to get money, and here I was filthy rich the whole time. She transferred the credits into the ship's computer into my own account. When she did that, I looked at the empty credit chips and saw that they still had lots of energy in them.

“Let me see them.” Luxea said and she put one into her chip reader, then she stared at the display. “Hunter, it... it's message data.” She said, surprised. I pointed to the console at the side of the room and she took both chips over to it. It didn't take her long to make a transfer of the data to the console.

“My dearest Aaron.” My father Lokend said from the display. “If you're seeing this, then you've figured out that the chips have been modified to hold more than just credits. It took your mother and I a long time to figure it out, and we've been transferring information to each other with them for years.”

“Sneaky.” I said with a smile.

“I assume you have the data on a console now, so you can easily access the highly classified data on The Order, their entire operation, and the focusing crystal mines. Use this data to undermine them and teach the sanctimonious idiots a thing or two about betraying the Ullir family.” Lokend said and smiled.

“Don't be so dramatic.” Aida said and appeared on the display. “I know you've grown into a fine young man, so we have no problem giving you this impossible task.” She said with a smile. “We had a fake list of contacts on paper in case The Order ever found us; but, the actual list is here in the files. Use them and get all of the help that you need.” She said. “Be safe and take care. We love you.”

The screen went blank and Luxea looked at me. “That's all? Just teach The Order a lesson?”

I chuckled. “I'm going to.” I said and used the console to look at the information. “I really am.”

We diverted to a main trading hub and sent anonymous messages to all of those contacts with copies of the information, then gave them the names of all the people I had saved from The Order. Then we sent messages to those people about the others, then also included a copy of the information to give to them as well. It set the ball rolling, and it was going to be the beginning of a very trying time for The Order.

They just didn't know it yet.

We went back to the most travelled route that (Undecipherable)'s ship used and activated the mobile platforms, and waited. It took two days for the ship we wanted to appear. When it was close enough to the trap, I told Luxea to close her eyes and I activated all ten of the platforms. Their booster rockets lit off and the deflector screens activated, then they all slammed into the ship. The screens didn't last long as they acted like battering rams and crushed the entire front of the ship. The cockpit burst and several bodies tumbled into space as the now useless mobile deflector screens tumbled away with them.

Rhubin flew us over to rest above the now drifting ship, and instead of docking, I put on a spacesuit, grabbed a portable airlock, and jumped out the main hatch and floated myself down to the ship. I attached the airlock and got inside, pressurized it, then used my Light sword to cut into the hull. Sirens blared and people were running around almost at random, then one of them noticed me. He drew a laser pistol and shot at me, so I threw my Light sword at him. He died. I took my Light sword back and as I met more people, they tried to kill me, so I killed them instead.

Apparently I'm not welcome here. I thought with a smile and made my way to the captain's quarters behind the cockpit, since that was where I felt a strong Presence, and opened the door. (Undecipherable)'s apprentice was there. He rolled out of bed and grabbed a laser pistol, and I used a Presence Hand to take it from him.

“That's mine.” I said, and he squinted his eyes at me.

“YOU!” He yelled and drew his light sword. I used Presence to flip the switch and it turned off, and he looked down at it. “What the... why did...” He flipped the switch and it came back on, and I flipped it again. “By the Goddess, what's wrong with this thing?”

“Forget about that.” I said and took out the scaly alien's weak focusing crystal. I had added a small battery and a circuit board, and tossed it to him. “Here, catch!”

The apprentice caught it easily and looked at it. “What is it?”

“It's a surprise!” I said and activated the circuit board. The focusing crystal didn't have a lens to refine the beam of energy, so unlike what I thought would happen, that the beam would come out in a random direction, it actually came out as a solid ball of energy that consumed everything within three feet of the crystal.

“ARG-LL-” The apprentice started to yell, then his head and torso were consumed. All that was left of him was his legs from the knees down and his hand from the other arm. I searched the rest of the ship and left a couple of people alive, questioned them, then found out that (Undecipherable) had stayed at their base this time. I sighed and used a datapad to transfer all of their computer data, then depressurized the whole ship, which killed everyone that was left, then I left through the main hatch.

Rhubin picked me up and I gave the datapad to Luxea. She quickly found all of the data I needed about their pirate base, and I put a dozen seismic charges on the ship. It exploded spectacularly, and we flew over to the planet and parked in orbit. Using the stolen data, we passed the planetary defenses with their own signals and codes and I flew the shuttle down to the planet. It was unfortunate that none of us noticed The Order starship that was floating quietly in orbit a quarter of the planet away.

I flew the shuttle and landed it a good distance away from the base, since it was an Order shuttle and there was no way I could safely land inside the pirate compound. I had brought a backpack with my electronics toolkit and some various electronic parts, in case I needed them, and a few other things. I also brought my small box of focusing crystals, the restored Light swords of my parents, and wore my own personal focusing crystal shield. I used my various abilities to travel quickly through the trees and foliage to reach the compound that looked surprisingly like an Order compound.

I infiltrated it easily by scaling the wall and slid over it while no one was looking, then slipped into the closest building. I knew I couldn't fight everyone at once, since it was a large compound and I had no way of knowing who was actually guilty of crimes. Two guards walked close by, so I used Presence Hands to choke them and dragged them inside. I checked them over for security keys, shrugged when they didn't have any, then made my way towards the building with my target.

I didn't meet much resistance and easily killed anyone that came close to discovering me. I guess I am at the point now that I can casually kill. I thought as I withdrew my Light sword from the man's head, then a laser bolt bounced off my personal shield with a whine. I turned to look and one of the guards had been walking by a window a few floors up. He was in a building on the next block and had seen me killing the guard and opened fire. Sirens blared, and I sighed as I heard several running feet.

“There! THERE!” The guard that had shot at me shouted and pointed to me. I could see a squad of guards approach and several normally dressed people ran behind them. They all carried laser pistols or rifles. I used Presence Hands to draw the four Light swords out of their pockets on my forearms and thighs, activated them, then I used Presence Run to run over to them in an instant and didn't let them get a chance to shoot. I swung with all five Light swords and cut them down in barely a moment, then I looked up at the guard in the building.

He held his hands up in surrender, so I picked up a laser rifle and shot him in the head. The bolt blew through his face and out the back of his head, and the body dropped to the floor. I used Detect Presence to look through the other buildings to see several other guards as they prepared to shoot at me, so I aimed the laser rifle at the windows and held the trigger. I smashed out several dozen windows before the charge on the gun gave out, so I picked up a couple of the fragmentation grenades and lobbed them up with Presence into the guards.

I didn't have to stick around to witness their deaths, so I grabbed two of the laser rifles and moved on. I killed a few dozen more men and guards, destroyed two hardened defense points, then entered the building I knew that (Undecipherable) was in. Surprisingly, there wasn't a lot of resistance as I made my way up several floors to where he was. I turned off the four extra Light swords and tucked them back into their pockets, then entered what looked like a throne room. My appearance was met with a harsh laugh.

“So, you've come for me at last.” (Undecipherable) said from a stone chair. “It took you long enough.”

“I had a few things to do on the way.” I said and shot at him with the last few bolts of the laser rifle, and he laughed again as he easily blocked them.

“I got the report from the planetary satellites of what you did to my transport.” (Undecipherable) said. “Why would you attack an unarmed ship?”

“I thought you were on it.” I responded and tossed the empty rifle aside.

“I was supposed to be.” (Undecipherable) said, then he frowned. “I felt you kill my apprentice.”

“Well, it was supposed to be you.” I said and he drew his Light sword. I turned mine off and hung it on my belt, then took out the ones my mother and father had owned.

“You're going to try and fight me with dual Light swords?” (Undecipherable) asked and chuckled. “You're an even bigger fool that I thought you were.” He said and raised his hand out to the side. I felt a pulse of Presence as he picked up a large crate and threw it at me.

I didn't react and I let the crate hit my personal shield. It bounced off and flipped through the air, then smashed against the wall. The contents spilled out and rolled over the floor.

“Hey, that's cheating.” (Undecipherable) said and picked up four more things. Something like a candelabra, a small stone dais, and two large metal urns. Instead of throwing them all at once, which would probably collapse the shield from the weight and impacts, he threw them one at a time. I was tempted to catch them and throw them back; but, that would only give him more things to throw. I avoided them easily and gave them an extra little push to get them out of the room.

I started to walk towards him, and he walked forward slightly. I felt him gather Presence around himself and I assumed he was going to run at me and attack. What he actually did was pick up the heavy stone chair behind him and threw it up and over his head at me. I was a bit too close to dodge, so I lifted my arms as I prepared to catch it. He smiled and used Presence Run to approach me in an instant and swung his Light sword at my waist to cut me down.

I turned on both Light swords and flipped them down to block his swing. They clashed and Presence blasted out, which I absorbed, and (Undecipherable) jumped back to watch me be crushed by the stone chair. His eyes widened as the chair didn't crush me and stayed in the air. I had caught it with two Presence Hands, covered it in Presence and made a stand to hold it, them made it solid.

(Undecipherable) tried to use Presence to move it and frowned when he couldn't. He jumped at me again and I blocked with my father's Light sword and swung at his hand with my mother's. He let the Light sword go and stepped back, then pulled it to himself. I didn't let him take a break, though. I lunged at him with both Light swords and he jumped backwards again. He smiled condescendingly at me, and I closed my eyes and let my repressed anger out.

“Yes, that's it. Let it out.” (Undecipherable) said. “I killed your parents! I kidnapped you! Give in to your hate!” He said and tried to use his Presence to attack me.

I laughed at him, and he looked surprised. “I've been taught by people much better than you. My anger won't consume me, because it has a very specific focus.” I said and formed a solid Presence box behind him at waist height, then lunged again. He tried to jump back and the backs of his thighs hit the invisible box and he flipped backwards over it. I absorbed the energy box as I kept moving forward and swung at his head. He ducked almost in time and I only lopped off one of his black horns from his head, instead of his whole head.

“ARGH!” (Undecipherable) yelled and put a hand on it as it spurted blood. He put out his other hand and I felt a wave of Presence hit me and it pushed me away nearly twenty feet as I dragged my feet across the floor.

“I didn't know that if you cut your horns so close to the skull that you would bleed.” I said and formed a blade made of pure Presence, like I had as a child to cut his face, and I threw it at his forehead.. He deflected it with his own Presence and it crossed the top of his head and it only cut off three of the horn's tips. I used Presence to propel myself through the air as I jumped across the twenty feet between us, and I twisted around and used a back swing to swipe a Light sword across his abdomen. (Undecipherable) used his Light sword to block and push it away, so I followed through and swung the other Light sword at his feet.

He grinned as he hopped and pushed my Light sword away with Presence, then he jabbed his Light sword forward into my completely unprotected face... and nothing happened. He looked at his Light sword and then at my face.

“Your personal shield can't hold forever.” (Undecipherable) said.

“I turned that off so I could fight in close.” I said, and he stared at me as I used the Presence Hand I had caught his Light sword with, to move it out of my way. “You see, when I felt you inside my detection range, I felt how much more powerful you were; but, I also knew that I had already won.”

“Liar.” (Undecipherable) said as the Presence wavered. He tried to pull his Light sword away, and couldn't. He turned it off and he fell back from pulling on it so hard and suddenly having no resistance.

“Okay, I'm going to win.” I corrected. “I've been training mentally and physically to fight against you for years, and I figured I had a pretty good shot at beating you.”

(Undecipherable) turned his Light sword on again and threw it at me like a Frisbee. I knocked it away with my father's Light sword and swung at his neck with my mother's Light sword. He dodged it and held a hand out, and I felt his flow of Presence as it reached past me. I chuckled and thought about Ozahith as I used my own Presence to grab onto his. (Undecipherable)'s eyes widened as his Light sword flew back through the air and stopped when it hit my Presence.

“I visited with a very special person recently and we took an oath together. A blood oath.” I said as (Undecipherable) tried to pull on his Light sword with everything he had.

“I thought she was only giving me her love and acceptance; but, she actually gave me so much more.” I said and let his Light sword go after tweaking it. “She gave me a way to beat you.”

“No!” (Undecipherable) exclaimed as he tried to turn the Light sword on and nothing happened. “What did you do to it?”

“I decoupled the focusing crystal.” I said with a smile.

(Undecipherable) grunted and threw the useless Light sword aside. “I don't need it anyway.” He said confidently and drew another one from his belt. He tried to turn it on, and nothing happened. “Ugh!” He tossed it aside and glared at me. “I'll kill you with just the power of my Presence!” He exclaimed and held his hands out towards me and concentrated, and I could see my death in his eyes... except nothing happened. No Presence buildup, no blast of energy, nothing. “Wh-what... what's going on?”

“The inside of your head is a tangled mess right now, (Undecipherable).” I said and sent a small pulse of Presence into his brain. “Someone hasn't been meditating properly and has fallen behind on their lessons.”

“N-no.” (Undecipherable) said and took a step back. “No, I... what did you do?”

“I've apparently gained a new technique called 'Presence Confusion'.” I said and then I felt a jolt of fear from him. “You can't hold your concentration long enough to endanger yourself or others.”

“NO! No, I... I'm (Undecipherable)! I'm known in over a dozen systems! I've got more Presence in my hands than you have in your whole body!”

“Yeah, you do.” I said and smiled. “Plus, the technique only works for about twenty seconds.”

(Undecipherable)'s face showed surprise for a moment, then he squinted his eyes and smiled evilly as I felt the confusion in his head wane as it started to fade. I needed to distract him, so I shoved the tips of my father's and mother's Light swords into his eyes. (Undecipherable) screamed and covered his eye holes with his hands for a moment, then the flow of Presence around him concentrated on his face and he started to regenerate.

“This is for you, mom and dad.” I said and swiped my father's Light sword across (Undecipherable)'s wrists and cut off his hands, then I swiped my mother's Light sword across his neck to decapitate him. The head rolled off and landed on the floor before it gurgled at me and blinked the eyelids on partially filled eye sockets. (Undecipherable) died and a large amount of Presence floated up and out of his slightly dismembered body. I was very tempted to absorb it and add it to my own to make myself that much more powerful.

I didn't want anything that was his inside of me and I didn't want it just floating around, either. So, rather than absorb it, I concentrated on it and held it as I took out my old focusing crystal from my backpack. I used the crystal as a container and shoved all of that Presence inside. It glowed brightly, which probably meant it was unstable with so much extra energy inside of it, so I attached the same circuit board and battery that I had for the scaly alien's focusing crystal that I had killed (Undecipherable)'s apprentice with.

I bent down and picked up my mother's blood-covered necklace with the locket on it, used Presence to push the blood off of it and made it clean, and hung it around my neck. With my own task complete, I picked up (Undecipherable)'s head and hands and covered them in a thin layer of Presence, made it solid, then put them in separate sacks before putting them inside my backpack to complete the other two tasks I had. One for The Order to get his head, and one for Aphatoris to get his hands.

I picked up his body and walked over to the large stone chair. I absorbed the Presence holding it in mid-air and carried the chair back to where it had been in the center of the room. I put it down, placed the headless body on it in a seated position, then put the glowing focusing crystal on the lap. I also dug into my backpack and took out my old Order things. The data pad, my robes, my old wrist communicator, and even the empty modified credit chips that my parents had owned. It was everything that had a tracking device in it.

As an afterthought, I pulled over his two Light swords and put them on the body as well. I went to the door of the room and turned to look at the throne and activated the still glowing modified focusing crystal. A twenty foot wide sphere of energy formed instantly and consumed everything within it. Nothing was left behind, except a spherical depression in the floor. I nodded at the removal of nearly everything that had been plaguing me since my parents had died, then I left the room, the building, and the compound.

I was back at the shuttle a few minutes later. “I can't believe it's finally over.”

“Me, either.” A woman's voice said as a Presence I knew well, appeared within my detection range.

I took off the pack on my back and dug out something for her and put it in a pocket, tossed the backpack into the shuttle and shut the hatch and landing ramp, then turned on my personal shield and powered armor before I turned around to face her.

“Hi, Kara.” I said nonchalantly, as if we were good friends that just happened to run into each other.

“Even now that I have you, you're still disrespectful.” Kara said. “You've never called me Master.”

“That's because you never acted like my Master.” I said, and her eyes widened. “You always acted like you were doing me a favor and treated me like a servant.”

“Ullir, I never... I only... I taught you everything that you...” Kara mumbled.

“You always had it in your head that you wanted me to become something for your own use and nothing else.” I said. “You can't deny it, not without lying anyway.”

“Ullir, please.” Kara said and took a step forward out of the forest. “You've had your fun gallivanting around the universe and playing bounty hunter.” She said and stopped twenty feet away. “I kept trying to catch you outside of that damnable ship and you've always slipped away, or hid behind the public, or accused me of unfair persecution.” She smiled. “Well, I've just witnessed you killing dozens of guards, twice that many civilians, an entire transport ship full of people, and a rogue member of The Order with a bounty on his head. How are you going to justify all of that to the moral code of The Order?”

“I don't have to justify it to anyone except myself.” I said to her surprise.

“Ullir, I... I need to take you back.” Kara said and unhooked her Light sword from her belt. “It's okay, though. You are my apprentice and we will face the charges together.”

“I'm not going anywhere with you, let alone back to The Order.” I said and drew my own Light sword.

“Don't fight me on this, Ullir.” Kara said and turned on her Light sword as she took a fighting stance. “I've watched you for months now and I know you haven't been practising your fighting techniques like you are supposed to.” She said, and I felt Presence build up around her. “You need to face justice and atone for your crimes. I'll stand by your side and I will help you as much as I can.”

“I don't want to fight you; but, I will.” I said and tried to use Presence Confusion on her. “You're delusional and can't help yourself. You should leave and let me go.”

Kara chuckled. “That mental trick doesn't work on people like us, Ullir.”

“What?” I looked at her with raised eyebrows. “But, I've had compulsions forced on me a few times since I was a child.”

“You didn't have to follow them, did you?” Kara asked and put a hand towards me, then picked me up with Presence and threw me back into the shuttle. I slammed into the side of it and my personal shield crumpled the metal from the force of the impact. “You still feel it and think you want to do it; but, you don't have to.” She said and pulled me away from the shuttle, then shoved me back into it and caused more damage to it, and my personal shield flickered as the electronics started to fail.

I turned it off and hit the button on my wrist com. “Rhubin, remote pilot the shuttle! Get it out of here!”

“You won't have a way back to...”

“You need to take it before it's completely wrecked!” I said and used my own Presence to push at Kara's. I dropped to the ground and spoke again. “It's got (Undecipherable)'s head and hands inside!”

“Okay, okay!” Rhubin said and I used a Presence Hand to hit Kara in the chest. She stopped it with her own Presence easily, since we had fought each other for years in the practice arena and she knew a lot of my moves. She didn't try to stop the shuttle as it lifted off, and I wondered why.

“There's an Order ship in orbit!” I said to Rhubin when I realized why. “You need to...”

“We got this.” Luxea said. “If they make a move, we can handle it.”

“You should tell them that it's not the fast courier ship I used to travel on.” Kara said. “They won't be handling anything.”

“Did you hear that?” I asked. “Luxea, can you...”

“They won't know what hit them.” Luxea said. “I'm really going to need you to hold me tonight.”

“I'm going to do a lot more to you than that.” I said, and she breathed heavily in response.

“See you soon.” Luxea said and ended the call.

“You're all delusional.” Kara said and I felt a wave of Presence press into my head, felt confusion for a moment, then it passed. “You see? Mental tricks don't work on us.”

“Kara, stop this.” I said and used a Presence Hand to grab her Light sword. I tried to alter the insides, and was met by a Presence barrier. “You've learned a few new things, too.”

“Yes, I have.” Kara said and used her Presence to crush my Presence Hand. “I've even learned how to counter your killing attack.”

“My killing...” I thought about what she meant, then remembered Ozahith and the technique I had discovered. “I see.”

“Yes, you won't be using it on me.” Kara said and lunged at me using Presence Run. I formed a ramp in front of myself and ducked, and she ran up and over me. I grabbed her foot as she passed and dragged her down to the ground as I absorbed the Presence I had used. Kara used Presence to catch herself in mid-air for a moment and kicked me in the face with her other foot. I felt my nose break and let her go, then I used a Presence Hand to snap my nose back into place and held in the gush of blood before it sprayed out.

Kara fell to the ground and rolled over, then swung her Light sword at my knees. I blocked her with my Light sword as she diverted to my abdomen, then she rolled to the side and tried to sweep my legs out from under me with one of her own. I jumped slightly and she grinned as she used Presence to push me away. I flew backwards through the air and slammed into a tree, crushed the bark and bounced off, then landed on the ground on my knees.

I was very glad that my powered armor still worked, because it had taken most of that impact. The energy flickered and then came back at full strength. I felt Presence build up and looked at Kara, and she had a dozen large rocks floating around her.

“I'm going to overwhelm your armor just like I overwhelmed your personal shield.” Kara said. “Then I'm going to take you back to face the consequences for the things you did.”

“Like spurn your pitiful attempts to seduce me?” I asked, and her eyes almost glowed with anger. “I have to admit that you're quite pretty and you have a nice hourglass-shaped body.” I said. “Those large soft breasts and your shapely ass has tempted me a lot over the years.”

Kara's eyes changed from anger to embarrassment and her face flushed red. “U-Ullir... I... I thought...”

“What? That I didn't notice?” I asked, and she nodded. “Of course I noticed. We slept in the same bed together for years and I've seen you shower hundreds of times.”

“I noticed you as well.” Kara said. “You've grown into the body that any woman would desire.”

“Is that all you want from me?” I asked as I stood up. “My body?”

“N-no.” Kara said. Her face turned to a deeper red and she turned her head away slightly so that she wasn't looking at me directly. I formed Presence Hands and grabbed all of the rocks she was holding, then pushed them aside and jumped at her. She felt me coming and turned to me with a big smile. At the last second I wondered why, then my Light sword flickered and the focusing crystal cracked inside as the energy blade disappeared. All the times I had increased its intensity had severely shortened its life.

Kara's Light sword was unopposed as it slid between two of the tristeel metal plates of my armor, severed the wires, and the energy in that spot died. The three inch wide energy blade went right through my abdomen and I felt it cut through my intestines, what I thought was my kidney, and it went out through my back and severed the armor connection there as well.

“Uhhhh.” I moaned in pain from the debilitating blow and dropped my useless Light sword. The wound was possibly fatal, especially if I moved, and that was what Kara had wanted and planned.

“I'm sorry I had to do this to you, Ullir.” Kara said as she turned off her Light sword and caught me. The tears in her eyes contradicted the smile on her face as she lowered me to the ground. “I promised myself to never harm you and now I've done this.”

“K-Kara...”

“Shh. It's okay. I'm right here.” Kara whispered and hit a button on her wrist communicator. “Bring the shuttle.” She said and examined the wound, then looked at my face. “Don't worry, Ullir. You'll probably only need to spend a week or so in a bio-medical tank to heal the damage. After that, we can go to the council and face our punishments together.”

Kara reached for my hand and I pulled it away before she could take it, and she sighed. I laid my hand on my heart, where the scars from Ozahith's death were, and I gathered Presence to myself.

“Stop fighting, Ullir. It's over.” Kara said and leaned back.

I formed a Lightning bolt and shot it at her. Her Light sword appeared between us and caught it. I formed two, then four, then a dozen and shot them all at her. She merely turned her sword into their paths and caught the Lightning before it could harm her.

“H-how?” I asked. “How can... I'm directing it away...”

“It's the focusing crystal.” Kara said. “It's designed to absorb and redirect Presence. All you're doing is losing your own Presence and strengthening my sword.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, then I reached up with both hands and grabbed the blade of her sword. Kara screamed, I assumed because she thought I was trying to kill myself. She couldn't move the blade without cutting off my fingers, and since I had my hands covered in Presence, I could hold the blade without hurting myself. I concentrated on her Light sword and felt around for my Presence and realized that it had been completely converted for the blade's use already. As the shock of my move faded, Kara realized she could just turn the Light sword off and did so.

My hands flopped to the ground and now that I wasn't thinking of anything else that I could do, I felt my Presence as it desperately tried to flow out through the hole in my abdomen. I fought it, because I didn't want to give up, and Kara gasped as she looked at the bright spout of Presence that started to leave through the wound.

“N-no! I didn't hurt you that much!” Kara exclaimed and tried to use her own Presence to contain it. I smiled as my pervasive Presence flowed through hers as if it wasn't there, and she started crying. “Ullir, no! You're not going to die! You're not!”

“You're... such a liar.” I panted as the Presence wavered more than I had ever felt before. I tried to laugh; but for some reason, I couldn't take a big enough breath for that. I felt Presence press down on me, and gasped at the pain, then everything started to go dark. I used the last bit of energy that I had to move my hand and grasped my mother's locket.

I took one last shaky breath, closed my eyes, and went into the darkness.

*

“NOOOO!” Kara exclaimed as Ullir stopped breathing and the press of Presence increased. A large glowing circle appeared around her and she threw herself on top of Ullir as if to protect him from something. She had done it instinctively, and the glowing circle intensified in brightness. She saw the shuttle she had called as it landed not far away, and she yelled for help.

The other two Order members rushed over to her and slammed into the glowing circle. They were hit by hundreds of tiny lightning bolts and were thrown back a dozen feet, unconscious. Kara cried and held onto her prince as they were completely engulfed in the glowing light. A moment later, the bright glow faded and the circle of light disappeared.

Both Kara and Ullir were gone.

END BOOK ONE

To Be Continued...