Shel

"Is he dead?" the governor asked. I didn't realize he was right beside us.

"No," Lieutenant Commander Ma'amaloa said. We gave him room to be next to his son. He bent and picked him up as if Vai weighed nothing and as if the Lieutenant Commander wasn't over 100 years old. "He tried to heal all those people and passed out. I'll take him back to the ship to rest." Warpaint followed him as he took Vai back to the ship.

"Are you all right, son?" Owen's dad asked him. Both of his parents and Lieutenant Tanpo joined us.

"I'm not injured," he said. "It's just - " He looked over the destruction. His dad placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you injured?" Lieutenant Tanpo asked the remaining of us. Myself, Minmin and Esther.

"Not injured," Esther said. "Just not expecting this."

"When did you know you could split your shield like that?" Minmin asked Lieutenant Tanpo.

"Just now when I did it," she said. "My power seems to evolve the more desperate I am."

"Corruption!" someone from the crowd yelled. We looked. When Lieutenant Tanpo's shields died away there was Corruption coming from the dead bodies that had exploded.

Owen immediately arched out with his fire. The Corruption tried to float away, but weren't fast enough. They were consumed by his flames and died into nothing but smoke.

My okulus beeped with an incoming call. My mother. I stepped away from everyone and answered it for voice only. I also directed the sound so only I would be able to hear what she said.

"Son," she said. "Are you all right? I heard there were explosions."

"I'm fine," I said. "It was the Corruption. They planned this. Two bombs were set off in the crowds. I don't know how many are dead. Vai passed out trying to heal the injured. I told him to only heal the life threatening injuries. I hope he listened to me."

"The Corruption only went after the crowds?"

"No. One came after us, but Warpaint stopped him. None of us were injured."

"I warned the captains this might happen," she said.

The thought hadn't even occurred to me that the Corruption would retaliate in this way. It should have. I needed to expand my way of thinking.

"There is no real way to stop the Corruption from coming to these events," I said. "Our technology does not read them. We can't detect them inside someone even with our light. Except for Vai. Vai can see them. Most of these colonies are not setup with Aether field technology."

"No, but they can scan for bombs and weapons. This wouldn't have happened if they had listened to me," my mom said. "They thought after nothing happened on the K'thaktra colony we just visited, that the Corruption wasn't going to do anything."

"Why didn't they try anything on that K'thaktra colony? Maybe there was no Corruption there yet."

"I doubt that. Son, the Corruption are not trying to stop the colonies from receiving the light. That was why my group was not targeted. They are targeting you and your friends specifically. The light specialists. I don't think you've realized how much of a symbol you've become. You need to watch out for each other, but especially Vai. He was already targeted more when he showed he could heal people of the Corruption permanently. Now that they know he can expose them to everyone else, he will become even more of a target. The Corruption might even try to sneak on board assassins."

"Everyone on board the Shadow now has the light. We should be able to detect assassins."

"Tell the Awakened One he can eat any assassins that might try to sneak on board."

"Mom," I sighed. "The Awakened One is terrifying enough as it is. We are trying to appeal him to the rest of the Gathering not make him more frightening."

"Why do you argue with everything I say lately? I know I didn't raise you to argue with your mother."

"I'm not - " I sighed. "I'm not purposely trying to argue with you. I don't see it as arguing, just as a light specialist giving his opinion and thoughts to a Jo-Dinun."

"Former Jo-Dinun," she corrected.

"I don't think the former matters much in these circumstances," I said.

"Shel. I'm proud of you. Even if it does make me a little sad you don't need your mother anymore."

"I'll always need you," I said.

"No you don't," she said. Her tone wasn't sad. I could hear the pride as she quietly corrected me.

"I'll always love you," I amended.

"And I love you," she said. "I don't say it much, but the happiest day of my life was 18 years ago."

I made the traditional Bundu-Jo sign children did on their birthdays to show their mothers their appreciation. Then I realized I hadn't allowed the vid feed so she couldn't see me. I changed the call settings to allow the projection. My mother's projection now stood in front of me and I repeated the sign. She smiled.

Minmin and the others stepped down from the platform and were now opening the light in those colonists who weren't injured or who were lightly injured.

"I should go help them open the light," I said.

My mom nodded. "Shel. Remember even if he can't contact you today - he loves you too." I knew she spoke of my dad. "He was there the day you were born and I can honestly say that was the happiest day of his life too."

I nodded and ended the call. I blinked away the moisture that had burned in my eyes. When I turned to the crowd, there was no evidence of the sadness that I felt because neither of my parents were there on the day I officially became an adult.

*

Vai

I woke again in my room without any recollection of how I got there. This time though, my dad sat on my bedside. Warpaint stood quietly behind him.

"The colonists," I said. I hadn't finished healing before I passed out. I should go back and finish. I tried to sit up, but my dad pushed my shoulder back down. I was secretly grateful that he did. My temples pounded like crazy. I thought briefly about healing myself, but using my light so much was what had caused the headache in the first place.

"Commander Ragear said you saved a lot of lives today," my dad said. "In fact, no one died except for those few were in the immediate vicinity of the explosions. Lieutenant Tanpo saved many lives by splitting her shields and centering them over the blasts - Mr. Morgan told me she did that. And those outside her shields all lived because of you. Commander Ragear told me many had life threatening injuries that you healed before he and the other medical staff could get to them."

"Shel told me to do that," I said. "I couldn't differentiate injuries or people. I was getting lost in the healing. Shel told me to heal only the life threatening injuries. He told me Dr. Rags was there."

"I'm grateful for him then," my dad said. "I will have to be sure to let him know later. It scares me sometimes - a lot of times - how lost you can get in your light. The others don't seem to have that problem."

No. They didn't. I hadn't thought about it before. "Dad."

"What is it?"

"There is something I haven't told anyone."

He waited for me to continue.

"I could always see Esther's light," I said. "She and the Awakened One both said you wouldn't be able to see the light until it was opened in you, but I always saw it. Esther also said you wouldn't be able to see what color of light people have until you opened it up, but I have always been able to see people's light before it's opened. I know what color your light is."

"I still don't want my light opened," he said.

I nodded.

"And Vai, when the time comes, I don't want you to heal me."

"But - "

"I've lived longer than I should have. You are almost grown and you have exceeded my expectations. Let me die when the time comes."

I wasn't sure I could overcome the temptation to heal when the time came so I decided not to focus on those words.

"Are you sure I've exceeded your expectations? I'm not going to be a scientist. Isn't that what you always wanted?"

"No. I just want you to be the best you and that is greater than I imagined."

My okulus beeped with an incoming call from Owen. I answered it.

"Hey, you're awake, my friend. Everything has settled down out here, but there are a few we caught that have the Corruption inside them. Including that little girl you pointed out. Do you have enough energy to heal them from the Corruption?"

"I'll be down shortly," I said. We ended he call.

"You can wait a little longer," my dad said, but he stood to give me room to get off my bed.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood. "I'm okay. I'll take a break if I need to," I said. "I can take a break as long as I know I can finish the job."

My dad nodded. "I'll make sure we don't leave until you are ready."

"Warpaint, can I have an algae shake first?"

"Of course, sir. Wait a moment." He came back moments later with the dark green shake. I drank it on my way down to the docking bay. My dad was by my side and Warpaint followed closely behind.

The Awakened One sat in the docking bay with his elbows propped on his knees and his chin in his hands. His large yellow eyes turned our way, but he didn't move.

"I thought they were going to introduce you to the colony," I said to him.

"The captain is worried I appear too frightening," his low voice grumbled.

"Do the colonists know I healed them?" I asked my dad.

"Yes," he said. "And they know you can heal them of the Corruption. They are waiting for your appearance."

I held my hand out to the Awakened One. "I'll introduce you," I said. It wouldn't just be introducing him to the colony - it would be introducing him to the entire Gathering. I knew that.

The Awakened One stood. He took my hand in his large, furry one. I led him outside. Everyone - my friends, people from the G.E.F., and the colonists - looked at us. Only those from the Shadow had seen him before. Those from the other ships looked on him much the same as the colonists - a mix of fear and awe.

I let go of the Awakened One's hand and reshaped my okulus. I used it to enhance the volume of my voice so everyone there would be able to hear me.

I saw Captain Axa moving to intercept me, but I spoke first. "This is the Awakened One. He belongs to a race of ancient beings that first opened the light to us of the Gathering. It all began on the Lion of Judah Research Station. Unfortunately, the Corruption learned of the Lion of Judah and killed everyone including their Awakened One. Only Esther escaped to open the light in us and others. This Awakened One will help us win this war against the Corruption."

I reshaped my okulus and put it back on my wrist. Esther and Captain Axa moved quickly to stand in front of me.

"What are you doing?" they both demanded of me at the same time. They looked at each other briefly before turning their attention back to me.

"You made the first Awakened One sound like a hero," Esther said. "He wasn't. I'm glad he's dead."

"I only told the truth," I said.

"When you bring him out hand in hand with you - a hero - you are giving the people a false impression," Captain Axa said. "They will think his people will come to help us. They will think they are kind. I didn't want them frightened of him, but they should be frightened of others of his kind."

"This is true," the Awakened One said easily. "Your kind should be frightened of my kind. I give a false impression. I am the weakest. Your people should know I am the weakest."

"You're not helping me," I said to the Awakened One.

"Are your people going to come help now?" Esther asked the Awakened One. "If they see you helping us, and us winning against the Corruption, will they come?"

"I haven't seen you winning against the Corruption yet," the Awakened One said.

"Your people will die if they stay in hiding," Esther said without any doubt in her voice.

"Perhaps," the Awakened One said. "The Corruption have already found some of us and killed us. My brothers and sisters will still wait."

"They are foolish," Esther said.

"If they do decide to help," Captain Axa said, "will they find our fleet or will they go to the planets?"

"They will most likely go to planets," the Awakened One said. "I am already with your fleet. Why would they come here when I am already here?"

"Will they eat some of us like the first Awakened One did?" Esther asked.

"If their light hasn't been opened up then yes," the Awakened One said easily.

"No, they won't," Esther said, "because you will tell them we will find them and kill them if they hurt any of us."

"Why would you hurt us? If they don't have the light yet, they are useless."

"No," Esther said. Her hands were clenched tightly at her sides. "Light or not, they are part of the Gathering. I will end your people if they hurt mine."

The Awakened One paused for a long time. "I will tell them you said so," he finally said, "but I don't think your words will mean much to them."

"Not yet," she said, "but when they see how we win time and time again when your people failed, they will reevaluate. Remind them to reevaluate."

He nodded his large head.

"There are people for me to heal?" I asked Captain Axa.

"They are gathered over there." She pointed to a pavilion. I started to move in that direction with my father and Warpaint. Captain Axa grabbed my arm as I passed her. "Only heal them. Don't try to destroy the Corruption. Let Owen or one of the others do that for you."

I nodded and continued on my way. Owen caught up to us halfway there.

"I'm confused," he said.

"About what?" I asked.

"The explosions and fires didn't kill the Corruption," he said. "You didn't notice?"

I shook my head. "I guess you were too busy healing. When the fires died down in Lieutenant Tanpo's shields, the bodies were dead, but the Corruption weren't. Warpaint's shield kills them because it's Aether. I don't understand though why my fire kills them when regular fire doesn't."

"I have a hypothesis on that," my dad said. "Fire, explosions, poisons, cold, heat, they've all been used to try and kill the miasmids before and none of them worked. Only the Aether field worked. Your light mimics fire, has the same properties as fire, but I think it has properties similar to the Aether field as well. I think the Aether field is an artificial replica of the light - a weapon we can use against the miasmids before we even knew about the miasmids."

We reached the pavilion.

"I will study it further," my dad said. "The important thing is that the light works against the Corruption when our other weapons don't."

I spent the rest of the time healing people from the Corruption. I let Owen and the others destroy the Corruption that came out of the people I healed. My dad stopped me before I passed out again. The next morning when I woke, there were more people with the Corruption to heal. I healed them until noon and then Captain Axa ordered us off planet. We had more colonies to go to open the light.

My dad told the remaining people if they could hold those with the Corruption until we returned, I would heal them then. I didn't know when that would be though. Months probably. If ever.