Deep in the communion cave, Akie continued reading… reading to the planet. It was such a staggering concept, she had to repeatedly pinch herself to be sure she wasn't dreaming!
'"Queens can, too, fly," she blurted out, daring him,' Akie read, trying to mimic how she thought the story character would act.
'His grin broadening to suffuse his face,' she read on, her own grin growing, 'he put his hands on her shoulders and gave her an affectionate shake.'
'"Of course they can fly," he assured her, his voice full of pride and respect.' Akie continued, feeling a thrill run up her spine at the words. '"That's why they have wings!"'
Luna's sigh of pleasure was eerily matched by Elara's own vibrations.
"That's so beautiful!" Luna went on, speaking through her headband-voicebox combo.
"I get the feeling you'd make one hell of a harper on Pern, love!" Vance remarked, smiling and nodding. "What story is that?"
Akie shrugged, staring at the pages. "Found it in a little out-of-the-way bookstore on Altair 6. Shopkeeper couldn't even tell me how old the book was, though it's still in surprisingly good shape." Keeping her finger on the page she was reading from, she briefly closed the book, looking at its cover. "It's called 'Dragonflight', authored by one Anne McCaffrey."
"Who?" Vance asked, his expression puzzled. "Never heard of her."
"No one has!" Akadeanna responded, gently caressing the book cover. "I even did an extensive search through the databases at the university while I was working on my doctorate. Not even a footnote anywhere! It's the great mystery of the millennia!"
"Good story," Elara remarked. "Read more?"
"Perhaps tomorrow, my friend," Akadeanna chuckled as she got to her feet. "Us poor humans have to eat throughout the day, and we've been here so long that we missed lunch!"
"What?!" Luna gasped, springing to her feet. "I didn't realize…"
Akadeanna chuckled, giving Luna a hug. "A good story has a way of doing that to you… making you forget about the real world as you get swept along by the story. Only a few authors have that kind of writing skill." Holding up the book to look at it, she added, "Clearly, this Anne McCaffrey was one of them… whoever she was."
"Well, let's get you dreamers back to the build site," Vance chuckled, linking arms with his wife and daughter. "We still have to get ready for Phon Tho's arrival tomorrow."
"New friend?" Elara wondered.
"I sincerely hope so," Akie sighed as the humans turned and left the cave.
It was, in fact, so late by the time Akie and her family emerged from the communion cave that twilight on Elara was approaching.
"Hope they saved some dinner for us!" Vance sighed as he climbed aboard Vornath.
Dinner that night for the trio was nothing to write home about… a bit spare of content and disappointingly cold. Heaving reluctant sighs, the trio ate what they could and turned in for the night.
Yet, even asleep, Akadeanna felt like she was still speaking to the moon Elara. Perhaps, she reasoned, some basic link had been established between the two during that initial two-day session. Whatever the reason, it made for some rather bizarre and colorful dreams!
The next morning, bright and early, something poked Akadeanna in the face.
"Oh, leave off, Vance," Akie quietly muttered, pulling the blanket up over her head. "Just a few more minutes."
Something yanked the blanket out of Akie's hands, once more poking her in the face. Wake up.
Rolling over to face the interrupter of her sleep, Akie opened her eyes… blinked a few times… and screamed!
Hearing the cry, Vance, lying beside Akie, jerked awake, demanding, "What's wrong?" One glance in Akie's direction and he exclaimed, "Sharding hell!", scrambling like mad to get out of bed!
You've rested enough.
Sharding hell is right, Akie was thinking, staring in wonder at the sizeable form of one of Elara's tufted lions. Similar to the Terran mountain lion, they possessed extremely short fur over most of their bodies except for the boot-like tufts of hair on all four feet and the very end of their tail.
The visitor will be arriving soon, the lion spoke to Akie's mind.
Telepathic! Just like the moon! This little expedition was getting weirder by the minute! Swallowing once, Akie nodded… and hurried to get cleaned and dressed!
Akadeanna and her family had just emerged from their construction site lodging when a sonic boom heralded the arrival of Phon Tho Anaciliact from the CIS. His transport shuttle did a smart circle of the site before coming to a gentle landing nearby. The moment it did, the tufted lion marched out to meet it, sitting back on its haunches as the hatch in the vessel hissed open allowing Phon Tho to emerge.
The CIS representative walked up to the tufted lion, bowing briefly, then asking aloud, "Are you this world's spokesbeing?"
I am Coaxtl, the tufted lion silently replied. When necessary, I speak for Elara.
"Quite right, quite right," Phon Tho agreed, bowing a second time before looking over at the humans nearby.
"Akadeanna Kestrel!" he exclaimed, grinning from ear-to-ear as he hurried over to shake her hand. "I am honored to meet the rescuer of the Bellatrix!"
"You honor us by coming, Citizen Phon Tho," Akie replied, blushing slightly as they shook hands. "While I am pleased the vessel was recovered, more than just me were involved and responsible for its recovery."
"Several of my relatives were aboard the vessel," Phon Tho spoke, bowing to her, "family members who would not be here now if not for your remarkable gift. I am in your debt, madame."
"And we are in yours for coming so quickly," Akie responded, gesturing around them.
The ground and air vibrated. "Elara welcomes Phon."
The CIS representative gasped, clearly not expecting that. "My word! It can speak aloud?!" Akie and the others nodded, smiling. "How?"
We've been reading to it! Luna replied, hugging Akie's arm.
"Truly?!" Phon gasped, his face a mask of disbelief. Frowning, he muttered, "Clearly a sign of sentience… to be self-aware and able to learn." Straightening, he looked squarely at Akie. "Will you show me where you did the reading?"
Akadeanna was more than happy to, giving Phon Tho a boost up Vornath's side before belting him into place. Vance and Luna boarded Artimeth and, together, the two dragons winged skyward, heading for the bathing springs… and the communion cave.
As they dismounted near the pathway, Phon Tho couldn't help gasping. "But for the warmer clime… this looks very much like the communion cave on Petaybee!"
Chuckling, Akie led the way up the path, going behind the waterfall into the long pathway that led to the communion chamber. Phon Tho was absolutely gobsmacked by the similarities between the two disparate locations. At one point, Akie and the others paused, grinning at the stunned look on the CIS representative's face as he delicately traced the bioluminescence patterns on the wall.
"Truly astounding!" they heard him barely whisper before moving on.
Phon Tho froze in place the moment he entered the communion chamber. "It looks just like…"
Giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze, Akie nodded, gesturing for him to have a seat next to the childlike stalagmite. Time and again, they all caught Phon Tho staring in wonder as the child appeared to stare back. Abruptly gathering himself, he immediately assumed the very difficult lotus meditation position, back erect, hands with thumbs and index fingers meeting. The others settled into positions around him, the familiar mists quickly obscuring the chamber.
Time passed… how much was anyone's guess… but soon the mists had dispersed. What Akie and the others saw was a pleased smile on the face of Phon Tho as he opened his eyes. With the skill of someone well versed in such meditation techniques, he rose to his feet, spreading his arms in greeting.
"There is no question," he sighed, a hint of a tear trickling down his cheek as he laid his trembling hand on the glowing wall. "This moon… Elara… is self-aware… just as Petaybee is. It is clearly sentient! As such, it falls under the protections the CIS can provide."
Recalling her experience on Petaybee, Akie chuckled, saying, "Too bad Clodagh and the others aren't here. I'm sure they'd be falling all over themselves to come up with a night chant for this moment!" Turning to Phon Tho, she asked, "What about the tower?"
"Elara was very specific on that score," Phon chuckled, giving Akie's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "It is very excited to learn all it can about Talents and the various esper gifts individuals such as yourself possess."
"Citizen, I should tell you," Akie hesitantly spoke, unsure how this CIS representative would take the news, "Elara has already manifested teleportational abilities."
"What?!"
Akie nodded in confirmation. A Petaybean river otter… our friend, Sky… returned with us to Elara. He told us that Petaybee had shown him a new home for his family here on Elara."
"Truly?!"
Again, Akie nodded. "He recognized the very spot the moment we went exploring the nearby river. While we were there, his otter family suddenly materialized all around us! I'm not sure if Petaybee somehow sent them or if Elara somehow retrieved them or if it was a joint effort… Petaybee sending them partway… Elara finishing the journey."
"Was the tower used for this transfer?" Phon wondered.
Akie shook her head. "Construction isn't completed yet."
"By the stars!" Phon Tho hissed, his eyes bugging out. "That's… that's…"
"It's one of the reasons we halted construction on the tower facilities," Akie explained, trembling slightly. "We had no way to gauge Elara's Talent levels or how it would affect any gestalt we might form if it suddenly joined in. Clearly, though, Elara's esper level is beyond anything we've experienced, which is why we asked for your help."
"And help you shall have," Phon Tho decisively stated, nodding to Akie and the others. "All that the CIS, the FSP, Intergal, and the FT&T can bring to bear."
Around them, the chamber resonated, coming out as "Thank you."
Smiling broadly, Phon Tho bowed to the childlike stalagmite, then all the visitors departed the chamber.
Within a fortnight, Elara was swarming with FT&T testers and instructors. It didn't take them long to realize the moon was far more powerful than they had imagined. At the same time, they also realized how unschooled the entity was in the use of its abilities… in spite of the river otter demonstration. So how to proceed?
Construction on the Talent tower complex was completed and even expanded somewhat. After all, the group of instructors the FT&T had sent was rather sizeable and needed the additional housing. Oddly enough, Elara wouldn't admit the FT&T instructors into the communion cave. Some sort of invisible force at the entrance refused to let them pass. But when Vance or Akie or Luna tried, they gained entry with ease! Curious.
So the trainers had to resort to instructing Elara by an odd coincidence in the little school that had been built as part of the Talent tower support structures. However, several weeks into the experiment, the frustration levels in the instructors was boiling over.
"Aah! This is impossible!" Monto Veik complained, slamming his fist down on the desk.
"Why?" Akie wondered, puzzled by his reaction.
"I can't see my student!" he complained with a whiny voice.
Akie burst out laughing. "Are you serious? You're standing on your student!"
There came a scratch at the door. Rising to open it, Akie was surprised to find Coaxtl sitting on the other side.
Elara is sad, he reported, his tail swishing in agitation.
Akie nodded. She'd been experiencing the moon's emotions. Thankfully, she had paid attention to her Talent instructors and was able to moderate the influx of negative energy, but Akie could tell something would have to be done… and soon. And then, it hit her.
Elara?
Friend Akie?
We have seen you as the child in the cave. I know this is not a cave where I am, but could you create an image of yourself here in the school?
There was a long pause… followed by a mild ground tremor. To Monto's surprise and consternation, a hole opened up in the floor of the schoolroom through which rock extruded… a rock shaped like a child but sitting in the same pose Phon Tho had assumed in the cave on that momentous day.
Good?
"Well, Monto?" Akie chuckled, gesturing to the smiling child rock.
Snorting in dismissal, the Talent instructor got back to work.