Phon Tho delivered the goods, bringing the brightest and finest team of educators in the known galaxy to Dragons Moon, each member hand-picked by the CIS representative himself. All had been thoroughly briefed on what to expect. Oddly enough, a few early recruits, hearing what they would be up against, quietly bowed out of consideration. Kenophobia… the fear of empty or open spaces? Well, it was true there was nothing on Lua dos Dragões except the Tower facilities. Xenophobia… fear of someone who is different from us? Given how exceedingly dissimilar Elara was from your average galactic citizen, even Akadeanna had to admit that was a remote possibility. And yet, the CIS existed to protect the rights of sentient beings. Prejudice seemed counterintuitive to their function. Phon Tho Anaciliact had personally known each being for decades, yet even he was puzzled by their actions. What Akie never shared with him was her sense of foreboding behind the refusals.
Once the CIS educators were housed in one of the auxiliary Tower domes, Phon took them immediately to the communion cave nearby. To his surprise and consternation, Elara would allow him to pass into the cave but no one else from the educator team.
"Akie?" he queried, staring in bewilderment as the group stood at the cave entrance; Phon on one side, Akie on the other.
She could pass her hand easily through the opening but the others couldn't breach the invisible, impenetrable barrier.
"I don't understand," she muttered, shaking her head.
Elara? she silently called out.
There is darkness within them, the sentience replied. They cannot pass.
What sort of darkness?
In the past, they have hurt others, the moon explained, its tone implacable, for their own gain. They must not enter.
Sighing in disappointment, Akie turned to the members of the CIS team. "No point in the rest of you hanging around. Phon Tho and I will see if we can sort this out. Return to the facilities."
Shrugging, the rest of the team turned and departed, boarding their ground effect vehicles to return to the Tower facilities. The lack of protests and the haste of their departure had the hairs on the back of Akie's neck standing out in alarm. What was going on that she didn't know about?
"Citizen, what…" but Akie's raised hand cut Phon off.
Once the vehicles were out of sight, she held up a hand cautioning silence then pointed at a small crevice near the entrance before motioning for him to head into the cave.
"Was that…" he hissed once they'd reached the fountain room.
Akadeanna nodded. "A spy bug. Someone on your team seems to have ulterior motives for being here. We'd better find out who…"
"And why!" Phon hissed, incensed that one or more of his associates wasn't being truthful about the reason for their presence.
Maybe there was a reason Elara had allowed the dragonriders to come to Lua dos Dragões. There was one way to find out.
Lifemate, call the riders, Akie bade her dragon. Have them come to the communion cave.
Right away! Vornath instantly responded.
Moments later, Mnementh, Ramoth, and Canth arrived, their riders disembarking at the clearing next to the middle pool of the communion cave. While Vornath eagerly introduced her Benden friends to the dragon-sized bathing pool, Akie met the Benden riders at the cave entrance.
"What's going on?" Lessa wondered, glancing about. "Where'd all the CIS people go?"
"They couldn't gain entry to the communion cave," Akie explained, gesturing to the waterfall-hidden entrance. "We're not sure why… yet. I wanted to see if you three can get inside."
"Lead on," F'lar directed.
Which Akie did, guiding the three riders back behind the waterfall. At the entrance of the cave, she motioned for each one to try and pass into the passageway. To her surprise and consternation, F'lar, Lessa, and F'nor had no trouble passing the entrance.
"Most curious," Phon Tho remarked when Akie explained what had happened. "Elara?"
"Friend Phon?" the chamber reverberated.
"Why could the riders from Pern enter but the others from CIS could not?"
"Friend Phon is from CIS."
"That doesn't answer the question," Phon muttered.
Unexpectedly, Coaxtl padded in, sitting down next to the fountain. Their minds are hidden.
"Hidden?!" Akie gasped, staggering back a step. "How?"
This one has no experience with such a thing, Coaxtl rumbled. Looking straight at Akie, he told her, But you do.
"Me?!" Akie gasped, hardly believing what she was hearing.
Frantically, Akadeanna searched her memories, trying to make sense of Coaxtl's words. With a sudden, startled gasp, she turned to Phon Tho. "Psionic dampeners!"
"Come again?" F'nor remarked.
Coaxtl was right. Akie did have knowledge of and experience with this sort of thing… thanks in no small measure to the fear and pain she had suffered during the Dragon Stealers emergency. "Oh, sharding hell!"
"Are you saying…"
"The spy bug out front is proof!" Akadeanna hissed, her gaze sweeping the chamber.
Well, she knew a way to deal with that irritation. With but a light mental whisper, Princess Tigress materialized out on the cave pathway. Hissing loudly, fur fluffed out, ears pinned back, in a blistering fury, the Barque Cat raced along the pathway, reaching the cave entrance in seconds. In a powerful leap, she hit the wall of the cave entrance, her claws ripping the spy bug out of the crevice. The illicit device didn't live long once it hit the stone pathway. Coaxtl pounced on it, smashing the bug to bits.
"Akie?" Lessa spoke, seizing her fellow queen rider by the arm. "What the sharding hell is going on?"
"Nothing good," her Terran friend muttered, shaking her head.
"What do you mean?" F'lar wondered, his expression puzzled.
"I think there's more going on behind the scenes than we know… more than just FT&T wanting to set up a Talent tower here."
"You mean, like those howling nutters who were trying to kidnap our dragons?!" F'nor growled.
Akadeanna nodded. "Weaponizing a dragon is one thing, but what if you could weaponize a Talent-gifted planetoid?"
Everyone gasped.
"By Faranth's Egg!" Lessa hissed, her own fury plain.
"How do we prove it?" F'lar wondered.
"Proving it is one thing," Phon Tho muttered, shaking his head. "Doing it discreetly so no one knows is another… especially if they're employing psionic dampeners."
"Ask otter friend, Sky," the chamber reverberated.
For a moment, all the humans were stunned silent… and then the biggest ever grin came over Akie's face.
"Perfect!" she chuckled. "I'll go talk to him."
Akadeanna didn't have far to go to find her Petaybean otter friend.
Hah! Sky called out, bounding up to Akie as she approached the river. Giant otter friend Akie!
An incredible bound and he was astride Akadeanna's shoulder, rubbing his damp muzzle against her cheek.
I missed you, too, friend, Akadeanna replied, hugging his head to her own. How is your family doing?
Great otter family do! Sky instantly replied. Miss you we do!
I'm glad to hear your family is doing so well, my friend, Akadeanna quietly spoke, glancing down the river, but Elara and I need your help.
Giant otter friend Akie needs Sky's help?!
Clearly, he wasn't expecting that.
Akadeanna nodded.
The beings Phon Tho brought to teach Elara cannot enter the communion cave. Elara says there is darkness in their hearts.
Sky snorted gustily. True is. Sky's family all have felt.
That got Akadeanna's attention. How felt?
Squeaky they are, Sky grunted, shaking himself at the memory. Hurts Sky's ears!
Something the humans wear?
Sky shook his head. Inside is.
Akadeanna's pulse quickened. Inside their bodies?!
Hah.
By all the gods and deities, a surgically implanted psionics dampener! Easy enough to scan for, Akadeanna realized. And no wonder the river otters were affected by it. They can hear frequencies across a broad range… 0.125 to 32kHz. The damned devices operated near the 30kHz range and are quite loud… too high for humans to detect but clearly within the river otters hearing range!
Thanks, Sky, Akadeanna told her river otter friend, hugging his head to hers. I'll look into this.
Careful be, giant otter friend Akie, he warned her before diving back into the river.
Resolutely, Akadeanna returned to the communion cave. Her friends from Pern, her family, and their CIS acquaintance all knew something was wrong the moment they saw her expression.
Mom? Luna asked, seizing Akadeanna's trembling hand. What's wrong?
Vance stepped up to her, worry plain upon his face.
"Whatever it is, sweetheart," he told his adopted daughter, taking hold of Akadeanna's other hand, "it's serious."
Looking straight at his wife, he told her, "Last time I saw you this pissed off…"
"Was the day those tunnel snakes from the Federation," F'nor hissed, coming to the same conclusion, "tried to kidnap our dragons!"
"I spoke with Sky…"
"That Petaybean river otter?" Vance asked.
Akadeanna nodded then turned to their CIS friend. "I have reason to believe that the members of your team, Citizen, have had psionic dampeners surgically implanted."
"Can you prove this?"
As if on cue, Coaxtl walked in, Sky riding astride his back.
"Our river otter friend, Sky, said the humans sounded squeaky," Akadeanna reported, giving her tiny friend a head scratch.
Hurt otter ears they did, Sky responded, his whole body shaking. Very loud.
The little one speaks truly, Coaxtl rumbled, settling to the cave floor so that Sky could easily dismount. I, too, have heard the noise the odd beings are giving off. Growling softly, he added, It is painful.
Phon Tho Anaciliact was reduced to mute astonishment as he glanced around the cave. Shaking himself to regain control, he asked, "So what do we do?"
"Firlea's Fury is still in orbit, isn't it?" Akadeanna asked.
"They were our transport vessel," Phon sighed. Meeting Akadeanna's gaze, he added, "If your suspicions are true, citizen, Admiral Sharpton will not be pleased by this."
"But why would these people, supposedly your friends," Lessa wondered as she looked at the CIS rep, "want to hide their thoughts from you?"
"The power Elara possesses is very tempting," Akadeanna muttered, her fury barely contained. "Our dragons would've made exceptionally dangerous and effective weapons if the Dragon Stealers had succeeded. The potential power of a T1 sentient as large as a planet is too tempting for those who hunger for power."
Sharding hell, Mom! Luna silently cursed. Are you saying they want to turn Elara into some sort of weapon?!
Unexpectedly, Princess Tigress came padding in. Briefly, she rubbed muzzles with Coaxtl before leaping up to Luna's shoulder. Rubbing her head against Luna's cheek, she quietly told her Kibble, Yes.
"Of course!" Akadeanna exclaimed, snapping her fingers. "Princess Tigress would've heard the same high-frequency noise that Coaxtl and Sky had!"
Beings bad, the Barque cat hissed, ears back.
"Three different confirmations of the painful high-frequency noise," Akadeanna sighed, meeting Phon Tho's gaze, his expression revealing the hurt of the betrayal he felt.
"Now the problem will be determining how far up the chain of command this goes," Phon Tho muttered, his usually sedate features mirroring his growing fury at such a betrayal.
"Do you know anyone at CIS that you can trust?" Akadeanna wondered.
Heaving a heavy sigh, Phon replied, "I thought I did. But this,…"
"It hasn't happened yet, Phon," Akadeanna responded, laying her hand on his slumped shoulder. "We can still stop this… whatever it turns out to be."
Grimly, he nodded.