Unification 04 - Weavespinner

Chapter 4 Raista, 36 Shiaa, 4400 Orthodox Calendar
Wednesday, 10 December 2013, Terran Standard Calendar
Raista, 36 Shiaa, year 1326 of the 97th Generation, Karinne
Historical Reference Calendar
Foxwood East, Karsa, Karis There had to be something in the water.
In just two days, four of the strip kids had expressed. Danelle had
been first, and later that night, the strip rang with the joy coming from
Min that Jora had expressed that same night. Yesterday, right about the
time the Makati were putting Kumi's house back, Zachary secured himself
from any teasing from the rest of his siblings by expressing at breakfast.
Not two hours later, Lyn announced happily that her son, Jenn, had also
expressed. Jason wasn't surprised, for the other members of the squad who
had children by others all had children by Generation men. So, next week,
they were going to have three passing parties, on Monday, Wednesday, and
Friday, to give Surin and the mothers time to plan them.
There had been other good news. Rahne had finally been released by
Cybi to join the rest of the Karinnes. She had re-educated Rahne by
communion, and since she had no family or friends, Jason put her in his
guest house until she decided where she wanted to live. Rahne was the same
personality wise, but she was much more confident now, engaged, and was
very personable. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do in the house, but
the idea of going to the Academy intrigued her...and she actually needed to
go, for knowledge gained via telepathy or communion would fade if it wasn't
reinforced. So continuing her education was actually necessary or she'd
slowly lose all the knowledge she gained from Cybi. She wasn't
mechanically adept, but she was good at math. She was personable and
friendly, and she was a good judge of a person. Jason rather thought she'd
be good working with Kumi, that her qualities would make her good at
business. But he'd leave it to her to decide
Last night, after the remote commune sensor network was activated,
Jason took Kyri aside and tried to teach her how it was done. He had been
honestly shocked in how fast Kyri picked it up. Just as Jason and Myleena
had seemed to instinctually be able to grasp the aspect of communion and
perform it almost perfectly, Kyri too had managed to embrace the idea of it
within ten minutes. He had never tried to directly commune with her
before, but when he did, and explained it was a different texture of
sending, she was able to do it, and do it perfectly, on her very first try.
Jason seriously thought, after that, that communion just might be an
instinctive ability in Generations, since he had not met a single
Generation that could not commune within ten minutes of being taught how it
was done. Their race was engineered, and it was no stretch to consider
that the ability to commune was a programmed instinctive ability.
That was unleashing a floodgate. After that, Kyri no longer talked
or sent to her father, she always communed with him, because it was much
faster and much purer than sending. She also was introduced to Cybi in a
way she'd never been before, and she was absolutely fascinated by it. She
also was introduced to the first major responsibility of a Generation,
absolute secrecy. The only ones that knew about the ability to commune
were the Generations and the women in the strip. Jason also explained what
a gestalt was, and naturally, she wanted one. "Not until you're older," he
told her firmly, "because a gestalt would allow you to cheat in your
lessons, and we won't allow that."
[But I can cheat now if I want, Cybi can help me!]
[No, Cybi will not help you,] Cybi replied firmly. [You will receive
your first gestalt when you graduate from primary school, young lady, and
not a moment before.]
[Awww!] she protested, but she didn't try to wheedle. She knew that
when her father said no, he meant it.
Unleashing Kyri on the Generations might not have been a good idea,
because she was a virus. That morning, to Jason and Myleena's utter shock,
Kyri taught Rann how to commune. All by herself, she explained what Jason
had told her, and tried to commune with him. Rann was able to commune back
within three tries, and that was because he was still learning the basics
of sending where Kyri was already a master of sending at the tender age of
five. Rann's ability to commune wasn't as good as the others, since he was
still learning how to send. His communion was slower, and it lacked the
same bandwidth as the adults and Kyri. But those were things he would
learn with time and practice. Jason had to intervene when she tried to
teach Sora how to commune, since Sora was still learning the basics of
sending. She didn't need the additional burden of trying to learn how to
commune at the same time. Jason was a bit irked at Kyri for teaching Rann,
since Jason had to sit down with him for nearly an hour and explain the
difference, and tell him to focus on learning sending first, and that
learning sending would help him master communion as well.
It was then, Jason saw, that Rann realized that he was different from
other humans and Faey, when he explained that Jyslin wouldn't be able to
hear communion. Your mommy wasn't born a Karinne, little man. I was. And
only Karinnes born in a certain family are able to commune or be able to
hear communion. So remember that you have to send to Mommy, but you can
commune with me. But I'd rather you send when talking to both of us. We
don't want your mommy to feel left out, do we?
[No.] No, I don't, Daddy, he sent in correction. Is our family
really big?
It's pretty big, but if you look at the whole planet, it's not really
that big at all. Most all of us are right here in Karsa. The family
doesn't really live anywhere else.
So, which of Danny's parents is in our family?
Aunt Myleena, he answered.
Does that make Danny my cousin?
No, the relationship is much more distant than that. She's like a
fifth cousin. The two of you could get married when you're older, if you
weren't already going to be married to Shya.
I can't wait to see her! he sent excitedly.
You really like her, don't you?
Yeah, she's lots of fun! And she's smart, and she really likes me.
I just hope you're right that I'll think private time isn't icky when I
grow up, he sent seriously, which made Jason laugh.
Trust me. In about eight years, your opinion of private time will
change completely.
Daddy, is it true that I'll be able to move things without my hands
the way you and Kyri and Aunt Myli can?
You should be able to, he answered. Have you ever tried?
Not really. Can you teach me?
I might be able to, but you may not be ready yet, he answered,
scratching his cheek in thought. Doing that is different from sending. It
wakes up on its own, and yours might not be awake yet. But, we can always
try. You'll have to wait until we come back from Draconis, though. Are
you all packed?
Uh-huh, he nodded. It's gonna be a little scary being there without
you and Mommy.
We'll be there, you're just going to stay with Shya, and remember,
Shya lives with her nanna, not with her mommy. She'll live with her mommy
when she turns ten. Then, when she's fifteen, she'll come to Karis and
live with us until you two get married. Think of it like a sleepover,
except instead of going to Aunt Maya or Aunt Zora or Aunt Sheleese's house,
you're going to Empress Dahnai's house, and it'll just be you and Shya.
And we'll be close enough for you to reach us with sending, so we're just a
call away, he assured his son with a smile, tapping him lightly on the
nose. Now enough worrying, kidlet. We're gonna miss Danny's party!
They attended Danelle's passing party, and had a great deal of fun.
Danelle opted for a much less complicated party, without huge rides, but
just as big as Sora's, and she too wanted Kyva to come with her Gladiator
and give her a ride. Danelle got a huge number of presents, and Jason
wasn't the only one feeling the pinch of having to buy so many passing
party gifts so close together. And they all knew that there were three
more parties coming next week, for Jora, Zachary, and Jenn. Jason and Kyva
stood by the rail and watched the kids running around in a game on the
beach, as Aya prepared for their trip to Draconis, and Symone was running
late at Songa's for her checkup to see if she was pregnant, something he
was anxious to find out. He rather missed Symone, and a week without her
had been almost like forced abstinence in a way. "So, like the new patch?"
he asked Kyva with a smile.
She laughed, looking at her right shoulder, where a patch with a
silhouette of a nude Faey woman holding a sword in her hands was framed by
the letters KBB, in a semicircle underneath her. The letters stood for
Karinne's Baddest Bitches, or just the Bitches for short. Jason had
carried through with his idea to build a squad of the six best Gladiator
pilots and put them in a special elite squad commanded by Kyva. They were
his delta force, his best fighters, the women who could get the job done.
"Yes, I do, as a matter of fact," she answered. "And I told you that it
was a bad idea."
"So, whose butt did you have to kick?"
She laughed. "All five of them," she answered. "At once. We had a
free for all to see who's the best. I won."
"Ouch. Spanked," he said, making a face.
"Just about," she grinned. "But, after we got the pissing contest
out of the way, we found out we actually like each other. So, we're
starting to get used to working together. I don't really like command very
much, but at least the girls I'm commanding know what the hell to do, so I
don't have to tell them much. I just decide which tactic to use, and we go
do it without me having to hold their hands."
"