Selena,Zylthar’s mental voice is barely a whisper through the static.The Matrix crystal. If we reach it, use our bond to amplify its power?—
Too far. Too much interference.
Then we need to get closer.
Before I can respond, Zylthar moves with desperate speed, lunging toward the bridge’s rear console where emergency transporters are housed. But the psychic static affects him worse than me—his usually perfect coordination fails, and he stumbles directly into the path of a neural stunner.
The beam catches him center mass, and he drops like a severed cable.
“No!” The word tears from my throat as I feel his consciousness flicker through our bond—not gone, but dimming toward unconsciousness. Raw fury floods through me, burning away the psychic interference through sheer force of emotion.
“Touching,” Jorem observes. “The contaminated protecting each other. It would be admirable if it wasn’t so disgusting.”
I reach for my sidearm again, and this time, my hand moves with full enhanced speed. But before I can draw, something strange happens—the air around me shimmers with prismatic light, and I feel power building in my chest like contained starlight.
The bond,I realize.Even unconscious, Zylthar amplifies my abilities.
Energy crackles around my hands as enhanced psychic abilities suddenly manifest in ways I’ve never experienced. The nearest Zephyrian soldier staggers backward as his mask overloads from proximity to raw psionic output.
“Impossible,” Jorem breathes. “The purging field should prevent?—”
“Your field is designed for normal psychic bonds,” I interrupt, letting power build until the bridge lighting flickers. “But we’re not normal anymore.”
I reach out with enhanced awareness, feeling for the Matrix crystal three decks below. The artifact responds to my call, its song rising through the station’s hull like a crystalline choir. Power flows between us—ancient Zephyrian technology recognizing the hybrid consciousness that can properly channel its abilities.
Selena.Zylthar’s mental voice is weak but present, consciousness returning as our bond strengthens.I feel you reaching for the Matrix. Be careful—that much power could tear your mind apart.
Not if we’re sharing the load.
Together, we draw on the artifact’s energy, using our joined consciousness as a focusing lens for forces that could reshape reality itself. Light explodes across the bridge as psychic power overwhelms the Zephyrian jamming devices.
“All crew members,” I broadcast through the station’s communication system, my voice carrying psychic resonancereaching every enhanced mind aboard. “Jorem’s soldiers are using neural disruptors to compromise your abilities. Focus on your bond with your crewmates—shared consciousness can overcome their interference.”
Through our connection to the Matrix, I feel the station’s enhanced population responding. Minds that were isolated and confused suddenly link together in a network of shared awareness, psychic abilities amplifying through group cooperation.
Jorem’s expression shifts from confidence to alarm as his carefully planned operation falls apart. “This is not possible. The purging field?—”
“Doesn’t work on people who’ve learned to think as a collective.” I stand, feeling power flow through every cell in my body. “Ambassador, you made a fundamental error. You assumed we were still individual minds operating in isolation.”
“Captain.” Blaine reports from the tactical station, her voice steady now that the psychic interference has lifted. “All boarding parties have been neutralized. Security teams report minimal casualties.”
How?Jorem demands, but the question comes through psychic channels—our enhanced awareness making his thoughts visible despite his training.
Evolution,I reply the same way, letting him feel the weight of collective consciousness that now encompasses my entire crew.Something your people gave up out of fear.
Through the Matrix connection, I sense the Federation ships adjusting their attack posture as they detect the psychic emissions flooding from our station. Admiral Morrison isprobably having very interesting conversations with her science officers right now.
“Jorem,” I say aloud, “you have exactly sixty seconds to order your people to stand down and return to your ship.”
“And if I refuse?”
I smile, feeling the combined will of two thousand enhanced minds focused through our bond with the Matrix. “Then you’ll discover why your ancestors were wise enough to fear the Starlight artifacts.”
Energy builds around us—not destructive, but transformative. The kind of power that could reshape matter at the quantum level, alter consciousness itself, bridging impossible gaps between species and dimensions.
Selena,Zylthar warns through our bond.That much power—if we lose control?—
We won’t lose control. We have each other.
