Kate was busy. Her days were filled with intense physical training including hand to hand combat, introduction to tactical warfare and weaponry, endless computer training and partaking in discussions and debriefings. She was a natural, and no one was more surprised than Kate.
“Didn’t know I had it in me!”
She had separate sessions with each member of OBF1 to learn some of their specialized skills and to also get to know her fellow teammate. Mason even showed her some basic martial arts, which she took to with great enthusiasm. A usually reserved and cynical Mason acknowledged (to himself) that she was “made for it.” He even forgave her when she waited for him to drop his guard and smacked him hard in the chops with a perfectly executed reverse spinning kick.
She had never been more excited, and she had the metabolism to get fit very quickly and stay fit.
“And you guys get paid for this?”
The only thing that was avoided was the inevitable. When was she going to be involved with the off world explorations and alliances? To Kate, it was as if they were waiting for something. Yeah, she thought to herself wryly, waiting to see if I can take all this stuff they are dishing out to me, or watch me flip out and turn into a green veined blood sucking scummy alien!
The OBF teams were off world far more regularly than ever now, due to pending enemy attacks. Kate was always left behind.
However, the preconceptions towards Kate had changed, especially amongst the OBF1 team. Over time, she was showing signs of being a valuable “part time” member, as she put it. Her listening skills were excellent, she offered feedback and suggestions and was a quick all round learner. Even the hard to please Tremaine had a noticeable soft spot and opened up a little. In fact, it was rumored he had shared a joke with Kate in the canteen! Kate got on well with most everyone on base.
Pilcher remained more distant, in order to keep an objective perspective of the situations as they came to hand. He was pleased with the reports he was receiving about Kate.
She never spoke about her visions or dreams, only during “official sessions” with Pete. Even then she kept the discussion to a minimum.
For Kate, the red eyes were still there, but it was like they were in the background now, shimmering and glassy in the distance, not probing, more like waiting, but for what? Was it fading, even going away, or waiting to pounce once more?
She was permitted to wear her stone mounted in a thin wire enclosure connected to a delicate chain around her neck. The second stone Dr. Reynolds kept in his lab. Apart from her martial arts and hand to hand combat, Kate’s secret favorite sessions were with Pete with their discussions and experiments.
Pete was as enthused as Kate. The first time stunned Pete. When she held the stones in each hand, they seemed to glow. She would close her eyes and focus on them and some pretty wild things would happen. All she needed to do was, in effect, channel her thoughts via contact with the stones to do anything she wanted, well that was his theory, or more like wishful thinking. In Pete’s notes, he emphasized the fact that whenever Kate was happy or relaxed, certain paranormal phenomena occurred. However, when she was in a mood, or distracted state, her focus was not so good. She needed to learn control.
One time she made a pin rise and float in the air, she “saw” it even with her eyes closed. Another time Pete had walked in, and she made his hair stand straight up. Her telekinetic skills were becoming excellent.
When she held one stone, she would receive snatches of visions, that were jumbled up and not much else, and frustrated her. It was like trying to tune a radio frequency that sometimes was there and other times not. When she did receive an occasional clear vision, she briefly described it like she was standing back watching herself, other times she viewed the scene in the first person.
When she had two stones, her telepathy would sometimes come into play, and she could almost “hear” thoughts in Pete’s mind. To Leah, it felt uncoordinated. He had recorded every detail, connecting her up to the computers that measured brain patterns and blood pressure. The reading would go off the scale when she had the stones, anyone normal would be dead.
Pete wondered what her limit would be. Could she move a tank? A building? Oh God, Superwoman lives! Only through time and practice would these wondrous gifts come to real fruition. Sometimes, while he was alone, he would fantasize Kate clad in sexy flowing white silk, standing high on a mountain, stretching out her hands, with lightning rods zapping all. He kept these thoughts to himself.
Pete was concerned about S.U.E.P.’s plans for Kate. They would be keeping a watchful eye on her and were reliant on his reports. Was she their new secret weapon? It also occurred to him what could happen if the stones or Kate ever fell into the wrong hands. He knew he should keep a clinical, unbiased approach to his work, but he was dealing with a human being, who just so happened to be an attractive, intelligent woman.
One evening, in a rare moment of relaxation, she laughed at a comment Pete made. She was letting her guard down. He beamed at her. “That is the first time I have actually heard you genuinely laugh.” He pretended to consult his notes. “No, hold on, you did that yesterday!”
She punched him playfully in the arm. “Oh I have a sense of humor.” She laughed again. Then glanced furtively at him, “I just have a little trouble trusting people generally.”
He had been waiting for this.
“Do you trust me?” He smiled warmly.
She paused, their eyes locked. Deep down she knew she did. He was different from the potato heads she had dated. “I think so. And I guess life can’t be taken too seriously.” She smiled back demurely. “Well, at least not all the time.”
She took a deep breath and with a mischievous glint in her eye said, “I’ll let you into a secret. I have been thoroughly enjoying myself learning these new skills, I mean, never in the world would I have ever dreamed of holding an M16 let alone use the damn thing, shit…”
Pete laughed. “I know what you mean. That and lifting weights didn’t enter my archeologists’ resume until I started here.”
They both laughed. He studied her face. At first, to him as a doctor of archaeology, Kate was a living breathing artifact, but she was far more. He relished the bond between them and when he was alone, he wondered if she felt anything more. But he could not get the courage to ask her. Apart from feeling a little awkward; he was a professional through and through, and doing what they had ordered him to do. He inwardly groaned. Wrong time wrong place—if they had met outside this secret world, maybe. After he had studied her full psychiatric report, he came to realize that the powers that be were no fools and were aware of the obvious chemistry between the two—they had made sure they spent time to get to know each other. They wanted him to learn all about her because of their natural rapport.
He would study her when she was not looking and clearly saw the vulnerability and loneliness. He could not fight an almost overwhelming desire to protect her.
But what on earth from?
She was opening up freely to him now, and at one stage they had discussed why her stone gave her lucid visions of day to day events on the base, which had ceased when she arrived.
“Maybe the stones got lonely and their polarity brought us together,” she would joke.
Pete knew Kate was being cooperative, but he sensed there was so much more she could tell him, whether she was aware she could was maybe something else altogether. He had suggested hypnotherapy with the base psychologist, but when they began she panicked. Something about being swallowed by dark shadows and the red eyes would bore into her brain causing excruciating pain. Pete could swear he almost felt it himself.
Had Kate or this Queen Leah had some deep, evil past experiences, or was that caused by some sort of spirit residue in her. Was this gorgeous woman actually evil or infected by some form of evil? He kept these darker theories to himself, and out of the reports to Pilcher. There were some powerful people behind Divisions, and the last thing he wanted was to give
them any ideas of how they could use her. He found it hard not to just take her in his arms and hold her, make the pain go away.
One evening Pete asked Kate to consent for a blood test, which she was happy to do. Pilcher did not want Pete to tell her why, insisting it is part of the health policy the company adopted. Refusing, Pete said it was imperative to tell her the truth if they were to earn her trust. Pilcher agreed, after a quick phone call to his superior.
Kate took the news quietly, though she turned quite pale. The blood matched.
Kate surprised Pete, quickly asking him if they could go out for dinner, for a change of scenery. He asked Pilcher if he could take her off base, but they were turned down due to security reasons. Pete knew she was feeling the walls closing in on her, and the blood revelation topped it off. So he suggested having a private picnic in her room.
They talked about everything and anything, except their work, which suited them both. Kate knew she had a good friend in Pete, and she finally realized he was not doing everything under orders. She began to feel her strict, protective wall of resolve crumble. She could open her heart to this man, but she wished it were under different circumstances, away from the prying eyes.
At least when the blood match was confirmed, he appeared to not treat her any different. She wished she was “normal” and she and Pete were far away from this place.
For Pete, blood match or no blood match, he knew damn well he was in love. He did not care if she was simply a woman off the street, or a beautiful reincarnation of a queen, he would still love her. But he was in no position to declare his love, and by doing so, he could make matters awkward.
Suddenly, Pete stood up brushing the crumbs on to their makeshift picnic rug and stated to her. “I think it is time for a little off world visit, don’t you?”