Empire's Son: An Epic Science Fiction Novel Series

I stepped from the shuttle onto the landing area of what Vang had called the White Palace, and the place that would be my new home. A semi-circle of Zahnians waited for us just past the ramp my feet now stood on. I hesitated for a moment as I took in the sight of the massive room of ships that stretched out all around me. If I thought the bay areas were large in the battle cruisers, this was downright ginormous.

As far as I could see in all directions rows of an assortment of ships were docked. Most of the ships were smaller, while I had seen much larger ones docked to many of the orbiting stations around Dyniss. There was no doubt about it, this planet was a hub of activity with all manner of transport vehicles coming and going. I had seen the evidence of it as a passenger peering out the window of the Admiral’s and my shuttle from Maxem.

The trip in the second battle cruiser was short and without incident, thank goodness. All of the star fighters that managed to make it past the border were all accounted for. Vang said they had lost track of less than a sixth of the ships that had launched from the Xlero, so I suppose that was good. I didn’t really want to think about what had happened to the ones unaccounted for.

There had been no word from the Xlero, even though Vang had tried from the moment he set foot on Maxem to reach them. It caused the Admiral’s mood to sour considerably. By the time Maxem reached Dyniss a day later, Vang was barely saying a word to anyone. Most of his commands more short and crisp than usual. I chose wisely to keep my mouth shut and let the man be. I could only imagine what he was going through.

So instead of asking questions, I simply peered out the window to watch our entry to the bustling planet of Dyniss––the Capitol world of the entire Ethian Empire in all its glory. Strangely enough, it reminded me of New York City and all the day to day hustle I had become used to. So already I was feeling a connection with Dyniss.

As I stood at the top of the ramp, I felt the familiarity of being back on a planet. There was no mistaking the pull of gravity that seemed more intense than in the star ships. There was also that feel of wideness. It was accentuated by the mostly transparent doom over the landing bay. I could see the dark blue sky above me that was dotted with vehicles coming and going.

“Everything alright, Highness?” I heard Vang ask from behind.

I turned and gave him a reassuring smile so he didn’t have one more thing to worry about. “All good. Just getting used to regular gravity again.”

“The battle cruisers have the same gravity as most planets. We take great pains to make that happen.”

“Maybe, but it’s still different. Maybe you are just used to it, but I’m not, and I’m telling you there’s a difference.”

Vang’s face started to redden, and I took that as my cue to just shut up. So I turned around and walked down the ramp to the small group that was waiting for me.

I felt her before I saw her. She was like a radiating light in a dark cave. It took my breath away, and I hesitated in my step. A grunt from the Admiral had me moving quickly enough, but my attention was captured as I gravitated toward a warmth I hadn’t felt since leaving Earth.

She was short among the tall strapping Zahnians, nearly getting lost in them, but her presence stood out in stark contrast. I allowed myself to be pulled to her until I was standing in front of a willowy blond in a sparkling baby pink dress that wrapped tightly around her arms and chest, but flowed like cascading water from her hips.

“Welcome, Prince Adar. It is so good to have you back at the White Palace. I am Tessa, and I will be your guide today if it pleases you.” She then gave a bow of her head to me.

I couldn’t help but return the gesture. “Thank you, Tessa. That would be lovely.”

She then turned to look over my shoulder. “The Emperor wishes to speak with you immediately over what happened with Xlero and other matters. He is in his office.”

“Very good,” was Vang’s clipped response. I could hear the tension in his voice. I knew it wasn’t a conversation he was looking forward to. But as always, Vang didn’t let any of it show on his features. He simply gave me a nod when I turned to look back at him, and then he walked briskly away.

“I thought I was to see the Emperor as well,” I asked a little puzzled. At least that was the impression Vang had given me when we met in the shuttle to come down here.

“Oh, you will. He is quite eager to meet with you,” Tessa assured me. “The Emperor simply wished to speak with the Admiral alone first because of all the excitement on your trip. I was asked to show you around the palace a little, and we will end our tour at his office.”

By excitement, I knew she meant what happened with Chief Hon and the sudden evacuation of Xlero. I had to admit that I was glad to be skipping out on that particular conversation. In that moment, I felt sympathy for Vang. But I shook it off. It wasn’t my mess to be concerned with.

Besides, it felt good to be in Tessa’s presence. It was like just being beside her all my stress and anxiety that had accumulated over the past few weeks was quickly disappearing. For the first time, since my fateful last day on Earth, I felt grounded, centered, and full of confidence. A thought immediately came to me.

“You are using your Dome-ni on me, aren’t you?”

Her smile faltered. “You can sense that?”

“Yes, why? Don’t others?”

Uncertainty crossed her face. “Not usually someone as unskilled as you. I was told you have not been trained in your Dome-ni.”

I almost laughed at that, but I figured she would take it the wrong way, and I most certainly did not want to hurt this beautiful young woman’s feelings, so I channeled a little bit of Vang and went with a stoic expression.

“I’ve had training. Maybe not by Ethian standards, but my mother and Aragon (which I carefully made sure to say his Ethian name and not call him dad, that was going to take some effort to get used to) trained me as best they could.”

Her confusion instantly dissolved and her radiate smile came back. “They certainly did you a service. It usually takes people a lot longer to pick up on my efforts.”

I couldn’t help but match her smile. “And what Dome-ni do you possess? I have to say it’s quite delightful. Will the effects wear off after you leave my presence?”

“You mean, will the stress and anxiety come back?”

I raised an eyebrow. “So you can feel emotions too? Are you Empathic?”

“No, I am what is called Sensory. It is a little different than what you can do, or will be able to do when you are fully trained. I sense emotions of others’ by taste, touch, and smell. And I can reflect emotions of my choosing to others, but only when I am in close proximity of them.”

“So how does that differ from what I can do?”

“Dear me, has no one explained your Empathic Dome-ni?”

I shook my head. “No, everyone seems too caught up in the other one.”

She shook her head and gave a sad sigh. “Yes, I would imagine so, but the Empathic Dome-ni can be a powerful force all on its own. Perhaps, I can give you some guidance on it if you would like?”

My whole body lit up at the idea of spending time with this lovely woman and that finally someone was going to take my other Dome-ni seriously. “Yes, I would love that very much.”

She looked around as if she was searching for something, and then she came in close until she was a breath away from my ear. I was immediately aware of how close she was to me and a shiver raced through my body.

“I would go into more detail here, but perhaps a private session later on will be better to talk about such things,” she then pulled away with a small smile on her face.

Damn.

She knew I knew the effect she was having on me. I felt the thrill that spiked in her as she turned and sauntered away. My logic brain was telling me to watch out that she was playing me, and the not so logic was in complete and total love, and would do just about anything to have some private time with her.

I stood there a moment as I watched her walk away from me. It took all of my power to look away and find something else to notice. That’s when I suddenly found myself in a circle surrounded by grim faced Zahnians, and my mood immediately tanked.

Guess that answered at least one of my questions about her Dome-ni abilities.