Author's note:
Thank you all for the support you have shown with the first installment of '
The Kineticist
'. As I posted in the comments on the previous chapter, I welcome any and all feedback on my work. If you feel there is something major you would like to discuss, be it stylistic choice or artistic vision, please feel free to message me directly. I read all comments and I would like to reply to them individually, but that doesn't seem to be the case unless I'm missing something.
I will be trying to keep a consistent publication schedule, as it stands hopefully every 7-10 days (4-7 days of writing, 3 for pending publication). If anything changes on my end, I will be communicating through the most recent chapter's comment section.
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Kara settled back in her chair, her fingers drumming erratically into her desk. She kept her face schooled into an impassive mask as Dessorosa's dark eyes bored into her from halfway across the system.
"So, to sum up this whole escapade, you succeeded in capturing the Imperial ship," Dessorosa started lamely.
"Correct," Kara replied tightly.
"But the entire crew is dead," He continued, his voice even and unhurried.
She nodded. She hated these drawn out impromptu debriefs. It was one thing to be lectured, another to have the whole event combed over in excruciatingly fine detail. It was like nails on a chalkboard for Kara, and Dessorosa knew that all too well. Maybe this was his way of putting a damper on her willful behavior.
"But not by your team," He folded his bridged fingers, pressing his thumbs against the bridge of his nose. His eyes closed as he took a deep breath before continuing, "You freed an Imperial slave, who just happens to be a Kineticist, and you let him rampage through the ship."
"I told youβ" Kara began to protest before Dessorosa's raised his hand to stop her.
"Not only did he repaint the interior of the ship, but also destroyed six shuttles, wrecked the entire portside hydraulics, and fried the entire internal electrical system," His voice was strained, the irritation seeping through the mask.
"The electrical system was already fried before we got there," She replied hotly.
"Well, that just wipes away the rest! The ship was already fried, so fuck it right?" Dessorosa exploded. "Why the fuck didn't you stop him from eviscerating up my new ship?!"
Kara's fingers froze mid-beat, her temper flaring dangerously, "I did! What in God's name was I supposed to do? He wrecked a warship! I'm a pretty decent Kineticist in my own right, but he was in a whole new league. I had Mercy pull up the schematics for the ship, he didn't just fry the systems, he
was
the system."
The call went quiet as Dessororsa sat back in his chair. While his face was in shadow, Kara knew him well enough to see the working of his jaw as he struggled with this new piece of information. Minutes passed in strained silence before he collected himself, "Whatever you do keep the ship secured and the Kineticist under control. It looks as if the Imperium has changed the rules of the game, this could have ended badly."
"What are you going to do?" Kara asked quietly, her body sitting rigidly on the edge of her seat.
"I need to report this to the brass. This just got way too hot for our hands. How long until you return to Elysium?" Dessorosa's face looked drawn. His chaotic beard did little to hid the deep lines etched into his face, or the dark circles weighing down his eyes. He didn't like involving Coalition brass nearly as much as she, but he was right. This new development now concerned the Coalition as a whole, not just a single system.
"We'll be back in a month. The Imperial Kineticist is in surgery now, hopefully we can get something out of him before we arrive," Kara's fingers resumed their endless battering of her work surface; she wanted to go check in on the golden eyed man. There was something lurking deep beneath the surface that had kept calling to her.
"I'll contact you if anything develops on our end. Report to me immediately once you arrive. We'll figure out what to do with your guest once you arrive," Dessorosa fixed her with a pointed stare that brokered no arguments before closing out the call.
Kara forced her fingers to still, fresh waves of agitation rolling over her. Ever since the golden eyed man had clashed with her hours before, her heart hadn't stopped hammering inside her chest. She chalked it up to fear, to the vast powers at his command, but there was something more. Her whole being vibrated as their wills met, wild instinct lashing out before a much more profound set of emotions that seemed to be lurking just behind that wall.
The buzz of the intercom on her desk drew her from her thoughts, "Kara, is everything alright?"
"Yes. Come in, Mercy," Kara smiled as the meadow skinned Komodous slipped quietly through the door as it slid open.
"How pissed was Dessorosa?" Mercy inquired, moving to perch on the edge of her desk.
Kara sat back and let out an exhausted sigh, "Pissed. He is pushing this up the chain. Our guest appears to be making ripples, and we aren't even back home yet."