Free Star Brigade: Odysseys - An Anthology by C.C. Ekeke Page B

taint into the Joining. With a thought, he steeled away that part of himself from the Joined sphere.
    Despite his refusal to become a Joiner celebrant, in times of doubt or fear or sadness, the Shining Faith remained Surje’s refuge. Like it was tonight, after finding out he hadn’t made the new Star Brigade combat team.  At least Sam D’Urso, his superior officer, had told him herself. For a human, D’Urso was at times unorthodox, but her frankness was appreciated.
    Still, Surje needed time to clear his head. So he was spending his evening at Roosevelt, one of many gas mining cities floating inside of Zeid. Roosevelt also had a number of Living Light sources which he’d grown familiar with since being stationed on Hollus Maddrone Starbase.
    But right now, he brushed aside his needs and failures. Surje focused on Qarm and Jabei, the young Voton couple he’d just met at a modest Shining Faith source, not two orvs ago. They were missionaries, about to start a new journey on Kheldoroth. The two, so dutiful to the Living Light, so drunk with love for each other, were desperate to become merged before their mission started. Surje had officiated Mergings before. How could he refuse them?
    Qarm and Jabei had already exchanged fragments of life energy with one another, then interweaved their senses. Now was time for the bright words.
    Do you Qarm, Surje began, pledge to join your life with this female, protect her from the Infinite Darkness, guide her down the path of radiance until she leaves this plane and joins the Shining Host?
    Qarm beamed, showering the sphere and the room with his love. I do.
    Do you Jabei, pledge to join your life with this male, protect him from the Infinite Darkness, guide him down the path of radiance until he leaves this plane and joins the Shining Host?
    I so do, Jabei replied eagerly, her inner light as luminous as her partner’s.
    Through the illumination bestowed in me by the Living Light, I now pronounce you Merged.
    The ensuing light flooded the room entirely, chasing away all and any shadows. Little by little, Surje separated himself and felt the Joined sphere lose its cohesion.
    Moments later, the multi-colored radiance faded. The three Voton stood in their solid, naked humanoid forms where the Joined sphere once floated.
    Surje returned to his reddish wiry and trim physique, three roundish crests jutting proudly from his skull. Jabei was a lithe and lovely sight, bearing only two round greyish crests atop her head. Her glow burned deep blue with love for her new Merger partner and gratitude to Surje. The male Voton had a strong-jawed face and three blockier gold crests atop his head. He was a bit doughy in physique but carried his weight well. Qarm shone as deeply with love and gratitude as his wife. “Thank you, Pleiad Surje for doing this,” he gushed. “We wanted to start our mission together on Kheldoroth the right way.”
    “It was my honor,” Surje smiled with genuine happiness. “We are all One with the Living Light.”
    “We are all One with the Living Light,” Qarm and Jabei repeated.
    Jabei slipped into white robes matching those of her partner, though more form-fitting than Qarm’s. Surje pulled on a blue button down shirt and grey slacks, all of fine nanoclothe crafted specifically for a Voton.
    After Qarm and Jabei left the source, Surje stepped outside the place of worship and onto the preceding walkway. It was night time according to Surje’s chronometer. He placed his hands on a rail, leaning forward, and began zoning out on the foot traffic of beings bustling through Roosevelt’s Teddy District. The ring-like and multi-tiered locality had been crafted with angular high-tech artsy elegance to resemble an actual city-state downtown. An odd location to have a Living Light source, but the contrast always fascinated Surje.
    “I knew it!” The sharp, metallic voice from Surje’s right snapped him out of his reverie.
    Can’t be. He whipped around and gaped. Two