Free Alien Honor (A Fenris Novel) by Vaughn Heppner Page A

color. It was beautiful, and it was an illusion. With the tele-ring aiding and expanding his psi-abilities, Jasper reached 2.1 light years away.
    A discontinuity window appeared before
Discovery
. The null space blotted out the stars, and it might have appeared black, but motes of gray light dancedin it. One of those motes grew incredibly fast, and strange colors blossomed and brightened.
    Jasper ignored the colors and he focused his abilities to keep the portal open long enough for
Discovery
to jump 2.1 light years. During that time, Jasper made contact with an alien mind. It was a whisper in his thoughts, and it spoke at an accelerated rate.
    Who are you?
the alien asked.
    I am Jasper.
    What are you doing?
    Shifting? Who are you?
    I am Clones,
the alien said.
    You’re a clone?
    No. I am named Clones.
    You’re not a duplicate of someone else then?
Jasper asked.
    Your question is nonsensical. What is your appearance?
    What is yours?
Jasper asked.
    I sense hostility in you to your masters.
    I have no masters. I am superior to the Normals. They’ve chained me through diabolical technology.
    Yes. I sense this thing in your mind. What do you call it?
    An inhibitor,
Jasper said.
    What is its function?
    To dampen my abilities at their whim,
Jasper said.
    Such as those are masters. They control you.
    No! I am superior. I’m the one shifting this vessel.
    True, true,
the alien mind purred.
This is an evil thing done to you. I could disconnect the inhibitor in such a way that your Masters would never realize you are broadcasting.
    Yes! Do it.
    First, you would have to allow me deeper into your conscious. You would have to lower your mind shield against me.
    Jasper quailed to do such a thing. He realized his emotions ran riot and that he’d communicated much too freely. What was wrong with him? Perhaps this was a function of the tele-ring, this heightening of his emotions and his recklessness in speaking so freely to an unknown alien.
    Why can’t we comminute at other times?
Jasper asked.
    You are right in believing that your device amplifies thought. We have such devices too.
    You can shift?
    Of course,
the alien mind said.
    Jasper had his doubts that the alien told him the truth about that. He sensed duplicity in the last answer.
They’ll be shutting the tele-ring down soon. We’ll talk again.
    Yes, Jasper, go back to your masters. Wait for them to allow you to communicate with me again.
    I’ve already told you. They’re not my masters.
    Your inhibitor tells another story.
    How long would its disablement take?
Jasper asked.
The inhibitor is a complex piece of equipment.
    A few seconds once I’m linked with you. But I must remind you, I would leave a small power source intact so your masters would not realize you are free.
    Jasper hesitated. Surely, he could expel the alien presence if it attempted mind control. Yet there was a risk. He needed to recognize that.
Am I thinking logically?
Part of Jasper, a deep suspicious part, screamed a warning. This was too fast. How did the alien know so much already? How could he trust this being? Yet he wanted to be rid of the inhibitor. The Normals thought he was a freak, a mutant to use and control. But he was Jasper, the new breed, a god compared to the Normals. One tiny risk now would free him of the hateful inhibitor.
    Yes,
Jasper told the alien.
We must do it quickly before the shift crew turns off the tele-ring.
    Lower your mind shield.
    I am.
    Yes, Jasper, I see that you have. Now I will probe…
    Jasper lost sense of time, and it felt as if another controlled his thoughts.
    This one named Venice,
the alien said,
she will never trust us.
    No, probably not,
Jasper agreed.
    A subtle form of violation occurred. Jasper winced mentally. Had he made a mistake in lowering his mind shield to such a degree?
    No, Jasper, you did well to let me in. Look, I want to show you a few important concepts.
    I’m ready,
Jasper said.
    The alien modified a few thoughts and heightened others, and in a