Free Star Force: Sav (SF51) by Aer-ki Jyr Page B

the instability and trying not to
overload himself…but then he said screw it. If he got brain burn again so be
it. It would be worth it.
    Not taking Vortison’s advice, the trailblazer pushed
the instability onward, unable to see the indicator lights on his headband
creep up into the yellow. This time the instability fought him, not wanting to
be drawn out as fast so Bo went with it and tried a very gradual draw, playing
to not lose it rather than force it out. Little by little it crept upward, with
the indicator lights marking his improvement up into the red…which was when he
sensed another presence in his head.
    It felt like a solid pole imbedded into the ground
amidst the hurricane he was riding out and stoking. Bo grabbed hold of it and
used the mental signature to stabilize himself further, which added to his ability to channel the mental winds. That didn’t
cause him to get to the transition point immediately, but with a considerable
amount of time and effort his mental storm took shape and in mind’s eye turned
into three tight rings before it flashed and his head began screaming from new tissue
growth.
    The pain passed quickly, unlike the Sav upgrade, and
Bo blinked his eyes open…to see Paul, Jason, Greg, and even Wilson standing in
front of him.
    “Where did you guys come from?” he said, getting to
his feet.
    “When you were overdue for your workout I came looking
for you,” Jason explained.
    Bo frowned. “What time is it?”
    “A little after 5,” Greg answered.
    Bo’s eyes widened. “That’s not…”
    “I found you here an hour and a half ago,” Jason
confirmed. “That’s the longest ascension anyone has ever endured and we were
worried that something might have gone wrong.”
    “How long were you in here before it started?” Paul
asked.
    “I was meditating and it happened so I jumped on it. I
don’t know what time it was…maybe 1:30.”
    “I wonder what he got,” Greg commented.
    “Pren,” Wilson said, holding a datapad that was linked
into the biomonitors on all their heads. “I don’t know why your ascension
lasted so long, but we got so much data from it that Vortison says he’s found
the trigger.”
    “When?” Paul said, frowning.
    “Text message about 15 seconds ago,” he said, hefting
the datapad.
    “You always carry that with you?” Greg asked.
    “Habit,” he answered, but apparently one he’d picked
up after the trailblazers went through basic.
    “You alright?” Paul asked Bo.
    “I think so,” he said, levitating one of the thuds up
into his palm, then his eyes tightened a bit and it shot off and ricocheted
against a wall and stopped a foot in front of Paul’s chest, with the
trailblazer raising an eyebrow as he telekinetically caught it.
    “Definitely a speed increase,” Bo confirmed as Paul
tossed the little projectile off to the side. To have gotten that much of a
rebound showed considerable strength, but to line up the shot that well to hit
him was definitely a Sav moment.
    “Let’s take this elsewhere,” Jason prompted. “I think
we all would like to have a chat with Vortison.
    “Agreed,” Paul said, walking out. Wilson and Greg
followed him while Jason hung back with Bo a few meters behind them.
    “You didn’t black out earlier, did you?”
    Bo shook his head as they walked through the entry
doors. “I had to be awake to keep the instability going, but it felt like maybe
five, maybe ten minutes tops…not hours.”
    “I’d like to see what it did to your Sav tissue, if
anything.”
    “Think there’s a connection?”
    “You’re the only one to have gone that long, by far.”
    “Could be some other wrinkle we haven’t come across
yet.”
    “All the more reason to get you
under a full scanner.”
    “Doesn’t explain why I ascended while meditating,” Bo
added.
    “Another good point. Seems
every time we start to get a handle on psionics something new pulls the rug out
from under us.”
    “That’s what happens when you buy a new