Colonial Prime by KD Jones Page B

read or write.  The sweet scents always calmed her.  He took her to a stone bench and motioned for her to sit.  Then he sat down next to her but had some distance between them.  She didn’t want that, the distance. 
    “ Is there something you needed?” he asked signing.
    You… I need you.  She was careful not to broadcast that to him.  “I…was wondering if you would come with me tomorrow morning to speak with Dr. Garrett.”
    He looked at her with concern.  “ Are you okay?”
    She looked down at the space between them.  How did you bridge a gap like this?  Signing it was too —impersonal.  She chose to speak through their link.
    ' I told her how I panicked…at the village with you.  I have intimacy issues and she thought if you were there, we could work on them together.'   She waited for him to respond.  But he simply stared at her.
    ' You want me to come to talk about what happened?'   He wasn’t sure what this would be about but he would do whatever it took to help her.
    ' Yes and…more.  But you don’t have to come if you do not—'  She never finished talking because LarIS placed a finger over her lips though they were not moving.  But it effectively stopped her from talking in his head.
    ' I would be honored to go to this therapy with you.  There is not much I would not do for you, Lola.'
    ' LarIS,' she whispered his name in his mind with such longing.  She reached out a hand and gently touched his cheek with trembling fingers.  The gap separating them seemed a little smaller.
    *****
    “Lieutenant, why has the security around the Colonial Planet doubled?” the Morin Leader asked.
    “ Sir, all the security as doubled.  Around Kiljor and Katiera as well.  It seems as if they are preparing for something.”
    “ I want to know what that is.  Monitor their transmissions more closely.”
    “ We will try but their transmissions are masked or blocked from us.”
    “ I want the answers.”

Chapter Ten
     
     
    Lola looked down at her lap nervously.  This was her first session with LarIS there with her.  She didn’t know what she was supposed to do.  Dr. Garrett asked that Lizzie not come to this session since she was becoming fluent in sign and that LarIS could translate if necessary.  Lola had gotten used to having her friend there.
    What must LarIS think of her?  Probably that she was too much trouble.  What man wants to start a relationship with a visit to counseling? 
    She was startled when she felt a touch on her shoulder.  She glanced up at LarIS.  He touched her cheek then and gave her a reassuring smile. ' It will be fine,' he told her with their mental link.
    “ Are you speaking telepathically?” Dr. Garrett asked.  She had heard the Leader could do that, but she was not sure that it was real.  It didn’t seem possible to her.
    “ Yes,” LarIS answered.
    “ Can you do that with anyone or is it special for you and Miss Marquesa?”
    LarIS signed as he spoke because he was worried that Lola would be upset if she didn ’t understand their conversation, “I can connect with anyone.  But the connection with Lola is special.  She has such a strong mental ability that she can contact me with her realizing it.”
    Dr. Garrett signed and spoke again , “It sounds like an intimate way to communicate.”  She looked directly at Lola.
    Lola sig ned, “It takes getting used to hearing someone else’s voice in my head.  As far as intimate, I don’t know what other people feel when LarIS speaks to them in their minds but it is…”  She looked over at him and he was watching her very intently.
    “ It is what, Lola?” Dr. Garrett asked, getting her attention.
    “ It’s like he is speaking right against my ear and I can feel the tremble of his voice and the warmth of his breath.”
    Dr. Garrett paused for a moment , “Is it that way with other people, Leader LarIS?”
    He c hose to show Dr. Garrett so she would finally drop this topic.  ' Does it feel that