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It was several days before Marlena approached Balthazar about getting some tools.
She didn't approach him out of fear of embarrassment. She just couldn't find the right time, as Balthazar had been so busy scouting the city. He and some soldiers had gone to the surface to check if there was any way to leave the city in safety.
Marlena kept the amulet around her neck at all times. The only other person who knew about the amulet was Balthazar. He never asked her to scout with him, even though she would be able to protect them. Her magic was now at full strength, and she was eager to use her powers. She’d been hiding her magic for so long that she was desperate to practice using her powers.
She sat in her room, staring at the communicator. Marlena had tried unsuccessfully to pry open the back of the device with a small knife, but it had broken in half. She tried using her military training to prevent herself from giving into despair. Soldiers know patience and soldiers are strong, she said to herself like a mantra. Yet, these epithets provoked her only to become angrier. She thought of her father trapped in a spaceship orbiting the Earth.
Marlena looked upwards. "Father, I will find you,” she said. “I will help mom and you."
Her voice was clear and held conviction. Her mom was back at the Hive, afflicted by a disease. She thought that if she helped the Alphas she would also be helping her mom, but that didn't happen. The Alphas disappeared through a large portal. She wished she knew what had transpired.
Marlena heard a knock at the door. "Come inside," she said.
Balthazar stood in the doorway. "I’m sorry you’ve had to fend for yourself for the last few days. I found a small set of tools to start you off. If you need any more, just ask me." He paused. "Do you think you can get that thing working?"
She took the box he was holding and opened it. Peering inside, she looked at the assortment of tools and devices.
"I'm not sure. These tools will help, but I also need a power source. I think the Holo crystals are broken. I hope not."
Balthazar nodded. "Well, I might know something that could help. When you are ready, ask for Beth. She’ll take you to the main control room."
"Thanks."
Balthazar walked down the corridor and left the door ajar to her room. Marlena left it open. The people here were trustworthy and maybe somebody here could help her.
She took out the communicator and placed it face down on the table. She scanned for a tool in the box to take off the tabs that held the outer shell in place, and grabbed something that looked promising. The tool had a handle with a metal protruding shaft with a flat tip, and was small enough to pry away part of the cover. She tried the tool and the cover didn't open. She sighed. She had done this before when her own communicator back at Hive broke down. It was easy, but she had the proper instruments.
Marlena sighed again and shook her head. This was not going to work. Then she had a different idea. Maybe she couldn't talk to her father, but she might at least be able to see where he was.
She remembered a moment from several months previous. She had successfully transported two people, Captain Romo and an elf, from another ship into her father's vessel. She was not entirely conscious of the fact, because she was having a vision in which she was talking to Merlin, and Merlin was giving her the power and means to create such a powerful spell.
She wondered if she could transport herself up to the ship, or if she could transport her father down here on Earth. Marlena was not entirely sure what she wanted to do. Either way, she thought she would have to learn to stretch her magic. She sat on her cot and pondered.
***
THE NEXT DAY AFTER breakfast, Marlena decided to try to cast a spell, any spell to talk to her father.
She gently closed her door and turned the latch to lock it. Marlena knew she needed silence to concentrate. Magic, as she recalled from the books she read on the Hive, was more about the strength of will from the caster than incantations and rites.
She sat on the ground, cross-legged. The floor was cold, and she felt that coldness seeping into her body. Yet, she wanted to feel the natural essence of this area. When she first came to Earth, she felt the magical elements of this world. It was like tapping into a giant powerhouse battery.
She closed her eyes and concentrated on her father. Slowing her breathing, she felt the tendrils of magic coming over her. The magic was not a torrent of power, like when she was fighting against the mutant Grogs, but more like a gentle flowing stream.
She sent her power upwards into the reaches of space. Her father was not a magic user like she was, so technically this was almost impossible, but she was a powerful telepath. Marlena kept urging her magic upwards.
She felt her father. It was like a heartbeat sounding in a dark room, and she felt that he was still alive. Lazarus was right. Pinpointing the sound, she moved her powers toward the place. Her father was far away. He was frantic. Something was wrong.
Father! she shouted in her mind.
