The Cagliostro Chronicles II: Conflagration Read Online Free PDF Page A

brain. If this is not taken care of immediately she could be in big trouble, Captain Johnson .”
    Mark knew the severity of the situation immediately. Troiano never called him ‘Captain Johnson’ unless things were deadly serious.
    “What does she need? Surgery?”
    “No one is cutting my head open!” Ariel shouted.
    Mark walked over to Ariel and put his hands on her shoulders. “Relax, Ari. Let Ann talk. Go ahead, Doctor.”
    “Thank you , Captain Johnson,” Ann Troiano replied, “No, she does not need surgery, yet. She has to lay off using her special powers at least for a few days. Whatever she used her telepathy on must have had a much different brain than she did. Not more advanced or more intelligent, but more raw or primitive.  She stressed out her brain trying to reach this thing. What was it?”
    Mark looked at Ariel, who motioned with her hand that he should go ahead and tell Troiano.
    Mark sighed again and screwed the corner of his mouth up. “It was a sort of ape or gorilla. It was about a hundred feet high, and its head had a V-shape to it.”
    Tro iano threw her hands in the air and looked at the ceiling in angry surprise “Are you kidding me? She wanted to talk psychically with this thing? Hey here’s an idea, in the future, blow a hole in its chest if it’s attacking us.” She turned toward Ari. “You better take this seriously. You may have one hell of a gift there, but if you do not watch it and tread carefully from now on, you could end up either dead or without your gift permanently.”
    Ariel looked at the floor and answered in a voice slightly above a whisper. “I think that happened already.”
    “What? What are you talking about?” Mark asked anxiously.
    Ariel locked eyes with him and continued, “I-I can’t hear anyone’s thoughts at all. I always had the ability to hear people’s thoughts all the time, not really listen in, but I always psychically heard this background noise, a sort of dull murmur that I learned how to tune out. I can’t hear it in my head anymore.”
    “Since when?” Mark asked cautiously.
    “ It started when I almost fell on the ramp coming back on the ship. I still heard your mental ‘voice’ on the command deck but everything has gradually gone quiet in my mind. For the first time in my life I can’t hear others thoughts. Mark, it was almost an empathic feeling I would get. But now it’s all gone. I feel so…alone.” She looked up into his eyes, questing for answers.
    Mark hugged her and let her rest her head on his shoulder.
    “Doctor, I’m leaving her to you. A riel, you have to listen to Ann. She knows what’s best. Doctor, put her in one of the private suites here.”
    “I already planned that , Mark.” The fact that Troiano had not called him ‘Captain’ once again did not go unnoticed to Mark Johnson. Immediately he relaxed, a little at least.
    “This is my fault , you know,” Mark spat out. “I ordered Ari to make the ape go. I made her attempt to contact it.”
    “Well , next time you’ll know better, won’t you?” Ann Troiano looked at Mark and softened when she saw the pain in his eyes. “Go get some rest, Mark. You look like hell. We need you operating at one hundred percent as much as we need the ship to. Don’t worry about, Ari. I’ve got her under my watchful eye, and I promise you, she’ll be all right. Now go get some rest, you big galoot.” She gently shoved him out the medical lab’s sliding glass doors.
    Mark turned back and nodded to both Troiano and Ariel, then turned and headed back toward the maglovator.
    Mark walked in silent contemplation. Ariel meant the world to him, though he rarely told her. The past two years had been a hell of another sort, with the constant back and forth fighting between the Earth and its stripling space fleet and the Agalum race and their many galaxy spanning fleet of vessels.
    Earth was outgunned, but the saving grace of it all was that the Agalum and their allies had all