Planet Omega

Chapter 27

 The next night, I called for a team meeting in my room, away from prying eyes and eavesdroppers. Three days at the PRF hideout allowed everyone to rest, eat properly, and learn more about this new part of our lives.

"But it's time to talk about what happens now," I say, crossing my arms over my chest.

"It's about time," Phin mutters.

"Yeah, there's this giant elephant in the room, and it is not me," Will comments with a shrug. "This time."

Cal flops backwards on the bed and looks up at the ceiling. "For obvious reasons, I don't trust them. The orgs. Any of it, really. Plus, they all have these insane abilities that can fuck with your mind."

"Wait, really?" asks Will, eyes wide before shifting into their orange cat form. "I didn't want to ask before, but...is that why Cal almost...?" It doesn't finish the sentence, but all of them except for Cal look at me.

It's Mateo who answers with a nod, "The five pawn orgs are some of the most powerful EMMA model pawns. The lower number EMMAs are the most impressive, most capable, while the ones closer to one hundred are the least powerful. Laurence is Number Oh-Four, and he's a cognitive perceptor."

"And in terms the less gifted of us understand?" Phin asks, criss-crossing her legs on the floor.

"There are five core abilities EMMAs were created with," I say, then hold up five fingers and count them off. "Memory keepers, information gatherers, intrinsic readers, primary creators, and cognitive perceptors. They vary in capabilities, but all fall into one of those five. Laurence is a cognitive perceptor."

"He fucks with your emotions until you lose your shit," Cal comments, sitting up on the bed. "They all set me up to be perfectly pissed off enough to want to kill Emma."

"Laurence enhances emotions, manipulates them so that you are overwhelmed by them," Mateo explains. "But Cal is correct, they set her up to feel a certain way."

"Well, what do the others do?" Will asks, hopping into Phin's lap and getting comfortable.

I look at Mateo and bow my head his way, letting him take over. He knows how to explain all of this better than I do. So, he steps towards the center of us all. "Violetta is Oh-Two, and she's an intrinsic reader. Her specific ability is reading intentions. From the moment Cal set foot in that room, Violetta was likely sizing up exactly what Cal intended to do by asking to meet with the orgs - fight the empire, kill the emperor."

Cal rolls her eyes. "Yeah, but they didn't have to read my intentions to know that, I could have easily told them. It's no secret."

"But they had to be sure," I cut in for Mateo. "Even if someone says something, doesn't necessarily mean they intend it. Violetta can read intentions even if you aren't aware of what they are. The core of what you will do."

Intrinsic readers never sat well with me, they always felt way too invasive. Even though Morrigan is technically an intrinsic reader, she knew better than to use her ability on anyone she ever cared about. It's personal, the inside of someone's mind, and intrinsic readers tend to learn more than they ever should.

Will's tail flicks back and forth. "Well, I'm glad I never met her. That's terrifying!"

"Hers isn't even the most terrifying, just one of the strongest," Mateo remarks. "Celeste is another intrinsic reader. She's Number Ten, and she replaced Emma, actually. Her specialty is knowing people's desires, and understanding them to the point of convincing people she can give them what they want."

Phin's eyebrows raise. "Put that one in conjunction with what Laurence did, and you've got yourself a soupy brain."

"Exactly. There were other contenders for the seat, but while Celeste can be manipulative on her own," Mateo pauses for dramatic effect to make sure we're all listening, "she is lethal when combined with other abilities. Cal never stood a chance."