Star Nations: Immaru - Rebirth

By Pamela Singh

In the grand cosmos of space, Galactic University houses the brightest minds of our future, as Earth makes her rightful place among the stars.

Immaru, a talented pilot, is in her final year attending University with her friend Hadar, a Centurion-Human Hybrid. The Council, our galaxies governing body, makes a rare announcement that they are selecting three students to join a Star Nation - a nation of beings that live among our stars. Such as, the Venusians - Venus, Centurion - Centaurus, and many more.

Only thirty-three students are shortlisted for the intensive training program. Students face sabre-toothed hybrids in the Arctic, run through simulations that trigger real-time pain and enter the Yeti - an artificial intelligence device that transmutes their consciousness into a virtual reality game. Immaru is paired with Iris, a strikingly beautiful bio-tech prodigy. The two hit it off after a rocky start, but the chemistry between them is undeniable.

During the pressures of training, Immaru reluctantly reveals her gift. She was told dreadful stories as a child, by her Father, that those who harnessed such gifts went mysteriously missing. And they did. It wasn't until she was befriended by the Professor, the Dean of the Imagination Department, that she begins to restore the power of her gifts.

The Professor mentors her through a series of out-of-worldly events on how to hone and focus her powers. She questions his keen interest in helping her as he finally divulges that she is being groomed for something, that the survival of all Star Nations depends on her.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Apr 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9781098312022

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Copyright © 2020 by Pamela Neetu Singh

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact the author at pamsingh.com

Cover Art by Lanna Souvanny at lannasouvanny.com

Print ISBN: 978-1-09831-201-5

eBook ISBN: 978-1-09831-202-2

To anybody who feels like they don’t belong.

You do, you really do. Remember to look up, look up!

For we are the stars! Shine bright my darlings.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Prelude: The Cosmic Egg

Welcome to Galactic University

The Council

Taking the Dive

Ginger

The Competition

Professor Orphious

There Are No Accidents

The Competition

The Yeti

Dream a Little Dream

Everyone Meet Harold

An Unexpected Visit

Transcendence

Blue Star

Black Hole in the Wall

The Final Cut

Explode into Space

Space Games

Acknowledgments

Thank you to the following people, inter-stellar, inter-galactic friends of mine, and those who whispered great cosmic secrets in my ear. I thank the cosmic spark within you, within me, and remembrance of Earth’s placement among the stars.

To my Celestial Power House Team, Love you!

Thank you, my editor, Kaitlyn Johnson, for your honest Reader Report. Thank you, Elena Abbott, for your developmental edits and professionalism in believing in me and my work. Thank you for your cheerleading. Thank you, Chris Evans, a real-life superhero, for your copyediting skills!

Thank you, my cover artist, Lanna Souvanny, for bringing my character to life! What a joy it was to work with you on this project.

Thank you, Mum (and Dad) for being my patrons and for your support.

Thank you, my friends, Terry Shane and Nicky Tanase, for your immense emotional support and encouragement. You were my first two readers. Thank you, Terr, for whipping me up to shape and pushing me to dig bigger, faster, and stronger in being a better writer within myself.

To family and friends, love you.

To my characters in my book: Immaru, Venus, Iris, and Hadar. Even though you existed in my heads at first many years ago, I feel like we have known each well past the stars. Can’t wait to see what Giants you become among the stars!

The world awaits! Time to elevate!

Love, Pam

Prelude

The Cosmic Egg

The young woman stood in the long lineup. She constantly looked down at her watch, tapping her heel in frustration. She was waiting to retain a special briefcase. It seemed to be a busy time of year as she looked around and saw other beings at the Air-Port. Some more colorful than others, some breathing through what looked like gills through their neck, and some phasing in and out of existence.

She finally reached the front of the line and was immediately greeted by an alabaster-looking attendant. The counter agent had large blue eyes and pointed ears like a fox. She certainly had a lot of charisma about her, even as the line was backed up due to her heavy chatter. 

Where you headin’ to, sugar? the agent said in a thick accent, as she leaned over the counter and played with her curly tangerine hair. She popped her purple bubblegum in the woman’s face, which burst with grape flavor. You would swear she belonged in a 1970s soda diner with her bun tied up and a few stragglers left behind.

Earth File 369-BB, please, the woman firmly replied; she didn’t have the time nor patience to care for this act of time philanthropy. 

Earth? the agent looked puzzled. Golly…that ain’t for beginners, sugar, only senior agents go there. Y’all gotta know what you’re doin’ in order to go there…You need special papers for that kinda’ approval. You got papers, sugar? She blew another grape flavored pop in the woman’s face.

The woman was now frantic as she was reminded about her special papers. She scrambled around everywhere, looking through her jacket pockets, not realizing that in this moment, she had dropped something of great significance on the floor. She then remembered the secret compartment tucked in the inner lining of her military coat. It flashed with golden Venusian symbols as she opened her jacket.

She reached into her pocket and, with a sigh of relief, she retrieved the approval papers and handed them over to the agent. The agent inspected the papers rigorously and looked a bit confused. She went back and forth through a few sheets, skipping a few, then asked the woman for further identification. 

If you could stand right over there, Ma’am, for an eye scan that would be great. I’ll go get your briefcase in the meantime.

The agent came from the backroom, where many abrupt sounds of falling briefcases were heard, to arrive to the counter with a solid silver briefcase, specifically tracked and coded to the file number the woman provided at the beginning of the conversation. Pleased with the results of the scan, the agent casually slid the briefcase over the counter toward the woman. 

Now you sure you wanna do this?

I wouldn’t have it any other way. The woman took a quick peek at her watch and noticed the hands approaching near. When the three hands were to meet, center sphere, it would lock up and fill with etheric blue liquid. Literally, when the stars aligned, you were to be born. 

Well, all right sugar, you have fun now. It’s all yours, Immaru, the agent said, as she sent her off with a quick wink.

Immaru twirled on a heel ready to leave, but the agent slammed her hand on the briefcase and reached for Immaru’s arm, holding it firm yet gently in her grasp. If you ever need anything, sugar, she looked directly at her, …and I do mean anything. You ask for Clementine, y’ah hear?

Immaru brushed all seriousness aside and looked a bit puzzled. Not gathering what her reference was, she still appreciated the kind gesture. Thank you, Clementine. I’ll keep that in mind.

Immaru’s peacock-blue stilettos clicked away on the black-speckled gold-and-white star-dusted floor. The overhead lights were bright white that shone over the white shiny counters, neon lights with exit, entry, and gateway labels that lit up like old vintage fluorescent lights led to new entryways.

Immaru walked over to the glass floor-to-ceiling windows one last time before her departure, eagerly and nostalgically viewing the Milky Way, foreign galaxies, and other places waiting to be discovered. Her navy-blue jacket slid over her hand and lay perched over her briefcase as she peered outside. She saw the egg pods, looking much like shooting stars, zooming in and out in existence to their assigned destinations. She placed her hand on the glass as the window fogged around it. She wrote a message on the glass, smiled, then walked away.

A voice over the Air-Port PA system rang, Talek from Planet XB-14, please report to the sending station in the C-wing. Talek from Planet XB-14 to the C-wing immediately. Everyone could hear the mic crumble as the announcer tried to hang up but failed miserably and cussed in her language.

Immaru was reminded of her time crunch before her entry into Earth. She looked down at her watch, the hands nearly touching in the space–time continuum. She scanned the crowded floor for an empty seat to start downloading her assignment.

She noticed an empty chair situated much like the rows of chairs one would see at an Old Earth airport. She hurried over while heads turned in admiration of her gold bangles and hoop earrings sending out a rhythmic verse down the Air-Port hallway. An older gentleman with a churchwarden pipe blew bubbles across her path as he sat in his chair. She waved the bubbles off her face and sped by. She finally took her seat; she shuffled about as they were adequately uncomfortable to prevent soul lingering.

She entered her secret code on her briefcase and it crisply snapped open. A screen automatically populated as foreign sounds were emitted, recalibrating itself. Various numbers and symbols were found on the side of the menu screen. A digital image of Earth with a red blinking dot showcased her assignment location.

A solid ultraviolet beam of light shot from the top center of her briefcase to the iris of her eye. It fed her information regarding her new role and then, within nanoseconds, the download was complete. This was exactly what she was looking for as she placed her finger on the digital pad that popped up once the download was complete. As she confirmed the agreement, she initiated the memory wipe. After all, the art of forgetting was also the art of reinventing.

She locked her briefcase and took a moment to collect herself, left with only the memory of her name and where she was headed to next to start her next journey. She was about to leave when a surprisingly warm hand slid down the side of her chest. Every sensation in her body woke. Surely this must be someone she knew, but due to the recent memory wipe, she couldn’t recall.

A hand holding a pen lay in front of her.

I believe you dropped this? the woman behind her inquired.

Immaru eagerly took the pen that she had accidentally dropped during her search for her special papers. She glanced with her head tilted back. Thank you. It’s for a little trick I get to do, she replied with a smile. Immaru happily demonstrated to the stranger by holding her pen in the air between her fingers and shaking it up and down until the pen started to bend at the tips. She tucked it back in her jacket, secure this time.

Her watch began to beep with a warning signal. What in the stars? The hands were about to touch as the watch face began to brighten. The backdrop of gem-like jewels began to shine in place awaiting her arrival.

Well, have a safe trip. Something tells me, I’ll see you sooner rather than later, the woman replied and with a kiss to the cheek. And so she left.

Immaru’s watch started to beep more profusely, the hands dangerously approaching near. If she didn’t reach the pod in time, she would lose her assignment and have to reapply through all that paperwork. A blue electromagnetic fluid started to flood her sphere as the hands overlapped. It was time.

She grabbed her briefcase and ran down the hall, heels clicking and slightly pushing passengers by to the side as she made a run for it. She accidentally shoulder-bumped a young man along the way and the contents of her briefcase spread across the star-dusted floor.

Are you okay? he asked, as the sharp, blue-eyed being helped her with her belongings.

They quickly shoved everything in her briefcase and she darted.

I’m fine. She dashed off as he waved goodbye, yet the vibrancy in his eyes lingered. She wondered if he was hybrid, as he wasn’t fully human.

She finally reached her destination and entered her code frantically. Her fingers pounding away at the keypad as her watch buzzed. Access denied, the card reader stated.

Damn it! she replied, trying again.

The gate began to open, the metal garage door slid up, ever so slowly, until it was stuck, barely even leaving an inch off the floor. She pressed her forehead against the cold metal door.

No, no, no, not now! She threw half a tantrum in the middle of the Air-Port.

Here, let me help you out, a woman replied beside her. She couldn’t quite see her face as a blue ball cap was covering her eyes, long strands of ginger hair dangling by her cheek as she fiddled with the gate doors.

There you go, quick fix, the woman replied, and stared at Immaru with her emerald green eyes.

Thank you.

Don’t mention it. The woman smiled, then left.

Immaru entered a golden rectangular chamber with gadgets along the wall and a pearly white egg in the center of the room with a glass hatch waited for her to climb inside. The garage door shut behind her as she settled into her space. The final beep on her watch initiated as the liquid slowly swept in and her watch entered a steady tone. She had to get ready for her departure and, consequently, her arrival.

She quickly closed the glass egg hatch and punched her entry point coordinates. The inner portion of the egg scanned her body and a voice from within greeted her. Welcome, Immaru.

Thank you, she said, unsure if the voice would reply.

Initializing dream sequence, the voice proclaimed.

The egg slowly ramped up in energy as if a high transformer were sparking electricity around her. Her hair began to fly in all direction. This was it! As nerves and jitters of excitement danced within her body, she took a deep breath and reclined in her seat. She closed her eyes as the doors to the galaxies phased open.

Error, error, the voice announced, as warning sounds buzzed.

Oh no, not now, she took the back of her heel and kicked at the cockpit. And in the flash of a spark, she disappeared.

***

A newborn child cries in her father’s arms. She is so beautiful, Sita. He smiles at his wife. Rough labor, she jokes. I swear she came out in heels! They laughed. The little girl grows up and plays with an old aircraft. Her dad sits across from her and says, One day Immaru, you’re going to fly way into the skies like I once did, but better than before. He holds a vintage plane in his hands, playing with her, as Immaru floats her plane midair close to his without even touching it. Her father’s face froze.

Military security personnel arrive at their doorsteps and question her dad regarding extra special activities witnessed by her in her class. They push him to answer the questions: if this is true, her life would be in danger. I told you I know nothing about that. The security personnel answer, Sgt. Singh, if she is not reported to the proper authorities and protected under the new military regulation, she will soon suffer the fate of all others with her… unique abilities. And you know all too well where that leads.

Her dad slams the door in their faces. Her mum consoles him. He pulls Immaru to the side. Immaru, listen to me very carefully. Whatever you do, you must never show your gifts to other people. Do you hear me?

It’s for your own safety. She nods her head, a bit frightened. Go out, get an education, attend Galactic University. They will know what to do with you there. I know you, Immaru. You are so talented, my little girl. That’s why we named you after light! There you can live your dreams. They won’t judge you there. Get up as high as you can, like that plane in the sky, way up to the star, there’s no limit after that. Okay?

Now in her late twenties, Immaru stands by her dad’s old vintage plane. Her friend Hadar comes running through the grass field with an envelope in his hands.

Immaru, he yells in excitement, running like a lion through the fields. He holds a blue envelope in his hands. She can’t believe her eyes. She rips open the gold star seal and reads the content of the letter. It contains a private invitation, a request of approval, for her to attend Galactic University.

She begins to sob. She rests her head on Hadar’s shoulder as he embraces her, the only family friend she had left. We did it, Immaru. He kisses her forehead. They would have been so proud. She tucks her head in his chest. It’s our time to shine.

Immaru – Rebirth.

Chapter One

Welcome to Galactic University

One thousand eight hundred and twenty-five days the students of Galactic University spent floating in the Earth’s atmosphere. It was easy to lose track of time there; it was all a simulation. Days to nights, nights to days, with temperatures regulated; it was all a part of the dome. Immaru leaned her head back against the cold portal frame, while her metallic, humming disc hovered beside her.

It was meant to make the students of GU feel like they were back on land, where many of them would return, to be reintegrated into society. Land dwellers, they called them. There were no bird songs there, no white fluffy clouds, no rain drops to awaken their senses. Not even brisk winds to whisper mysteries in their ears. It was all highly regimented.

Did some of the students of GU miss Earth? Terribly. Were they glad they left? Almost all would say they had no regrets. This was after all Earth’s new story; she was to set her rightful place among the stars. GU held the next generation of brilliant minds that would carry out that intention as they acted as her handpicked representatives among the stars

So why go through all this? Why be screened and be strapped to a watch device that tracked you around campus like an asset. Why to get out, of course. Sounded counterintuitive, right? They thought so, too. But people do strange things to start new again.

Immaru couldn’t resist as she looked at the blue plasmic dome in front of her that was breathing, inhaling–exhaling, as it expanded and contracted. She wanted to know if the rumors were true, if the dome that encompassed them actually felt like goo.

She stood and held onto the flagpole that was next to the off-site portal. Only GU Board members and professors were allowed to enter and exit the stars as they pleased. While Earth was still getting used to being acclimated to the idea of Star Nations, the portal walkways all showcased Earth’s new Alliance members. Every Star Nation flag surrounded the perimeter of the campus.

Immaru’s fingers gripped the pole. She was slowly slipping down toward Earth as her body dangled 33,000 feet in the stratosphere.

Just…a little…further… Her fingers began to slip, one by one. Only a few remained. She finally pierced her hand through the plasmic dome. Blue goo ran down her fingertips. She rubbed the blue slime between her fingers. It felt cold. An alarm sounded from her security breach. She quickly turned around to see who or what was coming.

Campus security was notified, and a couple of guards dispersed on foot. She turned back to the dome, still hanging on by a fingertip, and noticed the liquid harden over where her fingers once pierced it. It slowly closed itself off from the world again.

Immaru flicked the goo off her hand, careful not to mess her pristine GU uniform. She grabbed her hovering disc beside her and tucked it under her arm, waiting for the guards to arrive.

She pushed her body against the portal frame once more, shutting her eyes to focus on the sounds around her. She could hear the guards’ footsteps approach near, but more to her right, so she decided to take her chances and bank left. It worked! She just missed them on her way out.

Her legs hit the ground running. One guard blew his whistle. One shouted, Hey, you’re not supposed to be around the restricted area zones!

She turned around and yelled, I had to know if the rumors were true! She continued running. Turns out it was made out of goo after all! She turned back and bolted.

Her watch buzzed mid-run, notifying her of her next class. She remembered whose class she would be late for if she didn’t make it on time. Professor Zenal-tofffff. She grudged as she picked up her pace, sprinting past an open field. Both guards were well behind her now, far off in the distance.

Heads up! a voice shouted from across the field. She