Scorpius was leaving the hall after the meeting. He wondered why he'd allowed himself to be dragged halfway across Peacekeeper territory just for a morale building exercise by High Command.

"They'll feel more secure when they actually see you Scorpius! When they realise that you actually exist. You're someone to be talked about but they're never certain you're real. The chief scientist coming to see them. It's something they'll talk about for days."

Admiral Tork had been most insistant. Scorpius had sighed and complied, merely because he was at a hiatus in his work and couldn't think of a feasible excuse to avoid the ordeal. These propaganda exercises were becoming more frequent the more likely an invasion by the Scarrans became. He stopped. His keen hearing heard a scuffling sound coming from behind curtain. Swiftly he moved across and drew it back. A small tearful face looked up at him fearfully. He crouched down and touched the little girl's cheek.

 "Ssssh. What's the matter?"

Big brown eyes looked into his and the snuffling stopped.

"They've left me!"

"Who's left you?"

"Ma and Pa. They said I was an..an embarassment. What's that mean?"

Scorpius was rather at a loss. Small children were out of his field of experience. So he decided to take things simply.

"They didn't feel that they could cope any more. Their fault, not yours. Now come and sit down beside me on this bench and tell me all about it."

He was alarmed when he felt a small hand clasp his, but fought the conditioning which made him fear casual personal contact. She sat down and twisted the cord of her tunic tound in her fingers.

"Now let's start at the beginning. What do they call you?"

There was no reply. She was looking at her feet. Scorpius put a finger under her chin and gently raised her face.

"Aren't you going to look at me? It's so much easier to talk when we look at each other."

"You're Scorpius aren't you?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"They say you're the most feared person in the galaxy."

"Who say that?"

"The pupils in our Hall of Knowledge."

"You have friends there?"

"N..ooo. Once I'd learnt all that there was to learn they stopped being friends. Seemed scared of me."

Scorpius was extremely interested in this revelation.

"How many cycles have you....er you still haven't told me your name?"

She looked up at him and wiped her tear streaked face with her sleeve.

"Seven and I'm called Devera. But you can call me Dee. Everyone does."

Tentatively she touched the leather epaulettes of his surcoat.

"Scorpius is such a grown up name. Don't people have another name for you?"

He chuckled.

"Many but most of them unfit for the ears of a little girl. One person did call me something else. Now this is just a private name between the two of us. Only to be used when we are alone."

 He bent over and whispered in her ear.

"Scorpie!" she repeated softly. "Our secret?"

 "I'll call you Devera except when we're alone and you call me Scorpius at any other time. Agreed?"

"Yes." Her face was starting to brighten. "Scorpie, what's going to happen to me?"

"Well I shall have to find someone to take care of you and arrange a suitable education. I presume you wouldn't mind to learning more?"

Her eyes shone.

"I love to learn things. I learnt this last week from the long distance university."

And she reeled off advanced trinomial maths so fast that he was momentarily thrown. Then he put forward an argument only to have it elegantly rebuffed by little Devara.

"You're very clever you know."

"Pa said I was too clever for my own good. Said I had no place in a farming village. I think it would have been all right but I started getting pictures in my head and they came true. That's when the other children stopped talking to me and their parents wouldn't let them play with me."

Scorpius watched the eager little face. How could anyone discard such a treasure? It was quite beyond him. His own tortured childhood came back in an unwanted flash.  Krask!  There was no way he could let this child suffer in any way if he could help it. Suddenly he felt a tiny flicker in his brain and felt the words "Oh Scorpie! I'm so sorry." and he knew that not only was the child a genius and seer, but also a natural telepath and empath.

"You saw?"

She looked subdued and he thought she was going to cry again.

"You're angry with me. They were all angry when they felt me. I can't help it you know."

"I'm not angry. Just surprised."

"I can't help being different."

She pouted.

"I go to sleep praying the Goddess that I might wake up in the morning just like everyone else."

He took her hand.

"Dee, promise me something?"

Two bright eyes fixed his.

"What?"

"That you will never again wish yourself to be like everyone else. What you have is rare and special. Those other people were scared because they couldn't understand and perhaps too they were a little jealous of you."

"I'm special?"

"Very, young lady. And now I must be getting back to my carrier. Come on Devera and you'll see your first stars from space."

"Oh Scorpie I love stars!"

**************************

Braca was completely dumbfounded at the sight of Scorpius entering command, his left hand tightly clutched by a small, grubby, brown haired female child.

"Braca, this is Devera. Can one of the female officers find her a spare bunk? She's coming back to the base until I can make suitable arrangements for her."

With that he gently disentangled the small fingers and placed them onto Braca's hand.

"Yes Sir. I'll see to it right away."

The small grubby face looked at Scorpius pleadingly.

"Can't I stay with you Scorpius?"

He crouched down.

"It wouldn't be right for a little girl to stay with me, Devera. Anyway you'd soon get bored ."

His heart was tugged at the sight of her disappointed face and he relented.

"I promise that you can visit me in my laboratory tomorrow."

 "Oh can I learn about the stars?"

"You can learn about anything you wish. Now off you go with Braca."

******************

About four weeken later a now bubbling Devera accompanied him to a quiet planet not on the main trade routes. He'd found a Ledeveran couple who were childless, not a rare occurance in a species where fertitlity was low and lifespan extremely long. But they were a species who were known for their love of youngsters of any species, which made them in demand as foster parents. He watched feeling quite a tinge of pride as the little girl made friends with her new parents. She was enrolled at the Major Hall of Knowledge and he wondered what the older students would make of his little prodigy.

Devera went into the house with the female Ledeveran and the male and he discussed the little girl's future. He was determined she should follow any path she wished, but secretly he hoped she would opt for science. The Ledeveran had also found a retired Delvian priestess who was going to attempt to teach the little girl some control over her other gifts. Uncontrolled, Scorpius could see the little girl repeatedly getting into difficult situations. He was surprised when she rushed out of the house and threw her arms round him.

"Oh thank you Uncle Scorpie for all this. I'm so happy and Morth says it would be all right for me to call you uncle."

She was bubbling over with joy and just as suddenly dashed back into the house and reappeared carefully carrying a pot plant.

"This is to remind you of me. You can keep it with the other one in your room."

He was about to ask her how she knew, when he realised she'd seen the images in his brain. The plant was a rare flame orchid and he wondered how she'd known he'd alway wanted one.

"Morth's brother is a gardener at the municipal collection. She says it's a secret between us four. Oh I do love secrets Scorpie."

 And she kissed him on his cheek and stood waving as he got back in the flier for the return trip to the spaceport.

***************************

Back on the Gammak base he placed the pot in his chamber where he would be able to see it when he relaxed. Children, he mused were like flowers. Give them the right conditions and they thrived. Deprive them of love and mental nutrition and they could either wither away of become grossly distorted in the mind. A few, only a very few could rise over the worst of conditions and make their lives a success. He was one. But he vowed that Devera would never have the struggle that he'd endured if he could possbily help it. After all she was his little bud and he wanted to enjoy watching her fulfil her potential and bloom into full maturity. He sat down and closed his eyes, contented for once, and imagined the future.