Chimera Academy The Complete Collection

by Eva Brandt

  “It’s no problem,” he offered. “I was merely bringing everyone up to speed.”

  “Is it true, Wesley?” Leonardo asked. “Has His Royal Highness reached an agreement with his father?”

  Leonardo di Rossi was one of the most important people in our group, but he wasn’t always as well informed as the rest of us, since he also spent a lot of time on Terra. He was the one who monitored the Terran rebel forces and let us know who could be an asset for us and who could be a threat. He didn’t usually question our leader, so I assumed this information had truly upset him.

  “It seems like it, yes,” I replied.

  “That could be problematic in the future,” Odette Donadieu said. “I don’t know how this could have happened. Pollux didn’t mention any such plans.”

  “To be fair, Odette, your son isn’t all that close to you. And it’s not as problematic as all that. Prince Brendan is simply looking out for his interests.”

  “It’s the woman, the new pilot of the Sphinx,” Lowell grumbled, leaning against the back of his hover chair. “He’s looking out for her.”

  I bit the inside of my cheek so hard it bled. I had foreseen this, the moment news had come of the classes King Philip had organized at Chimera Academy. People like Lowell Voss and his immediate entourage didn’t believe in such things, not anymore, and had run out of patience. If Selene Renard had thrown a wrench in our plans, she was an obstacle that needed to be removed. “It’s not her fault,” I said. “She’s trying to change things for her people too.”

  Odette let out an exasperated sigh. “She won’t succeed, Wesley. You know that. There’s no way you can reason with The Grand Judiciary. I wouldn’t be surprised if we found out Selene Renard is secretly on their side.”

  “You can’t be serious,” I answered. “She’s made no secret of her feelings toward the current policies of the government.”

  “Yes, but she could be doing it for appearances’ sake,” Lowell shot back. “Let’s face it, Trevor. How likely is that an apparently Unblessed Terran woman would be chosen one day as the pilot of the Sphinx, then wriggle her way into the prince’s bed, and save the life of his apsid lieutenant? It’s very suspicious.”

  It was, and King Philip’s recent change of heart made things even worse for Selene. But even so, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Selene couldn’t be an ally of The Grand Judiciary.

  I knew her as her teacher and her trainer. I’d seen her learn how to fight. I’d watched her claw through the horrible gunk at Chimera Academy, forcing herself to ignore everyone who hated her. She was gifted, yes, but she was also honest and determined. She genuinely wanted to help.

  Unfortunately, I had no proof to support my assessment, nothing the others would believe. But on the other hand, they couldn’t prove she’d done anything wrong either.

  “You can’t suddenly kill everyone you’re suspicious of. You’re only making these accusations because she’s inconvenient. Her presence has changed Prince Brendan’s priorities. But that doesn’t mean she’s an accomplice of the government. That’s a lazy explanation and falling into such practices is a recipe for disaster.”

  Lowell scowled, but didn’t deny my argument. “That may well be, but the fact remains that we have a problem. We can hardly stage a rebellion if we’re not sure Prince Brendan will be there to support it.”

  We were getting nowhere by fighting over this. I turned toward our leader and hoped he’d see sense. In the end, it was his decision, and if he said Selene wasn’t dangerous, the others would listen. “Your Highness, what do you think?”

  “Brendan will do the right thing,” Archibald Chimera replied. “He’s wanted to avenge his mother for the better part of his life. And I think that, if Selene Renard is so important to him, she might be included in this plan. But even so, I’m not comfortable with not knowing what her true priorities are.

  “Commander Trevor, I want to watch her very carefully. She isn’t as leery of you as she is of other teachers. If you must, approach her sexually. As far as I know, she was inexperienced before she arrived at the academy, and you can use that against her.”

  Use that against her? She was so young. I was more than twice her age. But then again, we’d done far more immoral things in our lives than seduce a student.

  “I can try, Your Highness, but considering the fact that she has four lovers in their prime, I doubt she’ll be all that eager to take another. There’s also the fact that I’m not exactly a catch as a romantic and sexual partner.”

  Prince Archibald waved his hand, dismissing my concerns. “Nonsense. I’m sure you’ll be able to figure something out. If you don’t, we might be forced to use another, more drastic approach.”

  His eyes flashed, and I quickly looked away. I didn’t need to be a cyborg to know how dangerous Prince Archibald was when crossed.

  The last person who’d tried to betray him was currently a headless statue decorating his private villa. I didn’t want my corpse to end up in the same position.

  “I understand,” I said. “It will be as you say.”

  “Of course. And don’t worry. I have a few ideas on how to arrange it. After all, exams are coming up and young Selene is still behind on her studies. It wouldn’t hurt to get her some private tutoring sessions, would it?”

  THE END

  III

  Destinies of Diamond

  Centuries ago, a terrible battle wiped away countless souls, both human and chimeras. The time of reckoning has finally arrived, and Selene will pay the price for their suffering.

  As the secrets hidden by The Grand Judiciary continue to unveil, a past tragedy comes back to haunt her. Forced to face her worst nightmares, Selene has to make a choice. Her hopes, dreams, and duties come crashing down like a castle of cards. What destiny awaits Selene and her loved ones?

  Prologue

  A union between spirit and metal, chimeras were always a bit of a mystery, even for the people who piloted them. They were bound to serve the gods and protect Terra, but they were also individuals with their own desires and personalities. They had power structures within their own ranks and specific wishes humans had to accommodate.

  Of utmost note was the relationship between the Grand Chimera Unit and the Lower Chimera Unit. In the Apsid Wars, Grand Chimeras such as the Typhon, the Medusa, the Minotaur, or the Cerberus did the most damage. But the Harpy Squad and the Centaur Herds provided them with valuable support, rescuing countless lives and doing a lot of damage control.

  For many years, the two units worked together side by side in harmony. But that all changed after the ill-fated Terran expedition into the Apsid Quasar.

  Encouraged by the withdrawal of the apsids, The Grand Judiciary sent powerful teams into enemy territory, hoping to squash the alien invaders before they could regroup. They might have been prepared to fight the crystallized apsid units, but they didn’t have a chance against the crushing power of the universe itself.

  Over half of the Terran fighting force was destroyed, either by the accretion disk of the quasar, or the event horizon around the black hole.

  The Grand Chimera Unit survived, with minimal damage. Several chimeras—such as the Medusa—went dormant and didn’t awaken even after their metal shell was rebuilt. It was the Lower Chimera Unit that took the most damage.

  In an attempt to rescue the non-chimera members of the expedition, the Centaur Herds, along with several members of the Harpy Squad, formed a tachyon-absorbing barrier. It allowed the star fleet shuttles—the most vulnerable members of the expedition—to escape the powerful currents of the quasar. They paid a dire price for their decision.

  The Centaur Herds were completely destroyed and all attempts to salvage the souls of the chimeras failed. Engineers hypothesized that this was caused by the Centaurs’ disappointment with a perceived betrayal from the Grand Chimeras.

  The Grand Judiciary found no fault in the actions of the Grand Chimera tamers, but to this day, the enmity between the two units persi
sts. It is not unusual for members of secondary star fleets to take the side of Lower Chimera Unit.

  Dilemmas

  Selene

  “So, I heard you’re taking classes on Terra now. Have you finally decided you don’t belong here?”

  I looked up from my tray and shot Scott Argyle an unimpressed look. “Flight Lieutenant Argyle, do you really have nothing better to do than to constantly endanger your future at the academy?”

  “I haven’t said anything untrue.” Argyle wriggled his way to my side, skipping several people who were ahead of him in line. “Besides, I couldn’t help but be curious. It’s very unusual to see you alone without your lovers.”

  “I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”

  Deep inside, I was cursing myself for my behavior. I’d thought I’d been doing a good job hiding the rift between me and the others, but apparently, I’d been wrong. I should have been at least a little friendlier with them while I was in the mess hall.

  Two days had passed since our return from Terra and from the Apsid Quasar. We’d been dancing around one another a bit, as I was still not sure how to handle our relationship.

  The memories of what had happened in Gaia’s Haven haunted me, but it was more than that. There was also my relationship with Jared. I couldn’t help but feel that, in a way, I’d betrayed my lovers by sleeping with Jared.

  They didn’t seem to blame me for it. If anything, they’d embarked on a quest to win back my love and trust. But everything had just come at an awful time, and despite my best efforts, I was still struggling.

  It was too late to change my approach now. It was time to do some damage control. “It never fails to astound me how you people think a woman isn’t capable of selecting her own food,” I said with a sarcastic smile. “No wonder you think I can’t pilot the Sphinx if you’re still lost in such delusions.”

  Argyle narrowed his eyes at me and a mild flare of tachyon particles enveloped him. Excellent. The best way to distract a man was always to challenge his pride. I hated generalizing, but to this day, none of the men I’d met had proven me wrong.

  Argyle knew better than to start a fight in the middle of the mess hall, but even so, I wasn’t surprised when my lovers noticed something was wrong and manifested by my side. They’d gotten their meals earlier, when they’d arrived, and had grabbed something for me too. But frustratingly, even after I’d eaten my regular meal, I’d still felt hungry.

  My lovers had offered to get me a new tray, but I’d declined, and now, here we were.

  Brendan and August shoved their way through everyone else still waiting in line. “Is there anything wrong?” Brendan asked as he reached me. “Did you want something, Flight Lieutenant Argyle?”

  “Nothing at all, Your Highness,” Argyle replied. “I was merely making conversation.”

  “Why don’t you make conversation with tamers from your own unit?” August snapped. “They might actually be interested in what you have to say.”

  Argyle glowered at him, but before he could reply, the meal monitoring drone beeped. I shuffled forward, stuck my tray under the drone and pressed the button that indicated the products I wanted.

  We were out of the bean paste and there was no way I could manage to get meat again. I picked the only acceptable option, the vegetable compound soup. It was better than it sounded and since no one else ever had it, the portions were always huge.

  “I don’t see how you can eat that shit,” Argyle muttered.

  I ignored him. I didn’t need to discuss my diet with anyone, thank you very much.

  Together, Brendan, August and I made our way back to our table. Knox and Pollux were still there, although Knox was visibly unhappy about it.

  There were massive gouges in his side of the table. My heart clenched as I took in the sight of the twisted metal. We might have come back from the Apsid Quasar, but we hadn’t returned in one piece.

  I consoled myself with the thought that if things had been excessively bad, Brendan wouldn’t have come after me at all and had stayed with Knox instead. In our little group, he was the only one who could immobilize Knox—if he tried hard enough, at least.

  For the moment, the situation was under control, so I slid back into the seat in front of Knox. I shot him a quick smile and he relaxed. Sort of.

  He still glared in Argyle’s general direction, muttering, “One of these days, that guy will push me too far and I’ll feed him to Cerberus.”

  “Let’s not go there, okay?” I said softly. “Our chimeras have had enough variety in their diet lately.”

  Knox twitched, a half-flinch that told me he’d just remembered I was still mad at them. Silence fell between us. I hated it, hated this awkwardness I didn’t know how to deal with. Conversation had flowed so smoothly between us before. I’d felt like I fit in. But now, that sensation of rightness was gone, because no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t help but think that they hadn’t trusted me enough to include me. And a part of me couldn’t help but feel that the distrust between us wasn’t wholly unwarranted.

  I’d been naive when I’d thought our feelings for one another could magically wipe away all our differences. Where did that leave us?

  “We’ve already been over this, Selene,” Sphinx whispered at the back of my mind. “You said you’re going to give them a second chance.”

  “And I am,” I offered, mechanically starting to eat my soup.

  “Maybe, but are you doing the same for yourself?”

  It was a good question, but I didn’t get the chance to answer her. The communications array that lined the walls of the mess hall lit up, announcing an imminent message from our esteemed leaders.

  Commander Trevor’s voice echoed over the room, stern, sharp, and almost ominously loud. “Attention, all members of the faculty, students and staff. Due to several schedule anomalies in this year’s curriculum, we will be reorganizing the exam session. Over the next months, we will be holding an additional series of tests, to ensure the fact that our students are prepared at all times for anything that is thrown their way.”

  I almost choked on my soup. “Exams? Are they serious? Why now of all times? It’s not even end of term yet.”

  It was probably very unattractive, but my lovers didn’t seem to mind. “Well, no,” Brendan replied, “but we are getting close. And to be honest, Selene, I’ve been expecting this.”

  From his spot in front of me, Knox nodded. “You haven’t truly had a tough time at the academy in terms of schoolwork. That was always going to change.”

  I was tempted to throw something at him, but miraculously, I held back. He wasn’t wrong. I’d had trouble at Chimera Academy since my arrival, but it hadn’t been the actual classes that had given me problems.

  Compared to my recent kidnapping, pregnancy and treasonous plans, such concerns seemed trivial.

  “You will be receiving a detailed schedule on your personal systems, which you can access through your back-links,” Commander Trevor continued. “It’s highly advisable that you look it over as soon as possible.”

  “This is kind of odd,” Pollux said with a scowl. “Why would Commander Trevor make a specific announcement about that? We check our back-link communicators on a regular basis.”

  Brendan pursed his lips, suddenly looking troubled. “It would have been easy to have teachers convey this information to us while in class. This isn’t just a regular exam.”

  I abandoned my soup, already suspecting where this was going. Ninety-nine percent of the time, any anomaly that happened at the academy had something to do with me.

  “Every student will receive a special assignment and an individual supervisor,” Commander Trevor continued. “You will report to the person in question tomorrow.”

  I felt tempted to break something or worse, burst into tears. I had a bad feeling about this too, and problems with the staff were the last thing I needed.

  But I didn’t get a say and I wouldn’t be able to find out more either, a
t least not for now. The announcement ended and everyone in the mess hall was left to speculate over what little information Commander Trevor had given us.

  “This won’t end well,” I said with a sigh. “Whatever is going on, it has to be connected with my mother’s class.” Things had changed since King Philip had suddenly decided to introduce Terran Sociology in the curriculum and not everyone was thrilled about it.

  “It might be, yes,” Pollux replied, “but we can’t really judge until we know more. Either way, it’s going to be all right. We’re going to help you study.”

  “I’ve taken exams before,” I replied. “I know how they work. That’s not our main concern and you know it.”

  “Well, yes, but it doesn’t hurt to have some extra preparation. For anything or everything.”

  “I can’t argue with you there. What do you suppose this new assignment will be? Did the school have anything similar before?”

  “A few times, although not in the past couple of years,” August offered. “Selene… As far as I’ve heard, they’re pretty physically taxing. I think we should be considering secondary options.”

  He didn’t elaborate on what he meant by that, but Sphinx explained in his stead. “You should postpone the exams until next year. They’re not conducive to healthy pregnancies.”

  I frowned. In a way, they were right. A lot of classes at Chimera Academy were physically demanding, and exams were no different. Leaving aside regular effort, tachyon manipulation took a lot of energy and caused hormonal imbalances in the body. That sort of thing could definitely affect a pregnancy.

  It was part of the reason why women from Chimera nobility didn’t conceive a lot. Compared to Terran women, their fertility ratio was very low. The latent Tartarus energies in their bloodstream made it harder for them to have children.