“You hope not?” Vibarr was saying. “I’ll bet you’ve suffered more disciplinary action than all your roommates combined.”
Soz saw the trap. Of course. He believed she was a novice. He didn’t know she had a node. He probably assumed he could record her behavior, including any violations, but she would have no record to use against him. Spinal nodes were supposed to be tamperproof, but given his actions, it wouldn’t surprise her if he had fooled with his enough to gain control over what it recorded. She had to be careful here and go by the book.
She answered in an even voice. “I don’t know how many demerits my roommates have, sir.”
He lifted his finger, almost touching her lips. “I haven’t registered the four you’ve earned from me yet.”
“Is that so?” Soz wanted to ram her knee into a certain sensitive place he was pushing all too close to her. “I’m sure you will carry on according to proper procedure. Sir.”
“I’m sure.” He moved his finger down, almost touching her chin. Then he went down to her breasts, still not touching. “What would you say is proper, Valdoria?”
For frigging sakes, Node, Soz thought. If this isn’t sexual harassment, I don’t know what is.
In my estimation, if you brought a complaint against him, with my record of this incident, you could have him put on probation.
It would serve him right. Anyone who misused his seniority this way had probably done it to other cadets as well. But if she made a stir, it could backfire. He came from a powerful family. She did as well, but she couldn’t appear to misuse her title. Always it came to this: as an Imperial heir, she was watched more closely. It made no difference that relatively few people knew her identity; those who did would assess and judge her behavior by a tougher criterion than other cadets, except Althor. Hell, Kurj would probably come down harder on her than Althor, given the way he seemed to think she needed it more. She had better damn well make sure she handled this without breaking any rules herself.
Pride also came into it; she was a descendant of the Ruby Pharaohs who had ruled a matriarchy where men didn’t even fight. For one of those queens, this situation would have been ridiculous or humiliating. To conflict her reactions even more, she had grown up in a culture where only men fought. It all left her with a tangle of emotions that she herself didn’t fully understand.
“Proper procedure is in the regulations,” Soz said, answering his question. Lame answer, but she was stalling while she decided what to do.
“The rule book?” He leaned closer. “To survive, every good soldier learns when to compromise, Novice.”
Soz gritted her teeth. “Is my survival in danger?”
He tilted his head. “Get too many demerits, and you may find yourself out of this academy as fast as you can say, ‘Well, fuck, I broke the profanity rules.’”
“Yes, sir. You did.” To her node, she thought, You get that?
Affirmative. However, if swearing was considered a serious offense, the majority of the cadets here would be in trouble, including yourself.
“You think you’re tough,” Vibarr said. “Think again.”
“What I think,” Soz said, enunciating each word, “is that this goes well beyond the respect expected by lower-class cadets for seniors.”
His eyes glinted. “And how would you prove that?”
Soz had to make a decision: tell him about her node and make him back off, keeping the matter discreet; or keep silent and let him hang himself for an expulsion. Convincing him to back off would be safer. If she accused him, the inquiries could be embarrassing and might leave her open to a backlash. Smear campaigns paid little heed to the truth, and she had no doubt Vibarr would spread rumors. But who knew how many people he had misused this way, cadets who might also have opted for discretion rather than risk trouble. That was the problem with DMA; as much as its ingrained traditionalism produced well-trained cadets, it also discouraged any sort of stir, even when the person causing it was in the right.
Stop thinking like a cadet, Soz told herself. Think like the future commander of ISC. When put in those terms, the decision was obvious. Vibarr didn’t belong at DMA.
“The honor system requires a cadet tell the truth,” she said.
Vibarr laughed. “Gods, you’re naive.”
“I know the regulations. Sir.”
“So, what, you going to make trouble, hmmm?” He brushed his lips over hers. “They’ll kick you out for fraternization.”
Soz jerked her head away. “This isn’t fraternization. It’s coercion.”
He trailed his finger between her breasts, touching now. “You said it yourself. We’re bound by an honor code. I’ve four years of a sterling record to support my word. What do you have? One of the worst demerit records in DMA history.”
Soz put her palms against his chest and shoved. “Enough.”
He moved so fast, his hand blurred. He caught her wrist and slapped it against the boxes behind her. Soz winced as her arm hit the crates. She tried a move from her martial arts class, but he blocked it easily, with augmented speed and strength.
He pinned her against the crates with his body. “You know, I hear a lot about you being a hotshot. It’s time someone took you down a few levels. Taught you a little humility.”
Soz spoke through gritted teeth. “What are you going to do, Vibarr? Rape another cadet? What the hell kind of officer are you going to make?” Then she shoved him away.
This time when he came back at her, she had nowhere to duck, so she dropped to the floor. The situation had gone way out of hand. He had probably expected her to give in right away, trading sexual favors so he wouldn’t make her already dreadful record even worse. He had to know he had gone too far.
Vibarr dragged her to her feet. His chest was heaving and he slammed her against the crates. “Take that as a warning. I’m not done with you, Valdoria. Neither is my House.”
Soz bit back the retort that burned on her tongue. Hell, he was right, she didn’t want trouble. But she had it regardless. He had just invoked his noble heredity in an obvious attempt to coerce her silence. Bringing up his lineage would leave him open to exactly the kind of criticism she would have received if she had hauled out her Ruby heritage. Civilian titles had no place here, nor did they make any one cadet better than the others.
He raked her body with a look of disgust, then spun around and left the alcove.
Soz sagged against the crates, her heart beating hard. Node, you get all that?
Yes.
Good. She took a deep breath and walked into the hall. Then she headed to the office of the commandant.
“Gods.” Lieutenant Colonel Dayamar Stone sat at the console in his office and stared at the download. “This is hard to believe.”
Soz stood at attention behind him, her face flushed as the holographic replay from her node displayed her “meeting” with Vibarr. This was her first time in Stone’s office. Usually she only interacted with him on the exercise fields, where he and Secondary Foxer trained the cadets. But he was also in charge of the Infractions Committee. She had decided to come here first instead of going to Blackmoor’s office because she was uncertain how to proceed.
Stone looked up at her. “How long have you had your node?”
“Ten days, sir.”
“That’s not very long.”
“Yes, sir.” Soz couldn’t read beyond his carefully neutral expression.
A hum came from across the room. As she and Stone turned, the door slid open—and commandant Grant Blackmoor stood framed in the rectangular archway. Tall and forbidding in the unrelieved black of his Jagernaut Primary uniform, he towered over her and Stone. Metal glinted on his massive gauntlets. His granite-hard face left no room for doubt about his authority. Soz had often wondered if Kurj put him in charge of DMA because Blackmoor looked like him.
Stone stood up, and he and Soz saluted with alacrity, raising their arms and hitting their wrists together with fists clenched.
“At ease
.” Blackmoor came inside and the door closed behind him. To Stone, he said, “I received your message.” He glanced at Soz, then back at Stone. “An emergency, you say?”
Soz felt like she had jumped off a cliff and was plunging down its face now, wondering if she was going to hit the water or smash into rocks.
“Yes, sir.” Stone nodded toward Soz. “Cadet Valdoria has lodged a complaint against another cadet.”
Blackmoor’s dark eyebrows drew together. “Since when do you need the commandant to settle a student dispute?”
“It’s serious, sir. I just finished viewing a record from her node.” Stone moved aside, leaving the seat at the console for Blackmoor. “Perhaps you would take a look.”
“Very well.” The commandant took the chair Stone had vacated and flicked his finger through a holicon above the screen. “I take it the recording is the last one viewed here?”
“Yes, sir,” Stone said.
Two holos appeared above the flat screen on the console, each about one hand span tall. The detailed image showed all of Vibarr and the edges of Soz’s body that she would see with her own eyes. Vibarr was saying, “I hear you’ve nothing but demerits, Cadet Valdoria.”
So it went. Her face burning, Soz stood behind Blackmoor while the entire record played. She felt stupid. But damn it all, this wasn’t the Ruby Empire anymore and regardless of her pride, anyone who abused his power that way didn’t belong at DMA.
When the recording finished, Blackmoor sat staring at the screen. Then he stood slowly and gave Soz a long, appraising look. His face remained impassive and he barricaded his mind, so she had no more clue of his thoughts than she would have detected with Kurj.
He turned to Stone. “Have you verified the accuracy of this?”
“I’ve run preliminary checks,” Stone said. “We will do a more extensive investigation, but based on the prelims, I would say the recording is genuine.”
Soz stiffened. What did they think, that she would falsify the encounter and somehow download it to her node? To what diddly damn purpose?
Blackmoor glanced at her. “Cadet Valdoria, you must learn to guard your mind better.”
Soz flushed and tamped down her anger. Gods, she hoped they didn’t give demerits for her thoughts.
Mercifully, Blackmoor turned back to Stone. “Have you spoken to Vibarr yet?”
Stone shook his head. “I contacted you immediately.”
Blackmoor exhaled. It wasn’t until he pushed his hand across his brush of gray hair, though, that Soz realized he wasn’t as unaffected as his manner suggested. He spoke in a neutral voice. “Cadet Valdoria, you may return to school. We will contact you if we need more information.”
Soz stared at him. She masked her emotions, but behind her barriers, she seethed. Another cadet, a well-placed senior, had just broken gods only knew how many rules of their vaunted honor code and they were just sending her away? She kept her mouth shut, though, and acknowledged that she didn’t know what they intended. She saluted stiffly, her fists clenched so hard that her knuckles turned white.
Then she left. Dismissed.
Twist. Drop. Grab. Soz gritted her teeth as she wrestled with the Echo scaffolding, her nemesis, this blasted obstacle course Kurj had challenged her to complete in eight minutes when no one had ever managed in less than nine. Hell, she couldn’t do it in twelve. The scaffolding vibrated, trying to throw her off, and she lost her grip. As she slid through the bars, her knee hit a cross strut and she groaned. She banged her fist on another bar, then caught it as she slid past and yanked to a jarring halt. She hung there by one arm, feeling stupid, with the scaffolding vibrating all around her.
Jaw clenched, Soz scrambled up to a more stable region of the structure, then swung the rest of the way through its crisscrossing bars and dropped down on its far side. As soon as she hit the ground, she took off toward the lake. The syncopated rhythm of her run helped her deal with the plex-turf, which reared under her feet in surges calculated to send her sprawling. Although she had grown more accustomed to the lower gravity on Diesha, she had trouble here timing the intricate dance of steps. With a grunt, she staggered and lost momentum. She had just managed to catch her balance when she reached the oil pool that reflected the dust-red sky, but she was off her stride. With a grunt of protest, she stumbled and plowed into the pool, kicking up turgid swells of oil.
“Ah, hell.” If that didn’t make a bad day worse. Soz waded doggedly out of the pool and set off running again. Bad idea. Slick with oil, her feet slipped out from under her and she slammed onto the turf. Swearing, she climbed back to her feet, and of course the ground had to heave under her. With her feet and legs covered in oil, she could hardly even walk without slipping.
Thoroughly aggravated, she set off for the echoing maze. She had committed the route to memory, but she had to walk the whole thing. After she left the maze, she strode to the rebounders, the doors and gates that snapped open and slammed shut in a crazy, hyper pattern. No problem. She just waited for each to open and jumped through. It was perfectly safe—except it took forever. By the time she stalked out onto the white sand trap beyond, the timer on her wrist said it had taken her more than sixteen minutes to complete the course, her worst time yet.
“Bloody echoes,” she muttered and headed out of the sand onto the field of stubby grass, her feet and legs covered with a layer of gravel and other crud that stuck to the oil.
She was in a very bad mood.
Fields, tracks, and other obstacle courses spread all around, pristine under the burning sun. To her left, mountains jutted up into the sky, riddled with jogging trails. An academy building stood on her right, its white columns bright in the intense sunlight and its arched windows annoyingly dignified. Soz veered away from the main building and tramped toward the dorms. Given how long it had taken her to finish the Echo, she had no time left to practice on any other course, not if she wanted to clean up to see her mysterious visitor.
Back at the dorm, Obsidian was the only one of her roommates at home. He was sitting on his bunk, the bottom bed of the set across from hers. Leaning against the wall, with his pillow in his lap, he was intent on a holobook. Quantum circuits floated in the air. His black hair was out of its queue and falling over his shoulder.
He glanced up and smiled as she stomped into the room.
“Heya, Soz.”
She glowered at him and went to the bathroom.
“Nice to see you, too,” he called as she closed the door.
Soz braced her hands against the metal sink in the cubicle. She felt guilty for taking her bad mood out on Obsidian. It wasn’t his fault an arrogant Vibarr lordling had decided to make her life miserable or that the commandant’s reaction bewildered her. Didn’t they want details? Maybe they intended to cover up the entire business rather than have a scandal involving an Imperial heir and the prince of a powerful noble House.
She stripped off her workout suit, which had been light blue before she started sweating and was as dark as midnight now. Then she opened the cleanser unit and squeezed inside the stall. As soon as she closed the door, water misted across her. She leaned her forehead against the tiles and closed her eyes while tiny soap-bots in the mist cleaned her body.
After a while she began to feel better. When the unit shut off, she stepped out and pulled on her robe, which hung on the bathroom door along with those for her roommates. She went out in the room and found Obsidian still sitting on his bunk, studying.
“Heya, Oboe,” she said.
He glanced up. “You human yet?”
Soz winced. “Sorry.”
“What happened?”
No one had told her to stay quiet about the incident, but it was probably better to see what was going to happen with Vibarr before she said anything.
“I ran the Echo,” she said.
He gave her a commiserating grimace. “No wonder.”
“You shouldn’t spend your only free hour studying.” She smiled. “Go have fun.”
“You know, Soz, not everyone can ace their finals halfway through the term without even studying.”
She suddenly remembered Vibarr’s words. I hear a lot about you being a hotshot. It’s time someone took you down a few levels. Teach you a little humility.
“Obsidian?” she said.
He watched her curiously. “Yes?”
“Am I arrogant?”
He laughed easily, with good nature. “You’re cocky, Soz. It’s not the same.”
“Do you ever want to see me taken down a few levels?”
His smile faded. “Who said that?”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“No, of course I don’t.” After a pause, he added, “That’s because I know you. But I think some people do.”
“Why? Am I that insufferable?”
“No.” He closed his book and the holos vanished. “It’s human nature to resent people who excel. And you don’t, well—”
She waited. “Don’t what?”
“You don’t hold back.”
She crossed her arms, bunching up the sleeves of her robe. “Why should I?”
“I didn’t say you should.” He shook his head. “Some people are unassuming, Soz. When those people leave you stumbling in the dust, it stings less. And some people aren’t unassuming.” He smiled dryly. “Rumor has it, that includes just about every Jagernaut alive. You’ve heard what the rest of ISC says about us.”
She squinted at him. “What?”
His laugh spluttered. “You haven’t heard?”
“Obsidian! Tell me.”
“That we’re the most cussed overconfident bastards in the forces.”
“Oh. That.”
“Yeah, that.” He seemed amused by her supposed nonchalance.
Soz had already figured out that Obsidian could see through her, that he knew her insecurities and uncertainties. But he was decent about it and never used the knowledge against her, just as she would never use anything she knew about him or their roommates. They might be brash, but they were also loyal. DMA had known what they were doing when they put the four of them together; although they were all different, they suited well in their abilities and values. It was practice for flying with a Jag squadron, which consisted of four people, often two men and two women.
Schism: Part One of Triad (Saga of the Skolian Empire) Page 30