“I think you need to spend more time studying interspecies behavior than staring at microbes,” Ayzize muttered, heading directly into HQ. Gaping between him and the turrets that manned the entrance, Celes followed, her hands by her head as if she could stop a laser shooting her as she hurried past with Ayzize.
“On the contrary! Microbes don’t get offended if I say the wrong thing to them.” Bendal followed them in, the doors sliding open without the turrets firing on them. They walked into a tall atrium with a few other species milling about on the three floors, Ayzize heading directly for the lifts in the back. “In fact, they don’t even know I’m here.”
“Lucky,” Ayzize muttered under his breath, putting his palm on a smooth wall while a bright light scanned his hand.
“Well, I have to talk to Director Kwade about some of my samples; they’re reacting strangely. See you around!” Bendal saluted Ayzize, not even waiting for a salute back before turning and hurrying off down the corridor.
“Uh,” Celes uttered, watching Bendal half-jogging down the hall as the lift arrived, following Ayzize inside. “What...?”
“He’s Assistant Vice Director in R&D,” Ayzize explained, pressing the lift for the doors to shut. “He came from the Science Division, which is the same branch, but he is using his research to determine how to use the vaccine more effectively against... certain kinds of XIKs.”
She stared up at him, asking before she could stop herself, “Like XIK-Rs?”
Ayzize didn’t get mad at her this time but looked a little uneasy as he shook his head. “No. There are different XIKs that... very few people know about. You’ll learn about it later, and there’s no need to worry about it,” he said, clearing his throat.
Celes frowned, believing that this was rather important, but if he didn’t immediately tell her, perhaps it wasn’t terrible.
The lift doors opened smoothly after rising two floors and they stepped into a curved room with frosted glass. Ayzize put his hand on the scanner on the glass before it slid sideways into the walls to reveal another room.
In a large semi-circle office, with holo screens lining the walls with a single simple metal desk in the middle, the room held a large ceiling to floor window that looked out into the complex.
With his back to them, a Levan with dark azure skin wearing a sleek grey suit turned his head to them. His pitch-black sclera with orange eyes and black slits narrowed at the sight of them, and Celes tried not stare at the Levan rudely. This one looked more humanoid than most Levan, who typically had abnormally broad shoulders and narrow hips. Instead, this Levan’s features were like Ayzize’s: tall, muscular, and sharp.
Beside the Levan stood a tall Lyre Selyn with white eyes and blue and green flowers circling their head. Her clothes hung loosely on her lanky body, with an ornate insignia pinned to her collar.
Ayzize bowed his head as he saluted them. “Chairman, Vice Chairman,” he said to the Levan and the Lyre Selyn respectively, and Celes immediately copied him, though she repeated the words quietly.
“So, this is the one you threw out the donation for.” The Chairman’s voice sounded harsh and deep, but he didn’t seem to be angry as he turned fully around to face them. The Vice Chairman merely looked on, appearing friendly. Gulping, Celes tried to look brave and intimidating so the Chairman wouldn’t get mad at Ayzize.
“Yes,” Ayzize said, glancing to Celes, then told her privately, >>Stop scowling and look polite.<<
>>Oh, sorry,<< she said, smoothing her face into what she hoped looked like a polite expression, though she had no idea if the Chairman would read it that way.
The Chairman had a deep frown on his face, the scaled eye ridges slanting evenly to Ayzize. “Beyond her medical file, we got the confirmation that her sibling is in Aorírdal, so you, young human,” he narrowed his eyes into slits when Celes flinched at the mention of her brother, her heart squeezing, “better perform well.”
Gulping again, wondering if she was in trouble even before she did anything, she nodded. “Yes, sir—Chairman,” she blurted, saluting him in good measure and ignoring the sadness that she had ignored about being away from Zander.
“Fast learner,” the Vice Chairman said, their voice sounding ethereal.
The Chairman didn’t look impressed as he returned his eyes back to Ayzize. “You made a good call. Benitz’s stocks crashed and his investors withdrew within twenty hours after you left. Apparently, he had not consulted his Board of Directors before using company money and Benitz is being investigated for other instances of embezzlement. Regardless, the conditions still apply.”
Celes felt a small measure of petty glee from Ayzize before he raised up his mental barrier again. “Of course, Chairman,” Ayzize inclined his head to the Levan, his eyes glancing to the Vice Chairman with a hint of a smirk.
Curious to see what would happen, Celes opened up her mind. Both Ayzize and the Vice Chairman had their barriers up, but she felt absolutely nothing from the Chairman. It felt like the space he occupied was empty, and it was very strange to feel nothing there. She knew Levan were the only non-psychic species in the galaxy, but the emptiness was something she had not expected.
Chairman waved Ayzize aside. “I have a meeting with you and the other Varôk, the one we discussed earlier.” His eyes had narrowed into slits again, boring into Ayzize’s, who definitely had a mental barrier up. She shouldn’t pry, but she wanted to know what was going on. “But before that? Drop her off then come right back. I would like to talk about your message concerning…” the chairman’s narrowed eyes looked to her then back up to Ayzize, “… things. Dismissed.”
She really wanted to ask what he meant since she was certain it was about her, but Ayzize would get mad if she did. Both she and Ayzize saluted them, leaving the room.
They said nothing as they used the lifts and exited the building, but with a backward glance at HQ, Celes couldn’t resist. “I don’t think he likes us.”
Ayzize laughed, startling another group of joggers, and the leader of this group looked at Ayzize as though he had spouted wings and started flying around. Guess Ayzize doesn’t laugh a lot. “I have no idea where you got that.”
“He seemed kinda… rude,” she whispered the last word after looking around.
“Rude? That was him being his usual self.” Ayzize shrugged, leading her back into the small forest again. “Levan are typically blunt; at least, their main culture is.”
“He could have worded it differently…” she muttered, still a little hung up on Ayzize throwing out Benitz’s donation for her. It must’ve been a lot of money, she thought.
“Don’t let it get to you.” Ayzize shook his head. “He’ll think holding a grudge like that is weakness, though he won’t understand the irony.”
“What irony?”
“We don’t get along; never did. That’s all I’ll say about it,” he held up a hand when Celes opened her mouth in protest. “The rest is our business, Celes.”
She pursed her lips but agreed for the time being.
Following him through the forest, watching more and more species emerge from housing, she couldn’t help but feel daunted. While initially excited to see non-humans and lots of new tech, it revealed the gulf of her ignorance. How would she be able to navigate a multicultural society when Endeavor’s was a watered-down version of her own species? Could she use tech properly without blowing anything up? All of this on top of being thrown into Raxdrýn, which she knew had its own rules, and with how the adults acted, they seemed resistant to share information.
She frowned, careful to guard her thoughts against Ayzize lest he read her mind. She was tired of being left in the dark, and having to rely on adults who barely shared anything. She would watch and learn since she had no other choice. But, if she didn’t get the information she believed she needed, she would figure it out herself, even if it meant going against Ayzize’s permission.
Twelve
Xenith’s feet flew out from under him, his body h
urtling backward. With the mental image of digging a giant hand in the ground, he slowed his body down enough to slap against the cushioned wall. He fell to his feet, the impact racing up his legs and into his knees. He winced, gritting his teeth in pain, while the Hsa-Bane guard sighed and shook her head.
“You have to roll to prevent damage to your joints,” the guard explained, approaching him and bending over, holding her hands over his kneecaps. “Roll just like I had showed you earlier.”
Slowly, the pain siphoned out of his legs, and he tried to look unfazed. Other Hsa-Bane guards trained in the large and padded gym with them, along with several new Krians such as Xenith, though he was the only one being tossed around.
“Not used to needing to roll,” Xenith muttered, rubbing his knees as he gingerly straightened. Though seven inches taller and barely younger than the security guard, or Hsa-Bane, Tatiana Artimovich was a telekinetic prodigy; she had to wear PDTs—Psychic Dampening Tech—to tone down her abilities, as she had a tendency to crush metal if annoyed. “We don’t get to fight each other too often.”
“Damn shame.” Has-Bane Artimovich cricked her neck. “If we were invaded, and they overcame the Hsa-Bane—as unlikely as that would be—the rest of the population would be screwed.”
Xenith chuckled. “Invade Aorírdal? Who would—” He felt a prickle at the back of her head and barely used his own telekinetic abilities to ‘dig in’ the ground in time before she telekinetically threw him back. He smacked into the wall again, bent his knees as he fell into the ground, and rolled onto his shoulder before jumping up.
Hsa-Bane Artimovich arched an eyebrow as he rolled his shoulders, his back aching painfully. “Hm, good job.” She didn’t seem impressed, but neither disappointed. “You rolled this time.”
Wondering if he should mention it, then decided to in case it would be a security risk, he said, “I could ‘hear’ you prep for the attack. It was super quick! —” he added when she frowned deeply at him, “—and I almost didn’t catch it, and even then, I couldn’t stop myself from being attacked.”
“So, what you are telling me,” she said, her grey eyes looking up at his coldly, her dark blonde hair tied up in a bun with stray hairs framing her face, “is that you read my mind and knew that I would attack you.”
Xenith tried not to gulp. He didn’t care how much he towered over her; she could crush him into a perfect sphere in a split second if she so wanted to. “Erm, yes, ma’am?”
“Well, of course,” she rolled her eyes, turning away to draw her hair out of the bun. “Anyone with telepathy could do that.”
“… Not to be rude, since I do not understand what it is like here, just out of curiosity,” Xenith didn’t particularly care that he stammered; Hsa-Bane Artimovich had a temper and he did not want to incur her wrath. “Shouldn’t there be safeguards against that?”
“Usually,” she said, drawing her long hair back and looping a hair bow around it, not looking back at Xenith. “but for me and a few other people like Hsa-Bane Morakvna and Hsa-Bane Kerisu, it doesn’t really matter.”
“Really?” Xenith tried to not sound skeptical, though he couldn’t fathom why it wouldn’t matter. Anyone more combat trained than he could probably fight her if they could anticipate her moves.
Hsa-Bane Artimovich turned back to him with a smile on her face. Xenith felt the blood drain out of his face, regretting his statement.
“I know about you,” she said sweetly, white teeth flashing. “You can read minds and emotions of unsuspecting people. You read my mind yes?” He nodded quickly. “Did it stop you from being slammed into the wall?”
“No, ma’am,” he said, forcing himself not to squeak. “But, what if someone stronger than me can read you and—”
The world whirled, and he suddenly landed on his back, his arms and legs slapping against the mats. “Whuh…?” he uttered, his head hurting from the impact and feeling very confused. “What just—”
Smirking, Hsa-Bane Artimovich crouched down next to his head. “What part of ‘it doesn’t really matter’ did you not get? You think you’re the first person in Aorírdal’s sixty thousand year history to ask about psychics expecting each other’s moves? There is something called ‘battle meditation’, where we act, not think,” she said, gripping his forearm and hauling him upward.
Xenith grimaced, rubbing his head as she pulled him up, feeling nauseated. He had never thought meditation worked that well since anytime he and the other apprentices had to meditate, he could never do it. Even if he emptied his head, he only heard others struggle emptying their own. “I really didn’t get any sign or feeling you would flip me over… and yeah, that was presumptuous of me. Sorry,” he said, feeling rather ashamed.
Hsa-Bane Artimovich scoffed. “Yes, it was. Questions are allowed, but we will not tolerate fools who think they know better.”
“Got that loud and clear,” Xenith muttered, rubbing his back. His back would be peppered in bruises tomorrow, and now he had to ask questions carefully. “All right, I definitely have more of an appreciation of security, but I have to ask: who would attack Aorírdal?”
She stared at him, and when he braced himself for being thrown around again, she said, “We have more enemies than most people realize. Most threats take care of itself; only certain jumper ships reach here, and pirates usually can’t afford it; they stall or starve. Radicals from either Iaiedal or Rym societies have come and tried to force their way in. We’ve even had several human cultists try to get in, though they weren’t interested in taking over.”
“What were they interested in?”
“Worshipping the Priors,” she shrugged, smirking when he made a face. “Odd, I know. They last came by two years ago; Mato went to politely turn them away at decon and the cultist ‘leader’ worked himself up so much that he fainted before he could even greet Mato back. His followers had to haul him back onto their ship. Pity; the leader was rather entertaining.”
“I didn’t even know people other than the merchants and engineers even came to Aorírdal, outside of recruitment,” Xenith said, scratching his chin.
“It’s never dull. Though I wouldn’t mind more excitement,” she sighed. “In all honesty, I don’t think you’d be bad as a Hsa-Bane.”
Xenith felt himself blush. “Even though you were tossing me around like a football?”
“You kept your cool despite that; most people are quick to anger and get in my face.” She kept a smirk, as if reliving a fond memory. “Gives me full permission to release some tension. That, and your unique ability would have its uses,” she tapped her head poignantly.
“Spying?” Xenith asked, not at all thrilled at the prospect, especially since Aorírdal valued privacy.
“Lie detection,” she answered, crossing her arms. Something flitted at the back of her mind but it emptied before his curiosity made him seize it. “If just studying or going over theoretical models with no action is not a life you want to lead, then look us up for more in depth lessons. Give it a thought.”
Xenith nodded slowly, unsure if he wanted to spend more time getting bruises. “All right, I’ll do that. Thank you."
∆∆∆
The next session in his rotation path took him to the Medical Ward. Instead of gaining minor injuries, here he would heal them. Four new Krians watched a set of nurses work in a section of the clinic, treating several injured students who had gotten into a fist fight earlier. (“A fist fight? At a psychic school?” Nentok had asked incredulously, a nurse shooting him a glare). Xenith rarely came to the Medical Ward beyond a few injuries and being quarantined when he and most of the humans caught the flu that had accidentally spread from a merchant a few years back. Today, he found himself a guinea pig.
While an Iaiedal doctor supervised, Nentok peered close to Xenith’s bare arm as he sat on a sheeted bed. Nentok’s mandibles fluttered, holding a sterilized pad in two gloved hands. “Hmm. Humans aren’t supposed to have purple skin, right?” he asked, one eye pointing to Xenith a
nd the other to the Iaiedal doctor.
“No,” Xenith said, frowning. Dr. Oluri emanated assurance, audibly silent. “Got it yesterday after getting tossed around in Security.”
“Ah, I see.” Nentok clicked his mandibles while Dr. Oluri looked at Xenith, projecting sympathy at him from her indigo eyes. It felt sincere, so Xenith projected gratitude back. “I was wondering why you wanted to stay in your room and sulk last night. Hmmm.” Nentok stared at the bruises, then straightened. “Young human, it looks like you’ve come down with a strong case of ass-kicked-itis.”
“You’re an asshole,” Xenith chuckled as Nentok gently dabbed the pad onto his arm.
>>You are here to treat patients, not antagonize them,<< Dr. Oluri told Nentok calmly with a hint of irritation.
“Yes, doctor,” Nentok said, one eye glancing at her.
While Xenith watched, Dr. Oluri instructed Nentok to hold one hand just over Xenith’s bruise, and to ‘feel’ where it felt wrong. Nentok flicked both eyes to the bruise, and Xenith felt the area around it tingle. Xenith blinked in surprise while Dr. Oluri guided Nentok as he healed the bruise, and right before Xenith’s eyes, the bruise changed from a deep purple to a light pink.
“Holy crap, Tok, you’re a natural,” Xenith said in amazement, poking at his bruise and barely wincing. Nentok slumped over Xenith’s arm, heaving a great sigh as he withdrew his hands.
“Thanks, but that was exhausting; that took a lot of energy...” he said, looking to Dr. Oluri as she placed her own hand over Xenith’s bruise.
>>It usually takes a lot of effort, but with practice it gets much easier. You did very well on your first try,<< she said, the bruise disappearing underneath her palm. >>We use medicine and medical technology alongside medpsy, so you wouldn’t be tired from using up your psychic energy.<<
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