Bonds of Resolve (Cadicle #3): An Epic Space Opera Series

by Amy DuBoff

  There were several more questions, most of which Saera deemed completely irrelevant. Instead, her thoughts drifted to her meeting with Wil Sights, the future Primus Elite Agent. She was still unnerved from the encounter, yet energized. Those eyes... Why was he so sad?

  An announcement from the Agent pulled her from her thoughts. “Though you have not been fully tested, you have all been divided up by ability based on previous analysis. After the two-day testing and observational period, a more final decision will be made, but for the time being, you will house with a preliminary group. You will now be shown to your temporary quarters so you can get settled in before testing begins.”

  A Junior Agent came to stand by the Agent and began reading off names. To Saera’s surprise, she was the first to be called. After a momentary hesitation, she rose and walked to the front of the room. As they were called, others soon followed. When twenty girls were assembled, the Junior Agent led them out into the hallway.

  “I’m Eilene,” the Junior Agent said. “You’re quite an elite group.” She led the Trainees down the corridor.

  “How’s that?” a girl with light brown hair in a long ponytail asked.

  “You’re the Primus hopefuls. Four—maybe six—of you will make the final cut, but the rest will most certainly will make Sacon, given your preliminary analysis.”

  There was a murmur of surprise. But Saera’s mind was still on other matters. Even though Wil’s parents being Agents would mean he had the chance to start training early, he’s moved through at an astounding rate. Does that mean he was pushed through, or that he is simply that talented? And the way he looked at me, that connection... Will I ever see him again? She shoved the thought aside. No, it doesn’t matter. He would never be interested in someone like me. Besides, there are way more interesting things here for me to be thinking about than some guy.

  The group arrived at their quarters and immediately spread out to claim a bunk. The quarters were laid out as four bedrooms, each with two bunk beds and a single bed. In the end, Saera was on a bottom bunk in the second room on the left. Some girls tussled over who would get the single bed, but it made little difference to her. She was just happy to have a place to herself.

  After claiming bunks, the students were called out into the common room. They stood around the furniture.

  “We will now proceed to the testing facilities on Level 11,” Eilene said from near the front door. “The level is well below the main Headquarters structure and can only be visited while accompanied by an Initiate or higher. Understood?” There was an affirmative response from all trainees. “Good. Now, stay close and follow me.”

  The group followed Eilene out of the quarters and down the hallway to the central transportation hub, where they boarded the elevator. Saera resisted the urge to shift anxiously in the confined space. She took a deep breath to center herself as the doors closed. The white light began to pulse, indicating movement.

  There was something about the way the TSS operated that told her everything over the next two days would be a test—a test that began before there was ever a formal announcement. Sure enough, when she glanced around the elevator, she spotted a tiny recess in the ceiling. A camera. We are being watched.

  Soon after her discovery, the elevator came to a smooth halt and the doors opened, revealing an area much less ornate than the upper levels of the facility. The craftsmanship was still superb, but consisted of smooth metal sheeting rather than wood paneling and carpet, making for a much starker appearance. Several other groups of twenty students were visible in the hallway leading from the elevator, and doors to other lifts were opening to let out more students. This time, however, there was none of the chatter that filled the room during check-in.

  Apprehension gripped Saera, her stomach knotting. What sort of testing will this be? Many of the students looked nervous; others simply defiant. It’s a mistake to act too bold. They want people who will ask questions and listen, not those who always think they’re stronger and smarter than any teacher.

  Saera stood still in the group, projecting an image of serene calm. I am surrounded by geniuses in an alien world, but this is my chance to shine. Then, she was struck with a greater aspiration. I will make it into Primus. For a moment, she questioned where the desire came from, but it was clear. Despite her efforts, Wil Sights would not leave her mind, and Primus was her best chance to meet him again. I need to find out what that was between us.

  A buzzer sounded, reverberating through the metal corridor. The testing was about to begin.

  * * *

  Wil was roused from his work by the approaching footsteps of his father.

  “Wil, do you want to talk about what happened back in the orientation room?” Cris asked as he sat down on an upholstered bench next to Wil in the Junior Agent lounge on the Primus level.

  The nook in the corner was one of Wil’s favorite places to work, aside from in his quarters, but that meant others always knew where to find him.

  Wil kept his eyes focused on his tablet. “Unless you talked Banks out of me teaching that advanced navigation class, there’s nothing to talk about.”

  “He won’t budge on the subject. But, that’s not what I meant.”

  Is he here about that girl? Wil felt his father’s eyes on him. “Fine, say your piece.”

  “As you may have overheard, her name is Saera Alexander. I’d already flagged her as a candidate for Primus. She’s one of the youngest Trainees in her cohort, but she has more potential than any of them.”

  Wil looked up. “Why are you telling me this?”

  “To save you the time of looking her up,” Cris said with a grin.

  “What makes you think I’d do that?” There was something about her… but I can’t go there.

  “Because I recognize that look in your eye.”

  Wil shook his head. It doesn’t matter. I need to forget about her.

  A year had passed since Wil’s encounter with the Bakzen, but he was still plagued by the raw memory. Once his injuries from the assassination attempt had healed, he had gone back to Headquarters and resumed his studies. However, when he returned, he felt like a stranger among old friends. He was regarded more seriously, but not in the way he had yearned. Rather than respect or even distant admiration, the sidelong glances in the hall showed caution. They were scared of him. It didn’t help that Caeron was always nearby, trying to stay out of sight. Many of the more senior Agents were unruffled by Wil’s growing power, but trainees and Agents of lower classes kept their distance. And it was best they stay away—no good would come from getting close to him.

  “Whatever you’re implying, I’m not about to drag anyone else into the shite that’s my day-to-day life. Nothing but death and destruction lie in my future.”

  “Wil, don’t say that.” Cris tried to reach out to his son, but Wil dodged him.

  “You know it’s true. I was bred for a war, and it’s my duty to see it through.”

  “But when it’s over—”

  “When it’s over, I very well may be done for, myself.” What I must do… How could I live with myself afterward?

  Cris looked away, unable to meet Wil’s stoic gaze. “I won’t let it come to that.”

  If only you could do anything… “I have some design specs to finish.” Wil got up to go.

  Cris stood up and took Wil by the shoulders, looking into his eyes. “Happiness and duty don’t have to be mutually exclusive.”

  “I can’t give in to wishful thinking.” Wil pulled away and jogged out of the room before his father could protest.

  CHAPTER 3

  Saera stared with dismay at the metal door recessed in the wall. There was no way a person could step through it. That could only mean one thing. We’re about to go into freefall.

  She was one of ten Trainees crammed into a compact chamber off the main corridor from the elevator. The wall between the corridor and the room was a meter thick, which only augmented her concern about what was to come. They had
already been through a series of physical tests—everything from timed laps around a track, to weight lifting, to pull-ups. All of the Trainees were sweaty and exhausted.

  After two minutes of standing shoulder-to-shoulder inside the sealed chamber, the air was becoming humid from the perspiration and body heat. A low tone sounded.

  “Here we go!” one of the girls cheered, tightening the elastic band holding her short brown hair in a ponytail.

  The other Trainees reached out their hands toward the wall. Saera was in the middle of the group, putting her out of reach from any solid surface. Another girl next to her was facing the same issue. Saera recognized her as one of the twenty girls in the group of Primus hopefuls.

  “It’s not that bad,” the girl said to Saera, bringing her feet together. “Just breathe.”

  Saera took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as she started to lift off the ground. Her stomach flopped and her chest tightened as she tried to get her bearings in the transition to weightlessness. She struggled to keep her breathing slow and even as her body silently screamed out in protest to the unnatural conditions.

  Some of the Trainees groaned as they suffered through the first nauseating moments of reduced gravity.

  Saera kept her face as impassive as possible. I’ll stand out because of where I’m from. At least I can try to look confident.

  After a full minute, the chamber was completely Zero G. The inner door slid open.

  The room beyond was a dodecahedron, illuminated by strips of lighting along the seams between each of the twelve gray faces. Two Agents floated in the center, and ten other Trainees were already awkwardly clinging to the wall to the right of the entry door.

  “What are you waiting for? Come in,” the Agent on the right stated. She gazed at the nervous students with her exposed luminescent brown eyes, her arms crossed over her overcoat.

  Saera and the others in the middle were the first to file through the doorway. She grasped at the shallow handholds along the wall and pulled herself through.

  “Line up,” the Agent instructed.

  Saera’s group of Trainees formed a haphazard line along the left wall, mirroring the group to the right.

  The two Agents surveyed the petrified faces. “Time to see how you perform in freefall,” the second Agent stated. “Pair up.”

  Saera looked to the girl who’d been standing next to her in the gravity lock. “Want to work together?”

  The girl shrugged. “Sure. I’m Allie.”

  “Saera.”

  “Nice to meet you.” Allie returned her attention to the Agents.

  “We’ll start with basic maneuvering,” the second Agent continued.

  The first exercise involved gripping a handhold and flipping perpendicular to the wall. Though Saera had spent some time in dance classes as a child, she quickly found that moving in freefall was a completely different experience. Every movement was magnified, making it a challenge to kick to a horizontal position without swinging past the mark. After several repetitions of the motion, the Agent instructed the students to work with their partner to form a triangle with the wall, with one partner’s toes secured in a holding while gripping the feet of the partner doing the inverse.

  “How about I hold onto the wall with my hands first?” Saera suggested. That seemed like the easier position.

  “Okay.” Allie flipped herself around and tucked the toes of her shoes into one of the recessed handholds.

  As Allie deftly got into position, Saera kicked off from the wall to get into a horizontal orientation. However, in her quest to find the proper sixty-degree angle to complete the triangle with Allie’s hands, she instead kicked Allie square in the face.

  “Ow, hey!” Allie exclaimed, cradling her nose.

  Saera brought her hands to her mouth in horror. “I’m so sorry!” The sudden movement was enough for Saera to begin drifting away from the wall. By the time she realized she was moving it was already too late. Helpless, she drifted into the center of the room toward the Agents.

  “Now that’s exactly what you’re not supposed to do,” said the male Agent.

  Saera’s face burned as she started to list to the side while her classmates snickered from the sidelines. Great, so much for not making a fool of myself on my first day.

  “This is just a preliminary evaluation. Let’s be nice,” the female Agent said.

  Saera’s skin tingled, as though she was enveloped in a static shock. Simultaneously, the air seemed to congeal around her and she started moving back toward the wall. When she was close enough, she grabbed one of the handholds.

  “All right, let’s try that again,” the female Agent said. “You two can sit this one out,” she added to Saera and Allie.

  “I’m fine!” Allie protested, pulling her hand from her red nose and cheek.

  “We saw enough,” the Agent replied.

  Saera’s heart dropped. I ruined things for her, too. “I’m really sorry.”

  “Yeah, whatever. Things happen,” Allie replied as she slumped against the wall.

  The other students finished the exercise. Each Agent led two more trial maneuvering exercises before dismissing the Trainees.

  Saera’s group was the second to depart. She climbed back into the gravity lock after Allie.

  “Well, you survived,” Allie said to Saera as they prepared for the transition.

  “Yeah, no need to wonder which class I’ll be in.” Saera’s stomach settled as the gravity returned to normal.

  Allie gave her the kind of supportive smile a mother might give a baby who hadn’t quite figured out how to walk. “Plenty of people have never been in freefall before. You’ll catch up eventually.”

  “I hope so.”

  The Trainees filed out into the main corridor. Saera spotted Eilene, the Junior Agent who had escorted her group of Primus hopefuls to the temporary quarters several hours before. Three of Saera’s roommates were already standing next to Eilene, along with fourteen of the other girls in the rest of the bedrooms. Saera and Allie walked over to join them. As they approached, the fifth occupant in Saera’s bedroom approached from down the hall.

  “Time for dinner, ladies,” Eilene said once they were all together.

  They took the elevator back up to Level 2 and proceeded to the Primus cafeteria.

  The cafeteria was busier than it had been at the lunch break earlier in the day. Saera looked on in wonder at the groups of Agents sitting together. On her previous visit, the room had been filled primarily with trainees at various stages in the TSS program. Having so many Agents in close quarters, there was a palpable energy in the room.

  “Do you feel that?” Saera whispered to Allie.

  “Feel what?”

  “It’s like the air is electrified,” Saera replied.

  “I think you’re just excited.” Allie grabbed a tray for her dinner.

  I hope I’m not going crazy. Saera took a tray for herself, trying to shake off the feeling. Everything felt strange and different; maybe it was just nerves. Only hours before she had boarded a shuttle to leave Earth for the first time. That already felt like another lifetime.

  Saera filled her plate and went to sit down with the other Trainees in her quarters. She took a seat at the end of the long table, with Allie to her left and the Eilene at the head of the table to her right. She began eating in silence.

  Halfway through her meal, Saera noticed that Eilene was watching her. “What?”

  The Junior Agent looked surprised, but pensive. “You feel it, don’t you?”

  “Ma’am?”

  “The energy,” Eilene clarified.

  So it’s not just in my head. “I feel something. I’m not sure what.”

  “Most don’t develop any sensitivity until at least Initiate level,” the Junior Agent said. “Have you ever had signs before?”

  “No. I only found out about the TSS a week ago. I was on Earth this morning.”

  Eilene froze. “You’re human?”

  Allie
looked over with surprise along with the girl across the table from Saera.

  Saera flushed. “It’s not an affliction, geez.”

  “It’s just surprising,” Eilene said. “I’ve known some trainees from Earth, but their abilities are normally pretty minimal. Trion class.”

  “You hardly have any accent,” Allie commented.

  “I guess whatever neural imprinting they did worked.” I’m still different, even here. I don’t think I’m ever going to have friends.

  Eilene pursed her lips. “If you make it into Primus, you’ll be the first human ever.”

  “I’m just happy to be here, regardless of where I’m placed.”

  “Well, you’ll know by tomorrow night.”

  I guess I will. She could still hardly believe where she was. Everything ahead was an exciting unknown.

  Saera hurried to finish her meal, realizing that everyone else’s plates were already empty.

  Eilene checked her handheld. “Bedtime, ladies. You have another busy day tomorrow.”

  Saera smiled to herself. It couldn’t possibly be as exciting as the day she’d had already—leaving her home planet, learning a new language, entering into an ancient culture. If that start was any indication, amazing things were ahead.

  * * *

  Wil opened the door to his quarters and found Caeron waiting on the couch.

  “You really shouldn’t wander around without me,” Caeron stated.

  Wil held in a sigh. He owed Caeron his life, but he could never adjust to having a guard. “I’m sorry, but sometimes I need time to myself so I can work.”

  Caeron crossed his arms. “I’ll stay out of your way. You just really shouldn’t be out on your own.”

  “Being alone after curfew hours is one thing, but I’m not too concerned about getting attacked in a well-populated hallway.”

  “It’s that kind of thinking that puts you at risk,” Caeron countered.