by Viola Grace
Being single-minded has never been a talent... until now.
Zeeat has spent her life in contemplation, education and empathy. Given a chance to join the Citadel to learn what she is completely capable of, she takes the opportunity to move to her next level of experience.
In Citadel Morganti, she learns to use the peculiar structure of her mind for the benefit of those around her until the day she is selected for an espionage mission.
Minders have been going missing, and Zeeat is going undercover to find out where.
Her life, sanity and sense of self are all hanging in the balance as she takes on the mastermind of Ikappi.
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Breaking the Minder
Copyright © 2016 Viola Grace
ISBN: 978-1-4874-0969-2
Cover art by Martine Jardin
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
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Breaking the Minder
Tales of the Citadel Book 56
By
Viola Grace
Chapter One
Zeeat closed the book and got to her feet, slipping out of the nursery while her charges slept. It was her last night on Jiankani. The next morning, she was joining the Citadel.
She set the book back on the shelf in the study and went to the kitchen. The lady of the house was sitting and having tea.
“Are they asleep?”
Zeeat smiled and sat next to Madame Yumant. “They are.”
“Thank you for your service, Aba Zeeat. You leave at dawn?”
“Yes. I have said my goodbyes to the little ones. They are ready for my replacement.”
Madame sighed. “You were the best nanny that we have had.”
“The abbey will send a new aba in the morning. They will be settled in by evening. You won’t be inconvenienced.”
“You were not a convenience to use, Aba Zeeat, you were as close to family as we could have imagined from the abbey.”
Zeeat chuckled. “Yes, it is funny how it worked out. I have enjoyed the last few years with you, but the Citadel is the right place, though I don’t know why they want me.”
“It doesn’t matter why. This is a step forward that will take you to the stars and beyond.”
Zeeat sipped her tea and sat in the warm silence with the lady of the house. “I look forward to the adventure. I am sure I will figure things out once I get there.”
“You usually do. The master will speak with you before you leave, but I am guessing you were expecting that.” Madame’s face drew into a frown.
“He does usually rise early. It would not be out of character for him to be awake when I am taken to the port.”
Madame Yumant got to her feet and left the kitchen.
With a slight grimace, Zeeat got to her feet and cleaned up the cups and the pot. She retired to her small room and removed her habit.
A lifetime in the abbey had taught her obedience, self-possession and humility. Her time in the Yumant household had shown her a life that was never to be hers.
The children she watched over could have been relatives if their society allowed such relationships. As it stood, the man who had fathered her had chosen her as the mentor and educator of his contracted children. It was an honour as such things go, and she had executed her duties with all enthusiasm.
The Citadel recruiter had been Madame Yumant’s idea. Zeeat accepted that the master had ignored Madame’s opinion. She didn’t like having her husband’s child under her roof.
Wrapping herself in her role as aba was her only means to draw a line between herself and the family. Her robes and gowns were sober grey, and she kept her hair scraped back in a severe bun. It was not easy with her natural pastel locks, but she tried to keep herself as sombre as possible.
She would miss the children, but in the morning, her life was going to start anew and she would have a chance to remake herself. If she knew what the Citadel’s plan for her was, she might have slept a little easier.
Zeeat put on her robes for the last time, far before dawn. She checked in on the sleeping children, smiled and closed the nursery door. With silent steps, she went down three levels, and her hand was on the grip of the door when she felt a touch on her shoulder.
“Aba Zeeat, you weren’t going to leave without saying goodbye, were you?”
She turned and inclined her head. “Master Yumant, I was unaware that you were awake.”
He smiled slowly. “I would not miss taking you to the port, Aba Zeeat.”
They left the manor together, and he made sure she was settled in the front seat next to him before he activated the vehicle to make its way to the port.
Aba Zeeat sat with her hands in her lap.
“Are you excited about the prospect of a new world?”
She turned to him and smiled. “It will be nice to put faces to and learn the traditions of the people I have read about.”
“You will not miss home?”
She stared at him. His blue-green and white hair was a definite precursor to hers. “I take home with me. I know what I am and where I have come from. I carry that within me.”
“I do not regret your existence, but I do regret the circumstances, Zeeat.”
Zeeat stared at him in surprise. “I know that.”
He was taken aback. “You do?”
“Of course. There is no other reason for you to take me into your home. I have gotten to see your children grow and hope that they will think kindly of me as their caretaker, even if they never know why I was there.”
“You don’t mind?”
“They will learn about me when they register their first contracts. I am content to wait.”
His smile was slow. “You have constantly surprised me. I did not know what to expect when you arrived, but you have shown wisdom beyond your years.”
Zeeat grinned. “I have earned every bit of it. I would like to thank you for allowing me into your household.”
“It has been an honour to see the woman you have become.”
“Thank you for letting me complete my education under your roof. Not all households are so generous.”
“It was the least I could do. Have you met your mother?”
She blinked in surprise. “No. She took me to the abbey, and they notified you of my existence. From there, I was part of the new family with you paying for my education.”
“How long have you known about me?”
“I have known you were my benefactor due to genetic connection since I was three.” She quirked a slight smile. “It is amusing that we are only having this conversation now.”
He sighed and ran a hand across the hair that
so resembled her own. “It didn’t seem necessary; I thought I had more time.”
“It wasn’t necessary, but this is nice.”
He handed her a small data crystal. “Here. Send me letters of your adventures in your education. I am eager to learn more of you.”
“I will see what I can do. I don’t know what the Citadel has in store for me or what I can do for them.”
His lips quirked. “Despite her jealousy, Madame would not have brought you to their attention if she did not think you had some talent they could use. Her skills in selection are unparalleled.”
“Well, she chose you to father her children within contract, so I would have to agree. Speaking for myself, you are excellent stock.”
His face showed his astonishment once again. “You are an extraordinary creature.”
She smirked and inclined her head. “I am aware of it.”
He laughed and settled back in his seat as they approached the port. “And you have inherited my ego. It is very good to know.”
“I did wonder where I got it. Between my ego and my single-minded nature, the abas wondered what mad god put me together.”
Master Yumant laughed. “It was youth and bad judgment that had such a delightful result. I regret the actions but not what they yielded.”
She smiled slightly. “Good. I like my life and have much hope that the next chapter will spin off into an interesting new career.”
He inclined his head. “That is my wish as well. Huh, your abbess is here to see you off?”
“She has to free me from the abbey. Despite what the upper classes believe, an aba’s first loyalty is to her abbey. It is her words that will let me go, not yours.”
The vehicle slowed to a stop, and when Master Yumant exited, he turned to extend his hand to her. Zeeat took his hand and let him help her from the vehicle.
Abbess Iimra stared at them as they approached, and the abas behind her shifted slightly. A moment later, she straightened, “Aba Zeeat, I hear that you wish to leave our world behind for better things.”
Zeeat met the abbess’s gaze as she always did. “I am here to leave to seek more things. As you have often stated, this world is too small for me.”
The abbess smiled. “So I have. I never thought you would take me literally.”
“I always listen; I merely judge when and where I will act.”
“So, now you will leave us?”
“I ask for my release from the abbey.”
“Will you strip off your vestments and leave us behind?”
“I will never leave you behind, I will carry you with me always, but the robes of office are not suitable for where I travel.”
The abbess smiled. “I accept that response. You are released from the abbey and your duties. Pursue your next phase of life with a clear and open heart.”
“I would ask you for one thing, Mother Iimra.”
“What is it, Zeeat?”
“When the abas remove my robes, would they turn their backs after I am nude so that I may dress myself and they may provide cover?”
Abbess Iimra smiled. “As you like. Do you have other garments?”
“I believe that my recruiter does.”
She looked over, and the recruiter parted herself from the shadows. A black fold of clothing was over one arm. “I have it.”
Zeeat took the clothing from her with a smile, and at her nod, the abas surrounded her and her habit was peeled away, layer by layer. When she was naked, she paused for a moment before she stepped into the feet of the body suit and pulled it into place. Twenty seconds after being dressed as an aba, she was dressed as a novice of the Citadel Morganti.
“Thank you, Mother.” She nodded to the abbess.
“Thank you, Father.” She smiled at Master Yumant and touched the crystal she had lodged over her ear.
“Zeeat, you do not need to address me by my title now.” Abbess Iimra smiled nervously.
“I did not. Thank you both for this opportunity.” She turned to her recruiter and grinned. “We can go now.”
That was that. Zeeat left her world with her parents staring awkwardly at each other behind her.
Chapter Two
Zeeat sat at the table with other friends in the Minder training course, and she sighed. “The facts haven’t changed.”
Thera—the Azon—was still wearing a look of disbelief. “What do you mean your mother has no right to you?”
“Our fathers are the ones who get pregnant. The female passes an egg to him during intercourse, and it moves up and into his abdomen, being fertilized and growing to near term. In a mated pair, the woman takes on the pregnancy after the fifth month and carries it until birth. In my case, my father got pregnant, but my mother didn’t want to carry me, so I was given to the abbey and gestated in a volunteer.”
The men around the table looked ill.
Thera grinned. “So, the men of your kind get pregnant.”
“Yes.”
“Wow.”
“I didn’t realize it was that unusual until I arrived here.” She sipped at her iced drink.
It was true enough. She had researched the mental constructs of other species, not their reproductive systems.
Her wrist unit chirped, and she excused herself. “It is time for me to speak to my counsellor. See you all at defense practice.”
She got to her feet, and Thera smirked, “Why do you still have to go? Couldn’t one of us do it? It is what we are training for, after all.”
Zeeat snorted. “Nope. I don’t want any of you morons trying to hack into my head.”
She headed to the Minder floor and walked to her counsellor’s office. With her hand pressed to the plate, she waited for the recognition.
The door sliding open was her cue to enter.
“Good afternoon, Zeeat. How are you enjoying the day?”
“I am well, Lady Equilar. How are you enjoying the day?” She walked in and knelt across from her tutor.
The woman with the dark rainbow hair smiled. “Do your fellow students suspect that these are not counselling sessions yet?”
“They do not.”
“Excellent. Your natural shields and your training have come along nicely. It is a good thing, too, as there is an assignment for you.”
Zeeat gracefully poured tea for her tutor and then herself. “I see. Is there a reason for the suddenness?”
Equilar grimaced. “It isn’t sudden. We have had Minders going missing, and all efforts to find them have resulted in more casualties. I believe you are the means by which we will secure their freedom or determine their fate.”
Equilar sipped at her tea. “So, Specialist Zeeat, are you interested?”
Zeeat cocked her head. “Is it dangerous?”
“Very.”
“Will I require cosmetic alteration?”
“No. Being Jiankani will make you exotic. You will need all the etiquette that we have managed to cover and every technique we have practiced to keep your expression reflecting the emotions around you. If you can get through the layers of society on Ikappi, you will find your target.”
Equilar slid a data crystal forward. “Take this and brief yourself on the shuttle between Morganti and the pleasure cruiser. Leave the crystal on the shuttle after you destroy it. This is a very dangerous situation. Do not take any risks that are unnecessary.”
“Only the absolutely necessary amount. I understand.”
“No communication with your father while you are off world, either. We have set up a tight cover for you. No breaches.”
“Understood. I will tell him that I am on a nature exploration.”
“That is acceptable. Do so as soon as you leave here and report to the Guard Base with all speed. We have a flight to catch.”
“We?”
“I have contacts that will be useful. Once I embed you with them you will be on your own.”
“Very well. I am on my way. May
the luck of the day be with you.”
“And with you.” Equilar smiled and dismissed her with a wave.
Zeeat couldn’t help it. She was excited. This was definitely better than being at the abbey. It looked like she was going to miss class.
The wardrobe that she had been presented with was special. The Masuo was from Udell and had been coached to take on a number of new and trendy clothing styles without Zeeat having to do any work. Having one of the Udell Guardsmen with designer credentials made the clothing of the Sector Guard much more stylish.
Equilar was playing with her great grandchildren, and she nodded in approval as Zeeat took on another look.
“Good. The Masuo will register as organic and will act as protection. If you can weave it into your mental defenses, you will be invulnerable, or very nearly.”
A piece of the skirt lifted and began to twirl gently. Fixer sighed and reached unerringly for the edge of the fabric. “Come on, you. If you are going to play, you need to be visible.”
The other twin kissed her mother on the cheek and then—when she was set down—she ran to play with her great-grandmother.
Fixer sighed. “They are going to have to start with a regular tutor soon. They have outgrown spending afternoons at my workshop.”
Zeeat smiled. “They are doing well. Aside from playing with my skirt, they have been perfect ladies and gentleman. I was a tutor for a decade and a bit. I have an eye for children who need more structure. Yours could do with a math class and a cooking tutorial, but languages can wait for a few months more.”
Equilar grinned. “I would support that.”
Fixer looked surprised at the expression on her grandmother’s face. “Would you like to teach them to cook?”
Equilar paused, “Perhaps I could teach them etiquette and diplomacy when I return.”
Fixer chuckled. “Play to your strengths, lady. If you can get them to pour tea without watering each other with it, I will bring them to the Citadel for visits more often.”