“What the fuck?!” Kailynn screeched. “Can you see who posted this review? Who the fuck does he think he is?!”
“No, the names are always anonymous,” Tarah said, getting worried that Kailynn would start throwing things around the room in her rage. “You know, it’s just the opinion of one jackass. You can’t always trust reviews. All the other ones you have were good.”
“That’s not the point!” Kailynn growled. “I’m desperate to earn money? I am into kinky shit? What the fuck?!”
“Kailynn, I need to start making dinner,” Tarah said, standing. “Why don’t you help me? It will take your mind off it.”
“No, it won’t,” Kailynn snapped. “Shit, I really want to know who this guy is…”
“It’s not worth it to get upset.”
Kailynn let out a frustrated sound and stormed from her room, going to the living room and pacing, bellowing about how everyone was a perverted bastard and that she only did what they wanted her to do and she ended up being called a slut. She continued to scream about it while Tarah stood helplessly to the side, wanting desperately to go into the kitchen and get away from the upset Significant.
Kailynn ground her teeth together and, before she could think better of it, she picked up a pillow off the couch and hurled it at the wall of windows leading out to the balcony. The pillow hit the glass and fell harmlessly to the ground, though the automatic door opened shortly afterward, pushing the pillow aside before closing again.
“Is my living room going to survive the evening?” an amused voice chuckled behind Kailynn.
The Significant turned to see Isa standing in the living room next to Tarah, bemused.
“Isa…” Kailynn murmured, her eyes going wide. She looked at the pillow and then back at the Golden Elite. “I…I mean, I just…”
Isa raised her hand, her smile widening.
“I’m not upset,” she assured. “I am, however, concerned. What has you so worked up?”
Kailynn groaned and rolled her eyes, her entire body tensing in preparation for the rant. Isa dismissed Tarah and walked to the fallen pillow, picking it up.
“Have you seen the reviews on me?” Kailynn demanded, watching the Elite.
“Pardon?”
“Have you seen the reviews on me as a Significant? Have you read them?”
“No,” Isa said, returning the pillow to its proper place on the couch.
“Are you lying?”
“No.”
“Well, they’re all lying!” Kailynn barked. “I mean, this one was saying shit about how I’m desperate for money and that I don’t care about the person I’m with. Damn right I don’t! I’m paid to be there! I don’t know these people! I don’t give a shit about their sob stories! But I sit there and listen and do whatever they want me to do because this society is so fucked up people have to pay other people to talk to them! Do you realize how fucking demented that is?!”
Kailynn stopped when her eyes met Isa’s. She suddenly realized that she had just blown up at her client—a client who also happened to be the most powerful person in the planetary system. Isa appeared to be amused, but Kailynn still forced herself to calm down before she said something stupid.
“Something I have found,” Isa started, when she realized that Kailynn was finished, “is that many who say things in that manner are generally trying to hide their own insecurities. It’s a very elaborate, and pathetic, form of making one feel better about oneself. More likely than not, that client had certain inadequacies when he was with you and he decided to blame you for them rather than acknowledge his own faults.”
“There was that one idiot who spent the first half hour drinking and then ten minutes pawing at me, trying to figure out what the hell he was doing, and then he was done before he even got to the sex because he got off on me calling him “Baby Johnny.” Maybe that was his review. Creepy bastard.”
“That sounds like Imothy Rex,” Isa said, her eyebrows furrowed in thought.
“What?”
“The man, what you just described. He’s a powerful figure in the economy, but a complete bastard,” Isa clarified. “His advisors, but only his female ones, call him Baby J.” Her eyebrows went high. “He seems incompetent enough to not know a thing about women.”
“I don’t remember what the idiot’s name was,” Kailynn groaned, flopping down on the couch opposite of Isa, rubbing her eyes and shaking her head. “I mean, that’s out there for anyone to see now! They’re going to think I’m into all kinds of kinky shit, and I’m not! I mean, everyone’s curious, but kink is not the same thing!”
“I can’t say I know what qualifies as kink,” Isa said with a gentle laugh.
“Ugh, I hate this,” Kailynn continued. “This is even worse than whoring. At least there no one pretends that they’re there for other reasons. There’s all kinds of pretense around Significant work.”
“That is true.”
“It just pisses me off when people assume shit about me,” Kailynn pressed on. “Just because I look and act the way I do, people think that I’m some sort of slutty thug, or something.” Isa smiled as she saw Kailynn get more upset, winding herself up again even as she sat still on the couch. “I mean, I waited. I was sixteen when I first had sex.”
Isa barked a laugh before she could help herself. Kailynn glared at the Golden Elite.
“Oh, to you, I’m sure that is slutty,” she snapped.
Isa shook her head. “I first had sex at a younger age.”
The shock of the statement calmed Kailynn down almost immediately. For several long moments, she could only stare into Isa’s blue eyes and process the words.
“What?”
“I had barely turned fifteen.”
“But…I thought…” Kailynn’s brow creased in confused. “I mean…were you raped? Elites aren’t supposed to…”
“I was not raped,” Isa said, shaking her head. “Just rebellious.”
“You? Rebellious?” Kailynn barked a laugh. “How can you be rebellious when you end up leading the government?”
“You rebel intelligently, I suppose,” Isa said with a laugh.
“Then you were never caught.”
“I was,” Isa contradicted. “There were cameras in every room of the Elite Academy. We had guards upon us in no time.”
Kailynn studied Isa’s expression.
“That explains how you know that sexual desire is beaten out of Elites,” Kailynn said with a nervous laugh.
“Indeed,” Isa said. “I learned first-hand.”
“What happens if an Elite has sex?” Kailynn pressed, her curiosity taking hold.
“I assume it’s no different than humans,” Isa teased.
“No, I mean, the punishment,” Kailynn clarified. “Say one of the Elites were to have sex with someone. Would they be killed?”
Isa sighed heavily, thinking about how to answer.
“Not likely,” she admitted. “It would depend on how public the incident became. Should any of my Bronze Elites be caught in a public sex scandal, they would have to be immediately removed from their position. If it was a very public affair, then death would likely be the sentence.”
“Why?” Kailynn hissed. “Yeah, Elites are supposed to work, but everyone has sex. Literally everyone. What’s the big deal if Elites do as well?”
“I have never been able to fully understand why, myself,” Isa said. “My assumption is that abstaining from sexual activity creates an image to humans that we are infallible, that we are not controlled by basic human desires and, therefore, we are superior.”
“But didn’t you prove that that wasn’t true when you had sex at fifteen?” Kailynn pressed. “You wanted sex, so you had it.”
Isa shrugged.
“I do not know that that is the reason Syndicate Elites are forbidden from sexual relationships,” she said. “That is only my hypothesis.”
“But, you do have sexual desires, right?”
“Yes,” Isa admitted, her eyes ave
rting to the coffee table. “Biology is still biology. We can try and cover it up and control it with rules and rationalization as much as we want. That does not change that the body wants what it wants.” Isa’s expression fell a little further and the change surprised Kailynn. It was not an extremely noticeable difference, but it did catch the Significant’s attention. “Of course, Elite’s don’t want anything, so perhaps it is easier for us to forego our desires.”
Chapter Eleven
Kailynn was getting more and more nervous around Isa. Everyone in the house could sense it. Tarah would ask her every day if everything was alright. She would mechanically answer yes, but she never meant it.
The look on Isa’s face had haunted her. She had seen the pain in the Elite’s eyes as she talked about the Elite’s not having desires. Kailynn was sure she had never thought about a single moment as much as she mulled over the moment Isa’s expression changed.
Kailynn did not know what it was, but the look had broken her heart. Kailynn did not get upset or sad over many things. She was not a bleeding heart, something that she was often teased about as a younger girl. However, Isa’s pained expression struck a chord deep inside Kailynn’s being.
Her strange attraction to the Golden Elite was reaching a dangerous level.
Near the middle of her third week with the Golden Elite, someone came to visit the household.
When the front door opened as Kailynn and Tarah were playing a game on the coffee table’s interface, Kailynn was surprised to find herself startled by the visitor.
She had become used to the quiet of the house. To have someone suddenly appear surprised her.
Tarah’s face lit up immediately when she saw the man.
“Rayal!” she gasped, her tone raising excitedly as she clamored to her feet and ran to him. Kailynn slowly stood, watching the man smile at Tarah. Kailynn was surprised at how handsome Rayal was. He had a defined jaw and defined cheekbones. His brown hair was neatly cut and swept away from his face. He was also tall and broadly built. However, his right eye was a deep, powerful brown color, while his other eye was glassy and grey, surrounded by light scarring that extended into his hairline, showing he was blind in one eye due to injury.
“Tarah,” he greeted, smiling gently at her, exposing his perfectly white teeth. “How have you been holding up?”
“Fine,” Tarah said with a nervous giggle. “It’s actually been nice to have Isa home. I don’t worry as much.”
“Enjoy it while it lasts,” Rayal chuckled. “As soon as the month leave is up, she’ll bolt out of here faster than you can blink.” The former caretaker to the Golden Elite turned to look at Kailynn, who was standing awkwardly in the sitting area. His warm nature faded quickly, surprising Kailynn. “Are you the Significant?”
Kailynn tried not to be offended by his tone and the way he addressed her, but her indignation came through her voice when she spoke back.
“My name is Kailynn.”
“Kailynn,” Rayal repeated.
“Rayal, there’s no need to be worried,” Tarah assured. “Isa has actually been very happy to have her here.”
Rayal and Kailynn shared an intense look. Kailynn could not help but be intimidated by his stare. However, she held her ground, staring back at him, waiting for him to look away.
Tarah was the one who broke the staring contest.
“Rayal, please, be nice.”
“I’m always nice,” he chuckled. Once his gaze was off her, Kailynn relaxed.
“Well, not always,” Tarah teased.
“Why not always?”
“Because you don’t come to see me anymore,” Tarah pouted. “That’s not nice of you at all.”
“My apologies, my dear,” Rayal said with a bow of his head. “I shall try to be more sociable from now on.”
Tarah giggled, her cheeks quickly reddening. Kailynn could not help but laugh at the obvious crush Tarah had on the former caretaker.
“How about we have lunch together sometime in the next few days?” Rayal suggested. “Isa is going to be very busy for a while.”
“What? Why? What happened?” Tarah asked worriedly.
Rayal tapped the briefcase he was carrying.
“Emergency came up a couple hours ago,” he admitted. “From my understanding, she’s already in a conference call to try and deal with these morons, but I have some information she’ll want.”
“She’s in her office,” Tarah said.
Seeing the two caretakers walk toward Isa’s office and worried about Rayal’s serious tone, Kailynn followed them. She watched Rayal carefully, not sure what to make of the former caretaker.
However, her study was halted when Rayal opened the door to Isa’s office and the three stepped inside.
Isa was sitting in the NCB chair, but it was sitting upright, not restraining the Golden Elite at all. The upper ring was higher, extended on a stand on the back of the chair. Across from the Golden Elite were four standing holograms. One was in the middle of his sentence when the group walked in.
“—damage dealt. Predicting such a catastrophe would have been almost impossible.”
“I find that very difficult to believe, Yurim,” Isa said.
Isa’s face was very different now that she was working. Her eyes were sharp and powerful, even as she looked at the holograms in the room with her. Her perfect posture accented her power and control while still showing that she was furious at whatever had happened.
“Please, try to understand, Elite Isa—”
“Try to understand what?” Isa challenged coldly. “That I have an entire planet being held hostage by the Ninth Circle?”
“We do not know that the Ninth Circle is involved,” one woman said. “They are always warring with one another. I doubt they would come together to take over a single planet.”
“Even someone on the outskirts of the Ninth Circle would have the intelligence to know that attacking and occupying a planet of the Crescent Alliance is suicide.”
“Caroie is not just a member of the Crescent Alliance,” Isa said sharply. “They are also under special protection. For an attack, taking over Caroie is a brilliant move. Or have you forgotten that it provides goods to fifty-four of the sixty-one planets in the Alliance?”
“Yes, the hit to trade could be catastrophic,” the final hologram agreed.
“Then, why is it that ships from the Ninth Circle were able to land on Caroie and initiate a planetary take-over without detection?” Isa said, her eyes traveling over the other holograms. “The four of you surround Caroie. There is no reason this should have occurred.”
The other four in the meeting were silent.
“I have intelligence that Caroie sent distress signals for nearly twelve days as the capital was being overtaken and thousands of people were being killed. These signals reached three of you. Yet, you chose not to act.”
Still, everyone remained silent.
Isa sighed heavily and leaned forward in her chair, putting her hands on the armrests and getting to her feet slowly.
“Let me make sure I understand this,” she said, her voice powerful and cold, sending shivers down everyone’s spines. “Caroie is under special protection, and therefore, by law, their distress signals are to be met immediately, regardless of confirmation of an emergency. And yet, those closest to the planet ignored these signals that were repeated for twelve days before communications were interrupted. According to my intelligence, these signals were not lost, they were deliberately ignored. Now, I must come in and not only negotiate with Ninth Circle terrorists, but I must also try and mend my relationship with Caroie so that most of the Crescent Alliance does not fall into depression and famine. And this is all because those sworn to protect Caroie were, not unable to help, but unwilling to help.” Isa stopped slowly pacing in front of the holograms. “Is that correct? Am I misunderstanding anything?”
“Elite Isa, surely you understand that my planet is in no condition to render help to any planet,” one man
said nervously.
“Yes, including your own citizens, which is why I have deployed seventeen-thousand of my own troops to maintain what little order is left on your planet after your chancellor tore down the mockery that was your economy,” Isa said. “Let me repeat that. Seventeen-thousand of my troops are already stationed on Imala. Even if your planet is in disrepair from your civil war, it takes thirty-seven seconds for a transmission to come from your planet to mine. If you had informed me, I would have sent what forces I could to assist Caroie.”
“Seventeen thousand would not be enough to handle an invasion of that magnitude,” one of the women said incredulously.
“Indeed,” Isa said, turning to her. “But an army of Hyunen soldiers, such as the one-hundred ninety thousand in your possession, might have been able to assist my meager seventeen thousand and we could have provided reasonable protection for the capital.”
“Where did you obtain those numbers?” the woman asked sharply.
Isa’s expression turned dangerous.
“Are those numbers inaccurate?”
“Of course they are!” the woman snapped.
“Then should I expect more?” Isa asked.
“You cannot build any troops in excess of one-hundred and fifty thousand in the Alliance,” one man said, turning to the woman nervously. “You are in violation of the law.”
“That is several counts against you, Miss Yuta,” Isa told her. “Abandoning a special-class planet in need, treason, and violation of the Crescent Alliance Peace Act.”
“Those numbers are too high!” Yuta cried, her eyes becoming angry and frantic.
“Are they?” Isa asked. “I have been monitoring the trade routes, Miss Yuta. I know what you have purchased and I know the parts that go into making troops. I did my own calculations based on how many Soldier data chips you bought, and how many parts you obtained to craft your own.”
The other three holograms turned to the woman, their eyes worried.
“Care to tell me your exact numbers, Miss Yuta?”
“How dare you accuse me of violating our laws?!” the woman bellowed.
The Significant Page 11