The Significant

by Kyra Anderson

  “You might be able to, someday,” Rayal said with a smile. “This is our room for the week.”

  “Where will Isa be?”

  “In another part of the ship, probably,” Rayal said. “Let’s go find her.”

  The two left their room. Kailynn told herself that she needed to pay attention to where they were so that she could find her way back and, therefore, not raise suspicions with the crew about spending time with Isa. However, as they walked through the ship, Kailynn was immediately distracted by how comfortable the ship felt.

  Rayal led her down another hallway and knocked on a few of the doors, asking the Elites what room Isa had. Kailynn noticed that the Elites were all paired two to a room, and her stomach began twisting nervously at the thought.

  When they came upon the room where Isa would stay, Rayal knocked and opened the door.

  Isa was sitting on one of the two beds, leaning back on her hands as Remus stood in front of her. They had obviously been in deep discussion when the two entered.

  “Kailynn, Rayal,” Isa greeted. “What room number are you in?”

  “Fourteen,” Rayal answered.

  “Why are you sharing a room?” Kailynn asked.

  “Safety procedure,” Remus answered.

  “Everyone on this ship shares a room. It’s a means to keep everyone safe and accounted for.”

  “But why…” Kailynn trailed off, biting her tongue.

  “Kailynn, there is no need to worry,” Isa assured, looking at Remus. “Remus and I are not engaged sexually anymore. You know that.”

  Kailynn bowed her head, deciding not to speak. It did not matter that Isa and Remus were no longer in a relationship. There was something about the arrangement that made jealousy bubble in the Significant’s stomach.

  Isa stood and walked to Kailynn.

  “Why don’t we see the rest of the ship?”

  Kailynn and Isa walked around the ship, Isa showing Kailynn the different areas of the Syndicate ship, telling her about the entertainment offered so that the Elites would not go crazy from boredom when traveling. Since they were going to be traveling for a week, Isa was sure the Elites would be getting together for drinks and games—apparently, there was a tradition of a certain betting game that always occurred on the trips with the Syndicate Elites.

  When the ship was rolled out of the hanger and to the launch site, Kailynn had her face pressed to the window, eager to see everything she could. The ship hovered, jolting when it was taken off its cable, and then it began soaring into the sky. The feeling was disorienting and Kailynn had to grab onto the nearest seat and hold it as they soared through the atmosphere and into space. Isa sat across from the Significant, watching with mild interest, though she constantly spared glances at Kailynn, smiling at the younger woman’s fascination.

  Once they were in space, Kailynn felt the ship stabilize and she felt steady enough to let go of the chair.

  However, she did not move from her spot at the window, looking over the impressive blue-grey color of Tiao. Her eyes were wide, afraid to blink, should she miss something.

  She did not realize it but, for over an hour, she stood at the window and watched Tiao become smaller and smaller.

  Finally, around what would be the middle of the day on Tiao, everyone was called into the dining hall for lunch. Kailynn spent most of the time staring at the black sea littered with white dust. She had never thought that space could look so empty and vast, even with all the stars, but there was something about looking into the void of space that had her feel small. But it was not a frightening feeling—it filled her with peace.

  After an afternoon of wandering around the ship with Isa, Kailynn saw the first round of the game called Evolu. It was a speed game, memory game, and a game of chance rolled into one.

  Kailynn stood by Isa’s side as they started the game at a very large interactive table in the back of the ship. The screen lit up with symbols before shifting into boxes with pictures on them. The pictures were very simple objects and shapes. The electronic table dealt the “cards” to the Elites, each of them getting six different cards. There were thirty different pictures on the cards, and the object of the game was to get as many matches as possible, discarding unwanted cards to the person next to them, allowing the cards to make an infinite loop around the table. However, whenever one match was made, a virus card was released and the person who made the match would have to send it to someone else at the table. If they got a virus card and did not make a match in that turn, they would lose a card from their hand.

  This was all done at a very fast pace.

  Tia, the new Bronze Elite, watched the first game as well, not knowing the rules.

  When the game started, Kailynn was surprised at how fast and competitive the Elites became. Whenever one of them was struck by a virus card and lost one of their cards, they would let out agonized groans and make everyone around them laugh.

  Not surprisingly, Isa was very good at the game. Her hands moved very fast, swiping the cards around the table that she did not need and quickly matching the ones that she could. When the virus card hit her, she was able to make a match and did not lose a card.

  When all cards had been matched or destroyed by the virus card, the points were tallied and the next round began.

  The Elites kept their own tally of the points they each received and said they would add them all up at the end of the trip to decide the winner, who would win the sum of the money they each put in the electronic deposit box on the ship. They were required to make at least one bet a day if they wanted to play, so the sum grew very quickly.

  As Kailynn watched three rounds of the Elites playing Evolu, she forgot that she was with the Elites of the Syndicate. With the drinks going around the table and the amusing competitive nature of the Elites, the evening felt like one spent among friends.

  However, at the end of the night, when most of the Elites were a little tipsy, and Kailynn was very close to being too drunk, the Elites retired.

  Kailynn went to Isa’s room after stumbling, lost, around the ship.

  “Kailynn, you need to drink some water and get some sleep,” Isa chuckled, sitting in the seating area with Remus as Kailynn clumsily entered the room.

  “I wanna drink with you,” she slurred, stumbling to Isa and flopping with no grace at all on the couch and across Isa’s lap.

  “You have had plenty,” the Elite laughed. Kailynn sat up, wrapping her arms around Isa’s neck and kissing her cheek several times before biting her earlobe teasingly.

  “I want you,” she cooed.

  “Kailynn, Remus is sitting right here,” Isa reminded her.

  “No, he’s not,” Remus groaned, standing. “I’ll go see if Anders wants to play a game of Evolu. I think he’s still awake.”

  Remus walked out of the room and Isa watched him go apologetically.

  “Kailynn…”

  “What? He said he wanted to play,” Kailynn said, pouting.

  “You can’t ignore him like that.”

  “He’s not your lover anymore. I am!” Kailynn declared, her words merging as she spoke.

  “Yes, you are.”

  “I want you,” Kailynn repeated. “How many people can say they’ve had sex in space?”

  Isa chuckled as Kailynn climbed on her lap.

  “Have you had sex in space?” she asked, trying to focus on Isa’s face.

  Isa chose not to speak, but Kailynn knew the answer was yes.

  “See! Now you have to have sex with me,” Kailynn said. “You did it with Remus, now you have to do it with me.”

  Twenty minutes later, Kailynn was laying on Isa’s bed, trying to catch her breath as Isa settled next to her. The Elite kissed her neck gently and Kailynn turned to look at the Elite, her eyes caught something out the window behind the Elite.

  “Whoa! What is that?!” she asked excitedly, scrambling to her feet and darting to the window, not caring about her naked state.

  The ship was flying
over a long platform of metal on top of a space station. Around the platform were enormous rings, twelve in total, that each rotated a different direction than the one in front of it. The ship flew slowly through the rings, hovering above the constructed runway.

  “We’re already at the Gate,” Isa noted, joining Kailynn at the windows. “This is the first Gate, Dani-Kahl.”

  “What’s a gate?”

  “It’s a bit like a jump in space. The gate will launch us into a very fast pace through its route until we reach the other side. Then we’ll have to go to the next gate for the next jump.”

  Kailynn had no idea what Isa was talking about, but she nodded, watching as they flew through another large, rotating ring.

  “Is the ship going to jolt?” Kailynn asked.

  “No,” Isa assured, wrapping her arms around Kailynn’s waist and pressing a kiss to her shoulder. “You won’t even notice.”

  The two watched as each ring passed over the ship. When they reached the last one, the stars seen beyond the station were blurred into streaks across the window, shooting by them in the blink of an eye. Kailynn gasped in amazement as Isa leaned her head on the Significant’s, both of them watching the stars streak past them.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  The thrill of traveling in space lost its effect after the third night in the ship. Kailynn became stir-crazy and bored, as did almost everyone else. The only two who seemed not to be bothered by the long travel time in the ship were Isa and Remus. Most of the time, the two were sleeping or sitting quietly.

  At first, Kailynn was irritated by the behavior, until she realized that there was no one to disturb Isa on the long trip, allowing her time to rest.

  After that, she left Isa alone until she could no longer stand it.

  The sleeping arrangements also got on her nerves. She wanted to continue sleeping next to the Golden Elite, but Rayal refused to share a room with Remus, even when Kailynn begged. Therefore, Kailynn would go to Isa’s room and climb into bed with her. When he was too exhausted to put it off any longer, Remus would go back to the room and sleep in his separate bed.

  Isa did nothing to change the situation, either.

  Therefore when they finally reached Fortunea, Kailynn was eager to get off the ship.

  Once again, Kailynn’s face was glued to the window, watching the ship approach the large blue and green planet. The flames that licked the ship as they entered the atmosphere startled her at first, but Isa assured her that everything was alright, which eased Kailynn’s mind, but she did not press her face to the glass until the flames were gone.

  The ship flew toward a large, grand city, passing over the buildings and streets. There were people walking through the city and the cars were not in underground tunnels, but next to the buildings, causing a lot of movement on the surface of the planet.

  Once they landed at the docking station, the entourage was escorted by an enormous security detail to a caravan of cars. Kailynn, Rayal, Remus, and Isa shared a car in the middle of the convoy. As soon as the door closed and they began moving, Kailynn pressed her face to the window and watched the city pass.

  Remus reached into his pocket and pulled out a small device, setting it against the side of the car and turning the scrambler on.

  “This is not going to be a pleasant meeting,” Remus said seriously.

  “I am aware,” Isa agreed.

  “I need to know your intensions.”

  Every eye in the car turned to the Golden Elite. Isa stared at Remus silently for a few moments before sighing.

  “I’m not backing down,” she said simply. “I will not submit to threats and terrorism from the Ninth Circle. Anything I do after their threat has been neutralized will be my decision and the Alliance need not know of it.”

  Kailynn was unsure exactly what Isa was saying, but there was something about the words that caused a feeling of anticipation to pool in her belly.

  “You will need their support if you plan to go through with it,” Remus corrected.

  “There is no reason for them to know about that now,” Isa said. “The Ninth Circle is a bigger threat.”

  The rest of the car ride was silent.

  Kailynn was surprisingly tired by the time they got to Leadership Square, which held the heavily-guarded, stunning palace of the Queen of Fortunea. Kailynn’s tired eyes tried to take in the stone walls and the incredible carved statues of beasts and humans alike, flanking the large staircase that led up to the columns in front of the grand entrance adorned with gold.

  Compared to the metal and glass structures of Tiao, the light stone buildings felt warm and opulent.

  Kailynn was swept up with the rest of the crowd, Rayal keeping a close eye on her as the entourage, surrounded by droves of security, were swarmed at the gates of Leadership Square by reporters, cameras, and people curious about the commotion. The Elites did not seem phased, but Kailynn was overwhelmed and tried to hide her face as much as possible, walking quickly to get to the steps of the palace, where security prevented spectators from coming further.

  Inside the palace, everyone in the group was scanned for security purposes and then admitted and led toward one of the living quarter areas. As they walked through the marble-floored halls, a woman dressed entirely in black quickly approached the group, walking alongside them until Isa motioned for her to approach.

  “Seventeen leaders are here. We are expecting the remaining twelve through the day. The rest will be connecting remotely,” she relayed quietly to Isa. “The dinner tonight has been postponed due to an emergency and the meeting is set for tomorrow morning at eleven,” she continued.

  “Red flags?” Isa asked.

  “Several,” the woman said. “Orille is here and he brought that Syna with him.”

  Isa groaned quietly.

  “Fine,” she said. “What else?”

  “Juren was seen speaking with Lynn and Ralphia alone last night at dinner,” the informant continued, even as they walked around the corner. “The rumor is that there was an assassination attempt on Kren last night and that is the reason for the emergency postponement. Everyone, of course, suspects Lynn.”

  “Kren is still breathing, though?”

  “Barely,” the woman groaned. Isa chuckled.

  “Alright,” she said. “Are there any representatives from Hyun?”

  “Yuta is here with some of her advisors.”

  “She’s quite bold,” Isa muttered. “Are Shane and Urya here as well?”

  “Yes, they arrived late last night.”

  Isa nodded to the woman. “Thank you.”

  The woman turned away from the group and walked away. Kailynn took a few quick steps to catch up to Isa.

  “Does she work for you?”

  “Yes.”

  “You have a spy here?” she hissed.

  “Several,” Isa confirmed. “Knowledge is power. I must stay informed, or I’ll be killed.”

  “What if the queen finds out?”

  “She knows about all but one of them,” Isa assured. She smiled. “We may be good friends, but I need to keep an eye on her as well.”

  Kailynn could only blink at the back of Isa’s head as they turned into the wing of the palace dedicated for the entourage from Tiao. For some reason, the former Significant was startled by Isa saying so calmly that she was spying on everyone in the Alliance.

  The rooms were divided among the Elites—two to a room, as usual—and Rayal and Kailynn shared a room next to the two other advisors of the Syndicate. Once they were settled, Kailynn poked her head into the hallway to be sure that no one was there and went to Isa’s room, Rayal with her.

  “—don’t trust her,” Remus said. “That is an extremely bold move to come here herself.”

  “It’s only going to harm her in the end,” Isa assured, turning to Rayal and Kailynn as they closed the door behind them. “We have to be patient. Right now, we have information that gives us power over her. We need to remember that.”

&nbs
p; “And Shane and Urya? We haven’t been watching their planets as we should.”

  “We have enough,” Isa assured gently. “All will be well.”

  “It is dangerous to have traitors in your midst,” Rayal agreed, approaching.

  “We have little information on Gihron. You know they abandoned Caroie, which means they’re waiting to see what we do. If Yuta is working with Gihron, then she is a very valuable source of information,” Isa explained. “We have the upper hand, but we can only keep that if we are very careful about how we proceed. We need to let her convict herself.”

  “But if you let her get out of hand, then you’re going to have a larger war on your hands,” Remus warned.

  “I agree,” Rayal seconded. “The Ninth Circle is using obsolete technology, but if they’ve managed to swing Hyun, Imala, and Tepian to their side, we are going to be fighting with armies that match our own.”

  Isa sighed heavily and turned to Kailynn. The Significant was silent, knowing she could not offer any advice to the Elite.

  “Let us see how the meeting goes tomorrow,” Isa said. “They are not the only planets I am concerned about.” She smiled at Kailynn. “What do you think of the palace?”

  “It’s…huge.”

  Isa laughed. “It is.”

  “I didn’t know you could make buildings out of rock,” Kailynn continued.

  “This palace has—”

  “Isa,” Remus interrupted, “this is a very dangerous situation for us. We do not have time to talk about the palace.”

  “Remus, you are getting yourself worked up.”

  “And, for once in your life, you’re too damn calm,” Remus hissed. “The Alliance is crumbling, and the Ninth Circle has already gotten to Tiao and managed to attack the Syndicate Building. The situation is already out of hand. We need to remind them that we are the hegemon of the system.”

  “If we start exerting power and dominance over these planets in this fragile state, we will not be hegemon for long,” Isa said darkly. “We need to make them feel it on their own. The only way to do that is to remain calm and stay secure in the knowledge that we have the upper hand.”

  “We don’t,” Remus near-growled.