by S. G. Basu
“Your mentors are here,” Aerika snapped.
A group of girls and boys, who looked about sixteen or older, gathered behind the ponytailed woman. They were a mixed bunch, their expressions ranging from happy and eager to simply bored. They were dressed in white and a dark blue that reminded Maia of the midnight sky; the boys wore blue trousers, white shirts with blue-bordered oversized collars and red ties; the girls wore blue skirts, similar white shirts and ties. All of them had an abalone talisman indicating their Jjordic heritage pinned to their shirt.
“Your mentors will now escort you to your dormitories,” Aerika continued. “Some of your teammates will join you there directly.”
She was referring to the participants from the Jjordic colonies, Maia surmised. With the obvious exception of Dani, Maia had not seen a single Jjord contestant.
“That’s all then,” Aerika snapped again. “I will see you at the university tomorrow.”
With that, she turned and left. As the door closed behind her, the group of mentors came to life. One girl waved at Dani and walked purposefully in their direction. Her hair was the color of honey, a thousand curls ringing her head like a summer cloud.
“If I’m not mistaken, you’re Dani,” the girl said, her pretty, brown eyes dancing as Dani nodded.
“I think I know exactly who everybody is,” the girl said, squinting at the team. She pointed out each person with practiced perfection. “You must be Kusha, Nafi, Maia, and Ren. Am I right?”
Maia grinned, as did everyone else.
“I’m Joolsae,” the girl said, smiling. It was the most beautiful smile Maia had seen in a while. “I welcome you to the city of Zagran, the university and the second phase of this awesome contest that you guys are lucky enough to participate in. I wanted to try out for it but could not take a year off from my classes, so . . .”
Joolsae looked a little sad and lost in thought for a moment, but then she chuckled and continued.
“So, I feel really thrilled to have been chosen as a mentor. And I think I’m extra lucky to be assigned to the winners of the Xifarian phase. We’ve been hearing all about you from the promotionals,” she beamed. Maia guessed Joolsae was referring to the pamphlets the Xifarians had been distributing about the Alliance Initiative, like the one Dani had showed her in Appian.
Joolsae gushed again, “Now, if you’ll follow me, I shall show you around my fabulous city.”
13: Joolsae and the 500th
Maia glanced at her friends as they followed Joolsae out of the terminal; everyone looked happy and relaxed. Nafi caught her gaze and shuffled closer.
“This girl is too good to be true, don’t you think?” Nafi whispered. “Do you remember our terrible first meeting with Miir?”
Maia tittered. Of course she remembered that and every other encounter with their foul-tempered mentor on Xif. It was not something she could forget in a hurry. It was indeed a welcome change to have someone as nice as Joolsae as a mentor, and Maia was nothing but thankful for her presence.
Joolsae stopped when they reached a giant hall with a domed ceiling. The expansive area was decorated with innumerable trees, shrubs, and flowering plants. It seemed like a meeting place—tables and chairs were scattered around in neat groups, some of which were occupied. About ten glass-enclosed elevators scuttled up and down a central wall, rising from the floor and disappearing into the ceiling high above. To the right, an enormous curved window faced the waters outside. Beyond it was the glittering scenery they had seen from the transporter on their way in.
“Which floor is this?” Ren asked.
“This is the 300th,” Dani replied. “All transporter terminals in Zagran are on the 300th. And every transporter terminal is placed right next to an atrium, which provides easy access to the entire length of the city.”
“That’s right,” Joolsae chimed in. “We’re now standing in the North Central Atrium. There are fifty atriums in the entire city of Zagran. They serve as connectors across the many levels of our city.”
Joolsae pointed at the elevators that ran back and forth forever. “Those elevators can take you from the topmost floor of the city to the lowest end. We will take one of those and rise to the 400th floor—that’s where the UAAS starts.”
“What do you mean ‘starts?’” Kusha asked, frowning.
“The UAAS takes up the entire North Central section from the 400th. We, the students of the UAAS, have access from the 400th to the 499th floors, and so will you. Floors above the 500th are used by the government and closed to public access.”
“A hundred floors for the university?” Kusha sounded incredulous.
“Well, only the North Central section. I know it seems like a little too much, but this is a big place with a lot of students and a lot of activity,” Joolsae said as she held open the door of a waiting elevator that would carry the group to the UAAS. “The first few days might be a little crazy, but very soon you’ll get used to the size.”
“I was totally lost when I first visited Zagran,” Dani added as the group filed into the elevator. “T’ra, my home city, is tiny compared to this, and it took me months to finally find my way around here. I don’t know how Hans manages to remember every nook and cranny of this place like the back of his hand.”
“Because Hans is ah-mazing,” Joolsae said. There was something about the way her voice flitted that made everyone turn around and look at her. A small flush crept into her cheeks, and she seemed flustered at the sudden attention.
“We’re going up to the 500th now,” she said quickly as if to divert attention.
Nafi squinted hard at Joolsae. “But I thought students don’t have access to the 500th.”
“You’re such a smart li’l thing.” Joolsae chuckled loudly and ruffled Nafi’s hair, making her squirm. “Yes, the 500th is not for general access, but this exercise is sort of a government program. So, a small section of the 500th has been modified to house your teams. You’ll have limited access to the rest of that floor or the floors above. You’ll mostly be restricted to the dorm and the atrium on the 500th. But that section of the North Central atrium has the most fantastic views. You guys are really lucky.”
The elevator had started to rise and it swiftly climbed along the atrium. The stunning surroundings kept everyone quiet for the most part, and by the time the elevator came to a stop at the 500th floor, Maia felt slightly dazed.
“Here we are.” Joolsae smiled brightly as she stepped out. “Welcome to your new home on the 500th. I hope you have all the fun in the world.”
The walls of this section were a beautiful aquamarine, and the décor was similarly hued. A large meeting area with tables and chairs far larger and more opulent than the ones on the 300th made up the center of the atrium. On one side were shops that displayed a variety of foods, gifts, and a host of other items.
Maia had to agree that the view from here was indeed more spectacular than the other floors. Right outside the window was the most vibrant reef she had seen so far. A part of it jutted close to the left side of the window; it felt almost near enough to touch.
“It’s beautiful,” Nafi said, gazing at the reef and the thousand different water creatures swimming all around it. The group plopped down on the narrow bench that formed a circle in front of the glass wall.
They had spent a long time watching in silence when Joolsae rose to her feet. “Sorry, guys, I know it’s quite fascinating. I could spend hours simply sitting here and looking outside, but . . . I have to show you to your dorms,” she said.
Maia followed her quite reluctantly. Joolsae led them toward the side of the atrium behind the elevator walls. This area was quiet and somewhat isolated. A flight of stairs was built into the side of the walls, rising about two stories above the floor. As they took the stairs, Maia noticed several doors on the floor level that were closed. At the top of the steps, the corridor split in two, and there were small signs at the junction that said “Girls” on one side and “Boys” on the other.
“Here are the dorms. Your team has been allotted D1,” Joolsae announced. “Each dorm houses six people. So you will be sharing the room with members from other teams.”
Nafi’s face immediately twisted into a grimace, and Kusha raised an eyebrow.
“So the team doesn’t get to stay together?” Kusha asked.
Joolsae shook her head vehemently. “Oh no, the boys’ and girls’ sections are separate,” she informed. “You’ll find your uniforms inside, as well as your other necessities. If you need anything in particular, you have to let me know and I’ll arrange to get it for you. Have a good night’s rest, and I’ll see you in the morning.”
She patted Nafi lightly on the cheek. Nafi cringed and as her face reddened Joolsae chuckled and patted her again. Then she left.
“She thinks I’m her pet monkey or something,” Nafi grunted loudly when Joolsae was out of earshot. “She’s strange, that girl.”
“I like her,” Maia said. “I didn’t expect our mentor to be so nice.”
“I totally agree,” Kusha declared as Nafi shrugged at Maia’s comment. “Would you rather have someone as grumpy as Miir?”
“I’m more worried about who we’ll be sharing our dorm with,” Ren said. “And are we expected to starve tonight? She forgot to show us the dining area.”
“You won’t die if you don’t get to eat one night,” Nafi said with more than her usual air of wisdom.
Ren would not have taken her comment so lightly had it not been for a shrill beep that made them jump. It came from Dani; the small, flat, translucent square that hung from her waistband persistently screamed for attention until Dani unhooked it from her belt and pressed some buttons to silence it.
“That’s my Urso, it’s a messenger device. Hans has sent a note welcoming you all to Zagran,” she declared, flushing bright on noting the slightly alarmed faces around her. “I’ll set the volume to the lowest, so I don’t startle anyone.”
“Yes, please do,” Nafi snapped.
“And don’t forget to thank Hans,” Maia added quickly, frowning at Nafi for her curtness.
Dani’s fingers danced over the Urso. “All right, done,” she said. “Let’s check out our living quarters. Maybe we can come back out after we’ve freshened up.”
That suggestion seemed to go down well with everyone. Kusha and Ren stepped away toward the boys’ section while Maia and the two girls went to find the girls’ room. D1, the first door on the left, was ajar when the trio walked up to it. Maia gingerly pushed it open.
14: The Girl in the Room
The room was rectangular—three beds, complete with canopies and curtains, stood along each of the longer sides. At the foot of every bed stood a box with the name of the person it was assigned to, except for the first two on the left. Maia immediately spotted their names on the right side. On the bed farthest from the door, a dark-haired girl sat staring fixedly at Maia and her friends. Maia recognized her as the girl she had seen in the Holding Pod; they had traveled together from Shiloh a few times, but the girl had neither talked nor smiled.
“You seem like you’ve seen a ghost or something,” the girl said in a flat, drab voice.
Maia stepped forward, smiling sheepishly. “I‘m Maia,” she said. “We’ve been on the Holding Pod together.”
The dark-haired girl did not reply, but tilted her head and watched the trio march in.
“Anja from Shiloh,” she said simply when they had gathered around her.
It was funny, Maia mused, although they were practically neighbors on Tansi they had never spoken to each other before.
Anja pointed at the two unassigned spaces. “Don’t know who those are for, no names, nothing.”
“Maybe it’s just the four of us then.” Maia plopped happily onto her own bed before starting to fiddle with the box with her name on it. A pile of uniforms lay neatly stacked inside, along with a lot of stationary.
“No way I’m going to wear this.” Nafi held up a uniform that looked exactly like the one Joolsae was wearing, only the skirt was cerulean, not dark blue.
“Why not?” Dani asked, raising a curious eyebrow at a distraught Nafi. “It looks perfectly fine to me.”
“It’s . . . blue.” Nafi seemed to have the utmost difficulty speaking. “It’s not my color.”
“Not your color?” It was Maia’s turn to be surprised.
“Blue represses my spirit,” Nafi declared, sounding almost irritated by the ignorance of her audience.
“Too bad. You’re under a whole ocean of blue. I doubt if there’s any hope for you in here.” Anja’s flat voice was surprisingly bold and precise.
Nafi glared at the girl, making Maia wonder how interesting the next six months were going to be. She had just started to worry about the prospect of Nafi and Anja sharing a room when the door flew open. Two girls stepped inside—the one with a dark, luminous complexion stood in front, and behind her lurked the other’s wearied, pale face.
“You,” Nafi said incredulously, as Loriine’s beautiful face broke into a twisted smile. “Why are you here?”
“Same reason you are, little cousin.” Loriine’s drawl was as infuriating as Maia remembered. Loriine walked in, sat on one of the unassigned beds, crossed her legs, and leaned back. Her companion, the perpetually bored Baecca, busily inspected her surroundings as everyone else stared in shocked surprise. Maia found it hard to fathom the situation—Loriine and Baecca belonged to Core 7 along with Karhann, and they had been fierce competitors during the Xifarian phase. However, because of their dishonorable attack on Maia at the Seliban Temple, there had been discussions about banning the team from the Initiative.
“But . . . you were disqualified,” Dani said, frowning.
“Of course not. What happened at the Seliban Temple was simply the result of a miscommunication. It was not a serious-enough offense for the team to be disqualified,” Loriine crooned as she lazily swung her legs. “So, be ready for some tough competition, girls, because this time there will be no mercy.”
Nafi opened her mouth to reply, but Maia grabbed her arm and pulled her away. The girls occupied themselves with inspecting their boxes. Loriine seemed annoyed that she had failed to engage Nafi in a fight, but soon busied herself with something else. After everything had been looked at, the trio walked out of the room in search of the boys.
***
Kusha and Ren were sitting at the atrium watching the waters around the reef.
“Guess who showed up?” Ren said.
“Must be that stupid Karhann and his posse,” Nafi said grumpily, depositing herself next to Kusha. “His sweethearts barged into our dorm not too long ago, as if we didn’t have enough trouble with that loud-mouth Anja.”
“Besides Karhann and his mate, who are the others in your room?” Dani asked the boys.
“Jiri and his buddy Nair,” Kusha replied. “I’m surprised that Karhann’s team was allowed back into the competition.”
“They have connections,” Ren commented.
“As in they have ties to the Xifarian chancellor,” Maia said, remembering that Karhann was Miir’s cousin.
Ren shook his head. “They wouldn’t need to go that far,” he said slowly. “Karhann comes from a powerful family of politicians, and Loriine’s father is quite influential as well. They would have enough backing to get past their disqualification.”
Maia sat wordlessly, bristling inside at the unfairness of it all. Judging by the quiet that fell around them, Maia knew her teammates felt equally disappointed.
“Hello,” a nervous voice broke their companionship of silence. Jiri stood behind them, a friendly smile adorning his earnest face. “We’ve been asked to retire to our rooms, and food has already been served.”
“Don’t tell me we have to eat in our rooms with that nasty lot,” Nafi blurted, forgetting that Anja was Jiri’s teammate and possibly his good friend.
“We were told this is just for tonight.” Jiri graciously ignored Nafi’s remark.
The group rose to their feet half-heartedly, hardly interested in getting back to their rooms. Nafi walked ahead, Kusha and Dani followed. Maia took time to tear her eyes off the school of striped fish whose scales sparkled in a rainbow of colors in the reflected light of the atrium. Ren sat next to her, he had not moved either.
“Maia,” he said in a hesitant whisper. “Can you wait a while?”
His dejected tone startled Maia a little. Ren continued to stare fixedly at the dark waters beyond the glass, and he did not speak until the rest of the group had started up the stairs.
“What is it, Ren?” Maia asked.
“I . . .”
“Yes?”
His eyes brimmed with sadness when he finally turned to look at her. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I let you down . . . couldn’t protect you when . . . Yoome attacked. I was so weak and . . . stupid—”
“Ren,” Maia cut him off forcefully. “Please don’t say that. Don’t say that ever again.”
She paused to collect her thoughts as she watched the gloom on Ren’s face.
“You were not weak, you were really brave.” She placed a hand on his. “But you were stupid . . . and crazy enough to fight Yoome, who was no match for any one of us. She could’ve killed you, Ren, and you knew that, yet you tried to help me.”
“I failed.” Ren looked away.
“You tried.” Maia pulled his shoulder to make him face her again. “And that’s all that matters to me.”
Ren did not reply, but the air of sadness seemed to fade a little. Maia got to her feet and tugged at his arm.
“Come on, you don’t want Nafi to come back and yell at us, do you?” Maia teased, hoping that she had managed to clear his mind.
A small smile played uncertainly on Ren’s face before he flashed a grudging grin. Together, they headed up the stairs.
Maia found the girls gathered around a small table that had been set at the center of their room. It was stacked with food—a basket of bread, colorful plates heaped with vegetables and fish, and a bowl filled with fruits, jams, and tarts. A pang of hunger twisted in Maia’s stomach as soon as she laid her eyes on the fare. She took quick steps forward, almost running up to join the others. They ate in silence, and soon afterward, an attendant came by to clear the table. After the attendant had left, the group prepared to retire for the night. Except for a few whispered “good nights” exchanged strictly among friends, not much was said.