by Amy DuBoff
“I know. I just want to make sure you get what you need,” Michael responded.
Raena glanced at her brother and boyfriend. “We’re open to suggestions.”
Their trainer nodded. “All right. Go catch up with the others.”
They pulled themselves toward the wall housing the gravity lock—another feat that should not have been possible for them yet—and prepared to exit.
Raena checked the time on her handheld when they entered the gravity lock. “Practice ran late today.”
Michael confirmed the late hour on his own handheld. “So it did. Sorry about that.”
“No worries—it was a good session,” Raena told him.
“Even though you had to share the spotlight?” Jason said with a grin.
I could do way more than him if I wanted to. Raena brushed off his comment with a shrug.
The gravity lock cycled and they slowly descended to the floor.
“Well, I’m going to get dinner ASAP so I can finish up that awful Taran politics homework before we leave on the trip,” her brother continued.
“Good idea,” Raena agreed, realizing that she’d forgotten the assignment was due the day after they returned from the trip. “I need to get on that…”
Michael cast her a sidelong glance.
“I’ll get it done,” she assured him.
“I have no doubts about your aptitude—academic or otherwise,” he replied simply.
With the gravity equalized, they exited into the hall and took the elevator to the floor of Level 2 housing Initiates and Junior Agents.
“Have a good night. I’ll see you at 08:00 tomorrow,” Michael said when the doors slid open.
Raena, Jason, and Ryan exited the elevator and bid their goodbyes.
“I didn’t want to say it in front of Michael,” Jason commented as he set off across the lobby, “but it’s obvious what’s distracting you from class assignments. You two aren’t being nearly as sneaky as you think.”
There was no point in denying it, since it was true, so Raena said nothing.
In the eight months since they’d begun training with the TSS, two things had become clear to her. The first was that she, Ryan, and Jason were mastering their telepathic and telekinetic skills far more quickly than their fellow Trainees. The second was that Ryan had come to mean more to her than she’d dreamed another person ever could in so short a time.
Given her unique position as a High Dynasty heiress—and Ryan’s secret station as the lost heir to Dainetris—their relationship was simultaneously perfect and highly suspect. As far as any of the other TSS trainees knew, Ryan was just a former Ward—little more than an indentured servant after being abandoned by his parents. The truth about a Dainetris heir surviving the Dynasty’s fall more than a century prior could not be revealed until the appropriate political pieces were in place. That was still potentially years away.
For the interim, Raena and Ryan had been careful with how others saw their relationship. They sat together whenever possible at mealtime, in class, and during social hours in the common area of their quarters, and occasionally would hold hands or lean up against one another. The subtle acts of affection had raised a few eyebrows, but it was nothing that couldn’t be written off as casual flirtation.
In reality, though, their growing bond was the foundation for a lifetime together. They had remained true to their promise to one another to allow their relationship to develop slowly, given the numerous political complications. However, with their deepening emotional connection came the desire for physical intimacy—something that was all but impossible in their shared housing within the TSS.
Fortunately, the upcoming field trip to the rift in two days would afford some time together in a different environment more conducive to togetherness.
Jason parted from them to go get dinner, but Raena hung back with Ryan when she noticed that they were alone in the hall for the moment.
“We have a few minutes before we need to get to dinner,” Raena said and took Ryan’s hand, drawing him to her. She gazed into his gray eyes.
He held back. “We really shouldn’t be together out in the open like this.”
“Why not? It’s been almost a year of us having every meal together and hanging out in downtime. I don’t think anyone would be terribly surprised to see us together as a couple.”
“But they know who you are.”
“So?” She reached a hand around the back of his neck and stretched up on her toes for a kiss.
After a moment of hesitation, Ryan gave into her advance—placing his hands on her hips and leaning her back against the wall.
Such stolen moments of closeness in study rooms or an empty hallway were hardly enough. The facade of innocent flirtation had been slipping for the past two months, and Raena had no doubt they’d be caught. However, she’d found herself inclined to intentionally press their luck with a kiss in a public place hoping that they would be. The entire notion that highborn should only date other highborn wasn’t a tradition she was willing to support. If her family wanted a revolution, then she was going to do her part and take a stand by not hiding a relationship with someone who meant so much to her.
Ryan pulled out from the kiss. “We can’t keep doing this.”
“Stop worrying about what others think.”
“That’s not what I mean. I…” He searched for the words. “Every time we meet up like this, it’s starting something we know we can’t finish. I care about you way more than to have just a few minutes together like this.”
“I know, me too. That’s why I’d rather just come out with it.”
“It’s more complicated than that.”
Raena searched his face. “We could tell them half of it—about your dad.”
“That would raise a lot of questions.”
“Nothing we can’t handle.”
Ryan cupped her face in his hand, pressing against her. “Once we take the next step, there’s no going back—”
“Well fok! What have we here?” a voice said from down the hall.
Raena quickly separated from Ryan, dropping her hands to her sides. “Hey, Tiff.”
Tiff crossed her arms, an amused smirk playing on her lips. “You two, huh?”
“Yeah, you know…” Raena said with a little shrug.
Ryan flushed next to her. “There’s no way she’ll keep it to herself,” he said to Raena.
“Well, I intend to keep you to myself, so that’s all I really care about.” She took a step closer to Ryan to close the gap he’d created between them. “It shouldn’t come as that big of a surprise.”
“I guess not.” Her friend looked them over. “Does your dad know?”
“Eh…” Ryan began.
“Yes,” Raena answered for them. “Not that I needed permission or anything.”
“Yeah. Hmm.” Tiff shrugged. “See you at dinner.”
Ryan watched her depart. “Now we’ve done it.”
Raena gave him a quick kiss. “Let them talk all they want. We know what’s between us.”
He entwined his fingers with hers. “Yeah, we do.”
* * *
Cris surveyed the main administrative office for the Sietinen Dynasty. Work stations with holo interfaces were arranged in small groupings throughout the room, and the two-story ceiling made the space feel light and airy.
He had spent a good portion of his youth in the room as part of his “education”, and his impression had always been a bunch of attendants doing busy work. Now, as the Head of the Dynasty and being completely informed about the specific goings-on, his opinion hadn’t changed at all.
“I still don’t understand why we have this office,” he commented to Marina while fiddling with the jacket of his new, regal attire. He couldn’t bring himself to wear the traditional robes his father had favored, so he’d opted for a dark blue outfit with a cut closely resembling his former TSS Agent uniform—even if he hadn’t been able to avoid the ridiculous silver embroidere
d accents.
His advisor sighed and evaluated him out of the corner of her green eyes. “It’s what keeps everything in the Third Region running smoothly.”
“Yes, but what?” Cris pressed. “Infrastructure is handled by local municipalities or corporate interests, transportation and the like is all managed by other corporations, and policing is under the jurisdiction of the Tararian Guard.”
“Integration,” Marina replied.
“That’s not an answer.”
She clasped her hands in front of her emerald gown. “This office is here to ensure synergy between the disparate parts.”
Cris stared at her for several seconds in silence, slowly tilting his head questioningly. At Kate’s urging, he’d also left behind his tinted glasses in favor of exposing his glowing cobalt eyes. While it seemed to unnerve many of the staff, he had found that he never had to ask for something twice.
Marina yielded. “All right, I don’t know what they do, either.”
“Thank you.” Cris consulted his tablet. “And yet, they account for twenty percent of the annual budget for operations outside of SiNavTech.”
“I don’t have an answer for you, but I can look into it.”
“Good enough.” Cris sighed. “I’m all about making sure everyone in the city gets paid a living wage, but I’d hope that any work would be going toward some productive end.”
Marina nodded. “I agree.”
“All right, now what were you saying about the Aeris shipyard?”
“The facility is in need of a complete structural upgrade,” Marine explained. “The local shield wasn’t installed correctly and the main supports have been worn from radiation and solar winds.”
“What about the workers? Are they okay?”
“Yes, everyone’s fine,” she assured him. “All work is performed in EVA suits or by bots, which all have their own plating. This is just about the outer skin on the facility itself.”
“Then why haven’t the repairs been made?” Cris asked.
“You asked me to flag any assets that were absorbed from Dainetris or DGE. This is one of them.”
“Right, that.” Cris hadn’t yet told Marina about Ryan’s lineage, but he’d bring her into the fold soon. After all, Marina’s experience having her daughter, Saera, taken from her paralleled the circumstances of Ryan’s childhood—courtesy the Priesthood’s meddling—and that would give her a unique affinity for the situation. Furthermore, despite Cris’ differences with Marina when he was younger, she’d proved herself to be a trustworthy and capable advisor. At least that was one thing his father had gotten right.
Marina raised an eyebrow. “Is there something you’d like to tell me?”
“Not right now, but soon.” Cris looked over the notes about the shipyard Marina had transferred to his tablet. The repairs were going to be a significant capital outlay—at least seventy billion credits. We need to move forward with these upgrades. I can’t hand over failing facilities to Ryan. He turned to Marina. “Complete the repairs—don’t cut corners.”
She looked like she was about to question the decision but then inclined her head. “Very well.”
“Next order of business?”
“Well, there’s the SiNavTech board meeting in two days.”
Cris groaned. “Right. The vote on the new advertising initiative.”
“I’ve pulled everyone aside individually, I think we have majority support,” Marina told him.
“That would certainly make things easier.”
She nodded. “You’ve asked for them to change ways of thinking that have been ingrained for a very long time. But, they are open to trying new things. You bring ideas to the table that no one has before.”
Cris smiled. “Go me.”
Marina rolled her eyes. “In some ways, you haven’t changed at all.”
He shrugged. “You might be surprised. But, apparently I’m pretty good at effecting change around me.”
“You are.” Marina set off toward the hallway. “That’s why it’s my job to make sure you don’t make a mess of things.”
CHAPTER 2
To Raena’s great surprise, Tiff seemed to have kept her observances to herself. The morning freefall practice session garnered no sidelong glances, and her initial class in the morning with a quarter of the Primus Elite Trainees—Introduction of Navigation Theory—proceeded without any unusual comments.
Ryan seemed relieved, but Raena was annoyed. Everything had been lined up for them to finally get their relationship out in the open, and Tiff hadn’t taken the bait. Why did she have to pick now to start keeping secrets like a good friend?
By the time Raena entered her first class after lunch, her annoyance had evolved into impulsive fantasies about making a dramatic announcement to settle the matter once and for all. The class’s subject matter happened to be about strategies for information dissemination in sensitive political scenarios, but, in this case, she was inclined to disregard everything she’d learned throughout the term.
Due to the highly relevant subject matter, Jason and Ryan were also in the class. Their instructor, Agent Galin, was in the midst of discussing the finer points of vocabulary choice during negotiations while Raena’s mind wandered.
“I can’t believe Tiff didn’t say anything to anyone,” she commented to Ryan.
“Stop worrying about it,” he replied.
Agent Galin looked at her, likely detecting the telepathic exchange. She didn’t say anything, but Raena took the hint and tried to return her attention to the class.
“So, once you have a common vocabulary established,” the Agent was saying, “you’ll be able to enter into future discussions with a much better understanding of the subtleties in their phrasing.”
“Don’t we get that through telepathy, anyway?” Jason asked.
“We can readily tell if someone is being sincere,” Galin replied, “but the motivations behind their thoughts will rarely be on the surface. I shouldn’t have to remind you that anything beyond the highest level gleaning goes against our code.”
“Then how is inferring meaning through vocabulary choice any different?” Jason pressed.
“Because one is a direct invasion of another’s mind versus just that—inferring.”
Jason leaned forward in his chair and rested his arms on the desktop. “And what if what’s inferred points to some really critical revelation?”
Galin’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly behind her tinted glasses. “Those situations must be taken on a case by case basis.”
“So, what about—”
“Do you have a point you’d like to make?” Galin interrupted.
“Well, it’s a little tangential to this class,” Jason began.
“Like that’s ever stopped you,” Raena muttered.
Unfazed, her brother continued, “I’ve been reading up on Taran history as it related to the Bakzen War, and namely how there’s been a marked division between those with abilities and those without. I guess it just got me wondering where all of these codes and conventions related to abilities came from. Because, it seems to me that most of those practices involve us ignoring a part of our innate selves. To achieve true integration and cultural advancement, shouldn’t we all be working toward maximizing our potential—and training the general population how to form mental blocks rather than only teaching us not to look?”
Galin took a deep breath. “Thoughts from the class?”
“He makes a valid point,” Liz offered. “Except, there’s a problem with the numbers. There are far fewer of those with abilities than those without. When it comes to education, it’s much easier to teach us restraint than it would be to properly educate every Taran citizen about mental guards—and what about children or people with disabilities who are unable to maintain proper guards? It’s not practical.”
“Then how would it work in a society where everyone had abilities?” Jason asked.
“Oh, I see what you’re doing…” Raena said to him
. “Don’t. We aren’t supposed to talk about the Priesthood’s genetic manipulation that led to the Generation Cycle.”
“Why not? A thousand years ago, no one would think about abilities being the exception, not the norm.”
“Because we don’t have any evidence yet. This isn’t the time or place to broach the subject.”
Jason rolled his teal eyes and sighed. “Just throwing it out there as a rhetorical question,” he added aloud to his last statement.
Galin smiled. “Well, I’ll take that as a segue into an interesting case study. One of our former Agents had her internship on Valdos III, which is one of the only worlds where abilities are still openly cultivated and exercised. In instances where both parties are equally proficient in mental guards and gleaning, that attention to wording choice comes into play in a big way.”
The rest of the class session went into a study of some negotiations that happened during the Junior Agent’s internship, and Raena soon realized that the trainee in question had been her paternal grandmother, Kate.
“I guess our grandparents left quite a legacy here in the TSS,” she said to her brother while the lecture was wrapping up.
“It’s a lot to live up to,” he agreed.
Agent Galin began to dismiss the class, then stopped herself. “Some of you will be away on the trip to the rift tomorrow. Remember your papers are due the following day.”
Jason grinned at Raena. “Already finished.”
“I’ll knock out the rest of mine tonight,” she replied with an inner groan.
“Same,” Ryan concurred as he rose from the seat on her other side.
“Ugh, it figures the Primus Elites get to go on the first trip to the rift,” Liz grumbled.
“You’re going next week, calm down,” Raena told her.
Liz scoffed. “Easy for you to say as the High Commander’s daughter.” She turned to Jason. “And don’t even get me started on you.”
Jason made a dismissive flip of his hand. “I just voice what everyone else is thinking.”
“Uh huh. Sure.” Liz shook her head and walked out of the class.
“You have been interrupting a lot recently,” Raena added. “Take it down a notch.”