Axira Episode One (12 page)

She looked at me now. Her expression was unreadable. Empty.
“To fix things.”

I swallowed. “You mean to make a difference?”

She nodded.

“
You can still do that. No one is going to want you to quit.
The only person who’s going to get in the way of you making a
difference is you. I told you, I can smooth everything over with
Hendra. She won’t be bothering you again.”

Was that hope flickering in Em’s gaze? It was hard to tell –
she was one of the most guarded people I’d ever met.

She wasn’t running away, though, which was a good
sign.

“
I can talk to your teachers tonight, make sure you never have
to go near that class or Hendra again.”

“
Lieutenant Ma’tovan will object,” she said.

I clutched hold of her statement as proof she was considering
my offer. I practically burst into a smile. “I’ll do what it takes.
Plus, he’s not that scary once you get to know him.”

She shot me a look that told me she knew I was
bluffing.

“
Em, just stay,” I said, strangely emotional as the words
tumbled from my mouth.

“
I do not believe the building maintenance staff would be
happy with me remaining on this roof all night.”

“
I meant at the Academy,” I clarified through a short
laugh.

Had she just made a joke?

I smiled, awkwardly, but hopefully.

“
Very well, you’ve convinced me.”

I let out a massive breath of relief. “Wow, now, we should
really get off this roof before our ears freeze and fall off.” I
cupped my ears and winced.

She looked fine. Maybe those thick tendrils of hair protected
her, or maybe she was ten times tougher than I’d ever
be.

Scratch that – 100 times. She walked off the roof with her
head held in the air, her statuesque form cutting a powerful shadow
against the light filtering in from the door.

Chapter 7

Axira

I stood before Admiral Singh, assuming the correct posture of
erect professionalism.

The Admiral sat in a large chair behind her desk, sunlight
streaming in from the windows behind and lighting up the five brass
stripes on her collar.

“
Hendra has been disciplined. This is her first assignment
with the Academy. She clearly hasn’t learnt correct decorum yet.
You will not have to complete that component of this
course.”

I blinked.

That was it?

Had Jason done it? Had he convinced his mother to ignore what
I’d done last night?

While I had not become violent, I’d been aware of how
threatening my expression had become. When I’d stared at Hendra,
I’d done so with the cold hatred of 450 years of
slavery.

I hadn’t been prepared for her to blurt his name
out.

How she’d pried it from my mind, I still didn’t know. Somehow
I’d left myself unguarded. A mistake I wouldn’t make
again.

“
Rest assured, Cadet, this situation has been resolved.”
Admiral Singh nodded low and respectfully. “I apologize if this has
interrupted your studies.”

I kept waiting for the Admiral to say but. To tell me to
report to counseling, to ask me who master was.

“
Since this incident, I am beginning to question the wisdom of
using a mindair to prepare recruits for psychological attacks.
Though, please understand that I believe Hendra’s heart was in the
right place. Her behavior, however, was still
unacceptable.”

I frowned.

I was still waiting for the Admiral to demand I tell her my
story.

“
If you wish to see a counsellor,” the Admiral
began.

I stiffened. My body hunched, as if preparing for a subspace
jump.

And maybe I was. If the Admiral’s questions became too
invasive, I could always leap right through the wall and
escape.

I didn’t have to. With a nod, the Admiral continued, “One can
be arranged for you. You are under no obligation, however. As far
as I and the Academy are concerned, this issue is
resolved.”

Apparently, Jason had kept his promise.

“
Lieutenant Ma’tovan,” I began.

“
Follows orders,” the Admiral cut in, “Now, Cadet, get back to
classes. Your teachers are happy with your performance. I’m sure
the next time I see you in my office it will be to give you a
commendation. Good luck.” She turned from me and considered
something on her desk.

It was clear the conversation was now over.

I stood there for a little too long, until the Admiral stared
pointedly from me to the door.

I snapped a salute and walked out.

I continued walking until I reached my next class.

At any point I could have done a subspace jump to leave the
Academy and to leave this life far behind.

Last night, after the incident, I’d convinced myself that was
the right thing to do. I clearly wasn’t ready for this.

Yet I was still here.

I would give this place another chance – give myself another
chance.

Jason was right – if I stuck around, I could make a
difference. I had 450 years to absolve.

I could not run away now.

...

Jason Singh

I caught sight of her heading to class, and I smiled to
myself. At least that was one thing I’d managed to get right. My
mother had listened to me – especially when I’d stressed Em
shouldn’t be forced to get counseling. She wasn’t the kind of
person you could force to endure someone poking around her head.
She’d run, for sure.

If you wanted to make progress with her, it would have to be
with baby steps.

My mother wasn’t stupid though – Em would be watched and
assessed. Any more episodes like last night, and someone would step
in.

Not of course that Em had done anything last night. It was
just the look she’d shot Hendra.

I burned to know exactly who this master character was. I
didn’t want to stop there, though – I wanted to learn everything
about Em. I had never encountered a more intriguing
recruit.

But I had to concentrate on my mission. With every day that
passed and every day I failed to find out who the spy was amongst
our ranks, the Coalition bled more secrets. And now was not a time
in history where we could afford to lose intelligence. There were
strange movements across the Kore border, not to mention the usual
dangers posed by the Barbarians.

I had to find the spy.

I was walking through the corridors, about to attend to
another VIP, when I came across Hendra. She was standing with her
hands clasped in front of herself as she stared out of one of the
massive windows that showed a 20
^th
floor view of the city below.

She turned as I approached, before my footfall could have
roused her, and she smiled. “I felt you coming near. Such a welcome
presence,” she said as she nodded her head low.

I pretended to scratch the stubble along my jaw. It was that
or admit to the fact I’d just blushed at her words. “It’s nice to
see you too, Hendra,” I said. “How are you going?”

She offered me a strained smile, which was an unusual move
for someone as calm and poised as Hendra. “I’m afraid I received a
reprimand today. I’ve been working for the Academy for four months
now, and this is the first time something like this has
happened.”

I swallowed. Of course she had received a reprimand – I knew
that already. I’d just walked into this conversation when I should
have turned away and walked out.

“
You believe it was fair, don’t you?” She asked perceptively
as she offered me another small smile.

I choked, hiding it with a cough. "I ... can’t comment,” I
managed.

She blinked prettily then turned back to the view. "I was
just trying to help. I sensed a heavy wall in Cadet Em’s mind, a
wall so vast and large I couldn’t see through it. And yet there
were cracks,” she said as she brought a finger up and traced it
down in front of her, as if she were playing with a vision in her
mind.

I swallowed again. I knew I shouldn’t be discussing Cadet Em
with Hendra. Yet, as bad as it was, I wanted to find out any
insight Hendra could give me.

“
She’s a strange woman. I’ve never met anyone like her. And
her mind,” Hendra shook her head, her gaze becoming distant as if
she was staring at something far off through the windows, “Is
cold,” she finally finished.

A shot of nerves punched up my back, flashing over my skin
and making my arms shake. “What do you mean?” I kept telling myself
to shut up, turn around, and walk away. It wasn’t fair to learn
about Em this way. In fact, I could guarantee that if she found out
I was talking to Hendra about her, she’d throw me through a
window.

“
She has monsters,” Hendra said as she brought her hands up
and rested them on her arms. "Of all the cadets I faced yesterday,
she was the one who could benefit from my help the most. But I
failed to make her see that. Even Admiral Singh couldn’t see that I
was just trying to help,” Hendra said in a quiet tone.

I pressed my lips into my teeth and tried for a commiserating
smile. “I’m pretty sure Admiral Singh knows that. And as for Em
...” I trailed off. She had
to be left
alone
– I wanted to say.
Em couldn’t be pushed.

Yet that’s not what I said. Even though it went against every
one of my morals, I asked in a quiet tone that couldn’t travel into
the corridor beyond, “Who is master?”

I shouldn’t have asked it.
I
shouldn’t have asked.

I had sat with Em last night on the edge of the goddamn roof
until she’d agreed to come back to safety. I knew that whoever
master was, he or she or it had hurt Em. Plus, I had no right to
pry. No right at all. Yet that didn’t stop me from standing there
and waiting for Hendra’s answer.

For a few seconds Hendra didn’t look at me. Her brow
compressed with confusion and she brought a hand up and pressed it
into her lips. “I can’t say, but I can tell you that whoever master
is or was, they exerted a strong influence over Em. For a very long
time,” she emphasized. “The memory of master is all through her
mind. The only reason I picked up on it is because it’s so strong.
Otherwise, I have to admit, Em would have kept me out.”

I felt sick as I listened. Not just because of what I’d
learnt, but because of the fact I’d asked to learn it. Granted, I
was a spy, but you weren’t meant to spy on your friends.

“
What are you doing?” Somebody asked from behind, tone
terse.

I turned to see my sister standing there, her arms
crossed.

My cheeks chilled. “Elle? How long have you been standing
there?” I questioned.

“
Don’t even bother – I heard everything. You shouldn’t be
discussing my friend. Her past isn’t any of your business.” Elle’s
angry gaze shot from me to Hendra, then back to me. “That wasn’t
the point of the class yesterday, right?” She
challenged.

Hendra dipped her head low. “I am sorry for this
indiscretion,” she said, “I was simply discussing
something—”

“
That was none of your business,” Elle said.

I knew my little sister, and my little sister was never rude.
Unless you pushed her. Or, more importantly, pushed one of her
friends. She could endure any number of hardships, but if she saw
someone she cared about being downtrodden or abused, she would
always step up. It was one of her redeeming features. But right now
she was using it against me.

“
Look, Elle, I’m sorry, you just came in at a bad time in the
conversation. We were discussing—”

“
Yep, you were discussing Cadet Em. But you’re gonna stop now,
because you have no right to learn something about someone they
don’t want you to know. She hasn’t done anything wrong, and she
doesn’t deserve to have us snooping behind her back.” She shot me a
challenging look.

Before I could say anything else, she turned and walked
away.

Hendra’s cheeks were flushed blue with embarrassment. “Oh
dear, I fear I have created yet another problem.” She brought her
palms up and laid them flush against her cheeks.

I knew that a peculiarity of her race meant that when they
were embarrassed or stressed their cheeks became cold, not hot. She
was clearly trying to warm them up again.

“
Look, it’s okay; I’ll smooth things over with my sister.
Plus, this was my fault; I shouldn’t have asked,” I admitted in a
serious tone.

“
Do not blame yourself, Lieutenant Singh. You are a good man.
I know your question came from the heart,” she said in that amazing
lilting tone that could have made a battle cry sound like a
lullaby.

I tried not to blush again. I took several steps back, nodded
at her, and said goodbye.

She waved, then turned back to pensively stare out at the
view.