Axira Episode One (19 page)

“
... Okay,” I answered, surprised the words stumbled their way
out of my mouth.

Was I actually okay with this?

As Hendra shot me another one of her trademark incredible
smiles I relaxed. Yeah, this would help me, wouldn’t it?

“
Do not fear, Lieutenant; I’ve been offering my services to
many of your colleagues. Just relax. Take a seat and close your
eyes.”

...

Axira

I was early for my appointment with Hendra. I was eager to
get this over with. Plus, if she wasn’t in her office right now, I
would be able to subspace jump inside and investigate
it.

I approached her door. That’s when I heard people within.
Their voices weren’t muffled; not to my ears.

It was Lieutenant Jason Singh and Hendra.

“
Just relax,” Hendra encouraged.

She was prying into his mind, wasn’t she?

This was how she did it, right? She canvassed the higher-ups
of the Academy, either offering them sessions with her, or gleaning
what secrets she could as she walked past them in the
corridor.

If my theory was right, Hendra was a very powerful telepath.
Then again, I already knew that, didn’t I? If she’d been able to
push past my considerable defenses to find out the memory of my
master, then she was far, far more powerful than she pretended to
be.

The Kore Empire must have trained her to keep her
considerable abilities disguised. Perhaps she had a number of well
shielded cybernetic implants that would hide the level of her
abilities from other telepaths, letting her true power go
undetected.

If the Academy were aware of how powerful she was, they
wouldn't let her walk around the grounds, let alone be in the same
city as so many admirals.

I didn’t stop. I jammed my thumb into her intercom. “I’m
early for my session,” I said loudly.

If she didn’t answer, I was ready to call Jason Singh on his
wrist device. He’d given me permission to if I ever needed help.
Hopefully it would be enough of an intrusion that Jason would snap
out of whatever spell Hendra had put him in.

I concentrated, and heard Hendra stand up, her robes rustling
distinctly as she walked over to the door. There was a beep and she
opened it.

I controlled my expression, wiping away the anger that had
formed there.

“
I wasn’t expecting you for another half-hour,” Hendra said
politely.

Was there an edge to her expression?

Some kind of anger? Aggression maybe?

If I were anyone else, I wouldn’t be able to spot it. But I
had seen so much aggression over my life that I knew how to detect
it.

In my peripheral vision I saw Jason stand up, a little shaky
at first as he pressed two fingers into his brow. Then he blinked,
saw me, and offered a smile.

I didn’t return it.

Idiot, I thought. Fool. He was being pulled in by Hendra’s
act, and he’d just let the woman poke around in his mind. Who knew
what secrets she’d managed to pry out? And who knew how many more
she would have pulled from his mind if I hadn’t
interrupted.

I diverted my gaze from him and concentrated on Hendra. I
gave what I hoped was a good attempt at a smile. “Something’s come
up later this afternoon. Is there any chance we can get this done
now?”

“
Of course.” She bowed low.

I didn’t return the move. Instead I walked into the room,
again ignoring Jason’s gaze. In fact, I didn’t look at him once
until he gave an awkward cough. “Okay, then, I guess I will see you
around.”

Hendra shot him the kind of smile she’d likely been taught by
the Empire. Just the right curve of her full lips, just the right
glitter in her eyes – it would gain the attention of any man or
woman fool enough to fall for it. “We will continue this
soon.”

“
Thanks. Goodbye, Cadet Em,” he added, shooting me another
look.

I ignored him, concentrating on Hendra instead. “Are you
ready?”

Hendra nodded.

Jason walked out and the door closed behind him.

As soon as it did, Hendra’s expression changed
completely.

It was like someone had thrown a brick at the forced facade
of gentle calm she always wore. Her lips cracked up into a grimace.
Her gaze changed too – it became hard, cold, victorious.

I had not expected this.

She gave a soft laugh. Then she reached a hand into her robe
and pulled out a small device. “I wonder how long it would take
someone like you to injure someone like me?”

I froze. “What are you talking about?”

She thumbed the button on the device. She brought it up to
her face and pressed it flat against her cheek. Suddenly there was
a jolt as the device slammed into her, breaking the skin over her
cheek and causing her to jolt back.

My eyes widened in alarm. “What are you doing?”

She smiled, ignoring the blood trickling down her cheek.
Then, with a powerful grip, she tore one of her sleeves to reveal
more bruises and cuts. All of them looked as though they were the
result of a beating.

I took a jerked step towards her.

I figured it out.

I understood what she was about to do.

She tilted her head and smiled. “You should have stayed out
of this.” Then she turned on her foot, screamed, and ran out of the
room.

I stood there and stared.

I was a spacer, the most powerful creature at the Academy,
apparently, and yet I’d lost this battle.

I’d underestimated my enemy.

But as my enemy was about to find out, she’d underestimated
me too.

...

Jason Singh

I was still standing around outside Hendra’s office. I wanted
to leave – I should leave; I had no reason to be here – but I
couldn’t convince myself to walk away.

Em hadn’t made eye contact with me once. She’d ignored me
completely.

There was something wrong with her, wasn’t there?

Hendra’s office was located along a very wide hallway that
was always busy with traffic. In other words, I had a large
audience to watch me as I stood there and awkwardly watched the
closed door.

Just as I convinced myself to walk away, something
happened.

The doors burst open, and someone flung themselves out. I was
standing so close that they hit me. I held out my arms, catching
them.

It was Hendra.

Her cheek was bleeding, the sleeves of her robe torn. “She
attacked me. She attacked me,” she cried, shaking in my
arms.

I looked up, slowly, as if my neck muscles had
frozen.

Cadet Em was standing in the middle of Hendra’s office
staring at Hendra. Her expression ....

“
I just wanted to help her. She attacked me. She’s insane.”
Hendra gripped my collar, her hands still shaking as she pulled her
head from my chest and looked up into my eyes.

Em didn’t move.

By now word was spreading through the corridor. I heard
somebody call for security.

Em still didn’t move, she just stared at Hendra.

With a jerky move, Hendra turned her head towards Em. Then,
clearly overcome by emotion, nestled her head back against my
chest.

I brought my arms up to support her. “It’s okay.”

Em crossed her arms.

I … couldn’t believe it.

As security came rushing down the corridor, the sound of
their boots echoing through the halls, Em walked out of the
office.

She wasn’t hurried, in fact, she almost looked
bored.

“
She attacked me,” Hendra repeated.

“
She attacked herself,” Em replied.

“
I … I can telepathically share my memories,” Hendra said
through sobs.

“
You can also create them,” Em pointed out with a blank
expression.

Security arrived.

Em put her hands up.

She didn’t look remorseful.

She had just attacked Hendra, and she looked ... like she
didn’t care.

Hendra started sobbing again.

Em gave out a soft laugh.

It chilled me to the bone.

“
Keep acting, telepath. But don’t forget, when you create
memories of our so-called interaction, that I don’t have any of
your DNA on my hands.” She waggled her fingers as one of the burly
security officers grabbed her hands and pinned them behind her
back.

“
You could have coated your knuckles with a DNA inhibitor,”
Hendra continued to sob into my chest.

“
Hmm, now why would I have done that if I was prepared to
attack you virtually in public?” Em shrugged a shoulder to the
assembled crowd in the corridor.

“
You’re insane,” Hendra wailed.

“
We’ll see about that,” Em answered ominously.

Hendra continued to shake, the blood from her cheek
splattering over my uniform. “Please take her away.”

I nodded at the security guards.

Em didn’t say another word. She shot Hendra a look though –
one colder than I’d ever seen. Her face contorted with a frozen
kind of concentration. She also ticked her head to the
side.

“
Take her away,” I said, my voice shaking.

Em didn’t resist.

The security guards hauled her away, leaving the rest of the
corridor in stunned silence.

I kept my arms around Hendra until she pulled away. A massive
bruise was forming over her already swollen cheek. “Thank you,” she
said in a broken voice.

“
It’s okay,” I managed as I stared past her in the direction
they’d taken Em.

....

God, I couldn’t believe this.

I’d been wrong about Em. So wrong.

Chapter 14

Axira

I was dumped in the brig.

Every cadet or officer I passed stared at me with disdain.
News spread so quickly through the Academy, there was little need
for faster-than-light communication.

I let myself be placed in a shielded cell.

I could have fought back at any moment.

I could have left this all behind.

Instead I sat there with my arms crossed as I stared at the
ceiling. My back was rested against the wall, with my feet pressed
into the edge of the cot.

It was time to decide what to do next.

Hendra had out played me. Which meant, somehow, she’d found
out that I knew about her.

How?

Had I underestimated how powerful she was? Could she have
gleaned my suspicions just by walking past me?

She was turning out to be much more dangerous than I could
have predicted.

So what to do next?

Technically, I could jump away and forget the whole thing.
This was the Academy’s problem. I could leave Earth and start
somewhere new.

There were other ways to further my task. The Coalition
Academy were not the only group who could help me take down
Master.

....

Yet that didn’t feel right – abandoning them. It didn’t’ sit
well. It felt like a lump I couldn’t swallow.

I’d already put months into the Academy. And though it was
hard to admit, I’d already learnt a lot.

There was a hope kindling within me that I could not only
defeat my master with their help, but change, learn
maybe.

My self-view was changing, however slowly. I was no longer a
loner. I had somewhere to belong.

....

I had somewhere to belong.

If Hendra was as powerful as I now suspected, she wouldn’t
stop.

I could reveal my true powers. I could subspace jump out of
this cell and find her, but I wouldn’t be able to hide who I
was.

There were two guards watching me from beyond my cell, more
security officers flitting between them.

....

What should I do?

...

Jason Singh

What had she done?

I was standing in the corridor, in a fresh new uniform,
reeling.

I’d known Em was capable of this, right? I’d known she was
unstable, so why hadn’t I intervened?

She’d just ruined her career. She’d get a criminal charge
too. Serve some time on a prison asteroid somewhere.

This hadn’t been some spur-of-the-moment attack. It had been
premeditated.

I winced as I remembered the memory Hendra had shared with
me. Utilizing her telepathic powers, she could share her
experiences with others.

So I’d seen it. In every goddamn gritty detail. The way Em’s
face had spread with hatred, pleasure even.