Maia and the Xifarian Conspiracy (The Lightbound Saga Book 1) (10 page)

17: Yilosario’s Fourth

As soon as the door closed behind Miir, the team crowded around Maia.

“Why wouldn’t you want to be the lead?” Nafi demanded. She looked tense, more than ever before.

Maia sat silently for a moment, thinking of what to say. She did not owe Nafi an apology, she had not asked for this. But then she decided to explain, realizing that the team, including Nafi, had not asked for this either. Maia’s newest predicament was not their fault.

“Because that’s the truth. I don’t want to lead any team,” she said softly. “I don’t care about this contest either. I would rather be home.”

Nafi shook her head in violent displeasure. “Like it or not, you are here,” she said, biting through every word, her emerald eyes blazing. “And want it or not, you are the team lead. So you better get your act together fast. We have to win this contest, and there are no two ways about it.”

This girl was going to be a major source of aggravation, Maia thought to herself. Not only was she obnoxiously outspoken and aggressive, she was also obsessed about winning the contest. And they had not even started competing yet.

“I don’t know about winning, but I’m not in a hurry to get back to my crazy life on Tansi,” Kusha added. “I know what you’re going through, Maia, but Nafi is right. We have to make an effort to stick together and work hard at this.”

Maia scowled inside in disdain. Kusha would never know what she was going through, nor would anyone else. She wanted to scream out loud, tell them that she had planned to disrupt her chances of making it through so she could leave early. She did not care who won or who lost, as long as she could get back to Tansi. But as much as she wanted to, she could not bring herself to say anything; it would be wrong to make them suffer for her, she realized. Frustrated, she simply looked away from the bunch.

“Oh, come on,” a loud chuckle from Ren lifted Maia’s spirits a little. “You guys are taking this far too seriously. This is all about having some fun, so sit back and relax a bit.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” Kusha shot back. “You get to come to the XDA anytime you want. It’s not the same for me. I value this chance. It means a lot to me, and it is much more than just fun and games.”

“I know,” Dani sighed. “I have to make the most out of it while I can. Hans will never allow me to come here otherwise, I’m pretty sure of that.”

Maia stifled a groan. The facts stared her in the face. She was in charge of a group of people who were intent and focused on this competition like nothing else mattered in their life. And here she was, hardly caring about her newfound stature that anyone else in the team would have been honored to receive. She felt annoyed, but she also felt small, a little guilty perhaps.

“Can’t believe you didn’t even ask about your responsibilities,” Nafi said with a roll of her eyes.

Maia did not have a reply. It was true; she had not remembered.

“Don’t worry about that, we’ll find out,” Dani chimed in smiling, trying to bring disagreements to an end. “That was a great move though, Maia. I was stunned by how fast you brought down those bugs.”

“Yes, it definitely was. I just had to do something special after that display,” Ren admitted a little ruefully.

“Did you know that Maia can do the Siroccan Spiral?” Kusha said, sounding boastful of his association with Maia.

“You did a Siroccan Spiral at the Selectives?” Dani’s eyes shone with admiration.

“Oh yes, she did. But not at the Selectives.” Kusha eagerly related the events that had led up to the Xifarians offering Maia a place in the competition.

“The principal personally invited you?” Dani asked after hearing it all.

Maia nodded, recounting the details of her encounter with the Xifarians.

“Oh, so you’ve met Miir before?” Dani blinked.

“He is quite demanding,” Kusha started rather hesitantly, and then blurted, “and unpleasant.”

Ren nodded wisely at Kusha’s statement. “It’s probably all the fame gone to his head. He’s a child prodigy after all. He has always been a celebrity—the youngest pilot ever to master the Onclioraptor, with countless records for a hundred different moves. They even honored his achievements by awarding his Raptor the Royal colors. Shadow is the only civilian craft allowed to have red and gold on its wings, nose and tail. At sixteen, Miir is one of the greatest Raptor pilots ever, even better than Miizuken himself.”

“He’s better than the genius pilot inventor of the Onclioraptor?” Dani asked, eyes widening.

“Yes,” said Ren. “Miizuken, by the way, was his grandfather . . . his mother’s father.”

“You don’t mean that he’s the chancellor’s son?” Dani gulped.

“
The
Chancellor of Xif?” Nafi squeaked.

Ren nodded. “Yes, the younger of his two sons.”

In any other situation, it would have been a thrill to have a prodigy of a pilot as a mentor. But knowing what she knew of Miir, Maia didn’t feel excited. Probably this encounter had made everyone apprehensive, as a hushed, nervous silence filled the room.

“What’s that metal thing on his face?” Nafi asked Ren after a while. “I don’t see you wearing one.”

“It’s a neurogenic interface,” Ren explained. “Very few people own one, those who have access to memories . . . across generations. Miir, for instance, might have inherited his grandfather’s interface.”

“Access to memories?” Maia sputtered. She had never heard of such a peculiar thing.

“Yes,” Ren replied, “mostly a privilege of the rich and the famous. Except, of course, when we enter a new star system and choose a new neighbor or host, and the whole population gets one for about a week to learn the new language and soak up some history and culture.”

“That’s how everyone here speaks our language so well.” Maia smiled at the unraveling of yet another mystery. “You’d have to learn quite a few languages in your lifetime, I guess.”

“Of course,” Ren nodded, “a new one every fifteen years or so.”

A loud grunt from Kusha drew their attention to the boy, who was slumped in his seat, shaking his head. “Just can’t get over it. I annoyed our mentor at the very first meeting. He hates me now for asking those questions.”

“Why did you have to sound so painfully principled anyway?” Nafi scoffed.

“So what? You heard him . . . I’m the greatest show-off in town.” Ren threw his head back and laughed.

“It’ll all be okay,” Dani attempted to calm the rising tensions, as always. “The next time we see him, we’ll all be better prepared and he’ll have forgotten. Hans always says there is no point dwelling on the past.”

Nafi turned sharply to look at Dani. She gazed at her silently for a while, and then pulled out the sheet that listed the activities for the day.

“We should focus on what we have next.”

“We have to assemble in the Auditorium Gallica and meet our Resident Master,” Maia said, peering at the task sheet.

“That will be across from the Hall of Mencie, which you can reach through Turret 3 from the eastern corner of the Main Hall.”

The solemn voice that suddenly flooded the room made Maia jump in surprise. She soon realized that the voice had come from all around them, as if the room had spoken.

“I am Yilosario’s Fourth, your planner,” the voice boomed again. “I will help you with all supplementary needs, including generating weekly task lists, maps, guides, rulebooks, and anything else you might require.”

“Could you open the curtains for us please?” Kusha flashed a cheerful smile, hoping to charm the unseen presence.

“I cannot override the command of the team counselor,” the reply was prompt and grim.

“Sorry,” Kusha grinned sheepishly and continued, “just point me to the switch and I will open it up myself.”

“The counselor’s wish is binding; I cannot provide you access to the controls.”

“There’s nothing here then,” Maia said. “Let’s go find the auditorium.”

“Before you leave, I have to give you the list of guidelines that you are expected to adhere to during your stay. The first eight are golden, and violating any of those will result in expulsion,” Yilosario’s Fourth said.

At the corner of the room where the weapons cabinet stood, a piece of paper scrolled down noisily from a slot that had appeared on the wall. Nafi pulled it out and read it aloud.

THE RULES

THE XIFARIAN DEFENSE ACADEMY

I. PERSONAL WEAPONS SHOULD BE STORED IN THE ASSIGNED COUNSEL ROOM.

II. CARRYING OF PERSONAL WEAPONS WITHOUT PRIOR APPROVAL OF THE COUNSELOR IS A PUNISHABLE OFFENSE.

III. SPARRING IS ALLOWED ONLY IN DESIGNATED ROOMS OR THE ACADEMY GROUNDS DURING SPECIFIED HOURS.

IV. OPERATING MOTORIZED CRAFTS PHYSICALLY OR OTHERWISE WITHIN ACADEMY PREMISES WITHOUT TRAINER SUPERVISION IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.

V. NO EXCURSIONS OUTSIDE THE ACADEMY ARE PERMITTED WITHOUT THE PERMISSION OF THE COUNSELOR.

VI. ANY EXCURSION OUTSIDE XIF WILL NEED THE AUTHORIZATION OF THE PRINCIPAL OF THE ACADEMY.

VII. COMMUNICATION OUT OF XIF WITHOUT THE WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE COUNSELOR IS AN OFFENSE PUNISHABLE BY EXPULSION.

VIII. ANY ATTEMPTS TO TAMPER WITH OR OTHERWISE INFLUENCE THE SUPPORT MACHINERY PROVIDED MAY LEAD TO STRICT DISCIPLINARY ACTION.

“That’s quite a set of rules,” Kusha observed.

“We’re not allowed to communicate to the outside from here? Does that mean we can’t even send a letter home?” Maia asked.

“That sounds quite severe.” Dani did not sound happy.

“There have been security breaches before,” Ren explained. “They’re always worried that information on the various technologies we handle here, including information related to our defenses, may leak out.

“The XDA has a strict Code of Honor that the students have to follow. At the beginning of Circle One, the trainees have to swear to not divulge and propagate the technological lessons without the approval of the Chancery. And, of course, they have some special security measures built to make that pledge binding.”

“What about us? We haven’t sworn to any such code . . . yet,” Kusha said.

“We are different, obviously. The Initiative is all about learning from each other, so I guess they don’t mind if you . . . we spread the word,” Ren said thoughtfully. “Although I doubt they will let us anywhere near the real important stuff.”

“We’re live advertisements . . . spokespersons,” Nafi smirked, then turned to look Dani squarely in the eye. “The Jjord never cared for publicity, so why are they doing this now?”

“My people would rather not,” Dani replied. “Hans said that there was a lot of politics behind making this work. But then, I really don’t care about all that. I just love this opportunity, that’s all.”

Nafi rolled her eyes and shook her head, looking thoroughly dissatisfied with Dani’s answer.

“I don’t understand the fourth rule. It says ‘physically or otherwise.’ What’s that supposed to mean?” Nafi demanded, squinting at Ren.

Ren grinned, a little too widely, possibly to irk Nafi some. “Wait until you meet the TEK whizzes. Now let’s go look for Gallica.”

With that cryptic non-explanation, he led them out of the Snoso and back toward the Hall of Spires.

18: Resident Master Kehorkjin

“What is Yilosario’s Fourth?” Kusha asked as they walked out of the Hall of Spires.

“It’s an automaton,” Ren explained. “A fourth level progeny of the original Yilosario, the machine that controls much of our planet’s supremely complex machines. You can imagine how complicated everything can be around here—the energy supplies, the inner atmosphere, the lights, the gravitational forces. A long time ago, when things were simpler, Yilosario was alone. Then, as the population grew, so did our needs, and we created the various progenies to share Yilosario’s load. Fourth is a lower order progeny; it does lighter and simpler tasks for the most part.”

“Like managing a bunch of greenhorns?” Dani chuckled. “Miir said Yilosario picked the teams as well.”

“Fourth is in charge of the XDA, including everything related to student management.”

“Hardly impressed by its skills.” Nafi made a sour face.

“It doesn’t matter what you think. Yilosario’s decisions are binding,” Ren replied curtly.

No one spoke much after that. They followed Ren along halls and corridors that formed an endless and maddening web of confusion. The trek to Gallica was largely uneventful, if one overlooked the many times Ren lost his way. Nafi made a caustic comment about the blind following the blind. Thankfully, Ren decided to let it pass, content with shooting a glare in her direction.

Gallica was less an auditorium, more a large room, rather dark and brooding, with wood-paneled walls and rows of sturdy wooden benches. On the far side, facing the seats stood an elevated dais, over which an enormous emblem spun slowly. It was the symbol Maia had noticed emblazoned around the XDA—a symbol that Ren explained was the Royal Crest of Xif, a dragon-like creature entwining a shield of red, black, and gold. Its scaled body wound around the faceted shield protectively, fangs bared and eyes glinting with unveiled menace. A hush fell as the emblem dissolved and the shape of a man gradually formed in its place.

“It’s a projection of the master, not the real person, of course,” Ren whispered.

He looked as real to Maia as the people around her. The coldness of his gray-blue eyes soaked the assembly with the dread of impending gloom. He wore the now-familiar long black coat, its blood-red collar inlaid with black-and-gold stripes along the edges, its large gold buttons blazing with the Xifarian Royal insignia. His gaze darted around the room as if he could see the people gathered inside.

“Welcome to the Alliance Initiative.” The man on the podium spoke with a sharp timbre that cut through the sleepy air in the room. “I can see that many of you are a bit less alert this morning . . . maybe you are tired, maybe you are still adjusting.”

He can see us.
Maia smiled a little at his words. It was indeed hard getting used to the place, and the not-so-friendly people, she mused. The important-looking man on the stage understood their anxiety, and that was comforting.

“Do not expect me to pamper you, or be patient and understanding of your travails. This is not a casual game. You have been chosen to participate in something that is of supreme importance to us, and so it should be to you,” the man said brusquely.

Maia pulled the last bit of smile off her lips.

“If you think that simply because you are guests at this academy, you will not be measured against the highest standards, you are sorely mistaken.” He paused for a moment as his keen eyes scanned every face in the room. “This is a training institute for future guardians of the known universe, and whatever lies beyond. However young you may be, or however unprepared you may have been, now that you are here, you will be always attentive, alert, and aware.

“There is no room for a moment’s carelessness or neglect; those are not traits of anyone who is allowed to set foot on these hallowed grounds. I will promise you this: if I see the slightest sloppiness, I will add your name to my personal Black Book. At the end of the challenges, names from that book will be used to weed out the unfit and the undeserving. And believe me when I say this, after months of hard work, not many of you will want your names to be stricken because of previous indiscretions.”

Someone behind them took a deep, bracing breath. Maia wanted to look at her teammates and see their reactions to the speech, but she did not dare turn her head or move her eyes away from the projection.

“I am Resident Master Kehorkjin. I will have the benefit of observing you as the series progresses, and you will have the privilege of my candid feedback and, at times, unwelcome reprimands.”

Maia had a gnawing feeling that she was not going to enjoy a candid feedback session with the man, let alone endure the reprimands.

“Your first month with us will be more like an adaptation session. You will be required to understand our collective history and the physical world around us. The knowledge of our past and present will help you realize your position in the grand scheme of things.

“Yes, young lady in the second row . . . Miss Rowyna.” His eyes narrowed as he read the name tag on a girl with sad, droopy eyes. “Your chance of surviving the future depends on how well you comprehend the world you live in. So I suggest that you stop yawning and take this seriously!

“We have no time to lose. Three months from now, you will have your first challenge—an individual task. If your collective score puts your group in the top twenty-five, you will proceed to the second round of training, including the flight lessons. After that there will be a team challenge. The twenty top-scoring teams from this final round will move on to the Jjordic phase.”

The room was quiet. There were no sighs, no smiles, no turning heads, nothing. This did not feel like a program to simply appreciate each other’s heritages, and definitely not a fun contest like Ren wanted it to be. It seemed more like an arduous military drill.

“You come from varying backgrounds, so we will instruct you on certain basic skills that will enable you to take on the competition. Your challenges will revolve around the subjects of Kinetics and Cartography, fields in which we have unsurpassed knowledge. I hope that within the next few months you will be somewhat proficient in these areas.

“Most of you carry personal weapons for self-defense—that has been the way on Xif, as well as the planet that graciously gives us company,” Master Kehorkjin’s projection continued relentlessly. “You will strive to master these weapons you bear. You will not be trained in combat skills, but your evaluations will definitely assess your prowess in protecting yourself and the others around you.”

Maia let out a tiny whimper. One small flight on Kusha’s Leveh had landed her in a very tight spot indeed.

“One final note: before you leave Xif, you will be expected to turn in an assessment of your experience here. This is mandatory, and please do not think that doing well in the challenges will buy you a waiver for this task. Enjoy your stay. Strive to be honorable and brave.”

The projection slowly disappeared, but for the longest while, Master Kehorkjin’s eyes seemed to stare at the assembly from beyond the darkness. Maia felt tired, senses blurred by the long and intimidating speech. The room was quiet for a long time before a wave of murmurs rose. Nafi took out the task list and Ren peered over her shoulder.

“We’ve an introductory session in history next,” he announced.

“Right now?” asked Nafi.

“No, there’s some time until the instructor arrives.”

“Then tell me, Ren,” Nafi sounded a little confused, “that guy will be in charge of us while we’re here?”

“Yes. Master Kehorkjin is a highly decorated admiral of the Royal Fleet, a celebrated war hero. His feats during the Ssoiffean Passage are legendary; we might hear about that during the history sessions. We’re definitely fortunate to have him guide us.”

“He sounded like a hard taskmaster to me,” Kusha commented, his tone cautious.

Maia, however, did not hesitate to voice a stronger opinion. “I could do quite well without being connected to such bigwigs,” she declared.

“They might not be too bad after all,” Dani said calmly. “We’ll soon find out anyway, once we start interacting with them regularly.”

“Does his uniform signify his rank in the force?” Kusha asked.

“Oh yes, he was wearing the Gambrill. The color of the military collar and the number of stripes signifies the rank of the wearer in the Xifarian armed forces,” Ren explained. “This being a military academy, all masters are honorary members of the Xifarian military. You will see them wear an all-black coat with red collar. Some officials of the Chancery, as well as the family of the chancellor, are also honorary members, so you might see our mentor wearing a Gambrill.”

Maia nodded as she remembered Principal Pomewege and Miir wearing the same in Appian.

“Apprentices start with a single gold stripe on a black collar. Red collars are for veterans and those on active duty, and gold collars are only for royalty.”

“Who are the royalty?” Nafi asked. “I’ve heard of the royal crest and the Royal Fleet, but no one said anything about the royal family.”

“Well, the Xifarian royal family abdicated a long time ago in favor of a republic. They prefer to stay invisible, and very few know who they might be. No one in my family, not even my great-grandparents, has seen anyone wearing a Gambrill with a gold collar.”

“Maybe we’ll find out more about them at the history sessions,” Maia said.

Ren shook his head. “Umm . . . maybe not. There’s simply not enough information out there to make that history because Xifarians, the royals in particular, are fiercely protective of their privacy.”

“So, Ren,” Nafi leaned forward. “Why aren’t you a student of the academy like my dear cousin Loriine?”

“Maybe because I’m not good enough?” the boy replied with a smirk. “Nah, it’s because we’re not allowed to enroll until we’re fourteen, except for a few immensely talented ones like Miir.”

Nafi pondered a moment before asking, “So while Loriine participates in this Alliance Initiative, is she exempted from her regular classes?”

“This program is deemed to be of supreme importance; the need to understand and appreciate our neighbors is paramount,” Ren said in a mock official tone. “So the answer to your question is yes.”

“It’s the same with my institute in Zagran,” Dani chimed in. “They granted me leave as soon as I was selected. I also get credit for the time I spend here, so I don’t miss a whole year in the process.”

“No such luck for me,” Maia murmured. No caravan to ThulaSu was going to wait for her.