The Energy Crusades (31 page)

"That
'
s a beautiful sentiment," he answered. "Lift the decree, she says!" his gaze flew between the three of us. "By that logic, would you have this one breed with just anyone?" He tilted his head, looking at Professor Baal while gesturing toward me. Her face paled visibly.

"No," she whispered, without hesitation.

"No," my coach echoed.

"You can
'
t have it both ways," the Commander answered.

"I pledged myself to Ajax Baal," I spoke up in a hurry, fearing it would be my last chance.

"Well that is too bad," he answered me. "Because now it is time for you to do what
'
s best for the common good. Astrid picked the wrong son for you, and we all know it. You and Ajax have failed miserably together as a team and now it is time for you to go to the superior son. You are going to Danu as an envoy. You will join Cadmus and pledge yourself to him, because that is what
'
s best for the common good."

"I did not fail with Ajax!" I yelled, unable to control my anger. "We
'
ve only just begun!" I insisted.

In response to my outburst, the Commander remained as still as stone. He showed absolutely no emotion on his face.

"Then you recovered the information?" he smiled broadly at me. I sank back down in my chair, defeated.

"We will," I answered, my voice sounding too much like a plea.

"You will indeed," he replied, "with Cadmus. You will go to Danu and find him and his companions. Then you will free them from the Resistance, by whatever means necessary. If you have to seduce Jason Paris to get the job done, then you will. You will do whatever it takes to bring me the information."

The three of them erupted into conversation, arguing and debating over what was to be done with me, who lied to whom, and who was keeping secrets. Professor Baal tried to convince the Commander to keep me with Ajax, but he insisted that Cadmus was the son with the best genes and by her own edict, he should be the one to partner with me. Even my coach couldn
'
t come up with a decent argument, and the Professor
'
s protestations were brushed aside.

"You see? This is where you fail, Astrid." Commander Renier leveled a disparaging look at her. "Your human-like attachment to those children has made you soft. You can
'
t even make the right decision for the most important girl on the planet right now. Perhaps you have worn out your usefulness."

"Perhaps you have, Commander," she countered. But in the end, they agreed I was to go to Danu as the Commander wished. He dismissed me into Professor Baal
'
s care, but kept Coach Renier behind for further discussion. I said my goodbyes to my coach, hoping it would not be for the last time.

"Get her on an intergalactic transport as soon as possible," the Commander ordered. "And remember Kaia, you are a Reformation Athlete and you now have a tracker implanted in you. If you should fail, or veer off course in any manner, there is nowhere you will be able to hide from me. I can walk in and take you at any time, just as I did on the mountain. Remember."

I would never forget it. I bowed to him deeply, hoping he could not see the color flood my cheeks as I bristled over his words. "Thank you for your time, Commander," I answered.

I turned my back and followed my professor out of the room and out of the building entirely. I walked behind her feeling more confused than ever. Which side was the right side? Who did Professor Baal and Coach Renier serve? Were they part of the Reformation, as I
'
d always believed, or were they helping the Resistance? Did they know about Abra and were they working with her? What would the Commander do if he knew Abra was alive? Part of me wanted to believe he
'
d be happy — he
'
d listen to her and try and find some common ground with the Resistance. But that was a foolish dream. I
'
d seen the way the Commander could be wonderful and charming, and then turn, within seconds, into something frightening and power mad. He seemed a bit unhinged to me, like he was losing control and letting his emotions take over, as he accused everyone else of doing.

My thoughts turned to Ajax and the cold mountains, now a fading memory. I wanted him to be next to me, to share this confusion and to discover the truth for ourselves, together. I wanted him, and nothing the Commander could do or say would change my mind. I didn
'
t want to care about genetics or what was best for everyone else, but I had to, didn
'
t I? It was what I was brought up to do.

I stared at Professor Baal feeling betrayed, hurt, confused, and lonely. She did not turn or acknowledge my presence at all, until we were several meters away. She led me away from the compound and in to the surrounding woods. We would trek a few kilometers to the launch station that would transport me to Danu.

"It isn
'
t the worst thing he could do, Kaia," Professor Baal stopped walking and turned to look at me. "Please understand I
'
m doing my best. Sending you to Cadmus is not a bad thing," she admitted, looking glum about it nonetheless.

"Which side are you on, Professor?" I asked directly. The queasy feeling was growing inside of me. I didn
'
t want to be sent to Danu. I didn
'
t want to be sent anywhere without my Crusade team, without Ajax.

"I
'
m on the side of the planet. I
'
m trying to make things right, to do what
'
s best for the common good as the Commander puts it, but as you can see, that
'
s not always easy to determine." As usual, her answer was ambiguous, but I had other things on my mind.

"Ajax is not inferior," I insisted. I let my head drop and stared at the ground, watching as my breath floated from my mouth with every exhale.

"No," Professor Baal agreed. She touched my shoulder and I looked up to meet her eyes. She didn
'
t mask her emotions and I could see the hurt there. She was terribly sad. "I
'
m sorry I couldn
'
t protect you from the Commander. He knows more than I realized."

"What
'
s going to happen to me, Professor?" I just wanted a straight answer.

"I don
'
t know. Much of what is to come will be up to you. You will have to decide where you stand."

"Where do you stand?" I asked again. How did I know who I could trust?

"I stand with you. And there are many others who do the same."

I shook my head in frustration. "But I don
'
t even know where I stand. How can anyone believe in me simply because of my genetics?"

"You will know, Kaia. Your choice is coming. You will make decisions and many, more than you can imagine, will follow you."

Again, I bowed my head, trying to conceal the tears in my eyes. None of it made sense to me. I wanted to go back to the mountain, back to Ajax. "I am nothing without him," I admitted. I didn
'
t want to go, didn
'
t want to make any decisions without Ajax. Professor Baal put her arms around me and held me close. I let my body relax against her and a few tears rolled down my cheeks.

"I
'
m sending him after you," she whispered in my ear. "I am sending them all."

"Professor!" I pulled away, some of my despair dissipating. "What about the Commander? Does he know?"

"No. He is not the only one who keeps secrets or has power. His time is coming, too, and he will answer for the things he has done." She pulled her mailbox from her pocket and called a file.

"Hello, Mother," Ajax
'
s weary voice answered her call. My heart swelled. She turned her mailbox to me and I could see his face again.

"Ajax!" I reached out and touched a finger to the screen and he touched back.

"Kaia," he answered. He let me feel what it was like to wake up and find me gone. His despair felt as deep as my own and in turn, I let him feel what it was like for me, waking up in the Commander
'
s presence. I showed him silently all that had transpired since we parted.

"So you
'
re going to marry my brother after all?" he smiled wryly, trying to make light of the situation.

"Cadmus is like the sun," I reminded him, hoping he would remember our conversation in the ruined city.

"And his brother?" Ajax prompted, smiling brightly.

"His brother is like water."

"Something you could never live without," he finished. I put my forehead on the mailbox, trying to feel him as I did on the mountain.

"I love you, Ajax," I told him, holding back my tears.

"I love you more," he answered. "Keep your chin up, okay? You
'
re going to see Tiergan again. He
'
ll take care of you. Cadmus will take care of you. He
'
s my brother and he knows how I feel about you."

I didn
'
t want to go to Danu, even if it meant seeing my brother again. I didn
'
t want to do any of this; I wanted to go home.

"My parents
…
Derek…tell them, Ajax. Will you get word to them?"

"Yes, I
'
ll tell them. They
'
re my family too, right?" He held up his arm and showed me my cuff, secure about his wrist. "I
'
ll stay true to you. Whatever the Commander says, there is something between us and there always has been. He can try to separate us, but I
'
m coming for you. And when we
'
re together, we are more powerful than anyone, even the Commander. I know that now. Remember how much energy we had between us, when we came together? I
'
m beginning to understand what we can do together," he finished.

I didn
'
t feel powerful, though. I felt alone.

"But you did feel powerful when we were together on the mountain, didn
'
t you?" he answered my thoughts.

Yes, it was true, I did feel powerful then. Our energy was uncontainable. If we could figure out a way to harness it in the right way, perhaps we would be unstoppable.

We said our goodbyes and Professor Baal closed the connection. We continued on to the station.

"One more thing," Professor Baal said as we neared our destination. "He put the tracker in your left shoulder. Should you ever find the need to remove it, ask Malik. He will know what to do."

"Okay, Professor," I dipped my head, acknowledging her words. She embraced me again and placed an object in my pocket.

"Your weapons and other necessities will be waiting for you on the transport. Commander Renier has seen to it. He
'
s included your mailbox as well. The one I put in your pocket is not registered. If you decide to remove your tracker one day, you might find an unregistered mailbox useful."

I tightened my grip on her and held on for as long as she let me. Finally, she pulled away.

"You continue the rest of the way on your own," she told me. I
'
m pretty sure there were tears in her eyes.

I bowed to her deeply, not trusting myself to speak. She touched my shoulder and I raised my head. She nodded at me and I turned and began to walk away. I didn
'
t look back because there was no going back. Tomorrow I would be on Danu and I would bide my time until Ajax found me again.

Goodbye,
Kaia
, Professor Baal called in my head.

Goodbye,
Mother
Baal
, I answered. Then I remembered the words I said as I left the Tennis Academy.
Until
we
meet
again
, I added.

Until
we
meet
again
, she answered.

As I prepared to transport, I wondered if I would ever see her again.

The End

To those who would walk into the fires of Mordor with me: Michelle Parlato, Noel Medaille, Margaret Faulkner, Nicholas Reich, and my sun and stars Mike Noble. I truly could not have done this without you.

To my agent Stacey Donaghy for taking a chance on me and for her continued belief and support.

To my early readers: Tina Parlato, John Cotter, Dorra Choi, Jennifer Wiens, Serra Swift, Cammi Merriam, Ian Kwong, Stephen Alix, and Victoria Vontz. I am forever grateful.

To Sophia, Myles, and Lilly, you are the loves of my life.

To my in-laws Don and Barbara who love and support me unconditionally.

To my dear friend Kenny Reneer for never letting me forget where I came from. To Frankie for his sound advice and wisdom. To Don Burke for helping with the mark of the Unviables. To Matt Heinlein for joining in my journey and for his enthusiasm and encouragement.

And to Derek, until we meet again my friend.

Valerie has a background in property management and an education in food science. She's also an avid reader and tennis player. While studying chemistry, an idea for a story blossomed in her imagination. She turned that idea into her first novel, The Energy Crusades, a young adult/ science fiction adventure.