I override the objection and authorize it with my personal Sovereign rank.
CONFIRMATION
She’ll find it waiting after her first shift without explanation or attribution.Just something warm to take the edge off a place that will otherwise feel hostile to her from the moment she steps inside it.
This small gift doesn’t make me better. It only means I won’t let the next human suffer unnecessarily before her training even begins.
I take a deep breath and then slip into the regeneration suit, and it begins its work, nanomachines extracting the crystal fragments and initiating accelerated healing. But I set the pain dampeners to minimal. I want to feel this. No, I need to feel it.
I must punish the monster within me.
14
THE DEPARTURE, EVE
The final morningaboard the Imperial shipIgoarrives with a strange sense of relief and trepidation.
I have packed my few possessions into a small travel bag, also compliments of my new employer: my handbag, the black dresses, the ultra-comfortable boots, my company IC with no contacts, and my e-reader loaded with an entire Earth-based library and included on it, of course, is my copy of the Celestial Spire employee handbook.
A chime sounds, and I open the door to find the Commander.
I blush remembering last night’s activities.
“Your transfer shuttle leaves in twelve standard minutes. I’ll escort you to the docking bay.”
“Thank you for your…hospitality, Commander.” The word feels inadequate, almost sarcastic, but it’s the best I can come up with.
His expression remains unchanged, but his eyes show a hint of amusement at my choice of words.
We walk in silence. My heart is starting to beat faster with each step.
I don’t know if I can do this.
“The Celestial Spire is...” he begins, then pauses as we enter a lift that will take us to the docking level. “It's unlike anything you'll have experienced on Earth.”
“So I've gathered from being on your ship for the last seven days and from your demonstration last night.”
He says nothing, as the lift glides downward. Its transparent walls reveal the heart of the ship. When the doors open, we pass into a wider corridor filled with busy crew members who barely notice me.
“What you saw last night was regulated,” the Commander says after a pause, his voice hushed. “At the Spire, the lines are even less clear. Galactic laws on human rights exist in theory only.”
“Then why recruit humans at all if you—” I stop myself. Using the wordyouwasn't fair. He hadn't personally created this system, nor did he hire me.
“Because the Ascendant Alliance recognizes the shifting political winds. Having humans as legitimate employees serves their interests, even as they profit from other arrangements.” His voice drops. “Take this opportunity to act as an equal to your Reima Two colleagues and do better for your species when you can.”
I think about Earth's history and the iconic images of those first to break barriers; children walking into hostile schools and lone figures standing before tanks. “My opportunity?”
“Yes, it’s an opportunity to show the galaxy that humans can be more than companions.”
“I’ve never fought against anything,” I admit. “I’ve always been more of a rule follower.”
Then I think about the public punishments in the Celestial Spire employee handbook. I know firsthand how those feel. I still remember the nuns lining us “sinners” up in the courtyard, making us kneel on the stone as our knees bled, and the weight of the discipline boardhanging around my neck. My crime? Passing a note from Carrie to her older brother, who was going to adopt her when he turned eighteen. But Carrie was adopted before that, and I never saw her or him again.
“I’ve studied you for seven days, Eve Eden. The Sovereigns saw something valuable when they made you their liaison, but I don’t think they recruited you for what I see. Your empathy. Your ability to notice and to care when most others look away. That makes you dangerous for them and an asset for humanity.” He puts two fingers over his heart and says, “I know you will be brave and do what you can for your people. It is your fate.”
I’m momentarily stunned by his deadly serious statement.Then I remind him, “I’m going to be working in the lion’s den.”
He nods. “There's no better place to begin a movement than from within the void of the Leviathan's maw.”
