She rolled her eyes.
Boys.
Did they never grow up?
In a moment, they had moved on, neither one noticing her in her shady nook.
A few more steps and she was at the study. The door, locked, as usual, was no challenge.
She pulled a small key fob from her pocket and touched the handle. It released the lock, as it would any locked door in the palace.
No, it was not issued to the resident Lady in Waiting, either. Freya had created her own and kept it with her always. One of those old habits from her life before she had secured her place at the palace.
Inside the study, she was greeted by the hum and whirl of the processing data systems.
This was the hub of all information that traveled through the Terran Empire. Simple in design. Tubes ran up and down the walls, leading to several terminals for access. However, the one central hub point was to her left, where all the tubes led to.
It wasn't that long ago that Freya would have given her right arm to be in this room.
The information that poured through this system was startling. Anything that used the Terran Empire's conduits came through here in some form or another.
She crossed to the central hub.
Something had spooked Caoimhe, pushing her hard toward bringing peace between the Terran Empire and the Rhimodians.
And Freya was determined to find out what it was.
In the distance, she could hear the bells still ringing.
She took it as a sign she was in the right place.
1
Kian held his arms out.
The gauntlets on his forearms plugged into the wall.
And he felt it.
Or instead heard it.
Both.
Neither.
Master System.
Data flew through his neural net, into the cybernetic parts of himself that enabled him to process data faster than any humanoid in the galaxy.
He downloaded all new significant information about the coming negotiations.
Inside the data, he felt the touch.
Master System.
Different than data.
None of the others in his unit experienced the same sensation. And it was afeeling, more than a logical understanding. More than what he comprehended. Instead, more than what others understood.
