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Rane slumped against the table. If only this was his passion, he’d throw everything into it. If he found the same pleasure in babysitting a bunch of overpaid officials as he did in his art, he would never struggle to get out of bed every day.
A hand rested on his shoulder, and Rane raised his head.
Kwon stood next to him, an amused look in his emerald green eyes. “I’m guessing the boss man wasn’t congratulating you on a job well done.” Kwon was a shade shorter than Rane and his skin a slightly darker shade of green. He had similarly impressive skills when it came to calming testy diplomats.
Rane shrugged. “He said the same thing as last night. He warned me to be more careful and pay attention to the entitled morons with the medals pinned to their chests. The medals they probably bought in an auction to pretend they did something useful before spending their lives sitting on their butts.”
“Some of them have been into battle,” Kwon said. “They know what they’re talking about.”
“Twenty years ago, their knowledge was relevant,” Rane said. “The war has moved on. It’s more about tactics and strategy. The enemy is attacking from the inside, rather than the aerial battles we remember when we were kids.”
“Even so, don’t be so quick to dismiss them.”
Rane shook his neck frill in a mock display of anger. “Since when did you become a fan of the diplomatic dicks we babysit?”
“Since I got a regular pay check. My guy isn’t so bad. He even paid for my lunch the other day.”
“Don’t tell me you’re falling for him. Am I going to walk in on you one morning and find you naked in bed with him, telling him how much you love his tentacles?”
“Only if you’re lucky.” Kwon shoved him in the shoulder. “You need to be careful. Cowes only has so much patience.”
“I’m living on borrowed time?”
Kwon nodded. “You’re good at what you do, but you aren’t unique.”
“I’m great at what I do. Cowes isn’t going to get rid of me, no matter how often he threatens to do so. There’s no one who can calm an anxious dick-swinging mouthpiece better than me.”
“Are you sure about that? The Academy is pushing out decent graduates. My sister was among them.”
“That’s great news. She made the grade. How’s Etia doing?”
“Snapping at my heels for my position. She won’t be the only one. You’re not as indispensable as you think you are.”
Rane shrugged again. All he wanted was to create his art. This was a stop gap for him, a stop gap that had lasted five years.
When he had enough art he was proud of, then people would take him seriously. Rane wouldn’t need this job. He could follow his dream.
“You’ve got that annoying look in your eyes,” Kwon said. “You get it when you’re thinking about your crazy paintings.”
“None of my paintings are crazy. I’m working on landscape depictions of planet Earth. They look incredible.”
“So incredible you’d like to share them with your best buddy over a case of beer?”
Rane grinned. “Sure, why not? Although you don’t know the first thing about art, I can teach you.”
“I’m like every other Olickie in that respect. It’s just paint on canvas.”
“You’re a savage.”
Kwon raised his eyebrows. “That’s your biggest challenge, convincing us savages that you can be anything other than a support advisor. Art isn’t an Olickie thing. It never has been.”
Rane grunted as he led the way out of the room. “I’ll show them. When you take a look at what I’ve created, you’ll see I have talent.”
“I’m not doubting your talent,” Kwon said as he walked with Rane along the curved corridors of the station. “It’s not about whether you’re decent with a paintbrush in your hand.”
Rane slid him a sideways glance. “I know. Olickie don’t do art.”
Kwon shrugged. “I don’t make the rules.”
