When the crew of the Manessa Kwi returned to the ship, on the very day that Brother Jacob gave them a list of Lyceum classes they could take, Arantiloria greeted them from the middle of the large oval table.
“We know what the mission is!” Boro announced excitedly.
Their seldom-seen training supervisor said nothing.
“We want to be at that political rally when Shawn confronts his father, who’s trying to destroy Lyceum,” Sata explained.
The purple-haired girl on the table continued to sit silently.
Kibi frowned. “We were thinking we could . . . you know . . . help protect Shawn with our . . . mission bracelets . . . maybe . . . um . . . maybe not?”
Arantiloria looked at each of them for a long moment as they found seats around the table. The silent tension in the room became thick as she swiveled from one to another without moving her arms or legs. Finally she floated to the steward’s console so she could face them all.
“There could be great harm done if you helped protect anyone in that situation, other than yourselves, so there is no point in going. Lyceum can take care of itself, I assure you.”
“Oh,” Sata whispered.
Boro looked defiant for a moment, then relaxed.
Kibi
sighed.
Mati and Rini looked at each other. You were right, Rini said silently.
“But of much greater importance, and the reason I am here, has to do with
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the list of classes you were given today.”
Sata, with a wrinkled brow, pulled it from her pocket and unfolded it.
“It is very important to the mission that Rini does not take any of those classes, nor attempt to become fluent in the language, nor otherwise mentally distract himself.”
Rini raised his eyebrows. “Can you tell me . . . why?”
“I do not know yet.”
“That started way back on the star station,” Kibi began, “when you had new training for everyone but Rini, didn’t it?”
Arantiloria nodded. “Sometimes it is necessary to be . . . empty.”
“Maybe . . . that will tell us something about the mission,” Boro pondered aloud. “Or at least . . . some things that the mission isn’t.”
The training specialist just smiled.
Liberty awoke one morning to find an extra work shift listed on her computer screen. Since she was supposed to be spending lots of time with Shawn, she frowned. Then she noticed it was only one hour, one time, so she sighed and wrote a note to Shawn explaining that she couldn’t meet him for breakfast. She promised to make it up to him.
She lay back down and stretched her arms over her head. A smile crept onto her face, and she glowed with happiness because she was, for the first time in her life, loving a boy who appreciated every moment they spent together, and who truly needed her companionship and affection.
She sat back up and looked at the computer screen again. She had no idea where the Northeast Retreat Center was, but a cart of food would be ready to take there in less than an hour. She shrugged and hopped out of bed.
To Liberty’s slight annoyance, no one had time to show her the way. They handed her a map and went back to their work.
At least the cart didn’t look too heavy. Liberty drained a glass of milk and headed out along the paved walkways.
A quarter hour later, she was surprised by a man in a suit blocking her path. She frowned while he spoke into a microphone, then he asked if she had any weapons.
“No, but I’ll bring one next time, now that I know there are goons in these
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woods.”
The man nodded with a slight smile and waved her along.
Liberty didn’t stop frowning until she came to the building of yellow logs and large glass windows, and saw her father leaning on the deck railing grinning down at her.
After bounding up the steps, Liberty embraced him and they headed inside, already chatting, leaving one of the men to unload the food cart.
“Sorry about all the secrecy,” he apologized as they sat down to a hearty breakfast. “It’s absolutely essential that no one finds out I’m visiting Lyceum, or that you’re living here. I’ve been meeting with Brother Jacob to make sure there’s no way your membership can become public knowledge. We’re even watching the four people who weren’t accepted from your evaluation group.”
“But, Daddy, why?”
“Because my work on the nuclear peace treaty is causing death threats from several groups, and if they can’t get to me, they’ll come after you. So I’m going to ask you to put up with some inconveniences for a while . . .”
Liberty was not seen by Shawn, or anyone else, until dinner time.
Members arrived at the cafeteria only to find a sign directing them to a large conference room. A muscular man at the door checked each person’s I.D.
card.
Finally the doors were closed.
Brother Jacob stood. He gestured to a tall girl, sitting next to Shawn, of about fifteen years, who wore her short, blond hair slightly curled. “This is Sister Chelsea. Any reference to her previous name, if you happen to know it, could easily cause her death. The reasons for this will be made known when it is safe to do so. Enjoy your dinner.”
Only a few members, all fairly new, attempted to pump those sitting near for further information. They received looks so stern that they didn’t dare speak again for the rest of the meal.
When Ilika approached the hidden grove in the forest that evening, he was making more noise than usual, and Kibi sensed he was excited about something. A large four-legged animal, rubbing against a tree nearby, snorted
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a warning. Ilika slowed down and proceeded more carefully.
After a quick kiss, Ilika sighed. “I’m not sure whether to think this is good news, or bad news. We have another mission possibility.”
Kibi listened as Ilika described the precautions about Liberty, who her father was, and what senate bills he was working on.
“So . . . do you think we might be here to protect Liberty — I mean Chelsea
— or her father? And if her father, how are we supposed to do that from Lyceum? The senate’s a long way from here . . .”
“No idea. Because of where we were placed, we’ll have to assume L . . .
Chelsea, but remain open to the other possibility during one of his visits. And, of course, there’s still Shawn. Ironically, those two have become very close. I think she liked him from the beginning, but held back because of his religious background . . . until I brushed her off.”
“I’ll be more comfortable around her now that she found what she needed somewhere else.”
Ilika nodded. “I can’t really learn any more about the threat she faces, as the members have been told all they need to know. I’d like you and Sata to sit down with the Lyceum leadership and offer your services to help protect her and her father. They’ll assume you learned of it through mysterious Nebador channels.”
Kibi giggled under her breath and nodded.
“Brother Chad made me a penny whistle — he calls it a recorder — that I don’t even have to blow into,” Jenny chatted non-stop as Ashley pushed her along the carpeted corridor toward the music studio, “and we’ve recorded Voice One three times! He’s teaching me how to use the editing computer when I’m tired of playing. I never thought it would be so tricky! Each time I play, the computer finds places that aren’t quite the same as the last time, and I have to decide which is right. I’m starting to be able to fix them myself while he does other things.”
While Jenny talked, Ashley just smiled, holding in tears of joy for her friend.
“Greetings, Jenny, and Sister Ashley,” Brother Chad said as they entered the studio. “Are you ready to record Voice Two?”
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Jenny nodded while smiling.
“Can you stay, Ashley? Jenny loves an audience.”
“For about half an hour, then I have a dance class, but I’ll be back to take Jenny to lunch with the members.”
“Fantastic!” Chad said, setting up Jenny’s instrument. “Do you remember Voice Two, Jenny?”
“Remember it? I heard it again last night while I was out under the stars, then dreamed the whole thing, every note, and woke up humming it!”
The two girls laughed and snickered together as Brother Chad got his computer ready.