“And so you're telling me she just—what, woke up and asked for you to be messaged?” Aki drags her hands through her bangs and slumps over the back of her chair. She's been looking more and more wild over the past few days, and today I would not be at all surprised if she told me she had not slept.
“Yes, that's exactly what she did.”
“Where was she, precisely?”
“She was, she says, 'with Seamus.'”
Aki sighs. “The entire time.”
I nod.
“And she's telling you she was there for the murder, as well?”
Another nod. I'm hoping she won't bring up the matter of who seeded the empaths at the trade camp. Asha is refusing to talk about it, which I am almost positive means it was Seamus, but the Council is not likely to find her silence as reassuring as I do. Unfortunately, It is also possible she doesn't actually know which of them did it. I'm not empathic, but I do think I understand just how jumbled those situations must make their memories. Based on her quiet admission that she remembers shooting Seamus' victim, it is clear that we can't trust much of her memory right now. And because of that, we need to keep as much of what she knows as possible away from the Council.
Luckily, Aki is so distracted by the rest of what Asha told me to tell her that she doesn't pursue that line of questioning further. "Is she out of her mind?"
I don't bother responding, and she side-steps her chair and slumps into it. "Is she really asking to go testify on his behalf?"
"Yes, she is."
"There's no way we can let her do that, Desmond."
And there's the line I have been dreading since I walked into her office. She must sense my disagreement, because her mouth falls open slightly. "Surely you're not thinking we should say yes!"
"Actually, I am."
"No! That's a terrible idea!"
"Not letting her go is a worse one."
She rolls her eyes. I've never seen her do that, and it is probably a bad sign, but I am resolute. I have backed down from her on every decision regarding Asha so far, but this time I am going to do everything I can to make sure Aki lets her do this.
"Desmond." The way she says my name is chillingly final. "We've got the University on lockdown because everyone is terrified there will be protests. We're being watched nonstop by the feeders. Rayland is waiting in the wings, waiting for us to make a misstep. And regardless, you want to send a nineteen-year-old girl who has only recently gained control of her powers and knows nothing of the Kiranese legal system into the fucking nexus of all this?"
"Yes, I do."
"There is no way she understands what she is getting into!"
"I know."
She stares at me again, this time confused. "Then why let her go?"
"Because it's her decision. She's able to make her own choices."
"She's a member of the Fleet. If she goes to trial, Rayland looks into her." Aki's eyes narrow. "He looks into you. If he does that, you lose your job, and the Fleet loses an incredible amount of respect, which we cannot afford right now." She emphasizes the last four words fiercely.
"I am not afraid of taking a risk for one of my students." This is only partially a lie. But every time I shut my eyes I see her comatose in the hospital and remember how helpless I felt. Now that she is awake, I feel a renewed sense of initiative. Now that she is awake, I feel an obligation to trust her judgement more than I have in the past. Guilt is an astounding motivator.
"Desmond, she could ruin us!" Her voice is too tired to sound angry.
"Rayland will ruin us with or without her, Aki."
This takes some of the conviction out of her. She falls against her seatback and stares up at the ceiling. I sense an opportunity and keep speaking. "But think about this. If Asha succeeds, if she absolves Seamus, then we get both our empaths back. We get respect back. And we just might discredit Rayland in the process."
Her eyes fall shut. She is considering what I am saying. Silence stretches between us, and the room grows loud, filled with the gentle hum of electricity.
“I think Rayland might actually have us this time,” she mutters at last. I am unsure whether she means “us” as an Admiral of the Fleet or as an empath, but then again there is not necessarily a distinction to be made there.
“We have to pick our battles, Aki. Asha has picked hers, and it is our duty to support her.” My words echo the phrasing of one of the main tenets of the Fleet. A wan smile blooms amidst the tired lines etching her face, but quickly fades.
“Do you think she is ready?”
“Does it really matter if she is or not, at this point?”
Aki shakes her head. “No, you're right. If Seamus is convicted, the University is done for. So is she, and so are we.”
I run my hands through my hair nervously. I hadn't expected to actually convince her. Aki must have caught that thought, because she chuckles at me. “Well played, Desmond. I no longer have illusions that we've got something to lose. How does that make you feel?”
“Tired.”
She nods and moves to the tea bar nestled in the far corner of the office. The mugs she brings back to the desk are Kiranese blue and smell of jasmine. I take a sip and wait for her to speak again.
“Will you let me talk to her?”
“I will let you try,” I say carefully. She raises an eyebrow, so I elaborate. “Asha is afraid of you. She says you think too loudly.”
Aki presses a buton on her desk and summons Asha from where she is waiting in the main room. “Well, I'll be good practice for the Capitol then, won't I?”
“Point.” The Capitol exhausts me, though it is not nearly as bad as being on Newearth.
“Before she walks in.” Aki's mug settles against the desk with a click. “You're not thinking of sending her alone, are you?”
I shake my head.
“But I can't let you go with her.” Her voice contains a hint of warning.
“I know. She says she will bring Reid.”
“Ah, yes. He would be good. Keep her grounded. Also familiar.” She smooths her hair and returns it to its normal twist at the nape of her neck as she says this.
“Exactly.”
“Asha seems to have a good head on her shoulders. You should feel proud.”
“I often do.”
The door opens gently, and Asha peers around the frame. “I was told to come in.” Her soft voice sounds uncertain.
“Asha,” Aki says in a gentle voice. “Come sit down.”
“Yes, I would like tea. Thank you,” Asha replies, and I realize I've just missed a large chunk of communication. Aki seems slightly surprised. I had forgotten she has never met Asha directly, and I don't think she was prepared for just how quickly she works her way into the minds of others. As the Admiral rises to serve Asha a mug, Asha takes a seat to my right and smiles at me nervously.
A silence stretches through the office that I know is anything but, and I feel very briefly left out. Teachers have such strange jobs, in a way. I spend so much time around empaths that I feel more like one of them than I do a member of normal society—unless I am the only non-empath in a room. In a way, we belong to neither group.
“Oh, Desmond. I am sorry we are leaving you out.” As always, Asha is listening more closely to my thoughts than is comfortable. Her blue eyes fix on me, and she smiles. Aki is watching me sharply, inspecting how I interact with her. Suddenly being in the same room with her and Asha both feels like a very bad idea. The chance of an errant thought destroying the shakey privacy we have given one another is too high.
“Asha.” Aki's tone is still strangely gentle as she hands the mug of tea over. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
Asha nods and tugs her braid over one shoulder, stroking it nervously. “I have to help him. He has done everything he could for me since I got here and now I have the chance to do the same.”
“Do you understand that they will probably go after you, too?”
I am worried Asha won't understand what she means, but am pleasantly surprised to find she seems to. She raises her eyes to Aki's for the first time since entering the room. “I have nothing to hide.”
Aki raises her eyebrows at me, and I become very intent on my lap.
“I hope, for your sake, that you are telling the truth.”
“Admiral...” Her voice trails off. Aki looks at her expectantly, and she continues. “I do not understand why everyone is acting like I am doing a bad thing. Seamus is my friend, and I can help him. How can that be bad?”
Aki sighs and runs a hand along her forehead. “I am not sure I know how to explain that to you, Asha.” They fall silent again.
Asha shakes her head. “No, I still do not understand.”
“Seamus was seeded?” Aki's eyes are wide. Asha looks at me reproachfully, clearly under the impression that I should have told Aki this earlier. I had decided to wait and use that as a last resort if nothing else I said managed to convince her. I expected the news would be much more forceful coming from Asha, and I seem to have been correct. Aki seems almost excited, in a macabre sort of way. I wonder if that is what she looks like normally when she is hopeful.
“He did not know the man he shot. The men around him did. The men wanted him dead, and made Seamus do it.”
“Asha, there is no way you can prove that.”
“I have to try.” Her voice has that stubborn cast I've learned to dread, but Aki seems to find it amusing.
“Well, I'll give you the chance. You'll be excused from your classes, but if I were you I would see if they will allow you to work on coursework while they house you at the Capitol. I don't want you falling behind.”
Asha nods again as she turns to stare up at me. “Desmond, I do not know how to do this.”
“Don't worry, Asha. I do.” Aki gives me a pointed look, which I ignore. “I'll call Seamus' lawyer and get everything set up. The trial isn't for another couple of weeks, anyway.”
“Why is it taking so long?” She's staring at the wall to my left now, which makes me suspect it's Elene asking the question.
“Rayland is having trouble finding a third judge for the case,” I say, hoping she gleans the background information from my mind she needs to understand that.
“They're also tightening security at the Capitol first. People are afraid there will be riots over this,” Aki mutters darkly.
“Is that why we are not allowed to leave campus?”
I nod at Asha, and she sighs. “This planet makes no sense.”
“None of them do, dear,” Aki replies. “Now you two get out of here. I have to figure out a way to tell the Council what I've agreed to let you do that won't result in my being fired.”
Asha takes me by the arm and we exit together, me awkwardly, her with unusually determined steps. When we are back outside, she removes her hand from the crook of my elbow.
“Thank you.”
“Don't thank me yet.”
“Desmond, why are you worried about being fired?” She looks up at me with sad eyes and flinches as I instinctively withdraw behind my protective shell of outer thoughts.
“Because I always think about the worst case scenarios first.”
“Caroline wishes you would stop that,” Asha replies distractedly, staring out over the green. “Oh. Elene is helping me pack. Do you still want me to finish my lesson?”
“Yes, Asha. Tell Elene to leave us be. You've got a lot to learn in a very short time.”
She sighs up at me impatiently, and I am surprised to find myself face-to-face with a teenager with more important things to do than learn. This is a new one for her.
“Asha,” I say sternly, and she focuses in on my clearly.
“Fine. Are we going to your class?”
“Yes.”
This time, she walks ahead of me.
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