Chapter Thirty-Six: Desmond

Okay, so this chapter was delayed because I completely reworked how the Council functions. I decided that Aki wouldn't be an Admiral, a headmistress, and a member of the Council, so had to go back to the drawing board. Granted, this means there's a lot of work that now needs to be done on Book One, but this solves a LOT of problems, so is worth it.

Here's how it works now:
Aki de Leon- Headmistress, represents the school's administration
Desmond Doyle- Head teacher, represents them all for the Council (normally)
Anne Fitzpatrick- Ground Fleetmistress, represents the ground branch of the Fleet
Roth - Sky Fleetmaster, represents the sky branch of the Fleet
Elliot Cartret- Student Council president, represents the student body
Adam Tsay (new!) - Head recruiter
Adrian Moore - Head instructor

Aki, Roth, and Anne are the high-ranking members of the Council, and may make decisions without the say-so of the others in times of crisis.

Adam, Anne, and Roth are active duty, and have to be called in out of the field for meetings.

Anne, Adrian, Aki, and Adam are all empaths. Desmond, Elliot, and Roth are not.

Anne and Roth represent the purely military branches of the Fleet in the Council, but speak for the Council to the rest of the military. This makes the University a political force. (Which explains why Rayland is so hell-bent on attacking the University....)

Now enjoy the chapter! :D

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Last time I was brought in they kept me in a single-roomed closet of a quarters for two weeks before we docked with a larger ship and I could be brought before a board for review. This time, I appear to be in the administration building's guest suite, and it would be quite pleasant if I could forget that they'd taken my wristband, deactivated the feed panel, and neglected to tell me the passcode to the door. At least someone had left a tin of a rather excellent blend of tea on the bed. I suspect Aki's hand in this, though I am not sure if it is a consolation prize or a quiet statement of solidarity.

I have little to do while in isolation except drink tea, browse the books on the reader left on the bedstand, and listen to music recordings from the University's database. Someone has given Asha her own entry, and I am surprised by the sheer number of files in the collection. The Midbaran flute tracks I knew about, but there were more too, of Asha on all manner of stringed instrument and woodwind. One student even had one of her singing an Old Earth lullaby that Aditi taught to me my first week in her village, though Asha has a better voice than her mother. I suppose she gets that from my side of the family. My mother and Alexander had both been avid singers.

The hours creep by. It is disconcerting to have so much time on my hands after the schedule of my last few days. Mostly I lie on the bed and wish that I'd had time to say goodbye to Asha. At least Caroline was still with her. Or had been, when I was dragged off by six officers who had started out apologetic but dropped the veneer as soon as I'd balked. My left hand had already hurt from my chat with Eli. Now, one of the knuckles is split and keeps bleeding in my sleep. Naturally, they have left nothing for me to treat the scab with in the bathroom. Perhaps I, too, will earn a scar from this entire mess.

On the third day someone knocks at my door, and I am not surprised to find Aki in full uniform, complete with armed escort.

“Good morning, Admiral.”

“It is afternoon, Doyle.”

“Apologies. I can't keep time in the room. Shall I get ready?”

She steps around my arm and across the threshold. “Please do. We'll wait.”

I grab the uniform she hands to me. It smells familiar, so I assume she got it from my quarters. I wonder if they have been searched. They wouldn't have found anything strange, but I don't like strangers in my space.

“I rifled through your sock drawer to find a matching pair, but I could always go back and check the mattress if you want to feel properly outraged.” She gives me the faintest of smiles and ignores the confused looks of the non-empathic guards. “Now get your guard back up. The Council is over half-empathic, and you're only on good terms with two of them. The others may be less amused by your paranoia.”

“Yes, Admiral.”

I suspect that she has polished the buttons on my uniform. Perhaps Aki is on my side today. Though I doubt it; I disobeyed a direct order, incited a riot, and left my campus in shambles to go check on a family member. Being hauled here and taken before the Council had by no means been a surprise. What was unusual was how long I had been given to be with Asha before they collected me. I'd even had time to speak with Elene and prepare her for the worst before they brought me here, and had been conflicted when she started to cry.

“But Desmond, without you I won't have anybody!” She had flailed for emphasis and accidentally jarred her broken arm.

“Bastian and Seamus would be sad to hear you say that.”

“But who will they have? You're the only adult who understands.”

A far cry from last semester when she had accused me of being unusually dense. I find it more than mildly unsettling that to gain such esteem with one's empathic students seems to mean risking one's job. I thought about reminding her of Caroline, but I am sad to say that even now, Asha seems to be the only one with any real connection to her. Excellent for students such as Reid, who abhorred personal closeness, but less than ideal for the tangle of empaths that have adopted me. They will have no one if this goes poorly.

“Desmond,” Aki snaps from the other side of the washroom door. “Please spare me.”

I shake my head and reach for my brush. It's amazing how quickly I've fallen out of the habit of living behind my shell. I force myself to blank the slate and retreat inside of myself again. The last thing I want is Aki having clear access to my memories of Aditi. Tea on the pillow and shiny buttons aside, I still have no idea what is going on inside of her head.

“Took you long enough,” she says when I emerge.

“Sorry. My hair was a mess.” I straighten my jacket and pretend not to be nervous. Aki pretends not to notice.

“You look fine. Now, if you'll step into the center of the cluster these gentlemen have created, I'll escort you to the Council.”

“I'm familiar with the protocol, Admiral.”

She smooths a strand of grey hair behind her ear. “But you shouldn't be. When we made you a councilman, you promised me we'd never have to go through this again.”

So I had. Another item to add to the list of my recent indignities against the Fleet.

The walk to the Council chamber is silent and far shorter than I want it to be. I wonder if there will be any stand-ins at the meeting. Come to think of it, I can't remember who was given Keven's place as the student liaison after he assaulted Asha. They'd taken me off the Council and had Eric stand in as Acting Head Teacher to mete out his punishment. If Eric is here again, among him, Aki, and Anne Fitzpatrick I might have a chance. They will listen to me, at least, when I give my reasons for what I have done.

Though if this meeting is anything like the one I went to nineteen years ago, I will be doing very little talking. But I try not to think about that.

Aki holds the door open for me, and I walk confidently into the Council room. Everyone is here in the sense that five seats are filled once Aki sits across from me, but instead of Eric in my normal place I see a young Teacher I've not interacted with that often. Her name is Caitlin, Kathy?

"Desmond, Katrina will be standing in for you today," Aki says, then gestures toward the far seat. "Once our student gets here, we may begin."

I sit down and look around at the rest of the Council. Several of them have cuts or heavy bruises, and Anne has a brace around her wrist. Only Aki and Fleetmaster Roth appear to be unscathed. Knowing Roth, he was skybound for the entire riot, but I am less sure of the reasons behind Aki's lack of damage. She would have been in the thick of it; I remember her being so, in fact. Had she been that lucky?

"S-sorry I'm late," breathes a voice from the door, and I turn my head to the left to see not Elliot Cartret, but Keven Fuentes. He sees my look of shock mirrored in the faces of the other Council Members and slouches awkwardly.

"Keven, you were dismissed from this Council," Aki says.

"I know, I haven't forgotten, it's just. Elliot's little sister was trapped when the cafeteria collapsed, and the recovery crews found her body about an hour ago. He asked me to step in for him so he can contact their family."

"...The cafeteria what?" I say before I can stop myself, and am met by cold stares.

"If you'd bothered sticking around campus during the rioting, Doyle, you'd know that," Roth snarled. "Keven, sit down. Given the circumstances, I don't think Teacher Doyle has a right to complain."

Why had no one told me? Couldn't Aki have, or...? I resist the urge to bury my head in my hands and feel all desire to fight leave me. I deserve whatever they decide is fitting punishment for me. I just hope that they don't punish Asha, as well. Or Caroline. I had been stupid to let her come with me to the Capital.

Everyone gets settled and turns in their chairs to stare at me disapprovingly. The faces have changed from the previous Council, but they still stir up memories. I feel strangely young.

“Teacher Doyle, would you like us to tell you what you've been called here for?” Roth is not smiling, but beside him Aki raises an eyebrow. She is not usually so flippant.

“May I attempt the list myself, Fleetmaster?”

He frowns, which is how he agrees, so I keep talking. “I left campus despite direct orders from the Headmistress. I contacted Jaden Ahern despite those orders, as well. Once I judged that the situation on campus had been resolved, I traveled to the Capital without permission to locate her. And I resisted extraction when officers attempted to collect me.”

Kaitlin shakes her head. “I doubt that you actually considered the campus safe. I think you knew it was safe to leave without anyone noticing.”

“Teacher, had I known what would happen to the cafeteria—”

“And to Eric?” Keven's eyes bore into me. He is enjoying his revenge.

“What has happened to Eric?”

The skin under Aki's eyes tightens. “He is dead, Desmond. He pulled me out when the senior dorm was collapsing and got caught in a secondary fall.”

No. Aki had not been lucky. Eric would haunt her for the rest of her life.

Keven cuts in before I can respond. “Was Asha worth half the school burning down and a teacher dying?”

“If I hadn't left when I did, she could be dead. Need I remind all of you that—”

“And had you waited and let a team go search for her, we might actually have the evidence we need to implicate the ones who beat her within an inch of her life!” Anne's angry tone conflicts with her next words: “I've read the file on you and her mother, and I think what they did then was abominable, but Desmond, couldn't you have learned from your mistakes?”

I hang my head. “I'm sorry. But the Council's decisions left her in that situation, and I was worried that amidst the chaos we might not locate her quickly enough.”

“Chaos you caused.” Adrian's eyes are cold. He has seen too many riots in his life to be tolerant.

“I did not know—”

“I'm sure you had an inkling,” Roth cuts in.

“I am willing to accept whatever punishment the Council sees fit,” I manage, staring hard at the table in front of me. “If you would rather I resign to save face—”

“You're offering to resign? You're only a few years from a pension.” Anne's brow furrows.

“I have a savings, and I will do whatever is necessary to prevent more harm from coming to my students or my coworkers.”

Aki gives me a faint smile. “We're not sacking you, Desmond. We reached a decision before you were called here. We just wanted some confirmation that you knew you were being an idiot before we made it official.”

I start visibly and try to ignore a feeling of smugness when Keven crosses his arms and sinks into his chair. “What?”

"Though you do penitent well," Anne smiles.

“Even if we wanted to," Aki continues, "getting rid of you would cause another riot on campus.”

“It's true,” Keven mutters. “Everyone loves you for this.” Everyone except him, it is clear, but he stopped idolizing me when he seeded Asha and I did my best to get him expelled.

“You've managed to foster an incredible sense of loyalty among your students and their peers,” Anne continues, “and despite this mess they view you as something of a hero. Why we took you off active duty and gave you a desk job is beyond me.” When Roth begins to cut in, she adds angrily: “Yes, I know why. The previous decision was idiotic. I doubt any of you disagree that his personality would have been better suited for fieldwork.”

There is a pause. “What will happen to me, then?” I venture at last.

“We're reassigning Asha, which I believe you requested yourself months ago. A mark in your favor.”

I nod and try not to look at Aki. Would she be in trouble for that decision?

“Our first choice would have been Eric,” Aki adds, “but that is no longer possible. Do you have a recommendation?”

I speak with no hesitation. “Caroline Smith.”

“The one who's got Reid?”Adrian asks. Next to him, Anne is nodding slowly.

“She has a good rapport with Asha," I reply, "and in my opinion has excellent potential as a Type Three teacher.”

“We've been told that she is rather standoffish,” the Head Recruiter muses, speaking for the first time. He would know, since his branch assigns all the new empaths.

“Given this situation, I'd think the Council would view that as an asset.”

“Watch it, Doyle,” Roth growls, but the others are nodding.

“Very well,” Aki interjects. “Desmond, you get to keep your job, and your niece, but you're losing a student.”

I know that I'm supposed to respond as though this is a bad revelation, and so I do not allow myself to smile. Despite the fact that Caroline will be thrilled to finally have the chance to teach a Type Three. Despite the fact that now I will no longer have to attempt to keep from becoming close with Asha. They have taken away my student and given me a family.

“Now, Desmond, we come to the real problem,” Aki continues. I straighten in my chair and give her my full attention.

"Asha is going to trial. That much is clear."

I nod.

"You and Caroline did your best to collect evidence when you found Asha, but that alone won't be enough to find her attackers, and it certainly won't be enough to clear her, since the attack won't prove she was seeded unless we get a confession."

"We need to get Rayland's daughter here."

The Head Recruiter shakes his head. "We're waiting to send someone until Rayland is back at the Capital. But even if we do get her here, I don't think we should assume her testimony will be sufficient to clear Asha."

"At the very least, it will get Rayland removed from the case," I retort. "That would be excellent."

Aki sighs. “If we get Rayland removed from the case, you will come under close scrutiny as the person who made it happen.” Her blue eyes bore into me. "More of your mistakes might become public, and we may have to sack you after all. Mob opinion is currently all that is protecting you."

Perhaps it is good that Jaden told me he owed me one. But one feeder, no matter how influential, will not save my job should things sour. “I understand, Headmistress.”

“This means that if you have done something exceptionally stupid recently, everyone will know,” she continues, and Anne nods emphatically beside her.

“Understood, Headmistress.” I run my fingers over my split knuckle unthinkingly and curse when she spies the movement.

Aki's look turns calculating. “But I'd rather not be surprised, Teacher. Please tell us what exceptionally stupid things you've done recently so that we may be prepared.” When Keven snorts in amusement, she cows him back into silence with a single flick of her eyes in his direction.

“I may have... tenderized a security guard.” I let her see the memory. Adrian shakes his head in disgust, but the others seem more sympathetic to the exhausted wreck I had been when I made that particular decision.

“Right." She turns to Anne. "Let's track him down and get his side of things before Asha's prosecution gets word of it. We wouldn't want your emotional outbursts to hurt her case, Desmond, especially since you seem to be the sole source of reliable evidence pertaining to her attackers.”

I hope he has not left the planet. If he has, it will be Roth's men, and not Anne's, tracking Eli down. The look on his face convinces me that he would not have them try very hard.

Anne frowns at me. “...And please, Doyle, do try to enjoy that memory less if you're questioned in court.”

"The judges won't know," I shrug.

"You smile with your eyes. It's not very attractive in this case."

Keven makes a disgusted noise. "That's it? He burns down half the school and you're just letting him go?"

"Be patient, Keven." Adrian rises slowly to his feet and begins to gather his things. "Just because he's not in trouble with the Fleet doesn't mean that he's not in trouble at all."

"Oh, before I forget." Aki holds up a wristband, quite different from the one I usually wear. In fact, it looks like Keven's. Both of ours are bulkier, and mine has a vivid red stripe through the middle, while his is blue. "Until we're sure you won't run off, this is your new band."

I hold my left arm out and wince as she seals it shut. No removing this one. I'd joked about giving one to Asha once or twice, but in retrospect that seems rather tasteless. I feel suddenly confined by this metal ring on my wrist, and it would have been pure torture for her. As I shift my arm experimentally, Keven gives me a humorless smile. "See how you like it."

When I ignore him, he takes a step closer. "If you try to leave the campus, it will shock you into unconsciousness," he adds cheerfully. "That's what the red means."

"Yeah? Where does yours keep you from?"

His smile fades. "Hanakawa."

"Good." When I smile, he turns on his heel and storms out of the room. Roth and Adrian aren't far behind him, though their exits are far less dramatic.

Soon only Aki and I are left in the room. She sighs at me and perches on the edge of the table. "I wish a week would go by where you weren't giving me a headache, you know."

"I'm sorry about Eric."

She shrugs. "He knew what he was doing. Don't regret his death. The students are more deserving of such emotion."

"Aki, they're soldiers."

"Not the first-years they're still pulling out of the cafeteria. Not yet. Not the refugees that were trampled during the worst of the riot." She gives an exhausted groan and shakes her head at me. "All of this is so fucked up."

"Do you blame me?"

"That would be so easy. I like my rage to be more complex." Here she smiles, her white teeth clearly visible. I'm not sure I've ever seen her smile.

I give up on trying to make my new wristband feel comfortable and turn to leave, but she stops me with a question.

"Is Asha worth it?"

"Without a doubt."

"Does it make you feel better about Aditi?" Her eyes pin me again, and I find myself wondering just how much detail is in my file. Has she read something to make her ask me this question, or have I given too much away over the years with stray thoughts?

It's pointless to lie to an empath. "Not at all."

"Good." When I start to become angry, she elaborates. "It means that for once, you're making my life difficult for the right reasons."

"Aki, we'll get through this."

"Some of us will, at least." At this she rises and pushes past me, leaving me alone in the room.

For someone who has just been told he gets to keep his job, I feel absolutely awful. After pushing in the chair Keven left, I leave to find Seamus and Bastian and get the rest of the news that has been witheld from me.