A Blue Star Rising

by Cecilia Randell

  Mo’ata bent to offer his lips, and she pressed into the kiss as the other two slipped to their rooms. Then he was gone, and it was just her and Forrest.

  She twisted and their gazes met. He grinned

  It was a very big day tomorrow. He could certainly help her get to sleep.

  Chapter 9

  BLUE

  Blue stared at the closed door in front of her, tracing the delicate grain of the wood with her gaze. She liked the color of the stain—light, but with a hint of cherry, giving it a red cast. Maybe I’ll do something similar with the shelves in the apartment. Once we find a place.

  “Are you going to knock? Or should we come back later?” Forrest wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Vivi leaned against her legs, and Garfield stretched up to butt his head against her hip. Levi and Mo’ata stood behind her, silent, but she could sense their admonishment to quit delaying. Or maybe she was projecting. Duri, silent as he’d been all morning, faced down the hallway, guarding all of their backs.

  And, really, what am I so nervous about? It’s just school.

  In fact, it wasn’t even school yet. No, she was just here to meet with the dean and pick up her schedule. Classes didn’t start for another few days. “It’s not really any worse than going off to college, right?” she said.

  “Are we supposed to answer this?” Levi whispered to Mo’ata.

  “No.” A heavy hand landed on the curve of where her neck met her shoulder, squeezing reassuringly. “Knock. And when we are done here, we will visit the market before heading out to look at apartments. Your Beast could use the exercise, and we can pick up lunch.”

  “Blue.” Forrest didn’t say anything else, but the combination of both patience and exasperation in his expression had her pulling her shoulders back.

  “Right.” She knocked.

  “Come in,” a muffled voice called out. Another sound, a deeper version of the cubs’ squeaky growl, accompanied the words. Vivi and Garfield answered, and all Blue sensed was eagerness.

  She pressed down on the lever, and the door swung in. Dean Gravin—Piper Boy—sat behind a heavy, wood desk, his gray hair neatly tied back and his deep red robes draped in precise folds over his shoulders. A work tablet sat directly in front of him, and a small stack of papers were to his left. Everything was arranged just so, and once again she was struck with the impression that this man couldn’t possibly be the same one her father had told tales of.

  Then he grinned just as a large feline head framed in a thick ruff of dark gray fur popped up over the edge of the desk, and Blue saw the echo of that mischievous boy.

  “Emila, behave,” he admonished his piquet as she stalked around the corner of the desk. Then she straightened to her full height, shoulders rising above the desktop, and bounded to the cubs, mock-growling and allowing them to pounce at her limbs.

  Blue and Forrest couldn’t hold in their laughter, and even the dean chuckled. “Enough,” he said. Emila rumbled but settled beside a row of shelves that filled the nearest wall. “Try not to allow them to break anything,” he continued.

  Blue opened her mouth to assure him the cubs would be on their best behavior when she realized the dean was talking to Emila, not her. He sent her a wink, and she relaxed, appreciating the levity of the moment.

  This was the first time she’d seen him since she’d returned from Earth. He rose and rounded the desk, enveloping her in a hug so warm—and tight—that she could not help but return it. The subtle hint of cool mint reached her, and she recalled the first story her father had told her of the Piper Boy.

  Of a boy, just entering his teen years, who stole a package of mints and a wooden pipe from a shop. Little had that boy known it was a special mint from Falass, one that attracted vioro-moles, and he then had to beat them off with the pipe all while running through the streets of Tremmir. He ran so hard and so fast his sandals wore down. And when he’d run himself out, he transported them all to the barren wastes of Semina using the power of the wooden pipe and left the moles there for the serpents to find.

  She pulled back, looked Dean Gravin in the eye, and said, “You didn’t really use the pipe to transport the moles to the wastes, did you?”

  He laughed. “Was that what your father said? Well, he couldn’t very well tell you there were portals, could he? There was a pipe, yes, but it did nothing more than make lovely music, dear.” He took her hand and lead her to two low chairs nestled in a corner of the room. “Come, let us relax before we must get down to the business of school.”

  Upholstered in a soft leather, the chairs were stuffed with something that contoured to Blue’s form as she sank into it. Between the chairs was a round table with a silver tray and tea set. “Would you like some?”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  “Honey and milk if you have it,” Forrest said from beside the cubs and Emila.

  The men had arranged themselves around the room, far enough away that they wouldn’t disturb Blue and Dean Gravin, but not so far that they couldn’t easily reach them. Duri was the worst. He leaned against a wall not five feet away and kept his gaze trained on the dean.

  “I meant the young lady, but there may be enough for you as well.” Dean Gravin’s lips twitched.

  “I meant Blue, too.” Forrest held out a hand for Emila to sniff. She complied, then returned her attention to Vivi, who had pushed her own smaller head between the older piquet and Forrest.

  “Whatever you have is fine. I’ve drunk some pretty, uh, interesting stuff since I’ve come back here,” Blue said as she snuggled further into the chair.

  Dean Gravin poured, and they talked. He told her the true tale of how the Piper Boy got his name. It was not far off from what her father told her, but the moles had attacked him because a fellow street urchin had laced his pockets with kichi-worm paste and he had run into the Ministry seeking to hide, but instead he accidentally triggered a portal to Semina. “They could have imprisoned me for vandalism and trespassing but decided to train me instead. They gave me a place and a purpose and even put up with my many antics,” he finished. He set down his tea and took her hands in his. “I know your experience with the Ministry has not been… pleasant thus far, Blue. But please know that there are good people there, and the work they do is important for the unification and peace of the worlds.”

  She nodded but didn’t say more, and he let it go. She did know that the Ministry was not all bad. Jason’s whole purpose had been to stop illegal transport of people and goods to and from Earth, protecting her home. But she also knew that their view of the worlds was limited. True, without the particular attributes of Karran, there would be no Alliance, no travel or trade with the other worlds, but the Ministry was a product of this one world. It would always do what was best for Karran first, then everyone else. But she’d decided a while ago that she didn’t want to limit the scope of her purpose.

  The Order and its purpose were much more appealing to her. Even if she never saw into the inner workings, the idea of upholding and enforcing universal justice was… the stuff of adventure.

  Making it through her classes at the Academy and mastering the portals was simply a step on the way to her goal, not the goal itself.

  “I’m making good progress on the primers and such that were sent over,” she finally said.

  “Yes, I can hear it in your Common. It is coming along very nicely.” Dean Gravin followed her lead. “You will want to concentrate on learning the other languages of the Alliance as well, at least enough to understand and be understood in turn. When you are a little further along, they will be added to your class schedule.”

  “That… makes sense.” She set her own tea down but didn’t release the handle, wanting something to do with her fingers. “So…”

  “So.” He rose. “Let me grab your schedule. I will send it to your comm as well, but I prefer paper some days. Something about the feel of it in your hands is reassuring.” He shuffled through a neat stack of paper and pulled one out. He passed it to Mo�
��ata, who quickly scanned the sheet, then brought it to Blue.

  “As you can see,” Dean Gravin said as he sank into the chair behind his desk, “you will be continuing your basic education and training, as well as learning the basics of portal theory and practice.” His lips thinned then relaxed. “It is my understanding that you have been accepted to the Order of Terril on a provisional basis and will be joining them fully once you have finished here at the Academy.” His brows pulled together, and he frowned.

  “No. Well, yes, I mean, that was the plan, but it’s not anything against—”

  He held up a hand, cutting her off. “I am not upset with you Blue. These are your decisions to make, just as your father made his.” He wiped the frown from his face. “That is not completely true. I am disappointed that you have not chosen to follow in your father’s steps, though in a way, I guess you have. No, I am upset that the next news I have to impart may not be welcome.”

  Blue sat forward, the schedule—which she had yet to look at—clutched in her hand. Around her the other guys continued to hold their tongues, but Forrest and the piquets ceased their play.

  “It has to do with, um, finances.” He didn’t shift in his chair, but he looked like he wanted to. “Most students who enter the Academy move on to become Ministry employees and, as such, are sponsored by the Ministry. Those who are not must pay their own tuition or find an outside sponsor. I argued for you, but—” He sighed. Blue could see where this was going. Dorani’s offer came back to her. Maybe she would need to take them up on it. She had no idea how much the tuition was or exactly how much Mo’ata had saved. Dean Gravin picked up another slip of paper and passed it to Mo’ata. “Unfortunately,” he continued, “those who run the financial side of the Ministry would not agree to a sponsorship without some assurance that you would be working for the Ministry once you fini—”

  “Tuition will be handled.”

  Blue started. Duri, Felix, and Mo’ata had spoken as one.

  “We’ll discuss it later,” Blue said, wanting to head off any sort of argument. She wasn’t sure how she felt about Duri—well, the Zeynars—or even Felix paying for her way. And Mo’ata… she still didn’t like that he seemed determined to shoulder all the financial burden. “Hell, maybe I should get a job,” she said in English.

  “I’ll need one of those too,” Forrest said, nodding.

  “You are getting into the university for your art classes,” Blue said. That had always been the plan. She would go to the Academy and get a handle on this portal stuff, and Forrest would go to the university. Why she hadn’t thought about tuition and finances, she didn’t know. She’d just… assumed it would all work itself out somehow. Eventually that strategy would bite her in the butt.

  “Actually, you will be attending the morning lessons with Blue. I also took the liberty of contacting admissions at the university. You have an interview with the arts department director in three days. You will need examples of your work. If they are acceptable, I have been informed there are a few scholarships available.” Dean Gravin plucked up yet another sheet of paper and handed it to Mo’ata, who took this one to Forrest.

  While Forrest looked over the printout, Blue finally turned her attention to her own schedule.

  It took a few minutes to decipher everything. Some of it was obvious, like the class subject and room numbers. The extra numbers were what threw her off. She was still becoming accustomed to Karran and Alliance time and day designations. Usually, one of the guys was around and simply told her how long until she needed to be ready or to leave. The Alliance’s way of writing the time designation was similar to Earth’s, but the actual units were not.

  She went back to the first class. Or, tutoring session. It would start halfway through the eighth hour. Her last class ended halfway through the sixteenth. She parsed it out. Twenty-five hours in the day, 100 minutes in each hour. It looked like this was fairly standard timing, with a half hour between the classes where she needed to change rooms and a larger gap for lunch.

  “All of your classes will be at the Academy, Blue.” Dean Gravin handed yet another sheet to Mo’ata, who scanned it and delivered it to Blue.

  I should probably just go sit at the desk. But this chair is so comfortable, a little bit like being wrapped in a cotton candy cloud. Maybe I can convince Mo’ata to find me one if I explain it that way?

  This sheet was a map of the Academy and portions of the Ministry. Each level and room were marked, including the connecting halls to the Ministry levels that would be used for the practical classes, she assumed. There was also a wing of dormitories designated in a gray shade, taking up several levels.

  She turned back to the schedule. “What are the numbers under the time?”

  “Ah. Day designations. Your afternoon classes will alternate. We follow the normal week patterns, 4 days on, one day off. Now, you will be coming into these classes a little late, so there will be some catch up involved. The instructors are aware and will be partnering you up with someone in each class to assist. It is also not beyond the realm of possibility that you will need to repeat a class or two.”

  Blue’s lips tightened. She didn’t like that, nor was she used to not doing well in her studies. Oh, she wasn’t the most brilliant student by any means, but nor was she used to being considered someone who needed to be handheld through a class.

  She shook it off. She was also not someone to get upset over something that only made sense. The fact that they were letting her in so quickly should appease her. Hell, she wasn’t even sure what day it was right now. Of course it would take time to catch up. She sighed. “I understand. I’m simply impatient. I’ll do my best to get up to the same level as the other students.”

  “Understand, I am not implying that you are in any way lacking in intelligence. In fact, it is the opposite. You are seeking to do in a few years what most spend the first portions of their lives working toward. Your classes will be mixed with younger students and older. We do not normally allow anyone to practice with the portals until they have finished at least their second year.”

  “But you also don’t want me going around accidentally setting anything else off.”

  Dean Gravin smiled. “That would be for the best. But an accidental adventure or two is always acceptable.”

  “And you’ve had a few of those,” she said. “No, I get it. I suppose I am simply impatient, now that I’m finally here. Plus, it’s all just a little…”

  “Anticlimactic?”

  “Yes. That’s as good a word for it as any.”

  “Remember, you have a very long life ahead of you.” The smile morphed into a grin, and suddenly the Piper Boy took the place of Dean Gravin. “And plenty of time for trouble. Enjoy this while you can. Get your feet under you. Take your time. I have a feeling you’ll have more stories than I in the end.” He stood, hands braced against the desk. “Now, the next week rotation begins in four days. That is when you will report for classes.” He turned his head to Forrest. “Your appointment is in three days. If you are accepted, you will accompany Blue for the morning lessons, then proceed to the university for afternoon classes.”

  That sounded like a dismissal. Blue released her cold and empty cup and folded her new schedule and map. Four days to find an apartment, figure out what they were going to do about whatever Trevon had dragged them into, and sort out the money side of things.

  Then she could start worrying about the classes themselves.

  And what the hell was wavelength space? Suddenly she wished Kevin were here. Of the two of them, he was the one who understood science and physics. Blue had a feeling she was about to be thrown into the deep end. And none of the guys were going to be able to catch her in this particular pool.

  She was almost to the door when the dean spoke again. “Oh, I almost forgot.” She turned back to find him holding up another sheet. He really did like his paper. “You’ll need to pick these up as well.”

  Mo’ata grabbed this one as well and g
rinned.

  “Books?” she asked.

  “No.” Mo’ata handed it over to her. On it was a list of items, but in Common. “Uniform.”

  Seriously? Relief rushed through her. “Thank God. Now I don’t have to figure out what to wear.”

  Forrest peered over her shoulder. “I don’t need to wear one, do I?”

  “No,” Mo’ata answered. “At least when I attended, the university had no dress code.”

  “Assuming I get in.” Forrest fiddled with his ear.

  “You will.” Blue was sure of it. Forrest’s art was wonderful. And if the hoity-toities at the art department couldn’t see that, she would figure out another way to make sure he got his classes. “Now grab those cubs before they bring down the office, and let’s go find an apartment.”

  Forrest twisted to find Vivi had snuck away from Emila’s watchful eye and started trying to climb a set of shelves. “Vivi, get over here. We’re leaving.”

  The cub twisted her head his direction and chirped, but didn’t remove her claws from the wood shelves that she clung to. Emila stood, looked to the dean, then opened her mouth and clamped down on the cub’s ruff, pulling her from the shelves. Vivi twisted briefly, but soon stilled, and Emila deposited her at Forrest’s feet.

  “Needs more discipline. At least according to Emila.” Dean Gravin chuckled briefly, then sobered. “You’ll need to figure out what to do with them in class. I’ve been able to pass Emila off as a well-trained pet, and she knows better than to attack anyone unless it’s under the direst circumstances, but the cubs won’t be able to tell that yet. A lot of behavior can be passed off as cleverness, or good training, but if they begin injuring people, there won’t be much I can do.” His lips pursed. “If you need assistance, don’t hesitate to call me.”

  “So, we can’t take them with us during the day?” Another thing that somehow had not occurred to her that needed to be sorted out. She also wondered just how much Dean Gravin knew about the piquets’ history and how strong his bond was with Emila. If Blue recalled correctly, the Piper Boy had found the piquet after it had already opened its eyes, so they did not have the same imprint that Forrest and Blue had with Vivi and Garfield.