A Blue Star Rising

by Cecilia Randell

  “Now,” Daniel said, more animated than he’d been all morning. “Tell me about”—he glanced down at his tablet—“Austin.”

  Blue blinked, pulling her mind back from sorting through the details of Tremmir. “Forrest?” He’d be the best one to answer that, actually. Blue’d only been there for a year, after all.

  He crossed his arms and focused on Daniel. “Where do you want to start?”

  Blue sighed and stretched her neck. They were finally done.

  “I will see you both tomorrow.” Daniel rose, then paused. “Do you know how to get to the university from here?” The last was directed at Forrest.

  “Yeah. Mika showed me yesterday.”

  Daniel’s lips thinned. “Let me see.” He held out an imperious hand.

  Forrest shrugged and pulled up the route on his comm.

  Daniel snorted. “I don’t know what that ichi wanted, but there’s a shorter route.” He worked on Forrest’s comm, then handed it back. “It’s more direct.”

  Forrest frowned as he took his comm. “That is weird. I’ll have to ask when I see her this afternoon.” He studied Daniel. “Thanks.”

  Daniel shrugged. “I’d watch out for her.”

  “Why?”

  He shrugged again. “Rumors. Don’t know the truth, won’t repeat them, but I’ve seen her pull this petty stuff sometimes—like sending the new student off in the wrong direction.”

  Forrest and Blue exchanged a glance. “Thank you,” Blue said.

  Daniel nodded and left without another word.

  “Well, that was interesting,” Forrest said.

  “That’s a word for it.” Blue picked up her own tablet and then straightened her uniform. “You gonna be okay?”

  Forrest wrapped Vivi’s leash around his hand and slung his bag over a shoulder. “Yeah.”

  “He could be lying about her.” Blue wasn’t sure why she’d attempted to defend Mika, but her sense of fair play wouldn’t let the innuendos slide.

  “Or not. I’ll try both routes. And I’ll just keep an open mind.” He gave her a quick kiss. “See you tonight?”

  “Of course. It’s your turn to cook.”

  She took a few moments to gather herself and her belongings after Forrest rushed out. It really was a tight schedule for him. She looked down at Garfield. “You ready for the rest of this?”

  The piquet chirped up at her, his mix of comfort and curiosity a counterpoint to her own excitement and nervousness. She walked out of the small classroom, and Duri, the eternal shadow, fell in behind her. She had a half hour to make her way to her next class, Theory of Wavelength Space. Pulling up the map of the Academy on her comm, she studied the routes. The class was on the other side of the building, closer to the Ministry proper, and on the second level.

  She was getting the hang of the numbering. The first number wasn’t the level, it was the section of the building. One was closest to the actual work, and four was farthest. The second number was the level.

  Turning a corner, she paused to look back at Duri. “Have you been in the Academy before?”

  “No. But I have studied the schematics. I believe there is a faster route.” He kept his gaze on his environment, in full guard mode. They’d gotten him a cot and put him in with Mo’ata for now. He was also starting to loosen up around the rest of them, at least in private. He was dedicated to the Zeynar Family, and Trevon in particular. He’d even told her how he was one of the youngest guards to be chosen to accompany a Family head to a conference. “And I am honored now to be entrusted with your care, Miss Blue,” he’d finished.

  That, more than anything, had told Blue that Trevon was serious in his “courting.” If this man, who obviously harbored great pride for his duties, thought following her around was important, then Trev must have made it very clear to him what he thought.

  Which meant he thought she was important.

  “Now, what’s the fun in that? We have a little time. Sometimes the best ways to learn a place is to wander it.” She set off down the corridor, her boots hitting the concrete floors with solid slaps. As they made their way to the primary sections, the halls filled, students and instructors on their way to the next class, assignment, or meal.

  Most ignored her, but she caught a few furtive glances and hands raised for people to whisper behind. A couple students gave her small smiles, and she made note of who they were. She’d need to start asking people about the student who had to go the healer’s, see what she could find out.

  It also wouldn’t hurt to make some friends—real friends—just as Forrest had thought to do. She missed having another girl to confide in.

  Duri tapped her shoulder. “We are here.”

  Blue, lost in her thoughts, startled. Sure enough, the markings on the door across the hall from her matched those on her schedule. “Do you want to come in for this one? It would be nice to have someone who can help explain the Common I don’t know. I feel like there’s going to be plenty of it in here.”

  “Are they not assigning you a guide?”

  She’d forgotten all about that. “I guess? If that’s the case, wouldn’t they have found me back at the other end of the building?”

  Duri shrugged and gestured for her to precede him into the classroom. It, like the cubical from earlier, had bare walls and a cold floor. Unlike the other, this one was huge, with half a dozen tiers of desks, two rows in each, that stretched the length of the room. There was an aisle down the middle providing access to the front rows and the teacher’s platform.

  A few students were already there, scattered through the room. None of them looked up as she walked in, but she thought these were younger than Sarah, or even her. She recalled the Dean’s words. Most Academy students spent a couple of years in theory before they ever touched the practical.

  She grinned to herself. She really was the misfit of the Academy. Scanning the rows again, she chose a seat in a middle tier and to the far left—close enough that she could see, but hopefully far enough out of the way that she wouldn’t draw too much attention when she needed to ask Duri for help with the more advanced terms.

  They were just getting settled, Duri pulling out his seat and angling it so he had a clear view of the entire room, when a girl who looked a few years younger than the other student came rushing in, halting abruptly on the top steps. Her dark hair hung in graceful waves, and even from here Blue could see her skin was clear and pale. Big, dark eyes met hers, widened briefly, then filled with relief as the girl headed toward where Blue sat.

  Duri rose, intercepting her halfway down the aisle. They exchanged a few words, too low for Blue to hear, and Duri nodded. He returned to Blue.

  “This is Elaina. She is to be your guide for the next few weeks and will be attending classes with you. I will take a post at the rear of the class. The room is large enough that I do not feel comfortable waiting in the hall.” Not waiting for her to reply, he spun, squeezed past Elaina, and found a spot in a shadowed corner.

  “Well.” Elaina sat in the seat Duri had vacated, her movements precise and graceful. She was wearing the skirt option of the uniform with a pair of leggings and fur-lined boots. Garfield sniffed at them. Elaina glanced down, wiggled her foot—causing Garfield to pounce—and smiled at the piquet cub.

  Blue immediately liked her for it.

  The girl held out her hand, and Blue took it, giving it a shake. A delighted grin spread across Elaina’s face. “I got it right!” She shook Blue’s hand a few more times before letting go, and Blue laughed. “I’m hoping to specialize in Earth,” Elaina continued in English. “Of course, we won’t go into our graduate classes until we are given our assignments, but everyone gets basic lessons on each of the worlds’ cultures. Is it true Earth has nearly two-hundred separate governments and regions? I mean, countries?”

  Blue opened her mouth to reply and paused as her cheeks heated. How many countries were there? Did she know so little of her own world? I really should have paid better attention in world
geography. “Something like that,” she finally replied. “Your English is very good.” It really was. Elaina’s accent sounded more British than American, but her words were completely understandable.

  The girl flushed, the delicate color spreading evenly over her cheeks. I bet she looks pretty, even when she cries. There was no resentment in the thought, only a sort of general wonder. Even Phe wasn’t this perfect.

  “Oh. No, I didn’t. Darn it. Let me try again.” Elaina held her hand out again. “Hello, I’m Elaina Trellot. It is very nice to meet you.”

  Blue, slightly bemused, took the girl’s hand again. “And I am Blue Faust. It is very nice to meet you as well.” She blinked. “Wait. Trellot? Are you related to Sana?”

  The girl nodded, sending her dark hair swaying. “Yes. She is my aunt. My father’s sister. She took me in as her own when my parents died. She was very excited to have you move into the complex. So many samples from all over the worlds in one place.”

  Blue choked on a laugh, and Elaina cocked her head. “Did I say that wrong?”

  Blue shook her head. “Not really. It was just a funny image. ‘I’ll take a little of this and a little of that, thank you.’” She gestured like she was at the market, picking up supplies.

  Elaina laughed as well. Then her gaze lingered on Blue’s hair. “I know someone who could help refresh the color if you like?” She reached out, then hesitated. “Do you mind? I’ve been told I need to learn restraint.”

  I really do like this girl. She was a whirlwind that had the potential to be a Category 5 hurricane, given the chance. Blue pulled forward a strand of her hair and held it out.

  Elaina rubbed it between her fingers. “It’s got a good texture. Yeah, Forgi can definitely do something with this.” And then lower, almost to herself. “Maybe I could get him to do something similar for me, but in pink.”

  Blue sat back as Garfield crawled into her lap. The fit was tight; there wasn’t much room with these desks. “So how is it you’re in my classes? I thought I had an… unusual schedule.”

  Elaina shrugged, then busied herself pulling out a tablet and stylus and arranging them on her desk. “I skipped ahead in a few things, so the practical and defense classes are really on my schedule. This one and history… well… I volunteered.” She ducked her head, showing the first hint of anything except pure self-confidence. “My aunt mentioned how nice you seemed, and… well, I thought you could use a friend. And I could use one. Many of the students in my classes…”

  Oh. Blue looked Elaina over again. Beautiful, orphaned, and skipped a few grades–or whatever they were called. She was like the perfect story heroine. There was that word again, perfect.

  But she’s not, is she?

  “I would like that. We can be misfits together.” Blue pulled out her own tablet and called up the notes function, then found her stylus. “Do you—”

  “We will begin.” An instructor, clad in deep purple robes, stood at the front of the class. Her gaze landed on Blue. The class had filled while Elaina and Blue talked. “This ten-day we will be conducting a review of the basics.” She didn’t call her out, but this last was obviously meant for her. Then she looked over the entire class. “These are things you should know well by now, and if you do not, then that is no fault but your own.”

  Blue took a breath and prepared to be overwhelmed. Nothing like a crash course in what was only theoretical physics on Earth.

  Instructor Cherook went fast. The first part of the lecture matched what she had learned from Mo’ata on her first, accidental trip here. The energy that surrounded Karran corresponded to that in certain areas of other worlds. When manipulated in the correct manner, the space between would “fold” thus creating a “this space” that could be traversed. Originally these had occurred naturally and unpredictably.

  Until it was found that a percentage of the populace of Karran could be trained to align those energies as needed. It had been a matter of training those people to access the portion of their minds that recognized the energies and to tune them.

  Researchers still didn’t know why those people and not others could do this, but they had developed tests to locate them.

  After that, Instructor Cherook dove into the actual physics. Blue’s mind was a swirl of words only half understood and particles that weren’t particles and waves that weren’t waves and what the hell was wave function collapse? Right then, two years didn’t seem long enough to understand all of this.

  “Are you completely confused yet?” Elaina asked as she put away her tablet.

  “Yes.” Blue stared at the mess of scribbles on her tablet. They were supposed to be notes. “No. Sort of. The first part made sense. The rest… I don’t even know most of those terms yet.”

  “I’ll help. We’ll get you caught up. Somehow.” She shoved her own tablet into her satchel. “I can’t believe they’re throwing you in like this. I mean, I know you’ve got the tutor in the morning, but I hadn’t realized how far behind you are.”

  Blue jerked. “Hey.”

  Elaina shook her head. “No. You are behind. Not your fault; it’s theirs.” Her tone had gone from the warm-and-excited of earlier to matter-of-fact. “I just didn’t realize how much work we had ahead of us. We’ll need to set up some kind of schedule together. I’ll need to rearrange some things…”

  “Elaina.”

  “I think if I move my voice training to early mornings, that will free up the slot right after school. But that may not be best. The mind needs space to rest. Well, we are in the same complex. Maybe something right after dinner—”

  “Elaina!”

  Duri made his way to them as the other students filed out of the room. He must have caught this last bit because he decided to put his own two cents in. “No. This will not work. There are other… considerations that must be attended at night.”

  Blue shot a warning glance at Duri. His lips thinned, but he didn’t say more. She turned back to Elaina. “It’s true, though. I’m still getting settled. And there are a lot of things to settle, especially with all five of us in that apartment. We’re all still figuring out our own schedules and such.”

  That distracted her. Her eyes lit up. “Is it true you’re with the clansman and that boy from Earth? Both of them? And what about the other two? Aunt Sana didn’t think you were but said she thought they were interested. How, um, cool? I think cool is the word. How cool would that be for you to have four men? I know the clans do that, but I’ve always wondered how…”

  Uhh…

  Elaina chattered on as they made their way to the dining hall, not really requiring any answers. It was busy, crowded with tables and students and instructors. As they waited in line to place orders, Blue scanned the area, taking in the round tables, metal chairs, and sea of uniforms. Light streamed in from high windows, and one beam—as though there just to lead her eye—landed on a table near the middle of the room. And at that table sat a girl with red-gold hair glowing in the light.

  “Great.” She huffed out a breath.

  Sarah laughed, the sound tinkling through the room. She teased the boy sitting next to her, looking carefree and more at ease than she ever had at the party for her sister. Then she glanced over and met Blue’s gaze. The girl’s expression hardened, and then a sly smile crossed her lips before she leaned into one of her friends and said something. The other girl’s eyes shifted to Blue before widening, and she giggled.

  Yup. Sarah had definitely been spreading whatever rumors she was going to spread.

  “Ignore her,” Elaina said, seeing where Blue’s attention had gone.

  “So, she’s already spreading rumors about me.”

  “Sarah is always spreading rumors.”

  A note of reserve in Elaina’s voice caught Blue’s attention. “Did she…?” How do you ask a question like that?

  Elaina shrugged. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”

  Blue wondered what had happened. But at the same time, she’d met this girl barely an hou
r ago. No matter how much she had instinctively liked her, they weren’t that close. She needed to do something, though. “If you ever want to talk…”

  Elaina pulled her shoulders back and gave Blue an easy smile. “Thank you. Now, let’s go get some food, and I’ll give you the layout of the social scene.” Elaina marched to the end of a fast-moving line that led to terminals stationed all along the far wall. “We’ll place our order here and pick it up farther down.” She gestured to another set of lines, this time ending in waist-high counters upon which plates and bowls of food were being placed by workers.

  “How do you know which—”

  “It’ll pop up here.” Elaina pointed to a figure on the screen. The answer was a little abrupt. Blue would have called it impatient, but she didn’t think Elaina had meant it that way. “Then you just pick up what you ordered.”

  “Okay.” She looked over the menu. Something safe. “A salad?”

  Elaina pressed an icon, then selected a few choices. “I’ll get you something mild until you’ve decided what you like. And I will pay. A welcome-to-the-Academy gesture.”

  They waited as Duri placed his own order, then they moved to the third line and waited for their food to be ready. “So,” Elaina said. “The students tend to group by specialty. There are those training to be portal workers and those training to be agents. Those who are slotted to be agents but also have the portal ability also tend to group together.” She tilted her head to indicate the center of the dining hall. “Within that, things tend to break down by social standing. And that group”—Blue was sure she meant Sarah’s group—“those who come from affluent families and who will be agents with ability, run this school.”