Outlanders

Chapter 3: New Republic

CHAPTER THREE

ANNA

MANDESTADT, JEMYA PROVINCE

NEW REPUBLIC

I take a sip of lukewarm coffee at my desk, imagining another night of turning in sweaty sheets, the humidity somehow worse in the dark, a heavy presence made all the more real by night.

I hate living near the station. Even in high summer we keep our windows closed at night- if not, the screech of brakes, the coal smoke, and the whistle announcing a new arrival make for disturbing dreams. As a child I'd wake up, weeping, and wake mother, demanding comfort. I was always certain that father had been hit by a rushing cargo train, obliterated on impact. At 6 or 7 I was old enough to know that something bad had happened to father, but not old enough to understand what exactly had happened, and why. Once I was old enough to make decisions for mother, we never slept with the windows open again.

I know it's useless to imagine moving, so I don't. The shadows underneath my eyes have become a part of my face now, and losing them would look as strange as losing my eyelashes, my eyebrows. The State would never allow a move- valued Citizen bureaucrats are too closely guarded. A request For the Formal Changement of A Familial Address, the paperwork is called. I know where we file them whenever we get them from a fellow citizen bureaucrat – under PSB, Possibility of Subversive Behavior, to be reviewed by our superiors. I don't have the clearance to review those documents, only to file them. At least there is always coffee this close to the Keya province's plantations. In the Old Republic, a two month journey by ship, coffee is a luxury.

"Anna, get a load of this," Christoph mutters to me. He points to a document on his desk, next to mine. At first glance all I see is the Citizen Republic's seal, two hawk's talons, crossed in an X in a dark red. "When was the last time you saw one of these?"

Suspicion of the Use of Broken Tongues, the words crawl across the top of the page. I feel my heart flutter at the sight. I trust Christoph, but there are others watching us, the Citizen Protection unit. They provide security in every single office of the Citizen Republic, be it Old Republic or New. I control my expression, forcing tired disinterest onto my face. Half-lies are always more convincing, and I am truly exhausted this morning.

"Been a while," I mutter back. "Who brought it in?"

"Miller," Christoph says with obvious distaste. I agree with him on this point, but know better than to show it. Miller is the most effective agent in Menyastadt, maybe even in the whole Jemya province. Most effective agent and the most brutal- two ways of saying the same thing. "I thought all the broken tongues in the New Republic were dead, but leave it to Miller to find one."

I give him a slight nod in response. Then, raising my voice slightly, I turn toward Christoph and pronounce the words that bind us. "Vigilance is protection."

"And protection is vigilance," Christoph responds. His grey eyes turn down and away from mine, signaling the end of our half-whispered discussion. I can't tell if I've disappointed him or not. I remind myself not to care. Distantly I realize the remains of my coffee have gone from lukewarm to cold. I drink it anyway.