Chapter Six

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The Strangers were predictably jealous of my new title. I didn't tell them about it myself; I didn't have to. I arrived at breakfast the next morning to find them already discussing it.

"Come on, Avery," Kylie said as I sat down. "A rank and a uniform? Are you going to have all the luck? Fucking leave something for the rest of us, can't you?"

I shrugged and repeated my final waking thought of the night before. Kylie scoffed. "Right. They're transporting you halfway across the known universe to be a bloody janitor."

"Well, they could be. Councillor Seidel did say it was 'effectively a service role.'"

"Avery Alcott," Scott murmured. "Bringing harmony to the galaxy, one toilet at a time."

I pointed a French toast stick at him. "That's Novi Alcott to you."

Rajani said skeptically, "So they're just going to hand you a uniform and hope for the best? An alien civilian, with no relevant training and no clue about their policies or procedures? Are they giving you a sidearm too?"

"No sidearms," Scott said. "They don't carry weapons on board. Their fleet is quasi-military at best. Their ships are only armed enough to destroy asteroids in their path. They covered all this in yesterday's briefing, you know." I thought there was an unwarranted edge to his tone. Judging from the sharp look Rajani gave him, she thought so too.

In an attempt to smooth things over, I said, "Anyway, it looks like I won't be completely untrained." And I filled them in on what Elena had just told me: that arrangements had been made for a member of the Pinion's crew to spend the day prior to launch training me in the rudiments of my tasks as a novi.

"Which crew member? Do you know?" I understood Scott's interest; he had been one of the men interviewed during the morning sessions with the Pinion's crew.

"Not yet. But it probably won't be a senior officer."

"Not Saresh, then?" Kylie teased.

I rolled my eyes. "You're as bad as Elena. If it's Saresh, I'll find a way to introduce you, I promise."

"Don't count on it," Rajani said. "Whoever it is, they're not just going to let him wander around the facility. Quarantine procedures will be airtight until we know more about the risk of cross-species contagion."

Kylie waved a hand. "Whatever. I'll spy on him through a window. I don't care, I just want to see one!"

"They're not fairies," Scott said testily. "And you'll be seeing plenty of them soon enough. It's not like you're going to be stuck on an orbit crawler." He glanced at his watch and pushed his chair back from the table. "First session in five, people."

After he had gone, I looked inquiringly at Kylie. She shrugged. "Preliminary assignments come out at the end of the week. There's a new arrival who's supposedly tearing it up in one of the other training groups—some kind of linguistic savant, I guess. Scott's worried. For no reason, but try telling him that."

I made a face. "Maybe I shouldn't have talked so much about my thing."

"Don't worry about it. He knows he's not competing with you." She looked thoughtful. "Not any more."

As I rose to carry my tray to the dish room, Rajani caught my wrist. She was frowning. "Listen, Avery, I know you're excited. But you know what they say about things that seem too good to be true. Be careful, okay? You're not like the rest of the Strangers. We're paranoid assholes. We had to be to get here. You're a different breed—a gentle soul. And you can bet the Vardeshi saw that in the interview. They may be from another planet, but they're not blind. They may be trying to take advantage of you somehow. Don't let them. Even if it means . . ."

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