Invaded (Alienated, #2)(66)
She wouldn’t normally bother him at three in the morning, but she couldn’t wait to tell him what had happened. They talked for nearly an hour about everything from her breakthrough in Silent Speech to her close call at the Aegis. When they said good-bye, she felt lighter by five pounds.
Late that night, energized by fresh optimism, she uploaded a new blog post.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4
The Lone Invader
Well, it’s official. Now that my brother’s gone, I’m the only human in this galaxy.
But don’t cry for me, earthlings. It’s kind of empowering to go it alone. I’m like a one-woman Lewis and Clark, scoping out this foreign terrain and reporting back to you in digital glory. If you’re considering joining the colony, think of me as your personal trailblazer. In fact, I’ve just been appointed to the colony development panel! What does that mean? That I’m doing important work here—representing your interests and advocating for the best lifestyle possible.
I want you to know what to expect, so here’s what I’ve learned so far:
? The colony is set on a lush, balmy island with fertile soil for growing crops. It’s fairly isolated, but don’t worry—I’m negotiating for access to the main continent by way of shuttle.
? Not sure what to do with your life? The L’eihrs will give you an aptitude test, then supply your ideal job. I’m still working on more personal choice, but if nothing else, know that your occupation will likely suit you to a T.
? If you can’t stand too much idle time, you’ll enjoy the highly structured way of life here. Everyone on the colony will contribute to its success, which means you’ll be a part of something larger than yourself. Hard work has its rewards.
Stay tuned for more tidbits about colony life. I’ll collect as much data as possible before I come home to visit. Only fifty-ish days to go!
Posted by Cara Sweeney
In the days that followed, a fleet of guards began interrogating every living being over the age of ten inside the Aegis. But halfway through the campaign, Dahla awoke from her coma and pointed her finger at Professor Helm, who promptly confessed to the attack. Since then, he’d been detained in the guard barracks, since prisons didn’t exist on L’eihr and The Way hadn’t quite decided what to do with him.
The entire Aegis was perplexed by the news…including Cara.
She knew Helm wasn’t her biggest fan, and yet she couldn’t picture the mild-mannered professor wielding a blade like a common street thug. Then there was the issue of Dahla’s poisoning. Helm had been nowhere near the dining hall the morning she’d collapsed. Maybe he’d snapped…or maybe someone had used mind control to orchestrate the confession.
If that were the case, only two suspects remained—the only students capable of manipulating a mental query. Jaxen and Aisly. But for the life of her, Cara couldn’t figure out a motive. Neither of them had a reason to want her expelled or dead, and thanks to their positions in The Way, accusing them of the crime would amount to treason.
So with her hands figuratively tied, she avoided them like a bikini wax and focused on her duties as Chief Human Consultant—her official title, not that she was bragging or anything.
Cara was a halfway decent politician, if she did say so herself. So far, she’d convinced the panel to allot the colony six shuttles for emergency use and establish one full day of rest per week. Not perfect, but a Kong-size leap in the right direction. When she’d mentioned the democratic method, the Elders had practically broken out in hives, but she would wear them down. She just needed more time.
However, Cara was on a different mission today—one Aelyx had assigned her—which explained why she was currently standing outside the front doors of the capital’s reference building, repeatedly scanning her wrist to gain entry. No matter how many times she thrust her nano-chip beneath the dancing gray beam, the doors refused to part. Likely because the system knew she didn’t belong there.
Her failed attempts at entry must have set off an internal alarm, because a guard ambled up from the front walkway. Without offering a greeting, he motioned for her wrist while pulling a handheld scanner from his pocket.
“Mahra,” Cara said, offering her hand, palm up.
He nodded a return hello and swept his device over her skin. A tinny voice from the speaker informed him, “Cah-ra Sweeney. Resident of the first Aegis, l’ihan to Aelyx of the first Aegis. Chief Human Consultant. No alerts.”
Cara perked up at the mention of her title. “I’m here to see Larish,” she told the guard in L’eihr. “He’s a scholar in this building, but I can’t seem to get inside. Can you help?”
He didn’t seem enthused about the prospect of letting her in, but he opened the doors and led her to an office on the second floor.
The room looked more like a reading lounge than a formal workspace, with several deep-cushioned chairs positioned around a data table, its surface displaying multiple windows of text and images. A middle-age man—Larish, she presumed—bent over the screen, tapping it to enlarge a photograph of a red planet.
“Larish,” the guard said, extending two fingers in greeting. “Cah-ra Sweeney requests congress with you. Do you accept?”
Congress? That sounded dirty, like a line from a Victorian romance novel. Cara lifted her data tablet toward Larish, who stared at her in obvious bewilderment. She smiled brightly and bounced on her toes in her best fan-girl impression. “I absolutely loved your thesis on the primate connection,” she said in L’eihr. “If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to ask you a few questions.” Being human, her interest in the topic of shared lineage shouldn’t raise any red flags.