Zoe's Tale (Old Man's War, #4)(36)

"But I have tomorrow afternoon free," Enzo said. "Maybe then. After you're done with your stabbing practice."

"We already did stabbing," I said. "Now we're on to strangulation."

Silence.

"Joke," I said.

"I only have your word for that," Enzo said.

"Cute." I kissed him again. "See you tomorrow."

The next day training went long. I skipped dinner to head to Enzo's parents' homestead. His mother said he'd waited around, and then headed over to Magdy's. We didn't talk to each other much the next day during school.

Evenings: study.

"We have reached an agreement with Jerry Bennett to allow you to use the information center in the evenings twice a week," Hickory said.

I suddenly felt sorry for Jerry Bennett, who I had heard was more than a little terrified of Hickory and Dickory, and probably would have agreed to anything they asked just so long as they left him alone. I made a mental note to invite Bennett to the next hootenanny. There's nothing to make an Obin look less threatening than to see one in front of a crowd, bobbing its neck back and forth and making like a tabla drum.

Hickory continued. "While you are there, you will study the Colonial Union files of other sentient species."

"Why do you want us to learn about them?" Gretchen asked.

"To know how to fight them," Hickory said. "And how to kill them."

"There are hundreds of species in the Conclave," I said. "Are we supposed to learn about each of them? That's going to take more than two nights a week."

"We will be focusing on species who are not members of the Conclave," Hickory said.

Gretchen and I looked at each other. "But they're not the ones planning to kill us," Gretchen said.

"There are many trying to kill you," Hickory said. "And some may be more motivated than others. For example, the Rraey. They recently lost a war with the Enesha, who took control of most of their colonies before they were themselves defeated by the Obin. The Rraey are no longer a direct threat to any established race or colony. But if they were to find you here, there is no doubt what they would do."

I shuddered. Gretchen noticed. "You okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine," I said, too quickly. "I've met the Rraey before." Gretchen looked at me strangely but didn't say anything after that.

"We have a list for you," Hickory said. "Jerry Bennett has already prepared the files you have access to for each species. Take special note of the physiology of each race. This will be important in our instruction."

"To learn how to fight them," I said.

"Yes," Hickory said. "And to learn how to kill them."

Three weeks into our studies I pulled up a race who were not on our list.

"Wow, they're scary-looking," Gretchen said, looking over my shoulder after she noticed I had been reading for a while.

"They're Consu," I said. "They're scary, period." I handed my PDA over to Gretchen. "They're the most advanced race we know about. They make us look like we're banging rocks together. And they're the ones who made the Obin what they are today."

"Genetically engineered them?" Gretchen asked. I nodded. "Well, maybe next time they can code for personality. What are you looking at them for?"

"I'm just curious," I said. "Hickory and Dickory have talked to me about them before. They're the closet thing the Obin have to a higher power."

"Their gods," Gretchen said.

I shrugged. "More like a kid with an ant farm," I said. "An ant farm and a magnifying glass."

"Sounds lovely," Gretchen said, and handed back the PDA. "Hope I never get to meet them. Unless they're on my side."

"They're not on a side," I said. "They're above."

"Above is a side," Gretchen said.

"Not our side," I said, and switched the PDA back to what I was supposed to be reading.

Late evening: everything else.

"Well, this is a surprise," I said to Enzo, who was sitting on my doorstep as I came back from another thrilling night at the information center. "I haven't seen you too much recently."

"You haven't seen much of anybody recently," Enzo said, standing up to greet me. "It's just you and Gretchen. And you've been avoiding me since we broke up the study group."

"I'm not avoiding you," I said.

"You haven't been going out of your way to look for me," Enzo said.

Well, he had me there.

"I don't blame you for it," I said, changing the subject a little. "It's not your fault Magdy threw that fit of his." After several weeks of increased sniping, things between Magdy and Gretchen finally reached toxic levels; the two of them had a shouting match in class and Magdy ended up saying some fairly not forgivable things and then stomping off, Enzo trailing behind. And that was the end of our little band.

"Yeah, it's all Magdy's fault," Enzo said. "Gretchen's poking at him until he snapped didn't have anything to do with it at all."

Already this conversation had gone twice to places I didn't want it to go, and the rational part of my brain was just telling me to let it go and change the subject. But then there was the not quite rational part, which was suddenly getting really annoyed. "So are you hanging out on my doorstep just to dump on my best friend, or is there some other reason you dropped by?"