The Search for Ulyssa Read online

  You’ve managed to make an enemy already, lamented Dina. I knew we shouldn’t have done it.

  They’re bullies, Dina, protested Kendra. The best way is to stand up to them.

  Not when you are trying to avoid arousing suspicion! Do you want this to be Tarentino all over again?

  You’re blaming me for what happened in Tarentino? What was I going to do? Watch my brother and Travin’s brother die?

  Not blaming you. Just reminding you that using our power has consequences.

  “Stupid consequences,” Kendra muttered out loud.

  “What?” asked Brennan, who was standing with a handvac in hand.

  “Nothing,” Kendra said hastily. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to jump in there and make things worse.”

  Brennan shrugged. “It’s not like you pushed her down or anything.” The corner of Kendra’s mouth lifted, but other than that she managed to keep her face impassive. “It was just run-of-the-mill frontier insults. I’ve heard worse.”

  “You mean the ones like ‘frontier kids are so backward they sleep in huts with their animals’?”

  Brennan grimaced. “Yeah. I take it kids from Zenith catch it too.”

  “Not often. Usually only if you try to interact with visitors from Terra or one of the other planets. Sometimes the worst offenders are recent immigrants from council planets. I always want to ask them if Zenith is so backward, then why in the name of Newton did they move there?” Kendra said with a slightly bitter laugh. “Never have the courage, though. Most times I just smile. I’m not exactly the confrontational type.”

  Kendra filled the trash bin with the ruined food she had collected.

  “Really?” Brennan’s grin stretched broadly across his face. “If what I just witnessed qualifies as nonconfrontational, I wonder what it would sound like if you decided to fight back.”

  “It would be nasty,” Kendra said playfully. It would be very nasty, Dina added, not playfully at all. Ships-sinking-in-the-earth level of nasty.

  That was mostly you, remember? That was before I learned how to do anything.

  That was the first time. The first time you reached for the power on your own. I merely supported you.

  Kendra stood back at watched as Brennan used the handvac to clean up any remaining crumbs on the floor, and then she used a spritz of the carpet cleaner stocked on the middle tier of the cart to clean up any of the obvious stains on the rug. When she finished, she stood to survey their work.

  “Not bad,” she observed. The table was righted and cleaned, with the stack of plates and various serving dishes stored on top of the table again. The floor underneath was still damp in places, but clean from any of the obvious spills.

  “Thank you,” Brennan said gratefully, tossing a soiled towel back onto the cart. “That would have taken forever to clean up by myself.”

  “No problem, Brennan,” Kendra answered. “Anything for a fellow frontier kid!”

  “Call me Bren,” he said. “And if you ever need the favor returned, just let me know,” Bren replied. “Anything for a friend.”

  A friend, she exulted. We have a new friend!

  You and your friends, Dina grumbled.

  All thanks to you, Kendra said sweetly. You taught me what friendship is all about, so now I look for it everywhere I go.

  4. The International University

  Kendra did not find a friend in her Denicorizen advisor. He was even taller than Bren, and he glowered down at her when she arrived at their appointed meeting time in the tiny conference room in the library.

  “My name is Kaol Terune. I will be your mentor this year. It is my responsibility to supervise your studies and recommend any needed schedule changes or remedial action to the dean.” His eyes bored into hers, as if he were prying into her soul and didn’t like what he saw. “You will address me as Master Terune.”

  Kendra swallowed. “Yes, sir . . . I mean, Master Terune.”

  He gave a clipped nod. “Now, you have no fluency in Denicorizen, yes?”

  “No. Um, I mean yes?” He stared coldly at her. “No, I don’t speak any Denicorizen, Master Terune,” she said nervously. “It wasn’t offered in my second school.”

  “Sshhk,” he hissed quietly, his steepled fingers twitching.

  What in the name of all the stars was that noise? Dina asked. Is he ill?

  Maybe a curse in Denicorizen? Kendra suggested. He’s testing me? He hates me already?

  “That will be your primary course of study, then, for the first term. That leaves room for two further choices.”

  “I thought about studying astrophysics,” she began, thinking of the pressing need to understand the workings of qualian energy, but then she wilted under Master Terune’s thunderous brow.

  “Ssshk!” he hissed again, this time more loudly. “This is not a university for those studying the physical or applied sciences,” he lectured, his tone icy. “This is a center of learning for those preparing to enter interplanetary civil service.”

  “I see . . .” she said in a small voice.

  I don’t see, Dina huffed. What good will any of you do in any kind of service if you don’t understand the world around you?

  “There are some seminars on the hard sciences, but you must have completed your first two years satisfactorily first,” Master Terune admitted grudgingly. “In addition, you must have the approval of your mentor.”

  The only good thing about the meeting with Master Terune was that he decided—after a few pointed questions—that Kendra knew nothing about recent Denicorizen history. He gave her a brief recounting of the revolution that had happened ten years ago, and instead of glaring at Kendra for her perceived shortcomings, he waxed ebullient about the Resistance and its leader Morek-Li Damato. Morek-Li had been a wealthy landowner as well as a philosopher and brilliant strategist. He had formed a secret organization called the Resistance that worked to overthrow the king for many years.

  “Morek-Li successfully defeated the Royalist forces and even managed to storm the Palace. We elected him our first president, and he served selflessly for years, enacting the most important changes to our corrupt governing systems. People would have voted for him again, of course, but he stepped down, and even suggested that Congress—our country’s elected assembly of lawmakers—should enact a law prohibiting any president from serving more than one term. We do not want any more kings on Corizen, even if they go by the title of president.” He shot her a suspicious look, as if she had been about to suggest that Corizen should go back to being ruled by a king. Kendra thought of the little she knew about her Uncle Casey’s involvement in the revolution.

  “What about the Union?” she asked timidly. “What role did it play?”

  He waved his hand. “This was a Denicorizen revolution for the Denicorizen people by Denicorizens. There was no Union involvement. Though,” he added, his voice warming with enthusiasm again, “we did have a Citizen hero. She was married to Laeren Bruche, one of Morek-Li’s closest allies. After the king had been deposed, a tyrannical noble took control of Urok, declaring himself the new king. Sirra Bruche snuck into his fortress and assassinated Jaory Kruunde personally, as well as all his top leaders,” he said with relish. “His reign of terror collapsed overnight.” He stopped for a moment and then looked at Kendra skeptically.

  “I guess if Sirra Bruche could save Urok, you might achieve something impressive also. Looks can be deceiving.”

  Was that a compliment? Or an insult?

  Both? answered Kendra. At least he doesn’t seem to hate all Citizens. He respects this Sirra Bruche, whoever she is.

  There has to be more to the story. How did a Citizen end up fighting in the Denicorizen revolution? mused Dina.

  I’ll ask Tiran. If it was such a big deal, I bet she knows the story.

  ♦

  That evening she broached th
e subject as she stretched out across her bed; Tiran was curled up on the window seat.

  “Have you ever heard of a Citizen named Sirra Bruche?” Kendra asked. “Master Terune said she was a fighter in the revolution here. Actually, he told this fantastic story about how she singlehandedly killed some noble guy and all his commanders,” she clarified.

  Tiran was silent for so long at the window that Kendra thought she must not have heard. She’d only been on Corizen for a couple days, but she’d already noticed that Tiran tended to get a little lost in the clouds sometimes. Though Kendra couldn’t talk. How often did she stand staring blankly at nothing in particular while she spoke to Dina? Maybe Tiran was conducting conversations in her head too.

  “Tiran?” she prompted.

  “Oh yeah, I’ve heard of her,” Tiran said, finally looking back at Kendra. She grinned. “So your mentor told you that crazy story? Did he explain how she managed to kill all those men by herself? Some kind of wicked martial skills, the kind that even numbers couldn’t overwhelm?”

  “It did sound a little ridiculous.”

  Tiran snorted. “It was impressive enough without all that. See, Jaory Kruunde had hidden himself inside this massively fortified compound, most of it underground. No one could get near him. He managed to cut off Kruundin City from all outside help, and the people were literally starving to death. But he had a grudge against Sirra Bruche. She’d once been his slave and escaped. So she let herself be captured and brought right to him. Then she activated a locator that told the Armada exactly where he was so they could attack him.”

  Kendra gasped. “Did she die too?”

  Tiran hesitated. “No. She managed to get away.”

  “But Master Terune said the Union wasn’t involved in the revolution at all.”

  Tiran snorted. “Well, that’s not true. What did you think my dad was doing here all that time?” Kendra considered that. Of course she knew Uncle Casey had lived on Corizen for quite a while during the revolution. It was one of the reasons they named him the ambassador.

  “On the other end of the spectrum, though,” Tiran added more heavily, “are the people who think that the entire revolution was staged by the Union just to turn Corizen upside down. Those people argue that we should go back to the way things were before.”

  “Politics are complicated,” Kendra said, rolling onto her back. “And they stink.”

  “And they stink,” agreed Tiran.

  Your Aunt Andie was a slave here on Corizen for many years, Dina broke in suddenly.

  Are you suggesting that she was the one who overthrew this Kruunde goon? Her name isn’t anything close to Sirra.

  So?

  But why wouldn’t Tiran just tell me that? If her mother was some kind of well-known revolutionary hero, why would she lie about it? Kendra mentally shook the thought away. Her aunt wasn’t a liar, and neither was her cousin. The alternative was just a little too discomfiting.

  “Whatever happened to Morek-Li?” asked Kendra, changing the subject.

  “Oh, he’s still around. He gives public speeches every so often before Congress about issues he thinks are important. And believe me, they all listen when he speaks, even the ones who will disagree later. They treat him like some kind of prophet.” She stretched her legs out, cracking her toes and sighing in relief.

  “That’s probably why the Brotherhood hates him so badly. He’s competition,” Tiran said matter-of-factly. She lowered her voice. “He’s got the number one spot on the Brotherhood’s Red List.”

  “The Red List? Is that the assassination list you mentioned before?”

  “Yeah.” Her voice turned morose. “The one my dad is on.” She picked at the fabric of her robe. “Number ten. I don’t know if that should make me feel better that at least he’s at the bottom, or worse that he’s on the list at all.”

  “Well, if a bunch of crazy bloodthirsty lunatics thinks he’s worth killing, then he must be doing something right,” Kendra said brightly. Tiran gave her a lopsided smile in return.

  “That’s not a bad way to look at it.”

  ♦

  Kendra’s first day of university was not high on her list of favorite days ever. Master Terune proved true to his word; he cleared her schedule of the various classes on Denicorizen communication, literature, and biology that she had originally chosen and plopped her into a double course on the Denicorizen language. The only bright spot was that Bren was in her class as well. Apparently his mentor felt similar to hers: learning the language was a serious lack that had to be addressed with all possible speed.

  The downside was that the disdainful Hugo (who still wore white every single day) and the obnoxious girl that Kendra had assisted in slipping were in her class as well. The girl’s name turned out to be Aceline, and like Hugo, she was from Terra and felt that automatically elevated her in relation to the other students from “less blessed” planets. Kendra considered telling Aceline that her Terran-born father said that it was an ossified old rock with a bunch of spoiled, stagnant snobs while all the brilliant innovation in the galaxy happened on other planets. However, she knew that it wouldn’t change Aceline’s mind, so why antagonize her further? It might lead to another one of those situations where she was goaded into doing something with consequences. Especially since Aceline made no secret of her animosity toward Kendra.

  The class was taught by a Denicorizen woman whose Basic accent was so thick Kendra could barely understand her. She ran through the Denicorizen alphabet and some of the possible combinations of sounds and how they were pronounced. Then to Kendra’s horror, Professor Balon announced that in one week, the class would be taught solely in Denicorizen.

  “You must provide all of your answers in Denicorizen, and all class lectures and instructions will be given in Denicorizen,” she said with finality. “I believe in learning to swim by diving into the ocean.”

  “Diving into a maelstrom, more like,” Bren murmured next to her. “Hope we don’t drown.”

  “You are also required to participate in a minimum of five documented hours of communication a week with a Denicorizen to help improve your comprehension and accent,” Professor Balon decreed. Kendra shrugged. Here she could just ask Tiran to help. Though five hours of conversation where all Kendra could do was recite the alphabet and introduce herself were not going to help much.

  She also found that Master Terune had assigned her to the seminar on the Denicorizen Revolution. Apparently, he took her interest in his glorified account of Morek-Li as interest in the entire subject. Kendra had been interested, but not enough to enjoy sitting through two hours of discussion about it two days a week for the whole term.

  I’m beginning to think this whole expedition was a colossal mistake, Kendra thought gloomily after her first seminar lecture—a dry-as-fossilized-bones explanation of what Corizen had been like before the revolution. All we wanted was to get here and try to find some trace of your twinspark. I figured in the meantime I could study the same things I planned to back home—something useful.

  Learning Denicorizen is useful, protested Dina.

  But back home I could be studying math and physics. And we have no way to go looking for Ulyssa at all.

  Patience, Kendra. Open your eyes and truly see. There is a lot to discover here, Dina counseled. Kendra hated when Dina switched to a wise know-it-all mood just when she wanted to be a petulant teenager. Did any other kid have to put up with a voice in her head that was older than her grandmother telling her how to act? The most frustrating part was that Dina was probably right. This was an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, even if she never left the International Complex, and she should just make the most of it.

  It was time to stop whining and past time to wade in full speed. At the very least learning to understand a group of humans that was so very different from her own home culture had to help her understand a far more foreign group o
f aliens.

  ♦

  After a few weeks, she settled into a routine of sorts. In the morning she had her classes to attend. Then in the afternoon she would spend time with Tiran, trying to hold frustratingly simple conversations for at least half an hour in Denicorizen before they were free to talk normally. Tiran was fluent in Denicorizen, of course, but she was surprisingly fluent in Basic. Though sometimes she stumbled trying to come up with the right words (her regular conversations were likely to be peppered with Denicorizen words that she didn’t even realize she was using), obviously she had been speaking it at home for years. Of course, that only made sense. Aunt Andie and Uncle Casey were both fluent in Denicorizen, but with each other they spoke Basic. Kendra envied Tiran that ease of switching between the languages. Even with her double slot of Denicorizen immersion, she still wasn’t sure of even the most basic phrases and vocabulary.

  Patience, Dina’s voiced echoed over and over again. It will come. It took me a while to learn to speak in your bizarre human words, but I figured it out eventually. Even without anyone to help me.

  Most evenings, Kendra and Tiran went to the library. Kendra would hole up in one of the soundproof study rooms with Bren and pound her way through the next day’s Denicorizen assignments. Sometimes she would join Bren at the dorms. He was friendly with people, but like her, found himself kind of on the edges. There was such a prejudice against the frontier planets among the Citizen students, and the Denicorizen students already tended to divide themselves up into ranks, though not exactly according to the old caste system. Both sides seemed to pick up on the divisions, which left Kendra and Bren and a handful of others from frontier planets left out of most of the social activities.

  It hurt more than Kendra wished. One of the reasons she had looked forward to coming to Corizen was the chance to have a social life at last. She enjoyed the company of other people, but back on Zenith, her parents and then her grandparents were so concerned about her safety all the time that she had very rarely been able to do anything with her friends from second school. To finally have some freedom to hang out with her classmates and then find that most of them wanted nothing to do with her was a blow. Add in the fact that there didn’t seem to be any prospect of searching for Ulyssa, and she struggled with the idea that she would be stuck there for so long.