Chapter 24

Chapter

Twenty-Four

Volten

I stretched my arms overhead as my boots slapped the stone walkway leading to the shipyard. The morning light was barely warming the sky, and the air still carried the chill of the night. I sucked in another breath, grateful for the fresh air, then I hesitated as I picked up the scent of freshly fired fuel.

My pace instantly slowed as I scanned the rows of ships and recognized a transport that had not been there the day before. I had been briefed on the arrival of the Drexian ship carrying the human envoy, but I had not anticipated it arriving so early.

I drew myself up to my full height when I spotted the figure walking toward me. It had been so long since I had seen someone not in academy uniform or the school-issued workout clothes that I tilted my head at his mismatched black pants and brown shirt. The hat that perched on his short hair seemed peculiar for a warrior, and I could not imagine the purpose of wearing a flimsy, fabric head covering into battle.

“Are you the welcoming committee?” The man laughed at what I assumed was Earth humor when he reached me and extended his hand.

I remembered the human custom of gripping hands and moving them briskly, so I took his hand and jiggled it. The man’s eyes widened, but I continued to wiggle my hand as I spoke.

“I am Lieutenant Volten, an instructor in the School of Flight. Welcome to the Drexian Academy.”

“Volten? Then you are Drexian.”

He said this as if the significant advantage I had on him in height and breadth did not make that abundantly clear. “I am.”

He nodded, flicking his gaze up and down me before looking past me to the academy. “And that is the famous Drexian Academy.” He laughed again. “Or maybe I should say, infamous.”

I did not understand why this human was laughing so much or what was funny. I decided to ignore his odd statement “You are the envoy sent from Earth?”

He squared his shoulders. “Captain Gorman.”

I did not know the salute for officers on Earth, so I thumped my fist across my chest. We were on Drex, so he would get a Drexian salute. “Welcome, Captain. We did not expect you this early or I am certain the Academy Master would have been here to greet you himself. ”

The captain waved this away. “I wanted to arrive early and see the school without a lot of fuss. I thought I could surprise an old friend.”

“You are old friends with Admiral Zoran?” I had never heard the admiral speak about working with humans.

“No, not the admiral. I served alongside Captain Douglas.”

I stared at him for a few beats as I processed the name. Captain Douglas? He meant Fiona. Since Ariana was such close friends with the Strategy instructor, I rarely thought of her as Captain Douglas anymore. As a fellow instructor, I did not address her as captain.

“She is an instructor in our School of Strategy,” I said, turning and escorting him toward the entrance to the academy. “We call them Assassins.”

The human glanced overhead as we walked under the high arch with the four emblems of the schools carved into the ebony stone. “That sounds like Fiona.”

He laughed once more, but this time I joined him because I was starting to feel odd letting him laugh alone. We passed through the wide doors and down the entrance corridor until we reached the main hall, the captain swinging his head to look at the weapons on the walls and the vaulted ceilings.

“It is still early, and we are between terms, so our instructors do not have set schedule like we do when classes are in session,” I told him once we were in the large open space with the stairs that wound up. “I do not know if the captain is in her quarters, eating breakfast, or in her office.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m happy to wait for her if you point me in the direction of her office.”

I was relieved he had not asked me to lead him to her quarters, so I pointed to the arch leading to the School of Strategy. “Down that corridor. I believe her office is the third door on the right.”

He tipped his head to me. “Thanks, Lieutenant.”

I watched him stride beneath the Assassin arch and disappear down the dimly lit corridor, nerves fluttering in my chest. I had not made a mistake in pointing him in the direction of Fiona’s office, had I? Protocol would normally dictate that I take him directly to the admiral, but he had seemed eager to see Fiona.

Now that I was thinking about it, he had spoken about the captain with a good deal of familiarity. I knew little of Fiona’s past, but it was clear that this envoy was a part of it.

“I’ll have to ask Ariana later,” I said to myself as I spun on my heel to return to the shipyard, only glancing over my shoulder when Vyk stomped through the hall toward the Assassin building, his jaw tight and his stride purposeful.

Did he already know about the captain’s arrival? Did he know where the man was heading?

“That was fast.” A shiver went through me as I thought that the commander really did know everything that went on in the academy.