Kate sat cross-legged in the center of the room. Her long brown hair, braided down her back and, like her mother, not one hair was out of place.
Her wrists rested motionlessly on her knees. She was a statue, with her eyes closed and her focus on the future. All the doubts she had about her brother, all the fears she had about herself. She let them all breathe in her mind’s eye just long enough to snuff them out.
Kate could not afford to carry all that baggage with her to Mars. When the last drop of doubt fell away, she lifted her hands and reached forward for her staff, laying on the ground in front of her.
As soon as she laid her hands on it, she tumbled forward and rolled out onto her feet. She stretched forward with her left hand, holding the staff out and reached back with her right foot. Her body was elongated and moved smoothly across the floor.
This began an elaborate dance between her and her staff. She twirled it over her head and underneath her feet. She tumbled across the floor and in a balanced dance that looked more like a ballet than an exercise in hand-to-hand combat.
When she finished she knelt down on the floor and spent a few moments calming her breath and clearing her mind. Then she stood up and headed back to her quarters.
But she didn’t get far.
William was sitting on one of the benches in the atrium outside the council chamber. He stood up as she approached.
“I didn’t have the heart to interrupt you,” he told her. “You’re as graceful as your mother.”
Kate paused, swallowed her pride, and said, “thank you.”
“I wanted to speak to you about a couple of things.”
“What?”
“Well, first I think they’re listening in,” William said. “I don’t believe they have a mole, or Lucas has turned. And I’m certain that James is not with them.”
“How can you be sure?” Kate asked.
“For one,” he began, “they would know more. Just being aware of the Nekuia is nothing compared to the things James knows about this place and this family. Second, he would not have been so willing to surrender before if his treachery had been so deep. Besides – I’d still like to believe in him.”
Kate took a seat on the bench, and William sat down beside her.
“I must admit, I think Lucas sent that message.”
“Do you think they are getting to him?”
“No, I think they mentioned the Nekuia to him, and somehow he was able to send us word,” William continued, “although they might have planned on that. But, I’m certain he believed he was trying to warn us. Not trap us.”
“Do you think James is on Mars?”
“What better place to hide,” he said. “In all the galaxy, it’s the one spot where the people do not care who he is or who he was, the one place that the rest of the system does not care to look at or pay any mind. It is a place where he could hide.”
“Do think he’ll be waiting?” Kate wondered.
“Perhaps.”
“Do I want him to be?”
William laughed. “Perhaps.”
Then he stood up and reached out his hand to Kate. “The other thing I want to show you.”
She took his hand and the two headed off down the long corridor away from the main grounds of the compound.
“Where are we headed?”
“To the hanger,” he said. “The first prototype is complete.”
“The gunship is ready?”
“We test it this afternoon.”
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