Page 17 of Tears of Tungsten
“That was completely unacceptable. I understand that a lot of people here have issues with the fast changes we’ve recently had at the academy. Some of you might even be mourning the recent loss of your friend. But that doesn’t make disrespect of our superiors acceptable. You have to learn how to deal with these things, or you’ll never be able to form a real part of any star fleet.
“Fortunately, King Philip and The Grand Judiciary have already foreseen these issues and they’ve come up with a solution. Starting this semester, a new class will be introduced, dealing with a more realistic perspective of Terran law and culture. I expect all of you to attend regularly and get high grades. Do I make myself clear?”
“Sir, yes, sir,” everybody agreed.
“Acting Lieutenant Renard, you should head out to class. I believe Professor Strange was waiting for you in Tachyon Manipulation. If he has any questions about the incident, refer him to me.”
“Yes, Sir,” Selene answered. “Thank you, Sir.”
She shared one last look with me and at that moment, I could’ve sworn I felt her mind brush against mine. It was a little odd, since she’d never done it before when we weren’t having sex. Remembering what Brendan had told me, I almost recoiled. But I managed to suppress my alarm just in time and relaxed.
In the end, Selene was a familiar, comforting presence, and the secrets we kept from her didn’t change that.
She must have decided I’d be all right, because she finally saluted and left the room. In the wake of her departure, the hangars seemed so much emptier, as if she’d absorbed all the heat from inside.
When Commander Trevor started the actual lesson, I was very relieved. But at the same time, I couldn’t help but wonder where else we’d be going with this.
Things were changing so quickly—too quickly. I feared that, no matter how hard we tried, we wouldn’t be able to protect Selene from it.
