Evening arrives and I return to the scene of where the drinks flowed ceaselessly, the Canteen back to the artistry of austerity. Blunt edged cool metal table tops in varying lengths are the only items left from last night. Smaller tables are meant for the elite to sit and longer for the larger group of ensigns. Rank dictates every movement.
Greyish food cubes bomb my stomach, sending acid toward my throat. The cubes are a gelatin-based squared food that provides the optimal nutrients, but they forgot to include a pleasant taste. I stop eating, but I don't leave yet, glad to have a moment alone at a small table.
"I got my orders, no surprise," Seger says with lukewarm excitement as he walks up and places himself across from me.
His family is a military clan known for creating reliable officers. Seger is always zealous in our mandatory daily exercise. Not competitive, but not quite liked by our class overall. He didn't inherit the charm and superior intellect of his mother, that went to his protective older sister Lieutenant Zenja Hinds.
"By your tone, you preferred to go with your family," I say. "But the final sorting hasn't happened. One of them may be on the ship with us." Unlikely as their family's reputation for military reliability and elite ranks make each of them a limited valuable resource. They logically will be distributed among the ships for the highest survival probability.
"No, it's just a change from what we've known. But I will always honor my duty; you can depend on that. It is our destiny to be together."
"If you had a choice would it be me?" With the escape from Kavarka looming, I want him to admit it. At least we could have honesty between us.
"I have no other choice, so why discuss? We are dutiful, that's why we are compatible. Let's focus on that." He reaches across and places his hand over mine. His touch, foreign, leaves me starving for fulfillment elsewhere, but duty determines all my decisions forward, including enduring his contact.
Before the announcement of the arranged marriage, I suggested James as a match, when Father told me it was to be Seger. Father said James wasn't acceptable for my station. Seger can't be a challenge to my intellect, but I hoped in time he would show some hidden promise of heart. Still, he didn't answer my question, would he choose me? I slide my hand away from his, tracing the metal surface. Is it the temperature of the table or the future with no honesty that leaves me cold?
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There Is No Peace - The EOS Chronicles, Book One | SAMPLE
Science Fiction**SAMPLE** NOW PUBLISHED AS PAPERBACK & EBOOK ON AMAZON. (Link In Bio) Her father's secrets saved her. Her mother's secret poisoned her. Her secret may kill her. Her world is dying, poisoned and ravaged by war, and there's only one way to survive. S...
