PART V: Patriot and TraitorREGIS, ARKEDONIA

  The magnificent city, Arkedonia, is the capital of the Regis Sectory and the Gactic Confederacy. A high-end sprawling metropolis, it’s known for being temperate, efficient, and, most importantly, safe.

  A well-supplied legion of GSAF Police Enforcement Companies (G-PEC, also known as Military Police) officers dutifully keep Arkedonian homelessness and crime rates in the single digits. They also stop protests and regute internet activity with help from the Gactic Secret Espionage Bureau (GSEB).

  On the highest point of Arkedonia sits the Patine Building, the headquarters of Gactic Congress. Due to civil unrest, an enormous barrier over four meters thick was recently constructed around the building. The wall is made with neutron steel, one of the most durable metals in the gaxy, and protected by military-grade cannons and hundreds of MP officers on patrol all hours of the day,

  REGIS, ARKEDONIA, PALATINE BUILDING, WARREN’S OFFICE

  “…and because they repeatedly send us inferior ore while keeping the best for themselves, I am in the process of revising our agreement with New Sparta Corporate Governance,” Warren wearily answers the reporter.

  It’s been over two hours, but the press is still determined to make him look bad. Luckily, these reporters are clumsy maniputors compared to Warren and pose a negligible threat. “The details are still in the works,” he quickly adds.

  “Are you not concerned these changes may worsen our retionship with the Triumvirate, Mr. Congressman?” a bearded reporter accosts him.

  “Mr. Congressman, do you have a pn if New Sparta retaliates?” another reporter with braids adds. “SecDef is at least twice as advanced as GSAF in terms of equipment.”

  Warren finally can’t take any more stupidity and decides to end it.

  “SecDef will not attack us because they will lose,” he says to the braided woman. “New Sparta will accept these changes, or else,” he follows, answering the first question with an ominous tone.

  Expectedly, the cmoring reporters bombard him with even more questions.

  “Alright, no more questions! Leave, now!”

  Of course, the reporters don’t listen, so Warren uses a button hidden under his desk to summon his security detail. Military Police officers who work directly under him appear from out of nowhere and force the paparazzi out.

  “I told my secretary I didn’t want to see the press today…” he mutters.

  He stands up and paces around his office to clear his mind, stopping now and then to adjust his suit or fix his hair. After all, a Gactic Congressman must be at his best at all times, even when alone.

  A few minutes ter, Warren’s phone buzzes and shows someone is calling on a secure channel. Just to be safe, he circles his office one st time to check for photographers before picking up.

  “Yes?”

  “Important incriminating information on Bull has been discovered,” said the disguised voice on the other end. It was one of his informants in GSEB. Quinnen or Quentin something, Warren didn’t bother remembering his name. “I’m sending it now.”

  “And… her?” he asks. Warren was hoping to finally get rid of a certain vice general before she could interfere with his future pns. After all, deceiving a telepath is a fool’s endeavor.

  “The information does concern Star,” the voice replies. “Unfortunately, it isn’t enough. You’ll need something more to make it watertight, the Legend’s comm records should do.”

  “That’s fine, you did your best,” Warren reassures disingenuously. “I’ll figure something out.”

  “Now, about my–”

  “Yes, I will compensate you for your services.” Warren pauses, wanting to take his time with the next part. “Unfortunately, you were very quick to accept my bribe, too quick for me to trust your confidentiality.”

  “So, I no longer require your existence. Goodbye.”

  “What!?” the voice screams. “Warren, you son of a–”

  Then, the call suddenly ends, and Warren’s phone returns an error message:

  The number you called has been disabled by the Media Moderation Branch. We apologize for any issues that may have occurred.

  Luckily, the information Quinnen, Quentin, or whatever his name is sent went through without a hitch.

  “So… what have you dug up for me this time?” Warren muses.

  Experience has taught him to set his expectations low since people rarely accomplish tasks correctly. However, when he opens the file, what he received is better than anything he could’ve predicted. Yet, having also learned to never act on emotion no matter what, all he reacts with is a simple “Oh?”

  After copying it to his computer for possible future use, Warren dials his secretary. Much like the GSEB operator, he also didn’t bother to learn his name.

  “Yes, Mr. Congressman?”

  “I need you to do something for me. Listen carefully,” Warren commands. “And also ask for a Military Police outfit to accompany you.”

  CSS LEGEND, STAR’S QUARTERS

  “Whew…” breathes Valerie, exhausted after another hard day of work.

  She peels off her uniform, carelessly throwing it aside, and rifles through her drawers for something more comfortable. Pulling out a graphic T-shirt about two sizes too small and a microskirt, she sniffs them.

  “Meh, clean enough,” she shrugs.

  After putting them on, she lies down on her bed while scrolling through social media. While Valerie had a prior commitment in a few minutes, since it was by phone, there was no need for her to dress to the nines.

  *knock knock*

  “Who is it?”

  “It’s me, may I come in?”

  Valerie quickly checks the time. “Yeah, Isaac, come on in. The door’s not locked.”

  Bull walks in and is taken aback by the sight of his half-naked girlfriend lounging on her bed. She didn’t even try to cover up.

  “Hey, I never said I was decent,” she teases, reading his mind.

  “First, put some clothes on. Second, your room’s a pigsty, Val,” Bull tells her bluntly. “To think I stayed over and cleaned up for you just a few weeks ago. How’d it get this bad so quickly?”

  “Life is full of mysteries,” Valerie answers dumbly.

  Actually, the mess had a purpose. Valerie used it to hide the evidence of her amateur tinkering. It wasn’t easy to build a trans-gactic communicator from scratch, and one can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.

  “So…” Bull trails off, unsure what to talk about. “You decided to punch out early. I take it you have pns?”

  “Yeah, just a… a phone call with a friend. We met online,” Valerie lies. She may be a bad liar, but she’s had a lot of practice tely. “She’s stationed in a deep space station and is usually very busy. So, we can’t chat often.”

  “That’s nice.” Bull was happy that Valerie continued to make friends even as she got older. He wished he was as good with people as her, but it just wasn’t in him. “If you want, I can arrange for her to be transferred to the Legend,” he adds.

  “That… won’t be necessary.” At this point, Valerie was in too deep. She can’t stop lying now. “She already spent a few months here and didn’t like it. Better you leave her be.”

  “Alright, whatever you feel is best,” Bull stands up. “Then, I’ll leave you be, Val. I have to get back to work.”

  After a moment of hesitation, he leans in and quickly kisses Valerie’s lips. She giggles and pyfully nudges him away. “Save some for tonight, you horn-dog~” she jokes. Bull just shakes his head and leaves her room.

  The second he’s gone, Valerie rolls off her mattress and opens a secret compartment within her bedside table. Inside was a small phone crudely modified with alien technology. And it was only used to call one number: “Sireli.”

  “Good, right on time.” Before making the call, Valerie frowns, disappointed in herself. “I’m sorry, my love. One day, I’ll expin everything. I promise.”

  *a few minutes ter*

  Sireli: “The Avnal Ij Asara–”

  Valerie: You mean the Scythe?

  Sireli: …“The ‘Scythe’ invaded Huma–”

  Valerie: Earth.

  Sireli: Will you stop that?

  Valerie: Sorry. I’m just not used to someone using extie words.

  Sireli: …

  Sirel: “The ‘Scythe’ invaded ‘Earth’ to wipe out Humanity.”

  Sirel: “Against all odds, the divided nation-states banded together to strike back against a common threat.”

  Sireli: “After the enemy’s destruction, Humanity supplemented their technology with that of the aliens, leaving behind their dying world to conquer the stars.”

  Sireli: This is where your history starts, yes?

  Valerie: More or less. Everything before the Scythe Invasion had been erased long ago. We call that time period the Dark Era.

  Sireli: Do you not suspect a motive for that action?

  Valerie: Course I do, everyone does. But it’s a controversial subject.

  Sireli: Enlighten me.

  Valerie: Well, here’s what I think:

  Valerie: Even though records from the Dark Era are gone, remnants of that time still exist.

  Valerie: The shrines of Yamato, the Last Library, and the Evolution Museum, to name a few. But Congress doesn’t approve of them.

  Valerie: I think they are afraid of the Dark Era.

  Sireli: And what is the reason behind that fear?

  Valerie: The most important thing to the Confederate leadership is predictability. In over four hundred years, our society has barely changed.

  Valerie: The only reason they’d want people to remain ignorant is because they’ll realize things weren’t always this bleak.

  Valerie: Once people see a different world is possible, they’d do anything to achieve it. The system will crumble, those in power will lose everything, and billions will die in the ensuing anarchy.

  Sireli: Now, can you see why it is important to question?

  Valerie: …No, not really. In fact, that was nerve-wracking to say aloud.

  Sireli: Ignorance breeds fear, vaxa’kiv. Regardless of what we are, Veriyan or Human, we are sves to fear.

  Sireli: Fear is an ancient but powerful emotion. If you have no fear, no force can control you. But fear can only be beaten with knowledge.

  Valerie: Why are you telling me this? What good would come from me throwing away my life like that?

  Sireli: Because you are disappointed by your race. And unlike many who harbor simir thoughts, you have the ability to act on them.

  Valerie: Sireli, I’m just one woman. I know my psionics are impressive, but I can’t change a society that has sted for centuries.

  Sireli: Our connection must now be severed.

  Valerie: Sireli–!

  Sireli: You will figure out the rest on your own.

  *beep*

  Sireli hangs up, leaving Valerie with a lot to think about. Even though she enjoys listening to the thoughts of others, Valerie rarely focuses on her own. Whether she’s hanging out with Raine and Lewis or enjoying “quality time” with Bull, she tries to avoid doing any introspection.

  Why did Sireli talk about fear? she asks herself. I am Humanity’s strongest Silencer. I have the best boyfriend in the gaxy and tons of friends watching my back. How can I be afraid of anything?

  Then, to her relief, Valerie’s main cell phone buzzes. The notification banner was decorated with hearts. It was from Bull:

  Report to the bridge. A rep from Congress wants to speak to you.

  Valerie exhales in irritation and relief. Whenever anyone from the government visits a warship, trouble always follows.

  Nice going, Valerie, she mocks herself. You just had to set a fucking fg, didn’t you? Now, I gotta get dressed again.

  At times like this, Valerie wishes Bull would let her sew her uniforms herself. She’s made her own clothes since she was ten, after all, and it would remove a lot of squeezing in between costume changes.

  CSS LEGEND, MAIN BRIDGE

  “Vice General Star, reporting as ordered.”

  When Valerie walked on the bridge, Bull and the secretary were in the middle of a conversation. Meanwhile, Admiral Desha was nowhere to be seen. That slippery little coward. Probably left to visit his wife the day before or something, Valerie thinks.

  The secretary walks past Valerie and stands on a step so he can be at her eye level. Valerie tried probing his mind, but there wasn’t much to see. Whoever sent him knew about her abilities and was careful not to tell him too much. Additionally, despite his meek appearance, the secretary had a very focused mind that was hard to read.

  “Ms. Star, I’m here to conduct an investigation on behalf of Gactic Congress,” he informs her.

  “Regarding what?” Valerie retorts. “And on whose orders?”

  “I am not obligated to share that information,” he answers smugly.

  Valerie turns to look at Bull, mouthing the words, “Help me, asshole.”

  “The Defense Cabinet believes a high-ranking officer on this ship is passing military information to an enemy power,” said Bull. “I tried to refute the accusations, but Warren can be… stubborn.”

  Warren, of course, Valerie thinks. I knew there was something I didn’t like about him.

  “Ms. Star, since you are second-in-command of the Legend’s ground forces, your consent is required before I can begin my investigation.”

  The secretary holds out a tablet. He points to an attachment at the bottom meant for a Citizen’s Key, a rod-shaped device designed by GSEB used for ID, signature, and electronic payment. Recently, all Confederate citizens have been mandated to receive one along with a functioning cell phone that can link with it.

  “May I discuss that with my General first?” Valerie asks.

  “No, your answer must be given now. I should also inform you that turning me away will only add to our suspicions.”

  Valerie throws her hands up, realizing she didn’t have a choice. “Fine, do what you want, but don’t try anything you’ll regret.” She reluctantly inserts her Citizen’s Key into the tablet. “I won’t be held accountable if my troops break your face.”

  “Your cooperation is appreciated.” The secretary gives a friendly grin, but Valerie just growls at him.

  “Will that be all… ‘sir?’” she spits.

  “Yes, Ms. Star,” he answers.

  “Whoop-de-damn-do.”

  “Now, I was on break before you called my silver ass here, so I’ll let myself out.”

  Valerie storms out of the bridge with her fists clenched. She didn’t bother to hide her anger since she used up all her self-control.

  “If only I could lift that pompous suit and break his spine over my knee,” she mutters to herself. “Still, I’d be a bad girlfriend if I added to Isaac’s stress. Maybe a few drinks will make me forget this shit.”

  “Now I see the reasoning behind those accusations, Mr. Bull,” the secretary remarks. “The discipline of your officers is seriously cking.”

  Bull nods. “So it would seem.”

  CSS LEGEND, RECREATION DECK, SHIP’S BAR

  Despite her appearance, Valerie is a super lightweight who rarely drinks. It only took a single beer to get drunk. Now, after one more, her slurred ramblings show no signs of stopping. So, Raine just listens with a bored expression.

  “I hate it when Congress drops by! I hate it!” Valerie screeches. “Those *hic* ingrates get me so damn pissed!”

  *thump*

  Valerie sms her mug on the table, making Raine jump. Luckily, Raine asked the bartender to give her a metal one to avoid accidental shattering.

  “I can see that,” Raine replies calmly. “You only come here to get wasted. And you only get wasted when you’re in a very bad mood.”

  “And– and Isaac won’t do nothing because *hic* Congress… or something. I dunno…” Raine rolls her eyes, realizing Valerie’s cognition is long gone. “I don’t wanna destroy his career, but I don’t want him to just watch me suffer!”

  She then grabs Raine’s chest, making her gasp in surprise, and starts groping her. “I just wanna be loved!!” she cries.

  “Okay, I get it! Hands off my titties, you freak!” Raine irritatedly pushes her hands away and fixes her shirt. “Seriously, aren’t you, like, a J-cup? Just touch your own boobs for once!”

  Right now, Valerie is contempting whether or not to finish her drink. She hates bitter fvors, which is the only fvor alcohol comes in. “Lani, you’re my number one officer and number one friend,” she eventually says. “Can you give me some advice…?”

  “Well, I’d recommend a cold shower followed by some light cardio. Maybe a cup of bck coffee–”

  “Be serious, Lani! I *hic* I want– I really, really want to get Congress off my back!”

  “I’m not qualified to advise you on this,” Raine replies, even though she knows logic is useless right now. “And you’re… not in the right state of mind to listen,” she adds.

  “Pretty pleeaaase~?” Valerie begs childishly. “I’ll put you to sleep on my p like when we were kids~”

  Despite what she said before, there was no way Raine was going to miss the opportunity to experience one of Valerie’s p pillows again. While she may not be very articute, Valerie needed to hear something right now. It was time to step up and be her big sister for real.

  “V, I know you’re not the type to go with the flow. While we all love that about you, that also makes you a magnet for trouble.”

  “We have to march to the beat of the Confederacy’s drum even if it means going off a cliff. No one likes it, but there’s nothing we can do… It sucks, but that’s life.”

  “That’s it!” Valerie cries.

  “Eh?” This was not the reaction Raine was expecting.

  “I can do something!” Valerie continues. “I got the power, so I must be fearless!”

  That crazed look in Valerie’s eyes was a red fg. Even though she had on her inhibitor, Raine was a little scared about what may happen if a Silencer like her got too drunk. This was probably a good time to intervene.

  “The only thing you got is too much booze in your gut,” said Raine. She lifts Valerie and helps her stand. “C’mon, let’s get you outta here.”

  “No!” Valerie pushes Raine away hard enough to make her stumble. She didn’t mean to, of course. “This one– *hic* still half full!”

  In response, Raine swipes her mug and chugs it with practiced speed.

  *thump*

  “Now, it’s completely empty,” she says after wiping her mouth with her sleeve. “Let’s go, I’ll carry you if you want.”

  “On your back?”

  “Why not? Hop on, you big baby.”

  Before Raine reaches the door, the secretary opens it, entering the bar while fnked by an escort of about a dozen armed Military Police officers. Upon seeing them, the rowdy bar quickly went silent.

  “Cops? Here?” Raine wonders aloud.

  “That’s… him.” Valerie points to the secretary, and Raine frowns. No one can mess with her little sister, not even the government.

  “So, this what our finest typically do during breaks, Ms. Star?” the secretary sneers. “Drinking with the great unwashed?”

  One of his guards snorts at his comment, which makes Raine snap. She drops Valerie (ignoring the “Ow! Fuck you!” when she hits the floor) and swaggers up to the secretary.

  “First off, I shower twice a day,” she retorts. It was a me comeback, but it felt necessary. “Second, this ain’t the Patine Building, bub. You can’t just walk in like you own the pce and say whatever the hell you want.”

  “Alright, I will be direct.” The secretary looks down at Valerie, still nursing her bruised butt. “Ms. Star, you’ve been found guilty of treason and are under arrest. I’ve authorized these men to take you in for processing and execution.”

  “Say what!?” Raine shrieks. “What the fuck have ya been snorting!? V is the best soldier we have!”

  A loyal infantryman in the front pumps his fist in agreement. “Yeah! Vice General would never betray GSAF!”

  “That’s snder!” followed a Silencer near the back. “I don’t see evidence of your ‘conviction!’”

  Even one of the tacticians voiced her support. “Even if he did have proof, we’d never give her to you, pencil neck! Right, guys!?” Having been riled up by her, many other patrons start yelling as well.

  “The w doesn’t need your approval to be enforced, nor is it welcome!” the secretary yells back. “Cuff her!”

  One of the officers approaches Valerie with heavy-duty cuffs in her hands. She hesitates when the other soldiers stand up. While they weren’t allowed to bring guns into the bar, many of them still had knives or shock batons, and they were surrounded by gss.

  “This is your st chance to back off,” Raine taunts.

  “Heh, or else what?”

  POW

  Having lost her patience, Raine hits the secretary with a powerful right hook. He falls into the arms of his escorts, his face covered in blood.

  “Agh–!! My nose… that girl broke my nose!”

  “Poor choice of words! Get ’em, guys!” Raine shouts. “But don’t kill any of them!” she quickly adds. Any victory that ends up creating weeks of paperwork for her and Valerie would be a very hollow one.

  “Hah… you’ve made a mistake, bumpkin! MP, shoot to kill!”

  The officers start firing at Valerie’s supporters. On instinct, they quickly flip over the thick tables to use as cover. Guns may not be allowed in bars, but this isn’t the first time shots were fired here. The infantryman from before bravely dashes to Raine and helps her bring Valerie behind them.

  “Thank you,” Raine says to him.

  “No, thank you, Raine. You stepped up to that well-dressed ass first,” he encourages her. “And we all owe the Vice General; she’s one of a kind. Without her, many of us would have no reason to smile.”

  “Well, that’s nice and all, but they got guns, and we don’t,” said Raine.

  “But they don’t have armor,” the tactician adds. “So, just pick something up–” She grabs a nearby empty wine bottle. “–and throw!” Gripping the neck, the tactician hurls it by with impressive accuracy, and it shatters right on the head of one of the officers.

  “Nice shot,” Raine compliments.

  Having been invigorated, everyone starts hurling various objects at the officers (one of the bigger ones even threw a 20-kilogram keg of ger). Though MPs knew how to shoot their guns, they were nowhere near the level of GSAF accuracy. The best they did was nick a few of the more careless ones.

  Then, in a sudden act of courage, their squad leader tries to charge at the rioting soldiers. With impressive agility, he nimbly leaps over the obstacles while dodging everything thrown his way.

  “Let him come, but don’t touch him,” Raine orders the others. She then takes off her shirt, showing off her dark, ripped torso, only covered by a sports bra. “His butt is mine.”

  The second he hops over the table, Raine pulls his gun out of her hands and smashes it on the floor. Putting up her hands, she clenches her fingers, extending her cw impnts.

  “Come on, take a swing, you motherfucker!” she taunts.

  The officer throws a reckless right hook, but Raine quickly ducks under it. She then catches his left jab and swipes at the bicep, ripping his sleeve and leaving huge cw marks.

  “What’s wrong, boy? Still itchy!?”

  Raine feints another scratch, only to nd a devastating low kick to the groin. She pats herself on the back for wearing steel-toed boots today. The officer falls to his knees, writhing in pain, but Raine isn’t satisfied. She picks up a shard of gss and slices off his left ear.

  “A trophy to remember you by,” she smirks before shoving him back to his people.

  Thoroughly defeated, the secretary and Military Police officers clutch their wounds in pain. “Your general will hear about this!” he threatens.

  “Talk to the cws, asshole!” Raine replies.

  “Wait!” Having not said a word until now, Valerie slowly stands up, straightens her bow tie, and calmly approaches the secretary. “Now that I’ve sobered up a bit… I’ve got something to ask.”

  Suddenly, she grabs the bleeding man by his shoulderpads and lifts him in the air.

  “Gahh–! Let me go, you brute!” he wails.

  “Ha, pathetic,” Valerie scoffs. “To think you tried to grant me a death sentence without presenting a lick of evidence. That takes guts, something you obviously don’t have.” She then roughly shakes him, to everyone’s amusement.

  “Who do you work for!?” she demands. “Why’d you really come here!?” Despite his fear, the secretary remains silent. “Talk!!”

  “I’ll take it to my grave!” he replies while spitting on Valerie. Yet, she resists the temptation to kill him.

  “Hmm… nah.” Valerie just tosses him onto the ground like a bag of rice. “I don’t need to kill you. You’re nothing.”

  “Ugh… my neck…” he groans. “This isn’t over, Star… You don’t know it, but you’ve already lost!”

  “Let’s agree to disagree,” Valerie jeers. “Now, piss off, before I change my mind.” The soldiers cheer as the secretary and his entourage limp to the door.

  “This may be a bad time to ask, sir, but are we getting overtime pay for this?” the squad leader whispers, clutching his crotch while keeping a towel pressed on the left side of his head.

  “Shut up, Keenan…” One by one, the group exits the bar shamefully.

  “We did it! First round’s on me, everyone!” Raine shouts.

  “Yeah, hard pass, Raine. I’m gonna be so hung over tomorrow…” Valerie moans. “But hey, thanks for all that. I’ll make sure to give you five p pillows this week.”

  “No biggie. This is what big sisters do. If there’s anything I hate more than exties, it’s dumb bastards who hurt my friends.” Raine affectionately brushes back a stray lock of Valerie’s hair. “And we are friends to the end.”

  “That’s really sweet, but put on a shirt.” Then, Valerie pauses, and her face turns serious. “I hope the General feels the same as you.”

  “I won’t stress it, V.” Raine ughs while putting a sweat-covered arm around her. Valerie may be stronger physically, but unlike Raine, she cked the discipline to build up a muscur figure. “You charmed your way back into his good graces before. He’s got a real soft spot for you.”

  While even Raine isn’t fully aware of their true retionship (yet), Valerie knows she has good intuition for this kind of thing. After filling her shot gss with whiskey, Raine climbs onto a chair and raises it up high.

  “To Vice General Star! Our greatest leader!!”

  The bar fills with triumphant cheers at Raine’s toast. Valerie blushes upon seeing the sheer number of people willing to put their careers on the line for her.

  “Aww~ You guys are too much, stop it~”

  “Then, you gotta stop being awesome, you big hero~” Raine ruffles Valerie’s hair despite fixing it just a second ago. Still, she couldn’t help but giggle at her best friend.

  Even so, despite the happy atmosphere, Valerie was actually feeling very uneasy. Because when the secretary was weakened, she managed to get a few glimpses at his thoughts.

  He was working for a huge political conspiracy, and Bull was one of the people they considered a threat, she says to herself. Even so, being a telepath who saw something bad in someone’s head isn’t exactly enough to warrant a full-scale investigation.

  Still, I should warn him… but will he believe me? It didn’t take long for Valerie to answer her own question under her breath:

  “No, of course not.”

  CSS LEGEND, GENERAL’S OFFICE (4 HOURS LATER)

  “Sit down.”

  Bull gres at Valerie, who does as she’s told. Saying he looked furious was putting it very lightly.

  “If this is about the fight in the bar, I take full responsibility,” Valerie confesses. “Luckily, no one was fatally injured on either side.”

  “No, it’s about this.”

  Bull slowly slides a diginote towards her. She skims through it and sees it’s a record of outgoing signals sent from her quarters. And the timestamps match her conversations with Sireli.

  “This–!” Valerie gasps. “Isaac, I can expin!”

  “For three months, you’ve been speaking to someone outside Confederate space on a secure channel. Every week at 2200 hours for exactly 25 minutes,” said Bull. “It just so happens that GSEB cannot pinpoint such signals if they st for less than 30 minutes.”

  “The secretary you assaulted hoped to find this information. I hid it from him.”

  A deduction like this couldn’t have been made overnight. “How long have you been spying on me?” Valerie questions.

  “Long enough.” Bull tries to dodge the question, making her angry, too.

  “Don’t make me read your mind.”

  “About a year,” he admits.

  Valerie sees that she overestimated his trust in her. All this time, he expected something like this to happen. “Well, now that we know you are a helicopter parent,” she murmurs. “What’ll you do?”

  “I have to report this to the Defense Cabinet.”

  “Isaac, you must let me expin–”

  “You were talking to that Veriyan who saved your life, Sireli,” Bull interjects. “It was an easy guess. I’m not that dense, Val, I knew you became attached to her. And you were never a good liar.”

  Damn. To think I thought I was getting better.

  “I didn’t tell her anything!” Valerie yells, trying to defend her actions. “Our conversations were never about military affairs!”

  “Sireli’s not Human. We don’t know how she thinks,” Bull argues stubbornly. “She could’ve been maniputing you.”

  “There’s no reason for you to believe that. Sireli isn’t skilled at psychological warfare, and you know I’m immune to mind probes.”

  “You can’t assume that!” Bull raises his voice at her, something he’s never done before. “Don’t you see what’s happened!? She’s pyed you, Valerie!”

  “The only time you spoke to her was when you were trying to kill her!” Valerie shouts back. She could sense people outside were listening and judging her, but she didn’t care. “Now you’re saying you know her better than me!? Are you out of your mind!?”

  “I should be asking you the same question! You’re a telepath, so why are you still so naive!? She is our enemy!”

  “That sounds like something Raine would say. At least, she understands when xenophobia causes more harm than good.”

  “Agh… Forget it.” Bull was a stubborn man, and so was Valerie when she wanted to be. Arguing was going to get both of them nowhere.

  “The Defense Cabinet will be more concerned with handling the damage to GSAF over punishing you,” he informs. “If we’re lucky, you’ll be sentenced to time in a medium-security prison.”

  “Is that supposed to make me feel better?” Valerie scoffs. “Cut the bullshit, Isaac, you’re selling me out!”

  “You broke the w. No one is above the w,” he replies sternly. “You understand, right?”

  Valerie shakes her head, whipping her long hair back and forth. “No, I don’t.”

  “Did I do something to upset you, Isaac? Or… do you not… love me?” She can feel her eyes watering at the thought. “Is your job more important to you than me? Than us!?” she sobs. “You never loved me from the start, did you!?”

  Instead of reacting, Bull just watches her cry, his face stony and devoid of emotion.

  “Tell me!! You owe me that much!!” Valerie demands shrilly. Her eyes were full of tears now, making her dark blue mascara run.

  “We are soldiers,” Bull mutters. “Our personal feelings are… irrelevant.”

  Screw this shit, Valerie thinks. I can just read your mind and… nothing? His mind is completely bnk!? That means… No, this can’t be…

  “You’re confined to quarters,” Bull decres, yanking her back to reality. “I’ll give you an hour to take care of any personal matters before deactivating your ID.”

  “I’m sorry,” he adds.

  Still, he could see an apology was worthless now. Valerie stands up with her fists clenched, and Bull waits for a punch in the face. Instead, she just lowers her head with tears and makeup still running down her cheeks.

  “Do you know why I never regret my decisions?” Valerie asks him. “It’s because I do what I think is right, not what someone else tells me is right.”

  “I don’t think I can say the same for you… General,” she says coldly.

  Finally, Valerie wipes her face with her sleeve and leaves his office.