Psion Delta (13 page)

“What
do you see?” Jeffie asked him.

“Not
much from here,” Sammy told her over the com. “but I’m going to get hypothermia
just standing here. Would you rather I scout?”

“Okay,
but be careful.”

Sammy
crept out and crawled along the tops of the stacks, ignoring the growing pain
in his leg, and staying out of sight whenever possible. He finally found the
two teams battling on two stacks of boxes, and reported what he saw back to
Jeffie.

“We’re
going to move in on them,” she announced. “We’ll be ready to attack when their
skirmish ends.”

Sammy
thought this unwise. They had a great hiding spot and plenty of time to kill
before the match ended. What was her rush? But like a good soldier, he held his
tongue and led the rest of the team to his position. They crawled along the
boxes slowly, keeping their bodies pressed low like a small battalion of giant
spiders. Jeffie directed each of them to their places and gave orders on how
she wanted her attack coordinated. Asaki’s team was winning the battle and had
only lost Levu. Li’s team was down to its last two fighters.

As
they watched the battle play out, Brickert said, “Li got hosed with Strawberry,
Hefani, and Antonio on his team.”

Natalia
giggled, and Kawai nodded happily.

“Move
in behind Asaki’s team, but with caution,” Jeffie said. “I don’t want to be seen
until we’ve taken out a couple of them.”

Jeffie’s
team performed as directed. They were nearly in striking distance when Asaki’s
team spotted them. Asaki ordered half her team to repel Jeffie’s. Being at a
positional disadvantage, Sammy guessed Jeffie would call for a retreat, but she
didn’t.

“Defense
only!” she said. “Nothing but shields. Make it impossible for them to hit you
unless they come down and engage us.”

Sammy
followed orders, still questioning Jeffie’s decision.
Retreat, Jeffie. Make
them come after us or let them get beat up by Li’s team.
Jeffie’s group
held their ground and shielded themselves effectively. Meanwhile, the remnants
of Li’s team refused to lose, and pressed Asaki’s rear flank, commanding more
and more of her attention.

“Sammy,
blast up there and disrupt Asaki’s team. Take out as many of them as you can.”

Using
his most powerful blast-jump, Sammy shot up to the top in one blast, landing
shakily on his throbbing leg in between Rosa and Cala. When all seven of
Asaki’s team turned, Sammy saw the brilliance of Jeffie’s strategy.

“Fire!”
she ordered the remainder of her team. “Take them out!”

Sammy
did his best to cause commotion, jump-blasting high above the heads of his
enemy and firing down upon them. Several hands went up to shield. Sammy slowed
himself down, hovering above them while both Jeffie and Li’s team pressed from
the sides. After taking out Miguel, he focused on Asaki. Rosa went down next,
caught by Antonio on her blind side. Sammy nearly had Asaki when Kobe came at
him, both hands firing. Sammy put up a shield and fired back, but Kaden got a
good jump on Sammy and forced him to land. When Sammy hit the ground, his bad
leg buckled under his weight. He tried to shield himself, but three fighters
pounced on him and deactivated him in seconds.

When
the match ended, Sammy found himself on the ground, having rolled down the
large stack of crates. It was still bitterly cold, and his fingers and toes
were stiff. Kawai helped him up, and he limped over to where the other Betas
were marching out of the Arena. Jeffie saw him and marched toward him with a
blazing look in her eyes.

“I
WON!” she shrieked, launching herself into him.

Pain
seared up his leg to his hip as he barely caught her. He wished he hadn’t when
she squeezed the wind out of his lungs by hugging him so tightly.

“I’ve
never won before. You realize that, right? But I did, thanks to you!”

Sammy
set her down. “No, that was all you. Your ideas were perfect. I thought you’d
made some bad choices, but you proved me wrong.”

Jeffie
constricted him even more until he thought his ribs might crack.

“I
mean it!” he managed to squeak out between gasps of air. “You did well!”

Someone
tapped on Sammy’s shoulder. Sammy turned, saw Kobe, and instantly let Jeffie
go.

“Dude,
wow,” Kobe said, giving Sammy a good-natured punch on the arm. “That thing on
the wall was way cool.”

“Thanks,”
Sammy told him.

Kobe
then gave his attention to Jeffie. “You won! That’s so awesome! Way to go!”

“I
know!” she squealed.

Before
he had to watch them embrace, Sammy hurried to the steps where Brickert was
walking up with Kawai and Natalia. “Good game, guys,” he said.

Brickert
grinned and shook his head.

“What?”
Sammy asked.

Brickert’s
grin transformed into a hearty chuckle. “It’s like you picked up right where you
left off.”

“It’s
true,” Kaden said, coming up behind Sammy. “You looked solid.”

Sammy
forced a smile of his own. “Thanks.”

“Poor
Kobe.” Kaden glanced back down the stairs. “He still hates losing as much as he
used to, but Jeffie’s forcing him to learn to play nice when things don’t work
out his way.” Kaden’s eyes rested on Sammy briefly before he turned his gaze
back upstairs. “She’s been good for him. Mellows him out.”

Sammy’s
com saved him from the awkward moment by alerting him of a new message.

Sammy,

I’d
like to see you in my office as soon as possible. Thank you.

Major
Tawhiri

What
does he want?
Sammy wondered. When they reached the top of
the stairs, he broke apart from the group.

“Where
are you going?” Kawai asked. “Celebration. Cafeteria. Oh-now-hundred-hours.”

Sammy
tapped his com. “I got a message from Tawhiri. He wants to see me.”

Brickert,
Kawai, and Natalia exchanged looks. Natalia began humming a tune for a death
march, and Kawai joined in.

“Good
luck with that,” Brickert said.

“I’ll
meet up with you guys when I’m done.” Quickly taking the stairs, Sammy knocked
three times on Tawhiri’s door.

“Come
on in, Sammy-o!” his voice shouted.

The
apartment that used to be Byron’s looked much different than when Sammy had
seen it a few days ago. Byron possessed a unique taste in furniture and style,
while Tawhiri’s was much more tempered, bordering on dull. Not nearly as many
pictures hung on the walls, but an appealing smell wafted in from somewhere
unseen.

Tawhiri
poked his head around that corner wearing an apron and a chef’s hat. “Are you
hungry?” he asked with a wink. “I made steak! Come grab a bite.”

With
a bit more eagerness than before, Sammy entered the dining area and took a
seat. Tawhiri laid out his china and put all the trimmings on the table. He
uncovered each dish with a flourish. The smell was savory and alluring.

“Please,
Sammy, tuck in.” He glanced up toward his forehead and tittered as he removed
his chef’s hat. “I abhor finding a hair in my food.”

They
filled their plates and ate in silence for a few moments. Tawhiri watched Sammy
out of the corner of his eye, but Sammy gave no indication that he noticed.
When the major swallowed his next large bite, he spoke. “Good?”

“Uh,
me or the food?”

“Both,
I guess.” Tawhiri grinned in a friendly way.

“The
food is amazing. You should put this recipe in the Robochef.”

“A
talent of mine, I guess. If I hadn’t become a Psion, I’d have been a gourmet
chef.” He cut two stalks of asparagus in half and put all four pieces into his
mouth. “Mmm.”

“How
about you? Are you happy here so far?”

“Leadership’s
a burden, Sammy. It’s got ups and downs, and you’ve got to be able to take them
both in stride.” Tawhiri nodded as though he believed Sammy knew exactly what
he meant. “You’ll figure it all out sooner than later.”

“What
are you talking about?”

“My
boy,” the major blinked at Sammy disapprovingly, “you and I both know you’re
headed for great things. The youngest Alpha . . . possibly straight to squadron
leader. Who knows? They may put you in Command before you turn twenty-one.”

Sammy
almost dropped his fork. “Who—what—the youngest Alpha?”

“Yes,
of course, you’re being graduated in a few months. Didn’t you know that?”

Sammy’s
heart beat quickened and his jaw set.

Tawhiri
regarded Sammy warily. “I take it you weren’t aware.”

“Byron
told me it had been suggested, but he also said that if I didn’t want to go
early, I—I—” Sammy fought to subdue that quaking undertone in his voice. “I
wouldn’t have to.”

The
major’s expression changed to one of great surprise. “And you don’t want to?”

“No!
I want to stay here with my friends.”

“But
what good is that going to do anyone? You’re a powerful Psion, Sammy. You don’t
belong here anymore.”

“Yes,
I do.” Sammy glanced down at his half-eaten steak and found his appetite gone.

“Perhaps
you belong here for a few more weeks, months at most. But years?” Tawhiri
clicked his tongue, shaking his head simultaneously. “I think you’re not being
honest with yourself, are you?”

“I—yeah,
I am. I know what I want.”

Tawhiri,
it seemed, hadn’t lost his appetite in the least. Sammy sat in silence and
watched as the major tucked into his food once more. Finally he looked back at
Sammy and pointed his fork at him. “I’ve watched you this week. You’re
unmotivated. You’re coasting through your instructions and simulations. I gave
you an unbalanced team and you still won handily.”

“That
was Jeffie’s doing, not mine.”

Tawhiri
stared at Sammy blankly while taking another large bite of his food.

“I’m
serious.” Sammy sighed deeply. “I thought she’d made some bad decisions, but
they proved to be smart. If I’d been honcho, I’d have done things differently
and probably lost.”

“You
can’t know that for certain. Jeffie made decisions probably because she has
more faith in you than you have in yourself. Even the worst military mind in an
army can be victorious if the odds are stacked in his favor.”

“The
odds weren’t stacked in Jeffie’s favor.”

Major
Tawhiri covered his mouth with a napkin to hide his laughter. “You probably
think of me as a guy who is pretty new here—someone who doesn’t really know
what’s going on. If you do, you’re naïve. Ninety percent of the time Commander
Byron left on recruiting trips or other business, I watched over the students.
I know you better than you think.”

Sammy
didn’t respond.

“Are
you willing to admit that you’re unmotivated?”

“No,
I’m not unmotivated. It’s been hard getting back into the routine.”

“Why?
Was it difficult enjoying the sims when you first started here?”

“No.”

“So
what’s the difference?”

Picking
up a stem of asparagus from his plate, Sammy bit it in half while he thought
about his answer. “I don’t know,” he finally stated.

“Really,
Sammy?” Major Tawhiri had very bushy black eyebrows with one or two gray hairs
in each brow. When they arched, the effect was more dramatic than on other
people. “You really don’t know? Try and come up with something.”

“I
suppose it’s because I’m still recovering from—”

“You
look fine to me.”

“It’s
more mental recover—”

“You
rated very high on your mental health testing scores last week.”

“That’s—I
did?”

The
major crossed his arms over his wide chest. “Let me change topics for a moment.
I’m not criticizing Commander Byron. He was an excellent leader, but our styles
are different. I plan on making some scheduling changes. They’re probably not
going to be popular among your peers. However, I’d like your support and I’d
like you to lead your friends to support me as well.”

“What
kind of changes?”

“Curfew
enforcement on weekends, more emphasis on punctuality, those kinds of things.
And I think respect is vital to having a proper disciplinary relationship. Do
you agree?”

“I,
uh, I guess so.”

“You’ve
just given me an example. You don’t address me as ‘sir.’ Why is that?”

“I
don’t know.”

Tawhiri’s
large eyebrows furrowed tightly. “I think our friendship can be mutually
beneficial. I’m highly regarded in Command, and that’s why I’m here. You are,
too. As of right now, your Psion Panel is scheduled to take place before you
turn sixteen. Part of that Panel is a written statement from the head of Beta
regarding the Psion’s conduct and professionalism.”