Ten Thousand Fleets Chapter 3: 3: Cassie

Read chapter 3 of Ten Thousand Fleets by DavidNiemitz on NovelPedia.

3: Cassie Academy Hill, Vidako Imperium Stellarum August 12, 2847 At the words of the older cadet, Cassie felt a shift in the entire dynamic of the other newly arrived students who surrounded her. Eyes shifted in her direction, whispers ran around the edge of the group, and some of them even stepped back to clear a space around her. Almost all of them had already known , of course—but until someone had actually said something, she imagined that they hadn’t been certain how to act. She could even see Jessica quietly shifting around the perimeter of the group, ready to leap in if needed. She felt a sudden, boiling anger, and the urge to punch the preening boy in front of her in his stupid nose was almost impossible to restrain. You need to get a handle on your temper, Cassie . She could actually hear her father’s words in her head, the precise tone of the admonition, it had come so many times before. It was easy for him to say—a lot easier than it was to actually put those words into practice. Especially now. Because somehow , she’d actually gotten lucky enough to meet someone who didn’t seem to have the slightest clue who she was. How that was possible when her face had been plastered over every planetary net in the Imperium since the day she was born, Cassie couldn’t have said; and at first, she hadn’t even believed it. But either Arc was the best actor in the sector—a thought which nearly made her snort in laughter—or he genuinely hadn’t put it together. Until right now. There was no way anyone could possibly be that oblivious, now that this cadet, who was clearly waiting for some sort of gracious response, had put her on the spot. She felt like ‘Cassie,’ cadet fourth class, had only been allowed to live for a few short hours before being ruthlessly and publicly murdered. Now all anyone would see when they looked at her was Cascada Vega Sabran-Solaris, Princess Imperial, and she hated it. It was everything she’d come here to get away from. Still, if there was any performance she could put on, it was this one. She had, after all, been trained for it her entire life. Cassie met the older boy’s eyes and poured every ounce of contempt she could muster into her gaze, while making a short, sharp gesture with her left hand, where it hung by her hip, to call Jessica off. He was an ant—nothing more than an insect to be ground under her boot, and she wanted him to know it. She raised her chin imperiously, let the whispers die, and then spoke. “Perhaps you haven’t been adequately trained in academy protocol, sir,” Cassie said. “While I am here on Vidako, I am Cadet Sabran-Solaris. I’m to be given no special treatment, nor any non-military form of address. And you outrank me, sir.” “Enough of that,” the other upperclassmen said, stepping forward. She had gorgeous dark skin, and three years’ growth of long, black hair that had been pulled back in over a dozen thin, tight braids. “My name is Ireti Ọlatẹru, Cadet First Class. I’ll be escorting all of you ladies to Tycho Hall, where you’ll be given your room assignments. Come along with me—keep up, and I might even be persuaded to answer a few questions on the walk. I’m certain Cadet Van Camp and the boys will be right behind us.” Ọlatẹru turned on her heel with military precision and moved out along the path, but all of the other first year girls hesitated. Of course, Cassie realized: they were waiting for her. She spared one look for Arc, saw that his eyes were just as wide and his face just as pale as she’d feared, and knew that she’d already lost what might have been the only chance at a real friendship she’d have here, but there was nothing to do. She turned and hurried after Cadet Ọlatẹru, into the shade cast by the genetically engineered trees whose boughs arced over the campus paths. Like a dam that cracked, and then burst all at once, the other women all burst into motion, though none of them spoke to Cassie, or even approached her. “You said you might be willing to answer questions