A knock at her door caused Maya to look up from her report, and she smiled as it slid open. "Hi, David. I thought you were to be gone today." She winced at how awkward it sounded; she still had troubles with English, even after years of serving with "Earth grown" Rangers.
"I was supposed to be, but I slept in, and then Zhane asked me to give this to you before I left." He handed her a small packet.
"Why did he not just send..." She caught sight of the red "confidential" stamp on the envelope and stopped. "Oh."
"What is it?" he asked. Maya smiled.
"I can't tell you," she said teasingly, but it was only partially a joke. "It means only that he has something he needs me to do, and it has something to do with disciplinary action here in the Academy."
David nodded. "This happens a lot?"
"No, not really." She smiled. "Call me when you get back in, okay? You still owe me dinner."
He scowled at her. "Is that a dismissal?" he asked.
"Probably one of the nicest you'll get," she responded. "Now go; I don't know if I must attend this now or it can be later." He looked like he had another question; more than that, she could feel his curiosity. "Go on, and if I can explain, I will. Fair enough?"
He nodded reluctantly. "Fair enough. I'll see you tonight, then."
"I look forward to it." The door closed behind her and she sighed, then turned her thoughts resolutely to the message, rather than the messenger. She'd been half expecting this assignment for a while, ever since the invasion three weeks ago. She pulled out the papers and began to read.
They had found traces of a hacker - which Zhane had graciously defined for her - in the medical files, and from there Jacob was able to trace the movements, what had been done. Or that was what she understood, which, frankly, wasn't much. But she did understand that he wanted her to sit in on the interviews. That made sense, actually, and she left her quarters to head for his office. He wasn't there when she arrived, so she stood outside his door and waited. She could feel his emotions while he was still quite a ways away, and was rather surprised at how jumbled and strong they were.
"You're projecting enough to give me a headache," she told him as he came into sight.
"Sorry, Maya." He didn't look like he felt well, and considering what she was picking up, she wasn't too surprised. "I guess it's redundant to say that I'm worried."
She smiled gently. That was an understatement! "Yes, a little. Where do you want me?"
"In Andros' office for now, or Karone's, whichever is best for you. I'll come get you... I've got sort of an idea of what I want to do. And I apologize ahead of time for giving you a headache."
"That's okay. I've managed to survive the last three years of ‘graduates', I think I'll survive this." She knocked on Karone's door, and entered at the invitation. "Hi. Can I stay in here until your husband decides he needs me?"
Karone smiled. "Of course! What is this about?"
Maya grimaced. "I don't think I can tell you, but he's very upset about it. He's conducting interviews, and he wants me there."
The sharp sense of understanding cut through Maya's thoughts, and she hid a wince. "He found someone to start on," Karone said.
"Yes." Maya took a deep breath. "He's going to wear himself out today." She almost added an ‘I think', but changed her mind. The way the air felt, it would turn out that way.
A burst of emotion behind her made Maya wince again, this time unable to hide it. "Are you okay?"
"I thought Zhane tried not to get involved with the Cadets," Maya said, glancing almost involuntarily at the wall behind her, where Zhane's office was.
Karone straightened. "He doesn't. Except this semester was an... exception, because of the invasion. There are a couple he's... gotten fond of."
"Fond enough that he's giving me a headache." It was more of a joke, rarely understood by those not telepathic or empathic. She winked to let her know it was a joke.
The door opened, and Zhane smiled wearily. "Ready?"
The worry from Karone surprised Maya, although it shouldn't have. She knew how much these two loved each other. "Yes," she answered, and left the room, closing the door behind her. They would need the privacy, and Zhane needed Karone right then.
The hallway crackled with energy, although the security guard at the end of the hall didn't seem to notice. Well, she was used to that. But she could tell something was going to happen today.
Zhane came into the hallway, emotionally a little steadier. "Maya, would you get Portia Shaw from the big conference room and bring her to..." he checked the notes in his hand, "interview room four, please? I'll meet you there, I need to find someone to do the retrieving after this. I want to know your first impression when you open the door."
"Of course." She walked off to the one large conference room in the academy.
She opened the door to a strange tableau. All four cadets sat in the chairs provided, but emotionally, three of them huddled together. The fourth, a blonde, seemed to be focused on calming herself down. Maya raised an eyebrow, wondering why she was so nervous. Then she scowled briefly to herself. She would have been nervous in this position, too.
"Portia Shaw." The cadet in the center of the three, a tall, dark haired girl, stood.
"That's me," she said.
Maya smiled. "Follow me, please." She turned and left the room; the door closed behind them.
The fear in the cadet was real, but there was also curiosity and some suspense. It was almost funny. She found the room Zhane had mentioned, and stepped in. He hadn't arrived yet. The cadet glanced nervously around, then stood to the side of the room, in plain sight of the doorway. Maya leaned against the wall, waiting.
Zhane came in and sat down at the table; Portia moved to stand in front of him.
"You are Portia Shaw, of room 14b?" he asked, opening a file folder.
"Yes, sir."
He checked her file. "You were in the cafeteria during the incident two weeks ago?"
Confusion pressed on Maya. "Yes, sir," Portia answered.
"How are you at computers?"
She panicked, and Maya raised her eyebrows. Had they gotten the right one by sheer luck? "Horrid, sir." Truth laced her words.
"Horrid?" Zhane was as surprised as Maya.
"Yes, sir. My friend - well, she's my roommate, too - her name is Leia, we have been taking tutorials from Amy, one of the other roommates, when she felt like giving them." Maya got the feeling she didn't like Amy much, along with a sense that she was struggling to get rid of that feeling.
Zhane nodded and wrote notes on a piece of paper. "Do you know a Vincent Corry?"
In the pause that followed, Maya almost laughed at the sense of desperate searching. "No, sir," she said after a minute.
"How well do you work in groups?"
"Pretty well." Her confusion was as much in her tone as the feelings Maya got from her.
"What do you mean?"
"Well..." She paused. "It's getting obvious who is a good leader and who isn't. If they aren't it's very difficult to do what they say."
"Because you can do it better?"
"No," she said immediately, then seemed to reconsider. "Well, sometimes. I'm not really a leader; I've always been a good follower. But the good leaders will let you say something, they'll listen to you, and at least consider what you've said."
"How do you like being here?"
"It's hard," she admitted after a minute, during which Maya was not surprised to feel her emotions tugging at her. "But I've learned a lot, and I'm glad I came."
Zhane nodded. He'd made notes as she'd spoken, and Maya would have loved to get a chance to read them. "Thank you." He made another note on the paper. "Return to your quarters, and join the rest of the cadets for lunch," he said. "And ask the security guard outside to step in here, please."
"Yes, sir." She turned to go, pausing at the door, but she didn't say anything, and almost immediately Simon stuck his head in.
"Yes."
"Bring Sylvie Larson, please. Slowly, Simon." Talk about curiosity, Maya thought with a wry grin. Not to mention the emotion lacing Zhane's words, especially when he said the cadet's name. She wondered about the story there.
"This isn't a normal dismissal, is it?"
Zhane sighed. "Just do it, Simon. I'll explain later."
"Yes, sir." The redhead ducked out again.
"You startled her."
"I was trying to," he said shortly, then shook his head. "I'm sorry, Maya, but this really bothers me. Now, what else did you pick up."
"A little panic at the computer question; I think she's got the idea that if you can't use a computer, you can't be a Ranger."
Zhane laughed. "Huh. She should meet Rocky. He's the bane of those things. How he managed to pilot his Zords... well, the power had something to do with it...." He sighed. "Anything else?"
"Honesty. She actually tried to think of everyone she knew when you asked her about Vincent Corry. And the reactions after that were... mostly confusion. She did try to remain honest; there were flashes of guilt when she talked about working in groups."
"What about when you went in to get her?"
Maya paused a moment. "That was odd. They are all roommates; they should get along, at least have some sort of connection with each other. One of the girls held herself so far apart, it was if she had alienated the others."
Zhane looked up at her. "It wasn't the other way around?" he asked.
She shook her head. "Definitely not. They would have included her in the comfort if she'd let them." Her face twisted again, not sure if he understood what she was trying to say, but he didn't ask any further questions.
Zhane finished writing his notes as Sylvie Larson stepped in, her emotions almost in as much a turmoil as Zhane's. What a pair, Maya thought. Then she recognized her, and understood why there was so much emotion in Zhane's feelings about her.
"You are Sylvie Larson of 14b, correct?"
"Yes sir."
"And you were with Ranger Valerte, Karone, Ranger Chan, and Ranger Hammond most of the time during the invasion, correct?"
"Yes, sir." The questions seemed to calm her, although her emotional reaction to all of them was varied; she wasn't entirely sure why the cadet would be so angry about Carlos. The fear, faint and almost buried she felt at Karone's name wasn't so hard to fathom.
"Are you good with computers?"
"Yes, sir." She felt resignation, and Maya was confused. Resigned to what?
"How good?"
"Good enough to get into Ranger Chan's files, sir, about Ranger Valerte, and his accident four years ago." Maya nodded at the truth that laced her words; she remembered the girl's confession earlier. She'd have to remember to mention that to Zhane - if he hadn't already put it down.
"Did you do anything else?"
The cadet paused. "No, sir. I tried other places until I hit on the idea of the medical files, but I didn't go near security or anything like that. I'm not that good, and I had no reason to." She sounded as if all hope were stolen from her, and the amount of despair confused Maya.
"You didn't use the medical files as a jumping off point?"
She stiffened and panicked internally. "No, sir. I wouldn't do that."
"Do you know a Vincent Corry?"
"No." Some emotion entered her voice. "Well," she said suddenly, "I did hear his voice and might recognize it again." Maya blinked at the emotional turmoil related to those words; what exactly had happened?
"How well do you work in groups?"
The question surprised the cadet. "Actually," she said. "I like it. There are things that would be easier for just one person to accomplish, but we make it work." She seemed about to go on, but didn't.
Zhane looked up from his notes and smiled. "How is your injury?"
"Better, thank you." She seemed a little more relaxed now, thought the resignation and disappointment was still there. "Still hurts sometimes, but mostly I don't feel it."
He nodded. "Good. Return to your quarters and join the other cadets for lunch. And Vie," he added as she turned to go, "would you keep quiet about the Vincent Corry thing?"
She nodded and let herself out; Simon was sent after Amy Connor. Zhane looked expectantly at Maya. "There's a lot of emotion linked to Carlos' name," she said. "Very intense emotion, most of it good, with some anger. She was almost meticulously honest. And she felt... almost desperate when you asked her about computers."
Zhane tilted his head, still writing. "Really. Do you have any idea why?"
Maya paused. "Probably because she thinks this is the end of it for her. She made a mistake, and now she's going to pay for it."
"Was she telling the truth?"
"Yes. Definitely."
The door opened, and Amy walked in as Zhane closed Sylvie's file and opened another. The room was filled with icy control, and Maya shivered. This was the girl who had held herself aloof from the others. If she was the one Portia had been taking tutorials from, Maya couldn't blame her for not liking her very much.
"Amy Connor, of room 14b?" Zhane started.
"Yes, sir."
"You were in the Cafeteria, and in the Headmaster's office with the Headmaster and the Chief of Security during the invasion?"
Maya barely heard the cadet's confirmation; she was reeling from the hate the girl exuded just from mentioning Andros' title.
"How good are you with a computer?"
"Good enough to tutor my roommates. Well, two of them." Maya blinked at the disgust she felt. Did this girl like anyone?
"Good enough to break into the secured files of the Academy?"
"No, sir." Maya stiffened, then stood straighter. There was no truth in those words. Zhane didn't look at her.
"Do you know Vincent Corry?"
The onslaught of emotions from the cadet nearly knocked Maya flat; as it was, she had to brace herself against the wall. He was someone she liked, and more than liked; she worshiped him, gave everything she had to him....
"No." No!!?!?! Maya's thoughts echoed, and she tapped her foot once. Zhane looked at her, and she shook her head; his eyes widened slightly. That was the signal they had worked out when she'd started working with him in this. She sighed softly in relief; at least he was a little prepared.
"How well do you work in groups?"
"I'm improving," she said flatly.
"Improving how?"
"It's... very hard to take orders." The disgust she felt was plain even in her words. "But I'm getting better at it."
Zhane nodded. "How?"
"Mostly, swallowing comments I might make at some of the suggestions for solving problems."
He nodded again. "Why did you lie about knowing Vincent Corry?"
Maya gasped at the panic and fury that literally rolled off the girl. It stopped suddenly, replaced by icy determination. "I didn't lie." Hate for Zhane flared, and Maya shook her head to clear it; too much intense emotion from one person.
"How do you know Vincent Corry?"
"I don't." There was no desperation in her voice, but the icy calm and certainty of purpose was enough to warn Maya that something was going to happen. That, and the feeling of electricity in the air increased enough that she could almost feel the hair on her arms standing on end.
"Did you break into...."
"Zhane!" Maya nearly shrieked and lunged for the cadet, who pulled a knife from her sleeve and lunged at Zhane. Just in time, Maya got hold of her hair as Zhane leaped backwards, knocking his chair over, then the knife stopped moving. "Simon!" Maya called, and the security guard stepped in. He took one look at the scene and pulled Amy away from the knife; as soon as she let go, the knife clattered to the floor.
It didn't take long for Simon to restrain the cadet, then Zhane took a deep breath and moved, leaning on the table. "Now, how about you tell me what you did and why before we call the police?"
She spat at him; he flinched back and sighed. "All right, this is going to take a while. Maya, you want to get some more chairs? Simon, you'll need someone to take your post. And tell the fourth cadet to return to her quarters until lunch; I won't need to speak with her after all."
"You'll be all right?" Simon asked.
The relief from Zhane was almost strong enough to touch, and Maya could also feel sorrow and anger in him. "I'll be fine." He nodded towards a corner of the room, and she looked up to see a small, eye-like stalk wink at her.
Simon nodded. "All right."
Maya followed him out, found more chairs, and returned about the same time he did. With him was TJ Johnson, bursting with curiosity. She'd never had that feeling from him before, and it made her want to laugh. "Can you tell me anything?" he asked Maya with a sideways glare at Simon, who took the chairs from her.
She shook her head. "No, sorry."
He sighed in frustration. "Why not?"
She laughed. "You know why, TJ. I guess you're Simon's replacement?"
"Yeah, but this is so unusual," he muttered as she and Simon stepped back into the interview room.
Maya stepped into her room, weary beyond belief, and stared at the bouquet of flowers sitting on the table by her bed. There was a card leaning against it, and she sank down on the hammock to read it. 'Call me when you get in. David' it said, in his bold handwriting. Standing up again took almost more than she had, and she touched the small communications port on her desk, reaching David fairly quickly. "Hi," she said.
"Hi. You look beat."
"I'm sorry, I am, and I don't think I can do anything...."
"You don't have to. Can I come see you for a minute? Have you eaten?"
She tried to remember, staring at his image on the screen for some time before she heard him calling her name again. "You blanked out on me," he said when she asked what was wrong. "I'll take that as a no. See you in a few."
The screen went blank, and she stared at it, so exhausted she could hardly think. She hadn't moved when the door behind her opened, then hands took her shoulders and firmly guided her to the couch and made her sit down. "Let me guess. You haven't rested at all since I brought you that package." David's gentle voice brought her out of the daze she'd fallen into, and she nodded, smiling tiredly.
"No," she said. "There hasn't been time. And all the emotion...." She drifted off, then took a deep breath. "But Zhane said I could tell you about it; you'll find out tomorrow, anyway."
"Are you sure you want to?"
She became aware of his restrained feelings, and smiled. "No. But can I lean on you for a minute?"
He smiled. "Of course." He settled next to her and she leaned against him, her head on his shoulder. Touching him, his emotions were a little stronger, and she finally found the curiosity he was feeling, somewhere beneath the worry and care that was on the surface. "Will you be okay?"
She sighed. "He had her believing Andros was some kind of monster, that he'd been tossed out because Ashley lost her baby, then Carlos disappeared." Her own memories of that were pretty vague, mostly because she'd graduated the year before and had been on assignment with her team. "She was... wanted to be there when he...." Just the memory of the girl's expectation and actual excitement about Vincent's plan for Ashley was enough to do it; she burst into tears she didn't know she'd been avoiding ever since she'd gotten back to her room.
She had never been so glad she'd made friends with David. He just held her, letting her cry her eyes out, his hand gently stroking her hair occasionally. Finally, the tears subsided, leaving her more exhausted than she had been, if that were at all possible. "Feeling better?" he asked.
"A little," she said softly.
"Good. Hungry?"
She pulled away from him a little to look him in the face, then smiled. "I think so."
"Good." He stood up and pulled her to her feet, then had her sit down at the table. "This is the best I could do, but I hope it'll help you feel better," he said, setting a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in front of her, accompanied by a glass of milk. He sat down and ate with her, then cleaned up as she leaned back in her chair. "Now, bed?"
She nodded. "Thank you for dinner," she said softly. He helped her stand and walked her to her bed.
"You're welcome." He turned the covers down, gave her a hug and kiss on the cheek. "Call me when you get up, okay?"
She nodded wearily; he let himself out, and she fell into the hammock. She was asleep within seconds.
Go on to Next Chapter | "I Wonder What it's Like...."