Lost Era 05_ Deny thy Father - Jeff Mariotte [93]
“What is it, Will?”
He held he face between his palms. “I’ve got to find Trinidad Khalil,” he said urgently. “And then I’ve got to go to Saturn.”
“Today? You’re leaving today?”
“If they haven’t left without me,” Will said. “Oh, no.”
“Will, what is it?”
“Just another bad mistake in a whole series of them,” he told her. He pulled her face closer and pressed his lips against hers. He liked the way that felt, a lot, and he did it again. “You’ve waited this long, you can wait a few more days, right?”
“I guess so, Will, but…”
“I need to go.” He kissed her again, twice, then twice more. “I really need to go.” He kissed her one more time. “I’m going now.”
“Will, if it’s that important,” she said, her lips caught under his, “then you should really go. I’ll be here.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
Will caught Trinidad as he was leaving his room, his duffel packed for the trip to the Saturn base. “Trinidad,” he said, breathlessly. “You can’t do this!”
Trinidad eyed him. “You look awful, Will. What happened to you?”
“I know,” Will assured him. “I slept on a floor. But I feel wonderful.”
“What do you mean, I can’t do this? Last night you were trying to make me think it was my idea. Almost worked, too.”
“Look,” Will said. “There’s a certain diabolical cleverness to the idea. But it’s doomed to fail. Everyone knows you’re not me. Someone would accidentally call you Trinidad in front of the instructors and it would all be over. Or they’d call out ‘Will’ and you’d forget to answer. Or there would be a DNA scan or a retina scan at some point. There are too many ways for it to go wrong, don’t you see? If we got caught-and we would-we’d both be in serious trouble.” Will had had enough close scrapes at the Academy. If a Starfleet officer broke the rules with a good enough reason, that was one thing. But before he actually got into Starfleet, he knew it was important to play it safe-or he might find himself out before he ever got in.
“But… you wanted it,” Trinidad said. He sounded mournful, and Will was sorry he’d ever brought it up. Trinidad loved to fly more than anything, and this must have seemed like the adventure of a lifetime.
“I know. I would love to stay and see Spock. But I can’t, and you can’t go to Saturn. You’re just third year, though, and already a better pilot than me. You’ll go next year, for sure.”
“You think so?” Trinidad asked, brightening a little.
“Definitely,” Will said. “I know it.”
“Well, if you’re going,” Trinidad suggested, “you’d better hustle. The shuttle’s leaving in twenty minutes.”
Will groaned. He had known it was late, but he hadn’t realized it was that late. “Give me your duffel,” he said.
“What?”
“Your duffel. You don’t need it. We wear the same size uniform. I don’t have time to pack.”
“Are you sure you’ve sobered up?” Trinidad asked him.
“I’m as sober as I need to be,” Will said. “Come on, quick. I need to go.”
Trinidad shrugged and handed over his duffel. “Have a good trip,” he said. “Don’t drink the Aldorian ale.”
“Never again,” Will promised him.
Borrowed duffel in hand, Will turned and dashed toward the lift. Less than twenty minutes to make the shuttle. With every step he ran, his head pounded, like someone opening and closing a vise on it.
And yet, in a different way, he had never felt better.
Chapter 23
Cyre was governed by a ruling council made up of seven members, each representing a different geographical region of the nation. Cozzen was in the largest region, an inland area dominated by that city. There were also two coastal areas, a mountain region, and three smaller inland areas, all making up a nation that was more or less rectangular, bounded on the north and west by seas, on the south by an enemy, and on the east by two separate but allied smaller states. The council members purported to represent the entire population of each region, so that the whole council would support the interests of the nation.
It didn’t work that way, Kyle had learned.
Instead, the council members really represented a small minority of the wealthiest