Chapter 28 (redone)

Chapter 28

Hanayni

This morning at breakfast, my usual table is a lot emptier than normal. Really, it’s almost like the whole room is quieter than normal without the raucous laughter of Team 009. They’ve always provided a bit of variety in the mess hall, what with Kyle’s constant assortment of harmless pranks.

Once I have filled my tray with the usual assortment of otherworldly delicacies, I head for my normal table. But I change my mind. (In case you’re wondering, that’s very typical of me). I’m going to go to another table. Most of my close friends are at the Assembly anyway. It is an extremely difficult and highly organized project to get all of the Teams and Instructors to the Assembly.

Picking a table at random, I stride over to Team 018’s table. Teams don’t have “official” tables or anything, but the students form cliques, usually with their own Teams.

Janaya sees me before the others do and waves me over. Janaya is one of the few students that I have to teach privately. She has exceptional skills with nunchucks, but no one else has even the most remote interest in them. So, she gets private classes in addition to classes with her Team.

I sit down at the end of the table, in the only available seat next to Janaya. I find myself surprised and irritated when I notice Corator flirting with her. Everyone knows that he is…coarse. He says some of the most inappropriate things. I don’t like him all that much as far as being friends go, but he’s a good fighter, and loyal to the School as far as I can tell.

“So, Janaya, how are you doing?” I ask in a pointed effort to draw her attention away from Corator.

She turns to me, a thankful smile on her face. “It’s pretty good, you know? I want to go…” she pauses, and gestures with her hands. She is currently in her first year, so she is still learning English. She has a heavy Tortish accent. It reminds me of the Earth French accent.

“You want heavier training?” I suggest. She nods empathetically. “Yes, yes that is what I am saying,” she says. I deliberately delay in answering her. Part of being a good warrior is patience, and Janaya has a quite a problem with that. I can already see her start to fidget as I keep her waiting.

I finish my plate slowly, keeping a wary eye on Corator. Finally, I turn to Janaya. “Perhaps you can train more. Learn something at the Assembly. I will think about it.”

The thing about this is that Janaya is of the Tortish clan. They are known as extremely violent and not loyal in the least. Sort of like intergalactic Berserkers. It is not necessarily that I judge Janaya because of her people, but only that I am taking precautions. Too much training in the ways of war without enough moral institution could be very bad; both for the School and for Janaya herself. It is at times like these that I wish my gift were Farsight, rather than Nearsight. Being able to see three seconds into the future is great during a battle, but it is not half as helpful in everyday life.

Maybe she will break the stereotypes. Perhaps not. What truly worries me is the rumors about Tortaki.
People say that the Tortish are able to adopt other forms for a time. The forms, usually animal, indicate a person’s true personality. It is mostly thought to be a sort of folk legend, but the Board of the School has found substantial proof that it may be a lot more than a legend. The part that I find disconcerting is Janaya’s orange brush tail. It seems we may have a fox in our midst.