|
|
|
Fledgling
...A Liaden Universe® Adventure
by
Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
...the story of Theo Waitley and how she came to have a "kind of complicated" problem to lay before the delm of Korval.
==============================================================
Chapter Ten
A safety arrived with the Aid Team.
Viverain pointed one A-Teamer at Roni, hunched
over on the bench with a wad of disposable towels held to her face, and
the second at Theo, sitting on the floor with her back against the
wall, and her forehead against her knees. Then she frowned at the
safety.
"What do you want?"
The red-headed woman raised her hands, showing
Viverain empty hands. "You called for an Aid Team, which means
injuries. Injuries usually mean an unsafe condition exists.
And, since one of those involved is Theo Waitley..."
"Theo didn't do anything!" That was Kartor, sounding... angry.
He'd better watch it, Theo thought dismally; or they'd put a note in his file.
"I'm sorry, Kartor, but that's not correct,"
Viverain said sternly. "Theo did do
something. She played the game, and she pushed herself to excel
for the good of the team. That's not 'nothing.'"
"She tried to kill me," Roni moaned.
Viverain tsk'd. "Nobody ever died of a bloody nose."
The A-Teamer knelt next to Theo, medscan in
hand. "What hurts?" she asked, her eyes on the readout.
Everything, Theo thought. She lifted her head
with an effort, and took a deep breath that ended with a wince and a
catch.
"Ribs?" the A-Teamer asked.
"A little," Theo admitted, and held still while the other scanned.
"Nothing broken," the A-Teamer said slowly.
"There's going to be some bruising, and some discomfort for the next
few days. I'm going to give you an analgesic and a muscle
relaxant right now to take the edge off the discomfort and keep you
from stiffening up..." She unrolled her dart pack. Theo
held out her hand, barely noticing the minor sting.
"How'd you happen to get those bruises?" the A-Teamer asked as she re-rolled the pack.
Theo shook her head. "I don't really --"
"Her team mate," Viverain said, suddenly appearing
over them. "The team captain, in fact --
kicked her while she was down on her back on the floor with the wind
knocked out of her. She was on the floor because the team captain knocked her down, trying to grab the
ball out of her hands. I was astounded; and I hope never,"
Viverain said, in her scavage-court voice, "I hope never
again to see such a blatant and damaging display of ego over
team."
The court was silent. Viverain hunkered down next to Theo.
"How're you doing, Waitley?"
Theo looked down, biting her lip. "I'm all right, ma'am."
Viverain shook her head. "Listen to me,
Waitley," she said, as the A-Teamer rose and moved away. "This
wasn't your fault. You were doing the job that needed to be
done. Mason put herself in the way; she got hurt, and then she
did her best to hurt you. It's not you who's anti-social -- and
it's not you who's getting a note in her file." She paused.
"Theo, look at me."
Slowly, Theo raised her head and met Viverain's eyes. The L&R professor grinned.
"That's the spirit!" she said and rose, holding down a broad hand.
Theo took the hand and Viverain pulled her lightly to her feet.
"Take a couple deep breaths," she said. "See how those ribs are feeling."
Theo nodded, carefully filling her lungs. It
hurt, but not so sharp. Must be the analgesic, she thought, and
looked up as someone else approached.
It was the red-headed safety, and she was frowning.
"You need to have a serious talk with your mentor,
Ms. Waitley. You can't help having physical limitations. However,
you do have an obligation to society to insure that your limitations
don't harm other people."
Like she didn't know that. Theo took a careful breath.
"I have an appointment to see my mentor right after
we're finished here," she said, her voice sounding thin and not too
steady.
The safety nodded. "I'll append my
recommendations to Professor Viverain's report," she said. "Your
mother and your mentor will receive both -- and of course a copy will
be placed in your file."
"Sure it will," Theo muttered, which was stupid, but if the safety heard, she decided to pretend otherwise.
"All right," Viverain called as the A-Teamers
and the safety left the court. "Time to get going, people!
There's another team coming in to play!"
* *
Marjene's booth was in Grandmother's Library, all
the way over in Quad Three, and Theo arrived late. Though I
guess, she thought, floaty-headed and curiously calm, I've got bigger
problems. That guess was confirmed within seconds when Marjene
swept out of the booth at the right rear, and folded her into a
voluminous embrace, pack and all.
"Sweetie! You must be exhausted." She stepped back, to Theo's
relief. Despite the analgesic, Marjene's hug had hurt her bruised
ribs.
"Come on back," her mentor was saying. "I've ordered us some juice and cookies."
Theo sighed. Marjene always ordered juice and
cookies. Sharing food was an effective method of reinforcing a
personal bond, Dr. Wilit said. Following Marjene down the dim,
carpeted hallway to her booth, Theo wondered what shape their
relationship might have taken without the frequent application of
sugared snacks.
That's not fair, she told herself sternly, as she
slid her pack off, and swung up onto a stool. Marjene was here to
help her.
"Here you are, sweetie." Marjene put a
disposable cup in front of her, and Theo bit her lip. Two
'sweeties' inside of as many minutes was not good news. Marjene
must've already read the incident report.
Theo picked up the cup, more for something to do
with her hands than because she wanted the juice. What she wanted to do was get out her handwork, and just
...be alone... for a while. Unfortunately, it didn't look like
she was going to be alone anytime soon, and as for the handwork
... Marjene would be disappointed if Theo succumbed to her
'nervous habit,' and Marjene was already plenty disappointed.
Theo sipped the tepid, too sweet beverage, put the
cup back on the table, and folded her hands tightly together on
her lap.
"That's better," her mentor said, sitting back with
a smile. "You've had quite an eventful few days, haven't
you? Is there anything you'd like to share?"
No, Theo thought, there wasn't. She didn't
feel like talking to anybody. She wished she
was sitting on the bench in the garden at home, the breeze in her hair,
and the birds chattering in the...
Marjene's face suddenly went all wavy and soft as
Theo's eyes filled with tears. She tried to blink them away, but
they spilled over. Horrified, she looked down, and the tears
dripped onto the tense knotwork of her fingers.
"I guess you've seen the reports already," she said,
her voice wobbly. "How I made Lesset fall yesterday, and hit Roni
with a ball just now at teamplay."
There was a small pause before Marjene said, "Well,
yes, I have seen them. But they only tell me what happened.
They don't tell me how you feel, Theo."
Theo sniffed and thought about Coyster, which was a
mistake, because that made her think about her room at home, and her
mobile, and her pictures, and the fish swimming in the floor...
"I feel bad," she said, and reached for one of the
disposacloths Marjene always had on hand, dried her face and blew her
nose. Marjene waited until she had finished, and nodded
encouragingly when Theo raised her head.
"Hurting other people does make us feel bad,"
Marjene said gently. She tapped the display set into the table
before her. "Yesterday's incident report states that Lesset
wasn't injured, which is very fortunate. Today, though -- Roni
was physically hurt, and badly frightened, too."
Theo nodded and swallowed. "She got in front of the ball."
Marjene gave her one of her Gently Disappointed looks.
"Roni may have gotten in front," she said sadly,
"but you threw the ball. I know you didn't hurt her deliberately,
Theo, but you did hurt her. You must take responsibility for your
own actions -- and the consequences."
"I know," Theo sighed, and untangled her fingers so
she could have another sip of too-sweet juice that did nothing to ease
the dryness of her throat. "I did hit her with
the ball. But she was in the wrong place -- out of
position. If she hadn't --"
"Theo," Marjene said sternly. "Are you about to cast blame?"
She bit her lip, put the cup down and stared at it,
hard, for several heartbeats, following the sudden thought to its
conclusion.
"Stating a fact," she said slowly, looking up into
Marjene's round brown eyes, "isn't casting blame. I threw the
ball -- that's a fact. The ball hit Roni in the nose -- that's a
fact. Roni was out of position -- that's a fact, too. And
it's also a fact that she wouldn't have gotten hit in the nose if she'd been in First Ring."
Marjene blinked, and looked down at her display, lips pursed.
"I...see," she said eventually. When she looked up again, her face was sad.
"Theo, I'm going to tell you something that maybe I
shouldn't, but I can't just sit back and let you hurt people -- and
yourself! I want what's best for you, and this -- this isn't good
for you." She leaned across the table and put her hand over
Theo's.
"Sweetie, you know you're physically limited.
Your mother and I have talked to you about it; you've seen the notes in
your file. What you may not have known is -- we can help you,
Theo. You don't have to, to knock down your friends, or hurt your
team mates. There are medications -- very simple, very safe
medications -- that can cure you!"
Theo wished Marjene didn't have her hand pinned to
the table. She also wished that Marjene would stop looking at her
like she was a wet kitten or something...
"The thing is, sweetie -- your mother knows about
these cures. The Office of Public Safety has approached her several times, asking that she help you with
this. And she's always refused." Marjene smiled, but even
Theo could see that it was strained.
"I'm sure she has her reasons -- very good
reasons! But sometimes a mother's love... Well, we're not
impartial about our children. That's why our children have
mentors! And that's why I'm telling you this. You haven't
had your Gigneri, and your mother has the right to refuse in your name
-- without consulting you. But, now that you're informed, if you
were to tell me, right now, that you wanted to accept a cure..."
Shock brought Theo up straight in her chair, hand
out from beneath Marjene's and fisted in her lap. Her mentor was
trying to talk her into -- what was her mentor trying to talk her into,
anyway?
"Theo? I know it's brand-new
information. Take a couple minutes to think about how nice it
would be if you never tripped, or hurt anyone else, ever again."
Theo blinked. A cure, Marjene said. And
Kamele had rejected it. Why would she do that? Kamele
didn't like the notes and reports that came in every time Theo broke
something, or tripped, or -- anymore than Theo liked performing the
actions that generated the reports. Wouldn't she leap at a cure,
if there was one?
"Sweetie?" Marjene murmured.
Theo shook her head. "I -- I think I'd better talk
to Kamele," she said slowly. "I need to understand why she
decided not to accept the cure for me. And... I want to talk to
Father, too." Yes, she thought, she needed to
know what Father thought about this whole thing -- the cure, Kamele's
refusal, and especially Marjene's motivation for telling her something even she said she had no right to share!
"Theo!" her mentor snapped.
Sheer amazement brought Theo's eyes up.
Marjene never snapped! And -- yes, her mouth
was set in a thin, straight line, her big brown eyes glittering.
Marjene, Theo thought, beginning to feel a little irritated herself, was angry.
"Why shouldn't I talk to Kamele and to Father?" she snapped back. "I --"
"Stop that right now," Marjene
interrupted, which was something else she never did. Theo bit her
lip, took a breath so deep her bruised ribs protested, counted to
twelve, and took another, slightly less deep, breath.
"Thank you," Marjene said more moderately, like
she'd taken a couple of deep breaths herself. "Earlier in our
conversation, you cited some facts, did you not?"
Cautiously, Theo nodded.
"Good. Now, I'm going to cite some
facts. Listen closely." Marjene paused, as if to collect
her thoughts, folded her hands primly on the tabletop, and looked into
Theo's eyes. Looking directly into a person's eyes was a
domination trick, according to Professor Wilit, with the dominated
being the one who looked away first.
Theo lifted her chin and looked right back.
Marjene's mouth tightened, but the only thing she
said was, "It's a fact, isn't it, Theo, that your mother has taken a
faculty apartment for herself and for you?"
"Yes," Theo answered, fighting the urge to look at her knees.
"Yes," Marjene repeated. "And is it a fact
that Professor Kiladi did not accompany her to your new apartment?"
This not looking down was hard. Theo licked her lips. "Yes, that's
a fact, too."
"It is therefore a fact that Professor Kiladi is no
longer Housefather in your mother's establishment, is it not?"
"Yes," Theo whispered. Her stomach hurt.
Marjene nodded. "And it's a fact, isn't it,
Theo," she said, gently now, "that you haven't yet had your Gigneri, or
in any other way been entrusted with the record of your genes?"
Theo looked down at her hands, folded so tight the
knuckles showed white. "Yes," she said clearly, "that's a fact,
too."
"And you do know that calling a man who is neither
Housefather nor biologic donor is at the least disorderly, and possibly
even anti-social?"
Theo closed her eyes.
"Really, Theo," Marjene said after a moment.
"Do you need any more notes in your file?"
I'm going to be sick, Theo thought. She
swallowed, feeling tears prickling the back of her eyelids.
"Theo? Sweetie, I know it takes time to get
used to new arrangements. But you have to be flexible and embrace
change. You're entering a whole new chapter of your life, and
that's exciting and a little scary. I know. But clinging to
the past only makes the present scarier."
No, Theo thought. I'm not going to be
sick. I'm going to, to knock over the table, and throw things,
and --
Her mumu thweeped.
Before she realized what she was doing, Theo was off
the stool and grabbing her pack. She made herself look up into
her mentor's astonished face and say, as calmly as she could, "I have
to go now, Marjene. I'm expecting a delivery."
She turned without waiting for an answer and all but
ran out of Grandmothers, leaving her mentor gaping after her and very
likely composing another note for her file.
* * *
Nota bene: We're breaking the chapter here, even though it may
seem a little short. The reason is that Theo's been through a
lot; she deserves a breather and a little bit of time to order her
thoughts. Plus? We've already ridden the belt and know the
way to the new apartment, so we'll just meet her there.
==============================================================
Subscriptions for Fledgling are now closed.
Thank you all for your interest and support,
and please enjoy
Saltation
==============================================================
Fledgling Podcast
Due entirely to the goodwill of the good folks at Fireheart Foundry , each new Fledgling chapter is also being podcast. You may subscribe to the Fledgling podcast through iTunes, Google Reader, or directly through your email by going here and clicking on the Get Fledgling Podcast delivered by email link.
Fireheart Foundry are also responsible for creating the podcast of our ground breaking appearance at the Second Life Library a few months ago.
Things you should know
Fledgling in serialized format is a draft. This
means it may bear little or no resemblance to a final published novel,
should there ever be one. It may be perfect, word for word (though
experience tells us this is not the way the smart money should bet). What we are providing is a rare opportunity to observe the writing process.
We don't know how many chapters there will be. We're free-form writers,
and while we do have a working outline, it is (1) vague, and (2)
subject to change without notice.
What are the rules?
What you can do:
1. Read the posted chapters free of charge
2. Link to this page or any internal page. (Here are a few icons)
3. Pass the word among your friends
4. Print the chapters out for your own ease of reading
5. Discuss the work in the Fledgling Live Journal community
6. Donate
What you can't do:
1. Copy the work and sell it. Fledgling is copyright by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. In addition, Liaden
Universe® is a registered trademark. That means the universe, the
characters, the story and the right to sell it belong to Sharon Lee and
Steve Miller.
Who are we?
Sharon Lee
and Steve Miller are the authors of a dozen collaborative science
fiction novels, and many short stories, largely set in the Liaden
Universe®. For more information about Lee and Miller and their work,
drop by the Liaden Universe® website.
Base page created December 1, 2006 by Sharon Lee
Chapter updated April 2, 2007
technical revision posted April 7, 2007
Update March 15, 2008, 12:18 p.m. EDT
copyright © 2006-2007 by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
|
|
| |