Psion Delta (37 page)

“Sorry
about Gabriel.” Her tone was very conversational. “He lacks a filter. Some of
the other Betas are working with him on that.”

“Good
idea.”

“Yeah,
unfortunately, he’s still a dweeb, and the doctor says that can’t be fixed.”

Sammy
smirked at her joke. “I missed you, Jeffie.”

She
stared at him. Her green eyes were so bright and beautiful. Sammy had
difficulty believing someone so radiant could be attracted to him.

“That’s
the first thing you say to me?” she asked. “‘I missed you?’”

“Nope.
The first thing I said was, ‘Go away.’ Then ‘Hiya back.’ Now I’m saying I
missed you, Jeffie.”

Jeffie’s
smile grew exponentially. “Say that one more time.”

“Go
away.”

They
laughed together. Jeffie went to him and hugged him. He hugged her back. “I
missed you, too.”

The
hug lingered longer than normal. Something touched Sammy deep inside his chest
during the embrace.

“I
messed up things pretty badly, didn’t I?” Jeffie said. “I should have waited
for you to come home from the hospital so we could talk instead of going back
to Kobe. I’m sorry. I was dumb and confused. I wasted time that could have been
spent with you.”

“It’s
okay. I shouldn’t have been so passive about it. I’m sorry. I was dumb and
confused, too. I wasted time—”

“Just
stop!” She punched him in the ribs playfully and rested her head on his
pectoral. Sammy flexed his muscles so she’d be more impressed.

“So
how did you manage to piss off everyone at headquarters in the last couple
weeks?”

“I
went on an estrogen-fueled warpath and destroyed everyone who got in my way.”

“Even
Kawai, huh?”

Jeffie
pulled away from Sammy, blushing. “I heard that she—I got angry. We’re on
speaking terms and all, but things are still chilly between us. This hasn’t
been my best year.”

“Yeah,
me neither.”

“But
I’m really hoping to turn it around before 2087 hits.” She put her hand on
Sammy’s cheek. He closed his eyes and leaned forward until his forehead rested
on hers. No one had ever touched him so intimately before. Part of him was
giddy. Part of him was scared. Her other hand went to his chest, feeling his
heart beat rapidly. “Do you want to tell me about what upset you downstairs?”

“I
can’t talk about it. Not right now.” They stood in silence for a little while,
doing nothing but touching each other in that intimate way, forehead to
forehead. “Do you want to tell me why you broke up with Kobe?”

Jeffie
broke the contact and sat down on the floor of the sim room. “Yeah. We were on
a date and he told me what you told him back when you were in the bathroom in
Rio together waiting for the Thirteens.”

Sammy
knew exactly what she was talking about.

“Did
you mean that, Sammy?”

“Yeah.”

His
answer brought a pretty smile to her face. “So then . . . now what?”

“I,
uh, I don’t know. I’m leaving soon and . . . we’re not going to see each other
for years. For three years.”

“Sure
we will. You can come for all the graduations. We can write letters. We—”

“—won’t
see each other. It’s that simple.”

“No,
it’s not that simple.”

“It
is!” he insisted. “Jeffie, we’re kids. Date Kobe. Date Brickert. Date Antonio!”

“Yuck.”

He
covered his face as he sighed. “I want to spend more time with you, too, but we
can’t do more than that. I made the choice to graduate. Maybe it was
shortsighted. Maybe it was the wrong choice, but I made it. I have to stick to
it.”

“Tell
them you want to wait longer. Ask for more time!”

Words
he had spoken long ago popped into Sammy’s mind.
I am a servant of the
people. My life is not my own.
“I can’t.”

He
thought Jeffie was going to argue more, but she accepted his response. “Three
years. That sounds a lot like forever. But . . . if that’s what it has to be,
then I’ll deal with it. I’ll write you, and you’d better not miss a single
graduation!” She poked him in the chest forcefully enough that Sammy had to rub
the spot afterward.

In
her eyes was that fierce look Sammy had seen before. He’s seen it on nights
when they were up late talking, when she’d kissed him on the cheek, when she’d
finally beaten him in Star Racers, when she won her first Game as honcho. Now
he finally knew what it meant.

“I
can’t kiss you,” he told her. “I want to, but it’ll make it so much harder for
me to leave this place.”

The
look disappeared from her face. “I didn’t say anything about—” She stopped when
he raised his eyebrows at her. “Fine. But we’re hanging out every night until
you graduate.”

He
pulled her into another hug, this one less tender and more friendly. “I
wouldn’t want it any other way.”

The
next day, Major Tawhiri called Sammy into his office and congratulated him on
his successful completion of the Psion Panel. Then he informed him that every
member of his squadron was expected to make a full recovery.

“You’re
still set on September 1
^st
for graduation?” he asked.

Sammy
didn’t hesitate. He was sure.

“That
Sunday is less than five weeks away. Make the most of your time, buddy.”

Sammy
followed the Major’s advice to the best of his ability. He didn’t have to go to
instructions or sims, but he went anyway to stay sharp and prepare himself for
life as an Alpha. He found himself particularly interested in emergency medical
treatment.

He
spent every other waking moment with Brickert and Jeffie. He helped Jeffie
repair her relationships with Strawberry and Kawai, and eased the tensions with
Kobe and Kaden simply by not dating her. For those few blissful weeks, the five
recruits—Sammy, Brickert, Jeffie, Natalia, and Kawai—were as inseparable as
they’d been several months ago, before Sammy was stranded in Rio. They gamed,
they played lots of chess, they joked, they teased Brickert and Natalia
whenever they showed too much affection, they talked about the future, and they
reminisced about the past. And Sammy truly believed those few weeks were among
the best that he could remember.

22.
Graduation

Sunday September 1, 2086

The
morning of
graduation, Sammy awoke early. Despite staying up late the
night before talking to friends, he’d tossed and turned in his sleep, unable to
stop thinking about permanent life as an Alpha. His dreams had consisted mostly
of fantasies about kissing Jeffie through prison bars. He was never sure which
of them was locked up, but the kisses were always wet because Jeffie was
crying. At about 0500, he had a lucid moment where he realized he was kissing
his pillow and decided it was time to get out of bed.

Even
though it was Sunday, he put in forty minutes of hard cardio-centric exercise.
Then he sat in the Instructor for half an hour to review some information, and
ended the morning with a short fighting unit in the sims. It was, in essence, a
microcosm of a typical day at headquarters, and it would be his final chance to
do so in the building that he had called home for the last year and a half.

He
showered and met up with his friends in the cafeteria for lunch. Rumors floated
around that there would be an epic party thrown for Sammy after the ceremony,
the likes of which had never been seen at Beta. Antonio Otravelli swore up and
down that Major Tawhiri would allow them to have alcohol for one night only.
Strawberry insisted they were going to be allowed to stay up late. Natalia said
she’d heard from Rosa that several Alphas, such as Al, Marie, and Gregor, would
be attending to celebrate with Sammy.

Whether
or not the rumors were true, Sammy didn’t really care. He was worried about the
speech he had to give. What was he going to say? He’d never spoken in public.
All of his time and effort before today had been spent hanging out with his
friends and preparing to leave. Major Tawhiri said Sammy was welcome to take
between five and ten minutes. The way things were looking at the moment, five
or ten seconds seemed much more plausible.

However,
the minutes on the clock kept ticking until the time when Sammy had to go
change into something more formal for the ceremony. Jeffie squeezed his hand
and said, “You’ll be great. Stop fretting.”

“And
even if you suck, it won’t matter,” Brickert reminded him. “You won’t have to
see us for three years!”

Natalia
smacked Brickert on the chest and scolded him for being insensitive. Sammy
thought the comment was funny. By the time he returned from his dorm, now
wearing a seamless suit and tie with matching shoes (all picked out for him by
Jeffie at the mall), the number of people in the cafeteria had more than
tripled.

Brickert
found him through the crowd. “Dang, Sammy, I’ve never seen so many people
present for a graduation ceremony. Natalia’s pretty sure every member of
Command is here. Plus your whole squadron. Plus a bunch of other Alphas. Plus—”

“Okay,
I get it. You’re making me more nervous.”

A
soft bell sounded through the speakers, the sign that it was time to head to
the fifth floor. Sim room one was filled with chairs. A hologram of a small
stage appeared at one end with more seats and a podium on it. An elderly man
with grayish-white hair and a matching mustache occupied one of the chairs
onstage. The skin around his eyes sagged heavily, reducing them to little more
than slits. He wore a uniform unlike anything Sammy had ever seen, and with all
the decorations on it, Sammy guessed he must be very important.

“Who
is that?” he asked his friends as they walked down the center aisle.

“No
idea,” Natalia said. “I’ve never seen him at a graduation before.”

To
the left of the man sitting behind the podium was a quarter-circle of six
chairs. Off to the right of him were five more, making twelve in total forming
a half-circle. Major Tawhiri found Sammy in the crowd and led him up to the
stage. “You’ll sit here,” he said, pointing to the middle chair on the right
side of the stage.

As
soon as Sammy sat down, the old man in the lone chair stood and came over.
“Hello, young man.” He had a heavy Asian accent. He offered a hand which Sammy
took. The grip was firm between them. “I am General Wu.”

Sammy
jumped to his feet. “Hello, sir, it’s an honor to meet you.”

“As
it is for me. This is the first graduation ceremony I have attended . . . among
any of the Beta programs.”

“Thank
you, General.” Sammy saluted his superior with great respect. “I’m honored you
came.”

Soon,
people began taking their seats. Commander Byron took the empty chair next to
the general. All five members of Psion Command sat together in the five seats
to the general’s left. On Sammy’s right sat Anna Lukic, who looked freshly
healed and fully recovered from her mission injuries. She and Sammy exchanged
brief pleasantries during which she congratulated him on his mission award and
on graduating. On her right sat Major Tawhiri. The two seats on Sammy’s left
remained vacant.

Major
Tawhiri conducted the ceremony. It opened with the singing of the NWG anthem,
From
Every Corner of the Land
, and a moment of silence for all the fallen
warriors of the NWG. Sammy glanced often at his group of friends and his new
squadron, then reminded himself that he still hadn’t prepared his speech.
However, it was very difficult to construct a cohesive string of thoughts
together amidst the constant clapping, singing, and speaking.

The
first speaker was Major Tawhiri. He began with an anecdote about his wife’s
garden, and how she had cultivated it for many years. He mentioned how some
plants grow faster than others around them, which can be detrimental to smaller
plants because the tall ones blocked sunlight, horded the nutrients, and
stunted others’ growth. In order to nourish the rest of the garden, these
particular plants needed to be repotted and cared for in a garden with similar
qualities.

Overall,
it was an energetic speech, and Sammy appreciated the analogy. Tawhiri wrapped
up the speech by saying how close of friends he and Sammy had become, and how
he expected Sammy to become a redwood tree within the ranks of the Psions. The
speech was followed by loud applause, especially among the Alphas and Command.
Major Tawhiri then introduced Commander Byron. When Byron stood, the Betas gave
him a standing ovation that lasted a little longer than was necessary. Sammy
forced himself not to smirk at his friends, who cheered and clapped the
loudest.

“Thank
you for that warm welcome,” Byron warmly told his pupils. “I miss being here. I
miss the Betas. Teaching and training you was one of the most rewarding
experiences of my life. I remember back to February of last year. I had
finished putting together the latest class of recruits: Brickert, Jeffie,
Natalia, and Kawai. It seemed a bit weighted toward girls, but I figured the
boys at headquarters would not mind too much. Then I got an alert of an unusual
report from the police in Johannesburg. Some juvenile delinquent had
mysteriously knocked unconscious several of the local police officers. I
thought I had better investigate, so I took a team of Elite with me in case we
were dealing with a very dangerous person, and we tracked this fugitive through
town. Knowing there was a church ahead in his path, and knowing this fugitive
must be awfully tired, I donned one of my more elaborate disguises and waited
for him. I admit I was well-armed and ready to subdue him if necessary, but
instead, I found something unexpected.”

Byron
briefly glanced over in Sammy’s direction. “I found a very lost boy. He seemed
to be on the verge of delving into a lifetime of crime and misery. I offered
him a choice between serving his fellow man and serving prison sentences. It
took great courage to make the decision he made because he did not know me. He
had no reason to trust me. Every adult in his life had either been taken from
him or had treated him like a criminal . . . which he happened to be.”
Commander Byron looked knowingly at Sammy.

“I
watched Sammy go through some very difficult growing pains over the following
months, but I was hesitant to step in because Sammy has a great mind. I wanted
him to figure things out for himself. And he did. He has grown to be the person
I hoped he would. He has met the great expectations I set for him against odds
which were staggering, to say the least. He has risen time and time again with
as much fortitude as I have ever seen, even in many of our finest. I attribute
this to the power of his loving parents. We have placed two empty chairs next
to him in honor and remembrance of them.

“Now,
it is customary at these meetings to show a series of highlights of the
graduating Beta. I know many of you look forward to these videos because they
are far more interesting than we who are the speakers. However, Sammy’s
greatest highlights are not his many victories in the Arena or even his fabled
defeats of my best-planned sim units. It would be an insult to him if I were to
show these. Instead, I want to mention a few things that are, in my mind,
Sammy’s greatest triumphs.

“The
first of these highlights occurred the day a bunch of my Betas decided to
organize a slam-dunk contest in the recreation area. Perhaps I should have put
a stop to it, but I admit it intrigued me to see who would win. That was the
first taste I got of Jeffie’s proficient basketball skills. When she went to
perform her final dunk, it became obvious to me, even on camera, that she had
badly misjudged her jump. Sammy realized this and tried to catch her, but did
not reach her in time. I remember watching him scoop her up and carry her to
the cafeteria while I called Doctor Rosmir to come quickly. Sammy even held a
garbage can for her while she threw up.”

Sammy
grinned sheepishly at Jeffie, who returned the expression as she wiped her
eyes.

“The
second highlight occurred in Rio de Janeiro. During the middle of that
disastrous affair, Sammy and Kobe were trapped by the enemy, waiting
desperately for help to arrive. Both of my—my Betas fought valiantly despite
being outnumbered. Kobe took a bullet to the arm but kept fighting. Then he
took a second and fell. He later told me how he remembered seeing Sammy, wounded
and bleeding, standing above him, shielding for them both while trying to fend
off the attacks of the Thirteens until help arrived.”

Kobe
and Sammy met eyes. Kobe placed his fist over his heart and nodded solemnly to
Sammy. Sammy nodded back at him.

“The
last one I want to mention is when Sammy—” The commander paused and gripped the
podium in front of him tightly. “—saved my son. Despite—again—impossible odds—”
Byron’s eyes stared downward and his words seemed to come with great
difficulty. “—Sammy not only subdued two enemies while bound to a chair, but he
managed to free himself so he could pull a bullet out of my son’s chest as it
worked its way toward Albert’s . . . heart. I have no idea what limits, if any,
there are to what Sammy can and will do . . . but I thank God for the day he
decided to knock down those six police officers because it was the start of
many miracles that I have witnessed.”

Commander
Byron turned to Sammy. Sammy’s face turned red and it took great willpower to
meet his commander’s gaze. The piercing blue eyes both haunted and touched him.

“Thank
you, Samuel.”

The
commander stepped back from the podium to sit, and every person in the room,
save Sammy, stood and clapped. Major Tawhiri leaned across Anna and said, “Your
turn, my friend. Take your time and say whatever you want.”

Sammy
swallowed hard, noticing the dryness in his mouth and throat. The podium
suddenly seemed awfully far away, but reaching it took only a few steps. The
clapping didn’t stop until he’d been standing there for several seconds. He
stared at the back wall, searching for words to say, but someone had scrubbed
his brain with a giant eraser. His hands leaked sweat and his armpits dripped
it.

Wow,
this sucks
, he thought to himself as the clapping died down. He dried
his hands on his pants and put them back on the podium.
Deep breath.
His
body obeyed the command.
That’s better.

“Um
. . . thank you. Major. Commander. Thank you for those remarks.” Sammy dared to
look at the crowd and saw Brickert smiling at him, cheering him on. “I don’t
really have much to say because I—well—I didn’t prepare a speech.”