Choices | Page 9

which will ensure the survival of his
faith. He will do whatever is necessary in his eyes to maintain it," she
added. "When you are blinded by the unyielding light of a personal
vision, Captain, it becomes a simple matter to find justification in any
act. The leaders of our faith have done this for centuries, and many of
us have paid a dear price because of it. The war with the Federation
was but a small part of that."
"These are rather frank observations, coming from one who is said to
be so devoted to the Church," I pointed out, somewhat cynically.
"Do not be deceived by all you see and here, Captain."
"And what is it I'm seeing and hearing now?"
"As with us all, you will see and hear what you wish to." Kieara smiled
weakly. "I would show you honesty, Captain." She bowed her head

demurely. "And I would hope that you would hear sincerity."
"Why?"
"So that I might gain your trust."
"And having done so?"
"Then I would ask of you a favor, and hope that you would not hesitate
in granting it."
I swallowed, feeling a leaden lump slide down my throat and fall
heavily into the pit of my stomach. It sat there, a rotting mass of
anguish.
"What favor will you ask?" I heard myself whisper in a voice tight with
anxiety.
"Not now, Captain," she said. "The asking will come when I am sure of
your reply."
"And until then?"
"We shall meet, as we have met now. Again. And again. However
many times it may be necessary. Or until I have no more time," she
concluded cryptically.
I looked at her and saw a sense of desperation in her eyes: a plea for
understanding and patience. And I thought to myself, then, that if she'd
asked me her favor I wouldn't have hesitated in granting it--even if it
had meant risking a career.
I started to say something, but she held up a hand to silence me. She
motioned to the door, then turned her chair towards her desk and
submerged herself in the shimmering text that floated in the cube of her
com-link. I blinked, taken aback, slowly realizing I'd been dismissed. I
rose sluggishly from the chair and turned to the door. The acolyte who
had led me here was waiting in rigid silence.

"When will we meet again?" I asked Kieara Cjhar as I stood at the
threshold of the doorway.
"You will be informed," she said without turning.
I followed the acolyte to the doorway through which I'd entered the
Sentai. The guide was waiting in the narrow alleyway, hidden in the
shadows by his hooded cloak. As the door into the Sentai closed behind
me, he started forward, not waiting to see whether or not I followed. In
silence he led me back to the embassy. Only once I was back within the
safety of the embassy's shield did I realize how terrified I'd been. I had
fought on the front line against the Unity, both in the field and on the
ships, and had seen with my own eyes the horrors of which they were
capable. But never once had I felt as vulnerable as I'd felt out there in
those darkened streets, my life entrusted to people I had no right to trust.
And yet, I did trust them. Or at least I trusted Kieara Cjhar.
I didn't sleep much that night. I couldn't help but wonder what favor it
was she'd ask of me.

7.
"I don't believe her," said Burrye.
I swiveled in the chair behind my office desk and looked across the
room at him. "You mean you don't want to believe her," I said.
He scowled, his dark glower seeming to drop the temperature of the
room by degrees. "You don't know these people, Captain," he said.
"I've been here for two years. Been here since the embassy was first
established. I've watched Kuhn and his daughter, and believe me,
nothing I've seen suggests to me she'd ever betray him."
"She never made it clear she would," I argued.
"What she did last night by meeting with you--in of all places the
Sentai!--would be enough to get her killed." He shook his head. "No, I

can't begin to accept for a moment that she'd have done what she's done
without her father knowing about it. It's too great a risk if she were
caught."
"Then you're convinced this is some sort of trap," I said.
"Of course it is!" he barked impatiently. "What else could it be? It
makes no sense, otherwise."
"Unless, of course, there is indeed something she wants of me," I said.
"Something only we can provide."
Burrye snorted loudly. "Next you'll be suggesting she might be