Lexi could understand where Oren was coming from, but she’d allowed herself to hope that this time things would be different. The restoration of Dainetris, the Sietinen heiress being raised on Earth; it really was different with this generation of leaders. The new initiatives, while far from perfect, were a step in the right direction to allow civilians a chance to improve their lives.
“I can’t argue that there are problems, but I think it’s important to give credit where it’s due,” she said after considering her words for a few moments.
“Yeah, we’ve had worse leaders, you’re right about that. The problem is, it only takes a couple of generations for those in charge to forget why they ever wanted to do anything that wasn’t in their own self-interest. We need to change the entire system to set ourselves up for the future. It’s not just about how things are in the present.”
“I guess,” she admitted.
Oren looked over the mundane news reports for several moments. “Lexi, come with me.” He abruptly stood and headed toward the stairwell.
Shena and Josh gave Lexi a passing glance as she walked by, but they were already reabsorbed in the news broadcast.
What now? Lexi groaned inwardly. She should have kept her mouth shut like a smart person. For all the grief she gave Shena over her random outbursts, Lexi knew she was just as bad. When it came to discussion of Cytera and people with abilities, she had difficulty keeping her feelings in check.
It was one thing to have been forced from her homeworld, but it was quite another to know that her family had been manipulated for hundreds of years and then cast aside like worthless garbage. No outsiders knew the brutality of the world. She’d been the lucky one to get out alive. Life on the planet seemed prosperous on the surface, but the price of that seemingly happy existence had been paid in blood. She’d even had to have her irises surgically altered to remove their bioluminescent glow. Those with Gifts were a commodity at the center of the commerce. It sickened her what had transpired and that she’d been a pawn in the game.
Lexi took deep, calming breaths as she followed Oren toward the stairs. Blowing up now would be such a waste of the efforts that had gotten her this far.
At the stairwell, Oren descended one story to the level housing his office and other administrative functions. Lexi had found it strange that he’d elected a place in the basement rather than a room on one of the higher floors with a view of the city, but she supposed some people liked it cool and dark while they worked. He didn’t enter the office itself but rather walked a ways down the hall before he stopped and turned to address her.
“You’d better not be having second thoughts about joining this movement. You gave me your word.”
At the time she’d made her vows to support the Alliance, Lexi hadn’t even known what she was signing up for. She hadn’t cared; it was an ‘in’, and she would have taken it no matter what. In the time since, the Sovereign Peoples Alliance had done their best to shape her thinking—mostly by keeping her isolated and limiting what she was told. Now, she didn’t think leaving was a genuine option. She lived with them, relied on them, had planned with them. To step away would make her a traitor to the cause, if she could even find anywhere to go. “I’m committed. You know I am,” she said. They’ve made sure of it.
For an organization pushing an agenda of giving people freedom, they had a whole lot of rules and controls over the members. If she thought about it too long, she started to feel like it was a cult. Perhaps it was, in some ways. Passionate people working toward a common cause.
“We have important work to do. I see your enthusiasm, but you must direct that fire toward productive ends.”
“I know.”
“It’s challenging to see the universe as it is—those harsh, dark truths. The people we bring in are those who’ve been touched by that badness and know how important it is to stand up for a brighter future.”
“That’s why I joined you.”
“It is one thing to join for yourself, but it is another to join because you want to be part of a movement.”
Lexi wasn’t sure what he meant or what was the appropriate reply. “I’m here for the cause.”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “Sometimes I wonder if you want revenge.”
Of course I do! But Oren shouldn’t know about that. She’d been so careful to keep the specifics about her past hidden. Others knew that she was born on Cytera, but that was the extent of the truth; everything else was a carefully fabricated narrative to paint her as an idealistic youth who’d had a rough go of it. Well, the core of that story was partially true, but few of the other details mirrored her actual experience.
She put on her sweetest smile. “Revenge? For what?”
“The atrocities the Central Planets have committed against these fringe worlds for generation after generation. Once your eyes are opened to the real state of things, a person can’t help but get angry.”
Lexi relaxed; if Oren knew anything about her real past, this wasn’t him tipping his hand. “That frustration must be guided toward productive ends, like you said.”
Oren looked her over, nodding slowly. “I’ve spoken with the others, and they agree that you can be an asset as we embark on the next stage of our mission.”
A tingle of excitement ran up her spine. “I welcome the challenge. What does this next stage entail?”
“Fighting for independence, of course.”
Lexi held back an eye-roll. “But tactically. What’s the plan?”
“I said you were moving up
