Nava did not smirk, because Nava did not really do smirks. Melissa smirked for both of them. Nava could tell her friend was amused even though Melissa was facing the front, and when the redhead’s hands began to move and Nava noticed the time, it was fairly clear that Melissa was jumping in to vote for Mitsuko. Nava tapped at the message window which had just appeared to inform her that voting had started and prepared to do the same.
The site was already showing signs of stress; early voting, it seemed, was heavy. Still, all that meant was that a lot of people had firmly made up their minds. It did not give any indication of how many were going to vote for Mitsuko.
~~~
Mitsuko was, Nava thought, the proverbial swan. On the surface, she was a beautiful, pristine princess, all serenity as she negotiated the lunch queue under Nava’s watchful gaze. Beneath the surface, her emotions were paddling like crazy.
‘You’re sure you’ll be alright with just these sandwiches?’ Mitsuko asked. She was collecting lunch for them both so that Nava’s hands were free if needed. You just could not tell that the presidential candidate was as nervous as Hell.
‘That’ll be fine,’ Nava replied.
‘I could get–’
‘It’s all I need.’
Mitsuko slid closer and lowered her voice. ‘It’s not all I need. I need stress relief.’
‘You need to be seen. Everyone’s heard about the attempt the night before last. You acting like you’re fine and being seen is important. I’d go down on you here, but I think it might cause a scene.’
Mitsuko’s cheeks coloured a little. Nava was actually a little worried that her lover was thinking about it. Seriously. ‘It probably would…’
‘The polls are saying it’s very close,’ Rochester said once Mitsuko was on a seat beside Nava and opposite him. Rochester gave a shrug. ‘Not that I trust their polling methodology. Self-selecting polling systems have been entirely discredited for centuries.’
‘And yet, we still have them,’ Mitsuko said.
‘I’m sure all of the students in our class voted for you,’ Melissa said. Her tone was a little overly bright.
‘Thank you for trying to cheer me up, Mel. I’m quite sure several of the students in my class did not vote for me. Still, I didn’t expect them to.’
‘You’re taking this all very calmly. I’d be a nervous wreck. And someone tried to kill you the night before last! You’re amazing.’
Nava glanced at Mitsuko, wondering what her response would be. Apparently, she was willing to put on a brave front, but not to lie to someone she called a friend. ‘No,’ Mitsuko said, ‘I’m a nervous wreck. I just have a good poker face. You’d have to be inhuman not to be stressed by everything that’s going on.’ Which was probably true.
Nava ate her sandwiches quietly and calmly, her eyes scanning for any signs of trouble.
~~~
‘We’ve had a couple of attempts to hack the voting site through the day,’ Courtney said. She was keeping her voice low, but she was standing right beside Nava. They were both on the stage in the main theatre, the place where all the really big indoor events were carried out. The matriculation ceremony had been held here; you could fit more or less the entire school in this room, so it was being used for the revelation of the election results.
Nava was not sure why Courtney was telling her about the hacks. It was not general knowledge, so the SSF and the school were keeping it secret, but Courtney was telling Nava. Odd. ‘A couple?’ Nava asked.
‘Well, nine over the course of the day. Nothing successful, but the techs couldn’t trace them to a source.’
‘You’re sure they failed?’
‘About as sure as you can get. The security around the voting process is pretty tight. It wasn’t once and they learned from the experience.’
‘Oh?’
‘Huh, yeah. When the school first initiated the whole student council thing, they more or less used an honour system. No one thought anyone would try to rig the ballot. About ten years in, there was a very unpopular president on his third term, and everyone expected him to be voted out. He won by a pretty respectable margin and there were questions asked. Then they noticed that there were thirteen more votes cast than there were registered students.’
‘Someone got a little too enthusiastic?’
‘They’d got away with it for three years and they got cocky. Anyway, the school responded by making sure that site has the best security. It basically has the same security system as the secure library database, and that’s military grade. Could be that, whoever was trying to get in, they were just looking for the current vote counts. We’ve seen that before. The News Club can get… overzealous.’
‘Or they were trying to rig the vote,’ Nava suggested.
‘Or that. If that, then it’s possible they aren’t finished.’
That was why she was telling Nava about the hacks. Okay. ‘I don’t think they’ll be finished until their objective is complete or they can’t win. You’ve no idea who they were trying to boost? No, because they didn’t get in.’
‘No, we don’t know.’ Courtney frowned at her taciturn companion. ‘You have some idea?’
‘I have a guess with very little evidence to back it up. I… may be able to get more.’
‘Do it. As long as it’s not illegal.’
‘It’s not illegal.’
‘Then–’
‘One might consider it questionable, but it’s not illegal.’
Courtney frowned again. ‘Do it anyway.’
~~~
‘Speaking from experience,’ Pascual Flores said, ‘I can tell you that this is an extremely stressful time to be a candidate. It is with great relief that I stand here in front of you
