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Authors: Catherine Beery
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TO BE MADE. IT CAN ALSO SHOW POWER, RYLYNN. IT SHOWS GRACE, STRENGTH, AND WEALTH. PEOPLE COMING TO THE CAPITAL SEE IT AND CAN BE REASURED, AWED, OR INDIMIDATED BY THE SHOW OF POWER. AS YOU CAN SEE, BEAUTY IS VERY PRACTICAL AND I DIDN’T COVER ALL OF ITS USES.
I chewed on that as Admiral Knight and I entered the building. My chewing stopped as I took in the office. If some small part of my brain had thought that the elegance was only on the outside it was proven wrong now. It took everything I had not to let my jaw hit the floor. The front office wasn’t ostentatious. It held an understated elegance that told you, in no uncertain terms, that there was Importance here. Power gave strength to the support columns and the arches that supported the roof of the very tall room. Wealth had obviously been lovingly poured into the building of the academy. Everything I saw was made of some exclusive material. I’m not an expert on such things, but spending time with Ace and Carden gave me an eye for the well-made and finer things in life. Some rich hard wood the likes of which I had never seen before in the provincial Colony Lenti was used to make the desks and tables. The obviously talented workmanship of the wood drew the eye to discover all its secrets. It lent grace to the various desks that faced the doors in a half circle. The forest green stone floor shimmered with silver. Silver veined marble formed a border along the foot of the walls. The walls themselves were a beautiful dark warm granite that transitioned to a pale orange then white at the very ceiling of the room…all of five stories high.
It was extravagant and once again impractical. But the Spectral did have a point. It awed me and made me feel very small. Maybe there was something to that whole ‘beauty is practical’ nonsense.
“Well, here you are. You will be wanting the desk on the far right hand side.” Admiral Knight said with a gesture.
Aware that this was both a clear dismissal and my chance to get away from him I faced him with a grateful smile plastered on my face. “Thank you, sir.” I managed to say genuinely enough. He nodded and went his own way. Taking a deep breath I turned toward mine.
Thankfully the office was moderately busy so I wasn’t the only one walking before all those desks. Behind the polished wood were uniformed officers, like back at the Academy Branch. They were also busy even with no one inquiring at their desk. I counted it as lucky that they were occupied with their own things.
Behind the desk that the admiral had pointed me to was a young Avren woman with blue and green feathers on her wings. Her hair was a turquoise to go with the feathers. She looked up at my approach. Her smile was kind and warmed her amber eyes. I hesitated a moment, stunned by the contrast between my treatment up on the station and here. But then, she didn’t know I wasn’t a Primary Citizen. I smiled at her. I admit it, I was looking forward to a conversation that didn’t start on unequal terms. I would, of course, tell her where I was from when she asked. Till then, I planned to enjoy pretending that there was no difference between colonists and Citizens.
“How can I help you?” She asked in soft voice.
“Hi. I hope so.” I said with a smile. “I was just accepted into Legion Fleet today…” I trailed it off unsure what I should be asking.
She grinned. “You came to the right place. My name is Ensign A’zarsha.” She jumped off the step stool that I just realized she had been standing on. It had given her half a foot of height, masking the fact that she stood as tall as I did. Seeing her people from below on the station had not really given me a clue as to how small they actually were. The
I chewed on that as Admiral Knight and I entered the building. My chewing stopped as I took in the office. If some small part of my brain had thought that the elegance was only on the outside it was proven wrong now. It took everything I had not to let my jaw hit the floor. The front office wasn’t ostentatious. It held an understated elegance that told you, in no uncertain terms, that there was Importance here. Power gave strength to the support columns and the arches that supported the roof of the very tall room. Wealth had obviously been lovingly poured into the building of the academy. Everything I saw was made of some exclusive material. I’m not an expert on such things, but spending time with Ace and Carden gave me an eye for the well-made and finer things in life. Some rich hard wood the likes of which I had never seen before in the provincial Colony Lenti was used to make the desks and tables. The obviously talented workmanship of the wood drew the eye to discover all its secrets. It lent grace to the various desks that faced the doors in a half circle. The forest green stone floor shimmered with silver. Silver veined marble formed a border along the foot of the walls. The walls themselves were a beautiful dark warm granite that transitioned to a pale orange then white at the very ceiling of the room…all of five stories high.
It was extravagant and once again impractical. But the Spectral did have a point. It awed me and made me feel very small. Maybe there was something to that whole ‘beauty is practical’ nonsense.
“Well, here you are. You will be wanting the desk on the far right hand side.” Admiral Knight said with a gesture.
Aware that this was both a clear dismissal and my chance to get away from him I faced him with a grateful smile plastered on my face. “Thank you, sir.” I managed to say genuinely enough. He nodded and went his own way. Taking a deep breath I turned toward mine.
Thankfully the office was moderately busy so I wasn’t the only one walking before all those desks. Behind the polished wood were uniformed officers, like back at the Academy Branch. They were also busy even with no one inquiring at their desk. I counted it as lucky that they were occupied with their own things.
Behind the desk that the admiral had pointed me to was a young Avren woman with blue and green feathers on her wings. Her hair was a turquoise to go with the feathers. She looked up at my approach. Her smile was kind and warmed her amber eyes. I hesitated a moment, stunned by the contrast between my treatment up on the station and here. But then, she didn’t know I wasn’t a Primary Citizen. I smiled at her. I admit it, I was looking forward to a conversation that didn’t start on unequal terms. I would, of course, tell her where I was from when she asked. Till then, I planned to enjoy pretending that there was no difference between colonists and Citizens.
“How can I help you?” She asked in soft voice.
“Hi. I hope so.” I said with a smile. “I was just accepted into Legion Fleet today…” I trailed it off unsure what I should be asking.
She grinned. “You came to the right place. My name is Ensign A’zarsha.” She jumped off the step stool that I just realized she had been standing on. It had given her half a foot of height, masking the fact that she stood as tall as I did. Seeing her people from below on the station had not really given me a clue as to how small they actually were. The
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