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Authors: Christopher Nelson
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now, unless you can help Andreas."
"Fair enough," Max said. "But I really need to go outside and contemplate life. It's all fucked up right now, and it's all your fault, Kev."
"You'll forgive me some day, right?"
"Maybe."
Chapter Five
Burke put his face in his hands. "I cannot believe you are asking something so foolish."
"Professor, that's the request we're looking to make." Rachel knocked on the table we sat around.
"Very well," he said, raising his head. "I shall bring this committee's decision to administration, who will take it under consideration. I suspect the period of consideration shall be measured in seconds."
"We need to know who among the faculty we can trust!"
"Trust?" I had never heard Burke laugh, but he sounded close. "Trust is earned, not given, and certainly not demanded. A request for additional contacts is reasonable. Perhaps. Asking for full dossiers on all faculty members who are part of the Establishment? Preposterous, Miss Anderson. Utterly ridiculous."
"We don't think so."
"I will also remind you that the vote was not unanimous."
Eyes turned to me. Rachel didn't quite sneer at me, but she had succeeded at ostracizing me. No one on the committee spoke to me except for a couple of the seniors. I used my outsider position to play devil's advocate for everything she proposed just to drive her up the wall. "Fourteen for, one against. One in opposition doesn't matter."
"Doesn't matter?" Burke and I exclaimed at the same time. He gestured to me to continue. "So you're saying that because I didn't vote in lockstep with you, my voice doesn't matter?"
"Exactly," she snapped. "You've been fighting us on everything from day one. You got beat, so just sit down and shut up."
I stood up, trying to keep my cool. "Excuse me? At least I'm not arrogant enough to think that I'm the heart and soul of this farce."
"You're not scaring anyone, Parker. Sit down."
I snapped my fingers and half the people around the table flinched. "The louder the dog, the harder the kick," I said, keeping my eyes focused on hers. "And you're the noisiest bitch in this room."
There had been murmurs around the table when I stood up. They died. Eyes widened. Some looked to me, some to Burke, most to Rachel. No one said a word, not even when she stood and planted her palms on the table. "What did you just call me?"
"I called you a loud mouthed bitch. No one argues with you because no one can get a word in. Of course you think you're always right, but haven't you figured it out yet? They can't be bothered anymore. You're not worth arguing with. You're not worth anyone's time, Anderson." I prepared to tap into my power in case I had pushed her too hard.
Her eyes flared with green light and I barely scrambled up a defensive wall in time. Instead of the telekinetic attack I expected, she hit me with a hammer blow of telepathic noise. My mind spun for a second and I shifted my defenses to compensate, just before she hit me again, even stronger than before. This attack slid off. What was she thinking? Telepathy didn't win fights. Her attacks felt like a formal telepathic duel, just for show.
I didn't bother fighting on her terms. I simply grabbed her chair and pulled it forward into the backs of her legs. Her knees buckled and she fell back into the chair, her next attack distinctly weaker than the previous two. I feinted with an attack at her mind, but simply pushed her. The chair leaned and she flailed her arms as she fell backwards.
Before her head could crack against the floor, a telekinetic grip caught and returned her chair to an upright position. "Now, now, children," Burke said. "Sit the hell down and shut the hell up. There will be no further fighting in this chamber." My own chair nudged the backs of my legs pointedly. I sat down and threw a winning smile across the table at Rachel.
She glared at me. "Go to hell, Parker."
"Miss Anderson." Burke's voice could have frozen molten steel. "Another outburst and I shall not
"Fair enough," Max said. "But I really need to go outside and contemplate life. It's all fucked up right now, and it's all your fault, Kev."
"You'll forgive me some day, right?"
"Maybe."
Chapter Five
Burke put his face in his hands. "I cannot believe you are asking something so foolish."
"Professor, that's the request we're looking to make." Rachel knocked on the table we sat around.
"Very well," he said, raising his head. "I shall bring this committee's decision to administration, who will take it under consideration. I suspect the period of consideration shall be measured in seconds."
"We need to know who among the faculty we can trust!"
"Trust?" I had never heard Burke laugh, but he sounded close. "Trust is earned, not given, and certainly not demanded. A request for additional contacts is reasonable. Perhaps. Asking for full dossiers on all faculty members who are part of the Establishment? Preposterous, Miss Anderson. Utterly ridiculous."
"We don't think so."
"I will also remind you that the vote was not unanimous."
Eyes turned to me. Rachel didn't quite sneer at me, but she had succeeded at ostracizing me. No one on the committee spoke to me except for a couple of the seniors. I used my outsider position to play devil's advocate for everything she proposed just to drive her up the wall. "Fourteen for, one against. One in opposition doesn't matter."
"Doesn't matter?" Burke and I exclaimed at the same time. He gestured to me to continue. "So you're saying that because I didn't vote in lockstep with you, my voice doesn't matter?"
"Exactly," she snapped. "You've been fighting us on everything from day one. You got beat, so just sit down and shut up."
I stood up, trying to keep my cool. "Excuse me? At least I'm not arrogant enough to think that I'm the heart and soul of this farce."
"You're not scaring anyone, Parker. Sit down."
I snapped my fingers and half the people around the table flinched. "The louder the dog, the harder the kick," I said, keeping my eyes focused on hers. "And you're the noisiest bitch in this room."
There had been murmurs around the table when I stood up. They died. Eyes widened. Some looked to me, some to Burke, most to Rachel. No one said a word, not even when she stood and planted her palms on the table. "What did you just call me?"
"I called you a loud mouthed bitch. No one argues with you because no one can get a word in. Of course you think you're always right, but haven't you figured it out yet? They can't be bothered anymore. You're not worth arguing with. You're not worth anyone's time, Anderson." I prepared to tap into my power in case I had pushed her too hard.
Her eyes flared with green light and I barely scrambled up a defensive wall in time. Instead of the telekinetic attack I expected, she hit me with a hammer blow of telepathic noise. My mind spun for a second and I shifted my defenses to compensate, just before she hit me again, even stronger than before. This attack slid off. What was she thinking? Telepathy didn't win fights. Her attacks felt like a formal telepathic duel, just for show.
I didn't bother fighting on her terms. I simply grabbed her chair and pulled it forward into the backs of her legs. Her knees buckled and she fell back into the chair, her next attack distinctly weaker than the previous two. I feinted with an attack at her mind, but simply pushed her. The chair leaned and she flailed her arms as she fell backwards.
Before her head could crack against the floor, a telekinetic grip caught and returned her chair to an upright position. "Now, now, children," Burke said. "Sit the hell down and shut the hell up. There will be no further fighting in this chamber." My own chair nudged the backs of my legs pointedly. I sat down and threw a winning smile across the table at Rachel.
She glared at me. "Go to hell, Parker."
"Miss Anderson." Burke's voice could have frozen molten steel. "Another outburst and I shall not
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