Start Read Online Free PDF Page B

from the
lectern far below and narrow his gaze her way.
    Oh
boy.
    No
doubt, he was pausing to take a mental note to make her life hell
after the lecture.
    She
locked her teeth, closed her eyes, tipped her head back, and
wondered if now was just a good time to quit and cut her
losses.
    “As I
am sure you are all aware, it takes years of rigorous practice to
make full use of your telekinetic implants,” Sharpe continued with
the lecture.
    Every
member of the Galactic Coalition Academy had a telekinetic implant.
Even she did. In fact, she took several seconds to bring her hand
up and tap the small, hard device lodged just a few centimetres
below the base of her throat.
    She'd
remembered being so excited when she'd received it.
    In her
mind, she’d hoped it would let her make objects fly across the
room, catch cruisers as they fell from the sky, and generally wield
the power of a modern god.
    Unfortunately, it wasn't that simple.
    Not
only were the implants hard to use, some people simply never got
the knack of them.
    And
she was one of the unlucky few who had zero talent. Totally zip.
Nothing.
    She
could do precious little with the implant. She’d been able to pick
up a cup with her mind once, but that was it. She had not succeeded
in using any of the specialised telekinetic weapons, and she’d
certainly never caught a cruiser as it fell from the
sky.
    She
was, in other words, truly useless.
    “It is
rare to find a true master of these implants. Not only does it
require years of work, but a natural talent and understanding of
the underlying dynamics involved,” Sharpe said. “So we are very
lucky to have a true master at the Academy.”
    Nida
sighed as she continued to tap her implant.
    J’Etem
was a marvel when it came to the use of telekinetic power. In fact,
nearly every other member of Nida's class had real talent for
it.
    Nida,
on the other hand, had come to the realisation she would never be
able to use her implant properly.
    No
matter how many hours of practice she put in, she never improved.
Lifting a cup was sure to be the height of her less-than heady
success.
    Staring at her hands glumly as she allowed them to rest back
on the table, she wondered whether she could just sneak out of the
lecture. She was already in trouble, so it would hardly matter if
she added a fresh, new mistake to her enormous list of
misdemeanour.
    Pressing her lips together, she deliberately tuned out as
Sharpe continued lecturing the class on the correct and effective
use of their implants.
    She
already knew the material anyway. Heck, every recruit did; the rest
of her class was simply being politely attentive as Sharpe reminded
them yet again how powerful yet dangerous telekinetic implants
were.
    She
appreciated the point, but it was hardly as if she needed to heed
the warning; coffee cups aside, Nida was never going to be able to
wield a telekinetic weapon, so there was no point in learning the
correct way to use them.
    As she
tuned out, her mind wandered over what she had to do for the rest
of the day, then she mused about whether there'd be any hotdogs
left in the cafeteria after the lunch rush.
    Then,
out of the corner of her eye, she saw a blue flash. The cadet
sitting next to her wore one of the standard-issue Academy watches,
and had clearly just received a message—hence the sudden pulse of
light.
    But
even though she saw blue flashes like that every day, this one
caught her attention.
    And
held it fast.
    A kick
of nerves travelled blindingly fast up her back, and she twitched
forward as if she'd been struck.
    A
memory played at the edge of her mind, toying with her.
    The
cadet next to her turned, frowning at her odd behaviour. “Are you
okay?” he whispered.
    She
forced herself to nod, pretending her leg had just cramped. Then
she turned around and tried to listen to the lecture.
    She
couldn't. That memory kept on beckoning her. And it had something
to do with blue light. In fact, now she paused long enough, she
realised