Chapter 2

The room was large semicircle, nothing like the other side rooms they had passed on the way in. It had a sort of dark intensity about it, with black paint instead of the normal gray. There was an entire second floor to this room, with a balcony above that wrapped around the outer edge. The only solid walls were behind them. In front, clear windows gave a killer view of space that surrounded them. Earth was visible, but looked less intimidating than in the previous view she had through a much smaller window earlier.

It wasn’t her first time in this room, but every time she entered it made her feel its importance, the distinguished formality that spoke of the weight of decisions made here. Once again, Lynne straightened up and tried to look as though she belonged.

Compared to some of the pupes, the slang term for Pupilan, she could see she certainly fit in better. There was a girl lounging in her chair, a leg up on the arm and her chin in her hand, looking bored. Lynne had seen her at a previous meeting a couple of months ago, but had neglected to find out what her name was. Other apprentices often didn’t last long in the field, so it wasn’t always worth remembering names to accompany faces. Lynne made a mental note to find out more about this one.

Another was sitting at the table, this one a male. His hair was disheveled and he appeared to be biting his fingernails. Tsk tsk! Lynne admired her own nails, cut perfectly short. She tried to pretend she had never been this nervous.

There were others, but Lynne became slightly distracted as the room began to notice them. The apprentices around the room took note of her, some whispering to others, some just staring. She knew that she had a bit of a reputation, but tried not to let it get to her. It was rare for a female Pupilan to be in training as long as she was. As it stood, there were eleven chairs at the dark table dominating the center of the room. Only a single position at that table was occupied by a female master.

Brusque made his way around the right side of the table attracting his own attention, which he ignored, then sat on the second seat in. This was his designated position as the eighth Master. Lynne stood on his right and behind him, which would give him a clear view of all the other masters when they were seated, while also being ready to take orders from him should he need.

Not all of the masters were present yet, but Brusque had made it clear that they would not spend time standing around and making idle conversation. As prestigious a position he was in, it would have benefitted him to make friends with others, at least from a political standpoint, as advancement and decision making was often put up to a vote. However, he was not a very vocal person, Lynne had learned this very early. It had been a very difficult lesson as her personality tended to stray in a different direction in terms of communication. If she was being honest with herself, it laid in the opposite direction. She loved to talk, and when she was with friends she did so with double enthusiasm to make up for the time she spent with Brusque.

It wasn’t that she disliked him, in fact, she found her respect for the man had increased to the point there were few else that she held in such high regard. He had a silent authority that even other masters tended to acknowledge, especially the newest ones. That authority had initially intimidated her a great deal. However, she found that after a half year or so there were soft edges to be found amongst the sharpness. Some lenience where there had originally only been reprisal. Lynne found that over time she had begun to earn his approval. Once she had realized that she knew that it was possible to reach this difficult man, she intensified her effort. Over time, their relationship had become mutually positive. He approved of her efforts and she admired his leadership. Overall, her own self-esteem had grown and she respected herself now more than she ever had, especially since first starting out working for The Syndicate.

Looking on the far wall opposite where she stood, she could see that the meeting was about to begin. When the hour turned, a Head Master would walk into the room, and the front entrance would be locked to all those who didn’t share that rank. She went through her mental list and reaffirmed she was presentable and ready for Brusque should he need her.

Others were beginning to take their seats, their Pupilans standing beside them. One master had to actually tell his mentee to remove themselves from his chair. Rookie mistake. Lynne continued to stand with her hands behind her back, ready to stand for however long the meeting took.

The front door opened as an older gentleman entered. He was bald with white hair around the outside of his head, trimmed short. He had a long black robe, the same as all the other masters, except he had a silver pin on one shoulder. Lynne knew that at closer examination the pin would be of a hand with all fingers and thumb splayed, indicating his rank. Master- she caught herself, HEAD Master Atigula had recently been promoted into the top five. Thus, his rank was indicated with all five digits of a hand as his pin.

Atigula was accompanied by two royal guardsmen, Lynne had often thought the term rather arrogant since the Head Masters were not technically royalty, and they held two long spears which were propped against their shoulders and held at the butt by their right hand. They walked in lockstep behind him and appeared rather impressive despite their haughty title. What few remaining individuals who were not yet at the table soon found their way and stood in front of their chairs. Brusque stood up, his hands found each other behind his back and he stood in a position that she knew mimicked her own. Or rather, the position that she held was the one that he had taught her, the one that he was in now.

“Be seated.” Atigula’s order rang out over the space as he took his spot at the head of the table. His voice was a little harsh and bespoke of many orders barked over loud combat scenarios. He had held the position of first master for a long time and no one had debated his advancement, rather everyone had expected it. “As you know, since I have taken up the role of fifth Head Master,” the newest master began clapping and was quickly silenced as no one reciprocated and everyone looked at him. Heads turned back towards the front as Atigula continued, “… I now have the responsibility of seeing a new first master agreed upon, and of course a new tenth.”

Although no one let on, Lynne knew it was an exciting opportunity for both masters and Pupilan alike. There were two open spots, the most coveted master spot, and an opportunity for a pupe to take on the role of the tenth! Lynne did her best to show no emotions whatsoever. She was as stoic as an owl. She could see others smiling and looking around. Amateurs! Only the most respected, and not to mention longest-serving, would be chosen for the tenth spot.

Atigula cleared his throat and what few murmurs there had been were silenced. “Of course, we will first vote on natural progression for the spot of first master.” This of course meant that all masters would vote on whether or not everyone would simply accept a single step forward in rank. The only time this was ever contested was when a particular master had acquired enough political popularity to step ahead of another and skip over those between his previous rank and the newest available one.

Raising his hand first to indicate his support of this motion, Atigula said, “All in favor.” There was very little hesitation around the table. From her position, Lynne could see that most had agreed with this motion. She could see the pupe in front of her leaning forward and looking from side to side. Her master had to raise a hand and motion for him to step back. The male apprentice across from Lynne and to her right, the fifth’s, was smiling. What a smug little bastard! Lynne could feel her eyes narrow as she watched him. He was just over a year into his Pupilanity and already he seemed to feel like he belonged. It took her at least two years to begin to feel as though she knew what she was doing. Now, she felt quite comfortable. Comfortable enough to expect a promotion? It was Lynne’s turn to smile, though she hid it well.

“Good.” Atigula said, as if it were a foregone conclusion, which to be fair it probably had been. “Now, for the promotion of a Pupilan. Step forward, candidates.” Lynne took two steps forward, standing just in front of Brusque. She stared forward, not daring to look down at him, despite wanting his approval. She knew the only way he would, is if she did nothing but look the part of a master. Hands trembling, she clutched them together even harder and told herself to breathe. It helped a little, and she managed to relax, somewhat.

A minute went by, the hall in silence. She knew that Atigula would be picking the best suited apprentice, but it was hard not to feel nervous, despite the fact that she had been the eldest mentee by over a year. Lynne had proven herself fully capable, at least in her mind. They had been on missions with other Pupilans before as a team, and it had been embarrassing how inept some of them were. She had been capable of pulling off entire missions almost on her own, with hardly any assistance from Brusque. Surely this also was an inevitable decision?