Beam:

  Sunbeam paced her small office. Technically it was bigger than her office back at her old job, but it didn’t feel that way with all the shelves full of files. So. Many. Files. And she was supposed to go through all of them. In the five months since accepting this new position that Prime Minister Vi’le offered her, Beam had been slowly acquainted with the details of the project Fletcher had been involved with. Now that she had all the information about it and what the goal was, she was given the all important task of helping select a new Human candidate to replace Fletcher.

  The problem was that no one could replace Fletcher Anders.

  And Beam wasn’t just saying that because she had loved him. Obviously she didn’t think she’d ever find someone who could make her feel the way about them that she felt about Fletcher, but beyond that, looking at the requirements for a candidate for the Diplomacy Initiative, it seemed impossible to match Fletcher’s integrity when it came to matters of Unhumans.

  Fletcher’s record had been spotless, even since he was a child. And his father—his only living relative—was also known as a friend to Unhumans. But it looked like Fletcher might be completely unique in that respect.

  Despite millions of Humans to choose from, she was sure no one would even hold a candle to the brilliance that was Fletcher Anders.

  Someone who didn’t just stand Unhumans but actively befriended them? That cut their possible choices down to a few hundred. And then it became her job to dig into their pasts and their associations to see how genuine their feelings really went. So far, Beam was not impressed with what she found.

  Beam stopped in her tracks as a knock sounded at her door. “Yes?”

  “Prime Minister Vi’le wishes to see you, Madam Sunbeam,” Knarf said in his gravelly voice from the other side.

  “I’ll be right there. Thank you, Knarf,” she called out.

  Straightening her clothes, Beam took a calming breath. Even after all these months of working on a classified project that put her so close to the [Goblin] Prime Minister, she still struggled to relax around even the simple idea of a standard meeting.

  Once she was sure she was presentable and as calm as she could get herself to be, Beam left the office behind and went upstairs to the uppermost floor where Vi’le’s office was. She waited only a few moments before being sent into the [Goblin’s] office.

  Vi’le sat behind his desk, short in stature like all [Goblins], and with large pointed ears that held a multitude of earrings to denote his high ranking among his species. His gray skin highlighted his boney frame, something else that was normal for [Goblins].

  “Ah, Madam Sunbeam. Thank you for meeting me on such short notice,” Vi’le said, his tone that of a typical politician.

  “Of course, Prime Minister. I’m at your service.” Beam ducked her head.

  “Sit down. I just want to check in and see how the search for candidates is going,” Vi’le explained.

  Beam did as he said, taking the chair opposite of him. Being in an office like this reminded her of Fletcher and visiting him at his fancy job as Chief Education Administrator. A pang of hurt slashed through her heart at the memory.

  “Ah, yes. Um…” Beam hesitated, embarrassed to admit that she had yet to find anyone suitable enough even to present to the committee despite weeks of looking through files.

  Vi’le raised an eyebrow, his pink eyes bearing down on Beam despite the fact he was so much shorter than her.

  “I’m still looking,” she said quietly.

  “No one has caught your eye yet?” Vi’le asked.

  She shook head. “No, Prime Minister. Not one.”

  The Prime Minister nodded solemnly. “I see.”

  “I’m sorry. It’s just…” Beam sighed. “It’s hard to find someone who can match Fletcher’s background and qualifications.”

  “I understand. I had hoped to have a few names to bring to the committee meeting today, but it would appear that is not the case. Thank you for your time. I will excuse you to return to your work.” Vi’le motioned to the door.

  “Thank you, Prime Minister. I promise I will find someone. It will just take time,” Beam said.

  “Of course. I trust you, Madam Sunbeam. That’s why I asked you to take this job.” He smiled at her as she exited the office.

  Beam nodded to Knarf as she went to the stairwell and returned to the second floor where her own office waited. She was always unsettled after a meeting with the Prime Minister, and this time was worse. She disappointed him by not having a name yet.

  But how could she? How could she ever find someone to replace Fletcher?

  Sitting in her chair, Beam placed her head in her hands. Maybe she should resign. Vi’le asked her to take this position because she was intimately familiar with Fletcher, but that actually made it more difficult for her to do it. How could she be the one to replace someone she cared so much about? Someone she still missed every morning when she woke up and every night when she went to sleep. The lack of Fletcher was felt every moment of the day. Beam couldn’t fathom suggesting someone to fill those shoes.

  She dug her fingers into her golden hair. No. She couldn’t afford to fall back into her sorrow. Besides, there was a bigger picture here. Fletcher was part of this project. He wanted to see it through. She had to do this for him. The Diplomacy Initiative was going to create a world that was safe for everyone, no more humanism. That was Fletcher’s dream, and that was her dream too now.

  Beam was going to find someone for the Initiative, someone to fill in what Fletcher left behind. Not just for him or her, but for the whole world.

  Javier:

  Javier ran his hands along the wood he just sanded down. It was a small project, refinishing the dining table for a young family in his apartment building, but he loved working with wood. He always had, and carpentry was a good side project to fill his summers off.

  He was lucky his school let him use the woodshop over the summers as long as he helped with some projects around the building.

  Thinking of school was like taking a kick to the stomach. Teaching had been Fletcher’s life, and everything was wrong knowing they wouldn’t be teachers together. They’d done everything together since the fourth grade, but now…

  Javier didn’t like getting into his feelings, but once in a while he did have to admit the truth. He missed his best friend. It sucked enough knowing Fletcher ditched him for the Unhuman city, but that was only temporary. But dying… That didn’t end.

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  His phone buzzed before he could get too depressed, but he frowned when he saw the number, or rather the lack of number.

  “This is Javier,” he said as he answered.

  “Mr. Ortega, Captain Monroe wishes to see you. She has an important update for you,” the female voice on the other end said. “A car is waiting outside the school building.”

  “Okay,” Javier replied. Those dang demanding military officers who didn’t think of anyone’s time but their own. His chest tightened as he realized that he knew what this was about. Was it really already that time? He’d hoped to have the whole summer before this happened.

  Leaving his project and safety equipment behind, Javier left the high school to find the car waiting, just as he’d been told. A soldier opened the backdoor for him, and he slid inside, failing to convince himself that this was just another meeting and not that.

  The drive was quick, just to city hall. But that didn’t necessarily mean anything.

  Javier exited the vehicle and was walking towards the door before his escort could take the lead. He knew where to go. He’d done this bit several times over the past few months.

  Inside, they went up several flights of stairs and then entered a tastefully decorated office where Captain Monroe waited—a black woman with braided hair she kept pulled back in a bun.

  “Mr. Ortega. Good to see you again,” she said with minimal warmth.

  Javier wasn’t offended by that. She was always like that.

  “Hi, Captain. What can I do for you?” he asked.

  “The school year is finished,” she said bluntly.

  “I know.” Javier bit his lip. “I was wondering if maybe we could push it back to the end of summer? I just have a few things to wrap up.”

  Monroe gave him a forced smile and stood up from her chair. “I understand you’re nervous, Javier, but delaying only hurts our cause. We need you for this.”

  “I know. I know,” Javier said, running a hand through his black hair. He wasn’t ready for this. He still needed to finish that table project, and he hadn’t even started to pack up his apartment. Not to mention he hadn’t told his family yet about this change in plans. Or that he was in discussion with the military at all. It’d been too hard to explain why when Monroe asked that he not mention Fletcher’s involvement.

  But remembering his friend reminded Javier why he agreed to this new job at all. He was doing it for Fletcher. And sure, he wasn’t nearly as much of an expert on the Unhumans as his best friend had been, but Javier spent enough time around Fletcher and his strange ways to get a good idea of how freak-lovers acted. Something that turned out to be an invaluable skill.

  “General Taki and Secretary Walen have both approved. Your start date is a week from now. I’ll assign someone to travel with you on the train from Alcett to Hershi,” Monroe continued. “Just let me know any troubles you have with things like your apartment lease or finding movers, and I’ll take care of it. We’re excited to have you join our team.”

  Javier nodded slowly. Hershi was a long way from Alcett, but it was the heart of the Human government and the location of his newest job, working in intelligence alongside Monroe.

  Honestly, he sometimes couldn’t believe that Fletcher had been involved in something like this, but at the same time, he supposed it made sense. It helped explain why Fletcher took that stupid job in Bren’it’p too. Fletcher was working with the military to find spies and traitors among their people. And while Javier wasn’t as much of an expert on freak-lovers as a true freak-lover like Fletcher, he knew that he could still contribute to the mission and finish what Fletcher had started. And that was the best Javier could do for his friend.

  Tekara:

  “Oh, Tekara, whatever is the matter?” Glav’et said from across the table.

  Tekara looked up at him with a smile. “Nothing, darling.”

  He raised one of his eyebrows, his fiery red hair glistening in the morning sun.

  “Nothing,” Tekara insisted, brushing a strand of brown hair from her face.

  “My love.” Glav’et reached across the table and grabbed her arm. “You’re thinking of that Human again, aren’t you?”

  She sighed and looked away. His guess was precise, too precise.

  “Tekara,” he said gently. “The Council declared that the matter was to be put to rest, forgotten about. Why do you let it trouble you? I did not enjoy seeing you so worried about something so far removed from us. There are much better things to occupy your thoughts.”

  “Such as you?” Tekara smiled at her mate.

  He gave her only a half-smile. “What is it that bothers you still? Your [Species Sense] perhaps being wrong?”

  She shook her head, flexing her wings slightly. “No. Not that. I am still confident in what I [Sensed].”

  “Then what is it?”

  Tekara stood up from the low table they knelt at and paced their home. Originally, she didn’t plan to burden Glav’et with all her musings, but if he was going to pester her about it, then she would tell him everything. It would be helpful to get a second opinion, though she was fairly certain in what he would tell her.

  “What if the Council is wrong?” she began.

  “Tekara, what are you saying?” Glav’et said.

  “It’s not impossible,” she countered, turning to look at him. She continued pacing, her wings fluttering behind her ever so slightly. They were eager for exercise, but she needed to speak her mind completely. “What if we should be worrying about that Human? He has the potential to become like us, Glav’et. Think of the implications.”

  Glav’et stood up, leaning against the rounded wall as he watched her pace with his maroon eyes. “Yes. But you forget that it is only potential. Not to mention, he is entirely unique. The new prophecy appeared after the Merger, outside of any conception era. We have always known that there would be a single Human born with such potential, but unless he becomes one of us, there is nothing we can do for him.”

  “Fine. Yes. I support the Council’s decision to ignore him in that sense. But what of my [Intuition]?” she asked.

  Her mate smiled at her, the softness of it melting away the tension. “My love, if he is to be involved in war, that is more reason to ignore him, is it not? We do not believe in violence.”

  “Involved? Glav’et, my [Intuition] called him the ‘catalyst.’ That is not mere involvement.” Tekara stopped walking and stared out the window, looking across the blue sky where He’vara resided.

  “So what? Let the lower people squabble. We all agreed to let them fight it out after Travesty. Would you risk such things happening again for a Human?”

  Tekara frowned. “But… but what if there is more?”

  “What do you mean? Didn’t you share everything at the meeting,” Glav’et asked.

  “Of course I did. I mean… What if I missed something? My [Intuition] is such a low level compared to someone of Farud’s standing or even a mid-generationer like Po’lsa. What if there was more to learn about this Human, crucial information that could change everything, and I was simply not enough to learn it? What if I missed something vital that we needed to know? What if the war happens, all that death and destruction, because I failed?” Tears sprung to Tekara’s eyes as she spoke.

  A hand rubbed her shoulder, and she turned to find Glav’et standing there.

  “Oh, my dearest Tekara. Do not think such things. You did everything that was asked of you. More, even. If the Council felt there was more to learn about this Human, they would see it done. They feel confident in leaving him alone, and you need to trust them,” he said.

  “But—”

  “You just pointed out that Farud has a higher level [Intuition] than all of us. Do you not think he has used it to discern whether or not this is a more serious matter?” Glav’et asked.

  Tekara paused and dipped her head. “No. You are correct. The Council has surely given this matter serious thought. I will not let it trouble me more.”

  Glav’et pulled her from the window and into his arms, wrapping his wings around them. “Good. I care too much about you to see you suffering for such an unworthy cause. I love you, Tekara.”

  “I love you too.” Tekara held him back, refusing to admit the truth. Somewhere inside, she remained certain that Glav’et and the Council were all wrong. But she didn’t know about what. All she knew was that she missed something. Something important. She only hoped the suffering would not be too great to make recompense for her mistake.