Grissom Academy was a medium-sized space station with half a dozen small docking bays built along its exterior, each capable of accommodating small- to medium-sized vessels. Most of the arrivals were supply ships bringing in necessary resources from Elysium to keep the Academy running, along with twice-daily runs of the public passenger shuttle down to the surface of the planet below.
When Kahlee and Jiro arrived, Hendel was waiting for them, staring intently out the observation window toward the docking bays. She was disappointed to see that the station was currently oriented with the observation window looking out away from the planet they orbited; she always found the image of Elysium hovering below them in space to be particularly awe-inspiring.
Most visitors to the Academy — parents and friends of staff, typically — would come through Elysium, booking passage to the planet and then transferring to the passenger shuttle. Only those important or wealthy enough to have access to personal shuttles had the option to dock their vessels right on the station itself, eliminating the time and hassle necessitated by going through the public spaceports.
This direct access also allowed them to bypass the customs and security checks found planet-side, so by law there had to be a security officer on hand to clear them on arrival. This was more a formality than anything else, and Hendel normally delegated the task to one of his underlings. But on those rare occasions when Grayson arrived, the security chief was always there to greet him in person. Kahlee knew it was Hen-del's none-too-subtle way of letting Grayson know he was being watched.
Fortunately, Grayson's shuttle hadn't shown up yet. Hendel turned to look at them as they approached, breaking his vigil.
"I was starting to wonder if you were going to make it in time."
His comment was directed at Kahlee; it almost seemed as if he was intentionally ignoring Jiro's presence. She decided to let it slide.
"How long before they arrive?"
"Five, maybe ten mintues. I'll sign Grayson in, then he's yours to deal with. Take him to the cafeteria for a few hours or something."
"He's going to want to see his daughter right away," Jiro protested.
Hendel glared at the younger man as if he had interrupted a private conversation, then shook his head. "These surprise visits are hard enough on Gillian. I'm not going to wake her up in the middle of the night just because her father's too selfish to wait until morning to see her."
"Wanting to see his daughter right away isn't being selfish," Kahlee countered.
"The last few months she's been getting up early anyway," Jiro added. "She only sleeps a few hours a night. The rest of the time she just sits up in bed with the lights off and stares at the wall. I think it has something to do with her condition."
A sour grimace crossed Hendel's face. "Nobody told me that." He took his job seriously, and he didn't like it when other people knew more about the habits and behaviors of the students than he did.
He's looking for a fight, Kahlee thought. She'd have to keep a close eye on him; she wasn't about to let him ruin this visit for Grayson or Gillian.
"There wasn't anything you could do about it," Kahlee answered coolly. "Besides, Dr. Sanchez said it's nothing to worry about."
Hendel picked up on the unspoken warning in her tone and let the matter drop. For a few minutes they stood without speaking, just staring out the window. Hendel broke the silence with a seemingly innocent comment.
"So, it sounds like your old friend is in the running for one of the Council seats," he noted.
"Old friend?" Jiro asked, curious.
"Captain David Anderson," the security chief explained, seemingly oblivious to Kahlee's reflection in the window, scowling at him. "They served together in the Alliance."
"How come you never mentioned him before?" Jiro wondered, turning to her.
"It was a long time ago," she replied, trying to sound blase about it. "We haven't talked in years."
There was an uncomfortable silence, and Kahlee could only imagine the questions running through Jiro's head. He was a confident young man, but it still must have been unsettling to realize his girlfriend had a previous relationship with one of humanity's most well-known military heroes. When he finally spoke again, she was caught completely off-guard by what he said.
"I'd rather see Ambassador Udina on the Council."
"Interesting to see how that all plays out," Hendel replied, though he did raise a curious eyebrow.
Further conversation was cut off by a sharp beep emanating from the intercom above their heads, warning of an incoming vessel. Through the observation window they could see red lights flashing outside, on the perimeter of one of the docking bays. A few seconds later Grayson's ship — a small, high-end corporate shuttle — drifted into view.
The shuttle maneuvered into position, moving silently in the vacuum of space. It settled into one of the hangars, and Kahlee felt the slightest bump under her feet as a pair of large, automated docking clamps locked the ship into place. A fully enclosed platform extended out from the station to connect with the shuttle's doors, latching tight. The pressurized, oxygen-filled tunnel allowed passengers to go from vessels docked at the exterior landing bays directly into the confines of the station without having to go through the bother of putting on spacesuits.
"All right, let's go down and meet our guest," Hen-del muttered, making no effort to hide his displeasure.
Passengers exiting their vessels would come down the tunnel into the waiting room, a large antechamber with transparent, bulletproof walls. Several waist-high poles linked at the top by heavy red rope snaked their way back and forth through the room, creating an area where visitors lined up when they arrived en masse. At the end of the queue a yellow line had been painted on the floor. Beyond the line stood a pair of Alliance guards, both armed — a reminder to anyone coming aboard that the Grissom Academy was a joint military-civilian operation.
Behind the guards, a single door led from the waiting room into the reception area beyond, where another Alliance soldier sat at a computer to register all arrivals and departures. The door was kept closed until the soldier working the registration desk was satisfied that the individuals in the waiting room had authorization to come onto the station.
Grayson was already in the waiting room when they reached reception, pacing impatiently back and forth just behind the yellow line. The guards inside the room with him simply stood at attention, seeming not to notice his urgency.
The young woman behind the registration desk glanced up as Hendel approached, her face brightening when she recognized the Ascension Project's security chief.
You re wasting your time, sister, Kahlee thought.
"One visitor, as scheduled," she said, her voice a little too light and breezy to sound completely professional. "Just waiting for clearance."
"Let him through," Hendel said with a sigh.
She smiled, and punched some buttons on her keyboard. A small green light above the glass door flickered on and there was an audible click as the lock disengaged. A moment later the door swung silently open.
"Go on in, Mr. Grayson," Kahlee heard one of the guards inside the waiting room say, but Grayson was practically through the door already anyway.
He looks like bell, Kahlee thought.
Grayson was wearing a simple business suit and carrying an expensive-looking briefcase; his clothes were clean and freshly pressed, and it was obvious he had recently shaved. Despite these efforts, there was an unhealthy, almost desperate look about him. Always a thin man, he looked positively skeletal now; his clothes seemed to be hanging off him. His face was drawn and haggard, his eyes sunken and bloodshot, his lips dry and cracked. She still wasn't willing to completely concede to Hendel's accusation that he was a drug addict, but he certainly looked like a duster.
"Good to see you again, Mr. Grayson," Kahlee said, stepping forward and offering her introduction before Hendel could say something inappropriate.
"It's been a long time," the security chief added, undeterred by her efforts. "We were starting to think you'd forgotten where to find us."
"I'd come more often if I could," Grayson replied, shaking Kahlee's hand but looking at Hendel as he spoke. He didn't seem angry. If anything, he sounded almost apologetic. Or guilty. "Things have been. . complicated. . lately."
"Gillian was very excited when we told her you were coming, sir," Jiro chimed in from over Kahlee's shoulder.
"I'm looking forward to seeing her, Dr. Toshiwa," he replied, smiling. Kahlee noticed his teeth were discolored, as if covered with a faintly luminous sheen— another telltale sign of a duster.
"Do you want me to take your case?" Hendel asked, almost grudgingly.
"I'd prefer to keep it with me," Grayson replied, and Kahlee noticed a faint look of disapproval cross HendePs features.
"Come on," she said, taking Grayson by the forearm and gently turning him away from Hendel. "Let's go see your daughter."
"I'm sorry about the poor timing of my arrival," Grayson said to her as they made their way through the Academy toward the Ascension Project dorms. "I always have trouble adjusting my schedule to local time."
"It's not a problem, Mr. Grayson," she assured him. "You're welcome to come see Gillian anytime, day or night."
"I feel bad about waking her up," he continued. "But I have to leave again in a few hours."
"We'll just let her sleep through her classes tomorrow," Hendel remarked, walking a few steps behind them.
Grayson didn't acknowledge him, and Kahlee wasn't sure if he'd even heard the comment. But it put an end to the conversation until they reached Gillian's room.
Kahlee waved her hand in front of the access panel, and the door slid open.
"Lights — on," she said softly, and illumination filled the room.
Gillian wasn't sleeping. As Jiro had warned them, she was sitting cross-legged on her bed, on top of the covers. She was wearing a faded pink pair of pajamas that looked to be a size too small; Kahlee remembered they had been a gift from Grayson on her birthday a few months ago.
"Hey, Gigi," Grayson said, stepping forward into the room, calling her by his pet name.
Her eyes lit up and she held out her arms toward him, but didn't move from her sitting position. "Daddy!"
Grayson came to the side of the bed and leaned in, but pulled up short of hugging her. Instead, he clasped his daughter's hands tightly in his own, which was what she had been expecting.
"You're getting so big!" Grayson said in amazement, releasing one of her hands to take a half-step back and get a better look at her. After a long moment of silence, he added softly, "You look just like your mother."
Kahlee tapped Hendel and Jiro on their elbows, then nodded toward the door, indicating they should leave. The three of them slipped out of the room, and the door swooshed shut behind them.
"Come on," Kahlee said once they were out in the hall. "Let's leave them alone."
"All visitors have to be attended by someone on staff while at the Academy," Hendel objected.
"I'll stay here," Jiro offered. "He said he can only stay a few hours, so I don't mind hanging around. Plus I know Gillian's files. In case he has any questions."
"That'll work," Kahlee answered.
Hendel looked as if he were going to argue, but instead he only said, "Make sure you sign him out and let me know when he leaves."
"Come on," Kahlee said to Hendel. "Walk me down to the cafeteria and I'll buy you a coffee."
The cafeteria was empty — it would still be several hours before the staff and students made their way down for breakfast. Hendel settled himself at one of the tables by the door while Kahlee made her way over to the beverage dispensers. She swiped her employee card through the slot and ordered up two cups of coffee, both black, then carried them back over to the table and offered one to Hendel.
"Son-of-a-bitch looks worse than ever," the security chief said, taking the cup from her hand. "Might be high right now."
"You're too hard on him," she said with a sigh, settling into the seat across from Hendel. "He's not the first parent of a biotic child to experiment with red sand. It's a way for us ordinary people to understand what it's like to be biotic."
"No," he said sharply. "Getting high and flinging paper clips around with your mind for a few hours isn't anything like being a biotic."
"But it's the closest someone like Grayson can ever get. Put yourself in his shoes. He's just trying to connect with his daughter."
"Then maybe he should come see her more than twice a year."
"This can't be easy on him," she reminded Hendel. "His wife died during childbirth. His daughter has a mental condition that makes her emotionally distant. And then he finds out she has this incredible ability, and he has to send her away to a private school.
"He's probably on an emotional roller coaster every time he sees her: love, guilt, loneliness. He knows he's doing what's best for her, but that doesn't mean it's easy on him."
"I just get a bad vibe off him. And I've learned to trust my gut."
Rather than answer, Kahlee took a long drink from her cup. The coffee was nice and hot, but it had a mildly bitter aftertaste.
"We need to petition the board for better coffee," she muttered, hoping to change the subject.
"How long have you and Jiro been together?" Hendel asked her.
"How long have you known?"
"A couple months."
"Then it took you about two months to find out."
"Be careful with that kid, Kahlee."
She laughed. "I'll make sure I don't break him."
"That's not what I meant," he said, his voice serious. "There's something I don't trust about him. He's too slick. Too smooth."
"Your gut again?" she asked, holding her cup up close to her face to hide the smile on her lips. Apparently Hendel wasn't just protective of the students.
"You saw how he reacted when I mentioned your history with Anderson."
"Thank you very much for that, by the way," she said, arching her eyebrows.
"It didn't seem to rattle him," Hendel continued, ignoring her verbal jab. "Like he already knew."
"So what if he did?"
"Well, it was pretty obvious you didn't tell him. So how'd he find out? The records from that mission were sealed. Hell, even I only know because you told me."
"People talk. Maybe I mentioned it to someone on staff who mentioned it to him. You're making too much of this."
"Maybe," he conceded. "Just be careful. I've learned to trust my instincts."
Grayson spent the next four hours with Gillian. He let her do most of the talking, cycling between extended bursts of eager, almost frantic conversation and long stretches of silent withdrawal where she almost seemed to forget he was there. He liked listening to her voice, but he didn't mind the silences, either. It was good just to see her again.
When she did talk, it was mostly about school and the Academy: which teachers she liked and which ones she didn't; her favorite subjects; new things she'd learned in her courses. Grayson noticed that she never mentioned the other students, or anything to do with her biotic training. He decided not to push her. He'd get all the information he needed soon enough.
It was almost time for him to go. He'd learned the longer he stayed the harder it was to leave. So he always set himself a limit for each visit; having a mission parameter made it easier to do what he had to do.
"Gigi?" he said softly.
Gillian was staring at the wall, lost inside herself again.
"Gigi?" he said a little louder. "Daddy has to go. Okay?"
Last time he had left, she hadn't even acknowledged him when he said good-bye. This time, however, she turned her head slightly and nodded. He didn't know which was worse.
He stood up from her bedside and leaned in to kiss her on the top of her head.
"Get into bed, honey. Under the covers. Try to sleep."
Moving slowly, like some kind of automaton powered by his words, she did as instructed. Once she was settled and had closed her eyes, he crossed the room and opened the door.
"Lights — off," he whispered. The room went dark as he closed the door behind him.
Jiro was waiting for him out in the hall.
"Is it safe here?" Grayson asked him, his voice gruffer than he'd intended.
"Should be," the young man answered, speaking quietly. "Everyone's still in bed. We can go back to my room if it's going to take awhile."
"Let's just get it over with so I can get the hell off this station," Grayson said, dropping to one knee and laying his briefcase on the floor.
He released the lock, opened the false bottom, and removed the vial Pel had given him. Then he stood up and handed it to Jiro. The scientist took it from him, holding it up to the lights in the corridor ceiling.
"Looks like they switched compounds again. The Man must want to try something different." He slipped the vial into his pocket. "This isn't going to show up on any of her medicals, is it? I mean, it's untraceable, right?"
"What do you think?" Grayson asked him coolly.
"Yeah, okay. Same doses as before?"
"They didn't give me any new instructions," Grayson replied.
"Any idea what this new stuff is supposed to do to her?"
"I don't ask questions like that," Grayson answered sharply. "Neither will you, if you're smart."
Christ, he thought, as soon as the words were out of his mouth. Now I sound like Pel. He honestly didn't know if that was good or bad, though he figured his old partner would find something humorous about it.
"They're not going to do anything to harm her," Grayson added, though he wasn't sure if he was trying to convince Jiro or himself. "She's too valuable."
Jiro nodded. "Here are the latest results on all the students in the Ascension Project," he said, pulling an optical storage disk from the pocket of his lab coat and handing it to Grayson. "Plus my private research on our star pupil in there." He nodded his head toward Gillian's door.
Grayson took the OSD without a word and hid it away inside his briefcase.
"Are you sleeping with Sanders?" he asked once the disk was secured.
"Figured it fell within my mission parameters," Jiro answered with a grin. "I'm supposed to pump her for info, so I'm pumping her every chance I get."
"Just watch you don't get emotionally involved," Grayson warned him. "It makes things messy."
"I've got it under control," the kid assured him with an infuriatingly cocky grin.
Somewhere Grayson imagined Pel was laughing his ass off.