The bus dropped Robert and Freddy near the gates of the Imperial Academy along with several other students. He felt out of place. Not only he had a giant alien dog with him, but he was also sure the oldest student there was at least six or seven years younger than him. They all wore the Academy's elegant uniform with only a few pieces of jewelry and pins denoting their allegiance and academic achievements. Robert wore Samson Security's officer dress uniform. While he wasn't poorly dressed, it made him stand out. Some students whispered behind his back but he ignored them and walked into the academy.
Once he crossed the threshold, the atmosphere changed. The air became fresh, with the right humidity and temperature. The plants on this side were greener and even some flowers were blooming out of station. The grass was uniform, a lake of emerald gently swaying in the wild. Robert could swear it was an illusion.
"Stay near me, Freddy," he said to the hound.
He walked to the main building. Robert had studied the map more than any dozen other students combined; he was sure of it.
The guards at the main entrance asked to see Freddy's papers. Not his.
Last week, Robert registered Freddy as his "animal companion". Robert hadn't finished the shell for beast bond and doubted Freddy would be a valid target. Regardless, the law now considered Freddy as an extension of Robert's powers and able to go anywhere Freddy would. It also made it so that anyone attacked by Freddy would count as an assault from Robert but he was pretty sure the Taulusian hound would not attack a person even if his life depended on it. Which was concerning in its own way.
After he satisfied the guard's curiosity and any Academy requirements, they were allowed inside.
This building was the first one visitors and new students saw when they arrived at the Academy. It was so luxurious Robert felt embarrassed just by thinking he was trailing dust onto the polished hardwood floor. He shouldn't, because the place was self-cleaning. sculptures, paintings, and other works of art decorated the entrance hallway, drawing his attention here and there. It was blatantly bigger on the inside thanks to powerful space expansion enchantments.
A row of painted portraits depicted several figures of importance to both the empire and the Academy. In the center, a portrait of the Empress. Robert tipped his head in respect. This whole place was sponsored by Her. Major factions such as Samson donated resources, money, and personnel but also enjoyed the benefits of membership by sending the children of their elites here to train as the next generation.
More than sufficiently impressed, Robert reached the front desk where he handed his and Freddy's papers to the clerk. Amanda had handled his registration already.
He got a small leather suitcase with the essentials. Student ID, scheduler, a copy of the Academy guide he already read, keys to his dorm room, and a leather-bound notebook with a detachable gold pen. While gold lost most of its value in the face of exotic minerals from worlds beyond the passages, it was still pretty to look at.
He thanked the clerk and moved on. The hallways were full of young students, all of them Archhumans, not a single one of them had less than a million dollars’ worth of personal belongings on them. And so did Robert. This was a place for the elite of the planet.
To keep himself from being pranked, he used prescience at one second ahead. The essence cost was the lowest he could and so long he kept his mind ready to trigger his talent, it would allow him to avoid any slight to Samson Corporation's honor. And Amanda's, by proxy.
His fears did not come to pass. His dorm room was in the A dorm, male wing, first floor, apartment 104. the dorm had a big lobby with couches and many amenities. Ornate hardwood doors led to secluded parlors and game rooms. The doors to the sides were staff only. A hallway flanked by two stairways in the middle led to some apartments. He went through it to find his temporary residence.
It was quite close to the entrance, he noted. Most foot traffic would pass near his door, the second to the right after the stairs to the upper floors. At least it wasn't room 102. That sucker was almost underneath said stairs.
He put the key inside the lock and tried to unlock it. Robert felt a pull on his essence as the key refused to turn... Runes on the key and lock shine for a few seconds before the door allowed itself to be unlocked.
He entered with Freddy and closed the door behind him. The sounds of students lounging in the lobby vanished.
After an overnight bus ride through the countryside, the absence or background noise startled him. Robert felt the tension vanish and his body complained about staying awake all this time. He dropped the suitcase, let Freddy to explore their new place, and entered the liminal void.
His artifice timepiece gave a verdict. One month, three weeks, and four days. It would take a while before he could go and find Amanda. He took the acoustic guitar and a beginner's handbook out of his storage ring. Time to learn some music.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
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Back to reality, Robert felt as refreshed as a maiden after a rose petal bath. He was on his underwear, the paramilitary uniform safely stashed in his backpack. Opening the wardrobe, he found seven copies of the Academy uniform. All his size. Amanda was busy getting things ready during the week.
He changed, then affixed the Samson pin, followed by the Samson Security pin underneath it. Next it was the first-year pin and the combat division pin.
The Imperial Academy sorted its students into one of five "divisions" or "courses" depending on their talents. Combat, production, meta, support, and administrative.
Combat talents were self-explanatory. Production ranged from matter manipulation like earth shaping to alchemy, runic enchanting, carpentry, and so on. Meta was reserved for those talents that were too esoteric or fit multiple categories. Support talents enhanced other Archhumans but didn't have direct offensive ability. And administrative were those that fit well with managing people and organizations.
Amanda should be in the production division. And Robert in meta. But for the Samson heiress, honesty was not a choice. She needed to upgrade her talent to a combat one upon the ascension to two stars or she would really be sent to the underground fields to grow food. Nothing wrong with that but her ambitions drove her to the literal top of the arcology. Her talent was described as plant control. She had to lean heavily on her Nature affinity to pull it off in combat, though.
And for Robert, his talent was misrepresented as short-range fast teleportation. On the outside, it looked exactly like that.
Robert examined his outfit in the mirror once more. He turned to Freddy. "How do I look?"
Freddy chuffed, then nodded. Robert was unsure what the chuff meant. He knelt next to the hound, using the opportunity to see how the fabric moved. His doubts evaporated. The uniform was literally magical.
"Hey, buddy, I'm going to leave you here for a while. Is everything okay?"
Freddy nodded.
"I know this is a new place but you are safe here. I won't leave you alone longer than I need to. I'll set the auto-feeder and connect the water dispenser for you. There's a pet toilet in the back room for you. Are you with me so far?"
Freddy nodded.
"We will go out for a walk in the late afternoon and watch the sunset together. You don't need to stay locked in here for too long. Use the couch, the bed, make yourself at home. This place is as much yours as it is mine."
Freddy nodded.
Robert sighed and sat. "Freddy." Freddy stared into Robert's eyes. "I know you are wary of me. I will do whatever it takes to earn your trust. This is recent but we are together in this. Unless you don't want to. Do you want to go back or to go free somewhere safe?"
Freddy frantically shook his head. The hound placed a paw on Robert's chest over his heart. Robert covered the paw with his hand.
"Are we friends?"
Freddy nodded.
"Are we family?"
Freddy hesitated a tiny amount and then nodded vigorously.
"Good. Now, I won't force you to reveal your secrets, never. If you trust me, you trust me but I will never guilt trip you into doing something you don't want to. And I'm the one who needs to make amends for trying to use magic on you. It was harmless mental communication but it scared you. It's not okay to scare you. Did you get what I mean?"
Freddy lowered his head, then raised it back again. He licked Freddy's cheek. It was a first and the act surprised Robert. Taulusian hounds only looked like dogs. Surely, they could behave like dogs but they were so much more.
Robert knew they were intelligent. "More than chimpanzees" didn't make it justice. He laughed, held Freddy's head, gently turned it to the side, and licked the hound fur and all.
Still chortling and spitting hairs, Robert hugged the hound. "We are lick brothers now."
Freddy froze. Robert could hear the hound inhaling deeply. "It’s okay" Robert exhaled and grinned as he felt Freddy relax. "It's okay. I have to go, though. And if you need or want something, just tell me."
Freddy nodded.
Robert stood up and left. He knew Freddy was sentient. He suspected heavily before the truth about the mollusks was revealed. But now? He would be a fool to think otherwise. But every mention that he was close to the truth made Freddy panic. He had to respect that silent boundary.
*
*
Freddy panicked. His two-legged master got so close to saying out loud he knew Freddy could think and understand human language Freddy had almost fainted. Damn! He ran around in circles, chasing his tail. No, he was aware it was his tail and also of the mechanics of his own movement whereas whenever he turned, he moved his butt along the trajectory and his butt pulled the tail.
Yet, this motion seemed to calm him down in the same way a human might relax by fidgeting with their fingers.
Freddy stopped when he felt dizzy. He wanted to faint, to run away, to hide under the bed. His brain was running a hundred miles per hour, he was locked inside, and the bed didn't have room for a mouse underneath it, much less for a hound his size.
He clawed at his face as he felt his bladder about to explode. Only the thought of what his master would say gave him the strength to hold back until he reached the pet toilet in the back room. It smelled like the female who bought him for his current master.
Freddy felt this close to breaking the covenant and condemning his entire species to extinction. His elders stressed how important it was to keep the secrecy, to play the role of a dumb animal.
He laid on the living room carpet, legs splayed. His head spun. His stomach felt like throwing up, like he'd eaten bad grass.
Then he heard, "woof, woof". He understood the words. "Hide, little puppy!"
Freddy opened an eye and stared at the source of the barks. An aquamarine sphere with a hound's face stretched over it. Glaring at him.
His blood congealed in his veins; he leaked some pee on the carpet. Freddy whined as he recognized the thing. A Prime Vestige. He was fucked now. Forget letting his two-legged master know he could think and communicate. This right here, it was the worst-case scenario.
Greed was the prime motivation of the two-legged. And Prime Vestiges represented raw power. He wouldn't dare touch or interact with the orb. Freddy's elders gave up power and freedom in exchange for survival. The covenant was what kept them alive.
But a Prime changed it all. Wars were fought for one of these stupid balls. He might die just because he heard it talk. And why was that stupid ball talking in their language? It was too much. Black seeped into the corners of Freddy's vision while stars swirled in the center.
Freddy fainted.