Cantral The Entra

If I fail, you do too.

The AI announces Ramet's presence right on cue, just a few hours after the ceremony, just a few moments after Jaxa left my quarters. Ramet hasn't left me waiting as she has done in the past. She isn't playing games, not tonight. This is serious, this has affected her career. And even though I anticipated this move, anxiety still strikes.

I dart into my washroom and stare at my reflection in the mirror. My hair is neat, my uniform crisp and I become lost in the image before me. Entra should not desire possessions, but on secure shelves, built into the wall, are delicate bottles and jars. Hanging upon hooks on the wall are robes to wick moisture away and central to the room is a deep circular basin. A bath, the likes of which I've only ever seen in Haroc's apartment.

"Ramet requesting entry," the AI repeats.

The artificial voice entices my heart to beat a little faster. Ramet's waiting. What will she interpret this delay to mean? I step into the main room, pristine, carefully composed perfection, from the detailed photographic prints that adorn the walls, to the furniture bolted to the floor. In a room such as this I could forget all about space, and the entra.

Fear pulses, as I think of Ramet, I sigh deeply. I'm the captain of a Battle Cruiser, of thirty thousand people, including Ramet. I'm favoured by Haroc and if he's to be believed, the Universe. Ramet should not scare me.

"Allow," I speak to the AI, and the door slides open.

Ramet stalks in. "Impressive." She whistles. "Bigger than I expected."

It's bigger than I expected too. It's bigger than any apartment Fendan has ever lived in. For a race of people in desperate need of resources, it's more than simply impressive, it's reckless. Ramet treads hesitantly into the open plan kitchen, her hand sweeps over a marble surface, of swirling black, grey and white. She glances to me as she opens the fridge, she smiles. Has the vast variety of food eased her anger? The smile fades and the fridge door slams shut. That would be a no, she hasn't forgotten my betrayal.

I watch her as she walks to a window and looks outside at Prime. "Are you okay?" I'm not sure what else to say.

"Nope. But I'm not surprised." She turns to face me and leans against the window. "Haroc thinks you'll be this great leader, but I know what you are, you're weak. You sympathise with aliens; you have no confidence and the only way you have reached this position is because of me. Soon Haroc will realise your deceit."

"I let you down, you have every right to be angry." The courage from the ceremony has waned over the previous hours and now, even I doubt my decision. "I chose Jaxa because I've known her almost all my life, she's older, and you'll be one of my advisors, that's a good position."

"A good position!" Ramet explodes, her fist punches the window and a dull echo reverberates around the room. "Don't patronise me. You're a disappointment, and soon everyone will realise that. You will fail, you will beg for my help, and I'll laugh in your face."

Ramet brushes past with only millimetres to spare. I inhale deeply and her intoxicating scent infiltrates my nostrils. Sweet and seductive, a smell that only belongs to her. The dull thud of her boots across carpet silences and I become alert. The door slides open, I take a step forward, she can't leave, not like this.

"You know," my voice is small, but it catches Ramet's attention, "if I fail, you do too. And your failure will be just as shocking as mine, a promising young person, who recently endured the Trials of Jarem, usually those people go from success to success."

Ramet abandons her hasty exit. She turns leisurely and strolls to me. If I inched closer, just a fraction, our bodies would be touching, but I don't move, and she makes no attempt to close the gap. My chest rises and falls in quick succession, this isn't the power of seduction. It's intimidation. The excitement of a toxic relationship burns like a hot poker. It debilitates me, melts me into a pool of nothing. Her breath tickles my face, and her black eyes rip holes into me.