FORESIGHT and SCOPE: BOOK TWO

C H A P T E R S I X T Y

ATHENA'S POV

I should be more careful on what I wished for...

It'd only been a few days since my little excursion to Ord Mantell when my audience was requested by an unknown Imperial officer. I glanced down at the fascinating report I was reading in the Imperial Archives—it was on a debate among several aquatic civilizations inquiring whose right it was to claim a new species' discovery, even though the species in question resided within all borders. I then tossed the entire electronic device aside with a flick of my wrist, popped up onto my feet, and followed my escort to my pager.

I was brought to an office I had strolled passed on my countless, mindless saunters. Upon entering, I was greeted half-heartedly by a woman with light-blonde hair tied back in a bun and monotonous, hazel eyes. Her Imperial uniform was worn neatly, completely scarce of wrinkles. Her space of business matched her organized aesthetic—every trinket and utensil had its place on her desk and shelves. She even had a name plate that read 'Lt. Laurel Lerga' (What a mouthful). The miscreant inside me wanted to move everything a centimeter over to see if she would notice.

"Miss Athena Quinn, is it?" Her voice sounded like she'd not slept in a couple days. I spotted a mug of caffiene on top of a coaster near her folded hands. "Please, have a seat."

"With the upmost respect," I cheeked. "I prefer to stand."

"Very well." Lerga sighed unamusingly. "I understand you have been in a state of inactive service and monotony for several weeks."

"Yes."

"Do you believe that gives you an excuse to not wear your uniform while you strut around our military facility?" She glanced up with a pouted frown.

"Well, I—" The odd objection briefly caught me offguard. I recovered by clearing my throat and swallowing down my sarcasm. "I have not received any complaint on the matter." My jaw clenched, for while I enunciated with professionalism, irritation simmered in my chest. "While I served under Vice Admiral Rampart, he approved my attire of choice because of the line of work I specialize in. With all due respect, the Imperial uniform is restricting and inhibits me from carrying out my assignments as proficiently as possible. Additionally, they are achingly unstylish." I popped a quip at the end with full intentions to provoke Lerga. However, this officer was a tough one—she didn't even scowl in disapproval.

"On the contrary, Miss Quinn," she sighed again, patting an inch-thick stack of printed reports on her right. "you have received many complaints, from authoritative members to our contracted employees."

"For not wearing a uniform?" I couldn't hide the disbelief in my tone as my arms knotted across my chest.

"That particular criticism falls under the broad expostulation: blatant disregard of the Empire's established ethics and procedures." Lerga folded her hands again. "In terms of why you are just now being informed of your discourtesy, well, it has also come to my attention you have a tendency to terrorize officers for your amusement and threaten them with your 'acclaimed' title into succumbing to do your bidding. The most recent report involved you boarding a shuttle without authorization to Ord Mantell for what you described as a 'holiday.' Do you deny any of these accusations?"

Remarkably, I was impressed with the eloquent thoroughness of this woman's delivery. Ergo, I responded with candor. "I do not. However, I do not believe I've committed damage—it's like you said, I'm bored. I've been training and reading to pass the time—with the occasional harmless prank, yes—because I have yet received a single mission from this facility since Rampart's arrest. What am I suppose to do?"

The lieutenant cocked her head to the side like that was the dumbest question I could've asked. "Consult with any of the hundreds of other high-rank officers to be reassigned." She exhibited she was quite capable of sarcasm, to which I blinked as my crossed arms sank to my stomach.