Out of the Blue

Chapter 3

If there was anything Iahn hated, it was waiting. If something could be done now he would do it as soon as possible. It was one of the few things that his father instilled in him. As Director of the Treasury department, his father had been a calculated man; everything to him was a sea of facts and figures. His underlings knew better than to hand in reports and sums late. Part of him wished he had that air to himself, now whenever someone said the name Epoch it left a bitter taste in a person's mouth.

After sitting in the halls of the Agency for a half an hour, Iahn was starting to get bored and impatient, especially with this lot. Nasira was quiet and kept to herself examining papers after papers on her holo-tablet. Iahn didn't care enough to ask what she was reading though. But Kaneo wouldn't shut up, he kept muttering to himself about this and that. At the same time, he was fiddling with some sort of contraption he was making.

All his mind could wrap around was that Tessa was gone. He didn't want to sit and wait here forever; he wanted to organize a search party. It had been his fault that his sister disappeared, and he wanted to be the one who found her. His scar was starting to itch; he tried to ignore that, along with the pain from the sore spots and bruises he bore. The scar was a reminder of what happened when he left his sister to fend for her own. But also the sacrifices that needed to be made for the good of the family.

"So tell me again why are we sitting here?" Iahn asked as he tossed a random silver sphere in the air to keep himself occupied.

"We're waiting for Ramos to return from Council hearings" Nasira answered.

"Wait isn't your mother Chief of the Council? Can't a word from you help speed things along?" Kaneo questioned.

"She can't show favoritism like that, if she does she'll be shot down by the Council and we'll be right back where we started." Nasira answered.

"But while we're sitting here Tessa could be God knows where or when for that matter. She's my sister Nasira..."

"And my friend" the girl reminded him.

Iahn huffed and frowned at her. He wasn't accustomed to opposition like that. His sister knew better, or at least he thought she did, her defiance in 1781 made him start to think though. He wondered if perhaps spending so much time with the Chief Consul's daughter had inspired her to act like this. Who knew perhaps it had been this girl who had planted the seeds of debauchery and vileness in her mind. He didn't know though, and he didn't care to start another argument.

Then Iahn heard the great silver doors of the Council chamber open. He saw Ramos arrive in the hall his face tense. The younger agents smiled as he arrived, though Iahn could tell that their leader had bad news. He knew procedure; Ramos went in there to give a full report on his team and how their mission fared. Then, he must have made an appeal to search party for Tessa. That must be why it took so long.

"Hey Captain Sunshine" Kaneo greeted.

"So did the Council approve of the search party?" Nasira asked.

"When do we leave?" Iahn pressed.

"We don't. The Council was more concerned over the breach in peace and the Denbori's activity rather than an AWOL novice." Ramos answered.

More like they don't care about an Epoch was what Iahn was certain were the hidden message in his words. Iahn grit his teeth in frustration and he had to stop his hands from shaking. It was clear that this Ramos was an idiot. Even though he was the same age as him, Iahn didn't remember him at all from his own days training at the Academy. He never associated himself with people who were so incompetent. No the first day Iahn returned to the Academy after his parents' death was to make sure he won friends in high places.