Cassandra
Cassandra dried her hair with the towel before she wrapped it around her head. She laid back on the dock with her feet still in the water. She would miss the many lakes and oceans of Jom. They reminded her of her own home world of Honor’s Reach in the Hearth System of the Kingdom of Fist.
Cassandra closed her eyes, and let out a loud sigh as she enjoyed the warmth of the sun beat down against her skin on the small wooden dock. She thought of her home and family. The water was more clear on Jom than on Honor’s Reach, but it still reminded her days just like that and everyone gathered for a day on the sandy beaches.
The world of Jom was a little warmer than Honor’s Reach as well, but it was much better than any VR program, or the holographic rooms often used for entertainment. They just couldn’t capture what a true beautiful day over the water really was. It was always missing something that could only be found with the real thing.
Cassandra listened to the sounds of the wildlife and waves slightly crashing into the shoreline. The Chirp of local birds, and the clicks of insects were load that far from the main settlements on the Jom. The sound of some large frog creature echoed over the silent lake in the morning air.
The lake had always been her happy place. A dozen worlds, and none ever the same, but the feeling was always the same. Cassandra let out another large sigh and pulled herself to her feet on the dock. It had been an early morning just so she could enjoy it one last time before she and the rest of the legion departed Jom for their latest contract.
Cassandra walked to her clothes at the end of the dock. The weathered wood gave way to soft fresh grass as small drops of water fell down her naked body. She picked up her folded clothes, and dressed herself. She grabbed the long metal ornate bracer which had laid next to her clothes, and slid it onto her left forearm.
Echo projected a small holographic figure from the center of the bracer where it’s small disk-like chip rested imbued into it to give the A.I. endless features, and access to the world network. The Wraith Chain clicked closed on her forearm as the small holographic figure looked up at her.
Cassandra pulled her hair into a ponytail and smiled as the small blue figure waved it’s arms as it’s body, face, and other features continued to change, and blink in and out. She continued to play with her hair for a moment and pretended not to notice the A.I.
Finally Cassandra looked at Echo and smiled before she tapped the small mute button embedded in the back of her ear, which linked her to the A.I. resting inside the bracer on her forearm.
“Anything new?” Cassandra asked Echo with a calm voice.
“No,” Echo replied in a raised tone, and Cassandra knew that the A.I. was having as close to a panic attack as it could. It had the same one every time she was out of contact.
“Echo, it wasn’t that long,” Cassandra responded to the tone and then cracked her neck as the light wind blew the trees behind them.
“I’m waterproof,” Echo replied quickly, and not for the first time. Cassandra doubted that anything he was about to say would be for the first time.
“We have been over this Echo.” Cassandra said with a long drawn out sigh. Of all the Echo’s out there, she had to have the one with separation anxiety. “It’s not the same. I don’t know how many times I have to say it. It was thirty minutes, not the end of the world.” she said in her own tone of frustration.
“Thirty minutes, do you know how long that is? How much could go wrong in that amount of time?” Echo stressed with emotion that couldn’t be faked. “Do you know how long that is to be alone for me Cassandra?” it finished as the small holographic image of the A.I. took on the pose of sadness that matched it’s new tone.
“Not long enough,” Cassandra replied sharply. “And you weren’t alone. You are connected to the net for the whole damn planet. Every Echo and every person on Jom is at your fingertips. You were not alone. You should know better than trying that on me.”
“I was,” Echo protested. “It’s not the same. I don;t care about them. I’m not charged with protecting them. It would have taken you minutes to reach the shore line throughout much of your swim. Minutes where someone could have taken me…”
“In which case you would lock down and override the mute feature and I would get you back. Or you would go into defense mode.” Cassandra cut in quickly as though they had never had the conversation before.
“Or worse,” Echo continued slower. “If you had drowned out there, do you know how long it would have been before first responders could be dispatched this far from Jom Keep?” The A.I. asked but continued before Cassandra could say anything. “It might only take me mere moments to get fire responders dispatched but it would take them six to ten minutes to get out here, by which time you would be dead and I would not be able to do anything but watch your lifeless body float.”
Cassandra let out a sigh. “Love you too grouchy,” she said softly. “There wouldn’t be much you could do to help if I drowned out there anyways bud,” she told Echo.
“That isn’t true,” Echo protested again. “I have several theories on how I could react in a lifesaving manner. But on top of that what if a craft appeared on top of you and kidnapped you? You would be defenseless.”
Cassandra let out a laugh. “Echo I agree if I am ever kidnapped without you I will regret it. If such a scheme were to take place I think we would have bigger issues going on though.”
“I’m just saying Cass,” Echo continued in a soft tone and the holographic projector turned off. “I just get scared when we aren’t connected. It’s my job to protect you.”
“Thanks Echo,” Cassandra replied. “ As it is my job to protect you. We are bonded but sometimes we just need time to enjoy the little things in life. Enjoy the quiet time between moments.”
Cassandra made her way onto the single seat aircraft which belonged to the 10th Legion. The dock was close to Jom Keep where the Star Carrier ‘The Cave’ had made planet fall during their term of garrison duty of the world of Jom. She brought the small craft online, and lifted off the ground before she flew back above the treetops before she arrived at Jom Keep and brought it into the sky lanes of the settlement near the ground.
The tenth was only one of many legions on garrison duty and the new settlement of Jom Keep had grown to include family members of The Jom from many of the legions of the Order. People went about their daily lives in the streets of Jom Keep below her as she made her way to the secure compound of the city.
The streets were as busy as any other day but Cassandra noticed that most were dressed in dress uniforms or fine clothes. Likely for the events of send off of the tenth when they departed for orbit and shortly after for the contract with the king of the Nakon Union. There would be feasting and celebrating long into the night.
Cassandra brought her aircraft through the city and into the military quarters before finally reaching the ‘The Cave’. She brought the craft into one of it’s already open hanger hangar bays before finding a place to land it, and making her way through the large ship which was home to almost fifty five thousand. She made her way through busy familiar corridors to the quarters she shared with the rest of the retinue.
“Morning,” Cassandra greeted Edmund, Yseult, and several other members of the retinue as they went about dressing themselves into their own dress uniforms for the send off ceremonies.
Cassandra walked to her own small locker and undressed. She tried not to look at the prince as she thought about the night before. The time they had spent together. She wouldn’t be able to find a spot on ‘The Cave’ for weeks. She would miss that about the world of Jom. Weeks spent in space traveling between the stars meant there would be little to none alone time. There was always someone in eyesight or ear shot.
Cassandra had ensured that she and Edmund had one last moment together before they left. She and the prince of the Kingdom of Fist had shared their beds for years, and been friends longer. A relationship could never come of it. Her mother would never allow it, nor would his father. They were too closely related, and they could be used to form more important alliances.
Cassandra finished dressing into her dress uniform. She couldn’t wait to get this day over with. She was eager to take part in her first real contract as a member of the Imperial Guard of Jom. Even a low priority one such as a simple protection and training one such as the one they had taken.
