Drew Karpyshyn: Ascension

"All done here?" Kahlee asked, directing the question at her assistant gathering up his equipment in the corner of the room.

"Just finished," Jiro replied with a smile.

He was only twenty-five, handsome, and well put together. His features were a pleasing mix of both his American and Asian ancestry, and he wore his hair, dyed a dark red, in a spiky, tousled style that made it look as if he'd just rolled out of bed. An easy, confident charm and impish smile made Jiroappear even younger than he actually was.

Cradle robber, a small corner of her conscience chided. She pointedly ignored it.

"Gillian did very well today," Jiro added, turning his smile toward the girl. "Didn't you, Gillian?'"

"I guess," the girl muttered softly, though she didn't turn her head from the screen.

Gillian had good days and bad days, and the fact that she was speaking hinted to Kahlee that this might be one of the good ones.

"I have some exciting news," she said, coming over to stand beside Jiro.

With any other child Kahlee would have sat on the edge of the desk, or rested a comforting hand on their shoulder. But for Gillian even the softest brush of a fingertip against her skin could sometimes cause her to react as if she'd been touched with a burning ember. Other times she seemed oblivious to all sensation, as if her nerve endings were completely dead. This made it difficult to get the daily readings Kahlee needed for her research. Fortunately, Gillian seemed to react well to Jiro, and he was usually able to get the data without causing her significant discomfort.

"Your father's coming to visit. He'll be here in two days."

She waited for a reaction, and was relieved to see the faint hint of a smile touch the girl's lips. Jiro picked up on the subtle change in Gillian's mood and reacted to it quickly.

"I bet he can't wait to see you again," he said, his tone overflowing with exuberance.

The girl turned her head to them, her face now sporting a full-blown grin. "I can wear the dress he gave me," she said, her voice distant and dreamy.

Grayson had given his daughter the dress on his last visit, almost nine months ago. Kahlee doubted it would still fit, but she didn't want to bring it up and spoil the moment.

"I bet he'd rather see you in your school uniform," Jiro chimed in without missing a beat. "Let's show him how hard you're working on your classes."

Gillian furrowed her brow and scowled, processing the information. Then her brow relaxed and the smile returned. "He likes to talk about school."

"That's because he's so proud of how smart you are," Jiro added.

"I need to finish my assignment," Gillian said abruptly, the mention of her studies bringing the concept of academics to the forefront of her thoughts. Her mind latched on to the idea, fixating on it to the exclusion of everything else. She turned back to the computer screen, staring at it once more with unwavering focus.

Kahlee and Jiro, familiar with her unusual behaviors, didn't bother to disturb her by saying good-bye as they left.

"What say we get a little alone time?" Jiro whispered as they walked down the hall, sliding his arm around Kahlee's waist.

"Not where the kids can see," she chided, elbowing him playfully in the ribs. He flinched, but didn't let go.

"We could go back to Gillian's room," he suggested, pulling her closer. "She won't even notice we're there."

"Not funny!" Kahlee gasped, giving him another, much sharper, shot with her elbow.

His hand fell away as he gave an exaggerated grunt and doubled over, pretending to gasp for air. Kahlee rolled her eyes and kept walking.

"Careful soldier," he said, standing up straight and trotting to catch up with her. "You can't go around beating up innocent civilians like that."

"You hardly qualify as innocent," she told him. "Besides, I'm a civilian now, too."

"You can take the girl out of the army, but you can't take the army out of the girl," he countered with a grin.

It was a harmless joke; Jiro was always teasing her about her military background. But it made her think back to Nick's comment comparing her and Hendel.

"Gillian seemed to be doing well today," she said, eager to change the subject.

Jiro shrugged, his expression becoming more serious.

"She still doesn't interact with the other kids at all. And she's way behind the rest of the class."

Kahlee knew he was referring to biotics, rather than academics. Even among the remarkable children of the Ascension Project, Gillian was special. At age three she had been diagnosed with a mild form of high-functioning autism; it had almost caused the board to reject her application to the Academy. Ultimately they had relented, partly because of a large donation Grayson had generously provided and partly because Gillian had shown far greater potential than any of the other students… or any other individual in the short history of recorded human biotics.

Accepted science held that biotic potential was established in early childhood as a fixed and unalterable rating. The purpose of a program like the Ascension Project was to teach biotics how to fully utilize their talent so they could get the most from their inherent abilities. With Gillian, however, regular testing at the Academy charted a rating that was continuing to rise in erratic, but undeniable, fits and starts — a previously unheard-of phenomenon.

The gap between Gillian's biotic ability and the rest of her classmates had been large to begin with; now it was enormous. Despite this advantage, however, Gillian had difficulty translating her potential into observable results. Because of her unique cognitive processes, she struggled to grasp the mental focusing techniques necessary to coordinate her amps with the electrical impulses of her brain. In short, she didn't know how to tap into her power, and none of the instructors seemed to know how to teach her.

"Maybe the board was right in the first place," Kahlee said with a sigh. "This might be too much for her."

"Seeing her father might help," Jiro suggested, without much hope. After a moment he added, "How did Hendel react when he found out Grayson was coming?"

"Like you'd expect," she answered. "He was trying to figure out some way to deny his request."

"Let me guess," Jiro chimed in with another smile. "You pulled rank on him."

"Enough with the army talk," she said wearily.

"Sorry," he apologized, his smile disappearing. A second later it was back in full force. "Hey, why don't you knock off early tonight?" he offered. "I can run your numbers for you. You go back to my room, make yourself comfortable, and relax, and I'll meet you there when I'm done."

"Now that's the best idea I've heard all day," she said with a suggestive smile, handing over her omni-tool.

She glanced around to make sure they were alone in the corridor, then gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Don't keep me waiting all night."

"Watch where you're going, human."

The krogan Pel had inadvertently bumped into glared down at him, clearly looking for any excuse to start a fight. Pel didn't normally back down from anyone, especially an alien, but he was smart enough to make an exception for an angry, eight-foot-tall mountain of scaled muscle.

"Sorry," he mumbled, avoiding eye contact until the oversized reptile thumped away to satisfy his bloodlust somewhere else.

Normally Pel wouldn't have been careless enough to bump into a talking lizard the size of a small tank, even on the crowded streets of Omega. But he had other things on his mind at the moment. Cerberus had sent him to meet a new Terminus Systems contact, but the contact had never showed. That alone was enough to make Pel nervous. Then, as he was making his way back to his rented apartment in a neighboring district, he had the feeling he was being watched.