Free The Ruins of Dantooine by Voronica Whitney-Robinson Page B

duty of every individual to find and restore balance.
    “So,” he sighed, “to answer your question, I am a biologist who works for the Empire. I do not know for how much longer, though. Does that make sense?”
    Dusque was silent for a while. She weighed his words against what she felt inside. Finally, she said, “And just what does one do to return the galaxy to equilibrium?”
    The Ithorian smiled at her. “My child, I do not have one answer for you. I wish I did. But each of us must make a journey to a decision that is for us alone. While my destination might be the same as yours, our paths must inherently be different.”
    Dusque pulled her knees up against her chest andwrapped her arms about them, although she felt no chill. “And how do we know what our path is?”
    Tendau reached over with his long arm and brushed her hair lightly. Dusque momentarily had a flash of her father. That gesture had been the only physical affection he had ever demonstrated to the sole girl in his brood. She was struck momentarily by a touch of homesickness, which she immediately banished.
    “It will become clear to you,” he said gently, “in time.”
    Caught up in the moment, Dusque confessed, “I met someone last night.” The Ithorian said nothing, only nodded to her to continue.
    “He said he was with the Alliance,” she said quietly, lowering her voice even though there was no one else as far as the eye could see. “And he said he needed my help.” She looked at the Ithorian imploringly. “He … knew things about me.”
    Tendau nodded gravely. “Dusque, there are very few secrets in this galaxy. You should know that. After all,” he added, “even our job is to unravel secrets at the most basic, genetic level. We are all watched as though under a microscope. We are all known to one degree or another.”
    She shifted uncomfortably. “I guess I thought I was under the radar, so to speak. I guess I thought no one really noticed me. I mean,” she added, “I never get any recognition at the labs. I got used to thinking of myself as invisible. And,” she finally admitted, “I think I liked being overlooked.”
    “It is a shadow of a life,” the Ithorian said, “and one I have been guilty of, as well. I put my desires before the needs of others. But you have only been overlooked out of fear. Willel fears you because he knows that you will surpass him in ability soon enough.”
    “So what do I do?” she asked.
    “You decide what you can live with and what you cannot bear to witness any longer,” he stated flatly.
    “Is that what you’ve decided to do?” she asked. “I thought I saw you talking to someone unusual last night,” she offered, suddenly feeling guilty that she had spied on him.
    The Ithorian, however, took no visible offense. “Child, we do what we have to and we choose what to live with. Nature must, however, be kept in balance. And those things that are unnatural should be removed—otherwise chaos ensues.”
    Dusque sensed he was finished for the moment and wouldn’t tell her what to do. He had been clear enough that the choice belonged to the individual. As she started to toss dirt on the fire to smother the flames, she silently berated herself for how servile in her thinking she had become. Of course, she trusted Tendau, but did she really want him to tell her what to do? Or had she simply become so used to taking orders from her male colleagues that she was afraid to stand alone? She shook her head.
    She started to put her backpack on, when she felt the Ithorian, unasked, help her with it. She smileddespite her mental debate. “Thank you,” she told him and held his gaze for a long moment. “For everything.”
    “Child, when the time comes, you will see your path like a beacon before your eyes. Trust me,” he finished.
    “I do,” she finally admitted.
    “Now that that is settled, let’s see about those bats,” he said. And they headed farther into the trees.
    Initially, finding