Free Twin Stars 1: Ascension by Robyn Paterson Page A

first rift between himself and his mother- she had resented his taking of authority, and resented being forced to go along with it even more. She had never quite looked at him with the same affection since that day, as though he had changed to her from her son into something else.
    “But, hold on.” Clews replied. “While they might be a Noble on paper, they’re not in blood. I mean, nobility is determined by genetics, not law.”
    “No,” he told her. “It’s both. Being part of a Noble family registry gives you the right to intermarry with other Noble bloodlines, something that those without the proper pedigree cannot do. We’re born sterile and conceive in-vitro, it’s our registry that determines whether the children have the right to claim Noble status or not. I’m told it’s about keeping the bloodlines pure.”
    She stared at him in fascination. “That’s really something. I have known a number of nobles, but I don’t often get to interact with them like this. Please forgive me my interest.”
    Their dinner arrived, and both began eating. Tysen had to admit, the chicken here was quite good. Perhaps he’d bring mother and Hariet here in the near future- although he worried Hariet might not want to eat in public with her condition. Yes, nobles were conceived in a medical facility, but it didn’t mean that their supposedly perfect genes really were perfect. Errors, legacies of generations of genetic alterations of the human genome, still crept in and popped up- Hariet being one such example. They called it “Plastic Syndrome”, a condition unique to Nobles with their enhanced nervous systems, and her sense of touch was literally disappearing. Her skin becoming as sensitive as a piece of plastic.
    “Hey, wait a moment.” Lt. Clews waved a piece of carrot to get his attention as a thought occurred to her. “Doesn’t that mean you have a member of your family who’s involved in organized crime?”
    “No,” Tysen shook his head. “The paper brother we adopted was killed several years ago in a vehicle accident.” To Tysen’s great relief at the time. “It won’t come up.”
    “I should hope not,” she said, popping the carrot in her mouth and chewing on it. “We’ve already got enough problems with the piracy charges, and anything that paints you in a bad light won’t help our cause, even if you are a Noble.”
    They finished their meal in silence, each thinking their own thoughts about the situation. Finally, as coffee was being served, Lt. Clews brought the files up again into view, having dismissed them while they ate.
    “Okay then, let’s talk about our defense. What story are we going to tell them?”
    “Why not the truth?”
    “That’s the problem, isn’t it?” She brought up the files in question- lists and images of containers scrolled between them. “You traded all of these cargo containers to pirates for a tow back into orbit.”
    “Cargo that was about to be destroyed as the station fell on the planet and killed a great many people.” He pointed out.
    “But it wasn’t, was it?” The image on the AR window between them changed to security footage of the pirates loading the containers onto their shuttles. “So, that makes you a thief who aided and abetted these pirates in robbing the station. You traded property you didn’t own for services that may not have been necessary if the station personnel had managed to get things back under control.”
    “They were locked out, it wasn’t possible.”
    “Doesn’t matter,” she brought an image of a balding man with thick black eyebrows up. There was a name under the image- Archibald Thomas. “That’s now how the crown attorney is going to put it. He will frame it so you look like you were a part of the pirates. Like it was all a big plan- terrorists or no. He will make you seem like the mastermind of the whole thing.”
    Tysen looked at the image aghast. “Why? I’ve never done anything to him!”
    “It isn’t about