Free The Novida Code by JN David

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    “ Thanks.” I carried on looking at him, willing him to ask me to dance, but he just took his leave and turned away from me. I grabbed him: “Would you like to dance?”
    I saw he was hesitating and shot him the imploring look he'd found irresistible on the day of the duel. It worked its magic just as well the second time around; he capitulated and took my hand to lead me to the dance floor.
    As we danced together, I noticed Amar staring at the two of us. I gave an involuntary shudder and Oniar pushed away slightly to see my face: “Anything wrong, Lauren?” he asked softly.
    “ The Commandant is watching us”, I whispered.
    “ You are afraid of him.”
    This wasn't really a question but I hastened to reply: “I find him intimidating.”
    “He has that effect on many people”, he replied.
    “ Including you?”
    “ No, not me”, he chuckled, “but I have known him for a long time.”
    “ How long”, I asked innocently.
    “ Since we were children”, he replied.
    Bingo. I'd hit the jackpot. Or at least I would hit it, just as soon as he stopped treating me with kid gloves. It was quite clear to me that he liked my image of the sweet young maiden, but I was beginning to see that this was a double-edged sword. He restrained himself from going any further with me for fear of offending my sensibility.
    At the end of the day, this was pretty ironic. But I could hardly change my image all of a sudden, so I'd have to gradually bring him around to overcoming his scruples.
    I was pondering the best way to approach this when we were interrupted by a commotion.
    Turning round, I saw that Auxana, who was dancing with Olden, had been accosted by Stephane, one of the idiots from our class, whose voice was growing more strident: “Bitches like you should be put down!” he spat. Olden had stepped in between Auxana and Stephane but did nothing further to stop him, and the situation could have deteriorated. I rushed towards her to intervene, when Amar stepped between them. I hadn't even seen him coming. Swiftly, he grabbed Stephane by the wrist and without the slightest apparent effort, had him almost on his knees. Then, he spoke in a loud, calm voice: “We do not molest women here.”
    As I approached Auxana, I couldn't help admiring his capacity to milk each and every opportunity for propaganda. Auxana looked upset. I couldn't tell whether this was an act or whether Stephane's insults really had hurt her. The truth probably lay somewhere between the two.
    Amar signalled to his soldiers, who led Stephane away. Then he turned to Auxana: “I am very sorry, Miss. I do hope you will be able to forget this incident.”
    I noticed he didn't use her first name. Interesting. She was the mistress of one of his men, yet I was still more important in his eyes. It couldn't be because of Oniar, who made it quite clear that he didn't want to push things any further with me. So, it must be the famous medical check-up. I was becoming increasingly impatient to discover the contents of my dossier. To this end, I signalled to Auxana, and she said: “Thank you Commandant. I'm not feeling very well; I think I'll go to my room.”
    “Allow me to lend you one of my men to accompany you.” He glanced at Olden, who stepped forward. But Auxana replied swiftly: “No! Please…” Her eyes filled with tears. “I'd like to go back with Lauren.”
    “ As you wish”, he replied.
    Amar bowed to both of us, as did Olden, and they then moved away.
    I shot a last glance at Oniar, who was watching us leave with a look of concern. I then picked up my holo camera and left the room with Auxana. But as we left the main corridor behind us, we veered off towards the forbidden zone.

12            Auxana
 
    I would have liked some time to get over Stephane's attack. But time was a luxury we didn't possess and I did not dare to even suggest it to Lauren. No doubt, she'd thought that I was putting on an act before, but Stephane's insults