Free Keen by Viola Grace

Chapter One
     
     
    The library was silent except for the flipping of pages. Kyna read the study book for the Volunteer program and made notes for what she needed to work on.
    Soft footsteps sounded on the marble and echoed in the room. She looked up and quickly tucked her tablet to one side as she got to her feet.
    Two tall guards were flanking a smaller silvery man. They came straight toward her, and the small man with the huge dark eyes smiled politely. “Kyna Wenderson?”
    She swallowed and nodded. The four people at the tables were watching with amazement.
    “I would like to speak with you privately. Is there somewhere we can do that?”
    Kyna nodded. “Just a moment.”
    She picked up the phone and dialled the extension for the office. “Hiya, Lara. I need you at the desk. I have to take a meeting.”
    Lara inhaled and Kee knew she was smoking. “I will be there in a minute.”
    “As you like, but I am leaving the desk now.”
    Lara protested, but Kyna hung up the phone and smiled at her visitors. “This way please.”
    She snagged the conference room keys and led the way. She didn’t know why an alien had come to the public library, but she was definitely interested in finding out.
     
    Sitting across from the first alien she had ever seen at close range, she folded her hands and smiled politely. “What can I do for you?”
    “First, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Hembri, Recruiter Hembri.”
    She bit her lip at the James Bond reference, and she put a polite expression on her face. “Pleased to meet you, Recruiter Hembri. What can I do for you?”
    “Well, Kyna Wenderson, you have been recommended to us by one of the first Volunteers. Your analytical and data-management skills are in high demand, and since you have not come to us, we have come to you.”
    She blinked. “Who recommended me?”
    He looked around, “That is classified, but you will be able to discuss it with your sponsor when you come in for the aptitude assessment.”
    Kee blinked, “I thought I had to fill out a form first?”
    “Your sponsor had the form filled out for you.” He smiled and handed her a card. “This is the time set aside for your assessment. Does it suit your schedule?”
    She looked at the card and blinked, it was for immediately after work. “I won’t be able to get there in time. The busses here suck.”
    He smiled, showing shark-like teeth. “A driver will be here and he will bring you to the centre. Your sponsor has been most insistent, and she is not a woman to be gainsaid.”
    Kee sat back, “You know I now have to come, just to find out who you are talking about.”
    He nodded. “I am well aware of it, but I must ask. If you are a suitable candidate, why didn’t you apply for the first round?”
    She smiled. “Easy answer. I wasn’t old enough before the deadline. The age issue was what held me back. I just haven’t gotten the nerve up to apply yet.”
    “That has been taken care of.” He got to his feet. “Spend the next few hours trying to guess who it is that wants you in space.”
    She rose in response and took the hand that he extended. His dark eyes widened, and he grinned again. “I am beginning to understand. I will see you in five hours.”
    Recruiter Hembri left the library with his guards, and Kee sat back in the hard plastic chair. The card in her hand seemed to glow in her vision. It was her key to getting out and away from her boring and humdrum life. More to the point, it was her key to getting away from her family.
    Few people knew about her stressed relationship with her family. She had five hours to either worry about who knew her so well or to create a plan for after she was accepted. Decisions, decisions.
     
    She stood on the steps and clutched her backpack. The long, dark vehicle pulled up, and one of the guards she saw earlier got out and opened the rear door for her.
    Taking the hint, she forced herself to go forward, one step at a time. She tucked herself