Free Keen by Viola Grace Page A

into the car and buckled up. The guard and the driver checked on her before the doors were closed, and they were off.
    She clutched her backpack and watched the trip through the city bring her closer to the Volunteer Centre. Kee became nervous when they passed it and progressed to a large office building nearby.
    The driver pulled into an underground parkade and up to a security desk. The guard stepped out of the vehicle and opened Kyna’s door. “We have arrived.”
    She breathed in and out before releasing the seatbelt and scooting to the edge of the seat. She stepped out with her sensible heels clicking on the pavement as the guard escorted her past the security desk and into the elevator.
    He smiled in a friendly manner. “Relax. Nothing is going to injure you.”
    Kee drew in another shaky breath. “I don’t know whether I am more nervous about being accepted or rejected.”
    “You have already been accepted into the program or you would not be here. The rejection is all up to you.”
    He was standing close and they were alone, so she asked, “What is your species?”
    “Tival. We are Alliance affiliates. The Recruiters are mostly Ontex. They are the race that was instrumental for investigating your kind before the first official ships came in to offer your people the chance to join their ranks.”
    “I see. Have your people been in the Alliance for a while?”
    “We are not members of the Alliance. Our people cling to traditions that are not acceptable in the eyes of the Alliance.”
    “Oh. Sorry.” She grimaced. “I apologise if it is a tender subject.”
    “It is not. It is a fact, but it is something you need to be aware of. Not all races and species will be friendly toward you. To some, you are a curiosity, and to others, you are usurping what they believe to be their position.”
    Kyna blinked and absorbed that little tidbit as the elevator halted and the doors opened. More security greeted her and her bag was searched while she was patted down.
    Once she was cleared, the guard escorted her down a hall to a lush office overlooking the city.
    Recruiter Hembri was waiting for her with a stack of files two feet high. “Could you put these in some sort of order?”
    Kyna opened and closed her mouth quickly. “Um, sure.”
    “Excellent. I will make the call to get you in touch with the one who sponsored you.” Hembri got up and left her alone in the office.
    Kyna went to the desk and took the first file off the top. “Oh hell.”
    The icons were not English but a collection of lines, pyramids and circles. She flipped through a few of the other folders and caught on to the pattern of the alien language.
    She hummed to herself as she organized the folders.
    It took her half an hour before she set down the pile and sat in one of the visitor chairs.
    The moment she was finished, Hembri came in. He had a small tablet in his hand, and he smiled as he set it up in front of her. A familiar face was smiling up at her. “Hey, Kee.”
    “Pandora Smythe. Of course it had to be you.” Kee relaxed when she recognized her friend.
    “You have a talent for organization, Kee. There is always a demand for it in the Alliance Archives. I hear you passed your test with flying colours.”
    “My test?” she looked at Hembri, but he was flipping through the files and smiling with delight.
    “Yes, he said he was going to have you sort something. I am guessing that you did.”
    Kee smiled. “I did. Where are you?”
    “Oh, out and about. I have been helping with plans for the new moon base. They need an expert on human comfort, and we both know that it has been my job for years.”
    She wasn’t wrong. Kee was one of her sources for the luxuries that the Terrans needed smuggled to them. She provided digital books, and she had one of the Alliance crystal generators at home to create the data crystals filled with libraries from home with books and music.
    “Why did you put my name in, Pandora?”
    “You need to get out