Ever So Madly by J.R. Gray

I had the presentation dinner tonight, but I could cut out early and have enough time to meet him while everyone else was busy. Jacob would have his pants down and a servant pressed into a wall as well, leaving me free for a few hours.
    He said yes with his eyes, but shot a glaring look at Jacob. “I will make it happen.”
    “None of us doubt you.” Jacob threw down a handful of credits, more than covering ours and Mad’s food, and when Mad tried to object my brother waved him off. “It’s not my money, and you may as well take it. This place will cost you a week’s worth of the pension they put you on, I’m sure.”
    Mad got to his feet, allowing me to get up. I brushed my shoulder against his chest as I passed.
    Tonight couldn’t come fast enough.

 
    Chapter Eleven
     
    Madden
    My last class was intergalactic trade, and ten minutes in I wanted to scream. Not because I didn’t understand the material, but because it was elitist, skewed, and downright false in most parts. The professor wore a tweed jacket with patches on the elbows. He looked like a relic out of a twentieth-century book. He wore glasses that projected images to the large screen as he talked.
    Hornsbee explained trade only from an Akillie point of view. I was sure the other large faction, the Jok House, would have a much different story about it. But on Harden we saw it from the outside. Our planet was fought over for its valuable resources putting us at odds with both houses. But the Emperor controlled all and had put us in the protection of Akillie, making everyone in need of Ore beholden to them. Some, myself included, felt the Emperor played favorites to increase conflict between the great houses. If they were at odds with each other, they would never rise up against him.
    I was pulled out of my musing by a nudge to my shoulder. My gut filled with nervous excitement. Had she followed me? I’d taken my seat in the back row having had a feeling this class would infuriate me. But when I looked behind me a figure stood in the shadows. No one else seemed to have noticed. He was too large to be Jocelynn. I started to turn back, but the figure held out a micro disk to me. I frowned and took the thing from him. He stepped further back into the shadows, backing toward the door. I watched him slip out and looked around again. Not a single person had even turned.
    Glancing down at the silver disk in my hand, I wondered if it was a message from J. I slid it into my comm, and the screen glowed dimly, blades flying in from the edges to form a red star in the center. My eyes went wide, but the image faded leaving a scrawling message in a handwritten script.
    Madden,
    Changes start with individuals standing opposed to tyranny. It takes bright minds infused in all levels of government. We stand against the Emperor and his cruel division of power. As a Harden you know of the oppression we face. But even inside the bleakest oppression, at the darkest hour, dawn draws near. Come see the light we have to offer with the Red Stars
    Intidafa.
    I reread the message three times. Why me? The question settled in my mind. I was smart, but would I ever be in a position to effect real change like they talked about? I had to have a skill they desired. There had always been whispers of them on my home planet, but they only recruited people they could use. Holding this disk could get me bounced back to Harden. Going to this meeting could be seen as treason to the House of Akillie. But I knew from rumor alone a Red Star invitation was a one-time thing. It was a band of honor on Harden to be invited into their ranks. If turned down once they wouldn’t ask again. Collecting masses of supporters was never their means. They didn’t instill hate or act as terrorists. The whispers said they had real plans to take down the Emperor.
    But no one knew enough about them to be sure. For all I knew it could be a completely different tactic. I wanted to go. I wanted to know what all of the