Snapshot - Keera Naraymis

>  - "They really do think I might be able to make a difference to the galaxy."
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Keera Naraymis looked up with a start as the voice cut
through her reverie. The moment of shock was tempered by recognition, and she
let out a long, slow sigh, controlling her reaction as she looked up with a
smile. “Dad. Everything OK?”

“I think I should be asking you that,” her father countered
as he gestured to the grassy tussock she was sitting on. “Mind if I join you?”

Keera inclined her head in invitation, and he settled beside
her. “How did you know?”

“Your mother may have been the one to imprint you, kid, but
you do get some of your behavioural traits from me. And you always come and
hide up here when you have a lot on your mind.”

Keera looked out over the bay, watching the boiling pale
green fury of the waves dashing themselves against the base of the silver-white
cliffs for a moment, clinging to the sense of peace the vista always evoked. “It’s
soothing,” she offered as half an explanation when the silence had become too
heavy. “The sea, I mean. Just watching the water helps me empty my brain out.”

“I thought the point of education was to fill your brain
up,” her father chuckled. “But I know what you mean. So what’s got you needing
the brain-space?”

“Everything, I guess.” Keera tried for a careless shrug, but
she could tell the gesture lacked any conviction. “Getting the offer made me
realise that it’s not just an abstract idea any more. They really do think I
might be able to make a difference to the galaxy. Me.” She looked up
uncertainly. “I’m not sure I’m ready for people to think that of me.”

Her father chuckled lightly. “Your mother and I already
think that, little Kee. We’re happy to have more people subscribing to the
idea.” He shifted beside her, draped an arm around her shoulders. “Listen,
love. Your mother and I were happy to move to Oceanhill. It was a good
opportunity, and it meant we could afford to give the family we planned on
having a better life. You and your sibling were at the forefront of our
thinking. I know the government’s planning must seem cynical to you, but we
took full advantage of it to give you the best upbringing we could.” He waved
his free pincer at the rolling ocean. “I love it here too. I fell in love with
Marinaris as soon as we landed, and so did your mother. We’ve been happy here,
enjoyed a good and fulfilling life, so you don’t need to feel as if we gave
anything up for you.”

“OK,” Keera said slowly, letting her father’s words sink
into her awareness. “I guess that’s been bothering me, feeling that you might
have given up on a chance to live more normal lives for the sake of my
potential future use to the Consortium.” She took a deep breath, steeling
herself, then confessed the rest of it. “And that if I hadn’t made the cut, or
if I decided against it, that you might feel you’d wasted your lives for me.”

“Never,” her father assured her. “The Consortium is patient,
and the Consortium plays a percentage game. There are no guarantees for them,
but they view the expenditure as necessary infrastructure to maintain their
political operations. There is no expectation that you will choose to enlist in
the Diplomatic Service. Not from the government, and certainly not from your
mother and I. If you decide you want to stay here and seek employment, maybe
look for a nice human or neomorph or ercinean to settle down with, we’ll be
just as happy for you, probably happier. You’re under no obligation, Kee. It’s
your life, and it has to be lived for you. We made our choices with our eyes
open. All I ask of you now is that you do the same. If you want to go to Eva
Arielle and study, then take on a government position, that’s what you should
do. But if you don’t, then please don’t think you have to go in order to fulfil
some social expectation. You won’t be reneging on a deal, or letting anyone
down if you decide it’s not for you.”

Keera laid her head against her father’s shoulder, snuggling
into the embrace. He nuzzled his beak against the back of her head, then caught
one of her tentacles, preening her gently, and she giggled at the ticklish,
soothing sensation of his beak against her sensitive skin. “You haven’t done
that to me for years.”

“You haven’t needed me to,” he replied a little wistfully.
“I’ve missed being allowed to, but you’re far too grown up to need such
comforts now, aren’t you?”

“Apparently not,” she sighed contentedly. She looked out
over the bay again, her thoughts buzzing. She loved Marinaris, and she loved
her home and her family. When she’d filled out the application form for a place
at Eva Arielle’s most prestigious law school, she hadn’t thought for a moment
that she’d actually be selected. A nobody from an expatriate family could
hardly expect to be considered alongside the elite of changeling society, and
yet the response had come back quickly and with overwhelming positivity, that yes,
they were delighted to offer her a place, backed by a full scholarship from the
Diplomatic Service. Then an officer from the Service had called her to discuss
potential career options, painting a dizzying picture of a universe on the
brink of flying apart, held together only by patient diplomacy and the service
of dedicated individuals able to set aside their personal goals for the greater
good of all the citizens of the galaxy. It had all sounded like a dream
opportunity, but sitting here listening to the familiar, timeless boom of the
surf on the shore, enjoying the sensation of being wrapped in the sure safety
of her father’s presence, it seemed far more terrifying.

“What do you think I should do, Dad?” she asked.

“That’s not for me to say.”

“But I want to hear your opinion. I know Mum doesn’t want me
to go.”

“Your Mum would keep you here forever if she could.” Her
father barked a short laugh. “So would I, if I’m honest. But that wouldn’t be
fair.” He sighed. “I think you should enrol. There’s no better law school in
Changeling space, and I think it would be valuable to you, to experience your
home system and its culture. You might love it. It might make all this,” he
waved a hand at the view, “seem provincial and backwards.”

“I don’t think anything could ever make me think that.”

“And if you hate it,” her father continued, “I’ll come and
get you and bring you home, OK? Anytime. All you have to do is call me.” He
craned his neck to look down at her. “We’ll support you whatever you do, Kee.
Let that give you the courage to take the leap into a bigger universe.”

Keera took a deep breath, feeling a twinge of excitement in
her belly at the thought, the reassurance dissipating the last of her doubts. For
the moment, anyway. “Then I think I know what I want to do.”

“Good,” her father replied. “I love you, and I’m proud of
you. And that won’t ever change.”

“Thanks, Dad.”