No Thought My Own

[DvanderVeen]

Opening Scene of adult/new adult Science Fiction to introduce the main character, her special ability, and a little world building.

Security Guild Capital (Chesapeake District)

Shaanti closed her eyes to concentrate on keeping perfectly still. She held her head high, her shoulders back, hands pressed against the small of her back, and her feet shoulder width apart. It was torture. The more she tried not to move, the more her body demanded release. She was very good at many things - keeping still wasn’t one. Wearing her dress greys helped, they fit so snug. Her aunt had them specially tailored for the occasion, so this was her first time wearing them. Aunt Marguerite insisted they fit perfectly but Shaanti found they made it difficult to breathe.

She was Security Guild Academy’s top graduate and a commissioning ceremony specifically for her was a big deal. Standing at parade rest on center stage while Guild-master Halsey droned on about her accomplishments and her family legacy felt more like punishment. With Aunt Marguerite and Dad here together didn’t help. The two of them in the same room was like firing a laser into a hydrogen balloon.

With representatives from all the ruling guilds present, she needed to make a good impression. Everyone present were dressed in their respective guild dress uniforms. Everyone except Aunt Marguerite and Zachary Winthrop. Aunt Marguerite rarely wore the black and gold of the Fine Arts. Today she glowed with a magenta evening gown that draped to the floor. Blonde was today’s hair color of choice. Shaanti couldn’t remember a time when her aunt didn’t make a point of being conspicuously present no matter the circumstances. Her dad on the other hand was conspicuous by wearing his typical work clothes – his silver Science Guild lab coat covering a denim tunic. Zachary Winthrop, as the Central Committee Secretary, didn’t answer to any guild and therefore simply wore his typical charcoal grey business suit.

“Come on, finish already! I just want to get this over with.” she thought, and then from out of nowhere; “I wish my mother was here.”

Shaanti crushed the thought. “What am I thinking. Don’t be stupid!” Even so, her aunt’s many stories and the way she always lifted her up as an example and a challenge made Shaanti feel as if she were alive. Thinking of her now only made this affair more difficult to endure.

Thinking of her mother did provide perspective to the event. This day, this hour, marked the beginning. Beginning now, she would begin to prove herself worthy. She would be someone who mattered, someone important. She would be someone who made things better. She would fill the void left by her mother’s passing. She had to admit this ceremony was a good start. After today, there would be someone important in every guild who knew she was. The fact it was more because of her aunt than anything she had done, didn’t matter.

Why was the banquet hall so warm? The trickle of sweat drizzling down the back of her neck demanded her attention. She tightened her muscles to resist wiping it away.

The blend of curiosity, boredom, and amusement that everyone felt buzzed in her mind like white noise. They bombarded her senses, stimulated sensations of flavors and smells, making the need to keep still even more difficult. She ground her teeth to ease her nerves. Each person’s feeling stimulated Shaanti’s senses in different ways, mostly taste, smell and intensity of color. She never could enjoy food around a crowd of people, and she always cherished those rare moments of solitude. She had never yearned for solitude more than she did right now.

She tried to pick out who was who out of the chaos of sensations hoping the effort would distract her. She picked her aunt out easily enough, but that didn’t count. She knew the essence of Aunt Marguerite’s assertiveness too well. Tasting the sweetness of her aunt’s pride caused Shaanti’s chin to lift a little, and the corners of her mouth dimpled slightly. Then the odor of her disapproval contaminated the effect and Shaanti almost gagged at the sweet stench. Suddenly both vanished. Aunt Marguerite must have detected her intrusion and masked her feelings. Telepathic ability was a recognized genetic trait of her family ever since there was a means to measure it. Shaanti’s ability surpassed all other known occurrences.

As Guild-master of the Guild of Fine Arts, it really pissed Aunt Marguerite off that she enlisted with a rival guild. Still, Shaanti felt a warmth of pleasure that her aunt was proud of her performance, regardless of disapproving her choice. Typical, this internal war of yearning for Aunt Marguerite’s approval while resenting her domineering ways.

Wait. Shaanti’s breath caught as the bouquet of lust stimulated an equivalent visceral reaction. Her breasts tingled in sympathy with the intensity of someone’s desire. Who was it? The potential for juicy gossip quickened her interest. Careful not to move, she surveyed the room. Ah - there, in the corner, the Science Guild diplomat from Beijing. She seemed to glow. She was with someone junior, just a little older than Shaanti. Their heads were close together. Shaanti felt her face warm as the diplomat’s feelings caused her own body to respond - but then - she tasted the junior’s feelings. Hmmm – Shaanti’s throat tightened in reaction to the bitter taste of manipulation, and it quenched her sympathetic sexual tension. The blend began to nauseate, so she blocked them both out. She was glad she couldn’t tell what they were thinking.

She noticed Stefan with her peripheral vision. He was slouching! How dare he be bored when she itched with tension, but now that she paid attention, she tasted his love and pride. Her eyes moistened. For six years, Stefan had been teacher, mentor, friend, and sometimes torturer. Of all the academy cadre, he was most difficult to impress. His pride made her standing on display like this worthwhile. Then the scent of his personal ambition penetrated and ruined the effect. Her nose crinkled. She was his trophy as well as mentor and friend. Her success was a noteworthy addition to his collection of successful mentees. There were times when she wished she couldn’t sense what he felt. The occasions when the fragrance of desire penetrated her senses disturbed her. Even worse was her constant awareness of his ambition, informing her that without her family connections and her abilities he wouldn’t have taken such personal interest.

Her heartbeat accelerated when he straightened and she flinched when, in a piercing voice, he boomed, “Cadet Ritesh – Atten-Shun!”

Shaanti snapped her heels together and aligned her hands down her side. She placed her thumb and index finger precisely along the seam of her trousers.

“Assemmm-blee … Attention to orders!”

Sudden silence. Everyone’s eyes fixed on her. Everyone’s feelings became aligned, and she drew in a deep breath to absorb the sweet scent of anticipation. Feeling a little light-headed, she flexed her knees.

Even though he spoke directly to her, Stefan’s voice filled the room. “Cadet Ritesh, you are invited to accept citizenship with the Security Guild with all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities such membership entails. Do you accept this invitation?”

Shaanti concentrated on facing forward and said, “Commandant Meiner, sir, I accept.”

“Very well, raise your right hand and declare your oath of loyalty to your Guild.”

Shaanti raised her hand and … her mind was blank!

Heat flooded her face, her heart pounded. The sympathetic titter that swept the room didn’t help. She glanced at Stefan, but his expression remained impassive. She sensed his tension begin to rise.

Shaanti closed her eyes, took several deep breaths, and concentrated.

“Your name. Start with your name,” she thought.

Carefully spacing each word, she began. “I, - Shaanti - Cynthia - Ritesh …”

It was like opening a door. The rest of the oath followed easily, and she rushed through the words.

“… do solemnly pledge my loyalty to the Security Guild. I shall obey the orders of my Guild-master and all officers he may appoint to have authority over my conduct. I disavow all loyalties or obligations that do not advance my guild’s interests. I shall seize every opportunity to enhance my guild’s standing on Earth and the galaxy beyond.”

Shaanti lowered her hand and exhaled.

Stefan faced the audience. “Officers of the Guild, it is my pleasure to introduce Guild Citizen, Agent Shaanti Cynthia Ritesh.”

Shaanti beamed at the scattered applause while lasers scanned her image. She’d done it, earned her citizenship without her aunt’s involvement, and achieved top honors in the process. This achievement was hers and hers alone.

Aunt Marguerite and her dad were waiting when Shaanti stepped off the stage, but Stefan grabbed her elbow and steered her away from them to meet her Guild-master, Leonard Halsey. As Security Guild-master, Halsey was one of sixteen members of Earth’s Central Committee, the ruling government of Earth. Shaanti’s Aunt Marguerite, as Guild-master of the Fine Arts (known by its nickname GoFA) was a member as well. Shaanti was certain that all the attention she was receiving was because of her aunt, not because of anything she had accomplished. She felt her face warm as she was introduced to Halsey.

Halsey took her hand in both of his and bowed slightly. “Agent Ritesh,” Halsey was from Jamaica and his accent gave a musical lilt to her name, “Congratulations. We are expecting great things from you, provided I can keep your aunt from stealing you away.”

Shaanti resisted cringing from the feelings she noticed when he grabbed her hand. She forced a smile and nodded. “Th – th – thankyou Guild-master. I’m honored. I hope I don’t disappoint.”

She tried to tug her hand free. Halsey patted her hand before letting go. She sensed his obsessive ownership. That didn’t disturb her. Considering her abilities, her being a newbie, and him her Guild-master, his making her feel more like a possession than a person was not a surprise, no matter how unpleasant. What caused chills was an underlying malevolency. He thought of her the way a hunter views his prey. She swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry.

“Secretary Winthrop expressed his regrets that business required him to leave, and he asked me to convey his congratulations as well. He looks forward to working with you in the future.”

Somehow the words felt ominous. The prospect of the second most powerful man on Earth looking forward to working with her should be thrilling. Halsey was making her feel like a scared little girl.

Shaanti was relieved when Aunt Marguerite pushed Halsey aside. She gave Shaanti a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Shaanti, well done. Your start was a little ragged, but you recovered nicely enough. You might possibly accomplish something noteworthy with Security so long as you don’t get yourself killed. If you’d chosen Fine Arts as I wanted there would be no question.”

Shaanti’s mouth tightened. Her aunt had relaxed her psychic guard and her skepticism irritated. Despite the annoyance, Shaanti was glad to have it replace her childish fear of Halsey. It had always been this way, her aunt praising her accomplishments while dismissing her independence. This was why she didn’t follow her into the Fine Arts or her dad into Science. Whichever guild she chose, the rivalry between her aunt and her father would intensify. She was sick of the pretense. They pretended she mattered more than her potential and Shaanti had to pretend she didn’t see through the facade. She clenched her fist.

“It’s my life, Aunt. Security Guild is where I belong, not Guild of Fine Arts. Whatever I achieve will be because of my efforts, not because you’re my aunt. I’m going to be more than just the latest addition to the Heerah dynasty.”

Marguerite’s chin lifted and she arched her eyebrow. “You may call yourself Ritesh after your father, but you’re still a Heerah. You have Heerah genes, which means you were born with obligations. You could have chosen better.”

Shaanti’s eyes narrowed, and she leaned forward. Halsey discretely edged away. Shaanti pressed her fists against her hips to avoid pointing. They still trembled so she pinched a bit of material on her trousers. She knew people were watching and tried to keep her voice low but still her expression contorted into a snarl. “First of all, Aunt, it was my mother who took my father’s name. I chose Ritesh to honor her. My father had nothing to do with it. Second, my choices are my business.”

Marguerite and Shaanti stood rigid with eyes locked concentrating on keeping the other from sensing their feelings not realizing one didn’t have to be telepathic to notice.

Marguerite broke first, shook her head and chuckled. “Whether you care to admit it or not, you have the Heerah hubris.”

Shaanti’s father chose that moment to push himself in front of her aunt. There were no underlying complexities to his feelings and Shaanti didn’t need her telepathy to sense his fury.

“I deserve more respect don’t you think? Cynthia had good reason to take my name. My family’s name may not be as famous as ‘Heerah’ but it is just as distinguished. There has always been a Ritesh in the Science Guild. There have been several Ritesh Science Guild-masters and you could have been one of them. Shaanti, if you don’t want to acknowledge my family then change your name to Heerah. In fact, I wish you would. You’ve become nothing more than a…a policeman.”

Shaanti felt the heat of her blush. How dare he sneer! Before she could respond, her aunt answered first.

“I don’t approve of Shaanti’s choice either, but at least it’s honest. Anything is better than becoming another one of you Science Guild liars and cheats. It was your carelessness that killed my sister and then you and your cronies conspired to cover up your responsibility. You? Deserve respect? Hah!”

 

[DomGerard]

Very cool world you're developing... I can't tell if she has a special power to taste/smell emotions or if that's just metaphorical. Maybe you want to leave it vague right now, but it's a cool choice either way.