" You requested my presence? "

He sat behind an old wooden desk facing her yet his eyes never left the pages of the report that he shuffled through his hands. Reya inclined her head as a gesture of respect, her emerald eyes downcast, not willing to meet Krelian’s impassive glance. She was not unfamiliar to this room but the sense of welcome she had always felt as a child had waned. She had become a stranger.

She felt the weight of his regard when Krelian finally looked at her after a long stretch, his silent disapproval clearly evident even though he had not spoken a single word. The warm and strength that she had drawn from Sigurd just moments before dissipated like fog before the light of dawn unable to shield Reya from a crushing sense of failure. There would be no excuses for the explosion. Before Krelian, Reya would not lie.

Could not lie.

" Explain. " The single word echoed in the vast chamber, the sound reverberating in the hollow emptiness.

" The AR system was integrated and tested without my knowledge and consent. One of the engineers went ahead and put the system through simulated combat without factoring in the cellular infusion. He attempted operating Imarla against the biotic identification failure, resulting in the system backlash that caused the explosion. "

Reya kept her voice flat and monotonous as she reported the whole incident. Krelian had placed the responsibility of building Imarla solely on her and Reya knew that regardless of who caused the explosion, she alone was answerable to him. She had never told him about the problems that she faced working with the Gazel Gear engineers. He would neither bother nor care.

She was a freak.

That was the name the Gazel children called her by and it was also the torch that lit the many fights that Igraine had got into because of her. Her habit of talking to Gears gave them the best excuse to pick on and create wicked stories about her.

Krelian must have fished her out of one of his test tubes… Her parents must have know she was a freak that’s why they dumped her at the Lab… She’s a loony, talking to Gears… She’s not human…

The fact that Reya showed exceptional intelligence in the common lessons that they shared only served to aggravate the dislike the Gazel children had always felt for her. In their eyes, she undermined their superiority by winning the approval that they sought for themselves and they made her paid the price with their vicious tricks.

From getting her hair pulled to having her beloved books burned before her eyes and beaten up and dumped in a ditch, Reya had endured everything in silence. The Gazel had their golden opportunity when Krelian sent her sister and brother away, leaving her to face their tender mercies. After a while, it had became almost a habit to limp her way back to her stark little room to tend her cuts and bruises.

Even though the years have gone by with their childhood ended but apparently the feelings still lingered on. They were among the Gazel engineers assigned to work with her and Reya could see it so clearly in their eyes- envy, spite, hostility, and resentment that was so palpable like a physical presence.

Two expectant faces looked at Jessiah and the air was charged with anxious anticipation. Hyuga and Kahr sounded almost like children in their eagerness to hear more about the development between their friend and sister. Igraine herself sat a little distance away, her face stormy with barely concealed disapproval.

The incorrigible man wiggled his eyebrows at the three of them and Igraine's hand itched with the desire to slap the insolent grin off his face. She was still fuming at the fact that Jessie had the nerve to spy on the very private meeting between Sigurd and her sister. Everybody was interested in knowing how the relationship between Reya and Sigurd was developing but Igraine felt that Jessie’s act had gone beyond limits.

" How could you be there and watched the whole thing! How would you feel if someone watched you being intimate with Raquel? How could you, Jessiah! " Her fists were clenched to her sides and all Igraine needed was a slight provocation to hit out at him.

Jessie, sensing her very real anger, put up his hands before him in easy capitulation. Igraine looked mad enough to do him permanent damage at the moment and he decided not to personally taste her wrath. He had the impression that the two women were close but Igraine’s almost violent reaction still took him by surprise. They are probably even closer than blood sisters are… Not surprising, given whom they spend their childhood with…After all, Krelian never stuck me as a man who could be a "father"…

Hyuga had abandoned his seat to stand beside Igraine, one hand placed comfortingly on her shoulder. She turned her light blue eyes to him, seeking consolation and he could see the glint of tears on her lashes. But before Hyuga could say or do anything, Igraine averted her head, hiding her face beneath the heavy curtain of her golden brown hair.

Hyuga headed for Igraine’s Tri-Element quarters, logic telling him that she would have gone there after running from the shokudo. It was much nearer than her Church lodgings and in her present state, Igraine would seek the nearest place to hide and pull herself together. Her sudden emotional outburst had surprised everyone in the aftermath of the joke that they had played on Sigurd and Reya.

Exiting from the lift that took him up to the fourth floor that was the Tri-Element level, Hyuga turned right and proceeded until he reached the third door. Punching in the access code that she had give