Empire Reborn (Taran Empire Saga Book 1): A Cadicle Space Opera by A.K. DuBoff (jenna bush book club TXT) 📕

the only other living person who came close. Aside from the Aesir, perhaps… Jason honestly wasn’t sure what the people among the Aesir could do ability-wise, just that they didn’t suffer from the Generation Cycle that affected other Tarans—the pervasive mutation in their genetic code that made telekinetic and telepathic abilities dormant in the first seven of every twelve Generations. Much of the Priesthood’s research had been looking for a patch to that mutation, which they themselves had caused through previous interventions. When no fix was found, they decided to make Gifted abilities illegal instead. It was no surprise the Aesir had fled and never looked back.

Given his parents and his exceptional ability score, Jason couldn’t escape having a measure of celebrity within the TSS. He’d noticed it with his younger students, in particular. Getting him as an instructor was like winning a lottery, providing an instant promotion in perceived social status. A class with Jason was the next best thing to training under the official Primus Elite designation—and it was, truthfully—but he wished that it didn’t also come with the label of making his students the ‘cool kids’. That kind of social superiority went against the TSS’ culture at the most fundamental level, and he did what he could to dispel that glorification.

At present, Jason only had two consistent groups of students under his tutelage, since his previous group of flight students had just been advanced to their in-field internships. Aside from his newest batch of young pilots, he’d also been training a group of Junior Agents in the unique set of skills known as ‘weaponized telekinesis’. They’d been working together for the last year and a half on everything from enhanced hand-to-hand combat to focusing energy into concentrated orbs for offensive attacks. Most of the training had been on the individual level, but they had recently begun exploring what was possible to achieve by working in teams and by focusing energy together through a shared amplifier. It was the foundation for using weapons like that on the Conquest, though few would ever wield power of that magnitude.

After the events of the last couple of days, Jason would have preferred a flight training day so he could have some solitude out in the black. As fate would have it, though, it was weaponized telekinesis day. Well, maybe blowing things up with my mind can be cathartic, too.

Upon reaching Level 11, Jason walked past the gravity locks leading to the zero-G chambers until he reached the largest training room at the center of the level. The flex space was used primarily for combat training that entailed hurling objects, or people, across the room, but Jason had seen it transformed into a rather impressive party space for special occasions.

His students hadn’t arrived yet, so he settled onto one of the large, padded mats and took the opportunity to stretch as a warm-up for the lesson.

Within five minutes, the twenty students had joined him in the warm-up stretches and were chatting cheerfully amongst themselves. Ranging in age from early- to mid-twenties, it was only Jason’s black clothing that differentiated him as an instructor rather than a peer next to the dark-blue of the Junior Agents.

He rose to his feet at the designated class start time and clapped his hands. “All right, fall in.”

The students arranged themselves in a semi-circle facing him.

“Let’s pick up where we left off last week. Lorie, Adam, Paula, let’s see how your triad is progressing.”

The three students who’d been called out by name stepped forward.

Paula Fletcher half-raised her hand. “Sir, a quick question before we get started?”

“Sure.”

“We heard there’s something going on around the Rift. Some kind of attack.”

He looked at her with his brows raised slightly. “That is a statement, not a question.” He had been guilty of the same grammatical infraction countless times while a student himself, but he’d made it a point to require his trainees use precise language in their communications.

“Has there been an attack near the Rift, and is the TSS taking direct action?” she rephrased.

“That’s classified.”

Paula’s lips pressed into a tight line. He would have been equally irked by the response, especially after the previous remark.

Unfortunately, the details actually were classified and there wasn’t much he could say on the matter. Of course, the statement that there was anything classified in the first place was confirmation of something going on. Even the slowest Junior Agent in the bunch could infer as much. They exchanged glances with each other, and there was a buzz of energy as they engaged in quick telepathic conversations.

“I know that non-answer isn’t very helpful,” Jason stated. “I will share information as it becomes available. In the meantime, there is nothing for you to worry about.”

“Is it true the High Commander and Lead Agent have gone to Tararia?” Jimmy Liang asked from his place in the main lineup.

“Yes, though that’s nothing out of the ordinary.”

The new round of knowing looks suggested that no one was buying it. This group was too smart; the timing was too coincidental to not be related.

There was little point in Jason pretending like everything was okay, even if the events were classified. Misinformation would run rampant if left unchecked, so it was better to head it off with the parts of the truth he could share.

“The TSS faces new conflicts all the time, and we have processes in place to ensure we are always prepared to take informed and decisive actions. It’s why we train so hard for years, and why learning is a career-long endeavor. We have contingency plans for everything. So yes, though the High Commander and Lead Agent aren’t at Headquarters right now, Agent Andres is overseeing operations, and I have been left in command of the Conquest in the unlikely event it is needed.”

“You’re in command of the ship?” Paula asked, barely falling on the