Water and Power by Viola Grace Page B

and two officers descended and locked her hands together. A brace was placed around her neck, and she was marched to a clearing where one of the search vehicles had landed.
    She was bundled up and locked into a harness with weapons pointed at her.
    They flew her to the assessment centre, and then, she had some explaining to do.
     

Chapter Two
     
     
    “Well, Morakil, you are looking a little different than you were the last time we met.”
    Mora looked at the pleasant face of the woman in front of her and felt the prickling in her thoughts that told her she was sitting with a psychic of some kind. Most psychics were in government service. If you could mentally manipulate someone, you had a job for life.
    Mora swallowed. “I have had an eventful year. It is bound to change a person.”
    “Yes, I can see the change in your thought patterns. Fear isn’t in there anymore. Determination is.” The interviewer smiled. “The odd thing is that there is no recognition in your mind, as if you had never seen me before.”
    Mora sat back. “I have never been good with faces.”
    “You are lying. Who was here that day?”
    She smiled. “I have no idea.” It was the truth and she knew it glowed in her mind.
    “What did they offer you?”
    Mora cocked her head. “Offer me?”
    “Yes, they had to have convinced you to go with them. What did they say?”
    “They told me I had one chance to leave and enjoy some freedom. I took it.”
    The agent cocked her head. “How did you survive?”
    “I taught myself to hunt and kill. It took a bit of trial and error.”
    Mora knew that they were going to press her for details on her talent.
    “How did you learn?”
    “That isn’t relevant. Please ask what you mean to ask me.”
    The agent sat back and tapped her fingers. “What is your talent?”
    “Water control.”
    “That is funny, I believe that you said you didn’t have any talent for water when you were here a year ago.”
    Mora tapped her cuffs on the table. “Well, not all talents get a cushy job with the government, so did you expect me to be frank about it?”
    The empath paused and blushed before going pale. “It was your duty to declare yourself.”
    “My duty to go to prison for an accident of genetics? I really don’t think so.”
    “Your talent can be a danger to those around you.”
    “No, it actually can’t.” Mora remained calm.
    The only question was where they were going to put her. Were they going to send her to the dome or lock her somewhere else?
    “Remain here.” The agent got to her feet and swept out in her tailored suit and elegant hairstyle.
    There was a cup of tea left out for her, but she ignored it. She didn’t trust anything that the Resicor government had to offer.
    Two hours later, the agent returned. “We have a posting for you. You will be taken to get your uniform, and from there, you will work in the water-processing plant with whatever skills you have mastered. You will be shackled to the facility and no one will know you exist.”
    “So, just like I am now, but I will have something to do with my time. Excellent. When do I leave?”
    The empath blinked in surprise. “Um, now.”
    “Good. This interview has gone just about as far as I was willing to go without dinner and a glass of wine.”
    Mora waited for the guards to take hold of her. The last thing she wanted to do was to stand up without them ready for it. They looked a little twitchy to her.
    She was marched through the assessment facility and several women approached her, removing her clothing with tongs and grimaces. It didn’t take much. Her clothing was ready to fall apart anyway.
    She was scrubbed, brushed and tucked into a new bodysuit, all without removing her cuffs. The ladies had skills.
    A cowl was put over her head, and she was flown for hours before being disgorged into a building that had the feel of water around it.
    She was marched down an endless array of hallways before the cowl was removed and the