I roll over to find that it is night, I'm still dressed, and wrapped in sweaty sheets. The room doesn't feel right at all. It's empty, devoid of anything personal. The walls are blank, I can see them easily in the bright light coming in from the 'window'. I've only seen Noreq's moons from orbit, the nighttime city is just too bright for the competition of a mere celestial object. The three orbiting moons, and the stars are blotted out by the neon lights of the huge city. I realize again how little I know. I've never really explored this planet, just the scant five blocks of government controlled buildings and walking parks around the Gifted Centre.

I've spent what seems like most of my life being tossed around by the government, first on my home planet of Liior as an orphan, then I was planted in the Centre for Gifted Beings here on the capitol planet when the foster families couldn't handle the weird shit that seemed to follow me around. If this is a gift, I would love to give it back please. Reading people's thoughts might sound fun in theory, it makes you the galaxy's best card cheat, but until you get it under control... it's a nightmare.

My stomach growls, and the sweaty sheets are sticking to my sweaty clothes, so I crawl out of bed (literally, since I was so close to the floor) and stagger out into the hallway turning on the lights in the living room, then pad into the kitchen. I'm not the biggest fan of mornings, even when they come in the middle of the night. I dig through the boxes, hoping that there was nothing else in there that had needed to be immediately stored in the cooler. I stashed some veggies that were no worse for the warmth in the 'fridge, but that seemed to be the extent of the damage, the fruits seemed fine but I stored them away as well.

Snagging a package of pre-made vegetable soup, I tentatively open the nearest drawer where I discover the required spoon among the kitchen utensils. I carry my bounty to the living room and curl up in the corner of the couch. The soup heats itself when I pop the seal and I eat it without really tasting it. I know, I'm wallowing in self pity, but I feel I deserve it.

So what if I'm not cut out to serve the Hegemony. If I keep telling myself that it doesn't matter, and I can do something else with my life, then maybe it will be true. Other people lead happy and productive lives doing other things. Other people who are medical technitians and mechanics, and all I can think about is that they are other people and not me. Fuck.

I'm supposed to be Gifted, it's all I know about. I'm a passable mechanic, passable meaning I passed an ordinary level mechanics course. I know first-aid, and how to tie at least eleven different knots. I'm a martial artist, knowledgable in three forms. I can probably negotiate a simple treaty between landowners in a farming or mining settlement and I speak four languages. Now that sounds like a promising resume: Young woman, kicked out of Hegemony Centre for unspecifiable reasons. Can kick your ass, talk you in circles, and tie you up in all kinds of interesting ways. I'm Doomed, with a capital D.