LANI PERRY ADJUSTED her communicator's earpiece and dived feet first into the pool. Her hair floated into her face and she shook the aquamarine locks out of the way.

"Ready?" her instructor's voice rang in her ear.

She took a breath, the water tickling the gills behind her ears. Then she signed with her hands: "I am."

A translucent box dropped down from above, the Luriglass changing into a sphere to encase her and the water around her. It then continued to fall to the bottom. Lani curled up into a ball and waited for the glass to settle before getting to work. She had two options: use the water inside to make the glass explode, or use the little amount of water on the outside that she could grasp to make it implode. It was an obvious choice--explosion.

She focused on the water within. It made the nerves in her wrists and hands tingle a bit, telling her she had a hold. She crossed her arms in front of her, then threw them outward.

The water forced out from the center and pressed into the sphere. Lani fell to the bottom as she stood in the air pocket that formed, the glass cold against her bare feet. The sphere expanded outward, but it didn't break. Why won't it? she thought. The muscles in her arms and shoulders burned, but she closed her eyes and pushed harder. But the glass pushed back, and the tension snapped like a rubber band. All the water rushed back at her and knocked her around in a messy somersault.

Her body screaming at her, she curled up into a ball to get her bearings.

"Why do you think that didn't work?" her instructor asked.

Yeah, why didn't it? She signed: "The glass won't break if pushed outward?"

"Good guess. But, sadly, incorrect. Care to take another swing at it?"

Lani opened her eyes and inspected the glass. She knew it had elastic properties, but not to the extent demonstrated. It was too much for her. "I'm not powerful enough to break it."

"You're getting warmer."

She rubbed her neck with one hand and signed with the other: "Let me guess: you're teaching me another lesson in humility?"

It had been the theme of her training that whole week, but her limits were the one thing she didn't want to accept. Lani was going to prove them all wrong. Prove she wasn't weaker than her classmates.

Her instructor laughed. "Yes. You need to learn that you, technically, are at a disadvantage."

Disadvantaged? He had the nerve? Lani put her hands on her hips and looked up. She could just make out the distorted form of her instructor.

He stood at the edge of the pool, and he crossed his arms. "I know what you're thinking, but that wasn't meant as an insult. You are at a disadvantage when it comes to using your water control, but you're fully capable of making up the difference. Let me put it this way . . .

"A full-blooded Armarodian could've done what you tried, and they likely would've succeeded. But since you're not, you have to accept that you can't do everything they can. You have to improvise to make up the difference. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. Use some of that Terran ingenuity you've been blessed with."

Lani nodded. It was hard pill to swallow, but she needed to use what she had available. "So what do I do?" she signed.

"Figure it out. I won't always be here to get you out of a jam. You never know what you might encounter out there on some uncharted planet. You need to be able to problem-solve on your own."

So now what? The only other option was to shatter it inward, but even if she could get a hold on enough water, that would send glass into her. However, it also was a lot more water at her disposal. The amount within could be used to shelter her from the shards. Lani wasn't sure if she could handle both things, but it was worth a try.

Mentally grasping the water outside the sphere, Lani tried to grasp the water inside, as well, to send it outward while the outer part came inward. But when she attempted the maneuver, nothing happened and fire seemed to burn through her whole body. She screamed and curled back up into a ball, the pain still coursing through her.

"Why did you try to take on even more?" her instructor asked. He let out a slight chuckle. "What did I just teach you?"

The heat seared through her hands while she signed: "I have to accept I can't do everything?"

"Exactly. Instead of pushing the boundaries, you need to learn to make the most of what you can do. Now, think. What can you do to maximize your power? Improvise, Lani."

How could she improvise? She stretched to work out the kinks in her strained muscles and pressed her hands to glass, the material cool and soothing against her palms. She needed to know how it worked. The glass stretched as she pushed on it. The harder she pushed, the harder it was to stretch it. But the lighter the pressure, the further out her hand would go.

It clicked. Lani backed up and focused all her energy on one spot in the glass, slowly forcing a current into it. The glass expanded unevenly until the bubble popped.

Violently.

Shards surrounded her, threatening to cut her into pieces. Lani pushed her hands outwards, sending the water around her away, taking the glass with it. She then commanded the water to bring her to the surface.

Her instructor waited at the side, shaking his head. The scowl on his face made her spine seize.

"What?" Lani hoisted herself onto the green tiles. Her feet dangled into the pool as she made the water fall out of her hair. "I passed, right?"

He shrugged. "Ish."

She stood to face him, careful not to slip in the puddle she'd made. "What do you mean?"

"I mean just that: you passed-ish." He stepped closer, his brows furrowed. "You made it out of there, but not before failing twice. If that had happened in an uncontrolled environment, can you guarantee you would've survived?"

He was right. She had been too slow to find the solution. Lani shook her head. "No."

"Exactly. Now, if you'd just accepted that your abilities are limited, you might have come to the right conclusion sooner. Sooner is always better when you're not in total control of your situation, Lani. In the field, you might get one chance to save yourself. Screw that up, and you don't come home."

Lani looked down at the floor. "I understand."

He patted her arm. "I know. We all have to learn these things. Be glad you're learning them here, where your life isn't on the line." He glanced at the readout on his holowatch. "It's getting late. Class dismissed."

She laughed and went to get back into her uniform. But her limbs were heavy as she walked. He had been right. She'd failed twice, both times because of arrogance. "Pride comes before a fall," her father had always said. I need to work on that.

But it would have to wait, as she was running late. In the changing room, her uniform hung on the wall. The dark green material was soft on her skin as she slipped it on, and she buttoned her jacket with care. Lani wanted to look good. She gave her hair a ruffle to tousle her waves out. She thought to put on mascara, but there was no time for makeup.

She headed out into the gray, rounded corridor to the lift. It seemed most of the others trainees had already left. A few instructors spoke with their students in the doorways to their offices, but it was otherwise barren.

The lift awaited her, the sliding panels open, as if to welcome her with open arms. Any other day, the tiny, gray space walls wouldn't have been so appealing. But Lani smiled as she got in and it started to move, and she fidgeted with her buttons. She was going to see Orrin. Finally. It had been months--several long, lonely months. They hadn't even been able to exchange messages on a regular basis. Too much interference in the way, so they had told her. That cocky grin of his filled her mind, and her face grew hot as the lift came to a stop.

Lani took a deep breath and hoped she hadn't turned too red when the panels opened. She made her way down the cramped corridor into the main area. At that hour, the sun lamp high at the top of the station was dimmed low, and the lights in the balcony from the level above cast the area in shadow. Shops and recreation areas circled around her, simple tables and chairs set up in the center. At that hour, there were many students grouped together in areas, eating and laughing. The mouth-watering smells that came from the several food vendors across the floor tempted her.

But Lani didn't want to be late. She turned around and stepped through a blue, illuminated gateway. On the other side was a darkened tunnel that transitioned into the aquarium. The many species of fish swam around her, the colors vibrant and their movements calming. Too bad there was the glass barrier, a circular tube that prevented her from diving into that tantalizing little taste of the ocean back home she so adored. She would've loved to swim with the sea creatures, to float free in the water.

She stopped and pressed her hand to the glass, and that made her want to get in the water even more.

"It's too bad we can't go to the beach and see these fish for real."

I know that voice too well. Lani turned around to face Orrin Tarkae. She put her arms around him and smiled as he reciprocated--she hadn't realized how much she'd missed the smell of his favorite mint gum. She buried her face in his shoulder, and the pads in uniform jacket acted like a pillow. Don't leave me again.

He gave her a squeeze. "Nice to know I've been missed."

Lani pulled away and raised her eyebrows. "Oh please, don't go flattering yourself. I didn't miss you at all," she said, despite the fact that he would see right through her tease.

"Sure you didn't." Orrin grinned and took her hand. His slicked-back, red hair caught the rippling light, it shining in his gray eyes, and his orange skin looked almost sallow in there. "But I sure missed you."

Turning her head to hide the embarrassing smile plastered to her face, Lani led him over to an empty bench. The translucent seat conformed to her shape. They needed to put Luriglass furniture in the cafeteria. While she tried to think of something to say, she watched the other people pass by. Most were in the straight tunics and long, flowy pants that were becoming popular, but some still were sporting the jumpsuits that everyone had been so crazy about the month prior.

"I see the trend's changed. Again." Orrin sighed and put his arm across the back of the bench, his hand against her back. "Guess I gotta use some printer credit."

Lani faced him. "It'll probably change again before you get the chance."

"Likely. The downside of home printers."

She shook her head. "I wish they gave us more than five to share. I feel like I never get a turn to print anything."

"It's not like we get to wear trendy stuff very often, anyway." Orrin adjusted Lani's stiff collar, his fingers grazing her neck. She missed the sensation as soon as he pulled his hands back.

"I feel like this uniform is a part of me," she grumbled. "It's just a second skin now."

Orrin laughed. "Same. It was all I wore the whole expedition."

Lani grasped his hand. "How was it?"

"A lot of work," he said with a laugh, "but the planet was gorgeous, so I guess it was worth it."

Lani sat at attention. To step onto a foreign world, to explore its beauty, to assess its value. It was taking far too long to get her turn. "What was it like?"

"The sky had a slightly purple hue, and the dirt where we landed was the color of an . . ." Orrin's face screwed up, like it always did whenever he was thinking hard. Lani hadn't realized how much she'd missed seeing that, either. "An avocado. Yeah, the skin of a ripe avocado. And there was a forest of some kind of shade tree with leaves that would've matched your hair, and these yamti-colored birds had nests in the branches."

She envisioned a violet sky against dark green ground, the horizon hidden behind bright blueish-green foliage adorned with dots of yellow. "Sounds amazing."

"It was." Orrin crossed his legs and stared up into the tank, his eyes following a moving school of fish. "Have you heard where you'll be assigned, yet?"

"Nope."

Lani should've heard by then--no news wasn't good news in this case. He knew that, too, though he didn't say anything; it was clear in his face the way his mouth became a flat line, his gaze apologetic.

"But that's okay. My family's visiting the station tomorrow, so I get to see them. I wouldn't if I was on assignment." I'd rather be on assignment.

His eyebrows raised. "I sense some annoyance."

Stupid empathy. "I mean, my mom was practically the poster child for the Academy, and my dad wasn't much better. I feel like they'll think less of me if I don't accomplish what they did."

Orrin let out a dry laugh. "How do you think I feel? Your dad's not the dean of the Academy."

Way to make me feel like a brat. "True."

He must have picked up on that, because he said: "Sorry. I didn't mean to belittle your feelings. It's just . . . I feel the pressure, too." He perked up a little. "But we know they won't think less of us. Your parents adore you."

Lani leaned in. "Is that an expert opinion?"

"Yes." Orrin flashed a grin. "Now, as for your sister, I can't say the same."

Lani punched his arm. "I could've guessed that, myself."

A loud beep made her jump in her seat, and she glanced at her watch. Eight o'clock. Time to head back. Lani stood, her shoulders slouched. "Curfew."

"Yep, don't want to be late." Orrin jumped up with her. "I'll walk you back."

***

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