Alessia looked across the dazzling turquoise blue of the sea, framing the small fishing boats tied up at the jetty. This had become one of her few pleasures; to sit at a table in a tiny beach-front restaurant, eating freshly caught fish and drinking the local wine. Until she had arrived here, she had no idea these simple delights existed. Even as a privileged member of the Veronese Family in the Wind River Citadel, such pleasures were unheard of. They were hundreds of miles from the ocean, and even then, she doubted anyone would risk fishing along a coast infested by warmechs.

Yet here she was safe. Bruno had tried to explain it to her, but somehow his words didn’t ring true. They’d been married less than a year, and he’d told her that living on this island would be like an extended honeymoon. That hadn’t worked out too well, either. He’d been working round the clock from the first day they’d arrived. Every single day. Every single fucking day. No, she corrected herself. There were very few fucking days anymore. 

So here she was, lunching by herself — again. And it seemed Bruno’s position as Governor was far too important to allow anyone to share a table with her. My Lady, they called her. She had a driver to ferry her around, and he made sure no one got anywhere near. She had felt isolated in Wind River, always the odd one out, never quite fitting in. People not meeting her gaze when she asked, ‘why do I look so different to mom and dad?’ and ‘why do people look at me like that?’ 

But here, people didn’t look at her at all, as if they were afraid of her. The manager of this little restaurant was the only person she’d exchanged more than a few words with, apart from the servants up at the castle. At least he seemed friendly, even when he called her ‘My Lady’. Would he be willing to help her? she wondered. She always left a large tip every time she ate here. Or would he turn out to be as fearful as all the others?

If only she’d had time to contact the doctor before they left, but everything had happened so quickly. It had taken her months to find someone willing to test the DNA samples she’d collected from her parents. But before she had a chance to pick up the results, Bruno was informed he’d been selected for a 'Special Assignment'. Less than a week later, they arrived on this jewel of an island half a world away from the stark mountains of Wind River. And thousands of miles away from the answer she needed to her most heartfelt question — who am I?

“Would you care for more wine, my Lady?” Carlos hovered at her side, with a warm smile to match his friendly gaze. 

For a moment she felt lost for words, her mouth suddenly dry with apprehension. But if she didn’t trust him, who else was there? “Thank you, Carlos, but . . . no, I think I’ve had enough wine. A coffee please. And . . .”

“Yes, my Lady?”

Her words came gushing out. “Carlos, I need a favor. Quite a big favor, actually. I need to call someone off-island, without anyone else knowing about it. It’s a personal matter. Very personal. But if you don’t think you can help, I’ll quite understand —”

“I’d be only too happy to be of assistance, My Lady,” he replied, still smiling, his hand placed over his heart as he inclined his head towards her. “How could anyone say no to such beautiful eyes?”

He was flirting with her again. She liked that, and it never went beyond the point where she might feel uncomfortable. Yes, she was sure she could trust him. “I need to contact someone in Wind River, but I don’t want anyone to find out. Can you get me a secure connection to my U-Set from here?”

“Of course, my Lady. I will make sure that it is set up by the time I bring your coffee.”

She closed her eyes and allowed the tension to drain from her body as she slowly breathed out. Could it really be that simple? She wasn’t doing anything wrong, she told herself. It seemed so silly that no one was allowed to call off-island. For security reasons, Bruno had told her. Well, she wasn’t planning to give any secrets away. She would have asked him for help to contact the doctor, but she knew he didn’t approve of the questions she was asking about her background. In fact, he had done his best to discourage her, just like all the others.

She peered round to look at her driver, who was perched on an upturned boat on the beach, occasionally throwing stones into the water, and even more occasionally looking over his shoulder to check on her. She needed to be out of sight when she made the call, but it wouldn’t take more than five minutes, surely? Just enough time for a bathroom break, then. No one would know except Carlos, and she’d make sure to give him an extra large tip before she left.

She sat in the back of the large all-terrain vehicle as it bumped along the rough roads, trying to blink back her tears, desperate to hide her reaction to Dr. Walters’s words from the driver. She forced herself to look out at the vast tented expanse of white sheeting covering the hydroponic growing areas. A group of laborers were actually kneeling by the side of the road as she passed. Who did they think she was? Or was the vehicle itself the object of their veneration?

Even after six months, she understood very little about what was happening here. She understood very little about anything, she realized. She didn’t even know who she was. No match between the first sample and the other two, the doctor had said. So everyone she knew was lying to her. She had no family. No one she could confide in. Not even her husband, who did nothing but work all day and sleep all night. They didn’t even eat together any more.

He was no longer the man she had met and fallen in love with at Wind River. Good looking, mature yet fun loving, he’d been seen as one of the rising stars of the Da Silva Family. And she’d thought she caught that star until they arrived here. Then her star had dimmed and fallen to earth. I don’t even know if he still loves me, she thought bitterly, as the tears welled up again in her eyes. 

By the time her eyes had cleared, they had started up the steeply winding road through the olive groves to the newly restored ramparts of the old castle. Well, I’ll know if he loves me soon enough. I’ll tell him my news and see how he reacts to that.

Alessia’s tears had given way to anger as she swept through the main entrance, crossing the great hallway, before striding down the corridor leading to the rear of the castle. Her heels clacked briskly on the marble tiles as she emerged onto the wide balcony overlooking the bay far below. Where was everyone? she wondered. 

How strange. She had not seen a single servant or staff member crossing her path or scuttling down the side corridors. Well, at least I know where Bruno will be. In his office, working away, always working, planning and building the roads and the buildings and the hydroponic installations and the water supplies and the power stations and everything else needed — for what? Where were all the people supposed to come from? 

She realized she’d never seriously thought about what they were doing here. That’s Bruno’s fault too. He's always kept me in the dark. He’s never even tried to let me help him. Well, that’s all going to change, starting now. Turning right, she walked around the curve of the tall windows, towards the glass doors at the far end of the balcony leading to his office. She slowed for a moment, frowning as she saw a DGS goon standing by the door, observing her with a cold stare as she approached.

She recognized what he was, even if he didn’t wear a formal uniform. They all dressed the same. But they usually kept to their own part of the building. Did Bruno have some important visitor with him? What was going on? She carried on towards the door and jumped back, startled, when the man put his arm across the doorway to bar her entrance. 

“I’m sorry, Ma’am, but the Governor is in a meeting and can’t be disturbed,” he growled, his eyes fixed upon her, unblinking, like a predator assessing a potential prey animal. “Who are you?”

“What? I’m his wife! Don’t you know me?”

“Just a moment, Ma’am,” he replied, flicking his eyes up to his U-Set for a moment, then continuing, “I’m sorry, Mrs. Da Silva. You can go right in.” 

She walked into the office and took in the familiar untidy jumble. The walls were covered with detailed maps of parts of the island and several building sites. She also recognized the man sitting at the desk facing her husband. 

 “Ah, Mrs. Da Silva. How very convenient. We were just talking about you,” said the bald, middle-aged man in a cool voice. She remembered they had been introduced when they first arrived on the island, but she’d not run into him since then. What was the name? Mayer? No Kaya, Erkal Kaya, the DGS Director on the island. Why was he here? “Bruno? What’s going on here? What does this man mean by —”

Her husband had not even turned to greet her as she entered, she realized, his head cradled in his hand, his face drained of all color. Now he raised his eyes, but not towards her. He gave Erkal an anguished look, his voice pleading.

“Erkal, please, I beg you. This was nothing more than a foolish action by a silly young girl. She had no idea —”

 “That may be so, Bruno, but there are issues involved here which have come to the attention of people at the highest level —”

If there was one thing Alessia hated more than anything else, it was being ignored. She screamed out her frustration at the top of her voice. “What the hell are you talking about? Who is this silly young girl, Bruno? Who are you talking about?”

Erkal turned, his beady eyes fixing on her with an unblinking gaze. “We are talking about a most grave matter, Mrs. Da Silva. You made a call to a person in Wind River earlier today, did you not?”

She felt herself blush so brightly that she realized a denial would sound ridiculous. “Well yes,” replied, looking down and shuffling her feet, “I did. But all I was doing —”

“We know exactly what you were doing, Mrs. Da Silva,” he interrupted, his voice gaining a sharp edge as he thrust a stubby finger in her direction. “Some months ago, you provided a set of samples to a person of interest to us, a Doctor Walters, who we believe has contacts with the so-called Resistance in Wind River. You then contacted him again today to confirm the nature of these samples. Is that correct?”

“The Resistance?” she replied, putting her hand up to her mouth as her eyes widened in shock. “I don’t know anything about that. Really, I don’t. But I told him nothing. Nothing at all. I didn’t tell him my name or where I got the samples. And there’s no way he could be aware of my current location here on the island. I only wanted to find out the results of the tests.”

“And what exactly did you want to know, Mrs. Da Silva?”

“What? What did I want to know?” The tears were now welling up in her eyes. She wanted to scream again, but could only whimper, “I wanted to know who I was. Who I am. Is that so wrong?”

“As a matter of fact, Mrs. Da Silva, I’m afraid it is. Very wrong. Your true identity is a state secret. A state secret that you have now passed on to a contact of the Resistance.”

Alessia’s mouth dropped open as she tried to make sense of these bizarre words. “That’s just . . . crazy. Who am I? How can that be a secret? And anyway, there’s no way for the doctor to know who I am. I was really careful. I’m sure —”

“Which is precisely what makes you so dangerous, Mrs. Da Silva. You’re always so sure,” he hissed at her. “You’re always so sure the rules don’t apply to you. You’re always so sure no one can work out who you are from the many clues you’ve scattered along your path. I expect you were even sure that no one could possibly find out about your secret conversation with Dr. Walters less than an hour ago.” 

He turned back to Bruno, who was still unable to meet his gaze. “I’m sorry, Governor, but I’m afraid I am left with no alternative but to take her into protective custody.”

“Protective . . . Bruno?” She turned towards at her husband, her eyes wide in dismay. He sat hunched and motionless, his face a picture of despair, seemingly afraid even to glance in her direction. “What’s happening? Tell him he can’t do this. Bruno!”