Character Name Kendra Cassidy
Which book/world do you live in? The Cassidy Chronicles (series) – includes The Cassidy Chronicles, The Road to the Stars, The Measure of Humanity, A Quiet Revolution, Triumph’s Ashes. I also appear in a few stories in the upcoming collection, Into the Black, make a cameo appearance in the upcoming Cassidyverse novel, The Ghosts of Tantor. Finally, I have written the first instalment of my memoirs, Memories of Aiyana.
Tell us about yourself: I was born in 2080, an unregistered Enhanced Human, and immediately placed with my foster (later adoptive) parents. I had the great good fortune to live next to Aiyana Cassidy and her family; we were friends from the time we were old enough to know what one was. After school I went to the California Confederacy and got into sensies – you’d call them movies. I was recruited by a company called OutLook and learned how to be a courier and, later, an assassin. Aiyana and I reconnected in 2112, but I never expected to save her life at our own wedding! After that, life got interesting. As of today, Aiyana and I have been married for eleven years. Between us we’re mothers to four children, and I spend most of my time in my role of Admiral in charge of Exploration for the Terran Federation (which Aiyana and I co-founded). Aiyana? She’s captain of the TFS Constitution, my flagship.
What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses? I hate waiting. I have, like, zero patience. None. You can ask Cass – sorry, that’s what I call Aiyana – and she’ll tell you I’ve been like this all my life. On the other hand, this can be useful when negotiating, because I don’t have tolerance for the great diplomatic dance and tend to kick my way through things rather than patiently nibble at them. It might annoy people but it gets things done! As for strengths, well, I’ve learned how to ask, up front, for just about anything. “If I don’t ask, you can’t say yes.” I said that to the President of Titan, but it’s served me well for twenty-odd years.
Name three important people/creatures/institutions in your world (such as lovers, pets, government institutions, leaders, gods etc). Well, I think you have the idea that Cass is pretty important to me. But let’s say this: the Terran Federation. This is the star nation my wife and I established with the purpose of dragging humanity out of the solar system and into the stars. We never intended to become a star nation, but circumstances forced our hand. The Artemis Colony, the Lunar colony that was – will be, from your perspective – founded in 2025? They didn’t take kindly to the idea that anyone else might challenge their supremacy in space, so they tried to kill us. Didn’t work. We’re still here, they’re gone. Second thing? The idea that all sentient beings have to be equal. See, I think I mentioned I was an unregistered Enhanced Human. This wouldn’t have been a big deal, as there isn’t any way short of genetic testing to distinguish an EH from anyone else. But there were laws on the books which delegated EH to second-class citizen status, at best, and little more than chattel, at worst. Artemis dug up the old records and tried to have my very humanity stripped away, all legal and proper. I fought back, and prevailed, and since then I’ve been passionate about promoting equality for all: humans no matter their genes, AI’s, treecats – if you’re sentient, and join the Terran Federation, you’re equal to anyone. Third thing is Aiyana’s invention. Okay, so she didn’t really “invent” it, but she perfected it. See, the idea of teleportation has fascinated humanity since that old TV show aired (and I love your pop culture! I can’t get enough!). By my time, we know how to do it: it required a quantum scan. The problem is you only have one chance to do a quantum scan, because the act of scanning destroys the object being scanned, and none of the optics were precise enough to give an accurate scan. That’s where Cass came in. She figured out the optics (and please don’t make me explain it, I don’t have the math! She’s the genius in the family.). The problem was she figured it out on company time, and the company she worked for was heavily invested in the transportation industry as it was. Whoops. But without this? None of what we’ve done would have happened.
What does ‘heroism’ mean to you? Odd you should ask this. I had reason to consider it, carefully, not too long ago. This is how my biographer wrote it out in Triumph’s Ashes (and he got it pretty close to right, because it was important):
“Oh, Hades no,” Kendra said, turning as far as she could. “No way.”
“We have to save our daughters, Kendra,” said Cass, already tapping at the controls. “And the treecats. We can’t allow the first envoys from another star be killed because of a, a bully!”
Kendra bit back a hot retort.
She didn’t want to die.
She didn’t want Cass to die.
But.
What happened to, “Our lives, our fortunes, our sacred honor?”
Pretty words, but words meant less than nothing if they weren’t backed by actions.
Would their daughters understand? Certainly not now, no matter how smart they were, how mature they sometimes seemed. Maybe someday, if everything succeeded, if the spark she’d lit continued to grow, maybe they would. Maybe they’d be proud of their mothers and, while regretting their sacrifice, recognize the necessity.
Maybe.
And the thought of her daughters dying? It would kill her just as dead.
At least they’d live.
They’d inherit the Trust, and everything which went with it.
Davie would watch over Starfleet. Tamara, Autumn, and Kyra would guide the Federation. And all of their aunts – Mikki, Alley, Kiri, LJ, and more – would ensure the girls grew up loved.
In the final analysis, it was an easy decision.
“Do it.”
“Already halfway there.” Kendra could hear the tears. Funny. Her tears were silent. Weren’t they?
“Don’t blow us up before we get in position.”
“No problem.”
What do you think of your ‘creator’? Mendel Genetic Laboratory? Oh, you mean Adam. He does a pretty good job, all things considered. The issue is I have all these great stories to tell, and he’s perfectly willing to write them all down, but he won’t put in all the details! He goes on about muddying the timeline and spoilers. And then I get flack from Cass, because she doesn’t want me to break the timeline again – and it was really a small break, not even a break, just a little ding! – and I can’t tell you guys this or that thing, and pretty soon the stories come out looking nothing like they actually happened! But he does manage to capture the spirit and flavour of my stories, so I can’t complain too much. And hey, he’s arranged things so I have my own FB account and email and he even lets me write the introductions to chapter posts, so I get to have my say.
Give us your favourite piece of advice: I think I already gave it. “If I don’t ask you, you can’t say yes.” Going into any situation, what’s the worst anyone can say in response? “No.” Which is the same response you’d get by not asking in the first place. So always, always ask!
Links to book Let’s start with my book: Memories of Aiyana! You can find it on Amazon, in ebook, paperback, and audiobook: Memories of Aiyana: A Remembrance of Future Past (The Cassidy Chronicles) – Kindle edition by Cassidy, Kendra, Gaffen, Adam, Gaffen, Adam, Cassidy, Aiyana. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ AmazonSmile.
And to find the rest of the books, you can go to the series page here: The Cassidy Chronicles (5 book series) Kindle Edition (amazon.com)
And finally, to read MY posts on Adam’s website, go to https://www.cassidychronicles.com and I’m there five or six days a week.
Thanks for having me drop in!
Library of Erana 