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  “Right, the Wall,” my dad nodded. “That's the big clue that they were technologically advanced.” The Wall was a massive, gutted construct, over a thousand feet high, which surrounded the main sets of alien ruins. “Our first colonists, well they weren't too focused on preserving things and the ruins provided some useful building materials. Plus there was sort of an initial artifact rush with some of the Second Wave, and well...” he shrugged, “anything that might have survived a million years of exposure was pretty much destroyed, or else sold to private collectors off-world.”

  “Except for pottery shards and that sort of thing,” my mom nodded. “There's a few finds, most of it already extensively cataloged, but you have to go into the deep desert here in the south to find any of the ruins that weren't thoroughly picked over.”

  “So, you guys found something special?” My boyfriend looked puzzled.

  “We think that Black Mesa was a research site or maybe even a military outpost,” My dad said. “The main site is deeply buried, almost a kilometer below the mesa. Most of the upper levels were filled with junk and sand, it took us years to work our way deeper.

  “We reached the central zone about five years ago,” my mom said. “Since then, we've found dozens of artifacts in excellent shape. The cool dry air down there has preserved things in remarkable fashion. Other sites on Century, there are clear signs that these aliens, they packed everything in an orderly fashion and left, they didn't leave much behind.

  “Here, though,” my dad smiled, “here it looks like the equipment was either too difficult to recover or they just didn't have time. We think they purposely collapsed part of the main access tunnel and dumped sand down there to prevent access. But after we got past that...”

  “Dozens of finds. Much of it preserved almost perfectly,” Mom nodded. “Stuff that's fifty, maybe a hundred years ahead of us, maybe more. That's why we got the grant, the research we're doing is going to give Century a huge leg up over the next few decades as we figure out all kinds of things about these aliens and their technology.”

  “Doesn't that violate the Alien Act, though?” Kyle asked nervously.

  He had reason to sound nervous. The UN Star Guard enforced the Alien Act of 483 GD. One might say, they did so in a draconian fashion. Any contact with aliens, beyond shooting them on sight, brought with it a host of penalties, up to and including death. The causes for that were topics of our military history classes, and the violence of the Erandi and the constant warfare with the Culmor were among the central reasons.

  “No,” Dad snorted. “It's not like we're talking with these aliens, their civilization visited Century over a million years ago. They predate even the rise of the Erandi Empire, as best as we can estimate. They're long gone. What we're doing is no different from salvage efforts to recover Culmor or Erandi ships or equipment after a battle... only we're learning a great deal in the process.”

  My mom nodded quickly, though I noticed her dart a glance at Sashi. I wonder what that's about.

  “We've thoroughly vetted this through Nelson University's law section, and believe it or not, it's gone all the way to Century's Central Courts for review, just to be certain. We're well within what's allowed by the Guard Charter... even if we aren't technically under the Charter.” My mom adopted a tone of bitterness at that last part, and I couldn't blame her. The more I learned about the Guard and how they enforced the UN Star Guard Charter, the bitterer I felt about how we got all of the restrictions and none of the benefits out here on the Periphery. Century wasn't just a barren, dusty world, it was a distant and lonely one. We were on one of the outermost flanks of colonized space, way out past the official borders of Guard Space, in what most people referred to as the Periphery.

  “Oh, okay,” Kyle said. “So, not pottery shards, actual technology and devices. What kind of stuff, then?” I couldn't help but lean forward. My parent's hadn't told me much about what they'd been doing, specifically, only that things had been “very promising.”

  “Well...” Dad said with a glance at my mother. “Some of it is... well, not really classified, so much as confidential. Regardless of the purpose of this facility, there are some definite military applications to some of our discoveries.”

  I felt a chill at his words and I couldn't help but think about Tony Champion's interest in my parent's work... and how he and his father Isaac had been selling weapons technology to smugglers and pirates. And Scarpitti tried to kill me, because she was worried I'd recognize a map of my parent's dig site...

  Surely, though, the presence of the Enforcers out here and the fact that the entire smuggling ring had been rolled up would keep my parent's safe... right?

  “None of it is secret,” Mom rolled her eyes. “Yes, there's some definite military applications, but there's also generic engineering and scientific applications. Even medical applications. In fact, a major part of what we've been involved with is a smart-material that may one day be useful for medical implants. This stuff is tough enough that has survived a million years with minimal decay, while at the same time still retaining its reconfigurable properties...” Mom trailed off. “Well, anyway, that's just the leading edge of the sandstorm. Some of the machinery on the lower levels is massive, orders of magnitude beyond anything we've found up until now. Some of it is clearly power production. This might have been a main power hub for their presence on this planet...”

  Mom had clearly warmed up to the subject and as she began to go into detail, I just sat back and let the words roll over me. For a moment, I felt like I was a kid again, listening to her and Dad talk about all the little details, the puzzle pieces of the past that they tried to put together. Some part of me understood their fascination. Yet, at the same time, it was the future, not the past that called to me. I didn't want to piece together long-dead civilizations and ancient technology, I wanted to be building a future for my world.

  Well... now I wanted to be building and protecting that future. I'd seen that not everyone was as willing to get along as one could hope. There were people out there who would use violence to get what they wanted... and I'd learned the hard way that I could use violence of my own to stop them.

  My feelings of home and family felt distant. For a moment, my mind went to a dark closet where the smugglers had locked me, to the place where they'd nearly killed me... until I killed them.

  And again, I thought of Commander Scarpitti, who had nearly killed me, all because she thought I was a threat. I'd killed her, instead, in a combination of planning and sheer luck.

  Both times I'd barely survived. I just hoped that next time I faced a situation like that, I'd be better prepared.

  “Jiden, you okay?” Will asked from next to me. My little brother looked a little worried.

  “Yeah,” I said, forcing myself to smile. My dad was gesturing with his mashed-potatoes-laden fork again, while talking about how they'd excavated the initial dig. He had clearly warmed up to his captive audience, and I could tell from how Kyle's and Sashi's eyes had glazed over, that he'd lost them both. This was why I'd chosen to join the Militia, defending my family, protecting them from the people who would do them harm. It was something I was good at... winning when my life was on the line.

  I felt the knot in my stomach unclench and my smile became more genuine. All of my uncertainties melted away and I went back to enjoying the moment. Tomorrow there would be plenty of time to worry about the future, tonight I could enjoy the fruit of my victories.

  ***

  Chapter 2: Sometimes I Get Myself In Trouble

  Imagine a train hurdling along at over three hundred kilometers an hour. Now put it over fifty meters below sand and rock, in a pitch-dark tunnel. That was the military train that I got to ride back to the Academy. It was part of the defense infrastructure train lines that connected most of Century's cities and all of its military bases. One of my engineering projects over break had been to write a research paper about it. There were over thirty thousand kilometers of tunnel, much
of it between fifty and a hundred meters deep. It had taken twenty years to complete the main lines, and the main sections were designed to survive near-misses from orbital ships. It was a pretty amazing feat of engineering... the cost estimates rivaled that of starships.

  Of course, what that all meant to me was that I had just over a six hour train ride. I'd coordinated to link up with my friends, but most of that had gone out the window when the onrush of cadets had flooded the train.

  When we arrived at the Academy, the masses would assemble into something resembling order, but right now, the train was chaos, with civilian-dressed and uniformed cadets running back and forth, people struggling with bags and what seemed like far too much noise after two weeks at home.

  I glanced at my datapad and checked the text from Ashiri a third time. She said she'd managed to get a spot in one of the private cars, which would be something of a refuge from all this chaos. Ashiri's family lived in New Albion, which meant that Ashiri had boarded the train several hours earlier, well before I'd arrived at Duncan City. I pushed through the mess, hoping that I'd catch up to Kyle or Sashi on the way.

  I finally reached the right train car, this section of the train was notably quieter and I paused outside the suite to pull out my datapad. Since I had no idea where Sashi or Kyle had been swept off to, it was probably best if I messaged them, rather than trying to find them on the train.

  I faintly overheard a voice on speaker from inside the suite. After a moment, I thought I recognized Ashiri's mother's voice and I heard Ashiri respond to something, her voice oddly muted.

  “You listen to me, daughter,” Ashiri's mother grew louder, her voice angry, “those so-called friends of yours are no good to you. Do you think it is coincidence that two years in a row you have been third place to them? They are using you, and keeping you down!”

  “Mother!” Ashiri protested, “It's not like that at all! I have done well! Third in rank is nothing to be ashamed of!”

  “Listen to me with respect and never interrupt!” Ashiri's mother's voice was sharp. “Third is nothing. Did your so-called friends not vie for first and second? Do you think it coincidence that your roommate's grandmother runs the Academy and her granddaughter finishes first almost every year? When I was your age, I was first in everything. What kind of example do you set for your siblings by failing to be first in all that you do?”

  “Mother,” Ashiri protested, “I'm doing very well. Better than hundreds of others--”

  “You will do better,” Ashiri's mother snapped. “You need to do whatever necessary. Those so-called friends of yours, you need to cut them loose. You are better than them, you do not need them!”

  “Mother...” I heard Ashiri start to protest.

  “If you are not first this year, daughter, then you are nothing. I will expect you to succeed. Your family expects you to succeed, do not fail me.”

  “Yes, mother,” Ashiri's voice was resigned, barely audible. There was silence on the other side of the door for a long moment. I felt suddenly guilty and a bit ashamed as I realized I'd been listening in on the private and potentially embarrassing conversation. I hadn't meant to, but I'd still overheard things that were none of my business... though they were things that shocked me.

  Granted, I wasn't terribly surprised that Ashiri's mother didn't think highly of me. The one time I'd really met her, I'd managed to put my foot in my mouth. But that she thought that Alexander Karmazin and I were using her daughter to improve our own scores... that made me angry. Worse, she'd all but accused the Admiral of rigging things so I came in first. That idea was so absurd as to be ridiculous. I couldn't think of someone less likely to do that, and if anything, I felt like the Admiral was extra hard on me because I was family.

  It wasn't like I could defend myself, though. I'd have to admit to listening in on a private conversation and that wouldn't exactly make me look good. At least it sounded like the conversation was over. I reached for the door handle, but before I could touch it, the door opened.

  “Oh,” Ashiri froze, staring at me.

  “Hey,” I said in as cheerful a fashion as I could manage. “I guess I found the right place.”

  Something flashed across my best friend's face. Some emotions that came and went too fast for me to understand, maybe too complex for me to really comprehend. Something like shame or embarrassment, something like anger. I wasn't sure and I was half-convinced that I imagined it all, it was there and gone so fast. One thing I was sure, though, was for a moment, Ashiri wanted to ask how long I'd been standing outside the door.

  “Yeah, this is the right place,” Ashiri replied finally, her voice almost detached. “Where are the others?”

  “I lost Sashi and Kyle in the crowd, but I was just about to message them,” I gestured with the datapad in my left hand. Ashiri made a face, though I wasn't sure whether that was about Sashi Drien or my excuse for why I was standing just outside the door. “Have you seen Karmazin, yet?”

  “Alex?” Ashiri shrugged, “No, I assumed he'd be with the rest of you. Last I heard, he was going to catch the train in Duncan City like the rest of you.” The Enclave didn't connect into the defense train system, for a bunch of complicated reasons, not least of which was that it wasn't technically a part of Century's planetary government, it was a weird sort of autonomous sub-state.

  “Huh, I hadn't seen him either,” I said.

  “Well, come on in,” Ashiri stepped out of the doorway. She settled to her seat and gestured at her datapad, “I was just finishing up edits on my Military History paper for Commander Bonnadonna.”

  “Ugh, that was a brutal one, right?” I stepped in and took a seat, messaging Alexander Karmazin, Kyle Regan, and Sashi Drien with our location.

  “Yeah,” Ashiri showed genuine emotion for what seemed like the first time. “I enjoy his classes, but he sure does load us down with assignments.”

  Last year we'd had a ten page paper due every week for Commander Bonnadonna's classes. The worst part was, we didn't get the papers returned, he just seemed to be able to magically read every paper and comment and address things we brought up in our papers during class. I couldn't imagine him managing to read that much every week, but somehow he did it... and he managed to make subjects that I found dry and abstract into things that mattered.

  Someone knocked on the door, “Come in,” Ashiri and I said at the same time.

  Kyle opened the door and stuck his head in, “Hey, Jiden, I think Sashi needs your help.” There was a nervous edge to his voice that had me up on my feet and out in the corridor almost before he finished speaking.

  I saw what he meant right away. Just down the corridor, right at the junction from this car to the next, I saw Sashi Drien with two young men boxing her in. I recognized both of them almost instantly, it would be hard not to, after all, since their short stature, dark hair and tan skin looked so similar to that of Sashi. They were her older brothers, and their faces were harsh with anger as they faced her.

  I studied them as I advanced. Nahka Drien wore the collar insignia of a Cadet Commander, his tan, handsome face drawn back in a harsh sneer. His younger brother, Toro, wore a Cadet Second Class rank. Both of them were tense, their expressions angry and their postures showing that they were on the edge of physical violence. I wasn't sure how I knew that, maybe it was something I picked up from my kerala classes with Commander Pannja.

  Nahka looked over as I came up, his eyes darting between his sister and myself, even as he snarled at Sashi, “...bad enough that you refused our grandfather's offer, that you resign and come home and limit any further disgrace to our family. But this? To take refuge with our family's enemies? How could you embarrass yourself so?”

  “Leave her alone!” I snapped.

  “This doesn't concern you,” Nahka hissed at me. “Go back to your real friends, hongro.”

  I frowned at him, “Sashi is my friend. Leave her alone.”

  Nahka turned and stepped towards me, “You're using her. You're set
ting her up for failure, to make my family look bad. She isn't suited for this life. She almost failed out last year. You leave my sister alone, hongro.”

  I flinched at his harsh tone, but I didn't step back. I realized that, in his own twisted way, Nahka did care for his sister, he didn't want to see her fail. But at the same time, he was doing her more harm than good, he was bullying her, trying to get her to quit.

  He didn't see how capable and strong Sashi could be, because he was too busy trying to protect her. “No,” I snapped. “You leave my friend alone.”

  I stepped past him and stood next to her. “If not for Sashi, I would have failed out during Indoctrination. She's smart, she's strong, and she's going to do just fine... as long as you two get out of her face!”

  “You shouldn't take that tone with upper-classmen, Cadet Third Class,” Nahka Drien snapped.

  “We aren't at the Academy, yet,” I replied. “And this kind of thing wouldn't fly there, and both of you know it.”

  They both shifted uncomfortably at that. They monitored our every move at the Academy. While a lot of that was hands off, this was something that was likely to get them in trouble.

  “You're right,” Nahka said, his voice low and threatening. “We aren't at the Academy. Maybe someone could suffer an accident, fall down and get hurt. Especially if she was alone and sticking her nose where it doesn't belong.”

  “She's not alone,” Kyle said from just down the corridor. Behind him, I saw Ashiri and Karmazin. Nahka and Toro both looked sour. Clearly their plan, whatever it was, had just fallen apart.

  Nahka stepped forward and stopped only a few centimeters away from me. “We'll remember this, Armstrong. Whatever happens to our sister, it's on you now.” He stepped past me and then he and his brother stepped through the doors and into the next train car.

  “Well,” I said, as calmly as I could manage, “that went well.”