Valor's Duty Page 3

  ***

  Back in the private room, we all just sort of slumped. I found myself sitting next to Sashi, who still hadn't said anything. I could see her thinking, but I wasn't really sure what was running through her head. I'd always had a problem reading her, even when she'd been my roommate.

  “You okay?” I asked quietly.

  “What do you think?” Sashi shot me a look. I didn't really have a response for that. I'd been at odds with my parents once before, but not with my whole family. Even then, it hadn't been like what Sashi was going through. With me, they'd shipped me off to my mom's mother, the Admiral, who had enrolled me in the Academy Prep School. “They think I'm going to fail out,” Sashi said in a miserable voice.

  “Well, sorry, but I think your brothers are jerks,” I replied.

  She snorted, “Yeah, they're my brothers, it kind of goes with the territory.” She wiped at her eyes. “It's just so frustrating, you know? They think they know what's best for me and for the family. They're angry because I'm not doing what they tell me.” Her brow furrowed, “I am worried that they are right.”

  “You'll be fine,” I assured her.

  She shot me a look, one part grateful and one part angry. “You don't know what it was like,” she hissed. “Last year, I had no help. I had no support. I was tolerated by Ogre Company, but that was it. I'm coming back to Sand Dragon. Do you think it will be a warm welcome? Who will want to room with me? Who will want to study with me?”

  I hadn't really thought about that. I'd talked with Sara Salter, this year's Company Commander for Sand Dragon, and she'd approved Sashi's transfer back. But that didn't mean there would necessarily be a place for her. Sashi and I had roomed together during Academy Prep School. She'd gone over to Ogre for our plebe year. I'd probably been the closest thing she had to a friend in Sand Dragon... and she'd very publicly betrayed me during the final exercise.

  “You can be my roommate,” I said on impulse.

  I saw Ashiri look over at me as I said it. From the way her expression shifted, I knew that she wanted to say something, but she didn't. I thought about what I'd overheard between her and her mother. Maybe if I'm not her roommate any more, it'll take some pressure off of her, too.

  “Are you sure about that?” Sashi asked.

  “Yeah,” I said. I'd had her stay at my parent's house with me for two weeks. How much worse could it be?

  “Well, thanks,” Sashi said. She seemed taken aback. “I really hope this all works out.”

  “Don't worry,” I said, clapping her on the shoulder impulsively, “I've got a good feeling about this year.” I should have kept my stupid mouth shut.

  ***

  We arrived at the Academy without any further trouble and after the initial formation, I knocked out my in-processing checklist and found myself in the large amphitheater where it seemed like so many of my life's major events had occurred. This was where they held the first in-briefing from the Admiral. This was where they had held my Academy Prep School Final Exercise. It had been here that Sashi had betrayed me. It was here that the psychotic Commander Scarpitti had tried to kill me.

  Despite the dim lights and the quiet, I found my heart starting to race in anticipation.

  “Attention on Deck!” Someone bellowed.

  As one, the entire Regiment of Cadets rose to their feet. Again, the central platform lit up, and the Admiral, my grandmother, stepped forward, her khaki uniform crisp, her expression stern. “Cadets, welcome back to the Academy. Today begins the one-hundred and seventy first year of this institution. I welcome our new Plebe Class, Class Two Ninety One. I also welcome our First Class, Class Two Eighty Eight. You Cadets First Class will graduate this year and go on to your follow-on assignments in our Planetary Militia.”

  Her already stern voice hardened. “Last year we suffered a number of unfortunate incidents. As a result, we will all of us, Cadets and Instructors, be under additional monitoring. All of you will be under constant supervision. We will not tolerate violations of the school's Honor Code, nor will we tolerate ethical or legal violations. You are one day to be Officers within Century's Planetary Militia, and you are expected to set the example. Any of you who cannot do so will be removed.”

  “That said, honest mistakes are a part of your learning experience. We do not expect you all to be perfect. Leadership and command are skills that must be learned. Take the opportunities you are given to excel. Accept risks. Show your instructors that you are able to recover from failure, and you will do well.”

  “Now then,” the Admiral said, “We've had some turn-over of personnel. Commander Weisfeldt joins us as one of our new Engineering instructors.” The short, stocky, and dark-haired officer stepped forward, his expression stern. “Commander Weisfeldt has just completed a tour at Century Station, where he managed the station's military prototyping department.”

  “Additionally, joining our staff is Commander Stirling,” the Admiral went on. A heavy-set officer stepped forward. He had a pleasant smile and gave a slight wave. “Commander Stirling has just finished a tour with the Guard Fleet as an officer observer at their shipyards at Harlequin Station.”

  I perked up a bit at that. Getting a slot like that would be impressive, the Guard rarely allowed non-signatory nations any access to their shipyards. He would have had a chance to watch ship construction across a huge range of ship classes and sizes.

  “Also joining the Academy Staff at this time is Lieutenant General Corgan, of Century's Enforcer Service,” the Admiral said. “Lieutenant General Corgan will not be teaching any classes, but she will be observing how we conduct our training and our overall operations.”

  The way that the Admiral said that and the polite yet cool tone in her voice gave me a shiver. That wasn't the way I would have expected her to welcome someone. It felt more like a warning, to all of us. What was a senior member of Century's national police service doing at the school? As far as I knew, they had no connection to the Planetary Militia. They operated entirely planet-side and they answered to the Security Director and Charter Council.

  “Now, then, I'll remind you all that companies, sections, and individual cadets are ranked on a points system. As always, your grades, your performance in training, your punishments and successes, are all counted towards your totals. Last year, Sand Dragon Company managed to win again, for a second year, by a slim margin. The Honor Graduates, Mackenzie, Ingvald, and Attabera, were ahead by a few percentage points. Those who graduate in the top ranks are often given the choice positions upon graduation.”

  She gave a wintry smile, “Failure early on can be overcome. Becoming overconfident early on can lead to a drop in your ranking. Ambition and hard work are rewarded, complacency is your enemy, far more than anything else. Good luck, Cadets, let's have a good year.”

  ***

  I hadn't had any part of my in-processing take me to Doctor Aisling's lab and that had been something of a relief. Yet after the in-briefing from the Admiral, my datapad pinged to tell me to report there.

  Some part of my stomach twisted, yet another part of me felt relief. It had been something I'd half-anticipated, half-dreaded. I wasn't surprised to see others in the crowd looking down at their datapads, either. Clearly, whatever this was, they were pulling all of us in for it.

  Implantation, I thought to myself. We were scheduled to get our implants and undergo the life-extension treatments this year. What that had to do with Doctor Aisling's special testing, I wasn't entirely sure, but I was willing to bet that it tied in somehow.

  Working our way down into the lowest levels we all filed into the appointed room. I saw about twenty cadets in total. Most of them I recognized from before. There were the Zahler twins, Ashiri Takenata, Alexander Karmazin, Sashi Drien, and myself from Sand Dragon. I recognized Bolander and Thorpe from Ogre, along with two others whose names I couldn't remember. There were a couple more candidates from Dust Company, but my boyfriend, Kyle, wasn't in their number. Then again, I'd never seen him in this testing. The others in the group were ones and twos, people I'd seen in passing and vaguely knew were in my graduating class, but I had no idea what sections or companies they came from.

  The room was set up something like a classroom, with rows of metal framed desks of an older style, clearly taken out of storage. Most of us took seats. I sat next to Sashi, feeling an odd sense of completeness as I did so, almost like I had come full circle.

  We didn't have long to wait. The doors in the front of the room opened and Doctor Aisling stepped through. To my surprise, the Doctor wasn't alone. Behind her came the Admiral, which was surprise enough, but also Charter Councilor Beckman. I'd only encountered the woman once before, when we'd been ordered to let her talk to her niece, then Candidate and now Plebe Kate Beckman. Walking next to her was Lieutenant General Corgan, the two of them spoke in low tones, moving to the side to observe.

  Behind both of them, came Commander Weisfeldt.

  “Cadets,” the Admiral spoke, “thank you all for coming.”

  I had to repress something of a nervous giggle. After all, it wasn't like we had much of a choice, we'd been ordered to come here.

  “As most of you have no-doubt realized, you are here due to your involvement in Doctor Aisling's ongoing project. What started out two years ago during your initial examination as Cadet Candidates has come to fruition.” She paused and gestured at Doctor Aisling, “Doctor, please explain your procedure.”

  “Cadets,” Doctor Aisling gave us all a sunny smile, “Each of you has been carefully selected for a pilot program of a very special implant. Normally you all would receive a standard Tier Two implant. That is, it would be a memory augmentation with communications and computer interface features.”

  I found myself nodding. Tier Two implants were considered to be rather invasive. I couldn't say I was exactly comfortable with the idea. Cybernetics were generally frowned upon throughout human space. Century's Planetary Militia had adopted implants only a couple of decades ago, and even then, the neural computer implants had been voluntary until last year.

  “As some of you may remember from my classes on implants, there's what is generally considered a Type Three Neural Implant,” Doctor Aisling ran a hand through her red hair, her smile broad. “It's generally seen as a more invasive process and includes logic augmentation and a full spectrum of intelligence boosting features. Tier Three Neural Implants tie into substantially larger portions of the human brain. Their use is limited due to the extreme expense as well as the fact that many bodies simply reject that level of augmentation or else their minds have issues interlinking with the substantially more integrated neural computer.”

  “That generally leads to insanity or death,” The Admiral said, her voice flat.

  Doctor Aisling's cheerful smile faltered slightly, “Yes, that can occur.”

  “My project has been working on a new design of neural implant,” Doctor Aisling went on. “To overcome some of the possibilities of failure, I did extensive screening to filter out those whose minds lacked the necessary flexibility. I also mapped your consciousness so that I could create a gestalt, an amalgam of your minds and that of the software in the neural computers.”

  “Wait, these things would be aware?” A boy in the front row asked.

  Doctor Aisling's eyes flicked in the direction of Charterer Beckman. “No, not truly aware, that would be bordering upon the areas of artificial intelligence.” She cleared her throat, “The gestalts are drawn from your own subconscious minds, in order to better integrate. Any will, any awareness would be a mirror of you. That was the point of the integration last year, to insure that they stayed calibrated and stable while we worked out the details.”

  She gestured at Commander Weisfeldt. The short officer smiled slightly. Up close, I saw that he had bushy eyebrows that almost went up to his dark hair. He had a genial, absent-minded expression. “Cadets, I've been working with hardware for the past couple of years. You should all know, that this goes beyond the implant itself. Our goal is that with the heightened abilities, you will each be capable of carrying out multiple tasks with full function, allowing you to manage the entirety of a ship. I've been constructing not only the physical implants, but also the interfaces that you would use to link with a ship.”

  “What kind of ship?” For a moment, I didn't realize that it was me that had spoken aloud.

  “That's classified,” the stern voice of Councilor Beckman interrupted. “You are here to decide about the implantation. Further information on this process is restricted to those who proceed.”

  Gee, thanks, I thought to myself. I was already nervous enough about the idea of a standard neural implant. This thing sounded far more invasive and dangerous. Now she was insinuating that I'd be getting myself into something even more dangerous.

  The Admiral stepped forward, “There is a key point there. One I want all of you to consider. This is a choice. None of you are being forced to get this neural implant.” I felt like she was staring right at me as she said that. “Unlike many things when you signed up, this is purely voluntary. If you chose not to undergo this experimental procedure, you will leave this room and never hear another thing about it. It will not be held against any of you.”

  “You will still receive the Tier Two implant,” Councilor Beckman stated, “Which, really, this can be seen as an update or upgrade. I'm certain...”

  “Charterer,” the Admiral interrupted, her voice hard. “These are my Cadets, they are my responsibility. I would ask that you allow me to address them and explain the risks and benefits.”

  The Charterer Beckman's face went red and she looked as if she barely kept herself from snapping. I saw Lieutenant General Corgan lean over and whisper something in the woman's ear. Beckman' face hardened but she gave the Admiral an icy nod.

  “As I was saying,” the Admiral went on, “this is a voluntary procedure. It is also an experimental procedure, one that no one has ever gone through. You would be the first to undergo it.”

  The room went deathly quiet at that. No one moved, no one breathed. It was one thing to be told this was a new process. It was something else entirely to hear that this was the first time it had ever been tried.

  “Ma'am,” Ashiri asked, “if this procedure offers such a potential boost to a person's capabilities, why has no one tried it before?”

  “We're making use of some very special advances in materials engineering,” Commander Weisfeldt answered for the Admiral. He glanced at her and when she nodded, he activated the room's holographic display. The display showed a human brain, but tied into it was what looked like a spider web. He swallowed slightly and looked uncomfortable, “Sorry, I'm not good with the whole fleshy, thing,” He faded the brain representation to nearly transparent, “That's better. Now, most neural implants are smart materials, capable of limited self-repair and self-configuration. These new materials are based off of materials we've been working on for the past few years, it's a nano-level smart material, which means it is capable of reconfiguring at the molecular level.”

  “It's a material based upon discoveries at Black Mesa Outpost,” the Admiral said. “Based off of alien materials discovered there, I should say. Doctor Aisling and Commander Weisfeldt both think that these materials will be uniquely suited for this process, both because of the lack of rejection by the human body as well as the ability of the material to scale and reconfigure itself.”

  I wasn't sure who said it, but they spoke for us all, “Wait, we're putting some alien gunk in our brains?” It didn't make me any better to realize that this was probably one of the discoveries based upon my parents' research.

  The Admiral gave a crooked smile, “That's something like what I said when I first heard about it.”

  “This nano-material is perfectly safe,” Doctor Aisling stepped forward. She raised her right arm, “I've had the material injected for the past three years to no ill effect. It ties into my other implants perfectly. It may not be of wholly terrestrial invention, but there is nothing unsafe or intrinsically dangerous about this material.”

  “We call it, Quicksilver,” Commander Weisfeldt said, his voice meant to be reassuring. With his bushy eyebrows lowered to look at us intently, he almost looked like an Old Earth walrus. He clearly wasn't a people person. “This stuff is basically inert without some kind of direction. In fact, we believe that, within the next few years, we will move all standard Tier Two implants to using Quicksilver, as its capabilities can be dialed back significantly.”

  “What about our implants?” Karmazin asked. “Could they be dialed back if there was some kind of issue?”

  “Of course!” Doctor Aisling said brightly. “I'll be monitoring the status of your implants throughout the entire process. I'll also conduct regular checkups once a week over the next year, looking for any issues. If I discover any problems, I'll be able to dial back the implant without issue. If necessary, we could even set the Quicksilver to self-extract. If that's the case, it would break down and your body would be able to harmlessly remove it from your system.”

  I was surprised by that. Normally the neural implants were permanent. They could be rendered inert, but removal would be such an invasive procedure that they had to be left in place.

  No one seemed to have any other questions, at least, none that we felt willing to voice. Yet I felt one question gnawing at me. That other that I'd felt during the last time they had me hooked up, what they'd called a gestalt... “What will happen to them if we don't accept the implantation?” I asked.

  “Them?” Doctor Aisling asked, her face confused.

  “The gestalts,” I said, “the patterns based off our subconscious.”

  Commander Weisfeldt spoke up, “We've currently made use of them in stability tests running automated systems such as traffic control and navigational survey. In the long term, we would probably erase them from the system.”

  They'll be destroyed, I realized. I wasn't sure if that other I had contacted was alive in any real sense of the word, but it certainly had felt that way. Could I abandon it? Could I leave that part of me to be erased?