0:07

Welcome to Stories from among the

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Stars. You're listening To The Last

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Watch by J S. Do Us.

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Chaudhry. Three. Careful.

0:22

On hadn't grown up in space. He'd

0:24

spent his formative years firmly planted

0:26

on the terror of Elisa until

0:28

his thirteenth birthday brought him to

0:31

the ritual coronation groans and the

0:33

planets only moon, so he well

0:35

remembered what it had been like

0:37

to meet the universe for the

0:39

first time. You're. Looking

0:41

into the past, his father had

0:43

told him by the time the

0:45

light reaches you, those stores could

0:47

be dust. It. Had been

0:49

awe inspiring and humbling. It

0:52

never felt so small. That.

0:54

Is until now. As

0:56

he stood in front of an

0:59

observation window on the Argus though

1:01

observation was generous, he squinted, impressed

1:03

his face closer to the glass

1:05

to get a better look at.

1:08

Nothing. But. Not

1:11

the nothing of a moonless night

1:13

or the baron space between solar

1:15

systems are galaxies. This was done

1:18

Nothing of the divide of the

1:20

edge of the universe. An

1:22

invisible barrier formed millions of

1:25

years ago when the collective

1:27

mass of the cosmos finely

1:29

balanced out the dark energy

1:31

slowing and eventually halting the

1:34

previously ever expanding universe. A.

1:36

Border that separated all matter

1:38

from the void that lay

1:40

beyond the literal edge of

1:42

know where. He. Never

1:45

seen anything so. Dark.

1:48

Yet. It was a blackness that

1:50

somehow went beyond dark, beyond vacuum

1:53

or abyss or void or any

1:55

word they could even begin to

1:57

aptly described. It. There. Were no.

2:00

Twinkling stars hundreds or thousands

2:02

or millions of light years

2:04

away. Unreachable by practical means,

2:06

but still present. Still proof

2:09

of something millennia gone. There.

2:11

Was just. Nothing. And.

2:14

They're never had been and then

2:16

never would be. It. Was

2:18

terrifying. A hand

2:20

patted him on the back join him from

2:22

his reverie. A tall man

2:24

with bronze skin and a shaved head

2:27

stood next to him, grinning out a

2:29

vast emptiness. Dewsbury.

2:32

Inward. The man said in

2:34

my humble opinion. He

2:36

taps the black band on his

2:38

wrist, activating a small holographic screen

2:40

above his form. My

2:42

nexus says Cavil on. No.

2:45

Last name. Just a one.

2:47

Cable and breathed a sigh of relief.

2:49

grateful that despite how poorly his meeting

2:52

with the exit gun, she'd still not

2:54

put his surname into the system. And

2:57

perk the man to Caroline's hand

2:59

in a firm grip. Circuit.

3:01

Or amazed Puck to meet you.

3:05

Like. West. Kevin. One i him

3:07

wearily. he didn't want to be paranoid, but

3:09

he felt like the man was being too

3:11

nice. Sorry. Did you

3:14

see inward? Yeah. There's

3:16

pretty much exactly two directions and

3:18

ear. Plugs, Get it is

3:20

narrowed seen toward the window. L

3:22

word toward you know, literally

3:25

nothing. He pointed a

3:27

lanky finger the opposite direction. And.

3:30

Inward the general direction

3:32

of, well, everything, like

3:34

civilization and our galaxy

3:36

and actual matter. Catalan.

3:39

Swallowed. right? Legionnaires,

3:43

Loved their jargon t to add their

3:45

to the list of terms he'd probably

3:47

forget. Upward and downward

3:49

to I guess. Puck. Added

3:51

pointing either direction with the opposite

3:54

hands. along the plane of

3:56

the spiral arms is one does he

3:58

remember their from back home Surely, Kavalon

4:01

sighed. The spiral arms

4:03

which are 100 million light years away? Puck

4:07

grinned broadly. Those are the

4:09

ones. So you're

4:11

my commanding officer? Kavalon

4:14

asked. Sure am. Walk

4:16

and talk with me. I'll show you around. Puck

4:19

took off down the hallway and Kavalon hurried

4:21

to fall in line behind his long strides.

4:25

How was the trip? Puck asked,

4:27

leading them through a narrow doorway

4:29

and into a main corridor. Perfect,

4:32

traveling to the edge of the universe was exactly

4:34

how I wanted to spend three months of my

4:37

life. They slow-boated

4:39

you, huh? Can you get

4:41

here any quicker? There's

4:43

an Apollo gate run from Legion HQ that

4:46

takes about six weeks, but it depends where

4:48

you're coming from, I suppose. Where

4:50

were you stationed? Nor? Puck

4:53

laughed. No, now

4:55

you're nowhere. Right, I

4:58

mean, I'm not Legion. Kavalon

5:01

scratched under the metal chain of his dog

5:03

tags, already chafing the skin at the back

5:05

of his neck. I

5:07

wasn't Legion. Eh, huh.

5:11

Puck glanced at his Nexus screen. Don't

5:14

give many of those. He continued

5:16

to scroll through the holographic display as they

5:18

walked, expertly sidestepping

5:20

oncoming soldiers. Damn,

5:23

that's a lot of degrees. How

5:25

long did you go to school for? Kavalon

5:28

paused to dodge an approaching soldier, then

5:30

jogged a few steps to catch back

5:32

up. Ten years. Damn,

5:36

he said with a laugh, flicking through

5:38

more pages. Astrophysics

5:40

with a minor in

5:43

gravitational templology? What

5:45

even is that? A

5:47

way to stay at university another year? Ah,

5:51

Puck chuckled and closed his Nexus. Well,

5:54

shit, recruit. Other than Mesa,

5:57

you're probably the smartest one here. She

6:01

runs the Viadar Tech Research Lab.

6:04

You've got a research lab? Puck

6:06

nodded. Oh yeah, they love

6:08

to ship us every piece of random tech

6:11

they don't understand and see if it'll kill

6:13

us. Gives us something to do, I

6:15

guess. They came to

6:17

the end of the hall, which culminated in

6:19

a wide circular corridor. Kavalon

6:22

followed Puck toward a railing

6:24

overlooking an open atrium, four

6:26

deep stories descending below them.

6:29

Welcome to the immediate ship vestibule.

6:32

Puck leaned on the rail with both elbows. There's

6:35

one aft and forward as well, but they don't

6:37

really bother maintaining the lifts on those. I suggest

6:39

you frequent these central ones if you don't want

6:41

to get stuck in an elevator for half a

6:43

day. Good to

6:45

know. Puck gestured over his

6:48

shoulder. That was Novum's

6:50

sector, crew quarters, if you couldn't tell.

6:53

Right below us are Octo and

6:55

Septim, weapons control in the armory,

6:57

sensors, shields, ECM suites. All

7:00

the shit we don't use anymore. Kavalon

7:02

gripped the metal railing, leaning over to

7:04

peer down the circular atrium as a

7:06

draft of cool air wafted from below.

7:10

Bottom deck's quince. Puck

7:12

continued. Home to the

7:14

hangar where the tempest docks. That's

7:17

the ship that rides the Divide. Kavalon

7:19

quirk'd a brow. Ride

7:21

it? You mean travel along it? Yep.

7:25

And they're doing what exactly? You know,

7:28

keeping an eye out for all those

7:30

Vyterships trying to cross over from the

7:32

other side. Puck flashed

7:34

a toothy grin. Kavalon

7:37

sighed. Despite things

7:39

like logic and reason, the colloquial

7:41

myth persisted that the Vyters had

7:43

come from the other side of

7:45

the Divide when they arrived in

7:47

humanity's sector of space thousands of

7:49

years ago. But the

7:51

idea that anything lay beyond had

7:54

been disproved centuries ago when the

7:56

System Collective commissioned a series of

7:58

exploration missions beyond. on the edge.

8:01

Suffice it to say the contractors were never heard

8:03

from again, so either there was something really great

8:06

on the other side and no one had felt

8:08

like coming back, or far

8:10

more likely they all

8:12

died. However, when one

8:14

of the lucky crews chickened out

8:16

at the last minute, they discovered

8:18

that if you flew parallel with

8:20

it instead of perpendicular, the concentrated

8:22

gravity comprising the invisible barrier acted

8:24

like a runway of sorts. They

8:27

realized it could be traveled on, almost

8:29

like falling into an orbit,

8:32

albeit a strangely linear orbit,

8:34

that created its own momentum,

8:36

involving gravity so dense it

8:38

bent space-time. The phenomenon

8:40

must have been what this ship

8:42

of theirs utilized in order to

8:45

ride the divide. That

8:48

anecdote comprised pretty much the entirety

8:50

of Kavalon's knowledge on the topic.

8:52

His formal education had barely touched

8:54

on that bit of theoretical physics.

8:57

Back home, back at the core, the

9:00

divide acted as more a vague concept

9:02

than any kind of reality. People rarely

9:04

spoke of it in any tangible way,

9:07

maybe a passing mention during a

9:09

drunken philosophical debate, or in a

9:11

threat from an angry parent to

9:14

an unruly child, not a

9:16

real place where real people lived. So

9:19

despite being here physically for

9:21

many painful and humiliating hours,

9:24

it all still felt like some kind of

9:26

hazy dream. But

9:28

really, Puck went on. The

9:30

tempest goes out to maintain the

9:33

alert system. There's a whole network

9:35

of ancient alert buoys hanging out

9:37

along the upward and downward stretches.

9:39

They make sure it all stays

9:41

ship-shape. And one

9:43

crew takes care of all that? Kavalon

9:46

asked. Puck gave a grim

9:48

nod. Yep, just the one.

9:51

Only other ships we even have aboard

9:53

are a couple Hermes-class vessels we ran

9:56

charting missions with years back. Hermes-class?

10:00

Isn't that a civilian make? Puck

10:02

chuffed. Yeah, brass spends the

10:04

big bucks on us out here. And

10:06

even then, no warp cores, only sub

10:09

lights. What about jump

10:11

drives? Definitely not. No stars

10:13

out here to charge them anyway. So

10:17

no FTLs? Not

10:19

one. So you have

10:21

nothing faster than an ion engine? Kavalon

10:24

asked, raising his eyebrows. Why?

10:27

Cuz then we could leave. They

10:30

think you're all just gonna run off? Puck

10:32

smiled. Try saying that with

10:34

a straight face in a month. Kavalon

10:37

frowned, then looked out over the atrium

10:40

as Puck gestured to the bottom floor.

10:43

Quoteurs mostly research and development,

10:46

he continued. Trays at

10:49

the ventral bow has all the

10:51

fun stuff, mess, hydroponics, big medical

10:53

psych ward. You have

10:55

a psych ward, Puck shrugged. Something

10:59

about living on the edge of reality gets

11:01

people anxious, I guess. Never bothered

11:03

me. Just another empty place in

11:05

this mostly empty universe, you know? Kavalon

11:08

nodded. Sure. Puck

11:11

gestured across the vestibule to the middle

11:13

level. That guy's

11:15

duo sector, which houses

11:17

all the comms systems. A

11:20

whole sector just for comms? Communication

11:23

near the divide gets tricky. We

11:25

actually don't have direct contact with the core

11:27

or Legion HQ out here. We

11:29

have to bounce our comms off the closest

11:31

Apollo gate, and to accomplish even that, they

11:33

have to retrofit the shit out of the

11:35

whole system. Half the hull on

11:38

the starboard quarter is covered in comms

11:40

arrays. Something about boosting the

11:42

signal enough to overcome the interference, and

11:44

even then, it only worked half

11:46

the time. Kavalon bit

11:48

his lip. There were

11:50

millions of light years from anything

11:53

that could even be remotely likened

11:55

to civilization, so it really

11:57

shouldn't surprise him. But The idea

12:00

of being so vastly out of touch

12:02

with the rest of humanity still unnerved

12:04

him. And. Last

12:06

but not least, Pug. Point

12:08

across the atrium to another core door

12:10

on their level. Una

12:13

leads to the bridge brass

12:15

quarters in the E x

12:17

his office. That. Said.

12:20

Well I will remember any there's. Caroline.

12:22

Said leaning against the railing next to

12:24

perk. And luckily these posts

12:27

and helpful senate's. Puck. Smiled in

12:29

his eyes. Flooded to the new

12:31

imprint son Caroline's left arm. You.

12:34

A lefty. Cable. And pulled

12:36

his sleeves over his wrists to cover

12:38

his much both sets of tattoos is

12:41

possible. Know. Just sell

12:43

better on the list. His.

12:45

Gaze drifted to Pucks arms. His

12:47

sleeves were pushed up in a

12:49

single trail of obsidian squares ran

12:51

down his right forearm from the

12:53

elbowed to the wrist. Caroline.

12:56

Cleared his throat. When. He

12:58

before you. Have not

13:00

had the pleasure of experiencing what the feel

13:02

like. Puck. Admitted. But.

13:04

It's a puny is

13:06

in nature correctional. Or.

13:09

Would the Legion likes to

13:11

call a vital peacekeeping safeguard?

13:14

Cavil. On what His lips reflexively

13:16

ironing the anxiety from his expression.

13:19

Everyone has them. Only those

13:22

who came aboard the rank of

13:24

arduous or who been demoted to

13:26

argue a sense which happens like

13:28

a lot honestly. He shook

13:30

his head and even higher than that gets

13:32

a free pass. The. Exhibitor obviously

13:35

and are feel is second in

13:37

command up to you north. A

13:40

couple of the Enemies in the Century

13:42

in the Captain's the Tempus. That's really

13:44

it. Did I know of? Bucks.

13:47

Back straightened is a thin wisp

13:49

of a woman approached see where

13:51

the proper legion Navy blue but

13:53

in the form of dress made

13:55

of silk folds accented with glimmering

13:57

threads of silver. An embroidered

13:59

silly who'd been drawn up over

14:01

her black hair shadowing her warm

14:04

be skyn. Who. Is certainly

14:06

no uniform. Perk.

14:08

Rubbed his hands together. Oculus

14:11

Catalan no last name is

14:13

meet enemies may sit a

14:15

row. Our resident later experts.

14:18

The. Woman's withdrawn face and sharp

14:20

over large eyes swept over

14:23

Camelot. From. Afar her irises

14:25

had seemed almost black, but

14:27

up close they shown a

14:29

deep brown. Dabbled. With

14:31

tiny flecks of metallic blue green.

14:35

Pleased. To meet you soldier. She.

14:37

Said. You're. A savant.

14:39

Caroline. Said. You.

14:42

Are observant. She. Replied

14:44

flatly her humorless gaze

14:46

on impressed. I.

14:48

Didn't know servants enlisted. They.

14:50

Do Not. Cable. On rubbed the

14:52

back of his neck. So.

14:55

Perk said you run the research lab. Correct.

14:59

I am and animus. She. Said

15:01

as if that alone explained everything.

15:03

Carillon. Looked to park for help. A.

15:06

Science Officer. Park

15:08

explained asking contracted not

15:10

enlisted. Ah, Kevin.

15:13

On looked back to Mesa. Who.

15:15

Kinds of things Are you studying? Most.

15:18

of what we do is classified. She

15:20

said currently. Are the

15:22

System collective finally released the salvage from

15:24

the exists fear of taxes to the

15:26

Legion? Did you guys get any that.

15:29

Mr. Opened her mouth to

15:31

respond before cutting yourself short.

15:34

See. Narrowed her large eyes at him,

15:36

clearly surprised at his knowledge on

15:38

the topic. Well.

15:41

Yes, We received all of

15:43

it insect or will. She.

15:45

Let at a small house. They're

15:48

sending it slowly crate by crate. It

15:50

is infuriating. Getting.

15:53

Good. She. regarded him placidly

15:55

and he wasn't entirely sure she

15:57

intended to respond finally her show

15:59

The scissors slid down, and she drew her

16:01

neck up straight, then gave a curt nod.

16:05

We did recently begin study on a very

16:07

interesting weapon. I have not completed

16:09

my final assessment, as yet, but it

16:11

appears to be fusion-powered." Gavilan

16:14

corked a brow. "...Fusion?

16:16

What kind of weapon?" "...It might

16:19

best be described as a pistol." "...A

16:22

fusion-powered pistol?" "...Yes," she

16:25

said, then cleared her throat. Its

16:28

design is quite fascinating. Despite

16:30

the nature of the power source, the time required

16:32

to prime the weapon is surprisingly short. It

16:35

is very unlike the typical plasma and

16:37

electromagnetic weapons their standard troops carried during

16:40

the Viator War. This

16:42

must have been a weapon reserved for elite

16:44

units, or possibly an advancement developed while they

16:46

were in hiding for two hundred years. I

16:49

think we may have initially underestimated their

16:51

understanding of micro-fusion." Mesa

16:54

clearly attempted to remain formal, but her

16:56

passion leaked through in her eager tone.

16:59

Gavilan found it a little infectious, and

17:01

he couldn't stop from smiling. He'd

17:04

always been impressed by the savant

17:06

capacity for knowledge. Of the two

17:08

attempts Viator geneticists had made at

17:10

crossing themselves with humans, he'd

17:13

always thought savant had received the far better

17:15

end of the bargain. Sure,

17:17

drudgers were freakishly strong with an

17:19

impervious constitution, but they'd been stuck

17:21

with the worst of the Viator

17:23

looks. Though as far as

17:26

interspecies hybrids went, he supposed

17:28

it could have turned out worse. Either

17:30

way, drudgers definitely had none

17:32

of the intellect or ethereal

17:35

grace savant exhibited. Also

17:37

they smelled. So,

17:39

all this tech, Gavilan said.

17:43

Is the goal to reverse engineer it so you

17:45

can make dupes yourself? Crude

17:47

way of putting it, but yes, she

17:49

said. So we glean whatever

17:51

we can from the engineering. Even

17:53

after a millennium of access, Viator technology

17:56

still eludes us on the whole. He

17:59

smiled. Cracked that hole crossed

18:01

over the divide thing yet. Mason

18:04

narrowed her eyes at him in disgust. That

18:07

is a child's tale, soldier. It

18:09

is well known Vyadars did not

18:11

actually cross over from the divide.

18:13

They simply used it just as

18:15

the Tempest does to achieve increased

18:17

relative speed to travel the edge

18:19

of the universe. Then

18:21

sneak attack. Puck flashed

18:24

a grin, crimping his hands and

18:26

pouncing toward her. Mason rolled

18:28

her eyes, though a hint of a smile

18:30

plated her lips. I

18:32

should leave you to your duties. She

18:34

inclined her head then sauntered away, silk

18:37

folds drifting behind her. By

18:40

maze, Puck called after her.

18:43

He tilted his head as he watched her go,

18:45

letting out a wistful sigh. So,

18:49

Kavalan turned to Puck. With

18:51

an effort, Puck pulled his gaze from

18:53

watching Mason's withdrawal. She's

18:56

great, huh? He beamed. Kavalan

18:59

laughed. Yeah, she seems

19:01

nice. Anyway, I

19:04

guess we should get you to your first post. Puck

19:06

opened his nexus, swiping back and forth

19:08

a few times before shrugging. Or

19:11

not. Nothing's in the system

19:13

yet. Nothing, huh?

19:16

Kavalan didn't know whether to consider that good

19:18

or bad. Puck

19:21

shrugged. EX determines it,

19:23

so be nice to her. Great.

19:26

He would probably be mopping floors the rest

19:29

of his life. For now,

19:31

I'll have you help out in the mess, Puck

19:33

said. It'd be a good way for you

19:35

to meet some of the crew and grace you yourself. They

19:38

won't bite the hands of the feeds and all that.

19:41

Kavalan sighed. He

19:43

wanted to believe that. Chapter

19:48

4 Kavalan

19:51

followed Puck to the crowded mess

19:54

hall in Trace Sector. Where

19:56

he received an apron, an unfortunate

19:58

hair net, and a- a comically

20:00

large serving spoon. Puck

20:03

led him to an archaic food service

20:05

kiosk along the inside wall of the

20:07

dining quarters. An open room

20:09

with expansive ceilings that could easily seat a

20:12

crew twice the size of the Argus. Two

20:15

other apron and hair-knitted soldiers stood

20:17

behind the kiosk, dropping food onto

20:19

their comrades' plates as they shuffled

20:21

through the line. Kavalon

20:23

turned to gape at Puck. I'm

20:26

sorry, I know you guys have issues

20:28

with time relativity out here, but we

20:30

haven't actually traveled back in time, right?

20:34

Puck laughed. No? How

20:36

old's this dreadnought? He'd

20:38

only heard of food service like this

20:41

at shelters in the slums of outer

20:43

core planets. EX had

20:45

all the fancy, automated food service

20:47

stuff removed. Puck waved

20:49

a hand dismissively. I guess

20:51

this builds character and shit. This

20:54

really is a prison, Kavalon

20:57

grumbled. Puck gave him a

20:59

sideways grin and a pat on the shoulder. That

21:02

mashed protein is calling your name. Kavalon

21:05

blew out a steadying breath. He

21:07

could do this. He could serve food

21:09

to his fellow soldiers, right? Puck

21:13

grabbed a tray and got in line. Kavalon

21:15

turned the enormous spoon over in his

21:17

hand, then steeled his resolve and pushed

21:20

up his sleeves. Oi'd,

21:23

someone let out a low whistle. Look

21:26

at those tats. Kavalon

21:28

spun to find three soldiers behind

21:30

him, empty food trays in hand.

21:33

The light-skinned, brutish man in the

21:35

front smiled. Kavalon

21:38

groaned inwardly, sliding his sleeves back

21:40

down. Rookie mistake.

21:43

Where'd you get those, pretty boy? The

21:45

man waggled his eyebrows. Black

21:48

market? Nah, the

21:50

stocky man beside him said. Look,

21:53

borrow, golden shit. That's royal

21:56

tea. Dammit. Kavalon

21:58

cursed under his breath. That took

22:00

them all of about six seconds.

22:03

He glanced over his shoulder to find

22:05

Puck, but his CO had disappeared into

22:07

the crowd. Tell

22:10

me it's true, the brutish

22:12

man. Apparently Barrow said, we've

22:15

really got our very own royalty to play

22:17

with? His friends

22:19

laughed. Barrow looked

22:22

Kavalon up and down, his deep

22:24

set eyes sharpening with a glint

22:26

of realization. Shit,

22:28

I recognize you. You're

22:31

the Mercer heir, aren't you? How

22:33

the hell'd you end up on

22:35

Sentinel duty? Didn't think your likes

22:37

enlisted. Kavalon ground his

22:39

teeth. Even with as dumb as

22:42

this lot looked, he had to assume

22:44

that if they read the news, they'd have put

22:46

two and two together. However, it had

22:48

taken him three months to get here, so they

22:50

could have forgotten about it. Though

22:52

headlines like, Mercer's begin tradition

22:55

of sacrificing heirs to Legion

22:57

service, were the kind that

22:59

took a while to fizzle down. Though a more

23:01

accurate headline would have been, Mercer's

23:04

find socially acceptable way to ditch

23:06

defective heir in favor of obedient

23:08

shithead's second cousin. A

23:11

knot tightened in Kavalon's stomach with

23:13

realization. The more likely scenario

23:15

wasn't that these idiots hadn't paid attention,

23:18

but that it had never been

23:20

included in the galactic wide vids to begin

23:22

with. It was living

23:24

with Augustus Mercer 101 to wake

23:26

up and find major news events

23:28

either skewed beyond all recognition or

23:31

simply eradicated from the headlines. It

23:34

gave him a small solace to know that

23:36

what he'd done had been too much even

23:38

for his grandfather to fully cover up. Too

23:41

loud, too flashy, and way too

23:43

expensive, just as Kavalon

23:46

had intended. But it

23:48

wouldn't have been hard at all for Augustus

23:50

to throttle the news and stop it from

23:52

spreading beyond the core. Bile

23:54

rose up in his throat at that,

23:57

because it was specifically those people, the

23:59

colonists in the Outer. core, the expatriates

24:01

in the lateral reach, all

24:03

the exiles all over the galaxy trying to

24:05

build new lives. They were

24:08

the ones who'd really needed to hear that news.

24:10

He'd been stupid for not realizing it sooner.

24:14

Stupid and blinded by that same damn

24:16

irrational optimism that had landed him here

24:18

in the first place. Kavalon

24:21

cleared his throat, refocusing

24:23

on Barrow's stone-faced glower.

24:26

Don't get much news out this way, do you? To

24:29

try not to concern ourselves with the

24:32

Allied monarchies, Barrow cracked

24:34

his knuckles. That

24:36

is until you start trying to replace

24:38

us all with Robo-Dredgers. Kavalon

24:41

sighed. Well, shit. Of

24:43

course that would be the bit of news

24:45

Augustus had made sure to spread far and

24:48

wide. The gathering

24:50

lunch crowd began to murmur, glancing

24:52

over as the conversation heated. The

24:55

stockier man chuffed. Nah,

24:58

Barrow, they're clones, remember?

25:01

A palpable hush fell over the

25:03

crowd, more and more resentful glares

25:05

focusing on Kavalon. He

25:07

flexed his jaw as he strove to keep

25:09

the heat from rising to his cheeks. Clones?

25:14

Barrow shook his head, face scrunching

25:16

with disgust. All

25:18

clones are abominations, even drudgers.

25:21

Barrow took an offish step forward. Because

25:25

you're great, great, great times ten or

25:27

whatever fucking grandparents did decent shit back

25:29

during the Viator War, that doesn't mean

25:31

you all have the right to fuck

25:33

with the laws of nature. Decent

25:36

shit? Kavalon growled.

25:39

If they hadn't figured out how to counter the mutagen

25:41

and turned it against them, not a damn one of

25:43

you would even be here to give me such a

25:46

fucking hard time. Besides, they're

25:48

just drudgers, who cares? Only

25:51

at the swell of gasps and honing

25:53

of glowers through the crowd did Kavalon

25:55

realize what a dumbass thing that had

25:57

been to say. He hadn't

26:00

meant the sound so defensive. The sound

26:02

like he could possibly even for a

26:04

second agree with a single thing his

26:06

grandfather did. But. The

26:08

jerk was being so accusatory. If he'd

26:10

been cordial, may be careful on would

26:13

have told him that. He whole heartedly

26:15

agreed despite their propensity to launch into

26:17

wars, that the mere sight of one

26:19

another cloning as a moral no no

26:21

was one thing everyone across all the

26:24

species saw eye to eye on. Even.

26:26

Near the end of the Vitor

26:28

war when populations and both sides

26:31

had dipped to dangerously low levels,

26:33

neither resorted to cloning to bolster

26:35

their numbers. So.

26:37

Yes, his grandfather's approach to cloning and

26:39

eugenics might have been borderline supervillain, but

26:41

why did I ever would have to

26:44

assume he was in on it? is?

26:46

well, Guilty. By association

26:48

was bullshit. Although

26:50

association implied some degree

26:52

of freedom, many guilty

26:54

by lamentable shared Dna.

26:57

Regardless, Careful On was the only

26:59

one in the room who'd had enough balls

27:01

to do anything about any of it. That's.

27:04

How he'd ended up in this shit show

27:06

after all. Birds. Instead

27:08

of explaining his laboratory exploding

27:11

heroics to his new comrades

27:13

in arms, Cavil on did

27:15

what he did best. Pissed.

27:17

Everyone off. See.

27:19

right? I'm not sure Dredger cloned are

27:21

not would be as well suited as

27:24

you clearly are the baby sitting the

27:26

ass edge of the universe. Bears.

27:29

Eyes sharpened and he took another

27:31

step forward. Would. You trying

27:33

to say. I'm saying you dumber

27:35

than a dredger. Cavil. On

27:37

looked up and st contemplation. Oh

27:40

and uglier to. Bear.

27:43

Tossed his tray away while covering

27:45

the remaining ground between them into

27:47

giant steps. He growled, then slammed

27:49

his fist into the side of

27:51

Catalan space. His vision danced

27:54

as he hit the floor hard. Impresses

27:57

p Truly not expected that

27:59

approach. He begged. The guy

28:01

is more of a brute strangler. Caroline.

28:04

Struggled to regain his senses, his feet

28:07

shuffled toward him. Bears friends picked Cavil

28:09

on up by either arms, dragging him

28:11

to his knees and holding him in

28:13

place. Barrow. Stocked

28:16

forward, making a show of

28:18

clinching each of his fists.

28:20

Carolyn. Snorted at a bitter chuckle with

28:22

the smug look on the burly man.

28:25

space. Like he'd never before

28:27

had some jerks buddies try to hold

28:29

him down so they can beat on

28:31

him. It'd almost be pitiable. They.

28:33

Were going to be so damn gratifying

28:35

to show Bear what a terrible fucking

28:37

idea starting the spider been. Careful.

28:40

June a deep breath, a

28:42

surge of adrenaline slicing through

28:44

him with the tied kinda

28:46

taste copper and the buzzing

28:48

of his royal imprints tattoos.

28:51

The prequels the skin of his

28:53

arms as they folded and unfolded,

28:55

charging and priming. With.

28:58

A grunt of imprint field force travel on

29:00

wrenched his arms from the grips of

29:02

both men. He leapt to his feet and

29:04

cracked the spoon across the head of one,

29:06

then grabs the other and threw him into

29:09

a rack of dirty trace. Barrow.

29:11

Through another punch. The.

29:13

Imprint squares slip Caroline's neck as

29:15

he danced the strike with Barrows

29:18

blink exposed cavil on pummeled a

29:20

fist into his rib cage. Wounded.

29:23

By the blue, Demand gasped. faltering long

29:25

enough for Cavil on the punch him

29:27

away. with a kick to the stomach,

29:30

Sparrow hit the ground and slid into

29:32

the gathering crowd. Cable

29:34

and didn't realize he'd registered the presence

29:37

of another attacker until he leaned back

29:39

to dodge the punch. To

29:41

cut, the soldiers are mid strike, twisting

29:43

to flip the man. Nope. Woman

29:46

on to her back on the ground. A

29:49

handful of onlookers rushed to join the

29:51

fight. Travel. Duct another

29:53

punch, turning into a sweeping kick

29:55

to knock the legs out from

29:57

under another soldier. The.

29:59

Wrong. The crowd escalated until he could

30:02

no longer here his own ragged

30:04

breathing. The taste of copper overwhelmed

30:06

his senses and he spat a

30:08

mouthful of bloody saliva onto the

30:10

ground. Grinning is, he ran his

30:12

tongue over his split lip. After

30:15

three months confined to quarters

30:17

on that tiny ass Mercer

30:19

guard ship, he'd almost forgotten

30:21

how much he missed this.

30:24

The imprint squares word up the side of

30:26

his neck and onto his cheek. solidifying,

30:29

Is a fist came out of the commotion

30:31

and struck him. His shielded

30:33

skyn barely noticed the impact, but

30:35

another strike team on it's heels.

30:37

The imprints were still moving into

30:39

formation when the fist him and

30:41

pains fired Do his job. Caroline.

30:44

Grabbed the offender by the front of his

30:47

shirt and threw him into a group of

30:49

nearby soldiers. A few sidestepped and others attempted

30:51

to catch the man as he crashed into

30:53

them. But. Instead of

30:56

surging past to an actor avenge,

30:58

the men and women froze briefly,

31:00

then rushed to attention. cysts to

31:03

chests. Those nearest him groans

31:05

in pain and keeled over as

31:07

the gripped the black imprints on

31:09

their arms. A hot spell

31:11

over the room, along with a wave

31:13

of uncertainty. A

31:16

narrow but unusually strong form

31:18

locked around Caroline's next, choking

31:21

off his air supply. Silver.

31:23

And copper squares buzzed period.

31:26

flee across the intruders olive

31:28

skin. Travel on.

31:30

gripped the arm with both hands, his

31:32

royal imprints rushing to help, but even

31:34

in the short side, he'd already managed

31:36

to over exert them and he couldn't

31:38

match the strength. Travel. On

31:40

growled is he blindly cursed the

31:43

unknown assailant. Though.

31:45

He already had a pretty good

31:47

idea who it was, which was

31:49

fucking perfect. His. Vision Dance

31:51

This is air supply dwindled. he

31:53

focused on slowing his pulse than

31:56

willed his imprints to reset. The.

31:58

abided return imprint

36:00

tattoos now that he had two sets.

36:03

Using them had not in fact resulted in

36:05

any volatile interfacing

36:08

injury or death.

36:11

This time, at least, he held up

36:13

his left arm. You used these

36:15

against the others, didn't you? Rake

36:17

didn't respond, eyes remaining focused on

36:19

her screen. But not

36:21

me. Why? I

36:24

probably should have, but you were already using

36:26

your other set. I didn't want you

36:28

to end up in the morgue on your first day. Kavalon

36:32

swallowed hard. Just

36:34

a lot of paperwork, she added

36:36

quietly, still not looking away from her

36:38

terminal. He squinted at her. Was

36:41

it a joke? After

36:44

a few moments of silence, she said, I'll

36:47

start you in janitorial. Aren't

36:50

we going to talk about what happened? She

36:53

didn't look up from the display. I

36:55

don't like repeating myself. What?

36:59

We already had that conversation. We

37:02

did? Yes. Would

37:04

you like a summary? You. Cut. Shit.

37:08

Kavalon slid further down in his chair. Right.

37:12

I cut the shit. That

37:14

wasn't you cutting the shit, but I think you

37:16

know that. It wasn't Mike.

37:18

She slammed her fist onto the

37:21

desk. The astrolabe's rings wavered from

37:23

the vibration. Do you think

37:25

I want your excuses? Kavalon

37:27

diverted his gaze. He

37:30

felt like he knew the right answer,

37:32

but he couldn't stop his natural tendency to

37:34

make everything fucking worse. Is

37:36

that rhetorical? She

37:38

stood, menacing in her slow

37:41

purposefulness. She dragged the knuckles

37:43

of one hand along the top of the desk

37:45

as she skirted around it. A few

37:48

silver and copper imprint squares

37:50

unfolded onto the top of

37:52

her hand, and she stopped,

37:54

hovering over him. He looked up.

37:57

Seems like I'm not the only one who's imprinted. react

38:00

on instinct. She grabbed

38:02

him by the front of his vest. His

38:05

feet slid out from under him as she

38:07

lifted him out of his chair with an

38:09

ease that implied imprint assisted strength. That

38:12

same fire lit in his stomach, the

38:15

one that he couldn't quite place the

38:17

origin of. Not the painful

38:19

kind of fear he'd grown up with, but some

38:21

other kind of angst. Maybe

38:23

a fear of authority he hadn't been

38:25

properly desensitized to. He

38:28

imagined it a healthy reverence, generally

38:30

beaten into soldiers early on in

38:32

their careers, but he'd never

38:34

been made to respect anyone except his

38:36

grandfather, and even that only outwardly

38:38

so. Something

38:40

told him Rake didn't give two shits

38:43

that he was unschooled in deference. She

38:45

expected him to have it anyway. She

38:48

cleared her throat. How do

38:50

you think infractions are handled on

38:52

a ship full of criminals? Umm...

38:56

throw them in jail? He said,

38:58

wincing as the edge of his voice

39:00

squeaked. Er, the brig?

39:04

Sure, she said, giving a receptive

39:06

nod. That'd be

39:08

reasonable, in another division, anywhere

39:10

else in the Legion. But

39:12

keep in mind, every soldier I get,

39:15

they already feel pretty at home locked in

39:17

a brig. Confinement's not always

39:19

the most effective deterrent. Part

39:22

of my job? A part I

39:24

don't hate, if I'm being honest, is

39:26

coming up with... Let's

39:29

call them creative punishments to

39:31

ensure everyone's adequately reprimanded. He

39:35

swallowed hard, discovering the back of

39:37

his throat had gone bone dry. She

39:39

kept her unblinking eyes locked on his. Do

39:42

you want to find out, on your

39:44

first day, how very creative I can

39:46

be? He raised

39:49

an eyebrow. No? Mike

39:52

regarded him placidly for a few moments, then

39:55

dropped him to his feet. So

39:57

you are capable of self-preservation?

40:01

He scratched the back of his neck. She

40:04

sat on the edge of her desk and folded her arms. Say

40:08

it with me, though. What?

40:11

No, sir. Kavalan

40:14

licked his dry lips. No,

40:17

sir. No exuberant

40:19

rake, sir. No

40:22

exuberant rake, sir. All

40:25

right. Good job, soldier. All

40:27

right. Good job. He came off

40:30

with an effusive sigh. She buried

40:32

her face in her hands, then took a

40:34

sharp breath in before looking back at him,

40:37

eyes almost amused. You

40:40

obviously need to be babysat. He

40:43

lifted his shoulders in a poor attempt at a shrug.

40:45

She wasn't wrong. He didn't know what the hell was

40:48

wrong with him. She

40:50

rounded the desk and sat, reopening

40:52

her terminal interface. I'm

40:55

assigning you to bridge duty so I can keep

40:57

an eye on you myself. What

41:00

about janitorial, sir? Janitorial,

41:03

bridge duty, she confirmed,

41:06

and a homework assignment. Are you ready for

41:09

it? Yes, sir. Try

41:12

to learn some fucking humility and learn to

41:14

respect what we do here. Yes,

41:16

sir. Extra credit? Maybe

41:19

go five seconds without causing a major uproar.

41:22

You got it. Quirk blinked, her

41:24

stare level. Sir.

41:28

She refocused on her terminal and

41:30

silently slid two files. After

41:32

a few minutes, she landed on one and quirk

41:34

an eyebrow. You've got

41:36

quite a list of credentials. Kavalan

41:39

scratched his chin, unsure of what could

41:41

possibly be in his file that Rake

41:44

would consider a credential. Sir?

41:47

Three degrees? Oh, that

41:50

he nodded. Yes, sir. Aerophysics,

41:54

astromechanical engineering, and

41:57

genetic engineering. No

42:00

surprise there. That one

42:02

was forced on me. Top of

42:04

your class. High marks and everything. My

42:07

fraternity also voted me most likely to

42:09

die before graduation. Is that in there?"

42:12

Her eyes narrowed. He shifted his

42:14

feet. Joke's on them,

42:16

I guess. How can

42:18

you be at once highly intelligent

42:20

and utterly idiotic? I

42:22

know, right? You'd think all the selective breeding

42:24

would have created a nice clean crop of

42:27

mercers by now. Well,

42:29

she said, leaning back in her chair. I'm

42:33

glad to see proof that human nature's fighting

42:35

eugenics. He laughed,

42:37

despite himself. He

42:39

prepared himself for another glare, but her scowl

42:41

had faded, and she shook her head. You

42:45

seem like a lot of work, but we're

42:47

in short supply of educated soldiers right now.

42:50

Kavalon blinked. Uh,

42:52

sir? I'm willing

42:55

to consider advancement, she

42:58

clarified. Then added quietly, almost

43:00

to herself, you might

43:02

make a better animus than a soldier. He

43:05

opened his mouth to respond, but nothing

43:07

came out. He had no idea what to

43:09

say. Rake continued,

43:11

oblivious to his dumbfounded state.

43:15

But you have to fall in line,

43:17

she said. Tone low and serious.

43:21

Get your shit in order. Earn

43:24

the promotion. He

43:26

shifted uncomfortably. He still felt

43:28

like he was in trouble, but she was... He

43:32

wasn't sure. Valuing what he

43:34

might be able to contribute? She

43:36

seemed to think he could, and maybe

43:38

more oddly would, change. It

43:41

wasn't a feeling he was familiar with. Yet

43:44

something about it sat right, clicked into

43:47

place in the back of his mind.

43:50

He'd just started a fight with a guy

43:52

twice his size, in a room full of

43:54

trained soldiers, many of whom probably

43:56

had legitimate cause for wanting to kick the

43:58

shit out of a Mercer.