Waking up after a good, long sleep this time, I am finally greeted by the morning sun. Well, the chances of that being a real sun are probably pretty slim. I wonder how it all works? I’m sure I can worry about that later. Let’s get out of bed. I’m sure I’m going to be needed for something, today.

“Good morning, Solo,” both Marie and Aeon say.

“Morning.” I take a seat on the sofa. “So, what’s the plan for today?”

“Heh, right into it, huh? I don’t dislike it.” Smiling like always, Aeon starts to explain. “John left us with an assignment; for now, we’re going to head south of where we are, towards the Southeast Gate. In that area, there’s a tech expert and hacker who calls himself Hammer. He’ll able to forge a new Personal Card for you. That way, you can start carrying and making money like you’re supposed to be able to.”

“Sounds good.”

“Alright, then. John left us the car to drive there, so whenever you’ve made your preparations, we can get going.”

“I’m ready to go whenever you are.”

“Are you sure? I mean, there’s no rush.”

“I don’t think there’s anything else I need to do right now. Besides, you’ve got me curious. I’d like to see what getting a new card is like.”

“I’ve probably made it sound a bit more exciting than it actually is,” Aeon says, chuckling. “Well, then, if there are no complaints, let’s get on the road, my friends.”

With that, the three of us head for the car.

It’s been a silent ride, so far. Aeon has the wheel, driving along, focused on the road, occasionally checking his mirrors. Marie is in the back, watching the city go by through her window. No one has said a word.

My eyes start to wander. They fall on the digital clock display on the car’s dashboard.

07:30 09/02/67

“What year is it, exactly?”

“4767 T.C.,” Aeon says. “Transcend Christ, adopted when humanity started to leave Earth.”

“Whoa, it’s been that long, huh?”

“There’s also the alternative calendar, S.E., or Space Era, used by Earth.”

This calls to mind something I had been wondering about a bit before, but I didn’t think much about it. “Are the nations, Neo Messiah aside, all atheistic?”

“Hm… it’s a little complicated, Solo,” Aeon says, still staying focused on the road. “On Earth, while no religion is enforced on the people, and atheism isn’t forced, either, of the Earthlings I’ve seen, many of them don’t seem to really believe all that much in anything.”

“And the Empire?”

“Well, that’s where it gets interesting. Out here, you’ll find people who believe all kinds of things. Occasionally you’ll find some people in the Empire who still practice the same faith as the Neo Messians. From time to time, you’ll even come across people who believe in religions that had died out on Earth a long, long time ago; people who aim to revive Greek teachings, Egyptian, Celtic…”

“Fascinating. I never would have guessed such a thing.”

“Here’s what I always found interesting, though; the closer you get to the Metal Star itself, the more atheistic the population becomes. This is in all likelihood due to people trying to follow in Supreme Commander Wolf’s footsteps. Wolf himself has always been very serious about his belief that relying on any god would just make you weak. He’s a man who has been seeing combat for decades, and he’s always said it was due to his own wits, his own skill, and his allies, that he survived every battle he was in.”

“Hm… what about Emperor Steel?”

“Emperor Steel? No one knows.”

“No kidding?”

“Steel’s a very secretive man. No one has as much as seen his face in years; whenever he appears before the people, his face is always covered in a mask.”

“Huh… odd.”

“Well, anyway, if you’ve got any other questions about religion, try to remember them, and I’d happily talk about all that later, okay?” Aeon parks the car in-between two others, near the sidewalk. “This is the place.”

I look to my right, and up. The word “ARMITAGE” is up there in big letters, though they appear to be a light that isn’t turned on at the moment; the morning is pretty bright, after all.

“Come on, let’s go.” Aeon gets out of the car, and so do I. Marie exits last.

Inside the shop, I immediately see many machines that I don’t know the purpose of. Behind the counter, a brown-haired, bespectacled young man seems to be tinkering with one before he looks up and acknowledges us.

“Huh? Oh, hey, Aeon and Marie! What’s good?”

“Morning, Hammer. We, uh, have a bit of a problem, actually.” Saying this, Aeon gestures towards me.

“Who’s this?” Hammer asks, looking at me. “A friend of yours? What’s the issue?”

“This guy, Solo, is going to be in need of a new Personal Card. Solo, are you still holding the other one?”

“Uh, yeah,” I say, searching my pockets for the broken card. After getting a hand on it, I give it to Hammer. “Here you go.”

“Cool, thanks,” Hammer says, taking the fragment of the card. “Yeah, I can definitely work with this.” He smiles, looking at it with great curiosity. “Leave it to me, man. I got you.”

“Thanks.”

“How much will it be, Hammer?” Aeon asks.

“Er…” Hammer’s face twists in discomfort. “I’m gonna need ten thousand outta you, bro.”

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Ouch.” Now, Aeon looks uncomfortable, too, though I feel like he’s feigning it. Maybe he saw this coming.

“Sorry, man. I’d like to give you a cheaper deal, but it’s been tough out here, lately.”

“Ten thousand? Sure sounds like a lot.” I pat Aeon on the shoulder. “Well, if there's anything I can do to help…”

“Don’t worry, I can handle it,” Aeon says, with a bit of a chuckle. “You won’t owe me a thing, Solo. Think of it as me just doing you a favor.” He pulls out his own Personal Card and hands it to Hammer, who runs it through one of the small machines sitting on his counter, then hands it back.

“Thanks for the business.” Hammer then turns to another one of the machines behind his counter. “It’s gonna take me about an hour. Hope you got something better to do than stand there.”

“Alright, thanks.” Now, Aeon turns to Marie and I. “What next, friends?”

“Solo,” Marie says, facing me. “You must be hungry by now, right? We could just kill some time at one of the restaurants around here.”

If I’m being honest with myself, I am starting to feel like I’m running on empty, here. “Yeah, sounds like a good idea.”

“Alright, then. There’s an Astro Fry right around here.”

“Astro Fry?” I parrot.

“Fast food,” Aeon says. “Burgers and stuff. Nothing special, but it’s cheap, quick, and gets you full. I hope you’ll give it a shot.”

Thinking over what they’ve told me, “Sure, okay.”

“Good,” Marie says, nodding. “Follow me.”

“Heh, we’re in luck. The line is usually longer than this.” Marie points to an empty table nearby. “You guys can sit. I’ll handle the order.”

“Fine by me,” Aeon says. He pats me on the shoulder. “Solo?”

“Mm-hm.”

The two of us go walking to that table. As we do, we pass a table of some younger looking boys and girls. One of them gets up and leaves, waving goodbye to the others. “Later, Sakura! Be careful out there!”

I take another look at the girl who walked away. She seemed a bit too young to be here. “She couldn’t have been 16 years old, no way.” As we sit, I get Aeon’s attention again. “Isn’t that one of the rules? I thought only teenagers 16 through 18 were here.”

“There are some exceptions,” Aeon says, looking at the exit as I did before. “If you’re especially gifted, your guardians can have you assigned to a Proving Grounds early, if they think you’re ready.” He looks upward, thinking. “Those exceptions are pretty rare, though; you certainly don’t see the younger ones running around everyday.”

“Hm…”

"Nero was one who got in young, actually," Aeon adds.

"You don't say?"

"He showed up here last year, and he was only fifteen years old."

"Fifteen, and he was already so dangerous?"

"Well, I'd argue that he's only gotten stronger in the past year. Right after he had arrived was the bloodiest it's been here, so far, though."

"Damn..."

“Hey. Solo, Aeon, here ya go.”

Right after Marie says that, she sets a plastic tray in front of me, and one in front of Aeon. She sits next to Aeon wit a tray of her own. The same meal seems to be on each one.

“Give it a try, Solo.” I look down at the wrapped sandwich Marie points to. Seems like a fried beef patty adorned with a slice of cheese, some other condiments and vegetables.

“Oh, this is the burger you were talking about,” I say, still looking at it. Smells and looks decent enough, but in a different way from the chicken I had last night. Well, without further ado…

“How’s it taste? What do you think?”

“Hmm… it’s good, I like it.” I think if I had to choose I prefer the chicken, but this is still really tasty. “Man, I must have been hungrier than I thought. This feels like exactly what I needed.” I start eating some of the fried potatoes and drinking the soda they bought for me, as well. Both are also good.

“Nice. I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”

“So, uh, Marie.”

“Yes?”

“You’ve been talking a lot more than you were yesterday.”

My observation seems to have made Aeon laugh. “Well, Marie is usually very quiet. I remember when John first--”

“It’s okay, I can answer him, Aeon,” Marie says, forcing a smile. “I felt like I should do whatever I could to make you feel welcome, since John and Aeon have said you’re probably going to be stuck with us until the end. It wouldn't do to just sit and say nothing.”

“Eh, I don’t think you’ve got to go so far out of your way for my sake; I mean, you, Aeon and John have already helped me a ton.”

“It’s no big deal, don’t worry,” Marie replies, smiling genuinely, now.

“Yes. Alright.” I’m going through this food quicker than I thought I might. Almost feel like I’m gonna need more. “I mean, I can’t keep accepting this, though, y’know? One of these days I gotta think of how to give back.”

“Well, I guess we’ll worry about that when the time comes.”

“Hmm… there was actually one more thing I was curious about, Marie. Aeon, you can answer, too.”

“Hm?”

“What is it, Solo?”

“You two and John… so, did all of you first meet on Earth?”

“Not really,” says Aeon.

“I’ve never been in any Earth territory, actually,” says Marie.

“So you’ve never been out of the Metal Star Empire?” I ask Marie.

“Motabia, the Metal Star itself, and this Proving Grounds,” she explains. “That’s about all the space travel I’ve done.”

“Hmm…” I was going to ask exactly how these two met John, but now something else has crossed my mind. “Anyway, Marie, if you’ve lived inside the Metal Star Empire, have you seen me before?” I point to myself as I ask this. “Do I at least look familiar?”

“Hm…” Marie’s red eyes study me closely. “No, I don’t think I’ve seen you before we met yesterday.”

“I should have figured,” I sigh.

“Something about you seems strangely familiar, as if I should know you from somewhere, but I’m certain that I haven’t seen your face. I’m sorry.”

“Ah, well…” Uh… at least I can still ask him, right? “Aeon?”

“Same as Marie,” he says. “I haven’t seen you before our meeting, but there’s something I can’t put my finger on about you that I recognize.”

“Dammit, that gets me nowhere.”

“Don’t worry about it, Solo,” Aeon says, “I’m sure there are other places to find clues as to who you are. You shouldn’t feel the need to rush it, though; in your haste, you might stumble.”

“Yeah, I know,” I say, still feeling a bit irritated over it all. Why would I just lose my memories like this? Why does there seem to be so few clues? “I guess there’s no choice but to be patient a little longer.” I try to just focus on eating, for now. “Thanks for trying to help, anyway.”

With that, Aeon and Marie go back to eating, as well.

“Thanks a lot for showing me this place, Aeon, Marie,” I say, looking back at Astro Fry as we walk away. “We should come here again, sometime.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it so much,” Marie says, showing a rare smile. “It’s a bit of a surprise, seeing someone so happy a simple burger like you were.”

“I mean, it was delicious. Do people not like them?”

“It’s not that people dislike burgers,” Aeon explains, “but it’s more like they don’t think they’re anything special.”

“So it’s like, a normal kind of food anyone could get, I guess?” Aeon nods. “Interesting. I look forward to trying the kind of food that is worth getting excited about.”

“Maybe someday,” Marie says.

“Well, I’m willing to bet we should go back and see Hammer,” Aeon says, looking at the, uh, wristband he’s got on. It looks like there’s a screen on it. I must assume it shows him the time. “He’ll probably be finished with your card by the time we get there.”

“Hm, okay.”

“Alright, then, let’s walk back the way we came.”