Lucas

22nd of April, 649

Lucas sighed as he stared out at the rainy morning through the cracks in the blinds. It was a weekday, but not a school day, and he had a headache as thunderous as the morning itself. The night had brought storms from down over the Aquilas, and he winced as his head throbbed.

It would be a miserable day working Mr. Ghannam's fields, but he knew at the end fo the day at least that there'd be warm food waiting in the farmhouse's kitchen. Mr. Ghannam's daughter Rita was one of Lucas and Ceres' classmates, as well as Ceres' best friend. Lucas didn't care all that much for her - she was smart but overly loud, and in his eyes, a bit of a braggart.

It really wasn't her fault, though. Lucas hadn't been a fan of most of his classmates throughout his time in Cygnus. He'd always felt like an outsider, even moreso than Ceres, and had trouble reckoning with those feelings on a regular basis. One person that didn't irritate him to no end was Bobby Rodriguez. The two bonded over a shared love of writing and rap music, exchanging mixes with one another of artists they enjoyed and others that Lucas had never heard of before. Bobby always talked about moving north to Elegir, where the rap scene was vibrant and ever-changing - much unlike Cygnus, which felt with each passing day more like a place where dreams like Bobby's went to die.

There was a knock at the door. "Come in," Lucas groaned, stretching his arms over his head. "It's not locked."

"Thanks," Joel said, poking his head into the room. "Are you decent? I gotta talk to you about something before I head out this morning."

"Well, you're in here already, aren't you?" Lucas winced as the hallway light flooded the dark room. "I was gonna try to get some more sleep before work."

"That's what I wanted to talk about," Joel said, sitting down in Lucas' desk chair. "I talked to Mr. Ghannam. You're not going there today."

"That's a relief," Lucas flopped back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. "Why? He fire me or something?"

"No. He said he's been grateful for your work at the farm, but he knows it's not what you're really looking for. I know you don't like it when others make decisions for you, but I've had an opportunity come up at the shop the last few days and I figured that you might be interested in learning about what I do."

"You work for the Empire, don't you? Pass."

"That much is true, yeah. But c'mon, Lucas. I know how much you want to see the world and explore what's out there, right? How are you going to do that if you're stuck in this nowheresville for the rest of your life?"

"You brought me here. I didn't have much of a choice."

"You always say that Lucas, but you know it's better than you had before."

"Is it?"

"I don't know and I'm not here to talk semantics or argue with you. I know how much you love your atlases and wanting to travel, and if all goes well with this you'll be able to do that. Will you please hear me out?"

"No. Not for the Empire. Not for a million terros. Not a chance."

"I think you'd do more than you think you would for a million terros. The things you could learn working with me might set you on that path. It's Empire work, yes, but you'd be shadowing and learning the ropes for the most part. It's assistant work, and the paycheck is nothing to scoff at, either."

"Don't you make guns or something? Why would I want to make guns for them?"

"I don't make just guns, Lucas. If you think that's all I do, then you haven't been paying much attention."

"Don't take it personal," Lucas laughed, "but I don't pay attention to much of anything."

"I know," Joel laughed. "Sometimes though, that'll hurt you. You have to at least pretend like you know what's going on. Just smiling and nodding ain't ever going to get you anywhere."

"Maybe I don't want to get anywhere," Lucas sighed, feeling irritated at the lecture. "When I'm old enough though, I'm just gonna leave town. Take Ceres with me."

"Good luck with that," Joel laughed again, "but I get a feeling that girl's going to be the one taking you with her. The test for the Academy in Sylva's coming up soon, right? I know she's been talking about that and studying with Rita for a few months now. How do you feel about all that?"

"Like my brain's gonna pour out my ears whenever those two get rolling about this and that. I'm not dumb but I'm not anywhere near as smart as them." Lucas' head throbbed again. "I got a real nasty headache. We got any medica for it in the cabinet in the bathroom or something?"

"Probably. I'll go check."

Lucas watched as Joel left the room and promptly returned with two small orange tablets, which Lucas swallowed with some effort. He hated taking medicine for anything but knew that a migraine wasn't about to treat him lightly. Some battles were worth fighting.

"So as I was saying before," Joel continued, leaning against Lucas' dresser, "I want you to come work with me at the workshop for the rest of the school year and into the summertime. After that, we might be able to wrangle you a job out in Sylva while Ceres is at school. What do you think about that?"

"Like you're counting me out of going to the Academy, Joel. I was gonna take the test, too."

"You sure about that? You just told me you can't even listen to Ceres and Rita when they talk about it. That exam's no joke, you realize. It costs a pretty penny, too. You better be as ready as you can be if you're actually going to do it. Does that Justine you tutor with do any Academy prep work?"

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"If you want your daughter to put my head on a pike, maybe. I could ask her."

"Ceres isn't putting anyone's head on a pike. Not on my watch, anyway."

Lucas smiled. "I'd like to see you try to stop her. Once she gets on about..." His smile faded as Joel raised an eyebrow.

"No bad talking my daughter, alright?"

"Yes sir," Lucas said sheepishly.

"I know everything from Espee, Lucas. No secrets in this house, that's what she always says, and it's better that way. I know you and Ceres have gotten real close, so just watch what you say and what you do, okay? Besides, why do you think I tried to get you work at the shop, huh? Not just 'cause I like you, kid."

Lucas sighed. He had thought himself so good at keeping his and Ceres' relationship a secret but felt minor relief at knowing that both Joel and Espee seemed to approve of it. He didn't feel worthy of the acceptance, though. A girl like Ceres deserved someone who could pull down Deneb for her, and Lucas knew that some ruddy-cheeked boy from the slums wasn't going to be the one to do it. A doomed endeavor, he chewed the inside of his lip as he thought about a response to Joel.

"I appreciate it," Lucas said at last with a nod. "When do you need me to start?"

"I was thinking of having you come in this afternoon once the storms pass through. Should give you some time to get some more sleep in and get showered and such. You were up pretty late, weren't you?"

Joel wasn't wrong. Lucas had been up late watching a rerun of the Empire's newest reality show, What's In Your Sock?, and had been transfixed by the premise to the point where 0200 had come before he even knew it. No wonder I've got a headache.

"Espee cut up some fruit last night and it's in the fridge if you're feeling hungry. I ate all the blackberries though, so if you're looking for those you're too late," Joel stood to leave the room. "I'll meet you around 1200 on my lunch break and I'll drive you over to the shop. You might not like the Empire much, but at least my guys are good company."

"That's an understatement," Lucas said. "The Empire can kiss my ass."

"I know. They bought some new lipstick for the occasion. See you at 1200."

Joel shut the door and Lucas watched the rain lash at the bedroom window. A new job for the Empire seemed like his nightmares made manifest but knowing that he'd be getting paid well and that it'd be laying some foundations for his future deadened the blow of it all. He was sad for a moment about leaving the farm behind, but knew that Joel was right there, too. Why does he always have to be right?

----------------------------------------

Lucas waited nervously in the driveway as Joel pulled the truck in just after 1200 that afternoon. He didn't want to come off as too fidgety, but his shirt itched weirdly and the thoughts of working with Empire folk felt like sacrilege of the worst kind to him. He'd heard about Shandi before and knew a little about Billy through Bobby - the two were brothers. Past that, Lucas didn't really know what to expect. It wasn't like Joel talked much about what he actually did at the workshop, and even if he had, it was less likely still that Lucas would've even been listening to him.

The truck pulled up in front of the house and Joel honked the horn. Lucas shuffled down to the street and got into the truck, which smelled faintly of whatever Joel'd had for lunch and a smell Lucas couldn't place.

"You ready?" Joel asked as Lucas buckled in. With a wordless nod, the two were off down the long winding roads to the workshop. Buds were starting to come in on the sparse trees along the roadway, and a warm breeze wafted through the open window as Lucas took in the scenery. Cygnus was on the northern edge of a long expanse of what eventually became the Great Tansarian Desert, which spanned the entire southern half of the continent of Terrah. As such, scrub brush and cacti could be seen most everywhere in town, but Cygnus had made efforts to plant actual trees around the town. Lucas missed the greenery of his hometown, but Cygnus's main plaza at least gave him some reprieve from all the sand and brush.

"So when we get there," Joel began, interrupting Lucas' thoughts, "I won't be saddling you with anything right away. You'll get a chance to shoot the shit with the guys and get to know them - I know you already know about Bobby a bit but Shandi's a good guy, too."

"I'm sure," Lucas said, continuing to stare out the window.

"I get that you're feeling nervous, Lucas. Who wouldn't be, right? But all you really have to do is just listen and help out where you can. We've got some paperwork to do later to get you paid, but this should help you get a bit saved up before you leave for wherever you're going. Should also get you in good with one of my associates. I think I've told you about him before. His name's Tommy, he works as a professor of mechanical engineering. I think you'll like him. Real vibrant guy."

"I don't want to do mechanical engineering, Joel. I can't do math to save my life, why do you think I'd be good at that?"

"Mr. Ghannam told me you fixed a bunch of the carburetors on his old mowers. That you spent time meticulously taking apart and putting back together the cultivator blades. You're good with your hands, you're good at building things. That's an important component, Lucas."

"Yeah, but I did those things because I had to for work. Not because I liked it."

"So what then, you gonna go off to Elegir and go rap with Bobby? I've heard you, Lucas, I don't think that's a good idea."

Lucas blushed at the comment - he hadn't wanted anyone to have heard him practicing, but he didn't realize Joel had been home that day.

"You've got time to figure things out. There's no hurry. You're gonna be eighteen in a few months."

"Wasn't Espee a mother at eighteen?"

"Yes, but that was..."

"I know the story. I'm not saying I want to be a parent at eighteen. Just saying, some people seem to know what they're doing this early. Feels weird not to know what I want to do or to be."

"Sometimes we don't get a choice in it," Joel shook his head solemnly. They turned onto another long road and Lucas faced forward. The workshop wasn't too far away now - the road they were on passed through the middle of Cygnus, where the town's plaza and a few restaurants were located. The Copper Stallion was Lucas' favorite, and he found himself craving their nachos more often than not lately.

Cygnus wasn't a terribly large town in terms of population, but it sprawled out over a large distance. On its southern edge was Bobby's father's orchards - long since past their glory days, sadly. To the west were old farmsteads, including Mr. Ghannam's. Lucas' neighborhood of Minor's End sat due east of the central town area, and other smaller subdivisions flanked it to the east and north. On the northern edge of town were some smaller industrial facilities and set atop a secluded ridge on the north end was Joel's workshop.

"I know we don't always get a choice. But like, don't people just know these things? Ceres knows what she wants to do. If you think I'm good with a wrench, you should see what she is capable of. It blows my mind how much she knows just from her books."

"Book smart doesn't mean as much as some folks think it does," Joel shrugged. "It's important of course, but it's not everything if you get what I'm saying. I learned a lot of things just by doing them. Hopefully some of this all rubs off on you."

As the road sloped uphill towards the workshop, Lucas thought he saw a flash of purple light zip across the sky. Lucas knew about mirages from reading about the Great Tansarian Desert but knew that what he saw just then wasn't a mirage.

"Did you see that?" Lucas asked, startled. "Something moved across the sky."

"A Drone, probably," Joel shrugged, unfazed. "Been seeing a few here and there the last couple of days. Sometimes the farmers'll use them for collecting data on moisture in the air."

"This didn't look like one of those," Lucas frowned. "They can't afford Pulse-powered Drones, can they?"

"Maybe it's the government, then? Velus usually leaves this part of the country alone, but who really ever knows with them?"

Something about the way Joel said it made Lucas feel uneasy. More than anything, the purple light reminded him of something that made his stomach tremble. The lights of Valdena.

"Anyway, we're here. C'mon, let's go say hello to the guys."