The days and weeks ahead were full of fascinating discoveries as the trio continued their training and introduction to the world of Hokliss.

After the simulator battle, real training began in a classroom where they were taught the basic principles behind the operation of Juggernauts, weapon ranges and damage potentials, calculating energy usage vs. the storage capability of capacitors and energy outputs from engines and many other factors. Testing for this phase was conducted on the tablets, generally speed quizzes and charts to memorize or create on the fly.

During this time they were stationed in New Philadelphia, with the opportunity to explore this incredible city. They were introduced not only to its many attractions but also many members of the Council and even the Calverts.

Most of the introductions were at a military ball at which they were expected to wear their dress uniforms, navy blue with red and white stripes. Shaun was pleased at how sharp the uniform looked on him, and Alissa wore it well also. Even though it was the same uniform, Kenny somehow managed to make it seem slovenly. Alissa fussed over him and tried to get it presentable, but Kenny kept hitching up his pants as if he were still wearing blue jeans.

“Kenny, hun, you just can’t do that in dress slacks! You’ve got to let them hang right, or you mess up the line of the jacket. Shaun, can you show him what I mean?”

It felt awkward posing as Alissa requested, as if he were somehow contributing to her criticism of Kenny, but Shaun had to admit that she was correct. This was a truly high-brow function, and they very much wanted to make a good impression.

“So sorry I’m embarrassing you,” Kenny huffed. “I guess some of us just got it, and some don’t.”

Shaun avoided Kenny’s gaze and remained silent as Alissa tried to placate him. “Hey: you’re my prince, aren’t you? Don’t you want to look snazzy for your princess?”

“I’m dressed up in this straightjacket, ain’t I? Isn’t that enough for you?” There was obvious hurt in Kenny’s voice.

“I didn’t mean it like that. You know I didn’t.” she protested.

“Then how _did_ you mean it?” Kenny growled. “Forget it, I’m done. I’ll go, because we’re the Hokliss 34th and we’re supposed to show. But if you want a pretty boy on your arm, take Shaun.”

Kenny stormed off. Alissa sighed, eyes downcast. Then she turned slowly to Shaun.

“It seems I have lost my prince. Will you be my knight in shining armor? At least, for this evening?”

There were so many ways this was wrong. She was Kenny’s girl. Kenny had introduced them, was obviously head over heels for her, and he had no business stepping into Kenny’s shoes. And yet, Kenny was the one who had stormed off, and even if it had been a taunt, there was no question that he had suggested this. If Alissa went to the gala flying solo, she would be accosted by every guy there looking for a beautiful lady, and that would come to no good. If he just accompanied her to keep the wolves at bay, that was alright, wasn’t it? It had nothing to do with his private feelings about her, or the fact he would do just about anything for her. It was all quite innocent, wasn’t it?

He bowed and extended an arm to her. “As you wish, milady.”

There was something in the smile she gave him that seemed like more than gratitude. Or maybe that was his imagination running away with him. She curtsied in turn, and accepted the arm he gave her.

“Thank you, kind sir. Shall we now depart?”

The gala was a beautiful affair, like nothing else Shaun had attended except vaguely resembling his senior prom. But for the life of him he could not even remember the name of the girl he had gone with; he had the feeling he wouldn’t be forgetting this anytime soon.

They entered together through a hallway which opened up onto a balcony overlooking the sizable ballroom. A Lieutenant introduced them at the top of the staircase before they joined the party.

“Cadets Shaun Matthews and Alissa Reynolds of the Hokliss 34th Armored Company.”

Alissa gripped his arm tightly as they descended the staircase. “Wow. I had heard of events like this, but never saw anything like it except on TV. Don’t let me drink too much champagne; I get silly when I’m tipsy.”

“I’ll try to stop you, if I can. By my experience, three is my limit.”

It was clear from looking around the room that VIPs had stationed themselves at the edges of the room in a large circle, and that new arrivals were touring around the room making introductions. So Shaun followed suit, leading Alissa to their left to follow the circle counterclockwise. He hesitated for a minute as the previous couple disengaged themselves from their hosts and continued on around the circle. Then he approached the tall elderly distinguished gentleman wearing a gray suit and wide red sash, standing with a lady who appeared to be of the same age wearing an emerald dress that seemed to complement the sash beautifully.

The gentleman turned to see them and his face light up in pleased recognition. “Officers Matthews and Reynolds of the 34th. What a pleasure to see the two of you again.

“But where are my manners? I am told I would have you at a disadvantage; I know you, but you do not remember me. Councilman Lionel Travers, at your service. When last we met, two years’ past, there was a bit more brass on your shoulders. If I understand correctly, for you this is your first visit with us?”

Shaun cleared his throat. “A pleasure to meet you, Councilman, whether for the first time or one of many. You are correct: we were told that we were here before, but that that visit is in our futures, not our pasts. It seems time travel is even more complicated in reality than in theory.”

Travers nodded. “So it would seem. One way or another, thank you for coming. Your aid last time was invaluable, and already we hear great things about you from this visit. Our expectations have been whetted, and are quite high. The best of luck to you!”

He gave each of them a double handshake. Alissa stammered. “Thank you for your good wishes, Councilman. And we wish the same to you.” Travers nodded and gave her a pleased smile before turning to the next guests.

Around the rest of the circle it was much the same. Several Councilmen recognized them but had been briefed on their newness, some did not know them at all, and with the Captains and Commanders the same held true.

As they visited servants came around the circle with canapes and champagne flutes, and Shaun allowed himself the occasional indulgence. He also watched over Alissa, who nursed one flute all around the circle. That should not be enough to get her tipsy, he figured.

At the end of the line on a dias was a man looking about fifty in dress uniform and wearing a gold sash, along with another male officer who somewhat resembled him but younger, and a lady officer, also around 50 but very attractive. There was a young Chinese lady as well who stood to one side, and two men behind this group who looked like bodyguards. Shaun had a feeling he knew who this must be. As their turn arrived, Shaun saluted as he had seen other officers do, and once the salute was returned, he bowed low. Alissa followed his lead with a salute and a curtsey.

“Your Excellency: Cadets Matthews and Reynolds, at your service.”

Duke Calvert laughed. “Shaun and Alissa, welcome! We have been looking forward so much to seeing you!

“I know: you need introductions. On the field of battle you refer to me as ‘Major,’ but off the field, please call me ‘Will.’ My wife is a Captain; her name is Theresa. And Jason, my brother, is a Commander. Also, we have with us tonight Lt Commander Chun Li Min from your Company, the Hokliss 34th.”

Shaun shook hands with each, but secretly wondered: if they knew the story about Alissa kicking Jason’s butt down the hill, surely there was still some animosity there? And was Jason still the sullen, jealous younger brother they had first met, or was he the more mature and stable young man they remembered him growing into?

Alissa shook hands with each in turn, but hesitated a moment at Jason. “I understand, Commander, that at some point in your past we had a falling out? I was hoping we might leave that in the past?”

Jason blushed. “Yes, you kicked me down a hillside. But I was being a bit of an ass at the time: I deserved it. So let us let bygones be bygones, and you join us here for the evening.”

And so they stepped up onto the dias, Alissa accepted a second flute of champagne and a few more canapes, Shaun his third, and they waited and greeted singles and couples who had arrived after them.

The young Chinese lady introduced as Chun Li Min approached them. “Excuse me, please,” she said: “I have heard rumors, Miss Reynolds, that you are with Commander Winston? Will he be joining us tonight?”

Alissa paused. “Yes, that’s correct. I heard him announced a while ago, but I haven’t seen him yet. Do you know him?”

Li Min nodded. “He saved me from slavery two years ago. I owe him life debt. But if you are with him, I will say nothing of this to him.”

Shaun thought Alissa looked a little rattled by that. She stammered as she replied. “If you feel that is best, then thank you. I think I understand what you are saying.”

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Li Min nodded and stepped back to her place on the dias.

Other pilots and a very few late dignitaries were now proceeding through the line. It was not too long before they saw Kenny approaching. He had apparently worked something out with his pants, because he was no longer hitching them up every thirty seconds, but the jacket was doing little to hide his somewhat rotund stomach. Kenny was doing his best to present himself well, shaking hands and saluting at the appropriate times, but he had the jolly air of someone who has had a little too much to drink.

At the dias, Kenny noticed the royal family first and came to attention, saluting. “Cadet Kenny Winston at your service, sir!”

Calvert was as gracious with Kenny as he had been with Shaun and Alissa. “Thank you so much for coming, Kenny. Allow me to make introductions…”

Kenny shook hands as he was introduced around and gave a curt nod to Shaun and Alissa before joining them on the dias. “So, how has your evening been?” he inquired coolly.

“Very good so far,” Alissa replied. “I see you worked something out with your pants?”

“Suspenders,” he said. “Found some at the supply office. That took care of that.”

“Whatever works. I’m glad it worked out, and that you could join us.”

Kenny did not reply to that, other than with another nod. Shaun maintained a little distance from the couple, and glanced over at Li Min. Perhaps the Chinese were not so inscrutable after all. There was certainly pain written in Li Min’s face. But Shaun had heard her state that she didn’t wish to interfere between the two, and he could respect that.

Yet once again he wondered: if they had been here before, why was everyone oblivious to the fact that Kenny and Alissa were together, and seemed to regard Alissa and himself as a pair? The obvious answer would have to be that in this past, their future, they were. And while the thought of being with Alissa made his heart pound, he also knew there would be no way for this to happen without breaking Kenny. And Kenny was a good friend, whom he had no desire to hurt.

He felt a hand touch his sleeve. It was Li Min, smiling at him in apparent commiseration. “I know the hurt. You have it, too. Don’t worry: for you, will get better. For me, don’t know.”

He nodded, unsure what to say. They had talked about changing the future for Calvert: if that were possible, perhaps he could change it for Kenny and Alissa? Or was it the case that because their future was embedded in this world’s past, that it couldn’t be altered? Once again, the logistics of time travel were giving him a headache.

There had been background music playing all along, but Calvert looked at his watch and then waved a hand in the air, and the music swelled and changed to a more lively classical dance vein. “Time for the festivities to actually begin!” Calvert declared.

Shaun himself was a fairly good dancer, but he suspected that Kenny had never danced before: certainly not to classical music. Alissa might want to dance, but Shaun stepping up right now was probably a very bad idea.

Alissa turned to Kenny, taking his arm gently. But Kenny pulled away. “I’m wearing the monkey suit, I’m not doing the hokey pokey!”

Alissa looked back at Shaun, but Shaun shook his head silently.

Apparently Jason Calvert had indeed matured from their first descriptions of him. It seemed he recognized the dilemma posed, and stepped in.

“In the interests of detente, Cadet Reynolds, may I have this dance?”

She took his hand in evident relief. “Thank you, kind sir, and indeed you may.”

Shaun watched Kenny fume as Jason led Alissa onto the dance floor. “What’s that all about?” muttered Kenny. “Didn’t she kick his ass down a hill once already?”

Shaun nodded. “Thus the reference to detente, most likely.”

On the dance floor Alissa seemed to be having a little trouble keeping up, but Jason slowed down and patiently stepped her through. In a very short time they went from looking awkward to graceful as they circled around the dance floor. William Calvert appeared to be looking on, and grinned. “You’d never know the way they’re dancing that she kicked him down a hill a while back,” he commented, obviously thinking along the same lines they had been thinking.

Kenny picked up another flute of champagne and drank half of it at a swig. He no longer appeared as a happy drunk, but more likely to be a mean and nasty one. Shaun was positive any attempt to speak with him would result in an explosion, so he held his tongue. But Li Min apparently was not phased.

“May I have the honor of shaking the hand of a courageous warrior?”

This was obviously not what Kenny had expected, and for a moment he gazed at her in confusion. Then he extended his hand. “Thank you for the compliment, officer. But I think it’s a bit premature. I haven’t fought any real battles yet.”

She shook her head. “Not premature. We know you and what you will do. And we thank you now for your spirit and courage.

“You do not know your legacy yet, but you will make a huge difference in many lives. Please believe this, and take heart. You are worthy.”

Kenny seemed tongue-tied. “I really don’t know what to say to that. I’m not feeling real worthy at the moment.”

Li Min pressed on. “Honor and courage are not about military balls. They are about what you do when lives are on the line. If this is not your place, you can leave without shame. You have made your appearance; perhaps it is time to go home.”

Kenny nodded. “I think you’re right. I’ve had enough of this. Now, just gotta find my way home without falling into a ditch somewhere.”

“Allow me to escort you. I will see you safely back to your quarters.”

Kenny sighed. “You are too kind. But yes, I accept. Let me just say goodbye to the Calverts, and we’ll go.”

Shaun marveled at how well Li Min had handled the situation. As Kenny approached Will, Shaun spoke to her. “Thank you so much for this. I had no idea how to defuse the situation, but you worked it out wonderfully.”

Li Min seemed to stiffen up as he spoke. “You are stealing his lady. I do not care for your opinion.”

Shaun felt stung by this slap in the face. “I’m not trying to take Alissa from him! I’m sorry, I don’t know where you get that from.”

“So you say, but I know better. You will hurt him badly. So please do not speak to me.”

He wanted to protest further, but the look on her face made him hold his tongue. He looked away, watching as Will clapped Kenny on the shoulder and said something that looked like a farewell. Li Min approached and apparently gave her own farewell to Will, and took Kenny by the arm. Kenny almost stumbled as they stepped off the dias, but Li Min supported him subtly and prevented it from being an actual fall.

Shaun pondered what he had learned from Li Min. Was it inevitable? Were he and Alissa destined to be together? Or was this something he could change by his actions?

Alissa seemed to be having a good time, dancing not just with Jason but a few other gentlemen and officers as well. Shaun watched to make sure she was doing alright, and he caught her gaze a couple of times. Finally a dance number ended and she excused herself from her current partner and returned to the dias. She looked around a moment, quizzical.

“Where’s Kenny?”

Shaun explained. “He was getting tipsy, and the lady officer helped him go home.”

He felt it wise to leave out the details of what had been said. Alissa frowned.

“I was hoping he would at least take me home. Then maybe we could have worked things out on the way.”

“Perhaps you still can when you get home,” Shaun tried to encourage her.

“More likely he will be asleep when I get there, and not want to talk about it tomorrow.” she sighed. “So: will you escort a lady again, back home?”

Shaun nodded. “Of course. Shall we say goodbye first to our hosts?”

“Certainly.”

Shaun’s mind was elsewhere as they made their farewells. Together they strode slowly up the stairs and to a waiting cab, an open self-driven go-cart. They settled in and Shaun thumbed the biometric pad both to cover the credit for the cab and to give their address. The cab moved swiftly away.

Alissa had gone from holding Shaun’s arm to holding his hand. She shivered in the slight breeze as the cart moved along, and pressed up against him. Mutely, he disengaged his hand from hers and placed it around her shoulders.

“I’m sorry,” she said: “I get the feeling I’ve rather messed things up. I don’t know what I did wrong, but still I feel like it’s my fault.”

Shaun considered what he could or might say very carefully. “I think Kenny feels criticized by things you say when you are just trying to help. He feels like he is falling short of your standards, and I think he is insulted. If you can find a way to focus on what you loved about him at the beginning and ignore some of the little things, the ones that really don’t matter anyway, maybe you can find your way back to the relationship you had.”

She sighed. “I suppose you’re right. But there’s just so many things that he doesn’t get. And it hurts him not to understand what people expect. I’m just trying to help! He just doesn’t see things like I do, or you do. It can be so frustrating sometimes, because I just wish he could be more like you.”

Shaun didn’t know what to say to that, so he said nothing. The cart arrived at Shaun’s quarters, and they both dismounted. Just down the street they could see someone standing at attention just outside Kenny’s and Alissa’s quarters. Apparently Li Min had assigned herself guard duty.

Alissa stood facing him for a long moment, then hugged him tightly. “I do care about Kenny,” she said, “but when I’m with you -- well, you’re a tough act to follow.”

He held her in his arms, breathing in the scent of her hair, feeling the warmth of her body pressed up against his. He didn’t want to let go, but knew he had to. He gently released her and pulled back. “I don’t want to come between the two of you. You and Kenny both deserve to be happy.”

“But what if we can’t both be happy together?” she asked.

Shaun shook his head. “I’m not your solution. If anything, I’m the problem. If I wasn’t here--”

“If you weren’t here, he would still be a big goofball that I would be trying to save. That’s not a good match.”

“Maybe not. But if you came running to me, it would kill Kenny. I don’t know whether he would be broken-hearted or insane with jealousy, but it wouldn’t be pretty.

“I’m sorry. You can’t do that to him, and you can’t put me in that position.”

She sighed, “No, you’re right. I couldn’t do that to either of you.”

She gazed down the street towards Li Min. “What do you figure her intentions are? She said she owes him a life debt, but she doesn’t want to come between him and me.”

Shaun considered. “I think if you weren’t around, she’d snatch him up in a heartbeat. But she thinks you might be his true love, and she won’t mess with that.”

Alissa shook her head. “Maybe I should just tell her to go for it. Certainly it would make things easier.”

“That’s up to you. If you can find a way, let him down easy. If not, just know that I can’t be a part of breaking his heart.”

“Fair enough. I guess I have a lot to think about. You have a good night.”

She turned and walked towards her quarters and the woman standing at attention before them. Before she was in speaking range, Li Min saluted stiffly and marched off.

Shaun watched Alissa go inside, then turned to his own room for the night.