Kaya was still asleep when Wynn took a turn on watch. There was something entrancing about the tiny girl, and as the night passed Wynn spent much of it considering both her and the twist of wires she’d flung at the wormlike monster.

As far back as memory would stretch Wynn couldn’t recall a single Martyr drawn from the frontier. Recruits always came from the Nineteen and the arks that travelled between them: Martyrs defended the Nineteen, enforced their laws, fought their wars. The wars in particular: more than one had been fought to prevent secession on the borders of known space. A frontier Martyr? What had changed?

And then there were the beasts. If they hadn’t all seen Naomi kill that coiling monstrosity, Wynn wasn’t sure they could have believed her story about what she’d seen inside the great flying creature. What were the beasts? Where did they come from?

Well, from the Frontier or beyond, if Kaya’s knot was anything to go by. Credit where credit was due, they may all have died if not for her. Wynn had read about the frontier a great deal before the change. The worlds out there had always been fascinating, full of adventure, new worlds, and the chance to find... They looked again at Kaya, suppressing the urge to wake her and ply her with questions. This time, though, she was looking back.

“What’s your name?”

“Wynn, Child of Lapis VII. I am glad to meet you, Kaya.”

She gingerly stretched and eyed what she could see of her back. “You used my metweave. I was saving that.”

“Apologies. We left ours outside, and-“

“And there’s an owl out there. Yeah, I noticed.”

“An owl?” Wynn considered that. “Is that a kind of bird? Gael called it a sky shark.”

Kaya blinked. “You know, on the frontier there’s an assumption that Nineteen folk are all soft and well-educated.”

Wynn smiled a little sadly. “Not all of us. I don’t think my friends ever had a chance to be soft.”

“Heh, that’s... ok, that’s pretty hardcore.” She glanced at Wynn’s friends, sleeping in the hall. “What are their names?”

Wynn shook his head. “I’ll let them introduce themselves. It was a long day: we should let them rest while they can.”

“You’re a brave bunch, setting up camp in an unfamiliar place next to a pile of corpses.” She stood and began stretching, wincing as the metweave tightened against her skin.

“We decided it was best to avoid moving you, and one of us has memories of this place. We searched the rest of the bunker and then…” Wynn paused, watching her closely. She had stepped out into the hall for more space, coming near the dead initiates. “Not to be callous, but they weren’t overly troubled by a few bodies. To be frank, I’m surprised at you. I would have expected more of a reaction to seeing your dead comrades.”

“They weren’t comrades.” She shrugged. “They had shelter, I knew how to get it working.”

“You have memories of this place too?”

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Wynn hadn’t stopped watching the strange girl, but even so barely noticed the moment’s hesitation before she answered. “I grew up in a bunker like this. If anything, getting this old barn to run was easier than the one at home.”

“Impressive,” Wynn said, considering. “I’m curious about something, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“Ask.”

“In comparing our memories, my friends and I found that the caretaker’s choices in implantation were… well, fitting but strange. One of us was a thief in his old life and he was given a chit with a high recall of scouts and assassins. Well enough. Our leader, however, evidences little more than line service in his recall and is a bumpkin, albeit a brilliant one. May I ask what your memories suggest of the role they had in mind for you?”

“An engineer,” Kaya said. “Speaking of which, I should make another disruptor. We’ll need it. If you don’t mind, I’m going to look for material.” She left before Wynn could respond.

Interesting, Wynn thought.

“Father said I’d make that face whenever I was about to say something strange. What are you thinking about, Wynn?”

Wynn turned to see Gael approaching. “Our new acquaintance. I’ve been speaking with her while you slept.”

“Bumpkins sleep light. I heard a little. An engineer, and she knows something of the sky shark.”

Wynn grinned. “She called it an owl.”

Gael cocked his head. “It doesn’t have the same ring to it as ‘sky shark.’”

“I remember a little something about owls, now that I think about it. I don’t think they got that big.” Wynn shook their head. “That’s not important. Kaya… she’s something, Gael. Cold about our dead fellows there, as though they didn’t matter, and…”

“And what?”

“And… and I suspect she has no recall.”

Gael blinked. “Really? What makes you say that?”

“I tried talking to her about memories and she ducked the conversation. The body language, the silence, all of it points to something. It’s a suspicion, only that, but I think I’m right.”

“What does it matter? She’s still one of us, if she wishes.” Gael smiled.

Wynn considered that. “I suppose that’s true. The chits of the fallen would eventually make the lack irrelevant. I'm more concerned about what a fresh chit means. All four of us have centuries of experience on recall. Do you have any memories of an initiate with a fresh chit? Any recent ones?”

Gael frowned, beginning to understand. “Not for a long time. Not since the frontier wars."

“Yes. I don’t know what the caretaker would have told your village, but in the Spire we heard nothing of war in the days before we were chosen.”

“It’s been years, Wynn. Things could have changed.”

“She’s our age, Gael. Whatever it is, it was happening when we went under. Martyrs dying in enough numbers to warrant the issue of fresh chits. Holographic monsters that nobody remembers stalking us while still in training. And a girl with no recall who somehow knows how to deal with them.” Wynn shook their head. “It seems we’re to be Martyrs in interesting times, my friend.”

“That’s assuming we live to be Martyrs. We still have Kaya’s owl to deal with.”

“It’s not my owl,” Kaya said grimly as she stepped from the shadows. “Bad news. We don’t have the parts to spare to make another disruptor, not if you want to keep this bunker working. What are you talking about?”

“Interesting times. Nice to meet you, Kaya. I’m Gael, son of Cordelia. My father said every stranger knows something you don’t. I’m hoping that’s true.”

“It’s an ape.”

Gael blinked. “What?”

“An Apex Predator Emulator. A.P.E. An ape.”

“Don’t you say it,” Wynn said. “Sky shark is not better.”

“I wasn’t… well, it is, though.”

“It’s called an ape,” Kaya hissed. “Is this a joke to you?”

“Father said jokes can make even a dark day seem bright.”

Kaya turned to Wynn. “This is your bumpkin? I don’t see a leader, just a fool.”

“Father said even fools can be wise.”

“’Father said,’” Kaya mimicked. “Do you ever think for yourself?”

Gael smiled. “Mother said-”

“Oh, mommy too?”

“Mother said that if anyone asked me that then they were obviously not paying attention. Also, that they were very rude.”

Kaya opened her mouth to retort, then paused. She turned to Wynn, who only smiled. Sighing, she turned back to Gael and shrugged. “That’s fair. What do you need to know?”

“One moment, we should wake the others. I imagine you dislike repeating yourself.” Gael moved to wake Naomi and Tyver.

Kaya shook her head and turned to Wynn, who was still grinning. “Is it always like this?”

“Pretty much.”

She nodded thoughtfully. “Hmm… okay then. I Reckon I’ll enjoy this.”