"Time is up."

At Jaya's words, Apollonia paused. She had been just about to answer the next question.

But at the call, it had grayed out, not letting her even try.

Taking a deep breath, she put down the stylus and her tablet.

She still had eleven questions unanswered. That was, she was told, not a failure on its own. There were a lot of questions and the time was very limited.

But she had hoped for better.

After the first round of virtual tests, she had done half the written questions, then alternated back to the last of the virtual tests before coming back to the last of the written ones. Jaya told her it was for good reasons, forcing her mind to shift back and forth, but Apollonia only felt more and more dizzy from it.

At least the second round of virtual tests hadn't been as intense as the first had gotten, she thought.

Jaya rose from her desk and came over, taking Apollonia's tablet and flushing the testing program out after her answers had been fully submitted.

"You completed nearly all the questions," Jaya said. "You did a good job."

"Did I pass?"

"That is not for me to say yet," Jaya replied. "It is not a simple calculation. Your responses will be sent to the nearest Voidfleet Academy proctor station, to be reviewed by a council of officers, regular personnel, and AIs."

Apollonia's stomach churned at the thought of so many people seeing her answers.

"I think I did pretty badly on some of the math sections," she admitted.

"Which will have an effect, but such things can be remedied," Jaya told her.

"Shit."

Jaya paused. "I just want to say, Apollonia, that you cursed quite a lot during the test. You may want to start considering your language more carefully."

She offered Apollonia back her tablet.

Taking it and standing, Apollonia glanced at the door. "Is that really it, then?"

"There is one last thing," Jaya said, turning much more serious. "You take an oath not to discuss the test with others."

Apollonia was surprised, then thought Jaya was joking, but finally she realized that she had read it right; Jaya was serious.

"I can't talk about it? Why?"

"It is best if the test remains largely a mystery to people who seek to take it. It is advantageous for discerning people's true qualities."

"Er . . . all right," Apollonia replied. "I swear to talk about it to no one."

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Jaya smiled. "Now, if I were you, I would go celebrate. You have completed your Officer Candidate Test."

Apollonia felt her knees shiver a little at that. She had finally done it . . .

But she still didn't know.

"How long will it take to get a response from the proctors?" she asked.

"A week or so. Be patient - you have done all you can."

Yeah . . . it just might not be enough.

Apollonia nodded. "Thank you, Jaya, for . . . everything. You've had the patience of a hero."

Jaya's smile turned softer. "It is my job, Apollonia. You need not make a big deal of it."

But she did look like she appreciated it.

Leaving, Apollonia made her way to the Observation Deck, and the transparent titanium windows there. She wanted to look out at the stars.

She could just coast her whole life on just this CR thing, she thought. So why did she even want this so much? Just to prove she was good for something more than being just a passive shield for people far more capable than her?

As she reached the Equator, she found she was still treating each moment like it was a problem to solve. She was almost surprised when the lift just took her where she needed to go without posing some existential problem.

Making her way onto the observation deck, she was startled.

She had actually forgotten where they were, what was going on - but outside of the transparent titanium windows was the massive space temple.

It was so large that it would not even fully fit into the view. Only the left side of the central structure and its large, wing-like parts could be seen.

Shit. Here she had been, feeling so heavy over a test, but right now Brooks was in there.

The area was crowded with people wanting to view the temple, some even setting up cameras to take their own videos.

One man was recording a video for an audience, speaking quietly and gesturing.

It made sense, she thought. For a long time she'd wondered why people chose to move onto or live on the Craton when it seemed to face a lot of threats.

But eventually she had realized; people were there precisely because of that. Some people were just drawn to the adventure, to understanding the unknown.

She found a place she could squeeze through the crowd and looked out.

Where was Brooks now? Was it dangerous in there? Her imagination, stimulated by years of watching cheap dramas, suggested all sorts of bizarre traps and threats.

She didn't feel anything from the place, she thought. Or . . . no, she likely imagined it.

Yet looking at it now, she did find herself entranced. There was something about it besides its sheer size that was . . . frightening.

Kell's warnings to her resounded in her mind.

He was in there, too.

Maybe he wouldn't come back out, she thought.

But what if he didn't? Why had he even given her those warnings? He didn't seem to care about her or any of them. The type who wouldn't piss on someone to put them out, unless he wanted to do them in himself.

Was that really it?

Why did she even hate him so much?

Her heart pounded in her chest as she realized something; all this time, she had reacted to him the same way everyone had spent their whole life reacting to her. Hating her.

But no! He had killed the Embrion attached to Michal Denso, she reminded herself.

Or had he? Could it really die? Yes, he had attacked it. He'd hurt it. It did just want to be born, but its life would have killed everyone around it.

A part of her still clung to the thought that they could have found a way to not hurt it and keep the rest of them safe. But she really didn't know of a way. She still had no answer.

Kell had tasked her with going on to find a peaceful resolution. She had tried, but he hadn't thought it was fast enough. Maybe he had been right?

The confusion hurt, she did not want to face these thoughts in herself.

But she stayed at the window, looking out. She could not draw herself away.