“You broke tradition!” Kiera said as she saw the breakfast souffle on the table.

“You guys are all leaving for your academies today,” Emily replied, fighting back tears, “I thought it would be a good send off. Peer pressure from ghosts, and overbearing kitchen chefs be damned.”

Kiera embraced her, holding Emily tight, “I love you, Emily. Don’t forget that.”

“I love you, too, Kiera, I’m going to miss you so much.”

Kinsley came out of her and Kiera’s room, dressed in a bathrobe. She paused, staring at the embracing pair in the sunlight, “It’s really time, isn’t it?” she asked, walking over to the table and sitting down.

“Yeah, we’re not kids anymore,” Kiera said.

Gargax joined them a few minutes later, clean shaven and wearing a tank top and boxers. He looked curiously at the souffle and then sat down, giving a quiet “thank you” to Emily as she served him before sitting down herself. They ate in silence, each one lost in their own thoughts. Lariat would be joining them going to the spaceport. She had enlisted in the Navy arguing with her parents that they were imperial citizens and part of that meant doing their duty to serve the Empire. The two older saturnians’ service was waived Once they finished eating, the three cadets left to change into their dress uniforms, which included skirts and a kitten pump heel for Kiera and Kinsley. The only difference between their uniforms was the insignias on their jackets, which was a comet curving over an eight pointed star. Silver and Purple for ASF, Red and Purple for MCC, and Black and Red for Intelligence

“Jac just called,” Emily said, “He’s outside.”

They took the elevator down in silence, carrying nothing with them. Anything they needed at the academy had already been sent ahead. Jac opened the door for them, “Proud of all three of you,” he said, flashing a grin. They picked up Lariat on the way, both of her parents trying to keep a strong face. The insignia on her coat was Red and Blue. They arrived at the spaceport an hour before their departure times, Kiera wanted to make sure they were early. The shuttle to Albion Station was filled with cadets and recruits, some looked obviously nervous others tried to appear aloof. One boy looked excited and another stared at Kiera with open lust. She ignored the look.

“Here we are,” Kiera said as they reached the gate where she had taken Gargax to months before. She gave Kinsley and Gargax a hug and a kiss, gave Jac a tight hug, whispering a “thank you” in his ear, then she turned to Emily.

They both knew this day was coming. They had been preparing for it, but despite all their preparations tears still fell freely from Emily’s face. Kiera wrapped her in a tight hug, doing her best to not to cry. “You be careful, Kara, I don’t want this to be the last time that I see you.”

Kiera squeezed her tightly, it had been a long time since Emily had used her old nickname, that mostly was a result of not being able to pronounce Kiera’s name correctly. Once she could, the governess reprimanded Emily anytime she said it, which forced her to stop. She rarely used it even when they were in private, despite Kiera’s siblings making generous use of it. “You be safe, too, Em. I can’t wait to come back and try your macala.”

They reluctantly parted, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of our sister,” Jac said putting his arm around Emily, “She knows that I’m just a call away if she needs anything.

“Stay out of trouble,” Kiera said, turning so Emily wouldn’t see the tear that was threatening to fall. Jac had never once treated Emily like a servant, and to hear him refer to her as a sister warmed Kiera’s heart, even if it probably dashed Emily’s dreams of making out with him. Her ID band was scanned as she passed through the gate where Gargax and Kinsley waited. Jac had advised them to say their affectionate goodbyes before they went through the gate.

She smiled at Kinsley, “This is where we part ways. Don’t get into too much trouble, Kins, and stay safe.”

“You too, Kara,” Kinsley said, “Don’t forget to have some fun.”

They parted ways. Danelar was one of the moons orbiting Orlan, considered to be the second moon. Sleipnir Academy was on Vrys, an Inner World. Intelligence worked across all branches making it possible that they would see each other before they finished their required service. Kiera and Gargax were the only two people heading to Danelar from Albion; first year cadets and all recruits had to take a military ship to their destination. Afterward they would be able to take public ships if they chose.

Their ship arrived forty-five minutes later, a lightly armed troop carrier commanded by a navy crew. Keiera and Gargax stood in front of the airlock doors, waiting for a crewmember to give them permission to board. They didn’t have to wait long. A man in the blue and red battle uniform of the navy stepped out of the airlock, Kiera saluted and after a moment Gargax followed suit. The astronaut saluted back.

“At ease, cadets,” he said, “Kiera Sol and Gargax ut Vox, welcome aboard the AES Traveller. Follow me.” He turned and led them through the airlock and to the passenger hold where cadets were sitting or standing and stretching their legs. The rows looked the same as in a commercial passenger ship split into three sections with seats arranged in haiku pattern.

Kiera thanked the astronaut and walked in, tuning heads as she went, Gargax right behind her. She found a pair of empty seats in the back while ignoring the boys who shouted out offers to sit next to them as if they were stall vendors shouting out their wares as they were passing by. No sooner had she sat down next to a window with Gargx next to her four other boys approached.

“There’s a seat with a better view up front, next to me.”

“Hey ork, you’re sitting in my seat.”

“Your seat? That’s my seat.”

“Hey buddy, there’s a seat over there that will fit you better.”

“Miss, I have to arrest you for theft, please come with me.”

Kiera pointedly ignored them. It was one of the things that Tamariel had warned her about; being a woman on a ship full of cadets will get her more attention than she ever wanted. Instead of playing nice she’d have to play the bitch card and just ignore them. Any kind of attention would only encourage them and she’d be harassed all the way to Danelar. Gargax didn’t get Tamerial’s sisterly advice. He turned his attention to the cadets who were standing in the rows in front of behind him, and even the pair that were standing in front of the seats next to him and gave a reptilian bellow. Immediately all four boys fled. He snorted once and kept his eyes on them. After a moment he looked at Kiera.

“Why arrest Sunbeam?” he asked.

“Because I stole his heart,” Kiera said rolling her eyes, “It’s called a pick up line. A way to try to flatter a girl to get her attention so he can mate with her.”

“Line? Sunbeam not fish,” he said.

Kiera giggled, “Don’t worry about it, you don’t need a pick up line!”

Gargax grunted in satisfaction, settling in for the trip. They didn’t receive any more trouble the rest of the way to Danelar. The gate that she had used to reach her home on her birthday had only been temporary. The actual gate that led out of the system was near a military station at the outer rim of the system. If any enemy managed to hijack the gate, the station would be able to send a warning to the inhabited planets. They didn’t go directly to Danelar from Albion, either, flying to several inner and mid rim worlds to pick up cadets.

Robyn and another woman boarded at the same time, and immediately moved over to Kiera the moment they saw her a string of boys followed them, but broke off when they saw the ork’s glare. Robyn introduced Kiera and Gargax to Alyxia Vale, her first cousin on her mother’s side. Alyxia was a full kylaxian, identified by her nose and ear ridges. Despite Kiera’s invitation Alyxia didn’t come to the birthday party. Robyn said she was likely just too worried about the circumstances of the invitation. Like Robyn, Alyxia had shoulder length black hair, but her eyes were bright blue.

Kylaxians had incredible pain tolerance and exceptional regenerative abilities, being able to reattach severed limbs, heal broken bones and life threatening injuries in hours, any other kind of injury and poison in minutes, and were completely immune to disease. Rare kylaxians could regrow a severed limb over a few days, and there was a test to determine if an individual kylaxian had that extreme level of regeneration. While Kylaxians could interbreed, medications made from their blood to enhance healing had all failed.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Kiera swapped information with Alyxia, immediately liking the girl. Upon reaching adulthood, different functionality was unlocked on their ID bands that made them function similar to a commpad. The ID Band gained access to the ImpNet allowing for communication, shopping, research, and everything someone could do with their commpad. There weren't any options to have information to the band directly, but storage accounts were created upon activation attached to their Imperial ID. Making it one less thing an Imperial Soldier had to carry with them. The function was retained after service benefiting the Empire as a whole. When Kiera had learned this she got permission from the mother of her thirteen year old brother, Fray, to give him her commpad. After she cleared it.

The transport slowly filled up with each stop. Kiera looked out for any other Mecha cadets that were boarding. There were quite a few, including a short dark skinned boy who walked with a spring in his step and a smile on his face. The only other one that really stood out was a boy with pure white hair, his eyebrows didn’t match hair color and dirty dishwater blonde roots were showing, making his head look like a Dandelion. The smug look on his face as he surveyed the other cadets before sitting down pegged him as the academy’s Tracksuit. Hours after they departed Albion, an announcement went over the shuttle’s intercom that they had reached the Imperial system and would be landing on Danelar within the hour. Kiera had looked up at the moon a thousand times growing up, but this would be the first time that she had visited. The touchdown was easy and the command for all Naval Cadets to depart in an orderly fashion came only minutes later.

“Bye Raya! Good Luck!” Kiera called as Robyn left, using Alyxia’s nickname for her. The naval cadets made up the majority of the passengers. Both the ASF and the MCC were branches that emerged from the Navy, the Mechanized Combat Corps was the newest branch. ASF was told to disembark next. Gargax took Kiera’s hand and gave it a squeeze, letting Alyxia exit in front of him.

“You’ll be great, Gax,” Kiera said.

“I be in dark until I see Sunbeam. But I stay warm with memory,” the ork rumbled.

“Don’t get all romantic on me,” Kiera said, “You’re going to make me cry.”

Gargax grinned, kissed her hand and then left.

“Strange,” Dandelion said, looking back at Kiera, “You’re still here. I thought that oaf was your bodyguard and you were a Navy whore.”

“He’s my boyfriend,” Kiera said, “You’re dead wrong about him being an oaf and me being a whore. You should get someone different to dye your hair, you look like a Dandelion.”

The boy snorted, “Orks have no place in the empire. They should all be exterminated,” he stood up to get a better look at Kiera, “Yu don’t look like you should be at this academy. The last I knew, mudding aide de camps weren’t officers.”

“That’s really funny,” Kiera said standing up as the Mecha Corps was told to disembark, “I was about to say the same thing about you.” She walked down the row joining the others who were left in the cabin. The short dark skinned boy laughed, clutching his side as we walked.

“You should report to medical to see about that burn, Dandelion!” he shouted.

They walked down the ramp and assembled at the meeting point where a bus waited for them. Kiera followed the boisterous boy onto the crowded bus, and was surprised when she saw another woman. Kiera gave her a smile, which her seatmate must have thought was for him based on his reaction, and took the empty seat next to the boisterous boy she had followed. Appearance wise he was remarkably average. Dark skin, brown eyes, he had the same athletic frame that almost everyone at the academy had, and he was almost half a foot shorter than Kiera; Tamalyn might have been taller than he was. He was completely bald, the only hair on him being his dark eyebrows. Dandelion took the last empty seat and they headed to the academy campus.

“I have to admit, I pegged you as being navy when I saw you get on the ship, your friend being ASF wasn’t a surprise at all. I’m Corbin, looking forward to working with you.” Corbin offered his hand and a bright smile.

Kiera returned it shaking his hand, “Kiera, it’s nice to meet you.”

The bus stopped at a tall building with evenly spaced windows both horizontally and vertically. A sign in the front declared the building Carnegie Hall. No one moved to stand up or exit the bus. After a few minutes an officer in black slacks and short sleeved red button up shirt stepped onto the bus. He looked at the cadets, giving a slight nod.

“Hello Cadets. I am Captain Ian Nevis. You will all swifty report to your dorms and change out of your dress uniforms into your black and silvers then reassemble in front of this hall. You will find a PUC on your desk. That will be your most useful device both here and after you have graduated. Once you are assembled we will head to the assembly hall for the welcoming ceremonies and then begin orientation starting with a tour of the campus. We will review the expectations of you and you will then be introduced to your instructors. Are there any questions?

“Is the Empire so desperate for pilots that they are allowing little girls to wash out of our academy, or is it strictly a numbers thing so as to not be folded back into the navy?” Dandelion asked. Kiera groaned, he was somehow worse than Tracksuit. Tamerial had warned her about this as well; misogyny was alive and well in the military.

Nevis smirked, “Think you’re an Ace kid? To answer your question I’ll give Major Peregrine a ring, see if we can’t squeeze in some sim time, or maybe we’ll take a flight.” Nevis’ voice grew dangerous as he finished speaking.

They disembarked quickly, their ID bands leading them to their rooms. Not surprisingly, Kiera and the brown haired girl that she had seen were roommates. Their sides of the room were clearly marked with a sign on one side of the shared desk reading “Cadet Sol,” and the other side of the desk reading “Cadet Selune.”

The room was mirrored with a bed, dresser and small closet on each side of the room. The desk was the only point where the two sides came together and sitting on each side was a PUC that looked just like the one Kiera wore for her test. Kiera undressed, making sure to hang up her dress uniform and then put on the cadet uniform. There were three of them; a light red shirt with dark black slacks, their ‘reds’, a purple with black slacks, their ‘purples’ and black slacks and a gray shirt, their ‘silvers’. Once she was dressed and had her PUC synced, Kiera offered her hand to the other girl, “Kiera Sol.”

“Hailey Selune,” she greeted. Haily was the same height as Kiera with blonde highlighted tawny hair and bright green eyes and freckles sprinkled on her face and shoulders.

“Nice to meet you,” Kiera said, “Looks like we’ll have to put these boys through their paces.”

“I am so up for that,” Hailey said, “But I also have to say something to you. We should have a few minutes.” Keira looked at her, perplexed, but gestured for Hailey to continue. “I’m from Dalimar, one of the upper noble houses that was just named to the monarchy. I saw the way that you handled that arrogant asshole and I have to say it was extraordinary and I fell in love with you at that moment. It was broadcast to the planet because his royal ego thought you would accept when he proposed and wanted the entire planet to see him join the Imperial Royal family.”

“Oh,” Kiera said, the declaration stunning her, “Well, there isn’t anything that’s going to happen between us while we’re at the academy, but I will happily be friends with the Dalimarian princess! Especially since she seems to be a spunky, exciting girl and is a total snack.” Kiera said, “Shall we go?”

They weren’t the last ones to assemble in front of the hall, that honor went to Dandelion with the bad attitude. They were led to an auditorium in Carnegie Hall, the main administration building on campus. Cadets from the other branches were filing in at the same time; twice as many Navy cadets as there were Mecha cadets. Kiera couldn’t see Robyn or Liandra among them and sat down with the rest of her class. It was easy to see Gargax when he came in with the other Special Forces Cadets and behind him was Isaac; Kiera resisted the urge to wave at them. Alyxia wasn’t the only woman in the ASF, Kiera counted four women in total, twice what the Mecha Corps had.

Once everyone was assembled a human in a dress uniform wearing the rank of Rear Admiral stepped up to the podium. Behind him were three other officers sitting down on the stage. “Welcome to your first semester at Danelar Naval Academy, my name is Adrian Blake and I am the Headmaster of this Institution. With me are Captain Mallory Bright of the Imperial Navy, Lieutenant Mack Laney of the Armored Special Forces, and Colonel Rudy Lazlo of the Mechanical Combat Corps. These three officers are the heads of your branches while you are enrolled here at DNOA.

“While enrolled in the DNOA you will complete four six month semesters learning what it means, and what it takes, to be officers of the Astrian Military. All of you have shown to be capable individuals who rise to meet any challenge that is put in front of you. These traits will be tested as we push you to become the best versions of yourself and ready to lead our Empire to glory and victory. With looming war with the Expanse and increased threats from the Republic, the galvians and the sarkosians our expectations have increased. This is the most Elite officer’s academy in the Empire. I look forward to seeing you all rise to the challenge. For the Emperor.”

“For the Empire” two hundred voices replied.

Captain Nevis marched them through the campus showing them the assembly grounds, the classrooms, the gym where they would be reporting to for PT every morning, the cafeteria, the medical building, the library, the administration building, and the recreation building. They stopped in the medical building and met Major Solanthas Farosh, a silver haired eldarin with bright green eyes and his kylaxian nurse Aleta Dinran. Both of them would be serving as instructors in both the classroom and be providing field support when they started to pilot actual mecha during the second semester.

At the Mecha Field and Hangar they met their other three instructors. Sergeant Green was a six foot tall bulky man that reminded Kiera of a shorter, human Gargax. He spoke to them with a short barking voice. The barking caught all the cadets by surprise and as one they peered closer which caused the Sergeant to take off his hat revealing back canine ears.

“Yes, I am a moreau! No, I don’t care about your opinion! I catch wind of any ‘good boy’ comments or see a tennis ball in your possession then you will be learning to sit and stay on command and how to catch a ball in your mouth! Am I clear!”

“Sir, yes sir!” the cadets replied.

Captain Redding and Sergeant Ransing were both human and matched the description of most pilots: slender, clean shaven and of average height. Reddings seemed more relaxed and Ransing didn’t say much, too focused on repairing the servo on one of the mechas.

The last building Nevis showed them was the simulator building, a two story building that didn’t look like it housed anything special.

“The schedule change was approved,” Nevis said, “Let’s go inside.