Gilah tapped another button, and a cutaway image of a starship appeared on the screen. The vessel resembled a pile of bricks, with antennae arrays sprouting along its length. The interior section looked brutally spartan, and uncomfortable for human habitation.

“One of the many warships you may one day have to secure,” she explained. “As you can see, it has a labyrinthine and claustrophobic design, which an assault team would have to enter and secure compartment by compartment. As well as the obvious targets like the weapon magazine and power plant, there are onboard defense systems. These include automated turrets, laser barriers, and combat drones. A Ranger team would have to disarm or destroy all defensive systems, so that cleanup drones can dismember the structure and dispose of it.”

“Why don’t you just put a bomb inside it?” Kayla asked.

“That can be sufficient for smaller ships,” Gilah said. “But some vessels were built to survive a planetary collision. They have internal shielding that dissipates or redirects energy. The only safe way to dispose of them is to break them apart piece by piece. These ships are powered by fusion cores, which can last millennia, and if they detect any hostile attack, they will defend themselves.”

She clicked another button, and the starship was replaced with a mechanical spider. “This is one of the most common combat drones. They can range in size from a few feet wide to several yards. A big one can manage as much as forty miles an hour, off-road.”

Kayla’s mouth went dry. The memory of the monster that killed her father surfaced in her mind, along with the never forgotten fear and helplessness. Now the fantasy was dissolving into reality, confronting a stronger, more powerful enemy didn’t seem so easy.

“How many drones would you expect to see on a ship?” Thandi asked.

“That depends on the ship.” Gilah hesitated and looked to the back of the class.

“Several thousand on the capital ships,” Mckinnon said as heads turned. “They can be armed with industrial lasers, as well as conventional firearms and explosives.”

“A team brought one in with an acid spray weapon last week,” Gilah said.

Mckinnon nodded. “I remember seeing those around old population centers, well away from the frontline. They were weak compared with the usual war machines, and we suspect they were designed to kill civilians. One of many indicators we received of a large-scale genocide towards the end of the conflict. Your colleagues in the History division would know more about that.”

Gilah nodded gratefully.

“Did you ever find a weapon that can make crazy animals?” Kayla asked.

Mckinnon thought for a moment. “There are chemical weapons that can trigger panic or rage in animals, particularly herds, but those effects are not long lasting. The creatures you saw in the zoo were genetically modified, but aside from elevated levels of aggression, they live as most animals do. I wouldn’t call them crazy.”

“What about creatures created to attack humans?” Kayla said.

Mckinnon shook her head. “No, I’ve never heard of anything like that.”

In the back of the class, Rose laughed.

Kayla’s face reddened. Was this something else they wanted to hide from her? “But on Caldera—”

“I’m afraid I’m not current with events on Caldera,” McKinnon said. “I do believe it was cleared before human colonization began, per standard practice.”

Kayla sank deeper into her seat as a ball of molten lead settled into her stomach.

“Can we see one of them?” Christie asked.

“One of what?” Gilah replied.

“One of the aliens—a Jotnar. You must have recovered a body at some point?” Christie said.

Gilah’s brow furrowed. “No, we never have, unfortunately. It’s understandable considering organic material degrades quickly. Especially in battlefield environments, which are exposed to chemicals and radiation.”

“But what about their civilization?” Christie said. “They must have had cities everywhere.”

“Not that we have found—the destruction appears to have been complete. Our engineers speculate the Jotnar constructed civilian centers out of less durable materials, like steel and concrete, that would degrade completely within several thousand years. It makes sense they would divert all their durable resources to their war machines.”

Kayla sat up as a thought struck her.

Christie cocked her head. “It still seems unlikely—”

“Here’s another question,” Kayla interrupted, her eyes gleaming. “Valkyrie cleared the human colony worlds before settlers arrived, right?”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Correct,” Gilah said.

“And Earth?” Kayla said.

“Excuse me?”

“What happened on Earth? Before humans discovered space travel?”

Gilah shook her head. “We have no evidence of a Jotnar presence on Earth.”

Kayla clenched her fist. That didn’t make sense, but… how could they make such a claim? “Can I see your galaxy map again?” she asked.

Gilah glanced warily at the back of the classroom before returning the galaxy map to the display.

“Where is Earth on this map?” Kayla asked.

A blue dot lit up amongst the star systems. It was not in any of the major networks of Jotnar sites, but sat quite close to the center of the map, and the thick red band that divided it. Kayla exhaled slowly. There was obviously an even darker side to the truth that Valkyrie was hiding.

“Any more questions, recruit Barnes?” asked the cold voice of Mckinnon.

“None, Instructor,” Kayla said.

The class ended for lunch, and once they had filled their trays with food, Kayla dragged Christie and Thandi to a table at the back of the cafeteria, out of the way of the crowd of recruits.

“They’re lying to us,” she said, once they sat down.

Christie nodded. “Agreed—the only conceivable explanation.”

“What makes you say that?” Thandi asked.

“A resource rich, inhabited planet in the middle of a warzone?” Kayla said. “Or was this genocidal, war mongering species just super ethical about not disturbing other sentient life?”

“An absurd idea,” Christie said. “And I would go so far as to suggest that a salient was developing around today’s core systems.”

“A what?” Kayla asked.

“A pocket of resistance that extends into enemy territory,” Christie explained. “Usually because it is being defended more strongly than the surrounding area.”

“Okay,” Thandi said. “So, we know they are hiding a lot from us. This is part of what we have to accept.”

Kayla sighed in frustration. “Well, when does it become too much?”

Thandi shrugged. “You know where the exit is. But anyway, what difference does it make? It doesn’t seem unreasonable these Jotnar had a base on some uninhabited part of Earth when humans were still banging rocks together.”

“That’s not the point,” Kayla said. “Someone had to clear all their crap away before anyone could find it.”

“Which, given the complete lack of historical references,” Christie continued, “would need to have been done thousands of years ago—before the development of human civilization.”

“Which means that humans and Jotnar were in contact, probably sharing technology, and this Valkyrie group is part of that legacy,” Kayla finished.

Thandi thought for a moment. “Valkyrie is obviously based on Scandinavian mythology. Then there are the Amazons, the Celtic Morrigan—Moneiba from one African tradition—lots of stories about isolated groups of warrior women.”

“But they’re talking about genocide, and saying they don’t know what happened? I don’t believe that for a second. What the hell are we getting ourselves into?” Kayla banged the table with her fist.

Christie froze at the impact, then scowled at her. “Do you often do ape impressions?”

Kayla shot her a dark look.

“Well, consider this,” Thandi said. “What if the old religions were based on truth? Wouldn’t those myths make more sense if humans had been a slave species to powerful beings? Across all the ancient mythologies, there’s a clear trend of gods ruling over humans, while granting special individuals power to do their dirty work.”

“I suppose so,” Kayla said. “But why would Jotnar ‘gods’ murder each other and leave their slaves alive?”

“Think about the Abrahamic religion,” Christie said. “One god ‘destroyed’ all the other gods, so to speak, and made humanity special.”

Thandi looked at her in confusion. “That’s not what Christians or Jews believe.”

“Really?” Christie said. “The war in heaven? Casting out Satan and the fallen angels? Of course, that would be great for us, since humans are the good guys of that story.”

“You have to take that with a grain of salt,” Kayla said. “Of course, the victor would write themselves in a positive light.”

“God is not an alien handing out high-tech toys for people to play with!” Thandi complained.

“Oh super, you’re a believer,” said Christie. “So now we can’t have a rational discussion about whether or not we’re being indoctrinated into a genocidal militarist cult.”

Thandi scowled at her. “Don’t be an ass. I’m happy to concede God destroyed these demons and did not, in His infinite wisdom, feel it necessary to explain in detail the course of events to humanity. What about the story of the flood?”

“And Valkyrie?” Christie asked. “A Pagan conception?”

“Angels are a Hebrew conception,” Thandi shot back.

“So, God really is handing out toys for the special children?”

Thandi sighed and rubbed her temples. “Okay, forget I said that. I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I still have faith we are doing the right thing. On Earth, every crazed dictator dreaming of immortality has failed and been left with humiliation or death. Every world conquering empire has collapsed. In the midst of this minefield of devastating alien technology, the Helvetic League—the most far-reaching, high-tech empire in interstellar history—is weakening and declining. Somebody is doing something right. If humans and Jotnar once worked together, that relationship was obviously severed.”

“But there have always been empires,” Kayla said. “Small groups of people with enough power to conquer everyone else and rule them for hundreds of years at a time.”

“Okay, so maybe there are some Jotnar who survived, working in the shadows,” Thandi said. “And as far as I can see, it’s a stalemate. No force has gained the upper hand.

“So how do we know Valkyrie are the good guys? What if they’re the bad guys? What if we have to kill people without ever finding out for sure?”

“I find it hard to picture the forces of evil telling you that you can walk away if you don’t like what you see. And what about your own experience with Urtiga?”

Kayla fell silent.

For some time, no one spoke, until Christie cleared her throat. “There is another way to resolve this dilemma. As you say, Thandi, the pattern of history gives us an insight into which forces are wielding power for good and evil. In my opinion, there is a thread that connects the great empires of history and their terrible deeds. From the ancient Greeks, to Rome, to the European powers—all the way through to the Helvetic League. I suggest that we follow that thread to determine the truth of the matter.”

“I think I know what thread you’re referring to,” Thandi said. “And there is a close connection to military history, so perhaps they’ll let us have access to the books we need. Mckinnon did mention they have a camp library.”

“But of course, answers will not come quickly,” Christie said. “We are talking about three thousand years, after all.”

“If Valkyrie really are that old,” Thandi said, “they have had plenty of time to cover their tracks.”

Kayla nodded in resignation.

After they’d eaten lunch, the instructors ordered the recruits back to the camp square for more calisthenics. Kayla thought the exercises were pointless, as they were already physically exhausted, but she pushed the pain to the back of her mind and struggled through the movements. When it was over, she looked up to see another line of recruits waiting to quit.