I held up a hand so we all could eat in silence for a minute.

“Rich, I think Mentor might have underplayed just how the Nova Corps works, and how much it works.”

He didn’t say anything, just cutting up his beef slices and watching me.

“Xandar is a clone-using civilization. People don’t really die there. They get downloaded to their Worldmind, and distilled into new bodies.

“That means that dead Nova Corpsman are a clone away from going back into service. More pointedly, their death is basically the end of their term of service, and they go back into civilian life unless they are called up to serve for some emergency again, since they have to rebuild their Nova Core again, just like a new recruit.

“That system won’t work for you, naturally. It also means you’re going to be serving beside Corpsmen who know they won’t really die, as well as below volunteers who love the job and are on multiple lives serving.

“Very pointedly, have you ever taken a look at a Corpsman’s life?”

My tone really suggested he think about that question. “Is it as busy as a superhero’s?” he asked, only a little humorous.

“Yes. Except it’s war among star civilizations, and it is deadly.”

His ghost of a smile fell. “Oh,” he murmured, eyes flickering as he remembered recorded battles.

“Xandar is a noble world, and it is surrounded by enemies, the most persistent of which are the Skrull Empire, and lots and lots of pirate raiders and their fleets. It isn’t an empire, it hasn’t conquered multiple worlds, and it doesn’t have vast fleets.

“It is a single small system with some incredibly competent and powerful soldiers, a populace which has lived multiple lives and so is also incredibly competent, and they are also old.” I made the air quotes. “They may download into young bodies. They may enjoy new lives, new families. But they are utterly dominated by their aged population, and that means they are stuck in ruts that are very hard for them to break out of.

“Their population growth is constrained by their lack of habitable worlds, so the number of actual new children born is quite small. In return, they are facing an empire that routinely genocides the inhabitants of viable worlds and replaces them, and fleets of freebooters drawn from across the galaxy by their tech and wealth.

“The Xandarans and the Nova Corps are basically on a war footing at all times. It has become a part of their culture, so much so that they routinely ignore just how much danger they are in at all times, confident the Nova Corps can protect them in the future as it has in the past.

“Rich, you’re going into a firestorm. This isn’t a wall in space, where you look at the enemy and defend if they come while serving out your time. They are coming from all directions, all the time, and you’re the one who has to take care of the problems.

“And if you get tired of it, they are going to give you a sympathetic pat on the back, take your uniform and your Nova Core, give them to another, and send you home.”

He was silent as he finished his plate, and just thought about my words, saying nothing. Dealing with Mentor and going through the command training had reinforced the fact that sometimes you just had to shut up and think, instead of react. There was no hurry here, there was time for both.

He wasn’t the smartest person, but he wasn’t stupid. “So, let’s say you are right about all of this, and I’m not thinking you’re not,” he assured me. “I’ve got to think about it, sure. What’s it got to do with powering up my Core like that?”

“You’re not an Xandaran. All their tech is made to instill new Nova Cores in Xandarans, and maybe pull them out of one. Very standardized Nova Cores.”

He blinked. “You don’t think they can actually pull out my full Nova Core...”

“I think they can pull out the shell that is standard design, but the rest is going to stay, because you don’t Power a human up and then drain him empty so easily.” I finished off the last of my peas and set the tray aside. I didn’t need to eat much, but for social purposes I faked it frequently. “It may take you a while to reform it properly, and they probably won’t even realize it’s still there, but you’ll still have it.

“More to the point, I’m not sure their Nova Force even has a limit on those who can use it. It is likely limited more by tradition than anything else, and the number of volunteers who want to power up and die fighting.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“The simple fact that so much external energy was involved in powering you up makes a strong case that the Nova Force can be expanded to many, many people if need be. You just need the power to make them effective... and if there’s one thing the universe has a lot of, it’s energy.”

“Yeah,” Rich nodded. “If you had the right filters, you could just sit there and charge up off most stars.”

“Or you could toss out the filters, and just charge up off the stars.”

His mouth opened and closed. “Slower, broader, and it would hurt more...” he murmured.

“And it is probably the way the Nova Cores were meant to be used. ‘Optimized Radiant Energy Bandwidths’ Cores is not their name.”

“So, he’d be able to fly this ship back to them, and walk away, and still keep his powers?” Jewel asked carefully.

“The biggest thing he’d lose is his uniform, and some of his foundation. The bigger his non-foundation, the less he’ll lose.” I clasped my hands together. “Your foundation is Core One and Two. The amount of energy at those sizes is almost a drop in a bucket compared to what you’ll have as a Core Five.”

They both finished up quickly, thinking over those things. “You want me to make Centurion before we reach Xandar,” he said quietly.

“A Centurion can survive a glancing hit from a ship-mounted turbo-cannon,” I said softly. “As you are now, the Shi’ar lances we are hooking into this ship would pop both of you like superheated eggs if they hit you.” I looked back and forth between them. “You’re going to see a lot of ship-to-ship combat.”

Jewel shivered despite herself. “I won’t stay at home, either... but they won’t clone me a new body, either. Is there... any chance I could earn a Nova Core?” she asked suddenly, earning a glance from Richard.

“That’s not my field... but I don’t see why you couldn’t, if you came to volunteer alongside Richard. You’re already superhuman, too. You should be able to burn through the low Core empowerment very quickly. The benefits will quickly overtake your own abilities.

“It comes down to... damn, girl, ask!”

She nodded quickly, her own dark eyes flashing as she glanced at Richard. “I’m not going to be a burden!” she stated firmly. I held out a fist, and she knocked it promptly, then she turned to Rich and got her own fist bop as he grinned.

“Don’t deliver this hulk we’re on and go, however,” I said quietly. “Make a mental commitment. I’d say five years, at least.” It was a long time at their age, and they both took a breath.

“Xandar has a LOT to teach you, in many ways. Rich can attest to how good the sleep training is. You’re going to get in a LOT of fighting experience, against myriad numbers of foes using different tactics. It’s a superscience civilization with a great deal to offer you.

“More to the point, they are the experts on wielding Nova Cores and the powers they give you. You’ll have a lot to learn.

“Five years is enough to show them how good and useful aliens might be in their Corps. And...” I drummed my fingers on the table, and winced, “there’s shit coming, and Xandar is part of what it is coming for.”

They glanced at one another. “Divinations?” Rich asked grimly.

“Yeah. Dealer did a whole bunch of them. It’s not immediate, but it’s like a wave going down. There’s gonna be a lull, then a climb, and then holy shit it’s gonna be bad. Xandar may not survive it.”

Richard hissed. “Xandar’s gone through some tough stuff...”

“Not like this. They went through stuff targeted at them. This is orders of magnitude worse. I’m actually hoping to get an audience with their queen and talk about a fallback point for them.”

“Really? Where?”

“Blue Area of the moon. They can start sending the families there, put a Worldmind link in, and a bank of their cloning cylinders. Disguise it under a trade agreement with LaGrange Station, and it should be fine. It isn’t like we aren’t already an irritant to the Skrulls that having an Xandaran embassy around will make it worse.”

“Isn’t the Watcher in the Blue Area?” Jewel asked quickly, remembering that. Big bald super-aliens leave an impression when they pop up.

“The Xandarans are probably pretty experienced in not bothering Watchers,” I pointed out, and added in a low voice. “Uatu is also a bit of an abnormality among them, if you remember.”

“Sometimes I think Dr. Richards had a phone line to him,” Richard murmured. “Mentor told me he’s never heard of a Watcher acting like that, and it would be best to keep the matter VERY quiet.”

“Oh, hey, how were you planning to get home, anyways?” Jewel asked brightly. “Were they going to send you back somehow?”

They probably could teleport us home, given their tech level. I certainly could do it. “Well, as coincidence would have it, the Shi’ar Coronation is going to be around that time. We were planning to hitch a ride with the Asgardians to it, and then home from there.”

“Huh.” Richard thought about that for a minute, then made a small smile. “So, there wasn’t anything in my ‘orders’, such as they were, about making a detour on the way back to Xandar, was there?”

I tilted my head. “Not that I recall...”

“So if a new Centurion shows up in an Xandaran ship...”

“He’d best hide all the Shi’ar Lance batteries installed into it?” I finished for him. His eyes popped and his lips pursed, and Jessica burst out laughing at the sight. “That’s fine. Fixer and Spidey have been aching to get into the cloaking tech, and this is a good excuse. Also, it’ll hide the shit from the pirates pursuing us...”

His eyes narrowed at that, and he nodded slowly. “That’s a very good reason to have some non-standard internal cloaks in place...”

“‘Ahg, what did those crazy Terrans DO to our new ship model?!?’” I mused aloud, and they both laughed at me.

If Peggy didn’t think I saw her over there talking with some technicians and listening to everything we were saying, I wasn’t saying nothing.