The mess hall was filled with noise. The constant murmur of voices, clangs of utensils on metal food trays and the scraping of chairs and benches as people moved to and from the seats and meal booths. Niall looked up rather bleary eyed and locked eyes with Keran who sat opposite him.

“Shit Niall, didn’t you get any sleep last night?” the other recruit asked of Niall right before he shoveled a fried egg into his face. Niall just scowled at him. The man ate in an entirely different manner on base, when compared to eating his delicate little fruits at his residence it seemed.

“Of course I didn’t you fucking twat. The military police dropped me back in the middle of the fucking night” Niall snapped angrily right before he attacked his own meal in silence. He could feel the eyes of dozens of people on him, and he guessed he was the center of many a hushed conversation right now. And he could understand why.

No one else had exactly been dropped off by a military airship like he had. Thankfully it seemed no one knew he had been caught up in a murder investigation. And no one had really asked him, not even his lecturers. He still didn’t know what had happened to Sain and it really did rattle him.

He noticed Keran looking up and over Niall’s head, even as it dawned on the young man that a hush had come over the entire mess hall. Niall spun around slowly and found an officer, a staff sergeant to be exact, standing right behind him.

“Recruit Belford. Come with me. The Colonel would speak with you” the Sergeant stated and turned on his heel, not even giving Niall the time to ask a question. Not that he would.

Niall rose out of his seat and hurried after the Sergeant, a knot forming in his belly. He could hear all the whispers starting up again and scowled.

The Sergeant led Niall out of the mess hall and down a few different corridors until they came to the academy’s administration offices. He was led to an office that was at the end of a corridor. The Sergeant opened its door silently and gestured for Niall to step inside. As Niall did, he sensed the door being closed behind him.

Niall looked around the office and found the Colonel staring out of a window that overlooked a large chunk of the academy sky docks and its four corvette class training airships. As the Colonel turned to face Niall, the young man snapped to attention and offered the officer a smart salute.

The Colonel replied with a salute of his own before gesturing to a seat at his desk. When Niall sat, the Colonel sat opposite the youth in his own high-backed chair. As Niall waited for the Colonel to speak, he cast his eyes over the man’s desk, seeing nothing on its surface save the officers name plate, reading Colonel Shawn Leoherdt.

“Recruit Belford. I suppose you might have some idea as to why you are here. Last night you arrived on base after curfew, escorted by military police, who gave no insight as to why. The military police refused to answer my questions and stated that there is a complete blank order over your name and events relating to the last week surrounding you. An order that even I, with considerable clearance cannot access” the Colonel stated and looked at Niall hard, his eyes seeming to bore into Niall’s soul.

Niall gulped and stared at the man, taking in his appearance. The Colonel was perhaps in his fifties, and was bald as an egg, whilst sporting a full mustache. His apprehension may have shown, because the Colonel offered a sly smile.

“I will not ask you about the events, as for you to speak of them may breach any order you may have received from a higher power than I. Instead, I have this for you. It arrived this morning by express courier from a telegraph company” the Colonel stated and pulled open a drawer in his desk, to produce a single letter which he then slid along the desk top to Niall. The seal on the letter was quite clearly broken, and Niall guessed the Colonel had read the letter himself.

Niall gulped and picking it up looked the envelope over, and seeing it bore his father’s mark he gulped. Next to his father’s mark was an agency name, most likely one of the many postal companies that wrote letters for the illiterate. Like his father. Swallowing hard, Niall opened it and took a single piece of paper from the envelope. With trepidation Niall unfolded the letter and started reading it. Halfway through the letter tears started to splash onto the paper, and by the end of it he was sobbing uncontrollably.

The Colonel obviously knew what was in the letter, because he showed little response to Niall's pain.

“Recruit Belford, I contacted the Rindai prison system, and they confirmed that your brother, Sain, had been confirmed deceased two days ago. I am sorry for your loss. I really am. It is never easy to lose family, let alone a sibling younger than you, despite the circumstances” the Colonel said to Niall, genuine feeling in the man’s voice.

“If you need to get a message to your father, I will let the admin team know that you have my permission to use the wires. For now, the graduation ceremony is held in two hours. Rest up and try to come to terms with this if you can” the man said before standing up and moving around the desk to come to stand at the door and open it for Niall.

Niall stood up and pocketed the letter, sobbing haphazardly still. As he approached the door the Colonel held out a hand and spoke one last time.

“Recruit Belford, for the gag order that has been placed, it takes someone very powerful to make that happen. The only souls on this base that know the contents of that letter are you and I, and I suggest you keep it that way. Destroy it as soon as you are able is my recommendation. Now, be on your way” the man stated and finally ushered Niall out the door.

Niall stepped out into the hall and started walking away from the office immediately, aiming for his quarters. His face was wet with tears and grief tore at his heart, even as burning anger filled him. He wasn’t even sure what he was angry at. He was just angry.

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He reached his dormitory and burst inside, flinging the door open. There was a shout as two of his dorm mates stood up from their beds and stared at Niall with evident shock. They could probably see his distress and as such chose to stay silent. Niall pushed past them to his locker against the wall and pulled it open, looking for his dress uniform hanging from the rack.

“If anyone needs me, I’ll be in the baths getting ready for the ceremony” he stated. Looking down at the bottom of the locker, he saw his bag and with a scowl, he took the letter from his pocket and stuffed it into the bag before slamming the locker shut and turning away. He exited the room without another word and headed to the bath house.

* * *

Niall stood at attention in his military uniform as the names of his classmates were read out and they were given their graduation papers and military assignments. For an hour Niall had wept as he had gotten ready for the ceremony. With red rimmed eyes he had participated in the graduation drills, his voice hoarse and his eyes threatening to spill over at any time. It had not been easy, and he could still feel eyes on him every minute. Whenever his eyes met with someone else’s, they turned their eyes away, hiding their own curious expressions.

Hearing his name called, Niall snapped out of his thoughts and straightened his back before he marched out of the ranks. As he ascended the podium, he heard whispers break out below him among some of the more amorous recruits. He suddenly faltered and stumbled in his stride. Quickly regaining his footing, he continued as all chatter was crushed by the teachers and military officers.

Reaching the officer on the podium, he shook hands and accepted the proffered papers and then listened to the proclamation made.

“Recruit Niall Belford, top student and model recruit, awarded the position of Lieutenant in the third squadron of Rear Admiral, and Royal Princess, Phidel Cesere" the officer proclaimed his voice loud and carrying. The officer saluted Niall, and the young man replied in kind as the applause sounded.

Niall turned and acted as the model recruit, saluting to his peers. Once done, he straightened and turned, walking down the podium stairs on the other side before taking up his position in the ranks once more as other names were continued to be called. Half an hour later, the list was complete, and the recruits threw their hats into the air. Niall refrained from doing so and looked down at the papers he had received. He clenched them briefly in his hands before sucking in a breath and looking up, noting the other recruits starting to break off into their groups, or join their families.

A few of his peer’s approached him and shook his hand, but he shrugged most of them off and just stood alone in the center for a few moments, thinking, with many eyes on him. Finally, he straightened his shoulders and stalked away from the gathering, his jaw clenched hard. It was considered an honor to be assigned to the forces of one of the royal’s and he smiled at that rather tersely. Princess Phidel. The child of the Emperor that had fought on every battlefront of the empire since she came of age. Niall did not count this as a blessing, as it meant he was going to the frontlines.

It did not take long for him to arrive at the barracks, and he entered, heading for his dormitory, intent on getting the hell out of this place. The academy held many good memories for him, and yet there were just as many bad ones too. Entering his dorm, he went to his locker, and opened it, expecting to see his bag that he had already packed. It was not there. He felt his heart leap into his throat even as he heard the door of his dorm open behind him. Niall turned fast and came face to face with another young man.

Lyle Clifford stood before him with an arrogant smile painted on his face, and on either side of him was another recruit, two of the Clifford family servants who had joined the military with their master.

“What’s the matter Niall, not so sharp today, are you? Are you upset that everyone is suddenly avoiding you? What happened to your popularity and charm? Did it die with that worthless brother of yours perhaps?” the arrogant young man spoke out as he lifted a hand and displayed the letter Niall had stuffed into his bag earlier. Niall’s mouth curled into a snarl as he looked at the young noble, who just stood there, straight backed and full of himself, completely confident with his two beefy minions beside him.

“You shut your filthy fucking mouth Lyle, or so help me I will shut it for you. Give that back as well, or I will ram my boot up your fucking noble ass” snarled Niall. He tensed up, his fists clenching hard, nails digging into the palms of his hands. He was furious at this bastard, who had the gall to go through his stuff and then insult Niall. He just stared hatefully at the trio, a vein twitching in his forehead.

“So scary. What could you, a lowly commoner possibly do to me?”, snapping his fingers Lyle just stood there and gestured for his beefy minions to attack Niall.

Niall didn’t even wait for them to come for him, and just launched forward, a right elbow being launched at the neck of his first attacker. It connected with a dull smack and the big man gurgled some as he just collapsed to the ground. The second man was just surprised, having not expected such an explosion, and Niall took advantage of that by reaching forward and wrapping a hand in his hair. With a cry of protest, the man’s head was tugged down even as a knee rose to meet him in the face, crushing his nose into his skull. Niall let go and pushed the man backwards into Lyle, causing the noble to squeal and jump out of the way.

Niall looked at Lyle with a look of utter derision. The man was a typical high noble, who never got his hands dirty, and made others do the work for him. His type always got some cushy desk job back in the capital from his families influence. Feeling a stab of anger at that, Niall growled low and stepped over the first attacker who was laid out motionless in the doorway quite unconscious. He stared hard at Lyle as he came to a halt practically right in front of the man. The weasel was not a good student, he was hopeless and only owed his position to his name, the powerful Clifford family of the Estonian homeland. He had hated Niall ever since they had joined the academy, for his obvious talent, popularity and commoner’s blood. Niall just sneered at him.

“Not so tough without your goons are you, you pathetic piece of weasel shit” Niall snarled and without the slightest bit of hesitation, lifted his right knee hard, straight into the noble’s balls. The noble let out a gasp and a whimper, sinking straight to the ground without an ounce of dignity. Niall just smirked and reached down, tearing the letter from the noble’s grasp. He looked around and saw the second goon leaning against the far wall, his hand cupping his face as blood ran freely, pooling on the floor. At his feet was Niall’s bag.

Niall stepped towards the goon, eliciting a whimper and Niall just scowled in pity. He supposed these two meat heads didn’t really have any choice but to serve the Clifford’s. They were most likely minor vassals of the powerful family. Niall scooped up his bag and slung it on his shoulder, not a wasted movement and started walking off, leaving the noble whimpering on the floor, a goon unconscious and another groaning while holding a broken and crushed nose.

With not even a look over his shoulder, Niall just chuckled to himself rather grimly and walked away to his future.