Lumiea

Year -20 (L.D.)

Aeryn's childhood home had smelled of dirt and earthy crops. And her school grounds of wild flowers. Today at Iyla the wind whipped up the jarring smell of tangy blood mingling with that of fried foods.

It was her first Competition Day, but she'd heard from others who had lived here longer than her that it was essentially the best holiday of the year. It took so much rigorous training to arrive at Iyla that she'd never had time for fun or friends. Now that she'd been truly accepted here, that had dramatically changed. Commander Vehru and the instructors had altered the rules she lived by. No longer was it leave all those you love behind and have no ties. Aeryn's comrades were to be her family and Iyla her world. She had arrived.

A full-throated roar bursting with agony and stubborn fury erupted from the closest pit. Aeryn glanced over to see two women, slick with sweat, lunging for one another. The one who had been screaming hadn't stopped. Her dislocated arm waved uselessly at her side as she thrust forward with the small boom of force exerted from her palm mod. The two clashed with their fists striking faster than seemed possible. A mist of blood caught the breeze.

"Nice." Nikka grinned beside her, eyeing the same sparring match. "I can't wait for my day."

The fellow first year private had become one of her only friends. While Aeryn studied the sciences and only engaged in basic training, Nikka excelled as a combat soldier with a focus on cybernetic processing enhancements. It made them a nice pair, that while many soldiers wanted the latest weapon upgrades and mod packs, Nikka trained her mind, edging out many competitors with instinct honed by a brain that could run like a computer in battle. The science behind it was far more intriguing than boot thrusters or energized palm implants. And that intrigued Aeryn.

This Competition Day intrigued her as well. The training fields had been transformed. Simple pits roped off with a short fence littered the field, while larger stages for the more advanced soldiers were concentrated at the center of the festival. Food vendors from all over the nearby city flocked in to sell to the soldiers-in-training, the instructors, and their families. Although the purpose of Competition Day was to provide intense training and to test the freshly recruited soldiers, it had grown into an enormous festival at some point. But it was also their final task to accomplish before actually entering the field. Part of the training here at Iyla required two-week tours in active war zones to help keep the insurrectionists at bay. These competitions prepared them for the real battles they would face at the end of the month.

The conflicting smell of blood and food filled her mind again.

"I wonder how the matches on the stage are." Aeryn peered far across the field, trying to catch a glimpse. They would have to make their way over there soon.

It still felt too early for her and Nikka to compete. But all soldiers took part in Competition Day, no matter how fresh they were. And it always started with the fighters. To get into the good matches that actually drew real crowds, combat soldiers had to earn their spot. That usually meant several years at Iyla. Her friend Nikka would duel in cheap pits on the outskirts of the field where dozens of other boots had already trampled the grass to mud.

While all types of soldiers were necessary for their mission, the majority of soldiers were either combat soldiers, drone technicians, or pilots. They needed specialists like Aeryn as much as the others, but the bulk of their troops would engage in active warfare, so more attention always ended up being paid to such endeavors. Plus it was far more entertaining to watch a couple of privates knock each other's teeth out than it was to–say–check out Aeryn competing with another bioengineer to see who could create the best calibrated robotic eye. At least, most people found one more enthralling than the other.

So though Competition Day actually took place over two weeks and the specialists would have their turn toward the end, the fanfare would have completely died down by the time Aeryn had a turn. The festival did not wait on engineers. And that was fine by her. Her kind didn't tend to crave the fame and attention that many of the athletes and fighters did.

A shriek drew Aeryn's attention for a moment. A knife had embedded deep in the rib cage of a private her age. She winced and naturally calculated exactly how much paste she'd need to close that wound up until the man made it for a proper treatment. Their field medicine and repair could save most lives, but the expensive machines that couldn't be easily transported could completely heal the most serious injuries in just days. Once Aeryn had broken her arm in two places during training, badly enough for the bone to pierce her skin, and she didn't even have a scar now. No matter how significant the injuries inflicted today, there was very little risk of long-term damage. But even knowing that, Aeryn's skin ached at the thought of so many people feeling so much pain.

"The professor was right." Nikka settled her elbow against Aeryn's shoulder. "You do have a painful threshold for empathy."

Unfortunately they'd had to endure discussing their psychological profiles in a class last week. It was no surprise that Aeryn had scored so much higher on empathy considering that one reason she hadn't wanted to pursue combat was that she hated the thought of spending her life hurting people, when bioengineering allowed her to help heal instead. But she also scored well with compartmentalization. As much as Aeryn felt other's pain, she could control herself, and not let her emotions alone guide her.

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The professor had opinions on how that affected the trajectory of Aeryn's military career and what work she'd be suited for. Even though the woman was probably right, Aeryn didn't like being told what she was good at. She wanted to discover it for herself.

"Don't feel bad for the people I maul tomorrow." Nikka looked more alive than Aeryn had seen her surrounded by all the fighting. "And don't you dare feel bad for me."

"I promise to never pity you." Aeryn paused at a stand selling sweets. "I might need that."

"How can you think about food when there's so much to watch?"

"I've never been to a festival. It's all new."

Nikka's brows twisted. "How's that possible?"

"We didn't all grow in giant cities. I told you I lived in the middle of nowhere."

"You poor thing. Go to every food stand. Now. Hurry." Her friend shoved her toward the sweets.

Aeryn chuckled and pushed against her friend. But as she was turning back toward her, something caught her eye from several pits over. It took her a second glance to be sure of what she saw and still she couldn't register the sight. Brown and golden strands twined the collarbone of a man, meeting in the crest of her village right below his throat. It was the same exact tattoo Aeryn bore.

Impossible.

Her mouth fell open as she stared at the crest and then looked up to see the man's face. Aeryn hardly recognized him. If not for the markings, she likely wouldn't have noticed the familiarity of the reddish brown eyes that belonged to the boy she had once known. When they were kids and running through the streets of their small town, he'd been all legs–long, lanky, wild legs that never stopped running. Now he wore the training clothes of a combat soldier, and he looked the part. His thick arms were defined with muscle and the thin silver veins of a powerful mod that covered his fingers, ran up to his shoulders, and would have attached directly to his nerves there. It was a painful but effective mod, one that would have hurt each time he had to put it on or take it off.

Jace. How was it possible that he'd made it here too?

"What?" Nikka snapped her fingers at Aeryn.

"I…" Aeryn blinked and checked the community crest on his collarbone one more time. "I know him. He's from my town."

"No way. You should say hi."

"No. You don't get it. The odds of two people of a remotely similar age from a village of my size getting accepted and making it this far–"

"Wild, I understand." Nikka gasped and stepped closer. "Look at the back of his neck. He's got a nice piece there. They don't give those to anyone. He must have worked his ass off for it. That'll increase your response-time five fold. Fuck me. I want that." Nikka shoved Aeryn hard toward him. "Now you really have to say hello. I want to know whose ass he kicked to convince someone to let him have that."

"I'm not saying anything." She backed away. "That's crazy. You know hard it is to leave home. There's too much history there. It'll make me miss my family. He's a distraction."

Nikka looked at him again as if considering. "He does look awfully distracting."

Aeryn rolled her eyes, not sure if her friend meant because of the impressive hardware he wore or because he'd always been a bit of a charmer. Another reason she didn't want to talk to him. Back home when they were little, she'd been shy, and he'd been anything but. They'd been good friends until they started to get just old enough for him to tease her. And she hated feeling outmatched.

"Let's watch the match," Nikka said. "Looks like a good one."

"You don't even like that style of body mod."

"Who doesn't like that style? There's a reason people don't want to wear that intense of equipment. It's hard to handle. You have to be an arrogant son of a bitch to come out here with it as a first year. Either he's going to kill this other kid, or he's going to blow himself up. And I'm there for either one."

"We can watch from back here."

Nikka rolled her eyes. "You're ridiculous. Fine." The other woman ventured away to grab a snack and shoved it into Aeryn's hand. "Eat this and chill."

Aeryn glared at her but didn't hesitate before taking a bite. "Woah." The match started and the two men rushed forward, but she looked down at the cup filled with gooey, fried bits of heaven. "This is amazing."

"Right?" But Nikka was watching the match.

Aeryn held her breath in anticipation now that she turned her attention back to her childhood friend, tempted to avoid him further by finding a drink to go with her food. This was the only piece of home she'd seen in years, here in the form of a boy she'd once known. Her heart suddenly ached for all she'd left behind there, and worry she had no business feeling struck. What if he failed? He bore the same crest as her. She wanted him to win.

One thing was apparent only moments into the match, though. Jace would not be blowing himself up with mods he couldn't handle. While the other man launched into a flurry of powerful kicks and punches, Jace deftly evaded each as if it took no effort at all. His mods propelled him into the air, somewhere between floating and flying, like a paper airplane. Spurts of energy from his palms and boots bloomed deep blue, leaving a trail like smoke, as he quickly thrust himself away from hits, or carried himself into the air, hovering briefly. It looked like a dance.

Red glowed over his palms and slowly spread up the veins of the mod like rushing blood. The haze around his hands grew and sparked. Aeryn watched the next part like it was in slow motion. Jace's opponent must have seen it too but couldn't avoid it. After sliding back to avoid a strike, Jace slammed his palm into the sternum of the other student.

The red haze of energy popped.

The other student slammed into the fence, bounced against the ground, and skidded to a stop in a plume of dirt. Onlookers had been forced to jump out of the way to avoid being knocked over.

Jace lowered to the ground with careful precision. He didn't smile or look pleased with himself, but instead reached around to his neck to detach the mod implanted into his skin. Aeryn held her breath, knowing removing it would feel like slicing open the back of his neck. Only he didn't react apart from the slightest tightening of his jaw.

His opponent was out cold. The match was over in record time. There had never been any cause for Aeryn to worry.

"Introduce me, now," Nikka demanded.