《Short Stories from Solaris》


 Story 0: Solaris Historical Primer

    Solaris


    2142


    Humanity¡¯s journey from 2050 to present has been wrought with celebrated accomplishments, disastrous arrogance, and a great deal of both fortune and misfortune. In 2050 humans celebrated a great many milestones of their progress from recent decades; cloning, genetic manipulation, life prolonging technologies, actual artificial intelligence, the Lunar colony, and that year, faster-than-light communication and the first large colony launch toward the stars. At this point, extraordinary humans (who sometimes called themselves ¡°superheroes¡± and ¡°supervillains¡±) existed but were fairly low-powered by modern standards and were extremely rare. It was an era of celebration for all mankind¡­ at least, for those who could afford it.


    The elites of the time hoarded the vast majority of the world¡¯s wealth while more than ten billion others suffered in a near slave-like existence - whether they were conscious of it or not was a different matter entirely.


    Still, this was the year where hope was rising. Then the First Rebirth happened; defining the next fifty years. Humans began changing rapidly. Whether it was evolution, government experiments, or alien influence is a matter of great debate to this day. Prior to 2050 there were perhaps 100 Homo Superius, as they would come to be classified, known to the world with about 1,000 in existence who may not have even known themselves. By 2055 there were more than 10,000 known. It was within these days when chaos seemed all but inevitable.


    Significantly more than half of all Homo Superius began seizing power and control where they could. From petty criminals to individuals seizing small nations. Many of them were doing so with misguided ideas of freeing the world or humanity as a whole. And most of whom, both good and bad, were far more feared than revered.


    In 2057, amidst the turmoil, humans had First Contact with the Bor¡¯rel, an alien species not unlike a large, floating jellyfish. The reaction of the planet was one of wonderment - they arrived with little pomp or circumstance and no hostility. Their technology seemed incredibly odd and mismatched, or alien, even compared to themselves - but no one questioned it in the mainstream. The first obvious issue was communication.


    A woman from China, Lum Meifang, travelled to the nearest arrival site, not far from Zhangjia Mountain. She was more an empath than a telepath truly, but was able to communicate with them and became Earth¡¯s first ambassador to an alien species.


    The following year, after months of peaceful interaction with the Bor¡¯rel, three more alien species made themselves known - the Golle, Hee''himix, and the Chu-le. The last of which to make contact, the Chu-le, a shapeshifting alien species, had apparently been on Earth for some time - but no one truly knows how long or why.


    By 2061 there were more than 500,000 Homo Superius. A man known only as the Broker, or Power Broker, took control of the Lunar colony - imbuing all those present in the colony with various powers. For reasons unknown at the time, his ability to imbue powers did not work on just anyone however.


    The world was full of strife, wars, and conquest on every continent. After his coming forward so forcefully, the elites clamored for favor with the Broker. In his fortress, Lunaris, they flocked to pay exorbitant fees for his gifts, even those already counting themselves among the Homo Superius - further solidifying his seat of power.


    In 2065, there were more than 50,000,000 Superius. It became known that in addition to Homo Sapiens and Superius, another subspecies of humans existed - this knowledge brought forth by the Golle. They became known as Homo Praeter who numbered approximately one billion already; marked by a different set of genetic characteristics and capable of near Superius like ¡°superhuman¡± feats and abilities, though no extraordinary ¡°powers¡±. These individuals were notably unable to become Homo Superius. The era of Homo Sapiens was nearing its end.


    2069 marked both the beginning and the end of the Great Conflict, or World War III. As the world¡¯s shortest and bloodiest world war, more than three billion died and the Alliance of Humans was founded at the behest of a growing number of non-human advisors and the majority of humans.


    By 2070 there were approximately one billion Superius, four billion Praeter, two billion Sapiens, and the world¡¯s first Homo Evolutis. The Evolutis was brought about by extreme genetic manipulation and marked the pinnacle of what any Homo Sapien could artificially become. Within one year, there were less than a billion Sapiens and about as many Evolutis given the reasonable cost and fairly simple nature of the procedure, as well as an individual who chose to remain anonymous and became known as the Giver, founder of the Evolutis Foundation, for his extremely generous nature.


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    Within the decade following 2070 Dawn¡¯s Horizon, a massive space station, was built. It served as the first Sol space hub, manufacturing massive ships for the Alliance of Humans and Gaian Defense Force. By the end of the 2070¡¯s there were some thirty alien species known to mankind.


    At the end of 2083 the First Human Civil War began, which lasted four years and cost billions of human lives. The largest casualties were those of the faction¡¯s enormous A.I. armies; with more than twenty billion destroyed. In this time, magic came into focus - ushered forth by the Minan to humanity. A very small fraction of humans were able to grasp some of its concepts and utilize this power; while not lacking a mystical or supernatural nature, it was essentially hyper advanced technology. The first faction of its users formed and were known as the Promethean Protectorate and consisted of less than a thousand members.


    At the end of the war Dawn¡¯s Horizon was commissioned by a private party to build a massive colony ship, which it completed by the mid 2090¡¯s. At its completion it was revealed that an Artificial Intelligence entity, then known as Alpha-01, had commissioned the ship and led a mass exodus of sentient machines of all forms from Earth. They left rapidly,with no fuss or fanfare, and with no announced destination.


    The beginning of the 22nd century marked the contact of Targhir, then the terraforming of multiple planets and moons within the solar system, paid for by various factions. The population of earth was nearing nine billion humans and one billion aliens.


    Alpha-01 announced they had taken a number of moons around Jupiter, namely the four largest - Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa. They rapidly colonized, began mining, and built their own space station and capital, Eniac,l which also orbited Jupiter. It was discovered that a sub-faction of AI had been exiled and had taken Alpha-01¡¯s original ship to Mercury.


    Venus was terraformed for the Promethean Protectorate and various smaller mystic societies, organizations, and factions. Pluto was terraformed, and four new planets of similar size and orbit were formed, primarily for the Unity of Solaris and Solaran Defense, (formerly the Gaian Defense Force) to serve as joint outposts for the system. It was on Pluto where the Embassy of Sol was built, marking all five planets as ¡°neutral territory¡± which became known as the Shields of Solaris.


    The Second Human Civil War began in 2103, marking the near extinction of Homo Sapiens. These humans still existed, but shortly after birth generally became Evolutis. The first shots were fired by a militant faction of Praeters upon an Evolutis Foundation building. The situation devolved rapidly into all-out-war with many Praeters and a previously unknown faction of Sapiens, the Purus, against the Superius and reluctant Evolutis. Many individual factions fled from all signs of conflict, but the majority of humanity were actively engaged in the conflict.


    This war may have eventually wiped out humanity if it weren¡¯t for the very urgent warning of the Rauvu, the Galactic Embassy, all hostilities on Earth ceased shortly after the Lollak arrived and assaulted the planet in 2104. That civil war ended only after four billion human deaths; more than half of all Superius perished and nearly all Sapiens were slaughtered. The enigmatic Purus returned to their refuges underground, in mountains, and in underwater ocean colonies.


    After two years the Lollak called off their assault and retreated to the vast expanse of space after a successful Solaran defense with the aid of other alien allies and unity of most humans. The recently discovered and greatly diminished Sapien enclave, the Purus, were banished. They eventually claimed Mars after spending years aboard ships awaiting their new colony¡¯s construction, sans terraforming. Earth properly became known as Solara, and humans of all human subspecies as Solarans. This period, generally from 2100 to present day, became known as the Second Rebirth or Solaran Rebirth.


    The time of the Second Solaran War, or Second Human Civil War, to the present day have gone by in relative peace with little strife. Four subspecies of human Solarans exist in 2142, each thriving in their own way. The Broker, having stayed out of all wars, with the single exception of the Lollak invasion, still controls the moon orbiting Solara. The Giver is still trying to unite and aid all Solarans. Many aliens co-exist around Sol, and Solarans are beginning to reach beyond their own system toward other distant stars. Magic or hyper-tech, interdimensional travel, immortality and other Superius abilities, and so many other wonders exist. But poverty, crime, and conflict are not gone¡­ Solarans are far from perfect.


    It seems like far too long since something has gone terribly wrong. It feels as if something is brewing beneath the surface. Most can sense it, an almost palpable anticipatory tension throughout the system. No one knows what comes next, but things are being planned by any number of unknown entities, each ready to be the next catalysts in this little region of space you call home, Solaris.

 Story I: The Purus Soldier

    Blood sprayed across my helmet¡¯s visor as I coughed. Before that the alien sky had been beautiful as I stared above, laying on my back. Alarms blared, distant and muffled in my already ringing ears. Warnings flashed across the heads up display. Though I didn¡¯t have the presence of mind to focus on those details, I knew well enough that my armor¡¯s life support systems were failing rapidly. That made sense. It was just about the only thing that did.


    We were brought here to fight for our freedom and I was going to die without having fired a single round. Confused and disgraced - those emotions filled the eternity I suffered between trying heartbeats. There would be no glory or honor for me tomorrow. No victory or celebration for me back home afterward, worlds away from where I lay now.


    The muted din of battle grew louder as disorientation subsided. Explosions tore into my periphery and shook the ground. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if they were ours or theirs. It was hard to hate them from this position as I had aboard our drop ship. Had that been seconds or minutes ago? Anger and malice bled away from me like a memory that just wouldn¡¯t solidify.


    Mother Steph¡¯s face came to mind again. Her gentle radiance and ever present smile warmed me inside, numbing the pain that threatened to crash over me in a tidal wave. Brilliant chestnut eyes and auburn hair cascaded down her face and over her shoulders. Perhaps it was not so strange to think of her right now as the world began growing dark.


    Her kind, caring face was present in my earliest memory and many of those which I clung to with fondness. Mother Steph¡­ what would she think of me now? Would she ever hear of my failure? Would she be informed of my death? Would she grieve for me?


    The first time I can accurately recall anything at all was early in my developmental cycle. I was four years old and needed to see medical after my brow was split open on a slide. Some other child pushed me down head first. I remember nothing of him except that single act of cruelty. Maybe we had been friends, but I thought not.


    I stood up as blood trickled down my brow and into my eye. Mother Steph rushed over and took my hand. She may have scolded the other boy, not that it mattered. He was from another pod, had a different mother, and she would likely punish him. At least he hadn¡¯t pushed a girl. Medical patched me up quick enough. It was the look of concern and care that stuck with me though.


    I wanted her to take me to see medical - her warm, tender hand holding mine.


    In one of the birthing facilities I was born of a woman whom I would never know, like every other Purus. All my brothers and sisters were assigned to Mother Steph¡¯s pod. She had likely birthed others before that, and nearly another dozen while she raised us. None of them would be among our brothers and sisters though.


    Our pod, the term for both a Mother¡¯s group of children and for our home, is located just outside the capital district, Aries. The forty of us in CA-3824 follow her around like ducklings every day between classes, meals, and play. Ours is a happy life. We will never starve as children did every day on Earth.


    My first class of the day is science and I couldn¡¯t be more excited. Yesterday Aunt Moria told us a little about the experiments we would be performing. They all sounded wonderful! It was also one of two times I would see Ifunaya DZ-7891 today. Naya was my beautiful girl. We even kissed once in the park by the big tree.


    Naya is the most prettiest girl on Mars. Probably in all of Solaris because Earth girls aren¡¯t Pure. Her eyes are just like Mother Steph¡¯s; soft, brown, and always happy. Curly black ringlets of hair made a fluffy ball on and around her head. My pod didn¡¯t have anyone as dark skinned as her though. It was like sweet chocolate, same as a couple of her sisters - but they were all mean to me because I am a boy. They teased us for playing together. No way we could tell them we kissed.


    Not every pod celebrated birthdays, but ours did. Mother Steph would cancel all of our classes for the day and we would go explore another district. Our seventh birthday is tomorrow and she will let us bring a friend from another pod. I approached her nervously, ¡°Can Naya come to see Shennong with us Mother Steph?¡±


    Mother Steph¡¯s smile grew, ¡°Of course Remmy! I¡¯ll ask her mother after lunch.¡±


    The rest of the day couldn¡¯t fly by fast enough for me. Naya would be waiting in the park where we could play until dusk.


    Naya half danced and half ran as soon as she saw me, ¡°She said yes Remmy!¡± Her hands reached for mine, ¡°I can come to the agri district with your pod tomorrow.¡± We spun in a circle and jumped around, laughing as only children seem to.


    We played holo games, climbed the big tree, and played tag with the other kids. She kept teasing me about a surprise for my birthday tomorrow. We had fun.


    Right after our morning meal we met up with all the children from other pods that were accompanying us on our adventure. It was nearly an hour by train, but even that was fun. We zipped through a vacuum tunnel that connected each district, enclosed from the world outside. Unlike other places we refused the filthy alien technology that created whole worlds with oceans and skies from lifeless rocks in space.


    ¡°Pure children, take my hand,¡± Mother Steph sang, ¡°to guide you from corruption. Into the light of lands above...¡± The childrens¡¯ song, and others like it, were from the time before our people were forced to flee Earth by the unclean.


    We each held hands with a friend, Naya¡¯s fingers folded into mine, and followed Mother Steph - skipping and playing all the while. Buildings reached to the top of the dome all around us, like in most districts, but most here were made of glass¡­ not ¡°green¡± glass either. Their names made no sense to me.


    Our day was spent learning about plants, gardening, and how food was made. We even saw huge beasts in an area she told us was a ¡®bovine¡¯ ranch. They were called cows and they stink. One of our brothers, Geoffery, held his nose and laughed, ¡°I¡¯m glad they aren¡¯t in our district!¡± We all giggled at that. He was the funny one in our pod.


    Ashanti, one of Naya¡¯s sisters petted one of the big animals. ¡°Smells no worse than you Geo, and they¡¯re cuter too!¡±


    ¡°At least I know to go in the bathroom,¡± Geo fanned his face while still plugging his nose. ¡°There¡¯s tainted soil everywhere!¡±


    ¡°Mother Steph said it¡¯s fertilizer, dust-for-brains.¡± As if to prove her statement, Ashanti bent down and scooped some in her hands.


    I looked around and saw Mother Steph far away with the largest part of our group.


    ¡°That¡¯s gross Ashanti, just¡­ like¡­ you¡­¡±


    Rage flared in her eyes the second before she launched the soil at Geo, hitting him dead on in the face. Others started laughing. Then Geo launched himself at her. All humor died in that instant. We all stood there, stunned for a few seconds that stretched on.


    Someone began screaming, ¡°Noooo!¡±


    Ashanti fell straight back, into the animal waste. The rest of us stood frozen as they rolled back and forth on the ground, spooking the animal.


    Naya squeezed my hand hard as my heart thrummed heavily in my chest. I slowly backed away in terror, ¡°Mother, forgive him,¡± I silently pleaded.


    Both Ashanti and Geo were covered in mud, tainted soil, and each others¡¯ blood. It took Mother too long to get there¡­ He was on top now, savagely hitting her again and again.


    Mother Steph¡¯s voice cut through the air like a whip, ¡°WHAT are you doing Geo?!¡±


    Geo froze, closed hand raised above. Slowly the color drained from his caked face, suspended in that pose. The brat of a girl -words I would not utter aloud- tossed him off of her. He landed in a heap, not even bothering to catch himself.


    Ashanti stood over Geo, looking down with a sneer that looked too much like cruel pride. Then she kicked him in the chest. Again. Finally her boot met his face.


    ¡°Ashanti,¡± Mother Steph calmly scolded, ¡°stop.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re dead now, boy,¡± she spat.


    Our entire pod and our birthday guests all stood silently in a large ring around them for a few minutes. Security men arrived as Geo continued to softly sob into the ground. The two of them picked him up and led him out of the field.


    That ended our birthday adventure. We wordlessly followed Mother Steph and the hard men carrying Geo. The ride back was not fun. There were no songs. No one laughed or played. Geo was curled up in a ball on the ground at the mens¡¯ feet crying for the entire hour.


    I never saw Geo again after we got off the train. His room was cleaned out, his drawings were pulled down from common areas, and just like that¡­ it was as if he had never been there at all.


    It was the most serious of crimes to hit a female. Some said that boys were spaced, vaporized, or re-educated. Others claimed they were sent to Earth. Whatever happened to them, they were never seen again.


    Almost a year after Geo left, my memories of him began to fade away. The year after that I hardly thought about him and couldn¡¯t remember his face. Ashanti bullied two other boys from her own pod into hitting her during that time. I cried myself to sleep each of those nights when I heard about it, thinking of Geo.


    Our tenth birthday was this year. That meant the Assignment was coming up. It was probably the most important test we would ever take. Even girls took a test, but theirs was different. We didn¡¯t study or prepare for the test any more than normal, it just loomed over us until testing week came.


    We were always told that everything we did was kept in our record to be reviewed with our test results. Most children tried to focus on what they thought they wanted to be or what they would do when they would grow up. I could never decide, so I just tried to do my best at everything. My best was never really good enough. I was not the worst at anything, but I was also never the top of any of our classes.


    Boys and girls were separated for the whole week. Each day we had test after test. At the beginning they were standard, covering what we have learned. Most were weird after the first day - not testing our knowledge, but how well we could adapt to or understand things. I¡¯m pretty sure I sucked space at all of them. I did alright with swimming, running, and stuff like that though! Not as good as Riff or Brent, but better than I thought I would. I puked after one of the runs, but I don¡¯t think any points are taken off for that.


    At the end of the week we each individually spoke to a Counselor. Mine was Aunt Beat; short for Beatrice. We talked for hours. She asked questions and I answered - always honestly. I couldn¡¯t lie, especially to a female... it was against the law.


    ¡°What would you like to do when you grow up?¡±


    I stared blankly at Aunt Beat while I thought about it, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯d like to see what else is out there, maybe.¡±


    ¡°You mean, off Mars?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I guess so.¡± We learned of the various alien races that now spread like a virus in our solar system, but I was still curious.


    ¡°Do you want to leave the Purus?¡±


    ¡°Mothers, no!¡±


    Her fingers tapped away as she took notes. ¡°Alright. What do you think about the rest of the human races?¡±


    ¡°I know there are the Praeter, Evolutis, and Superius.¡±


    ¡°Yes, we all know what they are Remmy. What do you think about them? How do they make you feel?¡±


    I had never met one before, but the idea of coming face to face with a tainted human made me uneasy, nervous. ¡°We are just Saps to them,¡± I said whispering the cursed word, ¡°and I don¡¯t like that. I guess they scare me.¡±


    She nodded, ¡°As well they should young man. And don¡¯t say that word again. Sapiens or Purus. Understand?¡± More tapping and more notes.


    ¡°Yes Auntie. I am glad to have been born Pure, Aunt Beat.¡±


    ¡°Are you happy?¡±


    Again I thought for a moment before answering, ¡°Yes. We are lucky here on Mars. We don¡¯t have wars or suffering.¡± There was no lie or hesitation, it was true. I am happy with my life. The stories of children living underground on Earth like we used to scared me. Even if some of them were Pure of blood, their minds were filled with lies about the others. ¡°I don¡¯t want to go to Earth.¡±


    I wanted to visit the Assembly of Machine Intelligence homeworld one day. The AMI were made by mankind and were our only real connection offworld. Even though they worked with others, they were not to be hated. Mother Steph once posed the question, ¡°Why would anyone hate a train or a ship?¡±


    I have seen some of them when they come to bring supplies or take off with our armies. They were all so interesting and diverse. Clean, like us. They couldn¡¯t be ruined by the others - Mother Steph said so herself.


    ¡°Good. Good boy Remmy.¡± Aunt Beat was quiet for a bit as she typed some lengthy statement. ¡°And what do you think of the Purus Military young man?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± My first thought was of the Purus Home Defense forces, security on Mars itself who keep the peace and enforce our laws. ¡°They are strong and powerful and good. Those who have to leave Mars to defend us are more brave though, I think.¡±


    She nodded, ¡°That¡¯s good. It is too early to tell, but you may just get what you¡¯re looking for with them. You may go back to your pod now young man.¡±


    As soon as she excused me, I stood and bowed before turning to leave. The instant her office door closed behind me I let out a huge sigh of relief then jogged back to CA-3824. Worried thoughts tried to invade as I made my way, so I began running. Faster and faster, trying to outrun my worries.


    In record time, for me anyway, I made it back. The pod door slid open before me and I ran to take a shower. I felt unclean somehow¡­ not unclean, unclean¡­ just dirty.


    Everyone was tense during the wait afterward. Each and every day we awoke hoping to hear where we were going to be assigned. With few exceptions -those who truly excelled or failed- we would be on the same path our whole lives after we received our assignments.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Our results came in after a whole agonizing month of waiting. The girls would all be given birthing schedules. Some were allotted future pods while others were given some administrative role or another, or so we would assume. To me women, and everything about them, was mysterious and confusing. All boys probably felt that way, but most wouldn¡¯t discuss it even in whispers.


    One by one Mother Steph called us into her office. Most of us had never actually been in there before. Brent came out with a wide grin on his face and announced his assignment to everyone, ¡°I am being assigned to Purus Naval Command!¡± Brothers and sisters cheered for Brent and clapped, though we did that for everyone. ¡°You¡¯re up next Remmy.¡±


    I ran to Mother Steph¡¯s office and pressed my palm to the pad to let her know I was there. Her door opened with a mechanical hiss, ¡°Please, come in and take a seat Remmy.¡±


    She scanned the information on her desk¡¯s holo-display that was blurred from my perspective. ¡°We spoke numerous times about what you wanted to be assigned to Remmy¡­ not that you ever gave a definitive answer, but this doesn¡¯t seem like what we have discussed.¡±


    ¡°Sorry Mother Steph.¡±


    ¡°Nothing to apologize for, I¡¯m just surprised is all. I thought you wanted to be Home Defense or something in the Martian functionary capacities.¡± She was referring to assignments which stayed on Mars; Security or perhaps something janitorial.


    Not knowing my assignment yet, all I could do was nod.


    If her words hadn¡¯t made it clear, her sigh definitely stated my assignment was not one of those¡­ or anything here on Mars.


    ¡°Remmy, you¡¯re being assigned to the Purus Navy. It appears that you have an aptitude for a martial assignment, which I should have guessed I suppose. None of the predator instinct that they normally look for though. Maybe they can train you for that sort of thing.¡± Shaking her head, she continued, ¡°But what I couldn¡¯t have guessed at is your wanderlust.¡±


    ¡°Wander-what?¡±


    ¡°Testing showed that you want to explore; to be among the stars Remmy.¡± Her concerned, motherly eyes gazed deep into my own. ¡°You have never expressed such an inclination, a desire, for exploration to me. Indeed, looking back, I can see that you¡¯ve always been one of my most curious children.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ the Navy, Mother?¡±


    ¡°Purus Navy - a proud force to be assigned to. Most of your brothers will be training with you actually, at least for the next six years or so.¡±


    ¡°Like Brent?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly. He will be training with you on and off, but he is going to be trained specifically for a command role. You were assigned to the Purus Navy, ground division,¡± she said that last part with only the slightest frown.


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk more about this later. Please send in Euri next.¡±


    I stood, bowed, and began to leave the office.


    Before the door closed, Mother Steph called out, ¡°I am proud of you Remmy!¡±


    After announcing my assignment and telling Euri he was up next I sat on my bed thinking about all the different duties that there were in the ground division. I knew now where I¡¯d be going when I turned sixteen, but not exactly what I¡¯d be doing. That would be decided in the next few years probably. Had everyone else cheered for me too? I couldn¡¯t remember.


    The whole Purus Occupation Assignment System wasn¡¯t shrouded in some grand secret, but as children there wasn¡¯t much reason for us to fully understand the thousands of different positions individually. We needed to know enough to have a general idea, I guess.


    ¡°Out among the stars then.¡±


    For the next three years classes progressed mostly as they had our whole lives, only adding in a few new ones now and then. They were increasingly more challenging though. Fewer brothers and sisters shared the same classes as each began specializing. I began rigorous physical training with brothers and those from other pods that pushed us to our limits, then beyond. Weapon systems, small arms, power armor, and even some atmospheric and zero-g piloting.


    The war games were the most exciting thing for us. Strategic and tactical. Simulations and practice-fire matches. It was amazing. Unlike any other classes we had. And sports! Growing up we saw others playing real sports in fields, but never got to play anything organized ourselves. Sports were great fun.


    Naya and I still saw one another a few times each week. I asked her about her assignment once but she scolded me, ¡°No! ¡­ Sweet Remmy, you can never ask about that again. Alright?¡± I never brought it up again.


    She did tell me about her birthing schedule though. Her first rotation was to begin right after I joined the fleet. We didn¡¯t talk about that much either.


    I began to outgrow most of my brothers. So much so that I was called in to medical one day. They drew blood and tested it, only telling me afterward why. The tests were to ensure that I was actually Purus! Apparently even here on Purus impure blood can be found and there were worries, because of my incredible growth spurt that I had become a tainted, Earth-loving Praeter¡­ or worse, Superius. Perhaps they attempted to infiltrate us even here on Mars from time to time. False alarm. I was just getting taller.


    I saw Naya less and less, sometimes only once a week. She said it was because of her classes. ¡°I have a lot of intense studies Remmy¡­ and we can¡¯t maintain this childish fantasy of ours forever.¡±


    ¡°Fantasy? But I¡­¡±


    She cut me off with a raise of her hand, shaking her head. ¡°There are a lot of things that will be changing Remmy, for both of us. You had to know that this, us, wouldn¡¯t last forever.¡±


    ¡°I suppose I did, but I thought we had until I joined the fleet Naya,¡± I said. Tears threatened just beneath the surface and I could feel a massive lump growing in my throat.


    ¡°We¡¯re studying advanced anatomy and physiology right now. There are so many things we¡¯re learning each day that I am struggling to keep up Remmy.¡±


    I don¡¯t think she realized it, but she let it slip that she was in the medical field. ¡°You have always been both smart and beautiful.¡± She wouldn¡¯t be a nurse, or birthing nurse either most likely, but something specialized.


    ¡°I have to get back to my pod to study for my classes tomorrow.¡± She stood, ¡°Be well Remmy.¡± A soft peck on the cheek, then she was walking away.


    Mother Steph sent a brother to fetch me just after curfew that night. She waited for me outside our pod, and probably seeing my red eyes she just hugged me.


    The next day she called me into her office for the second time in my life. ¡°Remmy, please sit.¡±


    It had to be about Naya, I thought. Her mother spoke to Mother Steph or something.


    I thought wrong.


    ¡°Heavy Infantry division Remmy! They even said that you are to begin squad leader training immediately.¡± She walked around her desk and sat in the chair beside me.


    I sat in stunned silence. ¡°Squad leader?!¡±


    ¡°The orders stated that you have been doing great in tactical and power armor training. Trust me when I tell you that this is better than I could have hoped.¡±


    That felt like a reassuring insult, but I just couldn¡¯t grab hold of it to figure it out.


    She pulled me into an embrace again. Of the thousands of times in my life, this one stood out. I would never let go first and her arms stayed wrapped around me for a long while. It was a comforting, loving embrace. Mother Steph smelled like flowers today. I don¡¯t know how much time passed as she held me, but it wasn¡¯t long enough.


    ¡°Squad leader?¡±


    ¡°Among the top leadership and tactical scores in our pod. I am so happy for you, and oh so proud of you Remmy!¡± That was our thirteenth birthday. There was no celebration.


    If I ever thought training had been grueling up to that day, I was so wildly off and just hadn¡¯t realized it yet. That was the best-worst¡­ worst-best¡­ most impactful day of my life. An entire new series of classes were added to my already busy schedule. I was only ever left with one hour after curfew for personal time from that day onward.


    Brent, a couple other brothers, and myself all had tactical leadership training with boys from other pods. He and I became best friends during that year, helping to fill the void that had been left by Naya. Not in the same way of course, but it was good to be close to someone.


    Mother Steph had been right about training us to be predators. Our classes became more competitive. We would be assigned a squad and pitted against one another in mock skirmishes. Of all our training, those became the most important.


    I hadn¡¯t realized that our fourteenth birthday had come and gone until weeks afterward. The same thing happened for our fifteenth birthday. I only realized that one passed by when Brent was talking about shipping out to command training in less than a year. Though he would outrank me next year, he still had to look up when he spoke to me as I was nearing two meters tall.


    Life was simple. Incredibly busy and exhausting, but simple. Until our curfew was lifted and people began pair-bonding anyway. A young woman would approach a young man and they would begin a courtship, or would just be together for a night if she so chose. I saw Naya with someone from another pod once¡­


    Yasi DZ-7891, one of Naya¡¯s sisters, had chosen me. She was not as smart or beautiful as Naya, but she was kind. Apparently she had always been jealous of Naya. None of that mattered, I was content for now.


    Most of our brothers had been chosen and most of our sisters had chosen someone. Never in the same pod of course. Riff was the only one who had not been paired off yet. Not even once. He was nearly as big as me and another squad leader.


    The big tree was one place I avoided being with Yasi. That entire courtyard really. Naya still brought others there to spend time with them. It was for that reason that we spent a great deal of time just walking around the district, though I would never tell her that.


    During one of those walks we heard screams echoing through the halls. I took off at a run; it was a woman screaming. Two turns and two corridors later, I came upon the most horrific sight I have ever seen up to that point in my life.


    Riff was mounted atop a woman, half naked and covered in blood. She was still screaming. He had ferociously beaten and raped her. Was still raping her. Yasi caught up to me and started screaming as well, then pulled out her communicator.


    With only the briefest pause I launched myself at him. He threw me off him in the direction I had already been moving. Riff stood up and put on his trousers, glaring at me with Yasi to his back.


    ¡°What have you done?¡± I demanded.


    There was no remorse in his eyes. The cold, callous sneer on his face showed that he would never regret this either. I hesitated for too long. Riff dropped himself onto Ashanti¡¯s throat, permanently silencing her. ¡°For Geo,¡± he whispered with an ominous chuckle, ¡°you Earthen taint.¡±


    Whatever Ashanti had done in her life¡­ no matter how much I disliked her¡­ perhaps even hated her ¡­ I could not abide this.


    Tackling Riff to the ground I started pounding him in the face. He put up little resistance. I slammed his head into the ground and rained fury down on him. He stopped twitching before I grew tired. My arms felt like lead, and I still beat them down onto him like clubs.


    A voice boomed into the narrow space, ¡°STOP!¡±


    My blood covered fists fell one last time, gravity preventing me from being able to hold them in the air. I looked up to see two rifle barrels. Standard issue rifles for the Defense Force with stun-slugs, I knew. Both fired without another command or warning.


    I had been unconscious the rest of that evening and into the next day, finally waking in medical. I was told that Yasi informed them of what she had seen. After that night, she never spent time with me again.


    Our district¡¯s Grand Mother presented me with an award in a small ceremony for the ¡°defense of the virtues and honor of Purus women¡±. My presence at Ashanti¡¯s service was mandatory. There was no service for Riff. I was told his corpse had been incinerated.


    Mother Steph consoled me for hours in private as I was inconsolable, mewling like a child. I was embarrassed and furious. Naya came to me a couple of days afterward to speak with me about it, but I left without saying a word. I can only assume she kept my indiscretion and lapse of etiquette to herself as I was never chastised for spurning her.


    The next time I saw Naya, just weeks before shipping out to the fleet, she was already showing signs that she was carrying her first child. I didn¡¯t hate her for it. I couldn¡¯t. I smiled at her and she smiled back. I think I saw her start crying, but it was said that women with child were prone to displaying such things more publicly. No man, except perhaps her bonded if she had one at that time, would ever disgrace himself by openly acknowledging such an act.


    We celebrated our sixteenth birthday in grand fashion. Our district¡¯s council members, all of our Aunts, and so many others had come. Even our Grand Mother attended, not just stopping in briefly to make an appearance.


    The day after our birthday we all shipped out. Some went elsewhere for more training and others directly to their assignments. Most of us were sent directly to the fleet though. Our dress uniforms were bare of accoutrement with the exception of my single award for killing Riff.


    I was assigned to the Purus Navy battleship, Prometheus. My first day on the ship I was given orders that we would be deploying for battle in two months. That day I drilled my new squad until the last man fell out from exhaustion. I had to gauge their effectiveness and mold them into a single unit after all.


    Each of them were capable Purus soldiers, well trained in powered armor and heavy assault weaponry. After the first week I broke them into teams of three and assigned everyone specific roles. Anyone could fill any role if needed, but it was important to have specific structure from the onset while still maintaining the ability to adjust to the ever changing conditions of a battle.


    We drilled and drilled all but one day a week. Travelling through space was not as spectacular as I had thought it would be. Artificial gravity kept our boots on the ground and the windows in the viewing galleries could have just as easily been black screens with a few dots.


    The last couple days before we arrived I let the squad rest. In our armor we could run for hours without exhaustion. It would keep us hydrated and stave off hunger, filling us with nutrients. Though none of us had been forced to such an extreme, they are rated for more than ten days of continuous use without the need to exit the armor. Such marvels were a testament to the grandeur and wonder of the Purus.


    It was those last few days when we could actually see our destination, a terraformed moon. Well, we couldn¡¯t see the moon itself, but the planet grew larger each day. We were the entire accompaniment for an invasion force, set out to destroy a private outpost city. The details were slim, but we were assured there would be aliens and the unclean aplenty to destroy.


    Our dropship was one of hundreds carrying up to four squads each, just one squad for those carrying troops in heavy armor. Loaded up and sent out.


    Gravity back home was about a third of Earth''s hellish gravity. Here it would be just greater than that of Mars with some sort of artificial gravity generators. Outside my armor I was nearly two and a half meters tall while most of my squad wasn¡¯t even two and a quarter. In our armor though, we were all a uniform height just over three full meters.


    My mind wound its way through other likely useless information as we hit atmospheric turbulence. ¡°Stay focused.¡± When the worst of the initial bumps in our flight were gone I released the harness for my armor.


    One point five kilometers to go. ¡°We are about to embark on our first glorious mission to cleanse this place of its vile plague! Ours is the vengeance of Purus. We are the mighty and we are the PURE!¡±


    My men all roared cheers through their comms. Opening the sides of our dropship I could see countless dozens of others nearby with escorts already firing at the ground below. Aerial targets already coming up to meet us. The skies filled with carnage and explosions.


    ¡°One K!¡± Our suits were rated for jumps and falls from higher than this in much higher gravity environments¡­ ¡°Go, go, go!¡± I ordered and we all jumped, maneuvering jets firing to adjust our trajectory.


    The concussion from an explosion overhead pushed into me and my squad. Our dropship was now among the many fiery debris fields plummeting to this vile city.


    Beams of energy flew up to meet their numbers and their armada returned fire in kind. Buildings were struck and defense turrets exploded. I had to select an LZ for the squad. Everyone was progressing ¡®forward¡¯ in one direction, we would not be with everyone else.


    I selected a field behind our current path and kilometers away from current hot zones. ¡°That¡¯s our spot! We get in and destroy everything!¡± Our suits couldn¡¯t fly, but they did have jump jets which were also able to get us to the ground much faster.


    Speeding forward, pushing the suit to its limits, I landed with meteoric force. The shockwave from me landing alone sent the trees at the edge of the field into buildings.


    As the rest of the squad was landing, I leapt from the crater with my rifle already in hand. One of my men fired two shots into a wall and brought it down in a field of debris.


    My entire life had been spent training and preparing for this moment. For combat and war. Glory and honor. Years of grueling effort all culminating here, with this¡­


    ...This woman? Before me, just beyond the rubble which had been a wall, stood a woman. The edges of a blue energy field surrounding her shimmered and faded. She put up a single hand, commanding me to stop.


    I stood there, staring at this woman -a human woman- and I couldn¡¯t fire. My rifle was still trained on her, but my finger was nowhere near the trigger. A shot rang out from beside me.


    The lone woman winced as the pulse struck the shield, showering the surrounding debris with sparks.


    She raised her other hand toward us and screamed. For the briefest instant there was a light in the center of each hand. The next second, half a hundred brilliant arcs of energy jumped from this woman¡¯s hands.


    Each member of my squad was hit, their statuses flashing on my display. I flew backward and crashed into the ground creating a crater. I was hit in the chest. Whatever that was, it had seared through the front of my armor and out the back - through me, though I couldn¡¯t tell where.


    ¡°Superius¡­ woman.¡± Not human then, but impure¡­ ¡°She looks just like us.¡±


    The sky here was filled with orange and purple hues. Beautiful if you ignored the dropships and escorts, those still on mission and those destroyed. If you could look through the beams of energy and rounds flying. ¡°Is that a man in a robe flying up at a dropship?¡± That person punched a hole straight through... ¡°Through a dropship?!¡±


    I was able to see through all that for a moment. Saw this alien sky in all its radiance for now. I coughed, filling my vision with flecks of blood. It was getting so terribly cold. My suit continued to audibly warn me, ¡°Thermal regulation¡­ life support... ¡°


    My vision swam and grew dark. I thought of Mother Steph then. She was smiling down at me. I reached up to her. Maybe she could take me to medical. Her hand reached down toward me¡­ then blissful darkness.