Aeon Legion: Labyrinth (14 page)

Terra did so while standing as
straight as she could manage. The light made it hard to see and felt
rather uncomfortable.

A young woman with dark hair
dyed with three locks of silver and tan skin looked up at Terra. When
she looked at Terra she smiled, shaking her head. “Oh sorry dear.
You seemed to be lost. Academic registration is down the hall to the
left.”

The
bearded man looked up
as
well. “You are definitely in the wrong place.”

“Do you need someone to show
you the way?” the woman said with a smile.

“Oh no,” Terra said, still
holding firm. “I'm here to join the Legion.”

They exchanged glances with
each other. After a moment of silence, they all laughed. All except
the silver haired man in the back. His gaze narrowed on Terra.

Terra glared at them as they
continued to laugh. The bearded man almost fell out of his chair as
he shook with laughter. After a few moments, the laughter subsided.

“I haven't laughed that hard
since I saw an Athenian try to use a sword,” the bearded man said.
When he looked back to Terra, his brow lowered. “Oh. You're still
here?”

Terra clinched her fists. “Yes
I am. I said I want to join the Legion.”

Another woman leaned forward
and glared at Terra, She had more silver hair than not. “We only
accept recruits who are selected as squires. Now leave.”

They all turned back to their
holofaces as though that ended the discussion.

“Someone did choose me as a
squire,” Terra said in an even tone.

The first woman glared at
Terra like a parent at a fibbing child before she typed something on
a nearby holoface.

Minerva's voice sounded from
her shieldwatch. “I am sorry, Centurion Shani. That information is
restricted.”

“What!” Shani said
standing. “Restricted! I am a centurion for Aion's sake!”

The silver haired man who sat
obscured in the back spoke. “Calm down, Centurion Shani. Orion’s
second cohort probably picked her up on some black ops mission. I'll
access it.”

“Greetings, Praetor Lycus
Cerberus,” Minerva said from the silver haired man's shieldwatch.
“Authorization granted.”

“Give me a holoface
Minerva,” Lycus said. “Also can you show me who locked this
information?”

A series of holofaces appeared
around Lycus's shieldwatch.

“Continue,” Lycus said
before he began reading. “I'll read the restricted information
while I send you her stats and psych exam.”

The group exchanged looks
before arranging their holofaces. They read for several moments,
occasionally shaking their heads.

Lycus read for a moment before
grimacing. He regarded Terra with an intense stare.

“Is this the entire file?”
Shani asked. She turned to the bearded man. “Centurion Nikias. Am I
missing something?”

Nikias shook his head. “No
combat experience. No service record. Zero high honors or significant
academic achievements. I don't think she's even killed anyone yet.”

Shani's expression hardened as
she glared at Terra. “Look at her. She's so... out of shape.
Definitely a softtimer. She probably couldn't even kill a Manticore
mite. What crashing fool made her a squire?”

The other woman spoke. “She's
an American from the United States.”

Nikias turned to her. “Refresh
my memory, Centurion Isra.”

Isra spoke in a calm voice.
“Americans. Loud, rude, rebellious, and warlike. This one is from
the height of their empire though, when they spent most of their time
being entertained. Softtimer for sure.”

Terra's fists turned white.
She felt tempted to tell them that Alya had chosen her, but remained
silent, remembering her promise. She would endure this verbal
beating.

Terra could just see Lycus's
sneer through the shadows. “I know exactly why she is here, but it
doesn't matter. Hurry. We have a long line of rejects today.”

Shani glowered. “Fine. On
the record though, I've seen corpses more qualified than her.”

Nikias leaned forward. “Why
do you want to be a soldier? I see no indication in your records that
you want to fight?”

Terra considered her next
words. “I don't want to fight, but I will defend myself if I have
to. I was told that the Legion was not an army, but a group heroes
and heroines. That's what I want to be.”

Shani narrowed her gaze. “That
may be true, but that means we have even higher standards than most
militaries. We normally look for hardtimers, those from eras of
strife and conflict. You are from the wealthiest nation on Continuum
Lambda during a time of relative peace. You are a softtimer. While
the program accounts for those without formal military training, I
see no other special talents in your record to compensate.”

Terra stared at Shani. “A
bunch of records don't define me. Besides isn't courage and
determination worth more?”

Shani glared as though Terra
had just said something stupid. “No. No it's not.”

Nikias rolled his eyes at that
as though he disagreed, but did not argue.

Isra eyes narrowed. “She
also hasn’t taken a life yet. She is untested.”

Terra frowned. “Why is that
so important?”

Isra leaned back, still
focused on Terra. “The Sons of Oblivion will kill. The Forgotten
Guns will kill. A Manticore would eat you whole. And the Faceless...”
she shivered when she mentioned the Faceless. “Well let's just say
that killing you would be the kindest thing a Faceless could do to
you. A killing instinct is necessary and we cannot be sure you have
it.”

“But I–”

Nikias shook his head. “Look,
child. You are not ready for this. You need to get a few things in
order first.”

“Like what?”

“First, you need to hone
your athleticism. How many pushups can you do right now?”

“Um...”

“That's what I thought. That
probably wouldn't take too long. Maybe a month and a half at most
with the acceleration gyms. That could be done before the training
even started. More is needed though. Right now you would be dusted in
five seconds if we let you into the training program.”

Lycus sighed. “Just hurry
and reject her so we can move on.”

Terra felt her heart sink.
Rejected so out of hand? They hadn't even given her a chance.

Shani shook her head. “If
only I could get another recruit like Kairos. She had talent! When
will Silverwind find a new squire?”

Nikias closed the holoface.
“Try again next year.”

Terra narrowed her gaze at the
group while her fists clinched and teeth gritted. Alya said be
determined and they would admit her. “No. I am not moving from this
spot until you accept me into the program. You will have to throw me
out kicking and screaming.”

Lycus jumped down in front of
Terra.

Terra froze, her face paled as
Lycus Cerberus glared down at her. Like Alya his skin was tanned and
his short swept back silver hair stood like raised fur. He towered
over Terra with a lean, but muscular physique and looked at Terra
like a wolf might stare at a weak animal.

With strong arms, he grabbed
her around the waist and lifted her as though she weighed no more
than an empty trashcan. He carried her out into the hall in front of
the rest of the waiting recruits while Terra tried to kick him from
the awkward angle he held her.

“Put me down!” Terra
screamed.

Lycus did just that and dumped
her into the fountain. Terra landed with a splash on the hard marble
of the fountain while Lycus dusted off his hands as though he had
just taken out the garbage.

Lycus turned to the potential
recruits. “Next!”

“Well that could have gone
better,” Terra said after a moment as she sat drenched in the
fountain. She rubbed her elbows. The cold water came up to her knees
and was too shallow to absorb much of the fall.

A few of the waiting recruits
laughed at her and some pointed. Most ignored the disturbance as
though an instructor tossing out a potential recruit was a common
sight.

Terra continued to sit in the
fountain, her gaze downcast. They had laughed at, humiliated,
confused, belittled, and ignored her. Most of all she wanted to
return home where her nice little quarry that lay out in the warm
sun. At least no one there would tell her she wasn't good enough.
Perhaps she had made a huge mistake in coming here?

Terra stood and shook her arms
dry. The dripping slowed when another splash of water drenched her
again. She looked up to see Lycus dusting off his hands in dismissal
again.

“Next!” he yelled before
walking back into the exam room.

The person thrown next to
Terra stood. He wore camouflaged fatigues with an insignia she didn't
recognize. The man shook off the water and walked straight to the
back of the line for his next attempt.

For the first time, Terra
noted the other recruits. Now that she took the time to stare at
them, she realized that they were a scary crowd. They possessed
scarred faces, lean builds, athletic physiques, grim expressions,
shields, scabbards for blades, and armor, lots of armor and uniforms;
armor and uniforms from every time period. They all stared ahead with
intense focus and discipline. The kind a soldier would have.

After
climbing out of the water, Terra walked outside to collect herself.
She saw more soldiers on her way out. Along the way Terra recognized
a Roman legionnaire,
a Mongolian warrior, a samurai,
several soldiers in modern fatigues, and what she thought was an
American Civil War cavalryman. A rare few wore training uniforms
under their original clothes.

Terra wandered onto the
Academy grounds. A large creek ran near a stone patio. Several
potential recruits ate and chatted there. Smaller groups were
scattered over the area. Legionaries watched with hands resting on
their swords. Terra noticed that most recruits did not wear training
uniforms yet as they wore their original period clothing.

“So how did you get in so
fast?” someone asked not far away from Terra.

Terra stopped and searched for
the source of the comment. She saw a crowd of potentials standing on
a small stone bridge that crossed a creek. They all stood around a
young man who wore a white tunic with a red cross over a chain mail
shirt. A training uniform was slung over his shoulder. He sat
barefooted, for his boots and an iron helmet lay next to a creek on
top of a shield with a red cross on it. Terra recognized the tools of
a knight. The young man appeared little older than her. He smiled at
the others. “Ah. You see that is an interesting story I ought to
share, but I am far more intrigued in your story my friend.”

Another man across from the
knight spoke. He wore a Roman legionnaire's armor over his own
training uniform. “There is not much to say,” he said in a gruff
voice. “This is my third attempted at the training. The early parts
are familiar to me. However, most of the newtimers seldom get in so
easily the second day of admissions.”

Terra stepped in closer,
joining the group at the back. She recognized the Roman Legionnaire
as the voice she had heard earlier.

The knight smiled again,
speaking in a smooth, disarming tone. “Now Tacitus, please share
with me your knowledge, for you see this is my first time here. Why I
arrived only a few days ago. Surely not myself alone, but the others
present could find your experience useful. After all I am very
interested in keeping my new found immortality.”

The other potential recruits
nodded in agreement.

Tacitus frowned after being
put on the spot. “I am forbidden to tell you. I mean no offense,
sir. That is the proper address for you correct?

The knight nodded. “Yes. Sir
Roland Delmare is my name with title, but I have many other titles
that are rather unimportant. I am not as proper with rules and titles
as others so fear not of offending me. Though I would be rather
disappointed if you choose to forgo sharing information with me and
the others that could be of use on the morrow.”

Tacitus pursed his lips. “I
told you I can't te–”

The knight named Roland raised
a finger. “How about a gamble then? If I lose, then I will tell you
how I came to be here in this city of pearl knights. Should victory
favor me though, you can tell me a little about the training. If the
instructors find out, then you may blame me for forcing you to keep
your honor.”

Tacitus narrowed his gaze at
Roland. “Agreed, but I insist on using my dice.”

Roland smiled and nodded.
Tacitus brought out a pair of dice and they each agreed on the rules.
Each rolled three times in a game that Terra didn't recognize.
However, during the third roll Roland moved one hand in a smooth
motion that drew everyone's eye. However, Terra didn't flinch. She
saw that during Roland's slight of hand he reached out his other
shieldwatch hand. She caught the fainest hint of a shieldwatch field.
The spherical grainy field flashed just for a moment before the dice
rolled back once. When Tacitus looked back he frowned.

“God smiles upon me yet
again,” Roland said in a cheery tone.

Tacitus nodded.

Terra watched the others who
remained neutral in their expressions. No one else had caught it.

Tacitus sighed. “Indeed. But
I won't reveal too much. They listen using our shieldwatch. All I can
say is that most of the training and tests have hidden meanings.
Little is as it appears. I can't really be too specific since they
change each year. Most dust out during the survival test on the
fourth week. I've never made it beyond that. People say the final
test in the Labyrinth is even worse.”

Roland nodded and continued to
smile, but did not press Tacitus.

Tacitus gathered his dice. “It
takes most a few weeks just to get into the training unless they are
attempting it again like me. I only know of one other this year who
got in with one try.”