Aeon Legion: Labyrinth (22 page)

Terra sat. Shani tore into
most tirones when they entered. A few who saluted and addressed her
as centurion escaped her wrath. When the class filled, Shani moved to
the central circular floor at the base.

“Let's begin,” she said as
she pointed at Terra. “Tiro. Please describe the most common forms
of time travel.”

Terra sighed. Why did everyone
pick on her? How could she possibly know that? “I'm sorry,
centurion. I don't know.”

Shani frowned. “Very well.
Then can you explain the properties of temporal mechanics that make
it impossible to meet yourself using time travel?”

“I'm sorry, centurion. I
don't know that either.”

“Can you even name the
historical event that formed the first nexus?”

“I'm sorry, centurion. I
don't kn–”

“Of course you don’t!”
Shani snapped. “Because you didn't read your assignments!”

Terra scowled. “I assumed
th–”

“That
this would be an introduction to the class? General Reva slaughtered
several Legion cohorts during the Battle of Sighs. All because the
Legion assumed the Kalians fang formation was a result of their lack
of discipline. Instead it was a trap that had disastrous consequences
almost costing the Legion the entire First Temporal War. Others
ignored reports of disappearances in the Bleak, assuming it was
pirate activity when really it was the first Faceless raids. Yet
others assumed the first Manticore infestations isolated incidents.
Assumptions
cost
lives, especially in war. Thankfully this one only cost you a point.”

Terra would have felt upset if
she actually had a point to lose.

Shani glared at Terra. “If
you had done some research, then you would have discovered the
required reading list is posted on the same holoface as your
schedule. It was not hidden. You should have found it.”

She pointed to another tiro.
“Tiro, can explain the branching nature of continua and why
altering history destabilizes said branches?”

The tiro scratched her chin.
“Um...”

Shani sighed. “Did anyone
read their assignments? Why can't I have another student like Kairos?
She was amazing.”

Terra groaned, slouching in
her seat. She had thought that this would be her area of expertise.

Shani swept her gaze across
the room, looking for another target. “I swear this group seems
slower than last year's and I don't know how that's possible
considering what a poor batch the last one was. Maybe I should
eliminate a few more?”

“Why are they trying so hard
to eliminate us?” a tiro said under his breath.

Shani glared at the tiro
before turning to address the class. “Every weakness we introduce
into the Legion brings us closer to obliteration at the hands of our
enemies. Only those who are talented and utterly dedicated to saving
history belong here. The Aeon Legion is the only thing standing
between the horrors lurking beyond Time and humanity. Thieves,
conquerors, assassins, monsters, and war machines, these are just a
few of the enemies we have encountered. All of them pale in
comparison to the Faceless. So when the next threat comes, and they
will come, we will be ready.”

Shani continued her lecture
for another hour and a half. She covered how Time consisted of
several alternate histories called continua. Each continuum had its
own history that was often wildly different from the rest. Continua
branched at an area called a nexus that appeared at turning points in
history. Terra's home continuum, designated Lambda, branched at the
Cuban Missile Crisis.

Shani dismissed the class once
the lecture was done. Terra stood to go.

Shani pointed to Terra. “Not
you, tiro. I want a word with you.”

Terra hesitated before facing
Shani, but managed to face the centurion as straight backed as she
could manage.

Shani crossed her arms and
spoke in a soft tone. “I don't know why Lycus let you in, but we
always get a few weak ones every year. Have you considered quitting?”

“I considered–”

“Then you should quit,”
Shani said without malice in her voice. “Those who have even a
moment of doubt don't belong here. You lack talent and dedication,
both essential for success in this program.”

“I have enough dedication to
make up for my lack of talent!”

“Prove it. Otherwise don't
waste my time.”

∞

The training day was done and
somehow Terra had made it to the end. Now the setting sun cast an
orange hue on the main courtyard and the air turned cold. Terra
rubbed her arms, trying to warm up while looking at the stone pillar.
The growing collection of shieldwatches laying at the base now
numbered in the hundreds. A few had thrown their own on the pile this
evening. Terra wondered if she should join them.

She turned away. The
shieldwatch had Restored her body, but she felt mentally drained. Her
discovery of the long reading list did not help her mood. No human
could read that much in so short of time. She would need a three year
head start. How could Shani expect that of Terra, or anyone for that
matter. Sighing, she started to wander back to her dorm room.

As Terra made her way through
the Academy training areas, she watched the other tirones. Most
returned to their own rooms while a few socialized with the others,
drinking and having fun. Then she saw Roland. Despite being lazy, he
practiced with his shieldwatch. An optio helped him. Terra paused,
wondering why Roland would practice. She then remembered that Roland
had used a shieldwatch before the others. He had practiced on his own
before the training had even started.

Terra then noticed a few
familiar faces. One was the Roman legionnaire she saw the first day
at the Academy. He practiced as well. Terra halted. All who attempted
the training a second or even third time still worked.

A shout sounded nearby. Terra
looked for the disturbance and saw a large bonfire burning nearby. A
circle of tirones had gathered around it, but they appeared
unconcerned with the loud shouting.

Terra made her way over to see
Hikari fighting with another tiro. She knocked another tiro
unconscious before glancing to her shieldwatch.

“See the pattern,” a
nearby tiro said to another standing next to him.

“Yeah,” the other said.
“She defeats three in a row and then uses a Restore. That nets her
two points.”

Terra watched the next
challenger who fought Hikari. He approached and challenged her to a
Trial of Blades. Hikari always accepted and always won.

Terra watched two more matches
before walking away. Hikari burned through challengers though Terra
wondered how Hikari managed it given the day's grueling regimen. This
made Terra confront one undeniable fact; the best tirones were still
working hard.

Terra searched and found an
optio. He had two locks of silver hair. Terra approached. “Excuse
me, optio.”

“Can I help you, tiro?” he
asked.

Terra gestured to the others.
“Is it required that the recruits... I mean tirones stay late?”

The optio shook his head. “No,
tiro. Training is officially done for the day.”

Terra thought for a moment
before shifting her attention back to him. “I would bet that most
of the tirones who stay late make it through the training?”

He grinned. “I'm not allowed
to say, but you could be on to something.”

“What do the others tend to
focus on?”

“Well in early parts of the
training, most focus on their strengths to build confidence.”

Terra thought for a moment.
She was behind in everything. Then Terra remembered she had a
strength. Something she could catch up on if she had the time. Surely
a city beyond time could find her more. “I need to catch up on my
reading, but I need more time.”

He smiled. “So you noticed?”

“With so many people from
different times, there must be a few who don't have a good education.
Even if they did, there is no time to read that much and still train
with a full schedule. Is there something I'm missing?”

The man gestured. “Follow
me.”

Terra followed as he led her
to a circular room to the side of the Academy. Several of the rooms
stood in a row. They looked like smaller indoor salients with a
diameter of ten paces.

“This,” the man said while
gesturing to the room, “is a strategy study. Large timeships have
one so officers have time to plan. When activated, it Speeds your
mental faculties. It also has limited access to the Saturn City
Archives.”

Terra examined the room. The
gray steel floor was devoid of any notable features. “So time
passes differently in this room?”

He shook his head. “No,
tiro. As I said, it accelerates your thoughts. It will appear as
though time slows down around you. When this chamber activates, one
hour of study inside equals to five minutes of time outside.”

“Wow. Is there a drawback?”

He grinned. “Actually there
is. A lot of newtimers miss that one.”

Terra looked around, nervous.
“Is it dangerous?”

“No. But I wouldn't suggest
coming here early in the morning. A shieldwatch can repair the body,
but it cannot alleviate mental fatigue. This place accelerates your
mind. It can give you more time to study, but your mind will tire at
an accelerated rate as well. Just remember that,” he said before
waving his hand. A multitude of holofaces appeared in his hand's
wake.

Terra walked forward. “Thank
you.”

The man nodded. “We can help
you in any aspect of the training. Be polite. Those who make enemies
of the optios never make it far. We don't waste time with those who
will not listen to us.”

The chamber hummed to life.
The hum pulsed before it slowed and Terra's movements became
sluggish. It took getting use to, but after a moment she was deep
into reading the wealth of information in Saturn City's Archives.

A few hours later, Terra
strolled by the stone pillar in the courtyard with a new found
understanding of what exhausted really was. She glanced up one more
time at the stone pillar with a sea of shieldwatches at its base.
Terra grimaced. “I wont let you beat me,” she said in a low tone.
She had made her choice. A hard choice that she had plenty of time to
think about in the strategy study.

Terra turned her back to the
pillar.

∞

The next day's exercise was
just as brutal as was shieldwatch practice. Terra felt little
confidence when walking into the classroom. Shani was there waiting,
like a predator ready to pounce. “Name?”

“Tiro Terra Mason,
centurion!” Terra said in a loud voice, giving her best salute.

Shani hesitated with a
disappointed scowl. “Find a seat, tiro.”

Terra did so. After the others
arrived, class began.

Shani turned to Terra. “Can
you explain the properties of temporal mechanics that make it
impossible to meet yourself using time travel?”

Terra
wavered only for a second. “It's called the
Instance
Effect
.
When a person time travels for the first time, they become an
instance. That instance will override any copy from any other time.
In effect, the instance becomes the original as it were. Should an
instance travel to another time where they are present, then the
instance will override that version in that time, one hundred percent
of the time, should their causal fields overlap.”

Shani nodded. “Can you name
the historical event that formed the first nexus?”

Terra responded faster this
time. “Alexander the Great becomes the focal point of the first
divide in history. In one continuum he survives long enough to
consolidate his empire, leading to prolonged Hellenistic dominance of
the Middle East. In another, he dies young and his empire fragments.
The third continuum forms when he dies in India and his empire
shatters completely.”

Shani
nodded again. “Almost. He is only known as
the
Great
in one of three continua. Can you explain the primary principles of
singularity technology.”