《Here we go again》


 Chapter 1: prologue

    Chapter 1


    So today''s the day. The hot water pouring from the showerhead greeted me as I stepped underneath. It was a little too hot, but I knew that messing around any more with the temperature would only turn it too cold, and I preferred this. It helped wake me, though I''d had trouble falling asleep again anyway after waking up to a forgotten nightmare at 5am. As the water poured the sleep from my mind, my thoughts wandered to the same thing they had been increasingly focused on for the past few months. Today I would defend my thesis before a small group of professors, who would then get to decide whether I was worth the title of PhD. Rationally, I knew my work was solid, but the stress always brought some loss of confidence with it. Surely they understand if I make some mistakes after all it''s very stressful they see nervous people like me regularly they can look past a poor presentation right but what if they don''t I really need to make this work what if my presentation won''t start for some reason or I get stuck in traffic then I can start over again OKAY STOP. I can do this. I got out of the shower, got dressed, all the while trying not to think about what might go wrong. It''s not like that would be the end of the wor


    White everywhere, so bright I wanted to close my eyes but I found I couldn''t. What the hell, I muttered only to hear me think it instead of saying it. I turned around, and when I made full circle there was a man standing in front of me. He seemed as tall as I was, average height, and wore a red t-shirt with blue jeans. His hair was a messy mop of black down to his ears, and he looked at me with a friendly smile. I turned around and ran.


    What the hell is this was I kidnapped what does this guy want with me?? I ran as fast as I could until I noticed that my feet were not slapping down on any floor and I felt no stress on my muscles, as if I was floating in mid-air. I turned around again, and the man was still about 10 feet away from me.


    ¡°Welcome¡± the man said, ¡°this is all very strange to you but I need to tell you something. A minor administrative error occurred and your universe was popped because of that. My sincerest apologies¡±.


    I stared at him, not quite understanding what he was telling me. ¡°What the fuck do you mean ¡®popped¡¯?¡±. My lack of a voice did not seem to inhibit the man¡¯s capacity of understanding me as he answered immediately in a voice that was more low-pitched than his slender build implied.


    ¡°Well, exactly that¡±, the man said with that stupid smile on his face as if he hadn''t just told me everything I knew and loved was gone. ¡°A slight oversight led to a series of events that resulted in your universe, along with its 3 trillion ¡®intelligent¡¯ -the man gestured with his fingers- inhabitants, to be torn apart instantaneously. You are here for reassignment as a way of compensation. You can be given a choice of what kind of world you would like to be reborn on and whether you would like to keep your memories, or if you''d like to die for realsies. Of course, the options are limited and for the sake of fairness, there will be disadvantages to some of the more popular options¡±


    Halfway through his explanation I had stopped paying real attention. My family, my friends, my life. All gone. I sat there in a mixture of disbelief and denial, too stumped for grief. Acceptance came to me with surprising ease, though there was a mild worry in the back of my head, that I was made to accept what had happened by a force beyond my control.


    I looked the man in the eyes. ¡°So what, are you God or something?¡±


    ¡°Well, I am a god, just not your God¡±, he said with a face that seemed incapable of showing normal human expression. ¡°Your universe was more of a sandbox simulation. You set a few parameters, like how the smallest parts of the universe-to-be interact with each other, and you press play. Then came the Big Bang. No god was involved beyond that point, really. And you did fine without them. Until you popped, of course, but that was hardly your fault.¡±


    While a clear resentment towards this thing and its casual demeanor was steadily growing in me, the scientist within me -and the agnostic- were growing curious. I was talking to something beyond what I knew to be possible. ¡°So you¡¯re omnipotent right? How come you look like a human? If we¡¯re the result of a simulation, was there even a plan for there to be humans? Are there other humans or intelligent lifeforms?¡± I asked, questions rising in my mind one after the other.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Without missing a beat, the entity spoke, ¡°I am only as omnipotent as possible, without any of the contradictory qualities omnipotence implies. I cannot create a rock I cannot lift. I look human because it is a form you are comfortable with -I would have laughed if this weren¡¯t so surreal- and because my true form is not something you can fully behold or understand. Humans were just a random occurrence, but one bound to evolve in the limitless omniverse. You are not the only humans, just the only ones in your universe. To answer more of your as yet unspoken questions, while your universe was created through a simulation, there are many such simulations some of which have strikingly similar outcomes to your own universe. Furthermore, we have all the time we need here since time is not really a thing right now and I am speaking, have spoken to, and will speak to all of your universe¡¯s inhabitants at the same ¡®time¡¯. The ones capable of making a choice for their afterlife may do so, or may choose for a random allocation, which is also applied to those incapable of making a choice, yet who are still qualified as intelligent lifeforms.


    I let that sink in for a little. ¡°What has become of my loved ones? Can I choose to go back to them?


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t let you do that, Dave. Your relations with other lifeforms and the possibility of forming a group with them after your reincarnations might bring about a shift in balance of the powers-that-be in your new life. I simply cannot take the risk, and will have to place you all in a different universe. But worry not, there are plenty of universes.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you just turn back time then?¡± I asked of the non-human. ¡°If you really are so powerful then surely there are other ways of mending this, ways that don¡¯t lead to so much grief.


    The god tilted his head slightly and spoke, ¡±yours is not the only universe. Turning back time to a point where the destruction of your universe is avoidable for the whole omniverse is both incredibly straining and ultimately useless. The mistake that led to this happened a long time ago. Turning back time to that point would effectively lead to your unbirth, and that of many generations before you. The ripple produced by the alternative path given to your universe and that of others would lead to many more lifeforms not being born. YOU may never be born, and your life will be over no matter how you look at it. This is the way to make most people happy. In a way, you should be glad the mistake was made. Had your universe never taken this path, it might never have led to you as you are now.¡±


    I knew I had more questions, but a part of me wanted to get this over with. What use was knowing whether there was a heaven and hell? Any answers from a being beyond my understanding about a world that was gone for good would be useless to me in a completely new life. And I had grown frustrated enough with the emotionless, sterile demeanor of this guy -this thing- to want to get out of here ASAP. ¡°How long will this take?¡±


    ¡°That depends on how decisive you are in making your choices for the afterlife. Or I could simply roll the die, and you have a chance of getting worse off than your worst choice would give you, or better than the best choice. That¡¯s fifty-fifty really. There have been a few of your fellow earthlings who tried and will try to become powerful by rolling the die, thinking that surely THEY would end up on the right side of the coinflip. Some did and do, some did not and do not.¡±


    I made my decision. I didn¡¯t really care anymore. I would need to start over with my life anyhow. If I had my memories in the next life I might be able to make the best of it, but if I were incapable of doing so I might regret my memories of a better life. Without memories, I would simply be unable to regret any choice I made here and, in a way, be truly dead. Death or regret in the worst possible cases. That seemed alright to me after the literal earth-shattering news I had just received. Nothing to live on for anyways. ¡°Roll the die¡±.


    The being stretched out his right hand, and for a brief second I saw something form in there. Then the world was upside down, left was front, where am I what¡¯s this banana dog doftiel goraandiaje and then with a SNAP everything was clear again and the man held a 20-sided die in his left hand.


    ¡°Pardon the side-effects of summoning pure chaos¡±, the man said with that eternal smile.¡±It is a little different from rolling a die in your universe. No influence from the ground it falls on, no influence from wind or infinitesimally small differences in weight distribution of the die. A perfectly equal chance for any of the infinite possibilities to come up.¡± The being tossed the die in the air, and it fell on the floor, like a perfectly normal piece of chaos.


    When it stopped, I was unable to really read the outcome. I could see what was there, but the meaning eluded me, like reading individual raindrops as they fell. The smile on the man¡¯s face wavered however, then turned even brighter. ¡°Hunh, it seems that some of you indeed ARE luckier than others. Have fun!¡± And then I fell.

 Chapter 2: a different life

    Chapter 2


    Class was droning on forever, as it always seemed to do in the last hour before recess. I enjoyed listening to history, but most of what was said now was simple repetition before our finals. With great effort of willpower I managed to listen to the end of the teacher¡¯s lesson.


    ¡°...ith the defeat came a staggering loss of Hybrid forces, but the IU¡¯s diversion paid off. There is still debate whether IU¡¯s command was too focused on striking at the heart of T.O.R.I. to care for minimizing the losses of the diversionary Attion attack, but none can deny that Operation Red Arrow managed to enter the T.O.R.I. databases virtually unchallenged and successfully deleted the rogue AI. The day the T.O.R.I. automation was ended, Sun C8D12 986 CA. Remember that date, it is likely to be on your test. Any questions?¡±


    She looked at the drowsy students. We were arranged in a slightly more than semi circle, consisting of a single row that went about 200 degrees around the teacher¡¯s holographic platform. The room always felt a little too clean to me. The educational decorations, such as propaganda posters with historical significance or starmaps never did manage to make the square, eggshell-white room feel more comfortable. The human girl two seats to my left raised her hand, and an unspoken groan rippled through the less ambitious students. ¡°Why do we still use AIs? No offense of course.¡±


    ¡°None taken¡± the teacher replied with partially programmed understanding. ¡°A harsh lesson was learned from T.O.R.I.¡¯s automation. AIs these days have more failsafes than can be counted, and can all be remotely deactivated. Even more so for facilities with the capability to operate independently. Even before T.O.R.I., rogue AIs were exceptionally rare, and the odds of a military-grade AI becoming non-responsive to human input were astronomically low. But we cannot afford another such instance, and necessary measures are in place. T.O.R.I. claimed nearly 200.000 human lives in the blink of an eye, and it took the creation of hybrids to put a stop to her. Something like that happening again is as good as impossible.¡± The teacher looked at the digital clock displayed above her head as if not knowing what it said already, and concluded, ¡°that will be all for today, please let mr. Samin know that class has ended too.¡± At the mention of his name, the young man to my right awoke, a red imprint on the left side of his face where his head had rested on his arms.


    ¡°I¡¯m awake, ms. Cate. Wouldn¡¯t dare close my ears to something so interesting.¡± he said with a voice that implied a severe lack of interest.


    ¡°I am still surprised how you manage to pass my tests, mr. Samin. Well now, for any more questions you can always Link me. Enjoy your recess.¡± And with those parting words, the AI winked out of existence.


    I turned to my friend while the sounds of chairs scraping on the floor and murmurs of students rose around me. ¡°How DO you manage to score so high every time? You sure your parents didn¡¯t pay for some extra attention to your genetics?¡±


    As we got up and walked out of the classroom, Tonk Samin turned to me with a confident grin, slightly offset by the fading red print on his face. ¡°Allll natural, baby. How you DON¡¯T manage to ace your tests every time with your genetic tinkering is the real question. You comin¡¯ to the roof?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, just gonna grab my lunch first. Also, it¡¯s not like intelligence was a trait they really valued in us. They focused on more practical things. ¡®How to turn a maniacal robot into scrap 101¡¯ and the like.¡±


    Tonk looked up at me with mock terror. ¡°Oh no, please don¡¯t hurt me, fearsome warmachine!¡±, he cried. ¡°See you later, terror¡±, he said as he turned and walked away with the growing stream of students, making a quasi-nonchalant effort to check if his hairgel had held his unruly crimson in order during his nap.


    I turned and walked in the other direction, to my locker and more importantly, the bathroom. I had been here for almost 18 years now, and was sometimes still surprised by both the similarities and differences that my new home had compared to Earth. And yes, I had remembered Earth. For one, Earth was a thing here too. But humanity had progressed beyond the boundaries of the solar system, well on their way to a type 3 civilization. Time was still measured by the earth¡¯s cycles around the sun, but humanity had pioneered to wholly different galaxies through the use of Horizon Engines, anti-matter powered machines that simply -¡¯simply¡¯- folded space around itself, allowing for an interstellar traversal vessel, or spaceship in common tongue, to move from point A to point B faster than light, without actually moving faster than light. It just got rid of the distance between the start and the destination.


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    Yet for all the technological advancements, such as AIs and interstellar travel, school was still a thing. Who¡¯d have thought? While AIs were perfectly capable of doing anything a human could do, humans were still intensely curious. Why leave exploring the frontier and discovering ways to immortality to beings who would be less capable of appreciating it? That required that humans at least had some basic understanding of the workings of the world. Turns out it can also come in quite handy when a rogue AI capable of infecting any other AI you throw at it comes up with the desire to eradicate all humans.


    I entered the bathroom, did my thing, and washed up at the sink. Hybrids had been accepted as equals to human since the creatively named Equality Accord 50 years ago. But somehow, the outer rim colony I called home, or Lior, had still not quite caught up in adapting its facilities to use for hybrids. The school could be forgiven for it, since I was one of the few hybrids, but it was hard to find any public restroom that had had hybrids in mind during its construction. I had to bend at the knees slightly to properly wash my hands -and I would wash them, damn it- and be able to see myself in the mirror. The visage that greeted me had taken some getting used to. For one, I was not human. Not quite. My face and general build was human enough. Two eyes, one nose, two arms and two legs. Growing up, my awareness of who I was and who I had been was gradual. I had indeed kept most of my memories of my old life, but I didn¡¯t know it from birth. It came to me over the first few years of my life. Grew on me, I learned it like I learned how to walk and talk. By then my new mother and father had grown on me already, and I loved them. My old self was a thing of the past.


    Now I was Vorn Proton, hybrid. Being named after a martial icon was fairly common among my species. We were bred for it after all. When the humans were being slaughtered by T.O.R.I. they quickly found that fighting an AI was a tough problem with their subpar human flesh and fighting spirit. And since using another AI was out of the question, they sought their solution in genetic engineering. Superhumans, with the very best traits of humanity and accelerated growth still did not do the job. So it was decided that some superhumans would be cross-engineered with some of the less intelligent, yet more ferocious and powerful species of other planets. Tall, mostly human looks, a chitinous tail as long as I was tall that had plating extending over the spine to the neck, waving out over the shoulder blades. Starting at the base with similar thickness to my arm, growing thinner down to the last foot of the tail, which was solid chitin with very little flexibility and control, in the shape of a slender blade. Perhaps useful as a weapon in war, but in day to day life it was never very handy. Hybrids possessed muscles that generated far more force per pound than human muscle. Nerves that transmitted signals like electrical wires, near instantaneous and beyond anything a regular human could keep up with. Shame it kept us out of most sporting events. Armed with heavy suits and weapons and commanded by superhumans, the hybrids managed to destroy T.O.R.I. within five years after their conception. Only took about twenty million hybrid lives. War was easier when soldiers could be produced from vats in spades.


    30 years after T.O.R.I.¡¯s destruction, the Equality Accord was signed, allowing hybrids to choose a family name, and to have the same rights as their human fellows. To an extent at least. Hybrids were fighters, but willingly throwing yourself at turrets with perfect precision took a little more than a great speech, so some additional measures for ensuring obedience were thrown into the genetic mix. While the Chain Frequency was hardly ever employed after the war, it was still in existence. Hybrids would never rule, the Frequency made sure of that. It was a hard tool to cast aside from a human perspective. Here was a race that had been engineered to fight better than any human. Having no trump card in hand against any possible insurgence was a fool¡¯s play. Some theories suggested that hybrids were never supposed to win the war with so many to spare. Command at the time had preferred to produce too many hybrids rather than too few, however, so here we were.


    The face in the mirror was adorned by coal black hair, short and untamed, and was more handsome than my previous one had been. My green eyes and strong jaw alone ensured that, which is why I did have some measure of popularity among my female peers. My slightly pale tint did not seem to deter. Still, I had not been seeing anyone since I knew that my 7.5ft tall frame was more of a novelty to most human women, and realistically would be too much to handle for any high school girl. I don¡¯t blame them, just my parents for moving to the outer rim where there were so few of my kind.


    I finished washing my hands, tried to use the dryer, only to find the pathetic stream of air woefully inadequate to perform its task. I whipped the water from my hands and wiped them on my jeans -thankfully jeans for hybrids were available on Lior- and went to my locker. I grabbed my lunch packet, and made my way to the stairs.

 Chapter 3: plans

    Chapter 3


    When I emerged onto the roof the cold Lior air greeted me. I briefly regretted not getting my coat from my locker, since my hoodie was barely enough protection from the stinging winds. You¡¯d think I¡¯d learned my lesson. Lior had only been terraformed over the last 60 years, and the climate had only been suitable for sustaining life for the past 45 years. Global temperatures were still rising, but for now, living around the equator still saw a sun dawn over thinly frozen water every morning. The sun high over my head cast a small shadow around my feet. The view still amazed me. The high rising buildings around the school dwarfed the small complex, a testament to humanity¡¯s current Golden Age, as we revolved around a yellow star. I¡¯d seen some images on the LinkWeb, showing Lior at night from high above as a fairly barren planet, and a thin line of glowing lights all around the equator, broken only by the occasional frozen lake.


    ¡°Hey, Vorn!¡± Tonk¡¯s voice reached from the edge of the building where he sat with Lian and Rond. As I approached them and sat on one of the benches with them, Rond gave me a friendly upwards nod, and Lian briefly interrupted her rant to greet me.


    ¡°Mornin¡¯, Vorn¡±, she spoke with her usual chipper attitude, beaming a smile at me. She was cute, in a way one might find a kitten cute. I¡¯d say she seemed Hispanic, if humanity had not mixed and intertwined enough to mostly make such distinctions archaic. Straight oak hair to her shoulders, round brown eyes and a small mouth that talked way too much without actually saying anything. I sometimes pitied Rond for that. ¡°So why is it that after all that time and money, they still don¡¯t have the PDE up and running? I still have power outages now and then. What is this, the pioneering age?¡±


    Rond seemed to suppress a sigh at that. He¡¯d been going out with Lian since she came to Lior half a year ago, and while they had come to the point in their relationship where they had the occasional spat, they were still definitely in love. Despite her verbal diarrhea on repeating topics and despite his seeming lack of ambition and heavy drawling accent. Rond was slightly pudgy, but it fit his large posture. He had a permanent 5 o¡¯clock shadow on the lower half of his face and friendly eyes. They seemed right for each other.


    ¡°I told you sweetie, the PDE takes time to make. A lot of it. Stars are huge y¡¯know. Besides, surface-based power-plants are still necessary so long as it¡¯s freezing out here. Next time there¡¯s a power outage, you can just crash at my place. Da won¡¯t mind, y¡¯know.¡±


    Lian broke out a wicked smile at that, and I turned to Tonk before I was forced to hear -and yeah, envy- their relationship talk. ¡°Say Red, made up your mind yet for what you¡¯re gonna do after graduation?¡±


    Tonk seemed glad for the distraction, as Lian and Rond had devolved into discussing possible ¡®activities¡¯ during a power outage. Too private. ¡°Nah, not yet. Figured hosting might be nice, bringing some humanity to the service industry. Better and easier than managing AIs at least, though the pay is likely shit unless people really enjoy my company. But who needs money anyways. How ¡®bout you, big guy?¡±


    I¡¯d asked myself the same question quite a few times. Officially, hybrids were equals to humans, but there was no ignoring our obvious physical differences. The service industry was not really for my kind, since a 7.5ft tall warrior would hardly rhyme with ''hospitality''. The only ¡®services¡¯ some pervs sought in hybrids was due to some sexual fantasy about massive size differences. Though my mom oddly enough managed to be a tour guide for people looking to buy property on Lior. Lior was booming, and would be a great place to live and raise children when the Partial Dyson Engine was running and the climate had grown more comfortable. And right now property was still cheap. A once in a lifetime opportunity! Or so she claimed. My dad managed and ¡®raised¡¯ medical AIs. Profitable, but too little contact with organic lifeforms for my taste.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°I¡¯m thinking of joining the Frontier Mission. I know it can be dangerous, but if there¡¯s one thing pretty advanced on Lior, it¡¯s the Frontier. Mostly because it''s not exactly on Lior. And some Hybrid muscle is always welcome, I¡¯ve heard. Besides, I think it¡¯s pretty cool to explore unknown worlds, discover new species. Space still has so many different images to see that telescopes simply cannot capture.¡±


    Tonk thought of what I said, touching his hair again. An odd tic of his. ¡°It does sound pretty damn awesome, but some Missions never return. What are you gonna tell your parents? ¡®Hey mom and dad, I¡¯m just gonna go to unknown space and maybe you¡¯ll see me again in ten years, maybe never. Toodles!¡¯ You think they¡¯ll be okay with that?"


    I snorted at that, ¡°You know how my parents are, they¡¯re even more driven to doing exciting new stuff than I am. My dad actually suggested it. I think they¡¯d be proud to have a son who might get the chance to do what we were made to do. Bash in alien threats. If there are any.¡±


    Tonk tilted his head and looked at me with confusion. ¡°Your parents would be fine with you dying?¡±


    ¡°Of course not!¡± I said with some exasperation. ¡°But we were literally made for war. There is this itch deep inside of us, that we never get to scratch, and those of us that try by fighting others meet with the Chaining Frequency.¡± I looked down into Tonk''s eyes. ¡°My parent would not want me to die, but if I get to scratch that itch that has been nagging at my parents since their birth, they would be happy for me.¡± I looked out at the city around us. ¡±It¡¯s a weird kind of love, really. My grandpa never shut up about his war stories. He¡¯d tell about some of the most horrific battles, and made them seem grand. I think he exaggerated some of the stuff he could do to impress his only grandson. I think he enjoyed that war. Except for Attion, he didn¡¯t talk about that¡±, I drifted off.


    The diversion of Attion was a large-scale invasion of T.O.R.I.¡¯s home planet¡¯s moon. A way to draw in as many forces from the planet itself as possible. It was instrumental in winning the war, but also where the greatest losses of Hybrid forces were suffered of the entire campaign. Almost two million dead in the span of three days. A nightmare, even by Hybrid accounts.


    We let the matter rest there for now. Lian and Rond had stopped their lovey-dovey dialogue and joined in a conversation and banter about a lot of nothing, until the low hum of the buzzer signaled the end of recess.


    That night, I found myself in bed looking up application forms for the Frontier Mission on the LinkWeb, having excited myself for the prospect of becoming a space explorer. Were I to actually sign up, my life would take an all new direction. On one hand, I would no longer be confined to a single planet. On the other hand, starting a functional family would be damn near impossible if I was out in deep space most of the time. Besides, I would become an adult away from home. My eighteenth birthday was fast approaching, but not fast enough to celebrate it on Lior and board the next academy ship that would leave. And my eighteenth birthday would be somewhat special. Even more special than a human''s. I would be an adult, a warrior. That would mean gaining the right to a mark.


    The mark was an odd custom, one of very few specific to hybrids. It had started near the end of the war that birthed us. My grandfather would sometimes claim that his team and their heroic feats had started the custom, but when pressured on details he would skirt around the meat of the matter. I liked his stories, but one could season a family''s dinner with the grains of salt I had needed to listen to him. Official records stated the marks had spread too quickly to define a source.


    Nowadays, it could be found on the cheek of every adult hybrid, though it was incredibly plain. My grandfather and his fellows had invented the right to update the mark for every achievement, mostly achievements related to warfare, but since those were no longer obtainable after the war, people stuck to only marking their greatest milestones in life. A modification for marriage, having your first child, laying down one''s arms for the final time -retiring really-, and so on. The LinkWeb dedicated an entire page to it in its library.


    Using gestures, I kept navigating the Frontier Mission''s Link, only growing more and more excited for the prospect of joining. I turned off the LinkNav on my ceiling, and pulled my bedsheets further up to cover myself. As I closed my eyes and tried to sleep, I made my decision. Then dreams overcame me quickly.

 Chapter 4: lucky

    Chapter 4


    When I was younger, and remembered the asshole god who called me lucky and sent me on my way, I often wondered why I was lucky. Was I luckier than most? Had I somehow obtained an amazing new life? Would I be powerful? I was somewhat disappointed at first. I could not stop time. I could not throw hovers at my mental command. I was a species that still faced some measure of bias on a nearly daily basis. How was I lucky? But now I saw things differently, I appreciated the world more. I was healthy. My parents were fairly well-to-do and my physical attributes were nothing to scoff at. Sure, Lior wasn¡¯t as nice a place as Earth, but there was always a way out. And I was standing in front of it.


    The Altar of Dawn was huge. Half of the local docking bay was taken up by the massive space-faring vessel, which looked like a skyscraper on its side with 8 square thrusters the size of houses mounted on its rear in a round arrangement. It had to be huge, since it served as a voyaging academy for the Frontier Mission. A way to adapt to space, all the while going through drills and training on how to behave on a Frontier vessel. I had been accepted to my first choice, namely the martial branch of the Frontier Mission. Musclebrains who would learn how to deal with both known and unknown threats that the average Frontier vessel might encounter. The information on the LinkWeb told me that learning how to manually aim the gunports was one of my main objectives, in case the AI shorted for some reason. However, terrestrial explorations were also part of some Frontier Missions, and someone capable of protecting the scientists on the ground might prove essential. I thought I would especially enjoy that part of my future.


    My parting with my parents that morning was short but sweet. They worried, of course, but were also very excited for me. Though my mother had had a stern discussion with my dad about recommending the Frontier to me. Last night, we had said all that needed to be said. The day before we had gone out for dinner, accompanied by Tonk, Rond and Lian. In part it was my going-away party, but it was also an early birthday party. I would turn eighteen in three days after all, very soon after my departure. I could just have the mark be placed on board. The LinkWeb page had said as much.


    I would return from this particular ¡®mission¡¯ relatively soon anyhow. Around three years until my training was done, and I could return to Lior to board a real explorer.


    I heaved up my backpack to adjust the strap on my right shoulder, and made my way to the boarding station on the right side of the ship -starboard actually, though theoretically any side of a spaceship was starboard in my opinion-. There was a fairly large crowd, cadets who were still saying goodbye to their parents. Some people were crying, others more composed or sometimes, downright cold. I was not the only hybrid there, to my relief. Also not the only hybrid who was there unaccompanied. I got in line behind a pair of human men, who seemed friends. Their nervous talking to each other was somewhat infectious, as I felt my future career growing all too real. Space, I thought. I¡¯m actually going into fucking space. Holy motherfuc-, a tap on my shoulder interrupted my internal profanity, and I turned around. A fellow hybrid, slightly shorter than me, smiled at me. ¡°Ola friend, nice to see some other hybrids around for a change huh?¡±. His head was square, with dirty blond hair. His skin was a darker red than mine, and I noticed that his chitinous armor was partly growing on his neck as well. Beneath his dark left eye, there was a stripe tattooed, starting slightly lower and to the side of his eye, and crossing down to stop near the corner of his mouth. He must be slightly older than I am.


    I smiled back, trying to hide the creeping nervousness in my voice, ¡°Yeah, sure is nice for a change to not be able to look all the way over a crowd. I¡¯m Vorn,¡± I said, extending my hand.


    He firmly grasped my hand with his. ¡°Sapona¡¯s the name, Sap if you¡¯re verbally challenged¡±. Sapona looked ahead at the checking station. ¡°Kinda gets to you now doesn¡¯t it? That we¡¯re leaving home?¡±


    I felt some relief at not being alone in that and grinned ¡°If I¡¯d managed to eat anything, I might¡¯ve crapped diamonds around now.¡±


    Sapona laughed, a deep and comforting sound. ¡°You¡¯d be rich, friend! If I¡¯d possessed that gift I would¡¯ve taken the money and run straight home!¡± We shared a laugh at that. ¡°Where in Lior are you from, Vorn?¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    ¡°Sector Beta, my mom and dad were pretty quick to settle on Lior, so fortunately the trip here didn¡¯t take very long.¡± I¡¯d taken a supersonic train to sector Alpha, the time zone directly west of my sector. Cheap and ridiculously fast. No earthly public transit could compare with that. On the old Earth anyways.


    The line moved very quickly, and we were already close to the checking station. Sapona said, ¡°Heard it¡¯s pretty nice in Beta. I¡¯m from Mu myself, nearly halfway around the planet. It¡¯s cold, power lines are unstable, can¡¯t connect to the Linkweb whenever I want. But Beta! It¡¯s perfect skiing weather year-round, occasionally you can run a generator to create your own electricity, and the LinkWeb even encourages one to go outside! Heaven, really.¡±


    With a grin I stepped forward and approached the counter of the checking station. A screen with a friendly-looking man greeted me and asked for my identification. Once it cleared, I was given a ticket with instructions to head to gate eight and report myself to one of the instructors wearing a grey uniform. I waited a little longer for Sapona, and asked him where he would be going. Not too surprisingly, he was accepted into the martial branch as well, and directed to gate eight, so we wandered off together.


    Once we arrived there, a human woman with short hair and a stern demeanor gave us a pair of grey uniforms and pointed us to barrack 518. It seemed those were not predetermined, and since we were somewhat early we had one of the first few picks of the bunks in our barrack. The barrack could be described as a large rectangular room on the fifth level of the Altar, with a window at the far end looking out over sector Alpha from the right side of the ship -no, starboard-. There were twenty beds in total, one bed over another set into the walls with their sides against the wall. There was a small compartment at the feet for our belongings, and we quickly picked two bunks next to each other on the left side of the room close to the door, near the ground. Sapona turned to me and said, ¡°I think this is the first time I¡¯ve seen a public bed that takes hybrids into account. No cold feet at least for the coming years!¡±


    I stuffed my bag and new uniform into my compartment -my compartment- and sat down. It was a pretty decent bed, not too soft with a firm pillow and thick blankets. I had worried we would be given shabbier accommodations, but I could see myself sleeping in here for the next few years. I already started to like it here.


    As Sapona and I talked and made ourselves comfortable, there was a slow trickle of other cadets streaming into our barracks. Sapona took it upon himself, as the one occupying the bunk closest to the door, to greet every new entrant as cheerfully as he possibly could, going so far as to make me bust out laughing when he hugged a new human cadet and nearly made the poor lad shit himself.


    While Sapona was apologizing to the young man, someone beautiful walked in.


    ¡°Well I¡¯ll be¡±, Sapona exclaimed. ¡°Do we happen to be in the ladies¡¯ barracks, maybe?¡±, he turned to me with mock confusion.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never been in a better barrack¡± I said, my ass seated on my bed but my mind somewhere else. I was taking in the sights. Hybrid women were fairly few and far between on Lior. There were even fewer that still had a feminine charm to them underneath the fighter¡¯s physique. Sure, you could find them on the LinkWeb, but that was different than seeing the real thing. Tall legs, ending in strong thighs, with a seamless transition to a full and taut behind clad in red jeans. The black t-shirt she wore did nothing to hide her slender waist and perky bosom. I even found myself appreciating her tail, which was a somewhat foreign sensation. But the face was what truly distinguished her. Perched between a long neck and flowing red curls to below her shoulder, were a set of piercing icey blues, with a freckled nose that would seem too long on any other face, but only seemed to accent hers, and full lips smiling underneath it.


    I was just wondering whether this was were my luck really came into play, when she held up her left hand and flashed the shiny golden ring on her fourth finger. ¡°Sorry boys, off-limits.¡± Aaah shitfuckdammit. To a human no less.


    Sapona approached me with a pitying expression and clapped a hand onto my shoulder. ¡°Your losses will be remembered, brother. Still,¡± he rested his hand on the bunk above me and turned to the young woman, ¡°I didn¡¯t know the barracks were mixed.¡±


    ¡°They usually aren¡¯t, but I was notified last week that due to the lack of female applicants it would be better from a logistical and fairness perspective not to give a whole barrack to only a handful of women. So here I am.¡± She said matter-of-factly. ¡°And since I was delayed, it seems like the bunk above yours is the only one that hasn¡¯t been claimed yet.¡± She looked straight to me, and the small circle where the higher end of her mark would be on the woman¡¯s side of her face -the right- now stood out more clearly to me. For a fraction of a second, she seemed to hesitate, then pushed on. ¡°Do you mind?¡±


    ¡°N-no, of course not¡±, I stammered. This would be hell.

 Chapter 5: departure

    Chapter 5


    How the hell do you even get married before you¡¯re eighteen in this day and age? That was old-fashioned, sometimes even frowned upon, back on my old earth.


    That silly-seeming question kept me up for far too long on my first night on the Altar of Dawn. I highly doubted I was the only one still awake however, considering what our first day had been like.


    We, Sapona and I, had spent the first day looking around the ship, inspecting the training grounds and the gym. Then we had taken up position at the window in our barracks for liftoff. Initially, I¡¯d feared that the lack of seats with straps would throw us all against the ground and the wall once the thrusters kicked in and the Altar would speed into space at an oblique angle, but the on-board Graviton Manipulator had done its job. My brain was incredibly confused at watching Lior¡¯s surface grow more and more distant at supersonic speed while my inner ears were telling me I was standing perfectly still. I had not seemed the only one feeling disturbed by this, as one of my human barrack buddies in front of me even turned away from the window with a pale face.


    Moments later an announcement rang through the ship notifying the members of the martial branch to make their way to our mess hall by 1800 hours ship time, which left us slightly under half an hour to find it. We found it along with our barrack mates 2 levels higher on the ship. A large hall with rows of simple long tables, which seemed to be divided by seniority. We were new arrivals, and thus were placed at the tables near the far end of the hall according to the seating board at the front, closest to the orator¡¯s stand in the back. The stand was backed by a large window spanning the width of the room, which was by now showing a dark expanse with thousands upon thousands of stars speckling the black canvas. Trails of dust passed by occasionally, showing themselves as glowing stripes that lasted for a fraction of a second. We sat down at a table near the end of the row, along with the rest of our new roommates, and passed the time talking and getting to know the others a little.


    Close to 1800 hours, the other tables also started to fill in rapidly with the more experienced ensigns, and the murmur in the hall rose accordingly. I looked up from my conversation with an older blond human man, Rast, when a tall hybrid in a black uniform entered the hall. Conversation died down with every row of tables he passed. There was a dangerous dignity to him, and the dead silence in the hall by the time he stood behind the orator¡¯s stand confirmed my suspicion that this was not someone to be slighted.


    He rested his hands on the stand, and looked over the faces before him, paying special attention to our row of fresh recruits. He had short white hair, and yellow eyes like a predator¡¯s. Most notably however, he had an aspect to the mark on his cheek that I¡¯d only seen before on my grandfather. He was a survivor of Attion.


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    My grandfather had not died of old age. Average life expectancy was very different in this world, with people living up to 200 years not being an all too uncommon sight. My grandfather was taken by the late after-effects of prolonged exposure to Cloud Zero, a bioweapon employed by T.O.R.I. that even in this day and age was a challenge for the medical community. Grandpa was the last of his old squad to succumb to the war.


    This man obviously had no lasting physical handicaps from Attion. It was a rare sight to see a first-generation hybrid in such seemingly pristine health.


    ¡°Welcome to the Mission, rookies¡± the veteran growled in a near cartoonishly deep voice. ¡°I will keep this brief: I am Colonel Tellan-three-eight, your commanding officer, and for the next three years I am the one who ultimately decides when you sleep, piss, and eat. You belong to me now, and whether you are worthy of that, is something you will decide for yourself. You are no longer on your backwater planet. You are on the Altar, and you will soon learn the differences.¡±


    One of the new female human recruits a few tables over seemed to say something under her breath. Too soft to make out -something something ¡°grumpy¡±?-, but deafening nonetheless in the silent hall. The Colonel did not even look at her while he drew a burster from his hip and shot her in the face. She slumped to the ground like a ragdoll, and lay there unmoving.


    ¡°Every new class gets three paralysing rounds before I switch to live. You are down to two. Enjoy your meal.¡°


    When the Colonel had left the mess hall, silence still reigned among the recruits for a few moments. Eventually Rast, brown-haired human man from a few bunks over, whispered in a panicked voice, ¡°He can¡¯t just do that, can he?¡±


    ¡°He just did. Let¡¯s help her to the med-bay.¡± Tyrna, my new crush, said, with wide eyes that betrayed her otherwise collected demeanor.


    We didn¡¯t need to however, as a few women at the victim¡¯s table cautiously got up and lifted the woman off the ground to bring her to the infirmary. A paralysing round was, as the name implies, not a deadly weapon, but as a human, she would have a mean headache when she woke up in a few hours if left unattended.


    The meals were served by independently moving carts with robotic arms a few moments later, but despite the decent taste, the food was hard to swallow.


    When we came back to our barracks, there was a display on the window in the back telling us to be dressed in our uniforms tomorrow at 0600 hours. We would start the day with physical training, followed by a class on basic information about the ship and a lesson in weapon¡¯s handling.


    However, we all felt we¡¯d learned our most important lesson already: stay the fuck away from Colonel Tellan-three-eight.

 Chapter 6: basic training

    Chapter 6


    I awoke the next day a few minutes before my alarm went off. Groggily, I got out of bed and made my way past the sleeping forms of my fellow cadets, careful not to wake them as I walked towards the bathrooms. After doing my business and taking a quick high-pressure shower in one of the stalls, I got out to the sound of multiple alarms going off, as the rest of the barrack was getting up. I made a mental note to make getting up early a habit when I saw nineteen other people making their way to a bathroom with 10 stalls. Sapona seemed to be taking a different approach, simply turning over and drawing up his covers when he saw he would need to wait anyway.


    As I quietly got dressed, it occurred to me that tomorrow would be my birthday. It felt weird being so far from my home, my family and friends. It¡¯s not like I wanted people to sing for me or anything, but the people I was surrounded by now didn¡¯t feel close enough to me yet to actually do anything other than silently let it pass. Maybe next year.


    I¡¯d always been easy to read however. ¡°What¡¯s got you down so early?¡± a voice came from above me, and I looked up. Tyrna even looked good with a messy bedhead, though I was certainly crushing hard enough to still appreciate her looks if she were wearing a clownsuit. She jumped out with an agility that should not be possible at this time of day, and smiled at me.


    ¡°It¡¯s my birthday tomorrow. It feels weird to celebrate it here¡± I answered her honestly. A deeper voice answered. ¡°It¡¯s your BIRTHDAY tomorrow!?¡± Sapona rolled out of bed with surprisingly child-like excitement. ¡°Brother, this is the perfect opportunity to go see some bars on the ship! You¡¯re turning eighteen right? In my town, it was a custom to buy a round of drinks for everyone, especially for your buddies! Let¡¯s get wasted!¡± Tyrna giggled, and I couldn¡¯t help a smile forming on my face. ¡°Alright, alright. Drinks on me...¡±


    Just as I was thinking about how lucky I was to bunk with these guys, Sap turned to the rest of the barracks and shouted. ¡°My friends! Vorn¡¯s treating us to drinks tonight for his birthday! Come one, come all!¡± The color drained from my face at the prospect of all my money draining from my pockets. Maybe not the best bunkmates after all. Tyrna leaned in close and whispered. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not too classy for cheap beer¡­¡±


    At 0600 our barrack was assembled in one of the many smaller training halls of the Altar. A holographic AI gave us a quick rundown of the rules and the program, before a male hybrid in training fatigues similar to ours entered and dismissed it. He briefly introduced himself as instructor Katis, before diving into the lesson. We started out with an intense warm-up, that left most of the humans panting on the floor. The instructor then told the remaining hybrids to do another, more intense version of what we just did, while he went on to walk the others through a few training exercises. As I did my five-hundredth or so one-armed push up, I noticed that even the hybrids had begun flagging. That¡¯s odd.


    While hybrids were bred to be strong, it still required training to get in peak physical condition. Even though I had never paid any extra attention to sports before, I still noticed that I was easily outperforming others. Sap was still keeping up, but visibly exerted, and the same went for any other hybrids. My strategic position behind Tyrna didn¡¯t allow me to get a good look of her face, but I noticed her slowing down. Why is this so easy? As I was wondering that, Tyrna suddenly dropped to the floor and turned around, her exhausted visage staring right at me. Caught red-handed, I quickly looked away, but the act threw off my balance and I fell over. Sapona jumped up excitedly, throwing his hands in the air. ¡°YEAH BITCHES, I WIN!¡± Only to be struck down by a swift shot from a burster. With a victorious smile still on his face, he fell flat on his back. ¡°No yelling in my class unless I tell you to, maggot!¡±. I was starting to fear this might be standard conduct among our commanding officers.


    Luckily, it seemed this burster shot didn¡¯t last too long, and, though significantly more subdued, Sapona was able to join us for the following training exercises, and a close-quarter-combat demonstration.


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    It. Felt. Amazing. I had never fought before, aside from maybe a scuffle when I was a kid. But this, this got my blood pumping. As I went through some standard motions with Sapona, I felt an itch being scratched. Clearly equally excited, Sap and I slowly went faster and faster through them. Every blow caught by my arms, every kick landing on Sap¡¯s shin, made my excitement spike. Before we knew it, we were going at it full contact, even going beyond the motions we were shown. I didn¡¯t even feel any pain whenever Sap got a hit in, nor did he seem to mind me striking true. Block left, knee, step in, push him back. I didn¡¯t even need to think, I just flowed through the motions, losing myself in this feeling. Then, an opening, in a split-second I readied the strike, when all of a sudden I was struck by sudden weakness, moments later followed by Sapona¡¯s fist against my jaw.


    I found myself dazed on the floor, wondering what had happened. Sap stood over me, reaching out his hand, but I found myself unable to lift -or even feel- my arm and take it. Instructor Katis joined Sap, and looked at me with a mix of disapproval and surprise. ¡°What happened? Sir?¡± Sap asked him. ¡°Battle-trance.¡± Katis answered, still looking down at me. ¡°It¡¯s the main reason I carry a burster here, but I usually don¡¯t have to use it until a few trainings in.¡± Katis looked at Sap. ¡°He was preparing his tail for a strike at your throat. Would have killed you probably.¡± He looked back at me. ¡°It¡¯s instinct for us, nothing personal. Probably didn¡¯t even know what you were doing, right?¡± I tried to speak, finding that too difficult I simply shook my head slowly, with an apologetic look at Sap. Fucking shit! Just made a friend and nearly killed him, stupid idiot. Sap looked at me, and amazingly grinned a wide smile. ¡°My friend, if you want to get out of treating me to drinks tonight, then tough shit. Now you owe me two!¡± I laughed wholeheartedly, more out of relief than joy.


    The rest of our first real day as cadets wasn¡¯t nearly as exciting as the morning had been. After a quick shower, a change into clean uniforms, and lunch in the mess, we filed into a classroom that reminded me of home. The lesson mostly focused on basic logistics and etiquette on a Frontier vessel. After an hour of that, the AI teacher remotely opened up a few cabinets along the walls, instructing us to choose a cabinet and take out the large rifle.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the ammo?¡± Rast asked the AI.


    It spoke ¡°There is no live ammunition in this classroom. Safety regulations. You must first learn how a weapon works, and learn to respect it. Now please return to your seats, and I will walk you through it.¡± The AI calmly continued when everyone was reseated with a rifle in front of them. ¡°What you have in front of you is the standard issue PCB901 Flexible Assault Rifle, FAR for short. It is capable of firing several types of ammo, ranging from armor-piercing rounds to less-than-lethal sonic bursts. It uses mass-manipulators and magnetic accelerators to project a round at hypersonic speed, sending it forth to bring any foe a bad fucking day. You will learn how to hold it, wield it, and care for it, before you so much as THINK of putting a live round in it. Follow my lead.¡±


    The lesson passed quickly, as we went through the standard set of weaponry of a Frontier soldier. Aside from the FAR, it came with a nanoknife, capable of slipping between molecules to sever tissue, and a MOBR handgun, which was basically a modernized version of a Desert Eagle. They looked alright, and if the AI instructor was to be believed, would certainly be fine companions out in the field. But they just didn¡¯t feel right. It was awkward to hold them, ever so slightly too small, too light to comfortably use. I raised a hand.


    ¡°Yes cadet Proton?¡± the AI answered.


    ¡°I¡¯m having some trouble with the size of the weapon, sir. Is there anything more suited for hybrid use?¡±. It seemed I wasn¡¯t the only one of my kind who felt this way, as my fellow hybrids looked up at the AI expectantly.


    ¡°There is, but it is not standard issue. The FAR is a weapon every Frontier recruit, regardless of future station or position, is expected to be able to wield properly. However, as part of the martial branch, you will be educated in wielding various other weapons in future lessons, some of which are tailored to hybrids. You are still in basic training, cadet Proton, and you must learn to walk before you can run.¡± The AI smiled. ¡°However, if you show promise, and show that you can responsibly deal with weaponry, then perhaps you will be allowed to progress to more high-end weaponry before your peers. I look forward to your efforts¡­¡±


    I looked at Sap. I could see it in his eyes, as he could in mine. A challenge. I was going to responsible the shit out of this weapon¡¯s class.


    Next to me, Tyrna saw us and sighed. ¡°You guys are idiots¡±.