Aeon Legion: Labyrinth (15 page)

“Who's that?” asked one of
other potentials.

Tacitus glanced to the
recruit. “Some girl named Hikari. I think she is from an island
warrior culture. She's on my list when I start building my strike
team.”

Roland lounged on the side of
the bridge. “Really? How did she get in?”

Tacitus shrugged. “She
impressed an instructor. That's how most get in. She apparently
fought a sparring match with Centurion Nikias. Almost defeated him I
hear. He had to use a shieldwatch to win. Pretty rare when that
happens. Especially since he's a Spartan.”

Terra's eyes widened. Nikias
was a Spartan? No wonder he was so unimpressed with her.

One other hopeful nodded. “I
tried Nikias already. You have to be bold and skilled in combat to
impress him. He won't take anyone who hasn't seen combat already. A
few people have had luck with Centurion Shani.”

“She only cares if you are
talented,” another of the hopefuls scoffed. “I hear it takes
forever and you don't even have a chance unless you already have a
bunch of medals or achievements.”

“Centurion Isra takes people
sometimes,” another said who stood towards the back of the group.

Tacitus shook his head. “She
only likes survivors. I will say who you can't go to. Praetor Lycus
Cerberus.”

“The silver haired man?”
said another hopeful towards the front. “What's so bad about him? I
hear he's a Legendary Blade.”

Tacitus shot the hopeful a
dark glare. “Lycus Cerberus rarely lets people in and those he
does... well let's just say that if he allows you in, then he has
something nasty planned. I pity anyone chosen by him. While he is a
Legendary Blade, that only means it's near impossible to best him in
any contest.”

Everyone hushed for a moment.

Tacitus faced Roland. “I
still wish to know how you got in.”

Others inched forward as all
eyes turned to Roland.

Roland smiled and shrugged
before standing up from his lazy lounge. “Very well. I hate to give
away valuable secrets, but I am a generous soul.”

The others grew silent,
waiting for Roland's story.

“You see,” Roland began.
“I saved an instructor from an attack of a wrathful recruit who, in
anger of rejection, had attacked him. Naturally this is a result of
putting so many soldiers in one place. What do they expect to happen?
Most soldiers here would never turn down a fight or a meal.”

Everyone laughed except Terra.

“It was a treacherous
Saracen of course. He waited until the instructor’s back had turned
before drawing a dagger. One of the strange oracles of the city had
foreseen the attack, but the others found distraction from a
different fight that occurred at the same time. I saw the Saracen
raise the dagger to strike,” he said, building the suspense.

The others' breath seem to
catch while Terra raised an eyebrow.

“Thinking quickly,” Roland
said. “I took off my shieldwatch and flung it at the Saracen,
striking him in the face. The instructor turned in time to see the
attack. Grateful for his rescue, he accepted my petition to enter the
training.”

Terra
just rolled her eyes.
What
lies
,
she thought and wondered how Roland really got into the training.

Roland finished his story.
“That is how I was chosen for the training. Now if you excuse me.
On the morrow, I plan to begin my own preparations.”

The crowd dispersed, seemingly
inspired by Roland's fabricated story.

“I like him,” one hopeful
said as they walked away.

Tacitus gave Roland a salute.
“If you make it past the first day, I may try to get you for my
strike team. Until then, good luck sir knight.”

Terra regarded Roland with
narrowed eyes as Tacitus left. When he was alone, he walked down to
the creek and dipped his feet into the water. There was something
about him that Terra didn't like. He had hidden how he had really
gotten into the training. She would find out just how he did it.
Terra followed him to the stoney creek below the bridge.

“How did you really get in?”
Terra asked, hands on hips as she stood on a large stone that
bordered the creek.

Roland smiled and sat down on
the grassy bank of the creek, his feet still in the water. “Ah. So
you didn't like my story?”

Terra crossed her arms. “Or
your little cheat with the dice. I saw you use your shieldwatch to
alter the number.”

Terra got a closer look at
Roland now. His oval face was handsome with smooth youthful features.
However, messy dark hair gave a slight rough edge to his appearance
along with his casual lounge. Roland's wry smile that put others at
ease appeared arrogant to Terra.

Roland looked Terra over with
his ocean blue eyes. “Is this what warriors look like in your
time?”

Terra blushed and looked away.
She then cliched her fist and turned her focus back to Roland.
“That's not important. Are you a knight?”

Roland shrugged, still
lounging. “Unless someone has wrested that title away while I
slept. Why should that matter?”

Terra narrowed her gaze.
“Knights are suppose to be chivalrous, not cheat and deceive
others.”

Roland raised an eyebrow.
“Chivalrous?”

“You know. Protect the weak?
Give aid to those in trouble? Fight fairly and with honor? Don't lie
or steal?”

Roland's eyes narrowed. “That
sounds completely foolish. What naive child thought of that?”

“I don't understand. How did
a jerk like you get into the training?”

“Jerk? I am unfamiliar with
this expression. Does it mean incredibly handsome, smart, and
wealthy?”

Terra clenched her jaw and
glared at Roland.

Roland chuckled. “Well you
don't need a translator for that look. As your insults have so
thoroughly amused me, I will grace you with the true story of how I
made it into the training. I cheated. Again. You see, I witnessed an
instructor telling a legionnaire to add a recruit to the accepted
list. This was after the legionnaire had seen me chatting with that
instructor earlier. I approached the same legionnaire a short time
later. I explained that the instructor had sent me on his behalf as
he had forgotten to tell him that my name should be scribed on the
list. After some persuasion, they accepted me.”

“You smooth talked your way
in! I should turn you in to the instructors.”

Roland's smile faded. “You
remind me of someone I don't like. He had a bad habit of tempting me
into honesty as well. Regardless, I doubt they would take your word
over mine if your shock at me being a dishonest knight is genuine.”

Terra ground her teeth. How
had Roland gotten her so angry?

Roland's smile returned.
“Besides, I refuse to spend the next few weeks bowing before the
instructors' whim to gain a slim chance acceptance. After getting
thrown into a fountain the first time, I went down the easier path.
As you have no doubt seen, I don't rely on luck,” he said before
collecting his things and turning to go.

Terra's hateful gaze followed
him until he disappeared into the Academy. She let out a long sigh.
It all seemed so unfair.

∞

“I can't help you. They
don't let us decide who gets into the program. Try talking to one of
the centurions,” the silver haired man said, his tone cold as he
walked past Terra. He was one of the staff members of the program,
most of whom held the rank of optio. She had almost begged him to be
let in, but he turned her away like all the rest.

Terra bowed her head low and
sighed. This was the last of the optios she hadn't talked to. Others
had given the same response. Centurions now recognized her on sight
and refused to even speak with her. This was after she had spent the
last couple of weeks pestering them. She had tried everyone now.
Everyone, but one. The one she wanted to avoid. The one who had
thrown her out first. Praetor Lycus Cerberus, head of the training
program.

Lycus terrified her. That
wolfish grin seemed so unnatural. Even the optios shied away from him
and she found it difficult enough to face the centurions. However,
her options grew thin.

It had been three weeks since
her first day at the Academy and training started tomorrow. She
stopped exercise early today so she could have more time to find
someone who would let her into the training program. The past weeks
she had split between trying to gain admittance and exercising with
Delphia who had enthusiastically agreed to help her.

Terra found exercising much
less stressful than trying to get into the training. At least in the
acceleration gyms she made progress. Delphia had shown her that the
gyms on Saturn City used time to accelerate regrowth of muscle and to
alleviate fatigue. A week in an Acceleration Gym was equal to almost
two months of normal exercise. She could exercise all day if she
wished, stopping only to sleep and eat. Even the food at the gym
accelerated the body's absorption of nutrients, though it tasted foul
and made her sick for a few moments.

Terra did feel frustrated that
her appearance remained mostly the same. She did lose some weight as
she found her old clothes fit a bit too loose for her now. Now Terra
wore Saturnian clothes. It took a while for her to find something
that was modest enough to suit her tastes. Terra never felt
comfortable showing much of her skin.

Despite her progress in
exercise, her time at the Academy proved wasted. She wandered the
halls of the Academy thinking. Should she confront Lycus? He had
already rejected her the first day. Perhaps she should wait like
Nikias had suggested? Maybe if she could find Alya? No. She hadn't
even seen Alya since the timeport and couldn't depend on her. Why had
she come here at all? Maybe she should just go home back to her nice
quarry. What did this place offer her anyway?

She
stopped as she spotted a familiar sight. In a large open room to her
side was several bookshelves. A holoface hanging over the entryway
changed to English as she drew near. It read
Aevum
Academy Library
.
Terra stepped inside.

The library was the size of a
large stadium. It was circular in design with book shelves arranged
in semi circles around several large open areas in the center. To the
sides were smaller circular plates that projected holographic images
above them. When the library patrons stepped on these plates, the
holographic images appeared and Minerva’s voice could be heard when
one drew close to them.

Terra walked amongst the
bookshelves. She found most books were written in various foreign
languages, all originals. Soon she came to a pair of large metal
fadedoors decorated with golden text she couldn't read, but two
guards in Legion armor stopped her.

“Sorry dhimmi,” he said,
holding up a hand. “This area is forbidden without special
permission from the Aeon Legion.”

Terra looked at the fadedoors.
“What's behind these doors?”

“The Saturn City Historical
Archives,” the other guard said.

Terra glanced back to the
guards. “If it's just history, why is it forbidden?”

“Time travelers have a bad
habit of trying to change history after they learn about it,” the
first guard said. “So now we only let those in who can be trusted.
Those who are accepted into the Aeon Legion training are given
limited access.”

The second guard pointed to a
disc shaped platform nearby. “The holo readers give you limited
access through Minerva though.”

Leaving
the fadedoors, she made her way over to a disc shaped plate. She
stepped onto it and it lifted, hovering off the ground a few paces as
a holographic image appeared. It read
Saturn
City Archive Holo Reader.

“Welcome, Terra Mason, to
the Archives holo reader,” came Minerva's voice from the platform.
“What do you wish to know?”

Terra thought for a moment.
What didn't she want to know? After a moment she thought of something
she wanted to see. “FDR's first inaugural address?”

The graphic changed. A map
appeared, showing the Edge and its many branching continua. A dot
raced along, moving to Continuum Lambda and stopped at 1933 AD. The
graphic changed again. This time, the area on the plate transformed
into a full color scene with Franklin D. Roosevelt standing on his
podium.

The graphic projection seemed
to extend far beyond the bounds of the plate, though the graphic
became translucent beyond the edges, revealing the library. Franklin
D. Roosevelt, however, was in its center in perfect focus. Although
Terra had already heard the speech in person, the quality still
impressed her.

“Gettysburg Address?”
Terra asked.

The graphic changed again.
While the quality was impressive, Terra couldn't help but wish she
was there in person especially since she knew this was possible.

“Can you show me the future
of the United States?” Terra asked after a moment.