10 Months Earlier

  Daniel stood stock still in his dark grey cadet fatigues, staring straight ahead and fighting to remain disciplined.

  He was one among many, the numberless legion of Pioneer cadets assembled in neat rows on the parade ground of Base Fortuna for their Day 1 initiation. Base Fortuna was, ironically, one of the most unfortunate and unpleasant places in the whole of the Imperium. It was one of many Pioneer training facilities on the planet of Corsythe, one of the few inhabited ocean planets in the civilized world. The entire base was one massive metal platform, its supporting pillars extending further into the depths of the water below. There was a reason that ocean planets were almost never inhabited, as building these metal platforms was always more expensive than just building on dry land like a normal person. Add that to the inevitable problems the local fauna tended to cause, and both people and factories were happy to go elsewhere. There was one advantage, and one advantage only, that Corsythe had which had prompted the Pioneers to build on it.

  It was always miserable.

  The weather was always bad in one way or another. Sometimes it was pouring rain, other times it was dumping snow. The one constant were the relentless winds, howling and blowing wildly at all hours of the day. Blessedly, the Pioneers were currently protected by a transparent dome of glasslike material, which stretched over the platform and defended the base from the elements. But the dome had a retractable feature, allowing it to open and expose the entire cadet class to the storm. Training on obstacle courses or fighting in harsh weather was the bread and butter of Pioneer training, on top of improving their marksmanship and basic survival skills.

  Even though he was dry, Daniel was grumpy. The sky was gray and rainy, the day was early, and he thought back to the moment he’d told Marie and Lucy he was going to become a Pioneer. They seemed worried, but he’d told them that he’d always longed for adventure and that he’d make better money this way. Both statements were true, but misleading, as they obviously weren’t his primary motivations, and he felt both women had seen through his lie by omission. This was especially true when he told Lucy that she could spend her final year of schooling at Matterhorn Prep. She’d taken his hand in two of hers, switching to that maternal and serious mode that made her seem so much older than she really was: “You don’t need to do this, Danny. This is your life we’re talking about.”

  She was right, of course, but that only hardened his resolve. This kid was gonna live her best life, even if he had to walk through fire to make it happen. It was his life. But that made this his choice. The recruiters had come for him a couple weeks after his high shooting scores started showing up in Old Tom’s system. Then it took roughly a month and a half to test him, evaluate him as a Candidate, process all his paperwork, ship him off to Corsythe, and induct him into the Base Fortuna Class of 203. Whatever else you could say about the military, they didn’t mess around with recruitment.

  Standing here now, though, he was beginning to second guess that choice. The Base Commander had called them out here on their first day, but now he was making them wait patiently at attention. Presumably as some sort of mind game, or some other foolishness. It was boring and stressful and the weather above was a constant reminder of greater miseries in his future. Standing there, wrapped up in his own thoughts, he barely heard it when the toe of the cadet next to him started to tap. It was a steady, calming rhythm, and Daniel was surprised to hear the man start to hum. It was quiet in tone, but fun and lighthearted all the same. Raising one eyebrow, he looked sideways toward the sound, noticing with some surprise that this cadet was more than a head shorter than him. Bright blonde hair poked out from under the man’s cadet cap, marking the man as likely originating from one of the snowier and more unforgiving corners of the Imperium.

  That wasn’t obvious from his demeanor however, which stood out as slightly relaxed in the stiff and nervous crowd. The man rolled one bright blue eye to meet Daniel’s sidelong glance, and gave him a lopsided smile, before muttering: “Nice weather we’ve got here, eh big guy?”

  Daniel was instantly thrown off. Was this guy kidding? Was this nice weather, compared to where he came from? Seeing his confusion, the man gave him a wink and continued: “If you like cold showers, anyways. Or the color gray.”

  Daniel fought back a snort. That was about as goofy as it got, and he couldn’t help but mutter a response: “Maybe you should ask the Commander to open the dome if you like cold showers that much. Just wait for me to go inside, all right?”

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  “Sure, you can go inside. If you promise to bring me my soap. If the Man Upstairs wants me to get clean that badly, I may as well do it right.”

  They both smirked a little at that, and the man introduced himself: “I’m Jordan, by the way. Jordan Haraldson.”

  “Daniel Hardgrave. My friends call me Danny.”

  “Nice to meetcha, Danny. Good to meet at least one friendly fellow in this stormy place.”

  He was right. It was. Especially because the dome above them began opening just as Jordan finished that sentence.

  …

  6 Months Later

  Training was long and brutal, designed to break the recruits down and push them to their limits. Sometimes, Daniel wondered whether their trainers were interested in making them stronger or just delighting in making them suffer. Still, all the fighting and the calisthenics in adverse conditions forced every recruit to develop significant mental and physical resilience. He had always been in good shape, but the training forged a reasonably muscular young man into a serious warrior. Daniel hadn’t used a spear much before, only a little while fishing as a boy, but he was a quick study. He showed significant enough prowess as a warrior and marksman that they promoted him to Private Second Class when he graduated. Some had wanted to make him a Private First Class, but his low academics had precluded that. But he didn’t mind. He was just happy to be done with the whole operation.

  Graduation Day was a big affair. They had all been called out to the parade grounds and given a big speech by the Base Commander, a large dark-skinned man they knew as Major Arkhan. He was very intense, with a square, grey dusted black beard, and eerie green eyes that almost seemed to glow when he looked at them. Judging by his eye-level horizontal scar, they were advanced prosthetics that literally did glow. The Major gave them a whole speech about how the enemies of the Imperium were re-arming themselves as they spoke. The Pioneers were key in ensuring the peace and enshrining the continuing prosperity of their great civilization, or so he said. It wasn’t like Daniel disagreed with the man, though he had never thought much about politics, but rather that he cared less for the Major and more for the crowds behind him.

  The families of many of the cadets who were graduating had showed up in support for their soldiers. They were in the stands surrounding the Major and the soldiers on the fields below. Daniel searched the crowds tirelessly, sharp eyes flitting from face to face until he found who he was looking for. Lucy and Marie were in the stands at a midway point just behind the Major. He was cheered to see them, but they also brought with them a slight pang of reminder. Elise wasn’t with them. She’d broken up with him over video call, about a month after he got on base. Something about how she couldn’t be with a man who’d spend so much of his life so far away. Daniel said he understood, and he did, but the breakup was still a real blow. He hadn’t had the time to dwell on it, thanks to the rigors of training, but the sight of his family reminded him of home and re-opened the wound.

  That minor moment of sadness was swept away by the cheer of the crowd as the Major announced their Graduation and wished them good luck in the battles to come. It was standard practice for family members to pin the badges on recently Graduated students, and Daniel’s heart soared as he puffed out his chest and watched Lucy make her way over to him. With a proud smile, she took out a bar of black metal, decorated with two eight pointed stars cast in shining copper, and pinned it on his left breast.

  After that, they were dismissed for the rest of the day. Graduated Pioneers had already obtained their first mission assignment, but Pioneers expeditions took time to plan and many of the ships were currently out on assignment anyways. A new Pioneer expedition, suitable for fighters of their rank, usually left once every month and a half or so. Pioneers who had just graduated were obligated to sign up for either the first possible expedition or the second, and Daniel had chosen the second. Since the most recent expedition had left before his graduation, he now had more than two months of downtime, which he would spend living and training on the Pioneer outpost on Akaadia. Jordan would be going back to Crucia, but they had both managed to wriggle their way onto the same ship in the same expedition.

  Speaking of Jordan, his father and elder sister had shown up to graduation, his mother staying home to take care of the three younger girls. Markus Haraldson looked a lot like his son, height and everything, though he had clearly been weathered by age. His face was scarred and lined, hands gnarled and callused as they grasped Daniel’s firmly. He looked like he’d wrestled several large wild animals in his life, yet he carried himself with the confidence that said those wild animals had lost. Unlike his son, he was solemn and quiet, though not unkind.

  Meanwhile, Jordan’s sister was drop dead gorgeous, with the same blue eyes and bright blonde hair as both of her male relatives. But on her, those baby blues became broad feminine pools, her long golden hair shiny and well taken care of. Bizarrely, she was taller than either man, the top of her head reaching up to Daniel’s nose. She accepted his hand with a natural ladylike grace, her palm cool and soft to the touch. Daniel caught that her name was Anna, but he was a little too starstruck to hear anything else she said. Like her father, Anna was cold and quiet, with the fa?ade of an ice queen. Though Daniel thought he saw a hint of her brother’s warmth bubbling beneath the surface of her sapphire eyes.

  The two families united, they went out to dinner at a nearby pub. Lucy and Jordan hit it off immediately, any natural shyness Lucy may have when meeting new people instantly evaporating in the face of Jordan’s natural gregariousness. He taught her a few drinking songs, and they sang along in tune to the pub’s ambient music before the lyrics got too bawdy. The moment she saw Jordan corrupting the studious young girl with filthy language, Marie started swatting him with her fan.

  Daniel was in quiet conversation with Markus, who was telling the young man stories from his time as a Pioneer and sharing with him a few tidbits of general advice. Anna was content to take in the whole atmosphere with a serene demeanor. From the other side of the table, Jordan cried out: “Danny help! Your grandmother is bullying me!”

  Jordan knew that Marie wasn’t related to Daniel, and she was clearly in her forties at the most, but he always liked to instigate. Sure enough, Marie only slapped him harder as the whole table broke out in laughter.

  It was a short and sweet calm before a long and violent tempest.

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