Star Force: Shame (SF59) Read online

  “Just some advice. You guys always figure it out eventually. Han…500181. You’re in the same class as Stan. Julie…500001. You’re in the half million mark group. That means nothing other than a lot of zeros in your number, by the way. Ginsi…500289.”

  500289, she repeated in her head, memorizing the number. That meant the other three weren’t in her class, nor were the others that the trainer read off next. Glancing down at her datapad she realized the city was right below them and decided to stow it away, no longer feeling like sightseeing. The trainer didn’t have much more to say, but she could already get the feeling that this was a high pressure environment and she needed to have her mind focused on what she was doing, and right now that meant following instructions and not looking out the virtual windows.

  When the dropship finally did land the ‘trainees,’ as they were now apparently called, were escorted off first onto the open surface of the city. The humidity struck Ginsi immediately, given that she’d grown up on a world that had no oceans or bodies of water larger than a small lake. The wet air hit her nose right off, as did the wind that whipped her loose green hair around like a hurricane with her swiping it out of her eyes as the seven trainees followed the trainer over to a nearby building entrance.

  Once inside her hair settled down and she was split up from the others, with a different trainer taking her off on his own and the pair heading for a lift. From there they traveled through the city interior, which wasn’t all that different from what she was used to, though it did feel a bit more ancient, if that was a feeling that one could feel.

  Out of the lift they walked a bit more then passed through a checkpoint and into what the man said was the Archon training areas where the rest of Atlantis’s personnel weren’t permitted. From there Ginsi was escorted to the holding area the first trainer had promised and she was left to mingle with her new family until they were called for, with some six trainers stationed nearby to look after them. She got the feeling they were being handled a bit like younglings, but since she didn’t have a clue what was going on she was actually glad for it.

  “Nice hair,” a girl behind her commented.

  Ginsi turned around, then ran her fingers through the mess a few times. “That stupid wind.”

  “Actually I meant the color. I like the green.”

  “Thanks. I’m Ginsi by the way. 289. Or, well, 500289. Don’t think we’ll be using the first 3 very much since they’re all the same.”

  “First four actually. I’m Sax-500211.”

  “Right, four.”

  “Looks like we’re only 3 shy now.”

  “If you say so,” Ginsi said, looking around at all the others. Most were near her height of 5’10’’ but a few looked to be near the 6’5’’ range.

  “I’ve been counting.”

  “Did they tell you we were going to see Davis?”

  “Yes,” Sax said eagerly.

  “They also said something about secrets.”

  “Archon only stuff…I can’t wait.”

  “I didn’t realize being hot was one of the requirements for being an Archon,” a guy said, walking up beside Sax.

  “It’s not,” she said, glaring at him. “Otherwise you wouldn’t be here.”

  He looped an arm around her shoulders. “Now that’s starting to sound like my sister already.”

  “I’m Ginsi…89.”

  “Matt…34.”

  “And thanks for the compliment.”

  “Just pointing out the obvious,” he said, letting go of Sax. “Some of us have been here a few hours already and we’re getting a bit tired of waiting.”

  “Did anyone say how long it would take?”

  “No,” Sax answered. “So we’re just chitchatting to pass the time.”

  “Ugh…and here I really hate small talk.”

  “Apparently all of us do,” Matt commented. “That’s one of the first things we figured out.”

  “Really?” Ginsi said, starting to feel an odd familiarity with them already.

  “Would you like to make out instead?”

  “Why not,” she said, calling his bluff and taking a step towards him while grabbing his neck with her right hand and laying the biggest kiss on him that she could manage before slowly pulling back. “Here or would you prefer some place more out in the open?”

  Matt coughed once, catching his breath. “Wow. You’re even more sarcastic than me. I humbly admit defeat,” he said with a short bow.

  “Slayed with a kiss,” Sax said, lightly punching Matt in the stomach. “Now that’s a new one.”

  “Looks like our last 3 are here,” he said, pointing to the entrance as two guys and a girl were brought in wearing the same white with blue stripe uniforms that the rest of them had been given prior to transit to Atlantis.

  “Just in time to wait some more,” Sax said dryly, and she was right, for the group wasn’t taken away to another chamber till an hour later. There they were seated in a small amphitheater with her taking a seat in the second row with a tall, muscular man standing before them that introduced himself as Wilson, their Head Trainer. He spoke briefly, then another man walked up and exchanged places with him.

  Ginsi almost didn’t recognize Davis in person, for his hair was all short and spikey, but as soon as he started speaking there was no mistake. He spoke quickly yet clearly, and outlined why they were here, what they had been chosen for, the challenges ahead, and the ‘secrets’ that had been alluded to.

  By the end of it all Ginsi was nearly speechless. After all this time and 6 centuries of building and growth and war, the general population still had no idea of who the true enemy was and the threat they posed. She found that staggering, but also empowering, because she was being trusted with the secret and the responsibility to do something about it by completing her basic training and becoming an Archon.

  Little did she know how big a role she’d play in the future, for like any proper Archon she kept her mind focused on the here and now. Ginsi didn’t need any coaching on that, for once the V’kit’no’sat were revealed to her everything in her life seemed to crystalize into one undeniable purpose…and from that day on she worked just as hard as the others, if not harder, to earn her spot in the Archon ranks and begin her meteoric rise up through the levels.

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