Valor's Calling

by Kal Spriggs

  “So,” I said, “want me to give you the full tour?”

  “Sure,” Dad said. Will nodded eagerly, while Mom just sort of looked around, her pinch-faced expression in full force. She hates it here.

  “Where would you like to start?” I asked. “There's a grav-shell demonstration that we're doing for families later this afternoon, but we could try the firing range or the obstacle course...” Mom's expression grew more strained as I went on “... or how about my room or the chapel?”

  “The chapel sounds good,” Dad said with a smile.

  I led them that way. Unfortunately, it seemed like everyone else had the same idea. The main corridors headed towards the chapel were jammed and unlike the cadets, most of the parents and family didn't move with any sense of urgency.

  I paused, trying to get my bearings. There was a longer route using some of the side corridors, but I couldn't see over the crowd to judge whether we'd missed it or not.

  “This way, right?” My mom nodded towards a gap in the crowd. I followed her and only after we started down the right corridor did I pause to wonder how she'd known. Maybe it was luck, I told myself.

  We made good time, taking the side corridors and I pointed out some of the art that my section had done, our contribution to the murals on the walls. None from me, of course. I didn't have an artistic bone in my body, but I did point out one that Mikuluk and Phillips had done for our section. Most of the murals on this level were memorials to ships or units lost in combat.

  My mom, though, paused in front of one I hadn't pointed out.

  I recognized it instantly. It was the same one that had struck me during Academy Prep School. It was probably the best painted of the murals. The details were amazing, almost life-like. It depicted a ship, damaged beyond saving and falling into the atmosphere, but the crew remained at their posts, continuing to fire their weapons, the surface of Century far below them.

  They were dying to save the planet that was going to kill them, and like every time I'd seen it, I felt a chill go over me. My maternal grandfather, the Admiral's husband, had been Captain of that ship, the Comet. His name was at the top of the crew roster painted below the mural. Captain Brett Armstrong.

  My mom's father. I pulled my eyes away from the mural and saw her standing there, her eyes filled with tears. I didn't want to understand her. She was my mother. I much preferred thinking that she acted to spite me, rather than realizing that she didn't have things as together as I'd wish.

  “That's your father's ship?” My dad asked, his voice low.

  “Yes,” My mom's voice startled me. It was controlled, hard. It sounded like the Admiral's voice. She straightened and gave us all a smile. I knew it had to be fake, but it shocked me that she donned the expression so easily.

  I led the way onwards and we managed to beat the crowd to the Academy's chapel. I pointed out the heavy blast doors as we went through, “These are doors from the Liberty, she was destroyed in the Three Day War.”

  “Century's first cruiser, yes,” My mom said quietly.

  I shot her a glance, but she ignored me and so I just led the way on. I pointed out the stained glass windows, backlit by artificial light, then we managed to squeeze out the side door just as the crowd arrived. My dad puffed a bit as we closed the door behind us. When I gave him a look, he shook his head, “You kind of forget what the crowds are like, back at Black Mesa. It's a bit overwhelming.”

  I couldn't argue with that. Black Mesa had all of thirty adults in the coolest parts of the year, and during the summer that number dropped to about fifteen. It was the closest permanent settlement to the equator on the planet, so it wasn't anything resembling comforting. The closest that we ever came to a crowd down there was when everyone showed up to an event.

  I led the way back through the corridors to the barracks area. My mom raised an eyebrow as we went up the stairs. “Sand Dragon?”

  “Yeah...” I frowned, “How did you know?”

  She didn't answer. I was starting to get a weird vibe about all of this, almost like my mom could have run the tour. But she'd never served a day in the militia. She barely talked about her mother, the Admiral, and never talked about her father.

  I found Ashiri Takenata and her family just coming out of our room. It was a bit daunting, because first there was Ashiri, then her parents, and then what seemed like a constant stream of younger and older siblings. How did they all fit in there, I wondered. It wasn't like our room was that big...

  “Jiden!” Ashiri gushed, “Mother, father, this is my roommate, Jiden Armstrong!”

  “Ah,” Ashiri's father gave me a slight bow, “We have heard much about you.” He had a pronounced accent, which startled me a bit. It shouldn't have, I supposed. I sort of remembered Ashiri saying that other languages were more common back at Ten Sisters.

  “Thank you,” I nodded in reply. “Uh, this is my mom and dad, and my brother Will. Mom, Dad, this is my roommate, Ashiri Takenata.”

  My dad frowned, “I thought I remembered you roomed with some other girl, last year. What was her name? What happened to her?”

  My smile grew a little strained. “Uh...” I really didn't want to go into it about what had happened between Sashi Drien and me.

  “Drien,” Mom said the word like a curse. Like a really bad one, the kind that one just didn't say in polite company. She smiled at Ashiri, then, “It's a pleasure meeting, you and your family, Ashiri.”

  “We were about to go get lunch, would you like to join us?” Ashiri's mother asked.

  I had a flash back to my horrid experience the last time I'd gone out. Before I could decline, though, my parents both agreed. It put my back up, how they assumed that they would make the decisions, how, despite all I'd been through, I was back to being a child. I wanted to speak up and tell them I didn't want to go, but I couldn't in front of Ashiri's family. I didn't want to look bad.

  Ashiri gave me a wink and muttered low enough that no one else seemed to hear, “Don't worry, Biohazard, we'll go someplace without spicy food.”

  That made me feel a bit better, right up until my mom brushed some speck of lint off my shoulder, once again setting the impression that I was a child. Family was the worst.

  ***

  We made it to Bahta Town, taking the train and then emerging into the sunlight and chaos. Ashiri's parents led the way, their parade of children following behind and my parents, Will, and I in the back. My family seemed as overwhelmed as I'd felt on my first visit to Bahta Town.

  We wound through the streets and I felt lost after a few minutes, but soon we stepped out of the noise and heat and into a restaurant. I sneezed a bit at the strong smells. This looked like more foreign food. I tried not to wrinkle my nose.

  “Ah,” Dad said, “hokkai miso.” To my surprise, he spat out something in a different language at the hostess, who gave him a broad smile and nod in return.

  “You speak hakubu hitora?” Ashiri's dad asked.

  “I did my archeology internship on Ten Sisters,” Dad said. “I picked up a bit. Their food is fantastic, I hadn't realized there was one of their restaurants on Century.”

  “This is the only one outside of New Albion,” Ashiri's mother said. She smiled, “My husband used to cook at this one, but now we own our own restaurant at New Albion.”

  “That's great!” Dad said. “We'll have to come visit sometime! That's really fantastic!”

  The three of them began discussing intimate details of the food that I didn't understand, even as they showed us to a long table. I ended up near Ashiri. I leaned in her direction, “What should I order?”

  “Tell them number five,” Ashiri said back to me. “It's rice with some dumplings. It should be fine to eat in uniform, way less messy than anything else and not spicy at all.”

  “Thanks,” I muttered.

  Now that everyone was seated, I was able to tell that Ashiri had five siblings, rather than what had seemed like ten or fifteen. I wasn't sure, but I thought that two of her b
rothers were older, while both her sisters and her youngest brother looked younger. “This is San and Tinan,” Ashiri pointed at her two older brothers. “My sisters, Hiroe and Megu, and my little brother Eiji.”

  “We're so proud of Ashiri,” her mom said, “she's wanted to attend the Academy since we immigrated, but we were so nervous for her, she's always been such a shy thing...”

  “Thanks mom,” Ashiri said with a tone of resignation.

  “Oh, she's really come out of her shell,” she replied quickly, “but she used to just sit in her room and study and play games all the time. Never any boys around!”

  “Mom!” Ashiri protested.

  “I'm only saying,” her mom waved a hand. “I want grandchildren some day! You know I was already engaged to your father when I was your age, I had half the boys in our neighborhood courting me...”

  Ashiri had buried her face in her hands, her ears turning bright red as her mother went on. I looked uncertainly at my parents. My dad had a slightly amused expression, while my mom didn't bother to hide her smile. They think this is funny...

  Thankfully, food arrived before Ashiri's mother could go for too long. I dug into my food. It was bland, but after my last experience in eating out, I didn't want anything remotely exciting. Bland was good. And since I was wearing my dress uniform, I didn't want to get it dirty, either.

  Everyone ate in relative silence, with Ashiri's younger siblings pausing to talk about this or that. They all seemed pretty excited to visit the Academy and it was pretty clear that they all wanted to attend as well. I finished eating quickly and I nodded at Ashiri's older brothers, San and Tinan who had been silent until now. “So,” I asked politely, “what are you both up to?”

  They looked at each other. “We help father with the restaurant,” San said. Like his parents, his accent was noticeably stronger than I'd expected.

  “Oh, that's neat,” I wasn't really certain how to respond to that. Ashiri had seemed so eager to get out and do things, I was a bit surprised that her brothers weren't.

  “In our culture,” Ashiri's mother said, “it is typical for the men to stay at home or to work menial jobs, while the women pursue higher education. I've achieved multiple engineering degrees, my daughters will do the same, and my sons will follow in our family's traditions. That's what we are comfortable with.”

  “What if they want to do something else?” I blurted. Too late, I saw Ashiri shake her head in warning. Apparently this wasn't a good topic for dinner.

  Ashiri's mother gave me a smile, “Jiden, they wouldn't want things differently. This is our family, our culture. We are perfectly content.”

  I glanced at San and Tinan, whose expressions were hard to read. Were they really happy waiting tables or cooking in their father's restaurant while their little sister went to the Century Military Academy? I looked at Ashiri's youngest brother, Eiji. From the way he looked at the floor, I didn't think he was exactly excited to look forward to a career of working in the restaurant.

  Ashiri gave me another warning look. She wanted me to leave it be. But it struck me as unfair. I didn't want to leave it be. “Well, what if Eiji wants something different?” I asked. “I mean, my brother will attend the Academy, what makes your son any less capable?”

  Ashiri's mother's face went hard. Before she could open her mouth, though, my mom spoke up. “Jiden, don't say such things! Will just finished his work study with Nelson’s University. You don't have any plans to go here, right?”

  Will shot me an angry look and I realized that I probably should have kept my mouth shut. “Mom, I meant to talk to you about it...”

  I saw Mom's eyes widen and she started to get that angry look on her face, the one that meant I'd really screwed up. I saw my dad put his hand on her shoulder and she pinched her lips together. She wasn't going to make a scene, not here, but…

  I'd managed to ruin dinner. Ashiri's parents didn't talk for the rest of the meal. My dad made some small talk about the food. My mom looked like she wanted to scream. Will wanted to kill me for outing him. Ashiri looked like she wanted to crawl under the table.

  Family is the worst.

  ***

  We made our way back through Bahta Town and then down to the underground train station. It was nice to get out of the heat, but I felt like a child again as my mom played her silent game and my dad tried to smooth things over with Ashiri's parents. He managed to get them talking and laughing again. I wish I had a way with people like he did. I just seemed to mess things up.

  Ashiri moved to stand next to me and I whispered at her, “Sorry, I shouldn't have opened my mouth.”

  She shrugged slightly, “It's not your fault. Family… what can you say, right?”

  We stood in silence, waiting for the train. Just down the platform I saw another group of parents and cadets come down the stairs. The first thing I noticed was my mom's posture shift. She went from quietly angry to something entirely different. It was like her entire body shifted, to something predatory and watchful. She also moved over to stand between Will and I and the other group.

  It was almost like she was a mother predator defending her young from another predator. The way she moved, the quiet, utter focus on her face made me drop into a defensive stance, without even realizing it.

  I looked past her and felt a bit of a shock as I recognized Sashi Drien, in her cadet uniform. Then I realized who the other two cadets next to her must be. They were similarly short, and their features were so similar to Sashi's that they could only be her brothers. The man standing next to them wore an officer's uniform, and he could only be their father.

  Next to him was another officer, slightly taller, with white hair and olive skin. Even from a distance I could see the stars on the shoulder boards of his dress uniform. A half dozen more men in uniform stood behind him, all of them talking and smiling, their features all so similar that they were clearly related. This was Sashi Drien's family.

  Admiral Drien, I realized, the man that didn't help the Admiral... the man she blames for her husband's death. From the way my mom stood, clearly she placed some of the blame upon him as well... or else she just didn't trust him.

  I saw Admiral Drien's expression harden as he looked past my mother and saw me. The group with him seemed to notice that change in expression and their laughter and chatter stilled, too. Admiral Drien stepped forward, standing between his family and my mother. The entire platform dropped into an awkward silence. Technically, I suppose I was supposed to greet him or something, but I kept quiet.

  My eyes went from Admiral Drien to Sashi's two older brothers. The eldest wore second class rank and the younger wore third class rank. Both of them had Ogre patches on their shoulders. They both had confident smirks on their faces. They knew that they had nothing to fear. They had eight commissioned officers present to back them. Me, I had my mom and dad. I didn't even count Ashiri's family, they had no part in this.

  I looked at Sashi Drien, expecting a similar smug expression... and then I realized that she stood off to the side, trying to draw as little attention as possible. She was the only woman in the group. I remembered, then, what she'd said about her family, how she was the only woman who'd ever tried to join. I noticed how she stood at the edge of the group. In fact, her grandfather stood between my mother and his grandsons... but not in front of Sashi.

  She's only barely tolerated, I realized. In fact, her expression was one I recognized. She was miserable and trying to hide it. I thought about how badly my lunch had gone with my parents, how I'd managed to put my foot in my mouth, to annoy Ashiri Takenata's parents, and even to ruin dinner, but my mom still stood in front of me when she saw a threat.

  Sashi's grandfather didn't do the same for her. I saw the same realization on her face, too. Worse, she wasn't surprised by it. She expected it. I saw her hunch her shoulders and she met my eyes, her expression miserable.

  I had half an impulse to call to her, to tell her to keep her chin up, that her dad and grandfather we
re jerks. But before I could work up the courage, the train came, the roar of it making normal conversation impossible. As the doors to our car opened, I trailed behind the others, watching Sashi, wondering if maybe I'd misjudged her. Maybe I should have tried to understand her a bit more.

  The last look I got as I stepped aboard the train was of her being the last one to board in the car, her older brothers gestured ahead of her. She met my eyes as we both boarded the train, her dark eyes suddenly angry as my mom put her hand on my shoulder.

  But that anger wasn't about me... it was about her. Family is the worst.

  ***

  As we made our way back to the upper levels of the Academy, the Admiral found us.

  “Joy,” she nodded at my mom, “Steven,” she nodded at my father. “I try to make time to talk with many of the parents this weekend, especially of our younger students. Do you have time to meet with me in my office?”

  I felt suddenly nervous. I tried to think of anything I might have done wrong. Anything outside of the disaster at lunch, anyway.

  “Yes, we have some time, I think,” Mom glanced at Dad, who gave a nod.

  “Excellent,” the Admiral said. She led the way through the corridors to her offices. I nodded politely at the yeoman outside who pretty much ignored me as I'd expected. Inside the Admiral's office, Mom and Dad took the two available seats. I stood. I felt uncomfortable and finally went to a sort of parade rest. Will walked over and looked at some of the awards on the walls.

  “So, I wanted to tell you both that Jiden is doing well, very well at her classes and acceptable at everything else,” the Admiral said. Mom's mother had a detached tone to her voice, as if she were reciting something she'd rehearsed. “She's received a good rating from her superiors and I think she's fitting in well, here.”

  “Really, that's all you can say?” Mom snapped. I suddenly wanted to melt into the wall. I knew mom was already riled up, the last thing I wanted was to be in the middle of a fight between her and the Admiral. No matter how it went, I knew it wouldn't end well for me. “You dragooned my daughter into the military and--”