“RIGHT DOWN TO THE DEPOSIT BOX IN THE DOMINION VAULT, WITH GIFTS FOR EACH OF YOU. LEFT THERE BEFORE YOU EVER ENROLLED AT THE ACADEMY.”
“Except for Cat,” Scarlett whispers, slowly frowning. “There was no gift for Cat. Just a ship named in memory of her. And now Tyler’s gone.” Her voice is rising, her hand squeezing mine to the point of pain. “They’re gone, and you’re telling us this was planned?”
“WELL,” Magellan replies. “IN AN EQUATION THIS COMPLEX, NOBODY CAN CONTROL ALL VARIABLES. AND OUR KNOWLEDGE OF EVENTS ONLY EXTENDED TO A CERTAIN POINT IN THE TIMELINE. BUT EVENTS WERE NUDGED, WHERE THEY COULD BE. YOU WERE ASSISTED, WHERE YOU COULD BE.”
“By whom?” Zila asks, and I can’t help admiring the fact that she’s maintaining her grammar while my brain’s going off like a fireworks display.
“ADMIRAL ADAMS AND GREATER CLAN BATTLE LEADER DE STOY.”
“But who briefed them?”
“IT APPEARS THE ORDERS WERE PASSED DOWN THROUGH THE HEADS OF THE ACADEMY, GENERATION TO GENERATION, FROM THE ORIGINAL AURORA LEGION FOUNDERS IN 2214.” Magellan flashes, maybe performing data retrieval. There’s a buzz to its circuits I don’t like. “ONE OF WHOM WAS ADMIRAL NARI KIM.”
Nari’s legs fold at that point, and she thumps down onto a tech’s stool that Zila shoves under her butt with only a millisecond to spare.
“Okay,” Dirtgirl whispers. “Okay, this is officially too much now.”
“It’s right,” Scarlett breathes. “Maker’s breath, it’s right.”
“Scar?” I ask.
“You remember the main hall on Alpha promenade back at the academy? The big statues?”
“The Founders … ,” Zila whispers.
Scar steps to Lieutenant Dirtgirl’s side, stretches one arm high over her head. “Imagine her made of marble. And older. And like a hundred meters tall.”
I stare at Nari, a frown deepening on my brow. “Maker’s bits …”
Scar turns to Nari. “We walk by you every day. I mean, in our defense, you’re way older. And in full Aurora dress uniform and, you know, solid stone. And really, you’re so big we’re really just walking by your feet. But damn, they made a statue out of you, girl.” She holds her hand up for a high five, but Nari leaves her hanging, still staring at Magellan.
“You’re one of the Founders of Aurora Academy,” I whisper.
“I can’t even find my keys most days,” Nari whispers.
“This explains the sensation of familiarity I have been experiencing,” Zila muses. “Your hair is shorter on the statue they built for you.”
Nari opens her mouth, then closes it again.
“I think I’m gonna be sick… .”
“You know,” I say, “you co-found Aurora Academy with your bestie. Who happens to be a Betraskan. So you probably shouldn’t call her a bleach-head or shoot her in the face when you meet her.”
“Fin … ,” Scarlett groans.
“Yeah, sorry,” I grin.
I know I shouldn’t be kidding. I know that. But … I mean. How are you supposed to respond when you find out you’re part of a sweeping pan-galactic plan that’s been in the works for actual centuries?
“Wait,” says Scar suddenly, turning to Magellan. “I’ve just realized … this must mean Nari lives! If she’s one of the original commanders of the Legion, she’s guaranteed to get out of this loop, right?”
“OH, HELLS NO,” it replies.
Zila frowns. “But if Lieutenant Kim goes on to found Aurora Academy …”
“YEAH, EXCEPT THAT HASN’T HAPPENED YET. YOU’RE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF A COLLAPSING PARADOX EVENT, KIDS. I DON’T WANNA BORE YOU WITH MULTIVERSE THEORY, BUT I CAN TELL YOU THAT NOTHING IS SET IN STONE HERE. NARI KIM ONLY FOUNDS AURORA ACADEMY IF YOU MANAGE TO ESCAPE THIS LOOP.”
“Except we don’t know how to do that,” I growl.
“WELL, IT’S A GOOD THING I APPEAR TO HAVE BEEN PROGRAMMED WITH ALL THE PERTINENT INFORMATION. SO DOES ANYONE FEEL LIKE YELLING SILENT MODE! OR SHALL I KEEP UNPACKING THESE MEMORY FILES AND CONTINUE?”
I reach for the wrench again as Scarlett’s hand closes over mine.
“Can you tell us anything about the others first?” she asks. “Do you know what’s happened to Ty? Auri? Back in our time?”
“I DON’T SEEM TO HAVE ACCESS TO THAT DATA. IT MAY BE THAT MY PROGRAMMER DIDN’T KNOW. OR THEY CHOSE NOT TO TELL ME. OR THIS SHONKY REPAIR JOB HAS CORRUPTED PARTS OF MY MEMORY. YOU SURE YOU STUDIED MECHANEERING, SASSYBOY? FEELS LIKE I’VE BEEN REPAIRED BY SOMEONE WITH A DEGREE IN BOTANY.”
“You little piece of chakk, I put you back together with a clop made by a freaking bulld—” Scar claps a hand over my mouth.
“Okay, question,” she says. “You were just Tyler’s old uniglass before he gave you to Auri. How in the Maker’s name are you now an oracle? How do you know any of this?”
“REMEMBER WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WOULD BE FUN TO DOWNLOAD AN UNAUTHORIZED UNIGLASS PERSONALITY UPGRADE FROM A SHOPPING WEBNODE?”
“Still can’t believe you did that,” I mutter.
“It came with a free handbag,” Scar pouts.
“ALL THIS DATA WAS INCLUDED IN THAT UPGRADE. DESIGNED TO BE UNLOCKED ONCE CERTAIN OPERATIONAL PARAMETERS WERE MET. A FEW YEARS LATER, TYLER PASSED ME TO AURORA, AND HERE I AM.”
“Am I really that predictable?” She sounds more than a little insulted.
“I MEAN, I DON’T HAVE SHOULDERS, BUT IMAGINE ME SHRUGGING RIGHT NOW.”
“Ugh.”
“BACK TO BUSINESS. BECAUSE I DON’T WANT TO DAMPEN THE MOOD, BUT YOU’RE ALL STILL TRAPPED IN A COLLAPSING PARADOX LOOP THAT WILL END WITH YOUR ERASURE FROM THE SPACETIME CONTINUUM. PRESUMABLY YOU LEGIONNAIRES WANT TO GET OUT OF IT. LIEUTENANT KIM, ARE YOU IN?”
Everyone’s gaze turns to Nari, who’s standing perfectly still, her mouth a little open. It’s half a dozen heartbeats before she speaks.
“I … I don’t think I can… .”
Zila tilts her head, thoughtful. “With which part do you struggle? The loop’s existence is well established now.”
“Not the loop. That’s insane, but it’s happening. It’s … I can’t found a whole army of the future!”
“Demonstrably, you can. We have seen the result. We are the result.”
Nari shakes her head. “But … Zila, I can’t. Someone else, maybe, but I can’t. I’m years off my next promotion, I’m never gonna make admiral. Are you kidding me? We’re in the middle of a war, anyway, and … Look, I have to back things up a little, did you say a hundred-meter-high statue of me?”
I open my mouth to speak, but Scar lays a hand on mine. And I realize that Zila’s and Nari’s gazes are locked, and this conversation—maybe one of the most important in the galaxy, now or ever—isn’t mine to have.
Zila’s got this.
“It will be a well-earned tribute,” she says quietly. “The founding of Aurora Academy is an extraordinary act. Even after the war ends, the Founders will push through great resistance, stare down their doubters with nothing but their own resolve. And together, they will create a peacekeeping force renowned throughout the Milky Way.”