Chapter I

The weight of the Colossus presses down on me the moment I open my eyes. It's not just the physical oppression of living in the lower rings, but a heaviness that settles in my chest, reminding me of the day's burdens yet to be carried. The distant hum of machinery blends with the soft stirrings of the city—my dawn chorus.

My nose was a little stuffed up and my mouth was dry. I'd probably been breathing through my mouth again. I did that sometimes in my sleep.

I unscrewed the cap of a metal container sitting on my nightstand, and drank the last of the water that was in it. The tap water in the lower-rings wasn't safe to drink due to the meltdown last fall, so this had been the last bit of drinking water I had rationed out for myself. The rest was being saved for my little sister.

I turned my head, and used my right arm to lift the shutter on the window beside my bunk, so that the daylight streaming from this worlds three distant suns could stream in. The only things outside of the window were tan clouds and a golden sky; though far below, there was a seemingly endless sea that stretched out to the horizon...composed entirely of molten lead. There was a reason this city flew high in the atmosphere of this planet...and it wasn't just for the fantastic view.

I slid my legs over the edge of the bed and slowly I push off the thin mattress, my limbs heavy as I stand. Around me, the walls of our cramped apartment close in on me for a moment, like a constant reminder of all the space we don't have. These narrow walls which confine us were all that we had now, after losing everything on Pax IX.

I move quickly, dressing myself with practiced ease, then I turned towards my sisters bunk on the opposite wall and slowly made my way towards it...each step deliberate, not wanting to disturb the fragile peace that sleep grants her, but not having much of a choice. After all, she needed to eat breakfast before I leave for the day.

As I approach, Atilla's breathing is labored—the telltale rasp that slices through the stillness of the room. My heart clenches at the sound. Her face, half-hidden beneath the threadbare blanket, carries the marks of her battle with Varns disease. I kneel beside her bed, my fingers gentle as I rearrange the blankets that have slipped during the night, even if they'd be staying in place for only for a brief moment more.

"Good Morning, Little Star," I whisper, stroking back a strand of her hair, careful not to touch the disfiguration that mars her features. "Did you dream?"

Her eyelids flutter—in a struggle to greet the new day. "Yes," she breathes out, her voice barely above a sigh. "Dreamt of the city...we were flying...above it all."

"Then let's hold onto that thought." I muster a determined smile for her, though it feels like I'm wearing armor too tight for my soul given the circumstances. "Because one day, I'll make it real."

She nods, her smile weak but as radiant as the stars she dreams of. There's an otherworldly grace to her, even now, when every breath is a war fought and won by sheer force of will.

Looking around I can't help but smile. She dreamt we were flying above it all. But staring at the walls of this room, I could only see the reality surrounding us. The oxidation of the plasteel walls was showing in patches. The sound of the air-handlers was a low-droning-hum that dominated what would have otherwise been a comfortable quiet.

I'd rented it with what little money I had left after our parents died, and it was a very much a rundown hovel of a place. But it was on Atrios V, the closest planet with an academy which would allow me to take the enrollment exam as a refugee. Our tickets to come here had been expensive, and what little we had left, I had used to rent this little residential unit.

I looked back over at my sister, realizing she had fallen asleep again. I gave her another nudge and a very soft shake, "Atilla, wake up."

"-mmhm, Hudiya?" She rolled towards me in bed listlessly, and opened her eyes again. She rubbed at them sleepily before focusing her bleary vision on me once more.

She had Varns disease. She had a year or two left to live at best, and with our parents having died in the Exodus from Pax IX, we didn't have the money for any kind of advanced treatments. But...I was hoping to change that. And soon...because time was running out for her.

"Right, I'm going to make breakfast before I leave. I woke up early just to do so, so make sure you come out, alright. In fact, why don't I help you?" I suggested in a gentle voice.

"Alright." She replied wiping her eyes. She slowly sat up in bed and turned towards me. Once her face was fully facing me, the withered and desiccated flesh on the right side of her face became fully visible. Including one sunken and shriveled little eye which now refused to even fully open. The eyelid was just dry useless flesh that drooped down and around the withered eye inside, which looked like it was filled with a yellow fluid, must likely due to some type of internal necrosis.

"Here, I'll help you out this morning, okay?" I asked as I helped her out of bed and then helped her change into a fresh set of pajamas.

"Do you need a princess carry?" I asked her when I noticed she was hobbling a bit and struggling to get her bearings.

"No, I'm fine, I'll be coming," she said in a delicate voice. Her pajamas hung loosely on her emaciated frame.

She was twelve years old, but she looked like she was a ten year old due to the severity of her illness.

"Okay babygirl. I love you, watch your step. Are you sure you don't need any help?"

"No, no...I can...stand and walk myself. Thank you...big brother."

"Okay." I answered and then headed out the door, down the short narrow corridor towards the kitchen.

The unit was small and cramped, and as such it took me only seconds to reach my destination. I put a finger to the door control just outside of the kitchen, and it slid open with a squeak. The place was run-down, it probably needed oiled; or whatever else hydraulic airlock doors needed to function properly.

Once there I began thawing some pre-packaged meals in the Phasic Oven. I also pulled a couple tubes of Nutri-Paste from the drawer and set them on the table.

The Phasic Oven went into it's cooking phase with a beep and a loud hum, and then it beeped twice more minutes later, informing me that the food was ready. I pulled the two trays out and set them on a small shabby looking table nearby; which looked as though it might collapse at any moment, as it was missing a few screws.

My little sister had finally come out of our room. Her gait was steady now that she had some time to move around a bit, thank goodness. Though she could only walk very slowly, one step at a time. It still...broke my heart. I turned away so she wouldn't see my tears.

"Okay, baby. Food is ready over here." I told her, knowing that her vision was quite bad, though she wasn't yet completely blind.

"I know...I can smell it," She replied cutely. Her voice was a little raspy, but she always sounded lovable no matter what. At least in my ears, anyways. Still...she looked and sounded tired. Very tired if I was being honest, judging by how slow she spoke, and the short little pauses she sometimes needed in between words. Those little pauses said more through their silence than the words she actually spoke, sometimes.

She literally would sleep most the day due to her illness, so she rarely got out of bed these days. Still, even though she slept almost twenty four hours a day, she always looked tired as if the sleep did nothing for her.

And there was nothing I could do about it. Not at the moment anyways.

"Alright, its your favorite. Synthetic Marinated Pork. And I even saved a tube of the green NutriPaste for you too. Yum!" I told her with a laugh. The Nutri-Paste tasted terrible, and we both knew it.

"Oh my, you're going to spoil me." She laughed as she finally made it to the table and slowly angled the chair so she can sit in it. She sounded so weak, her voice was as fragile as the rest of her body, these days.

"I'm going to take the exam today. It's my big day. The day that might change our stars."

"Eh? Oh...thats right." She said slowly, finally seeming to remember that this exam was the entire reason we came to this world. "Well...I'll be rooting for you. Even if nobody else does...because you don't have any friends."

The spacefare to get here wasn't cheap, and the trip had been a major hassle aside from that. Atila's condition caused short term memory loss amongst other problems. It was due to the degradation of her bodily tissues, including nerve tissue, as well as the neurons in the brain. But she could still function, luckily. Her forgetfulness hadn't reached a critical point yet, and was still reversible. But that would be an inevitable outcome soon without treatment, and the treatment was very expensive.

I'd have to pass the exam and enroll at Aldressia. A military academy here on the Colossus that specialized in Advanced Technology, and was often associated with a formerly secretive research program called the 'Advanced Experimental Initiative.' It was the most prominent academy in the galaxial outer-rim. If I got a scholarship, the stipend would cover our rent, as well as my sisters treatment. We could probably even move into a 'dorm' unit near the academy for people who were living with dependents, which would be better than this little hovel of a unit on the outer-edge of the lower-rings of the Colossus.

"What...do you have to do for your e-exam?" My sister asked curiously, with a slight stutter.

"Demonstrate I have the aptitude to be a pilot." I replied with a smile.

"Aptitude?"

"Integrate with an A.I, and fly a Starship, star-fighter or a Exo-Frame."

"Oh," she replied and blinked her one good eye several times. "Exo-Frame?"

"It's a giant humanoid robot, Atila. They are used for fighting in space, within the atmosphere or even on the ground, planet-side. They are considered to be more versatile than a star-fighter, but a lot harder to pilot."

"Um, right," she said with what would have been a cute little nod if half her face didn't look like that of a mummified corpse.

Nonetheless, she was still cute to me, and I loved her more than anything in this universe, so I smiled and laughed anyways. I reached out and caressed the side of her face that had succumbed to the illness already. The paper thin skin was as dry as parchment and stretched taut over her cheek bone; but it hadn't withered completely. She winced slightly when she seemed to feel the touch, and in reply she raised her one good hand to touch the back of my hand which was still there touching her face.

Her hand and fingers were cold.

"I love you big brother." She said quietly.

"I love you too, baby-girl." I replied with a smile, I then added, "I'm also really glad you remembered today is my big day."

"I knew that of course. I just...forget things sometimes, and it takes me a little bit to remember properly." She added a moment later. I could tell all the talking was making her that much more tired.

"It's alright, sweetie." I said with another smile, and nodded my head.

I knew she'd most likely forget again by tomorrow or so. I'd already explained all this to her multiple times. Passing this exam was everything to me. To us, really. Her life absolutely depended on this.

"I'll come by every day and check on you. If you need me, just use your Device."

"Okay...I have your contact stored...already." She said with a nod.

I was glad she remembered that, at least. I noticed she had eaten a little more this morning than she had been as of late, recently. "I'm glad your eating more of your food today!"

"Yeah," she replied with a soft little laugh that almost sputtered out half-way.

We sat like that for some time. I watched her taking all her little bites, and would sometimes give her words of encouragement and affection. She was literally my whole world at this point. My whole universe in fact. After losing our parents, she was all that I had left.

"Well it's time to go. I absolutely cannot be late today." I got up from the table and packed my things into a neo-mesh shoulder bag and headed for the door. "Do you need help getting back to bed?"

"No," she replied a little solemnly. Then gave me the biggest smile she could muster, "Bye, Hudiya. I love you, my one and only Big Brother!"

"I love you too!" I said with a smile and a wave. "My one and only little sister."

And my only remaining family still living. I didn't say that part out loud, of course. It was too depressing and traumatic considering what we had been through just months earlier.

I used the control panel to open the front door, and then from the other side to close it behind me. I could hear the airlock hiss when it shut. The atmosphere outside the colony was unbreathable for humans, so the colony had airlocks at virtually every doorway in case of an exterior leak.

This little residential unit was in the outer-boonies of the city, but it still was fully equipped with all the necessary safety features. I had spent the last of our savings on this unit because it had them. The units without the airlocks were cheaper, and had been closer to the city center. But to me, my sisters safety was everything. Especially since she would be staying at home while I was taking the exam, and perhaps later on, away for training.

There was a control panel just outside the door, which I used to ensure it locked behind me; though it did that automatically sometimes it got stuck in the unlocked position. I then used the control panel to open a storage space beside the door. I took a P.V from within and then closed it back up.

The P.V stood for 'Personal Vehicle' and was basically a Segway. 'Segway' being an archaic term from Old Earth which few people even knew the history of in this day and age, though I had looked it up on the virtual encyclopedia. It was a small two wheeled vehicle that balanced itself as it rolled along, with the rider standing on a platform above the axle between the two wheels.

I climbed on and started its electric motor. It hummed loudly as its super-capacitors gave it enough juice to accelerate quite quickly down the massive and expansive exterior corridor outside, which itself was at least thirty meters wide and twice that in height. It didn't have a road or anything, just the metal floor plates and wall plates. It was too residential to have need of a road or any kind of traffic signals. Still...the groves in the floor plating showed how old they were. Ground vehicles must have been rolling along this corridor for centuries before Atilla and I had arrived.

My short hair blew back in the wind as I enjoyed the speed and freedom for just a moment. As if I could forget all my troubles, or leave them all behind me. The many doors to the other residential units flying by on either side. We had quite a few neighbors here...though I hadn't bothered getting to know any of them. Atilla and I wouldn't be staying here long, after all.

I could only afford to pay for just a couple more months during the exam period. If I passed it, the Municipal or Military would either relocate us free of charge, or pay for our continued residency here. Enlisting at the level of a pilot came with substantial benefits. Though that was because it was a rare aptitude to have. I still wasn't sure I even had it. I was taking a big chance on that. My father had the genetic predisposition for it, and I had to hope that I had inherited it from him.

Of course, the one thing that troubled me the most, but which I never wanted to leave behind was Atilla. She was my reason for living at this point. With the scenery flying by like this, the pedestrians waving at me as they walked up on the sidepaths (sidewalk); I could almost envision Atilla doing this too someday...once she was recovered enough to do so. Preferably sooner than later. It brought a smile to my face just thinking about it. It was one of the few things that made me genuinely feel hopeful about the future.

As I raced down the corridor for several minutes I eventually came out into a wide open space, that was many-many miles across. It was the central habitat of the Colossus. There were many tiered layers to it in interlocking-concentric rings, which contained massive residential and commercial districts. Millions of tons each a piece. Our district was the further ring out from the center...outer-ring-G. Now that I was out this far, I could look across the vast space that was the Central-Habitat; but getting across it was virtually impossible using the P.V alone, which was why I had to take the tram across.

The central habitat was huge, and had massive transparent-synth-steel skylights at the top that allowed us to see the sky of Atrios V. The skies were a golden color, which slowly darkened to purple at dusk. There were endless tiers of tan clouds above us, though they didn't completely block the view of the sky today. It wasn't as overcast as it usually was, this morning. The sunlight was a golden orange just like the sky. Atrios V was both beautiful and ugly, all in the same view.

Of course, it was the surface of the planet that was the ugly part. It consisted of just a single massive ocean with no flat land. That ocean was composed entirely of a top layer of molten lead with a deeper layer of carbon based magma beneath that. The red-hot heat-glow it gave off was so fierce that even at night the skies of this planet never turned completely black...just a reddish-violet.

Pulling up to the Station for the Maglev-Tram I folded the P.V up and hung it over my shoulder along with my shoulder bag. The tram station like most of Colossus was modern looking and well kept...though it was still in the outer-districts in the lower-rings where I lived with my sister lived, though while our residential district was outdated, the tram station proved that not all of the lower-rings were.

The tram station is a marvel, its sleek lines and polished surfaces form a stark juxtaposition to the world I've just left behind. The doors slide open with a hiss of sophistication, welcoming me into the future of humankind—a capsule of progress within the Colossus. I step inside, noting the other passengers: a woman clutching her child's hand, eyes darting with quiet apprehension; a young man in an Exoframe pilot's jacket, his posture radiating a confidence bordering on arrogance; an elderly couple whispering reassurances to each other, their wrinkled hands intertwined.

We are a mosaic of apprehension and hope, united in our journey yet divided by the stories that have brought us here. Their expressions mirror the dichotomy of our existence—each person an embodiment of the struggle against the oppression that looms over us, even as we reach for the stars that twinkle with possibilities.

The station was especially full of people today; more than usual. Many of them were students at Aldressia. The students easily stood out, since many of them looked like teenagers. Some of them were actually in their teens, but many were probably adults who had received anti-aging treatments either back when they were in their actual teens, or after they became an adult and gained acceptance into the Academy.

If you took it as a teen it would delay your aging by a great deal. You could stay looking sixteen or seventeen'ish until you were well into your fifties or sixties. Although most of the students were probably still under thirty. Although, it was a military academy, so it was possible they were older.

On the other hand, I've heard that adults who took it regressed over the weeks and months following the treatment until they essentially aged backwards into a teen like youthfulness. Naturally they didn't lose any of their height or anything, though their weight and build might change a little. I wasn't one of those older people myself, though. I would turn eighteen in three months.

Everyone who gets into the academy receives the Rejuvenation Treatment. It's mandatory and cannot be refused. Theres no room on the front lines for the elderly, and the Military wants as many years of service as they can get from you. We are after all at war. Naturally the teen look was so prevalent here because it was near the academy and everyone attending the Academy had almost certainly just received their treatments.

In the actual military you would find more adult looking people, and they would make up the majority of personnel even with the rejuvenation treatments. Though I had heard rumors saying that the older more experienced looking adults numbered fewer these days than in past eras. Mostly because humanity had sustained such heavy losses and casualties in the recent wars.

All the students standing in the lobby wore the school uniform, which consisted of a form fitting type of space suit, sometimes referred to as a soft-suit or a skin-suit. It had a fully sealing hood tucked into a pocket at the back of the neck, so if you had to protect yourself from a leak or vacuum you could pull it over your head and seal it up at a moments notice even if you didn't have access to a proper space helmet.

The suits were white or black with light blue accents, and the Academy emblem emblazoned on the shoulder. They looked trendy and...well...kind of sexy on the right people who had physiques that agreed with it. As for the other people...they probably wish they could wear something else. But the rejuvenation treatments meant that everyone wearing the uniform was at least mostly fit and trim. Though that still didn't mean that they all had ideal physiques from the standpoint of aesthetics.

I winced slightly. Uh, I got lost in my thoughts again!

I shook my head to clear it of all the unnecessary thoughts, as I walked across the lobby and approached one of the holographic-panels at the far end. There were no lines to wait in, thank goodness. So I was able to walk straight up and swipe my Ident-chip, which was located in the tip of my forefinger. The system identified me and showed me the price for a round-trip on the tram. I accepted and paid, and my ticket was encoded into the chips memory. So I didn't have to worry about losing it.

I then exited the lobby and went out to stand on the platform. The tram I needed was just pulling into the station as I exited the lobby, and I was able to quickly board once the disembarking passengers were all off. I was surprised by how well things were going so far. Normally I had terrible luck whenever I had somewhere important to get to.

I found a comfortable seat in one of the rear cars. It took ten minutes for everyone who was riding to board and then the tram lurched down the mag-track. It accelerated quickly.

The tram ascends upwards from the lower rings, each reverberating hum a harmony that resonates with the pulse of The Colossus itself. I press my forehead against the cold glass, watching as the shabby outlines of the lower rings blur into a memory. Here, looking at it like this, there's no escaping the divide that fractures our city; it cuts deeper than the chasms between the cities platforms.

"Another world," I whisper to myself, eyeing the passengers who are like me but also not. I see it in their guarded glances—the unspoken knowledge that we belong to different strata of this airborne society. Some are draped in finery that seems out of place against the metallic sheen of the tram, while others, like me, wear the subtle badge of the lower levels: a practicality thats etched into the very fabric of our attire.

We all share the same sky, yet live worlds apart. Every so often I'd gaze out the window at the scenery flying by. Colossus was a huge flying city that houses twenty million people. There was a lot to see outside the window.

Though mostly I sat in my seat looking at the retinal feed from my Device. The Device as we called it wasn't unlike the 'Smart-Devices' from Ancient Earth. It had a touch-screen on the front and optical recorders along with a holographic projector on the back side. It could interface with implants in the brain so we didn't really have to even look at it to see the 'screen' if we didn't want to, nor did we need any speakers or ear devices to hear it. All we needed was the brain implant chips, which we referred to colloquially as a 'wet-wire.'

But viewing the screen in your head caused a weird overlap with what your eyes were actually seeing which induced headaches in some people. I didn't mind it so much for short periods of time. Some people had implants to disable their physical eyesight to circumvent this. I wasn't one of them. I just toughed it out if I chose to use that feature. The sound overlap with our physical ears wasn't as big of a deal since humans were well accustomed to hearing many different sounds at once already.

As such I listened to some of the pop music that was popular on Colossus these days as the tram began to decelerate for its arrival at the next station.

The tram arrived minutes later at the stop for the Logistics District near the center of the city, my specific destination was an older municipal building; which was where the academy would be hosting the entrance exam. It was an old building constructed of Plasma-steel and carbon-sheeting. The windows were a poly-carbon-silicate substance similar in appearance to glass. It looked well-kept.

To be exact, the flying city known as the Colossus was practically the Academy itself. Or rather, the city was built around the Academy...though the city itself was more of a necessity to support the daily functions of the Academy, which had twenty-eight thousand students and cadets, and well over two thousand Veteran Pilots of various specializations that served as the instructors. There were probably twice that number who instructed in other non-pilot related fields. Mechanics, logistics and support personnel making up the bulk of that.

Still. They didn't hold it on Academy Grounds for security reasons apparently. Though Aldressia Academy had a massive amount of space under their control, and their facilities were both numerous and immense. They had plenty of room to host it, if they wanted. I didn't really understand the logic but that was how it was. I can only assume they didn't want hundreds or thousands of civilians and possible security risks coming onto the academy grounds just to take a test.

Military Academies were a hotspot for enterprising youth these days. After the Exodus from the Sol System due to invasion, we knew that military might was the only way to protect what was left of humanity. The Galaxial Outer-Rim contained mostly uninhabitable or inhospitable worlds...like this one. But that was all humanity had left after the H.E.X invaded the Inner-Quadrants and we lost most of our core worlds.

Earth fell in only ten years after the first sightings in the inner-quadrant. The Xeno threat quickly spread into the interior systems and then Sol itself. Earth fell and the survivors and refugees could only flee to the colonies in the galaxial outer-rim. Which were now over-burdened and over-populated; the colonies were completely lacking in the resources to maintain such a population.

But everyone gave up any and all luxuries, and everything used was recycled. So the colonies just barely managed to squeak by. Unfortunately not everyone got enough, as there still wasn't enough food and water. But if you could make yourself useful, you could get more than the bare necessity. But even then, the amounts were limited.

Advanced medical treatments were even more expensive and difficult to obtain. A.I was the future of mankind in the face of the Xeno threat, and in such circumstances, pilots who could integrate with an A.I were hard to come by, and thus those who could were given priority. That's why my little sister and I still had a chance, despite the obstacles and lack of available resources. I had the capability to integrate with Artificial Intelligence...though my exact aptitude hadn't been ascertained as of yet...so coming all of this way was a real gamble on our part. Although given the lack of other available options for my sisters illness, this was really our best bet.

The Logistics Center came into view, and as the tram slid to a stop and the doors opened, I got up out of my seat and disembarked from the tram; slowly walking towards the dozens of sets of glass double-doors at the front of the building, which itself was an immense pyramid in size and shape. A Mega-Pryamid to be exact. A type of arcology, that itself was housed inside an even larger arcology...which of course was the colony dome itself.

I had to get in line at the back of a large crowd of people, whom were all young-adults of varying ages, much like the people at the station earlier. Late-teens. Twenties. A few in their thirties. Most were not people who had the aptitude for Integration; they would be just a few hundred amongst the thousands coming here. The rest were either here to have their aptitude tested, or were testing for other types of jobs and opportunities that didn't require Integration.

A girl bumped into me as I made my way to the back of the crowd, "Watch yourself!"

She seemed quite rude. After all, we're in a tightly packed crowd and wasn't she the one who bumped into me?

I just laughed and didn't answer, causing the girl to immediately scoff, "Going to ignore me then? Hmph. You're either an arrogant Alpha or a scared Omega. But I highly doubt you're a noble judging by your worn attire. Trashy rags that they are."

I looked down at my clothing wearily. My clothing didn't look that bad. Its not like it had any holes or tears. Although I suppose if I was being honest, it certainly had seen better days, judging by the faded colors and older design.

The girl looked to be about nineteen or twenty years old at most. She had long blonde hair that fell down just past her hips and shining baby blue eyes that shimmered in a way that ordinary eyes did not. Her skin and complexion were perfect. Probably the result of advanced skin-care. Her face was perfect in its symmetry. Her body was curvy in all the right places with perfect proportions with an especially large bust...all of which was most likely the result of Genetic Engineering and an artificial pregnancy. In other words, she was a typical picture-perfect rich girl of the noble caste. They were the elitist few in the outer-rim who still could afford to have the luxuries that the rest of us could never even dream of.

But more than that, I had picked up on something she had said. She had made reference to the Evolved, with her Alpha/Omega comment. I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing. At first I didn't notice anything...I could just smell the bland scents of the many humans pressed together in the crowd. Wait. There...there was something there. She was a noble so I should have expected it. There was a slight scent there...a sort of neutral pheromone that was given off by the scent glands of un-manifested Betas. She was like me in that regard, then. I could smell her ever so slightly.

Naturally I kept this knowledge to myself. Unlike her, I wasn't interested in advertising the fact I come from a fallen noble family, and as an un-manifested Beta myself, had the Evolved genetics of the nobility built into my DNA. It was a fact that didn't please me. I didn't want anything to do with it. In fact, it sickened me to know the nobles willingly tampered with their own DNA...and more so, that mine was different because of this as well.

I turned my head as I noticed someone else approaching. There was another statuesque girl who came up beside her then, who had shoulder length black hair and blue eyes, with the same picture perfect appearance. Probably a friend of hers of similar rank and status, judging by her arrogant expression. Though unlike the girl accosting me, the new comer remained silent for the time being.

"Shouldn't you have some servants or bodyguards trailing behind you, Little Miss?" I asked with a smile, emphasizing the 'Little Miss' part just to annoy her.

Evolved genders were the result of advanced genetic engineering. I was an un-manifested beta...so realistically I was neither an Alpha or an Omega, but had the predisposition for it, and in all honesty, was likely to become one or the other. Becoming one or the other was known as manifestation, and typically occurred in an affected individuals mid to late teens, or very early-twenties at the absolute latest.

The nobility edited their genes to give them a probabilistic advantage over the rest of humanity. The creation of 'Super Humans' so to speak. Alpha's and Omega's were a kind of gender that was the result of that genetic engineering. The nobility's gift to humanity...or rather themselves, as they often claimed. These people, were colloquially known as the Evolved.

Most of the common caste were just simple beta's, not un-manifested betas like myself. A beta was just an ordinary un-modified baseline person of normal genetics, without any of the incredible advantages that genetic engineering could produce; also known as mundanes...or plebeians as the nobles called them; these were some of the different names they used to describe the general commoner populace.

I was pulled back from my thoughts by a loud retort.

"Huh? Pleb puhleez, don't you realize we aren't allowed to bring our retainers to an official exam? Are you stupid?" She replied with a cold smile, rising to take the bait. Or just being aggressively coy and unconcerned under it all. Probably the later.

I just smiled all debonair like, showing my teeth and running a hand through my recently combed hair, "Huh...and here I thought you'd have a few pretty servant boys...or maybe girls...depending on your tastes, to rub your feet and brush your hair for you."

She scoffed, seemingly unbothered, "Sounds like your fantasy, not mine, pleb. Just know, you aren't my type. I wouldn't permit you to touch my feet, let alone my hair."

I just shrugged, "Shouldn't it be the other way around? I'd feel weirder having someone touch my feet than my hair."

"Well, I really wouldn't know, its your fantasy after all, not mine. But you're currently out in public, so keep your foot fetish to yourself." With that she shoved me backwards and squeezed further up into the crowd, parting them all before her with nothing but her icy eyes.

She was a lot stronger than I would have expected. Probably the result of gene-splicing. She was definitely a certified G.M.O. Though I didn't fall to the ground or anything, but still, I did stumble backwards a step or two and got tangled up with a couple of other people due to that. They weren't happy and were both frowning intensely at me when I finally righted myself and turned back towards them.

The younger looking man was average height for this era, at around five foot six for commoners, with brown hair and brown eyes. His build was slender but more fit than most. He had what was the very definition of a nondescript appearance. The girl on the other hand was rather cute, though not exactly beautiful with brown hair and grey eyes. She was slim and just a little over five foot which was the new norm for females in this era of malnutrition and starvation. The average common folk couldn't afford the genetic alteration the nobles all received.

"Hey man, stop antagonizing the nobles. You're inconveniencing the rest of us." Said the young man.

The young woman sounded twice as irritated, "-right, are you trying to make us all look bad for the exam!?"

I just barely managed to avoid knocking over a young man and woman who had been walking just behind me. "Ah, sorry. Couldn't resist. My little sister is wasting away at home while people like her with all the money and prestige in life push and shove their way to the front."

The young man gave me a sympathetic look and then rolled his eyes, " Ah well...my name is Evan. Evan Altru. That sounds awful and all...about your sister I mean. But still...picking a fight with them is either stupidity or suicide. Pissing the Nobles off will only ensure you die before your sick sister does. You really should look before you leap here on Colossus. This might be your last warning, so you'd better learn the meaning of 'better safe than sorry,' and quick."

"Wait, which is it in this case? Suicide or stupidity?" I asked, as someone else bumped against my right shoulder as we all tried to fit through the doors as a sort of slowly moving river of flesh and bone.

Once we crowded our way through the doors and made it inside the building, the young man and woman saddled right back up to me as the crowd began to fan back out again and disperse; they were both rubbing their chins and giving me an appraising look in the process. I had to wonder if they had planned this together, because they were totally in-sync with one-another.

The young-man laughed and laid a hand on my shoulder, "I don't know which. It'll depend if she remembers your face and holds a grudge or not. If she does, then it's suicide. If not, then its merely stupidity; but you'll still be alive in that case! If you can't be safe, then you're better off being stupid, rather than sorry. At least that is what I like to say."

I nodded, "Hey, I like that saying!"

The young-woman wasn't as amused, "That's funny as a joke. But if your little sister is ill, don't you think you should be playing it safe and keeping a low profile? She'll be the one to suffer if you get thrown out of here."

I froze up for a moment.

"Right," I replied, as her words quickly put a damper on my mood. "Yeah, I really should be thinking about her well-being more than this."

Atila couldn't afford for me to screw this up. This was my only opportunity, and it was her last opportunity. She most likely wouldn't survive long enough for me to find another. I only had one shot at this in order to save her.

"Yeah, but I understand your attitude. We all feel that way," the girl continued shrugging. "But most of us come from families who came here as refugees. We don't have much of a choice and just want to steer clear of the high and mighties in society and keep a low profile. You'd be better off that way too."

"Yeah," I replied simply, starting to feel a little depressed all the while.

"Or maybe he just doesn't want to admit he fell head over heels for her the moment he laid eyes on her." Evan joked with a goofy grin.

"Hah, as if!" I scoffed in return. Although, if I was being honest...strictly in terms of appearance she was exactly my type. Not that I would let anyone else know that.

Nobles were widely despised by the masses due to the strenuous living conditions in the Outer Quadrants. But the nobility had all the military might backing them so an uprising was improbable. The situation was complicated by the fact that the Nobles were the ones who owned the systems of the Outer-Quadrants. Most of these systems were explored by private initiatives funded by the mega-rich or the mega corporations. As such, they reaped the rewards of said exploration...and as they were fond of reminding us, they didn't have to take in the refugees from the inner-quadrants at all. We were allowed in 'by their good graces.'

Allowed in, in-order to exploit us, of course. But we had no other prospects...so it was either be exploited by the outer-quadrant nobility, or run out of food and fuel and drift through space forever..well, our mummified corpses would at least. Though my little sister was starting to look like a human skeleton lately...reminding me again that I couldn't fail here. I just couldn't. I had better make something work today. No matter what I have to do. Desperation didn't even begin to sum up my situation.

The line was progressing forward rather slowly, and as our little group was still together I decided to ask the girl, "So I know Evan's name over here. But I still don't know yours."

She raised one eyebrow in response, her grey eyes squinting against the artificial light streaming down from overhead, "I'm not sure I want to be affiliated with a loser who picks fights with nobles for fun."

"Oh come on," I laughed, "I'm not that bad. I just have a low tolerance for shenanigans and bullshit."

"Really? That's funny, because you seem like the shenanigans and bullshit type. Either way, you'd better be up to the task. They won't hesitate to fight, even over the pettiest of reasons. Especially not a worthless space-serf like you."

"So are you going to tell me your name or not?" I asked with a smile. "I'd feel truly put out if a girl as beautiful as you wasn't willing to talk to me anymore over such a minor kerfluffle."

"Kerfluffle? Is that boonie speak?" She asked sarcastically, "If you have to know, my name is Eris Everdeen. We aren't going to be friends or anything, so don't bother memorizing it; and especially don't get any weird ideas."

I just gave her my slyest grin, "Whoa, settle down princess. Isn't it illegal to pretend to be a noble? Besides, I disagree with your loser label, I may be a bonafide trouble maker, but I'm definitely a winner at heart!"

She scoffed, "Haha. Yes, you're a real winner, alright. I can already tell that a more apt term would be 'wiener.'"

"Glad you agree," I nodded. "Although I'm more of a whiner than a wiener by far."

"Whatever." She then sighed and said nothing more for a while, clearly tiring of my verbosity.

The silence hung thick in the air afterwards, and I began to wonder if I had taken my jokes just a litttleeee too far. Evan was the one to break the silence finally, "So, whats your name, again?"

I felt the tension in my shoulders let loose.

"Eh?" I replied after thinking for a moment, suddenly realizing I hadn't told them my name yet, "Hah, wow. Totally slipped my mind for a moment. My name is Hudiya Luffe Arnestria. My family actually used to be of noble status just some years ago. But we were stripped of it when we lost our home-systems to the H.E.X."

"No land, no nobility, huh? Are you sure you aren't the Princess here?" Eris said with a grin.

"Nah, my little sister is the Princess. I'm the heroic Prince of this story, so maybe you should get in line behind me, pleb."

"Oh whatever, loser." Eris responded with a laugh. "Well at least you have a sense of humor, I suppose. Not that I'm impressed or anything!"

I just laughed nervously, as my nerves were finally getting the best of me; and then none of us said anything as we were getting closer and closer to the ticket windows which we were now only moments away from. Normally this facility held conferences and concerts, and as such they would normally sell or receive tickets at these windows. But in this case, all we had to do was scan our digital invitation pass so we could enter and take the exam.

"Well at least you made her laugh," Even added after another awkward silence.

"Yeah," I replied, as I turned on the bio-transmitter in the tip of my index finger and prepared to be scanned by the Exam Authorities.

As I finally was up to the window I swiped my finger tip in front of a holo-reader, and it emitted a reddish light that scanned the tip of my finger. It then beeped. "Welcome Hudiya. Enter the examination hall. You will be sitting at desk number three hundred and thirty one."

I nodded and walked through the gated entrance beside the window when the gate opened. I then waited on the other side for the other two to come through. Evan was first and waited with me as Eris came through a moment later.

"So what was that noble girls name, anyways? Do you guys know who she was?"

Eris nodded, "Of course. She's famous around here. Everyone on Colossus knows who she is. You must be a dumb foreign born if you don't. Her name is Valencia Adrannia Valgarde. Her black haired friend is Zenith Avarus. I don't know that ones middle name, but like all nobles, she probably has one."

Middle name referred to the extra surname nobles often had. It was typically the name of the maternal-family line or that of another closely blood-related line. Nobles loved collecting family names to show their prestigious affiliations, though only the two most important would be included in their actual names.

"She's famous?" I asked as we began walking again.

"Yeah, they both are" Evan answered, "The Valgarde family is a noble family of the fifth rank. Which would be a High-Count. They own the megalithic corporate industrial group, known as the 'Valgarde Group.' They produce heavy machinery and almost all the Exoframes used in this sector of the outer quadrant are designed and made by them."

That got my attention. I had always wanted to be an Exo-Pilot for an Exoframe or a Capsuler. Or at least a crew member aboard a starship. "Amazing." I replied, as we came up to the Exam Hall.

Evan shrugged, "Yeah, she really is. But...well, you saw what her personality is like."

"Yes, I definitely did."

"But thats the norm for nobles, so I don't know if we can really say its her personality per say." Eris added. "And she's not the most powerful noble on Colossus. But she's up there close to it."

"True, that." Evan nodded. "Be careful around those sorts, man. You don't wanna lose the game before you even start."

"Right," I replied feeling a little forlorn. "I mean, I was just...trying to not take any shit while being sociable about it at the same time."

"They dont socialize with commoners like us in the first place, so its a bad idea. She'll just take it as an affront. They really do expect all us common folk to bow and scrape in their presence. Still...with any luck she'll forget or lose interest in you. She'll definitely pass this written exam for sure, and once she does she'll probably be focused on the aptitude testing and the practical. Just stay out of her way afterwards."

"Hah, well you are right about that." A voice said very suddenly, which froze the blood in our veins. We looked up and saw the devil herself waiting beside the door to the Exam Hall. "You really thought I was going to 'lose interest' ? You plebeians sure have a funny way of seeing things, and I can promise you, I'm not the forgetful sort!"

We all looked at her frozen in mid stride. I couldn't help but wonder how long we had been in earshot. The corridor was pretty long so surely she couldn't have heard the conversation from the very beginning. But still...it was enough for us to feel positively mortified.

"I apologize for any offense given..I don't want any trouble." I replied quickly.

"Hah. As if I would forgive you that easily." She replied sharply without a smile of any sort.

"I really cant miss this opportunity. My sisters life...well...it depends on this exam. Not to mention, it's my dream to be an Exopilot."

"Then bow. And beg forgiveness." Valencia replied with a terrifying expression that brokered no dissent.

My heart was in my throat. I felt hot. Nervous. I could only stand motionless for a moment. If I screwed this up, Atilla would die. There wouldn't be any more chances. Not any that I could think of anyways. She wouldn't last long enough. She was already barely holding up.

But still...to lower myself...to debase myself in such a manner. I wouldn't. I couldn't. But the more I looked at her, the more I felt that there was something about her...something that confused me ever so slightly. Maybe it was something about her eyes, which I couldn't seem to look away from. Or maybe it was that scent of hers...which marked her as as being un-manifested like me; stirring something up inside of me. Or alternatively, maybe I was just being delusional. Probably the later...I hoped. As unusual as it was to think that.

"No, I won't. I gave you a sincere apology already and I meant it. But I won't abandon my dignity."

"Hah, you've got more guts than I thought. Lucky for you, I'm not half as bad as you three seem to think. I was actually waiting here for you, whoever you are. I really was planning to ruin your day originally. But you defied my expectations and stood up to me. For that you've gained a sliver of my respect. But it's really just a sliver, simpleton, so don't get your hopes up."

"You were waiting for me?" I asked, feeling all the hairs at the back of my neck stand on end. I was majorly worried she was going to cause trouble for me. My previous bravado was instantly forgotten. I had Atilla to worry about, after all.

"Of course. You should feel honored, pleb." She remarked, shaking her head back and forth as if to taunt me...causing her hair to sway back and forth in the process. Her face was so beautiful, I could barely look away. Though I was snapped out of my reverie by her voice once more, "I've decided, rather than simply making you sorry you picked a fight with me, I'd rather be more sporting about it."

"More sporting?" I asked quietly, but managing to stand my ground. Well...relatively speaking. I was like a mouse before a lion, after all. "Why?"

"Indeed. You said your dream is to be an Exoframe pilot, did you not? Well...that goes for both of us, it seems. So I'll make you a deal. If you can get through the first two phases of testing, namely...the written and the aptitude test. Then you'll be allowed to take the Practical. Make it into the top ten at the end of the practical, and I'll forgive you."

I frowned, "Thats it?"

She bridged the distance between us in two steps and then leaned forward and whispered in my ear, "Because maybe I think you wouldn't be half bad as my Omega slave."

She then leaned back and laughed mockingly, as if she hadn't said anything unusual just a second ago about me being a sex slave, "Thats it? Thats it!? You think it's going to be easy or something!? Hah! A common pleb like you, making it into the top ten when you're up against two hundred other commoners and four dozen nobles? Trust me. I've given you quite the impossible task. I just want to watch you squirm. You'd better be worth my attention."

"Well...we'll see about that." I responded stoically, though I really didn't feel it at heart.

"Hah! Have you even flown an Exoframe before? I'll bet you haven't. I've been flying them for eight years at this point. Civilian grade training models, mind you, but still Exoframe's nonetheless. Most of the other nobles taking the exam are going to have a similar level of experience. You really think you can beat the majority of them?"

"I...I wont lie. I've never physically flown one before. Not for real anyways. I've done the simulators hundreds of times, though. My Father is...was...the supreme commander of all the armed forces on Pax IX."

She nodded her head ever so slightly at that, and narrowed her eyes...as if appraising me. "Regardless, thats the deal, boy. Whats your name? I'll need to know what name to look for when the scores are released."

I stood up straight and looked her in the eyes, "Hudiya Luffe Arnestria. It's a name thats one of a kind, just like m, so you'd better memorize it."

"Hah. We'll see." She replied in a disinterested tone, and with that she turned on heel and strode into the Examination Hall. Her friend Zenith frowned at me before turning and following after her friend silently. Her eyes did seem to narrow ever so slightly at the middle name though. It was after all a distinction that commoners were not allowed. Though commoners who were fallen nobles were the exception to that rule.

"Well...that...could have gone worse." Evan said, as he stepped up beside me.

"At least she isn't going to try and get you kicked out or anything." Eris added almost in a sympathetic tone.

"Could she have actually done that?"

Evan put his hand on my shoulder and with a solemn voice told me, "The Academy is considered a neutral ground between Nobles and Commoners. But they still take offending the nobility as an actual punishable offense. So...maybe. Depends on the who's and the hows. Better...to not have to find out. That's what I would say as a last word on the subject."

"Well...this is probably more of a stay of execution, then. After all, she didn't say what would happen if you didn't make it into the Top Ten. I think she's just waiting to see if you have any real value before she has her petty revenge on you. Nobles are nothing if not efficient." Eris explained, as she walked ahead of us into the examination hall. "Still, if you prove your worth, she'll probably leave the matter at that. Nobles tend to keep their word. It's a point of honor for most of them and they make a very big deal about it."

"Yeah, but thats a super-long shot thats not going to happen," Evan said, as he patted me on the back before following after her.

"We'll see about that." I groaned, before following after them. But all I could really think to myself in private with a silent groan was, 'Damn, I really didn't need this...'

When I considered Atilla's well being, I couldn't help but feel ashamed of my actions. Though regardless of my feelings on the issue, it was too late to back down now. The die had already been cast.

I enter into the examination hall after the other two, and look around to see a cavernous chamber that swallows sounds and amplifies nerves. The sterile chill of the air nips at my skin, but it's the weight of Atilla's illness, that silent thief, and the shadow of our family's tarnished legacy that presses upon my chest; stealing bits of warmth from my resolve as the seconds slowly pass. It's for her, for all of us who've fallen from grace due to no fault of our own, that I'm here. I close my eyes for a heartbeat, draw in a deep breath like I'm pulling back a bowstring, and ready myself for the challenge.

Within the hall there were no traditional style desks or tables. Instead there were consoles with large touch-screens built in to the table top, which were all emitting a pale blue light. The chairs were rather simple looking and could have come from almost any point in human history.

As I was directed to the console that was to be my designated spot, I sat down and looked around. Evan and Eris were both on the other side of the room, whilst Valencia and her friend were in the center of the front row. I had no doubt that the seats had been arranged to put the nobles in the front...as a show of status.

I saw Valencia turn with a swish of blonde hair and look back at me over her shoulder. Her face was just as beautiful as it had been mere moments ago. She smirked at me with those thick lips of hers that seemed so lush all of a sudden, much to my embarrassment, and winked at me while mouthing the word 'Omega'. She then turned away again with all the haughtiness she could muster.

I frowned. Why am I even giving this blonde haired little bitch a second thought? She was wasting my oxygen and I should put her from my mind. Nevertheless, I couldn't. Those lips...just thick enough to seem almost inviting kept flashing back before my minds eye in brief glimpses. I couldn't quash them quickly enough to keep them out of mind altogether. I felt a bit...inferior suddenly.

I couldn't actually be an Omega...could I? I'd never even considered it. Our parents died when I was still young, so I knew surprisingly little about the process itself, or about the specifics of these 'Evolved genders' that were inherent to the nobility. Just that Alpha's were dominant, and the Omega's, while still being super-human like the Alpha's, were completely submissive to the Alpha's. 

I knew that Alphas typically formed a mating pair, and then collected a...harem, for lack of a better word, of Omegas around them. Although Omegas were relatively rare, so it was completely possible for a mated pair to only have a single Omega. Still...the idea I would become part of her harem? Preposterous!

I would pass this exam. And...win Valencia's wager. For Atila, if not for myself. I was determined. I was confident. For now they could all only wait, but in time, they would see. Valencia especially. I redoubled my effort as I focused my mind.

She'd be the Omega. Not me. If anything. With renewed concentration I lowered my gaze back down to my console.

I read the prompt on the center screen of the console and following its instructions I held out my forefinger to the built-in scanner. It made a beeping noise as the testing console hums to life beneath my fingers, its keys cold and indifferent. I imagine each press of those keys, and each decision made; as a defiant act against the ticking clock that marks the tempo of this test—and of Atilla's fading time. My father's teachings surface like buoys in stormy seas within my mind. 'Strategy over speed,' he'd say, his voice a beacon when doubt clouds my thoughts. With every question, I'd wield his wisdom as a weapon, carving a path through the digital labyrinth of this upcoming exam with swift keystrokes.