As Jason stood out on the tarmac of the parade grounds, he could only reflect on how strange it was to think that he’d been here three months already. Time moved strangely at the Crucible, seeming to ebb and flow with little in the way of rhyme or reason. It felt like the whole thing had rushed by – yet it also felt like it had been a lifetime.

Now it was over, and he would be lying if he said he felt no trepidation about the future. The Crucible had been harsh and unrelenting, but it had also been consistent. The rules did not change. The routine of daily life remained unbroken. It was a place filled with familiar places and people.

Yet now it was all disappearing. Everyone would be shipped off to different locations for training in whatever their specialization might be. Not that any of them knew what their specializations might be. They’d all submitted their list of preferred roles, but at the end of the day, the Shil’vati military would do as it pleased. People would be placed wherever a new cog in the great machine was needed.

Jason's concerns were at least somewhat mollified by the fact that his performance in the pre-graduate training exercise would mean his preference would carry more weight. Or at least, that was the theory. How it translated to practice had yet to be seen.

"Today, you are reborn. Soldiers of the Great Shil’vati Imperium." General Einashu, the Commander of Crucible Base, spoke proudly as she stood at her podium, on a stage above the recruits. "You have become the very foundation upon which our Empire stands. Strong and steadfast against any horror that might lurk in the darkness of space.”

Jason thought the speech rather ironic, given that for a lot of races, the Shil’vati were one of the horrors lurking in space. Which was why it pained him that he still felt a surge of pride in his chest at her words. He’d never asked to become part of the force that had conquered his world, yet he had, and he had worked hard to reach this point. This speech acknowledged that, and no matter how much of a contradiction it was in his heart, he had earned the right to call himself a Shil’vati Marine.

Now he just needed to figure out if he wanted to…

It probably didn’t help that his dress uniform was bloody uncomfortable. The creases on the thing were starched so damned stiff he could probably have used them as an impromptu weapon if the situation came up. It didn’t help that the whole ensemble had him looking like some kind of knock-off roman legionary, complete with gleaming brass breastplate and bizarre little scale-mail armored skirt thing over his pants.

"You are the ones who will carry the light of Empress onto new worlds. To new peoples and races. To stand as both steward and guardian. To make the Imperium’s glorious destiny manifest.”

Yep, there it was. Manifest Destiny. The words felt foul on his tongue. The logic by which the Imperium operated, and the logic by which his homeworld had been conquered. The Imperium didn’t take stuff because it needed it. It took it because that was how it operated.

The Empress was destined to rule the universe. Everything the Imperium did, on a short and long term scale, was in service to that goal. Officially at least. Jason was pretty sure the whole concept was just to provide a justification for snapping up every world they possibly could before anyone else did. They sure as shit weren’t fighting the Trade Coalition or the Alliance in an attempt to bring the ‘light of the Empress’ to them.

Yet, he noted with some trepidation. The Imperium was an expansionist Imperial power, and just because it wasn’t fighting the other two major interstellar powers, didn’t mean it wouldn’t if they thought they might win. As it stood, he had a feeling the three acted as balances for each other. None of them could attack one of the others without the third stepping in.

"Today, each and every one of you has contributed to that destiny, and thus, today you have earned my respect. For that, I salute you, soldiers of the Imperium."

It was a strange feeling indeed, to see the cadre’s instructors all lined up in a row behind the general. Smiling. Large genuine smiles, that only grew as they started to clap. The frankly terrifying women were happy for them, and for just a minute, Jason was seeing them as people rather than inhuman forces of nature.

It was also strange to hear clapping from the, thus far, silent crowd behind them. Family and friends of the recruits had traveled from all across the system to be here for the graduation, and the whole ensemble was fairly beaming with pride as the recruits marched across the parade grounds, their lock-step formation perfectly drilled into them in the week since the final training exercise.

As they did, Jason found himself wondering why the crowd seemed so strange to him. It was only as they were making their second turn that he realized why. This was his first time seeing Shil’vati family units! Hell, this was his first time seeing Shil’vati children. Yet there they all stood, in obvious groups, one male flanked by a bevy of females. On average at least. He supposed there might be a few male children amongst the audience, given that much like humans, sexual dimorphism for Shil’vati didn’t begin until they reached puberty.

He knew Raisha’s family was here, and that was a meeting he was fairly dreading. He fully understood why the girl wanted to ‘show him off', but that didn’t make the whole notion any less awkward for him. For a number of reasons. The same could be said to be true of Tarcil’s family; for reasons that were superficially similar and yet wildly different.

In that regard, perhaps he was fortunate that no one was attending for his own sake.

Not that he hadn’t been asked. Given Earth’s status as a recently ‘compliant’ world, travel from Earth to other Imperial worlds wasn’t open to everyone. Not without a permit and a thorough security check. Still, a recruit graduating into the Imperial military certainly counted as a reason to be granted one, and to his surprise, the Marines had offered to pay for a maximum of five people from Earth to be shipped here to attend the event.

A surprisingly kind gesture from the faceless military machine, but then again, as he had learned over the past three months, the Shil’vati military took care of its own. Which was why it kind of stung that even with those considerations, he couldn’t think of a single person to invite to the event. He’d had friends and acquaintances, sure, but none close enough that he thought they’d be willing to be shipped halfway across the universe to be here.

He put the thought from his mind as the drill entered its final phase, and the recruits came to a stop in a perfect stair square formation, before turning as one to face the podium once again. During the parade, the general had disappeared, presumably to make better use of her time than watching over a bunch of graduating recruits. All that remained now were the instructors.

Clearing her throat, the ‘head’ Instructor stepped up to the podium. “As the general said, well done recruits. I say that not just for myself, but for every member of the training staff.”

Behind her, the rest of her fellows nodded, still wearing those positively strange proud smiles.

“In recognition of your achievements, I will now begin reading out your future postings, where you will begin the next phase of your training; Acting-Private, Vrey Frell. Aviation Corps – Piloting. Halden Base.”

The name was of someone he peripherally recalled, a reasonably heavy-set woman who he thought he might have partnered with on a first aid exercise once. Not that he was able to look to the side and confirm that guess, as he kept his head ramrod straight. Still, familiarity or not, he did allow himself a small smile as a smattering of claps rang out from the crowd behind him. Likely the girl’s family celebrating her getting into a reasonably difficult vocation.

“Acting-Private, Raisha Platnis. Exo Corps - Piloting. Aviary Base.”

Jason’s smile widened at the fact that Raisha had gotten into her desired training program. He didn’t have to look to imagine her big goofy grin. It would have been hard not to imagine it, given she’d been wearing one since their liaison in that hotel room nearly a week ago. He supposed it might have worn off since then if they hadn’t been bonking at just about every opportunity they’d gotten since. Which equated to two times.

Heedless of his thoughts, the Instructor continued to list out recruits names, and their ultimate destinations. Freyxh was going to the special forces as predicted. Nuiy was off to be a communications specialist. The twins were off to become stewards of all things. Adrilla looked to be going into transport. It was an eclectic mix of things he knew his friends had wanted, and things some of them hadn’t.

Which only served to make him worry all the more about his own inevitable destination.

“Acting-Private, Tarcil Halm. Survey Corps - Communications. Periphery Prime Base.”

Despite his somewhat complicated relationship with the lithe alien, he was relieved that Tarcil had gotten the role he’d been after.

“Acting-Private, Jason Linford.”

It actually took Jason a second to realize she was talking about him. It had been so long since anyone had used his last name, he’d begun to wonder if anyone knew he even had one. Though that thought only passed through the back of his mind, the fore was more concerned with the way the unflappable woman paused, frowning down at the omni-pad in her hand, before continuing with a visible scowl.

“Classified, Classified.”

What? What the hell did that even mean? Where the hell was he going? While none of the recruits were lax enough to voice or display their confusion in any way, he did hear some confused murmuring from the crowd behind him. He already stood out because of his obviously human name, and the addition of his now classified postings had clearly awoken the curiosity of some members of the crowd.

Not that he could blame them: he was pretty fucking curious himself. Unfortunately, no answers were forthcoming, as the Instructor on stage gave him one last significant look, before continuing on down her list.

Jason heard barely a word of it, caught up in his own thoughts. It was only as the Instructor finally cleared her throat after finishing the list that he was brought back into the present.

“From this moment, you have four days of leave to spend as you wish. At the start of the new week, every recruit is to be present and ready for duty at oh-seven hundred hours. Do not be late.” Her eyes roamed across all of them. “Dismissed.”

Jason barely had a moment before a large purple arm was wrapped around his own, practically dragging him across the tarmac. He let her, smiling fondly, even as he caught Tarcil’s gaze from across the parade ground. The other alien saw his predicament, before smiling himself and turning towards where his own family was no doubt waiting.

Then he had no time to dwell on it anymore as he was almost shoved in front of a trio of vaguely familiar looking Shil’vati. All women, two of them were garbed in fairly rough looking civilian clothes, though he barely noticed them, as his eyes were immediately drawn to the woman whose uniform immediately identified her as a petty officer.

“So, this is the boy, huh?” she said, looking for all the world like a lion eyeing a gazelle.

“Yep,” Raisha said cheerily, as she wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Her entire demeanor was positively bursting with pride as she practically showed him off. Though, it was impossible to miss the vague hint of possessiveness in her grip as she none too subtly stared at her… sister?

This felt like a sibling rivalry.

“Jason,” he said, extending a closed fist, and none too subtly reminding everyone present that he wasn’t a prop for… whatever was going on here. “Jason Linford.”

That seemed to snap the two out of their little staring contest, and Raisha looked a little sheepish, while her older sister just seemed amused.

“Hilshran Platnis,” the woman said, bumping his fist in the Shil’vati equivalent of a handshake. “Petty Officer Third Class and this midget’s big sis.”

That set Raisha to grumbling, and for just a moment Jason was left wondering if he was supposed to introduce himself with his own rank now. He hoped not. Acting-Private just didn’t quite sound as impressive, and that wouldn’t be changing until he finished vocational training and became an actual private, which didn’t sound all that impressive either.

A light cough from behind Raisha’s sister, had her turning around. “Oh, and these are my other two sisters, Kalfien and Selil.”

The two waved at him almost shyly, and Jason nodded to them. “Charmed.”

That set both of them to giggling and blushing, which only bemused him further. Glancing up at Raisha, she looked somewhat embarrassed by her family’s behavior.

“Teens,” she said, as if that explained it all.

Which… it sort of did. Regular teens could be awkward around members of the opposite sex, and that was with a fifty-fifty gender split. He could only imagine how much worse Shil’vati teen girls could be, given how little contact some of them might have with the opposite gender.

Taking his eyes off the two, his gaze returned to Raisha’s older sister, who was still eying him.

“None of the mums or dad could make it?” his girlfriend asked.

The woman just shrugged. “Harvest season. You know how it is. All feet in the field.”

Evidently she did, as Raisha nodded sadly. Which only prompted her sibling to move forward, wrapping her up in a headlock.

“What’s with that face, huh? Don’t I count,” she grunted, ignoring Raisha’s spirited attempts to escape. “Especially after I got leave especially to show up here for my baby sister’s graduation? I even brought the two useless ones.”

There was a muffled ‘hey’ from the two watching members of the Platnis family, but neither moved to intervene as Raisha and her older sibling practically wrestled for dominance. Jason just watched on in bemusement, idly glancing around to see if anyone else was taking notice. They weren’t. Apparently, a little sibling jabbing wasn’t beneath the dignity of the event.

“Sis, you’re embarrassing me!” Raisha called plaintively as she got her mouth clear of her sibling’s arm. “Not in front of…”

Hilshran’s eyes swung over to Jason, and though she gave him a quick wink, she released her sibling. Raisha pulled out, taking a step back defensively as she straightened her mussed up hair.

“He don’t mind,” the petty officer said. “From what I hear, human guys can appreciate a bit of physicality.”

Her eyes roamed up and down him again, and if he thought he might have been being flirted with before, that confirmed it.

Scoffing, he reached out to grab a slightly put out Raisha’s hand. “No, we don’t. Still, as excited as you might be to see Raisha again, I’d prefer you don’t tire her out too much.”

He ran a finger suggestively up Raisha’s thigh, ignoring the way her previous mortification was quickly shifting to embarrassment, and not a little lust. “She’s going to need every ounce of it for later this evening.”

Which was entirely true. Given that Raisha was now the sole beneficiary of his affections – no matter how much the twins complained – it was going to take every scrap of energy she had to get through the evening. Something she was all too aware of, given the way he felt her shiver in anticipation, and not a little nervousness.

Hilshran’s eyes widened slightly, darting between him and the furiously blushing Raisha. Still, to her credit, she rallied quickly. Unlike her two siblings behind her, who were staring at Raisha with obvious awe and blatant envy.

“Ooh, are you sure about that?” the woman said confidently, leaning in close. “I’d be more than willing to sub in if my little sis finds herself all tuckered out.”

Jason was tempted. He wouldn’t deny that. It was true what they said, confidence was sexy, and Hilshran oozed the stuff. The similarity to Raisha helped, in that the woman was an older more mature version of her younger sibling. That she was offering what was essentially a ménage à trois only made things more exciting.

Of course, that was all meaningless to him if Raisha wasn’t into it, and even a casual glance at her face told him she wasn’t. Her heritage might have meant she was open to sharing, but it seemed that, for whatever reason, her sister was a step too far.

“Sorry,” Jason shook his head. “Raisha’s more than woman enough for me.”

He felt Raisha sigh in relief next to him, and he reassuringly squeezed her hand.

Again, to her credit, Hilshran took his rejection in stride, stepping back with a smile. He didn’t miss the way her eyes continued to linger with an almost predatory intent on him though.

“Lucky you, sis,” the woman said. “I think I’m actually jealous.”

Those words had Raisha beaming, and Jason had a feeling he’d just inadvertently fulfilled one of the girl’s childhood dreams of one-upping her older sibling.

“I am,” she said, before clarifying. “Lucky that is.”

Hilshran chuckled. “Well, my lucky sister, we’ve booked a table somewhere nice to celebrate your graduation.” She eyed Jason. “We also booked a spot for your ‘amazing new boyfriend’, you know, on the off chance he was real.”

“You didn’t think he was real?” Raisha looked actively offended as the quintet began to walk off the parade ground and towards the exit to the base.

“Well,” Hilshran drawled teasingly. “It wouldn’t be the first time you made one up.” Her gaze moved to Jason. “One time, in her junior year-”

“Acting Private Jason,” a voice called, cutting the petty officer off. “Would I be able to speak to you for a second?”

It was one of the Instructors, and though she was talking to him, he noticed her gaze was aimed at Hilshran.

The woman blinked, staring almost deadpan at the intruder, before nodding to him. “Hopefully it won’t be too long. We’ll wait here for you.”

Jason wasn’t too sure if that was a statement or a command; either way, his training kicked in and he obediently walked towards the Instructor.

“Yes, Instructor?” he asked warily. Even if he had technically graduated now, he was still worried about being called out by the woman. Spending three months doing everything he could to avoid being noticed by his superiors hadn’t disappeared just because someone had presented him with a few bits of metal and ticked a box off on his file. Especially given that an Acting-Private was still just a recruit in everything but name.

“I just wanted to inform you that… no matter who you are or how you arrived here, it was an honor to be your instructor, just as it was an honor to teach every marine that comes through those gates.” The woman said, totally surprising him by how personable she felt.

For the entire time he’d been at the Crucible, the Instructors had been unflinching disciplinarians who knew neither pity nor remorse. Yet now, for just a moment it felt like the mask had been lifted, and he was talking to an actual person.

“Thank you, Instructor,” he said, for lack of any idea of what else to say.

The woman simply nodded. “That however is just the prelude to why I really called out to you. I’m here to remind you that the Marines always look out for their own. I don’t know where you’re going next. It’s possible even the general herself doesn’t. So, I just want to tell you, that no matter where you end up, you have allies in the corps. Allies who don’t care what color your blood is or what sun you were born under.”

She patted him on the shoulder, another personable gesture that totally threw him off guard – though it didn’t help that he was already feeling kind of numbed by the ominous vibes of what she was telling him.

“Don’t forget that.”

He nodded, numbly. “Yes, Instructor.”

She smiled at him. “Well then, for the final time, dismissed!”

Jason’s body was already turning away before the rest of his mind caught up, the movement drilled into his very bones. As he walked back to the Platnis family, he found himself mulling over what he’d just heard.

“What did she want to talk about?” Raisha asked warily.

“Just some final well-wishes,” he answered distractedly.

Hilshan clucked her tongue. “Yeah, I had an Instructor come up to me and do the same at my own graduation. Felt weird as hell.”

All of them nodded, with the exception of the two civilians, who just looked confused.

“Well, enough of that,” Hilshan cheered. “As I recall, I was just telling you about Raisha’s last boyfriend. You know, the imaginary one."

Jason laughed, as Raisha squawked in indignation, prompting another round of arguing between the siblings. It was nice, and for just a moment he was able to put everything from his mind. Earth. The Interior. His nebulous relationships. Whatever was going on with his posting. He was able to ignore it all and just… relax.