Xaleyp woke in an unfamiliar place, his skull close to splitting from pain and a horrible knot in the pit of his stomach. Bitter cold pierced his lungs then was suddenly replaced by a refreshing warmth. He groaned and tried to flip himself to his side, but something hard and solid stopped him, keeping him in place. Some sort of metal restraint was across his chest and arms, binding him to a table to look up at the ceiling.

The dull metal above seemed so far, yet so close, as if he could reach out to touch it while knowing his fingers would never reach, even if he could move his arms. Recessed into the ceiling were circular lights evenly spaced throughout the room. Everywhere he could see was lit up in a bright glow, leaving no visible shadows.

A whirring filled the room as the table tilted forward, bringing his head up. He glanced around and found a dozen other tables scattered around, each the same size and at precisely the same angle. Other people—children and teenagers, by the sounds of it—groaned softly as they woke.

In front of him was a large round window showing a beautiful view of a planet. Xaleyp recognized it from his school lessons at once: it was Stariek. The green landmasses covered by the occasional gray of city and large pools of blue water were unmistakable. White streaks of clouds covered some parts of the land and ocean. The side facing him was completely lit up by the star Draconis. The blue water sparkled in the sunlight.

On either side of the window was what looked like a metal statue with piercing blue eyes. A spear rested in each of their hands, the shaft inscribed with ornate patterns and the tip splitting in half and coming to a dual-point. Between the two halves was a small, glowing blue orb slowly rotating in place.

A klaxon sounded off, piercing the otherwise silent room. Everyone was released from their restraints at once, and none too gently. They fell to the ground, some softly, others with thuds. The squelching of flesh on metal echoed for several seconds before silence filled the chamber again. Beneath him, the ground was cold. All he was wearing was a loose sleeveless shirt and shorts that barely came to his knees. His feet were bare and freezing against the floor.

A sharp pain shot through his head, and a memory surfaced from some hidden away section of his brain, one that didn’t want to let it go without kicking and screaming. The darkness of an unknown room. Sudden blinding light and something sharp, like a blade, and a high pitched ringing then a voice pierced through. Muffled, he couldn’t understand what it said. As soon as it came, the memory faded away, retreating like a turtle to its shell. He tried to grasp at it and understand more, but like sand through a sieve, it disappeared.

The splitting headache blurred his vision, and he just barely pushed down a wave of nausea before it emptied his stomach. What did the memory mean? What was it about? It happened so quickly he couldn’t make out any details, and they were slipping further away with each attempt he made at hanging on to them, before he was finally left with just a fleeting sense of the feeling the vision gave him.

Xaleyp looked around with his hands on his knees. He tried to see if there was anyone that looked familiar, but he recognized no one. Some were older than him, some younger, and some around his age. Each looked around confused, just like him, and all of them had a similar type of clothes on. Some seemed to be panicking as they scanned the room, unsure of where they were.

“Initiation proceedings will begin in fifteen minutes,” a voice rumbled in the space. It sounded so distant past the pounding in his head. “All cadets follow the yellow line to report to assembly room.”

A murmur ran through the room as they searched for the source. Something was lingering in the air with the activity. Was it fear, or excitement, perhaps? Journeying through uncharted territory was always a mixture of both. How many even remembered who kidnapped them? Xaleyp tried to recall himself, replaying anything he could recollect in his mind. They were in the safe room below the cottage. It was him, his mom, Zayne, and…

Rach’El.

She had been with Xaleyp when they took him. She was his best friend, she had to be okay. What happened to her? What happened to any of them? He glanced around the room, but the tilted tables made it impossible to see anything beyond a few feet in each direction. Where even was he? Where had that Colonel taken them?

Was it his fault they were captured? His dad told him to keep them safe. It definitely wasn’t safe if he didn’t even know where he was. All of them had been taken. How many guards were killed? Was it because of him? Xaleyp shook in place. His dad gave him the responsibility of keeping them safe. He failed.

None of the others around Xaleyp moved, and he didn’t want to be the first. As they lingered in place, however, what he thought to be statues seemed to straighten themselves up somewhat, their heads rotating slowly to scan the room and stare at each of them. Some of the younger ones cowered under the gaze, not knowing what it was, while one or two older teenagers stared back as if challenging the being.

‟Proceed to assembly room by following the yellow line,” a stern, robotic voice said from the right statue. The two machines moved forward, pushing some of the closer children to the door none too gently and sending a couple sprawling to the floor with dull thuds. ‟Continued refusal will be met with force and detention.”

The crowd moved, still somewhat hesitantly, towards a door at the far side, and Xaleyp joined them. Bringing up the rear were the two robots, their spears brandished menacingly as they kept the group moving. On the floor, he saw several colored lines—red, blue, green, yellow, orange—each leading past the door into the unknown. Xaleyp took a deep breath and followed them, helpfully chevroned every few meters to remind them which direction to go.

The walls were a sleek metal with intricate carvings resembling a circuit board, criss crossing in all directions. It was a dull gray on the inside, but the outside was a pitch black, like a patch of starless space. Clear tubes ran up at regular intervals, carrying small arcs of lighting that looked as if it may have been power for the station. Banners bearing the Hyperion flag hung anywhere there was room in the halls, whether from large metal pillars or just from the walls themselves, solidifying the change in leadership the planet experienced. More windows were scattered throughout, letting them see Stariek on one side and open space on the other. Starfighters streaked past them from time to time, and, at each occurrence, Xaleyp couldn’t help but stare in awe. He knew he was going to pilot one of those one day, no matter what it took.

After several minutes of walking, the yellow line disappeared into a door on the left. A red light above it turned green at their approach. Ahead of them, Xaleyp could see another group of people moving towards them. More kids and more teenagers with a pair of the same statues turned robotic guards keeping them walking forward. How many people did they take?

The door hissed open, revealing a dark room. Those at the front hesitated. Xaleyp felt himself involuntarily recede at the sight. After some brief encouragement, they entered. In each corner, a light angled to the center turned on, illuminating a fixed pedestal. Four pillars made a large, open square around it, and a ramp led to the top. A single man stood at its peak with two soldiers in front of it, their red eyes piercing into each of them. He gestured to the area in front of him.

“Line up.” Confusion spread as the cadets arranged themselves into haphazard formations. Xaleyp eventually found himself at the back, with only one row behind him. The man nodded, but the look on his face showed there was much to be desired. “Very good. You can follow orders. You’re all probably wondering why you’re here.”

There was a buzz of confirmation from the milling crowd. The man spoke above them all, his voice thundering in the enclosed area.

“Do not speak when I am speaking. As I was saying, my name is Colonel Augusta Ire.” He walked down the ramp and began pacing along the front of the lines. His steps were carefully measured and painfully slow as he tried to look each and every person in the eye. “You will call me Colonel, Sir, Commandant. You will not call me Augusta. You will not call me Ire. I have earned my rank in the Hyperion Empire, and you will show respect for it.”

At these words, some of the young people shared shocked glances. They all heard stories and went through basic history lessons about the Hyperion Empire. While all of them may not have immediately recognized their symbol from the ship, the name was nothing if not legendary.

“You are here because we desire a larger humanoid military force. You will fight who we tell you, where we tell, and you will do so without remorse or a second thought. Any insubordination, any treachery, any dereliction of duty, and you will be dealt with severely.”

His eyes lingered on Xaleyp for a second that felt like minutes. A chill ran down his spine as he recognized the Colonel. The man was there at the cottage and had kidnapped him and Rach. Xaleyp started forming fists at his sides, ready to strike, when a hand landed on his shoulder. It was a girl he didn’t recognize. She shook her head slightly with an exaggerated look at Ire.

“We call this station Vertyn.” Ire continued pacing back and forth. “It is a training facility for Hyperia. More Stariek citizens, like all of you, will be sent here. We will also ship others from around the galaxy here. You need not concern yourselves on where or why. While you are here, you will encounter many trials and difficulties which some of you may not survive. Such is life. Outside, a soldier is waiting to lead you to your dormitories. You can change there and prepare for your first classes, where your age will determine where we send you next. Dismissed.”

‟What if we don’t want to do what you say?” a masculine voice called out from behind Xaleyp as Ire began to walk away. It cracked somewhat and sounded perhaps more comedic than the speaker intended, but they continued anyway. ‟Why should we listen to you when you brought us here against our will?”

Ire stopped in place, standing motionless for several seconds before turning to look at the teenage boy who spoke out. There was a look of pure fury in the man’s eyes, causing the younger ones including Xaleyp to shrink somewhat. The boy, however, stared back as intensely as Ire.

‟Anthony Tyn,” Ire said when he decided the silence had gone on long enough. He walked along the front row until he was standing in the same column as the boy. ‟Your father told me that you were quite rebellious, though I did expect it to be a little while longer before you spoke out. I’m sure you’ve heard plenty of stories about Hyperia and how we operate. Guards, please escort him to the education chamber. Hopefully, Anthony will be more cooperative afterwards.”

Two of the guards gripped the boy by the upper arm, lifting him into the air as he squirmed and struggled under their grip, shouting out for help. No one answered his pleas, though a few looked on with somewhat shocked expressions. Others, however, cowered away and attempted to make themselves smaller so as to prevent them from being noticed.

‟Let him be an example to any of you who think that we are not serious about this.”

Ire walked behind the pedestal, disappearing without another word. Immediately, a buzz of activity ran through them all. What did Hyperia want with them? Why Stariek? Why now? Colonel Ire’s speech left more questions than it answered.

“You almost made a big mistake, you stupid idiot.” The girl behind him smiled and giggled as she spoke. “Punching him in front of those soldiers? It would’ve been fun to watch though.”

“He’s the one who took me and my best friend. It would’ve been worth it.”

Xaleyp spun around to get a better look at her. She had straight black hair that went down past her shoulders and olive skin. Freckles dotted her cheeks. What surprised Xaleyp, however, was the fact that she was smiling. They kidnapped her, forced her to serve in an army she knew almost nothing about, yet she was smiling as if nothing happened. As if this was just a walk in the park, a game to her.

“My name’s Lina.” She bowed slightly. He returned the gesture after a second of hesitation. She stared directly into his eyes for several seconds, unblinking, before she continued talking. “Lina Guezal. You have really beautiful eyes, has anyone ever told you that?”

“No, I don’t think so. I’m Xaleyp Vah’Aris.” His voice was nervous, unsure and unsteady, as he considered her words. No one had ever told him his eyes were beautiful, except for his parents, of course, and his face went red. He glanced around the room, hoping to spot Rach nearby, but she was nowhere to be seen. When he looked back at the girl in front of him, her mouth was hanging open. “What?”

“Vah’Aris, as in Commander Vah’Aris?” She sounded astonished, her eyeballs ready to burst out of her head.

“Yeah, my dad is the commander.” Xaleyp shrugged. “Big deal now that we’re all here.”

“But he could rescue us!” Lina’s face lit up even more.

One soldier took that moment to herd the pair toward the door. The metal hands were freezing on his bare skin. He shivered and shrunk away.

“Proceed to your dormitory,” the synthesized voice ordered.

Xaleyp staggered from the push but quickly regained his footing. Both of them started following the rest. The crowd moved steadily ahead, being led into the unknown. Through one window, they could see one of Stariek’s moons, Monimar, as it crested the top of the planet. With it sat two of the Hyperion cruisers.

“I don’t really think my dad can do much rescuing,” Xaleyp said. He tried to keep his voice low to make sure no one would overhear them. “We probably just have to go with this.”

“What do you mean?” Lina rolled her eyes. “Of course he’d save us. He’d want his son back.”

“Yeah, but, before I was taken, I overheard my mom talking to my dad’s friend. He had to go to his work after that ship came. It sounded like he was in trouble there.”

“Well, he could have got out of it.” The unceasing optimism she had was incredible. “Just you wait, he’ll come. I know it.”

Xaleyp couldn’t help but smile at her words. Even if they weren’t true, hearing that someone felt safe because of his dad was heartwarming. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe his dad would save them. Something inside told him that was never going to happen, no matter how many people believed it and how much he hoped for it.