I stood within my bedroom, the mirror reflecting my nude body. Lightly coloured scars dotted my chest and neck, the Rejuvenation Pod had dealt with the worst of them. But it would take longer for the deepest of my scars to truly fade.

Yet it wasn't the scars that drew my attention but my eyes. The cybernetic eye didn't match, its dull grey seemed at odds with the deep purple of my natural eye.

I say the word "natural" loosely here. I wasn't born with it, in fact, I wasn't born at all. Not in the usual sense.

My mother didn't have the time to waste nine months dealing with the issues of pregnancy, her modified physiology wouldn't allow it and neither would her many enhancements. So it was decided I would be grown, designed from the ground up using my mother's and father's DNA, the same as any natural baby.

They comforted me by saying that they left most of the process up to chance, everything but my eyes. Those my father chose, the colour based on the purple of the Clematis Viticella. A plant native to Rome that he dotted throughout his garden as a reminder to the old country.

Most people, when they gazed upon me, saw me no different from themselves. The perceptive ones, however, noticed the little things that stood out, the strange things.

My attractive appearance already made me stand out but it was not that they noticed. No, they saw an unnerving perfection, blemishes, spots, moles; all were nonexistent and excluded from my design.

In truth, it held its advantages. My body had more stamina, recovered quicker from injury and was more resistant to disease. Nothing super-human but enough to give me an edge.

It didn't last long, the stares, I mean. You see, I was one of the first designer children, it was my uniqueness, my newness that drew curiosity, hate or disgust.

And like all things, it withered as more and more nobles followed in my parent's footsteps. Soon I was seen the same as all other wealthy nobles, a target of jealousy. The rest is, as they say, history.

You must be wondering what I plan on doing, if I'll actually take Septimus' deal. Let me first cut to the chase and say yes.

Now listen, because it's not because of his offer. The Advanced Central Cortex Implant is merely a convenient thing to have, not a necessity.

I'm choosing a side, this is simply my means of showcasing that so no one can doubt me.

That is not to say I believe I am morally correct in my decision. Far from it, I do this only for my selfishness.

If I could support the King's Guard while maintaining my family's safety, then I would. But I've tried that once before and look where that got me, one step away from a bullet to the head and a mass grave.

I believe in what the King's Guard fight for, the destruction of the oppressive regime and a return to democracy. Even if that democracy is within a super-state of unimaginable size where our voices are but whispers.

But at the end of it all, I do not believe they will win. The Imperial Federation has been bloodied each time the First Knight has entered the fray. Why would a minor domestic rebellion make any difference to an entity that has bested the Federation at the peak of its power?

A King's Guard victory was a childish fantasy, one that has run its course. It's time to face reality and join the winning side.

My laptop began to ring, informing me of an incoming video call. I already knew that it was Cecilia, she'd been waiting to call me since I was hospitalised.

I accepted the call but ensured my camera was off.

"Hey Cecilia, can you give me a minute? I'm not dressed. I'll call you after, thanks."

I ended the call without waiting for a response, cutting off her yelp of surprise.

My next course of action was obviously getting dressed. My mother had already informed me that I had a new instructor coming over today, part of relearning how to fight with an enhanced body. So I opted to save some time and jump straight into one of my training outfits.

It was nothing crazy, just some black cargo pants and a matching pullover with shined combat boots. All in all, it was basic kit you'd find in any barracks.

Now dressed, I went back to my laptop and restarted the call. Cecilia picked up instantly and her face told me she wasn't happy.

"Hey, what the hell was that? You can't just hang up on me like that, especially not when I'm worried."

I laughed at her and gave her a little tease.

"Oh, the only thing you were worried about was missing my naked body."

"Yeah? Maybe I was, go on, give me a little peak." She replied, matching my energy.

"Shut up you pervert. I should have you leashed like the dog you are."

"Alright, alright. I was just playing around Val, no need to start bullying me. But I gotta say, for a robot, you're looking pretty good. Love the eye by the way, really draws attention to the face."

"I'm glad you do, but the whole unmatching eye thing wasn't my choice. Plus, they're not robotic but cybernetic."

"What's the difference?"

"It's... yeah, I've no idea, you'll have to ask a scientist that one."

"Damn, so they gave you the wrong eye and they didn't explain the difference between robotic and cybernetic. You must have had some really unhelpful scientists."

"Yep, they even forgot the Advanced Central Cortex Implant, which is the framework required to run half of the features."

"So were they trying to help you or not? I really can't tell."

"Honestly, I have no clue. However, on the bright side, internal weapon systems!"

"Impossible, they wouldn't work without an Advanced Central Cortex Implant."

"Seriously? No one told me that... Whatever, I should be getting one soon. It doesn't even matter right now since I'm not allowed any weapons until I'm officially at AGA Military Academy. Speaking of the Academy, how is it?"

"Oh God, it's terrible. Your instructors have been forcing me to train, I asked why and one of them said, 'I'm being paid to train a teenage girl, so until the right one turns up, you'll have to do.' You have to save me now, so hurry up and get here."

Her imitation of an instructor was clearly done mockingly, but it was pretty good nonetheless.

"In their defence, you do need it."

"Wow! Who's side are you on?"

"Clearly not yours, now drop and give me twenty."

"You better watch out because at this rate, I'll be the strongest out of the two of us!"

"I think I'll be good on that front for a long time. But you can try, if you've got the stones."

"Meanie."

"I try my best."

A knock sounded out at my door and a voice I recognised as Charles spoke.

"Lady Valentina, the new instructor your mother arranged has arrived. Shall I lead her to the sparring room?"

"Please do Charles, I'll be down there in a minute." I turned to Cecilia and said my goodbyes. "I'm sorry Cecilia, but I have to go. It was nice talking to you; call again soon?"

"Okay, Valentina. I'll message you later. But I want to see you at AGA soon, it's lonely without you."

"Don't lie, you just want the instructors off your back."

"Alright, you got me."

"Haha, see you later Cecilia."

"Yeah, goodbye Valentina."

I ended the call and shut down the laptop. I then got up and swiftly ran to the sparring room.

Now while it is called a sparring room, in actuality, it's closer to a multi-purpose training room. And trust me when I say it's multi-purpose because if you add up all the equipment in this room, it'd cost about the same as an entire block of houses.

The instructor was waiting for me with her arms crossed. She was tall, almost 6'1ft and with short brown hair. Her cybernetic arms were what really stood out, as instead of trying to appear somewhat normal, they were made entirely of metal and made no attempt at matching with her skin tone.

Her eyes made contact with mine. I could feel her gaze going up and down my body, sizing me up for whatever plans she entailed for me.

After her judgment had finished, she spoke, her voice deep and imbued with authority.

"So you're the Major-General's daughter..."

"You seem disappointed."

She shrugged and gave a sign of indifference.

"No, you're just prettier than I expected. Like you'd feel more at home on a fashion runway than a military base."

"That felt more like an insult than a compliment."

"Take it however you'd like to. It's not my job to care about your feelings."

I stepped forward with a smile and offered my hand in introduction.

"Valentina Octavia."

She accepted my hand and returned the introduction.

"Staff Sergeant Mila Triarius of the 1st Armoured Division, Hammer Platoon and leader of Castrum Squad. You can call me Sergeant Triarius or Sgt; anything else and I'll have you run laps until sunrise, is that clear?"

"Yes Sgt."

"Outstanding. Now listen carefully because I hate repeating myself. General-Major Octavia has assigned me to get you up to speed with your new cybernetics. Any questions?"

Castrum Squad was one of the few squad names I knew. It was composed of five Goliath Hussars, a highly advanced universal combat platform used exclusively by the top-ranked Squires. In layman's terms, Staff Sergeant Triarius was a fucking badass.

Oh, I should probably mention what a Goliath is. A Goliath is a bipedal armoured mech operated by a Squire or, in rare cases, a Knight. There are many Goliath variations; some, like the Goliath Maximilian, are heavily armoured monstrosities designed to take punishment and dish it right back. Others, like the Goliath Gotischer, are created with aerial bombardment in mind. Armed to the teeth with heavy artillery and large thrusters capable of maintaining a flight time of four hours, they can fly across the battlefield, unloading rows upon rows of fire on top of whatever gets in its way.

"I'll take your silence as a "no." Moving on from that. We are going straight into a spar. Wipe that look off your face, I'll only be defending. Our first task is to get you used to your newly discovered strength, so take stock of how much you're using in each blow. In a fight, you should only use the right amount to kill or cripple your target; more than that and you'll exhaust yourself too quickly. Which in a large battle, is no better than a death sentence."

"So this is all about control in a fight?"

"Correct. Now tap into your CCI and set a power limitation of 60%, you will never need above that unless it's an emergency with your life on the line."

"What's a CCI?"

"It's your Central Cortex Implant."

"Emmm... little problem..."

"And that is?"

"I don't have one..."

She looked at me with confusion, her face seemed to wonder if I was trying to tell some sort of joke. She eventually saw that I was being serious and spoke with utter disbelief.

"You’re fucking kidding me?"

"Nope, mine was lost... I think?"

"Who lost it."

"Oh don't worry, I should be getting a new one soon."

"Don't worry? You think CCIs grow on fucking trees? Tell me who lost it now, and don't try and bullshit me."

"Specialist Jolna, Parkmon Research Institution in Londinium!"

I practically shouted out the answer faster than a machine gun can empty a mag. Sorry Jolna but you're a necessary sacrifice.

"Parkmon Research Institution? Never mind, let's get on with your training."

I didn't know much about Parkmon, but it seems just the mention of it was enough to make the Sergeant back down.

"And what type of training are we doing?"

"We'll continue with the sparring. You'll have to learn to adjust your strength mentally rather than relying on a CCI. At the end of this, you might actually find yourself better off than if you just used a CCI. You'd be surprised at how much you can improve without any programs holding your hand."

"Only control and strength training?"

"I was planning to run you through a low-light course but your optics won't work without a CCI. So this is all we can do."

Seriously? Even I was told those would still work without a CCI. Did Jolna get it wrong? Or did I mishear?

"Valentina Octavia! On the mats, asap. We are going." She snapped impatiently.

Triarius was already on the fall mats in the centre of the training room. Her stance was half-formed as I stepped in opposite her.

"Come on. You're here to fight, not stare." She taunted.

I set off instantly, my legs launching me forwards and my fist following close behind. Within an inch of connecting, the Sgt ducked under my attack, grabbed my arm and threw me to the floor.

At first, I thought that was the round over but the sight of her foot coming down on my face immediately reversed that thought as I rolled out the way.

Narrowly avoiding the strike, I leapt to my feet and backed off, creating a distance of four metres between us. Triarius looked at me and laughed, mocking me further.

"Calm down girlie. Keep looking at me with those eyes and I might shit myself. There's no need to treat this so seriously."

She dropped her guard in an obvious bait. I pretended to take it as I rushed towards her, but at the last second, I hooked my foot beneath one of the fall mats and kicked it at her.

My sudden move caught her off-guard, which was what I was looking for as my leg smashed into her front, knocking the wind out of her and pushing her backwards.

Triarius laughed, which was the one reaction I wasn't expecting.

"Good work. Perhaps you're more impressive than you look. Round one is your win; don't expect the second to be so easy."

With her final words, she flashed a savage smile, clearly intended to instil me with fear. It didn't work.

She fixed the fall mat and re-entered the ring. We both headed to our respective sides and readied ourselves.

This time she was the one to initiate the fight. In a mad dash, she jumped into the air, trying to hit my face with a roundhouse kick. I ducked under as her leg flew over me. I prepared to counter-attack but before I could her second leg smacked into the side of my head.

It took me a moment before I realised what had happened. As her leg flew over me, she kicked off the ground with her second leg and, using the momentum from the first strike, it connected with my skull.

This move was only possible thanks to the insane amount of cybernetics she had installed. At the rank of Squire, almost all parts of the body were replaced and upgraded. So it was no surprise that she pulled something that inhuman off.

However, as she had brought both her legs off the ground, she had a longer recovery time than I did. So before she had stabilised again, I was barreling towards her. Two arms set in a cross formation to ram her out of the ring without causing too much harm.

But I misjudged the timing and instead of my arms connecting with flesh, it was her knee that connected with my ribs, emitting a distinct snapping sound as I fell to the floor.

"Round two to me. Oh, don't look at me like that, it was only one rib. It'll heal within the week."

I slowly pushed myself off the ground.

"How do you know it was only one rib?"

Instead of answering my question, she pointed to her eye and smiled.

"Seriously? Your eyes can tell you that?" I asked in astonishment.

"Yep, just another perk of the military life. However, I think we should leave it here for today. We'll call it a draw; sound good?"

"Yes, that'll be fine. When's the next training?"

"Dunno, whenever you join the AGA Military Academy. Your mother has heard that your friend is currently using what was supposed to be your instructors. So she's decided to let her keep them and instead assign me to be your sole instructor."

"You know she hates those instructors."

"Yep, I do. But it's not really my problem now it is, the only thing I have to worry about is you. Anyway, I gotta get going, I have a car to catch and I'm already running late."

"Well, I guess I'll be seeing you around."

"Seeing you around what?"

"Sorry Sergeant."

"Ha, I'm just fucking with you. You're still a civvy for now, so you can drop the rank. It'll be another story when you're at the Academy, though."

"Okay? I think..."

Triarius walked to the doorway before stopping and turning to face me.

"Hey girlie, you did good tonight."

"Thanks? But please don't call me girlie."

"Write up a formal complaint and I'll think about it... girlie."

With that, she exited out the doorway and vanished into the manor.

I sat down on a bench, my hand still nursing my stomach. My phone was next to me, I'd left it here before the spar so it wouldn't get damaged. I picked it up and dialled Charles.

It rang for about three seconds before it was answered.

"Lady Valentina. How may I be of assistance?"

"I took a nasty blow during training. Can you book an appointment tomorrow to get it fixed?"

"I'll get on it at once. My Lady, I should also inform you that another guest arrived not ten minutes ago. A boy from Alvudinum Academy named Felix Dunero, I have it on record that you and he are acquainted. He is currently waiting within the guest lounge."

"Charles, why did you let him in without first checking with me?"

"I attempted to ring you four times to no avail. Thus I opted to have him wait in the guest lounge till your decision."

"Please escort him from the premises. I do not care to see him."

"At your command, my Lady."

With that, I ended the call.

Checking through my phone, I saw that I really did miss four calls from Charles. That shouldn't shock me, he would never lie about something so easy to disprove.

I stood up carefully to not inflame my wounds and walked to the kitchen to get a drink of water.

After my drink, I returned to my bedroom and laid down on the bed.

The next moment, Charles was knocking at my door.

"Lady Valentina, Felix Dunero demanded I give you this letter. It has already been through the appropriate checks to determine its safety. Do not fret; neither I nor anyone else has read its contents. Would you like to read it? Or should I destroy it?"

I let at a sigh, of course the fool would leave a letter. I got out of bed and opened the door.

"Thank you Charles. You are dismissed for the night." I replied while taking the letter.

"Goodnight, Lady Valentina. I do hope you have a pleasant sleep."

"You too Charles."

I closed the door, sat down on the bed. And opened the letter.

My eyes widened as I began to read.

I finished and threw the letter to the floor as I scrambled for my phone and called the number.

"Praetor Acisculus, it's happened."