"Then what? What I said out there? About being a biomech pilot?"

"Yes! You're a brilliant young woman-why would you make a joke like that? The president is not going to be happy!"

Lily tried her best not to react to Palla's criticism. "I wasn't joking."

Palla hesitated, her mouth still open. She shook her head. "You're not smart, you're crazy!" she muttered. "Why would you want to waste your life doing something like that? The military? Come on! The military is for people who aren't smart enough or talented enough to make it. It's nothing but being babysat and playing games with expensive toys. And then, once in a great while, maybe they have to go and do something with a remote chance of being hurt. To them it's still just a game!"

Lily stared at her ignorant mentor. She wanted to scream at her and slap her. She wanted to grab her by the hair and yank her to the ground so she could hit her. Palla was the stupid one, not Lily. She had no clue what she was talking about. Lily had seen the military firsthand. She'd watched them- "I'm very disappointed in you," Palla continued. "And I'm sure that President Ondalla will be too."

Lily took a breath to force herself out of her memories. "If it's all about playing games, then what's wrong with it?"

"You could offer so much more," Palla said.

"Thank you for your thoughts and concerns," Lily offered. "I appreciate how honest you're being with me. In my experiences, you're misinformed. I was there when the military took over my village. I saw how they made a difference, whether it was good or bad."

"And you think you can take part in making a difference that way?" Palla asked.

Lily nodded. If nothing else, her fame would let Krys know she was still alive. She'd have to come up with a way to let him know she still thought about him and wanted to see him again. One silly childish kiss wasn't enough! He was all she had left of her old life. The odds were pretty good it was the same way for him with her.

"Lily, don't be silly! The military does what their commanders tell them to, and they do what the president tells them to. It's the president who makes the difference, not the people under him."

"The same could be said of any career path then," Lily pointed out. "When I make it to the games, then people will see me. They'll see how I behave and act. And then I can really make a difference. I can show them how to do things."

Palla started to respond again but her eyes shifted and she clamped her mouth shut. She stiffened as the sound of a single person clapping reached Lily's ears. Lily turned slowly, her face already warming. Her fears were confirmed when she saw President Ondalla walking into the middle of the room.

"Well done! Everyone, well done," he congratulated them. "You'll all serve as fine and upstanding examples of how humanity can raise itself to a higher, better place."

The students clapped in response to his verbal back-patting. Lily joined in and wondered if Palla's fears were unjustified. The president's eye swept across the students and paused when they met Lily's. She saw the wrinkles deepen at the corner of his eyes before he turned towards her and walked over.

"Miss Lily Strain," he greeted her. "A pleasure to meet you and speak with you again."

"The honor is mine, President Ondalla," Lily managed to say before offering a curtsy.

"Palla Overbeck, Mr. President. An honor to meet you," Palla gushed beside her.

"Ah yes, one of our younger mastery students. Administration? Noble, but a thankless path. Very much needed, but it's often a lonely trek." He greeted her with a smile. "Miss Lily, could we have a word?"

"Of course, Mr. President," Lily said. She glanced at Palla and nibbled her lip for effect. "Sir, um, Palla is my mentor. It's a new project-she's doing a trial that reflects her mastery path. Would it be all right if she accompanied us?"

One of the president's eyebrows rose. He spared the gaping Palla a glance and smiled. "Of course. Any way I can help the future of humanity."

Lily shot Palla a smile and then turned to follow the president as he walked towards a door with a guard standing beside it. A guard in full heavy armor who held his rifle across his chest. She tried not to focus on the soldier as she followed the president through the door. Palla slipped through behind her, her lips clamped shut for once.

After the door shut, the president turned and sighed. "Lily, that was an interesting choice you made. I take it you were impressed with the display of the biomech match? I can't fault you. I've seen a few one-on-one battles as they worked out the bugs of the new system. It takes my breath away every time."

"Yes, sir," Lily agreed. "I also saw them on Venus. In action."

"Awe inspiring, are they not?" he said.

Lily kept her snort to herself. Terrifying was a better word for them.

"And you wish to pilot one?"

"Not just pilot," Lily said. "I want to be in the games. The best of the best, as you said."

His chuckle sounded forced. "That's quite a task you set for yourself, young miss."

Lily nodded. "I know. I'll work hard, sir. Harder than anyone."

"I don't doubt that. But why? Why the military? You do realize that's what you're going into, right? To join the army's armored division."

Lily nodded. "I wasn't aware of the details, but I knew it was the military path. I want to do it so I can do what you told me I could."

He tilted his head. "Go on."

"You said I could be an example, sir. You said I could show people things. I believe that when I reach that level, people will know me not only as the smart girl who got lucky on a few tests, but the girl who worked hard and proved that anything is possible. My behavior, in and out of the tournament, will be an example and an inspiration."

President Ondalla stared at her for a long moment. A smile slowly lifted his lips and he nodded. "I see. Very noble of you. Selfless even, to dedicate your life to showing others how they can serve their fellow humans."

"Yes," Lily agreed.

"You must understand how difficult it is to do what you want. You're so very young. The odds are stacked against you and there will be many who are resentful of your boasts and accomplishments. They will try to stop you."

Lily glanced at Palla and then back at the president. "I understand, sir. But that's what I'm expecting."

"It doesn't frighten you?"

"If this was an easy path, I wouldn't be interested in it. It wouldn't let me have the same influence that I'm counting on."

He stared at her again and shook his head. "You amaze me, Miss Lily. So advanced beyond your years. Are you sure you're only fourteen?"

Lily grinned. "Yes, sir. Only fourteen."

He turned to Palla. "What do you think, Miss Palla?"

Palla hesitated and glanced back and forth between the two of them.

"Go ahead, speak freely. If she's to understand what she's getting herself into, she'd best hear it from her friends first."

Palla nodded. "I think if there's anyone stubborn enough to do it, it's Lily."

President Ondalla laughed. "That's spoken like a true friend!"

Lily blushed and turned to see Palla beaming at the president. She looked back, her embarrassment fading as her irritation with Palla rose.

"Perhaps, when you've achieved your mastery, your administrative skills might serve your friend well. If she manages to pass the tests needed. Are you up for a challenge, Miss Lily?"

Lily stiffened. Wasn't she challenging herself enough already? "Yes, sir!"

"Let's see if you can't pass the prerequisite benchmarks by the time you hit sixteen. Then a year of advanced studies and, if you pass them in the proper percentile, you'll have the hardware installed and be ready to pilot your first biomech within days of turning seventeen."

Palla gasped. Lily stared at him and started to nod until something he said stuck in her head. "Hardware installed?"

He tilted his head and smiled. "Yes. Biomechs are exactly that, a merging of mechanics and organics. Living muscle tissue provides a means for them to move with the speed and strength necessary to support them. Did you notice the stains and fluids spilled on the display? Much of that was the blood of the biomechs. Not quite the same blood as you or I might have, but an oxygenated and nutrient-rich solution that keeps the muscles healthy and able to repair themselves."

"I didn't know," Lily whispered.

"That's only a part of it," he went on. "In order for a pilot to merge with the biomech, he or she must have a synaptic adapter installed. You literally plug yourself into the biomech so it can read your thoughts and know how to move. You and the biomech become one."

Lily's eyes widened.

"Rethinking things?" he wondered.

"No, sir." Lily was quick to answer. "It sounds fascinating. Exciting. Cool. Why not a helmet or a wireless connection?"

He smiled. "Those can be jammed. Hard connections are the fastest and safest."

She nodded.

"Young misses, let me congratulate you both again. I trust I don't need to remind you that I'll be watching and pulling for you. As will everyone else."

Lily swallowed and shared a glance with the star-struck Palla. She managed, barely, to avoid rolling her eyes at her mentor's behavior. She turned back to the president and forced herself to think of Krys so she could bring up a smile that she wasn't in the mood to give. "I won't let you down, sir."

Chapter 21.

Krys looked up from his hands as the door opened. He twisted and saw a woman in a blue and white uniform walk around him and move to sit behind the desk in front of him. She looked him up and down and frowned. "Name?"

Krys stared back. Her voice sounded familiar. It took him back to a time when the world was falling apart around him. Was it possible? Could she be the same soldier who had saved his life in the forest? He couldn't tell; she'd been wearing armor and a helmet then. The soldier's voice had been distorted by the helmet speakers too, but something about it seemed familiar.

"Look, kid, you don't want a part of this. Tell me your name, already."

Krys jerked. The words and the voice. "You!" he whispered.

"That's not your name," she said.

"Krys, sorry," he mumbled. "Krys Evans. You were in the forest. You-"

She glared at him and stopped him mid-sentence with her intense eyes. Once he'd clamped his lips together, she turned to the infopad on her desk and started tapping on it. She grunted and turned back to him. "Let's try again. Name?"

"What? That is my name."

"Krys Evans is already accounted for," she said. "So who are you?"

"That's not possible!" Krys's voice rose a few octaves as he protested. "I'm Krys Evans!"

She frowned. "Why would we already have you accounted for then?"

Krys shook his head. "There's got to be a mistake. I've been hiding in the woods since you guys came."

She sighed. "By yourself? Aren't you a little young to survive on your own like that?"

"I'm almost fifteen," Krys said. "I grew up here. I know how to get by."

"You've been stealing from us?"

Krys shrugged.

"Your pad had a broken screen but they tell me they found a control program in the memory for a highpicker. The same picker that we were tracking."

Krys frowned. He'd been right; they had been tracking the picker. "How? I took the locator out."

The soldier smirked. "Young man, there's hardly any technology on this ball of mud. Tracking energy expenditures is a simple thing."

Krys gasped. Why hadn't he thought of that? It was obvious! Except his group didn't have the equipment necessary to do something like that. They would have needed access to satellites, or at least the sensors at the village. Maybe a couple of villages.

"I thought it might be the heartbeat signal," he admitted. "But then I realized that wouldn't be running since I put the picker in manual mode."

She cleared her throat and stared him in the eye before asking, "So tell me, who are you, really, and who are your friends?"

"What? What friends?"

She raised a questioning eyebrow. "You assaulted one of our workers and, to hear him tell it, you weren't the one who attacked him."

"Must have been another group."

She pressed her lips into a straight line as she stared at him. "Young man, are you aware of what's going on? What's happened here? Everywhere?"

Krys shook his head. "The trees get lousy reception."

Her lips twitched before she leaned forward. "Look, you're playing a very dangerous game. This world-all the worlds-are not like they used to be. There's a new government, run by a man by the name of President Ondalla. Things are going to be different, or at least that's his pledge that was strong enough to win the support of a lot of people in the right places."

Krys listened carefully, excited to get the news and even more interested in trying to understand why the soldier didn't sound like she was a supporter.

"All of humanity, from the solar collectors near Mercury to Mars and beyond, is going to live differently. People work for one another, not for themselves. Resources like food and water will be handled differently. They will be distributed where the need is, not where the wealth is. In fact, wealth is a concept that everyone will need to redefine."

"Redefine?" Krys asked.

"Yes. People will earn what they deserve, not whatever they can extort out of the system," she said.

Krys grunted. "Seems fair enough."