Moon: LILLIAN (satellite of Eqos)

  Bio Dome: DUMAS

  System: NETO

  Sector: PROSPECT

  Date: 18-JUL-2432

  Prunella Honey Thornton, daughter number nine of the esteemed Thornton Family, is working on her device in a well-lit shed, wearing a protective jumpsuit and goggles, with a magnetic brace on her back. Her curly blonde hair is tied into a ponytail, and above her workbench is a collection of blueprints labeled as “Thor-Ton :)” showing a mechanical rectangle for ease of transport, an advanced hammer stage, and a cannon stage.

  The levitation platform hums in the shed and bathes her fair skin in blue light. With the humming is the cranking of Honey's high precision tool making final adjustments to her prized possession, which is currently in its cannon stage.

  After Honey finishes tightening a few screws, she spins Thor-Ton on its levitation display and uses her goggles to zoom in and out to search for any imperfections on the device. With every successful inspection, she changes its position and inspects it some more. After every side is inspected with the needed adjustments made, she shuts down the levitation pad and removes her goggles, revealing her blue eyes. She smiles proudly and picks up Thor-Ton, loving its heavy weight in her hands. Then she closed it down to its rectangular form, clamps it on her back brace, and exits the shed.

  Beyond the shed are lush, raised gardens, decorative bushes, and thick green grass stretching for hundreds of feet. The property is surrounded by a stone wall made from Lillian's rocks, which are various shades of gray and black.

  UV beams, controlled by a rail system, slowly move across the dome to simulate the sunlight of Neto, the star at the heart of their system. Beyond the dome’s barrier lies Eqos, a lush and fertile planet. From Lillian's vantage point, it's easy to see Eqos’ distinct continents and diverse ecosystems. Honey has yet to visit that world, but she is confident that she will set foot on it in the near future.

  But that aside, Honey makes her way to the Thornton Estate with a giddy smile. The large house is built into the rock wall, where the dome meets Lillian's surface. It is a Baroque style house with three levels. Each level has a porch, and the masonry is decorated with various planets and historical events significant to Lillian, the Dumas Biodome, and Eqos.

  As Honey walks to the front door, she passes an automated lawn mower trimming the grass. She enters the house and her steps echo inside the spacious interior. Fine tile covers the floor, decorated pillars hold up the ceiling, a grand staircase leads to the second and third levels, and many chandeliers and lamps give it a warm light.

  Honey goes to the edge of the house, stopping in front of a large door decorated with engravings of miners carving out a mountain. The door frame is also lit with red bands and an orb is above the door.

  Honey knocks, and a nearby intercom box turns on.

  "Who is it?" asks a man on the other side.

  "It's me, dad," says Honey brightly.

  The intercom turns off, the red bands turn to green, and the door slides open, revealing the Thornton Estate Library. It is a circular room with bookshelves filled to the limit with books and CDs. A ring of miniature holographic projectors shines down on the floor, creating a scenic battle involving a desert city and soldiers fighting bulky alien machinery.

  As Honey walks through the scene, the hologram disappears, and a man in his fifties approaches her. He is dressed in a fluffy green bathrobe; his skin tone is fair, but faded pink scars mark his body from his neck down to his hands, and his blonde hair is mere fuzz on his head. This is Tobias Thornton.

  "Done with your work?" says Tobias with a smile.

  "I am," says Honey. "I fixed all the little mistakes in Thor-Ton, and now he is at the top of his game!"

  Tobias holds out his hands. "Let me see.”

  Honey unclips Thor-Ton from her back and gives it to Tobias. Upon grabbing it, he grunts and almost drops it, and he gives Honey a strained smile.

  "It's a bit on the heavy side," says Tobias.

  "I wanted to make sure no one could steal it easily."

  "You certainly accomplished your mission. Is it DNA locked?"

  "I need your help for that."

  "Alright, we can do that tonight. Did you test this after you made the adjustments?"

  "I didn't think I needed to since I already knew what the problems were and now those problems are fixed."

  Tobias frowns, and Honey cringes.

  "You're getting ahead of yourself again," says Tobias.

  "Maybe we test out Thor-Ton right now?" asks Honey.

  Tobias returns the weapon to her. "That's exactly what we're going to do."

  Honey clips Thor-Ton on her back, and the two leave the library. Upon exiting, a small group of children of various ages run past them, shouting, and hitting each other with foam noodles. Following them is a pregnant woman near Tobias's age. She is tired with frazzled brown hair, and the eighteen children plus the nineteenth pregnancy have taken their toll on her. This is Cassandra Thornton. With Cassandra are a few teenagers, all definite offspring of the Thorntons.

  "Pool time?" asks Tobias.

  "Pool time," says Cassandra.

  Tobias looks at the teenagers. "You're going to behave for your mother, right?"

  "Yes sir," they say over each other.

  "Good. Have fun at the pool. I'll be there if I can."

  Cassandra looks at Honey, then at the weapon clipped to her back, and she groans. "Are you still caught up in your ridiculous dream?"

  "I am," says Honey proudly.

  Cassandra looks at Tobias critically. "This is your fault."

  "No, it isn't. She's old enough to make her decisions. I'm just helping her achieve her goals," says Tobias.

  Cassandra sighs and looks at Honey with a mix of annoyance and worry. "Just be careful with that thing."

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  "I will. Have fun at the pool," says Honey. She looks at her siblings and points at them sternly. "And you rascals help her in every way you can."

  "Yeah, we'll help mother while you play with your toy," says another teenager sourly.

  "This is not a toy. This is a weapon of great devastation!" claims Honey.

  "It probably still sucks," accuses another teenager.

  "Do you want me to test it on your birthday car?" asks Honey darkly.

  "Alright, that's enough, all of you. Enjoy your time at the pool," says Tobias. He and Cassandra then exchange kisses and he rubs her hair. "Have fun."

  "I will if they behave," says Cassandra.

  "They will."

  Tobias looks at the teenagers and children sternly, and they all nod quickly. Tobias smiles and motions them away.

  "Have fun," says Tobias.

  Cassandra and her children leave for the pool after that, and Tobias puts his hand on Honey's shoulder and escorts her to a secluded part of the backyard. Craters of various sizes are scattered about, destroyed targets litter the area, and warning signs mark the perimeter.

  Tobias goes to a locked chest and pulls out a pair of earmuffs and a tablet. After they put on their earmuffs, Tobias stands behind Honey while she adjusts her grip on Thor-Ton at a heavy table locked down with cement bricks.

  Honey turns a dial on the side of the device, and the rectangle expands, a grip and trigger slide out, and the front opens to reveal a swirling ball of blue and white energy inside the barrel. It crackles and hums, and Tobias types in a command on the tablet that brings out a drone from a small building behind them. The drone carries a man shaped target made of ballistic gel and lowers it to the ground at a decent distance from the pair.

  After the target is set, the drone flies away and Honey readies, aims, and fires on his command. The recoil jerks her body, and there is a burst of blue energy that streaks across the lawn and strikes the target in the chest. The target is blown to bits, and Honey giggles while blue tinted exhaust pours from the barrel and exhaust ports on the side.

  "Works like a charm!" says Honey.

  "Turn your weapon's settings up. I want to see how it handles," says Tobias.

  Honey nods and turns the dial on Thor-Ton. The weapon hums louder and the barrel glows brighter. A drone places another ballistic gel target in the shooting range, but farther than the previous target.

  "Get ready. Steady yourself. And remember, aim small, miss small," instructs Tobias.

  Honey nods, and she adjusts her position and aims down the sight. The weapon's weight is countered by Honey's modifications, but even she struggles to keep it steady. However, with some concentration, she lines up the cross hair with her target.

  Tobias gives the verbal command and Honey pulls the trigger.

  The blast from the cannon shakes the area, and the blue projectile tears through the target and detonates against the mountainside on their property. The ballistic gel is dissolved while the grass around it burns and a trail of torn ground leads to the destruction.

  Honey lowers her weapon, giggling and shaking while Tobias stares at the carnage with wide eyes.

  "You weren't exaggerating when you said you made adjustments," says Tobias.

  "Can I shoot more targets?" asks Honey eagerly.

  "Turn down the settings before we get started on the next batch. There are plenty of gel targets, but I don't want the mountainside to collapse."

  Honey turns down the setting, and Tobias rubs his chin.

  "Let's see how fast you can reload while we're out here, too," he says.

  "Of course!" says Honey cheerfully.

  The next hour goes by fast as Honey tests her weapon against the targets. During her shooting, she works on her speed of reloading the batteries. Honey's hands move quickly in replacing the spent batteries. The empty batteries are placed on chargers that Tobias brought out, and after she has gone through all five of her batteries, Tobias calls it quits.

  "That's enough for today," says Tobias.

  Honey lowers Thor-Ton and stares at the field. Burnt and melted ballistic gel is scattered on the crater pocketed grass, and there is more damage to the mountainside. Thin trails of smoke rise, and drones fly around, scavenging the ballistic gel bits to collect in containers.

  Honey retracts her weapon into its rectangular form, and she clips it on her back and grins at Tobias.

  "How did I do?" says Honey.

  "Better. The speed of reloading has improved, the strength of the weapon has also improved. I've also noticed it didn't catch on fire this time, so that is a major improvement. But now that we're done with this, I'd like to talk to you about your other choice. Come with me to my library," says Tobias.

  His tone was heavy, so Honey's smile disappears, and she quietly follows him back to the manor. When they enter the library, Tobias motions Honey to have a seat while he goes to his desk to grab an envelope.

  Honey removes Thor-Ton from her back and sets it down next to her with a loud thud, and Tobias sits across from her and holds the envelope in his hands, his eyes hard and his lips tight. He is silent for a few seconds. His thumb rubs the envelope and his eyes stare at the wax sealing it. Before he starts speaking, he lifts his eyes and looks at Honey's worried face.

  "Prunella, I need to know, do you really want to do this?" asks Tobias.

  Honey stiffens. Her father only uses her first name when she is either in trouble or when he is worried.

  "Do you really want to join the Academy of Irregular Defense?" presses Tobias.

  "I do," says Honey.

  Tobias is silent for a few seconds, his eyes search Honey's face. Then he breathes heavily through his nose, looks at the envelope in his hands, and back at Honey.

  "Alright," says Tobias.

  He gives her the envelope, and she sees that it is addressed to the Academy of Irregular Defense Recruitment Office- Summit City Branch. Her heart races with excitement, and her lips twitch. The only reason why she is not allowing her smile through is because she can see the worry her father has. She not only sees it, but it feels as though the air around them has gotten heavier.

  "You're old enough to make your decisions, so I will not stop you. I will support you for as long as you can go. But I must warn you, it is not enough to have just a heart. You need skill and grit to reinforce that heart. It is not easy to do what you want to do," says Tobias.

  "But you did it," says Honey.

  "You're right, but I am me and you are you. We're not the same people."

  Honey's posture dips, and Tobias grabs her shoulder and looks into her blue eyes.

  "But you are still my daughter. You have more of my genetics than your mother's, so I know you can do this if you truly want it. Just remember that you are doing this for you and only you."

  Honey nods. Tobias releases her shoulder and sits stiffly in his chair.

  "In that envelope is everything you will need to join the Academy of Irregular Defense. There is a letter of recommendation from me, a copy of the blood work that you took two months ago, and genetic receipt to prove your lineage to me."

  Honey looks at the envelope, and Tobias takes a deep, heavy breath.

  "There is a ship leaving for Summit City on Eqos in two weeks. During this two week period I will give you a mock training to prepare yourself. Once you reach Summit City, you will go to the Recruitment Office with that envelope. After confirmation, you will have one more week to decide if you want to do this or walk away. I will not be ashamed of you if you choose to walk away."

  Honey nods. "I know, dad. But I want to do this."

  "Alright... Just do your best. That's all I want from you."

  Honey smiles. "I won't let you down. I promise."

  Tobias nods. "I know you'll try. Go get dinner prepared, and we will discuss this again after we have your weapon DNA locked."

  "Okay," says Honey.

  Honey hugs Tobias, grabs her weapon, and leaves the library with a skip in her steps.

  *****

  When the door clicks shut, Tobias locks it and returns to his desk. He sits in silence for several long minutes. His brow furrowed as he thinks about his daughter's impending departure to join the Academy. Another minute passes, and he types in a command on his desk. A screen flashes on, displaying a ringing phone icon. A few seconds later, a grizzled face of a tanned skinned old man with cropped gray and white hair and thick glasses flickers into view. Beneath him in the contact slot is the text, General Sire.

  "Good afternoon, Tobias. What do I owe the pleasure?" says Sire.

  "I'm afraid this isn't a social call, Sire," Tobias said heavily. "Prunella has made her decision. She'll be heading down to Eqos in two weeks' time to enlist in the Academy of Irregular Defense."

  Sire nodded, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Not surprising. She's a strong, capable young woman. She got the best of you and Cassandra. The Academy will be lucky to have her."

  Tobias’ expression hardens. "The reason I called is that I need to know if she will be in danger.”

  “Of course she'll be in danger. It's the Academy for God's sake.”

  “Danger as in another war with the Drevi. Is it true? Is another war inevitable?"

  Sire’s expression darkens. "Between the two of us… I'm afraid so. Our long-range scans have detected a troubling buildup in Drevi-controlled space. Warships, troop transports, weapons platforms - they're preparing for something big. Another invasion of Federation territory seems likely."

  “Where?”

  “This sector.”

  A chill runs down Tobias's spine, but the general shows no fear as he continues.

  “We're going to prepare your daughter and the other recruits as best as we can, and the System Defense is coordinating with the Federation and Planetary Militias. But if the Drevi invade any territory in the Prospect Sector, you will be called back to duty,” says Sire.

  “Understood. Just try to take care of Prunella,” says Tobias.

  “We don't play favorites. You know that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a cocktail party to attend.”

  Tobias nods solemnly. “Enjoy your party, General.”

  “I will. Enjoy your life, Tobias.”

  Sire hangs up after that, and Tobias sighs heavily, rests his head on his hands, and closes his eyes.