Two weeks have passed since Honey adjusted her weapon and got it DNA locked. Now she awakens to the blaring trumpets of reveille from her clock radio. Her eyes snap open, heavy and baggy, and she hits the off button. The ruckus snaps off, and Honey stiffly rolls off her bed, wearing her full body white pajamas marked with smiling suns.

  She stretches, yawns, and heads for her bathroom. The bright light momentarily blinds her, and she robotically washes her face, brushes her teeth, and takes a cold shower, all within ten minutes. After the shower, she goes to her closet with a towel wrapped around her. She grips the handle and takes a slow, long breath and rests her head against the door.

  Over the past two weeks, Tobias had conditioned Honey to wake up early (and he came in with his own trumpet blaring when she wasn't out of bed by the time he showed up). He taught her rollcall, the ranks and insignias, marches, target practice with regular weapons, and other activities. Every couple of days Tobias tossed in a pop quiz on the lessons and other things she needs to know when she is recruited into the Eqos Irregular Defense Force.

  The two weeks of mock training had been grueling, but despite how worn out she is, Honey is grateful for those two weeks. It has given her confidence that she will have the edge on others. And since she leaves for Eqos today she has an untapped reserve of energy driving her and she prepared everything in advance the night prior.

  Honey drags out her wheeled travel case from the closet and grabs her favorite outfit: a long pink skirt, blue underbust corset vest, white button-up shirt with pink accents, knee-high socks, and blue boots with white tongues. She discards her towel, revealing faint blue lines tracing her body. After two weeks of training, she has learned to change quickly, and right as she tightens her belt, she hears a knock at the door.

  "Come in," says Honey as she reaches for the magnetic brace that holds Thor-Ton.

  Tobias enters the room, fully dressed in a casual outfit, and with a trumpet in hand. He sees Honey putting on the magnetic back brace and puts his trumpet behind his back.

  "Morning, dad," says Honey tiredly as she retrieves Thor-Ton from her closet.

  "Are you ready to go?" asks Tobias.

  Honey nods and puts Thor-Ton on her back. "Yes sir."

  "Very good. Let's go."

  Honey grabs her travel case on wheels and follows Tobias downstairs. They go to the kitchen where Tobias has already brewed coffee and heated blueberry muffins. He pours the coffee in a pair of thermoses and gives one of the thermoses and a muffin to Honey. After that, they go to the garage and approach a blocky car with gray-blue colors and blue tinted windows. Tobias puts Honey's travel case in the trunk while she buckles her weapon in the backseat.

  "Go say goodbye to your mother and siblings before we go," says Tobias after getting the luggage loaded.

  Honey nods and returns inside the house. She quickly finds that Cassandra is already going into the kitchen. Her eyes are heavy, and she is wearing her blanket like a robe over her pajamas. When the two see each other, Honey smiles and the two exchange long hugs.

  "Be careful," says Cassandra softly.

  "I'll try," says Honey. "I love you."

  "I love you, too."

  Cassandra rubs Honey's back, and then reluctantly releases her.

  "You best get going. I don't want you missing your flight. I'll tell your siblings you said goodbye," says Cassandra.

  Honey nods and walks backwards as she waves. After Cassandra waves back, sniffling and blinking tears out of her eyes, Honey runs to the garage. She gets inside the car, and Tobias gradually drives down their property road. After passing through their gate, they drive into the residential section of the Dumas Biodome.

  Tobias keeps his eyes on the road while Honey watches the estate through the door mirror until it is covered the blocky apartments. With the manor gone from view, Honey stares ahead and quietly eats her muffin and drinks her coffee.

  The UV beams slowly move on their rails as the Dumas Biodome wakes up. Small cars gradually populate the two-lane roads, and drones fly overhead to deliver goods or monitor traffic.

  Several minutes pass before Tobias and Honey enter a tunnel illuminated by thin ribs of light. Honey has been quiet since exiting the house. The weight of anxiety and weariness has snuffed out her excitement, so now she tries distracting herself by watching the rocky scenery pass by.

  "Nervous?" asks Tobias.

  "Just a little bit," says Honey.

  Tobias nods. "Believe me, I understand. But take comfort in this. The worst part of the training is the first semester. And the worst part of the first semester is the evaluation course to determine if you are even qualified."

  "So, the letter and blood work aren't enough?"

  "Those put you through the door. But the evaluation course determines if your mind, body and heart is into it."

  "I see..."

  Tobias smiles thinly at Honey and pats her leg.

  "It gets easier after the first semester. I promise," says Tobias.

  "Any pointers for the evaluation?" asks Honey.

  "Don't die?" suggests Tobias.

  Honey's eyes bulge. "People die!?"

  "Of course they do. It's in the paperwork at the very last paragraph of the sign-up pamphlet. Very fine print. Compensation is given to the immediate family should someone die, but if you read the whole pamphlet rather than skim through it, they'll give your name preference over those who didn't read. Which is a lot, unsurprisingly."

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  "But the whole dying thing. You never said anything about people dying during the evaluation course!"

  "Do you want to turn around?"

  "Honestly, it's very tempting."

  Tobias slows the vehicle down, and Honey shakes her hand. "Wait, no! Don't turn around!"

  Tobias speeds up again.

  "Why didn't you tell me people die during the evaluation course?" asks Honey.

  "My dad didn't tell me, and his did didn't tell him, and his mother didn't tell him, and her mother didn't tell her, and her father didn't tell her. Think of it like a family tradition," says Tobias.

  "That's a pretty messed up tradition," says Honey sourly.

  "I am obligated to keep up the family tradition."

  Honey scrunches her brows, and Tobias takes a deep breath before continuing.

  "Besides, death is somewhat easy to avoid during the evaluation course," says Tobias. "All you have to do is work together with your designated team. If you don’t work with your teammates the chances of you dying increase by thirty two percent."

  Honey looks ahead, pale as a fresh cotton sheet. "Good to know. Thanks."

  "No problem."

  They remain quiet for the rest of the drive through the subterranean tunnel. Several minutes later, they exit the tunnel onto a large area that is covered by a glass dome. A few stars are visible overhead. There is an elevated road above the ground, which is lined with buildings. In the distance, there are lights shining from various ships in orbit. As they approach the entrance, a tower jutting from the ground and reaching through the dome looms over everyone. The tower has ships docked on it, and smaller crafts fly around the outside of the structure. This is the Lillian Launch Station.

  A security gate surrounds the structure, and two guards operate a kiosk by the only gate. They are wearing black uniforms with silver trimming along the shoulders and sleeves. Each guard is equipped with a rifle and a pistol, and they're wearing armored vests with communicators strapped to their shoulders.

  Tobias stops by their kiosk and gives them his and Honey's IDs. They scan the IDs, and after everything checks out, they open the gate. Tobias parks the car near the spaceport entrance. Once it is parked, he and Honey exit the vehicle and Honey gathers her gear. After they enter the Lillian Launch Station, they go straight to a booth where the receptionist sits. She greets them with a professional smile, and Tobias and Honey hand over their IDs.

  "Welcome to the Lillian Launch Station," says the receptionist. "Are you here for a flight?"

  "Yes, ma'am," answers Honey.

  "And your destination? Please state it."

  "Eqos. Summit City. To the Irregular Defense Force recruitment center," says Honey.

  "And for you, sir?" asks the receptionist to Tobias.

  "I'm just here to see her off," says Tobias.

  "Understood." The receptionist prints off a boarding pass and gives it, plus the ID, back to Honey. "Here's your boarding pass. Enjoy your flight."

  Honey takes her ID and boarding pass, and Tobias and Honey head to the elevators. They ascend to the top floor of the building and go to its security checkpoint.

  "Security check. Please present your ID and boarding pass," says the security guard.

  Tobias shows his ID, and Honey shows him her boarding pass and ID. The guard scans both and looks at Tobias.

  "No boarding pass?" asks the guard.

  "I'm just here to see my daughter off," replies Tobias.

  The guard nods. "Understandable. I've done that plenty of times, but I can't let you go any further. Say your farewells and then vacate the premises."

  "Of course," says Tobias. He puts his hands on Honey's shoulders. "Do your best but remember there is no shame in walking away."

  Honey smiles and blinks the mist out of her eyes. "I know, but I'm going to do this. I'll be an EIDF soldier, just like you and mom."

  Tobias smiles and hugs Honey. "Good luck and Godspeed."

  Tobias backs away from Honey, takes a deep breath, and leaves for the elevator. Honey keeps watching him until the elevator doors separate the two, and then she sighs heavily, and pulls her carry case to the security checkpoint.

  They scan her luggage and put a lock on her weapon before letting her through the doors, where she enters the waiting area.

  The TVs mounted on pillars and walls show various information, ranging from weather on Eqos and Lillian, to elections and political scandals, and sports news, and military buildup and recruitment efforts. Honey ignores all this and sits on a couch and looks outside at the shuttle she'll be taking to Eqos.

  The shuttle is blue with a white band and has Blue Destiney written in the band. The ship cylindrical with its wings folded up, and four exhaust ports are on the back with a line of smaller ones on the side.

  She reclines on the couch and watches the TV while she waits for her flight. The TV she is watching is muted, and subtitles take up a large portion of the screen while a reporter talks to a ranking officer with a row of tanks parked behind them. Honey tries to read the words, but the scrolling is too fast and what she does see is that the words are misplaced or misspelled.

  Because the subtitles are terrible, Honey looks out the window again. She is partially mesmerized by the crew in space suits working on inspecting the Blue Destiny before takeoff. They look like they are swimming in the air, and tiny bursts of colorful exhaust guide them to their next destination.

  "Now boarding! Have your boarding pass ready!" announced a female over the intercom.

  The passengers grab their luggage and approach the boarding area. In Honey's case, her limbs tremble as she quickly approaches the gate while the rest of the would-be passengers appear calm or excited. They are instructed to stand in a line, and while they do this, workers come by with printers and scanners. As each passenger is checked in, their boarding passes are scanned, and bands are printed out and wrapped on their wrists, luggage. After that, the luggage is taken to the underbelly of the Blue Destiny.

  Honey and the other passengers go in an orderly line through a tunnel leading to the ship. The tunnel is chilly and illuminated by small lights on the ceiling and wall. There is a humming from air being pumped in, and when Honey enters the Blue Destiny, she finds it to be brightly lit with multiple rows and columns of blue and yellow seats.

  Honey is quick to find her seat, and after several minutes pass, everyone is in their seat, and a stewardess goes next to the cockpit door and grabs a microphone hanging on the wall.

  The ship's intercom clicks, and her voice flows through the speakers. She gives instructions on how to put on the seatbelt while a steward next to her gives a demonstration, and then the stewardess gives instructions on what to do if trouble strikes the ship. Trouble such as someone getting sick, a pirate attack, power failure, or atmospheric decompression. Out of all the words from the stewardess's mouth, the only thing Honey got out of it was hold tight and pray.

  After the instructions are given, the stewards and stewardesses go down the aisles and check everyone's belts and their emergency breathing masks. This is a quick process that only takes a few minutes, and once they're done, they take seats by the cockpit and buckle up. The lead stewardess is the last to secure herself, and she bangs on the cockpit door twice.

  The intercom dings, and a stern male voice fills the air.

  "Attention passengers and crew of the Blue Destiny, this is your captain speaking. We're about to start our engines. Everybody please remain buckled up, and nobody leave your seats until told otherwise. Thank you."

  The intercom clicks off, and a few seconds later, the engines roar to life, a humming reverberates through the ship, and green lights turn on, marking artificial gravity activation as the Blue Destiny decouples from the Lillian Spaceport and begins its travel into space. As it travels, Honey takes a deep breath and tries without much luck to relax in her seat. The ship rumbles for a few more minutes before a pleasant ding echo throughout the ship.

  "Attention passengers and crew, this is your captain speaking. You are now free to move about the ship," says the captain.

  Honey decides to stay strapped to her seat.