★ West ★

  Later that day, West sat in the cadet mess hall staring at his tray.

  “Is something wrong?” A voice jarred him from his thoughts. He looked up to see Cornelius sitting at the other side of the table in his assigned seat, staring at him intently.

  West shook his head. “It’s not so much wrong as it is baffling. Look at all this.” He gestured at the center of the table. We’ve got a black box with a single word on it: “Napkins.” And next to that is a black bottle with a word on the front in white letters: “Ketchup.” Then we’ve got another: “Mustard.” And over there is salt and pepper—opposite colors this time to avoid confusion, but still black and white, and no less dull to look at. Are they allergic to color here?”

  Cornelius shrugged. “The answer to that type of question usually comes down to budget. Those were probably the cheapest containers you could buy, so that's what they got. Now, while you’re criticizing the Corps’ design choices, I’ll be eating, and you should too because we’ve only got twenty minutes.”

  West sighed and looked down at his sandwich. “Not sure how much of that I’ll be having. I’ll bet you anything they’ve put pickles on it.” He removed the top layer of bread. “Yep, they have, and mayonnaise too.”

  “Is that a problem?”

  “They’ve ruined it. If a sandwich is called ‘ham and cheese’ it should be exactly that, not ‘ham and cheese and pickles and mayonnaise.’”

  Cornelius raised his eyebrows. “You’re in a mood today.”

  West sighed. “I’m just distracted. I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

  Cornelius grinned. “Is it a girl?”

  “No—well, unless you count the chat I had this morning on the Upper Command Deck.”

  Cornelius’ smile disappeared. “Don’t go flirting with officers. That won’t end well for you.”

  “She’s not an officer; she’s a civilian. Quite lovely too, although not much of a talker.”

  “Oh.“ The grin returned. “Sounds like you met General Moore’s new assistant.”

  “How’d you know?”

  “Everyone knows. She’s already caused quite a stir. A woman like that doesn’t escape notice.”

  “Well... yeah, she certainly stands out. I’m surprised the Corps allows civilians in a role like that, though.”

  “They don’t.”

  West frowned. “But how—”

  “Because it’s General Moore. That’s how.”

  West was unsure of what to say, so he merely shrugged.

  “Besides, it’s not a demanding job,” Cornelius continued. “Senior officers have lots of leeway when filling assistant positions, which is why General Howard uses cadets to do clerical work in his office. I’m convinced it’s for budgetary reasons more than anything else.”

  West gave a guilty nod and changed the subject. “Well, General Moore’s certainly fortunate to have found himself such a nice assistant, I guess. Quite pretty too.”

  Cornelius shot him a look. “She’s not just pretty, West—she’s beautiful. There’s a difference. You don’t ‘find’ a woman who looks like that; you have to actively seek out her company and pay her accordingly.”

  “I mean, I’d assume she’s drawing a salary…”

  “Good Lord, West, how na?ve are you?” He lowered his voice. “Go listen to the rumors if you want to find out what’s really going on up there.”

  West stared at him. “Or you could just tell me.”

  Cornelius seemed to be considering it, but then he glanced around the room and lowered his voice. “I could, but that carries the risk of you going off and telling everyone, and given how much you talk, we can’t have that. You need to be more careful. This isn’t just school gossip here. We’re talking about a general who’s done—and continues to do—terrible things. Sure I could tell you, but you’d need to keep quiet. Understand?”

  West nodded, and Cornelius took a deep breath and stirred mashed potatoes around his plate with a fork. “Rumor has it, she’s a... certain type of dancer. Not exactly sure what type, but it doesn’t really matter, does it? The end goal of that career path is to become a paid girlfriend for very wealthy men, and she seems to have landed one. He brought her on under the pretense of working as his assistant, and I don’t know how much he offered, but it must've been enough to make it worthwhile.”

  West raised his eyebrows, and Cornelius grinned. “Now you know why the Chief Commander was yelling at him.”

  “About that—why hasn’t Harlow put a stop to it?”

  “Oh, I’m sure he could if he wanted, but I think he decided it’s not worth his time. General Moore probably made sure that he technically wasn’t break any rules, and Harlow has far more pressing matters to attend to. It would just turn into a long, protracted fight because Moore’s a legendary asshole, and he’ll do as he pleases.”

  “If that’s the case, why’d his assistant ever agree to such an arrangement? Seems risky.”

  “Because everyone’s loyalty can be bought, West.”

  “No it can’t—at least, not everyone.”

  “That’s what they all say, until they see the payout. I guarantee that if you were offered an amount with enough zeros behind it, you’d do anything.”

  “Not everything’s about money.”

  “Doesn’t have to be. What if it was a promotion instead? You strike me as a high achiever. Maybe you wouldn’t accept a bribe, but you’d jump at the opportunity to get ahead, especially if a small favor was all it took.”

  “No I wouldn’t.”

  “You sure?” Cornelius stared at him intently. “What if the promised reward was something even bigger? A Council seat, perhaps? I guarantee it’s happened before—possibly even for some of those who currently sit there. Would you turn it down? Because something tells me there’s nothing you wouldn’t do, if that were the offering. You’d sell out anyone—even your best friend—if it came to it.”

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  West took a deep breath and looked away. “Well, at the very least I don’t think I’ll be dating someone for a paycheck anytime soon,” he said quietly.

  “That’s because you’re too ugly,” Sandi’s voice came from behind them, and West turned toward the sound as his friend sat down on the bench beside him.

  “Both of you are in a mood today,” Cornelius noted.

  “Yes, and why wouldn’t I be? It’s been made abundantly clear that my presence is unwanted.” Sandi pushed his food around his tray and sorted the items in front of him, then shot a sideways glance at West’s sandwich. “What have you done to that?”

  “I’ve pulled the pickles off of it.”

  “Not this again. Just eat it, West. It won’t kill you.”

  “Rubbish.” West picked up the sandwich and tried to scrape off some of the mayonnaise, then tossed it back on the tray in front of him with a frustrated sigh.

  “This is why your Gran wanted to murder you.”

  “No, she wanted to murder me because I exist—same as she feels towards everyone.”

  “If you’re not having that, then I will.” Sandi reached over and lifted the mauled sandwich from the tray. “Now, do you feel like explaining why you weren’t in class this morning?”

  “I had somewhere else to be.” West shrugged.

  “You wouldn’t miss class unless you were dying. Where were you?”

  “Busy.”

  Sandi stared at him, but before he could speak, Cornelius interrupted. “Busy chatting with General Moore’s assistant on the Upper Command Deck? Because I’d like to know too. So tell us, why were you up there?”

  Sandi turned back to West as they both waited for a reply.

  “None of your business,” West said quietly.

  “Well, whoever’s business it was, it must’ve been important, because cadets are restricted from that level. Someone had to grant you access.”

  “I’ve got myself a new assignment. I’ll be doing that on Monday mornings, and my classes have been moved around for it.”

  “An assignment?” Sandi asked. “We’re first-years. We’re not allowed to do anything outside of Academy-approved activities, and none of those should conflict with your classes.”

  West sighed. “I guess I can’t hide this for much longer, can I?”

  “West,” Sandi said, “what aren’t you telling me?”

  West stared down at his tray. “General Howard offered me a job as his assistant, and I’ve accepted. From now on I’ll spend Monday mornings helping him prepare for meetings and sorting his paperwork.”

  “Congratulations,” Cornelius said, but there was an insincerity in his tone indicating he already knew. “With that in your file, you can get any placement you want after graduation.”

  Sandi, however, didn’t share his sense of enthusiasm.

  “Glad to hear you’re doing well in his class,” he snapped. “Must be nice.”

  West nodded. “You know what? It is, although it’d be nicer to have some support from my friend, too.”

  “Don’t talk to me about not having support. I’ve had a shit go of it since the day I walked in here.”

  “Oh, come off it. You talk to me about support—you, who grew up in your seven bedroom house in Surrey, while I stayed in caravan parks with my Gran, and my bedroom was a couch. You want to know what a lack of support looks like? My whole life she’s said she’ll be throwing me out the instant I’m an adult, which is why I’m bustin’ my arse here while you can’t even be bothered to show up on time. That’s what I have to go back to if I fail, Sandi. I don’t have rich parents who will take me back no matter how bad I’ve buggered things up. I’ve got Gran, and she’ll whip me with a newspaper whether I’ve done well or not. I’ve never had support, and this is the first time someone’s believed in me.”

  “How can you say that, West? I guess the fact that one of those seven bedrooms was practically yours, when your Gran got too mean, has slipped your mind. Or when my ‘rich parents’ invited you over for holidays, gave you a place at our table, and shared everything they had. Or when they paid for your school tuition. We’ve always believed in you, but I see how little that means now.”

  An uncomfortable silence settled over the table.

  “Sorry if this is weird, Cornelius,” Sandi said.

  “Are you kidding? You two are the most entertaining thing I’ve seen since I got here. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

  “Glad to hear somebody likes me, instead of making me out to be some kind of horrible villain,” West said. “What was I supposed to do, Sandi, turn down the best opportunity I’ll have as a cadet because my friend’s a bit chuffed?”

  “I want you to do well, West. But I’ve been bullied in that classroom—by the teacher, no less—and now you’re working for him. I don’t care how brilliant of a general he is. He’s horrible, and he abuses cadets for the fun of it.”

  There was a long silence as these words sank in.

  “I’m not leaving this job,” West finally said.

  “Fine, but what happens when you’re no longer his favorite? He’ll turn on you, just like he turned on me. I just happened to get it right at the beginning of the year because he didn’t like me from the start.”

  “You’re wrong. He believes in me.”

  “Because you ‘deserve to be here?”

  “You’re wrong, and you just watch. I’m going to pass General Howard’s class, and I’ll do it with a perfect score.”

  “Doubtful,” Cornelius said. “Nobody finishes his class with a perfect score. In all his years of teaching, there’s only been one student who’s done it.”

  “Who’s that?”

  “The one who became a general at twenty-eight.”

  “Minerva Gray.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Well, I’m sure that had nothing to do with the fact that her father and grandfather were generals too,” Sandi said. “I’d imagine Howard wanted to keep his Gray family connections intact.”

  “That probably had something to do with it, but scores don’t lie, unless you think those were fake too. The fact of the matter is that Minerva Gray is one of the most exceptional cadets to come through the Academy, and that didn’t escape Howard’s notice. If he thought otherwise he would’ve said so, because he sure didn’t mince words when her cousin Andrew made a complete fool of himself. If he didn’t want Minerva to graduate, she wouldn’t have. He always bragged that no one ever completed his class with 100% of their points intact, and until then, he’d been right. He usually tried to find deductions for something, no matter how small, but with her he found nothing. To this day she still holds that record, and now she’s a general right alongside him.”

  “Seems a bit awkward, sharing a Council position with someone who was your student just a few years ago. I wonder what he thinks of that?”

  “He seemed to be alright with it, given that he wrote her recommendation letter. Only one he’s ever done. Did you know that ten years ago, she was doing the same job you are?” He nodded at West.

  “So you’re saying he could do the same for me?”

  “Unless you impress him as much as she did, probably not. But you seem to be doing well enough for yourself.”

  “Since when does General Howard do anything like that for his students?” Sandi said. “How much you wanna bet she was shagging him?”

  “Ugh!” Cornelius shouted, recoiling at these words.

  “Thanks for the mental image. Now I’m about to toss up my lunch,” West said.

  “It’s not like you were eating anyway,” Sandi replied. “And I don’t know why you find the idea so repulsive. Seems like you’d be perfectly content to shag your way up the ranks, if given the opportunity.”

  “What’s his problem?” Cornelius turned to West.

  “Seems to me he’s a bit jealous.”

  “Jealous?” Sandi asked.

  “That’s right. You’ve always had that rich family to fall back on, and now that you’re actually having to do something on your own for once, you’re realizing just how hard the rest of us have been working this whole time. You’re not doing nearly as well as you’d hoped, and that’s because you’re not half as brilliant as you thought; you’re just lucky enough to have been born into wealth. And when you can’t make it on merit, all that’s left is insults.”

  “Is that what you think of me, West? You think I don’t deserve to be here?”

  “General Howard’s phrasing might’ve been stupid, but maybe he wasn’t entirely wrong.”

  Sandi scowled, then snatched his bag from where it sat on the bench next to him and stood up. “Enjoy the rest of your lunch that you’re not eating, and give the General my regards the next time you’re having a shag. I hope this job was worth our friendship.”

  He stepped back from the table, turned around, and stormed from the room. West stared after him as he walked out, then turned back to his tray.

  “I’d ask if your appetite’s gone, but you didn’t seem to have much of one in the first place,” Cornelius said.

  West shook his head as he idly fiddled with a nearby fork.

  “What have I done?” he asked quietly.