Don't Look at Me, I'm Forging - The Shuttle to Aegis

Aegis-IV felt about three5  The

Aegis-IV felt about three percent heavier than

Mid-Rim standard—just enough to make a heavy shoulder strap cut deeper into collarbones already bruised by two weeks in a transit bunk.Hydraulic landing legs slammed into the tarmac with a dull, teeth-rattling

THUD, followed instantly by the deafening scream of reverse thrusters venting superheated steam across

The air smelled of wet pine needles, scorched copper, and red mud.

Beyond the high perimeter fences of the landing zone, the primordial forest of

Aegis-IV stretched out toward the horizon like a dark, jagged green ocean.Kae stumbled off the drop-shuttle ramp, her knuckles white around the handles of two canvas duffels.

Slung over her lower back was a heavy, reinforced spatial container—a metallic box the size of a microwave that held six hundred kilograms of disassembled psionic furnace compressed inside a localized spatial fold.Every time she shifted her weight, the container bumped against her hip, reminding her of the ridiculous credit fine she’d paid at the orbital port just to register the damn thing as “personal baggage.”Around her, thousands of incoming cadets were spilling out of forty different transports.

Shouts echoed off the concrete bulkheads, mixed with the sharp blare of automated security drones herding crowds into intake lanes.Kae pulled her faded olive smock tight across her chest, shoved her giant, zero-diopter glasses up her nose, and ducked her head.Keep moving, she thought, locking her eyes onto the heels of the guy in front of her.

Get the keycard.

Find the room.

Lock the door.

Do not engage.”Watch it, short stack!”A heavy elbow caught

Kae’s shoulder, spinning her sideways.

Her left duffel slipped, clattering against the rusted deck plating.Before she could reach down to grab the strap, a hand roughly the size of a dinner plate swept in, snagged the canvas handle, and hoisted the bag back up in one fluid motion.”Whoa there!

Easy, little sister.

People around here walk like they’re trying to outrun a plasma grenade.”Kae froze.

She slowly raised her head, her gaze traveling up a dark-blue mechanic’s jumpsuit that was unzipped halfway down the chest, past a thick neck, to a wide, gap-toothed grin framed by a mop of messy brown hair.

The guy was enormous—broad-shouldered, thick-wristed, and radiating an obnoxious amount of cheerful energy that felt entirely inappropriate for seven in the morning.”I’ve got it,” Kae mumbled, reaching for the bag handle. “Thanks.””Nah, don’t worry about it,” the giant boomed, swinging the duffel over his own shoulder alongside three massive military sacks of his own.

He didn’t even look winded. “I’m

Most folks just call me

Outer-Rim mining stations on

You look like you’re about two seconds away from getting trampled by those

Vanguard prep-school snobs over there.”Kae took a subtle half-step backward, her social alarm bells ringing at maximum volume. “I’m fine.

I can carry my own bag.””Nonsense,” Bear declared, clapping a palm against his own chest with a sound like a pistol shot. “My dad always said: if you see someone smaller than your tool chest carrying more weight than their boots, you pick up a strap.

What track are you?

Logistics?Communications?””Engineering,” Kae said flatly, hoping the brevity would kill the conversation.It did not.Bear’s hazel eyes lit up like high-yield fusion bulbs. “No way!

An engineer?

I thought all the engineering cadets this year were going to be those pristine, slick-haired industrial dynasty kids from

You know the ones—stand around talking about ‘quantum resonance ratios’ while their servants carry their wrenches.”He took a huge step forward to stay beside her as the line shuffled toward

Kiosk 4, completely oblivious to

Kae’s desperate attempt to maintain a two-meter buffer zone.”I built my first atmospheric compressor out of a broken freighter pump when

I was twelve,” Bear babbled on, gesturing wildly with a hand that looked capable of snapping a pipe in half. “My local guild leader told me

I was nuts for applying to

Astraea, but

I told him, ‘Look, old man, if

I’m gonna fix mechs,

I wanna fix the heavy stuff that fights

Swarms, not rust-bucket cargo haulers!’ What about you?

What’s your specialty?” “Metals,” Kae muttered, staring straight ahead at the back of a tall girl’s head three feet in front of her.”Metals!

Simple, clean, honest work.

None of that fancy high-concept bio-synthetic nonsense.” Bear looked down at her small frame, his grin widening into something oddly protective. “Tell you what, squirt.

You stick with me.

I look a little rough around the edges, but

I can lift a

V-8 actuator block without a winch.

Anyone gives you trouble in the shops, you just point ’em out to

Bear.” Please stop talking,

Kae prayed silently to whatever stellar gods were listening.

Please, just let the queue move faster.”I don’t need a protector,” she said aloud, her voice coming out a little sharper than she intended. “I just need my housing card.”Bear didn’t take offense.

He just laughed—a booming, chesty sound that drew irritated glances from three stiffly dressed cadets in the next line. “Feisty!

Reminds me of my little sister back on

She used to throw spanners at my head whenever

I messed with her forge settings.”Kae closed her eyes for a brief, agonizing second.

I am not your sister.

I am an overgrown grease-stain who wants to be left alone.The line lurched forward five steps.

Finally, they reached the front of

Kiosk 4.Behind the heavy, rust-spotted steel podium stood a familiar figure in a dark blue

Astraea fatigue coat.

Dubois looked just as sharp, sharp-eyed, and thoroughly unimpressed as she had three days ago at

Her silver fifth-year engineer’s pin glinted in the harsh morning sunlight.”Next,” Helene drawled, her stylus hovering over her data slate.Bear stepped up instantly, dropping his mountain of gear onto the metal counter with a heavy crash. “Barrett

Engineering!

Ready for duty, ma’am!”Helene glanced at the slate, her thumb flicking across the glass. “Holt,

Class 1 Engineering.

Grab your keycard from the sensor pad and move along.

You’re blocking the airflow.””Yes, ma’am!

Thanks, ma’am!” Bear grabbed a sleek brass keycard, then turned around and slammed a heavy hand down on

Kae’s shoulder, nearly driving her knees into the pavement. “Go on, squirt!

You’re up!” Kae stumbled forward, clutching her glasses to keep them from flying off.

She stepped up to the podium, keeping her head low. “Cerys

Lind.” Helene’s stylus stopped mid-air.The senior proctor slowly leaned over the high desk, looking down at the baggy olive smock, the smudged black frames, and the dark, straight bangs hiding

Kae’s forehead.

A slow, familiar smirk spread across

Helene’s face.”Well, well,” Helene purred quietly, leaning on her elbows. “Look who made it through orbital customs without melting the terminal arrays.

I was beginning to think your ‘nervous twitch’ blew up the transit shuttle.”Kae felt her face grow hot. “The shuttle was fine.””I’m sure it was,” Helene murmured, tapping a key on her slate.

She reached into a small brass dispenser on the side of her podium and pulled out a heavy, dark-silver keycard etched with glowing red runes. “Class 1 Engineering.

Unit303.”Kae reached out to take the card, but

Helene held onto it for an extra second, her sharp eyes studying

Kae’s face.”A word of advice,

Lind,” Helene whispered, leaning closer. “Unit 303 is a four-person suite.

Your dorm mates are fourth-year

Vanguards and

They’re loud, they’re aggressive, and they don’t like quiet little things who hide behind oversized glasses.

If you act like prey, they’re going to eat you alive.”Helene released the card.

Kae snatched it up, stuffing it deep into her smock pocket.”I’m not prey,” Kae grumbled. “I’m just tired.””Wait, hold on!”Bear’s voice echoed across the plaza as he practically vaulted back toward the desk, staring at the silver card in

Kae’s hand with wide, disbelieving eyes. “Class 1?

Class 1 too?!” Kae’s heart dropped.”You’re the second-ranked entrant?!” Bear gasped, pointing a massive, grease-stained finger at her. “The quiet kid in the oversized jacket is the dark horse everybody’s been talking about on the academy net?!””It was a mistake,” Kae blurted out, her face burning as dozens of surrounding cadets turned to look toward

Kiosk 4. “I have to go.

My dorm is far away.”She didn’t wait for

Bear to respond.

She grabbed her duffels, hooked the strap of her six-hundred-kilogram spatial furnace container over her shoulder, and bolted toward the

Block 6 residential transit path as fast as her boots could carry her, leaving the giant, gaping engineer behind in a cloud of red