“Our homeworld is called Orlicia. It’s on the very edge of the territory governed by the Galactic Alliance.”
“Whose control is it under?” Veta asked.
“It was not a part of any of the governments that I am aware of.”
“Oooh, you’re from a lawless planet. The Wild West of the galaxy. That’s fun.”
He shook his head. It must be one of those Terran colloquialisms again. “Perhaps if there had been another overall governing system, we would not have had some kind of recourse and been able to stay on our world.”
“What happened?”
“We were drafted into cybernetic experimentation.”
“And you all didn’t fight back?”
“We had no reason to. We thought they were making things better. Our brothers were leaving and coming back stronger, tougher, and more durable. Able to complete tasks that no one could do on their own before. Many at that time agreed to be a part of the draft, for they wanted to be enhanced as well.”
“Were you all always this size?” she asked. “You’re bigger than most humanoids I’ve met, in the Terran Empire, and outside of it.”
“Not before. One of the enhancements was growing each generation larger than the last. Our last generation, they are all larger than the rest. One of them, in my unit is enormous, even by our standards.”
“I can’t imagine,” she replied. “He’ll terrorize the princesses, just by his size.”
“I hope not. Jedriek is massive, but he is not a monster.”
“Is anyone in your squad?”
“Bahran. As tall as Jedriek, but not as thick. He, however, is scarier.”
“Why?”
“He is Tarnished. I do not know if he will ever get his shine back.”
“Tarnished? Like, he’s dirty?”
Wrathin hesitated for a moment, trying to think of the word to best explain what it meant to be Tarnished.
“Dishonor is the best I can think of,” Wrathin said. “But it is more than just losing one’s honor. To be Tarnished, it means you have broken your code, and your programming suffers. When the program suffers, then we all suffer.”
“So why is this Bahran with you?”
He glanced at her and saw she’d crossed her arms, not looking particularly happy at the comment.
“Because he deserves a chance to recapture his Shine.”
“Is he a good soldier?”
“One of the best.”
“So why is he dishonored?”
“He broke programming, and many Rhimodians died because of him.”
“Well, hell,” she said.
“Exactly.”
* * *
