The bell tower tolled across the Academy grounds, its metallic chime rolling through the morning mist. Olivia stirred from her bunk, the sound vibrating through her chest as if the Academy itself was demanding she rise. She sat up, pulling her long blonde hair into a quick braid before tugging on the cadet uniform.
The fabric was crisp, lined with blue piping at the seams, but Olivia hated the skirt regulation for female cadets. It felt impractical, another reminder that she wasn't free to shape her identity. She cinched the belt tightly anyway. Rules here were iron.
Hana was already up, sitting cross-legged on her bunk, quietly reviewing notes projected onto a holo-slate. "You slept through inspection rounds again," she murmured.
Olivia groaned. "Did they mark me?"
"No. Darius covered, said you were polishing your boots in the washroom."
A faint smile tugged at Olivia's lips. Darius was a terrible liar, but apparently just convincing enough. "I owe him," she muttered, sliding on her boots.
The bell tolled again. It was time for Morning Assembly.
Assembly
Hundreds of cadets filled the central courtyard, ranked by year and squad. The banners of the Kepler Kingdom fluttered overhead—black fields striped with silver, the crowned gear insignia at the center.
Captain Kade stood at the podium, flanked by instructors in severe black coats. His voice carried like a hammer striking steel.
"Cadets. You are weapons in the forging. Some of you will sharpen. Others will shatter. It is not my concern which path you take—only that the Academy tempers you by fire and discipline."
Olivia stood at attention, eyes fixed forward. She felt Marcus's presence beside her like a thorn.
"Yesterday," Kade continued, "Squad Seven completed their exercise. A success, but marred by disunity." His gaze flicked over them, and Olivia swore his eyes lingered on her. "Let it be a lesson. Teamwork is not optional. It is survival."
Whispers rustled through the ranks. Olivia knew many had heard of her clash with Marcus. Already, rumors painted her as either a prodigy or a liability.
The assembly ended with the Academy anthem—harsh, militaristic chords—and then squads dispersed to classes.
History of the Kepler Kingdom
Their first class of the day was in a vaulted lecture hall. Holo-maps of the galaxy floated above the instructor, Professor Ilvar, a thin man with eyes like knives.
"The Kepler Kingdom," he intoned, "is not a relic of peace. It was born of conquest, and it survives only through war. Remember this always."
His pointer traced glowing lines across star maps—two thousand worlds connected in sprawling arteries of trade and conflict.
"Two centuries ago, industrial catastrophe released the nanobot swarm into the atmosphere of Kepler Terminus. The swarm spread, seeded across colonies, rewriting human biology itself. From it came the System. From it came you."
Olivia felt her chest tighten at those words. The System made me—but it also marked me.
"Those who awaken with Alpha compatibility," Ilvar continued, "are rare. Less than one in a hundred. They become commanders, elites, the spearhead of the Kingdom's wars. Remember: to carry Alpha is to carry duty. Your lives are no longer your own."
Marcus straightened smugly at that, as though the professor spoke directly to him. Olivia resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
Ilvar's gaze swept the hall. "History is not written by scholars. It is written by those who pilot steel. Learn your place. Dismissed."
Lunch Hall Rivalries
The Academy's grand mess hall buzzed with noise, a hundred conversations clashing. Rows of long steel tables stretched from end to end, cadets eating in squad formations.
Olivia carried her tray—protein mash, nutrient broth, and dense bread—scanning the room. She spotted Hana and Darius waving at her, their table half-empty. Marcus, as always, had drifted toward the louder cliques of first-years, already posturing with other Alpha-ranked cadets.
Olivia sat with Hana and Darius, grateful for the relative quiet.
"That was brutal," Darius muttered, stabbing his mash with a fork. "Professor Ilvar looks at you like he's calculating how fast you'd bleed out."
Hana smirked. "Better than Captain Kade. He looks like he's planning how to make you bleed."
Olivia chuckled, but her amusement faded when she noticed a group across the hall staring at them. Second-years, their uniforms marked with silver stripes at the cuffs. One of them, tall with cropped dark hair, leaned toward his friends, smirking as he pointed at Olivia.
The whispering was obvious.
Darius noticed too. "Great. We're on their radar."
"Why?" Olivia asked, lowering her voice.
"Because," Hana said softly, "Alpha cadets in first year always draw attention. You're rare. Valuable. And dangerous. They'll either test you, recruit you, or try to break you."
Olivia's grip on her fork tightened. She hated being reduced to a target. But she knew Hana was right.
Afternoon: Engineering Bay
The second half of the day took them into the engineering hangars, vast halls filled with stripped-down mecha frames. Here, cadets learned the bones of the machines they'd one day command.
Instructor Vale, a scarred veteran with an artificial arm, paced the floor.
"Pilots who don't understand their machines die fast. You don't need to be a master engineer, but you will learn the foundations. Today, disassembly and reassembly of a cadet frame's arm actuator."
The task consumed hours. Sweat dripped down Olivia's back as she worked, carefully aligning servos and conduits. Her System whispered insights—warnings of torque misalignments, suggestions for faster connections.
She glanced at Marcus across the bay. He was working with two sycophants, laughing as they struggled. His work was sloppy, but he didn't care. He knew charm could get him help.
Olivia forced herself to focus. When her actuator powered up smoothly on the first attempt, Instructor Vale gave a curt nod of approval.
"Good. At least someone here respects the craft."
A flush of pride warmed Olivia's chest.
Evening Drills
As dusk fell, cadets assembled on the practice fields for physical drills. Sprinting, obstacle climbing, weapon forms.
Olivia's body ached, but she pushed harder. Her small frame was no match for Darius's brute strength or Marcus's athletic swagger, but her agility and precision kept her near the top.
By the end, sweat drenched her uniform, muscles trembling.
Kade strode past the ranks, silent, his gaze calculating. When his eyes flicked to Olivia, she felt the weight of judgment—and something more. Interest. Expectation.
Dorm Conversations
That night, the squad lounged in their shared dorm. Darius sprawled on his bunk, groaning. "If I survive four years of this, I'll be able to wrestle a Juggernaut barehanded."
"Doubtful," Hana said dryly, polishing her boots.
Olivia sat at her desk, reviewing her System stats.
[Name; Olivia Corvinus]
[Compatibility; Rank A / Alpha]
[Innate System Function; Technology Communication]
[Strength; 6]
[Dexterity; 7]
[Agility; 7]
[Intelligence; 9]
[Endurance; 6]
[Perception; 9]
[Additional System Functions; 1 Pending Unlock]
Her endurance had ticked up. Slowly but surely, she was growing.
"Tomorrow," Hana said quietly, "upperclassmen will challenge us."
Olivia looked up. "Challenge?"
"It's tradition. Second-years test first-years in mock duels. Especially Alpha cadets."
Darius groaned. "Great. As if drills weren't enough, now we get beat up for fun."
Olivia's heart quickened. A duel meant risk—but also a chance to prove herself, to silence whispers, to show Marcus and everyone else what she was capable of.
Her lips curved in a small, fierce smile.
"Then let them come."
Night's Whisper
As the dorm fell quiet, Olivia lay awake, staring at the ceiling. Her System pulsed faintly in the corner of her vision.
She thought of the day's lessons—the Kingdom's bloody history, the disdain of professors, the eyes of upperclassmen marking her as prey.
But beneath it all, she felt the steady hum of machines. Not just the cadet frames in their hangars, but something deeper. A rhythm in her bones, a whisper in her veins.
The Academy was fire and steel. It would break many. But not her.
I'll master this place, Olivia vowed. And then, I'll master the Titans themselves.
Her fist tightened beneath the blanket.
The future loomed like a battlefield—and Olivia was ready.