That’s what I loved most about Father: he rarely spent time in Cornell, the rather unimpressive city I call home, but whenever he did, he’d tell me stories…his adventures around the galaxy. And on every expedition, he’d create a portfolio of whatever planet he had visited. I spent countless hours poring over pictures of gray mountains and colorful forests and rivers and trees…beautiful windswept fields, blue oceans, and puffy white clouds.

Undil has none of that beauty. There are no trees, or mountains, or clouds. There is an ocean, but it’s on the other side of the planet. I’ve never felt the rush of a river or watched over the world from the top of a mountain. Undil is a desert, and I’ve been stuck in Cornell my entire life, looking through the hazy air at the distant mesas, wishing I could escape. Sometimes a hovercraft will fly in from the Embassy, or Gray Wall Industries, where I work in archiving, will receive a large order for station thrusters. Otherwise the most fun I have around here is playing Hologis in Cornell’s small arena, but my friends stopped inviting me to tournaments.

A gust of hot wind blows through, and I squeeze my eyes shut. When it settles, I hear the end of Orcher’s speech.

“I’m proud to say that I might have the chance to welcome Ambassador Lance’s son, Arman,”—he looks at me again—“into the Embassy this summer. His legacy will live on.”

Orcher steps back from the podium and holds his hands at his sides. He stands in place for a few reverent seconds before bowing and returning to his seat next to Lieutenant Victoria Hofhen, a young woman who works in his crew. The seat on his other side is empty.

Another man stands and approaches the podium. It’s Jarvis Gantz, a middle-aged Narvidian ambassador. He was touring Gray Wall on the day Father died. They were friends, but I’d never heard about Ambassador Gantz until he showed up in Secondary Embassy Studies with Officer Banner to announce a special visitor: Father.

That was a little more than a week ago. I didn’t know Father was back in Cornell, so his return came as a surprise. He had been gone for two years, assisting in an emergency on Belvun, one of the most beautiful planets in the galaxy. Belvun’s desert is destroying it, slowly eating away at the planet. The embassies of Undil, Narviid, and Daliona are all aiding Belvun, trying to reverse the collapsing ecosystems. When I join the Embassy Program—that is, if I’m selected as a Recruit—I’m going to board the first expedition to Belvun, but not because I want to save the planet.

Because of a girl named Ladia Purnell.