Ladia Purnell, the girl from Belvun. She visited Undil one summer, four years ago. We fell in love, and then she left. Despite the consequences, I never forgot her, not even when my friends told me I was being stupid and I’d never see her again. They made me angry, but I didn’t need them. I still don’t. Father had promised he’d take me to see her when we visited Belvun this summer.

Now she’s all I have left. I need to pass the Embassy Placement Report. I’ll become a Recruit, get my permanent assignment, and then I’m free. I’ll board that expedition. I’ll see Ladia. We’ll fall in love.

And I’ll be happy.

EMBASSY

Part 1

The Recruits

Chapter One

June 6

Undilaen Time

Standard Year 4319

When I enter the examination room, it’s empty. I have knack for being early to these kinds of things. It’s not like I have anything better to do.

I sit in the last seat of the first row and stare at the desk panel. The Undil Embassy crest floats above the screen, cast by a small projector sticking up from the corner. I poke my finger through it, but the crest doesn’t move. You need tendril gloves if you want to interact with holograms, and there’s not a single pair in sight.

Every desk is the same: thin glass panels with the Embassy crest floating above them. At the head of the room is a larger panel: the proctor desk. Its projector displays the time, and currently shows 7:43 a.m.

At 7:49, the next person walks in and sits at the front of the room. I don’t think he even saw me. He’s older, maybe in his thirties. A Latecomer, someone who wants to join the Embassy years after graduating from Secondary.

More people arrive as the minutes drag on. Surprisingly, most of them are Latecomers. One of them sits down and waves his hand through the desk hologram and looks severely disappointed when it doesn’t spin. He looks at the girl he walked in with and frowns. Then he sees me watching and waves.

I drop my eyes and don’t look at him again. Who is he? I’ve never seen that guy in my life.

The last person walks in exactly at eight o’clock, and it’s none other than Glacia Haverns, or rather, the Glacia Haverns. Her parents own a private textile and tailoring shop, and as far as I know, they don’t have any direct connections to the Embassy.