But that was before. Before I became attached to this place and its people. Before I believed that I could do something good for this system rather than returning to my family to smuggle drugs and other contraband. Altair’s offer changed everything. I’ve climbed rapidly through the ranks here, guided by the general’s hand—and now, he wants more for me. He wants me to work directly under him, learn from him, take his place as a general one day. I wouldn’t be another pawn in this war… I would be one of the people running it, shaping a better future for my people. Just like I always dreamed of doing for my family, but on a much grander scale. Here, I could make a difference.

The door to the supply room bangs open and startles me from my thoughts. A stocky blond woman, our latest recruit after we lost Uwe, stands in the doorway. Her face flushes as she sees me. Three years on Titan, and it still shocks me how their skin is commonly pale enough to show emotion in a surge of startling color. The system has a wide range of skin tones, but this is the one planet where the majority of people are fair enough for my own tawny coloring to stand out.

I clear my throat and turn to face her, straightening my posture so that I stand—just barely—taller than her. My height is yet another reminder that I may be Titan by birth but not by blood. Elsewhere in the system I stand above the average, but not here.

“Sergeant Kaiser, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude. Everyone’s looking for you, and it’s—they sent me,” she says, the words coming out in a jumble. She’s still new enough to be nervous around me, and new enough that it takes me a few moments to remember her name. I would feel bad about it, but I’ve seen far too many new faces come and go.

“Ivennie,” I say, remembering. Ivennie Smirnova. “I’ve told you, Corvus is fine.”

“Yes, sir, Corvus, sir,” she says. Her face turns a deeper shade of red, which I didn’t think was possible. I suppress a sigh. It always takes recruits a while to accept that they’re part of a team now and don’t need to follow the same rigidity as during training. Our army has a strict hierarchy, and we’re always expected to show deference to superiors, but within a team, things are different. We’re encouraged to be close. Intimate, even.