Landmark

© 2018 by Walter Reimer


Thumbnail art by  rabbi-tom



Meredith d’Estcourt was still getting used to conditions on Ares, the planet that for millennia had been called Mars by Terrans. The academy she’d been nominated to was within actual sight of Terra, if one knew where to look and had a pair of simple binoculars near at paw. The odd pink sky outside the arcologies was so alien compared to her home on This Far.

From where she stood at the window of her quarters she could see outside and the adjacent parade field. Large enough to be used for planetary landings, it was a flat plain about a kilometer square, with the remains of a single statue at the far end.

The statue was purported to bear the likeness of Emperor Markus II, named The Cruel for his long and oppressive reign. Meredith had been told that, when the canine’s heart had finally, irrevocably stopped, two diametrically-opposed conspiracies had gone into action. The Byelodomov dynasty had been snuffed out, down to and including pups in arms, and battles started that culminated in the creation of the current Confederacy.

Markus’ statue was destroyed using high explosives, leaving one leg, one booted foot, and the monument’s pediment as testimony. The scarred head had been propped up alongside the pedestal.

Officers attending the academy used the ruin as a gathering place, to hear the latest gossip or other information that was considered too sensitive to be trusted to the infonet.

The curriculum was daunting, encompassing basic piloting skills, navigation, and tactics; all of which she was familiar with. In fact, her experience aboard the Kith might give her an advantage. The curriculum also included a heavy load of what was called ‘Political Doctrine and Orientation,’ and that made the palomino mare think.

Being from a colonial world, she was aware that officers from the core worlds would tend to look down on her –

“Hey! D’Estcourt!”

Speak of the demons in hyperspace . . .

The mare turned away from the window to face the big stallion that stood framed in her doorway. Tariano Nguyen was from a core world, Medusa in fact, and he hardly let anyone forget it. He had a completely jet-black coat, cold gray eyes, and seemed to spend all of his free time in the academy’s gymnasium. He was nearly as tall as Varan.

He made her uncomfortable, the way he looked at her.

“What do you want, Tari?” she asked.

The stallion gave a lazy smirk and leaned against the doorframe. “A group of us are going to bar crawl over at Lago del Sol,” he said, referring to an arcology on Hellas Planitia renowned for its leisure activities. “They’ve got some simulators there programmed with events from Old Terra.” His smile broadened. “Care to come along? It’ll be fun.”

Meredith raised an eyebrow, but replied, “Sure.”

She was already making plans to ‘get separated’ from him in a crowd as soon as she got there. Learning advanced tactics, after all, were part of her reason for being here.