His father remained away until the day when Adrian was supposed to depart. Earth's Academy was held on the other side of the world in the middle of the ocean. An entire continent had been built for training Earth's best, one that resisted hurricanes for the most part, though the inhabitants would face tremendous weather from time to time.
The flight would take twenty-four hours, and Adrian was focused on making sure Romulus had what was needed. Very little was permitted to come from outside, but Adrian had meticulously picked out the things they did allow.
Romulus was looking at the blade his father had chosen when the servant entered his room. "Sir, your father requests your presence."
Romulus showed no emotion, though he was shocked. He hadn't expected his father to speak to him, but he’d sent a servant to ask for him. "Did he say when?"
"Now, good sir."
Romulus nodded with his back to the servant. "Thank you."
"My pleasure, sir."
Romulus listened as the servant walked out of the room. He was nervous and yet glad his father was asking to see him. He loved his father, even if it was a distant love that didn't allow for closeness.
He placed the blade on his bed. There was still some packing to do, but he would go to his father first.
Adrian was at his desk when Romulus arrived. A holoworkspace hovered over the desk, and his father was looking at some sort of chart. Romulus stopped at the door, knowing Adrian would hear him.
He glanced up from the chart and nodded solemnly, then tapped something on the desk and shut the holo down.
Romulus was nervous, but Adrian might have been more so. He hadn't spoken to his son in over a week because he wasn't quite sure what to say. Adrian's entire tenure as a father had been spent knowing the next move for his son. He had followed his own father's guidance, modifying it for the new world and a child who would achieve more than he.
For the first time as a father, Adrian found himself unsure of what to do. His son had tested into the Academy with amazing scores. Everyone involved expected great things of him, and there was talk about whether he would be Rex before the session had even started.
His son had succeeded. "Sit down." He gestured at one of the seats in front of the desk. Romulus walked across the room and dropped into it.
Adrian leaned back in his chair and turned to the right so he looked out the window. He was a suspicious man, so he'd turned on a stealth device when he'd turned off the holo. The room couldn't be monitored by anyone, which he'd never tell his son. He had instructed him well enough in his childhood that he could figure that out on his own.
Romulus eventually spoke into the room's silence. "The servant said you wanted to see me."
Adrian nodded. "I do." He didn't look over as he spoke. "You're leaving shortly, correct?"
"Yes. The shuttle should be here in two hours."
Adrian closed his eyes and sighed. "I hope I did a decent job with you, Romulus. I did my best, and any shortcomings in you are surely my fault. All in all, I think we have given you the best chance to succeed in this world."
That was it. He had figured out what he wanted to tell his son and how to tell him. He turned the chair so he faced Romulus and opened his eyes. "You won't understand this right now, and that's fine. There hasn't been an opportunity to explain what I'm trying to talk about to you, not a real-life one, so I'm stuck with talking, which you know isn't my preferred method of conveying information."
He folded his hands in his lap.
"The world is going to try to change you, Romulus. It's the way of things. Some men will not have honor. Some of those men hold the highest stations on this planet. Since your earliest days, I have drilled into your head that you're to be the best no matter what, and perhaps I hit that too hard. It is more important to be a good man than to be the best man. Does that make sense?"
His son's face showed nothing of what he was thinking besides a slight narrowing of his eyes. "Not really, sir."
Adrian nodded and closed his eyes again. This was an important lesson, but he understood he might not be able to teach it. In his life, he had done the opposite of what he now told his son. He had tried to be the best instead of being good, and he'd done it for Romulus so his son would have the chance he had now.
He didn't want that for his son. In many ways, Adrian had sold his soul. Not all of it, but a portion? Certainly.
"I don't know if I'll be able to explain this to you, son. Not in the way I want. In the future, if you feel you might have to give up your honor to rise higher, choose your honor. It is better to be a low man with honor than a high one with none."
Chapter Sixteen
“The gigantes are nameless war machines. They will do your bidding until their dying breath.”
—Pamphlet from The Orion Corporation
"You ready for a name?" Alistair asked the gigante.
The creature raised both eyebrows in the most comic fashion Alistair had ever seen. Now that he wasn't trying to kill the beast, he'd taken time to study him. The gigante stood at least a half-meter taller than him, and his muscles made Alistair look small.
He was a freak who had been bred in a laboratory. When there was time, Alistair wanted to know how they did it, what they spliced to create this half-rock, half-man.
"I have no name," he responded to Alistair. "I serve."
"I know, I know, but if you're going
