"In the gray beginning of years, in the twilight of things than began,
The word of the earth in the ears of the world, was it God? was it man?
- Algernon Charles Swinburne, Hymn of Man

AC 186
Somewhere on Earth

She had wandered the streets for months after she had lost everything, unaware of anything but the hunger in her belly. She scrounged for food whenever she could, eating as fast as possible so that no one would take her stolen crumbs from her. The people of the streets saw her as nothing but an extra mouth for the already scarce enough supply of food, and she probably would have starved had she not stolen from the Noin. Instead, she was picked up and dusted off, her quickness an asset to the Noin's band. She adored the Noin, and when the Noin had left her, just as her parents had, in a flash of blood and noise, she took up the Noin's title and responsibilities. Although she was small, the nimbleness that had landed her in the band earned her the leader's place.

The girl needed all her skills as she ran through the streets, tracing a familiar path through the alleys and the buildings, weaving in and out of the streets, frantically dodging the other human figures in her way. She paused at the corner, her eyes darting about, searching for the feared Federation uniform. Nothing. All those around her were drifters like herself, people who had no other home outside of the streets. As her shoulders lowered with relief, an indistinct sound behind her caused her to whirl around, her guard instantly raised. When her eyes met the gold buttons of the Specials uniform, she froze with fear. The feeling most definitely did not subside when she realized the buttons belonged to the officer whose pockets she had just picked.

She silently cursed herself for being so careless, knowing that her blunder would be the cause of her band's hunger for at least a week, even more so if they took her away. And although she had full well known going after a Special's pockets was foolhardy at best, as they were the best the Federation's forces had to offer, she had also understood that another week without food for her band would be fatal. Better to risk it than to watch her charges withering slowly before her eyes. But best yet if she could still break free.

Her eyes narrowed as she quickly assessed the situation. How fast could the soldier be in catching her once again? As a window of opportunity opened, she feinted to one side as she kicked gravel in his face, quickly dashing off, planning to mingle with the other hordes of people. She could almost taste her victory when she was yanked back ungraciously. The Special grinned mockingly as she tried desperately to free her grimy hair from his gloved fingers.

"Are you done now?" he said.

The girl bared her teeth at him, angered by the amused tone. The man's smile only widened further, as if he thought her situation were a joke.

"Whaddya want from me?" She quit struggling, telling herself she would try to escape later, when his guard was down.

"I believe you have something of mine."

"I dunno what you're talking about."

"Are you quite sure of that?"

Suspicion flashed through the girl's eyes. Surely he wasn't supposed to be taking it so well. Another soldier probably would have been doing great physical damage to her at this point, if not at the moment she had been caught. Perhaps Specials were different. Or perhaps he was simply toying with her, but in any case, she would try to exploit his leniency as best she could.

" 'M sorry, mister, really. 'S just that -- that," she broke off, discretely pinching herself enough so that her eyes watered. "Please, mister, don't do anything bad to me. 'M just a kid." She sniffled a little and messily wiped her nose with her sleeve. They usually seemed to think it was cute or something.

"You can drop the act right there. You and I both know you're no more of a kid than I am. Isn't that right . . . Noin?"

Her eyes narrowed as she hissed, "Says who?"

"Stop your impertinence. You are the leader of that band of children. The Noin, they call you?"

She straightened herself up with a strange pride, not noticing that he had dropped his handful of hair the minute her chin came up and her jaws set. "Yeah. So I feed them. I take care of them. They're my band."

"So what's your name?"

"Being small doesn't make me stupid."

"No, not at all," he said to himself. "What would you say if I offered you a place where you could have all the food you wanted?"

Without a pause, the girl replied, "I can't. I have my band to take care of."

"We'll take them in, care for them in your place. But if you come with me, you won't be allowed to see them."

"Why?"

"Must you question everything?"

"Hey, mister, you want me or not?"

"All right. At least I picked a quick one. Lake Victoria Academy won't have one of its cadets associated with a band of urchins, but I promise you, they will be cared for quite generously. More than you can do for them, I guarantee."

The girl paused. The offer was so tempting, and she had momentarily thought of simply taking off. Ashamed of herself for even considering the idea, she hastily asked, "What's Lake Victoria Academy?"

"It's a school to train Specials cadets, highly selective. The training will be difficult, but nothing compared to what you have to face every day out here. Look, an answer now, or I report you to the officials. Come on, you're going to have opportunities beyond your imagination. The Specials are the only ones who are given the chance to see space, among other things. Haven't you ever wanted something beyond the streets?"

"Space?" The girl's eyes lit up, and when she spoke, she sounded like the child she actually was. "I'd get to go to space?"

"It all depends on you."

Succumbing to the temptation of an old desire fulfilled, the girl tentatively nodded. "But you have to promise you'll see my band off safely and tell them not to worry about me."

"Of course. You have my word of honor on it. Now, your name?"

"Lucrezia."

"Interesting. I always thought you were Noin something."

"I am Noin." Well, she was now, she thought, apologizing silently to the Noin for the theft of a name. "I'm Lucrezia Noin."

"Well, I hope you're up to the challenge," he goaded. "The boys there are all quite able. I think you might have some difficulty keeping up."

"Hey, I can do anything they can easy!" she said. "Cut off my hair."

"Why?"

"A soldier's sex shouldn't matter. You can call me Noin, too."

"All right, Noin," he said.

* * *

AC 186
L3, Colony X18999