Chapter 26: The First Academy

The Way Station was perfect.

Kira had thought of it immediately when the Emperor demanded proof that awakening could be managed. The ancient facility in the Threshold, where her crew had trained under the station's guidance—it was designed for exactly this purpose.

"The station already has the infrastructure," she explained to her gathered crew. "Teaching systems, training chambers, archives of Builder knowledge. All we need to do is bring students."

"And convince people to travel into the Shattered Expanse to be trained by an ancient alien consciousness," Jax said dryly. "That should be easy."

"I didn't say it would be easy. I said it would work."

Voss was already calculating. "We'd need to start small. Select candidates carefully—people with strong potential who are also psychologically stable. Too many unstable personalities and we'll get exactly the chaos the Emperor fears."

"Cross can help with that." Kira had been in regular contact with her former mentor since their initial conversation. "She has access to psychological profiles across the Imperial military. She can identify candidates who fit our criteria."

"Imperial military personnel?" Malik's voice was skeptical. "Those are people conditioned to obey the Dominion."

"Those are also people trained in discipline, teamwork, and handling pressure. Exactly the qualities that make void training safer." Kira met his eyes. "I'm not looking for rebels, Malik. I'm looking for pioneers. People willing to be the first, to show others that this can work."

"And if some of them are loyal to the Empire?"

"Then they'll return to the Empire better than they left. Enhanced, capable, transformed. And they'll tell others what they experienced." Kira smiled slightly. "The best propaganda is personal testimony. If we train Imperial soldiers and send them back as proof that awakening is safe, the message will spread through every barracks in the Dominion."

Silence fell as the crew considered the strategy.

"It's clever," Jax admitted reluctantly. "Use their own people to legitimize what we're doing. But it's also risky. If something goes wrong with Imperial trainees, the Emperor will use it as proof that awakening is too dangerous."

"Then we make sure nothing goes wrong." Kira turned to the holographic display, pulling up schematics of the Way Station. "We take every precaution. Small groups, careful monitoring, immediate intervention if anyone shows signs of instability. The station's systems are designed for exactly this kind of supervision."

"The station agreed to this?" Zeph asked.

*We are eager to teach again.* The Way Station's consciousness touched Kira's mind through the Throne's connection, close enough to communicate directly. *Three thousand years of silence has been... lonely. Students would be welcome.*

"It's literally what it was built for," Kira said aloud for the benefit of those who couldn't hear the station's voice. "The Builders created the Way Station to prepare travelers for void journeys. Teaching humans is just a return to its original purpose."

"Then we need to start recruiting." Voss pulled up her data systems. "Cross can identify candidates, but we'll need a way to contact them, bring them here, and do it without triggering Imperial security."

"I can handle contact." Kira felt the Throne's power humming within her. "The broadcast reached everyone with void potential. I can reach specific individuals just as easily—less overwhelming, more personal."

"And transport?"

"The *Requiem* can make the journey in a fraction of the time it would take conventional ships. We shuttle candidates from a rendezvous point outside Imperial space."

"That still leaves the problem of getting them to the rendezvous point." Jax frowned. "Imperial citizens can't just disappear without triggering alerts."

"Leave." The voice came from Malik, who had been quiet for several minutes. "Military personnel can request leave. If Cross coordinates the approvals, she can create cover stories that explain extended absences."

"You've been thinking about this."

"I've been thinking about the problem since you mentioned it." Malik's expression was serious. "I was a soldier once—before Kade got hold of me. I know how the system works. With the right paperwork, people can vanish for weeks without anyone noticing."

"Then we have a plan." Kira looked around at her crew. "Cross identifies candidates. I contact them directly, explain the opportunity. Those who accept arrange leave and travel to a rendezvous point. The *Requiem* brings them to the Way Station for training. After they're developed, they return to Imperial space as proof of concept."

"How long for training?" Voss asked.

"Depends on the individual. The station can accelerate the process significantly—weeks instead of months for basic development. Full mastery takes longer, but we don't need mastery for a demonstration. We just need enough to show that awakening can be controlled."

"And if candidates refuse the opportunity?"

"Then they refuse. This isn't conscription—it's invitation. If someone isn't ready or willing, forcing them would undermine everything we're trying to build."

Nods around the room.

"I'll contact Cross tonight," Kira said. "Start the selection process. With luck, we can have our first cohort within the week."

---

The first twenty candidates arrived eleven days later.

They emerged from the *Requiem's* airlock with expressions ranging from wonder to terror, staring at the impossible architecture of the Way Station. Imperial uniforms in various states of civilian modification marked them as military—exactly the demographic Kira had targeted.

She met them in the docking bay, flanked by her crew.

"Welcome to the Way Station. I'm Kira Vance."

A young woman at the front of the group stepped forward—Lieutenant Sara Chen, according to the files Cross had provided. Her void potential was exceptionally high, and her psychological profile showed exactly the combination of stability and ambition that Kira was looking for.

"Commander Vance." Chen's voice was steady despite the strangeness of her surroundings. "Your message said you could help us understand what's happening to us."

"I can. And more than that—I can help you develop abilities you've only begun to experience."

"The dreams are getting stronger," another candidate said—a scarred sergeant named Tomás Reyes. "Last week I accidentally moved a chair without touching it. My commanding officer almost had me arrested for... I don't even know what charge. Being dangerous, I suppose."

"You're not dangerous. You're awakening to your true potential—potential that's been suppressed for three thousand years." Kira gestured to the station around them. "This place was built specifically to help people like you. To teach you how to use your abilities safely and effectively."

"Why should we trust you?" The question came from a stocky man at the back—Major Erik Volkov, Cross had noted him as a potential skeptic. "You're a traitor to the Empire. A fugitive. For all we know, this is some kind of trap."

"If I wanted to trap you, I wouldn't have brought you to the Shattered Expanse. I would have simply used my abilities to dominate your minds while you were still in Imperial space." Kira let the implication settle. "You're here because you chose to be. And you can leave whenever you want—the *Requiem* will return you to the rendezvous point with no consequences."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that. This program only works with willing participants. Force would be counterproductive."

Volkov's expression remained skeptical, but he didn't argue further.

"The training will be intense," Kira continued. "You'll learn to control your void connection, to channel energy safely, to develop abilities that will seem impossible. Some of you will progress faster than others—that's normal. What matters is growth, not comparison."

*We are ready*, the station's consciousness announced, audible to all present as a gentle presence in their minds. *The teaching chambers are prepared. We welcome you, young ones.*

Several candidates jumped at the mental contact. A few paled.

"That's the station's consciousness," Kira explained. "It's an ancient AI created by the Builders—the same beings who gave humanity void potential in the first place. It's been waiting three thousand years for students to teach."

"You want us to learn from... an alien computer?" Lieutenant Chen's voice was uncertain.

"I want you to learn from the best teachers available. The station has knowledge that was lost when the Builders disappeared. It can show you things no human instructor could." Kira smiled. "Besides, I learned from it too. So did my entire crew. If it was going to harm us, it had plenty of opportunities."

The candidates exchanged glances—fear there, yes, but also something that had brought them this far despite the fear.

"Three weeks," Volkov said finally. "That's what my leave covers. If I'm not back by then, questions will be asked."

"Three weeks is enough for basic development. You'll return with abilities your superiors can see for themselves." Kira turned toward the station's interior. "Follow me. Let me show you what you're going to become."

She led them into the Way Station.