Aella's fingers touched the bump under her jacket, the cool surface of the crystal pressing into her skin. She took a deep breath as she entered the tunnel from the Assembly Hall to the Testing Center. The round sides of the black tunnel curved toward the ceiling barely lit except for the glowing green arrows on the walls, ceiling, and floor that were moving in the same direction as her group. The four graduates in front of her stopped at the door, and a horn sounded in short bursts. She glanced at the projection above the closed door, sighing when she saw the red light surrounding the doorframe.

Aella snapped her fingers, searching the command window that appeared in the air in front of her for any changes. The Computer had sent her trial coordinates to her eye implant, along with the reminder to see the health technician after she completed the testing room. She snapped her fingers again and the implant turned off. She turned to the wall and leaned against it, crossing her arms and hanging her head.

"Caution," a mechanical voice said. "Testing in Progress. Please wait for your turn and enjoy the view."

Her eyes hurt for a moment as the hallway filled with soft white light. As she looked up, the covers on the tunnel receded beneath the floor, showing the falling snow. Sheets of swirling white flakes danced on the tunnel's glass surface, small ghosts of shadow flickering through the flakes as the wind changed directions.

She shivered, even though the tunnel was heated. The black sides of the Assembly Hall showed in sharp contrast, the peaks and curves of the building already softening with the snowdrifts.

Sighs filled the silence that followed the end of the horn announcement as the other members of her team turned around. There were two men and two women. They were all about the same height--varying four or five inches above her own height of 5'2." One of the other women had a braid hanging neatly over her shoulder and down to her chest, moving slightly to show a white stripe just below her collarbone, signifying her medical training. The others in her group had regulation-length hair, and all had the Diplomatic Corps patch on the left shoulder of their gray uniforms.

A deep baritone voice spoke first."Looks like someone already beat her up."

Aella ducked her head and clenched her teeth, feeling warmth flood through her body.

"Now we'll have to wait for medical to get done with her," the other man in her group said with a huff.

"Be glad she isn't going to have the strength to fight her best," one of the girls said. "She'll never impress the Computer. She's going to give us a better chance."

"There is more to the trial than brute force," Aella whispered.

"Yes," the second man answered.

Aella looked up as his hand entered her view, and she looked up into his face. He was tan, like every other member of Quadrant 56, the skin around his deep brown eyes crinkled as he smiled at her. She shifted under his gaze and he held up his hands and shook his head.

"Sorry," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's just--I've never seen someone with green eyes before. Outside of the broadcasts from the Capitol, that is."

"I know," she said, looking down at her feet.

"They're pretty," he said. "Really."

"Testing available," the mechanical voice of the Computer stated. Aella looked up as the red lights switched to green. "Team 23, advance through the doors and enter your training room."

Aella took a deep breath as she stepped behind Jose, her hands closing into fists at her side. The door in front of them slid open, and a cool rush of air poured into the hallway.

It opened into a circular room with smooth black walls. Recessed lighting gave the room a small feel, and as she looked around, she realized it was too small to be an arena. Aella glanced upward and saw a black glass dome, scarlet lines running back and forth on its surface from the Computer's wiring system.

Aella stared at the smooth walls, her heartbeat speeding up as adrenaline took over.

"Where are the staff?" Jose said.

"This isn't right--" the healer said, backing up. She cursed as the door closed, and the lights dimmed.

"To ensure the secrecy of the contents of the trials," the Computer said, loud and harsh in the room, "you will be administered a memory serum before the trial. You will not remember what has happened here. Your objective is to extinguish the enemy of the United Earth Consortium."

"Sounds easy enough," the other man said, flexing his arm muscles as he cracked his knuckles.

"I wasn't told I would be doing this," the healer said, her voice strained.

Aella frowned as five doors slid up from the floor at equal intervals around the room. A room lay behind each one, the same lighting in each.

"We are doing the trials solo," Aella said out loud, feeling her muscles start to relax.

"Good luck," Jose said, squeezing her shoulder.

Aella nodded and stepped through the door nearest her. The room was quiet, the only motion the crisscrossing lines above her head on the ceiling. The ever-watchful eye of the Computer would evaluate her decisions, deciding which branches she would qualify for, which sponsors her packet would go before. Her future depended on her actions today. Today she would graduate and begin her new life.

The door hissed behind her as it closed.

"Welcome, Aella Rynnex," the Computer began.

Aella bowed, bringing her hands together so that her fingers touched her lips. "Greetings, Computer."

"Rise and tell me what you know about prisoners."

Aella frowned as she stood beneath the ceiling, her hands at her sides. She knew that a period of questions would be asked, followed by tests of strength and will. But she wasn't expecting this. "In the days of old," she said, thinking back to her justice classes. "Prisoners were kept in small cells until an allotted time had been fulfilled. Then they would be released back to the public where they faced discrimination in their workplaces. Today, with every child being sent to the Facility in their Quadrant until they reach the age to take the trials in their chosen field, the need for prisons has been diminished. Those will illnesses are treated early, and those who stray from the path the Founder has set for us are rehabilitated and brought back into the community. The Founder's philosophy is that a criminal has not found his or her purpose in life, and the rehabilitation aims to fulfill the hole that they thought crime would fill."

"How are prisoners who fail rehabilitation treated?"

Aella blinked, feeling her throat constrict. "Has there been instances where rehabilitation has failed?" She glanced up as the lines seemed to pause, then moved in time to the voice.

"Yes," the Computer said.

Aella looked down at the smooth black floor, seeing shimmery reflections of the glowing lines and dimmed lights on the surface, blotted out by her figure. She had never heard of failures. What was the Founder's policy for such an occasion? The rehabilitation was foolproof for citizens. Unless-- "Were the prisoners of the United Earth Consortium?"

The Computer was silent for several minutes.

Aella felt sweat begin to trail down her back, underneath her uniform. She swallowed and looked around at her surroundings. It was easily big enough to serve as a small training arena, the kind she had used to battle virtual opponents. If she were to fight, she would suffer no physical pain, but the memories of wounds still burned in her memory. She winced and felt a ghost pain settle on her side, throbbing gently in time to her pulse.

"You know the answer already," the Computer answered. "You met a Trinity and you were protected by the power of the Computer. But you have not seen the consequences of his actions."

Aella trembled as her legs almost buckled beneath her as the memory shot forward, accompanied by a searing pain behind her temples. Tears came to her eyes and she shook her head, falling to her knees as the pain intensified. She felt her eyesight go black as the images took over in her mind. 

She gasped as the light from the room filled her vision, and her arms slid on the cold floor, her palms sliding because of the sweat. Her uniform stuck to her skin, and her chest rose quickly as she sucked in the cold air. She took a deep breath, suddenly feeling cold. 

But she thought it was the AI that ran the Computer had protected her. But those markings on his arm--he was Trinity. An alien had saved her? She closed her eyes, shaking her head. It couldn't have been. He couldn't have been from the rebel nations. Founder troops would have found him before then. "I don't understand," she whispered. 

"I don't have the classification to know the answer to your question," Aella called out, staring up at the lines above her. They reminded her of electronic blood veins and neurons, sending information to the Computer far away in the Capitol Complex. 

"How would you treat such a prisoner?"

Aella shivered as she stared at the floor. The voice was colder and more distant now. She slammed her fist into the ground. Trinity were murderers, terrorists. They killed innocents and tried to destroy everything the Founder worked so hard for. But if the boy had saved her... If he hadn't come to her rescue when he did..."I wouldn't make a decision until I knew their crime," she called out, her voice wavering. "I would try to extend justice to their case."

She looked up as a section of the wall opened, and a shelf extended forward. Her mouth felt dry as she recognized the weapon lying on its surface. It was an A-class extendable laser staff, equipped with deadly points that would electrocute whoever they came into contact with.

"Take the weapon," the Computer commanded her.

Aella pushed herself up into a standing position and walked towards the weapon. Her feet seemed heavy as if she were walking through thick mud. She paused her hands over the weapon. She knew how to use it, had been trained for months how to disable an opponent in the minimal amount of moves. Her side ached as she remembered it breaking a rib.

She picked it up and shook it once, watching as the foot-long item extended into a four-foot-long staff, the edges sparking and glowing in the low lighting. She spun it around once, then moved backward, sliding into a defensive move, then into an offensive attack.

She trembled, her limbs shaking like leaves in a hurricane wind. She paused, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths. She counted to ten, pushing her emotions deep inside of her. She could let them out in her room, after the trials. She had prepared for this--the psychological testing that would test her past her limits, to see how she would respond. The Rebel nations wouldn't let her be soft under pressure. She would need to keep a level head when faced with the propaganda they would throw at her.

"I am ready," she called out.

A door on the opposite side of the room opened, and a man stumbled forward, his arms bound together in front of him. The lights brightened, and Aella gasped.

His eyes were gray, his pale blond hair contrasting against his pale skin. He was Trinity. He was a product of years under the ice-crusted surface of Europa, pale from lack of sun. He was one of the invaders, the ones who had broken the treaty.

"The Founder has judged the prisoner for execution for crimes against the United Earth Consortium upon the failure of rehabilitation. You are ordered to eliminate the prisoner and return the weapon to the cache where you found it. This is your trial."

Aella trembled as she stepped backward. The door closed behind the prisoner, trapping them both in a room with no exit. She started to breathe heavily as she shook her head.

"What crimes?" she shouted. "What did he do?" She watched the man as she called out the computer. His head hung low and he stood silently in the center of the room, his body still.

She gasped as he pulled his hands apart and the bindings fell off, revealing a small disc in each hand. He jumped forward, shoving his hand the now-glowing disc forward as it expanded and broke apart to reveal two chakrams, each sparking with blue energy.