The young people stood stunned by what they had just heard, since not long ago they had sent her a message without noticing anything strange. They swallowed hard and waited for Pascal to finish speaking.
"Yes, her," Pascal confirmed nervously. "Tori arrived a moment ago and asked me if I had seen her. I told her no, but that she was probably still in the subway."
Pascal explained that Tori said Aria's parents had started calling each of her classmates to see if she was with them because she hadn't come home last night.
"She posted a photo from the station not long ago, and she also messaged me early this morning. Maybe her phone was stolen or something," Lucas suggested.
"She knows how to get here without a map. And if her parents were waiting for her, how could they not find her?" Artemisa countered. "If I get robbed, the first thing I do is go to the Governmental Sector because it's safer. And even then, she's not here."
Lucas and Artemisa widened their eyes and looked at each other. They both knew Aria and had worked with her on projects more than once. It was common to see her on campus surrounded by classmates who wanted more than just her notes. Aria was definitely a social butterfly and an academic star who was never truly alone. She was the model student and cadet: perfect grades, perfect abilities, perfect protocol, a powerful and activated core at a young age, intelligent, friendly, and on top of that, beautiful—easily mistaken for a model. That's the kind of person Aria is: a tall, flirty blonde woman with deep honey-colored eyes, slightly tanned smooth skin. Aria Schmidt was the crush of both men and women; in fact, she had been Artemisa's crush for a long time.
"And where was she coming from?" Artemisa asked.
"Her parents told us they went to pick her up at the metro today because she was at a party in North District last night and stayed over at a friend's house. A supposed friend her parents don't know. According to Aria, he took her to the station, she got on the metro, and messaged her parents saying she was on board," Pascal continued.
"She posted a photo on Glimpse from line B-15," Lucas defended.
"Her parents waited a long time at the station, but it turns out she never got off the B-15! They called her, texted her, and the phone was off, according to the operator. Me, Tori, and others started calling her too, but it keeps going straight to voicemail," Pascal added.
Lucas was shocked.
"What about the cameras? There are like a thousand in the subways. It's impossible for her to have just disappeared," Artemisa said.
Pascal resumed the story:
"They asked if they could check the security cameras, but were told that they could only do that with a police order, due to worker privacy policies," Pascal explained.
"A police order requires a valid reason, and if the reason is a disappearance, then they have to wait 24 hours before any action is taken," Lucas guessed bitterly.
"Exactly!" Pascal affirmed. "We were wondering if maybe she took a different route while I was waiting for Luna, but if she was supposed to meet her parents at the station, it's unlikely, don't you think?"
"We should call her parents if Aria doesn't show up in 20 minutes. Have you emailed or spoken to Professor Pavlov? Maybe he can help delay the ceremony and assist in the search," Artemisa suggested. "I have his number. I'll message him."
Artemisa started typing on her phone, noticing a missed call from an unknown number. Lucas saw it too and checked his own screen, finding a missed call from Aria that he hadn't answered. His phone had been on silent, so he hadn't noticed it. As soon as he saw it, he showed the screen to both of them.
"She called me," said Lucas, "but it says she hung up after three seconds."
Artemisa and Pascal looked at each other because it didn't seem like a good sign.
"Calling and hanging up right away... that's not good," Pascal commented. "They shouldn't hold the ceremony until she's found. God help us find her soon."
"I'll look for her Glimpse[1]post and forward it. Maybe one of my friends saw her or something," Lucas offered, pulling out his phone. "I have the number of another professor. I'll talk to him too. We're future state agents, it's ridiculous if we can't be part of the investigation."
The three nodded and then approached other people, who also said they hadn't seen her. As they told the story, those students also tried to search for her using one of the photos from her profile. The goal was to build a network and gather as much information as possible about her whereabouts, but nothing relevant came up. They received many guesses: her phone was stolen, she fell asleep on the metro, she went off with someone and had an accident.
Lucas dared to break the silence:
"Aria would never just leave like that. She wouldn't even miss something like this. Something must've happened to her. How could she get lost in a station? That's stupid. And the idea that she fell asleep? She's not careless," he said.
Artemisa complained too:
"Hopefully we find her soon. Once this gets to the military police, they'll just shelve it because she's pretty and won't even look for her," she said angrily. "The military police are for bastards, and the only one I actually like is you."
Everyone knew Pascal was going into the military police, since his grandparents were police officers in the old world, and having been raised by them, he was influenced to join the armed forces. However, according to Artemisa, Lucas, and many others, the military police left much to be desired in this world.
"Thanks, Artemisa," Pascal smiled.
Pascal began to slow his pace and then asked Lucas:
"By the way, what division are you going into? Have you decided, or are you still going with that 'whatever comes, I'll take it' idea?"
Lucas, with a carefree smile and a dismissive hand gesture as if it were no big deal, replied:
"Whatever comes- I'll take it. As long as they pay me, it's fine."
Pascal looked at him for a few moments, then suddenly hugged him in a suffocating embrace, catching Lucas off guard, who tried to pull away from the pressure. Emotions were running high and the mystery surrounding Aria weighed on them, so they allowed themselves a brief moment of expression.
"Ahhh mi loco, I'm gonna miss you my whole life, boludo[2]" said Pascal in Spanish with an exaggerated tone of sorrow.
"Por la chucha, Pascal culiao, don't make me cry, hermanito[3]" replied Lucas in the same language, matching his tone.
Artemisa watched them, not fully understanding what they were saying but getting the gist from their expressions, guessing they were talking about missing each other.
"I'm really gonna miss you, man. When will I ever see you again? In like 40 years maybe. Invite me for a matecito[4]when we're near again" lamented Pascal.
"Ya, weón[5]" Lucas said
A woman with sky-blue hair and pale skin appeared and approached the men who were hugging. She surprised Artemisa, greeting her with a tap on the back, then asked the tearful guys:
"What happened? Why are you crying?" she asked in Spanish.
"¡Luna!, ¡Mi Lunita!" exclaimed Pascal in his accent, and Lucas pulled her and Artemisa into the hug too.[6]
"I'm gonna miss you both so much, it was a pleasure working with you!" said Lucas, tightening the hug.
The two women complained about the strength of the hug but reciprocated and laughed with the camaraderie.
"And what the hell's wrong with these cabrones[7]?" Luna asked, puzzled.
"Yo. No. Saber[8]" said Artemisa in Spanish.
"¡Noo! La recalcada concha de la lora[9]. Artemisa was really getting into Spanish! I'm sorry I can't be with you forever too." exclaimed Pascal.
"What did he say?" Artemisa asked, confused.
"He said "Damn it, Artemisa was learning Spanish. I'm sorry I can't be with you longer too" Luna translated to English.
"Pascal, you crybaby piece of shit, I'm gonna stay alive, I'm not dying" Artemisa snapped, still confused.
They broke the hug and took some distance. Then Pascal turned to Artemisa:
"And she's so pretty! Have I told you you're my ideal type of woman?" said Pascal.
"Yeah, you've said it a million times, but you're not my type" Artemisa replied.
"And what's your type?" Pascal asked her.
"Women" Artemisa replied, bluntly.
Pascal looked more disappointed than ever, but the rest of the group kept laughing at his rejection as a suitor, as always. Even though they were trying to stay relaxed, none of them stopped checking around or glancing at their phones, hoping for some news. Especially Luna, after learning what happened.
However, the only notice they received was an order from Professor Pavlov to enter the premises and head to the main auditorium for the start of the ceremony. Many of those present openly criticized the decision to move forward with the event, but no one opposed it directly. On the contrary, some —including Lucas— tried to find their professor to talk to him in person.
Before Professor Pavlov even allowed the recent graduates to speak, he said that Aria's disappearance was already known by the academy, and the only instruction he received was to ensure all graduates were present in the building and the auditorium. He asked them to call their classmates who were still looking for her and tell them to come to central now. Otherwise, anyone disobeying the order would be suspended.
Professor Pavlov was also sincere with them, saying he regretted the situation but that there was still hope to find her. But until the request was formalized either by the Special Cases Agency or primarily by the police, the only thing the academy could do was to contact various local police stations to check for reports of theft, accidents, or suspicious activity near the station where she was supposed to get off.
The students who had approached him returned to their seats in frustration, and as soon as they sat down, they started spreading a rumor:
"Professor Pavlov told us the Anomalous Cases Enforcement made an emergency request about Aria's disappearance and it was rejected as a 'null cause' because the minimum 24-hour period to qualify as a disappearance hasn't passed."
Many of the recent graduates covered their mouths, shocked at witnessing firsthand the police's inefficiency. No one openly defended the rejection of the request — especially since some had bad experiences with law enforcement in cases related to their own lives. Not even Pascal dared defend the decision. On the contrary, the criticism was unanimous.
Everyone knew that the Vice Captain of the military police was also present backstage, and had surely heard about the disappearance of a graduate — yet still hadn't increased the priority level of the emergency request. Even if he didn't explicitly reject it, many believed he could have helped and didn't.
The criticism grew louder, and surprisingly, they began to see journalists sneaking in with phones, asking uncomfortable questions to confirm whether a girl had indeed disappeared before the ceremony. Though Lucas and the others knew they weren't authorized to disclose unverified information as graduates of law enforcement, the murmurs and outrage spread quickly — until the military began to shove the reporters out for entering a private ceremony without permission, triggering a clash in which several people wanted to speak out publicly on live TV about the mismanagement.
Feeling the tension, Luna tried to change the subject and calm her friends:
"This place is huge," Luna said.
"Yeah, I think it fits about 600 people or something," Artemisa said.
"Wrong. It fits 500 people," corrected a voice from behind them, someone outside their group.
The four of them turned toward the speaker. There they saw a tall, slender young man with pale skin, a very handsome but completely expressionless face, blue eyes, and short slightly messy hair with pale pink tips. He was dressed in black, wearing a lot of silver-colored jewelry like chains and rings. He carried only a black crossbody bag with a stuffed cat keychain hanging from the zipper.
Artemisa and Lucas knew exactly who was correcting them without having been asked:
"Oh, hi Aqua!" Luna greeted politely.
"Hello, Luna," greeted Aqua, returning the blank gesture.
Artemisa's expression froze, and she started twitching in one eye, but she took a deep breath and decided to greet him with Lucas.
"Hello, Aqua," said Lucas and Artemisa in unison.
Aqua was staring at his phone, unintentionally ignoring Lucas, who had tried to high-five him, leaving Lucas's hand hanging. Artemisa, too, was left mid-sentence. Now it wasn't just Artemisa who was frozen; Pascal and Lucas also stood still, watching him walk away with his phone in hand.
"Did he just ignore us?" Lucas was surprised by his teammate's coldness.
"What do you think?" asked Artemisa with irony. "I already told you that guy's an asshole. I don't even know why I bothered saying hi again."
"I thought he'd say hi because I was next to Luna, but he ignored me too," Pascal complained.
"That reminds me of when one of the people who dropped out in the first year of training told us at lunch he wouldn't eat with us because we were speaking Spanish and it disgusted him," said Lucas, crossing his arms.
"I'd forgotten that. Seems like it really stuck with you," Pascal commented.
"I'm used to people liking me!" Lucas protested. "It's weird when they don't, I feel like I did something wrong and start overthinking."
"You didn't do anything wrong, that guy's just full of himself," Artemisa said, patting him on the back.
Luna looked down at the floor before chiming in.
"Honestly, I don't even know why Aqua greets me," she said. "Sometimes I don't even talk to him, and he says hi before I do. He's weird, but it doesn't bother me. Sometimes he even sends me his notes when I say I don't understand something. I don't even ask, he just gives them to me."
Pascal looked astonished.
"You're at that level? I don't think anyone talks to him besides you. At least I've never seen Aqua interact like a normal human with anyone else," Pascal complained.
"Aren't Aqua and Orion friends?" asked Lucas.
Judging by Aqua's behavior, Lucas could guess why Orion and Aqua got along. Both seemed to come from wealthy families, and it was common knowledge at the academy that Orion's father was someone important, a company leader. Of course, Lucas couldn't quite remember what exactly Orion's dad did—he only knew his mother was from Uranus, a refugee, and his father was Earth-born.
"Yeah, but Orion's very sociable, and Aqua is way too withdrawn. And since Orion knows a lot of people, that scares Aqua off, from what I've seen," Luna explained. "They're total opposites."
Luna was right: Aqua was reclusive, but Orion was quite sociable and not unpleasant at all, so Lucas dismissed his previous assumption.
"So is he just introverted or something?" Lucas asked again.
"There's a big difference between being introverted or shy and just being rude," Artemisa said, crossing her arms in frustration.
"I do get nervous around a lot of people and I'm introverted," Luna admitted, embarrassed.
"You get nervous, but you don't treat people badly when you're nervous," Artemisa clarified.
Luna, although a standout student, had very little courage for most things. For instance, she had no issue standing up to someone when needed, but in most situations, she tended to hide behind others.
"You're right, that's why I'm happy working in a field where I don't have to deal with people! My palms sweat, I stumble over my words, I forget English, and I end up not knowing what to say," she listed off before hugging herself for comfort. "And people just see a little bundle of nerves looking everywhere because eye contact freaks me out instead of... me!"
Artemisa had placed her crossbody bag on the empty seat next to her to save it for Tori, who, as usual, was running late. Tori was currently part of one of the search teams looking for Aria. So not only was she delayed, but she was also risking suspension if she didn't show up. However, while Artemisa wasn't looking, a woman with heterochromia and black hair came running in. Despite the lights in the auditorium being turned off because the event was about to start, her features were still visible. Tori simply grabbed Artemisa's bag, placed it on her lap, and caught her breath. That woman was Tori Labong, one of Artemisa's friends. Even though she had just run in, she left behind a faint trail of jasmine scent.
Professor Pavlov confirmed attendance one last time, for reasons nobody liked—Aria was still absent, and this led to a moment of silence. Once attendance was finalized, the ceremony began with a 30-minute delay due to the news and the incident with the journalists.
The young students watched as four people stepped onto the platform in front of them, each wearing uniforms in different emblematic colors: three men and one woman. The men wore white, light blue, and red suits, and the woman wore black. Each had badges displaying their ranks, and their ranks were also indicated by the lines on their right shoulders. Many of them were often seen walking around campus or heading to Director Landry's office on official errands. At the same time, the students knew that many of their evaluations had been recorded for these individuals to review—future colleagues in the making.
Aquí tienes la traducción al inglés con comillas en lugar de rayas:
The whispers grew as soon as they saw the Police Vice Captain in his navy blue uniform. Among those whispers, which were a clear act of disobedience to authority, they could make out: "He was here all this time and still did nothing for Aria."
Besides the woman dressed in black stood one of the instructors who held the rank of general. Everyone knew she was going to be the presenter of this event, so she approached the podium with the microphone and then said:
"Welcome graduates: on this solemn occasion of the 16th graduation of the military academy, we mark the beginning of a new stage in your lives as law enforcement agents and specialists. Here, doors open to various careers and professional fields, which you can access through two criteria already well known to you: first preference and selection in case of low demand within a faction, which will be conducted here during this event. Then, at midnight tonight, the results of your applications will be revealed and you will be reassigned to your respective stations within 2 days, so that by Monday you will be at the station of your choice. Therefore, those who brought luggage will have the opportunity to be moved to the academy's rooms before being transferred."
"Within 2 days?" Luna whispered to Lucas.
Pascal silently nodded and answered:
"Sounds reasonable if you think about it," Pascal covered his mouth as he responded, "we'll probably go on military ships."
"They say those ships are so huge they don't fit in the underground," Lucas commented excitedly, "I'd never left the lower district before; the closest I got was the academy."
The instructor continued her speech, though she seemed somewhat upset, as if something was bothering her. So the whispers turned in that direction. The general assumption was that she was displeased with the police's response to Aria's disappearance:
"Thus, you will be able to specialize and contribute to the maintenance of the galaxy and Earth with our values such as ethics, humanity, empathy, and above all, the desire for justice. Congratulations to our graduates, and we dedicate a round of applause to each of you."
Applause sounded, but stopped as soon as she took the microphone again:
"We are aware of the situation involving one of your comrades, precisely Aria Schmidt and her disappearance this morning, so we hope she is well and appears soon to receive her ceremony."
Everyone knew that wasn't part of the prepared speech; that part was completely improvised. They appreciated that she faced the audience along with Professor Pavlov, and also used the moment to reprimand the police Vice Captain. That gave Lucas some calm, seeing that deep down they were still human.
The young people were distracted by the news, so one way they showed their displeasure was by silently not listening to the Vice Captain's speech, even if it meant disrespecting a superior. One of the most subtle complainers was Lucas, who after talking for several minutes and gradually raising his voice, received a shoulder tap from one of his instructors who called his attention. The group interpreted that as a not-so-subtle "quiet" signal and ended their chatter. However, as soon as the tutor continued walking down the hallway, the group covered their mouths so their laughter behind the tutor's back wouldn't be so noticeable.
This wasn't the first nor the last time Lucas received warnings for being chatty—even if it was Luna or Pascal who talked more, Lucas always got called out. Honestly, all the teachers knew the friendly young man with cinnamon skin, sweet purple eyes, big muscles, a strong jawline, and a marked sandalwood scent. Lucas was also a social butterfly who tended to brighten any group, so many liked him for that transparency he showed—he found it hard to hide how he felt. Therefore, his cheeks couldn't help but flush as soon as he was caught. However, his embarrassment faded quickly when he saw the projection in front of him.
A giant holographic screen spelled out the names of the awaited factions letter by letter to which the young people could join.
A robotic voice began the speech:
'You have been trained with the hope that you will choose a faction. These are the following: The Military Police, as an integral part of our security system, has the important mission of maintaining order in urban zones, whether in high population density areas or smaller communities. Their job is to guarantee the safety of our citizens and protect the peace in our streets, bravely confronting any threat that risks our peaceful coexistence.'
Lucas couldn't help but grimace at that description, even if he tried to hide it so as not to be rude to his comrades who would still choose that option despite what happened with Aria. His deep disapproval of that faction was still too obvious. To his eyes, as a resident of one of the most marginalized zones in the underground world—where you need luck to get out—the Military Police was nothing but a pond of corruption and abuses of power. It was true that now the police officers and even his friend Pascal would be his colleagues, but despite being in a special forces academy, the resentment still burned in his chest due to past experiences with police discriminating against ghetto residents because those areas don't cooperate with taxes. In response, ghettos prohibit entry to anyone who isn't family or known. He, Luna, and Pascal were quite familiar with this issue.
Luna, like Lucas, was a resident of the Latin ghettos, particularly the Mexican one, and had also been a victim of police inefficiency from a young age after her mother died. So she also had strong disapproval of the institution—in fact, Luna had taken this scholarship only because she wanted to escape her home.
The robotic voice continued presenting the factions:
'The National Guard is responsible for guarding border areas and low-population zones; unlike the police, they are involved in commercial areas such as underground and external customs checks.'
Lucas did have great esteem for the Civil Guard. In fact, on more than one occasion he had thought about choosing them today, but then rejected the idea because he felt his adventurous heart wouldn't be fulfilled with the idea of going from one confinement to another. Being part of the Civil Guard would mean going from ship to ship, visiting customs zones and preventing illegal trafficking.
The robotic voice kept presenting other factions:
'The Space Forces are one of the most valued entities recently. They are in charge of controlling the Andromedan invasion with advanced technology. They have bases on the Moon, Mars, Saturn, and Kepler. Additionally to the faction selection, the applicant will have to take an additional exam to be assigned to logistics or the combat front.'
He always said, 'I want to go outside,' but what he really meant was not returning to the ghettos, which was what he knew best. But could he get what he wanted? It was well known he had great charisma but little brains, so the Space Forces were not an option for him: if selected, he definitely wouldn't pass the second exam for logistics and would end up at the battlefront, which was a sure sacrifice. The truth was theory and memory had always been difficult for him; in fact, he only stood out because he could fake confidence he didn't have. It hurt him to think he wasn't half as good as Artemisa, Luna, Pascal, Tori, or other classmates. Knowing the selection process, he'd probably end up in his second, third, or fourth choice, since the best always grab the most wanted spots—and those people were Orion Nesheim in the Military Police or Aqua in whatever he chose because he's a know-it-all.
He shook his head and looked forward, making eye contact with the woman in black on the platform. The blue eyes of the woman—clean, around 46 or younger, with soft expression lines on her pale face due to age—clashed with the young man's purple eyes, forming an almost unbreakable visual bond. He felt as if she could perfectly attack his soul right there; more, it made him feel uncomfortable but not intimidated. Despite her unique face, he knew he had seen her before.
More than that: suddenly, the whole scene felt like something he'd seen before. He began to look around without stopping feeling that he wasn't really there, not in his body. Everything was as if he was standing, watching himself and his friends like a slow-motion movie. He looked at his hands for prolonged seconds, not knowing exactly what was happening, but it wasn't new either.
'Confusion crisis.'
That's what he called this event when he can see himself as if he weren't himself, feeling increasingly tired as usual. This effect, which could be a product of his nuclear energy, might also have another cause he hadn't considered. But he had to snap out of it, so when these confusion crises happened, he focused on the following:
One thing I can taste
Two things I can smell
Three things I can hear
Four things I can feel
Five things I can see.
He closed his eyes tightly and began biting his buccal mucosa to feel several things at once: the taste of blood, his teeth biting, the mucosa being bitten, and the pain. To that he added stroking the rosary his grandmother had given him. The things he could hear were his friends' voices, so now he just needed to see five things.
He opened his eyes and scanned distinctive people or objects: first he noticed Artemisa with her naturally pink hair, Aqua with his serious expression, Tori with her heterochromatic eyes, and finally saw a blond man walk past him. Lucas focused on those yellow eyes; they stared at each other for a second that seemed eternal.
His face had very soft lips and a Greek nose, accompanied by snow-white skin and a long neck. The perfume emanating from him was very pleasant, as if it were calling him.
[1] The new Instagram
[2] trans. "Ahhh man, I'm really gonna miss you for the rest of my life"
[3] trans. "For fuck's sake, Pascal you bastard, don't make me cry, little brother"
[4] Matecito" is a diminutive of "Mate", which is a hot herbal drink native to Argentina and Uruguay.
[5] trans. "Ok, bro"
[6] trans. "My Luna, my Little Moon"
[7] trans. "Assholes"
[8] trans. I. Don't. Know
[9] trans. Goddamn fucking shit!