Chapter 6: The Invitation

Triumph Day was one of the Federation's great holidays.

The war between humanity and the swarm had dragged on for generations. Early on, humanity held the losing side—more defeats than victories—and the long war hung over people's hearts like a shroud. When loss and death become ordinary, people go numb; even rivers of blood run cold. So people needed the joy of victory to wash the bitterness away.

In Stellar Calendar 1716, the seventh Grand Marshal slew the Swarm Queen at the cost of a grievous injury. To steady the public, the high command concealed the Marshal's condition and trumpeted the victory from every channel.

August 11 was thereby declared Triumph Day. Within Federation territory, every planet holds its own celebrations, each in its own style.

In later years humanity's advantage in the war only grew. The swarm was pushed back and contained at the border planets; some people in the central systems might live their whole lives without ever seeing a real swarm-creature.

The holiday has carried on to this day. It has changed with the times, but its weight in the Federation's heart has never faded.

The Federal Military Academy starts its half-month break three days early. Aside from a few grind-hounds who stay on campus, marinating in simulation pods and the library, most students go home or set off traveling in groups.

Shi Wei's thoughts drifted with those three syllables. When had he last celebrated this holiday? Years ago, he thought. At some point time had stopped meaning much to him—and time was precisely the thing he had least of now. Fate has a sense of humor. Hilarious.

The people who last spent the holiday with him—how many of them were still alive...

And the time before that, he'd spent it with Shen Li.

His gaze landed on Shen Li's face and found the man looking back at him, a faint expectation in his eyes.

His gaze slid sideways. The other two were looking at him too. These three... He blinked, and it clicked: they usually spent the holiday together, and now they were asking whether he wanted in.

"I—"

He drew out the syllable, letting his sly gaze sweep across all three faces.

"don't have any plans."

"Spit it out. What are you three scheming?"

The three conspirators exchanged a look, caught out.

Qiu He curled his lip and complained on cue, "You two are dead weight, dragging me into this."

Xu Yan's eyes went wide, a finger pointing at his own nose. "Me? I think this is a Boss Shen problem."

Shen Li, who could hide nothing in front of Shi Wei, threw both hands up, having apparently forgotten entirely that he was the one who'd proposed doing this delicately.

"It's not like we're planning a crime. What's with all the secrecy?"

Qiu He's mouth twitched. If this man ever did plan a crime, he'd never manage to hide it either. Fine then—don't blame a brother for selling you out. He opened his wrist terminal and sent Shi Wei a link.

"So. Boss Shen would like to invite you to planet FGC197 for a romantic getaway for two."

"Hey!"

Red-faced, Shen Li went after Qiu He while Xu Yan laughed himself silly. Watching the three of them, Shi Wei started laughing too.

He tapped the link: a tourism promo. Boundless blue sea; thin spray breaking on the sand; then the footage followed the sound of waves into night, and fireworks burst open in the sky.

Summer, sea, fireworks. A proper vacation spot. When the couples' events came up at the end, his smile deepened.

"A getaway for two—so why's it come with two third wheels?"

It was only a joke. He hadn't expected someone to jump in with the answer.

"Groups of four get a discount."

Shen Li, mid-ear-pull on Qiu He, went dark in the face again and switched targets to Xu Yan. The escaped Qiu He fanned the flames from the sideline, Xu Yan ran and cursed Qiu He for kicking a man while he was down, then simply gave up fleeing and attacked Qiu He outright, and the three dissolved into a scrum.

Three of them, and every last one a liability.

So vivid, all of it.

Shi Wei sighed the words inwardly, and without meaning to, drifted back into the holidays he'd once spent with Shen Li.

At five, they went to see the parade on the capital planet—the first time. What the parade looked like he could no longer remember; only the ribbons streaming through the air and the roaring crowds. The onlookers swept them apart, and little Shen Li scrambled up a stone statue by the road to look around until a patrolling peace officer hauled him down. Dangling in the air, the child flailed like a furious cat—and, of course, ended up hanging off Shi Wei, exactly as he'd wanted.

The second time, they went to the hot springs. Shen Li slipped in the pool, and the child who couldn't swim thrashed around for a good while before discovering that all he had to do was stand up. Shi Wei laughed at him and got a faceful of splashed water for it. The two of them were duly educated by staff for horseplay in the spring area.

The third time, they were caught in a rainstorm—two kids racing and whooping through the downpour, then laid up together with high fevers for a week. Delirious, they clutched each other's hands and blamed each other, and neither would let go.

The fourth time, Shen Li insisted on catching fireflies. They got lost in the forest, caught nothing, and were chased and bitten half the night by mosquitoes. Disheveled, they fell asleep against a tree, and when they were found they got a scolding besides.

The fifth time, Shi Wei announced he'd teach Shen Li to ski. Shen Li waddled along behind him in an awkward snowplow, tripped his left foot over his right, and dragged them both into a snowdrift, where they lay laughing at each other covered in snow.

The sixth time, they planned a scavenging run to a remote system, but after an all-night gaming session they overslept and missed the ship's departure. The two of them stared at each other in the spaceport, then went home and gamed for several more days.

The seventh time, they bundled up like rice dumplings to see the aurora and shivered anyway, huddling in one tent and slurping from the same bowl of instant noodles. The rising steam seemed to blur the aurora itself. What he remembered with total clarity was the tip of the other boy's frost-reddened nose.

The eighth time, they climbed a mountain. Not a famous one—the mountain didn't even have a name. From the summit they shouted into the distance and watched the sun come up. That boy's unbridled grin and the light in his eyes outshone the dawn. He thought—he thought he'd found something worth guarding for the rest of his life.

He had chewed over these memories again and again, as if in them the two of them had lived together for ten thousand years.

In fact, the ninth time had already been planned—where they'd go. But he broke the promise.

"Suddenly I wouldn't mind going to smell the sea air."

Shen Li caught the undertone instantly.

"So that's a yes?"

Shi Wei feigned deliberation.

"Or maybe I'll think about it a little longer?"

Shen Li at once pressed close in silent reproach, chin hooked over his shoulder, nuzzling him like an enormous dog.

"You can't do that. Or at least, you shouldn't."

Qiu He and Xu Yan traded a look and snickered behind their backs.

Oh, right—Shi Wei remembered. The ninth time, the promise had been to go see the sea.