814 - Garach Nidana is born.
826 - Cadet Garach Jedao Shkan causes the suicide of Cadet Vestenya Ruo at Shuos Academy.
831 - Shuos Jedao is assigned to Heptarch Shuos Khiaz’s office as infantry.
832 - Shuos Jedao is seconded to Kel army as a senior lieutenant.
839 - “Extracurricular Activities” takes place. Shuos Jedao is promoted to tactical group commander.
841 - Shuos Jedao is promoted to brigadier general and is raped by Heptarch Shuos Khiaz, then suborned by Heptarch Nirai Kujen.
850 - Shuos Jedao is promoted to general.
852 - Battle of Candle Arc.
853 - The massacre at Hellspin Fortress.
854 - General Shuos Jedao is executed and enters the black cradle.
907 - General Kel Dessenet uses Wildfire over the Aerie to destroy an invading swarm. The formation is put on the proscribed list by Kel Command.
916 - Hafn invasion.
944 - Liozh revolt.
ca. 950 - Eshpatan (Shuos Jedao’s homeworld) is lost to the Hafn in a border flare-up.
Hexarchate
952 - The heptarchate is officially disbanded and reformed as the hexarchate.
970 - Lieutenant General Kel Vrae Tala loses the Fire Grasses campaign.
981 - Hexarch Nirai Kujen takes Shuos Jedao and three servitors to the base on Tefos. Jedao leaves with Kujen; the servitors, including Hemiola, remain to maintain the base.
1081 - Hexarch Nirai Kujen checks in at Tefos Base, again accompanied by Shuos Jedao.
1155 - Alaikko Inesser (later Kel Inesser) is born.
1175 - The Fortress of Spinshot Coins has its defenses upgraded.
1179 - Neshte Khiruev (later Kel Khiruev) is born.
1181 - Hexarch Nirai Kujen again checks in at Tefos Base, accompanied by Shuos Jedao.
1184 - Vauhan Mikodez (later Shuos Mikodez) is born.
1185 - Vauhan Istradez is born.
1187 - Nirai Mahar is born.
1193 - Muyyed (later Kel Muyyed) is born.
1196 - Eurikhos Dhanneth (later Kel Dhanneth) is born.
1202 - Rhezny Miuzan (later Kel Miuzan) and Rhezny Ganazan (later Kel Ganazan) are born. Nirai Kujen is anchored to Nirai Mahar.
1207 - Kel Inesser is promoted to major general.
1208 - Rhezny Brezan (later Kel Brezan) is born.
1209 - Shuos Mikodez becomes hexarch with Shuos Zehun’s support.
1211 - Hexarch Shuos Mikodez orders the assassination of two cadets at a Shuos Academy Tertiary.
1221 - Nirai Faian ascends to false hexarch.
1222 - Ajewen Dzera marries Ajewen Derow; he takes her name per Mwennin custom.
1225 - Ajewen Cheris (later Kel Cheris) is born.
1236 - Kel Khiruev is promoted to general.
1246 - Kel Brezan is promoted to lieutenant colonel.
1251 - Ninefox Gambit takes place.
1252 - Raven Stratagem takes place.
1261 - Revenant Gun takes place.
1263 - “Glass Cannon” takes place.
The Chameleon’s Gloves
RHEHAN HATED MUSEUMS, but their partner Liyeusse had done unmentionable things to the ship’s stardrive the last time the two of them had fled the authorities, and the repairs had drained their savings. Which was why Rhehan was on a station too close to the more civilized regions of the dustways, flirting with a tall, pale woman decked in jewels while they feigned interest in pre-Devolutionist art.
In spite of themself, Rhehan was impressed by colonists who had carved pictures into the soles of worn-out space boots: so useless that it had to be art, not that they planned to say that to the woman.
“—wonderful evocation of the Festival of the Vines using that repeated motif,” the woman was saying. She brushed a long curl of hair out of her face and toyed with one of her dangling earrings as she looked sideways at Rhehan.
“I was just thinking that myself,” Rhehan lied. The Festival of the Vines, with its accompanying cheerful inebriation and sex, would be less agonizing than having to pretend to care about the aesthetics of this piece. Too bad Rhehan and Liyeusse planned to disappear in the next couple of hours. The woman was pretty enough, despite her obsession with circuitscapes. Rhehan was of the opinion that if you wanted to look at a circuit, nothing beat the real thing.
A tinny voice said in Rhehan’s ear, “Are you on location yet?”
Rhehan faked a cough and subvocalized over the link to Liyeusse. “Been in position for the last half-hour. You sure you didn’t screw up the prep?”
She snorted disdainfully. “Just hurry it—”
At last the alarms clanged. The jeweled woman jumped, her astonishing blue eyes going wide. Rhehan put out a steadying arm and, in the process, relieved her of a jade ring, slipping it in their pocket. Not high-value stuff, but no one with sense wore expensive items as removables. They weren’t wearing gloves on this outing—had avoided wearing gloves since their exile—but the persistent awareness of their naked hands never faded. At least, small consolation, the added sensation made legerdemain easier, even if they had to endure the distastefulness of skin touching skin.
A loud, staticky voice came over the public address system. “All patrons, please proceed to the nearest exit. There is no need for alarm”—exactly the last thing you wanted to say if you didn’t want people to panic, or gossip for that matter—“but due to an incident, the museum needs to close for maintenance.”
The woman was saying, with charming anxiety, “We’d better do as they say. I wonder what it is.”
Come on, Rhehan thought, what’s the delay? Had they messed up preparing the explosives?
They had turned to smile and pat the woman’s hand reassuringly when the first explosives went off at the end of the hall. Fire flowered, flashed; a boom reverberated through the halls, with an additional hiss of sparks when a security screen went down. Two stands toppled, spilling a ransom’s worth of iridescent black quantum-pearl strands inscribed with algorithmic paeans. The sudden chemical reek of the smoke made Rhehan cough; you’d think they’d be used to it by now. Several startled bystanders shrieked and bolted toward the exit.
The woman leapt back and behind a decorative pillar with commendable reflexes. “Over here,” she called out to Rhehan, as if she could rescue them. Rhehan feigned befuddlement although they could easily lip-read what she was saying—they could barely hear her past the ringing in their ears—and sidestepped out of her reach, just in case.
A second blast went off, farther down the hall. A thud suggested that something out of sight had fallen down. Rhehan thought snidely that some of the statues they had seen earlier would be improved by a few creative cracks anyway. The sprinklers finally kicked in, and a torrent of water rained down from above, drenching them.
Rhehan left the woman to fend for herself. “Where are you going?” she shouted after Rhehan, loudly enough to be heard despite the damage to their hearing, as they sprinted toward the second explosion.
“I have to save the painting!” Rhehan said over their shoulder.
To Rhehan’s dismay, the woman pivoted on her heel and followed. Rhehan turned their head to lip-read their words, almost crashing into a corner in the process. “You shame me,” she said as she ran after them. “Your dedication to the arts is greater than mine.”