Chapter One: New Blood
Leone
Levi stood at the edge of Leone's bustling town square, arms folded across his chest as he watched life move around him.
The morning rush was already well underway. Merchants called out prices from crowded stalls while horse-drawn carts rattled over the stone streets. Somewhere beyond the square, a steam engine released a distant whistle as it prepared to depart the station. Telephone wires stretched between buildings, cutting thin black lines across the morning sky. A motorcycle sputtered past a carriage before disappearing around a corner, earning an irritated shout from its driver.
The chatter of merchants, the clatter of carts, the laughter of children—it all felt distant as Levi's thoughts drifted inward.
From a boy who had known nothing but hunger and loss to captain of the local law division... it hadn't been an easy road.
He had never imagined himself becoming a lawman.
Levi had been young when a mining collapse claimed both of his parents. Afterward, survival became the only thing that mattered. He scraped together whatever food and money he could find, doing anything he could to keep himself and his younger sister alive.
Back then, there hadn't been much room for dreams.
Just another meal.
Another night with a roof over their heads.
Another morning where the two of them woke up together.
Yet even when Levi had almost nothing, he found himself giving some of it away. He helped neighbors when he could, shared food when someone else was hungrier, and stepped between trouble and those who couldn't defend themselves.
He hadn't thought of it as heroism.
It was simply what you did.
That instinct changed his life the day of the robbery.
Levi had still been just a boy. No training. No badge. No weapon.
When a thief threatened the general store, Levi could have run like everyone else.
Instead, he acted.
Quick thinking and sheer grit were enough to turn the tide, though looking back on it now, Levi wasn't entirely sure whether he'd been brave or simply too stupid to understand how easily he could have died.
Either way, someone had noticed.
Captain Stone, Leone's protector at the time, saw more than a reckless orphan looking for trouble. He saw potential.
Stone ensured Levi's younger sister was sent safely to relatives in the capital, somewhere she could have opportunities Levi couldn't give her. Then he took Levi under his own wing.
He taught him how to fight.
How to shoot.
How to command.
More importantly, Stone taught him that enforcing the law and delivering justice were not always the same thing.
A lawman needed to know the difference.
Years passed.
Stone was gone now.
But Levi carried his mantle.
Captain of Leone's law division. Leader of a skilled team. Trusted protector of the town.
His hand drifted unconsciously toward the badge pinned to his chest.
It wasn't merely a symbol of his authority. Like every Star Badge, there was something alive within it—a being of Order bound to its bearer, granting power in exchange for the bond they shared.
But to Levi, the badge represented something simpler.
A promise.
The same promise Stone had once made to Leone.
Protect the people who couldn't protect themselves.
And today, that promise came with a new responsibility.
A fresh lieutenant was arriving from the capital.
"Captain Levi? Excuse me, Captain?"
The voice pulled him from his thoughts.
Levi turned.
A young woman was making her way across the square toward him. Her uniform was crisp enough that Levi suspected it hadn't yet survived a real day in the field. The Star Badge on her chest caught the morning sunlight as she approached, briefly flashing against the polished fabric.
She stopped in front of him.
Straight back. Shoulders squared. Eyes forward.
Definitely from the capital.
"Lieutenant Lily, I take it?" Levi asked, extending his hand.
She gripped it firmly.
"Yes, sir. It's a pleasure to be here."
Levi studied her for a moment.
Determination.
Fire.
That familiar spark behind the eyes of someone eager to prove themselves.
He recognized it.
Once upon a time, he'd seen the same thing every time he looked in a mirror.
Maybe he still did.
Levi gave a small nod.
"Good. Let's get started. Command center's this way."
Local Station
Leone's law division headquarters stood just off the town square, a sturdy stone building that had watched over the town for generations. Newer additions had slowly crept into its aging architecture—electric lights, wired telephones, and a radio room tucked behind walls built long before anyone had imagined such things.
Lily followed Levi through the entrance and into the main corridor.
Officers moved between rooms carrying reports and case files. Somewhere deeper inside the station, a telephone rang.
As they walked, Lily noticed Levi slow slightly.
A plaque had been set into the stone wall.
To the Stone Wall That Protected Us—May He Live On in Our Hearts.
Levi's eyes lingered on it.
Only for a moment.
Then he continued walking.
"I've arranged a workspace for you," he said.
He opened the door to a modest office.
It wasn't much. A wooden desk sat beneath a window overlooking part of the square. A telephone occupied one corner beside a stack of blank reports, while a filing cabinet stood against the opposite wall.
"From today on, this space is yours."
Lily stepped inside, surveying the room.
"Orientation begins tomorrow morning. Seven sharp."
"Understood."
Levi leaned against the doorway.
"One other thing."
Lily turned toward him.
"We've only got one set of quarters for command staff, so you'll be rooming with me until we make other arrangements."
For the first time since arriving, Lily's professional expression cracked.
Slightly.
"If you have any grievances," Levi continued, completely straight-faced, "file them in the complaint box."
He gestured toward the corner.
Lily followed his hand.
A battered trash can sat beneath a crooked handwritten sign.
COMPLAINT BOX
She stared at it.
Then at Levi.
One eyebrow slowly rose.
Levi managed to hold his expression for another second before chuckling.
"Come on, Lieutenant. Lighten up. If you can't find some humor in this job, you won't last long."
Lily looked back at the trash can.
Then at her new captain.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
"I'll keep that in mind, sir."
"Good."
Levi pushed away from the doorway.
"Because around here, we get plenty of complaints."