Chapter III
"Here, with the Strana Mechty wolf, we see what may be the epitome of a warrior, cunning matched with instinct and stealth, joined with a final, terrifying attack. For this mighty creature, I name you. You are Clan Wolf."
~Nicholas Kerensky, 2810
Tranquil, Kerensky Cluster,
July 15, 3048
It was more than 2 months after Abby, Darien, and Hector injured their training officer, but the uproar was far from over. The incident made them instant celebrities. Fellow cadets threw envy and dissent at them. Trainers and drill instructors singled out on them at every opportunity, harassing and harangueing them, challenging them to repeat their stunt against much harder obstacles. Real mechwarriors and Elementals picked a fight with them, challenging them in a Circle of Equals for no apparent reasons. And Wolf high commanders put them under their microscopes, watching them closely, wondering if their stunt was a product of tactical ingenuity or just a one-hit wonder.
Despite the surge in physical and mental abuse, Darien and Hector enjoyed the attention. They had to face much harsher conditions than their sibkins, but it prepared them better than anybody in their sibko. Hector was the one that benefited most from the physical abuse. All the fights against seasoned warriors – some of them Elementals – he had to do everyday bulked up his body. Standing 6'5" with nothing but muscles covering his bones, he could pass as a small Elemental. Darien didn't improve as much but there was significant increase of muscles on his body.
Abby, on the contrary, didn't care much about everything. The training incident opened her eyes about her future and her dream to become one of the greatest mechwarriors Wolf had ever seen. She knew that, out of dozens of members of a sibko, only 1 or 2 would be accepted into warrior's caste. Others would die or be sent to lower castes. That meant one day she would have to fight Darien or Hector for the prestigious position, because such was the way of the Clan.
Hector would pose no problem. He was all brawn and no brain. Darien was different. He saw things normal people didn't. He was not aggressive like Hector or even herself, but he could always sneak his way out of trouble. He could make a very dangerous obstacle in her quest to become a Wolf legend. The more Abby thought about it, the more she felt insecure.
"How did you see it, Darien?" Abby couldn't suppress her anxiety anymore as she took a break from firearm training with Darien and Hector. "How could you find a way to beat the training officer? We all have the same training, the same trainer, the same things throughout our lives. Why did you see it and I did not?"
Darien gave her a quizzical look. "Why are you still thinking about it, Abby?"
"I just want to know why," Abby answered, trying hard to conceal her true feelings. "I mean, how many of us were in the field? Twenty? Thirty? That stravag trainer beat us all day, and nobody could beat him. Not a damn soul! Then suddenly you pulled a trick from your sleeve and bang… the trainer was gone."
"We, Abby, we did it together," Hector snapped. "Give credit to yourself. Darien could not do it alone. You could not do it alone. And you know damn well I could not do it alone. But together, we are unstoppable even by the trainer. We make the best team in the sibko. Maybe we make the best team in the history of sibko. So do not try to account whose credit it should go to. It was a team effort, and you should just be glad you are in the right team."
"I am not trying to account credits here," Abby snorted, slightly annoyed at Hector's accusation. "I am trying to analyze the situation. Do you not want to know what really took place? Do you not want to know how to do it yourself? Instead of relying on anybody, you should have an ambition that you can rely on yourself to do anything."
"Hector is right, Abby," Darien tuned in. "We are different, and each of us contributes something that makes us a great team. You are the most skillful one. Hector is the strongest one. And I…" he stopped for a while, trying to find the right word without upsetting Abby more. "I am the meticulous one. I cannot ask to be as skillful as you or as strong as Hector. The same with you, you cannot ask to be as meticulous as me or as strong as Hector, because we are different. But you can use my meticulousness and Hector's muscle for the benefit of us."
Abby grabbed Dariens' shirt and pulled it toward her, forcing him to look into her eyes. "We are from the same gene pool. We are not that different. I should have what you have, Darien. Hector should have what you have. It is imprinted at the back of our minds. Somehow you found a way to use it, and it is obvious you do not want to share it with us. I think you want to take everything for yourself."
"Abby, look at us!" Darien slapped Abby's hands, freeing himself from Abby's grip. "Look at Hector! His biceps are as big as your head! Are you saying you can be as big as him because you are from the same gene pool with him? And take a close look at me! Which way do you think that we are not that much different? We do not share the same skin color, we do not share the same hair color, we do not even share the same eye color. Why can you not accept what you are and benefit from other's assets?"
"Yeah, what is with this sudden outburst of yours, Abby?" Hector joined the argument. "We are the perfect team! We have strength, skill, and insight. Why are you trying to take everything for yourself?"
Getting pinned from two directions mellowed Abby out. She backed off, letting the situation to taper off. But inside she was far from finished. "All I asked was how you did it, Darien," she muttered angrily. "Why is it so hard for you to tell me? Are you keeping a secret from us?"
"I do not know how I did it, Abby," Darien puffed an exasperated sigh. "I just saw a hole in the trainer's defense. Why did I see it and you did not? The same with the fact why Hector became a muscle mountain from the constant harassment while you and I did not. Why does he benefit so much from it while we are miserable because of it? I do not know. Each of us has different talents, Abby. Just accept it and let it go."
"So that is it, then? We just have to rely on each other?"
"We are the Wolves, Abby," Hector nodded enthusiastically. "Wolves hunt in packs. We are not like a Jaguar or a Falcon who relies on individual prowess. That is why we achieved great things the Smoke Jaguars or the Jade Falcons could only dream of. We are the first among the Clans. And when we drive toward Terra, we will be ilClan. That is the way of our Clan."
Abby could not argue with that, and she did not want to challenge her friend's standpoint on Wolf's doctrine of warfare. But although Wolf Clan relied heavily on teamwork, there would be time when the Wolf Clan demanded a proof that she was the best among her sib-mates. She had been close to Darien and Hector since childhood, but when the day came, she would have to see them as threats. It aggravated her to no end, thinking that the closest individuals to her posed the greatest threat for her quest. But it was the way of the Clan.
Wolves might hunt in packs, but Abby was the Lone Wolf. And as the Lone Wolf, Abby hunted alone.
"I am the Lone Wolf," Abby whispered, just as the horn blared, signaling the cadets to come back to the training ground. "I am the best of my pack. I am the only one. And I rely on nobody."