'You'd only just left,' Ryoko recounted, 'when I heard a knock on the door…'
Giggling mischievously, Ryoko wondered if Cadet Beyda might finally succumb to her infamous charms. Her roommate obviously occupied for the weekend, Cadet Yamanto dreamt she might actually have a chance with the resistant individual. As far as she or anyone else at the academy could tell, Dylan rarely dated and never within his class.
'Kallan sure got that right,' she smirked. Still in her towel, Ryoko hadn't bothered to dress. She planned to meet her date later this evening before starting the entertainment. 'Doesn't matter,' the whisper forcing yet another happy chuckle, 'I'm sure I'll be able to impress.'
Opening the portal, Ryoko got the shock of her life. Cody Harrison stood on the other side of the door. Considered tall, dark and handsome, his face hosted a malicious grin over alcohol glazed eyes. The third year cadet accosted Kallan at the end of exam party a couple of months back bring his winning personality to light. He'd paid a price for choosing the wrong target. Publically humiliated, Cody kept to himself allowing the female cadets a sigh of relief.
'Hey,' he slurred his words, hand reaching out to snatch the cloth, 'I expected something different. Still I'd like to find out what we have here?'
Grabbing the young Japanese woman with his other hand, Ryoko tried to twist out of Cody's grasp. Twice her weight and half again as tall, Cadet Harrison easily fended off her initial attempts. Using his inebriated state against him, she finally managed to push him off balance. Stumbling backwards, Cody caught himself in time. Laying one hand on the door jam, he stopped it from closing. A quick, rough hand tangled in Ryoko's hair.
'You're going to pay for that,' he stated in a sordid tone, accompanied by a sleazy grin. A rough grip on her upper arm pinned Ryoko to Cody's body. 'I thought I might find your roommate alone,' he steadied, a cruel expression entering his gaze, 'but I guess you'll just have to do.'
Struggling, she managed to keep his marauding lips from her face. The towel in danger of slipping, two figures entered her line of sight. The pair casually walked toward Ryoko. She hoped they'd come to find Dylan in the quarters opposite. Unable to call as Cody's lips finally landed over her mouth, she frantically tried to attract their attention.
'Luc,' Tiny noticed the struggling pair, pointing them out to his companion.
'If that were anyone but Cody Harrison,' Luc returned, moving faster down the hall, 'I'd say we interrupted Ryoko's weekend entertainment.'
'He's just the type to try something like this,' Tiny's anger surfaced 'against a woman who got the better of him. I bet he doesn't know Kallan's on leave until Sunday.'
'Just like him to wait until he though her defenceless,' Luc agreed.
'If you want some,' Cody pulled slightly away from his target as the two younger cadets approached aggressively, 'you'll have to wait until I'm finished.'
'You're finished now,' Tiny literally picked him up and deposited Harrison outside the room. 'I think you'd better leave before we file an official report.'
Sneering, Cody threw over his shoulder as he sauntered off, 'you'll be sorry.'
'Coward,' Luc spat in his native tongue, followed by a stream of curses.
'Is Kallan still here?' Tiny asked the frightened woman. Shaking her head in the negative, he suggested, 'is there anyone who can come and stay with you? You shouldn't be alone after something like that. You're roommate won't be back until Sunday.'
'I know,' she stuttered.
They waited until Ryoko arranged several female classmates to join her. Heading across to Dylan's room, they didn't get an answer. Shrugging, Tiny and Luc knew they'd have to wait to torment him and find out the identity of his date.
'I want to check on Ryoko before we go,' Tiny hesitated at the girl's door. 'Have you seen, Dylan,' he used the excuse when the young woman answered.
'He left with Kallan and her boyfriend from Ireland,' Ryoko stated much to the surprise of the people in the room.
'I knew she had to be seeing someone,' Luc crowed.
Tiny, keeping his own counsel, didn't agree. His mind put a completely different slant on the information. Whatever the state of their friendship, he wouldn't question it. Nor would he ask. Simply put, he believed it to be Kallan and Dylan's business.
Listening to rambling tale over half an hour, accompanied by Ryoko's tears enrage Kallan. It sounded just like Leila's story. 'So,' she summarised, 'Cody didn't appreciate the interruption and had you put of report knowing this to be your last chance.'
'Yes,' Ryoko sobbed.
'You need to report this,' Kallan encouraged soothingly, 'both Luc and Tiny will support your account. They're honourable, trustworthy and truthful.'
'I can't,' she wailed, 'my reputation…I'm in this mess because of my reputation. Cody will just make it sound like he interrupted Tiny and Luc. Even if they support my version, it'll still mean a citation and a black mark against their names for not reporting it.'
'Do you trust me?' Kallan asked, an idea forming. Understanding the principle, she knew if Cody slung enough mud, some would stick to Luc and Tiny, ruining their conduct records.
Sad eyes looked towards the most upstanding member of their class. 'Yes.'
'Call Cody, and ask if there's anything you can do to change his mind,' Kallan requested.
'No,' the Japanese girl paled, 'I…I can't. Don't ask me Kallan.'
'I promise,' Kallan placed a supportive hand on her shoulder, 'I'm not going to let anything happen to you. We need to catch Cody in the act. If several reports come from impeccable sources, the charges against him will stick. You have to trust me on this. He can't be allowed to get away with this again.'
'Who,' Ryoko shuddered, 'else…'
'I can't tell you,' sadness entered Kallan's green orbs, 'but there have been others.'
'He's done this before?' Ryoko seemed astounded by the fact. Something within snapped and anger cascaded for a place deep inside. 'She didn't report it either, did she?'
'No,' Kallan could easily read the girls thoughts, 'and her attack didn't end as innocuously as yours. If we don't do something to show up his real character, he'll do this to someone else.'
'Tell me,' swallowing convulsively, she bravely requested, 'what you plan.'
Uncomplicated in approach, Kallan offered her suggestion. Nodding, Ryoko needed to know if they had back up. The name's her roommate offered surprised Cadet Yamato.
'I'll be truthful. I'd like Dylan to be involved. He's got martial arts training,' Kallan stated, realising her words increased Ryoko's fears. 'As far as I know his leave doesn't finish until tomorrow so he's probably enjoying dinner with his parents. I'm thinking Luc and Tiny have a vested interest after Friday night and will agree.'
'Tiny,' Ryoko's almost black eyes widened, she blushed furiously then ducked her head ashamed of the reaction.
'The charge will be dropped,' Kallan stated with determination,' but you need to let me do this my way. I can't do anything about your past. It's up to you to make the changes which won't make you a target. After we've done this, I'm going across to Dylan's room. I need to pull an all-nighter to catch up on what I didn't do over the weekend.'
'But…' Ryoko's expression displayed her anxiety.
'You won't be alone,' Kallan stated softly, 'however I will be.' Sighing, the blond cadet finally made the connections. 'I realise why Tiny's the only man you avoid. He could be lead to feel the same way you do but you need to act differently with him.'
'I don't know if I can,' Ryoko confessed.
'You'll never know,' Kallan encouraged, pointing to her wrist com and dialling his number, 'unless you try. Call Cody while I set this up.'
It didn't quite work out the way Kallan planned. Approaching the door, Cody knew his real quarry had returned to the academy. He'd seen her sitting in a window booth on the plaza. Realising this to be a setup, he decided to use the opportunity for a little revenge. Using Ryoko's suggestion as a cover, he barged straight past the terrified girl. Heading for the bathroom, the only space big enough to hide Kallan, he charged in.
Aware of the major loop holes in her plan, Cadet James prepared for the eventuality. When the attack came, she half expected it. Allowing Cody to drag her into the main room by her hair, she shouted at Ryoko to get help. His reactions quicker than expected, he forced her into a headlock. Using the same techniques which bested him at the party wouldn't work on a sober and deadly opponent. Managing to keep her trachea clear of his tight grip, she considered her dwindling options. Waiting for the right moment, Kallan used physics to position her body. Mechanics supplied the momentum to flip him over the nearest bed. Only Cody refused to be taken so easily. He kept his hold, taking Kallan with him.
Kallan found herself winded under his enormous body weight. Managing to retain his grip, he'd seized the opportunity to increase his hold, pulling her further into his body. Searching wildly with her eyes, she remembered the heavy Celtic cross her mother insisted she take to keep her safe. Fingers reached into the draw beside her bed. When Kallan finally managed to extract the object, she smashed it down on Cody's head. One section came away covered in blood as she rolled away from the slack hold, panting for breath.
Luc and Tiny arrived at the same moment. Taking in the scene, Luc pulled his friend further from the moaning lump on the floor. He felt compelled to call this in. Tiny, holding a shaking, sobbing Ryoko, attempted to comfort the girl, leaving Kallan to Luc.
Security turned up first, followed quickly by medical who decided both participants needed a visit to the infirmary. Statements were recorded, evidence collected and the truth easily determined. Near midnight, Commander Sellheim walked away from Cadets James and Yamato's quarters, disappointed. He'd be forced to place an official statement in Kallan's record, although he'd try to place her actions in a good light. She'd attempted to protect her roommate choosing a method inconsistent with her usually good judgement.
'If only Cadet Harrison,' he chastised Cadet James, sitting on the examination table waitng for Dr Deegan, 'hadn't been hurt so badly, we may have been able to deal with this unofficially.'
Infuriated, Kallan croaked, 'you mean he would have gotten away with it again.'
That turned the Commanders full wrath on her. Learning of the previous assault, Sellheim demanded to know the details. 'It's common knowledge?' he demanded when she'd finished.
'No,' Kallan attempted, her voice beginning to fail and her head throbbing where Cody had pulled out a patch of scalp.
'You'll need to question her later,' John Deegan ordered, 'I should be keeping this Cadet in the infirmary overnight to ensure her injuries don't cause permanent damage.'
'You're not?' Sellheim spluttered.
'No,' John's gaze scrutinised the Commander.
Shaking his head, Tobias understood only too well. 'Have you called for someone to collect Cadet James?'
'Kallan,' Dylan, followed by his father, burst into the room. Both stopped several paces away, identical expressions on their concerned faces.
'I believe,' John commented to no one in particular, 'Mrs Beyda is a clinical psychologist on the IRO's payroll and better able to cope with any repercussion from this ordeal. Spending a night away from the academy, in the company of Commander Beyda family, might be the best option, given the circumstances. The rest of the students will be talking about this in the morning. If you'd any thoughts of sweeping it under the carpet…'
'You've tied my hands,' Sellheim growled, leaving sick bay. His gruff exterior, along with this new information, gave him more options. He just might be able to save Cadet James impeccable record and add a commendation.
'Look after her,' John offered the two men, 'she's been through enough tonight.'
'Let's go,' Marc Beyda indicated they should follow him in a gruff tone reminiscent of his father.
'I'd rather stay here, Sir,' Kallan managed, looking towards Dylan for support.
He didn't hesitate. Coming to sit beside his friend, an arm slung around her shoulders, Dylan pulled her head down. Laying a soft kiss on the crown of her head, he let Kallan express the emotions she'd otherwise keep locked deep inside. Understanding, Marc Beyda left them to work it out. This incident, coming so closely on the heels of Hawaii might just prove the catalyst his wife and mother sought.
'Tell me about it,' Dylan requested gently. They'd returned to his room, traversing the corridors of the academy with Kallan allowing the intimate contact.
'I should be on report,' Kallan finally sobbed at the end of her story, wrapped in Dylan's arms.
'Harrison attacked you,' he defended, confused at her melancholy, 'and not for the first time. I'd say your actions were justified.'
'I still hurt another person badly enough to put him in the infirmary,' she couldn't bring herself to terms with the violence needed to stop the incensed cadet.
'Kallan,' Dylan forced her to look deeply into his eyes, 'you should be spending the night in the hospital too. Neither of you escaped unscathed. Maybe he'll think twice, next time,' he offered, unsure how to help.
'Dylan,' it took all her courage to admit, 'maybe your right, about not caring what everyone else thinks. I let my fears stop me from calling the only person I wanted by my side tonight. It could have ended in disaster.'
'After this,' Dylan managed to keep his smile to himself, 'when the entire academy knows what's occurred, no one's going to question us spending more time together. Let's just use it to openly display a closer friendship.'
'I'll save a seat next to me at breakfast tomorrow,' finally her trademark humour shone through.
'You'd better,' he teased, 'because if you don't I'll just ask whoever is next to you to move.'
