Chapter 15 – Week 7
Space, Military Mother Ship, Training Hall. Monday.
After more than three hours of hand-to-hand combat, Zephyrus Baz Sun was exhausted. Every fiber of his being was trembling with effort. Except for his metal arm, that was. His legs felt like jelly, he couldn't even lift his real arm above a few inches, his face was all sweaty – but not the rest of his body thanks to the thermal-regulation workout suit – and his heart was still beating too fast. Six weeks of the intense military program had not prepared him for this level of workout and combat.
Lying on the floor, trying to recover and catch his breath, Zeph looked around him. most of the recruits were in the same situation as him. Breathless, trembling, on the floor. He blinked twice, turning on his mind computer to see the time and the schedule. He had lost all notion of it during the lesson. Maybe Uriah had punched him too hard in the face. It was an accident, but the deed was done.
"Right," he mumbled. "Unit training."
"What?" Puck said, next to him, also catching his breath, although not as badly as Zeph. He did have several years of military Academy behind him.
"Unit training, next." He breathed a couple more times. "In twenty-five minutes."
"Ugh," Jack said, practically dead somewhere near, also on the floor. "I don't think I can take another intense anything right now." He paused. "I think I'm going to medical for a bit."
Zeph snorted. "You go a lot to medical, Aster."
"Yeah, ever since you got food poisoning," Puck added.
Scarlet, who had managed to finally rub off her temporary tattoo on her face, walked over to them, her hands on her hips. "Stand up guys. You look like little girls who didn't get a doll for their birthday."
Zeph and the others didn't move. How was Scarlet already standing? And making fun of them, too.
"Aye, aye, captain," Torin said, saluting from the floor, panting. "Just give us a minute."
Scarlet rolled her eyes. "Also, I heard there was a cute nurse in medical. Probably why Aster likes to go there often."
"Hey!" Jack said.
Zeph snorted. "Which one? I didn't notice any cute girls, there."
"No, of course, you wouldn't," Uriah replied. "You only have eyes for one person around here."
Scarlet smirked. "That's true, Zeph. I'm pretty sure Aster noticed the redhead nurse, though. But that's just a wild guess." She paused and then offered her hand to Zeph. "Get up Zeph. We have new orders for today's Unit training."
Zeph took her hand – he definitely needed the help to get up – with his real arm. Even though he knew his metal arm was securely attached to his body, he didn't want to have his arm ripped off like Ar-Ramlah's. That was so uncool.
The others around them slowly stood, legs trembling under them.
"What's the plan?" Zephyrus asked. And Scarlet told them. First, they needed to change in their combat suit. The real one, not the workout one. Then, meet up at the Environmental Simulator rooms. As one, they headed to their rooms with only ten minutes to get changed, leaving them enough time to get to the right place at 1700 hours.
Zephyrus, after being called out by Uriah, tried not to be so conspicuous, and not stare at his roommate while he changed. By the way, what luck had been on his side to put them in the same room? If there was a god out there or even the Force, he would be eternally grateful for it. Like, forever.
But from the corner of his eye, he noticed Puck trying not to stare either.
Or maybe he was seeing something that was not there. That could be possible as well.
Zeph was almost ready. All he had to do was put on his combat boots. He sat on the side of his bed, pulled out his boots from under it, slipped his feet in both at the same time, and pressed on the button on the back of the heel. Both boots closed themselves on his feet, not too tight and not too loosely, either. Oh, how he loved these automated boots. If only all the shoes could be like that. Never once in the six weeks he had been there had he had sore feet in these boots. He could wear them all the time. They also absorbed noise and shock, and he could walk around without noise in them. Which was pretty cool.
"You ready, Zeph? You're daydreaming again."
Zeph looked up at Puck who was leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest and a smirk on his face.
"Yeah, coming." Zeph closed his jacket and followed Puck outside. Damn, this combat suit really suited Puck well, and he stared at the boy walking in front of him. They joined the others at the crossing between both dorm wings and followed Scarlet to the environmental simulators. Ever since last week fiasco and Puck and Zeph's punishment – they had to clean Scarlet and Zola's room for the whole week, and if it wasn't pristine, it was their fault – they were all putting Scarlet on a pedestal and making sure her captainship was respected at all time by the others.
Lennox Vesper was waiting for all four Units in the simulator foyer, his hands behind his back. Each unit stood in two rows of four, saluting the Lieutenant, waiting for further orders. Even the most reluctant ones were saluting. It had become an easy habit, and all did it – almost – without complaint.
"Right, now that everyone is here," Lennox started saying, "we can begin. Today, each unit will go in a separate simulator room, and will deal with the environment given to them. It can be from any planet, to the most desolate desert to the busiest city, or the thickest jungle." He paused. "Your job is to survive long enough in hostile territory."
Zeph looked at the others. This was going to be some training all right.
"Captains," the Lieutenant continued, and the four Captains stepped forward. You will all receive a GPS–" he paused abruptly, and looked at the four Captains. "You do know what a GPS is, right?"
Corra raised her hand, and Lennox Vesper nodded to let her speak. "GPS stands for Globe for Progress and Security."
"Thank you, Captain Tamblyn. I'm glad some are following."
"I knew that," Puck whispered to Zeph, who chuckled once.
"Van Dommelen, you got something to add?" Vesper asked Puck.
"No, sir. Sorry, sir." Puck held himself straighter.
"As I was saying," he said, "your GPS will give you your mission, and you will follow the instructions. It can be anything from finding someone trapped in the snow, to follow a map to a Rebel base, or avoid being seen in a city and go from point A to point B." He paused. "These are just random examples, it can be pretty much anything." He looked at the four Captains. "I know some of you may not know how to use the GPS. You're the Captain, so you decide to who you entrust it for the mission. All of you will take a stun gun with you. You may begin."
Each Unit went to a different closed door. Unit two stood in front of the second door.
"So, what happens when we open the door?"
"It's Narnia," Puck said.
"What's that?" Xian asked.
"A child's story," Puck replied. "But long story short, when you open the door, you step into a new world. You guys ready?" Everyone nodded. "Captain, ladies first."
Scarlet rolled her eyes and scanned her hand on the little box outside. After checking her credentials, the door hissed opened and a blasting cold wind whipped their faces.
"The fuck is this?" Torin asked.
Jack took in the deepest breath he could. "It's not cold enough to be ECCARS," he said. "My lungs don't sting."
"KOBOS," Zeph declared, unhappily. He stepped forward, followed by the others, and the door closed behind them with a traumatizing click. He looked behind him at the door. "I guess we're trapped in here until we complete the mission."
"Right, the mission," Scarlet said, taking out the GPS. In her hand in looked like a tennis ball. "How do you turn this thing on?" she asked, frowning. "Damn it's cold out here."
"You're holding it upside down, Cap," Puck said. "See the little square-ish window here? You have to put that upwards."
Scarlet obeyed and as soon as she had turned it, the GPS started talking. "Captain, state your name."
"Captain Scarlet Smith."
"Voice recognized. You are now the sole commander of the GPS. To give the command to someone else, say change command to and the name."
"Okie, dokie," Scarlet said. "What's the mission?"
The GPS cast out a hologram of the mountain they were on. There was a small green arrow, pointing to where they were, and another blue one: their destination. But there was no path on the 3D map leading there."
"Your destination is a small refuge chalet. A man is trapped up there with a broken leg. He called for help, and you need to go save him," the smooth voice in the GPS said. "He doesn't have much time left."
"What, that's it? A rescue mission?" Daveed asked. "I didn't sign up in the Military for some stupid rescue mission. I need action!"
Puck put a hand on his shoulder. "There will be action, trust me."
Torin and Uriah were trembling in the snow and wind, while Jack had actually opened up his collar.
"Press this button to regulate the suit temperature," Puck said, showing them a small white circle in the collar of the suit.
Zeph obeyed, and the suit immediately warmed up. He breathed a sigh of relief. In six weeks, he had forgotten what cold was like.
"Okay, let's do this," Scarlet said. "Zeph, you know KOBOS better than anyone. We're right behind you."
Zephyrus Baz Sun rolled his eyes. This was the last thing he wanted right now. To be back on KOBOS and leading his Unit through the unforgiving Alps in a blizzard. There was a reason he stayed in town all year long.
All in all, it took them an hour and fifteen minutes to get to the refuge. More than once, they sunk in the snow to their waists, having to be pulled out by the others. More than once Jack said they should have taken show shoes. More than once, they fell. It was two steps ahead, one step back. The whole way.
But when they saw the refuge, they breathed out a collective sigh of relief. The last hundred meters were climbed faster than any other before and they simply pushed the door open and Scarlet stepped in.
"Mister? Are you okay?"
Just then, ten heavy guns were pointed at them. "Welcome to the refuge," one of the men holding a gun said.
"Crap," Puck said. "It's an ambush."
"You don't say," Scarlet agreed, putting her hands in the air.
The next second, the whole simulation stopped, and they found themselves in the white room, bared of the snow and mountains and cold.
"Mission failed," Lennox Vesper said, coming inside. "Lesson number one: never enter a strange place like it was your living room. Always secure the place. There are eight of you. You can cover lots of ground at the same time." He paused.
"But the mission said we had to rescue some guy," Scarlet said.
"It was a trap," Lennox replied. "That guy was from the Uprising. He lured you there. In real life, you would have all been captured, interrogated and or tortured for military information, and then considered useless and killed."
"They probably saw us coming," Daveed said. "I mean, we weren't discreet in our approach. So even if we had checked the place and found people there, they would have jumped on us."
"That's correct," Lennox said. "But you had the GPS with you. The S stands for Security. With it, you can scan a place for heat signatures. You would have seen more than one man inside." He sighed. "Anyway. You'll do better next time. You're late for dinner already."
-x-x-x-
Outer Space, Military Mothership, Knox's Office. Wednesday.
Phoebe Vesper had been working on her little project for two days. She would never forget the day, ever since she was a little girl. And it was a tradition, back on ANGELES. On Valentine's day, you reminded people close to you that you loved them. Not just your significant other.
Right after room inspection and just before breakfast, she headed down the hall, knowing the way with her eyes closed if needed and stood just outside her dad's door. She listened for a moment to make sure she wasn't interrupting something important, and if so, she would listen to it for further use. But behind the door, she only heard two familiar voices. She smiled and scanned her hand on the box just outside the office. It recognized her handprint and the door hissed open.
Of course, her dad would have put her credentials in the scanner. That wasn't surprising, but very welcome.
"Hi Dad!" she said, walking in. "Hey, Loser!" she added for her brother
"Phoebe," Knox said, seeing her daughter walk in. "Lennox is your superior."
"Yeah, no," she replied, sitting down on the free chair. "Not in here." She propped up her feet on the desk, crossing her ankles. "Do you know what day it is, dad?"
Knox looked at Phoebe with a raised eyebrow. "Shit. Did I forget our anniversary?"
Phoebe rolled her eyes and snorted. "No. It's the fourteenth of February. Valentine's day?"
"Ooh," Knox said. "Thank goodness, I thought I had forgotten something important."
"Dad, it is important."
"Phoebe, it's the most commercialized holiday in the system," Lennox said.
She laughed. "Yeah, no. How many love letters have you received over the years? Dozens?"
"More like hundreds," he mumbled.
"Exactly my point." Phoebe took off her feet from the desk. "It may be very commercialized, but people love it!" She smirked. "See what I did there?"
Knox and Lenny shared a look and sighed.
"Look, all I'm saying is that people use this holiday to show their love to their loved ones." She opened her jacket and took out three envelopes. "Dad, this one's for you. Lenny, these are for you."
"Two?" Lenny asked. He opened the first one with his name on it. On the card, it said Love You Loser. Xoxo. He glared at Phoebe who was grinning like an idiot at him. "The other card's empty," he said.
"Yeah, I know. You can write whatever you want on it. It's for you-know-who." She wiggled her eyebrows.
"What? Who?" he asked.
"Oh, come on," Knox said, slapping a hand on his son's back, hard. "You're very obvious."
"I am not!" By that time, Lennox's cheeks were bright red, and he knew it. So did Phoebe, and she pinched his cheeks.
"Admit it, Lenny," she said. "You like Clara!"
Lennox shoved himself out of Phoebe's grasp and put the two envelopes in his breast pocket with all the dignity he could muster. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He straightened his uniform jacket, made sure his Lieutenant pin was straight and cleared his voice. "I'm out of here." He saluted to the General and walked out the door without a backward glance.
Knox chuckled. "That was a funny move, Phoebe." He sat on his chair and opened his envelope. On the front of the card, there were two hearts, a larger one and a smaller one. He knew it represented the father and the daughter, because she did the same thing every single year. Always two hearts. And she would always make sure it would get to him on the right day, even if she was on the other side of the system with her Space Pirate friends.
Inside, she had written:
Hi Dad! Love you Dad! Bye, Dad!
Knox Vesper's mustache lifted on one side of his face, and then on the other. He was smiling. "Thanks, sweetheart." He lifted his tablet from the desk and took out an envelope. "I have something for you, too." He handed it to Phoebe, who took it, surprised. "You thought I had forgotten, didn't you?" He chuckled. "I even sent one to your mom. Digitally."
Phoebe's smile was quivering a little. She hadn't had a Valentine's card from her dad in years! She opened the envelope and slid out the card. It was dark blue with silver stars catching the light. In the middle was a pin with the words if you need me I'll be in space written white on black.
"For your collection," Knox said.
Phoebe didn't know what to say. She opened the double card and inside was a short note from him that said:
Even if you were in Solitary last week,
I'm still proud of you, Phoebe.
PS: I love you.
Phoebe put the card on the desk and hugged her father tightly. She hadn't done that either in many years. She was always trying to embarrass him, or laugh around him and whatnot. But this was different. "Thanks, Dad," she said against his shoulder. He hugged her back, and smiled in her hair.
-x-x-x-
Space, MHQ, Training Hall. Friday.
The alarm clock ringing in the dorms had wakened everyone up with a start, as always. Everyone but Itxaropen. She had already been awake, her mind turning over and over the message, she had received the night before. How could they have tracked her down?
It had happened so quickly, she didn't register it right away. She had received a message on her tablet, with a countdown. Fifteen seconds. She had read the message two times before the message self-destructed. At first, she hadn't understood anything of it. Letters and numbers combined that seemed to make no sense at all. She had rolled on her side and grabbed her tablet, typing the message so she wouldn't forget it.
1ƒ ¥0(_) (4N R3A) 7|-|15 M355463 R39£¥ W17|-| 1 )0.
¥0(_) W1££ 637 ƒ(_)R7|-|3R 1N57R(_)(710N5.
Now her tablet was secured in her pocket as she walked down the hall to the training Hall for the morning personal workout. Her roommate, Phoebe, was walking next to her, yawning. Itxa would meet her Unit in the training hall. She brushed her blue hair with her fingers and quickly tied them up in a tight bun at the top of her head.
She joined her Unit, where Clara was hugging Sayler who was awkwardly trying to get away from the hug.
"Oh my God! Happy birthday!" Clara was saying to Sayler.
Itxa rolled her eyes. A birthday was just another day passing. Back on XAGION, she never celebrated that day. Part of it was because she wasn't entirely sure of the date. She jumped lightly on the balls of her feet and rolled her shoulders, warming up for the coming workout.
"Attention everyone," Jynx said, coming into the room with three assistants and clapping her hands. "Pair up. Today you're doing a duo workout."
Itxa sighed. Around her, the people in her Unit already paired. Clara with Evander. Sayler and Solana, Tommy and Jason. She was then stuck with Taryn. She had seen the girl stand her ground in hand-to-hand combat, but she was a bodyguard back on KOBOS, so that was expected. And truth be told, the others didn't really want to pair up with Itxa. With her ominous scars, muscle fiber implants, and her immense strength – due to the low gravity maintained in her hometown – she knew she was kind of scary.
The pairs followed the orders of Nym Jynx. Forty back-to-back punches; forty hand-holding leg raises; ten plank high fives; ten elbow high-fives. Ten sit-ups; and finally, ten back to back sitting twist. Between each exercise, they could rest for only thirty seconds. And since they had been doing daily morning workouts for the past seven weeks, they had to do seven times the whole routine.
By the end of the last routine, Itxa and Taryn were drenched in sweat. Or they would have been if they weren't wearing their workout temperature regulating suits. She could feel beads of sweats rolling down her face and her neck, and going inside her suit only to be dried and forgotten. She was also breathing hard. But not as hard as Taryn.
Forty-five minutes of workout later, the recruits headed to the showers, where they had fifteen minutes before the daily room inspection.
Ixta waited for her turn in the shower while trying to figure out the message on her tablet. By that time, it was burned into her memory. She didn't need to read it anymore. She knew it by heart.
The numbers, letters, and symbols passed before her eyes as she stripped down and let the warm water flow down on her body. She knew she only had three minutes of shower, so she hurried up.
It was frustrating for her. The numbers and letters didn't make sense to her. If only it were only numbers or only letters. But a mix of both, plus some symbols? What on earth did it mean? She turned it in all directions in her mind even during the room inspection. As always, their room was clean, if not minimalistic like it was in the beginning. Phoebe had added a couple of posters, and she had added some color to their room, like she used to do on XAGION.
It was only when she was finishing her last morsel of breakfast that she figured out how to decode the message. Finally! She could read it! After breakfast, she quickly headed to her room before the chores and wrote down her reply in the same fashion.
1 )0.
But where was she to send it back? The original message had been destroyed, she couldn't just press the reply button, now could she?
Just then, another message came in.
¥0(_) |-|4\/3 73N 53(0N)5 70 R39£¥ 70 7|-|15 M355463.
"Crap," she murmured. But now that she had figured out how to read it, it was easier. She was just in time to press the reply button with 1 )0. Two seconds later, the message auto destructed and her response was out.
She didn't know who was sending those messages, but she knew she would know more once she got the 'further instructions' promised in the first message. Maybe being anti-imperialists on XAGION hadn't gotten unnoticed, after all…
-x-x-x
Outer Space (still), MHQ (always), Mess Hall. Saturday.
Murphi Finch had this little half-smile on her lips. After seven weeks in this program, she was finally in the top ten of the scoreboard. She had placed seventh, and she was pretty proud of it. She didn't boast or anything. She deserved it because she had worked hard on it.
On the other side of the Mess Hall, Unit one was celebrating Zeph's birthday. Not that she particularly cared about him. But her own birthday was coming up in a few months. She wondered if she should tell anyone about it, or just let it pass.
Having finished her supper, she surveyed the recruits talking loudly, making any form of conversation impossible, unless you shouted to each other. She was used to noise like that. It reminded her of the club where she used to work. You could barely hear the music.
Her eyes stopped on one of the male recruits in Unit 3. She had never spoken to him, but he looked kind of badass with his new and shiny artificial arm. She herself had an artificial leg. She knew what it was to be part mechanic.
But it was also something the women in the bar were looking after: part woman, part machine. Ugh. As much as she liked the dancing part, there were still weirdos coming over to her. But that was the thing: women came to her. And apart from the other dancers in the club, she had never made a move on anyone.
But damn, this man from Unit 3. She also remembered he was from BRYKE, too. From the desert. But damn was he hot. What was his name again?
Oh right. Tomesha.
The others in his Unit called him Tommy. It didn't suit him. She knew she wanted to make the first move with him, but she wasn't sure this was the right time or place.
Then, out of nowhere, he looked up and their gazes met. She held his gaze, steady, but his wavered and he looked away. His cheeks were suddenly red, and she chuckled lightly.
"What's funny?" Zola asked, looking in the direction Murphi was looking.
"Nothing." She shook her head and focused on the conversation that was going on around the Unit 4 table.
"How do you always manage to be in the top five, Zola?" Corra asked. "I mean, you're not even military."
Zola shrugged. "No idea. How did you manage to be Captain?" she retorted. Murphi knew Zola had been bitter about it, but she had thought it was over. Apparently not.
"Not this again, Zola," Janus said. "Can't you just let it go?"
Zola didn't reply. Her tattoos were becoming floral again, the black slowly receding after the adrenaline rush of the scoreboard.
Murphi rolled her eyes and looked again over her shoulder. He and his Unit were leaving. She had to make her move now, or never. At least not today.
She didn't even excuse herself from her Unit table and left without a word. She quickly caught up with him, as he was talking with the blond guy from INIDES.
"Tomesha?" she called from behind him.
He froze in his steps and turned around. "Yeah?" Then he saw her and paled.
"Uh, I was wondering if we could go to the zero-G chamber or something?" she said, making up a story as she went. She could wing this thing. "I noticed how you had some trouble sometimes with the zero-gravity thing and I thought maybe I could show you a few tricks?"
Tomesha Ar-Ramlah frowned. "Why would you want to help me? We're not even in the same Unit."
"Dude," Vladimir Saints said. "You don't refuse this kind of offer." He turned to Murphi. "He's coming."
Murphi snorted. "Good. Come on, then."
"Are you crazy?" Tomesha hissed to Vlad. "I'm not going."
"Uh, yeah, you are," Vlad replied. He pushed his friend towards Murphi and Tommy followed the girl, looking over his shoulder to his friend.
"Uh, it's supposed to be study time right now," Tommy said.
"I know. We're going to study zero-Gravity." The walked in silence to the zero-gravity chamber, and thank goodness it was empty. People sometimes liked to hang out in here. But on a Saturday night, there was no Zero-G Hockey training. People were exhausted from their week and usually spent the evening in the dorms, or in some quiet place.
"So." Murphi put her hands on her hips. "Show me what you can do."
"Uh…" Tommy said, scratching a spot behind his neck. "Not sure I know what you mean."
"In," she said. "Show me what you can do in Zero-G."
Tommy didn't know what to do. She could see he didn't want to go inside. Clearly, he preferred solid ground to float in mid-air. He sat on the edge, his legs dangling in the chamber. But he didn't move any further.
Murphi fought off the urge to shove him inside, but she decided against it. If he was going to like her, she should be nice to him. So she sat next to him on the edge. "You're from BRYKE, too, huh?" she asked.
Tommy unconsciously scooted away from her. Murphi ignored that for now. "Yeah."
"What district?"
"Paloma."
"The desert, huh. I'm from Zuni."
"So you're a city girl," he said, trying to make conversation.
"Yup." She smiled. But then the silence between them lengthened. And became heavy. Long. Silent. Murphi didn't dare move. This has all been a huge mistake. She should have stuck with girls in the first place.
She looked at Tommy in the corner of her eye. Damn, he was cute.
But to hell with it. This was stupid.
"I'm sorry," she said, standing up. "It was a mistake." And without waiting for a reply or anything, she just walked away, her chin high.
Little did she know that Tommy watched her walk away, confused, and wanting to know more about this person. He just didn't know what to do or say around girls.
Aaaaaaand... I finally kicked myself to write and finish this chapter. I hope the wait was worth it, thanks for your patience! :D
can't wait to read your thoughts and reviews, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter ;)
see you soon!