Finally another chapter. This one took longer because of my new job. If you're curious about that I'll put that at the end of the chapter. In the mean time, enjoy the story.
Part I
The Lost Child
November 13, 2538 (Military Calendar) / Onyx, Zeta Doradus system
The inaudible chatter of the mess hall was the same over a year later as it was Ruby's first day at Camp Currahee.
Ruby tucked in a stray strand of chin length hair back into her tight bun, as per UNSC regulations, and continued munching on her signature strawberries, watching the various groups of children talk about their training.
Earlier this morning, after a particularly strenuous PT session, Ambrose had told them they would be undergoing their first firearms training: they would be given weapons and told to shoot at targets with varying degrees of difficulty: close and far, still and moving, exposed and camouflaged, those sort of things.
Ruby was only a little nervous, all things considered. She had been doing well in her studies, and was coming to enjoy the physical exercises, especially the obstacle courses. Now, at the ripe old age of six, their training would start to become more specialized in military subjects. It was new, and like all new things to Ruby, warranted a little bit of anxiety leading up to the change.
Ruby looked up from her food to see Kat slide into the seat opposite hers. Their drill instructors, in their, as they put it, infinite mercy, had allowed the candidates one chance to grow out their hair if they wanted. Ruby jumped at the opportunity, even if they were required to wear it in a tight bun all the time, it meant she didn't have to worry about her weird shaped head, no matter how many times Kat had said it wasn't.
In regards to Kat, she, ever the tomboy, had chosen to keep it short, still sporting the buzzcut she had worn since the day they arrived here over a year ago. Which had definitely earned her a good amount of teasing from the other kids, but Ruby knew she had thicker skin than to let that bother her.
"Hey, kitty Kat." Ruby said, leaning her head to one side as a greeting.
"Call me kitty again and I might just have to start taking shits in your bed." Kat said, looking Ruby straight in the eye. Ruby knew she would never do something like that, not only because the DIs would kill her if she did, but also because she had been making those 'threats' for months and nothing ever came of it.
"You hear about the firearms training today?" Ruby asked, deciding which of her strawberries she would eat next.
"Yeah, and I'm not looking forward to it." Kat was likewise fiddling with her food, not looking at Ruby as she spoke.
"Why not?" Ruby asked.
"Because I know I'll have terrible aim. I don't know why, but I do."
"Don't be too sure, I'm sure you'll do just fine. Besides, it's our first day shooting, you can only get better from here." They both ate in silence for a few minutes while the rest of the company acted in their usual childlike ways. Which is technically normal for them, I guess. They are all under the age of ten.
A low quality ringing sound introduced itself to their ears over the public address system. Letting all the Spartans know that their meals were over, whether they were finished or not. Feeling satisfied herself, Ruby threw her garbage away with a smile on her face, all nerves replaced by excitement at the idea of learning to shoot.
All Spartan candidates, now a total of 302 children, made their way to a part of Camp Currahee which none had entered before: the shooting range. It was a large, walled region of the camp. Designed, positioned, and oriented relative to the rest of the base in order to keep any stray bullets from hitting anywhere they shouldn't, while also incorporating any and all weather conditions that might be present during a real mission by simply being exposed to the elements due to a lack of a ceiling.
A representative from the armory had rode in on a track that connected it to the shooting range. With him, he brought several racks full of high tech weaponry; ranging from the smallest of magnums to the largest of sniper rifles.
Something inside Ruby's head clicked. Her vision narrowed, focused solely on the rack filled to the brim with beautiful weaponry. Her heartbeat seemed to quicken, and her hands gleamed with sweat, but Ruby didn't care. She was completely engrossed on the most amazing site Ruby had ever seen in her life.
"Those are… Guns!" Ruby thought she had kept that in her head, but when Kat looked at her with a sideways glance, she realized she spoken out loud.
"You've seen firearms before, Ruby. Remember yesterday's lecture by Deep Winter? He went over humanity's entire history of guns." Kat said, poking Ruby in the forehead, and subsequently catching her when she saw Ruby was about to fall over.
"Yeah, that was cool and all, but that wasn't in person, and I wasn't about to shoot them." Ruby had a breathy tone of voice, one that suggested she wouldn't go back to normal anytime soon unless she fired one, or all, of those weapons.
Ruby subtly bounced on her feet as Ambrose explained again basic firearm safety. Stuff about trigger discipline, muzzle awareness, and bla bla bla get to the guns already!
"Originally, I had intended to introduce firearms to you one by one. But, I decided it might be better to let you have a go at all the firearms on base, that way you can get a feel for what you might like to specialize in in the future, and so you understand the difference between different classes of weaponry. And because this way is more fun." Ambrose had a smile on his face as he finished his speech. He moved over to the cart, and grabbed one of the many rifles on the cart.
"This weapon is the MA5K carbine." It was a stubby rifle, free of the oodles of electronics Ruby had seen on other weapons during the lectures. The magazine fed into the stock of the weapon, meaning the rifle had a bullpup configuration, if Ruby remembered correctly, and on top of the weapon was a long, removable handle with what looked like an attachment rail on top of the handle. Ruby listened to Ambrose's words as if they were gospel.
"This rifle houses a thirty round magazine of 7.62x51mm full metal jacket armor piercing ammunition, or FMJ-AP ammunition for short. It is a gas operated rifle with a select fire mode, that can be toggled between semi-automatic, burst fire, and fully automatic by this lever here." He pointed to a spot on the gun right about where the thumb would lie on the grip of the weapon for a right handed shooter. Ruby deflated a little bit, being left handed herself.
Her soured mood soon dissipated, however, at Ambrose's next words. "Here at Camp Currahee Armory, we have right handed and left handed configurations for most of the weaponry, and the weapons which we do not, are already designed to be ambidextrous, so you don't have to worry about feeling left out if you are left handed." He must have seen her expression, his eyes roved over several kids, including her, indicating he knew which candidates were lefties. Ruby raised her eyebrows, impressed at his attention to detail.
"This is the standard issue rifle for SPARTAN-III Beta Company, as well as Alpha Company, and all subsequent companies succeeding you all. As such it is important you all master this weapon. If you are not a secret expert marksman, this will be your rifle. Okay, Spartans, line up, single file."
Ruby didn't know if she wanted to be first and shoot the rifle as soon as possible, or if she wanted to be last and watch all the other candidates get theirs set up. Instead, she and Kat were settled at about the middle of the line. It moved fairly fast considering it was over three hundred strong.
After a minute of barely contained excitement from Ruby, and almost constant eye rolls and jests from Kat, they both received their weapons and moved to their positions on the firing range. Ruby taking the position farthest from the entrance from which they came.
Ruby's class drill instructor was waiting for her when she got there. Apparently, she was one of the first in her class to shoot. She explained the procedure to fire the weapon; how to hold the weapon, how to turn off the safety, how to change the magazine, how to aim down the sights, and how to make sure the weapon was clear of any bullets before she would turn it back into the armorer.
After a two minute long introduction to the weapon, her DI stepped back and allowed her the chance to fire. She set the rifle against her shoulder and looked out over the firing range; the targets currently spread out over the field were simple circular targets with several rings indicating the accuracy of your shot. Ruby chose a target midway down the field to shoot at.
After a short breath, and focusing the sights on the center of the target, Ruby fired a single shot.
No indication of a hit appeared on the target.
"Wha…? I aimed for the target, why didn't it hit?" Ruby whispered. She looked back to the drill instructor as she explained what might have gone wrong.
"From what I saw, you made yourself too stiff, and too loose at the same time. You need to brace your core before you shoot in order to provide a strong base for the rifle to rest on, while also keeping your arms stable, but not clenched as you fire, otherwise you'd compensate for the recoil before it happens, and your shot will go wide." Ruby nodded at her words, thinking of how her body felt during the shot, and how she could change it to fix her aim.
Ruby sucked in another deep breath, holding it in her abdomen for support, and let her hands just barely hold the rifle as the stock jammed into her shoulder. She looked through the weapon's iron sights, centering it onto the middle of the target again, and fired. This time, the bullet landed within a few circles to the left of the target.
"What happened that time, Drill sergeant?" Ruby asked, her head turned over her shoulders towards the woman.
"Notice the wind, B419. The wind is a major factor of the shot, and depending on which planet you are on, even it's gravity can affect the bullet drop. Environmental conditions are one of the most intricate aspects of marksmanship. Without understanding the world around you, you will never be able to shoot well." Ruby furrowed her brows at the long explanation. You could've just said "it's the wind." Ruby kept her mouth shut, however, and turned her attention back to the range.
The open air design of the firing positions allowed her to feel the wind as if she were on the field itself. She closed her eyes, focusing on the subtle sensations on the back of her hands as the air shifted around her. She imagined what that would look like on the bullet as it traveled through the air. A concrete picture appeared in her head of the bullet changing its trajectory as it flew, and she shifted her aim by millimeters as she willed that image to come to life.
She opened her eyes, her iron sights now aiming a few inches to the right of the center, and she fired…
Bullseye.
Her class DI behind her whistled as the target fluttered lightly in the wind. Ruby felt an ecstatic smile spread across her face as she too viewed her handiwork.
"Give it another shot, B419. Let's see if this is just beginner's luck."
Several minutes had gone by, and it seemed her beginner's luck wasn't running out anytime soon. Eventually, the thirty round magazine in the weapon clicked empty, and Ruby stood to return the weapon to be used by another candidate. She bounced on her feet as she did so, excited over her performance. I thought I would do good, but I didn't think I'd be this good!
"Lieutenant Commander Ambrose. I believe we have ourselves a little prodigy here. As soon as she figured out the weapon, not a single shot missed their mark." Her DI said to Ambrose as they made their way back to the armory cart.
"I see. Why don't we run you through the ringer, see just how extensive your talent is." Ambrose looked Ruby in the eye as he spoke. Ruby, meanwhile, could barely keep in her emotions as she imagined herself firing all those different weapons on the rack.
Her next few firearms she tested were an MA5B Individual Combat Weapon System, an M6G Magnum Sidearm, and an M392 Designated Marksman Rifle. Ruby found it the easiest to fire the sidearm, though that was mostly because of her small hands. Like the MA5K, it took her several rounds, some weapons more than others, to reign in her wide shots, but before long she would be shooting bullets through the hole her previous shot made.
She had quickly gathered an audience of drill instructors and other Spartan candidates as she made her way down the rack of different weapons she would definitely be training with extensively in the future.
After a full hour, and plenty of replaced targets, had gone by, a large crowd surrounded her as she made her way back to her spot in the range barely hefting a massive rifle that left her drooling at it's majesty. The Sniper Rifle System 99 Anti-Matérial landed on the aiming platform with a dull thump as Ruby's strength finally gave out. She winced a little at the noise, but continued to follow Ambrose's instructions when he seemed to ignore her disregard for the sniper's condition.
Ruby, as per Ambrose's words, pulled on the charging handle on the side of the weapon, and brought her eye to the simple scope that had been fitted to the top of the rifle; she had no neural implant, and so could not integrate herself with a more commonly used smartlink scope often seen employed by the UNSC.
It had taken her pleading with Ambrose to let her fire the weapon. Her class drill instructor had informed her that her four and a half foot frame was not suited to wielding a six foot long, thirty pound rifle that could blow a three inch hole through a warthog's engine compartment and come out the other side. But the giant man simply couldn't withstand her silver puppy eyes for too long. She had no idea how that worked, she thought she would be denied at best, and told to run laps around the range at worst if she had done that to any other Camp Currahee staff. That didn't matter anymore, she was about to shoot a Sniper Rifle!
She moved away from the scope and quickly struggled with the bipod, figuring she could fire the weapon better if she didn't have to rely on her weak arm to control the giant rifle. Fighting the weapons weight the whole time, she managed to set up the rifle for firing before her audience could get bored. She didn't care they were there if she was being honest, she wouldn't take her mind off the weapon in her hands to imagine what they were thinking of her firing a weapon entirely too big for her.
Her eye hit the rubber of the scope again and she let loose a breath. Zeroing in on her target over 500 yards away. It was nowhere near the full range of the weapon, but this facility wasn't large enough to demonstrate the weapons capability, she doubted she would be able to hit a target over a mile away anyways.
She sucked in a breath, and rested her finger on the trigger, bracing and loosening her body at the same time as her instructor had told her, and she fired.
Pain flashed through her shoulder as she was thrown back out of her seat. The crowd around her dodged the weapon that had launched itself backwards under the sheer power of the recoil. Ruby landed with a backwards roll over her shoulder as the Sniper Rifle's scope broke from its awkward landing.
Ruby shook her head, clearing her vision of the stars that began to float in and out of her sight, and only heard the final bit of her class drill instructor lashing into her for failing to control the recoil.
Before she could continue, Ambrose stepped forward, and silenced her with a hand on her shoulder. He approached her, hand extended to help pull her to her feet.
"Let this be a lesson in trying to perform beyond your abilities. Not that Ruby wasn't skilled enough to accurately fire the weapon, we all saw her performance with the other rifles, but Ruby has too small of a figure to properly handle a weapon of that size. It's a matter of physical attributes that cannot match up to the task at hand. Don't be discouraged by this. I'm not upset because I can't crawl into as small of spaces as most of you can, and you shouldn't be upset by not being able to reach the jar of cookies on the top shelf quite like I can." There was a murmur of laughter around her as Ambrose eased the tension in the air after such a disaster of a shot.
Ruby felt her cheeks heat up as she realized just how ridiculous she must have looked trying to shoot that monster of a rifle. Anger replaced embarrassment as she realized it was her small body that kept her from firing her favorite weapon - she had decided it was her favorite before she hit the floor after being launched from the recoil. Determination spread across her mind as she decided right there that she would grow larger so that she could fire such a massive weapon.
Mendez ended the firearms training session soon after. All of the other candidates were finished training, and were all waiting on her. Her embarrassment returned when she saw the gazes of almost 300 children aimed directly at her. She hurriedly cleaned her station and made her way back to the main compound with the rest of Beta Company. Had she took the time to examine her final target, she would have seen a half inch hole through the exact center of the bullseye.
The low angled rays of the setting sun shone through the windows as Ruby readied for bed; brushing her hair and teeth, with different brushes of course, and putting away her dirty clothes in her compact washing machine, and folded tomorrow's clothing at the foot of her bed for use tomorrow.
Ruby left the room to make use of the bathrooms before she slept. She didn't know who it was, but someone here was a bedwetter, and the rumors about that person had spread for two whole weeks, and she didn't want to be the next subject of their Spartan gossip.
She turned her head as Kat walked by her without acknowledging her. Usually she would nod her head, or at least look at her. But tonight she strode by as if she was a stranger. That can't be a good sign.
Her hand reached for Kat's shoulder and tugged, spinning her around with surprising ease; Kat would never let her guard down this much, especially in the barracks, her attitude had made her too many enemies.
"What." Her only word.
"Is something wrong?"
"No, why would there be?"
"You seem upset. You don't act like this usually."
"Well, I guess what happened today was unusual." Kat spun to leave, but couldn't before Ruby appeared in front of her, preparing more questions.
"What's that supposed to mean? The only thing different about today was the firearms practice, what's so bad about that?" Ruby asked.
"Oh, nothing. Except for my dog shit performance." Kat shoved her way past Ruby, but Ruby made to follow her.
"Come on, Kat. It can't be as bad as the time you bombed that driving simulation test; skills can be improved, both driving and shooting." Ruby smiled at Kat, trying to convey this wasn't a big deal and that she could overcome this challenge just like all the other challenges Ruby had seen Kat complete.
"I only hit 39% of the shots I fired. I am terrible at shooting. You know how long it will take me to get better? Probably forever. And I sure as hell won't be as good as you." Kat mumbled the last part under her breath.
"What's that supposed to mean? You're better than me in almost everything else, I was bound to be good at something, and I guess marksmanship is my talent." Ruby's trip to the bathroom was momentarily forgotten as Kat readied her own things for bed and tomorrow's day of training.
"I'm better at superficial bullshit, like computers and written tests. You, you're actually good at something that matters. Right now, you could kill the covenant so much more efficiently than me, and your family didn't even die from them, they were killed by a bunch of humans." Kat's rant grew in speed the longer she spoke.
"I'll be stuck in some non-combat role making use of my 'smarts', while you'll be out on the battlefield spilling hinge-head blood left and right. You don't even hate the covenant. I would give anything to have what you have, but instead I'm stuck being subpar on the skills that matter."
Ruby waited for Kat's tirade to be over with pursed lips. Her eye's flitted between Kat's as she watched her catch her breath. It took her a moment to decide what to say.
"We've been at Camp Currahee for a little over a year now. I've learned more discipline and skills of a warrior than I would have anywhere else. We still have several years left to go before we graduate and become Spartans. You'll have plenty of time to improve, to learn. That's what we are here for: to learn." Ruby said, a smile on her face. Kat returned her smile with a deep glare.
"Ugh! Can't you just not be happy for one day! I swear you are the most peppy, annoying, optimistic little shit I've ever met!" Kat erupted, startling Ruby.
"Where is this coming from?" Ruby said.
"From the day I've met you you've only ever been in a good mood. It seems like nothing going on around you affects you in any way. It's irritating, knowing, out there, there is a war going on, people are dying, planets are being glassed, and you sit here with a smile on your face telling me everything's going to be alright! The world isn't a fairytale, Ruby, it's a whole lot rougher than that." Kat crossed her arms, her feet were spread out in a defensive stance, and her nostrils flared with each inhale. She was truly angry.
"What's so wrong with a little optimism? People are upset enough as it is. I don't think me being as broody as you will make the world better." Ruby was crossing her own arms, mirroring Kat.
"Nothing, but it's not a little optimism, it's a lot of optimism. And it's grating on my nerves, and has been for a long time now." A few candidates around them had turned to watch their verbal spectacle. Their scene was sure to bring the attention of a DI any second now.
"Well, if it's so frustrating, why do you even hang out with me?"
"Oh, trust me, I don't want to, but you keep on coming to me, and opening your stupid mouth. I can't get away from you. I can't stand it anymore. You're too annoying to be friends with."
Ruby let out a short gasp. She took a step back, brow creasing as frown spread across her lips. She had never suspected Kat to think of her that way. To her, this was coming out of nowhere.
"Well, If you don't want to be my friend, then fine! Have it your way." Without saying another word, or listening for any of Kat's, Ruby pivoted on her heel, and made her way back to her room. Her hands were clenched at her sides, turning her knuckles white as she shoved past other kids who had made a small circle around them to act as an arena for their verbal spar. Out of the corner of her eye, a drill instructor entered the room to check whether they were all asleep yet. The man didn't need to say anything as most kids saw him after watching her leave, and soon got the idea that they were better off not sticking around to see the aftermath of her and Kat's fight. Soon, the barracks was quiet just as it was any other night.
Ruby lay in her bed, eyes wide open as she pondered what might have made Kat dislike her so much. Back when they first met, she hadn't been the friendliest of people, but Ruby just chalked that up to her being a scared child just like the rest of them. But more recent memories had proven that she had always been surly towards almost everyone. It seemed Ruby didn't catch on to her antisocial attitude towards her, and Kat had only been tolerating her ever since.
Ruby let out a short exhale at the realization. She had always assumed they were good friends. Now, she basically had none. Kat being her only true friend; her antisocial attitude and the rowdy behavior of the other kids had made a clear barrier between her and the other candidates, and that barrier had spread to Ruby due to her close proximity to Kat.
She would never say she ever had a ton of friends, but she had never had none. Most of the friend groups around her had already been formed, and she had a feeling most of them would reject her if she tried to join them. Probably for the same reasons Kat had rejected her.
A pointy object pressed into her back and Ruby spun. Seeing that same kid that had been picking on her since the day she got here. She had never had a chance to get rid of him, and no one had taught her how to deal with bullies in a non-physical way.
"I saw that fight you had today with Kat. Tough break, huh? The stuck up bitch of Beta really is a stuck up Bitch." The boy whispered.
"Will you shut up! I just want to go to bed" Ruby whispered back, though with more force through her breath.
"Hey man, I'm just saying don't blame yourself. I've been telling you she's a stuck up bitch for months now, and I guess my common sense just couldn't help you. It's not a good idea to touch a burning, red hot stove, but I guess we all have to learn the hard way sometimes."
"Are you calling me stupid?"
"Yes."
Anger burned through the back of her mind. He was smart, but he was also an asshole. That combination made for a pretty annoying bully. Ruby had seen him during some of their combat classes, however, he was strong, but he wasn't the strongest, nowhere near.
Ruby sat up in her bed. "Tell you what, idiot. I'll fight you, and if I win, you have to leave me alone forever, and if you win, I'll be your servant for a week. Does that sound fair?"
"I don't know… a week for me and forever for you? That doesn't sound very fair to me…"
"A month."
"Ehhh…?"
"Six months."
"A little higher…"
"Any higher and I'll kick you in the balls now and call off the deal."
"Alright. Six months it is-"
Ruby interrupted before the deal could be made. "And you can't make me do stupid stuff to get me in trouble, that'll ruin the deal, Carden."
"Alright fine, let's shake on it." They proceeded to do so. Carden wore a smug smile on his face, while Ruby's was blank. He may have been a boy, and he may be a year or two older than her, but he didn't have any training prior to Camp Currahee.
Ruby had wanted to become a huntress, she remembered. She also recalled several lessons she had received from her mother. She laid back down, sliding under the sheets as she thought through the training she had received, it hadn't been much, and most of it was becoming foggy in her mind's eye. But, she knew, with what she had learned at Camp Currahee, and the little combat prowess taught to her by her mother and uncle, along with the innate warrior ability embedded in all huntsman families, she was positive she could win a fight against the bully.
It was with a confident smile that she fell asleep, with the additional warmth of fond memories of her deceased family.
November 14, 2538 (Military Calendar) / Onyx, Zeta Doradus system
Ruby wouldn't call herself nervous. In fact, she would say she was completely confident in her abilities. Nevermind her beating heart and sweaty fingers, those didn't mean anything.
She sat down alone in the seating area of Camp Currahee's sparring gym. In front of her were several mats with varying designs painted on them, denoting their multipurpose use for different fighting sports; typical of wrestling and Brazillian Jiu Jitsu and stuff like that - those had been fascinating to watch, they didn't have these exact schools of combat back on Remnant - but these mats were mostly used for more abstract sparring, with little in the way of rules and regulations. For some of their more extreme fighting classes, their only rule was don't kill each other.
Chief Mendez stood in front of 301 children all wearing their PT uniforms. Apparently, someone was seriously injured during their shooting exercises yesterday, and had to be sent off planet to a medical facility to recover and would most likely not be coming back to graduate. An overpowered round had gone off inside the weapon the kid was firing, sending shrapnel all over his chest and face; a terrible accident, to say the least.
"Today, candidates, we have a special spar taking place. Two Spartans of Beta Company are currently experiencing some unhealthy friction. And this predicament, like most things you will experience in your service, will be solved by violence. Let me be clear: this is not a senseless brawl fueled by emotions and instincts, this is a case where two people will learn to respect each other through the most primal of acts." A creaking ceiling fan above him failed to drown out their senior drill instructor. He looked to his left, and added upon seeing Ambrose standing near the door. "Let me be extra clear about my previous statement: violence can solve most problems, however, a level head and intelligence should be your main problem solving tool." Ambrose seemed pleased with the correction, and nodded his head.
"Now, without further adieu, would Spartan candidates B419 and B287 please take your places on the mat."
Ruby watched as Carden stood from his seat at the top of the bleachers. She, not one to be last, beat him to the mat. Though, that was mainly because she was closer. They both stood at ease while Mendez declared the rules of the fight.
"This will be a normal spar. We don't want people getting hurt, so victory goes to whomever gets the first pin. A pin is defined as the opponent's shoulder blades touching the mat. I will referee the spar, so, please, lay all complaints and issues you have with the spar to me." The look Ruby gave to the bully, and his expression in return said that they wouldn't be raising any complaints. Mendez was a mean one when he wanted to be.
Mendez, confident we wouldn't pull out a magnum from our shorts, stepped off the mat and raised his palm in the air. Ruby got into her combat stance; a simple position with bent knees and elbows. Her bully copied her stance, it being the one that was taught to every candidate earlier in the year. Ruby met his eyes, narrowed and hard, and slowed her breath to a crawl to ease her emotions and settle her mind for the fight. In her peripheral vision, Mendez's hand dropped.
They both sprang forward at high speeds and connected, Ruby's fingers interlocked with her opponent as they met. They both struggled for dominance, planting their feet in the ground and using all their power to try and push the other over.
When neither would be moved, Ruby tugged on his hands, spinning around on her back foot, she brought him around in a wide arc, ruining his balance. Ruby jutted her foot out, knocking the boy down onto his hands and knees. He rolled away before Ruby could bring her arms around his neck.
He got to his feet, and charged her with outstretched hands. He brought his hands high, Ruby reacted by bringing her hands up in return, but she was too slow to shoot them back down as the boy feinted, grasping his arounds around her waist.
The boy tackled Ruby to the ground, where he straddled her over her abdomen, careful to keep space between his body and hers so she could not jerk him off with a thrust of her hips.
Ruby guarded her face as he brought down blows against her head. This didn't count as a pin, because the space between Ruby and her opponent meant she could spin her body and escape.
Which is what she did. She tanked a few blows against the back of her head and shot upwards on hands and knees, knocking the boy off her. Her vision stirred for a moment from his punches, and she instinctively dodged to the side as the boy tried to tackle her again.
Ruby turned on the over extended boy and brought both fists down on the base of his neck as he dove by. She chased after where he landed and slid her hands underneath his armpit and neck, trapping his arm above his head as she rolled backwards with as much force as her body could muster.
The boy rolled over her body as she went, legs flailing in the air. His lower body slammed down on the mat as she mounted his chest.
The boy brought his free hand up to strike Ruby in the ear. She released her hold as her head exploded with pain. Carden stood, and grabbed at her knees, knocking her over in another tackle.
This time, he trapped her legs with his in a death grip as he drove a few elbows into her side. She gasped as the blows impacted her soft stomach, and brought her own elbow on top of his head.
The boy clutched his head, pin prick tears formed at the corner of his eyes. Ruby sat up, Carden still on top of her legs, and brought a fist around in a wide arc to slam into his jaw. The boy fell back, almost limp.
Ruby shot up. She pursued her dazed opponent as he rolled away. She stomped her bare feet on any body part she could: fingers, elbows, palms. But the boy managed to avoid her heel with wide eyes as he continued to roll.
Ruby jumped, landing on the other side of him and dropping her knees on his abdomen, driving out a lungful of air from his chest. She straddled him and brought blows down onto his forearms as he attempted to block her.
She saw an opening. Leaning forward, she brought her open palm around her body with all her strength and connected with Carden's exposed temple.
The boy's guard became weak as she continued her barrage of blows, eventually, the boy's arms dropped completely, but she continued swinging. To prepare for this fight, Ruby had to dig deep into some fond memories and lessons from her mother, father, and uncle: running away isn't always cowardly when it's a strategic retreat, never let up on your opponent when you have the upper hand, and fight like your life depends on it. Not all of those lessons were applicable here, but that didn't matter. What did matter was that those memories had brought with them emotions. They were filled with happiness initially. But, after that happiness had faded, and the reality of her situation had reared its ugly head again, she had been filled with an overwhelming sense of loneliness and distress.
With each fist she landed on the boy's head those emotions slowly worked their way through to the surface. Her face scrunched from the pain in her arms and the pain in her heart. Her senses were dulled by the sheer pent up despair she had buried deep in the dark abyss of her brain. She didn't hear the calls to end the match from Mendez, she didn't feel the strong hands that gripped her shoulders as she landed her last punch, it was only the impact between her and the mat that drove the air from her lungs that brought her back to reality.
Several drill instructors had made their way onto the mat to break up their fight. Three were holding her down on the mat in case she tried to continue her attack against Carden. Two more, including Mendez, were tending to the boy, lightly smacking his face to see if he was lucid. All she heard from his mouth were light groans mixed with gurgling saliva.
She watched in horror as a medical team approached the boy and gently placed him on a stretcher. The stretcher stabilized as it rolled across the uneven mats with a dynamic suspension system; it, along with several foam pillows and fabric straps, kept his head in place, preventing any and all unnecessary movement.
They rounded the corner out of the building and towards the medical facility, and Ruby stayed where she was sitting on the mat. Mendez turned to look at her. She expected fury. She thought she would be berated like she had never before, and most likely end up being kicked out of the program.
His face was blank. There might have been a small crease between his eyebrows, but Ruby wasn't sure. Instead of yelling at her, he simply walked over to her, helped her up, and escorted her out of the building so that the rest of the candidates could continue with their own spars under supervision of one of the other DIs.
Mendez took her across the compound to a smaller looking building. Like every other building they passed on their way here, it was a dull, concrete box with small windows that were too high up for Ruby to see through.
They entered and made their way to the end of a long hallway that stretched from the entrance to the other side of the building. A right turn brought them into a room with the words "Ambrose" engraved on a bronze plaque on the center of the bland door.
This was it, she was being taken to the proverbial principal's office, and, sticking to the analogy, will be expelled for beating up another student. Considering the nature of this program, she hoped she would be kicked out as punishment, and not anything worse that she didn't bother trying to imagine; she was scared enough already.
The room was empty except for a small metal desk in the center with tall filing cabinets to either side "Take a seat and wait here, Lieutenant Commander Ambrose will be here shortly." Mendez said. He turned to leave as soon as she sat down on one of the cold, metal folding chairs that were leaning against the wall opposite the desk.
There, she waited. Counting the ticks of an analog clock nailed to the door of all places. Many minutes had passed by with nothing but the incessant tick tock and Ruby's growing anxieties. She clenched the fabric of her pants tightly as she forced her eyes shut and willed her breathing to slow to calm herself.
She had done the breathing exercises for so long she had begun to fall asleep, and was startled awake at the sound of the door swinging open, followed by the heavy footfalls of Ambrose and Mendez entering in behind them.
She watched as they made their way behind the desk. Ambrose sat, while Mendez stayed standing, arms crossed behind him. Ambrose folded his hands in front of him as he leaned forward towards her. She didn't know if that was meant to intimidate her or not, but his daunting height certainly did make her swallow a little harder than she meant to.
She winced when they seemed to hear it. "Let me be clear, Ruby, what you have done was not okay. Carden's early scans indicate he suffers from a concussion. It is believed that he got the concussion when you hit his temple with your open palm. Your subsequent blows to his unguarded head certainly didn't help it. It is estimated he will have some sort of minor brain damage as a result of your… unhinged behavior." Ambrose said. Ruby paled at the information and her throat was dry. Brain damage!? I can't have hurt him that badly, could I?
"As a result of this brain damage, he will most likely have to be shipped off planet and be forced to live a normal life outside of the military." That information hit her like a truck. No way had she messed up so badly that she ruined someone's chances of becoming a warrior. She didn't know what she would think if someone did the same to her.
"That being said, it was certainly impressive to watch your combat skills in action. I think it's safe to say that, one day, you might very well be one of the most skillful and deadly Spartans of Beta Company." Ruby barely listened to what he was saying. All she knew was that it sounded like praise. How can I be praised after what I've just done?
"I see that look on your face, Ruby. I want you to know that this program is designed to find the strongest of you, and train you into become soldiers unlike any other. It's a shame what happened to Carden, it will certainly be a regret of mine to have to send him away. But, Ruby, I want to thank you. You may have realized that the selection process for the chosen 300 Spartan candidates has been slowed as of recently; everyone here shows great potential and drive to become a Spartan. It's been hard trying to decide which of you will be chosen to become the final Beta Company. But now, with Carden discharged due to injury, that choice no longer has to be made." Ruby looked at Ambrose in the eyes, wondering where he was going with this.
"Congratulations Spartan B419, you, along with the 299 others in Camp Currahee, are now the official Spartan trainees of Spartan-III Beta Company."
That night, as the dark sky was filled with the absence of wildlife, Ruby laid on her back, staring up at the ceiling. It was well past midnight, the moon's rays through the windows casting steep shadows, indicating the moon was directly overhead. The other Spartan candida- trainees slept peacefully in their beds around her.
Ruby couldn't sleep. Not with today's memories still fresh in her mind. She had brutally beaten another candidate in front of all the other Spartans. Before, they might have seen her as the weird, happy girl that did too well in class. But now, they saw her as the potentially dangerous threat that would beat the daylights out of them if they got too close.
As such, they had avoided her. All day since her meeting with Ambrose, not a single other trainee looked her in the eyes. Not even Kat glanced her way as she walked by on her way to bed. She thought she was lonely before, being unable to make friends and all, but this was worse. Being deliberately rejected by your peers had felt like a vice had crushed her heart.
She still had several years here at Camp Currahee, where she would be meant to form a team and build relationships that would allow them to become cohesive units with unbreakable bonds and infinite loyalty. Now, she didn't know if she would be able to ask anybody for the time of day.
Ruby wanted to cry, wanted to feel something, to feel upset at her situation. But she simply couldn't anymore. She was tired of crying. The nights spent silently drying her tears on her pillow had finally run out. Now, she was left with a pain in her heart and a longing for a catharsis that would never come.
She traced the decorations designed into the ceiling with her eyes as her eyelids slowly became heavier and heavier. Until, eventually, they shut completely. Ruby didn't know what was going to happen tomorrow, but she was tired of worrying, and allowed sleep to take her as if she was dead.
June 8, 1357 KE (Remnant Calendar) / Remnant
The inaudible chatter of the cafeteria eased Yang's anxieties today as it had for the last several months. The people around her gave her comfort, a short reprieve from the empty house she would return to once her school day at Signal Academy was over.
Yang ate in silence. Her first year in Signal had just started only a few months prior, and she had had trouble making friends. It wasn't her fault though, a death in the family, especially one so recent, tends to make people antisocial. That's what her and her father's family therapist had said at least - provided to them for free from Summer's government pension for being a huntress - and she may have let that get to her head as she hadn't exactly put in the effort to make many friends.
She didn't try not to make friends either. She was nice to anyone who talked to her, she engaged in conversation during group projects and other times when she would need to. But, when she looked around the cafeteria, she was nowhere near the popular kids who were surrounded by overcrowded tables of friends that listened to every word they said. She looked at them with thinly veiled jealousy in her eyes, but she would bite down hard on that emotion whenever she would feel it. It's not exactly warranted when she never even tried to get what they had.
Her days here at Signal were fairly uneventful due to her small social circle. She would come to school, do the work, hardly open her mouth, and then make her way back home slowly to avoid the silence and stagnation that permeated the air in her home. She would always come home eventually, however, and the oppressive atmosphere would return until she woke up the next morning and started the process all over again. And she would do it with a smile on her face.
Yang really liked Signal. Not only was it a relief from her home life, but she felt it brought her closer to her mother and Ruby: Summer Rose was an amazing huntress, and Ruby was always fascinated with the idea of becoming a hero. Yang could feel it in her bones that going to this school, a prep school for huntresses and huntsmen, was the right thing to do. Her father was proud of her too, it was nice seeing his smile every once in a while whenever she returned home with a shiny red 'A' atop her test sheets.
Like all other schools for huntsman training, they would spar each other to hone their craft and build their skills for a final test during graduation that would make or break their attempts to join a more premier huntsman academy like Beacon, Shade, Haven, or Atlas.
It was one of these spars that awaited Yang soon after lunch. Of course, there was a shorter class in between lunch and the combat block of their schedule; Aura couldn't help against food cramps.
It was especially exciting for Yang because it would be her first. Prior to today, their combat training dealt with the students developing their styles, choosing from a wide array of techniques and doctrines that they would study for the rest of their careers. Yang thought half a year to decide what to do for the rest of their lives was too short to make such a decision. She couldn't complain, though, she had chosen her style fairly quickly: hand to hand combat, similar to her father's style in it's close range brutality and strength.
A ringing bell signaled the end of their lunch break, and a short walk later, she sat at a desk in one of her classes. It was a lecture on Grimm studies, and a very introductory class that left Yang drooling all over herself thanks to the boring teacher sitting behind his desk reading from a slideshow instead of actually teaching. As soon as the teacher started talking on the first day of school, Yang knew this would be her least favorite class.
Yang's daydreaming about anything else besides the content of the class meant the time flew by without her noticing. The bell rang again, and Yang shot out of her chair and quickly gathered her things. She was going to fight today, she just knew it, and she wanted to be the first one there just in case.
The combat classroom was bigger than most other rooms in the building. It was a multi-story room, there was one main arena embedded in the ground floor that was surrounded by bleachers that rose roughly twenty feet above the arena for a better view of the fight. Surrounding this arena, and above the seating area, were several more, smaller rings for less formal spars between two students. The smaller ones were most commonly used by the older kids who knew how to restrain themselves in a fight should anything go wrong.
Yang sat on the first row of bleachers overlooking the main fighting area. She watched as other students meandered into the room and made their way to their own seats. It would be a few minutes before the class started, probably longer since the teacher was usually late, as such a few of the more book-smart kids took out homework for other classes and got to work. Yang was too excited for her fight to care about any other class right now.
The teacher for the combat class was her favorite as well. Although, if you asked her, she would say she was a little biased.
"Aaaaaaalright, kiddos. Let's get this show on the road." Yang's uncle, Qrow Branwen, called out between a burp as he walked through the door into the arena below.
"I'm sure you all know who I am, and I sure don't know all of you, but, in case you've lived under a rock, I am Qrow Branwen. You can call me Qrow, or teacher, or mister, I don't really care." Qrow was stretching his limbs as he spoke, turning his torso side to side as if he was the one about to fight. For some reason, Qrow only taught during the second half of the year. Which ended up making sense due to their grace period in deciding what combat styles they wanted. Another teacher would help us pick, while Qrow would help us become skilled.
"Today is the first day of your futures as huntsmen. Here, you will put into practice what you have learned in the other classes, yadda yadda yadda…" He paused to let out a yawn. "Long story short, don't kill each other, I'll stop you if you do, and have fun." His hands shot down into his pockets as he climbed the stairs onto the raised platform where they were all seated. He pulled out his scroll with his right hand and scrolled down with his left, presumably looking for the class' attendance or something.
Yang waved her hand violently at her uncle as he looked across the students. Qrow didn't acknowledge her, and when her smile turned into a glare, that's when he returned his gaze to her, a smug smile on his face.
He called out each one of their names as he took attendance, each kid lazily saying some variation of "here" or "present" or something like that. Yang felt like she was the only one excited for their first real spars.
"Alright, I need Ray Eastwood, and Ivy-Rose Read to make their way to the arena." Yang deflated a little bit at not being first. But, she had a feeling she would get to fight eventually.
The two who made their way to the floor looked nervously at each other, clutching their weapons as if they didn't know what to do with them. Yang rolled her eyes, amateurs. Qrow saw this too, and quickly told them, and the whole class, a more in depth explanation on the rules and objectives of the fight.
They looked a little more confident in themselves afterwards now that they knew they wouldn't get seriously hurt. No one here was going to get brain damage or anything. Qrow, satisfied after seeing their change in demeanor, called for the start of the fight.
It was rather uneventful. They were just kids, and it seems they didn't have much training prior to Signal, unlike her. Their parents must not have been huntsmen. A little unusual to see, but not entirely uncommon. Their weapons collided with weak blows, and any fighter worth their salt could see the openings present in either combatant. Yang kept her mouth shut as she concluded she probably could have taken both fighters at once, and come out on top.
The rest of the fights before hers were equally as boring. Half hearted swings, poorly timed dodges, feints that would actually hit their opponent; it was honestly hard for Yang not to laugh at some of the performances she saw. If this were anywhere else, she would have sworn they were jokes.
Five or six fights into the class, Yang's name was finally called.
"Alright, I need Yang Xiao-Long, and Cardin Winchester to make their way to the arena." There was a hushed whisper spread throughout some of the students at her opponent's name. Cardin Winchester, from what she had heard, had come from a big huntsmen family in Vale, and, despite being around 8 years old, was already taller than some of the teachers at Signal. He certainly towered over Yang.
Yang's eyes met red as she looked to her uncle, wondering what he was thinking pinning her against one of the toughest kids in school. Qrow only winked at her as she passed by. Yang understood it completely: he was confident in her abilities. She hadn't seen Cardin fight, but Qrow had, being the combat teacher and all, so maybe he was making the strongest students fight each other. Save the best for last. Yang stood a little taller at the idea that her uncle thought she was genuinely one of the strongest in her class; Qrow certainly wasn't keen on favoritism.
She stood at one end of the arena, while Cardin stood at the other end. Both were twitchy with barely contained adrenaline at the impending action. Their eyes were locked on Qrow's waiting for him to give the signal to start the fight. After what felt like an eternity, Qrow's hand shot into the air, and just as quickly fell to his side. The fight had begun.
Yang exploded forward using her weapon, Ember Celica, a pair of golden gauntlets with an integrated shotgun mechanism loaded with highly explosive Dust slugs. Cardin swung his weapon, a large mace she had overheard he had named The Executioner, one handed at Yang's head as she approached. She ducked under it, and pressed her foot to the floor to launch herself up at Cardin's face to deliver a devastating uppercut. Well, It would have been devastating had Cardin not been such a big dude.
Cardin shrugged off the punch like it was nothing and brought his fist forward to land a blow in Yang's abdomen. She let the force of the punch send her backwards out of range of Cardin's next swing.
Yang stood in place, letting Cardin be the next to advance as he stalked towards her, mace raised overhead in a telegraphed strike. If Yang was fighting for real, she might have thought that was a distraction for another attack that she wouldn't see, but here in Signal, she had a feeling what she saw was what she got.
The mace landed to her right as she strafed to the side. A large burst of fire from the Dust crystal at the center of the mace singed the small hairs on her legs a bit as she ran forward taking the opportunity of his overextended arm.
She landed a jab right behind his elbow, jarring his arm and forcing him to loosen his grip on The Executioner. She grabbed the handle near the head of the mace and spun, jerking it out of his hand and threw it across the arena. Using her angular momentum, she jumped and brought an elbow to the back of Cardin's head, sending him sprawling to where his mace had landed.
Yang watched as he slowly got up, his hand gripping his elbow as he held his mace. His nostrils flared as he charged again, letting out a completely unnecessary battle cry that hadn't done it's job of intimidating Yang at all.
Feeling a little cocky, Yang waited until the very last moment to dodge his next swing. She jumped to his side and sent several short jabs towards his midsection. A wince was spread across his face as he turned, arm held out as he swung his mace again. This time, Yang was too slow, and only managed to begin a dodge before the mace struck her in the shoulder and sent her sprawling across the arena.
Yang understood now why he was considered a big threat by the other students. That mace can hit hard. If it weren't for her Aura, Yang was certain she would be suffering from a dislocated shoulder at best, and a shattered shoulder joint at worst. Fortunately, she had activated her Aura in time, and was able to stand and shrug off the pain.
Yang's smile turned feral as she felt it spread down her arm and through her chest. She could feel the pain bolster her strength and give her energy like she never felt before. Nothing else could do this for her, there was no high for Yang like a good fight. Her eyes flashed red as she charged forward again. Not caring that she was the one shouting a battle cry now.
The room was filled with the sound of firing shotgun shells as she pelted Cardin with left and right hooks consecutively. Punch after punch after punch sent the larger boy stumbling backwards near the edge of the arena. Yang ducked low, and jumped, sending the same uppercut to Cardin's jaw as she had at the beginning of the fight. This time, Cardin went flying.
He landed outside the boundaries of the ring, and Yang heard a whistle erupt from somewhere in the stands and a shout indicating the end of the match.
"And the winner, by knockout, is Yang Xiao-Long. Yang, you did a good job using your speed against a larger opponent. But I would recommend caution throughout the entire fight, I saw you get more cocky than you needed to. I would also recommend refraining from taking hard hits like the one you just did, especially from bigger opponents like Winchester. That won't always end well." Yang bowed her head slightly at her uncle's suggestions and took them to heart. No one she knew was better than her uncle. Not even her dad would argue he was better. Qrow was the very best, and when he gave you advice, you listened to him.
"Cardin, she had you with her speed, I suggest finding methods to counter faster opponents. I imagine with your size and strength you are going to specialize in more of a tank role, taking and dealing heavy damage. This won't always work, there will always be someone who can hit harder than you. Work on some speed of your own and make plans for how you will deal with smaller opponents." Cardin gave him a lazy scowl, and an even lazier thumbs up. Yang frowned at that. Cardin seemed like the type of guy whose skull is too thick to realize when he's doing something wrong. She imagined it would take several more losses for him to fully understand and integrate Qrow's advice.
She walked up to the seating area and was greeted by looks of approval and words of congratulations. Yang didn't know what to think, so she thanked them and continued walking.
Yang made her way to the showers to clean herself up after her fight. Luckily the showers at Signal were more private than the ones she had seen on the movies she liked to watch a little too late at night. When she exited the locker rooms she was surprised to see a group of kids sitting outside, waiting for her.
"Hey! Yang, right? That was pretty cool what you did back there. You mind showing me some moves?"
"Yeah, do you want to spar sometime?"
"And maybe get some ice cream afterwards and you can tell us what it was like beating up Cardin?"
Yang was surprised by the assault of questions and invitations. She looked between them wide eyed as she thought of her answer. Her father always said she needed to get more friends. And she certainly was wanting to get some herself for some time now.
She smiled once she made up her mind. "Sure, that sounds like fun!"
Boom! Another chapter complete; the longest one yet.
As requested by some reviews, there is a time skip in this chapter, and there will be another one next chapter, so look forward to that.
As I said earlier, my job was the main reason why this took so long. I'm currently working with a neighbor of mine. He's a contractor and does a bunch of odd construction jobs around people's houses. Last week I helped him finish an interior of a garage; we installed insulation and sheetrock on the walls and ceiling. It's really labor-intensive work that I was not used to, and so opted to rest instead of write because of how tired it made me.
Fortunately, my boss doesn't have many projects for me this week so I should be good to get a lot of writing done. No promises, but there is a possibility of another chapter being posted by the end of the week.
Do you guys think I should reply to reviews in the end-of-chapter AN like some other writers do? Or should I keep on being mysterious with my story and keep up the radio silence (besides the normal author's note of course). Let me know in a review.
Until next time.
