Training
Stahn and Rutee spend the next day or so working out in the gym. They had figured that it would help them when they went into battle again, since dragons reach their full potential by drawing on the energy, strength, and stamina of their pilots. If the attack was a large scale one, neither Stahn nor Rutee wanted to be caught with their guard down.
On the second day, Rutee's brother Emilio came into the training room. He watched them lifting weights for a little while, completely transfixed. It wasn't until he tried to grab Rutee's water bottle and take a drink that he was noticed.
"Don't do that again young man," demanded Rutee, "And Leon, you better remember something the next time you try to switch places. Emilio doesn't read the Swimsuit issue of Cutie Cat Girls monthly. Try something a bit more educational."
"Darn, I thought I had you there," groaned Leon.
Rutee told him, "Well, the book was a dead give away. Besides, he barely comes out of his room, unless you two are working on a duel prank on me. You on the other hand, are always out to drive this whole ship off the rocker."
Leon looked like he was ready to blow up at her, but he calmed down at the last minute. "I came to give you a message from the captain. He wants you to meet him in the infirmary. Must be an emergency. Finally going to get that plastic surgery for that ugly face of yours?"
"Watch it mister," Rutee yelled, "It's none of your business." With that, she and Stahn went to meet with the captain. * * *
As expected, the meeting was about Dryden. He had made a full recovery and was offering to teach Stahn and Rutee the finer points of dragon piloting. Along with this, he would train any Neko who wanted to learn the skills necessary to be a pilot.
"We need all the help we can get if we're to combat the Harpies," commented Dryden.
The captain asked, "How did you get stranded in deep space to begin with General?"
He then told his story to the three of them. Shortly after the invasion, the Harpies began to check the whole planet over for something that they wanted. After about five years, they finished their survey and realized what they wanted was no where to be found. So they returned to space to chase the escaped Nekoes. Dryden then led a handful of defenders to go and warn their people. But recently, his ship had been shot to ribbons, and he had to eject to save his life. Sadly, all of the warriors who were on his side had perished.
The captain took off his hat and bowed his head. "Deeply regrettable. However, we must not let their sacrifice be in vain. We will begin a complex training program immediately. We need as many young men and women to fight as we can get."
* * *
The announcement went out almost as soon as it was decided. To be a Neko Knight, a person must follow several credentials. First, they needed to be at least fifteen years old. Second, they must have steady hands and an even steadier eye. And finally, the person had to be willing to work in close contact with other people - - as every unit consisted of four Knights.
Surprisingly, only sixteen people showed up for training - - counting Stahn and Rutee. With only four units to send out, the general was severely limited in the types of maneuvers he could use in an actual battle. But he gritted his teeth and took it like a true soldier.
The first unit would consist of Stahn, Rutee, and Rutee's two brothers. She wondered what had convinced Emilio to come out and join the Knights in the first place - - he usually preferred to be by himself and hated group jobs. He probably was looking for a new way to bother her.
"Remember," she told them, "Battle is a dangerous things. One prank out there, and the whole team could get killed. So don't try it."
"Yes Rutee," they chorused.
Unit two was made up of Philia Felice - - (20) with braided emerald hair, purple eyes framed with glasses, and ears and a tail in yellow - - Lawrence Bishop - - (21) with long navy hair, light blue eyes, and black ears and tail - - Chelsea Torn - - the youngest at fifteen with long pink ponytails, light blue eyes, and a white tail and ears - - and Lilith Aileron - - Stahn's seventeen year old sister who looked like him except her ears and tail were pink. They were arguably the most inexperienced unit in the group. In fact, out of them all, only Lawrence had any previous training.
Unit three was made up of Marian Harris - - (24) with black hair, brown eyes, and a tan tail and ears - - Garr Kelvin - - (24) with silver hair, blue eyes, and a yellow green tail and ears - - Mary Vincent - - (25) with red hair and eyes, and a brown tail and ears - - and her husband Dalis - - also twenty five with black hair, blue eyes, and a red tail and ears. Except for Marian, the whole group was well versed in battle. It was thought that they would be able to supplement the second unit if needed.
Unit four was made up of Karyl Sheeden - - one of the oldest at 27 with blond hair, blue eyes, and a violet tail and ears - - Aqua Longston - - (23) with a light blue flip style hair, blue eyes, and an aqua tail and ears - - Fayte Moreu - - the other oldest at 27 with blue hair and eyes, and a jade tail and ears - - and his wire Leianna - - (26) with red hair, gray eyes, and a blue tail and eyes. They were the other group that was arguably the least experienced. Karyl and Fayte had fought each other in mock duels a few times, but that was all. Leianna never lifted a weapon in her whole life. Aqua had a little training in firearms, but not enough to be considered much.
"Well, if this is what I've got, I'll just have to deal with it," Dryden mumbled, "After all, they say 'beggars can't be choosers'."
"What was that sir?" asked Lawrence.
Dryden replied, "Nothing trainee Bishop. You are all here to learn what it takes to become Neko Knights. It will be a hard journey, but I know you can make it through. Our entire future depends on the success of this team."
- - - -
Well, we're going to get to a fight in the next chapter. I just needed to introduce all of the characters and their colors. Oh, and I know Marian is at a pretty young age. I always thought that she had been hired when Leon became a moody teenager, so her being younger would help him imagine his mother a little better - - since the woman died or disappeared when Leon was really young, thus making her young too.
Stahn and Rutee spend the next day or so working out in the gym. They had figured that it would help them when they went into battle again, since dragons reach their full potential by drawing on the energy, strength, and stamina of their pilots. If the attack was a large scale one, neither Stahn nor Rutee wanted to be caught with their guard down.
On the second day, Rutee's brother Emilio came into the training room. He watched them lifting weights for a little while, completely transfixed. It wasn't until he tried to grab Rutee's water bottle and take a drink that he was noticed.
"Don't do that again young man," demanded Rutee, "And Leon, you better remember something the next time you try to switch places. Emilio doesn't read the Swimsuit issue of Cutie Cat Girls monthly. Try something a bit more educational."
"Darn, I thought I had you there," groaned Leon.
Rutee told him, "Well, the book was a dead give away. Besides, he barely comes out of his room, unless you two are working on a duel prank on me. You on the other hand, are always out to drive this whole ship off the rocker."
Leon looked like he was ready to blow up at her, but he calmed down at the last minute. "I came to give you a message from the captain. He wants you to meet him in the infirmary. Must be an emergency. Finally going to get that plastic surgery for that ugly face of yours?"
"Watch it mister," Rutee yelled, "It's none of your business." With that, she and Stahn went to meet with the captain. * * *
As expected, the meeting was about Dryden. He had made a full recovery and was offering to teach Stahn and Rutee the finer points of dragon piloting. Along with this, he would train any Neko who wanted to learn the skills necessary to be a pilot.
"We need all the help we can get if we're to combat the Harpies," commented Dryden.
The captain asked, "How did you get stranded in deep space to begin with General?"
He then told his story to the three of them. Shortly after the invasion, the Harpies began to check the whole planet over for something that they wanted. After about five years, they finished their survey and realized what they wanted was no where to be found. So they returned to space to chase the escaped Nekoes. Dryden then led a handful of defenders to go and warn their people. But recently, his ship had been shot to ribbons, and he had to eject to save his life. Sadly, all of the warriors who were on his side had perished.
The captain took off his hat and bowed his head. "Deeply regrettable. However, we must not let their sacrifice be in vain. We will begin a complex training program immediately. We need as many young men and women to fight as we can get."
* * *
The announcement went out almost as soon as it was decided. To be a Neko Knight, a person must follow several credentials. First, they needed to be at least fifteen years old. Second, they must have steady hands and an even steadier eye. And finally, the person had to be willing to work in close contact with other people - - as every unit consisted of four Knights.
Surprisingly, only sixteen people showed up for training - - counting Stahn and Rutee. With only four units to send out, the general was severely limited in the types of maneuvers he could use in an actual battle. But he gritted his teeth and took it like a true soldier.
The first unit would consist of Stahn, Rutee, and Rutee's two brothers. She wondered what had convinced Emilio to come out and join the Knights in the first place - - he usually preferred to be by himself and hated group jobs. He probably was looking for a new way to bother her.
"Remember," she told them, "Battle is a dangerous things. One prank out there, and the whole team could get killed. So don't try it."
"Yes Rutee," they chorused.
Unit two was made up of Philia Felice - - (20) with braided emerald hair, purple eyes framed with glasses, and ears and a tail in yellow - - Lawrence Bishop - - (21) with long navy hair, light blue eyes, and black ears and tail - - Chelsea Torn - - the youngest at fifteen with long pink ponytails, light blue eyes, and a white tail and ears - - and Lilith Aileron - - Stahn's seventeen year old sister who looked like him except her ears and tail were pink. They were arguably the most inexperienced unit in the group. In fact, out of them all, only Lawrence had any previous training.
Unit three was made up of Marian Harris - - (24) with black hair, brown eyes, and a tan tail and ears - - Garr Kelvin - - (24) with silver hair, blue eyes, and a yellow green tail and ears - - Mary Vincent - - (25) with red hair and eyes, and a brown tail and ears - - and her husband Dalis - - also twenty five with black hair, blue eyes, and a red tail and ears. Except for Marian, the whole group was well versed in battle. It was thought that they would be able to supplement the second unit if needed.
Unit four was made up of Karyl Sheeden - - one of the oldest at 27 with blond hair, blue eyes, and a violet tail and ears - - Aqua Longston - - (23) with a light blue flip style hair, blue eyes, and an aqua tail and ears - - Fayte Moreu - - the other oldest at 27 with blue hair and eyes, and a jade tail and ears - - and his wire Leianna - - (26) with red hair, gray eyes, and a blue tail and eyes. They were the other group that was arguably the least experienced. Karyl and Fayte had fought each other in mock duels a few times, but that was all. Leianna never lifted a weapon in her whole life. Aqua had a little training in firearms, but not enough to be considered much.
"Well, if this is what I've got, I'll just have to deal with it," Dryden mumbled, "After all, they say 'beggars can't be choosers'."
"What was that sir?" asked Lawrence.
Dryden replied, "Nothing trainee Bishop. You are all here to learn what it takes to become Neko Knights. It will be a hard journey, but I know you can make it through. Our entire future depends on the success of this team."
- - - -
Well, we're going to get to a fight in the next chapter. I just needed to introduce all of the characters and their colors. Oh, and I know Marian is at a pretty young age. I always thought that she had been hired when Leon became a moody teenager, so her being younger would help him imagine his mother a little better - - since the woman died or disappeared when Leon was really young, thus making her young too.