The Hounds of Helghan (7)

Radec emerged from Visari's office, walking out the cramps that had built up in his legs from sitting through a long meeting. It had been a month since his promotion to Colonel, and since the start of his tenure at the academy. With Radec's new role of overseeing army training, Visari hoped to gain enough manpower to launch an invasion on Vekta. The meeting entailed rough schematics of the invasion plans. Radec's part in the grand scheme of it all was small. Still, a lot was riding on his shoulders. All of Helghan seemed to depend on him. Radec felt the stress and pressure build up inside him, like steam in a defunct engine with no shunts to let it out. His sigh shifted into a hiss as he slipped the respirator back over his face. He could really do with a bout of unwinding at the academy shooting range.

Metrac emerged from the doors next. "Colonel," he called, "might I have a word with you?"

Radec slowed his pace to let the general catch up. "You may."

As during his promotion ceremony to Colonel, he and Metrac walked alongside each other down the palace hall.

"I don't know why you insist on wearing that helmet here around the palace," Metrac remarked. "It's not necessary in a properly oxygenated environment like this. I've told you before, have I not?"

The general spoke out of amusement rather than as a firm order, so Radec left the helmet on, but kept the visor up as a polite gesture. "Call it a habit I find very hard to drop," the colonel replied. He didn't expect Metrac to understand, given the general's lofty social status and privileged upbringing. The helmet, and the respirator attached to it, told of Radec's low birth and he wasn't ashamed to wear it.

Metrac went on to change the subject. "What did you think of the meeting? An invasion, how exciting. Think of the Vektans finally getting what they deserve: their submission to our might and their subjugation to our rule."

A noncommittal grunt slipped out of Radec's mouth.

Metrac glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. "You sound less than thrilled."

Radec didn't share the general's enthusiasm. He cared only for the protection of his homeworld. He thought it wise not to voice his lack of interest in such things like conquest and genocide. It could get him into trouble. "This meeting left me drained, that's all," he said instead.

"You'll get used to it, my friend. There will be many more to come."

Radec bit back a sigh. He wasn't the sort to sit through lengthy, stuffy meetings like a bureaucrat. He preferred being pointed to the enemy and following orders to eliminate them.

"Anyway, that wasn't what I called you for. I want to talk to you about my sister."

Radec raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know that you had a sister, General."

Metrac winked. "Runa is a well-kept secret in my family. My father refuses to speak of her. Well, I for one am very proud of my little sister. She's fresh out of the elite shock trooper training program, which is independent of your academy, so small wonder you haven't heard of her."

"Are you about to recommend that she joins the 9th Division?"

"Sharp as always, Radec. You knew where this was going. But not all of it. I also want to recommend Runa for marriage with you."

That jolted the colonel with such disbelief that he lurched to a halt from his smooth stride. "Marriage? With me? An arranged marriage?" He squared his shoulders and returned his hands behind his back in efforts to regain his composure. "With all due respect, General, it's too early in the morning for joking around."

"Oh, I'm being perfectly serious."

Radec scrutinized Metrac's face for any sign of mirth and mischief, but to his horror, found none. The colonel strived to keep his voice even and measured, rather than sputtering with indignity. "Sir, marriage has never once crossed my mind, and I believe I'm abysmally ill-suited for that kind of life."

"Perhaps, if you were to partner up with a mere civilian. But this is a fellow soldier we're talking about here. And a member from a family of good stock, on top of that." Metrac rested a hand over his chest. "My family, one of the most oldest and most powerful second only to Visari's." With his other hand he swept it across in a gesture of grandiosity. "Think of the benefits that'll come with such a union. Marrying my sister would cement you in the ranks of the elite. I like you, Radec, and I think that you would be a good match for my sister. Besides, she lives for the simple things. She's a minimalist, a lot like you."

Radec's frown deepened. He considered himself in a good enough position already. The honors, titles, and responsibilities bestowed upon him by Visari were more than adequate for his taste. He certainly didn't need a class boost by marriage added to the pile. He could, however, always use good men to add to his ranks. Or rather, in this case, a good woman.

Metrac prodded at Radec's silence. "Well, what do you say, Colonel? Hmm?"

Finally, Radec said, "I am interested in gauging your sister's ability to join my unit, but nothing more than that. I am interested in her as a soldier, not as a partner for marriage. I want to make that distinction quite clear, General."

"I hear that loud and clear," Metrac replied. "I will bring her to your office tomorrow, then you tell me what you think."

"Very well." Make that the second thing Radec failed to share enthusiasm in.

Marriage. The very word made him cringe. It was a ridiculous fantasy he found impossible to picture for himself.

The next day, while in his office, the colonel took a break from paperwork to pull up the file on Metrac's sister from the military database. Runa Metrac: second lieutenant, elite shock trooper, graduated number two in her class, twenty-seven years old. Ten years younger than Radec. That spared him the waste of time that would come with asking her such basic questions in efforts to get acquainted with her.

The door alarm on his display screen interrupted his perusing, though the security camera showed just the general with his sister in tow, as expected. Radec pressed the key to lift open the double-layered doors to his office.

Metrac strode in as Radec rose from his desk and snapped a salute at him. "Top of the morning to you, Colonel. How do you like the office I had fashioned for you?"

"It suits me fine, sir." He was most pleased with the spacious bookshelves on both sides behind him, and to his relief, the general had refrained from throwing in garish colors and unnecessary decorations. Radec wanted his workspace to be kept simple and serviceable. Only the shelves gave away a sliver of his life outside of his duties and responsibilities: a penchant for voracious reading.

A pair of cushioned chairs faced each other before Radec's desk. Metrac settled himself into one of them, while Runa, clad in elite shock trooper armor, remained standing behind him. "We passed by the conduction of a training exercise along the way here. Fine recruits you're shaping up here, Colonel. What do you think, Runa?"

Her response to Radec came out somewhat muted and distorted from her helmet. "The Autarch must be pleased with how you're running the academy, sir. It runs like a well-oiled machine."

"Visari is pleased, indeed," Radec said. "Supply must meet the demand, and I make sure to supply him only with the best for the army he desires."

"No need to hide behind a helmet any longer, sister," Metrac told Runa cordially. "Show the good colonel your face."

She paused for a moment, then removed her helmet without objection, tucking it under one arm while making the quickest shake of her head to make shortly cropped hair fall back into place. With ash-blonde hair, green eyes, the athletic physique and human-like facial features of an evolved Helghast, she resembled her older brother. Unlike most Helghast, who look older than their real age no thanks to the harsh atmosphere, Runa actually looked like how a twenty-seven year-old ought to look under better conditions. She could pass for a human on Earth or Vekta. The average man might call her attractive, but Radec wasn't the sort of man who cared for such things.

Metrac clapped his hands together. "Well, I'll leave you two alone to get better acquainted. I have the kennel to attend to." He strode out of Radec's office with the swaggering, self-satisfied air of a man playing matchmaker. Another pursuit Metrac indulged in besides furnishing was breeding and training military dogs. Radec heard that he kept a whole pack of them at the Metrac family estate.

Radec stared into the direction Metrac walked off, even as the doors to his office slid shut. Unable to meet her eyes and search her face for reciprocated awkwardness, he cleared his throat. "At ease, Lieutenant. You may have a seat."

Runa took her brother's place. Biting back the urge to retreat behind his desk, Radec forced himself to sit across from Runa and face her. She rested her helmet on her lap, maintaining respectful posture before him.

"Your reputation precedes you, Colonel," she said. "It's a great honor to make your acquaintance."

Radec inclined his head at her. For the first time he was at a loss for words. He hadn't been around much women in his life, no thanks to the male-dominated nature of his profession. Even before that, during his childhood, he had no motherly or sisterly figure around. How did one go about talking to women? He bit back a growl of frustration.

At least Runa wasn't just a woman, but also a soldier. Radec knew how to speak to soldiers.

He squared his shoulders as he met her gaze. "Lieutenant, I'll be blunt. I've never liked small talk. I find it to be a waste of my time. The general would like to have you join my personal unit, the 9th Division. So as your prospective superior, I want to assess your fighting ability."

She made the slightest raise of her eyebrows. "You would like to have a spar with me, sir?"

"Are you opposed to the idea?"

"No, not at all."

"Very good." He rose to his feet. "Follow me, then."

Radec could tell even from his brief exchange with Runa that unlike her brother, she spoke without an upper class accent. Metrac made no effort to hide it, while Runa kept her tone smooth and neutral, neither distinctly upper class nor lower class. An invisible but conscious effort on her part, Radec guessed. Originating from the slums of Suljeva, he had done the same thing over the years, the more he learned from his studies. The way he talked now bore no trace of the rough, lower class dialect of his childhood.

As they left the office to make their way to one of the sparring rooms, Runa slipped her helmet back on. She didn't need the breathing apparatus, since she was an evolved Helghast. On her, it was mere decoration, part of the dress code. Still, she seemed to prefer having the helmet on, perhaps to avoid bringing attention to herself. If she walked around the academy with her face exposed, she would attract plenty of stares from the cadets, most of whom came from the lower class and have probably only seen beautiful women from magazines, advertisements, and such. The colonel's gaze made a brisk sweep over them. The last thing he wanted was for his cadets to be distracted.

Radec broke the silence between himself and Runa once they reached an unoccupied sparring room they could use. "I read from your file that you've earned exceptionally high marks at knife combat." He unsheathed an M32 combat knife from the room's selection of melee weapons, then turned to face her as he flipped the knife over many times in his hand. "I'm partial to knives myself. Show me what you got, Lieutenant."

Runa took up another M32, and her place across from him, with a few knife-flips mirroring his dexterity. Radec couldn't help a smirk behind his helmet. Of all the ways to fight, he found hand-to-hand combat the most satisfying.

Their knives struck up deadly-quick beats between the clash of steel-to-steel and slashes in the air. An inexperienced fighter would be thinking of only using the knife. Someone with more experience would remember to use the whole body, arms and legs, to disarm and throw off the opponent. Grappling hands and hooked arms joined the dance of knives. Clearly Radec outmatched her in brute strength, but she knew this and countered his strength with her agility. Every time, just as he was about to trap her in a fatal lock, she slipped away from the trap. But she never took advantage of any openings. He noticed the pattern, but wasn't keen on letting that go on.

"Time out," he called.

Both of them relaxed their stances. Their respirators hissed from pants of exertion.

"You're quick on your feet, Lieutenant, and your technique is solid, I'll give you that. But you're holding back. You're not giving it your all."

For the first time since they met, audible hesitation broke the neutrality in her voice. "I...I don't want any accidents, sir."

Radec shook his head. "There will be no accidents with me, I assure you." He flipped the knife back to a reverse grip. "No more playing defense. Come at me like you mean to kill."

Runa nodded and tightened the hold on her knife. They lunged and resumed the deadly dance. Radec noticed the change in her fighting style. Even as he met each of her blows with his counters, she pushed forward rather than falling back. She aimed for his neck, rather than at nonfatal areas like before. By now Radec got acquainted with her agility, and her moves fell into a predictable sequence. She was fresh from elite shock trooper training, after all, and unlike her, Radec had more experience under his belt, and more time to develop techniques of his own. In a few savage, fluid motions, he disarmed Runa, kicked her down, and pinned her to the matted floor. The edge of his knife hovered just over her exposed throat, above her heaving chest.

"That was better," he said. "I expect that kind of aggression and precision from you." He pulled his knife away from her neck and offered his hand to help her back on her feet. "You had to trust that I was good enough to match you in combat, just as I had with you. Trust goes both ways. I need you to understand that if you're to serve directly under me."

"Yes, sir." In the privacy of the sparring room, Runa pulled off her helmet to cool her sweaty face and smooth back tussled hair.

Radec retrieved her knife that he had sent flying from her grip, and stowed it away along with his. "Your high marks on knife combat wasn't the only thing I've read from your file. During the drills conducted for graduation, you injured a fellow cadet. That's what kept you from coming out at the top of your class."

Runa didn't hide her shame at that as she lowered her gaze. "It's true."

"But it's not your fault." That made her meet his eyes with surprise, and he went on, "I watched the clip of that match. You were doing everything right. I saw no clumsiness or missteps on your part. The other cadet's to blame for not being quick enough to block your move."

The young lieutenant's grip tightened over her helmet. "I cut her jugular vein. She almost died because of me."

"Because of her incompetence," he corrected her. "That same cadet went on to graduate number one in your class, but she's not the one I'm choosing to join my unit. It's you."

It took Runa a few moments to realize that his statement was official, and she nodded at him. "I'm honored by your approval, sir."

Radec nodded back at her, then headed out of the sparring room. "Come, Lieutenant. Do you smoke?"

"On occasion." She replied as if she wasn't sure how to interpret his question, whether he approved of the pastime or not.

"I like a cigarette or two myself after a bout of sparring. You are free to join me in my office."

He thought he saw the corners of her lips twitching upward. "I'll take you up on that offer, sir."

Though the academy was situated at a much lower level than Visari's palace, and therefore more susceptible to Helghan's volatile atmosphere, Radec's office was equipped with proper oxygenation. He and Runa removed their helmets to smoke from a pack he kept at his desk.

"I suppose most officers enjoy a glass of wine, or a bottle of beer, but I do not drink," Radec said.

Runa didn't ask him to elaborate on that remark. Growing up under an alcoholic father gave him that aversion. Besides, he found no appeal in the stuff that made one lose focus and good judgment. Under his management at the academy, cadets faced severe punishment for intoxication on the premises.

Radec took in a long draw of smoke before he said, "There's something else we need to address. Something we can't skirt around any longer. The marriage arranged between me and you by the general."

He scrutinized Runa for her reaction. Though she lifted her hand to her face to return the cigarette to her mouth, he managed to catch the slightest tightening of her lips. He wasn't going to let that slip by unnoticed.

"I want to know of your opinion on it, Lieutenant. Be honest with me." He gestured with his hand to the confines of his office. "You may speak freely here."

Runa was quiet for several moments, and finally she said, "No offense at all meant to you personally, sir, but I'm not happy with the arrangement."

"None taken," he said with relief. "I share your sentiment."

Emboldened by his agreement, she went on. "Women in the aristocracy are expected to look spotless, pretty, and behave nicely so they could be married off. That's what pushed me into the military."

Running away from the life she was given, using the military as a form of escape...Radec knew where she was coming from. Though he was born into the lowest caste on Helghan, andd she was born into the highest, they found common ground and solace in the army.

"Does your brother know what you think?"

Runa stared at the smoke wafting from the end of her cigarette. "I dare not speak up against him. He..." She paused, apparently to take care in her wording. "He dotes over me and he's proud of me, but he doesn't take me seriously."

"Then I will speak up on your behalf. I've hinted at my misgivings to him before, but next time I will push harder against his proposal, for both of our sakes."

She looked up, and for the first time since they had met, she smiled at him. "I'd appreciate that very much, sir. I just want to serve and carry out my duty to Helghan."

"So do I."

Most people grated on Radec's nerves. Not Runa. Unamused as he was with Metrac's antics, he at least had the general to thank for having a competent soldier like Runa in his ranks.

Runa is a character I came up with in 2013. You might remember her from a fic I had scrapped. I had mentioned her in my lead-up fic to KZSF, Flight of the Phoenix, as the mother of the twins who are brother figures and bodyguards to Maya/Echo (by then Runa is dead). I haven't forgotten her and I wanted to bring her back. Finally she's being featured properly here!