Disclaimer: Red vs. Blue belongs to Rooster Teeth, not me. I make no profit from this, and no copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 13

It was several days later, and Tomoko sat in the hammock in Sister's engine room, swinging gently back and forth while Sister and Cody tinkered with parts upgrades.

"Sister, I've double checked all the information I could find on your brother to make sure it's accurate. He's flying a pelican working with a team of ODSTs," she said as she scrolled across her data pad.

"Seriously? That is so cool! How did he manage that?"

"It says here, 'demonstrated exceptional ability.' They sent him to flight school before he even finished basic training, and to the front lines from there. So, its good that you found us really, because he wouldn't have been where you were going by the time you got there."

"Have you figured anything out about the draft yet?"

"No, that info is proving more elusive. Either way, you're stuck with us for a while. There's no way our boss will allow this ship into an active war zone, and there's no way Sven will let you go by yourself."

"Well, I like it here, so that's okay. I'm just worried about Grif."

"That's war, I'm afraid. I've got an alert set on his files though, so we'll know if anything changes. Also I made sure your extranet address is secure so you can't be located if someone tries to hack your messages. Speaking of which, Sven gave you the run down on what you're not allowed to tell your brother, right?" Tomoko arched an eyebrow in question.

"Oh yeah. I'm not telling Grif anything. He definitely still thinks I'm in school on the Moon. He'd kill me if he found out I ran off." Sister assured her. "And if I was a spy you messing with my messages would make me nervous, but I'm just happy that means I won't get in trouble for leaving the moon base," Sister said.

"Plus t-the fact that Girlie is great at spotting spies and she hasn't actually pointed a knife at you once. She is annoyed t-that you're getting more attention than she is, t-though." Cody said. Sister brushed her long hair out of her face and smiled. "You know, I could braid your hair if you want. I always used t-to do my t-two sister' hair." Cody offered.

"That would be awesome!" Sister said, and immediately sat down in front of him. "How many sisters do you have?"

"One older and one younger." he replied as he took Sister's hair in his hands.

"Where are they now?"

"My older sister is fighting Covenant. My younger is still in school, living with our grandparents."

"How did you end up here, anyway?" Sister asked curiously.

"Our parents died in a Covenant attack. I sort of lost it for a while – ran around being reckless, stealing cars and the like. I got arrested, and t-then I was offered a deal to come work out here rather than go to jail," Cody said casually. Sister mentally ticked off another box on her list of clues that these people weren't Insurrection.

"What about you Tomoko – any siblings?"

"Nope. I was born out here. My parents were mercenaries."

"I thought you said they were programmers."

"Yeah, mercenary programmers. They taught me everything I know about computers, and I took this job when they died. I grew up on this ship, actually. I've seen most of its crew come and go many times."

"Wow …. what about Sven?" Sister asked finally.

"Well, most information about Sven is complete hear-say and rumor." Tomoko looked as though she didn't want to go on.

"What do they say?" Sister's eyes begged, though her voice was casual.

"Well, supposedly his whole family joined the Insurrection when they discovered that the oldest kid, Demo's brother, had been kidnapped into the Spartan program. They protested ONI at first, but they couldn't get any proof. Demo, Sven and Connie were then raised on a mercenary ship to be deadly warriors by Rick's family. Once they grew up, Connie infiltrated the evil Project Freelancer by acting as a double agent in the UNSC for many years, and Rick is basically her handler for that mission." Tomoko stared at Sister dramatically. Sister just blinked.

"Uh huh, and how much of that is true?" she asked.

"Well, you heard him say the bit about Demo's brother being a Spartan, though I have no idea how he found out. I can't even hack ONI, and trust me I've tried. The bit about Connie is mostly true, though she's pretty young, so she hasn't been doing it all that long. Though according to another story I heard they were going to join the UNSC and fight aliens, but this job pays a lot more and has a lower death rate apparently. As for their childhoods, only Cookie could tell you anything true about that." Tomoko shrugged.

"You guys are all so interesting!" Sister cried. "I wish I was interesting. Is that like a goal I can have – become interesting?" Cody and Tomoko stared at Sister incredulously as she flipped the tail of her newly done braid over her shoulder.

"We think you're interesting Sister," Cody said.

"Really?" They nodded. "Aw, you guys rock!" Sister jumped up and hugged them both.

Later, in her bunk, Sister was digging through her duffel and found the journal that strange doctor had given her before. She still hadn't gotten around to opening it, so she pulled it out to investigate. She flipped through casually at first, then immediately turned back to the first page.

"What the hell?" she muttered. "I can't read any of this chicken scratch!"

"What are you muttering about kid?" came Girlie's annoyed voice from below her.

"I can't read this stupid book!" Sister said louder.

"You don't know how to read?" Girlie asked.

"What? No, of course I do, bitch! I meant I can't read this." Sister dangled the book over the edge of her bed and Girlie took it from her. There was a quiet moment.

"Sister, this is written in Sangheli. Where did you even get it?"

"Huh? You mean the aliens? A friend gave it to me. A human friend."

"Well, good luck with that. Practically nobody knows Sangheli." Girlie handed the book back to Sister. "I don't know what use you would have for it."

"Well, I'd certainly be interesting if I spoke Sangheli," Sister muttered as she thought back to her earlier conversation wit her friends. She decided to try to learn it. It wasn't like she anything better to do except learn about computers from Tomoko and work on her ship.

%

After a week or so Sister had actually learned her way around the ship, and she was getting bored. Doc had cleared her for more physical activity and pointed her to the training floor. When she arrived she was pleased to see Sven sparring with Girlie. She stood and watched for a few minutes. They fought with training knives, and their movements were quick and strong, as well as graceful. Sven glanced her way and she smiled happily. Girlie tripped him and he landed on his back on the mat. Girlie laughed at him.

"It's not like you to get distracted by a pretty face, Sven."

"And it is exactly like you to take cheap shots," he shot back at her. Sister approached the mat as Girlie helped Sven to his feet.

"Can you teach me?" Sister asked.

"You're kidding right?" Girlie snorted. "You've got the attention span of a moth." Sister frowned at her.

"Only if something is boring. Sven, please will you teach me?" She looked up at him hopefully.

"Of course solnyshka. Has Doc cleared you for activity?"

"Yeah, he told me how to get here. I was just going to do basic stuff – I'm used to working out for cheer leading – but learning to fight seems more useful."

"It is a good skill to have, but you should still do your conditioning. Skill is nothing without the strength and stamina to back it up. Let's start by you just showing me what you can do."

"Okay!" Sister said excitedly. She began warming up, then stretching. Girlie rolled her eyes and went to practice with her knives. Sister then ran the hardest set of drills, including some fairly impressive gymnastics, that she could remember from school. Afterward, she lay on the floor breathing deeply. Sven stood looking down at her.

"Gimme a sec. I can lift too. I put all the other girls at school to shame with these guns. Some of the guys too," she smiled.

"It is okay. You can rest. You do not want to over do it."

"It's fine. Working out is one of my favorite things! Another way my brother and I are total opposites." Soon enough she was up and lifting, though she was careful of her arm's weakened state. Girlie came over and watched for a moment.

"Ah, the energy of youth," she said. "She can lift a lot for a little thing."

"It runs in the family," Sister said happily. "Remember how I told you my mom was the bearded lady and the fat lady in the circus she joined? Well, when the strong man gets sick, she does that too!"

"It that true?" Girlie raised her eyebrows at Sven.

"I honestly have no idea," he replied. He turned back to Sister. "We'll start training you tomorrow."

"We?" Girlie sounded offended.

"Yes. We. You are in charge of her lessons if I am busy. What is the point of having a new recruit if she is not trained?" he said firmly.

Girlie sighed dramatically. "Fine."

%

Sven started teaching her the next day, and she was happy to find that a significant portion of her time was still spent stretching, lifting, and conditioning. She was not happy to find that fighting was actually as much of a mental sport as a physical one, and there wasn't a book she could memorize on it. Just knowing the correct types of punches and kicks wasn't exactly what Sven was going for with his teaching method.

"Owww!" Sister hit the ground and glared up at the man from the floor.

"You are telegraphing," Sven said.

"Huh?" Sister squinted in confusion.

"You move too much so I can tell what you will do before you do it. You are also much too tense. All of that wastes energy. You have to focus on economy of movement," Sven explained.

"Economy? I hate math," Sister whined.

"You have to eliminate all excess movement. Try again." Sven helped Sister to her feet and she raised her fists again. She tried to relax, noticed herself bouncing a little, tried to stand still, readied herself to throw a punch –

"Aah!" She shrieked and jumped back as Sven's fist came flying toward her.

"Too much movement. No screaming. No flinching at all. Try again. Block like I showed you before."

"This is hard! There are too many things to think of at once!" the girl complained.

"Hence why there aren't many people who are actually good fighters." Sven nodded at her. Sister readied herself again, and this time she blocked Sven's punch.

"Owww!" She said again. "Why should I block when I can just move out of the way?" She demanded. "I'm fast enough." Sven shook his head at her and called Girlie over.

"Watch," he said, and suddenly his and Girlie's fists and feet were flying in a blur. They expertly blocked one another's attacks. They went on for a couple of minutes until Sven took a step back. He looked at Sister.

"Still think there will be time to move – or just time to block?" he asked expectantly.

"Okay, I get it," Sister sighed.

"Jumping out of the way breaks your momentum, and it uses more energy than blocking. It is more efficient to ignore the pain and block the strike. When people talk about waiting for their opponent to make a mistake, this is what they mean. When you flinch or dodge or show pain, when you telegraph your movements with flashiness or showmanship, it is a waste of time and energy. It gives them an opening. Not giving way is also a show of confidence that will affect your opponents."

"Right, I understand." Sister looked determined.

"Again," Sven said, and they continued sparring. Sister was on the ground again soon after.

"Owww..." she almost growled. "There are still too many things to remember."

"Giving up already?" Girlie asked from nearby.

"No!" Sister cried, and was on her feet in an instant. Sven rewarded that with a hint of a smile.

%

About a week into her training, Sister was mostly cured of dodging. She was still telegraphing all her movements though. It was Girlie who finally figured out why. She walked into their shared room to find Sister, Tomoko, and Cody sitting with their feet dangling off the top bunk, staring intently at a movie playing on Tomoko's data pad. Girlie snatched it out of her hands.

"What the hell is this?" she demanded. On the screen was a badly dubbed kung fu movie, the actors almost dancing through their choreographed fight scene. She glared at them for a moment more. "Sister, get your ass the the gym. Now."

"We already sparred today," the girl began.

"Now!"

"Okay! Geez!" Sister hopped down and headed out the door.

"Sprint Missy!" Girlie shouted, and Sister picked up the pace. Once in the training room, Girlie faced Sister on the mat. Sister raised her fists.

"I'm ready," the girl said. Girlie just stared for a moment. Sister lowered her hands. "What's the deal? I thought – aah!"

Girlie attacked with a speed and ferocity Sister hadn't expected. Sister blocked, blocked again, tried to fight back, and became aware that Girlie was yelling at her.

"Fighting is not romantic! Fighting is not pretty! When someone is trying to kill you they will not choreograph it first! You aren't going to impress anyone with how cool you look if you're dead!" Sister took a fist to the face and let out a cry of pain. She collapsed onto the mat with a whimper. Sister knew Sven had been pulling his punches, obviously, but she had thought she was doing well. Girlie had shown her otherwise. The woman wasn't even the best fighter on the ship.

"If you want homework then watch some footage of real fights. Romanticism and Survivalism don't mix." Girlie glared down at Sister. Sister sniffed, held back her tears, and wiped blood off of her lip. She stood up, glared back at Girlie, and walked out.

She beat them to the training room the next day. Sven looked a bit surprised, and there was a questioning look in his eyes when he saw Sister's busted lip and new bruises, but she said nothing, so neither did he. Girlie just grinned at her.

"I didn't think you'd show again. You've got grit, kid!" Sister improved quickly after that. It wasn't long after that Sven taught her something new.

"You're getting the economy of movement concept quite well now, and the correct technique of the strikes as well. Now for the next step. Besides being efficient with your own body, you must be strategic with your your strikes. There is no point in hitting someone, in the stomach say, where they have the most natural padding. You need to go for the weak spots."

"You want me to try to kick you in the nuts?" Sister asked skeptically. Girlie laughed from across the room where she was throwing knives at a target.

"Actually, a man is always ready to defend himself there. You want to go for the throat, the ribs on the sides where they are weakest, the solar plexus, kidneys, and knees."

"So, it's basically like in Indiana Jones when he punches that giant guy in the stomach and it does nothing – he's like, clearly an archaeologist, not a fighter, because that was dumb."

"Exactly."

"Yes! Ancient movie references for the win!" Sister pumped her fist in the air. Sven always got her movie references.

"So, today I'll show you the best ways to execute these strikes, as well as how to avoid them," Sven continued with a smirk.

Another week in, Sister learned yet another vital rule of fighting.

"Okay, Kaikaina, I want you to hit me as hard as you can." Sven braced himself, readying for her attack.

"Literally as hard as I can?" Sister sounded skeptical.

"Yes." Sven nodded seriously. Sister let her fist fly and struck. Sven barely even reacted.

"Aww man, I thought I was pretty strong," Sister whined. "Wait, you hit me now. I want to compare." She braced herself as Sven had done and looked at him expectantly.

"Sven, should I go get Doc?" Girlie called.

"Hmph." He frowned. "Ready?" he asked Sister.

"Bring it on," she said. She blocked the punch, but it didn't matter. Sister practically flew backwards and hit the ground. She moaned pitifully, and Sven sat down beside her. He brushed some loose strands of hair out of her face while she took deep breaths.

"Today's lesson – sometimes it doesn't matter how skilled you are. If your opponent is bigger and stronger, they can hit you harder. It's just physics. That is another myth the movies you like so much tell – that a little person can evenly match a big one – but if they are equally matched in skill level, the bigger stronger one will win, unless you get lucky. That is why speed and strength are so important in addition to skill. That is why we do drills on your reaction times, and why it is good that you lift already."

"That's me, always using my advantages," Sister laughed weakly. Girlie came over and grinned at the girl on the floor.

"That also leads us to our next lesson," Girlie said. Sister looked up at the woman questioningly. "Fighting dirty," she said with a malicious grin.