Hello everybody. Two chapter at one day today for all of you. A little part out of my personal created Galran dictionary. 'Szechach' should be the Galran word for 'half-blood' and at the same time for 'dirt' or 'rubbish'. In this interpretation of this universe a Galra would make no difference between and so no other word should exist for 'half-blood' without this negative aspect in Galran language. Jessy had used this word because it's the only word existing and without the negative connotation in mind, but the only way to express this as a non-Galra is the context and the pronunciation. A hard and sad idea, I know, but due to the little information I could get, it seems to me a possible one.

Warning for this chapter: Mentioning of violence against children and mentioning of an raping attempt.

Acxa meets Jessy in the training room and both talk a bit about urgent matters. I wish all of you a lot of fun with this new chapter.

Better moods

Acxa heard the punching sounds and some forceful shouts, as soon as she entered the the training room. Her eyes widened in surprise. Jessy was sparring with AMRASU. The legs of the robot were covered with paddings and the machine presented the girl various legs in a remarkable speed. The girl punched and kicked the contact zones with quick and skilled movements. From time to time she dodged controlled strikes of the machine, only to start a new round of attacks from another side.

"Okay AMRASU, a short break."

Jessy had noticed Acxa entering the room and the robot took down all its legs and walked aside. Jessy walked to a trainings bank and took a towel to remove some of her sweat. Then she took up two trainings pads and walked over to Acxa, who had slowly reached the middle of the room. Jessy simply clapped with the pads twice as an offer for Acxa to be her sparring partner. The Galran hesitated a moment, but then took fighting position.

"Simple warm up. Left, left, right, right, all straight, kick left."

Acxa nodded and started with the combo. She wasn't sure, how hard she could start, but right after the second turn, she recognized, that she didn't needed to hold back. The girl in front of her had a good stand and seemed to be used to handle hard blows in such a session. Soon they changed to more complex and faster combos, but the girl handled the strikes. Acxa was sweating as well after twenty minutes.

"Okay, now your turn."

Jessy nodded at Acxa's offer and handed her the pads. They did the similar session, like Acxa before. The Galran was surprised, by the hard and fast strikes, the girl was able to deliver. They continued the session without a word, until Jessy also had finished even the last complex combo. Acxa nodded at the girl with respect.

"You had good teachers."

A little smile rushed over Jessy's lips.

"Thank you, you too."

Acxa nodded, but her face showed some grief. Jessy didn't missed that. She took her towel and handed Acxa a second one.

"I think, we both had to learn fast in order to survive. It must have been hard to grow up as a 'Szechach'."

Acxa bit her bottom lip. It seemed that Freyda had taught her a lot about Galran culture. Jessy's scanning eyes were full of understanding.

"Sorry, I didn't want to cut in open wounds."

Acxa shook her head.

"No, it's okay. You've hit the nail on the head."

The teenager gave her a sad face.

"I know, Freyda has shared some of her knowledge with me."

The teenager took the towel to rub some sweat out of her hair.

"Training has become a way to come down and to clear my mind. And as long as we were stuck on this planet it was also necessary to survive. I'm the oldest kid. I had to be prepared in case..."

Jessy's voice felt. She didn't finished the sentence. Acxa was standing beside her and struggled a moment with herself but then she placed a hand on the kids shoulder. The girl looked up and the Galra simply nodded at her. Jessy took place on the trainings bank and nodded with her head on the free space on her right side.

"You still might have questions. About Ronan and Freyda, about me and about Kathy. Today I'm in the right mood, ask, if you want and I may give you some answers. Your choice."

Acxa took place beside her. She thought over her bunch of questions, she still had about everything and then started with their last meeting.

"Kathy."

Jessy nodded.

"My family and hers were friends before the colony was attacked. We got separated and it was total coincidence, that I have found her again."

The voice of the teenager got darker.

"This bastard had stroke down her mother. He had a dagger and had hurt her badly. Kathy tried to protect her, but he had cut her with the blade all over her face."

She started to tremble and had made fists in anger. Jessy pressed her fingers so hard to a fist, that her knuckles turned white. Her breathing became pressed and heavy.

"I will never forget her scream in this moment. I'm not really sure, what has happened after he had hurt her. All I clearly remember again is, that I was treating Kathy's wound and that we had cried at her dead mother."

Acxa hesitated again but then she took Jessy's hand. The girl watched her doing so, but then she squeezed it.

"I took care for her from this day on, until Ronan found me and saved me from a group of men, who tried to take all from me."

At this moment Acxa dared to go a step further. She remembered, how much comfort Veronica had offered her last night. She wasn't sure, if this would be welcomed, but she wanted to show, that she understood her pain. She understood so much of it. So she carefully pulled her into a hug. Jessy let her do so and rested a moment in her arms until she carefully pulled herself out of the hug. She gave her a thankful nod.

"I still care for her a bit more than for the others. Don't get me wrong, we all have grown together. I love them. They are my family now. But the band between Kathy and me is special in a sad and bitter way."

Acxa swallowed hard, as she faced the determined look of the girl.

"Now I know, why you have warned me. I respect that. More than you might know."

Jessy nodded.

"I beg you to be gentle to her. Thanks to our new family, she had learned to trust again. She seems to have an eye for other peoples scars. To see her trying to help healing them after all she has been through is so much more, than I ever have hoped for her. Don't let her loose this new gained trust."

Acxa nodded back with teary eyes. She took a deep breath, before she continued asking.

"So she's doing the same with you. And all the other kids. And with Ronan and Freyda, I guess."

Jessy's eyes got a bright glow. She nodded heavy at Acxa.

"Yes. In fact their scars have made her trust them, especial Ronan's."

Acxa's face got pale as she mentioned his scar. The girl noticed that and her face got darker again.

"He has finally shown you his face behind his mask."

Acxa chewed her cheek.

"I still fear only a part of it. Only the visible."

Jessy smiled sad but she seemed to be glad, that Acxa hasn't forgotten her hint.

"It'll be his part, to show you the rest. I haven't talked with him about your upcoming duel, but I hope, that there will be a chance for both of you would find another way to settle things."

She stood up and orders Acxa to come with her. The Galra followed the girl to a mirror, which was at one wall. The girl pushed on a button at a panel beside the mirror and a screen popped up, which showed another trainings room. Two people were in a heavy fight within this room, an human and a Galra. Acxa inhaled sharp. Her eyes widened in shock and surprise. Ronan and Freyda were attacking each other with blades. The strikes were delivered with deadly strength and enormous speed.

"This is training for him."

Acxa recognized, that Jessy's voice was also shaking.

"I have seen this many times before, but I still couldn't get used to it."

Acxa's look returned to the screen. Freyda was breathing hard. It was obvious, that she didn't held anything back. But Ronan deflected her strikes and countered her attacks every time. Then with a sudden move, he increased the speed, striking Freyda's blade out of her hand, like she never had have a good grip on it and pinning her down on the ground. Both stayed for a second in this position, then he offered her a hand and pulled the Galra up again. He handed her his blade and this time she attacked him, while he defended himself without any other weapon. It was all the same. The Galra didn't seemed to have a chance against him. Jessy noticed the surprised and shocked look of Acxa.

"Look closer at him."

The girl let the camera focusing on Ronan. Acxa got pale. The breath of the man was still controlled, unlike Freyda's and he was barely sweating.

"How is this possible?"

Her shocked look was faced by uncertain look for the teenager.

"I don't know, but it scares me every time."

She took a deep breath in.

"Like I don't know, how he could have survived the last eight weeks without any sleep. Or the former months after the arrival of Galran troops with less than three or four hours of sleep every day."

But now her eyes got a warning glow.

"But I know, that a duel would kill you." She hesitated a moment and her face looked like she was hurt by something. "And I'm not a fan of this solution."

Acxa raised an eyebrow, this quote had caught her off guard. The girl closed the observing screen and both returned to the trainings bank.

"I trust Kathy and I trust myself. I don't know much about Tantalus, Freyda does. But I know enough, that I'm sure about his reasons for this call. Some persons doing dark things, because they love it. Others have no choice. They simply want to survive and later they get used to it."

Acxa bit her bottom lip. She felt the Jessy's eyes on her.

"I think you belong to the last ones. And much more important, you have started to change things. You have chosen a new way."

She saw the burning look in Jessy's eyes. The determination in the girls face let her eyes glow like two bright stars.

"They have shown me, that changes are possible. Ronan believes in this, like he also believes in honor. This counts for him. There has to be be the chance to find another way. For both of you."

She stood up and took a few steps away from Acxa. Her face was hidden for the Galra now, but Jessy's voice was dark and dangerous.

"In the end, I care more for him, than for you. I can easily think of a bunch of terrible consequences for him, when this duel should become reality. I'll try to protect him from this. And I know Freyda is trying the same."

She turned back to Acxa and the Galra noticed, that her bottom lip was quivering. The teenager was again struggling with her feelings.

"And if I'm right about you, then you deserve a chance."

Acxa's mouth was dry. Her tongue seemed to be heavy and felt swollen, but it wasn't. She watched at the trembling girl. She saw a bit of her own strength in her, when she had been as young as Jessy was.

"You have encouraged Veronica to keep on asking?"

The girl nodded and faced the look of the woman, who continued with her questions.

"Ronan has said, I shouldn't blame her for trying to protect me."

A smile rushed over Jessy's lips.

"He's right." She took a deep breath in. "So take any help you could get, cause if you couldn't convince him..." She nodded back to the mirror. "...I think you have a clue, what this would mean for you."

Acxa's face felt. She remembered the scared and tortured face of the man from yesterday. He was fighting demons. She understood Jessy's worries. Ronan seemed to fight so many battles at the same time. So many different demons. And out of nowhere there was the chance to end one of these fights. Like her was offered a chance to come clean. To handle her own guilt.

"He doesn't blames the soldiers, he blames their commanders. I was one of them. How did he found out about me and Tantalus."

Jessy's eyes flickered in surprise and worry.

"He was an engineer on Tantalus. Maybe he had managed to hack in some systems? I really don't know." She did a short break and nodded for herself. "That's why he calls you only General."

Jessy hit her chest with her fist nodded at Acxa. The Galra's eyes widened in surprise, but she returned the respectful greeting.

"Kathy had asked for you. You should visit her after your training."

The teenager left the room, followed by AMRASU.

Acxa went quite. She was taking her towel but her thoughts had left the room. Flashes from the burning city rushed through her mind. And the deformed ring, Freyda had shown her. Rightful revenge. She felt her stomach cramping. She had seen his hate, this dreadful fire, fueled by his grief. It had also lightened a fire of hate in herself. And this fire was growing dangerously within her. She was one of his demons, how could she refuse him the chance to get rid one of them. Especially when it meant, that she could also get rid of her own at the same time.