All That Was Lost

by Robert Byers

  Tiberius stood, he was angry now, his vision swam with a blood red tint and his friends backed away from him, scared at the look on his face. “Walsh!”

  Both Walsh and the captain looked at him as he charged the man, she barely had time to step back out of his way before he tackled Walsh to the mat. His shoulder slammed into the man with such force they could hear a crack, and his head smacked against the mat and bounced.

  Lifting a fist he slammed it forward into Walsh’s face, right at the top of his right eye, drawing first blood and a cracking sound. Walsh’s head bounced right back into another fist that caught his nose and sent it sideways.

  Captain Sidonia stared, she couldn’t believe the raw anger he showed, she’d never seen any cadet snap like that before. “Cadet Vesper stand down!” she called, but he either didn’t hear, or didn’t care. He dropped three more bombs on Walsh’s face, his eyes rolled back in his skull, he was already knocked out. “Cadets Bowen, Claudianus separate them!”

  Both of Tiberius’ friends went for the trio, he continued dropping bombs on him until Quintus grasped one arm, Bowen the other, and they pulled. He didn’t move. They continued to pull as he looked back at them and let out a guttural roar and ripped his arms from them.

  He grasped Walsh’s head and slammed it one more time against the mat before he turned on his friends and began stalking towards them. Tiberius was full on angry now, he’d fight like a man possessed and there was nothing that would stop him.

  As he stared at the pair of them Captain Sidonia drew her sidearm and thumbed the activation stud and fired a blast of blue energy at the raging cadet. It hit him square in the chest and he dropped like a marionette with it’s strings cut.

  Both of his friends stared at him then back to the captain who just shook her head. “I’m sorry boys but I had no choice, he’s unconscious though, it’s set to stun.”

  The pair of them looked back down at their friend and reached down to grab an arm, trying to be gentle. “What’s going to happen to him, Sir?” Quintus asked her.

  “He’s spending the night in the brig, then it’s up to the Admiral what he wants to do.” She pressed a finger to her ear and spoke, “I need security and medical to F deck gym.” She looked back at them and shook her head, “I’m actually sorry about this, your friend is a good cadet but I can’t let him put more people in danger with his actions. We’ll see what Admiral Harcourt wants to do with him.”

  It was only another few seconds before a medical team and a pair of security guards carrying stun rifles came flying into the gym and she explained what happened. They took Tiberius out of the room as the medics checked Walsh’s vitals with a medpad and one of them shook her head. “This guy needs some serious attention. He’s got a concussion, dislocated nose, broken orbital socket, multiple minor skull fractures. What the hell happened?” she asked as she looked up at Captain Sidonia.

  “He cheated to win a sparring match and one of my new cadets stomped a mud hole in him. Simple as that.”

  The medic shook his head but didn’t say anything as they lifted Walsh onto a backboard and flicked the activation switch so it floated three feet up in the air, it made it a hell of a lot easier than carrying someone. With a final look at the captain they left taking Walsh to the infirmary. She thought about what was happening and left to speak to the Admiral, he’d want to know if one of his cadets possessed the Berserker-gene.

  —

  Fleet Admiral Harcourt sat in his quarters, at his desk and waited for his XO to arrive.

  He looked at the picture on the corner of his desk and felt a wave of sadness, the pain of her loss felt anew, that brief moment when he woke each day was getting shorter and shorter until he would someday realize she was gone as soon as he awoke.

  Just as tears began to prick his eyes at the thought of how old she’d be today, if she’d survived, he was saved by the sound of his doorbell alerting him that his XO, Erika Doyle, was here. Looking up he pressed a button on his desk and the door slid open allowing her entry.

  She gave him a swift salute and said, “Sir, I’ve found something that you’ll want to see. You told me to keep an eye on the eight cadets Adviser Bellamy mentioned and well, I’ve noticed that one of them is making quite an impact and not just on his squadmates.”

  She pulled out her tablet and laid it before him, touching the screen to play the video. The Admiral watched as Tiberius attacked one of his own squad, and just how rough he was in the corridor. Then he saw boy being hit in the nuts and slammed into the mat, while his opponent argued with his CO— The Admiral made a mental note to find out who the kid was and bump him a few ranks for his insubordination— then Tiberius went off.

  The Admiral had never seen anyone go off like that before, at least no one without that gene. His opponent was down and then he turned on his friends, it had to be new for him to feel this, otherwise he would have shown it in basic.

  “That boy shows some promise already, he would be good for the Hellhounds.”

  She nodded and said, “But that’s not even the best part, Cadet Vesper is already showing he’s got leadership material, he could become a captain or even higher if he’s put in the right place, and has the right incentive.”

  He thought about it a bit and nodded, “Alright, put a recommendation in for him to join that unit, but he’s got to show he really has what it takes or he’s not going.”

  “Aye Sir.” She said as she turned on her heel and left.

  He sat with his eyes focused on the door and his mind focused on the cadet, he was going to be in for some rough times if he kept it up.

  “Admiral Harcourt, Sir, may I come in?” a voice said from the doorway and he looked up to see it was Captain Sidonia standing in the hallway. He pressed a button to let her in and waived his hand to tell her not to worry about the pleasantries. “Sir I have a cadet you need to take a look at.”

  “Tiberius Vesper, Terran, and has the gene. Am I right?” he asked and she either knew that his XO had shown him the footage, or she had a hell of a poker face. She nodded and he shook his head. “Remind me never to play chips against you, Captain. I saw the footage, this boy is going to be reckless and get someone killed.”

  “Then let it be the enemy, Sir. Let him fight against the terrorists and I know he will fight well. We just have to be careful with his training from here on out.”

  “I’ve recommended he be sent to the Hellhounds if he completes his training under you.”

  That bomb wasn’t one she was expecting and Sidonia stared at him in shock. “Hellhounds? You think he’s Hellhounds material Sir? That’s crazy right now, we can’t let them get their hands on him until he can control that gene, then he’d be an amazing soldier. But if they get him he’s going to turn into one of them.”

  “Yes, he will become a hound, he’ll become one of the Emperor’s Chosen Few.” He was starting to feel a pounding at his temples and he shook his head. “My decision is final Captain, get to work making him the best soldier you can until he can be sent to the ‘hounds.”

  “Sir he’s in the brig right now—”

  “Then get him out when he wakes up, no sense spoiling a good sleep cycle. Let him sleep and then get him out for training. You have three months to mold him into the type of soldier the ‘hounds would want, and the type that would make the Emperor smile on you.” He waived a hand dismissing her, but she stared at him a few more seconds before leaving.

  Chapter 5

  The brig. It wasn’t a fancy place, that was for sure. But it was efficient. It was a small five by four cell that was just large enough for someone to kind of sleep on a cot and a small toilet to do your business in. And it was hell.

  Tiberius woke up in the room and stared at the walls for almost a full minute before realizing he wasn’t hallucinating, these were the walls to the brig and not a nightmare. He tried to think back to what would have put him in here, but he couldn’t think of anything. After Walsh cheated and slammed him he’d blacked
out, he couldn’t remember if they took him to the infirmary or not.

  A chime announced there was someone here to see him and the door outside of the cell and down two spots opened, allowing Captain Sidonia entrance. “Glad to see your awake Cadet.” She said as he tried to salute her, maybe if he showed he was respectful he’d get out of this place.

  “Sir, what am I doing here?”

  “Right, you probably haven’t had it happen before, or at least not much.” She sighed and stood in front of his cell. “Have you ever been so angry that you blacked out before? Maybe attacked some friends and didn’t remember it?”

  “I’m pretty sure if I attacked my friends I would remember it.” He said defensively, unsure of what she was getting at.

  “Actually no, you wouldn’t. Or not in this case at least. Have you heard of the Emperor’s Chosen Few?”

  “That myth that he chose certain people to become the best warriors the Imperium had to offer? Yea, I heard the myth behind it, but never put much stock in it.”

  He had heard the myths, that the Emperor himself had seen the future, that he knew one day he’d need a group of super soldiers to fight humanities war for survival and had seeded several families with a gene that would emerge when the time for the war was near. Supposedly it would make the person who possessed it nearly invincible, but it was so absurd it had to be a myth, just like the mythos of the ancient Christian religion and their One God.

  “It’s not a myth.” The statement was simple and short, something she knew would get his attention. “The whole thing is real, as real as the Emperor himself. And you are one of those people.”

  Tiberius stared at the woman and then started laughing at her, she had to be crazy, she had to be. Until she pulled her datapad and played the footage of him assaulting his squadmate and then turning on his friends. He couldn’t believe it, he’d gone absolutely psycho.

  And what was worse is he wasn’t sure why he’d done it. But it wasn’t the first time he’d lost time like that. He’d need to figure out what was happening, and keep it under wraps before it got out of hand.

  “Cadet, I’m here to offer you a deal, there’s different ways to control that gene, and it can be controlled. You just need to let us help you. Will you do that?” she was betting on this, betting that he would want to be better than he was now and that he’d let them train him more. “It would mean increased training, but also you’d be out of the brig in an hour tops as opposed to a few weeks.”

  He kept his head down and thought about it for a minute, then asked. “If I let you help me, does that mean you’ll teach me to control that rage?”

  “It means that you’ll have more control yes, but it also means that you’ll be trained as one of the Emperor’s Hellhounds. His personal fighting force that has the best of the best.” She walked closer to the forcefield that kept him inside the cell. “What do you say?”

  He looked up at her and nodded. “I’ll do it…I need to be sure I have it under control.”

  “Good, I’m glad you agreed. Now, here’s what we need to do.”

  She talked to him for a good hour about what the next steps were. It would be a tedious and long process, but he’d be trained like the others who had the gene. He’d be taught to control it. It was a process he’d need to get used to doing by himself, because if he did it around the others they’d know something was wrong, and that something was off with him. She couldn’t risk them knowing he was different from them in such a way, or it would bring discord among the squad.

  —

  The following two days were boring to say the least. Nothing exciting happened since Tiberius put Walsh in the infirmary, but with their advances he was out in a day, and they were kept apart for good reason. Captain Sidonia was afraid if Tiberius lost control again he might kill the other cadet, and then they’d lose a valuable soldier.

  But they did keep on with their training, and it was brutal. They all ran five miles right after breakfast, which meant they weren’t eating a large breakfast just so they didn’t throw it all up. Then it was their gym time, doing sit ups, weights, hell even the punching bags and sparring. Everything got changed up each day so she could keep them on their toes and where they were having a hard time thinking, because it had to become second nature to them, muscle memory.

  But today would be different, fun even, because today was the day they did target practice.

  Captain Sidonia led them from the gym to the range, it was another separate part of the ship, one floor up from the gym and three rooms over and had them stand along the back wall as she stood at the front where the targets were located.

  Six red dots were painted on the floor in front of the transparent shield that would protect them from ricochets. Past the shield was a grouping of hard light holographic rocks and grass, the whole thing looked like someone had transplanted a portion of the jungle inside and on the far side of the room was a doorway, what was through that doorway was unknown to the cadets, but the area around it was open enough to their eyes.

  “Here’s what is going to happen today Cadets. You lot are going to put your training to use and learn how to shoot.”

  Every one of them looked at her like she was mad, they all knew how to shoot. They’d been through basic after all.

  “Now when I tell you you’re going to learn to shoot I mean how we do it here. Our way. In basic you learned how to fire a gun, but here you’re going to learn how to use that gun to save lives. The drills we run today are going to be to teach you how to cover your fellow squadmates. And how to flank an enemy.”

  One of the recruits put his hand up and Sidonia face-palmed as she said, “You don’t need to raise your hand Bowen, this isn’t a bloody classroom.”

  “Sir, we already know how to protect each other, and flank an enemy. What’s the difference here that we didn’t learn back at the academy?”

  “Back at the academy how many people were in a squad with you?”

  “Three plus me, Sir.”

  “And that is the biggest difference.” She put her hands behind her back, shoulders back and her back went straight as a board. “Back at the academy they train you how they feel you’ll be best taught, they are training you to take on small groups of people, like you’ll be patrolling a city block rather than actually seeing combat. But here, I’ll be training you to work with eleven others, and to use that number to your advantage, so we can take out an entire base of terrorists.”

  “A base?”

  “I thought it was just a small group?”

  “We actually get to fight them?”

  Three people spoke up at once, all shocked by what she was saying. Being on Titan they came to believe the “insurrection” or the “terrorists” were just a small group of radicals who would be dealt with quickly and brutally. None of them could believe it was something much more, but with how the captain spoke Tiberius wondered just how large their group was.

  “Calm down, calm down. First of all, yes, these terrorists are a larger problem then you were told because we don’t want everyday citizens to overreact and think they are all in danger. But yes, you will be training on a different scale. All of you were picked for this ship because we lost some good soldiers in our last skirmish with them.”

  She began walking towards the far side of the line of cadets, “Now these rebels have their own small armada. And they need to be stopped before it can get any bigger. That is where you come in.”

  She was looking at each as she passed when Tiberius called out, “How soon can we begin restoring peace?”

  The question caught her off guard, she stumbled a bit over her words before saying, “That’s a very unique way to put it.”

  He shook his head, he knew from what she’d said back in the brig that he would need to work better at controlling his gene, and that meant focusing on something important. “No, it’s really not because once we take down the leadership of these terrorists, whatever you want to call them, it’ll be like cu
tting the head off of a Terran snake. The body dies because there’s nothing left to tell it what to do. Then it’ll be easy clean up work to find the others and wipe out the smaller cells.”

  Tiberius had everyone’s attention now, even Walsh was looking at him with surprise. It was as if he’d gone through a metamorphosis over the past two days.

  “We can talk about killing them, but in reality what we are doing is restoring peace. Haven’t these people attacked public places? Killed innocents in their radical war?”

  She nodded solemnly as she spoke, “Yes, there was a bombing at the recruiting center on Ipsol V just a week ago. Twelve military personnel were killed, and over two dozen citizens were murdered as well. If anything it’s driven more citizens to our recruitment centers on other worlds because they don’t want it to happen to their loved ones.”

  Tiberius held his hand palm up and said. “There we do. If we can learn how to better fight them and take out their leadership, then this won’t happen again. We won’t have innocent civilians getting murdered because of some crazed man who thinks he knows better than our Emperor, or someone who doesn’t want to pay his taxes, or whatever the hell his reasoning is.”

  Captain Sidonia noticed how he was rallying the troops and knew he was going to be a fine leader one day, and if he learned how to control his Berserker gene he’d be an even better field commander. She knew he was going to be great. “Any more questions? Good. Then get up here and I’ll pair you off. In my squad you each have a partner, that partner is going to become your best friend, your brother. You will bunk next to each other, you will train together, you will even eat together. Oh yes, don’t think your bunks are yours just yet.

  “On that battlefield you will find that your partner will save your life, just as many times if not more than you save theirs. And with how rough it can get out there, you’ll need your partner to be your guardian angel.”