by Hao Yang
The record came up on the screen, but it was encrypted. Jason was frustrated, but he downloaded the data to the crystal anyway. Then he retrieved the necklace from the ceiling.
“At least I got the necklace back.” Jason said to himself and left.
Chapter 13
Unlike second class species, every first class species had their own regions in the training center and each of them contained tens of buildings. Glycans had the largest living space on Eva-1; each Glycan trainee had their own rooms. For the Glycan trainees who were from the 17 families, their rooms was ten times bigger than those of other glycans.
Klaycon was from family K whose members held critical positions in Glycan armed forces. Even though he was only 18 years old, he had received three years of military training. He was very popular among his classmates, but he knew his popularity might have something to do with his father General Kalan and his grandfather General Klizan.
Right now he was sitting with his friends on the upper floor of the dining zone. They just finished ordering their dinners.
“What you guys think about this Hylocan girl thing?” Nissen asked. He had a small and thin figure and a round face with a scar on his left cheek.
“It seems that this girl doesn’t come from Hylocan reserve.” Didian said in confusion as he rubbed his cheek. He had a wide face, two small black eyes and a pointy chin.
“I don’t have enough information to comment on this matter.” Zier said seriously with his always strict face, which made his long face look even longer.
“We know this girl was travelling on her own and captured by Uainanese. They handed in the girl to us. But they have no idea where this girl came from.” Didian said easily.
“There must be some kind of mistake. Now all Hylocans are born on the Hylocan reserve. We have tracers installed on all of them. For this girl, we might mess up her record and the tracer might be broken.” Zier said confidently.
“If she was born on Hylocan reserve, then why they didn’t remove her eyeballs. That couldn’t be a mistake.” Nissen said.
“You know what I am thinking?” Didian said.
“Didian, we are not discussing rumors. No Hylocan ship got away in UWII.” Zier said firmly.
“I certainly hope so.” Nissen said.
“What do you say, Klaycon?” Didian asked.
“Ah?” Klaycon didn’t really listen to their conversation. He was looking at Gloria all this time. She was sitting at the lower level by herself, her heart-shaped face partially covered by her blonde hair. When she tucked hair behind her ear, it showed her beautiful neckline.
“Klaycon, what are you looking at?” Zier asked as he stood up, scanning the lower level quickly.
“Are you looking at...” Nissen didn’t finish the sentence, because Klaycon flashed him an angry stare.
“I will be more concerned about the upcoming selection instead of all these rumors.” Zier said seriously.
“When is that?” Klaycon asked in a relaxed tone.
Didian and Nissen smirked.
“About one week. But you don’t really care. I don’t blame you. If I have won the championship twice, I won’t care either.” Zier said.
“So you know that.” Klaycon said.
“Everyone knows that. I think that is the reason why you are so popular with girls.” Zier said jealously.
“I thought that was because my face.” Klaycon said and everyone smiled.
In Glycan’s society, male and female must pass all three selections to be considered as a qualified Glycan. The selections tested every Glycan’s physical, mental and intelligent capabilities. The first selection started at age eight, second one at 14 and the third at 18. The three selections were held in three different planets every year. All Glycans reaching the selection age had to go to the designated planets and participate the tests. The score was based on the time one took to finish the tests. If a Glycan didn’t finish the tests or didn’t finish the time in the required time, it meant he or she was dead or would be dead. Every year, about one third of each age group died on those planets. For male Glycans who finished all three selections and obtained a first place in any of the three selections, they were given the privilege to marry as many girls as they wanted and they were allowed to have as many children as they wanted. For female Glycans who met the same requirements, she and her family were awarded a lifetime-long financial support. It pretty much meant they never needed to worry about money.
Chapter 14
In Glycan’s library, when Jason tried to decode the encrypted navigation data he got from the cruiser, he heard someone walk in. He slightly opened the door and peeked outside. It was Gloria. She looked around for a while, then sat near the window.
Jason came out of the cubicle and cleared his throat. Gloria turned around. They looked at each other for several seconds. Then Jason walked to Gloria and said, “There you go.” He handed Gloria the necklace. He noticed the bandages on her wrists. It reminded him the scene Gloria was tied up and blindfolded. He still couldn’t understand why somebody did that to a beautiful girl like her.
“Thanks!” Gloria said gratefully. She took over the necklace and held it in her hand.
“Alright. You got what you want. I hope you keep your words.” Jason said coldly.
“I will. I didn’t expect you would give it back just like this.” Gloria smiled nicely.
“Well, we can have another fight, if you want.” Jason kept a cold face.
“I can tell, you are very good at fighting.”
“Thank you.”
They fell into awkward silence. Jason couldn’t help but stared at her body. She was like a sculpture combining all the perfect curves together. Her legs were long and straight; her hips were round and solid; her breasts were pushing up her uniform proudly. Jason felt no matter what he said, he didn’t have a chance to score a date. Even though he was standing right in front of her, he felt he was so far away. He simply gave it up and headed to the vent.
“Even if you are good at fighting, it won’t get you anywhere.” Gloria suddenly said.
“What?” Jason stopped and turned around.
“You should know there is no future for you in the Guardian Fleet.” Gloria said directly.
“Do explain.” He didn’t know why Gloria suddenly say something like this. He was angry, but he wanted to know why.
“Every year, each first class species can send 200 trainees. Each second class species can send five. There is no position for you. The only reason you and other second species are here is to make you think you are part of the family.”
“That is deep.” Jason said ironically.
Gloria sensed the irony. She walked to Jason, staring into his eyes, and said, “Give me an exception.”
“General Michael R. Stonan.”
“How come I am not surprised? Yes, he was appointed as the commander of combat division, but he never had the chance to even give an order.”
“That was because he passed away before he could start his term.” Jason said furiously.
“And you think his death was just coincidence?”
“What do you mean?”
“No first species would allow that happen. A second species command first species. What a joke!”
“He was murdered?” Jason asked in shock. He always considered Michael as his role model. Whenever he felt he was mistreated or demeaned, he told himself one day he would be as good as Michael and he would be the commander. Now he felt his dream shattered into pieces and those pieces struck into his heart like blades.
“Well, you don’t want to be him anyway. He was a bitch. He did whatever they requested. He even killed his own kind. He...”
Jason punched Gloria on the nose before she could finish. She slumped on the floor, purple blood busting out of her nose. She tried to stand up but fell again. Jason slowly squatted next to Gloria and said, “I am sorry.” He then grabbed her hair and pulled her face close to him. Gloria could feel his breath.<
br />
“I begin to understand why those Glycans beat you and tied you up in the food stockroom.” Jason said slowly as he stared at Gloria. He watched her facial change from scared to shock.
Gloria couldn’t believe what she just heard. What happened on the cruiser stormed back to her. Jason released her hair and headed to the vent. Gloria was still in shock. When she finally got herself together, she wanted to call him back. Then she realized that she didn’t even know his name. She was just sitting there and watching Jason crawl into the vent.
Chapter 15
An electronic bullet struck Jason on his left shoulder. He lost his balance, fell over and plunged in the trench.
“What the fuck are you thinking?” Erikon yelled as he ran to Jason and shot the approaching robots. Lucis and Idi were providing the covering fire with shock wave guns, pushing some robots back.
“Are you alright? Get up, man.” Erikon said as he squatted next to Jason. He pulled up Jason with one hand and fired his laser rifle with the other.
“Jason, Erikon, get out of there. Now!” Sayilin yelled.
Jason picked up his rifle and ran to the nearest bunker with Erikon.
A small plate landed at where Jason was seconds ago and then hundreds of laser beams busted out of it.
Right now, Jason and his six teammates were in the middle of a ground combat exercise. It was a live fire exercise and they were wearing heavy armor suits. Their target was to capture the flag on the other side of the training field and keep the flag as long as possible. The field was as big as a football ground and was dotted with platforms, trenches, bunkers and steel barricades. Some twenty robots were defending the flag.
Titainein and Orizy were shooting behind a steel barricade, holding the ground at Jason’s left flank. In front of Jason and Erikon, about 25 meters away, five robots were approaching quickly. Lucis and Idi joined Jason from the right flank. Now only Sayilin was fighting on the right flank.
“Jason, Focus. Focus!” Lucis screamed.
“He is bleeding.” Idi said as she checked Jason’s left arm armor.
“I am alright.” Jason said as he reloaded his rifle.
“Vampire, Idi, Erikon. Cover me.” Jason said and darted out of the bunker. He rolled behind a steel barricade and shot down one robot at the front and then ran to the closest trench.
Three Robots were closing to the right flank. Sayilin got on to a platform and destroyed one. But he was forced to back down to the lower ground as two robots left the flag and joined the robots at the right flank. Erikon, Lucis and Idi gunned down another two robots in the front. The last robot at the front took out a laser net plate. Just before it hurled the plate, Jason shot the robot’s hand and the plate fell on the ground. Hundreds of laser beams tore the robot into pieces. Another five robots left the flag and headed to the middle sector. Now there was only one robot protecting the flag.
“Move forward. Idi, to the right!” Jason shouted as he headed to the flag.
Erikon and Lucis ran forwards and provided the covering fire for Jason. Idi joined Sayilin on the right flank. Titainein and Orizy still held their positions at the left flank. Erikon and Lucis took a platform and fired at the incoming five robots. Jason grabbed a damaged robot and dragged its body to a nearby barricade. He removed the battery and threw it at those five robots. One robot shot the battery in the air.
“Boom!” The battery exploded, projecting thousands of bolts of lightning at the ground as if there was a lightning storm. Those five robots froze for two seconds. Jason took this chance and gunned down two of them. Erikon and Lucis took care of the rest.
“Cover me!” Jason said as he ran to the flag. It was about 20 meters away. His teammates kept other robots busy as he was closing the distance. Jason ran like crazy, but he somehow saw Gloria’s bloody face in his brain. He shook his head to get rid of her, but it didn’t work.
“Jason, the mine!” Lucis yelled at the top of his lung.
“Stop! Jason. Stop!” Sayilin screamed as he saw Jason heading right into the mine zone next to the flag.
The ground under Jason’s feet was morphing into sticky liquid. Tens of globs emerged from the liquid surface, flying to Jason.
“Surrender!” Erikon shouted
“Surrender!”
“Surrender. Surrender.” Others shouted.
All robots ceased fire immediately. The globs stopped in the air and fell back to the liquid surface. Jason was frightened. When he saw those globs, he knew that was it. At that very moment, he was thinking about Gloria, his mind filled with regrets. He was surprised that he didn’t think about his father, his mother or brother. He let out a long sigh and waved to his teammates. They ran to Jason and helped him get out of the sticky liquid.
Later the group went back to the changing room. They stepped out of their armor suits and had drones take the suits away.
“That was our first failure. Man.” Lucis said unhappily as he walked to Jason.
“Jason, you OK?” Erikon asked caringly as he walked to Jason.
“How is your arm?” Idi asked.
They all gathered around Jason.
“Sorry, Guys.” Jason said in a low voice, his left arm still bleeding.
Titainein took over a first aid kit.
“That was a nice throw, by the way.” Titainein said kindly as she took out a spray bottle from the kit and handed it to Jason.
“Yep.” Jason said and sprayed some mist on his left arm. The bleeding stopped right away.
“Gotta be careful. The game is coming. We don’t want to lose you.” Sayilin joked.
“It will take more than that to kill Jason, am I right?” Orizy smiled.
“We will be fine. We have the best record except this one.” Lucis said.
“I don’t want to win. If we are the champion, we will compete with first class. But you know, last year, two second species were killed in the game.” Idi said in a worried tone.
“For real? I rather quit before that.” Erikon said.
“It happened all the time. They won’t hesitate to kill us.” Sayilin said seriously.
“We will worry about that once we are the champion.” Jason said easily.
“Jason, it seems that something is bothering you today.” Titainein said gently.
Jason smiled reluctantly at Titainein and said, “Let’s go back. We still have classes.”
They left the changing room and headed back to the classroom.
Chapter 16
After a whole day’s training, Jason was tired, but he couldn’t fell asleep. When he closed his eyes, he saw Gloria’s face and body. He didn’t feel he did something wrong. In his opinion, there was no difference between male and female when it came to fights. Victory was the only thing mattered. He felt good for beating a first class species. But when he thought about what happened to her on that cruiser, he felt sorry for her. Jason went through something similar when he just got into the Human preselection institute. He broke free on his own and beat the shit out of those who set him up.
Jason turned left and right on the bed and then sat up.
“Fuck!” He said as he got off the bed and got dressed.
As he was heading to the Glycan’s library, he kept telling himself that if he saw Gloria this time, he would apologize. Minutes later, Jason was right in front of the vent. He took a deep breath and entered in the library. There she is, sitting next to the window. Jason felt his heart was going to jump out the chest. He suddenly changed his mind and wanted to go back, but his body didn’t listen to him.
Gloria let out a sigh, stood up and turned around. Now they saw each other.
“Hi.” Gloria said happily and smiled at Jason.
Her smile was the most beautiful curve on her body. Jason felt like a bolt of lightning hit him and electrified his every muscle.
“Hi.” Jason said nervously.
“I thought you wouldn’t come today.” Gloria said nicely as she walked to Jason.
“Well, I am here.
” Jason said gently.
“I know it’s a little late to ask this question, but what’s your name?” Gloria asked shyly.
“I am Jason.”
“Nice to meet you, Jason.”
“Nice to meet you, Gloria.”
They smiled at each other and fell into silence for several seconds. Gloria looked at floor and Jason looked out of the window.
“Look, a supernova.” Jason said as he pointed at the shining spot in the distance.
“Ah, it is.” Gloria said. They stood side by side, gazing at the supernova. It only lasted for three seconds.
“It is beautiful!” Jason said.
“It is a good sign.”
“A good sign of what?” Jason asked curiously.
“In our culture, if someone is with you at that very moment, it means you find the one you want to spend the rest of your life with.” Gloria said shyly.
“In our culture, it means the same thing.” Jason said quickly. He had no idea what he was talking about.
“Really? I thought second class....” Gloria suddenly stopped and gave Jason a sorry look.
Jason gave her a kind smile and said, “I get used to that.”
“Sorry.”
“You know if we didn’t start with the wrong foot, I will ask you out.” Jason said nervously.
“Like a date?”
“Not like a date, a date.” Jason said firmly as he looked into Gloria’s eyes.
Gloria turned her head away and asked, “How did you know it was me back then? My face was covered.”
“Oh, it was the aroma from your body.”
Gloria smiled and took out a knife from her pocket. It was Jason’s knife.
“Can I keep this?” Gloria asked, her voice soft like a summer breeze.
“Of course.” Jason said without hesitation.
“Thanks.” Gloria said happily.
“So you are still mad at me?” Jason asked carefully.
“Kind of. You beat me two times.”
“Three, if you count last time.” Jason said in embarrassment.