Yen’s eyes opened slowly. Captain Hodge was right, though Yen hadn’t noticed in some time. After surviving Purseus II with Adam, Yen had suffered terrible headaches every time he used his psychic powers for anything other than the most mundane uses. Without his realization, the headaches had slowly lessened before disappearing all together. During his shore leave, he had used his powers almost haphazardly without any side effects. And the uses of his powers when with Keryn…
“After you disable the satellite grid and ensure all your teams are dispersed to their correct locations,” Captain Hodge began as she reactivated the hologram of Earth, “I want you to take your team here, to the Empire’s capital.” On the sphere hanging above the table, a large red dot appeared over a major city on the eastern coast of one of the continents.
“And once I get there?” Yen asked, intrigued.
“A team has already been prepared for you, with one of your former Infantry cohorts as your second in command.”
Yen frowned. There were few “former cohorts” of Yen’s still alive. “You mean Buren. I would prefer you sent someone else.”
“I don’t really care what you prefer,” the Captain said coldly. “You and Magistrate Buren will lead your team into their capital. There will be other teams on the ground that will keep their main force occupied. Your objective is to find and capture a Terran scientist, Doctor Solomon.”
“What did this guy do?” Yen asked.
“He was the lead researcher on two projects that you might find interesting. The first was a series of experiments using the newly discovered chemical, Deplitoxide. I think you remember its use during the last Fleet engagement.”
“And the other,” Yen asked, dreading her reply.
“He was also the lead scientist on a genetics project, working specifically with mutated genomes. Apparently, he found that it was possible to mutate a docile load bearing beast into a pathological killing machine.”
Yen could feel his jaw muscles clenching and unclenching. “If this doctor really is to blame for what happened to my team on Purseus, then I’m going to tear him apart.”
“No, you won’t. Your orders are to capture him and bring him back alive. He has too much information in that head of his for you to remove it from his shoulders. Can you handle this mission, or should I give it solely to Magistrate Buren.”
Breathing heavily, Yen looked down at the blue tendril that squirmed in his hand in eager anticipation. Smiling sadistically, he turned to Captain Hodge. “This is my mission. I’ll find your good doctor. Earth doesn’t have an army big enough to stop me.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
The room spun as Keryn was lifted from her feet and slammed hard onto the mat. Staring up at the ceiling, she tried to get her bearings, but the room refused to quit turning. Sighing, she covered her eyes with her hands and tried to stop the disorienting sense of vertigo.
“Good,” the rumbling Oterian voice commented from above her, “but you left yourself exposed for a grapple. Next time, strike and withdraw. Give the enemy nothing to grab a hold of.”
Slowly opening her eyes, she stared into the massive face of her Oterian instructor. The Oterian, the latest in a long line of instructors, had been embarrassing Keryn in hand-to-hand combat for the better part of an hour. Having been trained for years in the Wyndgaart fighting styles, she quickly discovered how humiliating it felt to repeatedly find herself staring up at the ceiling.
Groaning, Keryn rolled over onto her side and propped herself up on an elbow. Tonight, she was sure that she would be spending a good portion of the evening with ice packs along her ribs and lower back, easing the pain of bruised muscles and aching joints. Looking through the one eye still not badly swollen, Keryn could see the rest of the team standing on the far edge of the padded mat. Half the group, Adam included, hadn’t been in the ring yet. Adam, smiling as she caught his eye, still held onto his smug confidence. The other half of the team already knew better, as they sat on the side nursing new wounds.
“Did you hear what I said, Keryn?” the instructor asked.
Keryn reached up and took the Oterian’s hand and pulled herself to her feet. “Yes, I did. I’ll go practice for a while on my own. However, I believe Adam is ready for a solid block of instruction.”
Adam’s stunned expression was perfect retribution for his earlier mocking. Keryn smiled as she moved to the side of the room and lay down on the floor. The cool metal floor felt wonderful on her sore back, but she kept enough awareness to be able to watch Adam during his sparing match with the Oterian.
To Adam’s credit, his tall Pilgrim stature didn’t look nearly as daunting against the eight-foot tall Oterian as it had seemed when Keryn had faced their instructor. Removing his shirt, Adam stood ready. Keryn noted the strong muscles across his arms, shoulders and back, coupled with a rainbow of colored bruises covered most of his exposed torso. The older bruises had already faded to a sickly yellow, while the more recent ones were still an ugly purple. Dropping into a fighting crouch, Adam wisely waited for the instructor to approach him as opposed to the other way around. The reach of the Oterian left Adam at a disadvantage should he try to initiate the attack. Smiling, the instructor moved quickly forward in an attempt to smother Adam in his large, fur covered arms. Ducking and slipping agilely to the side, Adam maneuvered himself out of the path of the Oterian and struck out with a quick side kick. His foot landed roughly on the instructor’s ribs, who flinched as he moved away. Smiling to himself, Adam slid back and readjusted his low fighter’s stance.
“That was a good move, Adam,” the Oterian rumbled. “You caught me by surprise, but I can guarantee it won’t happen again.”
“We’ll see about that,” Adam replied confidently.
The instructor moved forward, but with greater caution this time around. Keryn shook her head at Adam’s brashness. She had watched three others before him approach their fights with much the same confidence, only to be decimated by the surprisingly fast Oterian. Watching the instructor’s nostrils flare, Keryn knew that Adam was about to be exposed to the same punishment she had endured.
As the Oterian lashed out with one of his huge fists, Keryn watched Adam dart easily out of the way, shifting his stance as he stopped a few feet to the left of his previous position. From his new position, Adam had a clear view of the instructor’s large ribcage from where the Oterian had overextended on his strike. Keryn frowned. Inadvertently, Adam had moved directly into a trap. The Oterian’s strike had been much too slow for him to have been fully committed to the attack. Adam was in trouble and didn’t even yet realize the world of pain to which he was about to be introduced.
Assuming he had an opening, Adam kicked straight ahead, aiming for the exposed ribs. Faster than Adam could track, the Oterian dropped his outstretched arm and swung his hand in a downward circle. As his now open hand came in contact with Adam’s extended kick, the instructor clamped his meaty hand over Adam’s ankle and jerked forward as he spun his weight. Ripped from his feet, Adam flew into the air, being spun in a circle by his ankle. Halfway through his spin, the Oterian released his grip and Adam went flying past the padded mat and landing heavily onto the hard metal ground beyond. Groaning, Adam writhed on the floor, alternating his attention between his strained ankle and badly bruised shoulder.
Grunting as he stood upright, the Oterian stomped over to Adam’s prostrate form. “You got cocky. You’re not nearly as good as you think you are. If you’re foolish enough to try something like that against a well-trained enemy, it may cost your friends their lives, but I can guarantee that it will cost you yours.”
The instructor turned to the rest of the team, most of who unknowingly backed away from the intimidating Oterian. “I think we’ve done enough training this morning. Take a break, nurse your wounds, but come back to me in two hours. We have a lot more work ahead of us if you all are going to be ready for combat any time soon. Dismissed!”
Keryn glowered at Penchant, McLaughlin and C
erise, all of who had managed to somehow avoid participating in the training this morning. She knew their time would come soon enough and she smiled at that thought as she laid her head down on the cool ground. Reveling in the cold metal against her cheek and forehead, she didn’t notice someone approach until a shadow fell over her.
“You want to grab something to eat or drink?” Adam asked, his voice strained as he spoke through clenched teeth.
Opening her violet eyes, she stared at the obviously miserable Pilgrim. “I figured you’d spend the next two hours soaking in an ice bath somewhere.”
Smiling smugly, Adam ran a hand through his shaggy blonde hair. “I thought about it, don’t get me wrong. I just figured you’d be more prone to join me for a meal than you would for an ice bath.”
Keryn shook her head. “You really just don’t learn, do you?” The thought of a drink was appealing to her parched throat, but she was afraid that standing would cause too much pain in her already sore back. “I’ll pass, but thanks.”
Adam shrugged. “Your loss. I’ll see you in a couple hours.”
Though Keryn was tempted to follow him, she was far too comfortable to move from her spot. Aside from the physical damage from today’s hand-to-hand combat, Keryn’s body had been beaten repeatedly over the past few weeks of training. She and her team had endured nearly every conceivable type of training: from heavy and light weapons training to hand-to-hand combat to interrogation techniques. A shiver ran up Keryn’s spine at the thought of interrogation training. Every member of the team had been given a surgical instrument set to be used for personal interrogation. Though they had practiced on cadavers, the feel of flesh splitting open at the easiest pressure from the razor-sharp scalpel made Keryn’s stomach turn. The thought of doing that same thing to a living creature made her feel physically ill.
As if training for over twelve hours a day wasn’t grueling enough, once she finished work she spent a good majority of her time with Yen. Both were completely engrossed in their work; her with her team and Yen planning both his Squadron and ground assaults on Earth. Neither spoke much of their missions, but when they were together they wanted to spend as little time as possible talking about work. Though the thought of all the time they spent wrapped in each other’s arms did bring a smile to her face, it also contributed greatly to her continued exhaustion during each subsequent day’s training. Her instructors had made a comment about her fatigue and lack of stamina and it was affecting her performance. The simplest distractions were resulting more and more often in her lying on her back, staring at the ceiling. If they didn’t receive their deployment orders soon, Keryn wouldn’t have to worry about Cardax or his smugglers killing her. She would be found one day soon standing on her feet or sitting in a chair, dead from exhaustion.
Sighing deeply, Keryn pressed her cheek firmly against the floor, feeling the cool ground saturate her hot, bruised skin. Closing her eyes, she let the coolness soak into her body, relieving tension and washing away the tiring thoughts from her mind.
Keryn awoke sharply as the door to the room opened. A familiar shaggy blonde Pilgrim stood silhouetted against the outdoor light. Stepping inside, Adam let the door slide shut behind him. She had no idea how long she’d been asleep, but the fact that Adam had now returned to the training room told her that it had been nearly the full two hours. Trying to push herself up, Keryn realized that all her muscles which had previously just been sore were now rigid and stiff. Without stretching before hand and simply falling asleep on a most uncomfortable location, her body had been allowed to heal as it had come to rest. Unfortunately for Keryn, it now caused pain to shoot through her joints as she tried to straighten both legs and arms that were permanently affixed in a crooked position.
Grimacing, she turned toward the frowning Adam as he walked in. “You don’t look much better than I feel. Did your lunch not agree with you?”
Adam grunted as he walked past her, stopping finally at the curved window and staring out at the stars. Feeling slightly dejected, Keryn turned after him. He barely acknowledged her attention and chose, instead, to continue his musings at the back window.
“Adam,” Keryn said, concerned. “Is something wrong?”
“Now why would you think anything would be wrong with me?” Adam asked from behind her as she felt strong hands grab her around the waist.
Spinning, Keryn’s eyes widened with confusion as she came face to face with Adam. Smiling broadly, Adam winked at her before his gaze moved past her face to the stranger behind her. Turning back toward the first Adam, the one who had passed her and stood at the window, Keryn now found herself facing the featureless black oval of Penchant’s visage. Though Adam laughed heartily, it took Keryn a couple passes of looking back and forth before she realized what had happened. Though Penchant had no expressions on his face, she could almost feel him smiling mischievously at her.
Joining Adam’s laughter, Keryn shook her head in wonderment. “You’re getting pretty good at that. You really had me going.” She leaned forward until she was only a few inches away from Penchant’s smooth face. “Of course, now you’re going to make me wonder what else you can do with that body.”
“It would never happen,” Penchant said in his gravelly tone. “I hear you Wyndgaarts are a little too rough during your mating rituals.”
“What’s all this talk about mating rituals?” McLaughlin asked excitedly as he walked through the door, his arm thrown over Cerise’s shoulder.
“Leave them be,” Cerise said condescendingly. “You are only going to encourage them.”
“Hell,” Keeling commented as he walked in behind the couple. “If you’re going to talk about mating, you might as well come to the expert.”
“If I wanted relationship advice,” Keryn retorted, “I’d be better off asking an Oterian rather than you. No offense Rombard.”
The massive Oterian ducked under the doorway as he entered, his horns still nearly brushing the sides of the doorframe. “None taken. Female Oterians are a lower intelligence life form. They’re really only good for mating.”
Adam blanched at the thought. “No romance? No seduction? Just ‘get Bessie’s head caught in the fence’ and you’re good to go?”
“I won’t act as though I understand the reference,” Rombard rumbled, “but romance is a waste. You mate to produce strong young for your clan, not for a lasting relationship. Why? How is mating done between Pilgrims?”
Adam shrugged. “Pretty much the same way.”
“I just ate,” Keeling interjected. “Is there any way we could not talk about Pilgrims mating? If you want to hear some good stories, you might as well…”
“If you children are done with story time,” the Oterian instructor roared as he entered the room, “then I believe we are ready to pick back up with your training.”
The entire team let out a simultaneous groan.
Keryn tried her best to stay on her feet at the end of their training, but wound up succumbing to her exhaustion and collapsing into a nearby chair. Her breath was labored as she tried to breathe through ribs that she was sure were broken. Though she had tried to ensure equal time with the instructor for everyone on her team, Keryn had the unfortunate pleasure of being selected to spar against the Oterian for a second round. She remembered a few tricks from their previous combat, but it had mattered little in the end. By the time they were through, Keryn was once again staring at a spinning ceiling from the flat of her back.
Now alone in the training room, she shifted positions in her chair, trying to reach the bruise that she knew was spreading between her shoulder blades. If she remembered nothing else from her training, she would always remember that a stern punch between the shoulder blades was enough to stun nearly any race in the Alliance.
As she finished grimacing from the pain and opened her eyes, she was surprised to see a large fur-covered hand holding out a glass of water. Looking up, she met the gaze of her instructor. Keryn nodded her appreciation as she began to
sip the water, savoring the burn in her raw throat.
“Thank you,” she said hoarsely. She took another drink before continuing. “I’m surprised you stuck around.”
“I made a promise that I would,” the Oterian said quietly, his voice still carrying in the empty room.
Keryn looked up inquisitively. “Promise?”
“I’m your last instructor, Keryn. You’ve been trained on every major topic that we thought you might need. My job was to determine if you not only retained that previous knowledge, but that you were ready to face Cardax in battle when the time arose.”
“So you were testing us?”
The Oterian turned away, though his voice was still clear. “Did you wonder why an Oterian was teaching you hand-to-hand combat? My race has vastly superior strength to the other races of the Alliance, but if you wanted the best combat instructors, you pick a Wyndgaart. So why me?”
Keryn nodded, realizing that this was yet another test. “Because Cardax is an Oterian.”
“Exactly. It didn’t make any sense to have you learn to fight against a Wyndgaart when your target is an Oterian. You needed to learn my race’s weaknesses, few as they may be.”
“But you beat us every single time we fought.”
The instructor turned back to her. “You’re right. Fighting isn’t the only lesson I can teach you. I can also teach you humility. You don’t like losing; I can see it in your face. But when you realize that you’re not always going to be the best, you will learn to lean on others for support. All of you were able to hold your own against me by the end of today. Maybe not defeat me, but at least impress me. I have injuries that I’ll be nursing tomorrow as well. But if I were attacked by all of you, not just in hand-to-hand combat but with you all carrying your pistols and rifles as well, I wouldn’t stand a chance. You’re a team now, regardless of your individual feelings for your teammates. Use their strengths and you’ll be bringing Cardax back within no time.”
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