Tarik: Entry Level Warfare

by K. A. Kerr

  The whole ordeal resulted in two months off work, a corporation paid surgery, and a performance improvement plan for when Tarik did go back to work. His performance improvement plan putting him on the short list to be let go. His peers told him it was all part of mining, his boss told him he should have known better, and he told himself he would do better.

  Tarik asked himself ‘what if I had known the rocks had large concentrations of ice?’ It would have changed where he gripped the rock. Then he asked himself ‘Should I have asked if the heat from the rig could affect the rock?’ That had never even occurred to him. Tarik finished his mopping and moved onto the next bathroom considering where he would be today if he only asked the right questions.

  Tarik finished his cleaning duties and went to midday meal, again the Dome was empty and Tarik wondered where everyone was hiding. Normally a ship this size would have a crew of hundreds, but so far Tarik guessed the crew was closer to forty. Several areas of the ship were still blocked off to him; looking at the map he’d say over sixty decks housed computers and machinery. An alert came to him stating that the ship was changing to ball formation and leaving the system shortly, besides a few loud bangs and clanks Tarik wouldn’t have even noticed the change. Tarik finished his meal and set off to meet his next instructor.

  Tarik entered the training room just as his countdown reached zero. The room was a glossy black all around him, it extended in a pie wedge from its doorway all the way to the outer wall of the ship, nearly a quarter of a mile from his estimate. Tarik could tell the end of the ship because of the single pane window at the end which showed the red giant as it ate a comet. Two pools of water, on either side of a walkway, looked like they ended in the void beyond. In the middle of that walkway, in all her feminine glory, stood Goddess. Tarik felt anxious to meet her, his excitement batted down repeatedly by her threat of punishment.

  “Come over here.” Goddess ordered. Her voice reminded Tarik of smoke, doing a fine job of clouding his judgement.

  Tarik walked the pathway only occasionally glancing into the pools. “Come to me.” She said as he was only a few feet away.

  When he was but a few feet away, Goddess kicked Tarik in the stomach hard enough to cause him to double over. The shot caught him in the solar plexus; Tarik couldn’t help but gasp for air.

  “Follow me.” She said as she started off at a jog for the end of the pools.

  Tarik stood back up and did his best to keep up with her, the pain in his stomach subsided as he neared her. Just then she picked up her pace, leaving Tarik struggling to keep up again. As Goddess neared the end of the pool she turned right and took a previously unseen pathway at the end of the pool. Tarik glanced down as he approached the turn to make sure he didn’t fall into the pool, when he looked up again Goddess was already at the end and continuing on the pathway that extended past the walls and must have surrounded the circumference of the entire ship. With every stride Tarik took Goddess left him further behind. Her long legs pumping like pistons, Tarik admired her backside and pushed himself harder to catch up to her.

  Tarik felt more than saw the pathway incline; as his speed started to slow he noticed a crest so he pumped his legs hard in hopes of an easier run on a downslope. Reaching the top of the crest he pushed off as hard as he could, now running at top speed he saw the pathway dip again. Before he knew it Goddess charged back up at him. Tarik couldn’t slow down and the space was too tight for him to pivot away from her. Goddess lowered her shoulder and hit Tarik in the midsection sending him back up the ramp to land on his back. Tarik gasped for air again, holding his ribs all he felt was pain.

  “You're too slow, pick up the pace.” Was all Goddess said as she turned and started to run along the path again.

  Tarik picked himself back up, felt his knees wobble and quickly sat back down. Using the wall to steady himself he caught his breath and started to run after her again. The path rose and fell several times, Tarik only catching glimpses of Goddess as she ran. Every time Tarik felt he was going to be sick, Goddess would allow him to see just a bit more giving him hope that he could catch up to her, at which point he would choke it down and push harder.

  Rounding a bend Tarik saw Goddess standing there with her hand on her hip waiting for him to get to her. He started to slow down, just a few paces from her now and weary of any more physical attacks. Goddess dove sideways and a splash echoed through the training room. Tarik went to the spot she previously occupied.

  Goddess was beneath the water motioning for him to jump in, her hair swirling around chaotically. Tarik took a deep breath, closed his eyes tightly and jumped in feet first. When he felt his decent slow he opened his eyes searching for her. After a few twists and turns he felt himself running out of air and made his way to the surface. As Tarik breached the surface and opened his mouth fully to take in a deep breathe he felt himself being drug back down by his pant leg. Swallowing a mouthful of water Tarik struggled for air and was brought level with Goddess as she dragged him further down into the pool. Tarik could hear her muffled giggle as she let him go and swam away. Tarik kicked hard for the surface again, keeping his feet moving to avoid being ensnared. When Tarik breached for the second time his body tried to force itself to breathe and vomit at the same time causing him to choke more on the same water he was trying to expel. When he finally caught his breathe he swam after Goddess who was already half way across the pool.

  Tarik had limited experience in the water; he couldn’t even remember the last time he had swum. A near drowning experience in his youth had turned him off to it, it’s wasn't fun for him. He did however commit himself to this job and every job has aspects you won’t like. He swam after Goddess placing himself in the fixed state of mind he counted every stroke and every breath. Half way through the pool he glanced up and saw Goddess standing at the end of the pool, already drying off. He ducked his head back down and didn’t raise it again until the edges of the pool narrowed in on him.

  Reaching the edge of the pool after what seemed hours of swimming he half pulled half slid out of the pool and onto the floor. He flopped over to his back and just breathed heavily for several minutes.

  Goddess walked over his body and straddled him. With her face leaning over his, the tips of her wet hair stuck to the sides of his face. Tarik looked down at her breasts, he wanted her badly but he couldn’t even bring himself to move his arms let alone make love to this woman. He hated his exhausted body at that moment.

  “Next time we go at double the pace, double the distance.” She grabbed his face in one hand pressing into his cheeks. “I hope it was worth the price. If you're willing to pay more, perhaps you will get more.” She let go of his face and grabbed his genitals with her other hand. “Then again, maybe not.” She let go of him and stood up. “Rest tonight; you will need your strength for tomorrow.”

  Goddess stepped over him as if he were not there anymore leaving him panting still on the floor. Tarik stared at the ceiling until he started to get cold; he had no idea what to make of the encounter. Unsure if he should work harder or avoid her at all costs, was she inviting him to pursue her more or insulting him as she grabbed at his manhood. Tarik felt enough strength return to him that he decided he really just wanted to sleep right now so he limped off to his room.

  5 - A Bad Habit

  * * *

  A timer went off alerting Tarik it was time for the end of day meal. He debated on whether or not he had the strength to get to the Dome. He was as hungry as he could ever imagine but the thought of moving his legs anymore that day made him want to pull the cover over his head and sleep for the rest of the day. Just as his mind came to the conclusion that he wanted to sleep for as long as possible, his stomach let out a grumble that it had disagreed.

  Tarik forced himself to his feet and slowly got dressed, his entire body hurt. Muscles he didn’t even knew he had screamed in protest as he pulled the jumpsuit over his shoulders. His legs felt like noodles with bricks at the ends. On unsteady feet h
e made his way to the Dome his mind in a haze trying to ignore the shooting pain every time his feet hit the ground.

  Tarik reached the doorway to the Dome and heard screaming within. Forgetting his pain he rushed into the room unsure what he would find.

  Tarik burst into the room and flexed his muscles expecting to fight someone. Fists balled he surveyed the room. In one corner Daze was being held back by Instructor Lamb, her face was red with anger; Lamb looked as if he were bored more than anything else. In the other corner a thankfully clothed Rye was being restrained by Bink. Rye had a bloody nose and screamed as loud as she could for Bink to let her go. It was obvious she was drunk as she waved around her hands, auburn hair wrapped around her finger tips. On the third story overlooking the Dome sat a Gorrex. The Gorrex looked like it was ready to leap down and strike.

  “Don’t come near me again you stupid white bitch! I'm going to break your pink face!” Rye shouted at Daze.

  “Fuck you Rye! I'm never covering for your drunken ass again!” Daze shouted back.

  Directly across from Tarik stood a crowd of mostly non humans, several of which Tarik had yet to meet. Tilla and Mange were at the front of the crowd with looks of what he could guess had been fear. He saw Goddess behind a group of pilots as stoic as ever, the group of pilots curious; like they missed a class at half human school.

  Rye picked that moment to notice Tarik. She stopped struggling against Bink and turned her hateful gaze upon him.

  “Oh look another whitey! Couldn't fight your own fight Daze? Had to call your boyfriend?” Rye shouted.

  Rye reached back on the table grabbed a mug and threw it at Tarik. The mug being thrown by a drunken person lacked any form of accuracy; it bounced off the floor and popped up just enough to hit Tarik in the chest.

  “We should have exterminated your entire race centuries ago!” Rye shouted at Tarik.

  Tarik couldn't hide his shock, human history had many dark points but what Rye was talking about was a nearly successful genocide of his people.

  Every race in earth history had its high and low points, his people were no different. Tarik could point to several points were his ancestors were enslaved and other points where his people appeared to rule the world. Arguing these points were mostly useless as everyone always assumed the other had it easier and their success had been due to them winning a genetic lottery and not their hard work.

  At one low point in his people's history, the people of European descent had been held accountable for things that had happened to other races generations before. The other races randomly killed his own for sport and justified it as retribution, it didn’t matter that the victim hadn’t done anything. This continued for far longer than it should have, as some groups of his people stood up against it, the problem worsened. Eventually the sides were very polarized which soon enough led to a civil war. As the sides warred his people who were captured were put to death, this decimated the population which prompted his people to unleash a horrific biological agent. The thought process was the melanin targeting agent would even out the fight. After the biological agent ravaged earth a peace accord was finally reached. The tensions frequently reached the point where they almost started another war. This was a just prelude to the Bubble Wars, and later the Hierarchy wars.

  Tarik quickly passed the point of shock and moved straight towards unbridled anger. Drunk or not, woman or not; you do not casually threaten genocide. He felt his body go rigid, his shoulders tightened, his hands clench and he started forward. He did not care if she owned the corporation, she was going to pay for her threat.

  Lamb saw him moving first but could not risk letting go of Daze so he shot Bink a look. Bink realizing that Tarik was clearly a bigger threat, over a drunken Rye, released his grip on Rye and rushed to block Tarik. Tarik was determined and brushed Bink off with ease, Bink in a last ditch effort grabbed Tarik’s left wrist and was dragged along. Tilla broke from the crowd with Mange fast behind her. The Flarr each grabbed a leg but Tarik kept pressing forward. Goddess realized then how serious the situation was and moved to stop him as well. Goddess put an arm in front of him in her typical divine fashion. Tarik grabbed the arm and threw her to his right, Goddess couldn't believe he had moved her like she didn't exist. The stunned look on her face did not suit her well. Tarik was so focused on getting to Rye he hardly even knew or cared the he had just shocked the majority of the crew with his rage.

  Rye had finally realized just how mad Tarik was; she climbed on top of the table to delay the beating Tarik wanted to give her. In some form of drunken defense she thought to throw condiment packages at him.

  Daze saw his intentions and even though she was angry at Rye, Tarik was going to kill her. Lamb and Daze broke apart and clawed at Tarik's shoulders, Tarik now had six beings holding him back but he marched forward with iron resolve. The pain he felt in his body only moments before was nonexistent now.

  Dav had come in at some point, Tarik couldn't say when because his rage caused him to have tunnel vision. Dav assessed the situation and stood in front of Tarik his arm outstretched much in the same way Goddess had tried earlier. The arm pressed into Tarik's chest and held him in place. The others dropped away from Tarik and created distance, they had no desire to be part of this. Rye even stopped throwing mustard packets and watched the exchange.

  Tarik was still mad and tried the same maneuver he did to Goddess just to remove Dav from his path. Tarik gripped Dav’s forearm and pulled but it wouldn't budge. Tarik tried again but this new effort took him out of his rage and he felt the steel cable like muscles in Dav’s forearm. He paused to measure this obstacle and saw the serious look he was given yesterday, no this was not a fight Tarik would win.

  “Stand down Tarik.” Dav ordered.

  Tarik looked at Rye and an involuntary growl escaped him. The Flarr and the Gorrex both reacted and readied themselves for an attack.

  Dav leaned in closed to Tarik clearly not intimidated by Tarik's size or demeanor. “I said stand down Tarik. Turn around and go to your room. I will speak to you about this later.” Dav wasn't yelling, he wasn't whispering either; it was just a solid voice that projected power and commanded respect.

  Tarik let his body go slack, his soreness and exhaustion creeping back in, his eyes felt heavy. Why didn't he just go back to sleep?

  Tarik looked around the room. Fear, shock, excitement were all there looking back at him, even the doctor was there with a look of disgust on his face. More of the crew now ringed the upper level of the Dome.

  As his anger drained embarrassment took over. Tarik turned and left, stepping over puddles of mustard he would probably have to clean up later. If he had a tail it would be between his legs but his head hanging low showed just as much as any tail would.

  Tarik lay in his bunk staring off at a projected asteroid as it tumbled. He was interrupted by a light knock at his door. Tarik really didn't want company but he couldn't risk angering Dav further if it was him. Tarik opened the door to see Lamb, Goddess and Tilla waiting for him, Tilla with a nutrition tray and her head bowed.

  “Thank you for the tray but I would rather be alone right now.” He addressed the crowd.

  “Tarik just hear us out, please.” Lamb said. You could tell he was not used to having to ask politely.

  “What happened back there, nobody holds it against you, most of us know Earth history. What Rye said was wrong and you did not deserve her anger.” Goddess spoke quickly.

  “I appreciate that, I really do, but I acted foolishly. I almost hurt several of you because of my emotional outburst.” Tarik opened the door further not to let them in but to allow his body language to apologize for him. “I shouldn't have done that, most of the crew probably thinks the worst of me.”

  “Dav has been told what happened; he knows you didn't start it. Hell you weren't even part of it until she said those ugly things.” Lamb sighed. “As for the crew I wouldn't worry, you're one of the military guys; remember they expect that from you.”
>
  “We don't hate you if that's what you are wondering.” Bink said as he removed himself from his hiding place on the wall closest to the door.

  Tarik took a peek on either side and noticed Mange and two of the pilots hiding on the other side.

  “She's messed up, she saw her sister killed awhile back, been on the drink ever since. She doesn't mean it when she does this stuff.” Bink finished.

  “Don't make excuses for her.” Lamb said. There was much more he wanted to say but didn't elaborate.

  “Doesn't matter now, Dav permanently revoked her drinking privileges. Everyone will get a notification soon and if anyone gives her a drink they both will void their contracts. She will be nicer when she isn't drinking you'll see.” Bink said trying to convince Tarik.

  “We've bothered you enough. We just wanted to let you know we are with you; you have nothing to worry about. Goddess and I have decided to give you the day off tomorrow. Relax and get yourself refocused.” Lamb said.

  “Thank you.” Tarik took the tray from Tilla. “I really am sorry if I hurt any of you, that isn't something I want to do. How is Daze holding up?”