Generations (The Nimbus Collection Book 3)

by Clemens, D. C.

  “Vic, please, this is hard enough,” petitioned Jane to her husband of five years as she folded a gray shirt into her case. “Don’t bring this up now.”

  “Do you think I’d just drop the subject?” asked Vincent.

  Noticing some slight movement in the crib to her left, she said, “Lower your voice, Vic. You’re going to wake Thean.”

  Ignoring the request, Vic continued, “It was supposed to be four years of leave, Jane. I don’t give a shit about the extra compensation, just call them up and tell them you’ve changed your mind.”

  Knowing another argument was unavoidable, the mother took a pause in her packing to confront the situation more directly. As usual, the frustration building inside the warrior woman didn’t visibly affect her features or tone of voice. “Don’t give a shit? Okay, so I suppose you found the credits to send Thean to Falkner? ”

  “He doesn’t need anything fancy. If you really insist on it, we could go rent an apartment in the lower block and start saving.”

  Jane shook her head, “We have been saving, Vic, and not so we can downgrade.”

  The discussion was already taking a similar path to the one they had yesterday afternoon. She knew Vincent was just venting. The offer to return to active duty from the army was a bit surprising, but she did know that due to relative peace, the army reserves had low enrollment for the past few decades. She also knew that she could decline the offer, but that would only delay both her and her husband’s anxiety, and with lower pay. It was part of her job and he knew that. Unlike Vincent, she wasn’t one to procrastinate.

  A few hours later and she and her family were at the space port ready to head out, but first there was the matter of saying goodbye to little Thean. Jane was glad that her son wasn’t quite yet old enough to comprehend that she was leaving for a while, which aided in her decision to accept the proposal. Still, she wanted to leave him something to remember her by. She had often used her aptitude for vida to create mini ice sculptures and decided to make one for this occasion. She concentrated and began using the moisture in the air to mold a sparrow made of ice.

  Upon completion, she exclaimed, “There! A little bird for my little hatchling! Whenever you miss me just take out my memento from the freezer and you’ll be able to sense me across time and space!”

  Her eyes were beginning to fill with tears as Thean reached out and touched his mother’s keepsake. Knowing she was about to change her mind, she bid farewell to Vic with a quick kiss. In a flash she entered the transport and became a fast moving speck to anyone watching from below.

  It had been a couple of years since she was last on a starship. Long enough to have forgotten how much she enjoyed the experience of spaceflight. She would have joined the navy, but quickly realized she’d preferred fighting with a gun in her hand instead of a ship’s computer.

  Three jumps later and the shuttle had safely reached the system her base was in. Using her brain’s cyberlink, she logged on to the base’s account to receive her orders.

  Then, through her though-comm, a familiar male voice entered her head and said, “Well, it seems you made it, First Sergeant Spire. I’m surprised you took the assignment.”

  “By the Sacred!” she replied with her artificial telepathy. “How can you be surprised? I know you’re the one who recommended me, jackass.”

  “Jackass?!”

  “What? Oh, I’m sorry, Captain Jackass.”

  “That’s better.”

  “So, why the recommendation, oh mighty captain?”

  “They’ll never admit it, but we’re running more than just a bit undermanned, and the new ones we do get are just sorry ass kids with nowhere else to go. They wanted a good arcanist to help out with the new batch of recruits we’re getting and they asked me if I knew of anyone to recommend. Though I was only fifty-two percent sure you would take the deal.”

  “Sure enough, apparently.”

  She exited the shuttle and viewed her new home for at least the next year. It was called the Devon Base, named after an obscure general who ran the base over three hundred years back. It was a typical encampment, now mostly used for the training of new recruits. The world it was on was dull, barren and largely lifeless, but did have a breathable atmosphere and temperatures were never too extreme, though Jane did just happen to arrive at the peak of its thirty hour night, making it fifty degrees below zero. It didn’t take long for her to settle down and begin her clockwork schedule.

  Twenty-five hours after arriving she met the company of newcomers she was supposed to help train lined up in the main hall. Keeping it to herself, she thought, ‘Captain Adelson was right; it’s just a bunch of sorry ass kids. Should be entertaining, at least.”

  Her group consisted of 243 kids and, going by the background checks she looked at, none really stood out, at least not in a good way. Nearly a third had some sort of minor run in with the law and only a handful scored above average in the aptitude test. The next few months were thus a tad strenuous as she found few took the training seriously at first. As time went on, however, she found her efforts paying off for some in the group. These would in turn help her get the others in order. By the end of the first phase of training, consisting of basic physical exercises, drill discipline, weapons training, and vida meditation, she found that her group wasn’t half bad.

  The second phase, starting at the end of the third month, was the reason she was brought in. Her goal for the next nine months was to train her recruits in vida manipulation, or warping, as it was normally called. There were three tiers of recruits in the human military. The first and most prized were those who unlocked their vida reserve before enlisting. These soldiers were well ahead of the curve and could be more quickly inserted into the fighting force as elite arcanist combatants. The second tier was the largest and the one Jane was currently directing. The majority of new recruits were still cutoff from their reserve (or had only just awoken them) and needed the preliminary training to become competent arcanists. The last tier was comprised of those who choose not to become arcanists and fully invested in high-tech enhancements to augment their fighting style. These fighters usually ended up taking roles as mech pilots, controlled drone units, or soldiers that specialized in cyber-attacks and defense.

  Jane had already spent every waking hour over the last three months getting her kids as exhausted as possible, the first step in unlocking one’s vida potential. As she reminded her recruits constantly, only when the body wholly expended its corporeal energy could one begin to feel the spiritual power vida offered, which was often first felt during meditation. With basics now over, she was free to spend most of their days diligently refining this cycle of grueling physical drills followed by meditation over the Sacred Script, which contained the proper verses needed to aid in concentration.

  After some six months toiling in this second phase, several recruits were beginning to open their reserve, shown by their untamed manipulation of one of the aspects. Seeing this progress from her students, she decided it was time to show them grander examples of warping. She had an attentive audience when they took the flat field of rock one morning. Seeing as it was a comfortable sixty degrees, they were only donned in their lightweight gray shirts.

  She began by saying, “Now that a few of you have actually awoken your reserves, I think it’s time to learn a little more about vida techniques. Whatever your main aspect is, it’s important to remember that warping in a larger scale is not merely done by flooding as much vida as you can into your muscles, nerves, or element. Learning this way will only serve to stunt your development. For example…”

  She placed her hands on the ground. A half second later and a thin sheet of ice began to quickly spread out toward the trainees. The swiftly expanding ice caught most of the two dozen recruits in range off guard and their feet were encased by it. Others were quick enough to jump over the ice, but they immediately slipped and fell when they landed.

  As laughter died down from those untargeted by the ice ro
ad, their mentor said, “The amount of vida I implemented just now equals the amount the most accomplished of you use to create ugly-ass snowflakes. The best I can equate vida’s ability to adjust to skill level is by comparing it to a deep well. Right now, those of you who have unlocked your vida have unlidded a well filled to the brink, but all you see is the surface. So how do you see deeper into it? By continuing to mediate. Unlocking your vida does not excuse you from skimping on your meditations. Even the most talented arcanists devote time to meditation. There is always more to muster.”

  Near the end of her explanation, she noticed numerous pairs of eyes looking beyond her. She looked back to see the captain standing there. She turned around to salute. “Sneaky as ever, sir.”

  Returning the hand gesture, he said, “I would say ‘stealthy’ is the more appropriate word. Feel free to continue your instruction, First Sergeant Spire.”

  “It sounds as if you have some free time, sir. Care to assist in my instruction with a demonstration of your abilities?”

  “Not at all, but it would be tedious on my own. How ‘bout we spar a bit? Then the young runts here can see what a battle between real arcanists ought to look like.”

  “If that’s your order, sir,” said Jane, seeing the challenge coming a planet away.

  The students created a wide circle around their superiors and they began cheering for their sergeant. Each soldier took their stance as they sized each other up, each tossing aside their camo-jackets. The captain was tall and lean, even skinnier than when she first met him over a decade ago, in fact. Nevertheless, she knew he trained extensively in the aspect of the body and was thus far stronger than he looked. He was also proficient in the use of elemental attacks, mainly employing the atmosphere. The combination of nimble muscles and rapid air strikes made him a lightning fast opponent. She doubted she could keep up if she gave him a clean start, so she made the first move.

  Repeating the action of a few moments ago, she began to create a sheet of ice on the ground. However, unlike before, it was quickly countered. The captain slammed the ground with his right boot and out came a dense wave of air pressure to break the ice before it could completely surround him. He then fired a missile of air with a punch of his fist, which she proceeded to dodge. As she sidestepped, she created an ice fragment in midair and warped it into a projectile, letting it loose at her target. To her annoyance, the ice slug was met with another compressed air pocket that was able to shatter the ice. A split second later, some ice and dust on the ground in front of her were being quickly pushed out of the way. She jumped over the incoming air blast, but as soon as her first foot landed back on the planet’s surface, she saw that the captain was only six feet away from her. She was off balanced and he was about to strike her down.

  Noticing he was passing over an unbroken section of the ice sheet, she immediately expanded the ice so that his next step fell on the thinner sheet. The captain appeared to see the ice, but his foot couldn’t avoid it and he lost just enough of his balance for her to regain her stability and achieve the offensive advantage. She darted in close and was able to land the first blow squarely on his stomach. Before she could pull her hand away, her superior was able to grab her arm and keep her in place as he swept his leg under her, causing her to fall on her back. She was left wide open for his finishing blow. Thankfully, she had vida-honed reflexes. As the captain’s elbow was falling toward her, a burst of ice from her hands stretched toward the attack, instantly coating his forearm in ice. This action gave her just enough time to roll out of the way and reform her stance. The captain was unfazed by his target’s escape, and after shattering the ice on his arm, once again went on the attack.

  The sparring match went on in this fashion for a minute more, to the pleasure of the observers. In fact, the mock fight became intense enough to force the ring farther back as the participants countered and re-countered with agile kicks and bursts of an element. During the end of the second minute, Jane realized the captain had downgraded his seriousness in the fight. Why? she wondered. She had always known him to be competitive, especially in anything concerning a fight. Did he want her to win in front of her recruits? She’d never seen him resort to psychological tricks to win a one on one fight. In any case, she wanted to win and, trick or not, she would make him pay for easing up on her. She warped a blunt, translucent blade of ice in each hand and charged her target in hopes of bringing one of the blades to his neck and ending the fight. To improve her chances, she focused her vida to her leg muscles for an extra surge of speed. She had only recently started vida training in the aspect of the body, so she suspected her opponent would not be expecting it.

  He dodged her initial slashes, but only barely. She felt herself gaining the upper hand. Even if he decided to become serious again, he was too off balance to counter effectively. Or so she thought. In a gust of swiftness that surprised her, the captain was able to warp a dense blade of air powerful enough to shatter her left ice blade. In that instant the air blade itself imploded and sent an unexpectedly boiling shockwave at her face. The intense heat forced her eyes to close and she knew it was over. When she next opened them, the captain was standing above her and was extending his hand to help her up. She accepted it, begrudgingly.

  “You almost had me there,” he said through his grin.

  “Is that ever true, sir?”

  He shrugged. To her troop, he said, “Keep up the good work and someday you too will be losing to your superior in front of a bunch of scrubs. Does this sound agreeable to you?”

  “Sir, yes sir!” they all responded.

  Two weeks after the sparring match, the base commander used the party line to call in everyone who wasn’t a recruit into the command hall. Jane had been sleeping, but was automatically awakened with this order. As it was not a call to arms, she kept on her standard grays, fixed up her hair, and put on her boots. She sprinted down the narrow living hall with a couple of others caught in her same situation. The trio went through the automatic door and into the spacious command hall, where she saw two hundred other soldiers lined up and awaiting further instructions from the half dozen commanders positioned on an elevated platform on her far right.

  When the last warrior lined up, the commanding officer said, “There is evidence that a pirate raid is planned on the nearby Hangzhou colony. Our company has been called upon to reinforce Hangzhou’s defenses until further information recommends otherwise. You have an hour to arrange any loose ends here and to update any family and or friends about your temporary station. Once you are done you are to report to the Mystic in full battle attire. Dismissed.”

  Jane was annoyed. Not at the fact she was to report to a possible battlefield, any good soldier should expect as much, but by how this would slow down the training of her recruits for at least a couple of weeks. It seemed only a skeleton crew was to be left at the base, and only a few of those would be able to directly oversee the training of the recruits. She sent her troop a message to remind them to continue their meditations and regimens, and also to respect what was likely going to be a low ranking instructor with minimal arcanist ability.

  The last step before she dressed in her battle armor was to send a message to Anat. She was glad to see that it was a reasonable hour at her home, so she decided to pay the extra credits to see if she could connect with her family through a live feed. She waited by the holo-projection on top of her desk for a couple minutes, hoping he would answer. He did. He was still in his orange workman’s jacket, which was stained with black splotches of oil and lubricants. She had always liked how it made him look burly, though it did peeve her when he wore it around the house for too long. In any event, that wasn’t her current concern.

  “This is a nice surprise,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting a live chat from you until tomorrow. What’s the occasion?”

  “Nothing special, I’m afraid. I’ve been temporarily reassigned to the Hangzhou colony, so send any messages you have to me there.”

  “Han
gzhou? Why there?”

  “Oh, nothing big. Just a show of force for any hasty bandits. I should only be there for a couple of weeks or so until they get proper reinforcements or we no longer find the threat credible. How’s Thean?”

  “I just fed him, so he should be going to sleep soon.”

  Vincent moved his head to the side so that she had an unencumbered view of Thean’s crib. She could see Thean was standing up with the aid of the crib’s railing. He was looking out the large window, though he wouldn’t have been able to see much in the failing light. Their side of the building only looked out on a barren plateau several miles away. The opposite side had the more expensive view of the city center.

  “Thean! Mommy’s over here!”

  Thean responded to his mother’s call by turning around and laughing. He tried waving, but fell on his padded behind when he couldn’t make up his mind on which hand to use. He only laughed harder. Jane laughed with him for a moment.

  “He misses his mother,” said Vincent.

  “And she misses him.”

  “You sure this pirate thing isn’t a big deal?”

  “I’m sure, babe. It’s just a precautionary measure. Hangzhou is a bit too large for most syndicates to handle, so I doubt the report is not much more than some pirates talking big. Even if there is a raid planned, once the syndicate learn the Coalition military has learned of it, they’ll back off. I’m more anxious over Nancy. You sure she’s treating Thean well?”

  “I’ve told you a million times, she’s already like a big sister to him. She even brings some of her little friends over sometimes to play house. We’re lucky to find someone like her just living a floor up.”

  “All right, then. It sounds like you have everything covered. I’ll send you a message when I reach Hangzhou. I love you.”