The Recruitment: Rise of the Free Fleet

by Michael Chatfield

  For the remaining week and a half we improved in leaps and bounds with our fighting classes which went from a few hours a day to taking up the entire day. We fought in groups against one another, and could fight by ourselves against multiple opponents. What my talk hadn’t driven home, the fights did.

  Since the beginning I hadn’t trusted anyone, even Rick I kept at an arms distance, though no one would know it. We had three military members in the group, twelve athletes and the rest becoming fighters. I was waiting for one of the military people to take control. Surprisingly, no one did. Wiry and his friend kept to themselves, but nothing really changed.

  Though scarier than the military people and the rest of the squad was Yasu. Whenever I looked in her direction I would find her looking at me. I knew by her movements and my memories of her battles that she was trying to appear weaker than she was. Her body couldn’t hide the training that she’d undergone, the way she positioned herself for a fight or studied a person’s stance.

  I didn’t know how much later it was when I was talking about how to use a person’s power against them between shoveling food down my throat when Taleel strode through the door as we rushed into two lines. He was pushing a cart of perfectly white folded things. He stopped in front of us as he walked up and down our lines, his jaws snapping in pleasure.

  “Alright, today we’ll start actually training, you will participate in fights. This will happen between squads; those that don’t fight or lose will be treated to a cycle of remedial training.” Whatever a cycle is in this place. I silently questioned.

  Taleel grinned, as only a four jawed Sarenmenti could.

  “For the fights you will have to wear battle suits, these are the mark ones which were reviewed during your mental training cycle.” He looked between us, as if trying to find someone to defy him, just to punish them.

  I avoided his stare not wishing to bring attention to myself, but it was pretty futile at this point.

  “Now do Papa Taleel proud and kick their ass or I’ll make you wish you were never born.” His grin turned into something that made it look like he was preparing to rip us apart, a chill ran through my spine as he looked at me.

  The door that led to the track opened. Lights illuminated a path to another open door. We’d all experienced the pain implants when someone was too slow to go through the opening doors so we quickly filled the featureless room except for a door in the opposite wall and a window above us, where Sarenmenti and races from ships’ crews watched.

  I tried to figure out the races in the room, there were purple Dasvours, heavy worlder Orvunut’s, cat like Farsuni. It seemed half of the Union were watching the fights.

  Another squad appeared before us, the first humans I’d seen other than my own group. I felt hope rise in my chest as I searched through the ranks looking for someone from Mecha Tail, even someone from the gaming community that I knew. After a few seconds I turned my hope into anger at myself as I’d let my hopes get too high as I found no one.

  Just another group of scared and deadly humans made to fight us. I thought angrily as I studied their faces, seeing wildness in their eyes that scared me.

  We need to get some rules in place now before people try killing one another, we’re going to need to fight together, which is not going to happen if we start being afraid of other humans we should trust in killing us. Anger rose in my chest as I hardly noticed the doors closing behind both squads sealing us in together while I walked forward.

  That I’m thinking of such things just shows me how far the Sarenmenti have pushed us.

  With a look I stopped the rest of my squad, except for Wiry and his sidekicks, though it was a token rebellious action as the deadlier ones of my squad stopped them with further looks.

  I pointed to the window. “These bastards want to see us rip apart one another, to kill one another and do their jobs for them. They want us to stop being humans and turn into remorseless killers.”

  “You talk too much, we do what they tell us or we’ll be killed. I’m not dying today.” A man from the opposite wall with a dangerous look on his face said. Well, at least he looked like a man. In the time we’d been training everyone had been propelled into adulthood, complete with massive Defense Force muscles.

  “Oh, and you’ve seen Earth have you? Great, then can you tell us how our families are? If they’re alive? If Earth still exists?” I looked to him as anger built on his face.

  “The hell does that have to do with anything?” A rawness filling his voice.

  ““We were kidnapped, but do you have any idea what they did after that?” I could see that this thought shocked him. To be the last humans was an incredibly lonely thought.

  “Are you telling me that you want to kill off your own race, just because they say so?” I pointed to the window angrily. Not pausing in my tirade as I saw anger, sadness and confusion warring on his face.

  “We will survive and we will reclaim Earth, but we will do so by fighting one another fairly, we will do it together, as apart we have already lost. These are my rules; no low blows, or direct attempts to break bones, if they tap you go to the sides.” I said, putting confidence in my voice I didn’t feel as I saw the deadly, drug and synthetically enhanced muscled killers in front of me.

  I put forth my hand, looking at them all.

  “Do you accept?”

  I saw a movement in the other squad as they parted for a heavy set man, all of them looked to him with reverence, not with the fear I’d seen when my own squad had seen the Sarenmenti. The way he walked, spoke of a confidence in his weight that the younger children didn’t have. Growing so fast meant that they were awkward in their new bodies.

  That meant he was one of the oldest recruits, there was also a way he set himself as he stood an arm’s length away from me that spoke of a fighter. There was a confident but calm air about him. He talked in rolling deep tones of someone from a rural area.

  “No biting or scratching?” He asked. He was even bigger than Hoi I’d guess as I studied him closely.

  “Agreed.”

  “Well then let’s have a clean fight, Salchar.” He added my name as if it was a second thought, a good natured grin on his face as his hand dwarfed my own.

  “What’s your name?” I asked as I found his grip firm, but not crushing.

  “Henry.” He said, pumping my arm quickly.

  “There a rank with that?” I asked.

  “Lance Corporal” He said with a grin as I smiled back.

  “Well, good luck Henry. See you after all of this hopefully.” His people were already organizing themselves. He’d trained them well.

  I could see the observers were loving the build up. If they hadn’t I had the feeling my pain implant would’ve put me on the floor.

  “You too Salchar.” He turned to his people, his voice like what I had seen in movies as volume seemed to fill the room.

  “We’ll fight according to Salchar’s rules!” He said, he walked back to his people, and me to mine.

  I looked at my own people calculating looks on their faces as they readied themselves for a fight. We’d come a long way from being a group of strangers scared of everything. Sure, we were scared, but at least we had people we could rely on now.

  “Alright ladies, let’s get ‘em!” I said, it was like a switch was flicked as both squads came rushing together in a flurry of fists. For the first time in a long time they were able to see the fruit of what we’d been training for. Grins formed on their faces as they realized that they did know how to fight, in this arena, they weren’t defenseless, and instead they had a chance.

  They had hope, and I’d need that for later.

  I kept back from the front lines as I watched the two come together frantically fighting, the rules made it better. Someone that didn’t abide by the rules was automatically pummeled by everyone. Quickly everyone stopped breaking the rules as they saw it was a losing proposition.

  Henry joined in the fight once it was clear that
no one was to break the rules. I started forward into the melee, heading for Chen, who was being attacked by three fighters.

  Even without the rules people were pushing the boundaries. I shook my head thinking about what would’ve happened if we didn’t have them. I mentally patted myself as my knee collapsed from a blow behind me.

  I turned as I fell so I was facing my attacker. There she was, her eyes smoldering. She’d finally chosen her moment to strike-in the middle of a fight.

  “How does it feel to be on your knees? Salchar.” Yasu hissed.

  “Uncomfortable.” I was wondering when she’d finally come after me. I thought as I stood—my fists at low guard.

  “Always the one with the quips. It was one of the reasons I made Samurai Revenge. You have no honor, you make light of the situation and you do not act like a professional; you make a mockery of war.”

  “You want to fight a war with honor? That’s cute. Do you think it was honor that drove the Sarenmenti and their leaders to capture us as children and force us to train for war? As for the rest, I don’t really care, I would have won against you in Mecha Assault Two, not because of who I was but because my team worked together, not as separate warriors like Samurai’s Revenge was.”

  She kicked faster than I thought possible as I threw my legs out from under myself instead of taking the blow across the side of my knee.

  I rolled away from her bringing my arms up in a guard as her first struck my forearms and then pummeled my stomach. I tightened my abs as I took the harsh hits. Then she twirled, her kick landing on my ear, stunning me as I stumbled sideways. I could feel blood coming from my ear as it buzzed unnaturally.

  I lowered my guard seeing her pleased look as she brought her left leg up to strike my other ear impossibly fast. I rushed forward, tackling her. Her leg was still raised, my shoulder, pinning it to her. We dropped, I wrapped one leg over her remaining leg tightening my grip.

  If it was me in that position I would be crying in pain. She was flexible as a damned elastic band and as strong as a damned ox!

  I moved my arms from her shoulders to her elbows so she couldn’t hit me. Still, she fought me.

  “STOP.” I yelled in her face, emphasizing it by tightening my arms. “What the hell did I do to you to deserve this?” I demanded—my face inches from hers.

  “You fight dishonorably with tricks instead of fighting honorably face to face. You use deceit instead of using tactics.”

  “Really, you do know that many of the greatest tacticians are called the greatest liars, crooks and backstabbers also?” My eyes boring into hers.

  Her eyes were cold and hard with disgust.

  “Well, we’ve now fought face to face and I think we can both see how that went.” I rolled away into the melee blocking against a jab. She rolled away from a foot as I kept yelling for her to hear over the screams and yells of the fighting.

  “Stop being an idiot, we’re not on Earth, rivalries don’t count here. Getting home does and we’re not going to do that if we’re stabbing one another in the back.” I said iron filling my voice as I came under the girl I was fighting’s guard a few taps to the ribs putting her down. I saw Yasu’s face, her lip curled in anger.

  She dispatched her assailant, putting him on the ground crying from being hit in the ears.

  I smacked her in the back disorientating her as I wrapped up her arms around her head and dropped my weight on her.

  “If you keep this up I will keep tossing you around.” Her head whipped around to face me.

  “You couldn’t.” She seethed anger struggling to free herself again to no avail.

  I brought my face to hers She’s actually rather pretty if in a cold deadly sort of way. I thought to myself “Watch me.” My tone wrought iron as we locked stares. Her glare wilting after a few seconds.

  I pushed off of her as if disgusted.

  “Now fight for your team and squad, there is no one else here that will stick up for you. Your squad is your family now.” I looked around the room, seeing that both squads had tired themselves out, and my own speech and Yasu’s antics had garnered attention, stopping the fighting. Yasu got up slowly, her face red from embarrassment.

  I walked back to my squad who were grinning triumphantly, the other squad doing the same. They just needed to blow off some steam. I thought as I caught Henry’s eye and walked over to him

  “That’s some different kind of fighting.” Henry said with a grin.

  “Shut up, it’s not like that.”

  “Suuuuure it’s not.” He said with a grin, which I couldn’t help but copy, as I gave him a light tap on the shoulder.

  “Time limit up. Squads return to your pods.” A voice said through the speakers. My grin disappearing as I heard Taleel’s voice which promised pain for someone.

  “Come on guys.” I said as grins disappeared and hardness filled their faces. We’d all had to change, becoming tougher and closer.

  Without a word we fell into formation and marched out of the door. There was something powerful about marching in a group, all of our movements identical, all of us one body. We came to a halt in our squad bay, as Taleel walked in behind us—his jaws quivering in anger.

  “You lost for fighting among yourselves. Now time for remedial, everyone along the wall you came from.” Taleel marched out of the room, his hand quivering over the remote as the door sealed.

  My body started to get heavier and heavier as quickly the entire squad were on their stomachs breathing raggedly. The speakers in the room crackled to life as Taleel began talking.

  “This is two and a half times your world’s normal gravity and the air pressure has been reduced by thirty percent. To stop the remedial training you will have to crawl to the other wall and touch it. Otherwise, you’ll be here until further training.” His voice ringing with finality as the silence was filled with grunts of my fellow squad mates.

  Everything was so heavy, I hadn’t noticed how used I’d gotten to the strange air till it was reduced and I felt myself passing out as I had the first day.

  I began coughing as panic hit me. I’m going to pass out and then my own body will kill me. I thought as I lowered myself to the floor, succumbing to the heavy gravity and little air, my brain losing all logic as I fought the unseen forces in the room.

  “Salchar!” I heard Rick say, but my brain didn’t process it as I thrashed like a person drowning as the light began dimming from the lack of oxygen.

  Ashley sobbed, trying to speak which started her own coughing fit.

  Others began crying as someone hit me in the side. Pain focused my mind as I stopped thrashing. Seeing Hyun Soo looking at me, he was twelve years old but had more composure than I did.

  I felt embarrassment turning to anger at myself at letting so many people see me so weak.

  Grunting with effort I pulled my legs under me reaching out with my arms as I heaved myself forward my body wracked with pain as my breathing became labored. I continued going grunting as I did so. I had to clench muscles to move the blood around my body so I didn’t pass out waves of nausea hitting me as I dragged/pushed myself onward.

  I used the pain to take my focus away from how hard it was to breathe; pain had become familiar with Taleel. Gritting my teeth I reveled in it as I pushed on.

  I heard another trying behind me; I turned my head which had become a chore in itself as I saw Rick behind me.

  “Can’t….let you… get… there… first… boss.” He rasped breathlessly as he heaved himself forward. Gradually others joined him as I turned to face the wall. I’d started out just wanting to be free of the two times gravity for the unknown amount of time till Taleel decided we could sleep. Now instead of selfishly wanting to get to the other side of the room to sleep I was filled with, pride. It wasn’t the kind of pride for myself but a pride that I was thankful to be with this group of people that would push themselves even if they didn’t need to. I saw their determination and their pained faces as they pushed themselves. We mig
ht have been individuals before but now we were pushing to the other side a team, together.

  I turned to the other wall determination and a fire to get to the other side because of the others behind me as I was now crawling so these people, my squad, could rest. When I looked into their eyes I felt camaraderie resonate within myself, and in their eyes, a feeling that I thought that I would only have with Mecha Tail.

  We’ll get through whatever you throw at us, and then, when you’re all unsuspecting we’ll destroy you. I vowed against the Defense Force as I drove onwards.

  I was surprised as my hand hit something as I reached forward to pull myself forward.

  I looked up in wonder as I found the wall.