The Recruitment: Rise of the Free Fleet

by Michael Chatfield

  She turned bringing her sword up as we clashed again; she pushed off and then came at me in a fury of sword strokes. I like to pride myself on being fast and with my lighter customized Mecha I was damned speedy. She was lightning quick being so close I could see she’d made similar modifications to her Mecha. As I noticed the changes she turned her sword sideways bringing it up my sword and skimming off of my shoulder. I ducked out and under interposing my sword out of old reflex, being rewarded with a shower of sparks as I saved my ribs from a hit.

  I could see her machine like concentration; she wasn’t like a human anymore, her mind focused on her blade and her opponent, being me.

  Now being the sole attention of her deadly but pretty mind (you think of weird things when you’re sure you’re going to die) made me grin.

  She came at me faster and faster. I was only barely stopping her attacks as I backed away from her.

  She scored a hit as I went to parry a low strike aimed at my left leg. With nothing more than a flick of her wrist it came up, digging deep into my left forearm.

  I hissed in pain balling my right fist releasing my sword as I drove it into her ribs with all of my power lifting her a few feet in the air. I’d been cured of my unwillingness to hit a girl in countless fights where I’d seen how women could be as vicious as a man.

  I tossed my sword catching it with my right my left on fire—literally; the plasmid had ignited the under layers of my Mecha and the battle suit which were doing their best to stop the miniature fire.

  We came together in a shower of sparks.

  “Can we do this without fighting?” I asked as we came together.

  “You wish to become my husband because you’re on your knees! Your cowardice knows no bounds.” She said savagely.

  “So that’d be a no.” I said almost conversationally.

  “Alright then.” I said harshly somehow angered at the thought she thought me unworthy to be her husband, who was then Hoi or Gibbons? (Again, weird stuff goes through your mind when you’re fighting your rival. On a spaceship. To marry them—it was a weird day).

  Irrational anger built as I did what I did best, I concentrated on her moves, categorizing them as I remembered the counters for them. I knocked her sword away landing a foot in her midriff as I advanced she spun coming back up sword raised glancing it off of my knee servo which now registered some mobility issues.

  My left arm was pretty much defunct but the flames had stopped finally but the auto tourniquet in the upper in the arm had tightened which meant I was bleeding badly out of my arm. Taleel’s use of the pain implant had made the pain feel as if it was a pin prick. The nerve ports were working as promised giving me full mobility in my hand despite the fact my organics couldn’t move. I grabbed her right as I smashed the blunt side of my sword into her right shoulder. Her left came up in an uppercut.

  I had been training my nerves to run the power output by the Mecha ever since I’d talked to Shrift. Now it came in to use as I put all of my power in my left and used her to push myself back, adjusting the power in my legs so I was running as they found the floor again.

  I rushed in, too eager as she came at me as well. Her moves like a well choreographed movement as she swiped my sword out of the way, turning with the blade as she used the momentum to drive a foot into my helmet as my inertia carried me on.

  I rolled, my head ringing as I turned to face her.

  It was obvious I wasn’t going to win this fight. I was stronger but she had been trained to fight since she was a child. I had only a few years and then Taleel’s tutelage. Her training was amazing and she could combine the techniques she’d learned in a massive array of combinations without letting me get a complete read. She was my nightmare opponent and I couldn’t see a way to win sword to sword.

  “You fight very well.” I said as dread filled my guts

  “What are you trying to pull Salchar?”

  “Cowards wait for fate.” I muttered.

  “Did you just call me a coward?”

  “Fuck it!” I said as I threw myself at her I felt a burning sensation in my stomach as I coughed red. I grabbed Yasu pulling her to me with my mangled left the burning sensation in my stomach excruciating as I threw my sword away and pulled her helmet off as she bucked trying to move, my left holding her in a death grip.

  “Will you please stop that?” I growled as she stopped bucking her eyes wide as I looked away coughing.

  “Looks like you nicked a lung.” I coughed again getting the coughing under control turning back to her.

  “I’m sorry, but you can divorce me afterwards.” I coughed again more blood spilling down my chin I looked up again her face so close to mine.

  “You’re rather pretty in a cold way.” I said I might die in the next few seconds, a compliment wouldn’t hurt me at this point, well much, and she did have her hands still on her blade.

  “Why?” She demanded in a small voice no fight left in her as she looked at me with wide eyes. Fear in her eyes.

  “Couldn’t win against you any other way that I could see.” I said with a bloody smile. “You’re a great fighter.” I nodded coughing again and leaning against her, weak from the pain, well that and the blood loss probably.

  “Sorry about this.” I said weakly as I delivered a blow to her chin knocking her out as gently as I could. We collapsed to the floor in a pile.

  I braced the sword with my hands as I pulled it out as straight as possible, my hands melting, armoured and not. “FuuuuuuuUUUUUUUUUCK!” I yelled tossing the bloody blade away weakly my hands covering the hole in my Mecha as blood started pumping out of it.

  “Well fuck you’ve done it this time James.” I said quietly as I grabbed the emergency hell fire from my hip injecting it into a piece of skin that was exposed through the hole in my Mecha.

  I looked at the now peaceful Yasu, my wife I thought my mind reeling. I still felt like it was a dream but the pain was too much for this to be a dream. As I lay there I realized how much I didn’t want to die. I wanted to see the rest of Mecha Tail again my family, I wanted to make these aliens pay for taking us from our homes and forcing us to fight one another. If I woke up I was going to let them and the galaxy know what happened when you messed with Salchar.

  I looked groggily at a hatch in the wall opening as a group of Sarenmenti emerged towing two grav carts. Pain took me as the hell fire kept to its namesake, pain laced through my body, concentrating with ferocity on my abdomen before darkness thankfully filled my vision as I slumped boundless

  I awoke as if a bolt of electricity went through my entire body my eyes wide open pain lancing them from being in darkness and now being in bright light so rapidly.

  “FUCK!” I screamed as my body realized the pain which covered me as if I was one solid bruise. I looked down at my stomach there was a ragged hole where Yasu’ sword had been. The skin didn’t look like the scar on my shoulder it was still glossy as I moved pain followed, it wasn’t fully healed yet, but I’d been awoken. I checked my forearm which was also glossy with new skin. I sat up finding myself in a medical chair as I looked at Yasu sitting next to me in an identical chair, hers with restraints though.

  Her head whipped to the side away from me as I looked at her, an odd look on her face with an odd shade of pink.

  “If you’re going to do that every time you wake up I’ll find a way to keep you quiet.” She turned the pink fading as she caught my eyes her expression making me less than eager to find out how she’d keep me quiet.

  “I think I’ll pass.” I rose using my arms my stomach and lower chest still in fiery pain as I moved. I felt her eyes staring at me as I sat on the edge of the table things like worrying about being naked long gone with the showers we’d had, though they’d been separated into male and female. She hissed whipping her head away from me again as I stood. I was past the point of caring as my body throbbed with pain with every movement I made.

  Plus she was my wife so I figured whatever. I grabbed a new ba
ttle suit that was on a counter to the side, still studying my stomach and the messy scar on it. One more scar for the collection I thought grimly as I gingerly got in to the suit and pressed the sealing tab.

  Turning I looked back at her.

  “I’m all dressed now you can look.” I said as I noticed her looking away. Not fast enough I thought happily.

  “Do you mind releasing me from my bonds?” she said in an uneasy tone. For a moment I realized how helpless she was there as I crossed my arms.

  “Are you going to attack me?”

  “No.”

  “On your father’s honour.” Her eyes smouldered as she looked up at me.

  “No.” She said angrily. Happy with that I walked over trying to look better than I actually felt opening the clamps that held her in place before leaning against my own bed trying to hide how out of breath I was by crossing my arms and studying her. She was still wearing her battle suit. Shame I thought as I realized what I’d thought and tried to hunt down an answer for why I’d think such a thing.

  “So what happens now?” She said drawing away from my internal thoughts.

  “Not sure, what happens when we get married.” Her eyes automatically found something more interesting in another part of the room as she talked.

  “Now we have a wedding, like what we would have at home and we get couple pods.”

  “Okay, makes sense. What about the others?”

  “I don’t get that.”

  “What?” I asked a little confused by the question.

  “How you can be so confident. You’ve moved passed the whole wedding which you believe to be just fine, confident it’ll go according to plan, what’s to stop me from killing you.”

  “You’re father’s honour.”

  “How can you be so damned confident and trusting of others!” She demanded now finally looking me in the eyes, something in her eyes other than the cold look I associated with her whenever she saw me.

  I felt a smile creep on my face and then laugh the kind of belly laugh that hurts, in my case I nearly found myself on the floor again. Taking a few minutes before I’d recovered enough to talk.

  “I’m riding by the seat of my pants I have no confidence in anything, I trust those in the squad to do what they need to survive I have no illusions that if there is a better option other than following me to survive they’ll take it. The only people I trust are Mecha Tail and until I’m back with them I’m in enemy territory. I’m just waiting for someone to take everything I have from me, probably Rick when he figures out what a fraud I am for ordering people around. Until he or someone else better than me comes along I’m going to keep on doing what I’m doing which is keeping myself alive and getting back to my damned MAT team.” She looked at me unbelieving as she crossed her arms and cocked her leg.

  “That means I have to become commander of these people to make them the best damned fighters. That doesn’t mean I won’t be right beside them putting my life on the line. First of all I was going to use them to get Mecha Tail to safety.” I looked away in shame focusing on an obscure piece of the flooring.

  “Now I know that I was being idiotic. I will get as many humans free from this planetary defence force as possible, not one of us is more important the other and none of us deserved this. So until I die or am unable to I will look to free those that the Planetary defence hold as slaves.” I didn’t know then what I’d just signed myself up for, or where it would carry me as I looked into Yasu’s eyes.

  She studied me as if she was seeing me for the first time.

  “Now Ms. Ice Queen you’re a good fighter and I need good fighters to help me succeed, so Yasu Masami Ono will you marry me?”

  “You bested me, I will marry you.” She said using the fight as justification as if the very idea appalled her. I really didn’t care, it meant she now couldn’t kill me taking the saying keep your friends close and your enemies closer to a new level. Mine would be sharing a sleeping pod with me and be my fighting partner on whatever battlefields we found ourselves.

  My mind was already filled with ways she was going to kill me; hopefully it’d be quick and faster than a plasmid sword to the damned stomach. I shook my head looking up one of a multitude of hatches opened. More medical chairs where coming out of the floor.

  “Please leave the medical bay and proceed to the marriage hall.” A toneless voice said from hidden speakers.

  “Shall we?” She didn’t reply her face a mask similar to the one I wore as I fought with emotions that I would be forever linked to this woman by my first marriage. She quickly pushed off of the medical chair and went thought the only open doorway. I studied her from behind trying to figure out what she was thinking as we walked through the hatch.

  We were in a single room with hangars on either side. On one there was a black suit and tie with a white shirt. I looked at it almost painfully. For the girl out there here’s a secret. Guys like dressing up, strange I know how much we complain about it, but we like it. The reason I looked at it painfully was not because it was a suit, but because it had a bow tie and was not tailored for me at all. Man has to have style, especially at his own wedding. I ran my hand over my pin prickle hair my top and shaved sides gone as I looked like thousands of military recruits that had come before me.

  Yasu’s side had a white kimono and white belt. Much more elegant looking than my suit.

  “Keep your eyes on your own side.” She said as she pulled the kimono off of its holder.

  “Wouldn’t think about it.” Well of course I was thinking about it now that she’d said it! I’m a guy and she wasn’t exactly unappealing to the eye, plus well she was my wife, but being the gentleman I am I kept to myself until I got to the tie. I’d done all I could for the suit but it was just, not my style.

  After three failed attempts I left the tie on the rack.

  “You done?” I said still facing my side

  “Yes, seems you can’t tie a tie.”

  “Well can you?” I said turning around and finding her leaning back her arms crossed as she wore a black kimono symbolizing death or tragedy within her family.

  “How did you turn it…?”

  “Why yes I can.” She said leaning past me grabbing the tie.

  “Hold still.” She popped my collar more violently than I’d seen some punches thrown my neck feeling battered she pulled the tie around my neck.

  I got a smack for looking down and a reproving glare as I returned my stare to the ceiling. Then with a quick pull I found my airway restricted. Coughing slightly she undid it slightly. I caught the small smile on her face as she finished with a few flicks of her hands letting it fall on my open vest and pull my collar down.

  “Good.”

  “Now why the black kimono?”

  “It’s the death of my freedom.” I nodded I couldn’t deny that.

  “Well anyway it looks good on you.” This got me a glare, I grinned as I offered my arm. “Well shall we?”

  “Yes.” She walked ahead of my ignoring my arm as she walked through the door into a room filled with people dressed in bizarre ways; she took a seat forcing me to follow her. Rick quickly found his way over to us, Marleen in tow.

  I hid my laugh behind my fist at the odd pair, Rick had put muscular weight and widened considerably, but there was still of the endurance greyhound look to the man whereas Marleen while not as wide as Rick looked like she could clean press a small family minivan.

  His eyes went wide looking at us.

  “Close your mouth dear.” Marleen hissed.

  “So how did your fight go?” I asked Marleen smiling and looking away as Rick went red.

  “Well I submitted, don’t tell anyone okay boss.” Rick answered as Marleen smiled behind him.

  “What about you two? Marleen asked.

  “I stabbed him and the idiot punched me.” Yasu said simply as I winced.

  “What!?” Marleen said giving me a glare that threatened to burn through my skull.

  “L
et’s just say cupids aim was off and he used a sword instead of an arrow.” I said simply, touching my still healing wound. We spent the rest of the time in silence as we watched who’d been paired up.

  What the hell have I gotten myself into this time I thought as I looked at Yasu in my peripherals. She was as stiff as a board the black kimono looked more appropriate on her than a white one would’ve I thought. Her face was serene but I knew that she was warring with the same things I was. Without thinking I put my hand on hers. She looked at me as if I stabbed her ripping her hands out from undermine. I hid the pain that lanced through me as I looked to the front my mask descending. We would be married in name and nothing else I resolved hunching my shoulders. I was still alone as always no matter my outward appearance.