by Cary Caffrey
"Why do you always stand up for her?"
Suko didn't answer; her fists were clenched and her chest rose and fell quickly. Someone tried to grab her arms, but she elbowed the girl in the stomach, then punched another of Sigrid's tormentors in the face. Blood flowed freely from the girl's broken nose as she ran away crying and cursing.
The other girls backed away, eyeing the trail of blood between the bunks. Suko gave them as menacing a look as her eleven-year-old body could muster. She helped Sigrid up from the ground and picked up the towel, soap and toothbrush from where they lay scattered.
"Thanks," Sigrid said. She was suddenly very aware of the tears on her face and she tried to wipe them away quickly, as if that would hide them.
"Bunch of fuckwits, all of them," Suko said as she led Sigrid back to her bed. "I don't know what their problem is."
"Me," Sigrid said with a little shrug.
Suko laughed and hugged her. "You have to fight back. She's just a bully. They all are."
"I know." Sigrid blew her nose loudly in her sleeve and sniffed. "But there are a lot of them."
"Yeah, but they'll always have to go through me."
CHAPTER THREE
Bullies
From The Journal of Dr. Lisa Garrett
July 11, 2343
RE: Project Andraste
Dear Hitomi-san,
I write to you, even though I know, as always, that these letters won't get to you until after the fact.
I am pleased to report that all the girls are responding well to the Genetic Recombinant, with no signs of ill effects and no signs of rejection. Please inform Dr. Wolsey of that for me—I'm sure we'd both enjoy seeing the man eat a little crow for once. It seems clear now that we were correct in our selection of the subjects, all of whom show a similar genetic predisposition to the Recombinant. We have already monitored a tremendous increase in aptitude, intelligence, strength and reaction time. Felix seems to have his hands full. Thank you for that recommendation by the way. The man is a godsend and I'm not sure where I'd be without him.
We are still years away from introducing any of the bionics or the Control Module, but I'm pleased to say that the foundation is being laid.
I just wish you were here to see what we've accomplished. You deserve as much credit as anyone in this.
Yours truly,
Lisa
* * *
Sigrid felt completely self-conscious and was having trouble maintaining her focus. She couldn't stop thinking of the thirty girls, all watching her, waiting for her to fail. She really needed to focus more on the girl standing across the mat from her.
The girls sat in a large circle on the padded floor of the gymnasium. They were all dressed in the same judogi—the loose, belted coats and trousers—that Rosa had them wear for their martial arts classes. Rosa's belt was black, although the girls all wore belts of different colors and grades. Months of relentless training and instruction still found Sigrid stuck at yellow. Despite Suko's extra help and tutoring, Sigrid knew the other girls were leaving her behind.
Today they were studying an ancient form of Jujitsu, and it was Sigrid's turn on the mat. Her opponent was a much taller girl named Mei. Sigrid liked her well enough, although she'd like her a whole lot more if Mei would stop beating her with the wooden katana she held.
"This is Jujitsu, Ms. Novak, not arm-wrestling," Rosa chided. "You must use your opponent's force against her."
Sigrid frowned—he could say the same thing over and over, but it wasn't helping. Sigrid was unarmed while the other girl had a sword. She couldn't take her eyes off the thing, dreading yet another walloping.
"You must draw her into your sphere of defense."
Sigrid thought Mei was doing a pretty good job in her sphere… "But—"
"Again!" Rosa said, clapping his hands as he backed away from the center of the mat.
Sigrid failed to evade the first attack and paid for it with a bloodied lip. One of her teeth felt loose, as well. She touched the back of her hand to her swollen mouth and it came back red. Her opponent took some pleasure in this and gave her a menacing smile before launching another swing at Sigrid's face.
The speed of the attack took Sigrid by surprise—but she somehow managed to parry the thrust this time, lashing out with her own leg and kicking Mei in the sternum. Mei stumbled backward, but came rushing back at Sigrid with a wild over-the-shoulder chop. Sigrid sidestepped the swing and clamped down hard on Mei's wrist, twisting as hard as she could. The bokken fell to the ground.
Mei looked completely surprised. Clearly annoyed, the older girl grabbed at Sigrid's wrist, but Sigrid brought her hand, palm-up, twisting and thrusting down, breaking the grip before landing a solid blow to Mei's chin. Even Sigrid gasped, surprised at her own skillful execution of the move. I'm winning! she realized. Her heart beat faster; she'd never beaten anyone—ever!
Sigrid grabbed for the girl's collar and kicked hard at her ankles. She pushed with all her strength, determined to knock her down, but Mei was far bigger and stronger. Sigrid's clumsy attempt at brute force failed and Mei pushed her backwards, planting her foot hard in her stomach. The attack sent Sigrid tumbling onto her rear, winded.
Mei fell upon her instantly. Thoughts of a victory were quickly dashed as Sigrid tried desperately to block the fists that flew at her face. Mei landed several blows, bruising her further and bloodying her nose.
Then Suko surprised all of them. She leapt up and grabbed Mei by the collar, hauling her off Sigrid; who was now completely shocked as well as shaken—the girls were never to interfere with another match.
"Ms. Tansho!" Rosa bellowed. All the girls froze. "This is not your fight."
"But she was—"
"Ten laps around the compound."
After a quick, worried look to Sigrid, Suko bowed to Rosa and darted off to do her laps. The other girls grew quickly silent, fearful that Rosa might send them out to run more laps as well.
Rosa clapped his hands and gestured for the girls to continue. Sigrid couldn't believe what Suko had just done for her—she fretted her friend would get in terrible trouble. She was still watching Suko jog away when Mei charged and flattened her with a diving tackle. Mei seemed in no hurry to get off her, either, as she lay on top of her, crushing her chest.
"You have no focus, young one," Rosa barked. "Ten laps for you, so that you may think about your failure."
Sigrid groaned and tried to pull herself out from under the older girl who was making things as difficult as possible. She heard a pleased snicker from Sara.
Mercifully, Rosa also heard it. "And you may join her as well, Ms. Skarsden, since you find this so amusing. Ten laps—go!" Sara mouthed several curses, but stood and bowed to Rosa before slinking off to join Suko and Sigrid on their run of shame. "All of you—you must learn that when one of you falters, you all falter. Ten laps each."
The girls sat stunned for a moment.
Rosa clapped his hands so loudly it sounded like he'd fired a shot. "Go!"
The girls moved slowly to their feet, bowed and skulked off, none of them daring to groan or complain.
Sara caught up to Sigrid easily, and slowed, glaring at her. Sigrid saw the hate in her eyes; she knew Sara was plotting something particularly foul.
Sigrid didn't expect it to come so soon, though, as someone pushed her hard from behind. She almost caught her footing, but a loose rock was her undoing and she stumbled sideways. Sara clinched it by giving Sigrid an extra shove and she skidded hard to the ground, face first, skinning her knees and the palms of her hands. The cut on her lip reopened and she tasted blood and dirt.
As Sigrid lay there, she thought the ground felt oddly comfortable. If only she could just lie there for a moment. She rolled onto her back and found herself staring up at Suko; her head blocked out the sun, creating a halo around her black hair and ponytail.
"I don't think Sara likes me very much," Sigrid said, staring up at her friend.
Suko grabbed her hand
and yanked her up. "I like you," she said, in such a way that made Sigrid smile. "And I thought you did great against Mei. You totally freaked her out with that wrist block."
Sigrid tested the looseness of her tooth with her tongue. "Yeah, well next time I'll watch out for the follow-through."
Sigrid was the last to finish her run—along with Suko, who ran beside her. She was just entering the dormitory to wash when Sara stepped out and blocked the doorway, standing on the steps with her arms folded before her. Two of her cronies stood behind her, making sure that neither Sigrid or Suko could get past.
"Ah, crap," Sigrid said.
Suko rolled her eyes. "Give it a rest, Sara. You'll make us all late."
"If we're late, it's her fault," Sara said. "I'm sick of this and I'm sick of you. Why they even wanted you here is beyond me."
It was beyond Sigrid too, but she wasn't about to tell Sara as much.
Sigrid could see that Sara was itching for a fight, eager to beat the tar out of her, but she was determined not to give her the satisfaction. Doing her best to ignore her, she started up the steps—only to be pushed back down by Sara. Sigrid tripped on the last step and fell onto her rear, hitting her tailbone. That brought a big laugh from the other girls.
Sara's lips curled into a sneer and she looked down at Sigrid. "You're never going to graduate, you know. You're going to be stuck here forever. You'll never work for Kimura. They're going to take back every penny they gave your family."
Sigrid looked at her skinned knees and hands, felt the loose tooth in her mouth. Every muscle in her body ached. Sara wasn't the only one who was fed up. She hated Sara, but more than that, she hated herself for being scared.
Something inside her snapped. Sigrid screamed and launched herself at Sara, grabbing her around the legs and throwing her from the steps. Sara fell hard onto her back and Sigrid was on top of her before she could recover, pounding her face and chest. There was no thought of technique in her attack; she clawed Sara's face and pulled at her hair, punching her over and over.
Sara's cronies ran forward, but Suko blocked their path, giving the two girls a warning look. Sara would have to finish this fight on her own.
Sara screamed with rage, finally managing to throw the smaller girl off her, but Sigrid regained her feet first, leaping and planting a hard kick into Sara's chest. Sara fell to the ground, but Sigrid didn't relent, kicking her where she lay—over and over again; in her kidneys, in her ribs and with several clouts to her backside. Even as two of the instructors pulled her off, Sigrid kicked and thrashed like a wild animal, out of control.
As Sigrid calmed, she saw that all the girls had gathered to watch. Rosa was there as well.
Sara looked up at her, beaten and bloodied; she'd have several spectacular bruises, Sigrid was sure. She knew she'd gone too far, but beating Sara had been wonderful. Whatever Rosa dished out to her as punishment would be worth it. She looked at Rosa now, waiting for the expected dressing down.
He studied her with a frown, his hands resting on his hips, but instead of the expected outburst, he grunted a simple, "Hmph," then turned and walked away. As Sigrid watched him leave, the instructors released their grips on her arms. Apparently, that was that.
With the disturbance over, the instructors ushered the girls back into the dormitory to shower and dress before supper. The girls were quiet for the most part, but Sigrid could hear the faint whispers and felt their eyes upon her.
She usually tried to avoid the showers when the other girls used them; they always teased her relentlessly about her body—they were so much more developed than she was—but today she didn't care. No one seemed to be in the mood to tease her, not after the drubbing she'd laid on Sara. She took an extra-long shower, taking care to wash the cuts on her hands and knees. Her face stung in a number of places, but the water felt wonderful on her sore muscles.
Suko joined her at the sink while she combed out her hair. "I'm proud of you."
Sigrid frowned. "For beating a defenseless girl on the ground?"
"Beat her?" Suko laughed. "You gave her a right bashing. She deserved it."
Sigrid winced. "Do you think she'll be mad?"
"Oh, she'll be pissed. But she'll think twice about coming back at you."
Sigrid hoped Suko was right. She felt a strange sense of guilt—not for the beating she'd laid on Sara, but the fact that she'd completely enjoyed it. She only hoped she wouldn't pay for it too harshly at a later date.
After dinner, they had a little time before lights-out. Suko lay on her bunk with another book; Sigrid sat next to her on the bed, holding the latest stack of letters she'd received from her mother.
Sigrid smiled as she felt the paper with her fingers. Her mother was so old-fashioned. But paper or electronic, all messages had to be uploaded to the supply ships that came twice a year. Once uploaded, they would be transported through the Warp Relays and downloaded when they reached their destination. It was a slow way to send messages, but infinitely speedier than radio transmissions that wouldn't arrive in her lifetime. And neither she nor her mother could afford the Couriers—the little unmanned drones that orbited the Warp Relays. That was the fastest way to communicate, but the Couriers were prohibitively expensive.
Sigrid unfolded her pad, thinking of what to write back.
"More letters?" Suko asked, looking up from her book. She seemed annoyed. "I don't know why you bother. They won't get them for a year."
Sigrid shrugged. "I miss them. It doesn't feel so bad this way."
"Yeah, but it's not like you're going to see them again."
Sigrid put down her pad. "What? Why do you say that?"
Suko turned on her stomach; a sour look came over her face. "What do you think's going to happen when you're finished here?"
"I…" Sigrid hadn't thought about it; at least she tried not to.
"What do you think they're training us for?"
"I know, but…" But what? "I just thought…" Sigrid felt flustered. Suko never spoke of her own family—she always avoided the subject—but Sigrid missed hers deeply. That her letter writing should anger Suko made no sense. "Well—I still miss them!" She turned back to her letter, frustrated and angry, but she couldn't think what to write anymore.
"I don't know why. Your parents sent you here—they sent you away. They sold you, Sigrid" Suko rolled onto her back, crossing her arms over her chest. "I hope I never see mine again. I hate them."
"Hate them! Suko, they're your family."
"Even when we leave here, I won't go back. I don't think they'd take me even if I did."
Sigrid felt too shocked to say anything—never seeing her family again? She couldn't even consider that. After all, there were lots of children serving indentured contracts; theirs just happened to be with a mercenary organization. As bad as things were, Sigrid knew there were far worse places that children were sent to. How often had her parents warned, 'Be good or it's off to the factories'?
But Suko—how could Suko's family not take her back?
She was closer to Suko than she'd been to anyone. If Suko wasn't here…Sigrid shuddered at the thought. Her life at the Academy, torturous as it was, without Suko…
No. If Suko's family wouldn't have her then the answer was clear. "Then you'll just have to come and stay with me," Sigrid said, with a firm nod of her head. "We're family, now. We're…sisters."
Suko looked up at her, staring at her, studying her. Finally, her gaze softened as the anger drained from her face. She smiled and moved closer, leaning her head on Sigrid's shoulder. "Sisters…I think I like that."
Sigrid did, too.
* * *
August 16, 2343
Sigrid continued to wait for the inevitable reprisal from Sara, but as much as the girl kept staring daggers at her, she kept her distance and they both settled back into a routine of studies and exercises. Without Sara's prompting, none of the other girls seemed interested in bothering Sigrid either, and she began to let herself relax for the f
irst time.
Today, though, Sigrid and the rest of the girls were escorted out to the newly-constructed firing range for their course in Advanced Weapons training. The old weapons caused her enough trouble; Sigrid wasn't quite sure how she'd deal with these new ones.
She did like her new instructor though. Chesna Dubnov was cut from much the same mold as Rosa; she stood tall, with a lean, athletic figure, and sported an impressive scar over her eye. Sigrid could only wonder why the woman had chosen to keep it, given it was easy enough to fix. Still, it did add a certain mystique, enhancing the woman’s already lethal qualities.
An assortment of weapons had been brought up from the armory and mounted on racks behind them. The racks were stocked with everything from recoilless handguns, eSMGs and knives, to the larger, more powerful weapons, some modern and some ancient. Arquebuses, crossbows, plasma-rifles, EMP grenades; the collection seemed part museum, part arsenal. Despite the exotic selection, Chesna decided to start the girls off with the standard issue 18 mm Marine sidearm. Sixteen of the girls were lined up at the front facing a series of targets down range—some as much a hundred meters distant. The large recoilless pistols were dreadfully loud, and Sigrid covered her ears as she watched the other girls practice, dreading her own turn soon to come.
"You're supposed to hit the targets, ladies," Chesna scolded as she paced back and forth through the ranks of the girls. "All right! That's enough." The girls stopped firing and the range fell silent again. Chesna scanned the monitors in front of her; she made a show of shaking her head in disgust. "Forty-eight percent accuracy…and that's the best score."
Khepri clapped her hands, but stopped when Chesna glared at her.
"That wasn't a compliment," she said and sighed, resting her hands on the broad weapons holster at her hip. "I don't mind saying that I expected a lot more of you girls. All right—next group, you're up. I expect you to double that score."