Defender of the Empire: Cadet #1

by Catherine Beery

  I frowned as I read the scans of the other ship. “They haven’t raised their shields.” I muttered. No one seemed to hear me. Oddly enough it reminded me of a strange little boy who had showed up one day on the same street that Aunt Sylvie’s house was on. He had been odd. I had often thought him stupid in the extreme. You see, he was always going up to people and shouting a mild challenge or taunt of some kind before showing whoever it was his weapon of the day: a stick usually. If the one he was challenging ran away or made to defend themselves he would attack them. However, if they showed him whatever weapon they had and stared him down he would drop his stick. Then he would try to be their best friend if they would let him. Most didn’t want anything to do with him. Which made sense because he was a tad crazy.

  The last person he did the strange challenging thing with was Ace. Unlike everyone else before him, Ace had made the kid his second. Carden had told me that the kid was an abandoned Lu’f. The Lu’f were a minority group on Lenti. The tended to stick to the forests and their clans. What I had thought a stupid exercise, Carden had explained was the kid’s attempt to fit in. He needed to know who was beneath him, who was his equal, and who was the boss. It had been one of those rare moments where Ace had surprised me with his understanding of those around him.

  It made me wonder, what if the unknown race we were dealing with, even if they were part of a simulated situation, were like the Lu’f?

  “Put the shields down.” I said louder so the boys could hear.

  The guys all stared at me in shock. “Why?” Jason asked in bewilderment.

  “They have charged weapons.” Westley pointed out as if I had somehow forgotten that.

  “What if they are like the Lu’f of Lenti?” I asked. At their frowns I continued with an exasperated sigh. “They haven’t raised their shields. Our first reaction was to raise shields and arm ourselves when they charged their weapons. They haven’t done that at all. All they did was shout a taunt and showed us they have teeth.”

  “That may be, but they have threatened us. I am not lowering the shields.” Westley said. And I could understand his concern. It was stupid to lower your defenses with an armed weapon pointed at you.

  However, I couldn’t give up. I had this gut feeling that we needed to take this particular risk or suffer a fight against a force we did not know.

  “We are supposed to be exploring.” I said. “Part of that is attempting to understand the new races we come across. If they are indeed like the Lu’f they are seeking to know if we are lesser then they or their equals. Raising the shields when they have yet to do so is a coward’s move.”

  “That is if they are like these Lu’f.” Westley pointed out.

  “Yes, it is a big if, but our mission is to explore this sector. We cannot do that if we run or shoot them out of the sky. This is their ground, in a matter of speaking. If we are not careful we could start a war with an unknown.”

  “She has a point.” Jason said thoughtfully from his seat. “A misunderstanding similar to this is what started the first war with the Zar’daka.”

  “I can always keep a finger over the shield button.” Marius added.

  Westley frowned before sighing gustily. “Lower shields, but have a finger over them in case this goes south.” Westley ordered. Turning to Jason he said “See if you can’t make sense of their language.”

  Jason nodded as the shields went down. We went still as we waited for the other ship’s response. Even though I had been the one to suggest dropping the shields I was uneasy.

  Nothing happened...

  For long moments the other ship did nothing. Outwardly we didn’t either. Meanwhile each team member was occupied with something. I watched the ship and the readings on my console. Jason worked furiously to try to decode the language. Westley and Marius watched the ship, Marius with his finger over his console.

  Finally Marius relaxed. “They have deactivated their weapons.”

  “Do the same.” Westley commanded.

  “They are sending another message. Hopefully it will be long enough for the computer to crack their language.” The last Jason muttered.

  “Patch it through.” Westley instructed. More of the strange guttural yet chirpy puzzle filtered into the room. When there was a pause, Westley glanced questioningly at Jason. The younger boy shook his head. Westley turned back to hologram and straightened his shoulders and said “I am Captain Westley Trin of the,” he paused and glanced at us. After a moment he smiled and continued “LFP Surprise of the Spectral Empire. I am afraid we don’t yet understand you.” He finished in a regretful yet strong tone.

  More of the strange language flowed over our ears before Jason gave a triumphant cry. He plunked a few buttons and the guttural chirping reformed itself to something we could understand. The voice even sounded familiar. It was Admiral L’Seral. “Well done, Team Twelve. You have succeeded in your mission. None were lost in this simulation and you made first contact. You will advance to the second challenge next week. Same time.”

  As she spoke the simulation ended and the lights came back on. Jason whooped and we all grinned at each other.

  “Good job guys.” I said as we got up and left.

  “I told you we would make a great team. “Jason reminded us.

  Westley tapped my elbow and asked quietly. “What made you think to lower the shields?”

  “A Lu’f boy back home.” I told him. “He acted much like that ship did. It was also a gut feeling.” I said in a softer tone.

  Westley grunted “You have good instincts.” He glanced about before saying “I am sorry that I did not listen to you immediately”

  I stared at him with a puzzled frowned for a moment. Then I shook my head “Don’t be. You were being cautious. You had to keep us safe. Even so, you listened to my reasoning and what the others were saying. Then you made your decision. I think you did a good job handling the situation.” I told him honestly.

  “Come on you two.” Marius said clapping us on our shoulders, the difference in height didn’t seem to bother him much. “Let’s go celebrate our win.”

  Chapter 17 – Teammates

  The week after the first challenge was… how shall I say? ‘Interesting’ is as good a word as any. It turns out that everyone, except Michel, Meghan, and Dr. Clayton, had thought that Team Twelve would fail the first competition. I was told that it wasn’t just because I was part of it, though that was a strong reason. There were many who thought having two new recruits would have sealed the team’s ill fate. All were shocked when Team Twelve did not only succeeded but also came in first. The six teams who had lost had done so because they had fired upon the strange ship. There had been many ‘casualties’. Depending on which team we are talking about it was just the strange ship or just their own. The team who did the worst had not only destroyed the strange ship, but their own as well. And to top it off, they did so in full view of witnesses. The empire had become embroiled in a war as a consequence. Good thing it was just a simulation.

  None of the other teams, continuing on or cut, were particularly happy that the black horse team had beaten all of them. Those in the six cut teams whispered that we had an unfair advantage in Westley. They made the stupid mistake in whispering this near Marius. Marius had asked how many of them had seen our team compete. Most of the grumblers had raised their hands. Apparently once they had finished competing they had been free to watch. Marius had then asked them who had reminded the team of the mission and had suggested to lower the shields. They hadn’t answered, but a few had looked at me.

  Now those attending the Academy didn’t know what to think about the colonist in their midst. The bias was I wasn’t their equal in any way. The truth was I had, with my team, succeeded where none of their teams had. It went against all thought. I was also doing better in all of my classes. I even helped some of my classmates when they couldn’t understand what was being taught. I think they finally realized that I wasn’t washing out. I was, in fact, thriving. Grant
ed, it was only my second full week here, but most hadn’t thought I would last this long.

  Between classes I would talk with Luna and Scrae. The newest Spectral, the otter Matti, would not speak to me. Luna said it was because she had been trapped for so long in the Lous-eci’dalb she was still getting use to the idea that she was free. It was almost too much for the otter and she stayed in her own thoughts. As to the weapon I had not been told anything else about besides what they had already told me. And they strongly recommended that I not look it up. When I had asked them why they had said that Admiral Knight may hear about my looking into the blade and he would wonder how I knew its name. That would point him toward Kylesst’s activities. Bad things; worse things, would happen then. I understood their reasoning, but found myself wishing they hadn’t made so much sense. That way I could ignore their advice and sate my curiosity. There had to be something out there that would give a hint of how to destroy it… I couldn’t risk it till after Admiral Knight was no longer a danger… or I wasn’t in such a weak position. That would probably come first.

  Other than cryptic conversations with the Spectrals I was having a good week. It was still crazy busy, but that was good. It kept the excess energy I seemed to be collecting from melting my brain to mush. The constant rushing around and stress gave it a steady outlet to do something productive.

  And speaking about excess energy, I have been trying to have that conversation with Marius Old-Eyes. I knew he knew something about it and I wanted him to tell me. But every time I tried there were other people present and this was not a conversation I wanted overheard.

  So I waited for the right opportunity. Of course the Universe, being the way it is, helpfully arranged the perfect scenario for this conversation. Personally, I would have preferred something else, but the Universe does not listen to me or care for my preferences. At least I can console myself in the knowledge that something good came of it.

  I was alone in the padded practice room that Marius and I used for hand-to-hand combat, working on the latest moves he had shown me. It was my warm up time before the master bruiser came. I was doing just fine when Kylesst dumped another Spectral on me. I knew it had happened this time because I was awake. The Spectral’s panic mixed with its relief of having gotten away was so strong that I trembled so bad I fell to my knees.

  Oh shit I thought as I felt my temperature rise. My skin felt thin and over stretched, though I didn’t see anything swelling. But I could, horrifyingly, see the flood of energy this latest refugee brought with him. Flesh is not supposed to be lit from within like that. Energy was a sizzling torrent inside me. It had nowhere to go. Luna, Scrae, and Matti couldn’t divert it elsewhere and my immune system had had all the help it needed before. And oddly enough, I couldn’t move. It was as if my body was so overwhelmed that it couldn’t process the simple demand to ‘move’ anymore. Was I breathing? I couldn’t tell. I could feel my heart beating wilding like it was trying to beat a path out of my chest.

  I could see the Spectrals and I wasn’t dreaming. They stared at me helplessly. As if I needed a reminder as to how totally screwed I was.

  A professor had told me sometime in the last two weeks that energy was often defined as the ability to do work. If that was the case, I had nothing for it to do. Except to provide unneeded heating. My temperature continued to rise and I wondered hysterically if the resulting meltdown would give the energy something productive to do. Only, with my luck, it wouldn’t be enough and I would be trapped in a meltdown, heal, meltdown cycle for a while. If that happened would there be anything left of me once it stopped… what if it never stopped? Shit.

  ***

  Marius walked slowly to his meeting with Rylynn. He saw no need to rush. As it was he would be early.

  “Sam is starting to annoy me.” Becky’s voice came over his private com-link.

  “Is he now?” Marius asked silently as he walked. A smile ghosting over his lips. He was amazed that Sam hadn’t demanded something sooner… like every day since he had told them about Rylynn and her menagerie of refugee Spectrals.

  He could hear Becky’s glower in her tone. “He is. Do you have anything to report so I can give him something?” There was a hopeful note there at the end.

  “Other than what I already told you on day one of this mission?” He had told Becky the shocking news of Rylynn having Spectrals draped on her like lays from the Vacation Isles. He had also reported what the Spectrals had told him about Admiral Knight and the Lous-eci’dalb. Becky had not spoken for five whole minutes before cursing out the admiral and demanding to know if there was any physical proof. She and Sam both knew that the imperial courts would demand physical proof to charge an admiral. Proof they didn’t yet have. “Nothing we can use.” Marius told her now.

  “Damn it!” She snarled. Cute, bubbly Becky snarling. Who would have thought? Marius marveled at the novel picture.

  BEHAVE. Zara said rubbing into his leg. The Spectral panther looked better that she had before his first energy transfer with Rylynn. He hadn’t thought it possible. It was something he would need to tell Sam personally as Becky didn’t know about him. It was safer that way.

  “What else have you learned that we lack physical evidence to bring before the stuffed courts?” Becky finally asked.

  “Admiral Knight is one of the judges for the competition. I don’t know if that is part of his plans or not. Haven’t been able to figure that out yet. Admiral L’Seral is also a judge. Then there are two professors, Doctors Kimbridge and Seithan. The last judge is Captain Wingstar.”

  “Wow! However did they convince Wingstar to leave his ship? I wonder if Sam is aware of where the Shade captain is? Oh! And how did your team do?” There was a pause before she pressed “Well?”

  Marius grinned. “I was just waiting to see if you would actually let me answer any of those.”

  “Yes I’m done. Spill.”

  “As my handler demands.” Marius began grandly. Becky snorted. Marius ignored her. “I don’t know the ‘how’ to the first. Though I suspect Sam does know, which kind of answers both questions one and two. As to the last, we won the challenge… thanks to Rylynn’s instincts.”

  “Oooh! Do tell.”

  “What? You haven’t heard about it already?” Marius quipped.

  “Marius!” She gasped in mock affront.

  Marius sighed. “I’ll tell you, but later. I have a weapon training session with Rylynn and I am almost there.”

  “So be quick in the telling.” Becky suggested.

  “You, my dear, are incorrigible.” Marius muttered.

  “Just. Like. You.” She quipped back.

  “I can’t because I have to figure out what I’m going to tell Rylynn because I just know I’m walking into an inquisition.”

  “Oh?” Becky asked with interest.

  “I think she is on to me.” Marius admitted.

  Becky chuckled. “What’s this? The great Marius Ty’lon is losing his edge and is being ratted out by at thirteen cycle old girl?” She inquired with mock incredulousness.

  “A sharp thirteen cycle old girl.” Marius informed her. Becky just laughed. Marius rolled his eyes skyward and wondered how he had gotten such an irreverent handler.

  ANYONE ELSE WOULD HAVE BORED YOU TO TEARS. Zara said unhelpfully.

  I hate it when you decide to be that annoying little voice. Marius thought to her. Zara purred in response. It was at that moment he looked down and noticed something that caused his eyes to narrow. Luna stood in the doorway of the training room he and Rylynn used to practice. What got him was the fact that she lit up the doorway which meant that any passerby would see her. Only a Spectral with a ton of energy to spare would do that… and only a desperate one would pace about like Luna was. “Something is up.” Marius told a still laughing Becky as Luna’s gold rimmed silver gaze focused on him. “I’ll have to talk to you later.” He ended the transmission before Becky could say anything.

  MARIUS! THANK GOD WHO HAS BROUGHT YOU
EARLY! Luna cried. COME! RYLYNN NEEDS HELP! She turned and raced back into the room. Marius traded a glance with Zara before running after the Spectral wolf. The sight he was met with stopped him cold.

  Rylynn was on the ground sweating like a roast pig over a fire with a small star writhing under her skin. At least that was what it looked like. No wonder Scrae, Luna, the otter and the deer are glowing. He thought realizing that the Spectrals were trying to draw the energy out. But there was too much. How was Rylynn still alive with four Spectrals in the room and a fifth elsewhere he didn’t know? He had been worried when he had seen her on the edge just before the first challenge. He guessed the deer showing up had pushed things past critical.

  All this took a second to ponder before he ran to the girl’s side. He dragged her as gently as he could into his lap trying to give the energy as big an outlet as possible. The energy that fed Spectrals and resided in some form in every being in the universe flowed unchecked into him. Marius was vaguely aware of his yelp as it hit him. Energy swept through his body, feeding him and saving Zara.

  Time lost all meaning in the second it took to transfer most of the excess energy to him. He became aware of his surroundings faster than he thought he would. Zara looked stronger and healthier than she had for a long time. She looked like she did before they had bonded. The other Spectrals allowed themselves to dim until he could barely see them, as was normal for a Shade who wasn’t bonded to them. No one else could not see them. Not even Rylynn until she bonded to Kylesst.

  As for Rylynn, her skin no longer appeared to have an inferno under it. Sweat still dampened her skin, but she no longer felt feverish.

  YOU CAN RELEASE HER NOW. HER ENERGY LEVELS ARE NORMAL AGAIN. Scrae told him after another moment.

  You are kidding right? Marius thought to the Spectral. The levels are still too high for a human.

  SHE IS SPECIAL. Luna said.

  Marius shook his head wondering what Rylynn was and when he could sneak away to talk to Sam. Carefully he settled Rylynn on the padded floor.