by Dan Oakley
Chapter 14
Trella was mad, and I didn’t know how to fix it. My lack of experience with friendships wasn’t helping. I wanted to reach out and make things better between us but didn’t have the first idea of how to go about it.
It wasn’t much fun to have the only person I considered to be a friend on this ship angry with me.
I killed some time practicing in the training room on my own but grew bored quickly. When it became clear Trella wasn’t going to join me in the mage zone, I decided to go back to the rookie quarters and grab a shower. The hot shower made me feel a little better. I left the shower block and decided to play some attack games on my console or maybe read a book.
But when the door slid open, I saw a cleaning bot busy working on my dorm room.
“Hey, thanks a lot,” I said to the bot, who gave me a formal greeting as I entered the room. “I could have done with you back on Terrano.”
The cleaning bot lifted the bed and vacuumed beneath it. “You’re welcome,” she said in a mechanical voice.
Some of the cleaning bots had male voices and others had female. I couldn’t tell which bots had masculine or feminine voices by looking at them because they all looked identical to me. Their faces were curved, white and shiny and they looked like robots, unlike the androids, which were designed with a humanoid appearance.
“Have you heard when we’re scheduled to jump?” I asked.
“Currently available information tells us the jump is scheduled for tomorrow evening at 18:00, but statistically, the jump time is seventy percent likely to be changed,” the bot said. “If you check your console, details will be updated as and when they are known.”
The bot returned to her cleaning.
“Um, why are jump times seventy percent likely to be changed?” I figured a mage could use magic to protect the ship so couldn’t work out why preparation took so long.
“It’s standard procedure for the crew to run diagnostics on all the major systems, including life support, before every jump. It takes twenty-seven hours and twenty-two minutes for such diagnostics to run on the K. S. Morellic. If problems are identified during diagnostics, they must be fixed before the jump is attempted.”
“Oh, right. Thanks, I’ll leave you to it then,” I said and left the room feeling pretty depressed. The only people apart from Trella who wanted to talk to me on the ship were the androids or the bots. What’s wrong with me? Why couldn’t I form human friendships?
Feeling fed up, I decided to go for a walk around the ship. For the first time since I’d been aboard the sound of my feet softly hitting the molded white flooring along the corridors annoyed me. Everything was human-made on the K.S. Morellic. I longed to feel something natural. I wanted to feel the soft springiness of grass beneath my feet. I imagined myself sitting in the rocking chair beside the wood burner in our old cabin and felt a pang of homesickness.
That was another thing. There were no smells here. Not for long anyway. Odors were ferried away by the filtration system. I longed to smell the scent of the pine forest or the smoky aroma of my meals cooked over the fire again.
With a sigh, I came to a stop in an area of the ship I hadn’t visited before. Nearby signs indicated it was the defense training zone.
There was a large, blue-tinted viewing window inset into the corridor. I tried to peer through the shiny surface. At first, objects behind the window were fuzzy, and the blue tint was too dark to see much, but the longer I stood there, the easier it became to see.
The fuzzy objects sharpened, and I saw figures of numerous men in a large room with training mats scattered on the floor.
There was a session going on at the moment. Intrigued, I moved closer and leaned on the small sill at the base of the window.
The men were gathered in a loose circle, surrounding two large men engaged in combat. They held what looked like white, glowing sticks or clubs, and every time the stick made contact with their opponent, it emitted flashes and sparks. Intrigued, I followed their movements as they maneuvered with lightning speed.
They were talking, but it was hard to make out what they were saying. Their conversation sounded like a soft hum to my ears.
I touched the window, and the low vibration of their voices traveled up through my fingers, along my arm and my neck to my jawbone and then I could hear them clearly.
“Come on, rookies, it’s your turn,” a large man said. He was standing at the back of the circle and was almost a foot taller than everyone else in the room. His chest and shoulders were incredibly broad. He was easily the most enormous man I had ever seen.
Two of the rookies came forward, and I recognized them immediately. Zarak and Bobby.
I was still furious with them both. Maybe my anger at Bobby would fade in time, but I’d never forgive Zarak for what he’d done to me.
Trella may have given him the benefit of the doubt and suggested his weapon had malfunctioned, but I knew he’d intended to hurt me.
The colossal man stepped in between Bobby and Zarak and handed each of them one of the odd-shaped, white clubs. He pushed them apart and then slapped his hands together to indicate they should begin to fight.
They circled each other slowly, and it wasn’t long before I realized Bobby was a better fighter than I’d expected. He moved fast and managed to anticipate most of Zarak’s moves.
Bobby was light on his feet and had a rhythm to his fighting, which impressed me.
Zarak soon grew frustrated at Bobby outwitting him and weaving out of reach. Zarak thrashed his club around wildly, but on each occasion, he missed Bobby by a considerable distance.
That seemed to amuse the big man, and he laughed, calling out compliments on Bobby’s technique.
That only annoyed Zarak further.
I grinned. I had to admit I enjoyed seeing Zarak put in his place like this.
I shifted my position, not noticing the row of buttons beneath the window. I laughed and then everyone in the room turned to look my way.
Startled, I stepped back and then saw what I’d done. I’d pressed the intercom button below the window that allowed me to talk to the room. They’d heard me laughing.
Crap. Should I run?
I didn’t have much time to make up my mind because the large man was taking huge strides towards the door.
I hadn’t done anything wrong. It was just a mistake. He’d understand if I explained, wouldn’t he?
When the door slid open, I quickly apologized. “It was a mistake. I leaned against the intercom button while I was watching your training session.”
The big man stepped through the doorway and stood over me. His face screwed up, but I couldn’t read his expression. He grunted.
I swallowed hard under his intimidating stare. “I’m sorry, I just found it interesting to watch the fighting.”
“You can’t see through the screen,” the man said in a low, rumbling voice.
“Yes, I can.”
His eyes narrowed, and I realized too late that contradicting him probably wasn’t the wisest move.
“Sorry, I didn’t realize it was private.” I gazed up at the mountain of a man and hoped he wasn’t contemplating physical violence.
“You can see through the screens?” He narrowed his eyes.
I nodded as another man appeared behind him. He was shorter, but still well-built, with a crescent-shaped scar near his right eye.
“You’ll be telling us you can hear inside next.” The man with the scar laughed.
“I can,” I said and quickly realized this was probably some magical ability. I knew I had to explain before I got in any further trouble. “I’m a mage… only I’m not very well trained, and I just assumed everyone could see through the window… but I guess I must have used magic somehow.”
I held up my hands and stopped babbling. If the viewing window was tinted and most people couldn’t see through it, that meant the session was intended to be private, and I’d been spying on them.
“I really
am sorry. I’ll go.”
As I turned, the large man slapped a hand on my shoulder. “Oh, no, you don’t. You wanted to see our session so why don’t you come inside and join us?”
“Err, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I started to say, but both men ignored me, and there was no way I had the strength to resist the huge fighter propelling me into the room.
“What’s your name?” the big man asked.
“Tomas,” I said.
“Good to meet you, Tomas. I’m Lieutenant Burke, leader of this merry squad you see before you.”
Pulling a face like he’d just sucked a lemon, Zarak sent me a look of scathing hatred. I ignored him.
Bobby gave me an apologetic smile, and the other men regarded me curiously.
“This is Ensign Draylan,” he said, introducing me to the man with the crescent-shaped scar.
I shook Draylan’s hand as the other men in the room called out their names. There was a large bald man called Bayliss and another called Cartwright who could have been Bayliss’s twin if he didn’t have a thick head of yellow hair. I lost track of the other names as Lieutenant Burke pointed to the weapon in Zarak’s hand.
“That’s a seventh generation Apollo Lance Stunner, but we like to refer to them as zappers.” He smiled at me. “Would you like to try it out, Tomas?”
“I don’t think so. I should probably just watch.”
The big man gave a throaty chuckle. “No one who comes into the defense combat room gets just to watch, Tomas.”
Ensign Draylan nudged me. “Go on; you won’t get hurt. Not badly anyway.” He laughed heartily at his own joke.
Great. That filled me with confidence.
“Bobby,” Lieutenant Burke said. “Give Tomas your zapper.”
Bobby walked over, holding out the weapon. “Here you go,” he said cheerfully. “I’m sorry for shooting you when you were unarmed. I was only following orders.”
I shrugged as I took the weapon. Although I didn’t want to hold a grudge against Bobby, it was still a little early for me to forgive him completely.
“What do I do with it?”
I held the lance up. The handle was thin, but the weapon flared out at the other end. It was cream-colored, and the surface was rough. Turning it over in my hands, I studied it but couldn’t tell what it was made from.
“There’s nothing to it,” Lieutenant Burke said. “Once it makes contact with something it sends out a zap. In the combat training room, we use it on the lowest level.” He pointed to a very small gauge that ran along the handle. “Still, it packs quite a punch so I’d advise not to get hit with your opponent’s zapper.”
His eyes twinkled, and my stomach sank. That sounded easier said than done. At least this time, I wouldn’t be unarmed facing an opponent. That was an improvement.
I’d been in my fair share of fights over the years. I hadn’t exactly been popular back on Terrano, and often had to fight off more than one mud brain at a time. But I’d had no training, and the rest of the men in this room were part of the defense squad. Fighting was their job. This wouldn’t be a fair fight.
The unfairness didn’t seem to bother Lieutenant Burke, though. He gave me a shove in the back, indicating I should head towards Zarak.
“What the hell are you doing here, peasant,” Zarak growled in a low voice as soon as I got close enough.
He was smart. He said it quietly so that only I could hear.
I said nothing but held up the weapon. I’d been reluctant to fight, but now standing opposite Zarak, I was actually looking forward to it.
“You didn’t get enough last time?” Zarak taunted.
“I think you had an unfair advantage last time,” I said, my voice laced with anger. “I know you set that weapon to stun instead of sting.”
The slow smile that stretched across Zarak’s lips confirmed my theory.
“I can’t stand people like you,” Zarak whispered as he held the zapper in both hands. “You come from the lower planets and don’t know your place. You think you’re as good as the rest of us.”
Man, this guy really had some issues.
I was about to reply when the zapper came swinging through the air directly toward my head.
Luckily, I moved quickly enough to avoid the blow.
“No headshots,” Lieutenant Burke bellowed.
Zarak moved again, this time sweeping the zapper towards my kneecaps. He kept me on the back foot as I dodged out of his way, but the next time he came towards me, he was overconfident. He aimed for my chest, and I used my zapper to deliver a backhanded smash to his shoulder.
A shower of sparks preceded a loud cracking sound and a howl of pain from Zarak.
Wow, I’d actually managed to hit him.
I think the cracking sound made it seem like the blow was worse than it was because Zarak was soon on the attack again. He circled me slowly, jabbing with the zapper, and it took all my concentration to avoid his lunges.
A few seconds later, I took aim, focusing on the left side of his ribs as he raised his hand, but I missed, and he landed a strike on my back.
A tremendous crack echoed in my ears. I felt like I had been hit with a heavy wooden club, but the pain soon faded, and I guessed the zapper was designed to trigger the pain synapses rather than actually cause injury.
“When you’ve had enough, you have to say you surrender,” Lieutenant Burke shouted out.
But I hadn’t had enough. I was only just getting started. I made another dive for Zarak. This time the zapper caught the back of his leg causing him to howl again.
He called me a dozen curse words, and I laughed out loud.
“Don’t get cocky, Tomas” Lieutenant Burke warned.
But now I was on a roll. I’d found my rhythm. Every time Zarak made a move, I had it covered, and the cracking sound of the zapper echoed around the room as each of my blows made contact with Zarak’s body.
I was dripping with sweat by the time I powered up for my final attack. I used the zapper in a sweeping motion, aiming it at the back of Zarak’s knees and taking his legs from under him. This time the sparks and the cracking sound were followed by Zarak collapsing to the floor. He rolled onto his back, panting.
I stood over him holding the zapper an inch away from his crotch. I raised an eyebrow. “Time to surrender?”
The men around us clapped and laughed as Zarak seethed on the floor. Unless he was prepared to take a zapper hit to the nuts, there was no way he was going to win this battle, and he knew it.
“Fine,” he said through clenched teeth. “I surrender.”
I lifted the zapper clear and held out my hand to help him to his feet, but he pushed my hand away.
Bobby came over to congratulate me, and even Lieutenant Burke slapped me on the back.
“Nice job, Mage!” Ensign Draylan called out. “Maybe you should have a spot in our squad.”
Everyone laughed as Zarak stalked off to the other side of the room to lick his wounds. When I glanced at him, his eyes were dark with hatred and envy.
I tried to shrug it off and enjoy the good-natured teasing from the rest of the team. But it wasn’t easy when Zarak’s resentment and scorn were written all over his face.
The writing was on the wall.
Today, I had made an enemy.
Chapter 15
Lieutenant Burke smiled broadly and walked over to slap me on the back. “Very good, Tomas. I’m impressed. Now, I’d like to see what you can do against one of our best rookies.” He turned his head and jerked his thumb in Bobby’s direction.
Bobby’s pale, freckled face flushed. I didn’t know whether he was embarrassed or pleased with the compliment. He shuffled forward shyly.
“Going up against Bobby will test your speed and agility,” Lieutenant Burke said. “He’s fast,” Lieutenant Burke added with a laugh. Then he stood back to join the circle of men surrounding us.
Bobby raised his zapper in acknowledgment. “May the best man win,” he said with a
cheeky smile and then immediately made a jab toward me.
I only just managed to dart to the side and avoid a hit. The zapper whooshed past me.
Lieutenant Burke had been right. Bobby was fast.
Watching him fight against Zarak had been impressive and gave me time to admire his speed and agility, but watching and fighting were two very different things.
Trying to defend against him and dodge his blows kept me busy. I didn’t have a chance to think or plot any kind of strategy. Maybe he was only warming up, but I was going full blast.
I continually ducked and blocked his hits and didn’t stop moving. I guessed only a few minutes had passed although it felt like hours. He gave me no time to recover and plan a counter-attack. Against Bobby, I was continually playing defense.
I wiped the sweat from my forehead as it was threatening to drip into my eyes.
Bobby’s eyes were alert and watchful as he lunged for another attack. I twisted away at the last moment, but my breathing was growing labored.
Bobby was fitter than he looked too. He’d barely broken a sweat, which surprised me. Thanks to my outdoor life and my chores on Terrano, I was in good shape.
Maybe they had some special regime on the K.S. Morellic. I could ask Lieutenant Burke about it, perhaps add it to my own training program. Magic was important, but physical fitness would give me an edge.
I was letting my mind wander and that allowed Bobby to get a direct hit. He caught me just below my shoulder blades, and the sparks and flashes were so bright they made me scrunch my eyes shut. Bobby took the opportunity to deliver a second blow to the center of my stomach.
Blast it. That was no one’s fault but my own. I needed to focus.
I sidestepped out of Bobby’s reach as he went for another lunge.
Luckily, the pain from the two hits quickly faded, and I concentrated on keeping my feet moving and my body out of Bobby’s reach.
He didn’t get frustrated like Zarak. He was an intelligent fighter, and I could learn a lot from him. I wondered whether we would practice again sometime.