Keep Your Friends Close

by N. D. Roberts

  “This is beyond immoral,” Gorrak protested. “The SIs eat like kings while we are given slop an animal would refuse.”

  “The affront is being made to prepare their meals for the last two weeks,” Alexis argued, falling into the repetition of her previous actions without thinking.

  Trey blinked, thrown for the moment by the reset.

  This time, they didn’t miss it when Tornos pulled Gorrak to the side on the way back to the barracks.

  K’aia strolled over to the two Shrillexians, nodding politely at Tornos. “Nice evening for an escape, yeah?”

  Tornos stepped back, holding up his hands. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Gorrak didn’t see K’aia’s lightning-fast right.

  He did wonder which starship had just collided with his jaw as his legs turned to soup.

  K’aia picked Gorrak up and slung him over her shoulder, nodding again to the open-mouthed Tornos. “Fair warning: go back to your barracks. You’re not gonna get away.”

  She marched past the gathering audience into the barracks, where she unceremoniously dumped Gorrak on his bunk before getting onto her own. “That’s that problem taken care of,” she announced, folding her arm under her pillow. “Wake me up when the next pile of excreta hits the fan.”

  Sibil leaned over her bunk to look at Gorrak. “Why’d you do that?”

  K’aia opened one eye and fixed Sibil with a hard look. “Trust me, tomorrow would have sucked in a hundred ways if I hadn’t.” She grunted as she turned to face the wall. “Now shush. I need to sleep.”

  Sibil wisely did not continue to aggravate the grouchy Yollin.

  Gabriel, Alexis, and Trey were no more forthcoming. They rolled into their bunks as though they’d spent the day breaking rocks with toothpicks instead of peeling vegetables.

  Sibil made a face as the lights went out and got under the covers. They’d better tell her tomorrow.

  11

  General Kispin’s Outer Office

  Every seat in the outer office was filled by one of the recruits who had failed the interrogation training exercise.

  Gorrak sat opposite the team, nursing his swollen jaw while Sibil fussed around him in an attempt to soothe his bruised ego.

  Talk about ingratitude, K’aia complained. I only saved him from being deleted.

  He’d thank us if he knew he was still breathing because you acted. Trey grinned at the somewhat nervous looks on the twins’ faces as the recruits were called into the inner office in small groups. Relax. This can’t be worse for you than running headlong into live fire. We’ll get in there, the general will tell us how stupid we were to act outside of protocol or whatever, and then we can get right back to being run into the ground by the SIs.

  Alexis narrowed her eyes at him. Look at you, in your comfort zone and showing off your “experience.”

  Trey supposed he deserved that. I apologize for being harsh with you. It was a raw moment, and I behaved badly.

  It was, Alexis confirmed stiffly. And you did.

  Trey tilted his head. You’re doing that thing again where your words and your body language are telling me different things. Is that common among human females?

  Gabriel snorted. Keep digging that hole, and facing the general will be the least of your worries.

  Trey noted Alexis’ scowl and shrank back into his seat. I don’t get it. I apologized. Don’t you accept it?

  Alexis sighed and unfolded her arms. I suppose. I’m not going to get bent out of shape because you said something I don’t like.

  Gabriel raised an eyebrow. Since when?

  K’aia waved them down. Shhh. I can’t hear what’s going on in there.

  The recruits currently inside the office were getting the dressing down of their lives. They filed out of the office a few moments later, dejected to a one.

  The staff sergeant poked her head around the door and fixed the remaining recruits with a glare. “You four.” She swept a finger over the outer office to indicate the team. “In here. The general will see you now.”

  General Kispin sat at his desk, his horn resting on his steepled hands.

  Gabriel saw something in the general’s pose. He wasn’t sure what made him think of his grandfather Lance at that moment, but there it was. He wondered if all generals were short-tempered because their resources had the temerity to come with free will and the ability to mess everything up with a single, thoughtless action.

  He had the idea that they were the ones who’d acted thoughtlessly. It wasn’t the time for introspection, so he pushed the comparisons aside for later examination.

  The general lifted his head and sat straight when the staff sergeant closed the door with a pertinent snick.

  He cast a frustrated look at the four recruits, who were standing at attention. “At ease. Your unit,” he began, “consistently outperforms every other unit in the program. So much so, it skews the unit rankings and gives Sergeant Lokkel a damn headache.”

  The tight-lipped sergeant nodded to confirm. “I don’t mind the headache, sir. These four are Zenith material.”

  The team looked at each other, confused as to why they were being praised.

  General Kispin continued without a sign that he had noticed. “You have all shown leadership skills, courage, and clear thinking in high-pressure situations. You work well with the other recruits, and improve morale wherever you go.” He turned his head from side to side, glaring at them around his horn. “So why in the name of all that is fucking right would you attack your superior officers?”

  Alexis winced at the slip of language. She raised a hand. “I can explain.”

  The general jumped to his feet and banged his fist on the desk. “That was rhetorical. This is my damned base. I know exactly what occurred, and the officers involved in mistreating recruits are feeling the consequences of their choices. What makes you think I give a shiny shit about your pissant excuses for breaking the chain of command, recruit? This is the military, a finely tuned machine of war. You are not even a cog in it yet. What gives you the impression that you have the right to an opinion?”

  Alexis, Gabriel, and K’aia bowed their heads, seeing the truth in the accusation.

  Trey had less in the way of self-discipline. “They attacked us!” he cried, taking a step toward the desk.

  The staff sergeant blocked Trey with a swipe of her arc rod. “Back in line, recruit,” she snarled.

  Trey held his hands up, stepping back hastily to avoid getting shocked.

  General Kispin leaned forward, his raisin eyes all but vanishing under his hooded brow. “Do you think the enemy will ask before attacking? This is what you are training for, recruit. If it wasn’t for the fact that you four are the best in the program, I’d throw you all out on your asses and send you back to whatever prison in whatever distant empire you came from.”

  He sat down again, his earlier calm restored in a blink. “You all have the potential to make something of yourselves—if you decide to put childish pursuits aside and pull on your grown-up pants. Because what I’ve seen from you all so far, no matter what the sergeant says, not one of you is fit for Zenith Squadron.”

  Alexis groaned internally as the general continued his lecture. He’s right. Sort of. We were so caught up in playing the game that we didn’t stop to consider the consequences to our training schedule.

  We wasted all that time, Gabriel concurred. Time we should have spent integrating with our unit.

  Trey nodded. Well, sure. It would have been good to leave here with a larger group at our backs.

  How are we going to retrieve this situation? K’aia asked. It’s gonna suck if we have to start over.

  Gabriel’s eyebrow twitched. Yeah, I wouldn’t count on a do-over. Eve only allowed us to reset to the start of an objective chain.

  You don’t get do-overs in real life, Trey maintained. That means we’ll be going into the next scenario in this chain underprepared.

  Alexis took charge. Not if we
take it seriously from now on. We grovel, we work our butts off, and we hope to hell we didn’t fail the whole objective, she summarized, raising her hand again. “Permission to speak, sir?”

  The general nodded. “You may speak, Female Recruit Nacht,” he allowed. “Since you appear to understand protocol after all.”

  Alexis glanced at the others before standing to attention. “Sir, we apologize as a team for our conduct during the exercise, and for our ingratitude for the opportunity we have been given to fight for the greater good. With your permission, we will make up for our mistakes and ensure our future conduct remains in line with expectations.”

  The general scrutinized them for a long moment. “Very well. I’m nothing if not fair, so I will give you one chance to prove yourselves.” He held up a hand to deny Alexis permission to speak again. “You will retake every exercise and beat your previous efforts. If, and that is only if, you do so in a timely manner—say, before the next batch of recruits arrives, we will have another discussion as to your futures as part of this military. Don’t let me down again. Do I make myself clear?”

  All four saluted General Kispin, feeling slightly more benevolent toward this more mentorly aspect of him. “Sir, yes, sir!”

  Twelve Weeks Later

  Trey tried his best not to freak at the sour-tasting rag in his mouth and the rough hands on his body.

  The SIs had pulled a sneak attack this time around, bagging the team on the way back from night exercises when they were already at their lowest ebb.

  Trey remembered the breathing exercise Gabriel had taught him to bring his heart rate down and he ran through it. In for four, out for three, and repeat until the ringing panic faded enough for his brain to connect to the knowledge that this wasn’t what his mother had feared and allow him to hear his team’s reassurances.

  We’ve been training for this, Gabriel reminded him. You’ve got this.

  Focus on your dissociation techniques, Alexis added.

  K’aia’s mind was calm and clear. Just remember, it’s not real. But one day it might be, and lives could depend on your ability to bear what’s coming next.

  How can you be so calm? Trey asked. His voice was small, even to himself.

  K’aia chuckled. It’s not my first interrogation. Physically, we’ve been through worse than this already. It’s all about breaking our minds at this point. Think of it as getting a shot against something much worse. You bear it, and you learn what to expect when the situation happens in real life.

  The SIs took them indoors, then along a short way before turning in different directions.

  Trey fought back another wave of panic when the team link went down and he was left alone with his thoughts.

  Despite the practice drills they’d done during their limited spare time since restarting the program, he still struggled with a deep-seated phobia of being kidnapped.

  The twins empathized, although after hearing their anecdotal retelling of the time they were snatched as small children, Trey didn’t think they quite understood what the differences in their early lives and his meant for their contrasting perspectives.

  There had been no Addix in his early life to save him. He’d had his mother and Kel’Len. Kel’Len was married to Da’Mahin, but her allegiance was to Mahi’, who had raised her. One day, he hoped to hear the tale of how his asshole uncle had been tricked into the union, since the two hated each other.

  That was one thing he was grateful for. He might have been an only child, but his mother loved him. His cousins were split in their parents’ favor. Ch’Irzt was his father’s favorite son, and the others were jealous of their brother’s status.

  Trey opened his eyes when he was dropped onto a chair and bound around the arms and legs before his hood was removed. He squinted at the slender silhouette of his interrogator against the bright light shining directly into his face. “Hey, you must be my doctor.”

  He was slapped openhanded across the face hard enough to rattle his teeth. “Four out of ten. My baby cousin has better form. Put some twist into your hip, yeah?”

  A distorted voice filled the room, echoing off the close walls. “Who are you working for? Who sent you?”

  Trey spat blood on the figure’s shoes. “I don’t know, but I’m guessing you’re not gonna take that for an answer, huh?”

  His head rocked back when he was struck again. “Who sent you?”

  Trey laughed. K’aia was right; they’d lived through worse than this. They’d trained harder than this. Hells, living with Ch’Irzt was rougher than this…

  The warmth he felt at the memory of their last fight surprised him. He couldn’t actually be missing his asshole cousins.

  Could he?

  Trey thought of Mahi’ fighting for their home, and of his father, who had died to save them both. Of every day he’d spent using his sharp mind to outwit his scheming uncles and avoid his cousins’ beatings.

  His mind worked through the list of ways his friends had taught him to mentally step out of the situation, rejecting the human way in favor of being true to himself.

  “Who are you?” he demanded, taking another slap for his daring. “Because I’ll tell you who I am. I am Takar’Tu’Reigd of Qu’Baka and Devon, and I am above anything you can do to me. Hit me again. Go on!”

  The interrogator stepped back to avoid Trey’s snapping teeth. “Who sent you? What is your purpose?”

  Trey offered his cheek, still laughing. “Nobody told you? I’m here to piss you off, you cowardly butt-dribble.”

  The figure lifted its hood, showing Trey its glowing eyes. “Insolent whelp. You will learn to respect and obey your betters.”

  Trey felt pain like nothing he had known existed. It filled him until it felt like his skin would split with the volume of it. The world went gray around him, then another bolt of pain tore through his brain and shocked him to full alertness.

  “Clearly you don’t know the meaning of the word ‘better,’” Trey shot back once the interrogator had torn her mental barbs from his skull.

  He glared at the hooded figure, the whites of his eyes bulging as he strained to free himself from the ropes holding him to the chair. “Why don’t you untie me and see how long you last?”

  Screw this asshole, and every other manipulating asshole who wanted Trey to obey.

  All his life, he had put his own feelings aside to take care of Mahi’ and her grief. Kept the peace with his cousins to avoid riling their fathers into making a coup attempt. Allowed traditions that kept their people from integrating to continue in the belief that he wasn’t capable of making those decisions without a sibling to support him.

  No longer.

  Trey’s head dropped. The comfort of knowing he wasn’t alone anymore strengthened his resolve to get through this and anything else his duty threw at him. He had found his family, no matter that they weren’t Bakas like him. They believed in his vision for unity, for working together and celebrating what their differences brought to the whole.

  He was Takar, and he was done letting anyone tell him to do a damn thing. One day, he would lead Qu’Baka against the Seven, and the twins would lead all who came to them in the Empress’ name. Together, they would be unbeatable.

  His interrogator leaned in, peering coldly into Trey’s eyes. “Who sent you?”

  Trey spat blood into his interrogator’s face. “Your mama sent me. What you gonna do about it?”

  Barracks

  Everyone in the room turned when the door was pushed open, flooding the barracks with late morning sun.

  Gabriel jumped up as Trey limped in. “Dude. You’re back.”

  Trey glanced at Sibil and Gorrak, the only two NPCs to make it through the final exercise of their basic training. “Am I the last?”

  Sibil waved tiredly. “We’re advancing to Zenith Squad. The announcement went out about an hour ago.” She groaned as she turned on her bed to face the others. “I hope we get a couple more days rest, first. That was brutal.”

&n
bsp; Gorrak scoffed, the sound muffled by his swollen jaw. “It was nothing.”

  Alexis dashed over to wrap Trey in a hug. “We were getting worried. You’ve been gone for two days!”

  “Two days?” Trey grimaced. “Felt like a lot longer than that.” He winced, extracting himself from Alexis’ arms. “Easy on the ribs. I’m still healing.”

  K’aia inspected Trey’s body as he walked by. Her eyes widened as she counted the new scars where his fur hadn’t grown back yet. “Good gods, what did they put you through?”

  “Enough to make sure I’ve got the scars of a true warrior.” Trey slid gently onto his bunk, being careful not to aggravate his healing injuries. “But I’m healing fast. Faster than I should be. Looks like another ability got unlocked.”

  Alexis grinned, her eyes shining with relief. “Eve must have been forced to accelerate the process. You look like you spent the last two days in a rock-washer.”

  Gabriel had a thought. “The scarring probably won’t transfer to your real body.”

  Trey lifted his head, regretting it when the torn muscles in his neck and upper back complained. “They’d better be on my real body! I didn’t just spend two days taunting that asshole to leave here with no scars to show for it.”

  Gabriel knew Trey had been worried about lacking the Bakas’ marks of courage. “You told Eve to leave your scarring alone, right?”

  Trey eased himself onto his pillow. “Didn’t think to. I’m hoping she’s listening.”

  Alexis shrugged. “We’ll see.” She settled back with her arms folded behind her head. “I’m glad we’ve gotten downtime after that exercise.”

  “Yeah,” Gabriel agreed. “How did you do, Trey? Did they get anything out of you?”

  Trey snorted. “They learned how annoying a pissed-off Baka can be. That’s about it. I just thought about Mahi’, and how I’m strong like she taught me to be. That got me through it.”

  Alexis turned to climb onto her bunk. “You can always send her a message. Have you worked out your internal HUD yet?”