by Aidan Colyer
“Where do I find the reflex training?” he said.
The instructor threw a glance at him and noticed his rank and unit.
“Carry on down it is just past the training grounds. There is a building marked for it.” Roland thanked the instructor and walked down the field. There were a series of warehouse type buildings labelled with various signs. Most were storage building numbers, but he found one that was labelled training centre six. He assumed this was the place. He walked in and up to the front desk.
“I am looking for someone,” he said hoping to elicit the same reaction as the instructor.
They didn’t look up.
“We don’t just give out information to anyone. Scan your chip and we will let you in.”
Roland rolled his eyes and scanned his chip. He watched as the clerk’s eyes grew wide and they looked up. Roland smiled at them.
“I’m sorry corporal what is it you need?” they asked.
“I am looking for lance corporal Watts. I believe this is where she may be training.”
“Let me look that up for you.” They went back to their screen and changed the layout before pulling up a scrolling document. They hit a few tabs and found what they were looking for.
“Yes, she is here. Third door.”
Roland thanked the clerk and walked in. He was only a corporal, and they were acting like he was a field marshal. He shrugged it off and looked at the door for a moment before entering. The room was filled with moving parts. There were poles with swinging blades and all sorts of other moving apparatus. Roland looked past the machinery and found Watts at the far end fending off multiple attacks from a machine that spat out blades and drew them back in. She had taken off her jacket and was working in a vest. He could see the effort she was putting in through the sweat on her back. The only way he could make it to her was working his way through the maze of machines. He took off his jacket and threw it down. Rolling his neck he stretched and looked at the best route to get to her. There was only one clear route, so he started to move. The first set of blades was easy enough, and he ducked under them. He moved to the second set and turned past their flailing chains. One grazed his back as he twisted his way through them. He winced at the pain before ducking and rolling as a large piece of steel swung at him. Rolling forward he came to a set of machines that dropped large steel balls. He didn’t think much of it until he tried to step forward and almost slipped. The ball exploded in a burst of light throwing him to the ground. He stood and smoothed his vest. Not wanting to be caught out again he concentrated on the movements as the balls fell and chose his path. He dodged the balls and landed on the other side near to Watts.
[Your reflexes have been tested and locked in. You can increase these through your stealth actions that use reflexes to avoid hits.]
Roland dismissed the notification as he watched Watts work. Blades shot out at her and she parried them as they came in. Sparks flew from her blade at every strike from the machine. The lights on its side changed from red to yellow to green as he watched and it slowed to a halt. Watts leant on her knees breathing heavily. She turned as he approached and swung her blade. He drew his without thinking and blocked the strike. She smiled at him and stepped back the sweat of her workout glistening on her skin.
“Decided to join me then?” she asked breathing heavily.
“Well, I just wanted to see how you are getting on,” Roland replied replacing his blade. Watts sheathed hers too and sat on the ground. Roland joined her. They stared at each other for a few moments. Roland felt more awkward than he had done the night before.
“So?” she asked.
“So what?” Roland replied.
“So we are a little more than a team now?”
“I’m not going to say no to that,” Roland said with a grin.
To be continued...
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