Axira Episode One (4 page)

“
Okay, I’ll come see you as soon as I can.” Jason backed off,
turning at the last moment. “Just try to stay out of trouble. Oh,
by the way, I’m Jason Singh, forgot to introduce myself.” He waved
at me.

“
I know who you are.” With that, I nodded at his sister,
informed her to follow me, and ran at a pace she could handle down
the corridor.

If I had not been with her, and I had known the coast was
clear, I would have done a subspace jump. To do one, I simply had
to open a subspace pocket, jump inside, and then reopen the pocket
wherever I needed to be.

The move had a limited range; I could usually only travel
within 50 meters of where I was standing, more if I had a visual
lock on where I needed to be.

It was one of the only abilities still available to me, one
of the few that was virtually undetectable. I could not, however,
hope to pluck up my energy blade and start swinging it around; it
had a unique signature that could be easily detected. If it was
detected, he would find me.

“
Oh my god, I’m really, really sorry for making you late,”
Elle puffed through a shaky breath.

“
You have already said this.”

“
I’ll let Lieutenant Ma’tovan know this wasn’t your fault.
Hopefully he’ll only punish me.”

“
Save your breath; run faster,” I commanded.

She did not heed me.

She continued to talk to me. I believe the humans called it
chatting. It was inane. She talked about everything from the
weather to who her bunk mate would be. She told me her mother was
an admiral – recently promoted from captain – and that she really
didn’t want to let her down. She told me her father was a bio
physicist who was working on organic matter transportation. She
also told me she wanted to specialize and become a
doctor.

I refrained from pointing out that medical professionals were
usually less flustered. In fact, I refrained from talking full
stop. She provided all the chatter, I simply listened.

“
Wow, you are hardly out of breath. How fit are you?” She
stumbled at my side as she spoke, knocking into me on several
occasions.

I could finally see the training ground ahead. I saw a large
crowd, and as we neared I recognized several of the recruits from
Team Omega.

“
You’re not even sweating. Do Taskarians sweat?”

“
Taskarians sweat. I suggest we sprint; our group is just
ahead of us. We can make it in under 30 seconds if we increase our
speed by a factor of 2.5.”

Once again she ignored me. Rather than increasing her speed,
she practically ground to a halt. Collapsing her hands on her
knees, she heaved in breath after breath. “My brother told me there
would be a lot of running about in the training program, but I
didn’t think it would start so soon.”

I looked from her to the training ground. I knew enough about
Coalition discipline to understand that we would both be punished
for arriving late to orientation. We would also become
known.

I could easily have left her behind. For a moment I
hesitated, turning on the ball of my foot to calculate the
advantage. I would be punished less, surely, if I arrived sooner.
However, it would involve leaving the Admiral’s daughter
behind.

She looked up at me with a pleading face.

I recognized that look. I had seen it many times before. I
had never been able to do anything about it though.

I reached out a hand, grabbed her shoulder and hauled her
forward. I could have carried her, but it would have brought even
more attention.

Instead I pulled her forward, careful not to let my fingers
sink too deeply into her arm.

“
We are almost there,” I assured her.

What was I doing? What was the point of pulling this human
forward? It was clear she was not suited to becoming a recruit. In
helping her I could compromise my own, far greater plan. I did not
need to be reprimanded so early in the game; I knew that with
enough official reprimands you would be expelled from the
Academy.

Still, I hauled her forward, until we reached the training
ground. I had hoped we could merge with the back of the group
without anyone noticing, but I quickly saw the man in the lead turn
to face us.

He was Ravang, a warrior-like race renowned for their
physical strength and resilience. They were also renowned for their
inability to forgive.

Ravang were huge, and Ma’tovan was no different. At
eight-foot tall, he towered over most of the other races in the
crowd. He had broad, bulging shoulders, and thick black skin
punctuated by skeletal ridges. His piercing yellow eyes seemed to
glow all the more in contrast to his dark skin.

“
Our two remaining recruits,” he spat, “Finally you have
joined us.”

“
It’s my fault,” Elle began.

I kept my hand on her shoulder and pulled her back. It was an
easy move, and she spluttered a little as she nearly lost her
balance.

She was no doubt about to tell him her excuse. A Ravang would
consider an excuse nothing but an insult.

“
We acknowledge we are late. We are prepared to be
disciplined,” I remarked.

And that was it. I didn’t claim innocence, I did not choose
to distance myself from Elle. I stood there and maintained eye
contact, not with the Ravang, but at a point just under his left
shoulder blade.

He snorted. “You will not be disciplined, yet,” his voice
rang on the word yet, “But you have just volunteered.”

“
Oh god,” Elle groaned from behind me.

She said that phrase too much.

Before I could point that out, Ma’tovan pointed us forward
towards the track at the center of the training ground. It looped
around in a circle, and the turf was made of a yellow gel-like
substance that I knew could differ in the resistance it gave.
Should you fall, it turned soft, should you run, it turned into
rock. “This is your first day. This is your orientation,”
Ma’tovan’s rigid mouth moved around his words. His voice was
guttural and deep. “I will now orient you to the most important
fact in the life of a recruit. Danger. If you wish to succeed in
your training, you must face it. The Coalition fights many battles.
We are under constant threat, no mission is ever safe.”

I was sure not to make eye contact as I walked towards the
track. I did however let my eyebrow raise a notch.

The Coalition did many other things. It did not just fight
battles. It studied and protected the cultural heritage of
countless systems, it explored, it invented, and yes, it protected.
Within the Forces was a security division, yes, but not every
recruit would be destined to join it. We would all go through the
same undergraduate training program for two years until we
specialized.

“
There are races out there that have sworn to destroy us.
Forces you will come up against. From Barbarians to Kore assassins
to spacers, this galaxy is not safe,” he continued.

I did not flinch. Not on the outside anyway. At the mention
of Spacers a wave of cold pushed through my chest. The memories
returned in a flood, but they did not drown me.

It was why I was here.

I couldn’t forget that.

“
Spacers,” a recruit beside me sniggered, “They are a
myth.”

A mistake. Though the recruit was probably sure he was out of
earshot, he was apparently unfamiliar with the auditory acuity of a
Ravang.

“
I have faced one,” Ma’tovan’s voice dipped low, quiet. It was
not a gentle move; it felt like he was getting ready to pounce.
“And I have faced no myth. This galaxy is full of danger, and if
you wish to succeed in this program, you must show me you can
handle it. If you are not capable, you will only be a liability. I
will assess you all over the next five years. If at any point I
believe you are unfit, you will be cut from the
program.”

I was aware of Elle as she trembled beside me.

She would be cut from the program; it was the reasonable
conclusion. She clearly had never faced danger, and she clearly was
not capable of doing so now. Currently the prospect of being late
to class seemed enough to turn her into a trembling
mess.

I straightened up, hooked my arms behind my back as I had
seen many Coalition Academy recruits do before, and I did not shift
my gaze from Ma’tovan’s shoulder.

He turned back to Elle and myself. His stiff lips crinkled up
into a sneer. “You will run around this track until you are
exhausted and you fall. A Coalition Forces crewman will face
exhaustion. If you cannot handle it, you will be cut from the
program.”

“
Oh my god, he can’t do—” Elle began from behind
me.

I shifted in front of her and cleared my throat loudly,
drowning out the rest of her sentence.

Ma’tovan’s nostrils flared. “Recruit, do you question my
orders?”

“
Exhaustion training is a standard element of the recruit
program,” I interrupted before Elle could answer.

Why was I still protecting her?

I knew she would be cut from the program, and frankly, I
thought that would be for the best. She clearly was not capable of
performing at the level required. And though I disagreed with
Ma’tovan’s methods, I personally understood how dangerous it could
be out there in the galaxy. I understood, because I had been
responsible for making it that way.

“
Correct, now engage in it. You will run around this track
until you drop. You will be given no water, no food. You will start
now.”

I turned from him, nodded low in a standard salute, and began
to run. Elle stood there, eyes wide.

She was clearly horrified. She would also clearly not last
long.

Physically weak and mentally unprepared, I estimated she
would only be capable of running around the track ten times before
she collapsed.

The feeling of the air rushing through my hair and pushing
against my uniform stilled my mind. The movement of my body, free
and of my own choosing, could still cause me elation all these
years on. Right now it focused me.

I needed to calculate how long I should run for. Too much and
I would appear unusual, not enough and I would be under threat of
being cut.

I needed to tread a fine line. In order for my plan to
succeed, I needed to come out of this program in a position of
trust. If I barely graduated, it would be harder to guide the
Coalition Forces against my master. If I, on the other hand, gained
a reputation for being too competent, I would come to the wrong
people’s attention. Questions would be asked. My physiology would
be examined.

Approximately 3.5 hours, without water, at my current speed
and, considering the current ambient temperature.

Once I had completed my calculation, I settled into my gait,
allowing my mind to relax.

I passed her several times. Each time I did, she looked more
exhausted than before. Her face was bright red.

She would not last as long as I had predicted.

While we ran, Ma’tovan gave other tasks to the remaining
recruits. None of them lasted that long, and soon several of them
were back at the sidelines, watching us.

As time wound on, several more appeared.

It took approximately 32 minutes until Elle fell to one knee
and then crumpled.

She let out a whine as she did.

Despite the fact she was the Admiral’s daughter, I assumed
she would be cut that afternoon.

With her head hanging low, she all but crawled off the track.
Then just before someone reached out to steady her and hand her
some water, she turned back to me. “Come on, you can do it,” she
cheered, despite the fact she could hardly draw a
breath.

I turned to face her as I ran past.

“
You can do it,” she repeated as she swallowed gulps of her
water.

Why was she cheering for me?

I ran another lap. She was still there when I returned. In
fact, she stayed right there by the side of the track, sitting of
course, cheering me on when she could.

Suffice to say, I did not understand. It was hard to tune her
out, but eventually I settled back into my gait.

As time passed and the day drew on, the temperature increased
by at least 5 degrees centigrade. It did not affect me.

Despite how long I would run for, I would not sweat, and
neither would I become dehydrated. Though my people could partake
in food and drink, we drew our sustenance from the subspace field.
As long as I was connected to it, I could continue. I simply had to
be mindful to time myself so I dropped out when it seemed
reasonable to do so.

As the hours drew on, I was mindful of the fact that more and
more people returned to the side of the track. Some had gone away
only to return.

Were they bored, had they been ordered there, or was there
something entertaining about watching me run?

Elle had not moved. In fact, her brother had now joined her.
He was crouched low next to her. No doubt they were discussing
whether her performance would result in her exclusion from the
Coalition Academy Training program.