The Recruitment: Rise of the Free Fleet (15 page)

“Second and third team swing over. Everyone else keep it up!” I yelled, as in front of me I saw my words become actions.

The second and third team jumped over the enemy squad landing on the opposition’s rearguard of Mechas. Working in teams and with their now ingrained hand to hand second and third had half of the opposing squad out and were advancing.

“TAKE THEM!” I said rushing forward, bobbing and weaving landing, rapid fire hits on the confused oncoming Mechas. Apparently we’d taken out their squad leader and they didn’t know what to do as they were unsure which direction they should be fighting in.

The Mecha deserving my attention dropped like a sack of potatoes as two more of my Mechas automatically used the opening to force their way through, widening it.

“You, get in there.” A trooper identified the position as I jumped in my battle computer adding me to their network. In our training I had harped on the fact a soldier is a soldier first; no matter what their rank they are to work for the best of their unit. If that means they go on the front lines, then they’ll be on the front lines. I had forced all of them to take over my role at some point; it was hazardous as they got to know how I operated. Yet for them to work the best in the field I needed them to have the confidence to take over the positions that needed to be filled.

I could tell as the enemies confusion was leading to panic as communications completely broke down. Within minutes it was over as Yasu kicked the last enemy Mecha five feet.

My team cheered as we popped Mecha catches so that the enemy could at least get out of their Mechas while we picked up our own disabled.

“Good fight.” I yelled happily at the subdued Mechas one of them able to raise a single finger salute in my direction from their cart as they were piled with others to be pulled back to their pod.

“Guess this is what we get for fighting Salchar’s squad.” the other squad commander said, I turned to look at him, my mouth open as my squad erupted in cheers.

“Let’s get the Mechas back.” I said as my squad continued to laugh, I hide my smile behind my Mechas visor lip as we moved back to our squad bay.

“Eat up get your wounds sorted and check your armour. Tomorrow we’ll be having the wedding fight.” Taleel said as we were pulling everyone out of their armour. All work stopped as we stared at him in confusion.

“Wedding fight?” I asked, honestly perplexed.

“A male and a Female of your species will fight in Mechas and with plasmid weapons till one submits. This is either because they give up, are unconscious or dead.

The second option, they marry, this will be legal throughout the universe including your home planet.”

I felt like I had been dunked in a cold bath, quickly I shook myself out of my daze.

“Tomorrow we will fight our husband and wife and if we want to or not we will have to marry them?” My mouth working before my brain caught up with it. I could already see that people where separating themselves.

“Yes, or kill them and stay single. Your opponent will be announced tomorrow.”

“Why?”

“We need more soldiers.” He looked at me as if I’d grown a third eye as I looked at him the same way.

“Best to breed soldiers from soldiers instead of from breeders. Otherwise you would all be in a breeding program.” We fell into stunned silence as he marched out of the room. Leaving us looking at one another in confusion and moving apart—our victory already forgotten.

“Let’s get the maintenance done and then hand to hand.” I said thinking
 
He can’t be serious, they want us to have children that they can enslave from birth and send into battle like us.
 
The Planetary defence could then use these children born into slavery for anything; they could make them servants, or send them to kill other humans, to kill people on Earth.

As we drifted sedately into the armoury I looked at George and all of the young children, they looked to be twenty or so years old, but they still had the brains of young teenagers. They would be parents to children they would never see, who could be fighting right beside them and they would never know.

“Why are we working on our Mechas? Tomorrow we’ll be married.” One of the guys in Marleen’s team said, desperation in his voice.

“Yes, we might be married by this time tomorrow, but we will also be part of the Mecha corps, as such we will need our equipment. Don’t think of it as marriage, just think of it as you’re getting a permanent partner, its marriage, you can get it annulled when we get back to Earth.”

“It’s still marriage! I had a fiancé back on Earth!” A woman cried.

“They’re going to understand, with this yes it is marriage, but it will be between you and the one you’re to marry to decide how you want to act. The bottom line is, married or not, it doesn’t matter, we need to work together to survive and return to Earth or keep the human race alive.”

“What if we want to be single?” The woman with a fiancé said. I whipped around on her, marching as I talked.

“If you kill one of us I won’t show you any mercy.” My voice cold and hard in a way it hadn’t been before I’d killed Gibbons. She tried to melt into the wall behind her as I turned away facing the others.

“No one in this squad will kill another, you will get matched up and you will deal with it. That said any talks of untoward actions on either part or those a rank higher will deal with it. Anyone that forced another will not be allowed to use their battle suit, even in their Mecha for nine periods between sleep. False accusations and the accused and accuser will spend a night in the showers with one another.”

They looked away from my gaze as I looked around the room, only Yasu held it.

Dear god I hope I don’t get that woman.
 
I thought as I turned back to my Mecha.

“Teams begin your rotation into medical.” I said putting them into action, the leaders naturally coming to me after a few minutes. I left my maintenance as I addressed them.

“Alright we need to establish a chain of responsibility. If I die, you take over Rick, if he dies; Marleen, then Hoi and finally Abella.”

They nodded agreement, uncertainty at what was going to happen tomorrow filled their faces as my training for cameras and media came to the front.

“Don’t worry we’ll get through this.” I smiled reassuringly. Some of them were still unsure, but they seemed to believe in me as they moved back to their groups.

“What about making Yasu a leader?” Rick asked. I studied him; she’d obviously sunk his claws in him which made my guard come up.

“Yes I’ll think about that in the future. I don’t want to split up the teams right now” I mused rubbing my chin. “For now let’s just treat this as a normal day, the less shock the better.” They nodded as they dispersed back to their Mechas. I turned to my own completing the maintenance.

In Sook is going to kill me.
 
I thought about how Psycho Cheerleader from MT was probably going through the same situation as me.
 
Might be a sweet mercy to actually marrying her.
 
I thought to myself my smile becoming real as I let a chuckle go as I left the armoury for the food cart in our pod.

Images of the rambunctious Bok Soo and forever calm Monk filling my mind-the other two remaining members of MT.

Cowards wait for fate.
 
I thought, mentally gearing myself up.

***

Yasu contemplated all that had happened in her life to bring her to this point as she surveyed the room looking for anyone that might attack her.

Her eyes locked onto the peacefully sleeping Salchar. How could he sleep while she barely did? Trusting these now half-trained killers he’d forced her to teach. Again because of his meddling in her warrior’s code. It made her furious how he’d played her.

As if sensing her stare he woke up, stretching and smiling to everyone greeting people as he moved around the room as if it was any other day.

Her eyes followed him; he was still as much of a mystery before when she’d been a fighter in MAT as he was now after spending what had to be months, watching him. He had no specific fighting style from the limited fighting she’d seen.

Yet she was still confident in her own abilities.

“Alright off to the armoury.” Taleel said leading them into the armoury she got into her Mecha her nerve ports connecting with the up links in the Mecha. She watched James as he disappeared with Shrift she could feel the thumping of powered Mecha legs as James returned his Mecha looked mostly normal but she could see slight adjustments, armour trimmed here to make it easier to move his legs, more around the joints and weak points, stronger bearings around the helmet to turn his head.

He heralded the others into readiness and the training arena. Yasu was already making her way into. She couldn’t miss the others noticing the modifications he’d made to his Mecha.

“Damn boss nice suit.” She pitied Rick the man was loyal to James, one of many of his blind followers. They walked in trailing behind the last person.

“Alright females in that door, males in the other.” Taleel indicated the doors as everyone moved into the corridors. She was first at the end as a wall dropped separated her and the person behind her. For a moment she panicked as she thought she was in the box that had grabbed her from the championship again. A section of the wall opened revealing her customized sword she’d had ordered so long ago. It was like her samurai sword back on Earth. She placed it on her hip, connecting with the magnetic clamp there as she pulled the blade free, studying it. The plasmid cast a blue green hue on the deadly lines of the sword as she studied its workmanship.

A door opened in front of her.

More confident now with a sword in her hand she stepped into the plain room identical to the squad’s pod she moved through a few positions limbering up her muscles as she adjusted to the blades reach, weight and balance.

The door on the opposite side opened as she openly stared, feeling as if the floor beneath her had given way.

“You know it’s rude to stare, and you can close your mouth.” She did so embarrassed and still not believing her eyes.

***

I pretended to be asleep for the small amount of time we were left alone. As a signal announced feeding time I found my eyes darting to the female faces in dread. Finding Yasu’s face before I looked away.

Sure I wanted to get married as most people do, though my idea of getting married was well—proposing and getting married instead of a fight to the possible death and then forcing the loser to be your husband or wife.

If I could I was going to submit as long as they wouldn’t be the kind to kill me. I wasn’t really scared that the others would kill me out of spite—I was just nervous. Someone was literally choosing how I would live for the rest of my life. I thought that depending on one’s culture that they would not be happy at all to be married to me. The people in my squad hailed from across Eastern Asia and the Western Americas. In most cultures marriage was everlasting; something that I agree on. Yet they wouldn’t want to be married to someone that they don’t want to be with for the remainder of their lives. This is what I was thinking about as I continued on.

I was in a daze as Shrift took me to my Mecha; he had been up and without projects so he’d seen to adding to the improvements I’d already added. I put on my Mecha feeling more confident as I again didn’t really pay attention to Rick who was talking to me as Taleel made us walk into corridors separate from the women. Walls descended breaking us all up, I fought down my panic—thinking that someone would kill me as a section of the wall opened and my custom plasmid long sword lay there. I grabbed it; it didn’t have a scabbard as it could be clamped to my back clamps. I kept it in my hand as the wall in front of me disappeared and I walked out into an arena the size of the squad’s room.

I saw her as I felt my stomach drop; I stopped like a deer in headlights. I regained my composure quickly my mouth working before I could think it, as I twirled my long sword, getting a feel for it.

“You know it’s rude to stare, and you can close your mouth.” She closed her mouth still staring at me.

“Well Yasu it seems that we’ll be having that fight you wanted to have.” I said as I continued to move my sword trying to get acquainted with the weapon while not staring at Yasu.
 
Shit shit shit, I’m screwed!
 
I thought as she continued to move with her sword, never looking away from me.

“Yes it does look like it.”
 
Thanks! That really helps!

I rolled my eyes as I did the same with my sword around my body getting a feel for the blade.
 
Here I was thinking it would be easy! Cowards wait for fate,
 
I had no intention of surrendering and leaving my life in the balance, not with this woman. There was no way she was going to submit either.

I looked up from the ground holding my sword back and behind me as she turned her sword high.

“Alright so looks like we’re going to have to do this the hard way.”

“Was there any other choice.” I thought for a few seconds before shrugging.

“Not really.” I said with a grin, I could swear the corners of her mouth twitched.

We charged at the same time sparks flying as electrostatic fields interacted and plasma dissolved armour. We pushed apart with me swinging after her, she smashed my sword away coming at me on the upstroke I pushed backwards the Mecha’s strength pushing me out of the way of the blade as I planted my feet and lunged again.

She turned bringing her sword up as we clashed again; she pushed off and then came at me in a fury of sword strokes. I like to pride myself on being fast and with my lighter customized Mecha I was damned speedy. She was lightning quick being so close I could see she’d made similar modifications to her Mecha. As I noticed the changes she turned her sword sideways bringing it up my sword and skimming off of my shoulder. I ducked out and under interposing my sword out of old reflex, being rewarded with a shower of sparks as I saved my ribs from a hit.

I could see her machine like concentration; she wasn’t like a human anymore, her mind focused on her blade and her opponent, being me.

Now being the sole attention of her deadly but pretty mind (you think of weird things when you’re sure you’re going to die) made me grin.

She came at me faster and faster. I was only barely stopping her attacks as I backed away from her.

She scored a hit as I went to parry a low strike aimed at my left leg. With nothing more than a flick of her wrist it came up, digging deep into my left forearm.

I hissed in pain balling my right fist releasing my sword as I drove it into her ribs with all of my power lifting her a few feet in the air. I’d been cured of my unwillingness to hit a girl in countless fights where I’d seen how women could be as vicious as a man.

I tossed my sword catching it with my right my left on fire—literally; the plasmid had ignited the under layers of my Mecha and the battle suit which were doing their best to stop the miniature fire.

We came together in a shower of sparks.

“Can we do this without fighting?” I asked as we came together.

“You wish to become my husband because you’re on your knees! Your cowardice knows no bounds.” She said savagely.

“So that’d be a no.” I said almost conversationally.

“Alright then.” I said harshly somehow angered at the thought she thought me unworthy to be her husband, who was then Hoi or Gibbons? (Again, weird stuff goes through your mind when you’re fighting your rival. On a spaceship. To marry them—it was a weird day).

Irrational anger built as I did what I did best, I concentrated on her moves, categorizing them as I remembered the counters for them. I knocked her sword away landing a foot in her midriff as I advanced she spun coming back up sword raised glancing it off of my knee servo which now registered some mobility issues.

My left arm was pretty much defunct but the flames had stopped finally but the auto tourniquet in the upper in the arm had tightened which meant I was bleeding badly out of my arm. Taleel’s use of the pain implant had made the pain feel as if it was a pin prick. The nerve ports were working as promised giving me full mobility in my hand despite the fact my organics couldn’t move. I grabbed her right as I smashed the blunt side of my sword into her right shoulder. Her left came up in an uppercut.

I had been training my nerves to run the power output by the Mecha ever since I’d talked to Shrift. Now it came in to use as I put all of my power in my left and used her to push myself back, adjusting the power in my legs so I was running as they found the floor again.

I rushed in, too eager as she came at me as well. Her moves like a well choreographed movement as she swiped my sword out of the way, turning with the blade as she used the momentum to drive a foot into my helmet as my inertia carried me on.

I rolled, my head ringing as I turned to face her.

It was obvious I wasn’t going to win this fight. I was stronger but she had been trained to fight since she was a child. I had only a few years and then Taleel’s tutelage. Her training was amazing and she could combine the techniques she’d learned in a massive array of combinations without letting me get a complete read. She was my nightmare opponent and I couldn’t see a way to win sword to sword.

“You fight very well.” I said as dread filled my guts

“What are you trying to pull Salchar?”

“Cowards wait for fate.” I muttered.

“Did you just call me a coward?”

“Fuck it!” I said as I threw myself at her I felt a burning sensation in my stomach as I coughed red. I grabbed Yasu pulling her to me with my mangled left the burning sensation in my stomach excruciating as I threw my sword away and pulled her helmet off as she bucked trying to move, my left holding her in a death grip.

“Will you
 
please
 
stop that?” I growled as she stopped bucking her eyes wide as I looked away coughing.

“Looks like you nicked a lung.” I coughed again getting the coughing under control turning back to her.

“I’m sorry, but you can divorce me afterwards.” I coughed again more blood spilling down my chin I looked up again her face so close to mine.

“You’re rather pretty in a cold way.” I said I might die in the next few seconds, a compliment wouldn’t hurt me at this point, well much, and she did have her hands still on her blade.

“Why?” She demanded in a small voice no fight left in her as she looked at me with wide eyes. Fear in her eyes.

“Couldn’t win against you any other way that I could see.” I said with a bloody smile. “You’re a great fighter.” I nodded coughing again and leaning against her, weak from the pain, well that and the blood loss probably.

“Sorry about this.” I said weakly as I delivered a blow to her chin knocking her out as gently as I could. We collapsed to the floor in a pile.

I braced the sword with my hands as I pulled it out as straight as possible, my hands melting, armoured and not. “FuuuuuuuUUUUUUUUUCK!” I yelled tossing the bloody blade away weakly my hands covering the hole in my Mecha as blood started pumping out of it.