A short dimension jump away another young woman had had her own challenging early life. Born to the Clan-Father of Clan Nightshade, Valna'a Nightshade's earliest memories were from the nursery where the juvenile members of the clan were raised in a group environment. Designed not to be a pleasant experience they were taught that the strong prospered and the weak submitted. To facilitate this each child was given a list of chores to do every week. However, they were allowed to force another child to do their work for them. When it came to the children's allowances, they were based on how many of their chores they had not done themselves. Of course not getting all your chores done meant you did not get any allowance at all.
This was not the only way to lose your allowance. For while bullying and intimidation were encouraged, taking it too far was not. Hurting one of your peers got them to do a job for you. Injuring them, where they could not work, meant that you got not just their workload, but also any work they had been coerced into doing for another child. This taught that while being strong was the way to success, weakening the clan was discouraged.
Valna'a quickly learned that it was not just about getting other kids to do your work. It was also about getting the weaker kids to give you their money. She also learned that cooperation was also an advantage. A small group of kids looking out for each other discouraged the bigger kids from picking on them, and allowed them to pick on individuals.
Forming a small gang, that included her twin sister, Yslana, and three other like minded individuals the five of them managed to pass off most of their work each week, while not getting pushed into doing the work of other, bigger, kids. When other kids tried to form their own groups Yslana would run interference to disrupt them. Their gang did not need competition.
One of the group, Strayth'el Heartripper, being older than the rest, was the first to graduate from their nursery. On his last day with the group, after the weekly allowances had been issued, and with no fear of future retaliation, Strayth'el betrayed his team. Catching Yslana on her own he beat her down and stealing her money. Once he had hers, he went for the others. After all, it would be advantageous to start the next phase of his life with a bit of a nest egg.
His mistake was going for Yslana first. Valna'a had a level of loyalty to her sister, above and beyond any loyalty to anyone else. Acquiring a fork from meal hall, she went looking for her former friend. Finding him attacking another one of their gang she rushed him from behind and stabbed him in the back with the fork. With a scream Strayth'el let go of the other child and turned to face Valna'a. Making a grab for her he sought revenge for the attack. Valna'a easily dodged him and tripped him as he went past.
Jumping on the larger kid's back Valna'a stabbed him twice more, before he could shake her off. Deciding that this was now a good time to leave Strayth'el tried to dodge past Valna'a to get out of the room. Selling her a dummy, he dodged past her, but forgot about his initial victim who nudged him into the doorframe, as he surged past. Valna'a regained her balance and moved towards her foe. As Strayth'el pushed himself off the doorframe to go out of the door, she grabbed his hair and slammed his head back into the frame as hard as she could. Strayth'el's eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed to the floor unconscious. Relieving him of not only Yslana's money, she also robbed him of his own allowance.
Knowing that her gang's success left them less than popular with the other kids Valna'a dragged the unconscious boy out to the corridor, so the rest of their class could find him easier and took her ally back to where she had left her sister.
Once there she called the rest of the team in, gave Yslana back her money and shared out Strayth'el's, explaining the reason for it.
After tens of their planet's years, it was her and Yslana's turn to graduate to the next level. They said goodbye to the others in their team and readied themselves for the next challenge. This was more akin to a human boarding school where the children's education was more formalised as they were prepared for the tests that would determine how they would serve the clan. For while each person was on their own, the complicated social structure of the clan demanded that everyone served it.
This part of their lives would be for another ten years during which they would learn the next level of the general subjects that all people needed a basic understanding of, such as maths, clan history, martial arts etc., along with new skills, such as material manipulation.
No longer being confined solely to the nursery complex the young elves had their first encounter with other races. While they knew they existed, their sheltered early lives hadn't brought them in contact with any.
Valna'a was fascinated not just the multitude of them , but how similar to her people some of them looked. The closest were people taken from other tribes. The differences here were eye, skin and hair colours. These were not known as people however, they were called Race 3 (Race 1 being clan members in good standing, Race 2 those who had been reduced to slavery, though even these were people and could earn their return to Race 1).
Race 6 was the next closest. Looking like a poor copy of the elves, they were as tall, but chunkier, uglier, less graceful. Their eyes were white with a different coloured iris. Skin shade went from near white to pure black, and hair was a multitude of colours. These were, unsurprising, of the most interest to the young woman.
Every member of the clan sat a specialised exam once they had turned eighty, to identify their initial occupation. As such a long lived race it was very unusual for a person to maintain an interest in a specific field for their whole life. Generally speaking it was presumed that people would change their role every fifty years. Their time would be spent learning the job (about ten years), mastering the role (thirty years) and training the next generation (the last ten years). This way a clan elder could have twenty or more careers amassing a massive amount of skills along the way. These skills, hard learned, were even harder to lose with a thousand year old still being able to practice their original craft.
The results of this test would determine a person's initial role in the clan, and the next five years would be a preparation for that. This would determine what specialist subjects they would learn over these years, along with the core skills. The lessons learned during this time were designed to make up for the skills others would pick up in their current role, before selecting their next path.
Valna'a's scores had resulted in her being assigned the role of scout in the clan's military. This was a prestigious role and would enhance her standing in the clan. Yslana's less combative nature had earned her the much less respected job of healer. Those who would patch up the wounded, both members of the clan and their cattle. At least it was a semi combat role, Strayh'el had been selected as a guard for the organisation that kept track of the slaves.
Valna'a's enhanced training concentrated on both combat and stealth skills. Hours were spent understanding the weapons used by her people as well as abilities and limitations of the scouts' holo suits. The final test for this was an escape / evasion / assassination exercise. Here the students were dropped off in the middle of the Scorian Wastes with only a standard scout load out and instructions as to what dummy they were to eliminate, as well as where and when to find it. Before making their way back to their drop off point for evacuation. To add to the difficulty they were given a narrow window in which their target would be available though there were extra credits available depending on how close to the middle of that window the target was eliminated.
Grades were based on:
1: Killing the target in the active window and escaping successfully.
2: Killing the target in the active window and using their self destruct system to avoid capture.
3: Failing to eliminate the target but using their self destruct.
4: Failing to eliminate the target, but making it back to extraction
5: Killing the target but being captured / killed without using the self destruct
6: Failure to eliminate the target and being captured / killed without using the self destruct.
Valna'a had studied the instructions carefully, noting the phrasing of each part and mistrusting most of it. "Area X will be unguarded during this time." meant "Passing through area X during this time will probably not get you eliminated, but will get you tracked."
Making a point to avoid all these areas Valna'a still made sure she was at the testing site well before the allotted time. While this would put her already in the area when the counter insurgency units did their sweep it gave her time to devise a plan that would, hopefully, give her an edge on the second part of the mission - the escape.
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Doing a security sweep herself, to make sure there was no instructors waiting for her, she disconnected her real self-destruct system (their suits had been fitted with a second, dummy, one for the tests) and placed it carefully so that the destructive zone would include the target area.
The self-destruct devices were micro nukes, with a small enough charge that while they vaporised anything within ten metres their total effect didn't exceed much more than fifteen metres, nor did they create any fallout. While her people didn't have any problem with causing wanton destruction on a massive scale, a massive blast could eliminate other operatives and jeopardise the mission.
Creating a faraday cube, to protect it from detection she set the timer for just before the middle of the prescribed window, and then moved to an area where she would not have line of sight of the target when the time arrived. Such an area being less likely to be thoroughly searched, she would not need any technology active. Her training alone should allow her to hide
True to form the guards scouting the area she was hidden were using scanners to look for electrical output, expecting her to be using her holo suit to hide, and infrared, defeated by her heat dissipation cloak and the layer of earth covering her. Concentrating on their technology, they missed any physical signs she may have left.
Ten seconds before the optimal time her self-destruct detonated, thirty metres away from the target. Jumping up from her hole, she climbed over the ridge separating her form her target and lined up her shots.
Firing three times, each of her shots was deliberately off centre. This made each shot not automatically lethal, but the combination of the three would kill anyone. In addition, as the dummies were designed to accurately mimic a real target, the first shot caused the body to spin, with the second and third increasing its rotation. This left the body with three entrance wounds, each on a different facing, and none pointing directly back to her position. While it would not take a lot of analysis to work out where the shots had come from, she did not need much time.
Distracted by the explosion and by its obvious failure to kill the target outright, the instructors / guards where distracted when Valna'a made her shots. This caused them to delay identifying the location of the shot, and delayed their pursuit.
Meanwhile Valna'a was off like an Olympic sprinter, making her way from hard surface to hard surface and changing direction at each one. By the time her pursuers started after her, she had already covered over a kilometre and was in the cover of the Iron Forest, so named for the iron hard bark of its predominant trees.
By choosing the least efficient position to fire from, and an inefficient escape route she hoped that she would increase her enemies' confusion. Even then, she would randomly change direction, now and again, when the terrain cooperated, leaping onto a fallen tree and running along it before jumping off and slightly adjusting her course. She would also create false trails, sometimes keeping on her path and sometimes changing direction while making it look like she had hadn't. Even then she made sure not to get too carried away with this type of evasion, passing over obvious chances to ensure she didn't create a predictable pattern. And, also, not to overly increase the distance she had to cover and the time it would take her to do so.
After two hours she slowed down, to catch her breath and to allow her body to cool. The forest was a bit of a gamble as once her general route was discovered they would be able to identify the likely exit points. Hoping that at least one of her false trails had split the pursuit force, she made three final ones, with the best hidden showing that she was going north around the wastelands, to the longer, but better covered route to the extraction. She then climbed one of the Vilor trees, counting on its tough skin to prevent any tell tale damage.
Once she was up twenty foot she ran, lithely, across a branch before jumping to the branch of another such tree. Doing this twice more, she descended back to the forest floor, beyond her false trail and headed north.
Reaching the tree line Valna'a paused again. Not just to catch her breath but to watch for any patrols. She didn't have long to wait before she saw the two jet bikes cruising half a kilometre outside the tree line.
Thinking quickly she devised a simple plan to lure in the bikers.
Behind her, but closing, Senior Scout Saphin Nightstalker was growing frustrated. Amused, in part, by the delay in receiving his pursuit orders. Other peoples' failures could, and would, be used to excuse any failure on his part. Not that he meant to fail.
Even by elf standards Saphin was spritely. Shorter and leaner than most of his kin, his lack of physical stature was compensated for by his excellent ability as a scout. With his near white hair fashionably long and his pure white irises, he gave the appearance of being even colder than his brethren. An impression he liked to cultivate as he didn’t like many of his own kind and found them to be too boastful and noisy. To his mind any result that needed boasting about was not worthy of being boasted about.
This target was good, though. Moreover, they had given themselves a decent head start. Using grav vehicles to get to the forest had reduced his prey's lead by a lot, but the trees were too dense for a safe traverse at speed. In addition, a foe this intelligent would change direction at least five times, he surmised, and that would be impossible to detect on one of those.
Dismounting three of his five man squad he sent the others to the other side of the forest to perform sweeps around the edge bordering the Scorian Wastes. Knowing the target's destination made the hunt much easier, unfairly so. But the near inevitable capture would give the students some pointers on what they needed to improve. The physical abuse they received once captured would give them the impetus to learn those lessons. Especially any foolish enough to be captured 'alive'.
Expecting false trails and diversions Saphin, however, was caught out by the first change in direction. Expecting Valna'a to head generally in the predicted direction, but trying to hide it with false trails he was still caught out when he came across her first deception. Crossing a fallen tree he was not surprised to find the trail ended and quickly found the new one, before realising that it was only a false one and having to backtrack and find the true path.
This cost him time, not only in backtracking, but also in having to hunt carefully. The false trails were inconsistent in spacing and opportunity. Excellent locations to change direction would sometimes be ignored while other times false trails led off at an angle, while the actual one kept going, only to deviate a bit later.
These false trails would slow the pursued down as much as a good pursuer, and he was a great pursuer. In a way he felt a bit sorry for this student. The skill shown would have delayed most of Saphin's peers to the point of opening the gap between them. But, in this case, they were counter productive and his team were now gaining again.
Not knowing whether his target was an experienced warrior moving to the scout path or a gifted amateur, Saphin was still planning to request this trainee would be assigned to his squad. Even though he fully expected to capture them, the skill and intelligence promised an outstanding future for them, and Saphin wanted that skill at his disposal.
Getting to Valna'a's final distraction he quickly figured out that the first two of the false trails were distractions before heading out on the third one. When he got to the end of that trail he actually looked around for the continuation before realising that this, too, was a ruse.
Making his way back to the fork he had to split his force to look for the real path. Even going so far as to check the more obvious false trails to see if they were double bluffs. Eliminating these three he even went back down the trail to see if the true path diverged further back. Sweeping the area Jash'nal finally spotted a slightly damaged twig three metres up a tree. Cursing his prey and promising them a really unpleasant time when he captured them Saphin moved his little squad back onto Valna'a's trail.
He quickly made a plan to trap the runner on a pincer movement, and called the two bike riders to give them their orders. Frustrated by the lack of reply he ordered the two hunters with him to try to contact them. They also reported no luck.
Wondering if his target had managed to get a comms blocker he ordered the two with him to spread out, pause at the tree line to look for a target and then make a dash for the RV.
Stopping at the edge himself, he looked round to ensure there were no obvious traps, which is when he saw one of his jet bikes parked up in the open. Signalling his two compatriots to pause he carefully approached the bike, to find the missing members of his squad sat against a tree, minus their helmets, and looking very sheepish.
"What, in the name of the gods, are you two doing?" He roared at them.
"We're dead.," replied Junior Scout Dragrish'l, pointing to a bright yellow paint splatter on his armour. "And the rules of the hunt say that once shot we're out of the game."
"She ambushed us and stole one of the bikes." Added Valnik Foebane. Looking equally ashamed. It would be a long time before this result against a trainee would be forgotten.
"His bike." muttered Dragrish'l under his breath.
Knowing it was pretty much a waste of time Saphim went over to the remaining jet bike, preparing to continue the chase in the slim chance something had prevented his quarry from already being at the finish.
"You two, find a vantage point and see if you can see anything. Shoot to kill if you see her."
Getting to the bike, however, only darkened his mood further. Written on the cowling, in yellow paint was "Destroyed!"
Cursing under his breath, and giving his two 'dead' men a look that made them wish they really were dead, he called up central for the inevitable bad news.
"Hunter Six-One to Central. Status update required for Target Six-Zero."
Knowing, word for word, what central was going to say next did not make it any less unpleasant.
"Central to Hunter Six-One. Target Six-Zero is status Four!" Central did not even bother to hide her glee at his failure.
"Hunter Six-One to Hunter Six-Two and Hunter Six-Four. Stand down and return to my position. Target Six-Zero is status Four. She's made it to the pick up point."
"You two, take that bike and ferry the other bikes here." He ordered Valnik and Dragrish'l.
"We're dead. We can't do anything." Complained Valnik.
"You fegging will be dead, for real, if you don't get off your arses and get those bikes back." Snarled their squad leader, pointing his pistol between the two of them, letting them know that he was even less in the mood for clowning about than usual.
"And don't forget the one that the target took to the pick up point. Get that one first, and getting the other three will be quicker."
With all five bikes back, Saphin was able to take his squad back to their base, where he could review the footage and stats for Valna'a's run. Impressed by her ingenuity and skill, he formally requested that Target Six-Zero AKA Valna'a Nightshade be assigned to his squad.