Upon entering the hangar, Annie saw a huge stone of uneven proportions, towering at least five meters in height and far wider than Annie herself. The stone itself was green in color, the edges of the stone bore the marks of the industrial drills. It stood in the middle of the half-empty hangar, looking out of place.
"Peridotite," Dragena answered, to a question in Annie’s eyes, "It will serve as a dummy for the demonstration. Hans and his fellows really did a good job of bringing it here in one piece." Dragena closed the doors behind Annie and herself, leaving both women alone in the hangar.
The warlord put the toy in the corner of the hangar and sat with her back to the stone, gesturing to Annie to sit before her. Feeling uncomfortably all of a sudden, Annie obeyed the command. Both of them sat for a whole minute in silence, looking at each other. It was not uncommon for females of the Wolf Tribe to lose weight during lifegiving. And it was unheard of for all cubs to be born alive, usually at least two or three cubs were born stillborn. And yet Dragena looked as immense as ever, and all five of her cubs were alive.
"No one will show up in this hangar for the next hour. The walls of this facility were meant to absorb all sounds coming from inside. Annie, do you need to speak with anyone? "Lashing out on someone perhaps?" Dragena asked all of a sudden, "I can take quite a punishment, I assure you."
"Warlord? I am not sure what you mean." The scout answered honestly.
"Upon returning from the Core Lands, your behavior has changed. You used to like relaxing with the rest of the scouts. Now you are pushing yourself to earn tokens to the point that Kayleen had to give you an order to rest. You used to avoid domination matches, yet today you challenged our fellow scouts," Dragena pointed out the obvious, "I have received five requests from your sister and four requests from the Oaksters farm owners, asking me of all people to make you speak with them."
"I am sorry for the inconvenience." Annie whispered. She knew about these calls, of course. But what good would it be to speak with them? The Oaksters will just berate Annie for bringing bad news into their family. As if she did not blame herself for this already. And only spirits know what Sveta is thinking about her sister right now. No, it is best to forget about them. Less pain that way.
The Wolf Tribe members had certain liberties when it came to their desire to keep their secrets. But no one, not even commanders themselves, had any right to keep family members from knowing whether their relatives were alive or not. But Annie’s situation was an oddity, because such things never happened before with the new breeds of the Wolf Tribe. There was no law that would have forced Annie to answer the calls of her family. And the warlord had no power to force Annie to speak with relatives either. Yet, calls had to be answered by someone. As the commanding officer of Annie, it fell to Kayleen to take the calls from the operator. Eventually, even she had to ask Dragena for help, confused and frustrated about threats of being sued for "hiding" Annie. Barely anyone in the Wolf Tribe ever has any encounters with the judicial system. The prospect of being sued for anything terrified most wolfkins, aside from a few oddballs like Lucendra. Lucendra relished assisting other wolfkin in suing companies for poor service, almost reveling in the judicial process. According to rumors, Dragena even offered to help Lucendra join UNU in order for the young wolfkin to pursue a career as a lawyer, but the warrior refused.
"Pay no thought to that, this is part of my job. Kayleen handles their calls now well enough, although both she and I are of the opinion that you should speak with your family," Dragena lifted a finger, stopping Annie from speaking, "Ultimately the decision is yours, however. If you want to keep them aside, as a pack we will support your misguided way. Usually, I would leave things at that, my hands are already full trying to make a proper person out of Ultis and the others. Compared to them, at first glance, you are a relatively normal, well-adjusted person. If this were all, then all would be fine."
"Warlord, you really should not waste time on me. You have your own cubs and…"
"They are inefficient," Dragena said without baiting an eye, "All they do is crawl around, beg for food, and squeak all day long. Until the moment when proper sentience first starts showing in them, I see no reason to waste any more time on them than needed."
"They are your cubs, Dragena!" Annie jumped to her feet. Even standing, her eyes were merely on the same level as the utterly calm eyes of the warlord before the scout, "Parents are supposed to provide for their cubs, care for and love them!"
"They are well fed, doctors check their health regularly. Upon growing up, they will receive proper education and all the material support that I can afford to," Dragena stopped for a moment, thinking about something, "I can’t give to them something I do not have myself. This is why I asked Zero for help. She will provide emotional support for the cubs to stimulate proper growth in them."
"And what about their father?" The scout demanded to know.
"Leave him out of this. I paid him to mate with me, he is under no obligation to pay me material support for my kids."
"It’s not about material support!" Annie desperately spoke, looking for the right words, "Listen, you said that Ultis, me, and others have problems, right? Well, my sister doesn’t have such problems."
"If you say so." Dragena responded in a dry voice, "Svetlana was very… vocal in her demands. I am not used to being spoken to in such a manner. It was a good exercise for training my social skills, though. When she calmed down a bit, she was… normal."
"Yes, and she has both parents who support her, and you know, speak with her about things and stuff. They help her with money and with words and they work with her and take photos with her…" Annie once again lost the trail of thought, trying to explain her position to the warlord, "They look like awesome people in short! The point is, Zero is correct about the importance of giving attention to the cubs! You didn't even want to give them names, Zero can’t always be around due to her own duties… Imagine what kind of a mess you'll make raising the cubs on your own."
Dragena became silent. The massive body of the warlord stood up, towering over the scout, making the young woman put all her effort into not stepping back in fear. There was always something off about Dragena. Despite not practicing methods of physical punishment like other warlords, one is always wary in the presence of this being. No wolfkin under Dragena's command dared to oppose the warlord. No one dared to believe they were intelligent enough to see flaws in the logic behind these lifeless amber eyes. And Annie just did something no other soldier dared to.
"There is logic in your words," Dragena said amiable, attempting to calm Annie down, "it appears that the original plan must be adjusted. I will try to involve him in their life, hopefully he won’t be afraid of my offer," The wolfkin reached for the pocket, lifting the terminal and showing the display to Annie, "However, there is something more important that we need to talk about."
The display came to life, showing the site of the main history channel of the Reclamation Army. Dragena's finger moved, navigating the site’s menu, until the warlord stopped at the last uploaded video on the channel. To the surprise of Annie, she saw a documentary about life in the Wolf Tribe, narrated by Larry Kosh from WWB and a woman from SU. This documentary was long, capping at twenty-eight hours. There were even moments in the video dedicated to the Kayleen group. Annie blushed when she recognized the woman, whose cub Annie saved during the battle for the trading hub. The woman said thanks to Annie personally and to Kayleen’s pack. Two farm owners grudgingly thanked Lucendra for her advice in helping clear critters out of their lands. Larry himself admitted that he was saved by the efforts of Dragena’s pack, giving personal thanks to Annie. The award ceremony of the Dragena pack was also included in the footage. Footage soon changed to less glorifying aspects of life in the Wolf Tribe. Suppression of males, domination fights, including footage of the wounds after such fights. The culling of defective cubs, as well as the culling of the elderly. Dragena skipped through all of this, reaching the part about religious life. Skipping various rituals and commentaries of shamans, Dragena reached all the way to the part that showed examples of prayers. And Annie screamed from rage upon seeing herself.
"These bastards!" Her fist crushed into the metal floor, sending a ringing sound across the hangar. On the display of the terminal, Annie of the past offered her life in exchange for the life of Sveta, "Why! How the fuck did they filmed that…." Annie stopped, understanding just where exactly this was filmed. In the praying den near the military base, "Scum! They had no right! They had no right!" The scout howled in fear and rage. This documentary will be released on TV, what if her sister…. Annie slammed another fist into the floor, bending the metal. Of course, this documentary has already been released! How else would Dragena knew!
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"Annie, do you need any professional help?" The warlord asked. Annie looked at her leader in disbelief. The voice of Dragena sounded fake. The warlord was trying, and failing, to sound worried! "I admit, never in my entire life have I dealt with a situation like this. I read through the terms of the contract that the shamans and Zero had signed. I do not think we have any grounds to sue, but Lucendra thinks otherwise, she is betting on some law that protects less developed groups of people. If you want, we can try to sue the journalists. In any case, you are important to all of us, and your life have value…"
"I am not suicidal!" Annie snapped in horror at the sudden understanding of what exactly the warlord was thinking.
"I can’t just let it go this time, Annie. You are my responsibility, and I have failed you. This prayer to the Spirits, your unexpected return from the Core Lands, your unexpected brawl with your kin...Your behavior looks unusual to me. There are people who can help you," Dragena ignored being cut off mid-sentence, "I read some books about how to deal with such situations. If you want to, I can hug you and we can speak…"
"Enough!" Annie slammed her paws into the ground, fully understanding how immature she was acting. Anger, fear, humiliation, and embarrassment were threatening to overflow her, and the scout had no idea how to handle these feelings. She wanted to lash out at someone, anyone. What will people think about her now? Who cares about it, what will people think of Dragena! "Oh, hi there! I am the only warlord who never hurt my pack members. Why yes, one of my pack members is also suicidal, why do you ask? Totally has nothing to do with not hurting them." As if the warlord doesn’t have enough stress to deal with right now! "I am sorry, I am so sorry for bringing such shame upon you in this situation, warlord."
Dragena took Annie by her shoulders, forcing the smaller wolfkin to sit before her.
"This is unknown territory for me," The warlord admitted, "But this is how Ravager used to calm down Alpha in her darkest hours. Now take a deep breath and calm down. Shame is irrelevant. When Ultis was first assigned to the force, I was summoned to captain Scorpio. He told me that cooks accused me of starving my pack. Turns out Ultis was stealing food from the kitchen, instead of eating with everyone else. Usually, such a problem could be solved by Kayleen, but you know how strong Ultis is. I myself led her to the kitchen by the paw, making her sit with everyone and eat like a normal person. It took just two months for her to adjust and learn that no one was planning to steal her food. Ultis needed help to excel, and help was what she got. Shame, honor, and pride are irrelevant. Results are all that matter. And right now, I need to make sure that you continue to be a productive member of my pack, like you always were," Dragena raised a finger, stopping Annie, "By the way, I asked Ultis if I could share her story with others. Any secrets you will tell me, will be safe with me, unless you decide otherwise."
"Dragena, I do not intend to off myself, this I swear," Annie forced herself to speak calmly and look directly in the eyes of her leader. The scout felt the blood pounding in her temples from sheer rage, "I promised myself to live and become the shield for my sister. I am just angry that I am always the bad one, always the one who messes up and… This. It pisses me off that I don’t know the reason why I always mess up so badly!"
The warlord looked into the eyes of the scout for a long time, searching for any trace of a lie in them. Enormous paws let go of the shoulders, and Dragena leaned back on the stone, looking up:
"Answer… I believe the answer is because nothing truly gets forgiven once you’ve crossed a certain line," The warlord said quietly, "You, I, everyone else who kills people. In the eyes of normal people, we must look like monsters to them. How could we not be? When life expires beneath your claws, when life is gone from the sight of your scope, when you look at the sliced form before you… Then you are tainted for the rest of your life," The warlord looked back at Annie, "But despite being monsters, we all still yearn for something, we still live. Day after day, night after night. We try to reason with ourselves, try to tell ourselves that maybe our crimes are not that bad. We only do it for the sake of the greater good, after all. Deep down, we know that these are just sweet lies. We are monsters, and that is why we suffer. I was bad even before my creation, this is why the Spirits deemed it fit to strip me of emotions. Sometimes I try to remember what sort of crime I committed during my creation that the Spirits punished me so. Alas, I have no memories of the time before I was created. And yet," The warlord’s voice returned back to normal, "Bad or not, I can still choose. This is what Ravager told me when I asked her why I should keep on, if I can’t even feel like others. My blessed mother told me that I could either lie and be still or try and claw something out of life for myself. She gave me simple rules to live by. Obey the laws of the Dynast. Try to be a good person. Don’t hurt others if possible. Save others, even at the cost of your own life. By trying to repay for my sins, I pray that the Spirits could give me a better life next time, one where I could feel emotions like others. For me, such a simple dream is enough to live as a monster of the state."
Annie had no idea how to respond to this. Monster. There was some sense in this. Sveta found happiness in life. When Sveta was in school, playing or learning, Annie was berated and hated by her father. The teachers of Svetlana never harmed her, meanwhile Virginia wiped the floor with Annie. There had to be some reason for all that has happened. If Spirits viewed Annie as the bad one… Yes, it makes sense. The scout failed to fit in in the Core Lands because she was trying to be someone she was not meant to be. The Spirits deemed it fit for her to be the one who put her life on the line for others. Trying to weasel out of responsibility was… stupid. Annie was the bad one all alone. She failed to save her mother, her father, lost her sister… How else could the Spirits view her? Monster. Being bad is not the end of a road. Living for the sake of others. A simple answer for a simple mind. How many lives did Ravager save through sheer power? If Annie only concentrated on getting stronger instead of wasting time on trying to change traditions that made the Wolf Tribe who they were… How stupid could one person be? And yet the Spirits were kind enough. They gave Sveta back to Annie. And how did the scout thank them for that? Did she redouble her efforts and training? No, she ran off to see her sister. Stupid, lazy, ungrateful idiot! No longer. I won’t fail others again.
"Looks like you found the answer or reason for yourself too now," Dragena nodded, standing up. The warlord turned toward the stone, "There was something I wanted to show you as well. Can I break the stone from this position?" Dragena pressed her right paw to the surface of the stone.
"If you strike with your left paw or kick, sure." Annie answered in confusion.
"Perhaps" The large wolfkin pressed a paw to the surface of the stone. For a moment, the woman stood like a statue, unmoving, not even daring to take a breath. And then her right leg jerked ever so slightly, almost like something was running up from it. The warlord loudly exhaled, pressing her paw harder to the stone. And Annie saw how the air around the warlord’s right paw began to vibrate. Something ran down from the shoulder to her paw, expanding skin and making it visible even despite thick fur. Muscles visibly popped over the arm of the warlord, and finally Dragena pressed the paw all the way into the stone. The gigantic chunk of peridotite did not slide forward under the pressure. Like the limb of some ghost, Dragena’s right paw entered stone all the way to the elbow. Cracks run in all directions from the point of entry, creating a web of destruction around the stone. Dragena thrusted her arm back, and the stone came apart in a shower of dust and rain of tiny stones, ringing across the surface of the metal floor.
"Vibrations," Dragena explained to the surprised scout, "By compressing and then releasing muscles, a person of our physique statue can forcibly create vibrations by essentially shaking up a paw hard enough. Through rigorous training, one can also send these vibrations into another object. With stone, it is less effective but can be destructive as well, as you could see just now."
"But the air around the paw…" Annie tried to form her question.
"This is my immaturity. What you just saw is known as sound fist," Dragena said, turning around and looking down on the scout, "Vibrations produced by my body encompass the surroundings of my paw, acting as a minor shield capable of deflecting even bullets," The warlord looked at her own paw, "I can only use this technique from the stationary pose and with a long wind up. I could potentially master it in full, but my lack of emotions stops me. I have little interest in things that are not efficient. Why would I study the flash step technique further when I can already kill enemies with my current knowledge? Why would I study sound palm technique when I use weapons? It makes no sense," The warlord looked at Annie once more, "But you, like others, feel. Your… pride can potentially force you to excel, and by creating your own style and by fleshing it out, there can be born something truly... monstrous. In the next couple of years, we are entering the period of supposed peace. I received permission from captain Scorpio for additional training for my pack, while I am indisposed. Ultis, Kayleen, Lucendra, and a few others will leave to study in the Core Lands. The rest will be trained by me in my spare time. Meanwhile, I want you and Carty to study under the person who taught me flash step technique and the basics of the sound palm. Annie, do you want to become stronger?"
Annie felt her heart beating faster in her chest. Will the pack be dissolved? She will be on her own? But she just got back… The scout closed her eyes, calming herself. Strength. If only she was stronger, her mother would still be alive. Had she had the strength, she would have never failed to save all the hostages during the battle against Alsyn. Had she had the strength, Kayleen and Carty would not have been injured in that battle, trying to save her. Strength. Oh, how Annie yearned for it now. If she just had it, Virginia would have never beaten her. If she had been stronger, the people in the trading center would not have had to suffer. Lucendra would not have come so close to dying. Strength. Had she had it, her soldiers would not have died during the battle for the archeological station. Strength. Monster. If Annie was like Ravager, her sister would never fall. Her father would never end up as a drunken mess. They all would have live happily.
Annie opened her eyes and looked up at the warlord.
"I want to become strong. Stronger than anyone else." She simply said.
"He is currently living in Pearl. You will leave tomorrow."