Chapter One – The Spotter

Gabriel had always preferred being the spotter to the shooter.

It fit him better, staring down the scope and waiting. Hunting for that one mistake, that one moment of exposure from the enemy. He found the entire process calming, almost like putting together a puzzle.

The complete opposite of being the shooter.

The heavy pull of the trigger, the high-pitched crack of the rifle, the recoil rattling down his arm and the acrid smell of the burning powder. He found none of the act appealing.

He took a moment to stretch out his neck before once again peering down the spotting scope, paying careful attention to the thickest clustering of greenery in the tree line across from him. His target would likely be hidden somewhere in that vicinity. From the three probable spots he had highlighted, it provided the most cover and thus the best chance for a successful attack.

Light had trouble penetrating through the branches and the slight breeze caused the foliage to be in a near constant state of movement. It would help cover any movement and disguise an approach.

Reed Chance, the sniper lying beside him, sighed dramatically and Gabriel had just enough time to pull his eye away from the scope to see Chance’s head plop against the grass. Gabriel immediately turned back to the scope, keeping his attention on the tree line and wishing they had chosen an area with similar cover. The very thin smattering of bushes they were currently masked by did not provide nearly enough camouflage. Especially considering the person they were hunting.

“This is so boring,” Chance groaned into the dirt. “I’m a Pilot. Let me get in a Kniv and this would be over in a flash.”

“Unlikely.” Gabriel adjusted the sighting on the scope as movement in the tree line caught his eye. It was gone before he could focus on it.

“You sure she is over there?” Chance lifted his head up.

“Likely.”

“Then why don’t we just fire off an incendiary round and set the trees on fire? That will flush her out real quick, and then I’ll just pick her off.” Chance punctuated the statement by making a ‘pew’ sound and tapping his finger against the side of his rifle.

Gabriel could think of a litany of reasons that was a bad idea, but he chose to keep it simple. That was often the most effective approach with Chance.

“Doing that would expose our position. Then she would shoot you first.”

“Like she doesn’t already know where we are,” Chance scoffed as he reached up and brushed some stray grass that had clung to his hair. “I’ll bet you lunch she’s actually sneaking up behind us already.”

That comment actually gave Gabriel a moment of pause before he saw a slight silhouette, almost invisible against the shadows cast by the trees, slither into view. It was only there for a moment before once again fading away against the greenery.

“Shouldn't you be wearing a helmet?” Gabriel said, sparing Chance a quick glance.

“Messes with my hair,” Chance shrugged and reached up to run a hand through his hair. It was longer than regulation allowed. He would probably be written up for that, again. “And it hurts my ears. They don’t fit like the Pilot helmets. Maybe if they spent more money on helmets and less money on… Whatever it is we’re doing here I would consider wearing it.”

“You should put your helmet on,” Gabriel said as he saw the silhouette again. This time it held still long enough for him to make out the rifle, and that fact that it seemed to be pointing in their general direction, before disappearing.

“Why?”

“She might shoot you in the head.”

Chance rolled his eyes. “Look, Gabriel, I love you man, but you gotta relax sometimes. We’ll at least get a warning shot first. She’s not going to just shoot me in the head.”

Gabriel barely had time to blink before there was a sharp crack that echoed across the divide and a round struck Chance squarely between the eyes. He let out a soft sigh before his face crashed against the ground and his body went limp. Gabriel frowned and turned his attention back to the tree line. There was no need to use the spotter’s scope this time as the opposition sniper had already revealed herself, the large rifle slung smartly over one shoulder.

Gabriel slowly lifted himself up from the ground and dusted the dirt from his shirt as she marched across the short distance to meet him. Gabriel gave her a small nod before glancing down at Chance. 

“Nice shot.”

Thea Fairchild, more intimately known as Fairy, frowned. “Hardly. You two spent more time talking than focusing on the objective. If I had really wanted to kill you, I could have shot you both before you even got into position. Multiple times.” Fairy leveled the rifle at him. “And your position? If it could even be called that. What were you thinking? It barely has enough cover for one person, let alone a two-man team. I could have spotted you without any optics.”

Gabriel shrugged and pointed down to Chance. “He liked it.”

Fairy’s frown deepened and the barrel of her rifle went from aiming at Gabriel to Chance. “Did he at least have a good reason?”

“It allowed the greatest range of visibility.” Technically, that wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t real the reason Chance had chosen the spot. In reality, it had been because it required the least amount of effort to get to, and on his weekend, Chance wasn’t about to exert any more effort than was necessary. Gabriel felt it would be wrong to give Fairy any more reason to damage Chance further and decided to keep that bit of information to himself.

“Hmph.” Fairy did not seem satisfied, but she lowered her rifle all the same.

“You shouldn’t have shot him in the head, again.” He was unsure how many times this scenario had happened, but it was often enough that he had long ago stopped keeping count.

“He should have been wearing his helmet. It’s academy protocol to wear both a chest protector and a helmet during any training exercise.”

“Mmmm.” Gabriel was still not fully convinced that shooting Chance in the shoulder wouldn’t have had a similar effect. Getting hit with a charge round sent a large jolt of electricity through the target’s body, rendering them unconscious for a few minutes. They were considered non-lethal and safe for student training, but students were still advised to avoid getting shot in the head or face.

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“The charge will wear off in a few minutes and he will wake up, unfortunately. But while we wait...” Fairy gently placed her rifle on the ground. She took a moment to make sure her ash blonde hair was still secured in a tight bun before turning to Gabriel and pulling out her knife. “Up for some sparing?”

Gabriel didn’t particularly feel like sparring, but he knew it hadn’t actually been a question as much as it had been an order.

He rolled his shoulders and reached down to pull his own knife free. Fairy didn’t wait for him to finish before launching herself forward. Her right fist would have connected with his jaw if he hadn’t taken a hasty step back. Fairy didn’t relent sliding forward and thrusting towards his chest with the blade. He deflected it with his forearm and returned with a quick jab towards her head. Fairy tilted to the side to avoid the attack and returned with a quick trio of punches to his ribs before slicing the knife across his stomach.

The blade cut a bright red line across his shirt and he stumbled back a step. He reached down and ran his hand along the fresh dye with a frown. His fingertips tingled as the residual electric charge dispersed faintly across his skin.

“Not deep enough. Not Fatal,” Fairy said as she fell back into her stance. “Continue.”

Gabriel took in a soft breath and fell into a similar pose. Almost immediately Fairy was on him. He met her with an opening jab that she knocked away as she stepped forward. Faster than he could react she caught him with an elbow strike to the jaw. His head snapped to the side and Fairy used the moment to land a well-placed kick to the side of his leg.

His leg buckled and he dropped down to one knee. As he moved to steady himself, Fairy’s foot caught him hard on the hand, sending his knife skittering across the grass. Unarmed, he glanced up just as Fairy spun her blade around brought it hammering down like an icepick.

Reaching up, Gabriel managed to catch her by the wrist just before the blade made contact with his forehead. Fairy moved to push down, throwing her whole weight behind the movement, but Gabriel reached forward with his other hand and grabbed her by the ankle. With a quick, wrenching movement he brought her down to the ground.

A small hiss of pain escaped Fairy’s lips as her back smashed into the ground. Taking advantage of the moment, Gabriel adjusted his grip on her wrist and slammed her hand against the ground. She didn’t release the knife.

For a single moment Fairy went still, her body tensing up like a coiled spring. From countless hours of sparring with her, Gabriel had an idea what she would do next. On the ground, his weight gave him the clear advantage. She would look to minimize that, and his ability to move, all in one go.

She released the knife, twisting her body around so she could grab hold of his wrist.

This was the prime opportunity for him to escape. She hadn’t gotten her legs into the proper position yet to keep his arm trapped.  If he rolled towards her, he could keep her from hyper-extending his arm, regain his positioning and use his free hand to attack. A strike to her throat would keep her from catching her breath and he could finish the fight with another blow to her temple with enough force to knock her unconscious before she could recover.

It was a plan of attack Gabriel would never use, as he instead did nothing, allowing Fairy’s legs to stretch across his body, trapping his arm completely as she pulled him into a particularly painful armbar. Baring his teeth slightly, he struggled to free himself for a moment, but her textbook technique left very little room for escape.

Letting out a soft sigh, he slowly reached up his free hand and tapped her three times on the thigh. She held him a moment longer before letting out a soft breath and releasing him.

“You’re getting better,” Fairy said as Gabriel rubbed at his arm. “You need to anticipate more. You’re being reactive instead of proactive. You’ll win once you can control the pace of the fight.”

Gabriel nodded, but said nothing. He would never beat Fairy. Not in a sparring match or in an Academy event. He couldn’t. It simply wouldn’t make sense.

B-class did not beat the S-class.

Those were the rules.

“You should go easy on him,” Chance called out, rubbing his forehead as he stared at the pair from the ground. “And me for that matter.”

Fairy’s lip curled. “Taking it easy does not produce results. Gabriel is far from prepared for the next class battle and the same could be said for you. At this rate neither of you will be moving up.”

“Yeah, yeah, and you’re the benevolent dictator taking time out of her busy S-Class schedule to take care of us underlings out of the kindness of your own heart, right? Want to make sure we both live up to our potential?” Chance said, grinning as Fairy’s scowl grew. 

Fairy’s hand fell to the pistol at her hip. “Do I need to shoot you again?”

“Ah, lighten up half-pint.”

Gabriel watched the familiar exchange from the ground with a bemused smile.

A sudden, piercing tone ended the squabbling as Fairy and Gabriel both produced their academy data pads. Chance would have pulled his out as well, if he had any idea where it was. As he didn’t, he instead peered over Fairy’s shoulder.

“Ah, looks like there our session is up. I guess training is over!” Chance said. He reached down and yanked Gabriel back to his feet. “Alright, time to hit the showers.”

“I will schedule another training session for Kniv combat. I’ll message you the details once I have the arena booked,” Fairy said, nodding to both Gabriel and Chance as she headed off in the opposite direction.

“Saved by the bell, eh?” Chance said as soon as they were out of earshot. “You know she was going to make us run that exercise at least five more times.”

“Her methods are effective,” Gabriel said after a moment of thought as they entered the locker rooms. He stopped at his assigned locker and began to undress. Chance sauntered through the room, removing his clothes at will and letting them drop haphazardly to the floor.

“Yeah, effective is good and all, but sometimes I think she could think about relaxing for a bit. If she pushes to hard, she’s going to end up breaking.”

Gabriel doubted that. “Maybe.”

“Speaking of.” Chance glanced over his shoulder as they entered the shower. “You know, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to push yourself so hard. I mean, I bitch about everything, but I’m pretty much an S-class already. I probably won’t be in A much longer. You’re only in B and you’re training with Fairy more than anyone else. If it’s too much, you could just tell her. It’s not like you’re gunning to be an Orbital Knight like we are.”

“I don’t mind.” Gabriel stepped into the water, wincing as the hot water washed over his skin. “I appreciate the help. From both of you.”

Chance stared at him for a moment before breaking into a smile. “Alright bro, but no taking that back. We’re going to run through hell together.”

Gabriel finished first, returning to the locker room and pulling on his uniform. He was just settling his tie into place when his tablet began to blink with a new message. Reaching down he picked up the device and tapped the notification.

“What’s that?” Chance asked loudly, draping a dripping arm over Gabriel’s shoulder as he leaned in to read the message.

“It’s from Fairy. She wants to meet in the entertainment district.”

“Oh ho,” Chance waggled his eyebrows. “An interesting proposal.”

Gabriel continued reading. “She told me to invite you as well. She said she would have messaged you directly, but because you lack the maturity to keep track of your personal belongings, it wasn’t possible.”

“Well that’s less interesting,” Chance released Gabriel and threw his towel to the floor as he began to dress. “More insulting really, but I guess I’m in. What about you?” Gabriel nodded and Chance clapped him on the arm. “Awesome. Well I’ve got to run back to my room for my ID first, so I’ll meet you there, alright?”

Chance did not wait for an answer from Gabriel before he bolted out of the room. Gabriel followed after him, exiting the training center and making his way towards the transportation hub.

The shuttle to the entertainment district was almost completely empty, but Gabriel still chose to stand, his eyes drawn to the rising city beyond the windows. The people of Nova were just beginning to wake, the streets of the commercial district filling with a smattering those unlucky enough to have to work on the weekend.

Fairy was already waiting in the terminal when Gabriel arrived. Staring intently at her tablet, she did not notice Gabriel stepping out of the shuttle. He gave her a moment to continue what she was doing, watching as her nose scrunched in concentration.

“Sorry to make you wait,” Gabriel finally said, drawing her attention.

She looked up sharply and paused the video she had been watching. “I haven’t been waiting long.” She stared at him for a moment. “You’re still in your uniform.”

Gabriel glanced down at his clothing before looking back up at Fairy. “You’re not.”

“No, I am not.” Fairy’s hand tugged at the hem of her blouse. “Shall we go see what’s playing?”

Gabriel nodded and followed after Fairy towards the theatre. They walked in silence, the only sound coming from the steady sound of their footsteps.

“I was going through the latest spec report on the next generation Knivs,” Fairy said abruptly, holding out her tablet. “Father told me they are expected to go into production within the next six months.”

“I see.” Gabriel accepted the tablet and glanced over the information. “They look heavier.”

“I thought so too,” Fairy said with a small nod. “But I trust they wouldn’t increase the weight without a proper way to offset the loss of mobility.”

“The thrusters don’t look like they’ve been upgraded. Is it honeycomb?”

“I was thinking it may be. If it is, it’s possible that it’s only a difference in size, not in actual weight density so the change isn’t as significant as it appears. Something similar happened with the switch from the TT-5 to the Type-1 Raider.”

“Dear god if this isn’t the most boring conversation I’ve ever heard,” Chance said as he appeared beside Gabriel. “From far away you two could almost pass off as a couple but get close and it becomes painfully clear it’s just two nerds that escaped the classroom.”

Fairy barely spared him a glance as she pulled ahead. “You’re late.”

“I had to go home and change.” Chance shrugged. “I have a reputation to uphold.”

“You were late, so I would say you upheld it just fine.”

Chance clutched at his heart and leaned on Gabriel. “Do you hear the way she talks to me? Why is she so much nicer to you?”

“Because he isn’t an idiot.”

“Yeah, yeah, sticks and stones,” Chance said, waving his hand. “So, what are we doing anyways, movie? Gaming? I know it’s not karaoke, not this early.”

“We’re seeing a movie.” Fairy voice was terse before she glanced at Gabriel. “Do you have any preference?”

Gabriel shook his head. “I’m fine with anything.”

“Fine, then how about-” Fairy trailed off as Gabriel’s tablet began to ring. A loud piercing tone that cut through the quiet morning.

Gabriel pulled the device out of his pocket and glanced at the screen. A long string of symbols flashed across the display. He stared at the pad for a short time before wiping his thumb across the screen and lifting the pad up to his ear. 

“Understood,” Gabriel said quietly after a moment. He looked up at Fairy. “I have to go.”

“The infirmary again?” Chance thumped Gabriel hard on the chest. “They still haven’t figured it out?”

Gabriel shook his head. “Sorry. There might be an issue and they want to confirm it immediately.”

“Ah it’s fine. Right, Fairy?”

 “Your health is a primary concern,” Fairy said, though there was a hint of a frown on her face. “We can always do this later. If you go now you can catch the next shuttle before it leaves.

Gabriel returned the tablet to his pocket. Giving the pair a short nod, he turned around and headed back towards the terminal on his own. Fairy had been correct and the shuttle that would take him to the infirmary had not left yet and he stepped on.

The trip was short and there was small crowd of people waiting at the stop. They brushed by him to enter as he stepped off the shuttle. The infirmary wasn’t far from here, only a five-minute walk or so.

But he wasn’t heading to the infirmary.