It was after dinner, after dark, on a day where the atmospheric cleansing called for heavy rain, thunder, lightning, and wind. Inside his room Vuxten stared at his textbook for a long moment. His schooling had moved from Company Phase to Battalion Phase, meaning he had to learn how to be on the staff for a Battalion HQ Company. The S2, Unit Security Officer, phase was driving him crazy.
He closed it, leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. The cybereye clicked loudly in the silence.
Who would have thought the Terrans would have developed so many classes, courses, instructional systems, for their military? he thought to himself. For a people that present themselves as Front Toward Enemy and facerollers, they sure as hell aren't that in reality.
Vuxten lifted up his bottle of narcobrew and sipped at it, the cool crisp taste feeling good on his throat.
He set the bottle down and reached out to turn the page on his manual when there was a light chime to indicate someone was at the door of his cadet suite.
Vuxten got up, checked himself in the mirror quickly. He was wearing his Physical Training uniform. Light blue fiber cloth, breathable, but warm, with 1ST TELKAN written on the front in big block letters and VUXTEN written across the back shoulders in smaller block letters.
He moved over and opened the door.
The Terran female from earlier stood outside in the rain. She was wearing a heavy cloth cloak with a hood, fur around the collar, the edge of the hood, and on the end of the sleeves. Her eyes were brown and intent as she looked down at Vuxten.
"There you are, Knight," she said. Vuxten noticed her voice seemed amused.
"Maybe I help you, Xir?" Vuxten asked.
"You may refer to me as Lady Khoonkeenadee, Lady Keena, Milady, or Your Grace," the Terran said. "But no, you can not help me."
"Then what..." Vuxten started.
"But I can help you," she finished.
Lightning flashed outside and Vuxten was suddenly aware of the two Tukna'rn in heavy power armor standing outside the rain, the rain popping and hissing as it hit the enabled battlescreens.
"How?" Vuxten said slowly, suspicion filling his voice.
"The rage. You still feel it. It echoes inside of you and feels as if it is gathering strength," Lady Keena said softly. She held up her hand, showing tiny threads of electricity moving up and down between her fingers like a Jacob's Ladder. Behind her lightning flashed. "I can help you before it poisons you, before it overwhelms your mind and your soul."
Vuxten opened his mouth to protest, then slowly shut it, remembering what had happened on the practice course.
Lady Keena nodded as the thunder rolled. "Good. You see the wisdom of my words."
Vuxten watched as she turned and started to walk away, making a motion. "Follow. We go to retrieve your armor and your squire."
Vuxten grabbed his hat and pulled it on, grabbed his keys, and shut/locked his door, following the Terran out into the rain. "My what?" he asked as he jogged up next to the Terran woman.
"Your squire. Your green mantid battle buddy," the woman said. She threw the hood back, revealing her tightly woven hair. Vuxten noted that she had thin copper and bronze wires interwoven in the hair that was braided so tightly it looked like plastic.
"Should I let 471 know that..." Vuxten started. The Terran was moving with long strides, forcing Vuxten to jog to keep up.
"He has been informed. He is preparing your armor," Lady Keena said. "It is fate that led me here, to this place," she said as thunder growled. "It was your fate that lured me to this place."
Vuxten frowned. "How so?" he asked.
"You shall see," the Terran said.
Despite Vuxten's attempts to get her to elaborate, she stayed silent all the way to the morgue. Once there, Vuxten climbed into his armor, relaxing slightly as it closed around him. It started up, went through the self-tests, and finally the cradle released.
--you ok-- 471 asked.
"Yeah, a little annoyed," Vuxten said. "She's being really weird."
--human weird-- 471 said, flashing a shocked emoji with wide blinking eyes. --no cant be human never weird--
"Hardy har har," Vuxten said. He slowly turned around, looking up at the Terran woman. The four Tukna'rn all were spread out, carefully standing so they could engage her without catching one another in their fields of fire.
Vuxten's armor went over their armor's capabilities, and the fact they were carrying M318 autocannons was startling, as well as the fact they had additional phasic shielding.
"Come," was all Lady Keena said.
Vuxten expected to be led to the CQC practice building.
Instead she took him out to an empty grass field where the rain hissed against the PT area.
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She slowly turned and faced him and Vuxten nearly stepped back.
Her eyes were a hot amber.
"Tonight will be the first night you learn self-control," she said softly.
Vuxten opened his faceplate, staring at her. "I don't understand."
"No, you do not," Lady Keena said. "Thus, it falls upon me to explain."
Vuxten resisted rolling his eyes. "Explain what?"
"How to keep yourself from being overwhelmed," Lady Keena said. She pulled her hand out of a pocket of the cloak, tossing a hard light emitter into the grass nearly twenty feet away. She tapped the controls on a bracelet for a long moment and a Dwellerspawn flickered into existence.
Vuxten felt his temples pound as he recognized it. One of the nastier ones, heavily armored, quick with its snapping claw tipped arms, fast on its eight legs.
Lady Keena tapped again and a broodcarrier shielding a half dozen podlings appeared in front of the Dwellerspawn, the broodcarrier flinching back.
The whole thing began moving and Vuxten heard the broodcarrier keen out in terror and despair as the Dwellerspawn lunged forward, grabbing the broodcarrier in both claws.
It ripped the broodcarrier in half, then began pinching to pop the little podlings like grapes.
Vuxten swallowed thickly.
The image vanished and another image popped up. This one of the one of the Precursor Autonomous War Machines as it ripped the pelt from several dead Telkan and stuck the bloody fur to its own armored hull.
"No more," Vuxten whispered softly. He went to turn away. "Turn it off, please."
Strong Terran hands grabbed his helmet, holding his head in place despite the fact that the armor's hydraulics should have let him ignored the hands. The chain around his fist and forearm began to smoke, the smoke lost quickly in the rain and wind.
"Do you feel that?" Lady Keena asked.
Small crablike spider-bots rushed over a group of half-grown podlings, shredding them as they screamed for their broodmommies. The chain started to glow a sullen red.
"Can you hear them?" Lady Keena asked.
Bipedal mechanical horrors ripped apart Telkans who huddled against a far wall whimpering. Electricity coursed up and down his arms, the crimson of the jagged toothed chainsword chain half-melted into his fist and forearm brightening steadily.
"Can you hear our Mother, the malevolent universe, howling with laughter?" Lady Keena asked.
Foul insects descended on podlings, stinging them, paralyzing them, laying eggs in them, eating them. Vuxten could hear their screaming, hear their agonized cries getting louder.
"What will you do about it?" Lady Keena whispered, her fingertips grazing his whiskers.
"NO! NO MORE!" Vuxten bellowed, snapping his arms out at 45 degree angles to his shoulders, elbows slightly bent, hands opened.
With a fzzzt and a crack his chainsword appeared in one hand and his stubber in the other.
The hard light holograms suddenly vanished and Lady Keena let go of his head.
"Look down. In the puddle at your feet, and tell me what you see," Lady Keena said, slowly walking around and stopping in front of him.
Vuxten blinked several times, then looked down.
His own burning red eyes stared back at him.
"You stood near Enraged Phillip and thought you escaped unscathed?" Lady Keena asked. She walked up and touched his forehead.
His face was shadowy, reflected in the rainwater.
"Your faithful squire suspected, what I saw confirmed his fears," Lady Keena said.
He could see his own eyes, burning brightly.
"What fears?" Vuxten asked, swallowing. He could taste blueberries and blood.
"You have become Enraged," Lady Keena said softly.
Vuxten looked up at her. "But... but that's a... a Terran problem. It makes them completely mad."
"Close your eyes," Lady Keena said. She reached up and touched his one eyelid, covered his cybereye with her fingertips. "Listen closely, to the silent places of your soul, and tell me what you hear."
He concentrated, reaching down, trying to still his whirling thoughts, the anger and horror at what Lady Keena had shown him.
soft podling warm podling safe podling smart podling brave podling one and one is two two and two is four sing this song we dance some more juice is good and snack is tasty
"I hear... I hear broodcarriers," Vuxten said softly. The voices, the singing, was far away, almost inaudible.
"Yes," Lady Keena said. Her fingertips moved to Vuxten's forehead. "You should have died beneath that mountain, you did die beneath that mountain," she said gently. "You plummeted to the heart of Telkan, and the waters of life lifted you back up, washed away death from you, and cast you onto the shore of the river of life to walk amongst the living again."
Vuxten frowned.
"I am here, Knight Vuxten of the Telkan Clans," Lady Keena said, "To teach you to control it, to wield your rage, rather than be consumed by it."
Vuxten swallowed thickly, nodding.
"You are a leader among your people, a leader among the Confederacy," Lady Keena said. "To be a leader you must keep a clear head. You must be passionate and driven, but you must be able to think past your passions, through them, and beyond them."
Vuxten opened his eyes and looked at the Terran, who was taking off her cloak and hanging in from the barrel of one of the M318 autocannons. Vuxten watched as she adjusted a tiara on her head, then adjusted the bottom of her leather top.
"Don't get excited, boys, I have permission from your leaders to do this," she said, a smile tickling around the corners of her mouth. She turned to Vuxten. "Put your stubber on your waist, then hold your sword as I will."
Vuxten nodded, letting the heavy stubber snap to his waist. He watched as she slowly drew her sword, lighting coursing up and down the blade, wreathing her arms.
"We will start with the First Position," Lady Keena said, "And you will learn to meditate within that position."
Vuxten just nodded.
--seen weirdest things since meeting you-- 471 said. --not trade it for anything--
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It was still raining as Vuxten walked back to his Bachelor Officer's Quarter apartment/suite. Lady Keena walked next to him, her body hidden by the cloak. The four Tunkna'rn MP's thumped and hissed as they kept pace, keeping their firing arcs open on Lady Keena.
"How did you know?" Vuxten asked. He felt drained, but better than he had since before the landing.
"When you were practicing," Lady Keena said. "I saw the red in your eyes even through your helmet."
"Oh," Vuxten said.
"It is controllable for some," Lady Keena said. "You can control it. To quote the Warbound: you are buoyed by the laughter of podlings and the singing of broodcarriers."
Vuxten just nodded.
"We will practice together. I will teach you to meditate, to harness that rage that has infected you but exists within every human," Lady Keena said. She stopped at the pathway that led up to Vuxten's apartment. "You will learn. I will teach you."
"Why?" Vuxten asked, facing her and looking up so he could stare into her eyes.
"Because this is where the fates led me," Lady Keena shrugged. "I am with child, and that makes me emotional. You are young, and my instinct to protect the young has extended to you."
"Oh," Vuxten stared at her.
"Without me, you would fall into the embrace of the Martial Orders," Lady Keena said. "I would be forced to stand aside and listen to the laughter of a malevolent universe as it took everything from you and took you from your people."
Vuxten shivered as he felt a cold chill run down his back that had nothing to do with the fact his PT sweats were soaked.
"Study, sleep, and learn," Lady Keena said, turning away. She looked over her shoulder at him. "Tomorrow night, after dinner, I will return to gather you and together we shall ensure that your place is with your people, not the warsteel embrace of the martial orders."
"Thank you," Vuxten called out as she began to walk away.
She didn't answer.