1st Squadron, Dauntless Special Forces has seized one of the gymnasiums for some very special training. Admiral Cistern had arranged for a civilian specialist to come aboard the Dauntless to start training select groups of troops, starting with special operations and intel after the EFL had started sending back reports about the literal space magic that the aliens wielded.
The instructor however, was taking their sweet time showing up, so other training was being conducted while they waited. Everyone was down to their work out togs, and Jerry was regulating a series of sparring bouts.
When constant self improvement was your mantra, then even a break was a good time to train. Those not actively sparring were either watching, doing calisthenics, or granting themselves a rare moment to relax. The topic of discussion was of course the state of the galaxy, supplemented by availing themselves to the now accessible galactic info net.
"I'm just saying it's kinda bullshit. I mean I lost a solid grand betting we were going to be rounded up as cattle to be eaten! Instead we wind up in a galaxy full of beautiful women where immortality is a lifestyle choice."
"Yeah, it is weirdly disappointing. We were all expecting the worst, but the worst most of the aliens want to do with us is apparently suck face instead of sucking our brains out or whatever."
"I mean I volunteered for a guard shift in the brig to relieve a friend who was under the weather and if there's one thing those pirate girls will do it's offer to suck. Just about anything. One of those bat girls, you know, the ones with the wing arms? A Sonir? She called me over, said "I'm a Fruit Sonir, so I'm a vegetarian." I told her that was interesting. Then she licked her lips and said "I'd be happy to make an exception for you though, handsome."
"I can't decide if that line's bad or not. So I'm going to default to bad. What’s that about immortality though?”
“You didn’t hear? There’s a thing called a healing coma. As long as you get put under even a second before you’re dead, it’ll turn back the clock and heal even the worst trauma. Or just take a few decades off. Down side? If you don’t wear a special headband, it wipes your memories.”
“What? Bullshit!”
“Look it up! I swear!”
“Does it work on humans?”
“I don’t think anyone’s tried it yet, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t.”
“...So why isn’t the galaxy massively overpopulated?”
“I actually wondered that too, except for some rare very long lived species, most people just get… tired after a few centuries it seems. Like there’s lots of religions and stuff that reject healing comas as unnatural too, but even for folks who use them they just… feel this urge to become one with the universe eventually it seems.
Suddenly one of the commandos holds his communicator up and interrupts them with a shout. "Hey guys, sir, get a load of this!"
Jerry walks over and almost recoils. On the screen was a massive alien that looked like a tarantula's thorax had been replaced with the torso of an absolutely giant woman, raised up so that four massive limbs were in the air, the other four serving as more traditional legs. That the eight eyed woman was winking with four of those eyes and blowing a kiss to the camera did not make it less horrifying to an arachnophobe like Jerry.
"The hell is that?"
The man flips to the appropriate data page in the galactic index. "QIC 1/100 #5, a Brute Archana. Huge as hell. Insanely strong... and apparently their bodies work just like a normal spider from home. So bio-mechanical hydraulics, pushing their blood around under high pressure to move. If one of those girls is bleeding you'll damn well know it, and they're huge, so they'd have to have a shit load of blood!"
Jerry shakes his head. "Great. Just great. That's even worse than the Guile Archana or whatever they're called. At least they're near human size and don't have to rear up like that." Jerry rubs his temple for a moment. "Multiple species and types of horrifying spider women. Absolutely charming."
Two men sparring nearby stop as the closest man to Jerry backs off. "What's that strand of letters and numbers mean again?"
The man with the communicator nods. "It’s how they ID galactic species. In order, it's locomotion, how you get around rather, animal kingdom, what you eat, male-female ratio and then when your species was met if anyone has a similar designation. So for example we're BMO 100/100 #1, or spelled out Bipedal Mammal Omnivore. If we had a galactic one for one hundred male/female ratio we'd be #284.... I think."
"...Two hundred and eighty four. Of just that kind of..."
One man nearby does some quick math in his head.
"...Ye gods and little fishes, that's... a lot. A lot of aliens."
The first commando scrolls through the screen a bit and clicks a few things.
"Yep, and all of them have their own religions, philosophies, languages, cultures and so on... and we haven't even gotten started on the ID system. There’s thousands of recorded species. We’re late to the party, boys and girls. The other options for locomotion are Quadruped, Multiple, Tail or Wings, multiple being a cop out for weird shit like numerous legs like that spider lady, or tentacles or some other weird combination of limbs. So animal kingdom we're just talking mammal, reptile, insect, avian, and so on. You all know what carnivores, herbivores and omnivores are. Then that big gender ratio thing. I've been reading this list on and off for a couple days and I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen a number above one per one hundred."
"That's seriously weird." Isabella notes, looking up from where she was sparring with Johnny D.
Both Marine Raiders had come up under Jerry back when all three of them were Marine Raiders back on Earth, being some of the first junior Marines he'd 'raised' till they'd become NCOs. He'd encouraged them both to join the Dauntless and had been very proud when they'd both come through with flying colors.
Isabella turns back in and lashes out with a brutal kick... that's actually a perfect feint. She immediately drops low and swings her leg backwards, hooking Johnny behind the knees and easily taking him off his feet, before popping back up with a triumphant grin.
"Hah! Come on Johnny boy you can do better than that!"
"Fighting dirty today are we?"
"You know it. Do this shit like we did back in South Central LA and the Raiders!"
"Oh yeah?"
Johnny's hand shoots out, hooking Isabella's ankle and quickly dumping her to the floor in turn.
Jerry leaves the laughing duo to pick themselves back up and walks through the rest of the gym, keeping an eye on what everyone's doing but otherwise not interfering. These were just warm up exercises in the end. The real training would arrive-
His train of thought is interrupted by the double doors sliding open and a massive figure stalking through them. Some ten feet tall, about average for the species, and curvy to the point of straining your neck, was a Cannidor woman.
The massive alien was wearing robes that covered what Jerry knew to be a thick fur coat over strategic parts of the body that could tank hits from vehicle grade plasma weapons. Plush lips outlined a shark-like mouth that was filled with over a hundred razor sharp teeth. The top of her head was crowned with a mane-like shock of blonde hair that had been roughly tamed.
BMO 1/100 #51 in the flesh. There was simply no exaggeration about Cannidor.
Jerry had made a point looking into the species after he interrogated some of their pirate captives and the species kept coming up.
They were unique in that they'd achieved space flight all on their own, without being uplifted, an uncommon occurrence because of an aggressive council first contact policy that more or less mandated uplifting a sapient species on finding them. The same policy that had gotten the probe sent to ‘rescue’ humanity in the first place actually.
The Cannidor were larger than life in many senses of the word, boisterous personalities and a hardcore warrior culture that had a strong focus on power armor usage, something that had Jerry's attention immediately. Cannidor shock troops were some of the most feared soldiers in the galaxy, and Cannidor mercenaries were the premium choice for anyone interested in hiring some muscle.
"Well now... seems I've an interesting class of students to train. Your Admiral tells me you're some of his elite warriors, but I can't help but think that such cute little things like you can't be that dangerous."
Jerry winces.
That was another famous aspect of the Cannidor. You were either a threat to be respected, or you were to be coddled and matronized. Something that suited a lot of smaller races around Cannidor just fine, and most folks could shrug it off but he knew someone who wouldn't want to take that lying down...
A quick glance shows that Johnny has his arms hooked under Isabella's shoulders, actively holding Isabella back, the petite hispanic woman clearly more than ready to give the large alien a piece of her mind, if not see just how many of the trademark Cannidor white and pearlies she could knock out of the Cannidor's mouth.
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"Petty Officer Ramos, mind your bearing." Jerry corrects gently. He could sympathize. No one liked being talked down to.
The Cannidor notices though and grins over at Isabella. "Tiny, but fierce. I like the spirit of that one. The rest of you just don't give a damn. Which is good in its own way. Excellent. I am Mistress Nalsha, a master of the axiom arts. I have been hired to give you and your fellow warriors basic instruction in axiom use and axiom combat. Who leads this coven of warriors?"
Jerry steps forward. "That'd be me."
"Good. Attack me."
Jerry doesn't hesitate. It was clearly a demonstration for one, and for two he doubted there was much he could do barehanded against a monster her size to start with. He was going to damn well try though!
A quick dash in has him lashing out hard at Nalsha's knee, only to be caught by an invisible force and held firm despite his attempts to struggle free.
"No hesitation at all! I order you to attack and you strike out! Beautiful! Well aimed too, had I not defended you may well have injured me slightly. Once I train you properly, you would easily shatter my knee with that blow, partially disabling me. Yes I think you humans will be an interesting addition to the galaxy to be sure. I'm almost disappointed I'm not going all the way to Centris with you, but my contract is for a few short days. In that time, I shall teach you the basics of axiom use."
Jerry finds himself released and straightens up.
"Can you define axiom for us then?"
"Define it? Oh no. We haven't the time for a comprehensive definition! It's simply too big a question. In brief however, axiom is the very essence of life. It is in all things and fuels everything, from this ship, to me. Axiom's opposite is Null. A destroyer force in many religions, Null violently reacts with axiom, forcibly purging it from the surrounding area. Null can be carefully used as a riot control weapon in that sense, as most people caught in a null blast will simply collapse, devoid of axiom. In extreme cases, or with some special species, it can even kill. Null, for the record, is what you grew up swimming in. It's what makes Cruel Space, well. Cruel. Once I teach you how to focus, I suspect you will actually be able to detect axiom energy quite easily. The same as if someone who'd never felt wind could more easily detect a breeze because it's a new sensation to them."
Jerry nods and turns to his unit. "Alright people, school circle around Mistress Nalsha, if I catch any of you slacking and not giving her your undivided attention I'll have the First Sergeant manage your PT schedule personally for the next week."
Nalsha lets out another booming laugh as Jerry's troops race in, quickly settling themselves in a tight semi-circle around her.
"Well disciplined. Fast too. Oh yes. You lot will be all sorts of interesting to keep an eye on."
Jerry stays standing, positioning himself slightly to the side.
"So if you could start. We've heard there's different styles of axiom use."
"We'll take it from the top, not to worry. There's three styles of axiom use broadly speaking. The first and most common you're already using. Technology, all technology, is fueled by axiom. That goes for everything from starship engines and combat mechs to toys for children. To call axiom energy abundant beyond measure is a drastic understatement. Next up, there's weaving and wielding. Wielding tends to be what more practical types go for, and focuses on the uses of what’s called a totem and effects on one’s person. Weaving... well. Weaving can have truly massive results in the hands of a master.”
Nalsha holds out a hand and forms a ball of light out of seeming nothingness, then it changes to crackling raw electricity, then roaring flames, then a howling chunk of void tearing at the air around it before Nalsha closes her hand and dispels the energy.
“People tend to layer a whole pile of bullshit on top of these broad styles, be it hardcore scientific angles or a deeply spiritual lens. As a Cannidor I'm a bit more practical. Axiom is power. Raw power. Power that you can control and dominate. The foundation to all styles is understanding what you’re trying to do, your intent and your will. This goes double for imbuing a totem, which will be our first exercise. Does everyone have a Khutha coin on their person?"
Everyone quickly pulls out the Khutha coin they'd been told to bring. A common coin worth five hundred credits, 1st Squadron had gotten paid out in galactic credits as part of their occasional missions off the ship escorting trade expeditions so everyone had the coin made of extremely axiom reactive metal. Except for one man who comes up with an axiom ride credit chip instead. Axiom ride was an alloy that was at the heart of starship components and was much more valuable than the comparatively common khutha.
"I don't take tips, and you should be careful where you flash a hundred thousand credits until you're deeper into the safer parts of civilized space."
One of the men snorts. "Just be glad he didn't bring a trade bar instead, Boris over there can be a bit dense."
The two men exchange insults in a quick flourish of one of the Slavic languages before someone flips Boris a khutha coin of his own.
Nalsha chuckles. "Hell, even I'd be tempted to scrap for ten million credits. Now before I talk totems we need to talk about the core building blocks of axiom use. Something you can do without totems, it's just harder. Firstly you need to 'find' the axiom. I'll walk through and work with you all till we all get it, but a little meditation generally does the trick. Then you can use that axiom to enhance, and reinforce your own body. This is generally easy, because the key factor of axiom use is understanding what you're doing."
Johnnie sticks a hand up. "Mistress, we've had reports from some of our fellows that they've used visualization, personas if you will, of great heroes or the like to do that sort of thing. Is that a valid method?"
"Any method can be valid if it works young man, however I would consider that rather unwieldy. It might limit your potential at the top end. For what if your visualization lacks an ability you need? In terms of 'get up and go' it is an intriguing concept, but I have been hired to train you properly. With enhancement you can make yourself stronger, faster, increase your reaction time, all manner of things. Your knowledge of your body is your greatest limiting factor... and as warriors I suspect you are more familiar with your flesh than most. Enhancement is paired reinforcement. Strengthening the body to stand up, both to your own enhancement, and to damage inflicted upon you. Again, this is based on your understanding of your body."
Nalsha 'sits' down, crossing her legs and floating in mid air.
"The other pillars of axiom use are focus, and will power. I am led to believe you all have exceptional will power. I can see you've all trained your bodies extensively, this should make axiom use easier for you to pick up. Focus though, is something that we can aid with the use of an axiom totem. A totem is an item, with a decent amount of Khutha that you put something of yourself into, your own signature, and it takes over for you. Totems can also be specialized. A sword for example. Or jewelry. You can use other minerals together with Khutha for specialized tasks, just don't bother with trytite, it's axiom resistant. There's also brands, tattoos. Unlimited possibilities if you can put your will into it... though people can be a bit pissy about the latter as you're basically always armed and dangerous."
The Cannidor smiles at them, showing off her massive teeth.
"Then again, there's plenty of species in the galaxy that are ready to fight a war naked any way, so I'd say don't give a fuck. The jewelry though as a fighter can be invaluable. You can wear a ring or whatever anywhere. No one will say anything. I know a girl with ear piercings that are keyed to specific tasks, but anyone who sees her and doesn't know just compliments how pretty they are. Still, that's enough of me jawin'. Grab some floor and let's get to it. Khutha coin in your dominant hand."
Jerry settles himself into the familiar seiza position and takes a slow focusing breath. He'd spent a lifetime in martial arts. Surely this was just another thing to learn.
"So open yourself up... and find the energy. Like I said, I suspect you'll have a fairly easy time of it, once you relax and get a feel for it. It's a new thing for you after all... then, focus the energy into the Khutha, pull the energy through the khutha and within the khutha. Don't worry about any changes happening to the material, just focus on the energy, the coin, and your will."
Jerry lets his eyes sweep the room, watching his people as they set to work. Some are calm. Some are clearly already... frustrated. Isabella Ramos's brow is furrowed, her eyes tightly knit shut like she's trying to violently submit the coin in her palm. Satisfied they've all started, Jerry settles himself and meditates.
How long had it been since he truly meditated? Since he had the space to find inner peace? To seek the depths of the mysteries of zen? The flame in the void was a meditation technique he'd learned long ago, but now, as he reaches for the void, he instead finds... the flames. He nearly opens his eyes in shock as he finds it, easily pulling on the energy all around him into his body, invigorating himself like he'd just woken up from a deep sleep and had a strong cup of coffee in a heartbeat.
It was... a wonder. Something magical that inspired a childlike sense of wonder in him with the simple joy of discovering something new. Something that had perhaps been prodding at his subconscious since they left the apparent embrace of null that they’d been born into.
Still, that is not the point of today's exercise. Today... was about the coin. Even with his eyes shut, it stands out in the palm of his hand like a flare now. He can feel it. It's... alive. In a way. Interacting with the energy around them naturally... and it was up to him to tame it.
Will and focus. Focus and will. His free hand flips through a few of the mudras, only the left hand perhaps, but they still served their purpose. To focus him. To refine his will. This coin was an extension of that will if only he had the strength to dominate this little piece of nature. Time. The sensation of his body, everything falls away as he focuses his whole being entirely on the coin. The coin was him. He was the coin. The coin-
Jerry takes a slightly gasping breath as his eyes snap open. He'd apparently been sweating heavily and a glance at the chronometer on the wall said nearly an hour had passed.
"Hmmm..." Nalsha looks over at him. "Second place. The young lady over there managed about ten minutes ago, but exactly what I'd expected from the leader."
Jerry looks up to find Isabella Ramos grinning like the cat who caught the canary, flipping her coin between her fingers, clearly pleased with herself.
Over the next twenty minutes, about half of 1st Squadron managed to complete their totem, some of them had meditated, others had gone the brute force route. Most were somewhere in between. Universally though, they were special forces. They succeeded. Failure was something that happened to other people, and that force of will should be more than enough to conquer a little chunk of very weird mineral and the space magic it apparently interacted with.
Then the high pitched squeal of a bosun's whistle cuts through the room over the 1MC.
"Now hear this! Attention all hands! The Dauntless will be diverting course to avoid potential legal snarls. Travel time to Centris will be extended by one week. That is all."
The commandos who hadn't finished had all been shaken out of their deep thoughts, and some were outright disoriented as they tried to resettle themselves.
Nalsha looks up, and looks around to the assembled commandos.
"Hmmmm. Good results so far, and it seems our time table might well have been extended! Guess I'll have to see if I can get a day or two more extension on my contract. I'll have you all working axiom basics like you were born to it, and more than ready to start developing yourselves without constant adult supervision... but it's gonna take some hard work."
Jerry nods slowly. "So... twelve hour days?"
"...Twelve?" The Cannidor matriarch raises an eyebrow. "You little things can work twelve hours in a go? That's wild endurance. Most species consider a six hour shift a lot."
"Ma'am we can work longer than that if we need to press hard, and I'm deadly serious about getting us as strong as we can be before we make it to Centris."
Nalsha grins. "Oh yes, I really do like you Humies. We don't need twelve hour days, but if you boys and girls want to work hard, then I'm game if you are. Be a good excuse to demonstrate restoring yourself with axiom. So let's get back to it! Some of you ain't finished your totems yet and we're not taking a break till you are! The rest of you, come over here... I'll set you on some other exercises. You just stick with Mistress Nalsha, and I promise you, Centris won't know what hit it."