The room was quiet. Not the oppressive silence of the forest, but the silence of a place that was reserved for healing. The lights were kept low enough not to disturb the person resting but enough that anyone making rounds could do their jobs without stumbling in the dark. Kiera began stirring; an alert was immediately sent from the medical band that was around her wrist. She slowly opened her eyes, unsure of where she was, and how long she had been unconscious. The last thing she remembered was seeing familiar mecha descending. Her eyes adjusted to the ambient light and she slowly sat up, movement out of the corner of her eye showed that she wasn’t alone.
Did she remember wrong, did she just dream that what’s-his-name was defeated, that her instructors had finally found them? Kiera’s body tensed as her mind raced with the scenario that she was captured and torture would begin as soon as she woke up. She had never been so glad to be wrong.
“Welcome back,” Captain Feren said, her soft soothing voice was music to Kiera’s ears.
“How many?” Kiera whispered, her voice cracking.
“Not enough,” Leiella replied, “And too many, depending on to which you are referring.”
“Captain…”
“Now’s not the time for that discussion, you’ve had enough trauma as it is, you don’t need any more added to it,”
Kiera looked up and saw the pained expression of Feren’s face, the guilt behind her eyes. The eladrin was tense, like she could snap at any moment. Anxiety, guilt, relief, joy, and anger could all be felt the tiniest amount from her. Kiera had always had a hard time reading her, the captain was a master of keeping her emotions in check. It was a relief to not have to focus to find the tiniest spark of how she truly felt. Kiera knew she was right, but she had to know.
“Tell me I’m not the only one that survived that abyss,” Kiera whispered.
“No, you’re not.”
Kiera fell back against the pillow. She didn’t know whether to feel relieved or incredibly guilty that she survived when Hailey, Jin and dozens of others didn’t. Light peaked into the room as a beep announced the door opening. Majors Peregrine and Farosh entered the room. Compassion poured from the doctor, while Peregrine remained even more unreadable than Fren, at least empathically. There was relief on his face, but the same guilt that the captain had could be seen in his eyes.
Hello, Kiera,” Major Farosh greeted softly, “You’re at Rowan Astria Memorial Hospital on Tallakessia.” In all the months that she had known Dr Solanthas Farosh, Kiera had never heard him ask ‘how are you feeling.’ Kiera had commented on it and Solanthas had only replied, ‘usually when you're being treated for a medical incident, you’re not feeling very well.’ She appreciated being told where she was. “The others that were with you are here as well, and the Emperor has authorized me to use whatever resources I require to ensure you all make a full recovery.”
“Thank you, Dr. Farosh. That’s really comforting to know. When will I be able to visit everyone else, if I’m allowed to, that is.”
“When both you and they are ready,” Dr Farosh answered, “Normally I wouldn’t allow you to have any visitors right now, but as with everything there are exceptions, and at this point Ella doesn’t count as a visitor, at least, not for you.”
Kiera turned to Leiella. “Have you been here the whole time? I…I’m taking up too much of your time. I’m sure one of the Royal Guard—”
“The Royal Guard is present in the hospital, guarding the entire wing and every cadet. As a Royal Knight of the Astrian Empire I can take any post they can,” Feren said.
That statement spoke volumes. Were the mercenaries that dangerous? Did the Empire suspect there were more people within the military that were targeting them? Locke had mentioned that the Colonel over the ASF academy had been involved in them being stranded to the planet. Captain Feren was a Royal knight? Just what did she do to earn her knighthood? There was a stark difference between being a knight and a Royal Knight.
“Is the Preservation Society that enraged that we had to defend ourselves from the fauna?” Kiera asked.
Dr. Farosh laughed at the question. Captain Feren looked shocked and only the Major kept a straight face, “I will personally escort the Preservation Society to the maw of the Void if they take issue with anything that happened on that comet cursed planet,” Peregrine said.
Kiera believed him. She didn’t feel an ounce of pleasure from him at the statement, his guard had dropped for the tiniest of moments and she felt a seething rage that made Gargax’s look like a toddler’s temper tantrum. Kiera shivered involuntarily.
“Are you cold?” Farosh asked, reaching up and putting his hand on Kiera’s forehead, despite the screen that was showing all her vitals at his eye level.
“No, I’m fine, just…my effort to lighten the mood fell flat.”
He shot a look at Peregrine, “Please forgive Holt, there is more to this incident than you know, and much of it you don’t have the security clearance to know. He has been under a terrible amount of stress.
“I’m fine,” Peregrin said with all the believability of a toddler with a chocolate covered face telling you they didn’t have any chocolate cake. “You cadets all have my utmost respect, my sincerest apologies and my condolences. I hope for nothing but the best for each one of you and will personally vouch for your determination, tenacity, and will give my recommendation gladly for whatever you need, for whatever it is worth. It has been my privilege and my honor to oversee your training. You will go on to do extraordinary things, Kiera. If there is anything that I can do, don’t hesitate to ask.”
Alarms rang in Kiera’s mind, her face grew in concern and disbelief with every word that he spoke, “Major…what do you mean? Are you not returning to the Academy?” She couldn’t read him, she pushed her empathy as much as she could, but she might as well squeezed blood from a stone.
Dr. Farosh put his hand over hers, “We’re not at liberty to discuss that.”
Kiera deflated, how much harm had that planet done to them, all of them? It had taken their lives, their limbs, their hope. Their instructors, their officers must have been worried and stressed and frustrated. Then to find out what happened. They must feel like they all failed their cadets, that they weren’t worthy of being their instructors, of guiding the next group of Mecha Pilots. She watched Holt Peregrine leave the room, and the silence in his wake was oppressive.
=+=
For the next week Kiera saw nurses, her mother, a prosthetics expert, physical therapists, and a Marshal from the Warlord’s staff who took her report about the incident. The marshal asked several questions, seeking clarity in some cases, and asking about her perspective about the incident. When he was finished he turned to Captain Feren and gave her permission to debrief Kiera. The tension the knight-captain had been holding snapped.
Out of the one hundred and eighty seven cadets that had been stranded on the planet, only sixty-two had survived: Eighteen special forces, fifteen Mecha Corps, twenty-four navy, two medical, and five intelligence cadets. To Kiera’s relief, Trosk was wrong about Riley being killed. Her spine had been severed rendering her quadriplegic. A specialist at the hospital was able to repair her spine and with physical therapy would regain the use of her limbs. Gargax was in the ICU. He went on a rage infused rampage that saved the lives of most of the cadets when their initial bout of adrenaline was spent, from what forensics could determine the ork should have died three separate times from critical wounds to his heart, lungs, and stomach and ended up killing sixty five percent of the enemy forces. The five deaths he could not prevent occurred when the frost lightning swept over the area. Two of the cadets appeared to have been impaled and three more had been caught outside a zone marked with post holes.
Alyxia Vale had originally been marked among the dead; she had been struck by the flash freezing lightning when she tackled Locke to the ground. By some miracle she had begun to thaw by the time they reached the morgue in the hospital as her body healed itself. She had yet to fully recover and Kylaxian experts were astounded. Tamalyn had also played no small part in keeping everyone alive. She had been found unconscious with a dozen cadets surrounded by burned spark grass creating an outline of them. Scattered throughout the area of the cadets were frozen mercenaries.
Corbin was found with Arun Snowden. Their mecha were frozen solid but they both had time to launch their pods and Corbin happily kept Arun unconscious. The engineering corp disabled the scrambler network despite the Preservations Society’s protest and attempted blockade which made recovering the bodies of those who had fallen easier. Kinsley and Tara led the rescue team to the mercenary’s corsetta. Ten of the traitorous ASF cadets reached the mercenary ship and joined them. Yavin Donolly claimed that he was just helping Kinsley infiltrate the Red moon by pretending to join them. Kinsley reported otherwise and he joined the other ten cadets in the brigThe ship was taken by the Army after they made landfall; the fight was brief and after half of the remaining mercenaries were killed the rest surrendered and the ship was impounded. Kiera remarked that the ship should be given to the academy. Feren had no comment.
The Preservation Society’s blockade included bringing any of the cadets up from the surface claiming they had violated the planet and the Society’s sanctions with the murder of rare and protected species including the abomination that Gargax had killed in the woods. The Major invaded their lead ship and likely would have tossed their Captain out of the airlock if it wasn’t for Captain Marely's intervention. The Society left shortly after that stating every media outlet would hear about the incident. To Captain Feren's knowledge, if any had, they didn’t dare report it. The Preservation Society was facing legal action bordering on war crimes for their blockades and “interfering in a military exercise. Their ships were impounded and their captains detained. The President of the Society had also been arrested.
Internal investigations were sweeping through every branch. Allegations had been brought up against Major Peregrine, and all academy activity across the Empire was suspended until the investigations had been completed. All cadets were kept at their academies and given orders to not discuss current Academy activities to anyone and cooperate with all investigators. The enlisted recruits' boot camps were likewise suspended.
“So that’s what the Major meant by his speech,” Kiera commented, “He doesn’t know if we’re going to be able to resume our attendance at the academy.”
“The man deserves a medal,” Feren said, “He was doing everything he could to find and bring you cadets home. He helped your brother lead a mutiny, captured Roderick and Laney, and got our backup. The eborsisk's death throes damaged the scramblers over the southern peninsula. That's how we were able to land and begin our rescue operations." Captain Feren winked at Kiera. “Whether it has sunk in or not, you all experienced an extremely traumatic event. You might all be given an honorable discharge and your duty to the empire fulfilled.”
“There are some of us that wouldn’t take it,” Kiera said, “someone hired those mercenaries to be there. Someone arranged for us to be dumped on that planet. We all want to know why, and if it’s above our security clearance…then we’ll just have to increase it.”
“Sweetheart,” Captain Feren said, taking Kiera’s hand, “It wouldn’t be optional. Your military careers are likely over.”
=+=
“Hey, beautiful,” Kiera said as she was wheeled into Riley’s room.
Riley’s face brightened, a smile replacing the blank expression, “Kiera! I’m so happy to see you!”
“I can say the exact same thing,” Kiera said. She stood up from her wheelchair and climbed into the bed, wrapping her arms around Riley and put her head on the other girl’s shoulder, “I’m so happy to learn that you’re still alive.”
“It was close. That shot in the back hurt, but then that man put his energy sword into my chest. He missed my lungs but severed my spine. I couldn't move. I heard that thunder and when those spears fell…if it wasn’t for Tamalyn I would have died. I don’t know how she did it.”
“I don’t know how any of us did. Gargax fighting through death, Alyxia surviving being flash frozen, fighting against trained mercenaries while being outgunned and outnumbered. I should have been killed when their leader attacked me. I was outclassed in every way.” Kiera shifted and slipped her hand into Riley’s. “Ella said we might get an honorably discharged and our service to the Empire considered fulfilled. What would you do if that happened?”
“Join a civilian rescue operation,” Riley said without hesitation, “I chose ASF to save and help people.” What about you?”
“I don’t know. I want to find the people who did this to us and bring them to justice, but I don’t know how to do that,” Kiera said, “I can’t go back to racing knowing the people who wanted us dead are out there still planning, plotting, and scheming.”
“What, not going to lounge in a palace being waited on hand and foot with a harem of strapping young men?” Riley teased.
“Men and women, if I do then you’ll be part of it,” Kiera said, causing Riley to blush.
They laid in the bed together, reveling in the fact that they had both survived the harrowing experience. Kiera didn’t know when she had fallen asleep, and waking up next to someone she cared about lifted her spirits. Riley was fast asleep as well, a look of serenity on her face. Someone had put a blanket over them and dimmed the lights.
“That probably broke a lot of hospital rules,” Kiera murmured to herself.
“In a normal hospital in a normal situation, very much,” Feren said. She had stepped into the hallway while the girls visited, “Seros isn’t your normal doctor, and your mother isn’t your typical counselor. The nurses wanted to wake you and make you leave, but she said it would help you both to heal. You look more rested than you have all week.”
“I like sleeping next to someone,” Kiera said, “Even if it’s just in the same room. Are you going to shadow me the entire time I'm in the hospital, Captain?”
“Call me Ella for now. I’ll let Seros know that he can arrange for a roommate.”
“Or just a bigger bed so you can actually get some sleep instead of just dozing in a chair,” Kiera said wryly. “Has anyone else been cleared for visits?”
"Tempting, but you're still my cadet. I'll swap out with one of the other knights and get some rest soon enough. I'm worried about you all. I have a list, whenever you're ready."
Kiera woke Riley up enough to tell her she was leaving, and kissed her cheek. Riley murmured something in andorian and fell back to sleep. The cadets she visited were familiar to her now and they all seemed to cheer up a bit when she was wheeled into the room. Part of it was seeing someone they had gone through the abyss with alive, and part of it was her mother’s soothing aura that seemed to encompass the entire wing. She spent time with Kida and Robyn, glad they had survived the ordeal.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
Koda actually jumped out of the bed and lifted her into a crushing bear hug. Once she could, Kiera returned it, a few tears that her friend and playful rival had survived. He was a tough guy, the only one able to withstand Corbin’s full strength punches. He carried her to the bed, set her down on it, then sat next to her. Kiera moved and pulled him down to lie next to her and cuddle. He needed it.
“I tried, Kiera, we tried so damn hard. When that kalashtar appeared out of nowhere…its claws took Hailey in the stomach, and its tail took half of Jin’s face off. We had to sear their wounds closed with some spark grass mixture of Jin’s. It knocked them out from the pain and Hailey never woke up. Gargax prevented it from killing them outright, and saved our lives. Gargax wanted to go get Tamalyn, convinced he could get her and bring her back in time to save them. Isaac went with him so he wouldn’t have to face whatever it was in that forest alone. A farking kalashtar! Nothing else was supposed to enter its territory, I spread its scent around.
“Then that damn rain, I put us under the hide, stripped off their useless suits and used my body heat to keep them warm. Then some farking kargs attacked us. I fought them tooth and claw, Jin woke up enough to get a shot off, saved my ass. Then the farking bandersnatches…I killed them, but their fur is for pretty things, not for warmth. The kargs didn't have anything I could use to try to keep them warm…I when Hailey died. I was trying to keep her warm and I felt it, Kiera. I felt her heartbeat slow and stop.
“Hailey was dead and I still put the fur over her, it was a mess. Then…then it rained again and…Jin never woke back up. My friends died in my care and there wasn’t a farking thing I could do to save them.
“They were my friends,” Koda whispered when the tears stopped, “I loved it when she smiled at me and scratched my ears like she did. Jin…my best friend. I had to watch my best friend and a girl I loved die. It’s like I killed them myself.”
“You didn’t kill her, Koda. You did everything you could to keep them alive and never gave up on them. It’s not your fault, I know they would never blame you. You don’t need to be forgiven because there is nothing to forgive.” Kiera whispered, his body shook and the crying became sobs. Kiera cried with him, not caring that his claws left scratches on her back when he pulled her into closer and moved his head to her shoulder. She let her own tears fall and they cried, mourning their fallen friends together.
Tamalyn was still unconscious and Isaac wasn’t in the headspace to allow anyone to visit. Leialla took Kiera to the ICU where she held onto Gargax’s hand and told him about her fight with Dandelion and Trosk, thanked him for saving as many people as he could and told him just how much that she loved him, projecting it through their touch. There was a brief spike in his heart rate and blood pressure. The attending nurse took notice but no action but to record the change. Kiera stayed there for an hour, reading to him just watching his chest rise and fall.
=+=
Kiera’s door chimed an hour after she had visited everyone that she could. The kylaxian doctors weren’t letting anyone see Alyxia and both Corbin and Locke had been asleep when she stopped by. Kinsley wasn’t injured but Dr. Farosh required every cadet to stay in the hospital and meet with the counselors, and by the counselors he meant Kiera’s mother. Elise was regarded as one of the best counselors and therapists in the system. She knew how to make someone feel comfortable with her and it didn’t take much for someone to open up to her. Kinsley made it a point to introduce Kiera to Tara. They hit it off immediately, bonding over mechas. Tara looked familiar to her, but the redheaded engineer was certain they’d never met; she said she wouldn’t have forgotten Kiera. The statement had caused Tara to blush and look away and then blush deeper when Kiera responded with, “Yeah, I couldn’t forget you either.” Kiera was quickly learning she had a thing for redheads.
She pressed the button on the bed, opening the door.
“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes, Sunbeam.” Corbin said, striding into the room and wrapping Kiera in his arms.
“You scared me half to death!” Kiera said, returning the embrace enthusiastically, “What in the Void were you thinking, tackling Dandelion like that!”
“Ever since that little dickhead made that snide remark at you on the shuttle I wanted to hit him. Well, I wanted to hit him when I saw his smug face, but insulting a beautiful woman is a peeve of mine. Tackling him off a plateau was a nice consultation prize and if it threw off his aim so he wouldn’t damage one of the jewels of the empire then mission accomplished. No way in the Void was I going to let him hurt my squad leader if I could help it!.” He grinned, “Then I got to hit him, a lot. In the face. Broke that beak he called a nose. You should have heard him beg Captain Feren not to let me hit him again. She just gave him a look and said: 'Why do you think I could stop him? I'm just a domestic servant, aren't I?' Then she told one of the others to put him in manacles. I hit him again, just because it was funny."
“All those compliments make me think you’re trying to get laid, ‘beautiful woman’, ‘jewel of the empire’, ‘squad leader,’” Kiera teased, “You did, my projection said his weapon was going to be devastating and your stunt let me dodge it.”
“You did tell me to get on you…” Corbin teased back, releasing her, “Just trying to keep the mood going.”
Kiera laughed, “Yeah, and then you go and get on him! Is all that hatred a mask for how big of a crush you had on him?” She hugged him again, “I love how happy you are, Corbin. Really, I owe you a kiss for that.”
“While I would never want to turn down affection from you, we’re teammates. Protecting my wingwoman is part of the job.” He rolled his eyes, “Yeah, I totally had a huge crush on him, as in wanting to crush his face, and I did, so now I’m over him.”
“This is going to sound a little morbid, but what was it like to pass through that lightning,” Kiera asked, unable to help herself with her spirits so high.
Corbin sat on the bed where her leg would be and looked Kiera right in the eye. “Power flickered immediately and began to go out, temperature dropped. I remembered what happened to the ASF guys and I hit the emergency ejection switch. Got shot off onto the ridgeline. I think the only reason I was able to do that was because there was the briefest moment between the strikes that the capsule went through and the body got hit first. The mecha was probably too big to be frozen all at once, but I saw it afterwards and it was half ice. Snowjerk did the same thing. I got out of the pod first, guy looked shaken up. Then I punched him, and that’s when I broke his nose.”
Kiera laughed, “I would have paid a lot of money to see that, Hailey, too.”
Corbin’s grin faded, “Once we’re out of here, you, me, and Koda are heading to the nearest bar and have a drink for Jin and Hailey. I never would have passed math and physics if it wasn’t for her.”
“She loved your smile,” Kiera said, “She really liked tutoring you and just hanging out with you.”
“I had a crush on her. But we would have been a terrible couple. You know…all of the girls I’ve seen here have been hotties,” Corbin said, “Why a bunch of beautiful girls want to be around a lot of rockheads like us I won’t ever understand.”
“You think all women are beautiful.”
“Well, it’s true! I’ve never met a woman I didn’t find beautiful. Ork girls, moreau girls, palopalegian girls…”
“Okay, now you're lying. There is nothing cute about paloplagegians. Those dripping tendrils with their long, dangly tentacle fingers. The bubbling and popping of their oily slime that reeks. Not to mention their eye stalks and the shambling way that they walk all hunched over,” Kiera shuttered, “Six eyes are too much for anyone.”
“Okay, okay, I’ll concede that,” Corbin said “and gnomari are cute but I could never be with one, much too child-like.”
“Agreed,” Kiera said, “I’m glad that you’re in high spirits.”
“I am really trying to be. It’s either this or crippling depression. Plus, I just had an hour-long session with your mom. Also a counseling session. Hey!” he shouted when Kiera slapped him on the the head, “What was…okay I deserved that.”
“It’s bad enough you’ve admitted to swearing on my chest, but now jokes about sleeping with my mother? C’mon Corbin, do you want my older brothers to come visit you? I have four that could kick your butt, and then there’s my nephew who would definitely kick your butt. They adore my mother, especially Percy,“ Kiera said.
“Sorry, sorry,” Corbin said, rubbing his head, “It’ll really hit me when we get back to campus and I don’t see the people I’ve been training with and friends who are not there. For now it just seems..unreal. Like they’re all in the hospital somewhere and I’m just not allowed to see them yet.”
“You think we’re going back?”
“I am. If they won’t let me back into MCC, I’ll go into the army. They’ll be thrilled to have me with my strength. Kept saying I was wasted in the MCC. What about you?”
“Leiella said if we get discharged then we’re done. I want to find the people that did this to us. I don’t think I could just go racing or something. Maybe I’ll start my own mercenary company and try to hunt them down. Infiltrate the Red Moon and find out who hired them.”
“If that happens count on me sending you the funds to do it faster and tell me the second that it’s founded,” Corbin said. He took Kiera’s hand, “Tell me where you go and I’ll follow you. You’re my Commandant.”
“Absolutely,” Kiera said with a grin, “I wouldn’t pass up the chance to have you as my wingman.”
=+=
“How does it feel?” Dr. Kellar asked.
Kiera wiggled the toes on her prosthetic leg, it was the same sensation as when she did it on her left leg, “Fantastic, like I never lost the limb!”
“Good, it uses a new adaptive neurocircuitry that was developed by the robotics R&D department. It allows for a better connection to your nervous system and should alleviate any phantom limb syndrome.”
“That’s super cool,” Kiera said. The leg was adjusting its coloration to match Kiera’s skin tone and making subtle changes to match the appearance of her other leg, “So when do I get a rocket booster, or a rocket kick. Maybe a storage compartment?”
Kellar smirked, “Why does everyone who gets a prosthetic ask me that? Yes, there are people who have weapons in their prosthetics but those are all illegal unless it’s cleared for military operations, or done outside the Empire. That being said the titanium support structure is thinner than a human tibia and fibula. With a slight modification I could give you a small storage compartment. With an implant I could make it so you could eject it into your hand…no, we’d have to use an interface band that Special Forces use, Nymphs are notorious for implant rejections.”
“Just the compartment is fine,” Kiera said, “I like the idea of having a weapon on me, even if it delays physical therapy. Wearing a headband all the time doesn’t sound fun.”
“It won’t delay therapy at all, I’ll take this down to the lab. Give me maybe thirty minutes and I’ll have it done,” Dr. Kellar said, “Please wait here.” He disconnected the limb and left the room.
“Hey Locke, what did you sweet talk Dr. Patel into giving you? I saw you talking to her and she left with the arm she had for you.”
Locke walked over to Kiera with a grin on his face. His right arm had been severed by one of the ice spears. “Mag clamp. They have an experimental model that has a ten foot range. She thought for sure I’d want some kind of blaster I could control with an implant. But the thought of having one of those in the back of my head was off putting and it’d have to be swapped out anyway if we’re discharged. Mag clamp would allow me to keep it and a manual deployment keeps me implant-free. I did toy with getting an interface band, I’m used to wearing one but it might be a giveaway I have a proth. You?”
“Small item storage. I’m going to keep an energy sword in it. My sister gave me a really nice one for my birthday last year. Light weight, adjustable blade width and length. Even has a hilt magnet and arming glove to make it harder to disarm. How are you doing?”
“Worried sick over Alyxia . I can’t believe she tackled me to the ground like that and took that hit instead of me. I’m still astonished that they read lifesigns on her in the morgue.”
“I heard even the kylaxian medical researchers are astounded by it. Kylaxians have some major regenerative abilities but to reverse that seems crazy.”
“It’s a miracle. I went to the chapel and said a prayer of thanks to Arisa, the kylaxian goddess. I’m not religious but she is and it seemed appropriate. Do you know what happened to your pup?”
“I was told they had to leave him on Pantaurus to comply with the Preservation Charter. A ranger, who wasn’t a fanatic who wanted to kill us all and block rescue efforts, reunited him with his pack. The wolves welcomed him back and even let the ranger take a count of the other pups. Captain Marley smuggled the wolf hides, the bandersnatch hides and some kalashtar body parts and hide that Koda had. I heard that Captain Nevis might have found the horns of the diceros that maimed me. He was part of the crew that recovered all the bodies that they could for proper burial,” Kiera explained.
“I’m a little sad about that, he’s an incredible pup. I saw him attack the same guys that Gargax did. They seemed to sync up almost immediately. I know that orks will raise wolves to fight with them, but I didn't expect them to sync so quickly. That man is a force of nature. I liked him before at the Academy. Got a message before I arrived at the academy if I would be okay with an ork roommate. Honestly, I was a little hesitant before they told me his history. I’m glad to call him my battle-brother. I knew who you were the moment I saw you, ‘That’s Sunbeam’ I thought when I first saw you.”
Kiera grinned, “We met during the exams. Ten minutes into our ten kilo there was a jotun hurling rocks. Gargax charged him and tackled him to the ground. I carried Robyn for a half a mile and then he took over and carried her the rest of the way. He may not speak Imperial well but he’s not dumb.”
“I was surprised when you turned out to be the same girl from Albus," Locke said with a grin. "The one I wrapped in a towel trying to be smooth."
"It worked, Lucky. You weren't trying to cop a feel, you didn't kiss me. You wrapped me in your towel to keep me warm. It was sweet," Kiera grinned.
“So, I have a question about us,” Locke began.
"I do want to be your girlfriend. I don't mind if you want to try to date Tamalyn or Kinsley, or both. I was serious about sleeping with you again, in bed. With actual foreplay."
"I am, too. Dating a princess of the Empire and she's cool with me dating her friends. I guess Kinsley is right, I'm pretty damn lucky. So, this is a typical guy thing, but I am curious. Have you ever slept with more than one person at once?"
Kiera grinned, “No, but I'm up for it! Just needs to be someone we're both dating."
"You are the most amazing woman that I've ever met, Kiera Sol," Locke said.
Both Doctor Patel and Dr. Kellar returned at the same time, ending their conversation. Kiera thought her first few steps would be awkward, but she walked like she had never lost the limb. She even felt some pain when she bumped it against a table, but it went away faster than normal. She walked a few laps around the PT gym, the leg adjusted to her height and her gait. She was astonished. Kellar explained that the duration of her loss played a big role in her rapid recovery. Her body was still recovering and hadn’t acclimated to having only one limb. That, and the cutting edge technology she was supplied. She would still have to do PT and wasn’t allowed to work out or go running until her therapist cleared her. The same thing applied to Locke.
She left the gym with Locke, both of them in high spirits and holding hands, “Have you heard what happened to Laney?”
“Yeah, that bastard is in Corollas Detention Center under murder and attempted murder charges. From what I heard Major Peregrine sprung a trap after convincing your brother to mutiny. Laney attacked the major and dropped like the sack of crap he was after two hits. Peregrine heard the recorded communications between Laney and I and sent me the video of their ten second fight. I thought I was going to burn out my ID Band watching it,” Locke grinned.
“What? Leiella didn’t tell me that Major kicked the crap out of your colonel! Tell me he hit the captain too. I was told he was indicted.”
“Not that I saw. All the Senior officers including the Captain are all in detention centers waiting trial,” Locke said, “The fact that we had combat gear and not rescue gear is the strangest part. Even our survival gear was sabotaged. I don’t know how he expected us to reach that ship in ten days with no gear, unless he expected us to use the boosts the entire time. I really hate those things.”
“None of it makes sense,” Kiera said, “He ordered you to let us die. Why sabotage your ability to survive? The entire ship was destroyed, the mecha and starfighters self-destructed, the lifeboats were targeted. What was the goal?”
“Only thing that I can think of is that they saw our survival exercise as an opportunity to kill you and Liandra. Laney also mentioned a new life of luxury. Probably was counting on us having to drop some animals with valuable parts for them to scavenge, or use the excuse of searching for us to hunt something down themselves,” Locke suggested. "I know I was put on his deathwatch list and there were two squads that had a secondary mission. Likely to kill you."
“While getting new recruits for the Red Moon,” Kiera scoffed, “Ten of yours made it there?”
“Eleven. That bastard Yavin didn’t try to help in any way and actually told the Red Moon that he had Kinsley with him and as far as he knew you were alive. He was ready to sign up with them for the price of a hot meal and a succubus whore,” Locke said, “He was the only one of those guys who surrendered and claimed to have been captured and was brought here. Kinsley set the record straight when she found out. The Royal Knights weren’t too pleased when I beat the stupid out of him.”
“You hit him?” Kiera asked, amused.
“Oh, no. Hitting him is a one time thing. I asked the knight for a little privacy to have a chat after Kinsley told me what happened. I told him that my betrayal was all an act so I could get closer to you for the bounty. Moron told me everything he did and thought Kinsley was you, going by an alias. The Knight gave me two minutes after the alarms went off. If Yavin wasn’t already in the hospital I would have put him in here. The guard that let me beat the stupid out of him was impressed that an uninjured man got his ass handed to him by a one armed man. By the way, I need to know what your mother’s favorite flowers are. She bailed me out.”
“Moonlight Lilies from Arcadia,” Kiera answered, “By the way, she approves of our relationship. She thought you were an exceptional young man and very much appreciated what you did for me. Was Yavin part of the hit squad from the start?”
“Yeah, Kruller was recruiting people at our camp, planning some black ops garbage. He got hit by lightning during that sudden storm. Laney only mentioned Gamma and Delta, but apparently Epsilon was all in after Kruller asked what the special mission was and if he could get in on it,” Locke scowled, “Fifteen guys, half of each squad were compliant. Pisses me off.”
“What are you going to do if we get discharged?”
Locke shrugged, “I don’t know. I think a lot of answers would be found with the Red Moon.”
“I agree,” Kiera said. Her conversation with Corbin came to mind, “Hey, Lucky. If I said I was going to start a mercenary company and try to infiltrate the Red Moon to find out who hired them to kill me and my niece, and caused the death and suffering of nearly two hundred cadets, what would you say?”
“Need a Commodore?”