The ship was in a clearing that looked to be created when it landed, scorched and broken trees surrounded the craft. The galvians had posted two guards at the ship’s entrance, most of the others that Kinsley had seen weren’t anywhere in sight. That either meant they were shrouded or had sent out more patrols. Galvian ground tactics were still unknown to the empire, at least to the common citizen. Kinsley had left her position to link up with her team and lead them to the ship.

<<”In position,”>> Isaac said over the commlink.

”There are two at the door, we haven’t seen anyone else in about five minutes,” Kiera replied. Whenever you’re ready.”

A minute later came the sound of plasma rifle fire, followed shortly by the explosions that were caused by a stinger. The two guards at the ship didn’t react at all. Gargax lifted the galvian commlink to his mouth and snarled into it. A hissing grumble replied and the two guards started running towards the sound of the weapon fire, shimmering as they left the camp. Two other forms followed them, the space they occupied moving like heat waves in the air. From the ship another galvian emerged, this one wasn’t wearing a heat pack and had mottled black scales unlike the green scaled troops they had seen, his mouth was longer and narrower with teeth sticking out from his upper jaw.

Kinsley’s stinger made a chirping noise as it launched its needles at the black scaled galvian, a heartbeat later Kiera’s joined it. The barrage of needles slammed into the galvian, who grumbled hissed in surprise and then pain when over a dozen needles exploded. He struck the ground, his chest cavity ripped apart, he wouldn’t be getting back up. No one responded to the attack. Kiera stepped out, leveling her weapon around the clearing, “Clear!”

Kinlsey and Gargax rushed out of their hiding spot, heading directly to the door, once they had reached it Kiera followed. <<”Distraction team, report!>>

<<”There are about half a dozen galvians here,”>> Tamalyn said, <<”Robyn’s starting the second burst now, the third burst will be in sixty seconds. The shrouds are holding up, they don’t know where we or the weapons fire is coming from.>>

<<”Copy,”>> Kiera said, <<”We’re on the ship now.”>>

Ahead of her Kiera heard the sound of stinger fire, seconds later explosions followed it. She picked up the pace and stepped into a wide, circular room with a viewscreen dominating the opposite side. Two galvians lay at stations below the viewscreen, dead. Gargax was making two others kiss off to her left. He let them go and they fell unconscious. Then his foot came down on the neck of one, then the other. Kinsley didn’t say anything, and neither did Kiera. Gargax had told them he was a slave, they didn’t know for how long but the scars that crossed his chest and back made more sense once Kiera saw the long claws on the lizard men. She might have had the same reaction.

The ork threw one of the corpses aside and sat down at what Kiera assumed was the conn. He pulled on a lever and punched some buttons, the other consoles came to life. Kiera descended down to where he sat, “Can you operate the weapons from here?” Gargax slowly shook his head, “The controls look Imperial, do you recognize them.”

“Not galvian,” he rumbled.

“Not surprising. Can you still fly it?” Kiera asked.

Gargax nodded slowly, “Yes...” he said, hesitation in his voice.

“Go man the weapons, I’ll take over the piloting,” Kiera said, “The wonderful thing about Imperial controls is that if you can pilot a hovercraft you can pilot just about everything.”

”Operate anything,” Kinsley corrected, “There’s a big difference between flying a ship and driving a car.”

Gargax complied, and Kiera took his seat. The craft lifted into the air, it wasn’t as smooth or as agile as a hovercraft, but that was to be expected. She activated the viewscreen so she could see where she was going and turned towards the area that the distraction team were hiding.

<<”Distraction team, we’re on our way to you. Send me a beacon so we can identify your signature,”>> Kinsley said.

Within moments they were over the site and had full attention of the galvians. Kiera couldn’t make out what the expression on their faces were, but part of it had to be shock; they were standing completely still. Whatever emotions they were feeling only lasted a few seconds before the ship's beam cannon fired and erased them from the planet. Kiera lowered the ship as much as she could while Kinsley vanished to go help their companions board the ship. Once they were on board Kiera started to navigate to the locations of the galvian patrols.

“Examinees…put that ship back where you found it and return to the staging area.” The voice that came from their PUCs didn’t sound angry. It was more astonishment than anything.

“Yes, sir,” Kiera replied, “Commencing landing now.”

The landing was rougher than she intended, but there was no damage done to the ship, and any landing you could walk away from was a good one. Her team left the ship, recovered the weapons they had set up for the distraction and made their way back to the staging area. They ran across Tracksuit and his small band of followers.

“Finally,” Tracksuit said, raising an ion rifle, “Are you so stupid that you can’t follow a simple beacon?”

The team's reply was to open fire. Kiera got a shot off on Tracksuit’s head. Gargax dropped Silence, and Tamalyn wounded Fan Boy; Kinsley finished him off. One of them fired back and was dropped by Isaac. The last member held up his hands in surrender. Robyn disarmed him. All four of them whimpered in pain, one had the audacity to cry out, “Medic.”

A patrol of galvians shimmered into view. They ignored Kiera’s team and went to work disarming Tracksuit and his followers then dragged them out of the forest. The team followed and arrived back at the staging ground an hour and a half later. Most of the other examinees had already removed their gear and were sitting around, when they saw Tracksuit their faces contorted into looks of anger.

A dark skinned boy stood up and marched over to Tracksuit, “You son of a bitch! Sending false information, attacking us right after we were attacked by that patrol! The moment I get a chance I’m going to kick your ass!”

“Stand down, examinee,” the proctor said, leveling his heavy stare on the boy. Then he turned it on Kiera’s team, “I don’t even know what to say. Hijacking the ship?”

“You said to capture the base, sir, we were only following orders,” Kiera said, trying not to sound cheeky.

“Not galvian,” Gargax said, “Everything wrong.”

Someone laughed but was quickly stifled. The proctor looked at the ork for a moment, a question dying on his lips, “Return your weapons to the armory and remove your equipment and place it on the tables. Your first day of testing is officially over. We have a vehicle en route to take you to the parade grounds where you’ll receive your barracks assignment. Each barracks will have a PIC who will direct you further.”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Kiera couldn’t keep the grin off of her face as she handed in her weapon and took off the gear. The pain that was left over from the stinger attack vanished when it was powered off and she removed it. The examinee they found with Tracksuit and had surrendered himself apologized to Kiera’s team for the deception. He had a weapon pointed at his back when Kiera’s team had found them; either it was part of the deception or he was being coerced. Kiera just accepted the apology and put it out of her mind. The proctors would deal with everything else.

Troop deployment vehicles arrived a few minutes later. Tracksuit started to move to get in first, but stopped under the weight of the threatening glares he received. They ended up boarding the vehicles based on who was closest, all of them were exhausted. The trip only took fifteen minutes, and they were among the last to arrive. They assembled on the parade grounds, much more orderly than they were that morning. Sergeant Ward and several of the other proctors stood on a raised platform where they could be seen by all the examinees.

“Congratulations on completing the first part of your exams,” Sergeant Ward said, “You may have noticed there aren’t as many participants now as there were earlier today. We make every effort to ensure everyone’s safety, but accidents do happen. Those who were injured and unable to complete their exams will have another opportunity to test again, those that changed their minds have been escorted off the testing site. Your results will be sent to you in a few weeks. For tomorrow’s agenda you will be taking the written exams, and an interview.

“When you are dismissed tonight your barracks assignment will appear on your PUC. We have attached showers and a latrine to these barracks to avoid the traffic jam central showers would cause. At the end of your bunks you will find trunks that will react to your PUC. Inside those trunks will be a change of clothing, including shoes, with basic toiletries. Dinner will begin in an hour. You are dismissed!”

A chorus of beeps from PUCs sang from the gathered examinees. Looking at her armband Kiera saw that she was in Barracks D, bunk 10. Examinees began to walk to the barracks, Kiera and her friends joined the crowd. Everyone around them seemed exhausted, even though it was only late afternoon.

“I’m in Barracks D, what about the rest of you?” Kiera asked.

“Barracks F,” Kinsley said.

“Barracks A,” Robyn answered.

“I’m in B,” Tamalyn replied.

“How are you in B? I’m in B,” Isaac said looking at Tamalyn, “Aren’t these barracks split by gender?”

“Could be another test,” Kinsley said, “In the field there might be cohabitation. Might as well get used to the idea, I mean, we’re not a bunch of kids.”

“So we’re testing the willpower of a bunch of horny teenagers,” Isaac said, “That’s going to turn out well.”

“No more opportunity in a co-ed dorm than a gendered dorm,” Kiera said with a shrug, “My only question is, did anyone get the long straw with Gargax or the short straw with Tracksuit.”

“Gargax in C,” the ork said, both he and Isaac were looking curiously at Kiera.

“I fully trust that no one would mess with anyone who was seen with Gargax,” Kiera said, “Most of these guys are terrified of him.”

They separated into their different barracks, and Kiera was immediately reminded of a locker room, at least a locker room according to some of her brother’s complaints. Dirty clothing and shoes were littered on the floor. There were guys in various states of dress, although none of them were naked. An all too familiar voice spoke which made Kiera groan out loud.

“The first shower is mine, peasants.”

“Perfect the short straw,” Kiera muttered.

One of the boys who was standing nearby turned at her voice, “Um, can we help you? It’s too early to sneak in here for some action, can’t believe you even have the energy for that.”

“I was assigned to Barracks D, and I’m not the kind of girl that’s going to sleep with any of you,” Kiera scowled.

“What’s with all the boys?” A girl's voice said behind her, Kiera glanced back and saw a slender girl with emerald hair, her hands were slightly webbed and there were fins on her calves and forearms. Her voice caused the rest of the boys to turn around, shock crossed their faces when they saw the pair of pretty girls standing just inside the doorway.

“Excuse me, ladies!” boomed yet another voice and both Kinsley and the atlantean stepped aside to allow Sergeant Savage to enter the room. Tension immediately filled the air, but Kiera couldn’t help but grin. She had taken an immediate liking to the sergeant. He looked around the room slowly, a few of the boys averted their eyes.

“It appears that I am lost!” Savage boomed, “I thought I was stepping into an Imperial military barracks, but instead I find myself in a secondary school locker room!” Some of the boys winced, but all Tracksuit could do was stare, horror was creeping up on his face. “I suggest that this barracks is cleaned up and ready to pass an inspection by the time that I return to escort you to dinner! You may be wondering why you gangly mouthbreathers are in the presence of two beautiful young women, but all that I will tell you is that this is not a mistake! I recommend you keep one thing in mind: both of these women have completed all the same courses that you have! Ladies, I request that you follow me outside!” Savage turned around and walked out of the barracks. Kiera immediately followed, the atlantean did so in a daze.

Once they were outside and the door was closed he turned to face them, “This is not a mistake, but it wouldn’t happen if we didn’t think you were capable,” Savage said in a much softer voice, “That being said, you have full permission to take any self defense measures that you feel you need without any repercussions. I request you let me know if it happens.”

“Thank you, Sergeant,” Kiera said, “Truly, both for this, and for calling those boys out.”

Savage grinned, “One of the perks of the job, Miss Sol. Would you confirm for me that you were involved in hijacking that ship in the galvian assault scenario?”

Kiera grinned, “Yes sir, the assignment was to take the base and we accomplished that goal, with the help of a little Ork magic,”

The Sergeant laughed and clapped her shoulder, “I hope that you have plans to join the army”

“Sorry, Sergeant, Mecha Corps,” Kiera said.

“Didn’t think we would be so lucky. Again, if anything happens contact me on your PUC, I’ll see you in an hour.” He turned and briskly walked away.

“Someone’s crushing,” the atlantean said.

“What? No, I just like him because he put Tracksuit in his place. I’m Kiera, by the way.”

“I meant him, I’ll admit he isn’t bad looking. I’m Alanna, who’s Tracksuit?”

“The most arrogant mouth breather in the barracks,” Kiera grinned.

They walked back into the barracks to find most of the boys were cleaning up their messes, the Sergeant’s words obviously had an effect. Tracksuit stared at the girls as they walked back in, sizing them up and undressing them with his eyes. “I have made a decision,” he announced as Kiera and Alanna walked past him. Kiera had the bottom bunk next to his, and Alanna had the bunk opposite hers, both women ignored him as they opened their trunks.

“I shall shower first, as is only proper given my status. You will both shower with me, if you please me then perhaps I’ll bring you back to the royal palace on Dalimar.”

“Hard Pass, Tracksuit.” Kiera said, taking out the bundle of clothing that was in the trunk, “Alanna and I are going to go shower, and then you guys can figure out your own order. If any of you try to sneak a peak or think you can get away with anything more we’ll break your hands.” She linked her arm in Alanna’s and then walked through the door. Once the door closed behind her she pressed the lock and watched it turn from green to red.

The moment the lock changed to red indicating the door was locked. It buzzed indicating that someone was trying to open it. Loud knocking pounded against the door, the buzzing continued and Tracksuit’s voice could be heard shouting. Kiera shook her head. The bathroom had two sinks and two encapsulated toilets. The showers were separate with a sign nearby stating the water will only be on for five minutes. She ignored the pounding on the door and stripped off her sweat soaked work out clothing. A wolf whistle caught her attention and she looked over her shoulder to see Alanna looking at her appreciatively.

“You know, if we shared the water we could make it last twice as long,” Alanna said with a wink. “Is that a tattoo or a birthmark?”

Kiera laughed, “Yeah, these are single person showers, I doubt we could put them to good use. Would need something a little bigger,” she winked. “It’s a birthmark,” Kiera said looking at the eight pointed star mark on her left breast above her heart before she stepped into the shower. The water started as soon as she was under the shower head. It was warm and washed away all the grime and dirt that she had accumulated through the day. The showers didn’t have dryers with them, requiring her to towel off, but that wasn’t terribly surprising. Being able to change into dry clothing was an appreciated comfort. Once Alanna was finished they unlocked the door.

It opened immediately to a red faced Tracksuit, “How dare you disobey me, you treasonous whores! When—”

“Are we on Dalimar?” Kiera interjected cutting him off, “Are either of us Dalimarian citizens? The answer to both of those questions is no. Your title is meaningless, your attitude is foul, and I wish I could see the look on your face when every charge you attempt to bring to your father is dismissed without it ever reaching the low courts, let alone the Emperor.”

Alanna pushed him out of their way, her base strength much higher than a normal human, and the girl didn’t just have base strength. Kiera followed behind her and sat down on the bed. This was just another test.