The elevator ride was quiet, it gave me time to think. Think of ways to approach one of the most powerful men in the Galaxy, almost all of them ended with my head being popped like a tundravitis. The elevator dinged as I arrived on Deck 253, as the doors opened I was greeted by the muffled sounds of gun fire, struggles and barks and commanding officers saying the one word every I.G. learns to hate, “Again.” I entered a simulator, the squads commanding officer ordered a halt to all exercises.
“Welcome Ser Terrid! I am Arameg Telest, Captain 2nd class of the 65th Imperial Guard Regiment, 5th squadron. It is an honour to meet you.” he saluted me as he listed off his rank. “What brings you here?”
“Exercise. Practice.” I explain, before asking the squadron, “How many of you pups have SEEN an Ankarii Warrior?”
Silence. Not even the Captain, the lot of them must’ve been assigned security detail in some Core system. I took a rifle, feeling its weight in my hands, an all to familiar tool in my hands, “These will do you good at range, but Ankarii are crazed. They will rush you the INSTANT you stop to reload, and the Coraxxa bodies they puppet are no fully capable of ripping you limb from limb with ease.”
I had the simulation load a basic Ankarii incursion program, within moments the room was full of massive 11 foot reptilians, teeth razor sharp and eyes empty and soulless, their bodies hulking with muscles tensed ready to charge as soon as the program began. I shouldered the rifle and exhaled deeply, letting the program begin. Three of the simulated Ankarii rushed me head on, rapid bursts of energy fired from the rifle, two of them dropped, the last I missed. Leaping at me I fired into it’s chest, the body recoiling in agony as I sidestepped and put another burst into its head. I react to another Ankarii leap at me from my left, too close for me to aim safely, I dodge its clawed swipes, strike it with the butt of the rifle before I’m possessed by a need to take its head in my right hand, my forearm opening up revealing a series of vents, the palm opened up and with a hiss the impact rod hidden in my arm pulled back, revealing itself from my elbow and in an instant fired out of my palm with a loud echoing bang. The simulated Ankarii’s head had a hole where its forehead used to be. The simulation ended abruptly. The vents closing, the port in my hand sealing shut as the soldiers stood in silence, stunned at the display they witnessed.
“An Ankarii warrior feels no pain, the slugs live in the head and puppet the body. If you can’t blast the brain, cripple the body and confirm the kill.” I explained, “They don’t care for any sense of honour you make think you have. They aren’t the common street tough or mob ganger, They want you dead and will stop at nothing to see that through, you all need to do the same.”
I turned to the Captain Telest, “Have them run this drill for the rest of the period. Your men are woefully under-prepared.”
As I turned to leave Captain Telest spoke, “And what about the other traitors? How will we handle them?”
I stopped dead in my tracks, tapping my hand on the door as I respond matter-of-factly, “In all honesty, you run. And you hope to the GODS that they don’t chase after you. They’re all unbelievably strong. Hell, I’m lucky to have lived against Eragus.” I turn smiling reassuringly, “But I’ll think of something.” I walked out of the room, knowing what I said was empty. I had nothing to go on but my own memory of the other Knights. I couldn’t take Logyn down in a sparring match, how could I fight him to the death? I kept walking down the deck, looking for a free simulator, when I came to the end of the hallway. The last simulator, empty and waiting for use.
I entered the simulator and spoke. “Five. Run a cycle of every recorded Knight’s data, starting with Helbrehct Steln. Rotate up the list and repeat it until I have a success rate of 75% or until I give up.”
Five spoke as the door shut behind me, “Understood, training program beginning in three... two... one.”
I spent five hours in a simulator, running every combat drill against the recorded data of Eragus, Logyn and any other Knight I could remember. Nearly every engagement ended with either failure or minor success. I heard the door open behind me, my chest heaving as I panted from exhaustion, It was Vendalia and her entourage. I took a drink from the water I had brought in a while ago, catching my breath.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“Hey Vendy, Astra, Lindri. How can I help the Sisters of Vengeance?” I ask
“I heard you were putting some time into the simulator, any luck?” Vendalia asked.
“Lots of failures, but every loss is a lesson.” I reply, “The problem is the Psionics. I mean how do you compete with people who can dominate your mind or project energy. You know that one of the Knights can manipulate temperatures? He can boil your blood just by thinking it!”
Astra spoke up, “Why not take a break, I mean you’ve been at this for some time now, maybe get something to eat? The cafeteria has really good hevrak steaks. Working nonstop and going through failure after failure only reinforces them in your mind.”
I wanted to argue, but Astra was right. I spent the five hours losing to the same people over and over again, it was only frustrating me further. I collected what little I brought with me and headed out, my legs weak and wobbling. On my way to the nearest cafeteria I found myself unconsciously flexing my prosthetic arm, the feeling of firing it off earlier felt good. It felt natural. It was similar to using a Pile Shield, but the impact wasn’t external. It was like a part of me knew what to do easily, firing the impact rod through that Ankarii’s head was cathartic, in a way.
I entered the cafeteria, tables sparsely populated by ship staff, guardsmen and night crew enjoying their meals before starting their shift. I approached the concession counter, ordering a hevrak steak, smelling the sizzle of the marbled meat as it cooked on the grill, as I waited for the cooks to finish their culinary task I felt someones eyes on the back of my head, like they were trying to bore through the back of my head. I received my meal and sat down to eat. Enjoying the succulent flavour of the steak, seared to a perfect rarity, as I cut into the steak I felt something click in my mind, like the fog of failure that had been hanging over me for the last few hours had finally lifted. I was trying to fight the Knights alone, I thought of this task a burden for me to handle alone, that the IG’s and Naval officers were along for the ride to handle any Ankarii that might come my way. But I was wrong. As I finished my steak someone slammed my table, very clearly trying to get my attention.
“Well well, if it isn’t Terrid Korvo. The ONLY loyal Knight left.” spoke a thin, wiry man. His fur coated in thick layer of grease and oil, an engineer most likely, his arm band hidden or missing as he hissed, “You may have everyone else on this ship tricked, but I know what you are, Traitor.”
“Careful there friend,” I quietly replied, “That’s quite the accusation.”
“It only makes sense. You manage to survive being attacked by Eragus and don’t tell anyone where he is for three months?” he continued, “Watch your back.” he finished as he walked away.
I wasn’t sure who he was, or why he thought I was a traitor, but he makes a valid point. I survived where most would’ve died, and I held information that could’ve kept the Empire safe. I didn’t have to prove myself to him, but I was going to. To him, to the entire crew, to the Empire. I stood up from the table, the scattered staff who saw this interaction pretending to look away or awkwardly trying to figure what the engineer was on about, when I heard one of them say his name, “Yarrek.” Of COURSE he was a Yarrek, I’ve never met a Yarrek that didn’t like me.
I made my way back to my room, the hum of the elevator filling my ears with its ambient hum as I thought on my plan. I couldn’t fight the Knights on my own, the day I spent in the simulator was evident of that, I kept trying to be the hammer and treating Knights as nails. A problem I could just pound into the ground and leave it at that, but they weren’t, it was like trying to use a hammer to tighten a bolt, or loosen a stripped screw. Then it hit me. I need to be a craftsman, who wielded multiple tools, not the tool itself. I’d have to put a team together, specialists who I could train and take with me to fight the other Knights. And it’ll take us a few weeks to get to Novux-em, plenty of time to put at least a preliminary team together. The ding of the elevator signals a stop, yet I wasn’t on the residential deck, about five or six stories from it in fact. The door opened to reveal Avanna, reading glasses on her snout.
“Oh hello Terrid! I was just down in Hydroponics.” she chirped, “It’s like a forest in there! I found it a comfortable place to sit and read, most of the engineers down there didn’t mind me at all.”
“Well I doubt they’d tell you no.” I joked, “You’re basically tied for highest ranking officer on this ship, between me and the Captain that is.”
A giggle escapes her lips, “I guess you’re right. How have you been spending your day?”
“Let’s say, I finally understand how I’m supposed to carry out my mission.” I reassured, I felt I may need her help, but I couldn’t endanger her with this. She’s the Crown Princess. If I let her anywhere NEAR a battle I’m certain the Emperor would not only know, but kill me from a galaxy away. “I just need to assemble the right tools for the job.”
We made our way back to our rooms, we idly talked on our way to our rooms, Avanna commented on my idea, thinking that involving the Captain Vos would be a good idea, And that I should probably educate the IG’s on the Traitor Knights. She was right on that front, I would contact Captain Telest in the morning to meet me with his squads for a briefing on the Traitors, as well as apologize for the poor orders I gave them earlier. Guardsman know what they sign up for after their 18 months, when they stay on they know their putting their lives on the line. To tell them to turn tail and run at the first sign of the Traitors is pointless. They’d probably disobey orders and fight anyway.