IN THE PRESENT
It’s been five weeks since my training began, though training is too kind of a word for it. My days are consumed by Killian. When we aren’t working on my blade skills, it’s rigorous classes on Might history and tactics. I must know everything Officer Dorne would have known.
It’s like being back in the academy again, but the stakes are much higher.
I wrap yet another bandage around my abused arms and muse over what might have been if I’d never asked Uncle Shou to learn about weaponry. Yesterday, Killian decided my form was passable enough for me to practice using the blade off training mode, and in the past 24 hours, I have been burned more times than I have in the past 24 years.
My arms, shoulders, and legs are a patchwork of surface burns and my clothes are covered in scorch marks. I can’t wrap my head around the idea that people do this for sport and we have safety on so it’s still not nearly as dangerous as it will be later on.
Someone bangs on the door to my quarters. I pull the bandage tighter with my teeth and tie it off. I’m only wearing my sports bra and a pair of undershorts used by Might soldiers to go beneath their armored pants. Modesty is not a part of barracks living so I don’t bother putting anything else on.
I throw the door open and find Ander on the other side about the knock again. His eyes widen at the sight of me.
“What the fuck did he do to you?” He reaches out, then thinks better of it and rests his hand on the door frame.
“We started training with them ignited.”
“And this is with safety mode?”
“Yup. Safety’s on so he can’t cut me in half, at least.” I walk back to the bed where my first aid kit is spread out and start to put to contents back into the box. “It’s not that bad.”
“It looks pretty bad, Zo.” Ander murmurs as he closes the door. He sits down on the bed and puts the last of the items into the container before zipping it closed.
“This is what I signed up for. What you asked me to sign up for.”
I don’t look at him but I know that my words sting. I sigh and sit down beside him. “Sorry, I’m just tired.”
He takes my hand, weaving our fingers together. I look over at him but his attention is on our hands. “I shouldn't have asked,” he squeezes my hand tighter. “I didn’t want to.”
I know that there are people above him in the organization. There are people that pull the strings and hold the purse and in the end, Ander defers to them. Uncle Shou used to be one of those people and even if he passed the mantle down to Ander, Shou was just one of a number of individuals who led the rebellion.
I’m sure he argued against this assignment and was outvoted. I’m willing to bet the only reason they gave him the resources to save me in the first place was so they could send me on this mission. There aren’t too many people who look like me or Officer Dorne that have enough training to join Might.
“I’m not sure the gravity of the situation has fully sunk in yet, Zo. This isn’t a short-term situation. There is no extraction plan because if all goes well, you won’t ever be extracted.”
It’s my turn to grip his hand tighter. “I know. Officer Dorne will provide intel. She will be another set of eyes and ears for the rebellion. And she’ll keep doing that until she dies or gets killed.”
“Killian will keep you safe.”
“That’s not his job, Ander. And even if it was, he can’t be with me all the time.”
Ander looks up at me, his eyes are wet with unshed tears and I know mine are the same. Once I leave, I won’t be coming back here. If I see Ander, it will be out there in the world where he and I shouldn’t know each other. We will be acquaintances at best, most likely strangers.
My heart breaks a bit more at the thought of losing yet another person I care for.
“We’ve always had each other’s backs. That won’t change.”
I nod even though I don’t believe him. There’s nothing he can do once I’m not me anymore. Zorione will be gone. Ander will be one of the few people left in this world who will remember her. She might as well be dead.
I untangle our fingers and stand. “I need to study. I still don’t have all the codes for battle maneuvers down yet.”
Ander clears his throat, “Of course, I just wanted to check-in. I’ll leave you to it.”
I nod but don’t look back at him as I shuffle papers around on my desk. I don’t want him to see the tears that I can’t hold back anymore. They drip off my chin and onto my notes but messy study materials are better than him seeing me this weak.
I wait until I hear the door click shut softly. When I know I am alone, I let out an ugly wail that threatens to rip my soul from my body.
In a few short months, I will be alone. It’s fitting that Officer Dorne will also be the last of her family. She and I have that in common. The family I have chosen for myself is all but gone and what’s left will be beyond my grasp soon enough.
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I’m not sure how long I stand there, but the alarm on my holo-pad goes off and alerts me that it’s time for dinner.
I shrug on a shirt and pants, stuffing my feet into my old cream-colored boots, and tucking one of my guns into the back of my waistband. Even at the base, I prefer not to leave without a weapon.
My alarm’s set to go off after most of the mess hall clears out so, by the time I arrive, there are only a few people still sitting.
I go over to the selection wall and pick a Basic Meal Kit, BMK for short. It’s a protein shake filled with everything needed to sustain oneself. It’s what Might soldiers have, even Officers, when out on missions or in combat.
As I nurse my shake in the far corner of the room, my back against the wall, I see Killian enter. He also orders a BMK. As he turns to find a seat, he sees me and makes his way over. The last thing I want right now is his company.
He sets his drink down and sprawls out over the hover bench across from me.
“How’s it taste?”
“Same as always,” I answer between sips.
“So like shit then.” He sighs and downs half the bottle before taking a breath. “It’s better to drink it fast. Less time to taste it. That’s how we all do it.”
I nod. These little pointers will keep me from making fatal mistakes once I’m there. I tip the bottle back and chug the remaining contents. Wiping my mouth on the back of my hand, I groan “You’d think with all the tech we have today they could make it taste better.”
“No need. No one has ever complained.”
“The obedience of Might,” I say, the disgust is evident.
He glances up at me before looking back at the bottle in his hands. “The rest are no better. We all play the part and ask for seconds of whatever shit the Executors are serving.”
I’m taken aback by the heat in his voice. His Father is the Executor of Might, its highest-ranking Officer, and if public appearances are anything to go by, the six children of the Might are close with their father. Then again, public appearances are usually deceiving.
I think back to what he said when I first asked him why he was a part of the resistance. Something doesn’t add up.
“Why are you here, Reydon?”
He doesn’t look at me as he answers, “I told you, I’m here for Ander.”
I want to keep pushing but his guarded expression tells it will be like trying to squeeze water from a stone.
He finishes his BMK in one more swig and gets up. “We’ve got more to review before tomorrow. Let’s go.” He grabs my empty bottle and throws them both into the trash receptacle. He doesn’t check that I am following as he leaves, but if it’s a choice between wallowing in self-pity or following him, then it is really no choice at all.
He takes me to an old conference room. The air here is stale and from the coating of dust on everything, I guess that the room hasn’t been used since the facility was originally decommissioned.
One corner of the table and two chairs are cleaner than the rest. On the table are two old generation halo-tablets - their soft glow illuminating the space.
Killian punches in a few numbers on the wall pad by the door and the lights blink on bathing the space in a clinical whitewash, at odds with the dingy, dilapidated furniture.
I sit down in one of the cleaned-off chairs and prop up the halo-tablet with my hands to see what is on the screen. It is an incredibly long list of names with ranks and locations next to each. As I scroll down I see that it is in descending order of rank and broken up by division within the Might branch.
Killian is still fiddling with the light panel when he speaks. “Those are the names you need to know. If you click on a name you’ll see more information and a recent photo if there is one available. God damn!” I look over at him surprised by the outburst and see him shaking his hand. The wall console is detached from its base with its wiring exposed. He must’ve electrocuted himself.
“What was I saying… Oh yes. The names at the top are the ones you absolutely must know. After the first hundred or so it’s okay if you don’t have them down but it’d be useful if you did.”
I scroll back up and see that the first 8 names are the Reydon immediate family. The Might is first but I don’t bother clicking on his name. Everyone knows everything there is to know about the Executor. His deceased wife is listed next - she is also someone I already know a lot about by virtue of her very public, and rather tragic, death.
The next six are the Reydon siblings in order of birth. Killian is listed second after his brother Lochlan. Then there’s Mariel, 3rd born and head liaison for Might to Will followed by Kyran, 4th born, who I know was just given command of the HUB guard, the central command of Might.
The last two are the youngest sisters, identical twins. They are kept out of the spotlight and are only seen for formal affairs. I tap on one of their names, Alys Reydon, and see a file for both of them.
The image is of the two girls, now young teenagers, standing side by side in matching cadet uniforms. Their white-blonde hair, one of the few traits from their mother that was passed onto any of the children, is pulled back is a severe bun. They have the signature Reydon eyes that are piercing even through the holo image. The file contains the usual, age, rank, and assignment location. But it also has some odd information like favorite food and the most likely place to be found in the HUB. I am guessing this is information that Killian has put in there though I can’t imagine why it would be helpful.
I continue to peruse the list, recognizing some names while others a completely foreign to me. The first 20 or so are the highest-ranking officers that almost anyone would have a vague idea of but after that, it gets into upper, middle, and lower officers. There are people that only someone from Might would interact with regularly.
Killian finally joins me at the table. He holds up the other tablet which displays schematics for a building. The type on the lower right corner of the images reads HUB.
“These tablets are air-gapped, they aren’t connected to any servers to keep the information from ever reaching any party. The one you’re holding now is all personnel and personal. It’ll tell you everything you need to know about Dorne and the people she knows. This one,” he pushes the other tablet towards me, “is more technical. It goes over how the bases operate, procedures, other such things.”
He leans back in the chair, his hands folded and resting in his lap. “I would recommend starting with technical. You can fake your way out of most situations with other Officers but if you can’t follow basic Might protocol then we are fucked from the get-go.”
I try not to be offended by his condescending tone. “I am sure I will manage.”
He snorts and leans his head back, closing his eyes. “You’ve got five hours to go over the basic chain of command and appropriate recourse for potential military actions and situations. After that, it’s drills and maneuvers for HUB command. Wake me when it’s time.”
I wonder what would happen if I didn’t. Would he even know how long it’s been if I waited another few hours? Something tells me it’s not worth testing.
I switch over to the other tablet. And settle back in my own chair. I have way too much to learn and nowhere near enough time to learn it.
The countdown has long since begun and I only have three more months to become what took Dorne a lifetime.