Planet: Kestra, Elite Training Grounds
First Insurgency War
MAIA
I'm an idiot. I didn't ask if he had a name — we're the ones who called him Black Wolf.
Pity stretched across the other's faces, and her chances against Black Wolf— James Ranier, dwindled. Lanson shook his head at her from the lineup while faced General Falae with her in front of the formation.
I'm fucked, that's it. This is my life now. If he can beat Lanson of all people without breaking a sweat, I stand no chance... Her heartbeat thrummed with the eventuality, but it came with the desperate need to knock him off his high horse.
General Falae glanced from her datapad. "Shake hands and enter the ring."
Maia stretched out her hand to him. One firm shake, and the anxious prickles turned into waves against her arms when he took off the leather hemmed jacket to set it on the post before vaulting over the fence and to the other side. Maia scooted over to General Falae, who considered her. "General? Will you stop the fight?"
"If I deem it necessary," she said, no nonsense.
Best I can hope for. Maia took off her jacket to put it aside and tried to recall Lanson's match when she hauled herself over the fence to join him.
"You can start when you're ready," General Falae called from the sidelines while their entire troop watched with wide eyes.
Ready as I'll ever be... Maia rolled out her shoulders. I can't give him time to react.
Maia frowned when he considered the sky, an opportunity she refused to lose. If he doesn't want to take this seriously, then he's going to learn the consequences of that. Arms up, she ran at him for the first strike.
In a blink, he pivoted on one foot, and her own momentum betrayed her. His hand laced through hers, and he locked her elbow against his own. Maia growled and tossed her leg behind his feet and refused to be an easy meal for the wolf. Her heel crashed against his, but she gasped when she found herself falling. Both of them tumbled to the ground, though Black Wolf flipped from his back with ease. Annoyance ripped through her heart when he lifted his head up, a smug grin on his face as he straightened himself out, then wiggled a finger at her, a direct challenge while his smile widened into toothy malice.
What an asshole.
In her peripheral, General Falae shook her head with a noiseless sigh.
Maia flipped herself to her feet, and she threw another jab at his stomach.
Black Wolf faced her head on, but she continued her endless charge. She tackled him to wrestle him to the ground, but he met her and refused to budge when he dug his feet in, his combat boots trapped in the soil. Maia tossed her arm forward to grab him into a headlock, but he ducked out of it, but before he took a step back, she pushed her advantage while he blocked her swings. Maia ducked under his counter, then pressed her fingers underneath his ribcage. His stalwart position broke, but she gasped when he strangled her arm, then flipped her onto her stomach when his foot tripped her own backwards.
A collective, empathetic hiss echoed from the line-up of recruits.
Heavy weight sat on her back, and she jolted when a training knife stuck into the dirt beside her head. Black Wolf set his knee against her spine and sneered down at her. Unable to lift herself off her stomach, she smacked her hand against the dirt. "I give. You win."
His sneer twisted while he kept a grip on the training knife with an expert hold.
"You heard her, Ranier," General Falae said. "Get off her."
A soft scoff escaped his lips as he got off her spine and brushed himself off. Maia caught her breath, where sweat plastered against her brow. Back on her shaking knees, she longed to slap the smug grin off his face as he slipped the training knife into its protective casing, but as she took the step forward, a hand rested on her shoulder.
"As Elites, one of your most vital skills is learning to assess all manner of situations," General Falae said as she pushed her back to the line up, where Iana supported her back into her spot. "You will have to deduce how to get a job done as efficiently as possible to minimise damage to yourselves and those you're meant to protect." She turned to Black Wolf, who reached for his jacket. "Care to demonstrate with me, Ranier?"
James snapped around and pressed his hands against his back and gazed at her without another smile. His attention drifted across her, up and down before he said in an even, cold tone, "No, Ma'am."
Everyone eyed each other, but General Falae folded her arms with her own devious smile while James picked up the jacket. "I had the delight to watch some of your spars, Ranier," she said. "Were your fellow recruits not enough of a challenge?" She drew her shoulders into a shrug while Maia recognized the taunt, General Falae's demonstration. "You had to push them around a little, prove that your bite is just as bad as your bark?"
Maia flinched at the intense expression which grappled Black Wolf when he sucked in his lips and turned back to General Falae. Hazel, firelit rage swallowed him when he brought his fists up with a huff.
"Good, I've got your attention," she said with a glance at the line up, and Maia leaned forward.
Black Wolf scowled, but never made an attack. General Falae rolled out her shoulders, then tipped her head with a blazing, taunting smile. "Come then, Ranier. I'm sure the recruits are waiting on tenterhooks. I'll even let you have the first move," she said, and copied his motion she made to her before raising her fists up. "Just one though." One wink, Maia widened her eyes when the lower half of her Elite mask raised up to cover her jaw, where a plume of cold, blue mist escaped from the initial exhale of breath.
Maia gaped at the lack of uncertainty within General Falae's gaze while Black Wolf took his charge. He threw himself forward, but when General Falae reached her elbow out, he dodged to the side with a quick huff. His footing straight and prideful, he sent another strike at her arm, but she kept a distance, tugging Black Wolf across the sparring ring, without ever making a strike herself. Every dodge, calculated. Every breath, never wasted while the cold smoke left the divots of the mask in steady, counted moments while Black Wolf continued his relentless assault.
He pulled his arm back, but Maia gaped when General Falae wrapped both his arms against her side, and tugged him closer. He dug in, but she pulled him forward like a petulant child. Free hand up, he grunted when she pushed into his jaw, and sent him back with a quick, almost playful foot into his back.
Black Wolf scrambled around with a scowl, and returned to his useless rush.
Something broke within the troop.
General Falae met him head on, but she latched onto his tackle, sending a hand into his ribcage. He grimaced, but gasped when she forced him to the side while her hand wrapped around his collar. Maia gaped when she hooked her other hand onto his belt, then used his own momentum to lift him but an important inch off the ground, and sent him back down into the dirt, his limbs flailing for control when his back hit the ground.
Fear shattered.
"Oof..." Iana hissed.
Black Wolf panted, dirty blonde hair matted with the dirt General Falae schooled him with. Everyone stared at General Falae when she smiled down at him. "You have to be a little better than that to hit me, Ranier. Return to the line."
She... rolled over him.
Black Wolf stood up with a scowl made of wounded pride while the terror and unease left Maia's shoulders when he returned to the jacket and swung it back around his shoulders before heaving himself over the fence. General Falae followed with a pleased grin.
"You'll come face to face with situations you must assess accurately and without hesitation — and to decide the next course of action," General Falae pointed out. "You will be working in teams along with your specialized sects for personal training. For now, let's go to the next spars, and remember what I demonstrated as we continue."
Maia watched the next spars, winded from her own while Black Wolf stood in his spot with his gaze trained on the ground and dirt matting his training gear. People near him gave him a side-eye, no longer full of fear. He bit on his lip, but steeled his expression when the spars ended.
"Break for lunch," General Falae instructed. "Then you will all meet me in the marching dome when you're finished. There, I will explain the process of Elites and how you will be ranked."
People clapped and laughed while the sweet air of a Kestran summer breathed out a sigh of relief. All, except Black Wolf, who blinked and scowled further. Shock went through her when General Falae moved to him, who spoke under his breath to him. He trained his gaze at her shoes instead, and the two walked off in the opposite direction.
Hm... Maia rejoined Lanson and Iana.
"I never thought I'd see the day where Black Wolf would get flattened," Iana said in giddy excitement. "General Falae is amazing."
"Something still bugs me about him," Lanson grumbled.
"I still feel bad for any Guardian paired with him," Maia observed and wiped her brow. "He's a pain in the ass."
"Well, let's see if we can eat without vomiting," Iana remarked. "Let's go!"
Her knees wobbled from the workout and they reentered the base. Mechanics and pilots tugged along boxes of ship parts with the help of other Elites to lift the heavier loads.
In the safety of the chow hall, Maia went with Lanson and Iana to their usual spot, resting her head against the wall. "I don't know if I can eat..."
A foodbot rolled past with the lunch of the day. Beef stew. It placed two bowls in front of them before rolling off to serve the other recruits. Maia dug in though her stomach complained. While Iana chattered with Lanson, she took a peek at Black Wolf's lonely corner.
He sat with his elbows on the table and hands against the sides of his head while he stared down at the beef stew with a deep frown. Steam simmered around him, but he made no motion of eating.
General Falae really put a dent in his pride, didn't she? Maia frowned at him when he set his hands flat against the table, but stared into the distance instead.
"Maia?" Iana broke her out of her observations. "Can we share?"
"Of course, here." Maia passed her bowl to Iana. "Lanson, can I ask you something?"
"Hm?"
"What is it about Black Wolf that bothered you?"
Lanson sipped at his stew. "Just that I don't really believe he's twenty-four quadrums."
"He's got to be," Iana said through a mouthful. "General Falae only accepts twenty-four and older with each intake. They haven't accepted anything younger than twenty-four since she took control of the Elite Corps. At least, that's what we were told when we took the aptitude tests. Bare minimum."
"He got you flat on your back, Lanson," Maia pointed out.
Clearly unconvinced, Lanson put his bowl into a passing cleaner.
"We better get down to the marching dome," Iana said. "I don't want to get flattened like Black Wolf was."
Everyone gave them a wide berth as they descended deeper into the base and entered the marching dome. A large flag of the Sanctum hung off the rafters along with pictures of old Strike Force Generals of no ill repute. Instinct guided them into their regular formation, and once again, she ended up beside Black Wolf, who barely had his eyes open.
Boots clicked off the ground and snapped her out of her stupor. General Falae stood at the head of their formation with her hands wrapped around her back and her uniform coat trailing past her back.
"Tonight," she said, and her voice carried around the dome. "You'll face one final test before you truly become an Elite, and I want all of you to know something before we start. First, after this test, your range of choice will become limited." General Falae sent a pointed look at Black Wolf, who met her stare without flinching. "The Elite Corps are the Strike Forces special operatives in every sense of the word. We are expected to follow every order without hesitation." She came closer. "Tell me what you know about edevium."
"It's a biochemical energy source," Maia recalled from her old schooling. "It absorbs and releases compounds of many types, Ma'am."
General Falae nodded at her. "What I am about to say may create some hesitation, I understand," she said. "If what I say causes discomfort, I won't stop you if you wish to back out — though others would tell me to not mention this at all. Understood?"
"Understood," they said in unison, though Black Wolf hadn't opened his mouth.
General Falae moved between Maia and Black Wolf's line. "What gives the Elites their power is this energy source," she explained, and a soft breath escaped her. "Once we feel your bodies at their best potential point we inject it into your bloodstream."
Some people shifted in disbelief. "What?" Iana rasped. "Is that really possible?"
"It is, but not without consequence," General Falae said and trained her attention on Black Wolf, who stared straight ahead. "I'm not going to sugarcoat this for you. Once, when our understanding of edevium was still limited, there was a ten percent chance of survival. Dangers litter our galaxy, some of them insurmountable. In the past, there was an agreement that this was a necessity to combat danger." General Falae sighed. "The first Edevic Elites were created for protection and guardianship — and was their original purpose. Since I became the Overseer of the Elite Corps, the odds have been raised." She made her way back to the front. "Edevium, though, is a foreign agent. Your heart will attempt to reject it while it absorbs and releases your blood. If this process fails, you will die."
Silence reigned through the hall and carried her heavy words.
"Out of my unit," General Falae said and faced them. "Two out of twenty survived. I was one of them." Her head tipped. "I was seventeen when I entered the Strike Forces, where the First Insurgency War saw the most conflict up to the current day. As I said, since I changed how we run the Corps, the odds have improved. I make it a point to never accept anyone below the age of twenty-four quadrums. Sadly, other powers at be would think otherwise and that we need all the help we can get." Her gaze settled on them. "I cannot ensure survival, so if you wish to back out, I understand."
Maia's heart dropped into her chest.
"With that, this is your chance to make a choice," she pointed out. "Anyone who doesn't wish to go through the process is free to leave and enter another branch of the Strike Forces. You will not be stopped and no one will judge you. This is a risk not to be taken lightly."
No one moved an inch, whether shock or understanding, Maia couldn't tell which one swallowed them.
"If you survive, you are given abilities to help those in dire need, which I hope is why you're here," she said, and Maia jolted when a mother's smile graced the General's lips. "Tonight, when you're called to undergo the injection or back out, I'll stand beside you if you make either choice. You will not face any of it alone." She brought her hand to her brow, the Sanctum Salute. "It will be hard, but if you have the drive, the inherent desire to stand at the edge of the black hole and live, you will survive."
General Falae's words struck a chord in her ears.
Some leaders lead at the back... sending others to death while they hide behind the shield of those they abandon.
'You will not face it alone.'
Trust and respect heightened, Maia copied her Sanctum salute, and along the line, everyone parroted her.
It was an echoed show of camaraderie.
Maia widened her eyes when Black Wolf copied the salute. Neither stone cold nothingness or smug pride filled his face.
It was terrifying determination — a direction, willing to do whatever it took to reach the unseen goal.