Planet: Kestra, Elite Training Grounds
First Insurgency War
MAIA
Training kicked her ass, but the results were worth it. With a handle on her abilities, acid no longer stuck to her throat and burned through her skin. It came with the strength to face every day one step at a time. One more batch of sectional training with Black Wolf, where General Falae urged them to skip breakfast.
Maia went outside facility grounds where troops practised marching formations along the court and into the Elite training grounds, where a few eagle-eyed Elites huddled up in sniping towers. One took shots at moving targets, but none showed the proficiency of Black Wolf to take a shot and never miss his target. Black Wolf knelt close to the ground, aimed down the scope, his notepad right beside him with numbers and painstaking measurements.
"James," she said as he relaxed and adjusted his scope, where a distant target swayed and made a predictable patrol. "We've got to get moving."
He took the shot, and it hit the distant target right in the head. It exploded into pixels, and he tugged back his edevic rifle with a huff and glared at her without a response. Maia held up the datapad with their scheduled training session. "Facility B, Black Wolf. Ranking test." Her stomach rumbled with her annoyance at his lack of reaction. He got off his lane and headed back to the small armory to hand the rifle back to the overseer. One salute to them, he returned to her with a shake of his head.
He's still a pain in the ass. Maia considered his back. I just hope he can get past that thick skull and work with me.
"Black Wolf—" Maia hesitated when he eyed her. "I mean, James." He continued to walk, and she kept his stride. "Look, we got off on the wrong foot and—"
He came to a hard stop and glared at her. She pursed her lips when they headed into a branching facility next to the crags. One half an indoor course, which stretched farther into the fields. Bay doors opened to let them into the simulation grounds. General Falae stood with another pair of Elites, one of them Iana, where a holotable sat between them. Massive marked doors separated into two.
"Good, you're here," General Falae said. "I'll explain how this is going to work." Her slender fingers tapped the panel, where multiple environments grew from pixel stems. Forest growth to ruined buildings took up the boundary of the simulation, separated by sections and checkpoints.
"Is it some sort of race, Ma'am?" Maia asked.
"No, Urtanes," General Falae said with a laugh. "You have five minutes to collect a multitude of flags."
"Capture the flag?" Iana muttered. "Isn't that a little too easy, Ma'am?"
General Falae clicked her tongue. "As a concept, yes, but if you take a look at the map, you'll notice marked areas of interest. I want you to consider this exercise as search and rescue practice," she said with a tap on the map, where one environment expanded with information like temperature and hazards. "I've dotted flags in 'hazardous' situations. I want you to work together to go through each section, grabbing each flag to pass the checkpoint." Her grin turned devious. "There's a couple of caveats. You have multiple options — I want to see your assessment skills through this training simulation, and as long as you have the area's flag, you can proceed. Be warned though, a rash decision can lead to disaster... so on that topic." She withdrew edevic handcuffs. "You're on a time limit. You won't always have the time. You can try to take out the person in your way to stop the training simulation, but I must urge you to focus your efforts on hazard flag capture. Do not go this route unless you're pressed for time." General Falae hooked in on her belt, then tossed the other pair to a waiting Elite. "Any questions?"
"So... you're going to be in our way?" Maia asked.
General Falae's smile turned eerie. "For you and Ranier, you'll be facing me," she said. "If you take this route, be prepared to use everything at your disposal. If you're not willing to risk your life, you're not going to be able to get me in these cuffs. Hence why I urge you simply to focus on getting to the end, together."
Maia frowned. "Is there a chance we might hurt you?"
"Oh, don't worry about me, Urtanes." General Falae chuckled. "You're not even going to get me breathing hard." She tapped her wristpad, and the holotable lit up. Thirty minutes. Is that really not enough time for her? Is she being generous? Maia studied General Falae, who lowered her hand back down to her side.
"Once you go through your marked sections, the timer will start," she said. "Remember, this is a team exercise. The flags are your top priority. You have a couple minutes to prepare with your partner. Good luck, Elites. Urtanes, Ranier, come over here so I give you the rundown of your simulation."
Maia headed for her, with James sulking behind.
"You have two checkpoints," General Falae said with a point at the holotable while Iana and her partner stretched and spoke in front of their marked door while the Elite waited for the signal. "I want you only to go through A instead of B."
"Understood, Ma'am." Maia nodded.
"Why?" Black Wolf questioned the order.
General Falae glanced at Black Wolf with a frown. "It is my directive in lieu of your skillset. B might tempt you, but remember that I'm looking out for internal assessment of situations and an ability to listen to your partner. Take A." Without another word to James, both her and her partner left into the simulation grounds proper through a door in the middle of the giant marked ones.
Black Wolf folded his arms and Maia turned to him. "We might as well talk about strategy then."
"What strategy?" he asked with a scoff. "Our quickest route is to just go straight for her."
"What about the flags?"
"Distraction, we need to get this done as fast as possible."
"But—"
Gears clanked at their door, and Black Wolf faced it with a stretch. "Do what you want. I know my goal."
Time ticked, and Black Wolf leaned forward when the gate lowered.
"Wait—"
He phased into the trees, Maia groaned and bolted into their simulation. "James!" she snapped to the wind coursing through the rustling leaves. "We need to work together!" Maia broke into a run, timing her heartbeats. He stood at the break in the forest with his arms folded, in a clearing littered with haphazard debris.
"Why waste our time?" he said with a sneer at her then pointed at General Falae, who took a seat on a concrete block. "She's right there."
"That's not the point—"
Black Wolf rushed forward, but General Falae rolled with a nimble tumble. Back on her feet, James grunted when she kicked him in the back with some force. He caught himself on a cinderblock, and Maia scowled when he zoned in on the cuffs she carried.
Maia skidded to a broken piece of railing, then ran at Black Wolf to stop her partner from taking a pointless fight. General Falae switched on her heel, and Maia gasped when she grabbed her forearm, and then shoved into Black Wolf, who fell to the ground with a huff. Maia froze at General Falae's impossible grip on her. Maia switched her attention to the cuffs.
But... if I'm this close...
Maia lunged for it, but she grunted when General Falae overturned her. Air escaped her lungs when her back smashed against the dirt. Back on his feet, Black Wolf phased to flank her, his fingers outstretched.
In an instant, she was gone, nothing but a white shimmer left behind.
Maia panted and latched onto Black Wolf's arm before he gave chase. "Stop! This plan of yours won't work!" she snapped. "We have to think this through!"
"Let go of me!" James snapped. "It didn't work because you got in my way! I said let me handle General Falae!"
"It won't work!" Maia argued when he tried to tug out of her grip. "You have to listen to me—"
"She has a point, Ranier," General Falae's distinct voice said on top of a pile of stray beams. Legs folded, she glared down at them. "Cooperation wasn't an option. It's a prerequisite."
Black Wolf broke free of her grip and phaserushed for General Falae. Maia gasped and tried to get away when General Falae grabbed onto her. Unable to manage out an 'oh shit' of alarm when her superior officer kicked the metal railing free of its grassy prison. One more kick into her chest, Maia grunted when the edevic shock-wave forced her back against a tree.
Black Wolf did nothing when General Falae rushed her.
Trapped between metal and bark, Maia struggled when General Falae bent the railing to act as a chest brace. Black Wolf rushed forward with Falae's back turned, but Maia scoffed when she whipped around and brought her palm into his head, then shoved him into the ground before disappearing into another phase of blue mist.
"Nice, James," she mumbled when he straightened himself out and patted himself off. "Now, help me out of here so we can work this out properly."
Black Wolf considered her, then turned his back without another word. Maia gaped when he phaserushed into the forest, and left her behind.
Ugh, I'm wasting my time. Maia relaxed, and then used her free hand to check her wristpad of the flag coordinates. Fine, I'll let him do it his way. I'll just find the flags and we can get this over with. I'll just use him to distract her. Knowledge of her objective settled, she pushed on the railing. Her veins flared with edevic fire, and with her newfound might, she pushed. It tore through the bark and fell at her feet.
Time to find that flag. General Falae said it'd be in a 'hazard spot' so... Maia peered around the trees while she jogged through the beaten paths left from other training simulation groups. Ground squished underneath her, and she pushed forward while distant heartbeats fluttered in her ears. On the edge of a small lake, she stared at the free-floating dock out in the middle, with the flag hanging over the edge to the watery abyss.
Platforms floated to make a path to her objective, but she frowned at the silence. Maia gaped when General Falae broke through the other side of the bank, leaping onto a platform without hesitation to rush across them as if the abyss never threatened her. Black Wolf tore after her, but came to a stop at the middle platform when General Falae stepped onto the floating dock to unhook the flag, and held her arm out to place it farther away from safety.
"Don't forget what this is about," she called as Maia took her chance to rush across the platforms, careful not to lose her balance.
Black Wolf took his chance, bridging the rest of the gap to lash out at General Falae. Maia groaned when the flag slipped out of her fingers and fell into the water. Darkness ripped through the red colour, where its pole tipped through the bubbles.
Fuck!
Maia rushed to grab it, but she stopped when Black Wolf gasped, and General Falae threw him into the lake.
Jackass... Maia shivered when General Falae gave her a side eye, then indicated to the distant A marker of their checkpoint before bouncing across the platforms for the other one.
Off her platform, she dove for the flag when it sank. Water slicked through her clothes and weighed her further, but it wound around her fingers as she tread for the surface. Droplets soaked through her short hair as she climbed onto the dock to wring it out. On the other edge, Black Wolf hung on tight to the safety hooks.
"So how's your plan going?" Maia snapped while she locked the flag in her belt, then came forward to pull him onto the dock.
"I'm working on it," he bit back and got up. "I'm going after her."
"We have to go through checkpoint A."
Black Wolf glared at her. "She went through B." Without giving himself time to breathe, he rushed off the same platforms. Maia screamed out her frustration, then gave chase after him with the sopping flag at her side. Barrier B came into view at the cut off point of their training sim, and Black Wolf rushed through it, which caused the security to beep. Maia rushed after him, where the time seared into her mind with her rescued flag.
Smoke burned into her nostrils and embers layered the air.
Black Wolf came to a stop at the edge of a paved, cracked street.
A city burning.
General Falae ran past walls of flames and toppled lamps and crumbling buildings. She came to a stop when the security beep echoed throughout the sim, and she turned around with a confused glance.
Black Wolf scowled and took a step into the field of ash.
"Black Wolf, no—!"
He ran for her without care, a different set of rage within the hazel at her last glance of them. Maia tested her environment, looking for any out of place flags before giving chase to him. One, trapped between debris, Maia rushed for it as Black Wolf bounced across the flaming street while the sounds of stone crumbled. Her fingers wrapped around the flag, and she tugged it out of the pixel collapse in time for Black Wolf to reach General Falae.
Maia looked around for more, ignoring Black Wolf to skirt the edges of the flames.
First he goes straight for the trick, now he disobeys an order... Maia tucked the flag with its companion, and went to climb a fire escape to check for other trapped flags, but stopped when Black Wolf grunted.
General Falae tossed him to the ground, where embers scattered at the force. One step back, she shook her head at James before disappearing into the smoke without another glance. Maia groaned and slid back down the fire escape as Black Wolf shambled forward.
"Why do you keep going, this isn't going to... work..." Maia faltered when Black Wolf went to a debris filled corner, and sat down. In one moment, he set his head in his knees and wrapped his arms around his head. "James?"
He ignored her.
Maia came closer while beams groaned from super-heated pressure. Pixels scattered, but wood burned. Flames whispered and danced within the smoke, and she said, "We need to get going."
"Go without me."
"What?"
"I said what I said, Mouse," he said, voice strained. "Just go without me. You have your stupid flags."
Cooperation wasn't an option. Teamwork was a prerequisite.
His heartbeat hammered in her ears with fear.
Maia glanced down at the ribbons at her waist. Knelt down at his side, she rested her hand on his forearm, and he tucked deeper into his knees.
This is a search and rescue, not a fight with the enemy... and if that includes you, then fine. Grip tight, she lifted him to his feet, where he kept his eyes closed. He scowled, but followed her without complaint to the freedom of the next checkpoint, covered in the blanket of pixel ash. It beeped to release them to another section of forest, and she let go of Black Wolf.
"We're out," she told him.
He opened his hazel eyes, but shambled forward.
"Stop," Maia bit, and he stopped. "If we're going to do this, we have to be on the same page, Black Wolf. You can't keep running into a wall and expect it to change." Her nails dug into his sleeve, and she scowled at his silence. "So... I have both the flags. We just need to get to the end."
"I don't need your help," he mumbled.
"This isn't about that now. You want to fight her so bad, then fine," she snapped. "But, if you're going to do that, then tell me what you're trying to do."
Black Wolf pursed his lips then gazed through the shattered forest. "I think she's waiting ahead — we have to make a last stand here, she's not going to make it easy. I know that now," he said, then turned back to her. "I'm going to give you a clear shot to the finish."
"What?"
"I'm going to trick her," Black Wolf said. "I'll make sure she can't stop you. If you'll let me go, Mouse, we can get this started."
"You didn't even tell me what you're planning."
"You'll know. Just let me go and you'll see."
Maia let go.
He phased in an instant, but she followed behind just as quickly. This better work, Black Wolf.
General Falae stood in their path, where it smoothed out into metal. Arms folded, her expression steeled. "Your teamwork is lacking," she said, and Maia winced at the harshness in her voice. "Not only that, you disobeyed my order." Fists raised, Maia shivered when the mask grew from her hood and latched onto her lower face, covering her nose while she indicated to the last flag on her belt. "So, I'm not giving you an option now. If you want to get to the finish line, you have to get this particular flag off me."
"Good," Black Wolf hissed. "We're on the same page."
Maia studied the gap between them when Black Wolf stepped forward.
Mist escaped the dragon's maw in cold anger.
We messed up... but we can still salvage this.
Black Wolf sent a knowing glance her way.
Maia followed in the shadow of his rush to General Falae, who puffed out a long plume of mist. He sent a swing her way, but the older woman snapped into instant, experienced action. Black Wolf grunted when she grabbed his collar, legs out from underneath him, Maia caught the fleeting glimpse of the cuffs tumbling into his hands when she slammed him into the dirt.
I need to distract her!
Fists raised, she sent her own jabs at General Falae. One shot into her block, she dodged when her opponent set themselves into a defensive stance, but she pushed her opportunity. One dodge. Another, but she grunted when a fist cracked against her jaw, though her inner edevium took the brunt of the force and she continued to grapple with the experienced Elite.
Black Wolf returned to the fray, with one half of the handcuffs around his arm. Maia grunted when General Falae kicked her to the side with ease, twisting to grab James. He pivoted on one foot with an eerie smile, then brought his arm around her elbow. He tangled the open half of the handcuff around General Falae's forearm, who stopped when it activated in an instant, and trapped them together by the forearms.
General Falae wrestled with James, who took out his training knife to swipe the flag off her belt. It tumbled to the grass, and Maia rushed forward to grab it.
In her hands, Maia rushed for the carrier at the security barrier. General Falae relaxed when she tossed the flags into it, and turned to Black Wolf, who grinned up at her, wildly.
Disappointment rippled through her features when she lifted her arm, and dragged Black Wolf along like a puppet. "What did this cost you, James?"
Black Wolf's smile died.
Maia raced back to them, but stopped when General Falae turned to her, and the cuffs lost their energy when she swiped her ID pod over them. They clattered against the metal. Black Wolf stepped back when General Falae shook her head. "Teamwork wasn't supposed to be a last resort," she said and rubbed her cuffs. "I commend your ploy, Ranier, but you forgot what this was about. I want both you and Urtanes to head to the track."
"Why?" Black Wolf asked.
"I want you two to run it until dinner." General Falae smoothed out her coat. "Run. Walk. Whatever you choose, but the only time I want to see you stop is when you're on the ground unable to move anymore. Every lap, I expect you to stop and add ten push-ups to that."
Are we... Am I being smoked because he was too much of a stubborn asshole?
The answer was yes.
Sunlight beat down on her shoulders as she ran the track with James. Edevic endurance carried her, she doubted she'd be able to manage the exercise otherwise. James kept a steady pace, while she struggled to keep up. He stopped at the line, staring at her as she heaved in a breath.
"I want to beat the crap out of you," she mumbled as she got down on her knees, and he followed her.
He ignored her.
Maia pushed off the ground, timing her breaths while sweat plastered her neck. "You have issues with authority, don't you, Black Wolf?"
James twisted his head to her with a twist of his lips. "And you follow every order like your life depends on it, Mouse. Stupid." He continued to ignore her.
Maia burst out into laughter at that and straightened herself out. "That's it? That's your comeback?"
James stood up and checked the time when the alarm General Falae set beeped. "We're done," he grumbled, and breathed deep and stomped off the track. "I'm heading back to our pod."
Maia chased after him. "I didn't think that plan of yours would work."
"Of course it did, she was still going easy on us." James scoffed. "Besides, I've done a bait tactic a billion times in Starcross."
Maia balked. "You play Starcross?"
James hesitated. "I... used to," he admitted, but glowered at her. "Thank you for the help, Mouse."
Energy spent fighting him over a name, she followed him back to base. "What position do you play?" He ignored her, but she persisted. "You take me for a frontliner with that aggressive attitude of yours."
Ignored.
Maia huffed and matched his quick stride. He sped up to get away from her.
"James," she said, tired of his avoidance. "Can we not do this?"
Not a word left his mouth.
"I was just asking a question."
"Anchor Backline."
Maia froze, but he continued to walk with his hands on his sides. "You were a backliner?" she asked. "I find that hard to believe. You have no patience."
His fists clenched. "What does it matter? It doesn't." He twisted back to her, where fiery anger overflowed the hazel. "It's not why we're here. We're not here to play Collegiate sports!"
"What is with your attitude?" Maia snapped back. "I can tolerate how easy you make things look and your habit of being an insufferable jackass. I won't tolerate you fighting me every chance you get. I know you're an eighteen quadrum old tough guy who thinks he's better than everyone else—"
"I don't think I'm better than everyone else." James turned his back on her.
"Stop acting like it."
"You're not my mom," he snapped.
"Well, fuck! I wouldn't want to be!" Maia retorted. "I feel bad for her if she has to deal with your stubborn ass!"
Her heart swelled when James' eyes widened in a single instant. It shifted into a death glare, and he stalked away from her without another word.