Chapter 554: 4th & 10 (1/2)

It was after dinner, after dark, on a day where the atmospheric cleansing called for heavy rain, thunder, lightning, and wind. Inside his room Vuxten stared at his textbook for a long moment. His schooling had moved from Company Phase to Battalion Phase, meaning he had to learn how to be on the staff for a Battalion HQ Company. The S2, Unit Security Officer, phase was driving him crazy.

He closed it, leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. The cybereye clicked loudly in the silence.

Who would have thought the Terrans would have developed so many classes, courses, instructional systems, for their military? he thought to himself. For a people that present themselves as Front Toward Enemy and facerollers, they sure as hell aren't that in reality.

Vuxten lifted up his bottle of narcobrew and sipped at it, the cool crisp taste feeling good on his throat.

He set the bottle down and reached out to turn the page on his manual when there was a light chime to indicate someone was at the door of his cadet suite.

Vuxten got up, checked himself in the mirror quickly. He was wearing his Physical Training uniform. Light blue fiber cloth, breathable, but warm, with 1ST TELKAN written on the front in big block letters and VUXTEN written across the back shoulders in smaller block letters.

He moved over and opened the door.

The Terran female from earlier stood outside in the rain. She was wearing a heavy cloth cloak with a hood, fur around the collar, the edge of the hood, and on the end of the sleeves. Her eyes were brown and intent as she looked down at Vuxten.

”There you are, Knight,” she said. Vuxten noticed her voice seemed amused.

”Maybe I help you, Xir?” Vuxten asked.

”You may refer to me as Lady Khoonkeenadee, Lady Keena, Milady, or Your Grace,” the Terran said. ”But no, you can not help me.”

”Then what...” Vuxten started.

”But I can help you,” she finished.

Lightning flashed outside and Vuxten was suddenly aware of the two Tukna'rn in heavy power armor standing outside the rain, the rain popping and hissing as it hit the enabled battlescreens.

”How?” Vuxten said slowly, suspicion filling his voice.

”The rage. You still feel it. It echoes inside of you and feels as if it is gathering strength,” Lady Keena said softly. She held up her hand, showing tiny threads of electricity moving up and down between her fingers like a Jacob's Ladder. Behind her lightning flashed. ”I can help you before it poisons you, before it overwhelms your mind and your soul.”

Vuxten opened his mouth to protest, then slowly shut it, remembering what had happened on the practice course.

Lady Keena nodded as the thunder rolled. ”Good. You see the wisdom of my words.”

Vuxten watched as she turned and started to walk away, making a motion. ”Follow. We go to retrieve your armor and your squire.”

Vuxten grabbed his hat and pulled it on, grabbed his keys, and shut/locked his door, following the Terran out into the rain. ”My what?” he asked as he jogged up next to the Terran woman.

”Your squire. Your green mantid battle buddy,” the woman said. She threw the hood back, revealing her tightly woven hair. Vuxten noted that she had thin copper and bronze wires interwoven in the hair that was braided so tightly it looked like plastic.

”Should I let 471 know that...” Vuxten started. The Terran was moving with long strides, forcing Vuxten to jog to keep up.

”He has been informed. He is preparing your armor,” Lady Keena said. ”It is fate that led me here, to this place,” she said as thunder growled. ”It was your fate that lured me to this place.”

Vuxten frowned. ”How so?” he asked.

”You shall see,” the Terran said.

Despite Vuxten's attempts to get her to elaborate, she stayed silent all the way to the morgue. Once there, Vuxten climbed into his armor, relaxing slightly as it closed around him. It started up, went through the self-tests, and finally the cradle released.

--you ok-- 471 asked.

”Yeah, a little annoyed,” Vuxten said. ”She's being really weird.”

--human weird-- 471 said, flashing a shocked emoji with wide blinking eyes. --no cant be human never weird--

”Hardy har har,” Vuxten said. He slowly turned around, looking up at the Terran woman. The four Tukna'rn all were spread out, carefully standing so they could engage her without catching one another in their fields of fire.

Vuxten's armor went over their armor's capabilities, and the fact they were carrying M318 autocannons was startling, as well as the fact they had additional phasic shielding.

”Come,” was all Lady Keena said.

Vuxten expected to be led to the CQC practice building.

Instead she took him out to an empty grass field where the rain hissed against the PT area.

She slowly turned and faced him and Vuxten nearly stepped back.

Her eyes were a hot amber.

”Tonight will be the first night you learn self-control,” she said softly.

Vuxten opened his faceplate, staring at her. ”I don't understand.”

”No, you do not,” Lady Keena said. ”Thus, it falls upon me to explain.”

Vuxten resisted rolling his eyes. ”Explain what?”

”How to keep yourself from being overwhelmed,” Lady Keena said. She pulled her hand out of a pocket of the cloak, tossing a hard light emitter into the grass nearly twenty feet away. She tapped the controls on a bracelet for a long moment and a Dwellerspawn flickered into existence.

Vuxten felt his temples pound as he recognized it. One of the nastier ones, heavily armored, quick with its snapping claw tipped arms, fast on its eight legs.

Lady Keena tapped again and a broodcarrier shielding a half dozen podlings appeared in front of the Dwellerspawn, the broodcarrier flinching back.

The whole thing began moving and Vuxten heard the broodcarrier keen out in terror and despair as the Dwellerspawn lunged forward, grabbing the broodcarrier in both claws.

It ripped the broodcarrier in half, then began pinching to pop the little podlings like grapes.

Vuxten swallowed thickly.

The image vanished and another image popped up. This one of the one of the Precursor Autonomous War Machines as it ripped the pelt from several dead Telkan and stuck the bloody fur to its own armored hull.

”No more,” Vuxten whispered softly. He went to turn away. ”Turn it off, please.”

Strong Terran hands grabbed his helmet, holding his head in place despite the fact that the armor's hydraulics should have let him ignored the hands. The chain around his fist and forearm began to smoke, the smoke lost quickly in the rain and wind.

”Do you feel that?” Lady Keena asked.