Vanguard Word Update

3k words

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“On the contrary, our influence only expanded, with dozens of smaller Clans flocking to our borders with water in droves. My parents described it as a time of prosperity for the Kaalesh Clan, allowing us to set sail to the stars. I wonder if they have any idea what has happened…”

“Has what happened?” a voice interrupted. Cadell turned to see Kazlu striding up to them, her teal feathers glinting in the light. Slung over her arm was her custom coilgun, she must have just come off from the range.

“Balokar,” Samiha said. “If anyone there knows about Dur’shala yet.”

“I’d think so,” Kazlu replied after thinking about it. “Of course, they took all of us by surprise, but the carriers in orbit would have had time to send out a distress signal.”

“Think they might send out a rescue mission?” Cadell asked her.

“Unlikely,” Samiha replied. “As I said, the Kaalesh were the only space-flight capable Clan when our parents left. But, if that has changed, it’s not us who will need to be rescued…”

“No point in worrying about the homeworld for the time being,” Kazlu told her. “Our training is what matters right now. We will return to home one day, clan-sister.”

“One day,” Samiha agreed. “But not this one. We still have a simulation to pass, and I still have much to improve on until then.”

“We all do,” Cadell agreed. “If we have the time, Samiha, could you help me out with my coilgun? I think I misplaced a part when I was putting it back together yesterday.”

“We can do it now. Come,” she added, gesturing at a nearby workbench. Kazlu did a double-take on them, making a surprised little ‘K-rawwt’ sound, clearly confused by how much better they were getting along.

“Yes, I see the problem,” Samiha said, planting her large hands on either side of his coilgun. Cadell didn’t even need to point out that it was his, she was a very perceptive creature. “You replaced the barrel before the heatsinks, didn’t you?”

“Uh, maybe?” Cadell tried.

“Watch closely,” Samiha said, her hands beginning to strip the rifle down with all the ease of a master. “I will show you the correct steps.”

-xXx-

The following weeks began to blur in a soup of war doctrine study and special weapons training, including explosives handling (Cadell remembering an especially excited Hunter taking naturally too). Between all the lessons and study, the platoon was encouraged to focus on their physical development, although no strict exercise plan was set in motion for anyone.

That last one was of particular interest to Cadell and his squad, having more reason than any of the other squads to improve themselves now that they were known as the outcasts, the hybrid team that couldn’t kill holograms even when they tried. The five of them agreed to an exercise regime that Kurtis drew up for them, as he had been part of a PT program during his time as a shipbreaker.

They ran laps around the quadrant, dipped into the swimming pool lanes when there was space, and frequented the gym whenever free time was allocated. Cadell wasn’t unfit by any means, but after two weeks of this, it felt like every muscle in his body was a fire that never refused to extinguish, even the soft mattress of his bunk every night seemed to cause more strain than relieve it.

That nagging feeling of giving up was always there in his thoughts, right there in the back, ready to come forward. But it never did. If Cadell thought for even a second that being the first of them to break would help any of them, he’d shove Kurtis’ plan where the sun didn’t shine. If Cadell took one day of rest – which was well within his right as squad leader – then the others would follow. Hunter would be first, then Kurtis himself maybe, the Balokarids last.

Samiha and Kazlu had the advantage of being from a higher-gravity planet, their muscle mass far beyond even the best human powerlifter, but even they were starting to feel the heat of the constant, daily grind the squad was subjecting themselves too. But none of them asked for it to stop, none of them complained, and Cadell was proud of them, outcasts or not.

Cadell started to feel stronger. Not by much, he’d only notice an increment here and there when he looked hard enough in the mirror. They were such small changes in the face of brutal weeks of pushing his limits, but just knowing that he was healthier now than when he first stepped foot on the Hub made it all worth it.

Cadell was getting fitter, they all were, and there came a point they got to demonstrate the fact.

Lieutenant Marek said he had a special day of training ahead of them at one point, hauling Cadell and his friends, plus half the platoon, to the training yard. Said yard was not within the many facilities of the quadrant, but out on the torus, with the naked expanse of the Milky Way hanging high above their heads like a canvas, the cosmos split down the middle by the bends of the ringworld.

A perimeter fence boxed in the yard from four sides, not unlike a basketball court, the ground a deep grey colour that was rubbery when stepped on. The squads huddled together on one side of the yard, about thirty people spread down its length.

“You’ve all trained with the coilgun platform,” Marek began, standing before the procession, his tone like a foghorn as he raised his voice. “But you’ll never know when your equipment might fail, or there’ll be no one around to top you up on ammo. That’s why today you’ll be learning how to fight with weapons that will never fail you and can never be taken away. Your own two hands.”

There were murmurs of excitement as Marek and a couple of instructors had the squads paired up with another, everyone forming a rough row down the yard. Everyone had done some basic hand-to-hand training in boot camp, so Marek walked them through some more advanced techniques, pushing out couple of training dummies to help demonstrate.

Cadell’s team lined up in a row, the five of them copying Marek’s stance. It was like their own little karate dojo, each squad member kicking out and sending punches in near-perfect synchronicity.

The lesson rolled on for maybe forty-five minutes, and then the instructors laid out some rubber mats for them to stand on and do some free-sparing, first on the training dummies, and then onto each other. Cadell practices his sweeping kicks on Kurtis, and although he was bigger and stronger than Cadell, Marek showed him how to use Kurtis’ weight to his advantage and send him off-balance with a few well-placed strikes.

They took turns knocking each other down, Cadell felling bruises on his arms and legs as the session dragged on into an hour, then two. After one especially smooth leg sweep from Cadell’s end, Kurtis hit the ground hard, chuckling despite the heavy fall. “Good shit, boss,” he said, reaching out to take Cadell’s offered arm. “I reckon you could take on one of the birds,” he chuckled.

Cadell wiped his brow and looked over at the Balokarids, two the aliens sparring off against each other. They hadn’t taken any human opponents, which was not surprising, considering their brawn and strength was far beyond anything a human could take.

He watched as they winged arms twitched and fluttered, the Balokarids favouring elbow jabs and open-palmed punches. They were taking to human fighting styles quickly, Cadell wondering how differently they fought on Balokar.

“Don’t know about that,” Cadell chuckled. “They’ve got legs as thick as my waist, I don’t think any of us could bring them down without an exosuit or somethin’.”

Hunter had been watching their progress from nearby, and he seemed to take his comment as a challenge, dropping his water bottle as he stepped out onto the mat. “I could do it,” Hunter insisted. “Fact that they’re twice the size of us isn’t the problem, it’s actually an advantage. You know, bigger they are, harder they fall, and all that shit.”

“That so?” Cadell said, the waved at the aliens. “Why don’t you go walk the walk, then?”

He thought Hunter was just messing around, but he surprised him by saying: “With pleasure, if I can tap one out, then you’ll give me squad lead. Deal?”

“You’re on.”

“Oi, Kazlu!” Hunter shouted, the alien turning her head. “You and me, let’s go.”

The alien cocked her head, glancing at the nearby Lieutenant for assurance. He’d been watching them spar with a passive interest, but now his eyebrows had risen onto his forehead.

“I doubt your opponent will ever be a Balokarid, but you’ll never know what to expect on the battlefield,” Marek said, folding his arms and gesturing with his head. “Go ahead, recruit Kazlu, if he starts bawling his eyes out, that’ll be on him.”

Kazlu stepped onto the mat, leaving maybe three meters between her and Hunter. “You’re certain you want to do this?” she asked him. “You weigh not even a third of what I do, I may crush you.”

“Already with the trash talking, Kaz?” Hunter jeered. “Come on, let’s see if you can protect yourself without your fancy shields.”

“If you insist, little Hunter,” Kazlu teased, taking up a martial artist’s stance. Hunter readied his fists like an amateur boxer, the two squaring off as Samiha got clear.

“Want me to go easier on you?” Kazlu suggested.

“If you want to lose,” Hunter shot back stoically. “I’m gonna be at the top of my game, mate. Time to get serious.”

Huner made the first move, stepping in to deliver a swift cross to her stomach, as it was the only thing comfortably in reach. Kazlu palmed his elbow, redirecting his attack wide, then pushed her shoulder into his chest. She pinned his arm beneath a knee before he’d even hit the ground, neutralising him in all of three seconds.

“Ah. Bugger,” Hunter said. He struggled against her, but Kazlu was too heavy, the alien looking down on him with a sly expression.

“I tried to warn you, friend,” she said. To there right, Marek was shaking his head, but Cadell didn’t think it was born from shame.

“Never assume a fight is won until you’re sure,” the Lieutenant said. “As I mentioned, unexpected things can happen out on the field, you never know if more of your enemy will show up. Private Shaw, what are you waiting for?”

Kurtis didn’t need to be told twice, rolling up his sleeves and cracking his neck. He fell into a light run, crouching a little as he rushed up on Kazlu from behind.

“Kee-rawwwt!” Kazlu yelped, as Kurtis looped his arms round her torso. She fell to the ground, Hunter rolling out of the way before she crushed him. The surprise attack caught Kazlu at her weakest moment, but even the brawny Kurtis wasn’t strong enough to pin her, and she curled one of her long legs to drive a knee into his chest, hoisting him aside like a tossed sack of wheat.

Before she could stand, however, Hunter threw himself into the fray, and with Kurtis’ help they were able to bring her down like footballers going for the tackle. He heard Kazlu’s sweet laughter rise out from the tangle of limbs as the humans threw everything they had at her. Even Samiha, who was often so indifferent, was curling her lips into a smile as she watched the tiny humans bring down the alien giant.

“This is not supposed to be a laughing matter, elevens,” Marek sighed, coming forward and breaking it up. As he ran them through some practices on how to redirect someone’s weight, Cadell wondered over to stand by Samiha’s side, the alien’s amber eye on this side turning to regard him.

“I had my doubts, but looks like some of us can go toe-to-toe with a Balokarid,” Cadell noted.

“Don’t let this display fool you,” Samiha scoffed. “Kazlu was holding back, and she still had Hunter pinned in one move. Besides, two on one is hardly a fair fight.”

“You heard the Lieutenant, fightin’s not meant to be a fair thing. ‘Sides, Hunter’s cocky, impulsive, he wasn’t takin’ it seriously either.”

“Think you could handle a Balokarid in a real fight?” Samiha asked, eyes locking to his. It was hard to tell if that was a stare of challenge, or if she was just curious.

“Maybe. Why don’t we find out?”

“Let’s go then” she said with a shrug. She moved to her half of a vacant rubber mat nearby, Cadell taking up his spot opposite her. He rolled up his sleeves up to the elbows, warming up his shoulders a he rolled them. Samiha was wearing the signature singlet that all Balokarids wore, the garment clinging tightly to her powerful but lithe figure.

She held out her hands, the palms open as if she meant to offer him handshakes. Cadell raised his fists, his heart pumping from the prior exertion, and from a bit of trepidation as well. Samiha had referred to him more than once as a boy, and even if they had come to a sort of peace treaty since then, this was his chance to prove his strength. He didn’t want to mess this up.

She was letting him take the first move, standing there without making any attempt cover her weakpoints. Cadell inched closer, stepping toward her left side, as he knew that the right was her dominant hand. He stepped in suddenly, thrusting out with a jab. His wrist flared with pain as she slapped it aside, leaving him open, but again, she didn’t try to attack him.

He aimed lower, meaning to hit with an uppercut, but his fist found its way in the path of her palm, her feathery fingers closing over his hand. She shoved him back, Cadell stumbling away, blinking whe he saw a rusty-red fist aiming for his face. He ducked beneath it, delivering a roundhouse kick as he rose from the crouch. Cadell had learned that move back on the Manildra military base, he wasn’t some fresh-faced recruit new to all this, and he was determined not to go down as easily as Hunter had.

Cadell was quick, but not quick enough, his boot catching on air as the Balokarid ducked the attack. The next thing he knew, he felt three sharp points on his chest.

“Dead,” Samiha announced.

Cadell blinked at her. One of her long legs was thrust forward, and he looked down to see her bird-like feet burrowing into his uniform, her claw-shaped toes ready to tear him to ribbons.

Not ready to be outdone, he gripped one toe with his left hand, and her heel with his right, making a twisting motion with both. Samiha voiced a caw of alarm as she hopped away before he could cement his grip, bouncing on the spot as she limbered up her arms.

“Still think you can take me?” Samiha teased.

“I’m just warming up,” Cadell replied, twitching his fingers in a come here gesture. “Round two, let’s do it.”

She grinned at him, but there was more than humour behind those yellow eyes. Aggression, if he had to guess. She didn’t think this was just for practice, it seemed. “As you wish.”

This time she made the first move, her rusty frame zipping over the matt toward him like a bullet. The air whistled as she hooked an elbow towards his face, Cadell deflecting it aside. She came at him with another fast hit, her movements so quick he struggled to track them with his eyes. She might have skirted nine feet tall, but she wasn’t slow by any margin.

Cadell found that if he stayed low enough, his shorter stature compared to her meant he was more out of her reach than in it, forcing Samiha into a lower stance that she wasn’t used to. He weathered blow after blow, growling under his breath. He’d never get a hit in just by blocking, he had to go on the offensive.

He lashed out with a jab aimed at her beak, Cadell panicking as she felt him grip her arm. She turned him around, her other hand snaking over to hook across his neck, Samiha now standing behind him. She had him in a headlock, the soft texture of her feathers contrasting with the liquid muscles flowing beneath her bicep. He tried to pull her arm away, but she reached looped her limb across his elbow, immobilising him.

“Dead again,” Samiha muttered somewhere above him. “Need more time to warm up, Cadell?”

Her grip on his neck was not tight enough to choke, but he couldn’t break free through grit alone. Remembering a technique Marek had taught them not long ago, he pushed on her elbow from below, rotating his body as he twisted under her forearm. He broke out of her grip, curling his fist and lashing out with it, the blow landing right in her belly.

Her abdominals were like rocks beneath his knuckles, but as much as it hurt his hand, the attack sent Samiha reeling. She only tumbled maybe two small steps backward, but the alien looked like she’d just seen a ghost, a hand creeping to her stomach as she gave Cadell an astounded look.