Vanguard Word Update

2k words

***

“I did warn you,” Kazlu chuckled, watching as the substance made a mess of his uniform. “You’ve nothing to worry about,” she clarified. “We’ve been exposed to it all our lives, we’d know if it was toxic.”

Hunter reached over with his dusty finger to wipe it on Kurtis, who jerked his arm away in fright. “Touch me with that, and you die,” he warned.

Cadell chuckled under his breath, folding his arms on the table as he addressed the alien. “Anyway, you were saying? You both left your colony about a year ago, right? How come?”

“It was not a decision we made voluntarily,” Kazlu replied, her tail flicking behind her, perhaps as a sign of discomfort. “And it’s not the easiest story to tell.”

“If you don’t want to-” Cadell began, but Samiha cut him off.

“The human clan you call the UEC drove us out,” she grumbled, her wings titching in their sheaths. “but you didn’t know that, did you? Why would you, it’s only the biggest catastrophe in our species history.”

“The Confederates attacked you?” Cadell asked. “Why?”

“You’d know better than us,” Samiha shot back. “You’re all humans, after all.”

“We were given no warning, no chance of surrender,” Kazlu added. “Their ships simply appeared in the sky, and dropped vehicles and infantry in our streets. We had air support ready, but it wasn’t enough to save the colony. Half the population was lost in the evacuation.”

Samiha’s blazing eyes cooled at that, the Balokarid lowering her gaze. The air was filled with an awkward tension at that, the five of them going quiet. Cadell wanted to say something to break it, but he wasn’t sure what he could say.

In the end it was Kurtis who cut the silence. “That sounds like something the Feds would do. They tried the same shit on Whitman, and a couple of the other colonies too, when the Hub and the rest of the Reaches chose a side. No warnings, they just decided that we were all traitors, not worth the effort.”

“Driving us off the planet wasn’t enough,” Kazlu continued. “They stalked us through space with a small fleet, picking us off one by one. We took shelter in the Nebula of this system for a while, that’s when we first met your Hub Clan.”

“I heard about that battle,” Hunter added. “First real Navy engagement between Hub and Confederate forces. And aliens, too, I guess. I heard you wiped them clean out.”

“Not without great cost,” Kazlu muttered, sparing her companion a worried glance.

“I apologise for bringin’ it up,” Cadell began. It seemed a lot had happened out here in the Galaxy these past few months, and Cadell felt like he was the only one not in the loop. If only Manildra had been given access to the intranet, maybe then he wouldn’t be so uninformed.

“It is fine,” Kazlu said. “It had to be said eventually, right? We are a team, we should know at least a little about one another.”

“Speaking of teams,” Hunter said. “Maybe we can start a little group exercise of our own. You ladies up for a game of darts?”

“Darts?” Kazlu asked, the feathers on her curved head bristling. For some reason it reminded Cadell of a human raising their brows.

“Yeah, it’s a game. Come on, I’ll show you how to play.”

Hunter stood up, making his way over to the nearest dartboard and plucking off the darts jammed into the cork. Kazlu followed with cautiously, Kurtis shaking his head as he watched.

“You’re going to teach her? Hunter you can’t throw for shit.”

“Hey I’m a pro,” Hunter replied, then walked behind the fault line and tossed a dart. The dart careened through the air and crashed into the wall with a sad thump, leaving a mark in the wood. “That was a practice one,” he added, sheepishly.

Kurtis decided to take matters in his own hands, Cadell watching the two interact with the alien as she came to grips with the game. Her first couple throws went wide, but she got the technique down remarkably quickly, and she was soon racking racking up points.

Cadell made to slide out of his seat to join them, when he noticed that Samiha was still standing there at a distance. Apart fro the occasional glance, she seemed to pay the game no mind at all. Seeing his opportunity to catch her alone, Cadell deiced to walk on over to her.

“Hey, Samiha,” he began. “Don’t you wanna play with the others?”

“This is no time for games,” she grumbled.

“But it is a time to be staring out the window, huh?” he asked. She failed to give him a reaction, so he decided to press the issue. “Alright, what’s your beef?”

“Beef?” Samiha asked, narrowing the eye on this side of her face at him.

“I grew up with five little brothers and sisters,” he said. “It was easy to tell which was one runnin’ mad with me, because they’d always have this little sour look on their faces. It’s kinda the same look you’ve been givin’ me since we we’re lined up in front of the Lieutenant.”

“Are you comparing me to a child?” Samiha snapped, the feathers on her head furling. They seemed to move and twitch involuntarily. “I have been serving my Clan long before you were even a whelp in your mother’s egg. It is you who is the child.”

“I wasn’t comparin’ you to anything, I was just sayin’… Look,” he added, trying a new angle. “Being here, on the Hub, becomin’ part of the Alliance, I had to give up a lot of things to be here. I don’t want to mess things up by getting’ off on the wrong foot, and neither do you, I’d wager. So why don’t we just start fresh?”

He held out his hand to the alien, looking up at her hopefully. He had intended his words to be reassuring, but it seemed all it had done was anger the Balokarid further, the alien snapping beak together, making in an ominous click that stung in his ears. He caught a glimpse of a few rows of sharp teeth in that moment, Cadell’s chest knotting with apprehension.

“If such things were so easy to do,” she muttered. “What are you doing with that?” she asked, looking down at his extended arm.

“It’s called a handshake,” he said, bobbing his hand. “I hope I don’t have to explain it. It’s a gesture of goodwill.”

Instead of taking it, she merely held him with that intense stare of hers, Cadell noting that her pupils were vertical, stretching from her upper lid to the lower in a curved, diamond shape. They looked almost reptilian.

Cadell awkwardly lowered his hand, his earlier concern for her attitude now replaced with irritation. “Have it your way, Samiha. At least one of us tried.”

Cadell threw up his hands, returning to the others at the dartboard, feeling Samiha’s gaze on his back all the while. The four of them agreed to a team match, and Samiha didn’t join in, not even when Kazlu implored her, and not even on the rematch.

-xXx-

They left the rec center a couple hours later, their bellies full of food and their spirits a little higher. Kazlu had slowly opened up to the humans as she tried out the various games available to them, which was more than could be said for Samiha. The agitated alien kept a firm hold on her place outside of their activities, the occasional word or two her only input. Cadell had a hard time believing that she and Kazlu were from the same place, their difference in attitudes was about as far removed as suns were from moons.

It was late in the evening, Cadell reminding them all that they had to report in for lights out. As they hurried towards the briefing room, his lingering questions about how time on the station was measured were soon answered. All at once, every lightbulb and fluorescent on the streets began to dim, some shutting off altogether, reducing the amount of light to a detail not unlike an afternoon sunset. There was no sun visible through the great glass ceiling that capped the torus, but the reduction in light approximated the effect as much as it was possible for a ringworld.

They found most of the platoon already waiting for them at the briefing room, Cadell stooping to pick up his bags. He noted that Kazlu and Samiha didn’t have any possessions of their own.

After another rolecall, the officers led them into the eastern wing of the barracks, leading them through a few pressure doors. The dormitories  were made up of three equidistant corridors, themselves all connected by one long hallway. Squad by squad, the officers brought them down each wing into their bunks, Cadell’s team one of the last ones to be assigned.

He struggled to find a solution to sharing bunks with the Balokarids. The aliens were massive creatures, and with those wings of theirs, they’d need a lot more room than a human would. Even the doors into the bunks looked too small for them.

“Elevens, this way,” the Seargent said, and led them not into the wings, but to the end of the main hallway, where a door which rivalled the size of a gate sat at the end. That explained how the aliens would get inside…

Their shared room was bigger than the other squad rooms, and not by any small margin. Cadell had bunked in rooms smaller than a shed back on Manildra, but here, two Balokarids could walk side by side down the aisle – which was very likely the intention – the east and west walls stacked with bunks. The two on the western wall were exaggerated, basically king-sized mattresses, although they were more circular in shape than rectangular. It was clear enough that those would be the Balokarid’s beds.

There were lockers next to each bed, Cadell and the humans moving over to unpack. No sooner did the Saergent leave the room did the door woosh open again, Lieutenant Marek striding in and fixing his eyes on Cadell.

“Wrong bunk, Private,” he said, Cadell blinking at him.

“Sir?”

He pointed at the bed closest to the door. “Squad leads always get the first bunk along. Don’t you know that?”

“I… didn’t know I was squad lead, Sir.”

“Then get your ignorant ass over here on the double. And you,” he added, turning to Hunter, who was sitting on said bunk of contention. “I don’t want to see one wrinkle on that blanket by the time Private Cadell gets here. If I do I’ll assign you to washing duty.”

Hunter shot onto his feet, remaking the bed like a child hearing their stern mother arriving home early. “Every squad needs its leader,” Marek said as Cadell neared. “and that’s going to be you, Private. Regardless of race or creed, I’m putting these men and women under your vigil. Don’t make me regret it.”

“I won’t, Sir,” Cadell said, raising his hand in salute. He couldn’t help but let slip a small smirk. His clean record must have earned him some favour with the Lieutenant. The salute might have ben a bit much, but a few browny points wouldn’t hurt his chances of making it through.

Marek returned the gesture, and Cadell took his bunk – Hunter scampering out of the line of fire just in time.

“You’re putting him in charge?” someone demanded, and all eyes fell on Samiha, her bed directly opposite Cadell’s. Her figners were tipped with short nails, and one was pointed square at his face. “What has he done to prove such worth? He’s hardly old enough to become a Kith’sla.”

Marek stepped forward, jabbing his own hand in her direction.

“Watch your tone, recruit Samiha. Do I have to remind you you’re here at our expense? Your Clan agreed to follow the  terms set by this program.”

“I never agreed to just let some fresh-faced boy lead me,” she spat, not bothering to even mask her disdain.

“Cadell’s performance back on the Manildra facility was exemplary,” Marek explained. “He was top of his class when it came to squad tactics, and he developed key leadership skills. That’s why he was assigned to this program. And for the record, Kith’sla Shaliyya and I both agreed on this decision. Go take it up with her if you have a problem with it.”

Cadell smirked at Samiha from across the room, then immediately regretted it. He felt like he was back home, egging one of his fuming siblings on. Wasn’t he better than that? Still, he couldn’t deny the satisfaction of the Lieutenant shutting her down like that.

“Tomorrow morning you’re to report to briefing room at oh-seven hunred hours for drill. Don’t be late,” Marek said, addressing that last part to Cadell. With that, the Lieutenant left, the door clicking behind him.

Cadell turned his attention to Samiha, but the alien was dipping into her locker, as if her blatant insubordination and disrespect were simply things of the past.

“You don’t want me to be squad leader, huh Samiha?” Cadell called, hands balling into fists. “Just what the hell’s up with you?”

Samiha paused what she was doing, and turned her beak over one shoulder. She opened her mouth to speak, but Kazlu had crossed the room in an instant, and settled a hand on her wing.

“Samiha, don’t,” Kazlu muttered. “Leave it be.”

“No no,” Cadell snapped, waving her off. “Let her speak. She’s been out for me ever since I walked in here, and it’s time to spill the beans. Well? Spit it out, Samiha. What, you think you can be a better squad lead than me?”

“We could do a lot better than you,” Samiha snarled, whirling on him. Her elbow hit her locker and the door slammed shut with a bang.