Chapter 8

Many violent years passed for the colonists of Tarrus. Constant raids from Demihumans made life unstable as the humans lived in constant fear. Alien raiders would often come to kidnap the young and sell them into slavery. The only thing saving the humans from total annihilation were the Elementals under Maranu’s leadership. Among the Elementals, Lexandar and Sifa rose to prominence, being hailed as heroes by Pureskin and Psionic Users alike. The raids would ebb for a time as the nonhumans came to fear Maranu, Lexandar, and Sifa, their power on par with even the oldest of Dragons. However, the threat to humanity never ceased completely, nor did the prejudice that the Elementals suffered at the hands of the Pureskins. Many among the Militia refused to fight alongside the Elementals, often leaving them to battle hordes of Demihuman aggressors alone. Also, to ensure the cooperation of the populace, Maranu was forced to allow the bureaucrats to maintain their political control. If he tried to seize control of the government himself using his powers, the people would’ve decried him as a usurper and the whole colony would’ve revolted against him and the Thousand Founders. He could hardly hope to fight against the alien raiders and his own people, so he made a compromise. The shackles of power is thus that even the powerful must be enslaved to something.

Éclair shook her head, feeling sore and groggy. She also felt cold. Ryan wasn’t snuggling next to her like he usually did. She instinctively called out for him, hoping she didn’t sleep too late to wish him well before he went out hunting.

“Ryan, I have a splitting headache, and the chill is dreadful,” she moaned pathetically as she rubbed her aching head. “Could you just come back to bed and stay a little longer this morning? Actually, you might as well stay all day. We have more than enough supplies for the time being from your last hunt.”

She reached out blindly for him. She felt the shoulder of someone, but the arm was far too slender and feminine to belong to Ryan.

“Uh, sis, you okay?” came Rachel’s voice.

Éclair gasped as she opened her eyes and removed her hand from Rachel’s shoulder. Rachel had taken off her armor, now only wearing a simple red blouse and skinny jeans. Memories of the training exercise instantly came back to Eclair. She also felt a goodly amount of embarrassment for what she said about Ryan.

“Rachel! Where ... what happened?”

Rachel didn’t answer as she glanced to the side. Éclair only then noticed several jittering voices arguing quietly somewhere. She looked around from where she lay on the hospital bed, soon realizing that her armor had been stripped off, but she thankfully had her white tank top and blue gym shorts beneath, so she still retained some dignity. She recognized a room in the medical wing by the distinct beeping of surgery equipment and the flying medical droids buzzing around her as they ran various scans over her body. The white plating surrounding the walls made for a cozier background than the gray steel that permeated most of the underground installations that comprised the Fire Ministry’s infrastructure.

In the far corner of the room, Leon and her other teammates were arguing with the two Wielders about something. Torsha was there as well and looking better than the last time Éclair saw her unconscious. Éclair also noticed the two Elven children who had acted as the hostages for the simulation. Her head was still too fuzzy to recognize them, but she knew that she knew them from somewhere. However, she did recognize the person cringing behind them, clearly trying to make herself inconspicuous as she leaned as far away from Leon and the others as possible. Éclair still had no idea how or why Sharon Morgan of all people had shown up during the test, but she would be damn sure to find out.

“You could’ve killed her, you bungling oaf,” she heard Leon say heatedly to Victor. He wasn’t quite yelling, but his tone and his words could be seen as insubordination.

“The dampening field prevents fatal injury, you pampered prat. Everyone knows that,” returned Victor just as fiercely.

“That’s still no excuse for everything that came before,” retorted Leon. Éclair couldn’t remember ever seeing Leon this livid. He gestured towards Sharon, who cowered at Leon’s jerky hand. “You call yourselves professionals, but you let that pirate brat just waltz in this supposedly secured facility and interfere with everything.”

“So I’m just supposed to magically oversee all security in the entire Fire Ministry?” said Victor with a dramatic wave of his hands. “Every teleporter malfunction and forcefield breach is my fault now, huh? And need I remind you that the pirate is your friend, Third Level Lurranna.”

Leon drew himself up to his full height, looking like he might strike the Wielder as he brandished a finger like a dagger. “An associate, not a friend. And though I may not be able to blame you for Sharon’s blunders, I can blame you for your own. Pitting Éclair against two Wielders so soon after her recovery was ill-advised. And using Zombies of all things after her trauma on Black Star.”

“Don’t blame Victor for that, Mystic boy,” said Erica loudly as she stepped in. “I was the one who picked the scenario. I wanted to know if any of you had endured adverse effects from your recent exploits.”

“I’ll show you adverse effects, you despicable sow,” growled Grafael, his voice so powerful that Éclair could feel her bed rumble. “If my protectorate undergoes any permanent damage, then by Rhuknor’s fury, you will suffer till the ends of your-”

“That’s enough out of all of you!” shouted Victor, the lights flickering off and on. A slight orange glow enveloped Victor as his authority as a Wielder became manifest.

Most of the room’s occupants recoiled at the sudden raised presence of the Wielder. Éclair also winced a bit as she felt the sting of his flared psions from across the room. The only ones who seemed unaffected were Kormal and Mozar who observed the goings on with quiet detachment. Even Leon and Grafael flinched a bit, though looked no less furious as they continued glaring daggers at the two Wielders.

“One more word of disrespect directed at me or Lady Konamay, and I’ll have you both court-martialed,” said Victor in a low, threatening voice that was infinitely more menacing than his yelling.

Leon didn’t look the least bit intimidated as he and the smoldering Wielders stared down each other in a battle of wills. Fearing that the situation might escalate further, Éclair forced herself to sit up from the bed despite the protestations of Rachel. Everyone’s attention immediately went to her, which she was hoping for in order to distract the debaters from their standoff.

Grafael was at Éclair’s side in an instant. “My protectorate, you shouldn’t-”

Éclair shushed her well-meaning friend with a finger to his lips. “While I appreciate the concern, Grafy, your approach is erroneous. You think I want you and Leon throwing your careers away because of my mistakes?”

“Your mistakes?” said Leon incredulously.

Éclair nodded tiredly, standing to her feet with some aid from Grafael. “If I had just completed the mission without getting so distracted, I wouldn’t have gotten schooled like a damn Grunt. An Elemental must always account for the unforeseen and adapt accordingly. Sharon’s appearance only reinforces the fact that I still have much to learn.”

Erica crossed her arms, smiling appraisingly at Éclair. “Seems the young Second might be the only one to grasp the true intent behind this exercise. I misjudged you, girl.”

Though Éclair still wasn’t sure if she liked Erica, she rendered the Water Wielder a small bow of respect. Addressing Victor, Éclair said, “Wielder Harock. I take it that I was knocked unconscious and teleported to the medical bay due to my own incompetence. Did my team rescue the last hostage before the time limit expired?”

Victor shook his head. “No. Although I wouldn’t say you all failed outright. The arrival of the Pureskin obliged me to end the test early, though I do feel sorry for clocking you in the face with a fireball before I noticed her.”

“Like I said, I consider that my own misjudgement. I shouldn’t have let my guard down. I apologize for my carelessness.” Éclair then gave Victor a formal bow as she said slowly, “I also must beg your pardon for my team’s behavior. I hope you don’t hold it against us, my lord, but I am prepared to offer recompense on their behalf if need be.”

Victor inclined his head in a nod of respect, his features softening somewhat as the angry glow of his aura dissipated. “You may not have completed the mission, but you understood the underlying principle behind this test, so we can at least consider that a success. As for the other incident, I can understand the protectiveness between teammates. I’ll overlook it just this once ... provided it never happens again.”

Leon glanced between Victor and Éclair as he sighed and bowed as well to the Wielder. “It won’t. Grafael and I will submit formal apologies to both you and Lady Konamay. Furthermore, we shall accept any disciplinary action you deem fit.”

Grafael cleared his throat as he joined Leon in bowing. “We will ... for honor’s sake.”

Victor sniffed and shook his head. “That won’t be necessary for me.”

“It might for me,” grumbled Erica, though mostly to herself.

Now that the danger to her friends had been diffused, Éclair turned her attention to the Space Pirate. The girl bashfully kept her gaze downcast. Sharon Morgan was pretty by most standards. Long, curly black hair, darkly tanned skin, and unique blue and green eyes, a sign of heterochromia. She was a bit on the short side, but she also had a pleasingly curvy build. Sharon wore nothing but gray overalls covered in grime and greasy boots, leaving her fit arms bare. A pair of goggles rested on her head, completing the ensemble of a gearhead, which is exactly what she was if Thisy’s praise of her engineering skills was any indication. Ryan had befriended the girl after rescuing her on Black Star. Éclair felt a certain obligation to Sharon since the time she once considered leaving the girl to die if only to keep Ryan and Leon safe. But even realizing that, Éclair couldn’t deny a certain amount of annoyance considering that Sharon’s untimely appearance had ultimately cost them their victory in the training exercise.

She did once volunteer to help Grafael find me and Ryan when we went missing ... and she didn’t even know either of us, thought Éclair to herself. I was willing to leave her to die because I was so afraid for Ryan and Leon. I owe her. I should keep that in mind despite her meddling.

“Sharon, I think I speak for all of us when asking how and why you came to be here,” Éclair said, trying to keep her voice gentle. “This facility is usually off-limits to guests. The high-level battles with Elemency we hold here are dangerous for Pureskins like yourself, even with the dampening fields in place.”

“Also, aren’t you supposed to be leaving today with Jim...” started Rachel suddenly. She seemed to catch herself as she carefully rephrased. “With Captain James?”

Sharon cleared her throat as she rubbed her arm uncomfortably without meeting anyone’s eyes. “Well ... I ... uh ... it’s like this, see. I ... I was just-”

“Oy!” yelled a loud voice from outside the medical ward’s door that Éclair was fairly familiar with.

A moment later, the doors disintegrated in a soundless explosion of flames to reveal Captain James himself. He was soon followed by Thisimius of all people, the big Ogre’s lumbering gait making his brown belly jiggle with every step.

“Sharon,” said James breathlessly as he pushed past everyone to cup Sharon’s cheeks. “What you about, kiddo? You scared me half to death, you did. Had the whole crew up in arms lookin’ for ya. If I hadn’t bumped into ol’ Thisy here, we wouldn’t have known where you scampered off to.”

Éclair had to admit, she’d known a few cute boys in her time, but James was definitely one of the cuter specimens. His young face was lean and handsome, his mouth seemingly frozen in a perpetual grin that preluded mischief. From what she heard, James was perhaps a year or so older than Leon, but one would hardly guess given the way the two men acted. He was average in height, standing even shorter than she did, but his tight build and fit physique certainly left nothing to be desired. He had short, unruly black hair and sported a soul patch goatee on his chin as of late. Like Sharon, James had dark skin, and on the few times she’d seen him without his glasses, she noted that he also had one blue eye and one green eye, the same as his sister. He usually wore a long, black leather trench coat over a simple white shirt, brown camo pants, and black boots. He also often enjoyed wearing an old-fashioned cutlass in a scabbard strapped to his belt, though Éclair had never actually seen him use it before as he usually employed laser guns when fighting. She was surprised at how skillfully James fought against the Parasites on Black Star, especially considering that he was just a Pureskin. But with his unique gadgetry and abnormally sharp reflexes, James might prove a handful even for an Elemental.

“Thisy told me ya were tinkerin’ with one of his Gateways,” said James in concern as he ran a hand over Sharon’s head. “That ya used some codes he gave ya to hack your way into their computers to get to the holodeck. Ya know unauthorized jumps like that are dangerous. Ya could’ve turned your insides into your outsides.”

Sharon patted away James’ hands, flushing with embarrassment. “I’m fine, Jimmy. I’m just ... in a spot of trouble, is all.”

“Why, sis? What you done? What you even doing here, anyhow?

“That’s what we’d like to know,” said Victor rather grumpily.

James took an aggressive step between Victor and his sister. Éclair wondered if she should step in, but Rachel beat her to the punch.

“Wielder Harock. Captain James and his crew are here as special guests of Squad 99. Please, sir. Let me take full responsibility for this. Whatever repercussions need to happen, I’m prepared to accept them on their behalf.”

“That’s sweet of ya, luv,” said James stoically as he kept his focus on Victor. “But you don’t have to put yourself out on my account.”

“It’s not for you,” grumbled Rachel as she turned away from James.

James ignored Rachel as he gave one of his good-natured smiles, raising his hands apologetically. “Listen here, your Elemental lordship, sir. Me sis is a good gal. She usually don’t start mischief like I do. She was probably just tinkerin’ with some of them new, fancy gadgets you got here, and got carried away. You know gearheads, right? That being the case, don’t look like there was any harm done. So why don’t we just let bygones be bygones, and call it square then, eh?”

Victor’s eyes narrowed suspiciously at James. “I find it highly unlikely that the girl just ‘accidentally’ hacked into one of our Gateways and circumvented the security fields we have in place around the holodeck to prevent unauthorized transmissions.” Shooting a glance over his shoulder, he said, “Don’t you, Thisy?”

Thisy looked a tad uncomfortable as he rubbed his big shoulder. Éclair had heard that Sharon and Thisy had become friends. He probably had mixed feelings about saying something that could get Sharon in trouble.

“Well, aye. Does seem a smidge unlikely. I only caught the breach afterwards when the alarms went off. Took real ingenuity to do what she did. She only had part of the codes I gave her to do some maintenance on their new ship we built for ‘em, but that shouldna been enough to get past the forcefields.”

Sharon put a hand to her mouth, coughing a bit. “I ... uh ... I also mighta punched a hole in the field using one of them new splicers ya gave me. I used it to find recent teleporter activities on the holodeck, knowing that was probably where everyone would be.”

Thisy stroked his chubby chin and nodded. “Aye. That’d about do it. No doubt when they teleported one of the hostages out of the simulation, ye were able to piggyback on the signal and trace it to the source, so that’s what brought ya so close to Éclair. Though when ya asked me for them splicers, I didna ken ya meant to throw our whole Ministry up in arms.”

“I wasn’t planning to,” Sharon added quickly. “I only asked for those splicers to reinforce the Legacy’s shields so their specs could be closer to Ministry grade, honest!”