Valor's Child (Valor's Children Book 1)

by Kal Spriggs

  I continued to climb. Here or there I heard some more sporadic gunfire, but it seemed to come from all around, as if the defenders had more opponents to engage than just us. I was glad for that, because while it meant the competition was doing well... they were also making it possible for me to get further.

  I wasn't certain if I was even close to the halfway point. My arms burned and my fingers ached as I pulled myself upwards. More than once I reached upwards towards a handhold only to freeze as something felt off. I learned to trust that instinct as I shifted away from those types of traps, too focused to even sort through what was wrong and I would just categorize it as a threat and move on.

  I came up on the shoulder of the mountain and looked over, shocked to see that I had already passed the halfway point and was three quarters of the way or more up the side. I looked back and saw Ashiri, still only about a dozen meters below me. Off to my side, I saw Sashi had gained a bit more distance, she was almost at the very top. Below her and to the side, though I saw Thorpe, from Ogre Section. He had just slipped onto a wider ledge and had brought his rifle up.

  I started to shout a warning even as I brought up my rifle. I didn't have a great angle on him, he had part of the ledge to shelter behind, but he wasn't far away. I felt right as I leveled my rifle on him and fired at his exposed legs.

  Even as I lowered my rifle, I saw him go limp. I saw Sashi look back down at me and I gave her a thumbs up, even as she looked over and saw Thorpe behind her. For whatever reason, I saw her gaze go towards the stands, almost as if she were looking to see if anyone had seen it.

  I wasn't too concerned at this point. Everyone else had worked together to one extent or another on the past few runs.

  I looked over to see Ashiri scamper past me. She made a face at me as she past me, clearly in a stretch where climbing was a bit easier. I sighed and started climbing again, even as I heard gunfire from over where I'd last seen Karmazin. I hoped he was doing well, even if he was irritating.

  I could see that Sashi was almost to the top when a pair of opposition rose from hiding near her. One of them fired at her while the other fired at Ashiri. Ashiri managed to crawl sideways, only ten meters or less from the top, and out of the immediate line of fire. Sashi, though, was pinned down, unable to move. Neither of them had a good angle on her, but if she moved at all, they would probably get her.

  Of course, that meant they both could shoot at me. I wedged my leg into a crevice and used that to brace me as I fired back. My shots were one handed and I knew I wasn't very accurate, but it was enough get their heads down. That was enough for Sashi to scramble up and return fire from their sides and one of them fell limp while the other ducked down, only to be caught by Ashiri.

  I let out a sigh of relief and started to climb again. Above me, I saw that Ashiri had almost reached the top and Sashi had already scrambled over. We've made it, I thought.

  Yet, I saw that Ashiri's safety line had gotten tangled with something when she had climbed sideways. As she climbed she had a longer and longer section of it almost taut below her. She angled back my way in an effort to untangle it, but I could tell that she was focused on reaching the top, she didn't want to have to climb back down to free it.

  Still, as she almost reached the top, she had to pause to tug on it to get more rope to climb. Clearly it was a problem. I could see she was almost tempted to unclip, but she continued onwards with the tangled line.

  I felt worry gnaw at me, though. I'd seen Regan fall only a few meters and be injured, Ashiri already had ten meters or more of slack rope below her. If something happened...

  It happened in a split second. One moment she climbed above me, nearly at the edge. The next moment I heard gunfire and Ashiri let out a curse and slipped.

  She started to fall past me and I reacted without thinking, my right hand reached out to grab her as my left hand clamped hard on the crevice I had wedged it into.

  Even as light as she was, her weight hit me hard. I felt something in my shoulder pop and I barely held back a scream as pain shot through my entire arm. Ashiri swung back against the cliff face. I heard her grunt as she hit, but she caught hold and her weight left me. I almost passed out from the pain.

  Yet I was so close. Ashiri had been only a couple meters above me. I tried to bring my right arm up and whimpered as pain lanced through my shoulder. I could climb the last little bit one handed, if I had to. I pulled myself close against the cliff face and reached upward blindly until I found a handhold and then slowly pulled myself upwards.

  I could do this, I thought, I would do this. Not for Tony. Not for my parents, not even for the Admiral. I would do this for me. I pulled myself up again, and then again, the agony from my shoulder a counterpoint to my every movement.

  I heard Ashiri say something, but I couldn't hear her over the roaring in my ears. I was almost there. Another meter at most.

  My hand caught the lip of the edge and I dragged myself up and over, kicking my legs and then stumbling to my feet.

  The mountain top was mostly flat and empty, other than a pedestal with a large red button at the center. Sashi stood next to it, her rifle in her hands. I hadn't heard any kind of siren or buzzer, so I assumed she hadn't pushed it yet. Off to the side I could see Karmazin start to come over the edge and I could see Ashiri's fingers on the edge behind me out of the corner of my eyes.

  My head spun and I wanted to vomit from the pain of my shoulder. My left hand hurt as well and as I looked at it, I could see I'd ripped the skin and that my pinky stuck out at an odd angle, probably from how I'd jammed it in the crevice to hold on. I looked over at Sashi, whose gaze kept going to the reviewing stands and the officers that sat there, watching us.

  “Hurry, up,” I said, my voice woozy from pain. “Push the button, I'm next.”

  Sashi looked back at me and brought her rifle up, “No other way.”

  “What?” I asked. Why was she pointing her rifle at me? We had an agreement, we were working together, I had saved her twice now...

  I didn't finish that thought before she shot me, right between the eyes.

  ***

  Chapter Twenty: I Never Liked Her Anyway

  I woke up in what I could only assume was the infirmary.

  I'd never been to a hospital, never broken a limb or even caught a bad cold. As I lay there on the hard, uncomfortable bed, my whole body felt distant. In the background, I could hear voices, raised in anger.

  “This is a mockery. Candidate Drien was the first to the top, she should be awarded full points, anything less is preferential treatment of the worst sort,” the angry voice said.

  I recognized the Admiral's voice, her words clipped and harsh, “I have neither influenced the judges’ decision nor will I do so. Your continued demands for me to do that show poor judgment on your part in what comes down to a minor difference in standing.”

  “You allowed your granddaughter to have an unfair advantage–”

  “Did I?” the Admiral's voice could have been forged of steel. “I have had no contact with her since her arrival here at the Academy Prep School. She has conducted her training here without any interference and in fact, before that I have spoken to her for less than five minutes in total time. Nor, I might add, have any of her relatives’ imparted confidential knowledge about the processes of the Academy to her as has happened with your granddaughter. So, if you wish to claim impropriety in regards to my operations of the Academy and its personnel, I will ask you to make a statement in writing so that I might gather all appropriate witnesses and evidence for an official inquiry.”

  Whoever she spoke with didn't answer for a very long time. “This isn't over,” he said finally. I could hear the pain in his tone, like he had some long-held hate that had turned to acid and eaten him from the inside. I couldn't imagine hating someone that much.

  “Toshi, I'm well aware of that at this point,” the Admiral said.

  At that point I heard bootsteps as the angry man turned and left. I f
elt some minor bit of sympathy for him, since I'd crossed words with the Admiral before. I knew just how impossible it was to get the better of her.

  I heard a door creak and open and I kept my eyes closed as I heard someone's weight settle into a chair next to my bed. “Well, now,” the Admiral said. “Now that that unpleasantness is behind us, how are you feeling?”

  I could have laid there and pretended to sleep, but somehow I knew I wouldn't fool her. I opened my eyes, “Odd, distant.”

  “The painkillers,” the Admiral nodded. “That will pass. I'm sure the doctors will want to finish reconstruction of your shoulder and have you up and about in no time. Not bad, considering you dislocated your shoulder and broke two of your fingers, plus you look a bit like a raccoon with a broken nose and two black eyes from where you were shot. Training rounds to the face are always painful.”

  I couldn't help but look away. “I'm sorry that I failed.”

  The Admiral gave a snort. “Then you're sorry for nothing. You did well. Surprisingly well, I'd say, except I know how stubborn and competitive we Armstrongs can get.”

  I flushed at that. “But I'm injured, I had heard that a serious injury is a washout.” Certainly that was what had happened to everyone else who had been injured so far.

  “Not necessarily,” the Admiral said. “You completed the final exercise. We don't discuss it much, but anyone who even starts the final exercise is cleared to graduate. You didn't wash out, girl, you'll graduate with the others in six days.”

  I looked at her with wide eyes, “I will?” My head swum a bit, a mix of the painkillers and shock, I think.

  “You will. With honors, too, as the top ranked graduate,” the Admiral gave a tight smile.

  “What?” I demanded. “But I didn't even finish, Sashi... that is, Candidate Drien shot me.” The betrayal stung, all the more for the fact that I should have known better than to trust her.

  “Candidate Drien did, indeed shoot you,” the Admiral nodded. “and she was then shot by Candidate Karmazin and Candidate Takenata, more or less simultaneously. At that point, Candidate Karmazin reached the button first, followed by Candidate Takenata. Which meant that Candidate Karmazin received thirty points for completion with the best time and Candidate Takenata received twenty nine points for completion with the second best time. Candidate Drien, on the other hand, did not touch the buzzer, since she instead chose to wait and ambush her fellow candidates first. Therefore she received fourteen points for partial completion and had the third best time, for thirteen more points and a total of twenty seven points.”

  I frowned and shook my head. It seemed hard to force my brain to work. “But... I should have only twenty six points, then, right?” Fourteen for partial completion and then with the fourth best time, twelve points.

  “Plus an additional five points allocated at the judges' discretion for saving Candidate Takenata from severe personal injuries... and injuring yourself in the process,” the Admiral said. “Which was all the more impressive for the fact that you didn't have an agreement to help her. You did it because it was the right thing to do.”

  “I didn't...” I frowned, “Wait, you knew about my agreement with Sashi?” I couldn't think about the fact that I was top ranked. I didn't really feel that I had deserved that. I'd trusted Sashi Drien, after all, and she had betrayed me not just once but several times.

  The Admiral arched an eyebrow at me. “Girl, we monitor almost every bit of your existence from your arrival through graduation. Trust me, there is very little that I don't know about what goes on here.” She straightened a bit, “Now then, you'll be graduating with the others and the doctors assure me that they'll have you up and about well in time for that. But I wanted to ask you what you would prefer. The slow repair will keep you here in the infirmary until graduation day, but it'll be less painful and probably more comprehensive. The quick treatment will have you back in your section tonight, but it'll require physical therapy and you'll be on painkillers for the next couple days.

  I shuddered at the thought of that. Not just for the idea of this odd, disconnected feeling lingering on. I didn't want to have to go back to the room I shared with Sashi. I didn't want to see her, not just because she had betrayed me. I didn't want to have to see her face, the look of defeat that she must have. With twenty seven points, she would be fourth in ranking... which meant she had dropped four places. She had gone into this exercise confident that she would win. I didn't want to think about how nasty she would be to Ashiri. What she would do or say to me would hurt far worse than her shooting me in the face.

  “I think,” I said, “I would like to stay here in the infirmary for the next few days.”

  The Admiral gave me a nod, “That's what I figured. And I understand, it's probably for the best anyway.” She cleared her through, “Oh, and Champion Enterprises called me yesterday to state that they expect you to show up on time to their Internship Program, seeing as I verified your attendance.”

  “You did?” I asked with some surprise.

  “Of course,” The Admiral said. “Though, I understand your grandmother thinks she could get you into Roger's University. I told your mother that as of the last time I spoke with you, you intended to take the Champion Enterprise Internship.”

  “I did,” I said. “I mean, I do. That's what I want.” Yet even as I said the words, I wondered. I had found some sense of purpose here. Some meaning beyond my own self-interest. Tony had ridiculed the military, my parents hadn't put much value in it... yet I had found that I was capable, that I could not only manage but succeed.

  And look where it got me, I thought, betrayed by someone I thought was a friend, injured and doped up on painkillers. No, it was best that I leave this all behind and move on to something bigger and better. The internship was my key, my way to succeed. I would be stupid to throw that away.

  “Well, then,” the Admiral gave me a nod. “I'll let you rest.” She turned away and paused at the door, “Oh, and good job, girl, you did me proud.” I felt my jaw drop at those words. I never would have expected to hear them. Before I could even parse what she had said, she left and the door closed behind her.

  She left me with that to mull over, a tiny bit of praise, the victory I hadn't really wanted, and the knowledge that I could leave all this behind in only a few short days and get back to my life.

  Even with the medication, it took me a long time to fall asleep.

  ***

  Karmazin came to visit me the next day.

  I had just come out of reconstructive treatment on my shoulder and face. The doctor had cheerfully prattled on about how lucky I was about where the training bullet had hit. A half a centimeter to the side, he had told me, and it would have glanced off the bridge of my nose, gone under my safety glasses, and impacted my eye. He had then gleefully described what that would have done, in detail as it ruptured and destroyed my eye.

  Needless to say, I felt wretched afterward, especially with a look at myself in the mirror. Sashi's shot had hit me square on the bridge of my nose, breaking it and bruising my entire face. The Admiral was wrong: I didn't look like a raccoon, I looked like a pulped apple. My entire face had swollen and my eyes weren't puffed shut only because of the injected nutrients and tailored cells which had accelerated the healing process.

  “Uh, hey,” Karmazin said from the doorway. “You busy?”

  I gave him a level glare, “No. Here to gloat?” I was well aware that I looked hideous and that made me feel defensive, especially as I remembered his warning to me about working with Sashi. He must feel pretty smug.

  “What?” he asked with shock, “No, I just wanted to check on you. The Cadet Instructors said you were hurt pretty bad, you'd be in here the rest of the week. They weren't going to let any of us come see you, except Ashiri and I worked out a plan to sneak down here.”

  “You did?” I asked. I shook my head, “You shouldn't have. You'll get in trouble.”

  He snorted, “So? We're just doing admin
work, cleaning up the barracks and getting things ready for when the Cadets show up for classes. What are they going to do to me, kick me out?”

  I was tempted to tell him what the Admiral had said, how they watched everything we did, but I kept my mouth shut. I didn't want to admit it, especially not to him, but it meant a lot to me that he had come down. “So, what did I miss after...” I trailed off as I couldn't think of how exactly to phrase Sashi Drien's betrayal.

  “After Sashi shot you in the face?” Karmazin asked with a slight smile.

  Despite myself, I laughed. It hurt, but it also felt good. If I could laugh at it, maybe it wasn't so bad after all.

  “Well, Ashiri and I were the only two left. I tagged the button first, but only because she waved me forward. She pulled you back from the edge, by the way,” Karmazin said. He shook his head, “I'm really sorry about what happened...”

  I waved my hand, and then winced as my shoulder reminded me that I still had a few days to recuperate. “Don't be,” I said. “It wasn't your fault that I trusted Sashi, it was my fault. I should have realized that...”

  “Look,” Karmazin said, “Not that I condone what she did, but you have to understand she didn't necessarily want to do it.”

  I forced myself upright to glare at him, “She shot me. After we'd already had an agreement to work together.” For that matter, after we had been roommates and friends for almost five months.

  “Yeah, and I'm pretty sure she would have followed that agreement, except her grandfather, father, brothers, cousins, and uncles were all in the stands watching her,” Karmazin said. “Look, you may not understand why their family hates yours, but you can at least understand the kind of pressure that family can put on you, right?”

  I nodded as I thought about my parents. Then again, I wasn't the type to bow under that kind of pressure, even if it was the smart or right thing to do. After all, I had gone against their wishes to apply only to Champion Enterprises.