Guardians (Æthyrium Rising - Guardians Book 1)

by Zachariah Dracoulis

  Convinced we were about to be taken hostage and prodded for information, I tried my best to shuffle to safety, stopping only when I saw the familiar boots of Captain Vyard.

  “Nice work Nokri,” he said only somewhat proudly before crouching down beside me, “you just got yourself and your family killed.”

  “Better than falling into the hands of the enemy, sir. Besides, I’d like to think that I could actually count on the people around me not to scramble around screaming in an actual combat situation.” I said loudly enough for the guy hidden under the table five feet from me could hear.

  “That’s just the thing, this very well could have been one, and this is how they reacted.”

  A smile spread across my face and I ended up having just enough strength to move my head to face him, “That’s the point of this though, isn’t it? Fix the way they react.”

  Vyard gave an amused huff, “Sometimes I think you know too much for your own good. And yes, that is the point, however, don’t act like your reaction was any better. You really need to work on your fight or flight instincts, you’re not invincible.”

  My legs finally fell to the floor from the jumping position they’d been locked in and I managed a shrug, “I’ll keep that in mind when I’m dead.”

  The Captain got to his feet and gave me slightly unimpressed look, “That’ll be sooner rather than later if you’re not careful. Cadets! What you just experienced was the first of many such training exercises that will be practised here on the Proving Grounds, and you all failed.”

  There were a few scattered looks of shame throughout the hall as the cadets finally started to pick themselves up off the ground. Not me though, I was still confident that I did the right thing with the opportunities available to me.

  After that the Captain went on to throw around longwinded statements that basically could all be boiled down to a simple ‘I’m disappointed’. But I got why he was doing it, we weren’t meant to succeed, we were meant to fail. It was his way of showing us that we still had a long way to go before we could really call ourselves members of the Federation army.

  Me? I was way too cocky to fall for all that. I knew that we’d kick arse, and we did.

  The Proving Grounds

  Over the coming weeks we got to learn what seemed to be absolutely everything there was to know about the FNDC. We got to test out drop-pods, or, as the soldiers liked to call them, Casings, which were basically these metal coffins that were fired out of air and spacecraft for tactical insertion that either had thrusters and a chute, or filled with Jelly at the last possible second.

  I really liked the Jelly as well, it was this sort of foam that flooded the interior of the Casings that, when exposed to enough Gs and during impact, solidified and held the ‘pilot’ in place. My uncertainty with the use of ‘pilot’ comes from my inability to see how you can be the pilot of a thing that either A, crashes and you live, or B, crashes and you die.

  Anyway, as I said, we were learning everything. Hand-to-hand, fencing, firearm, and zero gravity combat, as well as a bunch of stuff about the Androids that we’d started rolling out as infantry support, basic vehicle use, and a bunch of theoretical stuff that I didn’t think really mattered.

  I was not the best student.

  Then, after seven weeks, my siblings and I, along with five other cadets, were told that we were getting put into the advanced courses because of our performance and high ranking scores. That meant we got to try our hands at piloting, leadership, which was basically just playing king of the hill and capture the flag, and also these kick arse things that were… it’s hard to explain, I’ll just let the trained professional do the talking.

  “These are T-Packs,” the balding military scientist said as he held what looked like a heavy-duty version of a hydration backpack for cyclists, “or Teleportation Packs as their official name. Bit on the nose if you ask me, but I assure you that it won’t matter what it’s called when it’s saving your life.”

  Up until that point I’d been successfully fighting the urge to block the sunlight that was steadily burning a hole into my corneas.

  I really hated being out on the fields, especially the one we were presently on that was separated from the rest of the base, it was the one that somehow managed to constantly be the brightest place on the planet.

  “How’s it work?” I asked as I finally buckled and cupped my hand of my brow-line.

  I’d gotten into the habit of being the first one to ask questions, mostly because I’d used to rely on others asking for me, but being a part of the small group I was there was very rarely any talking.

  “Simple,” the scientist said, gesturing for me to come forward, “you just put this on,” he said as he helped me put it on before putting something about the size and weight of a marble in my hand, “then hover your hand over the button on the centre chest strap, throw the Caster, the little ball, and, finally, push the button.”

  The instructions were all so simple, but somehow with the way he’d broken up his sentence I’d gotten all confused and ended up pushing the button first and suddenly felt like I was going to be sick. It wasn’t until I actually swallowed a mouthful of vomit that I realised I’d dropped the marble thing.

  I started looking around my feet, trying to hide the fact that I was absolutely freaking out, before having my eyes land on the rest of the group who were all looking on at me in shock.

  “Looking for this?” the scientist asked with a laugh before pulling the marble from the button on my chest, “Would anyone like to tell Nokri what just happened?”

  Immediately Tyr jumped at the opportunity, “You disappeared for a second, like you got sucked into a wormhole or something.”

  “Exactly right Cadet, what we are using here is an incredibly small scale version of Warp-Tech. Of course it’s still in the prototype phase and won’t be ready for use in the field for at least another two years, but for now it’s good enough to train with. Just… be careful. There’s the very real possibility that you won’t come back out if something happens to that little ball.”

  That’s when I decided I was done wearing the death pack and handed it over to the eager person next to Eira. We’d all been doing that, ensuring that everyone else got a turn before we did to avoid the idea that we favoured each other over everyone else, which was true, but it still seemed fairer to do it the way we were.

  “Sir? Is it alright if I head off for dinner?” I asked, my stomach feeling about ready to start eating itself.

  He nodded, a gust of wind picking up beneath what little hair he had left on his crown causing it to billow like an excited peacock’s tail feathers.

  Why did I mention that?

  Because it was hilarious.

  “Yes, yes, of course. Common side effect, if your siblings are comfortable with waiting to use the T-Pack I suggest you take them as well, just to make sure they keep an eye on you so you don’t pass out.” he said, turning his attention to them, “If that does happen be sure to bring her back to me at once, the fools in the med-station won’t know what to do.”

  Biting back the urge to punch him in the arm for not warning me about that before I put on the pack, I smiled, “Thank you. You guys alright with that?”

  Mouse was the only in the group not to nod, instead opting for a disappointed shrug, “Alright…”

  “If you want to stay you can.” I said hopefully, “No one will judge you if you do.”

  “Nah, I’m sure I’ll get my chance. You heard the Captain the other day, I’m the best person suited for recon in the whole class.” she said before turning and walking toward the mess hall.

  Oh how she liked to bring that up. Couldn’t fault her for it though, it was quite the achievement, especially considering how she’d come into the military life.

  Slipping off a bus, us getting blasted with a hose after trying to make a run for it, we’d certainly changed a lot. To tell the truth, I couldn’t think of a life outside the military, I loved the struct
ure and the focus on physical activity, I loved the fact that I could field strip a weapon in seconds, most of all though, I loved how much it had brought us all together.

  We’d always been close, and we didn’t spend much time with anyone else when we were on Urbetes, but the whole experience of learning, training, and working together had made all the difference in how we saw ourselves in our little unit.

  I couldn’t imagine losing any one of them, and I was convinced that I wasn’t going to.

  Funny how the universe likes to prove me wrong.

  And Then

  There Were Three

  Eira snapped her PDA in half, “This is bullshit!” Eira shouted as she threw her tray of leftovers across the mess hall.

  “What’s bullshit?” Tyr said almost disinterestedly without looking up from his mound of food.

  All three of us were quite used to her tantrums, which could not be said for the guards who’d started squirming.

  “They’re shipping me off! I’m the best in the battalion, and now they’re just gonna ship me away!”

  I agreed that it seemed off, and I’d have asked to see the message if it weren’t her.

  Also would’ve helped if she hadn’t broken it.

  “Where are they shipping you off to?”

  “Some bullshit academy,” she spat, “Horner’s, Gerner’s-”

  “Kornard’s Flight Academy!?” Mouse shrieked excitedly.

  “Yeah,” Eira said gruffly, “that’s the one.”

  Food literally fell out of Tyr’s mouth as it hung open, “Are you serious? You’re going to Kornard’s?”

  Both Eira and I were completely out of the loop in regards to what they were on about, “What in the Hells is Kornard’s?”

  Tyr scoffed, “Only the best flight academy in the ‘verse! If Eira does half as well as she’s been doing here she’ll have her own Cruiser in a year. Congratulations sis!”

  She clearly didn’t look to be in a congratulatory mood, but the upgrade to confused from throwing shit around was, in my books, a step in the right direction.

  Pretty soon after that people started coming over to applaud her from all over the academy as the news spread like wildfire, the specifics of which were quickly lost to the drunken void as drinks of praise came like a waterfall to her and the rest of us.

  At some point in the night we were visited by the Captain who congratulated Eira and told the rest of us that it’d be in our best interests to keep our alcohol consumption to a minimum.

  That didn’t exactly stop me from finding Stromweld an hour later, dragging him along to a secluded field to make out for a good fifteen minutes, before getting dragged back inside to keep having fun with Eira and the others.

  From there things started to blur together, I know, how cliché, but that’s the truth of it, and then I woke up, naked, in my bunk, with someone else.

  That someone else?

  Eira.

  In case you didn’t know, I’m not all that comfortable with incest.

  “Wha-… You!” I shouted silently when I saw a giggling Mouse sitting on her bunk in the corner of our shared room.

  She nodded and pointed to the sleeping Tyr next to the door, “Everyone passed out except you two, and you guys were convinced that it was the only way to stay warm and I just gave up trying to convince you otherwise.”

  “This place is temperature controlled! What in the Hells is wrong with you!?” I yelled as quietly as I could.

  She shrugged and continued to giggle, “It’s not my fault Eira didn’t want to climb the ladder up to her bunk. Besides, it’s funny.”

  “No, no it’s not! It’s not funny now, and it wasn’t funny the first time.”

  Mouse’s giggle gave way to full-blown laughter, her pale face changing to bright red in seconds, “Yes it was!”

  That’s when Eira woke up, looked under the covers at her boobs, then at me, then at Mouse, “Oh for fucks sa- Really? Again?” She didn’t wait for a response and instead collapsed back into her pillow and pulled the blanket over her head.

  To be perfectly honest I didn’t care that much, and had no trouble believing that we were the ones that instigated it, but it seemed the thing to do to judge the person laughing at us.

  Then there was a knock at our door, “Cadet Eira Jadari? We’re wheels up in twenty. Pad twelve.” a male voice said before walking off.

  “Ugh…” Eira groaned, throwing the blanket off, “guess I’ll just get dressed then.” she said bitterly, “And you had all better as well, I’m not going anywhere unless you guys are right there waving me off.”

  “Oh good,” I said tiredly as I pulled out my uniform from under my bunk, “I get to cry today. Fun.”

  “Please, you never cry. Hey, Tyr, get up!” Eira shouted before kicking her twin in the ribs, “I’m going away and I want you to be sad.”

  Tyr rolled on the floor, a stream of drool spilling down his chin, “Welp,” he said, choking out the words after being decently winded, “that’s not gonna be hard.”

  “Shut up and help me find a bra, I’m not going to this… this…”

  “Kornard’s Flight Academy.” we all droned back to her.

  “Yeah yeah, whatever, I’m not going there without looking at least somewhat presentable. You think I could run to the showers and back in time?”

  Mouse nodded, “You did last night a few times. Kept making the same joke about you being a dirty girl as well. And no, you didn’t sleep with anyone, I made sure of that.”

  “Well thanks Mouse, last night in this place and I didn’t even get laid.” she said jokingly before grabbing the uniform and towel off of her brother, “See you guys in a bit.”

  After she was gone the rest of us were left to sort of stew. We didn’t know what to say to each other, there was nothing we could say to each other. We’d been putting on the party hats for Eira, but the fact was we were all pretty flat about the whole thing.

  Course we’d never tell her that, it was an unspoken agreement that we wouldn’t cry, talk about her leaving, or otherwise say or do anything that would elicit an emotional reaction from any of us.

  She came back pretty quickly, giving us just enough time to get dressed and cleaned up, and the second she came through the door it was all smiling faces. It felt fake, but I like to hope she couldn’t tell.

  “How do I look?” she asked, giving us a little twirl, “Does the bun work?”

  I looked at the tight bun of hair that sat on her crown and gave an approving nod, “You look like a pilot.” I said proudly.

  She made a disgusted face, “Gross, next thing you know I’ll be doing helicopter arms.”

  I chuckled a little at that, we had full respect for the flyboys, but the mocking among the different military groups had been one of those things that had stuck throughout the years.

  I went to start a proper conversation on how she was going to be one and that that was pretty funny, but stopped when I realised that the last thing she needed at that point in time was doubt. That’s when I made the decision for the group that it was time to get a move on.

  Without saying anything, I pointed at the door and started toward it, at which point Tyr grabbed up a duffel he’d packed for Eira, and Mouse simply started walking.

  We tried a few times to talk on our way over to the pad, but none of us managed to get a single word out. At a dozen separate points, all of us had managed to open our mouths, then failed to convincingly pretend it was a yawn or a bored breath.

  When we finally reached the pad where the four person shuttle sat I was the first to hug Eira, “I’m gonna miss you.”

  “I’m gonna miss you too.” she replied, barely holding back tears.

  I didn’t want to break away, but after ten seconds I realised I was being a bit selfish and did it anyway, masking my sadness with what I hoped was a genuine looking smile.

  The hug between her and Mouse was a bit less, and they didn’t say anything, undoubtedly deciding that the real farew
ell would be the best time for that, but the one with Tyr, her only blood relative there, that one was hard to watch.

  Neither of them cried, not even close, instead they just looked emptily over each other’s shoulders not quite knowing what to do. We were all siblings, blood didn’t matter there, but Mouse and I had come in much later in the piece.

  They’d always had each other, and up until the day before, it looked like they were always going to have each other.

  I let a solitary tear roll down my cheek before wiping it way when no one was looking and the twins had broken apart.

  Then, seeing how upset Mouse and I were, Eira spread out her arms for a group hug and we were all there in a second. I, to this day, can’t decide if that made it better or worse.

  We were together, and that was amazing, but it was also tied with the fact that when we broke apart that was it, the unit had splintered and that hole wouldn’t ever be filled again.

  Eira, still not having shed a single tear, grabbed her duffel, put it over her shoulder, then shot into salute which we all returned. Surprisingly, that held longer than the group hug, and when it was done the three of us stayed at attention and watched as she got into her shuttle.

  Failing to fight the urge, we all started waving as the shuttle lifted into the air and pulled away, and stayed right where we were long after it had left visible range.

  I wanted to be proud, to clap everyone on the back and say ‘Let’s get on with it!’ but I couldn’t, I could not be that person on that day.

  I felt broken and that nothing would ever fix it.

  But I was wrong, and it wasn’t drinking, or continuing with what we were doing like nothing had happened that fixed it.

  You want to know what really fixed it?

  Three days. Sure, they weren’t an easy three days, and I definitely wasn’t quite back to my old self, but after three days I was back to being ready to start the day when I woke up.

  And after a week?

  Well, life kept me busy after that.

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