The Ninth: Invasion

by Benjamin Schramm

  Instead of walking next to him, she kept a moderate distance behind him as they made their way to the mess hall. He felt like a specimen under study. Every time he glanced back at her, she’d look away but it was obvious she had been staring at him. As they neared the mess hall, he came to a dead stop. He waited, but Cassandra paused as well. Turning back, Brent walked up to her, took her hand and practically drug her into the mess hall with him. Her face turned a deep red as she reluctantly matched his pace. He made sure to guide her past as few full tables as possible as they headed for their division. For the first time their division was lively, a sight no one believed the stoic SW was capable of. He could hear their banter from half way across the mess hall.

  He found it hard to believe that only a few days ago the entire division had eaten in complete silence with military precision. Even Valerie, the division leader herself, was making a scene as she loudly congratulated Tyra and pressed for more details. The squad leader did her best as she reluctantly retold the story of their experience while Ronald, her second in command, did his best to fill in any details Tyra forgot. It was painfully obvious she was overwhelmed by the attention. The nearby troopers hung on Tyra’s every word as she recounted the Gauntlet. Oddly enough, Cain was the only subdued one at the table. He expected the bookie to be thriving off the attention.

  Brent smiled when he spotted his friends from the placement exams. He had managed to get some of his fellow recruits into the SW and they had more than proved their worth in the Gauntlet. Dante was politely smiling as the seasoned SW troopers patted him on the back. Hiroko was beaming under all the attention while perching on Owen’s shoulder. Erin sat across from Hiroko and was sticking her tongue out at the other girl. Dante was the first to notice Brent’s approach. He raised an eyebrow and started to smile when he noticed Brent was holding Cassandra’s hand. She quickly wrestled her hand free. When Dante started laughing, the other troopers were caught by surprise. One by one they turned to see what was so amusing. They cheered as Brent and Cassandra took their seats.

  “Would you tell him to cut it out?” Angela asked Brent. “He’s freaking me out.”

  The sincerity in her voice was surprising. He couldn’t remember the Weaver sounding anything but superior.

  “Who?” Brent asked as he glanced over his plate. The two squares of D rations were waiting for him. Normally thought of as inedible, he had actually developed a fondness for them.

  “Cain,” Angela said, folding her arms. “He’s been downright polite all morning. It’s kind of disturbing.”

  “Creepy,” Mahoney added.

  “Give it up; you’ll never pull it off,” Cassandra said with a smirk.

  Brent stared at the two for a moment before he recalled their little wager. Cassandra had bet Cain that even with Dante’s help he wouldn’t be able to keep from annoying Angela for an entire day.

  “Looks like you are quite the teacher, Dante.” Brent let out a laugh.

  “Don’t look at me. I didn’t teach him much at all, sir.”

  Erin quickly shot an odd glance at Dante.

  “Well, whatever it is,” Angela was very insistent, “tell him to cut it out!”

  “Are you implying you preferred it when he was verbally sparring with you?” Dante asked.

  “No need to be diplomatic; you can take her.” Marie forcefully slapped Dante’s back. “He thinks you’re sweet on Cain.”

  “What?” Angela thrust down her utensil.

  “He’s not just skilled at judging a battle field; he’s pretty good at summing up people, too.” Marie grinned at the fuming Weaver.

  “How dare you treat me like some common little girl!” Angela was blushing as she shouted. “Take it back!”

  “I don’t believe it!” Hiroko said with a gasp. “Dante was right?”

  “He couldn’t be more wrong,” Angela hissed. “You honestly think someone like me would feel anything but contempt for someone like him?”

  Cain smiled like a blissful idiot as she violently thrust her fork toward him.

  “Then why are you blushing so badly?” Erin asked with a snicker.

  “That’s enough,” Dante said sternly to Erin. “I didn’t mean to insult you, Angela,” he said apologetically.

  Angela violently stabbed at her meal with her utensil. Hiroko and Erin chuckled to themselves. Brent leaned over to Cassandra’s ear.

  “Guess you’re not the only one he upsets,” he whispered.

  “Hey! No secrets this early, Owen said with a yawn. “What are you two up to?”

  “Cover your mouth!” Hiroko berated him.

  “Let the boy be,” Rhea said with a wink. “If you are too strict with him you’ll scare him off.”

  “I’m sure you have plenty of experience with that,” Humphrey mumbled. “I can’t imagine how many you’ve scared off.”

  Kindra laughed as Rhea socked Humphrey’s arm. Hiroko chuckled as she looked down at her meal, the faint hint of a blush edging over her cheeks.

  “Now, now.” Sanderson put a firm hand down on Humphrey’s shoulder before he could retaliate. “Is this anyway for a squad to act?”

  “Let them have their fun,” Penny said with a smile. “Brent obviously knew what he was doing when he picked out the squad.”

  As the squad continued their chitchat, Brent noticed a tall man approaching the table. He wasn’t wearing any kind of uniform he had seen before. The man wore a shirt and pants of dark blue with light red bands forming a “V” on the chest and knees. There was a strange emblem on his left shoulder of orange. The man leaned over Valerie’s shoulder and whispered something in her ear.

  “You can’t be serious.” She turned to face the man directly.

  “Orders from the Administer himself,” the man replied.

  “What is it?” Tyra asked.

  “Your squad is shipping out.” Valerie didn’t sound pleased.

  “Where are we going?” Ronald asked.

  “Deriso.”

  Both Tyra and Ronald turned white. The rest of the troopers exchanged confused glances.

  “Hold on, we aren’t going anywhere.” Cain addressed the man in blue. “Active duty terms can’t start until every trooper in a squad has received at least six months of training,”

  The entire division was taken by surprise along with the man in blue. Dante cast a scrutinizing look at Cain.

  “This isn’t an active duty assignment,” The man in blue spoke slowly as he thought. “You are being assigned to Deriso as a temporary garrison – you will still receive training.”

  “Irrelevant,” Cain countered calmly. “All off-station training is to be cleared with the division leader one week in advance.”

  “This is an order from the Administer himself.”

  “It doesn’t matter who the order comes from. Unless we are in an active state of conflict, no orders can be made in contradiction to previously established procedures.”

  “Missions to avoid an active state of conflict can ignore minor procedures if the need is strong enough.”

  “You’ll need a statement from someone outside the military to deem a mission as one to prevent conflict on a non-military world.”

  “We have a statement from the Governor on file that makes it clear your deployment is to reduce civil tensions in the hopes of averting open conflict.”

  “You’ve done your homework,” Cain said with an annoyed grin.

  “So have you. Any other problems?”

  “Regardless of the Governor’s statement, the Commonwealth is not in a formal state of war, nor is the local region in a clear state of conflict or revolt. We have the option to delay our departure by up to three hours to take care of ongoing concerns.”

  The man in blue paused. It was obvious he was deep in thought.

  “Very well, you have three hours.” The man in blue stomped off.

  The troopers at the table couldn’t believe what had just happened.

  “What was that?” Kindra asked in sur
prise.

  “Ignorance of the law is no defense against it,” Cain said with a grin. “The only way to truly be safe is to know it better than your opponent. My dad taught me that.”

  “You mean they were going to ship us off now?” Owen asked, startled. “Before we’d even finished our meal?”

  “There is probably a ship waiting for us as we speak,” Cain said with a nod. “Sorry I couldn’t get us more time. I didn’t count on them getting the support of the local Governor in advance.”

  “Of course they have his support,” Tyra said, burying her head in her hands. “He’s my father.”

  Everyone stared at the squad leader as it sunk in.

  “At least we have three hours; that’s better than nothing,” Brent said as he got up.

  “Where are you going sir?” Dante asked.

  “To pack.”

  “We should probably all skip this meal,” Tyra said dejectedly. “There will probably be some kind of meal awaiting us. Take these three hours and take care of any loose ends. I doubt we’ll be back any time soon.”

  Tyra sighed and stood. Cain saluted and quickly dashed off. It was odd to see the rotund young man move in with such haste. Probably off to settle any outstanding debts he had on the station. The rest of the troopers in the squad gave up on eating and dispersed to pack all their worldly possessions and say their farewells. While everyone was taken by surprise by the sudden reassignment, it struck Brent odd that Ronald was acting the most peculiar of the squad. Tyra he understood; being called home by her father the Governor no doubt came as a shock to her, but Ronald? He couldn’t figure out why things were bothering him so deeply. Brent shook off thoughts of Ronald and focused on the job at hand.

  Brent and several of the others made their way back to their bunks. Some trooper none of them had seen before was already packing Cain’s things for him. Brent smiled to himself as he wondered what kind of wager the trooper was working off. While the others fussed with their possessions, Brent inspected his nearly empty locker. It didn’t take him long to pack. He didn’t really have any possessions beyond his uniforms. He had only been on the academy a short while and hadn’t even settled in any one place really. He smiled to himself as he thought about the exams and trials that kept him busy.

  It hardly took any time to set his affairs in order. He decided to spend the rest of his last three hours walking around the academy one last time. He hadn’t been on the academy long, but Brent had gotten used to it being his home. It was a strange feeling to be leaving it so abruptly. He had visited the training rooms and snuck a glance at the other troopers, already busy with their daily training. When time grew short, he made his way back to the division. To his surprise, he found the entire place empty. Not one member of the division was in sight.

  The rows of bunks belonging to Tyra’s squad were empty and neatly made, awaiting the new recruits to take their places. He figured the squad must have already made their way to the waiting ship. The large common room outside the bunks was oddly silent without the normal commotion of their division. He noticed a tall figure waiting for him near the entryway. To his surprise, he recognized him as Master Weaver Davis. Brent wondered what the trainer for all the young Weavers was doing just waiting for him.

  “All set to go?” Davis asked.

  “I think so. Don’t really have anything to forget. All my friends are on the ship, and I’ve got my spare uniforms.”

  “I see. Well you’d best get a move on; your division is waiting to say goodbye.”

  “Thank you for all your help.” Brent bowed to the Master Weaver.

  He realized after he finished he had instinctively bowed like the tripods without even thinking. Trying to hide his embarrassment, he quickly walked past the Master Weaver.

  “One last thing,” Davis said before he had gotten far. “I’ve got a going away present for you.”

  Davis handed him a small box wrapped in a dull colored paper.

  “What is it?” Brent asked, studying the box.

  “A surprise. Open it on your trip.”

  He nodded and thanked the Master Weaver again before heading to the docking port – making sure not to bow again. To his surprise the entire SW was arranged around the entrance to the ship.

  “About time,” a trooper grumbled. “We’ve been waiting forever.”

  “You expected something different from him?” another asked jokingly. “Got to make a grand exit.”

  “That’s enough.” Valerie reprimanded her division. “Show some respect.”

  The entire division snapped to attention.

  “I had just gotten used to the idea of having you with us on the next trial.” Valerie offered her hand to Brent. “Suppose it’s back to square one for us.”

  “I wouldn’t worry about that.” He shook her hand. “Check your pad.”

  Slowly, she pulled out her pad.

  “What’s this?” she asked.

  “Our replacements. I went ahead and made a new squad. I hope you don’t mind.”

  She shook her head.

  “Don’t worry, Valerie, you’ll go far,” Brent said with a smile. “Don’t let what happened to Tyra bother you. No one will disobey a strong woman like you.”

  Speechless, Valerie saluted him. The rest of the division mirrored her salute. Without thinking, he bowed like the tripod to them and entered the ship. As the doorway sealed behind him, Brent couldn’t help chuckle as he wondered who would be the next would-be killer he’d befriend.

  The troopers sat anxiously in the transport, wondering where exactly they were being taken. Tyra and Ronald seemed to know, but weren’t talking about it. That made the rest even more anxious.

  “Since we’ve got some time before we depart,” Erin said, breaking the silence, “I’ve got a question for you.” Erin turned around in her chair to face Dante.

  “What is it?” Dante asked warily.

  The rest of the squad waiting on the ship turned to listen.

  “Why do you always call Brent, sir?” Erin asked. “You never call anyone else ma’am or sir. At first I thought that was just how you referred to Weavers. But you call Angela, well, Angela. What gives?”

  “Is that true?” Owen asked. “I hadn’t noticed.”

  “A deaf person would have noticed,” Rhea said.

  “Oh, calm down.” Humphrey chuckled to himself. “You’re probably just mad he doesn’t call you ma’am.”

  “Quiet, both of you.” Kindra leaned toward Dante. “I’m actually interested in hearing the answer to this.”

  “Me too!” Marie added.

  “So this is how you spend your days, analyzing my speech patterns?” Dante asked in exasperation.

  “Too late for that; can’t wiggle out of it now,” Angela said as if it was fact. “Everyone’s interest is peaked.”

  “Fine. I noticed him for the first time shortly after we landed on the station. He . . . had an odd manner to him.”

  They waited, but Dante didn’t say any more.

  “Oh, a story!” Cain said with a delighted grin. “I love stories. What was odd about his manner?” Cain pressed Dante to continue.

  “Everyone else was with their friends,” he reluctantly continued as he stared down Cain. “They were anxious about the exams and were using each other for support. He, on the other hand, was alone; he seemed to be studying the place more than anything. There was a calm, calculating nature to his gaze.”

  “I don’t remember it that way,” Hiroko countered. “He seemed clueless to me. Hadn’t even activated his pad.”

  “Don’t interrupt, continue please.” Angela nudged this time.

  “I could tell right away he was a Weaver,” Dante continued as prompted, having given up on avoiding the issue. “He was probing constantly. But it was strange. He wasn’t looking for information or an advantage; there was gentleness about it.”

  “Wait, you felt him use his Weaver abilities on the first day?” Cassandra asked, obviously startled. “That’
s impossible!”

  “I don’t know if it’s impossible or not, but I felt it then, and I’ve felt it ever since.”

  “How can you feel it?” Angela asked with a raised eyebrow. “You’re not a Weaver,” she added bluntly.

  “True, I’m not a Weaver, but I did live with one. For a long, long time.” Dante paused for a moment, and seemed lost in thought. Realizing everyone was still staring, he cleared his throat and continued. “In the end, I learned to spot Weavers and feel their influence. And I never said he altered emotions. He just seems to check them. See what I’m feeling, then step back without taking action. It’s like he’s checking my emotional pulse or something. I suppose he treats everyone that way, although he seems particularly interested in you,” Dante said, pointing at Cassandra.

  “Me? Why?”

  “Don’t have to be a Weaver to figure that one out,” Cain said with a grin. “He likes you, obviously. I’d dare say he has since he first saw you.”

  “Now it’s your turn.” Dante turned to face Cain. “I told my story, now you tell us yours.”

  “What story is that?” Cain asked in surprise.

  “Tell us how Brent and Cassandra first met,” Liz pleaded shyly. “Please.”

  “Probably not what Dante meant, but I am curious about that myself.” Erin leaned back. “He could have any girl on the academy wrapped around his finger, what made red cheeks here get his attention? Besides the obvious.”

  “Don’t you dare, Cain,” Cassandra said threateningly as she eyed Erin.

  “Sorry, first rule of showmanship,” he said with a wide grin. “Give the audience what they want. First time I met Brent he was standing in the middle of the bunks. He was looking them over very carefully; he didn’t even notice my approach. I patted him on the back in greetings. I thought he was just another recruit. The guy fell over, looked painful.”

  “What does this have to do with Cassandra?” Owen asked.

  “Relax, I’m getting to it. Don’t rush a good story. Anyway, as I helped him up, I realized who he was. The amazing recruit who’d blown through the exams. As we got to talking I noticed Cassandra sneaking up behind him. She was in full armor – she never took off her armor back then. So there she was, a big white bulbous thing, gingerly walking up behind Brent. It was all I could do not to bust a gut laughing.”