The Recruitment: Rise of the Free Fleet (8 page)

“You lost for fighting among yourselves. Now time for remedial, everyone along the wall you came from.” Taleel marched out of the room, his hand quivering over the remote as the door sealed.

My body started to get heavier and heavier as quickly the entire squad were on their stomachs breathing raggedly. The speakers in the room crackled to life as Taleel began talking.

“This is two and a half times your world’s normal gravity and the air pressure has been reduced by thirty percent. To stop the remedial training you will have to crawl to the other wall and touch it. Otherwise, you’ll be here until further training.” His voice ringing with finality as the silence was filled with grunts of my fellow squad mates.

Everything was so heavy, I hadn’t noticed how used I’d gotten to the strange air till it was reduced and I felt myself passing out as I had the first day.

I began coughing as panic hit me.
 
I’m going to pass out and then my own body will kill me.
 
I thought as I lowered myself to the floor, succumbing to the heavy gravity and little air, my brain losing all logic as I fought the unseen forces in the room.

“Salchar!” I heard Rick say, but my brain didn’t process it as I thrashed like a person drowning as the light began dimming from the lack of oxygen.

Ashley sobbed, trying to speak which started her own coughing fit.

Others began crying as someone hit me in the side. Pain focused my mind as I stopped thrashing. Seeing Hyun Soo looking at me, he was twelve years old but had more composure than I did.

I felt embarrassment turning to anger at myself at letting so many people see me so weak.

Grunting with effort I pulled my legs under me reaching out with my arms as I heaved myself forward my body wracked with pain as my breathing became labored. I continued going grunting as I did so. I had to clench muscles to move the blood around my body so I didn’t pass out waves of nausea hitting me as I dragged/pushed myself onward.

I used the pain to take my focus away from how hard it was to breathe; pain had become familiar with Taleel. Gritting my teeth I reveled in it as I pushed on.

I heard another trying behind me; I turned my head which had become a chore in itself as I saw Rick behind me.

“Can’t….let you… get… there… first… boss.” He rasped breathlessly as he heaved himself forward. Gradually others joined him as I turned to face the wall. I’d started out just wanting to be free of the two times gravity for the unknown amount of time till Taleel decided we could sleep. Now instead of selfishly wanting to get to the other side of the room to sleep I was filled with, pride. It wasn’t the kind of pride for myself but a pride that I was thankful to be with this group of people that would push themselves even if they didn’t need to. I saw their determination and their pained faces as they pushed themselves. We might have been individuals before but now we were pushing to the other side a team, together.

I turned to the other wall determination and a fire to get to the other side because of the others behind me as I was now crawling so these people,
 
my
 
squad
,
 
could rest. When I looked into their eyes I felt camaraderie resonate within myself, and in their eyes, a feeling that I thought that I would only have with Mecha Tail.

We’ll get through whatever you throw at us, and then, when you’re all unsuspecting we’ll destroy you.
 
I vowed against the Defense Force as I drove onwards.

I was surprised as my hand hit something as I reached forward to pull myself forward.

I looked up in wonder as I found the wall.

“Back.” Taleels voice rang through the room as I turned. Fire burning within me as my body felt as if it had been crushed by a bulldozer.

“Come…..on…..guys.” I hissed as I waited for them as they dragged themselves to me.

“We’ll… do… this…” I coughed, fighting to finish my sentence. “Together.” I saw determination in their eyes as they pushed onwards.

Then as they were all there except Arthur (the one I’d named Wiry) Dominik (the one that had charged me after I’d beaten Arthur) Jen and Akashi—their followers—I pushed off at a pace that everyone could keep up. We focused on moving, my mind blank as I focused on pulling and pushing my body as I breathed. Yang touched the wall first this time as we waited on the floor as the weight lifted and the air returned to normal.

We lay there too tired to move as George spoke up.

“I’m forgetting my family.” He announced into the air.

“I can’t remember my parent’s faces. All I can remember is that it wasn’t painful, and I wasn’t working all the time, I didn’t know half of the weapons I do know, or how to kill people with my bare hands. What will happen when I forget the life I had?” He asked as I picked myself up slowly as I saw them looking at me.

“What do you remember?”

“I remember my trike.” He said a smile on his face as everyone looked to him.

“Who gave you the trike?”

“My dad, my mom didn’t want to get it because we didn’t have much money, but my dad found one when he was looking for parts for his car.” Seeing the attention he’d garnered he continued.

“It wasn’t a great trike; it was actually really beaten up. Though he told me if we worked on it then it’d be the best trike ever. My dad worked on the mustang so he knew how to fix anything.” He said proudly, as if anyone working on a mustang could naturally fix anything.

“He called it the third love of his life after me and my mother. I helped him with the car, handing him tools while he helped me put my trike back together.” A grin spread across his face at the memories.

“We got the trike ready for the summer, I rode it everywhere, and then when I couldn’t me and my dad would work on the mustang and trike. I wanted to become a Mechanic, to pull apart machines and fix them. I remember my dad’s smile at that, even under the car with me waiting to give him tools I could see that smile.”

The room was silent as I saw more than one person lost in their own memories. I hadn’t seen them so relaxed since we’d begun training.

We should all share a story of our family when we have some free time.” I said, a few surprised faces looking at me.

“That way we can all remember our families and where we came from, instead of this hellhole.” Thoughtful nods came back as people were still absorbing George’s story.

“Salchar!” Taleel said as he entered the room.

“You’re doing laps for losing me that match. Move!”

My body was moving before I knew it, obeying was now ingrained in me as I followed Taleel out to the circuit realizing what rough shape I was in from the torture crawl.

He turned suddenly punching me in the stomach, causing me to drop from losing all breath from my lungs and the pain that wracked my body.

“Get up!” I did so without complaint as he did it again.

“Get up!” I did so, anger raging in my eyes as I wished to snap his jaws—instead I brought myself to attention.

“The Mecha Corps will not coddle you or your people. You’re a leader Salchar, you will be the one taking your squad, or a squad like them into battle, and you cannot have someone question your rule. Especially in a way that makes me lose a fight. I put seven rotations of service on the line against three other Sarenmenti. That means I will be serving for twenty one more rotations because of your fuck up.” He leaned towards me, his jaws snapping inches from my face as I stood at attention.

“You humans are weak, after your growth cycle you will be stronger than a Sarenmenti, but your growth cycle is much longer than a Sarenmenti, meaning that you will have to teach your squad how to fight properly. I’m making you squad leader. As such you will run three hundred laps while the others rest when you win. Eight hundred when you lose and you will endure the group punishment. Understand?”

“Yes.”

“Now get running.” He said as I started off on a jog, thinking, and the most powerful weapon a human has is their ability to think.

I was more tired than I had ever been in my life. My muscles ached from fighting, from crawling and from running, but I felt more alive than I had since I’d been captured.

I walked into the squad pod as we’d come to call it as bowls of goop on a floating metal sheet announced breakfast. People stirred, waking up the others. I saw most of them were awake or getting there as I knew I couldn’t contain myself.

“This is how we’re going to do it.” I said loud enough that everyone listened to me, their sleepiness disappearing, it was one trick we’d all learned after more than one rude awakening.

“Everyone line up against the wall.” They did so giving confused looks to one another.

I walked along the line giving them a number one to five. “Alright everyone get with your like numbers, ones with ones, two’s with two’s you get the idea.” With the translator implants everyone was quickly collected into five groups, there was no such thing as lost in translation anymore.

“This is your team, this is your
 
family
 
you will be with one another at all times, you will fight together, you will sleep together and you will work together.”

“What makes you the boss of us? You’re the one that lost us the damned fight.” Wiry seemed to ponder, his eyes looking to see if his barb had struck home.

“Taleel did.” This made his eyes widen, and then narrow in what looked like angry righteousness, as if he should’ve had the position but he didn’t say anything more.

Let’s see what schemes you can come up with.
 
I thought, shaking my head at the absurdity of it.

How could he still be quibbling over something so small when we were fighting for our damned lives I wondered how people could be so narrow minded as I look around. Just as I was about to speak he interrupted me, I had no doubt on purpose as I let an exasperated sigh go, for some reason he had a chip on his shoulder, a chip that I seemed to be the root of. I replayed what he’d just said in my mind as he walked towards me

“At least I didn’t get everyone punished for my fuck-up. I think we should see what my fist says about him being leader seeing as you can’t even defeat a girl.”

I rolled my eyes putting my hands on my hips as I looked at him. He had bragged about his tae kwon do training, and he was also smaller than me now.

He didn’t know my fighting style, or how I had denser muscle tissue than a normal person, thanks to legal synthetic enhancement, making my muscle mass four times more powerful pound for pound than another person, which had only increased with whatever growth drugs and such we were given. I emotionlessly took this into consideration as well as applying the same possibilities onto him and adding a few foreseeable additional factors. Though I had to stop myself from grinning, he’d just dishonored Yasu Ono, not the best move, even if I lost, Yasu would have a few choice word with him, well what bloody lump was left of him.

“C’mon pretty boy, winner leads.”

“A leader only resorts to force when he needs to. Why do you want to fight me when we have other squads we need to fight?” I said easily as we circled one another.

“Enough of your damn words.”

He lunged at me as I danced backwards putting my hands in my pockets.

I could see Yasu as she watched studying me, looking for a weakness to exploit.

“Running already are you pussy?”

“Watch what you say.” I said, my voice cold as I locked eyes with him.

“What are you going to do Asshole? Cry for Mommy and Daddy?” He sneered. I saw more than one person’s eyes light up at his words.

The light didn’t enter mine, coldness did. Emotion slipped away and I truly became Salchar the destroyer. I felt my face change into a cold mask as cold consuming rage filled me.

“Looks like they aren’t coming.” He said in a light condescending tone. “Nobody loves you.” His eyes boring into me his voice normal, which made it hurt all the more, as if his statement was common fact. He must’ve seen something twitch behind my mask as he had the gall to grin at his shot landing home.

My fist snaked out, hitting him in the Adams apple, he rolled back, and his eyes bulging as he found himself unable to breath. I lunged forward, my next hit landed on is sternum forcing any air he had left in his lugs out. The third hit connected with his face as he curled inward on himself, his head snapped upwards in a fountain of blood as his nose broke before landing in a pile on the floor his face rapidly going blue from lack of oxygen.

“Don’t talk about my family.” My voice as cold as frozen nitrogen as I stepped over him.

“Rick have a look at him.” I said without looking back.

“Yes boss.” His voice cold and professional as he rushed to Wiry’s side.

The door opened as Taleel walked in. Everyone rushed into formation without though, forgetting Wiry.

“He got what he deserved and will have ten rotations added to his service.” He said as a floating cart came in picking up Wiry as black instruments emerged from the cart already working on him as it floated back through the door.

“From now on fighting will be taught by Salchar and he will be the leader of this squad.” His voice got colder as his jaws became tighter.

“You will win your fights or I will test the boundaries of how long humans last with level eight.” A chill ran down my spine as I saw more than one person’s face drained of blood.

Without another word he left me and the terrified remains of my squad behind.

Now was time to give them purpose and show them how we could win and stave off punishment, though it wouldn’t be easy.

“Get in your teams!” I demanded as they jumped to it.

I looked at the other members of Wiry’s team, including Yasu. “Look after him when he comes back I probably took it too far but I have something about bullies and people talking about my family like that.” I didn’t have a family in the legal sense, but Mecha Tail had filed the void and then some in my life.

I raised my voice so everyone could hear me.

“Within your teams start going over fighting techniques, building up to fights. I will be evaluating you all to see who will be team leaders. Go.” Groups formed as teams came together, a few high-fiving others getting better acquainted than they had already, my own converged on me.

I was paired with a medium built guy called Charles. He was twelve and loved video games. He’d kept mostly to himself. I’d wanted to be paired with Rick but I’d made Rick the leader of another team. I needed to at least know that two thirds of my people would listen to me.

Cassie and the final member Rob joined us. The other pair of my team.

“It wasn’t your fault that we lost, now with these teams we’ll win!” An infectious smile on her face as Charles looked at me with hooded eyes and Rob shrugged with his hands in his pockets.

“Hopefully, though Wiry was right about one thing-I did lose it for us.” They looked taken-aback by my acceptance.

“It’s not your fault Yasu jumped you.” Rob said with a grin. “I wouldn’t mind getting jumped by her myself!”

“Robbie!” The blonde complained, hitting him on the shoulder and glaring at the unrepentant man. Who only grinned which I couldn’t help but respond in kind to.

“Alright so let’s go around and talk a little about ourselves so we can get more familiarized before we begin training. Charles?”

He studied his hands as he talked and fidgeted, which was quite an odd look for a two hundred and sixty pound looking man.

“I’m Charles and I like fish.” He looked as if he was waiting for some harsh remarks.

“What kind of fish?”

“Sturgeon.” He said, again bracing himself from something.

“Why?” Cassie sounded perplexed, but interested.

“Uhh… Cause they’re interesting, how they’ve been around for nearly a hundred a fifty million years, they can live for a hundred and fifty years. Some can travel, others will live near their birthplace for the majority of their life. I also like other fish, but I like them the most.” He said, looking at the ground waiting to be made fun of.

“I never knew that much about a Sturgeon. Rob?” I said in a light tone.

“You’re not going to make fun of me?” Charles looked at me in shock.

“Why should I? You just taught me something I never knew about.” I said as he went back to admiring the floor.

“Well it’s weird.”

“It’s different. I don’t have the same interests but that’s cool, people are different.” I shrugged as the others nodded in agreement.

Rob turned red and I thought I saw his eyes water up as he went back to fiddling with his fingers at an increased pace.

“I’m Rob and I like skateboarding. Oh and I really want to ride that damned food trolley.”

“Why?” I said, cocking my eyebrow in interest.

“Well think about it, skateboarding without having to push with my feet, plus the tricks you could do with anti-gravity and space would be awesome!”

“Remind me to not let you go near the food cart without supervision.” He grinned Cassie and I grinning along with him. Charles showing a small smile as he continued to look down.

“I’m Cassie and I like fencing.”

“How’d you get into that?”

“My dad was a professor, on take your kid to school day when I was nine or so I wandered into an open fencing tournament. I was mesmerized by the elegance of the movements, the competitiveness and the outfits probably. It was a hassle for my parents to get me out of my fencing outfit. Anyway I started getting lessons, been doing it ever since. I just passed nationals and I was picked up to train for the Olympics in a few years.” There was a note of sadness mixed with her excitement.

“Damn, that is impressive.” I said as I tried to pull her thoughts away from what she’d lost. Her cheeks colored as she looked at the floor shyly.

“Well then, I’m James and I like video games, though you can call me Salchar.”

“I didn’t realize your name was James.” Cassie said, a look in her eyes which reminded me of one too many groupies I’d seen.

“Salchar’s my gaming tittle.”

“Ahh.”

“So shall we get started with some fighting?”

Rob and Cassie both agreed verbally as Charles nodded into the floor.

Charles and I fought lightly as I gave him a few pointers while watching Cassie and Rob out the corner of my eye. All the teams were fighting by the time meals came which we devoured in no time, ready for further training. Wiry returned once the meal was done, finding a wall and sitting against it as he stared at me, his anger palpable. Yasu didn’t fight with her team as well, instead she leaned against a wall watching.

“What’s your favorite meal Salchar?” Robbie asked, breaking me out of my thought process.

“Spaghetti bolognaise with extra meat.” I said as I half-remembered the dish, the slime that we ate instead replacing it in taste.

“Roast beef with all the fixings” Charles said as I thought that he might lick his lips at the thought.

“Bacon cheeseburger with potato wedges.” Rob added.

“Ice cream.” Cassie grinned.

“That’s not a meal.” Rob said.

“It’s a dessert.” Charles added.

“Well I like it!” She half pouted, crossing her arms to emphasize the point, it was hard to think that she was only fourteen when she looked like a model, and could kick some serious ass if she wanted to.