LoW chapter 3

this is a major part of the story and signals the end for the first act. It is the longest chapter i have written period.

It had been a few hours in the dusty rust bucket that Jaseph would call a “starship” as they were headed to one of the moons of Cuncopa. The central training base for the Shield and Sword, It was a large grey moon orbiting the forest world. It was a dusty grey little rock near the edge of the forest planet’s orbit.   It looked as one giant military base with buildings and technology webbing out in orbital defense grids and with cannons pointed outward into space.

They landed on the helipad like platform. Anya and Jaseph jumped off, and heard the thrusters of the old sand sailor stop dead.  Myzak and Norifer stepped down the panels with their scarily feet making a clattering racket. They looked about the star port and saw a drill sergeant and went up to him. Jaseph heard them muttering their name. He gulped and gripped Anya’s hand.

She jerked away and they heard the clanking of the heavy tiverian boots. “Welcome to basic training. I am vintner Tarsus Useen.  I will be your instructor, mentor, and guide. You have been selected by the kings eye, or you have survived the trials.” Said Useen with a quick smile, that quickly vanished. He then held up a flamesword and looked at the crowd before him. “This is the main weapon of King Useph titarin the third.” The sword, itself seemed to irradiate a bright blue fire around a core of steel.   Jaseph flinched at the sight of the light, and he had to shield his eyes.  “Starting seven A.M. sharp, you will be given your first course in fighter training, then afterwords report to commander Tivinus for a application briefing. For now though, you may unpack your things and  get ready for ten hours of shut eye.”

Jaseph saw the ship ascending with Myazak and norifer as it left orbit.  He looked forward toward the barracks and pulled his duffle bag over his shoulder. Anya and the others soon followed Useen as he guided them into a small room to which was composed of cryo-pods on the walls like racks of dircia bread in a bakeshop back on his homeworld.   It wouldn’t be an easy night for jaseph as he was haunted in his dreams by his mother, the argument they had, and the friends that he had back on his homeworld, and of his father who was still out in space.

The cry-pod hissed open and jaseph saw the ice encrusted doors flip open. Shuddering at the cold he reached for his clothes and saw anya getting out of her pod across the room.  They put on their new uniforms and headed down to the communication bridge, whos pathway was lit for the new initiates. The metal halls clanked and clammered with billions of feet walking across them, jaseph felt the vibrations across that shook him like a  saw cutting into a tree.  He looked back at anya as she was still shivering because of the overnight freeze.

The pair walked down trying to catch up to the other young teens before being lost. They were confused as the towering medvival corridors that were covered in shiney metallic plastics to help illuminate the facility as the flouresent lights swung and hummed over head. Jaseph was looking along at the doors, trying to find a sign. The rooms weren’t identified in anyway. Jaseph did the most logical thing a someone lost in a laberynth of a battlestation would do. He peeked in cracks of doorways, to find each was a disappointment until a guard came up noticing the pair’s trouble. 

“Oi, ser.” said the guard standing straight at attention as if they were civilians that had gotten lost. “Tourists aren’t allowed in this side of the base as order of King Atheren.” “Yeah, i’m new sorry. Were were going to the initiates homeroom but kind of got lost in this mess.” The guard looked at him through his green glowing visor, and the helmet collapsed into small fragments that folded neatly below his neck with a hiss of gas. 

The guard was an atherean, a green skinned race of humans much like Anya. He smiled lightly and turned his red eyes down to the corridor. Then he turned back to the two of them. “Right, you two do look a bit young for initiates don’t you?” The guard asked wearingly. “Yes, we know” said jaseph with a pang of guilt remembering what he had done. “Well, it’s down to your left and straight through the mess hall.” The guardsmen pointed switching his banger rifle over from one shoulder to the other. 

The pair nodded and walked through the gleaming metal corridor. The halls themselves seemed to be constantly abuzz with troop movements as men and women wearing powered armor, jump suits, and in all types of military uniforms went every which direction. Jaseph and Anya had to concentrate to see straight infront of them or risk the chance of being absorbed in one of the many lines of people going through different places. 

They eventually would arrive at a round room with an open arching door. The holo board had a 3D projection of where the classmates would be sitting and they sat accordingly across the room from one another. The class was mostly older children 18 to 20, mostly human with a few Negal and Necross mixed in.  

An old aquarian walked into the room, the seven foot blue fish looked down at the class and sneared “Good morning students,” he began with a friendly smile that sent shivers down the spine of the recruits “My title is instructor Cursian Athursus. Unlike the more brutish combat exercises you’ll be doing with  drill sergeant Useen, you’ll be learning powerfull magics, and mainly manipulative psychic powers.” He then took a deep breath and began with a condencending remark. “I know that most of you will, not be in general seats, or trusted advisors to the great Carcassian Throne; more likely you’ll be nothing but scouts and soldiers on the front.”

One of the recruits took this opportunity to make a remark. “In my hometown we have a saying “Those who cannot do teach.” The boy took a clever grin. That was one big mistake as the teacher raised his hands and shot a fireball right to his chest. “What was that boy?” The tall alien loomed over him with ball of flame in his hands. 

The recruits stood breathless “If anyonelse cares to make a smart comment about me, im glad to do a few more demonstrations of what’s possible with magic and technology.” They remained silent as the boy crawled back to his seat with scortch mark across his training armor.  The lesson went on to cover basic introduction to magic, some basic plasma bolts and energy shield demonstrations. 

Then the teacher did something the class didn’t expect. “As I’m sure you’re all aware, you are to have a written exam to see what rank, and where you will be placed.” He started handing out the tests and jaseph sighed. He was bad at tests, even though he was smarter than he appeared, tests and him never quite got along together. 

The rest of the class started and jaseph stared at the questions circling bubbles that he thought were correct, like what’s the best way to destroy an imperial star cruiser? He selected destroy the engines and board the enemy vessel. How do we treat wounds on the field? Getting the medic sounded like a good idea to him. It went on and on for several hours. Then the class was lead to the mess hall. 

Jaseph and anya were sitting side by side, neither really wanting to talk, that is until anya broke the silence. “Jaseph, I just…” she paused and looked him in the eye “I want to say I’m sorry for the mess I got us into.” Jaseph looked down at the grey mush that was supposed to be a neutriant supplement. “Yeah, I wasn’t exactly acting like an adult accepting that dare of yours.” He then glanced up to a negal moore sitting next to them. His accent was heavy, but it was understandable. 

“Hello, I’m Meakash.” He said and scratched the robes he had from his homeland. “Hello meakash, I’m jaseph. This is anya to my right” She merely waved, she wasn’t really in the mood to make friends after what had happened. The dark brown scales of the draconic figure gleamed under the harsh fluorescent lighting of the mess hall as he made the sign of greetings from his people. His two middle fingers came together and the outward ones spread apart.  Jaeseph tried to mimick the maneuver but just smiled as he failed.

“Where are you from?” asked jaseph politely. “My parents came here from the outlying colonies known as Tau Nukak.” “My friend Anya, and I are from the provence of Starsis.” The dark scaled alien nodded and turned to anya “Do you not speak?” he asks and she grumbles in response.  The other recruits start leaving the room and they begin to head out. 

An alarm went off letting the children know that the lunch period was over. The instructors pointed them to changing rooms to  put on their uniforms.  Anya went to the woman’s changing room on the right, and jaseph went to the left.  There was a line of initiates who were given a data key. The key jaseph received had the number 3459 written across it. He held it up to the locker with the corresponding name and his uniform, a plain grey shirt with his family crest, the modo was underneath it.

“Emasses en that un mak esam de entat ek hongar entat ek vintins ek entat kasindas et ek entat memassaes”  in common speak  it reads “With truth comes honor, with honor comes strength, with strength comes virtue, and with virtue comes kindness, and finally with kindess comes mercy .” Jaseph’s father taught him the meaning by simply saying “In all things that life teaches us, never forget this statement my son. You will be able to do great things, none men can yet dare imagine. However, it will be not destiny that tells us, only you can do this by following this motto.” 

He walked out with the rest of the iniates wearing different mottos and crests. The squad was divided by the crests that they wore. Each team stated their family mottos in unison.  The first squad was from the Useen family, the second was from the family of kirithstien, and the third was from the family of empathis. The final family was from jaseph’s own, the Starset family.  

Useen spoke as he looked at the four squads. “You have been selected by his grace, the fair king Arsistus. You are to represent each of the four pillars that hold the capitol city of Arisintus skybownd, Your families would be proud to see you here. Each of you represent the individual provinces as the unified planet of nightglow.” The drill sergeant took a pause when he saw anya and jaseph standing with the much older initiates. He looked at jaseph  and the teenager looked back. 

The drill sergeant stepped forward and motioned the young one. Tentitavley, he stepped forth from the formation and looked into the dark haired man’s piercing eyes. “I worked with your father, he is a great man, but he started out like you.” Jaseph looked about as the men and women just stared at him.   Useen then instructed that the lines of initiates go to separate training domes. Jaseph’s squad was lead through a large archaic bridge. The hexagonal tube structure spanded across the massive gorge in the moon’s surface, its metal floor clanked with the bussel of the ten recruits that walked across it. 

He looked toward anya and anya looked back.  She was taking in the features of the concrete base. The dome was held up by arches that pushed the gravity down and away from the fragile tip of the dome, but all it would take was a stray plasma missle to have them sucked out into the void. She peered out a window and saw the frigget “H.M.S. Isinosis” slip into view with it’s empty field generator.  Her arm was poked by another squad member “Hey watch it.” She hissed under her breath, the recruit pointed forward and she stood embarrassed as  The drill sergeant peered down to her. “Now that we have your attention Mrs. Drem, we can begin the luxury tour of your new life.”  

He turned to the class and smiled. “This beauty was designed by  Advisor Menteris in the year 30502. It was only destroyed once by the negal uprising two thousand years ago. She is now equipped with the most modern training facilities known to the kingdom. It is the premier training facility in the known galaxy. If I see one scratch on any of these walls, you will scrub all two hundred feet by hand. Should you break or lose the equipment that is ten public lashes.  If any of you get the hainus idea in your heads that you go awall, I will kill you myself.” He pulled out a plasma pistol and shot a bright red light at the dummy target. 

The trainees stood there and nodded slowly.  “Starseen, Kelleesh you two are up first followed by Drem and Seern.” He continued listing down names and soon the pair were put to the starting positions.  Jaseph looked to the aquarian next to him. The tall teal skinned fish looked down and smiled at him

A blaster shot rumbled through the air as the pair dashed to the course. Jaseph  was the first to hit the lazer field and ducked under the crossing beams of blue light. He looked to see the Nagal and huffed. “Well I guess I’ve found my match.” He quipped. “You have no idea.”  said the lizard as he scuttled infront of him, flicking his alien forked tounge out as he exited a little ahead of jaseph. 

Jaseph wasn’t going to have any of that, especially after the nirn bug incident. Quickly, he jumped up just missing a beam and started sprinting to catch up with the fierce reptile as he got to the Nirn threaded rope. “It looks good from up here don’t you agree?” the lizard smirked and prepared himself for the massive leap across the gap between the two rope sections. Jaseph climbed as quick as he could. 

Meak smiled and jumped, just hitting the bottom of the ropes, jaseph was at the top and made a massive leap just making it to the top by hanging on. “Ugh” he strained as he pulled himself up and rolled down the  silky ropes. “Got a head start, better make this last.” Jaseph told himself and he got up and started dashing toward the next obstacle. “Well how do I do this?” asked jaseph under his breath. 

  He was staring into an odd looking maze of metallic tubes, four entered but only one was at the exit. “Gotta make this quick!” he gasped over his shoulder as Meak was gaining speed, trying to catch up with him.  Jaseph dived into the first opening he saw. Unfortunatly it lead to a dead end, so he turned around finding that the path was suddenly blocked, the pathway infront was no longer a dead end.

He sighed and started squirming through. His mother had taught him about changing mazes and how you’re always supposed to keep going forward, and how you’re always supposed to have your hand to the left walls. Twists and turns lead him from one end of the maze to the other as he kept his hand to the left. He quickly slipped and was forced to worm his way to the end. 

He looked to the end and saw the light, but he heard a noise next to him. Meak and jaseph were neck and neck.  He quickened his pace as the maze changed for the last time, the two tunnels became one and meak was staring him as they raced to get to the light first. 

It was over in a flash, the crowd watched anxiously and anya was eyeing for jaseph, praying to the sight that he could win. A hand, a human one streatched from the hole, then the rest of him soon afterword as jaseph stood up and panted, he had won the obstical course. 

Now the pair were going to be assighned a rank and a weapon. Jaseph read his scores from the written exam. He smiled when he read “Squad commander.” He smiled even wider when he had his flamesword listed as his weapon. 

Author's Note

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