“Alright, listen up! Now that you’re capable of tossing bodies around, it’s time to put you to work.”
Gosha announced with the authority of a man whose towering, booming height was evident, despite his short stature and scruffy, raspy voice. The man clearly carried himself as if he were physically greater, and Kazia admired this.
“Truth be told, I thought you’d be a capable navigator or at the very least a decent comms officer.”
Gosha stopped his pacing, the light tip-tapping of his boots coming to a halt. The two of them stood outside the ship within their assigned hangar bay. Before them, five medium-sized cylindrical containers were scattered a yard of space between each. All of them were empty, prepared solely for use as training dummies.
Behind them, sitting on and around the ship’s loading ramp, Torin-4 and Lucian watched the coming demonstration.
“Is she even capable of this?” Torin-4 leaned against one of the hydraulic struts of the ramp, his arms folded.
The man, bipedal in appearance, was a Nexorian. He and his kind were synthetic lifeforms, isolated AI possessing a variety of bodies. Their forms ranged individually from bipedal to anything multi-limbed, multi-eyed, their bodies capable of modification to handle a variety of tasks and environs.
Torin-4, was simple in his frame; average height, two arms, two legs, supposedly two eyes, though concealed by a helmeted visor he always wore. His skin, like most of his kind, held a pearlescent metallic hue. He wore a long-sleeved red shirt, black slacks, a bulky Net-link specialized for electronic warfare and communications, and shoes made for running, though he often moved as if he had never run in his life.
“We’ve been keeping it safe for weeks, still running cargo despite the increased threat of raider incursions, and we were easily taken by surprise on our latest stop.” Lucian pointed this out while reclining on the ramp. “We were lucky to have her with us.”
Torin-4 scoffed, finding the convenience unlikely. “Yet, she is Vul’Katahn. Her people aren’t known warriors. They’re not much of anything at this point.”
Lucian glanced back, preparing to snap back, but held himself back. He turned back to Kazia, right when Gosha cleared her general area.
“Very well, girl, you may be shackled, but you can use ‘em star powers still, right?” He turned to Lucian for confirmation. “Aye, right?”
Lucian swallowed hard. Though he agreed to be Kazia’s chaperone during this probation period, he did not account for being the holder of her leash like this.
“I’m leaving her inhibitors on a low level.” He admitted, waiting for Torin-4 to object, but only felt a cold stare at the back of his head. “She’s free to do what she needs to do.”He met Kazia’s gaze, feeling a tingling sense of appreciation from her.
With that, she conjured her blade with ease, forming its hard-light structure over her hand with ease of concentration. The sharp light gleamed and hummed with energy for all to see. Gosha stared with gleeful anticipation, Lucian in familiar amazement, and Torin-4 with unease that made him step back ever slightly.
“That thing is actually sharp?” Gosha asked, his beady eyes flicking to the nearest canister.
Kazia didn’t hesitate from her own eagerness to show off her weapon. She swung her arm in a wide arc, slicing the object with a cut that went midway through its structure. The strike tore clean through, leaving a searing residue of heat, displaying obvious lethality not just in the constructs’s sharpness, but also the heat it generated. This was something Lucian noticed himself when examining the body of her first kill aboard the Rust Burn.
“What else can you do?” Gosha’s eyes twinkled in anticipation, like a child watching a magic trick for the first time.
Pride swelled in Kazia’s chest at his expression. She glanced back at Lucian, who she also noticed watched her with amazement. She turned back to the training dummies and stretched out her hand and mind. The untouched container before her trembled, its chain rattled while a haze surrounded it like a transparent vice.
Kazia’s hand made a gripping motion, as if holding something from afar. The container steadied slightly, only to be lifted several feet from the ground. She visibly struggled to maintain the height, teeth gritting, lucra levitating from her shoulders with the glowing haze of Myst that surrounded them.
She couldn’t hold it for much longer, before slinging it off to the right with a wave of her hand. The metal cylinder spun wildly before crashing to the far side of the wall within the hangar bay. The commotion caught the eyes of several dock workers and pilots. Kazia took a breath, steadying her mind and her reach, a visible strain that wasn’t there prior.
“I’m not well-trained in my telekinetic abilities.” She started, composing herself before the others. “But forming constructs is often my specialty.”
Torin-4 finally moved from his spot, yet his arms remained crossed and held close. “Yet you can form blades easily? You Vul’Katahn are supposed to be ‘master practitioners of this cosmic energy.”
She heard the condescending tone in his words and body, her eyes lying on him with a tactical assessment. His posture radiated rejection, as if already determining her worth.
“Not all are taught the same discipline or schools in wielding the Myst.” Kazia started a walk towards him, strong strides that demanded respect. “Fewer still are the advanced disciplines that fully embrace war. Something that other races, who are merely grazed by the Myst, are incapable of producing such proficient effects.”
Lucian watched the two meet inches apart, neither backing down. Even while Torin-4 stood at an elevated height on the loading ramp, Kazia still towered over the man, looking down at him. She scowled at him with disdain, not in superiority over herself, but at the thought of being incapable.
“You magicians lost despite it,” Torin-4 spat, remaining immovable. “All that power and wisdom, you lot couldn’t even save yourselves, let alone your planet.”
A sharp hiss escaped through Kazia’s gritted teeth. Her hand found itself at the man’s throat. Her eyes and lucra flared with a spark, fanged teeth bared.
“Watch your mouth, Imitator.”Her words came out with venom, but she stopped before she spoke again.
Lucian placed his hand on her forearm, the touch immediately loosening her grip. Kazia never picked up Torin-4, his feet never leaving the ramp, but he staggered back grasping his pharynx., readjusting himself to speak properly.
“I suggest you hold your tongue.” Gosha’s voice, ever present, stopped him. “Those raiders could have done more than simply steal our cargo. There’s no shortage of slaves in this day and age.”
Torin-4 hardened his jaw, keeping his mouth shut, before turning to retreat further into the ship. Kazia watched for a moment before breaking her line of sight, her biceps relaxing from her readiness to fight. She felt Lucian’s touch and looked at him with the gentleness of one eyeing a particularly welcoming friend.
Her eyes flicked to his hand, then back to him. He removed it quickly, leaving Kazia in a moment of wanting, already missing his gentle touch.
“I’m sorry, I just-.” Lucian closed his hand into a fist, suddenly unsure of what he was thinking.
“No, thank you.” She nodded solemnly. “I shouldn’t let him antagonize me like that.”
Lucian didn’t hold back his amused scoffing, or his words. “I almost wanted you to hit him.” He mused. “The guy’s a speciesist. He doesn’t get along well with others.”
Kazia smirked, her commonality with Lucian bringing shared amusement. Gosha watched from afar, his eyes shifting between the two with a smile, more gentle than his rough demeanor, spreading under his whiskers.
“Alright, alright.” He broke the calmness of the situation. “I think that’s enough of a demonstration for now.”
Kazia and Lucian turned towards him, both of them realizing he was still nearby.
“Don’t mind bucket-brain. He’s an asshole, but still useful on comms and gets things done as my second.” Gosha took note of Kazia’s expected, but subtle frown at the thought of taking orders from him. “But, my word still stands. You’re the best and latest candidate for our security on board the Rust Burn.”
Kazia’s face gleamed with excitement at the idea of being accepted. “I am? I’m a part of the crew?”
She looked down at Lucian, who nodded with a smile that shared his excitement.
“Well, since you’re supposed to stay near him for a solar cycle, we have to put you to work somehow,” Gosha stated this was an obviousness that belied his excuses. “So for now, clean up these containers and let’s get going. We got some cargo to pick up.”
Kazia straightened her spine, directing her hand in a flat gesture with fingers partially spread over her chest. The movement came out robotic, with military discipline, which appeared unlike her.
“Yes, sir!” She acknowledged with a uniform, before beginning her first task.
Gosha and Lucian exchanged glances, uncomfortable ones.
“Kid, be sure to make her feel welcomed, as well as, keep a good eye on her.” The old captain whispered, patting his leg. “It’s been twenty years. Times for the war to belong to the past.”
