CHAPTER 23

Lumiea

Year -20 (L.D.)

By the end of the two week tour, everyone had healed entirely except for Jace, who still underwent treatments at night in the pod. Aeryn's squad had learned the true extent of all they still needed to learn and spent their days planning, practicing following Trin’s guidance with the AI, trying to sync their movements. But it felt as if they'd only managed to realize how much they had to learn about working as a team once they returned to Iyla. No longer did they feel like the the young soldiers who risen to the top to make it here but a group of kids who had no idea how to use the full potential of their combined skills.

In the months that followed, they trained tirelessly as a team and on their own individual expertise. Trin had developed a comprehensive list of basic skills and exercises they needed to learn to even glimpse proficiency, much less actually become competent as a squad. Their instructors had work for them as well, but it wasn't enough. They had to learn to work as one body, and that was something only they could figure out. It was a tireless effort. The mental stress had been so taxing on Trin that for the first six weeks she'd frequently fallen asleep sitting up.

As the time for their second visit to the field neared, Aeryn finally felt like they were making it somewhere.

"Flank," the now familiar voice in her earpiece said. Perfectly in-step with one another, the whole squad launched into formation around their target. "Reset. Again."

Aeryn no longer had to think about these daily drills. It seemed pointless to do them anymore because they'd mastered such simple commands as a unit, but she knew from her own training the value of maintaining the simple. It had to be perfect, every time.

Any time she even felt tempted to feel satisfied with their progress, she remembered the blood spurting from Jace's wound and the sizzling of his shirt.

If that hadn't been a trial, they would have been dead.

"Impressive."

Aeryn was in the middle of a drill replacing Lyon's fuel when the voice shot shock through her. The rest of her squad seemed to freeze for a moment, as well. She turned around to Commanders Vehru and Morfrain standing together on the grass of the training ground.

Her entire squad jumped to their feet and lined up, shoulders straight.

Vehru looked amused as she walked closer. "You know today is your day off."

"We've only mastered 83% of the skills we identified as crucial to re-enter the field." Trin lowered her head slightly as she spoke. "Commander."

Though it was not entirely rare to see Commander Vehru, she never approached to talk. And it was absolutely strange to see Morfrain with her. He did not involve himself in the day-to-day operations of the program.

"It always amazes me to see the talent of our newest privates." Vehru crossed her arms, the slightest shimmer over her body from the daylight. "Your instructors told you bonding can't just happen in training."

"We bond too much outside of training, Commander." Alix somehow had the gall to make a joke in Vehru's presence. He never ceased to amaze her.

As one they shot him a glare.

But Vehru grinned at this. "I've watched many new squads start and grow. I've also watched many fail. I like to visit with the squads before your second trip to patrol. The first one tends to leave a mark."

Aeryn's muscles tightened at the memory of their failure and what it could have cost them.

"Continue training. You're right to. But you will take the customary three days off before you leave. There's a reason for that."

"Yes, Commander," they all said.

"Commander Morfrain." Vehru looked at Aeryn even though she spoke to him. "This is Aeryn, one of the Witness candidates I told you about."

He didn't speak or move closer. His unreadable eyes locked onto her and she felt as if her body was shrinking in on itself.

"You don't know this, Aeryn, but we have already eliminated sixty percent of our candidates from the Witness Program. It takes more than skill to succeed in this role. Certain personal qualities are much more important." Vehru glanced to the others on her squad. "Remember to protect her. She needs to do her job and function as a member of the squad, but when you're prioritizing a life, choose hers."

"Yes, Commander Vehru," Jace said. The others nodded.

Deep discomfort twisted her insides. She didn't like that at all.

"Commander," Aeryn said quietly. "May I ask a question?"

Vehru's golden eyes locked onto hers. "Please do."

"I know you said you cannot reveal more about the program until the time is right. So I won't ask all the questions I have. But can you tell me when. When will I get to know more?"

Vehru moved closer to her, closer than she'd ever been. Close enough to touch. Her voice was surprisingly gentle. "If you're eliminated, you'll never know more. Once I know you can do the job, I'll tell you more. It's not something that has a certain time frame. I know that's frightening. But I know you're capable of managing it."

Aeryn nodded. "Yes, Commander."

Vehru's look flickered across the rest of the squad. "Train well and bond well. I’m counting on you."

Pressure swelled inside of Aeryn, enough to make her feel like she would burst.

#

Nikka walked with Aeryn toward the dorms. They'd just finished breakfast together and would have to go their separate ways. There were only days of training left before they would have their three days off. Today they trained on their own. And even though Aeryn had spent her life training by herself, it felt lonely now that she had a squad, even if they drove her crazy half the time.

"Guess I'll see you later," she said to Nikka when they reached their mailboxes.

"We're all doing dinner tonight."

"Even Jace? He's not going to spend all night practicing his flight mod?"

"Even Jace."

Having that man on their squad was like working with someone who had two completely distinct personalities. When he took a night off, he was all about having fun. But otherwise, he was even more serious than Trin. Aeryn had been accused of not being able to lighten up, but Jace on duty was another level. "I'm truly shocked. He skipped the last two."

"I may have reminded him about what Commander Vehru said.“

Aeryn smirked and opened her mailbox. She hesitated when she saw mineral packs inside. "Where are these coming from?"

Nikka tilted her head. "You didn't order them?"

"No. It's like the fourth time this has happened. Maybe they're being delivered to the wrong person."

"You needed them, right?"

"I mean, yes. I only get so many for training and they get expensive if I want to practice more on my own." Aeryn scratched the back of her head and looked around. "Weird."

"Just keep them. Maybe they're a gift."

She snorted. "When is anything ever a gift around here? Someone's probably tallying up how much I owe them.“

Aeryn kept them anyway and said her goodbyes to Nikka. On her way to the lab, she looked over to the aerial training grounds.

There was Jace. As usual.

He'd come for at least an hour every morning before his normal schedule began. Already he’d been here long enough to work up a sheen of sweat over his body.

Unlike the mild thrust abilities that most combat soldiers had equipped on their hand mods, the flight mods allowed soldiers to actually go airborne. Aeryn had not seen much of the sparring the soldiers did with flight due to her schedule and the fact that many soldiers never tried mastering it, so she didn't have a great deal of exposure to it. But she had seen a few people shoot up to around the third story of the nearest building.

Even from her distance, she could see that Jace's arms trembled from the force Aeryn knew the mod exerted in order to propel him off the ground. All flight mods were unruly to control, impossible even, for most people. And for those who could master them, many didn't find it useful enough in real-life combat to put the time into. So, of course, Jace had to become the greatest at aerial combat.

Aeryn sighed. Honestly, she would want to do the same in his situation. She often sought out the most challenging and niche skills she could to try her hand at. It was just that he took it to an obnoxious level. Last week when she'd tried to say good morning to him while he was working on hovering, he hardly even glanced at her.

As she walked closer, she could see that he was still training on the basics. Jace could do much more than hover or shoot up into the air, though. Lyon had told her they'd both been learning how to use them in combat. But Jace still did these simple drills every morning. He'd gotten good enough with it that even with the physical toll it clearly took on his body, it looked like a dance. His feet settled on the ground, his fingers flexed, and then with careful aim, he pointed his mod at just the right angle. Slowly and with control he lifted from the ground once again, higher this time. Despite his heavy breathing, he managed to make it look graceful, and even simple. As though Aeryn could slap the mod on and join him when the truth was she wouldn't make it off the ground.

When he landed, he looked over at her, taking her by surprise. He glanced down to the mineral pack in her hand.

"Morning," Aeryn said, not sure why she was nervous. They'd said good morning many times before. Just not usually once he was busy. Usually, he ignored her.

"Morning."

"I hear you're actually coming to dinner."

He used his collar to wipe the sweat from his face, exposing a swath of hips and stomach. He nodded and smoothed his shirt back down. “Yeah. He told me if I came to dinner, he’d spar with me tonight. We’re never sparring partners. We had to give it a shot before we head out next week.”

Here she was thinking Jace actually wanted to spend time with them. “Oh.”

“Have to practice more. I can’t let Lyon win.”

Lyon was good. Very good. But he didn’t spend the time Jace did on the flight mod. Aeryn didn’t need to watch the match to know who’d win.

Within moments, Jace raised himself back in the air in a slow spin this time. If he noticed when she left, it didn’t show. Frustration with him tightened her gut when she first started working, but it was long gone by the end of the day. Aeryn needed a night to relax.

Instead of meeting at the restaurant, though, the group gathered to watch Lyon and Jace’s sparring match.

They’d just gathered outside of the netting that covered the aerial training ground and provided protection in the event of a crash.

Lyon stretched his arms as he faced Jace. "Don't expect a kiss this time, big guy."

Jace smirked. Rare to get a reaction out of him during training.

When the bell rang, Aeryn expected meticulous movements like she'd seen Jace and Lyon make in training. So her eyes widened when they both lunged forward and shot up to twice their height in a moment. Almost too fast for her thoughts to keep up, the two clashed.

Each movement required incredible sophistication. Aeryn's mind tried to break down their dance into the individual motions and the angle and thrust of each. But they made it look seamless.

Jace blasted off the wall into a spin and landed a kick against Lyon's chest. Their friend spun a like a top, but caught himself right before hitting the ground. Jace wasn’t waiting though. He bounded forward the moment he landed and then shot across the ground.

Lyon’s hands glowed as he threw two powered punches and grazed Jace’s cheek. The other man had twisted to avoid the hits and threw his knee toward Lyon’s chest.

Both attacked, blocked, countered, dodged. Faster and faster with every movement. Maybe Lyon could win this after all. Had he been training more than Aeryn knew?

Alix pumped his fist in the air and cheered. “Pummel him, Lyon!”

“So jealous,” Nikka whispered. Aeryn snickered.

But just as she was thinking Lyon stood a chance, Jace torpedoed through the air and shoved his glowing palms against Lyon’s middle.

The bell rang. In real combat, that would be all it took. One small blast of energy from Jace’s hands and Lyon would have struggled to continue fighting.

Both men landed, catching each other by the arms as they skidded to a stop.

“Damn,” Lyon said. “When did you learn how to do that?”

“Evenings. We should do another round.”

“They’re waiting on us.” Lyon nodded toward where they sat and Jace blinked at them. Had he really not even noticed them?

“He’s a real jerk sometimes,” Aeryn said.

“Don’t be hard on him. He’s focused. He thought if one of us had a flight mod out in the field, we would’ve stood a better chance. Not everyone can fight that way.” Nikka waved at the two men. “I’m hungry. Can we hurry up?”

Shame burned in Aeryn’s cheeks. Because she’d let herself think Jace was doing this just for his own pride or his own obsession. Even though he didn’t show that he cared in the same way the rest of them did, maybe he’d been here every morning for them, not his own success.

Aeryn wasn’t sure why she was so quick to be harsh with Jace when she went out of her way never to be like that with Nikka or Lyon. She needed to take these coming days of rest to reset her mind, before heading out to the field.