Chapter 6

Chapter

Six

M y visit with Calliape has put some of my scrambling thoughts at ease. Even though she was not trying to impart her wisdom on me, she always seems to know what to say. If the guilt I can't seem to get away from is manufactured by the priestess order, then my fear of them likely is too.

Clinging to that mindset is enough to embolden me to move my work back to the capital library. Commander Yeva and Commander Wesley carry a few books that will not fit on the stack in my arms. They seem happy to be moving to the roomier location compared to the stoic post they have been guarding outside my door.

When I assumed the temple was coming for me during the tremor, I let that fear overtake me, turn me into a cowering disciple of the temple and not a formidable priestess with powerful gifts.

I have no intention of allowing that to happen again or for trauma rooted in assumption to rule my life. I should have been able to conjure my light at the first thought of danger; instead, I waited until a glass panel almost fell on 99's head.

I have practiced my gift casually since we arrived, but I would like to strengthen my light to the point that I can summon it with little effort before danger even comes.

Calliape helped me accomplish this on Frith once, and I have not been able to conjure it so casually since.

When 99 arrives at the end of the day to walk me home from the library, I almost immediately ask him if it's possible to journey to the fallen monuments again.

The way he tilts his head toward me makes me laugh, like he thinks I am about to embarrass him in front of my guards. I glance back at them several feet away as we stroll down the oversized capital building halls. The oddly shaped windows stretch up into the tall ceilings on steel frames and paint our surroundings in the warm sunset.

"I would like to practice my light somewhere private and safe," I clarify, but it only fills his head with more questions that spill out into our tether.

He does not probe further for the reason; he can feel it. Our mental link is perpetually cracked open for him to reach out or for me to slither in. I do not have to say the words aloud because he can feel the emotions attached and why practicing my light will put my mind at ease. There has never been guilt or shame in not telling him every detail, only love and understanding.

"There is a better suited place I can take you," he says.

"Oh?"

"The training center is not far."

I look up at him, waiting for more information, the evening light casting his armor in deep gold.

"Where Viathan soldiers train for combat. You can safely practice your light in that facility," he continues, guiding us down a different portion of the building, like he intends to take me there now.

"Shouldn't I change first?" I gesture down at my long black dress, the flowy skirt kicking out as I walk.

He takes the opportunity to scan my body for himself. "No, you should practice in the clothes you wear the most."

Even though he is calm and understanding, our tether gives away his small twinge of excitement to show me the training centers.

"Will I get to see you train?" I tease.

Again, he tilts his head slowly in my direction. "If you like."

He takes me to what looks like another courtyard when we exit the capital building, the outside showing a clear mix of Viathan beliefs, the old and new world. The architecture is literal and somewhat cold in its smooth lines and jutting towers.

Viathan commanders cluster in groups across the open space, some even practicing with long, pointed weapons. The smooth towering walls indent around the entire perimeter of the courtyard, creating a roof over the pathway. Metal doors line the outside, each with a different symbol.

The commanders bow their heads, pausing in place until we pass.

"The light is so strange here." I look up into a blue, perfect sky. There was a fiery pink sunset coming through the windows just before we stepped out of the capital doors.

"It is a controlled dome," 99 leans in to whisper and points to the seam of the walls where they meet the faux sky of the ceiling. "Helps with endurance."

The courtyard is not open air like the others but manipulated from conditions outside.

"Tricks you to think time has not passed?" I smile.

He nods and presses his heavy hand on the small of my back. "This way."

Before I can read the symbol on the door we approach, 99 opens it, gesturing for me to enter, and instructs my guards to stay outside.

There is a noticeable temperature difference, and my eyes can't adjust fast enough to the darker interior. But 99's hand guides me forward, pressing gently on my spine.

"99th Commander! I was not expecting you," a man's voice cracks in the chilly space.

He stands from a command station as we approach, speaking through the glass of his booth. The grey walls around him are lined with buttons and screens presenting images of other spaces.

"Clear the gallery, prepare the podium for 2 users," 99 instructs.

"Yes, sir." The commander comes out from the booth and bows his head. "Hello, Priestess Ferren."

"Hello," I say in a pitch too high. It always throws me when I am reminded that I am not invisible here.

The man disappears around a dark corner, going farther into the interior to complete his orders.

I look up at 99, confused we are back inside and not out with the other commanders who train in the courtyard. "Why are we in here?"

"This building is part of the training center." He sends me reassuring warmth in my mind's eye, persuading me to trust him.

I can still sense his anxious excitement biting at the restraints of his stoic mood, but this seems a strange place to practice my light. It's dim, cold, and the only illumination are strips along the floors and small, strategically placed spotlights.

"Ready, sir." The commander enters from around the corner, holding a data pad and punching in a sequence in his booth.

"A new weapon requires calibration into the system before we begin," 99 says.

"A new weapon?" The commander looks around, searching for it.

"I will let you know when she is ready to calibrate it."

"Yes, 99th Commander." He says, then turns to me and bows again. "Ma'am."

There is a long hall before we get to an open area lined with boxlike stalls to stand in.

99 guides me to the last cubby, barely large enough for us to stand side by side. The open space in front of us is pitch black, ominous even.

"We need to make sure the system can detect your light before we go into the simulator," 99 says as if I won't have any further questions.

A small control panel on the wall next to 99 clicks on, the red light casting a reflection on the metal surfaces. He turns to it and presses the only round button at the base of its frame. "Stand by for calibration, commander."

"Standing by," the voice crackles over the panel speaker.

A long row of lights illuminates a strip of the open space all the way to a stone backdrop, so far we would have to shout to each other to hear from the other end.

"Stand here." He moves me by my waist, angling my body until I am pressed against the booth ledge from my stomach down. "Targets will descend from the ceiling, aim for them."

I look over my shoulder at him, realizing I am out of my depth and this is much more than I thought it would be. When I pictured practicing my light at the fallen monuments, it was much simpler than this.

"I don't know if I can." I smile, feeling a little silly.

"You can." He comes in closer to me, pressing himself into my back.

"99, it is difficult to call it forth. I want to practice but?—"

"Listen to me, Ferren," he says, so close I feel his pelvis pinning me to the half wall in front of us, his helmet speaking directly into my ear. He combs my hair behind my shoulder, exposing my neck before he continues, "The temple cannot come here."

He knows that fear is the reason I want to practice my light. His reassuring words send a chill down my spine as much as the feel of his suede glove tracing along my throat does.

"What if they try?" I shake my head.

He breathes in deeply, running his finger down the pulse in my neck like his helmet is keeping track of its beat. "We can practice as much as you need to, but know that no one will take you from me. Do you understand?"

"Yes." My shoulders stiffen at the thought.

"Do you know what would happen if they tried?" His body is pressed firmly into mine, every inch of me covered by his armor.

I reach back and hold onto the base of his helmet, needing him even closer. A perhaps deranged part of me wants the relief of hearing him say how violent the consequences would be if they did in fact try.

The vibrations from his deep, approving growl tickle my back, eliciting a panting thrill that runs through our tether and spreads warmly across my skin.

"I know what I would do, but I want to see what you would do, Priestess." He grips my wrist, pulling it off his neck and bringing it forward, hovering it in front of me.

I hadn't even noticed my light come forth until I see it slithering through the veins on my palm, too focused on the Viathan commander currently rock hard and pressed up against me to realize his true motives.

"She's ready," 99 says into the speaker beside me.

I turn and playfully squint my eyes at his clever trick, and he takes a step back and crosses his arms to watch me.

"Affirmative," the commander in the speaker says.

A whirling mechanical sound cuts into the dark space and a rectangular shape comes down from the ceiling. It's decorated in red circles within each other, decreasing in size until they meet in the middle with a red, flashing light.

More objects appear from the floor with insect-like arms, black with tiny lights adorning the interior, making a long tunnel in the direction of my target.

"At will," the speaker announces.

"Whenever you are ready, aim straight and the sensors on either side will collect information," 99 translates behind me.

I take a deep breath and check the strength of my light. It undulates and slithers across my skin, waiting to be freed.

I hold out my palms and press forward into the tunnel of sensors, sending a streak of lightning spitting out and colliding with the target in a sharp zap. Other than a single beep from the sensors, nothing changes. There are no char marks or dents on the target's surface. It looks completely untouched.

"Well done." 99 comes up behind me, not quite touching my back but enough to make me long for it. "Now, hold it for longer and keep those legs wider." He taps his boot on the side of mine.

I can't help but peek over my shoulder at him, his tone strong and authoritative. I have to press my lips together to hide a smile, taking everything in me not to reveal just how appealing I find his voice as he is telling me what to do in that tone.

The first target dashes up into the ceiling in a quick motion, and another one farther down the aisle of sensors appears.

I take a step outward, widening my stance, and hold out my hand again. My light is just on the surface now but still easily intensified. I inhale two large breaths, filling my lungs as much as they will stretch, and on the exhale, I expel my light, concentrating it in the middle.

My fingertips curl downward, flexing and straining to hold the emerald, flashing trail longer, directing it into the red lines of the target.

I wield my light until it hurts to keep the pathway open and the joint in my elbow begs for relief.

My torso hunches forward as my gift sputters out, and I have to lean on the ledge of the booth for support while I catch my breath.

99 is rubbing my back before I have gained my composure, praising me for how long I was able to last this time.

"Submission complete," the commander says over the speaker.

I realize 99 told the commander in the control booth that we were inputting a new weapon. I should have known he meant my light.

The sound of an unlocking door spikes my attention, like we are being let into another portion of the building now that I have completed this part.

"There is more?" I ask with a panting smile.

He flicks his fingers, beckoning me to join him.

I follow 99 through the entrance to another dark hallway and through the seemingly endless interior of this building. He opens a steel door, letting me pass under his arm as he braces it.

"This is the simulation room," he says.

I am immediately drawn to the vast ceiling above us, with a depth that seems to go on forever like an open night sky, but I know we are inside still. Petite honeycomb-shaped panels dot the entire space that's just as vast as the courtyard we passed through earlier.

"Simulation room," I repeat, not sure what the proper question would be for this situation.

99 removes a panel from the side of the door and fastens it to his wrist like an extra data pad. He taps a few buttons on the dull screen, and then a short platform is illuminated in the center of the room.

"Come," he says and walks with purpose toward it.

I can't help but brush over the tall structures sporadically placed throughout, columns of smooth honeycomb panels stretching up into the ceiling, presumably for support.

99 lines up his boots on two illuminated circles and waits for me to step onto the platform with him. I follow without question, placing my feet on the other two placements, facing him.

The new data pad on his wrist beeps as he presses into the screen. "This room is used to simulate combat. It's not exact, but it's helpful for training."

The thousands of honeycomb panels come to life suddenly, creating a picture that cascades down from the ceiling until the entire chamber is mimicking the courtyard outside. I jump when a moving image of a commander walks across the wall we entered from.

"It's incredible," I say and look up into the blue sky, wispy clouds brushing across it so naturally.

"We can choose any location you like."

I shake my head at him, too overwhelmed that this is even possible.

He presses some more buttons, knowing I need him to choose for me, and the hexagons shift as if they are endless facets of blinking eyes and change our surroundings.

All around us is lush greenery; the huge column-like structures have transformed into trees with dense bark and vibrant leaves. The walls look out into a distant field of dancing grass, and a colossal mountain paints the horizon.

"Is this . . . ?" I turn to him, utterly shocked at the accuracy.

"It's a simulation of Frith."

"It looks almost identical to the field we parked the ship in."

He nods, looking around for himself.

"Do you have Cosima too?" I say before thinking.

"Yes."

"The Estate?"

He nods again. "Would you like to see? Interiors are less exact; those trees will be stone pillars and a staircase on that wall. The colors will be off, but close."

It sounds exactly like the grand hall in the Estate.

"No. No, I don't want to see it, at least not right now. Is that ok?" I focus back on the wide-open space of Frith.

"Of course." He stops typing to look at me for a moment, assessing if the topic was too much for me. "Would you like to continue?"

When I nod, he steps off the podium and walks to where I assume the entrance is, now completely camouflaged.

"We can start slow." He double taps the wall and a locker opens, lights flicking to life inside.

I can't help but laugh when he extracts an enormous gun from the compartment where several are illuminated by the cold interior light.

"Yes, that seems very slow," I tease, which grants me a helmet shake as he joins me on the platform again.

"This is for me. I am joining you," he says dryly.

With another bright flicker, the room once again changes to an entirely different atmosphere. It's cold and grey, almost like the cargo hull of August's ship, and the trees that flourished throughout the chamber are now large metal pillars with sharp edges.

"Is this more target practice?" I ask.

"Yes, first the targets will be like the ones before, then they will move around the walls." He calibrates his gun.

"You are shooting that in here?" I inspect the sheer size of it.

"It is not like the ones you have seen before. No damage will be done." He stands with his back to me, lifting it and readying himself. "The last round of targets will be different. The simulation will project figures that will run toward you, but they will not cause harm. Do you understand?"

"Figures?"

"Human figures, but just the outline. They will advance, hide behind the columns, and fire at us. If at any point you want to stop, say the word." His weapon makes a high-pitched whine as it activates. "Face the other way, Priestess, and do not hold back."

There is an upbeat edge to his voice, like he is eager to do this with me. I am not sure why, but for some reason, I am excited too as I press myself against his strong, armored back.

A countdown begins in a strangely monotone voice. When it gets to one, a target appears on the wall in front of me.

I rub my palms together to warm them and prepare for use. The tingly feeling right before my light comes forth flares as I lock in on the target, and without a second thought, my light streaks out with enthusiasm.

The projection of the target breaks apart and another stationary one appears farther down the wall. I can hear 99 behind me shooting in quick succession, and I realize the faster I eliminate one, the more will appear to replace it.

I shoot the targets again and again as each new one appears, until my pattern of pause and fire is as swift as 99's.

But then the wall changes and we are in a different building, with more detail and depth. Targets move and pop out from around the metal columns. I jump as one appears at my feet and I quickly disarm it with my light.

"Remember, if you want to stop, tell me. Are you ready for more?"

"Yes, I think so," I say as I shoot a quick zip of light to a target at my side.

With a beep, the chamber turns a little darker. I can hear mechanical objects moving and one catches my eye as it shifts into place. It looks like a pitch-black version of the arms that tended to the greenhouse.

A red light shines down from it, and I see movement in the shadowy corner where it's projecting, then a thin outline of a commander's torso peeks out from the metal pillar. I shriek without thinking, and a green orb collides into the figure, leaving my fingertips shaky from the violent expulsion.

"Well done, Priestess," 99 laughs. "Ok to continue?"

"Yes!" I bite my lip to hide just how much I am enjoying myself, but then I force myself to stop. This is completely Viathan and somewhat violent, but I cannot help the surging thrill of doing this with him.

"Let's see what you can do then." 99 caresses me from inside, pleased I am embracing his unconventional idea.

My response is cut off by 99's weapon discharging to the side, not quite as loud as the ones I have heard him use before but just as startling. The red outline he targeted with perfect accuracy dissolves into tiny, flickering red lights before it disappears fully.

Another catches my eye on my side of the chamber as it runs forward, gun drawn and pointed at me. I raise my palm and fire a short but powerful zip. Before I can watch the first fall, another foe appears and suffers the same fate.

99 steps off the platform and leaves my back cold and vulnerable as he slowly creeps to a part of the room where another figure hides.

"We can move around?" I shout over the boom of his weapon.

"Yes!"

More simulated enemies appear as I leave my comfortable spot on the platform.

They follow me as I pick up speed and hide behind a pillar.

I can see 99 on the other side of the chamber, flushing out the few figures who use the physical structures in the room for cover.

I peek out from my hiding spot, heart pounding like I am being hunted even though I know the enemy is just an illusion. But when one pops up close to my face, trying to grab me, I shoot another beam of emerald, and as the other rounds the corner with an aimed gun, I use my other hand in a second streak to disable it as well.

Four more red outlined assailants move in a tight formation toward me, slowly making their way to attack my spot behind the pillar. Without hesitation, I step out and cast a shielding green net around myself. The glowing orb around me flickers as their simulated weapons engage.

Then with a forceful push and extended arms, my shield becomes a wall of deadly illumination, sweeping across my four targets, taking them all out at once.

I scan the chamber for 99, doing my best to stay alert in case more enemies appear, but he is no longer in view.

"99?" I shout into the echoing space.

I gasp as a dark figure steps in front of me, not a red outline but in Viathan armor. 99 drops his weapon and says nothing as he guides me a few steps backward until my back touches the wall, sliding his massive hand across my shoulder until I feel the rough fabric of his glove cup my chin, angling it to the side.

I whimper as he runs the metal of his visor up the column of my neck, taking my breath away with the sudden but welcome change in focus.

"You did so well," he groans and presses his pelvis into me, like what we just did together drove him to this point.

"I liked it very much." I gasp again when he hums deep in his throat and cups my breast.

"As did I, but I cannot continue after watching you." His hand runs down my body and across my hip until he reaches back to cup my ass, grinding me against the hard bulge in his pants.

"We can't in here." My breath fogs the black, reflective material of his helmet.

He hums low and gravelly in his throat. "Would you be that loud, Priestess?"

I can see my slow, lazy nod in the reflection of his mask, almost not recognizing myself and the content, playful smile.

He takes a step backward and holds out his hand for me to take. "I hope you can walk quickly in that dress, otherwise I will have to carry you back to our bed."