Chronicles of a Human

Summary

Yet another outer-space story! This is based off an idea I had, which became an IRL roleplay, which is now an AA book!

• Summary
• Declassified Files
• Chapter 1. One Step
• Chapter 2. Authority
• Chapter 3. Training & Terror
• Chapter 4. Reconcile
• Chapter 5. More Training
• Chapter 6. Disaster

Three humans are sent on a ship into space to recover ten pieces of technology lost on different planets. The ship is manned by aliens, many of them. Five hundred humans are put through vigorous testing. Three pass and go on the ship.

Yet somehow...does anyone know why they're really on the ship?

AUTHOR'S NOTE: These "files" were declassified by the corrupted government. It is written with nods to how much money they have and their skin tone to make the point about how bad this government is. In the book, this would be done with a photo, but I have to list it.

Ria Leoman: (Protagonist of the book) She was the highest-ranking human in her group, so she is the highest-ranking human on the ship. Age: 13. Appearance: Dark brown long hair. Caucasian. Dark brown eyes. Family is middle-class. Rank: Human Manager Second-Class.

Theodore Coraki. (Theo) He was the third-highest ranking in the group. Age: 13. Appearance: Dark brown tousled hair. Caucasian. A smattering of freckles coats his face and arms. Dark blue eyes. From a rich family. Rank: Earth Diplomat Second-Class.

Calvin Bordon. (Cal) He was the second-highest ranking in the group. Age: 13. Appearance: Blond, short, straight hair. Caucasian. Light blue eyes that are always focused on something. His family works in the government. Rank: Flight-Path Assistant First-Class.

Kevin Trudeau. He was the fourth-highest ranking in the group. Age: 13. Appearance: Very dark brown short hair. Skin is coffee-toned. (paternal grandparents are Latino.) Dark brown eyes. Family is lower-class. Rank(s): Chef, First-Class; Natural Technician Third-Class.

Colin Bend. (Mr. Bend) Oversees all the humans. Only outranked by Ria Leoman, Alien 36-Z, (out of context, this is Zezalia) and the Commander of the ICS-540. Age: 37. Appearance: Dark brown hair. Caucasian. Blue eyes. Works in government. Rank: Human Manager Third-Class.

Her first steps into space.

Ria Leoman stood in the entry deck of the Intergalactic Council Subship 540, which they called the ICS-540. Her, three boys, and their supervisor would be traveling hundreds of thousands of miles into space, to complete a mission that was unknown to any of them.

"Okay, children." Ria grimaced. Mr. Bend was so annoyingly patronizing. She outranked him, for God's sake! He shouldn't be allowed to patronize her!

"We're going on a ship full of deadly aliens," he singsonged. Ria rolled her eyes. "We must be on our best behavior today! They may get...angry."

"Like the one standing behind you, listening to your patronizing conversation?" Mr. Bend jumped a foot in the air. Behind him was a young female alien, 15 years or so in body development. (although that told nothing about her real age.) She had two long antennae and a scorpion tail. Her face was yellow and scaly, black patterns winding across it. A set of wasp-like wings sprouted from her shoulders, poking through her uniform. "C'mon," she said. "We need to get these guys to their stations." She turned to the crew. "I'm Zezalia, by the way. Second-In-Command of the entire ship."

They went to their stations.

Their stations meant a few things.

Mr. Bend took Kevin to the kitchen. (of course, this wasn't his full-time job, he was just a really good cook. He knew all the flora and fauna of the planets they would be landing on, so he was good to have around.)

Cal took his station at the computers, gave them a once-over, then walked over to an egg-shaped pod nearby - the Simulator. The Simulator was what he trained on when he wasn't using the actual flight computers. He was easily the most diligent among them. (And almost...cute, Ria had to admit. [BUT SHE WOULD NEVER SAY THIS OUT LOUD.])

Theo began walking around, talking to the aliens. That was his job as diplomat, of course, but Ria didn't trust him at that job. He was as diplomatic as a rich seventh-grader with his own motorcycle could get. (aka, prejudiced and patronizing.)

Sure enough, he was talking to Zezalia like she was stupid. Her long-nailed fingers clicked on her keyboard as she determinedly tried to ignore him.

Finally, she turned. "Will you shut up?"

"But this is my job," he said. (although oozed might be a better word.) "I'm supposed to make a good relationship with you!"

"Well, you're not doing it," she snarled. Ria heard an odd zzz-ZZzz noise, then realized it was coming from the alien girl's throat.

"Go away, Theo," Ria said, stepping in.

"You can't just tell me to go away," he replied with a snort.

"I outrank you," Ria replied. "So does Zezalia. So does everyone except Kevin. If I tell you to go away, you go away."

"I don't want to report you within three hours of your entry," Zezalia hissed, "but I will if I have to."

"Report me to whom?" Theo asked with a yawn.

"This guy," Zezalia snarled, hitting a button on her wristband.

On closer inspection, it wasn't a wristband. It was more like a Fitbit crossed with an iPhone. A small golden light was flashing on it.

There was a static-like crackle. She lifted it to her mouth.

"Sir? We've got a major troublemaker here," she said. "I could handle him fine, but I figure you should be the one to teach him a lesson." Theo blanched.

"N-no. I'll sue," he stutter-snarled. "You can't legally hurt me."

"On your planet!" Zezalia said with a shrug. "Your money is worthless here, rich kid."

"Who are you reporting me to?" he asked, trying to hide his nervousness. He gulped twice.

"The Commander," Zezalia replied, checking her nails.

"Who is he?" Theo asked.

"Well, he's Croyan, which is a race you will learn about in a few days," she listed. "He's a war hero on his planet. He could kill you with a snap of his wrist."

She smirked. "Also he's been standing behind you for ten seconds.

Theo jumped. Ria jumped.

They both turned around.

Ria gasped, falling back. Theo let out a high-pitched screech reminiscent of a pig squeal.

The Commander was easily eight feet tall. While all of the races here had some modifications to their uniforms to be more comfortable, this guy had robes. Real robes. Middle-Ages-Harry-Potter-wizard black robes, the ship's insignia and his ranking badge pinned on the side over where a human's heart would be. (because this guy literally and/or figuratively might not have a heart, for all Ria knew.) His face looked hollow, the bone structure more vertical, with much less muscle mass than a human face. (Why do I notice this right now? Ria thought.) Two small antennae rose out of his forehead directly before his hairline. His hair was buzzcut on the sides but was an odd shade of brown. His eyes were amber, his pupils slightly slitlike. Ria found herself slinking down into an odd sort of bow under his eerie gaze. She had never felt so small.

"Him," was all Zezalia said, pointing to where Theo was hyperventilating against the computer desk.

"Lord have mercy," Theo whispered. "Lord have mercy. I'm going to die. Take me to Heaven, Lord." Ria thought she saw a hint of a smile on the Commander's face, although that may have just been her eyes playing tricks on her.

"This kid was driving me crazy," Zezalia growled. "Treating me like a second-class drone and making sarcastic remarks. Ria and I both tried to shut him down multiple times, but he just kept on treating me poorly and ignoring Ria's orders to back off."

The Commander just stared at Theo, who was blubbering like a fish out of water. The alien glared at the kid, seeming very calculating, for a few more seconds, then made a quick gesture. He snapped his hand upright, holding up his index finger, then spread his hand in a STOP handshape. After that, he walked away.

"First warning," Zezalia translated. Theo wheezed, pulling himself upright.

It was only then that Ria realized that the Commander hadn't spoken a word yet.

"AWRIGHT!"

The bark awakened Ria from her bed in the girl's dorm.

Which meant her.

She was the only one who slept in here, as far as she knew, although there was a hexagonal divot in one wall that seemed to be a ledge. It was reminiscent of a reading nook.

"HEY! GET UP!"

It was Zezalia, of course. She was waking everyone up by banging loudly on their doors. Ria heard a thump that suggested that Kevin or Theo (the only ones with top bunks) had fallen out of bed. (from the voice that was swearing, it was likely Theo.)

"Whuzzgoingonz?" Ria slurred, dragging herself out of bed. Crap, I have bedhead.

"Inspection," Zezalia one-word explained. "You're required to be on the bridge in the next-" She glanced at her watch. "Twenty-seven seconds."

Ria ran up there as fast as humanly possible. (this term having taken on an entirely new meaning after watching Zezalia fly faster than Ria had ever seen a human sprint.)

The rest of the group filed in soon afterward, Theo with a large bump on his head. (he was glaring at Zezalia, so it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who instigated the bump.) Cal took his spot in a stiff stance. They unconsciously lined up according to ranking, going from left to right: Kevin, Theo, Cal, Mr. Bend, Ria. (he tried to take her spot, but she stepped on his foot. Serves him right.)

They stood like that for a while before Zezalia spoke.

"The Commander is gonna check you. Your personalities, your progress, your demeanor. It'll be a lot easier to kick one of you off the ship if we do this. Respond as you will."

A few seconds later, the Commander came in.

Mr. Bend let out an audible gasp. Theo was already looking faint. Ria gulped. Cal's stance stiffened. Kevin put a hand over his mouth for a second, then lowered it, looking extremely embarrassed.

The Commander made a wordless once-over of all of them, checking their stance, their appearance, their response to his presence. He took a second to give each of them a longer glance.

He stopped in front of Kevin. The boy stared at his shoes as if worried about having insulted the Commander. The tall alien seemed to perform an almost shruglike gesture before moving on.

He came to Theo. Theo was whimpering and falling back. A few seconds later, he passed out. The Commander sighed through his nose silently, his eyes closed. A long moment passed. Ria couldn't even meet the eyes of any of her speciesmates. (as she had begun mentally referring to them.)

The Commander moved on to Cal. Cal inclined his head. "Sir," he murmured.

Of course, Ria thought. They had met before. Cal had been taking lessons on the flight simulators with the Commander once a month. Cal was probably the most relaxed around him.

The Commander walked over to Mr. Bend. Ria's once-supervisor was literally shaking in his shoes. He was trying to hold his ground and look strong, but that's hard to do when you literally have to crane your neck backward to see what the being looking at you is doing. The Commander's eyes narrowed, surveying the human man head to toe. His nostrils flared as if trying to pick up the faint smell of weakness, of fear, of panic. Mr. Bend stumbled back a pace or three.

Then the Commander came to Ria.

She was shaking. Obviously. She didn't try to hide it. She was terrified. He just seemed to exude a tangible aura of fear.

This being could kill me, she thought. He could kill me in a matter of seconds.

I need to show something, some reason he doesn't have to be afraid of me or worry about me or think I'm dangerous.

So she did.

She bowed.

She heard an audible gasp from the rest of the room. She got down on her knee, bowing her head forward and clasping her hands beneath her. She exposed the part of her neck that was vulnerable. She did everything to show that she was harmless short of rolling over like a dog.

Was this the wrong thing to do? she thought. Am I just showing my weakness?

Then she felt the weight on her shoulder.

She stiffened. It was heavy and warm, definitely a hand. She looked over at it. The hand had small black claws for nails. It was strong, calloused, powerful. It looked like it had wielded many a weapon in its day.

The room had gone silent. No one even seemed to be breathing. Ria was suddenly aware of the fact that her breath was shuddering in her lungs as if she had just been crying.

She looked up and gasped.

It was the Commander.

He had bent down as well, laying a hand on her shoulder. His eyes said a million things at once, despite his mouth not saying a word.

You're strong, his eyes said.

You don't need to bow to me, his eyes said.

I care about your life.

He held out two fingers down, then flipped his hand upright. An obvious gesture: Stand up. He pulled his hand off her shoulder and stood, his eyes flashing across the rest of the room.

She stood unsteadily. I will not pass out will not pass out will not pass out... She was too strong for that. She was a leader now. She wasn't the lowest-ranked child there.

She was Ria Leoman, and she was ready to lead.

For a second, a warm glow seemed to envelop her. She locked eyes with the Commander, her brown gaze and his amber one meeting. Thank you, she thought, hoping he would understand.

They held this moment for a few seconds, but it felt like a long time.

That's, of course, when Theodore Coraki had to ruin it.

"You two gonna get married?" he asked weakly, chuckling.

Without taking her eyes off the Commander, Ria flipped him off. "I liked you better unconscious, Theo," she said, gritting her teeth. He looked shocked. Zezalia stifled a laugh. Out of the corner of her eye, Ria thought she saw a small grin flash across the Commander's face, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared.

The Commander turned to Zezalia, spinning his index finger in a downward circle before spreading his hand in a stop gesture downward.

"Alright," Zezalia said. "Inspection over. Time to get to your stations. Ria, you're supervising with your wimpy human adult. Kevin, you're studying. Cal, flight simulators." (being Cal, he was already heading there.) "Coraki, go do something productive." Theo seemed annoyed at his last name being used, but Zezalia and Ria both gave him you deserved that glares.

"What's the time?" Mr. Bend asked Zezalia. She cocked her head at him.

"Earth time: none. We're not in one of your time zones. Ship time: 4:00 p.m, or 16:00." She flew down the stairs. "GET TO WORK, CORAKI!"

Much of the afternoon passed like this, with Cal on the simulators until he ran out for a barf bucket, with Kevin switching between studying and cooking, with Mr. Bend being annoyingly everywhere, with Ria supervising, with Theo slacking off, and Zezalia overseeing everyone. The Commander was nowhere to be seen.

At 6:00 p.m, ship time, Theo called to Zezalia.

"Why aren't we having dinner?" he complained. Ria facepalmed.

"Because," Zezalia began, glaring at him like she wanted him to die, "Dinner is at 7:30."

"But whyyy...?" Theo whined. Zezalia tensed. Ria could hear a ZZ-zz-ZZZ noise come from her throat.

"Because," Zezalia growled, "The night shift wakes up at 6:00. The ones on this ship who are noc-tur-nal. Oh, wait. I used a three-syllable word. You probably need it spelled." She snorted. "We need a dinner and breakfast time that works for everyone, so dinner is at 7:30 p.m. and breakfast is at 7:30 a.m."

Theo snarled something at Zezalia under his breath, then walked away.

"By Horesp's longest claw," Zezalia hissed to Ria, "how do you put up with that kid? He gave me flack about the ship uniform this morning! As if I designed it!" She let out a ZZZ noise that was obviously something like a human shouting "God!" after finishing a complaint.

"I don't put up with him," Ria growled. "I yell at him and report him to someone who outranks me. Here, though, that's you, the Commander, and a few people on the night shift."

"The Commander obviously scared him badly enough," Zezalia growled triumphantly. "Zz."

“What’s with the buzzing noises?” Ria asked, then realized how rude that could have sounded. “Oh!” she barked. “Sorry! I don’t mean to sound rude - racist - I don’t know!”

The alien laughed. “You’re not rude. That’s a fair question. It’s called - in your language, as your human tongue couldn’t pronounce the real name - Hevilus.” (she pronounced it heh-VIE-lus.) “We have an extra set of vocal cords,” she explained. “They vibrate more simply than yours, creating the buzzing sound. Our language is very complicated, but you couldn’t understand it.”

“Hey!” Of course it was Theo. “Don’t you have a job too?” he snarked. Ria sighed gustily through her nose, Zezalia making a Z-z-z noise.

“Yes,” Ria shot at him. “I do. It’s standing around waiting for you to do something stupid. Look, I outperformed you in everything. My skills come into play once we reach the first planet. Your skills just need honing. Hey, what is the first planet, by the way?”

“Marrus,” Zezalia replied. “Not a hard one. We’re starting with an in-and-out. No more than two hours, if we’re lucky. I’ll let Solus explain it when he wakes up.”

“When he wakes-” Ria began, then remembered the night shift. They came down to the deck around 7:00 p.m, then went to bed at 10:00 a.m. It was an all-alien shift, all nocturnal.

A loud ding rang through the ship. Dinnertime.

“Alright, that’s 7:30!” Zezalia called. “File into the dining hall. Night shift, c’mon! Soneon, you should have been dressed half an hour ago!” She pointed accusingly at a sleepy-looking alien that looked to be a half-lizard. He glared at her reproachfully with large, protruding eyes before plodding back to the other end of the ship to change.

They got to the dinner area. It was a large, white room, probably the size of a football field. There were blue lights running across everything. The room seemed cold in appearance, yet not uninviting. Ria went to a random seat and plopped down.

“Hey, no!” Zezalia said. “Seats are marked, remember?”

Ria stood up in surprise. Sure enough, the name Cal was on a tag on the chair. Ria could feel herself turning red.

“You’re up this way,” Zezalia said. “Don’t feel bad about it. It happens to the best of us. Once, when I was younger, I got my leg stuck in my uniform on Day 1. I wasn’t used to wearing human pants. Tripped into the Commander’s room with a pajama top and my uniform pants on, both legs stuck in the same pantleg. Trust me, you haven’t done anything terrible.” Ria almost burst out laughing here, choking it back. “Oh, go ahead,” Zezalia grumbled. “It’s not like Rh - like the Commander didn’t laugh.”

“You-” Ria began, but stopped before she could say the whole sentence. Of course Zezalia knew the Commander’s real name. She was the second-in-command, after all.

“This way,” Zezalia said, looking uncomfortable. Ria felt embarrassed and nervous. Could Zezalia demote her for this?

Zezalia took her to the head of the table, where three chairs were set out. The two on the sides were chairs, while the one in the center looked like a futuristic throne.

“I can’t sit at the head of the table,” Ria said in a rush. Zezalia side-eyed her.

“What I mean is,” Ria said, “I’m just human! You’re all powerful…and high-ranking…and-”

“Powerful?” Zezalia said with a snort. “High-ranking? Oh, please. I mean, have you seen Soneon in the evenings? He skips training in the bathrooms and is the lowest-ranked…let’s go with nonhuman…on the ship.”

Ria winced. “Yeah, I know we’re the lowest-ranked here.”

“You?” Zezalia said. “Seriously? You think you’re low-ranked?”

“Um…” Ria said uncertainly. “Yeah? All the humans are.” Zezalia laughed aloud. “You’re third-in-command!” she barked, laughing at Ria’s disbelieving stare. “You outrank almost everyone! It’s the others that could due to raise their rankings out of the dirt! They’re all drones compared to you!”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Ria said with a laugh.

They all took their seats. The throne stayed empty.

“So,” Ria said, leaning around it, “is this the Commander’s seat?”

“Yes,” Zezalia said, looking at the kitchen door. “I’m hungry. Also, the Commander likely won’t join us for a little while, until about 8:00. He’s sleeping.” She put a hand over her mouth. “Oh, zzrt. I probably shouldn’t have said that.”

“Why?” Ria asked.

Zezalia shrugged. “It’s his business. He just kind of catnaps throughout the day. Twenty minutes here, twenty minutes there. The rest of the day he’s awake.”

“Boy, am I hungry,” Theo said, coming in. He plopped down right next to Ria.

“Hey,” Zezalia barked. “You’re five seats down. Go to your place, you annoying excuse for a drone.”

He stared agape at her for a second before moving down, muttering “Well, I never!” as he did so. Zezalia let out another buzzing noise. Ria began realizing that that was her equivalent of swearing.

The food came out. Kevin had cooked the meal. Cooking wasn’t exactly his job, of course. It was more of a hobby. He had won prizes for his desserts before, although he was hoping to be a naturalist when he grew up.

He put down a salad in front of everyone. “First course,” he said proudly. “Took me forever to make salad dressing. There’s nothing useful for that in the kitchen.”

“Thank you so much!” Ria exclaimed. “You know you could have just turned on Auto-Cook, right?”

He chuckled. “Yeah, but I wanted to make this one special. You know, first night in space! Exciting, right?!”

“Yeah!” Ria said. Zezalia shrugged, taking a bite of the salad.

“You know,” she began, “for no salad dressing ingredients, this dressing is pretty good! Not that I’m a judge of salad or anything, but this is amazing!”

“I’m gonna go cook the second course,” Kevin said. “What’ll be your orders?” He passed out a menu to all of them.

“Hmm,” Ria said. “Burger and fries? Medium well? I don’t know. I don’t want to be too much trouble.”

“Hey, no problem,” he responded. “I’m more than happy to cook it as long as it’s on the menu. If not, it’s likely something I can’t do in twenty minutes.”

“Can I just have a nut-and-honey salad?” Zezalia asked. “Pecans and honey over lettuce. Heavy on the honey. Not that hard to make. Sorry it’s not on the menu.”

“No problem,” he said. “That should take me all of five minutes.” He chuckled. So did Zezalia.

The night shift came in late, most of them bedraggled. One of them sat next to Ria. He was humanoid, but was covered in a thin coat of silky, dark-grey fur. His hair was jet-black. Two black batlike wings sprouted from his back, small white dots like stars scattered across them.

“Hey, Solus,” Zezalia said.

“Hello, Zezalia,” he replied. His voice was soft, with an accent like none Ria had ever heard before. “It is nice to be seeing you outside of training.” He smiled softly. Ria could tell that he wasn’t used to speaking English, and also that he had a definite crush on Zezalia.

“Yeah,” Zezalia replied with a burp. “Been a tiring day.”

The door hissed open. Everyone turned to look.

The Commander had arrived.

He came in, definitely more relaxed than he had been earlier. He took his seat between Zezalia and Ria as if it were normal to be an overpowered being sitting next to two teenage girls shooting through space.

Well, to him it is, Ria thought. It is normal. He’s probably been doing this his whole life.

He caught her eye. She flinched. He grinned slyly, then made a quick gesture, flicking his hand at her head before gesturing toward himself. Zezalia smirked. Ria looked at Zezalia for a translation.

“You’re staring,” she translated. “And you are.”

“Oh,” Ria said, mortified, covering her mouth with her hands. “I’m sorry!”

He waved a hand. A universal gesture: Don’t mention it.

Kevin was finishing with the orders, having taken the night shift’s queries. (he spent a while on Solus, the alien not knowing what a burger was or how it was cooked.) He came to Mr. Bend.

“I’ll have a ribeye steak done medium rare with seasoned fries and a Coke, please,” he said before Kevin could speak - or hand him the menu.

“Um, sir?” Kevin asked hesitantly. “That’s not an option.”

“Well then,” the older human said. “I thought you could make anything. Isn’t that your job?”

“No,” Kevin said with a voice of ice and steel. “No. My job is being the naturalist here. I cook because I want to.”

“Oh, really,” Mr. Bend said, leering. “Then why in your file does it say Cook, first class?”

A beat of silence.

It also calls him a “natural technician,” Ria thought. Does he not know?

Was he not allowed to see his own file?

Kevin was shaking with anger. “Oh, really,” he whispered. “Is that all you think of me?”

“Look, kid,” Mr. Bend said, rising from his chair. “I don’t think you have the authority here. I think you are the lowest-ranked being on this ship. So just be a good boy and do your job.”

“No,” Kevin growled, his voice low and dangerous. “No, I don’t think I will. That’s not my job.”

Mr. Bend lunged forward, slapping him across the face. Kevin reeled back in shock.

“You think you can disobey me?” Mr. Bend asked quietly. “Think again, kid.”

A scrape of a chair and a flowing black blur of motion.

The next second Kevin was thrown back, and Mr. Bend was bowled over.

Ria registered three things:

The throne/chair was empty.

Mr. Bend had been thrown with more skill than anyone else on the ship could muster.

The Commander had him.

The tall alien had him in a headlock. He wrenched the human’s head around, holding him by the shoulders so that Mr. Bend’s eyes met his own.

All Ria could hear was the two of them breathing, the Commander’s breath coming in wild bursts, Mr. Bend letting wild, terrified gasps free.

The Commander dropped him flat on the ground, then jerked a thumb at him and the door. You. Out. Now.

Mr. Bend left the room trembling, the Commander following him close behind.

The whole room was silent for a few minutes. Theo was staring at the door, his mouth agape. Cal had gone silent, staring at his empty salad plate. Zezalia simply looked calm and cold, as if she had seen this before.

“What’s going to happen to him?” Theo asked.

Zezalia’s antennae wriggled disgustedly. “Go change your underwear, you annoying little larva. Why do you care? He’s such a zZZrt anyway!”

Theo ran out of the room to the boys’ dorms, a telltale wet spot staining his pants. Ria would have laughed had she not been utterly terrified.

“But seriously,” she whispered to Zezalia. “What’s going to happen to him?”

Zezalia shrugged. “He’s going to get a show of authority. He’ll be scared within an inch of his sanity and taught a lesson. It’s a good thing, if you ask me.”

They sat in silence for a while. Kevin had picked himself up off the floor, but was staring toward the door in utter shock.

“Does this happen often on the day shift?” Solus asked.

“Nah,” Zezalia said, then paused. “Well - you know what - yeah. I already reported that annoying larva of a kid yesterday, and now the drone is in the center of the hive.” She looked over at Ria. “Oh, yeah, that probably made no sense. Well, being sent to the center of the hive is a Hevilian quote that means you’re likely going to die. Not that your annoying supervisor’s dead, but he’ll wish he were after Rh... after the Commander gets through with him.”

Kevin turned on Auto-Cook and took his seat at the foot of the table. Next to him was Soneon, the lizard-alien, with whom he struck up a nervous conversation immediately.

After about seven minutes, (Cal was counting,) the Commander and Mr. Bend returned to the room.

The Commander was annoyed but unscathed, glaring disgustedly at Mr. Bend and the new stain on Theo’s chair before coming between Ria and Zezalia again. Ria noticed an acrid smell around him that hadn’t been there before. It was sharp and harsh, something she’d never smelled on Earth. It set her teeth on edge and gave her goosebumps, her heart racing. Biochemical? she thought, and it was the only thought that popped into her mind for a while.

Mr. Bend was a fright.

His uniform was a mess, as if he’d attempted to fight the Commander. His eyes were wide and wet, as if he was holding back tears. He was eerily silent and shaking like a leaf. He seemed to have lost fifty pounds in the last eight minutes. A wet spot on his uniform suggested he’d wet himself.

He took his seat quietly, trembling all over. Ria felt a scream building inside of her.

Solus’s fur stood on end. He reached out and put a hand on Ria’s arm. “You are okay,” he whispered. “You are will be okay.”

“Mind reading?” Ria asked quietly.

“Emotions,” he replied softly. “What do you call? Empath. I am sorry, but I am not used to speaking aloud. Nitari do their speaking through their emotions. I am unused to this one-way speaking. You say, but you do not hear. It is very strange.”

“That must be bizarre,” Ria whispered thoughtfully. “Knowing my emotions but me being clueless to yours.” He nodded empathetically.

“Yes, that is exactly,” he murmured, his wings churning. “Rare for human to under-stand.”

“What…just…happened?” came a slow drawl from the foot of the table. Soneon’s large eyes were blinking slowly, comprehending the scene around him.

It was a wake-up call for everyone. Mr. Bend’s trembling form was enough warning that we all know who has the authority on this ship. Cal was staring at his plate as if he wanted to disappear into it. Kevin had left off talking to Soneon and simply sat there.

The acrid smell still hung in the air. Ria covered her nose with her hand and stared at her plate, now filled with a burger from one of the kitchen robots. Normally the smell of meat and ketchup would make her stomach growl, but now it made her want to be sick, especially coupled with the strange harshness.

Zezalia seemed to notice Ria’s face. She turned to the Commander and made a few motions. He looked surprised, then mortified for a second before standing up and excusing himself with a wave of his hand. The acrid smell seemed to get fainter, as did Ria’s fear. Was it coming from him? she thought, unsure whether she meant the smell, the fear, or both.

She didn’t even try to eat her burger. She left for the bedrooms to change into pajamas and went to bed early. No one objected, as most of the day crew did the same. (Theo was already asleep, of course.) Even Cal, who normally stayed awake thirty minutes late to train, was out by 9:00.

Ria waited until they were all asleep to cry.

When Ria woke up the next morning, it took her a full five minutes to process what had happened the day before.

She had so many questions now, from Is Mr. Bend okay/still sane? to What happened to him? to Why is Zezalia so calm about this?

And then there was the most pressing question of all:

Can the Commander be trusted?

And even:

Should I be afraid?

Breakfast was a silent affair. The pancakes were disgusting, but Kevin didn’t want to cook. (Auto-Cook had apparently never heard of syrup. Or baking powder. The pancakes tasted like a chunk of solid Bisquick.) Ria ate as fast as she could so she could leave before the Commander got there. Cal seemed to notice.

“Hey, Zezalia?” he asked. “May I be excused early? I’d like to show Ria the simulators.”

“Whatever spins your wings,” she muttered, forcing her way through the pancake. “I think Auto-Cook is broken again.”

Cal took her outside to the egg-shaped pod he trained in.

“How does this thing work, anyway?” Ria asked, strapping herself in. It was designed with screens so that it looked exactly like the fighter ships would, with stars floating around the screens marking the windows and top hatch.

“Like a 2.0 version of a simulator on Earth,” he said, pulling on his flight gloves. These worked like joysticks to help him manipulate the ship. “It jerks around like you’d expect, but it also turns upside down on the advanced course. You are buckled in, right?”

“Uh…yeah?” Ria offered, tightening the straps. “How fast does this thing go?”

“Fast,” Cal said, then started it up.

Beginner Course, No-Save Mode flashed across the front screen.

“Well,” Ria said. “At least it won’t go upside dOWWWN!!!”

The Simulator had begun moving, stars flashing across the screens as the whole thing vibrated. Ria kept screaming.

“Can you be quiet, please?” Cal asked, all-business. “I’m trying to focus!”

By a miracle of mental strength, Ria calmed down. Cal’s intense focus was contagious, and within a few minutes she found herself gesturing to small things on the screen that he wasn’t noticing, such as a small asteroid or a wormhole the size of a pinhead that would skip him further along the course. After about ten minutes, the course was complete.

“That was cool,” Ria said, getting ready to leave. “I’m dizzy.”

“Wait,” Cal said, grabbing her wrist. She flinched, staring down at his hand like she’d never seen it before. “Yesterday,” he said. “I heard you crying.”

“You were asleep,” Ria growled. “I could hear you snoring from the girls’ room.” He looked embarrassed. “As for the snoring, it’s kinda gross. But I wasn’t asleep.”

“What was it?” Ria asked, glaring at him.

“Nasalcongestion,” he muttered. “There. Sorry you asked?”

“Yes,” Ria said, feeling queasy.

“But seriously,” he said. “Were you okay? I mean, you could be traumatized. I haven’t studied PTSD or anything, but I don’t know…”

“It’s - it’s just - nothing,” Ria muttered. “Let me go.”

“Okay,” he said, letting her wrist go. “But if you need anything, I’m not a therapist, but I’m here.”

The door of the simulator hissed open, letting Ria out. She half-scrambled, half-fell from her chair, landing in a faceplant.

“That was undignified,” Cal said. “You may want to unbuckle.”

“Oh,” Ria said, embarrassed, realizing that the five-point harness was still trapping her in.

“No problem,” he said, clicking the release. The harness zoomed away so fast it pulled Ria flat onto her back, giving her seatbelt-burn all over and tearing her uniform sleeve.

“Ouch,” she muttered, wincing. “Get me some hydrocortisone. Now.”

“OI!” Zezalia’s voice came from the back of the ship, the fitness-training room under the bridge. “I’ve been calling you and calling you! Training started five minutes ago!”

“Sorry,” Ria muttered, dragging herself up and dashing to the training room. She ran through the door and nearly crashed into the Commander. He was messing with one of the pull-up bars, making sure it was sturdy. Apparently Soneon had yanked it clean apart the day before when he fell off of it.

“Whoa - whoa - WHOA!” Ria yelled, throwing herself into an improvised dive-roll from her martial arts training.

Thankfully, there were mats on the floor, so it was a soft landing. Nevertheless, when she stood up, her face was bright red with embarrassment, all her muscles tense. The Commander blinked at her a few times, then went back to work with the screwdriver and drill. (Ria was pretty sure he wouldn’t be doing this if he wasn’t eight feet tall. He was the only one there tall enough to reach the loose bolts without a stepladder.)

“Nice roll,” Zezalia said, coming over to Ria and giving her a once-over. “You’ve been training?”

“Kung Fu,” Ria murmured, embarrassed enough to forget that Zezalia wouldn’t know what that was. She turned to the Commander, staring at the floor, not meeting his eyes. “Sorry about the fall.”

He waved it off, much like he had when he had pointed her out for staring. A don’t mention it gesture.

The others were around the room. Cal had moved over to the push-up area, trying pitifully to succeed in five. Theo and Mr. Bend were late. Kevin was doing sit-ups, groaning out “Thirty-five, thirty-six…” as he did so. Zezalia flew around, observing all of them.

“I’m gonna go find Coraki,” Zezalia muttered after a while. “That annoying son-of-a-larva can’t seem to do anything on time, can he?”

Theo came in a minute later, griping loudly. He looked disheveled, as if he’d just woken up. Zezalia poked him in the rear end with her tail, causing him to yelp like a baby. He went over to the pull-up bar that wasn’t broken and began working, getting about an inch up and complaining loudly all the while. Ria distinctly saw the Commander roll his eyes.

“Get working, Coraki!” Zezalia barked, flying up in his face and causing him to yell and fall. “You have no work ethic and it’s driving me ZZZR.”

Mr. Bend finally came in, excusing himself loudly for being in the bathroom. (although no healthy human is in the bathroom for three hours.) The Commander gave him a dirty look and began doing one-armed pull-ups on a bar that was specially built for his height. (It was probably ten or eleven feet high.) Mr. Bend moved over to the weight-lifting area - the furthest station from the Commander.

Ria herself went over to push-ups, over by Cal. Her record was 15 in a row, but she was going to beat that into the ground. Cal kept falling over near 4. Mr. Bend was kind of half-doing the weights, lifting a five-pound weight without really thinking about it. Theo was still yelling about “an abomination of physical torture” and “give me an effing break, already!” even though he hadn’t even risen himself halfway up to the bar yet. Kevin had succeeded in reaching 56 sit-ups before turning over and wheezing. (Zezalia taught him how to get rid of stomach cramps, but he was out of commission for five minutes afterward.)

After a long time of Theo’s constant complaining, Zezalia seemed to get even more on edge than normal. She kept making zz noises, though in the beginning they were simple “Zzrts,” but by the end it was more like “Zz-zz-ZZZZZT-z-ZZRT-z-ZRT-zz-ZZZ-zzZZRZ. ZZZRT.”

Finally, Theo fell splat off of the pull-up bar.

“Oh, geez,” he muttered, massaging his arms. “Oh, the pain. Oh, my arms! My arms! Help me, I think I broke something.”

“BY HORESP, SHUT UP!” Zezalia yelled. “THERE IS NO WAY IN THE DEAD HIVE THAT YOU BROKE A BONE! YOU’VE BEEN ZZR-ZZTZI YOUR TRAINING THIS WHOLE TIME!”

“Be quiet, you flying freak!” Theo yelled.

Zezalia slapped him across the face.

It was light. Ria could tell. It was a warning shot. It couldn’t have done any damage, wouldn’t even leave a mark, barely made a sound, but Theo began screaming like a madman.

“ASSAULT!” he bellowed. “ASSAULT! HELP ME, I’M BEING ATTACKED!”

Ria didn’t even realize Mr. Bend was moving until Zezalia was on the ground.

He pinned the Hevilian girl flat. “I knew you were a monster!” he yelled triumphantly. “I knew none of you could be trusted! I will run this ship now! I’m taking it straight back to Earth and arresting the lot of you!” A madness lit in his eyes, so fierce it made Ria step back.

Then he punched Zezalia in the face.

Ria saw it in slow motion. His fist hit her right in the cheek, turning her head sideways with the force. There was a sickening crack. Ria turned away, covering her mouth to prevent herself from screaming.

Then Mr. Bend was knocked away.

Time seemed to fracture, everything in still pictures. Mr. Bend’s insane face turning to fear as he was thrown across the room. A dark blur following him, jacking him against the wall. Zezalia flying straight up in the air, letting out a furious keening sound. Cal and Theo’s jaws dropping open, one after the other. Kevin turning away, covering his eyes with one hand.

Time came back to normal. The Commander had Mr. Bend pinned against the wall by his shoulders. Mr. Bend’s face was contorted in a mask of insanity and panic. The room seemed to have stopped breathing. Everything was utterly silent. No one dared to utter a word.

Then, for the first time, Ria heard the Commander speak.

“Never again,” he snarled. His voice was raspy and terrifying and deep and…almost vile. It sounded like the voice of something that had crawled out of the sewer or out from under the bed. It sounded monstrous.

Mr. Bend’s face changed into utter panic. No more anger, no more madness. Just fear. “No,” he whispered. “No. No. Please.” His hands trembled, reaching toward his face, but the way he was pinned wouldn’t let him. “No more.”

“Know your place,” the Commander hissed. “Never challenge my authority again.”

Mr. Bend began to cry.

Tears streaked down his face. His entire body trembled. He let out a pitiful whine that didn’t sound like him at all. It was animalistic, the cry of a wounded puppy, of a scared fawn, of a struck child. It broke Ria’s heart and scared her to death at the same time.

Ria felt it building within her. She let out a screech, not opening her mouth. She screamed inside, a muffled yell that caused the whole room to turn to her, including the Commander and his captive.

The fear Ria felt was absolute. Her fight-or-flight kicked in, panic racing through her veins.

She screamed at the top of her lungs and ran for her life.

Ria fled to her bed in the dorms, smacking the Emergency Shut button to make the door slam fast enough to take off someone’s hand. The lock clicked shut. She lunged to her top bunk, burying her head in the pillows, her body in the covers.

She shoved her head in the pillow pile and screamed.

She let out her fear in a raging screech, muffling it with the pillows so that no one could (hopefully) hear her. She yelled for at least three straight minutes, beating her hands into the pillows. A primal force was rising inside of her, turning her into a mad beast.

This is fear, she felt. She couldn’t think, but she could feel every detail of her body. This is true fear. This is panic.

When she finally fell silent, she became aware of a persistent knocking on the door.

“Ria?” came Zezalia’s hesitant call. “Ri-a.” She took a deep breath, then spoke rather fast. “The-Commander-wants-to-see-you,” she said in a rush. “Is-that-okay-with-you?”

“He can do whatever he wants,” Ria growled bitterly, aware of the tear streaks down her face and the choked sound in her voice. “None of us can stop him. None of us ever could or ever will.” Against her will, she began to cry again.

There was muffled talking for a second, then the door hissed open.

She could tell who it was immediately. She could tell from his heavy footfalls, trying to walk more quietly but his eight-foot stature preventing it. She turtled up, pulling her arms to her chest in a panic.

“H-hello,” she managed to choke out, her words catching in her throat.

Then she felt it.

She felt it again, the feeling she used to get when doing martial arts. That intense focus that bypassed all other emotions. She thought she had lost it when one of the other kids had attacked her behind the school, beating her to the point of stitches. After that incident, she’d never felt it. She’d thought it was gone, that it had forsaken her for her weakness. She had beaten herself up over this for weeks, sure that if she had been a little bit stronger, she could still have reached that state.

It had just been dormant.

She felt her fear being suppressed, being pushed back. Her breath became stronger, became more focused. Her eyes hardened. Every muscle tensed, ready to land on-target strikes that devastated her opponent. Her eyes found all viable exists. (the door behind the Commander.) They found all viable weapons. (her heavy duffel bag and her wooden training sword.) Her hands changed position, from a staff-grip to a sword-grip to various handshapes, preparing for some fight to happen.

Gathering her will, she spun around.

He was leaning against the frame of her bed, eyes half-closed. He seemed deep in thought. Due to his height, his head and hers were nearly level, even though Ria’s top bunk was six feet off the ground.

He sighed silently, then reached into his pocket, pulling out a pad of paper and a pen. He scribbled something down on it, then held it up to her.

I’m sorry.

Ria waited, watching him, struggling to keep her breath calm, to keep herself from screaming. She gulped, composing herself, then stared at him, calculating, waiting for his next move.

He began to write again. I wanted I felt like he needed to be taught a lesson. He had gone too far. He stared at the note, then crumpled it, throwing it at the opposite wall with enough force that it made a thwap noise, causing Ria to jump.

“I don’t deny that,” Ria said softly. It was his turn to jump, apparently, as he flinched at the sound of her voice, nearly dropping the pad and pen. “But,” Ria began. “But. You…”

Go ahead, he wrote. I need to know.

“You need to realize,” Ria began in a rush, surprised at her own bravery. “You need to realize that there are people on this ship that are unused to trauma. That there are people here who have never been in a battle. That there are people here who might gain post-traumatic stress from this insanity.”

She was breathing heavily now, anger filling her instead of fear.

“The first time I heard of you, you were described as an overpowered monster. As a warrior from another planet who could kill me in a second. You sounded like something I never needed to meet. You sounded like a dictator, like a beast. Like something to be unleashed on us if we misbehaved. And I was afraid.

“The first time I saw you, you were called entirely to punish, just as I’d feared. You were a whole new category of terrifying, worse than touring a jail on a “Scared Straight” trip and being leered at by murderers and sex offenders. Worse than feeling your own jaw split open by a bully’s fist, a hollow crack and a burst of pain. Worse than hearing the word stitches for the first time as you cry in the emergency room. And I was afraid.

“The next time you appeared in my awareness, you were inspecting all of us for weakness, for fear, for some reason to dump us out the airlock. Theodore Coraki, the most stubborn, insubordinate boy I’d ever seen, fell unconscious in front of you. I had never seen him afraid, until you were in the room. And I was afraid.

“Then there was the fiasco at dinner. I was already nervous about being so close to you, sitting directly next to this war hero who could decide my future and the length of my life.” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “Then you pinned Mr. Bend to a wall - for the first time - before hauling him out of the room and doing who-knows-what to him! He came back in a trembling leaf, a broken puppet. You scared him beyond imagining, but you scared me, too.” She took another breath. “And I was afraid.

“Then now. Now I see you haul him against the wall. Now I see you terrify him by speaking, your voice like pure hatred, acid and sandpaper. Now I see him sobbing, his will and mind shattered into pieces that are blown away by your fury. I hate him, but I wouldn’t see that done to my worst enemy. And I am afraid.”

She felt tears well up in her eyes, felt her voice tremble. “I’m still afraid, and I always will be, as long as this has to continue. Please. Stop doing this. You’re the Commander. Aren’t you supposed to be the fearless leader? The one who runs the show? Because for now, you look like a torturer. Almost…almost a sadist.”

She burst into tears, sobbing into her hands, then threw herself down on the bed. That parting shot’s gonna do it, her mind whispered. You’re as good as dead. Her hands and feet flopped over the side of the bed.

There was the scratching of pen on paper, then a hesitant tap tap tap on her shoulder.

She looked up.

He handed her the notepad in a rush, turning his head away as if embarrassed.

I didn’t think, the note read. I didn’t think of the consequences. I didn’t think about what it would do to you. I cared about teaching your annoying adult a lesson. I didn’t realize it would affect everyone.

She looked back at him, holding out the pad. She knew how he felt - she’d fantasized about doing similar things to Mr. Bend when she was still on Earth. Reading that, she realized two things: one, that she had imagined doing the same things, and two, how badly it would have affected everyone else if she had.

He took the pad and pen and continued writing, handing it back after he was done.

But hear me this. One reason I was willing to go to such drastic measures was that I thought you were ready. I don’t say this in a bad way. I don’t mean that I overestimated you. I mean that I saw you as worthy ready I don’t think there’s a way to end that sentence that captures it.

I saw you as ready to lead. That’s what it was. I thought you had many of the qualities of a leader. It seems that I may have looked past your age and your humanity, not realizing what you were truly, mentally ready for.

Ria, know this. I think you’ll be part of the backbone of this mission. I think you can help me realize the truths about humans. I grew up in a war-focused setting, on a planet that was always being attacked. I fought my first battle at fifteen years old. (very young for a Croyan.) I saw death at the age of twelve. Used to this dangerous realm, I never realized how…unconditioned humans are. How few of you have ever picked up anything dangerous, much less done something with it.

Ria, I’m so sorry. I hope you can forgive my lack of foresight and empathy.

She handed the notepad back to him, blinking in surprise.

“Wow,” she whispered. “It’s…it’s almost like poetry.”

He grinned sadly, writing down another note.

When it’s the only way I can communicate with most beings, my writing has to be good powerful I can’t think of the right word for that.

Ria grinned now, holding out a hand to shake. “Let’s make a deal,” she said, surprised with the steadiness in her voice. “You try to think about…about what others feel. I’ll toughen up,” she finished with a sad smile.

He looked at her, head cocked, a small smile fighting its way across his face.

He took her hand in his own, shaking it, then simply holding it there for a second, an almost-pact forming between them.

That’s when the door opened.

Standing there was Theo, the Commander’s master-keycard that opened every door in the ship shining guiltily in his hand. He must have stolen it straight off the bridge. TRANSLATION: He was in big trouble.

“Ha!” he barked. “I knew it! When’s the wedding, Leoman?”

Ria growled, then threw herself bodily off the bed, surprising the Commander, so fierce-looking that Theo stepped back a pace.

“PISS OFF, CORAKI!” she yelled, hitting the emergency shut button and nearly amputating his hand.

Crap, she thought, something dawning on her. I just poured out my soul, and now I’m yelling piss off at my crewmate. In front of the Commander.

She spun around nervously.

He had his back to her, but he couldn’t hide the fact that his shoulders were shaking with laughter.

Then she was laughing, too, chuckling softly. “He deserved that. So bad.”

The Commander turned around, grinning. He didn’t look so terrifying anymore. He almost looked younger, Ria realized. Like she was seeing a side of him that wasn’t quite dead yet. He put a hand over his mouth, trying not to burst out laughing, and nodded, agreeing to her last comment. He grabbed the pad.

Nobody steals the key as long as I’m here, he wrote. I’ll get it back. Hopefully without appearing sadistic.

Ria laughed aloud as he left, then realized that she may have just made something close to a friend in him.

After lunch, which consisted of ham sandwiches, (Auto-Cook had to be fixed, so Cal just threw together one of five things he knew how to make,) it was time for another training session.

“What were you and the Commander talking about?” Cal wanted to know. He asked Ria while they were walking to the training area.

“Oh, you know,” she said, grinning in spite of herself. “I had a mental breakdown, called the Commander a sadist and a monster, nearly amputated Theo’s hand with a door, y’know, normal stuff.” She laughed at the utterly flabbergasted look on Cal’s face.

“Ria, I will never understand you,” he said finally. “You called him a sadist?”

“Not like that,” Ria said with a laugh. “I’m pulling your leg. I mean, I did, but I wasn’t like ‘YOU’RE A FREAKING SADIST, GO DIE IN A HOLE!’ or anything. C’mon, Cal, who do you think I am?”

“Amputated Theo’s hand with a door,” Cal murmured. “Really?”

“Well, almost,” Ria amended. “Almost. He stole the Commander’s keycard, by the way.”

Cal choked on his own spit. “What?” he exclaimed. “The Commander’s card? Isn’t that on the bridge?”

“Yeah,” Ria said. “But since when has he been a rule follower? Remember when he rubbed green food coloring on his face and acted sick to get out of training?”

“And succeeded, the little slacker,” Cal muttered. “If I had tried that, I’d have been training anyway. Stupid money-talks under-the-table rules.”

“Honestly, I’m glad to get away from Earth,” Ria said, laughing slightly. “The U.S. government is so corrupt, and the rest of the world was nuked three hundred years ago. When I got the chance to come to space, my parents pretty much kicked me on the rocket. They just want me to live, at least for a little while, somewhere that I don’t have to worry about atom bombs every thirty seconds.”

“Mm,” Cal agreed, lost in thought. “Hey, do you know what kind of training we’re doing?”

“No clue,” Ria replied. “But we’re likely gonna find out.”

The second they entered the training room, Ria knew it would be a good session. There were ancient weapons everywhere, some that were quite obviously not from Earth, in buckets and crates and racks around the room. Ria spun around, taking it in. This has got to be heaven. I must have died last night or something.

Her eyes zoomed in on a staff in the corner. It looked nicely weighted and a good size for her, well-made. The wood was chestnut-colored, red-cinnamon tinted. She walked over and picked it up. It was exactly as she’d expected, although even a bit stronger. She gave it a few twirls and went through a few exercises. It felt good to have a staff in her hands again.

“What is this crap?” Theo whined, coming in. “When you said weapons training, I was thinking blasters!”

“Shut up,” snapped Zezalia, coming behind. “I never mentioned blasters. Have you ever touched a weapon in your life?”

Mr. Bend entered, took one look at the boxes, and tried to leave.

“Not so fast,” Zezalia said, barring his way with her tail. “Two slackers are two too many. You and Coraki are cut from the exact same cloth.”

“I have not trained with these weapons,” Mr. Bend said in his most patronizing voice. Cal used to call it “sugared honey and promises of cupcakes that wind up tasting like sewer sludge.” Ria called it “sickening.” “I’ve trained with different weapons,” their supervisor continued, raising his eyebrows. Ria pretended to throw up behind his back. Cal tried not to laugh and wound up looking like a wounded blowfish, making it Ria’s turn to hold in a chuckle.

“Guns don’t count,” Zezalia told him. “Especially not your simple Earth ones. One of those could jeopardize our whole mission. One shot through the hull and this thing implodes.”

Kevin came in last of the humans. “Whoa, cool!” He ran over to a box of swords and pulled out a dao. “This thing is neat! Does anyone know how to use it?”

After no one else did, Ria hesitantly raised her hand. Zezalia mouthed Attagirl over her shoulder.

Kevin came over to her, beaming. “Can you show me some moves?”

Ria picked it up. “Sure,” she said with a quick sigh of preparation, then went through a simple sword form before showing him the specific moves, downward thrusts and side sweeps, horizontal guards and figure-eights. After he had the basics, she walked back over to the staff she had been using and twirled it around some more before going through two staff forms.

It turned into a simple free-training session, with Zezalia and Ria helping out. When Ria wasn’t talking to someone, she focused on the staff, improvising like she always used to, taking hand-forms and making them staff forms, often falling on her face trying to do jumps and flips but loving every minute of it.

She loved the staff, as well. It was obviously old, but had been cared for to an extreme. The wood was slightly wrinkled in her hands, as if the tree it had come from had given its life maybe sixty years before, but it looked as if whoever had used the staff had tried as hard as they could to coax the life back into it.

The Commander came in. Ria’s heart skipped a beat and her face turned beet-red, but his presence didn’t make bile come in her throat anymore. She spun the staff over her head, barely succeeding in the catch. Her fingertips hit the staff and barely caught, but she gripped it as hard as humanly possible. Phew, she thought, letting out a small puff of air. That was close.

The Commander and Zezalia talked for a while, then Zezalia moved to teach Theo that you don’t hold a katana like a sword in action movies. (the weight of the single-bladed Japanese weapon kept pulling him over.) Kevin was handling his dao pretty well, having only tipped over twice. (he was having problems with how front-heavy it was, an issue with which Ria could easily sympathize, having worked with daos for four years beforehand.) Cal was trying two tiger-tail sticks and failing miserably, but the effort was there. (Zezalia helped him after Theo, and Ria could see that he was having issues with using two weapons at once.) Mr. Bend was halfheartedly messing with a jian, trying to look like a swordfighter but using utterly the wrong technique.

A while passed before Ria became uncomfortably aware of the Commander’s eyes on her. He had been watching her practice from across the room, in the back, by the corner. She found herself going into techniques she had made herself, like what she called Falcon Dance, a twirling 720 in the air before slamming the staff down over the opponent’s head. (it had taken her years to do this without either faceplanting, not getting any height, or breaking her staff.) She worked on Staffwall, a quick spinning block that would deflect any attack. She used Lightning High Strike, which she had claimed to invent after falling over during a training session and spearing a heavy-bag with the point of her staff. (that had not been fun.) She realized after a time that she was definitely showing off.

After ten minutes, she couldn’t take it. (and she was running out of original techniques.) She walked over to the Commander.

“I noticed you watching,” she said, bowing her head respectfully. “Am I doing something wrong?”

He seemed surprised that she had chosen to approach him, rather than the other way around. He shook his head, then held out his hand, waiting for her to give him the staff. It wasn’t a give me the staff as much as a may I see that, please? She held out the weapon, though her heart almost ached to part with it.

He took the staff, a small smile creasing his face. He spun it around one hand, a practiced motion of rolling it over his fingers.

Then he spun it in a 720 loop around himself, threw it fifteen feet in the air, did a double backflip, and caught it before he hit the ground.

“Whoa,” Ria said in awe. “Holy cats. That was amazing.”

But there was something about it that set her “weapon” senses tingling. No one could do a trick like that unless they knew the weight and size of their weapon by heart. Unless they could know it by touch. Unless they utterly trusted that weapon, and had used that move countless times when it was life-or-death.

“It’s yours,” Ria whispered. He looked at her appraisingly. “It’s yours,” she said again. “That’s your staff.”

He nodded slowly, lost in memory for a second, before breaking into a warm smile. He bent down so that his head was at her level and flipped the staff over, showing her something on the bottom:

“What is that?” Ria asked in a hushed voice.

He seemed to be thinking of a way to communicate it, then simply touched his chest.

“Oh,” Ria said as it dawned on her. “That’s your name.”

Of course, it wasn’t in English. It was in whatever his written language was. He laughed silently at her surprised face, then pulled out his pen and paper.

My handwriting was terrible, he wrote, laughing again. I made this at the age of twelve.

“How old is this staff?” Ria asked. “The oldest I’ve ever seen was fifty, and it was falling apart. This is obviously much older, and it looks amazing.”

73 years old, he wrote, chuckling at Ria’s surprise. She hadn’t thought he was older than 40, but he was now 85 by her count. The average Croyan lives to be over 150 years old, by a human calendar.

“What are you two doing over there?” Theo asked from across the room. “Flirting?”

The Commander took a deep breath, composing himself so that he wouldn’t be angry, then stood up, walking in Theo’s direction. When he got there, he kneeled down in front of Theo and wrote something down on the pad. Theo looked at it, looked surprised, then began blubbering randomly. Ria caught “No, sir!” and “Why - why - why…” and “I would never think - no - no - okay, yes.” and “I’m teasing!” and “It was a joke!” The Commander walked back over to Ria. Theo was still sputtering.

“What did you say?” Ria asked.

He chuckled. Very little, he wrote on the pad, then showed what he wrote to Theo:

‘I am eighty-five years old. She is thirteen. What kind of creep do you think I am?’

“Wow,” Ria said. “Shows how scared of you he is.”

He chuckled, then wrote something else. I may have got him a little, just to be sure he doesn’t do it again.

“Got him a little?” Ria quoted. “What the heck do you mean?”

He looked dumbfounded, then nodded. I forget that you weren’t required to learn about the languages & anatomy of various beings you would meet on this mission. That was Coraki’s job, and he obviously slept through that lesson.

Ria laughed. “Yeah. I think he pitched his tablet out the window, too. And then burned the textbook ‘by accident.’ And then bullied Ryan into deleting the files he was supposed to memorize. God, I haven’t thought about Ryan in months.” She chuckled. “He was a techie. I miss him sometimes. He always had room for one more joke. But hey, back to the question. What the heck did you mean?”

He sighed. We would need time for an anatomy lesson. He paused, then added What if I showed you a few techniques later? You definitely have an interest in ancient weaponry.

“Yeah,” Ria said, eyes wide. “You’d - you’d do that? That’s so awesome! Th-thank you! I honestly feel a little faint!”

He chuckled. Is that how aloof you think I am?

He wrote down one more thing before he got up to go to Zezalia. Meet me on the bridge at 8:30.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Even dinner did. (Ria was so absentminded that Zezalia asked her seven times if she needed an ice cube down her back. [and only the first five times were sarcastic.])

The only obstacle came in the form of Theo.

When Ria was about to go up the stairs, (8:27; she was cutting it close, thanks to a minor explosion with Auto-Cook that had happened after the Commander left the dining hall,) she heard an accusing throat-clear behind her.

“Excuuuse me, Leoman?” came his annoying whiny voice, “but why are you going up there? It’s forbidden.”

“Because I’ve been invited up there,” Ria replied, crossing her arms. “Hmm. Last time I remember, you came up here uninvited, then stole the Commander’s keycard out of his chambers. Three strikes and you’re dead.” She turned to continue walking.

“Le-o-man,” he singsonged. “Are you just inventing excuses?”

“Like when you rubbed Cheetos on your teeth and pretended to have a mystery ailment that caused your teeth to be covered in orange fuzz so that you could skive off your lessons? No. I am not. Go leave me alone.”

“Are you just gonna sit up there until ten, then come down when we’ve done all the work? I won’t stand for that!” he singsonged.

“Oh my God, you sound like Mr. Bend’s twin,” she muttered. “How about you two get married?”

He grabbed her arm, twisted her around, and pinned her to the wall. “I’m not letting go until I’m sure that you’re allowed to be up there,” he snarled.

“Says the thief!” Ria barked in protest. “Says the guy who snuck up here! Let me go, you insufferable imbecile!”

“Ooh!” Theo exclaimed, much to Ria’s chagrin. “Ooh! Five-syllable words! Good job!”

“Crossing the line, Coraki!” Ria growled.

She was this close to kicking him in the groin when the Commander showed up.

Ria heard a door on the bridge open, then heard footsteps. She tried in vain to twist her head around and see what was happening, but Theo quickly released her. She fell with a thump, massaging her shoulders.

“Ouch,” Ria muttered. “Calm down, Coraki.”

The Commander came down the stairs, ignoring Theo, and motioned for Ria to come with him. As she walked up the stairs, she saw the Commander turn to Theo and point at him. The meaning was clear: We’ll talk about this later.

The Commander led Ria across the bridge and to the door on the left.

“Isn’t this your room?” Ria asked as he pressed his hand up to the scanner on the wall.

He chuckled, then pulled out the pad and pen. More than that.

As it turned out, it was much more.

He had a house. From the entryway Ria could see a small living room, an enormous room of computers, a bedroom, and a few other doors.

“Whoa,” Ria murmured. “And I can’t even get out of bed without hitting my head on the wall.”

He led her to the furthest-back door and opened it.

“Oh. My. God. Have I died and gone to heaven?” Ria whisper-asked herself.

It was a training room. A training room filled with every weapon you could imagine, from swords to spears to…were those laser blasters?

“Whoa,” Ria whispered. “I - whoa.”

He grinned, moving across the padded floor (perfect for rolling techniques and sparring) and walked over to a dark wooden weapons rack. There were things Ria had never seen before on there, like a staff that looked like two katanas hilt to hilt, a grip in the middle. There were weapons that looked like they had specific culture to them, like a spear with a snakeskin wrapped around the handle for a grip. (although there was no way that a slippery snakeskin increased grip.)

He held out a well-made staff. She took it, testing its weight. A little heavier than the Commander’s childhood staff, but a good weapon. It looked like bamboo, but was much more dense. Definitely not from Earth.

He pulled out the pad. I know it may be a bit heavier than you’re used to, but I figure we should use one of my backups. It will likely break.

“Oo-kay,” Ria said slowly. “Hardcore, then?”

He nodded, then wrote something down: How would you fight someone else wielding a staff?

He went over to the wall and picked up a staff more suitable for his height. It was probably seven or eight feet tall. Against her will, Ria gulped.

Then she felt it again.

The focus. The focus that pushed out all fear or anger or any other emotion. Time slowed down as she assessed the length of the staff, his reach, his strength, and compared it to her own.

Hmm, she thought. Due to his longer reach, he can hit me from anywhere, making a charge attack dangerous. But if I get in close, then his reach would work against him! He wouldn’t be able to hit me without retreating, in which case I’d throw a jab strike to the stomach…

He threw the first strike, a downward strike aimed at the head. Too strong, Ria thought. It’ll break my weapon, and tiger-tail sticks are useless here. Better dodge. She dove out of the way, swinging her staff at his ankle. A little pain on his part might loosen him up, give me room to strike…

She went with her plan, rushing in close with a quick move aimed for the head. He dodged out of the way, jerking his head to the side, then shifted back for a jab. Ria spun on her heel, but she could feel the wind from his strike. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, breaking her focus for a second.

Let’s go with something impressive, she thought. Falcon Dance, here I come.

She flew into it, springing from a seated coil into the three spins that brought the top of her head almost to his head height.

Shoot! she thought. I forgot to compensate for his height!

She was used to using this move on 5-foot tall kids in class, not 8-foot tall alien warriors. Her leap, which had caused her teachers' jaws to drop at its 6-foot gain, barely cleared the Commander's chest.

The next move was to slam her staff over her opponent’s head, but she couldn’t even try. Even if she did, her weight would be off and she’d just wind up losing her staff, no damage done.

So she chose her only option left.

“Improvisation,” she said, then jammed the point of her staff into his chest.

It worked. Not as well as the move was supposed to go, but he stumbled back about three paces. Ria landed in an improvised crouch and nearly fell forward, but jumped to her feet, swinging the staff up just in case.

He wasn’t attacking, however. He had put his staff back on the rack and was walking over to Ria. He pulled out the pad and wrote: That was an interesting move, although from your comment I expect that what you did was not how it was supposed to go.

“Yeah,” Ria said ruefully. “The move was supposed to end with me slamming my staff over your head, but I didn’t compensate for your height. I’m used to doing it on kids three feet shorter than you. I had to improvise and gain distance, so I went for that.”

He grinned tiredly, rubbing his chest where she hit him and wincing. Well, it was effective.

He walked over to a different rack and pulled off a spear. Large by Ria’s standards, it looked too small for him. It had a real blade on it, serrated and sharp. Ria winced.

He wrote quickly: What move would you use to defend against this?

“Staffwall,” she said immediately. “Definitely. A quick, spinning block that would deflect everything in a 2-to-3-foot cube around me. The timing will be a little hard, but hey! It could work!”

He chuckled, then backed up and jabbed his spear toward her.

She threw herself into it automatically, aiming at the spear first. Time slowed down for her. She watched her staff collide with the shaft of the spear. Good job. Hit the spearhead and you’ll slice your staff. She spun the staff upward, pushing the spear away and sideways. Yeah. Keep it to one side so that he can’t simply slam it down on your head. She spun quickly to finish her technique, then sidestepped to avoid a quick slash. He nodded approvingly.

“By the way,” she said, a challenge slipping into her voice and a sideways grin onto her face. “How would you defend against a staff - bare-handed?”

He put the spear away, then grinned, beckoning her with one hand. The meaning was clear: Come at me.

She ran at him, bringing the staff down in a quick downward strike aimed at the gut.

He grabbed the end, ducked under it, then began spinning - dragging Ria with him.

She was holding on the end of the staff like her life depended on it. Her feet had lifted off the ground by now. He was spinning her in circles on the end of it.

He finally twitched it out of her hands. She went flying.

He snapped the staff over his knee. Ria could hear it.

But she couldn’t see it, due to the fact that she was plastered upside-down against the wall.

“Very impressive,” she muttered. “Now…help? I think my spine just went screwy.”

He came over to her and grabbed one of her feet, pulling her out of the upside-down half-backflip-that-went-wrong position she had been stuck in.

“Thanks,” she said, wheezing. “Ouch. Okay,” she said. “Can I ask two questions?”

He nodded. “First,” Ria began, “what time is it?”

Nearly eleven, he wrote.

“WHAT?!” Ria exclaimed, jumping up like she’d been struck by lightning.

It’s okay, he wrote, chuckling. You can ignore curfew for tonight.

“Two,” Ria said, “how about that anatomy lesson you mentioned earlier? What did you do to Theo?”

He seemed blindsided. His eyes widened. He blinked a few times, obviously not expecting that to be the question.

Okay, he wrote, then began.

You may have noticed I don’t speak aloud, he wrote. Ria nodded.

“It would be hard not to,” she said. “Go on.”

That’s because of two glands in my throat, he added, tapping two spots on his neck. They are triggered by the vibration of my vocal cords, so speaking is generally out of the question when it comes to communication. They release a gas that triggers a biochemical reaction in most living creatures - human scientists say the hyperarousal response, or, as humans commonly call it, fight-or-flight. He paused. Which is a ridiculous name in my opinion. It’s much more complicated than that. He paused again, staring at Ria’s aha! moment face, then tapped her shoulder, trying to bring her back to reality. She had spaced out entirely.

“Oh!” Ria barked. “I’m sorry! I - I just remembered! That night, at dinner! That acrid smell! My first thought was that it was a biochemical response to something! I felt that rush of panic, then - oh.” She blanched. "So that's what you did to Mr. Bend. That's why Theo's so afraid of you. Was I right? Are you - are you sadistic?"

He looked so heartbroken that Ria felt her own heart crack.

I'm sorry, he wrote. I wish sometimes that I could change your mind, but, again, I forget that you may be right. But let me say this: I have never fully attacked Coraki. I got him once. Slightly. Earlier today. Beforehand, that was all his feelings. Your annoying adult is a different story, and I wouldn't have attacked him had he not been jeopardizing the safety of the rest of the crew.

"It's just hard to find someone who deserves that," Ria said.

He made a quick, irritable motion, tapping his lips with three fingers.

"What does that mean?" Ria asked. He flinched, surprised.

'I could name a few,' he translated. The number of fingers used is how many you mean. I didn't expect you to notice a small motion like that.

"Oh!" Ria exclaimed. "I was going to ask you! Can you teach me your gesture-language?"

He seemed honestly surprised. Why? was all he wrote.

"Because it drives me crazy that you have an entire language and yet - and yet you resort to learning an entirely new language because no one bothered to learn yours."

He looked down, blinked a few times, then smiled. He nodded, then made a quick motion, moving his hand, palm-up, from under his chin toward her.

"What's that?" she asked.

'Sure,' he wrote, then added: Meet me here tomorrow, at 8:30.

"Thank you, sir!" Ria exclaimed. Just as she turned away, she caught him rolling his eyes. She cocked her head.

It just seems strange for you to call me 'sir,' he wrote. I know that's bizarre. It’s been years since anyone called me ‘sir.’

"I should go," Ria said. "Theo's gonna kill me if I'm awake now."

He nodded, then wrote one more note: Good night. He reached up, brushing his hand across his brow and flicking it toward Ria. He tapped the note.

Ria grinned, then made the same gesture. "Good night," she voiced aloud.

He smiled, then walked her to the stairs. She practically fell down the stairs out of exhaustion.

When she got to the girls' dorms, Ria was too tired to change. She climbed into bed and fell over.

"Hey," came the voice from across the room.

Ria jumped out of her skin. "Whuzza?!" she barked.

It was Zezalia.

The Hevilian was sitting in the hexagonal wall dent, which was now filled with cushions. Her face scales shimmered in the faint light from outside the door.

"What did he tell you?" she asked.

"Eh," Ria replied. "Some staff techniques, how he scared Mr. Bend insane, a few motions in his language. Pretty cool."

"Ah," Zezalia mused. "Makes sense. So he's teaching you Croyan?"

"Uhm…" Ria hummed. "So that's what it's called?"

“Yeah,” Zezalia murmured, her antennae waving gently. “Yeah, that’s it.”

“Is something…wrong?” Ria asked hesitantly.

“Nah,” Zezalia said, her arms crossed. She rocked back and forth slightly. “Just - nah, it’s nothing.”

“What?” Ria asked.

Zezalia glared at her. “You’re as nosy as Coraki sometimes, you know that?”

Ria flinched like she’d been slapped. “I resent that,” she muttered. “Theo’s worse than any of us. And I’m just concerned. If you can’t understand that, then go bully Theo or something.” She turned around on her bunk and flopped down.

“Ria,” Zezalia whispered. “I’m sorry. It’s just-”

“What?” Ria asked coldly. “I can’t know what I did wrong if you don’t tell me what I did.”

Now Zezalia flinched. “The Commander,” she said in a rush. “You - he’s teaching you, just like he did me. He’s offering to do the same for you as he did for me. And I know that a new generation, a new student, is the best option, but it just feels like - like you’re my replacement.”

Her antennae twisted. “And I know it’s not fair to get jealous. And I know it’s not fair to hate you for wanting to learn. But it’s just - it’s exactly like me! He’s teaching you the same things! It all started when you picked up the staff!” She leaned forward, putting her head in her hands.

Ria wordlessly climbed off her bunk and sat next to Zezalia in the wall nook. The Hevilian turned to stare at her. Ria noticed a trail of golden liquid coming down from the corner of her mouth.

“Are you - uh - okay?” Ria asked, pointing at Zezalia’s chin.

Zezalia turned around one hand, tracing the liquid. It came off sticky, leaving trails down her face.

“Yeah,” she said. “I’m fine. Not something I do often, but yeah.” She grinned wryly. “Not everyone keeps their tear ducts in the same places humans do.”

“Look,” Ria said. “You need to realize that, though you’re the second-in-command, you’re still gonna have - well, from what I can see - ‘teenage angst,’ as my parents would call it.” She rolled her eyes. “Just give yourself a mental break. You’re bound to have some minor mental breakdowns.”

Zezalia laughed. “I wasn’t expecting you to be the one to give me life advice. Thanks, but…I’m good.” She gave Ria a noogie that hurt like brass knuckles.

“Owww…” Ria muttered. “Remember that your hands are covered in freaking scales, please.”

Zezalia gave her a bump-raising noogie for good measure, then curled up in the wall nook.

“Go to bed,” she said. “It’s an hour and a half past curfew already.”

“Why weren’t you sleeping in here the last two nights?” Ria asked. “I won’t go to bed until I get an answer.”

“I wasn’t sleeping,” Zezalia said with a shrug. “Well, on Night 1, anyhow. I was bullying the night shift. Sugar and caffeine. Which was a wonderful discovery on Earth, by the way.”

“Wow,” Ria said. “How much did you need for an all-nighter?”

“Seven Pepsis,” Zezalia said with a shrug. “Soneon about had a fit. He wanted to drink them, too.”

“What about last night?” Ria asked.

“Passed out on the rafters,” Zezalia replied. “Exhaustion. Rh - the Commander had to shoot me with a slingshot to wake me up. I about chewed his head off before I realized it was him. Zzi, zzrri zzzrt. Okay,” she said, shoving Ria toward her bed. “Good night.”

Zezalia was out like a light. Ria began breathing deeply, then rolling over, then smothering herself with her pillow. She finally just listened to Zezalia snoring.

She was almost asleep when the crash happened.

An impressive bang happened, like something exploding, followed by a loud crash. Ria screamed. Zezalia lunged up, swearing in English and Hevilian at the same time.

The door flew open.

“Come quick, Zezalia, please!” It was Solus. “The beam - crash - the Commander!” Zezalia and Ria almost ran him over on the way out.

They raced into the training gym, staring at the horrific sight.

One of the rafter beams had fallen and landed directly on the Commander. He was pinned on his back under the enormous beam. His face was screwed up in pain, one of his arms trapped under him at an unnatural angle.

“ZRRT!” Zezalia yelled, running toward him. “RH- SIR! COMMANDER! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!” The golden liquid was running down her face freely. She was sobbing.

Face tight, holding in the pain, he nodded.

“Good!” she barked, wiping her chin. “OI!” she barked at the rest of the group, many of which had just come in. “DON’T JUST STAND THERE, YOU WORM-LICKING DRONES! GET OVER HERE!”

Cal, in his pajamas, raced over to Ria.

“Okay,” he said, gesturing to the fallen beam. “Moving this wrong will hurt him, but I’m not sure we have a choice. Hey, why are you still in your uniform? It’s midnight!” “Are you just wanting to see me in my pajamas?” Ria snapped. “Help me move the effing beam!”

“Right, right, sorry,” he said, his face turning red.

They shoved their hands under the beam and began to lift. Ria felt a surge of fight-or-flight strength. There is a life depending on my hands and my strength, and I will save it.

The beam was lifted an inch. Ria shoved her hands further under.

“SONEON!” Zezalia yelled. Ria jumped, and for a heart-stopping moment she thought she would drop the beam. She kept her grip, however, then redoubled her efforts. “GET YOUR TAIL OVER HERE! LITERALLY!”

The chameleon-alien who often overslept came running over, wedging his tail under the beam. He lifted it with disproportionate strength, his tail heaving it twice as easily as Ria’s hands. His scales turned very pale green with effort.

“Thanks,” Ria said.

“Aa-nny ti-me,” he said, and his voice reminded Ria of if a frog could talk. He almost seemed to croak.

“Someone needs to get him out!” Zezalia barked. “I can get either his legs or head, but I need someone else’s help!”

“I’ll hold it.” Mr. Bend’s voice came from behind Ria. She flinched in surprise, but handed him the beam. He took it, wincing under the heavy weight.

Ria rushed in, sliding a hand under the Commander’s shoulders and lifting him up, Zezalia grabbing his feet. Zezalia ducked under the beam, and they carried him around. Just as Zezalia had gotten under, the beam fell down with a clang. It would have amputated Zezalia’s wings had they not been folded.

“Hey!” Cal barked. “You can’t just let go if your arms get tired!” Ria didn’t have to look to know it was Mr. Bend he was yelling at.

“And you can’t yell at me,” Mr. Bend said, his voice as patronizing as always. “I outrank you!”

“TO HELL WITH RANKS!” Cal bellowed. “YOU COULD HAVE KILLED THEM!” Ria had never seen him this angry.

“I think you need to be punished,” Mr. Bend said, rocking on his heels.

“We’re taking him to the infirmary,” Zezalia said. “Cal, Bend, sort this out yourself, although I can’t promise I won’t come bug you later. And you better not lay a finger on Cal, or you’ll find my tail through your heart. C’mon, Ria.” She began carrying the Commander out of the room. He was trying valiantly not to pass out from shock and pain.

It felt like forever before they reached the infirmary. (to Ria’s panicked brain and well-pained arms. The Commander had to weigh four hundred pounds.) He was half-unconscious. The second they got him onto the cot, he passed out.

“God,” Ria murmured. “I’m surprised he’s alive!”

“I’m not,” Zezalia said. “Thinking about it now, I once saw him shot in the chest with a laser and survive. He’s stronger than he looks, if that’s even possible to say.” She sighed. “Do you know how to set a broken bone?”

Ria’s first thought was no.

No, she was just a kid. No, she didn’t know how to fix something that important. NO, she would not have this on her hands if it went wrong.

So she spoke the truth.

“Yes,” she said. “Yes. I had to learn it back on Earth.” She took a deep breath, clapping her hands. “Well, he’s unconscious, so this won’t hurt as much as if he was awake. First, we need to X-ray it, so that we know what’s broken.”

Zezalia nodded, then pulled out a bizarre item. It looked like a wand with a camera lens attached to it. She held it over the Commander’s arm, moving it slowly. When it began to beep, she pushed a button on the side and there was a click noise. She twisted the handle, then turned it around, aiming at the screen behind them. There was another click, and the x-ray appeared on the screen.

Ria studied it, her breath trembling. “Okay,” she said. “Okay. Pretty major break near the elbow, but fixable.” She leaned over toward him, still checking the screen, and reached for his left arm. She felt along where the break was until she was absolutely sure she knew where the bone was, and where it needed to end up. She, holding her breath, in a state of panic, maneuvered the bone into the right place before stepping back with a sigh.

“I think it worked,” she said. “Now we just need to put it in a cast.”

They wrapped the cast. Ria turned away in the end so that Zezalia wouldn’t see her crying from shock.

“Hey,” Zezalia said. “Could you go check something for me?” Her voice was softer. “In the room where it happened. We safety-checked the ship three weeks ago. Nothing could have broken that catastrophically by now. Could you go see what happened?”

Ria walked back to the gym slowly, everything that had just happened settling over her. She had set a bone and wrapped a cast. She had possibly saved the Commander’s arm. She had held up a twelve-hundred-pound beam. (no wonder her arms hurt.)

She walked back into the room to find Cal already there. He was still in his pajamas, pawing around at the end of the beam.

“Ria,” he said, not turning around. His voice was strangled and oddly…mushy, as if he had a cotton ball in his cheek. “Look at this.”

The end of the beam was blackened and charred. It looked like a marshmallow that had been set on fire.

“That looks really weird,” Ria said. “What is it?”

“This beam didn’t just fall down,” he said, his voice still strangled. “This was blown up.”

“What?” Ria asked, unsure whether she had heard him right.

“Sabotage,” he said. “A high-power superconcentrated explosive placed on the end of the beam. It would have blown it clear off the wall, as well as destroying any evidence that it was there. There would have had to be one on both ends, otherwise this end would have fallen down alone.” He still wouldn’t look at her.

“How did you figure this out?” Ria asked. “Did you plant the bomb?” she said swiftly.

He sighed tiredly. “No, of course not. Why would I be incriminating myself? I’ve just been poking around here for thirty minutes.”

He pointed at both walls, pointing out the two charred spots. “That’s where the explosives would have gone off, taking the beam down. But what’s the point of an explosive that knocks down a beam?”

“Nothing?” Ria offered. “I mean, it’s not like it’s gonna knock down the ship. The beams are just there so that Zezalia can yell at us from them.”

“Yeah. There’s no point,” he confirmed, setting his jaw, “unless you had a target under it.”

“They were going to kill the Commander,” Ria said, catching on. Why won’t he look at me?

“A remote detonation,” he said. “Watching through the security cameras, the bomber could detonate both the second the Commander was in the targeting range.” He motioned to the four cameras in the room.

“How do you know so much about this?” Ria asked.

“Logic,” Cal said with a shrug. “It also means that the bomber is on the ship.”

Ria was struck dumb by this. Who could it be? she thought. I don’t trust Mr. Bend or Theo in the least, but neither seems like the type to plant a bomb - or have access to one, for that matter. Zezalia would have access, but wouldn’t do something like this. Solus - nope. Just nope. Soneon - I’m not sure he’s smart enough to try. Kevin has some anger, but not toward the Commander. The only ones who hate the Commander are Theo and Mr. Bend, but I ruled them out! I’m just going in circles!

She turned, saw Cal’s face, and gasped.

His left cheek was swollen and red, his face squished because of it. “What happened?” Ria asked. “Have you been stung by a space-bee?”

“Mr. Bend,” he said, scowling. “The minute Zezalia left, he slapped me hard enough to raise a welt. My mouth is messed up, but it’s getting better.”

“God,” Ria murmured. “How about I go kick him in the nuts for ya? Huh? I’ve always wanted to do that.”

He laughed. “He’d snap your neck, but I would like to see you try.” He turned and began walking back to his room. “Good night, Ria.”

“Night, Cal,” she said, walking out.

She did not go to the dorms, however. She walked straight to the infirmary.

“How’s he doing?” she asked Zezalia.

“Better,” the Hevilian said, wiping sweat from her forehead. “His breathing and pulse are stable, his arm is healing, his vital signs are fine, but he’s not woken up. That’s to be expected, of course.”

“Wait, his arm is healing? You’re kidding me, right? It’s been twenty minutes! There’s no way his arm is better!” Ria exclaimed. “When I broke my jaw, it was six months before I was okay!”

“He heals around seven times faster than humans,” Zezalia explained. “I’d give this two weeks maximum. He’ll be comatose for five or six days, but it’s worth it.”

“Whoa,” Ria said in awe. “He has no freaking weakness.”

Zezalia buzzed mournfully. Ria didn’t even ask what it meant. She was pretty sure she already knew. She guessed it meant, Yes he does.

“How is he so good?” Ria asked. “With that fear power - and the skills - and the fact that he’s already healing - what the hey?”

“He’s built for war,” Zezalia said with a shrug. “His species exists to fight. Everyone in the galaxy wants one on their army, so their planet gets attacked a lot, so they keep training, so they keep getting stronger, so the infamous slave trade is in high demand. It’s a vicious circle.” Ria shuddered.

A while passed, both of them silent, Zezalia x-raying the Commander again.

“What time is it?” Ria asked, yawning. “I’m suddenly pooped.”

“Around one,” Zezalia said. “You get some rest. I’ll let everyone sleep in tomorrow, and the night shift goes to bed early.”

“What about you?” Ria asked.

Zezalia grinned wearily. “Sugar and caffeine.”