Alutia Rising, Anniversary Edition (Alutia Rising Series, Book 1) (14 page)

The scene unfolding before him defied all
logic. Just moments before, Daniel was having a little fun teasing
the excitable NHA Liaison, trying to recover some points in the
eyes of Knight Captain Quinn, while providing a stepping stone for
his relationship with Trent. But then, the unthinkable happened.
Sir Simwa snapped, and was in the process of aiming his laser arc,
the standard NHA sidearm, at the defenseless Trent, who was still
strapped to the restraining chair.

Time stood still as Daniel watched,
helplessly, what happened next.

Knight Captain Quinn dove over his table
faster than anyone could have expected someone of his size to move.
At the same moment, Vice-Commander Daiyu rushed towards Trent.

“Execute 1270 Alpha, Execute 1270 Alpha!” she
screamed, alarms blaring in response and the restraints holding
Trent releasing.

The laser arc fired a moment later, knocked
centimeters off target by the charging Knight Captain Quinn. The
green laser bolt caught the edge of the restraining chair, knocking
it off the dais and into the defenseless Vice-Commander Daiyu with
such force that she tumbled ten meters across the floor, sliding to
a stop in a motionless heap.

Trent was somehow thrown free when the blast
struck, rolling beside Daiyu, but recovering to one knee a meter
away from her limp form. Knight Captain Quinn wrestled with Sir
Simwa, pinning the much smaller man while trying to wrestle the
laser arc from his grip. Sir Simwa, displaying signs of strength
you would not expect from his unimpressive physique, kept the
knight captain at bay while maintaining a grip on the laser
arc.

Daniel sat stiff, unable to move...unable to
act.

He tried to think logically about the
situation, but couldn't; the insanity of the entire situation
beyond him. But a sudden thought did appear in his all but empty
mind;
I should help the knight captain,
it screamed
.
He would be a hero and his stock would rise faster than all
others.

He jumped over the table and sprinted towards
the two wrestling men. Knight Captain Quinn saw him first, grunting
as a knee bore into his stomach.

“Stay back!” Knight Captain Quinn shouted,
his voice booming as he forced the knee down and continued his
struggle. Daniel ignored him and dove towards the arm which had
started losing its wobbly grip on the laser arc.

Trent flew through the air beside the rapidly
tumbling chair, frantically waving his arms as if he could swim to
safety. He realized the uselessness of trying to fly without wings
a moment before he struck the ground, tucking his knees into his
chest to roll into a kneel, like he was a gymnast trying to make a
perfect landing for points.

I’m alive
, he realized, having cheated
death once more. But Trent knew he wasn’t out of the woods yet.

Desperately, he tried to grasp the chaotic
scene unfolding around him. Vice-Commander Daiyu lay unconscious on
the floor about a meter away, bleeding heavily from a head wound,
but breathing steady. From the location of Trent's chair, he
figured she must have been rushing towards him when the weapon had
discharged and knocked the chair flying off the pedestal. A grunt
from the far side of the room brought Trent's head up swiftly.

Knight Captain Quinn had Sir Simwa pinned and
almost under control. The smaller man was fighting back, but there
was no way he would be able to escape the larger man's grasp. Trent
started to crawl towards the unconscious vice-commander when he
heard a shout.

He whirled around to find a wide-eyed
Lieutenant Daniel diving at Sir Simwa's arm, which was barely
keeping its grip on the weapon. The dive was ill timed, Lieutenant
Daniel catching the arm, but also bumping Knight Captain Quinn in
the process, disrupting his leverage. Sir Simwa took advantage,
regaining his grip on the weapon and taking aim at his only clear
target...the unconscious Vice-Commander Daiyu

Trent didn't think, just acted, falling to
his knees at her side and with all his strength, pushed her tiny
body away. But the floor that appeared smooth...
and should
be
, Trent's mind screamed... was not, and he found his efforts
in vain. All thoughts vanished as desperation took over...
he
needed to push harder!
With a burst of strength he never knew
he had...Daiyu began to slide.

A flash of intense green blinded him, the
smell of ozone and something else, like burnt meat, touching his
nostrils as it faded.

Pain...horrible, agonizing pain...followed
close behind, erupting through his flesh from both his arms.
Confused, he collapsed to the floor, unable to comprehend exactly
what happened. But as his eyes cleared, and he caught sight of Sir
Simwa, staring at him with glee, it all fell into place.

He had been too slow, and when Sir Simwa
fired, directly at the spot where Vice-Commander Daiyu had been,
seconds before, he had been caught unaware and...
what?

Why was he on his side?
He
wondered.

Wasn't he just on his knees?
His mind
asked in utter confusion, the throbbing pain from his arms
threatening to smother his consciousness.

Is Vice-Commander Daiyu safe?
The
question kept him from fading, but he still didn’t understand what
had befallen, or why he was in such excruciating pain.

His gaze, though unfocused, quickly located
the vice-commander, who lay directly before him. Tendrils of smoke
rose from her singed hair, and a nasty looking burn streaked up the
side of her uniform, but her breathing was still steady...she was
safe.

He tried to reach for her, noticing the blood
pooling by her scalp, but his arms wouldn't respond. Looking down
in confusion, thinking they must be still bound, he found in their
place sat two charred stumps, still smoldering, the scent of
burning flesh overwhelming everything.

Shock and recognition completely took hold as
the knowledge Trent knew, but hadn’t accepted, finally sunk in, and
he slid into a world of nothingness.

The laser arc fired even with Daniel's
valiant efforts to free it from Sir Simwa's grasp.

“Hold him down!” Knight Captain Quinn shouted
as he raised his fist, along with half his massive frame, to strike
Sir Simwa with explosive force, the man’s nose shattering with a
sickening crunch, splattering blood over Daniel and the knight
captain. Sir Simwa went limp and Daniel hastily removed the laser
arc while Knight Captain Quinn verified that the man was indeed,
unconscious. A wave of relief washed over his mind, clearing the
threads of panic that had weaved their way within, as he fell onto
his back to catch his breath.

Knight Captain Quinn rushed past him like the
wind. Startled, Daniel quickly rolled into a sitting position,
following the knight captain with his gaze, expecting to see him at
the side of the injured Vice-Commander Daiyu. But instead, he
hunched over a motionless Trent.

What did that damn hobo do now?
Daniel
wondered, having last seen Trent kneeling unharmed, well outside
the fray. Reluctantly, Daniel stood, following Knight Captain
Quinn...
I should at least feign some concern
, he
realized...still hoping to return to the knight captain’s good
graces.

A horrible stench of burnt flesh struck him
first, and what he witnessed next sent a shiver down his spine.

Trent lay motionless on his side, tendrils of
smoke rising from the charred remains of his partially
disintegrated arms, an injury only possible by a laser arc bolt. A
nasty looking black burn ran across his chest, while his chin was
scorched, putrid white puss seeping from nasty blisters, mixing
with blood. Daniel turned away as a rising feeling emanated from
his gullet, but he swallowed it back down and returned his
gaze.

Trent's eyes were open, as if he was staring
at Vice-Commander Daiyu, but they were empty...pure white. Every
few seconds he would twitch, blood flecked foam bubbling down his
cheek, showing definite signs of shock.

If he wasn't treated immediately, Daniel
knew, he would die.

The knight captain, who kneeled beside Trent,
stroking his forehead lightly, turned to Daniel, his expression of
iron.

“Medical kit...now.” No emotion was evident
in the brusque order, though Daniel felt as if he’d just been
slapped. Before he could retort...
why should I care about what
happens to this hobo?
... Knight Captain Quinn's expression went
distant as he accessed a BAP with his BC node...most likely
reporting a level one medical emergency. Daniel, realizing he
almost allowed his real self to slid through, queried a request
with his own BC node to the local BAP for the location of the
closest emergency medical station. A map streamed into his mind,
flashing a location, and he rushed with all haste towards the
exit.

Directly outside the training room, hidden in
the wall of the small lobby was a small storage compartment. It
opened as he approached, revealing amongst the emergency supplies,
a stack of medical kits. He grabbed two, before rushing back to the
knight captain’s side.

His basic medical training took over as he
pulled out the desired vials; emergency biological medical nanites
and a special level calming agent, then the tube shaped injector.
He gently tapped the knight captain, who, releasing his BC node,
quickly moved aside. Daniel injected the vials into Trent's neck
and watched as his eyes slowly closed, his breathing steady. When
he turned, he found the knight captain gone, having moved to
Vice-Commander Daiyu's side, placing a self-sealing bandage from
the medical kit on her wounded scalp.

The minutes ticked by while Daniel and the
knight captain sat in silence. Daniels thoughts were unclear and
muddled, he still unable to understand how this current situation
came to be...
how did Trent get hit by the laser arc bolt?
But before he could raise the question to Knight Captain Quinn, the
man looked up towards the ceiling and spoke.

“Program, is the trial for TSB Enlistment
Candidate Trent Marcello still active?” Daniel thought he discerned
a tremble in the all but unreadable voice of Knight Captain
Quinn.

“Yes, Sir Quinn, the trial is still in
progress and all actions and remarks are currently being logged,”
the monotone voice of the Program in charge of the enlistment tests
and trials responded immediately.

“Good, I do not believe we need to hear
anything more. I recommend acceptance of Enlistment Candidate Trent
Marcello into the Terra Space Battalion Command Training School
with immediate rank of Lieutenant. With acceptance, I would
recommend the awarding of the Star of Terra and Blood-Sun Mark,”
Daniel felt his blood drain towards his feet as he heard the knight
captain deliver his verdict.

To be accepted into the TSB Command Training
Program was unusual for anyone who had not previously completely
the TSB Officers Training School Program. Plus, it usually required
committee approval of at least five TSB Captains, the TSB Commander
and Vice-Commander, and a Program. He knew it was odd to bypass the
committee, but not unheard of, having happened a few times in the
past during times of emergency. But there was something else he
thought he heard, being so unbelievable that his mind failed to
accept it as anything but a hallucination.

“Sir...did you...you just recommend...the
Star of Terra?” he asked without thinking. The knight captain
turned to him with the eyes of a man who would not joke.

Daniel could only stare at the knight
captain, no longer attempting to hide his utter shock...and
disgust, at what he’d just heard.
He must have gone insane,
Daniel realized, the Star of Terra being the highest commendation
in the TSB for action's above and beyond the call of duty,
equivalent to the King's Nova, the highest honor within an NHA
galaxy and second in esteem in the universe to only the Emperor's
Boon. It was so rare even, most current TSB members, Daniel
included, knew little of the award besides it being beyond
prestigious, having not been presented since the TSB's inception,
over 5000 years before.

There is no way he’ll get approval,
Daniel realized, knowing that to award the honor required the
approval of a Program and the highest ranking noble in the duchy
responsible for the special protectorate of Earth....and if the
reports Daniel heard about Duke Zehman held true, he was as much an
ardent traditionalist as Sir Simwa, and would never approve of such
an honor for anyone but a noble. Daniel unconsciously glanced at
the man responsible for this mess, lying motionless on the floor,
his broken nose streaming blood at an alarming rate, then back to
Trent.

The other recommended commendation, the
Blood-Sun Mark, was well within the knight captain's right to
reward, but Daniel still couldn't figure out what Trent had done to
deserve it. The honor, still uncommon, but nowhere near as the
uncommon as the Star of Terra, was rewarded for being wounded in
combat or other combat related situations. He could see how this
may be considered a combat related situation, but he knew the
knight captain was stretching the definition, since Trent was still
only an enlistment candidate, not an officially accepted member of
the TSB. But in the end, Daniel knew, no matter what
recommendations the knight captain made, the Programs would have
final say over their approvals, and from Daniel's experience, the
Programs would rarely allow rules to be broken.

“Request for end of trial accepted. Based on
judgment of Knight Captain Quinn and analysis of record from trial
phases one, two, three, and four, Enlistment Candidate Trent
Marcello is accepted into the Terra Space Battalion Command
Training School Program and assigned rank of Lieutenant, effective
from 24:32 of day 236 of New Universal Empirical Human Alliance
year 75,023. Enlistment Training Trial A13-45CFF23-E is now
closed.” The Program's monotone voice laid down its verdict and
Daniel thought he heard some emotion in the words.