The Ninth (15 page)

“So Hiroko was never in any danger?” Dante asked, surprised.

“Far from it!” the old man grumbled sourly.  “I thought about aborting the entire exam to get her proper medical attention at the start.  I had designed the simulation to be intense but not to cause physical harm.  Perhaps there were too many random values I failed to figure into it.  When the wall plating behind her came loose, I was appalled.  I’ve already filed a strongly worded report with maintenance.  Thankfully, two recruits had remained conscious, and I only had to apply a coagulant.”

“What about her weak pulse?” Owen asked with a strained voice.

“My lad, if you have any thoughts of pursuing a medical posting, I would
strongly
recommend against it.  With your lack of knowledge, I wouldn’t feel secure with a training dummy in your care.  The young lady’s pulse was never that weak, only your ability to find it was,” the instructor said irritably.

“Lay off the recruit,” came Humphrey’s mumble from the doorway.  “You are just cross they did so well.  Quit pouting and just tell them how they did already.  You’ve kept them more than long enough.”

“I was not pouting, young man.”  The irritation in the instructor’s voice was unmistakable.  “I was merely explaining the difficulties I faced throughout this exam.  In any case, you do have a point about the time.  Their persistence drew out the exam.  Although, a little lost time is not really a large cost to be able to watch such a display.  It took longer than I expected, but they all passed.  Most uncommon.”

“Not again,” came Hiroko’s weak voice.  “Let me guess.  As long as one won everyone won.”

“You are quite wrong, my dear.”  The old man shifted slightly to get a better view of the recruit.  “This test was to determine your ability to survive.  However, what is the point of a single recruit surviving in an actual combat situation if at the cost of an entire squad?  Can you imagine such a thing?” the old man asked with more than a hint of amusement.  “Training a trooper to forsake the entire human race if it became troublesome to assist others!  We wouldn’t survive a year, let alone something like the Great War.”

The instructor realized that no one shared his amusement and shrugged off the silence.

“As such, this was not only a test of a recruit’s personal survival ability but also of a recruit’s ability to see survival as more than just their personal well-being.  For example, in your exam there was a water shortage.  Any recruit who hoarded their water or tried to take the canteen of another would have put the entire squad in danger and would have failed the exam.  However, your impromptu leader thwarted that and several other tests and dragged to victory a few who
should
have failed.”

“Dragged a few?” shouted Erin.  “I knew it; we should have left the unconscious behind!”

“I hate it when people selectively listen.  Out of an hour-long lecture they only hear the three words they want to hear.  It’s quite rude to the speaker.  Unless, of course, in the hour speech the speaker only had three words of any real value.  In that case it’s the speaker’s fault for wasting everyone’s time.”

Humphrey cleared his throat from the hallway.  The instructor shot a nasty glance at the young man.

“In any case, sometimes it
is
necessary to leave the wounded behind.  However, it is not something that should ever be taken lightly.  The ones rendered unconscious by my doing were no threat to the squad.  With no enemy pursuing you and plenty of supplies for the journey, time was not a factor in this exam.  It is true they slowed you all down, but had you left them for dead then
you
, and
everyone
who had agreed with you, would have
failed
,” the instructor concluded.

The fading of the other monitors had gone unnoticed.  The other groups finished their toil unobserved.  Every eye was on Brent’s group.  Gasps had escaped when Hiroko’s wound had been exposed, and nails had been chewed as the sandstorm hit.  Off duty personnel and troopers alike silently urged the small circle of recruits onward.  Excitement surged through the crowd like electricity as Brent ran into the structure.  As the recruits rested before their instructor, the pent up tension in those on the observation deck exploded.  Cheering and yelling dominated as others danced and sang.

“What a nail biter!” Ruth said, from the edge of her seat.  “I wasn’t sure they would make it through that!  I wish all placement exams were this good.  Going to be hard to go back to the dull standard ones after this.”

“Tell me about it.  Wait a second.”  Cain was alarmed.  “Did anyone catch the other exams?  I completely forgot about them.”

“No need to worry,” Daniel said proudly.  “I made sure to get all the details of the others down.  With this many credits on the line we can’t make mistakes.”

“So?”  Ruth asked.

“So what?”  Daniel responded, not understanding the question.

“
So,
how did they do?”  Cain motioned for Daniel to hand over his pad.  “They might not have been show stoppers, but we’d like to know how the wagers are going to turn out.”

“Precisely!”  Ruth tried to sneak a peak over Cain’s shoulder.  “Plus, I’d hate for my division leader to ask my opinion on this exam, only to have to answer him that I wasn’t paying attention.”  She shivered at the scenario.

“You have got to be kidding me.”  Cain groaned.  “You sure you got this right?”

“What’s the problem?”  Ruth’s eyebrow shot up.

“Listen to this,” Cain said, exasperated.  “After a gentle impact and a generous dosage of sedatives, the other groups started on the planet with a fully intact ship and a nice nap.”

“Wait.  You mean only group C crashed?” Ruth asked disbelievingly.  “I admit I stopped paying attention to the others when group C’s ship started to break up, but
none
of the others crashed?”

“I swear it’s the truth.”  Daniel grinned.  “Almost get the impression that the instructor was gunning for group C, don’t you?”

“That’s just the start of it; it gets worse.”  Cain let out a burst of laughter.

“Well, don’t leave a beautiful lady waiting.  Spill.”  Ruth leaned forward with a grin.

“Okay, Okay.  After landing, group D took stock of their situation,” Cain started reading in a dramatic voice.  “Finding five recruits were unconscious, they refused to move until they awoke them.  They took turns attempting to wake the recruits up.  Some slapped them, others splashed them with water, and some even started pulling out their hair.  It was a disaster.”  Cain pretended to rip out his own hair as he grinned from ear to ear.  “The instructor in charge called off the exam after half an hour of the abuse to the unconscious.”

“You think
that’s
bad?”  Daniel interrupted.  “The leader of group B woke up before the other recruits and started toward the goal, leaving the
entire
group behind.  As the rest woke one by one, they realized they had been left behind and gave chase after the leader.  One by one, they awoke and left the rest behind.  And one by one, they arrived at the goal to be greeted by a disgusted instructor.  Not one of them passed.”

“After a brutal crash landing and a sandstorm, Brent led his entire group to victory, while after a gentle rattling, the others groups failed miserably.  Did
any
pass?”  Ruth asked between giggles.

“Let’s see, most of group E made it.”  Cain quickly scanned over the results on the pad.  “They took too long chatting around the lockers before the ship crashed and just about all of them never put on their pins.  Without the readings from the pins, the instructor couldn’t go at them full force.  It was a leisurely stroll through a heavy gravity world with a light headwind.  Three did fail because they hoarded water.  That’s about it.”

“I’m still not clear on the pins.”  Ruth stared expectantly at Cain.  “Why wasn’t Brent disqualified for taking off his pin like group D had been when they took off the armbands during the stealth exam?”

“It’s probably that old coot’s fault,” Daniel said quickly with a smirk.  “He never said they
had
to wear any of the equipment in the lockers.”

“Without the armbands the stealth instructor couldn’t score a hit on the recruits, making it impossible for them to fail the exam.”  Cain tried to answer a little more thoughtfully.  “As such, the armbands were mandatory.  On the other hand, the pins gave the instructors additional ways to test the recruits, but even without the pins, failure was still very possible.”

“That, and it seems like the old coot didn’t want to give away their purpose, so he had the instructors try to make them seem trivial,” Daniel added, still smirking.  “Something most recruits would wear without a second thought to their real purpose.  However, since they didn’t say they were mandatory, removing them wasn’t a cause for failure.  Bet they are regretting that oversight right now.”

“Old man Hayden always was a few cards short of a deck,” Ruth said as politely as she could.  “So what about group A?  How’d they fair?”

“Half of them made it,” Daniel started.  “They were doing well until the sandstorm.”

“A sandstorm?”  Ruth interrupted.  “So it wasn’t just group C that got one?”

“Well, yes and no.”  Daniel double checked his pad.  “Group A
did
get a sandstorm, but comparing it to the one group C got it is like comparing a garbage hauler to a ship of the line.  Group A’s sandstorm merely made it hard to see and talk.”

“So, why did half the group fail?”  Ruth was puzzled.

“The goggles,” Cain jumped into the story before Daniel could.  “From the sounds of it, only half of them eventually realized what they were for.  When the storm first hit, it disoriented the group and they started wandering aimlessly.  By the time anyone figured out the purpose of the goggles, the entire group had spread so far they couldn’t see one another.  The instructor was ready to fail some of the eleven that made it to the structure for abandoning the rest.  However, when the instructor checked the recruits’ pads, he found that, of the nine who were still wandering, only two had their pins on.”

“And without the pins and the low sight range of the goggles,” Daniel said before Cain could interrupt again, “it would have been impossible to find the other seven.  Abandoning them was the logical choice in the situation, and the instructor begrudgingly passed them.”

“Well, at least that’s something.”  Ruth folded her arms.  “My division leader would be furious if only group C passed survival.  Our best one just graduated and we need a replacement
badly
.  Although, it sounds like the instructors could have saved themselves a lot of headaches if they had just made the pins mandatory like the armbands.  I wonder if these results are going to be of any real use come the trials.”

“Remember, these are new exams for the instructors, too.”  Cain was scanning the observation room as he spoke.  “What sounds like a good idea in theory often turns out disastrous in practice.  All
we
care about is getting through today without getting lynched.”

“Looking for someone?”  Daniel joined Cain’s scanning.

“It’s not that.  Look at the monitors.”  Cain gestured toward the nearest monitor.

“What the . . . when did that happen?”  Daniel quickly grabbed his pad and started taking notes.  “The next exams are already starting?”

“The troopers are still celebrating,” Ruth said calmly.  “Do you think anyone else knows the next exams are starting?”

“I’m sure a few are.”  Cain smiled to himself.

In the massive crowd of shouting and singing troopers, Cain could make out the calm and cool glances of the division leaders.  The recruits were about to enter the combat exam, by far the most important exam.  At least that’s what the division leaders thought.  To miss it was unthinkable.  Everything that had come before would dictate what course of study a recruit would take, what their specialty would be.

However, the result of the combat exam was the deciding factor in who got invited to a division and who would have to be assigned.  After all, a combat ready recruit who could be put to immediate use in the approaching trial was infinitely more useful than a recruit who would one day in the distant future become a master of a discipline.

Humphrey had actually been smiling, not a grin or a twisted lip, but a full-blown smile.  If Brent had not seen it with his own eyes, he would not have believed it possible.  Without a word, Humphrey led them on toward the next exam, while his body language spoke volumes.  Besides the smile, there was a bounce in his step and a prideful angle to his lifted chin.  Group C had apparently done well.  As they reached the next exam, Humphrey shook the hands of each recruit as they passed into the room.  When Humphrey took Brent’s hand, he held it for a moment and leaned close to Brent.

“Thanks for making that pompous windbag eat some crow,” Humphrey mumbled happily.  “I’ve never seen the old skeleton more rattled.  I’ve waited
years
to see that bag of bones meet his match.”

Brent nodded in acceptance of the praise and entered.  Once in the room, the recruits found themselves alone.  No doubt an instructor was waiting in the wings to test them, or perhaps punish them for what Humphrey had just praised them for.  However, without the instructor, there was nothing to do but wait for the guillotine to drop.  Without anyone to discourage them, the recruits started conversations.  Most of it was the usual meaningless polite banter one exchanged when nervous.  Hiroko looked bored.  Having slept through the last exam, she didn’t seem to understand why the rest were so anxious.  The door at the far end of the room interrupted the conversations.

As it slowly opened, it unleashed a thunderous roar.  Loud horns played a fanfare that seemed to draw in the recruits.  As they entered the new room, the roar surged like a massive wave over their arrival.  The recruits were in a grand coliseum of old with a massive crowd of spectators dressed in togas and other period pieces.  Stone pillars of marble encircled them with the elaborate banners of empires long dead wafting in the mild breeze.

Brent kicked at the ground, sending a small plume of dust into the air.  The recreation was exact, right down to the dust that covered the ground.  A wall lined the oval area in the center of the coliseum.  It was at least twenty feet tall.  There were only two breaks in the wall, the entrance the recruits had come through and an opening directly opposite it.  Above the wall were hundreds of stone rows holding uncountable spectators, each one eager for the coming show.  Brent eyed the opposing opening and worried about what part the recruits would play in that show.

The recruits were awe struck, slowly spinning in place, trying to take it all in.  Brent followed the rows of cheering, toga-wearing observers with his eyes until he found a break at the far end of the coliseum directly above the far opening.  Walking slowly, he approached the empty area.  An overhanging gallery housed one overly-lavish chair in its center.  Cushioned with expensive looking pillows and encrusted with jewels, the throne was obviously meant for someone of great importance.  From the shadows behind the throne, a woman dressed in the formal garb of the academy stepped out into the sunlight.

She was so out of place with the rest of the theme that Brent had to rub his eyes to make sure he was really seeing her.  She was tall, and unlike the sun reddened faces of the spectators, was quite pale.  Her eyes were deep and dark.  They peered into him like those of a serpent.  Despite the strong dichotomy between the instructor and her surroundings, her composure gave him the feeling that she truly belonged here.  The instructor resembled an empress gliding to her throne, Cleopatra reborn in the wrong era.

She perched on her throne like a majestic eagle, a pose too rigid to be truly comfortable.  As her gaze swept over the coliseum, a sneer developed on her regal face.  The instructor locked her gaze on Brent.  A chill trickled down his spine.  He imagined he was feeling what a gazelle felt when it was stared down by a lion.  With their eyes locked, Brent felt alone and wondered where the other recruits were, hoping for one of them to distract the instructor and avert her gaze.  He dared not avert his own gaze.  Like the gazelle, he knew the instant he took his eyes off the predator the true battle would begin, and he would have already lost.

“I see one of you keeps his eyes on the prize.”  The instructor spoke with the monotone of a bored aristocrat.  “Unmoved by the unimportant, he charges forward.  Let’s just see if he reaches the finish line or charges right off a cliff.”

As she released her gaze on him, Brent took a deep breath.  It felt like he had been holding his breath for hours.  Following the instructor’s displeased gaze, he discovered he was alone, several feet from the rest of the recruits.  They were completely oblivious to his minor altercation, their attention still fixed on the crowd and pillars.

“It’s quite rude to keep a lady waiting,” the instructor shouted at the recruits with clear annoyance.  “I’d be just as happy to write you all off as hopeless, a group of lollygaggers too interested in archeology.  But that would be depriving myself of a show, and I doubt this young man would let me down in that regard.”

The instructor eyed Brent with a smirk tugging at her lip.  Erin grabbed the collars of several recruits and dragged them toward the instructor, muttering insults at them as they progressed.  Dante tapped Owen and Hiroko’s shoulders.  The trio walked toward Brent while their gazes continued to sweep over the restless crowd.  The rest of the recruits followed closely behind, still absentmindedly engrossed in the environment.

“Welcome to your next exam,” the instructor started, not waiting for the recruits.  “Here you will be put to the
true
test.  On this field of battle you will meet your greatest foe.  Most of you will fail miserably, but do try to put on a decent show.  The normal exam is so boring, but thanks to Bloom I’ve been able to create this masterpiece.  Now, as recruits you were no doubt woefully ignorant of the three principles of the academy.  Well, allow me to demonstrate the first!”

“The first principle of the academy?” Owen asked, clueless.

“Power is power, regardless of source!” Erin shouted proudly.

“Quite right!  Power is power,” repeated the instructor.  “It doesn’t matter if that power comes from technology, muscles, intellect, or
any
other source.  As long as you can match your opponent’s power, you can hold them at bay, and if you can surpass them, then victory is only a matter of time.  Up until this point you have been pitting one form against another form.  You’ve used cunning against scanners.  You’ve pressed ahead under the power of perseverance against the strength of a hostile world.  Now, we will pit your strength against an equal source of power, a
true
test of your abilities.”  The instructor’s voice rang with pride.

As the instructor continued her speech, Brent noticed that below her two columns of troopers silently entered the arena.  They were dressed in uniforms identical to the recruits.  The two columns moved in formation and created two perfect rows.  As he studied the newcomers, he was shocked to find Hiroko standing among their ranks.  Swiveling, he searched the recruits around him until he found Hiroko. She was still standing next to Dante and Owen.  The three were standing right behind him, still listening to the instructor, completely unaware of his alarm.

Slowly returning to the two new rows, Brent shuddered as he started to recognize more and more of them.  As he inspected the “recruits” he found them all to be mirror images of the real recruits standing with him.  Counting them, he found their number to be nineteen.  A sudden feeling of nausea swept over him as understanding came to his mind.

“Are we boring you?”  The instructor raised her voice at Brent.  “You really should show more respect for your superiors.”

The real recruits were startled by the instructor’s sudden self-interruption.  Freed from the instructor’s lecture, the recruits noticed the two rows standing opposite them.  Brent could hear the gasps as the recruits realized the two rows were filled with doppelgangers.

“You are one short.  Am I that difficult to copy?”  Brent asked calmly.

“Please, you are nothing more than a worker ant, insignificant and easily replaceable.”  The instructor seemed unconcerned as she lowered her volume while her eyes raged silently.  “Sadly, you failed to receive treatment from Medical after the mishap in the mess hall, a clerical oversight I’m told.  You’d be at a disadvantage.”

“And how would that be new to me?” Brent asked.  “I’ve been through three exams and have yet to see a fair fight.”

Unexpectedly, the instructor burst into laughter.  It was a high-pitched affair that grated on the ears.  As the cackling continued, a new figure emerged from the shadows below her.  It was an exact duplicate of Brent, although there was a loathsome look on his face that Brent wasn’t sure he could mirror.

“So be it; you’ll have your opponent.  Just remember you brought this down upon yourself.  You may have another exam after this and many more tests in the future, but years from now you will all remember mine as the defining moment in your military careers.  For today you will face an enemy who has all your strength and skills, a
true
test of your abilities.”

The instructor paused to let it sink in.  When a few recruits started to show the first signs of being overwhelmed, a thin smile pulled at her regal appearance.

“This is singles combat, so don’t even think of ganging up.  I won’t have you insects swarming.  If I catch even a single punch joining into another’s fight, you will fail instantly, no exceptions.  And don’t expect me to let you off easily.  The only road to victory lies with your foe defeated.  There is no time limit, no score, no gold stars for effort.  You have five minutes.  After that, my doubles will launch their attack.  I suggest you use your last minutes well.”  The instructor’s lips curled into a wicked grin.

Content with her speech, the instructor seemed to relax a bit.  The crowd in the stone rows ate it up, cheering wildly in anticipation.  The recruits quickly spaced themselves out, making sure there was enough room between them to avoid the risk of running into another recruit and failing instantly.  The crowd grew hushed as the recruits finished their spreading and the doubles mirrored the group’s movements.

Brent ignored his double and scanned for his friends.  Dante was the closest, tense and ready for a fight.  His back would be to Dante when he faced his double.  He’d have to get his double to change position if he was going to keep an eye on Dante.  Hiroko was farther off to his right as he faced Dante.  Her face was contorted with worry as her hands fidgeted nervously.  Owen was the farthest off, in the extreme edge of the group opposite Brent.  Owen was a few paces away from Hiroko and was watching her nervous movements intently.  The rest of the recruits were flexing their muscles or tensing up, each preparing for the worst.  Returning to face his double, Brent found Erin standing to his right at quite a distance, her face locked on her double with complete focus.  The world could end and she wouldn’t realize it as long as her double was still standing.  Returning his gaze to his double, he readied for the brawl.

The initial rush was uniform; all twenty doubles charged as one, but as they closed, the individual speeds staggered them.  They were mirrors of the recruits, right down to the way they walked and ran.  The mass rushed past him and the sounds of combat filled the arena.  The crowd in the coliseum roared as the battle began.  Brent’s own double wasted no time, his first punch already flying as they closed to mêlée range.

Using his right arm, Brent deflected the first blow.  His double staggered back, apparently not expecting him to fight defensively.  As the double recovered, he parried around so he could see the rest of the recruits and his friends.  The double launched another attack, and Brent once more deflected the blow.  The double alternated between punches and quick dodges.  He remembered trying to use those same dodges against Reggie back in the mess hall.  Dodging the blows of his double or managing to deflect them was tricky but manageable.  As the double swung and missed, Brent backed off a step.  While his double struggled to regain balance, Brent cupped his fists and brought them both down on the unprepared shoulders.  The double staggered away with the wind knocked out of him.

Momentarily free of the assault, Brent scanned the battlefield.  As the crowd above cheered them on, the recruits battled in hand-to-hand combat, neither recruits nor doubles able to land serious blows against the mirror defenses.  Dante and his double were locked with their hands locked on each other’s shoulders, a stalemate.  Owen was holding his own, moving around quicker than Brent had believed him possible of.  Owen and his double were throwing punch after punch, but each was quickly avoided.  It seemed to be more of a dance than a fight.  Hiroko was not far off but not doing as well.  Instead of constantly throwing punches, the two Hirokos played a game of cat and mouse, randomly exchanging kicks while skirting around one another.  Hiroko’s movements were slower than her double’s, and she barely managed to avoid half the blows.  He wondered if the sedatives from the last exam were still affecting her.

He had been paying too much attention to the recruits to notice his double charging him until the double slammed into his right side, sending the two flying.  The two crashed into the dirt floor of the coliseum and slid for several feet before Brent managed to kick off his attacker.  He struggled to stand, his side throbbing with pain.  His double was already on his feet and was charging again.  He wondered how exact this double really was.  Was it really possible for him to be this tenacious?  The double never seemed to tire no matter what it did.  Brent quickly looked around.  Recruits and doubles were still trading blows and misses.  The recruits were starting to pant, but their doubles continued on mercilessly.  These things were not just doubles; they were something more.