Callum took the elevator down one floor and then got off and took the stairs down. They served as a good warmup. Callum had started running to the facility where they had trained. It was closer to Bel's than his own home but still a good distance away.
About a month ago, Callum had noticed he was going a little soft in the middle. Yemoramato had noticed it, too, and given him a lecture on proper diet and exercise. Callum had never heard of such things. The limited food and daily grind of the mines had kept his body lean and hard but apparently all of the sweets he was eating were packed with calories and he had been spending more time in front of his screens than doing any physical work. So now he had to pay attention to all of that. It was a pain. Sometimes he missed the simplicity of his slave life. Then he would encounter some new miracle aboard the Shimayasumota and wonder what in the world he was thinking.
The conditions on the ship were always kept at a fairly pleasant temperature for the fies' predilection toward light and revealing clothing so Callum was always drenched in sweat by the time he arrived at the training facility. Luckily, there were never very many people around to see him. The new wing that Yemoramato was assembling had been moved to a private gym in a part of the ship that didn't see much traffic. In fact, the facility had taken a couple of days of hard work just to get back into working order. Callum headed straight for the exercise machine room and spent the next hour working through various training exercises that Yemoramato had shown him. He felt good when he was finished. The welcome pleasant ache he'd been missing since he left the mines.
Callum headed for the showers and then to the locker room. Since it was segregated by sex, Callum only rarely ran into anybody when he was changing. Male fie apparently didn't fight so none of them had been recruited to Yemoramato's ranks. There were a few other human male pilots so it was one of them that Callum expected to see when he heard the door open. It wasn't but he wasn't really surprised to see the woman who walked in either. Something like a 'males only' sign wasn't going to keep Chajin from going wherever she felt like.
Chajin was carcha, tall and whip-thin even for the lean species. She had the same blue-gray skin and ink-black hair that all of them had. Her hair was plaited in a long braid that hung to her hips. Her eyes were large and red and very intense. She had high cheekbones and a very small, straight nose that gave her a striking appearance that wasn't exactly pretty. When she smiled–as she did whenever she caught sight of Callum–her face was downright chilling. She had a wide, thin-lipped mouth full of small, razor-sharp teeth. As always, she was in a white jumpsuit that hugged her body like a second skin. Not that there was too much to see. Carcha didn't have breasts. Callum imagined they suckled on blood when they were young.
The carcha woman sauntered toward him. Her movements were bizarrely boneless. Callum had seen her with a wound across her back so deep he could her spine but the fie had restored her to full health. Callum hadn't known what they planned to do with her so he was as surprised as anyone when she was assigned to be part of Yemoramato's wing. He had mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, she had saved his life on numerous occasions on Ragrun but she'd also almost destroyed his relationship with Valencia. Yet the same manipulation that had almost broken Valencia had given him and Mikan the power they needed to fight. He knew she had done it just for her own entertainment, though, not to help them. She was probably the best pilot he'd ever seen but completely unpredictable. So, he was very worried but saw some reasons for optimism. That put him on the high side of opinions. The fie all hated her, to a woman, and none more so than Yemoramato. If Chajin cared, it didn't show.
"Callum," she said as she closed to him. Her voice was soft and sibilant. For some reason it always made him think of something rotting. She draped herself over him. Luckily, Callum had managed to get his blue jumpsuit on all the way before she did so. "You have no idea what it is to see you. This ship is so boring and that sour-faced Tsyirinsaku insists I stay out of sight and don't startle any of her fie chicks." Apparently that was the agreement for paroling Chajin. She could only be here in the training facility or in her room under armed guard. All of the fie training with Yemoramato had sworn a personal oath to Tsyirinsaku–the closest thing to royalty left among the fie–to keep Chajin's existence a secret. General knowledge of a carcha on the ship might have caused a panic. And there are two…
Callum managed to peel her off him. "Did they give you a chip? Have you tried watching their shows? Most of them don't make much sense but they are entertaining." Callum began to walk toward the assembling area where Yemoramato gave her morning briefing.
"Bah!" Chajin said, walking beside him. "I hate those things. Why would I want to watch when I could do?" She wiggled her long fingers. "It's like being in prison again. I wish I had been awake during the Rukh attack. That would have been something. Fighting against Rukh is always fun." Callum eyed her sideways. Maybe he needed to talk to Tsyirinsaku. He got the feeling that Chajin was going to do something drastic to relieve her boredom soon. But what could we do to entertain her? Callum didn't want to think about it.
Like usual, Callum was among the first to reach the assembling area. There were tables all around and fresh pastries and drinks. Callum picked up a round, glazed thing and a hot drink that was also sweet. Chajin sneered at the pastries–it seemed that carcha did not care for sugar–and picked up the bitterest of the drinks. Callum had tried it once and hadn't been able to finish it. The first time he could ever remember not finishing food or drink. They sat at a table off to the side, by themselves. Most of the fie avoided looking at Chajin, though a few outright glared at her.
They were also a little uncomfortable around Callum. Male fie didn't pilot and the women seemed to find it disconcerting that he did. Callum had also been made a lieutenant, which he'd been told would put him in charge of one of the flights once the wing was formally organized. If a man piloting was strange, taking orders from a man had to be doubly so. Callum wondered if it would even work. Especially since it seemed like Chajin would be his wingmate. Nobody else could keep up with her except for maybe Yemoramato and that wasn't going to happen. A flight is four mechs so if it's me, Chajin and then two more human pilots, that might not be too bad. Maybe. Giving orders still sounds crazy to me.
More and more of the potential pilots began to come in. A wing was made up of thirty-six pilots, broken down into three squadrons of twelve, further broken down into three flights of four. Since most fie mechs had co-pilots, that meant that the wing would eventually be made up of between sixty and seventy pilots. Right now they had about fifty and some of those were hanging on by the skin of their teeth. Yemoramato was both discerning about recruiting and surprisingly ruthless about cutting pilots. At this rate, Callum wasn't sure how they were going to get a full roster. It wasn't like the Shimayasumota had a limitless pool of recruits.
With the incoming stream came Valencia. She was in a blue jumpsuit that matched his own. Though not as tight and revealing as the carcha jumpsuits, it still clung to her body tightly, revealing her small breasts and narrow hips. She was also slender and a bit short. She didn't look like much compared to many of the fie, who tended toward voluptuousness but Callum found her incredibly cute. Especially the way her face brightened when she saw him. Her eyes were huge and sky blue and the rest of her features were small and cute. She wore her long, blond hair in two tails as was her custom. Unfortunately, her brilliant smile wilted slightly when she saw that Chajin was next to him. She probably wouldn't ever forgive the carcha.
Valencia hurried over to him and bent down to kiss him. It was a fierce kiss, meant to let him know that she missed him last night without actually verbalizing it. Callum responded with equal fervor. He wouldn't have given up his nights with Bel for anything, of course, but he did miss Valencia, too. He'd tried surreptitiously gauging whether Valencia would want to spend the night with him and Bel–Bel certainly wouldn't mind–but hadn't gotten anywhere with it. He wasn't sure if it was because Valencia was uninterested or didn't know what he was getting at. Valencia sat next to Callum and pushed her chair right up against his. She was always possessive when Chajin was around.
The next person to join them was Mikan's twin brother, Yukimura. Callum had been very surprised the first time he'd shown up to one of these meetings but he had the spark, if not nearly so powerfully as his sister. No matter how many times Callum saw him, he was shocked by how much he looked like Mikan. He had the same liquid brown eyes, soft, delicate features and straight black hair. It didn't help matters that he wore it spilling down past his shoulders, the same way she did. In his pale red jumpsuit, however, it was impossible to miss the fact that he had no breasts and straight, narrow hips. He was a boy, albeit a very small and pretty one.
He sat down across from Callum, not meeting anyone's eyes. He was incredibly shy, another trait he shared with Mikan but whereas Mikan had started to come out of her shell, Yukimura was still firmly ensconced. Callum noticed he hadn't grabbed any food and so did Valencia. She pushed herself up and said, "I'm going to go grab something to eat. Would you like anything, Yuki?"
The boy spluttered in surprise. "I-I-I'm alright. Thank you!" Valencia nodded and went to join the throng around the food. Callum knew she would come back with something for Yukimura.
Alone with Yukimura and Chajin, Callum tried to think of a topic of conversation. Chajin was dead quiet. She seemed barely aware of Yukimura's existence. For whatever reason, she had to time for anybody that wouldn't fight back when she pushed their buttons. Callum's go-to topic was asking after Mikan but he did that nearly everyday and there was rarely anything new. As far as he knew, she was still part of the group Yemoramato was creating but she rarely showed up to training sessions. She was held in awe by most fie pilots because of the Rukh champion that she had killed and it made her very uncomfortable. It didn't help that Mikan was quite a bit more powerful than Yemoramato now. Bel had confided to him that among the fie, power level and leadership tended to go hand in hand.
He was saved by the arrival of Zara, Yukimura's co-pilot. The girl threw herself at Yukimura from behind, nearly toppling them both to the ground with her flying hug. Callum had to smile. It was the same every morning. Zara was a font of inexhaustible energy and as outgoing as Yukimura was withdrawn. In other words, she was the perfect co-pilot for Yukimura, provided she didn't kill him.
They managed to get disentangled after a moment and Yukimura adjusted his jumpsuit despite the fact that there was nothing to adjust. "I wish you wouldn't do that," he muttered. Zara just laughed. She was a short and curvy woman with dark skin and black hair that was usually in a loose, thick braid. Her face was round and plain, always with a smile and she had large, very dark eyes. Like almost every human on Shimayasumota, she was from Ragrun. She had a shockingly large family–a sister and two brothers–but was the only one with the spark. Even in her, it was weak. If Yukimura was disabled, she would be able to keep the mech activated for a quick retreat but wouldn't be able to do much else.
Zara sat down next to Yukimura and immediately began to tell him a story about the antics her "stupid brothers" had gotten up to that morning. Yukimura listened with a long-suffering face. Callum wondered what it was like sharing a cockpit with her. Surface thoughts and strong emotions carried through the PFC liquid. Callum couldn't imagine having Zara's thoughts invading his own. Not if he wanted to concentrate, anyway. The fact that Yukimura was one of the better pilots among the new pilots showed that he was perhaps the perfect partner for Zara as well.
Valencia returned juggling two cups of something hot and two pastries. She set Yukimura's down in front of him and ignored his quiet protests. Eventually he began to consume what she'd brought him. The rest of the fie drifted in until most of the tables in the assembly area were full. At the very last moment, Wu Taka darted in. She was always one of the last to arrive and one of the first to leave. It wasn't because she was lazy–in fact, she was one of the hardest workers among the trainees–but Callum was pretty sure she just hated being around fie. Or maybe all people. She stood at the back of the room, not even deigning to sit down at one of the less full tables.
Callum wished he could do something for her. He owed her for looking after Jella while he and Bel were fighting off the Rukh. But she didn't want help and her opinion of him had nosedived once she realized he was sleeping with two different women. Taka had dark bags under her eyes and her black hair was pulled into a messy ponytail. He didn't know why she always looked so tired but knew it wasn't for any fun reasons. Her father, Wu Jingsi, had made it very clear she was a virgin and Taka seemed to instinctively recoil at anything concerning sex. Unfortunately for her, that meant she would never be the pilot she wanted to be. Her inborn ether was just enough to activate a mech but not enough to be a primary pilot. And the only way she could gain power as a human was through sex.
Once everyone had gotten their snacks and were seated, Yemoramato strode into the room. She always did it with such accuracy that Callum knew she was watching and waiting. He bet that she had cursed out lingerers at the snack table more than once. The Wing Commander was a gorgeous woman. She was of average height, busty and clean-limbed. Her skin was pink and she had glossy, aquamarine hair that fell past her shoulders. Her eyes were blue and gold and were almost always smoldering. Her face was beautiful but usually marred by a sneer or scowl.
Like many fie, her jumpsuit–a blue close to the color of her hair–was modified to show extra skin but Yemoramato took it to the extreme. She'd cut off the arms and legs completely. The bottom was cut so high, he could see the sides of her ass and the neck was cut so deeply that about most of her chest and back was on display. She had modified the cut-off arms and legs into elbow-high gloves and thigh-high boots. Callum had never been able to understand why she dressed so proactively when it seemed like she would cut the throat of any man or woman who dared to approach her.
Yemoramato stepped up onto a raised platform and said, "Good morning, recruits!" She had a good voice for issuing commands since she could speak very loudly without becoming shrill. "We have three new soldiers joining our ranks today. Hopefully, they will not turn out to be complete wastes of space!" Her tone said she doubted it. Yemoramato introduced them one at a time. The first two were fie women that seemed average enough. Callum didn't try to commit their names to memory. He had a hard time with fie names so didn't bother before he knew it would be necessary.
So he was barely listening when Yemoramato said, "And the last is a human with a decent amount of piloting experience, Nita Kay." Yukimura sat up straight and Valencia gasped, "Oh my God!" It took a moment for the significance of what he had heard to penetrate and then Callum leaped right out of his seat.
Nita Kay had been something like the sheriff of Ragrun and the coolest person he had ever met. She had been a bounty hunter before being exiled to Ragrun and that experience had made her into the de facto leader of their rebellion on from the slave moon. During the final fight against the carcha, she had almost died saving Mikan's life. Her right arm had been completely severed and the right side of her face heavily damaged. Callum had known the fie were treating her but he hadn't even known she was conscious yet, much less well enough to begin training with them.
Nita walked in and then stopped short. The expression in her face said she really didn't appreciate the attention she was getting. Callum stared at her anyway. She was tall for a woman and well-proportioned. Callum could see no hint of the injuries that had one marred her pretty face. Even her ear had been restored. She had bright green eyes and scarlet hair, pinned up, that had to be artificial given her dark skin. Her tan jumpsuit had been tailored to be sleeveless, which showed off the tattoo on her right arm: a scantily-clad pirate woman reeling in a great white shark from the bow of her ship, with dark blue waves covering the rest. It also showed off her left arm, which, while sculpted to look the same as her natural arm, was entirely black metal.
Valencia sprinted across the room and threw herself into Nita's arms. Luckily the older woman was both bigger and stronger than Valencia. Callum noted that her false arm moved just as quickly and naturally as her real one. He followed Valencia more slowly. He wanted to hug Nita just as badly but there were complications now. He and Nita had fooled around quite a bit before the final battle on Ragrun. Valencia knew that and didn't seem to be holding a grudge…but he was still unsure of how to proceed. Valencia erased that by frantically waving him to join their hug. He embraced them both. "God, this is fucking embarrassing," Nita muttered, with a smile to remove any sting.
"How are you?" Callum asked, stepping back. "I can't believe you're already up and around." He searched her face and did find traces of the repaired damage. There weren't any scars but her right eye was just slightly lighter than her left and her right ear had been rebuilt without any of the myriad piercings her original ear had had.
Nita lifted her mechanical arm and touched her ear, evidently knowing what he was looking at. She flinched away from the touch. "Yeah. The fie know what they're doing. My vision and hearing are better than ever."
"Why is your arm all metal when your face looks the same?" Valencia asked.
"Isn't it cool?" Nita asked, lifting it up and rotating it. "I always wanted a cyborg arm when I was kid. It's a little tough to get used to how cold and hard it is but I'll be nastier in a brawl for sure." She laughed and Callum smiled. Valencia didn't.
Yemoramato clapped her hands loudly and said, "I understand you're happy to see your friend alive and well again but you are interrupting the briefing." She gave them all a stern look, which from her was the equivalent of fondness.
"Sorry," Callum said, holding up his hands. He led the two women back to their table and they all sat down. Yukimura's eyes were as big as saucers and Zara looked like she was about to explode from holding in her questions. Several increasingly nasty upbraidings from Yemoramato had taught her how to hold her tongue, however.
The briefing continued and it eventually turned out they were going to be running exercises as flights for the first time. As he expected–and feared–Callum was put in charge of one of the training flights. He didn't have any fie to worry about though. Chajin was assigned to be his wingmate and Yumimura and Zara were paired with Nita, who was flying alone. The training was tedious stuff. All proper procedure and formation flying. Callum put up with it, especially since it was Valencia doing most of the flying. Yemoramato had explained to him how important it was for the weaker fie to to have all this procedure and formation. They drew confidence from not having to make decisions without guidance. It was bizarre to Callum but he knew it was important. Unlike humans–whose power level was what it was–fies' fluctuated based on their self-confidence. Some of the weaker fie might altogether lose the ability to power their mechs in the middle of a fight if they panicked.
After a grueling six hours, they returned to the training facility and Yemoramato dismissed them. Callum knew he and everyone else would be receiving messages critiquing their performance later in the day. Yemoramato really did work incredibly hard so Callum always took the time to read his and tried to apply her advice. Valencia was…less generous.
"Wow," Nita said. "That sucked. Is that what you guys do everyday?"
"Well, that was worse than usual," Callum said, "but, yeah, pretty much."
"At least she's letting us actually use our mechs now," Valencia muttered. Callum nodded but he was so sure. He kind of missed the days when Yemoramato trained him and Mikan how to fight personally. She was too busy now. He trained with a different hand-to-hand specialist now who was very good and professional. But it lacked a certain…something.
Nita blew out a breath. "I knew Yemoramato would be a hardass as a commander but I didn't think she'd be such a stickler. On Ragrun, she seemed to have more of a freewheeling style of tactics."
Chajin, stalking up behind them, hissed. "These fie are fools. They design their tactics around the weakest among them, shackling the truly talented. No wonder they went down with a whimper against the carcha."
All of them glanced at her and then glanced away quickly. It was rare to see any emotion coming from Chajin other than detached amusement or weirdly intense joy. An angry Chajin was uncomfortable. Callum hoped she didn't bite someone's head off. Maybe literally. Quickly changing the subject, Callum said, "Have you seen Mikan yet? I know how desperate she was for you to be okay."
Nita nodded, slightly pensively. "Yeah…about that. I've seen Mikan a few times now. She came and visited me a few times after I'd been pulled out of the tank. I was pretty surprised at how shocked you two were to see me. I would have thought she'd have said something. I also thought she would be here today."
That knocked Callum for a loop. Mikan knew? Things were strained between them but he hadn't imagined they were so far gone that Mikan wouldn't even have told him that Nita was conscious. He glanced at Yukimura, who was studying his toes. "Things are…a little awkward with Mikan right now."