**7th of June 2055, Dover, Southern Shore of UCN Stronghold 11**
Casper seated himself at his desk in his room and flicked on the lamp. He took the 'Lobster' out of his bag and set it on the table. Harrison's name seemed ridiculous to Casper, but his own suggestion was difficult to pronounce. Besides, he felt a debt to Harrison for all his support over the years.
Aside from Johan, the bald Major was one of the few people he felt he could speak to with any degree of sincerity. Not that it ever occurred to him to say it out loud, but Harrison was a safe space where he could discuss his passions without being hounded for unconformity.
Casper readied his tools and opened his notebook to review Harrison's criticisms of his design before settling into work.
-----
Johan mulled to himself on the walk home; he knew his brother wouldn't take this well, and he felt too exhausted to play therapist all evening. Though he wondered what Casper could have done to elicit an almost violent rage in the otherwise placid Harrison. Between the Major, the Colonel and the impending exam, Johan's stomach rocked with stress.
Being outside helped. The walk home, however, ended far too soon and the balm it provided slid away, swallowed by Johan's dread.
The warmth of his home sickened him all the more as he ascended the stairs and knocked on his brother's door.
No answer.
Johan hesitated for a moment before pressing the handle and going inside.
Casper was gently bobbing up and down in his seat with his headphones on, quietly scatting to himself as he drew plans on paper.
"Cass?" asked Johan
Still no response.
Johan walked up behind him and placed a hand on Casper's shoulder.
Casper leapt up and threw off his headphones in surprise.
"The hell is wrong with you!?" he asked.
"I um-"
"Learn to bloody knock! God's sake," said Casper, pushing his brother's shoulder out of annoyance.
Johan gritted his teeth.
"I did. You had your headphones on, you muppet"
"Oh... what do you want?" Casper's irate expression returned to one of blankness.
"I need to ask you about what happened with Harrison. He seems pissed"
"What?"
"What happened with Harrison?" replied Johan, leaving exaggerated pauses between each word.
"Oh, just the usual. He loved my project, though. Why is he upset?"
"Because of you," said Johan, as if it were blatant.
"What did I do?" defended Casper.
"You tell me. He came into the debrief and gave me hell in front of the other cadets. Said you were a mental case, he wouldn't help you anymore and if you aren't in first thing tomorrow, he'd have you expelled."
"W-what?" whimpered Casper.
"Just tell me what happened," said Johan. He was doing his best to be patient with his brother.
"I-I don't know. I don't know.". The boy's lip was quivering. He looked at Johan for reassurance and Johan relented.
"Look, whatever it is, I'm sure we can sort it out tomorrow morning."
"Mm-hmm." Casper was fighting the urge to cry
"We'll get in early and sort this all out"
Casper started nodding and pacing the length of his room. The repetition soothed him.
Johan's phone started ringing. He took it out of his pocket and checked the name; Emily.
"Shit," mumbled Johan. He answered the phone.
"Hey Em, I'm a bit busy at the moment"
"Oh... I thought we were going to prep for the physical."
"I know but Casper is -"
"Bring him along. I doubt he'll get away with skipping tomorrow after, well, you know."
"Mmm..." Johan watched his brother take anxious laps around the room. "I don't know if that's a good idea, Em."
"Please, Johan. I really need your help. Casper probably does as well"
"Fine. Just give me a minute, okay?"
"You're the best! Thank you!"
Johan hung up the phone, looked at Casper, and took a deep breath.
"Cass... there's something else."
Casper froze, looked at his brother, started biting his nails.
"Look, someone told me there was going to be a physical this week. And I know you won't want to, but I think we should get some practice in before tomorrow."
Much to Johan's surprise, Casper gave him a nod.
"Y-you're probably right," he said
"Yeah. I was going to do some combat training with Emily later, anyway."
"The blonde girl?"
"Yeah"
"Okay. That's okay," said Casper, trying to reassure himself.
"how about we go to the meadow?"
"Sure. That's okay. That's okay"
"Right then, I'll text her. You might want to wear your uniform"
"Doesn't fit me anymore"
"You can borrow one of mine. Just make sure to put your own patches on it."
"Okay. That's Okay."
-----
Emily stood in the field, staring at her phone, rereading Johan's messages. She was sure she had the directions correctly, but almost twenty minutes had passed since the time Johan said they would meet. Her hair was still up from NTC and she wore a tracksuit.
She saw two boys rustle through the treeline into the clearing. She put her phone away and walked towards them.
"Sorry we're late," said Johan
"You better be. So whose ass am I kicking first?" Emily bobbed side to side and rolled her fists like a cartoon.
Casper barely acknowledged Emily. He was too busy fidgeting in his brother's uncomfortable uniform.
"Me, I guess," replied Johan.
Emily stopped her charade. "So what? you want me to just attack you."
"Yeah, when you're ready"
"Alright." She took a proper boxing stance now. Her hands were at her forehead, relaxed, and she bounced her lead leg rhythmically.
Johan didn't alter his stance. He looked Emily up and down, then waited.
Emily stepped in and threw a lead jab to Johan's chin with her right hand. Johan leaned back, evading the blow with little effort.
"Don't feel the need to hold back," he said
"You're confident," she smirked.
"I'm not about to injure you before the exam," he goaded.
Emily threw another lead jab, quicker this time but less powerful. Johan realised she wasn't trying to hurt him yet. She was gauging the range.
Emily readied a third jab, feinted and launched her back leg forward in a low arc, aiming for Johan's right knee.
Johan checked the kick with his shin and stepped forward in one fluid motion. He fired his left hand at Emily's face with an open palm.
Emily closed her guard to block. Johan grabbed her left arm with his and yanked it down.
Before Emily could react to what he'd done, she felt a white-hot impact on the side of her face. She stumbled backwards as her ear rang. Johan had slapped her clean across the face. The sound caught Casper's attention, putting a brief stop to his squirming.
"You're too easy to read," he stated.
Emily lunged at him, throwing a flurry of straight punches. Weaved back from the jabs and shoved her shoulders with perfect timing, such that her cross punches broke limply before his face.
Johan kept this up for almost a minute with minimal effort. Casper wandered around, staring at the sky and adjusting his collar.
"Outboxing me will never work. Your arms are too short."
Emily was slowing. It was tiring to throw an endless volley of punches and even more so to miss them. It frustrated her.
She tried to close the distance but found herself walking into a powerful body shot. She swore she could feel her organs move with the impact.
Emily doubled back, the pain radiated through her body and made it heavy.
"You telegraphed," said Johan, acting bored.
Emily panted, but she wasn't ready to give up yet. She tried different punches and kicks, but they all landed short. Johan would evade or neutralise the attack with a well-timed push kick.
"Not good enough," he said
Emily Swung a heavy right roundhouse kick to his side, Johan stepped with it and wrapped his arm under her ankle, holding her leg against his body.
Emily hooked her foot against his back and bent her knee to pull him closer. Johan clasped his remaining hand on the left side of her neck, pushed, and swept her other foot. Emily tumbled to the ground in a pile.
"Yeah... needs work," he said.
Emily rolled onto her back and starfished in the grass
"Urgh... I'm so screwed," she said.
"I don't know. Your form is good."
"Oh, come on. You weren't even trying," she sighed.
"I'm serious! Your strategy is awful, though."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, for starters, you're short and easy to anger"
"Um, excuse me?" Her face, already flushed from the fight, turned red.
"You keep trying to outbox me, even though my arms are longer than yours. If you try to attack me from the edge of your full range, I'll just out-reach you and smack you in the face."
"But when I tried to close the distance, you walloped me in the stomach. Which, by the way, was a dick move."
"You weren't guarding properly. Then you lost your cool and punched yourself out before switching it up. So, by that point, you were moving slowly and weren't protecting yourself. It was easy: like punching a small child."
"What?"
"I don't know. I stuck for a metaphor. The point is next time you're fighting someone taller than you, and let's be honest, that is pretty much everyone... "
She pouted
"... stay low and rush in early and use your incredible shortness to your advantage. Just watch out for kicks when you approach."
"Okay, thanks."
"Take a break. I'm gonna herd Casper back over here and run some basics with him," He started walking toward Casper, who had sat on the far side of the meadow watching a tree.
"Johan," she said
"Yeah?"
"You know I'm like five foot four, right? It's not even that short"
"Whatever you say, tiny". He said, walking away to get Casper and ignoring whatever insults Emily shouted back.