I closed my mouth and counted to ten. "Hold on. Dr. Hill set you up for this, didn't she?"
Mia didn't reply immediately. I held her by the shoulders. "Mia. I know you won't lie to me. Did Dr. Hill make you do this?"
Mia took a deep breath, then stepped backwards, breaking our embrace. "This was my most difficult assignment," she said in a small voice.
"What? She made you do this?" Fucking hell. I was ready to storm out of there and give Dr. Hill a piece of my mind.
"It's not like that!" Mia caught my arm as I stepped away, then hooked her leg around mine. Anyone else would have tripped, but I twisted and rolled behind Mia, trapping her in a headlock. I immediately let go.
"Sorry, reflexes," I muttered.
"Same," Mia said.
Koopie and Zoe were sitting quietly on the ground, staring at each other. Zoe reached over and patted the turtle's shell. It snapped at her slowly. I think she likes me. The turtle, that is.
"Dr. Hill gave me a choice," Mia said.
I shook my head. "Yeah, I know how that works. Mandatory volunteers, right?"
"It's our duty." Mia reached for my hand again.
I pulled my hand away. "Duty? Christ, Mia. Don't you care about what you want?"
"Maybe I do want this. But it doesn't matter. Duty comes first."
"Mia, it does matter. Besides. I don't know how much Dr. Hill told you, but we're not getting the full story."
"No one does, Dustin. It's why we follow the chain of command. Like Drake told Julie."
I raised an eyebrow. "You don't approve of Julie, do you?"
Mia pursed her lips. "Julie is a warrior, willing to do what's necessary. We disagree on exactly what's necessary, though."
"I'm sorry, Mia, I can't go through with this like that."
Zoe made a noise and got up to leave. I looked up at the walls hiding the cameras. Dr. Hill was probably watching. Well, the show was over.
I moved towards the exit again. "Thanks for sparring, Mia. I really appreciate it and would love to do it again. Just none of Dr. Hill's bullshit."
As I reached the door, Mia raced up to me. "There's one thing I do want," she said.
I turned around in confusion. She grabbed my face and kissed me on the nose. By the time I regained my senses, Mia had dashed past me with her turtle, giggling in a very un-Mia-like way.
I watched her long hair swaying as she ran down the hall.
Zoe meowed. Who said turtles are slow?
CHAPTER 9
I headed back to my room. The inspection was over, but they had taken away my computer without replacing it. Without much to do, I grabbed an early dinner by myself then headed back to my room. I could have trained more after dinner, but I hadn't lived a life of hard discipline like Mia or some of the others. I needed a break.
I typed a message on the command console to the quartermaster, requesting a new computer. Meanwhile, I beckoned to Zoe.
Hey, Zoe. I want to watch a movie.
Of course. Which girl?
No, not like that. You're always watching stuff on my computer while I sleep. Anything interesting to play back for me?
Yeah, I was asking my alien princess cat to serve as a home recording device. I mean, she knew everything I did. Everything. It's not like I would be shy about asking for what I wanted.
It turned out that Zoe had spent most of her online time watching romantic comedies. Ugh. Zoe streamed some modern Cinderella story to me in bed until I fell asleep.
The next day, we were back in the main training room with Drake. He was scowling. His eyes skipped across the others until they landed on me. His scowl deepened.
What did I do?
I'm not sure, either.
Julie leaned in to whisper. "Looks like he's got the hots for you today."
"Yeah, fuck you, too," I whispered back.
"Hunter!" Drake shouted.
Julie snickered. Someone else giggled.
"Yes, sir?" I ventured.
"You've had experience with a bond disruption, correct?" Drake asked.
"Bond disruption?"
"When your Avatar was quarantined."
When Hill caught you by the balls.
Gee, thanks. I appreciate the reminder.
I nodded. "For a brief time, yes."
"Can you explain to the others what it was like?"
I thought back to the time. "It was…lonely? I felt like I lost a limb. I was powerless."
"Why's that?" Drake asked.
"Uh, because Zoe's always by my side. With her around, I can take on any ordinary threat."
"Precisely. Come here, Hunter."
I stepped forward cautiously. "Sir?"
"Hit me, Hunter."
"Excuse me?"
"Do I have to repeat myself? Hit me."
I looked at the girls, then shrugged. I threw a fist half-heartedly at Drake's stony face. It's not like I wanted to hurt him for real. The older black man caught my fist in his palm. He squeezed my fist tightly until I grimaced in pain. He let go, and I rubbed my sore knuckles.
"Hunter, you punch like a girl," Drake said. "Kim!"
I immediately regretted that I hadn't socked him when I had the chance.
Mia stepped forward. "Sir!"
"Punch me."
Mia feinted a jab at Drake's head, then delivered a flurry of three rapid punches in a row. Drake blocked each strike with his arms. Mia threw an elbow at his face, then tried to stomp his leading foot. Drake dodged the attacks and countered with a furious blow to Mia's midsection. The loud thump of the impact echoed across the training room. Mia doubled over but didn't make a sound. I winced in sympathy.
Don't worry. She has her Armored Defense ability.
"I said to punch me," Drake drawled. "Punches use hands."
Mia nodded in apology, then stepped away.
"The problem with most of you," Drake said, "is that this—"
Drake melded. "—is what you think a Beastmaster is," he growled.
"But isn't that true?" Claire asked. "It's what makes us special."
Drake unmelded. "What happens if you can't meld anymore? Like what happened to Hunter here. Or worse. What if your Avatar dies?"
"Isn't that irrelevant?" Stella asked. "Our value as a military asset would be over."
It was harsh but true. I didn't doubt that the upper brass would see it that way.
"She's right," Kayla said.
"Is she?" Drake asked. "You of all people should know better, Fisher."
Kayla's face grew dark red.
"Yes," Drake said. "Staccato."
Wow. He really is an asshole.
But he's right.
"Staccato lost his Avatar, as you all know. Powerless. Helpless. Or was he? He still managed to fuck us all over."
"Staccato was a traitor," Julie called out.
"Damn right!" Drake shot back. "But before that, he was the best of us. No one, no one should be surprised that he fucked us over." Drake shook his head. "Imagine if he had used that grit and determination to fuck over the enemy instead."
We were quiet. I didn't know how to respond to that.
"What do you think a Beastmaster is?" Drake asked. "A master of what?"
"His beast?" Nikki tried.
Drake ignored her. "What? Tell me!"
"Melding. Battle tactics," Julie said.
"Master of what!" Drake shouted.
"Teamwork," Claire said.
"Herself," Mia said.
Drake pointed at her. "Exactly. A Beastmaster is a master of himself. Your goal is physical and mental perfection. All the time, not only when you're melded." Drake thumped his chest.
Julie looked over at us and rolled her eyes.
"What you do without your Avatar is as important as what you do with it," Drake said. "Keep that in mind. Now, the fun part."
We groaned.
"Pair up!" Drake shouted.
I sighed and walked over to Drake as usual, but he shook his head. "You sit out the first round."
"Will there be needles?" Claire asked nervously.