Amongst the Stars

Chapter 14

I followed A1 to a new simulation room for training. It was twice the size of my current bedroom. Considering the other training room was the size of a high school football field, this is tiny. Then again, its not a whole class, just one on one. 

Anthony stood in the center of the pure white room, the default state of simulation rooms, working on a tablet. 

"You're late, but it is the first day. Don't let it happen again, you run 5K every time it does." He stated, never looking up. 

"I believe you are mistaken, this is the exact time combat training starts for all military personal." A1 prides himself-wait, its self on punctuality. I tried to sleep in one day, A1 stole my blanket and became the worlds most annoying alarm until I got out of bed. All because it believed I would 'brush my teeth out of rhythm' if I slept in.

"For other soldiers, yes it does." He looked A1 in the eyes. "Her training starts 15 digits sooner and will end 2 hectors later. She has more to learn at a much faster rate. We haven't even begun on infiltration and combat formations, let alone field code and signals. I have 1 rech to jam all this information into that human skull of hers before we reach Eden. She may be an expert on hand to hand, but can't shoot for the life of her. In fact, since she has been on this ship she hasn't shot a weapon!" Anthony is radiating power and control as he stared down on A1. "1 rech to make her field worthy while that class has 3. If I say she's late, she's late!" A1 never flinched. I could have sworn his eyes flashed red. 

"Understood sir." I get in-between the two. "It won't happen again." I'm trying to diffuse the situation but the vibe they both carried was terrifying. 

"Good." Anthony worked on the tablet for a few seconds more. "And be sure to keep that robot of yours under control."

Great... Not even 5 minutes onto training and Anthony already hates me. 

A1 knew the drill, it went to the corner of the room so we can train without many distractions. Still, A1 never took his eyes off of Anthony. I'll have to talk to him later but... Is it possible for a robot to get mad?

The room changed to a forest. Anthony and I stood in a dirt clearing. 

"Catch." he tossed a sheathed knife at me. It was a combat knife and unlike the fake I had used in my previous class, this one was real. What does he expect me to do with this?

"Don't look so freaked out. I'm going to assume you did some research on me? On my species at least?" He asked, rhetorically of course. 

I was too shocked  by the real weapon I only nodded my head.

"I want to see how you fight with a real weapon. See how skilled you are first hand." He explained. "Obviously no head shots and I will be fine. Be sure not to hold back, this will set the pace of your training."  

Is he insane?! This is a real weapon! Alien or not I can still kill him.

"Ready when you are." He said annoyed.

Deep breath through the nose: 1-2-3-4. Hold: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7. Out through mouth: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8. I repeat this process 2 more times before I attack him. 

Round after round, simulation after simulation, Anthony handed me my ass. There was a few close calls, but I couldn't use the knife on him. I hesitated, that's when he would get the upper hand. For 5 hours this happened. 

"Will you get out of your head? You had me, just use the damn knife already." He kept scolding me. "If you fight like this, you'll die on your first mission. You can't even protect yourself, how do you expect to have your teams back!"