Qil

Part IV

Qin

Three sparred with 12. Three won. Four sparred with 11. Four won. And all the way down the line until only 3 and 4 remained beside me. I was paired with 4, after 3 defeated 5.

Four's name was actually Qad. He wasn't the fastest or the strongest, but he was cunning. We spent a whole minute circling each other on the mat, until Commander Tarq got frustrated and barked at us to get on with it.

Qad ran at me before Commander finished yelling. At the very last moment he dropped, sliding in an attempt to knock my feet from out under me. It was not expected, but I reacted quickly. I jump, but only enough to clear him and then, I immediately drove my fist down on his temple with the full force of my slight frame and gravity.

Qil walked out of the barracks and witnessed my quick dispensing of Qad. For a moment, I thought I saw pride in his face, but when I blinked, it was gone.

Commander immediately called 3 onto the mat. Tara was actually Commander Tarq's niece by marriage. His sister's husband's daughter with his first wife. He hated his brother-in-law and by extension his daughter. But she was also just annoyingly devious and deceitful. He hoped she was the mole so he could dispatch with her.

Tara was fast, strong and cunning. She feinted and punched and kicked and punched and ducked and blocked. Some blows connected and I was able to give as good as I got. She toyed with me. Tara wasn't going for a death blow, though. Apparently, her strategy was to wear me out.

It was a good strategy, considering my sparring matches usually did not take long, whether I was mostly losing over the past four year or winning over the last two days. It was a strong chance that I would not have the endurance to last more than 20 minutes.

Unfortunately for her, my human mother taught me everything I knew about enduring and being resilient. Forty-five minutes in, I think she realized her mistake. She was barely keeping up her guard. I hit her with a light combination and she dropped, more from sheer exhaustion.

Commander declared me the winner for today's sparring session and dismissed us. Qil didn't look pleased. I realized I had been hoping to impress him.

As the rest of the cadets headed into the barracks, I leaned over to catch my breath.

Qil

I didn't like the way the other cadets looked at Qin behind her back, as she was declared the winner. There were sneers and whispers and eye-rolling and chuckles and sideway glances.

As they were all dismissed, I restrained myself. My heart was vibrating, again. I wanted to do violence to them all.

"Qil, did you speak to Lilith," Commander interrupted my dark thoughts.

"I did," I responded, as I turned my focus back to him and the mission. "Are we free to speak?"

"Yes, of course," he waved a dismissive hand at Qin.

"There is trouble on Yukin. A Lyqa that has mostly evaded our surveillance is getting close enough to our facilities to hear state secrets. She is selling them on the block market."

I hadn't finished the word "trouble" before she had straightened and walked away. Instead of heading into the barracks, she walked towards the market.

"What can I do to help?" Commander asked the question loudly so she could hear every word.

I shook my head and said my line at my normal volume, "We need leekin stones to shield the facility."

"Yukin will have them. I will send them out in the next ship," Commander continued to shout, although she was long out of hearing range.