Daughter of Nox

Chapter Twenty-Eight

"You've got to eat something," Etta said through a bite of the protein supplement bar she'd snagged from the chow hall. "You're going to fizzle out halfway through your fight if you don't get some food in your stomach."

"Putting food in my stomach will just give me something to throw up," Freya said. "I already feel horrible, and smelling like puke isn't going to help."

It was true. Her body had felt like one enormous, anxious nerve from the moment she woke-up.

"Just one bite." Etta waved what was left of the bar in front of Freya. "I promise that you'll feel better."

Freya caught a whiff of the pepper and vinegar flavoring and nearly gagged. "Oh stars, that smells disgusting." She shoved the bar away with one hand and used the other to cover her mouth. "How can you eat that?"

"Because this mortal body needs sustenance to sustain me in combat, as does yours," Etta said before tearing off another hunk with her teeth. "Also, because it's delicious."

"It smells like a cross between rotting flesh and the beach at low tide."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Etta said as she scanned them into the Combatives gym. "Just imagine how my first challenger is going to feel when I breathe in their face."

Freya opened her mouth to speak, but the scene in the gym stole her words. The usual hundred or so people at Combatives had swelled to at least twice that. Novices and Academy cadre milled about the gym, their collective voices making the place swell with sound. Even a handful of Caretakers stood at intervals around the building's walls, their black armor gleaming like polished obsidian.

"Flaming hell," Etta said from beside her. "No one told me they were inviting the entire Ministry for this thing." She gestured at the nearest Caretaker. "And why are they here?"

"My guess is guard duty." Freya pointed to a row of cargo containers marked with the logo of Alter Corporation. "How much do you want to bet there are combat Esque inside those crates?"

Etta's face blanched white as a star's core. "Did I miss the wave where they said we're starting another F.O.X. sim?"

"If you did, then so did I," Freya said. "Maybe they'll explain what's going on once things get started."

As though on cue, the familiar holo with names and sparring sites popped into life in the air. Freya scanned the names until she found her own. Her stomach slithered into her chest as she spotted the matching sparring site beside Pavo's name.

"I guess I'll see you after the first round," Freya said, swallowing against the gulch in her throat. "Wish me luck."

"Why would I do that?" Etta reached out and gave Freya's hand a squeeze. "You don't need luck."

Freya squeezed back before letting go and heading toward her sparring site.

A woman dressed in the flight suit of Academy cadre stood at the sparring site as Freya approached. Her eyes were fastened to a datapad in her hands, but she looked up when she noticed Freya.

"Novice Airm?"

Freya managed a weak smile and nodded. "That's me."

The woman gave sharp nod that was all business. "Thank you for arriving early, Novice." The woman gestured to one side of the sparring site. "My name is Corporal Refsing, and I'll be officiating your match today. You may wait in your corner until your opponent arrives, after which we will discuss my expectations for this match."

Freya did as she was told, though she quickly discovered that she far preferred walking to standing still. At least walking gave her something to do with her hands.