Incipience

Chapter 7

 I. Am. Exhausted. Between my endurance training with N'vei, my fights with Rombag followed by checkups with Xiomoazi, and the lengthy process of sneaking in every night without getting caught, I'm definitely sleep deprived. The only thing that's keeping me going is spite. I know my refusal to salute irks Rombag to no avail so that alone is enough to get me up in the morning—well that and an exciting new development.

"Cadets," Rombag starts, "Today marks six weeks of you all being aboard this ship. As of right now, we are officially halfway to Inova. You have been diligently practicing Inovarian battle techniques and warfare and now it is time to add another component to your training."

There's a collective groan among the crowd and I do my best to hide the smile tugging at my lips. Last night during my usual post-training evaluation with Xiomoazi, she let it slip what's in store for us next.

Rombag raises a hand to silence the murmuring group, "from today onward, you will be studying Inovarian culture and language. Inova will be your home for the rest of your lives, so you will need to know about the world and society you will be immersing yourself in. Lessons will be taught through a combination of virtual reality and in-person instruction. Similar to your daily assignments in training, your testing scores will affect your current rank."

The murmuring starts back up again, but this time I don't hold back my grin. If there's one thing that I'm good at—besides running, of course—it's academics. I came on board this ship to learn about the Inovarians, their planet, culture, and their language before starting my anthropology program, so this development is right up my ally.

"More information will be given to you once you begin your lessons later today. For now, you all will meet with your teams. Be sure to check your holo-watch before grouping up. Many of you have either been promoted or demoted based on this week's test results. If you have any objections about your current placement, it would be in your best interest not to voice them since you will likely be demoted even further."

And just like that, the conversation is over. Much like last time, everyone's holo-watch projects an image of their team's symbol. There's an excited squeal from beside me and not soon after two arms are wrapped around my neck.

"You've been bumped up to Beta!" Chloé continues to cling on to me in her excitement, "That means we get to train together again! Mali, you have no idea how much it's sucked not having a friend during training."

Actually, I do. Since my face-off with Goldie Locks—or Bradley McCormick as I've come to learn—the others have not been too keen on interacting with me, not that I blame them for it. Had I been anyone else, I would bet that my personality is as ruthless as my fighting style. It also didn't help that most of the paired activities Instructor N'vei had us do was based on rank, so I was almost always paired with McCormick. I've barely interacted with a fellow cadet that wasn't him this whole week.

"I bet we won't even be together long," I laugh. "I felt my life flash before my eyes when you squeezed me. Those are some Alpha arms for sure."

Chloé strikes a few playful poses. "I may or may not have PR'ed several times this week. Instructor N'vizwei is basically a bodybuilding coach."

I roll my eyes at my friend and head over to the rest of the Betas. I'm definitely not surprised to see McCormick here as well. He's definitely a pain in the ass, but his ability to keep up with me even when my abilities come into play is admittedly impressive. I may damn near hate the guy, but I know when to give credit when credit is due. 

McCormick gives me a dirty look when he sees I'm looking in his general direction. I gladly return the gesture. Other than that, the two of us decide to leave well enough alone and face forward. Once the whole group is together, our instructor addresses us.