Pirate Assassin

Page 46

Zack opened his eyes slowly. He felt so weak that he was actually surprised he wasn't waking up in a coffin. He could feel all his limbs, a huge relief, but he felt something covering his right hand. He turned to see his right side covered with sky blue hair. "Elyss...?" he croaked. The great mass of hair stirred to reveal a very sleep-deprived Elyss, who had dark rings around her bright eyes which widened considerably. With a loud cry, she wrapped her arms around him and began sobbing. Maybe I've been out longer than I thought, he thought but he stopped. Shouldn't our bond have told her I was okay? He patted her weakly on the back and she withdrew, her eyes now red-rimmed. He suddenly heard footsteps and saw Carvin, Corby and Fletcher rush and start babbling at the foot of his bed.

"Terran Junk, man! You missed so many things!"

"Did you know Ocelot has a girlfriend now? She's smoking hot!"

"Professor Curuthers has been replaced by this bloke called Donwen or something..."

"Carvin almost made the Ship Engineering docks explode!"

"Hey! I also helped save it!"

"Bradsfort was suspended! Who said bad things don't happen to douches?"

"Corby performed some swordplay during the Arms Festival. It was a-ma-zing!"

"Fletcher swallowed a fly one day. It was so funny cos we had to bring him to the medical centre."

"I'll have you know I almost died!"

"Some guy announced that you were dead in the cafeteria..."

"Oh yeah, yeah! Crazy dude. Said you didn't deserve the honour after this pathetic display or some crap."

"You should have seen Elyss fly at him! She took on five people and beat them to a pulp."

"They were noobs. It wasn't a problem."

"We caught Elyss singing by your bedside too. She's got a beautiful voice...."

"You weren't supposed to tell him that!!"

He turned to Elyss apprehensively. "Just how long was I out?" Elyss was still sniffing as she said, "Zack, don't freak out, but you've been out for almost a month!"

Zack was, yet again, on the training field polishing his hand to hand combat with Elyss. Fletcher was also pretty good, but he was detained for some reason beyond him. Zack had found his physical prowess augmented, able to fight on par with Elyss, which was previously impossible. Her punches and kicks were too powerful and she moved too quickly. Now, after gaining back all his skills of course, he actually managed to beat her on a few occasions. He also found that his link with her was stronger than ever, managing to reach a point where he had a certain clairvoyancy with her, letting him look through her eyes and vice-versa. After what the Symbiote took him through, he wasn't the least affected by it. When he asked her why she was so worried about him, she said his mind was shut down and that he was actually a vegetable for nearly a month with Elyss' presence in his psyche protecting the fractured fragments of his consciousness. On the other side, Corby was retraining him in swordplay and he had to relearn all his gunmanship and sniping skills. Donwen was coincidentally a student of Curuthers as well and they both got on splendidly, sharing respect for the informal, calm and shrewd master sniper. By the end of the month, which was Quintus, Zack had brought himself to peak form and more.

Zack walked into Sgt Troffs office and saluted. "Have a seat, Mr. Ying." Zack sat on the offered chair. "How are you doing?"

"Back in peak form, sir."

"How does do you feel? Anything different?" Zack still couldn't believe that the ordeal he went through was because of the Enigma Symbiote. "No sir, except I do feel stronger and faster. Slightly, not a big increase, but enough to allow me to fight on par with the Wolves."

"Good to hear... " and before, he seemed to be torn but now, he reached a decision. "Zack," he began, "I'm afraid you're moving out of the squad." Zack's eyebrows leaped off his face. "What.....? Why?" Troffs sighed but smiled.

"Zack, you are now special. You have a power which no one else has, and I literally mean that. All Enigma Symbiotes are different, just as no two people have the same psyche, even if they're twins and are raised in the exact same way. So now, you have to be trained to utilise your power," he grinned crookedly, "You're gonna have a life that is a whole lot tougher. Now you have to master every discipline: swordplay, hand to hand, sniping, demolition, espionage, assassination." Zack interrupted, "But I don't even know what kind of power I have!" Troffs shook his head. "People rarely do. But the Specialised Symbiote Research Centre had the means to find out. So, pack your bags and say your goodbyes. You'll be moving out first thing tomorrow."

"Are you saying we won't see you again??" Carvin asked, devastated. Zack nodded. Carvin sputtered, "But, but..." and he fell silent. "Wow, man," Corby said, "That's really sudden." An awkward silence descended on the group. "The worst part is," Zack began suddenly, "I have to start all over again, you know? And I heard this place is devoid of Outsiders. I'm actually the first one there in years."

"Well, not exactly... but I guess, yeah...." Corby added lamely, "We'll miss you, man. Guess it'll just be me, Elyss and Fletcher then." Elyss shook her head. "Actually...." then she burst out laughing. She was laughing so hard that she was actually rolling on the floor and clutching her sides. Corby thought she'd gone insane, but since Zack was privy to her thoughts, he just stared at her bewildered before asking, "How the hell did you do that?"

"It was easier than everyone thinks. You just need the guts to ask and they'll give you a place."

"So this whole time....?"

"Yup," and she burst out laughing. Corby couldn't stand it anymore. "What is going on?" Corby, Carvin and Fletcher asked in unison. Elyss stopped laughing to tell them, "Isn't it obvious? We're all going with him!"

Corby and Zack packed everything up from their dorms and when Portyer dropped by for morning inspection the next day, Corby almost literally kicked him out of the room. "After all," he said bluntly to Portyer, "We ain't no longer under your damned jurisdiction." They left immediately after that to the spaceport, Portyer too outraged to speak. They passed Jarc's guard house to find it empty. Zack didnt dwell on it, but was slightly disappointed that he was unable to say goodbye to the wise old guard. They boarded a transport ship (or bus ship as Zack preferred to call it) and sailed directly to the Fifth Planet. "I still wonder how you got us in too," Corby said to Elyss.

"It was easy," Elyss replied, "like I said, all you needed was courage. I told them that a few of us were interested in an accelerated program so I signed us up. Oh yeah," she grinned to Corby, "You'll be tested on swordplay on arrival." Corby left his jaw hanging. "You," she said pointing to Fletcher, "were easy too. You know why." Fletcher shrugged. "I would've eventually signed in anyway."

"You," she said pointing at Carvin, "were scheduled to be here in a month. I just asked whether you could be sent here earlier."

"And finally, me. I was actually shortlisted to come. They contacted me while you were comatose," referring to Zack, "and I said yes when I heard you were bonded to an Enigma Symbiote." Corby finally managed to loosen his tongue. "You were ASKED? Why?" and she chuckled. "You'll see." The pilot's voice rang over the intercom, "Attention passengers, we'll be landing on the Fifth Planet spaceport in approximately 5 minutes. Please get your luggage ready." Zack hefted his bag as the ship began its vertical motion down and when the doors opened, he stepped out to face another chapter in his life in the United Galactic Government.