Incipience

Chapter 18 pt 2

The training room has quite a few people in it by the time we arrive, but I'm not one to strike up awkward introductory conversations and I frankly don't want to, so I ask Xiomoazi to double-check the sensors' calibration to burn some time. Xiomoazi's one to quadruple check her equipment, so she happily complies without a second thought.

I let my eyes wander around the room as Xiomoazi tinkers with the sticker-like devices attached to my limbs.

This training facility is a lot different from the ones on the ship. It has a very spacious layout with high ceilings and natural lighting. The room we're in now is the largest in the building because it holds all of the sparring rings and serves as the meeting room for soldiers and their commanders. This area has enough standing room for everyone to have space to breath while getting their daily briefings, but it's still small enough that a commander can spot a soldier slacking off from a ways away. One of the doors leading out of this room holds the workout equipment and weights while another door leads to the shooting range. Unlike the ship's training room, this space doesn't have a room dedicated to agility training which is honestly disappointing because that part of training was honestly my favorite (aside from running, of course).

This compound is located on the shores of Qi' Dejiz and not too far from where Nimfizija is located. The soldiers stationed here are the ones that go to Nimfizija to secure the building and protect the council inside whenever there's an emergency like the one a few weeks ago. Looking around now, I can see why these people were chosen to protect the council: they're impressive.

Some of the soldiers spar to pass the time (and to show off) as their colleagues roll in. Each pair's movements are strong and confident. Oddly enough, the Inovarians' fighting style reminds me a lot of McCormick's. Just like my favorite Texan meta-human, these people favor displays of strength and power moves. The soldiers' punches and kicks look like they can break bones if they make contact at the right angle, but, unfortunately, that won't be enough against the Quinzentenians.

Given his training and new abilities, I think McCormick would be able to last for a while against a Quinzentenian one-on-one, but I'm not so sure about these soldiers. Sure, they pack a punch, but it's unlikely to land because they're so stiff. I can honestly see why the Bagzah trio was so insistent on having all of their cadets work on agility if this is how their peers move.

The Quinzentenians are essentially Krav Maga masters who dabble in acrobatics and gymnastics, which means that they have disgustingly impressive reflexes and can very easily turn their opponents' strengths and weaknesses against them on the drop of a dime. These soldiers that I'm watching now have too predictable of an attack pattern for their strength to even matter. They're too slow and too stiff to land a blow. They could have Chloé's (painful) electric left hook and it'd make no difference in a fight because they don't move nimbly enough to keep up with a Quinzentenian.

"There, everything is calibrated correctly! I am glad you suggested I check the sensors again. I failed to sync the last one with the rest after getting distracted by our conversation earlier."

Xiomoazi's voice shakes me out of my musings. I give her an absentminded smile in response but remain silent, mostly because my thoughts just now took me by surprise.

God, I definitely spent too much time with Rombag on the ship if I really did a whole write up on these soldiers' fighting styles without any prompting. Granted, it's a good habit to have that can keep me alive if I really do get deployed, but it's an odd thing to suddenly mull over after thinking about nothing but party planning logistics for the past week and a half.

"Hm," Xiomoazi hums. "I thought she would have retired before I returned from our mission. Interesting."

I look over to where Xiomoazi's eyes are trained to see a tall and regal looking woman making her way to the front of the room. I'm guessing she's my instructor today based on the heavily decorated jacket she has over her training outfit. Her uniform isn't the battle gear the officers on the ship wore, but her black color scheme is enough to set her apart from the rest of us who're clad in gray. Similar to her soldiers, this instructor decked out in a plain white shirt, a pair of black slim-fit cargo joggers, and black combat boots. The golden embellishments on her jacket stand out against the black fabric and the garment's slim white lining really ties the look together.