Chapter 32: Commander
"This is bullshit!"
"Yeah, I know."
"Why do we have to take this crap, Boss! You have to call and tell them we're not training him!"
"I already tried that earlier, Solis. Hence my terrible mood," Kate grumbled.
"Has the Council gone insane!? This is just outrageous!" Solis bellowed in anger.
Harves sighed, staring at the ceiling of the lounge with an unreadable expression. "A half-Human as a Renegade again... guess there's still a few things that can surprise me in this dying universe," he mumbled.
They were all having a hard time adjusting to their new situation.
"I concur," Hui said, his arms folded across his chest as he leaned against a wall. "Well... I suppose I've always wanted to meet one of them to understand what their lives were truly like. I wonder how different training him will be compared to the others," he mused aloud.
Solis suddenly turned away from Kate and glared at Hui. "You're interested in his kind? Really?" Her fists clenched in rage. "What's wrong with you? A Human just slaughtered an entire planet of innocents, including the families of our friends! Do you not care at all?"
Hui frowned as he glanced at her. "What's wrong with me? I should be the one asking you that question." He growled. "The Renegades gave us a direct order that came from the very top. What exactly do you want me to do about it? They want us to train this half-Human like any other Renegade for the next few months. No matter how much you cry about it, nothing's going to change."
"Besides, he's only a half-Human with no abilities." Hui added with a shrug. "He's no real danger to any of us or the other trainees. It's best we focus on things that matter right now."
"You!..."
"That's enough, both of you," Kate said, holding Solis by the wrist and stopping her from lunging at Hui. "There's no reason for us to fight over this. Hui's right. Everyone here hates Humans as much as you do, Solis," she said as her free hand balled into a fist. "They're the reason our friends will never be the same again."
"But there's nothing we can do about that. For now, we have to focus on what we can control."
"...I know," Solis muttered through gritted teeth. "It's just so..." She trailed off, her features contorting in frustration.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
A moment later, everyone in the room glanced at the beeping lights on their badges with serious expressions. They had all just received a transmission that had been sent to every single person in the base.
Kate inhaled deeply as she rose to her feet with a frown. "The Commander has arrived."
Solis's rage-filled expression drained slightly when she remembered what she had done. She'd activated a distress signal for a false alarm and summoned a Commander to Tomber.
Tomber was a planet at the furthest reaches of the star system, with the closest planet to it being Tarok. The fact that a Commander was arriving less than an hour after her distress call meant either they were already nearby or they had traveled a very long way.
And if it was the latter, then things wouldn't end well for her at all. After all, wasting a high-ranking official's time during a period of distress was against the law.
"It's alright, Solis," Kate said, noticing the panic creeping into Solis's expression. "I'll take care of it, since it's my fault you made the mistake in the first place."
Solis shook her head immediately. "No, Boss! You don't have to pay for my mistakes!"
"I said it's fine already," Kate said as she headed for the door with a dismissive wave. "They're less likely to punish me than a red Mornan, anyway."
***
The doors of the training facility slid open as Kate walked out into the harsh and relentless cold of Tomber.
She walked forward until the snow reached up to her ankles, causing her to feel like she was stepping into a frozen lake.
The stormy winds of the planet obstructed her vision, making it hard for her to see beyond the blizzard in front of her.
Kate couldn't help but wonder if the puppies beyond their facility's perimeter were watching her right now.
Eventually, she let out a long sigh as she stared up into the dark clouds. 'I really hate this planet,' she thought.
A somber expression crossed her features. She would be lying if she said she didn't regret choosing this station to get away from her responsibilities.
Kate still didn't want to be on the front lines of the war, which was why she never bothered trying to advance any higher. But even then, she sometimes wished she could be somewhere else—where she could make a difference and where she wouldn't feel so powerless all the time.
She pushed away her thoughts and glanced around as she wondered where the Commander was. According to the "I'M HERE" message everyone in the base including the students and workers had received, he was supposed to already be in front of her.
BOOM!!!
Kate's eyes widened in alarm a moment later as her head shot up towards the sky. A bright, luminescent explosion had just suddenly appeared deep in the cloud-covered atmosphere of the planet.
She watched in disbelief as the entire sky slowly turned red.
BOOM!!
Another explosion erupted in the sky, followed by another, and then another, in quick succession. Each blast sounded closer than the last.
Cold sweat began to form on her back as she noticed a silhouette in the clouds. It seemed to be the cause of the eruptions, and it was heading directly towards her.
"What in the world!?" Kate shouted, a silver Heart-shard aura enveloping her as she prepared herself for an enemy attack.
BOOM!!
BOOM!
BO—
Just then, the loud and terrifying explosions ceased almost as abruptly as they had appeared.
WHOOSH!!!
And in the next moment, a figure slammed into the ground right before her, creating a shockwave that sent snow cascading in all directions.
Kate shielded her face with a hand as the mere impact of the landing forced her back several steps.
When the shockwave quelled, she glanced toward the figure that had descended from the sky like a meteorite.
A tall, stern-faced male Ramarta with glistening blue skin and long dark hair slowly straightened as he took in the environment, before finally glancing towards Kate.
His spade-tipped tail swayed gently behind him as his sharp yellow eyes studied her coldly.
A grey Renegade coat with a circular emblem on its back rustled behind him in the now slightly warmer wind.
Kate found herself having to look up at him, despite her own towering stature.
She finally recovered from the shock of what she'd witnessed as she bowed deeply to the Ramarta.
"I greet the Commander!"