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By Cannonshop[]
| Sibbie | |
| Facts | |
| Author | Cannonshop |
| Series Name | Revenants of the Star League Anthology of short(er) stories |
| Alternate Universe Name | |
| Year Written | July 2023 |
| Story Era | Republic Era |
Part 1[]
Dante training grounds…
Dante, Raven alliance
3130
They were too tall to be Aeropilot breed already. Too short to be Elemental, and too…off…to be properly grouped with the Mechwarriors.
They were practically freebirths. Batch 2, Roberts/Cameron, were, in Khan Dierdre McKenna's eyes, a mistake left for her to clean up. Alberto Crow's mistake.
"Explain it to me again?" she asked, "The incident. How did it happen?"
"The Roberts batch had resources reduced, per your order, my Khan. That is how it began." Milos, the training officer supervising the entire 3/36 class, explained. "Ordinary security was employed to conceal this."
"Okay…and?"
He nodded at the child currently leading a group of black-haired, pale, ten-year-olds. "Mai apparently figured out that they were not getting the material or instructional resources that the other bloodlines were getting…so she organized raiding of the other Sibkos on the site, carefully avoiding the younger sibkos in favor of seizing the resources assigned to the older ones."
"They are ten year olds!!"
"Aff. Their results were…gratifying."
The Khan looked scandalized, "Gratifying??"
The Training officer nodded, "Aff, Gratifying. The moves were resourceful, planned, the initiative was everything we try to inculcate into Trueborn trainees, and the awareness of competitive politics between sibko groups? Fantastic."
The children formed into a running formation, and started around the field.
"Which mix is this 'Mai'?" she asked.
"Genefather is Stephen McKenna." he told her, "Genemother is Amanda Roberts."
That changed the tenor significantly. "Breeding runs true then. So she organized raids on the other classes…and that is how the incident occurred, quiaff?"
"Neg. The incident was generated as a result of some of the class of 3133 wanting their materials back, but not so much that they were willing to violate Honor to do it."
"Walk me through the incident." the Khan instructed.
Part 2[]
Mai signaled Six and Eight…'
…The training stores were guarded by a point of Cadre and two senior cadets from class 2/31, Alvin and Ali, both were fifteen years old-five years older than she was.
Six and Eight crept along the fringes. The seniors weren't all that alert, there was some alertness because the senior instructors liked to make surprise visits to cadets on guard duty, but the senior instructors were…well…big.
She low-crawled along the fence-line. The main trick would be to get in without drawing too much attention.
Seven flicked a mirror from the roof, letting Mai know that he was in position.
The trick here, was to avoid getting permanently injured, and avoid injuring the two seniors at the door, while removing them from play.
Ancestors of mankind hunted larger animals, dangerous ones, with simple, primitive tools.
Mai's simple, primitive tools had to be non-lethal.
It had to be tricky, because they had real weapons, and while said real weapons were only pistols, and in their holster, they were a factor that couldn't be underestimated.
She made it to the waste-can, and came up on to her feet behind it, keeping quiet, because she'd be heard, and this close, well…that would be bad.
Nine was in position.
It was time.
Her weapon was made from a belt, some rigging cable, and two stones pretty close to the same mass
.
She gripped it and spun it up, then stood up, one two three she released it at the same time that Nine released hers.
The practice they'd had while unobserved pays off- Bolas whip across the open field from two sides roughly 45 degrees apart-a miss would hit the door and alert everyone.
There was no miss, instead, there was the rather gratifying grunting of two seniors from the class set to graduate this spring, but she was already running forward, as Seven dropped weighted blankets over the struggling teens.
They'd planned this, they'd practiced it.
How do you beat someone grossly stronger and physically superior when you're denied weapons to train with? Well…you improvise.
It took two belts apiece to bind their arms, with two members of her little point of Cadets to get them restrained. Two belts over the blanket to bind their arms, one belt around their feet.
Mai got a bruise on her face and wetness from her nose, because Ali kicked and struggled.
But the guards were neutralized and rigged up, and three of her colleagues were enough to drag each of them to the side, take their sidearms, and keep them tied up and hooded.
Mai found the student keys in Alvin's pants pocket.
"He is not going to tell you his code." Seven, (Michael) commented.
"I do not need it." Mai told him, "I watched him when he went on a piss-break." she slid the card into the lock, and punched the Senior's code in.
The hasp released.
"Yo Ho Ho." the ten Sibko cadets filed into the storage area, and began hauling out what they came for in pairs, with two pair watching their captives and alternating, until everyone had the junior sized field gear, manuals, and training weapons.
Mai stopped, and took out a piece of chalk, and wrote "Equipment Draw, 3/35."
Then she checked her friends over, made sure each had two sets-one for themselves, and one for the ones who were maintaining the appearance of everyone still being in bed.
"We still do not have a dedicated instructor, Ma- I mean, Two!!" Nine complained.
"We have the manuals, we can figure it out." Mai dismissed, "They made us figure it out this far, nine."
"Logbook." Ali's muffled voice said, "You need to sign the logbook, it is on the desk."
"Thanks Ali." Mai said. "Sorry about this-"
"Do not apologize, we were not alert enough!" Alvin chimed in, "This is embarrassing…"
"It is not going to screw up your trial next week, quineg?"
"The Cadre will make it harder, and no doubt we will get worst draw on the Regulars here to do the testing, but I will still triumph-just with a little more situational awareness!" Ali boasted, which was bold as hell given he was bound arms and feet in a blanket like a package.
The kids took the belts and blankets back too, as Alvin and Ali accepted their defeat with some good humor.
Part 3[]
"...and that is what happened…
,,,While there is some dishonor and being defeated by children, they had numbers, and there is MORE dishonor in beating on children." Ali asserted, "No lesson can be learned from that, and they did catch us unawares."
"Why?"
"Because it was never in the training to watch for a coordinated attack with improvised weapons in the middle of our own base!" Alvin chimed in, "besides, the whole situation was fundamentally unfair. The Roberts/Cameron sibko was being starved of training materials and given a rotating succession of the poorest instructors I have ever seen!! They were right."
The assertive defiance in the older boy's tone caught the Khan by surprise. "They are practically Freebirths-"
"They are Trueborn, part of the Eugenics program, and warrior cadets, same as we were at that age!!" Alvin insisted, "It does not matter-"
"Someone set them up to fail." Ali chimed in. "WE can see that, imagine what the Clan Council might say, if they knew what we know." his tone was cold and clear for a fifteen year old. "How would that look, Khan Dierdre McKenna? What is the potential outcome if it were known that a sibling company was being…denied needed assets in order to force a failure? One with a name honored by the common people and the lower castes? I think the politics of that would be…Messy, and I am only fifteen years old."
"So who told them?" she asked.
He shrugged, "I do not know, but whoever did, was doing their duty to the Clan, even if it meant breaking orders."
"You are dismissed. I hope you succeed in your Trial of Position, but I suspect you are too soft." she hissed.
He straightened and saluted.
Part 4[]
Mai sat in the common…
…dayroom, and watched the broadcast of the Senior Class's trial of position, as Ali and Alvin downed their fifth opponents in air combat, and she cheered as Ali's fighter did a celebratory roll. "WHOOO!!"
"OFFICER ON DECK!!" Michael barked, and she came to attention, as the Khan walked in with a grizzled Warrior, scarred and old.
"At ease." Khan Dierdre McKenna ordered, "Well, your class has proven to be resourceful and aggressive, your punishment, therefore…this is Star Captain Fletcher. He will be directing your training for the next six years, he has my personal authority to kill you if you misbehave in any way that can be sufficiently suspected. Am I understood?"
"Ma'am-Yes-Ma'am. Thank you, Ma'am!!" Mai barked out.
"You are the leader of this little mob…Mai, right? Roberts Bloodline?"
"Ma'am, Yes, Ma'am!!"
"Callsign?" she asked.
"Two, Ma'am!!"
"Two…not 'one'?"
"No, Ma'am!!" Mai's tone was disciplined, and as loud as her ten year old lungs could manage.
"Fletcher, this one, gets special treatment. Make her life hell until she quits, am I clear, Quiaff?"
"Aff, My Khan." he growled.
The Khan walked out without a word.
He waited a breath, then, "We begin tomorrow, I want this day-room spotless, we will begin with a check of the gear you…secured, followed by field exercises. You lot staged a commando-style raid, we are going to explore irregular operations and tactics, field survival, and improvization-and it will be hell for some of you, because we are also going to maintain your other education standards…but for the moment, enjoy watching the Trials of Position, that may be the only ones you get to see."
Then, the scarred man gripped Mai's shoulder, "Good job kid, by the time we are done, you will be a nightmare for the enemies of the Clan…now, you're all released for the remainder of the day."
"Um, Star Captain…is Fletcher your Bloodname or-"
"It is my given name, I never gained a Bloodname." He told them, "Some of you? Some of you will-and mark this-the ones with the most potential will get the hardest training I can inflict, to forge you into the kind of Warriors-the kind of Officers you must become."
Finis
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