The Ninth (49 page)

Suddenly, Brent started laughing.  For some reason, when he recounted it all, he found it funny.  The laughter created incredible pain in his chest, but he couldn’t help it.  The heavy-worlder stopped dead in his tracks.  The division fell silent as they watched the cackling Weaver.  Even Murdock was surprised and took a step in retreat; a taint of horror tugged at her face.  As Brent laughed, he remembered the rolling hills of his dream.  A soothing calm enveloped him.  The pain in his body melted away.  As he watched the animals move about, he reached out to touch them.

Brent broke from the dream as he realized he had lifted his right arm.  Blood continued to drip from its length as he raised it.  He flexed the fingers.  They responded!  His movements were still painfully slow, but he again had control over his body.  Out of the corner of his eye, he spied Murdock trembling in fear.  With all his strength, Brent slowly charged the heavy-worlder.  The trooper stood still, not sure what to expect.  He swung his right fist with all that remained of his strength.

The impact was pathetic.  The only thing he did was cover the trooper’s uniform with his blood.  Tossing a second punch with his left hand, Brent felt incredible pain as it impacted.  The trooper remained frozen as he watched in pity.  Brent struggled to draw breath.  He raised his right hand one final time.  He swung but didn’t have the strength to connect.  The fist fell short and his body followed.  Brent landed on the hard sand.  He didn’t even have the strength to turn his head.  When the final blow came, he wouldn’t be able to see it coming.

“I surrender!” the heavy-worlder shouted.

The sound was a distant and foggy thing.  Brent couldn’t be sure he had really heard it.  He felt fingers grip his midsection and roll him over.  The sky had no details; it was nothing but a massive wash of light.  A nebulous shadow obscured the light.  He tried to reach the shadow with his hand, but again his right arm was unmovable.  A faint sound lashed at his ear, too faint and muddied to make out clearly.  He could feel his right hand moving of its own accord.  He struggled to focus.  The arm wasn’t moving by itself; someone was holding it.  Familiar warmth coursed through his body.

“Cassandra?” he asked the foggy surroundings.

Brent could feel his torso being lifted; a gentle embrace answered his question.  He felt light headed.  He wasn’t sure if he was losing consciousness.  The image of Cassandra perched over his bed in Medical flashed before his eyes.

“Don’t worry.  I’m not going anywhere,” he addressed the shadow.

Little by little the shadow took shape.  The blurred lights behind it coalesced into a blue sky with white clouds.  The shadow gained form.  Brent could feel long strands of hair tickling his face in the gentle breeze.  Cassandra was holding him close.  SW troopers were standing close behind her.  Some had tears streaking down their faces.  He tried to move, but no response came from his body.  Brent forced his head to tilt slightly.  A few SW troopers took a step back, their faces pale.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”  His voice was barely a whisper.

“He’s not dead!” one of the troopers shrieked.

“Hold on!  A medic is on the way!” a second called out.

“Don’t tell them anything,” Brent whispered.

The troopers cast confused gazes at him, some not understanding what he meant.  Others got his meaning but didn’t understand why.

“Brent?” Cassandra asked, as she held him.

“Don’t tell the medic anything.  Tell them you don’t know what happened.”  Brent put as much force into his weak voice as he could muster.

“Sir?  Are you sure?” a trooper asked, from where he couldn’t see.

“That’s an order.”

The medic had arrived and quickly rushed Brent to Medical.  He had been conscious for most of it, but it was hard to focus.  Images would flash before him, interspaced by broad sections of blurred motion.  As he regained focus, he found himself in a familiar bed in Medical.  Several devices were connected to him; some made rhythmic sounds while others diligently displayed their information in silence.  At his side was Cassandra.  She was hunched over his arm, sleeping.  With his free hand he parted the hair covering her face.  She had a look of contentment as she clung to his arm.

“So you’re awake,” Dr. Benedict said in a low voice, trying not to disturb the girl.

“What time is it?”

“Early.  She was worried about you; we all were.  She’s been by your side through the night.”

“How bad was it?”

“A plethora of cuts, scrapes, and bruises – but surprisingly not one broken bone.  When I said you had a knack for recovering I think I made a grave understatement.  From the condition of the examination room, I can tell something major happened.  Maybe you can tell me what really happened.”

“Oh?”

“Don’t play dumb.  The entire division won’t say a peep.  It’s written all over their faces that they know more than they are saying, but no matter what, they refuse to say a thing.”

“How long will it take me to recover?”

“Dodging the issue.  You are a lot like Davis.”  The doctor let out a sigh.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“Fine, fine.  Keep your little secret.  I can tell I’m not getting anything more out of you.  As for your recovery, you’re over the worst of it.  I’m reluctant to let you leave though.  It seems that each time I let you go; you just end up back here.  We’ve treated the serious wounds.  All that remains is for you to get your strength back.”

“Thank you.”

“For treating you?  That’s my duty.”

“For not asking any more questions.”

The doctor paused for a moment before shrugging and leaving.  Brent sat in the subdued lighting of early morning.  He smiled to himself.  Cassandra had an almost childlike quality as she clung to his arm like a stuffed animal.  For some time he rested still in the bed, relaxing his eyes and mind.  The gentle stirring of the girl brought him out of his reverie.

“Did you sleep well?” Brent asked soothingly as she awoke.

“Brent?” she asked in a mild panic.  “When did you wake?”

“A while ago.  You know, you are pretty cute when you sleep, clinging included.”

“I’m sorry.”  Cassandra reddened.

“You don’t need to apologize.”

“Did I . . . cling to you the other night?”

“You mean in the SW bunks?”

She nodded sheepishly.

“I think so; you were wrapped around me when I woke up.”

She reddened deeply.

“My only question is how you got out of your bunk.  If you had fallen out, it certainly would have awoken me.”

She hid her face.

“Cassandra?”

“You were shaking in your sleep, tossing and turning.  I thought you were having a nightmare or something.  I felt your head to see if you had a temperature.  When I touched you, you seemed to calm down.  So I . . .” Cassandra couldn’t bring herself to finish.

“Thank you for your concern.  Just between you and me, I didn’t really mind.”  Brent winked.

“You’re horrible.”  Cassandra blushed a deep red as she gently socked his arm.

The three tones rang out.  As soon as the final tone sounded, Weaver Davis rushed into the room.

“Good, you’re awake,” Davis said as he entered.

“Been waiting long?”  Brent asked.

“Not overly.  I’ve got some questions for you.”

“I’d be shocked if you didn’t.”

“Did Valerie Murdock do this to you?”

“The division leader didn’t do anything wrong,” Brent said calmly.

“I see.”  Davis studied him suspiciously.  “You choose your words carefully.  What’s more, you really mean them.  As you can guess I’ve already talked with most of the division.  They are being unusually tight lipped about the whole thing, almost as if someone
ordered
them to keep quiet.”

“Miss Murdock gave no such order,” Brent said in the same calm tone.

“I’ve already gathered as much.  They can say whatever they like, but I can tell when they don’t mean it.  It’s very obvious when someone is lying.”

“I’m not lying to you, Davis.”

“You’re also not telling me the whole truth.”

“Why are you so interested in finding the whole truth?”

“How can you ask that?  You were almost killed.”

“Dr. Benedict didn’t seem to be of that opinion.”

“The SW’s medic officially pronounced you
dead
.  The one dispatched from Medical didn’t think you’d survive the trip back here.”

Brent looked at Cassandra.  She nodded, confirming Davis’s statements.

“Looks like the academy medical training could use some refinement,” Brent said.

“This isn’t a joking matter,” Davis said, his gruff voice barely hiding his anger.  “Why are you protecting her?

“I never said I was protecting anyone.  Why are you trying to place blame with her?”

“She’s dangerous; if she could do it once, she’ll certainly do it again.  Next time the trooper might not be as lucky as you.”

“You don’t have to worry.  Something like this won’t happen again.”  Brent smiled confidently.

“How can you be so sure?”

“Call it a gut feeling.  You won’t need to worry about a repeat.”

“I’m guessing it would be pointless for me to try and trick you into admitting she is responsible for your condition?”

“If you have more important matters, I wouldn’t waste your time.”

Davis shook his head disapprovingly.  He paused as he was about to leave.

“You’ve got a visitor, if you’re up to it.”

“Who is it?”

“Your executioner.”  Davis ducked out of the room.

A minute or two later, a female figure hesitantly entered the room.  Her hands were nervously kneading the bottom edge of her shirt.

“What are
you
doing here?” Cassandra asked, as she stood up.

“It’s all right; Miss Murdock means me no harm.”  Brent pulled on Cassandra’s sleeve.

“Why haven’t you told them what I did?”  Murdock’s voice was hollow and depressed.  “Are you planning on blackmailing me or something?  You could have me thrown out of the academy – or worse.”

“I don’t plan on doing anything like that.  I’m hoping it gets written up as a malfunction and forgotten.”

“Why?” Murdock shouted in obvious confusion.

“I have to admit that at first I had you figured wrong.  Thankfully, I was able to figure it out before any permanent damage was done.”

“Permanent damage?” Cassandra shouted, more at Murdock than Brent.  “You almost died!”

“I didn’t mean for it to go this far.”  Murdock pleaded with Cassandra.

“Liar! You wanted him dead!”

“That’s enough, Cassandra.”  Brent patted her hand and smiled at her.  “Miss Murdock is telling the truth.  She never wanted anyone to die.”

“How can you say that?” Cassandra asked as she sat.

“Miss Murdock was simply.  Excuse me.  Is it okay if I call you Valerie?”

Murdock nodded.

“At first I thought of it like you do, Cassandra.  I thought she genuinely wanted me dead.  The truth is, Valerie was just protecting her division.”

“How do you figure that?”  Cassandra raised an eyebrow skeptically.

“I figure this whole thing was for Ronald’s benefit.  Things just spiraled out of hand.  Valerie clearly knew Ronald . . .”

“He’s my older brother, but how’d you know?”

“You and Tyra were the only ones who weren’t surprised by his duel.  Plus, he called you by your first name.  Even those in your division refer to you by last name only.  Since you are even closer to him than I thought, it makes sense the two of you would talk occasionally.  I’m sure you were well aware of Tyra’s difficulty with her division.  One that started in a grade higher than your own and is now at the very bottom.”

“What does this have to do with her trying to kill you?”  Cassandra was obviously uncomfortable with the girl in the room.

“I’m getting to that.  Valerie runs a very tight group, well trained and quite capable.  When one of the squads made a critical mistake, one that almost cost her the trial, Valerie’s mind recalled Tyra’s situation.  She was worried the same thing was starting to happen to her.  At first a tiny mistake here, and a small blunder there.  Before long they’d lose a trial or two.  That’s why she reacted so strongly.  She dismissed the entire squad, hoping to avoid Tyra’s fate.”

“Wait a minute.  I’m not an expert, but from what I gather, Tyra’s division didn’t listen to her.  It wasn’t that they made mistakes, they just ignored her.”  Cassandra interrupted again.

“True enough.  That’s why Valerie had her troopers attack us that first night.  She hoped that if she roughed us up a bit we’d know our place, we wouldn’t dare ignore her commands.  Unfortunately, it backfired.  Instead of us submitting, others rebelled against her.  In her mind she had no choice but to do something that would reinforce her command before she lost the division completely, hence the duels.  She planned to use me as an example, a lesson to the rest of the division that insubordination would not be tolerated.  The problem was, Valerie knew of my previous fights; she worried I’d be able to turn the tables on anything she threw at me.  So she went a bit overboard.”

“
Overboard
?  You make it sound so simple.”

“I doubt Valerie had a clue that in a heavy gravity situation the terrain itself was a deadly weapon,” Brent said, trying to calm Cassandra down.  “My opponent was clearly going easy on me.  The only problem was that a simple fall under those conditions was the equivalent of being slammed into a wall.  After I raised my right arm, I saw Valerie shake.  I thought it was in fear; it was actually in realization at what was really happening.  When she saw the blood dripping from my arm, she realized how seriously I was wounded.”

“Is any of this true?”  Cassandra asked Valerie hostilely.

The girl was still standing near the doorway.  Her face was covered by an expression of complete surprise and defeat.  She stared blankly at Brent.  Cassandra waved a hand in front of her eyes.  Valerie blinked and remembered where she was.

“How did you know all that?” Valerie asked.

“You mean he was right?” Cassandra nearly shouted.

“Every detail.”  Valerie stared at Brent in disbelief.

“I am unclear on one detail,” he ventured.

“What’s that?” Valerie asked, still shaken.

“It’s clear you admire your brother’s skill.  But how exactly did Tyra and I get involved?”

“After I got rid of the failures, I approached Ronald.  I offered him a way out of the doomed division.  He turned me down.”  Valerie blushed faintly.  “Said he wouldn’t leave Tyra, that she needed him more than I did.  I finally convinced him that there was nothing he could do to save his division.  However, he would only agree to transfer if Tyra came with him.  Moreover, he said she wouldn’t be her old self unless she got her hands on you.”

“Why Brent?” Cassandra asked.

“Losing so soundly left her in a dark place,” Brent said thoughtfully.  “She must have seen me as the final nail in her career.”

He sighed heavily.  He had only intended to win the challenge put ahead of him.  He had never intended to destroy the self-esteem of the enemy commander.

“If you are willing, I’d like to start over,” he said with a smile.

“You can’t be serious.”  Valerie wasn’t prepared to believe him.

“Cassandra is the one who thinks I’m not supposed to like people who try to kill me.  I’m of the opinion I wouldn’t have many friends at all if that was the case.”  Brent laughed at his own joke.

Valerie shot a confused glance at Cassandra.

“Don’t look at me.”  She sighed warmly.  “There is something
seriously
wrong with him, but he never listens to me anyway.”

“So you’re not going to tell anyone what I did?”  Valerie still wasn’t completely convinced.  “You’re not going to get even with me for causing you so much pain?”

He shook his head.

“Would you do me one favor though?” Brent asked.

“Anything,” Valerie said, expecting the worst.

“Would you make sure the trooper who tossed me around knows it wasn’t his fault, either?”

A tear rolled down Valerie’s cheek as it finally set in.  Her shoulders dropped as the tension released her.  She nearly collapsed to the floor as a night’s worth of worry vanished.  Struggling to keep her composure, she nodded to him and quickly left.

“You know something?”  Cassandra stared in wonder as the division leader rushed away.  “You really do think too much.  Not that that’s a bad thing.”