Page 36 of Souls of Steel
“Maybe you’re right, but that doesn’t mean I’ll give up. I’ll never give up.”
I would become a true chimera tamer and show everyone here I deserved the position. That included my lovers, even if they hated the idea. They’d been on their own for too long. They were all so busy thinking they knew better they didn’t realize what they were throwing away in their fear. I wouldn’t let them do it, not if I could help it.
“It’s not completely up to you, young Selene,”Sphinx warned me.“A relationship is complicated even when it involves two people. You can’t force four headstrong men into it if they don’t want it.”
“I’m not forcing anything, Sphinx. If it’s not what they want, so be it. I won’t be a sore loser. But I’ll still make the attempt to convince them. And even if it doesn’t work out, even if I’m giving myself too much credit, I’ll still stay here with you.”
That reassured my friend, just like I’d known it would. I understood and appreciated her concern, but I truly had to fight this battle. If I didn’t, I’d always regret it.
Of course, it was a difficult, tricky game to play, since I had no intention of telling my lovers I’d figured out their plan. I’d decided to wait it out instead of confronting them since that would give me more time to get under their skin. But that was a double-edged blade, since I found it just as difficult to not crave them.
On the bright side, my tough schedule proved to be a blessing in disguise. We only had Chimera Flight Training together, so when I was in class, I wasn’t distracted by their presence. I’d also found another class I liked, which was Introduction to Chimera Technology.
Professor Wesley Trevor, the man who taught the class, was the former pilot of a previous model of a Harpy unit. He’d lost an arm and a leg in a past battle, but he hadn’t let that deter him. Half of his body was now part-drone and he took pride in pointing it out. “The metal is a remnant from my harpy,” he’d often say. “This way, she’ll always be with me, even if she’s gone dormant.”
The tamers in my class were all younger than me, so they had hope that they’d be picked by the other, dormant Grand Chimeras. None of them asked me how I’d done it, though. If they were jealous or curious, Tiny Typhon kept them from showing it.
Then again, that might have been because Professor Trevor tended to have a lot of demonstrations in class and didn’t like it when people ignored him. “As you know, chimeras are created using a mix of steel, tungsten, and a third alloy which is kept a secret by The Grand Judiciary,” he said during our first lesson. “Their cores are fueled by Tartarus Diamonds and emanate the tachyons you use in combat. But while in theory, this is easy to understand, in practice, it’s a little more complex. First and foremost, they are not drones. They are living beings and must be treated as such. They have brains, which is why you need to be very careful whenever you connect to one, lest you be overwhelmed by their power. Suffice to say, if you don’t pay attention here, you don’t have a chance to become a tamer. I’ll personally make sure The Grand Judiciary will pick an apsid over you.”
Professor Trevor also pulled me aside after our first lesson. At first, I was wary of him, but as it turned out, he only intended to give me some extra school work. “I’ll be honest with you and say I was surprised when I learned a Terran woman was the new pilot of the Sphinx. But it’s not my place to judge and in these things, chimeras know best.
“I do have to warn you that in your current condition, you’re not prepared for fighting as an integral part of the Grand Chimera Unit. I know you’ve been handling it, but if I were your field commander, I wouldn’t deem you suited for battle. As interim commander of Chimera Academy, I don’t have the authority to challenge what others have already decided. But I can make some arrangements. Ms. Renard, you need some extra military training. Fortunately, that can be fixed easily enough, and your dorm mates had volunteered to assist you.”
Of course they had. I wondered if this was part of their plan to chase me away or if they genuinely wanted to help me. “And what does this training involve?”
“I’ve set up an extra schedule for you so you can tone up a little more.” Professor—or rather, Commander—Trevor smiled and shot me a compassionate look. “Don’t worry. It’s not too cruel. I’ve never been the type to hurt a lady.”
I would’ve deemed that comment condescending, but in future weeks, it became obvious that he meant it. I was lucky he was trying to make things easier for me, because otherwise, I might have been forced to drop out because of sheer exhaustion.
I was in no way unfit, but a military academy had certain standards. The hand-to-hand combat lessons my father had taught me were nothing compared to what I actually needed to know. And even if I wasn’t about to fight an apsid with my bare hands, the lessons were necessary to perfect my neural connection to Sphinx and make our bond less strenuous on me.
It was brutal. We spent hours every morning jogging, doing anti-gravitational training, and sparring. Most of the time, I fought with one of my lovers and at first, I’d expected it to turn sexual. It never did. Even when they unavoidably pinned me down, they always remained focused on their task. I could do no less.
The end result of this situation was that I didn’t advance too much in my quest to ‘seduce’ my lovers. Half the time, I was too tired to even have sex with them. On days I attended the Tachyon Manipulation class too, they had to drag me into the shower and hold me upright.
I was making progress, but it was slow and I felt increasingly like a fish out of water.
As my second month at the academy started, the dean, Prince Archibald Chimera, finally arrived. He was King Philip’s younger brother, and he wasn’t always present at Tartarus Base, since he had other responsibilities toward the crown. That was about to change.
For the first time since my arrival, every single student gathered in the massive courtyard of the academy. There hadn’t been such a huge celebration when we’d first started the year, which had surprised me at the time.
“Uncle Archibald likes all the glitz and glam,” Brendan explained as we joined the other students. “The school always holds off festivities until he’s present. Still, this time, it seems a little different.”
“Have you heard anything from your father?” August asked. “Any apsid attacks?”
Brendan shook his head. “Nothing of note. We would’ve been officially called in if that had happened, but without this unnecessary pomp.”
“I guess we’ll find out what this is all about soon,” I answered.
Confirming my words, a group of teachers manifested on the stage in front of us, surrounded by a miniature storm of tachyons. Commander Trevor, Professor Strange, Professor Moore, and Dr. Achebe were all there, but also a handful of others I didn’t know. Silence fell over the area and my heart started to race for no real reason.
The dean looked a little like Brendan, although the distance made it difficult for me to identify each individual detail that suggested the family connection. Maybe it went beyond the similarity in hair color and bulk. The Chimera family had always had a special connection to Tartarus’s Gift and in that respect, Archibald and Brendan were similar.
“Greetings, students,” Prince Archibald said, extending his arms in warm welcome. “It’s reassuring to see so many brave young men joining our ranks this year.”
I didn’t flinch, even if his words excluded me. I’d have liked to think it was just something he did naturally and had nothing to do with a deliberate slight on me, but I knew better. It wasn’t paranoia if they really were out to get you.
“While I’m sure you’ve already making excellent progress in your quest to become assets to Terra and talented chimera tamers, The Grand Judiciary has decided to take things a step further. A new edition of The Grand Tartarus Tournament will be held this year.”
