Page 23 of Souls of Steel
“Keep your distance,” our teacher warned us. “For now, you will just observe.”
We all complied and watched as he approached the dummies. “This will be good,” one of the other students whispered. “I heard from my brother that Professor Strange is an ace at tachyon manipulation.”
“Do we really need an introduction, though?” another teenager asked. “I mean, we’ve already learned some of it before. We’re here because we’re supposed to be. Unlike other people.”
That was obviously a dig at me, but I ignored it and chose to focus on Professor Strange instead. When he stood in front of the dummies, their eyes lit up with a bright crimson glow, similar to the one I’d seen in the Sphinx, although far less intense.
One of the dummies lifted its hand. I blinked and the next thing I knew, a blast of red fire struck Professor Strange. It dissipated harmlessly, as if there was a shield around him.
Did he have equipment helping him limit the damage he received? Maybe it was another function of the uniform. I’d have to ask my dorm mates later. No one else seemed shocked by the incident, so I assumed this was another of those things I was supposed to know, but didn’t.
“Because tachyons are very fast, you’re not likely to see a tachyon attack until it’s too close for you to dodge or put up last minute defenses,” Professor Strange said, unfazed. “That’s why when you’re fighting someone with tachyon-channeling abilities, you need to be prepared at all times.”
When he turned to look at us, his pupils were red-rimmed and his skin was glowing from within. A suspicion niggled at the back of my mind.
He hadn’t used equipment of any kind. He’d absorbed the tachyon blast in his own body. But why would he do that, if tachyons were as dangerous as he had said?
As if he could read my mind, Professor Strange continued his lecture. “Once you’ve absorbed the tachyon energy that hits you, you have to expel it. Do not under any circumstances attempt to contain it within yourself. The consequences could be devastating.”
Illustrating his words, Professor Strange retaliated to the dummy’s attack. I was prepared for this one, but I still only caught a brief glimpse of the moment he was channeling it. I might not have seen it at all if I hadn’t spotted the crimson particles underneath his skin and hadn’t been familiar with them after my time with the Sphinx.
I wasn’t surprised when two of the robots exploded at the same time. The third survived the blast and attacked Professor Strange again. He absorbed the blow once more and repeated the process, presumably to provide us with a second demonstration.
Once the third dummy was defeated, Professor Strange directed his attention toward us once again. “Naturally, you will not be required to absorb tachyons anytime soon, but I expect you to be able to control the power you emanate within the first month at the academy, enough at least, that you’d be able to hit a stationary target without leakage.” He swept his fierce gaze over the small gathering of students. “Does anyone here feel prepared to make an attempt now?”
The dummies reformed, seemingly waiting for us to target them. After the earlier boasting, I expected the other students to volunteer. Nobody did. The reasons for this became obvious when Professor Strange zeroed in on me. “Ms. Renard, you’re the oldest student here. Why don’t you give it a shot?”
Just by looking at him, I knew that my age had nothing to do with why he’d singled me out. Still, I couldn’t refuse. “I don’t have any experience with tachyon manipulation,” I told him, “but I can try if you deem it necessary, Sir.”
As I spoke, I cautiously stepped forward, my stomach in knots. “I should just… shoot at the robots?” I asked, and hated that my voice came out a little shaky and weak.
Professor Strange sneered, not bothering to hide his disdain for me. “Drones, Ms. Renard. They’re training drones. And yes. Just shoot them. Even you can manage that, right?”
I clenched my jaw to suppress my irritation. If I’d been able to do that, I wouldn’t have come to the academy to begin with. But I’d made a choice and I had to live with that now.
I thought about what I’d seen earlier, about the way Professor Strange had looked when he’d channeled the blast. It didn’t help me much. Instead, a feeling of crippling self-doubt assaulted me as I acknowledged how difficult this was.
As the seconds passed with me standing there, frozen, I heard the other students starting to whisper behind me. “What a joke.”
“A Terran woman as a Grand Chimera pilot. I knew it couldn’t be true.”
“I bet she’s fucking Prince Brendan and that’s why he brought her here.”
“I bet she’s fucking all of them. She shares their room, you know, and I’m sure they’re sharing her.”
The words rained on me like physical blows, making me even more aware of how dependant I was on the other members of the Grand Chimera Unit. But they weren’t here now and they couldn’t hold my hand through my training. Besides, Sphinx had already told me I needed to be cautious around them.
So where did that leave me? Right at the beginning? No.
I’d used the power of Tartarus before, in ways these idiots couldn’t hope to touch. I thought about the day I’d bonded with Sphinx. I remembered Knox’s advice from back on Earth, the instructions he’d given me when General Rhodes had asked me to summon my chimera.
The science behind the method was interesting, but at the end of the day, Knox’s suggestion had helped far more. And maybe this situation wasn’t the same, but it was close enough to count. Right?
Taking a deep breath, I reached for that part of me where I always found my new friend. Our connection vibrated with a deep warmth and awareness, but I didn’t pursue it. Instead, I absorbed the power it emanated, channeling it through my body.
When I focused on the drones again, Tartarus’s Gift burned through my veins. I was a weapon of destruction. Hitting a stationary target? Really? Such power was meant for far greater things, for eliminating my foes and teaching them a lesson they’d never forget.
How dare they look down on me for my gender? How dare they hurt all those poor women in the settlement? Did they have no shame, no heart, no compassion? When had everything gone so wrong?
