Page 54 of Souls of Steel
The Hyperion Star Fleet had a base hovering in Mercury’s orbit, avoiding the asteroid belt, while still keeping a close eye on any approaching enemies. I forgot all about it when we exited warp flight and I got my first up close view of the Sun.
I’d never seen anything so beautiful and terrifying in my life. From this distance, we could spot the flare of the gases and solar explosions dancing over the surface of the star. Its glow seemed to reach into me, threatening to suffocate me, reminding me just how small I was. At that moment, even if the ship’s shields protected me, I felt as if I was burning alive, assaulted by a power I couldn’t fight even through my creative use of tachyon manipulation.
“Pretty impressive, isn’t it?” August asked. At one point when I’d been distracted, he’d left his seat and knelt next to mine. “I’ve been here a few times, and that’s one sight I’ll never forget or get sick of.” He swept his fingers over my red hair. “It reminds me a little of you.”
The compliment was pretty outrageous, but it still drew a small smile out of me. “Is now really the best time to flirt?”
August shrugged. “Why not? Nobody’s complaining, right? Besides, we haven’t landed yet. Until the competition starts, I can get ready for it using whatever method I choose.”
“And your method involves comparing my hair to the Sun?”
“We’d do more, Selene,” Knox said in August’s stead, “but we’ve already established that wasn’t possible.”
I looked up at him and in his eyes, I saw the same need that had led me to stay by their side even when I’d realized they were lying to me. But I’d already decided now was not the time to focus on that, so I said nothing and forced myself to turn away.
To distract myself from the sudden awkwardness between us, I started preparing for the landing. The others had already gotten up, so I followed their example. A drone was distributing glowing capsules, which everyone was attaching to their uniforms. I did the same, and my uniform lit up.
The capsule contained a boost of tachyons designed to protect us while we were transferring between aircrafts. It wasn’t a space suit, but it did provide us with an extra level of protection against the sun’s hostile rays.
I could understand the precaution, but I hated wearing it. The addition of the new layer of tachyons made my skin crawl. It was interfering with my focus and within seconds, I started feeling the side-effects. I already had trouble mastering my own powers. Now, I had to deal with this, on top of everything else.
A migraine started to pound at my skull. I took a deep breath and forced myself to ignore it. The mild discomfort was a small price to pay in exchange for not getting fried.
While I struggled to recover, our teacher faced us and started to explain what we had to do. “The third stage of this tournament consists in a race around The Fields of Mercury. Your chimeras and other flight units are waiting for you in the hangars here. You are free to incapacitate your opponents in whatever way you see fit. Non-lethal means are highly recommended, but we understand that under such circumstances, accidents happen. We will have staff watching nearby and making sure you don’t drift too close to dangerous territory, but in every other way, you’ll be on your own. The finish line is at Hyperion Base 35.”
It was fairly straightforward and I likely would’ve had no idea what to do if Sphinx hadn’t shown me. An asteroid belt wasn’t a road and yet, we were supposed to use it to race. Did King Philip have no sense?
“Oh, it’s not so bad,”Sphinx said.“We actually did a lot of similar racing with the apsids during the war. Most of us have gone dormant now, so it’s nowhere near as fun, but you’ll see you’ll enjoy it. ”
Maybe she was right. Out of everything I’d done in the past month or so, the only two things I could say for sure that I enjoyed was piloting my chimera and having sex with the other members of my unit. I’d given up on the latter. I might as well take refuge in what I had left.
As a group, we headed into the depths of the vessel. The hangars were a hive of activity. I’d never seen so many chimeras and ships in one place, at the same time. Other than the Grand Chimeras, there were also a few Harpies, as well as smaller shuttles, compact personalized vessels that belonged to pilots from other units. Some of them probably had an advantage in terms of speed, especially when compared to some of our bulkier chimeras. Then again, I didn’t necessarily want to win this tournament. Sure, I’d do my best, but I knew I didn’t have as much experience as the other competitors. I was aiming for a decent ranking and survival.
“Good luck,” I told the others. “I’ll see you at Hyperion Base 35.”
“See you there, beautiful,” Knox replied. “Take care of yourself. And if you need us, you know what to do.”
I nodded, although I hoped I wouldn’t have to resort to their assistance this time. I was a chimera tamer, damn it. I might suck at everything else, but this was one thing I could do. Even if I didn’t win, I’d put up a good fight. I’d show them all that I deserved to be a student at Chimera Academy.
I entered the cockpit and connected with the Sphinx. As I waited for everyone else to finish the preparations for launch, I smiled. “Let’s give them a good show, all right, Sphinx?”
“Of course, young Selene.”She chuckled, and the sound echoed into my spine, through every inch of my body.“We’ll give them more than that. I think it’s time to remind everyone of the lessons they’ve forgotten. The gifts of the gods don’t come without a price. Privileges are conditional and they can be taken away. We’ve stood by and watched long enough. The time has come to act.”
Oh, shit. Why did I suddenly have a feeling this wouldn’t be a race, after all?
* * *
Knox
“Take care out there, Knox. We might have been here before, but our past experience won’t help us that much now.” In the crimson light of our chimeras, Brendan’s pale face looked surreal, almost burnt. “Don’t do anything rash. We can’t afford to make mistakes.”
I sighed and tapped my finger against the display. I couldn’t touch him, but the impulse was still there. “I know that, but I can’t make any promises. You and I don’t always agree on what a mistake actually is.”
“Knox…”
“Don’t, Brendan.” I growled, fury and anguish swelling inside me all over again. “This isn’t a race at all. It’s a hunt. You know it as well as I do. And if they’re planning on hunting her, I’m going to hunt them. And I’ll make them regret the day they dared to think they could hurt her.”
That thought was the only thing that had kept me from doing anything stupid. It had been a close call during the second stage of the tournament, but Cerberus had sworn up and down that it would be fine, that we could do this together. He’d also guessed the chimera race would be the most likely third event, and we’d have to keep an eye on Selene, to make sure no one attacked her. It would be a good chance to take out my aggression on people who deserved it, and not just for me.
