Page 13 of Tears of Tungsten
Weapons Training
Selene
After the disaster of my lesson with my mother, the beginning of the new term came as a relief. My new schedule was far tougher than my previous one, but I was determined to prove to everyone that I could pull this off.
I was no longer welcome on Terra, for reasons I still couldn’t understand. It didn’t matter. I’d sworn an oath—to help all these poor women who couldn’t help themselves. No matter what my mother thought, I’d keep going.
My lovers’ support helped a lot and gave me the confidence I needed. It was hard to doubt myself when they always showed me how much they treasured me.
And so it was that, on the morning of the first day, I joined my newest class, Tachyon Firearms. The professor introduced himself as Lewis Savage and began his lecture with a terrifying warning.
“Throughout your time at the academy, I will be schooling you in everything that has the potential to blow up in your hand. And believe me, half of the things you’ll see here can blow up in your hand, maim you, and kill the people around you, whether you intend it or not.”
He paced in front of us, an imposing figure that loomed over the classroom like a monolith. Everything about him—from his stance to his well-built body—screamed soldier. If I hadn’t been familiar with a Grand Chimera, it would’ve probably made me nervous. But after last term’s fiasco, it would be a little difficult for a teacher to intimidate me.
Seated on the metal bench that served as my chair, I watched him as closely as possible and wondered how this lesson would go. My fellow students didn’t seem anxious, but that didn’t mean anything for me. Unlike them, I was liable to have a tachyon phaser explode in my hand. It was finally time for me to learn how to avoid that. But would Professor Savage be able to help me with my task?
“The recent Grand Tartarus Tournament has shown that our new generations have a lot of potential. But there’s also plenty of room for improvement. It’s unacceptable for someone to rely on tachyon swords in this day and age.”
I suppressed the urge to flinch. He didn’t look at me when he said the words, but he didn’t need to. The weight of the sword dangling from my hip threatened to drag me down.
So much for having a teacher at the academy who didn’t loathe me.
Chasing away my bout of self-pity, I maintained my stance and steady gaze. The other students weren’t nearly as disciplined. Behind me, someone chuckled. “Hey, Terran, maybe you should leave the class. We wouldn’t want you to blow yourself up. The prince won’t like having a mutilated whore.”
I ignored him. As long as they didn’t touch me or tried to hurt me physically, I wouldn’t engage in any kind of fight with them, verbal or otherwise. I had enough problems to worry about their bullshit.
Tachyon Firearms was one of the most important classes in this term’s curriculum. Last term, I’d been excluded for it, but now, I had started to progress and had been given permission to join. I’d wanted to make a good impression on my new teacher, but I’d already failed.
I’d just have to try harder.
Fortunately, my fellow students didn’t get the chance to badger me further. Professor Savage pressed a button on his wrist and our tablets chirped. “You’ve just been transferred a file—the first of many tests you’ll have to take. It will not be graded, but it will determine the category of qualifications you’ll be placed in. Begin.”
I wasn’t surprised by this development. My lovers had told me Professor Savage liked to be accurate and pop quizzes weren’t unusual in his class. I’d read up on possible questions beforehand, but I suspected it wouldn’t be enough to convince him I wasn’t useless.
When I turned on the tablet, I noted with surprise that the test only contained three questions—all of which were much too difficult for me to properly address. How the hell was I supposed to know the exact chemical compound of the tachyon conductors that made such weaponry work? The information hadn’t been in any of the books I’d read.
The second topic was outright mocking. “Why can’t Terrans wield tachyon weaponry? What kind of weapons do they use?”
The third question was fairly direct, but it would also make me more of a target than I already was.“In your opinion, what is your best weapon?”
I didn’t even have to think about what I wanted to type down. The response came easily. ‘Tachyon blade’. I’d have mentioned my chimera, but Sphinx was a person, not a weapon. Besides, I felt irked by Savage’s earlier comment.
Tachyon blades were perfectly usable in combat, thank you very much. Fuck him and his stupid prejudice.
We only had fifteen minutes at our disposal for the test, after which we were instructed to sync the file with the professor’s system and shut down our tablets.
He didn’t look at our answers. Instead, he retrieved his own phaser and started to take it apart.
“Watch closely. Understanding a weapon is the first step to wielding it.”
I watched until my eyes hurt. The tachyon conduits that ran through the weapon were unstable and could explode if not used properly. Seeing Professor Savage handle the insides of a phaser with his bare hands was both terrifying and a little humbling.
Not for the first time, I wished my circumstances had been different. If they hadn’t hated me so much for my gender, I could’ve learned a lot from these people. Instead, this was yet another lesson where I’d be seen as an intruder, where I’d likely have to watch my back for any potential attack.
Despite my apprehension, the lesson was fascinating and passed quickly. Before I knew it, Professor Savage was putting the phaser back together and dismissing us. Well, dismissing everyone else. I wasn’t so lucky.
“Acting Pilot Renard, stay behind,” he commanded.
