Galileo (Battle of the Species) (26 page)

Professor Tamar ordered all of the androids forward and the students grinned with excitement watching the androids walk forward in perfect unison.

Dylan had no problem turning his on and off, and looked around like this was a bit of a joke.

Meta, however, was having a difficult time even reaching the neck, considering the androids were all around 6’4” and she was 5’0”.

“Dylan, can you help her?” Renn asked, as he fumbled with his own android.

Dylan looked over at Meta, who continued to poke the android’s neck without a response.

“Come on, little girl,” Dylan said, walking over to her. He grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her up onto a chair, where she could get a better look.

Renn kicked himself, realizing he had missed a perfectly good opportunity to put his hands on her waist, but it wasn’t as if he could show her where it was himself.
Where is it?
Renn thought, trying to find the button on his own android.

“Here, let me show you something,” Dylan said, handing Meta a pair of goggles.

She put them on so she could see the android was covered in fluorescent blue lines, outlining where each section of the husk was pieced together. He then took a thin magnet, which immediately attached itself to the metal frame underneath, and he slowly slid it down the piece of neck, tracing the line. The magnet unlocked microscopic locks that would later be relocked by dragging the magnet in the opposite direction. He peeled off the skin on the back of the neck, thereby exposing the power switches.

“This is what you’re looking for,” he said to Meta, indicating the specific button among a group.

Meta pushed the button and saw the android’s eyes close, causing her to smile.

Dylan put the skin back on, locking it into place, and Meta was able to turn it on and off, knowing where she needed to find it and what shape of button to feel for.

It took some practice, but Renn found the button and turned it on and off from every angle, until it became quite easy. He wondered how often he would have to fight androids, since the school would focus a few months of self-defense against them.

***

Renn kept switching on the Federation BOTS game on his computer screen every night, trying to catch another glimpse of Mindeerians fighting. The odds of seeing the same species again were against him, considering the massive number of species competing.

           It wasn’t until the Fourth Years’ BOTS game that Renn saw for himself how strong young Mindeerian fighters could be. Tabit and Pyxis were paired together and chose Mindeerian swords, igniting the metal, and spinning them around in the air. The swords hissed and snapped electricity, while the fighters slashed their foes with skillful precision.

Unlike his mother, who seemed to always use two, the boys each fought with one sword, using synchronization that could only come from familiarity.

           Renn watched Tabit and Pyxis in awe, wondering if all Mindeerians learned to fight like that or if these two were just naturally gifted. Renn wished there had been another Mindeerian he could have talked to about it, but Professor Paro was seated with the other professors, Vela was in the holding tank waiting for her turn to fight, and Desh seemed to be more focused on exchanging glances with Lux.

Renn felt sick when he caught the two of them looking at each other. Lux was beginning to feel like the sister Renn never had. It was bad enough to have Desh as a half brother, and didn’t want Desh as his brother-in-law to boot.

Renn just shook his head when a few days later, Professor Ozrot paired the students up to work on a physics exam, and Desh and Lux were paired together. To Renn’s delight, he was surprised to see Desh look incredibly uncomfortable.

“I changed my shampoo. Wanna smell?” Lux said, picking up a strand of her long blonde locks and holding it out towards Desh, with a mischievous grin.

“Nope, I'm good. Thanks,” Desh said, not even looking over.

“It's jasmine,” she continued. “You'd like it. They say Mindeerians can't resist the smell of jasmine.”

“We can't resist the smell of ambrins,” Desh corrected, trying to hide that the smell had been driving him crazy since the beginning of class; that she might as well have dipped herself in Mindeerian pheromones before sitting next to him. “Jasmine’s the closest smell to humans.”

“Oh,” Lux said with a grin, and smelled her hair, before looking back at the tablet.

They focused on their lesson, attempting to solve one of Ozrot’s equations, but Desh kept smelling her hair and thinking about her neck. Like a good Mindeerian, he tried to clear his mind and focus, but the tablet they were working on was so small, they had no choice but to get in close.

He looked around, trying to think of something else, only making him more frustrated that he couldn’t. 
She has to be wearing thought blockers,
he thought.

“What about this?” she said, writing down an elaborate physics’ equation on the tablet.

He used the opportunity to look right at her, having avoided it all class.
Just a sly glance to get a good look
, he thought. He looked over and studied her long black eyelashes that seemed to curl up by themselves, and flawless skin, giving her the appearance of a manufactured doll.

She looked up into his diamond eyes. Her eyes widened when the palm of his hands illuminated with blue light.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets, embarrassed by the alarmed look on her face. “Sometimes they turn blue for no reason,” he whispered, looking down to the equation. “It’s a good equation, but you wrote it wrong. I think you meant this,” he continued, writing a new equation on the tablet, but it was too late. Her body language had changed dramatically and she was now sitting back, glancing around, as if waiting for the class to end.

Some days, he hated being Mindeerian.

***

“Renn Andreas,” Professor Zaneer said, looking up at her call sheet in species class. “Are you ready to give your speech?”

           “Yeah, okay,” Renn said, wishing Desh weren’t in the class, knowing he’d just sit there, judging him.

           Renn initiated the hologram projector, displaying an Eminite riding an Aranea. “I did mine on Eminites,” he began. He could feel Desh’s eyes on him, and glanced up to see the Mindeerian paying closer attention than usual.

           “Eminites live on Urland and have been in existence for more than fifty million years. They have a reputation for going from planet to planet, killing all of the inhabitants and draining the planet's resources. They were denied access to the Federation for this tendency, since the portals would have given them access to any planet they wished to conquer. They still manage to take over other planets in nearby solar systems with their space fleet and are one of the species referred to as “space pirates,” boarding and taking over ships while still in flight.

“The only species they don't kill are the Aranea, which are used for transportation and hunting. Aranea share a single consciousness, so if one is given a scent to hunt, they will all seek out the scent until ordered by the Eminites to stop.

           “The Eminites have no abnormal physical strengths to speak of, but are intelligent, and able to use technology to their advantage during battles. They use both laser guns and swords to kill.”

           When Renn was finished, he walked back to his desk while everyone knocked on their tables — everyone except for Desh that is.

           “Desh,” Professor Zaneer said, with a disapproving glance. “You’re next.”

Desh walked up to the front of the class and tapped on his tablet, displaying a hologram of an Eminite in front of the class.

The students snickered.

“That's awkward,” Dylan whispered to Renn. “Like wearing the same gown to the ball.”

Desh looked up and announced he had done his on Eminites, then made eye contact with everyone, daring them to continue laughing at his expense. The room fell silent.

“The Eminites are ruled by a totalitarian government and live in a militant society, raising their children to become soldiers. They have an air fleet of hundreds of carrier ships, which can hold up to fifty Aranea and two hundred and seventy five Eminites apiece. There are thousands of fighter ships with laser capabilities in their fleet, but they continue to take over other species’ ships, using them as ruses to gain access to off limit planets.

“Their weapon of choice is a sword, but they also use 5.2 Hutman laser guns, which hold a hundred and forty five blasts per charge. The general of the Army is Zirkov Utrena, who controls the two dozen commanders beneath him. Each position is carried on through their bloodline, ending the chain if the Eminite only gives birth to females or no offspring at all.

“The only way to overtake the Eminites is to take down all of the commanders and their sons, and then kill the general, who would have no choice but to engage in battle. At this time, eight commanders have been assassinated, leaving seventeen commanders, four of them with sons, making twenty one Eminites who would need to be terminated before the Eminite army could be destroyed…”

Renn listened, realizing how calculating Desh was as he continued to break down the Eminite’s army, showing detailed anatomy charts of the Eminites with their kill zones highlighted. Renn wondered how much Desh had lost when Mindeere was destroyed, having misinterpreted his stoicism for lack of hardship. It was the first time Renn understood Desh had a vendetta. He was out for blood and wouldn't stop until it was done. Renn tried to feel more for Mindeere, but it just seemed like someone else's planet. Earth was home.

CHAPTER 12

                                                                Blue Illumination          

Renn stood deep within a pocket of a cave with no entrance or exit in sight. His heart rate increased and he dug his feet into the dirt to gain traction in case he needed to lunge.

            Defense class had evolved into a series of drills, with each student in their own nightmare. Renn’s attacker was announced as a Class D Bignet, and it appeared before him with four arms and six legs, in a metallic shell.

“Simulation will animate in five, four, three, two, one,” Ava announced.

On “one,” Renn fired electricity blasts, but the streams reflected off the suit and hit the cave wall. The Bignet grabbed Renn’s torso and pulled him close until it took a chunk out of his neck. The beast vanished and then reappeared with frozen animation in the exact spot it had started from, signifying that Renn had been terminated and the simulation would repeat until he learned to survive.

“Damn,” he muttered.

“What have you learned?” Ava asked.

“That their suits are impervious to electricity blasts.”

“What is your new strategy?”

“I will focus the blasts on the suit’s openings and go for the eyes or mouth,” Renn replied.

“Your estimated rate of survival is 60%.”

“Acceptable,” he replied.

“The simulation will animate in five, four, three, two, one.”

            On “one,” the Bignet animated and rushed Renn. He aimed for the mouth, but the beast kept it closed and Renn penetrated the Bignet through the exposed right eye. The Bignet shuttered while its left eye rolled back into its head and fell to the ground.

            “The Bignet has been terminated,” Ava announced.

The cave then changed to a foggy marsh with a large green-scaled reptile flying in the air. The beast’s eyes were already fixated on Renn while it remained frozen mid-dive towards him.

            “What is your strategy?” Ava asked.

            “To shoot it with Mindeerian fire,” Renn said, unsure of whether he should continue to use the same weapon or whether he was expected to mix it up. He reconsidered changing weapons when he heard the scattered thoughts through the simulated marsh and knew that most of his friends were having a difficult time with their chosen weapons.

He tried to block them out and focus on keeping himself alive, but the sound of Leo dying over and over in the next pod, tugged on him. Renn entered Leo’s mind, careful not to move anything around, rather just to see through his eyes at what he was fighting.

Renn saw that Leo was at the base of an orange sandstone formation in the middle of a flame-colored desert. Before him, stood an orange and red-scaled reptile that one had to look directly at to see, as it blended well with its background. The mouth of its large snout was puckered, while the cheeks puffed out like scaled balloons.

On “one,” the reptile spat acid on Leo’s face, covering his eyes and skin in a slow burn. Renn could then see the animal take a bite out of Leo’s ribcage before the pain and attacker vanished.

“What have you learned?” Ava asked Leo.

Leo gasped and shook his head. “It spits too fast for me to shoot it,” he replied.

“What is your new strategy?”

Renn could see Leo’s eyes focus on the beast’s puckered mouth, knowing it would once again spit acid towards his face.

“I don’t know…kill myself before it spits?”

“Your estimated rate of survival is 0%. You may want to rethink your strategy.”

“Thanks, Ava,” he said, scowling at the cloudless blue sky. “Just do it.”

“The simulation will begin in five, four, three, two...”

Ask for a Morian shield
, Renn projected.

“Renn?” Leo asked, looking around the stone mountains and missing the wad of acid flying towards his face. Leo screamed in pain until the simulation reset.

Next time, ask for a Morian shield,
Renn persisted.
It’s strong enough to slow the acid down. Then drop the shield and shoot it
. He was, however, so focused on Leo, that he hadn’t noticed that the maximum wait time had ended in his pod and Ava had begun without his permission. On “one,” the green-scaled beast dove, decapitating him in one quick motion, before vanishing.

“Aww, crap,” Renn mumbled.

Pay attention to your own lesson
, Professor Paro projected into Renn’s head.