Renegade Rising (The Renegade Series) (37 page)

“Go on, my boy.” Narroway said with glee. Rolce, beaming, continued.

“So, the only option would be to encode the message, letter by letter. If we were caught, our captors wouldn’t be able to read the message or figure out the coding. If someone caught us, all they would see were a series of numbers and letters that only I knew the meaning to. A total of twenty six, one for each letter of the alphabet, all designed in a way that I could recognize every letter and change it when need be. As an example, for the letter “B” I drew two circles together, horizontally, so they would remind me of binoculars or . . .” Rolce started.

“Boobs?” Gisbo interrupted. Narroway was trying not to chuckle, but Rolce didn’t notice, being deep in his explanation.

“ . . . an altered form of the letter. No need for memory, just impulse. If this were a real combat mission, they probably could have figured out the coding given enough time as it is quite simple. And if they couldn’t, well, I’d probably be tortured to spit out the key. But this was a training exercise and nobody would resort to such cruelty among friends.”

“Very good, Rolce.” Narroway praised.

“Thank you, sir. I also knew we wouldn’t have problems with Renegades finding us, they’d simply laugh and go on to find others; it was the Renegaras that worried me and were the only real threat. Just to spite us, they could have tied us up for the remainder of the time limit, not allowing us to win due to their rivalry with us. The only logical thing to do was encode the original message on new paper, destroy the original, and snake our way through stealthily to our destination, where I would decode the message for you on the spot. Still, it was good that Gisbo knew how to work the elevator. All would have been lost if we couldn’t get to your office,” Rolce finished, winking at his friend. Narroway stood up and slowly clapped his hands.

“Well done, my boy, Moordin and Falcon will be so proud when they hear the news! I was hoping you’d make it through. Perry informed me that only you two stayed behind and simply assumed what you were up to. He will be quite impressed to know two of his students made it to me. I’ll go send for him immediately, but first you need to recite the message to me, Rolce,” Narroway said. Rolce proceeded to unravel his message and requested a new sheet of paper, which Narroway gladly provided. In no time at all, it was complete and thrust to Narroway, who read it front and back. When he was satisfied, the chieftain nodded his approval.

“I hope you know the both of you cannot share the secret of what you did to anyone else. Otherwise, how will we be able to have a challenge for next year? I’m sure there are other ways of completing this task, so we will have to see what others come up with in the future! ” Narroway said and the boys agreed. It was then Perry arrived on the scene, followed close behind by Falcon and Moordin. They all gathered round to watch as Perry made his way forward, staff in hand, to face his two young students.

“Well done, gentlemen. You should know that in all my years of teaching, I have never once passed anyone early. Using reasoning, judgment of your surroundings, foresight into your enemy, and proper battle formation, you went about your mission brilliantly. In this exercise, you have displayed nearly everything I have taught you and applied it to a real life situation. Times like these truly make an instructor proud. Now put out your arm, Rolce, you have earned one of the instructor’s bands and in doing so, have shown yourself to be one of the brightest students I have taught in a long while. You have earned this special mark,” Perry said as he powered up his essence and branded Rolce’s second band upon his skin across his bicep. Rolce stared at it proudly as Moordin gave him a rare wink. Perry then turned his attention to Gisbo, before turning back to look at Falcon.

“This one belongs to you, I take it?” Perry asked. Falcon chuckled.

“More or less,” Falcon answered and Perry diverted his eyes back to Gisbo.

“Something never sat right with me the moment you entered my class, son. I should have known why with this class master over you,” Perry said. “I always pondered how your reasonably acceptable homework never bore fruit in class discussions. I could never prove it of course; for that you're lucky. Nonetheless, you have passed my class, if by nothing more than a massive stroke of luck. Looks like none of us will ever really know how you would fare on my exam, but . . .” Perry said, raising a finger to his chin.

“Hey, hey! You promised bands to any synergy that passed this thing! You can’t go back on your word!” Gisbo rebutted. A look from Perry was all that was needed to make Gisbo quit while he was ahead.

“I suppose you got your friend through the doorway. No easy feat,” Perry chided, then paused to allow Gisbo to squirm a bit longer. “And you are correct, I cannot go back on my word. Many firsts have come to pass today; among them, I find myself passing a boy who most likely never once did his homework on his own. You’re a creative one. I’ll give you that much. So, if you would hold out your arm,” Perry said as he powered up his essence.

For an instant, Gisbo couldn’t help but think of Ranto. He was right of course, whenever Gisbo looked at his arm from this point forward, he would feel a mix of pleasure and fury. Perry finished the design of the band, shaking his head. Gisbo would have taken it for disappointment, but even Perry couldn’t hide the slight grin lurking at the corner of his mouth.

“I don’t want you getting the wrong idea and thinking our work is finished. You will prove yourself to me before you become a Renegara, that much is certain.” Perry said as the slight grin stretched into a cryptic smile. Perry ruffled Gisbo’s hair, said his goodbyes and was out the door.

“Ugh, what did he mean by that?” Gisbo wondered aloud. Falcon merely shrugged.

“Don’t worry about it. Come on, let's go get you and Rolce some dinner to celebrate,” Falcon said. On his way out, Falcon paused by a vibrant picture of Vadid on the wall. He smiled at it in admiration.

“You believe he’s still out there, don’t you? ” Falcon asked, turning to Narroway.

“With my father, anything is possible. IAM knows we need him now. It’s no secret that I never wanted to lead, nor wear this goofy outfit,” Narroway joked, standing beside Falcon to gaze at the painting.

“And that’s why you were meant to,” Moordin said with an encouraging smile.

“Thanks, old friend. Mind if I join you bunch for dinner?” Narroway asked.

“When I said let’s go get some dinner, I meant you too!” Falcon said, slapping Narroway across his back.

“But one question, what did Perry mean, he’s not done with me?” Gisbo asked, a little perturbed.

“What does it matter? You just passed! You got your second band!” Rolce said happily. Gisbo looked down at his band and this time all was happiness, there were no thoughts of Ranto.

“Yeah, you're right and, whoa . . . NO MORE SCHOOL!!!” Gisbo yelled as he pumped his fist in the air and ran to the elevator, whooping and jumping with excitement. Then he froze one more time.

“Uh, don’t tell Perry you saw that,” he said, gulping nervously.

“Glad you volunteered to treat me to dinner then! I knew you were all right, kid!” Narroway said to a grumbling Gisbo.

Chapter Seventeen
: The Final Band

Gisbo couldn’t remember being happier with his life, ever. He had a nice place to live, he was following his dream, he had friends and best of all, he had no more classrooms in his future! What else could a guy want? He especially enjoyed snickering as he watched Grandfield, Knob, and Crass swimming in a sea of notes and papers, all huddled around Rolce, seeking all the help they could get to pass Perry’s infamous exam. Shaved and Whip preferred studying on their own and all the female Renegas sought hope in Kennis’ smarts.

Gisbo stretched out onto his bunk, letting out an extra loud sigh of pleasure so his friends would hear him. Fao curled up against him, sleeping soundly with her paws stretched out.

“Would you stop that already? We heard you the first few times! Gah! Damn you, Perry! The guy is out of his mind! This is, like, my entire schooling with all the subjects I ever had to study throughout my entire life jammed into one, then multiplied by like, twelve!” Knob yelled out in frustration.

“Why twelve?” Crass asked. Gisbo laughed obnoxiously from his bunk. “And as for you, yeah you, up there on the bunk. I hate you! I hate you so much and you know what? I hate you too, Rolce! You won’t even tell us how you got through that lousy exam!” Crass accused.

“Sorry, that’s how it's got to be, I’m afraid, and stop complaining about this test! I wish I could . . .” Rolce started, only to be quickly interrupted.

“Rolce, buddy, if I hear one more time that you wish you could take the exam with us, I just might start crying . . .” Granfield said, shaking his head in dismay. This caused Gisbo to break into fresh fits of laughter.

The boys stayed for about another five hours and all left grumbling. Rolce clambered up on his bunk to join Gisbo, as Harpie fluttered up behind him.

“They’ll all pass, I’m sure of it. Knob though, he gets test anxiety. He’s just not a good test taker,” Rolce said.

“So in other words, he’s stupid like me. Jeesh, the thought that it could have been me down there isn’t lost to me. I owe you my life, Rolce,” Gisbo said with a grin. Oddly, Rolce looked downward, avoiding Gisbo’s gaze and his remark.

“You don’t owe me . . . anything,” Rolce said finally, as he turned over and shut off the light. Gisbo shot up with a puzzled glance. Never had he heard Rolce speak in such an ashamed tone. What had he said? He tried to ask his friend what was wrong, only to be stopped by soft snores.

Gisbo sprawled out on his bed once more. Ever since Rolce found out the truth about Shax being his father Gisbo had noticed that, in moments of leisure, he was sort of distant. Who could blame him? He had seen his own father murder a kid, only to find out that he also murdered the mother he had never known. Gisbo had no idea how much pain Rolce had built up inside him, but nonetheless he felt for his friend, quite possibly best friend, and wished he could help him.

Gisbo was familiar with pain after all, knew it well, but he fought it with rage. Rolce had the opposite reaction; he seemed to delve into his sorrow to the point of drowning within himself. That night, Gisbo found he couldn’t sleep at all. Good thing he didn’t have to wake up early for exams the next morning! This thought alone sent him off to dreamland with a satisfied smile on his face.

Around noon, nearly on the button, Gisbo rolled out of bed in his traditional fashion and slammed his noggin against the floor. He gave a quick thumbs up to Fao who looked down from the bunk in concern and was off to ready himself for the day. Rolce was already gone, so Gisbo called Fao to him and the two life partners made their way to the commons for some sushi. At least Fao enjoyed sushi; she practically enjoyed eating everything, but no matter
.

Gisbo figured the commons would be the best spot to wait for everybody to get out of their exam and see who managed to pass. He was right, for as soon as he sat down to start his meal he noticed everybody pouring out of Perry’s little schoolhouse whooping and hollering, holding out their biceps to show their classmates. In no time at all, everybody crowded in around Gisbo’s table, pulling up more chairs so they could all sit together.

“It was wonderful! We all passed! Perry graded them right there on the spot with some kind of technique and before we knew it he was passing out the bands!” Kennis said, blue eyes beaming.

“Is there something wrong with you? There was nothing
wonderful
about that exam at all! I barely made it through! I mean, all these numbers, essays, matching, short answers . . . it was the exam from hell with teeth and claws, claws? Crullers? Donuts! Oh yes, YES! Ugh, excuse me . . .” Grandfield said as he sniffed the air and ran quickly to a stand to grab some of the freshly baked treats.

“I agree with Grandfield. It was a nightmare, but at the same time, it felt like a worthy adversary for everything Perry threw at us. All of the stuff he taught us will help us get our next band,” Shaved admitted as he took a bite from his cheeseburger.

“I’m just glad it’s over. Tests and I don’t mix well. I’ll do much better away from a stupid classroom,” Kinny announced with a sigh of relief.

“Yeahhh I know exactly how all of you feel!” Gisbo said, as he leaned back to stretch with another annoying sigh and a snicker.

“You are just one lucky bastard! You had Rolce for a teammate!” Kinny yelled accusingly. Gisbo put on a look of pretend hurt.

“Hey now, you had Kennis! She’s like the female version of Rolce! Plus you had one more member! It was equally fair,” Gisbo retorted.

“Yeah, but Kinny never
stole
my homework from me! She did it all herself! Pretty pathetic, if you ask me. School is very important!” Kennis scolded. At this, all eyes turned to Gisbo who broke into a huge fit of laughter.

“Oh man, that was priceless. Textbooks won’t do a damned thing when you're out fighting, that’s for sure. Besides, do you really think you're going to remember everything you learned in that class? I maybe remember two things, no wait . . . ok, never mind. So who got the other Instructor's band?” Gisbo asked. Kennis pointed at her forearm proudly.