Chapter 03

  Out with the Old

  Mira stayed awake that night, strapped to her bed, staring at the ceiling of their 4-person dorm room. The skylight was closed over with a metal blind. The only light emanated from the ambient glow of their bodies. Stephen in the bunk below her snored obnoxiously loud, but it wasn’t the reason she couldn’t sleep. She was both excited and nervous about the following morning. She had always dreamed of a day like this happening, when she’d finally be asked to make use of her abilities. Yet she felt a guilt for having to abandon her friends, the people she had trained with at this academy for the last 7 solar years. It hadn’t felt so long ago when they celebrated their adolescent solstice.

  She looked over to Atlas sleeping on the bottom bunk opposite her, thinking about what he said. He’s just jealous, she thought to herself. What she was doing was good; it had to be. She rubbed her eyes and groaned; it had to be...

  The night passed. Mira entered the unfamiliar Starward Training Hall. Similar to Leftward Hall, Starward Hall was equipped with spherical pits; however, the six in the room circled around a larger centralized one about double their size. Gravity training mats and range corridors also spotted the outskirts of the room next to large windows covering the majority of the walls. In a way they made the room look small compared to their star. In another way, it was mesmerizing and gave the room a natural feel the other halls lacked.

  Castor stood at the edge of the nearest pit, his hands on the railing. He was wearing governmental athletic wear with light blue accents, much like the purple on her own. “Morning,” he said, turning to face her. The dark shirt he wore was marked with a light blue ‘U’ symbol on his right breast. The serpent of Ophiuchus was striking through its center. Its mouth was agape to show the glowing blue fangs.

  “Morning,” Mira repeated back to him, still admiring the facility around them.

  “Did you sleep well?” He asked.

  “Yes, I did,” Mira lied.

  Castor nodded, an apparent skepticism on his face. “Let’s start with a little duel. I want to get a better read of where you’re at.”

  “Sounds good,” Mira replied. She wanted to say more, but her words hung in her throat, the reality of her situation now fully hitting her.

  He bent himself over the railing and fell down into the pit. He curved up around its edge and flew back up to its center in an extravagant show of light blue plasma.

  She stepped up to the ledge and launched herself forward into the pit with him. She ignited her fists and legs, posing an offensive stance.

  “Show me what you’ve learned in all your solstices here,” he commanded.

  Mira didn’t give him a moment, swinging fist first at him.

  He dodged her attack, rolling to the side.

  Mira spun her leg at him, and he pulled himself upward, avoiding it. She attempted a few more hits, but Castor was agile enough to dodge all of them, despite the disproportionate class difference between them. With one last fist, she pummeled down at him, and Castor parried. It flung him a few feet backwards, and he had to brake with plasma bursts from his legs.

  “This isn’t the old man’s practice. Hit me with all you've got,” he said.

  Mira layered her flame, brightening it. She flung herself forward, and Castor shot upwards to avoid it.

  “Better, but actually hit me.”

  Flying up towards him, she tried to go for a hit on his legs. It was a miss as he used his blue flame to skirt to the other side of the arena.

  He held his hands out and motioned for her to attack him.

  She did, fueling up a punch as she dove for him. Letting her swing fly, she yelled.

  He limboed under it, purple fire illuminating his face. He then kicked upwards, hitting her square in the stomach.

  With the unexpected hit, Mira reoriented herself.

  He made another jab at her, striking her in the chest. Now she was on the defensive, holding up her arms to avoid another hit with a violet plasma shield. Castor struck multiple times.

  Parrying his attacks could only get her so far. One managed to get through her shield and hit her in the jaw.

  She shook it off, stretching her jaw.

  He held up his fingers, denoting them to break, his face in a pout.

  Mira turned down her flame, flustered.

  “What did the old man teach you?” Castor asked.

  “Wel—” Mira tried to reply.

  “Because clearly there’s some work to do,” Castor said. “Mira, you're stronger than any of us, faster too. Now we just need to put it to use.”

  She sighed, her cheeks a bright purple. “Show me.” She straightened up.

  Castor smirked, a wide smirk, his face creasing with it. “Oh, Mira,” Castor said. “Eager, aren’t we? We’ll get there in time.” He passed her an object he had tucked into his shorts. She caught it. It was a nebulant, an energy-reviving inhaler.

  “I don’t need it,” Mira said. Part of the strict code Mira had implemented for herself included refusal of inhalants during training sessions. She figured without them, it would make her stronger and more used to the battlefields that awaited her.

  “Just take it,” Castor replied. “I need you at your fullest to get through today's exercises.”

  She hesitantly listened and took a short breath from it, tasting the sweet and savory flavor of compressed nebular dust. Of course, she still used inhalants at the necessary times, breakfast and dinner. Stellar bodies, especially at their strength, couldn’t survive solely off UV energy. From this device, though, came a tingly feeling unfamiliar to her. A wave of energy pulsed through her core. It made her just as energized as before the duel, maybe even more so. Whatever nebular dust was inside the container was the strongest stuff she’d ever tasted.

  “With that being said, let's start with some flight maneuvers.”

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  *BREAK*

  Atlas entered Leftward Hall, reinserting his earpiece to make out the conversation between Stephen and Yue in front of him. Their voices crescendoed in his ears. He grimaced, adjusting the piece until he could make out the mumblings of Stephen as he spouted about the history book he had been reading.

  “Very interesting,” Yue indulged him.

  “That’s sarcasm, right?” Stephen questioned.

  “No…,” Yue replied.

  Stephen huffed, flaunting his arm in a playful gesture. “Way to care about my interests, Yue.”

  “Oh, come on, I thought it was interesting up until it hit about the 20-minute mark,” Yue replied.

  The conversation fizzled out as they approached Rigel at one of the pits. He eyed the three of them, biting his lip. “We’re missing one,” he acknowledged. “Did Mira sleep in?”

  “Oh,” Atlas started, taking a deep breath before sharing the information. “She's not training with us anymore. Thought she’d have told you.” Evidently she hadn’t.

  A shadow of disappointment took over his demeanor. “I didn’t hear of any of this. How’s that?” he asked.

  “She’s training with Castor now,” Atlas said, scratching his head.

  Rigel put a thumb to his mouth and thought for a moment. “Well, good for her, I suppose. I'm sure she’s happy.” His response was dry, lacking in enthusiasm, but he tried his best not to show his dismay. “My plans were for 4, but I think we can make 3 work. Wish I had a little advance,” he said with a broken chuckle. “Atlas and Yue, can I have you in the pit?”

  “Sorry about her,” Atlas apologized, taking off towards the center of the pit with his pale yellow flame alongside the light blue trail of Yue.

  He looked down at Rigel at the ledge of the pit. He saw him sigh, clearly distraught about the matter. Atlas wished he didn’t have to be the messenger for his sister. It had only gotten worse as she aged, as her drive manifested in recklessness.

  Their training session continued for a couple more hours. Atlas stood beside Yue at the floor by the training pit, taking a pump from his nebulant and breathing in the stellar dust. Relief washed over him as the inhalants flowed into his core and through his plasma.

  Stephen landed beside him, mostly unphased by the workout they had just endured. He stretched his arms and relaxed against the railings of the combat pit.

  “Good work today,” Rigel said with a fading smile. “Also—after you leave, would one of you mind referring Mira to me? I just want to talk to her about the new situation.”

  “We will,” Atlas replied.

  Rigel nodded to him. “See you all later,” he waved.

  They each waved back and turned to exit the hall.

  “I can’t believe her,” Atlas blurted as soon as the door closed behind them. “Can’t even let Rigel know, the man who’s taught us our whole time here, that she’s done with him.” They fell into the passageways.

  “I’m sure she didn’t mean to,” Yue replied. “It was very sudden. Probably didn’t have time.”

  Atlas nodded. “Yeah, maybe. I just don’t like this, how she can be so content with this.” He was arguably more dejected than angry, but he didn’t want to show it.

  “I mean, this is Mira we're talking about. Of course she’s going to jump at this opportunity without thinking about it,” Stephen said. “Also, Castor’s kind of a big deal. I doubt she has much choice in the matter.”

  “Yeah, I suppose,” Atlas said, feeling he may have come off a little too much.

  “What counts is that she’s still here,” Yue replied. “Maybe in a different room than the rest of us, but we’ll always be there to help Mira out.”

  “Help and Mira are two words that don’t belong in the same sentence. She’ll just continue to do the same thing she always does,” Atlas replied.

  “Atlas, don't be stubborn,” Yue said. “She listens to you, we know it, even if she has trouble showing it.”

  “What do you know, both of them are stubborn. Must be a twin thing,” Stephen said, giving Atlas a nudge.

  Atlas gave a soft smile and shook his head. “Does anyone know what happened yesterday? Must’ve been pretty serious the way she looked.”

  “Yeah, I’ll say she was a mess coming back from the training hall,” Stephen added. “Did not offer me a word, though.”

  “Maybe we should stay out of it,” Yue suggested. “There’s probably a reason she doesn't want to talk about it.”

  “You’re so smart, Yue,” Stephen replied. “I agree with Yue.” Stephen smiled at her, devolving to a more flirtatious mood.

  “Tone it down a bit,” Yue said, raising an eyebrow at him.

  “She doesn't have to know we found out,” Atlas replied. “But I need to know.”

  “She’ll tell you eventually,” Yue responded. “She always does.”

  “I know, but maybe I should just be ready for it this time,” Atlas said.

  “Come on, don’t be irrational. I know she’s your sister, but we all care about her,” Yue replied.

  “Fine,” Atlas sighed.

  “Fine, what?” Yue questioned, raising a finger.

  “Fine, I won’t go snooping,” Atlas groaned.

  Yue nodded contently.

  “Good man,” Stephen replied, giving him a punch in the shoulder.

  Atlas rubbed it, looking up at him.

  *BREAK*

  Mira struck a punch and looked up to Castor.

  He nodded. “Acceptable,” he said. “But I'm not looking for acceptable.”

  Mira nodded and struck again.

  “Pin that energy to your fist,” he said. “Direct it. You're letting it disperse.”

  She closed her eyes and tried to feel her flame travel along her arm. She lashed out, this time feeling the tingle in her fingers.

  “Better,” he said. He was about to instruct her in a new move when there was a knock at the door, interrupting him. “Who is it!?” Castor yelled, annoyed.

  “Rigel,” the voice responded. “I just want to talk to Mira.”

  “She can talk later,” Castor replied, rolling his eyes.

  “It's ok, I can deal with him,” Mira said, already floating down towards the door.

  “Make it quick.”

  Mira hopped to the ground and went to pull the door open.

  Rigel stood in the doorway.

  “What do you want?” Mira asked, a salty attitude in her voice.

  Rigel was taken aback by the tone but continued anyway. “I wanted to know when you were going to tell me you got a new instructor.” He tried to say it as passively as possible.

  “Well, you found out, didn’t you?” she responded. She glanced over to Castor, who waited with his arms crossed.

  “I guess so,” he replied, scratching his head. “Can we talk about this at some point?”

  “I’ll see if I can find the time,” Mira replied and then quickly motioned for him to leave.

  He nodded softly. “See you, Mira,” Rigel replied.

  Mira closed the door as he left. As it shut, she felt a pit open in her chest. For seven years, Rigel had been her mentor since she arrived at Helyx. Yet the harshness she had spoken with did not represent that at all.

  “Let’s hurry back to it,” Castor said.

  Mira turned to him and nodded, the achy feeling floating out of her system.

  *BREAK*

  The table Atlas and his friends sat at was elevated 25 feet above the ground. From a metal pole protruding through the top and bottom, it connected to several other tables in either direction. The poles dotted the Helyx library complex in an assortment of heights, hanging from both the relative ceiling and floor. Each was lined with several small lights to bask the library in a soft blue glow. To the cylindrical walls were balconies full of bookshelves.

  Stephen had opened up the history book, and Yue found a story with a blue cover to read. Atlas, however, was staring at the large hole in the midsection of the library wall that acted as the entrance.

  “She was supposed to meet us here,” he mentioned. “How long are her new training sessions?”

  “I’m sure she’ll be done soon,” Yue replied. “Why don’t you read your book? You’re going to need to if you want to get into the Energy Core program.”

  Atlas looked down at his book, The Promising Future of Core Generators.

  “Castor seems intense, probably likes to take his time,” Stephen said from behind his book.

  Atlas put his head on the table. A humming sound vibrated in his earpiece. His head snapped towards the library entrance. He frowned. It wasn’t Mira. The woman did look familiar, though—another Helyx trainer.

  “Hey, Stephen,” Atlas whispered over to him. “Isn’t that the lady who trains right after you and Mira’s practice?”

  Stephen looked up. “Yeah. Why… oh, I see.”

  “Atlas…,” Yue started.

  “She’s right there,” Atlas said. “It’s like the stars are asking us to find out.”

  Yue closed her book. “I won’t stop you,” she said.

  Atlas floated from his seat and over to the lady as she passed by their table.

  Yue picked her book back up, shaking her head.

  Atlas caught up with the lady before she could fly up to the next floor. “Excuse me?” he questioned.

  The lady turned and faced him. She gave him a stern look. “Mira’s brother, is it?” she muttered. “Get your sister on a leash before she hurts someone else. What do you want?”

  Atlas was a little taken aback by the response. “Uh, yeah, what happened exactly?”

  “Oh, the brat didn’t tell you,” the lady laughed. “She kicked a student across the room. She’s lucky it wasn’t worse. The poor girl’s going to have to spend a few days in the infirmary. Your sister—” She froze and glanced behind Atlas’s shoulder. “And would you look at that?”

  Atlas, confused by the change of tone, turned around to see standing in the doorway, Mira. A heat boiled in Atlas’s chest. The empty void of space felt compressing around him.

  Mira swiveled around, retreating back out the doorway.

  “Yeah, run away from your problems. See where that gets you!” The woman shook her head and flew up towards the top floor.

  Stephen looked at Atlas with a face of, you’re fucked.

  “Dammit,” he muttered and ran towards the door to catch her.

  Yue turned to Stephen and shook her head.