Back to Created and Consumed: Ch 3 Pt 2

“Wow! Feel his muscles!” Four pairs of juvenile hands pinched at my arms, I had been caught up by a couple of my peers a few days after my ‘stunt’ and hadn’t been able to shake them since they had cornered me in the Mess Hall. It seemed that the class additions were coming in at a younger age each time they were admitted. Ironic, I thought, how I could defeat the toughest elite in the Academy, yet I couldn’t even try to defeat these younglings. They were not long out of their cribs; I couldn’t just brush them off.

“Boys, please, I’m tired…” I shook one from my arm and massaged my growing headache.

“Tell us how you beat him! Please?” the tallest pipped, “We promise we’ll be quiet!”

I shut my eyes to them, I couldn’t stay, I had engagements and I was feeling ill but they persisted to crowd me. The youngest of them was now attached to my leg and refused to let me go. “Please Warrior Zyrra! I wish it so much to hear your tale again, my brothers change the story so much and I don’t know which are false anymore!”

I managed to detach the boy from my person and set him down on the floor, I really didn’t feel well at all. I stepped backward a few paces and sat down, the group followed me but I held up a hand to stay their advance, “I don’t feel well boys, please, leave me.”

A resounding moan reached me; it filled my heart with guilt. I sighed, “Kids, you all have three seconds to scat before I unleash my muscles on each of you…” I half rose from my seat and growled at the children, they squealed and scattered from sight. Finally, some time to my—

“I wish I could get rid of them like that…” the cool voice of my Ado came to me, “You alright Zyrra?”

I turned around, “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be on Reach purging the human settlements on there aren’t you?” I was surprised to see him back so early, it wasn’t standard for such a dangerous mission to end so quickly, he appeared to have no scars on him either, “Was there a mix up with the mission statements?”

“No…” Ado laughed and looked at me oddly, “My Reach mission doesn’t begin for another three revolutions yet, I have been away doing business with the Council.”

“Oh? What kind of business?” I asked, “Anything I should know about?”

Ado smiled, “Nothing to bother with, just some sort of rumour that an elite has defeated the highest ranked Mentor of the top Battle Guiild known to the Covenant… all a web of lies, for sure.” There was a mischievous glimmer in his eye, “Well done Zyrra.”

“Thank you…” I replied with the utmost humility, “I admit; it was quite a feat to conquer him…”

“But you did, that’s the first step you know. Not many have defeated Gura, and those who have in the past have become quite exceptional warriors. Mind you, they often turn out a bit more lethal than Gura himself. I’m sure I needn’t remind you how ruthless Morta can be…”

“Please don’t…” I grumbled, “So is there another ‘business’ behind your being in the City today or are you just so spare on time that you thought you’d come home for a while?”

“I’m actually preparing my troops for the upcoming mission; I was hoping to pick up some skilled warriors on my way by.”

“No shortage of those here, just look around, see those boys there?” I pointed out Ehle, Jurdo and Doxo, “Not the brightest on their own, but as a team, they’re almost invincible.”

“I’ll take that into account, but I was actually considering you.”

I was taken aback, “Really?”

He nodded, “Yes, but the Council won’t allow it. They want you to endure the whole of the Sangheili training regime at the Academy before allowing you to fight alongside the rest of us…”

This brightened my mood a little, “Well, that might not be such a long wait, my evaluation for the Guild is in two weeks, I’ve mastered most skills needed to become a warrior. If I pass…”

Ado shook his head, “You still have group trials after that. That’s where you begin to socialise with other members of the Covenant and re-learn past skills.” By this time I was thoroughly confused, I saw little reason to re-learn what I had just been taught in a smaller group, it was a waste of valuable time and resources. “I have faith that you’ll do just as well in those particular areas, what I worry about is your ability to adapt to the new environment…”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Ado rested his hand on mine, “By other members of the Covenant, I mean the other species. They may never have encountered a warrior such as yourself and most will not react to you the way a lot of us have here in this branch of the City. Also, there are the more brutal… recruits… the barbarians are multiplying and are beginning to appear more frequently in the fleet.”

My eyes widened, “Jiralhanae?” he nodded, this I could not tolerate, “How many?”

“There could be thousands, though; the Academy only enlists them as guards now, this means that punctuality is a must.” He leaned in, “By penalty of severe beatings and sometimes even death.”

I was outraged, “That’s revolting! They can’t allow the guards to kill students for being late!”

Ado sighed, “That’s how the system works I’m afraid… not many have managed to cheat it. It means ultra disciplined troops, nothing like how it is here and quite frankly, I like how it’s run, even if it is by the Jiralhanae.” He paused, “Zyrra… I’m not going to lie to you, it will be difficult, far more than you could possibly imagine. I’m just giving you the heads up on it.” His wrist guard made a small blipping noise and a chart with instructions appeared on a small view screen embedded in Ado’s armour, “I’m being called back to the Far-Nine. Zyrra, I wish you well. Please, be careful…” he stood and nudged me on the forehead; making our helmets clatter, then he marched promptly from the Mess Hall. I watched him disappear through a grav-lift then stood and exited the Mess Hall also.

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“Yo Zyrra, what’d Ado want?” Jurdo asked me when we were back in our shared quarters, “You and him were pretty erm… tight back there…” he prodded me, “You two got something going on there or what?”

Jurdo’s stupidity surprised even me sometimes… I decided to keep the relationship between Ado and I to myself for now, “He was telling me that you, Ehle and Doxo might be going on his new recruits list soon,” I saw their faces light up all at once and laughed, “Oh, and me too… he said I was far more advanced than you three…” their smiles faded and Ehle slouched into a reclining chair.

“Well of course he did… came in just after you kicked our butts AND Gura’s didn’t he? All the talk that you took us all on at once, unarmed and everything, Hell, I’d be impressed if he DIDN’T want to recruit you…” Ehle sighed and smiled, “I wish I could’ve seen Gura’s face when you walked off, Zee…”

I shook my head, “I’m pretty sure you would have passed out from fear, Ehle…”

“Either that or you would have soiled yourself.” Doxo remarked and tossed each of us a Nutro Drink. He threw himself onto my bed with a jangle and a shriek of pain; forgetting that my bunk was riddled with tools and was almost impossible to sleep on, let alone throw yourself on. He removed a tool from under his shoulders and tossed it to me, “Agh.. Zyrra, why is this crap in your bed?”

Onward to Created and Consumed: Ch 4 Pt 2