The Lost Aria (Earth Song Book 3) Read online

  The job was all the more frustrating to her by the fact that the team had real potential. Despite the distraction of a woman, they worked well together in solving problems and helping each other. A synergy her group also achieved. There was no underlying sexual tension between them, something she was certain the trainers had seen in her own trials group and had thus broken them up for training. Motivating Chris or Derek into being the official leader of the group was not possible, neither of them elected to take responsibility despite the fact that they'd forged the group themselves and led it in all but name. They preferred to keep in the shadows and manipulate, being sure that anyone else followed their subtle lead instead of their own instincts.

  Minu would have given up on them weeks ago if it wasn't for two simple reasons. One, their potential. Two, she needed them for something she was planning to do. Something she had not dared talk to anyone about, not even Cherise.

  “Slow down, damn it,” Tanya snarled from behind as they rounded the track again, Minu glanced over her shoulder at the young woman, her long black hair was meticulously tied into a single pony tail that flew behind her as she ran. She was tall, like Cherise, but of a much more normal build with an average bust line common to her Summit Tribe.

  “Masochist,” Orlando agreed; his medium build still keeping pace with Tanya. He liked her, but in a safe way. His looks were the type that you never remembered five minutes after you met him, and he kept his brown hair cut short, like most Chosen scouts. He was only the second person she'd known from the Boglands besides Gregg.

  “Nothing better to do,” Derek mumbled between gasps for air. His real problem was his height, maybe a centimeter more than Minu; he needed to run faster just to keep up. Minu pushed him relentlessly though, usually running circles around him saying 'I'm shorter than you, so what's your excuse?' He kept his blonde hair a little longer than most men, but that was the style in Plateau where he grew up, just like Minu. Despite his laid back style he was a cute guy and quick to smile. Of the five, Minu liked him the most personally.

  “Maybe she just wants to run us to death?” Chris barked from the back of the pack, making sure she could hear him.

  “Yeah,” Michael agreed, as always. They were a sort of Mutt and Jeff pair in many ways. Chris heralded from the Desert Tribe, like Cherise, but his skin was very lightly brown in color. He preferred to shave his head, like Dram, instead of cutting it short. Michael on the other hand was olive skinned and native to New Jerusalem. His looks were classic in Jewish proportions down to the slightly curly brown hair. He liked to keep a very thin mustache just on the edge of notice. It made you look closer to see if it was really there, and that seemed to please him.

  “You guys are an unbelievable bunch of pussies!” she yelled and suddenly stopped. Tanya and Orlando almost ran her down before they dodged out of the way. Derek came to a smooth stop while Chris and Michael trotted up like there was no particular hurry. “I'll tell you what; if any one of you can take me hand-to-hand, we can be done for the day.” She looked from one to the other for any sign of interest. Each had met her more than once in the fighting arena and knew what she should do. No takers today. “Okay, I’ll tell you what, how about two, three? Wow, amazing. Fine, all of you at the same time.”

  “I'll take that bet,” Chris said quickly.

  “Yeah,” Michael agreed. The others slowly nodded their heads with Tanya being last. Of them all, she was the least accomplished in hand-to-hand combat.

  “Great,” she said and walked them towards the nearby sand pit. The training center covered forty acres on the back side of the Steven's Pass complex, right against the mountains base. It was a cool April afternoon with the sun beating down at an angle only slightly above the mountains. Soon darkness would fall quickly, just like it always did in the mountains. Minu doffed her light sweatshirt and flexed her shoulder muscles. “You win, and we're done. I win, another ten laps.”

  “What about the arm?” Chris asked, gesturing at her gray right arm. Dozens of Chosen in and around the complex sported cybernetic limbs just like hers, many of them working for Training. It was often the last stop for a crippled Chosen still hoping to stay in the corps. That wasn't the case for Minu, of course. She was a poster child for adaption to cybernetic enhancements. As part of her duties she did therapy sessions with those who struggled after losing a limb if they had trouble adapting to the alien made limbs.

  “I'll keep it on the level, you have my word.”

  “And how do we know you won't push it a little.”

  “Oh, watch it now,” Orlando warned. Tanya cringed.

  “You ever question my honor again, Chris, and you can go find another team, and do it while I'm kicking your skinny little ass all around this complex.”

  “Hey, just kidding!” he said, smiling and holding up his hands in mock humor.

  “Yeah, no biggie.”

  “Same goes for you, Michael.” His little mustache wiggled as he looked at her, but he held his tongue. This late in the afternoon, the fighting area was deserted. As she led the team towards the Snake Pit, a triangle of sand surrounded by benches, Minu spotted a solitary figure standing up in the bleachers surrounding the training ground. She knew instantly it was Terrence. With most of the last class of Chosen already completed their training cycle they were going to other branches already. Only a few dozen potential scouts remained for their more intense physical and field training. Minu's habit of training late into the afternoon with her misfits, long after the other trainers were gone, drew him like a fly to poop. At first her practice drew harsh emails from him demanding to know why she was deviating from established training techniques. Her only replies were test results and physical evaluations of the five candidates previously considered hopeless. He stopped demanding answers and now stood this almost daily watch, often staying for hours. His unusually tall frame never moved, and he never sat down.

  “Okay, she said as they reached the soft sand of the Snake Pit, “ready?”

  “Rules?” Chris asked as he removed his sweatshirt.

  “No bone breaking, no disabling.”

  “Okay,” he said and stepped in with a roundhouse to her face. Minu effortlessly caught his arm, cocked a leg, turned and threw him over her hip using his own momentum. As she suspected, Michael was there aiming a kick at her back. He tried to check his swing and instead caught one of Chris's out flung knees in the face just before his friend crashed fully into him, sending the two crumpling to the ground.

  Acting on instinct, Minu dropped down and spun on her left foot, the right one lancing out at full length as she spun. It would have hit most people in the knees, but Derek was nearly as short as her so it hit him in the mid-thigh instead, throwing off the punch he was aiming at her head and causing his fist to slide harmlessly along her shoulder. She cocked the foot back, angled it upward, and kicked him in the solar plexus. He folded and went down, struggling to breathe.

  An arm went around her neck and she was pulled up and back high enough for her feet to clear the ground. Tanya came around from the side and delivered a forearm to her stomach. She'd seen the blow coming and tensed her abdominal muscles. The hit was solid and she felt her ribs creak more than enough to knock the wind out of her. Of the two, the strangle hold by Orlando was the bigger threat. Minu thrust both arms straight up, making him strain to keep a hold on her, then rammed her elbows back with as much normal force as she had. Years of tough physical training meant it was a lot of force. Her arms were bands of solid muscle, except the one that was a machine. She was careful to keep her word, allowing the mechanical arm to perfectly match the force from the natural one. Orlando cursed and dropped her, just as Tanya aimed a spin kick.

  The roundhouse kick would have hit her in the side of the head, had Orlando not released her. Instead the kick landed squarely on Orlando's face, spinning him and knocking him cold. “Aw crap,” Tanya said as Minu moved in. She blocked Minu's first two attacks, but then her pride and joy was her downfal
l. Minu got ahold of that waist length pony tail, gave a powerful yank and raised a knee. Tanya's face met Minu's knee with a dull thud and the girl fell back, out cold. The whole fight only lasted ten seconds. They'd landed a grand total of one blow between them.

  Minu massaged her abdomen, noting a small twinge to one side, but nothing severe. The team was rolling over to shake their heads or massage deep bruises. All except Orlando who was still out cold. “Pathetic,” she said, turning and jogging towards the distant buildings. “Ten laps, kids, and I'll check the recordings.”

  “Bitch,” Chris moaned.

  “Yeah,” Michael agreed.

  “You called, Terrence?”

  “Come in,” he said and Minu walked into the office. Every time she was there she got a little smile realizing it was only half the size of her own office on Herdhome. Of course offices in Steven's Pass were all on the small side. As a council member Terrence's was one of the largest with only Dram's topside office and Jacob's any bigger. “Have a seat,” he said and gestured towards the office’s couch.

  Minu was curious, it was the first time he hadn't insisted she stand while he barked at her, so she went and sat down. As she walked to the couch she could see the track where five lonely figures were still trudging around in circles as night fell. “What can I do for you?”

  “I was watching you work with those rejects, and frankly I'm impressed.”

  “Really?”

  “Sure, how could I not be? Even Eric mumbled something about thinking they would make a good scout team.”

  “Hard to believe.”

  “I know. I'm going to go ahead and authorize them to go into operational training. Take them out and get them some experience.”

  “Sure, whatever you say.” He walked over and casually sat on the couch, not as far away as he could, but not as close either. “Is there anything else?”

  “You've impressed me a lot more than I expected. I was pissed when your pet soldiers-”

  “Rangers,” Minu reminded him coldly.

  “Right, anyway, I was pissed because they were outside my training control, I still think that's a mistake, but you got results. So to have you here now, it’s a good move on your part.”

  “Really, why would that be?”

  “You haven't had anyone on the council on your side. Oh, Dram of course, and Bjorn but he's been brushed off the table with the rest of the stale crumbs. I'm in a position to move you to the next step.”

  “I'm listening,” she said with no small amount of suspicion. The higher you got in the Chosen the deeper the plotting and intrigue tended to get. She also knew for a fact that Terrence didn't like her; regardless of how sweetly he was sitting there talking to her.

  “I've been considering retirement for a while now; I'm almost forty after all. It's been a tradition of sorts to suggest your own replacement.”

  “Worked out great for Bjorn.”

  “He was never a team player, I'm sure you realize that now. With my recommendation, and Dram's support, Jacob would have to take the promotion seriously.”

  “Wow, I don't know what to say.”

  “Don't carry on; it’s what I want to do, for you.” Minu nodded and he smiled slightly. The feeling of suspicion in her belly began to grow into full-fledged paranoia. Suddenly leaving was the best option. “I would only need one small favor.”

  “Favor?”

  “Sure, it’s nothing that big for a smart girl like you. And in a few short years you'll have another star off that sleeve!” Minu glanced down at her sleeve and sighed, wishing he'd cut to the chase. “So, I think we have an understanding?”

  “I'm not sure I do-” she cut off as she looked up, the words catching in her throat. While he'd been talking Terrence had been busy. He sat there with his pants down, penis standing up from his waist.

  “Not such a big thing to do?” he laughed and gestured with his head, “A smart girl like you has to know how the world works.”

  Minu realized her jaw was hanging down as she stared at his throbbing member. Suddenly terrified he'd get the wrong idea her mouth snapped shut. “Is that why you called me here?” He shrugged and spread his legs wide, obviously certain of how things would turn out. “It's kind of amazing, isn't it?”

  “I'm proud of it,” he laughed and slid a little closer, making it bob up and down. Some small part of her noted that age did not treat men's genitals kindly.

  “Well, let's see here,” she said and leaned over his waist.

  “Absolutely,” he said and leaned back confidently. Minu took a good grip with her right hand, way down against his pubic hair, and tugged. “Easy honey, don't want to pull it off, do you?”

  “That's an option,” she said, low and menacingly. She doubled her grip to her human maximum, that scale built into the cybernetic limb with which she gripped his member. His eyes bugged out and he gasped. Minu quickly straddled him and grabbed his testicles with her left hand. It wasn't as potentially powerful, but it didn't have to be. He let out a strangled scream and cocked an arm back to punch her. “Touch me and I'll show you something you've never seen...” he froze and looked at her, panic in his eyes and drool running down his chin, “the roots.”

  “W-what do you want?”

  “I want a world where nasty bastards like you don't try to use their shriveled up, nasty, crusty old dicks as weapons against girls less than half their age!” Her feet slid to the floor and she stood, slowly, without giving up an ounce of pressure. He followed her as if he was connected to overhead wires, an almost comical marionette linked at his genitals. “It is beyond the pale to even think that someone of your power would do something like this to get into my pants. And you couldn't even fucking ask in a civilized manner!” She squeezed harder with her left hand and his knees almost buckled. “Who knows, maybe I would have entertained the idea. You're not that bad looking. But no, what do you do? You just drop trow and pull this thing out, waving it in my face with half veiled promises of 'career guidance'. What do you think Jacob would think of this situation?”

  “I, I, ach?”

  “Right, hard to say. Maybe I'll just march you down the hall and find out. Not a lot of Chosen in the building right now, being late and all. Still, there should be a few dozen to see me towing you around by this shriveled hunk of meat.” She looked down and saw that he'd most definitely lost his erection, but the amount of pressure she was exerting wasn't allowing the blood to flow. The head had a decidedly unhealthy pallor about it,

  “I didn't...ugh!”

  “Didn't what, think I'd put up much of a fight. Do you even know who my father is?” He nodded his head vigorously and she shook hers. “Really, it doesn't look that way from where I stand, and what I'm holding. I've got news for you, you're not going to see me naked, touch my body, or get this thing anywhere near any part of me, except this cybernetic hand that could just rip it off, of course.”

  “No, no,” he said. She wasn't sure if it was a plea or an agreement, and it didn't matter.

  “But you are going to give me that help you promised. You know why? Because I turned on the recorder on my tablet before I walked in here. Every word you said, and probably a few stills of you sitting there with this thing standing up are now recorded on it. If you so much as say an ill word about me or look the wrong way at me any of my friends, and I'll see that it not only gets into Jacob's hand, it will find its way into the press.”

  For just a second she considered ripping his penis off. Dr. Tasker might have a prosthetic that would work for that too. Ultimately she decided against it because the secret was more useful than having to explain why she gelded the man in charge of the Training division. She boosted her right hand past human normal; just enough to make him utter a short visceral scream, then let the horribly mistreated piece of meat drop from her hand.

  He dropped to the floor, trembling hands going to cover his abused parts, tears rolling down his cheeks. “Of all the nasty things done to me by men since I've joined the Ch
osen, all the low down dirty tricks and attempts to sabotage my career, and I thought I'd seen it all. Thanks for proving me wrong, you son of a bitch.”

  “Sorry,” he hissed between his teeth, eyes wide in agony as his hands explored the damage.

  “Don't even try, you animal.” She pulled the tablet from her pocket and waved it at him, “Just don't forget what I said, ever.” And with a purposeful stride she marched from the office, wishing she could slam the door behind her. As she walked down the hall the sounds of his sobs slowly fell away. She needed to get to her billet in the main building. It would take a gallon of soap to get her hands clean.

  Chapter 7

  Octember 27th, 521 AE

  Chosen Training Complex, Stevens Pass, Bellatrix

  “The most important thing to remember is you are never safe,” Minu said as they walked through the ruins of a once massive industrial complex. Tanya, Orlando, Derek, Chris and Michael were in a rough echelon formation following close behind her. Their weapons were slung over their backs, kept charged and ready should trouble appear. Minu picked this world, Deep Blue, because of the low chance of that happening. As advertised the skies were a bright shining shade of blue, the system’s star riding high in the afternoon sky. The air was clean and crisp, hovering around seventeen degrees with little breeze. A nice day for some training, and legend tracking.