Keeper Hunter

0600 I was in bay seven. Marines were setting up all sorts of what looked like holographic targets and long tables of weapons.

“Hey you came for me!” Claire said then blushed, her face red as she realised what she had said.

Silivia laughed. “More likely the other way around!”

Claire blushed redder.

“Who are you and who let you in here!” A voice boomed out.

I turned to see a man of medium height and broad chest his hair was cropped short and grey. He had a set of stripes on the arm of his pale green jumpsuit. I identified them as for a Gunnery Sergeant.

“We did Gunny,” Claire stated. “We got permission from the captain.”

“Right then carry on,” Gunny said and turned and marched off bawling at a bunch of Marines standing around doing nothing.

I was slightly surprised by that but decided against commenting.

“Don’t worry about Gunny,” Silivia assured me. “He’s like that with everyone including the captain.”

Claire and Silivia’s Sarge appeared he had a datapad in his hands. I saw him glance at the two women before addressing me. “Ok civilian we have rules please follow them carefully.” He began list rules all seemed pretty standard to me. “I hope you follow them.”

“Safety always comes first,” I replied although the Valkyrie seemed to follow a different sort of rules. Idiots didn’t deserve to live, if you made a mistake you owned up to it that was if you hadn’t done something fatally stupid. I had heard the stories Thirika made sure I didn’t do the same. I missed her as I missed my real mother. I was her adopted daughter. I think my mother would have had some choice words to say if she found out.

“This way,” Sarge said and gestured.

I followed him to a table, which was partitioned by holographic screens. On the table was something that partially resembled a Seven Double ‘M’ but it appeared to be heavier. I picked it up feeling the weight the grip and trigger mechanism was the same and it had that pistol shape.

“This fires a laser beam at a holographic target. It gets reflected back and a sensor on the gun registers at hit. A processor inside computes the hit and slows it down to reflect bullet speed and not light speed.” He frowned. “This isn’t Empire technology it’s Confederacy. Our Empress was given this idea as a gift.”

I bet it was an Ezaran design, I’d seen what Denassi was capable of. “I got that Sarge,” I said as I aimed down the sights making adjustments for the weight. A hologram of a soldier in full combat armour appeared in front of me. I wasn’t going to point out to the Sarge that the holo was wearing Confederacy armour. We weren’t at war with the Confederacy. The Orsini and the Rhosani but they were a whole other can of worms. I fired remembering the last time I was shooting at figures in combat armour. That seemed so long ago on Saros another of my growing list of things to resolve. The gun if I could call it that made the same sounds as it real counterpart but without the recoil. Lowered my gun satisfied I had done what I had to do.

The Sarge was looking at his datapad a frown on his face. “This will correlate the data from the training weapon and give you a score.” It seemed to take a while longer than I expected. “Well you’ve failed none of your hits targeted the centre mass,” Sarge stated.

I saw both Claire and Silivia look concerned.

I placed the gun on the table. “I assume this weapon is a simulation of a Seven Double ‘M’?” I asked him mildly. “And the target a man in full combat armour. If this had been real the Seven Double ‘M’ it would be ineffective against armour?”

“She’s right and you know it Woody,” A new voice interrupted.

I recognised him as the red headed sergeant.

He smiled at me. “I’m John Carlton and that’s Woody Woodson,” John said pointing to Claire’s Sarge.

“Glenda Hampton,” I said using my alias.

“Gunny!” Woody called out gesturing to him.

“What the problem?” Gunny asked.

“It’s this civ’s scoring.” Woody showed Gunny his datapad.

I should have taken offence when he referred to me as a ‘civ’ but I didn’t it wasn’t worth the hassle.

Gunny looked at the data pad then at me. “Well?”

I found myself repeating what I told Woody.

“It is a pass,” Gunny stated to Woody and then to me. “You realise that none of these wounds would be lethal?”

“I know but out of the fight is out of the fight. Orsini are a different point though.” I said my mind of the first time I fought Orsini. That had been a total fluke I was lucky I had the element of surprise. What I did ensure was that they were really dead. A lesson they’d forgotten or that they’d ignored through arrogance. They should have made sure I was dead but then I hadn’t been one of their kills. A fact that had ultimately saved my life.

“That’s true,” Gunny said thoughtfully. “It is a valid point.” He glanced around we had seemed to have gathered a crowd. “The show is over!” He announced. “Break it up we’re Marines and not some travelling circus.”

“Ok what’s next?” I asked Woody after the crowd had dispersed.

“This way,”

I was led to another table. On it was an AR 32 the coil-assault gun a real one. I handled one on a number of occasions so I was familiar with it.

“Disassemble this and re-assemble it in the fastest time I will time you.”

I examined the AR 32 it was heavier than the Confed ones the design was similar. I placed my hands on it ready to go.

“Wait until I say go?” He paused. “Go!”

With practised ease I broke the weapon down and put it back together. I thought I was a bit slow. Thirika would have registered her disapproval by making me do it over and over again until she was satisfied.

“Ok,” Woody said and swallowed hard.

“Man who the hell trained you. That easily beats my best time and I’m considered the fastest one here?” Claire said shocked.

“What else have you trained in?” Silivia said interrupting.

“Melee weapons, the Valkyrie favour the up close and personal touch. I’ve been trained with axes, swords, daggers and spears.” I neglected to mention staves I still sucked big time with those. “The Valkyrie Guardian sword is hard to wield I don’t have the size or bulk to handle it correctly.”

“You’re serious about that?” Claire said looking shocked again.

“When the Valkyrie say training they mean training in everything they think important.” I paused. “I have a Valkyrie shuttle licence that is recognised in the Confederacy. The only thing they didn’t train me was to pilot a drop ship or operate a MARs. I had to learn that last one pretty quick on a task they assigned to me.”

I noticed Silivia scrutinise me carefully. “Now you are joking the Valkyrie wouldn’t send a Human off on a task?”

“The Elder Council would they’d expect a return on their investment.” I often wondered what exactly was on the Elders’ minds. They had refused both Runa’s and Thirika’s Clans requests. Of anyone I was a Martin if Marsha said that then I was. I was also a Landottir the last of them. The few survivors that had been rescued had been re-absorbed into the Martin Clan. My great grandfather Theo was a Landottir but his existence had been kept a secret. The Elders going so far as to hide his blood. So when I joined Security my Valkyrie blood showed as Human a vital requirement for service in the Empire. Purist hypocrites like those two Valkyrie hunters that had tried to kill me in the forest because I was vaihdokas. I wasn’t pure Valkyrie, vaihdokas was the Valkyrie word for a person with mixed blood. Some used it as a slur but I had embraced it. Those two had been punished they could have easily been executed for trying to start a Clan war. Thirika had dealt with them in her typical Valkyrie way. I spoke again. “And being Human…” a lie I kept telling myself after I learned the truth. I wasn’t sure what I was I had Valkyrie blood as well as Keeper. “I am a neutral party and not affiliated to any Clan.” Several Clan Mothers had tried. The Elders had stood firm I was Clanless like any of the Silver Guard.

“That actually makes a lot of sense,” Claire commented.

“You’d be the first. Nothing the Valkyrie do makes a lick of sense.” I shuddered at the thought. “They give you impossible trials to complete and tell you you’ve passed when you were sure you failed. The last trial that they gave me was a hand to hand combat trial against a woman three times my height and weight. I had the crap beaten out of me and I still passed.”

“Jeez I though Marine training hard,” Claire commented.

“Then Marines aren’t trained from birth,” I told her. Which was why I’d never be good as the likes of Thirika or Runa.

“That’s true,” Silivia said. “What I want to know is why do it?”

“Because the Elders decreed it. I was given a choice either to stay on Alfheimir for the rest of my life or train. I took training I wanted to find Solstrid’s murderer.”

“Man that’s harsh,” Claire said with a grimace.

“It took me a year to train to their satisfaction.”

“Why would they do that?” Silivia asked I noted she was looking at me carefully.

“Yes that what I want to know, are you Human?” Claire said to me.

I winced at the inside it was a question I kept asking myself and still hadn’t found an answer. “I am Human. But the Valkyrie believe in honour.” I lied. The Valkyrie believed in honour that was true but was I Human? I really didn’t know anymore. “They wanted me to find Solstrid’s killer and bring her to justice. I thought I’d only have to give the bracelet to her Clan Mother but she refused. The Elder’s wouldn’t let it pass so I was sent out to find her killer. Since she’d been exiled by her Clan.”

“I’m beginning to see a bigger picture here,” Silivia said but Woody interrupted the rest of what she was going to say.

“Break it up, this isn’t some social gathering. We’re Marines so lets train!”

“Yes Sarge!” we all chorused.

I continued my weapons training finding familiarity in the work.