The Technician's Fight, Draft 1, CH03

Jeremy paused at the archway opening onto engineering. He was happy to be back to work after the few days off, his part in the hunt had

Jeremy paused at the archway opening onto engineering.

He was happy to be back to work after the few days off, his part in the hunt had enforced on him. Hunters weren’t allowed to just return from the line and get back to work as if nothing happened. They needed to live for a few days. Enjoy having survived. He wasn’t—hadn’t been—one of them, but Gralgiran had kept him busy.

And Jeremy had enjoyed that.

But now it was time for his shift.

And to confront the Engineer.

He’d be more comfortable with that if Alixianakaran had sought him out to let him know how he felt about what Jeremy had done. Running off, abandoning his post. How ever he saw it. His friend’s temper should have meant that the moment Jeremy was cleared by medical, he would have been there, letting him know in no uncertain term what the consequences would be.

That he hadn’t…?

He headed up the stairs to the office. The Engineer was already there.

Jeremy wasn’t sure his friend respected the shifts.

He announced himself. As often as he was in the office, he didn’t take for granted he was welcome there. The light turned blue, and he entered.

Alixianakaran continued working, claws clicking as they hit the bottom of the key wells. This reminded Jeremy too much of when he’d barged into the office and made demands of the Engineer.

He waited.

“Are you here for a reason, Technician?” the Engineer asked without looking at him.

He ground his teeth. He hadn’t cursed Kelsirians and their need for ranks in a while now, but he silently did so. He wanted to talk to his friend. Not the Engineer. This would be easier without the forced distanced between them.

“I’m sorry for running off.”

“Are you?”

“Damn it, Alix—” he bit off the rest. So much for not making this a repeat of that first time.

The Engineer turned his seat to face him, his expression unreadable.

That, in itself, told Jeremy something of the other man’s mood. With their ears, Kelsirians tended to be expressive to any who knew how to interpret the angles and twitches. Everything on the Engineer’s head was perfectly still.

How angry did he have to be to feel he couldn’t afford to express anything?

“You get that I did it so you and Gral wouldn’t have to argue, right? So you wouldn’t have to be pissed at him?”

“Did you?”

He closed his eyes. “Something needed to be done. The Hunters were in danger, and you wouldn’t go willingly. And once Gral forced you, you’d be angry at him, and I didn’t want to see that. Friends shouldn’t be that angry at each other.”

You shouldn’t be this angry at me.

“I see.”

Jeremy wanted to scream. What did the man want from him? “Alix, please.”

“Your shift has started.”

He didn’t have a friend here at the moment.

“Yes, Engineer.”

“Something is going on with the conduits in Delta-eight. Resolve that.”

“Yes, Engineer.”

Leaving the office, Jeremy noticed someone at Thuruk’s station, but didn’t have the time to find out why. With the Engineer in the mood he was, he couldn’t afford to give him a reason to be angrier. He grabbed tools from the locker and headed to Delta-eight.

*

This training room was not in the usual gym.

Jeremy was no longer learning to defend himself. He was going to be taught to fight the way hunters did. And by the way the people in the other training circles hit the mat, it was going to hurt.

He was in the hunter section of the ship. Not his first time there since Atarikna had her lab within it, but this was deeper. The leisure alley had been loud with sounds of revelry. He’d caught a couple going at it as he walked by. The woman against the wall yelled in pleasure as she pressed the other woman’s face in her groin.

Hunters lived hard; he’d heard more than once. To make up for being called to the Forest before most, was the explanation.

Jeremy had had a taste, with how energetic the sex between him and Gralgiran had been. But he couldn’t imagine being on that level all the time. It would burn him out.

Or maybe that was how he’d avoid it. By burning that energy on his Heart.

“You are early,” his instructor greeted him on entering.

Jeremy’s response was cut short by who was with her.

Thuruk looked at him impartially. This was the hunter Jeremy rarely saw in his friend.

“Hunter,” she addressed Thuruk. “Your task is to subdue your opponent.”

Before Jeremy processed the instruction, he was on his back, head spinning from it hitting the mat, and he groaned. As far as he could tell, it had been a hand on his chest and he’d been raised, then lowered hard.

He saw worry on Thuruk’s face, masked away as she crouched next to Jeremy.

“That isn’t impressive,” his instructor said.

“It wasn’t fair,” Jeremy managed through still having trouble breathing.

“Welcome to the Hunters, Jeremy Bradshaw. Fair isn’t something we do.”

“You really think I’m going to learn anything if I’m always in pain?”

“We have learned that pain is excellent in teaching young hunters to avoid feeling it.” She stood. “Hunter Thuruk sel Minial, your task is to instruct this cub into what it means to be a hunter.”

“Yes, Beta.” He looked at Jeremy as she stepped away. “Stand.”

He pushed to his feet and force a few deep breaths. The pain was subduing.

“Your instruction, cub, is to take me down using whichever method you feel is adequate.”

That was a joke. His friend knew him too well to allow this to last long enough for Jeremy’s higher stamina to give him the advantage. He closed his hands and raised them. He’d still give it his—

“You have claws,” Thuruk stated.

Jeremy looked at his fist. “Yeah, but this is just training, I’m not—”

His chest hurt from the arm’s impact more than the back of his head hitting the mat again.

“You are a hunter now, cub,” Thuruk said in an even tone, crouched next to him. “A hunter doesn’t care for his enemy’s feelings because his enemy won’t care for his. A hunter doesn’t care for rules, because his enemy will not care for them. The only thing a hunter cares for is to deny Tutecamongartin for as long as they can. We are destined for the Forest, but never shall we go willingly. Do you understand?”

“Kick my enemy’s ass as hard and as fast as I can. Got it.”

Thuruk’s smile was the first sign of warmth Jeremy saw on his face since his arrival. “Good. Then stand and take me down.”

It was still a joke. He pushed to his feet. But he wasn’t going to back down. He opened his hands and tensed them. The gloves responded, and he rushed at his friend.

*

He slashed, then winced from blocking the returned punch. even through the padding he now wore, he felt the force of the impact.

Now that the training wasn’t simply about learning how to fight, but actually landing and taking hits. They’d all realized Jeremy didn’t have the same physical toughness the hunters had. So they’d given him a set of armored clothing, which hadn’t done as much as Jeremy had hoped for.

He was sure they’d keep him from breaking anything, but the hits still hurt.

“Hand open, Cub,” Thuruk said.

With a breath, he opened his hand and tensed it. He didn’t run at his friend anymore. He stepped around him. Watched him. Tried to see something that would hint at an opening. Thuruk’s fur was matted with sweat, an indication he too was feeling this fight, even if Jeremy hadn’t scored one solid hit at this point. His endurance let him push the exchanges, but Thuruk’s experience meant he always brought him down before it lasted long enough for exhaustion to make him careless.

Jeremy attacked, dodged, blocked, and slashed.

And was doubled on the floor in pain from the punch in his stomach.

Thuruk crouched next to him. “Cub, you—”

“That is enough,” the instructor said. “Cub, do you need a medic?”

Jeremy uncurled, wincing at the pain, then shook his head. “I’m good.” That might have been an exaggeration.

“Hunter, what were your instructions?”

“To teach the cub to be a hunter.”

“Do you feel that is what you did?”

Thuruk looked down at him and worry appeared on his face. Jeremy tried for a comforting smile, but he was still in pain.

“I don’t know, Beta.”

“Good. You need to be able to tell if how you are instructing is effective. You need to learn how those under you will respond to how you instruct them. Training is over for both of you. Hunter, see Beta Harimakal Korikina tomorrow for instructions on how to learn to read your student. Cub. Tomorrow, here, same time.” She turned and left.

Jeremy groaned at the thought of more of this.

*

The hot water over his sore back felt good. The water falling over him mostly rendered the other’s voices indistinct. A hand touched his shoulder, then the fingers pressed, and he moaned. The other hand joined it in massaging the shoulder.

“I’m sorry for how hard I went at you. I didn’t know you would be who I’d train, when she told me it was what I’d be doing.”

“I got, by this end, that this was as much about you learning something as me. Part of you becoming a Beta?”

“Yes. There is so much more to being a Beta than I thought.”

“I guess that’s why you weren’t in engineering today.”

“And the last week. I don’t know when I’ll be back.”

“Hopefully, once all this training is done, you’ll have more time.”

“I’ll probably have Beta responsibility then. I might not be able to be on the same shift as you.”

“I’ll change mine then. I am so glad that’s not something I ever have to worry about.”

Thuruk chuckled, changing shoulder.

“What?”

“You’re going to be a good Beta.”

Jeremy snorted. “And on what great well of knowledge are you pulling that prediction from?”

His friend remained silent.

“Thuruk?”

“I know you, Jeremy. If you decide to become a Beta, you will be good at it.”

“I can’t see myself ever going through all of this.”

“Could you see yourself becoming a hunter?”

“I’m not one.”

“Yet.” His friend leaned in and nuzzled the side of Jeremy’s neck.

The gesture was uncomfortably intimate. Fortunately, Thuruk stepped back.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t—”

“It’s okay,” Jeremy said, pushing his discomfort aside. Kelsirians were physical. As much as it felt intimate to him, he’d seen plenty of friends rubbing muzzles or nuzzling to show they cared.

He turned to face his friend and saw something in the expression that made him think it might have meant more. “But please don’t do it again. I’m with Gral, you know that.”

Thuruk nodded. “Again, I’m sorry.”

“How about you get under here and I wash your back?”

Thuruk switched places with him, and Jeremy set the incident aside.

*

Gralgiran nuzzled Jeremy’s neck, and he startled. He’d been lost in the ballad on the screen. The hero taking on Xeniila Haran for the sake of her Heart.

“Are you okay?”

He considered not saying anything. It wasn’t like something had happened.

“Thuruk nuzzled me while we showered after training.”

“He is your friend.”

“I think he was hoping to shorten the names we used.” When his Heart remained silent, he added. “You know I wouldn’t do that to you, right?”

“I know. Do you understand that him wanting to shorten the names doesn’t mean he wants to take my place? He has a mate, too.”

“You didn’t see the way he looked at me. It was more than ‘let’s be better friend’. This was ‘I want something deeply serious with you’.”

“Do you think he’d going to respect your refusal?”

“Yes. He’s too good of a friend to force the issue.”

“Then there is nothing to worry about.” Gralgiran nuzzled his neck again, and they returned to watching the hero try to outsmart the god of chance.

*

“Technician Jeremy Bradshaw,” the Engineer called, and he was back in his office by the time Jeremy looked over his shoulder.

“Someone’s going to have a fun time again,” Prertiros sing-sang.

“Are you involved with the Engineer?” Technician Nialias Deriesilk sel Timar asked, sounding surprised.

“No. He’s torturing me. Prertiros, can I send you my board? Nothing’s happening with it at the moment.”

His friend grinned. “I can handle it while you handle the Engineer.”

“Does the engineer have sex with him?” she asked, and Prertiros laughed while Jeremy ignored his burning ears at that idea.

He stepped into the office. “Engineer.”

“Reports eighteen twenty-eight through fifty-five. Compile and tell me your results.”

He stifled the sigh, sat before the console, and set to work.

Outline section 

Jeremy’s training doesn’t take much of a day off after the hunt so much as an examination of his technique. Something that can be done since he’s graduated from the basic introductory training and is now training with one of the hunters who was there on the ship. AKA Thuruk. Jeremy asked when the change first happened if he should instead be training with one of the non-Alpha hunters, but Thuruk waves that off. Jeremy is going to lead them one day, so he needs training from the best.

So, one training session, in both close and open techniques. Then Jeremy is informed their training will include firearms starting today, which is handled on the deck below for safety. As Jeremy follows Thuruk, he’ll make note of the weights that someone scavenged from Bob’s old home [insert unit of time here] ago. Jeremy has no interest in it, but the idea you could get alpha level buff just from lifting weights appealed to some of the techs and word spread. There have been [insert number here] injuries so far, the majority after someone realized they should call Bob and ask what a training regime looked like.

Once they reach the gun training deck, Thuruk guides Jeremy to a room aside from the armory. Here there are guns and tables, but no targets. Since it’s his first day, Jeremy needs to be taught how to handle this gun, including reloading and cleaning. And so begins the new lessons.

Addition 

Consequences of Jermey’s actions when it comes to Alix.

Alix’s behavior needs to be circumspect enough the reader can believe Jeremy’s interpretation of it.

The training is Jeremy’s first time being trainer as a hunter, instead of generalized self defense. Should an aspect be to show he can’t rely on his superior stamina? Thuruk is Jeremy’s training partner in part as another stop in him becoming a beta.

Some of the details of the training were changed because this is no longer ‘advanced’ training. I wanted to keep Thuruk involved, since we couldn’t see him in Jeremy’s previous chapter. So this became as much about Jeremy learning as Thuruk finding something out about himself.

One of my goal, early in the book is to reintroduce all the characters surrounding Jeremy and Gralgiran. It’ll be easier to do with some than with others, but that is the hope.