Part 10

Greza trained with the officers every day. Though they were learning quickly none of them were a threat to her.  She could rip any of them apart with her bare hands without blinking. 

She knew she was good, but these were professional soldiers. 

Every day she wore her newly carved symbol of Light under her shirt.  It was like having her father with her at all times. 

“They stole it!” Bosha said as she began to frantically search through her footlocker.

“No one stole it, whatever it is,” Vertia said. 

“Well, it aint where I put it.”

“Doesn’t mean they stole it.”

“Someone took it.  It didn’t fly off.”

Today was their one day of rest a week.  They were to clean their clothes, clean their barracks and rest their bodies.  The night before they had done a five mile run.  Many of the recruits weren’t used to such activity and were now complaining of soreness.  She couldn’t help but wonder how the humans became a dominant race. 

She knew of course.  They came to the continent two thousand years ago with steel armor and weapons.  Their pike formations and heavy armor were unstoppable.  If their numbers had been greater they would have conquered the entire continent.  As it was they founded the First Empire. 

Even now a human sat on the throne.

While Nika played cards with one of the other females Greza took her towel and went to the bathroom down the hall.  No other female would be taking a bath at this time. 

She pulled the cord which lowered a tube and water came down.  She filled her bucket and sat on a stool beside it.  As she scrubbed she thought about where her life was now.  It was hard to imagine that she wasn’t a slave anymore.  She still had to obey and do as she was told so she still felt like a slave, but what was different was that she could leave at any time.  Once she graduated and gained more freedom she wouldn’t have the illusion of being a slave anymore and she wondered how she’d accept that. 

Then the bathroom door opened and Nika came in. 

“I thought I’d join you Grez. I…”  Then Nika’s eyes fell on Greza’s back and Greza turned away.  “What happened?”

Greza’s back was covered in scars from numerous beatings and whippings.  Her shoulders and legs were covered in training and battle scars.  The explanations would bring up humiliating memories she did not wish to think about.

She also worried if Verita and the others would think less of her.  Would all her skill at fighting mean nothing if she was just an escaped slave?

Vertia came over took a stool in front of her.  Her large brown eyes looked right at her and Greza kept her gaze on the ground. 

“Grez, speak to me.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Nothing?  But…”

“It’s nothing, I said.  I was a slave.  Slaves get beaten.  There’s nothing to say.”

“I’m sorry.” 

They both fell silent for a while.  Then Nika spoke up again.

“I thought pig farming was bad.” 

Nika stripped down and began washing herself as well. 

“So, tell me, Grez, why believe in a dead religion?”

“It’s not dead.”

“Well, it will be soon.  Only a few fanatics still believe in it.”   

“I’m not a fanatic.”

“Exactly.  So why do you?”

“I was taught and I believed.”

“You need to work on your conversational skills.” 

“I am beginner skill level.”

Nika laughed.

“That you are.” 

“Have you seen Duke Verin?”

She had been here for two weeks and so far she had yet to see the young duke that had made it into the history books already.  He started this mercenary company and had taken over this kingdom.  She was curious to see how the stories matched with the man.

The next day they fell into formation as they always did.  It was cold enough to see their breath and it was raining.  Their rain ponchos weren’t helping very much.

“Good morning recruits.  Lovely weather, isn’t it?  Today we won’t be doing weapons practice.  Today we have an obstacle course to test your strength, endurance and problem solving.”

He led them out of the gate and over to the west side of the fortress.  There she saw a “figure 8” track covered in walls, ropes and other obstacles she’d need to get a closer look at before understanding. 

They marched to the start of the course and listened while Sgt. Drakan go over the rules and telling them all to be safe.  Everywhere they went there were rules and warnings about safety. 

The course was run one person at a time but with only a minute in between so it was possible to be overtaken by the next person.  The order was by whoever the Sergeant saw first so she wasn’t last this time.  It didn’t really matter.  If this course was designed for humans then she’d have no difficulty.  Some of her fellow recruits were worried, but they were humans and Elves. 

When it was her turn she took off running and climbed over the first wall without a problem.  Then she climbed a rope, walked across a beam and down a rope again.  She crawled under barbed posts, up and down a small tower and hopped from one post to another.  All of it was too easy and she passed by two of the others. 

Then she came to a tunnel filled with water and she stopped and stared.  It was a hole in the ground that she had to go in and come out the other side.  But it was filled with water. 

Water meant death.  If she went in there she would die.  Every particle of her brain screamed against going in the water.  Orks couldn’t swim.  They sunk like stones.  She read in a book of science that due to the denser muscle mass of Ork muscle tissue, it meant they weren’t buoyant and were instinctually afraid of water. 

She had never tried to swim before but her instincts were freezing her in place.  Knowing the science wasn’t helping the irrational fear that was causing her hands to shake.  Just the thought of being trapped in that watery tunnel was enough to make her want to run away.

Then Yuro came up behind her.

“What’s wrong, Grez?  Jump in and get moving,”

“I can’t.”

“Can’t swim?”

“No.”

“Don’t need to.  Just pull yourself along the way. It’s easy.”

He climbed in, took a deep breath and went under.  A few seconds later he came out the other side and continued on without pause. 

Then she saw Sgt. Drakan walking towards her.  He was going to ask why she was standing there and force her to go in.  He would be angry with her and wouldn’t trust or respect her.  She had to do it. 

If she didn’t go in she’d let him and her fellow recruits down.  They expected more from her.  She would embarrass them.  Drakan would be ashamed of her. 

It felt as though everyone was looking at her. 

Perhaps some of them would feel fear like this before a battle.  It was a soldier’s duty to move passed such fear.  If she couldn’t beat this then she couldn’t be a soldier. 

That would leave her with nothing. 

Greza climbed in the muddy water.  It came up to her waist. 

Just pull yourself along, she thought over and over again. 

She took a deep breath and plunged down. 

Blind, she groped for the sides of the tunnel and felt the wood beams.  It wasn’t a tight squeeze and she could get good hand holds.  Frantic, by being buried by water, she began to scramble down the tunnel.  Her hands clawed for anything and her feet kicked as fast as she could. 

She felt her air running out and the water crushing down on her.  She saw herself drowning and sinking down into an endless abyss. 

But then her head broke the surface and she gasped for air.  Greza climbed out of the pool and lay on the ground gasping for air.  Her hands and entire body were shaking now. 

Then she felt strong hands lift her up to her feet. 

It was Sgt. Drakan.

“I can’t believe you did that,” he said.

“Did what, sergeant?”  She asked with a quivering voice.

“I’ve never seen anyone with Ork blood go into the water.”

“But you ordered us through the course.  I had to.”

For the first time she saw him smile.

“I was coming over to say that you can go around.  I forgot to tell you at the beginning,” he said and then paused to look at her.  “You alright to continue?”

“I will continue,” she said with a voice that didn’t sound ‘alright.’

He patted her on the back and walked away. 

She finished the course though not nearly as fast as she had been.  When she came to the end she walked over to where the other finished recruits were and collapsed on the ground. 

“You alright, Grez?”  Nika asked.

Greza nodded.

“You sure?  You’re shaking.” 

“It’s nothing.”

Nika eyed her and obviously didn’t believe her.