Beatrice slid both mandibles back into their sheaths.
She turned on her heels and walked toward Ari and Nova, who lay sprawled across the cavern floor.
As Beatrice drew closer, Nova quickly turned her gaze away.
Beatrice raised one hand and brought it down in a firm chop against the top of Nova's head.
"That hurt!" Nova said.
She rubbed the sore spot, her fingers slipping through her tangled hair. A tear gathered at the corner of her eye as she looked up at Beatrice.
"What you did was reckless," Beatrice said. "You acted without permission, disobeyed orders, and put your squad's lives at risk. It nearly cost you your life."
Her voice carried across the cavern, hard enough to make Nova's antennae twitch.
Nova kept her eyes on the ground. Her lower lip quivered as she pressed it between her teeth.
She's right… My actions nearly cost us the mission.
Her fingers dug into the loose soil.
I only wanted to prove myself, but all I did was make things worse.
I couldn't even help… I was just a burden to everyone.
Beatrice drew in a slow breath and closed her eyes.
"However…" she said.
Nova's fingers loosened.
"If it weren't for your actions, we wouldn't have known that centipede was hiding in the tunnels the earthworms dug."
Beatrice opened her eyes and folded her arms.
"It could have caught all of us off guard. Worse, we could have walked straight into its trap."
A few seconds passed. Water dripped from the ceiling and tapped against the ground.
"You held your own, Private Nova... against a creature ranked at a sergeant level threat."
A small smile appeared on Beatrice's face.
"You should be proud."
Nova's eyes widened.
She planted a hand against the ground and pushed herself upright. Her legs shook when she straightened. She stumbled one step, then set her feet apart and steadied herself.
"Thank you… Corporal Beatrice."
Her voice came out quiet. She lifted the back of her hand and wiped the moisture from beneath her eyes.
Beatrice's arms remained folded.
"That doesn't excuse what you did," she said. "You'll be punished for what happened today. Take it as a lesson, Private. Learn from it, then move forward."
Quinn stepped up beside Beatrice and tapped her shoulder.
"Come on, Beatrice. Don't be so hard on her."
Nova's mandibles rested in Quinn's hands. Faint streaks of dried fluid still clung to their edges.
"For a Private, she held her ground,She was scared, but she fought anyway. She didn't turn around and run."
Quinn extended the blades toward Nova.
Nova reached for them.
"Whoa…"
The weight dragged her hands down. Her fingers slipped along the grips before she tightened them and pulled the mandibles against her chest.
Quinn reached over and patted Nova's head.
"Don't push yourself," Quinn said. "Rest for now. You've done enough."
"Yes, Corporal Quinn."
Nova let out an uneven breath. Her knees bent, and she carefully lowered herself back onto the cavern floor.
Beatrice stepped closer.
Her shadow fell across Ari as she stopped in front of him.
"And then there's you."
Ari looked up. Beatrice stood over him with her eyes narrowed.
"Are you out of your mind?" she said. "You jumped into a pit without even knowing how far down it went. Were you trying to get yourself killed?"
"Well… that's Ari for you," Quinn said. "Always rushing in to save the young heroine."
Quinn's eyes shifted toward Nova.
Nova's shoulders stiffened. Heat rose into her cheeks as she looked away. Her hands tightening in her lap.
"Unbelievable."
Beatrice covered her face with one hand. Her fingers dragged down over her cheek before she looked at him again.
The wounds all over his body.
"You look awful," she said. "Although, I can't think of a single fight where you didn't come out looking like this."
"What can I say?" Ari said. "That thing was tough."
He gave a short laugh and pushed himself off the ground. His arm shook as he put his weight on it.
"I hit it over and over with my mandibles, and I couldn't even scratch it," Ari said. "But you and Corporal Quinn cut through its armor without any trouble."
"The gap between us should be obvious," Beatrice turned slightly. "That's what rank is for."
"It gives us the strength we need. And Quinn and I have trained to fight since we were young. We know how to handle our weapons."
Her eyes shifted toward the centipede's remains.
"That was only a Lithobius forficatus. It's not even one of the stronger species."
"I see."
The words barely left his mouth.
I just appeared in this world. I barely know anything about their combat techniques or the fighting styles they've trained in since they were young.
Ari looked down at his mandibles.
Maybe I need to work on that… If I do, I'll be better prepared next time.
"Say, Beatrice," Ari said.
He lifted his head.
"When we get back to the colon could you...teach me how to use my mandibles?"
Beatrice did not answer right away.
She exhaled sharply.
"It's not like I have a choice."
"Captain Valeria ordered me to."
"For real?" Ari said.
Beatrice watched him for a moment.
At least now I have some idea of where his limits are…
But he was the first one to move. Before that centipede even burst through the ground.
The cavern floor breaking apart flashed through her mind.
Nova fell, and he went after her without hesitating.
A quiet breath left Beatrice's nose.
Then he fought it. He even managed to damage it.
Looking at him now… it's obvious. He was protecting Nova. That's why he ended up like this.
Beatrice raised her gaze toward the shaft above them. Light spilled through the opening and reached the uneven stone floor.
And I'm sure he already figured out what caused the disturbance.
Those tunnels weren't dug because the earthworms were looking for warmth. We had it backwards.
They were running from the centipede.
It was hunting them for food.
A memory surfaced.
Captain Valeria's quarters came into view.
Bioluminescent fungi gave off a faint glow along the cavern walls.
Valeria stood at the center of the room with her back straight and her hands clasped behind her.
"I know this meeting was sudden, Lieutenant Brooks, Corporal Lily, and Beatrice," Valeria said. "But the reason I called you here is simple. I want the three of you to test the soldiers I'm training. I need to see how far they've come in actual combat."
"Okie-dokie, Captain," Lily said with a small grin.
Brooks folded his hands in front of him. A faint smile rested on his face.
"Well now...These recruits were trained by my young Captain. I'd say this should be interesting."
Beatrice let out a quiet breath.
"I'm training soldiers of my own," she said. "But I suppose I can spare the time to test their strength. I'd like to see what they've learned."
The memory shifted.
The training ground came into focus.
Beatrice remembered the day she had ambushed Ari and tested him herself.
Ari lunged first.
His mandible cut toward her shoulder.
Beatrice raised her own weapon and knocked the strike aside. The impact ran through her arm.
Ari stepped in before she could reset her footing.
His left mandible swept across.
The edge struck her guard and drove her back a step. Her heel scraped over the packed earth. For a moment, her balance shifted.
Beatrice's face tightened. Her arm trembled as she pulled her weapon back into position.
Ari's mandibles came down again.
"Stop!" Valeria said.
Ari froze.
The points of his mandibles hovered a finger's width from Beatrice's neck.
His arms remained raised. And his breath moved in controlled pulls through his chest.
Air brushed past Beatrice's leaf woven cloak from the force of the strike he had stopped. Her hood slipped back, exposing her face.
That day, I underestimated him. I learned that lesson the hard way.
Beatrice's eyes remained on Ari.
Even if I was holding back, he never should have gotten the better of me.
His technique is still rough. But his speed… it's exceptional.
Her fingers rested against the sheath at her side.
Something about him was different that day.
Beatrice's eyes narrowed.
Could it be…
Her eyes widened.
Zen shō…
Her antennae gave a small twitch.
No. That's impossible. It's nothing more than an old story the elders keep repeating.
"Beatrice?"
Beatrice blinked twice, her shoulders drawing tight before she turned toward Ari.
"What about the earthworms above us? And the other Lance Corporals who came on the mission?"
"We already killed the remaining earthworms in the tunnels above," Beatrice said. "The two soldiers are up there now, marking the carcasseAlas we speak."
"That's good," Ari said.
His shoulders lowered as he let out a breath.
"Also… thank you for saving us, Corporal Beatrice."
Beatrice's eyes shifted toward him.
"I did what any soldier would have done," she said.
Her jaw set for a moment.
"Now that the mission is complete, we need to move out. We'll return to the colony and make our report."
"In that case…" Quinn said.
She stepped forward and crouched beside Ari.
"Let me patch up those wounds."
Quinn reached into the small bundle at her side, a pouch woven from leaves and thin strips of bark. The leaves inside rustled as she pulled out several broad pieces, their surfaces damp with sap.
She placed one over the shallow cut across Ari's chest.
Ari's shoulders tightened at the cool touch.
Quinn wound a thin vine around his torso and tied it in place.
Then she moved to Nova. She wrapped another strip of leaf around the wound at the side of Nova's head and secured it with vine.
"This leaf doesn't have any healing properties," Quinn said. "But it'll stop the bleeding and take the edge off the pain until we get back to the colony. Then you can be treated properly."
"Thank you, Corporal Quinn," Nova said.
Her eyes shifted toward Ari.
Now I understand why everyone holds him in such high regard.
Ari noticed her looking.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Nova blinked. Heat spread across her cheeks as she turned away.
"It's… nothing..."
The group moved through the opening in a steady formation, their steps measured as they headed toward the surface.
Loose soil shifted beneath their feet as they entered the crater tunnel left by the earthworms' collapse.
They followed the sloping path upward and regrouped with the rest of the squad.
Then a sharp whistle cut through the stillness high above the tunnel mouth in the sky.
A moment later, something struck with a heavy, wet crunch.
The sound rolled down through the darkness.
Then it stopped.