They stood on opposite sides of the room as Ida explained the rules. “Just try to hit me.”
“I just have a question,” Neesha said before Ida could move.
“What is it? Does your helmet not fit?”
That…wouldn’t have been a question. “Are you sure this is fencing? These sticks aren’t exactly…wobbly...or...bendy. You know…épées or whatever they’re called.”
Ida looked over her weapon which indeed was not wobbly. In fact, it was quite dense and heavy. “Of course,” Ida replied with ease and got into position. “There are several types of swordplay and weapons. This is just one of the many. Now just follow what I’m doing.”
“But which form is this then? Aren’t there styles?”
“No idea. Their names were lost thousands of years ago. Only a scholar in the middle of nowhere would know the names of them all. Now, raise your arm. Get into a defence position!”
Alarmed at how quick Ida was running towards her, Neesha quickly braced herself for an attack.
“Keep your legs moving! Watch, this is a feint.”
Neesha jumped back as Ida thrust her sword forward. “Parry like this. And now I’m going to attack for real.”
After blocking wildly and constantly stepping back, Neesha struggled to say between blows, “This—doesn’t look like—fencing!”
“The name fencing is rather loose. Just think swords. Surely you’ve seen that old movie, something to do with pirates.”
“There—” Neesha shrieked and ducked a blow coming from overhead. “—Are lots of—pirate movies!”
“You know which one I’m talking about. It’s the one that was filmed during the early twenty-first century. Surely you’ve seen it? Keep those legs moving! Step up and attack once in a while, don’t just parry. Here, try a lunge. It’s like this.”
“Ow!”
“You were supposed to stop that. Why don’t you lunge at me? I’ll show you.”
Reluctantly, she stepped forward like Ida showed her and lunged. It was immediately knocked aside by Ida’s own blade and they continued.
“It’s quite easy to stop a lunge so you have to be careful when you use it.” She hit Neesha’s blade again. “You’re losing ground. When you step back, you should always find a way to counter attack and advance. Okay, one last swing…right here. There you go!”
Neesha stepped back and pulled her helmet off in exhaustion.
“Now that you’ve seen how they’re used with an opponent, you’re going to practice the moves on your own. I think an hour will be a good starting point.”
“An hour?”
“Yeah. I’ll even do it with you. Let’s start with fixing where you place your feet. They’re too close together right now. You’ll topple over if a strong gust of wind blows through.”
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She fell to the floor in an exhausted heap, sword clattering to the side. "I can't breathe." Neesha swiped the sweat off her brow and let her hand flop back to the floor. "How are you still standing?"
Ida's eyebrows rose. "How could I be a captain if I were to flop about like a fish out of water after just an hour of basic training?”
Neesha grunted and sat up. "Are you going to tell me what you meant by Thandisry's powers?"
"I suppose I will. It started out as an impossible rumour and strange events happening. Many thought they were going crazy, but we ruled that out a few years back. The rumour was that he—Thandisry, was able to rewrite history. This means he can change what happens in the past just by writing down the date and the happenings of that day."
Neesha leaned away. "Like magic?"
Ida looked embarrassed to be caught discussing the topic. "I don't like that word. It sounds childish."
"But that's what it sounds like. If he could rewrite history, why are we still fighting a war, one which he could just put an end to?"
"We don't know. Before now, things would be so hectic. But for the past five years things have eased off and have seemed to become…normal. He no longer seemed to have the upper hand. No longer did we have plans discovered by the enemy so close to zero hundred.”
Neesha was finding the information overwhelming, but not too impossible.
"I'll give you a two hour rest. Then it's lunch."
"Thanks."
"Whatever."
"Thanks for taking me in," Neesha clarified. Ida paused by the door and shrugged.
"You looked like you needed help. Besides, you might turn out useful," she said in a deadpan voice.
Neesha smiled when Ida left. Then she got up and felt all the bruises Ida put on her. The smile turned into a grimace. I'm going to live through hell for the next few days…
"Rewriting history," she murmured. "Foolish."
After taking a shower and putting on fresh clothes, Neesha collapsed on the bed to stare at the blank ceiling.
"Right…the book…" It was a habit of hers to write down her thoughts. And she had a lot on her mind at that moment. She snatched the book and a pen without getting off the bed and turned to her front. Turning to a new page, she wrote down the day's events. She noticed that she didn't have an entry for the previous day, but it didn't really matter. It's just one day of many.
Once she was done, she prodded her cheek with the back of her pen. Something must be stopping Thandisry from taking total control, but what? Possibly an unknown player in this civil war? Hm…magic with the past, and… she fell asleep.
As she promised, Ida came looking for her charge at noon.
"Wake up, newbie!"
"Hnnn…"
"Up!"
Neesha grumbled and rolled over to press her face deeper into the pillow. "Leave me alone…" She yelped when Ida jabbed at her side.
Ida huffed. "You'd think that we don't let you sleep!"
"What time is it?" Neesha sat up and rubbed the back of her neck.
"It's lunchtime. If I knew that you'd be this ungrateful, I would've just let you sleep."
"Thank you," Neesha said and shot up from her bed. "You have no idea how hungry I am at the moment." She winced when her bruised arm made itself heard.
Ida smirked. "This is only the beginning."
Neesha gave her instructor a cautious look as they entered the clean corridor towards the eating hall. They were met by Doram, who nodded in a greeting. He asked Neesha, "What do you think of the place so far?"
"It feels safe. I haven't even seen anything bad yet." She shrugged.
"We have to get food into you," Ida said and ushered them in. "Tomorrow's a busy day."
"What's going on tomorrow?"
"Newbie, you have nothing to do with it so you don't need to know."
"Even after you beat me black and blue?"
"Black and blue is going too far," Ida began but paused when Neesha showed her the purpling arm. "Okay, maybe not. But, if you are to stay here then you should at least listen to instructions. After all, you are still a child."
"I'm a teenager, not a child!" But she didn't press the matter.
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The next day actually ended up being a big day for said newbie, as she was woken up by her beloved instructor.
"What do you want?" Neesha yawned and stretched like a cat.
"We are going off on a mission!"
"A wha?"
"I've decided to help take part in the mission. We'll be doing the side job as the delivery guys. Of course, you'll be coming. Don't you want to know how the base looks from the outside? It's a marvel that Thanddy hasn't figured out where we are."
A spark of interest lit up in her eyes. "I'm in."
"Great. We're off. Just put on some sort of inconspicuous clothing and meet in the garage."
The garage was not the one Neesha had in her previous home. It was more like an airplane hangar but they all called it the "garage". It stored a variety of vehicles from air to sea and every hybrid in between. They got into a grey hovervan that looked slightly battered. She wouldn't have given it a second glance if she saw it passing on the road.
Ida was in the driver's seat while Doram sat shotgun. Another soldier clambered in after herself. He sat down beside her and gave her a smile.
"You're Derek…right?" she asked.
"Cool, you remember me! It's not every day a newcomer remembers faces." Derek had blond hair with streaks of black and green, the strangest combination she had seen.
"Enough chit chat," Ida said. She pressed her foot to the pedal and they shot through the opening given to her. They went up a dark tunnel before sunlight hit the van. Neesha turned in her seat to look behind her. She was disappointed at the sight of the long, rather than tall, building. It was just two storeys high and looked old enough to be abandoned. She tried to look for the exit but found that she couldn't.
"Where'd the exit go?"
"Oh. It’s covered by what's there," Derek said.
"And to think that there were so many buttons to press on the elevator… Is everything underground?"
"Uh...Yeah."
The drive was rather quiet, except for the communication devices in the front. She watched the scenery pass by as they sped for the next hour. Houses, both sturdy and those under construction, lined the road with gaps between them for residential vehicles.
Billboards were filled with propaganda for the citizens to read when they were in traffic. She saw two types of people: those kept their heads down, unwilling to catch the attention of the Imperial Force patrolling the streets and those who walked with their heads raised high, proud to be a citizen of a country under Thandisry’s rule.
Children were held tightly by their caregivers—it wasn’t definite that they were the child’s parents, as people were being locked up left, right and centre. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see a child led by their grandparent or aunt rather than the father who refused to back down or the mother who insisted on equality. The streets were litterless and public transit was running smoothly—but the atmosphere was not so.
Things sounded tense in their van. By seven thirty, reports were coming through to Ida and Doram as their passengers waited patiently.
"They're going to raid one of the storage houses Thandisry's army uses," Derek explained, since their captain was too busy giving out orders to do so herself. "We're here to take away anything dangerous and useful they have, like weapons, bombs, and information."
"So if someone blasts us, we'll…?" Neesha gulped.
"Blow up? I suppose so," Derek said, as if the thought never occurred to him.
"Shut up," Doram said.
"Yessir.”
The houses dwindled down to the suburbs that surrounded the city and the suburbs dwindled down to warehouses. They passed these as well and by then she was sure that they were out of the city. Up ahead Neesha saw many ordinary looking vehicles as well as some from the Imperial Force. There were men and woman fighting on the streets, all in some sort of uniform. She glanced at her own companions and realised that they all wore dark blue coats that had a simple insignia on the shoulder. It was the flag of their country with a few changes but she couldn’t point out what it was exactly.
Ida parked them at the curb and their comrades hurried over with arms full of boxes.
Derek took inventory as the boxes were loaded into the craft. "Clear," the soldier said with a salute. Ida swirled and drove down the road they came as lasers sliced through the back of their van before the Imperial soldiers were stopped by reinforcements. Neesha let out a scream when the window shattered.
"Thandisry's men should have a patrol somewhere a few streets away," Ida said as she swerved to avoid most of the damage.
“Is it always like this?” Neesha demanded them as she held onto the door’s handle until her knuckles whitened.
“Most of the time,” Derek said with a laugh.
After fifteen minutes of Ida's homicidal driving, Doram spotted something in the rear view mirror. "What is that?"
He rolled down the window and stuck his head out for a better look. Squinting, he noticed three hovertrucks advancing. They must have installed an extra booster because they were approaching faster and faster.
"Well I'll be damned," Ida murmured. "Three trucks from the Imperial Force in one go? Hell."
Doram rolled up the window and told Ida that they had two minutes before they caught up.
"One minute," Derek said.
"Just shut up," Ida yelled in frustration as she yanked the wheel to the left. "I am driving here."
Doram ignored her outburst. "Thirty seconds before the first one catches up."
Neesha sat rigid in her seat as they shouted over each other to decide what to do all the while shouting into the speaker of Ida's phone. Cautiously, Neesha turned to look out the back window and gasped. There was a truck—an army truck—just metres behind them.
She heard a click to her left and gasped when she saw that it was Derek lifting a large bazooka out of its case. It was black and slim, not like the ones in the base. It made a soft whirring sound when he switched it on and the blank display screen turned blue.
He spared her a glance. With his left hand, he balanced the weapon on the back seat and his shoulder. With his right hand, he pressed down on Neesha's head until she was in the brace position. She tried to bring her head up but Derek stopped her.
"It's going to be loud," he explained. Then he opened the sun roof and stood on his seat.
"Steady," Doram said. "Your reckless driving will make Derek hit a chicken coup instead of the trucks at his rate."
Ida's answer was a snarl. "There are no chicken coups on this road!"
We're going to die, we're doing to die, we're doing to die, Neesha chanted as she heard an explosion overhead.
"Derek, how is it going?" Ida asked.
"Wait…" he tossed a spherical object outside and sat back down. "Okay, go."
Neesha sat up and was starting to turn around but shied away when blinding white light caught the corner of her eyes. She blinked away the spots.
"Great, now we can ditch the van," Ida said.
Doram studied the holographic map covering the windshield. "Turn right and follow the road for another two blocks. There's a garage just around the corner on the second level."
When they reached the garage, Neesha stood to the side as the three soldiers unloaded the boxes out of the back and into a gaudy looking sports craft.
"That is one ugly craft. What's with all the…" she gestured to the paints and designs. "…over accessorizing?"
They shrugged and gave her a few boxes to carry, which she feared would blow up if she jostled it too much. Then they climbed into the car and sped the remaining hours back to the base. Ida turned back to grin at Neesha, who was ready to go home and sleep away the hectic afternoon.
"What do you think of that?"
Doram growled. "Watch the road!"
"It's on auto, moron!"
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