Alkalians (36 page)

“
Yeah. You know why Rose
and I got into a fight, with those false conceptions of the other?
It was James who had put them into our heads, and he had to have
been working with Cain on that, so Cain is responsible for that, as
well.” Leaning back in the couch, his hands grip his head as he
says, “How, why, could someone be as heartless as he
is?”

“…
I don’t know, Matt. I
guess that’s just as close to pure evil as you can get.” Trying to
encourage him, she says, “But you and your friends have been doing
a great job striking back at him, and with Lyn and Cynthia joining
you, Cain could be completely overthrown, no longer a threat to
you, or anyone else, this last year with him here. And once that’s
done, then you can get back to why you’re here in the first place,
to study, to play, to live your life the way you want to. Won’t
that be great?”

At Amelia’s words, Matt reflects on
them enough to agree with her, smiling as he says, “Yeah, that will
be great. So, Lyn is right. We have to finish what I started. No,
what Cain started. We need to teach him a lesson about equality,
and humanity, that he won’t soon forget.” Looking to her, he adds,
“Thank you for hearing me out, and the kind words,
Amelia.”

Smiling back to him, she pets him, her
fingers grazing through his hair, replying, “Anything for you,
Matt. So, shall we go see about catching up with Lyn and
Cynthia?”

“
Well, uh, actually, there
was one other thing I wanted to tell you about, Amelia.”

“
Oh? What would that
be?”

“
Okay, um, can you keep
another secret?” When she nods, he explains, “You know how I told
you before that I already saw a woman naked, up close and personal?
Well, that woman is Rose. It was just over some silly dare or
whatever, and we bathed together, but, we got used to it, and it’s
become a near daily thing, and, I’ve gotten, um,
desires
for her, with
all that constant contact, you know?”

Amelia isn’t openly surprised or
appalled, nodding as she says, “Yes, I understand that. You must be
confused and uncertain now, whether your feelings for her are
physical attraction or heartfelt affection, right?”

“
Yes, that’s precisely it!
I mean, I do like her, she is a great, honest friend, one of the
closest I’ve made, but, I don’t want to make a mistake. The last
one I made concerning her, it, it almost cost us our lives. So, I
have to somehow quell these desires for her. And that’s why, um,
Amelia, as long as you don’t mind, would you, uh…”

“
Have sex with
you?”

Startled to hear her say it, Matt
gulps and blushes. “Yeah, that. I, I’m sorry, I have to ask that of
you. I don’t want you to think I’m desperate for it, and I know I
shouldn’t be this weak, but, it’s getting harder to resist, every
time Rose and I are together, and I, I don’t want to cross that
final line, without clear and good intentions. So, would this, be
okay, you and I?”

Amelia is already smiling warmly as
she runs a hand along the back of Matt’s neck. “Of course it’s okay
with me, Matt. We’ve already done lessons that come close to it, so
it’s not a problem for me if we go all the way. And besides, it’s
always been my pleasure to help you on these matters.”

Smiling, Matt takes a moment for his
gaze to scan over Amelia, already envisioning her clothes off, her
beautiful body exposed for him alone, before he says, “Well,
obviously, this would be my first time, doing it. I, I’m not sure
how to do it.”

Laughing, Amelia’s eyes twinkle as she
assures him, “That’s alright, we’ve all been there. We’ll go slow,
and I’ll show you how it’s done.” Her hands open her vest and slide
it off her, revealing her bare torso, before she stands up to
remove her pants. Once she steps out of them, she glances back to
Matt, reminding him as she works her underwear off, “You’ll have to
be naked, too.”

“…
Oh, right, of course!”
He yanks off his jacket and shirt, then his pants and underwear,
and stands in the nude beside Amelia. Looking back to her, his eyes
slowly moving from the bottom to the top of her to meet her eyes,
he then asks, “So, how do we start?”

Taking a moment to at last see all of
Matt’s features for herself, Amelia whispers as she embraces him,
“Like this.” Her lips meet his in a deep kiss, which he returns,
before they sit back on the couch with her in his lap and his head
held to her chest, their bodies pressing together. No longer in
need to keep them suppressed, Matt gives in to his lustful
instincts, melting into the sensations and movements between him
and Amelia and diving into the relieving depths of ecstasy, all the
worries and dreads from before washed away.

Chapter 8

Befriending the Big Guns

***

Around the same time that day, in an
open field on the college grounds, Rose sits in the shade of the
single tree beside her as she plays music on her flute. The tone of
her music is calm and peaceful with a steady rhythm and alternating
high and low notes, a bright and enchanting stream of sounds that
flows out across the field with the gentle breeze blowing by
her.

Playing her flute is one of few ways
Rose meditates or relaxes, which she figures she has time to when
Serpanz informed her they weren’t going to train that day. So she
came out into the field by herself, and is deep into meditation
through her music.

At some point in her personal past
time, focused on the sweet sounds she makes with her eyes closed,
Rose is startled, the last note on her flute coming out as a sharp
whistle, when she hears a loud, masculine voice call out to her
from somewhere nearby. “Ah hah, so that’s what all that noise was!
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say the Wind Spirit was singing to
me, its beautiful voice reaching me in the breeze. But, sure
enough, the only one who’s been ‘singing’ around here is
you!”

Rose looks over to her left to spot
the surprise visitor approaching her. A tall, robust man in a gray
uniform with black pants, his brown hair short and mangy like a
bush, has a beaming smile on his face and in his green eyes as he
is escorted by two other men, one on either side of him, in the
same kind of uniform. On his vest is a single badge, a brass emblem
of two axes crossed over a shield. Coming to a stop a few yards
away from her, the man gives her some type of salute, where his
left arm crosses over his shoulder before sweeping back over to his
side as he bows, and says, “It’s a wonderful thing to at last meet
you, Rose Alamence.”

While she curiously blinks at the man
and his company before her, their stature and age telling her they
were senior students, and can’t recognize their faces, she does
recognize the uniforms, the lead man’s salute, and the badge on his
chest, his family crest. Rose regards the man before replying, “I
suppose it is, uh, Buster Harmada?”

“
Haha, yep, that’s me!
Buster Harmada, the one-and-only!”

“
Oh!” Setting aside her
flute and standing, Rose returns the salute, both a courteous and
disciplined greeting for any citizen of the militarized state of
Riaquen, before saying, “It’s an honor to finally meet you,
Buster.”

“
The feeling is mutual,
Rose! All I’ve heard about you, back home and here even, have been
good things about your intellect and skills. But now that I can see
you myself, I’d say they were right about your beauty and grace, as
well!”

Chuckling, Rose replies with a slight
blush, “Your compliments are well received, Buster. And you’re not
so bad-looking, yourself.”

“
Haha, I would hope so!
Hey, mind if we had a simple, friendly chat, out here? No need to
worry about following formalities, either, we’re just mere students
in this joint.”

“
Um, sure, I won’t mind.”
Rose sits back down on the grass, with Buster sitting down near
her. “So, I’ve heard you’re pretty popular here at the college. A
boss student, right?”

“
Yep, that would be right.
Never really wanted such a position, but it was kind of forced upon
me as I kept beating people in battles. That, and our fellow
brothers and sisters of Riaquen fell into line behind me, so I
didn’t need to round up some lackeys!”

“
Hah, how convenient. How
do you like being a boss student?”

“
Eh, it has its perks. The
whole fear and respect deal from the other students, special
treatment and services from student-ran sources, and being like a
boss is, obviously, cool. But, I just wish they didn’t fear me so
much. Sure, I’m a tough guy and related to the supreme general of
Riaquen’s armed forces, but I don’t want them so scared of me just
for that. Well, most of the time, anyway!”

“
Uh huh. Too bad people
can be intimidated so easily around here.”

“
Aye, too bad, indeed. So,
how about that Matthew Calamos. What’s he like? What makes him
tick? Just what kind of a guy is he?”

Unprepared for him asking about Matt,
Rose composes herself before replying, “Oh, he’s a good guy. He’s
honest, kind, responsible, and, uh, nice to be around.”

Buster nods and says, “That’s good. I,
as well everyone else around here, knows how well he fights with
his battle morph, but how is he in school? Does he keep up with his
studies and homework?”

“
Oh yeah, he does fine.
He’s getting good grades, and hasn’t gotten into trouble with the
professors. You could say he’s an all-star student.”

“
Indeed. Just like
you?”

Rose chuckles. “Sure, I
guess!”

“
Hah, great! Yep, he
sounds like a good kid, then. But, how does he feel about being a
Dark Warrior? How has he taken the prejudice from other
students?”

“
Ah, well, he doesn’t rely
on his ‘cursed’ power when he fights, he utilizes his techniques as
if he didn’t have it. I know it’s true, I, I’ve seen him do so. And
as to the other students, I don’t think it bothers him anymore. I
mean, in his crusade against Cain, he’s shown he doesn’t care what
others feel about him being a Dark Warrior, and that he won’t let
anyone bully him or his friends. As long as others leave him alone,
he’ll leave them alone.”

“
I see. That’s good for
him, then.” He holds a sage-like look for a moment before he asks,
“And how about you, Rose?”

“
Hmm? Me?”

“
Yeah, duh! You are the
only ‘rose’ out here, aren’t you?”

The wink paired with the silly
compliment both amuses, and hardens, Rose, as Buster isn’t the
first guy to use that comparison, before she says, “Well, what else
is there to know, besides I’m smart and talented?”

“
Ah, there is so much
more, Rose! In fact, there are things about people that they,
whether intended or not, could not tell about themselves. Do you
know how one learns these things about them?”

“
Uh, no. How’s
that?”

“
Oh, it’s pretty simple,
really.” Buster stands up, walks off to be about fifty feet away,
and turns to announce, “He fights them, in morph.”

Surprised, Rose stands and asks, “How
does that work?”

“
Well, again, it’s simple.
One learns more about another’s behavior, resolve, potential,
likes, or dislikes when in combat against her, because they all
come out in how she fights. If you don’t believe me, then let’s
fight, and I’ll show you!”

Both intimidated, but interested, as
she figures Buster simply wants to duel her, she goes along with
it. “Okay, wise guy, we can do that. If you wanted to fight me, you
could have just asked.”

“
Haha, well, I normally
would, but I didn’t want to scare you off like I would other
students. In this case, however, I can see that a strong guy like
me doesn’t scare you. Which is good! That’s one more thing I now
know about you, you are brave. Let’s see what else makes you
tick!”

Finding herself eager for the contest,
Rose muses to herself she is getting her workout that day after all
while getting ready with a meditative pose. “Yes, let’s do that.
And at the same time, I can learn more about you.”

“
Aye, precisely! It can go
both ways. It’s a mutual exchange, both of us benefit! But, sadly,
only one of us is going to win.” Buster and Rose lock stern
expressions as they steel themselves for battle, a breeze rolling
by across the field between them.

***

The two morph simultaneously, Rose in
a flash of green and Buster in a gray flash. While she reappears in
her green battle suit, he is in a larger, more intimidating form.
Standing about fifteen feet tall, looming over her like a statue of
steel, a robot in iron gray and jet black armor stares down at her
through green, mechanical eyes. It has a humanoid figure, but its
face is covered in a mask for its block-like head, and it appears
even larger with the two huge gun barrels mounted off its back,
each connected by a joint that allows movement for aiming
adjustments. Rose can’t help but gawk at the MechWarrior opposing
her as she understands how he has such a reputation at the
college.

Seeing her rooted to her spot for the
moment, Buster makes the first move as his left gun mount lowers to
aim at her over his shoulder, its barrel filling and twisting into
a gatling gun with smaller, multiple barrels already spinning in a
rapid circle. Rose only has to blink, becoming aware of what’s
coming, when a stream of bullets drills towards her, the ground
rupturing and spitting up dirt with each bullet stinging into it.
Before they can pierce through her where she stands, she side-leaps
and dashes on air balance out of the way, avoiding the bullet
barrage as it chases after her several yards.