Chapter 17: Oddball
Arbus stepped out of the mental training room, relieved to finally be done with it. For the past two weeks, he had spent most of his time training in this section. This was because it was the most vital training exercise for him, in his opinion.
He needed a way to train his mind, more than he needed to train his body.
It had provided him with multiple high stake scenarios that he could possibly encounter as a knight. From mere protection jobs, to high speed rouge agents take downs, before finally having to face a simulated Reincarnator.
It had taken him three attempts to complete the final simulation. He had died miserably in the first two, since the simulation naturally didn't include his immortality. Arbus had decided to keep that to himself, to avoid any further panic from the instructors and trainees at this base.
He was also grateful to be rid of it, for a while at least. Even if it was only in a virtual world.
He had also found the simulated Renegades far easier to work with than those in the real world. That was mostly because the species of the trainee wasn't considered important to the simulation. He smiled somberly, as he wondered if there would be a day where everyone would treat him with just as much trust in reality.
Even though he had technically cleared the mission, Arbus still counted it as a failure. His main goal had been to complete the mission without anyone dying. Unfortunately, he had overestimated himself somewhat, barely even able to save himself.
Just like on Terytl-b.... And just like on Tarok.
The rest of his time here had been spent in the training room, practicing against the training dummies. That was mostly due to the trainees refusing to practice with him. There wasn't much the instructors could do about that, since they completely understood why. The only exception was Alexander, his oddball of a bunkmate who always seemed to be nearby, perfectly okay with being Arbus's spar partner.
After the first few days at the training camp, it was pretty clear to Arbus that he would be just as isolated here as he was on Terytl-b.
He frankly didn't care too much.
He only wished they'd stop their laughable attempts to bully him.
The male trainees usually clustered around Jet whenever they had free time, treating him like some sort of clique leader. Meanwhile the female trainees did the same with Rin, a female White Mornan who had made her hatred for Arbus painfully obvious. She was the trainee that had gotten physical with Arbus the most, whenever she found the opportunity.
Arbus was pretty sure she had a personal history with Reincarnators that she was taking out on him.
Still though, it didn't bother him. After all nothing anyone in this base could do would compare to the worst pain he had ever experienced.
He wasn't really surprised that everyone else was trying to get closer to the white Mornans. Every other trainee besides them and him were blue Mornans, after all. They probably saw this as an opportunity to establish some connections with the elite of their species.
As Arbus exited the support facilities, he ran into Ty, The head of security and one of the head instructors, alongside Kate and Dutch.
This had become a usual occurrence for him over the past two weeks. At this point he was certain their meetings weren't coincidental.
Ty was most likely keeping an eye on him, at the request of the other instructors. The reason he thought that, was because Ty himself didn't seem too fond of these 'coincidences'.
"Hmm, Arbus, we met again. Seems like you're giving the mental training room another go. Seriously, you don't have to focus on just one aspect till you complete it. Training isn't a speed run," Ty said with a tired yawn.
"I'm aware of that, instructor Ty. I simply focused on this because it's what I'm lacking the most. Plus it's kinda like an outlet for me. Being in this base can be pretty tiresome sometimes." Arbus responded with a smile.
Ty nodded in agreement.
"Hah!, tell me about it. All I want to do till you guys graduate is sleep and eat, but I'm not even allowed to do that."
He sighed then glanced back at Arbus, his tone a bit more serious.
"But seriously kid, don't overwork yourself. Anyone with good senses can see you're an extremely talented kid. Putting in just half the amount of effort you usually do is already enough for you to pass this training with flying colours."
Arbus smiled.
"Thank you instructor, but I don't think half the effort will be enough. At least, not for what I'm trying to accomplish."
Ty's brow furrowed slightly, before returning to normal.
"Is that so?, well I guess there's nothing I can do to convince you then. Just take it easy from time to time okay?" Ty advised, as he patted Arbus on the shoulder before walking away.
Arbus glanced at his retreating form. During their encounters, he had quickly noticed that Ty wasn't like the others at this base. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't really seem to care that Arbus was a half-human. he reminded Arbus of Bridge in that sense.
Eventually, Arbus got back to the boys room, as he was met with an interesting sight. Two Blue Mornans were sprawled on the floor, struggling to get up while Alexander stood over them, a smile plastered across his face.
He looked over to his bunk bed, and noticed a few of his belongings broken. It seemed like they were messing with his stuff again. Unfortunately for them, Alexander had just returned from the shooting range and caught them in the act.
"Seriously, don't you guys ever get tired?" he asked with a sigh. "I'm pretty sure Arbus already gets the picture. You hate that he's here. How unfortunate. It still doesn't change the fact that he's not leaving. You're not children, you're future Knights. I think it's time you started acting like it" Alexander said, looking down at them with his unwavering smile.
The boys looked up, their expressions hesitant. They weren't sure how to react. Normally, they would argue back or even attack anyone who interfered with them. This time though was different. Alexander was a White Mornan — just like Jet, who had encouraged them to harass Arbus in the first place.
"Hmm. You're quite the annoying thing, aren't you, Alexander?" Jet said, sitting on the top bunk of his bed, at the very end of the room.
Alexander glanced over to Jet, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Annoying?, how hurtful! I'm the most cordial person in the universe!" Alexander said, still smiling.
"Jet, right? I suppose this is your handiwork. I'd prefer if you told your goons to stop. Them bothering Arbus is bothering me, as well." he said, turning his gaze back to the two Mornans, who took that as their cue to leave.
Arbus just stood in the doorway watching it all unfold, as if it had nothing to do with him.
For weeks now, Alexander had tried his best to get closer to Arbus in various ways. Arbus wouldn't have been opposed to the idea, if he wasn't convinced that Alexander most likely had ulterior motives. He just wasn't sure what they were.
Jet finally closed the book he had been reading, as he looked over at Alexander, his gaze cold.
"Which family are you from again? I never did bother figuring out your last name."
"I'd like to know what kind of family could have raised a Mornan so... supportive of Reincarnators. I'm sure our Liege would like to hear about them too" Jet said, referring to the current ruler of the Mornan species who operated independently from the Renegade system.
Alexander's expression darkened momentarily at the mention of his family. "You're quite good at annoying people yourself, Jet. Unfortunately for you, I've never met my real family — raised in an orphanage, you see. Which I think is where I got my amazing personality from."
Jet blinked.
"Ohh, so you're a nobody. Ahh, No wonder you associate with another nobody. Now it makes sense. Both of you rejects, cast out by the world from the moment of your birth. Quite a fitting pair" Jet remarked as he slid down from his bed and approached Alexander.
"I'd advise you to stay out of my matters while I'm still being...cordial. If not, I can't guarantee that you'll come out unscathed" he muttered before heading for the door, brushing past Arbus without so much as a glance.