Pinwheel

A big, orange hand ruffled my hair, a little too forcefully to be described as affectionate. I ducked away and turned to see Raz grinning down at me.

"Ready for bed, roomie?" Her saccharine display might fool the other trainees crowding around the dorms but not me. I scowled at her, and she feigned an exaggerated pout.

"What's the matter are we not friends any more, little monkey?" I ignored her, and entered the room, she followed, closing the door behind me and sat down on her bunk, her legs crossed. She watched me, resting her chin on her hand, as I changed into my pajamas and began packing away my clothing, I felt her eyes on my torso as I pulled my shirt over my head.

"Maybe an adolescent, rather than a kitten, you're pretty developed."

I turned to look at her. "What are you talking about?"

"You're short but your body is pretty hard, like a kitten who had been lifting weights." She chuckled to herself, appreciating the mental image she had conjured up. "Or maybe an especially short adolescent who was trying to catch the eye of a girl he liked."

I went back to folding my clothes, trying to ignore her.

"Have you ever had a girlfriend, Mr Monkey?"

"Of course I have." I replied, I shouldn't give her a reaction, but the day had been long and she was trying my patience.

"I don't think you have, you're too small, is that why you're working so hard? So you can impress one of the girls? Which one do you like?"

I went back to ignoring her, and closed my locker. I began to get into bed.

"I bet it's that one with the yellow hair and the big boobs, right? No?"

I didn't give her a reaction.

"How about me?" She purred, striking an overly dramatic pin-up girl pose on her bunk. She was wearing the tube top and shorts again, and as she leaned back my eyes played across her abs as they flexed, twin rows of toned muscle bubbling under her skin. The tube top strained against her full breasts, showing the outline of her nipples, and the curves of her body drew my eyes to her hips, following the prominent outline of her pelvic bone down to the elastic band of her tantalizingly low-cut shorts. I felt a twinge in my groin, a dangerous, inappropriate twitch. I broke away and turned my eyes to the floor, my face reddening a little. Raz leered at me, apparently entertained by my reaction.

"I like making you go red, little monkey. Unfortunately for you, I'm off limits."

I began to protest. "As if I'd ever-"

"If I fucked you, you'd probably die." She interrupted, very matter-of-factly. Then rolled back onto her bed, lying spread-eagled.

"Y-you, how can you-" I stammered, completely blindsided by her vulgarity and lack of tact.

"Don't worry monkey boy, we'll find you a girlfriend, maybe we'll have a look in the trees on the way to drill tomorrow morning. Oh I forgot you don't climb trees, right?" She rolled around holding her stomach, pretending to be wounded. "Oh no the human has punched me, my organs have liquefied! Bleh!" Her tongue lolled out of her mouth as she played dead.

I rolled over and put my back to her, trying to focus on the upcoming drill rather than my roommate's antics. I heard her chuckle, then eventually snore, and I tried not to think about the involuntary swelling in my loins.

CHAPTER 3

The next day I was awoken again by Raz's exercising, I muttered complaints and headed out to eat. Most of the trainees were already there, and we wolfed down our breakfasts, then headed to the briefing room, where Vasiliev informed us that we would be starting rifle drills today. The trainees muttered amongst themselves, most eager to be allowed on a range again for the first time since leaving their homeworld. We took one of the airport shuttle-like vehicles that I had seen the night before, and drove to the second of the four quadrants, where the armory was located. There was much more activity in this part of the Pinwheel, marines in full combat gear were running in formation, engineers were inspecting weapons and ammunition, officers were barking orders, the fight might be far away, but we were still at war, and this was the first time I had really felt it. It strengthened my resolve to get through the program. We entered the range, and there were all manner of weapons on racks, I didn't even recognize most of them, to the back of the building was the shooting range, the back wall was a good distance away, it, and the whole room was padded with thick ballistic gel that would slow a bullet or absorb an energy bolt to prevent it from doing damage to the structure.

"Now, you've all done firearms drills with the favored weapons of your respective planets." Said Vasiliev, loud enough that everyone could hear as he walked down the line of troops. "Now you must familiarize yourselves with standardized Coalition armaments. These are ergonomic, designed to be used by all humanoid Coalition species."

He picked up what looked like a rifle with no barrel or receiver. It was just a stock and a grip with a line of metal running along where there should have been machinery.

"This is the X-17 Modular Rifle, otherwise known as the XMR, this is the frame." He held it aloft so everyone could see it. "This is the basis of the X-17 weapons platform. This is the rail." He motioned to the metal rod that extended from the stock and I noticed it was covered in attachment points. "Now, because of the nature of our enemy, and the multi-species nature of our Coalition, this weapon is designed to be completely modular. The frame comes in three sizes, small for humans, then medium, then large for you Krell and Borealans, that is the framework upon which you will build a weapon that best suits you. To my right there are crates, inside those crates you will find grips, you will find muzzle brakes, scopes, flash hiders, magazines, all of the components you need to ensure that your weapon is ergonomic and comfortable to fire. Krell might want heavier drum magazines and longer barrels, humans might want a lighter frame and a forward grip, these are only attachments, you cannot make the weapon better or worse, merely better suited to your physiology."

He reached behind him and picked up one of two metal tubes ending in a blob of machinery.

"This is the receiver, because our enemy has begun to adapt to the ammunition we use, the receiver comes in two varieties, you will have both on your person AT ALL TIMES. You will learn to switch these out in a pinch, in the dark, upside down, while being shot at, by the end of this training switching receivers will be second nature to you. The first is a miniaturized railgun, it accelerates a tungsten slug at eight thousand feet per second using electromagnets. It requires a battery to power the magnets, and a magazine to supply ammunition. The second receiver is a directed energy weapon, it makes use of the same battery to superheat and concentrate plasma using a magnetic field and fire it as a bolt, it requires a battery and it requires a gas canister for the plasma." He slid the receiver onto the rail with one fluid motion and a loud snap, then turned and fired a railgun slug down range, it cracked loudly as it discharged.

"And there you have a completed, operational weapon, it's that simple."

Vasiliev continued to explain the workings of the weapon as the trainees listened attentively, nodding in appreciation and discussing how they would build their personal rifles. Only the Borealans looked sour, not that it surprised me any more, and grumbled amongst themselves. When Vasiliev had let the trainees loose on the crates to start experimenting with the attachments, I noticed Raz walking over to him, I recognized her expression.

"With all due respect, officer, we brought our own weapons from Borealis, the best the homeworld could provide. We have Borealan bolt throwers, my father personally commissioned my-"

Vasiliev cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"You have your orders, Raz, you will familiarize yourselves with Coalition weapons platforms."

"But officer, I-"

"Tell me Raz, how is the UNN supposed to provide you with ammunition and spare parts for weapons that we don't manufacture? Unless your bolt throwers can chamber standard UNN tungsten slugs, those guns are not to leave your shuttle, understood?"

Raz looked angry, but she nodded and returned to her group.

For some time the trainees experimented with attachments, eventually everyone had figured out how they wanted their XMR set up and Vasiliev called everyone to the range.

"Ok start firing, every time you empty a mag or a canister I want to see you swap out the receiver, make a habit of it, starting right now. You can fine tune your attachments and ergonomics, I want your gun feeling and firing perfect, the weapon you build today will eventually be going into combat with you. This is now a live fire range, I trust I don't need to tell you all to take the proper precautions!"

I was having fun, the XMR was not dissimilar from the weapons I had trained with on Earth and certainly seemed to be an evolution of human design moreso than alien. I had tweaked mine for low recoil and I was hitting my targets dead center, the Krell next to me seemed to be enjoying himself too, his massive rifle, equipped with a drum magazine and a wicked bayonet, sprayed plasma and melted the plastic targets. The Borealans were not doing so well. The modular design of the guns seemed to overwhelm them, and they were failing to hit their targets, judging by their audible complaints, in English for the benefit of everyone, Borealan weapons were large bore bolt-action rifles with a massive kick, perhaps like some kind of elephant gun or an archaic anti-tank rifle. They had overspecialized, failing to train with anything other than their traditional weapons and now they were at a disadvantage.

Raz complained especially loudly, voicing her distaste and making sure Vasiliev could hear her. The rifle she had built was an abomination, assuming she could handle the recoil, she had used a heavy barrel with no brake that was throwing off her accuracy, and her scope magnification was far too high, it might have been more manageable with a bipod but she had a folding grip that was completely unsuited to the task. I might have given her some advice, had she not made my life hell for the last two days, instead I enjoyed watching her flounder. I felt a hand on my shoulder, it was Vasiliev.

"Excellent shooting trainee, you've taken to the XMR platform like a duck to water, this is exactly what I had hoped to see. Raz!" He called back down the line.

"Why don't you take some pointers from Stanley here?"

I grinned at her, and she fumed.

It took a whole day, the Borealans had to stay longer than everyone else for special tutoring on how to operate the guns, while the humans and Krell had mastered the rifles and each sported his own, personalized weapon. We left for the recreation building, intending to celebrate with some games and drinking. I had been enjoying a game of pool with the now proficient Krell, when the main door of the building slammed open and a group of surly Borealans filed in, their tails drooped and they looked embarrassed and angry. I caught the eye of Raz, and she made a beeline for me. I gripped my pool cue, fearing I might need to use it as a weapon.

"So you think it's funny, do you?" She asked, glaring down at me.

"Do I think what is funny?"

"Your stupid, plastic toy guns, you've used them before, you think you're showing me up? Did you put Vasiliev up to it?" She advanced on me and I drew back, she was really pissed off this time.

"I didn't do anything, and I've never used the XMR before, don't blame me for your failure to adapt." She raised her hackles, and scattered the pool balls with an angry swipe. The whole room had gone quiet now as they watched our argument, unsure of how to respond.

"If that idiot had let me use my slug thrower I would make you look like a blind kitten, it makes no sense that we can't use the guns we brought, instead they're making us use those stupid plastic pieces of shit, they're not made for Borealans, they're made by humans." Her pack nodded their heads in approval.

"The Krell can use them, it's only you that has a problem."

She glared at me, then at the Krell next to me, then back at her pack for support. Then she realized the whole room was staring her down. She looked lost, unsure. She leaned in close to me and whispered menacingly.

"You made a fool out of me, monkey. I won't soon forget it."

I refused to be intimidated, the room was clearly on my side.

"Maybe now you'll respect human fighting prowess."

She raised a clawed hand to strike me, but the Krell who I had been playing pool with let loose a blood curdling roar and charged her, slamming his weight into her and throwing her to the ground. She went down hard, she hadn't been expecting that from the usually docile and sluggish reptiles. Her pack of Borealans moved to back her up, but a group of humans and Krell blocked their path, shaking their heads ominously. The Borealans, outnumbered, bunched up and held their ground.

Raz picked herself up, unhurt but shaken, and began to back off, she knew when she had been beaten. The Borealans slowly filed out of the building in a defensive posture. As soon as the door closed with a loud click in the deathly silence, the room erupted in laughter and jeering. I affectionately patted the Krell who had steamrolled Raz in my defense.

"Thanks buddy, I'm gonna teach you to cheat at Blackjack." He bobbed his head and let out a satisfied huff.

When night fell we walked back to the barracks, just in time to see the dejected Borealans leaving the mess hall. We ate and chatted for a while, and then we made our way to the dorm rooms in time for bed. I had to admit, I felt pretty good about myself, I had excelled at the range, I had stood up to Raz and she had slipped up infront of the whole platoon, now they would all be on guard for her antisocial behavior, the far more physically intimidating Krell now firmly sided with the humans, the Borealans would not be pushing anyone around again.

As I approached room 47, I noticed Raz was leaning against the door. She must have been waiting there for a while, this did not bode well. Everyone else had entered their rooms, it was just me and Raz alone in the hallway now. My heart began to race, what would she do now?

To my surprise, she smiled.

"I'm sorry about earlier Stanley, lets wipe the slate clean, start from scratch, what do you say?" She extended a clawed hand. I took it, gingerly, and shook it. She had called me by my real name instead of monkey or tree-climber, had she come around? Had my defiance earned her respect? I couldn't be sure, but she wasn't trying to eat me, so that was a good start.

"Hey listen, Raz." I said, apologetic. "I never intended for things to go this far, it wasn't my intention to embarrass you infront of everyone, I could have helped you with your XMR, and maybe you wouldn't have accepted my help anyway, but it was wrong of me to leave you high and dry like that. I'm really sorry. We're going to be in a squad together one day, you know? We have to trust eachother, I really want to be friends with you."

Her tail twitched, and her smile faltered for a second, then she exhaled deeply, and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Ok Stanley, lets become friends." She steered me into the dorm room, then closed the door behind us.

"I really appreciate you coming around Raz, to be honest you were kind of making me anxious, when we- hey, what are you doing?"

She moved across the room, roughly pushing me aside and dragged my bed infront of the door, her arms bulged as she heaved the heavy metal frame with a speed that left me gaping and unable to react. I began to shake, it was a ploy, she just wanted me in here, alone, unable to escape, what would she do to me? I inhaled, intending to shout for help, but in a flash she closed the space between us and slammed her hand over my mouth, her claws cutting into my cheeks.

"I need you to understand something, Stanley." She said, her voice low and level. "In my culture, social standing is very important. As the daughter of the admiral, my social standing is more important than you can fathom, I work very hard to maintain that standing. I am the best Borealan warrior here, I am the biggest, the fittest, the strongest, I am the highest born, I am the pack leader, are you following?"

I nodded, wide eyed and frightened, her hand still covering my mouth. A small trickle of blood dripped from a puncture on my cheek.

"When you make me look like a fool, and turn the platoon against me, I lose standing, and I cannot get that standing back, you've made me into a pariah, the other Borealans will no longer respect me, and when word of this reaches my father, which it will, I may be stripped of my title, I may not inherit his estates." She seethed with barely controlled rage.

I had no idea that their culture had such a rigid and unforgiving social system, and it went some way to explaining why Raz behaved in the outrageous way that she did, perhaps, like lions in a pride, standing could only be maintained through dominance games. If she wasn't constantly the loudest, most obnoxious and confrontational member of her pack, someone else might usurp her.

"My father might even recall me to Borealis and halt my training, all because of you, you and your stupid monkey culture, you and your genetic inability to recognize who is your superior."

She looked crazy, her yellow eyes were wide and her usually thin pupils were expanded into wide circles. Her teeth were bared and her hackles were raised.

"You took something away from me, and now I'm going to take something from you."

She released my face from her grip and I fell back, knowing better than to shout for help.

"Are you gonna hurt me?" I mumbled.

"Oh Stanley, I'm going to hurt you in ways you'll never forget."

I crawled backwards along the floor, knowing well that I couldn't escape, she had barred the only exit and the window that looked out onto the donut could not be opened. She walked forward slowly, hunched, as if ready to pounce on me. She flexed her claws menacingly and bared her sharp fangs, her black, round pupils fixed on my face. My head banged against the wall where my bed had been, and she loomed over me, I was cornered now, would she really kill me? Did she having nothing to lose now? She crouched, then reached forward and closed a steely hand around my neck, I gagged, her grip choking me, fastening my hands around her wrist in a futile attempt to pull her off me. She lifted me clear off the floor, one-handed, and flipped me around, launching me through the air, I landed on her bed on the other side of the room, the springs creaking under the impact, I slammed my shoulder into the far wall and grunted in pain. Before I could sit up she marched across the room and hit me, back-handed across the face. It cracked loudy, and the strike stunned me for a moment.

"Wait! Raz! Please don't!" I pleaded, I tasted blood in my mouth.

She wasn't listening, she was enraged, in a fugue state, she slammed her left hand into my throat again, pinning me to the bed, and used her right to tear my shirt with the hooked claw of her index finger, she pulled away the thin fabric as if it were paper, leaving my bare chest exposed and vulnerable. I writhed, choking and trying to break free of her grasp, but she was immovable, Raz was too big, too strong compared to a human, I could take her with a gun, but unarmed I was helpless. Slowly and deliberately, she dragged her claws down from my chest to my belly, not intending to disembowel, but to hurt and frighten. Her claws dug into my skin, drawing crimson blood, and white-hot pain seared down four fresh scars. I tried to cry out but only managed a muffled gag, her hand still firmly closed around my esophagus. She brought a bloodied claw up to her mouth, and touched it to her tongue, savoring the taste of my defeat.