The training room rang with the song of battle. The three fought with deadly grace, their clashing weapons creating a symphony and their movements flowing into a warrior's dance. The room, thirty feet to a side, was a hexagon lined with racks of weapons, both ancient and modern. Hanging from the high rafters were tapestry banners to Lady Belladonna, ruler of The Pale Garden.

All of her soldiers were simple flowers in the shadow of her enormous tree. Flecks of blood stained the white tiles and pillars.

Xavier, part woman and part machine, fought with a training sword of long edged steel. Her eyes were cruel and calculating as she dodged and struck with equal frequency. Her complexion and features marked her as a human colonist, descendant of those who fled the dying Earth Prime in search of fertile lands. Pale and angular with hair of bright colors. Xavier wore hers in a spiky lavender pixie cut, half of her face under the tattoo of a snake coiled in thorny roses. She deflected an attack from one opponent, kicking off the woman and putting space between herself and the others.

Rahsa fought blindfolded, a dagger in each hand. He grinned as if enjoying himself despite his two adversaries attempting to bleed him from as many wounds as possible. His skin was dark and smooth like an Earther, though he'd never seen Earth Prime or Earth Two. His nose was full, his hair aggressively curly. His dreadlocks jingled as he moved from one opponent to the other. His lighter weapons lent themselves to his swiftness. Slash, stab, and retreat. Of the three, he bore the smallest number of wounds.

Xavier was a brute. Rasha was a poet.

Lychee pushed herself to match the others. More slight than Xavier and lacking Rasha's finesse, she relied on her ability to adapt. Matching his speed when necessary and meeting her savagery in kind. Smokey tan and pale eyes marked her as an Earther, the blood in her veins that of those who survived the dying Earth Prime and nursed her back to health. Her long wavy hair clung close to her back in one large braid. In her hands she wielded a wooden staff, twirling it with jarring efficiency as she fought back her rivals. Her expression determined, her concentration intense, Lychee read the flow of their dance and adjusted her movements to always be ahead of their blades.

They danced, using their master's training in the ancient martial arts of the felarnian and humans, until they were all covered in blood and breathing heavily.

"In a battle of attrition, I will prove the victor," Rasha said with no hint of boasting.

"If I overclock my system, neither of you will be able to keep up," Xavier laughed.

Lychee said nothing.

They goaded one another, hoping someone would play their advantages too early and sacrifice the element of surprise. It was a constant part of their deadly waltz. Their number had once been six, but two had let their guard down and were now buried under White Lawn's soil. The fourth had skipped the day's training.

As if summoned by her thoughts, the door to the training room hissed open and a tall handsome canamarian entered the room. His normally nonchalant expression of his ursine face was one of concern.

"You're late," Xavier taunted. "Have you finally given up?"

The man growled.

"There's your bark, Kalcus. Where is your bite?"

With the last, Xavier ducked a swipe from Lychee's staff and charged at the canamarian. He met her sword with a halberd snatched from the weapon rack beside him. They traded blows, his natural strength pitted against her cybernetics. In unspoken mutual agreement, Lychee and Rasha ceased their own battle and watched. Xavier slashed Kalcus across the gut, but was too slow to retreat when he grabbed her hair and drove her face into his knee. Both retreated to nurse their hurts.

"I received a distressing report from our Sleeper Immunes," Kalcus grumbled, leaning on the shaft of his halberd. "We've lost contact with Sleeper 19."

He had everyone's attention.

"19 is the one we established with the pirates?" Lychee asked, recalling a big brute of a trooper, chosen for his powers of observation.

"Yes," Rasha said. "He was the one our analyst believed most likely to make accidental contact with the fugitives."

"Correct, and we've lost him," Kalcus said.

"You've lost him," Xavier corrected.

He growled and she raised her weapon, prepared to resume their fight.

Rasha removed his blindfold, revealing the blackened wound where someone had attempted to blow his brains out. The red light within was the only outward hint to his Neo Mecha origins. Unlike his counterpart, Lucifer, he passed for human so well most didn't realize he was a series 3 construct. He undid his ponytail and thick dreadlocks fell down over the wound.

"What do we know about 19's last known whereabouts?" he asked.

"He last checked in at a remote station. The group he had connected with were avoiding contact with the authorities and leaving him very little opportunity to reach out."

Lychee returned her staff to the racks. "Is it possible he was discovered?"

"Not likely. He was conditioned against interrogation." Kalcus rubbed his chin. "More likely he and his group were KIA."

"I want more conclusive data than that."

The four looked up as one. The man above wore a dark half-cape, a hooded cowl hiding his face in shadow.

Their master, Lord Scorpion, perched like a bird of prey. They all took a knee, bowing to him as if he himself were a Primus of Lady Belladonna. He might as well have been. He was the only man she trusted with a ship and a command of his own. He jumped down to land on the mat as if the forty foot distance meant nothing.

"Master, I intend to gather more information," Kalcus stammered, despite towering more than a foot over the human when standing. "I'd brought this to the others to discuss before bothering you."

"More like you intended to gather us up in your failing," Xavier hissed.

Lychee gave the canamarian a sidelong glance, catching the subtle curve of his lip. Though Xavier would never be known for her cunning, she knew Kalcus's games very well.

"I only care about results," Scorpion's hand tapped the hilt of his plasmatic edge, "and failure. Find out what happened to Sleeper 19 and look into this group he'd infiltrated."

"Yes, master," the four said in unison.

Scorpion paced around them, a predator choosing his moment to strike. Just when the tension grew unbearable he stopped.

"I've chosen to advance two of you to the next level of training."

Lychee's heart skipped a beat. They were the top of his elite corps, his best warriors. Lord Scorpion was preparing them to serve Lady Belladonna in a manner none had done before them. For years it was all she'd wanted.

He pulled back his cowl, revealing a face identical to that of the fugitive calling himself Spider. He smirked.

"Only the last two standing will prove worthy of this honor."

Lychee rolled, trusting her instinct and deftly avoiding Xavier's viscous attack. Rasha's blade entered the cyborg's side before she realized her mistake. He vaulted back as Kalcus destroyed his halberd in an attempt to cut down the quick construct. Lord Scorpion twisted out of the way and watched as Lychee grabbed her staff and waded into the three-way battle. She tried to focus, but anticipation stole a few seconds from her response and that was all it took. In the end, she lay on the ground beside Xavier, their blood mingling.

Lord Scorpion seemed unfazed by the whole thing.

"Take them to the infirmary." He raised his cowl. "Jackal!"

"Yes, master," answered the ship's Core AI.

"Set a course for White Lawn. We have an appointment to keep with Lady Belladonna."

To be continued...

A/N: After what feels like an exceedingly long time, we've reached the end of this third instalment. Thank you for taking this ride with me. Eagle X represents thirty years of my life, making it my oldest baby. I hope you enjoyed the ride. Stay tuned because Spider and the rest of the team will be back!

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