Commander Dominic Cross's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Commander Dominic Cross ran the training deck of the command ship, and he built his career on one rule: no cadet defied him twice. He wanted this unit under his hand alone, and he wanted the sharpest recruit in the fleet turned into his best weapon. She stood ten feet away, and she had just laughed at his order. "Run the drill again," Cross had said. Cadet Kirra Brennan crossed her arms. "The drill's built wrong," she said. "You're wasting an hour teaching a formation that breaks under fire. I ran the numbers." A few cadets snickered. Two glanced at Cross to see what he would do. Cross knew the danger. If he let her mouth stand, morning drill would begin with a unit that questioned every command. His authority would leak away by dawn. But he saw something else in her green eyes. She wasn't showing off. She had found a real flaw, and she was daring him to admit it. He walked to her slowly. The deck went quiet. "You think the formation breaks," he said. "Prove it. Now." He turned to the far mat. "Mykross." The wolf-man stepped from the shadows near the weapons rack. He was Cross's best fighter, quiet, black-furred, marked with tattoos across both arms. He said nothing. He never did. He simply took his stance and waited for the order. "Kirra picks four cadets," Cross said. "They hold the formation. Mykross breaks it. If she's right, we scrap the drill. If she's wrong, she runs it until she drops." He met her eyes. "Deal?" Kirra's jaw tightened. She had wanted to win the argument, not bet her body on it. But she nodded. She picked her four. They locked into the formation she hated. Mykross moved. He hit the weak seam Kirra had named, and the four cadets folded in three seconds. They sprawled across the mat. The deck stared. Kirra had been right. Cross let the silence sit. Then he spoke so all could hear. "The cadet found a flaw I missed. We fix the drill." Kirra's shoulders dropped in relief. Then Cross stepped close, voice low, for her alone. "You were right. And you did it in front of my unit, on your terms. That ends today." He raised his voice again. "Brennan reports to me at dawn. Private review. Everyone else, dismissed." The cadets filed out fast, heads down. Mykross gave Cross a single nod and vanished the way he came. Kirra stood alone on the deck, the win souring in her mouth. She had proven herself. Now she belonged to him more than before. Cross watched her understand it. She had the mind he needed, the spine he needed, and the pride he intended to break. "Dawn, Cadet," he said. "Don't be late." He walked out, and left her standing in the empty room with the drill she had won and the leash she hadn't seen coming.