The first week, Korr had tried to rebel again, he had spat on Nouwl-an's boot during a morning formation, after having witnessed the death of a servant who had cleaned the dining hall poorly.
Nouwl-an ordered him to punish the servant, but the nato refused. So nouwl-an killed her.
That lack of respect toward a superior led to nouwl-an breaking two fingers on his left hand. But the nato barely screamed. In fact, he became more rebellious, and again, he had to be trained with blows so that he would calm down. The nato was violent, and an excellent warrior. He only needed discipline.
The current punishment had been for helping one of his companions through the obstacle course. The chubby boy could barely get up and climb some stairs, and korr-add offered to help him pass.
The exercise consisted of overcoming his opponent at all costs, but the nato had subverted the purpose of the test. He had to be punished, so nouwl-an kept pressuring him.
Nouwlan observed from above levitating with his arms crossed, expectant, his figure was located fifty meters above ground level. His jaw was tense, fixing his gaze on that nato who kept moving without stopping.
At his side, the sub-officer Vexa-6, adjusted her uniform with lazy gestures.
She was an anomalous viltrumite, class 6, assigned in the facility for special functions, by imperial instructions.
She was a young woman with short black hair, with eyes gray as steel. She wore a single bar on her chest, the rank of sub-officer, and had been assigned to Dorymathos just five cycles ago, after an injury to the spine received during a pacification campaign in the Andromeda system, left her out of active service.
Vexa was efficient, disciplined, but she seemed to have an impressive imagination, which made her very eccentric and abnormal, for imperial standards. it also made her boring, that is why she focused her interest on the small project of her superior Nouwl-an.
"Another time watching the rebel, nouwl-an?" Vexa said, breaking the silence. Her voice, despite sounding flat, had a hint of mockery in her words.
Nouwlan did not take his eyes off the horizon. "Maintain decorum, sub-officer".
Nouwl-an answered her in response, although he did not say it seriously, in reality, he did not dislike the presence of this woman. Although she was much more powerful than him, he was her superior in rank.
Vexa slightly tilted her head, accepting the correction, but her mouth twisted into a half smile, something very eccentric for a viltrumite.
"Yes, instructor," she answered him, before adding. "This subordinate greets her superior. By the way, I was only observing that... well, it is not the first time that nato captures your attention. Not long ago you broke two fingers, And before that, you struck him in the face in front of all the recruits and the one before that… well. You have gone through a lot with that nato, and that I have seen instructors who have executed natos for less".
Nouwlan clenched his jaw. "Those idiots do not know how to properly educate natos in their care. Besides, that nato has potential, but I need to break him to manage to educate him properly".
"I understand, I understand," Vexa said, and this time her smile was wider, something that displeased nouwl-an. "But the recruits are watching your behavior. This can be counterproductive, What happens if they start to imitate his bad behavior? Many have been insinuating that you are too weak with the nato".
Nouwlan turned his head toward her, fixing his two black slits on the girl's face. "Are you insinuating something, sub-officer?"
Vexa lowered her gaze instantly, bringing her right fist to her chest in a quick salute. "Not at all, instructor. I only make a technical observation, according to my functions as your companion and second in command".
There was a tense silence between both, but it did not go further. Only an uncomfortable silence between both.
Below, on the plain, one of the children began to cry again. It was the same as always, the crying class 12 boy, named Null-ram. Nouwl-an made a mental note to punish him later, his cries already had him fed up.
"That nato," Nouwl-an finally said, returning his gaze to the figure that still ran in the distance, "is... confusing, strange to me".
Vexa raised an eyebrow. "Confusing? It is evident that this nato is strange".
Nouwl-an nodded to her.
"that nato, korr-add, does not behave like an average nato of the empire". Nouwl-an let his arms fall to his sides. "in these last cycles, he has been showing an impressive creativity, and his mental activity is too active. I have reviewed his records of the Primary Assimilation Phase. His father punished him for building artifacts, he would have been an excellent sapient of the empire if he had been born with a lower genetic class. He also seems to master a lot of abstract concepts alien to the interests of viltrum, it is presumed that he had been contaminated with such ideas through a syreni assigned for his care. But despite this, he remains very strange, and extremely stubborn".
"stubborn, you say. could it not be part of your genetic genealogy?" Vexa said with a smile.
"vexa," nouwl-an questioned her.
"I keep quiet, I keep quiet. I was only trying to joke with you".
"this bad taste jest will harm your military career, if you continue taking all this lightly". The young man warned her, but the young woman shrugged.
"I can take another function in the empire. Being a warrior is not everything, nouwl-an". She answered him back, but to nolan it made him uncomfortable the simple fact of thinking about anything other than being a warrior.
"this nato… reminds me of you, vexa". The words of nouwl-an caught the girl's attention.
"is it serious?" she asked, interested in the nato.
"indeed," Nouwl-an nodded. "His interests, unfortunately, are not in accordance with what is allowed by the empire. Just like you, who, with the purest genetics among your generation, does not feel any interest in her vocation destined by the High Imperial Court of Assignment of Occupation. He feels that my way of educating them is nefarious".