"Does Ant Bull meat taste good?"
Hercules whipped around to find Company Captain Menoetius standing silently behind him, arms folded, wearing that same almost-smile. He had no idea when the captain had arrived.
The scars on his shoulder armor stood out sharply under the mess hall lights.
"Captain!" Hercules quickly swallowed his food and stood up.
Menoetius waved away the formality. His gaze swept over the charred steak on the tray, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. "Tastes all right? Looks like the Servitor finally managed not to give you the plate with the extra ingredients this time."
Then his tone shifted, becoming unquestionable. "Go to the training room when you're done. We're trying something different today. No more beating up those hunks of metal."
With that, he turned and left without giving Hercules a chance to ask any questions. His towering figure soon vanished around the corner of the corridor leading to the training area.
Something stirred inside Hercules, and warmth surged through his chest.
Finally... finally, no more sparring with cold machines!
He wolfed down the rest of the steak in a few bites, took a long gulp of his specially supplied drink, and quickly told Frank beside him, "I'm heading out." Then he strode after the captain.
The training room's airtight door slid open, and the familiar smell of machine oil and grinding metal washed over him.
The center of the room stood empty. The wreckage of the training robot Hercules had dismantled earlier had already been cleared away.
"Captain! Who's my opponent this time?" Hercules's voice brimmed with barely contained excitement and fighting spirit as he stared eagerly at Menoetius.
He imagined it might be another veteran from the company, or perhaps some more powerful simulated enemy.
Menoetius turned around and said expressionlessly, "Just