Army of Shadows - Part 1

The woman placed her arms around Arex's neck and placed her head lovingly against his. Her soft brown hair rustled on his bare back, sending electric shivers through his skin. A warm sunset glowed beyond the purple sea. The beach stretched on to the horizon, far beyond what he could see. he reached around her waist with his left arm and brushed his face softly against hers. He felt a wave of calmness he didn't understand despite his rapid heartbeat.

Suddenly he felt an anxiety wash over him. He couldn't understand what could be the problem until he saw the sky growing black. The sea grew dark and crimson waves began to rock against the shore. He turned to the woman, but she was nowhere to be seen. he was alone.

All alone.

................

An alarm was buzzing loudly in the pitch black room. Only the red glow fro the alarm clock's LCD screen showed through the shadow. Arex reached over to the clock with his hand and slammed his hand unceremoniously on the "SNOOZE" button. He groaned loudly and picked himself up from the couch. The comforter arranged haphazardly on his person fell from his bare chest, revealing a still-fresh tattoo that decorated his upper body. He sat up, realizing the alarm was still ringing and he pressed he button again, to no avail. A flash of anger ran through his head until rational thought finally kicked into gear and he realized that his PDA was making the noise.

Arex looked over at his clock. 3:34 glowed red in the darkness like simmering coals. He narrowed his eyes and picked the PDA off the table. Tazami's number showed brightly on the screen, and Arex pressed the answer button.

Arex's voice was rough and laced with acidic contempt, "Alright, what-the-fuck?"

"We need to meet, now."

Tazami's voice was hurried and emotional, something Arex had not heard before from Tazami. An unfamiliar anxiety moved within him, alighting his senses.

"Where?"

"Gare de l'Est."

"Heavy?"

"Very."

The connection ended and Arex dropped the PDA back into the pocket of his pants. He grabbed his messenger bag and a loose shirt, probably the same shirt he was wearing the day before, and stood up as best as he could.

Several items of clothing were strewn on the ground near a still-packed suitcase. The apartment was one of several safe houses maintained by the Xi Detachment for operatives who did not have time to establish their own temporary residence. For that reason, they were very few luxuries in the houses and almost no indication of a human touch. It always felt a mite depressing. Arex rarely spent more time in the place than when he slept.

He walked to a large duffel bag situated next to the door of the apartment and slung it over his shoulder, grunting as the heavy weight strained against his body. A final glance around the apartment reminded him to take his pistol and his kukri from the table.

The night air was still and very moist. A bead of sweat already clung to his forehead as he rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes. He had the strong desire to return to his apartment and put on shorts, but time was of the essence.

The sounds of the city surrounded him as he walked along the second story balcony. The drone of passing vehicles in the distance. Local wildlife sifting through the day's garbage. The occasional rustling of leaves in a lazy breeze.

As Arex descended the stairs from the second story, his eyes slowly adjusted to the bright streetlight illuminating the open-air staircase. An unearthly orange glow that highlighted the damp asphalt of the back lot. He began to jog, as much to save time as to wake himself, as he stepped off of the staircase and onto the ground. The jet lag from the journey to Beaumonde was a nightmare by itself and his lifestyle (or lack of one) in no way helped.

Arex shifted the duffel bag across his chest, a somewhat vain struggle to alleviate the pressure on his shoulder. He stopped in place at the far end of the apartment complex and began to shift the two bags on his shoulder to better disperse the weight.

He hadn't quite finished when the explosion knocked him backwards. He saw the massive plume of debris for a split second, but it was the shock wave that actually sent him reeling into the pavement. His ears rang softly from the noise, and his head throbbed from the impact with the ground. Arex pushed himself up after a significant few seconds and looked back at what had been his apartment.

A wicked glow illuminated the cloud of smoke rising high into the air. Vehicle alarms all around him began to sound and as the ringing in his eardrums lessened, he heard shouting from other buildings.

A fear gripped him like he had never felt. A true feeling of helplessness as he sat in shock. Before he realized what he was doing he was running. He wasn't sure if he was running in the right direction. he had to get out of there.

Instinctively , he reached into his pants pocket and retrieved the PDA. Without a word or hesitation, he removed the back cover of the PDA and took the memory card out of the device. he stopped in place and threw the device onto the ground. In one motion, he brought his foot off the ground and slammed it back, crushing the PDA beneath his heel. The crunch of plastic seemed sickening, like the breaking of a strange bone.

He reached into his messenger bag and removed a thin strip covered in silver on both sides from a small utility pocket. He removed a single layer from the strip, revealing a sticky brown layer beneath it. He placed the memory card on this sticky gel, then removed the thin silver from the opposite side. He slapped he strip and card onto the pavement and began to run again. Faster and faster until he was nearly sprinting. Behind him the strip of plastic burst into white-hot flame, melting the asphalt and the memory card together into a strange black soup. Sparks flew into the darkness as the circuitry snapped and popped like kernels in the darkness.

Arex didn't turn back to see. he ran off into the shadows, leaving the hellish flames to burn in the quiet night air.

In Media Res - Part 4

Arex wafted the coffee vapor towards his nose and inhaled deeply. The rich hazelnut flavor made his mouth water and he took a sip from the small cup, mentioning a polite "thank you" to the waiter

His table was tucked under a large umbrella that blocked out the majority of the strong sunlight that bore down on the street. People passed by the cafe on their way to various tasks as Arex relaxed at the table.

He lifted the thin sheet of paper off of the table and turned the newspaper on, reading over the headline as he sipped on the coffee.

................

CHEMISTRY PROFESSOR AND STUDENT ARRESTED

Dr. James Aaronson and Tabitha Cheung charged with terrorism, breach of student-teacher relationship protocol.


Ms. Cheung's head hung low today as Persephone police escorted her and respected professor, Dr. James Aaronson, out of Physical Chemistry II in the middle of a lecture. Students balked, and some took pictures as the rumored lovers were carted away on charges of breaching student-teacher etiquette and plotting terroristic actions against the Alliance Armed Forces and the Parliament. Aaronson, an outspoken critic of the current administration remained tight-lipped as reporters hounded...

................

A video clip played below the animated headline, showing a handcuffed Dr. Aaronson and Ms. Cheung being escorted to an Alliance police vehicle while reporters and photographers massed behind them.

Arex didn't bother to read the rest. He didn't need to read the rest. He inhaled deeply, something of a personal acknowledgment of the story and flicked his finger to bring the next page of the newspaper up on the thin screen.

He was reading through a particularly scathing editorial about the Parliament's refusal to grant greater taxes to Traders' Union vessels when his PDA began to ring. He looked down to the screen and clicked the green "Answer" button.

"Guten Tag."

"Cute, Nomad. Enjoying the afternoon?"

"Like you wouldn't believe."

Tazami chuckled in a manner befitting a mentor's good natured acceptance of a student's personality.

"Don't get used to this Nomad."

It was Arex's turn to chuckle, "The only easy day, aye?"

"You got it, Nomad."

"New orders?"

"Not quite. Report to Scion at 0530 on Thursday."

Arex blinked and placed his cup back on the saucer. That gave him three days before he had to be anywhere.

"Did you have a stroke, Nomad?"

Arex snapped out of his self-induced trance and answered with disbelief, "I'm wondering the same about you."

Tazami laughed, "Nomad, we do things a bit differently. Now enjoy yourself. I understand that young woman works at Xian's?"

Arex frowned as he responded. As usual, he was baffled at the man's apparent omnipresence.

"What about her not waiting?"

"Doesn't mean you can't stop by and say 'Hello.' "

Arex smirked and rolled his eyes. "I'll be sure to put that at the top of the docket."

"See you in three, Nomad."

The click of a disconnect coincided with Arex's removal of the device from his ear. He flicked through the menus of his PDA and ran a search for flight times to the other side of the planet. He reserved a flight for the day prior and set an alarm to remind himself.

The necessary business complete, he leaned back in his chair and brought the cup of coffee back to his lips. he thought of the young woman's face again. Something like heartache and warmth stirred and his cup hovered below his chin as he lost himself in youthful fantasy. he looked down at his PDA and retrieved an Eavesdown Docks map. One search later, he was looking at two brightly colored dots on the screen. A blue one, signifying his position and a red one, Xian's Fine Cuisine.

He stared for a few moments, two equally strong motions in his head vying for supremacy. The ping of lonliness tugged at his heart, as it so often did when he had too much time to himself. A part of his self-esteem that tried to tell him he was just as worthy of love as the next person. Yet, his rational mind called too, reminding him of the cold, inescapable truth. He agreed to his life and the sacrifices it demanded. It was the classic struggle of the head and the heart. A drama that played itself out with his emotions as the battleground.

Arex continued to sit quietly for a full minute, the PDA and coffee hovering in place as he thought. Finallly he flicked away the map on his PDA and put the device back to sleep. he took another sip from his coffee, now lukewarm much to his chagrin.

He watched the world pass by him, thinking soberly to himself as he picked the paper up again to start reading the article again.

She wouldn't have liked what she found anyways.

In Media Res - Part 3

The pin clicked in the tumbler and Arex smiled as he moved the thin wire closer to himself. Arex truly hated lockpicking, perhaps even more than bad drivers. It was a time-consuming and tedious process, not to mention placed him in the open while performing a very illegal activity.

Unfortunately, most of these people had long since learned that any Alliance police or military force had access to every legal electronic lock system in the 'Verse. Now tumbler-pin locks had returned to fill the void for the security-conscious, the paranoid, and the criminal. An analog solution to a digital problem. There was almost an elegance to it. Or would be if the damned lock didn't take forever and a day to pick.

Several excruciating minutes and grips of paranoia later, Arex felt the last pin lock in place and the tumbler turned slightly from the twist of the torsion bar. He fully unlocked the deadbolt and placed his latex-laden hand on the door handle lightly. The door swung with a low creak, revealing the quality of workmanship in the construction.

The flat was bathed in the same dark blue haze of a lazy night on Persephone. The door opened to a haphazardly arranged kitchen area. Several pots stood on the burners, awaiting a thorough washing from their owner. Arex had to step very carefully not just to avoid making noise, but also to keep from causing himself undo harm. Clothing and bedding items were lying on the cushions of a cheap couch resting against a wall as he entered the living space of the apartment. The table in the center of the room was equally disorganized. Various papers and books lay in chaotic fashions

Arex stopped as he spotted several black notebooks neatly stacked on the far end of the table. he picked the first notebook up and recognized the design almost imediately. It was a "Aranga" notebook, popular with collegiate bodies and the artistic crowd. The were well crafted, but at least several gold overpriced. A fashion item as much as a writing tool.

Arex opened the notebook and exhaled audiably as he looked over the blank pages. He picked up each of the other notebooks and thumbed through the pages in the same manner. Occasionally, he found a poorly written poem, or a half-finished short story in what he guessed was dire need of an editor. Arex replaced each of hte notebooks and turned his attention to the rest of the room. A large, expensive television set hung on the wall opposite the couch. He didn't recognize the model, but could tell at least a hundred credits where in the logo alone. A wireless router hung above the television set, the status lights blinking in indiscernible patterns.

Arex turned his attention to the short hallway near the couch and walked into almost complete darkness, feeling his way through the thin gloves. He opened the door to the bedroom as he turned on a flashlight. The room was a complete disaster. Feminine clothing was strewn all over the floor and on the foot of the bed. A utilitarian desk sat against a wall covered in books and an expensive computer system.

Arex made his way across the floor, doing his best to avoid stepping on anything, and thumbed through the books lying on the desk. They were chemistry textbooks of every level including physical, organic, and analytical books of varying editions and skill levels.

At least two of the books bore a yellow "PERSEPHONE UNIVERSITY - USED" sticker along the spines. Arex raised his eyebrows slightly. Now they knew where to start looking. He couldn't shake the feeling that something didn't add up. Everything in this flat pointed at a person living beyond their means trying to belong to a culture that very clearly required a cash burn in excess of what this person had available. These type of people were liabilities. The first ones to squeal when the powers that be applied the thumbscrews.

Arex removed the PDA and dialed Tazami's number int he darkness, continuing his observation of the room as he waited for Tazami to answer.

"Go ahead, Nomad."

Arex exhaled in preparation, setting a tone for his next sentence, "There's nine-hundred credits of electronics in this place. Half this go se I couldn't afford when I was living with my parents."

"Could just be another drug runner."

Persephone's rampant drug problems were known across the 'Verse. Every terrorist group, criminal organization, and general lowlife had a hand in the trade and it was nearly impossible to figure out where one group's involvement began and another ended.

Arex reached down and picked up one of the clothing items strewn on the ground. It was a female cut of a Colidi t-shirt. Probably cost as much as his PDA did, if not more.

"How many drug runners wear Colidi?" Arex didn't know how to communicate his assurances. Tazami's devil's advocacy was certainly not helping.

"The ones with good fashion sense."

Arex let out a soft burst of frustration.

"Nomad, it doesn't work like the movies. Now get out of there. We'll look into it."

Arex nodded in the darkness, rubbing the bridge of his nose in a Tazami-esque manner. He knew it was useless to argue. Tazami was probably right anyways. He had just been so sure.

"Nomad?"

"Yeah I'm..."

Arex stopped cold as he heard footsteps in the hallway.

"Nomad? What's happening?"

"Shit, she's back."

A female voice sounded in the hallway, "Oh you have to be shitting me!"

Arex felt his blood pressure skyrocket. He had left the flat door open when he had entered. Immediately, he reached for the pistol tucked within his cargos. He slowly pulled the slide back as he pressed his body against the door frame. He used his feet to close the door slowly, leaving a crack open so he could see into the living area.

A woman enered his field of vision. She was about his age and dressed in fashionably ripped denim pants and a fitted light red blouse with abstract artwork adorning the fabric. Arex slowly cocked the hammer of the pistol as she continued to move around her flat, looking for stolen items. Every time she turned towards he bedroom, he felt his heart surge with an adrenaline shot.

She let out an emphatic curse and removed a Coretex communicator from her pocket. Arex frowned as she dialed a number quickly and waited for a response. A gruff male voice answered, clearly perturbed by the disturbance.

"What?"

"My gorram apartment got broken into, that's what!"

Arex couldn't see the man's face but the woman let out a disgusted whine as he answered her.

"If you leave your door open for everyone..."

The woman cut him off before he could finish, clearly not wanting a lecture.

"I didn't leave my fucking door open, James."

It was the man's turn to answer angrily.

"Don't call..."

"No! I'm tired of this bullshit! You told me nothing was going to happen! Now my apartment's ransacked! What's going on, James? The code-name spy go se is getting old." There was an edge of fear growing in her voice. Arex could tell they had discussed this before, and appearently his attempts to calm her had been fairly unsucessful.

"Xia, please calm down."

The woman was close to tears.

"I can't, James. I want to know why you're always so secretive! Why strange people keep calling me for things in the dead of night."

The man tried to jump into the conversation several times, finally getting her attention as she struggled to keep from having a breakdown.

"Xia, listen, I can't do this over a public wave. Get on the black box and call me again."

Arex tensed and gripped the pistol with a greater anxiety. He hadn't seen a black box in the living area. That meant it had to be...

The woman shook her head definatly, "No James. No more secret talks. I want to see you, right now!"

The man made a sound that Arex guessed was frustration and exhaustion mixed together. Finally, he yielded to her pleas and answered tersely.

"Fine, meet me at the office."

The woman visibly relaxed and nodded her head, answering in a softer, warmer tone.

"Thank you James."

She sighed, appearently at some facial expression the man had made and answered again, slightly annoyed.

"Fine, Zedak."

Arex felt a spark in his mind. "Zedak" was the code name for one of the active cell members. The woman walked back to the kitchen area and closed the door, locking the deadbolt as she left. Arex slid down the door frame, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he brought the PDA to his ear again after dialing Tazami. He spoke as soon as he heard the connection go through.

"I've got a positive ID for Zedak. First name is James."

Tazami failed to answer immediately. Arex imagined he had been expecting a significantly more sober phone call.

"Can you tell me a location?"

"No, but his contact is going to meet him in person. Female, 20ish. Wearing a light red blouse and denim."

"Aye, Banzai reported her from overwatch. Follow her as close as you can, Nomad."

"Understood. I'm heading out."

Arex picked himself back up on his feet and enetered the living area again. He began to head towards the door when something clicked in his mind. The fashion. The chemistry books. The age of the man's voice. Arex looked down at his PDA and brought up the Coretex Explorer on the menu. He ran a fast search o the application and his face broke out into a smile as he opened the door to the hallway and ran to the stairwell, calling Tazami as he ran.

"Yes, Nomad?"

"I know where they're going to meet. Tell Banzai to be at this address."

A few seconds of silence passed before he heard Tazami answer, "Ok, go ahead."

In Media Res - Part 2

Arex inhaled deeply and leaped from his crouched position in a single fluid motion. The edge of the building approached rapidly. It was hard to make out make out the exact edge of the building threshold in the darkness. Arex felt a final jolt of fear rip through his chest as he took his last step onto what he dearly hoped was the barrier of the roof. He extended his leg and arched his back, leaping off the building and into the warm night air.

He kept his eyes on the wall in front of him, ignoring the thirty meter drop to the ground below him. Arex felt the pull of gravity on his shoes as his fingers connected with a windowsill. Immediately, his legs retracted and his feet connected with the wall. Only a slight grunt sounded in the vacant alley as the whole of Arex's weight strained against his arms and his messenger bag slammed against his pelvis.

Arex let his arms absorb he shock for a few seconds before continuing the climb up the wall. He moved silently from windows to pipes in short bursts of motion. He curled his hands around the roof threshold and mantled himself with a final push to the top.

The building was one of many high rise living quarters in the residential area of Eavesdown. Prefabricated units that housed a variety of peoples of low income. Naturally, crime rates were high and morale was low throughout the region. The kind of place that everyone pretended didn't exit and police forces preferred to ignore. Arex walked to the northwest corner of the building, keeping his profile low against the night sky. There was actually very little need for stealth in truth. Heads were kept low in the prefabs. People knew better than to ask questions about the unusual.

He reached into the messenger bag and retrieved four small discs from a side pocket. He twisted each of the discs and removed a cover from the tops of each one. A sticky gel glistened in the darkness and he carefully placed each disc carefully on the roof. He crafted an imaginary rectangle with four discs, one at each corner and pressed a button on each one. Soft clicks echoed quietly in the air with each press.

He stepped away from the discs and reach into his bag a second time. He retrieved a rolled piece of plastic from his bag and unfurled it in his hands, revealing a blank iridescent surface. He pressed a black square on the plastic with his thumb and watched as the blank plastic lit up with a bright Blue Sun logo. A few minutes passed as the embedded radio in the plastic began to broadcast instructions to and receive data from the discs. Each disc synchronized with the machine in Arex's hands and began passively receiving information from its surroundings. Seismic activity, electromagnetic radiation, and temperatures all passed from one receiver to the other.

Arex watched as all the information collected together on the plastic screen to form an image. It was a blurry, indistinct image to begin with, the words INFRARED broadcast at the top of the screen. Arex motioned with small twitches of his fingers, and the screen responded with a new image each time. X-RAY, SEISMIC, and TEMPERATURE GRADIENT passed by with little change in each screen. The RADIO screen flipped forward and showed an intense white patch across the entire screen.

Arex poked the middle of the screen with his finger and watched as a small menu appeared on the screen. He touched several menu items, each bringing new options until he chose SQUELCH. A simulated dial appeared in its place, and Arex used his fingers to adjust it. The white on the screen began to diminish and new colors appeared. A series of bright red dots, each surrounded by halos of yellow and green fields, replaced the white field.

Arex removed his fingers, and the dial disappeared, leaving only the colors on the screen. Arex placed the plastic on the ground and tapped the left corner of the plastic with his finger twice. The screen went blank, only to be replaced with a hologram that hovered at Arex's chest. Arex reached to the edges of the hologram with his hands and pinched the hologram with his fingers. He widened his arms and the hologram expanded to follow, adjusting the resolution to match the expanded view. Dozens of bright dots of varying colors and intensities glowed in the darkness; the radio signals detected by the discs.

Arex recognized the five dots at the top of the hologram. They were the discs and his control panel. Other dots seemed dull in comparison, and others were much brighter than the five located at the top. Cortex communicators most likely. Yet, most of the hologram was dark blue or solid black, signifying little to no radio signal at all. No communicators. No satellite receivers. Not even a remote control car. Practically every luxury items built in the 'Verse had a radio of some kind.

Arex continued to scan the hologram, finally noting an odd patch of color near the middle of the hologram. He placed his hands in the middle of the field and widened his arms slowly and carefully until the patch covered the entire hologram. He removed his fingers and watched as the hologram struggled to adjust to the new resolution. The discs compensated, but the hologram remained largely unfocused. Arex could still make out several soft red dots glowing through the darkness. They were too small to be communicator and strangely placed. Arex guessed the image was of a single apartment, which meant that several of the radio signals were located on the ceiling. Others were on the walls.

He used his hands to rotate the hologram in various ways, mentally taking note of each dot location. Arex continued looking at the hologram before poking the center of the image with his finger, bringing a menu to the foreground. Arex sifted through the options before choosing FREQUENCY LIST. He clicked the option and watched as the hologram disappeared. Arex picked the plastic sheet back into his hands as the screen returned with a spreadsheet, listing the frequencies of the radio signals and a variety of technical information. Arex sorted the menu by percentage and watched as the information rearranged itself.

Arex recognized the frequency at the top of the list. It was the reserved frequency for Blue Sun's line of personal network devices. The radios of a variety of luxury devices for those people too lazy or too affluent to write a "to-do" list more than once. Very classy, very expensive, and extremely unusual for low-income buildings like this one. Arex used a personal Blue Sun wireless station on a regular basis.

Arex removed his PDA and poked several of the colorful buttons adorning the touch screen. He punched in a series of numbers and brought the PDA to his ear as he patiently waited for Tazami to answer his. Several rings passed before Tazami's voice sounded over the speakers.

"Speak."

"We have our contact."

"Go on."

"East Building, 7th Story. Hot radios."

"Security?"

"No, Blue Sun wireless."

Tazami didn't respond. Arex could tell he didn't like his response.

"Independents aren't stupid, Nomad."

Arex knew what Tazami's reservations were. Independent affiliated terrorists were prone to paranoia. This particular cell was excellent at keeping their identities hidden. Code names were firmly established and adhered to with utmost diligence. Only the bare minimum business was conducted via public wave. The only lead they had was that one of the contacts lived in Eavesdown. Finding them usually meant weeks of searching databases, sifting through Cortex communication logs and good-old fashioned stake-outs. Luckily, the last communication had been an emergency. They'd gotten sloppy and used a black box communicator that prevented public eavesdrop, but could still be triangulated to a degree of success. Now Arex was suggesting that their target was stupid enough to buy expensive items in a poor housing project.

"Smart people make mistakes too."

Tazami paused and responded tersely, "Ten minutes, undersand?"

"Aye."

Arex slipped the PDA back into his pocket, clicking the "End" button as he retrieved the plastic sheet from the ground. He turned the sheet off and rolled it back into his messenger bag as he walked to the door leading to the stairwell. He looked over the door and prepared to retrieve his lockpick set but stopped as he caught sight of the deadbolt. It hung loosely on the doorframe and Arex frowned as he looked over the lock. It almost appeared...

Arex put his hand on the door and pushed slightly, almost falling over as the door swung open effortlessly. Arex regathered his balance and almost laughed at the fortune.

Maybe the night wasn't going to be so long after all.

In Media Res - Part 1

Arex watched the city walls pass by the train windows in bright flashes. The strobe effect made many people sick but Arex couldn't help but enjoy it. There was something exciting about the way the darkness and light mixed together as the objects passed by his seat. A slight feeling of danger being so close to an object at such high speeds. No matter how many times he rode the train, he never seemed to tire of the feeling.

The sun was setting in the horizon, bathing the city in bright oranges and yellows. The shadows cast in the train were sharp, highlighting hidden features in the fabric and unseen flaws in the metalwork. Not entirely unlike how he felt.

Arex's favorite time of day was sunset. Everything seemed clearer in his mind. Mistakes in his life. Answers to questions the days had created. Plans for the future. It was all so much clearer.

He took his mind off his thoughts and looked around his compartment. An older woman sat in the rows two down from Arex, talking quietly to a friend with a personal Coretex communicator. Three men in business suits stood in the aisle behind Arex talking about the day's activites.

The whine of the wheel brakes sounded through the cabin and the men shifted their stances to accomidate the deceleration. The passing objects flew by with decreasing velocity, increasing the contrasts in Arex's eyes. A final jerk of the train followed a feminine voice over the loud speaker announcing the location in Chinese and English.

Arex heard the businessmen behind him shuffle out of the train as he turned his head back to face out the window. The station was just one unremarkable step closer to his destination, but he was nevertheless facinated with the stops in this city. Each had a local flavor, from the font on the display signs to the juvenile graffiti that always seemed both gauche and yet strangely appropriate.

Arex rolled his shoulders towards the window in an automatic response as the sound of clothing ruffling against the train seats approached him. Arex relaxed his shoulders as the person brushed by quietly and sat in a seat somewhere in front of him.

The drone of an alarm signalled the sharp crack of the closing train doors and the cars once again grumbled from light slumber into motion. His eyes adjusted to the rapid changes in contrast as he adjusted himself in his chair. Arex blinked a few times as his eyes protested the light changes and grasped the seat in from of him. He let out a slight groan as he stretched his arms in a feeble attempt to stay awake on the ride. He looked to this left after shaking his arms to see the person who had brushed past him, raising his eyebrows to fight the laziness creeping up his body.

A young woman sat in her seat complacently, gazing intently at what Arex guessed was a music player. he could make out the flicker of colorful menus on her skin as ther fingers twitched in subtle motions on the device's controls. She was wearing a simple pair of green cargo pants, much like Arex's, and a form-fitting brown tank top. Her hair was clearly suffering from a day's toil in the baking sun, but still maintained a fashionable appearance. Her skin was soft in the waning sunlight, occasionally broken by freckles.

The woman looked up from her music player and drew her face into a confused smile. Arex realized that he was staring and snapped his head backwards in a reflexive action. The sharp metal ping of his skull impacting the rail above the seats rung out in the nearly vacant compartment and his face twisted in embarrassed pain.

Arex mouthed a few words that probably would've made anyone in earshot blush or laugh at the content and smiled weakly at the woman. Her hands were covering her mouth, and her eyes alight with concern. She let her hands fall back to her lap, revealing a warm smile. Arex felt his face redden as his embarrassment rose. The woman leaned forward slightly to speak with a soft voice. The barest hint of laughter flowed through her words.

"Are you hurt?"

Arex grimmaced and spoke softly in return, his voice slightly strained from the pain.

"Only my pride."

The woman paused and laughed lightly at his answer, "Well, I guess I don't need to lecture you, then."

Arex shook his head. The pain was already subsiding to a dull throbbing sensation.

"So do you always hurt yourself staring at strangers?" There was a good natured self-righteousness in her voice, like a mother talking to a boy who had not heeded her warnings and still insisted on taking foolish action.

"Only the ones that catch my eye."

The woman drew her face into a soft scowl that did little to hide her amusement. She finally began silently laughing and nodded her head to the delight of Arex.

"Well, that was certainly a good line."

"You don't think I was too strong?"

"Just a little..."

Arex laughed and brushed the hair out of his eyes. The moment of embarrassment was passing into something of intrigue. The woman seemed content to continue the coversation, something Arex found more than a little surprising.

"So, would it be entirely inappropriate to ask for your name?"

"Yes, it would be."

Arex felt taken aback at her statement. She laughed again at Arex's obvious ego bruise.

"Doesn't mean I won't give it to you."

She brushed her own hair from the side of her face as she spoke.

"Aria."

Arex's eyebrows flickered with curiousity and he spoke the lie that came to his lips as easily as it came on any day.

"Daedalus. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Aria drew her mouth in interest.

"Daedalus? That's a name you don't hear very often."

Arex nodded and spoke convincingly with a broad grin. A mixture of false facts and true feelings. The perfect lie.

"My parents though the Master Craftsmen would bode well. I think 'Bob' would've worked out just fine, don't you?"

"Oh no, it's a beautiful name. Just unusual."

Arex nodded, "Aye, but the same could be said about your name."

Aria grinned in a slightly reserved manner, hiding a measure of her enjoyment from Arex. She continued with a much more subdued passion in her voice than was truly beneath the surface.

"So I've never seen you here before..."

Arex nodded and answered innocently, "Just looking for work."

Aria nodded. Persephone's exploding post-war economic prosperity drew people from across the 'Verse for work.

Arex shrugged and motioned out the window, "S'pose Persephone is as good a place as any, ya know? But what's your story?"

"Me? Just live here for now."

"For now? Where do you want to go?"

It was Aria's turn to shrug and she looked down at her feet, "Just want to go somewhere else. See all those places people talk about in stories."

"Always good to see the world and everything in it."

Aria smiled, noticing the barest hint of sadness in Arex's voice. The squealing of the train wheels brought them both back to reality as the next stop approached. Aria looked at the sign emblazoned on the wall of the station and grimmaced.

"Well, this is where I get off."

Arex smiled grimly as well and nodded his head in acknowledgment. He leaned back in the chair and let a soft murmur escape before speaking again.

"All good things, aye?"

Aria inhaled at the message, feeling an urge flow through her to stay. She spoke again, an edge of nervousness present in her voice.

"Yes, I guess they do." There were many desires she wanted to express all coming to the surface at once. She paused as she tried to sort them in her head.

"You know, I work at Xian's. If you're, ya know, not to busy..."

The quiver in Aria's voice was a new development. Arex smiled warmly and leanded towards her.

"I would love to."

Aria smiled as the train jolted to a halt. Aria walked to the exit towards the front of the train and smiled a last time at Arex before she hopped down to the platform. The signal of the closing doors drowned out the sound of another man who boarded the train as they snapped shut again.

Arex continued to stare warmly at the doors Aria had left through, only breaking the smile on his face when he felt the man sit in the seat behind him. Arex didn't turn to face the man, he already recognized Tazami's uncanny presence. Tazami made himself comfortable, his back to Arex's and stared blankly outside.

Arex did not acknowledge Tazami. A conflict he had never known began to grow as the realities of the situation returned in ugly form. A frown graced his face as the train lumbered towards its next destination. Silence passed for an eternity until Tazami spoke quietly.

"Do I need to be concerned?"

Arex kept silent. Tazami's words tethered his mind and drove it back down to the situation at hand. Arex inhaled and did his best to replace Aria's face with the upcoming tasks. A slight wave of anguish simmered in his mind.

Tazami didn't wait for Arex to answer. Arex didn't need to answer. Tazami spoke again, gruff undertones emphasizing the remaining concerns.

"She won't wait."

Arex knew as much. There wasn't a man or woman alive who could live under the Xi's shadow. Too many secrets. Too many disappearances. Too many vacant stares and drinking problems without end. Relationships would always self-destruct and you didn't even have to break a sweat in the process.

"Is it worth it?"

It was Tazami's turn to fall silent. Arex stared blankly at the wall opposite him as he waited for Tazami to respond. Only the sound of the moving train passed through the passenger compartment. Tazami inhaled and answered as the train began to grind to a halt. His words barely registered over the whine of the brakes.

"You'll have to find that out for yourself."

Both men exited the train as the doors opened and stood on the platform. A young woman seated on the platform benches stood from her seat and walked to the two men. She remained silent and looked into the distance without saying anything to the two men.

Tazami looked as he removed a PDA from his pocket and checked the time. He nodded to himself and turned quietly to the woman.

"No trouble, Sophia?"

The woman shook her head and turned towards Tazami. She was First Sergeant Miranda Drake, the last member of their team.

"Nope."

"Good."

Tazami moved his finger carefully on the PDA and motion to the others. Arex and Miranda both removed a PDA of their own and held them near Tazami's. Tazami pressed a button and instantly sent the coded directions on his device to theirs via shortrange infrared communication. Tazami waited until both confirmed its reception and spoke a final time and walking casually out of the station.

"1800, Eavesdown."

"Understood."

Tempest Rising

Arex kept his eyes shut. A slight breeze wafted through the ready platform on the shooting range. He could hear the soft pings from a speaker above him, counting down the seconds until the gate would open. His body was curled to make his frame smaller and keep his center of gravity low. He held an assault rifle stationary against his chest with both hands, angling it downwards in a ready position with the stock resting against his shoulder. His feet were spaced widely apart and spaced expertly in a firm shooting position.

He exhaled slightly and felt time slow for a few moments. His body was relaxed, yet tense. Ready to spring forward at his mind's command. Now all he needed to wait for was the-.

A soft tone sounded through the ready platform simultaneously as the door swung open. Arex's eyes flew open and the assault rifle in his hands floated on his fingertips parallel to the ground as he sprung from the platform onto the testing grounds.

Gunshots roared in three round bursts from the rifle as Arex raced across the long field of short grass in fluid, controlled steps. The silhouette at the end of the field ripped open as bullet after bullet pierced the ballistics material. Clouds of dust billowed from the dirt mound behind the target as the projectiles slammed into the thick earth, emphasizing each strike of the target with a dull thud.

Arex released the rifle after the tenth burst, letting the empty gun fall against its straps onto his chest as he reached to the pistol laying at a forty-five degree angle against the small of his back. He drew the pistol in a single motion as he continued to advance towards the target. Gunshots roared from the nine millimeter pistol and the sillouette continued to bend and twist with each pistol round impact. The sillouette was only a few meters from Arex as the pistol ran dry. He let his right hand out of the pistol grip and placed his it on the kukri holstered on his hip.

In the last few steps to the sillouette, Arex lengthed his stride and dropped his torso low to the ground in preperation for the machete strike. On the last step he snapped his shoulders backwards and used the momentum to pull the kukri out of its holster and into a single stroke across the sillouette. The kukri sliced through the torso of the sillouette almost halfway before finally embedding itself in the thick ballistics gel.

Arex let his grip on the kukri go and stepped backwards as he took the plugs out of his ears. He looked over the results of his shooting and smiled very lightly to himself. Two groups of gunshots were visible on the sillouette's torso and head with the kukri marking the imaginary barrier between the two.

Arex turned in place at the sound of an approaching person and holstered his pistol. Captain Tazami was approaching him, with his gaze fixated on the sillouette behind Arex.

"You've gotten better, Lieutenant."

Arex let a small smile break out on his face at Tazami's praise. Since their basic training had ended, Tazami's visible attitude had changed dramatically. He went out of his way to get to know the recruits that had passed through the training. Treated them as though they were equals, and not subordinates. It was almost jarring.

"Are you jealous?"

Tazami smiled wryly. "You're still the student, Lieutenant. Remember that."

Arex chuckled and motioned to the sillouette, "I still need to work with the rifle."

Tazami nodded and spoke without his usual sarcastic remark, "It took me some time to get used to the pistol." He motioned to the kukri still hanging limply in the ballistics gel. He turned his head to Arex and raised his eyebrow with piqued botheration, "Lieutenant, how many times do I have to tell you to not leave your weapons behind?"

Arex shrugged nonchalantly, "Didn't seem to be too much of a problem."

Tazami grimmaced slightly and turned his body slightly before snapping it back towards Arex and drawing his pistol at the same time.

"It will be when you-"

Tazami stopped in midsentence as he felt Arex's hand grab the pistol and twist it back toward's Tazami's body. Tazami grinned slightly as he prepared to counter the move he expected Arex to make, but stopped cold when he felt a stinging sensation against his neck. His eyes dropped down to get a better look and he realized that Arex was holding a sharp tactical knife against his neck.

"Never let them know you can still fight. Right?"

Tazami didn't move. It was a fairly simple counter from this point, but he was mentally stunned at Arex's boldness. A few tense seconds passed and Tazami yeilded to Arex's counter, letting the pistol go limp in his hand. Arex removed the knife from Tazami's throat and flipped Tazami's pistol in his hand. He smiled slightly and handed the pistol, grip first, back to Tazami. Tazami smiled in return and took the pistol from Arex as he looked over the silloutte. Arex began to walk back towards the ready line and called back to Tazami as he walked.

"0600 tomorrow, Aye?"

"Aye."

Arex stepped behind the platforms on the shooting range and disconnected the assault rifle from the strap holding it to his chest. He noticed the presence of another person and drew his eyes to spot him.

An older officer stood under a pavilion near the shooting ranges. His uniform was in absolutely pristine condition. Golden oak leaves signified his rank as a Major, but Arex could see no unit patch on the man's uniform. He had a cold face, and steel blue eyes that seemed to stare right through Arex. Judging him somehow. Without an word to the man, Arex picked his assualt rifle from the table and decided to clean his weapons in the barracks. Something about the man's gaze was truly unnerving.

The uniformed man watched Arex leave quickly, without a single motion on his face. Minutes passed by and he spotted Captain Tazami returning from downrange. The man strood calmly and powerfully to the Captain who upon spotting the uniformed man stapped to attention and saluted in a manner unlike the Captain's typical manner.

The uniformed man stepped in front of the Captain and did not return the salute. Instead he focused his attention downrange at the Lieutenant's work on the sillouette. After a few tense seconds he returned the Captain's salute with a terse hand motion and the Captain brought his hand back to the position of attention.

"Major Uzimaki, I was unaware that you would be visiting."

Uzimaki responded tersely, "That is because I did not inform you, Captain." The major drew silent once more as he mulled over various thoughts in his head. He spoke again, his voice cold with contempt, "So this the Lieutenant whose progress reports have been so glowing, I take it?"

"Yes sir."

Uzimaki paused again and began to pace away from the captain. He spoke again as Tazami remained at attention in his place.

"I will be watching his progression, Captain. Do not disappoint me."

"Understood, sir."

Uzimaki smiled cruely with his back still turned to the Captain. He enjoyed his position of power, and he enjoyed flaunting it over his subordinates most of all.

"You are dismissed, Captain."

Captain Tazami saluted smartly and quickly strode away from the major. Uzimaki watched the captain leave and narrowed his eyes slightly, his smile disappearing as the PDA in his pocket began to ring softly in reminder of the meeting he was to attend in a quarter of an hour. He did not move for a few seconds as he thought over the lieutenant's continuing presence in the Xi Detachment.

Finally he strode away from the shooting range, his stride calm and collected as he drew a small communicator from his pocket and began dailing a short series of numbers. The call connected and Uzimaki did not wait for a confirmation from the secretary at the other end of the line to affirm as much.

"I am changing the meeting with the Parliament representatives to my office. Ensure they are there at the same time."

He ended the call even as the secretary began voicing protest and continued his walk back to his office.

He had much work to do in the mean time.

Big Things Come in Small Packages

Captain Jonathan Daniels leaned back against the husk of the destroyed vehicle and took a quick swing of water from his canteen. The twisted metal seemed as a skeleton of some monstrous beast that had been gutted long ago and left to sit alone in the wooded hills. The massive vehicle had been an equipment transport during the Unification War where it met its end in some distant battlefield. It had since been moved to the Alliance's Advanced Warfare Training Grounds to be used as an objective for training missions. It was an unnerving presence if one had too much time to think about it.

Something Captain Daniels had in gross quantities.

If there was an example of an officer who ran things by the book, Daniels would've been a prime candidate. Captain Daniels was dressed in a pristine battle uniform. The folds of the fabric were perfectly crisp and his combat boots even had an unnatural shine in the soft dawn glow. His load-bearing harness had every item in its place as suggested by the Alliance training manuals.

Captain Daniels sighed as he surveyed the small command post he and his company had established near the vehicle husk serving as the target objective in the training exercise. The company radio station was camouflaged near the front of the massive vehicle husk. The company's first sergeant and Daniels' executive officer, First Lieutenant Drayer, issued various orders to the patrolling platoons. A gun crew had dug in nearby, barely visible in their fighting position.

Lieutenant Drayer nodded to the master sergeant and turned to report to Captain Daniels. He saluted smartly and waited for he Captain to return the salute before responding. Captain Daniels demanded a strict code of conduct in his unit, on and off the field.

"Lieutenant, proceed."

Lieutenant Drayer responded as he continued to stand at attention, "Sir, no word from second and third platoons concerning the entrance trail of the bogey. First Platoon has not yet responded to our radio requests."

Captain Daniels ran his tongue along the bottom of his teeth and voiced his displeasure through an audible sigh. He could never get soldiers who knew their ass from their helmet, much less who understood proper communications procedures.

"...and where was first platoon's last reported position?"

"...ummm...approximately three klicks from our position, sir."

Daniels' face fell into a something of quiet annoyance. No matter the circumstances his NCOs never failed to prove their uselessness when it was most important that they perform. Daniels stood from his position and looked sternly at the lieutenant.

"Where is Second Platoon?"

The lieutenant's face tightened and he spoke hesitantly, "Sir...I...it's on the company map."

Daniels' eyes rolled visibly and he motioned for the lieutenant to show him to the map. The lieutenant snapped a nervous salute and strode quickly to the map laid out near the company radio. Three soldiers carefully monitored the radio equipment while the lieutenant looked over the map carefully.

Drayer pointed out the three platoon symbols on the map as Daniels observed.

"First Platoon's last position was reported here."

Drayer motioned to the farthest platoon symbol from their present position.

"Second and Third Platoons have been patrolling through here and here."

The lieutenant motioned to two wide ovals surrounding the platoon symbols. Daniels nodded as he observed the map. All three platoons were placed strategically on the points of a triangle with the company headquarters in the center. The silence of First Platoon meant that the northern point had been potentially compromised.

"Lieutenant, instruct Second Platoon to move to and build a defensive cover in this area."

Daniels motion to a point halfway between their position, the company headquarters, and the last known position of First Platoon.

"...and move Third Platoon to our position to take defensive measures."

The lieutenant nodded and walked to the radio equipment. The soldiers began to transmit and received the new information and Daniels smiled tiredly. He shouldn't have to think of everything for his command. For once he wished that a batch of soldiers would come under his command that would actually read the ruttin' training manuals.

Daniels took the opportunity to inspect the camp in great depth. They were situated in a small opening in the forested hills. The twenty men and women that composed the company headquarters were carefully situated in a defensive line around the entire vehicle husk. Three machine gun crews were dug in, and rifle fireteams were positioned to eliminate threats fixed by the gun crews. It was a very fine defensive line, if Daniels had anything to say about it.

As he made his way to the other side of the vehicle husk, he began to mull over the day's events. His company had been tapped as part of a series of brigade-wide training sessions. He wasn't entirely sure what he was defending the objective, the vehicle husk, from but initial orders from the battalion headquarters indicated "Small Unit Defensive Capabilities Assessment"

Daniels knew the upper echelons of the Alliance military had been getting more and more anxious about the size of the armed forces since the end of the Unification War. Too much emphasis on divisions and corps or some nonsense like that. They'd been running "small unit" assessments nearly constantly for the entire last year. Daniels knew enough about military-speak to know that the truth of the matter was some politician had decided to go on a crusade to "streamline" the military, and Parliament had ordered the four-stars to start looking into the possibilities.

It was all go se if you asked Daniels. Since the end of the Unification War, the Parliament had nearly bent over backwards trying to convince the Rim that everything was going to be better now. That they should trust the very government that nearly bankrupted itself bombing their planets to hell and back.

As far as Daniels was concerned, the Rim was always going to be a backwater hellhole where terrorists and anarchists set up camp. Big armies meant big defeats to those who threatened the Alliance and a firm demonstration for those unpatriotic enough to be sitting on the fence about the Alliance. And Daniels had every intention of being one of those officers leading the charge.

Until then, mused Daniels, it was a matter of putting up with the terms of service. It wouldn't be until he was in command of his own brigade that he would make those political connections to put his ideas into motion.

It came down to making good impressions, and thus far, Daniels' company was not performing. One platoon was unaccounted for, and the company had yet to identify the opposing force in the training exercise. There had been no established time limit for the completion of the exercise and Daniels was beginning to seriously wonder if the entire thing was simply a test of his patience.

The sound of gunfire racketed through the air, inducing Daniels to turn towards the north. Commotion from the radios snapped Daniels from his musing and he returned to the radio apparatus quickly. Lieutenant Drayer and the was frantically issuing orders and looking over the map as Daniels stepped behind him.

"Lieutenant, SITREP."

Lieutenant Drayer answered without lifting his head from the map, irritating Daniels to no end as he struggled to answer the captain's request for a situation report and issue orders simultaneously.

"Sir! Second platoon reported engagement with OPFOR."

Daniels raised his eyebrows in interest, overriding his desire to chastise the lieutenant for not following proper etiquette in the field. Engagement with the opposing force was the first interesting news he had heard since they had begun the operation.

"And? What have they reported?"

"Sir, they are reporting significant casualties already inflicted, OPFOR appears to have less than one squad's total manpower."

Daniels hair began to stand on end. According to the Lieutenant's map, the enemy force was less than a kilometer from their current location. His voice had an uncharacteristic tremble as he struggled to keep his frustration under control.

"Lieutenant, would you like to explain to me why my platoon is having trouble engaging a single enemy force less than six people deep?"

The lieutenant struggled to answer appropriately.

"They say they were ambushed. Land mines and grenades.."

The echos of gunfire began to die off and Daniels felt himself relax slightly. At the very least he could chalk up this blunder to poor platoon management. He would have to make sure that improper training was not listed as a contributing factor.

"Second Platoon? Do you copy? I repeat, do you copy?"

Daniels frowned as he heard the radio operator's voice repeat the same line twice. A strange silence descended over the soldiers gathered around the radio and their eyes fell on Daniels as the radio operator continued to try raising the now silent platoon.

"Lieutenant, where is third platoon."

There was a hesitancy in Drayer's voice, and Daniels felt his pulse leap in rate even before the man answered him.

"Third platoon did not check in..."

"And requests for check in?"

The lieutenant shook his head. Daniels struggled to keep himself from shouting his frustration into the lieutenant's face. How did two platoons disappear from the radio without a single gunshot being fired and another fail to win an engagement they were larger than by nearly five times?

The soldiers around Daniels were beginning to stare as they waited for his orders. Daniels didn't know what to tell them. Something was very wrong. Second platoon must have reported incorrectly...

"Fighting positions, everyone!"

Daniels crouched behind one of the sandbag walls established by the company for defensive purposes and drew his pistol. Like the other soldiers, he was issued a standard assault rifle, but Daniels honestly had trouble remembering when he last put a round through the weapon. Commanders didn't fight. Or at least they weren't supposed to.

The lieutenant and radio crew abandoned the electronic equipment and spread along the defensive lines. The gun crews racked their bolts and scanned their fire lines for enemy contacts. A deathly silence fell over the headquarters, broken only by a soft white silence from the radio.

Minutes passed like hours. The only sound Daniels could hear was the heartbeat pounding in his ears along with his shallow breathing. Wind rustled softly through the trees and one of the machine gun crews finally had enough of the silence. Daniels jolted as the crew began to spray through the tree line. The riflemen around them began to follow, blasting into the green wall with little regard to where the simulated bullets landed. Daniels reached over his cover and began firing round after round from his pistol.

The drone of gun fire was deafening as imaginary bullets flew tore through the forest around them. Daniels heaved for air as the shockwaves began to die away slowly. His ears rung in the approaching silence as he continued to huddle behind his cover. He instinctively rubbed his ears in a failed attempt to stop the ringing. He could swear there were multiple ringing sounds in his ear.

In fact, they sounded a great deal like the "kill" sound the sensors would give off...

Daniels scrambled to his feet and looked at his base in horror. Every soldier was sitting down, having removed their helmets to signify they had been "hit." Before he could speak he heard a soft foot fall behind him. He whipped around to attack the unknown source of sound, but the soft pffft of four shots from a silenced pistol ended his attack before it began. Daniels threw his helmet to the ground in disgust and sat down as his attacker came into full view.

The soldier was a tall man, covered in black fabric. No inch of skin was showing on his person, and he had no identifying marks on his uniform. No name. No Alliance emblems. No rank insignia. He moved carefully into the camp, crouching low and moving fluidly from one area of cover to the next as he surveyed the base camp. Daniels could hear the heavy footsteps of other soldiers moving through the camp as it became obvious there were no dangers present. Two more black-clad soldiers emerged into Daniels' field of view. He was stunned but listened quietly as they began to speak in muffled, but audiable voices. He could not, however, distinguish which voice belonged to which soldier.

A male voice sounded first, "Nomad, area clear."

A female voice spoke in quick succession, "Objective is clean."

Daniels could see the man that shot him nod and respond quietly, apparently to an unseen soldier, "Haze, objective achieved."

Several minutes passed and the soldiers did not move. Wind rustled through tree branches as soldiers around them began to whisper quietly out of boredom. Suddenly all three soldiers turned away from Daniels and began to walk back into the forest. Daniels frowned as he watched them leave as quietly as they had come but quickly turned his attention to the crackling of the company radio.

"Simulation ended. Simulation ended."

The groans and grunts of the soldiers around the area filled the air in a strange chorus as the disappointment of the day's activity began to flow freely from the soldiers' lips. Lieutenant Drayer made his way back to the radio and began to speak into the microphone as Daniels continued to go over the events in his head.

"Captain? Captain!"

Drayer's voice snapped Daniels out of his trance and Daniels frowned as he turned and walked to the company radio.

"What is it, lieutenant?"

"Colonel Crozier is on the line sir..."

Daniels could feel his heart freeze as he took the radio from Drayer's hand. Silence passed through the ranks in a shockwave, only to be replaced with murmurs from the soldiers around Daniels. Daniels inhaled deeply and brought the microphone to his lips and placed the earpiece carefully in the ear canal.

"Captain Daniels to Headquarters, over. Yes Colonel, I...No, it did not happen that way, sir. No sir, we were absolutely prepared for an attack..."

Only fools jump in...

The drone of the engines burning hard barely made a sound inside the vehicle. The nine recruits were seated in a narrow room on seats that were bolted into the walls. Red lights bathed everything in a strange crimson glow. A door on the forward end of the vehicle opened with a loud bang and Captain Tazami stepped through the open passage. Like the other recruits, he was dressed from head to toe in black equipment. Ammunition and other tactical items covered a thick vest and an assault rifle hung loosely against his chest. The bulge of a large parachute was visible on his back. His head was covered in a thick, skin-tight material. A pair of opaque goggles were held tightly against this fabric and a respirator covered his mouth.

The recruits turned their heads to look at Tazami's arrival. A sense of anxiousness permeated the group as Tazami began to talk. His voice was muffled by his respirator, but the recruits could hear him perfectly through personal radios in each soldier's ear.

"Well, gentlemen and ladies, this is the sixth month of your training. Now its time to put your skills to practical use."

Some of the recruits nodded at his statement. The last two months had been spent in weapons, demolitions, and electronics training. They could disassemble and reassemble the rifle on their chest upside down and blindfolded. They could construct improvised explosives from dirt and could sabotage an Alliance patrol boat's electrical system with tweezers and electrician's gloves.

Tazami gripped the webbing that covered the ceiling as a sudden jerk on the vehicle nearly sent him into the forward wall. The recruits' bodies also jerked, but the shoulder straps holding them in place kept them firmly against the wall. The voice of the navigator sounded over the vehicle's loudspeakers.

"Entering atmo in 90. Deployment in 300."

Tazami continued as soon as the navigator's voice stopped.

"Naturally, your skills would be useless without practical application. During the War, we would have sent you into Browncoat territory to gather information. Not really a luxury we have anymore."

Something in Tazami's voice suggested he wished the war had continued, but no one said anything on the issue.

"Entering atmo, brace for re-entry."

Tazami reached up with his other hand as the ship began jerking violently.

"So, this is the next best thing. Simulated warfare."

Tazami was referring to their rifles. They were not carrying live rounds, but rather blanks. Their rifles were equipped with laser designators, and their uniforms were covered in a microsensors that would detect when a simulated round had 'hit' them.

"Deployment in 200."

The forward doorway opened again and out stepped another soldier, dressed in a pilot's pressure suit. He was the loadmaster. He grabbed the webbing carefully and walked past Tazami to the aft wall. He removed a clip from the wall and tethered himself against the wall. Tazami waited until the loadmaster flashed a thumbs-up sign before continuing.

"So, I want to say before we begin that I have been very impressed with your progress, but this isn't just training anymore. Remember that every hit you take, is a hit you would've taken in the field. Keep that in mind, dohn luh mah?"

"Yes sir!"

Tazami nodded. Before he could speak again, the navigator's voice came over the loudspeaker and the aft wall began to move.

"Deployment in 150, check pressure seals."

The recruits all unbuckled the straps and stood carefully. Each pressed against their respirator to check for a positive seal and grabbed the webbing above them as the wind whipped violently around them. The ramp that had served as the aft wall of the vehicle was now completely open. The recruits could see the curve of the planet and the cloud wall some several thousand meters below them. The loadmaster's pressure suit rippled in the wind as he too grabbed the webbing and held up his hand to indicate the recruits should not jump.

"Now, remember to open drogues as soon as you clear the dropship. We pull at 1,500 meters. Gather at objective PHOENIX."

"Yes sir!"

Tazami nodded. They had made enormous progress indeed. Now it was time to see what they could do. A light bulb above the open door suddenly switched from red to green and the navigator's voice sounded a final time.

"30,000 meters. Cleared to deploy!"

The loadmaster nodded and motioned for the recruits to jump. Without another word, the recruits jumped out of the dropship one after another. The tip of their drogues was barely visible as they disappeared into the thin air quickly. A single recruit's voice sounded over the radio and Tazami recognized it immediately as Lieutenant Koltai's.

"Rung tse fwo tzoo bao yo wuo Muhn!"

Tazami shook his head as he barked over the radio.

"Gorram it, Koltai, what part of radio silence is difficult for you to understand?"

"Nothing sir!"

Koltai's body disappeared from view as Tazami stood at the threshold and looked at the nearly invisible bodies falling rapidly towards the surface. He turned to face the loadmaster and shook his head again as he too leaped from the edge of the vehicle.

"Recruits..."

Harbinger

Kotai ignored the tickling from the tree branch as he watched the valley carefully. His painted face and camoflague fatigues were accented by the rays of light scattered through the branches in his cover. The desert valley was covered in scrub and long grasses. Even through his binoculars, Koltai saw nothing but a wall of various textures and shapes. A sea of unique features that masked the unique.

He pressed on the black strip covering the throat microphone attached to his neck and spoke quietly.

"Nomad. No contact."

A male voice returned on the speaker lodged carefully in his ear.

"Foxbat. No contact."

A female voice sounded after a few seconds of silence.

"Banzai. Nothing."

Koltai grimaced. They probably couldn't find their target if it was painted bright orange. There was just too much foilage to see anything. Koltai carefully unfolded a crisp map from his breast pocket and looked over the various marks and symbols scribbled on its surface. His index finger hovered over a cross symbol on the map with the numerical designation "57-63." The precise grid on the map identified by the numbers was marked with a crosshatch pattern.

"Affirmative...Foxbat, overwatch, five-seven-six-three."

Brief radio codes were tantamount. The enemy had radio direction detectors. Too much speech and their precise location would be as plain as if they had walked down a road wearing bright orange and shouting at the top of their lungs.

"Wilco, Nomad."

Koltai scanned to the other side of the map.

"Banzai, overwatch, four-six-six-two."

Koltai frowned as white silence remained unbroken. Koltai brought his binoculars down from his eyes and glanced to the map. Banzai had been in the north long enough. They needed to watch the south end of the valley.

"Banzai, talkback."

The request for a response went unanswered. An inkling of fear began to trickle down his spine as he pressed the throat microphone again.

"Banzai...talkback."

Koltai exhaled slowly.

"Banzai, respond."

Nearly a minute of static silence passed in the appearance of an hour. Koltai rubbed his face as his eyes flew to Banzai's last position in the distance.

"Foxbat, eyes on Bonzai?"

Foxbat responded with the slightest of vocal breaks, "No joy, Nomad."

Koltai bit the inside of his lip. He had to assume Banzai was dead. He looked at the map. All the contingency plans scribbled on the paper seemed useless. He needed three people. No one was supposed to be dead. Koltai scrambled mentally to adjust his plan.

"Nomad, orders?"

Koltai opened his mouth to answer, but no sound came. Each time he began to say something, a doubt erupted, tearing through what confidence remained in his head.

"Nomad, talkback?"

"A...Affirmative, Foxbat. Overwatch, five-seven-five-four...uh..."

Koltai kept his microphone pressed even as his mouth closed slowly. The world around him was closing. The bushes gripped the sky and tangled together around him. He couldn't move. He couldn't breath.

"...no....uh...five-seven-four...three..."

Koltai released his grip on the microphone and Foxbat's voice immediately screamed over the radio.

"RED DOG! RED DOG!...gahhh!"

Koltai's blood froze and he felt a ripple through his skin. They had been compromised. Positions, radio frequencies...the whole damn shindig.

He stood quickly, the branches scratching against his face and shirt loudly as he struggled to dive out of his cover. He landed on his stomach and grunted as he began to pick himself up.

"...too slow, Nomad."

Before Koltai could face the voice, his ribs exploded in pain. He tried to shout, but the pain riveted through his lungs and he merely collapsed back to the ground. He reached over to the site of the pain and felt thick liquid in his finger tips. Koltai brought his hand to eyes to look over the red liquid. Two more flashes of pain struck his back and he felt the wind knocked out of him.

Finally, Koltai inhaled deeply and shouted a response.

"Gorram it, Tazami, I'm out! Fuuuck..."

He heard Tazami chuckle slightly and Koltai rubbed the red paint off of his fingers onto the baked desert ground. Tazami turned the safety on the paint gun to "SAFE" and strode to Koltai, who had managed to get to one knee. Koltai's back had two bright red paint blots and his skin would have two very distinct bruises. From what Tazami understood, Koltai had been lucky to walk away with just *three* bruises.

They waited for nearly half an hour before the other recruits and soldiers in the training exercise arrived. Two soldiers were dressed like Tazami. They wore combat fatigues and load-bearing vests. Both were carrying paint guns like Tazami's. The other soldier was dressed in a ghillie suit and carried a large optical scope.

The recruits followed the soldiers and had a variety of red paint splotches covering their fatigues. Sergeant Miranda Drake, or "Banzai," had been shot along her entire left side. She was limping slightly from the thigh bruises. Corporal Jonathan Gethman, or "Foxbat," fared no better. His back was covered int he same blotches as Lieutenant Koltai's, but at a much greater volume.

The three recruits sat together, but did not speak as Tazami gathered the other soldiers for debriefing. Tazami could tell that each one blamed themselves and each other for their failure.

"Charlie Team, how do you think you fared?"

There was no response from the recruits.

"Sergeant Drake, what do you think of Lieutenant Koltai's leadership?"

Drake hesitated to answer. Tazami could tell she wanted to say something almost immediately as he had finished the question.

"Sergeant Drake, is there a problem?"

"No sir. I...Lieutenant Koltai did not have a good contingency plan."

"And...?"

"...we...he spread us out...we couldn't watch our flanks. We were sitting ducks."

Koltai did not respond. He listened to Drake's assessment, but his eyes bored a hole into the dirt at his feet. Tazami's face did not fluctuate as he watched Koltai. He needed to learn this lesson, even if it was a painful one. They all did.

"And you, First Sergeant?"

Gethman shook his head, "No sir, I got nothin' to add."

Tazami nodded slowly and rubbed his chin.

"Lieutenant Koltai, are you aware of how long the other teams were able to stay alive?"

Koltai did not respond, but Tazami did not pursue the question. Instead, he looked to the soldier in the ghillie suit.

"Master Sergeant Xian, how long did Alpha Team last?"

"About forty-five minutes."

The three recruits looked up almost simultaneously. Koltai's face twitched slightly in disbelief. They had been in the field for almost two and a half hours.

"And Bravo?"

"About an hour...maybe a little more."

The recruits began to absorb the information. Drake and Gethman seemed to shrink slightly in stature.

"Lieutenant, why did you split your team?"

Koltai struggled to keep the sudden rush of self-confidence from overriding his judgment. He answered quietly.

"I...we could keep more eyes on the area if we were on a triangle..."

Tazami nodded. He could tell that Koltai did not realize that their plan was nearly the perfect response to the situation.

"Private Xian, why did you have trouble finding the recruits?"

The instructor nodded and stepped forward to explain.

"They were spread too far for me to spot in one hide. When I did find one, the others weren't compromised. The other teams clustered, so they were easy to spot. And when one was taken down, the other recruits would look to the remaining recruits instinctively, betraying their positions as well."

Tazami nodded and began to speak again.

"Lieutenant Koltai, it is true that you did not properly plan for the worst case scenario, I believe that you have learned your lesson concerning this..." Tazami motioned to the sergeant and the corporal but did not wait for Koltai to respond before continuing.

"The Xi Detachment cannot use traditional military tactics, as you are no doubt aware. Basic special forces doctrine dictates that each individual soldier must often act as their own contained unit, especially against overwhelming odds. Leaders must utilize this knowledge when planning combat."

Drake and Gethman nodded slowly as the information sunk in.

"Now, concerning snipers, we will be convening at the end of this debriefing to discuss counter-sniper tactics, but you should know that you were expected to fail this exercise.

The recruits frowned at this knowledge, but stayd silent as Tazami continued.

"The recruit teams were ordered not only to spot the sniper within the kill zone, but the sniper had prior knowledge of your approach. In truth, the only way to beat a sniper, without being a sniper yourself, is to break their ability to use information against you. If they know where you are supposed to be, they can plan an appropriate ambush."

The recruits nodded, their spirits noticeably better than before though no one was in the mode to celebrate. Tazami extended his hand to the recruits in a rare gesture of satisfaction, "Congratulations, recruits."

All three stood and shook Tazami's hand, each with something of disbelief on their faces.

"Now, Sergeant Drake and Corporal Gethman, you are dismissed. Lieutenant Koltai, I want to continue this debriefing."

Gethman and Drake both shook Koltai's hand firmly. Tazami could tell from their looks that they were trying to communicate something of an apology to the lieutenant. Koltai smiled weakly to both of them before turning to face Tazami. The captain nodded to the soldiers who followed the recruits back to their camp. Tazami turned away from the lieutenant to look over the valley.

"Lieutenant, I've been watching your progress in the Xi Detachment. You are an excellent soldier, Koltai..."

It took nearly every ounce of Koltai's mental capacity to keep his jaw from falling to the ground, but the lieutenant waited for Tazami to continue.

"..you are, however, a lackluster officer. You don't inspire confidence in your soldiers, lieutenant. We need that in officers to keep people alive and missions on course. Do you understand?"

Koltai nodded slowly. He knew the next step in the process. He would be sent back to the main camp where he would be discharged from the Xi Detachment and sent back to Personnel Command for reassignment. He extended hs hand as a courteous gesture to the captain, but Tazami did not take his hand. The captain crossed his arms and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Lieutenant, you really should learn to wait until I've finished my statements before assuming things. You are the type of soldier who doesn't belong in the regular enlisted corps. You are too intelligent, but you doubt yourself entirely too much. Nor are you particularly political either, making you highly unsuitable to our officer corps."

Koltai grimaced, but let the captain continue unabated.

"Koltai, I want you to look into the Surveillance, Observation, and Urban Operations Section. I think you will find it uniquely suited to people like you."

Koltai nodded slowly, "...am I dismissed, sir?"

Tazami nodded. Arex turned to walk away and began to stride as Tazami spoke a final time, "Some advice, Koltai...have those bruises looked at before you return to the camp. They're going to hurt like a son-of-a-bitch in the morning."

Koltai chuckled as he walked off to the camp, Captain Tazami in close tow behind him.

Warning: Contents May Be Under Pressure

Koltai grunted loudly as the shovel dug a shallow cut into the impacted dirt. Pain shot through his haphazardly bandaged hands from bleeding sores but he ignored it the best he could. He had trouble focusing directly on the bank, but at this point, he was digging solely through muscle memory. His bare back baked in the hot sun while the arms of the fatigue shirt tied around his waist slapped softly against his thighs. He looked over the work of the two recruits' next to him, using what cognitive skills remained at this point to determine if they were still digging somewhat correctly. As section leader, he was responsible for the man and woman to his sides. Or as much responsibility as anyone could claim at this point.

This was the eighth trench the recruits had dug in four days. Four days with two hours of sleep total, and it was beginning to show. No one spoke. Only the deep breathing of the recruits mixed with the striking of shovels against dirt. The work had slowed to a near crawl as each recruit struggled to keep the rhythm of their shoveling constant against the calls in each of their minds to quit. Soldiers paced the ground above the recruits' trench as overwatch, but otherwise remained quiet and observant. The dirt under the dirt under the recruits' feet was colored in sporadic patches of crimson where the blood from open blisters and shallow wounds had collected, coagulated, and dried.

The klank of a shovel head striking a rock generated zero interest in the recruits until they heard the soft footsteps of a recruit walking away from the trench. Every recruit stopped in place to watch her walk towards Captain Tazami.

Tazami was seated on a lawn chair overlooking the recruit's work efforts, reading a book. Next to him was a single post with a large bell affixed to it. Without a word, the recruit stepped to the bell, grabbed the leather strap tied to the clapper, and rang it once. A feeling of sadness washed over the recruits as Tazami waved her off of the field without removing his gaze from the book's page. She did not turn to face the other recruits as she turned her body and walked away from the trenches, never to return.

Tazami finally looked up and watched her leave for a brief moment before closing his book. He stood from his chair and ambled over to the current trench. The other recruits stood numbly as Tazami spoke.

"Another huen dahn....it's a shame, I thought she had it in her."

None of the recruits responded to Tazami. All knew by this point that he was merely testing them. Trying to get under their skin. Tazami smiled at the recruits' silence and watched as they struggled to restart their rhythm. One recruit was having a particularly troublesome time. He seemed to be having trouble lifting the shovel he had buried deep within the dirt.

"Tian di wu yohn, Henderson, pick up that shovel or so help me, you will be building another ruttin' trench by your lonesome, am I understood?"

Henderson nodded slowly and struggled to lift the shovel's head out of the dirt. The dirt was heavy and Henderson strained for a few seconds before the shovel gave way in a cascade of dirt and rocks. Tazami returned his attention to the rest of the recruits as Henderson looked mournfully at the size of the dirt mound that had collected at his feet.

"Fourteen of you are left. Gorram surprise, if you ask me. Sergeant Tilman, have you ever seen this few recruits pass this point?"

One of the soldiers overlooking the recruits responded quickly, "No sir!"

Truth of the matter was the group's drop-out rate was right at average. The two week psychological training regiment, referred to as "The Gauntlet," was a constant barrage of attacks on the recruits' spirits as the performed tedious physical tasks under the most bizarre of conditions. They had to learn to reach within for inner strength, and this was merely one more step in the process.

Lieutenant Koltai grunted heavily as another load of dirt was tossed by his shovel out of the deepening trench. The noise caught Tazami's attention and he walked over to the lieutenant's position.

"Having trouble, Koltai?"

Koltai did not break his rhythm as he responded. He did not even look up to Tazami's position to acknowledge the statement.

"No sir."

Tazami pressed his lips together as he watched Koltai's section for a few more seconds before continuing with his barrage. He focused his attention on the female recruit to Koltai's left.

"You section of wall is pathetic, Drake. You think this go se will protect a single gorram bullet, much less a full assault? Pick up the pace or...."

"Captain Tazami, I think that is enough." Tazami's eyebrows twitched slightly as Koltai cut him off.

"Koltai, exactly what the hell was that?"

The recruits around him stopped working in shock. Slowly the whole line stopped to watch the confrontation. Tazami did not look away from Koltai as the man turned and plunged the shovel in a tired, but defiant stroke.

"Captain Tazami, I am the section leader, if you have a problem with my subordinates, you will address them to me first."

Tazami stared back at Koltai. There was dead silence between the two until Tazami spoke again.

"Are you questioning my method, Koltai?"

Koltai's face did not change as he responded.

"No sir."

"Explain yourself, lieutenant."

Koltai inhaled and spoke slowly. The effort of speech was clearly on the border of his remaining energy.

"...sir, you said it yourself. Always respect the chain of command. That includes yourself."

Koltai finished his statement without a hint of smugness. By all accounts, Koltai was barely aware that anyone, much less the entire recruit corps was staring at him. Tazami remained silent for several seconds, staring back at Koltai's unfocused gaze. He turned in place and walked to the other end of the trench.

"Lieutenant Taka..."

The female recruit turned her head to face Tazami with the same semi-blank stare as Koltai.

"Lieutenant Koltai appears to think that I violated the chain of command by addressing Sergeant Drake directly. Do you agree with the Lieutenant?"

Taka glanced at Koltai quickly before answering with a wavering voice, "Yes, sir."

Tazami nodded without changing his expression. He turned to the next section leader at the end of the trench.

"And you, Lieutenant Robinson?"

Robinson inhaled deeply and spoke with as much confidence as he could muster, "No sir."

"Why not?"

Robinson opened his mouth to answer, but closed it again as no words entered his mind.

A grin broke on Tazami's face as he stepped back to Koltai's position. Koltai continued to maintain his posture as Tazami looked back and forth between Taka and Koltai.

"Lieutenants Taka and Koltai, you will take your sections back to camp for medical treatment and two hours rest."

Koltai and Taka both blinked for a few seconds as the information was absorbed.

"Now, Lieutenants."

Smiles broke out between the lieutenants and their subordinates, though no one had the energy to express anything except quiet joy. The klinks of shovels being plunged softly into the ground sounded as the two sections slowly climbed from the trenches and ambled slowly away.

Tazami watched the two sections leave before turning back to Robinson's section, who were staring daggers not at the leaving recruits, but at Lieutenant Robinson.

"Lieutenant Robinson. Apparently we need to have a discussion about the term 'brown-noser'... "

Careful, These Things are Sharp

Captain Tazami motioned to the soldiers carrying the two boxes to begin passing out their contents. The soldiers complied and began to walk down the three rows of recruits, handing each of them a machete in a thick sheath. The recruits looked at each other and at Tazami with increasing confusion. A few chuckles and comments passed down the ranks as some of the recruits took the machetes out of their sheaths and began looking them over.

"Are we hunting people...or gorram demons?"

Several of the recruits snickered at the anonymous comment. Tazami rolled his eyes and held up his hand.

"All right, shut the hell up, all of you..."

The voices simmered down, and the recruits returned their attention to Tazami's position in the front of their position. Tazami took one of the machetes from the box as the soldiers returned to his position and replaced the boxes. He rolled the heavy blade in his hands with incredible ease.

"Seeing as how most of the luh suh has survived the first two weeks here in Hell better than I expected, clearly I'm not doing my job correctly..."

The recruits cringed in varying degrees at the thought. Everyone of them had thoughts of Koltai's experience in vary degrees. Tazami smiled slightly at the recruits' collective disturbance. They had spent the last two weeks doing various physical drills to weed out the least promising of the group. Only three had washed out so far. Tazami wasn't surprised.

"Nevertheless...it's time you started weapons training..."

Tazami flicked his wrist and the machete in his hand flipped around the back of his hand. He caught it with the blade facing backwards and ran his finger over the sharp edge absently.

"Recruits, meet your new best friend. For those of you with kuh ai looks of stupidity, this is a kukri."

Tazami tossed the blade to his left hand and back as if the machete was a juggling pin.

"From now until you leave this dirt patch, this blade will never leave your side. You will sleep with it, bathe with it, and love it for all it can do for you."

A varitey of chuckles and stifled laughs echoed from the recruits' positions and Tazami frowned.

"Tian di wu yohn...you've got an instrument that can decapitate a man in one blow, and the ruttin' lot of you act like a bunch of horny schoolgirls reading a gorram porn magazine..."

The laughter died away, though the mental image Tazami provided for the men in the audience resulted in a number of retained smiles. In the back row, of course.

"Now, attach the holster to the back of your belt as mine is..."

Tazami turned to show the proper orientation of the holster. The block of recruits followed his example and began attaching the sheath to their belts with varying degrees of initial success. The two soldiers by Tazami's side left his side and entered the lines of recruits to assist them with attaching the sheath. After several minutes, the recruits had their sheaths attached correctly and the soldiers returned to the front of the group. Tazami returned his kukri to its holster and motioned for the soldier to his left to hold up the empty holster in his hand.

"You will see two straps here that hold the kukri in place," barked Tazami as he pointed to the two straps on the aloft holster, "and each must be closed to keep the blade in position. Tazami then motioned to the top strap.

"This strap keeps the blade from moving in horizontal position...unstrap it now."

The chorus of unsnapped sheath straps rang out in the group.

"Your blade is now free to exit the sheath by pulling directly parallel to the sheath. Understood?"

"Yes sir!"

Tazami nodded at their acknowledgment and unstrapped his kukri as well. He placed his right hand on the handle and spoke as he illustrated the first practice strike for the recruits.

"Now, on my command you will draw your kukri to a ready position like this."

Tazami quickly drew the blade from it's holster and stopped the fluid motion to make a 45-degree angle with his shoulder.

"This is your ready position! Every strike you perform with the kukri should return to this position. From the ready position you can strike..."

Tazami swung the blade quickly in a short cut aimed at an imaginary man's chest.

"and you can defend..."

Tazami swung the blade again in a much more complicated series of movements that the recruits would understand later to be a parry and counter-strike.

"Now, to the ready!"

The recruits jerked quickly on their kukris and a dozen groans erupted as several knives did not even leave the sheaths. The recruits that did get their kukris out moved in jerky, uncoordinated motion.

Tazami sighed heavily and audibly.

It was going to be a very long day.

Training Day

The trainer walked down the bare dirt strip, his eyes caged on an invisible post far in the distance. Each recruit stood at rigid attention, their bodies and eyes unmoving as the shakedown continued.

The trainer stopped and turned quickly to face the entire line of recruits, looking them over in a ritualized testing. He was a tall man with short black hair and had a solid build. He was dressed in a black, form-fitting shirt and dusty combat fatigues. The pants were bloused into black, broken-in combat boots. A single pistol was strapped to a thigh holster. His words were laced with contempt.

"Gentlemen and ladies, welcome to Hell. I am Captain Ushira Tazami."

None of the recruits responded. No words or expressions were passed. Only silence. The trainer continued unabated.

"On my command, you will drop to a prone position and return to a standing position, am I understood?"

"Yes Sir!" chanted the recruits in unison.

"Down!"

The entire line of recruits dropped to the ground and two dozen thumps sounded as each soldier dropped to the ground and scrambled back to rigid attention.

"This is not the Army. Down!"

More thumps, still in perfect unison, sounded.

"This is not the Navy. Down! This is not the Marine Corp or even the gorram Special Forces. Down!"

The trainer began to pace again, calling for the soldiers to drop periodically as he continued his introduction speech.

"You are here because you think you have what it takes to join Xi. Down! When you graduate from this camp, you will be the tips of the spears. Down! Down! Down! But until that point, you are feh wu. Down!"

The line of recruits continued to drop and return to attention almost in complete synchronization.

"From this moment you are no longer under AAF appearance regulations."

The trainer caught several signs of confusion in the recruits. He pointed to a single one. A tall, man with a thin, but muscular, build who was standing a bit too rigidly for his own good.

"You, your rank and name, now."

The recruit saluted immediately and kept his eyes trained forward while he barked a response, "Da Yeh, Second Lieutenant Arex Koltai!"

The trainer rolled his eyes and motioned for the soldier to meet him. Koltai walked forward in a straight line and turned in a perfect right angle to his right. He marched to Tazami's footsteps and halted, giving a sharp salute.

Tazami did not return Koltai's salute. Tazami drew his pistol and in one fluid motion brought it to Koltai's face and pulled the trigger. The lieutenant's face flashed in horror and he blinked as the click of the pistol's hammer striking an empty chamber rang out in the dead silence. The other recruits struggled to maintain their composure.

Tazami lowered the pistol and let the silence continue for several seconds. He finally spoke, nearly shouting in displeasure at Koltai.

"I just tried to fucking kill you, Koltai. Do you always respond to gunfire by standing at gorram attention? Do you think that your enemy is going to hesitate? If your little march back there doesn't give away your status as nien mohn that stupid buzz cut is going to give it away clear as a Browncoat in a Parliament session."

The trainer turned away from the nearly-trembling Koltai to face the line of recruits.

"That goes for all of you! Wake up, you kuh wu washouts, this ain't the military you joined. We don't act like dipshits with sticks wedged firmly in our asses."

Tazami turned back to Koltai and looked him over.

"You got balls, kid. Now you need to unlearn all the ri shao gou shi bing they drilled into you at Basic. Now get back in line."

Koltai nodded slowly and hesitated as he started a quick jog back to his position in line. The recruits were noticeably less rigid in their stances as Tazami looked them over.

"As I said before, gentlemen and ladies, welcome to Hell."