Disclaimer: I do not own Tin Man. They are property of people other than me. I should come out and say that this story is already completely written. I haven't settled on a posting scheduel yet, so any recommendations would be nice.
May last request is for you to enjoy the story.
xx
Life
xx
"This will be the hardest two cycles you will ever go through. Just because you are here does not mean you will make it to the Royal Guard. If you are so fortunate enough to make it through, you will have the privilege to be called one of the Royal Guard. Here you will learn how to defend yourself, your people and your country. You will learn how to shoot, and how to survive being shot at. You will learn how to survive in the wild, and how to properly disarm and armed combatant. Do not piss me off. Do not piss off my fellow soldier. You will do as you are told within the allotted time given. Do not expect any mercy. If you cannot take anything that I have just described, leave now. Save us all the misery of suffering for your faults.
"If you leave this place, you will no longer be so-and-so, or this-and-that. You will be soldiers in the finest military ever to grace this land. Now get out of my sight!"
Lieutenant Derek Scott- Royal Guard Training Instructor. Spoken to the incoming recruits as they began their two cycle basic training program.
The soft tendrils of sleep slowly lifted, allowing a soft light to come across her eyes. Easing herself up, she looked around, before wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands. She sighed, both with weariness and sadness, but quickly shook the feeling off and stood. As she continued, she took in the room around her. Sparse, yet looking like it was lived in, only a few items resided in the room. A cabinet that looked as if it was thrown together in a few minutes was across from the bed, while a desk and a small table, both with burn marks, were pushed against the wall and residing in between the bed, respectively. She navigated her way around the table and made her way to the door, letting her hand glide along the charred table and desk as she went. Stopping just before the door, she considered that this new life, this life where it seemed like she was merely an actor in a poorly written movie, could be a life that she could live to the very end. As she reached for the door and heard and felt the loud concussion of a bomb exploding, she considered the fact that that life may come to an end quite quickly.
Jerking the door opened, she moved with a swift efficiency, weaving between yelling men and barking dogs, heading towards the center of the camp. As she walked past the hodge-podge of buildings and tents, another explosion rocked the earth as a man came rushing towards her. As soon as the sound died, he began to talk.
"Aleksi! They are close but not quite here yet!"
"Dermot! How many times have I told you its Alex!" Dermot paused and tilted his head to the side.
"Never, you just got here. Anyway," cutting Alex off before she could rebut. "We need you on the western end of the camp. We're hoping that they're going to come only from the east, but we can never be to sure. You're going to be reporting to Lieutenant Scott. He's a good man, he'll show you the ropes." Alex nodded, taking in all the necessary information. "Sorry about dropping you right into the action, but that's life after the eclipse. We're going to need more fighters by the end of this one, but the Queen won't budge." Dermot shrugged. "I guess the only thing left to do is pray. Double-time it over to the healer's camp. The Lieutenant should be there." Alex nodded and split off of Dermot as he continued down the main row and she cut through the tents and the buildings. She slowed down as she approached the healer's tent and grimaced when she heard yelling.
"I don't care how long it takes you! I want that trench dug now or else I'll use your dead bodies to dig the trench myself!" Alex recognized the Lieutenant's voice, recalling her time as a cadet before he was called off to war.
"Lieutenant. Green Aleksi Hildebrandt reporting as ordered." She didn't salute, remembering that it made the officers targets. The Lieutenant swiveled on his heels and nodded.
"I remember you. Cadet Aleksi Hildebrandt. Class 25 of the Royal Army recruiting division. So nice to see you graduated." He turned away from her and she relaxed moving to help her fellow soldiers digging the trench. "No." She stopped and turned.
"Yes sir?" He waved his hand towards himself and spoke.
"I have something else for you to do." He turned away. "Avon! Moeller! You're with me." Two men rose out of the trenches and followed after the Lieutenant and Alex. As they briskly walked down the rows, Alex took the time to study the area around her, taking note of the small aisles and the dips and groves of the land and its inhabitants.
"Here." They all came to a stop in front of the commissary. "I need you three to make sure that, if push comes to shove, no one passes this line." The other two stiffened, almost imperceptibly, in pride at what they thought was a compliment. Alex, however, saw it as it was; a means to get the most inexperienced and unreliable soldiers off of what could be the front line. If the Lieutenant noticed her pinched glare, he said nothing, merely nodding his head once and walked back to the trench.
As the other two stood ramrod straight, eyes darting around the camp for the slightest movement, Alex was looking around the camp for another reason. She what she wanted, she moved to the stool and picked it up, before plopping it, and herself on top of it, slightly to the side of the entrance. She looked up at the two before rolling her eyes and resting her chin on her hand.
"You do realize that the Lieutenant put us here because he thinks we suck as soldiers." Said more as a comment and not a question, the other two looked at her with blank stares. Looking up at the two, she realized that the Lieutenant had probably made the wise choice with those two and waved her free hand in a circle around her head. "Forget it." Slowly, her eyes started to glaze over as she took in the surrounding area with a distinct lack of interest. After the completed the journey, the wandered again, slowly coming to a rest on the healer's tent. Glancing once more at the two dunderheads, she placed her hand into her uniform and pulled out a small, hard piece of bread. Placing it in the side of her mouth, she gave the healer's tent another glance when she heard the sound of rustling canvas, and, seeing nothing, returned to her semi attentive state.
"You!" She nearly fell off her stool in surprise when a loud voice echoed through the small clearing. Looking around, she stood up quickly when she saw the Commander of the base striding towards her. Quickly swallowing her bread, she stood at attention. She could feel the other two men behind her as they shifted slightly. "I need a soldier on the front line. I don't care if they're green." He stopped in front of the three and ran an appraising eye over them. Alex, once she had determined that he wasn't going to ream her a new one for sitting on a stool, had slightly relaxed her posture, confident that she was not going to be picked for frontline duty.
The Commander, meanwhile, was coming to the realization that these two men where here for a reason. The female, however, looked to be a promising soldier. He moved in font of her and spoke.
"What's your name?"
"Green Aleksi Hildebrandt, sir." He nodded once.
"You are now assigned to Captain Fisher. Fisher!" Another man came forward. "Take her and put her with your squad." The Captain hesitated.
"Sir…" The Commander cut him off.
"I realize that you only take those who have been invited into your squad, but I think that she will make it with you just fine." The Captain nodded, after which the Commander walked away. Looking over at her, the Captain glanced at her before walking away, clearing expecting her to follow.
Which she did.
"Ok here's the deal. You do what I say. Nothing less. If you see something that we don't, call it out. If a guy is giving you grief, give it back. If you have a problem, solve it yourself. If you need your mommy to hold you hand while you go to sleep, go home. I'm not your mommy; I'm not your daddy." Alex cut in.
"Well that's good. It would be just awkward if you were my mommy and daddy. Besides which, mine're both dead." The Captain glanced over at her before nodding.
"I think you'll do ok with us."