Elissa Shepard stepped out of the large troop transport and eyed the tall Administration building warily. She looked back down at her OT and sighed. This was the place. The invitation for N training had been quite a shock to the young auburn haired ensign. She had only just graduated with her B.A. in History from the Naval Academy two months prior. So shock and awe were understatements to her current state of mind. Granted she had graduated with high honors and had even received several commendations from her instructors during the four years she had spent at the Academy, but she never dreamed she'd receive an N school invite within her first year of active duty, much less her first three months. But who was she to question her superiors when it came to deciding who was and was not fit for this prestigious honor.
She stepped inside the tall building and found herself at the back of a fairly long line. The inhabitants of which were predominantly fit and athletic young males with matching hair styles even if their uniforms had differing color schemes and insignia. 'Must be more N candidates like me,' she thought as she looked around. 'Let's see there's Army, Navy, Marines... Wow they really do take soldiers from all the branches of...'
"Ensign Shepard? Is there an Ensign Shepard here?"
"Yes, that's me..."
"Excuse me, Ensign? Is that anyway to address a superior officer?"
"Sorry, sir! Ensign Shepard reporting for duty, sir!"
"Better." The older officer turned and addressed someone standing behind him. "Commandant, all of this year's N school candidates are here and accounted for." The Lt. Commander snapped a salute and stepped aside. Elissa now got a good look at the base's commander, a grizzled, balding officer, he looked like he could have been a veteran of the First Contact War.
"Candidates, my name is Commandant Lewis Watkins. I have the special pleasure of welcoming you onto my base. For the next six months you will be tested, tortured, and trained. Trained to be the deadliest group of soldiers this galaxy has ever produced. Now as you know N school training is some of the hardest, most demanding training you will ever receive, and IF you make it through the next few months you will have earned the right to move on to receive that training. That's right ladies and gentlemen, you will have to make it through this base just to get the privilege of seeing our Alliance's real N school. Now LC please escort our new guests to their premium accommodations. I think this is gonna be the start of one hellish vacation." After he gave the candidates a look over, his eyes lingered on the lone female, Elissa. He turned back and said, "LC make sure our newest princess gets her private bathing stall. The last thing we need is a sexual harassment suit."
Realizing they were talking about her, Elissa spoke up. "Sir, with all due respect, I can handle myself. I don't need special accommodations."
"Ensign, I do not believe I asked for your opinion on the matter, now did I?" The Commandant turned back around to eye the young officer with a disapproving look. The expression mirrored her father's stern countenance whenever she did something to earn his disapproval. Her father always had a way of making her feel chastised without saying a word.
She nodded briefly, but the Commandant ignored her and walked away from the group.
"All right people, you heard the Commandant. Let's double-time it. I'm starving, and I really hate being late to evening chow." The LC motioned for Elissa, now at the head of the line to begin marching out of the building. The elder officer took his place next to her and began the leading the new platoon down the main thoroughfare. Elissa, using her peripheral vision only began cataloging the buildings as they passed. Thank heavens for 20/10 vision. She noted the infirmary, the commissary, and the mess among other less easily identifiable buildings.
Then she began noticing that the LC did not seem to be leading them to the barracks. It looked more likely that they were heading for the base's airfield. There sitting on the tarmac was not one but three fully prepped shuttles.
"OK, ladies. I believe you can guess what I'm gonna say next. I wanna see ten to a shuttle. Now drop your sacks right here and pile in. Believe me, where you're going you won't be needing them. Hurry up! My dinner's getting' cold!"
Elissa and the first nine behind her dropped their sacks and rushed to the nearest shuttle. Each grabbed a seat with firmly ingrained military precision. Elissa now had an opportunity to get a good look at some of her fellow candidates. They were all, as the Commandant mentioned, very male. 'Damn, I really must be the only female N candidate here,' she thought with a small sigh.
"Hello, everyone, this is your pilot speaking, and I wanna thank you for flying Joker Airlines. We do aim to get you there in one piece, but barring that, get you there in several large, easily identifiable pieces. You know, in case identification might become necessary. I have to say, you, the woman sitting in the window seat, have got to be one of the most beautiful jarheads I've seen in a long time."
The sheer oddity of the pilot's speech made Elissa struggle mightily to keep from laughing. This pilot is hilarious. "I'm not a jarhead. I'm Navy. You better get your eyes checked, Joker. Wouldn't want us all to crash while you're trying to figure out which branch of the military I serve in." She could hear the pilot laughing over the open intercom.
"Yes, ma'am! Well, there's the signal. Time to go." The shuttle rose smoothly off the ground and Elissa watched the ground fall away quickly as the trio of shuttles took up a V formation and flew to their destination. "So, Red, what's your name?" asked Joker a few minutes later.
"Ensign Shepard," replied Elissa then she became very aware that the rest of the shuttle's occupants had taken an interest in their conversation. She decided that she really didn't want to start bringing too much attention to herself and finished her self-introduction with, "Now shut up and drive."
"Yes, ma'am," said Joker and she could hear the smile in his voice.
Elissa turned back to the window and watched as the three shuttles carried their passengers to what appeared to be the pacific coast. The sun was rapidly descending and night would probably be in full bloom before they made it to… wherever they were going. She finished the flight in relative silence and the trio of shuttles set down on a windswept beach. The chilly night air cut through Elissa's uniform in minutes. She wrapped her arms around her torso as she watched the shuttles land and discharge her fellow N7 candidates. Only a few minutes after the first three shuttles left, a fourth shuttle appeared over the horizon and touched down near the group of soldiers. She immediately recognized the attitudes and insignia of three Drill Instructors, each bundled in warm garb and wearing expressions of undisguised malice on their faces. These guys must have drawn the short straws when the Commander handed out tonight's duty assignments.
"All right maggots, line up. I wanna see two lines. Make 'em nice and tidy." The lead instructor motioned for two lines about three meters in front of him. The candidates quickly formed up two lines of 15 each and stood at rigid attention. "About face!" The lines' occupants turned around 180 degrees. "Forward march!" Each line moved in unison as each line stepped inexorably closer to the ocean that lay in front of them.
Elissa did not need to be told that the DI's meant to put them in the water. This was one of N school's more well-known training maneuvers… A hellish vacation indeed. She marched with purpose into the bone-chilling water. The first splash was enough to give her a second's pause before continuing deeper. It only required a few minutes of marching before she was neck deep and she could barely hear the instructors shouting out instructions over the sound of her teeth chattering. The bitter cold of the seawater ate at her resolve like acid and chilled her to bone.
"OK, stop and turn to your left. Look at your neighbor, If I were you I'd grab onto him like he was your mamma's coat-tails. Their body heat is the only thing stopping you from dying of hypothermia."
Elissa was already one step of the DI and had discarded her uniform top. She quickly wrapped her arms around her neighbor, who almost as quickly realized that her toplessness wasn't just an exhibition, and discarded his uniform top as well. It only took a few more minutes before a topless train of N7 candidates could be seen floating in the dark cold water of the pacific.
"Well, well, well. This might just be a set of recruits I can work with. It took twice as long for the last set to figure out that little bit about body heat transferring better through skin-to-skin contact." Her neighbor looked back at Elissa and smirked. She couldn't help but be a little smug. She was the first one to actually take off her top. Modesty be damned, this was N-school and she would do her parents proud.
They spent the rest of the night going into and coming back out of the water. At first Elissa was very self-conscious about her nudity in front of so many men, but as the night wore on and as she realized no one seemed to care about it, she stopped caring as well. None of the candidates spoke. They listened to the DIs and followed each instruction to the letter. After what felt like many more hours than it actually was, she watched with tired, bloodshot eyes, as the sun seemed to creep over the horizon and with it came a lone shuttle.
"Looks like breakfast is on its way." The three DIs motioned for the platoon to come out of the water and stand at parade rest while the shuttle took its sweet time arriving. "Well, breakfast is ready!" With that he tipped over a large barrel from the shuttle and food spilled out onto the beach. Elissa found herself at the back of a large group of ravenous beasts that were tearing into the food like starving wolves on a fat cow. She used every dirty trick her self-defense instructor had ever taught her to get to the food before the rest of platoon had eaten it all. She scarfed down what might have a ham sandwich or something that vaguely resembled a sandwich at any rate. The DIs piled into the shuttle and three more stepped out. They looked much more rested than Elissa even dreamed of being. The new DIs watched their omni-tools for a few minutes then the three looked at each other and nodded.
"OK, breakfast is done! Now we get to work off some of that delicious meal the Alliance was so gracious to provide for us. I want two lines right here! Line up! Double time!"
The platoon immediately stopped eating and Elissa dropped the food she was holding and jumped into the closest line.
The closest drill instructor pulled out a tee-shirt and handed it her. "Here. We wouldn't want the princess of N company catching a cold, now would we."
"Thank you sir! But that won't be..."
"I didn't ask your permission! You seem to think that this is some kind of democracy! Now put on the shirt!"
"Yes sir!" Elissa put on the tee and looked forward. None of the men were given the same luxury. She put her arms to her side and tried her best to put it out of her mind. They were obviously trying to single her out for some reason. She was at the back of her line and was happy that all of her fellow candidates were too busy trying to stay out of trouble to give her much attention. The guy standing next to her however had something to say about her new attire.
"Damn, he would have to be chivalrous. I've haven't been able to fully appreciate those beautiful twins of yours..."
"Sargeant Dixon you have something you wanna share with the whole class."
"Sir, no sir!
"Then cork it and pay attention!" The DI then turned and motioned for the company to begin jogging down the beach.
The company jogged in silence except for their breathing. The beach often shrank to nothing and Elissa, quite often, found herself jogging in the water as the company maneuvered around jagged rocks and boulders. It was a testament to their individual fitness that none of them lagged, fell out of step, or dropped from the long run. As the sun began to disappear once more behind the western horizon, Elissa became aware of another sound that was prominent among the company. The sound of stomachs growling. It was just as Elissa noticed her own stomach protesting its own emptiness that she noticed the shuttle that had landed about a kilometer further down the beach.
"Well now, looks like supper's being catered tonight, ladies!" The two other DIs laughed at the joke, but Elissa did not find the instructor's humor amusing.
"OK ladies, last one to the shuttle will, in all likelihood go without eating tonight!"
As soon as the words left the DI's mouth, the atmosphere turned from disciplined to chaotic in seconds as N company broke ranks and began racing each other to the shuttle. The men fought both the loose sand and one another to be the first to the shuttle. Elissa, however, had other ideas. She found her footing on the hard packed sand of the beach just at the edge of the water and accelerated quickly. She outdistanced the rest of N company in a few minutes. When she was almost parallel to shuttle she turned back into the beach. Ballet lessons drilled into her head from elementary school were put use as she balanced on her toes to keep the treacherous sand from turning her ankles. She vaulted the last few meters to the shuttle just as the side door opened and out poured dinner onto the beach. She scooped out a shirt full of food before it could hit the ground, and began devouring it just as the rest of her company arrived to eat.
She ate quickly, but then stopped as she realized there was something going on beyond just getting the company accustomed to eating food covered in dirt. Elissa eyed the uneaten food for a moment. It was sitting in a large heap on the ground. There was more food than the whole company could possibly eat, though it appeared that her team was pretty keen on testing her theory. Gears began turning in her mind. A lot of food in your stomach can cause cramping, especially if... She looked around for a brief instant, then came to a decision. "Guys! Guys! Stop eating!" she shouted suddenly.
"WHAT!" came the unanimous reply. Quickly followed by several "SCREW YOU's," and more than a few "HELL NO's"
"Seriously, you guys need to stop eating!" she said with conviction. "We're going right back in that water tonight. The chill and the heavy food combined is going to cause some serious muscle cramping. The kind of cramping that causes people to drown! You gotta stop eating if you guys wanna stay in this."
Sergeant Dixon spoke up. "She's right! Stop eating! This kind of shit is what the DIs want. To knock us out of the fight before it's even begun. The only way we make it through this is to have each other's backs, and the navy brat here definitely showed me she's got ours!"
The DIs turned away from their conversation to watch the young ensign more closely. The lead instructor spoke up, "You guys gonna listen to the princess here? There's still a lot of food. You sure you want it all to go to waste?"
The instructor's words, however, seemed to have the opposite effect as N company rallied around Elissa and Dixon. One of the other guys, a shorter latino, spoke up. "Naw, I think we're pretty full. Besides, I don't wanna ruin my supermodel figure." He ran his hand through the stubble on his head and struck a manly pose. The rest of the company, Elissa included, collapsed onto the sand laughing and holding their sides.
"Well, since you ladies seem to be done eating, I want two lines right in front of me. Now, ladies!"
The company jumped to their feet and lined up. Elissa at one end of the first line.
Sergeant Dixon stood once more to her left. He whispered to her, "That was pretty smart figuring out what their plan was. What tipped you off?"
"Shh... I'll tell you later," she said quietly. She watched as the three DIs exchanged pleasantries with the original three that had left early that morning. "Looks like the first set of babysitters are back to torment us again," she whispered back. Dixon only nodded in response. Elissa's eyes narrowed as one of the day shift instructors pointed to her and said something she couldn't make out. If she knew anything about DIs, in general, it was that they liked to single out recruits in order to teach the others harsh lessons. She wanted no part of that dubious honor, whatsoever.
"OK, ladies have nice relaxing night, and I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning." The DI smiled evilly and waltzed over to the waiting shuttle and departed with the rest of his trio.
"So, as you have probably guessed it's time for another moonlight swim. Now get your asses in that water!" The company swiftly entered into the chilly ocean and chained themselves together. It was going to be another very long night.
Dixon looked at Elissa. "You want point tonight?"
"What, so you can grope me all night?" asked Elissa with a wry smile. "I don't think so."
"Damn. You saw through my plan much too quickly," he said with a charming smile. Dixon and Elissa shared a quiet laugh. "I'm probably a better choice than that guy behind you." She looked over her shoulder for a moment. The guy looked entirely too eager for her liking.
"You got a point. Fine, swap." Dixon dipped under the water for a moment then came up behind her. The guy that was previously behind Elissa looked none too happy about the switch-up. "You get 5 minutes of grope time then I'm breaking fingers. Understood?"
"Understood." He gripped Elissa around the waist, his chiseled granite chest pressing into her back. 'Damn! He's ripped like he's carved from marble,' she thought as she purposefully pressed herself against him. She was happy to see that he seemed to have no intention in actually going through with his earlier plan. Though five minutes in the numbing water left her unable to feel his hands and arms anywhere on her body, anyway.
The DIs continued where they left off the previous night, only this time they added blood pumping sit-ups and push-ups to the mix. The new addition to the company's nightly routine seemed to make the bone-chilling water both easier and harder to withstand simultaneously. The exercises warmed them up significantly, but said workouts caused their bodies' arteries to dilate, which meant that the freezing water would siphon off body heat that much faster.
As Dixon sat next to her and completed a set of 100 sit-ups as she did the same, he said, "Can you tell me now how you figured out the DIs' meal plan?"
She nodded. "I just realized they were trying to get us to gorge ourselves. Just think about it. We had little time to eat in the morning, followed by an extremely long distance run. Then they bring us twice the amount of food they brought us for breakfast. It seemed like they were trying to fatten us up for something. Then I thought, if these swims are nightly occurrences someone's gonna have some awful cramping. Besides the DIs should never be trusted, just on general principle. They wanna find out now who doesn't have the resolve or the stomach to see this through."
"I guess we all have your monthly visitor to thank for saving our bacon."
"Shut up! You know I wasn't talking about those kinds of cramps, you chauvinist ass!" Elissa smacked him on the side of the head as she finished her last sit-up.
"All right, ladies back in the water! And this time I wanna see some real effort!" The DIs continued to distance the company from shore. This time they were all treading water before they were told to stop. "All right, no chaining this time. You lot have got to keep your head above water and not die from hypothermia! Good luck! And if anyone feels too whipped to continue all you have to do come back on shore!"
'I'd rather drown than stop now. If only to show these assholes that a Shepard never gives up!' With her resolve now renewed by a generous dose of anger, she and Dixon quickly worked out a method for one of them to tread water while the other rested on their partner's back. She had to admit, however that she did more resting than Dixon did that night. She even managed a few minutes of shut-eye between bouts of propping up Dixon and treading water herself. The night gave way to a much welcomed dawn.
The following morning Elissa and the rest of N company were still holding onto their places in N company, and even though Elissa felt like death warmed over, she was happy to have survived to see one more sunrise. 'Another day of running, I'm sure.'
Dixon motioned to the horizon where the now familiar shuttle was flying low and partially blocking the rising sun. "Well looks like breakfast is a little early today."
Elissa smirked at the sergeant's comments, but said nothing as she watched the shuttle land.
"Hey Earth to navy brat. You listening to me at all?"
"The name's Shepard, and yes I am. You just haven't said anything worth responding to." She and Dixon then turned and walked over to the waiting food, and began eating sparingly. She had found that she really didn't need to eat large quantities to make it through the nightly torture sessions N company had been forced to endure. After breakfast the company formed the now very familiar lines on the beach awaiting further instructions.
"Well let's see if we can get some more jogging into the day, shall we?" asked one of the DIs.
Elissa and Dixon, now at the ends of their prospective lines, both sighed and followed each of the leaders back up the beach from where they came the previous night. Elissa was not ignorant of the fact they were retracing their steps probably back to the beach where the week started. She put her body on auto-pilot and let her consciousness wander enjoying the spectacle of nature around for the first time since arriving on the beach two night before. She gazed around briefly and couldn't help but be taken by the natural beauty of the volcanic rock formations and other scenery the company passed as they spent their daylight running once more. Like the day before it took the better of the day to make it back to the original beach. The seagulls cleansing the beach of the food from the previous time they were here was an obvious sign of their return.
The shuttle approached from the east once more and touched down close to the company. It only took a moment to offload its cargo, supper for the team. Elissa and Dixon waited for the rest of the company to eat before grabbing their own food and taking only a few minutes to eat. She knew what was coming and while a fair amount of dread crept into her psyche, she pushed away the negative thoughts and shored up her confidence with a fresh dose of anger and a positive internal pep talk. She and Dixon found themselves once more treading water. The night time calisthenics had become a regular fixture in their night time routine. The two partners had now become very proficient at keeping each other afloat and awake. The night passed with little difficulty beyond the pain and tiredness that came with extended sleep deprivation.
Elissa watched with bleary eyes as the shuttle that brought them food could once more be seen over the horizon. She looked to the DIs as they continued to rattle off the push-up count. The count had reached 87 and her arms were vehemently protesting their continued use, but she soldiered through the fire in her muscles. She looked over at Dixon who just smiled at her as if they were just lounging on the beach enjoying mai-tais. 88… 89… Her arms felt like molten lead. 93… 94… 95… Elissa fought the worsening pain, wishing that this would end with the company back in the water. She promised herself that when she finished this hell she could die happy. 98… 99… 100. Finally! She planted her head, face down, in the sand. She could hear laughing next to her and cursed Dixon's name silently. She knew he was mocking her feeble efforts, and hated him just a little because of it. Bastard!
"Breakfast is served, ladies!" the nearest DI barked out and the company broke ranks though no one gave the DIs any satisfaction by running to the food. Elissa grabbed a handful of food and moved away to eat it in peace. Dixon stood next to her and ate his food in silence as they waited for further instructions from their tormentors. "Better hurry and eat! PT begins in five minutes."
Elissa stopped eating and threw the rest of her food in the ocean and waited for orders to line up. "So what do you think? More running? Or something special? He did call it PT this time."
Dixon shrugged and smiled at Elissa, "I have no idea, but I can't wait to find out."
"Jackass. You're having way too much fun here, you know that?" she said with a roll of her eyes.
"Now I've never heard of anyone having too much fun." Elissa couldn't help but laugh at the Marine's nonchalant answer. "So Shepard…"
The lead DI interrupted Dixon before he could say anything further. "OK, people time for our morning jog. Gotta keep Ramirez's figure, remember? Ensign Shepard, since you like being in charge why don't you come up to the front of the class, and set the pace! Be sure to give us a lively jogging tune while you're at it." Elissa cringed but did as she was told. "Oh, before I forget, DI Greene please give the Princess her new PT uniform. You were nice enough to pick it out for her after all!" She came to a dead stop when he pulled the new garment from inside his uniform.
DI Greene, a brawny African-American Gunnery Sergeant, nodded and produced what in Elissa's mind was the most god-awful pink tee-shirt she had ever seen. It was, in a word, hideous. The rest of N company began falling over themselves laughing and pointing at Elissa. She only narrowed her eyes and pulled the shirt over her head. It barely reached her mid-riff. And there in glorious Technicolor were more Disney princesses then she had ever seen on one shirt. 'I look like a fairy-godmother's wet dream! The first chance I get I'm gonna burn this shirt in effigy!'
She kept her head held high and marched to the front of the company humming the Naval Academy fight song. As she started running she began singing the lyrics struggling to keep the song in tune while focusing on her pace. She completed the first song and moved onto "Doo Wah Ditty" from one of her favorite movies, Stripes. The rest of N company picked up the song and began singing it in multi-part harmony. 'Damn, that sounds pretty good!'
After more than a few hours and several anthems, hymns, marching songs, dirty limericks, and whatever else she could think of, Elissa and company found themselves on beach number two once more. "All right, ladies. We've now come to the PT portion of this glorious day in the greatest military in the galaxy!"
Jesus! We've only now gotten to the PT?! What the hell have we been doing for the last 7 hours?! A lazy stroll! Elissa frowned but said nothing, knowing full well what mouthing off to them would get her. The company kept ranks as they watched a Mako drive up over the dunes. It was towing a large platform with a brass bell mounted on a stand in the center.
"This platform will your home for the next few nights! You guys should be happy! No more late night swims!" The DIs smirked at the company like they were in on some private joke that the company knew nothing about. "Well, actually your home will be under it. Now here's how this is going to work! There will be 10 of you on each side of the platform and 10 in the middle." The lead DI pointed to various spots on the platform to illustrate his points.
Damn, that platform looks like it could be 500 kilos, easy! Elissa watched as the Mako dropped off the large wooden construct and left.
"OK, when I say go you will pick up the platform and hold it over your heads. DI Greene and DI Joshua will choose 10 of you to go underneath the platform to hold up the center area. There are numbered spots. If you are chosen you will remember your spot under the platform and return there every time! Is that perfectly clear?!"
"SIR, YES SIR!" came the unanimous reply.
"You will hold it until we tell you to stop. You will not let it go! You will not fall asleep! And you will not release the platform until we say. If you disobey these orders more than twice, you're gone! Is that perfectly clear?!"
"SIR, YES SIR!"
"OK, then your PT, starts… NOW!"
Elissa and company rushed forward to grab an edge of the platform and heaved. The first collective attempt put the platform at shoulder height. She took a quick breath and on the next effort the company pushed it up over their heads.
"Good job! Now DI Greene, DI Joshua pick our 10 victims, please! If you are chosen you will line up under the bell precisely in the order tapped. Is that understood?!"
"SIR, YES SIR!"
"Good! Gentlemen please continue, and remember to choose wisely!"
"Aye, aye! Chief!" DI Greene immediately tapped Elissa on the shoulder, and she quickly released her hold on the platform and moved to the spot marked #1 on the bottom of the platform. It was the front edge of the platform itself. She grabbed the handhold and watched as the number flashed from red to green. 'Shit! A pressure switch! I'm guessing there's no letting it go until it goes back to red! No rest to be had here!'
"One last thing. If all of this PT is too much all you have to do is climb up the platform and ring that big beautiful bell. That means you only have to climb over one of your team. I'd pick the skinny one in front if I was you. But that's just me." The Chief then pointed to Elissa. She was really beginning to hate these DIs, they made her father look tame.
The first 6 hours of holding up the platform went quickly and supper arrived with dusk. The company was given 10 minutes to eat before they were told to get back to their new home. N company now found themselves in darkness as the sun retreated over the horizon. The only light available came from the illuminated numbers on the platform and it cast a green pallor over all of the company. As the night continued, Elissa did everything she could think of to stay awake. From stomping on her own toes to biting the inside of her cheek, anything to keep her eyelids open and her hands on the pressure plate under the platform. Periodically she would hear a name barked out by the DIs as they reprimanded her teammates for infractions of the platform rules. She did her best to keep a running tally and when they were told to put down the platform to eat breakfast was very happy to realize the name 'Shepard' was never spoken. That would not be the case the second night.
The second day of PT began with a brisk three hour jog. Elissa was still in her pink tee and once more led the procession. They returned to the beach and the waiting platform. Elissa found the run more relaxing than ever, given what she knew was awaiting them. She used any motivation she could find to be able to continue when her body kept telling her she had nothing left to give.
She and Dixon had little time to chat during the day. In fact the only conversation that occurred was a large number of "SIR! YES,SIR" and "SIR! NO,SIR" and little else. The following daytime PT was only slightly easier to withstand than the nighttime had been, due to fact that she wasn't fighting sleep like she had the previous night.
As dusk approached, the company was given another 15 minutes to eat and Elissa found some time to talk to Dixon. "So, how are you hanging in there?" she asked between bites of food.
"Not bad. Though the PT is so much more boring without you to grope," he said, flashing her the same smile he had a few days ago. Elissa smacked him on the back of the head, but laughed along with him as he laughed at her response. She could feel the tension in her shoulders ease a little, the laughter loosing tense muscles she didn't even realize she had.
After supper was completed, the company returned to their positions under the platform and Elissa settled in for a long night ahead of her. She kept up her vigilance as the names kept being called out.
"SHEPARD!" She awoke with a start and found that she had fallen asleep without even realizing it. Crap! That's once! I can't have another! She shook her head and focused on shifting her weight from foot to foot. Stay awake! Stay awake! She mentally repeated her mantra to keep her focus on the present and not let her mind wander.
"SHEPARD!" Now she was in trouble! Only one more infraction and she was out! All of those sleepless hours wasted! "DIXON" Why was Dixon's name spoken?! SLAP!
"Owww! That shit hurt!" she said under her breath. Then she looked to the side and saw Dixon's back. He was retreating quickly to his spot under the platform.
"Dixon! You do that again, and not only will you be out of this program, you will be thrown bodily out of my Marine Corps! Do you understand me Sergeant?!"
"Sir! Yes, sir!"
"Shepard, you better recognize that you were given a major gift!" He turned and addressed the rest of the company. "If anyone thinks they can assist their fellow teammates in such a way I will make your life a living hell! Am I crystal clear?!"
"Sir! Yes, sir!"
Elissa focused on the stinging pain that lingered in her cheek. The DI was right, she had received a major boost in focus because of what Dixon had done. She may have to take that Marine to dinner one night, assuming she survived this ordeal. She stomped on her foot and bit her cheek simultaneously and got another jolt of the life defining pain. She would not hear her name again that night.
The next morning N company was given only 5 minutes to eat and they were running again. This time it seemed to Elissa that the running would never stop. In half the time it normally took them, they were at the first beach. The DIs immediately had them drop and pound out 100 push-ups and sit-ups. After the workout was done The company was put back on their feet and headed back to the beach they had come from. Back to the murderous platform that awaited for them there.
The shuttle was waiting when they got there and their supper had already been laid out on the sand. Elissa began to feel that the DIs were not happy with them. She ate quickly and began using the little extra time to prepare her body for another night of acting like a human load-bearing pillar. She watched as Dixon did the same. They watched as their fellow teammates milled around the platform as they ate dinner. None of them looked especially interested in taking up their place under the torture device that sat uncaring on the sand.
"All right! You know what time it is. Get to your places, you have 2 minutes to get that platform in the air before we start calling names!"
"Shit! This is new!" She and Dixon rushed over to their places and were in place just as they heard "TIME!"
"That was quick moving! You know DI Joshua we haven't had one person drop or be booted out of my beloved N program. What do you think about that?"
"I think it sucks, Chief! I think we've been way too soft on these candy ass recruits, sir!"
"You know I'm inclined to agree. Let's see what we can do about that!"
"Yes, sir!"
"I think we need to start with our resident princess. Shepard! Get your ass over here, now!"
Elissa looked up and let go of the platform when her number turned red. She ran over to the three DIs and stood in front of them. "Shepard! Get your ass down and give me 100 push-ups!"
"Sir. Yes, sir!" She dropped and began pushing the sand as she counted. In record time she had completed 100 push-up but her arms already tired from holding up the platform was protesting mightily.
"That was pitiful, Princess! Now get down there and give me 100 more. This time make it snappy! I ain't got all night!"
"Sir! Yes, sir!" She dropped again and pushed herself to complete 100 more. Her arms felt like wet spaghetti by the time she was done. But she hit 100 and dropped.
"Shepard, did I tell you to take a nap?!"
"Sir! No, sir!"
"Get your ass back to your position, now!" Elissa jumped to her feet. Her reserves of strength nearly gone. She half staggered, half ran back to her position and grabbed the platform once more.
"Well, the princess was no fun at all! Let's try our resident supermodel, shall we? Ramirez front and center now!"
"Sir. Yes, sir"
"Drop and give me 100. Let's see if you are as much of a princess as Shepard over there."
"No problem sir!" Ramirez dropped and within half the time of Elissa's set had pounded out all 100.
"Well now. That was pretty impressive, but, you know what, give me 100 more."
"Sir. Yes, sir!" Ramirez pushed out another 100, though Elissa could tell he was tiring fast.
"100 more, Ramirez!" The DI watched Elissa's reaction as he ordered her fellow crewman to give him another set of back breaking push-ups.
"100 more!" Ramirez eyes glazed over as he struggled to do as ordered. The soldier's exhaustion was apparent to all now. He completed all but three.
"That was 97 Ramirez. Can't you even count? How the hell did you get in the Army in the first place?"
"Sir… Sorry, sir…" He pushed himself off the sand and shakily completed his last three.
"That's better! Now get your ass back into position! Now!" Ramirez drug himself back to his position under the platform and pressed upward, with barely enough strength to activate the pressure plate.
"Who's next? Let's try Shepard's knight in shining armor. Dixon get your ass over here! Now!" Dixon looked at Elissa for a moment then complied as ordered. To say he was put through the ringer would be putting his ordeal mildly. After over 462 push-ups he could give no more. He struggled to breathe and answer the DIs orders, but he simply couldn't push himself back up off the ground.
Elissa had seen enough. N7 be damned, there was no way she was letting this go. They were trying to kill him simply because he was her friend. Elissa let go of the pressure plate and stormed over to where Dixon was still lying on the ground. "Stop, this shit. Right now!"
"What did you say, Ensign?"
"You heard me! I said stop! Let him get back in line!"
"You realize you're giving up everything you worked for? Is that what you want? To go home a failure because of one marine who couldn't do a few push-ups!" The DI was now in Elissa's face, but she was not going to back down now.
"I don't give a shit what happens to me, but this man is getting up and going back to his position! Right now!" She stared the DI in the eyes for what felt like an eternity… and won.
"Get up and get back in line, Dixon. Shepard follow me! Greene, Joshua make sure the rest of these idiots stay where their supposed to! I think Shepard and I need a little one-on one time!"
Elissa and the Chief walked for several minutes over the dunes and out of sight of the rest of the company. "Damn, girl! You're scary when you're angry! Now what the hell was that about?"
"I got tired of watching you shit on my company! That's what!" she said, her green eyes crackling with anger.
"Calm down! I can see you're pissed. Good. That anger you got inside you is gonna be the only thing keeping you alive one day, so don't you ever forget what tonight felt like, understood? Now, if you're quite finished we have a hell week to complete! Let's get back to it."
"Sir! Yes, sir!" The two walked back to the company and Elissa stepped back into her position, but not before nodding to Dixon who was in his position with his arms raised once more. She got in position and watched as the DIs spoke amongst themselves. The other two DIs nodding in agreement when the Chief motioned to her. She cringed internally. She didn't know what was going to happen now, but she was still in as far as she could tell.
The rest of the night went without incident and the next morning N company was given a reprieve from the platform as the Mako and three shuttles appeared. It looked like their rides were back at last.
"All right, ladies! Time to go! Once those shuttles touch down I want 10 each. Just like you did when you left the base. Understood?!"
"SIR! YES, SIR!" came the unanimous reply.
Elissa found herself once more in the window seat, and looking out of the window when she heard a familiar voice. "Well hello there, Ensign Shepard. I have to say, normally the Navy frowns on sailors customizing their uniforms, but the pink and the princesses really work for you."
"Just shut up and drive, Joker," said Elissa and she smiled at the pilot's comments on her attire. She watched as the shuttles sped back to base. 'If I can live through that, I can live through anything.' Little did she know that life for her was going to get a lot more complicated, and a lot more interesting.
The base was bustling with activity as N company filed into two lines and waited on the tarmac. The LC walked up and grabbed the first person he saw, which just so happened to be Elissa. "OK, recruits! Time for chow. You have two hours to eat, shower, and get some fresh uniforms, before you're to report to the infirmary. Do not make me go looking for you! Is that clear?!"
"SIR. YES, SIR!" came the unanimous reply.
"Shepard you're in charge, make sure these boneheads make it to the infirmary on time, or it's your ass. Is that, understood?"
"Sir. Yes, sir." Elissa fired off a quick salute and turned to the men. "You heard the LC. Let's get some clothes, some showers, and some food. Let's go people, double time."
"MA'AM. YES, MA'AM!" came the unanimous reply.
The company found their barracks, grabbed their rucksacks and got themselves arranged very quickly. As promised, a separate shower stall was available for Elissa to bathe in. She showered and dressed privately and did her best not to notice that several of the men decided to dress in the barracks instead of the bathing rooms. Stupid, stupid men!
The march to the mess hall was filled with the sounds of "Doo Wah Ditty" as Elissa led them to the food. As they company ate, each of the men talked and laughed and carried on, though not loud enough to bring down the ire of the officers that were also dining in the same area. Elissa enjoyed her time in the center of the company, everyone was laughing and joking with the auburn haired 'navy brat.'
Dixon nodded at her to follow him. "I never got the opportunity to say thanks. Not many would stick their necks out for a dumb, stubborn jarhead like you did. I really appreciate it. I just want you to know any time you need it I've got your back. Any. Time."
"Thanks, Dixon," said Elissa with a small smile. "Now let's get these rejects to the infirmary before we're all kicked out and everything I accomplished up to this point all goes to pot."
"Ma'am. Yes, ma'am." He saluted her and the two walked back to the rest of the company. Before long the company was standing in front the infirmary, a full 15 minutes ahead of schedule. The LC stepped out of the building.
"N company reporting for duty." Elissa gave the Commander a crisp salute, then returned to stand by her company.
"Thank you, Ensign. Now follow me."
The company followed the LC up five flights of stairs and found themselves in what appeared to be the surgical wing of the infirmary. On either side of the long corridor that expanded out in front of the company, were operating rooms. Each filled to the brim with high-tech gadgets of all sizes. "What you're about to experience is one of the most tightly guarded secrets in the Alliance military," said the LC. "You candidates have shown us that each of you have both the strength and fortitude to make it out of these rooms… alive. If you think you are at the peak of your body's development, think again. You have only skimmed the surface of your potential. Most of you will enter the rooms on your left. Shepard you will be in the room on the right at the end of hall. The doctors are waiting to begin the next step in your in your evolution."
Elissa walked down the hallway and entered through the last door. A Caucasian woman with dark hair and hazel eyes wearing a white lab coat was waiting for her. The doctor looked only a handful of years older than Elissa herself.
"Hello, Ensign Shepard. It's so nice to meet you," said the woman pleasantly. "My name is Doctor Marisa Traynor. When I first heard there was to be a woman among this year's pool of N candidates, I had fervently hoped that you would make it through the initial qualifier. Please accept my congratulations on your achievement thus far. After we've completed the procedure, you will be able to endure much more than you ever thought possible. Now please get undressed behind that screen, and put on this gown." She indicated a folded garment lying on what looked to be a state-of-the-art surgical table.
"Am I getting surgery, doc?" asked Elissa as she looked at the garment.
"Among other things," replied Dr. Traynor. "I suggest you get comfortable because you and I are going to get to know each other quite well. And be careful with the 'doc' when the brass is around. I care little for rank, but there are many here who do. Understood?"
"Yes, ma'am," said Elissa, unable to hide a smirk that had formed on her lips.
"Good. Now I'm going to step out and give you some privacy. Just knock twice on the door when you're ready."
Elissa nodded and stepped behind the privacy screen. She undressed quickly and stepped back out to grab the surgical gown she had left on the table. She slipped on the gown, tied it around her waist and rapped her knuckles twice on the door. The doctor reentered the room and motioned for Elissa to lie down on the table. She typed some unseen commands into her omni-tool, and a moment later several nurses and another female doctor entered the room.
"Shepard, this Dr. Vashira. She's an anesthesiologist," explained Dr. Traynor, indicating the woman to her left. "She's going to administer a sedative, as the initial procedure is extremely painful. It will also require you to stay in this room for the next eight weeks."
"Eight weeks! What are you doing to me?" Elissa was alarmed at the prospect of being under the knife for such a long time.
"It would be better if you didn't know all the details, trust me," replied Dr. Traynor grimly. "Just relax and everything will be fine." The doctor patted Elissa's shoulder and waited as the rest of the team as they worked to get all of the equipment ready.
"OK. Here's goes nothin', right?" The doctor nodded at her associate who placed a breathing mask over Elissa's nose and mouth before answering her patient's question.
"No, Ensign. Here goes everything." A few moments later Elissa heard nothing more.