Link and Zelda had been training at the castle guard for nearly two months. They had gotten used to Menendez's training missions, acknowledging that there is always a twist to them; they've made friends with many of the other recruits as well. It all seemed to finally settle down now. However, they were about to realize just how wrong they were. One day, Menendez had gathered all the recruits at the great hall. They hadn't been in the great hall since the first day they arrived. Menendez was waiting for them on the balcony.
"Good morning, recruits. I trust you all slept well." Menendez announced. "Well, you are going to have a busy few months. This next mission will test everything you know about survival. You will be dropped on an uninhabited island, where you will have to survive for thirty days, at the end of which, we will send a drop ship into the area to collect you. Your objective this time is to report directly to me at the end of the thirty days. The first teams to depart are, Judy and Tonya, Wes and Todd, Abby and Lydia, James and Samuelson, Link and Zelda. All will wait in the drop ship bay for further instructions, except for Link and Zelda; they will meet me in my office. Everyone else is dismissed until further notice."
Link and Zelda seemed confused. Why did Officer Menendez want to speak to them privately? Did it have anything to do with the mission? If so, why wasn't he going to talk to the others as well? They were just going to have to find out. They followed Menendez to his office.
"Please, have a seat." he told them when they arrived. They did so, and Menendez took his place at his desk.
"So, what's this about?" Zelda asked.
"Well, we seem to have a problem." Menendez answered. "This mission that I have just assigned includes something that I don't feel comfortable making you do."
"What do you mean by that?" Link asked.
"I told you that you would be dropped onto an uninhabited island, did I not?"
They nodded.
"Well, to be more specific, you will be dropped in the island with only a survival knife, and nothing else."
"What's wrong with that?" Zelda asked.
"What's wrong is that when we say you will have nothing else, we mean you will have nothing else."
Link and Zelda both turned a brilliant shade of bright red at the mention of this.
"Yes exactly." Menendez said turning a little flushed himself, "You will be dropped into the island without any clothing. The idea is to teach you to use only the raw materials around you, and there have been too many people who have cheated by using their clothes for various tasks in the past. I've tried to make you an exception to this rule, but my superiors will hear none of it. They seem to believe that I favor you over the other recruits. I've even tried to get them to pardon this mission altogether, but of course they especially turn a deaf ear to that. They claim that this mission is too vital to your training. This coming from a man who failed that mission miserably and claimed that the whole thing was a load of-"
"Sir!" Link interrupted, "You're getting carried away."
"Thanks, Link." Menendez said calming down, "Well, they may force you to do the mission, but I still have a few tricks up my sleeve. I've personally designed a suit that should meet the requirements, and still allow the two of you to be decent around each other. It still has a few major problems with it, so I'll leave the ultimate decision to you whether or not you wish to use them. I'll let you talk about it on the ship."
"Officer Menendez?" Zelda asked, "Why do you even have a mission like this if problems like these are going to happen?"
Menendez got quiet at first, but eventually he answered her.
"Honestly, when we came up with the mission, it wasn't a problem then. Originally, recruits would be on the island alone."
"But why wouldn't their partners be there?" she asked.
"Back then," he told them, "they didn't have partners. Recruits, originally, did their training solo. It was only now that we included pairs into the training session. And that was out of necessity more than anything. We needed to double our recruits this time around"
"But why is that?" Link asked.
"Now is not the time for that." Menendez said, "We need to get to the drop ships."
"Now is as good a time as any, sir." Zelda said, "You might as well tell us."
Menendez became quiet again as if deciding whether or not to tell them. Eventually, he said, "Very well. If you really want to know, I might as well be the one to tell you. Are you familiar with the outbreak in the west?"
They nodded. Officer Menendez continued, "The mercenaries there had killed over 500 of our men there. I had survived only by trying to stay out of battle until they scattered. Nobody really trusted me the same after that."
"But I thought you got promoted after it." Zelda added.
"Again, that was out of necessity. Five-hundred men is a lot of brave soldiers lost. Do you think high-ranking men were spared by the mercenaries? No, they were killed like everyone else. So naturally, there were positions that needed to be filled. They had no choice but to promote me after that."
"And what happened to the mercenaries after they scattered?" Link asked.
"Nobody really knows for sure. Some say they disbanded. Bull crap if you ask me. I think they're still out there, waiting to attack again, waiting for their revenge."
Silence fell between them. Menendez got a far-away look in his eyes.
"Well then," he finally said, "shall we get going then?"
Link and Zelda followed Officer Menendez to the hangar. The other teams were already loaded into their drop ships and ready for takeoff. Menendez led them into the drop ship at the far end. When they were on the ship, there was a woman waiting for them.
"Link, Zelda," Menendez began, "This is Second Lieutenant Maria Ross. Lieutenant, this is Link and Zelda. These are the recruits that will be dropped into the island. Now, I've got to talk with the captain. Lieutenant Ross, please show these two to their changing rooms."
Menendez headed towards the front of the ship. After he was gone, Lieutenant Ross led them further into the ship. She took them to a pair of conjoining rooms, linked by a door-shaped gap in the wall, each one empty except for one bench against the wall dividing them.
"You will wait here for your drop." explained Lieutenant Ross, "We ask that you please undress and leave your clothes outside your door. The suit that Officer Menendez mentioned is hanging on the far wall there. We will be arriving at the island in a half an hour. You have until then to make your decision."
Link and Zelda entered their respective rooms and did as they were told. Link examined the suit that Menendez had wanted them to wear. It appeared to be made out of orange-colored spun steel or some other indestructible substance. It had heavy padlocks on the sleeves, legs and collar. He didn't have to be a genius to figure out it probably weighed a ton.
"And they expect us to wear these things and live?" Link said to Zelda, who was, no doubt examining it for herself in the other room.
"I don't think we'll be able to make it down the hall like this." Came her reply. "Let alone onto the island. If they drop us in the water, we'll drown before we make it there. But if we land directly on the island, we'll splatter on impact."
"But is it really any worse than the alternative?" Link asked.
"That's what I'm trying to decide." she told him.
Link sat down on the lone bench to think this through. After a while, Zelda said, "Well, I don't believe I'm any more afraid of you seeing me than you are of me seeing you."
"Honestly, I can't say I'm not nervous at all." Link admitted.
"No, I didn't mean not at all, but just not enough. I'm as nervous as anyone would be in this situation, but not so much that I can't go through with it."
Link pondered this explanation, and then answered, "Alright, that sounds about right. Besides, we don't really have a choice here if we can't even move in those suits."
"That's what I figured." Zelda said, "So, It's settled? We'll take it on as is?"
"I suppose so." Link said, "At least this way, Menendez won't get in trouble with his superiors for going behind their backs."
"That's another good point." Zelda said, "I don't suppose he really ran this by them, did he?"
"No, I don't think he did. You know how he likes to try to skirt around the rules."
She came around to Link's side of the room. Every inch of her body seemed to be radiating beauty. Link thought she looked even more beautiful now than she did before, though he had to force himself not to think about it. She went and sat beside him and said, "If we're going to do this, we might as well get used to it now rather than later."
"You're right." he answered, "We had better get over this early so we can focus on the mission."
They sat together in awkward silence for the rest of the trip.
Menendez stood at the drop off platform, looking down at the water they were now hovering over. Soon, he became aware that two people had approached him.
"We're ready to go Officer Menendez." Zelda told him.
He turned to face them, and was surprised to see that Link and Zelda had decided against wearing the suits he had designed. They looked him in the eyes, slightly embarrassed, but determined. He was at a loss for words, but it was Link who spoke next.
"It's all right sir." He told him, "Zelda and I have already talked it through, so we know what we're doing."
Menendez's voice found him at last. "So you two are sure about this?"
They both nodded and said together, "Sir, yes sir."
He sighed, "Very well then. We've arrived at the island. Please, jump whenever you are ready." and with that, he stepped back.
Link and Zelda approached the edge. They were hovering about six feet above the water. They could see the island clearly. It had white beaches, a thick wooded area, and for the next thirty days, it would be their home.
"Well, this is it." Link said, "Are you ready?"
"Of course I'm ready." Zelda answered.
Their hands intertwined, they gazed into each other's eyes and smiled. Then they jumped together, hand in hand, into their next adventure.