Boot Camp

2172 – Sol System/Saturn-Titan/Macapa Station

After that horrible incident in the ventilation shaft, Bayles death was ruled an unfortunate accident resulting from teenage recklessness. Anke and I both backed one another with the story that she got lost with him, and he was so drunk that he tried pissing into the fan, staggered into it, and killed himself. It was fortunate for us, that the massacre on Mindoir was consuming a lot of the Einstein's resources, or they may have been willing to probe more deeply into the circumstances. My actions were the very reason people feared biotics, after all.

That attack on Mindoir changed a lot of things. First of all, I lost my virginity in two ways: I experienced the amazing side of sex, but I also saw the most horrible atrocities that humans can use against one another with it. Secondly, it was the first time I had taken someone's life and not even in self-defense, and I acted as judge, jury, and executioner. Maybe I should have turned him into the military police…but I am the one who makes the tough decisions, and I live with the consequences—for better or worse, and that was just the first instance of many. Admittedly, afterward I did consider the possibilities, or alternatives that could have allowed for different outcomes. The reality though, is that Anke got retribution, and Bayles would never be able to hurt anyone like that again. I guess it would be fair to conclude, that this event forever impacted the way I view justice, and my role in it.

She and I became much closer afterward, and I even showed her a few of my biotic tricks. She swore to never tell anyone about my biotics, and she actually encouraged me to look into Alliance recruitment incentives for biotics. New programs, and positive propaganda was released about biotics regularly back then, and it slowly dispelled the prejudices about us. Zephyra's research must have had a profound impact on the way the Alliance approached biotics—at least that's what I assumed, since the timing was right.

Lieutenant Winston and I still fooled around from time to time, but she was not interested in anything more than that, and I guess neither was I. At the time it was difficult to distinguish my lustful infatuation with what I thought was love…she taught me well, I'll give her that.

The combatives club fared better without Bayles, though Lieutenant Winston felt somewhat responsible for letting him out of her sight, and there was a lot of guilt among some of the others for not looking after Bayles—but they didn't know the truth, nor would they ever find out.

When graduation finally rolled around in December 2171, my mother had already arranged to take me on a vacation before my 18th birthday that upcoming April. To do that, she would take some leave time for herself, knowing that I had intended to enlist as soon as I could, and that meant we may not see one another again for a very long time.

She bought us a 30-day galactic tour ticket aboard a civilian ship, which was similar to a colonial resort, but with better attractions, and more things to do aboard than almost any colony had to offer. It was nice seeing my mother relax and let her hair down—she looked like she hadn't really relaxed in 20 years, to be honest.

She took me to the casinos, even drank with me since the age of consumption meant very little in intergalactic territories. "Eris, I am so proud of the woman you've become, and I know you're going to make an amazing Marine." She hesitated for a moment, "Though, sometimes I wonder if it was selfish of me, staying with the Alliance all these years, never having a permanent home for you, always on a space ship or some remote colony, surrounded by danger… Tell me, do you feel like you missed out on anything from your childhood, that I should have provided you?" My mother asked, sitting adjacent to me in a lounge as she sipped her cognac.

"Don't worry, I had a good childhood. It has been the kind of amazing life that you only read about in books, or see in vids." I told her with utmost sincerity. Things weren't perfect, but she did her best and it was a lot of fun most of the time.

She nodded with a thoughtful smile, "So, when we get back, I've gathered you're going to meet with a recruiter. I suppose my dragging you around all these years, has given you a taste for the adventure of space. Have you given it any thought about what you want to specialize in?"

"Well, since they're giving out all of those bonuses for biotics, why not take advantage of it. They'll figure out I'm a biotic anyway, and push me in that direction, 'needs of the service' and all. I may as well get compensated for it." I replied, knowing that she had probably already been looking into it for me.

"Eris, that makes perfect sense, and I am relieved to hear that you have been doing your own digging." She said, taking another sip of her cognac. "It seems that we made the right call in getting you trained with Zephyra, and she stayed true to her word. The Alliance has made great strides with the research at the BAaT, combined with the asari's reports." She boasted, finding pride in protecting me from the Alliance, and the fact it was her daughter who provided Zephyra with information that changed humanity's approach to biotics.

"As it turns out, a Marine that I served with some time ago, is now a higher up in the recruiting command, and I took the liberty of making a few inquiries on your behalf. He is looking forward to hearing from you" She informed, showing that she was still thorough to a fault in preparation as she ever was.

The rest of our vacation was nice, if not bittersweet. We took small trips at least once a year, going to see the sights and sounds from all corners of Alliance space. There wasn't much I hadn't seen in terms of developed settlements, but there was a lot of space left to explore, conquer, and defend.

That was the last time we got to do that sort of thing, and I think that she suspected it would be—there is a reason the Alliance Navy allows its personnel to bring dependents aboard certain ships, after all.

When we arrived back at the Einstein, I began packing up my belongings. The Alliance gives 180 days from graduation for dependents to make arrangements for their transition into adulthood, but it is required that they must relocate whether solid plans are in place or not. Anke came by to help me and we shared stories about our post-graduation activities, the reality that we would begin the next chapter of our lives was closing in. She was sitting on my bed looking at a souvenir that I had picked up from our trip to Illium, it was a glittery-blue 'EEZO charged' stone from the asari homeworld—or at least that is what it was advertised as.

Tumbling it between her fingers, she looked to me, "So, were you still interested in doing the buddy program?" she asked.

I looked at her with a raised eyebrow and a smile forming on my face, "Are you serious?! I thought you were going to college?" I asked with surprise, having never forgotten about that little exchange we had when we first came to the Einstein.

"I am serious. Seeing you getting ready to go take on the galaxy is inspiring me jump in and do the same. I have thought it over in the last year, and there is really no reason not to. It's like you said, being raised by the Navy means we'll probably be really good at it." She admitted, still tumbling the stone between her fingers.

Setting a box of trophies and photos down on the floor, "I'm supposed to talk to a recruiter over vidcom on Monday. You can sit in on it with me, if you want." I offered.

"I would like that. Thank you, Shepard." Anke said, setting the stone down on my empty desk.

"No problem, Reznikov." I snickered at addressing her by her last name, for the first time ever.

As expected, our meeting with the recruiter went smoothly, he indicated that it would take him a few weeks to get the paperwork together, which would be around my birthday anyway, and it wasn't even a problem for Anke since she had already turned 18 in November. Anke chose the engineer class in order to qualify for pilot school, and of course I went with biotics. Regrettably, even though we were going in under the buddy program, we would be doing our training separately. The Alliance conducts its training programs in different systems, and aboard different stations, depending on your class, so we wouldn't be able to serve together until our first duty station. Her training would last for 24 months, assuming she is selected for pilot school, and mine for 36 months.

When it was time to sign our six-year contracts, the recruiter arrived personally to the SSV Einstein. My mother and Anke's parents made a big deal about it, and their commanding officers were there to give us an oath-affirming ceremony—but it was more of an excuse for them to mingle, and pat us on the back for following in their footsteps. Some of them expressed surprise that I had been a biotic all this time, and right under their noses, but they were impressed that I kept it under such control and it gave them hope for the future of human biotics. I let them know that I was trained by one of the galaxy's best biotics, but didn't drop Zephyra's name, never knowing if there could be blow back from her investment in me, or whether it would arouse suspicion that my biotics were cultivated by an alien.

For training, we would both be returning to the Sol System, I was headed to the Macapa Station nearby Saturn's moon, Titan, and Reznikov went to Camp Voyager on Ceres. The day we shipped out was full of emotions, but mostly excitement, I had no idea what to be prepared for with the new biotics school, unlike other schools, for which there was ample recruitment literature.

I left most of my non-essential personal effects with my mother, including my ant farm, since it would likely not be allowed in a training environment. Then we departed the Einstein aboard a transport vessel, and when we reached the Charon Station, Anke gave me a hug and we wished each other good luck, then we parted ways toward our respective destinations.

There were 6 other recruits aboard the flight to the Macapa. The trip took about 7 hours, and on the approach to the icy station, I felt my stomach tighten. I was imagining war-hardened drill instructors, that would slam me with their biotics for not performing properly, nervously failing to remember that my training with the Asari Commando, which had prepared me for more than anything the Alliance could throw at me.

Upon pulling into the dock, a Gunnery Chief wearing a brown-round boarded and ordered us off the shuttle, and to fall-in behind a yellow line. "Aye-aye sir" we shouted in unison, as we grabbed our bags and scrambled off the shuttle to stand at attention, to wait for further instructions. From there, the Drill Instructor berated and mind fucked us in double time to the uniform depot, where we shed our former identities, and were born again, Recruits in Alliance utility blues. Upon arrival at our training barracks, four other Drill Instructors were awaiting us, and gave a thorough Naval Marine Corps orientation, complete with shouting, running, push-ups, and psychologically-breaking activities that intimately acquainted us with the hell that we signed up for.

My class of biotics was a tight-knit one, since we spent every waking minute together, it was only natural. I shared a bunk, and occasionally a shower stall, or a maintenance closet, with Micha Pulaski. She was from a colony called Demeter, just beyond the Kuiper Belt in Sol System. Her biotics weren't as refined as mine, but she was very well-developed in other areas where it mattered.

There were seventeen other women and twelve men in our class, most of them were from a colony somewhere, there was only one other spacer besides me, some admiral's daughter who dropped her daddy's name when she thought it would get her special favor—she had a case of entitlement that was sickening to watch.

Biotic Boot Camp was designed completely differently from the rest, simply due to the fact, that we could use our biotics to assist in some of the most difficult tasks, including jumping to extraordinary heights, lifting very heavy objects, running at insane speeds, which made standard military training tasks relatively unchallenging. The Alliance was well aware of this, so they incorporated it into our training. Essentially we were partly trained as engineers and soldiers early on, and later in our training we would choose a specialization, either Adept, Vanguard, or Sentinel.

The first nine weeks of Boot Camp was spent learning basic military standards and procedure, such as proper dress, military customs, rank structure by knowing our place at the bottom of it, using standard-issue weaponry, conducting field-medic triage, and learning to withstand physical and psychological torment but still perform our war-fighting duties with surgical precision. It was brutal, but that's what makes Marines. The next six months consisted of standard engineering, such as hacking, using medi-gels, omni-tool programs, etc. in addition to learning standard controls of Alliance vehicles, including the M35 Mako.

Biotics was split into two phases, basic and advanced. When it was time to begin basic biotics training, we were transferred to the lower deck which was the medical bay. We had no idea what awaited us, some were speculating that they were about to divide us up into ability levels, based on biometric scans of our biotics. While that was partially accurate, in terms of biotic ability, it was very far from what was actually about to happen.

"Listen up recruits, the L3 biotic implant is a state-of-the art military-grade amplification portal that will enhance your biotic abilities exponentially. Now, some of you may have heard about the L2, rest assured we have made significant upgrades on the L3, and the risks associated with implant are practically non-existent. We have perfected the design, and have developed the ability to personalize the implant with your unique biomarkers." The medical officer informed, standing in front of a screen that revealed what awaited us.

My class began to grumble amongst each other. "Do they really expect us to get our bodies modded with those implants?!" Recruit Lewis whispered to me with disbelief. I just shrugged in response, not having any real knowledge about what made these biotic amplifiers so dangerous. With that, our Commanding Drill Instructor emerged and ordered us all to shut up and pay attention, or we would be pounding the ground with our faces for the next six hours.

The medical officer continued, "As of right now, most of your biotic abilities are not strong enough to be used as a weapons against even the weakest of enemy combatants, and in order to remain competitive against the older, more biotically astute races, it is imperative that we produce the strongest biotics that we can."

And so, we spent the next four months getting fitted with and adjusting to our fancy new biotic implants. Some tried to refuse, but were quickly reminded that they had signed a contract and accepted a substantial bonus for agreeing to serve in the Alliance as a biotic, which in turn meant agreeing to biotic upgrades. It was underhanded, but the Alliance has a reputation for such tactics.

During our integration process, we learned that they had been monitoring our biometrics since we arrived, and was a part of the medical screening and omni-tool upgrades we received on arrival. From that data, they had been preparing our individual L3 implants.

It was a relatively simple surgery, and the recovery was only a few hours, though getting readjusted to my biotics would take some time. With the implant sitting at the base of my skull, I was able to cover it discretely with my bun of hair. It didn't hurt per se, but it was an odd sensation, the micro-mass-effect-bursts through my biotics seemed to be enhanced at a constant rate. It was like wearing a costume—it didn't feel like a natural expression of my homeostasis, as I had grown accustomed to. In fact, I sensed the undercurrent of my biotics multiplied to probably 100 times their normal flair. Additionally, I discovered that my mind power had grown tremendously, as a side-effect I could focus more clearly, and accurately than ever before. I remember thinking, 'If only Zephyra had been able to give me a biotic implant all those years ago, when she was teaching me to meditate… What trouble that would have saved her.'

From there, our class was assigned to the advanced biotics section of the station, which came with more freedom from the Drill Instructors, but was still very much an initial training environment. I was pleased to see so many biotics, there had to be around 250 of us aboard this station. I found out later, that some of the advanced recruits, and most of the instructors came from the biotic acclimation and training (BAaT) facility, and were L1 and L2 bearers who didn't have much choice afterward but to join the Alliance with their unstable-yet-powerful implants. I couldn't help but feel empathy for the L2's, it was a tragic thing to have to endure, and when I saw the crippling headaches some of them were prone to, I was ever-thankful to my mother for protecting me from that fate.

In biotic training I had to sort of relearn many of the asari biotic techniques that I had previously been taught, in order to adjust my skills to the Alliance standards. In my opinion, after being trained on both, the asari tactics are far superior in terms of regulating the energy fields and manipulating their accuracy through full-body expressions, but for the sake of training and Alliance regulations, I did what they asked. Over the next year I learned their technique for throws, lifts, biotic explosions, novas, slams, warps, singularities, and most importantly, impossible-to-penetrate barriers.

Since I had an understanding of biotics that my classmates did not, I was often selected to act as a squad leader on practical exercises, which garnered some attention from the higher ups and awarded me a distinguished service ribbon.

Since our training was so prolonged, biotics being so few-and-far between with our duties aboard ships setting us apart from the rest, we all graduated with NCO ranks. For my unmatched biotic aptitude in my cohort, I was selected for advanced promotion, and received my Gunnery Chief rank at graduation.

There isn't much else to say about Boot Camp, it was just standard Marine training, the only remarkable thing about it is that I got my implant, and I was officially inducted into the Alliance, so it literally marked the beginning of my 'distinguished career'.