Freshman
Part 1
Note: I have been watching some military academy movies lately, so I'm intrigued to write one. The protagonist of this 5-part ficlet is Rocher, one of the supporting characters in IK4. I have been using him (or planning to use him) quite a lot lately, so this may serve as a background story for the brash lewd loudmouth.
This 5-part story is inspired by Police Academy, The Lords of Discipline, Starship Troopers, Top Gun, Bands of Brothers, and of course, Full Metal Jacket.
The Warrior's Hall,
Saso, New Syrtis,
Capellan March, Federated Suns,
August 27, 3075
New Syrtis was - in essence - a desert, an ice desert. The perpetual subzero temperature infused the planet with an impenetrable layer of ice atop the planet's crust. Water was abundant, but not in the form of immediate use. New Syrtis citizens spent millions and millions of c-bills turning ice into water, a thing that worked out the other way around in the majority of worlds in the Inner Sphere. Funny how humans still thought New Syrtis was worth living in.
That was the thought that spun inside Cadet Rocher's mind as he stood in bitter cold on the front yard of the Warrior's Hall. Why does it have to be in New Syrtis? It was a silly question considering New Syrtis was the capital of Capellan March of Federated Suns, and as its namesake it was one of FedSun's fronts with the Liaos, the Hasek's arc nemesis. The Warrior's Hall was the primary military academy in Capellan March, and one of Fed Sun's bests. There was no other befitting place for The Warrior's Hall other than the cold New Syrtis. But when one had to stand partially naked in the bitter cold, that question eventually surfaced.
"My name is Captain Gray," a man in an adequately warm uniform addressed the new recruits. "Welcome to The Warrior's Hall. Obviously you have proven yourself to enroll in this long history of perfection. You got the brain. Well, don't get comfortable yet. Brain is only a third of what you need to graduate from The Warrior's Hall. You gotta have the muscle and the heart. If you don't think you have all three, leave this place now before you hurt yourself."
Captain Gray was a war hero, or so Rocher heard. When Lyran's forces invaded New Syrtis and bludgeoned the Capellan March Militia in '66, Captain Gray - then a leftenant - was left for dead in the snow. Somehow he found a way to survive, raised a guerilla war, and became a critical element in beating back the Lyrans out of New Syrtis. There were a lot of rumors as to why he chose The Warrior's Hall instead of a military career in the AFFS, but that was another story.
"Personally I would love to beat you up myself on your first day, but as a tradition of The Warrior's Hall, I'll leave the beating to the seniors," Captain Gray said with a small smile. "They had shown their hard work and dedication, and they deserved a little reward." The captain turned his back and walked toward a group of men wearing eager eyes and sadistic snares on their faces. "Hell Night officially starts. Have at them, boys!"
Rocher had been wondering why they were two groups of cadets at the front yard. It turned out the other group was not a group of cadets. They were the "drill instructors", Captain Gray's agents of no mercy. A drill instructor was a cadet's worst nightmare. A band of irresponsible senior-class drill instructors was hell. No wonder it was called Hell Night.
Before anybody realized what was happening, the seniors jumped right at the cadets and abused them, screaming and pushing around like mad drunkards. Some cadets that expected Captain Gray to do the grilling flat out rejected the seniors, but it was a fatal mistake. The seniors descended upon them with vengeance. It was better to be humiliated the first time around.
Three burly seniors launched themselves at Rocher and tackled him. It was not a playful tackle. It was intended to hurt him. And hurt he was. His back crashed onto the icy ground so hard he thought he broke his spine. The seniors pinned him to the ground, and Rocher felt his lungs collapsing under the weight of three muscular men. At only 140 lbs, there was nothing he could do against three 180-pounders.
"You're nothing!" they screamed in front of his face. "You're just a maggot! You'll bring shame to the Hall and to the Militia! Go home! This place is not for you!"
But Rocher couldn't go home. He would disgrace his father if he did. As a staunch Davion mechwarrior, his father took part in the ill-fated Sovereign Justice, and was killed when the Capellan launched Operation Thunderstrike. That was the reason Rocher enrolled in The Warrior's Hall. The famously anti-Capellan academy was his only choice to avenge his father's death. He wouldn't go home. As horrible as it could be, the seniors were not his enemies. The Capellans were.
"Push up! Push up, you insect!" the seniors released him and coerced him into a push up position. As Rocher went down, the burliest senior put his boot on his shoulder, while the other two nicked him with their boots while screaming insults. Rocher's arms trembled sustaining the extra load from the senior. His fingers shook from the extreme cold. His ego was destroyed. It was only five minutes into the academy and he already thought it was the biggest mistake he'd ever done.
But he wouldn't back down. His hatred toward the Capellans far exceeded the fear, shame, vulnerability, and death these seniors brought unto him. He pushed up and down, one after another, while filling his mind with the recollection of conversation he had with the recruiting officer not a week ago.
"I want to kill Capellans, Sir!"
"We all hate those bastards, Son, but that attitude of yours will get you nowhere."
"I want to kill Capellans, Sir!"
"If I were you I'd go home and kill the Capellans on the video games. War is not a game."
"I want to kill Capellans, Sir!"
"Aren't you listening to me?"
"I hear you loud and clear, Sir. It's you who're not listening to me. I want to kill Capellans!"
The seniors did everything they could to make him quit, but he stayed on his course, taking everything they threw at him with good grace. Like Captain Gray said, somebody had to have the brain, the muscle, and the heart to succeed at The Warrior's Hall. Rocher got the brain, might not the muscle yet, but he did have the heart. No seniors could make him leave.