Back at the SPD academy, the recruits were still introducing themselves to each other. The circle then came round to the female alien Hicks had already earned something of a dislike for. She stood up, carrying herself with a regal poise as she looked over the others.
"My name is Dul'Ilah, and I am the third member of my family to enter SPD." She declared. Switch leaned over to Hicks whispering in his ear.
"Both her father and brother are base commanders. She served under her father her whole career. Guess how she qualified for officer training?" Hicks smirked as he heard this.
"Both my father and brother were recipients of the sword, graduating at the top of their class in their respective academies." She declared proudly. "I intend to be the third member of my clan to do so."
"Thank you Dul'Ilah." Doggie stated as she took a seat. He pointed to the scaled creature in the corner. "I believe you are next."
"I am Kur Tangl of the Tangl clan of Haepheston V." It announced. "I have served SPD on that planet since its foundation. Before that, I was a Skulltaker for fifteen years..."
"His race, the Guillons, were a feral people before SPD showed up." Switch explained to Hicks. "Their version of law enforcement was Skulltakers. The village elders decided if someone was guilty of a crime and sent the Skulltakers to take care of them. They quite literally brought back the criminal's head to prove the job was done and get paid."
"What kind of crimes did they do that with?" Hicks asked him.
"All of them." Switch whispered. "They didn't see any difference between a thief and a murderer."
"That's some justice system." Hicks quipped sarcastically as Kur continued to boast.
"I have over 800 arrests as an SPD agent and over 7000 skulls to my name as a Skulltaker." He concluded. Everyone just stared blankly at Kur.
"Well…yes, thank you for that." Doggie finally said to break the moment. "Moving on, who do we have next?"
Next, a woman stood up. She had long blonde hair tied back into a ponytail, and stood a little over five feet in height. She spoke with a slightly soft, meek voice.
"I'm Trinity, I was sent here by SPD Triforia." She told them. "My father, Trey of Triforia has served the galaxy before as the Gold Ranger."
"What would you say was your greatest accomplishment?" Cruger asked her as she stood, staring around the room nervously. Unlike the others, who sounded like they could talk about themselves all day, it was clear that she needed to have things dragged out of her. She looked like she hated being the centre of attention and would much rather just fade into the background.
"It would be the day I stopped robberies at the Triforian treasury, the mint and the art gallery." She stammered out, still unable to look at him. "All at the same time."
She sat back down as Cruger nodded.
"That's impressive." He complimented her.
"How could she stop three robberies at once?" Hicks asked Switch.
"She's Triforian." He replied. "They have three personalities, and can split into three different versions of themselves. It's kind of a useful ability they have"
"I can imagine." Hicks responded, trying to imagine what it would be like to see three copies of the same person. The next one in the circle stood up. He looked vaguely humanoid, but had a large, bulbous cranium lined with purple veins. When he spoke, there was a warble in its voice that made it sound a little like it was gargling.
"I am Celari, I was sent here from SPD Aquitar." He introduced himself. "I have served there for five years."
Switch stood up, taking a small bow as he prepared to introduce himself.
"I'm Khale, and I'm from KO 35." He told them. "I've not been with SPD long, and I suspect my cousin Zhane had me sent here to get me out of his hair for three months."
He noticed no one was laughing at the joke and took a little nervous cough before continuing.
"Everyone calls me Switch; feel free to do the same." He told them.
"What makes you think you're qualified to receive this opportunity ahead of other candidates?" Cruger groaned as he tried to get Switch to concentrate on why he was there and stop him joking around.
"Um...I'm a decent fighter. I've helped SPD bring down a few perps in my time." He told them. "There was this one guy..."
"Thank you Switch, please just sit down." Cruger instructed him.
"Don't you want to hear...?" Switch got the hint as Doggie just growled at him. He quickly sat down and fell silent. Hicks got the feeling that he was testing Cruger's patience. He liked Switch, but it was obvious he didn't take anything too seriously. He stood up last.
"My name is Colonel Damien Hicks, but everyone just calls me Hicks." He told them. "I've been the head of Corinth Military on earth for almost a year, and Mayor Truman recommended me for this training in the hopes of heading up SPD Corinth."
He looked around the room, gauging everyone's reactions. Dul'Ilah looked thoroughly unimpressed; Kur just gave a little snort indicating his lack of interest. Trinity didn't look at him, but then she never looked anyone in the eye anyway, being far too nervous. Switch seemed to be enthralled, while everyone else just seemed to pay attention politely. Everyone else seemed to be a lot more used to the culture and technology within SPD's jurisdiction than he was, so he felt like he was already behind the others.
"I served during the Venjix war, and won many distinctions during that time." He told them. "I'm a hybrid, but since regaining control, I've used my abilities to help rebuild the city."
"Thank you Hicks." Cruger responded as Hicks sat down. He got up and started pacing around the room. "I will oversee your day to day needs, but your instructors will deal with your training."
He looked to them sternly.
"I will be responsible for your welfare and your conduct. If you have any concerns, you come to me. Any disciplinary action I will take care of." He continued. "Make no mistake; just because you are my group, and I will defend you I will not mollycoddle you. If you are found wanting in any respect, I will have no second thoughts about tossing your butts out of here myself."
They all nodded in understanding. It was Cruger's job to make sure they were treated fairly, not to be their friend. He had their best interests in mind, but his first priority was to SPD and to ensure that the best candidates for the jobs were the ones who graduated.
"The instructors will be evaluating your performance throughout all your exercises. There will be trials that you will need to pass at regular intervals. Failing even one will result in you being expelled." He told them. "Finally, as potential officers, we expect your conduct to be beyond reproach. Should you be successful, you will be expected to lead by example. Any misconduct will be dealt with by the instructors. Do not expect any leniency on this, your conduct reflects on me and so if you are disciplined, do not expect me to save you."
He made his way towards the door.
"I'll leave you with three pieces of advice. Number one, work hard and conduct yourself with the utmost professionalism. Do not under any circumstances answer your instructors back or disrespect them. They will think nothing of kicking your butt if you do." He warned them. "Two, learn the location of the infirmary and establish a good relationship with the medics. Trust me; you will take more than a few trips there."
"What's the third?" Switch asked as Doggie was about to leave. He turned back, giving him a slightly evil look.
"If you haven't prayed to whatever deity you believe in for a while, now would be a good time to start." He replied. "Your training will begin early tomorrow. Until then, you are dismissed."
As he left, Dul'Ilah just sighed.
"This is perfect. I'm stuck in the worst possible team!" She complained as she looked around at them all down her nose. Her expression reminded Hicks of the look people used to get back on the farm when they stepped in a cow pat. "If any of you hold me back from earning that sabre..."
"Silence yourself woman!" Kur snapped at him. "Do not deign to question my strength. Many have lost their lives for daring to..."
"Please, we're all here for the same reason!" Trinity reminded them, causing them both to look around at her. She shrunk into the chair under their glare, regretting breaking her silence. Kur held up a massive hand, showing it to be large enough to grab her head.
"You have a very pretty skull Triforian." He told her. "If you interrupt me again, it may just end up joining my collection."
"Yes, because that approach solves everything doesn't it savage?" Dul'Ilah sneered sarcastically. "It was bad enough being handicapped with the monkeys, but to have a dinosaur like you on the team as well? How did you even get here? I thought you and your people would be too busy figuring out that complicated technology known as a wheel."
"Alright, that's quite enough!" Hicks barked, putting himself between them. He looked first to Kur. "You back it down! You heard what Cruger said, they won't hesitate to toss us out if we get into trouble. Do you really want to be expelled because of her?"
"You make sense monkey." He commented, before walking up to Dul'Ilah, standing nose-to-nose with her. "On my planet, I'd already have taken your worthless life for such disrespect."
"I'd like to see you try it lizard." She snorted. Kur just walked past her, slamming a fist into the wall as he went, punching a hole straight through the concrete. Hicks had to try hard not to find the display impressive. Even with his implants he'd have found such a feat difficult.
"As for you, drop the attitude. We're all here for the same reason." He told her. "Next time I might not step in and stop him."
"I do not fear the savage monk..."
"You know the more I hear that word, the more I'm starting to hate it." He interrupted her. "My name is Hicks."
"What do I care what your name is? You will likely be gone within the week." She replied sharply. She looked around as the others left, leaving only Celari, Trinity and Switch behind. "I'm not wasting my time with any of you any further. Just stay out of my way."
She brushed past him, leaving the room. Hicks shook his head.
"I don't normally make judgements, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say I really don't like her." He commented. Switch just shrugged.
"So she's a bitch, no great loss." He responded. "Anyway, who's heading to the bar for some drinks?"
"Don't you still have to unpack?" Hicks reminded him.
"Screw that, I can do it in the morning." He replied, going over to Celari. "What do you say? It'll be a great way to bond with the team."
"I suppose that would make things easier when it comes to group exercises." Celari replied. "I think I will."
"How about you gorgeous?" Switch asked Trinity, putting a hand on her shoulder. She found herself unable to look at him. Kur's threat had obviously rattled her, and it wasn't as though she was the most confident of people to begin with.
"I...I...I..." She started to stammer in a weak voice so quiet it hardly made it out of her mouth. "I'm not sure..."
"Come on, it'll be fun!" He told her. "It's been ages since I partied with a Triforian."
"Maybe for a little while." She finally managed.
"That's more like it!" He roared cheerfully. "How about you Hicks, are you coming?"
He just smiled and shook his head. He was quickly beginning to take a shine to Switch. He was loud, and a little bit spacey, but he was fun with it.
"Alright, I guess it could be fun." He replied. "Let's go."
A short time later, they found themselves in the bar, an area of the base that had been set up for staff and cadets to unwind after a long day. It was unlike anywhere else on the base, the atmosphere was a lot more laid back and informal. Hicks got memories of the canteen from "Star Wars: A New Hope" as he looked around. Creatures of all races were sharing drinks and informal chat as they talked about their day.
Over in the corner, he could see Cruger and Simian talking about something, poring over a few documents as they had a quiet drink. He was tempted to sit close to them to overhear what they were talking about in case they gave something away about tomorrow's training exercises, but he quickly abandoned the idea. He went to the bar with Switch to fetch the first round while Celari and Trinity got them a table.
"So what do you think so far?" Switch asked him.
"It'll take some getting used to." Hicks replied. "I really didn't make a good impression on Birdie. I could swear he hates me."
"Don't worry about it; we've got all week for you to change his mind." Switch told him.
"A week?" Hicks asked him. "What happens in a week?"
"Oh right that was the part of his address you missed." He said apologetically. "There are assessments throughout the training course to cut candidates. The first one is next week."
"Perfect." He grumbled. "Any idea what it is?"
"We won't know until the day." Switch replied with a shrug. "Don't worry about it, you'll be fine!"
As the drinks were served, Hicks helped carry them over to the table. He sat with Celari, while Trinity moved along into the corner, allowing Switch room to sit. He handed her a glass, while Hicks gave Celari his.
"So what's Aquitar like?" Switch asked Celari as he took a sip from his beer bottle. "Is it true the surface is 90% water?"
"Yes, ever since Hydrohog was destroyed, the seas have recovered." He told him.
"I heard you guys can breathe underwater." Switch commented.
"Well we are amphibious creatures." He reminded him.
"So your dad was the Gold Ranger then." Switch stated, turning his attention to Trinity. "I guess that makes him kind of a celebrity."
"K...k...kind of." She stammered, staring into her glass as though she was considering drowning herself in it to get everyone's attention off her. "It's not that big a deal."
"Not a big deal?" He responded loudly. "He took part in the battle against the ultimate alliance of evil! He was one of the ones that saved the universe!"
"Yeah, he did that." She replied.
"And I thought taking part in both battles of Corinth was impressive." Hicks commented, trying to get Switch's attention off Trinity. He could see the poor girl was nervous, and just wanted him to stop asking her questions. Obviously she wasn't used to having people pay attention to her, which was unfortunate because he had already noticed that Switch seemed to have an irrepressible need to talk to everyone.
"Oh yeah, that's right I was meaning to ask you about that." He recalled, turning his attention to Hicks. "What does that mean?"
"I have cybernetic implants in my body that enhance my physical abilities." He responded, taking some beer. "Venjix implanted a number of humans with such technology and intended to use them as infiltrators. The mind control was deactivated, but the rest of the implants still work."
"That is so cool!" Switch complimented him. "Not the whole being controlled by Venjix and trying to destroy the human race thing, but..."
"I understand what you meant." Hicks interrupted him. "I have to admit that it comes in useful sometimes. I never need help with my luggage, and I can't even remember the last time I needed a car jack."
"You can lift a car?" Trinity asked him.
"I can bench about half a ton." Hicks stated with a shrug like it wasn't a big deal.
"Wow, and I asked if you wanted a hand with your bags." Switch commented. "I guess you don't need telekinesis when you're that strong."
"So who's worried about the training?" Celari asked them. "I am. I just know that this is going to be the hardest thing we've ever done."
"I'm scared too." Trinity admitted. "My dad told me that I'd be alright, but I'm terrified. That Kur guy..."
"Don't worry about him, he's probably all talk." Hicks assured her. "In my experience empty vessels make the most noise. Besides, if he tried anything Cruger would kick him out."
"I'm looking forward to it." Switch said with a grin. "Having my own base would be amazing!"
"I guess I am too." Hicks replied. "Three months seems like a long time. I'm really going to miss Gemma."
"Is that your girlfriend?" Switch asked him. Hicks smiled as he looked to the bracelet she had made him.
"Yeah, she was really supportive when I told her I'd be coming out here." He told them. "I miss her like crazy and it's only been a day."
Well, I propose a toast." Switch declared as he feared the conversation starting to get a little too serious. "To Team Cruger! May we kick ass and all get ourselves a base!"
"To Team Cruger." Hicks replied, holding up his bottle.
"Team Cruger." Celari added, raising his glass. Everyone looked to Trinity who seemed like she had almost hoped everyone forgot she was there. Eventually she raised a glass.
"Team Cruger." She added quietly. With that, they all drank and continued to get to know each other, the people they would be relying on for the next three months.
