Chapter 41: Survival Training
The next day I woke up sore all over, with a stinging pain in my head.
I felt that I had a dream, yet all I could recall was an endless expanse of black water. No matter how hard I tried to remember what I dreamt, it eluded me, always seemingly beyond my grasp, just there at the edge of my conscious mind.
I shrugged internally. I had bigger things to worry about then some strange dreams I could barely remember. No matter how hard I tried to push my mind to focus on it, it never came to me, occupied instead with what we had to look forward to today.
Survival training.
The mornings mood was, simply put, glum. We still hadn't recovered from the harsh tests of yesterday, and now we were in for more training. Training which Alexei had promised us wouldn't be pleasant.
"If I have to swim through one more muddy river, I'm going to lose it," Oleev muttered in the showers. I was inclined to agree.
Breakfast came and went, the usual rice and meat combination with one glass of water. Sergeant Alexei watched us eat intently. It was somewhat unnerving, as if he had a sudden interest in us. Yet he remained stoically silent, and his purple eyes gave nothing away. But I knew he was thinking about something unpleasant, no doubt.
When we were marched off to our platoons training area, we were greeted by Lieutenant Quentin, in his pleasant mode. It was always jarring to see. It's like he was two separate people. One normal and friendly, the other harsh and uncompromising.
"Sergeant Alexei, ready for two days in the sim?" Quentin smiled, and Alexei nodded, saluting him. The lieutenant laughed.
"Might get a reminder of what's it like to be on a planet like home," Quentin said, "and give these lads the chance to see what they can do."
"I look forward to the tests, sir," Alexei said. And he meant it. Only he could be happy about stuff like this. The Cadian's seemed to revel in discomfort and shone under pressure. I guess that's what a lifetime of militarism does to you.
Lieutenant Quentin didn't bother speaking to any of us today, as one his assistants peeled him away from us, distracting him with a stack of data-slates. Instead, he just smiled and nodded at us, then marched off to handle the endless inane tedium of administrating a platoon of soldiers. It seemed the biggest burden of command was not leading your men, but organising them.
Alexei ordered us to exercise alongside the Cadian's, who, without any orders, were just picking and choosing what exercises they wished to do. Most of us defaulted to push-ups, awkwardly joining the Cadian's already doing reps into the hundreds. By the time the rest of the squads had joined us, my arms and legs were already burning from the strain. I still hadn't recovered entirely from the previous day, and it seemed most of the squad hadn't either. Only Clauda seemed to keep up the same space she always did. She had freaky genetics, that girl.
Once everyone had assembled, Lieutenant Quentin explained what we would be doing for the next two days. Survival training in a simulated environment they called the 'Sim', an enclosed area similar to the swampy lower levels of the UTAC. This time, it wasn't a hostile or unpleasant environment like the UTAC, but rather a recreation of your bog-standard Cadian forest. The idea was we'd be learning field skills, like navigation, scouting, how to set up camp, light a fire, dig trenches, and so on. It didn't sound too bad, aside from the camping part. I'd never actually been camping before, but the idea hardly appealed to me.
Sleeping in a cold, miserable tent without all the luxuries of the indoors?
People spent thousands of years making houses for a reason, thank you very much.
But as it was, there was no way out of it, and if we were going to be learning practical skills rather than being pushed to our brink and run ragged within an inch of our lives, I'd tolerate it. But only barely. Fortunately for me, the others hardly seemed enthused by the idea. The thought of sleeping outside was rather alien to everyone from Practica, were such a thing was simply impossible. Still, they at least seemed like they were sticking with it. Aside from Desmond, who was grumbling rather unpleasantly about this whole business.
The platoon set off for the simulator, which was in essence a vast section of the hangar, roughly the size of a stadium, sealed off from the outside and filled with its own forest biome. Entrance was via a set of heavy duty blast doors, flanked by navy bondsman, which led into a large waiting room, where we signed in, filled out several forms (the Imperium did love its paperwork) and then proceeded into an elevator which took us up into a shockingly bright forest clearing.
The simulator lived up to its name. The forest was almost indistinguishable from the real thing. The shocking brightness was generated by artificial sunlight, which felt hot against my skin. The air was crisp, with the hint of a cold breeze. There was birdsong in the trees, and the distant sound of running water. The Practicans stumbled about, taken aback by the sudden change. They basked in the sunlight, laughing in the open air, touching the grass in their hands and generally acting more like excited kids then soldiers. Their sergeants were quick to get them back in line.
"Squad, form up!" Alexei snapped. Dutifully, we all fell in line. The other squads were being pushed about, getting dragged back into order if need be. Lieutenant Quentin watched the whole display with a shake of his head. He was disappointed in us, it was clear to see. Like a switch had been flipped, his calm exterior dropped and was replaced by the roaring maniac that lurked beneath the surface.
"IS THIS WHAT YOU CALL ORDER!?" He bellowed, spittle flying. "GET BACK INTO LINE, NOW!"
Those who weren't in line flinched as he levelled a menacing gaze on them. Those who were tried to maintain a calm composure.
"WE'RE NOT HERE TO SCREW AROUND, WE'RE HERE TO TRAIN! IF YOU REFUSE TO DO SO I'LL HAVE YOU WRITTEN UP FOR INSUBORDINATION, SO LISTEN UP AND DO WHAT I SAY!"
"Sir, yes, sir!" Everyone, even the sergeants, replied.
"NOW, WE'RE HERE TO LEARN SURVIVAL SKILLS! THAT MEANS YOU HAVE TO TREAT THIS TEST LIKE IT'S THE REAL DEAL! IS THAT UNDERSTOOD!"
"Sir, yes, sir!"
"Good!" Lieutenant Quentin snapped, dialling himself back. "Now, pay attention, we have a lot to do over these next two days. First off, teaching you survival skills, and secondly, testing them! So, listen to your sergeants, do what they say, and make sure you learn everything they have to teach you, is that understood?"
"Sir, yes, sir!"
"Excellent. Now, the first training exercise we have is scouting and movement. It's time to learn how you'll work on the battlefield, people!"
With that, Quentin handed us off to our sergeants, which pleased them no end. Splitting up throughout the woods, Alexei ordered us up into one of the hills. He began teaching us immediately. He told us to split up and move out of order, operating in pairs, rifles raised, covering our lines of sight. He showed us how to move from side to side in uneven advances, making our progress dynamic. He said that regular, patterned advances were too easy to spot and intercept. Anyone who got caught repeating the same movements, such as left to right, left to right, over and over again was told to go back to the bottom of the hills and start again.
We all got sent back at least once.
Then he told us how to make use of cover, what trees would shield us, how to use rocks and the shape of the land to hide ourselves, how to get into position to cover the advance of our squadmates. Our dark green camo helped here, as it let us blend into the rich foliage. Sergeant Alexei made a point of showing us how well the camo could conceal a man, and then told us to have a round of what was, in essence, hide and seek. That was fun, if a little soured by the fact Alexei yelled at us whenever anyone laughed when they got caught.
"Take this seriously," he snapped, "you must be better!"
After that, he told us how to move through an open field, telling us the importance of having people in firing positions at all time so the squads advance was always covered by several people actively suppressing the enemy as we move. He told us how even a few lasguns could produce enough firepower to ward off an enemies approach, a claim which seemed somewhat questionable to me. Then again, he was a sergeant, so I assumed he had the experience to back it up. Plus, a human enemy probably would be dissuaded from approaching by a volley of highly accurate, high powered laser fire. An alien enemy…less so.
The next challenge was a scouting game. Two people would act as the guards, two others as the scouts, with the guards protecting a yellow flagpole and the scouts trying to tag either the pole or the guards from behind.
This, too, was rather fun, even though I knew it was meant to be serious.
Prassus and I were the first two guards against Clauda and Egeers. Clauda got spotted early on by Prassus, but Egeers managed to slip behind us and get to the pole when we weren't looking. As the scouts, Prassus and I successfully got behind them, only to be caught when Prassus stepped on a branch as we snuck up on the pole.
We went through several reps of this, with varying success. Sometimes I caught the scouts early on, sometimes I missed them when they were right in front of me. As the scouts, I made the occasional blunder, but I also reached the pole more then once. Prassus and I were a good team.
Alexei constantly ordered us to change partners. Prassus and I were used to working with each other, as we were number one and two in the squad, but I had a pretty good synergy with several other people.
Egeers and I were very well coordinated. He was wily, that one, unpredictable and agile in his movements, a rather good sneak, and had a habit of making daring moves. I was a steady aim and adept at hiding, able to lie perfectly still in shrubs or undergrowth, then make a sudden advance to my next position.
When I was with Evet, we both had a habit of moving around and circling past our targets, attacking from the side. The first few times it went well, then we started getting too predictable, which Alexei was keen to point on. He insisted that we had to break up our patterns more, we were too formulaic, and even an Ork would figure out what we were doing sooner or later.
That didn't make me feel good about myself.
Eventually the sun started to set, and Alexei ordered us to set up camp. We'd been provided with tents and sleeping bags, which were a hassle to set up, and then we had to go through the rigmarole of setting up trenches and defences. Alexei seemed to love digging, as he went absolutely ballistic with a shovel, creating the beginnings of a trench with rapid efficiency. I wondered if he'd ever served with the Death Korps of Krieg before.
After we tired ourselves digging a trench, or bunch of rather shitty holes that were barely connected, we were told to sit around the campfire as Alexei went over some theory.
"It is important to remember that on the battlefield, a fire is a luxury you can rarely afford," he said, warming his hands, even though the temperature was perfectly pleasant. The squad seemed to think so, as they had their sleeves rolled up to cool down.
"A fire gives away your position, makes yourselves easy to spot and target, an identifiable target from miles away, in some cases," he explained, getting a rations packet from his belt bags and ripping it open. We all got our own rations out and followed suite.
In a silver airtight wrapping, the rations were a thick yellow gruel that looked like ground up corn and mashed potato thrown into a blender. We cooked it in a small pan over the fire, and tucked in to a hideously unpleasant food. I think I spat half of it out, it was that unpleasant. Alexei shook his disapprovingly.
"You don't have food to waste on the battlefield, soldier," he said, "you must eat."
"I think it'd be different on the battlefield, sir," I said, wiping away some of the paste from my lips. Gah, I could still taste it.
"When I've got no choice, I'll eat it," I groaned. Alexei raised his eyebrow.
"You have no choice now," he pointed out, "eat."
"I really don't think I can…" I started to say, but Alexei was having none of it.
"Prassus, Clauda, hold him down," he said. Prassus and Clauda got evil grins on their faces. Oh no, what I just done? I'd fucked myself, that's what I'd done.
"Gladly," Prassus said, grabbing one of my arms. Clauda dived on the other, pulling me to the floor. The squad hooted and cheered. Alexei stepped over, a rations bag in hand. Oh, god damnit, he's going to force feed me this shit.
I tried to break free, but I was held firm, leaving me to kick ineffectively as Alexei squatted over me, grabbing my jaw. I clamped my mouth shout, shaking my head. Alexei grinned, opening the bag and slowing letting the contents dribble onto my mouth, pinching my nose shut. Prassus laughed, and Clauda was giggling like a schoolgirl.
I tried to hold out as long as possible, but eventually I had to open my mouth to breath, at which point Alexei shoved half the bag into my mouth and then clamped it shut.
"Swallow," he ordered sternly. I could do nothing else. The choking gruel filled my mouth. Nodding reluctantly, I made an exaggerated show of swallowing, struggling not to cough it up. I didn't want to spit hot corn mash in the sergeant's face. That would be a road to summary execution, I felt.
Once he was satisfied I'd swallowed, Alexei ordered me released, and I shot upright, covering my mouth so I didn't throw up all over my lap. The others still hadn't stopped laughing. Swallowing the last disgusting bit, I winced as I felt it slide down the back of my throat. Glaring at Prassus and Clauda, I could only make half-wretches at them. The taste made it hard to even speak, it was that bad.
"That's better, Private Sent," Alexei nodded, back in place, his face a stony mask. I had nothing to say. Lessoned learnt.
"Hey, Oleev didn't eat hers either," Egeers pointing out, causing the ginger girl to shriek indignantly. Alexei whipped around to stare at them.
"Egeers, Temond, you know what to do," he said, standing up again, getting another bag of rations from his belt. Everyone laughed. Even I managed to smile. What goes around comes around, I thought to myself.