He had been awake for thirty minutes or so. Laying on his bed
looking up at the ceiling. Every now and then he would glance
at Vixo looking at the blue drawn all over him. Sezidan chuckled.
With a sigh he sat up looking at the pink dawn outside.
He opened the zipper on his bag and searched for some clean clothes inside.
Most clothes were dirty. There was a clean shirt and some pants. He went
into the bathroom
and saw Vixo's clothes scattered on the floor. He tossed his clothes onto the
top of the toilet and
turned on the water. He tossed his shirt into the sink and kicked his pants
behind the toilet.
As he stepped into the shower he heard a yell come from the room. "DAMN IT
SEZ!" He chuckled and continued to take his shower.
After Sez had showered and Vixo scrubbed his face a letter came for them
both.
"Hmm our boot assignments" Sez said while reading his.
"Well man it was fun while it lasted. But kid you might want to clean this
up before you leave."
Then he left before Vixo could get a word out.
Few Hours later
Camp was what he expected. Soldiers running around, Drill Sergeants shouting.
He overheard one
that made him laugh. "SOLDIER DO YOU KNOW WHY THEY CALL IT BOOT CAMP?
BECAUSE MY BOOT IS GONNA
CAMP UP YOUR ASS IF YOU DONT GET A MOVE ON!" Sez found his barracks and went
inside. His bed was marked so he dumped
his clothes into his footlocker. "Man training begins tomorrow. Better relax
now." With that he laid down on the
bed and dozed off.
Day 1 Familiarization
He was lined up with the rest of the soldiers wearing B.D.U.'s. "You pansies. I
have never seen a more pathetic use
of flesh, fur, and air that you bunch of maggots. The first and last words I
want to hear out of your mouths is sir
do I make myself clear?" A lupine Drill Sergeant shouted at them.
"Sir, yes sir!" Came the voice of 15 soldiers in unison. "Soldier suck in
that gut! You stand straight!"
He looked at Sezidan. "You the crazy bastard who signed up for Special
Forces?"
"Sir, Yes sir." was Sezidan reply.
"Boy im gonna have fun with you!"
Day 2 Weapons
"Now maggots its time for you to take your shooting tests. On the rack
in front of you, you will find
an AIR-7 or an Anti-Infantry Rifle Mark 7. This is the latest in beam
weaponry. Your goal is to hit
20 out of 40 targets. Special boy you're first." The D.S. grabs a rifle and 2
clips and tosses them to
Sezidan. "Sir, yes sir." He knelt in the gun pit. When the first target
popped up Sez reacted with lightning
fast speed. The target was shot before it was even all the way up. He
continued on this way hitting 34 out of
the 40 targets. "Not bad soldier. maybe you are worth something after all.
The rest scored decently. Two made it above 30.
Now let's continue on to bigger...and better things." The sarge picked up a
large gun with a lever on top.
"This is the H.A.G.R.L.-2 or the Hyper-Accelerated-Grenade-Round-Launcher
Mark 2." One of the recruits decided it
was a good time to open his mouth. "What happened to the mark 1?" The sarge
stared him down.
"It exploded. Now since special boy scored the highest im gonna let him
figure out how to work this."
He threw the gun to Sez how caught it and stumbled. It was heavy. Three
grenade hung out of
the bottom each attached by a small piece of fabric. He hoisted the gun and
pulled the trigger.
A small grenade round launched out of the barrel and smashed into a tree
sending splinters
of wood everywhere. He pulled the trigger again but nothing happened. The
sarge chuckled.
Sez looked over the gun. He grabbed the handle on top and pulled it back.
The gun ejected the
previous green casing while loading a red round. "What special boy has in
the chamber now
is an incendiary round. For the dumbasses here it catches stuff on fire. Now
special boy
if you will fire it at the dummy." Sez hoisted the gun again and lined
the dummy up in
his sights and pulled the trigger. The round flew out and collided with the
dummy spraying
flaming napalm everywhere sending the dummy up in flames. He pulled the
handle back again.
A red casing popped out while a blue one loaded. "This round is an E.M.P.
round. Once again
for those among us that don't understand it disables vehicles while causing
no physical damage.
Now boy if you will shoot the base of that tower
and watch the blinking red light on top." Sez aimed and fired again. The
round connected with
the bottom of the tower send sparks flying. The light on top glowed brightly
then went out.
"Well recruits that does it for the H.A.G.R.L. Training for today is done.
DISMISSED"
Day 3 Armor
"Today maggots you will learn about your protective gear." The sergeant
snatched a helmet off of the dummy target and dropped it on the ground.
He then pulled out a blaster. without a word he aimed and shot a hole
straight into the helmet. He picked it up and placed it on Sezidan's head.
"Soldiers this helmet is not for protection but so if you get shot in your
head we won't have to pick up your brains. Now the vest does provide
protection." He picks up the vest and places it on Sez. Then shoots him with
the blaster. "Now not even the most sophisticated blaster can pierce that
...armor." Sez clutched his chest where he was bleeding. "MEDIC!"
Day's 4-10 recovery
He slowly opened his eyes. The sterile white ceiling almost blinded him.
He tried to roll over but the pain in his stomach wouldn't let him.
That was right. Stupid drill sarge needs to learn his equipment.
He glanced down his chest to his stomach. He pulled back the paper gown and
saw the blackened flesh and melted fur on his stomach. "Wow he really did a
number
on me. The doorknob turned and he female vulpine nurse walked in. Sez threw
the gown
back over himself. When she turned to face him he whistled at her without a
second thought.
She looked him over with her gray eyes. "Well looks like your awake so I
don't think you
will need this anymore." Her hand found the IV and pulled it out
quickly. Sez let
out a yelp of pain. "Oh im sorry was that a little fast?" He looked up at
her. The nametag
read CPT Cartivan. She turned and started to leave. On her way out of the
door she turned
back and said "Hey special boy. You do have pretty green eyes."
Day 11 strategy
They were inside today. Two at a table. A D.S. with Sez. He shouted to all
the recruits
in the room. Today recruits you will be playing an old game called chess. If
you don't know
how to play and god help us if you don't consult the manual at each table. We
will be playing
for a few days to try and build up your strategy skills. Now there is an
incentive to win.
The losers don't get dinner tonight if they lose. Now let's get started." The
sarge moved first.
Sez made his move. They went on and on.
It was starting to get to the end of the day. Everyone else had played
at least ten games.
Sez and his D.S. were still on the first. Both were nearly out of pieces
about 5 left to each.
The other soldiers had left their tables and were watching the game. "Check"
Sez said.
The D.S. responded by moving his king out of harms way. The game continued
on for another
half-hour until... "Checkmate!" Sez looked over the board then laid his king
over.
"Sir, Good move sir." Sez stood up just as the call for dinner sounded. The
other recruits
rushed out the door. Sez merely walked back to his barracks. The bed felt
good even though
it was stiff. He lay back not even bothering to undress and fell asleep.
He rushed down the corridors. The smell of embalming fluid and blood filled
his nostrils. White
hallway after white hallway. He finally found the room. He saw Shardeth on
the name plate
and pushed the door open. A man so familiar to him lay in the bed asleep, or
unconscious
he didn't know. His right arm was wrapped up. He knew all he wanted to do
right now was to
rip and tear this man. As he took a step forward he felt an excruciating
pain in his stomach
and fell over clutching at his chest.
Day 15-62 Combat Exercises
Sez awoke to the sound of revele. Still in his B.D.U.'s he didn't need to
dress. He went to
line up outside with the rest of the recruits. As he stood outside with the
warm morning
sun shining down on him the Drill Sarge started giving them orders. "Today
recruits you
will be in a combat situation. Now before you piss your pants of fright you
will be using
stun weaponry. You will be split into three teams. Red, Blue, and black. In
my hat is small
pieces of paper with a color on the inside. For those still not following
along the color
on the inside is your team for today's exercise. You will keep this paper as
it will remain
your team for the rest of the exercises." The D.S. held out the hat for the
first recruit
in the line. Sez saw that it was blue, red, red, black, blue, blue, black, red,
and he got...black.
The Drill Sarge pointed to a large bucket about a yard away. "In there are
small bands that
will go around your left bicep. These are your squad colors. The exercise
for today is
Capture the flag. After breakfast you will meet back here. There will be
three
L.A.A.T. (Low-Altitude-Atmospheric-Transport)'s awaiting you. Hope you have a
good meal, because
its gonna be a long day. DISMISSED!" The recruits saluted and left.
Breakfast went by quickly.
Sez returned to the meeting area where only two other recruits waited. Both
wore black bands.
One of them was a lupine like the sarge. The other was a gray fox. Sez
walked over to the bucket
and grabbed a black armband. He slipped it on and walked over to the rest of
his team members.
The lupine looked at him. "Hey. My names Cyrellus. You can call me Cy if you
want."
He pointed to the fox. "That's Leon." Sez looked at him. "My names Arastor.
Call me Sezidan
or you just might regret it." The lupine looked surprised. "Heh just kidding.
Glad to meet
ya though. Now let's win this." The other six recruits had arrived. Sez felt
bad for the
six that had washed out. He heard the sound of the L.A.A.T's arriving. They
had sleek black
bodies kind of like the archaic helicopters. They had two rotating blades
like the helicopters
on each side. They landed. One of the three had a blue mark. Another had a
red. The last one
was jet black. The one in the black shouted out to them. "Come on guys lets
get a move on.
Get in the one that corresponds with your squad." Sez stepped onto the black
as did Cy and Leon.
Hung on the wall were three A.I.R. rifles and two suits of Medium armor and
a scout class suit.
The L.A.A.T. lifted off and started flying. Sez turned to look at his two
teammates.
He had to shout to be heard over the roar of the engine. "Guys im best
suited for combat
so ill take one of the medium suits." He looked at Leon. He was skinny with
long legs.
"Leon you look like a good scout you take the light armor. Cy you take the
other medium."
Leon nodded and Cy gave a thumbs-up. They suited up and grabbed a rifle. Sez
slid his helmet on.
He grabbed the safety bar and leaned out of the side looking at the
landscape. Trees as far
as the eye could see, but in the middle was a small clearing with a gray
flag.
"Well guys get a good look that's our target." They stared at the clearing
trying to remember
where it was. A few minutes later after the clearing was out of sight the
L.A.A.T landed in
another small clearing. "Ok everyone off. Don't forget your weapons and good
luck." the pilot
shouted to them. They waved and stepped off flashing a thumbs-up signaling
it was ok to lift
off. "Ok guys we need to get to that flag be careful and watch for enemies."
Sez said.
"I'll lead this mission if that's fine. Im black lead. Cy your black two. Leon
you're three."
They nodded. They flipped the safeties to off and started on their mission.
"Three scout ahead. If you see enemies whistle once. Whistle twice for all
clear." Leon nodded
and ran ahead. Two whistles came. They advanced with Three leading the way
barely in sight.
After about twenty minutes of hiking a whistle came from three before it was
cut off by his
yell of pain. "Three is down. Take assault positions." Sez and Cy rose
their guns and slowly
moved forward. A red blast came from behind a group of trees almost hitting
Cy. Sez responded
with his own blast of Grayish light. The following yelp of pain told Sez
that his shot hit
home. "Two check the status of three ill cover." Cy ran forward to examine
his teammate, but
as he neared his fallen friend a red blast caught him in the chest. He fell
without a sound.
Sez raised his gun and fired a shot the gray laser striking the enemy in the
face flipping him
head over heels into a stomach down position. Another red blast came from
Sez's right this time.
Missing him by inches he turned and fired a quick shot but missing. He
sought cover behind a
nearby oak tree. He waited for what seemed like hours sweat building on his
forehead. He leapt
out when he heard the twig snap firing off a blast in the direction of the
sound catching his
opponent in the right arm spinning him around as he fell. He ran forward and
checked the vital
signs of his teammates. Both were alive just out cold. He dropped a smoke
grenade
sending up Black smoke. He grabbed a grenade off of the enemy and set it off
putting red
smoke into the air. Alone he continued on. "One team down. One to go. But
can I do this by myself?" He trudged on going in the direction he hoped was the right way. Finally he came to the clearing. The flag was on top. He ran to grab it. A blue blast came from the woods to his right he couldn't react in time. It caught him the side sending pain through out his body.
His vision faded to black and he fell to the ground.
Once again pain filled his body but it awakened him. Someone was standing
over him with
a small pad. He recognized her as Captain Cartivan. He smiled at her "Thanks
hon."
She sighed and turned away. He sat up someone had taken the top of his armor
off.
"Hehe couldn't wait to get me undressed eh captain?" She turned back to him.
"Well
Private Shardeth it was actually him." She pointed to a red fox. Sez
suffered an involuntary
whole body shiver. She laughed. He swung his legs off of the table. "You
lost pretty bad out
there special boy. Your whole team was wasted." Sez's mouth dropped open.
"Well hon had I known
you were watching I would have put on a better show." She turned around
looking angry.
"Look Private you can't act like this on a battlefield! People will die!" Sez
merely stared
at her. "Look hon im not gonna do that bad on a real situation but people
weren't gonna die
here." She pulled her hand back and smacked him across the left side of the
face and stormed
out of the room.
Sez's performance shot up over the next few days. Til he and his team couldn't
even lose.
Day 63 Graduation
They stood in their dress blues saluting the Cornerian flag. Sezidan stood
with Cy and Leon in black.
"Today I wish to congratulate these fine soldiers on the work which they
have accomplished to get this far.
These soldiers will be a fine part of the Cornerian army." Sezidan looked
over to where the
officers were. Cartivan was standing with them. He smiled at her. She looked
back at him
showing no emotion. His smile faded and he looked back to the speaker.
Day 64 Assignment
The letter was addressed to him.
"Dear Private Shardeth
You have been promoted to Corporal 1st Class. You will be stationed
aboard the CS Freedom. You new rank patch is enclosed." A small rectangle
fell out with
a small silver star on the left side.
"There you will receive your training with Spec Ops equipment and
abilities."