-1Chapter 3: The Training Begins…

After a de-briefing that lasted well into the night, I was finally able to return to my quarters. Nothing extravagant, it was no more than the size of a walk-in closet. I had a full size bed, which was extra firm. There was a desk and chair, a cupboard for food rations and a space for my clothes. Surprisingly, there was no required uniform. So this is nothing like the military, I thought to myself. I woke up at the prerequisite 0700 hours, and was prepared to go at 0745 hours, fed, dressed and groomed.

"Kevin, are you awake?" Shion's voice rang through the intercom. "You have ARMS training at 0800 hours. Please report to the ARMS Training Hall on the fifth floor."

"Morning, Shion!" I said, finishing up putting on my shoes. "I'll be on my way shortly."

It didn't take long to find my way to the fifth floor…. I was on the fourth. And the weapons training hall was the fifth floor. When I opened the door, I was instantly greeted by the person I would be training with.

"A good morning to you, Kevin," KOS-MOS said to me. "It is now time to commence your ARMS training. Here…take this and follow me…"

Following her, I try to casually strike up a conversation. "So… how are you this morning?"

She turns to look at me quizzically. "Functioning at 85… how about yourself?"

"I am doing fine," I said. At that point, I realized that there was very little more I could say. Holding the pistol that she gave me earlier, I continued to follow her. Why is it that I can't even hold a simple conversation with a female… not even a female android…?

Apparently, while I was mentally beating myself up for lack of social skills, we had reached our location. Confused, I looked around… "So what are we about to do here?" I asked.

While setting up what appeared to be a control panel, she turns slightly and replies, "Battle simulators. This SIM will take you through a variety of battle situations that you will face while with the Galaxy Federation." She turns to face me, smiling. "We shall commence whenever you are ready."

KOS-MOS and I went through three training simulations. The first was a 2-on-4 battle. Then there was a city ruins simulation. And we ended with a shooting range type simulation. After the SIMs were completed, KOS-MOS went to power down the system. As she was powering it down, she looked at me and smiled, saying, "Your scores for the SIMs should prove to be impressive…"

After I fed myself a small lunch, consisting of granola and Ramen, I took a brief nap. ARMS training wasn't exhausting, however, it felt good to be able to lie down and rest, even if for a few minutes. I figured at some point in time, I would be summoned for either more briefing or training. So, I decided that when I had down time, this is how I would spend it.

After getting comfortable, I managed to get about an hour of sleep before the intercom went off.

"Kevin, are you in there?" a familiar voice rang over the intercom. "Time for more training."

"I'm here, Shion," I muttered, stumbling out of my bed… "Gimme a few moments to wake myself up."

After about fifteen minutes of stretching and splashing water on my face, I rang the intercom. Waiting patiently for Shion to respond, I decided to double check my appearance. Look your best and put your best foot forward, I told myself.

"Good afternoon, Kevin." Shion says, with what I imagined was a smile. "Are you ready?"

"Yes I am," I responded. "So where do I report?"

"You have ARTS training in the Combat Hall on the third floor at 1430 hours," she informs me. "That's 20 minutes from now."

"Roger that!" I reply. " I am on my way!"