Disclaimer: I Only Own My Character(s). All Rights Belong To Bioware
A.N: Sorry For Taking A Long Time, I've just been revising this chapter so I could make sure that it's a decent quality chapter.
OmegaDelta: I plan on the SI starting with the standard gear first before earning the custom gear.
After waking up the next day, I entered the cafeteria and got my food heading towards an empty table, and sat down, eating as I browsed the extranet which, thanks to my limited knowledge of this universe and Wutor I knew it as a form of internet and I started reading up on the various species of this universe as well as various events to better understand the universe I'm in.
Drinking my coffee, I must have been sitting there for over an hour as someone cleared their throat and I looked up to see Aerirn Nirban sitting down with his food so I simply said "Good morning."
"Yes, yes it is. How are you settling in?" He said while taking a seat.
"As best as I can, I suppose. Though, I'm kinda curious as to why Chakor doesn't have any humans aside from me in the group?" I replied before eating my food.
Aerirn had a thoughtful look on his face as he ate before replying "I suppose that it might be a simple test of proving how trustworthy you can be, after all, we had to do the same as well. It's just the way Chakor operates since he was the one who founded the Midnight Marauders."
"I see. That still doesn't answer the question and I'm guessing that there's more than a simple test, so, please be honest with me." I replied as I drank more of my coffee.
"You're smarter than I gave you credit for, pyjak." I turned to see Chakor sit at the table before shrugging and said "I just got curious as to why I'm the only human in the group?"
Chakor chuckled slightly before replying "Not only am I testing potential recruits but I'm also testing their resolve which, to be honest, most humans prove to be untrustworthy. Until I encountered you, the only human who had managed to intrigue my curiosity enough to give you a chance to join the Marauders. Besides, I've fought enough times to know when someone has potential."
I sat there, thinking about what Chakor said when I heard a voice saying "Is Chakor trying to leave out the other reason he took a chance on you?"
Looking to see who spoke, I watched as Xanolla walked in followed by Wutor and Caesonia before I noticed that Xanolla sat next to Chakor but I chose to not say anything about it.
"What reason would that be?" I asked, curious about the reason.
Xanolla looked at me with an amused expression on her face before saying "You're gonna have to earn the answer to that question. After all, we're not just a merc group but we're also a family. So, if you're gonna be a part of this family, you'll need to earn your place."
I sat there and reflected on what was said, aware that the others were also looking towards me. Then I said "I'll do my best to earn my place in this group. I promise."
"Of that, we have no doubt, my comrade." Wutor said with a nod.
"Wutor's right. So later, report to the training area for increased training." Caesonia said and I nodded in acknowledgment.
We continued talking as we ate breakfast and I was surprised to know that Caesonia was capable of telling jokes despite how serious she usually was.
A few hours later, I finished with my morning workout before I headed to the training area for any kind of training that is in store for me today.
As I entered the training area, I noticed Xanolla standing there looking at me before saying "Right on time, let's begin."
She moved into a fighting stance that resembled kickboxing but with an Asari flair to it, and I got into a boxer's stance before throwing a punch which she countered by grabbing and twisting my arm before throwing her elbow into my ribs and kicking me in the chest, knocking me back a little.
I stepped back, rubbing the spot where I was kicked briefly before getting back into my stance as I took a cautious approach, circling trying to find the right opportunity for an attack before she lunged at me, punching and kicking as I barely managed to block or deflect most of the hits while also taking some of them.
This went on for a while before suddenly an opportunity presented itself as she threw a straight punch and I attempted to redirect her momentum to take her down when she countered my attempt with an armbar, flipping me to the ground and putting me in a position that I knew that if she wanted to, she could easily break my arm so I did the logical thing and tapped.
When I felt her release my arm and stand up, I also got up while stretching out my arm and saying "You know, that was a clever tactic. I never saw it coming."
"Well, of course, you didn't. You focused too much on trying to find an opening, leaving yourself vulnerable to be tricked into attacking, and that in itself can be dangerous. Caesonia was correct in her assessment of you, you have decent skills in fighting but you could learn much more so I'm recommending that you visit a friend of ours, he can teach you more ways of fighting but for now, report to Wutor for tech training." Xanolla said with a simple movement of her head.
I walked past her as I headed towards Wutor and I wondered what he would have me do today.
A few hours later, I made it to the tech trading area when I saw Wutor looking down at his Omni-tool before he noticed me approaching and said "My friend, it's time for me to teach you how to properly hack something other than a door but you'll have to do it within eight hours, starting now."
With a nod, I started trying to figure out the most efficient way to hack this box open as my fingers glide across my Omni-tool, and after an incorrect input, the muscles in my left hand suddenly tensed up for a brief moment as a shock ran through my arm and I looked up at Wutor.
"I forgot to mention, with every wrong move you'll be dealt a mild shock. Nothing that'll have lasting effects however, you should get back to it." He said as I turned my attention back to the task at hand.
After several failures within seven hours, it wasn't until the last hour started to run out that I managed to find a pattern and I barely managed to succeed.
I heard clapping from behind and I turned around as Wutor said "Congratulations, William. You took a little longer than I expected but this test wasn't about how fast you could hack, instead, it was about testing your ability to think outside the box as humans like to say."
"Are you sure about that? It felt like you were doing both." I said with a chuckle.
"Maybe I was, Maybe I wasn't. Come on, let's get some food." Wutor said with a chuckle as well.
I finally got this chapter completed so I apologize for taking so long with it.
So, to make it up to you guys and gals I'm letting you in on part of the plan for the next chapter which is: the first half of the next chapter will focus on the last half of the training. I thought about doing it in this chapter but decided on saving it for the next chapter.
See you next time.