July eventually came, and it was time for the Myrmidons to take a vacation for a month. Soon, Gabriel didn't need to wake up so early, and wear out his body with training exercises, and load information in his brain. His brain had spent a lot of time learning different battle tactics.

They had a limited wardrobe. Gabriel had his uniform, which consisted of a jacket and pants. He would need a spacesuit outside. He also had sleepwear, and one set of casual clothes.

The casual clothes consisted of a thin white long-sleeved shirt with matching pants. The clothes were lined with grey and light green lines. Gabriel always wore a black tank top and shorts underneath his outfits.

He had taken off his spacesuit to go inside the colony. Thankfully, the buildings were mostly connected, so it wasn't so annoying to remove the spacesuit if he wanted to. He could stuff it in a locker.

He felt much lighter without the armor and weapons weighing him down. He could relax for once. The other Myrmidons in his squad were also inside the small city.

Gabriel had a feeling that he would feel bored now that he had a lot of time and not constantly training or learning.

On the first day, Choi had immediately gone off to one of the many lounges and was using her laptop to communicate with her family from Korea. Gabriel thought of doing the same thing. He had planned on video calling his family at least twice that month. Although the Fire Nation still occupied the Philippines, the citizens were fine. Most places occupied by either side had freedom. The only place that was unsafe was an active war zone or a place with high crime.

Gabriel had spent time playing different types of video games, either virtual reality ones or games where he used a keyboard and mouse. He had a bit of physical activity from those games, but it didn't make him tired. It wouldn't even tire a normal human. He played one VR fantasy game where he played as a mage on a quest. The world was immersive, and it was a good way for him to get his mind off work and the real world. He knew the real world was always better than a virtual one that gaming addicts spend thousands of hours on.

There was word that two new spaceships had arrived. One was a civilian ship, while the other one was a military ship. Some people stood on the spaceport to wait for the dropships.

Colony leaders and high-ranking military officers arrived at the scene with a few soldiers. Within the next few hours, hundreds of soldiers and civilians made their way into the city.

The city was more crowded now, though Gabriel felt that it could sustain the new people as well. The city was a bit vast and empty when Gabriel had first arrived. Now the tunnels were packed with droves of people, though Gabriel didn't feel overwhelmed and felt good that the place was livelier with chatter.

The new people had settled in, and Gabriel went to one of the gaming rooms to load his fantasy game. He was mostly quiet, as most of the time, he and the squad went their separate ways, though sometimes he would do some activities with Siu and Kipmi like play different sports or video games together.

This time, he was alone, though there were a few regulars that he saw and recognized. There was a young man, possibly a teenager, whom he knew frequented the gaming area, and sometimes, they were playing at the same time. The boy was alone, and Gabriel decided to talk to him one day, as the VR machines they were on were next to each other.

"What's your name?" Gabriel asked, looking directly at the boy. He decided to close the app and walk off the platform.

"Sokka Kuruk," said the boy. He had brown skin, slightly darker than Gabriel's, with black hair. He was slightly taller and thinner than Gabriel. The sides were shaved, and some of the remaining hair was tied back into a short ponytail. He was wearing a navy-blue outfit, which consisted of a long-sleeved shirt and pants. There was a space cadet logo on the side, which looked like a space shuttle inside a circle with words on the bottom.

"You mean the colonel's son?" Gabriel asked.

"Yes," said Sokka.

"I'm Private Hoodman."

"Marines?"

"Myrmidons."

"That's great, sir. I'll be enlisting to join the Space Marines once I turn eighteen in September."

"Great. I wonder what it would be like to train outside of Earth."

"According to my dad, it's not much different. Marines and Myrmidons can get the same training anywhere as long as they have high-tech facilities."

Gabriel took a look at Sokka's uniform. "Oh, you're a space cadet. That's amazing."

"Yeah, just graduated from high school. Well, it was six years ago, but felt like just months ago to me," said Sokka. "Once I completed the program, I was sent here on a ship with other cadets. Soon, I can enter the next program of my choice to determine what my career will be. But I'll be taking a year off studies to join the Marines."

"That's so cool," said Gabriel, smiling. "You must have quite some brains, much more than me."

"Oh, don't be like that. You're quite smart in your own way. I mean, you're a Myrmidon. It took a lot of brains to even qualify."

"Thanks a lot, Sokka. You make me feel a bit better. Well, I'll start playing a game, so I won't be able to talk for a few hours."

"Me too. What game are you playing?"

"It's called The Mystic Alliance. If you're into fantasy, you'll love it. You can choose to play as a warrior, ranger, or mage. It's basically about you on a quest and doing what it takes to form an alliance to defeat the emperor, who's taking over the world. I'm playing as a mage. It's great that I can unlock abilities and fighting moves. It's not a turn-based roleplaying game, though."

"Sounds cool, might check it out. I would probably enjoy playing as a warrior."

"Ok, well I won't say anything else."

Gabriel spent a few hours playing the game. He logged off and Sokka was still there playing. He decided to tap him on the shoulder to get his attention.

Sokka took off his VR headset and turned to Gabriel.

"I'll meet you here at the same time tomorrow," said Gabriel.

"Sure," said Sokka. "That would be nice. We can get some food as well and talk about the game."

He had gotten comfortable and confident enough to initiate a conversation with a stranger who happened to be a regular at the arcade. The boy was quite nice, and he had a feeling they would have a good friendship as they kept playing in the arcade.

Gabriel was planning to meet Siu after he had texted her. They met in one of the big lounges that reminded him of a wide-open space in a shopping mall.

"Hey, Hoodman, how was your game?" Siu asked.

"It went great," said Gabriel. "I might even make a new friend. His name is Sokka and he's a space cadet and will enlist as a Space Marine in September."

"It's great to be branching out and interacting with the other colonists. I've been able to talk to some people in the gym, though I don't see them often."

"I was only confident enough to approach Sokka because he comes to the arcade regularly and it turns out we enjoy the same types of games. I feel like I could go on for hours about my favorite fantasy video games and novels confidently around him."

"I wouldn't mind if you spend a lot of time talking about your hobbies, even though you might sound obsessed."

"Great."

Gabriel proceeded to tell Siu about the game he had been playing.

"Sounds like fun," said Siu. "I might try to get back into gaming. I haven't played a video game in a while. I'll check out the arcade sometime during this vacation. Also, I want to meet Sokka."

"Yeah, I would like to introduce you to him."

"So, do you plan on contacting your family?"

"Yeah," said Gabriel. "I know that the Philippines is still quite safe, even though they're occupied by the Fire Nation. When the new president was elected, the government had agreed to join the Fire Nation and surrendered without a fight, and as of now, there are no active warzones."

"How is that possible?" Siu asked. "I'm sure the transition wasn't that smooth."

"It wasn't. While most of the Philippine Front had pledged their allegiance to the Fire Nation, there were many resistance movements that were crushed easily. The Fire Nation had a strong grip on Southeast Asia. There was a political party that supported the Fire Nation for a long time, and it they recently came to power."

"It must be tough if you were still on Earth these past few years," said Siu. "I'm glad that during a silent time of the war, my parents managed to move me from Shanghai to Portland when I was thirteen."

"What's your family like?"

"There's not much to tell. I'm an only child and I lived with my parents before enlisting. Most of my relatives are scattered around the US and China."

"Oh. I'm also an only child, but I live near a lot of my cousins. I lived with one of my younger cousins since I was born. Her name is Ashley and she's your age. It was a fun time for me to spend with my cousins. Holidays were great and we played together a lot. It was a bit hard for me to move lightyears away from them all."

"Moving to space is hard for anyone. At least until we figure out a way to travel faster than light. It was hard for me to say goodbye to my parents and the life I had back on Earth. My life was more than comfortable, and I don't mean to brag. I joined the army and there were people from all walks of life. I'm glad I did, rather than stay rich and continue living like that."

"I wouldn't say I was poor, but I was quite happy with my life."

At this point in the vacation, Gabriel had shared more about himself to Siu. He had been pushing aside any remaining mistrust he had towards her, but he also wanted to brace himself in case there really was an impostor and it turned out to be her.

Though he was shy most of the time and had trouble sharing information about himself, he was relaxing a bit. He didn't need to think much, and the conversation had just flowed naturally. He had appreciated Siu's friendship more as time went on. Although she was more of a quiet girl who spoke little during mealtimes with the squad, Gabriel still thought she was a great person to talk to. He considered her quiet nature to be a good personality trait.

Today was also one of those days when Siu wore her hair down. On duty, her hair was often in a bun, or sometimes in a ponytail. This time, her long, black hair was free. He had to admit she was quite beautiful. Now that he wasn't on duty, he had slowly noticed her beauty, not just in her personality, but also in her looks. He had felt a bit of excitement, and he could tell by his heartbeat. It felt like he was soaring on clouds.

They shared basic information about their families and what it was like to live in their home countries. After that, it was time for dinner, and they decided to eat at the same place as the rest of the squad. Thankfully, there was a wide variety of food, even though the soldiers had no way of cooking for themselves, as they didn't have their own kitchens and the selection of food was dependent on what was available in the colony.

Gabriel went to bed happy that night, and it took him a while to calm down. He had to take slow, deep breaths, even though he was also tossing and turning out of happiness. He was quite energetic and was sometimes worried about embarrassing himself. Most of the time, he would just stay quiet and try to stand still, not drawing attention to himself. Although he was enjoying himself with his squad, he tried to stay calm, and not do or say something that he would regret. After a while, tiredness overtook him, and his breaths and movements became slower.

It was the next day, and Gabriel arrived at the arcade, and sure enough, Sokka was there. After exchanging contact information, they played their games for a few hours.

Siu had told him that she was going to be at the gym and had given Gabriel directions to tell him which gym she was at.

"Hey, Sokka, there's someone I want you to meet," said Gabriel.

"Sure," said Sokka.

"We're gonna go to the gym."

They both grabbed workout clothes and some water. They then walked through the maze of hallways towards the gym that Siu was at. The gym was spacious, with two floors. There were several different stations and machines for lifting weights. On one side of the gym were punching bags and a few boxing rings.

Siu approached them wearing a black tank top, with tight black leggings. The tank top was a bit tight and showed a bit of her curves. Gabriel was wearing a similar outfit, while Sokka wore a dark blue tank top with matching shorts.

"Siu, I want you to meet Sokka," said Gabriel. "Sokka, I want you to meet Private Siu."

"It's great to meet you," said Sokka.

"Same," said Siu.

There were some racks with special weights and bars for the Myrmidons to use. It was great because the material weighed a lot but didn't take up too much space. The weight plates and bars were tougher and denser.

"Let's see what you've got," said Gabriel.

After warming up with the 45-pound bar, Sokka loaded weight on a squat rack and ended up with 225 pounds. He grabbed it and began to squat slowly. The bar rested on his shoulders, and he extended his knees, straightening his tall and slender frame.

"Not bad," said Gabriel. "It took me forever to be able to squat 225 pounds. It felt like an achievement when I was able to reach that weight for my personal record."

"I know you guys are about to overshadow me with your superhuman strength," said Sokka.

"It will seem unnatural at first," said Siu. "One day, you'll get used to living with superheroes."

Gabriel loaded 1,500 pounds onto a bar. He then lifted it off the rack and began to squat, slowly lowering himself. His thighs were straining slightly, but he was able to do ten repetitions.

"Wow, just wow," said Sokka.

"When you keep training as a Myrmidon, you'll continue to improve in strength," said Gabriel. "Even though the serum takes effect quickly, you might not be used to your new strength. You must condition your mind to be able to convince your body to lift heavy weight. You must slowly increment."

"Was it effortless to lift that weight? You basically carried a bear on your shoulders."

"It took me a bit of effort."

It was Siu's turn to squat. She was able to complete ten repetitions with a moderate amount of effort.

"I may look small and I'm shorter than most women, but this serum makes me much stronger than I look."

Siu was by no means petite, but her body wasn't too muscular either. She was a bit slender, but not too thin.

"Hey Sokka!" a voice called out.

The three turned their heads to see a young woman with light skin and auburn hair. She was wearing a green tank top with matching shorts. Her hair didn't go past her shoulders, and some of it was tied back into a short ponytail. Her body was about as wide as Siu's, but it also looked longer, and she looked thinner because she was taller than Siu.

"Hey, Suki," said Sokka.

Sokka briefly introduced Suki to Gabriel and Siu. It turned out that Suki was in the same space cadet program as Sokka in the school that they both went to, and they had been friends and classmates for quite some time. Suki was also going to join the Marines.

"You down for a boxing match?" Suki asked.

"Sure," said Sokka. "I hope I've been improving in my punching and dodging skills since the last time we sparred."

"I'm looking forward to see your skill."

They put on sparring gear before stepping into an empty ring. Sokka and Suki touched gloves and agreed that the first person to score a knockdown won the round, and they were willing to go for a few rounds. Gabriel and Siu stood on the sides, eager to see the fight.

Sokka used his reach to jab with his left hand, but his smaller opponent was able to dodge them, not needing to bring her head that low. Swinging her head to the side, Suki took a step closer and threw an uppercut, landing on Sokka's stomach.

Suki threw a left hook, but Sokka pulled his head back and took one step backwards. Sokka threw a jab and a cross. Suki tilted her head to avoid the jab, but the cross hit her in the nose. Suki was used to taking punches, and it was obvious as she shook off the punch and jabbed upwards, landing on Sokka's nose. Sokka threw a right hook, but Suki ducked under it.

It felt like forever, but in reality, only two minutes had passed. Sokka threw a left hook and managed to land it on Suki's face, which staggered her a bit. She recovered quickly, though, and blocked the next few punches. Finding an opening, she threw a combination. First, she threw a jab, which dazed Sokka a bit, but it was enough for her to throw a right hook, an uppercut, and a left hook. Although the headgear minimized the pain that Sokka felt, the force of the combination of punches knocked him off his feet. He bent his right knee, landing on it, and he stuck out his hands to break his fall, rolling onto his back.

"That's rough, buddy," said Gabriel jokingly.

"It's alright," said Sokka. "I think I've improved and lasted longer than I have before."

"I agree," said Suki. "It took me more effort to knock you down, and you got some good hits on me as well. You've been improving a lot, and we'll learn more fighting skills when we train in the Marines."

Sokka got up and grabbed a drink of water. He was leaning on the ropes to catch his breath. They both climbed out of the ring.

"Wanna see how Myrmidons fight?" Gabriel asked.

"Yeah," said Sokka. "I'm sure my eyes won't be able to keep up. I've heard stories of Myrmidons. Maybe the stories aren't exaggerating."

"We won't be limited to punching, though," said Siu. "We'll be doing some kicking and wrestling too."

"Set a five-minute timer, Sokka," said Gabriel. "It's either the timer runs out or someone taps out first."

Gabriel and Siu put on sparring gear and MMA gloves. After touching gloves, the sparring match began.

Siu threw a curving kick. Gabriel, knowing he couldn't easily duck under it, threw his upper body back. Gabriel threw his own kick, hitting Siu square on the stomach. Siu recovered quickly, not slowing down at all. She circled her bigger opponent before throwing herself forward. She attempted a takedown, throwing her arms around Gabriel's torso.

Gabriel staggered back a few steps, but he managed to regain his footing and threw Siu aside. He then threw a left hook which hit her jaw.

Gabriel threw a front kick, which Siu dodged. Siu moved diagonally and threw a few punches. Some of them were blocked, while others connected with Gabriel's face.

Gabriel lunged forward, but Siu wrapped her arms around his waist and threw him over her shoulder. Gabriel landed on his back and rolled out of the way before Siu could strike him. He threw a punch before getting back on his feet. His heart started pounding with all the energy that he expended. His moves were quite fast and if you blinked, you could risk getting hit, so it was necessary to always move around.

Siu threw a kick, which landed squarely on Gabriel's chest. Gabriel lunged forward and managed to tackle Siu. He quickly wrapped his legs around hers while he tightened his arms around her body. Gabriel was focused on ending the fight, as Siu tried desperately to break free by moving her legs. Siu was also throwing punches, but Gabriel shook them off while he pinned one of her hands down.

Gabriel managed to wrap his right arm around her neck, tightly enough to keep her head in place, but not enough to strangle her. She tried to pry Gabriel's arm off, to no avail. Her legs kicked out and moved Gabriel's legs away. Gabriel moved his legs to wrap around her hips. They lay like that until Siu decided to tap out, and Gabriel released his grip. They were both out of breath when they stood up.

"How long was the fight?" Gabriel asked.

"Three minutes and fourteen seconds," said Sokka.

"It felt like it was much longer," said Siu. "Good fight, Hoodman."

"Yeah, it was fun," said Gabriel.

"You two sure looked like you enjoyed yourselves," said Suki.

"Out of all the hand-to-hand combat training I had to do, that fight was fun compared to the training exercises," said Gabriel.

Gabriel found that fight to be fun, as it wasn't as serious as the sparring exercises that he did when training. He had sparred and wrestled with men and women alike, as the serum made the difference in abilities between the genders almost negligible. The serum would still affect people based on how much training they do and their unchangeable physical traits like height and how their muscles were built. The serum didn't make everyone's muscles the same size.

The two then did a few more exercises together before they decided to eat dinner at the same time and place.

Gabriel chose to have a seafood dish. He and Siu sat with Sokka and Suki, and the rest of the squad sat at the same table as them. In the colony, soldiers and civilians often intermingled whenever possible. Gabriel briefly introduced his new friends to the squad.

Gabriel sat across from Sokka and noticed the young man's meal. There was a lamb steak with rice and vegetables.

"Man, you must love your meat," said Gabriel. "Honestly, I'm more of a chicken and seafood guy, but I would prefer lamb over beef or pork."

"Yeah," said Sokka. "It's so great."

"Everyone who knows him knows him as the meat and sarcasm guy," said Suki. "He eats a lot and moves a lot, which is probably the only reason why he stays thin."

"Yeah, not every teenager is super buff," said Siu. "Don't let movies and TV mislead you."

"I was mostly skinny as a teen," said Gabriel. "I didn't look like I was starving, though, and my cardio was decent. I just accepted being a bit thin while also not being very tall."

"Is everyone having fun?" Kipmi asked.

"Yeah," said Siu. "We've been enjoying this vacation."

The other Myrmidons agreed.

"I think we're a bit safer now that more Marines arrived," Siu continued.

"I try not to think about what might be next for us," said Kipmi. "Maybe we'll all be called to action sometime after our vacation is over or maybe much sooner than that. We'll probably be called for another meeting soon. Anyway, I've been talking to different people, and I went on some of the different dance floors around here. One of the minor perks of the serum is being able to dance for hours without sweating or heating up too much."

"I got to contact my family," said Choi. "And they say that they're quite safe and enjoying their life. You can experience freedom even if you live in Fire Nation territory."

Ghuvi and Larsen briefly shared their experiences with exploring the colony and seeing what it had to offer. Most of the time, they were exercising, and sometimes they caught up on the intellectual side of being a soldier to keep their minds sharp. Gabriel wanted to spend a few days letting loose a little before he could get back to studying a little. He was on vacation. He wanted to keep his mind sharp, but he was going to study at a more relaxed pace.

The vacation was enjoyable for him so far. It helped strengthen bonds with the squad and opened the door for new friendships.