Colonel Mehaffey

Circinius IV, CAMS

March 20, 2525

Overseeing the academic processes had been a tiring duty for the colonel during her observations. Many cadets came to her office to be remanded, rewarded, or sized up by herself or other fellow cadets to testify for their squads. Some needed to be reminded of their place or disciplined properly. If at worst, some cadets were stripped of their rank and discharged to the tether to return home.

This was not one of those occasions.

After she had overseen the induction of the new cadet, it had seemed that the student had adjusted himself quite nicely with the academy. He had settled pretty nicely with Sagillius Squad, displayed a rapid recovery rate faster than any new cadet on record, and his first recorded assignments displayed near perfect scores on all of his academic exercises; regardless of his low performance on physical fitness. She had seen the cadet firsthand of his wealth of knowledge, his acumen to recover even without having full capability or access to specific material was short of exemplary. The colonel smiled inwardly while looking down on her terminal.

Giving Cadmon Lasky, one of two sons of Colonel Lasky, a challenge; he had proven to be the perfect catalyst for the part. Not only did she have no idea what would happen when the newest addition to Sagilius squad entered into the ranks, but his introduction into the academy had sent a few murmurs between the cadets. She overheard many rumors from cadets in passing, many of them catching her attention as an instructor. Having encountered his intelligence firsthand in yesterday's instruction, even testing him in being the only one from his squad to participate; she had the notion of the cadet's abilities as a tactical officer.

If he was given time to improve his physical fitness as a cadet, would he be capable of jumping a couple of years and being in the same grade ranking as the squad itself?

Only time would tell.

"Cadet Phoenix is ready," Orlin spoke on the monitors.

Shutting off the terminal, Colonel Mehaffey would stand up and look at the door.

"Enter," she spoke.

Immediately, the hatch doorway opened and revealed Cadet Phoenix slightly marching up to the desk, before stopping and then standing at attention.

"Stand at ease," Mehaffey ordered. The young man would simply take his place, with the instructor still sitting in her chair; lax and leaning forward with a slight pinch on her chin. She was still giving the hawkeyed stare and looking at the young man, examining him.

"Your intelligence surprised many cadets and caught the system by surprise Cadet Phoenix," the experienced instructor began. "Not many could have the split time and intuition to prepare you for the class. Either you were very lucky, or you are quicker on your feet than most cadets who come from around here." There, in her sentence of intuition, she was already hitting the implication of his intelligence or his uncanny luck.

"Tell me, Cadet Phoenix; how were you able to understand every point of yesterday's class?" Colonel Mehaffey asked.

"Exposure to the information prior to candidate selection sir," Cadet Phoenix spoke. He was quick to get to the point, sharp, and honest. "Study of Earth's punic history of warfare, battle tactics, and symbolic history of victory and defeat led me to understanding the point of the lesson." That was the answer he gave to the colonel, nothing more, nothing less.

"Interesting," Mehaffey replied. She would soon sit back up to take a mental note of the young man's answer. However, she would stand, walk to the window that gleamed sunlight dimly into the room, and mused over the cadet's answer. "That's the how, now tell me why you wanted to know this information."

"To prove myself sir," Griffin began. "To show that I can retain information and then use it effectively. If the intel doesn't work, adapt to more practical means."

That was when Mehaffey turned to Griffin and walked to the front of her desk. "A wise decision, but if you were put in a situation where your intel and intuition would not save you, what would you do then?" She questioned, giving the young man a testing look.

In the moment of silence, Griffin would stand at attention and look her straight in the eye. "Axios." Was all he would say to the colonel, giving her the answer she would understand.

"Axios," the colonel replied. She would nod to the young man and gave him the freedom to leave, just as the cadet would salute and exit the room.

"Let's see how well you do in logistics." Mehaffey mused to herself.

Griffin Phoenix

CAMS, Logistics Class

Griffin panted in exhaustion the more he paced in a jog as he was instructed to by Laskey. Ever since he was seen walking to class by his squad leader yesterday, Cadmon decided to order him to double-time it to every single lecture; or face running the Tour twice in the evening or be punished with more PT. Phoenix assumed it was a joke at first, but he realized quickly when he ran Tour three times and PT'd most of the morning paces during and after inspection. Meeting with Colonel Mehaffey was the only reason why he wasn't collapsing at this point.

Being the first in class nearly surprised the logistics instructor as the officer barely had time to set up his lesson agenda. But Phoenix still took on his bearings, took a few seconds to recover, then stood at attention and saluted.

"Cadet Phoenix apologizes for the surprise sir," the cadet spoke. As Phoenix was looking directly ahead, he could tell by the looks of the instructor's uniform that he was a full-bird colonel. With the older man's dark brown complexion and scarred skin, the young man sucked himself up and made sure as to not piss the man off even more. Memories of being broken down into tears by his High School JROTC instructor, a colonel, bearing down on him was hell on earth. He did not want to relive the experience, and so he simply stood tall and prayed to god he would not get broken down again.

"At ease, cadet," the instructor replied with a curt nod. "You are the first in class, so take stance in front of the lead terminal. Today is Campaign week."

Phoenix would bring down his hand and immediately walked over into the dark room. The illumination of the room soon displayed another assembly of terminals and holographic generators, with the center of the room being albeit too similar to a war room. There were several terminals in circular array, causing Phoenix to walk over to one of them and begin to await further instruction by the colonel himself.

"If I may sir, but-"

"You are asking about what is Campaign week?" Suggested the instructor, taking his eyes from the terminal to look at the young man. A curt nod from the man gave the instructor the go-ahead. "Campaign week is an examination of logistics in military campaigns. Every freshman cadet will be organized into their squads and they will command their nation in the conflict. Think of this examination as a game of chess with many opponents. However, since you are the only Freshman Cadet in your squad, that means you will be alone in this examination against the entire class." The instructor implied.

Griffin, while listening to the instructor, witnessed the man smile when he mentioned the very fact that he was going in alone. The cadet grimaced at the thought of being placed in a fixed position.

"I assume this might be a little bit too much for the newcomer, or am I to see just how far your limitations can go?" That brought the young cadet into gritting his teeth. However, the man inside did not want to let the Instructor observe his uncertainty over the situation. And so, Griffin took a breath, calmed down, and stood in his position alone and in the center of his command console.

It was at this moment that the entire class would be guided to their respective command terminals. Every student was selected in their positions, twenty-seven overall and enough for every person to take their positions. However, once when the many students were all sorted and standing at attention; the lights started to dim and the holographic interfaces would activate. The central terminal would pulse with the energy needed to display a wide scope of a landscape, a landscape that was familiar to Griffin already:

From a wide view, they were looking at a view of Europe, Asia, and Japan. There was something familiar about this map, something that made the man grow curious about this.

"This week will begin your examinations on what you have learned in Logistics. Those of you who fail will repeat the lessons this semester, those of you who succeed will enter the class tournament before the final examinations for the term." The Instructor would soon walk nearby Griffin and look to the rest of the cadets. "Just remember, there are no rules in this examination. Survival is your objective." He inquired, before walking to the center of the chamber and soon activating the terminals for the cadets to use. "Best of luck." And with that, Griffin and every single student would receive their faction.

In front of Griffin's screen, he would immediately be given the banner and name of the faction he was commanding:

Greece: Athens.

Immediately, Griffin would be given the user commands for this entire assessment. And at that moment, he realized what exactly was causing his suspicions:

These were command terminals for Total War: Rome 2! And in further view, it looked like every DLC going all the way to Genghis Khan to Shogun were included here.

"Oh man, they do not know who these people are up against." Griffin smirked as he would play the game he was already used to. He could see that he was in a strategically bad position regarding Sparta and other Greek City-States being controlled by AI (most likely because it was meant for a Squad to control the nation). However, because he was a client city-state of Macedon, it caused Griffin to know he was set up to fail. Knowing this, Griffin set a few spies along the northern territory before immediately upgrading his capital and setting on a campaign against Sparta to take it over.

While he focused on his own objectives in taking Greece, there was activity from the classmates that signaled something even more nefarious...

It looked like Rome, Egypt, Averni, Carthage, Parthia, and Suebi were gathering forces to take over Greece. Yes, there were other factions that were being attacked by the factions that each squad had, but Griffin knew what was going to come for him. So, by the time Turn 3 came, he had already enough forces to protect himself as well as take over Sparta and its surrounding southern City-States. Knowing the capabilities of his AI opponents, Griffin took over the entire southern side of Greece by splitting his attacking force into multiple armies and then conquering said areas with swift precision.

With similar tactics used in Turn 4 and 5 to take the north as well as Macedonia, Greece was under the control of Griffin. He knew the other Squads would come, and so he sent a weaker army to Japan. Thinking this was the main force of Athens on a final run to gain an ally, a large naval force was sent by the other squads to take the fleeting army.

When Griffin looked up to see the other cadets, there would be many faces of joy and a predatory hint that they thought he would be fresh meat to be butchered. He could see them planning, growing eager, and very much comfortable. However, Griffin replied to the squads with a grin of his own. Many of the squads' smiles darkened before they looked back at their terminals.

At that moment, Griffin struck with his own naval feint.

Swiftly and precisely, Griffin would unleash his real naval assault and took the unsuspecting squads by surprise. First, Griffin took out the unprepared naval fleets that were still in dock by the unprepared cadets. Second, Griffin sent his ground armies into taking the cities that were unprotected by any naval fleet. It was easy on how each city fell and how vulnerable every squad became.

By the time Turn 8 came, Griffin had taken complete control of Rome, Egypt, Carthage, Averni, and Parthia without competition. What was worse, Griffin's small naval force sent to Japan secured an alliance with a few clans already. With Griffins strategic play as well as his dominance on the battlefront, he would bring the room to complete silence on this assessment.

That was when the terminals would lock out and the assessment would end for the time being.

"Assessment completed... a week too early I might add. Cadet Phoenix, stay behind, the rest of this class is dismissed." The Instructor spoke, causing all of the cadets to stand at attention and leave the room. Many of the young men and woman gave an assortment of looks: Shock, Envy, Respect, Hate, and Surprise. All of it was directed to Griffin, even as he still stood at attention. Even when the young cadets left the room, the instructor would walk closely to Griffin, getting a measure of the man with his cold-blue eyes and grey naval uniform.

"It would seem that I and everyone in this chamber has underestimated you." He would speak, bringing his scar-addled white skin to bear on the young man's side glance. "And in so doing, you have caused the majority of this class to fail in a single hour." Implied the male, continuing the voice of interest.

"Sir, are you suggesting that I am not aware of the consequences of my actions?" Griffin asked, still at attention.

"It is interesting that you would knowingly act as if you knew what was going to happen. Especially when you realized the precariousness of your situation." The Instructor spoke, walking around the young man. "I could see it in your eyes, you knew how to outmaneuver them." He spoke accusingly.

"I did when all eyes were upon me." Griffin would admit to the instructor. He could see a 'Smith' behind the frame of the name tag; something that caught his attention by the particular character of the man accusing him of potentially knowing too much for his own good.

"This is not an interrogation Phoenix. I am merely inquiring as to why you decided that an action was necessary. Were you seeking to gain prestige, identity, or something else entirely?" Asked Smith.

"Neither, I'm afraid sir," Griffin replied.

"Then what was your intentions Phoenix?" Smith spoke dryly.

"Teach the same lesson Colonel Mehaffey taught us sir, hubris. Never underestimate your enemy. Never underestimate what they will do to defend their home or die in the attempt." Spoke the cadet. That answer would cause Griffin to realize his answer was the right one, because the response from this... Smith had lessened and showed an interested perspective on him.

It was at this moment, Smith started to walk towards the door and stand by it. "You are an interesting cadet, Phoenix. Now go, you are dismissed." He would speak, motioning the young freshman cadet away.

"Axios." Griffin uttered in adherence to attention, saluted, then made his way out.

When Smith was alone, the older man walked over to the command console and opened the display. Looking at the screen, he would see a score listing of the entire class ranking:

Griffin Phoenix: 94% Combat Effective, User Score: #1, Strategic Winner Milestone, Recommendation: Class Increase.

CAMS, Cafeteria

Entering into the cafeteria was an entirely different atmosphere the second Griffin walked inside. By the silence of a few squads and even the murmurs of Sophomores, it was evident that rumor started to spread about Griffin's actions in defeating the entire class.

After moving forward and heading to receive his tray of food, the young man turned and went to Sagelius squad. He would swiftly approach the group of squad mates, especially when their eyes glossed upon him in interest.

"So I hear you've represented Sagelius Squad in the logistics examinations?" Orenski asked as Griffin stood straight, sucking his breath and in a unique form of attention with his tray.

"Yes, sole winner and defeated every faction by turn eight." Griffin reported, causing Orenski to widen her eyes and look to Laskey, who was looking more uniquely satesfied by the young man's accomplishments.

"Another record for Sagelius Squad." McCraw would say.

"Indeed, sit down Cadet Phoenix, join us." Lasky smiled, motioning him to his seat with the rest of the squad. There was a newfound respect and appreciation for the young man. Watching the other cadets look upon the young man with an epiphany of emotions clouded the entire atmosphere over what true qualities Griffin had. It was why Lasky was more curious than excited, proud yet concerned for the cadet's social status. However, it definitely touched the squad leader's views of Griffin... even as the young man sat down as if he was being inspected. "And please lighten up, you are the victor here, eat." Thomas would chuckle, breaking the assumed tension Griffin was feeling in the air.

It was at this point that Griffin started to feast on his meal, even as the rest of the squad was more seeking to inquire his position.

And Orenski was the first to beat them to the punch.

"So, Phoenix, how did you do it?" She asked, causing the young man to take a gulp and nod.

"Alone, since I was the only member of the squad in the freshman cadet class. I used that to my advantage by taking rapid control of a country before the class invaded. They assumed I would be an easy kill, so I used their perceptions against them." Griffin informed, causing the few squadmates to curiously look at each other.

"How did you manage that?" Niko asked.

"Hubris, never underestimate your opponents." Griffin repeated. "Never underestimate what they will do to achieve victory." He repeated, causing Lasky to nod.

"Colonel Mehaffey's Lectures really worked on you." The squad leader humbled with a sigh.

"Now that you have obtained your reputation as this... oh what are they saying... Niko, what were the freshies saying about him?" McCraw asked Niko.

"Like he was some God of War." Niko chuckled, baking in the rumors from the other squads.

"Right, that. What is next in the great mind of this new god of war?" McCraw asked with a pensieve smirk.

"We prepare him for the combat training exercise on Friday." Orenski spoke, leaning into her side of the table as Ramirez, Wilhelm, and Mikhael to also lean in and look at Lasky.

Lasky would motion for Griffin to finish his meal.

"Finish up and get ready Phoenix, today we are running tour again."

Griffin collapsed to the ground as his mind began to whirl again. The same feeling of exhaustion, of unfamiliarity, and even the confusion over how these dreams worked still kept the young man on edge. It was here that Forthencho was waiting for him, looking at the young man as he struggled to stand up. "It is still a pain in the ass trying to get used to this." Griffin snarled in the midst of standing on his feet and cracking both necks in the pure blank darkness of space around them.

"Be not afraid, I am your ancient, dead ancestor speaking to you through the void." Forthencho implied, looking to the young man with a dry-lid spatial concentration.

"Right, sorry." Griffin sighed, crossing his arms.

"Now, here you are on the day before you will begin the combat exercise. What have you learned that will increase your combat effectiveness?" Forthencho asked.

"Consider utilizing the same tactic Thomas Lasky did with drawing the opponents in for a trap. The helmets track you in the forest, so use that against the cadets. Today I have learned that things are not too different than I remembered, so now we have an easier time outmaneuvering every obstacle." Griffin spoke, not wasting time in specifics.

"You did fail in one measure of leadership," Forthencho implied. It caused Griffin to stand tall. "You failed to check in on your friends, those who can aid you will garner you better protection and assistance. The value of them can never measure to what we learn here."

"You want people to change... then you're going to need people to follow you." Griffin spoke underneath his breath.

"That there is a point you need to follow. Tomorrow, you find your friends and you speak to them honestly, catch up with them and make connections. After that, you prepare for combat. This week has your fellow cadets looking at you now, aim to surprise." Forthencho would command, walking past him like a military leader.