Night had just fallen on the continent of Eposz of the planet Reach. Chilly air filled the rugged terrain near the highland mountains, a whisper of the slowly fading winter.
"Down,"
"Sixty-Three!"
No birds chirped, no mammals cried, all had fallen asleep in their dens. Leaving only the sounds from the nearby military installation to fill the void.
"Down,"
"Seventy-Seven!"
But even that was dulled as training and most other actions had ended for the day. Every cadet and trainee had returned to their barracks, looking forward to a little "personal time".
Everyone was done for the day except for five Orion-II cadets and one instructor.
Sitting in a military chair consisting of metal and a small piece of canvas for a seat. He watched carefully, looking for the smallest inconsistencies in form, "Down," he said, sounding almost bored as he glanced at the datapad in his lap.
"One Hundred!" the members called out as they used the last of the strength in their trembling arms.
"Rest position," he finally said, setting the data pad on the small table to the side.
"Training for today ends here. Wash up, and then head to the mess hall. Supper is over, and so dinner for Alpha team tonight is an MRE," he said, lacking any warmth or compassion, "Cadet 003, in approximately thirty minutes, meet me at the southern entrance of the chow hall. I expect you to be cleaned up," he said
He waited for a moment, hoping to catch one of them off guard. Seeing that all of them remained at an extended arm resting position, he felt a sense of acknowledgement, 'Good, seems they do learn,' he thought before speaking, "Dismissed."
The moment the words left his mouth, all of them collapsed onto the ground. Benjamin and Sheila fell directly onto their faces, uncaring that their faces were pressed into dirt. Daisy and Cal dropped onto their knees, rocking back onto their ankles, and David rolled over onto his back, staring at the stars in the sky while he took deep breaths.
Mendez left the training ground, and the first to speak up was Sheila, "Ya know, maybe I should've been a farmer. At least that way I would be paid to eat dirt," she joked tiredly.
"How many push-ups was that? I stopped counting after 600," Benjamin asked in disbelief.
"1,050, you should know, seeing as you're the main reason we did so many," Daisy spoke up, glaring at the boy.
"It was an accident," Benjamin replied, looking away.
"Yeah? Tell that to the 'Daisy' shaped imprint below that wall," Sheila half chuckled, still lying on the ground.
"It could have happened to any of us," Cal calmly tried to mediate the situation, but to no avail.
"Don't try to high road me, Cal. Had you not been an idiot, I wouldn't have been forced to work with him," Daisy said aggressively, jabbing her finger in the various directions of her teammates.
David finally had enough of listening to the arguing and stood up, beginning to walk away. "And where are you going?" Daisy asked in an accusatory tone.
David stopped and turned, "To wash up and meet up with Chief Mendez," he said, wiping his face tiredly. He spoke nonchalantly as if he was oblivious to both the events of the test and the conflict within the team he was supposed to be the head of.
Daisy balled her fists as she became red in the face, evidently angered by his attitude, "Fine! Go then!" she said throwing her hands in the air, "You're the worst one to put in charge. I hope they hurry up and chop up whatever this is," she said in a not so quiet mumble to herself.
David paused, looking as if he might say something, but shook his head, turning back toward the main facility. Daisy snorted and waited for a few moments before she headed inside by herself silently. Benjamin followed her not long after.
Sheila and Cal watched the scene unfold and shared a look of concern. Sheila eventually just shrugged, and the pair of them headed for the mess hall.
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(David Pov)
"Cadet Zero-Zero-Three reporting, Chief Mendez, sir!" I sounded off as was protocol when I met up with my instructor.
"At ease, Cadet," he said calmly before turning. "Follow me," he said, not elaborating on what we were doing.
The two of us walked out of the Spartan training building into one of the facility's many courtyards. Following one of the foot paths of concrete, we walked in the darkness, but our path was illuminated by light posts that activated whenever we came near.
I didn't say anything. During my personal training, I had figured out quickly that the man was not much of a conversationalist. At best, he gave one or two-word answers, unless he was giving an order or asking a question. It made me uncomfortable. I could never guess what he was thinking.
'It's better than being grilled about our performance today,' I thought, feeling uneasy about the test. 'We passed… but it didn't feel like we won.' Only Sheila and I made it to the objective. If this were real combat…
I stopped that train of thought as soon as it came up not liking where it was heading.
"Something on your mind?" I heard a voice from in front of me. Looking up, I realized that it was Mendez who had spoken; he looked at me out of the corner of his eye.
"No, instructor," I shook my head, responding respectfully
The man turned back to face the direction where he walked, "It appears that I haven't made you do enough push-ups today, if you think you can lie to me," he said, making me gulp. "Spit it out," he said roughly
'It's no use lying,' the man could sniff out dishonesty like a bloodhound. It was stupid of me to lie, "I was just thinking about the test today."
"That disaster?" he asked bluntly, still walking, not bothering to look at me.
"...Yes, instructor," I muttered, the sting of his judgment still fresh
He hummed to himself for a moment. We stepped off of the concrete path before entering into a building that I had not been to before, "During the test, you went back multiple times to your teammates rather than pushing forward," he said before pausing as if choosing his words before he spoke again, "Your intention was admirable, but let me give you a warning cadet. Going forward, if you are forced to make a choice between completing your mission and the life or endangerment of a teammate or subordinate…" he said, trailing off before looking at me with a deep stare that unsettled me.
"Choose the mission," he said firmly, leaving no room for argument.
I looked at him, confused, "I'm not sure what you mean, instructor?" he seemed to be talking around something.
He was silent, maybe thinking about what he would say before he shook his head, "You don't now, but you will in the future," he spoke, sounding a bit bitter.
My eyes widened. That was the most emotion I'd ever seen the man express. But he still left me in the dark about what he meant, 'Wasn't one of the mottos for the UNSC Marines, Never leave a man behind?'
Before I could give it any more thought, we stopped at an office on the ground floor of the building tucked away deep near the center. I glanced at a small sign raised up on the wall beside the door, Dr. Catherine Halsey, Head of Section 3 Research, it said in white lettering.
"The doctor wanted to talk to you," the man said shortly before turning and walking in the opposite direction down the hallway, leaving me to stare at the door of the office.
I knocked on the metal. A moment later, the door slid open, and I heard from inside, "Come in." I heard from the back of the room.
Stepping in, I glanced around, "This is new," I said before approaching a seat in front of the doctor's seat.
The doctor sat in her chair behind her desk and hummed, "Not new, I simply have multiple offices," she said, straightforwardly typing on a keyboard.
"For security?" I guessed.
"Something like that," she said, nodding her head, occupied with something on her computer screen.
She finished what she was doing, shutting the device down as the lack of light indicated, "How have you been lately, David? It has been unfortunate we haven't been able to speak as commonly as we used to," she said with genuine disappointment.
I didn't know exactly what to say. "I've been better," I said, giving a lukewarm response, "And you doctor?" I asked
"Busy," she said with a look of boredom, rolling her eyes, "You wouldn't think that a project like the Orion-II program would be so complex, but surprisingly it produces quite a bit of work," she said sarcastically
I smirked, "No, who'd have thought?" She adopted a similar smirk, hearing what I said.
"Can you tell me what happened today? Where did everything go wrong?" My smile dropped the moment she said those words.
'So that's what she wanted to talk about,' I had a suspicion, but was hoping that it was for some other reason
I thought seriously for a moment; it was the first chance I had gotten since the test to actually analyze what happened. 'It all went sideways when Cal got taken out for the most part. But that was an honest mistake, and something similar happened when Benjamin tripped. So why did we fall apart?' I asked myself, piecing together the problems that bubbled up, trying to find the source, until it dawned on me.
My throat ran dry, and that chair in the office felt like it was sinking into the earth, "Me…I'm the reason why we've been struggling," I said, staring at the floor, being ashamed.
She looked pleased with my acknowledgement, "Not entirely. 023 tends to do things her way without regard for orders, 141 lacks communication and an overall presence, 065 makes everything into a joke, and I believe I don't need to say anything regarding 127," she calmly listed a flaw for each of my teammates.
"But all of these issues can be overcome by discipline and effective leadership."
She continued, "Yes, you are indeed the main issue. You're at the top of the class in nearly every possible subject, from marksmanship to the classroom. Not only that, but you've shown yourself to be an excellent tactician and strategist, as well as a capable leader when you actually try to lead," she spoke, highlighting things I already knew. "Yet, you hesitate. It's as if you hold yourself back. Why is that?" she asked probingly
I sat silently, carefully thinking about what I should say. A part of me wished I weren't so exceptional so that I wouldn't be sitting here right now. I mulled it over in my head multiple times, listening to the dull hum of the lights in the office, before I sighed, 'She always seems to know just what to say to make me honest,' I admitted wryly
"Because I don't want to be the leader," I answered. She motioned for me to explain. I swallowed the spit in my throat, "I-I don't want to lose more people, not after my parents. If-If I became their leader, then one day my orders might be what sends them to their deaths," I struggled to get out, pausing between a couple of words as I thought about my words.
Quietly Catherine sat listening until I finished with a thoughtful expression before replying, "That is true, you as the leader would give them the orders that your teammates and future subordinates live and die by." she nodded in acknowledgement before continuing, "But the perspective that you are viewing it from is incorrect. The question you should be asking is 'Who can give Alpha team the best chance of survival?'" she said giving me a pause.
I didn't have a response to that, but I couldn't help but still feel uncertain, which was written on my face.
Seeing my lack of a response, the doctor sighed before she collected herself and spoke in a strong tone, "Listen, Alpha team sits near the bottom of the team ranking, and it is not because of individual ability. If you truly do not think that you are capable of fulfilling the role of team leader, then by the end of this week, your team will be disbanded. Otherwise, it's high time you step up," she finished her ultimatum.
All I could do was nod and stand up, sensing that this was the end of our talk
As I neared the door, the doctor gave me a final piece of advice: "If you'll lead, they will follow. But if you won't—then who will?"
I didn't respond. I merely continued through the doorway, on my way to the mess hall.
…
..
.
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Passed my Physics test, the final is next week wish me luck on that.
I realize now that I used to do a lot of explaining the direction I am heading in with the story and characters, that I stopped doing (for some reason). Would you like to see me return to that?
Anyway I don't have anything else to say. After this class wraps up I'll have a week before the next semester so I plan to go off the rails writing some chaps. BIG wish of luck on that one.
I hope all is well drop any questions or comments if you have them. Until next time.