The floor of the compartment still vibrated faintly, an echo of unfinished training. Asmara stared at her teammates lined up in front of her. Their gazes were a little tense, oscillating between forced loyalty and poorly disguised naiveté.
Asmara crossed her arms, her voice sharp and confident, snapping:
- we're going to succeed in this text. We'll make short work of this test... I'm still wondering why they were sent here.
A heavy silence fell.
Nobody really knew
But sadness dared to answer
-Maybe because they still need to learn...after all they are here for the same reason as us
Asmara took a step forward, her shadow stretching over her.
- False. Here, they don't "teach" you anything. Here, they crush you until you see if anything solid remains. And right now, all I see is sand.
The others looked away, avoiding getting involved in a baseless argument.
Since she's been here... Asmara has been acting strangely.
BOOM
A shudder ran through the recruits.
Hall Principal
[command center to team…..rare report]
Asmara took her courage in both hands and put her pride aside, and found herself in the hall with the rest of the squad.
The hubbub was intense: some whispered excitedly, others sniggered, but all waited for the report.
A deep voice echoed through the speakers:
[First official mission of the evaluation. Yellow Trial. Squadron... on reconnaissance patrol in the pit, answer the call, this is the command center.]
-What's going on, asked Asmara, joining Roum and Joy
Roum frowned. Squadron…
Finally
Projection resumed
The image trembled slightly: a dark corridor, covered in dust and corroded metal. Headlamps pierced the gloom. The soldiers' breathing filled the speakers, making the scene strangely intimate.
The leader, at the head, gave a signal:
[Nothing to report…. Close formation. No one is scattering… we were just caught in an explosion… Nothing serious. Over]
[are you serious, continue the patrols]
followed her behind, his face closed, but his eyes scanned every corner with icy vigilance, as if he had only told us the flowery half of the story
Asmara, arms crossed, watched without blinking. In her ear, I whispered
- A classic yellow mission. Patrol and reconnaissance. There was just some kind of explosion.
She answered dryly:
-Yes, thank you, but I've already heard it.
In the hall, oddly enough, the rest of the squad as well as the new ones were at the back access away from the trio
- I wonder if we'll have the same health routine for our test, Joy breathed, staring at Asmara, a smirk on her face.
"It looks like a trap," Asmara replied, clenching her fists.
I'm going to avoid putting my mouth into this story and focus on finding a way to come back whole.
Asmara caught that look. She didn't say anything, but a thought crossed her mind: "You won't have it that easy for me… Alpha 1."
In the pit
The leader stopped abruptly. The silence on the screen became stifling. Only the dripping of seeping water could be heard.
-Move… left, announced the girl.
The cameras swiveled. An indistinct figure slipped into the shadows,
The audience in the hall held their breath.
One of the young soldiers in the squad whispered:
-Who's there? Get out...
Silence
-I'll count to three, if you don't come out I'll have to shoot you.
Asmara leaned forward slightly, her eyes narrowing.
- It's not a rat, it's a shame there are more and more of them, especially here...
On the screen, the leader raised his fist, a weapon in his hand:
-Stand in position. If it's a Transemotional, we fall back, it's an order
A whisper ran through the hall. The word had struck like a bell.
Did he have the right to leave?
Especially when faced with these kinds of opportunities
[command center to team…, eliminate any obstacle to change route]
An instructor spoke to the spectators:
- Remember this. The tests are classified by color. Yellow, patrol and reconnaissance. Red, direct confrontation. Black… extermination. The more perilous the mission, the greater your chances of promotion. Don't take tests you're incapable of completing; don't waste our time.
The recruits exchanged heavy glances. It was obvious, no one wanted to fail and no one wanted to be stuck here… We all dream of that dream life up above.
Back to the mission
A rumble echoed through the speakers. The cameras shook. The squad moved closer. The creature had human features, its eyes glowing with intensity, it didn't move, pressed against a wall at the end of the corridor.
-don't move anymore
It's not likely
Weapons flashed, flames lit up the corridor. The screen vibrated with a heartbeat.
Asmara watched again, but this time a worried crease marked her brow.
[Mission continues, declared the old man]
-As you command, breathed the chief, clearly on the verge of a crisis, his fingers trembling around his weapon.
The screen goes dark for a few seconds,
[Eliminate the threat], ordered the old man
-Yes, yes, go ahead, go, that's an order, the chief whispered.
The recruits stood frozen, shaken by what they had just seen. Some whispered among themselves, but perhaps deep down he would have done the same thing.
Roum discreetly raised his eyes to Asmara. She, impassive, simply turned around and said:
-There's nothing more to see. Go back to your compartments. The real test is coming.
She gave the recruits one last look, her tone low and sharp.
- prepare yourself
Then she turned on her heel, her figure disappearing into the shadows of the corridor.