Chapter 8: Beginning Stages: Healy: Feb 06, 4996

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Training has been so tough, on all of us, the new exercises, the grueling tests that seem impossible. That sergeants firing at us, switching from no rounds except them verbally saying pop, to gel rounds that explode on contact, to physical ammo after we earned our under-suits, that one hurt. We are in week 51 out of 100. It's time for unarmed fight club we don't have rights to fight in our armor suits, we have barely earned our official boots. So they are having us fight in mech units as our introduction to them. After 40 weeks of exercise and discipline slowly turning into teaching us how to fight and fight drills by ourselves, exercise routines lasting for hours in unison so we know how to fight when the time is needed. The time is needed starting today. Training has been 40 hours a day 6 days a week. Day 7 is done for us to do any kind of training of our own choice for 12 hours, then we do whatever we want, exploring the base, learning our way around, getting an idea of what we want to do. Reaux has been an interesting soldier, he doesn't seem to know or remember anything before his first day of training or maybe I'm looking too far into this. I know he is in the GOC unit and is housed separately from me, maybe they just do things differently there. Reaux uses his day 7 to exercise in the gym for 12 hours a day after getting more injections of white muscle. And even after that, he spends at least 20 hours in the library, I know he has the goal to learn everything, law, history, weapon specs, and medical specs. He refuses to talk to anyone. I got him to talk one time. He just found it interesting how 1000s of years ago Michael Moore used sign language and turned followers of Christ into a prison gang that was able to rise up and in a cover of a riot, knock out the Com system and "delete" all the guards of the concentration camp. He took over the role as the Warden and so the name of rank 21 has become Warden.

I go on and on, I need to stop that. The mech fights are coming up, I don't want to be late for the formation, otherwise, I will be forced to go to the gym instead of being given a mech to fight in. I don't know why, but I want to destroy Reaux. Maybe it's his arrogance that he's earned through doing 3 times as good as the average person, maybe it's that he does extra training. Maybe it's because he's the prince, but he acts so humbly like he has no idea. I want some of him if I'm in the ring with him I will destroy him.

I go to the formation pad like any other day, I'm next to Reaux in formation as always. The smug mother fucker just standing at attention waiting for orders. The rest of formation forms around us. Squad leaders begin counting us. The drill sergeant comes out from his office. "AT-EASE pipsqueaks!"

We all snap into at ease, the ground shakes with our uniformity in doing so. "Today is the start of actual fight training. Over the course of 50 weeks, everyone has been able to cut it. You saw what happened to the 90 who did not make the cut. They are all dead! Sliced, shot, mangled, disabled then deleted. This has been the hardest any of you have ever seen in life, you are half way done with your training. And now is when it gets deadly. And none of you realize except for Reaux, Mr. Outrank me, and he chooses to go back for more training. Yeah, we all know how you are an over achiever. Mr. 87 completed missions and 684 confirmed kills and only 1 friendly in 3 years. I only have 41! And it's been 5 years for me and 30 of those were training pukes like the rest of you. Look up to Reaux, he is a real man, a real hero. I hope to be like him after I have completed my 10 years in this job, I do not like my job training the new recruits but it's what I'm good at. Now let's begin. We will be going down 40 stories today. Whoever chooses will be permitted to use the stairs, 10 people at a time and the elevator for anyone else but that will only be 10 at a time. Today all of the drill sergeants will be on duty, all 30 of us, for you remaining 810. You know your number, define yourself to a sergeant accordingly, and if you want to fight someone in particular follow them we really don't care, as long as there's 90 per sergeant today. Does everyone understand?"

"Yes, the idiot with their hand up instead of reporting like everyone else?"

"Drill sergeant, how will all of us be able to train today, most the floors beneath the tanks can handle is enough for 10 mech. And each sergeant will have 90 of us how will that work?"

"Ok, oh smart one, before you can do your drill, for punishment for your stupid question, you will be on the field for the first 2 rounds of fights. Dodging my fire personally and the fighting mech around you. Because of fuck you! There are 30 sergeants because there are 40 arenas for a reason. On game days, there's a maximum of 10 fights. Each sergeant will have instructions for each of you, all training exactly individual. Some are even choosing to make things more dangerous for you to simulate actual war. Oh and Reaux"

"Drill Sargent, yes, Drill sergeant!"

"First of all, we told you to quit the drill sergeant sandwiches. Secondly, Drill Sargent Burger has earned you for his version of training. He is the only Sargent that has a similar Light Infantry campaign career. 5 years, rank 9 and on a 20-week mission that he went away for he added another 78 confirmed kills to his personal record of 403. This has earned him the honor of doing this training for you. 79 of his 781 have been in a mech. You both are eagle ranked. Good luck, he's been keeping a secret what he has planned and he usually tells me everything, we are roommates."

"Hooah Drill Sargent!"

"Everybody dismissed get in your new formations!"

Panic ensues, guys following other guys, flesh and under suits everywhere. I make sure to go straight to Drill Sargent Burger's platoon. He is the best Drill Sargent we have. Extremely hard on the troops but has some very good stories of war that he shares, always. He is very fair, always have been.

As we get set in a line, in front of Drill Sargent Burger, get ourselves in line and announce ourselves in number. Reaux being faster than most of us was number 3. I got trampled being so small, I was number 81. Still safely into Drill Sargent Burger's care and leadership. Learning how he has been, I know I might get killed if this is when it's going to be when it starts to get deadly. He trains good, he trains hard, I'm proud to be under his leadership. 

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