Gears of War: What War Has Brought Us To

Chapter 2: This Is Who You Are Now

Getting up from the floor he was pushed onto, the Drone looked up to see hundreds of locust staring at him from the front of the room. None of them were wearing their upper body armor. They all looked at him with blank stares, as if they didn't know what to do. A huge locust, bigger than the rest, stood up. He was wearing his armor. It resembled normal Theron armor but was black and a lot bulkier. "Why are you here?" He seemed angry. "We were just about to begin training!" The huge Theron hissed as he walked closer, everything around him shaking, to get a closer look. "I was told by a Palace Guard that I was to join your training squad. Two Armored Kantus escorted me here." "You're nothing but a drone! You don't have the proper experience to receive this training!" His voice seemed even angrier. "I'm sorry, sir," the Drone replied. "But this is where I was assigned to be, so I am here." "Only grenadiers get appointed to Theron guard. Not a puny, weak drone!" He only seemed to be getting angrier. "But, if you were sent here by a guard, I suppose I could attempt to train you. Have a seat. We are going to begin our lesson shortly." The Drone felt relieved and sat hesitantly next to a Grenadier who seemed to want nothing to do with him. "Everyone," the large Theron called out. "Report to the training grounds! Bring a weapon if possible." All of the Grenadiers pulled out torque bows and shotguns from small leather-like bags that were sitting beside them. The Drone had nothing, as his weapon had been destroyed in battle. As soon as they were dismissed to the training grounds, they got up as fast as they could and pushed and shoved to get to the door first. The Drone followed not far behind the cluster of Grenadiers. Not far from the room they were in was a decently sized enclosed space. There were random guns laying around on the ground. "If you do not have a weapon, pick one up from the arena," said the large Theron. "If you have a weapon, stand over here." He pointed to a small doorway in the wall to the left. "I will get you fitted for your armor." The drone slowly walked over and picked up an old and damaged Boltok pistol. There was an ink grenade beside a dusty, broken lancer. He bent down to pick it up and quickly joined the Grenadiers that were standing in line, waiting to get fitted for their armor. As they waited, they were ordered to find a way to practice using their weapons in the meantime. Soon, it was the Drone's turn. "Next," called the Theron. As he was examining the Drone, the only thing he could think about was how much smaller he was compared to the Grenadiers. Soon, all of the locusts were fitted for their armor. "I will be back with armor that will fit you all" said the Theron, and he disappeared through the door, having to bend his head down to fit through. None of the Grenadiers were even paying attention and were just busy hitting each other with the butts of their shotguns and taunting each other. "How did I get here?" The Drone silently said to himself. He was afraid. He wasn't as well-trained as a Grenadier, so he didn't know what to expect. Luckily, none of these Grenadiers were appointed to Theron yet, so he wasn't the only first-timer there. The large Theron appeared in the doorway and yelled at everyone to stop messing around and that he had their armor. "File in one by one," he said. "This may take a while." Surprisingly, the Drone made it close to the front of the line. None of the Grenadiers were pushing and shoving anymore. He had expected them to be worse than the Armored Kantus, but they seemed to not even notice him. Before he knew it, he was next. The large Theron ordered him to come into the room with him. The Drone was ordered to remove his upper body armor and replace it with bulky, heavier, red armor. Next, he was given a belt with ragged loincloth-like material that hung down in the front, back, and sides of his legs, red-tinted boots, and gauntlets. Lastly, the large Theron pulled a dusty red helmet out of a large metal crate filled with different pieces of armor. "Don't lose it," he growled. "This is your armor for the rest of the training period. You will use this every day until the end." He placed the helmet upon the Drone's head. The Drone felt powerful. He never thought he'd be in this position before. The armor was very heavy and bulky, but a lot more protective than his old armor. "Go out that door." The large Theron pointed to a door on the opposite side of the small room. The drone obeyed.