Raven Knight

Chapter 25 - Rehabilitation & Refocus

2nd September 2311 05:17 EST - High G exercise was always extremely hard work but with Jason's recuperating shoulder it was exceedingly more challenging and a lot more painful. He had already spent a good hour performing martial arts training in twice the gravitational pulls of that on Earth and now he was pushing himself through weight training.

Later this week he would be undergoing an intense assessment to clear him for active duty. Being out of the war for far too long was irritating Jason and he was desperate to get back into the thick of the action. As he grimaced through the pain searing along his shoulder and down his arm he realised it wasn't just the lack of involvement that had been getting him stir crazy over the last few weeks; he hadn't heard from Donnelly in quite some time now and he feared for her safety.

As he tried one more rep with his recovering arm, he struggled to even lift the weight from the floor. The pain was extreme, but his desire to succeed must be more. Lifting the weight off the floor he thought back to the kiss, the last meaningful interaction he had with Donnelly. With every slight movement away from the ground, Jason's determination exceeded the pain which was growing exponentially. He needed to be ready just in case she needed his help.

As the rep was completed and Jason dropped the weight to the floor in agony, he came back to his senses. Firstly, Donnelly was more than capable of looking after herself, secondly, Jason would be kidding himself if he was cleared for active duty by the end of this week. He was struggling to achieve half of what would be expected of him. He could not, no, would not be the weak link in the Blue Ravens. His comrades would be at risk for his folly, something he could never forgive himself for should anything happen on the battlefield.

As the weight clanged on the floor echoing throughout the training room, a holographic face appeared to Jason's right. A young man appeared, looking extremely stern he was obviously focusing on various streams of data rather than his interaction with Jason.

"Lieutenant Scharn, 17th SORu Blue Ravens, priority message black delta. Please locate the nearest PAMS unit to accept."

Black Delta? That's beyond top secret. Normally those types of messages would be received by the Colonel, not one of his subordinates. Was it Donnelly? Unlikely that she would be able to authorise communication with Jason of that classification.

"Locate nearest PAMS unit." Jason ordered no one. Instantly a small glowing line appeared along the wall out of the training room and along the corridor.

As Jason followed it, he realised he had never been in a PAMS (Private Access Message System) unit before. As he stepped into the darkened terminal the door closed behind him instantly leaving him in pitch black.

"Name, Rank, Serial Number" a computerised voice iterated.

"Lieutenant Jason Scharn, alpha, seven, seven, four, five, delta, bravo, tango, niner, golf, seven, seven."

"Lieutenant Scharn, place you're hand on the terminal in front of you and look directly at the screen to confirm biometric readings."

Initially, Jason wondered what screen as he couldn't see anything in front of him until a red hand outlined glowed. He placed his hand on the screen and looked directly ahead.

Within under a second, the voice returned. "Check complete. You will be given a number of sentences, complete the sentences without hesitation as you see fit."

Jason lowered his hand and prepared himself for the next test. As the voice spoke, words appeared on the screen in front of him.

"Earth rotates continuously as Lunar maintains its..."

"Orbit."

"A General is expected to uphold dignity and keep their subordinates..."

"Unified."