Mei joins the gathering around the Cadet-Sergeant, eager to absorb any information she can get. She commits the first orders from the Cadet-Sergeant to memory as if they were spoken from on high.
General Order #1: No use of powers unless ordered to by a non-cadet noncom or warrant officer.
General Order #2: Do everything together.
Mei looks around her to memorize the faces of the cadets who are now members of her cohort. It appears that are going to be a team from here on out. Good luck to us all.
General Order #3: Obey all orders from Cadets of superior rank that don't violate General Orders 1 and 2. That could be trouble.
Jodie glades at the others before speaking up. "One thing Cadet-Seregnt. What would happen if we did break a rule? Not that i'm going to, I'm looking forward to telling one of them to 'suck thunder-slime'!" she says with a grin. " But what would happen if we did?"
Corwin listens attentively to the Cadet-Sargent as she spoke, pulling out a small well worn notepad and a pen. He writes while she speaks, never taking his eyes off of her. When she stops, he briefly looks over his notes and then quickly puts the notepad and pen away.
He remains quiet after the Cadet Sargent's question, looking to the others around him. When Cadet Price poses her question, his head quickly turns to stare at her, a combination of shock and incredulity on his face. Only his training keeps him from sharply asking how she could even consider disobeying orders.
Wow. She watches the arrivals fly down, amazement on her face. That. That was the dream, right there in moving form.
Jackie settled back for a moment, and then sees the Gunnery Sergeant and Drake talking... ah. It was time to get going. She looks to the sandy-haired cadet-corporal, relaxing only a little bit. Cadet-Sergeant Costas. She repeats, smiling to herself. Together. That was going to be... an experience. With this motley lot? But where they were going was going to be... well, the first real step.
Reality was hovering in the wings. For now, they had their own little Heil, er, Hell, to look forwards to. No powers. Stay together. Jackie said it as much for herself as anyone else. Nailing that into the space of her mind, a wooden fence-post in the ground of her thoughts. She could already see what kind of stubbornness was going to be necessary. Young cadets were going to try her patience, she was sure... the patience of her fists.
Together even for heading to the head? Her eyebrows go up. A common bathroom was not going to be a surprise, but wow... at EVERY time?
Don't overdrink. Jackie thought to herself.
Nodding at 'Younger, William Jr', Costas replies, "A little over fifteen minutes of high-speed travel. In the dark. I mean, it's dark outside the train's windows. To be honest, I still don't know where the school actually is."
She then turns to 'Price, Jodie' and listens to her question. "Good question. First the Heil or Pissy would bust your chops for breaking the rule, and then the adults would get into it. Demerits galore, and believe you me, demerits here mean a ton of work. If you kept it up, though ... look, everyone here had someone in boot who had a problem with authority, right? Disobeyed an order at least a couple times a week. Back then, if they didn't shape up the DIs bounced their butts right out of the barracks and back home until they turned 18. Here, there's only one way out - boots first. You can't follow that rule, chippie, then you're no better than someone who went psycho at Threading, and they'll put you down just as permanent.
"Anyone else?"
Bruce looks at bit goggle eyed after that answer
"Strewth, they kill children for not obeying orders enough?"
"I think they've made it pretty clear over the last few weeks. We're not children any more. We're soldiers." Bas says, though anyone looking at him closely enough can note he's a little green around the gills at the thought of getting executed for insubordination.
"Then we obey. We do what it takes to get through. All of us."
Bill looks around at his squad mates. "There's more at stake here than our feelings or our pride. People need us."
He looks to the cadet sergeant. "No powers unless under orders from a non-com or officer. Stick together as a unit. Follow orders from cadet NCO's, unless they violate the first two orders. Great. Done. No problem."
Together even for heading to the head?
Mei smiles at Jackie and gives her shoulder what she hoped would be a reassuring squeeze.
There's only one way out - boots first. You can't follow that rule, chippie, then you're no better than someone who went psycho at Threading, and they'll put you down just as permanent.
They are not f&+%ing around! Childhood is officially over, Mei thought.
Corwin quickly regains his military composure and nods quietly after the Cadet-Sargent explained the consequences of not following orders.
I guess Cadet Price and Cadet Walker now truly know that we are training for war as soldiers who are still possibly dangerous to ourselves and others. He thought.
After the second call for questions from the assembled cadets, Corwin replied, "No, Cadet Sargent. I don't think so."
When Cadet-Sergeant Costas arrives Dakota quickly turns to face her and attempts to blank her face, although the corners of her mouth twitch slightly upwards when Costas mentions the vulgar tidbit at the end. Otherwise Dakota stays silent, not to worried about her ability to follow the simple orders laid out for them.
She then turns to 'Price, Jodie' and listens to her question. "Good question. First the Heil or Pissy would bust your chops for breaking the rule, and then the adults would get into it. Demerits galore, and believe you me, demerits here mean a ton of work. If you kept it up, though ... look, everyone here had someone in boot who had a problem with authority, right? Disobeyed an order at least a couple times a week. Back then, if they didn't shape up the DIs bounced their butts right out of the barracks and back home until they turned 18. Here, there's only one way out - boots first. You can't follow that rule, chippie, then you're no better than someone who went psycho at Threading, and they'll put you down just as permanent.
Jackie speaks up, louder than she has since she got on the transport. "Appreciate the directness, Cadet-Sergeant Costas." How should she phrase this? "Can't imagine anyone would go through all that just to be a s&#+ now."
Bruce looks at bit goggle eyed after that answer
"Strewth, they kill children for not obeying orders enough?"
Jackie looked at Bruce in some surprise... and then she shivers at her own mental thought.. but a different one from the threat of death. "I've seen what this stuff can do. I can't imagine someone with it doing... well, whatever they wanted."
Nodding at 'Younger, William Jr', Costas replies, "A little over fifteen minutes of high-speed travel. In the dark. I mean, it's dark outside the train's windows. To be honest, I still don't know where the school actually is."
"You don't..?" Jackie was surprised, then she wondered why she was so surprised. It was obvious few would know. A place like the school would be high security. Like, super-high. A joke, in her own head. Focus, Jacq! She had to give herself a mental shove. All of these thoughts were just a distraction from what she wanted to ask. She wasn't so used to being in the dark. When she didn't know what to do, she always set about finding out. "The Thunder... is there stuff you can tell us about them?"
Costas glances between the nine of you, and nods. "Most everyone's seen what an uncontrolled Threaded can do. That's the point, here." She looks at Bruce and says, "We're not children any more." She then looks at Sebastian and adds, "But we're not soldiers, either.
"We're weapons."
She looks to be about to continue - whether to continue along that topic, or say something about either Bill or Corwin 'speaking for the squad', or in response to Jackie's question about the Thunder - when something ... changes.
It first manifests itself as a pressure against the eardrums; you are each assaulted by a virtually irresistable urge to reach up and rub your ears, something that all of the Cadet-Sergeants, Cadet-Corporals, and civilians are doing, even if the adult Staff-Sergeant and a dozen or more others aren't. Maybe it's a newcomer thing, or maybe it's just an age thing. What follows, though, is a subaudible rumble, a deep basso profundo humming. After about thirty seconds of the pair growing in intensity, they are joined by a high electromagnetic song, and a mellow alto voice, vaguely female, emerges from above your heads and echoes through the cavern.
"Stand clear. Stand clear. Transport from Planetary Defense Force Academy International, arriving on track A. Stand clear. Stand clear."
As the voice speaks, the various people move towards one side of the cavern, presumably the 'Track A' side. Only a few moments later, a bullet-shaped train enters the cavern there, swift but slowing, until it sighs to a stop with its full length stretched along the boarding platform. After a couple of seconds, its doors open, and the mellow voice speaks again. "Disembarkation proceeding. Please wait."
A few adults in military uniforms emerge and head towards the elevator banks; also emerging are a half-dozen different groups of cadets, not in the PDF Combat Utility Uniform that you and the other cadets in the station are wearing but instead dressed in a close-fitting sort of body armor which those of you who play 'Take Back the Planet!!' (which will probably be most of you - there are very few people who don't play 'TBP!!') will recognize as the Specialized Combat Jumpsuit, which you all will eventually receive. Exactly when is ... a good question. These latter move smartly off the train and, in their clusters of six or seven, head towards the stairs. Once there, they move very quickly upwards.
With the train clear, that voice speaks once more. "Embarkation may now proceed. Please watch your step. Transport to Planetary Defense Force Academy International will depart in sixty seconds."
That seems to be a cue, for as those others in cavern begin to board, Costas stands up at practically the same time as the rest of the Cadet-Sergeants. In the middle of the concourse, the Cadet-Corporals are finishing up their tasks and lifting the corrected stacks of cases. Gunnery Sergeant Hudson lifts a small device and presses a button; the alto announcer states, "Be aware, departure time has been revised to three hundred seconds."
Turning to face you, Gunny Hudson shouts, "ALL RIGHT, CHIPPIES, YOU GOT ONE MORE CHANCE TO MAKE ME MISS MY G0DD@MN TRAIN. TIME FOR US TO SEE IF YOU CAN STEP OVER A TEENSIE WEENSIE CRACK. MY TRAIN IS LEAVING IN FIVE MINUTES, AND EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOUR DELICATE LITTLE FEET HAD BETTER BE ON IT. STAY ON THE NEAR SIDE OF YOUR CAR, DON'T HIT ANYONE WITH YOUR LOCKER, AND MAYBE YOU WON'T MAKE MY TRAIN LATE. CADET-SERGEANTS!!"
The eleven in front of you 'chippies', as well as the 'detail leader' in charge of the cadet-corporals, straighten to attention and shout back, "SIR!"
Far more calmly, Gunny Hudson says in a carrying voice, "Round 'em up, move 'em out. You know the drill."
"HOO-AH, GUNNY!!"
And with that, Costas turns back to you lot. "Okay, let's get ready. Stand, get your locker in hand or on your shoulder. Anyone having problems managing their locker?"
Everyone who wants to can make an EGO Roll if they want to stop themselves from doing that ear-massage thing; it's at a -8, though, so you have to roll a 3 on 3d6.
However, everyone needs make a DEX roll in order to describe how well you're handling a meter-wide, meter-high, two-meter-long footlocker that weighs 10kg and is probably carrying another 30kg of stuff inside - stuff that, despite being packed properly, will ALWAYS be happy to shift in the worst possible manner at the worst possible moment. In relation, it's 2/3 your weight and is longer by a foot than ANY of you are tall.
(And for those of you who are wondering how your 6 STR self can carry 40+kg, one of the benefits of Threading is a +5 STR for carrying capacity, essentially doubling it.)
Bas tries to avoid rubbing his ears, if only for pride, but the discomfort soon becomes nearly unbearable.
"What WAS that?" he asks as he furiously tries to relieve the pressure.
Bas handles his locker with relative ease and grace through the doors of the train.
Bill handles his locker without embarrassing himself.
Jodie picks up her footlocker, managing to keep it balanced as she hauls it to her shoulder and waits to board the train.
Not to Giant Bruce figures out the correct balance point of the locker and uses that to haul it around
And thank you, Hy, for using your Spoiler!! :>
Corwin starts off seeming to have his locker under control until it reaches his shoulder, suddenly it shifts to one side and falls out of his hands and slams to the ground.
Thunder crap!, Corwin curses mentally, looking towards the Cadet Sargent he apologizes "I am sorry Cadet Sargent Costas. I and my gear will be in order shortly."
That noise was annoying, it was also the only thing that Dakota could pay attention to. for the duration of the trains arrival and a shortly after she had her eyes clenched shut and was scrubbing at one ear while working her jaw side to side.
Eventually it was over though and the girl had to glance around to see that all the cadets around her were starting to head towards a train (which she realized must have been the cause of her discomfort.) Dakota quickly took hold of her belongings and turned to follow the rest only for another locker to slam down right in front of her. Fortunately the girl was quick enough to adjust her footfall and sidestep the locker. While she was awkwardly leaned over the locker Dakota gave cadet Talmadage a quick once over, he hadn't seemed like the type to make a scene before. She had thought he looked a bit different from the other cadets, a little more together maybe, when she first saw him.
With a shrug Dakota continued towards the train with the rest of the group.
As Bill starts to have issues, Costas steps forward and helps him correct it. "Put it on your right shoulder, then take this grip with your right hand," she directs, pulling Bill's hand straight out to the mid-point grip just out from his shoulder. Even as Corwin's transport locker starts to go pear-shaped and heads floor-ward, she adds, "Then grab the nearest one in the front with your left hand. Like a rocket launcher," she suggests.
After pausing for a moment to make sure Cadet-Private (jg) Younger has his gear firmly in hand, she steps up to assist Corwin. "Apologize less," she says, hefting the six-point-five-foot ninety-pound case up with ease, to carefully give control of it to Corwin. "Fix more. Right hand here ..." and she does the same thing with him as she did with Bill.
It's awkward!!
In the middle of the hundred-meter-plus stone cavern, Cadet-Sergeant Ramirez hoots, "Mount 'em up!!" Now that everyone else is out of the way, the cadet-corporals move with that supernal speed, running and leaping and flying (huh - some of them are being carried by others) at the sort of speed that you know only a Threaded can accomplish. They swarm over the tops of the train cars, shifting panels aside with feverish haste and starting to lock into the car-top compartments the over two hundred transport cases that contain your mundane lives.
From the back - to your right, Track B side - comes a shouted "Eleven!!"
"Crap, let's go, let's go, do the job," mutters Costa, moving back to take all nine of you in at once, checking for other problems.
Still need rolls from:
Cartwright, Mei
Kingsley, Jerrold
Lannings, Dakota
Marshall, Jacqueline
Bruce is shaking his hear and kinda jumping around to get the sound out of his head, making his case dance on his shoulders a bit, but he manages not to drop it.
After recovering from the arrival of the train - and the pep-talk from Gunny Hudson - Mei works on gathering her locker up in preparation for boarding.
Mei manages to leverage the locker into position on her shoulder and waits for the order to board the train. As she waits, she looks with interest at the Cadets exiting the train in their Specialized Combat Jumpsuits. The design of those suits is impressive to allow such agility.
She watches carefully as Cadet-Sergeant Costas squares away the boys that are having problems with their lockers.
The call comes to board and Mei whispers under her breath to herself, "Idō shimashou,"and moves to get into the boarding line with the rest of her cohort. I haven't heard from the kitty in a while. I hope it's ok.
Costas glances between the nine of you, and nods. "Most everyone's seen what an uncontrolled Threaded can do. That's the point, here." She looks at Bruce and says, "We're not children any more." She then looks at Sebastian and adds, "But we're not soldiers, either.
"We're weapons."
Costas has put Jackie's own thoughts into words. She stiffens as the sound builds, and she soon was holding her ears as the subaudible rumble grows. Gritting her teeth, she watches the bullet train rumble in. Holy damn! But she didn't want to sit around in shock. She put her hands on her own locker, checking it quickly. A reminder to herself... it was time to get going.
Get in first, Jacq. Let the people who know what they are doing run this trainshow. "Grr..." The locker leans, and she leans with it. Cursing under her breath in two languages, Jackie fought the locker to at least keep from being in the way.
Damn this piece of crap! If we were under fire, I'd just toss the damn thing. She hoped to think her personal things would pay off, because right now she just wanted to... "GGRRR."
Since Lectryk hasn't posted since the 18th, to keep us moving...
Even as someone closer shouts "Ten!", Cadet-Sergeant Costas hurries from helping Corwin fix his issues over to Jackie, helping her first lift it up, then letting her guide it to her own shoulder. Again, the same advice: "Right hand here ..." Before she is done, another girl, the cadet-sergeant just up the way, shouts, "Nine!"
A quick few steps back, and Costas looks the nine of you over before shouting, "Eight!"
Immediately after she does so, the next cadet-sergeant in line hollers, "Seven!!"
"Stand easy, everyone," Costas says to you. "People in front of us move before we do, otherwise we're tromping over them and making a mess. When I give the order, though, we'll be moving at the trot."
"Six!!"
Jodie stands ready to move forward when the command comes, doing her best to maintain the footlocker's balance on her shoulder.
Jackie nods hesitantly to Costas, silent now as she tries to concentrate. A countdown, now? They were going to have to hustle... she had to focus on herself first, and be ready to go. Missing the bus was a non-option, now...
Oh. Looking to the side, she noticed Jodie. It looks like Jac wasn't the only person who was having trouble... gah. Focus, focus...
Hoh!
So this is what 'hurry up and wait' means...
"Stand easy, everyone," Costas says to you. "People in front of us move before we do, otherwise we're tromping over them and making a mess. When I give the order, though, we'll be moving at the trot."
Now fully stable in position and securely holding onto his footlocker, Corwin replies, "Yes, Cadet Sargent Costas"
"I will not mess up again, I will focus on carrying this box and moving with a purpose when the order is given. Except for the differences between moving with this footlocker vs a duffle bag, I have done this before and I will do it again." Corwin ordered himself in his mind while wholly preparing for the order to move to the trains.
Bill's fair cheeks redden as he is corrected, but he clenches his jaw in an attempt to maintain his bearing as he follows directions.
Dammit! It should be easier to handle these things, as strong as we are! This is going to take some getting used to.
Looking around, he is comforted somewhat by others having trouble, and chuckles when he notices that some of the smaller girls had no trouble at all.
Who knows with Threading? They could be the strongest of us all.
Bas shifts from foot to foot and drums his fingers on the side of his locker as he waits.
Feels like it's been days. You'd think it wouldn't take so long to count down from 10.
While you're waiting, you can see the detail cadet-sergeant and her cadet-corporals moving your frenetically loading the majority of the two hundred and sixteen cases into compartments on top of the train. A handful of overflow have to be put into the cargo car at the center, which the cadet-sergeant seems to be taking as a sign of failure.
Watching them, it feels like forever - at least thirty, maybe forty-five minutes - but in reality it takes only thirty or forty-five seconds for the other Cadet-Sergeants to count down, five to one. When the last CSarge sounds off, Gunnery Sergeant Hudson bellows, "Mount 'em up!!"
Immediately afterwards, that first cadet-sergeant yells, "One!!" They give an order to move, but it isn't audible at this distance. That naturally changes as the cadet-sergeants yell their own number and then give their orders, which resolves itself and, when Cadet-Sergeant Costas shouts out "Eight," she gives you that order herself: "Quick-time, forward, march!!"
At the standard 120-steps-a-minute, you each swing forward; everyone, whether from Costas' bit of guidance or already having figured it out, keeps both their cases and their weapons in good order. That's a good thing; it's clearly critical to keep distance between you and the person in front of you in order to prevent traffic accidents. It's just the sort of thing they teach you in Basic, ad you've learned the drill commands by heart. It might occur to some of you, just now, that in less than three years, you'll be giving those commands yourself to kids in your position ...
When each squad gets to the train's tail - or rather what is clearly its nose going the other direction - comes "Column right, march!" for the turn, which since there's only one column, makes for an easy transition. That is followed by 'forward, march' to keep you moving straight.
Behind you, as the last group reaches its car, comes a shout: "Eleven!" Unlike last time, the command ripples down the train like wildfire: "Ten!" "Nine!" Costas, shouting: "Eight!" Then, in something not the top of her lungs, orders, "Mark time, on the left foot ... march!"
The separation between the squads - for that's what you are, even if it is a scratch one - opens a little, but that's not a bad thing; better it opens up than people start banging into each other. Everyone in step with Gunny Hudson watching like a hawk to your right, in the middle of the plus-sized-parade-ground cavern a staff sergeant waits a moment before bellowing, "COMPANY, HALT!!"
As one, left heels slam into the stone as everyone stops marching. A couple heartbeats' waiting, then: "COMPANY, MOUNT UP!!"
Costas turns towards you, and orders, "Eight, left face!!" to pivot you towards the train. She moves through one of the now-opened spaces - there's now a good four feet between each of you, after all - then orders, "Eight, at ease. From the center, follow me into the train, let's get latched up."
The thing is bigger than most any train or bus any of you have ever been on - you soon get to find out, by locking your cases into the floor and sides, that the middle is no less than two cases - four meters - wide. The area you're taking up is three meters deep; the 'door lane' takes another meter; and bucket seats for serious people (which, apparently, you aren't yet) take up the front of the car.
With nine of you, the lockers form a solid two-locker-high wall across the back and on both sides; you're still snapping the last locker in place across the center when that mellow alto voice announces outside the car, "Stand clear. Stand clear. Transport to Planetary Defense Force Academy International, departing. Stand clear. Stand clear."
Inside the car, on the other hand, that same voice states, "Departure in fifteen seconds. Please stand clear of all doors. Please secure all equipment. Please buckle in or secure handholds."
Costas skips to the front of the bay and turns to the nine of you. "Eight, no b$$+~%$* - if your grip strength isn't the best, you're on the bench," she orders, gesturing to the last locker, Jackie's, which is clearly now considered 'converted' into a piece of furniture. "Five there. Four on the walls." Five on the bench is going to mean cheek-by-jowl, as it were, and Costas kneels down to show the four who 'get' to be 'on the walls' how to grip the locker handles in the 'outside' hand, then open up the grip locations on the floor for their 'inside' hand.
"Eight," orders Costas, "make d@mn sure your weapon is secure, then get a hold of your grips." As the train car's doors sigh shut, she does a very fast tug on each of your weapon slings before turning and going to one knee in the middle of the bay, flipping up another pair of grips for herself.
Once again, the voice makes an announcement: "Transport to Planetary Defense Force Academy International, now departing."
And like clockwork, the train starts to move out of the station. For five, six seconds, it's an easy acceleration, getting you out of the station - and then comes a weird 'thwump thwump thwump' sound ahead, then around, then behind you as the train passes through some kind of flexible barrier.
Costas calls, "You two on the walls closest to the back, use that last locker as a leg brace if you need to. If the person in front of you starts to slip, be ready to brace them with the hand on the floor grip."
The acceleration remains constant and still easy, but you can hear when some sort of motor outside the train comes on, because even though you're going past it, it is loud. Or at least, it's loud at first, because then it attenuates to almost nothing until you hear that 'thwump thwump thwump' again.
And then The Voice announces, "Brace for acceleration in five. Four. Three. Two. One. Accelerating."
"HOLD ON!!"
And that's when the handholds and your grip strength get tested, because 'down' suddenly shifts towards the rear, and for about five seconds you're weighing half and again as much as you used to. It's not horrible, but there is definitely an 'oh sh!t!' moment for five seconds as you hold on for dear life, but then it starts to ease off. After fifteen seconds, the accel is enough for you to let go of one grip and flex your hand, then switch, and finally after two minutes eases off entirely to the accompaniment of the train's voice announcing exactly that.
Costas flexes her hands, then stands up and turns to you and says drily, "Well. That was fun. And now we have fifteen minutes to relax before our slowing accel starts. Fortunately, it's only as harsh as that last half, though it goes on for a good two minutes. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves, or ask me any questions you have."
In the front half of the car, three rows of four seats per row click mechanically, then swivel around to face the back, locking into their decel settings. Though a few seats are empty, it looks like about half of them are taken up by adults - most in military uniforms, one in civvies. One of the now-front-row seats is taken up by an older cadet ('Masterson H' wearing an interrupted gold bar - probably just came off his combat deployment) who is talking with an adult soldier ('Fisk, T', looking not much older than thirty) with a silver star on his collar.
Whomever volunteers for the wall, if you want to make a STR roll at +2 to help you decide how you handle it, that's fine. If anyone rolls and seriously fails (rolls a 16-18), Costas will reach out and grab them until they can recover (for a 16-17) or until accel ends (on that 18).
You do NOT have to roll, however. This is meant, in part, to show you how different you are - you, a 12-14yo, can withstand 15 seconds of 1.75g accel, and a total of 2 minutes of .75g accel, using only your hands. In a weird sort of way, it's meant as a confidence booster.
Anyone who wants to try to listen in on the conversation between the Third Lieutenant (or Midshipman, there's no way to tell for sure) and the Major can toss a PER check at a +2.
The other 4 seats that are occupied (7 adults out of 12 seats) have cadets in them. Only 'Masterson, H' is an O-C; the others are out of view, but it sounds like they're probably back from their home leave, (end of Q8/Year 2) which means they'll become Cadet Sergeants in a few hours.
Revision:
My screw-up. 'Fisk T' is a Commander wearing a five-lobed silver leaf, not a Major wearing one four-pointed silver star. If you care, it is a Marine uniform, not a Navy uniform.
Corwin carries both his case and weapon with precision and snap. He smartly executes each order he recieves with quiet pride and joy while they mount the train. After quick observation, he moves to the wall at the front and secures his hold on both the inside and outside grips.
While keeping an eye on Costas, Corwin tries to listen in on the conversation between the Third Lieutenant (or Midshipman)and the Commander without calling attention to himself.
Thinking he probably has one of the better grips in the squad, Bas volunteers for the wall.
This train doesn't mess around. he thinks to himself, nearly grunting with the effort of holding on, but he manages.
Bruce puts his fase away and takes an easy seat/spot. he has thinking to do on this trip.
Bruce definitly tries to listen in
Jodie makes a point of taking one of the positions on the wall and grips the handle hard as the train accelerates. Like the others, she notices the higher-ups, but doesn't make any effort to listen in, instead turning to Costas. "That was tough! Just how fast does this thing go?"
"They never tell anyone," Costas replies. "I'm pretty sure it's some sort of classified. But one of my classmates, a real brainy sort before he tried and failed to outcompute a combat situation, decided that the train moves at almost Mach 3." She gestures with her thumb towards the windows in the front section, which remain dark. "We figured that the thumps and the noise you hear before acceleration is the train moving into a sealed section, and that they pump the air out so that the train doesn't have issues with air resistance. Or," she adds, "sonic booms."
Seeing as the wall spots were in high demand Dakota took a spot on the 'bench,' secretly relieved. Honestly she preferred it this way, but hadn't wanted to show any weakness in front of the other cadets. Once the train started moving she closed her eyes and tried to focus on what she could feel.
While they had been boarding the train a stray thought had crossed the girl's mind. Where exactly was International? Of course she hadn't wanted to just ask because she knew there was no way she would get an answer with how secretive things were. A slight smirk formed as she recognized this for the puzzle it was. Dakota knew she needed three things to find the answer, time, which was fortunately answered already. Speed, which she was going to estimate as just under the speed of sound based on her relatively vague memories of old fashioned bullet trains, and direction (which she hoped someone was paying enough attention on the way down to know which way they were heading.)
Of course there was always the chance that the train didn't go in a straight line, but a subtle arc, which is why she was paying so much attention to the ine-- It took her a few moments to focus after the sudden acceleration (which she lamented not being able to calculate, it would make this so much easier,) but once she was it was back to relying on her other senses to see if the train was going anywhere but straight.
She was so focused on the feeling that Dakota failed to notice most of the conversations around her till someone (she wasn't exactly sure who) wondered aloud how fast they were going. This perked her interest so she opened one eye to get a glimpse of who was asking and hear the answer in the mean time. When she had heard, her face quickly morphed from surprised to excited. "That's really clever! I was thinking three fourty to three fifty meters before, but if we are going that fast..." She receded back into her thoughts.
Mei sees an opportunity to take a seat and does so, securing her weapon as instructed.
I wonder why they don't have enough seats for everyone? It seems unwise to take unnecessary risks in simply transporting us to the school. I will be mindful of the potential for a hidden meaning in this.
She silently observes the others boarding the train, as well as those who were already aboard when she embarked.
And the race was on. The race played by the turtle, steady and simple. Jackie made her way in, and... with the law of the land, finds her poor case put down as furniture. Poor dear. That just meant Jackie could sit on it though, taking her territory. Jackie was trying to settle down as this carnival begins to take it to the next level.
"They never tell anyone," Costas replies. "I'm pretty sure it's some sort of classified. But one of my classmates, a real brainy sort before he tried and failed to outcompute a combat situation, decided that the train moves at almost Mach 3." She gestures with her thumb towards the windows in the front section, which remain dark. "We figured that the thumps and the noise you hear before acceleration is the train moving into a sealed section, and that they pump the air out so that the train doesn't have issues with air resistance. Or," she adds, "sonic booms."
She was so focused on the feeling that Dakota failed to notice most of the conversations around her till someone (she wasn't exactly sure who) wondered aloud how fast they were going. This perked her interest so she opened one eye to get a glimpse of who was asking and hear the answer in the mean time. When she had heard, her face quickly morphed from surprised to excited. "That's really clever! I was thinking three fourty to three fifty meters before, but if we are going that fast..." She receded back into her thoughts.
Alongside Mei, Dakota, and... Jodie? Jackie leans forwards, though she was struggling to remember names. The train itself was a terrifying marvel, her fingers holding on as she looks to her 'benchmates'. "What, we can't be going that fast..." There, too, was hidden words in what Costas said. 'Failed to outcompute... her friend died.' But that was ths business they were in.
Corwin carries both his case and weapon with precision and snap. He smartly executes each order he recieves with quiet pride and joy while they mount the train. After quick observation, he moves to the wall at the front and secures his hold on both the inside and outside grips.
What was the best way to tackle it? 'Three years of training to make us into what we are... what, in only three years... who will we have to be, to be still alive. Will we be like this guy?' Jackie tilted her head as she looked at the stiff, precise Corwin. Her eyes move back to the delighted Dakota. 'Better if we don't end up like Costas's friend. Our brainy, here, has every right to stick it to the Thunder too... she made it this far, yeah? We will get ourselves there...'
'Costas, A' smiles crookedly, just one corner of her mouth curling up. "That's what we said," she agrees with Jackie. "Makes for something like a six hundred mile radius, plus-or-minus fifty, the school could be in. I gotta admit, I'm not entirely sure why it's so far away from the transfer point - or if it's even that far away - or why it's, y'know, so secret from everyone else. Buuuut ...."
She trails off, looking back towards the Striped-Bar cadet returning to the school, soon to become a cadet lieutenant who'll be issuing orders for her to direct you people into carrying out. "Cities are the battlegrounds. So we have to do training in a city - that's the Chicago Ruin, between the river and the lake. But we don't want to be anywhere near a city during standard schooling, so ..."
Shaking her head, she looks back at the nine of you. "I just don't get how they built it. Or sealed it. Or keep the air out ..." With a laugh, she lifts her hands palm-up in a 'whaddaya gonna do??' gestures.
Officer-Candidate Masterson rubs the side of his face for a long moment, staring at something far beyond the train car before Commander Fisk, lifting a hand to scratch at his earlobe, says in a precise, vaguely-accented baritone, "You were saying?"
"Sorry, sir, just ... remembering." Masterson apologizes. "You know the Arch?"
"In the city of Saint Louis?" Fisk pronounces it in the French manner, 'Lieu-IE', as compared to the American 'Lou-iss' or American-mock-French 'LOOie'.
"St. Louis, yeah," Masterson says, unconsciously correcting Fisk's pronunciation with the 'standard American'. "They damaged it when they invaded, you know? But now - now it's just gone."
Fisk considers this for a moment. "It was concrete, was it not?"
"The core, sure, reinforced, but a huge amount of steel in it and covering it. And it's all just ... just gone."
Frowning, the Commander considers this for a few moments more, then shakes his head. "A puzzle. What did Command have you do there?"
Masterson's expression sets, more than a little bit. "Scouting, sir. Harrassment. I've got some aquatic abilities, but ground too, so they embedded me with a PDF Marine Recon squad, working in tandem with a US Navy SEAL Squad. Place is practically surrounded by rivers, so we did a lot of in and outs. Lasing for terminal guidance on artillery."
"I know it well," the thirty-year-old Commander says drily. "You were successful?"
"We ... yeah. Mostly. But ... we lost people. Men. I ... my team lost our lieutenant on one mission. It all just went to hell on us ..." Masterson falls quiet, that stare returning as his mind replays for his eyes whatever combat hell he went through.
Letting the mental review play for a few moments, Fisk finally interrupts it. "You got your men out?"
"Some, sir. Some. Not all."
"Then you succeeded beyond what was expected of you," Fisk tells him with a hint of harshness. "You were - you still are - an officer in the PDF. You swore an oath before they pinned those taps on you." ("Tabs, sir." "Yes, sorry - tabhs.") "Your oath may be to all humanity, but it is executed for the men and women you fight with. It is expected you fight under an experienced officer, a man who is in command. He died, yes? This is war. But you kept your head on your shoulders, and instead of versaute, messing up and dying with all the soldiers, you escape. And some of the soldiers, you help them escape too.
"So yes, Third Lieutenant - it went to hell on you. And you are out of it. You have learned from it, yes? You know what you face, you have seen and killed your enemy. Now you must help them," and he gestures at the rest of you, whom Masterson actually finally seems to see, "to learn how to face their enemy and kill them. You still have responsibility; you still have your oath."
Though the cadet and the officer talk generally quietly, they are facing your way, and a few minutes into their quiet discussion, the officer gestures at the ten of you (nine plus Costas, after all). And then after a moment of continuing to speak he rather loudly says - or perhaps orders, considering his tone - "Don't f#ck it up."
Masterson's head jerks upright, his shoulders, neck, and head at attention. "Yes sir," he replies, and regards you brand-spanking-new Chippies with thoughtful interest.
Fisk, after briefly scanning your faces, leaves Masterson to his thoughts and extracts what fifty years ago might have been called a cellphone, but what is now simply a 'pit', 'portable information terminal'. Fisk's looks to be a standard military-issue pit - fine for in the field or on the move, but with its small, flat, limited screen very insufficient for so many modern uses.
I think he was talking to us... thinks Bas, but tries to avoid looking like he was eavesdropping, if only for plausible deniability.
Mei takes little interest in Cadet-Sergeant Costas' speculations about the train they are riding in, and the location of PDF International.
Where the school is and how we get there is irrelevant to becoming the weapons that we need to evolve into if we are going to defeat the enemy, she thinks. She finds the conversation between Commander Fisk and O-C Masterson far more instructive.
We must always be ready to take the initiative. In battle, your commander may fall at any time, and we have to be prepared to act in the absence of command authority. My Casa taught me that smart people learn from their experiences and mistakes, while the wise are able to learn from the experiences and mistakes of others. Masterson's lesson in leadership was hard-earned in battle. I will endeavor to be wise enough to learn from it without paying the same price he did.
She looks around her at the members of her randomly assembled squad of Chippies. We are all responsible for each other now. I will do my best not to let them down.
Though the cadet and the officer talk generally quietly, they are facing your way, and a few minutes into their quiet discussion, the officer gestures at the ten of you (nine plus Costas, after all). And then after a moment of continuing to speak he rather loudly says - or perhaps orders, considering his tone - "Don't f#ck it up."
Masterson's head jerks upright, his shoulders, neck, and head at attention. "Yes sir," he replies and regards you brand-spanking-new Chippies with thoughtful interest.
Mei can't help but stiffen her spine when the officers' attention seems to be on her. "Hoh!"
Jacq wasn't one for building, construction, or engineering. But even she could appreciate the difficulty... she thought... of what they were theorizing. It made her wonder. 'And 'we' build this?? Without the Thunder knowing?' She looked at Costas with disbelief, and a little plain ol' awe.
Though the cadet and the officer talk generally quietly, they are facing your way, and a few minutes into their quiet discussion, the officer gestures at the ten of you (nine plus Costas, after all). And then after a moment of continuing to speak he rather loudly says - or perhaps orders, considering his tone - "Don't f#ck it up."
Masterson's head jerks upright, his shoulders, neck, and head at attention. "Yes sir," he replies, and regards you brand-spanking-new Chippies with thoughtful interest.
Fisk, after briefly scanning your faces, leaves Masterson to his thoughts and extracts what fifty years ago might have been called a cellphone, but what is now simply a 'pit', 'portable information terminal'. Fisk's looks to be a standard military-issue pit - fine for in the field or on the move, but with its small, flat, limited screen very insufficient for so many modern uses.
Mei can't help but stiffen her spine when the officers' attention seems to be on her. "Hoh!"
But now it was go time. She stiffened as the officer and cadet look to them, although her posture is ruffled by the noise Mei makes. Jacq looks at her, blinking. And tries to look back to Masterson and Fisk. 'Hoh? Odd.' Jackie keeps that thought to herself!
We are weapons Cadet Sargent Costas? I will learn about what kind of weapon I am so that I can fully become weapon and warrior when we fight the Thunder, when we destroy the Thunder. I will survive and flourish during this training to bring death to the Thunder, Honor and Glory to my family, and save our beloved Earth.
Corwin stood at ease while looking and listening to those around him. He noted that the conjecture about the speed and direction of their train was mostly useless except for the information it inspired Cadet Sargent Costas to provide about the location of their field training.
Good, the more useful info we can gather, the better.
Even though the conversation between the Lieutenant and the Commander was mainly directed towards each other, Corwin couldn't help but snap to full attention when he heard, “Yes, Sir.” He grinned when he saw that he wasn’t the only one.
I hope I don’t have to compete with the others in my unit, if so, I will follow the rules but I will use any stratagem to win.
"Please pardon this lowly Cadet, Cadet Sargent Costas, but I have a question." Corwin asked with quiet confidence, "During training have you been required to compete against members of your squad or with them against other squads?"
Costas, keeping to one knee, gives a quirk of a smile at the responses to the accented voice coming from behind her. When 'Talmadge, C' starts to speak, her head turns towards him - up towards him, as it happens, since he's standing upright.
His use of 'lowly cadet' makes her eyebrows furrow, and she lifts a hand to stop him. Once he does - considering Corwin, probably immediately - she states, "Secure that 'lowly' crap, chippie. This ain't one of the old Academies, where you were expected to grovel. You made it through Candidate Boot - you proved you aren't some powder-puff wannabe. Now, you were saying?" She listens to the rest of his question and answers, with a bit of surprise on her face, "All of the above, of course. Against other squads; against members of your own squad."
Before she can continue, a voice comes from behind her - that of 3L Masterson, who is clearly listening in. It's loud - well, sort of. It's projected. "Cadets, what is your first challenge??"
Costas, along with the Cadet-Corporals that are out of sight, give in a firm 'hoo-rah!' indoor volume, "I am!!"
Masterson: "What is your last challenge??"
Costas & Cadet-Corporal Chorus: "I am!!"
Masterson: "Who can overcome that challenge?"
Costas & Cadet-Corporal Chorus: "I can!!"
Masterson: "Who helps you overcome your challenges?"
Costas & Cadet-Corporal Chorus: "My team!!"
Masterson: "Who helps the rest of your team in their challenges?"
Costas & Cadet-Corporal Chorus: "I do!!"
Masterson: "What do you do?"
Costas & Cadet-Corporal Chorus: "The Job!!"
Masterson: "What do your orders tell you?"
Costas & Cadet-Corporal Chorus: "Do The Job!!"
Masterson: "What if you the orders are unclear?"
Costas & Cadet-Corporal Chorus: "Do The Job!!"
Masterson: "What if you have no orders?"
Costas & Cadet-Corporal Chorus: "Do The Job!!"
Masterson: "Identify the job --"
Costas & Cadet-Corporal Chorus: "Do The Job!!"
Masterson waits a beat, then says in a less aggressive, far more thoughtful tone: "Do the job."
Costas, along with the Cadet-Corporals concealed in the seats, gives a firm "Hoo-ah!!" before looking up at Corwin with a crooked grin. "Answer your question, Cadet Private jay-gee Talmadge?"