Bill grins at the display of motivation and shivers as a chill goes up his spine.
Only the smallest hint of a frown crosses Dakota's face when Cadet-Sergeant Costas describes exactly what she had been trying to figure out, what's the point if someone is just going to do it for you after all? With her freshly freed up time, the girl decided to relax for the last few minutes of the ride, at least until everyone started screaming in synchronicity. Her eyes flew open to glance around for the other voices she had conveniently ignored when they boarded, of course they were out of sight though. Either way, it was kind of creepy.
Bruce sighs
Ol marine type military .. gah.. I so hope not, what's the point of spouting nonsense like "Do the Job" again and again, a thinking soldier is far superior to someone that drones what you want at the right moments
...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??"
After 3L Masterson says his first few words, Corwin reflexively snaps to full attention.
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?"
I shouldn't have asked, I should have simply assumed it would just happen here too. I hate competing with my squad mates, doing what I need to do to win makes is so difficult to keep my squad mates trust. Corwin mentally sighed.
Still at full attention Corwin replied clearly and crisply, "Yes. Yes, Cadet Stargent Costas!"
A chill goes down Mei's spine as she ponders what she has just seen and heard.
One might think such recitations to be mindless on first blush, but Mei knew better. Her father was a product of Marine officer training and she had never met a more mindful man than he. This was not mindless obedience to some motto, she thought. This was an indication of dedication to a creed. The creed of mission accomplishment. This is what I want to be a part of.
Sebastian tries very hard to not roll his eyes at the display.
There is so much about that that doesn't make sense. If our orders and discipline didn't matter they wouldn't be spending all this time training us in control.
'Wow. Talk about chills.' Jacq looks at Costas, still leaning backwards against the train wall. Between that, this marvel of a train (if Costas was right)... 'I don't want to say, how can we lose, but...'
She remembered the faces. People coming back from battle. Things must be crazy out there. "Yet we've come this far." Jacq couldnt' help herself, she was grinning a little. They must have a hell of a lot of talent here, gathered on this train. She couldn't wait to see what people could do.
Well, you guys were the last ones to get on board, so it isn't really surprising if Dakota missed the Cadet Corporals; they were already on board, and keeping fairly quiet - well, talking to themselves, anyhow, and you lot had other things on your minds.
Fisk, for his studiousness, looks wryly amused at the motivation chant, but nods his head to one side at the end of it before returning to his PIT and the information he's examining.
After another half-dozen minutes of conversation or contemplation, Costas stands up. "All right, last evolution. That," and she points at the 'seat', Jackie's locker, "needs to be here," and she slaps her hand against the open spot. "We get done with that, we'll all have something to grab a hold of. You four," she gestures at Bill, Jodie, Bas, and Corwin, "you're on the inside now. You five, detach and move that case here, then you're here on the outside with me. Move lively, now."
Moving one locker is child's play; switching the nine of you around maybe a little less so, but c'mon, it isn't like you're pre-candidates who haven't even gone through boot.
"All right," says Costas, "in just a couple moments ..."
Sure enough, a dozen or so seconds later that mellow alto voice states, "Negative acceleration in fifteen seconds. Please secure all equipment. Please buckle in or secure handholds."
"That means you, cadet," warns Costas, just generally. She looks around, however, making sure each and every one of you has both hands gripping a secure point or two. The most obvious ones are those provided by the transport cases themselves.
"Brace for negative acceleration in five. Four. Three. Two. One. Accelerating."
The pressure this time is, as Costas said previously, only as bad as the last half - about what you'd experience trying to hold yourself out of your seat as your big brother or sister floored it in Dad's old-time muscle car. It's powerful, but it isn't really difficult the way maybe it might have been. Perhaps it is what Mei thought it might be, a 'hidden meaning' - that you are no longer the kid you once were, that you can put up with things you once could have only imagined resisting, perform acts once only imagined.
Two minutes later, a few moments after the heavy acceleration ceases, but as the train is still braking, you hear that odd 'thwump thwump thwump THWUMP thwump thwump thwump ' sounding as you pass through the first presumed seal on this end, followed roughly half a minute later by the same sound.
The Voice speaks: "Transport arriving at Planetary Defense Force Academy International."
You get to see (through the windows at the front of the car, anyhow) as the train slides into a duplicate of the station in the Chicago Ruins - over a hundred meters long, forty or more wide, with the only difference at the moment being that it's pretty much completely empty, excluding the high-speed train on 'Track B', on the other side of the forty meter width of flat stone. "You five," says Costas speaking to Bruce, Dakota, Mei, Jer, and Jackie, "keep on one knee, face the station door. You four," meaning Bill, Jodie, Bas, and Corwin, "one knee, facing us."
A moment later, the train finally stops, and the Voice states mildly, "Arrival complete. Disembarkation may now proceed. Please watch your step." And then the doors open.
Perhaps because he's the highest-ranking officer on board, Commander Fisk unbuckles, rises, and exits; apparently being 'grounded' the way you are, attention and a salute is not required the way it might be in a more normal setting. On the other hand, the train seems to be a less formal transport, because although the other cadets wait for the rest of the adults to leave - one civilian woman in a suit and with briefcase, two PDF soldiers (a female full lieutenant and a male senior warrant officer), and a male USAF major - none are offered salutes by the more senior cadets, or apparently expect them while they disembark. Masterson goes next, and then the three cadet corporals back from their end-of-year-two home leave. All four of the cadets head 'uptrain', to one of the two 'cargo cars' to be found in the middle of the train.
"All right, Eight," Cadet Sergeant Costas says, "let's break it down by the numbers. I trust you remember which locker was yours; let's seperate them reverse how they went in, so from the front and station-side. You get your locker, step outside, and start going opposite-ends from the person who went out before you; that'll keep us from bunching up. Let's do the job!!"
That means Jackie's out first; which way she goes doesn't really matter, just that a) she picks a direction, and b) that whomever comes next notices. It keeps you on your toes, but it isn't like it's difficult; an evolution like this would have had your boot camp DIs disgusted with its ease. But ain't that the idea? The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in battle - or something to that effect.
By the time most of you step out of the train, you can see that the other cadet passengers are heading up the stairs; most of those back from home are making a race of it, while those back from active duty are moving more thoughtfully, and in a few cases greeting old comrades.
The cadet corporals, under the command of the cadet sergeant (Romano? Ramirez?) are soon heading for the stairs with their loads of clamped-together shipping containers; other cadet corporals, under the direction of Still Another cadet sergeant, are removing what look to be train seats from storage bays in the station's wall opposite the elevators. And of course standing in the middle of the field-sized space is Gunnery Sergeant Hudson, watching the evolution of Class 41 from inside the train to outside.
Apparently, Squad 8 is more on the ball at the moment than Squad 11, because you are outside with Costas looking you over happily as you stand there with your footlockers on your shoulder (then saying, "Squad, left face!!") before the shout of "Eleven!" sings out. It counts rapidly down from there, pausing only before 'six' and again before 'four' before proceeding to 'one'.
"ALL RIGHT, CHIPPIES, LET'S GET YOU UP TO THE DECK." bellows Gunny Hudson. "CADET SERGEANTS, YOU KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING - LET'S GET A MOVE ON!!"
"One!!" comes the shout from in front of you, and then, of course, movement orders. Just as naturally, the process moves up the column to "Eight!!" and then Costas is telling you to quick-time forward march, column right, column left, all that lot.
You know, going down six hundred steps was a lot easier than going up six hundred steps. While of the nine of you Dakota may tire first, by the end even the durable Jackie is going to be needing to make a focused effort at getting her legs to move up Just One More Step. Fortunately (or, well, probably not) 'the Deck' is nearby.
Once everyone is lined up on the Deck (which, as it turns out, is merely a broad, open, unpaved area), one of the adult sergeants calls out, "Company Four-One, at rest." Which is the signal to put your case down and collapse. Well, not actually, but it's pretty tempting. The default is to set your case down and sit on it; boot camp burned the idea of 'don't let your muscles seize up after hard exercise' into your brain, so even sitting, there's likely some slow movement on everyone's part.
As you sit there, you can look around; likely to your surprise will be the fact that you're surrounded by pine trees, twenty-five or more meters in height. Though the sky can be seen here and there, much of it is occluded by the pine branches' spread, and the scent of their needles fills the air. The buildings within sight are a mixture, either concrete painted to match the surrounding timber, or else actually made out of what looks to be logs. Truth be known, none of them look to be much larger than a handful of rooms, maybe seven or eight in one of the two-story suckers.
To one side, the cadet corporals in charge of slinging your three other cases around are seperating them into their component bundles; having gotten you lot settled, the cadet sergeants (Costas among them) have returned to help out with the bar code scanning so that they'll all be the correct ones.
To the other side, however, the real work is being done; the squads are being visually examined by four individuals in PDF uniform (one O-4, one O-3, one W-6, and one E-4), who take several minutes to walk back and forth along the open lines, double-checking and reviewing items on the triple-sized PITs they're using. After about ten minutes, they start sending the three sergeants into the ranks, hooking out individuals and switching them with those in other squads - essentially forming the actual squads going forward. Your squad is one of only two that is apparently already balanced the way they want it to be, because they don't pull anyone out of it; of the other ten, two squads completely disappear as they get balanced or, in certain cases (like yours remains) unbalanced.
"LOOSE RANKS -- FALL IN!!"
With that command to get you on your feet and at attention, albeit with plenty of distance between you and your squad-mates, the cadet-sergeants hurry over to take possession of 'their' squads once again, standing at the left of your line, though both of those who no longer have squads to lead wind up making it halfway there before realizing the absence and head back to the organized cases. The Commander (jg), a deeply-black-skinned woman, steps to the front of the formation, looking you over for a moment more before taking a step up onto what looks to be a large slice of log that's being used as a portable stand. She addresses you in a calm, assured, but projecting voice which contains a noticeable French-flavored (actually Haitian) accent; there are, after all, over seventy of you spread out across the ground.
"At ease. Welcome to the United Nations Planetary Defense Force Academy International. The identification number of your cadet class is Forty-One. Cadet Class Forty-One is now Company O of the UNPDF Academy International. Your company has been seperated into three platoons, each with three squads; the squads into which you are now assembled will remain your squads for the foreseeable future.
"Now and for the next one hundred eighty-three days, you are cadet-private junior-grades. Presuming you are not a colossal screw-up, you will then become full cadet-privates. Brevet promotions and demotions will likely occur with some frequency, depending on your maturity level, how often you screw up, how often you deliberately disobey orders, your reasons for the disobeying orders, and a wide variety of other factors. Demerits - black spots - will be assigned for minor infractions, and will result in additional duty hours, the duty to be assigned depending on the nature of the demerit. Like in Candidate Boot, too many demerits in any rolling three, six, or twelve-month period will see you receive a permanent demotion, your removal from Oscar Company, and your placement in a later class so that you may again attempt to learn the lessons we are attempting to teach you. At this stage, you cannot quit; you succeed or, like many before you, die trying.
"The General Orders, rules, and regulations of the Planetary Defense Force remain in effect at all times.
"Every ninety-one days, you will receive new or have reinforced Company Quarterly Orders. You will respect these orders as being equivalent to your General Orders.
"Your first Company Quarterly Order is that you will not utilize any abilities granted by Threading, unless you are in receipt of a direct, specific order, written or spoken, by an adult non-commissioned, warrant, or commissioned officer. If you happen to be able to run or swim at great speeds, you will moderate your speed to that of your fellows who are not gifted in such a manner.
"Your second Company Quarterly Order is to remain in contact with your squad at all times, with the specific exclusion of being in quarters, which are gender-separated, and the head, which is likewise gender-seperated. Even in the head outside of your quarters, however, you should be with the gender-appropriate members of your squad. Like your first CQO, only a non-commissioned, warrant, or commissioned officer can give you specific orders to the contrary.
"I have been informed by those who have preceeded you that making a mental note of the name and rank of the officer who so issues such orders to yourself or to your squad-mates is a wise decision, in case it becomes necessary for you to identify who issued that order.
"Violation of these orders will result in demerits. Falsifying orders - by which is meant claiming an order was given when it is determined after investigation that none was - will result in demerits, demotion, and other penalties, which may continue beyond graduation - should you survive that long.
"You will follow the PDF Academy International Honor Code: 'A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do.' Accusations of violating the Honor Code will result in a standard investigation and hearing process, the latter involving a court-martial by your peers. Judgements of guilt will result in permanent one rank demotion and an automatic two-class roll-back. Findings of innocence will result in the accuser or accusers themselves facing investigation and, if a strong enough evidence of false accusation is determined, hearing processes of their own, with identical potential consequences as that of the initial accusation. We are soldiers, among other soldiers; we act openly, uprightly, and are straightforward with each other.
"So if you do not like someone, admit it to their face and then avoid them. Because if you try to FVCK with them, it is your life that will become a living hell.
"Do you understand your orders and the code as I have given them to you?"
Cadet Class 41, Oscar Company: "YES MA'AM!!"
The Commander nods in approval. "Good. It is recommended that you review your CQOs and the honor code daily.
"Once we have finished your movement orders, established you in quarters, and gotten you through the chow line, you will assemble as a class to be addressed by the Commandant of the International Academy, Major Gardiner Holland. In addition to formally welcoming you to the Academy, the Commandant will address specific points of emphasis in the Academy addendums and modifications to PDF regulations. All full-sized terminals at the school contain complete copies of PDF and Academy regulations. The PITs waiting on your desks possess the same information, with your CQOs, the Academy addendums and modifications, and your current week's regulation study highlighted for your attention."
The Commander looks you all over for a long moment more, then nods. "Gunnery Sergeant Hudson, take over."
As she steps down, Gunny Hudson strides up to the front of the loose formation. The two exchange salutes, then part. The Commander (jg) turns to walk away, across the pine needles towards one of the low concrete buildings; the rest of her team join her, comparing notes or examining profiles or something on the large PITs they're using. Hudson, on the other hand, calls out, "Ten-HUT!!" He pauses to review everyone's stance - so soon after Candidate Basic, everyone is going to be sharp as a tack - then orders, "Oscar Company. First platoon consists of the squads currently led by Costas, Arkinson, Wright. You are now First Squad, Second Squad, Third Squad. Dismissed to quarters!!"
Hey, that's you, kids. CSgt Costas turns, calls out almost exactly with the other two cadet sergeants, "Footlockers up!!" Once Costas sees you all have them on your shoulders, she calls out, "First of the First, left face!! On my six, at ease, for'ard, MARCH!!" Keep in line and in distance, no talking, but move to your own step, following her. Tailed by another cadet sergeant and six cadet corporals carrying the balance of your baggage, Costas leads you roughly a third of a mile through the forest paths covered in pine needles until she reaches a three- or four-room log cabin that simply is not going to fit nine of you. Doesn't seem to matter to her, because she leads you right in through the double-wide doors ...
... which lead into a bare house. Oh, it's got interior walls, but that's it; no furniture, no nothing. Costas says, "Right, everyone put your back to the wall over here ..." She waits until all of you are in position, then grins at you while the CSgt at the door ('Baldwin, A') smirks right along with her as she leans down, pushes at a gap in the floor, and then pulls a huge two-inch-thick panel, a good three meters wide and four long, upwards. The far wall actually tilts back as she lifts it, on tracks of some sort, the panel is so long. She gives a bit of a jump, pushing it upwards until it latches against the ceiling.
Underneath is a split concrete panel; Baldwin comes forward, and each grabs a hold of the slot there, pulling them sideways; they're obviously on rollers, but the inch-thick panels must each weigh a quarter-ton. Still, though it's clearly an effort for them, two fifteen-year-olds drag the things open to reveal ... steps. Wide steps, leading down.
Fortunately, it isn't too far, about three stories, but man going to this place is gonna require a lot of stair climbing. However, the area at the bottom is, if very military, also very modern - concrete, tile, paint, LED lighting, the works. The hallway has two doors to either side, and beyond them it intersects with another hall; Costas calls out, "First squad, halt!!" Giving a glance to the doors, she gestures, girls to her right (your left), boys to her left (your right). "Girls in that one, guys in that one. Two three-person bunk rooms, common area, head and showers. Pick your roommates, eenie-meenie, I don't care." She tugs up her sleeve, and checks the inside of her forearm. "Right, it's sixteen-twenty. You got half an hour before we head out for chow; the cadet-corporals will give you five minutes before they start calling last names out here, so sing out when you hear your name and they'll bring it in for you. First of the First - dismissed to quarters!!"
True enough, going through the dorm doors there's a big room, large enough to have the entire squad hanging out together - a couch 'pit group' set with a huge wall screen probably set up to be accessed by any computer terminal or PIT in range, as well as a terminal and desk parked pretty much right next to the screen; two more terminal-laden desks set up with their backs to the televison; and then an actual dining-room sort of table with six chairs. However, to the 'inside' (away from the stairs you came down and towards the cross hallway) there's actually a kitchenette with two induction 'burners', a microwave, one of those big 'compression' grills, a sink (no dishwasher), about a dozen of every basic sort of dish (bowl, plate, cup, etc.), and a full-sized double-door refrigerator with a knee-height freezer drawer, ice machine, and water.
Well back from the door but again to the 'inside' is the bathroom - three shoulder-tall toilet stalls (without doors?!?), three sinks, and a shower setup with four shower heads. The bathroom itself has a pocket door that slides into the wall.
The two bunk rooms are indeed three-persons-per, but they're generous in size and include beds, desks, dressers, and bookshelves, three of each; there is also a place for each of you to mate two of the transport cases together vertically against the wall for use as closet space, with the other two sliding under your bed.
I need a good nickname for the triple-sized PITs. I was thinking TripPITs, but ... :P :)
And believe it or not, I randomly rolled you guys as being First of the First. :D
My original sketch of the dorm no longer really works, but the boys' and girls' dorms are mirror images. Standing in the boy's dorm door at 9 and moving clockwise, there's the refrigerator at 10, then the dish cabinets and corner counter; at 11 is the induction burner, followed by the sink and counter space, as well as a double-wide 'compression' (i.e. George Foreman) grill. At 12 are the two study desks, while the entrance to the bathroom is on the wall opposite the door, in the corner at 1:30. Doors to the two (highly re-arrangeable) dorm rooms are opposite the hall door, at 3-4; the pit group is roughly in front of them, pretty much filling up the 3-6:00 quadrant. At 4:30 (in the corner) is the third desk and terminal; it serves as the primary control for the approximately-100"-screen on the back wall at 5:30.
The 'dining area', meaning the table and its six chairs (but it opens in the middle and you can raid the other room for enough leaves to get 10-12 people around it - tight, but you can) fills the last quadrant of the room.
In the actual bedrooms, there is a PIT waiting on each desk for the owner to thumb- and voiceprint secure.
You are now free to move about the building -- errr, your quarters!! RP among yourselves!!
Bill heads into the first room on the right, slides his locker on the rightmost bunk, and looks around the room. When his gaze lights upon the PIT, he cautiously takes it up. He starts a bit when prompted for a thumb and voice print, but he provides each in turn.
"Sweet."
Once the PIT is unlocked, he begins noodling with it's functions.
Bruce notes Bill going into a room and follows also taking the first room to the right and takes the bunk that is the most isolated assuming Bill hasn't nabbed it already
"Hey Bill, hope you don't mind?"
He stows his gear and walks right back out and look at all they have available as facilities, kitchen, bathroom etc..
Bas' only real preference on bunk is to make sure he doesn't get stuck with the hardass (that is, Corwin), and tries his damnedest to arrange things accordingly.
Once settled in he takes a second to familiarize himself with the rest of the dorm area, and likewise fiddles with his PIT.
"Pretty nice quarters, all things considered." he comments.
He looks up as Bruce walks past him through the door.
"Sure. Mine's on the right."
He indicates the desk near Bruce's chosen bunk.
"They've got PITs for us. Just touch it and the imprint prompts will come up."
He starts a bit as Bas walk in behind him.
To Bas:
"Yeah, I guess. Clean and dry is a good place to start, right?"
...
Jodie turns to the other girls. "So, how're we going to figure this out? I don't really mind, unless one of you snores?" she grins, "Should we flip a coin, or what?"
Just like the Cmdr (jg) said, the PIT has - as its scrollable background, no less - the Academy/PDF General Orders, including a highlighted section that are your CQOs. Otherwise, it looks like it has access to the Academy's database as unlocked for your clearance level - which primarily means a slowly-pulsing icon that indicates your class texts (which turns out to be text, singular, with the icon name of 'HV') for the next quarter, as well as the Academy library. That databank contains a huge amount of fiction, significant military reading (of both philosophical, historical non-fiction, and particular fiction selections as well), the Commandant's Reading List, sacred texts for a surprisingly wide variety of the world's religions, and a section that says it is 'core tactical combat information'.
There's also a games library with a fairly wide variety of games from simple to complex, as well as -- believe it or not -- access to 'Take Back the Planet!!'
Corwin nods in silent greetings to Cadets Walker and Stein while walking past them towards the bunk rooms. Looking into the first one, he notes Cadet Younger there by himself working with a PIT. A quick look at the rest of the room confirms that the otherwise remaining two bunks are already taken.
He quietly nods to Cadet Younger saying, "Looks like there's no room in the barracks here, hope you enjoy your new room mates. I'm going to get my gear stowed away and secure then I'm taking a quick shower. See you on the way to chow."
Soon after, Cowin continues into the second room.
After a brief inspection, he takes the bunk nearest the door and proceeds to repack his gear with his typical efficency. He also activates and secures his PIT, changing the password twice befores shutting it down.
Finally, he packs and carries a small gym bag into the bathroom, closing the pocket door behind himself after entering.
Corwin nods in silent greetings to Cadets Walker and Stein while walking past them towards the bunk rooms. Looking into the first one, he notes Cadet Younger there by himself working with a PIT. A quick look at the rest of the room confirms that the otherwise remaining two bunks are already taken.
He quietly nods to Cadet Younger saying, "Looks like there's no room in the barracks here, hope you enjoy your new room mates. I'm going to get my gear stowed away and secure next door then I'm taking a quick shower. See you on the way to chow."
Soon after, Cowin continues into the second room.
After a brief inspection, he takes the bunk nearest the door and proceeds to repack his gear with his typical efficency. He also activates and secures his PIT, changing the password twice befores shutting it down.
Finally, he packs and carries a small gym bag into the bathroom, closing the pocket door behind himself after entering.
Bill opens up the 'core tactical combat information' tab, skims the table of contents, sits on his bunk and starts reading.
Stairs! That's all there was to International, or at least that's what it felt like. Dakota was starting to think it was no longer in poor taste to mentally label each step of her journey as a layer of hell, and this one would have to be the Hell of Mobius Stairs. By the time she finally entered the dorm all she wanted to do was curl up and sleep for a month, of course she couldn't though so she conceded to just taking a seat on the sofa.
As Jodie speaks up, Dakota turns around to face the rest of the room and rests her chin on the back of the sofa. "If you're worried about noise I'll take the other room, I'll probably have nightmares about stairs for a week." The girl jokes.
After five minute (before anyone, even Corwin, is going to be successful at unpacking the footlocker they brought from Candidate Boot, because though there's a 'secure storage' area in it, everything else has moved during transport) the cadet sergeants walk into the gender-correct rooms - Costas into the girls', 'Kreis, Y' into the boys', and when the cadet corporals outside start yelling out last names, the cadet-sergeants yell into the room to make sure you lot heard them.
However, SOME people have their head in a book - or in a PIT representation of a book and other similar stuff. Bill finds that the table of contents / file names in the 'core tactical combat information' is/are VERY unhelpful, and more than a bit bewildering - things like the documents 'AN 0063-186_a1.dcx' and video files like 'FVEx 0012-131.xmv'.
Either way, give me a PER roll at -2. (Which, I gotta admit, the site here is very nice about being able to add in.)
On a side note, does anyone know if it's possible, and if it is how, to nest spoilers on the site? I swear I saw it done once ...
If you open any of the document files, give me an INT roll at -4 as you try to puzzle them out.
- Fail the roll, possess no clue as to what they're talking about.
- Succeed, and you're pretty sure it's medical stuff. Considering that it's 'core tactical combat information', it's probably about the Thunder.
- Fail the roll, toss your cookies.
- Succeed, manage to keep your gut in check.
Truth be known, it is utterly impossible (without the kind of super-speed you might get in two years or so) to put it all away in thirty minutes; you're likely to get a lot of your military gear re-folded and put away if you really put your mind to it, but it's vanishingly unlikely you'll be able to do the same to the other three crates of whatever-stuff-you-asked-(or-your-mom/dad-thought-would-be-a-good-idea)-to- be-shipped-from-home. So really, a shower isn't going to happen until you're DQ'd again after the Commandant's address.
Fortunately, however, it's Saturday, which means that tomorrow is Sunday, and if this place keeps to what you've come to think of as Standard PDF Scheduling, you have tomorrow 'off'. Fortunately, since all of you can pass a formation review, you haven't had classes yet, and you've been here too short a time to earn any demerits, you're probably not going to be expected to be doing extra work, study, or penalty hours.
But hey, it isn't even five o'clock yet - you could still earn demerits if you put your mind to it. And apparently one of the good things about being Threaded (or being a hard-as-nails Gunnery Sergeant) is not only being able to go up 600 steps, but being able, after an hour's relative rest, to feel like you could y'know, probably do it again.
Which is also probably a good thing, because if you were a betting ... kid ... it might be a safe bet to guess that you don't ever get to use the elevators ...
Don't forget that you have those things ... ;)
Bill opens the video and unwholesome sounds begin to come from his PIT. A look of stark revulsion crosses his face, and he puts a hand to his mouth as his gut reels at the gory scene he's watching. He manages to keep his gorge down, but all color drains from his face.
"Oh my G-" :stomach lurches:
He collects himself enough to close the video, at which point he simply stairs at the blank screen for a long moment, shaking his head uncomprehendingly.
He is so engrossed in what he has just seen that he doesn't notice what is going on around him. That is never good in the field, so it's likely a bad idea in training.
As Mei listens to the indoctrination speech, she notes that the Company Quarterly Orders match the informal orders that Cadet-Sergeant Costas gave them as they boarded the train. I think we have been lucky to have been put in Costas' squad. She seems to be preparing us well.
She takes note that her squad, along with another, remains intact during the Chippie sorting process. It's interesting that we came together by circumstance, but the PDF approves how we've sorted ourselves out. This bodes well for us, I think.
After finally coming to the barracks that will be her home for the next 183 days -barring catastrophe- Mei places her carbine in the weapons rack and fights off the urge to collapse into the couch. Setting down her locker for the moment she rubs the ache in the small of her back.
"So, how're we going to figure this out? I don't really mind unless one of you snores?" she grins, "Should we flip a coin, or what?"
"There appear to be four of us girls so we can go 2 and 2, or 3 and 1. I would suggest we start out 2 and 2 and see how that works for a week. If we decide we want to change that up it won't be that hard."
Jerrold - 'Jer' - looks resigned, but moves his gear in with Corwin. "What I get for being last in line, I guess," he says with equanimity, and picks one of the two free bunks. "Huh," he says thoughtfully, eyeing the to-be-permanently-empty third. "I wonder what the max they ever get is."
Once he opens up his footlocker - "Holy geez, lookit this mess" - excluding responding to his last name by going and getting his lockers (well, locker - the other two get carried in by the cadet-corporal) he occupies his half-hour by securing his PIT and starting to straighten his military gear and putting it away in the dresser drawers.
Corwin nods in silent greetings to Cadets Walker and Stein while walking past them towards the bunk rooms. Looking into the first one, he notes Cadet Younger working with a PIT. A quick look at the rest of the room confirms that the otherwise remaining two bunks are already taken.
He quietly nods to Cadet Younger saying, "Looks like there's no room in the barracks here, hope you enjoy your new room mates. I'm going to get myself and my gear stowed away and secured next door. See you on the way to chow, Cadet Private JG Younger."
Just after Jarold joins him in the second bunk room, Corwin replies, "Being first is not always best. A good solider learns more by watching those who go ahead."
While also activating his PIT and putting away his necessary gear, Corwin remarks, "Given the amount of space I see here, I believe their max would be about six per bunkroom. But for the now there are only two of us giving us plenty of room. ASAP we should arrange our lockers to maximize efficient access to our gear."
Mei shrugs, then picks up her locker and makes her way to the bunkroom closest to her. She claims the bed nearest the door and opens up her locker to see how her belongings have survived the journey. She removes her bathroom necessities and makes sure everything else is in order. She knows she will have to wait until later to get everything setup just right.
Once the bare necessities have been taken care of she goes back to the common room and waits for the call to mess.
Glancing around the crowd, Jodie's eyes catch a familiar form,.. something about the walk and the hight make the figure immediately recognisable. Unable to restrain herself, or the grin that immediately covers her face, she yells out across the crowd.
Jodie glances at Mei's retreating figure then turns to Dakota. "Alright then,... Wanna share with me?" she says, picking up her locker and moving into the other room where she grabs a random bunk and, not bothering to begin tidying her belongings until after chow, reclines on the mattress.
Jer looks around the room, eyebrows narrowing as he gauges spaces, then shakes his head and goes back to unpacking - though he does roll his eyes at Corwin's platitudes. "Looks to me like they have a certain amount of space per person. You want to take over the rest of it, you go right ahead; I'm sticking to the standard."
Bruce seeing Bill kinda absorbed in what he's doing
"Hey Bill umm I think we have to respond to the Cadet Sergeants"
He straightens and replies when his name is called
"Present Cadet Sergeant"
Bill, a vaguely haunted look in his eye, slips his PIT into a cargo pocket, still staring off into the middle distance.
Bruce moves out to get his locker and drag it back into the room.
Bill starts and looks up at Bruce, then into the common room when his name is called.
"Present Cadet Sergeant!"
He claps. Bruce on the shoulder as they leave the room. "Thank you."
"Getcher cases, chippie," replies CSgt Y. Creis, gesturing Bill towards the outside, and eyeballing the younger man. "Lookin' a little pale, there -" he pauses to do a quick read of Bill's chest flap, and adds, "Cadet Younger. You didn't go divin' inta the tactical combat info vids, didja?" Presuming Bill gives an affirmitive in whatever form, the CSgt whistles. "Yeah, that'd do it. Getcher cases, Younger," he repeats, not unkindly. "An' steer away from the tac-com section f'r now, get me? I'd say you know why."
Bill shakes his head to clear it and speaks with markedly less vigor. "Yes, Cadet Sergeant."
He grabs his gear and heads out of the room.
"Sounds fine to me." Dakota replies to Jodie and follows her into one of the rooms. Soon enough her name is called and the girl goes to retrieve one of her other lockers, this time returning her weapon and ammo to the rack which she had been too distracted by her newfound loathing for stairs to notice the first time.
Once back in her and Jodie's dorm with all her footlockers stored but unopened Dakota notices something that she honestly should have noticed right away. It took all her focus to stop herself from squealing in excitement. "Is.. Is that what I think it is?" She practically pounced on the desk like some voracious animal, the look on her face wasn't too different either. "It is!"
The power! The finesse! The storage! The girl giggled madly as she rubbed the device against her cheek. With a spin away from the desk Dakota collapsed backwards onto her bunk, gripping the PIT in her outstretched hands, just staring at it. "I think I'm in love." She whispered reverently.
Erf. Oof. Compared to disembarking, that wonderfully mechanically ordered affair, going up those steps...
And then orders. The Commander sets the tone for the Company, and she does it well. Jac has to mul over it. A secret training grounds. Aboveground?
The far wall actually tilts back as she lifts it, on tracks of some sort, the panel is so long. She gives a bit of a jump, pushing it upwards until it latches against the ceiling.
Underneath is a split concrete panel; Baldwin comes forward, and each grabs a hold of the slot there, pulling them sideways; they're obviously on rollers, but the inch-thick panels must each weigh a quarter-ton. Still, though it's clearly an effort for them, two fifteen-year-olds drag the things open to reveal ... steps. Wide steps, leading down.
'Wait WHAT?!' Holy damn. Jac had been betting 'underground facility' in her head, or something like that. Or something even more strange.
But this took the cake. In she went with the rest...
Jodie turns to the other girls. "So, how're we going to figure this out? I don't really mind, unless one of you snores?" she grins, "Should we flip a coin, or what?"
"There appear to be four of us girls so we can go 2 and 2, or 3 and 1. I would suggest we start out 2 and 2 and see how that works for a week. If we decide we want to change that up it won't be that hard."
Jodie glances at Mei's retreating figure then turns to Dakota. "Alright then,... Wanna share with me?"
Jackie was distracted by the the faint sounds of someone witnessing horror unbeknownst to all... and the weird thought of 'what the hell is going to happen with bunking with Corwin'. She stows the thought, fast. "Well..." Jac nods to Jodie and Dakota. "Guess we'd better rush."
She was hearing the sound of the call. The call for cases. It was time to get unpacked. Then maybe she'd get a few words in with... Mei, she supposed. This was bound to be strange. But Mei and the rest of her squad's girls seemed relatively sane... "Present Cadet Sergeant!"
'I'll check out the room when this is sorted... place seems, honestly, really good. Spared no expense?'
Kinda sad I passed that, almost wanted to get his name wrong.
"Present Cadet Sergeant!" Bas sounds off after coming from the room.
He listens in on Creis' talk with the other kid, Bill he thinks, and suppresses a groan.
Why'd he have to say that? Now I'm curious. I HAVE to look some time.
Mei goes collects her 3 remaining lockers when called by the C-Sarg and takes them to her bunkroom to start getting herself squared away. She notes that one of the girls has decided to room with her. I think her name is Jackie...? Mei continues her unpacking while trying to stay out of Jackie's way.
Bill starts unpacking and organizing his gear. As he works, the tension gradually releases his shoulders.
Getting her lockers, resolving to get this crap together, Jac returns to the room. "Hey... Mei, right?" Jacqueline offers her hand. "I'm Jacqueline... Jackie works. Or Jacq..."
Mei nods and gives Jackie's hand a firm shake . "Hajimemashite, Jackie. I'm very pleased to be a member of this squad. If you need any help with anything let me know."
"Yeah..." For all Mei's quietness, she had surprising enthusiasm. Jackie couldn't help but grin. "Definitely, same here. Let's get our stuff sorted, then see what all this will be about. A secret mountain military school?" For Threaded... people with superpowers. "What do you even do for teaching Threaded..." But that was rhetorical, as Jackie was milling about and getting out the most important things first, the practical and maybe very personal.
As Jacq finished up, she looked over that game, 'Take Back The Planet'. "Good times for you?" She looks over her shoulder to Mei.
Mei shakes her head as she sorts through her things. "I've never played the game, I'm afraid. I usually spend my leisure time on things like calligraphy and meditation. What do you like to do for fun, Jackie?"
"Animals. Horses." Jacq was almost gushing. "Wish we had some here. Everything is jeeps and vehicles, probably all in the military too." Jackie trailed off to mutter in Sioux a moment.
"Ah well." Jackie looked back to Mei with a half a grin. "I also like exploring... are you against taking a look around? Maybe we can group up... meet our squadmates and check this place out."
"Maybe we can explore if they give us some free time later. Don't forget that we have to do everything as a group. I'm not enthused about getting demerits on the first day we get here."
True to her promise, right at thirty minutes (though not with stopwatch accuracy) CSgt Costas shouts out "Oscar Company, First Platoon, First Squad, on the deck!! Cadet Privates Junior-Grade, get your toes out here and on the line!!" Right after her shout, a bugle call sounds through what's apparently a PA system throughout the complex. It doesn't bounce around like it probably normally would in a concrete building, so either they have the volume turned down, or else there's something funny going on with the furnishings.
So fresh out of boot, you had of course noticed the two-inch-wide yellow tiles along either side of the corridor; though they stay the same distance from the wall, they run from the bottom of the stairs to the corner and around it. Toes should be at (not over) the line, and while the cadet corporals have skivvied off to their own quarters (or duties, or whatever), CSgt Kreis is still there on the stairs side (the overhead doors now closed), his hands clasped behind his back. Costas is towards the T-intersection beyond in an identical pose, waiting for you to get to the line and at attention.
"At ease. I expect that call you heard is familiar to you - chow time. Like always, wait for release by your teacher or commander of the moment; me, Kreis, and Baldwin are three of your seven assigned cadet sergeants, First of the First from Foxtrot Company. Except inside the school buildings, in quarters here, and during weekend free time, there'll be at least one and usually two of us, as well as two of the seven assigned cadet corporals you saw down here from Hotel Company, along with you. Keep your CQO's in mind, and even if we're not with you, you shouldn't go too far wrong. Now, we're headed out of barracks, so retrieve your weapons, and let's get a move on."
After the two minutes it takes five boys and four girls to rotate through a door, snag a weapon and ammo, put them into proper carry positions, and rotate back out to toe the line, Costas gives you a looking-over and nods. "Face the sergeant!!" (That means turns towards her.) She looks you over again, then nods. "Okay, here's the skinny. Always be ready to get called to attention, marching orders, the whole ramrod-military thing. Always be ready for it, but we don't usually go marching around the Academy in formation. You'll get pop quizzed, so to speak, pretty frequently for the next couple of years, but you're expected to maintain military discipline without us forcing you to become a brainless robot. You're here to develop your abilities, learn how to control them, and if you can't or won't control them, I guarantee they will kill you - your powers, most likely, far faster than any of the adults here. So keep it together - keep your head in it without us having to shove our arms up your a$$es to turn you into little meat-puppets. Officially, you're dismissed for chow; unofficially, that means y'all can follow me."
Gesturing you nine to follow while Kreis 'strolls along' bringing up the rear, Costas walks out into the T-intersection, and says, "Place is set up so that the nearest primary hall is your company rally point. With the First of the First, that'll be to the left," and she points to her right as she's facing you, your left. "The halls the other way," and she points to her left, your right, "belong to another Company. Right now, that means Lima Company, Class 38, Cadet Privates. You want to get hassled, turn right; you want to get to chow, turn left." She leads you along, gesturing to the halls off-set in the curving main hall. "Each ring is set up with four quadrants, nine barracks halls per quadrant, up to twelve cadets per hall. Once a year we move down a level; cadet privates and jay-gees on sub-one, corporals and pee-eff-cees on sub-two, sergeants and staff sergeants on sub-three."
As she walks and talks, other members of Oscar Company are emerging from their halls ahead of you, their own cadet-sergeants explaining probably the same stuff to them. As you approach the hall ahead, a sussuration of noise begins to grow. "This is the East Hall - East Sub-One. Company adjuntant's office there," she points at a doorway (currently closed) on the E-1 main hallway, 'inside' of the curved hallway, "company watch post there," and that is to the door-and-window guard booth on the 'outside'. "Food and commons is this way," she says, and heads 'inside'.
It isn't far - maybe fifteen, twenty meters - until you reach the wide ring balcony that contains cafeteria dining tables against three of the four walls and smaller four-seat tables up next to the railing. "Don't sit at one of the little tables for at least a few months unless you're ready to leave it," recommends Kreis from behind you. "Since those tables are by seniority, you have to obey the orders of anyone higher-ranked than you, and since a second-semester jigger outranks you, they'd take GREAT delight in ordering you to shift your butt."
"True," agrees Costas. "So - food there," she points where she's leading you, towards the wall between the south and west halls where a standard chowline runs left-to-right, and you get into line behind what seems like pretty much everyone else on your floor. "Like at boot - take all you can eat, but eat everything you take. Remember, there are people starving in the cities. Stick around until the rest of your squad is out of the line, then smartest thing to do is to secure a table back by your Company Hall. The long tables are first come, first served, but unless you want trouble outside chow, stick near your own quad. It IS four quads squished into three, but the fourth-quarter folks on each level usually grab the round tables, except for whatever upper-end cadet master sergeants and above decide to come to your level; mostly they stick down on sub-four." She gestures over the balcony rails, where three levels of balconies expose a floor with a fair number of the circular tables.
By then it's time to grab a tray, silverware, and a PDF-standard sectioned melamine plate and step through the chow line. The food is a) plentiful, b) quite hot (or quite cold) but c) of only moderate variety. Like at boot, you CAN manage to be a vegetarian (vegan is right out), but sharp-eyed adult noncoms near the end put protein on Every Single Plate, whether it's today's pig-based protein or a thick chunk of vegetarian-friendly soy-something-or-another.
Oh, and d) it's actually pretty damn good.
Costas leads you back over to the East Sub One hall, adding, "Dish return to either side of the radial halls. Every two weeks, your squad helps in the kitchens for one meal; starting out, that'll mean doing something like a couple thousand trays, plates, forks, spoons, cups, everything you see here. Here, either side of this table; stick together, don't line all down one side." Costas leads down one side, while Kreis anchors the other.
"Dig in! An' ask questions if y' got 'em. Don't worry, we got plenty of time for eating. Breakfast is fast, lunch is a hurry, but they give us an hour and a half for dinner - 1800 to 1930 on weekdays, hour earlier on weekends. Assembly's at 1900 tonight. Don't worry, schedule stuff is all in your PITs."