Chapter Seventeen
Part Two: To Be Unique
Idol, Razor and Patch were watching Trauma as he carried giant backpacks from the back of a truck bed. Glitch was helping him unload the bags; both Abyssus Units were carrying two in their hand and one strapped to their back. The Revival squad watched from the sidelines as Trauma placed one of the bags in front of every member of Batch:26A and Batch:32B. Each pack met the concrete with a loud clunk; Idol winced at the sound, while lazily leaning over the guard railing.
“Egh- I remember when he used to do this training with us.”
“He used to make the whole Delta Squad run around the entire Southern Enclosure with those stupid backpacks until sun set.” She mumbled, those were times when she had to exert herself, and she didn’t miss them in the slightest.
“He’s only making them run around the facility though! So it won’t be half as miserable as when we did it.” Added Patch with a cute smile. She was glad that they wouldn’t have to endure what they went through.
“Oh? Seems the Captain is going easy on them then.” Ended Razor while looking out at the open lot.
Dart fastened the backpack straps to herself, she did a little hop, to see the weight difference. It was significant. Trauma and Glitch told them that this practice was to measure and train their endurance, but Dart couldn’t tell where this was going.
Quill looked down at her large backpack nervously. “Uhh Captain Trauma sir? What are these for?”
“I need each of you to take your backpack full of metal straps and hoist it over your shoulders. Then with the backpack I want you to run around the perimeter of the Beacon.”
“Ehh?!” She cried out. Quill attempted to pick up the backpack from its straps, she was straining herself just to get it off the ground.
Fives saw Quill struggling and tried to lift the backpack himself. “This thing is, like, really heavy. You expect me to run with this?!”
Trauma turned to the two Units. “Yes, You must be able to run full speed with the extra weight. You shouldn’t feel you have the backpack on you.”
“Seriously?” Below scoffed as he put on his backpack. He was already over this training, it seemed pointless to him. There was no scenario where he would have to run away with a weight like this on him.
“It’s weighing me down as it is…” He then looked over at Dart, who was doing leg stretches in preparation for the training. He gritted his teeth.
“But I’ll get used to it, when do we stop Captain T?”
Trauma was about to open his mouth to respond, but was pushed aside by his partner. Glitch seemed more than happy to answer his question.
“Stop? I want you all to run like your life depends on it! Run until you feel like quitting, and then run some more!” She exclaimed, in a jovial tone.
The color seemed to drain from Below’s face, in that moment he made a terrible realization. “I’m surrounded by psychopaths!”
Trauma took out his Slate and looked upon the six trainees. “You all may start when ready.”
The children all exchanged weary looks with each other. The training was more than they were used to doing in their Enclosures. The most the Federation had them do was a test every few weeks, but this was on another level. Vanity shrugged her shoulders with a sheepish grin.
“Well it’s now or never I suppose.”
Dart nodded. “Right.” With that confirmation she bolted off, giving it her all. Each step she took as she ran, the backpack tried to drag her to the ground, but despite the burden she managed to stay upright.
Below watched as she rushed forward, baffled, but only for a spell. He growled angrily while clutching his backpack straps.
“There’s no way in hell I’ll let you get a head start like that!” He shouted as he ran after her.
Vanity looked over at Quill, Fives and Zero, and then followed behind the two who faced this challenge head on. Fives shook his head and slapped his cheeks, all in an attempt to ready himself.
“Let's… let’s give it our all!” Said Quill as she began to chase after the others, Zero and Fives followed her lead and started to sprint as well.
Trauma, who is watching the training from a distance, nodded as he watched them all run. Dart and Below were neck and neck, with a marginally larger gap between them and the next person. Vanity, Zero and Quill maintained the middle, with Fives lagging far behind.
“Eyes up, units. We have plenty of training to get through, so I can get the best read of what we’re working with.” Shouted Trauma.
Sometime later, Dart and Below were riding in the back of a truck that was being driven by Glitch. They both were armed with rifles, and as the truck drove through a lane with countless targets on both sides, they were expected to shoot.
Before the practice began, Below looked back at Dart, giving her a condescending smirk, so Dart gave him an annoyed glare and elbow to his side.
Trauma typed notes into his Slate as he watched the two fire their plasma rifles. Dart flawlessly hit every target on her side, as she sped by, within the vehicle.
“It’s top priority to give this your all. So make sure with each training you show me what makes you unique.”
While Fives was waiting for his turn, he was sitting criss crossed on the concrete floors. Vanity watched as he tampered with the rifle's configurations, with a screwdriver and a pair of pliers in hand. The plasma canister was dislocated, only being held to the weapon by a few wires.
“The output for this thing is all wrong, I can’t believe- ” However, Fives’ sentence was cut short by the sound of the gun he was holding haphazardly firing. Vanity flinched.
“Aghh!” He cried out as the rifle shot a bright beam. It hit a steel wall, completely melting it upon impact. The spot left was charred and smoking, far more damage than a normal plasma shot would’ve ever done, especially at that distance. Trauma looked on, as Vanity scolded Fives for endangering everyone.
The Captain looked down at his Slate and began his evaluations. “555-A, or Fives. The kid is a certifiable genius when it comes to technology, though when it comes to physical things- he’s a pushover. He’s not half bad with a gun, but if we give him a tool kit he might turn that weapon into something ten times stronger. Great at improvising and adapting on the spot.”
Another morning came, and Dart was awake and ready to seize the day. Vanity tiredly walked across the room while getting herself dressed in her panzer jacket uniform. Dart began heading out of the room, but then noticed Quill was standing in one spot in a sleepy daze, so she went behind her and pushed her out of the room. While this goes on, in the boys room, Zero dropped down from his top bunk as Fives excitedly talked to them. Below meanwhile, was checking himself out in the mirror paying no one any mind.
During sword practice, they were all handed a wooden staff and a sparring partner. Below grinned when Glitch handed him his tool, he was ready to give a beat down to anyone who challenged him. However, his smile faded when he turned to see he was paired with Dart.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” He groaned, as she looked at him with pure discontent.
Trauma watched as she rushed Below with reckless abandon, as he did the same. The two clashed, with Below almost immediately knocking Dart onto her ass.
“197-B. He’s the type to charge into battle head first without thinking. The guy’s ego is a bit high, but he has the skill to back it up. Below is an extremely well rounded Unit: he thrives in hand to hand combat, swordplay and good with a rifle. He would be a good leader, but he’s a bit short tempered and snarky. “
Sometime in the later hours, Glitch set up a makeshift obstacle course and stood at the end of it with a gun and aimed it at the trainees.
“This is a paintball gun, so if the shots hit, you won’t die! But I promise you, it’ll hurt like hell!” Exclaimed the Abyssus unit with an evil cackle as she loaded the weapon.
“Your goal is to reach me, while completing the course I’ve set up for you. And yes, I’ll be shooting at each and every one of you to the best of my ability!”
Trauma continued to monitor all of the trainees as they attempted the training. Vanity looked across the obstacle course. If she was quick enough she could make it to a pillar that would shield her from the gun fire.
“Guys, I have a strategy if you want to avoid getting shot. Hide behind the pillars and move when she’s reloading!” Called out Vanity. She could hear when the gun ran out of blanks, so she’d know when Glitch couldn’t fire.
Vanity rushed behind a Pillar like she planned, to which Quill and Fives followed suit.
“723-B, more affectionately known as Vanity. She’s a bright and gifted young lady, she likes to play things safe and is more on the defensive side of things. She’s reliable and a team player. Another thing she has is her super hearing. We’re all aware how impressive that ability of hers is, as it’s saved our asses once before.”
Fives quickly ducked behind another pillar; he was hyperventilating. Below, however, decided he was going to make a run for it.
“Here I go!” He began as he started hoping and climbing through the arena. “I got this.”
Vanity and Quill weren’t reassured by that claim by him. Dart on the other hand saw this as an opportunity, she was going to use Below’s recklessness to her advantage. She was planning to bash her way to the end while using Below as a decoy.
Below was narrowly escaping Glitch’s paintball shots, while completing the obstacle course. He was moments from the end before he lost his footing and tripped. Glitch immediately shot him directly in the back as he laid on the ground. When Dart saw him, she frowned.
Glitch was moments away from pulling the trigger again before she felt a tap on her right shoulder. She turned to see Zero standing beside her. Glitch flinched so hard, her glasses almost flung off out of shock.
“HNGH! A-Ah… Zero! You made it?”
“004-B. Zero. I don’t think I’ve ever heard them speak, and their face is neutral every time I've seen it. They aren’t physically fit whatsoever, but where they lack brute strength they make up for in stealth. Almost like they are trained not to make a sound, they are quick and quiet, very skilled with a blade.” Continued Captain Trauma.
Later, in the Seminar room located in the basement of the Beacon, Below was sleepily laying with his head resting in his hands while an adamant Soleria Illow was in the middle of her lecture, educating the trainees in Abyssiti.
“The Abyssiti appear through rifts at random periods, and we have very little documentation that speak on their origin. Almost everything about them is obscure, though we aren’t completely ignorant. Thanks to the efforts of the Human Restoration Project we know how to defeat them.”
Quill raised her hand, eagerly. “It’s by inflicting enough damage to the creature that it can no longer regenerate, correct?”
Soleria beamed and gave her a thumbs up. “Correct 618-A! Looks like someone has been paying attention!”
Trauma listened to the lecture unfold from the back of the classroom with his Slate in hand. “Quill or 618-A, she’s lacking in all combat fields but thrives in the classroom. The girl has almost perfect memory and is very astute. She’s observant, which is only reinforced by her 20/5 vision, only a machine could compete with her in seeing long distances like that. Quill is a perfect candidate for a scout.”
The next morning, and it was back to running laps around the perimeter with the added weight. This time Dart surpassed Below, she was running at full speed, though she felt her legs were going to give out at any moment.
Everyone else seemed out of steam by the third day of training, but Dart continued to move forward indomitably, with an unwavering gleam in her dark blue eyes. The Captain watched as she turned the corner leaving her squad mates behind.
“Finally, 773-A… Dart. Her perfect aim isn’t an understatement, as she has 100 percent accuracy with any weapon she is given. The girl isn’t good at hand to hand combat, however, she fights with such vigor that it doesn’t even matter. She’s average with a hook claw but she carries herself with such drive and determination that I don’t think she would need a weapon if she’s desperate.”
After the fact. Crest swiped through all the finer details of each evaluation on a giant Slate, his face illuminating with an eerie glow. Each time he swiped his finger, the device beeped in response.
“Wow.” Began Crest. “Seems we have a lot of special snowflakes in this group, don’t we?”
Captain Trauma, Crest and Soleria Illow were all sitting in an office together, reviewing the data. The Intrinsic was sitting behind the L-shaped counter with Trauma and Crest in chairs.
Soleria brought out her Slate, and projected a screen to display the footage of the training. It showed Fives and Quill sparring with the wooden sticks. Crest put his feet up onto the counter, as he silently watched the video with disinterest.
Soleria however, looked at the video as if she’d struck gold. “This is all really good intel! Thank you Captain 666-K.”
“I should be able to decide where to go from here thanks to this. I’ll come back to you two so we can decide which four to send out on an official mission.”
Trauma nodded. “Of course Observer. Until then.” His crimson eyes drifted downward as concern washed over his face. He looked somewhat upset by Soleria’s rush to put the children into danger, especially because he knows they aren’t nearly ready.
