on these on your own.” The cadets’ faces and shoulders drooped. “All of these are the basics. You will have much more to learn if you want to survive the final test.”
One of the cadets chimed in, “Will we have another chance to complete the test if we fail the first time, Sergeant?”
“What’s your name, cadet?”
“Alexis, Sergeant.”
“That is incorrect,” Wouris replied angrily, “Your name is cadet until I call you otherwise. And you misunderstood what I said, cadet . I said if you want to survive the test. Your final test will be to complete and survive your very first mission. If you do so, you will be accepted as a fully fledged Adept. If not, well, you certainly won’t care, will you?” She smiled and ended cheerily, “See you in the morning.”
Not one cadet slept that night – just the way Wouris wanted it.
Janus and the other cadets tumbled out of their rooms the next morning bleary eyed and exhausted. Wouris lined them up for roll call and quickly took off. In no time they were jogging around the trunk, huffing away. Despite Wouris’ statement the night before, their exercise that morning was lighter, and although some of the cadets definitely struggled more than others, no one had collapsed by the time Wouris called for them to stop.
The sun was up in full and shining down on them through the Great Seal as they made their way to the mess, with Wouris in the lead. Celes, Marcus, and Janus jogged side by side. Lyn and Ramirez were right behind them.
“I wonder what our tactical lessons will be like?” Celes asked.
Marcus shrugged, “Good question; could be a million things, if what they had lined up for in S.T. training meant anything. Don’t worry; I’ll look out for you guys.”
“What about you, Janus? Any ideas?” Lyn asked.
Janus was silent, and Celes shrugged back at her. After a moment, however, Janus responded, “I guess we’ll study Corporate weapons and tactics first, to give us an idea of how to form our own strategies and tactics against them.”
Celes smiled at Marcus, “Hear that? I think he actually knows what he’s talking about.”
Marcus grimaced, and Janus tried to hide the fleeting smirk on his face.
Wouris stopped them outside the mess hall and ran down the schedule of the rest of the day’s lessons and exercises. “Alright, listen up. You’re due with Col. Keats and Col. Hawkes for Tactics at 0700. Don’t bother to eat too much; you’ll just pay for it later. Just grab a bite and meet me at 0650 in front of the Beacon – if you’re late, you’ll definitely pay for it. The exercises should take till 1400 hours, where you will have 30 minutes to eat before we start running. Again, don’t eat much, or else you won’t enjoy our run. At 1600 hours you’ll report to Major Northcott for weapons training. At 1800, you get to meet me and I’ll see how you’ve progressed today with some one on one combat. At 1900, you can eat without worry because 2030 is sack time. Except for you, cadet and you, cadet.” She pointed at two cadets named Hughes and Kwandis.
“You’ll meet me outside Sigma at 1930 for some extra endurance sessions. We can’t have you falling behind now, can we? The rest of you will have a chance to review your lessons, which I strongly recommend, and catch some early shuteye. Any questions?” Hughes and Kwandis t ried to speak but Wouris cut in, “No questions? None at all? Good. Now move out!”
Strategy and tactics was held in a domed extension of the city, known by two runes, ‘kenaz’ and ‘eihwaz’, designated by symbols that looked like the front of an arrow and a line that was bent at each end:
It meant “Beacon of the Tree”. Wouris had told the cadets two more Beacons were in the city, all designed to serve a multipurpose role. What that role was, Wouris did not elaborate, but the room
One of the cadets chimed in, “Will we have another chance to complete the test if we fail the first time, Sergeant?”
“What’s your name, cadet?”
“Alexis, Sergeant.”
“That is incorrect,” Wouris replied angrily, “Your name is cadet until I call you otherwise. And you misunderstood what I said, cadet . I said if you want to survive the test. Your final test will be to complete and survive your very first mission. If you do so, you will be accepted as a fully fledged Adept. If not, well, you certainly won’t care, will you?” She smiled and ended cheerily, “See you in the morning.”
Not one cadet slept that night – just the way Wouris wanted it.
Janus and the other cadets tumbled out of their rooms the next morning bleary eyed and exhausted. Wouris lined them up for roll call and quickly took off. In no time they were jogging around the trunk, huffing away. Despite Wouris’ statement the night before, their exercise that morning was lighter, and although some of the cadets definitely struggled more than others, no one had collapsed by the time Wouris called for them to stop.
The sun was up in full and shining down on them through the Great Seal as they made their way to the mess, with Wouris in the lead. Celes, Marcus, and Janus jogged side by side. Lyn and Ramirez were right behind them.
“I wonder what our tactical lessons will be like?” Celes asked.
Marcus shrugged, “Good question; could be a million things, if what they had lined up for in S.T. training meant anything. Don’t worry; I’ll look out for you guys.”
“What about you, Janus? Any ideas?” Lyn asked.
Janus was silent, and Celes shrugged back at her. After a moment, however, Janus responded, “I guess we’ll study Corporate weapons and tactics first, to give us an idea of how to form our own strategies and tactics against them.”
Celes smiled at Marcus, “Hear that? I think he actually knows what he’s talking about.”
Marcus grimaced, and Janus tried to hide the fleeting smirk on his face.
Wouris stopped them outside the mess hall and ran down the schedule of the rest of the day’s lessons and exercises. “Alright, listen up. You’re due with Col. Keats and Col. Hawkes for Tactics at 0700. Don’t bother to eat too much; you’ll just pay for it later. Just grab a bite and meet me at 0650 in front of the Beacon – if you’re late, you’ll definitely pay for it. The exercises should take till 1400 hours, where you will have 30 minutes to eat before we start running. Again, don’t eat much, or else you won’t enjoy our run. At 1600 hours you’ll report to Major Northcott for weapons training. At 1800, you get to meet me and I’ll see how you’ve progressed today with some one on one combat. At 1900, you can eat without worry because 2030 is sack time. Except for you, cadet and you, cadet.” She pointed at two cadets named Hughes and Kwandis.
“You’ll meet me outside Sigma at 1930 for some extra endurance sessions. We can’t have you falling behind now, can we? The rest of you will have a chance to review your lessons, which I strongly recommend, and catch some early shuteye. Any questions?” Hughes and Kwandis t ried to speak but Wouris cut in, “No questions? None at all? Good. Now move out!”
Strategy and tactics was held in a domed extension of the city, known by two runes, ‘kenaz’ and ‘eihwaz’, designated by symbols that looked like the front of an arrow and a line that was bent at each end:
It meant “Beacon of the Tree”. Wouris had told the cadets two more Beacons were in the city, all designed to serve a multipurpose role. What that role was, Wouris did not elaborate, but the room
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