"He did. Got my sentence lowered because of it as well. The brass was planning to have me sent to the correctional brigade, on Mars." He laughed mirthlessly. "Can you imagine me there, with Dan and Robbie?"
"The adjunct did the right thing," Ethan said, and emptied his coffee. They had just finished lunch, and for once, they had a few minutes to spare, to just sit and chat. That seemed to end as Optio Walker came over.
"Alright, on your feet. We´re marching in five minutes. I want everyone ready, packs and all. We´ll be spending the night out." The optio moved over to the others who were sitting around, enjoying their rare break. Jed sighed and rose.
"Doesn´t change anything though, and you know it. I´m not cut out for this shit."
"Oh come on Jed, don´t be so hard on yourself," Ethan began, but Jed waved him off.
"Doesn´t matter anyhow. Nothing does. She´s dead, I´m to blame, and nothing´s changed because of it." Ethan didn´t know how to reply so he just grabbed his pack and his rifle.
"Time to go," he just said. Then Jed smiled and grabbed his gear as well.
"Just give me a minute, okay? I have to go to the bathroom before we head out."
"I´ll wait," Ethan said, and sat back down. He hoped he´d get to serve with Jed once boot camp ended, which shouldn´t be too long now. He liked the guy, and except for Ariel and Julian Jed was probably the best friend he had around here. He checked his watch, hoping this wouldn´t take too long. He´d rather not be late for the march.
A loud bang echoed through the building.
Ethan started.
The sound had come from the bathrooms, and Ethan instinctively knew what had happened.
"God no, not..." he whispered as he rose to his feet and began running. A few others had beat him to it though, and held him back as he tried to force his way into the men´s bathroom.
"Let me through!" he shouted at another recruit and pushed him aside.
Jed sat slumped against the wall, rifle fallen to the side. The wall behind him was painted red. No tears escaped Ethan´s eyes as he took a step back, He turned and stumbled into Optio Walker.
"Oh man," was all the optio managed to say. "Oh man..."
"All he wanted was to become a florist," was all Ethan managed to whisper before the tears came.
27.
The last few weeks of boot camp went by as if in a haze. A numbness lay like a cover between Ethan and his surroundings. It was as if everything he heard came through a filter, everything he saw was on a screen, everything that happened, happened to someone else. He felt detached, numb, empty.
Fran´s accidental death and Jed´s suicide had changed everything. It wasn´t just losing two good friends and fellow recruits — it was as if death had suddenly become more real, more tangible. Every day was one day closer to death, one day closer to the day where they would be sent off to war on some godforsaken planet somewhere. Everyone, including Ethan, suddenly became more serious, more somber. He could look at someone, like Ariel, who was still the tough one, sometimes funny, sometimes more balls than brains, and see that she had become more serious as well, more focused on her training and on the tasks at hand. The instructors ran them even harder, now that they were nearing the end of boot camp. There would be more training, sure, but boot camp laid the foundation. The skills learned here would stick with them and help them, no matter which direction their assignments or future training took.
The final day arrived early, with shouts, curses and a grinning Optio Morales banging on the lid of a casserole, just to make noise.
"Get up, get up, get up!" Decurion Schwartz and Optio Walker screamed into the ears of the still sleepy, bleary eyed recruits.
"Get your gear in order, standard packs, weapons and spare mags ready, helmets on. You´ve got five minutes."
This time around, everyone was on time, and the decurion nodded in appreciation.
"Well, well, well. I like what I see. You´re beginning to look like legionnaires. Not quite there yet, but showing promise. Good. We´re going hiking today." Then he looked up at the still starry sky.
"Clear weather. Looks nice. The sun will be up in just a few hours, so let´s get moving."
The optios took over, and chased everyone into the back of two trucks. Only fourteen recruits remained, so there was plenty of room. Ethan leaned back on his backpack, weapon held between his legs, barrel down. And when one of the recruits had asked why that was so important, Optio Morales had punched him in the face. Not hard enough to knock out teeth or anything, but enough to draw blood.
"Imagine this being the steel of the barrel, on a bumpy road. You wouldn´t have a single tooth left." That was the end of discussion — lesson learned.
They drove for an indefinite period of time, and in the dark confines of the truck, Ethan dozed off several times, only to be awoken by the truck hitting a pothole or bump, speeding up or braking. At last, the truck stopped, and Optio Walker came around to open the back doors. Ethan squinted at the sunlight. He hadn´t noticed how long they´d been driving, so he was surprised to see the sun so far above the horizon. He checked his watch: 10:19. They must have driven for five hours or more.
"Where are we?" Julian asked quietly.
"Hmm," Ethan replied, looking around. They were high up above the jungle and in the distance he saw water as far as the eye could see. He turned and saw mountains stretching up toward the sparse clouds, brown and green patches on grey rock. He took a deep breath of fresh air. Clean and crisp.
"Mountain march," he murmured. Like Mount Wallis, but at a higher altitude. "I think we need to conserve our energy here, better than at Wallis. The air is thinner up here. So lots of breaks, drink as much as we can, eat as often as we can. Shit, this is going to be a tough one..."
"Two lines, attention!" Decurion Schwartz said. Everyone got in line within seconds.
"This is your final test," he continued. "The rules are simple. Whoever is back here by sunset has passed the test, and you will have earned your berets. You will be legionnaires. If you´re not here by sunset, however, you have failed. In that case you will have to go through boot camp again if you so chose. Or you can be transferred to a less demanding service. There is no shame in that; not everyone has what it takes to be a legionnaire, but you can still perform your duty to Earth and to humanity in other ways." Nobody moved, nobody said a word. "You can choose to quit at any time during the day, if you feel you´ve had enough. No shame in that either. In fact, we expect a third of you to throw in the towel. Another third will likely not make it in time. If one third of you becomes legionnaires, that´s a fine result, and I will be proud to have trained you." Then the decurion saluted them, and walked off. Optio Walker stepped in front of them.
"Right. So you all move out at the same time, and your wristpads will contain a GPS that shows you the way. I urge you, just today, to think of yourselves as individuals. You may find that your best friend and comrade throughout basic cannot take it, and you don´t want him or her to drag you down. This is not a team exercise. Good luck to you all."
28.
"Ready, set, go!"
Ethan started walking quickly, checking while moving to see that everything fit as it should; that his pack sat tightly on his back with the weight neatly distributed, that his boots were comfortable, that his rifle hung comfortably in its straps across his chest, that his water bottles were secured and a million other things. Some of the other recruits were already far ahead, but Ethan didn´t care. First things first, and one of them was making sure no small detail was allowed to grow into an insurmountable obstacle. Like a small kink in his boot that might grow into a blister that slowed him down. Everything seemed fine though, and he´d keep monitoring it throughout the day. Another thing he chose to focus on was conserving his strength, and making sure he found a good pace that he could keep up for hours. He expected to catch up with some of the recruits who had rushed ahead, when they would collapse.
Julian and Ariel stuck right next to him. All t
hree had decided they´d stick together, regardless of what the optio had said. That way, they´d be able to help each other out. And none of them were going home today.
"Technical break in five," Julian said.
"Boots?" Ariel replied.
"Yeah. The right lacing seems too loose. Have to fix it."
"Alright guys, five then," Ethan said. They remained quiet after that.
After the break, they kept moving at a quick walk.
"So, what´s the plan?" Julian asked.
"I ran some alternatives on the pad," Ethan said, indicating his wristpad, "and we need to pick up speed sooner or later. If we wait until 13:00 hours, as I expect some will do, we´ll have to increase speed just a bit more than if we start picking up just half an hour earlier. That difference might be crucial, so I suggest we increase speed at 12:30, keep it up for six hours with as few breaks as possible to avoid lactic acid buildup. Once we pass 18:30, we´ll just push through the home stretch at whatever speed we have to in order to make the time."
Nobody protested. Ethan hadn´t expected them to either. He knew his plan made sense. The early runners would collapse, perhaps with one or two exceptions. Those who paced themselves too carefully in the early stages though would struggle as time went by when they had to increase speed. And while he expected to meet up with recruits who decided to quit during the day, just as many might not make the time because they were too careful. Risk nothing, gain nothing.
They kept a brisk walking pace until the time came to pick up speed.
"Anybody need a quick breather?" Ethan asked. Ariel and Julian both shook their heads.
"Let´s keep moving then. It´s easier than stopping first," Julian replied. Ariel didn´t say anything, but she grimaced slightly. Ethan frowned.
"Hey, Ariel, what´s going on? Talk to me," he said sternly. Ariel looked over at him and shook her head.
"Just... minor blisters on my left heel. That´s all."
"Alright, guys, hold it for a minute. We need to fix this right now."
They stopped and Ethan got down on his knees and lifted Ariel´s foot, unlacing it quickly. The boot went off and the sock with it.
"Oh shit, Ariel, when were you going to tell us?" The skin had peeled halfway off and a blister covering the back half of the heel had burst, with liquid seeping out. Ethan squeezed at both sides of the leak.
"We need to drain this right now," he said, pushing so hard that Ariel winced. Then, once he couldn´t get any more out, he looked up at Julian.
"Got any ice spray?" His friend took out a small can and gave it to him. Ethan applied the spray generously around the heel.
"This isn´t ideal, but if the pain causes you to avoid putting your weight on it, you´ll wear down quicker. So, let´s just fix it now." He gave the spray back to Julian and applied a tight bandage.
"It´ll do for now. Can you move freely?" Ariel nodded.
"Good. In a few hours, it´ll hurt like hell, but we´ll just spray some more. The important thing is that you´re able to use the foot as normally as possible. Let me know when you need another dose, okay?" Ethan didn´t wait for a reply and pulled up the sock again. Then he helped Ariel with the boot and laced it tightly.
"All good?" he asked, and when both Ariel and Julian gave him a thumbs up, they began moving again.
"I´ll take the lead first," he said, and began jogging. The others followed. Soon they found a good pace, and Ethan thought things looked good again.
An hour later, they encountered the first dropout. A recruit sat slumped on the side of the road, with Optio Walker picking up his backpack and throwing it up on the back of a truck. The optio greeted them and ushered them on, while the recruit didn´t even look up. Half an hour later, the same thing happened, and Ethan knew the next dropout could be them, unless they were careful.
But they kept a good pace, and Ariel´s foot seemed to work okay. As time passed, Ethan got the feeling they were going to make it.
Just before 18:00 hours, Ariel stumbled and fell.
"Go on!" she said, when Julian moved to help her up.
"Keep going, or you won´t make it in time. I´ll just take a break and catch up with Eileen´s group. They shouldn´t be too far behind.”
"Yeah, right," Ethan said, and pulled her up while Julian got the spray out again.
"It´s not that," she protested when Ethan moved to unlace her boot. He looked up at her.
"I just... I´m so tired." Ethan had a good look at her, and saw that she had grown pale. "Easy now," he said. Julian came over with a canteen and offered it to her. She took a swig and blinked.
"I think it´s the height," Ethan said. "Just take it easy now, we still have time."
Ariel shook her head.
"No, no... I don´t think this will get any better..." Ethan didn´t know how to reply. This was something that could take time to recover from. Then he made a decision.
"If you can´t walk, we´ll take turns carrying you. Julian, you up for this?"
"Of course. We´re not leaving you behind Ariel. We´re friends, remember?"
"Give me your backpacks, we´ll switch in a while," Ethan said. He took the backpacks and slung one over each shoulder. Then he helped Ariel up until Julian had a good grip on her. Julian took a few steps carrying their friend, and nodded to Ethan.
"It´ll work, at least for a while," he said. Ethan smiled.
"Okay, let´s move it then."
Then they moved on like that, with Ethan and Julian switching between carrying Ariel and their backpacks. Soon Eileen, Tom and Jamila passed them.
"Hang in there guys," Eileen said. Tom and Jamila seemed to be struggling, so they both kept quiet. Most recruits had enough with themselves at this time. In an hour, the sun would set and they still had some ground to cover. When Antonio and Malika passed them, fifteen minutes later, Ethan began to seriously doubt whether they would make it. Then, with less than half an hour to go, they saw Optio Walker picking up another recruit.
"Oh man, that´s just..." Julian began. "So close to finishing, who could it be?" Ethan pointed at another recruit, who seemed to be running by now. There was no mistaking Jamila´s long strides. They looked at the recruit leaning on the optio as he got into the truck. Tom had a beaten look on his face—no, not beaten, just half-unconscious. His head lolled back and forth, while the optio carefully tucked him into the truck.
Ethan looked after Jamila. That must have been the toughest decision of her life, leaving her lover behind like that, realizing he didn´t have anything more to give, and not being able to help him. Fifteen minutes passed and Ethan grimaced at the pain in his lower back, gritting his teeth while carrying Ariel. She was light, but now she felt like a ton.
"Ethan," Ariel murmured, leaning on his neck as he carried her. "I want to do this myself. Please." Ethan walked a few more steps. Only minutes remained and the sun stood low on the horizon.
"You sure?" he asked. Ariel nodded.
"Yeah. I want to try to walk the last bit."
"Okay, but we don´t have much time."
"I know. You guys just go ahead."
"No way. We do this together, the three of us. We didn´t get this far just to ditch you on the home stretch." Obviously too tired to argue, Ariel didn´t protest, and let him and Julian hold her as they helped her down.
The three friends walked together, slower now that Ariel walked on wobbly feet, but steadily. A few minutes later, they saw the finish line. The sun was almost dipping below the horizon by now, and Ethan wondered how many minutes they had. But they kept walking.
Just as the sun set, they crossed the finish line, and were met with grins and hoots from their fellow recruits. Ethan looked over and saw Jamila smiling through tears. He managed to force a smile back, but he saw the pain she was in, so he held back a little. Tom had failed, and it was clear that Jamila didn´t expect to see him again.
Ariel stumbled into the arms of Eileen and Antonio, and Optio Morales helped her as well. Julian laid on his back on the
ground, and Ethan slumped down beside him. His feet hurt so bad, and his back felt more sore than ever before.
"How many?" he asked.
"Seven," Julian replied. "Seven made it." Ethan closed his eyes. Out of more than thirty recruits, only seven remained. Seven had completed boot camp to become legionnaires.
29.
The seven remaining recruits lined up single file, facing the podium. All stood bare-headed, hair cropped short. And around them stood the new batch of recruits, just a week into their training, and Ethan noticed the green recruits were all round eyed and staring at them as if they were battle-hardened veterans. This, despite the facts that the seven weren´t even proper legionnaires yet, and none of them, save Antonio, had ever seen combat before. He felt a smile threatening to emerge as he thought of how, just a few months ago, he and his friends had stood watching another group of recruits like this. Then he remembered what had happened in between, and the beginning smile waned. Fighting bullies, losing Jed and Fran and those washed out, like Tom, struggling to keep up. Ethan wondered since the start if this was the right thing, if joining the Legion had been a wise decision. And he still wondered. But he had come this far, been through so much with the other six standing beside him, he couldn´t abandon them now, or ever.
Ethan stood near the middle, chin up and chest puffed out. To his right stood Ariel, tall, blonde, beautiful in a rugged way, his best friend, along with Julian who stood next to her. The outermost recruit to the right was Malika Ishmael, the dark beauty that Ethan only looked at when he knew she wasn´t watching. Quiet and non-assuming, she was still something of a fighter, and Ethan had never doubted that she would be among those who completed basic. Though his head never moved and his eyes never strayed from the podium in front of them, he knew the recruit on his left intimately. Eileen Green was a fierce red head from the northern territories, what had previously been Canada. The two of them weren´t a couple, though Ethan wasn´t sure what that really meant. He blinked just to banish the thought of her naked body. Next to Eileen stood Jamila Okhoa, an African fighter princess, or that was how he sometimes thought of her. A native of Gabon, one of the more peaceful places on Earth back in the war. Her family had, nevertheless, been one of warriors, and she had lost her brother somewhere in space. She had also lost her lover, Tom Lowry, who had washed out on the final march, never to be seen again by the other recruits. Jamila definitely had scores to settle. Antonio Avila was the furthermost to his left. Older than the rest of the recruits, the native Brazilian had seen his homeland burn, his city destroyed, and as the only recruit with previous combat experience he was a trove of advice and knowledge, one that Ethan was thankful to have among them.
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