"I haven´t, but it pays to listen when you´re given instructions," Ariel said.
"True," Ethan said and smiled. "I´ll pay attention the next time. So, what´s next?"
Before anyone could answer, the craft started moving. It rolled slowly across the tarmac and turned. Then, after a moment of standing still, the jet engines revved and Ethan was surprised at the noise. He´d flown before, but this was like nothing else. Then a deafening noise drowned out everything and the plane started moving again. It accelerated then took off. Ethan looked out the small porthole and saw nothing but blue sky. The plane ascended, higher and higher.
They were on their way.
13.
The ride was more bumpy than Ethan had imagined. The LEO plane shuddered and shook and his stomach rolled. He realized he´d never been this afraid in his life. It didn´t make sense. After all, flying was considered one of the safest ways to travel. But his reptilian brain didn´t know that. His instincts, developed throughout evolution, kept screaming that flying wasn´t a natural state for humans, that it was crazy dangerous and that he´d surely fall out of the sky and die.
Another recruit threw up, but missed his air sickness bag and spilled all over the seat in front of him. Julian laughed and told some joke Ethan didn´t catch. He shook his head. He thought he knew his friend, but clearly there were sides to him he´d never seen before. A dark sense of humor was one such side. Ariel, on the other hand, looked nervous beyond panic, the way she gritted her teeth and held tightly onto her handlebars until her knuckles went white. Ethan put his hand on hers and forced a smile as he tried to calm her. Weird, that Ariel, normally the tough, brash, strong female hero, the one no one dared pick on, would be so frightened. Perhaps it had something to do with lack of control, Ethan thought. They were completely powerless, trusting a pilot they’d never even seen with their eyes. Once, he´d heard that flying was as common as anything, back before the Lumin War. How did people think back then? Were they all unafraid, relaxed about it all? What a strange world it must have been, he thought.
Then, in an instance, everything changed. The shaking and the noise ended. Ethan felt a light, weird sensation throughout his body, and realized he was weightless. If it wasn’t for the straps that held him tightly fastened to his seat, he would've floated off. Someone's infopad floated through the air and someone shouted angrily.
“Get that thing, right now!"
Someone managed to grab the infopad then passed it along to the embarrassed recruit.
The speaker hissed for a moment before the pilot came on.
“Attention please. This is Captain Rowe speaking. As we have securely entered low Earth orbit, I hope you've enjoyed the ride so far. We will stay in orbit for approximately five minutes. Then we will begin our descent. Once we´re inside the atmosphere, I recommend that you have a look through the portholes. You will realize the day length changing quickly. This is because the descent will take us around the Earth, crossing several time zones in mere minutes. You will experience day and night and everything in between. So have a pleasant flight.”
“This is amazing," Ariel whispered.
Ethan grinned. Ariel had clearly overcome her fear and was back to her normal self.
Weightlessness disappeared just as instantly as it had appeared. The LEO plane began rolling just a bit, then it started shaking — just a little at first, then harder and harder.
“I'm going to get sick," Julian said; his face had turned ashen. And sure enough, just moments later he grabbed his bag and threw up. Luckily, Ethan thought, Julian was more careful than the other recruit, and carefully tightened a set of straps on the bag to make sure nothing spilled out. Ariel sat petrified, but then she turned toward Ethan and asked, “Do you think this is how it will be?"
Ethan realized she was thinking of military service. He began to say something comforting, before he realized how stupid it would sound. Instead, he decided to be blunt.
“No, I think it'll be worse. This is, after all, a passenger plane," he said.
“Then I'm quitting," Ariel said.
“No, you won't," Ethan replied. “You'll stick it out, just as you'll stick out at everything else they throw at us — in basic training, and whatever else they plan to haul us through. You are going to become a legionnaire. You signed up for it, and you'll make it."
“This... I just don't think I can do it"
“Think about it, Ariel. We’re in space. Once we get through basic training, I imagine they will send us back into space. Then what are you going to do every time you have doubts? Quit?” She didn´t reply.
Through the small portholes, they could see flames now. They were reentering the Earth's atmosphere and the LEO plane was shaking so hard, it felt like it would fall apart. Ethan looked around him. A few civilians sat with their noses down and Ethan realized they were reading on screens. They looked so relaxed!
Then, just as suddenly, the plane banked, and they came in for the landing.
Landing was smooth, much smoother than Ethan could have imagined based on the bumpy ride. Within minutes, they were standing still on the tarmac. He had no idea where they were; they could’ve been anywhere in the world. He looked out the porthole. It was pitch dark. The only thing they could see through the darkness were flashing lights, and a few ground crew workers wearing fluorescent vests. The loudspeaker hissed again.
“All right boys and girls, welcome to the jungle.”
Part Two
14.
They stepped off the LEO plane, and as they walked down the stairs and onto the runway, it was as though a thick wall of hot, humid air made their clothes cling to their bodies, and Ethan immediately began to sweat.
"Woah, this is hot!" Ariel exclaimed. Ethan didn´t say a word; he had to make a conscious effort just to draw breath. The slick, thick air had to be forced down into his lungs. Then he noticed more of his surroundings. Four hangars stood side by side on one side of the tarmac and another building sat off to the side. Jungle lined the entire spaceport and he heard sounds of crickets, exotic birds and other wildlife.
"Where are we?" he asked. Julian shrugged.
"Somewhere tropic, obviously. Close to the equator," he said.
"Listen up!" a man with pale skin — too pale for this place — said. He wore a large “D” on his shoulder, and Ethan found he had no idea what it meant, except that it looked a bit like the one Senior Decurion Ford had worn. But he definitely sounded like he was in charge around here.
"Line up right here. Move it!"
Ethan, Ariel, Julian and all the rest of the civilians from the LEO plane did as he said. A few of those in uniform stopped to watch, but the rest seemed unperturbed and kept walking toward what seemed to be the only building around, save for the hangars.
"My name is Decurion Schwartz," he began in what Ethan perceived to be a European accent of sorts. "I will be in charge of your lives for the next few weeks as your senior instructor. You will refer to yourselves as recruits. Under no circumstances will you refer to yourselves as legionnaires. That right is something you will have to earn, and unless I say so, you haven´t earned it. Many of you never will. You are the lowest of the low, less than rats, worthless maggots until I decide otherwise. You are not allowed to speak until I, or one of my associates, ask you a question. Is that clear?"
No one said anything. Someone shuffled their feet and Ethan resisted the temptation to see who it was.
"I said, is that clear?" the decurion repeated.
"Yes sir," someone said.
"I didn´t hear you!" Decurion Schwartz shouted. "When I ask you a question, you are to answer me, loud and clear! So, is that clear?"
"Yes sir!"
"You sound like a bunch of sissies. Again.”
“Yes sir!” they sounded off again, louder this time.
“Better,” the decurion said. “See, you do know how to answer a direct question after all. And if I tell you to do something, I want it done yesterday. Do I make myself
clear?”
“Yes sir!”
“Good. Anyone who can´t cut it, doesn´t live up to my standards or gives me anything less than your best effort, you´ll be out of here faster than you can imagine. Now, follow me to the barracks, single line."
Decurion Schwartz walked briskly off the tarmac and the line of recruits followed. Ethan soon discovered a dirt road that seemed to lead deep into the jungle, and they walked quickly on the left side of the road. A single vehicle passed them and Ethan noticed a couple of the uniformed passengers from the LEO plane that were sitting in the back seat.
"That´s me next time," one of the recruits said.
"Shut the hell up back there!"
After what may have been ten minutes, they reached an open field surrounded by low buildings and a watchtower. Decurion Schwartz made them line up again.
"Recruits! You are to go into barracks B, which will be your home for your stay here. On each bunk you will find a set of fatigues and a pair of boots. You are to change into that, and leave your civilian clothes on the bunk. Also, leave all watches, jewelry, and other personal items. You will need none of that while you are here. Return here, and don´t be late. You have five minutes."
Everyone scrambled and ran inside the building marked with a big B. Ethan found a bunk near the entrance and quickly undressed. He left his watch, his phone, a few coins and a set of keys. Then he put on the olive fatigues. The arms were ripped and it was at least a couple of sizes too large, but he knew better than to complain. A few others didn´t and wasted valuable seconds comparing and switching clothes among themselves. Then he put on his boots and laced them as best he could. He thought he must’ve looked ridiculous, but he ran outside and got back in line again. Only two others had beat his time, and he didn´t see Ariel or Julian anywhere. The decurion looked at his watch as most of the others came running.
"You´re late!" he spat.
"Give me twenty pushups and get back in line."
The latecomers, meaning almost everyone, got down and gave their best effort at pushups.
"See, three out of twenty managed to do this on time. The next time I expect better. Now follow me."
Decurion Schwartz began to jog, and the rest of them fell in line. Ethan felt both exhilarated from being one of the few who had managed to get something right, and terrified at this new life he was getting himself into. It was definite now: he was a recruit in the Ghost Legion.
15.
Ethan stumbled into the barracks and crashed onto the bunk, exhausted from his first ten kilometer run. It was still only the first day and already three of the bunks were empty, their inhabitants having been kicked out before spending a full day in the Legion. He looked around. Still a mere handful, but more were coming in all the time. Julian and Ariel came in a few minutes apart, the fit girl beating their gamer friend, but barely. Ethan was actually surprised to see Julian hang in there as he did, since he wasn´t exactly known for his physical prowess. Seemed he had more going for him than anyone would have thought.
"Shit, I can´t wait to hit that bunk," Ariel said, "I´m gonna sleep for hours."
"Just make sure you air those shoes first, and hang your clothes up," someone said. Ethan turned and saw it was one of the recruits who had sat near them in the LEO plane. He looked a little older than most of the recruits and had an accent Ethan couldn´t place. Ethan got up and approached him.
"I guess we haven´t been introduced, any of us," he said. "I´m Ethan, from Atlanta. Fresh out of high school." He smiled and followed suit.
"My name is Antonio, from Rio de Janeiro. Served in the blue navy for ten years. Before that I was a refugee." Ethan nodded quietly. Everyone knew Rio de Janeiro didn´t exist anymore, and hadn´t for eighteen years since the invasion. Nobody ever settled who did the most to destroy that place — the aliens, the human armies or the Confederacy, but after the smoke cleared, nothing remained of it, or Brazil, except radioactive desert.
"I didn´t know the Legion recruited ex-military," he said. "I thought most were like me, green as grass." Antonio smiled again.
"Well, most are, but there are more veterans here also." Ethan sat down on the bunk next to Antonio, as Ariel and Julian spoke. Then, as soon as they were done, a tall dark-skinned female who had been among the first to finish the run came over.
"I am Jamila Okhoa, of Freetown, Gabon. My family are warriors and now, after my brother died in combat on the asteroids last year, it is up to me to carry the tradition onward." She puffed herself up and Ethan thought she must have worked out to prepare herself, because she was all muscles.
"Freetown, that´s where the Aerospace Corps have their headquarters, isn´t it?" Antonio asked. Jamila seemed to tighten up.
"Yes it is. Damn the AC. They got my brother killed and then the bastards rejected me."
"What about you two? Will you come and introduce yourselves?" Ethan said to the two recruits who were lingering nearby. One of them was about to speak, but then the other one held up a hand.
"Why should we speak to you?" he said. "Who made you head of these barracks?"
"Hey, I´m just trying to get to know everyone," Ethan said. "But suit yourselves." He turned away, when the one who was about to speak said,
"Just call me Dan and this here is Robbie. And no, I don´t want to... get to know you. I´m not staying in this shithole any longer than I have to. You guys can do all the training you want, I´m just looking for an out."
Ethan shrugged.
Most of the recruits had returned by now, and when the door burst open and the last recruit entered, all eyes were drawn to the poor kid. A big boy with a shaven head and a stooped frame, big arms that hung limply by his side and the longest legs, he stood panting.
"Hey, it´s the farmer!" Dan said, smirking. "The weakest link in the chain, obviously. I´m surprised they didn´t cut you already. Logging that weight around must be near impossible in this heat."
"I´m not a farmer... Name´s Boone, Jed Boone. From Virginia."
"Jed, nice to meet you," Ethan said, casting a glance at Dan and Robbie. "You guys back off." He glared at the two. Robbie immediately seemed to take great interest in his own shoes, while Dan held the stare for a few more seconds, his face turning red, before he faked laughter and shook his head. Then Ethan turned back to Jed.
"Jed, you should drink some water. Hopefully they´ll let us eat something soon." Dan looked at him again, and he looked like he was about to explode.
"Shiiit... drink some water. What the hell, who do you think you are? Giving orders and shit, even if it´s to that retard..." He trailed off as Ethan drew himself up and the two friends turned and walked off to the corner.
"Thank you, I appreciate it," Jed said quietly to Ethan. "Those two have been bothering me since before we stepped onto the LEO plane."
"Don´t worry about it," Ethan replied. "We have to stand up for each other."
"Nevertheless, those two are going to cause trouble sooner or later."
16.
They were marching again. Heavy packs with straps that cut into their shoulders and lower back until their skin was raw and sore, weighed them down. In their hands they were holding old rifles with no straps, and no matter how hard he tried, Ethan found no comfortable way to hold it. Getting into the shape he needed to become a soldier took time, and every night when he crashed on the bunk, he felt a little surprised that he hadn´t washed out yet.
Yesterday had been all about weapons training. Their rifles were semi-auto, 7.62 caliber with twenty round magazines, an obsolete model, but apparently good enough for recruits of the Ghost Legion
"These old-timers will put a hole in a man, or a fucking alien, just as effective as our modern one-hundred round laser targeting rifles, as effective even as the new, fancy plasma guns they have up in space. So, whatever you do, don´t point these suckers at each other." Optio Morales — optio being the Legion equivalent to corporal — had emphasized her point by shoving the rifle back at Fran, a poor recruit who
had been careless enough to point her rifle at one of the others without noticing. Then she had shoved the recruit so hard she fell on her back, and stood over her.
"Now, recruit, give me thirty push ups, and quickly. We haven´t got all day."
Then Fran did her push ups, while the rest of the platoon watched.
Ethan had felt sorry for her, but he understood why their instructors were particularly harsh when it came to weapons discipline. Rumor had it, one of the recruits from the platoon before them had inadvertently killed one of the other recruits from one mistake or another. One rumor said it had happened when the recruit had pointed a misfired weapon at one of the others while reporting the misfire, only to have the weapon discharge the bullet a few seconds later. Another rumor claimed a recruit had fooled around, thinking the weapon had the safety on, only to fire straight into another, killing the other in an instant. A third told of a recruit who had been cleaning the weapon, when the bullet remaining in the chamber had fired, taking the recruit´s head off.
Lots of rumors, but even if none were true, the need for weapons discipline remained the same.
Today they were marching again and Ethan hoped that they would be back in time for dinner. The last couple of days where they were late, they had to eat dry biscuits flushed down with water. It would keep them going, but it was amazing how much of a difference a warm meal could make. Decurion Schwartz walked in front, pushing the speed up to a level most of them had difficulty keeping up with, while Optio Morales walked last, pushing the stragglers to keep up. They were losing one or two recruits every day, and Ethan wondered how many would be left in the end. Out of forty recruits, they were already down to thirty-two. A platoon in the Legion consisted of forty, and Optio Walker, a grizzled veteran who had apparently served since the Legion was formed, had once said he expected less than a squad to actually become legionnaires — a squad was twelve legionnaires, so about a forth of their original number then. And Ethan suspected Walker was right.
Ghost Legion Page 4