The Commander

by Kevin Groh

  Carter waited until his arms had recovered and then jumped up. Then he hung there and didn’t have the strength to pull himself up. He used momentum again, only this time sideways. He swung back and forth until he got one foot over the edge to lift himself up. The others were just out of the barbed wire net. Carter swung on the rope, but landed unfavorably and fell forwards. He dragged himself up to the net and was almost glad to be allowed to crawl the next part.

  When he reached the obstacle walls, he couldn’t see the others anymore. He made his way and heard Banes laughing while he was driving out the obstacles by remote control. Carter was hit three times. It was long and wide metal bars that jumped out. He got one against his thigh, hit his head after ducking underneath another and the third stabbed him in the side. He could barely breathe when he came out at the end. His lungs burned, his head pounded, and he literally felt the bruises that would appear the following day. Another rope awaited him. He had never climbed one before and his comrades were still busy trying. Roderick had pulled himself up with strength alone and Leena used a technique with her feet that was copied by the others.

  Carter attempted it as well, but he didn’t really know how she had done it. He quickly realized that the longer he held onto a spot while climbing, the more difficult it became to continue afterward. After almost twenty minutes, in which the others had finished and were waiting for him, the idea came to him to use momentum again. He swung against a wooden beam, which supported the slope at the upper end and pushed himself off. Unfortunately, the swing produced a stronger downward pull, making climbing even harder. He struggled to figure out how to do it. He looked at a nearby tree and had another idea. He ignored the rope and climbed up the branches instead. As soon as he was high enough, he saw one of the ropes was close enough to jump.

  Since he had no other idea, he took a deep breath and jumped onto the rope. He grabbed it tight but slipped down almost half a meter and his hands burned. But now it counted, so he bit his teeth together and forced his arms to pull him up the last bit. Arriving at the top, he immediately slid down the slope and jumped over the pit. At the other end, he let himself fall onto the grass and waited a moment until his heartbeat returned to normal.

  He heard a call from afar: »You can do it, Carter! You almost have it! Come on!«

  As he raised his head, he saw Leena waving and some of the others had also started to encourage him. He fought his way up and ran off, overcoming most of the obstacles slowly due to fatigue. Had he been fit, he could have used his more acrobatic moves, but he lacked the strength to do so.

  The narrow beam for balancing had been replaced by Banes with a thick rope. But Carter didn’t even have the energy to get angry anymore. He put his foot on the rope and it wobbled. As soon as he stood completely on it, it started to swing strongly. He took one step but had to put the other foot on the ground immediately for stabilization. He thought it would be easier to put his feet across the rope, but this forced him to coordinate his legs differently and he fell down. He was glad it was dry, otherwise, he would have landed in the mud. It took him almost half an hour to make it with several near falls. He had his feet aligned along the rope to have the largest possible resting surface. Then he dragged himself the last bit to the others. His whole body screamed to lie down, but with Banes‹ gaze on himself, he remained standing.

  Roderick said: »Well finally! We had to stay here until you came before we were allowed to eat. We had to wait a long time for you!«

  The others gave him a sinister look because they respected Carter for what he had done, just as they had respected Urma in the morning.

  Major Banes had crossed his arms. »It took you a total of two hours. That’s just under a hundred and fifteen minutes longer than my specification. You still have a lot to do, boy.« Billy giggled. »And what is there to laugh about, Kennedy? You didn’t act too clever either. Without Palmer, you would have got stuck on the first wall! And Whittaker had to show you the technique on the rope before you could even get a third up. Sanders was at least inventive enough to use the tree.«, the Major straightened Billy.

  »Big mouths and show-offs are the first to go down here.«, he added, addressed to everyone. »And Tindall, since you obviously didn’t think Sanders‹ performance was fast enough, you can do his part next time.«

  That effectively blew away Roderick’s attitude.

  »Sanders, I have to say, even though your performance was just terribly bad, you still finished it. Many give up on the first day. Not that they could stop because of it, but it shows your strength of character and willpower to pull through. Maybe you are not a completely hopeless case after all. But that remains to be seen. And now disappear! You are done for today.«

  On the way back from the practice area to the barracks, Roderick tried to appeal to Leena again. »I heard you come from New Vienna. I’ve been there before. Terrible place! I drove there in my car once, after I had installed some tuning parts. Wanted to see if everything was running.«

  She replied: »I think Vienna is more beautiful than Denver. Because in Denver there’s a risk of running into you.«

  Kelly walked next to her and smiled while Nambur giggled. Roderick gave him a push and stormed off. He saw Carter a little bit further ahead. »Hey, Sanders! Do your thin arms hurt? Ringing for the butler too often? You sucked up to Banes really nicely!«

  He ignored his behavior and just as Roderick was focusing on Leena again, she turned around and walked next to Carter.

  »Let’s sit together again for dinner! I like you.«

  He suspected she was just trying to upset the bully. That worked very well since he bared his teeth.

  Carter whispered to Leena:

  »I know you’re only saying this to annoy Roderick, but I’d really prefer you wouldn’t turn his anger on me anymore ...«

  She said unconcernedly: »Why not? When he does something stupid, Banes has got him by the balls. Since you have your own room, he can’t bother you at night. Not to mention, I really do like you.«

  »And what protects you from nightly attacks?«

  »Please. He tries to get into my panties. He won’t do anything to me when I sleep. If he touches me, I’ll report him and he’ll end up in a cell.«

  Her remarks made sense, so she sat down with him again after they fetched dinner. It was gray bread with cheese, sausage, and an egg. This time Henry, Kelly, and Nambur sat with them.

  Carter said: » Say, Henry, I’ve seen you before, haven’t I?«

  The person in question was chewing on a piece of bread. »I think so too. My father is the head of electrical impulse research in the synthium area. He knows your father quite well. But I rarely went out of the house and therefore hardly meet people. I’m a gamer and spend most of my time online.«

  »What do you play?«, Carter asked while Leena looked at Kelly annoyed.

  »Mostly Dooms Age 3 - End of Balur. But also other games. I like everything that has an interesting story.«

  »I played part 2, but for part 3 I lacked the drive. I found the gameplay quite spongy and the world pretty monotonous.«

  Suddenly Leena asked Kelly: »Tell me, what do you think of these new Diletta shoes?«

  She smiled and replied with a drawn-out, lengthy explanation as to why high-heeled shoes were a good investment. When Carter looked a little tortured and Henry focused on his food again, Leena just replied:

  »When you talk about video games, I talk about shoes.«

  He nodded and said: »Understood. No more games. Then tell me, Kelly, where do you come from? I guess you’re not a member of a working-class family.«

  »No, that’s true. I am the daughter of the managing director of Dimcod Industries. You know, Dimcod ceramics. They make everything from tiles and toilets to sinks and decorations. Until four months ago I was called the ›Porcelain Princess‹. My mother used to be an underwear model in Los Angeles on Earth. When she became pregnant with me, my parents decided to let her genes influence me more than his
. It was clear that I would get my mother’s figure. As a result, since I’m sixteen, I’ve been constantly being stupidly hassled, asked for dates, or drooled at. I’m twenty-one now and it’s getting worse. That’s why I graduated from the University of Henderson with a degree in long-distance communications at the age of nineteen. I don’t want my future to be determined by my body.«

  Carter replied: »I can understand that very well. I always wanted to be judged on my performance and not on my heritage. It’s not quite the same, but it’s similar. I must confess, of course, that I find it difficult not to look at you when you are in the room. You look stunning! This is noticeable even in a uniform ...«

  She smiled: »Thank you! I admit it’s a great feeling to be so desired. But the condescending comments of some people are simply inappropriate. Compliments are often used as packaging for ambiguous comments. I get indecent offers all the time. Not that I have anything against indecent things, but certainly not with such disgusting individuals. That’s different with you. If you tell me that you find me attractive, then I don’t get that feeling of disgust and nausea.«

  Carter laughed: »That will surely come. But seriously, that may be because I want to have a real conversation with you. We will all spend the next two years together and I like to know with whom I am going through thick and thin. Except for Roderick, he is a jerk!«

  They laughed. Nambur said: »I wonder why he only stares at Leena and not at Kelly ...«

  Leena said half-jokingly: »Because I’m simply stunning! Roderick’s an idiot, but at least he’s got an impeccable taste.«

  Kelly asked Nambur why the major called him ›Tenno‹. He explained to them: »Among my people, as you may know, there are those with blue skin and those like me with green skin. This is because our star has different radiation than yours on Earth. Your people turn brown when they are exposed to the sun for a long time. Eventually, their offspring will be born with darker skin, like Henry and Roderick. If I recall correctly, such people have been treated as a worse race in your world for a long time.«

  The others nodded, for this fact was known to them all.

  »With us on Pinta, it was similar. Our sun turns the skin bluish over time and many of us are already born blue. Those with green skin are in some way all descended from the ancient inhabitants of the continent of Tennoravia, which is darker than the rest of the planet due to high mountains and tunnel complexes. The descendants of this culture are still green today, like me. For centuries we were treated like lower Pintans and thought of with the derogatory term ›Tenno‹. If you ever come to Pinta, try to avoid this word. It’s very rude.«, Nambur explained with his calm and soft voice.

  Leena asked him: »How did you end up in the military of Utopia?«

  »Well, my father raised me on his own. He is a diplomat and works in the consulate here in town. That’s why I lived here on Utopia for many years. I have an extended residence permit, which in the eyes of the military is equivalent to citizenship. So I was drafted.«

  Kelly said: »I suspect that the conflict with the Lorgans is the reason. The government probably fears prolonged fighting and wants sufficient numbers of trained soldiers in reserve for safety«.

  After they had eaten, they returned to the dormitory. There were enough beds and another group of recruits in the room, so Carter could sit down to chat with his comrades. However, they were too tired to talk for long, and Roderick kept dropping comments to irritate him. So he went up to his room. He was sure that he wanted to pick someone to live with him. He just didn’t know who it should be yet. Leena was a nice person, but he couldn’t judge her that well. And Kelly was visually amazing, but he wasn’t sure what would happen if he brought her in. Since he had the free choice, he preferred a woman, after all, he was only a man.

  The following morning, his alarm clock rang at half-past five. He sighed and rolled lazily out of bed. He put on his uniform and immediately noticed that he had forgotten to clean his boots of dirt in the evening. He grabbed a brush and roughly scrubbed off the dust, then hurried down to the others. They were almost all on their feet, only Billy was still snoring. James, whom they now called Jimbo, had tried to wake him up. Billy had unkindly asked him to leave him alone. When the door burst open punctually at six a.m. and the instructor waltzed in, they all hurried to the aisle and lined up.

  The man shouted: »Stand still, you worms! Today is your first day here in Camp Osilon. Remember well what the daily routine looks like, because from now on it will always be like this.«

  He noticed that Billy was still asleep. His face became dark, he marched to his bed and threw him down together with his mattress. The sleepyhead fought his way out and blinked in horror.

  »So Kennedy it is. I had a hunch you’d be the one to put the rules to the test.« Then he shouted: »On your feet and stand still! Move!«

  Billy limped to the others and Roderick frowned disapprovingly.

  The instructor continued: »As I said, the daily routine.« He walked along the row and explained: »Every morning after I inspected your beds and uniforms, we go out to the drill ground. There you will do the morning sport, which I supervise myself. It will be less hard than with Major Banes because we don’t want to wear you out early in the morning already. Afterward, we have breakfast. At 0930 you’ll go to the main building, where you’ll be taught until lunch. After lunch at 1330, practical classes begin. Depending on the type of lesson, you will then start your sports training with Major Banes. When he’s finished with you, you’ll have dinner. After that, you have the rest of the evening off. Once you have acquired some basic knowledge, there will be field exercises on some days instead of the afternoon program. Is that clear so far?«

  »Sir, yes, sir«, it came from the group.

  The man shouted: »Then off to the drill ground and do jumping jacks until I have finished my coffee. Oh right, and Kennedy? Since you didn’t consider it necessary to get dressed, you’ll spend the day in your underwear. So let’s go!«

  The group left, and even if nobody said it, they all thought that some humility was good for Billy. But he didn’t seem to mind and was convinced of his looks.

  He said to Kelly and Jane: »Careful, ladies! We don’t want your concentration to suffer because you have to keep looking over at me.«

  The others just shook their heads. The morning sport was mainly endurance exercises with some squats and push-ups. It took about an hour and then they were completely worn out and had to shower before heading out for breakfast. Jimbo told them about his title in chess, where he had become district champion last year.

  After breakfast, they quickly moved to the main building, where they met several groups of marching soldiers. They saw Banes, who had just given some older recruits a push. They entered the building and the receptionist showed them the way to the classroom. A female soldier of advanced age awaited them there. She was absolutely in shape and she had tied her black hair with gray strands to a ponytail. She looked strict, experienced and patient at the same time. Her stringy figure and tanned skin reinforced the hard impression. But when she spoke to them, her voice was soft and friendly. »Good morning! It is a pleasure to meet you all. My name is Annie Dalton. I used to hold the rank of commander, but I was wounded in action and the resulting nerve damage makes it impossible for me to continue working in active service. Officially, I still have the rank, but I no longer feel like a commander, so you don’t have to call me that. If it’s not a problem for you, we can use the first names. After all these years in the service, I don’t care much about unnecessary communication barriers anymore. Apart from that, you’re being treated hard enough by the other instructors.«

  Her words delighted the recruits very much. It was a pleasant change to have someone friendly in front of them. She smiled and they sat down. The room was not very large but was designed for groups of up to twenty people. Each table had a holo screen with a wide bracelet next to it.

  »The bracelets in front of you will accompany you t
hrough your training. Everything you learn and every achievement you perform will be captured by the internal computer and recorded in real-time. This means that we know exactly what you have done, when and how well. This is not to monitor you, but to teach you the contents in a way that you learn them well. The military is often about life and death, so it’s not enough to just say you learned something. We must be able to rely on you being able to control it. For you, this has the advantage that you can view all the information from your lessons and practical exercises at any time.«

  Roderick raised his hand: »What about exams?«

  She smiled: »That’s always the first question I get asked. It’s a fact that when you’re on missions, you become part of a unit. Each military unit works with a virtual intelligence that monitors and coordinates the team and optimally implements the orders of the superior. This also includes controlling the weapon systems of combat ships and strategic consulting. This VI will interact with each soldier’s holo interface and will provide all relevant data as needed. It is therefore not necessary to learn things by heart. The purpose of the lessons here is to teach you the basic knowledge of the galactic situation and some new ways of thinking. You are here to broaden your horizons.«

  Carter crossed his arms: »I have informed myself about the military and one reads again and again reports of corruption and abuse. I don’t mean to imply that all this is true, but I could imagine that too intelligent soldiers are difficult to control. So why would you give knowledge to a soldier who simply has to follow orders?«