...........................
Dale lifted his hand up and spread his fingers. As he moved his index finger over the Y and the N they became highlighted with a glowing blue color. He motioned with his finger over the Y.
“Private Brown, you may request a voice-type, including age, gender, race, and style of personality.”
“I kind of like your voice as it is,” Dale said.
“I thought you might.”
“What is your name?”
“I do not have a name or personality assigned, Private Brown. Those are options you must select.” The voice was pleasant and female. Dale assumed she, or it, the computer, was mimicking the voice of a female about his age, a young woman that he would find attractive, and perhaps compelling and comforting.
Smart machines.
“I choose Erin.”
“Very well, Private Brown. Erin it is. If you speak my name, that will activate the voice command menu. Keep in mind that this menu doesn’t vary from what you can accomplish via the interactive screen mode.”
“Okay. Can you call me Dale, please?”
“Of course, Dale. One more thing you must calibrate is my personality. You can, of course, leave my default setting as it is. However, by selecting a personality setting that you enjoy, respect, or fear, you can achieve a smoother and more highly attuned set of interactions between us. Would you like to describe the type of—”
“Yes, of course. I want you to be friendly and intelligent. You can be a little bit sexy, too. You should have my best interest at heart at all times. I want you to have a sense of humor. I’d like you to warn, inform, and manage to whatever capacity you can, and also, if something is unknown, I’d like you to use a random number generator to decide what to do, but not tell me about it.”
“So, you want a Madonna-whore type. I see. You want me to act like your lover and your mother.”
“Well…”
“Don’t be embarrassed, Dale. I like you already. Now, it’s time to proceed to the calibration and usage portion of training. I’ll be right here, cheering you on, handsome.”
...........................
“Erin, proceed to calibration. Please.”
“Follow the blue path.”
Dale followed a glowing blue path that led him out of the dressing area into an arena that had hundreds of other soldiers and many activities going on at once.
Knife throwing, archery, swordplay, knife fighting in hand-to-hand combat.
He followed the blue path to a sword and knife calibration training module.
“Next!” A drill sergeant barked.
“That’s you, honey,” Erin said.
“Can anyone else hear you?” Dale asked.
“You talking to me boy!?” The drill sergeant glared at Dale.
“No, sir. Sorry, sir, I’m just learning—”
“Goddammit! You dumb ass recruit, I work for a living! I earned these stripes! If you call me sir again I’m going to challenge you to the pit, and you’re not going like it private shit-for-brains.”
“Sorry.”
“Call him drill sergeant,” Erin said.
“Sorry, drill sergeant. It’s my first day.” Dale stood taller and pretended he wasn’t afraid.
“Alrighty then, let’s see if we can change your shit-for-brains into something capable of fighting. Stand over there!”
Dale followed the command.
You’ll have to learn to think commands and questions to me, Dale. If you speak out loud to me, people will think you’re an idiot.
Dale thought the words, “Can you hear me?”
“Yes, much better. Now pay attention to the drill sergeant.”
The drill sergeant ordered Dale to arm himself with his fighting knife and wait for the rest of the platoon. One by one another thirteen soldiers arrived. They spent the next two hours in knife training.
A loud siren went off, and the exercise stopped.
“Time for chow, soldiers. Be back here in this exact spot at 13:30 hours and don’t be late. Dismissed.” The drill sergeant looked at the group and then yelled at them again. “Aren’t you hungry? Get the hell out of here.”
Dale thought, “Erin, can you light the path to where I’m supposed to go?”
“Yes, Dale. It’s the mess hall, follow the path.”
Dale started walking and then heard his name.
“Dale, wait up!” It was Brian. “Do you know where you’re going?”
“Ummmm. Yeah. The mess hall. For lunch. Come on.”
...........................
The rest of the group followed Dale and Brian.
“I’m Sergeant Brass,” a tall African-American with broad shoulders said. “I’m not in charge of any of you, yet. Once calibration ends, we’ll be given a training quest, and then I’ll be the ranking non-com.”
“I’m Dale Brown,” Dale said while extending his hand.
The sergeant took his hand. “Nice to meet you. Let’s get a table and we’ll get acquainted. You and everyone else.”
They went through the chow line and found an empty table.
“Okay, men… And, women. Soldiers. Okay, soldiers, let’s meet each other. If I call you all men, no offense, I’m from Texas and men is just a term, I don’t mean nothing by it. Alrighty, then. I’m Sergeant Brass, and this is 2nd Platoon of Alpha Company, the 3rd company in the 87th division. If anyone asks, you’re in Alpha-3-87, for short.
“Our platoon’s second lieutenant is Lieutenant Brinkmann, he’s far beyond needing any of this basic training, we’ll meet him after the trials are over. I’m the next in charge. For now, in training, you all privates are considered the same rank, regardless of your time in. After the trials, some of you will have upgraded your rank. We’ll figure out the details of who is in charge of who at that time. For now, listen to orders from the officers. And remember to say yes sir and no sir. For now, let’s go around the circle, and get familiar with each other’s names.”
Dale introduced himself again. Then Brian went next. There were ten more soldiers, each named him or herself.
“Erin, can you auto-save faces and names for me?”
“Done.”
The group ate and chatted for an hour.
“Soldiers, we have less than thirty minutes. I suggest you rest your minds. Set an alarm. I’m out.” Sergeant Brass put his head down and didn’t move for another twenty minutes.
...........................
The drill sergeant barked orders and explained techniques. The group trained for three hours after lunch. They practiced hand-to-hand knife fighting, knife throwing, and basic sword handling skills.
“Soldiers, listen up.” The drill instructor had softened a bit over the course of the day, not yelling and screaming so much, actually being helpful without sounding like a maniac. “Our time is up for today. Mess hall opens for dinner in two hours. At 20:30 hours there is a mandatory training presentation in the great hall. Don’t be late. Get a good night’s sleep; tomorrow we start drawing out blood and tears. Disssss—missed!”
“Where do I go?” Dale thought.
“Follow the path. You have a bunk and quarters with Private Daniels. You missed that part of the day being off somewhere doing whatever it was you were doing.”
“Unit 19.”
“I see. Updating files. I was not aware of that.”
Dale followed the path that Erin highlighted. However, he hardly needed it, the rest of the platoon was all quartered in the same facility.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
I am death, which overcomes all, and the source of all beings still to be born.
~ The Almighty Lord Krishna
How would I know if there was a continuity problem?
~ Private Smith
...........................
After two weeks of basic training, the platoon was scheduled to enter its first live exercise.
“Soldiers, gather around. Take a knee.” Drill Sergeant Green, who had b
ecome more like a parent and a coach over the preceding two weeks, spoke to the group as if they’d become more than the dumb-ass idiots he’d treated them like in the first few days.
“Tomorrow we enter the first round of live trials and training. You will meet your LT in the morning. Lieutenant Brinkmann is a second lieutenant, and you will call him sir. Put a sir on the front or end of everything you say to him. Yes, sir. No, sir. Can I take a piss, sir? You will follow orders tomorrow, or I will put a boot so far up your asses you’ll need a medi-bot on call for a week. If you don’t understand why you are doing something, remind yourself that following orders is all the understanding you need. Do what you’re told. Someday, if you become hard-boiled seasoned soldiers, and you’re in a life and death battle, you might have a reason to question orders. You’re not that now. You’re green. You’re babes in the woods. Just do what you’re told.
“The exercise tomorrow will be against another unit from this base. They are also in training and have roughly the same amount of experience as you. You cannot die in a field exercise like this, you can, however, feel a tremendous amount of pain. You might even wish for death if you get severly wounded.
“This war mimics the most barbaric times in human history. I do not know why the Nagants or their masters chose this level. I don’t think anyone knows. Perhaps it’s the same reason that gods of ancient humanity ordered their genocides using bronze and iron weapons and not muskets or M-16s until such time had come for men to develop these weapons with their own ingenuity. Don’t for a moment think that the Nagants couldn’t destroy us all with a push of a button. You will, if you’re smart, cunning, and willing to follow orders, rise in rank and skill level. This will allow you to upgrade your weapons. There are rumors that some of the destination planets have magical weapons. I don’t know if this is true or not, but it’s not unlikely that rumors of lizard-men, dinosaurs, desert planets, snow covered planets, and all sorts of dangers we aren’t even aware of yet, are at least, in part, true.
“War is hell, men. You will experience the death of your friends. And while the regeneration process, with all it’s weird rules and taxes, means you might see them again, it doesn’t mean you won’t feel the pain of loss. I’m dismissing you early, today. Enjoy your evening. Don’t drink alcohol beyond two beers and be back here at 0500. Disssss—missed!”
...........................
The platoon ate together.
“Do you really think dying will be painful?” Brian asked.
“I don’t know.” Dale was worried about it himself. “I wonder what it’s like to forget things that haven’t been backed up yet…”
“I know,” said a private named Smith. He had been the quietest of the group during training and nobody even knew his first name.
“Really? How’s that, Smith?” Sergeant Brass asked.
“I was part of the early trials and calibration testing. The beta period. The Nagant Monk, he had only just come into the consciousness of the world’s leaders the year before. I was an employee of Rhith Systems at the time. Well, I still am, technically. On loan to the Earth United Defense Army.”
Smith laughed.
“You worked for the Almighty RSC?” another recruit asked.
“Yes. As I said, I’m technically still an employee, just on loan. The early beta trials were brutal. The Nagants needed to understand human pain and frailty so that the war could be, well, properly calibrated. I think several people really died. I mean, actually died, as in dead and buried. Of course, that’s an unsubstantiated rumor, but I think it could be true. I’m not really supposed to talk about it, but then again, there were no agreements in place about it.
“So, my death. Yes, it was the most painful, horrible, nasty, and unforgettable experience I have ever had. First, the pain was incredible. And I mean real pain. Not some uncomfortable shock. Not like those little electrodes some of the early Rhith games used. No. Real pain. I went through a series of dreams in my death. Everything I’d regretted, everything I hated about myself, it all came back. I was in my own special hell. I don’t know if that was common or if other beta-testers went to some kind of heaven. I don’t know.
“I was out of the world for a week. I woke up in a hospital.”
Dale looked at Private Smith. He had a tear running down his cheek, but he didn’t seem to notice. Dale wanted to ask him another question, but the private got up and walked away.
...........................
The next morning the platoon gathered to start the first round of live training exercises.
“Platoon! ATTENTION!”
An officer approached, and Drill Sergeant Green saluted him.
“Soldiers,” Green said to the platoon. “This is Lieutenant Brinkmann. He’ll be guiding you into the trials and commanding your movements as if this were the real deal. I’ll be outside the trial monitoring everything that happens. We’ll debrief this evening.”
Drill Sergeant Green saluted the officer and left.
“Soldiers, I am Lieutenant Brinkmann. During our exercises, I will be both commanding you and observing you. After the end of trials, I’ll be working with Drill Sergeant Green to select rank upgrade recipients and to determine who will become a squad leader. While under the stress of combat you will refer to me as sir. Being as there are no other officers with us, there will be no confusion. If you address me elsewhere, you will use, Lieutenant Brinkmann, sir. Understood?”
“Yes, sir!” The platoon shouted in unison.
“Good. Now let’s go over our plans for the trials and our assignments. At ease.”
...........................
Sytem Message
Accept quest & recognize Lt. Brinkmann as the platoon leader: Y/N?
...........................
Dale tapped the Y and then asked Erin if she could auto-accept quests that were direct orders as he had no intention of getting into any trouble with the military.
“Yes,” she said. “New instructions inserted into my program: auto-accept any quests or tasks that are given to you as direct orders.”
“Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Life is pain, highness. Anyone who tells you differently is selling something.
~ William Goldman
Russians know that life is a complex game of disasters, emergencies, and the unknown. When you’ve learned to thrive in chaos and pain, you have expectations that your enemies do not possess. The path to triumph lies through many nightmares.
~ Galina Rasulova
...........................
“Alpha-Zero-Niner, go ahead.”
“Contact.”
“Fuck.”
“We have a — some kind of — Awwwwwwwww….”
“Romeo Delta?”
“We need an extraction.”
“Romeo Delta, Romeo Delta, come back.”
“Say again, over.”
“I have two forward scouts down, over.”
“What is your position?”
“I have three forward scouts down, over.”
“What is your position, over.”
“I have — OH, argggggggg…”
“Hell.”
...........................
Dale looked at the lieutenant.
“Soldiers, turn off all communications except channel 18-b, you’ll be communicating within platoon only. Put the other teams out of your mind.”
“Yes, sir,” they said.
“This exercise is a forward scouting mission. We’ll break up into teams of three. Each team will be assigned a quadrant. Our objective is two-fold. One, map and tag the areas as you pass. Two, reach the interior of Mount Dog and secure a base of operations. Any questions?”
“Yes, sir. Are we to engage with enemies or sneak?” Dale asked.
“Sneak, if you can. The objective, again, is to reach the interior and secure a base, mapping, and tagging as you go. If you can do this
without engagement, you’ve followed orders, soldier.”
“Yes, sir.”
“However, keep in mind that the enemy has an objective, too. I do not know what that objective is, but I suspect it has something to do with stopping you from yours. Understood soldiers?”
“Yes, sir!”
...........................
Dale and Brian would be paired on all missions as per their buddy contract. Private Smith was assigned to be the third member of their squad. The platoon was broken into four squads of three soldiers. The lieutenant commanded each group from a rear operating position.
The equipment for the exercise consisted of three throwing knives and a single combat knife, no swords, shields, or any other gear other than their clothing and survival packs were going to be used. The packs included food, water, eating utensils, rope, first aid, a small tent, bedding, a small digging instrument hardly big enough to be called a shovel, and a fire starting kit. Dale wondered if the exercise was designed to get them lost in the woods to test their survival skills.
Whatever came, he was excited to be doing something. Basic training and calibration had become boring after the third day.
The trio headed off down a trail towards Mount Dog on what appeared to be a game trail. The specifics of the world design for this exercise had been deliberately held back from the trainees. The path they were following could have been made by deer, elk, or cougars. Or something out of a nightmare.
One of the things that Unit 19 did was scout unknown worlds. Dale wasn’t aware of whether the lieutenant knew about Unit 19. He suspected that nobody in his unit knew about the existence of the special unit, but he didn’t want to risk asking because he didn’t want to explain how he knew about its existence. He didn’t want to discuss his knowledge of lizard-men, strange creatures, or even the fact that the Nagant War was going to extend into unknown galaxies.
...........................
They came to a fork in the path.
“Which way?” Private Smith asked.
“I vote left,” Private Daniels said. “But I’ll defer to Dale. He can be the leader.”
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