He motioned for them to look past him, and a series of large doors opened up to reveal a training arena. It was easily the size of a major sporting stadium with a high ceiling and enough space for thousands of people. In the centre, taking up most of the space, was what looked like a ruined town. Buildings were partially collapsed and burnt out vehicles littered the mock streets. The ruins themselves were dwarfed by a large mound in the centre that was topped with a damaged turret or tower of some kind.
“In the centre of the ruins is your objective. You will be split into two teams of fifty. The objective will be to capture and secure the tower. Whichever team controls the tower at the end of the time limit wins. You may use reasonable force in the exercise, but remember we need fighters, not casualties. Anybody causing permanent damage will be kicked out. If we can’t trust you now, why should we on the battlefield? You can divide yourselves up, one half of you will head to the blue light that is flashing to the left, the rest to the red on my right.”
The group started to move before he interrupted them one last time.
“The exercise will run for one hour, so use it as your job interview. What you do here will choose your path for months, maybe even years to come. Good luck.”
Roxana didn’t hesitate and pushed ahead and towards the blue light. A number of other people followed her, each eager to reach the light and the soldier waiting to explain the details further. Xenophon, Glaucon and Tamara were close behind. It was only a short distance until they reached a sandbagged emplacement. Inside, a red light glowed brightly. The soldier inside stood silently, waiting for his full group of fifty to arrive before speaking. Xenophon glanced at his comrades briefly, checking they were all there. Each appeared calm, apart from Tamara, who once more seemed nervous, and even a little suspicious.
“What’s up?” he whispered to her.
She shook her head. “Nothing, let’s just do this.”
Strange, she says she has so much experience, and we’ve seen her fight. Why the nerves?
Something certainly isn’t right
, he thought. Then he spotted her hand shaking slightly.
Narcotics, it has to be!
“You’ve been briefed on the mission. It’s a standard king of the hill scenario. You have a choice of weapons. It’s up to you how you divide up or plan the mission. The only distinction between sides is the colour of your weapons.”
He held up one of the rifles. It was the normal grey colour but carried a series of blue bands across its centre.
“You will start in two minutes, so grab your gear and come up with a plan, fast!”
Xenophon was about to move forward when he spotted slight movement ahead. He looked up to see a series of gantries from which military personnel were watching. Either this would be a spectacle for them, or they were the officers or trainers watching to see how they performed. As he watched them, over half of the lights shut off to give the impression of a dusk battlefield. Smoke generators must have activated, as the site quickly turned into a dusty, poorly lit battlefield. Xenophon smiled inwardly, surprised at the quality of the training scenario.
If there wasn’t so much at stake, I might actually enjoy this.
Roxana moved to the middle of the group and spoke loudly.
“My name is Roxana Devereux, former Alliance officer. I have some ground combat experience. Who else has leadership experience?”
Most of the other fifty ignored her, but a handful stepped closer to listen. At the same time, a large man, easily a head taller than Glaucon pushed ahead and grabbed one of the shield generators and a carbine. A dozen men picked up similar gear and stood near him. He looked to Roxana and back to the recruits.
“Rexor, Arcadian heavy infantry, retired,” was all he said.
The bulk of the others grabbed equipment, most opting for the shields and carbines, but a few took the rifles instead. Xenophon stepped to the table and examined the gear. It looked like the weapons were loaded with tranquiliser shells, a common training bullet that would cause no more than a bruise, but stun the victim for several minutes. He looked back to Roxana who was speaking with several of the volunteers in her group. He counted eleven people include him, not many.
“Listen, this is a built-up area with lots of cover. I suggest we go light, ditch the heavy shielding and sneak forward to the tower.”
Rexor laughed at her.
“Alliance cowards. We take the shield and big guns. Push through the main streets and directly to the tower. We have protection if they try and stop us. You stick together as one group.”
His comrades around him cheered in agreement.
“One group or one target?” said Roxana before turning to her much smaller team. A boy, barely a teenager, waved a pulse carbine in front of her.
“If we’re quick, we could grab the tower before their heavies get in. I bet I could run the entire way if I just take this,” he suggested.
Roxana smiled at him, impressed by his confidence but also wary of throwing away people too quickly.
“A good idea, but if our reinforcements are held up, you’ll be trapped with smaller numbers and lighter weapons. I suggest we form two groups and make for the tower. The first will rush it,” she turned to the teenager. “You can be part of that group.”
She then looked to the rest. “We’ll all follow them with the heavier weapons and watch for infiltrators. We will provide the backup ready for when the heavies get there. What do you think?”
The small group appeared to have little to say other than a woman of similar age to Roxana.
“The name’s Erika, I’ve got some experience in private security, escort and protection work. What gear do you suggest?” she asked.
Xenophon held up a selection of the weapons.
“Anything other than the shields. A mixture is probably a good idea.”
Roxana nodded in agreement. The group split off to select their weapons, and Glaucon and Xenophon pulled out several items of interest. Glaucon picked one of the plasma launchers. It was a big weapon, but in his hands looked more like a large rifle. Xenophon, on the other hand, was torn between the carbine and the Laconian Asgeirr-Carbine. He looked to the soldier.
“Where is the spare ammunition?” he asked.
“On your enemies,” answered the man in a curt tone.
He looked back to the weapons and pulled an Asgeirr-Carbine onto his right arm. He looked at it with admiration. He paused for just a second, and then grabbed second one.
“What are you doing?” asked Tamara who was busy checking the carbines.
“Well, the ammunition is limited, so I might as well take two. Double the blades and double the firepower.”
Roxana stepped between them and examined the weapons. She spotted Xenophon and his odd choice.
“ Let’s just hope a few of them get close enough for us to hit them and take their ammo.”
“Thanks,” answered Xenophon in the most sarcastic voice he could manage.
The teenager moved to the front of the group and called out to Rexor.
“We’ll go ahead. You back us up!” he shouted.
The large group of mercenaries burst out laughing at the high-pitched voice of the youngster. With his carbine held in his hands, he looked woefully inadequate compared to some of the burly, experienced soldiers in the group.
“Do what you like, little man, and we’ll try not to trip over your feet!” he bellowed.
“Hey, kid, what’s your name?” asked Glaucon.
The teenager spun around and glanced at him. “Kid? I’m no kid.”
Roxana tried a softer approached.
“No, you’re not a kid. But what’s your name? I’m Roxana. This is Xenophon and Glaucon, two of my close friends.”
“Does it matter? Just call me Jack for now,” he said as he turned his back on them.
Xenophon checked his weapons. They were lit as inactive on the side readout. He just hoped that would change at the start of the exercise. He nodded to Glaucon.
“You know once we start, most of them are going to make for the tower. If they’re anything like our bunch, they’ll come up through the middle.”
“Jack!” Roxana called out. She waved for him to join the other two to listen to the plan. At first he stood there, but eventually he wandered over with a sullen look on his face.
“We’ll take the right. Light weapons ahead, second team twenty metres behind. Don’t stop till you’re inside the tower, got it?”
Jack nodded but said nothing.
“Okay, people, you have ten seconds, get ready...” shouted the soldier.
Rexor pulled back the bolt on his carbine and faced the ruins. His left hand was extended out, ready for when the shield activated.
“Behind me!” he roared. The rest of his group formed up in a dense block, the shielded warriors on the outside and the rest inside. It looked impressive, but Xenophon could easily see the problems they were creating for themselves. He looked back to see Roxana shaking her head.
“Fool, just one plasma charge, and they’re all gone.”
A loud whistle blasted from the soldier, and at the same time the weapons and shields activated for each of them.
“Go!” shouted Roxana.
Jack and his comrades rushed ahead and to the right of the large band of warriors led by Rexor. They all moved to the rubble around the outside of the simulated warzone and entered the main street. Rexor’s mob moved up through the middle of the road, but Jack leapt over the nearest wall to the right and vanished from view. The street looked remarkably realistic with buildings on both sides and a smashed military vehicle in the centre. At the end of the street were a series a barricades and behind them the lower levels of the mound that led up to the tower and the objective. Xenophon reached the wall and stopped to help the rest over. It didn’t take long until their small group was over the wall and moving at a quick jog along the parallel street.
“They’re nearly there!” called out Glaucon, spotting Jack and the rest working through the barricades to the tower. There was no sign of Rexor and his mob as the buildings obstructed their view.
“Spread out!” called Roxana, perhaps becoming nervous at the lack of action. Xenophon moved to the right and looked down to check his weapons as he moved. They were lit as active, and he was tempted to fire off a shot to see what happened. With a limited number of rounds, he just couldn’t do it; not that firing off rounds for no reason was a good idea anyway.
They reached the open space in front of the barricades and were now able to see part of the street to the left. There was another ruined vehicle but no sign of the rest of their team.
“Keep moving, we don’t want to get pinned down out here,” called Roxana.
Xenophon nodded and leapt over the first barrier and through the rubble. He landed hard and straightened himself only to see a man of similar age and build to himself. The most obvious difference was that he was carrying a red marked rifle and an active shield in his left hand. He tried to move it, but in the confines of the damaged walls, Xenophon was able to duck to the side and lift up his left arm. Without even bothering to pull the trigger, he stabbed forward instead. The blunted training blade shot out, and he punched the man in the chest. The impact didn’t seem great, but one of the tranquiliser darts must have been triggered because the man staggered and collapsed to the ground.
“Nice work!” said Roxana as she moved past him. She didn’t stop and pushed through the debris to reach the winding path running around the base of the tower. The rest of the group did the same, leaving Xenophon looking at his first kill of the scenario. He was about to move when he spotted movement in the buildings behind the tower. A flash was all he needed to throw himself to the side. It wasn’t a moment too soon, as a volley of six projectiles clattered uselessly against the wall behind him.
Close!
he said to himself.
The quiet was broken by dozens of rifles and carbines opening fire. Xenophon kept low and pushed ahead, only glancing briefly over his shoulder to try and assess what was happening. He rounded the next corner to find the rest of his team pinned down.
“You okay?” asked Tamara.
“Yeah, what’s happening?”
“Most of their team are heavies. They spread out in a wide skirmish line and are putting down fire all around the end of the street and the base of the tower.”