Chapter 48 | Realization

At the crack of dawn, one thousand recruits bustled about. Leon's training group checked gears and supplies.

Leon stood in front and watched his vora lay their gears in front of them. His helmet display gave him vital stats and designation marker.

Before they started prepping their gears, the instructors had enabled the sensory equipment, communication network, and battle data of their helmets allowing their CRI to sync and take advantage of the external data stream and processing power the helmet provided.

Leon ran the checklist against each of his member's gear to make sure everything was in order.

"Recruit Carl, how did I know you would fuck this up?" an assistant instructor came up to Malco to check his gear before Leon got to him.

"Sir, I—I thought I had everything," Malco responded nervously.

"Move your ass and go get it! You better be back here in five mins," the instructor ordered.

Malco saluted and took off running. In his panic, he tripped over another recruit's gears.

"WHAT THE FUCK CARL?" another assistant instructor that was near the gear Malco tripped on yelled.

Leon and the recruits around him couldn't hold it in anymore with the nail in the coffin of seeing Instructor Zell looked towards the commotion and rubbed his eyebrows before turning away like nothing happened.

Stifled laughs erupted. The assistant instructors gave a serious look to those that laughed but did not say a word. The look was enough to kill the laughs.

He went back to checking over the rest of the member's gear fearing he might become the instructors' next target.

As Leon counted Malric's synthetic protein rations, multiple high-pitched hums reached his ears. He turned around to see ten vehicles making their way towards the field. Each vehicle presented a sleek profile.

The front of the vehicle inclined to a flat top. Smooth gray MRM armor covered it completely with blue mana circuits running along its surface. No windows interrupted the armor, just occasional small bumps.

The four mana thrusters mounted flush on the underside hummed as they kept the vehicle floating a few feet from the ground.

"WOOOOHH! Those are Hellcrawlers," Nyra shouted excitedly enough for Leon to hear.

Leon watched her inch towards the approaching vehicles, even pushing some of her members out of the way.

He shook his head and waited as a vehicle stopped in front of each training group. He had seen holograms during their lectures, but seeing the 20ft long 9ft wide vehicle in person offered a different experience. These standard Fulgari troop carriers held the capacity for twelve armored personnel.

Those are really cool! He admitted. He kept the excitement to himself, already embarrassed for Nyra as she continued to stare at the vehicles, forgetting she needed to finish her inspection.

"When the doors open, grab your preferred weapon choices," Instructor Zell said to Group A when one of the Hellcrawlers stopped next to them.

The hum of the Hellcrawler for their group slowly faded as it settled onto the ground. The sides opened up towards the front revealing the swords, spears, and shields stored inside the vehicle. One of their assistant instructors stepped out of the driver's compartment and exited from one of the open sides.

Soon after, the recruits walked towards the Hellcrawler to grab their weapons.

Leon grabbed a spear and a sword when it was his vora's turn.

These are real. They're not training weapons. He thought while he ran his arm on the flat of the shiny well-kept sword.

"Keep one day's worth of water and rations in one of your pouches to be on you, the rest goes into your bag and placed on the doors," Instructor Zell ordered after Malric and Malco, the last of the recruits to grab their weapons, got back to where the rest waited.

Leon crouched down, set his sword and spear to the side. He grabbed one of his pouches and placed it on his left hip while injecting mana into it. The MRM metal backing of the pouch lit up as it magnetically attached to his armor. He gave it a slight tug to ensure it stayed, then unzipped his backpack and put the rest of his pouches inside.

He picked up his backpack and walked towards the inside panel of the Hellcrawler's door and held the backpack's metal backing against the smooth door. Blue glow seeped out from behind the backpack's mana circuits as it magnetically attached itself.

"Leads, form up two columns, one on each side of the Hellcrawlers," Instructor Zell ordered after all the recruits finished preparation.

The Hellcrawlers came to life and their group got into position as the lead convoy. All the instructors positioned themselves in front of their respected group in their gray with gold accent armor.

"MOVE OUT!" Instructor Zell yelled.

The hums of the mana engines intensified as the convoy made its way towards the gates.

Fort Ferro's gate opened to reveal the wasteland ahead of them. Leon saw the heatwaves from the ground already distorting the distant horizon as the sun rose in the early morning.

"How long do you think it'll take us to get past through the Blister Plains?" Mason asked through the active vora channel.

Leon glanced back to see the rest of his vora also looking at him waiting for an answer.

"I don't know—" Leon said.

"Of course the Nullari leader don't know," grumbled Malric.

"You know we can hear you, you have the comms on," Talia said.

"And?" Malric answered back turning around to stare at Talia behind him.

Talia did not back away and stared right back at Malric. Ravi in front of Malric tugged at him.

"As I was saying," Leon interjected before it escalated any further. "We weren't given exact plans for this exercise. What I do know is the target is to get through the Blister Plains and into Blackthorn Wilds sometime at night."

The conversation ended and they continued to walk in silence.

About an hour after leaving the Fort, signs of wildlife grew more frequent.

"CONTACT LEFT!" an Instructor yelled from behind them.

The convoy halted and Leon turned around to see voras from Group C who were the closest, respond with their Instructors leading towards a Sandcrawler, the first hostile species they had run across.

Shields charged ahead when they got close to create a semi-circle around the six-limbed reptilian. Leon watched the leads give orders while the instructors observed them. The Sandcrawler appeared small for its kind, only about five feet long.

With it vastly outnumbered, it only took a couple of minutes before they eliminated it and the convoy continued on.

The rest of the way to Blackthorn Wilds passed uneventfully. 

The Sandcrawler remained the only hostile species that dared to attack their large convoy. What Leon found difficult was the agonizing boredom that threatened to drive him insane.

They walked for hours in blistering heat, rationing their water. The instructors only gave the recruits a couple of minutes of break twice to shove a protein bar down their throats. The plain stretched flat with nothing to see but dust and occasional wildlife scurrying away.

It exhausted him.

The vora stayed silent majority of the time with Mason chirping in to make random comments about how hungry he felt. It created a different type of torture over the last seven hours.

Breathe in…breathe out Leon controlled his breaths cycling mana into his body while they walked. He looked back to his vora and saw their chest plates slowly rising and falling. They figured out to maintain the cooling system without depleting their mana reservoir, they needed to continually absorb mana while moving.

At first, he struggled to keep it up for more than twenty minutes. But the heat and march provided the best motivation for him.

"Trees!" Mason shouted in excitement.

Leon looked up to see the trees of Blackthorn Wilds growing in his sight as the sun prepared to set.

"Set camp!" Instructor Zell yelled from the front when they arrived at the edges of Blackthorn Wilds. "Leads assign duties, stay close to the Hellcrawler!"

The group followed the instructions. They unloaded supplies from their Hellcrawler and pitched individual tents. The recruits didn't need to start a fire or set up lights. Their enhanced eyes and helmet optics eliminated that need.

Leon sat against a tree at the edge. The camp fell quiet with the recruits sleeping in their tents just outside of the treeline in the open Blister Plains.

Only those on watch duty moved late into the night.

His shift started ten minutes ago and at first he found the silence eerie. But as he gazed up, he saw the night sky stretched endlessly overhead. A velvet tapestry of stars and nebulas shimmered in the distance with clouds of emerald and gold that pulsed faintly.

He had never seen a sky like this before. No Upper Levels obstructed the view, no lights faded the stars.

It felt strange yet beautiful.

A meteor shower zoomed by, and he caught a glimpse of one space cruiser's outline blocking a portion of the shower.

He raised his right hand, fingers spread up to the night sky. The stars felt so close. Yet he couldn't touch them.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Nyra's voice came from his right side.

He turned to her as she sat down next to him and removed her helmet.

Her brown hair waved in the breeze. The faint blue glow surrounding her irises illuminated her honey-brown eyes, laced with golden streaks.

"Take your helmet off, it's better to see it without optics," she said, staring at the stars.

Leon pulled his helmet off and glanced back up.

The sight made him pause. The stars appeared more vivid. More real. No sensory data blocked his view. No obstruction limited his peripherals.

He exhaled the breath he didn't know he held. The air felt fresh. The night breeze cooled his skin.

"Better isn't it?" Nyra asked in a whisper.

All he could do was nod without taking his eyes off the sky. He had dreamed in his cramp apartment of the sky. But he hadn't imagined it would look this breathtaking, stretching out endlessly, whispering of something more.

For a while, they just sat there. 

Silent, shoulder to shoulder, lost in the same starry sky.

"Can't sleep?" Leon turned to Nyra.

Nyra shook her head in response.

"It's hard at times—" she said biting her lips, pausing.

Leon waited patiently for her to continue. He saw her lost in deep thought as she continued to stare at the sky.

His breath caught for the second time. 

In the silver light, he realized just how beautiful she looked. Like she belonged to the stars. 

"I sometimes still dream of my mom," she continued. "The one you saw in the picture... She died when I was young. I—I was beside her when it happened."

Leon saw her inner struggle as her brows furrowed more.

"You don't have to tell me if it's hard for you. But when you're ready to talk about it, I am here," he offered.

Nyra shook her head and looked at Leon.

"I—I think I am ready," she said.

She took a deep breath before continuing and glanced back at the sky.

"My—my mom was always there for me. My father stayed too busy running the business. We cooked together, shopped together, and even slept on the same bed even when I had my own room." She paused again, but this time her expression softened.

"She yelled at me when I sneaked into the kitchen to grab some pastries," a smile appeared on her face. "There was also a time when I found a stray cat and tried to bring it home. My mom tried to hide it from my father when I begged her."

Leon said nothing, watching her speak with a tenderness she rarely let slip through.

The night passed with Nyra reminiscing about the good times she shared with her mother. Leon listened without interrupting, offering his silent support, captivated by the way her smile lit up in the starlight.

By the time dawn touched the horizon, she fell quiet. They sat in silence, watching the first golden sliver of sunlight break over the edge of Ferros.

Then, without a word, Nyra stood and placed her helmet back on. Leon rose with her, sensing the moment had ended.

"Thanks, Leon," she said cheerfully, then surprised him with a quick hug before he could react.

His mind blanked. He stood stiffly, arms at his sides, helmet still in hand. By the time his thoughts caught up, Nyra already walked back to her tent.

Stupid CRI. What good does it do if I freeze up like that?

Leon sighed, put his helmet back on, and waited for the next shift to arrive.