Chapter 22
The City of Symarix

As Randy and I held on tight to Blazewing's wings, we had flown over miles and miles of ruined desert land, cracked and charred with canyons of endless pits lying everywhere. This was the most treacherous land I have ever seen in my life, worst than the driest desert and the coldest of snowy wastelands. It was impossible to even walk on foot, never mind the distance.

As I looked ahead, I saw the fifty Storm Riders, with each of their Pidgeots beating their wings in the hot air. Above us, the crimson sky flared above us with its swirling, dark clouds. I had then suddenly realized the thunder never once hit the ground. I had no idea where I was, and at this moment, I had no idea what the Storm Riders of the Silver Rebellion wanted me to do. Half of me was wondering if following them was even a good idea, but considering how the Crimson Stars showed no compassion to anyone, even those unaffiliated with the Silver Rebellion, we had to have some kind of guide in this strange world we were in now.

"Juno, I tell ya... this vacation you booked... it sucks," Blazewing nudged me with her wing with a teasing, mischievous smile.

"Well, you get what you pay for," I sighed to her with a tired smile before I just had to shake my head in disbelief at all this.

Recommended Listening: Two Steps From Hell - Love & Loss

As we continued to fly on, I saw the ground below us was slowly beginning to change from bottomless canyons to an arid desert, but it was still a wasteland. The endless fissures were less plentiful, and the land could actually be walked on now.

And then, far in the distance, I saw what looked like a massive, metallic metropolis just on the horizon. As we got closer and closer to it, it was absolutely the most gigantic city I’ve ever seen. The circular, spire, and square-shaped buildings towered hundreds and hundreds of stories tall and seemed to shine and gleam in the light of the red sun. I could easily tell metal must have been much more in abundance here considering they were willing to build many structures out of it as opposed to stone or concrete.

As we drew closer to the outskirts, I could see the streets were much wider than most cities on Earth, yet the number of motor vehicles was drastically low in comparison. Plus they didn’t look anything like the ones on Earth, being made of very large mechanical parts with no real concern for exterior aesthetics. All of them looked like they were unpainted with a bare, metallic chassis, and were just manufactured for transportation purpose only rather than appearance.

I had seen the city was well fortified and heavily militarized with a fifty foot wall made of metal surrounding the city and with large, metal cannons mounted on the walls. As we got closer, I saw each of the buildings were also made of black, silver, or dark blue metal, yet I had no idea how they were able to make all of this by themselves, especially under these harsh conditions. Towards the center was one massive and towering building, shaped like a spire, made of a reflective silver-colored metal.

I could look in any direction and just couldn’t believe all of this was actually real…

And yet, everywhere we looked, there were only Pokémon. Somehow, in this world, they built an entire civilization and culture, and now the three of us were sitting right in the middle of it. Here, they lived together, worked together, played together, and essentially replaced humans as the civilized society, bringing forward their own technology and innovation. I had seen marketplaces, courtyards, streets, and even Pokémon children playing some kind of street game that involved one large rubber ball and two smaller ones. A few of them wore a few basic articles of clothing, while it was really the soldiers and guards that were fully dressed in uniform and armor.

I think spellbound was the only fitting word I could come up with to describe how I felt about discovering such a place like this existed.

We had headed toward the center of the city, to an open area just near the giant spire. As we flew downward, I caught sight of what seemed to be a large military base with many bunkers and training grounds. All I did was just follow the Cubone, since he seemed to know the most about this place. I knew I had to be extremely careful about what I said here. I wasn't sure about making the Silver Rebellion my friends, but I sure didn't want to make them my enemy.

Once we arrived at the central spire building, I looked up and saw the spire tower extend high into the red-hued sky like a stairway to the fiery heavens. I couldn’t even tell where the tower ended it was so high up. Shortly after, I had gotten off Blazewing, and Randy had followed me, still getting used to his tiny Pachirisu feet and oversized, spiked squirrel tail. We stood on that warm, metal ground and looked up. He too, seemed amazed at the sight.

Meanwhile, as I was taking this in and looking around, I noticed that the whole city seemed to be designed for those small and large alike. As I looked around me, I couldn’t imagine how something so giant could have been built by Pokémon alone. It seemed like it could have taken forever to construct…

“What… is this place...?” Randy asked in amazement, looking at all the giant buildings around him.

“Symarix,” The Cubone had told Randy. “And I don’t believe I have introduced myself. My name is Sever. And I’d like to welcome you to our city.”

“Well, thanks,” Randy replied sheepishly, still looking curiously at everything with his eyes.

Sever could tell from the look on our faces that we were definitely lost and had no idea what we were doing here. In a way, he seemed happy to answer our questions, but at the same time, he looked at us strangely, seeming a bit surprised we didn’t know this already.

"So... uh, this Symarix..." Randy continued, getting fidgety with his little paws as he looked at Sever with an embarrassed expression on his docile Pachirisu face, "...I don't mean to sound... dumb or weird, but... I don't even think I'm... familiar with this world..."

Sever looked at him very strangely as his eyes narrowed in on him from behind his skull helmet, unable to understand his behavior. Honestly, I had to admire Randy's bravery for asking these kinds of questions. Admitting we were travelers from a whole other world was a very hard and not-so-believable thing to admit in front of these militarized strangers.

"Wouldn't be the first time the Crimson Stars drugged a prisoner with Downsmoke and amnesia was the result of it," Sever muttered with a sigh, shaking his skull-covered head before looking at the Pachirisu like he had a lot of work to do. "I guess they've been upping the dose lately."

I nodded, know it would be unwise to tell him the outlandish truth. If he thought a drug was responsible for it, it might just be better for him to go with that theory.

"This is Kivistal you're on, buddy,” Sever informed Randy, talking to him like he was trying to jog his memory. “Not sure where you're from, but Crimson Stars are vicious to everyone who still has a working conscience in their soul. Say... what's your name, anyway?"

"It's... Randy," he replied, feeling confused.

And then, Sever blinked twice, almost thinking that was absurd.

"That... what kind of name is that?" Sever asked, looking bewildered before he assumed Randy gave him a fake name to protect himself. "Listen, I know it might be hard for you to trust us because you only just met the Silver Rebellion, but you can at least give us your real name."

Randy looked at me for help, really not sure what to do in this case. Between myself, Blazewing, and Sever here, it did seem like the Pokémon of this world weren't accustomed to human names either.

"His name is Blitz," I told Sever, figuring he might as well get a new name just like me if he was getting stuck with a new body to live in. "He's a little on edge with all that's been going on, so don't mind him if he's not so quick to trust others."

"Thank you," Sever told me before turning to 'Blitz the Pachirisu' again. "See? It's not so bad. Really, I don't know how long they've kept you wired to Downsmoke, but you're better off with us than out there on your own."

"Blitz" nodded, although I could tell from the look in his eyes, he still felt totally lost when it came to all this. It also seemed like that oversized squirrel tail was a hard thing for him to get used to.

"So, why do they call this the Silver Rebellion?" Blitz asked. "You're rebelling against the Crimson Stars because... you used to be a part of them?"

"Unfortunately, it's true," Sever nodded. "Things in Crimsonland were looking bleak to begin with before the Silver Rebellion started six years ago, but the whole thing with spilling blood for their new god called Zander to escape the coming apocalypse that only started up recently is a clear sign we made the right choice."

Zander, hmm? I was beginning to wonder if he was walking around with a Pokémon form on in this strange world of Kivistal like Randy and I were just to fit in.

"Oh, not him again..." Blitz muttered, looking at Sever with a faraway look in his eyes.

"That's right," Sever nodded, not even realizing we've run into him already as he was only thinking he was making progress curing Randy of his 'amnesia,' "The Crimsons Stars think he's saving them from an apocalypse, but we know he's a rotten liar and he's responsible for all this!"

"Where... is he now...?" Blitz asked with anxiety, wondering where he might be hiding.

"Now that we don't know, my friend," Sever replied, looking up to the sky as he was really wishing he did. "Heck, we're not even sure what he looks like. We were never really friends with Crimsonland to the north, but ever since we starting hearing his name while getting attacked by Crimson Stars zealots, we're seeing more and more of the world falling apart. We're not sure if he's a powerful dictator or some kind of demigod for all we know."

I nodded, trying to get in on this conversation to at least sound and act like I knew what I was doing. For some reason, the Silver Rebellion was treating Blazewing and I like we were VIPs and I still had no idea why.

"And that's not the least of it," Sever continued, figuring he might as well share this piece of information. "Rumor has it that some of his followers believe this is the end of days for Kivistal, and Zander wants to save them by taking them to a new world to live on. He just hasn't found it yet, but they trust in his otherworldly power. They think all this is just some untimely Armageddon."

"There's no way that could be right," I told him as I shook my head in disbelief, figuring I knew Zander enough not to be the generous and life-saving type of person that would be out to save Pokémon. "Skies like that? That's not a natural occurrence."

"Well, tell that to the Crimson Stars, Juno," Sever told me. "Somehow this false god 'Zander' has the people of Crimsonland believing if they fetch enough blood and cause enough death for Zander, he'll be able to use that sacrifice to work some kind of dark ritual to bring them to a new world."

"Oh yeah, I'm sure a portal created by blood, guts, and good ol' fashioned death has just GOT to be the gateway to the good life!" Blazewing replied, nearly laughing. "Let me guess, did he talk them into buying a timeshare in there as well?"

Sever looked at Blazewing curiously, almost chuckling a bit before getting back to business.

In the meantime, not knowing what happened to Alex was a problem. Just where was he, and was he even still human? I knew the later was probably no considering what had become of Randy, and how I needed to keep thinking of him as "Blitz" to avoid any suspicion. It pretty much seemed like no one here was human, which was definitely an odd occurrence. In the meantime, I questioned myself with the thought of exactly how long we were going to end up staying here…

“We need to talk to Emperor Jamac,” Sever told the three of us, knowing he felt this was more of a pressing issue than Randy's 'amnesia.' “I’m quite sure he will want to know of your arrival.”

“Where does he usually stay?” I asked Sever, blinking twice in wonder as I was looking at him in the eye.

Sever had turned to face the tallest, towering building in Symarix, and then he pointed with his bone to the area all the way on the top. I had looked up, and saw the top of that one, giant tower was strongly built and extremely well-defended. At first, I thought it would be suicide to be so high up in a tower that would not be easy to escape from, but then again, when I saw the Storm Rider patrols flying overhead, the huge number of sentry turrets, and the reinforced armor plating the tower used, it was a death wish to try and sent aerial forces up there to attack it.

Meanwhile, it seemed like such a long way up…

“He has surveillance over the entire city," Sever told me and I imagined it had to be quite a view up there. "Come, the sooner we see him, the better.”

"Right behind you," I told him, walking alongside Randy the fidgety Pachirisu and Blazewing the witty Latias.

After a small march through the city, it seemed like just about everything used metal, even the streets. As I looked around and glanced at the shiny metal buildings, I could only guess metal and iron ore were in such a massive abundance that they made entire cities out of it easily. Meanwhile, the vehicles that passed around through the streets were like tanks, being about ten feet tall and completely armored. It made me wonder if they served another purpose than just transportation…

"Thanks for saving my butt back there," 'Blitz' the Pachirisu told me as we were just out of earshot of Sever. "I dunno, I kind of like 'Blitz' as a name."

"Well, good, because I think you're stuck with it," I told him with a mischievous smirk. "A decent Pachirisu deserves a decent name."

He nodded with a confident smile. As we continued walking through the city, somehow, for reasons I couldn’t fathom why, my presence beside Blazewing was enough to stop traffic, and turn the heads of Pokémon just walking down the streets. I just kept looking forward, but out of the corner of my eye, they just stared at me and began talking among themselves. Nonetheless, we just kept walking… though I tried to listen in a bit on their conversations. However, there was only so much my long, black-tipped ears were able to tell me.

It was going to be hard to get used to a city made up of nothing but Pokémon when I had gotten so used to cities composed of people. It almost seemed like… everything had been flipped upside down. I wasn't even sure why Zander brought us here anyway. My only guess was he was hoping we would either slowly die from his power, or surrender and be forced to worship him as some false deity. As for why Blitz and I were turned into Pokémon, I wasn't sure. If he kept us as humans, I figured Zander would need to explain it to the Crimson Stars, and that might tear a hole in his plan.

After a long walk, we had finally arrived at the massive tower, but it actually didn’t look so tall when we were right next to it. I was guessing it was just my perspective. Sever hadn’t waited one moment before we approached the entrance, made of glass windows and sliding glass doors encased in dark metallic frames. To my surprise, the doors were electronic, and slid open with proximity detection. As we stepped inside, I had no idea what I was just about to face…

Immediately, we had entered the massive lobby of this giant tower, which was also completely metal with many metallic doors leading to other rooms, except for two very large metal doors on the opposite side of the room. Throughout the red carpeted room, there were various statues and busts made of metal on the walls, on pedestals, as well as one in the center of the room. I had looked at the ones off to the sides, which appeared to be Pokémon that once ruled this city, dressed in these prestigious uniforms while in a proud, standing upright position. There was a Slowking, a Swampert, a Garchomp, and many others, and again, not one depiction of a human in sight. Then, my eyes had caught sight of the one statue in the center just as I was passing by it...

...and it nearly shocked the life out of me…

“What the…?” Blitz asked as he looked up at the bronze statue.

It was statue larger than life, made of shiny bronze with a polished wooden mount. But it wasn’t that which had shocked me. It was a statue of a fully geared-up Pikachu with a determined and steadfast look in his eyes, riding a fearless Latias that looked brave and willing to head right into wicked combat. The statue did a fantastic job of capturing the wind that was blowing past his ears and through his fur as the Latias seemed to be heading forward at a thunderous pace. Both of them looked so lifelike that I wouldn’t have been surprised if they just flew off the wooden mount and started flying around the room. Meanwhile, on a small plaque that was nailed onto the wooden mount, it read:

Juno and Blazewing, protectors of the righteous Silver Rebellion. May their paths one day cross ours.

My jaw nearly dropped off my face and I suddenly wasn’t sure whether I wanted to cheer, scream, or panic. Blazewing gasped as her eyes went totally wide and Blitz couldn’t believe it either, covering his mouth with his tiny Pachirisu paws while rendered totally speechless.

"You have got to be kidding me...!" Blazewing gasped, not sure whether to be thrilled or freaked out of her mind. "Do I... really look that epic!? Oh man, who made this thing!? Let me know and I'm treating them to dinner for the rest of the month!"

"Just... just... how!?" I exclaimed, having no idea this was even possible. "It's amazing..."

The Silver Rebellion believed we were already heroes, and we barely even knew them! They made the two of us look more important than even their own rulers! I didn’t understand any of it whatsoever, and I was beginning to sweat, thinking they were expecting me, just an ordinary guy thrown into a ridiculous series of circumstances, and Blazewing, who I hadn't even known only a month ago, to be capable of impossible valor and triumph. Did these guys... did they... did they really expect me and her to fix all of problems!? They made us look like the toughest soldiers ever when in reality we've never even been through boot camp!

“As you can see, we have been waiting for your arrival for some time,” Sever told the three of us as we just stared at the statue. "We need to press on, however."

And then he continued moving on, just beckoning for us to follow him. After snapping to our senses we had to keep moving, despite how much that statue wanted our eyes to be totally affixed to it. We headed toward two massive doors without handles, but I couldn’t help but take once last glance at the statue. I was really worried now. Were they really expecting Blazewing and I to become soldiers? I was anxious about the thought of having to plunge into lethal warfare and I really doubted I was ready for it...

Then, I just faced forward, and I realized what the doors were. It was a giant elevator, probably the only way to the top. I had turned to Sever as he put in a security access code on a keypad on the wall. Suddenly, the elevator roared to life, and the two giant, steel doors slowly opened. I just shrugged and walked into the elevator like there was nothing to it.

The elevator floor was carpeted by an ornamental rug, and the walls were actually paintings, all scenes depicting Storm Riders flying through the fiery sky in combat with the Wind Strikers, a dark counterpart of the Storm Riders where the riders were each mounted on a Skarmory rather than a Pidgeot. In the paintings, the Wind Strikers were losing quite miserably. Not one Storm Rider was seen dying, and there were some who were wounded but in a charismatic way.

“We will soon be meeting Emperor Jamac,” Sever said as Blitz and Blazewing entered the elevator and the heavy metal doors closed behind them. “No doubt he will be most pleased to see you have finally arrived.”

Again, I felt that anxious, butterflies in my stomach feeling as I thought over what this Emperor Jamac was going to expect Blazewing and I to do. Was he really expecting us to become a hero Storm Rider or something? The one time I fought Randy’s Pokémon and the incident that happened at the jail were my only instances of me really getting into a fight. But I’ve never actually led someone else into combat. And I hated to say it, but when these guys realized how little Blazewing and I actually knew about the Silver Rebellion, it was going to look awfully sad and embarrassing.

As the elevator continued to ascend higher and higher, all I could do was wait and wonder why we were seen as such saviors to the Silver Rebellion. I knew I had rescued one of their Storm Rider regiments, but really, I think they were all expecting a little too much out of us. Despite all that was going on, I was still just looking for a way to get home, and I mean the real home, where my real family was. It was never really my intention to get involved with war in the first place…

And then, we had reached the top floor, and the elevator stopped. The metal doors had slowly opened to reveal another long, carpeted hallway with many wooden doors, and then at the end of the hallway, there were two very fancy and ordinate-carved doors with golden trim. At the end of the hall, two guards were stationed there, a fully armored Braixen with a tough attitude holding a heavy machine gun and stout and steadfast Cinccino in full Silver Rebellion riot gear held a smaller-sized submachine gun.

As Sever had continued walking, right toward the two fancy doors at the end of the hallway, all we could do was just follow him, and then, he had arrived at the doors. The fiery colored bipedal fox and the fluffy chinchilla Pokémon looked at Blazewing and I, and it looked like both of them were suddenly lost in a dream.

"Sever... are you...?" The Braixen asked, her breath nearly stolen away.

"It is really...?" The Cinccino gasped.

"They're the ones," Sever proudly acknowledged, bowing his skull-covered head in reverence. "Fifty Storm Riders saved from Black Bay Prison. First mission success without even a formal assignment. They are the ones."

At that moment, both the Braixen and the Cinccino saluted us, placing their closed fists over their hearts before closing their eyes and bowing their heads down. Once they returned their hands to their sides did they open their eyes and look up again.

I didn't know what came over me, but the salute looked really easy to learn, and out of respect, I performed it before the two of them as well, clenching my paw over my heart, bowing before them before closing my eyes. I then put my hand back at my side and looked up at the two of them, and they both were in a bit a surprise, but were respectful about it.

Sever pulled down on the metal levers, and pushed open both doors at the same time.

When the doors had opened, we were greeted with amazement. There was a giant throne room opened before us, with the floor made of white marble with a red carpet leading from the door to the mounted thrones. The walls and ceiling were made of white stone and golden chandeliers were suspended from the ceiling. On the two side of the red carpet, there were masses of soldiers waiting. On the throne, a regal Excadrill sat down, while a battle-hardened Vigoroth in a highly decorated military uniform and a seemingly shady Zangoose stood by his side, wearing a gray and white formal-looking uniform. Sever continued on, and we just followed him.

It had looked like we suddenly walked in on some kind of military ceremony of sorts, but Sever felt this was important enough to interrupt it. As we passed by the various ranks of uniformed Pokémon soldiers in Jamac’s council, they saluted me with the same fist over heart salute. Despite their reverence for me, I still felt like I was going to be the biggest disappointment ever when they saw me in action. I was definitely not the soldier they thought I was! And heck, I felt embarrassed to be butt-naked in front of all these formally dressed and uniformed Pokémon!

However, from the looks of things, I had the feeling that if I was going to even have the slightest chance of getting out of here, it was likely going to have to be done by working with these guys and stop Zander, if that was at all possible. As I got closer and closer to regally dressed Excadrill, I saw he had a very stern and serious look on his white face while the serrated blade above his head and the blades he had for hands looked like they could brutally eviscerate just about any Pokémon in a heartbeat. I knew I would need to treat Jamac with ultimate respect. Being branded as a traitor or an outcast would only make things far worse, especially if these guys had such extremely high expectations for me. With Blitz and Blazewing at my side, I finally arrived at Jamac’s throne, and I kneeled down, and Randy did the same, trying to show Jamac respect in the only way we knew how. I bent down my head, looking down toward the floor. I knew we were already deep into this and even though I wasn't entirely sure about the Silver Rebellion being friends and allies, I knew I had already gone far beyond the threshold at this point. Better I get on their good side now than make a lousy first impression.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the High Silver Rebellion Military Command and the Silver Rebellion Royal Council," Sever proudly spoke before everyone in the lavishly-decorated throne room, "I present to you, Blazewing the Latias and Juno the Gold Rider."

There were murmurs among the uniformed soldiers while a few of the others were taken back in shock. Meanwhile, I just kept my head bowed. I was nervous as all hell, but yet, somehow my will and spirit kept me from trembling.

"I seriously hope you have some proof they're the ones," The Zangoose spoke to him in a dubious tone.

"Ask any of the fifty Storm Riders Juno saved from Black Bay prison just a few hours ago," Sever replied, nodding.

And that got them really talking. Blazewing and I just exchanged quick but slightly worried glances, knowing we were seriously in deep with all this.

"Yeah..." Blazewing whispered to me, knowing exactly what I was thinking also. "Sure hope you've been working on those push-ups."

I slightly nodded with a bit of unease as I was a little bit afraid of what this was about to turn into. I really, really didn't feel ready to be admitted as a soldier.

Jamac the Excadrill then motioned with his claw for the audience to be silenced. While the red-eyed, white and red-jagged furred Zangoose still seemed a bit doubtful, Emperor Jamac looked at us, and I could tell from the look in his eyes that he definitely believed we were the ones.

“You have come at last, Juno,” Jamac the Excadrill smiled strongly. “I can't tell you how long we've waited for your arrival. This Zangoose is the chancellor Sinis, the Vigoroth is High General Kamax, and I am Jamac, the ruling Emperor of the Silver Rebellion. It is an honor to finally meet you.”

No way...

“No,” I told him quickly, trying to get on this guy’s good side and show a good first impression. “That honor is mine. I want to thank you for accepting me into your ranks and welcoming me into your amazing city. I've been treated with kindness, respect, and honor ever since I first stepped into Symarix, and I greatly appreciate it.”

Sinis the Zangoose crossed his arms with his long, black claws sticking out, and looked down upon me. For some reason, it seemed like he really didn’t believe I was the one, or there was something wrong with me. Even so, I still didn't understand... how did they anticipate my arrival? What told them I would be coming and that I was supposed to be some incredible hero or something? I was beginning to think this Zangoose could be right. Who was I kidding, I was no soldier.

“We have been fighting the Crimson Stars for a long, long time,” Jamac told me in a firm tone. “They have massacred endless amounts of our finest soldiers and they’ve ruined many of our great cities. The Divine Prophecy states that you would one day come to our aid and help us turn the tide of this war.”

Divine Prophecy!? Now I was really getting worried. How could anyone foresee we would be coming? And what made them think we were...

...special...?

I almost gasped at that moment. Someone knew... someone here knew Blazewing and I were born from dreams and imagined with supernatural power. They knew our names and they knew what we were capable of. When I became Juno... and when I connected and saved Blazewing... they felt that signal within space and time and knew something powerful had been pulled out of a dream in the form of a blessed in power Pikachu and Latias. And somehow... they knew we would end up here. Juno's charisma... his capabilities... his genuine selflessness... someone could see that.

My heart was racing out of control.

"And so I have come," I told him almost impulsively just to say something without succumbing to sheer fright and panic.

And then, Sinis just turned away, not looking very pleased. I didn’t know it was about him, but he still felt there was something wrong about this whole picture. Only then did he suddenly have the courage to speak up about all this.

"We are in grave times, but I strongly urge the Council not to solely rely on a mere prediction to win this war," Sinis warned the others, pacing about the throne room. "It will not replace proper military tact, strategy, and preparation. The Crimsons Stars would be laughing if they saw we were resorting to this."

Even though I kept my head bowed down, he was right in a way. It was pessimistic, but it was also a realistic way of looking at things. That, and maybe he could tell I was definitely not a properly trained soldier.

"And who’s the tiny Pachirisu?” Sinis asked, glaring down at Blitz. “Does the prophecy mention this as well?”

“He’s my companion.” I told him, really not seeing why that would be a problem.

“Enough, Sinis,” Jamac said firmly. “Tell me, what is your name?”

And now, all eyes were on Blitz. Surprisingly, he seemed even more brave now than I did! Just outside the tower, he was a sheepish mess who looked like he just wanted to bury himself in his own giant squirrel tail, but now, he really didn't seem all that afraid.

“My name is Blitz…” He said proudly, bowing before Jamac, "...happy to be of service."

I wasn't sure if he was relaxed because it wasn't him they were expecting to become a master soldier, or if he just felt really attached to the new name I gave him. In either case, if he was still worried, he was certainly doing a fantastic job hiding it. Either that, or for him, the pressure of the situation was simply like jumping into a cold swimming pool: shocking and chilling at first, but after a while, it was easy and comfortable to relax once he got used to it.

In either case, I sighed, and figured he probably had the right idea. We were definitely going to be expected to be here for a while, so I knew if they expected me to be a soldier, I was going to need to get prepared to be one.