[Other] Mass Effect: Discovery (PG 15)

[Teddiursa of the Sky]

Chapter 1: Aurora

“Welcome to the United Citadel Marine Corp, ladies and gentleman. You are going to become the galaxy's most elite fighting force. You will be transformed from the civilian you are now to an experienced warrior. From tactical awareness and leadership skills to weapons training and combat readiness, your enemies will tremble in the wake of your presence. You will all become the Citadel's backbone, the foundation of the military,” the introductory officer boomed, striding across the stage with his chest bellowing with pride. The crowd of young volunteers were captivated by the inspiring words. “You will be assigned your companies in the courtyard. If you have any questions, please direct them to Colonel Alenko,” he pointed to a human standing at the far end of the platform, “Alright, recruits. Dismissed!”



The mass of aspiring marines that gradually trickled through the large walkway radiated excitement. Nathan could hardly wait to see what company he'd be assigned, and what role he'd play in his squad. He continued pondering his purpose until he entered the majestic asari courtyard. The bright and lush space was filled to the brim with eager recruits awaiting their designated company.



Before Nathan could even join the queues for the company assignments, he could only stand in awe of the artistic feats the asari had achieved in the construction of the courtyard. The auditorium was linked to the asari colony's administrative headquarters and to the local urban spaceport, so Nathan assumed that the courtyard was the main plaza for the nearby residents. Outer walls of the courtyard, which were part of the structures in the surrounding urban center, were adorned with exotic plants, flushing out the sand-colored structures glistening in the morning sun. The ground had been carefully planned with a mixture of metalwork and stone, arranged so that neat squares were filled with green flora of all sorts of shape sand sizes. All of the plants in the squares curved to form a gradual arch directing Nathan's view to the central fountain, which sprayed water in various artistic patterns.



As he joined the closest line, the design vaguely reminded Nathan of some of the courtyards on Earth, especially the Chicago main administrative plaza which had developed around the Tribune Tower. The difference being that the Chicago plaza had been transformed into the memorial honoring the dead, instead of a recruitment center for the Citadel forces.



“Nathan Parker!” a salarian shouted over the chaotic chatter that reverberated throughout the courtyard. Nathan eagerly fought his way through the crowds, almost disregarding his fellow recruits in front of him in an excited dash toward the salarian.



“You called my name, sir?” Nathan asked, briefly glancing at the massive line behind him.



“Are you Nathan J. Parker?” the salarian inquired, looking down towards a holographic list.



“Yes sir.”



“You will have plenty of time to gawk at structures if you enlist in the engineering field, now pay attention. You are to report to the designated Aurora Company shuttle located in the terminal over there,” the salarian directed Nathan toward the docking area. Nathan saw that there were several shuttles, all painted with different colors representing different squads. The information given to Nathan indicated that the ocean-blue shuttle belonged to Aurora Company, though the salarian officer did not give him the exact location. So, in a completely uninformed expedition, Nathan walked across the courtyard to the spaceport.



As Nathan continued to wander throughout the thin platform docking the numerous military vessels in search of his designated shuttle, Nathan watched as groups of recruits boarded each ship. For a brief moment, Nathan considered that the turian shuttles were designed to carry soldiers through orbit in combat. He began to prepare himself for a cramped ride, as opposed to the human ship that had transported him from Chicago to the asari colony, Zelessia.



Nathan stifled a victorious shout when he finally discovered the location of Aurora Company's shuttle. As he clambered inside, the tight cabin had forced him to wedge himself between an asari and a turian. Both of them would occasionally brush against him, which made him feel slightly uncomfortable. He refrained from saying anything, since there was nothing any one of them could do. There were recruits all around fighting to find seats in the vessel, so he was sure he was not the only one caught in such an intimate position with utter strangers. The shuttle's automated VI soothingly announced that the shuttle would take off shortly, urging the passengers to find their seats.



Nathan and the two he was stuck between found the nearest row of seats, quickly capturing them before anyone else could. In order to properly secure himself with the provided straps, he would take a glance to see what the two strangers were doing. Each time they looked back he would either look away or pretend to be staring at something else to avoid their possible scrutiny. Nathan had a subtle feeling that blending in with the others would be best for him, that is, until they arrived on the turian training planet of Manusha.



As the shuttle began its gradual ascension towards its destination, a turian frigate, the asari looked over towards Nathan, “If you keep looking at me, I will stare back at you for the rest of the trip,” she smiled charmingly.



“I apologize. I am just looking trying get a sense of what to do,” he chuckled with a hint of inquietude. The asari also let out a small spurt of amiable laughter as both of them gazed at the monstrous turian vessel coasting along Zelessia's orbit with grace. Before too long, the turian sitting next to him joined them in their gaze towards the beauty of the ship.



“Quite impressive, isn't it?” the turian said, facing Nathan.



“It is,” Nathan answered, turning to sit more comfortably in his seat.



Without skipping a beat, the turian beamed with affability, “You excited to become a marine?”



Nathan grinned at the absurdity of the question, “I suppose I am. What's your name?”



The turian readjusted his positioning to match that of Nathan's, “Aliph. Aliphion Chauturus. You?” he asked, placing his hands on his lap.



“Nathan Parker.”



“Nice to meet you, Nathan,” Aliph said, extending his hand. Nathan shook it, pleasantly surprised by the friendliness of this particular turian. Despite Nathan's open-mindedness concerning the several species' differences, he was accustomed to the hostility between the humans and turians. Aliph's engaging conversations evolved naturally as the shuttle boarded with the turian frigate, missing the distressed pauses populating the average conversation between the two races. Throughout the docking procedure and journey to Manusha, Aliph and Nathan found each other pleasant. Their thoughts and opinions regularly aligned, and they willingly listened to one another. By the end of their voyage, they had become friends.



A day passed before the frigate arrived on Manusha, a newly-founded turian colony specifically designed for the purpose of educating multiple species in the art of war. Nathan and Aliph found themselves arriving on the planet within thirty minutes of their warping to the system. As the shuttle that the two were on glided into the system, Aliph and Nathan gazed upon the enormous academy.



“And here is where they will mold us into elite warriors, Nathan,” Aliph said with comedic sarcasm pointing out of the shuttles viewport. “Oh, and if you get all bent out of shape by the rigorous hammer and anvil, no biggie! All that at the taxpayer's expense!”



“You better believe it,” Nathan chuckled.



Nathan had come to understand Aliph's sarcasm as a way for him to deal with his excitement and anxiety. In a sense of envy, Nathan appreciated Aliph's sense of humor. Since Nathan had formulated no direct way to deal with his own pressures and anxiety, he simply learned to conceal it and bury it under the guise of purpose.



Aliph sighed as the shuttle landed, “Here we go.” Both Nathan and Aliph were engulfed by the tidal wave of eager recruits, washing them out of the shuttle. Nathan searched among the faces of the recruits, trying to find his friend. The chaotic chatter washed out any individual audible recognition, and the scattered recruits deprived Nathan of any possible visual of Aliph. Instead, he simply moved with the exuberant crowds with a mild sense of perturbation. It wasn't until he arrived at the far, hushed end of the landing dock before Nathan could hear Aliph.



“Hay, Nathan! Over here!” Aliph shouted. He was already in line with the other Aurora Company recruits. As Nathan fell in with the rest of them, an officer standing at the front of the company's column began speaking.



“You, ladies and gentleman, will be shown your living quarters for the next year. Here, you will learn the basics of combat, the fundamentals of leadership, the importance of unity, and the complexity of tactical deployment. Your job for the next week will be to organize yourselves. I will be passing my company command over to one of your fellow recruits and he or she will give out squad leadership among those he judges worthy.” After skimming over a list held in his hands, he turned to the tallest of all the recruits, a sturdily-built turian, “You will be the commander, Vahan. Select your subordinates after you arrive at your quarters.”



“Yes, sir,” Vahan acknowledged the new commander.



Nathan gazed up to the distant academy, which sat upon large incline along the side of a gradual hill. The sun showered the facility in gold rays, illuminating the individual particles of pollen expelled by the surrounding forests. As the company began to head to the residential wing of the academy, Nathan took his first real moment to behold the rest of the world. The surrounding area, which was also illuminated by a healthy gold light, was made of mountainous terrain. The swaying trees part of the rich, green forests decked the surrounding mountains. Aliph turned to Nathan as the company began the walk up the hill's path to the residential wing of the military school, “Oh, that Vahan guy is going to be an interesting leader.”



“Why do you say that?” Nathan asked, “Do you know him?”



“His full name is Vahan Arterius,” he said, “Needless to say, he is going to have a sore spot when it comes to you humans.”



Nathan was displeased, “That's not good. Our own leader possesses the same stupid prejudices that everyone else seems to hold on to. Why would that officer give command to him?”



“Well, everyone is a little stupid,” Aliph chuckled.



Nathan couldn't help but laugh at the Aliph's ironic statement. In some aspects, it was true. Everyone is at least a little ignorant or hostile about something, though Nathan found the rampant racism tiring and unfounded. There was nothing indicating that any one race was better than the other, nor was there any evidence that one could exist without the other. The top contributors to the racism were the salarians, humans, volus, and turians though. The asari, elcor, hanar, and quarians tried to get all of them to work together, since their livelihood, in one way or another, depended on peaceful interaction between the Citadel races.



The company entered the residential wing, which was a sprawling hall with numerous living quarters attached. The corridor was lined with gray tiling and carpet, which was shined upon by yellow crescent-shaped lights placed along the floorboards. With the all lacking in any nearby windows, the lighting created a moody, darker atmosphere.



“Alright, I want four separate squads. Here's how the hierarchy will work from here on out. Each one will have one leader who will in turn report to the personnel officer, then that officer will report to me. You, salarian. What is your name?” Vahan demanded.



“Shef'looh, sir!”



“Alright, Shef. You are Alpha fireteam leader.”



“Asari, what is your name?”



“Melanie Xarquai, sir!” she reported.



“You are Beta fireteam leader,” Vahan slowly passed each recruit, who had formed a neat line along the wall of the hallway. He then passed Nathan, letting off a subtle growl as he went. Vahan then towered over another recruit, “You there! Quarian, what is your name?”



Aliph leaned over to whisper into Nathan's ear, “Wow, I thought he was about to rip your heart out. It doesn't seem like he will be putting any humans in any official leadership role.” Both were surprised that a quarian was selected before he even considered any Human. Not that the quarians were particularly ineffective, but the humans possessed a far more capable military prowess than the quarians. In the end, Shef'looh, Melanie, Wren'Jaa vas Tiusa, and an unlikely selection, a volus named Shal, were all in positions of leadership. Not a single Human was selected for any leadership role, despite roughly half of Aurora being composed of them.



“The next meal time is in two hours. We will begin training tomorrow at 0630. Get acquainted with your team members,” Vahan glared at Nathan again, “No matter how insufferable they are.”



Nathan was taken aback by Vahan's remark. He certainly could not have done anything to validate Vahan's criticisms, since he stood at attention like everyone else. As recruits scrambled to find a group and join their squads in their designated quarters, Nathan quickly pushed his way through to Vahan. He was already surrounded by a group of higher ranking turians, “Sir, with your permission, I wanted to ask what I did wrong.”



Vahan stared at Nathan with contempt, “You were born.”



Nathan could hardly believe the insulting answer he was given, “Sir?”



“Listen, scrub, I don't know who you think you are,” he snarled, “but you need to learn your place. I don't devote a single second of my life worrying about what you, or any of your people want.”



“My people, sir?”



“How dense are you? Get out of my way you pest,” Vahan denounced with blaring aversion. He made the motion and sound of a flyswatter striking an insect as he stormed away with the rest of the turian recruits, leaving Nathan absolutely dazed by the hostility his commanding officer had just said.


After recovering from his dismay, Nathan turned to look down the hall full of disgruntled recruits grumbling because they were not selected for leadership. They trudged to their squad dormitories to reluctantly meet their new squadmates. Nathan shuffled cautiously down the hall, realizing that he and his friend Aliph had not yet been selected by any other squad.



“How did it go with his 'lordship',” Aliph sarcastically inquired.



“I hope he pulls the stick out of his ass,” Nathan fumed with a vague sense of anger.



“Well, because of your informative tutorial with everyone's friendly neighborhood commander, Vahan, we are forced to join Beta squad. They are the only ones left with open slots,” Aliph remarked with a hint of discontent. “I don't like being forced into a decision, Nathan.”



“Isn't the accepted marine motto to 'Adapt and overcome?'” Nathan asked with a slanted smile.



“Well, I heard it was supposed to be 'I don't care what you want, I have space lasers', but I could be wrong,” he shrugged with disappointment. Concluding their momentary banter, they both entered the Beta squad's quarters. Melanie came in from the far end of the room. The sunlight shining behind her made it difficult for Nathan to identify her features, causing him to squint into her figure in order to make her out. His eyes struggled to adjust to the contrast in lighting.


“Hay, I remember you from the shuttle ride. Still want to stare at me?” Melanie giggled as she approached Nathan and Aliph. They could only smile in reply. “Welcome to Beta squad! Where the diversity never ceases to amaze!” she threw her arms up in the air, arching her back a little.



As she spoke, a young male quarian, a turian female, a male volus, and a salarian male all entered the room from the hallway. Upon their entrance, everyone moved away from the sunlit wall to better see each other. Nathan realized that almost every major Citadel race was present, and the only one that participated in military recruitment that was missing was a drell recruit, the neighboring squad's dormitory already having the only one.



“Hello, squad mates. Confounded formalities aside, assuming that you want to continue persisting in the delusion that we are to be remotely unified in the coming endeavors, my name is Deec Slaikers,” the salarian rapidly spoke, disinterested in socializing at that particular time.



“Ah, cheer up you downer. We will become good friends by the end of our training,” the quarian chuckled, “I am Meyek'Defrahnz vas Rannoch but you can just call me Meyek.” All the other squad members spent a brief moment in a fruitless attempt to make out the quarian's face from within his helmet. It took Meyek a few moments to realize what the others were doing, “Well, er. I cannot take it off, if that is what you want.”



The volus hobbled forward, “I know how that feels, Rannoch-cla... I mean, Meyek.”



Melanie couldn't help but grin at the volus' tiny stature, “What is your name?”



The volus looked upwards to Melanie, then around to the others, “My name is Sorlim.”



“Hay, Sorlim. I guess you and I are the only ones in the group who can't show our faces,” Meyek laughed. Sorlim hobbled towards Meyek, agreeing as he spun around to see who else had not stated their name. He spied the female turian.



The female turian was lying on her cot, appearing to ignore the conversation. The silence drew her attention to the rest of the squad, “What, am I supposed to be all touchy and 'feely' too? Please, I am getting out of this squad tomorrow morning, so it doesn't even matter. Stupid newbies.”



"Keelah, what is up her bum?” Meyek muttered.



The turian did not even bother to rebuke Meyek and, instead, rolled over and continued to ignore the rest of the squad. Melanie turned as she adopted an amusingly mischievous expression, leaned and whispered to the others, “I'd imagine something large or inconceivably massive.”



The group quietly laughed at the expense of the turian. Shortly thereafter, Sorlim, Deec, and Meyek all began to stare at Nathan and Aliph. It took a brief period for the two to realize what they were looking at them for, but Aliph suddenly came to, “Oh, yes! I am Aliph Chauturus and this human here is named Nathan Parker.”



Nathan nodded, raising his hand in a friendly gesture, “Hello.”



The next hour and a half was devoted to the squad members, with the exception of the female turian, unpacking their few belongings and getting acquainted with the quarters. The room was separated into three areas, despite it being an open-floored dormitory. The first, and closest to the entrance, was a brightly lit room with plain gray walling and dark coarse carpeting. It housed a small closet at the direct right of the entrance, which held their uniforms and training gear. Underneath the windows lay a monitor with Armed Forces Network programming surrounded by a concave of several seats.



The next designated area had a table and several seats placed around it, presumably for meetings and studying. The last 'room' was the dimly lit area everyone introduced themselves in. Cots lay in an orderly fashion across the room, a small desk standing next to them with a holographic computer on each for extranet browsing and study.



Deec was the first to finish unpacking his things and sat watching videos on the extranet, “Fascinating how your species all concentrate an exorbitant amount of time preparing yourselves.”



Nathan looked to see that, from Deec's perspective, everyone else was in fact lagging behind. He finished fifteen minutes before any of them were even close to doing so. Melanie gazed upon the salarian, finishing forms she had to submit to the company leader, “Calm down, Deec. They'll be done in a moment and then we can all go to the cafeteria.”



Sorlim finally finished placing his belongings in their proper places and looked towards Deec, “Listen, Sur'Kesh-clan... I mean, Deec. Some of us aren't in a rush to complete unimportant tasks because, unlike you, we live longer than thirty years.”



“If it is a non-vital task, why would you spend an unnecessary amount of time performing it? Does it not make logical sense to avoid wasting valuable time?” Deec asked, ignoring Sorlim's jab.



“Come on you two, cut it out. We have to go eat soon,” Melanie reminded the two quarrelsome recruits. The two rejected their superior, continuing to trade insults about each others longevity and unfortunate genetics. Their argument eventually devolved to venomous political debate.



“At least it did not require a treacherous inter-galactic war to compel the counsel to accept you.”



“Yeah? Look what you did with your precious seat on the counsel, too! You created the genophage, robbing us of valuable krogan resources during the Reaper War!”



Nathan glanced at Aliph and Melanie, then quickly stepped into the argument, “Alright, listen you two. Deec, if avoiding wasting precious time means so much to you, stop arguing with your comrade. Sorlim, the salarians sacrificed many of their lives to end the genophage. Stop your bickering. I would have thought that the war you two mentioned would have brought you together, as opposed to supplying you with more hatred for each other.”



The two slowly relaxed, adhering to Nathan's words. Deec was the first to apologize, “You are quite reasonable, Nathan. What I said was surely unwarranted. I apologize, Sorlim.”



“I am sorry, too,” Sorlim stubbornly grumbled.



“Alright, guys! Great work at resolving your differences,” Melanie chimed, “Now let's go eat!”



As Beta team the larger wing of the marine academy, Nathan was amazed that the cafeteria was large enough to accommodate nearly all of the students and staff at once. It was also constructed to match the dietary needs of every species. There was an individual kitchen for every participating Citadel race, each serving a lofty queue of hungry individuals.



Nathan scanned the seats to find that each fireteam had their own individual table, designated by a holographic sign glowing with the corresponding color of the company, and the name of the squad. Nathan was the first to arrive at his own table, having gone with the most simplistic item on the human menu. Refraining from consuming his meal before the rest of his new companions arrived, he sat watching them as he sipped from his drink. He noticed Vahan, out of the corner of his eye, sitting down at the first-semester officer's table. Each of the commanders and their assistant officers were seated at the table, chatting and laughing about their first few hours of leadership. It seemed as though Vahan was busy bragging about his authoritative treatment of his company.



Nathan was soon distracted, however, by Melanie. His eyes followed her as she exited the line bearing her tray, holding something that looked somewhat similar to human cuisine. She moved gracefully through the crowds of people before sliding into the seat across from Nathan, “Hello, Nathan. Staring at me again, I see?”



Nathan was struggled to think of what to say, “Well, I, er, was just interested in what your food would look like.”



Melanie smiled, “I would have thought you'd have known that asari and humans eat very similar things.”



Quickly trying to justify his watching Melanie, Nathan began to stammer. Aliph, however, rescued Nathan as he arrived at the table, “Ah, man. I haven't seen food for two days, unless you want to count the stuff they served on the frigate,” he blinked for a moment as he gazed at the food on his tray, “And it looks like I will have to get used to not seeing food.”



Both Melanie and Nathan chuckled at Aliph's criticisms of the meals prepared in the kitchens. Though the cuisine was nothing truly remarkable, it did impress Nathan that they were able to produce the quality of food that they did, while still maintaining the necessary quantities.



“So what were you guys talking about?” Aliph asked as he picked at his food.



“Nothing, really,” Nathan responded, briefly noticing Melanie's smile. Finally, the rest of the squad arrived at the table. All of whom were content with the provisions that they had acquired.



“I've been meaning to ask, but why did you guys join the military?” Meyek inquired to break the momentary silence caused by the squad's focused task of consumption.



Melanie placed her utensils on a cloth, looking up towards the rest of the squad. “I joined because being biotic is a precursor to enlisting in the military. So, that said, I had to choose between the asari military on the new Citadel forces. I chose the Citadel to get away from an asari-dominated society,” she explained. She looked to Sorlim, who also began to explain his reason for joining.



“No job position is more secure than a tour in the military forces. I will stay in long enough to earn the money needed to start my own business, and then I will take my leave,” the little volus grunted as he struggled to level his suit with the table.



“Why cease to serve the citizens of Citadel space?” Deec queried.



“Well, I will continue to serve them in my own way. I will open a bank with inflated interest, which will cause wealth disparity to decrease over time,” Sorlim answered.



“Hardly sounds legal or economical,” Deec commented, surprised that the volus' corporate decisions lacked any sort of apparent feasibility.



Sorlim seemed to have researched his plans thoroughly and assured Deec that he possessed the lucrative knowledge, “I know all the loopholes to make it both legal and profitable.”



Meyek rotated his entire body so his helmet's visor could catch a better view of the table and its occupants. “I joined because I want to serve and defend the quarian people,” he proudly boasted. For a moment, his chest was pushed out with pride, but he rapidly lost his confidence and slowly hunched over again, “But my father is overbearing and wants me to help my people rebuild Rannoch. He wants me to work hard so I will be chosen to join the quarian... how do you say it? 'Council'?”



“Why does your father want you to do that? I mean, why does your father want to force you to join your council?” Aliph asked, finally pausing his consumption of his meal to engage in the conversation.



Meyek turned his helmet to face Aliph, “Because my cousin served on it, and her father before her. He thinks because they both did great things back in the days of the Flotilla, that I am destined to do equivalent works.”



“Right. I thought family ties weren't supposed to influence achieving more influential positions within your government,” Aliph said.



“In theory,” Meyek sighed, allowing Deec to explain his own enlisting.



“Joined the Citadel military service to analyze the heterogeneity in physiological, sociological, and neurological permutations of different individuals concerning inter-species interaction,” Deec hastily explained.



“Woah, slow down there my scientific friend. At least ask my permission before you 'analyze' my inter-species 'interactions',” Aliph stated with his iconic humor, causing Nathan to chuckle. Deec continued to dabble with an electronic notepad on his wrist, ignoring Aliph's joke. Aliph used Deec's lack of an answer as a segue for his reasoning for enlisting in the Citadel military. He straightened his back, gently clearing his throat, “I joined because I felt I would be good at it, what with turian military prowess and all. I can work well along other races, and am proficient in combat. My parents thought it to be a foolish idea, having seen many of their friends die during the Reaper War. I suppose they forget that I watched my own friends die as well. Our devastating losses have created a sense of disillusionment for large portions of our people. I just hope we can find our pride and confidence again.”



Everyone at the table ceased eating for several moments, recalling the shadow of history. The galaxy-wide war against the reapers was a devastating, tragic plight that stained the lives of those involved. Economies were left in shambles, worlds were left completely obliterated, and weakened military forces were left to lick their wounds. Soon, however, they began to eat and socialize with one another once again. They refused to relive that terrible nightmare once again.



Melanie looked up towards Nathan when she finished with her meal. She placed her hand on her chin and propped her elbow up on the table, “So, Nathan, why did you join?”



Nathan finished his meal as well, moving his tray to the side so he could easily lean on the table, “I joined to see the galaxy. I figured being part of the Alliance military would confine my service to purely Alliance worlds, especially since we are still in the process of rebuilding our middle and outer rim colonies.”



“Ah, soldier-boy wants to see the galaxy,” Melanie giggled in an underlying flirtatious tone.



"Marine-boy. We're marines," Aliph subtly coughed.



Nathan grinned at both Melanie's laugh and at Aliph's humorous correction, “An innocent enough desire, I suppose.”



Aliph threw his arms out towards the other tables, “I guess it is. You are already seeing a little piece of the galaxy, Nathan. It is a large and diverse place.”



Nathan looked to his friend, “And I already love it.”



When the squad had finished their meals, they continued to chat with one another as they traversed the busy hallways and corridors leading to their quarters. It had been a long and exciting day for the entire team, and as Nathan crawled into his cot, he finally let his muscles relax. The feeling was comfortable and welcome, and as he slowly recalled all of the events from the past few hours, he began to think of his new squadmates. Despite the unfair company leader, his new comrades seemed to be decent, amusing characters. He had noticed that the female turian had already vacated the room, probably convincing Vahan to move her to another squad. It seemed to Nathan that Vahan would be an obstacle he'd need to overcome.

[Teddiursa of the Sky]

Chapter 2: Above and Beyond

When Nathan awoke the next morning, he rolled onto his back in an effort to try to retrieve his sense of awareness. After waiting to confirm no one else had stirred, he turned to his right to gaze at Melanie's cot only a few feet away. Carefully pushing himself off of his rack to peer onto his computer's screen, Nathan was disappointed to see he would have to wait ten more minutes before the room's alarm would sound. Melanie had set the room's internalized clock to ring at about 0600, giving the squad about twenty minutes to prepare for their day of training.



Nathan felt an empty, vague ache in his stomach as he waited for each minute pass. Knowing his pain was a result of his building anxiety, he remained silent about it with the belief that it would pass eventually. Nathan simply did not want to have to interact with Vahan, who had appeared to be an unreliable, inexperienced, and unusual leader. Nathan recalled his confrontation with him the day before, analyzing each insulting phrase Vahan directed toward him. He put his head down on his hands, massaging his eyes in an attempt to alleviate his anxious pains.



Hearing Melanie shift behind him, he once again glanced at the time. After he saw that five more minutes loomed before the rushed preparations for the day, he silently swiveled off of the chair at his computer and seated himself on his cot. Gently lying back down on his pillow, he continued to dwell on the multitude of possibilities the day held. He knew that all he could remain certain of was the final meal of the day, since that was the only part of the schedule he had experienced before. That was when Nathan began to question his own resolve and motives, asking himself if he was truly ready to cope with the unexpected and become a true marine.



Just as Nathan started to consider his enlisting as a mistake, the alarm sounded a series of mellow electronic chirps to awaken the entire squad. Melanie quickly crawled out of her cot, ordering the squad to prepare for day as she bounded toward the small changing room. Nobody exchanged words as they readied themselves.



Sorlim and Meyek had a relatively easy time in assembling their equipment, since having to wear their cumbersome suits prevented them from wearing the light training gear. They sleepily propped their heads up, waiting for the others to slip into their training gear. Nathan finished before the others in the changing room and decided to join them. Nathan grinned as he gazed toward the two, observing their desperate endeavor to keep awake, “You guys ready?”



“Ready to do what?” Meyek groaned, “Because the only thing I am ready for is sleep.”



Sorlim did not invest a lot of energy into his reply. His response was composed of four sporadic grunts, shortly followed by slurred, unintelligible speech. The two amused Nathan a great deal and he struggled to suppress a fit of laughter. The two looked so incredibly tired that Nathan felt compelled to find out why, “What time did you guys fall asleep?”



“Not long after we got in our cots,” Meyek droned, “it is just the new time zone and length of day. I am normally pretty awake in the mornings, back on Rannoch. It doesn’t help that everyone wanted to rush me on the way to Manusha.”



“Not much time to adjust after you ran away, eh?” Nathan asked.



“No, not really. My father wanted me to return, but I managed to escape his numerous attempts to capture me. It was on the run for two weeks,” Meyek explained, “But, I digress, Rannoch had a much longer day. I can't get used to this planet's twenty-seven hour cycle soon enough.”



“Yeah, I understand,” Nathan replied, placing his hand back on the table. He leaned back on the chair, allowing the frame to support his relaxed body. He gazed out the window of the room, which took up the majority of the far wall, to see that the Manusha morning was damp and overcast. The landscape was darkened by a shadow cast by dense, gray clouds. In contrast to the sluggish, gloomy sky, the foliage on the ground danced in the steady morning breeze.



“Looks like a fine morning, Nathan,” Aliph groggily exhaled as he entered the room. Nathan smirked at his friend’s sarcastic greeting as he continued to examine the overcast skies. The clouds were nudged along by a dreary wind, determined to gradually erode the sky's cloud cover.



“Shape up, recruits!” Melanie ardently chimed. Her enthusiasm caught Nathan off guard. He watched in bewilderment as she pranced to the other side of the room. If the young asari was simply playing the part, she was a phenomenal actress.



“Easy for you to say,” Aliph griped, “Thessia has a nearly identical time zone.”



Nathan did not realize that Manusha and Thessia shared similar orbiting periods. He made a mental note and tasked himself with researching the antiquity of the cultures that now surrounded him. He thought about stopping by the archives to better understand his compatriots; he could have at least made an effort to study something as simplistic as the home planets of his squad mates. He was sure; however, that he was not alone in his ignorance of allied races.



The only individual that seemed to know much about other races was Deec, who fully understood the anatomy and social constructs that every other race retained. If, by some unlikely chance, he happened to discover a new kernel of information, he would quickly record it in his datapad. The salarian was a natural scientist, and constantly investigated and probed for new marvels of the natural world. This caused Nathan to wonder about the salarians as a species. The obsessive intellectual thirst was not exclusive to Deec, for nearly all salarians he had met seemed to share similar mannerisms, with few deviants. He speculated that it might be the result of a social pressure.



“While I am sure the anecdotes of your morning routines on your home planets definitely possesses the depth of classical narrative archetypes, I do not sincerely believe this is an appropriate time to be doing so,” Deec chided.



“Alright, then-we should move out,” Melanie ordered in a subtle, prevalent tone. She was able to command the will of her squad with little effort, grasping their attention without having to persuade her comrades. Throughout their brief excursion through the academy's labyrinth of hallways, Melanie was able to control Deec and Sorlim's conflicting personalities with a diplomatic elegance infrequent among the rest of the squad members. Everyone under Melanie's command was so mannerly that their entrance among the other squads was actually obvious. As beta squad aligned with the other squads in a parade formation, Nathan observed as the other recruits garrulously conversed.



The company stood several yards from the academy, waiting for their commander to show up. Nathan looked about, watching each one of the forty recruits did. Some of them spoke about their expectations of the marine corp, others longed for their homes, and even more speculated as to what the day held in store for them. He analyzed the slang some of the recruits threw about, along with the subtleties in their movement. Many of the recruits were anxious, frequently shifting feet and playing with their hands in an attempt to quell their uncertainty.



Vahan's voice suddenly thundered at the forefront of the company, “Recruits, attention!”



Everyone in the formation glanced at each other, almost as though they had collectively forgotten something. No one knew how to stand at attention in a proper martial position and, upon learning of that fact; Vahan snarled with discontent, “Well, it appears that I will have to teach you something you could have easily read about last night while you were all socializing with one another. Before we run, we will review basic drill commands.”



Nathan noticed the female turian from the night before. She and another turian trailed behind Vahan, obviously selected to participate in leadership positions. Nathan was puzzled as to why she had abandoned her post and, more importantly, wondered if beta squad would get a replacement. Judging by his brief encounter with Vahan the day before, Nathan knew there was a significant likelihood that he’d leave the squad shorthanded and weak.



Aliph, who stood beside Nathan, began a sarcastic commentary as Vahan ordered various recruits around, “Hay, Shef, why don't you go and cook me something you wide-eyed freak? Wren, please remove your helmet so I can verify it is you and not some vorcha in disguise. Yo, Melanie, why aren't you working at some strip joint on the Citadel?”



“I could not envision Melanie dancing at some strip club on the Citadel,” Nathan whispered in response.



“Why not? She certainly has the build of one,” Aliph struggled to concoct a depiction of Vahan's laugh, so he simply engaged in a series of sporadic sonorities.



Nathan struggled to enjoy Aliph's joke, but he could not identify which particular portion of the turian's jocular antics caused him to refrain from doing so. He remained reticent as he gazed at his comrade.



Aliph noticed Nathan's austere expression, causing his radiant beaming to gradually revert to his usual, placid demeanor, “Alright, then. Sorry you didn't find those jokes funny, Nathan. Just trying to poke some fun at how crazy our company's leader is.”



Nathan grinned to break the fleeting, soundless tension between them, “For the record, I think Vahan is an ass, too.”



Aliph smirked, content to have finally received a positive reaction from Nathan. The two quickly resumed the position of attention as Vahan and some of his assistants passed them. They ceased their conversation when Vahan began scrupulously inspecting the posture of nearby recruits. Based on how unforgiving he had proven to be, all of the recruits avoided any direct eye contact with him. They all maintained a steady gaze whenever Vahan happened upon them.



As Vahan contemptuously criticized the posture of each recruit, Nathan worked to steady his breathing. An assortment of fear and resentment swelled within him when Vahan chastised Meyek and Melanie for minute errors in posture, and those feelings intensified the closer he got. He knew that Vahan possessed an explicit antipathy for humans, which he proudly exhibited numerous times before. With his treatment of other company members, he felt even more uncomfortable about the nature of his commander.



“Ah, Private Parker,” Vahan looked upon Nathan, “What do you think of Manusha's morning?”



Nathan was unconvinced of Vahan's warm greeting, “Uh, good, sir!”



“What makes you think it is a good morning?” Vahan inquired. Nathan grew more confident as the conversation progressed, believing he would successfully avoid any of Vahan's disrespect and derision. He could not, however, think of a sensible rationalization of his opinion regarding the planet's weather. He faltered, causing Vahan to snicker at Nathan's expense, “I know you are a human, Private Parker, but I asked you a relatively simple question.”



“I-I have no reason, sir. It was simply a formality, s-sir!” Nathan answered, now unsure of where Vahan was leading the exchange.



“Well, I didn't ask for a pleasantry. I asked for your opinion. I think the morning is pretty damn sleazy. However, since you think it is a fine morning-” he turned to the rest of the company, “Since you all seem to think it is fine morning, having replied to my inquiries the same way this individual has, I think we can afford to run a little above the standard. Remember, recruits, as marines you are expected to perform above and beyond the call of duty.”



Nathan glanced at the overcast, dark sky as the unforgiving, icy wind brushed against his skin. The weather only added to Nathan's discomfort. He did not know what Vahan was willing to do to the company. Vahan called for everyone's attention, “We will be running three laps today!”



Several restless, dissatisfied recruits acknowledged the command without any genuine enthusiasm. Companies were supposed to begin training at a single lap, the equivalent of one and a half kilometers, and work their way up to ten kilometers by the end of the three month semester. Vahan seemed to relish the company's collective unhappiness, “It is required of us to grow accustomed to our combat armor by the end of the semester, and so as of our next PT meet tomorrow morning, you are all to report in full combat gear. I will not take any exceptions, and I will not permit anyone to fall out of formation or slow down. You will keep up with the pace of the soldier in front of you. If the recruit ahead of you does slow down, surpass him and maintain formation. Anyone who does fall out of line will run the entire course over again.” Several more recruits began make their displeasure audible. “Alright. Before we start our morning run, I am to teach you basic commands.”



As Vahan momentarily described various marching commands, the rapid stream of information seemed to alleviate little of the confusion among the company. Nathan was confident he could merely emulate someone who had an understanding, like Melanie. Because she was a squad leader, Melanie had already devoted time from the day before in order to memorize several of the rudimentary commands.



Nathan's thoughts were interrupted by Meyek, who fidgeted with a sense of uncertainty, “I don't think I can do this, Nathan.”



“Why not, Meyek?” Nathan asked, being sure to keep his voice down.



“Well, it is spring on this planet, which means higher levels of pollen,” he pointed to the large, pale yellow particles of pollen floating around near the tree line, “It will build up in my filters, and if I have to clean it out I will have to drop out of formation or else I won't be able to breathe,” he worried, drawing Nathan's attention to the small circular port on his helmet.



“Don't worry, I will help you out when it gets clogged,” Nathan smiled in an effort to reassure his friend.



Meyek seemed to relax a little knowing that Nathan would assist him and quietly reassumed the position of attention. Nathan silently listened to the complaints of the other recruits, wondering how they were to keep up with those who were more physically adept. The first semester was intended to acquaint everyone to military life, and to assist them in reaching peak physical condition, not to assume that they were already at such a state.



“Right, face!” Vahan ordered. All of the recruits swiftly spun to the correct stance, preparing for the next order. “Forward, march!” The entire company moved forward, carefully placing their legs for fear of stepping on each other’s' feet. They could not look down though, so they were forced to mentally gauge how far their legs should extend before they would step on the recruit in front of them.



“Company! Double-time, march!” the company of forty recruits decelerated to a rigidly precise jog, while maintaining a tight formation. Vahan glowered at the nearest human, “I assume you can speak? Give me a cadence!”



Nathan gazed upon the understandably flabbergasted recruit with vicariousness. The recruit was silent for a brief moment, trying to recall any vague military cadence that he might have picked up from a video or film. He eventually recovered from his astonishment and, with an absence of potency, began to shout a well-known military ballad.



Nathan came to realize just how taxing the course was as the company arrived at the midway mark. He felt fulfilled with the accomplishment though, which supplied him with the resolve to endure the remaining course. Before too long, however, Meyek's breathing became more than a slight rasp. Nathan heard the Meyek’s sick, labored breathing. Nathan quickly peered behind his shoulder and gazed into the quarian's helmet, “Meyek, are you okay? Do you need help?”



Meyek struggled to suppress parched, violent coughs, “Nathan, please clean my filters.”



Nathan searched his pockets to retrieve a pack of cloth he had procured from the restrooms, “Here, let me help you.”



“Are they sanitized?” Meyek urgently inquired before permitting Nathan to reach for the helmet filters.



Nathan swiftly glanced down at the markings, then lifted the wipes up to show Meyek their package, “They are.”



Meyek nodded and procured a wipe to scrub his filters. Nathan, too, grasped a wipe and supplemented his friend’s efforts. The pollen was uniquely adhesive, causing its removal to become a particularly tedious or monotonous task. They continued to wipe until Meyek's breathing became more consistent before they discarded the wipes and redirected their attentionto maintaining the formation. Nathan noticed that he had lost pace for a brief moment, but quickly regained the lost ground when he was finished helping Meyek. They both sighed, allayed that Vahan did not take notice.



“Thank you, Nathan.”



Nathan grinned, “No problem.”



The entire company's attention was drawn toward the recruit assigned to lead cadences, having exhausted all the ones he distinguished. Vahan then ordered a turian in the front of the line to shout a native cadence, which made little sense to the other races.



As the formation approached the culmination of the concluding lap, Aliph peered hindmost toward Nathan, “You tired, Nathan?”



Nathan panted heavily as he put his hand up and waved him off. By the end of the second lap, he was ready to drop out of formation. Meyek and his pollen problem, however, compelled Nathan to stay in place. He did not know if the drell recruit to his left would assist Meyek. When the company was ordered to come to a halt, Vahan began shouting at them, “That was pathetic! What is your issue? Alpha squad,” he wrathfully bounded toward the squad, “I nearly ordered the rest of the company to surpass you!”



The salarian, named Shef, who was in command of the Alpha fireteam crossed his arms, growing defense as a result of Vahan's criticisms, “The issue is not mine, Vahan. You were close to killing my three quarian recruits today. They cannot keep up because of all the pollen in the air.”



Vahan snarled as he gazed at all the quarian recruits, who were struggling to breathe and scratched at the vents on their helmets in a desperate attempt to unclog their filters. He then noticed Meyek who, in contrast, was breathing relatively easily, “You there, quarian.”



“Meyek, sir!”



Vahan stormed towards Meyek, “You son of a *****, why is it that you seem unaffected by the pollen?”



“N-nathan helped me c-clear it out, sir!” Meyek stuttered as Vahan towered over him.



“Who the hell is Nathan?” Vahan demanded.



Meyek could only point in Nathan's direction, too terrified by Vahan's violent explosion to actually speak. Vahan followed Meyek's direction and confronted Nathan, “Ah, Private Parker. You’re the little pest who wanted to gossip about the weather with me. So you are responsible?”



“Yes, sir!”



“Why didn't you help the others?” Vahan scolded.



“I-I couldn't, sir. I would have had to break formation, which you strictly prohibited in the beginning of our run, sir,” Nathan answered. A feeling of isolation seemed to surround Nathan as he stood before Vahan. He felt alone and vulnerable.



Vahan glared at Meyek and then returned his gaze back to Nathan, “Next time, you inept imbeciles, I want any recruit near a quarian to clean out their breathing apparatuses! I don't care how you do it. Pick up a stick off the ground and jab it in there if you have to, I just want them to run until I tell them to stop.”



Nathan looked at Meyek, who was struggling to recompose himself. Even as Vahan stormed off, Meyek trembled. Vahan yelled as he left, “Breakfast! You have thirty minutes, and then you will report to the firing range for basic weapon familiarization by 0830! You three, with me.” Vahan pointed towards three humans in the same column as Nathan, who reluctantly followed their volatile leader. He then faced the rest of the recruits as they began trudging into the academy, “I also want all of you cleaned and in your uniforms before you report.”



Everyone unhappily acknowledged as they trudged along the path to the cafeteria. As they advanced toward their quarters, Nathan spotted Deec, “What's the time, Deec?”



“The current time is 0748. Why?”



“Look, it's the other companies. They are just coming out here,” Nathan said, pointing to the other formations. The other recruits in Aurora noticed as well, cursing their leader with an assortment of various, colorful terms in a plethora of different languages.



When Beta finished consuming their breakfast, they scurried up to their dormitory to clean themselves up. Unlike the rest of the squad, Sorlim and Meyek did not require a shower. Since neither one of them was unclean, as a result of their suits, they both waited on their cots. Nathan could overhear them while he showered, “Gah, bosh'tet!” Meyek exclaimed as he plunked down on his cot, “He almost killed all of us today.”



“I wonder what those three Earth-clan were ordered to do after the run,” Sorlim pondered as he struggled to pull himself up on his cot.



Neither one could fathom what they were doing, since no one had slackened at any noticeable level, nor did anyone fall out of formation. Deec stepped out of the showers and offered an explanation, “It seems they were ordered to repeat their physical activities.”



“But why?” Meyek wondered, peering out of the window with Deec to see that the three humans had just finished their second lap around the campus. Sorlim waddled over to the window, but was too short to see out of it, so he jumped up and waved his arms around, “Confound it! Will someone help me?”



Nathan stepped out of the shower and quickly slipped on his attire. He noticed Sorlim's desperation to see what was beyond the window, so he stepped next to the short Volus and motioned to Aliph, who had just dressed, for assistance. Both Aliph and Nathan strained to boost Sorlim just a few inches off the ground so he could catch a glimpse of the outside, “Damn, you Volus need to wear stilts or something,” Aliph grunted.



“You all just need to get smaller. You are unreasonably tall,” Sorlim crossed his arms as Nathan and Aliph placed him down. The entire group chuckled at Sorlim's blunt, candid answer.



“Squad, we have six minutes. We should get moving,” Melanie announced, attracting the attention of Beta squad. As Beta team stepped out of their quarters and into the bustling halls and corridors, Melanie lagged back so she could speak to Nathan in relative privacy. “Were you and Aliph lifting Sorlim up so he could see?” she smiled.



“Well, yeah,” Nathan nodded.



Melanie giggled, “I thought that was cute.”



Nathan could only respond with a smile. Melanie had a charm about her that seemed to soften any disposition. It worked in her favor as a leader, since she was able to order her recruits without having to sound too incredibly firm or strict. She was fair, too, and didn't seem to care much for what species any of them were.



As Beta squad entered the weapons training ground, there were second semester recruits training with projectile weapons. Beta team stood back with a handful of other recruits watching them hit their targets with extreme accuracy. They were fascinated by their proficiency, but were interrupted when Vahan entered entered, “Alright. How is everyone doing this afternoon?”



Nathan and Aliph were taken off guard by Vahan's change in temperament, glancing at each other with slanted eyes and unease, “We are about to learn how to wield the omnitool, the most basic hand-to-hand weapon. Some of you already have yours, and that's all fine and dandy-” Vahan stopped amid his speech, noticing that Deec was still tinkering with his holopad as opposed to devoting any attention to Vahan's unproductive discourse. Vahan abruptly smashed the pad off Deec's wrist and onto the floor where it shattered into pieces. Deec paused for a moment, and then looked up to Vahan with equivocal inconvenience.



“When I am speaking, everyone is to devote their full attention to me! Do you understand?” he bellowed at the entire company. Deec waited for Vahan to move away before bending over and looking among the parts. The rest of Beta sympathized with Deec, since his entire life seemed to revolve around the pad.



Abruptly, the three humans who had been ordered to repeat the PT course entered the training area. They looked exhausted and were sweating all over. Vahan snarled at them, “What? I thought you had quit like the failures that you are. Why are you late?”



One of the humans attempted to justify herself, “You ordered us to repeat the course. We couldn't-”



Vahan reprimanded the three recruits, “You are going to try to blame me for your lack of physical conditioning? I expected the entire company, including you, to report on time.”



One of the other humans swallowed hard as she ringed her hands, “We-”



“And what is this? You smell horrible! I ordered all of you to report to me cleaned!” Vahan sneered.



“If we cleaned ourselves, we would have been even more late,” another one of the three recruits pointed out.



Vahan began to mock the human's susceptibility to perspiration, even ordering Deec to explain why sweat was so odorous. The three recruits were thoroughly humiliated just by following Vahan's orders. This charade was a much clearer demonstration as to what the leader of Aurora Company was going to be like. Whenever Vahan left the recruits alone, a much more pleasant atmosphere encompassed every aspect of their training. The moment he returned, however, everyone felt anxious and indecisive.



Eventually Vahan joined his appointed officers to partake in their own training session, finally allowing the combat instructor to teach everyone else the remedial techniques in melee combat, using an omnitool as a weapon. After two hours of the lecture and demonstration, the recruits were separated into pairs and had to practice attacking and defending against omnitool strikes. The tools were low-powered so that they would not actually harm anyone, but they still made a menacing buzz as they were swung around. Nathan listened to the chorus of whirring and humming from the several omniblades as he was paired with his squad commander, Melanie.



“Okay, I am going to attack now,” she cautioned.



Nathan laughed as her omnitool clashed with his, “You know, telling me when you are going to attack kind of defeats the purpose.”



Melanie grinned, “Fine, then I won't tell you.”



In a sudden blur, Melanie shoved Nathan around, hurled him off his feet, and stabbed him in the chest as he crashed into the ground. Nathan chuckled, “See? Didn't I tell you? Way better with the element of surprise.” Several other recruits laughed or whistled at Nathan's defeat.



Melanie helped Nathan up, “Well, it is your turn to attack me.”



Nathan paused for a moment, looking into her eyes dark blue eyes. He slowly moved to the left, maintaining a steady gaze, “I am going to attack now.”



Melanie smirked, “Oh, please.”



In an abrupt and unexpected flurry, Nathan curled his right leg around Melanie’s. Twisting with his body weight, he pulled Melanie off her feet. In the process, Melanie locked her omnitool into Nathan's and twisted her arm, causing him to whirl onto the floor. They then began to thrust their weapons at each other, Nathan successfully blocking each of Melanie's swings.



Aliph and several other recruits began to surround the two as they battled. He began to cheer his friend on, “Holy crap, Nathan. I didn't know you had it in you!”



Melanie lowered her arm and swung her omnitool at Nathan's legs. Nathan responded by lifting his entire lower body into the air and bounding over her wide swing, landing on his feet. Using the momentum from his leap, he swiveled on his left leg and rolled onto Melanie, successfully jabbing his omnitool sharp blade into her stomach. For a moment, Nathan was extremely proud of what he had done. With no prior formal combat training, he appeared to have won. But, unfortunately, Melanie giggled.



Nathan looked down to see that Melanie's omnitool was in his stomach too. Disappointed to see that he had been defeated as well, he groaned, “Aw, damn.”



Melanie panted as Nathan lifted himself up, “What was that?”



Nathan was gasped for air as well, “My big brother used to teach me how to throw a punch.”



The crowd that had formed around them dissipated as both Melanie and Nathan helped each other up. Melanie gazed at Nathan with disbelief, “Just how to throw a punch? That was more than a punch, Nathan. It was really good!”



Nathan thought she was joking, “Ah, please. You know it was all probably just replicated nonsense from the action vids.”



She denied it, insisting that what he had done was impressive, “You just overpowered an asari marine recruit who was previously trained in martial arts. I don't think what you did was copied from any vid.”



Aliph bellowed a hardy chuckle, avoiding a narrow swing from his partner, Meyek, “Unless, of course, you are just really bad at martial arts.”



“What makes you think I am bad at martial arts?” she inquired.



Aliph turned away from Meyek to face Melanie. Before he was able to continue his witticism, he was struck in the back of his neck by Meyek's omnitool, “Woops, I am so sorry, Aliph! I didn't know you weren't paying attention,” Meyek apologized.



Melanie beamed at Aliph, “I can give you a pointer or two so you can prevent that from happening again.”



“Ah, you didn't know that was going to happen,” Aliph said, dismissing the notion with his hands as he turned back to Meyek.



“Did you really know that was going to happen?” Nathan asked as they resumed their standard turn-based attacks. When Melanie confirmed it, they both giggled at her seizure of opportunity.



Their fun was interrupted by Vahan when he stormed into the room, “Recruits! Atten-tion!”



All of the recruits in Aurora Company ceased what they were doing and immediately entered the position of attention. Vahan began to roam around, glaring at each recruit, “Excellent work today. By campus policy, I am forced to permit you an hour lunch and a half an hour recreational period. Superiors don't want you barfing all over the gym equipment after lunch. So, we will begin weight training at 1430!”



For once, the entire company was pleased to hear something from Vahan, “Sir, yes, sir!”



“Dismissed!” Vahan ordered, storming out of the room as though he was disgusted with the generosity. With that, Aurora Company all returned their omnitool's weapon modifications and headed directly for the cafeteria. As Beta squad gradually found their way to their seats, they started discussing the day. Melanie drew Nathan's attention to the officers' table, where Vahan sat.



“Look at him brag about his disciplining us this morning,” she glared earnestly at Vahan with a subtle hint of anger.



“Vahan is an *******,” Aliph quantified, moving some of his food to the side of his tray, “His uncle, Saren Alterius, was even more of an ******* if you can believe that.”



“The Saren Alterius? Wasn't he the instigator of the Reaper war?” Nathan asked.



“No, but he was being controlled by those freaks and still did some pretty nasty stuff beforehand. I implied the Alterius family was composed *******s, not genocidal maniacs,” he then took a massive mouthful of his meal.



“You know,” Meyek leaned forward to look past Aliph towards Nathan, “That...” he whirled his arms around, “whatever that was with Melanie back at the training grounds - that was amazing! Where did you learn to do that?”



Sorlim and Deec joined the rest of the team in intently staring at Nathan. He struggled to find an answer, “It really wasn’t much, guys. It’s just a few things my brother taught me.”



“It was impressive, despite it being a draw,” Melanie giggled.



Sorlim was more interested in Deec’s shattered pad, “You know, if that holopad is broken for good, a brother of mine manufactures those things for cheap using more direct assembly. I could hook you up with a deal.”



Deec looked down toward the short little Volus, “No thank you. The holopad itself is irrelevant. The information stored on it is what I want to salvage.”



“Can you salvage it?” Aliph asked.



“In time.”



Melanie turned to Deec, “If I may ask, what was on it?”



Deec ran through a long, fascinating list of biology terms, most of which no one else had even heard before. Melanie had to interrupt him, however, when she noticed Vahan rising up from the distant company leaders' table, “Head's up.”



Everyone at the table looked in his direction. Vahan, who was preparing to leave, paused and glared at Beta team's table. Everyone in Beta team quickly resumed their conversation, hoping that he didn't notice their watching him. His bitter gaze remained on the table for a moment longer before he departed.



“That was a close one,” Aliph sighed with relief. Beta then left their table and made their way back to their quarters. During their time in their quarters, the squad began working on their assignments. From identifying monotonous parade commands to analyzing military protocol, they poured over their studies with relentless motivation. By the hour’s end, the squad collectively accomplished each of their tasks. Even Deec and Sorlim ceased their squabbling and submitted their work via the academy’s extranet network.



“We need to get ready for weight training,” Melanie stated as she glanced at her computer’s onboard clock. It was twenty minutes until they had to report at the gym. The team was totally silent as they prepared and put on their PT equipment. None of them looked forward to their imminent interactions with Vahan.



As Beta exited their dormitory and navigated to the gym, Melanie grabbed Nathan's arm and pulled him aside, “Listen, Nathan. I think you should take the extracurricular hand-to-hand training.”



Nathan glanced at the students traversing the congested hallway before questioning her, “Why do you think that, Melanie? I thought you believed I was really good.”



“You know Vahan seems to have it out for humans. From what I have read on his file, he also has a tendency to get violent. I want you to be ready,” she replied.



Nathan noted how serious she was. Her tone was unlike her usual positivity, which was enough to convince Nathan. He was prepared obeyed her order, “I'll see if I can enroll in it after our next meal.”



The following gym session, which was directed by Vahan and his appointed bullies, only enabled another series of Vahan's abusive engagements. He forced all the recruits, especially humans, to train with excessive amounts of weighted lifts. To make matters worse, the time seemed to pass by more slowly than it did for the exhausting morning run. However, despite the mistreatment, Nathan surprised his companions with his lack of protest. He continued the exercise until Vahan was forced, by the academy’s procedure, to dismiss his company. As they entered the mess, Aurora Company was noticeably haggard and fatigued, compared to the other companies.



As Nathan ate, Aliph looked at Nathan, “Well, I can't say anyone in this group will be suffering from obesity. You could say we are partaking in an extreme weight-loss program.”



Both Sorlim and Meyek chuckled as they slid into their seats, having finally retrieved their trays. Nathan smiled, though he could not muster an audible indication of humor. He simply listened to the other members' and their conversations, though that was entirely typical. Nathan rarely contributed long-winded commentary to the ongoing discussions.



As the squad finished their meals and their conversations drew to a close, Nathan let Melanie know where he was headed, “I'll go to enlist in the hand-to-hand training now.”



Nathan lumbered through the halls, following a path of signs directing him to the location of his desired class. The campus was even grander than Nathan originally believed. The primary corridor sprawled for several hundred more meters, with even more, longer hallways branching out. His eyes widened in astonishment as he watched the impressive number of recruits traveling between the numerous classrooms and living quarters. The campus was almost a city of young warriors, with bustling halls congested with hundreds of pupils at one time.



Nathan pushed his way through the large variety of individuals on the way to the advanced melee training, unlike some of the other recruits around him; he was accustomed to the large crowds. Weaving in between the people in a crowd was something Nathan learned back on Earth, especially in the bustling streets of Chicago. So, with relative ease, he navigated through the river of students and arrived at the training room, ready to apply for the advanced melee instruction. A minor queue of various races had formed which primarily consisting asari and turians. Nathan waited patiently before eventually signing up, having been accustomed to long lines as well.



The instructor, a second-semester drell recruit, paced behind the table where the application forms had been placed. The drell smiled as he watched the applicants, “Welcome to the advanced melee instruction. Hopefully, this knowledge will assist you in the war games, or at least in defending yourself during a actual battle. Full instruction will begin at this time tomorrow,” he glanced at his omnitool. “Dismissed!”



Nathan followed the other recruits back into the steady, overwhelming flow of students. He wandered about, try to rediscover the route back at his quarters. It took him a while, and he had needed to ask a higher-level recruit in order to be redirected to his way, but for the most part it had gone well. The soft yellow overhead lights were dimmed by the time Nathan entered the dorm. He took a hasty shower and silently crawled into his cot. As he relaxed his muscles for the first time that day, he rolled over on his side.



“Did you get the class?” Melanie whispered.



Nathan turned onto his other side, immediately drawn to Melanie's vibrantly blue eyes, “Er, uh, yes, I did.”



Melanie briefly smiled with relief, “Good.”



The lights slowly faded to obscurity with a VI notification ringing out, “Planetary standard time, 2400 hours. Two hours and thirty minutes remaining in the current day cycle. Artificial lighting deactivated.”



Nathan drifted to sleep, exhausted from the day's rigorous training. The only thing that continued to concern Nathan was the company leadership, but he was confident that Vahan would eventually be dealt with the administration for his unwarranted brutality.