Fighting With Faith- Seventeenth Entry

“RECRUITS…FALL IN!”

A cacophonous sound of thousands of spit-clean polished boots stamping down onto the cold and hard ceramite floor of the mass hall began to sound as wild-eyed recruits begin stampeding their way to their fall-in areas. They were already briefed on the freighter ealier on about their squads and fall-in areas in the mass hall.

The mass hall was massive, from Benlian’s point of view. Huge, thick Adamantium pillars were erected now and then in the hall’s premise to stretch up high into the almost invincible upper echelons of the hall to support the broad and alloyed ceiling of the hall. All around Benlian were dumbfounded looking males around his age, scuttling and shuffling among each other, getting into the neat standard formation as prescribed during the briefing. Many were chatting to each other, sharing worried looks and wary glances.

“Ben, what do you-” Zeralton’s voice was cut off from a sudden booming from various enormous vox-boxers placed strategically around the hall for maximum intonation. Benlian was startled.

“SILENCE. YOU ARE NOT TO PERFORM ANY FORM OF COMMUNCATION IN THIS HALL’S PREMISE AMONG ANY OF YOUR MATES UNLESS TOLD TO.”

The hall was silent. Every recruit stood in attention, or what they thought was standing in attention.

“LOOK DOWN. THAT IS YOUR SQUAD’S COLOUR.”

Benlian, among with all the other recruits did so. It was than he found out that he and his squad of twenty were enclosed by a flat rectangular navy blue rectangle on the floor. On the top left of the rectangle, in thick gothic skull white colour calligraphy, was, “NAVY BLUE, Bel Company”.

“BEGINNING FROM COMPANIES IN THE FRONT ROWS, LEAVE THIS HALL BY THE SIDE EXITS ON YOUR RESPECTIVE SIDES. YOU SHALL NOW PROCEED TO COLLECT YOUR EQUIPMENT.”

Thousands of footsteps began to sound thunderously as the various newly reconised companies began to depart from the hall.

The recruits arrived in another hall, similar to the previous one but with lesser area. Identical looking coloured rectangular boxes were inscribed onto the floor.

“ASSEMBLE.”

Everyone had the cue and fell in line. Arranged neatly in front of each squad, was twenty bulky looking equipment packs of dark green colour.

“COLLECT A PACK FOR YOURSELF EACH AND HEAD OUT. FOLLOW THE ROAD, RUN.”

Immediately everyone scrambled to the front in a flurry of foot motions to extricate a pack for themselves and hefted it onto their backs. It was heavy. A few recruits almost lost their balance as they were strapping the packs onto them. In it were standard issued water rations, supplement bars, environmental forming equipment and an assortment of items needed during a real battle, except lasguns and grenades.

A high shrill klaxon begin to sound throughout the hall and the front wall of the hall seemed to break into two as the wall divided itself into two separate walls now to reveal a bleak and barren looking landscape to the recruits. The sky was a gloomy colour of pale yellow and the soil was grey, almost white. A wide paved road extended from the exit of the hall to a few buildings along the horizon, far far away.

“GO. YOU HAVE UP TILL THE END OF THE DAY.”

Benlian and the thousand other recruits begin to jog at a steady pace out of the building they were in with the pack on their backs almost thrice their weight. Already some looked exhausted by just carrying the backpack. On and on they poured through the exit, never looking back, as though their life depended on reaching their destination on time. Many were not going to survive this exercise but many more will be stronger after this.

Damn. Benlian thought.