Only War Lasts Forever

 

 

 

 

Chapter 6

 

 

Jaan marched beside Helix, who was in the front of the line. Lya, a young, tall woman with a personality which exuded leadership, had taken charge of the group after the instructor had left. Initially, Jaan had seen right away that someone was supposed to be in charge, and he told Helix as much.

 

 

“Well, Jaan my friend, you have foreseen our destiny, so why don’t you lead we birds from our cage?” Helix had responded.

 

“As I’ve told you before, I’m here for my cousin. I don’t want to become anymore wrapped in this than I need to be. And do you remember what happened when we first arrived here on the way to the camp? I made a decision that angered everyone. They probably still hold a grudge over that.”

 

Helix shook his head. “A leader must make decisions others will not. Sometimes he might even be faced with a choice to disregard his own family in favor of saving the many. Sometimes those who the decisions affect do not see the bigger picture and will become angry because of what they perceive to be an inconvenience to them. Do not let these inhibitions you have stop you from doing what is right.”

 

“I understand, but that doesn’t mean I–” Jaan was cut-short by the arrival of another recruit.

 

A fellow recruit by the name of Lya seemed to have noticed that Helix and Jaan were having a focused discussion rather than idle chatter like the rest of the recruits, and had walked over to where they were standing. She didn’t seem to be intending to speak. Rather, she simply stood there and leaned toward them, as if listening intently.

 

Jaan, although confused, decided to stop paying attention to her and continued speaking. “That doesn’t mean I should try again anyway. Like you just said, the leader makes tough decisions and he is resented for it. Most of them probably haven’t even considered that what I did was best for the group at that time. They probably will be against my taking the lead. But this is all under the assumption that I even intended on taking the lead in the first place.”

 

 

Lya gave a short chuckle and looked at Jaan. When Jaan turned and looked back she laughed even harder. He opened his mouth to speak, but Lya put one hand up while clutching her stomach.

 

“No, no. Don’t say anything. Reeth, you are stupid. From what I heard just now, and going on what I know about you already, you were smart enough to figure out what needs to be done, yet you decided you wouldn’t do it because of past mistakes. Look, I was there when you said we should stop and wait for the storm to pass. Yeah, at the time I was pissed, but in hindsight I can see it was probably the better decision to make. I can understand your inhibitions, but seriously? You sound more lazy than anything.”

 

Jaan was annoyed at Lya’s comments. He hadn’t told many people about his reason for being here, so he knew she didn’t know the whole story. Still, the way she kept laughing was insulting.

 

Eventually, Lya straightened herself and calmed down. “Alright, I tell you what. Since you were kind enough to let me on the secret, and because you clearly need a glass of milk to calm down, I’ll take the lead and keep your ass out of the spotlight. In return, you have to stand in the front, along with Helix and my bunkmate Roha.”

 

Jaan was a bit perplexed, but hearing that he wasn’t going to have to take the lead and possibly face the wrath of his comrades was good enough for him. He gave a slight nod and Lya turned to the group and started shouting orders. Jaan stepped in right behind Helix and started marching once the sealed door opened.

 

Group 3 arrived at the entryway to the dome before any other group. They were told by the sentries that they weren’t going to be let inside until every group had arrived. Thanks to arriving early, Jaan was able to watch as groups 1, 2 and 4 came in. He admitted to himself that he was anxious when he noticed that Andi’s group hadn’t come yet. Since Jaan was standing in the front of the group, he had overheard a few of the instructors, who were standing in front of the door to the dome, talking about that fact.

 

“Do you think Group 5 will come on their own? If not, that’ll be a pain in the ass.” One of the instructors had remarked with a click of his tongue. “It means we’ll have to go get them, which won’t help ‘em with their test scores.”

 

“Yeah, they will. They’ve got that Reeth kid with them. If he grows a pair and steps up he might just make for the kind of officer we’re looking for. You’ve seen his mock command instance scores. He’ll have at least figured it out.”

 

An instructor with a meaty face seemed to have faith in Andi, Jaan noted. He was also speaking as if Andi had been watched by the instructors for some time, and that they had high expectations for him. That alleviated Jaan’s fears just a bit. Helix seemed to have overheard it too and gave a quick wink to Jaan. Other members of the group who were up front, such as Lya, also overheard the whispering it seemed, and when the instructors weren’t looking a few of them turned and gave Jaan a puzzled glance. All Jaan could do was shake his head at them. They were supposed to be standing quietly at attention, after all.

 

Eventually, Andi’s group arrived at the entranceway and fell in with the other groups. It had taken them 20 minutes after Jaan’s group had arrived to arrive themselves. It wasn’t far between the barracks and the dome, so Jaan reasoned that something must have happened that stopped them while they were inside.

 

It was a pleasant surprise for Jaan to see Andi at the front of his group. When Jaan turned to Helix, Helix was slowly nodding his head as if what he had known all along had come true. Jaan turned back to looking at his cousin, and he thought idly about how little faith he had had in Andi in the beginning. Perhaps it was true what Andi had said back on Fondain IV, that he was being unnecessarily babied. Jaan tried to imagine Andi as the proud officer the instructors seemed to be imagining him as, and he couldn’t help but smile.

 

“Glad to see Group 5 finally decided to show up!” one of the instructors began to yell, just as they always had, “We’ve been waiting for quiet some time now! In fact, we’re pretty mad!” He made a gesture towards the sky. “Look at that light! Feel that heat! Twenty minutes of this! Just standing here! It’s not been fun, Group 5. Not fun at all. How’re you going to make it up to us?”

 

It was true. The other 4 groups as well as the instructors had been standing stone still this entire time, enduring Hell’s all too familiar heat. Still, Jaan preferred the heat to the rain and the snow. Those would have been bad for this particular day, especially because they were all dressed up in their dress uniforms.

 

Surprisingly, Andi stepped forward from his position at the head of his group and approached the instructors. He gave a half bow and said with a high volume, “I apologize for making you wait. As the recruit in charge of leading my fellow recruits in Group 5 from our quarters to the dome, it falls upon me to take responsibility for our lateness. I drew out the leaving process too long, and we were late because of that.” With a final turn to the other groups, Andi gave a deep bow.

 

There was a deep silence. Jaan was shocked, but he wasn’t the only one. The instructors seemed unable to handle Andi’s forward apology, as if all they wanted to do was yell some more. Jaan also noted some of the members of Group 5. One of them, a tall, burly man near the back, was clenching his fist and trying to keep it from shaking with his other arm as if he were angry, but contradictingly was smiling and nodding his head as if he was in deep agreement with what he saw.

 

Finally, one of the instructors broke the silence. “Alright, that’s enough, Reeth. Return to your group.” He then turned to all of the groups and started shouting, “Listen up, maggots! As you all know, today’s the day. You’re going to be evaluated. These scores will determine your initial future in the HDGA. Yes, once you have officially joined the HDGA it will be your actions that will determine where you go in life. But, and I mean this, if any of you right here and now are thinking that today’s tests don’t mean anything for you, then you are wrong.” He seemed to have a few people in mind, and quickly scanned over the groups and briefly staring at the accused.

 

Another instructor began to speak with a less aggressive tone, “Remember, this isn’t the only testing facility we have on this planet. There are currently another 5,327 other spots of oasis here on Hell, and every single one of them are filled with shit-eating recruits just like yourselves. Don’t think you’re the next big deal here to do what hasn’t been done before.” The instructor cracked a huge grin. “Of course, if you are the next big deal, then show us. Hold nothing back. Nothing.”

 

With that, the entranceway opened up and the instructors wordlessly motioned for the groups to fall behind them as they marched inside. Months of training kicked in when Jaan saw the hand signals, and he immediately went rigid and began the quick march towards the testing facility.