Praesidium VI

Previously

James nodded. ‘Thank you Commander.’

He wasn’t sure what he was thanking him for. His help and assistance? His advice? His compliments? Or for simply not kicking him out?

The next morning, Red squadron was awoken by Commander Dextera and Commander Mourne. Commander Dextera had a clipboard in hand. Commander Mourne had four blue bands in his hands. They were the same sort of band that James had been given when he first arrive which opened the dormitory door. James currently has a red band for Red squadron. James could just see a few other bands in his pocket. Green, black and yellow.

‘Somebody is moving squadrons’ Ellias whispered over to him in explanation.

‘Listen up!’ Commander Dextera called needlessly. Everybody was already giving him their full attention. ‘We have some squadron reassignments. If I call your name, come and get a blue band and give Commander Mourne your red band. You will then collect your things and go straight to the Blue dormitory.’

‘Allison’

Allison stood, glancing over to his sister nervously. Jennifer nodded to her and Allison proceeded to Commander Mourne. She removed her red band and gave it to Commander Mourne, who gave her a blue band. Allison slipped the band onto her wrist and then returned to bunk to start collecting her things.

‘Spencer’

Spencer copied Allison and went to switch his bands over.

‘Ellias’

Ellias sent James a look before he went up.

‘And finally, James.’

James shared a smile with Ellias and Allison before going up to the Commanders. Commander Mourne thrust the blue band into James’ hand and snatched the red band away before both Commanders left the dorms.

James collected together everything that he had that didn’t tie him to the red squadron. He would be leaving behind his uniform. The only thing he was really taking with him was his small bag of toiletries. Allison, Spencer and Ellias had a few mementos in their arms as well as the four of them made their way out of the Red squadron dorms and into the blue squadron dorms.

The blue squadron dorms were a carbon copy of the red squadron dorms except the stripes that ran throughout the room were blue rather than red. The four of them paused by the door. There were four people already inside. Two boys and two girls.

The eldest approached them. He was tall and lean. He had bright blond hair. It was so blond that it was almost white. He had almond shaped eyes that were a piercing light blue color. He looked to be the same age as Aiden, seventeen or eighteen.

‘Hey, welcome to the blue squadron. I’m Alex, the squadron leader.’ the boy, Alex, greeted. ‘It looks like we are going to be together for a while. What’s your name and what squadron did you come from?’

Allison answered for them all, introducing them and explaining that they were all from the red squadron. Alex then turned and began introducing the others to them.

The two girls, Lydia and Tasmin had come from the Yellow squadron. They were opposites. Tasmin had dark skin with short dark hair and dark eyes. Lydia on the other hand, had light skin with long blond hair and blue eyes. The only similarity between them was their age. They appeared to be around fourteen/fifteen. The other boy, Jordan, had come from the Black squadron. He looked around the same age as Ellias at fifteen. He had lightly tanned skin, auburn hair and hazel eyes. Alex himself had come from the Green squadron.

‘I hope you don’t mind but I’ve assigned you all bunks.’ Alex told them.

Lydia and Tasmin were already standing at the ends of their bunks. They had the two beds at the very far side of the dorm. This dorm had the same format as the red squadron. There was a screen on rails that they could open and close. There were four beds on the girls side this time as there were more girls. Alex directed Allison to the bed next to Lydia on the right hand side.

Jordan and Alex had taken the beds closest to the main door with Alex on the right and Jordan on the left.

‘I’ve tried to spread us out so we all have a bit more room.’ Alex explained.

Ellias was assigned a bed on the right hand side. It left a bed between him and Allison and a bed between him and Alex. Spencer and James were placed together on the left hand side with a spare bed on either side of them. James had a bed between him and Tasmin and Spencer had a bed between him and Jordan.

Blue squadron was a much friendlier affair than Red squadron. Alex was certainly nicer than Aiden. He was softer. James noticed that Commander Mourne wasn’t as keen on Alex as he had been on Aiden, though James believed that that was a good sign. He doubted he would ever like somebody that Commander Mourne liked.

Training was seamless with the Blue squadron. Everybody was at a similar point in their training and had the same level of ability. Spencer was even cutting down on the gap between him and the other runners in Physical Fitness thanks to the support and encouragement from Alex.

Strategy training, however, was a different story. James could always feel the pressure that was being placed upon him by Commander Dextera. It didn’t help that Commander Dextera himself lead the sessions.

In the first strategy session since Blue squadron was formed, Alex commented privately to James that Commander Dextera was paying him a strange amount of attention, like he was waiting for something to happen.

‘He said I have potential that I needed to reach’ James had replied back quietly, aware that Commander Dextera was only a few feet away, on the other side of the room.

‘Still. It doesn’t explain why he is here.’ Alex had muttered.

Strategy sessions didn’t take place in a classroom like other lessons such as navigation. It took place in the obstacle course hall. The obstacle course was a collection of objects that James could remember seeing out in the ‘real world’ before he joined Praesidium. It was a very realistic portrayal of the outside. However what wasn’t as realistic is the little balls of paint that the Commanders could fire at them or the holographic beasts that would randomly appear.

James could still feel bruises from his very first strategy session with the red squadron. Aiden had set James up as a sacrifice for the balls of paint in order to learn where the attacker was based so the rest of the team could avoid them. James had been sure that Aiden would lose some points for purposefully sacrificing a team member but apparently it didn’t work like that. Aiden had successfully completed the obstacle course regardless of the cost.

What happened on the obstacle course depended on the session. Sometimes it would be a whole squad challenge. Other times it would be an individual challenge. Sometimes it would be about the quality of the plan. Other times it would be about speed. When it was a whole squad challenge, squad members would take turns being in charge of strategy and lead the team through the obstacle course. However, Alex, as Squadron leader, had vetoing rights for any part of any plan.

Aiden had used his vetoes a lot, taking full control of his squadron but Alex was far more relaxed about it. He was happy to sit back and allow the others a chance at creating strategy.

When it was James’ turn to lead, both Alex and Commander Dextera were playing close attention. James’ challenge was a whole squadron challenge. He had to get everybody across the obstacle course blindfolded. Only James would be able to see. The rest would all be blindfolded.

James had placed himself at the back of the group so he could always see what was going on ahead of him. James noticed a few dubious looks from his squadron when he announced that and Commander Dextera noted something down on the paper.

‘Not leading from the front?’ Commander Dextera asked while James’ squadron were putting on the blindfolds.

‘No. I don’t know if there will be a shooter or where it will be. If I get shot and disqualified then the rest will have to continue blind.’ James had replied.

Commander Dextera noted something else down.

James put Alex first and then put the team in reverse age order, so Allison was immediately behind Alex and Ellias was directly in front of James. As the team began to make their way onto the obstacle course, James was fairly confident that he would be successful.

The run through the course began well. They successfully navigated the first three obstacles: an overturned car that turned into a see-saw as they walked over it; a ledge with a ladder that they had to ascend and a crisscross of narrow planks over a hole.

It was in the next section when things began to falter. The team was walking around a broken down car when a shooter appeared. James had seen the paintball gun pop up mechanically before it fired.

‘GET DOWN’ James yelled and everybody dropped down.

The gun fired, splattering paint pellets over the top of them and onto the wall on the opposite side of the room. Some others hit the car that they were sheltering behind. As the firing stopped, James hesitantly poked his head above the car.

He counted in his head, 12 seconds before the gun fired again. He glanced forward. The next available shelter was on the other side of an overturned car. This one was thankfully propped up so it wouldn’t move under their feet. He turned to the team as the firing continued above them.

‘We’ll have to go one at a time. Alex, when the firing stops, I need you to move forward ten places. You will be out in the open so you need to be fast. You will have to climb on top of the car and cross to the other side. The car is five paces long. Drop down the other side and wait for the rest.’

Alex managed to get across fine, well within the twelve second gap. So did Allison, Spencer, Tasmin and Lydia. But by this point James was getting impatient. He would send his team member across and then he’d have to wait out the rest of the twelve second gap and the time that the gun was firing. He was getting frustrated by the waiting. He could see the time ticking by and he could see Commander Dextera constantly checking his stopwatch. He decided to speed things up. James sent across Jordan and Ellias together. By calculating the time it took the rest to get through, he estimated that Jordan and Ellias could both make it. He was wrong. Jordan got across but Ellias was still only half way across the car when the gun began firing again. He was hit by a paintball and disqualified from the challenge. Ellias was permitted to take off his blindfold and step down and out of the course. He stood by Commander Dextera, watching the rest of his squadron.

James raced across the overturned car and looked at the next obstacle. The gun was now out of range unless they had somehow found a way to bend the paint bullets around objects. The next obstacle was a series of steps. James glanced at the clock. The last obstacle had taken so much time. He sent the team down the steps together. He instructed Alex on the steps and trusted the rest of the team to align the instructions with their own positions. But he might have overestimated how oriented his team was to their surroundings. Allison, who was directly behind Alex, walked too close to the edge of the steps and on the second step, missed the step completely. She lost her balance and fell to the side. James was just thankful that it wasn’t a big drop and the floor was slightly padded.

‘ALLISON’S OUT’

Allison joined Ellias by Commander Dextera.

Things continued to get worse from there.

Spencer and Tasmin both fell to the next paint gun. James had accidentally left them standing in the open when the paint gun suddenly popped up. James was moving Alex onto the next obstacle that needed more detailed instructions. James had wrongly assumed that as they had been stood there for a while and had been left alone to that point, then there hadn’t been a gun there but he was wrong and he lost Spencer and Tasmin as a result. Lydia and Jordan had heard the firing and had dropped to the ground before the gun could rotate in their direction.

The session ended at the zig-zag wooden planks. He was eager to get the rest to the finish line but he knew that he had carelessly lost three of his team members so he decided to place himself at the front. He had Alex place his hands on his shoulders and had the rest line up behind Alex. Each person placed their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them. They formed a giant train. James stepped onto the boards first. At the first ninety degree corner, James paused. He took one step forward, crossing onto the other plank before stopping and turning to tell Alex about the turn. He then stepped forward again, allowing Alex to step onto the new plank. He stepped forward again and again, allowing Lydia and Jordan to step onto the new plank.

James then walked forward to the next one. Using the same technique, they all navigated the next corner perfectly. And the next. But when the fourth came James was once again concerned about the time. He called that there was a corner but he didn’t pause as much between each step. Alex managed the corner and so did Lydia. Jordan, however, turned too soon. His foot missed the plank and he fell.

Unfortunately for all of them, his grip on Lydia’s shoulders instinctively tightened to try and save himself, but he just ended up pulling her with him. Lydia in turn, instinctively gripped Alex’s shoulders, who griped James’. They were like a row of dominos. One by one they lost their balance and fell to the floor.

‘Okay. Everybody is out.’ Commander Dextera called, pressing the time button on his stop watch and making notes on his paper. ‘You are free to go. We shall discuss what went wrong today in the next session.’

The squadron left the session rather morosely. They had certainly failed that session. Nobody was as morose and grumpy as James. James was feeling the whole weight of the failure on his shoulders as they walked back to the dorms to wait for lunch.

James performed much better in the weaponry session, especially that day. He had a lot of emotions to release as he unleashed a rain of bullets at the paper targets on the other side of the firing range. He was okay at the automatic guns but he was learning that his speciality was long distance shooting with the rifles.

Commander Jameson called him a ‘sharp shooter’. Commander Jameson always gave him the top of the range rifle and placed him on the long distance target for most of the sessions. The top of the range rifle had an amazing scope. It was clearer and the image was sharper than the others. It allowed him to have better accuracy on the long distance targets. James rarely missed the bullseye, let alone the target. With the long distance rifle, he regularily shot ten out of ten bullseyes, giving him a score of 10.

The targets usually had rings that corresponded with scores. The Bullseye was ten, the next ring out was eight, then six, then four, and the final outside ring was worth two points. Each member of the squadron was given ten rounds per a gun type. The scores were averaged out and then totalled up.

James’ handgun score was averaging at eight, however, with the automatic weapons, he was slightly less accurate so he still had an average score of six, which was better than most. It totalled to give him a score of twenty four out of thirty.

Only Alex had a higher score than him in weaponry with an average score of twenty-seven. ‘Give it time. You’ve only been here for a few weeks. With your skill, it won’t be long until you outshoot me.’

James just wished he could perform in the strategy sessions the same way he was performing in weaponry and in First Aid.

He was good at First Aid. In fact, he enjoyed it, knowing that he was learning how to save someone’s life just as Nixie had saved Noahs. His favourite thing to do was wrapping one of his fellow squadron members in bandages and stabilizing a limb. Dealing with a broken limb was important but out in the field it would be classed as a minor wound. A major wound would be a large bleeding wound, like a slash or bite from a beast. But they were easier to treat. Or, at least, they were to James.

Pressure. Clean. Cover. Bandage.

James expertly gave first aid to Ellias in training when Ellias’ fake wound was a bite wound. He applied pressure, cleaned it, covered it and bandaged it. He followed what Nixie had done for Noah’s stab wound almost exactly. He received a perfect score for that. Ten out of ten.

First aid and weaponry were easily his best subjects. He received high scores in both. They currently stood at nine and eight respectively. Navigation was his next best session with a score of six. Hand in hand was a work in progress. He currently stood with four points. Driver’s Ed was a shaky five but his reading and writing score was a solid six.

It was a shame that his strategy score for the last session came back as a two. His general strategy score remained a low three. That score and his abysmal score for fitness, 1, pulled down his training score average to five. He would be here without graduating with Commander Mourne as his instructor in both hand to hand and fitness. Commander Mourne was bound to keep his score low.

It was the day after James’ strategy failure when news somehow got out about just how badly he had done. James had had no idea how it had gotten out but Yellow squadron gave them the answer. James and the others had heard the Yellow squadron whispering and pointing along with the other squadrons. Lydia had taken it upon herself to investigate. She had gone over to the yellow squadron under the guise of speaking with her former squadron mates and sneakily pried out the information.

Somehow Aiden had found out that his score for the session was a two. Aiden had known some details but most remained known only the Blue squadron. The question remained. How did Aiden know anything in the first place. Scores were meant to be confidential.

‘I bet it was Mourne. I bet he told him.’ James grumbled over dinner.

‘It’s against the rules for Commanders to be telling anyone. You can’t accuse a Commander like that James.’ Alex had cut off that line of enquiry quickly, fearing they were going to be overheard and reprimanded for such a comment.

‘Maybe Aiden broke into the Commander’s office again. He had fitness this morning.’ Allison commented.

Ellias and James shared a look but they weren’t convinced.

‘Surely he wouldn’t try it with Commander Dextera.’ Ellias refuted. ‘That’s too much, even for Aiden.’

‘There’s no point lingering on it, James. He knows. You knowing how he knows isn’t going to change the fact that he knows. You’ll just get yourself into trouble.’ Alex told them, the voice of reason.

They fell silent.

‘Oi! BOGBOY!’

Speak of the devil and he shall arrive. James stubbornly remained looking down at his dinner. He wasn’t about to rise to the bait again. He had done it once and he had gotten into trouble rather than Aiden. Not to mention Commander Dextera had been clearly dissapointed. He wouldn’t fall for it again.

‘I heard you got a two on the obstacle course. A two! What did you do? I heard you took one look at the course and fainted. Is that true?’

James knew that Aiden knew that that wasn’t true. Aiden was trying to rile him up while also sparking gossip rumours about him at the same time. James continued staring at his food. He continued to ignore Aiden.

‘Well, I guess we shouldn’t be surprised. What more can we expect from a bogboy?’ Aiden continued.

‘Aiden, get lost.’ Alex called. ‘You weren’t so cool when you first arrived either, mustard boy.’

Aiden’s face seemed to drop from a smug grin to an angry glare. He huffed, turning on his foot and storming away back to the Red squadron table.

Everybody glanced over to Alex in shock. They hadn’t been expecting that. Alex saw that they were looking at him and shrugged with a calm look on his face. ‘We were on the same squadron when he arrived. He had a bit of a mustard mishap on the first day.’

James and Ellias grinned at each other before turning to Alex. They were of one mind when they said simultaneously, ‘That was wicked.’

The next morning at Breakfast, it was announced that Blue Squadron would be completing a training missing in Mendacium Square. James had heard other squadrons being invited to take part in it but he had arrived the day after the Red squadron’s training mission. Ellias had explained what it was after the first time it had been announced.

‘Mendacium Square training mission is a simulation. We get put in the simulation room and the room changes. The commander called it virtual reality except you are not only fully immersed but everything is real. You can get injured in the simulation. All of the buildings are as solid as you and I. And the beasts can still scratch and bite you’ Ellias explained.

‘What is the mission?’ James asked.

‘The same mission that we will do after we graduate. Find the beasts. Fight the beasts. Kill the beasts. The point of it is to train us how to find and kill them before we go out there for real. You may get hurt in the sim but never enough that you’d die but you could easily die if you go out there too soon.’

‘What about weapons? Do we get weapons?’

‘Yeah. Special ones. No live rounds but the sim will interact with the guns without risk of them harming one of us. They don't want to risk any friendly fire.’

James nodded in understanding.

‘We, uh, don’t have to do anything special with it, right? Like, uh, in strategy. Are we timed or anything?’

Ellias shook his head. ‘No. Well. I don’t think so. They might time us for their own personal notes but generally they prefer quality planning and execution rather than speed.’

James hmmmmed. ‘Well, that’s not exactly been my strong suit.’

Ellias raised his eyebrow. ‘You think. My stomach and thighs are still stinging from those paint bullets.’

James frowned, ‘I said I’m sorry mate. I thought you could both get over in time. I misjudged it. It won’t happen again.’

‘Well, at least you can admit it. Aiden would have just said I moved too slow.’

‘Please don’t compare me to him.’ James groaned.

‘Sorry’

X - X

The squadron was ordered to the briefing room after breakfast. The briefing room was set out in a similar fashion as the navigation room, except that there was one big single round table rather than multiple tables. There was a map in the centre. In the centre was a building, for which a building plan was placed beside the map.

Commander Dextera was already in the room. He stood at the front as everybody filed in and took a seat around the main table.

‘Welcome to the Mendacium Square simulation mission. The mission is simple. Exterminate all living beasts and save the civilian family that is trapped by them.’ Commander Dextera informed them. ‘For those of you that have never been inside Mendacium Square, you should know that the Beasts are formidable and the terrain difficult. The terrain in this simulation is similar to the industrial district. Here, in front of you is a map. This map, like all those that you will find on the street, is from before the world changed. This means that you must expect the unexpected. It is a guide, not a guarantee. From this moment onwards you should act as if this is the real world and this is a real mission briefing. There is no longer anything false about this mission.’

Commander Dextera glanced around the room making eye contact with every single person in the room, including James. In fact, he seemed to linger on James as if advising to listen to him.

‘Our intelligence puts the family somewhere in this area.’ Commander Dextera informed them, pointing to the very center of the map. He put a red marker on the spot. ‘Our last communication with them was cut short but they gave their location and that they were surrounded by beasts. They counted at least five but prepare for the possibility that there may be more. You leave for the mission in one hour. All equipment requests need to be submitted with in the next fifteen minutes, including weaponry. Choose wisely. All equipment will be collected upon your departure. Ten minutes before departure you must inform us of your starting point.’

Commander Dextera glanced around the room one last time before departing out of the door. Everybody glanced over to Alex for directions.

‘Okay, uh, we need a plan. I’ve done the simulation twice before. Not this exact one but I’ve done one similar. This is our first simulation as a squadron. They don’t know our skill level so they’re going to throw everything at us. It is going to be brutal.’ Alex began.

‘Shouldn’t they be starting us off easy?’ Spencer protested.

‘It wouldn’t be easy in the real world’ Allison argued.

‘But this isn’t the real world.’

‘It’s as good as. And we will be there soon.’

‘But how can we improve if we keep failing?’

Everybody looked between the two arguing squadron mates. Their heads turned from side to side as they alternated. It was nothing new. Allison and Spencer have never ‘gotten on’.

‘Try again. Fail Again. Fail better.’ Ellias said. ‘Mom said that some famous person said that. She used to say it all of the time when she was teaching me things.’

‘Samuel Beckett.’ Alex added. ‘My dad used to say it too.’ Alex turned to Spencer before continuing, ‘You are seeing failure wrong. Failing isn’t the end. It isn’t all bad. It isn’t just a black mark on a piece of paper. Failing, especially here, is an opportunity. Here, when we fail, we can learn from our mistakes, so we don’t make the same mistakes out there. This is what this simulation is all about. Learning. They are learning about us, our strengths and our weaknesses, and we are learning about how to survive out there. Failure is a part of that.’

The room falls silent.

‘I think James should take the long distance rifle.’ Jordan proposed breaking the silence. ‘I’ll take the automatic R28K. We should take some of the hunting knives too. Allison and Ellias are the best at those. Spencer could take the throwing knifes’

Alex nodded and began to write the suggestion down on the weaponry request form on the briefing tablet that was embedded into the table. All of them were in agreement about Jordan’s suggestion. Jordan continued to highlight the strength of each squadron member when it came to weaponry until everybody was covered. Alex sent the request, knowing that the weapons that they wanted would be waiting for them when they left.

They then turned their attention to the map and strategy.

‘Okay, so here is where the civilians are. Or were, at least. It needs to be the start of our search. We can then spiral outwards from that point to make sure we cover every inch. We will come across some beasts so we need to be prepared for that.’ Alex told them. ‘James, I want you to find a good spot to overlook everything. Find the highest building and get to the roof. Take Ellias with you as a spotter. If you see a beast, take the shot. If you catch sight of the family then direct us to them. I can’t spare anybody as a flanker so you’ll have to watch your own backs’

James nodded that he understood. Ellias glanced over to James and then nodded as well.

‘The rest of you are with me. When we find the family, Allison, you will take lead with the family while they are with us. The rest of us will deal with any beasts that we come across. Your mission is to make sure that no matter what happens to the rest of us, you get that family to safety, okay’

Allison nodded, ‘Yes, sir.’

‘Okay, we need to decide where we want to be dropped in. No matter what we have to be dropped in at the edge of the ‘town’ so we need to decide where the best place will be. Any suggestions?’ Alex asked.

Everybody glanced around at each other unsure. James finally stepped forward and pointed to a spot closest to what looked like buildings that could be tall. ‘I mean, I know strategy isn’t my strong point but this cluster of buildings here look like they could be tall buildings based on the size and shape of the buildings. The sooner I find a high spot, the sooner you have eyes in the sky so if we drop in near some high buildings then I can go straight to them.’

‘Beasts tend to cluster around higher buildings.’ Tasmin commented.

‘Even more reason to drop us there.’ Ellias protested. ‘If the beasts take us out before we can get to a good vantage point then you lose the eye in the sky. We stand a much better chance if we get to the building as a group then if James and I go alone.’

Everybody glanced at Alex for his opinion. He sighed and nodded to James and Ellias. ‘I agree with James and Ellias. We stand a better chance at finding the family and dodging beasts entirely throughout the mission with an eye in the sky. We may face a beast or two by going through the higher buildings but we will be facing them together. We’ll start there. James, submit that spot and write the reasoning for starting at that point. ’

Alex moved so James could access the embedded screen. The system was pretty easy to use. The first screen was to select the squadron colour. BLUE. The next screen was to select what you were submitting; location or equipment. LOCATION. The final screen was a form. The top section had a digital copy of the map and the bottom section was a text box that asked for the reasoning for the location. James found the spot that he had pointed out on the big map and added a red dot. He then selected the text box and wrote in a combination of what he and Ellias had said in justification of the location.

X - X

The beginning of the simulation was tense. The squadron were led to a mock up room. The mock up room was designed to look like the inside of one of Praesidium’s large air vehicles. The doors on the far side - the back of the air vehicle - lead to the large simulation room. The squadron had to strap themselves into the fixed seats on the walls of the room. The room seemed to shake as if the vehicle was taking off and actually flying them outside to a real location.

While they shook in their seats from the vibrations of the ‘moving vehicle’, Commander Dextera gave them another short ‘briefing’ that sounded somewhat like a pep talk. ‘The mission is simple. Exterminate all living beasts and save the civilian family that is trapped by them. The task itself may be dangerous but you are a formidable team and you have our faith and trust. You are ready for this mission. Everything you have learned is for this moment. Everything you have done is for this moment. You can do this. Save the family. Kill the beasts. We believe in all of you.’

The lights dropped in the room and a red light by the door came on, bathing the room in a bright red light.

‘This is it. Good luck to you.’ Commander Dextera called, moving to the edge of the room, out of the way.

Alex unbuckled himself and so the rest of the squadron followed suit. Alex stood in front of the doors that would lead to the sim, with the rest of the squadron behind him in a diamond formation. Tasmin and Lydia stood directly behind Alex. Tasmin to the left and Lydia to the right. Jordan, Allison and Spencer stood behind them. James and Ellias were at the back. This formation placed the eldest at the front and back and kept the youngest, Allison, in the middle. The formation would probably change as the squadron became more accustomed to each other and the skills of all of them increased.

The red light changed to green. A loud mechanical grinding rang out as the door started to lower. The top of the door lowered outwards until it touched down on the ground. The cement ground.

Alex immediately led the squadron forward and out of the ‘vehicle’. James couldn’t help but look around the simulation in shock. It looked so real! The sky looked real. The buildings looked real. The ground looked real. If James hadn’t been told that it was an extremely impressive and realistic simulation and the ‘journey’ wasn’t so short, then he would have thought that they had taken them to a real place.

Alex led the formation to the side of a building for cover as the vehicle’s doors closed and the simulation showed the vehicle ‘flying’ away. James noted the features of this location. This was the end of the simulation. He didn’t particularly want to walk into a wall. That would be extremely embarrassing. He wondered if anybody ever has.

‘James, where do you want to go?’ Alex’s voice broke him out of his thoughts.

James’ attention turned briefly to Alex before evaluating the buildings around him. He was correct on his assumption during the planning session. These were tall buildings. He glanced up to find the tallest one that would look over the center of the Mendacium Square. He pointed to it. ‘There.’

‘Okay. We have our first objective. Get James and Ellias safely to that building.’ Alex instructed.

‘To the fire escape. That will be the best way up.’ James added to him.

Alex nodded, ‘Comm check.’

James liked these comms. They were little devices that fit onto the ear. It gripped around the top and down the underside of the ear, with a single earbud in the ear itself. There was a check button. Each member of the team pressed their button in a number order and a pre-recorded woman said their number through the comm. If the comm is working then everybody should hear every number in order. If a number is missing or somebody doesn’t hear a thing then one of the comms isn't working.

‘ONE’, ’TWO’, ‘THREE’, ‘FOUR’, ‘FIVE’, ‘SIX’, … , ‘EIGHT’

Everybody glanced at Ellias.

‘Ellias, you’re comm isn't working. Make sure you stick to James like glue.’ Alex instructed.

‘Umm, what’s glue?’ James asked.

‘I’ll explain later.’ Ellias whispered over to him before turning to Alex. ‘I won’t leave his side.’

‘Good. Everybody, on my six.’

Alex led the team away from their starting positions and towards the large building that James had pointed out. Their path was clear. There wasn’t a single beast. James wasn’t sure if that should be considered a good thing or not.

James and Ellias parted ways with the squadron as soon as they reached the fire escape. Once they were on the roof, they set themselves up. James found the perfect spot for firing while also taking note of the environmental factors that could affect his shooting. He still couldn’t believe that this was simply a simulation. He could have sworn he could even feel a cool breeze going through the area.

‘This sim is amazing.’ James commented out loud.

‘Yeah, it is pretty cool. Just wait until we find a beast. Then you might change your mind.’ Ellias replied with a grin. He had a pair of binoculars out. He was acting as both James’ guard and spotter. He had a wider scope of view with his binoculars than James did with the rifle’s scope so he would be able to find things much faster.

‘Spot on green direction sign. Point on Alex.’ James declared.

Ellias looked through the binoculars and found that location before looking for the rest of the squadron. ‘Point on Alex. Six degrees right. Two degrees up.’

James realigned his scope to the right and up until he locked onto Alex’s figure. ‘Got him. Spot on Alex.’

James and Alex watch as the squadron makes their way through the estate. They occasionally disappeared behind the odd building but mostly they stayed within the sight of Ellias’ binoculars and James' scope. James kept his scope on Alex while Ellias used his binoculars to scour the surrounding area.

‘Beast, eight points left.’

James turned his rifle. There was a beast, lazing around in the sun in a nearby courtyard that the squadron were about to enter. The beast was clearly not aware of the approaching squadron. ‘They can avoid that one.’ James opened up his comms. ‘Alex. You have a beast in the upcoming courtyard. Divert to the right and avoid.’

‘Copy. Thanks for the spot.’ Alex replied over the comms.

The squadron watched as the team diverted to the right to take a longer route. Alex was leading the way but they could see that Spencer had the map of the area to help direct them through the buildings.

‘Watch for others. The closer they get to the center, the more there will be.’ James instructed Ellias.

‘Already on it.’

As the squadron came closer to the center of Mendacium Square they all became more alert. The lack of beasts was rather unnerving. The fact that the only one that they had seen had been lazing around was even more so. Why would the Commanders put in beasts only for them to laze around? It was almost like they were lulling them into a false sense of security. Of course!

‘Ellias, check the last beast.’

‘It’s moved.’

‘Point the beast’

‘Spot?’

‘Alex. Always Alex’

‘Eight points down. I think it’s trying to sneak up on them.’

‘Beasts can sneak?’ James asked incredulously as he found the beast in his scope.

‘Look at the movement. He’s hunting. He’s taking care to keep his steps quiet.’

James had to admit that Ellias was right. The beast was crouching low to the ground. His steps were slow and steady. He was not just hunting. He was stalking the squadron, waiting for the perfect opportunity to pounce and the squadron had no idea. James lined up the shot.

CRACK. THUMP. There was a split second between the crack of the bullet breaking the sound barrier and the thump of the round being fired.

‘Hit. Target down’ Ellias reported.

James turned his scope back to Alex. Alex and the rest of the squadron were all looking at the downed beast behind them. There was a surprised look on their faces. Alex looked up to where James and Ellias were based and gave a firm thank you nod.

The squadron continued moving in.

‘I think I have eyes on the family. Spot on Alex. Twelve points right. Eight points up.’ Ellias announced.

James followed the directional pointings until he found the family. It was a man, a woman and two young girls. They were huddled together on the roof of an unsteady market hut.

‘I see two beasts.’ Ellias reported. ‘One is two points down and then the other is three points right, one point up.’

James moved from the family to the beasts. ‘I see them. I don’t have a clear shot on either.’

The beasts were both partially hidden by collapsed market huts.

‘Alex, we have eyes on the family. Next right, second left and third right. On top of the market hut. We see two beasts in the facility partially obscured. I do not have a clean shot.’ James reported through the comms.

‘Copy. Are the family in immediate danger?’

‘I wouldn’t say so. The beasts seem to be aware they are there but they are not actively pursuing or attacking.’ James reported, noting that the beasts would both occasionally poke their heads up and look towards the family.

‘Can you see a better vantage point for you to give us a better aerial view of that area?’

James used his scope to glance around the surrounding area. His scope finally landed on the two story building just to the right of the market square where the family are trapped. It would give him the perfect view into the square.

‘I do.’

‘Make your way there. Gather more intel and report back so we can make a plan.’

‘Copy. On our way.’ James turned to Ellias. ‘Let’s move.’

The two quickly grabbed their gear and made their way to the fire escape that they had climbed to get there.

‘Where are we going?’

‘To a better spot.’

They hurried through the streets. For a split second it occurred to James that he and Ellias were taking a huge risk rushing through the streets of a beast filled simulated area but it quickly vanished from his mind. The family weren’t in immediate danger when he looked before but that could change quickly. They needed to move quickly.

Luck seemed to be on James’ and Ellias’ side. They made it to the new vantage point without encountering a single beast. James couldn’t help but comment on it as he and Ellias set themselves up. ‘I thought Alex said that this would be brutal. It doesn’t seem very brutal so far.’

‘Don’t jinx it.’

‘Jinx it? What’s-’

‘I’ll explain later.’

James nodded and turned his attention to the scope. ‘Spot. Blue arrow. Point on family.’

‘Six points left. Two down.’

The family were still cowering on top of the roof.

‘Oh dear.’

James resisted the temptation to look across at Ellias. ‘What?’

‘I count four. No! Five beasts.’

‘Oh dear.’ James echoed Ellias’ sentiment before getting on the comms. ‘Alex. We are in position. We spot at least five beasts in the area surrounding the family.’

‘Copy. Do you have a clear shot for any?’

‘Ellias, point to beasts. Spot on family.’

‘Two points down.’ Potentially. ‘Three points down. One right.’ Another potential. Eight points right. Two up.’ Negative. ‘Five points up, two left.’ Positive. ‘Six points left. Two down.’ Another negative.

‘Positive on one. Negative on two. The other two may be possible but I’m not guaranteeing anything.’ James reported into his comms.

‘Hold fire for now while we make an action plan. Is the family okay?’

‘Scared but safe for the moment.’

‘Okay. Hold tight.’

James returned his scope to family. He trusted that Ellias would be able to give him warning if one of the beasts tried to attack. It would be easier to point and aim for a beast if his spot was the same place every time.

‘Even if you can take out one, the others will struggle with four.’ Ellias commented.

‘I know. And as soon as I take out one, the others will get riled up and then it’s only a matter of time before they go for the family.’

‘Would the hut hold?’

‘Against a beast. I doubt it. The hut looks unstable already.’

Ellias sighed and the pair fell into silence as they waited for their instructions.

The comm fizzled to life in James’ ear. ‘James. Jordan, Spencer, Lydia and I are going to be a distraction for the beasts while Tasmin and Allison get the family. Take the shot for the one you can. Hopefully we can draw the other beasts out for you to get a clean shot.’

‘Copy.’ James put his scope back on the beast that he did have a clean shot on. ‘Let me know when to take out the first one. Taking it out is going to rile the others up.’

‘I’ll give the word when we are in position.’

‘Copy that. I await your call.’ James didn’t glance up from the lock he had on the beast, but he did direct his next words towards Ellias. ‘After I’ve taken the first shot. Spot always on the family. When the family moves, spot on the roof where they are now.’

‘Got it.’

The minutes ticked by in an anxious silence as James waited for the call to say that everybody was in position.

‘Rescue party in position.’ Tasmin reported through the comms.

‘Distraction in position. James, fire when ready.’ Alex instructed immediately after.

CRACK. THUMP.

‘Hit. Target down’ Ellias reported. ‘You were right. That has riled them. Point, two down, one left.’

James lined up the shot, taking into account that the beasts were now actively moving to the left where Alex and the others had begun their distraction. CRACK. THUMP.

‘Miss by one point to the right.’

He obviously hadn’t taken the movement into enough consideration. He lined up the shot again. CRACK. THUMP.

‘Hit. Target down. Spot family. Point four down, four right. Now thre-’

Snap!

Both Ellias and James turned sharply. They were so focused on what was going on beneath them, they hadn’t even noticed that a beast was approaching from behind. It had approached quietly. So quietly that they hadn’t even heard it’s footsteps or the usual tell-tale sound of the claws tapping on the ground as each foot touched down.

‘Oh, fudge sticks!’ Ellias cursed as they both climbed to their feet. Ellias pulled out his hunting knife while James whipped round with his rifle, though he was very concerned. The sniper rifle was great for long distance, but it was terrible for short distance combat and Ellias only had a hunting knife. James brought the gun up to fire regardless of how good it was in short distance combat.

‘Alex, we have a beast situation up here. I can’t cover you.’ James called into the comm.

There wasn’t any response but James assumed that Alex had received the message and was just too busy distracting the beasts to respond. Or at least, he hoped that was the case.

CRACK, THUMP! James fired at the beast and managed to hit it in the shoulder.

The beast roared in pain and Ellias used that opportunity to jump forward and cut into the beast's leg. Ellias’ hunting knife left a large gash on the beast’s leg. It roared again, leaping towards Ellias. James used the blunt end of the rifle to knock the beast back, while using his other hand to pull Ellias clear.

‘Run or fight?’ James yelled to Ellias.

‘Fight. We can tag team it. Aim for the legs. Disable it.’

James nodded, firing another shot at the beast. He hit the beast in the back right leg. The beast fell back onto its behind. As the beast turned to face James, forcing itself back onto it’s legs, Ellias slashed the beast on it’s back left leg. The beast fell back down. Only it’s uninjured front leg was keeping it from collapsing onto the floor. James fired at the leg. The beast fell, roaring in agony one minute and whining pitifully the next.

James lifted the rifle and placed it against the beast’s head.

CRACK, THUMP!

The beast dropped dead.

There wasn’t a moment of celebration. They were both very aware that one dead beast didn’t win the simulation.

‘The rest of the squad,’ Ellias exclaimed as they both rushed to the edge of the building. James raised the rifle, using the scope to locate the squadron. Ellias used his binoculars. Things were not going well. The family was still up on the roof. It was clear that more beasts had turned up. The two that James had shot still lay dead on the ground. There were another two lay near the distraction team. Three beasts were fighting against the distraction team and another two were fighting against Allison and Tasmin.

‘I don’t have a clear shot. I could hit one of the others.’ James announced.

‘Then we need to go down.’ Ellias replied.

James nodded and they both immediately turned and hurried to the fire escape. ‘I’ll help Alex and co. You help Allison and Tasmin.’

X - X

Lydia and Spencer had teamed up against one of the beasts but both Jordan and Alex were fighting alone against a beast. James didn’t hesitate to join Jordan. Alex was older and a more experienced fighter. James immediately fired a shot at the beast's hind leg. It roared in pain and turned towards James but James had his gun ready. As soon as the beast’s head turned to him, James fired, hitting the beast right in between the eyes.

‘Thanks man,’ Jordan called.

‘You’re welcome. What happened to your R28K?’ James asked. He was sure that Jordan had started this mission with a gun.

‘One of the beasts decided that it would make a good chow stick.’ Jordan replied. ‘It won’t fire anymore so I ditched it.’

‘Go back and get it. You may not be able to fire it but you can use it as a bludgeon. It’s big and it’s heavy,’ James told him.

James didn’t look to see if Jordan took his advice. He turned to Alex and the beast that Alex was fighting. James raised his gun and fired. Well, he tried to. There was a resounding click as he pulled the trigger. No bullets and Ellias had his extras. James sighed and used his own advice. He swung the rifle as hard as he could into the head of the beast that Alex was firing. The distraction allowed Alex to take a step back, pull out his hand held firearm and fired a single round into the head of the beast.

‘What happened?’ Alex asked, nodding to where James and Ellias had been.

‘A beast got the drop on us. It’s dead now.’ James answered.

‘Good.’ Alex said, firing a single shot into the head of the beast that Spencer and Lydia had been fighting with knives and Spencer's inaccurate shooting. ‘Things didn’t quite go to plan here either but we can save it. Lydia, Spencer, get to the family and get them down. The rest of us will help the others. James, get the rest of your ammo from Ellias.’

James nodded. As the others rushed forward to help Allison and Tasmin fight the beasts, James pulled Ellias aside. ‘My ammo.’

Ellias quickly pulled out the extra ammo. It wasn’t much. He still probably only had ten or so shots. He would have to be careful with it. Alex quickly put one of the beasts down with his handgun while James loaded and fired at the other.

Lydia and Spencer led the family over to them. The family were silent and up close they were not as realistic looking. The actual appearance of the family was fine, it was the eyes. They disturbed James greatly. The eyes looked real but they were empty like the eyes in a painting. You were looking at them but nobody was looking back. To see those sort of eyes on a moving ‘breathing’ person was extremely disturbing. James quickly averted his eyes and he noticed that some of the others did so too.

‘Okay, we need to get back to the drop point ready for extraction. We don’t know what we’re going to face on the way back. James, Ellias, I want you to get back to that building that you were on before. Run the long way round. As a smaller group, you guys will be able to move quicker. We’re going to start walking on the direct path. Take Spencer with you. He’s going to be your flanker. Spot us and direct us through the best route to avoid any remaining beasts.’ Alex instructed.

James nodded and quickly nodded for Ellias and Spencer to follow him. The three of them ran away from the rest of the squadron, back towards the building that Ellias and James had been using before.

They set themselves up in the same spot. James and Ellias focused completely on the area in front of them, while Spencer watched their backs. No beast would be sneaking up on them this time.

‘Spot, green direction sign. Point on Alex.’ James said, glancing through his scope.

‘Three points right, eight points up.’ Ellias told him, finding Alex.

‘They haven’t gotten very far.’ James commented as he moved his scope to look at Alex. ‘If that’s the speed they’re going, we may be here for a while. Better make yourself comfortable Spencer.’

‘I see a dead beast not far behind them. I think that might be why.’ Ellias replied.

James hummed in agreement.

‘Beast. Point, Ten left, two down.’ Ellias told him.

James moved his rifle to look at the beast. It was steadily moving towards the squad. It was still a bit out of the way but in a few minutes it would be out of shot for James to take it out.

CRACK! THUMP!

‘Hit. Target down.’

‘Spot on Alex. So what happens when we finish the simulation?’

‘We get a squadron score and individual scores.’ Ellias replied. ‘But not until tomorrow. The Commanders will spend the afternoon reviewing our plan, our choices in the planning and in the field, and our actions, regardless of whether we succeed.’

‘Based on what’s happened so far. What do you think we’ll get?’ James asked.

‘I don’t know. The plan we decided on didn’t work but we had a few good moments and we - as long as nothing disastrous happens in the next ten minutes - have rescued the family. It’s hard to say. Point, two down, eight right.’

‘Hmmm, it’s pretty far and going in the other direction. If it turns around, point it again.’ James instructed, turning his scope back onto Alex. ‘I think if nothing bad happens in the next ten minutes we should get some good scores. I mean, if we complete the mission-’

‘It doesn’t work like that. Even a completed mission can get some bad scores if things haven’t gone as planned or they think we made a wrong decision somewhere.’ Ellias told him.

‘Guys’ Spencer called from behind. James trusted Spencer and Ellias to tell him if he needed to turn his attention away from Alex and the squadron so he kept his focus forward. Ellias turned to see what Spencer needed. ‘There’s like five beasts near the extraction point.’

This time James did look up. He glanced across to Ellias.

‘What do we do?’ Ellias asked. ‘How many bullets do you have?’

‘Eight. So I better make them count.’ James said as he stood and moved to the other side of the roof, overlooking the extraction point.

‘What about the squadron? If a beast surprises them-’

‘They are capable of handling it. If they get to the extraction point and there are still five beasts there then it’s game over. I’m just going to thin the herd a little. Come and spot for me. Spencer, watch the squadron. If they encounter a beast and seem to be having problems with it, then call me back over.’

Ellias scrambled over to James’ side while Spencer retreated to the other side of the roof.

‘Spot. Extraction point.’ The extraction point was the same as when they left. The flying vehicle had returned. It was sat in place with the large door which will open outwards when they approach.

‘Point. Five right, four down.’

CRACK! THUD!

‘Hit. Target down. Oh, wow. They didn’t like that. Point three down, eight left. No. Wait. Seven, six, five.’

CRACK! THUD!

‘Hit. Target down. Great shot.’

‘Thanks.’

‘Point one down three right..’

CRACK! THUD!

‘Hit. Target down.’ Ellias reported.

‘Find me the largest one. The last one can wait until I know the squadron is ready for us to get down from here. I want to save the ammo in case they need our help to get here. Worst comes to worst and I use my ammo on protecting them then the squadron can deal with one beast at the end as a group but I don’t want to take the risk of leaving two.’ James instructed.

‘Okay. Point Five down, twelve right.’

CRACK! THUD!

‘Hit. Target not down.’

CRACK! THUD!

‘Hit. Target still not down.’

James breathed out in frustration before he took a deep breath. Both of his shots had hit it’s target but the beast wasn’t going down. The bullet’s don’t even seem to be making a mark on the beast. James took another deep breath. It’s skin may be impenetrable or resistant to bullets but everything had a weak spot. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. The eyes. They would be soft. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Deep breath in.

Hold.

CRACK! THUD!

‘Hit. Target down. Good shot.’

James and Ellias returned their focus to the squadron. They were now quickly approaching their position.

‘James, meet us at the bottom of the fire escape. We’ll go to the extraction point together.’ Alex’s voice came through the comms.

‘Copy that.’ James turned and quickly moved to the side of the roof overlooking the extraction point. He raised his gun, taking a moment to find the beast in his scope, which was much harder without a spotter.

CRACK! THUD!

James used his scope to confirm his own kill this time. Target down.

‘Okay, let’s go.’ James said to Ellias and Spencer, leading the way to the fire escape ladder and climbing down.

Alex and the rest were just coming around the corner as the three of them all stepped down onto the ground.

‘Diamond formation around the civilians.’ Alex instructed.

Alex took the head of the formation with Jordan and Lydia behind on either side. Spencer and Allison took the flanks of the diamond. Tasmin, Ellias and James were at the back, with James covering their rear.

They made their way through the buildings quickly but carefully. They didn’t have James and Ellias’ eye in the sky so they wouldn’t receive much of a warning if a beast turned up. James regularly looked behind him, remembering just how easy it had been for these beasts to sneak up on them, both on the roof and on the ground.

As they approached the extraction point, James noticed when the squadron paused and saw the dead beasts on the ground.

‘Good work James.’ Alex commented before leading the team onwards through the corpses of the beasts and to the extraction point.

Just as James predicted, the large flying-vehicle door lowered outwards, towards them, as they approached. Alex led the way inside. As the ‘civilians’ passed through the threshold of the vehicle they turned into pixels before disappearing completely. The rest of the group stepped inside the vehicle and took the same seats that they had sat in on the way out.

They had done it. They had completed their first Mendacium Square simulation mission and it was a success. They had killed the beasts and saved the civilians.

To be continued...

in

Praesidium VII: Two Breaths