The truck had rolled up to a sentry point where a robot had to take a retina scan of one of the Rebels. After Gaia let the machine scan her eye, we continued downward until we reached another sentry, this time with a robot guarding a gate. "ID, please," it said.
Gaia, once again, handled the situation at the front of the truck and produced a card from a pocket in her backpack. She showed it to the robot, and once the robot scanned the card, it beeped. "Thank you, Gaia Petrov. Have a good day," the automated voice chimed. The truck continued moving onward until I saw we were passing buildings that were both erected in the ground and carved into the walls. It almost looked like a little mini city, but it was much less illuminated and had older-looking architecture compared to the main city.
"What is this place?" I asked.
"This is the Rebellion's headquarters," Braxton explained. "It was once a military base after the nuclear holocaust happened, but it was abandoned after a problem with the ventilation system in this area, so it slowly started leaking radiation. When my uncle founded the Rebellion, he and a couple of his other followers repaired what they could to use as their safe haven and home of operations. Nobody else knows that this base is active again, so we're practically untouchable here."
"Your uncle founded the Rebellion?"
Braxton nodded. "We call him the general because, well, he was a general in the military. Actually, his first followers were actually people who served with him. There's four other people who served in the military with him before the war with New Arjun that are in the Rebellion."
"And is that you four?" I asked.
The other man beside me, whom I learned was Doriyan, laughed. "Hell, no. Me? In the military? Not a chance. The other four oversee operations they specialize in. There's one who works in mechanical engineering; another is a combat specialist; we've got a medical technician; and another who works in cyber operations. The rest of the military that survived the nuclear holocaust and radiation either went on to retire or join the Raven's military. Many of them were actually scared into joining the Raven, which is why there are so few who followed the general."
I frowned. "Wait, if there's older and more experienced people who do the same things you guys do, then how come it seems like you guys are doing the most?"
"Well, the reason why the general puts a lot of youngsters out onto the field is because the majority of the Rebellion is made up of people between the ages of eighteen and thirty," Tess explained. "And since the general and the rest of the four are older and more experienced, they take the time to train and mentor others. The way the Rebellion works is similar to the military; there are different jobs, and the people who have the most experience are the ones who mentor and eventually put someone else in charge. For instance, the general put Braxton in charge of commanding teams on the field so that the general can focus on running the Rebellion as a whole. Doriyan is the designated field medic because he's quick and agile, and the head doctor has to run the infirmary. I mean, why be on the field when you can have other people do it?"
"Does everyone go out on the field?" I asked.
"Only people from certain teams," Braxton answered. "And even then, only a select few are chosen to leave HQ. Like, we wouldn't have our cyber team out on the field when they can work perfectly fine from headquarters. For combat, only the best of the best are allowed out onto the field, and the rest stay in the reserves. And as you can see, the four of us just so happen to be the best of the best."
"Oh." I wasn't really sure what I was getting myself into with my hasty decision to join the Rebellion, but Gaia told me that by joining, I was forbidden to ever have contact with anyone outside the Rebellion. It was very upsetting to learn I could never get in contact with my family or Charmaine again, but Gaia promised I could use a burner device to make one last call to each of them, and that I would have to switch off my holo-device forever, or at least until all of this blows over and the Rebellion has carried out their goal of taking down the Raven.
The truck drove into a giant garage center and parked itself among other large military vehicles. The others had gathered up backpacks and weaponry and exited the truck, and Gaia was waiting to help me out. "You can contact your friends and family once your test is over, but you remember you cannot tell them anything about you joining the Rebellion."
"Test?" I repeated. "What kind of test?"
"It's a test that tells us what job you would be most suited for in the Rebellion. We test your knowledge and problem-solving skills, and from there we see if you qualify for certain positions." We exited the garage and started trekking outside, Gaia and I following the rest of the group. "Don't be worried if you end up not qualifying for a position you would like. Those who score low on the test are placed into the combat team, so everyone is guaranteed a job."
"How did you get your job, Gaia?" I don't know much about the military, but based on our conversation in the truck, I knew Gaia's job was very different from the others and was probably one of the most important.
She grinned. "I don't like to brag," she said in a voice that only a person who very much likes to brag would use. "But I got extraordinarily high scores on my test. And given my character and love of research, the general offered me the position in special operations. After working under the head of SPECOPS for a few months, he noticed how amazing my work ethic was and allowed me to be his second-in-command, and I ended up being chosen to work on the field, too, because they found that I was also extremely skilled in combat. Did you know I used to take martial arts classes when I was a kid? I took karate when I was in second grade, and then I moved onto jiu jitsu for a few years, when I was done with that, I did judo and aikido at the same time..."
If I ever thought Charmaine talked too much, Gaia proved me wrong about that when it came to her talking about herself. By the time Gaia was finally done talking about her life achievements, we had reached a building that looked like it was the largest one in the area. "This is the central hub of the Rebellion," Gaia explained. "This is where everything happens. Every person who has a job works in this building. It accommodates the physical grounds, the infirmary, and our communications and media rooms."
She nodded to another building that was taller than the others. "Those are the apartments over there. We don't have a lot of members, so right now everyone has their own room."
"Don't military people usually stay in barracks?"
"Yes, but since we're not a fully functioning military force that doesn't pay salaries, we figured why not use the apartments instead?" She pointed down to a fenced field in the opposite direction. "Down there is the shooting range. Everyone in the Rebellion is required to know how to use a gun. You ever used one before, Evelyn?"
I shook my head. "They're banned in Cathesia."
"Oh, that's right. I forgot some countries still have them banned. Well, no worries. We have specialists that can train you."
Gaia led me inside the building, and we entered a room that looked like a lobby. There were some couches and chairs arranged neatly in the room, as well as some furniture and an empty desk. "Everyone mostly works until late at night except our combat forces," Gaia informed me as we went into an elevator. "So the lobby is usually empty. The rest of the group probably headed back up to update Maverick about rescuing Tess."
"Who's Maverick?"
"Hm?" Gaia blinked. "Oh, sorry, that's the general. Doriyan and I knew Braxton since we were kids, so we're allowed to call the general by his first name."
We went up a few floors before the elevator stopped and opened its doors. We both stepped out, and Gaia led me down a hallway full of doors until she opened one up and took me into what looked like a conference room. Gaia sat down in one of the chairs at the table and gestured for me to sit across from her.
When I took a seat at the table, Gaia pulled up a program on her electric clipboard. "Alright, Evelyn, this placement test will determine what your job will be in the Rebellion. You will not receive pay, but the Rebellion will provide food, shelter, clothes, and other necessities. The test has an expected duration of one hour, but you can take as long as you need. You may begin now."
The first question appeared, and it was easy enough. It was just a regular math question you would find on an elementary school-level test. I answered the first one and moved onto the next, pleased that it was just as easy as the last. The next batch of questions were easy math questions like that, and I was beginning to feel confident that I would pass this test with flying colors, but as the questions got more difficult, I found myself getting stumped. Nonetheless, I answered the best I could until I finished the math section and moved onto the next.
As Gaia said, the test was full of math and problem solving questions, but I also had questions on reading and writing, science, health, engineering, and mechanics. The last few parts of the test had me struggling because I easily excelled in subjects like math and reading, and growing up in a rural area, I knew a bit about mechanics here and there, but the rest had me stumped.
I attempted each question carefully, though, and submitted all my answers. Gaia smiled when I was done. "Alright, let's see where your placement is, shall we?" She typed something into the computer, and an infographic appeared on the screen. "Your scores are quite impressive, actually. Let's see, so according to your results, you qualify for just about any job here except medical, mechanical engineering, and cyber-operations. You're best suited for jobs in administration and communications." Gaia typed something into the computer and pulled out a list. She turned it towards me. "Here is a list of jobs that might pique your interest."
I analyzed the list and read each job in my head. There were listings for financial management technicians, supply chain specialist, combat strategists, psychological operations, and so on. The jobs seemed all kind of overwhelming, and none of them sounded very appealing so far. "What if I don't really like any of these options?"
Gaia shrugged. "That's fine. You could always start off as a soldier and just do combat until you're certain you want a career change. You don't have to pick a set career right now, but picking one does help us set you up on your chosen path better."
I winced. "I think I'll just stick to combat for now. Maybe I will change my mind later."
Gaia nodded. "That's perfectly fine. You'll be training under Braxton then, which should be nice since you guys are familiar with each other. I'll set you up with an identification card, then."
Gaia led me to another room and took my photo for an ID card. As she printed it out and handed it to me, she reminded me that identification cards are used to access certain parts of HQ as well as gain access inside HQ, but I shouldn't ever leave the gate. Gaia beamed proudly at me once she was done going over the rules. "Well, since we've completed your application, I'd like to formally welcome you to the Rebellion, Evelyn Anong."