The United Armed Forces training facility was located a few kilometers outside the city, in the middle of a large field.. It was a large military base with a few dozen buildings, all surrounded by a 2-meter-high wall. The imposing concrete structure created a weird contrast with the peaceful green field surrounding it.
Despite the early hour, the base was already bustling with people. Hundreds of engineers scurried around the vehicles, thousands of pilots walked around the airfield, and tens of thousands of soldiers marched around the base in an orderly fashion. It truly was a sight to behold.
"This is amazing." Nathan said, staring wide-eyed.
He walked to the main gate and approached a guard standing behind a glass window.
"Name and identification?" the guard asked, without even bothering to look up from his book.
"Nathan Rodriguez." Nathan answered, handing the guard his ID.
The guard looked up at him and scanned the ID with a handheld device.
"You're on the list, head to the second building on the right, first floor. There is a huge gathering of recruits there right now, you couldn't miss it even if you wanted to.".
"Understood, thank you," Nathan said, giving the guard a salute before moving on.
The guard nodded and handed him his ID, and resumed reading.
Nathan quickly ran to the building and entered, following the instructions of the guard. Inside, there were hundreds of other new recruits. They were sitting in long rows of benches, looking around the room whilst talking to each other.
'I guess I should talk to people.' Nathan thought. 'If all goes well I will be spending a lot of time with them after all.'
"Excuse me," Nathan said, tapping a young man on the shoulder.
The young man turned his head and looked at him. He had blond hair, hazel eyes, and a round face.
"What is it?" The young man asked, a friendly smile occupying his face.
"Is there any particular seating order? Or can I just sit anywhere?" Nathan asked.
"Just find an empty space and sit, it's not that complicated," the young man said, chuckling.
"Right, thank you." Nathan said. 'Crap, that was already a bad first impression.', He thought while blushing.
He then proceeded to take the empty seat next to the young man and took a better look around the room.
The room was quite simple. The only notable features were the white walls, the rows of benches, and a stage with a podium at the front of the room.
"So... How did you end up here?" The young man asked. "I'm Alfredus by the way. Alfredus Müller."
"Nice to meet you Alfredus, my name is Nathan Rodriguez.", Nathan replied. "And to answer your question, I decided to enlist because I wanted to make a name for myself."
"Ah, so you're one of the brave ones.", Alfredus said. "I'm here to support my family. My father died early on in the war, and our financial situation has been rough ever since.".
"Oh, I'm sorry about your father. That must be rough.".
"Don't worry, he was a soldier, he knew the risks when he enlisted. I'm just proud to follow in his footsteps." Alfredus responded with a dreamy look in his eyes.
An awkward silence fell between the two. Nathan didn't quite know how he should respond, and Alfredus was caught up in his own daydreaming.
"Uhum-" Nathan scraped his throat to break the silence. "Do you know when the orientation will begin?"
"Huh?" Alfredus woke up from his daydreaming. "Uhhh any minute now I presume."
As if summoned by his words, a man in military uniform walked up to the podium. His uniform was decorated with numerous stripes, medals, and other awards. He had gray hair, a long and straight nose, and a pair of piercing blue eyes. He cleared his throat and adjusted the microphone.
"Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I welcome you all to the U.A.F. Training facility!" He greeted the crowd.
"First of all, congratulations on choosing to serve our glorious race! By enlisting you are not only ensuring the survival of our species, but the future of all human history. Your ancestors would be proud."
"But enough talking. I'll leave the speeches to the higher-ups. Let's get to the meat and potatoes shall we? My name is General Henry Wilde, and I will be the one supervising the training of the recruits."
Upon hearing his name, the crowd erupted into whispering and shocked gasps
"Wilde? Isn't he the commander of the 4th Armored division? I heard he's one of the best." a timid-looking boy to Nathan's right whispered.
'4th armored? Isn't that the unit that fought at Mars? No wonder he's got so many awards.' Nathan thought, eyeing the General.
"Today marks the beginning of a long journey, full of hardships, trials, and tribulations.", General Wilde continued.
"Thought I must tell you that your class of recruits is in quite the unlucky situation."
The room fell silent.
"As some of you with connections to the military may know, Alba Mons Base was hit with a major attack two days ago."
The room erupted into hushed whispers once more.
"It was a decisive victory, and our forces managed to hold the base. However, we lost a large number of our men in the process."
"Due to the shortage of combat-ready soldiers, all of you will ship out to Mars tomorrow, where you will receive basic training and begin your military service."
"WHAT?!" A recruit shouted.
"SILENCE!" General Wilde shouted, the command in his voice so strong it was almost tangible. "There will be no more interruptions, and there will be no arguments." General Wilde said.
"For what reason did you enlist, if not to fight as soon as possible?" He asked.
The recruits were dead silent.
"The fact of the matter is that we need soldiers, and we need them now. If you cannot handle this, feel free to leave. No one is forcing you to stay."
Upon hearing those words, about a quarter of those present in the room stood up and walked out.
"Now that those cowards are gone, we can get down to business." General Wilde said, smiling.
"As I said, the 579th recruit platoon will be departing for Mars tomorrow, where they will spend the next two weeks receiving basic military training. Afterwards, they will be sent to the frontlines."
The room was dead silent. Though everyone who was still there had just forfeited their right to walk away, not a single one of them was without doubts.
"I have faith in every one of you, and I hope that you will do your very best."
General Wilde took a breath and looked over the crowd.
"Now soldiers, the officers waiting outside will point you to your temporary barracks. We leave for Mars at dawn. Make sure you are fresh and awake by then, that's an order!"
As the last words left his mouth, he walked off the stage, and the crowd slowly started to shuffle out of the room.
"I didn't expect to be deployed so quickly," Alfredus said.
"Me neither." Nathan agreed.
They followed the flow of people out of the room, and after a few minutes, the two had reached the temporary barracks. The barracks were a group of tents, placed in the corner of the base. Each tent housed 4-6 people, and there were about 20 tents total, just enough for one U.A.F Platoon.
"Looks like we've been assigned to the same tent.", Alfredus said, pointing to the nearest tent.
"Let's head inside then.", Nathan suggested.
"Let's do that."
As the two walked inside the tent, they saw 4 other recruits.
"Hi there!" One of the recruits greeted. "My name is William, William D'Agostino." He was a tall man in his late 20s. He would've been considered quite handsome if not for the dirty, long hair and unshaven scruff.
"Alfredus Müller." Alfredus introduced himself.
"Nathan Rodriguez." Nathan greeted him.
"I'm Alexa, Alexa Gutierrez." Another recruit chimed in. "Nice to meet you.". She was a short woman, about 1,60m. She had a small, round face, and brown hair that reached her shoulders.
"Mikhail Kovalev." Yet another recruit chimed in. This recruit was a burly, young man with a square jaw and shaved head.
"Nice to meet you!" Alexa exclaimed.
"Yeah, it's a pleasure." Mikhail smiled nervously.
"And I'm Thomas," A timid-looking boy spoke up. He was quite skinny, and had a pale face. He had shoulder-length black hair and brown eyes. "Thomas Jones."
Nathan recognized him as the boy who had whispered about the General during the opening ceremony.
"Hey, it's nice to meet all of you!" Nathan said, smiling. "It will be my pleasure to serve with you all!"