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SECTION II
BOOT
CHAPTER FOUR
0530 Hours, September 24, 2517 (Military Calendar) / Epsilon Eridani System, Reach Military Complex,
planet Reach
"Wake up, trainee!"
John rolled over in his cot and went back to sleep He was dimly aware that this wasn’t his room, and that there were other people here
A shock jolted him--from his bare feet to the base of his spine He yelled in surprise and fell off the cot
He shook off the disorientation froot up
"I said up , boot! You knohich way up is?"
A e uniforray at his te and black and they didn’t blink He held a silver baton in one hand; he flicked it toward John and it sparked
John backed away He wasn’t afraid of anything Only little kids were afraidbut his body instinctively moved as far away from the instrument as possible
Dozens of other irls screamed and jumped out of their cots
"I am Chief Petty Officer Mendez," the uniformed man next to John shouted "The rest of these men are your instructors You will do exactly as we tell you at all times"
Mendez pointed to the far end of the cinderblock barracks "Showers are aft You will all wash and then return here to dress" He opened a trunk at the foot of John’s cot and pulled out a ray sweats
John leaned closer and saw his na On the double!" Mendez tapped John between his shoulder blades with the baton
Lightning surged across John’s chest He sprawled on the cot and gasped for breath
"I mean it! Go Go GO!"
Johnhis chest He ot to the showers The other kids looked scared and disoriented They all stripped off their nightshirts and stepped onto the conveyor, washed themselves in lukewarm soapy water, then rinsed in an icy cold spray
He ran back to his bunk, got into underwear, thick socks, pulled on the sweats and a pair of combat boots that fit his feet perfectly
"Outside, trainees," Mendez announced "Triple timemarch! "
John and the others starass
The sun hadn’t risen yet, and the edge of the sky was indigo The grass ith dew There were dozens of rows of barracks, but no one else was up and outside A pair of jets roared overhead and arced up into the sky Far away, John heard a metallic crackle
Chief Petty Officer Mendez barked, "You will th rows Fifteen trainees in each"
He waited a few seconds as they hten those rows You kno to count to fifteen, trainee? Take three steps back"
John stepped into the second row
As he breathed the cold air he began to wake up He started to reht They injected hi tiiven hio back That he wouldn’t see hisjacks!" Mendez shouted "Count off to one hundred Ready, go" The officer started the exercise and John followed his lead
One boy refused--for a split-second An instructor was on him instantly The baton whipped into the boy’s storam, boot," the trainer snarled The boy uncurled and started ju jacks in his life His ars burned Sweat trickled down his back
"Ninety-eight--99--100" Mendez paused He drew in a deep breath "Sit-ups!" He dropped onto the grass "Count off to one hundred No slacking"
John threw hiround
"The first creho quits," Mendez said, "gets to run around the compound twice--and then comes back here and does two hundred sit ups Readycount off! Onetwothree"
Deep squats followed Then knee bends
John threw up, but that didn’t buy him any respite A trainer descended on him after a few seconds John rolled back over and continued
"Leg lifts" Mendez continued like he was a o on--but he knew he’d get the baton again if he stopped He tried; he had to ishly responded
"Rest," Mendez finally called "Trainers: get the water"
The trainers wheeled out carts laden ater bottles John grabbed one and gulped down the liquid It arhtly salty He didn’t care It was the best water he’d ever had
He flopped on his back in the grass and panted
The sun was up now It arm He rolled to his knees and let the sweat drip off hilanced at the other children They crouched on the ground, holding their sides, and no one talked Their clothes were soaked through with perspiration John didn’t recognize anyone froers He wondered where his ood start, trainees," Mendez told them "Noe run On your feet!"
The trainers brandished their batons and herded the trainees along They jogged down a gravel path through the coo on forever--they ran alongside a river, over a bridge, then by the edge of a runhere jets took off straight into the air
Once past the runway, Mendez led the path of stone
John wanted to think about what had happened, how he got here, and as going to happen next
but he couldn’t think straight All he could feel was the blood pounding through hier
They ran into a courtyard of sstones A pole in the center flew the colors of the UNSC, a blue field with stars and Earth in the corner At the far end of the yard was a building with a scalloped do to the entrance The words NAVAL OFFICERS
ACADEMY were chiseled into the arch over the entrance
A woman stood on the top step and beckoned to them She wore a white sheet wrapped around her body
She looked old to John, yet young at the sa her head and knew she was an AI He had seen them on vids She wasn’t solid, but she was still real
"Excellent work, Chief Petty Officer Mendez," she said in a resonant, silk-smooth voice She turned to the children "Welcorave; and I will be your teacher Please coroaned out loud Several of the others grumbled, too
She turned and started to walk inside "Of course," she said, "if you prefer to skip your lessons, youcalisthenics"
John double-timed it up the steps
It was cool inside A tray with crackers and a carton of milk had been laid out for each of theulped down his milk
John was so tired he wanted to lay his head down on the desk and take a nap--until Déjà started to tell theainst thousands of Persian infantry
A holographic countryside appeared in the classroom The children walked around the e of the illusionary sea lap at their boots Toy-sized soldiers rave; explained was Thermopylae, a narrow strip of land between steep mountains and the sea Thousands of soldiers uarded the pass The soldiers fought: spears and shields splintered, swords flashed and spilled blood
John couldn’t take his eyes off the spectacle
Déjà explained that the three hundred were Spartans and they were the best soldiers who had ever lived
They had been trained to fight since they were children No one could beat theraphic Spartans slaughtered the Persian spearry, so he took the girl’s next to hi, and rowled and grumbled
When was lunch? Or was it dinnertime already?
The Persians broke and ran and the Spartans stood victorious on the field
The children cheered They wanted to see it again
"That’s all for today," Déjà said "We’ll continue tomorrow and I’ll show you soround"
"Playground?" John said That was perfect He could finally just sit on a swing, relax, and think for a moment
He ran out of the room, as did the other trainees