Fall in!... I said fall in, you idiots! Front and center, a line! You call that a line!?
Konstantin Grigoriyich Petrovin, fresh meat for the grinder. The proper terminology would be recruit in-training for the Sirius Coalition Revolutionary Army, but such titles and formalities did not seem to be on the agenda for today.
He stood in a ramshackle line with at least a dozen other men and women, some of them obviously locals like him, some of them obviously not. It was curious; the surroundings were not at all new, intimidating though they were, so he could draw on some sort of confidence that the outsiders could not. How would they manage to survive what they were going into?
Time will tell. Concentrate on yourself for now.
Back ramrod straight, feet together, hands at his sides. At attention. Classic military posture. Hed done this plenty of times before; even workers in the Coalition were subject to such discipline and administration, but not often with the threat of direct violence so forthcoming.
The officer standing before them seemed to have a permanent scowl on his face. Whether or not it was because of his class was a mystery to Kostya, but that was not his concern. His concern was the tachyon pistol on his hip.
Dogs he muttered under his breath, I am Lieutenant Argunov, and Ill be the one washing you out.
Nice opening, Kostya thought, trying his best not to put thoughts into words.
You will refer to me as Tovarisch Lieutenant. Thats Comrade Lieutenant for you new people. Failure to do so will result in immediate dismissal.
The implications needed no explanation.
Now then, the scowling soldier continued, Youve all signed up because Well, I dont know why, and frankly I dont care. Its not my role in the Coalition to care about your pasts, or to care about your hopes and dreams, because as of right now they are all immaterial. The only thing material is the ranking stripes on my uniform and your lack of them. You are recruits. You can either prove yourselves to be assets to the Cause, or liabilities.
The Lieutenants scowl bent into a disturbing grin.
And you dont want to be liabilities. The Lieutenant put his fists on his hips and looked down the line, his expression harsher still. Let that be a warning to you, and the only one at that.
He started pacing up and down the line, boots clicking as they contacted the tiled floor. They were in a barracks complex on Jiangxi, far removed from civilization on that world. It was nice in the surrounding area, if you considered dense tropical forests filled to the brim with dangerous wildlife nice. Being inside a building was practically a blessing, although the instructor clearly wanted to prove that wrong.
First, we will begin with basics, the Lieutenant barked, voice raspy, an obvious proponent of heavy smoking, Discipline. Drill. Physical Exercise. Armies that fall do so because their men are not fit and are not disciplined.
He stopped and turned on his heel to face them. And you all want to be fit and disciplined, dont you, Recruits?
Yeah!
Yes!
Yes, Com- er, Tovar- er..
Yes, Sir!
Kostya winced.
SILENCE!! the Lieutenant boomed, his face turning a deep shade of red, What are you, School Children!? Must I hold your hand through basic responses!? The correct answer is Yes, Comrade Lieutenant, and I dont care what language you say it in!
Kostya winced a bit more, feeling as if the fact that the entire class screwed up was the only reason why the instructor hadnt pulled a gun on them.
He knew the proper protocol; hed been in contact with plenty of soldiers and people in higher authority. After all, hed worked on Zvezdny Gorodok for the past two years in the Partisan starfighter production division, having been assigned there by the government due to his outstanding technical prowess in educational settings. But beyond that hed struck up correspondence with the pilots of those fighters, and found himself loving every minute of flight and a drive for combat. After sneaking simulator runs for months and attaining a civilian spaceship pilot license, hed felt as if he had no alternative but to sign up. What a ride it was turning out to be.
Yes, Comrade Lieutenant!
Yest, Tovarisch Lieutenant! Kostya shouted alongside other Coalition natives.
Finally! the Lieutenant shouted, color receding from his face. Now then! he said, pacing once more, This is going to be your home for quite some time. No, youre not in space, but you dont need to be. Why waste oxygen on potential screw ups, right? Right.
Kostya clenched his teeth. They sure like reminding us of failure
So, the instructor continued, Youll be here at Kunming Training Base until you either pass or check out. Youll be bunking alongside marine trainees, who are far more advanced in their schedules than you are. Show them all due respect, or theyll remind you of the profession theyre entering first hand.
Kostya had seen them before; big, burly men of a myriad of origins, armed to the teeth, almost brainwashed into running into the line of fire. Almost. The Coalition did not enslave, but it sure did inspire.
The Lieutenant stopped pacing and looked at them all again. Your personal items have been duly confiscated and are being held safe and sound. Everything you need is already provided; youll find your assigned lockers stocked and ready. Keep them stocked and ready, or well have problems. Understood?
Yes, Comrade Lieutenant!
Good, the instructor barked before checking a wrist chronometer. Youre out of bed by 0400 Jiangxi time tomorrow morning. Until then consider yourselves on leave. The Lieutenant smirked a bit at that one. Dismissed.
Most of the recruits stood and waited as the Lieutenant spun on his heel and left the barracks room. Strain and pressure seemed to bleed off in his absence, and people around Kostya began to open up to each other.
He let his shoulders sag and exhaled. Hed get used to it, he already knew, but it wouldnt be easy.
Hey! Another man lightly hit Kostya on the back of his shoulder, prompting him to turn around. Youre native, da?
Kostya smiled a bit and nodded in affirmation, extending a hand. Kostya Petrovin, Volgograd.
The other man took his hand and shook it, a wry grin poking out his portly features. Yulian Belov, Jiangxi. Trust me, this place isnt all bad, provided you never leave the cities.
Kostya chucked, No doubt, Tovarisch. So, who else do we have here?
Yulian shrugged. A few others like us, mostly Volgograd farmboys. The rest are all foreigners
Anything wrong with that?
Oh of course not, Yulian said, his tone light, Except it doesnt bode well for the life expectancy around here, nyet?
Konstantin nodded; they had to assimilate quickly, or die. It was that simple.
A loud, obnoxious laugh came from further down the room. Kostya tried to identify its source, and found it in a fair haired man of what appeared to be Rheinland descent. He was surrounded by a little gang of peers, all of them with bemused expressions on their faces as the Rheinlander continued telling his tale.
Whos that?
Eh, I think he goes by Levin, Levin Kolb, Yulian replied, Hotshot. Was a pilot for the Bundschuh I believe.
Kostya raised an eyebrow. Hotshot, indeed Doesnt sound particularly motivated by his former cause.
If you ask me, hes not, Yulian snorted, But somebody up there felt like giving him a chance, and who am I to question that?
Konstantin frowned and looked over at Yulian. Think hell last?
Dont know. Theyre already calling him Lenin Kolb; seems popular especially with the ladies...
Kostyas mouth opened to reply when he saw a female recruit walk up to Levin and try to force a kiss. The cocky Rheinlander obliged, and then swept her off her feet.
He could get-
I know, I know, Yulian said, But nobody will rat him out for doing the junk he does. I suggest we both keep out of it, let him stew, maybe get shot, who cares.
Kostya nodded, brows furrowed. Da... So, Yulian, know anything about starfighters?
The other recruit looked at him quizzically. Not really, I was hoping I could learn enough here before I bite it Know anything about land skimmers?
Kostya felt a hand roughly shove him in the back and over the edge of the climbing obstacle. Compared to what it took to climb all the way up it, letting gravity pull him down was less than effortless.
Except he wasnt falling with his legs down.
The dirt rose up to meet him quicker than he thought it would, the side of his head hitting first, followed by the rest of him. It wasnt the first time hed suffered a fall like that; that robot even tossed him through a window first back at the recruiting center aboard the Trotsky. But that didnt dull the pain, or prevent the dry cough that sent up dust around his face.
Faster, Petrovin! Lieutenant Argunov shouted down at him from atop the wall, Hesitation leaves you vulnerable! Leaves you dead! Youre lucky there was ground beneath you this time, got it?
Kostya achingly pushed himself up and got onto his feet before taking off running once more. Yest, Tovarisch Lieutenant! he shouted behind him.
Next. Rope swing over the pit of mud. More precisely the pit of mud was filled with leeches, but they were there before any of the trainees and the administration saw fit to leave them be.
Konstantin ran up the ramp and hurled himself at the rope dangling in front of him. Despite his earlier interruption there was still enough swinging momentum from the last recruit to hit the rope, so he took advantage of it and latched on. He felt the wooden support above him creak a bit as the rope took him to the other end of the pit; he was relieved when he hopped off, since the idea of having a hundred pounds of wood fall on him and pin him in a pool of leeches was less than exciting.
Good.
Next. Barbed wire crawl. Nobody used barbed wire for defensive purposes; shielding, forcefields, and automated cannons more than made up for such a primitive device. But it served admirably as an incentive to crawl the next twenty five meters rather than try to wade through it.
He hit the dirt, again, but with a bit more control this time around. One arm after the other, one leg after the other. Faster. Gritting his teeth, he felt some of his fatigues catch the wire above and snag, and opted to force his way through rather than stopping to fix it. It would only waste time. It would only leave him vulnerable. It would only leave him dead.
By now his fatigues, like those of the other trainees, was soiled beyond all comprehension. Mud, sweat, even urine as some recruits could not hold their bladders; theyd been at this routine all morning without a single break. Somewhere in the back of his mind Kostya hoped it would come soon, maybe after the next obstacle, but the rest of him knew it wouldnt, and a kind of autopilot was too busy forcing him through this to notice.
With one last angry groan, Konstantin pulled himself out from under the bed of spiked wires and clambered to his feet.
Good.
Next. Hopping through tires. Another primitive training implement, but it demanded concentration and finesse when it came to doing it rapidly.
Sweat was pouring down his face as Kostya skipped his feet through one tire after another. If he screwed up, if his toe caught the edge
Keep it up! he heard Argunov yelling, You think this is difficult? The marines do this twice a day, every day! Move it!
If his toe caught the edge, hed fall over, and hed never hear the end of it. Then again, with Argunov, it might have been the end of him.
Dont trip, move it, dont trip, watch it, dont trip, one more, got it!
Kostya spared a synapse to bring his arm up to wipe his eyes.
Damn sweat
Acceptable.
Next. Hurdles. Not many of the recruits were acrobatic enough to make these, that much was understood; neither was Kostya. But as he leapt over the first hurdle and then came to the higher second one he couldnt help but curse.
Getting over took time. Time he didnt have. It left him vulnerable. It left him dead.
He vaulted over it sideways, as if he mounted a horse saddle and continued the motion to the other side. The third hurdle was so high that he couldnt imagine how anyone could possibly jump over it, but thats what the Lieutenant said it was for, so he had to get over it some way or another. Kostya decided to draw upon his upper body strength for this one, hauling himself up in a complete pull-up and then trying to put his weight over the other side.
It worked, although it left him flying face first towards the ground again.
More dust, more pain. Hed hit the other side of his face, but it just evened out the soreness. He couldve swore he heard the splash of mud as some trainee slipped off the rope ahead, but that was not his concern right now; getting to his feet yet again was.
He did so. He took off running.
Satisfactory.
Next. There was a chain of thick wooden boards stretched out for quite some distance, off-center and tilted in varying directions. He was expected to hop on them, one foot only, in order to get to the other side. Much easier said than done; they were unsteady and prone to rolling over when weight was applied, turning each bounding step into a balancing act.
Kostya let out a panicked growl as he hopped on the first board. He hated this part; it demanded even more precision than the tires did. Hed long since been sapped of energy, so he didnt know what kind of reserves he was drawing from as he skipped from one board to another, feeling them twist under his heels, threatening to toss him over.
Not now. Dont fall, not now. Cant fail. Move.
The last board just about gave out from under his foot, but he had enough momentum to get him onto the pad which marked the end of the obstacle. It was close, a bit too close; he wouldnt look forward to reaching this point in the obstacle course again.
Done.
Next.
The climbing obstacle. Hed gotten back here so quickly? Lieutenant Argunov was still standing atop and to the side, belting out orders, insults, harsh words of encouragement, and another recruit was slowly working his way up the grip points.
It was Yulian. He didnt look so good.
Swearing under his breath, Kostya jumped up and grabbed the highest ledge he could possibly reach, hauling himself upwards using nothing but willpower. He caught sight of Yulians leg, idly moving up to the next ledge and then falling backwards, his whole body threatening to slip and fall.
Tovarisch Belov! Kostya shouted upwards, his voice hoarse, Whats wrong?
Yulian slowly cranked his neck over to look at his friend further down.
I cant do it, he panted, Nothing left
At that, Lieutenant Argunovs face poked over the edge and glared at him.
Kostya blanched; he had to do something. Yelling, he propelled himself upwards at a faster rate.
Dont give me that nonsense, Tovarisch, youve got plenty! Weve all got plenty! One grip point after the other, one foot after the other.
Cant wait, keep talking.
Im not going to let you fall off of this thing, not today, not ever!
Argunov still glared, face set like stone. Ksotya tried not to pay attention.
Finally hed gotten level with Yulian. His chubby face was laced with dirt and sweat, his eyes half closed, his breathing heavy.
Yulian! Kostya shouted.
No response.
Fury and desperation boiled into one last surge of strength as Kostya grabbed Yulian by the fatigues and wrenched up upwards in the wake of his own climb. He continued shouting, groaning, yelling, primeval reactions to a primeval struggle for survival.
Not today, not ever! he shouted again.
The next grip turned out to be the top of the obstacle.
Kostya managed to get one leg over the top and grabbed Yulian with both hands, nearly yanking the mans entire bodyweight into the air and over the lip of the wall. They both lay sprawled out on the top, panting.
Lieutenant Argunov shifted his gaze to Kostya, his expression steady.
With a faint moan, Konstantin heaved himself onto his knees and then to his feet, standing at attention.
Argunov looked back down at Yulian. Get off my obstacle! he shouted. The recruit at his feet stirred, tried to nod at the order, and rolled himself over the edge, taking the landing rough but on his feet before plodding on his way to the rope.
The Lieutenants eyes followed Yulian for only a moment before they snapped back at Kostya, who promptly gulped in spite of himself.
Petrovin.
Da, Tovarisch Lieutenant!
Argunov grinned a bit. But it wasnt the same predatory one hed been offering thus far.
Dont make me shove you off my obstacle again.
Kostya saluted as smartly as he could manage. Yest, Tovarisch Lieutenant!
And with that he hopped over the edge and landed on his feet, the impact much easier this time.
This was a rush of a different sort; taking tests. It reminded Kostya of civilian school, only the time constraints and proficiency it demanded was much higher.
He found himself at a desk, pecking away at a terminal built into the table. Questions were posed, and a touch screen allowed him to pick an answer. But it wasnt quite so simple; the questions were long, as were the answers, and there were consistently six choices. With sixty questions in total, he had ten seconds per question; if he didnt know the material he failed, as simple as that.
Luckily much of the knowledge he was being tested on was second nature due to his heritage. Questions revolving around Communist theory and practice were redundant; it merely took time to skim over the words in order to find the answer. Questions concerning the military was a little bit trickier, but having committed a lot of things to memory beforehand, and having been around plenty of pilots and officers on Zvezdny Gorodok, Kostya was managing to keep proper pace.
Name all ranks of the Sirius Coalition Revolutionary Army in order from greatest to least and least to greatest.
Konstantin bit his lip as his eyes darted over the screen. Questions like this were unnerving; they were based more on reaction time and precision rather than sheer knowledge, but they also had a tremendous volume to them, forcing him to commit more energy to picking out key words. In this case he had to scan questions based on logic.
First, the answer had to begin and end in Grand Admiral. That knocked off three answers immediately. Next, the dividing point between the two chains of ranks had to involve the rank of Sub-Lieutenant. That only removed one.
The remaining two answers were in perfect order, except one of them swapped Commodore and Captain on the second chain.
Kostya nearly punched answer number five on the screen and it flashed. The old question was removed and a new one provided. All the while a small timer in the upper right corner of the screen was ticking down to zero. It was green, indicating that he was within time constraints.
He allowed himself a very brief respite and leaned back in his chair, working the cracks out of his neck
The woman recruit in front of him had two fingers pointed towards the floor at her side, like an inverted universal sign for peace.
Thats odd.
Dismissing it as some meaningless little habit that the recruit performed during tests, Kostya bent back over the screen and got back to work, tapping away at answers as they came up.
Name the five Alliance sleeper ships that arrived in Sirius, their Old Earth nationalities, and their landing points.
Damn, Kostya growled in his mind, Lengthy nonsense
He noticed movement in his peripheral vision and glanced in that direction.
The womans hand now pointed four fingers towards the ground.
His jaw worked for a moment. That couldnt possibly be some little ritual
The recruit next to the woman gave her a glance, hit something on his desk, and looked back up, nodding.
The recruit next to the woman was Kolb.
His mouth now hanging open, Kostyas eyes darted back to his own screen and looked at answer number four.
Liberty USA/Canada Manhattan, Rheinland Germany/Eastern Europe New Berlin, Bretonia Great Britain/Australia New London, Kusari Japan/Pacific States New Tokyo, Hispania Spain/Italy/Mediterranean Malta/Crete
Damnit
The timer in the corner turned red; he was lagging behind.
Damnit!
He hit number four and desperately tried to peck away at the proceeding answers, but it was all for naught; hed burned too much time taking notice of his cheating classmate.
Kostya was sure he was cheating; the woman in front of him must have been an intellectual one whod fallen for Lenins charms, and the guy must have set up this little deal beforehand.
Some Lenin, he mused with derision, Cant even answer questions by himself.
It was wrong. He knew it was wrong. It should be treated as such.
Im sure somebody else will notice, and hell be out of here before the weeks over
His screen flashed once and then went black.
Times up, Lieutenant Argunov said from the desk at the front of the room, Thats enough testing for today. Recruits, youre dismissed. Scores will be up on the image board as you leave.
Argunov went back to whatever busy work he was assigned and the large display behind him flickered to life. Much of the space was wasted, but a small block of text was seen closest to the rooms exit.
The recruits stood and began milling about. Some stretched, others yawned; it had been a long day, and a tough series of tests. As they began to leave they took turns looking at the image board for their scores.
Kostya, still seated, just stared blankly at the black surface of his desk. He was on question fifty four.
Clenching his fists, he took to his feet and marched over towards the image board, finding his back muscles rigid. The last person to see the scores let out a victorious whoop and moved aside, letting him eye the twenty five names and the numbers next to them.
Petrovin, Konstantin Grigoriyich Test 5: 53/60 88%
He scowled, but a swift hit to his shoulder interrupted the noise.
Not bad, Tovarisch, Yulian said, But I still beat you on that one. And you studied more, too. What happened?
Im not sure I want to talk about it, Kostya replied quietly.
Yulian just grinned. I know that face. Youll talk about it soon enough, Kostya.
Soon enough.
The two comrades left the room, Kostyas hands still balled into fists.
While each morning was being graced with the Hell that was ceaseless repetitions of the obstacle course, evenings were a little bit more lax, although tiring all the same.
They ran six miles in a winding path around Kunming, all in a line, herded along by their ever vigilant Lieutenant Argunov. Their predecessors had nicknamed this habitual run the Long March after an Old Earth legend, and it indeed felt long to all involved.
But it was alright, compared to some alternatives, Kostya decided. After all, it could have been seven miles. Or eight.
In any case, the entire class ran along in a loose single file. As it turned out, each new wave of recruits was put into units such as the one Kostya was in, led in all manner and form by a single instructor, from beginning to end. Ostensibly this was to encourage cooperation within a unit between individuals, to establish a mass conscious as it were, but in truth it made things very simple, and training was very rapid.
The kinds of things the men chanted to pass the time were curious indeed; everything from standardized drill marches to folk songs was involved. On occasion even a very foreign song would be introduced by a handful of recruits, and the rest of them learned it and sung alongside.
Todays chant was a bit linear; mind numbing repetition over and over seemed to distort time, and concentrating on it did wonders for the endurance.
Red Dawn.
Red Dawn!
Red Guard.
Red Guard!
Red Hearts.
Red Hearts!
Red Blood.
Red Blood!
It was manageable, as far as Kostya was concerned.
The train of running men and women occasionally had to surmount a natural obstacle of some sort; this part of Jiangxi was far from tame, and more than once they had to jump over plant roots and other such things that grew fast enough to be considered animals.
They continued chanting for a few more minutes before the Lieutenant called for silence, replacing the chorus of trainees with the sounds of wildlife and running feet.
Kostya was in the middle of the procession, trying to make sure he didnt run over the feet of Yulian in front of him; the last thing he needed was to screw up the entire rear half of the line by causing somebody to trip.
How long had they been running? Hed lost track, as he tended to do on these physical fitness routines. Argunov was up in front, running alongside the leading recruit, talking. Kostya knew the chatter wasnt of the friendly kind; the Lieutenant liked to keep the screw ups in the front with him so he could keep better track of their pace, and of course encourage them more.
Well, now that hes a bit busy
Konstantin felt like looking around to see how the rest of the recruits were doing, slowing down so that he didnt hit Yulian like he feared. Having had nothing to look at except sweaty backs this entire time, changing the view was a small luxury in of itself.
He recognized their faces, some of them bearing looks of consternation. Fighting cramps or something benign like that no doubt. Others yet had blank expressions, their minds somewhere else entirely.
Levin Kolb was among them.
He was glaring at Kostya.
What the
Kostya turned his head back around and kept running.
What was that all about? Maybe he knows I caught him cheating or something, and he got reported, and thinks its me? Or maybe he just doesnt like me?
Stupid thoughts, to be sure. What did it matter what was going on with Kolb, or why the man had it out with him?
Stupid thoughts
Kostya looked back over his shoulder.
Kolb was gone.
Alright, we need another song, recruits! Argunov barked, Start thinking of something before I choose it for you!
His head snapped back forward; no need to be caught. Maybe Kolb had just been eclipsed by another recruit? After all, one of the tallest in the class was in front of where Kostya saw him.
It wasnt important. The recruits began a long, gently curving turn just as some Libertonians started spurring on some folk song or another ahead. Kostya was not familiar with it, so he couldnt join in just yet. The turn took them in a large circle around a lake and back in the direction they came from.
Running. Running was nice, if a bit boring
The curve straightened out again.
Kostya looked over his shoulder.
And there was Kolb. The man noticed Kostya looking and started glaring again.
Am I seeing things? Kostya thought, shaking his head, I must be getting paranoid or something
His foot clipped Yulians heel.
Hey!
Kostya almost froze up. Sorry! he quickly shouted back.
Kostya let out a sigh as he lugged the lunch tray over to one of the tables. There was never any time to enjoy these meals, not that they were terribly great to begin with, but time constraints during training were so ridiculous
Yulian looked up from his noodles and gestured to the seat opposite his. The mess hall was arranged in the simplest way possible: several rows of tables that extended from one end of the room to the other, with the serving line on one side and the exit on the other. Yulian had picked a spot somewhat detached from the rest of the trainees in the mess, as per Konstantins request.
So whats this all about, the slightly portly man said as he went back to his food.
Kostya slumped down onto the stool and jabbed his food with a fork. Levin.
What about him? Egotistical, playboy, hot shot
Cheater.
Yulian actually spared a moment to glance up at that. Cheater, you say.
Da. He was being fed answers during the testing by Lena I think her name was?
Yulian nodded absentmindedly.
And during the run yesterday, Kostya continued, I swear, he left the group and cut around to shorten the trip.
Yulian barked a laugh, forcing Kostya to wince and peer over his shoulders nervously; he felt like he was being watched.
So let me get this straight, Yulian started, Hes lazy. Ought to be whipped in the face but thats not the worse that could happen, right?
Konstantin frowned and stared at his food. We he cut across, I know that. What else could he have been doing?
Picking up drugs, scandalous liaison, who knows
Im serious, Yulian.
The other man sighed and looked up at him. So am I. It sounds suspicious enough, but to be honest its not my place to interfere, or poke noses around. Im here, right now, to not get shot. Prying into Levins business draws attention I dont want, and you dont want that attention either.
But something has to be done
Maybe hell get caught, maybe he wont. Hes made it this far Maybe hell take a few Corsairs with him. Yulian shrugged and went back to his food, but Konstantin simply sat there, appetite completely absent. He knew he shouldve eaten his own share, that thered be a nice verbal dress down by Argunov if he didnt, but it just didnt seem to matter.
Yulians right, I have better things to worry about than Lenin right now
Privet, Tovarischi, mind if I join you?
Kostyas attention suddenly riveted to the moment, he noticed Yulian smiling pleasantly and gesturing to the place on Kostyas right. His eyes shifted to the shadow on the table, and then onto the girl who sat next to him.
She offered a little smile to him and broke open a container of noodles. So whats new?
Oh, I dont think youve ever been introduced, Yulian said, putting down his utensils, Kostya, this is Katerina Viktorichna Udalovna. Shes a member of another training outfit out here. Bumped into her around base. Katya, this is Konstantin
Kostya swallowed hard. Something was amiss here, not in a bad way, but amiss nonetheless. There was something about Yulians body language
Petrovin, hes also from Volgograd you know. Yulian glanced over at him, the slightest grin on his lips.
Fighting the urge to let his jaw drop, Konstantin managed to force a wry grin.
He set me up, that son of a
Tovarisch Petrovin, you dont look so well, Katya said.
Wh- who? Me? he asked, almost afraid to turn his head.
Da, you. Youre looking all red all of a sudden, like youre ready to feint.
Oh, its nothing, I just, ah Damnit, Yulian, you played me like a deck of cards Just nevermind. So, how are you, Tovarisch Udalovna? I hope your training is going well?
He was desperately hoping to change the topic, to deflect it somewhere, anywhere, even back at her, just to get it away from him.
But Katya just smiled a little, and started elaborating on her experience thus far, her successes, her failures.
As she spoke, Kostya got the distinct impression she understood his predicament and tried to help by taking the bait without apprehension. He felt the excess color leave his face, the tension in his muscles subside
And realized he liked this girl.
She was easy-going, carefree, as if she knew her place in the world at all times. But she was driven, she was there at training after all, she knew her responsibilities, both to herself and her comrades.
She looked so plain, so average. But given her personality it was endearing; instead of lust, or revulsion, it was simply comfortable
Kostya managed to catch himself after a minute. The disturbing prospect that Yulian was some sort of secret matchmaker crossed his mind, and instantly made him wish his fork was a blaster, but it was for naught. There she was, right next to him. And Yulian in front of him, grinning from ear to ear.
Tovarisch?
Ill get you for this, Yulian
Kostya?
He looked over at her, noticing her expression; amused. Da?
You havent even touched your ration, you know that, right?
Kostya looked at her tray. It was empty. He looked at Yulians, finding it just as vacant.
His own was full.
And you do know that mess period ends in two minutes? Katya said with a slight giggle.