Chapter 4: Warriors of Invictus
A month passed by in a blink of an eye. I lost track of the number of times I fainted during training regiments. Each day, Sergeant Orion progressively increased the intensity of the training and continued to harass and trampled us if we couldn't keep up. In the end, I stopped caring and pushed onward with Tannen and Indra. I guess you could say I had built up some resistance towards the Sergeant's snide remarks.
During the second week, we were given black uniforms to wear. These uniforms were immensely different from what the soldiers wore when I first got here. Moreover, it was a metallic suit that was surprisingly light and comfortable to wear. A crimson streak of glowing light flowed from the helmet and into the chest plate and arms before halting at the foot of the armor. Apparently, this was used as intimidation for enemies, but I don't really see how; it looks really cool, though. The helmet had a virtual display that allowed for enemy detection, Energy Core status, a virtual map, and so on. However, I'm unsure what the energy core is.
A large crowd gathered around Tannen and me with cheerful shouts. Each cheering on for their favorite person. However, Indra had his mouth gaped before slapping his forehead in disbelief.
"Take my heaven-defying, immortal slaying fist, baldy!" Tannen cried out as he threw out a vicious punch.
I quickly parried it and counterattacked with a hard uppercut to his chin. Indra stumbled backward before wiping the blood that leaked from his bleeding mouth. He got into a basic fighting stance taught by Sergeant Orion and stared at me as if I murdered his whole family.
During our training regiments, the Sergeant taught us basic melee combat and grappling. The techniques were difficult to perform at first, but I steadily improved as the weeks had gone by. This also happened to be the day where he gathered us to fight each other for practical experience.
I snickered at him and spoke in a deep voice, "Your puny fists are no match for my tiger uppercut."
He instantly dashed towards me before throwing a fast roundhouse kick to my head. I leaned backward to dodge the strike and smiled at him in disdain. However, my face turned pale when I felt a painful throbbing sensation in my nether regions. I hastily cuffed my hanging sack and dropped to my knees from sheer pain.
Tannen shook his head in disappointment," I see that the young grasshopper didn't build enough defense on the lower belt."
"Why?" I squealed.
He folded his arms and laughed, "Be thankful that you got to witness my god tier martial arts technique."
Sergeant Orion's eyes twitched, "I did say you can use any moves at your disposal, but..."
"Sir! In order to defeat the enemy, I must use any means necessary!" Tannen saluted him.
"Whatever," He sighed.
Sergeant Orion clapped his hands, "Alright, that's enough for today! We'll head to the shooting range, and I'll have someone show you one of the main functions of your body."
We followed him to a door near the corner of the wall. The Sergeant stood near a weird device and brought his face near it. A green beam of light shot out from it and scanned his eye.
"Access granted," it said.
The door instantly opened, and we followed him inside. We went through a long and winding hallway that was shaped like a hexagon. The floor consisted of metal grates, and several gas pipelines were underneath it that extended along the hallway to various rooms. The lights on the ceiling shined just bright enough to guide us, albeit that they are very dim. Guards, in black uniforms, patrolled through the halls. As we walked by, they halted in place and saluted Sergeant Orion before walking away.
A man stood near a door with white overalls. Large goggles covered his eyes that glowed with a light blue color. They were attached to a strange headgear that had various tubes protruding out which connected to his back. His brown goatee was quite thick and grew just below his neck. A device on his wrist projected a blue hologram that shown a pile of data before him. He fiddled with the holographic screen in a frustrated manner.
"Hey, Doc!" Sergeant Orion placed his hands over the man's shoulders. "Something wrong?"
The Doctor shouted in fright, "Good grief! I told you many times not to scare me like that, Mr. Orion!"
"Well, aren't you going to tell me what happened, Doc?"
"Please call me Dr. Lorathe," He sighed. "It seems the experiment's results were a failure; we will have to redo the whole process in a different approach."
Sergeant Orion nodded his head, " I brought the newbies, by the way."
"I can see that," Dr. Lorathe opened the door. "Well, come on in."
At the back of the room stood twenty humanoid target practices lined up in a row. Aside from those targets, the room was nearly empty. Our voices easily echoed since there was no furniture. We walked toward a long table which had rows of firearms of the same model laid across it. What's strange being that these guns weren't any typical firearms; they had no handles, triggers, or magazines whatsoever. Moreover, they had a unique, bulky design that I've never seen before.
"Dr. Lorathe, why do they look like that?" I scratched my head.
"Ah? Well, these were built specifically for you guys," Dr.Lorathe glanced me up and down.
He grabbed a gun from the table, "Your forearm has a compartment that can be opened to attach the gun in place!"
"How do we open it?" Indra asked.
Dr. Lorathe smiled, "Well, I'll tell you, then. If you simply think about it, the chip in your brain will pick up the electric signal, and it will give a command for the hatch to open!"
We all stared at him in confusion, but Indra nodded his head, appearing to comprehend the concept of it. He focused on his arm and instantly, a small hatch opened up from his forearm that revealed a rectangular hole. Dr. Lorathe handed the gun to him, and Indra latched it onto his arm. Everyone stared at it in amazement; shouts erupted as everyone surrounded Indra.
"What, no way!"
"That shit looks super cool!"
"I wanna try!"
I followed suit and latched the gun onto my forearm. My face reflected on its luster surface as I stared at the weapon in amazement. The weight of the gun felt quite heavy and a bit cumbersome to carry around. However, I still may be able to carry it for the whole day.
Tannen struck a pose with his gun, "How do I look, man?"
"As beautiful as a hunk of shit on the floor," I rolled my eyes.
"Why do you gotta be like that, bro?" He complained.
I shrugged my shoulders, "Well, you did ask for my opinion."
"Alright, get into a squad of five people!" Sergeant Orion interrupted. "Since there are only twenty targets, each of you will take turns shooting."
I stood in place and spread my legs apart. I tilted my head and adjusted my aim at the target practice.
"Your weapon should be connected to your Energy Core inside of your abdomen - basically your main power source in layman's terms." Dr. Lorathe explained.
He continued, "There are microscopic robots inside of you known as Regenerative Munitions Nanobots that produce ammunition which is then heated up by the Energy core before firing. Just like opening your hatch - you just have to think about it."
I calmed my mind and imagined that the target practice was Sergeant Orion. A bright flash of blue light instantly lit up from the barrel of the gun, and a strange fluctuating sound echoed out. Then, an energy ball shot out faster than the eye could see and blasted the target practice. The energy blast left a large burnt mark on the surface along with a hole where the bullet penetrated through. My mouth was agape when I saw the aftermath of the blast.
"Holy fuck..." I murmured quietly.
Sergeant Orion nodded in satisfaction, "Not bad."
"We're super soldiers now, boys!" Tannen excitedly exclaimed and pushed me away. "It's my turn!"
Another three months had gradually passed. Radio communications, weapons maintenance, combat training, acrobatics, and ambushing tactics - I practically learned it all by now. My physical condition is vastly superior compared to the time I fought the Juggernaut. The only thing that remained missing was actual experience in battle. I'm excited and nervous at the same time when I think about the outside world. What is it like out there? This question was always stuck inside of my head.
I still had these weird dreams of the exact same woman. Perhaps I had known her before I woke up in Invictus; In all honesty, I'm not even sure anymore. However, I will find out sooner or later. I just don't know where to begin. Sergeant Orion had his lips sealed shut and never divulged any information about any of us. Perhaps heading out to the outside world will open up the truth to me, but it will be near impossible to find her in this vast world - if she even exists.
"I'm really proud of everyone's improvement," Sergeant blew out a stream of smoke from his cigar and smiled.
"I saw the hard work and determination you all put in your training." He continued. Sergeant Orion calmly walked back and forth as he stared at us.
We remained poised - our backs stood tall, and we resembled statues with no hint of movement whatsoever. Two men stood at each end of the formation; both held up a large white flag decorated with a golden helix and a crimson sword that pierced through it. Our faces were rough from months of training. Yet, we remained dignified in the face of Sergeant Orion; a hidden message to prove we aren't weak. I felt conflicted. I always hated the rough training and constant beating from him. But on the other hand, being in Invictus brought a sense of brotherhood that I never dreamt of. The bond with Tannen, Indra, and the other recruits made me happy.
"Thank you, sir!" We saluted in unison.
"I know the food you ate over the course of months was nothing but dogshit," He laughed. "But as a congratulatory gift for completing the training, you will eat the best food here!"
We lost our composure and cheered in joy. Some rose their fists in the air. Others hugged each other and laughed merrily. The food we'd eaten couldn't be considered food at all. Even animals would not have the gall to take a bite out of it.
Tannen wrapped his hands around Indra and my shoulders, "We're finally free!"
"Hell yeah!" Indra and I shouted simultaneously.
And so, the night came. We all sat in the cafeteria in a drunken stupor. The kitchen staff had brought in a large barrel of beer by the request of Sergeant Orion. Four men stood on top of the tables and incomprehensibly sang songs, while some lost consciousness from the high alcohol content. Meanwhile, I gobbled down the food that were presented in front of me like a mad man. There were roast beef, noodles, fried chicken, and other delicious food that I would have never dreamed of eating. Indra went for a bowl of noodles, but I quickly took it before he got near it.
"Bion, that was supposed to be mine!" Indra complained.
I protected my bowl of noodles from him, "Bitch, go eat something else!"
"You asshole!" Indra jumped from his seat, but Tannen held him back.
While we argued, Sergeant Orion clapped his hands and drew everyone's attention.
Sergeant Orion spoke with a slur, "I want to congratulate all of you for completing your training. During my youth, I never had time to celebrate like this since I was always in battle. But being here now makes me wish I did."
"All of my brother-in-arms died during the war. Even now, I still don't know why I'm alive," He laughed at himself. "Standing here, you all remind me of them when we first met during training. I'm sure they'd be glad to see you all!"
The cafeteria suddenly turned quiet, and a gloomy aura filled the atmosphere around us. We all looked at him with downcast eyes. I never realized that he had such a depressing backstory. After all, Sergeant Orion was always full of vigor and would beat us if he ever had the chance. I guess you could never tell what really goes on inside people's mind.
He smiled before raising his beer jug high, "Cheer up, men! You are all warriors of Invictus now!"
Our moods lifted, and we chanted, "Invictus! Invictus! Invictus!"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
ASpyFromMars
ASpyFromMars my brothers have been captured by the US government and held up in area 51. but here i am writing this novel. i should be ashamed of myself.
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