Bab 7: Party time
Private Alec Blaydd, badge number S30240809-1. Designated Unit... Tsys 09.
The female voice announced.
Alec, who was standing forward, felt his chest tighten the moment his unit was announced. His stomach turned, his palms grew wet, his pupils dilated.
That was it. Those were the few words that defined his future.
The silence that only lasted half a second felt like hours under the spell he was in. And the moment his mind formed the image of the massive dark turquoise metal plates standing right behind him, the moment the crowd roared to celebrate.
He almost forgot what he had to do next, if it wasn't for Julius movements in the corner of his eye. After bowing to the crowd once, he approached the AUN representative with confident steps; stopping right in front of him.
"The promised one." For the first time in the evening, a smile crept his lips. "From the very beginning all your tests and trials showed us a promising result, just to prove us right."
Alec nodded, not allowed to respond directly to the representative.
"This is a huge responsibility, son, that I'm sure you'll be able to meet and surpass with creases." He pinned the turquoise medal in his chest. "For freedom..."
"Shall our souls be sacrificed." He saluted.
He walked back to his spot in line, already feeling the weight of the medal hanging by his uniform. He had to fight the urge to see it with his own eyes, to finally make his mind around the fact that it was over.
Or rather, that it had just begun.
The ceremony unraveled almost too fast after he received the news. But even after the ceremony was over, the celebration kept on going in the streets straight up to the next day. Music, food, and services of every kind were thriving with customers eager to spend money.
Alec, standing by the base's gate, rose his right arm. A thin, vertical line stretched out from the palm of his hand, then stretching again to make a rectangular hologram.
He looked through his phone, and as he scrolled up and down around the recent news, he stopped in his photo beneath the tittle "Tsys 09 new promise pilot: From the perfect scores to the perfect soldier".
He felt somewhat embarrassed, not only by the news itself, but because of the thousands of comments already there. Some talking trash, some encouraging, and others talking about his good looks.
"How's the hottest Tsys 09 pilot of all times doing? Don't let it cloud your mind, bro."
Deacon's voice pulled his eyes from the screen.
"A little too late for not giving your all in the trials, D." They clashed shoulders, with a friendly handshake.
"I almost died a couple of times, y'know?" He smirked, knowing deep down that his best friends was actually right.
"We all did." Alec smirked, leading the way towards the door. "I always wondered why you didn't want to do your best at it. Specially the tests."
Deacon shrugged, dismissing the topic. "Ready to get wasted? Tonight's the night, man."
Alec sighed. "I'm gonna have to drag you to your place afterwards, aren't I..." Deacon smiled widely. "Just don't throw up on me like the last time would ya?"
"Not making promises I know I might not keep." He rose his hands to the back of his head.
"You know I can just leave you wherever you drop, right?"
"Oh, but you can't. You're just too nice, Al." An evil laugh escaped him, killing Alec's mood because he knew he was right.
It was not in him to leave people in need just like that. He did that once, and his conscience nipped his mind so hard, he had to go back and do what he thought was right.
Both parted downtown to mix with the crowd of people, looking around for a bar and a place to have a nice dinner. Something greasy and full of meat if possible.
They ended up at a shady bar near one of the stations. It was packed, so the food and booze had to be good. Getting a table in the farthest and darkest corner of the place. They had caps and hoodies on, hoping they would keep them from being recognized.
A couple of hours passed when the food finally arrived. It wasn't a surprise, though, given that the place was at it's max capacity.
They drank and ate like there was no tomorrow. It had been almost a year since they had the chance to grab a proper hangover. And doing it in base didn't have the same effect as doing it in this festive vibe.
This time, Alec didn't bother on counting how many beers he got to drink, ending up just as wasted as his best friend. The bill was by far one of the biggest they've ever had to pay, all because of the amount of booze they had to order to get drunk.
Having a Theryon microchip installed had its perks, but its metabolism enhancer was not one of them; processing the alcohol ten times better than a normal human being.
With a blurry sight, both of them dragged their feet out of the bar; stumbling here and there, making their way to the base.
They could spend the night out chasing bars or pretty skirt, but spending more money was out of the question.
"I think I wanna..." Deacon said, arching a little.
"Why people drink to that point? I really don't get it." Alec said, but the nausea made him stop.
"Shuddup." Deacon said, rolling his eyes. "You look like crap yourself."
He didn't say anything back.
The walked through the less crowded streets, trying to remember exactly where they were, when he felt his body clash heavily against a lamp post.
A tiny lamp post.
His eyes tried to focus on what was ahead, only to find nothing. When he thought he was starting to lose his mind and start hating getting wasted, something moved below his eyesight.
He heard a small whistle. "So Mr. Perfect DOES have a fun side."
A familiar female voice pierced his senses, shooting his eyes down to meet the couple of turbulent green eyes staring him back.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone