Chương 8: Squad Assignments

*Bling*

Telapod detected. Please input your desired destination.

*Bling*

Additional users detected on Telapod Pad.

Do you wish to perform a group transport?

"Yes."

*Bling*

Destination has high level access restrictions. Please wait while your access credentials are verified.

*Bling*

User verified as Recruit Zeph Demonbane Level One Administrator - current primary resident of requested destination.

To perform group transport to the requested destination, you as the primary resident must first issue temporary or permanent guest access to Room ES001.

Do you wish to grant the other users guest access at this time?

"Yes. Grant Commissioner Justin Vaughn a temporary guest pass for the next seventy-two hours, and issue the two females with us permanent access. They will be permanent residents of room ES001 should they pass the recruit assessment."

*Bling*

It is beyond the capabilities of this Telapod interface to grant residency status. Residency Status can only be granted by the Main AI of the building. Would you like to grant permanent guest access at this time?

"Yes."

*Bling*

Guest access permits issued.

Initiating Group Transport

Teleporting to Telapod access point in Executive Suite One in three seconds.

The ice cold lightning bringing blue lights swirled around the four of them for a few moments, bringing that awful feeling that was quickly becoming familiar to Zeph to all, as the teleport took place.

"Meow...Am I always going to have to take the Telapod to get to this room, or are there stairs that I can take?"

"I hate to break it to you but no. This is a secure room that can only be accessed using a telapod. I believe there is an emergency escape slide hidden behind a panel in the storage room, but I doubt even you could climb up it miss kitty."

"I am not a big fan of that feeling myself, but I guess it is just something we will have to get used to. Commissioner are we expected to take the physical assessment in what we have on currently, or are we permitted to change?"

"If you are worried about being out of uniform or messing it up somehow don't worry. The uniform was designed to withstand the activities associated with the everyday duties of a NEO, and you can take the outer white jacket off while you take the assessment, or exercise. Doing so is covered in the uniform code guide."

"I was more worried about her Sir. That leather outfit is not something that says workout clothes to me."

*Ding*

"Hello, Recruit Zeph Demonbane. I am delivery drone nine nine five six three two seven. I was sent to deliver training uniforms for the three of you. Should I place them on the desk, like the last delivery sent to you?"

"Oh hello again nine nine, the desk will be fine."

"Okay, and the building's main AI wanted to remind you to set up your service and companion drone at your earliest convenience. Good bye."

"Well leave it to a delivery drone to spoil my fun. Demonbane show them where to change. You three have five minutes to change, and return to this main room that is way nicer than my ready room."

"Both of you can take one of the rooms on the right to change in. The bathroom is the last door on the left, and the middle door is the gym that we will be taking our assessment in I guess. Let's change quick, something tells me changing in time is part of the test."

The three of them grabbed one of the three sets of gray training uniforms off the desk before racing to their respective rooms to change. Even though Zeph had the longest distance to cover to get to his master bedroom to change, he still managed to get dressed and return to the main room of the suite before the two female recruits by a full thirty seconds.

"Good, you all made it back on time. Every cycle we end up failing at least one recruit because they cannot dress themselves fast enough. While I have never seen the gym located in this Executive Suite, the building's AI has told me that it has a treadmill and weight training equipment that will fill the requirements of the assessment. It will consist of two parts, a five mile run to test your stamina, and a Plate Press to measure your strength. As this is your room Recruit Demonbane we will start with you taking the stamina assessment, while I conduct the strength assessment of the two other recruits."

Zeph soon found himself sweating buckets on the treadmill. It had the ability to adjust the movement speed of the running belt to match the runner's speed automatically using an array of motion sensors and pressure sensitive membranes embedded in the running belt, so he did not have to guess his running speed. That feature gave him only a slight amount of comfort. His legs were burning by the time he got to the third mile. With every hundred steps he could feel himself losing steam, and slowing down. His first two miles were a respectable seven, and seven and a half minutes, meaning he would just pass the standard for his age for the army had he joined while he was still alive on Earth. But he was up to ten and a half minutes for the third mile. As for the fourth mile it took him fifteen minutes to complete, and he looked as if he was on the verge of collapsing. Zeph dug deep as he pushed himself to finish the run, so as to not embarrass himself in front of the two attractive girls, and the XO. He had no idea what a passing score was, only that Siael said he was weaker than the average human on Vlaras.

*Bling*

Five mile run complete. You may step down from the treadmill.

Your times are: first mile Seven minutes and point zero two three seconds.

Mile two : Seven minutes thirty seconds point nine two.

Mile three : Ten minutes thirty seconds point five.

Mile four : Fifteen minutes. approx.

Mile five Twenty Minutes approx.

Total time : One hour and two seconds

Points awarded: Ten

"About time. I guess I still have a shot to get the top rank on the assessment. Not that it matters, as the XO already placed the two of us in your squad, Mr. black badge."

"Yea, I was never much of a runner, and I am not that strong either, but I guess I make up for it by being smarter than most. And Please call me Squad Leader or Administrator Demonbane when we are on duty. In private you can call me Zeph, bunny girl."

"My name is Laxana Carota, and you can look for it on the top of the leader board."

"Recruits enough, you can introduce yourselves later. We still need to finish this assessment, and hold the academy entrance ceremony where those that passed the assessment will be sworn in as cadet recruits officially. Recruit Carota you are up next on the treadmill. Demonbane take the padded glove from Recruit Kaineko, and go punch the black plate on the wall five times as hard as you can."

"Here you are, Squad Leader. Don't listen to long ears, I think you are perfectly good looking for a human."

"Thanks, I think you two are both beautiful. I look forward to working with you both."

*Bam*

One fifty three psi

*Bam*

One sixty two psi

*Bam*

One eighty one psi

*Bam*

One sixty nine psi

*Bam*

One seventy one Psi

Points awarded: Ten

"Hum, I guess the numbers that the Valkyrie Protocol list are based on what I will score on an assessment test."

"Recruit Demonbane, your scores are lower than I hoped for on the physical assessment being only half that of what is considered average for a human, but I guess you grew up in the lap of luxury, so it is understandable for you to not be as strong as others. Anyway you passed the assessment, and still are on the running for the top spot thanks to you having perfect scores on the other two sections. However, it is going to come down to the wire on if you or Recruit Carota take the top spot in the end. Recruit Kaineko, you have a chance to make it in the top ten if you can finish the run in under thirty five minutes."

"I will do my best sir."

"Good luck Kaineko, I am going to see if there are any glasses in the kitchen, so I can get some water if that is okay with you Commissioner."

"By all means, If the kitchen is stocked feel free to even make a meal for yourself, or everyone if you so feel inclined. If it is not stocked with food, you can take Recruit Carota to the dining hall. With your level of access it will not be a problem to use your meal pass to get more than one meal. By the way I checked out that Zimbo fella, He will start here in two weeks. Something about needing to train a replacement before he could leave that food stand."

*Bling*

Survive the day one assessment for recruits. - Task complete.

You gained twenty experience points.

*Bling*

You are now level three.

You have gained five points of stamina, four points of strength, and one point of intelligence.

*Bling*

All stats are as follows:

Stamina 15

Strength 15

Intelligence 51

Divine Blessing 1000

Note- the average base stat for humans is 20 in all categories.

*Bling*

You have a new task : Complete the first day of training. You will be awarded five points of experience and one point of Strength once complete.

*Bling*

Additional bonus task : Bed one of the female recruits staying in room ES001 before the end of the first week of training.

*Bling*

You have a new V-mail from Your-Little-Angel613 open?

"No."

*Bling*

Message saved in V-mail inbox.

"Looks like there is only a few bottles of some sort of alcohol in the refrigerator, along with a glass bottle filled with milk, and the only thing I found to eat was a box of cereal that looks way too healthy to taste good."

"Mew, milk. Can you give it to me please. it would be a nice way to cool down after I am done with my run."

"Yea, it is all yours Kaineko. So do you want to go get something to eat in the dining hall recruit Laxana Carota?"

"I am covered in sweat, and my fur is all wet because of it. So it it fine with you, I want to make use of the bathroom to wash up. You kind of smell too, so you can join me if you like."

"Umm, you are going to be assigned to this suite anyway so feel free to make use of whatever you need."

"Okay, so are you coming or not, you need to wash up too, and I am sure that Kaineko will want to take a shower once she is done with her assessment. I do not think all three us can fit in there at one time."

"The tub is more than big enough, for all three of us, but there is another bathroom in the master bedroom, so I will make use of it and let you have your privacy."

*Bling*

You have a new V-mail from MilkandBaths03 Open?

"Yes"

Idiot.

"Close"

Zeph shot Kaineko a sideways glance was she was running on the treadmill, as it was fairly obvious that the V-mail came from her because it had a proximity tag in in the embedded data. She had used a method that allowed a person to send a message to someone they could see even if they did not know their V-mail address. That with the address name it was clear sign that she sent it, and not Carota.

"What you are, one. By the way I will need you to show me how to set the water temperature, but I will take mine after we get our other Squad members assigned to our squad."

"Recruit Kaineko, stop talking and run you still have two miles left to go. If you bite your tongue, and need medical treatment you will be disqualified and have to wait a year to be reassessed."

An hour later Zeph was standing shoulder to shoulder with Carota, and Kaineko as they stared at a list posted on a screen in the main lobby that showed the ranking of all fifty one recruits. Zeph was still holding an apple in his hand that he grabbed from the dining room. He was just glad that a delivery drone dropped off meal cards and uniforms for the two of them moments after Kaineko passed her physical assessment. This gave them a chance to all grab a bite to eat before coming down to see the rankings.

Rank one Zeph Demonbane

Rank two Laxana Carota

Rank nine Sonya Kaineko

"Wow congratulations Kaineko you made the top ten."

"Yea, I think I deserve a reward squad leader."

"What kind of a reward do you want?"

"I want you to serve me ice cold milk, while I take a long bath in your master bathroom. And remember what I said about you teaching me how to set the temperature for the water."

Turning slightly red as he thought about the subtle unspoken implications of her request, Zeph caved in and said; "Fine, you did a good job making the top ten, so I guess I can give you the reward you asked for."

"Well I got second place, and you only beat be by three points. SO I deserve a reward too, right."

"What do you want then?"

"If she gets to have you give her a bath, then I get to spend the night in your bed. If you were not such a Big Idiot you could have had me in the shower too."

Zeph almost shot blood out of his nose like some anime character just from hearing her words, and he had to place a hand on the screen to keep his reaction of shock hidden from the others starting to walk into the lobby to check on their place in the rankings.

"See I told you that you were an idiot. Play your cards right and you might got to have us both "reward" you for getting first place Squad Leader. Now I think we should go check the other list to see who else will be joining our squad."

"Um, yea before I react to what you two said, while we are in a public place and in uniform."

Squad One

Squad Leader- Zeph Demonbane

Vice Squad Leader Laxana Carota

Squad Supply Officer Sonya Kaineko

Other members

Ryan Blanch

Josh Palmer

Brandon Cocks

Jonathan Smith

Sara Mills

Laura Lane

Jessica Fairchild

Candi Cane

"Odd we have eleven members in our squad, and it is a mix of male and female members in even numbers if you do not count the three of us. I thought that squads were supposed to be only ten members, and only of one gender normally."

*clack*

The sound of large doors opening came from the right side of the lobby as the doors to a formally decorated Auditorium opened.

"Recruits, come in and find your seats, we will be officially swearing you in as Cadet recruits in a few moments. For the first six months of academy training you are still considered recruits, so don't worry about that title. In a few months time you will be full fledged cadets, well most of you anyway. Cadet Demonbane will have completed all of his standard training by then. What awaits him from that point on is absolute hell compared to what the rest of you will be going through."

"Don't scare him Senior Instructor, he can still technically run away until after he is sworn in. Recruits, You will find that your seats have been assigned in a way that places you with your squad mates. This is so it is easier for you to make introductions after the ceremony is over. Squad One you will find your seats up on the stage, so don't waste your time looking around for your seating section."

"Sir, I noticed that we have eleven members in our squad, and not ten. Did the AI make a mistake when assigning squads?"

"No, the AI did not make a mistake First Squad Vice Leader. You will find out why in the opening of my welcoming speech."

"First off let me welcome all of you into the ranks of Nephilim Enforcement. It is my hope to see all of you walk across this stage on graduation day in a few years. Yes I said years, it takes a long time to mold you in to fine officers. This cycle is a special one for may reasons, but two stand out above the others. First we have Cadet Demonbane who is a Black Badge, or NEO that is an Administrator. Before you ask, if you did not catch on to it during the incident earlier he is a Level One Administrator. He is also the first in the history of this division to get a prefect score on the written portion of the assessment, and his aim is equally as impressive. At this time I would like to present you with this Silver Titanium Mark Six SLP. It is a fully functional model, so please remember to set it to training mode if you take it to the practice range. Second we, or should I say you recruits managed to pull off something incredible. All fifty one of you passed the assessment, and only difference of three points separated first and second place in the rankings. This is why squad one had eleven members, and not ten. You should know the cycle ahead of you only has three squads of ten."

"Because this is the first time a cycle had all of the recruits in it pass the assessment Central NEO Command has seen fit to give each of you a small rase in pay, and you will be issued a special patch to be worn on the left sleave of your uniform. It might be a simple Los Diablos 51 ribbon, but what it stands for is not simple. Uniform code is being updated as we speak, because that ribbon is something that the fifty-one of you will be allowed to display on your service uniforms even after graduation."