Chapter 268: Interstellar / 2.3 : Private not
Kian looked at Shaotian with narrowed eyes when he walked to the stage. Yuan who was behind him turned around. He smiled at him reassuringly, and Kian smiled back. They both took a seat and looked at the recruits.
Yuan smiled and said:
"Welcome, recruits. If you’re here, it means that you passed the initial written test. But this is only the beginning. We’ll arrive at Greron A1 tomorrow morning, for the first trial."
Shaotian said:
"You will be beamed in the Polvomia forest. There’s a large concentration of Neran-ne. When you’ll arrive there, you’ll have to deal with the Intion. As you know, the Neran-ne are nocturnal aliens. You’ll have to survive there five days and four nights."
Yuan continued:
"Each of you will be given a bag with three weapons, a fire starter, and rations for two days. The rest of the time you’ll have to hunt. For each alien you kill, there will be points given. Injuring an alien gives you half of the points. They will be a final ranking."
Shaotian said:
"You’ve all signed a release, but if you want to give up, you can. All you’ll have to do is push the button that was injected on your wrist, for five seconds. You’ll automatically be beamed back onto the ship. Anyone who gives up will be banned from trying to enter the academy ever again, no matter the reason."
Kian frowned, isn’t he being too harsh? Usually, the general commander would take care of recruitment. But then, Shaotian decided to take care of it, and it became a thousand times harder.
He is such a control freak, that he has to vet every person who enters his army. He could just be general commander, and not worry about training the recruits. Control freak is not even accurate to describe him.
Yuan said:
"You can train in the simulation rooms or the multiples battle rooms. Dinner will be served in the cafeteria at 7 pm. If you miss it, you won’t eat. Lights out is at 10 pm, and you will wake up at 6 am."
Shaotian continued:
"You will be beamed at 8 am, after breakfast. As soon as you are down, the trial starts. It ends Friday at 8 am. You can of course ally with people. But your kills will be divided by the number of people who helped killed the alien, no matter how small their part. The Neran-nes are worth 10 points and the Intions 5 points. They will be a ranking in the end, and the one with the most points will be trained by me for the next trial."
Hearing that, everyone felt excited and even more determined. Shaotian is the best fighter in the galaxy, with him training you for a month, you’re sure to ace all the other trials. While everyone was happy, Kian’s frown deepened.
He’s going to win one way or another, but he doesn’t want Shaotian to train him. He’s mean and scary. He wants Yuan to train him, he’s the second best, and he’s fine with that. Furthermore, his pheromones smell so good.
That’s another reason he feels so drawn to him. He’s never smelled something so intoxicating. It makes him want to be closer to Yuan. When Shaotian looked at Kian with cold eyes, he blinked.
Everyone followed Shaotian’s eyes, and they could tell he had it out for Kian. When Kian looked down pouting, they couldn’t help but smile. It’s hard to understand how someone can be angry at someone so cute.
Yuan chuckled and because of his microphone, everyone heard him. Kian looked up and met his eyes. His cheeks flushed when he smiled at him.
Feeling Shaotian’s dark eyes again, he quickly smiled and looked down. He feels like he killed the person Shaotian loves most. Why does he hate him already?
Tan smirked. Shaotian looked at Yuan with narrowed eyes, and he raised an eyebrow. He chuckled and said using his terminal:
"You just received your quarter’s number. You’re free to sleep or train, that’s your choice.
Shaotian warned:
"Anyone caught disrespecting the rules, will be sent back home in a shuttle. Is that clear?"
Everyone said at the same time:
"Yes, private Bei."
Seeing that Kian hadn’t said it, Shaotian looked at him, then at the name tag on his chest. He asked:
"Is that clear, Kian?"
Kian felt like choking him. What is his deal? He hates him so much, Shaotian makes him want to give up. But he won’t, he’ll be the best just to throw it in his face.
"It is, Shaotian."
Everyone felt worried about Kian. Shaotian is the second in charge, but everyone respects him more than the general commander. They all know that if he wanted to rule his army, he could.
He just values who will be by his side fighting, that’s why he’s responsible for the recruit sessions. Kian calling him by his name, instead of his title, is disrespectful. Tan looked at Kian and felt he had a death wish.
Shaotian said coldly:
"It’s private Bei, we’re not friends."
Before thinking, Kian said:
"I know we’re not friends, my friends are nice to me."
Shaotian sneered:
"If you came here to make friends, you came to the wrong place."
Kian said:
"I came here because I want to fight for the federation, that took care of me and gave me chances. Which most orphans didn’t have. Everyone who will fight by my side and for me, as I will, is my definition of a friend. If you wish to fight on your own, then maybe the army isn’t the place for you. You’re the private, you should know that better than anyone."
Everyone felt touched by Kian’s words, they could tell he was sincere. Tan looked around and became annoyed. He coughed and said:
"Kian, we’re here for a quick briefing. You shouldn’t talk to the private like that. Apologize."
It was hard for Kian not to laugh. To think he would do everything Tan would ask him to do. Before, he would’ve apologized in a heartbeat, but that time is over. Kian leaned back on his chair and crossed his arms.
Looking at his cute pouty face, everyone smiled again. Yuan smiled and said:
"You may leave."
Shaotian looked at Kian leave with narrowed eyes. When the room was empty, Yuan asked:
"Why are you giving Kian such a hard time? Did he do something to you?"
Shaotian warned:
"You better stop flirting with him."
Yuan seemed completely unfazed by his threatening eyes.
"Why? He and his friend are cute."
"Just stay away from him, he is nothing more than trouble. I can feel it."
Yuan looked at Shaotian leave surprised. He’s known Shaotian since they were kids, he knows him better than anyone.
He’s the type of person who never feels anything, but for some reason, he’s angered by Kian. This whole thing is odd, he’s not being himself.
