The Scouts spent the day in their barracks.

And the next day.

And the next.

Vas had practiced almost non-stop during the first day. Kara had told him after Jade’s outburst that the five people who had come with him would be his squad.

Vas hadn’t expected to be put in a leadership position. Actually, he’d assumed he would be disliked and ostracized by the other trainees.

Near the middle of the first day, the day Jade broke down, Tare confronted Vas. “I don’t think we can really get along, but I’m willing to follow you an’ Fem.”

Tare was the final member of Vas’s new squad. He was a short Asian man.

Not Korean like Fem.

Maybe… Japanese?

“There’s a saying I like. ‘Duty is heavier than a mountain; death lighter than a feather’. You aren’t alone, so make sure you share the load.”

Vas had thanked him, and the normally-quiet man had left.

Vas had spent the majority of the next two days playing cards with his squad and the other Scouts.

He wasn’t someone who did well when he had to think a lot. He usually ended up depressed and regretful. For this reason, Vas always tried to have something to do.

His squad appreciated the effort, but it seemed obvious that he didn’t fit in with people in such normal social situations.

In addition, Kara also took those two days to drill knowledge into Vas’s squad. Things like building shelters, using tents, setting people up to keep watch, normal times for Risen to attack, how to survive on rations, and more.

Most of the things Kara drilled them on were things that Vas and the others had experienced.

After all, it was only around four years ago when they had all participated in the two-month-long hike to The Wall in the first place.

The reason the Scouts waited at the barracks for an extended period of time was to meet up with three other Scout parties who were due back within the week. Kara claimed she had an assignment. She called it ‘the long trip’, which Vas assumed meant going back to the old world.

On the evening of the third day, fifteen Scouts returned.

The next morning, more than thirty returned.

Kara called a meeting with the squad leaders. The meeting consisted of Kara, Vas, and three others. One of Kara’s men, Ender, sat in on the meeting in case the squad leaders needed anything.

A woman in her mid-forties with a long scar across her face nodded towards Vas when they were all alone together. “Who’s this, Kara?” The woman asked icily.

Kara rubbed her forehead, “Vas. Daneel is gone, Ishone.”

The icy woman, Ishone, stared at Kara for a long moment. She finally nodded.

With Ishone’s approval, the other two seemed to have no qualms with Vas.

Vas hadn’t realized it would be so easy for a completely new recruit to get promoted.

“When is the long march? My men will need at least a few days to recuperate. I’ll need to leave some behind, too.” This time was a big man, an islander by his looks.

“I can give you three days.” The squad leaders nodded like this had been expected. Vas didn’t want to seem like he had no idea what they were talking about, so he simply stayed expressionless.

Ishone nodded to him, “New moon in three days. It’s extremely dark on those nights, which means that if the Risen attack. . . Well, it doesn’t go well. When we plan multi-week trips, we always avoid the new moon. Imagine being in the dark and barely being able to see monsters who can see you like it is daytime. Now imagine being in complete darkness.”

That made sense to Vas. He’d been practicing in the dark whenever possible. The idea of fighting in such circumstances was terrifying. Then it struck him, “That’s why we stay in pairs. We can go back-to-back in the dark if the Risen come.”

Ishone grinned at him.

“Yes, that’s part of it.” Kara stated, “How many people can we take down south without getting noticed?”

The islander squad leader sat forward, thinking. “Maybe thirty? Forty?”

The third squad leader, a tall thin man with a moustache, wrinkled his nose. “They’ll notice us no matter what. The question is whether we can make it there without too many of them noticing us.”

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“They may be monsters, but they don’t possess superior senses to humans. We could slip past them,” said Ishone.

“Except that they can see. In. The. Dark.” The third squad leader growled.

Ishone and the man with a moustache glared at each other for a few moments.

“What is the objective?” Vas wondered aloud.

Everyone looked at him.

“Objective?” Kara raised her eyebrows.

“We want to see what has happened to the old world. Imagine if people were able to beat the Risen. What if there are resistance groups?” Kara was obviously passionate about the possibility.

Vas nodded slowly, “So how long is our trip estimated to take?”

Kara grinned at him. “Two months to get down to the old world. A year of gathering information. Two months to get home.”

Vas’s eyes grew wide.

“A year and a half? What about food? Even the rations should run out after four or five months. Water will be more difficult to find down there as well. Our weapons will break down. Our clothes will wear out.”

Ishone shook her head and glared at Kara, “You added a new squad leader FOR this trip without even explaining it to him? Did you even decide on his squad’s job?”

Kara sat back with a guilty expression on her face.

“He’s taking Daneel’s job.”

They all stared at Kara. The islander rubbed his chin. “Is he that good a fighter? I agree that we need a decoy squad, but only if they can survive long enough to actually be decoys.”

This was the first Vas had heard about a decoy squad, but the idea made sense.

“What is my squad’s job, exactly?”

Kara blinked, taken aback.

“Aren’t you angry?”

Ishone broke in, “What about Tapo’s question? Can they really fight that well?”

Kara nodded at Ishone. Tapo, the islander, clapped his hands together. “This is wonderful! Who would have thought we would be so fortunate? Another warrior as proficient as Daneel?” Tapo grinned at Vas, “We will need to spar sometime!”

Vas grinned back. He very much liked Tapo.

Moustache man clicked his tongue loudly. “We need to focus. There will be time for fun later.” Tapo and Vas glared at the man, while the two women nodded appreciatively.

“Vas is right about one thing, water will be difficult to find once we can no longer rely on the snow. Our purifiers work with the snow, but they can’t purify salt water.” He explained the last sentence for Vas’s sake.

“That is why the path I’ve drawn out goes through multiple lakes,” Kara huffed as she set a large map down on the table in front of them.

Vas's Squad (pairs are shown vertically)Vas (Squad Leader)Fem (Sub Leader)JoustJadeTareAlex