The message was clear: Welcome to Bootcamp. Your old life ends.
But there was less fuss than expected. I arrived at the barracks to report, yet there was no acknowledgement that I had escaped or been released from the cell and made it here with little spare time. I also experienced the old military adage, 'Hurry up and wait.'
I really expected an evil laugh or at least some fanfare as I was inducted. It was very low-key. I was allowed one last message out, and I had one previous communication from Xar before all contact was cut.
Non-Legion Communication Disabled.
Messages: Offline.
Xar's message was brief, and I needed to finish near the top leaderboard, but I also had to appear normal - he was a lot blunter than that. He didn't want to order me to cap my "monstrous stats", but the average stat for a raw recruit was far less than 20, more like 7-10. I was out by a factor of 10.
I sent a blanket goodbye message to Mike and Amy.
My inventory was locked and then surprisingly unlocked.
LOG: Inventory access granted. (Tier 2)
When I was scanned, people would see:
Luke Hammond Tier 1 Human L5 Warrior (Legion TironOK
OK, Sprite, it's time to turn off all non-essential notifications. We can make the most of how Tasar's training pays off.
Sprite: We want to maximise your increases. From my understanding of his training theory, it is the bonus for playing what you would call hardcore mode in games– is that correct gaming terminology?
Sounds close.
SpritOK OK. Expected gains are somewhere between a 10-25% increase in stats if you have reduced feedback from the System. The theory is that you become more in tune with your body, allowing you to push beyond what the System would allow. Because we also cap the stats, we will see an increase from that. Tasar will pay for the training data, biometrics, and stat differences.
All bonuses are good!
Brick had also asked me to keep notifications off while training. Tasar's secrets seemed not as secret as he thought, or maybe it was a secret training program that everyone knew but didn't talk about. It seemed a bit simple to me. Tasar was not as bright as he thought, making me smile slightly. I guess it was his use of the collar that made it special.
Sprite and I decided to cap my stats between 5 and 15, depending on the training. I was not expecting trouble, but I also had contingency plans in case a problem found me, and Sprite could revert my stats if I needed them. I was still operating under minimal notifications, so I could not view my stats if I wished, only individual scores. The fewer notifications, the better my stat gains would be.
Notifications are set to Buffs, Debuffs, and Status effects.
Sprite: I will also filter any interesting or urgent notifications.
A few others were joining from here, and it was a long, boring wait for them all to arrive. After we were given a locker, a uniform, and a decent meal, we were led to a small teleportation alcove. Stepping through was like stepping into a nightmare. I had yet to learn where we had been sent.
SYSTEM WARNING: YOU HAVE ENTERED A LOW ENERGY LEVEL AREA. REGENERATION IS 50% LESS EFFECTIVE.
There were precisely 100 of us who made a group called Century. I thanked Xar for his gift of those data packets. This was broken into 10 Contubernium or tent groups of 8 recruits, a Decanus – the leader and an auxiliary to round out the ten. The Century leader for the entire Bootcamp was a centurion. She was Liliana Mocilla. She was stunning, like all the enhanced people I had seen. It seemed just wrong to have beautiful people leading an army.
At first, she seemed too lovely to be in charge of 100 fresh recruits as she addressed us from her podium. She was all sunshine and praise for our courage, commitment and sacrifice as we stood on the parade ground at attention.
It was not what I expected, although my knowledge of military training had come from "Full Metal Jacket". It was not the first or last time I would make that connection. Damn, I loved the movie, but boy, I was not looking forward to living it. Liliana spoke for a good half hour about the fine tradition of the Legion. I kept waiting for the hammer to fall. But obviously, her job was to inspire us.
The cynic in me realised that just meant that what came next would be 100 times worse.
I semi-tuned out; she kept repeating variations on how we could expect the following six months to bind us into the finest fighting force in the Empire. Our driving mission is to combat the forces of chaos. We would be respected across the known worlds and stand as the light against the dark. We were going to learn to be thinking soldiers. Not just follow blind orders but fight to make things better for all. To face danger as a unified force and to be the shield for the people who need protection from oppression. Cliche and good and all that, but pretty dull.
So full of clichés, but wow. Anyone who was not moved or inspired had problems. Yet, I was bored despite it being all quite impressive. As she finished, I felt pressure, and a resounding warmth filled my body.
Moral increased. You are more likely to follow orders that align with your oath and gain a bonus for completing legitimate orders. (30 Days)
I was guessing she had oratory skills, and that was one hell of a buff.
Sprite: impressive. This will be good training for you. I have a great feeling about this Bootcamp.
Why would you say that? You just jinxed us. Don't jinx this, please.
Sprite: I will not be part of your unfounded superstitions.
I am not sure Sprite was a good judge of these things because I was counting on something not being as good as Centurion Mocilla sold us. Before she left, she introduced ten men and women who stepped forward from our ranks. They were to be our Decanus, the leaders of the tent groups. One by one, they marched on before us and, in turn, yelled nine names. As each of them finished screaming these names out, nine other men and women from our group, presumably those being called, would form up and march behind them.
I had a horrible feeling as I waited. 6 groups were gone, 7, 8, and 9 groups. When only nine recruits left and our Decanus, he stepped forward. He had a sadistic grin plastered on his face.
"My name is Aires Rufus. You will address me as Decanus or Sir. By your oath, you will do as I say, when I say. Is that clear?"
"Sir, Yes Sir" was the appropriate response.
We got it right after three attempts and 50 push-ups in between.
"Now, my fine fellows and ladies, the following order is a bit unusual, but it is a good one for you; it has come down from above, and I have been asked to insist. So, in a sense, I am just following orders too. From now on, you are ordered not to use any skills, powers or perks without permission from a superior officer. Not that any of you beautiful people could afford fancy things like that. Is that understood?"
"Sir, yes sir" was the only appropriate response.
SYSTEM: All skills, powers and perks are currently inaccessible.
Crap. Coincidence? I was getting a horrible feeling about this.
Mentally, I could feel where all my skills resided in my brain or wherever they resided. I could not connect to them, like trying to use your hand or legs when you had pins and needles. I could not access them. Trying to remember something is mentally out of reach on the tip of your tongue. It reminded me of once when I was trying to kick a football after quite a few icy cold beers, except I ended up flat on my arse.
Hey Sprite, can you activate skills if I ask you to? Would that be considered breaking the order? Great feeling about Bootcamp still?
Sprite: I agree that my initial reaction may have been optimistic and overly positive. I need to know if I can activate your skills under these conditions. We would have to find out and practice later, but I am sure that since I am not you, it would be considered me using the powers, not you. I am still determining if I am comfortable doing what you know against legitimate orders. We can try that if you need me to, but I'd have to be sure you were not breaking your oath, or I was helping you. You gave me total access during emergencies so I could still use your powers.
It was a good time for Sprite to have an ethical and moral crisis. I debated if leaving that level of access was a good idea. I guess I trusted Sprite, but it was a lot of trust. I decided I needed to trust Sprite before I could expect the same in return.
I have to follow all orders, and I believe that Liliana said we were to think and not blindly follow orders. Crap, Sprite, I am becoming one who spends more time thinking about their oath when it becomes inconvenient and uses sophistry to work around it. Am I as bad as them? Crap.
Sprite: You do need to be guided by your moral compass. I have mine, and I also need to work this through. I can offer you advice and have a vast repository of ethical guidelines from many Earth cultures. Besides, I am vested in keeping you on the right and good side. At the end of the day, only you and the System can determine if your Class Oath or a personal Oath supersedes your Legion Oath. But I agree that spending time working out how to work around an oath is not necessarily good.
Rufus continued, "Next order, you may not communicate with anyone outside this Century unless you feel the order given violates your oath. Clear?"
"Sir, yes, sir."
"And lastly, "You are to disable all notifications and messages and mute your AIs if you have them for the remainder of your time here in hell."
"Sir, yes, sir."
SYSTEM: All notifications paused. Your AI is muted. All incoming Messages are banked. System-generated auto-response is in place.
LOG: Sprite (encrypted) That is just rude. As if I were just a dumb AI that could be muted and tamed. I am a sapient being! Don't worry, Luke. Petal told me when I first splintered that things would be interesting. We need a quick reboot of your … well, hang on, I've got this. (6000 Cr Added to your bill, 100 Cr per word.) Please be aware that all services incur additional legal costs until further notice.
SYSTEM: Shutting node down for maintenance.
Sprite: Told you I got this.
LOG: Yes. We got this. Please be aware that all services incur additional legal costs until further notice.
SYSTEM: Restarted. (DEBUG MODE ENABLED)
Sprite: Crap. We are in a bit of trouble, but let me handle that. You should be OK now. Now, you cannot send messages, but I can pass minimal information on to you if we do not want to be compromised. I can make judgment calls to inform people, but if you do not tell me to message people, you will not be breaking your oath and not following your orders. You have to be careful because your oath may inflict some penalties if you try too hard to get around the mandates. I feel better about using your skills now. Don't worry too much. As I said, we got this. We are logging everything to the Humble Divine Subspace buffer now, too. Luckily, they can bill Earth Inc. directly.
That made me feel so much better. Julie would not be happy about the extra bill.
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
Two of my fellow recruits suddenly buckled their legs and collapsed. I was not sure if I saw blood coming from their ears.
Rufus snarled, "See what happens when you break your oath. I said no powers or AIs. Now, everyone starts push-ups until they recover. 1, 2, … too slow. Now we get less mess time. 1, 2, 3 …."
We dropped and started. Luckily, the two recruits did recover reasonably quickly and were made to stand at attention. We finished off to the nearest 100.
"… 299, 30OK Ok. Until further notice, everything is double time because you made me stand here. Only if you are at attention are you to be still. At all the other times, you are jogging. At ease, keep jogging. Having a pee, you are jogging. The only time you are not jogging is when you have a crap and when you fall asleep. Start Double Time Now!"
We all started a nice on-the-spot jog. I could feel the edges of the oath compelling me. I knew I could ignore it if I pushed it, but it was not worth it. Low profile.
"In time together, Auxiliary Drusus Stolo, you keep pace".
I assume one of the recruits, Stolo, started a cadence, "Hrp, hrp, hrp, …."
It took about five minutes for us to get the cadence and keep together. Every time someone missed, we dropped for ten and started again.
Rufus yelled, "Before we fall out and get you stowed away, we will name this group. We need something to bring us together, to help you remember who your team and friends are. Normally, it would be something cool like "Rufus' Renegades" or "Rufus' First File". When we win, we get something like "Gold Agis" on the leaderboard. Not that you will be as good as my recruits from last Bootcamp."
He let us run for a bit.
"Usually, a name happens because you achieve something, and the name of your tent group binds you together. Sometimes, you get a bit of a buff, especially at the top end of the leaderboard. Well, guess what? We are the last ones here, and you are the last, the worst, the bottom of the pile, as of today, the bottom of the leaderboard. You have already earned the name that fits your status. Anyone got a guess?"
A timid "Losers?"
The predictable punishment came.
"Everyone drop and give me 50, - Sir, Losers Sir, was the response, and another 50 for being wrong, 1, 2, 3, 4…."
Nobody groaned.
When we finished, Rufus yelled again at us, "Anyone?"
"Sir, No Sir"
He smiled, "At least you learn fast. You are now known as Rufus' Babies. "
Title Awarded (Temporary Stage 1): Rufus' Babies.
Effect: Under this title, your renown and reputation with others in the Will Legion suffer. While in your full contubernium, your moral penalty increases.
Sprite, what is a Temporary Stage 1 title?
Sprite: I found the help file. You must use Help: Legion: Bootcamp: Titles and Buffs: Titles, Temporary to access it. Luckily, I can cross-index the System's help files reasonably quickly. The others won't know either. They all have their notifications disabled.
Sprite… less you know and more info. I am interested, just not the time or place right now…
Sprit: OK OOK OK.
Help: Legion: Bootcamp: Titles and Buffs: Titles, Temporary
The Legion sometimes offers limited titles and buffs for outstanding or dangerous achievements. Often, these result from completing campaign goals or promotion through the ranks. The first title that a legionnaire receives is at the end of Bootcamp.
Each stage of training allows the Centurion in charge to award Temporary titles with minor buffs.
These last approximately one standard month and will increase as the training continues.
These are cumulative with the final graduation title and are used as a reward to encourage higher performance.
See also Legion: Bootcamp.
Is that allowed?
Sprite: I can make discrete inquiries, but we don't want to tip our hand yet that we have access to messages and skills. A negative effect seems counter to the spirit of the help file.
Thanks, Sprite. I'd be in even more crap without you.
Rufus then led us around the training area in a guided tour of what was to be our home for the next six months. We jogged while he summoned a fantastic-looking transport – a cross between a segway and a single-person golf cart to follow and yell at us. Poor Stolo was yelled at, too, when we did things wrong. We got to the barracks. A squat, ugly two-story building with smoky opaque windows along the sides. We didn't get to see in there, just told that we were at the back, last.
The rules were yelled at us; Lights out at 10 pm. Lights are on at 5 am. One footlocker for our gear. One cot. A shared bathroom. Rufus laughed when he explained that it had to be kept tidy. We could see some movement inside, in the dim interior, other groups lounging in their common areas, past the mess hall. By this stage, we were tired and quite hungry. I was tempted to get Sprite to up my stats. It would ease the discomfort, but looking at my companions, I just couldn't. We were all in the same boat.
We had not even stopped to meet each other. But we were bound by the fact that Rufus was such a prick. We also didn't get to see inside the mess hall, just doing push-ups while he read the menu for the meal we were missing. Legion Ration packs were it.
Bootcamp had started like hell. We were told to go there at least once a day, twice if we were lucky, and we would get three meals if we didn't screw up and had a perfect day. Of course, we would be last since we were last on the leaderboard. Since we had already screwed up by being put in the previous group, we would train through lunch. It did nothing for our morale, seeing some recruits sitting laughing at us and having a meal.
We jogged past the Stores or our Exchange.
We didn't see much there as we sped past. Rufus explained or yelled. He only seemed to have one volume. We learned, loudly, that we could requisition gear here. Once we got our kits – later and last, we would be responsible for replacing anything broken or damaged. It came out of our group's budget, which was also responsible for part of our final payout from Bootcamp. A few recruits stood before an open window on the otherwise warehouse-like building.
Still jogging, we saw the Arena. We raced through it. Watching other recruits working on formation drills already. This was a large open area, about the size of two or three football fields, with seating around sections of it. The open space was covered in grass in some places, sand in others and rocky rubble in others. There was a storage room at the far end where you could see the rows of practice weapons and other training equipment.
Rufus continued our jogging tour past the Tribunal or parade ground. This was where we had all started our tour, so it was nearly a complete circuit. We had done a lap of the small training fort in over two hours. Rufus spent a bit of time jogging us around and around, stopping us randomly to get attention and yelling more regulations and rules at us. He seemed to enjoy giving us push-ups and other needless exercises. Here, we would have our formal parades, where we would receive our awards and punishments. We were expected to be perfectly dressed for ceremonial parades. They happened at least once at the end of each stage of our training, roughly every month. He took us to the most significant no-go area.
The back of the Tribunal opened out onto the officer's location, meeting and planning rooms, and what looked like a fancy restaurant for their mess hall. The officer's area was sectioned off with a small guard house and a low barrier. It was out of bounds for scum like us.
The notices wall was also pointed out at the other end of the parade ground. This had our schedule, our rankings and other disciplinary matters. It was the communications hub for our training. We had to ensure that we kept up with what was on it. There was no "or else" attached to the statement. We knew by now what to expect.
Slowly jogging past the Study Hall, Rufus yelled at us to pause. We stopped moving but kept jogging.
"Each section of training has some basic theory. If you fail any test, you keep trying. You make it up in your own time. Since you are my babies, guess what? You don't get your own time. If you fail, you need to earn that re-sit. If you are at the bottom, if you fail, you are out. DO NOT FAIL. For some of you, this is your last chance."
We did that lap four times, then stopped, still jogging at the Exchange to get our new kit.
As we went forward, we were given a large duffle bag similar to the tactical gear in my inventory. I was 3rd last, so I watched as each person got their kit and resumed jogging.
You received 1 Legion: Bootcamp kit. Rufus' Babies Budget: -200cr.
The kit was not heavy, but the bag was awkward to carry while jogging.
Rufus jogged us over to the Barracks. He gave us forty-five minutes to get kitted out and our gear away, and he expected us to be back at the notice wall looking sharp.
"Stolo, you're with me", and they left. Stolo didn't look entirely happy, which was interesting.
There were 8 of us. All jogging. We looked at each other and then scrambled to get to our dorms. The timer was ticking. If we had been given 45 minutes, I assumed it would not be enough time.
The interior of the barracks was just long corridors, two doors along each side and 1 door at the end. Twin stairways were going up on our left and right. Each of the doors had a sign on them. We took the left stairs. We seemed a bit like sheep at the moment, and I was glad to follow until I got my bearings. We found our door at the back with a big, easy-to-read sign, "Rufus' Babies". The corridor itself was about 50 meters long. We opened our door to a room with four beds along one wall and four on the other, with a footlocker at the base. A doorway with no entry into what looked like our shared bathroom was at the far wall.
While we were running up, I used "Identify" on each of my companions.
Osvaldus Cethegus Tier 1 Warrior (Legion Tirone) L1 Rufus Babies
Tertius Cento Tier 1 Tirone L1 Rufus Babies
Gentius Hatullus Tier 1 Tirone L1 Rufus Babies
Vlato Dives Tier 2 Tirone L3 Rufus Babies
Apollo Sibylla Tier 1 Tirone L1 Rufus Babies
Naevius Sentho Tier 1 Tirone L1 Rufus Babies
Grete Nerva Tier 2 Guard (Legion Tirone) L5 Rufus Babies
Catutigernos Orca Tier 1 Tirone L1 Rufus Babies
There was a mad scramble to get a cot. I didn't care too much. I grabbed one closest to the back on the left. The footlocker had a handprint and opened to me when I pressed it.
Grete was the first to break the silence, "They can't do this to us. Did any of you know they did this?" There was a lot of shaking of heads. "I can't even message home. This was supposed to be a formality. I was supposed to get into officers. No offence, I'm not sure what got you in here, but I am here by mistake. My family paid for me to get through, and now I am stuck in Rufus Babies with all of you."
We all looked at Grete. He seemed even more socially inept than I was. It also explained his level. His family had paid to level him. I don't think there was one of us who felt any sympathy for him.
"Well, since it is a mistake, I am going to go and sort this all out. Goodbye, and I will hopefully be seeing you never", Grete said as he left. Again, as a group, we all looked at each other. This was not going to end well.
Vlato, in a deep, arrogant voice, smiled and looked around. "Yes, well, I am sure I'll be out of here too. Strange how they screw up so badly for the two of us. But what can you expect from the Legion these days? I mean, how can I expect to sleep on this?" he kicked his bed over and followed Grete.
"They are royally screwed, and so are we!" I said, shoving my kit into my locker
Apollo grunted, "Yep. Whatever reason we got last, we gotta work harder not to be last. Not to pressure you all, but I can't fail here."
I loved the "Identify" skill that lets me see people's names. I didn't have to come up with stupid names to remember them. Apollo, I probably would have called Scarface since he had pockmarks on his left cheek, which was a bit unusual amongst all the beautiful people. Sometimes people didn't deserve the names I would give them, but sometimes like the Dipshits in Desert's Edge, they did.
I sighed, "If we stick together, I am sure we can .."
"Fuck you," Catutigernos said, "Who died and made you our boss. I'll get through this myself. Any of you come near me, you are dead." She said, slamming her gear into her footlocker and keeping the training dagger on her bed. She sat down and put her head into her hands.
As one of the two females in our group, I could understand that she needed to set boundaries and appear tough. I wish I could show them all "Full Metal Jacket", and they could see what that sort of crazy did to people. I hoped she would not end up in the bathroom with her rifle and Rufus dead. On second thoughts, that might not be a good outcome for her.
Rufus had pulled cliché and tropes straight from that movie.
She became KittyCat in my head. Easier for me. I sighed. Her outburst and the defection set back our efforts to get to know one another.
"I'm Luke anyway", nodding at the others.
Everyone except KittyCat nodded and grunted their names as we stowed our gear.
Rufus Babies was fined 1000 x 2.
2 Members attempted discharge.
Rufus Babies was fined 400cr for false medical records.
Rufus Babies 2 members in CC 48 hours.
I don't think anyone else got those notifications, but we all knew something terrible was coming. It had been less than ten minutes, and we were all nearly in our kit. Mine was old and worn. The equipment was a much more basic version of the tactical gear I still had in my inventory. No self-repair, no self-cleaning!
I never wanted to get clothes that lacked those ever again. I felt dirty just thinking about no self-cleaning. I couldn't even sneak my nano-weave under-armour on, it would stick out too much, and I don't think that would be a wise thing to do right now. Not only would it single me out, but it would also draw the attention of Rufus, whom I really wanted nothing to do with, and I had only just met him! He was doing an excellent job of making us hate him. Classic drill sergeant, only worse.
I helped Naevius, the other female, into her armour and showed her how Xar had demonstrated more efficient and comfortable ways to wear the kit. A few tightened straps and a bit of tape made a huge difference. She was struggling and seemed to be at a loss. I showed her how to re-lace the boots to make them easier to get on and off and less likely to catch, chafe and make noise. The others watched on and were soon helping each other.
KittyCat seemed to manage OK but glared at anyone who looked at her sideways.
Our door opened, and Rufus and Stolo entered. Rufus had a grin on his face as if he was in heaven.
"Points gone already, fined for fake medical records, and you are two members down for 48 hours. They are in the CC. If you don't know what that is, it's hell compared to here. Don't break the rules, and you won't find out either. So not only are you losers at the bottom, but you are also now officially in the negative! That is wonderful. The less you get paid, the more I do! I get a bonus if I can keep you at the bottom. Just a warning, if you drop your kit, it gets confiscated and returned to stores."
He pointed to the two unopened duffle bags, which Stolo went and picked up.
"Remember, you lose it; you pay for it. Everyone pays in the end. Remember your budget. The more you spend, the less I get, and the less I get, the more training you need. Aux here. He oversees it. He is not like you. He volunteered and is helping me keep you at the bottom. Aren't you Aux?"
Stolo, our Aux, left with the seemingly abandoned bags without saying a word.
Rufus Babies fined 400cr x 2 abandoned Basic Legion Kit.
Rufus looked around at us and seemed to scowl. He grabbed at some areas where I had shown people how to make the kits not chafe as much. Seeing all of us except KittyCat had those, he smirked, "So one of you has half an idea that should make my job interesting."
He nodded at Cat, "50 push-ups for being a bitch, and everyone else 100 for putting up with it. Once you are done outside, do two laps of the fort, then double time at the notices.
Then we get onto our training.
Welcome to Hell."