September 22, 4021 06:30 [Matriarch 04- Hyena Living Quarters]
Indra awoke in good spirits on the morning of his first official day as the Commander of the Fourth Division. He readied himself, donning his new uniform which signified his status as a Hyena. He walked into the kitchen just in time to witness Grisha hectically preparing breakfast in attire that seemed ill-suited for cooking. It was a bizarre scene; flour stained Grisha’s uniform, though she seemed unbothered by the mess, tossing food into plates as Prasanna stood close behind, frantically making sure none of it spilled onto the floor. Kaluza sat shirtless at the table with fork and knife in hand, hungrily watching the plates piled high with food. His wounds were healing nicely, faint scars the only evidence of his clash with Indra.
After breakfast, they hurried to the training facility to meet Tengri and Jin. The two had arrived earlier in the morning to set things up. Jin tapped his foot impatiently as the others arrived. He raised an eyebrow at Indra who merely shrugged. The divide between them was ever present, like an open chasm. Yet, Indra felt at ease around the Hyenas now, no longer required to walk on eggshells expecting some form of sadistic retaliation. Though they were his seniors, they were all on equal grounds now.
Kaluza yawned obnoxiously beside him. His wheelchair was nowhere to be seen, owing to the fact that his spine had set during the night. He extended his arms and bent down to stretch his back, visibly elated that he had regained the feeling in his toes. Prasanna stepped innocuously behind him whistling as she tipped him over with a shove from her foot. Indra snickered as Kaluza face-planted, shooting Prasanna a dirty look as he brushed the dirt off. Even Jin cracked a smile.
“Enough fooling around. We have two weeks to get you ready to lead your units. It’s a massive undertaking, and we don’t have time to be screwing about any longer. Your chances of survival as well as your teams’ depend on how well you’re able to absorb the information we give you and apply it to your orders,” Tengri explained.
“Each of us will be aiding you in an effort to teach you how to guide your division, but after today, you’ll be on your own. You should collaborate with each other and keep us in the loop. We expect reports on your progress at the end of each day so we can convene and figure out the best course of action accordingly. We’ll be writing our own as well so that everyone is on the same page,” Grisha added.
The junior Hyenas nodded, breaking off into pairs with the seniors. Tengri beckoned for Indra to follow, leading him to the Fourth Division’s designated training area. When they arrived, Indra peered over the catwalk, observing below as nearly five hundred soldiers suited in Sanitation Gear ran through basic drills led by a pair of familiar faces.
Kuvira and Garou paused as they spotted Indra, signaling for the regiment to take a break. They rushed over to him eagerly. Indra grinned as he greeted them.
“Sub-commanders! I should have known! Congrats!”
“Same to you, hotshot,” Garou replied, shoving him playfully.
Kuvira opened her mouth to speak, cut off by Tengri’s outstretched hand. “I told you lot already—we don’t have time for idle chatter. You can catch up later tonight. But first,” —he fished a small notebook from his pocket— “you three need to memorize these formations. Read and reread until you know each one by heart. I’ll continue running drills until then,” he stated.
Kuvira sighed, grabbing the notebook from him. The three bunched together studying each war formation. It didn’t take long for each tactic to sear itself into their minds. Tengri had taken great pains in explaining everything in excruciating detail while making the information as digestible as possible.
There were basic formations that Indra had already familiarized himself with when he was training for missions along the Desolate Coast. These included the Tortoise, Pincer, and Stag Point. These formations had never been quite as pertinent to him in prior field operations since his team had mainly stuck with smaller-scale reconnaissance missions.
In war, however, knowledge of these formations was indispensable, often the deciding factor between life and death. The Tortoise formation provided a consistent and reliable method of defending the group, while the Pincer and Stag Point formations allowed for practical and simple to execute offensive maneuvers.
Indra paid close attention to the formations more unfamiliar to him: Staggered Herringbone, Line Saturation, Diamond Formation, Echelon, Cross Break, and Sweep Rotation. He made sure to take note of the requirements for execution and the specificity of the situations they would find the most utility. He also noted the rate of success for each formation. He would need to carefully consider which formation to execute in order to ensure the safety of his soldiers, though he knew that he would have to mentally prepare himself for the prospect of incurring casualties.
Once they had sufficiently familiarized themselves with Tengri’s diagrams they waved in his direction to let him know that they were ready to take over. Tengri gave them a nod of approval, grabbing the notebook from them before situating himself on the catwalk overlooking the Fourth Division training grounds.
Indra called his division to attention, flanked by his Sub-commanders. Rows of soldiers, a mix of Homunculi and humans, stood at the ready. Indra scanned his subordinates. Physically, they looked to be in peak condition, but there was something about their appearance that concerned him. Their eyes—they were sunken like Indra’s had been after days of sleepless nights. When was the last time they had experienced a restful slumber? Indra recognized a few Homunculi from Matriarch 07 among the rest. Guess they didn’t make the cut for candidacy. They looked tired and lifeless, a far cry from how he remembered them.
“Hey, quick question. When’s the last time any of you slept?” he asked.
The soldiers blinked in surprise looking to one another for an answer as if the question were alien in origin. What kind of person would ask such a thing?
A soldier in the second row raised her hand. The others stepped to the side to provide Indra with a clear view of the speaker. “U-um, it’s been seventy-two hours, sir,” she said. It was the woman who had sat at the front desk of the Hyena Living Quarters.
Indra crossed his arms, considering the best course of action. They had a laughably short amount of time to perfect their formation coordination. Indra had his own tasks to deal with as well, needing to perfect the way he relayed orders to maximize their efficiency. The division would also need to start integrating with the rest, training in tandem with them to avoid stepping over each other’s toes on the battlefield come deployment day.
He bit his lip. They couldn’t achieve anything if they were running on fumes, however.
“Alright, all of you! Drop! Set an alarm on your Nerve Cords! Six hours! After that, I’ll run you ragged once again! Don’t expect any preferential treatment, either! This order is out of necessity not nicety!” he exclaimed.
The soldiers of the Fourth Division stood awkwardly for a moment.
“You heard him!” Kuvira chimed in. “Drop!”
The soldiers hurriedly laid on the ground, passing out as soon as their eyelids closed. Tengri descended from the catwalk gracefully, landing behind Indra. Indra prepared himself to be reprimanded, but no such scolding came.
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“I’m seriously starting to wonder if you’re just stubborn or absent-minded,” Tengri sighed. “I’m not your superior anymore. I’m merely an observer, here to guide you as needed.” He watched the pile of sleeping soldiers littering the training grounds. “Seems like you have everything under control,” he said, walking away.
“Wait!” Indra called after him. “We’re running out of time and I told them to take a nap. You aren’t worried?”
Tengri shrugged. “Why would I be? You made a reasonable decision based on what you thought was best for the soldiers. I trust your judgment. Besides, you made the right call. They would have dropped like flies in the middle of training if you had started without assessing the state of this sorry bunch.”
Indra blinked.
“Continue to stay observant, Krodha. I think you’ve got what it takes to see this expedition through.”
***
Six hours had passed. The Commander had stood watch over his subordinates long enough. Indra had changed into his DIVE Suit along with Kuvira and Garou. Kuvira pulled out a small tube from her pocket, popping the cap off. She waved her hand, creating a gust of wind to carry the scent from the tube across the training grounds. The soldiers of the Fourth Division sprung up immediately, the smelling salts burning their nostrils. They stood at attention when they saw Indra suited up. Two weeks of grueling training started now.
Indra and his Sub-commanders assimilated into the ranks, shouting out orders as they transitioned from one formation to another. Movements had to be seamless in order for the entire battalion to work in harmony once they merged their groups. The Tortoise, Pincer, and Stag Point formations were straightforward enough. The soldiers created a protective barrier around their superiors, layering their shields while their rifles poked out of gaps in-between. From there, they separated into two groups, charging from both sides in order to flank the enemy. They reformed into a single entity after executing the Pincer, charging straight ahead in a wedged formation with a concentrated group of soldiers at the front and the larger portion of the group right behind.
They had the basics down to a tee. The rest of the formations save for the Echelon and Staggered Herringbone would have to wait until the next day when they would start to integrate groups together. The Echelon was simple enough to master, serving as an alternative formation to quickly substitute fatigued soldiers. Sub-groups lined up diagonally and practiced rotating into the furthermost position, replacing their ‘tired’ comrades.
The trouble began with the Staggered Herringbone, in which a line of soldiers would form an oval, facing outward at all angles. The troops within the center would poke their rifles through the gaps, similar to the Tortoise formation. Once they had run out of ammunition, they were to switch positions with the soldier waiting behind them and reload their weapons. The issue that presented itself to Indra when running through the formation was that it left the group unprotected from aerial threats. The soldiers in wait would need to preserve their ammunition so that they could switch with the soldiers in front.
Indra scratched his head. “We can’t waste ammunition shooting at sky-bound enemies. There has to be a way we can implement a deterrent to stave off attackers from above.”
They pondered for a moment attempting to figure out a solution to their predicament.
“Sir?” a voice piped up.
Indra turned to see where it came from only to spot the same soldier from before, addressing him timidly.
“You have an idea?” he asked, disregarding her apprehension. He assumed prior experiences with the other Hyenas had shaped her expectations accordingly.
“Y-yes” —she cleared her throat— “well, there’s a storeroom of weapons that I think could prove useful. I’ll show you where it is.”
The soldier led the Hyenas to a storage unit just past the training grounds. It was gargantuan, but it looked like it hadn’t been touched in years. Evidently, when they entered the building, motion sensors turned on the lights above which flickered pathetically.
“Hasn’t anyone maintained this place?” Indra asked the soldier.
She shook her head. “Not since the turn of the century.”
Great.
The soldier led them to the back of the unit, directing them to a row of tube-like objects.
“These can be clipped to your belt, and when you need to use it,” —the tube suddenly extended into a pike— “you can just press this button.”
Indra’s eyes lit up. “I get it now. We can plant these in the ground while in formation. Good thinking! What was your name, again?”
The soldier beamed. “Rie Tachibana, sir.”
***
“At ease!” Indra shouted.
The soldiers of the Fourth Division relaxed their shoulders, panting heavily. They had trained well into the night to make up for the time lost. It was 22:00. Their curfew would start in an hour. The soldiers packed up their equipment and exited the grounds in droves to the nearest bar for a quick pint. Kuvira and Garou left with them at the behest of the other candidates, who had also been promoted to Sub-commanders.
“We’ll save you a seat if you decide to join,” Emil signed as he walked away with Kaluza, the two suddenly buddy-buddy with each other. Indra couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation. Just days ago, they were trying to kill one another.
Rie stood to the side, watching Indra curiously as he put his suit away.
“Need something?” he asked.
“Not particularly, no,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m not exactly sure what it is, but you have a peculiar aura about you.”
Indra scoffed. “So I’ve been told.”
“It feels familiar somehow. Have we met before?”
“Not formally, but we’ve seen each other in the Hyena Living Quarters.”
“I meant before. I feel like I know you from somewhere.”
Indra paused. What Rie had said to him was reminiscent of a popular pick-up line in Zìyóugǎng. He was quite sure that any interaction such as the one she seemed to be implying, between a superior officer and his subordinate, was highly unethical. It would reflect poorly on him if rumors spread. He aimed to quash the issue before it spiraled out of control. Besides, he didn’t want to sour his standing with Prasanna.
Before he could get the words out, however, the last person he wanted to witness this exchange appeared, inserting herself into the conversation.
“Ah, you might be mistaking him for someone else,” Prasanna replied with a smile.
Indra feared the worst, silently willing his subordinate to run away as he gleaned a murderous intent behind her pleasant demeanor.
Rie returned the smile. “Perhaps I was mistaken. Good night, sir,” she stated.
Prasanna scowled as she left. The two Commanders walked in silence towards the Hyena Living Quarters, remaining mute until they reached the common room on the ninety-ninth floor, stopping in front of the door to Prasanna’s room. They had both decided not to drink that night. Prasanna had drank enough the night prior and Indra…well, he was not sure why, but he had started to become disillusioned by the prospect of getting drunk.
As he predicted, Prasanna turned to him with a sour expression. Her arms were crossed and she tapped her foot impatiently, looking at him with an expectant gaze.
“What were you planning on doing if I hadn’t been there, hmm?”
“Nothing, honest!” Indra tried explaining.
Prasanna narrowed her eyes, staring deeply into his. She scrutinized him, finally acquiescing when she sensed he had no intent to lie. “Fine, I believe you.”
A weight lifted off of Indra’s shoulders. Seeing his grin seemed to put Prasanna’s mind at ease as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight embrace.
“Are you worried?” she asked him. “This is it. Two weeks from now, we may be in for the fight of our lives. There’s no turning back. You don’t have any reservations?”
Indra contemplated for a moment, shaking his head. “No, I have you. As long as you're here with me—by my side—I’m not worried about what will happen.”
Prasanna smiled, leaning in close. Her lips were warm and soft, parting slightly. Her perfume, mixed with the sweat of her skin, was intoxicating, sending shivers down Indra’s spine. They pressed their bodies together heatedly, breathing heavily as they separated.
“Tonight,” Prasanna whispered, opening the door.
Indra nodded, following her inside. The door slid shut behind them.