“Give me your hand,” the man wearing glasses glanced at his tablet then said.

  The Belden Base’s Human Resources Center was located on the second floor in the main hall with plenty of offices in it. Joel led Hanister into one, where a ‘veteran-ish’ S.D.A officer sat. In all honesty, Hanister did not know what his rank was, she only considered him to be a veteran because he looked old.

  “Don’t worry, this won’t hurt,” the personnel moved the chair to the front of a strange-looking machine, and smiled kindly. Thankfully, he wasn’t wearing a lab coat, or else Hanister would feel like she had entered a clinic.

  The girl stuck her hand out towards the machine the personnel had gestured to. The base of it was a tiny platform, and there was a mechanic arm attached to one side. The girl placed her hand gently on the platform, her palm wide open and the back of her hand facing upwards.

  The mechanic arm then started moving. The tip of it looked like a giant stapler, with something like a scanner on top of it. The lens of the scanner gleamed red, like it was trying to identify something. It approached Hanister’s wrist, inching closer until it got in contact with her bare skin. She flinched at the slight burning sensation, but did not retrieve her hand.

  “We’re done,” the personnel gently pulled up Hanister’s hand to inspect it after the mechanic arm had moved away.

  “From now on, this will be your identification code for the S.D.A,” he pointed to her wrist.

  Hanister retrieved her hand and carefully examined it. She now has the kind of engraving just like Joel, it was a series of numbers and letters; kind of like a tattoo, but without the colors.

  More like a scar.

  She thought.

  Or maybe pressure marks?

  Since the spot of the engraving was a bit uneven. However, if not inspected closely, no one would possibly notice.

  “The code can help you access some of the automatic doors and elevators in the base,” the personnel said, pushing up his glasses.

  “Some?”

  “Consider your current… status, and the place you’re gonna go next. Basically, your accessible areas are limited,” the personnel explained. “But even if you’re a commander at the base, you can’t freely roam the areas as well.”

  “So…”

  “Don’t worry. I don’t think you’ll be facing any problems with authority soon. The code only means that you’re now an official member of the S.D.A,” his smiled from underneath the thick pair of glasses.

  “Anyway. Welcome, Hanister,” he held out his hand that was full of wrinkles.

  Hanister shook the personnel’s hand. He didn’t have the kind of dramatic atmosphere that Justin emitted, but of course, it might have been something to do with his age.

  “Now that we’ve verified everything. I think it’s best for you to get moving,” the personnel glanced at Joel, who was sitting in the corner of the room, and remained silent the entire time.

  “Since you’re already late for a week compared to the rest of the trainees of your term,” he turned back to the girl.

  “A week?” Hanister’s eyes widened, then turned around to look at the recruiter who brought her in. “I thought I’d be coming in with the others…”

  “Uh…”

  “I’ve been meaning to tell you,” Joel scratched his head awkwardly.

  “This is why I sent a gyroplane to pick you up,” he said. “Most people don’t care about missing one or two weeks of training, so —”

  “Mr.Joel,” Hanister cut off the man who was speaking.

  “I…”

  “I’m not ‘most people,’” she stated with a serious expression. At the same time, she felt a little imbalanced deep down. “This is important to me.”

  I am late for a week.

  She couldn’t help but think.

  What have I missed?

  “Don’t worry, Hanister…”

  “The first two weeks are not that important, normally it’s just—” Joel looked at the girl, but realized that he couldn’t finish the sentence.

  “You’re right. You’re different from the newbies I’ve met before,” he sighed. “To be honest, I realized back when I took the plane with you over here.”

  “Although most people don’t care, but… whether or not to take the full training course certainly is every cadet’s own choice.”

  “Then let’s get going,” Hanister stood up, and immediately started towards the door.

  “…”

  “One moment, Hanister,” Joel stopped her. “At least let me apologize.”

  He took his hat off.

  Hanister remained where she was. Although she was a little mad, what she truly wanted to do at that moment was to catch up to the other trainees as soon as possible. It wasn’t nice knowing that you’re falling behind. However, Joel’s genuine expression made it hard for her to reject him.

  The girl looked at the recruiter without speaking.

  “When the recruiting station at the Gamond Region contacted me, I didn’t know you’re someone like this,” Joel continued to say. “I thought you’re just like the others, coming in here just for the salary.”

  “We were gonna arrange you to the next batch originally, but we wanted to omit the process, so we moved you to this batch instead,” he took a deep breath. “And hereby I apologize. I admit this is our oversight on the arrangement.”

  “It’s…”

  “It’s alright,” Hanister briefly answered after listening to the whole speech.

  “You’re a remarkable girl,” the personnel suddenly stood up and cut in, with a cup of hot coffee in his hand. “I’ve seen your documents. Not a lot of people can do what you did.” He praised. The steam coming from the coffee fogged up his glasses with a patch of white.

  Joel and Hanister turned to the one speaking at the same time.

  “Worry not, although those boys got a week of training ahead of you, they probably still aren’t that good,” the personnel took a sip of the coffee. “You’ll get into the swing of things in no time,” he nodded at her.

  Hanister paused for a second, then put her heels together.

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  “Thank you, sir,” she looked right into the personnel's eyes, or more like those two pieces of lens that were fogged up. His words reassured her greatly.

  Joel silently put his hat back on, then nodded to the man standing at the desk.

  “Let’s go,” he said to Hanister.

  The two left the personnel’s office and the department. Hanister thought they were going back on the elevator, but Joel led her to the opposite direction, which was the back of the building.

  “Where are we going?” The girl asked.

  “I’m gonna hand you over to the person in charge, then my job’s over,” Joel answered. “She’ll take you to get your uniform and gears, and explain some things to you.”

  “She?”

  Joel nodded.

  “Lieutenant Miranda has trained several batches of cadets, and she is very experienced in combat.”

  “Oh…”

  “What’s wrong? You wouldn’t think that you’re the only female willing to step up to the front line in the whole world, right?”

  Hanister did not answer, but she pursed her lips together, like a part of her agreed with the statement.

  “The S.D.A’s recruitment policy has been intended for the men since the beginning, which means that the women who come here are either working for money, or out of passion,” Joel explained. “You’re definitely one of the few, Hanister.”

  “But you’re not the only,” he stated blatantly.

  The two kept on walking, until they faced a security point. Joel lifted Hanister’s luggage and walked past the gate. “Come on, that’s the inside of the Base.”

  Hanister looked past the gate, and went further back. Not too far away from them was an exit that was shut. Supposedly, it would lead to the outside of the building, but the door wasn’t transparent. She couldn’t see what was outside, so she decided to just walk through the scanning door and towards the exit.

  Hanister stopped right in front of the exit door, but the heavy piece of metal did not respond.

  “I thought this was supposed to be automatic,” she frowned.

  “It is,” Joel walked near the door. “Just gotta let it scan you real quick.” He held out his hand, and placed it close to the metal panel next to the door. After that, he turned around and smiled at the girl.

  The exit then opened wide. Outside was a field of grass, with some buildings and lanes surrounding it. The field was sectioned into multiple areas, with some plants and majestic trees in between. Right in the middle of the field was a hollowed out , it seemed to lead down to the facilities underground.

  Hanister could see people walking on the lanes, or shuttling between different buildings by walking on the skybridge. For a militarized facility, this kind of environment seemed to be a little too… elegant. However, she was certain that she hadn’t left the base, since she could still see the ginormous, tall base walls that were blocked by the buildings at the very end.

  “We’re not the only combatants stationed here,” Joel stepped outside. “The Belden Base also holds other departments of the S.D.A, like the engineering, and the research department, the lab, or the aeronautical department. Some that I haven’t even been to.”

  “So which one are we headed to?”

  “Uh…”

  “None of them,” Joel gave a wry smile. “We’re heading to the Base Training Center.” He said, then continued on his way. “It’s right around here.”

  “Around here?” Hanister blinked, with a curious expression, she quickly followed up.

  Joel walked on to the lanes surrounding the field, then headed towards one of the buildings on one side. He didn’t walk inside. Instead, he followed the path and went around the building. There was a small square, and in the middle stood a bronze statue.

  Hanister couldn’t help but stop to look at the statue. It was a man wearing a long cloak. His hair looked to be blown through by the wind, his arms wide open, but he wasn’t holding anything. She stared for a while, finding the face a little familiar.

  The girl went closer to the statue, and discovered that there was a tiny steel plate on the stand, with a sentence engraved on it.

  “It’s either them or us that face extinction; therefore, I will not concede.”

  She lowered her voice to read off the plate, then squinted her eyes, wanting to get a clearer view of the signature at the bottom right corner of the plate.

  “John Dusttav.”

  After Joel realized that Hanister wasn’t following him, he went back to her.

  The girl turned around and looked at the recruiter.

  “Dusttav…” she repeated to herself. “Dusttav is…”

  “The one that founded the S.D.A!” She suddenly screamed.

  “Or more like that the S.D.A originated from the resistance troops that he formed,” Joel nodded. “Thanks to Mr.Dusttav’s dedication, we were able to face off those invading monsters.”

  “But…” Hanister turned around, sizing up the bronze statue once again. “He wasn’t a Wielder, right?”

  “Mr.Dusttav was a great researcher and leader, but he wasn’t a fighter,” Joel shook his head.

  “If it wasn’t for him and his team who found the secret of the Star Creatures, we would probably never be able to defeat them.” He said.

  “He surely wasn’t a fighter, but he trained the first batch of fighters for the Sheerians.”

  “The first batch of Shell Wielders that were able to defeat the Star Creatures.”

  Hanister looked at the speaking man. Although he had said before that he wasn’t willing to risk it, but at the same time as he was speaking, she could see the died down passion in his eyes. Even though it wasn’t obvious, she could still tell that he once had the same thoughts that she does now. A little naive, a little silly, but the meaning behind was remarkable.

  Perhaps this was the reason why the statue of Dusttav stood here — To remind every single newcomer of the S.D.A that as long as the enemies’ invasion keeps on going, there won’t be a day the Sheerians stop fighting.

  “You ready?” Joel asked.

  Hanister nodded, then followed after the recruiter to a low-rise building at the other side of the square. Inside was divided into several cubicles, but all the seats were empty. At the end of the section, there was an office room. Joel walked towards the closed office room and knocked on the door, then he slowly pushed the door open. A group of people were sitting inside the room. They seemed to be in the middle of a meeting.

  “Ah, Joel. Finally,” the woman sitting at the very front of the desk spoke up. The whiteboard behind her was filled with notes.

  “Lieutenant Miranda,” the recruiter saluted.

  Hanister poked her head out from behind Joel. There were 7 people in the room, but only one woman. Her age was around the same as her mother’s, but she did not give off the feeling of a country woman.

  The woman stood up, then walked towards the two next to the door.

  “You must be Hanister.” She looked at the girl next to Joel.

  “Hanister Dyner at your service, sir,” Hanister straightened up her back, then saluted the way just as Joel did.

  “I’m Miranda, Lieutenant Miranda Hal Doria. The general coordinator for your term,” the woman responded. “Just call me Lieutenant Miranda.”

  She smiled lightly, then turned back around.

  “Walker!” The woman shouted at a man who was sitting at the meeting table with his head back dozing off. The man shook a little, then hurriedly repositioned his head facing the front.

  “Lieutenant?” He looked towards where the voice came from.

  “Take her to get her gear and uniform, and also direct her to the dorm,” Miranda ordered, coming back to look at the girl once again. “The upcoming training is gonna be tough, are you prepared?”

  “No problem, sir!” Hanister answered with a loud voice.

  Finally.

  She thought.

  I have been waiting for this moment.

  “It’s good to have confidence, cadet,” Miranda said.

  “Go and grab your things with Corporal Walker first, he’ll then guide you to the dorm rooms,” she gestured at the man walking towards them. “You’ll join the others for the training session first, to get used to the schedule here. I’ll let someone explain other things to you later on.”

  “Hanister,” Joel inched closer.

  “Take care,” he returned the girl’s luggage to her. “If nothing goes wrong, I should still be stationed here for some time. So if you encounter any difficulties…”

  “I…”

  “I know. Thank you,” Hanister nodded. She saluted once again to Miranda and Joel, then followed the man whose name was Walker out of the room.

  “What do you think?” Joel looked at Miranda and asked after Hanister had left.

  “I don’t know,” the recruiter remained silent for a brief second before opening up once again.

  “Maybe…”

  “Just maybe she can become the next Major Cavil.”

  “Maybe?”

  “If she lives, that is.”