As Thea approached the equipment racks, Karania materialised at the familiar respawn point. Lending a hand to steady Karania for the brief dizzy-spell that accompanied any resurrection, Thea felt thoroughly elated.
‘This class was the absolute best! So much fun, so much to learn… some catharsis - with regrets - but overall an absolute blast, can’t wait for the next Practical…’ She thought to herself.
Karania, who had seemingly managed to shake off her dizziness rather rapidly, smiled at Thea before nodding towards the arena door with her head.
“We should get going. I don’t want to leave Lt. Eifang waiting on being able to dismiss us from the class. You really are a beast, Thea… I had hoped I would be able to hold up better against you, but you really know what you are doing. Although… I did wonder, why the knives? Is there a reason you’re not opting for chain or vibro variants?”
Quickly taking off their armour and throwing on new uniforms, Thea and Karania gave each other a once-over to ensure they were presentable before heading out. As the two of them started leisurely walking towards the arena door, Thea thought about her squadmate's question for a moment.
Why did she use normal reinforced-plasteel knives…?
Was there any upside to using the standard knives over superior versions, such as vibro or chain ones? A realisation quickly dawned on Thea: The answer was no.
Her stance wouldn’t have to change, nor would her combat style. All that would change by swapping out her standard-issue knives for better versions, would be an increase in options and deadliness.
She had been actively handicapping herself with an inferior weapon choice, for absolutely no reason at all.
The sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed through the arena, which made Karania look over, to see Thea walking next to her, who was slowly lowering her hand away from her forehead.
"You never thought about it before, did you?" Karania asked, her voice a mix of annoyance and amusement.
"…No~," Thea sheepishly responded, unwilling to meet Karania’s gaze for even a second.
The high-pitched laughter of Karania filled the arena. Thea briefly noted that it had a distinctly different warmth to it, compared to the high-pitched laughter she had heard from the girl during their bout. She decidedly liked this version a lot more.
After recovering from the initial outburst of laughter, Karania addressed Thea once again, “I seriously can’t fucking believe you, Thea… How can you be this good, despite being such an idiot at times? You’re going to go for vibro-knives from now on, yes?”
Exasperated, but unable to really fault her squadmate for her words, Thea nodded meekly, “Yes… I’ll use ‘em the next time around…”
Her feeling of superiority and confidence had definitely taken a hit from the sudden realisation. Thea had never even thought of using anything else but what Lt. Frost had used during the challenge trial, but revisiting the situation, Lt. Frost had only used those knives as they were in the standard re-supply kit.
Thinking back on it, Thea had only met Lt. Frost after the Lieutenant had died once and respawned, inside of the challenge. It had been obvious from the way that she had worn exclusively standard-issue equipment, despite being a higher ranked marine.
In hindsight, this observation was even more apparent, as Thea had learned so much more since that day, about the System, the UHF, the marines and the war as a whole.
If Lt. Frost would have had access to vibroknives, she would almost definitely have opted for those instead, so why was Thea insisting on using reinforced-plasteel ones?
“I can’t believe I never thought about it either, to be honest… It seems so obvious now,” she admitted, moreso to herself than anyone else.
“Oh, you think?” Karania sarcastically replied, giving Thea a look.
Annoyed, more at herself than Karania, Thea lashed back, “Haaa… Just shut-up! I beat you anyway!”
“True. But at least I know to choose the right weapons to not handicap myself,” Karania replied with a smug smile, just as they reached the edge of the arena and stepped outside.
Leaving the arena, the two of them saw that the rest of the Marines and Lt. Eifang had already assembled at the spectator seats near the front of the class, the same ones they had sat down on at the start of the Practical, over four hours ago.
Hurrying their steps ever so slightly, Thea and Karania headed over, before Lt. Eifang turned towards them when they were only about ten metres away.
“Fantastic showing in there, Alpha Squad. As expected, you really did give us quite the show. Before I dismiss all of you, however, a couple of pointers…” the baritone voice of Lt. Eifang trailed off, as he gestured to Thea and Karania to take their seats.
“Firstly, for all the Recruits not named Thea McKay or Karania Faulkner, I hope that this last arena match truly gave you something to think about. I want to reiterate the information I shared with you before this last match. These two Alpha Squad members are among the bottom half, when it comes to Alpha Squad's CQC capabilities.
“While I feel that Recruit McKay is slightly underrated in the current rankings I’m privileged to, rest assured that the absolute top is vastly superior.
“If Recruit Itoku had been part of this class, she would likely have swept the floor with the entire class before the half-way mark had been reached. What I’m saying is this: Work harder.
“You can’t rely on Alpha Squad to do your dirty work or save your asses out there in the field. They’re more than likely going to be assigned things that only they can handle, meaning that they don’t have time for babysitting. So find yourself some sparring partners and sign up for extra training outside of your usual classes, whenever you can.
“While CQC is only a last-resort, it does happen quite a bit more frequently than we would like to admit. You need to be able to, at the very least, hold your own for long enough to let others come to your aid. If you are incapable of doing even that, you are unfit to become a front-line Marine.”
Lt. Eifang let his gaze slowly travel across the assembled Marines, making sure that his words were thoroughly understood and thought about, before continuing.
“Secondly, as this is directly contributing towards the System’s goal of creating the Ultimate Warrior, Practical classes do provide a modicum of rewards for each participant. Once you leave the room, you will be granted a small amount of System Merit, Credits and Contribution Points. Do be aware, however, that this is not going to be a large amount, due to the nature of the class. It’s too safe and too small-scale to truly be considered a major experience in the System’s view.
“That said, every little bit counts. I don’t think I have to be the one to tell you this, but even just a single point of Merit can be the difference between life or death. Literally. So make sure to attend every Practical in the future and do your absolute best while they’re running, to stock up a couple extra points before your first deployment.”
Thea shared a brief look with Karania, both of them surprised at the fact that they were going to receive System rewards for, what essentially amounted to, a school class.
Thea could hear the rest of the Marines share whispered thoughts and see them share glances with each other as well, at the revelation from the Lieutenant. Nobody seemed to have expected to get System rewards for something as inconsequential as a Practical class.
“Lastly, an incident occurred during today’s class, as some of you will undoubtedly have realised by now. Recruit Alex Cladion failed his psych eval, as he attempted to kill Recruit Thea McKay inside of the arena, after their first round had concluded. He has been transported to the brig by the Sovereign and he is awaiting final judgement by Major Quinn.”
Karania stared at Thea with wide eyes, who simply shrugged back, unable to convey any complex explanations at the time.
The Recruits shared similarly shocked reactions, as some started fervently whispering to each other, while others simply waited for Lt. Eifang to continue his explanation.
“Let me be crystal clear about one thing: You may have been given a free-pass on any bigotry you can think of by the Major, during your graduation ceremony, but that does not mean anyone has to take it at face value. What happened in the arena is simple: Alex fucked around and found out.
“What did he find out, you might ask? The fact that midworlders aren’t inferior to any other type of human, simply for being midworlders. He got his ass beat in a spectacular fashion. Unable to bear the humiliation, he decided that the most logical approach was to try and attack Recruit McKay’s back, while she was preparing to get ready for the second round. Naturally, the Sovereign intervened.
“Why am I telling you this? Because I know, for a fact, that there’s more people like Alex among you, right now. More people that somehow think they’re inherently superior to midworlders, simply due to the fact that their planets are closer to Terra than others. My advice? Get your heads out of your asses and face reality. If you can’t recognise that Recruits McKay and Itoku are more than full-blooded Recruits, but members of Alpha Squad, and you talk shit about them?
“Then don’t be surprised if you get beat the fuck up. If you can’t handle a beatdown for dragging someone else through the mud, then don’t drag them through the mud. It’s that simple.
“For legal reasons, this is my own opinion on the matter. The UHF has strict rules that have been laid out for all of you to follow. That said, if I find out any of you have been needlessly hostile towards any midworlders, regardless of whether it’s inside or outside of my class, don’t be surprised when your name suddenly appears on a scheduled, multi-hour-long sparring session with Recruit McKay or Itoku. So you better be able to back up what you’re claiming.”
A heavy silence filled the room, in which Thea blankly stared at the Lieutenant before her with wide eyes.
Her mind was racing, confusion overtaking her, ‘Did… he just actively defend me… and all other midworlders? Why would he do that…? What does that do for him, in the long run…?’
Before she could consider any further however, Lt. Eifang’s baritone voice cut through her thoughts.
“Now then, you’re free to leave. Simply request the reward screen once you leave the room, to see what the System has deemed you worthy of for today’s Practical. Spend some time sparring until the next class, to get used to your new bodies. Today’s showing was utterly embarrassing for aspiring UHF Marines. Talk to your Squads about their Abilities as well, there were way too many instances of people holding onto their Abilities for too long or not using them correctly. They’re your secret weapons, but weapons nonetheless. Weapons don’t kill unless they’re used. Have I made myself clear, Recruits?”
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“Yes, sir!” Came the immediate, synchronous reply of the assembled Recruits.
“Dismissed.”
Still stunned by Lt. Eifang’s previous declaration, Thea startled when she was lightly pushed by Karania at her side.
“Thea, are you alright?” she gingerly posed, carefully observing Thea.
Shaking her head to free herself from her inner thoughts, Thea replied, “Huh…? Ah… Yes. I’m just… surprised. I wasn’t expecting the Lieutenant to stand up for us like that. Why is he doing that?”
Karania took a few seconds to think as the two of them started towards the room's exit. Ultimately, she shrugged. “No idea. I’d imagine he probably hates the constant bigotry. Not everyone in here hates midworlders. In fact, most of us don’t. The majority couldn’t care less where you hail from. It’s always the loud minority that gets worked up over nothing. Now that the Lieutenant knows how good you are, he has a deterrent to use. Just make sure you don’t slack off, or it’ll make things really awkward…”
Pondering Karania’s response silently, Thea figured that her squad mate had a point.
It was always easy to simply look at the loud minority and imagine them to represent the thoughts and wants of an entire group, but at the end of the day, outside of Alex and a couple handful other people, Thea had not really ran into anyone that was actively out to diminish her or other midworlders.
Most of her fellow Marines had been exceedingly normal or downright friendly, even in the two years prior, during Basic. Sure, her cyanness had skewed that figure more than she would have liked, but overall, the vast majority of her peers were agreeable people.
“I guess you’re right… Thanks, Karania,” Thea ultimately answered, as they left the room together.
“Let’s take a look at this reward business, shall we?” Karania posed with a grin.
Nodding, Thea focused her mind inwards, addressing the System directly.
‘Please show me the rewards for the Practical class.’
A familiar blue box appeared immediately, displaying a breakdown of everything she had received for the Practical.
[Rewards: Practical class]
[System Credits: +143]
[System Merit: +11]
[System Contribution Points: +4]
‘Neat. I have no idea what these correlate to still, but it’s always good to have more!’
Having read through her rewards, she dismissed the screen and looked back at Karania.
“So, how did you do?”
“82 SC, 7 Merit, 1 CP. I imagine you got a lot more?” Karania retorted, eager to compare their gains.
Affirming Karania’s suspicion with a nod, Thea replied, “Uh-huh, 143 SC, 11 Merit, 4 CP.
“Not quite sure how it’s calculated, but I’d imagine our bout is probably a majority of that, considering the whole ‘risk’ factor that everyone keeps hammering on. You were by far the riskiest fight of the entire class for me, after all.”
Thea wanted to talk about Karania’s strange behaviour during the fight, but was frankly too scared to reopen that box at this moment in time. Instead, she opted for a more diplomatic solution.
“Fighting you was definitely an experience. We should spar some more in the future.”
Hiding a giggle behind her hands, Karania replied, “Sure! It was a lot of fun, I agree. Although I don’t know if I’ll be doing a lot of CQC training, as that’s not really what I specialise in. I’ll mostly leave that to Isabella or Lucas. If I end up having to CQC, the whole squad’s probably already dead anyway…”
Frowning slightly, not having considered that fact before, Thea finished their conversation, “Huh. I guess you have a point there… Well, I’m game, whenever you want to spar. I’ve had a ton of fun, although getting cut up repeatedly was not exactly the best experience…”
Smiling at Thea’s last remark in a strangely wicked way, Karania led the two of them back to their squad room.
----------------------------------------
Fifteen minutes later, Thea and Karania walked into Alpha Squad’s shared living room. The rest of the squad was already assembled around the kitchen table. Corvus, his grin partially concealed by a hand hiding half-eaten food, waved them over.
"Ahh, there you are!" he said. "We were wondering where you two had gone. I ordered food for everyone to celebrate our first day as Alpha Squad. Sit down and enjoy!"
Thea and Karania exchanged a quick glance before taking their seats. They were ravenous after the day's exertions. They had spent over thirteen hours in various classes, nearly four and a half of which were in the Practical. Despite the arena's constant resets, they were in desperate need of replenishment.
Thea surveyed the array of dishes, captivated by the array of aromas wafting from them. Since her integration, she had become acutely aware of smells, oftentimes much to her dismay. This time, however, she was grateful for her enhanced sense of smell, courtesy of her high Perception. She inhaled deeply, savouring the multitude of fragrances from the food in front of her.
The table was a buffet of diverse dishes. There were platters of steaming, seasoned meats, dishes of sautéed vegetables glazed with a sheen of buttery sauce, and a variety of unfamiliar, exotic fruits. Baskets of fresh bread, loaves with a golden crust emitting a comforting aroma of yeast and baked grain, lay next to a plate piled high with an assortment of cheeses, each carrying its own distinct scent, from sharp and tangy to smooth and creamy. There were bowls of hearty soup that sent off steam filled with the warm smells of herbs and simmered produce. Lastly, there were several pots of strange-looking but appealingly aromatic stews, their exact contents a mystery to Thea.
The array of smells hit Thea all at once, and she found herself taken aback by the sheer complexity and novelty of them. The rich scent of the meats was entirely new to her, different from anything she had known. The smell of the fresh bread, so inviting and familiar, yet alien at the same time. The sharp, almost spicy aroma from the cheeses intrigued her, while the herbaceous and homey scent from the soup felt strangely comforting.
Thea felt like she had walked into an entirely new world, one filled with smells that were exotic and unknown. Her eyes went wide as she took it all in, her mind trying to categorise each new scent even as more continued to tease her senses. She realised then just how much she still had to learn, how much she had yet to experience. She looked down at the food, a sense of awe and anticipation building within her, before she started overloading her plate with a wide variety of all types of food before her.
She was so captivated by the food, that she did not even catch the surprised glances of the other members of Alpha Squad at her candidly gluttonous behaviour. The only one that didn’t seem surprised at this was Isabella, who simply nodded with an amused look of approval, as she bit into a large piece of glistening, steaming meat.
While James had often tried to provide a balanced diet for Thea, his efforts had ultimately been limited to what was available inside of Lumiosia’s undercity. Which is to say, not a whole lot.
Having fresh meat or bread had been a luxury, as the two of them had mostly shared nutrient packs of varying flavours on a daily basis. Exotic foods such as cheeses or fruits had only really been a rare treat for when they had visited Lumiosia proper.
Even during Basic over the past two years, most of their meals had consisted of nutrient packs. Thea had not really thought about it at first, but now realised that the fact that they entirely existed inside of the DDS for this first year, meant that she’d be able to shop for any food that the UHF would care to provide, as long as she had the SC required to pay for it!
With that realisation, Thea went ahead to thoroughly enjoy every bite of her food, savouring each and every one of them, almost as if uncertain whether she’d ever get to eat similar food like this again.
During the meal, light conversation was shared between the members, with Corvus being the most talkative of them all. He was clearly working hard to create a homey kind of atmosphere for the squad and Thea was thoroughly thankful for it.
She had been nervous as Karania and her had approached the shared living room after their Practical, remembering the unpleasant experience from the day before. That nervousness had immediately been shattered by Corvus’ invitation to partake in the vast spreads of food however, almost as if he had anticipated this issue and prepared a solution beforehand.
James had always told Thea that nothing connected people as well as a good portion of food, after all.
----------------------------------------
Their dinner lasted for almost an hour, with the latter half mostly being taken up by Isabella, Karania and Thea eating, while the remaining three started sharing some of their experiences of the day.
“So… Today was very information-rich, huh? I have to say I learned a ton from the System 101 that Isabella and I attended. Professor Vesper did a great job answering a lot of our questions. Ah, first and foremost, here’s an interesting bit of information: The System is lying to us. Our Attributes aren’t actually what it says they are.”
Stopping mid-chew, Thea raised her eyes at Corvus, a frown forming on her face. Thinking to herself, ‘It lies…? What?’ She tried to articulate the question, but ended up simply mumbling with a mouth full of food.
Chuckling at the display, Corvus held up one of his hands as if to calm Thea, “Don’t worry, it’s nothing drastic. Keep eating and enjoying the food, that’s what I bought it for, after all.
“What I was referring to is this: The System actually uses decimals. It simply does not display them, as long as you don’t ask it to. One of the Recruits in our class had already spent some of their level up points and asked the Professor why the System would grant 5% increases, when the actual numbers were only full ones, essentially meaning that most level-ups were guaranteed to give nothing.
“Professor Vesper chuckled and explained that the System had simply defaulted to showing full numbers, rather than decimals. So we were all tasked with changing our System display. Lo and behold, our Attributes are actually not what they say they are, at all. It only shows the rounded-down, closest full-number. Go ahead, try it yourselves.”
Immediately, Lucas, Desmond, Karania and Thea stopped doing whatever they had been doing at the time, their eyes glazing over in unison.
‘System, please display all information using decimals, whenever appropriate.’
Suddenly, her entire profile changed and her eyes grew wide.
[Status & Attributes]:
Thea McKay - Level 4.26 - Contribution Points: 117.55 / 440 - Unspent Attribute Points: 16
HP: 121 / 121 - Stamina: 155 / 155 - Focus: 215 / 215 - TBD - TBD
Class: None - Specialization: None - Title: None - TBD - TBD
Strength: 3.18 (+0%)
Finesse: 4.73 (+0%)
Vitality: 2.43 (+0%)
Recovery: 2.68 (+0%)
Stamina: 3.11 (+0%)
Focus: 4.31 (+0%)
Perception: 5.28 (+0%)
Resolve: 5.97 (+0%)
[Psychic: TBD (+0%)] (Locked 17.99/30)
[TBD: TBD (+0%)] (Locked)
Her mind once again racing with thoughts, she could do nothing to stop them, ‘My Resolve is 5.97?! What the fuck?! That’s basically a 6?! Is that even possible, based on what we know about the System so far…?
‘I guess it would be… It was only said that a 5 comes with a 2. I haven’t heard anything about 6s existing right from the start, so I guess a 5.97 is technically not a 6… That is insane… My Recovery is also not as terrible as I had feared, seeing that it’s more than halfway towards a 3, after all… That’s good! My Finesse is also fairly close towards a 5, although I am fairly unhappy with that low Strength score…’
Suddenly ripping her from her thoughts, was Lucas’ mellow voice coming from the opposite side of the table, “That’s wild. I was not expecting this at all… All of my Attributes are completely different than I had first assumed. Why does it round down a 3.87 to a 3, on the initial display? Why not show decimals to begin with?”
“AH! Great question, actually. This was something we asked Professor Vesper too. She didn’t have a definitive response, but she gave us some pointers. See, the Allbright System was created by a different race, as we all should know by now,” Corvus started to explain, but stopped to make sure everybody was on the same page about that important bit of information.
After having everybody confirm it with a nod, he continued, “So a lot of Xenologists are thinking that it might be because the race that designed the System simply did not have non-decimals. Since we, as humans, generally prefer full numbers over decimals, with most things, it defaults to that.
“So the System never had this issue for the original creator race, leaving it as a problem for us to discover later down the line. After all, full numbers are mostly a construct us humans came up with, because we like neat things. The Galactic Standard Time day isn’t actually exactly 24 hours, nor is a year exactly 365 days, but we like those neat, full numbers.
“That’s her thoughts on the matter, at least. I doubt we’ll really find an answer for it, but then again, does it really matter why it doesn’t show decimals from the start? As long as we can see them now, we should be good, right?” He posed the question into the room, leading to a renewed, brief silence, as the rest of Alpha Squad contemplated the issue.
The first to respond was Isabella, with a mouth full of steamed vegetables, “Ehh… Not really an issue for me. As long as I got the Attributes when I need ‘em, they can be full numbers, decimals, hexadecimals, octa decimals or whatever else the System wants to paint ‘em as. Could be fucking pictures of cats for all I care.”
The combined image of the imposing Isabella mumbling with a mouth full of food, coupled with the thought of an ancient, omnipotent System displaying its powerful Attributes by using cat pictures of all things, was enough to make the rest of Alpha Squad break into laughter.
Thea could not help but feel content at this moment. So welcoming and warm was the atmosphere they had found themselves in, that Thea did not even mind that Desmond was at the table as well.
Despite a less than ideal start, it seemed that Alpha Squad had the potential to work out for her in the long run. With a seemingly competent leader in Corvus heading the squad, they naturally felt more at ease around each other, despite their differences…