"Huh?", the man exclaimed in surprise before backtracking through the settings. "Recruit Thea McKay… Assessment File… Ye… should all be the right settings…?" he muttered quietly to himself. However, Thea's heightened senses easily picked up his words as if he were speaking at normal volume.
She became concerned about the sudden turn of events.
Why was her assessment file throwing an error? Did she mess up somewhere? Had her successful assessment been revoked?!
With slowly mounting panic, her smile wavered and gave way to a concerned frown.
Once again, the man was illuminated by the red glow, as the error message popped up again. With a frown, he swiped and tapped through the data-pad before placing it on the table in front of him.
Looking back up at Thea and seeing her concerned frown, he held up both of his hands in an attempt to counsel her, “Ahh… don’t worry! It’s just a weird error, I’m sure we’ll get it sorted in no time. I asked for the Sergeant to come take a look. I haven’t had this happen to me either yet, so we’re both in this together, alright?”
While she appreciated the man’s attempt at calming her down, his admission that this was completely out of the ordinary only served to increase her anxiety.
Did she actually have her assessment revoked right at the finish line?! She was so close to becoming a UHF Marine, yet she was being held back by this? Would the universe truly be this cruel to her once again, after everything she had been through to get to this point?
As her anxiety continued to mount, one of the privacy screens behind the man flickered off, and a woman wearing a Sergeant's uniform swiftly entered the room.
"What's the issue with this inspection, Private?" she immediately questioned the man upon entering, her voice demanding and authoritative.
"Ah… Sergeant! The assessment file for this Recruit here keeps throwing an error when I try to open it. I can't access the debriefing Officer's role recommendations as a result," he gestured towards Thea before showing the data-pad to the Sergeant.
With the speed and accuracy of a trained professional, the Sergeant quickly navigated through the data-pad's many forms and menus, until she too was bathed in a red glow.
"Huh. You don't say…?" she muttered before attempting another dozen tries, each resulting in the same red error. "Well… we've got ourselves a grade-A mystery on our hands here, my friends," she finally concluded after around a minute of trying different ways to access the assessment file.
Thea and the man both stared at the Sergeant in anticipation, waiting for her to elaborate on her findings. Before she did, however, she swiftly navigated through the data-pad and placed it back on the table.
"So, here's the deal: The assessment file is locked," she began explaining, "While that, in itself, is not too unusual, there is one extremely odd thing about this. I can't access it, even with my Sergeant privileges. As a matter of fact, my privileges aren't enough to even see what level of privileges would be required to access the file, much less lift the lock.
"What I'm saying is this: For some reason, your assessment file was locked by someone extremely high up on the chain of command. I've requested a Lieutenant come take a look; maybe they'll have better luck accessing this mystery file," she concluded, her gaze fixed on Thea with a scrutinising intensity.
Thea’s anxiety skyrocketed at the revelations of the Sergeant and the scrutinising look she was under. Thea’s heart was beating rapidly and her chest felt extremely tight. She was glad that she was sitting on the metal chair, as she wasn’t sure that her legs could carry her anymore at this point.
The Sergeant shared some words with the man, but Thea was too preoccupied with her own thoughts and fears to pay any attention to their conversation, ‘Why would my assessment file get locked by someone high ranking? What did I do…? Why does this kind of thing always happen to me…?’
Frustrated at the all-too-familiar situation she found herself in, her fear slowly turned to anger inside of her, ‘I just wanted to have the inspection go simple and easy with no problems, not whatever this is! Is it really that much to ask for, to just have something work for once, without having to jump through multiple hoops?!’
Just as her frustration was about to hit a boiling point, the privacy screen behind the two UHF marines flickered off once again, and a stoic, serious-looking man wearing the UHF-typical Lieutenant's uniform entered the room.
Immediately, the man addressed the woman across from Thea with a cold, measured voice, "Sergeant Kaelin, you have requested aid in this particular inspection? What appears to be the problem?"
To Thea, it felt like the entire room's atmosphere had changed in an instant with the Lieutenant's arrival. The friendly chat that the Sergeant had shared with the Private before was abruptly halted as the Lieutenant entered, replaced instead with a palpable sense of tension and expectation.
The Sergeant straightened herself further upon being directly addressed, a subtle movement barely visible to anyone without Thea's high level of Perception, before answering in a polite, yet tense voice, "Yes, Sir! The Private and I ran into an issue with the assessment file for this particular Recruit here," she gestured towards the Private first, then to Thea, before continuing, "It appears that it is locked, Sir. My level of privileges does not allow me to access the file, much less lift the lock. I was hoping you would be able to, Sir."
With a measured, piercing gaze, the Lieutenant looked over the Sergeant, then the Private, and lastly, Thea.
Thea felt as if all the blood in her veins froze as his gaze reached her. While it was not at the same level of fear she had felt from meeting Major Daxton, it was of a distinctly different kind.
Where her encounter with the Major had been an instinctual reaction, this one almost seemed artificial. It was as if the Lieutenant himself was instilling the fear into her, rather than it coming from Thea's inner core herself.
The realisation did nothing to reduce the level of fear, however. On the contrary, it increased the feeling of unease that rapidly spread throughout Thea under the scrutinising gaze of the Lieutenant.
This was her first real-world encounter with a high-ranking marine, aside from the brief run-in with Major Daxton, and it was an utterly terrifying experience for Thea. She now understood the apprehension and the drastic change in atmosphere that had occurred when the Lieutenant had entered the room all too well.
After what felt like an eternity to Thea, the Lieutenant finally looked back at the Sergeant, hand outstretched, "Very well. Hand me the data-pad, Sergeant."
The Sergeant swiftly grabbed the data-pad from the desk and handed it to the Lieutenant, who immediately went on to adeptly navigate the data-pad's many menus and forms.
Thea watched the Lieutenant work with bated breath, hoping with all her being that the assessment had not been revoked. It was her biggest fear at this moment, as everything she had done in her life so far would have been for naught if she was not allowed to join the UHF Marines at this stage.
Her heart sank as the Lieutenant's face was suddenly illuminated by a red glow. Before she could fully fall into despair, however, he turned his cold gaze back towards her and asked, "...Just who are you, Recruit?"
Taken aback by the question, coupled with her less-than-ideal mental state at the moment and the fear the Lieutenant instilled in her with his gaze, she instinctively answered with the only thing she had prepared a plan for, "Recruit Thea McKay, Sir!"
A tense silence followed her declaration, during which the three UHF Marines simply stared at Thea with varying emotions slowly becoming apparent on their faces.
The Sergeant and Private looked at her in disbelief and shock, while the Lieutenant’s face showed a different kind of emotion entirely, one Thea had not seen on his face before, nor one she thought he had even been capable of: amusement.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
The silence was broken by an amused snort from the Lieutenant, whose demeanour had made a drastic change. He now wore a barely restrained grin, which had somehow changed the entire vibe he gave off as a whole. The room's atmosphere immediately felt a lot more welcoming, and even the other two marines seemed to unknowingly relax their stances slightly.
With an amused and friendly voice, devoid of the cold, measured tone from before, the Lieutenant continued, “Very good, Recruit. I like that answer.”
He turned towards the Sergeant and the Private next to him before explaining, "Here's the situation, Marines: The assessment file is secured with an exceptionally high-level lock. I can't even determine the level of privilege needed to access it, so unlocking it is out of the question. It must be at least grey-level, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was a black-level lock. In fact, considering her circumstances, it's most likely black-level." He raised an eyebrow at Thea, expressing his intrigue before continuing.
“Based on the Recruit’s reaction and demeanour, I don’t think we have anything to worry about with her. She doesn’t appear to even be aware of what a locked assessment file means, so I say we just process her manually and move on with our day. I believe there’s a lot more Recruits waiting for inspection, after all. Any objections?” he finished with a questioning gaze towards the Marines, then to Thea.
When nobody spoke up, the Lieutenant handed the data-pad back to Sergeant Kaelin, before turning around and walking towards the privacy screen behind them, which flickered off automatically to allow him to leave the room. Just as he was about to walk out, he briefly spoke up again before stepping through the privacy screen, “I’ll keep an eye on you, Recruit McKay. Don’t make me regret my choices today.”
When the privacy screen flickered back on and the room returned to housing only its previous occupants, a stunned silence fell upon the group once again, as they each tried to process the events that had just transpired in their own minds.
Sergeant Kaelin was the first to recover and addressed the Private and Thea, “Well then, that was definitely an experience…
“First off, I want to apologise for this, Recruit. When I requested a Lieutenant to come take a look, I was not aware that Lieutenant Kane was going to be the one to answer. He’s a bit… intense, as you were no doubt able to tell.
“He’s a fantastic Marine, however, make no mistake! That said, his people skills are definitely not what I’d describe as the best amongst the Lieutenants on this ship, ha!” she ended with a light-hearted joke, evidently in an attempt to bring the atmosphere in the room back to more comfortable levels.
With the Sergeant’s more relaxed attitude steering the discussion back in a direction that Thea preferred, she was able to release some of the tension that had unknowingly accumulated in her body. Most importantly, however, had been what the Lieutenant had said before leaving the inspection room.
‘I’m going to be processed manually! That means there is no problem with the locked file as a whole! I’m going to be a Marine, after all!’
Elated at the realisation, Thea leaned forward ever so slightly in her chair, eager to get the proceedings over with, in order for her to take her rightful place among the other recruits in front of the podium.
“It’s alright, Sergeant, thank you for your concern. I’m just relieved that the locked file did not lead to any further issues, Ma’am,” she replied, wanting to move the conversation forward towards a swift resolution.
With the last remnants of tension leaving the room at Thea’s words, both the Private and Sergeant Kaelin visibly relaxed as well. They shared a quick glance before the Private excused himself from the room, leaving Sergeant Kaelin behind to finish processing Thea.
“Let’s get this over with, then. I’m sure you must be more than eager to get out of this room already,” she began empathetically, as she started navigating the data-pad’s forms and menus again.
“What we need to know is your basic aptitude in terms of combat abilities. Normally these would be listed as part of your assessment file, but we will just have to do it the old-fashioned way, as yours appears to be locked by the powers that be.
“So let me begin by simply asking: What do you see as your role on a given battlefield? What do you excel at?”
With such a direct question asked of her, Thea quickly collected her thoughts on the matter before replying, “My debriefing Officer said something about a Scout/Sniper role seeming to fit me well. During my challenge assessment, I had taken up that role as well. I prefer using medium-long range weaponry, as they play to my strengths, which primarily lie in my Finesse and Perception.
“I really loved the light armour I got to wear during the challenge, so I’d prefer to wear it again in the field, if possible…” her voice trailed off as she sank into deep thought.
‘Should I tell her about the whole Focus thing…? What about the weird gut feeling…? I don’t know what any of it is, though… Even after the integration, I haven't found a real explanation for it…’
Making a quick decision on the fly before the Sergeant had a chance to interject, she finished, “I also have really good instincts. I don’t know if that counts for anything, but I figured I should mention it, Ma’am.”
Sergeant Kaelin typed the information into the data-pad before looking up at Thea with a smile. “Anything you deem important, Recruit. If you feel that it’s something that defines you as a Marine, then it’s definitely worth adding to the list.
“Now then, if your debriefing Officer mentioned Scout/Sniper as your most fitting role and you, yourself, have no qualms with it, I don’t see a reason to change that assessment. It does fit with what I’ve seen from you so far as well.
“Your Perception stat must be quite high, based on your reactions so far,” she observed Thea with an inquisitive look on her face for a brief moment before continuing with an educational tone to her voice, “Always remember that you are not the only one with System access. Literally everyone on board this ship has it too. While your baseline stats might be high, if you’re only at the baseline, a lot of people will easily outdo you in terms of raw stats.”
Thea was taken aback by the sudden lecture and the sheer precision of it.
Sergeant Kaelin was completely right! She had indeed forgotten that she was not the only one with access to the System… Of course, others would be able to do the same or better than her when it came to raw stats!
Thea had felt like a predator among prey ever since she had left the rez-chamber, thanks to her vastly heightened Perception compared to before the System integration. Due to such an empowering feeling, she had completely forgotten that everyone else had gone through the same exact type of upgrade, in one way or another.
Thea had been walking around using her heightened senses on other people with reckless abandon, assuming that nobody else would be able to tell she was observing them.
She was extremely thankful to the Sergeant for pointing this out now, before she made a complete fool of herself in the future, or even worse, was caught eavesdropping on something she really shouldn’t have.
Thea felt utterly foolish for not having this epiphany on her own and having to be told about it in such a direct manner for her to fully comprehend it…
With realisation evident on Thea’s face, Sergeant Kaelin continued, “I’m glad you seem to understand where I was going with this, Recruit. Remember that you are now in a whole new world. Nothing is as you might expect it, based on previous experiences. It will take some time for you to adjust, so make sure to give yourself the time you need, as well.”
The empathetic nature of the Sergeant’s words left Thea surprised.
She had not expected to receive such heartfelt and, more importantly, potentially career-saving advice from an experienced Marine when she first stepped into the inspection room. Perhaps the fact that her assessment file had been locked was a blessing in disguise after all?
“Now then, I’ve finished up your profile. As the Private has no doubt told you already, you will be put with Alpha Squad, due to your silver rarity Ability. I hope this won’t cause too many issues for you going forward, but those are the rules…
“This concludes the inspection. Your seating assignment should be updated on your wristband momentarily. Do try to enjoy the graduation ceremony; you really deserve it after this whole mess of a day. I remember being an absolute wreck after the integration,” she finished with an empathetic smile towards Thea, before getting up and moving towards the western side of the room.
Thea understood that she had been dismissed and got up from her chair as well, following Sergeant Kaelin to the western side of the room.
Sergeant Kaelin deactivated the privacy screen, revealing the large open assembly hall with dozens of rows of chairs and the grand podium beyond. With a gentle smile, she nodded Thea towards the opening.
Before Thea stepped through and left the room, however, she quickly turned towards the Sergeant, “Thank you, Sergeant Kaelin. Your words and advice were very helpful and, unfortunately, necessary. I highly appreciate your kindness, Ma’am. I will not forget this.”
Having thanked the Sergeant and cleared her conscience for now, Thea stepped through the privacy screen into the bustling assembly hall beyond.
She was immediately hit with a veritable wall of sensory inputs, as the inspection room had been entirely shielded from the outside due to the privacy screens.
Thea stumbled slightly as the wave of sounds, smells, and impressions hit her, but she quickly managed to recover thanks to her earlier exercises leading up to the inspection.
Taking Sergeant Kaelin’s advice to heart, she dialled down the amount of active input she wanted to take part in, letting most of it simply pass through her unfiltered. Her subconscious would likely pick up things here and there, but at least she would not get caught actively eavesdropping on anyone for the time being.
As she made her way towards the large rows of chairs in front of the grand podium, she couldn’t help but start feeling excited.
This was it.
This was truly and finally it.
She would become an official UHF Marine in just a moment, finally achieving her dream she had been working towards ever since she was a child. She briefly wondered if her parents would have been proud of her if they were still around, but having never met them before, she couldn’t even take an educated guess.
What she did know, however, was that Old Man James was going to be very elated.
That thought, in itself, filled Thea with a level of pride and joy that she had never felt before.
Practically skipping across the open space towards the row of chairs, Thea checked her seating assignment with a big smile on her face.
Shortly after, she found her assigned seat and sat down, eager to get the ceremony over with so her life as a UHF Marine could finally and truly begin.