Assessment Day
The blaring of trumpets burst through the barracks and brought the new recruits up and out of bed in seconds. Logan quickly tossed on a shirt he had discarded last night, then followed by tying his boots in record time.
The male recruits went outside and rejoined the women, and then were directed to stand in lines out in a training field, with a small command tent in front of them. Then a woman with wild black hair and scars on her arms visible from a distance exited the front flap.
“Alright recruits, unfortunately due to the influx of fresh bodies around here we can no longer spring to have everyone Assessed. Today, all that will be happening is a small interview, and your placement. Over the course of your basic training, if you show promise or potential, you will then earn the right to be Assessed.”
“If you have already been Assessed prior, give your Assessment Card to your proctor during the interview. Now, the first person may go in, and the rest of you may wait to be interviewed.”
The woman motioned until the line got moving, then left the field. No one seemed to pay her any mind as she sauntered off, acting like she ran the place.
Which, considering she didn’t introduce herself, maybe she does.
Logan didn’t really know anything about what he was walking into, he had mostly just gone with the flow. Now there was no more chance to back out, he would be joining the Legion.
As the line gradually shortened, Logan wondered what the interview would entail. He hoped they didn’t try and dig too much into his past. Explaining that wouldn’t go well.
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People that filed into the tent inevitably left through the same flap they entered, before taking a left out of the field. The line seemed to stretch forever, the sun visibly moving as they shuffled forward in line.
Still, it eventually became time for the group from Alteep to take their turns. Gregor entered the tent first. He was in there for quite a while, maybe half of an hour, before he eventually came out with a sheepish smile.
Then he did something no one else had done yet, and left the field to the right. It seemed Gregor’s Assessment Card had been enough to ensure him some form of special treatment. Logan would have been jealous but he didn’t have the time. It was his turn next.
At an attendant’s gesture Logan walked forwards and proceeded into the tent. When he was just about to walk in, the same attendant stopped him and pointed towards Remy, perched on his shoulder. Logan, setting the Rizzel down, looked in his eyes.
I’ll be right back, you stay calm ok?
-Sure!-
As Logan lifted the flap to enter, his eyes registered a long table with three different people sitting behind it. On the left end was an older man, with salt and pepper short cropped hair that really made him look like he belonged here in the military.
On the right side of the long wooden table was a young woman who could not claim the same. Her soft figure and her petite stature, combined with her lab coat and wireframe glasses made the words ‘sexy librarian’ come to mind for Logan, even though it was a touch crass. As much as he would have liked to sit and talk to her, preferably over a nice dinner and drinks, the last occupant in the room demanded his attention.
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The last man in the room was stoic, with long black hair that tapered off around his shoulders. A hideous scar traced over his swarthy skin and across his left eye, disfiguring his otherwise handsome face. Still, the dynamics of the man’s pure presence forced Logan to focus every atom of his being on him. That’s how Logan was able to identify where that man’s attention was directed.
Namely, at the tentacles hovering around and over Logan’s head.
“Huh, well this one should be interesting. Young man, what are you?”
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Shit can he see souls too?
That was the only explanation Logan could think of. He didn’t know how else it was possible to make out Logan’s inherent differences, but the timing couldn’t be worse, running into the first other person who could see them here of all places.
Well, it was likely because he was here, so Logan figured a little honesty would serve him best. But just a little. For the rest, good old fashioned ignorance could take a person a long way, and it was time for Logan to ride that wave.
“I don’t quite know sir. I don’t have memories of my whole life, but a couple days after I woke up, I had a vision, and when I came to my soul had been changed. I don’t know how or why it happened.”
Logan looked at the stoic man and tried not to gulp. Instead he focused on trying to keep his tentacles as non-threatening as possible until the man replied.
“Huh, neat. Well son, you have me in a bind, because the method I have to ensure you’re being honest doesn’t seem to work on you. And, well, I need to know you are who you say you are. To keep everyone safe. You understand?”
While he spoke, the man tilted his head to the side, and smiled in a way that never reached his eyes. Logan did understand. If he gave this man sitting so casually in front of him the slightest inclination of violence or espionage, his goose would be cooked.
“Sir, I promise that I am really a fresh recruit who has only stayed alive by sticking by stronger people. It seems like there are some unique things I can do, but if I had to go to war in a couple weeks I’ll die for sure. Could you just assign me to someone tough enough to watch me, and also maybe keep me alive? Sir.”
Uh oh I got a little too frank there towards the end. Tehe.
“Signing up for Reena’s squadron, heard loud and clear. I’m going to trust you until you step out of line, but don’t think for a second we don’t have our eyes on you. Now, you're going to want to leave the tent and head out to the left, then stop once you reach the quartermaster’s office, you can’t miss it. You’ll be directed around from there.”
Towards the end of the man’s dialogue the two other’s at the table started shaking their heads. Looking between the two, the other man looked confused.
“What did I do?”
The other military man at the table spoke up.
“It’s what you didn’t do, which is follow the script, or ask any of the questions we are supposed to ask.”
“...Sorry?”
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They ended up skipping most of the questions, but they wrote down his name and barracks number on a huge list of names spanning what looked like hundreds of sheets of paper.
Then Logan was shooed out of the tent, and back out onto the training yard. Grabbing Remy and giving a little wave to Amar before he left, Logan headed out the left side of the camp, following the majority of the people that came before him other than Gregor.
From there Logan wandered down the camp's thoroughfare until he came upon the building that he assumed to be the quartermaster’s office. The building itself was nondescript, but it was hard to cover up the line of fresh recruits leading out of the front door.
So Logan just got in line. Nothing else to do, really. It was slow going, as the line really only moved forwards every ten minutes or so. It wasn’t long before the rest of the recruits joined in the line behind Logan. Unfortunately, he didn’t see Amar there, so it looked like it would be just Logan and Remy for a little bit.
Logan figured he might as well use the time in line to scope out his peers. For the most part, he found himself unimpressed. Most people looked completely ordinary, but Logan supposed that Gregor would appear normal at first glance too. Instead, Logan decided he should try and study their souls, as the man Logan had just met implied Soul Sight could be used to detect lies. If that were the case, maybe there was a lot of information Logan wasn’t perceptive enough to understand yet.
As the line progressively shrunk, Logan started to make out more details in his observations. It wasn’t enough to really claim he had discovered anything, but Logan felt like he could discern subtle differences between souls at this point.
Then, Logan’s part of the line made it inside, and he had to put his impromptu training on the back burner.