Peace Making
“What are you going to do, Arasaka?”
Another voice rang out across the barracks’ training field. Stepping back, both Logan and Arasaka turned to the newcomer. It was the same woman who had initially greeted the recruits this morning. Up close her numerous scars were even more noticeable, crossing her body in random formations. She had a similar presence to the interviewer, demanding your absolute attention.
“Captain Frear, I-...I’m sorry, I let my emotions get the best of me. B-but, this man shouldn’t be here, he has absolutely no coordination. We need to keep our reputation.”
Logan rolled his eyes at that. She had been the one to bump into him, while he was mostly standing still in a single file line. Then he realized he wasn’t the only one not amused by Arasaka’s tactics.
Captain Frear, or Reena, was giving Arasaka a very pointed look. Under the Captain’s gaze, the usually fiery woman became very uncomfortable, going as far to fidget slightly, before retracting her statements.
“Sorry ma’am, please ignore my outburst.”
“Don’t worry, I was planning on doing that regardless. What you should be worried about is the punishment coming your way after I settle the new recruits in the barracks.”
Arasaka gulped. Logan could tell she wanted to push back, but the Captain had already moved on.
“Alright you fresh shits, time to learn up from down. Now pack it up and follow me around, I’ll do a quick circle of the camp before I let you free on the barracks. And you, go join the others.”
That’s when Logan noticed the person standing behind Captain Frear. Thankfully, it was a familiar face. It appeared that Amar had been assigned to the same Squadron as Logan. He was happy, but it also made him wonder where Gregor had ended up.
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Gregor’s day had been odd. He had expected an unusual response, but he hadn’t expected to immediately become the apprentice of Marineford’s major. In fact, Gregor would rather not have that honor, but as the major was the highest ranking officer here, it was hard to turn the man down.
As a result, Gregor had ended up separated from all the other recruits, with a private room and space to himself. Certainly, the benefits to his new position were making themselves known.
Still, Gregor was suspicious. Although he knew that his Rankings were impressive for his Tier, his treatment still seemed out of place. It was these thoughts that consumed Gregor’s mind as he sat on his newly acquired cot. He was so lost that when the door swung open he jolted from his seated position.
“At ease, I’m just here to check in.”
The major, the man who had conducted most of the recruitment interview, walked into the room with a casual air.
“So, how are you liking your new lodgings Gregor? Up to your standards, I hope.”
“Yes sir, I’ve enjoyed them very much…”
“Go on.”
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“... But, I’m not sure if I deserve the honor, sir. I am not really all too special, surely there are others better fitted for this role.”
“Ah, I see you don’t know why I chose you, Gregor.”
“No sir.”
“Gregor, feel free to call me Michael when we are alone, as my apprentice you can have some familiarity. Just make sure to keep to ‘the major’ while the troops may hear. And the reason I selected you is simple. Your ‘Battle Meditation’ Blessing is one of a rare category of Blessing, that can propel its users to the highest peaks imaginable. Coupled with Ranks that show a strong work ethic, you are easily the recruit with the highest potential this camp has seen.”
“Don’t let it get to your head, but if you make sure to remain diligent there is no doubt you could surpass me given time. ‘Battle Meditation’ and it’s like often end up multiplying the user’s Ranks far beyond their Tier. So, I decided to help speed things up by taking you under my wing. Not much to think about, really. Just the right decision.”
Gregor hadn’t known that his gift was so rare, as he usually barely gave it any mind. Its main effect was the dilution of time the more adrenaline he had surging through his veins, so Gregor didn’t have to think about the Blessing, he just used it passively. Knowing that it had other uses caused his mind to whirl.
“Haha, I know that look. Well, I’ll leave you to contemplate for tonight, Gregor. Tomorrow morning though, you better be ready to get to work.”
“Yessir!”
Major Michael gave Gregor an eye.
“Yes… Michael.”
“That’s better. Rest well, apprentice.”
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The rest of Logan’s tour went fairly straightforward. Captain Frear showed them to the mess hall, camp training grounds, and where the latrines were. Which, unfortunately, seemed to just be a somewhat large ditch with a bit of coverage.
Although it wasn’t ideal, it was the best plumbing system Logan had seen since coming here. Logan just hoped he wasn’t the one who had to shovel it out.
Finally they reached the barracks once again. As much as Logan wanted a second to talk to Amar about her interview, it wasn’t to be as the Captain split them by sex and told the members who had been around for a while to answer the remaining questions.
There were four men in the Squadron, two of whom had been here for longer than a day. One of whom didn’t seem very interested in talking, but as Logan found out, that was definitely not a problem for Jerry, his other new senior.
Jerry was a slight man, who didn’t have the feeling of a professional soldier, but constantly assured the newcomers at every chance that ‘Reena’s Squadron’ was the place for the best recruits. Really, Jerry just jumped at every chance to say anything, which were offered in bulk by the other fresh recruit, Larry.
“Aren’t we lucky to be in the Squad, Jerry? All the women are bombshells!”
“Eh, who cares. I guess they are traditionally good looking, but if they are in this squad they gotta pack a mean punch, so watch out. Even Arasaka is dangerous.”
That got Logan’s attention. The annoying woman had stayed on his thoughts throughout the night so far.
“Hey Jerry, what’s her problem?” Logan said, speaking up for the first time in a while.
“I’m sorry for the way she treated you but eh, I can understand her own short fuse. She’s feisty because her skill set would normally mark her as a crafter, so others look down on her. I expect she will apologize herself at some point in the next day, unless you actually deserve such treatment.”
Huh, I thought he was going to say she was just mean. Maybe I should wait and give her a chance.
“Alright, I’ll accept if she extends the olive branch.”
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When Logan started falling asleep he instantly felt the Void begin to form around him. Jerking back awake, Logan decided that he could stay up tonight. He considered just resting in bed with Remy, but a strange noise kept drawing his attention.
It sounded like a rhythmic banging, -not like that, clearly the sound was made from metal on metal contact. Despite Logan’s efforts to stay in bed, his curiosity eventually got the best of him. After all, no one had ever mentioned a curfew.
Slipping outside, Logan entered the space between the two barracks. The noise was coming from a small roofless hut just a few feet from the girls barracks. Strangely, Logan hadn’t noticed it during the day, but he wasn’t always the most observant. Walking over to it, Logan stepped in the doorway.
Instantly he was blasted with both heat and sound. Something about the hut must have dampened the noise because on the inside was what looked like a miniature forge to Logan. Arasaka was standing over it, going to town on a piece of metal with her oversized hammer.
Logan wanted to get her attention but was scared to break her focus. It was almost ten minutes before she took the piece she was working and quenched it. That’s also when Arasaka notice Logan.
“Ahhhh!” She semi-cocked back her hammer, ready to strike.
“Woah, I just wandered in here and got caught up in watching you work! It’s cool stuff.”
Logan said all this with his palms raised. Arasaka at first looked like she was about to still use the hammer, but then she seemed to deflate.
“I owe you an apology.”
“Huh, well Jerry was right, I’ll be. How about we save that for after a proper reintroduction. It’s nice to meet you, I’m Logan Brewer.”
Logan extended a hand. Arasaka hesitated for a moment, sweat still dripping down her arms, and then took Logan’s offering.