“Craw… but Drill Instructor-” Jaxon’s petulant words drifted on the wind, but after that, they were too far away for Joe to catch anything else. He started to laugh; Jaxon hadn’t changed a bit… except he was apparently making sad dinosaur noises instead of normal human ones when he was upset.
The formation continued to march. An hour slowly passed, then two, and the Drill Instructor called out softly. “Company… halt!”
After getting everyone to face him, the Dwarf looked around with a troubled expression. “After today, there is a chance that we won't see some of you for a long time. Wherever we go, whatever we do, know that we will always be brothers and sisters in arms. Today is going to be a life-changing experience for some of you, and for those that come out unscathed, know that this is something that you will not have to go through again. Company… charge!”
The Drill Instructor’s words were a potent, heady mix designed just for this group. A small fort came into view in the distance, and the platoon charged at the main gate directly. Something about the situation struck Joe as wrong, but he had no idea why. Attacking the main gate? No, that was something these battle maniacs would definitely do. They were alone? See above: battle maniacs. No, something the Drill Instructor had said…
“Won't have to go through this again? But attacking forts is the way we get the most…?” Joe’s feet pounded the ground even as his mind whirled into action for the first time in weeks. “Something is wrong… it's a trap!”
Joe tried to stop, but he was carried along by the remainder of his platoon even as he shouted at them to turn around. They reached the main gate and blew through it without any resistance. When the last of them, the Drill Instructor, had come through the gate as well, a heavy portcullis slammed closed behind them. Somehow, their trainer had not come into the area fully, instead remaining just outside of the open area the rest found themselves in. Laughter rose from all around them, including from the Drill Instructor. He shouted one last phrase, sending the platoon into an outright panic.
“Welcome to the Officer Selection course!”
Chapter Eight
Before the platoon could get too wild, another voice rang out and made them stop what they were doing. For some, that included attacking the wall, while others were digging, and a few were even attempting to send themselves to respawn. “All of you will immediately halt, get into formation, and prepare for selection! Some of you will become Officers today, and there is not one pyrite-blasted thing you can do about it!”
So much whining came from the group that the Dwarf speaking to them actually covered his ears. “I know, I know! None of you want to crack the seal on the unused space between your ears; that is why you don't have a choice! Or is it…”
The clearly high-ranking Dwarf came into their range of vision, and Joe glimpsed a smile playing around his lips before returning to stoic grimness. “Perhaps you are just not up to the task? All right; in that case, if you think you are too weak and pathetic to become an Officer, and you’ll give this opportunity to someone else without a fight, I'll open the gates right now! Any takers?”
No one moved, and Joe would have applauded the Dwarf if he thought he could get away with it. The Dwarves around him seem to be having an existential crisis, staring at the ground, their hands, or each other as their ideals clashed. On one hand, there was no way they wanted to become an Officer! On the other… a female Dwarf piped up, “Officer bro, I’m not weak! You can send these other flawed specimens home; I’m at peak performance! They don’t deserve the chance!”
“Dudette-!” another Dwarf called at her in shock.
Before he could finish his outburst, a full dozen of the other mustachioed Dwarves spoke up in unison. “What do you want?”
Joe shook his head when he realized that every single squad had at least one member named ‘Dudette’. The Officer spoke up calmly, rolling right over all the shouting troops. “First test is attention to detail. Drop as flat as you can get.”
“Oof!” Joe knocked the wind out of himself with how quickly he slammed his body to the cobblestones below. An instant later, half of the platoon had something knock into them hard enough to send them flying toward the outer wall of the fort.
“Well, that’s half of them disqualified.” Joe probably only heard the mutter because his perception had increased above the one hundred point threshold. “You think I should send in the war golems? Not yet? Stone spikes in their head? Alright. Let's see how fast they can get up with all their gear on.”
The voice of the commanding Officer erupted once more, “Stand-”
Joe was on his feet in an instant, as the rest of the words escaped the bearded mouth “-up!”
An instant later, a metal-tipped stone spike erupted from the ground where his head had been. Looking around, Joe gulped at the sight of corpses pinned to the ground everywhere around him. The second voice coming from somewhere came once more, “Pretty decent reaction speed on these ones, and we’re down to ten now. Check the dexterity on that one after this. Do the skill test; doesn't matter how well they can follow orders if they can't do anything.”
“Good. For those of you still here, it's time to figure out if you are worth anything to the Legion’s Officer Corps. We don't need Officers that can only fight. Crafting, building, leading, strategizing… these are all important factors!” The Officer spoke out an instant after the other voice had finished, leaving Joe wondering just who it was that could order this
