The first few weeks were extraordinarily taxing and stressful. I became really good friends with Michael, Christian and Basher. The four of us supported each other as we were put through the intense training.

It began with physical training; running, sprinting, swimming, push-ups, pull-ups, bicycle swipes, curl ups, crunches; the list goes on and on. You name it we did it. Next came the obstacle courses where all of these things were combined in unique and torturous ways.

We had to do things like crawl under barbed wire through mud, quickly, then climb mud slick walls or ropes and cross tightropes and slippery monkey bars that overhung more huge puddles of mud. All the while being yelled at and broken down mentally by the drill instructors.

Ssgt Lyons eventually eased up on Michael who told the three of us his story. He'd apparently gotten high with some friends. It wasn't anything actually dangerous. But he'd taken something else while already high and blacked out. He somehow signed up for the military while blacked out.

Sundays were the only day of rest we got. We were allowed to make video calls to family then. Jenny was always ecstatic to see me and talking to her and the kids helped keep me grounded.

On our first Sunday I was in the Com Room talking to Jenny when I overheard Michael's call with his girlfriend. It was during that call we had learned the truth. His friend he'd gotten high with had slipped him some heavy stuff, had him sign up for the military and made sure he stayed high as a kite so he was unable to do anything until he was past the point of no return. All, to get him out of the way so he could put the moves on Lily, his girlfriend.

While they could have gone to court over it and pressed charges on his old friend, he couldn't do it while in here. It was a catch 22. He was going to need to complete basic training and be admitted into the military proper first so he would have the freedom he needed to press charges and make it possible to get out of the military without a dishonorable discharge.

As for me, it was great to talk to Jenny. Each week that passed made my time at home before it seem so long ago. The weeks became months and were packed with so much training that while the moment always seemed to drag on for eternity, time in general flew by.

Getting to know Basher was a real joy. He was from Australia and was just a good all round guy. Friendly and gentle but capable of being hard and brutal if protecting someone he cared about. He'd been a Rugby player back home which is why he was so big. But despite that, he was a teddy bear. He wound up getting his girlfriend pregnant and wanted to make a life for them. So he married his girlfriend and joined the Starforce. That same day in the Coms Room I overheard him making baby noises to his infant daughter, while his wife looked on and tried to hold back laughter.

The only thing I really hated about the whole experience was Frank Wilks. His father was one of the highest ranked admirals of the ASFC. The guy was a spoiled pissant and his attitude was toxic. Unfortunately, because I was the only other Officer candidate in the squad, I had to see a lot of him. He and his cronies got no slack from the instructors because of who his father was and he inevitably took that out on my friends and I.

I will give him credit, he never tried to shirk the activities. He was physically fit and did the exercises with the rest of us with no complaints. But when the drill instructors weren't around he turned nasty. We spent so much time together that it was only natural he and I developed a rivalry, pity it wasn't a healthy one.

Basic training was a twelve week ordeal and the last three weeks were the worst.

*****

It was the morning of Monday in the ninth week and Wilks was already starting his shit. As Christian was dressing for the morning Wilks walked by and shoulder checked him into the nearby bedpost, and immediately snickered. "See you out there losers." He said before leaving the barracks.

"Does he still think he’s a fucking jock in high-school picking on nerds?" Michael asked no one in particular.

"I don't know, I just want to get the next two weeks over quickly." Christian said, rubbing his forehead where he'd hit it.

Today was the start of the warrior training weeks. We are done with classrooms and we're now going to get on a bus and spend the next two weeks in the wilderness learning how to survive.

The training so far had been brutal and I could only imagine how bad this was going to get. One thing the drill instructors said to expect is mach combat drills.

Considering that Wilks and I were the only officer candidates it was practically guaranteed the two of us would be leading opposing squads against each other.

I followed the others out of the barracks and boarded the bus. Christian, Michael and Basher sat with me towards the front and from the back we could hear Wilks' familiar snicker. He had a few cronies that were nearly as bad as him.

I was surprised that the first week flew by as it did. We learned a lot of boyscout stuff like how to start a fire with rocks and sticks, how to carry a person for a long time on your shoulders in a fireman's carry and learning to identify animals by their tracks. Laced through it we did wargames like capture the flag and king of the hill.

We were all equipped with a taser rifle and vest. In the event of a shot hitting the vest, it would stun the wearer for five minutes and disable the rifle. If you got hit you were considered dead. As squad leaders Wilks and I had visors with a hud that showed the status of our squad.

The rifles are very similar to standard weapons used by the Starforce so we were taught how to shoot, clean and care for them.

Basher was an amazing marksman. But, he'd grown up hunting in the wilds of Australia with his father. Michael and I were average shots but Christian struggled to even hit the target.

Finally the second week rolled around and we were all surprised at what we were tasked to complete.

We were divided into two squads. One led by me and one by Wilks. Then separated into two camps. We were instructed to make a lap around the mountain, a three hundred mile hike. The first team back would be awarded fifty points but we were racing the other squad. Each kill along the way would grant a point to that team and each death would subtract a point. The team that won wouldn't be required to do physical training on the last week.

We had to make the trip with our entire squad. If you were shot you were dead for that day and to make progress, you would need to be carried.

We were given the entire second week to do this; and further, we would be on our own. There would be no supervision. The vests would keep people honest as they had gyro trackers that knew if someone was being carried or was walking. I was expecting Wilks to play dirty, it was his way in the wargames to do that.

I stood at attention as the drill instructors left. Then turned and addressed my squad.

"I know we can do this everyone, we can't let Wilks beat us." It wasn't much of a speech but I hoped it got the squad a little excited. "It's already starting to get dark, so let's all get some sleep and we'll head out at first light." By this time we were all mostly accustomed to waking up at four a.m..

"We have seven days to do three hundred miles. That means we need to do forty five miles a day. We can do that easily at a light jog for nine to ten hours a day. Get your rest, I don't want anyone falling behind tomorrow."

Everyone broke up and started preparing for the night. Some were eating and some were getting ready to sleep. I found a good spot of soft dirt and unrolled my sleeping bag, my friends setting up near me.

"You know, there is no fucking way this game is unsupervised as they said." Michael said

"What makes you think that?" Basher asked

"Jon, did they give you any kind of communications equipment for emergencies?"

"No." I answered thoughtfully.

"That's why." Michael said with an 'ah ha' motion of his hand. "They couldn't just leave us to ourselves. What if someone broke a bone or had an allergic reaction to something. They'd need to be able to jump in and rescue us if something happened. I can guarantee there is a GPS tracker in everyone of these vests at the very least. But they probably all have a camera and mic too. I bet they also set up cameras in the trees along the route, will buzz us with drones from time to time and even use camera tracking from Olympus."

"You make a good point" I said to him. "But keep it to yourself. This is really the first bit of freedom we've had since we got to basic training and I don't want to shatter that illusion for everyone else. If we can do this on our own, it would be a huge boost in self-confidence for all of them."

"That's why Jon makes the big bucks," Basher said with a snort of laughter.

"Napkin math says we're going to need to average a speed of five miles an hour for nine hours a day to make it there in time." Christian said, changing the subject.

"That's totally doable." Michael shrugged.

"I'm not saying it isn't, but it's more than I've ever run in my life. And I suspect the same is true for nearly everyone here."

"I'm not worried. We have the better squad. These guys can do it. Now get some sleep, tomorrow will come early." I said to end the conversation.

I had been right about my prediction, Wilks would play dirty.

Shortly after midnight I was jolted awake with a shock and let out a grunt of pain and my body seized up. When I opened my eyes I found myself staring straight into the shit brown eyes of Wilks.

He was crouching over me with his gun an inch away from my chest. "You're dead." He whispered to me with his customary snicker.

"That's dirty", I weazed.

"Dirty? So what. A win is a win is a win and you’re losing. We’ve taken out all your biggest guys. You won’t be carrying anyone today. See you in a week loser.” He snickered one last time before he and the four others with him vanished quietly into the night.

I looked over to Basher who was laying as rigid as I was, we locked eyes and he gave me the barest hint of a nod.

This was bad, very bad. If enough people were down today we wouldn’t be able to move. We’d be a day behind and catching up would be not only exhausting but dangerous if they were waiting for us or setting traps. I should have set a watch.

I fought against the debilitating electric spams forcing my body to seize up. I finally managed to sit up and called out to anyone that could hear me. My voice was a half choked whisper and barely went a few feet but Christian heard me and sat up.

Rubbing his blurry eyes he looked at me. “Are you ok?” he asked, worry evident on his face.

“Alarm!” I said as loud as I could and looked down to Basher.

Christian’s eyes went wide as he took everything in, then jumped to his feet and started shouting “Alarm!” at the top of his lungs repeatedly. He then bent down to try and help me get to my feet.

I was pleased at just how quickly the squad was on their feet, armed and ready for action. Unfortunately, many didn’t rise. Out of twenty three men, eleven were incapacitated for the day. No way the squad was going anywhere today.

Michael got to his feet and put a shoulder under my other arm. I looked around at my squad and told Chistian to have the men bring the ‘dead’ to where I was and everyone to gather around. After he relayed my orders and everyone was close enough I wouldn’t have to shout. I addressed the men.

“This is my fault. I was expecting Wilks to play dirty but I never would have anticipated a sneak attack in the middle of the night.” I bit my lip for a moment and looked around, locking eyes with some here and there. “I should have set a watch, but that lack of foresight may have just cost us the victory. They took out half our number so we can’t move today. If anyone has any suggestions I’m all ears.”

It was quiet in the clearing for a moment before Michael spoke up. “Why don’t we build a wagon? I mean, I doubt it would take long, we’d probably be able to move for half the day that way. We’d lose less time for sure.”

“And just how the hell are we supposed to build a wagon? The only thing around us is trees.” One of the guys called out.

“We could do it.” Michael said, nodding his head at me.

I held eye contact with Michael for a moment and then focused my attention on the group surrounding us. “Darryle, Abrams.” Both raised hands and I was glad they weren’t shot. I want the two of you to find and track the other squad. Don’t get caught and don’t engage. Just find them and watch them. Leave signs of us behind you so we can follow the intel. Michael, grab who you need and start on your project. Everyone who was shot, get plenty of sleep and rest. We can’t help them till midnight but we may be able to follow the road in the night pushing the day team in the wagon. We’ll see how it looks. We’re not out of this yet.”

“Alright everyone, get to work.” I clapped my hands and was lowered to the ground by Christian and Michael. Darryle and Abrams ran off into the woods in the direction Wilks came from. Despite the setback I still had hope we could do this.