“Alright everyone, let’s give Yujo a big send off! On three; One… Two”

The cheering billowed out of the terminals’ small speaker. The people in the video were calling after Yujo in the same way they had done the week before.

It had been the fifth time this morning that Yujo had watched the video of the entire congregation cheering her on and wishing all the best. The springs on the standard issue militia bed creaked as she turned to her side. As she moved to get a better angle of the video projection the projection lit the room as its only source of light.

Yujo pressed the face of her terminal. In an instant the video stopped and dissolved into the clock.

04:50.

She could feel her entire body pulsing to the blinking of the clock. She stifled a groan. It was far too early to get up but also too late to go back to sleep. Any attempt to get any further rest before half past five, when reveille would blast out of the speakers, would be in vein.

Yujo was told under no uncertain circumstance by the wizened old man of an instructor, when the clock struck 5:30 she would be dragged out of bed kicking and screaming. The screaming would come primarily from him command her to do laps if she wasn’t up and changed as soon as the song ended.

What she had done to offend him, Yujo still didn’t know.

Of course, that was but one of the many infractions that could get her into bother with the instructor. If her bed was not completely tucked in and neat she would be having laps for breakfast. If her head had one single hair out of place she would be having laps for lunch. A single sneeze out of line would mean three square meals of laps.

In the last five days, she had done more running then she thought she ever would in her entire life. She could still feel her short legs screaming at her for it to stop.

It had only been five days and Yujo couldn’t figure out for trying how anyone could stand this sort of treatment for the training period of six months. Only five days in and she was ready to throw in the towel. The idea of going to Jail sounded like a pleasent alternative.

With an echoing groan she turned over and turned the video back on.

‘Alright everyone, let’s give Yujo a big send off! On three; One… Two- ‘

Before the cheers could begin, the lights burst on. A reveille, just loud enough to be uncomfortable, blasted out of the speakers above the only door of the room. Out of an instinct that could only be born from running over a hundred laps in a week, Yujo leaped out of bed. Her mind on auto-pilot, she quickly tidied her bed, stood at attention in her pyjamas and waiting for the door to open. She also braced herself for the instructor to shout at her for getting something wrong.

“Miss Psalms?”

The soft voice that rang out wasn’t the same one that had been giving her a verbal dressing down each morning. Instead it was the voice of the communications officer that had been present during the meeting. The door opened to reveal the young, dark skinned and dark velvet haired woman dressed in the official uniform of the Abraham Militia’s communications branch. She stood in front of the door with her terminal in her hand.

“Oh. Uh…”

Yujo, addled from the panic, drew a blank on her name.

The communications officer realised what was going on, smiled and walked in. “Christmas, Christmas Mamusul” she said as she extended her hand and offered a warm smile. “Though most people just call me Chrissie”

Relived, Yujo sighed and accepted the hand. “I thought you were the drill instructor.”

The smile warmed, “Nope. Just me. The Instructor told me to tail you today. Sorry about the pun it was his. He said that given the time we’ll be working together, it would be ideal to do this every so often.”

It was Yujo was that Chrissie was going to be her personal contact point to the HQ during her time as the land ambassador. She would be the first line of contact for the militia and the government. They also stressed that she would also provide emotional support.

“Oh, is that so?” Yujo said, her gaze shifting away. “I honestly didn’t think he cared.”

Christmas stifled a laugh and shook her head. “Well, in any case I think his heart is in the right place.”

Yujo gave her a sour look. “What heart?”

Christmas couldn't help but laugh out loud.

“I can see where he gets that reputation. To be fair, in the years I’ve known him I don’t think he’s opened his heart to anyone. He’s a very methodical man.”

Yujo thought for a moment before , “Is it alright for you to be saying that?”

“Well…” Chrissie pressed her finger to her face in thought and then winked.

“What he doesn’t hear won’t kill me.”

“Uh-Huh…”

Yujo shrugged, trying her best to remain indifferent to the politics of the Republic.

“Well in any case, I have your schedule here and we start at 06:00 with exercises so I’ll step out to allow you to get changed.”

With that, Chrissie left, leaving Yujo to change into the militia uniform that had been given to her. She opened the locker next to her bed and looked at the outfit.

It was a smart outfit, more suited to the sort of thing you’d see stewardesses wear on cruise ships. The only word Yujo could use to describe it escaped her lips.

“Twee.”

It wasn’t as if she would be wearing it long. All it was used for was the morning and evening singing of the Republic national anthem. For the rest of the day she would be wearing a pair of shorts and a t-shirt for physical training.

She quickly got changed, looked at the mirror in the locker and adjusted her hat as best she could.

She sighed. It was never going to look right. Accepting the cruel reality of her hat, Yujo walked towards the door.

She reached the door to knock it and then paused.

“Miss Mamusul?” She called out to the door.

It took a second for Chrissie to reply.

“Yes?”

“If you don’t mind me asking…”

Yujo closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she continued. There was something she simply had to know.

“…Why on earth did you stay with the militia after your service?”

The woman on the other side of the door went quiet for a moment before she could be heard sighing. “Honestly? It was the only option for me.”

Yujo had not expected that answer.

“My sister can't afford the tuition for me to do anything else. Mom died during the war and one night my father and Frah had a massive falling out about it. Threw us both out. I was five at the time.”

Yujo started to feel that sense of shame she had felt when she was talking to Rosemary about her taking photographs of the selk.

“To make a long story short, my sister was able to support the two of us. I couldn’t go to college on the money she was making so I did my national service out the back of high school and never looked back, really.”

Yujo bit her lip. It was easy to think that everyone had the same story as her. Being surrounded by children who had stories of ether losing or being abandoned by their parents as a result of the war.

She sighed and slumped against the door.

“I am so sorry I asked, Ms. Mamusul.”

A light laugh came from the other side of the door. “Oh, don’t worry about it.” Chrissie said, “I have nothing against him myself. I was five so it’s all a big blur to me.”

Yujo looked up to the ceiling, watching the light buzz in and out.

“Frah, on the other hand, oh that’s something else altogether. Everything she’s said to me suggests that he was something of an ass who fell apart the moment mom died and only got worse as time went on."

It was then Yujo realised where she had heard the name “Mamusul” before.

Pulling out her terminal, she quickly thumbed through the contact cards and found the card she was looking for.

Staring right back at her was the boat hand, Rahem Mamusul.

"Say, Ms. Mamusul..."

Christmas made a noise confirming she was listening.

Yujo opened her mouth to ask her question before her common sense kicked in and she closed her mouth.

"N-No, it's nothing." she said as she picked herself up from the floor and dusted herself off.

"I'm opening the door now ok?" she said as she opened the door. As the door gave way, she could see the last moments of Christmas wiping her face.

She quickly noticed Yujo and stood to attention with a smile.

Yujo, not wanting to trouble the communications officer, returned the smile. With that, the two walked out of the barracks to start her training.