The examinations were finally over. Clay was glad that it was finally over, though everything had gone smoothly, the use of his ability had made him become tired, Lining up with the rest of his squadron, he finally had the chance to properly introduce himself to the group.As one of the last to finish from his group, he could see two of the girls and three of the guys standing chatting. Finding the right moment to introduce himself, he simply walked in and gave a short wave to catch their attention.
"I"m Jigme." The simple statement caused a slight frown to appear on one of the guy"s face who was chatting to a brown haired girl at the side. Ignoring him, Clay continued to smile at the rest of the group as one by one they began to introduce themselves.
"Miranda" a boyish looking girl was the first to approach with black hair and a mischievous smile. Clay could only reply with a grin as he carefully looked on.
"This is my friend Sofi" pointing at the brown haired girl who had been chatting to the guy at the back, Clay could see some tensions in the air as the guy came forward.
"Kayden, nice to meet you." A smile that was not a smile caused Clay to inwardly groan, "looks like someone doesn"t like me already."
As they began to introduce themselves, two of the guys who had been silently standing to the side walked closer. One was was a tall dark skinned boy with clear white teeth and large eyes. "Doncaster", holding out his hand, the boy was the first to hold out his hands for a shake. Clearly grasping the warm palm in his hand, Clay strongly pumped his hand together with the friendly guy in front of him.
"Here Tigul come over here and introduce yourself." The remaining guy in the group was obviously shy, preferring not to talk as much as possible. However Clay could still hear him say his name that Doncaster had conveniently introduced.
It was at this moment that two people began to walk out from behind him. He hadn"t noticed it before but there was strange resemblance between the two. It looked like the two were twins, that or siblings who were very close in age. Though given the possibilities Clay could only rule out the last. The high mortality rate of the Staircase Programme meant that even siblings could die one after the other after undergoing the artificial treatment, however it was another case for twins. Psionics were a special case, they were people who had adapted to the psi energy waves in their surroundings, though there would be many differences in apt.i.tudes between siblings, the same did not hold true for twins who were genetically almost identical.
Stepping out from behind his back, Clay turned around to face the two new faces who had come in time to meet their group. After a chorus of introductions once again, he was surprised to hear the girl speak first.
"I"m Sigu and this is my brother..." almost as if they were used to finishing each other"s sentences, the boy strongly looked towards the group as he introduced himself.
"...Reo, but the girls can call me RiRi." His response was one that took Clay slightly aback, it seemed other than looking young, there were some in his squadron that were actively experiencing that time of youth.
Conversation seemed to flow intermittently in the group after their introductions. It was clear that some were already familiar with each during their time waiting for the rest, while others had a clear list of people they liked and disliked, this was especially true for Kayden, and Reo who only paid attention to the other girls in the group.
Not long after their warm necessities were finished, a person came up to the group dressed in uniform with insignia on his lapel.
"Attention!" there were some that responded faster than the others, it so happened that Clay was one of those who were slightly slower and caught the eye of the ranked officer who came to brief their group.
The air seemed to freeze as the recruits came to attention in different orders. It was not a good first impression but this did not stop the ranked officer who simply stared at the newly formed squadron.
"At ease. I"m Sergeant Coniver, and will be responsible for your training in the next several days. As a basic introduction we will begin with a short run to warm your bodies, do not stop until you either drop to the floor or I say so. Follow me." Without checking their reactions or waiting for the recruits to react to his sudden announcement Sergeant Coniver quickly set off.
Clay was the second one that set off, his first impression was not so good, so he was adamant in making sure that he didn"t stand out once more. One by one the group followed the man in the lead who seemed to be running as if he was talking a nice walk. The route they took carried them away from the suburban stack of buildings of Groot Colony and away towards the wilderness and rougher terrain away from civilisation.
Clay realised from the start that this was another test to examine their characters as well as push the recruits to quickly come to senses, though the contract was for two years, it was not a normal form of employment, they would be working under the military arms of the Groot Colony and expected to pick up the skills and carry themselves as members of the military as well as remain disciplined.
Time seemed to pa.s.s quickly but none of this mattered to Clay who steadily kept the pace only focusing on the figure ahead of them and his breathing. Three members of his group had already dropped out earlier. A vehicle that had been following them from behind had carried the tired bodies away. Though they were psionics in name, none of the recruits had any distinct physical characteristics from their awakening, the only advantage they had was in their ability to use the psi energy stored in their bodies but even this was limited. There was no knowing if an ability which had developed from their psi energy would be useful until they were trained, Clay knew his ability did not provide any physical enhancement to his body. It was simply a manifestation of energy that had some awareness.
Finally sweat soaked his body as he could no longer take the tiredness that was leaking from his body in rivulets of water that dripped from his face. A brief glance showed that only two more people were still trying to keep running following Sergeant Coniver. "Sigu and Kayden".
Just as Clay was about to fall the welcome shout of "stop!" could be heard from the front and he collapsed where he stood.