Boot Camp

[Siesatia]

The Siesatian government has recently opened up it's elite training camps to outside forces, in an effort to close the gaps between allies Special Ops, so they can work more effectively together.

This brings Arizona Nova's Elite Squad, the 'Gray Ops' to the desert town of New Cleyra, where their training will soon commence.



Info on the Dragon Knights Training Facility...

10 Barracks
3 Anti Aircraft Batteries
1 Cafeteria
1 Gym
4 Training fields
2 Hangers
2 Dirt Landing strips
1 Garage
4 Armourys
1 Dried up Lake

[Arizona Nova]

"Damn buzzing." Karth was jerked to consciousness, and instinctively he looked at the view panel next to his bunk - "The Daikatana* is nearing Siesetian space, prepare for deployment." He leapt silently and gracefully out of the bunk, something which had become natural after years of practice and training, and got into his armor suit - a combination of small composite armor plates which didn't impede dexterity, and silk-steel - a super-tensile metal that wore like cloth, but was impervious to small arms fire. To the average Anikari, it would have been too heavy to lift; but Karth was not average. Chosen at a young age, he joined the clandestine and shadowy Grey Ops and since then had been training and fighting in all sorts of places. He had even gone to a training camp sponsored by primitive nations wielding such weapons as would be in an Arizonan museum; it was nonetheless a good exercise in stealth and silence. He was, however, not given any idea as to what this camp was going to be like. Command had simply said that one of the nations in the ESUS was sponsoring a training camp for special forces, and that was it. He could almost feel the nanites in his body helping to heighten his awareness, as he got himself into the drop seat and strapped in for the descent to wherever he was going. Judging by the near imperceptable strain the engines made against what seemed to be enormous gravitational pull, it was not an asteroid, but that was all he could perceive without any windows - the only other ones were on the bridge of the ship. He felt a rumble as the engines fired the ship onto its chosen descent trajectory and heard the dull building roar as it began its entry into the atmosphere; so it was certainly a planet of terrestrial origin.

*The Daikatana is an Aspirant class ship produced by Capsule Corporation especially for Arizona Nova's Grey Operations, it is their flagship and has had numerous modifications made to it since it rolled off the docks in CC - namely reactor upgrades and a phase cloak device.

[Siesatia]

The ship continued to descend, its every move monitered by the many sensor stations located in the higher mountains.
"Daikatana, you are clear for landing strip 12." The conn tower radioed to them. It manuvered towards the designated patch of land, and began to lower itself onto the platform. Its Landing structure extended below it, and it came to a rest.

The Siesatian Domestic Diplomat was driven out to meet the troops. He was a raptor, and as such, drew many stares from the humans as they piled out of their ship. The eternal rain continued to pour on in the rainy city.
"I'm really sorry, but we are going to have to hurry, we have some representatives from the ISEC council due within the hour, so we're going to need to unload faster." He said to what looked to be the leader of the group.
"Alright, lets get this line moving faster!" he shouted to the rest. It was also at this moment that the transport vehicle flew in.
"We can't use anything but a sand skimmer at the moment, there's a hell of a sand storm." the diplomat said.
The transports were long, sleek, and looked fast. The Gray Ops soldiers continued to file out of their ship, and into the shuttles. It was only 20 minuites before said ship was able to take back off, and clear a path for the ISEC representatives.

The transports had already skimmed over the marshlands of the outskirts of the city, and was in the grassy, green fields.
"You think we will be training in this?" One of the men looked oddly at the pristine scenery.
"I hope not, looks like a challenge." Karth sarcastically responded. Then the driver spoke up.
"Excuse me, will you all fasten your restraints." he said over the intercom. Only a couple seemed to hear this, as they were the only ones to fasten their restraints. Then, a moment later, there was a monstrous roar, and they surged forward, traveling at close to 300 miles per hour, and they had'nt reached full speed yet. All of them were pressed into their seats, before the enertial dampeners kicked in.
Karth looked outside, and saw the scenery had quickely changed from pristine grasslands, to a scortching desert. They were stirring up alot of dust as they flew over, and he could see the 8 transports had stayed far enough away, that they didn't hit each other with the backwash.
Within 10 minuites, the craft began to slow down. In the distance, he could see some buildings. But they were hazy in the midday heat. When the craft came to a stop outside the main gate, the engines shut off, and they gently touched down.
"Jesus it's hot." One soldier remarked.
"Look at this." another said, and passed around a broken thermometer.
"What did it last say?"
"137 degrees."

They were met by a Burmecian, who was dressed in a cloak, and had a large hat on, his pointy ears protruded from the top.
"Welcome to the Dragon Knights Training Camp." He said alowed to them all.

[Arizona Nova]

Karth quickly looked the odd creature that stood in front of him and the assembled troops over, and began to wonder just where Command had sent them. He'd heard that the universe was home to exotic races and ethereal creatures, but this one pushed the envelope as far as he was concerned. "Looks like a cross between a rat and a human, and something else..." he said, feeding his thoughts through a mental "scrambling loop," a technique he had learned from a group of psionic aliens on a mission at Argus 5 - Karth didn't know yet whether he could read thoughts. Any other physical details of it were hidden by the large cloak and hat, but he had a feeling that it was probably someone you wouldn't want to cross. "What is the species name again? Burmudan? That can't be it..." he though, racking his brain for information. Every month they were briefed on new species, if any were discovered. He flashed over to the storage chip, a thumbnail sized chip implanted in his skull which held any largely static information he may need to recall later "Burmecian. Got it now. I was right, very physically powerful, and intelligent and sentient." He shifted uncomfortably in the armor suit; it seems that even though anything less devastating than anti-tank shells couldn't penetrate it, the heat could still make life miserable.

[Siesatia]

The Burman smiled at the new trainees. “Well, lets get to work.� He said,
�Sir?� one soldier stepped forward. “Aren’t we going to settle in first?�
�No, we start training, did you expect anything else?�
�Well…Uh…� he seemed embarrassed, and stepped to the rear again.
“I see you all are wearing battle armor, you will all be regretting that… the temperature is currently 143 degrees, the very limit at which human life can sustain itself. It is only this hot because we have currently hit a period of unusual solar activity, which is expected to pass within the next two months.
�And what limit can Burmecians live at?� Karth asked,
�Well… Burmecians, as a race are different, much like humans; there are two major ones, The True Burmecians, and the Cleyrans. The True Burmecians, known as the ‘Loyalists’ in the Mist Wars, lived at the rainy area of Burmecia City, but generally, can live to temperatures not exceeding 150 degrees. Cleyrans, known as the ‘Separatists’ can be told apart by a lighter fur coloring, much more like a tan, than the usual gray, and can live to temperatures of 160 degrees.�
The chip in Karth’s brain stored this information away.
�Now, it has come to my attention that a few individuals possess ESP abilities. This is frowned upon by my training methods, and this will be the last day you will be using them for the duration of the training here.�
�How do you plan to uphold this sir?� Karth asked,
�We have several devices placed in this area, that, after 24 hours will lock onto any of these abilities, and cancel them out while you are in its radius, this is a temporary thing, and once you leave its effect will wear off.
�Will this have any effect on our implants?�
�No, now, enough wasting time, we only have 4 hours before we have to be back at the compound.� He said, “The first day will be an easy one, we will run 10 Miles, just to acclimate you to the heat.�
�When do we start?�
�12 seconds ago.� He said and began to run off, most of the troops began to follow.


It was 1900 hours when they finally reached the base. All the troops made it in one piece, but it had not been the run that had gotten to them, but the heat, combined with the heavy armor.
�Not the best I’ve ever seen.� The Burman had commented once they reached the compound again. He began to lead them to the mess hall.
�This is our Mess Hall. The food is eaten in here, and stays in here, no food outside of this area.� He said, and pulled Karth aside.
�I don’t know who you are, but you seem to be the leader, or of leadership material at the very least. I am going to need you to assemble everyone here in 2 hours, there are some last minute preparations for tomorrows training.�
�Yes sir.� He said.
�Bring them over to the main storehouse.�


Two hours later, Karth found himself rounding up the troops, and getting them to the Warehouse. It took the better part of fifteen minutes to get them all there.
�Good, you’re here.� The Burman said, looking around.
�Before you all head to the bunkers, I have to lay down some of our rules, and hand out equipment. This is the Warehouse, it is off limits, and I mean that. I am here to pass out tomorrow’s equipment.� He pulled open the door, revealing long shelves of various items.
�You will each receive 2 sets of clothing, a cape, a cloak or trench coat, boots, a pair of gloves, belt, bedroll, backpack, canteen, lighter, and 1000 Dollars for general use, you may use that money to pay for any spare items you may need. Now, before I leave this to the clerks.� he said, pointing to a small group of humans and raptors, who were waiting at the sides, patiently. “You also need to know one more rule, Bunkers 4 and 5 are off limits. 4 are the officers Bunker, 5 is the women’s bunker. Get your stuff, and get to bed, wake up is at 0600.�

[Arizona Nova]

Karth settled himself on the cold, hard bunk for the night. Temperatures had dropped from the ungodly heat of earlier that day. That was ok, he'd worked in so many environments where the temperature would bounce around like a rubber ball, all during one day. It was nothing new to him. His current plan was also going forward quite well too; the apparent naivete and foppish attitude of his fellows was all a very calculated front, to see just what these Burmecians were about. It was quite probable that Command was once again given them an elaborate test as they had at Gorhn 2; a farcical "training camp" that turned into a prison camp as soon as the troops let their guard down, and when it of course looked its worst, the First Operative showed up and berated his humiliated men for being too trusting and assured that everything was always as it seemed. By making his men not how they seemed, the tables could be turned easily if things broke down. He fell asleep very quickly, ready, of course, to come back to just as quickly.
Karth didn't normally dream at night, or at least failed to remember them. This dream, at least, would be one that lurked at the edge of his consciousness, but just so that he could never remember it. He was in a dark, black room, yet he could tell there were other... things... in there also. Shadows that moved about... and something about destiny... he woke up in a cold sweat. Rolling over, he went back to sleep, and was bothered no more by unsettling dreams, though at times the vision would niggle at his consioucness ever after.
He got up the next morning, and scanning the room saw everyone still asleep; the horn had not yet sounded. He saw a new uniform nearby; it seems the Burmecians wanted them to wear this instead. He felt rather iffy about that point; if he was right he would probably get berated even more by Command for trading his armor for an obviously foreign, and suspect, suit. He felt the suit, carefully, and it appeared to be normal cloth. Pulling out a string, he did a Base Test to make sure that nothing in it was chemically suspect: he smelled it, rubbed his hands on it, and after it passed those tests pulled out a small lighter and lit the string up; it burnt normally. He took off his night clothing and pulled on the new uniform, and then pulled a devotional out of his bag and read a while. After finishing it, he tried to pattern another feedback disruption loop in his mind, and he could tell it wasn't working. He would have to trust to the rigorous anti-psionics training they'd endured, which was luckily not psionic itself, if these Burmecians were false at all and used such weapons against them.

[Siesatia]

The Burman looked up at his trainees.
�Good Morning, today, we will be handing out the ranks you will furthermore be addressed by while in this camp.�
�How will the ranks be decided?� one of the men asked,
�Several prominent leaders of our Armed Forces are coming out to meet with you, and evaluate those with officer material, and a few of you, I already have a rank for you. Now, today we will also be working on another project. I have been instructed to expand our little encampment, as such; this will teach you desert construction, and cooperation with foreign military services.�
�So basically we are building tents with some of your cadets.�
�Indeed, now, I have our officer corps out loading the equipment and supplies into a HPDTV, or Heavy Payload Desert Track Vehicle, and they should be here within…� He was cut off by the rumbling coming from the warehouse.
�Now.� He finished, and a huge flatbed vehicle on tank treads wheeled out from behind the warehouse. It quickly reached the build site, and shut down. A Burman in a bright blue uniform stepped out from the cab.
�Colonel Sliverspere Reporting.�
�Good job, grab your company, and tell Miss Crescent to get down here double sharp, she is late.�
�Yes sir.� He said, and headed for Bunker 5. They saw him run up, and a figure in crimson red opened the door. Exactly 1.54 minutes later, the entirety of Bunker 5 was headed their way.
They made it in a little over a minute.
�Major Crescent, reporting.�
�You’re late Major.�
�Sorry Sir.�
�Speak to me this evening. Now all, everyone assembled has been given the field rank of Private, except for the Major here, and Karth, he will be assigned a rank of Captain. Now, Major, Captain, I suggest you all get along, the examiners will be here soon. The assembled companies dispersed with their designated activities.

�So, have you taken the test yet?� Crescent asked him.
�Test?�
�The desert walk? Has he even told you about it?�
�No Major.�
�It is Jessi, Major when superiors are around, and the Desert walk is a 300 mile trek across the Cleyran Desert, it must be accomplished in 5 days, and the only rule is, any man who falls behind, is left behind, anyone who passes this, after training, is awarded the rank of Master Dragoon.�
�Wow.�
�By the fourth day, you are out of water, and 20% of them die at this point.�
“What?�
�By the fifth day, you reach the grasslands and civilization, there, you get cleaned up for a trip to Burmecia, where you accept the title, and you get taken to camp for the last time, to grab your stuff and leave.�
“Sounds easy enough, just pack enough water.�
�There are other challenges, but I know nothing about them.�
�Fun. Should we start building?�
�Yeah, tell them to get the rest tent up first.�

[Arizona Nova]

Karth was continuing to ponder the situation as he dug into the dry, cracked desert earth, as the Burmecian sun burned into the desert about him. This Burmecian species mystified him: they seemed so innocous, but at the same time enigmatic, as if they knew things you didn't know, and couldn't even understand if you did. That, and the informality was jarring to him, and when this easygoing behavior was juxtaposed over the extreme and dire conditions they were working in the whole situation just began looking absurd. Another total anomaly was this Major Jessi Crescent, who asked to be addressed by her first name, which was alien to Karth. He was used to either titles, and in the case of command, numbers when addressing individuals. He was jarred out of his ruminations when his spade hit something hard. He tensed momentarily, knowing that hard things buried underground could be anything from rocks to land mines. Nothing happened, so he began to carefully dig around the spot in hopes of finding out what was down there. He began scooping away the parched earth, and soon something, round, smooth, and black appeared. He set aside the spade and began digging it out. Pulling on the black globe, he wrested it free and found himself face to face with a skull. He started for a moment, almost dropping it, but retained his grip on it as he studied it. He detected something in his peripheral vision and turned around to see Major Crescent standing there.
"What do you have there, Karth?" she asked.
"It appears to be a human skull, erm, Jessi," he replied, "though I've not seen many that are completely black before."
"The skull has been burnt black, and it won't be the last you see either, Karth."
"Why is that?"
"Well, I can give you the history lesson if you want; I'll try to be quick as you have a lot work ahead of you."
"Okay, that would be good. So what happened here then?"
"About six hundred years ago, Old Cleyra and Burmecia were engaged in the Mist Wars. Cleyra and Burmecia were two seperate nations, and Cleyra had been peaceful while Burmecia had been the aggressive and militaristic nation. However, Burmecia was sacked by Odin, a powerful warrior lord. The refugees fled here, to Old Cleyra, but Odin followed and destroyed it, and completely destroyed Cleyra with his fiery spear. That is why the skull is so blackened."
"Interesting, Jessi, but I should probably be getting back to work now."
"You're welcome, Karth, I shall see you later then."
Karth watched as Jessi walked away. Of all the Burmecians he had met thus far, she was the most interesting. He picked up his spade again and continued digging the foundation of the tent.

[Underwater Asylum]

In an expected event, a bright blast of light would accompany a hideous screeching as a drop pod fell through the air. And the gorund would shake when it hit the earth, and four men rolled out, dressed in power armour and holding boltguns. "Sorry we're late." ((If you don't want my intrusion, that's fine.))

[Siesatia]

OOC: I did say it was open to all of ESUS, I just hope Arizona Nova doesn’t mind. My opinion is, the more the merrier.


Master Dragoon Irontail

The Burman looked on when he saw the skull get dug up.
’Looks like we have another one’ he thought to himself, and walked over to Karth as Jessica finished her history lesson.
�Another body Major?� he asked her.
�Yes sir.�
�Let me take a look at it.� He said, perching a pair of spectacles on his muzzle, and peering down at the black orb. “Well, it is human, so that means it is definitely an Alexandrian soldier. I’m sure there is some armor in there, it will, of course, go along with the body, but if you ever find any armor by itself, it is yours to keep, remember that Karth.� He said, smiling. “Some bits of the stuff are worth much more than just money.� He said, pulling up a sleeve a bit, to show an armlet. “This is a Dragon’s Armlet, belonging to a Dragon Knight of the highest skill, this kind of trinket, is told to bring even humans closer to the dragon spirits.�
�Dragon Spirits?� Karth asked. Master Irontail touched the dragon insignia on the side of the armlet, and closed his eyes.

It was only a moment later that Karth could feel something, it was warm, even in the heat of the desert, and it felt abnormal. Looking down, he saw something, ethereal, ghostlike, with huge gaping jaws swallowing him. He was glued in place, he felt as if something was being drawn from his body, was it his soul?

His recent dreams flooded through his mind, the strange images, the emotions, but then, it all stopped, and he felt normal again. But the dream stayed, now more clear than ever.

The pod hit the sand, just outside the encampment. It was late at night, and Master Irontail made his way out alone to greet them. A sandstorm was starting up, so he had worn a cloak and hood. Greeting them, he led them inside the administration building.