Chapter 2 Training Course

"Give all the power to the many, they will oppress the few. Give all the power to the few, they will oppress the many."

― Alexander Hamilton

the recruits of the Novergrad Armed Forces trained every day from hot summer days to the bitter winter, they are the best military units in the world due to their highly organized troops unlike the Ancient Romans, their military salute is all the palms facing out and it's adopted by the Air Force while the Navy, palms facing inside. the salute of the 76th Mockingjay Battalion is the Three Finger Salute, the battalion was named after the famed book series by Suzanne Collins, the former name was the 76th Bravo Detachment Unit but the unit was growing into a battalion and one of the soldiers found spotted a Mockingjay during the battle, hence of the name 76th Mockingjay Battalion. the recruits lined up with their best behavior as the drill sergeant shouted on top of his lung that could orbit into space, the base that they destined is Fort Belmont on Sapphire Grove

"Welcome to Camp Belmont recruits! I'm Lieutenant Jacob Deacon, you're Drill Instructor for today. I want you to say your name, age, and place of birth. for example, you!

"y-yes sir! I'm Nathan Walker, 23 years old from Amethyst Cove!"

"your surname sounds like your part of the Royal Family, so moving on!"

"Jessica Watts, 20 years old from Ruby Hill!"

"you lived near Fort Belmont then?"

"five miles from here sir!"

"good then, next!"

"Zane McBride, 19 years old from Basswood City, originally from Michigan, USA"

"Which part of Michigan you came from recruit?!" Deacon

"in Oakland County of Royal Woods, in the suburbs area of Detroit"

"pretty good. today I'm going to sculpt you into super soldiers to defend our country and protect the Royal Family against our archenemy, the Ghost Army, those bastards are back at it again to bring us down but not us! we can outsmart them with our natural resilience and sharp strategic skills to thwart their evil plans to rule over Novergrad! not even a finger can touch the crown. not even once of their fucking lifetime! any questions?"

they never asked another word until they were scrambled to their bunkers, each of the soldiers who were introduced to the drill instructor is placed into the 19th Trainee Corps, they are going to endure the training. I mean a lot of training from day to night, even during the rainy and winter season as the Kingdom of Novergrad Armed Forces specialized in spec-ops and naval operations if they were stationed near the ocean like in Sapphire Grove right now. Zane was bunked with Nathan Walker while Jessica Watts bunked with Marvin Lambert, the base was pretty huge than Fort Hayha on Amethyst Cove. the bunkers have it all from bedding to fireplaces and there's a tube near their beds as well, not much to know about their use but it looks fine. they thought it's a decoration or just a prank left by the former troops before moving up to their designated units. Zane fell asleep in the bed as he got tired from the trip until a loud horn blared so loud that he fell on the floor

"what the fuck was that?!" Zane said angrily 

"attention all recruits! report to the training grounds, I repeat all recruits report to the training grounds"

all the recruits are reported to the training grounds and they are going to many training like hand-to-hand combat, combat shooting, first aid, explosives 101, and other stuff to do so. the first lesson of the day is hand-to-hand combat, one of them is going to have the knife while the other is going to knock him/her down with Novergrad Armed Forces Combatives. each of them is having a bad time as they got defeated many times except for Zane, he has experience of kicking someone's ass unlike to Corporal Cole Herman, he was choking for his life as he did a Kneebar after disarming his wooden knife. the specialist/trainer was impressed by his combat skills all thanks to his mentor: his dad.

"damn your good recruit, how did you do that?" Cole asked

"my father taught me, he used to train future MMA fighters with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu" Zane replied

"lucky bastard, you know I could kick your ass with Krav Maga but you already got me"

"fair enough, who's next?"

after three hours of numerous training, the recruits have reeked in sweat as their Training Uniforms sop it all up like a sponge, the shower areas are provided with cubicles for privacy since the recent sex scandal happened in the shower area, the shower areas are installed with cubicles to avoid further incidents. the military accepts foreign recruits and members of the LGBTQIA, discrimination, and treason are the major offense in the base. if the recruit was caught in the act, confinement for 1 month with court-martial and forfeiture of not greater than half of the base pay or demotion of a ranking officer, general, and soldier. if they never learned their lesson, rustication is imminent and in full effect. they had a ban on openly gay and lesbian soldiers way back in 2003 but the ban was lifted in 2005 as the former Prime Minister Dennis Rodgers came out as bisexual after passing a bill to the Parliament to lift the ban of LGBTQIA recruits.

the mess hall was filled with hungry soldiers and each of them has a weekly schedule meal are cooked accordingly to their religious diet, 45% of the recruits were Christians, Catholics, and Roman Catholics and 40% of recruits are Jewish and Muslim. the Minister of Defense released a dietary plan for the mixed religion recruits to avoid a certain amount of discrimination in the Armed Forces. a beef curry with mashed potatoes are the soul food for him as he barely eats during the hospital days, the food in the military has more flavor than the hospital cooked it. the Lieutenant called the recruit for a little pep talk in his office, the grappling gun, two vambraces, and the sheathed katana are aligned on his table

"what do you need Lieutenant?" the recruit asked

"so, where did you get this? I know your father didn't work as a fitness trainer back in Royal Woods, tell me the truth, and rest assured" the Lieutenant replied

"Alright you caught me, my dad is a former assassin when I was a kid, he's a former member of the Keepers of Royal Woods. an assassin organization that deals with crimes in the suburbs and the whole state of Michigan" Zane spoke the truth

"then it's dissolved on September 21, 2022, due to their Headmaster's mysterious death?"

"Lieutenant, how did you know the incident?"

"I was on the same yacht on that day of the incident. a bomb was planted in the engine room and I jumped on the water while the yacht blows up on the horizon, later the survivors were rescued by the local coastguard in Florida. that's the incident I can't forget that day."

"damn... I was 14 during that time, dad was upset during that time, sometimes he brought me along during the founding anniversary of the Keepers and he taught me and my sis some kick-ass moves when I was 8 years old"

"impressive, so you're holding the Keepers legacy?"

"sure thing. those things that my dad used in his days, the katana was a souvenir after his mission on Tokyo, he stole it from the Yakuza after dealing with their boss"

"they operate overseas?"

"yeah, until the overseas Headmasters are closing the doors after his death, some are still running but in secret."

"That was unfortunate,  well there's something I could do for you"

"what it is Lieutenant?"

"well a little task won't hurt, I'm dying for a pretzel right now"

"there's a bakery nearby, I'll get one"

"no, how about you?"

"what do you mean? oh right! the pretzels that I sold on the Market District, how come I forget that!"

"I could send you there but it's the hot zone or I surely toast to the board of Generals, because for a bag of pretzels. how about here?"

"sure thing Lieutenant. should I start now?"

"it's a start, go on and make me one"

The recruit left the office while the Lieutenant sits back and took another sip of his scotch whiskey on the rocks, Zane comes back with a tray of piping hot pretzels that he made. the Lieutenant loved it and so does Zane because he hasn't tried it on after the invasion of Basswood. the recruits are ready for more training on day 2 on Fort Belmont, each of them is about to give up but they continue the hellish training that they going to endure for six months but it's all paid off with the annual selection is going to happen in September. On the 15th of August, Zane turned 20 on that day until the units that were deployed on Basswood City came back in a small number. while the others die in battle, a sad birthday gift for the young recruit until his sister sent him a Phoenix military patch

he was relieved as Zane read the letter that was sent him along with the patch. it's been six months since he called after the parachuting exercises with the 97th Paratrooper Regiment, it's eavesdropping and he nailed the leap of faith, but the parachute was used instead of the haystack

"Dear Zane"

"how's your training on Sapphire's Grove? I heard they have good beaches there. I and the residents moved to Ruby Hill because it's not safe in Basswood, it's kinda sad to leave your shop during the chaos out there, I hope you are still okay out there, good luck on your first day in service. send me a call or a letter once you joined the Phantoms or the Mockingjays or the Stormtroopers. also, I sent you a Phoenix patch because it looks good on your combat uniform, good luck and don't die out there"

-your older sister, Jessie

the selection was moved to the 28th of August because the Ghost Army is about to conquer the whole city of Basswood. the recruits cannot wait to be picked by the best battalions after six months of training. the Phoenix patch was applied to his uniform and the box was filled with Phoenix patches, he's going to stitch it to his other uniforms in future deployment