SOAR

'TRIFTERS'

That was the name that was used publicly to identify those that ventured beyond the rift and after the name got a massive appeal from the general public, it became the official name of the members of the special task force.

Obviously it was workshopped by someone online, and quickly gained accolades amongst many, therefore becoming the most searched word on any social media platform in the country. 

'The special otherworldly allied resistance, SOAR' was the official name for the task force, but it surprisingly didn't go well as a nick name for it's members and also the people's opinion, as some could argue that it was 'stiff' and 'raw'. But I could argue otherwise.

Rukius was listed to be among the first batch of Trifters that would leave to explore Omnicron- the world beyond the rift- and although details of his mission still remained 'strictly confidential' I could almost guess what it was.

"So you guys are basically going there to destroy some orb that controls the rifts and possibly end this whole stuff. How do you all know if that would close the rift and besides if they could already create one portal, what's stopping them from making a lot more??" I asked intrigued by the muscles Rukius had built in the space of a month.

Sometimes he would wake up late at night and go to the park besides our apartment, training for hours undeterred.

"How do you know about the orb and stop gawking at my body, you creep" he reprimanded, walking backwards and almost toppling over the armchair at the end of the room.

"The internet, it would surprise you how much is posted online these days." I replied, shaking my head in shock of how much focus I had lost while talking.

"I guess most things can't even be considered confidential theses days. However, that's all we're going to be doing and before you ask what else I'd like to remind you that our mission is... "

"Strictly confidential, I know"

I didn't let him conclude his statement before doing it for him, I didn't want to hear about it anymore as I simply just slipped deeper into the comfort of the chair I sat in, changing between commercials and shows with the remote, trying earnestly to pick an entertaining one. 

"Joan's a part of my team".He stated probably smirking In joy from where he sat, I could not see the look of his face though and i didn't even bother to entertain his plea.

"Oh..... Don't care" I whispered.

Even while speaking my eyes remained fixated on the screen, I didn't show any emotions in retaliation to what he said and even though I knew he was expecting me to be surprised, I wasn't. I had noticed her absence for the past month and it was easy to pinpoint the cause of that.

"You already knew?"

"Yes dummy"

"Tch, asshole.... Finally my chance to get close to her though, we might even bond more since she already knows me."

"Yeah and maybe you guys can have kids while at it, Pfft. Y'know I didn't want to say this because I naturally do not care about people, but I'm just tired of seeing you act dumb. Have you ever considered the possibility that, I don't know... Maybe she doesn't even like you!??"

"Well first off you're rude, and secondly, who wouldn't like a guy like me"

"Yeah sure..... why not"

I shaked my head gently, even though Rukius was dumb, I knew he had already caught wind of the fact that Joan was just naturally kind to everyone she was around. I didn't bother to speak any further regarding the topic and simply decided to direct my attention back at the show that I had been watching for a while.

"Same as Greny burns, he's our captain" Rukius mouthed, unconsciously oblivious of the information he had just passed.

"Wait hold on, did you just say you were put in the same team as Burns?"

"Yeah"

The look of content on his face was becoming annoying as he had diverted his stare completely towards my gaze, surely his pride knew no bounds and this was vivid proof of that.

But even as at that, I couldn't argue about why he would feel that way, judging by the fact that Burns, who was already regarded as a national hero for his efforts within and outside the rifts, and was one of the highest ranking officers amongst the trifters, just happened to be in the same team with my very arrogant roomate. 

It wasn't that much of a surprise the more I thought of it, owing to the fact that Rukius had finished top of his class in almost everything Including the mental aptitude test surprisingly, which beared a seemingly low value compared to the rest of the qualification tests. 

What was more of a surprise to me however, was the fact that he didn't feel inferior when he spoke about it, even though I knew he always thought about himself as some superior personality and always envied competition.

I had once stumbled upon a post by a gamer online who praised him and even called him one of the greatest mind due to the amount of incredibly outstanding feats he had accomplished, while playing a game that most people had deemed impossible to beat. 

After I had told him about the post, for the next week he couldn't stop talking about it, mocking me in the process even though he knew for a fact that I wasn't at all interested in video games. And now that same guy, whom I had expected to protest against the fact that he was not only denied the position of captain of his team, but still found a way to take solace and pride in the fact that someone else, stronger and more important had claimed the position.

'Maybe he really has changed'

As I moved my head trying to shake off the thoughts that accommodated my mind, the weight of Rukius next question seemed to push me down to the ground, and even made me stutter. Something I had almost, never done.

"Why didn't you enlist though, Nezro. I thought you of all people would be thrilled at the opportunity to 'escape this reality'. Don't tell me you're scared right, is that it?"

"Sc-scared... I'm not scared"

'Was i scared??. Was that the reason I had not enlisted'.

I had constantly deluded myself about the possibility of a more quiet and work free life as my ideal life, even though I knew for a fact that I had always craved a change.

'Cold feet, huh.....?'

I simply just regarded it as a stupid opinion by a stupid person, but for the next few days after our conversation, my kind kept bringing it up. Causing even me to be unsure of who I was.

*****

{09/07/2024}

The departure of the first batch aired on national Tv, and the smile on the face of Rukius, made it harder for me to concentrate on.

There were four parties in total and each party contained six members, excluding a captain. So a total of twenty eight Trifters, plus four military trained medics.

Most of the members from the first reconnaissance team were made captains, while the rest had stayed behind to help prep the Trifters undergoing training.

There was something unusual about them that I couldn't seem to let slide, I had noticed it a while back when Rukius was still in the training program but didn't have sufficient proof to back up my suspicion, but right now with all of them gathered together it became crystal clear.

They had a strange, black hand band on their wrist and I definitely could tell that there was something unusual about it but couldn't place my speculations right.

Whatever it was, the government definitely didn't want anyone outside them knowing about it judging by how they were continuously bouncing off questions regarding them in the interview later.

And just like that, they headed into the wormhole, on a quest to save humanity, or so they believed.