THE BLOODY ROAD TO LEARN.
PART 1:
-Dammit!!! Let’s go!!! Everyone up!!!
I was yelling… and I was yelling at a group of young settlers who, exhausted from the effort, had dropped to the ground gasping…
-But what a pathetic troop they have endorsed me! Do you think that Next Island is a haven of peace???
The figures raised their heads and stared at me… One of the recruits, too well fed for my liking, was panting noisily as much as his uniform two sizes too small would allow because he couldn’t find his size…
One of the girls still thought we were going to a party… Her makeup had been ruined by the heat, and some kind of black tears were falling down her cheeks… The others, well, some were leaning on a tree, or on their noob weapons…
For a second I looked at that mass of rookies who together were not worth what JoseGaltor, Kike, Katalina or, why not, myself… My mind transported me to a few days before…
One week before:
I was called to the Stel Barracks… I hadn’t been there for a couple of weeks due to my multiple businesses, so I figured I was missing something and they were going to bring me up to date.
What was my surprise when I saw the Planetary Chief Socrates in the middle of the main VIPs of the headquarters… He addressed me.
-Hello Dante, nice to see you again… let’s say you’re a little hard to find – he told me with a mocking accent.
-Hello, Chief Socrates… Nice to see you again too… And, well, let’s just say I’m a busy man – I replied
-Well, you better leave aside some of your occupations, because you are going to do this planet a great favor. He said with a solemn accent.
Demons!!! In what new mess was I going to see myself involved?
-Always at his orders, Chief, but… what is it about? - I said something flaky.
-Well, you see, Dante… ahem… During past crises you have shown leadership capacity, courage and dedication… In addition, your inventiveness has solved great problems… That is why we now need your skills… -Head Socrates answered…
A mission!!! It’s clear, they need me… Some kind of mission maybe on another planet… Or an embassy… Maybe some espionage?
-Very honorable, Chief Socrates… and if it’s not too much to ask, what is it about? - I said, unable to hide my emotion.
-Well, you’ll see, Dante… A new batch of settlers has arrived, some of them very young, to populate some areas of the planet.
Yes!!! It was clear, an espionage mission without a doubt… something related to one of the newcomers… I let the Chief continue…
-…And they are not well prepared… they are easy prey… So, Dante, we need you to be the mentor of a group of eight young people and teach them how to achieve success on this planet… -Chief Socrates was tremendously enthusiastic… While I I lost my breath at times…
That’s why they called me??? To be the babysitter of a group of brats who don’t even know how to hold the plate to the Harness???
With a gesture, Chief Socrates dismissed me and returned to his conversation with the VIPs… My luck was cast.
Current moment:
I remembered all this while looking at that troop… one had lost his helmet, another was limping pitifully, a third was trying to adjust his arms armor so they wouldn’t rub him…
Demons!!! This was going to be worse than a visit from my in-laws!!!
PART 2:
It had been the first day of mentoring… I picked up their files to read them later and, to see what they were made of, we did a 10-mile march around Pearl Cove… naturally, the boars felt threatened and attacked…
They defended themselves as best they could, so they were able to fulfill the first option of mentoring, the group hunt with the mentor… Anyway, they were not in shape… they ran as much as their little training allowed them and, one by one, they appeared. at the closest Revive… For six of them, it was their first resurrection and their bodies weren’t used to it so after a series of retchings, they vomited loudly on the beach…
-Gods!!! But what have I done to deserve this? And you want to be the next generation of settlers on Next Island???
-Sir, excuse me, Sir – Martin was trying to speak between gasps – Technically we are already settlers, what happens is that…
I didn’t let him finish… that boy was a freak… he would be worth it to hack computers but he didn’t see him facing a cyclops.
-Martin!!! I know you are settlers, but you haven’t passed the mentorship yet… and there is only one thing that stands between the mentorship and you… guess what???
Martin and the others tried to answer between gasps and retches…
-Me!!! I, your instructor, am what stands between you and your success…and I think you won’t be able to graduate in a hundred years!!! – I was already fed up with those guys, and I unloaded my frustration on them…
At night I went through the files… four men and four women, between 16 and 22 years old:
• Martin Dasios, 18 years old, computer scientist, excessively literal in his statements.
• Ivana Lopez, 19 years old, fresh out of a reformatory… somewhat reserved…
• Johan Seirin, 16 years old, the youngest of the group… somewhat clumsy and ungainly.
• Leila Nairin, 21 years old, originally from Toulan… the girl who wore makeup for the march.
• Leon “Boss” Dior, 19 years old and 25 extra kilos… a good diet needs this boy.
• Duma Loft, 22 years old, the oldest of the group… she seemed thoughtful and serious…
• Don Alexander, 17 years old, very fast on the march, but careless…
• Lana Arwin, 18 years old, fond of the supernatural and the Mind Force…
And this was the troop I was in charge of… I thought about what we would do the next day… mmm… I’ll take them to an area where they still don’t have the TP to force them to walk and toughen up… But there are eight of them… I think I’ll borrow a couple of Gungnir in the Stel barracks, and Katalina and I will each take a group of four… Perfect… Then, let them explore and mine for a while, to see what skills they have…
In the morning:
They showed up early at Crystal Cove… at least all eight of them had invested in the basic Harrier armor and Barbarela Z12 rifles… The real Entropy Quadrant rookie pack…
-Let’s see, troop: today we will go north to an area that you still do not have in the NavSat, so we will have to go by air transport… Martin, Ivana, Johan and Leila, will you come with me in the Gungnir A… Leon, Duma , Don and Lana, you four are in the B with Katalina.
We boarded the ships and headed north… from the air we could see the masses of boars in their continuous evolution… Later we saw herds of Papoo and other animals… Our destination was drawing near: Bustamite Forest.
Once they landed, I handed out TT Finders and probes, so they could mine a bit and get familiar with handling the devices… Also, they fulfilled the section of mining with the mentor… Of course, it was an area of dragons, and they had to be careful if they didn’t want to end up flamed and revived…
No matter how careful they were, Leila and her make-up and Don ended up in ashes and revived with more retching, although less so… their bodies were getting used to the process.
Katalina made me notice something: some black clouds with violet tints that were dangerously close… it was a Neutrino storm, something rare in Next Island, but when they happened they could leave an entire sector without NavSat or communications… In addition, they were accompanied by beams that could easily destroy a vehicle.
-Guys!!! Let’s go!!! A storm is coming!!! - scream with all my might…
The disciples came running to where Katalina and I were. I told you about storms:
-This Neutrino storm is capable of interfering with communication equipment, GPS and all… That is why it is impossible to fly or use vehicles in these storms, even for a couple of days afterwards, since the environment remains charged with energy and continues interfering for at least 48 hours. Now we will all leave in the TP that you have discovered… We return to Crystal Peak… Prepare yourselves.
Katalina and I hurried past and waited for them to arrive.
Bustamite Forest TP.
-But hey, they are our instructors and they run away – said Johan.
-Then this is serious, guys, so let’s get out of here - Duma replied, while picking up his equipment.
He didn’t give time.
Suddenly, lightning struck the TP like a sledgehammer, no doubt guided by the energy flow… The shock wave launched the eight several meters away…
When they got up with their ears ringing and some other minor injury, they couldn’t believe what they saw: The Bustamita Forest TP was a jumble of iron still sizzling…
-Guys… I think we’ve stayed here alone – Lana said…
-So… How do we get back now??? - Leon’s voice trembled as much as he did…
They were just a bunch of rookies… and now they were alone in a hostile land…
PART 3:
Crystal Peak TP:
-But what the hell do these? Why haven’t they arrived yet?- five minutes had passed since Katalina and I passed from Bustamite’s TP to Crystal, fleeing from the Neutrino storm, and my disciples still hadn’t arrived…
-They will be collecting the equipment- Katalina ventured.
I couldn’t take it anymore, I went up to the TP and chose the coordinates of Bustamite… I’d give them a good smack.
ERROR - TP NOT AVAILABLE – said the display of the conveyor machine.
-Damn it, Damn it, damn it!!! – My fears had materialized… The storm had advanced and now the electronic systems were not working… The TP had stopped working…
And of course, vehicles, TP chips… would also stop working nearby.
A static noise on the radio…
-Dante, this is Planetary Chief Socrates… Do you receive me? Roger
The one that was missing!!!
-This is Dante, Chief Socrates… What is offered? Roger
-Nothing, Dante, just to know if the boys were alright… where are you? Roger.
If a well opened at my feet and swallowed me, I would be happy…
-All good here, the boys are happy and learn fast… We’re for Bustamite, Roger
-Ok, okay, be careful that the weather service indicates the presence of a storm… Take shelter and keep it up… Out.
The gods must hate me… If Chief Socrates finds out I’ve lost the recruits he might send me the daurdamour without armor…
Bustamite Forest TP:
-Come on, everyone to the shelter!!! – Lana ran to the building, followed by the other seven…
The place was small, and the eight of them were able to protect themselves a little from the rain, the gusts of wind and the gusts of static… That if, their communication Tablet and electronic equipment were blocked… they could only wait for the worst of the storm to pass for them. be able to go home.
-But without TP or vehicles, how do we get back home? - Martin asked the right question.
-Well, walk to the next TP or Revive, and from there we’ll be back - Seirin finally said something sensible.
-Walking??? walking??? Those dragons are not going to let us go, and they will kill us over and over again and we will come back here to Revive. - Ivana was right.
-Well, the first thing is to see if Revive works, which I doubt it will. – Don, the fastest, ran out to Revive in the rain… she stared at him and came back a few seconds later.
-Well, the bad news is that the Revive, inexplicably, still works… he must be shielded against interference. - Don said sadly.
-That’s not bad news.
-Yes it is, because if it didn’t work we could end up in another Revive further away, perhaps already away from the storm, and we would return home… -Don was right. – With Revive running, every time we die we’ll end up here again.
Everyone was silent… At least for another two days they would not be able to use vehicles and no one would come to rescue them, until the Ionization faded.
A couple of hours later:
Mysteriously, the storm moved away much sooner than normal, so the boys were able to get out of the shelter and figure out what to do.
-Well, it’s time to try to get out of here- Lana was preparing her equipment.
-But what are we going to do? – Don didn’t see it clearly.
-Simple: We divide into two squads of four… One squad advances, while the other distracts the dragons, and then does it the other way around… In this way there are always four advancing and four covering… or even in four groups of two… - Lana had the almost perfect strategy.
They debated for a while, and in the end they realized that it was the only plausible thing… They had to go south, that there were known areas and probably on their NavSat…
-Well, and how do we send some kind of message to our mentors? They must be worried… - Ivana was checking her weapon.
-Very simple: The monitoring network of globals and HOFs is communication by MASER, insensitive to the storm… We create a Team with a name that shows that it is us, and hopefully we will have an extra-Loot and it will be seen on the planet… - Martin was a genius.
Said and done: they created the Team “Dante, it’s us and we’re fine”, they arranged their weapons and prepared for the fight.
PART4:
Bustamite Forest TP:
The two squads were assembled… Although they had rookie weapons and armor, all of them were sons or brothers of families in good standing, so at the bottom of their packs they had some other more advanced weapon that the concerned families had given them… Their skills were still low, but adding up to eight they might even be able to take down a dragon…
The front squad moved forward… Lana was in the lead and luckily they made it a long way without any dragons nearby… they were far enough away that they weren’t considered a threat…
The other squad waited a reasonable time and, trying not to be out of range of the weapons, in case they needed support, they also began to advance… Don was in the lead…
Suddenly, behind a hill, they heard a strong flapping… a small dragon, but a dragon after all, appeared in front of them… Lana and her men began to shoot, while Don, followed by his group, ran ahead… When they had covered half the distance that separated them, they began to fire…
The dragon momentarily left Lana’s group to go after Don’s group… This allowed the first squad to advance far enough while still getting out of range of the other group, who was now the one being harassed by the huge animal.
This tug-of-war was repeated three times as the dragon’s health dropped alarmingly and they inched forward by squads… with an erratic flapping of wings, the dragon collapsed dead…
The eight approached to see the corpse when, touching it, the “miracle” happened: A yellow whirlpool enveloped them and they saw on their terminals the list of the animal’s usable… An extra loot…
Crystal Peak TP:
I was still cursing the gods and those eight brats when Katalina caught my attention and showed me her communications tablet:
Team “Dante, it’s us and we’re fine”
Killed a Young Death Dragon
345 Peds
Amazing!!! The boys hadn’t just killed a dragon, but had found a way to send me a message indicating their health status… Inside, I began to think that maybe they weren’t as useless as I thought and, well… They might have been. misjudged…
As soon as I can, I will fly to the TP closest to the area to try to rescue them…
Bustamite Forest TP:
-Well, well… This is going!!! – Don’s enthusiasm was contagious.
-Okay guys, stop congratulating you and let’s keep moving south - Lana was taking command naturally…
Throughout the day, the double-squad formation of four achieved several victories against the dragons… At the same time, and to pass the time, they dedicated themselves to mining with uneven results… Not all of them were qualified for it.
Interestingly Martin was the best miner… he even got a global loot of 60 peds of Dark Lysterium…
They reached an area with no dragons, so they were able to move quickly… Several times they deployed vehicles, but apparently the storm had passed through there before, so they couldn’t get them started…
A few hours later and already at night they arrived at Sypherton Garden…
Between shouts of joy they approached the TP to be able to travel to another known place, but…
ERROR - TP NOT AVAILABLE –
The storm had come from the south, and had passed through there too… They were still lost in nothingness and unable to return…
Part 5:
Crystal Peak TP:
I didn’t think about it anymore… I went to the TP and put the coordinates of the one closest to Bustamite, which was Sypherton Garden… to find that the storm had passed through there and canceled the TP… It gave me all the hell…
No doubt my boys (I was already thinking of them as “my boys”) would run into that problem and go to the nearest one, Death Valley… there the dragons were huge and in great quantity… That TP was available, and Katalina and I went there.
Sypherton Garden TP:
-And now where are we going? –Leila and her make-up were longing to get somewhere civilized.
Lana consulted the map… the closest thing was Death Valley, but they should pray everything they knew to be able to use the TP… They gathered their equipment and set off…
A couple of hours later they reached a hill and could see what awaited them: A dense formation of dragons, each one fiercer than the other, and in the distance the TP and the control booth.
-There are many… -Martin confirmed a clear fact…
-Well, we have to try… -Don was loading his weapon and preparing for battle.
The strategy would be the same: By squads of four and moving forward. Said and done, they set out to make the same journey…. But this time he did not give them time to mount the squads: As soon as they entered the valley, two dragons fell on them like birds of prey.
They prepared to sell their lives dearly: With loud cries, they advanced in a closed group, firing their last bullet if necessary. But those dragons were tremendous… They could barely withstand his attacks…
Death Valley TP:
Katalina and I arrived at the TP, and after materializing, we heard noise of battle to the east: From the TP we saw the flashes of weapons… they were our boys… There was no time to lose, we had to go looking for them NOW!!
Hill near Death Valley TP:
-We can’t with them, we have them on us, Lana!!! – Martin shouted as he dodged the tongues of fire.
-Don’t talk anymore and shoot!!! -Johan kept machine-gunning that dragon…
But everything has its end, and the ammunition runs out… The boys looked at each other while the dragons ascended to the sky to drop down at the same time, each one by a flank… it was the end…
BLAM!!! A deafening sound, and one of the dragons stumbled and fluttered to the ground… The boys looked at each other in disbelief…
In the distance, their mentors had appeared and were tearing those monsters to pieces… they were saved…
Two weeks later:
That was the evening of graduation… eight double eddies blazed as the once eight disciples were now settlers by right… They received as a graduation gift vehicles and armor that would help them in their life on the planet…
Chief Socrates approached:
-Perfect Dante, I knew I could count on you for this - As he said this he patted my back hard…
-It’s nothing, Chief, you know I’m always available for the good of the planet.
-I know, Dante… and the best thing is that you’ve taken good care of them, they haven’t suffered any mishap or been in danger ever…
Katalina and I looked at each other… if the Boss only knew…
-In fact, the eight of them have confirmed it to me: You were aware of them and they felt safe at all times - Socrates said…
Good guys… At least they have been discreet…
Chief Socrates leaned close to my ear…
-That’s what they say… another thing is that I believe it. –He said while he winked an eye…
Chief Socrates is definitely too smart…
A few minutes later, the now eight colonists approached me and gave me the typical gifts that are given to mentors…
I opened the packages with excitement… Eight pairs of Hunter Mentor Edition green Gloves…
Someone remind me why I do this…