{"data":{"id":15278,"title":"AREMIS POST: DAY ONE: A NEW DAWN","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/spectrum-dispatch\/15278-AREMIS-POST-DAY-ONE-A-NEW-DAWN","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/15278","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/15278","channel":"Undefined","category":"Undefined","series":"News Update","images":[{"id":4772,"name":"AremisPost_NewDawn2.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/media\/b6135dtvtz3ixr\/source\/AremisPost_NewDawn2.jpg","alt":"","size":519915,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2016-04-05T18:47:41+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/4772","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/4772\/similar"},{"id":26463,"name":"source.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/media.robertsspaceindustries.com\/weozjmuuh3hwh\/source.jpg","alt":"","size":843046,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2019-09-19T15:49:32+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/26463","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/26463\/similar"},{"id":27892,"name":"source.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/media.robertsspaceindustries.com\/w3o9r4zgppm77\/source.jpg","alt":"","size":900916,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2021-09-06T14:48:40+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/27892","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/27892\/similar"}],"images_count":8,"translations":{"en_EN":"DAY ONE: A NEW DAWN\n2946.04.05 SET\nBy Sean Nazawa\nFORGE ECHO, KILIAN \u2013 A thin layer of frost covers the vast landing strip just before dawn. By the time the sun has risen, it will have burned away, but for now, it gives the desolate stretch of tarmac an ethereal, crystalline feel.\n\nI\u2019m standing beside Divisional Officers Arley Finn and Yen Hardigan, instructors with over seventy years of naval experience, now tasked with molding fresh recruits into starmen. They are currently engaged in an ongoing debate about the latest off-season pick-ups for Jata ZGCC\u2019s sataball team while they brace themselves against the chill.\n\nBoth of these behaviors will vanish as soon as the incoming transport lands, but in the meantime, DO Hardigan is unconvinced that another striker is really what the team needs.\n\nA comm interrupts their debate. The transport just entered atmo.\n\nFinn looks over at me.\n\n\u201cSorry, would you mind standing over by the outbound crates?\u201d Finn spent the bulk of his career aboard small capital ships, running patrols and security details around the Xi\u2019An border before accepting a transfer to train the next generation of Naval recruits. While he\u2019s generally regarded as one of the nicest instructors on the base, I\u2019ve also been told that he will break you in half if he feels you aren\u2019t performing at the level that he thinks you should be.\n\n\u201cYeah, writer,\u201d Hardigan says as he smooths the creases in his coat, \u201clast thing we want the recruits to see is some civ in their sightline as soon as they step off. We need to project strong. You ain\u2019t it.\u201d\n\nHardigan came up fighting. Even before his enlistment, he was fighting in the streets of Angeli and even competed in an amateur Iyo Ti league. In the Navy, he served in over two dozen squadrons and has run all kinds of missions in all kinds of environments, but still carries himself with a fighter\u2019s confidence.\n\nThe transport breaks through the turbulent clouds and descends towards the tarmac. It makes a sweep around the landing area before settling down. Bleary-eyed recruits flood down the ramp; screams of an officer inside the ship drive them out like a tired, scared herd.\n\nNow, any vestige of the spirited conversation between colleagues about sataball teams and spectrum shows is gone. Finn and Hardigan have adopted the mantle of Divisional Officers of the UEE Navy, entrusted with instilling the training and discipline that will keep these recruits alive.\n\nFinn and Hardigan yell to get the recruits into a semblance of formation, picking out anyone who\u2019s too slow or (even worse) trying to hold onto some sense of entitlement. This group has two examples of the latter. I know from an earlier conversation that Hardigan particularly loves this type.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s always amazing to me,\u201d he told me a few days earlier. \u201cThese people know they\u2019re signing up for military service, but seem to think that they\u2019re the special flower who\u2019s smarter than us.\u201d He paused for a moment. \u201cI love those people. That [redacted] makes my day.\u201d\n\nOnce the recruits are organized into formation, Hardigan gives them a choice. Known as the Rubicon, he and Finn switch off explaining to the recruits why they should turn around and get back onto the transport. This will be the last opportunity for the recruits to reconsider their enlistment.\n\nThey pace methodically among the recruits, pressing them for answers as to why they want to join their beloved Navy. In between responses, Finn and Hardigan recount horror stories they\u2019ve witnessed throughout their career.\n\n\u201cShot from a Hunter pierced the hull clean and sparked fires on three decks. Four mechanics got caught in Engineering before the bulkheads shut. I watched them burn before another shot vented the room. Pulled the flame out like liquid.\u201d Finn paced among the recruits, studying their faces as he spoke. \u201cCan you imagine that? Going from fire to void, searing pain to freezing like that? These were my friends and I couldn\u2019t do a damn thing but watch.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s nothing. You ever see a Vanduul up close?\u201d Hardigan hissed at another recruit, who sheepishly shook his head. \u201cYou ever see what they do to people?\u201d\n\nI had. Hardigan continued.\n\n\u201cWe got jumped on a run through Grinder. Scans said the system was empty, but they were wrong. \u2019Duul bastards caught us completely off guard and tried to storm the ship. I had a buddy, Lauren Vogt. Hell of a pilot. Easily worth ten, twenty of you. Vanduul cut her to pieces like she was nothing.\u201d\n\nAs I\u2019m wondering if any of these stories are embellished to shock the recruits, Finn answers my question.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re probably thinking we\u2019re [redacted] with you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know Starman Dipshit is,\u201d Hardigan chimes in, looming over one of the two recruits who were showing an anti-authoritarian streak.\n\n\u201cHere\u2019s the thing, people. Everything we\u2019ve said is true. Not only that, everything we\u2019ve said has been witnessed by the person saying it. No second hand \u2018I knew a guy who heard this.\u2019\u201d Finn takes his place back at the head of the group. \u201cWe don\u2019t need to pump up our stories, because we don\u2019t have to. Things are that dire out there. So please, if you aren\u2019t going to commit to this \u2014 if you aren\u2019t going to step up and make yourself matter to you and your fellow Human \u2014 do us all a favor \u2014 \u201d\n\n\u201cAnd not get us killed.\u201d\n\n\u201cGet back on that transport and have a great life.\u201d\n\nThen silence. They wait. The ramp to the transport is open.\n\nNone of the recruits move. Hardigan nods to Finn who breaks them down into groups. Half the group is going to Forge Echo, while Hardigan\u2019s group will run the ten kilometers to Forge Quintus, their home for the foreseeable future.\n\nBy now, the sun has risen. The frost\u2019s already begun to melt on the tarmac. Now that the recruits have receded into the distance, the transport crew has come out to start loading the cargo that was next to me.\n\nThey\u2019ve all loosened up. The petty officer who had been screaming at the recruits to drive them off the ship has stepped out to take in some of the sunlight.\n\nI ask her, \u201cwhy all the theatrics?\u201d\n\nShe laughs one of the warmest, hearty laughs I\u2019ve ever heard.\n\n\u201cWe need them to know that what they\u2019re signing up for is serious. It\u2019s dangerous work, but important. Command doesn\u2019t want to sugar-coat it.\u201d\n\nI ask her if anyone\u2019s ever turned back at the Rubicon.\n\n\u201cOh sure,\u201d she says with a smile. \u201cI almost did.\u201d\n\nApparently, they have another pick-up of recruits for tomorrow. The Battle of Vega II has led to a consistent increase in recruitment numbers in both the Army and Navy. The rest of the crew finishes their work and calls out to the petty officer. She nods and walks back to the transport.\n\nBefore the ramp closes, I hear them discussing the upcoming sataball season.\n\nWhen the transport\u2019s engines fade, I\u2019m left on the desolate tarmac. The sun\u2019s firmly perched in the sky. The frost is now completely gone. On the horizon, I can see the low-slung silhouettes of the forges, hard at work training the next wave of defenders for the Empire.\n\nI think back on the reasons the various recruits gave to Finn and Hardigan during the Rubicon. There was a young man, probably barely passed his Equivalency, who was from the Plantock River on Vega II. He\u2019d seen his town destroyed during the attack. As Hardigan pushed him for a reason why he wanted to join, he responded, \u201cto not feel helpless.\u201d\n\nI could see Hardigan pause, perhaps the only crack in his hard-edged DO persona, before he recovered and moved on.\n\nHelpless \u2026\n\nMaybe that was something we could all relate to.","de_DE":"TAG EINS: EINE NEUE DAWN\n2946.04.05.05 SATZ\nVon Sean Nazawa\nFORGE ECHO, KIL\u00c4ISCH - Eine d\u00fcnne Frostschicht bedeckt die riesige Landebahn kurz vor Tagesanbruch. Wenn die Sonne aufgegangen ist, wird sie verbrannt sein, aber im Moment gibt sie dem trostlosen Teil des Asphalts ein \u00e4therisches, kristallines Gef\u00fchl.\n\nIch stehe neben den Divisionsoffizieren Arley Finn und Yen Hardigan, Instruktoren mit \u00fcber siebzig Jahren Marineerfahrung, die nun damit betraut sind, frische Rekruten in Starm\u00e4nner zu verwandeln. Sie f\u00fchren derzeit eine laufende Debatte \u00fcber die neuesten Off-Season-Aufnahmen f\u00fcr das Sataballteam von Jata ZGCC, w\u00e4hrend sie sich gegen die K\u00e4lte wehren.\n\nBeide Verhaltensweisen werden verschwinden, sobald der ankommende Transport landet, aber in der Zwischenzeit ist DO Hardigan nicht \u00fcberzeugt, dass ein weiterer St\u00fcrmer wirklich das ist, was das Team braucht.\n\nEin Comm unterbricht ihre Debatte. Der Transport ist gerade in atmo eingetroffen.\n\nFinn schaut zu mir hin\u00fcber.\n\n\"Tut mir leid, w\u00fcrde es dir etwas ausmachen, bei den ausgehenden Kisten zu stehen?\" Finn verbrachte den gr\u00f6\u00dften Teil seiner Karriere auf kleinen Gro\u00dfschiffen, f\u00fchrte Patrouillen und Sicherheitsdetails an der Grenze zu Xi'An durch, bevor er einen Transfer zur Ausbildung der n\u00e4chsten Generation von Marine-Rekruten annahm. W\u00e4hrend er im Allgemeinen als einer der nettesten Lehrer auf der Basis angesehen wird, wurde mir auch gesagt, dass er dich in zwei H\u00e4lften teilen wird, wenn er das Gef\u00fchl hat, dass du nicht auf dem Niveau spielst, von dem er denkt, dass du es sein solltest.\n\n\"Ja, Schriftsteller\", sagt Hardigan, w\u00e4hrend er die Falten in seinem Mantel gl\u00e4ttet, \"das Letzte, was wir wollen, dass die Rekruten sehen, ist etwas Ziviles in ihrer Sichtweite, sobald sie aussteigen. Wir m\u00fcssen stark projizieren. Du bist es nicht.\"\n\nHardigan k\u00e4mpfte. Schon vor seiner Einstellung k\u00e4mpfte er auf den Stra\u00dfen von Angeli und nahm sogar an einer Amateurliga Iyo Ti teil. In der Marine diente er in \u00fcber zwei Dutzend Geschwadern und hat alle Arten von Missionen in allen m\u00f6glichen Umgebungen durchgef\u00fchrt, tr\u00e4gt sich aber immer noch mit dem Vertrauen eines K\u00e4mpfers.\n\nDer Transport durchbricht die turbulenten Wolken und steigt auf den Asphalt ab. Er schwenkt \u00fcber den Landeplatz, bevor er sich niederl\u00e4sst. Bleary-eyed Rekruten \u00fcberschwemmen hinunter die Rampe; Schreie eines Offiziers innerhalb des Schiffes treiben sie heraus wie eine m\u00fcde, erschrockene Herde.\n\nVon dem temperamentvollen Gespr\u00e4ch zwischen Kollegen \u00fcber Sataballteams und Spektrumsshows ist nun keine Spur mehr zu sehen. Finn und Hardigan haben den Mantel der Divisional Officers der UEE Navy \u00fcbernommen, die damit betraut sind, die Ausbildung und Disziplin zu vermitteln, die diese Rekruten am Leben erhalten werden.\n\nFinn und Hardigan schreien, um die Rekruten in den Anschein einer Formation zu bringen, jeden auszuw\u00e4hlen, der zu langsam ist, oder (noch schlimmer) zu versuchen, ein gewisses Ma\u00df an Berechtigung zu bewahren. Diese Gruppe hat zwei Beispiele f\u00fcr letzteres. Ich wei\u00df aus einem fr\u00fcheren Gespr\u00e4ch, dass Hardigan diesen Typ besonders liebt.\n\n\"Es ist immer unglaublich f\u00fcr mich\", sagte er mir ein paar Tage zuvor. \"Diese Leute wissen, dass sie zum Milit\u00e4rdienst gehen, aber sie scheinen zu denken, dass sie die besondere Blume sind, die schlauer ist als wir.\" Er hielt einen Moment inne. \"Ich liebe diese Leute. Das macht mich gl\u00fccklich.\"\n\nSobald die Rekruten in Formation organisiert sind, gibt Hardigan ihnen die Wahl. Bekannt als der Rubikon, schalten er und Finn aus und erkl\u00e4ren den Rekruten, warum sie sich umdrehen und wieder auf den Transport steigen sollten. Dies wird die letzte Gelegenheit f\u00fcr die Rekruten sein, ihre Einstellung zu \u00fcberdenken.\n\nSie schreiten methodisch unter den Rekruten voran und dr\u00e4ngen sie nach Antworten, warum sie sich ihrer geliebten Marine anschlie\u00dfen wollen. Zwischen den Antworten erz\u00e4hlen Finn und Hardigan Horrorgeschichten, die sie w\u00e4hrend ihrer Karriere gesehen haben.\n\n\"Ein Schuss von einem J\u00e4ger durchbohrte den Rumpf sauber und entz\u00fcndete Feuer auf drei Decks. Vier Mechaniker wurden im Maschinenraum erwischt, bevor die Schotten schlossen. Ich sah zu, wie sie brannten, bevor ein weiterer Schuss den Raum entl\u00fcftete. Er zog die Flamme wie eine Fl\u00fcssigkeit heraus.\" Finn schritt unter den Rekruten und studierte ihre Gesichter, w\u00e4hrend er sprach. \"Kannst du dir das vorstellen? Vom Feuer zur Leere, vom brennenden Schmerz zum Gefrieren? Das waren meine Freunde und ich konnte nichts anderes tun, als zuzusehen.\"\n\n\"Das ist nichts. Hast du jemals einen Vanduul aus der N\u00e4he gesehen?\" Hardigan zischte einem anderen Rekruten zu, der sch\u00fcchtern den Kopf sch\u00fcttelte. \"Hast du jemals gesehen, was sie mit Menschen machen?\"\n\nDas hatte ich. Hardigan fuhr fort.\n\n\"Wir wurden auf eine Fahrt durch Grinder gesprungen. Die Scans sagten, dass das System leer war, aber sie waren falsch. Duulische Bastarde haben uns v\u00f6llig \u00fcberrascht und versucht, das Schiff zu st\u00fcrmen. Ich hatte eine Freundin, Lauren Vogt. Toller Pilot. Das ist leicht zehn wert, zwanzig von euch. Vanduul schnitt sie in St\u00fccke, als w\u00e4re sie ein Nichts.\"\n\nW\u00e4hrend ich mich frage, ob eine dieser Geschichten versch\u00f6nert ist, um die Rekruten zu schockieren, beantwortet Finn meine Frage.\n\n\"Du denkst wahrscheinlich, dass wir bei dir sind.\"\n\n\"Ich wei\u00df, dass Starman Dummkopf ist\", spielt Hardigan ein und taucht \u00fcber einem der beiden Rekruten auf, die eine anti-autorit\u00e4re Ader zeigten.\n\n\"Die Sache ist die, Leute. Alles, was wir gesagt haben, ist wahr. Nicht nur das, alles, was wir gesagt haben, wurde von der Person bezeugt, die es gesagt hat. Keine Sekundenzeiger: \"Ich kannte einen Kerl, der das h\u00f6rte.\"\" Finn nimmt seinen Platz zur\u00fcck an der Spitze der Gruppe ein. \"Wir m\u00fcssen unsere Geschichten nicht aufpumpen, weil wir es nicht m\u00fcssen. Die Dinge sind so schlimm da drau\u00dfen. Also bitte, wenn du dich nicht daf\u00fcr interessierst - wenn du nicht aufstehst und dich dir und deinen Mitmenschen wichtig machst - tu uns allen einen Gefallen - \"\n\n\"Und uns nicht umbringen lassen.\"\n\n\"Steig wieder in den Transport und hab ein sch\u00f6nes Leben.\"\n\nDann Stille. Sie warten. Die Rampe zum Transport ist offen.\n\nKeiner der Rekruten bewegt sich. Hardigan nickt Finn zu, der sie in Gruppen aufteilt. Die H\u00e4lfte der Gruppe geht nach Forge Echo, w\u00e4hrend Hardigans Gruppe die zehn Kilometer nach Forge Quintus laufen wird, ihrer Heimat f\u00fcr die absehbare Zeit.\n\nInzwischen ist die Sonne aufgegangen. Der Frost hat bereits begonnen, auf dem Asphalt zu schmelzen. Nun, da die Rekruten in die Ferne ger\u00fcckt sind, ist die Transportmannschaft herausgekommen, um mit dem Beladen der Ladung zu beginnen, die neben mir lag.\n\nSie sind alle locker geworden. Der Petty Officer, der die Rekruten angeschrien hatte, um sie vom Schiff zu vertreiben, ist hinausgetreten, um etwas von dem Sonnenlicht aufzunehmen.\n\nIch frage sie, \"warum die ganze Theatralik?\"\n\nSie lacht eines der w\u00e4rmsten und herzlichsten Lacher, die ich je geh\u00f6rt habe.\n\n\"Wir wollen, dass sie wissen, dass das, wof\u00fcr sie sich anmelden, ernst ist. Es ist eine gef\u00e4hrliche Arbeit, aber wichtig. Das Kommando will es nicht mit Zucker bestreuen.\"\n\nIch frage sie, ob jemals jemand zum Rubikon zur\u00fcckgekehrt ist.\n\n\"Oh sicher\", sagt sie mit einem L\u00e4cheln. \"Ich h\u00e4tte es fast geschafft.\"\n\nAnscheinend haben sie f\u00fcr morgen eine weitere Auswahl an Rekruten. Die Schlacht von Vega II hat zu einem stetigen Anstieg der Rekrutierungszahlen sowohl in der Armee als auch in der Marine gef\u00fchrt. Der Rest der Crew beendet ihre Arbeit und ruft den Petty Officer. Sie nickt und geht zur\u00fcck zum Transport.\n\nBevor die Rampe endet, h\u00f6re ich sie \u00fcber die kommende Sataballsaison diskutieren.\n\nAls die Motoren des Transports verblassen, werde ich auf dem trostlosen Asphalt zur\u00fcckgelassen. Die Sonne steht fest am Himmel. Der Frost ist nun vollst\u00e4ndig verschwunden. Am Horizont sehe ich die tief geschwungenen Silhouetten der Schmieden, die flei\u00dfig die n\u00e4chste Welle von Verteidigern f\u00fcr das Imperium vorbereiten.\n\nIch denke an die Gr\u00fcnde, die die verschiedenen Rekruten Finn und Hardigan w\u00e4hrend des Rubikons gegeben haben. Es gab einen jungen Mann, der wahrscheinlich kaum seine \u00c4quivalenz bestanden hatte, der vom Plantock River auf Vega II kam. Er hatte gesehen, wie seine Stadt bei dem Angriff zerst\u00f6rt wurde. Als Hardigan ihn aus einem Grund dr\u00e4ngte, warum er beitreten wollte, antwortete er: \"Um sich nicht hilflos zu f\u00fchlen\".\n\nIch konnte sehen, wie Hardigan innehielt, vielleicht der einzige Riss in seiner hartgesottenen DO-Pers\u00f6nlichkeit, bevor er sich erholte und weitermachte.\n\nHilflos.....\n\nVielleicht war das etwas, mit dem wir uns alle identifizieren konnten.","zh_CN":"DAY ONE: A NEW DAWN\n2946.04.05 SET\nBy Sean Nazawa\nFORGE ECHO, KILIAN \u2013 A thin layer of frost covers the vast landing strip just before dawn. By the time the sun has risen, it will have burned away, but for now, it gives the desolate stretch of tarmac an ethereal, crystalline feel.\n\nI\u2019m standing beside Divisional Officers Arley Finn and Yen Hardigan, instructors with over seventy years of naval experience, now tasked with molding fresh recruits into starmen. They are currently engaged in an ongoing debate about the latest off-season pick-ups for Jata ZGCC\u2019s sataball team while they brace themselves against the chill.\n\nBoth of these behaviors will vanish as soon as the incoming transport lands, but in the meantime, DO Hardigan is unconvinced that another striker is really what the team needs.\n\nA comm interrupts their debate. The transport just entered atmo.\n\nFinn looks over at me.\n\n\u201cSorry, would you mind standing over by the outbound crates?\u201d Finn spent the bulk of his career aboard small capital ships, running patrols and security details around the Xi\u2019An border before accepting a transfer to train the next generation of Naval recruits. While he\u2019s generally regarded as one of the nicest instructors on the base, I\u2019ve also been told that he will break you in half if he feels you aren\u2019t performing at the level that he thinks you should be.\n\n\u201cYeah, writer,\u201d Hardigan says as he smooths the creases in his coat, \u201clast thing we want the recruits to see is some civ in their sightline as soon as they step off. We need to project strong. You ain\u2019t it.\u201d\n\nHardigan came up fighting. Even before his enlistment, he was fighting in the streets of Angeli and even competed in an amateur Iyo Ti league. In the Navy, he served in over two dozen squadrons and has run all kinds of missions in all kinds of environments, but still carries himself with a fighter\u2019s confidence.\n\nThe transport breaks through the turbulent clouds and descends towards the tarmac. It makes a sweep around the landing area before settling down. Bleary-eyed recruits flood down the ramp; screams of an officer inside the ship drive them out like a tired, scared herd.\n\nNow, any vestige of the spirited conversation between colleagues about sataball teams and spectrum shows is gone. Finn and Hardigan have adopted the mantle of Divisional Officers of the UEE Navy, entrusted with instilling the training and discipline that will keep these recruits alive.\n\nFinn and Hardigan yell to get the recruits into a semblance of formation, picking out anyone who\u2019s too slow or (even worse) trying to hold onto some sense of entitlement. This group has two examples of the latter. I know from an earlier conversation that Hardigan particularly loves this type.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s always amazing to me,\u201d he told me a few days earlier. \u201cThese people know they\u2019re signing up for military service, but seem to think that they\u2019re the special flower who\u2019s smarter than us.\u201d He paused for a moment. \u201cI love those people. That [redacted] makes my day.\u201d\n\nOnce the recruits are organized into formation, Hardigan gives them a choice. Known as the Rubicon, he and Finn switch off explaining to the recruits why they should turn around and get back onto the transport. This will be the last opportunity for the recruits to reconsider their enlistment.\n\nThey pace methodically among the recruits, pressing them for answers as to why they want to join their beloved Navy. In between responses, Finn and Hardigan recount horror stories they\u2019ve witnessed throughout their career.\n\n\u201cShot from a Hunter pierced the hull clean and sparked fires on three decks. Four mechanics got caught in Engineering before the bulkheads shut. I watched them burn before another shot vented the room. Pulled the flame out like liquid.\u201d Finn paced among the recruits, studying their faces as he spoke. \u201cCan you imagine that? Going from fire to void, searing pain to freezing like that? These were my friends and I couldn\u2019t do a damn thing but watch.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s nothing. You ever see a Vanduul up close?\u201d Hardigan hissed at another recruit, who sheepishly shook his head. \u201cYou ever see what they do to people?\u201d\n\nI had. Hardigan continued.\n\n\u201cWe got jumped on a run through Grinder. Scans said the system was empty, but they were wrong. \u2019Duul bastards caught us completely off guard and tried to storm the ship. I had a buddy, Lauren Vogt. Hell of a pilot. Easily worth ten, twenty of you. Vanduul cut her to pieces like she was nothing.\u201d\n\nAs I\u2019m wondering if any of these stories are embellished to shock the recruits, Finn answers my question.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re probably thinking we\u2019re [redacted] with you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know Starman Dipshit is,\u201d Hardigan chimes in, looming over one of the two recruits who were showing an anti-authoritarian streak.\n\n\u201cHere\u2019s the thing, people. Everything we\u2019ve said is true. Not only that, everything we\u2019ve said has been witnessed by the person saying it. No second hand \u2018I knew a guy who heard this.\u2019\u201d Finn takes his place back at the head of the group. \u201cWe don\u2019t need to pump up our stories, because we don\u2019t have to. Things are that dire out there. So please, if you aren\u2019t going to commit to this \u2014 if you aren\u2019t going to step up and make yourself matter to you and your fellow Human \u2014 do us all a favor \u2014 \u201d\n\n\u201cAnd not get us killed.\u201d\n\n\u201cGet back on that transport and have a great life.\u201d\n\nThen silence. They wait. The ramp to the transport is open.\n\nNone of the recruits move. Hardigan nods to Finn who breaks them down into groups. Half the group is going to Forge Echo, while Hardigan\u2019s group will run the ten kilometers to Forge Quintus, their home for the foreseeable future.\n\nBy now, the sun has risen. The frost\u2019s already begun to melt on the tarmac. Now that the recruits have receded into the distance, the transport crew has come out to start loading the cargo that was next to me.\n\nThey\u2019ve all loosened up. The petty officer who had been screaming at the recruits to drive them off the ship has stepped out to take in some of the sunlight.\n\nI ask her, \u201cwhy all the theatrics?\u201d\n\nShe laughs one of the warmest, hearty laughs I\u2019ve ever heard.\n\n\u201cWe need them to know that what they\u2019re signing up for is serious. It\u2019s dangerous work, but important. Command doesn\u2019t want to sugar-coat it.\u201d\n\nI ask her if anyone\u2019s ever turned back at the Rubicon.\n\n\u201cOh sure,\u201d she says with a smile. \u201cI almost did.\u201d\n\nApparently, they have another pick-up of recruits for tomorrow. The Battle of Vega II has led to a consistent increase in recruitment numbers in both the Army and Navy. The rest of the crew finishes their work and calls out to the petty officer. She nods and walks back to the transport.\n\nBefore the ramp closes, I hear them discussing the upcoming sataball season.\n\nWhen the transport\u2019s engines fade, I\u2019m left on the desolate tarmac. The sun\u2019s firmly perched in the sky. The frost is now completely gone. On the horizon, I can see the low-slung silhouettes of the forges, hard at work training the next wave of defenders for the Empire.\n\nI think back on the reasons the various recruits gave to Finn and Hardigan during the Rubicon. There was a young man, probably barely passed his Equivalency, who was from the Plantock River on Vega II. He\u2019d seen his town destroyed during the attack. As Hardigan pushed him for a reason why he wanted to join, he responded, \u201cto not feel helpless.\u201d\n\nI could see Hardigan pause, perhaps the only crack in his hard-edged DO persona, before he recovered and moved on.\n\nHelpless \u2026\n\nMaybe that was something we could all relate to."},"links_count":0,"comment_count":58,"created_at":"2016-04-06T00:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"10 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-05-17 10:13:25","valid_relations":["images","links"],"prev_id":15277,"next_id":15280}}