{"data":{"id":15624,"title":"AREMIS POST: DAY 256: A DAY OF CANDIDACY","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/spectrum-dispatch\/15624-AREMIS-POST-DAY-256-A-DAY-OF-CANDIDACY","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/15624","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/15624","channel":"Undefined","category":"Undefined","series":"News Update","images":[{"id":5411,"name":"AremisPost_DayOfCandidacy_2.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/media\/2dpnsyp8vn75qr\/source\/AremisPost_DayOfCandidacy_2.jpg","alt":"","size":526269,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2016-12-06T10:35:17+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/5411","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/5411\/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 256: A DAY OF CANDIDACY\n2946.12.06 SET\nBy Sean Nazawa\nPart Two of an ongoing series following a class of recruits moving through the Navy\u2019s boot camp (known in the service as Forges).\n\nFORGE QUINTUS, KILIAN \u2013 \u201cAw hell, did Weaver die?\u201d The group of recruits slowed to a halt and looked at DO Hardigan, unsure if this was some kind of test.\n\nWe were eight kilometers into a sixteen kilometer run. A standard way to spend a Saturday afternoon in the hottest season on MacArthur, at least it was in Hardigan\u2019s Forge. As a civilian outsider, I had been offered (and declined) a personal HOV. It had been a running joke between Hardigan and me, but after five months living with these recruits, of hearing not only their histories, but also their plans for the future, I\u2019d decided that I wasn\u2019t going to be an outsider. That was three months ago, and I\u2019ll admit, today I was kinda regretting it.\n\nFrom the look on Hardigan\u2019s face, this wasn\u2019t a test. We all turned back to see Recruit Callum Weaver face down in the dirt. A scrawny kid raised in Plantock River on Aremis, Weaver always struggled with the intensely physical requirements in basic training.\n\n\u201cI keep hoping that there\u2019ll be a point where I push through,\u201d Weaver confided in me one day after three hours of vigorous combat drilling. \u201cAnd yeah, while it gets a little easier each time, it never feels like my body gets used to it.\u201d\n\nRecruit Teagen was the first to react. She rushed over and pulled off the heavy pack loaded with field supplies so Weaver could roll over. A few other members of the squad came to help while the others took full advantage of the break and slumped to the ground in the shade.\n\nDO Hardigan walked over, barely winded, and blocked the sun while he looked down at Weaver. After a few moments, he started to come around.\n\n\u201cSorry, sir.\u201d Weaver mumbled as he tried to sit up.\n\n\u201cWhoa, there.\u201d Hardigan dropped to a knee and stopped Weaver from getting up. \u201cGot a medvac coming up. You gotta learn how to hydrate, kid.\u201d\n\n\u201cSorry, sir. I will, sir.\u201d\n\nHardigan shook his head and after tossing Weaver a hydro-gel pack, told Teagen and the other recruits who had helped to see that Weaver got back. He then turned to the rest of the squad.\n\n\u201cWell, since you all didn\u2019t feel like helping your squadmate, looks like we got to start the full sixteen again.\u201d\n\nThe recruits were considerably more unified after that day. That sense of unity would only strengthen as they entered the phase of their training known as Candidacy: three weeks of testing, designed to not only assess each recruit\u2019s physical, psychological and intellectual aptitude, but how well they\u2019ve incorporated the past eight months of training into action.\n\nAfter Candidacy ended, it was another week before the recruits would be divided and sent to the next phase of their training. Out of the sixteen recruits, most continued onto enlisted training. Four were transferred to specialized facilities the next week. Recruit Teagen disappeared halfway through and, if Hardigan was to be believed, had been headhunted by the Marines. Recruit Weaver and the three others had been approved to begin Flight Academy training.\n\nOn the first morning of flight school, Hardigan jogged the lucky few to a lonely stretch of tarmac where, sitting against the morning sun, was an F7 Hornet and their new DO, Lt. Edward Aino.\n\n\u201cThis is what you\u2019ve got, Hardigan?\u201d The stout man in his eighties dropped onto the deck as he looked over the recruits.\n\n\u201cAfraid so,\u201d Hardigan replied.\n\n\u201cThese look weaker than the last bunch.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen break \u2019em,\u201d Hardigan said with a shrug. Aino nodded, then fired a salute to Hardigan who returned it and then started the jog back.\n\nAino stepped closer to the recruits in silence. He studied each one for an uncomfortably long amount of time, possibly to see if they would react. They did not.\n\nOver the next few minutes, more recruits showed up, dropped off by the DO\u2019s like the first day of school. Aino repeated the procedure with each new addition.\n\nOnce the class was filled, he turned to the Hornet.\n\n\u201cTake a good look,\u201d Aino said as he paced alongside the fighter, his eyes fixated on the pristine machine. \u201cFor some of you, this will be the closest you ever get to one of these. Until now, we\u2019ve just been playing.\u201d\n\nSome of the recruits exchanged weary glances.\n\n\u201cBut this is an instrument of war. Capable of raining destruction the likes of which you have not seen, so if you think I\u2019m going to let any of you [redacted] anywhere near this, you are out of your [redacted] mind. You will need to earn my trust and respect before I hand you a weapon. Hear?\u201d\n\n\u201cSir, yes, sir!\u201d The recruits shouted in perfect unison.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ll see.\u201d\n\nAino wasn\u2019t kidding. Ten hours a day, six days a week for the next two months, he had them poring over technical manuals, historical accounts, strategic and tactical analyses of military actions (including rigorous study of Marduke\u2019s Elements of Warfare). The heaviest focus was on flight theory and he would surprise them with tests about everything, even piloting fundamentals, despite the fact that many had been flying spacecraft for years.\n\nAfter a particularly grueling session that ended with Aino recommending that one of the recruits to be transferred out of academy, I asked him why.\n\n\u201cThe type of flying they\u2019re used to won\u2019t prepare them for what\u2019s out there,\u201d he replied. \u201cWe ask the impossible day in and day out. When you\u2019ve lost your entire squadron and Vanduul are bearing down, we need you to be able to make competent tactical decisions. If you can\u2019t cut it in a classroom, you won\u2019t last a day on the drift.\u201d\n\nAs the summer heat began to break toward autumn, the remaining recruits moved on to Aino\u2019s next level of training. Bolstering their confidence by proclaiming that he was \u2018ready to see what they could do in a cockpit,\u2019 he led the recruits to a distant hangar.\n\nWhen they arrived, there was a palpable excitement in the air. All that intense study would finally be put to use. Aino pulled the massive doors open.\n\nFacsimiles built out of discarded pipes to resemble the frame of a cockpit were spaced evenly throughout the hangar. Plastic chairs doubled as operator seats. The flightstick? A tube taped to a spring. The recruits were less than enthused.\n\n\u201cWhat the hell you waiting for? Pick a ship,\u201d Aino yelled.\n\nThus began phase two of their training. Aino ran them through basic cockpit layout. He forced them to meticulously reconstruct the placement of every button and switch for a variety of ships that they might be expected to fly. Once complete, he would exhaustively test each and every one of them on the function and conventional (or unconventional) applications of the ship. He\u2019d put recruits on the spot and call out scenarios, then time their response.\n\nThe phrase \u201ctoo slow, you\u2019re dead\u201d was repeated thousands of times.\n\nWithin the month, another two recruits had been reassigned to different Forges, but Weaver it seemed, had found something to excel at. He displayed a photographic memory when it came to the layout of the various cockpits, easily switching between the configurations of Gladius, Hornet and even Starfarer layouts without needing to consult the specs.\n\nAino certainly noticed. Away from the recruits, Aino was a quiet, considerate man. A veteran of over five hundred missions, he\u2019d seen his fair share of combat, but it was impossible to get him to elaborate more than that. While having sujin tea with him during our weekly talk, I asked him about Weaver\u2019s aptitude. Surprisingly, he went into detail.\n\n\u201cSometimes, it just clicks. Not for me. My DO would scream herself hoarse yelling at me to get it right.\u201d He settled back and sipped on his coffee. \u201cWe\u2019re still a long way away and he\u2019s got a lot more learning to do. I mean, I\u2019ve seen people pick it up quick when there ain\u2019t nothing on the line, only to lose it the second they\u2019re in their first scrap, but we\u2019ll see \u2026 maybe he\u2019s earned a treat.\u201d\n\n\u201cLike what?\u201d I asked.\n\nAino turned and looked out the window for a minute. I almost thought he\u2019d forgotten the question. He then turned back and smiled.\n\nRecruit Weaver was going to be the first to go up in an actual test flight.","de_DE":"TAG 256: EIN TAG DER KANDIDATUR\n2946.12.06.06 SATZ\nVon Sean Nazawa\nTeil Zwei einer laufenden Serie nach einer Gruppe von Rekruten, die durch das Boot Camp der Marine (im Service bekannt als Forges) ziehen.\n\nFORGE QUINTUS, KILIANISCH - \"Zum Teufel, ist Weaver gestorben?\" Die Gruppe der Rekruten verlangsamte sich bis zum Stillstand und sah DO Hardigan an, unsicher, ob dies eine Art Test war.\n\nWir waren acht Kilometer in einem sechzehn Kilometer langen Lauf. Eine \u00fcbliche Art, einen Samstagnachmittag in der hei\u00dfesten Jahreszeit auf MacArthur zu verbringen, zumindest war es in Hardigan's Forge. Als ziviler Au\u00dfenseiter wurde mir eine pers\u00f6nliche HOV angeboten (und abgelehnt). Es war ein laufender Witz zwischen Hardigan und mir gewesen, aber nach f\u00fcnf Monaten, in denen ich mit diesen Rekruten zusammenlebte und nicht nur ihre Geschichte, sondern auch ihre Pl\u00e4ne f\u00fcr die Zukunft h\u00f6rte, hatte ich beschlossen, dass ich kein Au\u00dfenseiter sein w\u00fcrde. Das war vor drei Monaten, und ich gebe zu, heute habe ich es irgendwie bereut.\n\nSo wie Hardigans Gesicht aussieht, war das kein Test. Wir drehten uns alle um, um Recruit Callum Weaver mit dem Gesicht nach unten im Dreck zu sehen. Weaver, ein d\u00fcrrer Junge, der in Plantock River auf Aremis aufgewachsen ist, hatte immer mit den intensiven k\u00f6rperlichen Anforderungen der Grundausbildung zu k\u00e4mpfen.\n\n\"Ich hoffe immer noch, dass es einen Punkt geben wird, an dem ich durchdringe\", vertraute Weaver mir einen Tag nach drei Stunden energischer Kampfbohrung an. \"Und ja, obwohl es jedes Mal ein wenig einfacher wird, f\u00fchlt es sich nie an, als ob sich mein K\u00f6rper daran gew\u00f6hnt.\"\n\nRekrut Teagen war der erste, der reagierte. Sie eilte hin\u00fcber und zog den mit Feldvorr\u00e4ten beladenen Schwerlastrucksack ab, damit Weaver sich umdrehen konnte. Ein paar andere Mitglieder der Truppe kamen zur Hilfe, w\u00e4hrend die anderen die Pause voll ausnutzten und im Schatten zu Boden st\u00fcrzten.\n\nDO Hardigan ging hin\u00fcber, kaum gewunden, und blockierte die Sonne, w\u00e4hrend er auf Weaver herabblickte. Nach ein paar Augenblicken fing er an, sich zu beruhigen.\n\n\"Tut mir leid, Sir.\" Der Weber murmelte, als er versuchte, sich aufzurichten.\n\n\"Whoa, da.\" Hardigan fiel auf ein Knie und hielt Weaver davon ab, aufzustehen. \"Da kommt ein Medvac auf uns zu. Du musst lernen, wie man hydriert, Junge.\"\n\n\"Tut mir leid, Sir. Das werde ich, Sir.\"\n\nHardigan sch\u00fcttelte den Kopf und nachdem er Weaver einen Hydrogel-Pack geworfen hatte, erz\u00e4hlte er Teagen und den anderen Rekruten, die geholfen hatten zu sehen, dass Weaver zur\u00fcckkam. Dann wandte er sich dem Rest der Truppe zu.\n\n\"Nun, da ihr alle nicht unbedingt eurem Teamkollegen helfen wolltet, sieht es so aus, als m\u00fcssten wir wieder mit den vollen sechzehn anfangen.\"\n\nDie Rekruten waren nach diesem Tag wesentlich einheitlicher. Dieses Gef\u00fchl der Einheit w\u00fcrde sich nur verst\u00e4rken, wenn sie in die Phase ihres Trainings eintraten, die als Kandidatur bekannt ist: drei Wochen lang Tests, die darauf abzielen, nicht nur die physische, psychische und intellektuelle Eignung jedes Rekruten zu beurteilen, sondern auch, wie gut er die letzten acht Monate des Trainings in die Tat umgesetzt hat.\n\nNachdem die Kandidatur beendet war, dauerte es eine weitere Woche, bis die Rekruten geteilt und in die n\u00e4chste Phase ihrer Ausbildung geschickt wurden. Von den sechzehn Rekruten setzten die meisten ihre Ausbildung fort. Vier wurden in der n\u00e4chsten Woche in spezialisierte Einrichtungen verlegt. Der Rekrut Teagen verschwand auf halbem Weg und wurde, wenn man Hardigan glauben sollte, von den Marines abgeworben. Recruit Weaver und die drei anderen waren f\u00fcr den Beginn der Ausbildung an der Flight Academy zugelassen.\n\nAm ersten Morgen der Flugschule joggte Hardigan mit den Gl\u00fccklichen auf eine einsame Strecke auf Asphalt, wo eine F7 Hornet und ihr neuer DO, Leutnant Edward Aino, gegen die Morgensonne sa\u00dfen.\n\n\"Das ist es, was du hast, Hardigan?\" Der kr\u00e4ftige Mann in den Achtzigern fiel auf das Deck, als er \u00fcber die Rekruten schaute.\n\n\"Angst davor\", antwortete Hardigan.\n\n\"Die sehen schw\u00e4cher aus als der letzte Haufen.\"\n\n\"Dann zerbrich sie\", sagte Hardigan mit einem Achselzucken. Aino nickte, dann feuerte er einen Gru\u00df an Hardigan, der ihn zur\u00fcckgab und dann den Jogging zur\u00fcck startete.\n\nAino trat schweigend n\u00e4her an die Rekruten heran. Er studierte jeden einzelnen f\u00fcr eine unbequem lange Zeit, m\u00f6glicherweise um zu sehen, ob er reagieren w\u00fcrde. Das haben sie nicht.\n\nIn den n\u00e4chsten Minuten tauchten weitere Rekruten auf, die von den DO's wie am ersten Schultag abgesetzt wurden. Aino wiederholte den Vorgang bei jeder neuen Zugabe.\n\nAls die Klasse besetzt war, wandte er sich an die Hornisse.\n\n\"Schau genau hin\", sagte Aino, als er neben dem K\u00e4mpfer ging, seine Augen waren auf die urspr\u00fcngliche Maschine gerichtet. \"F\u00fcr einige von euch wird das das Beste sein, was ihr je einem von diesen hier erreicht habt. Bis jetzt haben wir nur gespielt.\"\n\nEinige der Rekruten tauschten m\u00fcde Blicke aus.\n\n\"Aber das ist ein Kriegsinstrument. F\u00e4hig, Zerst\u00f6rung zu regnen, wie du sie noch nicht gesehen hast, also wenn du denkst, dass ich einen von euch in der N\u00e4he von diesem Ort zulassen werde, bist du verr\u00fcckt. Du musst dir mein Vertrauen und meinen Respekt verdienen, bevor ich dir eine Waffe gebe. H\u00f6rst du?\"\n\n\"Sir, ja, Sir, Sir!\" Die Rekruten schrien in perfektem Einklang.\n\n\"Wir werden sehen.\"\n\nAino hat nicht gescherzt. Zehn Stunden am Tag, sechs Tage die Woche f\u00fcr die n\u00e4chsten zwei Monate lie\u00df er sie \u00fcber technische Handb\u00fccher, historische Berichte, strategische und taktische Analysen von milit\u00e4rischen Aktionen nachdenken (einschlie\u00dflich strenger Studien \u00fcber Marduke's Elemente der Kriegsf\u00fchrung). Der gr\u00f6\u00dfte Fokus lag auf der Flugtheorie und er w\u00fcrde sie mit Tests \u00fcber alles \u00fcberraschen, sogar \u00fcber Grundlagen des Piloten, obwohl viele schon seit Jahren Raumschiffe fliegen.\n\nNach einer besonders anstrengenden Sitzung, die damit endete, dass Aino empfahl, dass einer der Rekruten von der Akademie versetzt werden sollte, fragte ich ihn, warum.\n\n\"Die Art des Fliegens, an die sie gew\u00f6hnt sind, wird sie nicht auf das vorbereiten, was da drau\u00dfen ist\", antwortete er. \"Wir fragen Tag f\u00fcr Tag nach dem Unm\u00f6glichen. Wenn du deine gesamte Staffel verloren hast und Vanduul untergeht, brauchen wir dich, um kompetente taktische Entscheidungen treffen zu k\u00f6nnen. Wenn du es nicht in einem Klassenzimmer schneiden kannst, wirst du keinen Tag auf der Drift durchhalten.\"\n\nAls die Sommerhitze gegen Herbst zu brechen begann, wechselten die restlichen Rekruten auf die n\u00e4chste Ausbildungsstufe von Aino. Er st\u00e4rkte ihr Selbstvertrauen, indem er verk\u00fcndete, dass er \"bereit sei, zu sehen, was sie in einem Cockpit tun k\u00f6nnten\", und f\u00fchrte die Rekruten zu einem entfernten Hangar.\n\nAls sie ankamen, lag eine sp\u00fcrbare Aufregung in der Luft. All diese intensiven Studien w\u00fcrden endlich zum Einsatz kommen. Aino zog die massiven T\u00fcren auf.\n\nFaksimiles, die aus verworfenen Rohren gebaut wurden, um dem Rahmen eines Cockpits zu \u00e4hneln, waren gleichm\u00e4\u00dfig \u00fcber den gesamten Hangar verteilt. Kunststoffst\u00fchle wurden als Fahrersitze genutzt. Der Flugstock? Ein Schlauch, der an eine Feder geklebt ist. Die Rekruten waren weniger als begeistert.\n\n\"Worauf zum Teufel wartest du noch? Such dir ein Schiff aus\", schrie Aino.\n\nDamit begann die zweite Phase ihrer Ausbildung. Aino f\u00fchrte sie durch das grundlegende Cockpit-Layout. Er zwang sie, die Platzierung jedes Knopfes sorgf\u00e4ltig zu rekonstruieren und f\u00fcr eine Vielzahl von Schiffen, von denen man erwarten konnte, dass sie fliegen w\u00fcrden, zu wechseln. Nach seiner Fertigstellung w\u00fcrde er jeden einzelnen von ihnen ausf\u00fchrlich auf die Funktion und die konventionellen (oder unkonventionellen) Anwendungen des Schiffes testen. Er w\u00fcrde Rekruten auf den Punkt bringen und Szenarien aufrufen, dann ihre Antwort festlegen.\n\nDer Satz \"zu langsam, du bist tot\" wurde tausende Male wiederholt.\n\nInnerhalb des Monats waren weitere zwei Rekruten verschiedenen Schmieden zugewiesen worden, aber Weaver schien etwas gefunden zu haben, worin man sich hervorheben konnte. Er zeigte ein fotografisches Ged\u00e4chtnis, wenn es um das Layout der verschiedenen Cockpits ging, und wechselte leicht zwischen den Konfigurationen von Gladius, Hornet und sogar Starfarer Layouts, ohne die Spezifikationen einsehen zu m\u00fcssen.\n\nAino hat es sicherlich bemerkt. Abseits der Rekruten war Aino ein ruhiger, r\u00fccksichtsvoller Mann. Als Veteran von \u00fcber f\u00fcnfhundert Missionen hatte er seinen gerechten Anteil am Kampf gesehen, aber es war unm\u00f6glich, ihn dazu zu bringen, mehr als das zu erkl\u00e4ren. W\u00e4hrend ich w\u00e4hrend unseres w\u00f6chentlichen Gespr\u00e4chs Sujin-Tee mit ihm trank, fragte ich ihn nach Weavers Eignung. \u00dcberraschenderweise ging er ins Detail.\n\n\"Manchmal klickt es einfach nur. Nicht f\u00fcr mich. Meine DO w\u00fcrde sich heiser schreien und mich anschreien, um es richtig zu machen.\" Er setzte sich zur\u00fcck und trank auf seinen Kaffee. \"Wir sind noch weit weg und er hat noch viel mehr zu lernen. Ich meine, ich habe gesehen, wie die Leute es schnell aufnahmen, wenn nichts auf dem Spiel steht, nur um es in der Sekunde zu verlieren, in der sie in ihrem ersten Schrott stecken, aber wir werden sehen... vielleicht hat er sich eine Belohnung verdient.\"\n\n\"Was zum Beispiel?\" fragte ich.\n\nAino drehte sich um und schaute f\u00fcr eine Minute aus dem Fenster. Ich dachte fast, er h\u00e4tte die Frage vergessen. Dann drehte er sich um und l\u00e4chelte.\n\nRecruit Weaver war der erste, der in einem echten Testflug nach oben ging.","zh_CN":"DAY 256: A DAY OF CANDIDACY\n2946.12.06 SET\nBy Sean Nazawa\nPart Two of an ongoing series following a class of recruits moving through the Navy\u2019s boot camp (known in the service as Forges).\n\nFORGE QUINTUS, KILIAN \u2013 \u201cAw hell, did Weaver die?\u201d The group of recruits slowed to a halt and looked at DO Hardigan, unsure if this was some kind of test.\n\nWe were eight kilometers into a sixteen kilometer run. A standard way to spend a Saturday afternoon in the hottest season on MacArthur, at least it was in Hardigan\u2019s Forge. As a civilian outsider, I had been offered (and declined) a personal HOV. It had been a running joke between Hardigan and me, but after five months living with these recruits, of hearing not only their histories, but also their plans for the future, I\u2019d decided that I wasn\u2019t going to be an outsider. That was three months ago, and I\u2019ll admit, today I was kinda regretting it.\n\nFrom the look on Hardigan\u2019s face, this wasn\u2019t a test. We all turned back to see Recruit Callum Weaver face down in the dirt. A scrawny kid raised in Plantock River on Aremis, Weaver always struggled with the intensely physical requirements in basic training.\n\n\u201cI keep hoping that there\u2019ll be a point where I push through,\u201d Weaver confided in me one day after three hours of vigorous combat drilling. \u201cAnd yeah, while it gets a little easier each time, it never feels like my body gets used to it.\u201d\n\nRecruit Teagen was the first to react. She rushed over and pulled off the heavy pack loaded with field supplies so Weaver could roll over. A few other members of the squad came to help while the others took full advantage of the break and slumped to the ground in the shade.\n\nDO Hardigan walked over, barely winded, and blocked the sun while he looked down at Weaver. After a few moments, he started to come around.\n\n\u201cSorry, sir.\u201d Weaver mumbled as he tried to sit up.\n\n\u201cWhoa, there.\u201d Hardigan dropped to a knee and stopped Weaver from getting up. \u201cGot a medvac coming up. You gotta learn how to hydrate, kid.\u201d\n\n\u201cSorry, sir. I will, sir.\u201d\n\nHardigan shook his head and after tossing Weaver a hydro-gel pack, told Teagen and the other recruits who had helped to see that Weaver got back. He then turned to the rest of the squad.\n\n\u201cWell, since you all didn\u2019t feel like helping your squadmate, looks like we got to start the full sixteen again.\u201d\n\nThe recruits were considerably more unified after that day. That sense of unity would only strengthen as they entered the phase of their training known as Candidacy: three weeks of testing, designed to not only assess each recruit\u2019s physical, psychological and intellectual aptitude, but how well they\u2019ve incorporated the past eight months of training into action.\n\nAfter Candidacy ended, it was another week before the recruits would be divided and sent to the next phase of their training. Out of the sixteen recruits, most continued onto enlisted training. Four were transferred to specialized facilities the next week. Recruit Teagen disappeared halfway through and, if Hardigan was to be believed, had been headhunted by the Marines. Recruit Weaver and the three others had been approved to begin Flight Academy training.\n\nOn the first morning of flight school, Hardigan jogged the lucky few to a lonely stretch of tarmac where, sitting against the morning sun, was an F7 Hornet and their new DO, Lt. Edward Aino.\n\n\u201cThis is what you\u2019ve got, Hardigan?\u201d The stout man in his eighties dropped onto the deck as he looked over the recruits.\n\n\u201cAfraid so,\u201d Hardigan replied.\n\n\u201cThese look weaker than the last bunch.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen break \u2019em,\u201d Hardigan said with a shrug. Aino nodded, then fired a salute to Hardigan who returned it and then started the jog back.\n\nAino stepped closer to the recruits in silence. He studied each one for an uncomfortably long amount of time, possibly to see if they would react. They did not.\n\nOver the next few minutes, more recruits showed up, dropped off by the DO\u2019s like the first day of school. Aino repeated the procedure with each new addition.\n\nOnce the class was filled, he turned to the Hornet.\n\n\u201cTake a good look,\u201d Aino said as he paced alongside the fighter, his eyes fixated on the pristine machine. \u201cFor some of you, this will be the closest you ever get to one of these. Until now, we\u2019ve just been playing.\u201d\n\nSome of the recruits exchanged weary glances.\n\n\u201cBut this is an instrument of war. Capable of raining destruction the likes of which you have not seen, so if you think I\u2019m going to let any of you [redacted] anywhere near this, you are out of your [redacted] mind. You will need to earn my trust and respect before I hand you a weapon. Hear?\u201d\n\n\u201cSir, yes, sir!\u201d The recruits shouted in perfect unison.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ll see.\u201d\n\nAino wasn\u2019t kidding. Ten hours a day, six days a week for the next two months, he had them poring over technical manuals, historical accounts, strategic and tactical analyses of military actions (including rigorous study of Marduke\u2019s Elements of Warfare). The heaviest focus was on flight theory and he would surprise them with tests about everything, even piloting fundamentals, despite the fact that many had been flying spacecraft for years.\n\nAfter a particularly grueling session that ended with Aino recommending that one of the recruits to be transferred out of academy, I asked him why.\n\n\u201cThe type of flying they\u2019re used to won\u2019t prepare them for what\u2019s out there,\u201d he replied. \u201cWe ask the impossible day in and day out. When you\u2019ve lost your entire squadron and Vanduul are bearing down, we need you to be able to make competent tactical decisions. If you can\u2019t cut it in a classroom, you won\u2019t last a day on the drift.\u201d\n\nAs the summer heat began to break toward autumn, the remaining recruits moved on to Aino\u2019s next level of training. Bolstering their confidence by proclaiming that he was \u2018ready to see what they could do in a cockpit,\u2019 he led the recruits to a distant hangar.\n\nWhen they arrived, there was a palpable excitement in the air. All that intense study would finally be put to use. Aino pulled the massive doors open.\n\nFacsimiles built out of discarded pipes to resemble the frame of a cockpit were spaced evenly throughout the hangar. Plastic chairs doubled as operator seats. The flightstick? A tube taped to a spring. The recruits were less than enthused.\n\n\u201cWhat the hell you waiting for? Pick a ship,\u201d Aino yelled.\n\nThus began phase two of their training. Aino ran them through basic cockpit layout. He forced them to meticulously reconstruct the placement of every button and switch for a variety of ships that they might be expected to fly. Once complete, he would exhaustively test each and every one of them on the function and conventional (or unconventional) applications of the ship. He\u2019d put recruits on the spot and call out scenarios, then time their response.\n\nThe phrase \u201ctoo slow, you\u2019re dead\u201d was repeated thousands of times.\n\nWithin the month, another two recruits had been reassigned to different Forges, but Weaver it seemed, had found something to excel at. He displayed a photographic memory when it came to the layout of the various cockpits, easily switching between the configurations of Gladius, Hornet and even Starfarer layouts without needing to consult the specs.\n\nAino certainly noticed. Away from the recruits, Aino was a quiet, considerate man. A veteran of over five hundred missions, he\u2019d seen his fair share of combat, but it was impossible to get him to elaborate more than that. While having sujin tea with him during our weekly talk, I asked him about Weaver\u2019s aptitude. Surprisingly, he went into detail.\n\n\u201cSometimes, it just clicks. Not for me. My DO would scream herself hoarse yelling at me to get it right.\u201d He settled back and sipped on his coffee. \u201cWe\u2019re still a long way away and he\u2019s got a lot more learning to do. I mean, I\u2019ve seen people pick it up quick when there ain\u2019t nothing on the line, only to lose it the second they\u2019re in their first scrap, but we\u2019ll see \u2026 maybe he\u2019s earned a treat.\u201d\n\n\u201cLike what?\u201d I asked.\n\nAino turned and looked out the window for a minute. I almost thought he\u2019d forgotten the question. He then turned back and smiled.\n\nRecruit Weaver was going to be the first to go up in an actual test flight."},"links_count":1,"comment_count":78,"created_at":"2016-12-06T00:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"9 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-04-28 02:41:45","valid_relations":["images","links","translations"],"prev_id":15623,"next_id":15628}}