19 EU Military Academy

"Uncle Eric, please get me into the EU Military Academy."

Daniel spoke with a solemn tone, acting dead serious as he stared towards the much older male seated across from him.

The mature looking man couldn't help but frown when he heard what Daniel had just said. Although his brows were scrunched up, exuding an oppressive aura, it completely complements his face. With a chiselled jawline, a scar running down the right side of his cheek and a sharp pair of eyes, he directly gave off the feeling of a dangerous, yet mature man.

"What made you want to do such a thing, Daniel?" Eric asked with a rather complicated tone. "I thought you were quite happy with your current high school. Didn't you choose the school yourself? Besides, I don't think the military lifestyle will suit you…"

"I don't want to be completely helpless when people are dying around me again, Uncle." Daniel retorted, still sounding solemn to get across his own conviction for his decision. "When the explosion happened, the only thing I could do is wriggle in fear while waiting for someone else to rescue me. I don't want to be a helpless person that only serves as baggage. Finally, I don't want to only be able to watch as people die in front of me."

Seeing the seriousness in Daniel's eyes, Eric raised an eyebrow in surprise. For a second, he almost thought his old friend had came back again when he saw Daniel behaving in such a similar demeanour as him.

"Like father like son." Eric thought to himself in melancholy while maintaining a stoic look on the outside.

"What happened back then was just a freak accident." Eric tried to dissuade Daniel, still reluctant with the latter's decision. "A civilian like you wouldn't be able to enter a quarantined zone in a normal situation. You were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time back then. There's no need for you to go through such a huge change in your life just for a rare occurrence that might not even happen once in a lifetime."

Daniel shook his head and retorted, "You're wrong, Uncle Eric. The person who bombed the laboratory back then was able to enter a military restricted zone, who can say that he wouldn't be able to do the same somewhere else? Besides, do you want me to stay at home and watch in fear in the event that the Martians invade our planet?"

"I don't want to be powerless, Uncle. And the only way to do that is through the military training provided by the EUMA."

Eric observed me for awhile and finally gave out a sigh. Even with his intimidating aura, he was unable to get Daniel to back down. "It seems that going through such a traumatic event have made him mentally stronger. Although I'm still reluctant about it, at least Daniel seemed to have gotten through his trauma with his conviction."

"You realize that after entering the academy, you wouldn't be able to leave until you graduate, right?" Eric asked with a solemn look on his face.

Daniel nodded back at him immediately.

Seeing this, Eric could not help but give out another sigh. "I've promised your father to keep you safe and let you live a happy life pursuing your dreams, but who would have thought that this would happen. Is it destined for the son to follow in his father's footsteps?" He muttered to himself under his breath, light enough to prevent Daniel from hearing anything.

"Fine, I'll pull some strings and get you into the academy. However, since this semester had already started, you'll only be able to transfer in in January. In the meantime, I'll get you the online materials needed for you to catch up with the other students so you wouldn't be behind next year." Eric spoke in a defeated tone.

"Thank you, Uncle!" Daniel exclaimed. He immediately ran over and gave his uncle a deep hug to show his own joy. Although Eric felt a little warm from the intimacy shown by the teenager, he still felt a little complicated on the inside, still not knowing whether or not what he's doing is right for him.

"Well, at least he seemed to have regained his energy after staying home the past few days." Eric thought to himself, trying to stay positive.

***

Daniel had thought that it would take a lot more convincing for Uncle Eric to get what he wants. Therefore, he was slightly surprised when the other had agreed to his transfer that easily. Then again, it might have been because Eric, too, had noticed the anomalies these past few weeks and had a bad premonition that something bad might happen in the future. Also, this uncle of his was also afraid that if he had strongly rejected Daniel, the latter might fall into another period of depression again.

Now that that is sorted, Daniel had a little less than three months to prepare for his transfer. The first thing that came into his mind was to inform his best friend about this decision.

"You did WHAT?!" A heaven-defying cry came through from the other side of the video call when the person on the other side heard what Daniel had got his uncle to do for him.

"Why would you want to get into that hellhole! This place is already bad but going there is like jumping down a cliff! You're sure you won't reconsider?"

"No," Daniel shook his head and replied firmly. "I don't want to be the first to die when the Martians come invading in the future. Besides, obtaining military merits would get me into a good position later if I were to get into politics."

Jake is currently wearing only his bathrobe as two skimpily dressed female robots served him from the side. Wearing a pair of sunglasses, he pretended as though he was laying on a beach chair, bathing in the sun, even though in reality he was seated near an indoor swimming pool, with the holographic image of a sunny sky displayed in the ceiling.

One of the female robots served Jake a glass of pina colada, without alcohol, holding the glass before him as Jake took a sip through the straw.

Hearing the conviction from his mate, he couldn't help but shake his head helplessly and thought to himself, "This bro of mine must have hit his head a little too hard last night or something, or else he wouldn't make such a rash decision!"

"Even though the Martians are a threat, with our automated mechs and various defences, I wouldn't worry about them breaching our security system." Jake shook his head, trying to knock some sense to this friend of his. "Even if you want to learn some skills to defend yourself, you can just learn it here. Why do you need to go to that place where everyone's all brawns and no brains. I hear that even the women there are double the size of a normal human adult!"

Imagining a muscle-packed woman within his mind, Jake could not help but shudder in fear.

"Still, the EU Military Academy has the resources that no normal high school has. It's also the most direct path towards graduating with an undergraduate degree, without me even needing to apply for another university." Daniel rebutted and tried to give out some pros of the academy.

"Also, since the EUMA is one of the Top Three military schools within the Federation, graduating there would look good on your resume regardless of whether or not you're going to become a soldier later on."

"It seems that after spending so much time with a Brigadier-General, you've gotten into your head that being in the military is super great." Jake clicked his tongue and shook his head in disdain. "I know that with your uncle's connections and your parent's reputation, you would instantly be put on an elite path and be groomed to become the next hero of the Federation. However, all that glory and honor is just a joke when your life can end at any time. Why don't you just act like a dead fish like me for once and enjoy life until you grow old and die."

Seeing the lazy mentality of his best friend, Daniel could not help but feel a little speechless. However, he could not actually give out the real reason for his transfer, so he could only apologize to Jake within his heart beforehand for suddenly leaving him on his own like that.

After ending the call with Jake, he continued to practice levitating the stress ball on his right hand, which he had been doing all the while throughout breakfast with Eric and during his call with Jake, while also booking an appointment to check out the military academy tomorrow. Since his parents were heroes, the Federation would always give priority to recruit people like him since having him in the military would be good for PR. Therefore, after contacting the academy online, he was instantly authorized to take a tour of the place even though he gave such a late notice.