Father's Dream

Andrey didn't need to wait for long as steaming hot food was soon delivered to his house. Today he felt quite hungry so he ordered grilled chicken along with mashed potatoes. The sauce that was complimented with the dish made it an absolute delicacy as Andrey fully enjoyed his meal. 

He soon tidied up the dinner table and after doing the dishes finally went to his bedroom.

It was almost ten o clock at night and just when Andrey finished tidying his messed up bed to ensure a comfortable sleep his phone started ringing.

"Right on time," Andrey said with a smile as he walked towards the table to pick up his phone that was placed on charge.

Unplugging the cord from the mobile he soon received the video call.

"Today was pretty rough for you...wasn't it?" The person on the other side of the phone was a middle-aged man. His face seemed quite young but almost all of his hair had turned grey. The amiable expression which he carried on his face while gazing towards Andrey would be enough for people to realize that he was his father.

"It indeed was Dad...It felt like a sudden bombardment of loads of information" Andrey replied.

"Haha, it's better this way. At least unlike my generation, you children managed to get a few years of respite..." Andrey's father said as his face seemed to recollect the earlier times of his hardship.

"What's with your face though? You got into a fight?" He asked Andrey after seeing the bruises on his face.

"No, I fell on concrete while running...by the way Dad, the principal told us that more than a hundred warriors from the Warrior Academy had perished...as a result, the written part of the Warrior Academy entrance exam won't be happening for us," Andrey told his father about what Principal Krieg had told the class in the afternoon.

"I know, the information has already spread within all our echelons by now," Andrey's father commented as he got lost in his thoughts for a couple of seconds.

"Is the situation in the frontline very severe?" Andrey couldn't help but ask.

Andrey's father's face turned grim when he heard his son's words as he replied, "It indeed is. From what I've heard with the help of the people I know, This incident happened just yesterday and according to him the number of warriors that we lost is almost more than 200..."

"So it's much greater than what we've been told...the principal didn't want us students to worry over this matter it seems," Andrew muttered.

"That indeed is the case, after getting selected for the Academy you all still need to undergo a torturous one-year training before you would be capable enough to fight it out with a 'reaper'...oh those aliens are called reapers by us as a slang thanks to all the lives they've reaped." 

"I know, I was going through the "T-2" app a while back," Andrey explained.

"That's my lad," Andrey's father grinned before making a serious expression as he continued, "By the way, Do you remember the story I told you about this hand?" 

Knock Knock

A metallic sound entered Andrey's eyes as he saw his father's left index finger flicking his right hand.

"About your hand? Yes...you told me that you injured it during your military training as a result of which you were forced to move to the logistics department." Andrey said after a bit of recollection.

"Indeed, that's what I've told you. I was indeed moved to the logistics department after this injury but the cause of my injury was not the military training...heh your dad isn't so weak. I was one of the cadets at the Warrior Academy back in the day..."

"You were?!" Andrey exclaimed with a feeling of surprise and shock as this was something he had no idea about.

"Indeed, I graduated from the Academy as a middle-class warrior...but unfortunately my story as a warrior ended before it even began. I lost my hand during my first mission only and was forced to shift to the logistics branch," His voice carried deep-seated regret and sadness.

Andrey had no idea what to say after hearing the sadness in his father's voice and could only stay mum.

"Anyways, Andrey what have you planned for your future? You're still planning to become an automobile engineer?" He asked hesitatingly after recollecting himself

"Well...Jacob and Jenny had decided to appear for the Warrior Academy examination so I too am planning to give it an attempt," Andrey said

"Are you?! Excellent, Don't worry about whether you'll clear it or not, since you're my son you definitely would be able to clear it. Hahaha, I'm in such a good mood after hearing that. Good night lad, I'll go and have a drink before sleeping,"

"Goodnight Dad, don't drink too much," Andrey said as the call disconnected. He couldn't help but chuckle after a while. It was clear to him that his father wanted him to become a warrior as well and fulfil the dream that he was unable to fulfil but he felt quite ashamed of asking his son to fulfil his selfish desire which might prove to endanger his life.

Therefore seeing his father's expression suddenly change to that of a jubilant person when he heard that Andrey wanted to take the Warrior Academy exam was worth seeing for Andrey.

"So father was also a warrior..." Andrey muttered to himself as he got into his bed. Thankfully nothing from the theory subjects were taught today so he could afford to sleep a bit early.

The next day,

The penetrating rays of the sun were stopped in its tracks by the thick curtains covering the window of Andrey's room which allowed him a few extra minutes of respite. 

The alarm that he had set before sleeping soon woke him up and while scratching his butt Andrey soon reached the bathroom.

He looked towards the mirror for a few seconds and yawned as he scratched his messy black hair which looked like a crow's nest. The oval face in the mirror with average features similarly responded with a yawn and Andrey soon got busy with his morning chores.

In an hour and a half, he was all set to go to school. Unlike yesterday, he was in no rush today and leisurely made his way towards the school while controlling his urge to kick any random things lying on the road.

He had almost died after kicking a pebble yesterday and had no intention of experiencing something so adventurous anymore. 

In the classroom, Jacob and Jenny had already arrived and were discussing the things they discovered in the CoNet. 

It wasn't just them but everybody in the class was doing the same and it could also be said that a similar scenario was going on in every final grade classroom within the Confederation.

"Reaper is such an easier name compared to those weird names that the researchers gave the aliens," One classmate said.

"I know right?! I can't even properly pronounce those long and hard-to-pronounce names. I can't even fathom what drug those researchers must have taken before they thought of making such names,"

"A-Actually they are quite easy to read and remember once you have memorised all the important body parts of the aliens..." 

"Shut up you big nerd!"

These were just parts of the discussions that entered Andrey's ears as he entered the classroom.

"Yo!" Jacob said as he saw Andrey entering the classroom.

"Yo, the class looks quite energetic," Andrey commented.

"I know right? Everyone has something new and interesting to share. It's just so exciting," Jenny replied as she glanced at everyone in the classroom.

The boisterous manner of the class didn't last long as Miss Jane soon arrived and began with her attendance. After finishing the attendance she once again quickly briefed on what was told by the principal while also telling the students to not take their studies lightly even though the Warrior Academy had removed the written examination stage for them.

Most students wanted to join the Warrior Academy to actively contribute towards the eradication of the reapers but there were still some who had already decided the path they wanted to choose and wanted to stick to it.

Alex was one of them. His father was a researcher who worked for the Confederation and as a result Alex too gained considerable interest in this field as he watched his father work day in and day out.

Researchers played an integral role along with the technical engineers in creating weapons and gadgets to better deal with the reapers.

These weapons and gadgets proved quite useful for the low-class warriors and reduced their casualty rate by a large margin. Therefore the Confederation encourages young students to become researchers and engineers if they fail to clear the exam for Warrior Academy.

Of course, it was not mandatory because if everyone would become soldiers, engineers and researchers then who would manage the rest of the important things? While the laborious jobs were mostly replaced by robots there was still a need to use humans in fields like medical, teaching, cooking, management and all the other important areas that make a society work stably.