Rising the Ranks

Nathan woke up from his sleep feeling refreshed.

"Wow," he yawned. "I can't remember the last time I slept so well."

<I'm glad you enjoyed your rest, Nathan.>

'Oh, you're still here?'

<Indeed, I am. Did you think would just disappear overnight?>

'I don't know what to think,' Nathan grumbled in his mind. 'This is kind of a first for me.'

<Well, you better get used to it, because I'm not going anywhere anytime soon.>

'Great,' Nathan thought sarcastically.

The voice was about to retort when Nathan heard a voice he was actually happy to hear.

"Hey," Mikhail smiled, stepping into the room.

"Mikhail!" Nathan exclaimed, sitting upright. "It's good to see you."

"You too," Mikhail nodded. "You gave us a real scare by disappearing like that."

"Sorry," Nathan chuckled. "I didn't mean to worry you."

"Eh, it's alright," Mikhail shrugged. "We're just glad you're safe."

"So, how's the arm?"

"As good as it has ever been," He flexed his bicep. "Military medical tech truly is amazing."

"Good," Nathan smiled. "I'm glad to hear it."

"Anyway, I have some news for you," Mikhail said, his tone becoming serious.

"News? What kind of news?"

"Good news and bad news," Mikhail said.

"Oh," Nathan frowned.

"Well, the good news is, you've been cleared for duty," Mikhail said.

"Already?" Nathan asked.

"Well, you don't have any physical injuries, and it's not like there's a lot of soldiers left," Mikhail shrugged.

"Okay, and the bad news?"

"The bad news is, we've been ordered to report to the base's main office in 20 minutes," Mikhail said.

"The main office?" Nathan asked.

"Yes," Mikhail nodded.

"What's going on?"

"Beats me," Mikhail shrugged.

"Okay," Nathan nodded.

"Alright, well, get ready. I'll wait for you outside," Mikhail said.

"Gotcha," Nathan nodded.

"See you outside," Mikhail smiled.

"See you."

Mikhail turned around, walking out of the room.

Nathan took a deep breath, standing up.

'Why would they want to talk to us of all people?'

<Your survival was rather miraculous, perhaps they want to hear the story from you directly.>

'You think so?'

<It's not often someone survives a 200-meter drop without even scratch on their body.>

'I guess that's true,' Nathan nodded.

<Either way, let's find out, shall we?>

'Right,' Nathan nodded.

He walked over to the small table, picking up his uniform.

'So, what should I tell them if they ask about my survival?'

<The truth>

'I thought you'd kill me if I told anyone about you?'

<I will. So just omit the part about crystal and fact that I'm talking to you.>

'Oh,' Nathan nodded. 'That's easy enough.'

<Good, now get dressed. We don't want to keep them waiting.>

'Right,' Nathan nodded.

He quickly got dressed, taking a few seconds to inspect himself in the mirror.

"Not bad," he muttered.

He walked over to the door, opened it, and stepped out into the hallway.

"Hey, Nathan," Mikhail greeted him.

"Hi," Nathan smiled.

"Ready to go?"

"Yep," Nathan nodded.

"Come on, then," Mikhail turned, starting to walk down the hall.

They strolled through the many hallways of the base, slowly making their way to the main office. It was the first time Nathan got to look at the base properly, and he was surprised at how big it was.

"Wow," he mumbled.

"What?"

"This place is huge," Nathan said, looking around.

"Yeah," Mikhail nodded. "They built this base to accommodate an entire army."

"But still," Nathan said in amazement. "It's impressive."

"Eh, it's just a bunch of metal and concrete," Mikhail shrugged.

"I suppose," Nathan said, looking at the high ceiling.

They continued walking in silence for a few minutes, until they reached a large set of double doors.

Nathan gulped.

"You okay?" Mikhail asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Nathan said, his mouth dry.

"Let's go," Mikhail nodded.

He pushed open the doors, and they walked inside.

The office was as huge as everything else in the base. A long wooden desk sat in the middle of the room, with several chairs placed around it.

The walls were lined with bookshelves and filing cabinets.

At the back of the room, a large window overlooked the mountain range.

"Recruit Rodriguez, recruit Kovalev," an old man standing at the very end of the room said.

Nathan and Mikhail quickly snapped to attention.

"Yes, sir," Nathan saluted.

"At ease," the man said.

Nathan and Mikhail relaxed, taking a step forward.

"I'm Commander Vane, and I'm in charge of this base," the man said, his deep voice resounding through the open room.

"Yes, sir," Nathan and Mikhail said in unison.

"I've called you here today because of the incident that occurred yesterday," Vane said, walking around the table to stand in front of them.

"What about it, sir?" Mikhail asked.

"Specifically, I've called you here because of recruit Rodriguez's miraculous survival," Vane said, looking at Nathan.

"Ah," Nathan said.

Vane placed his hand down on the desk. "Do you have any idea how you survived, recruit?"

Nathan swallowed. "No, sir. As a matter of fact, I have no recollection of most of the events, sir!"

"What do you mean?"

Nathan hesitated. "Well, sir, I remember getting on the escape pod, but after that, everything is blank. The next thing I remember is waking up in the infirmary, sir."

Vane was silent for a few moments, staring at Nathan.

"Is that so," he said, his tone betraying no emotion.

"Yes, sir."

"Very well," Vane nodded. "Then onto the next point on the agenda."

Nathan felt a wave of relief wash over him.

"As you both know, we've lost a lot of brave men in the attack that happened before your arrival. And we're low on personnel."

Nathan and Mikhail looked at each other, unsure of what the general was trying to say.

"According to all witness accounts, your squadron displayed a great amount of skill and courage during the ambush," Vane continued.

"Thank you, sir," Mikhail said.

"As such, I've decided every member of your squadron will be promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and will be joining one of the vanguard divisions."

"Sir," Nathan and Mikhail said, saluting.

"At ease," Vane nodded.

"With all due respect, sir," Mikhail spoke up. "We haven't even completed basic training, sir."

"You are correct," Vane said. "But considering the shortages, I'm willing to make an exception."

"Understood, sir," Mikhail saluted.

"You're dismissed," Vane said, turning his back.

"Yes, sir," Mikhail and Nathan said.

They turned and left the room, closing the doors behind them.

"Did that just happen?" Mikhail asked, once they were out of earshot.

"I think so," Nathan nodded.

"Lieutenants," Mikhail smiled.

"Yep," Nathan chuckled.

A young woman walked up to them. She wore a grey pencil skirt and held a tablet in her arms.

"Lieutenant Rodriguez and Lieutenant Kovalev," she said.

"Yes," they both responded.

"I've been tasked with getting you two settled," she said.

"Great," Nathan smiled.

"Come with me, please," she said, turning around and starting to walk.

"Sure," Nathan nodded.

"You reckon she's single?" Mikhail whispered as they walked after her.

"Doubt it," Nathan shook his head.

"Shame," Mikhail sighed.

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Don't be weird."

"I'm not," Mikhail frowned. "I'm just saying, she's cute."

"And way out of your league," Nathan added.

"Oh, come on," Mikhail nudged him. "Live a little."

"I'm going to live a lot, thank you very much," Nathan smiled.

"If you say so," Mikhail smirked.

"Now come on," Nathan said. "Let's get our stuff sorted."

They followed the woman through the halls of the base, eventually stopping in front of a door.

"Here we are," she said.

"What's this?"

"Your new room," she replied.

"Our new room?" Mikhail asked.

"Indeed," she nodded.

"This is the lieutenant's quarters," she said. "All the officers share this area."

Nathan and Mikhail shared a look.

"The rest of the squadron will be joining you in due time."

"Awesome," Mikhail said.

She turned, placing her palm on the pad next to the door.

The door slid open, revealing a small room with two bunk beds, a table, and a few chairs.

"Your uniforms, name badges, ID's, and all other documents are in the drawers," she said.

"Thank you," Nathan smiled.

"Don't mention it," she said. "I'll leave you to get settled."

"Thank you, again," Mikhail smiled.

"Sure," she nodded, leaving the room.

"Wow," Mikhail said, turning back to the room.

"Yeah," Nathan agreed.

"Lieutenant," Mikhail grinned.

"Lieutenant," Nathan smiled.

"I'll see you around, yeah?" Mikhail said, starting to walk out.

"See ya," Nathan nodded.

The door closed, and Nathan was left alone in the room.

He walked over to one of the bunks, sitting down on it.

"Wow," he mumbled.

<Good job, Nathan>

'Oh, I almost forgot about you,' Nathan grumbled.

<How ungrateful!>

'Hush, I'm trying to process things,' Nathan thought.

<Fair enough>

Nathan lay down on the bed, his mind racing with thoughts.

'I can't believe it,' he thought. 'I'm an officer now. This is crazy.'

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

'It's going to be okay. Everything is going to be okay.'