Transfer Orders

"ATTENTION QUARTERS!" shouted the sergeant as he entered, and almost in unison, the recruits lined up in front of their lockers. After 6 months of continuous and uninterrupted training, the initial group of civilians had transformed into what could be considered the foundations of militarism. Some fell by the wayside, but that was inevitable and expected.

"Today is your last day of training!" he continued. "Therefore, at the end of this day, you will receive your new positions, and depending on that, more training." Even in attention and without moving, it was possible to see the emotion on the recruits' faces.

"However, today has just begun, which means NOTHING HAS CHANGED! Everyone in formation on the flag patio, and it's for yesterday!"

....

After a whole day of physical training, they were led to the patio alongside the other platoons. When everyone was ready, the lieutenants of each platoon arrived.

"When your platoon commander calls your name, step forward, take your transfer order, and return to your place. Nothing more," instructed the captain.

Lieutenant Silva, the same one who praised Rafael during the simulation on the day they arrived, began:

"Silveira... Nathaniel... Smith... Hinoda..." Each one stepped forward, took their order, and returned, without even a mention of opening and looking at it. "...Kobayashi... Anderson... Andrada..."

Rafael stepped out of formation, took his order, and returned, the only thing on his mind being 'not the navy, not the navy.' When everyone finished, the captain spoke again.

"It was a tough 6 months for most of you. After this next semester, you still have 1 year of service until the end of the contract. I hope that most of you will renew because today the Pact needs each of you more than ever... COMPANY, DISMISSED!"

....

When they arrived at the accommodation to collect their belongings and go to the transport base, the first thing the small group did was gather and open their orders, curiosity already at its peak. Rafael was no different, opening his envelope to reveal a shield with a condor and a parachute.

"Paratrooper... damn."

"Yeah, it looks like we're still going to the same place," Pierre said, holding the same shield in his order.

"And I still can't get rid of you two," Yuriko said, holding a similar one. "And what did you get?"

"Armored," Dantas and Vasiliev answered in unison.

"Marines," Davies answered.

"P...pilot?" Joseph said, confused.

"Artillery," Igor replied, with a smile on his face.

"Sailor... ugh," Fabio said, more disappointed than anyone. It wasn't that the Navy was bad, but the reputation was not the best among the armed forces. Rafael looked seriously at Fabio and said,

"It could be worse."

Fabio looked up hopefully.

"How?"

"It could be me," and Fabio launched himself at Rafael while the others laughed.

.....

Already at the transportation base, the small group of friends were bidding farewell to each other and Rafael looked at each of them: Pierre Menye, Pedro Dantas, Caroline Davies, Ana Martins, Dmitri Vasiliev, Joseph Schmitz, Fabio Souza, and of course, Yuriko Kobayashi. She and Pierre had been his best friends during these six months, and he was happy they were going together to the paratrooper brigade in Rio de Janeiro.

"Remember, when you have access to the internet again, create a group on Talklink," Rafael reminded them. "And let's meet here again next year, maybe even go to Zé's Bar again."

"Oh, come on? Are you already getting emotional? We haven't even said goodbye yet," Ana joked, making everyone laugh and Rafael blush.

"Ah, stop it, look what you're doing to the poor guy," Yuriko said, nudging Rafael.

"Go to hell, it was your idea, not mine," Rafael replied, looking at his watch to disguise his embarrassment, and luckily realized they were almost out of time.

"Damn, everyone to their platform now, the pelicans are about to leave! See you in a year!" Saying that, he turned quickly and walked away, Yuriko and Pierre also said their goodbyes and followed Rafael, all laughing as his face turned even redder.

....

After 6 weeks of parachute training and having earned the brown boot, Rafael, Pierre, and Yuriko were organized in the same platoon but in different squads after it had suffered heavy losses in the last mission. The three of them were sent to the 3rd platoon of the 2nd company of the 26th Parachute Infantry Brigade. Pierre was assigned to the second squad, while Yuriko and Rafael were assigned to the third squad.

"Well, it looks like it's for real now..." said Rafael as he arrived at the door of the barracks.

"What kind of mission nowadays would have four casualties in less than a day?" Yuriko looked at him with a thoughtful expression.

"The kind I want to stay away from... just one and a half more years, Riko."

As soon as he said that, he opened the door and five heads turned towards him, four men and a woman. She held the rank of corporal, as did the shortest man. The others were all PFCs. She got up from the bed where she was lying while the corporal and one other continued their game, and the last one was trying to remove a stain from his boot.

"You're the new recruits, right? Report to Sergeant Fernando. He's in the platoon's section, and hurry up because the other two are already there," the corporal said and headed towards the bathroom without giving them a second glance. The others basically ignored them.

They looked at each other and headed towards the room the corporal had mentioned. When they arrived, they found the door open, four tables in both sides, and a door on the opposite side of the room. Only one table had two men in a resting position in front of it, one of them with the rank of corporal. On the other side of the table was a man in his early thirties, with dark hair, a square face, and a scar that ran from the beginning of his left temple to his ear. Whatever caused that scar also took a piece out of his ear. He had three stripes on his shoulder.

"Privates Andrada and Kobayashi?" he asked without taking his eyes off the document in front of him.

"Yes, sir!" they answered in unison, saluting and joining the other two.

"At ease, the four of you," he said, finally looking up. "I'm 3rd Sgt. Fernando, and the platoon commander is 2nd Lt. Oliveira. Corporal Matheus will be with me in Fire Team Alpha, Kobayashi in Bravo, Willians and Andrada in Charlie. Your FT leaders will tell you what to do now. Dismissed."

Back at the barracks, as soon as they entered, the corporal, who was still lying in bed and tinkering with her TacLink, said without turning around, "Choose any available bunk, and which one of you is Andrada and Kobayashi?"

Both of them stepped forward and answered. "Ma'am?"

Then she looked at the two of them, and Rafael could get a better look at her. She had blond hair, almost white, tied up in a bun. Her face was pretty but hard, and a recent-looking scar ran from one end of her forehead to the other. The tag on her uniform read "Cpl. Pavlova."

"The bathroom is a mess. The cleaning supplies are behind the door," she said in perfect, almost robotic Portuguese and went back to whatever she was doing on the TacLink.

The two looked at each other, put their bags on the bunk they had chosen, and headed towards the bathroom. On the way, they finally saw what the stain in the private boot was, it was red, blood-red.