As the two groups were being driven to the site of the event, there was a sense of unease that permeated the vehicle. Not only were they on their way to perform a vague task that they were given very little information about, but the man who was driving them had been silent the entire time, with the exception of him loudly clearing his throat and spitting into a cup, which grossed out most of the class.
Maxim glanced over at the other members of his group, with the others intently looking out of the only window in the vehicle, with the exception of Amanda who was starting to nod off. Looking at the other group, the others were intently staring at the ground, unwilling to look up at the man or see where we were going.
After several minutes had passed, Aidan glanced over at the second group before looking at Maxim. “So, how was the part of the city you were in?”
Maxim shrugged. “It’s just like any other city if you’re looking at it from the outside. Sure, this place is known for tourism, but there’s plenty of residential districts, shady diners and weapons stores, the usual. Though the food in that diner was surprisingly delicious.”
Aidan chuckled. “I see. At least you all got to move around and check out the city. Let’s just say that sitting down and watching the city pass you buy isn’t the greatest, especially after you just spent a few hours traveling. So actually being able to check out the city…even if it’s the criminal underbelly, is probably the most action we’ve had all day.”
Maxim sighed. “To be honest, I’d rather do that than go from place to place where you would have no other reason to visit the place other than for a bunch of students doing their best to interrogate potential suspects for a potential terrorist cell. Not exactly the normal task a military student is given.”
Adian nodded. “True, but we are a part of the academy the heroes came from. I’m sure they were put under similar circumstances as we are right now, considering they were sent into war when they were just students.”
“Perhaps…but…”
Just what are they playing at? It’s like throwing us into the fire and expecting everyone to escape unscathed. But with the two groups separated…there’s no way I can–
Before they could continue their conversation, the man started stopping the vehicle, soon coming to a complete stop in front of a large building. As soon as the group exited the vehicle, Maxim immediately noticed that there were several construction workers milling about, rushing to make sure everything was ready for the event. The building was, what Maxim thought, was perhaps the tallest building on the planet, towering above every other building he had seen so far. Some workers stopped what they were doing to glance over at them, confused as to why there were a bunch of students arriving at the site.
“I see you all have arrived here safely from the academy.”
Everyone turned and spotted a tall, well built but middle aged man wearing the same uniform as the top admirals of the republic. He had a large scar across the center of his face, presumably from a large gash he had inflicted on him during the invasions. However, his voice was slightly higher pitched than what Maxim was expecting.
“My name is Aidris Toten, admiral of the sixteenth republic fleet tasked with ensuring security amongst the inner territories. As you might expect, making sure the security of this event is considered to be a priority for me.”
“So why are we here and not your troops?” Brandon asked, who was standing at attention and staring at Aidris.
Aidris sighed. “Unfortunately, within the past couple weeks, an unusually organized pirate fleet has been disrupting trade within our sphere of protection, and as such, most of my fleet and men are out trying to track them down and arrest everyone involved. That means I have only a skeleton crew to spare for the security of this event, which is why I contacted the intelligence agency, who then contacted your academy. I’ve heard that you all are going to be focusing on special operations, so I accepted the academy’s offer to send you all over to help us with security, also giving you some much needed experience. My men are highly trained, but there’s not enough of them to cover every blind spot. That’s also why I want you all doing a quick patrol of the area before the event, so that you have a general feeling of what to expect and be aware of the general layout.”
Makes sense. Maybe this has something to do with what Rina wants to talk to me about later.
Brandon nodded. “Thank you for explaining, sir. We weren’t given the…clearest of reasons why students were assigned to protect the event, and I feel somewhat relieved that we won’t be alone.”
Aidris laughed. “It would have been foolish if an event of this importance left its security entirely to students, so I understand your confusion as to why you were assigned to this task. I unfortunately have to leave the planet within the next hour to rejoin my fleet, but I wanted to at least talk to you all, explain what’s going on, and assign your last task for the night before you head back to base.”
Aidris motioned to his right where it looked like night and day compared to where they were standing. At the end of the street were several run down buildings that looked like they should have been torn down centuries ago. “That’s the beginning of the redlight district. I’m sure you were told that all kinds of…interesting activities take place in that part of the city. In fact, I’d say about a quarter of the visitors to this planet come here specifically for this place. However, we need you all to head there and patrol a small route. I’m going to send you all the routes your two groups are going to take.”
Looking at his holowatch, he pressed a few buttons before everyone else’s watches beeped. “Let me remind you that you should NOT, under any circumstances, separate from your group. If one person goes somewhere, you all go there. You may think you’re tough stuff because you’re a part of the academy, but I promise you that people that frequent this place will not hesitate to pick one of you off should they get an opportunity, and there’s no guarantee we’d be able to rescue you before the worst case scenario happened.”
His watch beeped again as he read a message that had been sent to him. He sighed and closed the message. “And with that, I’ve been told I’m needed back with my fleet as soon as possible. If you have any questions, be sure to get in contact with Kerilyn. I look forward to hearing from my men how well you were able to perform!”
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