After Earth - Chapter 3 - Discipline is Everything

"They beat us there, Coral!  I hope you're happy!"  Cadet Wilson said behind her.  Coral smiled slightly.

"They are winded, and they only beat us to the half way point."  They approached the area where the trail met back up with the training area, and watched as Alpha squad leaned against trees, sat on rocks, tried to look calm, and at the same time, rub it in.  The look in their eyes was priceless as Beta squad kept on running through the compound and back out onto the trail.

"Half way point, Cadets!  Keep your pace, and keep your squadmates up!"  Talia called out, from outside the formation.  "Cadet Wilson!  Keep your mind on the pace and the trail, not on Alpha!"  He cleared his throat.

"Understood, Squad Leader!"  He looked ahead and saw how easily Coral kept the pace she had originally set, and wondered where she got the stamina.  He had no idea just what kind of life she had lived, nor what it took to survive on the surface of this planet without a proper shelter.  Running was often the only course to take.

"Wilson, your squadmate is flaging!  Its your duty to help them until they catch their wind again!  Everyone is responsible!  Remember, if the one ahead of you falls, you'll trip over them if you don't help them!  If the one beside you falls, they will delay the rest of the squad!  This exercise is not about stamina!  Its about supporting your family!"  Talia kept calling out to the squad, kept their mind off the pain in their bodies, and focused on one thing only.  Help their squad.

"What if they are weak?"  Cadet Wilson called out.

"When you reach your limit, will you be perceived as weak?  Or would you hope that someone would help you out?  In space, there is no one else to help, just your squad.  Remember that."  Her voice was deadly hard, and it carried enough to reach the entire squad, but not much further.  "Alpha will try to catch up now, but they will waste a lot of stamina doing so."  Coral frowned.

"If that's the case, they will want to exact a price."  Talia lifted her eyes.  The fact that Coral knew that subtle piece of human behavior let her know something else about her past.  She had an even harder life then she had surmised.  Maybe as hard as Talia's.

"Correct.  I don't know who the target will be.  Whoever they chose, the rest of the squad is not to interfere in how I handle things.  Just alert the sergeant.  Understood?"  All the cadets nodded, and responded in the same quiet tone.

"Understood, sir."  The gravity of her tone let them know it was not for others to hear.




"What's the big idea, girlie?  Trying to make us look bad?"  Four Alpha members entered the barracks of Beta squad not long after the supper meal, and surrounded Cadet Coral.  She blinked.

"Wasn't trying to do anything.  Just the ten kilometers the squad leader set for us."  This answer was true, and logical, and more then enough for someone with a bruised ego to use as an excuse.

"You little bitch!"  The first male reached out and tried to grab her around the neck.  She dodged, not from any martial skill, but from years of practice of avoiding being caught.  She slipped out from between their ranks.

"Don't touch me!"  She growled, and it almost sounded like a feral dog.  She lowered down to all fours, and backed up within the barracks.

"Get back here!"  They all turned towards her, but found an intimidating individual between them and Coral.

"That's my squadmate you're attacking, and this is Beta squad's barracks.  Leave."  Talia was only five foot eight, and no where near her mother's height of six foot two, but her frame carried layer upon layer of hard chiseled muscle, and years of martial fighting experience.  She had learned how to intimidate people from one of the best, her grandfather.  An almost inhuman cold calculating individual who could plan for nearly every contingency.  With his last act against his granddaughter, he had taught her a lesson her mother failed to learn fifteen years earlier.

Remove every threat to your family.  Her mother had failed to learn that lesson, and her daughter had paid the price.  She learned it well, and instead of targeting her mother, the one who was forced to carry the lesson out, she went into her grandfather's study, and held a knife to his throat.  His last words told her the true nature of his actions.

However, looking at four angry Alpha squad members, she knew this situation would be much less dangerous then killing her grandfather.  He was unpredictable, and planned for everything.  These people ran on emotion.  The buckles on their six inch blades were released, and pulled from the sheathes.

Bruised male egos were so predictable.




"Four broken arms, Cadet Talia?"  The lieutenant said in an angry tone.

"And one broken leg, sir.  I had to teach them a lesson.  Don't attack one of my squadmates, and don't pull your knives out of their sheathes to attack someone when they didn't pull theirs."  The sergeant was at the side of his commander, frowned, and turned away.  He went over to the half conscious people of the floor of the barracks, and growled.

"That was the price for attacking a squadmate."  Then he pulled his sidearm out and shot the first one in the head.  "That is the price for attacking someone with lethal force!"  He left the tent.  "Guards, take the others out of Beta's barracks, and execute them!"

"Sir!"  The lieutenant pursed her lips for a brief moment.

"Your squadmates didn't back you up, Cadet?"

"I told them to stay out of it and retrieve the sergeant.  I didn't know who would be targeted, but I did know one of my squad would be a target."  She turned back to her startled squad.  "Beta squad!"

"Sir!"

"Form up!"  All of Beta squad quickly exited the barracks and got into formation, though they still looked shaken up.  "I told you to stay out of the fight because I knew I could disarm them, and didn't know your skills.  Tomorrow, instead of our normal run, we will run martial drills, and ascertain your skills.  For those who do not possess the necessary skills to protect yourself, from a fellow squad mate, or an eater, I will teach you!  Understood?"

"Yes sir!"

"Dismissed for the day."  The sergeant said to the squad.  "Contemplate the actions done here, and what you learned from it."  As they turned away, Cadet Wilson said the best thing they had ever heard.

"Don't fuck with Cadet Talia's squad!  That's what I learned!"  That elicited some chuckles from everyone, including their commanding officer.

"Cadet Talia."

"Yes, sir?"

"Alpha squad either was fully complicit in this attack, sanctioned it, or ignored it altogether.  Any disciplinary actions suggested?"  She stayed quiet for only the briefest of seconds.

"Half rations.  Some of them look a little more fully fleshed then some of my squad.  Particularly Cadet Coral.  She needs some weight put on her frame."  Lieutenant Ayers nodded.

"Agreed.  Homeless topside can eat up any extra fats when you have to outrun storm fronts.  Or eaters."  Talia nodded then turned away when Ayers nodded her dismissal.  The sergeant stepped up to her side.

"She didn't think about that at all.  She already had the answer."  Ayers nodded.

"Plans.  She knew what would happen, and let the details fill in the plans she already made.  A dangerous person to make an enemy of.  And perfect for a leadership role."  The sergeant frowned.

"Ma'am?  Leadership?  I thought you said she was dangerous."

"To her enemies, she is.  To those she considers allies, she helps them.  After all, her squad is her family.  She almost seems to have been bred for this mission.  It has the extra structure where someone like her can advance, and support the entire operation.  Almost feels like it was tailored especially for her alone."  Her words were contemplative.

"Ma'am?  Do you think she might be a relative of the progenitor?"  She shook her head.

"Not sure, but I'm only speculating.  Best not to think too much about it.  If it was designed for her, we get to be the beneficiaries too.  After all, this plan will save our lives in the end."  She looked up into the sky.  "There is a whopper heading our way, according to Lunar Launch Control.  It should be here in twenty four hours.  Get the squads to disassemble the barracks, stow the gear in the bunkers, and wait it out.  Its a cat. 6, so anything above ground will be destroyed.  A fast mover too.  It will be gone within 24 hours, but nothing in its path will be left untouched."

"Understood, sir.  Hard to believe that we consider that a fast mover now, but with the way they almost always stall in place for days at a time, a full day isn't so bad."  He growled slightly.  "I'll get the squads started, and enforce the discipline of Alpha immediately."

"See to it, sergeant.  Without discipline, this will never become a fully functioning unit that can survive up there.  Discipline is everything."