Inside the Federation's training camp, life was far easier, and far less bloody, than in a certain other place...

  One uneventful week had passed since the chimeras woke up and arrived there. As the name suggested, this place, although right next to a Federation’s base, was a training camp. Which meant that even if the trainees were chimeras with uncommon genes and powerful bodies, the daily routine was dull: simple drills, weapon practice, physical conditioning.

  At least, that's how it felt to one particular ex-military from Earth... Louis.

  For others, this might have been a thrill: a world of unmatched technology, their bodies strengthened beyond human limits. But Louis wasn't here to marvel. He had no interest in lazy comfort.

  He wanted answers... and to be in control of the situation.

  Because to win a war, you needed to know yourself... and your enemy. And the "enemy", at least in his eyes, was currently the Federation. The reason being that there was no such thing as free bread—not on Earth, not here. Louis suspected the Federation was hiding something from the players or planning to use them in future conflicts completely unrelated to them. And being a slave of a powerful global organization was obviously a bad idea.

  So while the others went through their normal routines, Louis followed a different one: regularly sneaking into the Federation's base to gather intel.

  Today, just like yesterday and the day before, he put on a soldier recruit's uniform and quietly stepped into the building.

  His goal this time was more ambitious. He planned to slip into the archives and retrieve whatever valuable information he could carry. If he was careful enough, then even if someone noticed that documents were missing, nobody would suspect him.

  But as he walked confidently through the base's corridors, a stray conversation stopped him in his tracks.

  Two high-ranking officers stood ahead, talking in low voices.

  "The scouting team noticed unnatural movements from an ancient centipede near the northern mountains. They say it was leading an army, a thousand of its kind," one said, arms crossed, face tight with concern.

  The other's expression hardened. "Have you informed the Colonel? This could be dangerous. We might win a direct fight, but the cost in lives would be high."

  "I haven't had the chance," came the reply. "The Colonel's been summoned to an important meeting by General Kudosva. He won't be back for at least two weeks."

  "Then we should dispatch one squad for a thorough investigation. Let's inform the other captains. We’ll need multiple strategies to handle this."

  Louis stopped listening. He'd already heard the important part.

  Perfect. An investigation team heading to the northern mountains? That was his chance to leave the camp without raising suspicion. If he could join them and slip away mid-mission… and maybe even stage an "accident", he could disappear without anyone knowing.

  Still, before making that move, he wanted to grab what he came for. His fairy genes allowed him to store about five cubic meters in subspace according to the tests he had made, and a stack of documents wouldn't even come close to that limit.

  He turned to head for the archives... but one of the officers noticed him.

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  "Hey, you," the first one called, voice sharp. It was the same man Louis had encountered a week ago. "Did you overhear what we just said? And why are you here? Did you get lost again?"

  Louis turned around and saluted.

  "Yes, sir. I was on my way to the dormitories. I apologize if this was classified—I'll keep my mouth shut, sir!"

  Luckily, the dorms actually were in that direction.

  The two captains exchanged a glance, clearly suspicious. Finally, one sighed.

  "No need. An announcement will be made soon to put the base on alert. You can go."

  Louis could have taken the easy way and walked away, but opportunity was knocking, it would be rude to refuse.

  Thereupon, he started, "Sir, if I may... could I volunteer for the investigation team? I've never been in a real operation. I think this could be an excellent chance to improve myself!"

  He added a touch of youthful eagerness to his tone, and it strangely worked.

  The first captain grinned.

  "I like your initiative, recruit." He paused, thinking for a moment. "Fine. Report tomorrow at 0900 hours to the soldiers of the 13th Platoon, north gate. Don't be late."

  "Sir! Thank you, sir!" Louis straightened his back, voice full of energy.

  As they walked away, he caught a faint question from the other captain:

  "Are you sure about bringing a rookie on a mission like this?"

  "Relax. They won't even engage the enemy. And my team are veterans. A few rookies won't drag them down."

  "So you want to select more..—!"

  Louis didn't care to hear the rest. He had work to do.

  *

  The archives laid behind a solid, explosion-proof metal door. But Louis had already solved that problem days ago.

  Void Walk.

  One of the few abilities granted by his fairy genes. It allowed him to step into a dimension of nothingness. By moving within it, he could emerge elsewhere in the real world. Dangerous, yes, if he misjudged the distance, he might rematerialize inside a wall and die instantly. But he'd seen Colonel Verdra enter this room before, so he knew exactly how many steps to take.

  Louis closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and stepped forward.

  The air vanished. His lungs tightened as he held his breath. Around him stretched a strange, empty space. A floor of translucent blue glass beneath his feet, and shifting waves of pale light in every direction, like a blurred aurora.

  'Quite the beautiful sight.' He thought in complet wonder.

  He took two more steps, each one draining his magical power like water from a cracked barrel. Even simply remaining here consumed a fair amount of energy.

  'This should be far enough...'

  Louis closed his eyes again before opening them again, in darkness.

  Finding the light switch, he illuminated the room. Row upon row of filing cabinets gleamed back at him.

  "Time to get to work."

  Pulling open drawers, he searched quickly, tossing documents into his subspace storage. Void Walk was exhausting, but opening the storage wasn't. Thus he grabbed everything that seemed somewhat useful without any second thoughts.

  ***

  Next morning—North Gate, 08:20 AM

  "Man, the captain told me we have to drag some rookies along. What was he thinking?"

  "Don't overthink it. At least we get to show off for the juniors," the other replied, elbowing him.

  "Hmph. I just hope we don't hit trouble..."

  The 13th Platoon was one of the elite non-enhanced units under the Colonel's command, this small squad was composed of its best elements: one lieutenant and six sergeants, all veterans. With 45 platoons in total, the first fifteen were considered the cream of the crop among "normal" soldiers from the Federation, while the rest were enhanced troops, modified to rival the rare 'Awakened.'

  This mission was a chance for the 13th to prove they could match the enhanced without artificial help.

  By 08:50 AM, everyone had arrived, including Louis who had made sure to arrive early. But to his surprise, he wasn't the only "new recruit" assigned to the mission. Four others from his supposed batch were there as well.

  That meant one thing: he had to be very, very careful.

  Each recruit introduced themselves, and the same went for the soldiers from the 13th Platoon. Since revealing his name could be risky, as all the players were similar to celebrities in this place, Louis chose an alias: Cinza, which meant "grey" in Portuguese, his mother tongue.

  As soon as the introductions were over, the platoon's section chief addressed the group.

  "Since everyone's here, we'll depart ahead of schedule. You've all been briefed on the mission beforehand. Got any questions?"

  Silence.

  "Good. Let's move out."

  As soon as the words were said, everyone headed to their vehicles—small armored military quads, enough to fit four persons each and some supply.

  They were twelve in total, including five recruits, separated into three different cars. Louis was in the second one, along with another recruit and two sergeants.

  'I hope nothing goes wrong...' With that thought, the team advanced through the forest toward the northern mountains.

  ___ ___ ___