Today is the day I have waited for, the day I will begin my plan to find out who killed my father. My flight to the SCV will depart in a few hours. I only have to wait.
Meanwhile, from another point of view
Good morning, father. How are you today?
I am well, Nadia my daughter. Are you ready for another day in command?
Of course, father. I am always ready.
Nadia, I have told you many times, at the base I am not your father, I am Colonel Friedrich.
Ah yes, sorry. I keep forgetting.
It is fine. Changing the subject, tomorrow several new recruits will enlist in our army. You will be the commander and decide if they are fit to fight in the war.
Okay, I will evaluate them and choose for you, but pa... I mean colonel... how much longer will this war last? There is someone I really want to find again.
Commander Nadia, that is information I cannot tell you. But if you mean the boy you met as a child, he is probably not alive. His father died in the war ten years ago. I do not think he could have survived on his own. As far as I recall his relatives were already gone.
Yes... But what if he survived? I want to find him one day.
Keep doing your excellent work as a commander and when this war ends maybe you will find where he was buried.
COLONEL!
Back to work Nadia. I need to get back to mine.
Okay. See you later.
Life in Veldorgrad, the SCV capital, has grown better since my father became colonel. Thanks to that, people suffer less because of the war. Everything is under control. Today the paper even said we could go to the beach because there will be no rain and no attacks. But I feel like something is not right, like something is happening that my father is hiding from me. I cannot do anything but obey him, since he is my father and my colonel. He said my workload today will not be long so I can take the rest of the day off and be rested to test the new recruits tomorrow.
Activating Raid-Link. Good morning soldiers. Are you all ready for today's battle?
Good morning Commander. We are preparing. Is the enemy approaching?
Not yet. I think they are a bit hesitant to advance. They must think it is a trap.
That is good. Then we still have time to finish preparing. By the way I heard new recruits will be selected for our battalion tomorrow. Who will choose them?
Ah yes. News travels fast. Yes, new recruits will be selected and I will personally choose them tomorrow.
Then we do not need to worry if the newcomers will be good, since you are the best at that.
Thank you, but I only do my job.
We are ready Commander. We are on our way.
Perfect. Wait... what is that. WATCH OUT!
What is happening...
No... No... NO!!!
Commander, what happened?
They... They are all dead. The enemy launched a missile at their base.
Do not worry Nadia. We will pay respects to them and comfort the families.
This is the first time I lose so many soldiers at once. I should go home and rest. See you tomorrow Sergeant Nikolai.
See you, Miss Nadia.
This is what war brings. Grief, pain, suffering. All I want is for this stupid war to end. Thinking that new recruits arrive tomorrow and they could suffer the same fate drives me to focus even more on my goal of becoming a commander and ending this war that has already taken so many lives, both friend and foe. That is why I became a commander. So I can at least help our allies survive on the battlefield. Mistakes happen. I wish none did and that everyone returned safely, but it is inevitable. I will probably be transferred after the new squad formation. For now, I will rest because tomorrow will be a long day.
At last I arrived in the SCV. What was the capital called again? Veldorgrad, the communist nation capital. From now on I am no longer Zephyr Wolfe. I am a simple unemployed orphan named Ivan Petrov. I already hacked the government system and registered my name so no one will suspect I am not from here. For now I must find a place to stay. Huh? Why is that girl walking by crying? She has hair similar to Nadia's, but I do not think it is her. In this city having white hair is more common. It is none of my business. I will just find a hotel.
This city is really big. I do not know where to start. That building looks like a hotel or apartment. It is very tall. I guess about 30 or 40 floors. Veldor Inn. Looks like a hotel.
Good morning. Do you have any rooms available?
Yes, we have two. One on the second floor and another on the twenty-eighth.
I will rent the second floor room. How much?
It costs 800 Rubels.
Okay. Here you go. Thank you.
The room number is on the key so I will go up now. I need to rest because tomorrow is the selection of the new recruits. I cannot be late. I will set the alarm for 8:00 so I can prepare calmly.
The big day of selection arrived. What time did my father say again? Ah yes, 11:00. What time is it? 10:45. I overslept. I need to run to the headquarters.
Pa... I mean Colonel, sorry I am late. Have the new recruits arrived?
You never stop calling me colonel, do you Nadia? Yes, they have arrived. Remember, when you introduce yourself do not use your real name. You have a codename they must call you by. Crimson Blood.
I know Colonel. I will present myself now. See you later.
I arrived a little early. It is 10:00. I wonder how many people are in this batch of recruits. I will wait to find out.
A stranger approaches me. Who are you and why are you sitting there?
I do not owe you an explanation. Who are you?
I am one of the senior soldiers here. I am Maksim, the greatest and most skilled. Watch your words.
To me you are just a narcissistic idiot. Leave me alone.
Argh, you idiot! Maksim lunges to attack Ivan.
Ivan easily dodges and locks Maksim in an arm hold. The colonel appears and sees the situation. Ivan releases Maksim and salutes the colonel.
This is Friedrich. He will be the most difficult target. I hope I do not need to reach him by force. My goal is to kill my father's killer. Once I find him I do not care what happens to the others.
What is going on? Soldier Maksim! Why were you thrown down so easily by a new recruit? Friedrich asks in an authoritative voice.
I was just passing and this guy surprised me. He is crazy. He will not be fit to fight in our army. Maksim argues.
Great. If I need to get closer to Friedrich my plan to gain his trust may be ruined.
Is that true recruit?
Uh? No. I was just defending myself since he was about to attack me.
What is your name recruit?
Ivan... Ivan Petrov.
Hum. Try not to repeat this. Enter. Selection starts in fifteen minutes.
I have everything under control. I will be selected easily. I only have to wait.
Fifteen minutes pass quickly and the selection is about to start.
Welcome new recruits. I will supervise the selection. Call me Crimson Blood. I will select only the best of the best. If you want to join the army you must show strength, endurance, agility, swimming and running. If you want to be soldiers you must show all that and more. Good luck. The first test will be the run.
This will be easy then.
The run course is three kilometers. Recruits must finish within ten minutes. Change in the locker room and dress. The test starts in five minutes.
Hmm. Ten minutes for three kilometers. Last time I did it in nine minutes. I was a beginner then. I wonder how long it will take this time.
What size do you wear?
No need. I brought mine from home. I knew I would need it. Thanks.
I will wait for the others at the track.
Someone with beautiful white hair approaches me and starts asking questions.
Hello. You dressed quickly. What is your name?
I came prepared and brought my clothes from home. My name is Ivan Pretov. Are you the one who will select the recruits?
Yes it is me. I have a question. Why do you want to be a soldier? Do you know there is a big risk of dying on the battlefield?
Yes I know. I joined because I want to one day defeat the best soldier in the AEA. The AEA has a soldier considered the best in the world.
Really? What is his name?
If I remember it was something like Zephyr or Zefiro.
Huh?!
Could it be Zephyr? If so, that means he is alive. But if we are enemies now this meeting could be unpleasant.
That is basically why I enlisted.
Congratulations. You have a good goal. I hope you achieve it.
And you Crimson Blood. May I call you Blood?
Of course.
Why did you join the army?
To be honest I joined to end this war, but also because of my father. He is the colonel. He has not introduced himself yet. Usually he does it after selection.
I spoke with him briefly when I arrived.
What? What happened?
A certain Maksim tried to attack me and I defended myself, but he backed off.
Ah. Maksim has always been a big narcissist, especially after what happened ten years ago.
What happened ten years ago?
I can tell you another time. The test is about to start.
Okay. I will crush it. Cheer for me.
Sure. Blood smiled sincerely.
I cannot appear suspicious, but any information I can get will be useful. My best chance to reach Friedrich, if needed, is to gain Blood's trust. I must not show weakness. I will finish this run as fast as possible.
And the test begins. The course is three kilometers. The run starts now at 11:15. You have ten minutes. Those who do not finish in time are eliminated. There are obstacles like mud and climbing. Sergeant Oleg and I will evaluate you. Good luck.
Now is the time to start. My vision shows about 500 meters of normal running followed by a muddy slope.
Let the party begin.
First normal run then mud. If it is like in the AEA the mud will reach waist height. I need to cross much of it before it reaches my waist. A jump maybe? Not sure. I would lose speed and sink. No choice. I will run as fast as possible.
3... 2... 1... GO!
I sprint ahead of everyone. Unlike them I am trained. I see surprise on Blood's face. She said she would cheer for me but perhaps only to boost me. Nobody expected someone like me to surprise them. I reach the mud and must cross with the best agility possible. I must do this for time. All for my goal. All for my father.
Wow. This recruit is good. He is determined. I wonder his goal. Sergeant Oleg to Blood.
I spoke with him earlier. He said his goal is to defeat the best soldier in the world, Zephyr from the AEA.
I have heard of him. If that is his goal I think he is on the right path. But something makes me distrust him. That look before the run was not simply competition. It was vengeance.
What does he want revenge for?
I do not know. He crossed the mud and now the climb remains.
Now the climb. I am better at climbing than muddy running. This will be the easiest. Let me analyze the wall. There are stones I can step on without using my hands. I will step back to get speed.
Why is he stepping away from the wall Oleg?
I do not know either Commander Blood. Let us just watch.
Ivan runs and leaps, stepping from stone to stone. He reaches the top and jumps back to the ground then sprints for the finish line about 200 meters away.
Now I only need to run to the finish.
Someone tries to strike him. Maksim. He will not accept someone like Ivan in the army. Ivan dodges and keeps running to the finish. Maksim keeps attacking.
I do not want to have to knock this guy down again. That would jeopardize my plan to get closer to higher ranks. The finish line is near. I will keep dodging and run. I can already see Blood.
He is coming. Wait. Why is Maksim there? Is he trying to stop the recruit? Oleg asks.
It seems so. From what Ivan said the two had an earlier disagreement. Maksim does not want Ivan selected.
Just a little more. I can see them clearly.
...
He will not give up but I finished.
Congratulations Ivan. You completed the run in an incredible seven minutes and surprised everyone. But this is only the first test. There are two more. Today there will be just one more, the shooting test.
While I wait I will change.
I passed the first test even with Maksim trying to stop me. Now the shooting test will evaluate aim. I was a sniper so this will be easy.
Back. Blood? What are you doing here?
I was waiting. I want to talk.
Okay. What do you want to say?
It is about your goal. Why do you want to defeat him?
It is a long story. Better another time. I am curious about what happened ten years ago.
Sure. Let us go to the second test.
The second test is about to start. I wonder how it will be. Since I was a sniper my aim will be better than theirs.
Now we begin. You will take turns with weapons and hit as many targets as possible. Each weapon has ten bullets. When you run out you move to the next. We start at 25 meters with a pistol. We will order from the run winners. Ivan Pretov, you will be first.
This will be easy. Just imagine the targets are my father's killer.
I take the weapon and hit the heart of the first target. Ten out of ten. Blood and the sergeant show surprise. We move to 100 meters with a carbine. Twenty bullets. Perfect again. Last phase 500 meters with a precision rifle and only three bullets. Three headshots. The test ends. Only swimming remains and that will be tomorrow. The army prepared a dorm for recruits. Before leaving Blood gives me a note.
Meet me in the courtyard at 18:00 to talk.
I go to the dorm and rest until the time. Soon the hour arrives. I head to the courtyard and Blood is there smiling at me.