As Nero looked out at the cadets sitting in the back of the truck with him, studying the faces of his peers from the Enlil battalion. The squads, for whatever reason, weren't made up of a careful mix of cadets. Instead, they were assigned their own battalion. This way their composition wasn't entirely balanced, but maybe that was closer to what they'd be facing in reality once they were deployed.
Upon the faces of his new squad, Nero could detect a faint hint of anticipation. Apple picking season was something all of them heard about their entire lives. It was dangerous, yes, but it was also routine.
It was a regular way in which the behemoth that was the Kolari army cooperated with the civil government to harvest resources. It was the reason that apples were the most common fruit in the country, and why Nero had grown up eating apple flavoured desserts.
