Nova Llar- Training Days Page 14
The group continues to discuss their situation and the things they had endured in the simulation. Eventually, they were able to get up and walk around the room and once everyone felt strong enough they left through the open door. The next room contained a long rectangular conference table made of what looked like mahogany, four chairs on either side and one on either end that matched the table. It was a nicely finished room, with light blue matte walls, a window looking out of the building and plants around the edges of the room. The interesting thing about this room, however, was the last of a screen or wall monitor. It was standard to see at least one screen in a room so the absence drew more attention than anything. As the team sat in the chairs, another door opened with Steve and the Colonel stepping through into the room. The Colonel sat at the head of the table with Steve standing behind him to the right. “Welcome back everyone.” the Colonel began. “Firstly I would like to congratulate you on your performance in the survival exercises.” Clara could see Meihui's face twist as she clenched her jaw. “You all performed exceptionally and would go far in most positions here in the solar system. However.” the Colonel paused. “Some of you were deemed unsuitable for this particular mission due to some minor issues we observed. Clara's stomach sank at that. She hadn't coped well with using the gun and if they were monitoring them constantly, they would certainly have seen her weakness after the fact. “Mr Smith. While you performed your duties well you were often distracted by interesting flora Steve introduced around you. On a mission with no backup or external support systems, it is necessary to maintain a strict schedule at all times. As such you are being reassigned to an earth-based role for now. However, if you wish to leave that is your choice.” Jason remained silent but was clearly not happy with the decision. “Mrs Ono. Whilst your performance was exceptional in the simulation there are other factors we need to base these decisions on. Two challenges matching your skills set were presented during your time in the simulation, however, both were dealt with by other individuals in the group. This failure to step up and offer solutions has been the final deciding factor in your termination from the program. Unfortunately, we have been unable to find a place on the base for you to work, but you are free to remain here if you wish.” “May I inquire as to where I failed to step up?” Aimi said evenly. Clara was surprised there was no malice or bitterness in her voice, she genuinely sounded like she wanted to know so she could improve next time. “Certainly Mrs Ono. We will arrange a time to review this in my office.” Looking around the table the Colonel's stare landed on Meihui. “Ms He. Firstly, I would like to say thank you for all you have contributed to this program.” “No.” Clara thought, “They can't be expelling her. What could they be letting her go for?” She was Clara's closest friend here, and her only source of real support after the incident. She couldn't imagine going on without Meihui here. “Due to your performance in the simulations, along with the results from our testing and LF63 training. We have decided to grant you a position on the Nova Llar mission, with immediate effect, to ultimately be the first colony leader once we reach Nova Llar.” The silence in the room was deafening. No-one reacted for what felt like hours. No-one spoke or even tried to. Meihui was the first to say anything. “Do you know what it was like in there Colonel?” she fixed a stare on the Colonel, a wildfire burning behind her eyes. “Do you know what you put this team through? Just so you could assess our responses to ridiculous situations?” Meihui placed both of her hands on the table and started to rise. “Do you have any idea the impact it has had on us? The traumas we have endured, some of which may remain with us the rest of our lives. Now you tell me you want me to be on the mission? To be the first leader of the Colony? How am I supposed to react to all of this?” She was practically panting as she hunched over the desk staring directly at the Colonel, not even blinking. “In all honesty Ms He. This reaction is what we expected. You wouldn't be a very good leader if you didn't care about the well-being of the people you were leading. We had you picked out as the Colony leader from the start actually, you have the right background and experience, we just needed to see who you looked out for when pushed to the extreme.” Meihui's thunder was gone in an instant. Replaced by sheer bewilderment that her test had been her team and not the environment. “As far as everyone's psychological needs go. We have a full staff on hand to assist and everyone is getting what would have been the rest of the survival training to recuperate. If you have any further concerns, I am happy to discuss them with you privately. For now, we would just like to know, do you want the job?”
Chapter 25
The downtime had been a godsend for Joseph after the survival training. By figuring it out first he managed to get four days more than anyone else. Four days he used to catch up on the classroom portions of the training to bring him in line with the top performers. He knew he didn't need to with his spot secured, but he certainly didn't want to be viewed as a slacker just because he had his golden ticket. His team had seen a few more cut's that Team 1. Bret Wilson, Ret Jackson and Rocio Sousa had all been moved out of the mission training for various reasons. The own members of his team left other than himself were Charles and Mitaire Adeyemi, both of which excelled in the survival as well as the usual training program. The losses had been hard to take on both sides, but once the break was over they were all straight back into training. The next few months were even harder than before. The LF training was stepped up another notch and they were now required to spend up to a week in them, even being required to interact on the based as if it were their normal appearance. One element of the training that had changed for the better was the world sim control classes with Steve. Since everyone now knew about the advanced system they would be using on the voyage, it was deemed a good time to start training them in manipulating the environment to their needs. At first, it was difficult to orientate everything correctly. It was all done through a coding interface that only the person editing could see. Getting the coordinates just right proved tricky for some. After Meihui accidentally created a boulder 5 meters above herself and was nearly crushed Steve had worked up a new menu-based creation system controlled by hand gestures. After a few weeks, people were creating some truly spectacular structures and environments. The part that everyone seemed to enjoy the most was the ability to fly. All of the rules in the world could be manipulated or deactivated on a whim. Running towards the edge of a cliff and simply soaring up into the sky, running your hands through the clouds and diving down to run on the water. They had even found a way to convince Steve that races were a useful way to further develop their control of the world around him. Generating creations to slow down your opponent’s whilst manoeuvring through a new course each time was the best way to end a hard day of training and revision.
Today promised to be a particularly exciting race indeed. Steve had constructed a triathlon of sorts, running, flying and swimming. As the participants lined up to start the race Joseph felt the usual buzz of excitement he got before the flag dropped. The first part was the run. They had to cross the field in front of them, navigate a tight forest and clamber over some gigantic sand dunes. The final dune would lead them down to the edge of a cliff. From the edge, it would be an aerial race. The final portion was the underwater challenge. Steve had recently instructed them on how to manipulate the environment to breathe underwater. It was a difficult skill to get as your brain naturally tried to stop you from doing this, but Steve felt they had made enough progress for a more hands-on test. The racers took their positions on the time, overhead a countdown began, “3...2...1...GO!” With astonishing speed, all of the participants took off across the field. Speed here was not determined by the same things as the real world. You could be as fast as you could manage, but when you went too fast you tended to miss things and end up hitting something. They crossed the field in a minute or two and were into the woods. Joseph could see the other candidates ducking and diving between the branches and trunks to get through. He, on the other hand, had a different stra
tegy. As he approached the first tree we concentrated and signalled the delete function with his hands. Instantly the tree was gone and he could progress unhindered. He repeated the process for a second tree, a third, a fourth. However, when he tried on the fifth tree it didn't disappear, it was just standing straight in his way. “Steve must be monitoring us and removed my permissions to adjust this landscape.” thought Joseph as he careered into the tree. Fortunately, all of the safeties were on so he didn't feel anything, he just kind of stopped. Pulling off the tree he ducked around to continue the race. He had lost a few seconds with the collision and it may just cost him his victory. As he emerged from the forest there were two people ahead of him scrambling over the first dune. Flying was strictly forbidden in this portion of the race, but there was nothing about super jumping. As Joseph ran at the dune he pushed off the floor and sailed up and over it with ease, landing on the far dune he scrambled to launch himself again, however, the sand was too loose and he couldn't get enough purchase to push off, well not without starting to fly at least. His leap had made up his position and he pushed on over the dunes trying to get into the lead. The person in front of him turned out to be Charles, and as they crested the last dune Joseph thought of something that might get him in the lead. As he jumped down the far side we quickly created a sort of wooden bowl beneath his feet. Landing in it he sped down the dune, leaving Charles stumbling down after him. The bowl catapulted Joseph over the edge of the cliff and high into the air. He wasted no time and took off like a rocket towards the first marker. Passing over it he went into a nosedive to reach the second and maintain his lead. Only when he reached the second marker he saw a handprint on it, a fresh one. Was someone else in front of him? Pushing himself harder he increased his velocity to the point the wind blowing past his face felt sub-zero. Still, he couldn't see anyone ahead of him and there were only three more markers on the aerial course.
Passing through a cloud at the final marker Joseph could see the water portion of the challenge below. For a moment he thought he saw a splash in the water but it was gone so quickly he couldn't be sure. Gearing up for breathing underwater he sped down towards the water, heading for a hard impact. Just before he hit he held his arms in front of him with his index fingers extended and pressed together. Separating his fingers at the last second the water parted and foamed allowing him a gentle entry to continue the race. Flying wasn't prohibited underwater so Joseph made full use of the ability to move through the water like a torpedo. Weaving around the underwater rocks and kelp forests until he was sure he could see someone in front of him. They seemed to be getting tired. Mental exhaustion manifested as physical exhaustion here. All of the obstacles and challenges took a lot out of you. As he got closer he realised who it was. Clara was a good 200 meters in front of him but he felt like he was gaining with each passing second. While he was concentrating on her he didn't even see the whale swimming towards him, the first he knew it had collided with him from the side sending him spinning. Clara looked back at him over her shoulder and kept moving through the water. “Did she do that?” thought Joseph as he corrected himself and took off after her. She had increased the gap between them and didn't look to be slowing down any more. As Joseph thought about what he could do to win an idea struck him. It was so obvious he didn't know why it hadn't occurred before. He brought up the creative menu and quickly assembled a pair of propulsion boots based on the sub-light engines the Isabella would be using. Attaching them to his feet he activated them at 70% thrust, instantly rocketing forward catching Clara with ease. Evidently, she had thought of this as the next thing Joseph knew he was buried deep in a giant gelatinous structure. From the colour, it appeared to be raspberry. His boots were utterly useless here as the more they accelerated the harder the jelly pushed back. Joseph quickly fashioned a giant drill around his hands and using the boots rotated and twisted his way through the mass. Upon exiting he could see Clara was nearly at the final market, from there it was a straight shot to the finish line. Activating his boots at 100% thrust he got to the marker a few seconds after Clara, changing his pitch to travel out of the water and through the finish line. To his surprise Clara turned to face him and with the most wicked grin he had ever seen she lifted both her hands in front of her face, blew into them, cupping the air in her hands. Joseph knew all too well what was coming, as Clara lifted her hands over her head before bringing them down releasing the air bubble, which expanded with incredible force towards him. There was nothing he could do in the time he had. He passed through the outer edge of the bubble into the void Clara had created. The volume inside the bubble was approximately 10,000 times greater than the visible volume from outside. Essentially a 1-meter bubble on the outside was 10,000 meters on the inside, and because it kept expanding so did the internal volume. Joseph knew there was only one way to get out of these things, and it required time and concentration. Focusing on the space around him Joseph saw the outside of the bubble as if through a set of eyes or camera floating around it. Spreading his arms out wide he felt for the edges and grabbed it, then started pulling until he brought his hands together. The bubble collapsed disappearing into nothingness leaving Joseph floating in the ocean once more. Clara was long gone. There was no way Joseph could catch up but could certainly do his best.
As he shot out of the water he was dismayed to find not only had Clara won, but Charles had someone made it past him also. “That was a dirty trick to pull.” Joseph said to Clara as he landed nearby. “Well it's no worse than the sinkhole you opened under me last week.” she responded with a big smile on her face. “I don't see how creating a pocket universe compares to a sinkhole but I'll accept we are even.” Joseph replied with a wink. “Oh, I never said we were even.” Clara chucked. “Remember a few weeks ago when you turned the vines in the jungle into snakes? I still haven't forgiven you for that.” Joseph laughed holding his sides, “I had completely forgotten about that. That was so funny. Especially when one of them wrapped around your leg and you fell into the side of the tree.” Joseph was practically crying with laughter. “Alright alright, calm down. Just remember I still owe you.” she winked back at him. “You two really are competitive.” Charles chimed in. “Well, when you're both in the running for a spot on a mission like this you tend to be.” Clara said jokingly. Joseph hadn't told anyone about his position on the mission yet. While he was happy he didn't want to cause any tensions with the remaining candidates. They were down to seven now. Meihui had already been given a spot and position as colony leader, Clara, Charles, Mitaire and Shivani were the remaining hopefuls competing for the three remaining spots. One of them wouldn't make it onto the mission and everyone was very aware that they were coming down to the final selection. “Very well done Professor.” Steve said to Clara as he descended from above them. “A very nice use of the microverse technique to take Mr Taylor out of the race.” Joseph knew Steve liked Clara more than the rest of them. They had been friends from almost the beginning of the training and it was obvious. It never affected his objectivity and she got her fair share of gentle instruction just like everyone else. “The training session is over for today. I have been informed that the Colonel would like to speak with all of you in 15 minutes in the conference room. I advise you to disconnect and start heading over there now. I believe he has something significant to discuss with you.”
Chapter 26
As the remaining candidates and Steve entered the conference room with the mahogany table and chairs. Gareth looked at the time on the underside of his wrist. They were 4 minutes late and he was fairly sure he knew why. The sessions with Steve in the world engine were certainly enjoyable, he had his own share of fun in there before the candidates went on their survival training so he couldn't be too harsh on them. Besides it wasn't like they were just slacking off, everything they did in there was preparing them for the journey and mentally coping for 300 years was going to be important. “Thank you everyone for coming. Please, would you ensure you are on time next time though.
” Gareth looked around the candidates to ensure this had settled in. “Now as Steve has probably told you I have called you all here to discuss something of significance to all of you. You are all aware the Meihui had been granted one of the five spots on the mission. What you don't all seem to know if Joseph also has a spot, leaving three spots available. As we have passed the halfway point for the three years of training we feel it is the right time to start moving off base and undertaking some real-world application for what you have learned. Unfortunately for this to proceed we will need to let one of you go, as only 6 of us will be able to undertake these assignments in accordance with the ministry for health and safeties guidelines.” All of the candidates looked around at each other. Not only was one of them going to be leaving the team, but Joseph hadn't told anyone about his position. After a few uncomfortable moments, Joseph spoke. “Well now that everyone knows about my place on the mission, I guess I had better explain why I didn't volunteer the information sooner.” This clearly wasn't the way Joseph had wanted the news to come out, the Colonel did regret having to do it this way but their timescale wouldn't allow any delays and he was never going to deceive his crew by pretending Joseph had only just gained his spot. “No, it's alright.” Clara said sympathetically. “One less spot meant more competitiveness between those of us remaining. We all noticed how you were still pulling us and trying to get us to work harder. You didn't want to deprive any of us the hope there was a spot for us and that's sweet, in its own way.” She was smiling across the table as Joseph, somewhere in the conversations she had taken one of his hands in her own, these people truly were a team now.