The sheet was suddenly ripped off our heads. The bright lights around me forced me to squint in pain after being in the dark for an hour.
We were told we couldn't see the official Base where the army was boarded. Then we were promptly stuffed into a military helicopter with a bag over our heads.
Great start, dontcha think?
"This is Dak Fox; he will be your Unit Leader." The Chancellor held out a hand in gesture. "Each Unit consists of six individuals, one of which is your UL." "Unit Leader Fox will explain the Sector's rules and take you to the rest of your team." I guess we'd be meeting our unit later. "Good luck. I'll be watching." She said ominously, then swiftly exiting the dark chamber we were standing in, her two guards following.
The cold, quiet chamber we were standing in was eerie, maybe 60 by 20. The floor was a weird rubber material crosshatched in a black pattern. Lining the walls looked like charging stations holding something with multi-colored lights. Some were green, others red, blue, yellow, purple, orange, turquoise, fuchsia, you name it.
They must mean something; they didn't just have em there for ornamental purposes. The walls were a metal base with indents of light beams in a symbol. One side red, the other blue. The symbol was a circle, with a ball of fire inside and four spokes protruding out along the length of the wall in each direction. The walls looked vaguely blue due to the odd lights above that were black lights. It looked like every futuristic movie you'd ever seen.
"Rise." Our Unit Leader commanded.
I looked at Derek then back to Fox as we got to our feet. I swayed a bit; the helicopter ride was not smooth. Military copters are not made for comfort, believe it or not.
"Welcome to the Sector." He paused. "This is where we train for battlefield situations. Grab a vest."
I gingerly stepped across the rubbery crosshatched surface to the line of vests in front of me. I grabbed the closest one to me, green. The light faded when I touched it, and now it was black.
I shrugged it on. It was lightweight, with hard plating on the chest, back, and shoulder pads. A cuff dangled from the vest on a thick rubber cord. I slipped it over my wrist; it took up a good six inches of my forearm. I tightened the metal plating using the latches, so it wouldn't slip off, then the screen came to life.
Fox grabbed my left forearm and roughly pulled it towards him, jerking my body forward. He tapped the keypad a few times, and my vest turned blue. He did the same to Derek's, then started walking.
We exchanged looks and rushed after him. He flung open the door determinedly as if he was about to head out onto the battlefield. This was not fun and games to him. Fox touched his own wristband, then his vest glowed green. We followed his large stride into a smaller corridor with a set of double doors at the end of the hall, maybe 50 feet away. The passage was darker than the chamber we were just in. The only light you could see was from our vests. Two blue and one green. Then three more blue lights showed up at the end of the hall.
"This is your unit. From left to right, we have Adams, Griggs, and Armstrong. Recruits Davenport and Masters." He nodded to us.
Adams, a man, was hard to see but had muddy brown hair and matching eyes with glasses. Maybe 5'10. Griggs, male, same height, blonde hair, blue eyes, very young looking, wide-eyed, unsure. And Armstrong, female, finally, light brown hair, one side of her head was shaved with some sort of symbol, blue eyes, definitely hard-core. Doesn't take crap from no one.
"Davenport, huh?" Armstrong tweaked her mouth, looking at me like a meal. I swallowed. "You should go back to your private wing, don't want people seeing you rub elbows with us." She said snidely.
