The Program [COMPLETED]

Chapter Two

Virgil crossed his arms and looked at Aiden with a devilish grin. He cocked his head towards Eden's direction, making rude gestures. Aiden suppressed his laughter, but smiled inwardly. Leave it to Virgil to make him laugh right before the bad stuff happened.

After Virgil had his fun, he leaned over to Aiden. "So, Rania, huh?"

"What about her?" Aiden swatted him away. Virgil grinned.

"You know what about her," Virgil chided. "When are you gonna make a move on her? She's clearly waiting."

"So am I, you infer." He punched Virgil's arm. "I don't know what I feel about her yet. I mean, she's really cool and I think she's pretty, but-"

"Soldiers of Second Unit!"

All the attention in the room was directed to the leader of the Program himself; General Xylem. Aiden hadn't even realized he'd walked onto the stage. General Xylem was a thin man, with an intimidating demeanor. He demanded respect and settled for little mistakes. He was cutthroat and a man purely of perfection. Aiden had only met him personally on a few occasions, such as when he and Virgil had been promoted to Lieutenants, and received special naming ceremonies. Although, Aiden regularly saw General Xylem make appearances in the monthly Consignment Ceremonies, rare special announcements, occasional assessments and the odd training session in order to observe the progress of recruits. Dominic Xylem was not to be questioned, and he was indebted with the extreme responsibility of keeping the nation in order. Aiden ended his conversation with Virgil, and settled into his seat, alert and ready for the General's address.

"Welcome to the Consignment Ceremony," Xylem began. "Many of you have learned throughout your years in the Program of the importance and gravity of this day. However, for some of you, this will be your very first time participating in a Consignment Day, and therefore, a proper debriefing is in order."

The General was met with silence, although every soldier in the room fought to contain their sighs. Every month they received the same speech from the same man, even when there were no new recruits. By now, Aiden could preach the entire ceremony from memory. It was drilled into his mind. Virgil must have been thinking the same thing, because he put on a fake serious face mimicking Xylem's and began to mouth the words to the ceremony. Luckily for him, he hadn't been spotted; yet.

"Consignment Day is an important day for our society, as it gives us soldiers an opportunity to demonstrate our selflessness and dedication to helping others in our country. We are Creatan's greatest heroes, born and bred to serve and protect our great nation. It is our responsibility to take care of the people of Creatan, and this is the day we remind them of our ultimate promise. Today is a day about giving back to this world where so many others have taken for themselves, by offering our people food, water and supplies to keep the people of Creatan sustained and happy for years to come. Each of you will be given packages to deliver to the various cities of Creatan, each containing a month's worth of utilities. Your assignments will be listed on the Foyer wall. Do your country proud, soldiers. For honor, for justice, for Creatan," Xylem finished.

"For honor, for justice, for Creatan!" the room echoed. The soldiers of Second Unit clapped as Xylem took his seat among his Officials. There he remained perched on the metal chair, his uniform spotless, and nodded to Colonel Asphodel to take over the address. Colonel Asphodel took her position at the podium, speaking to the soldiers in a clear, solemn voice.

"Second Unit is proudly represented by over one hundred and fifty soldiers. Not all of them are in attendance today, due to their participation in other various missions going on throughout the nation," she explained. "You will be placed into squadrons of three to four soldiers. Your squadrons have been posted on the Foyer walls, and you will check these listings immediately following the ceremony. You have each been assigned a pilot and mission command. Once you have arrived at your designated city, you will be greeted by several civilian representatives prepared to collect their supplies for the month. You will remain in your city for approximately three hours until your pilot has returned to escort you back to Second Unit headquarters. If for whatever reason you may encounter an emergency in your city, you will each be equipped with radios so that you may inform your mission command agent and distress troops can be assembled to your location. This situation, however unlikely, is always a possibility, and you should all be somewhat prepared for such events."

"They never fail to make a big drama out of this, do they?" Virgil muttered.

"Good luck, soldiers."

The formalities came to a close as the large mass of soldiers rose from their seats and began flocking to the Foyer walls, ready to review their assignments for the day. Aiden felt confident as he and Virgil approached the listings. They'd done this plenty of times, and were more than capable of handling themselves. All the same, Aiden carried a small hope that Rania would be placed in his squadron. They waited for a few soldiers to clear out of the way before Aiden scanned the list of names.

"Hey, looks like we're on the same squadron," Aiden read.

"Shocking," Virgil yawned, unimpressed. "They're never letting me get rid of you."

"Wait," Aiden paused, frowning. "There's someone else on here, but I've never heard of them before."

"What?"

"You heard me. I've got no clue who they are."

"You must be joking. There isn't a damn person in Second Unit we don't know," Virgil insisted.

Aiden's eyes landed on a word he'd never encountered before. The sight of it made his blood run cold, and he narrowed his eyes in disbelief. He kept re-reading the word over and over again, but it refused to change. He took a moment to comprehend what he was seeing before turning back to Virgil.

"Transfer," he said. Virgil froze in his tracks. "Transfer," Aiden repeated.

The word seemed to catch the attention of nearby soldiers, who began whispering intently. Murmurs swept among the crowd of recruits, who were beginning to slow after hearing the word. It was impossible. The rules of the Program strictly stated that Transfers were forbidden, and the rules were never to be tampered with. Once a soldier was assigned to a Unit, that was it. They were there for life.

Then he saw her.

There was complete silence as every soldier in the room was greeted by her presence. It didn't take long for Aiden to recognize her beauty. Her hair was a silky brown, with streaks of gold that fell in gentle waves to just below her shoulders. Her skin was a light olive color, and she was dressed simply in a Lieutenant's uniform. She might have been completely unremarkable if it weren't for her eyes. It was those that really got Aiden's attention. They were a stormy blue, unlike anything he'd ever seen before. She entered the Foyer, her face emotionless. She walked at a brisk pace, joining the gathering of Second Unit soldiers without so much as a second thought. Aiden couldn't read any emotion that registered from her. He found it oddly frustrating.

After a few minutes of silence, a soldier finally spoke. "Infer!" They shouted from the crowd. A ripple of murmured agreement followed. The girl stared onward, refusing to give in to the insults of the soldiers. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, as if it somehow acted like a shield from the slander she was receiving.

Colonel Asphodel stepped forward from the podium. General Xylem loomed behind her, his eyes dark. He muttered something inaudible in the Colonel's ear. She nodded respectfully, pressing her lips into a thin line. "Carry on, soldiers," she ordered. "Once you've gotten your assignments, head out. Your pilots are waiting for you in the hangars."

With that, soldiers began to exit the Foyer with expressions ranging from anger to confusion to curiosity. The usual chatter within Second Unit had now been reduced to hushed whispers. The girl turned to Aiden and Virgil with a hard stare, seemingly unaffected by the icy welcome she had just endured. If anything, she seemed as though she'd expected just as much. Or worse. The thought made Aiden feel even colder on the inside.

"Lieutenants," she said stiffly. "I'm Lieutenant Zariah Blanche. It appears that I'm the third member of your Consignment Day squadron."