The mechanical voice over the loudspeakers rang through the Academy's field zone:
"Cadets, your trial begins in sixty seconds. Check your HUDs. Work with your team. Survive the scenario. Good luck."
Olivia adjusted the straps of her vest, her fingers moving with methodical precision, but her heart hammered like a drum in her chest. She glanced at the mission briefing on her wrist unit, scanning the objective. She had to keep her focus.
Team 9: Olivia Compostal, Dex Harmel, Yira Vos, Hal Bren.
Objective: Escort a high-value asset (simulated civilian) across hostile terrain to the extraction point.
Time Limit: 45 Minutes.
She didn't know them, not by name or reputation. Dex, with his cocky swagger, arms crossed, and eyes narrowed. Yira, calm and observant, eyes calculating under her short buzzcut. Hal, nervous and twitchy, clutched his gear like it might vanish at any moment. Four strangers, bound together by the trial. She wasn't certain they'd make it, but she had to keep her head straight.
The gate opened.
Into the Simulation Zone
The world around them shifted. A war-torn colony town lay ahead—burned-out hovercars, debris scattered across cracked roads, and collapsed buildings rising like tombstones. Smoke machines hissed in the distance, artificial chaos blending with the sound of distant drone whirs.
Somewhere within this maze of destruction, a civilian AI dummy crouched behind a broken fountain, waiting for them.
Olivia exhaled slowly, trying to calm her nerves. She didn't have time to second-guess herself. "Alright," she said, voice steady despite the tightness in her chest. "We move in a wedge formation. I'll lead. Hal, you're on the civilian. Yira, left flank. Dex, right. Keep your eyes open for drones."
Dex scoffed, arms crossed, a half-smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "You giving orders now?"
"I'm making a plan. Got a better one?" Olivia's gaze locked with his. He said nothing. For now, that was enough.
Early Success
The first ten minutes went smoothly. They stuck to the plan—Olivia leading, scanning for threats, calling out shifts in formation as they moved through alleyways and narrow courtyards. Her instincts guided them, and her sharp eye for detail allowed them to avoid two drone squads without a hitch.
Yira caught her gaze, offering a quick nod. "Not bad."
Olivia didn't allow herself to feel pleased. She had a job to do.
But then, as they approached the halfway point, the terrain shifted. The path ahead narrowed into an open stretch of burned road. Two drones hovered near the far end, laser sensors scanning. There was no cover, and the drones' positions made it nearly impossible to move forward without being pinned down.
Dex eyed the drones, fingers twitching toward his rifle. "Can we take them out?"
"No," Olivia said, her voice calm but firm. "Too risky. We'll get pinned. We go around, through that market ruin to the left."
Dex didn't hide his displeasure. "So we crawl through trash instead of fighting?"
She locked eyes with him. "You want to fail the trial?"
Dex met her gaze for a long moment, then let out a huff and nodded, stepping in line.
They moved.
The Crack in the Glass
They pushed into the ruins, staying low, moving quickly—but then Hal, always jittery, tripped a proximity sensor. A siren wailed, shrill and deafening.
Drones activated on all sides, closing in fast.
"Ambush! Scatter!" Olivia shouted, diving behind a collapsed stall.
The air hummed with tension as lasers zipped past, scorching the air. Dex took a hit to the shoulder, his HUD flashing red to indicate a "wounded" status.
"Dammit," Yira muttered, pulling Hal behind a support beam as the chaos unfolded. Olivia's pulse raced, and doubt gnawed at her insides. She'd been the one to make the call to move through the market. Her plan. Her responsibility.
This is your fault. You can't keep it together.
You don't belong here.
Her mind spiraled for a split second, the weight of the mission threatening to crush her.
"Compostal!" Yira's voice snapped her out of it. "Orders?!"
Olivia froze, not physically, but in her head. The world felt like it was closing in. The plan was crumbling, and she was failing. Her vision narrowed, blood pounding in her ears. The anxiety gripped her, the suffocating feeling of self-doubt creeping up.
And then, out of nowhere—Mason. His smile from that day on the cliffs. The way he'd said, "Just promise you'll be there."
Her breath caught. She took in a slow, deep breath, focusing. Mason's image became her anchor.
She straightened her shoulders, letting go of the panic. The path forward was still there. She just had to see it.
"Yira, suppressing fire—two-second burst," Olivia barked, her voice now sharp, commanding. "Dex, left alley, smoke 'em. Hal, grab the asset and move. Go."
Without waiting for confirmation, they moved.
Yira opened fire, her bursts of energy flashing toward the drones, while Dex made a break for the left alley, smoke grenades already flying. Olivia flanked right, finding an opening, and took down one of the drones with a clean shot.
The path cleared, but there was no time to linger.
The Final Stretch
They reached the extraction point—a raised platform that glowed with the blue of success. Hal, panting, dragged the AI civilian to it, his hands shaking from the stress of the mission. Olivia glanced at the timer.
2 minutes, 13 seconds remaining.
"Target secured," the system intoned, a sterile, impersonal voice. "Mission success."
Olivia exhaled. Her heart still raced, but the worst was behind them.
Debrief
As they walked back toward Field Theta, Dex didn't speak a word. He was probably still nursing his bruised ego. But Yira, ever observant, slowed to walk beside her.
"You're sharp under pressure," Yira said quietly. "Even when you think you're not."
Olivia looked at her, feeling the weight of Yira's words and her own conflicting emotions. "What makes you think I don't?"
Yira shrugged. "You had that look, like you were already blaming yourself before anything even went wrong."
She wasn't wrong.
Olivia's chest tightened. She didn't know how to voice the thoughts swirling in her mind. The truth she wasn't sure anyone would understand.
I don't belong here.
I'm not like them.
I didn't come here to fight… I came here for him.
But she didn't say any of that. She just nodded, boots heavy on the ground as they walked toward the next trial, thoughts tangled in ways she didn't know how to share.