(Briefings are the worst… but hey, new combat armor!)

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The briefing was short and sweet, to the point, and completely unlike anything Tavi had sat through during ACS back on Mars Primus. It would be a full drop for Bravo Company, with 4th and 5th Squads being selected to be on what the CO of Bravo Company termed “civvie duty.” During the training drop on Sagetnam, they would be carrying a full loadout, including hauling around one-hundred-pound rucks to simulate the civilians they would be babysitting. This would help them prepare for any and all eventualities, including moving the civilians to safety whether they wanted to be moved or not.

The lighter gravity on Sagetnam was identical to their actual mission site, another reason the Legion had chosen it for its training exercise locale. Tavi had never been on a low-grav world and was interested to feel the difference.

Once the briefing was concluded, Jabber took Tavi to Bravo Company’s armory. It was here he met arguably the most important person on the ship—the armorer, Sergeant Afton Klau.

“Call me Claw,” the armorer said once introductions had been made. He held up a prosthetic hand, whose metallic fingers were slightly curled, and smiled. “For obvious reasons. Lost the hand . . . six years ago? Training accident. Tried to cook a grenade before tossing it, but it had a short fuse. Oops. Hamatic combat suits are good, but not good enough to prevent them from having to amputate my hand when every bone in it was broken and pulped because of my stupidity. Still, two years left and I’m a citizen. Because it’s my off hand, I can do combat deployments.”

“Also a valkan good armorer,” Jabber added. “Great at his job.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, Jabber.” The armorer turned an appraising eye on Tavi. “Hmm. Smaller than I normally kit out. Still, I have an HCS somewhere in here that’ll fit you for now.”

“For now?” Tavi asked.

“According to your chart, you’re predicted to hit a few more growth spurts before your term of service is completed. I’ve got a feeling I’ll be seeing you a few more times before my own service ends.”

He’d been told as much back at ACS, but he really hadn’t believed it at the time. Tavi had always been smaller than most, thanks to malnutrition as a child. Now that he was in the Legion and eating regularly, as well as working out constantly, he was supposed to be growing. He hadn’t seen anything yet, though. He hoped this supposed growth spurt would kick in soon.

Tavi eyed the suit as Sergeant Klau began taking his measurements. They’d covered the suit, and more importantly, the non-Newtonian ballistic gel which existed inside, during his intense six months on Mars Primus. There was so much science behind it that Tavi had a hard time remembering everything he’d learned, especially considering everything else he’d had to learn since leaving Overdark—like reading. One thing that did stick in his head had been the most important thing drilled into them by their instructors—if one broke, take it to the armorer. That was their job. Case closed.

However, the version he’d worn at ACS had been older. This version had a wavy pattern in between the gel chambers of the skin-tight ballistic suit, as well as a different texture. It felt grainy, not smooth, reminding him of concrete or pavement. He asked Sergeant Klau about the differences.

“Well, those older suits are worn by everyone cycling through ACS,” Sergeant Klau responded as he began pulling out the kinetic plates for the suit. “The friction gets worn down over time, understand? Plus, these newer suits have the regenerative camouflage, which means they have to have the rougher texture. If not, the camouflage looks flat and wrong against a backdrop, and draws the eye to it. Plus, this model has a diffused battery system in the back. The ones you trained in at ACS still have the circular packs in the small of your back, don’t they?”

“Yes, Sergeant,” Tavi answered.

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Missed the previous snippets? No worries, I got you covered.

• Snippet 16
• Snippet 15
• Snippet 14
• Snippet 13
• Snippet 12
• Snippet 11
• Snippet 10
• Snippet 9
• Snippet 8
• Snippet 7
• Snippet 6
• Snippet 5
• Snippet 4
• Snippet 3
• Snippet 2
• Snippet 1