Fragments Gallery
Reavers: Arena Six
The young man, his name was Colin Andrews but everyone called him Sellsword, sat up in his bed as alarms sounded from the corridor outside the room. It took him a moment to blink the sleep from his eyes but once he had he sat up and immediately dressed. Within seconds he was in his uniform and standing outside of his room. His training officer, the man’s name was Sargent Barnes but they all called him Stickler, emerged from his room at the end of the corridor; the moment he emerged he began to survey the row of students forming in the corridor. Sellsword and the young woman next to him, Freya , exchanged grins as a young man they jokingly called Sloth was the last into the corridor again. As always Stickler shot Sloth a glare before he walked down the aisle counting his charges. Once he reached the end Stickler nodded to himself and then he slowly walked back up to the head of the column.
"That was satisfactory but a few of you still don't know what it means to 'turn out.' When that alarm goes off I expect you to pull on your uniform and immediately stand out in the hall," Stickler turned his gaze to Sloth, "You're not going to stop and do your hair next time. In a combat situation you need to be ready. Do you understand?"
"Yes Sir," Responded Sloth his face expressionless.
"Good. You all have 30 minutes at the mess and then I expect to see you at the arena. Arena six. Dismissed."
As one the line turned and marched off down the hall, the moment they turned a corner and left the Stickler's line of sight they fell into less organized ranks.
"So?" Freya asked.
Sellsword turned to her, "So what?"
"Yesterday after training Stickler hinted we'd be introduced to something new today. Remember? Everyone here's talking about it. You have any guesses for what we're going to see today?"
"Right. I forgot about that."
"I can tell. Any thoughts now?"
They entered the mess and grabbed their morning rations and sat down at a nearby table.
"I don't know," said Sellsword, "Maybe flight school?"
"Can't be, Renegade asked about that last month they told us we wouldn't be put in flight until sixth year at least, so we still have a couple years to wait."
"I don't know then," Sellsword said as he moved all of his oatmeal into a great mound, then he asked, "What's your guess?"
"I don't have one. I'm at a bit of a loss; I thought that we'd been introduced to everything we were going to see before flight. I even asked Cyclops," At his puzzled expression she sighed and elaborated, "You know who he is, one of the older students, the big blond guy who closes one eye in simulations. Anyways I asked him. He said the next big new topic should be flight and like I said I'm pretty sure we still won't be seeing that for a while. My best guess is we're seeing something new. I don't just mean new to us. I mean new to the school."
"Sweet."
Once their trays were empty they stood and left the mess. Sloth was waiting for them at the door and as they approached he fell in beside them.
"Do you two know which arena we're heading to?" He asked them.
"Six isn't it?" replied Sellsword.
"Yeah we're going to six, don't you see?"
"See what?" asked Frey growing exasperated.
"Arena six has been closed for the last four months. The instructors said it's been undergoing routine maintenance."
"So?" asked both Freya and Sellsword.
"When has 'routine maintenance' ever taken four months? It always takes a week. Always. And now we're going to be the first group to enter the room since they locked it down. This is something big."
Sellsword nodded, "You're right. I hadn't thought about that."
"I knew it!" exclaimed Freya, "This is something new!"
"But what?" asked Sloth.
"We'll find out soon." said Sellsword.
Arena six was in one of the back corners of the facility so it took them a few minutes to reach the doors. Freya swiped her card in the door and when it opened they passed through. Upon entering the room they moved forwards to join the growing group of their classmates standing in the middle of the entry room. Only the center lights were on, so only the centre of the room was lit. The outer edges and the arena remained dark. Within a few minutes Stickler joined them. As he entered the room the students all moved into formation. After eying them to see if they were all in place Stickler took his place in front of the left side of the column. Within moments the Colonel, the head of the facility, entered the room. He cleared his throat and began to speak.
"You represent some of the most promising students, some of the most promising young warriors, this facility has to offer. Because of this you have been selected to be the first students trained to be part of the Reaver division. Flight school has been pushed back to start in year seven as from now on in year four students will begin Reaver school. I won't waste any time explaining this new division today, for now I want to see how you cope with the new program. We will debrief after your final meal of the day. Dismissed."
As one the students saluted as the Colonel left the room. When he passed through the door the lights all turned on, fully illuminating the room. The arena had been expanded upon; the room was now big enough that they couldn't see the far wall. Trees and other natural obstacles had been added into the room, it now looked like an ancient forest. Sellsword stared out into the forest trying to see what it could possibly be for.
"Sellsword… look," said Freya at his side.
He turned and found what she was looking at. Normally at the sides of the entry room they had equipment storage rooms, various control rooms or sometimes even a garage for any vehicles used in the arena. This time was different. This time there were several rows of mechanical monstrosities at the edges of the room. The machines easily stood twice as tall as any person and they were humanoid in shape. Both arms ended with a mechanical hand, and hanging at the machine's 'hip' was an enlarged rifle. But there was no head at the top of the machine, instead there was an open cockpit holding two seats.
"Behold the Reavers," Stickler said, a grin painted across his features as he gestured towards the machines, "They are the military's newest tool, these ones are some of the first ones we have built. You will be trained to fight as partners in the Reavers, alone in a Reaver, and as an infantry squad against them. Reavers are the future of warfare, and we intend to win. Am I understood?"
"Yes Sir!"
“Now break into partners and I’ll explain the program for today.”
Sellsword and Freya grinned at each other as they moved to stand together. This was better than they could have imagined.