White Rose: The Sword and The Shield [Closed/Reboot]

[Ascenon]

"I wonder if they will give us some field work?" Alexander questioned outloud.

[Aeyariss]

CAPTAIN EDWARD RENATA
Bravo Company-3rd Battalion-1st White Rose Regiment

Captain Edward Renata entered his own private office, those designated for all the instructors in White Rose, around 1100 H in the morning after his brief interview meeting with one of the academy in charge of the Basic Officer Training faculty, and beginning to enjoy the perks of being a senior company line officer. The room itself, some 3x3x3 in meters in size, was quite spacious for him despite its spartan looks; the previous occupants, a recently promoted Major, had left only a week earlier for her next field assignment, leaving the room empty with only the polished oak table, empty bookshelves on the wall, another smaller glass table with a computer on top next to the larger table – Edward thought putting them on top of the oak wood would seems rather strange – fitted with his own personal printer, phones. Next to the door and by the wall was a sofa set for his own visitors. Now this is a place where he is willing spend at least several hours of his time every day for the next three tours (three years) as he completes his training assignment for the incoming intake.

The rather big round clock hanging by the wall showed 1105 H, he checked his own wrist watch to ensure they are correct and saw his own clock was 2 minutes faster than that. Well he will need to synchronize his own clock later own based with the academy clock; he thought making a mental note remembering how he was told by the CO earlier that White Rose have a strict time discipline, a long standing tradition and an unbroken standard that he too is expected to meet and maintain without any failure throughout his tenure here. That’s not going to be a problem. He was punctual all the time, the young officer thought.

Taking off his own outer uniform, Edward seated himself in the large plush office chair and began inspecting the drawers on the polish table, and found a white envelope with a hand written words; To Captain Edward Renata. With his curiosity aroused, he reached for it and opened it where the letter from the previous occupants of the office had decided to leave something for the new comer. He began reading it, and only managed to smiled concluding that it was quite a kind gesture from his predecessor. It was basically a short letter which summed up her own wonderful experience here for the last 3 years and how much she had enjoyed working in White Rose with the cadets and how she hoped the next occupants - Edward - will be as successful and had a wonderful time as she had.

“My, thank you Major Valerie.” he never met her before, but decided he will look up and try to keep in touch with her after this. Then he heard a knock on the door.

"Permission to enter the captain's office, sir." A voice boomed out from the other side of the door.

"Enter." The new instructor said. The door knob turned and the door opened. From the outside a senior staff sergeant with the name Axel on his velcro name tag, who is in full service dress uniform, with all the medals awarded to him worn on the breast, and head wear, began marching and halt a few feet before Edward, stood at erect attention before finally saluting his young officer handsomely. Edward returned the salute.

"200571, Staff Sergeant Axel Ronald Senior, Chief Drill Sergeants, reporting for duty, sir."

"Right, you're my assistant. At ease Staff Sergeant and be seated. Glad finally to meet you."

"The honor is mine sir, the honor is mine." Axel said, repeating himself. He seemed delighted to have met the Captain. Axel glanced at the medals worn on the young captain, which already seemed to have as much as he had despite being in the service for 18 years now, and Edward too noticed all those decorations worn on the staff sergeant uniform, seeing all those campaign participation told the captain he had an able and highly experienced non commissioned officer assisting him.

"So looks like we will be spending the next three years together. Let's work together shall we." Edward Renata offered a shake, which is warmly accepted by the senior soldier.

"I will be glad to, Captain. Also if it's not too late, congratulation on your promotion and welcome home to the Empire."

"Thank you, staff sergeant. So what's the situation here looks like?"

"Sir, I'm supposed to tell you that our next batch of cadet will be arriving momentarily. They left the capital at 0930 H this morning and we expect them to arrive at 1130 H. We, the drill sergeant would like to know, if you care to join us in receiving the new cadets? Though I'm sure you have a lot of things to do considering how you've just moved in into the institute as well, if it is not too much trouble for you."

"Thank you staff sergeant but I'm afraid I will have to pass on this offer. I'll introduce myself to the platoon tonight after dinner at 2200 H. Before that I'm afraid I'll have to meet with the Commandant and have lunch with him, the dean and the rest of staff here." the captain glanced at the wall, so his new charges are arriving in about 20 minutes from then. Great. Well there's no rushing in getting to know his cadets. He had the next 3 years to do that.

"Yes sir. 2200 H, I'll get the company squared away and be done with all the receiving process and administrative work by then."

"Alright, is that all sergeant?"

"Yes, sir. Permission to carry on, sir."

"Carry on, staff sergeant. And oh, if you can, try to cut them some slack on their first night here....let the welcoming 'tradition' start tomorrow will you, let's have them a full night sleep before anything exciting started." Captain Edward Renata smiled knowingly.

"Yes, sir." Axel saluted, turn about face and march himself outside of the office once again.

---

THE CONVOY

The convoy is reaching their final destination, as the buses journeyed across the autobahn, they arrived at the final landmark which will bring them directly into the White Rose Special Military Administration Zone, a whole province in the heartland of Aeyariss dedicated to raising future combat leaders & warrior scholars; it was a large long tunnel entrance which cut across a high at the side of the ocean, which long enough the occupants inside the buses can't even look at the light at the end of the tunnel - because the road inside curved into an arc.

The drivers at the lead bus slowed down as they entered the tunnel, and all the buses trailing him followed suit, and it took several minutes before all the buses exited the tunnel and the road began taking them downhill toward the beaches and lower ground the massive military training complex began to come into full view. White Rose, is practically a coastal military town with its own naval dockyard, air bases - though they were smaller in size, but the army training facility is pale in comparison. The academy expanded throughout the horizon.

In terms of geography, White Rose is located in a secluded valley, flanked on its South, and East by the mountain range that began to divide central Aeyariss. To the North was another high grounds, with a number of hills covered by tropical forest, and to the west is the vast West Aeyariss Ocean, where the only other facility lies at the White Island, which also belonged to the academy. There is no other populated areas within 120 kilometers from any direction, and the only primary in road was the autobahn that they has just passed through since the last several hours. The panoramic views of the ocean and the mountain sides and the lush green hills to the north of the valley are simply breathtaking, if this place had been turned into a coastal resort it would have been a paradise. The surrounding areas, untouched by urbanization almost gave out a serene if not spiritual sense to anyone who reside in the area.

Of course, the main reason why it was untouched is because they are left for field training exercises, the high hills, the tropical jungles, and the shorelines and its own island, all are specifically designed to provide candidates in White Rose to experience all manners of environment where might have to serve and fight in the future. Amphibious operations. Jungle operations. Mountain operation. Urban warfare. White Rose got most of them - with the only exception, arctic and desert environment (those later are located in another special school at the southern region of the sub continent). And in this place, for the next three years, all the new cadets will soon experience the gruesome life of being in the most prestigious military academy throughout the Most Serene Empire of Aeyariss.

The buses passed through several layers of fenced gates before entering the a small parking field/ parade areas of the academy right outside the administration building known as the Town Hall. About 700 meters to its west, lies the apartment complexes where the cadets are billeted in.

And so, everything begins here.

[United States of Conner]

Marcus looked around at the White Rose complex. It certainly was impressive. With barbed wire fences, massive buildings, this looked like a fine place to train. Marcus slung his bags over his shoulder, grabbed his duffel bag, and said, "Alright. Let's do this!" He waited for the others to grab their stuff.

[New Roma Republic]

Even in sleep, he felt the bus slow, and saw the light disappear. Slowly, Centurion Jonah B. Ames opened his eyes. He was a bit sore from the sleep because he was wearing ancient Roman armor, which is the dress uniform for the New Roman Military. He could clearly see that they were in a tunnel, though he did not know where. The Jet-lag greatly affected him, and he fell asleep a few minutes after the bus ride started. I wonder where we are. he thought as the bus got closer to the light at the end of the tunnel. As they left the tunnel, Ames was awestruck by the beauty of the facility; on the west was the glimmering ocean; east and south there were mountains, forming a valley, great for hiking, if time permitted; and on the north, there was a magnificent tropical forest, probably also great for hiking. Though looking at it all, Ames realized why the Aeyarissians chose here for military training: it provided most types of warfare. This was a rare find for a nation, and a great treasure as well. Ames felt honored that he was a part of this. As he looked around at the others in all their different uniforms and speaking their languages, and said "This place is great!"

[Nivok Baves]

Looking outside the window, Darragh smiled a bit when he saw the facility came into view. He had a bit of respect for architecture and this placce passed most of his ideas on a good building. Seeing Marcus rise up quickly he laughed a little "Excited mate?".

[United States of Conner]

Marcus put a sad expression on his face. "Yeah, being excited helps with my depression. Sometimes I can almost forget about it, but ..." Seeing the startled look on Darragh's face, he laughed and said, "I'm just messing with you, mate! Come on, let's get out there."

[Nivok Baves]

Darragh grinned "Joker eh?" he said, standing up and taking his duffel and putting his beret "Here's hoping your comedy is as good as your military skills then!" he added, taking a drink from his bottle and wiping his mouth.

[Pittastria]

Just as David's conversation ended with Marcus, Darragh, Quyen, and Renate, the bus bolted into a long tunnel, and a little light was seen ahead. Then David was struck with sudden nerve. He wasn't sure if he was nervous or just excited, but he couldn't shake the feeling. All through the tunnel David had this feeling, he couldn't think of anything else.

Suddenly the bus began to slow as it exited the tunnel. On David's side he could see the beaches, but he also heard a few remarks about the diversity over on the other side. That nervousness, or excitement that David felt only got worse. "Welcome to White Rose" announced the officer up front. David placed the book he's been trying to read into his bag, stood up and exited the bus.

Then, looking over the the high grounds and jungle, David felt somewhat out of place. He knew the others were just excited, they'd all been through tours in the military. Besides Renate, or maybe she was? During their conversation, Renate had said she was "sort of a civilian". As David pondered the meaning of that, he caught up with his new comrades Marcus and Darragh, and followed.

[Nivok Baves]

As Darragh stepped off of the bus, he was greeted with a warm breeze, something his home rarely managed to get. He looked over at the facility and whistled "Beauty ain't she?" he asked to the group, before stretching out the stiffness of his muscles.

[Pittastria]

"Sure is, I must say, the..." David pondered what he would say next,"diversity, it's nice for training". Of course, David was pretty sure it would help with training, but with his lack of military training, he couldn't be too sure. He looked over at Marcus and Darragh, both had confident, excited expressions on their faces compared to David's nervous one. "She's massive too". David wasn't sure why Darragh referred to the academy as a she, but he figured it was a military thing and followed suit. Might as well get used to military slang if he'd be here for a while.

[Czarvania]

Sokol slept for the last leg of the journey to get a few hours of rest before reaching the facility. Sokol had a light jolt forward once the bus came to a stop at the facility. The Czarvanian cadet awoke, looking about the bus, at the other cadets and then out the window, towards the facility. Sokol then began to wipe his eyelids with his index finger and thumb before rolling up his left sleeve to check the time on his wristwatch before slipping his flecktarn cap unto his head with a maroon, small, sewn in version of the Czarvanian coat of arms, depicting St. George. Sokol grabbed his duffelbag and carried himself off of the bus. Sokol walked over to the cadets already off of the bus and set his duffelbag on the ground, examining the facility.

[United States of Conner]

Marcus started grinning. "After how I grew up, what I did in college, 'She's massive' means something really different, ah? Ah?" He bent over laughing, before becoming serious and said, "It is quite a nice facility. Anyone know when we'll meet our CO?"

[Pittastria]

David laughed at Marcus' joke too and it lightened him up a bit. If he was going into a somewhat uncharted area for him, it's be nice to have people who supported him. When Marcus asked the group, "anyone know when we are meeting our CO?", David responded, "No clue, honestly I'm kind of just following you guys." Again David peered at the place's diversity, if this was natural, it had to be a miracle. There has to be some man-made things, there was everything from the Jungle to Urban Combat, and the place was very well maintained.

[Nivok Baves]

Darragh cracked a smile "My how large a woman did you get with in college to say that her?" he joked, when Marcus asked where the CO was to be found, Darragh simply shrugged "Dunno, honestly this place, as nice looks, is pretty isolated so it can't be that hard to find him or her. Besides, we still got to get something to eat, the bus didn't supply the best food if I'm honest"

[Quen Minh]

Phuoc Thang stretched a little after getting off the bus. As commented by other cadets, it was glamorous. It's attractive attire of the buildings and the nature residing on the complex made it just as beautiful as the countryside is seen from the bus. After contemplating on how great the complex is, he is hungry.

"Right you are, man. I've only got the taste of how beautiful this country is," responded he in agreement with Darragh. He glanced for another batch of seconds, before seeing live bodies walking towards them, in an attire just like Phuoc Thang's and the others.

"Hey, I think its the welcoming committee," he said.

[Aeyariss]

The buses finally stopped, but their engines weren't turned off completely just yet, once the the passengers from each of the buses is offloaded, the driver began to drive away into another parking areas located in another part of the administration building. Well, it wasn't exactly the real administration building but it was the original one, erected back in the 1800s, the white marbled victorian was preserved as the museum for visitors and as office building. It's massive pillars still stood as majestic entrance for the academy. The real administration building is now located at the center of the main complex.

Patches of clouds seemed to have blocked the full fury of the blistering tropical sun. Something that can be considered lucky as the paved ground doesn't reflect too much heat at the moment. Oh, that will change. The Warrant Officer 1, Samwise Horton, an imposing career soldier who had a legendary reputation in the academy watched the 'children' (he consider them as that) began offloading their belongings, wearing their civilian and some happened to be wearing a uniform, and stood there looking confused not knowing what to do. They always seems to be waiting for order. Behind him, are the entire drill sergeant corps, about a dozen and half of senior non commissioned officers, sergeants, staff sergeant, all of them shared the same menacing, predatory, looks on their face.

"New meats for the grinder." Some of the drill sergeant said, drawing a laugh. WO1 Horton signalled them to move forward, and they all march aggressively from the inside of the old white building. From the side of the building, a squad of military police - somehow they too received the order - began to appears, marching from the side, blowing their whistles as loud as they can. That caught everyone attention.

"Group! ATTENTION!!!" the WO1 barked out the first order for the new intake. His voice seemed to have boomed throughout the entire academy.

[Nivok Baves]

Upon hearing the command, Darragh instinctively dropped his bag and stood to attention, sticking his chest out with his arms along the seams of his trousers. Facing straight ahead his previously smiling face instantly changed to emotionless, something his time in the Shamrock Mounted Guards had made him do every time he was on guard duty. He saw where the impressive voice came from, whose chevons gave away his rank of WO1, a fearsome man stood infront of them as a crowd of Drill Sergeants walked towards them. Darragh hoped his time as a guard would stop him smiling infront of these Drill Sergeants, as he seemed like people you didn't want to disappoint.

[Pittastria]

"ATTENTION!" The Warrant Officer boomed. David, slightly confused due to his lack of training, noticed Darragh drop his bag, pop up to great posture, and launch is arms touching and parallel to his legs. Knowing the man had been in the military, David followed suit. I guess this is just something they do, he thought. David kept a mental note to write in his notebook when he got the chance the commands he learned. Seems like attention would be the first.

[United States of Conner]

When Marcus heard the command, he placed his bag down on the ground, before snapping to attention. He groaned internally, however, as this was yet another institution that valued looks over skill. At least, he hoped not. However, the Drill Sergeants looked to be pretty bright fellows. He had seen that look in the mirror a lot. People at his university called it the "Genuis Eye". Looking around, taking everything in. Marcus did the same instinctively.

[Quen Minh]

When the officer's voice emitted like an artillery battery firing a shell out of its muzzle, Phuoc Thang led himself into dropping his bags down on the ground and forming a straight-up military posture like other soldiers, new ones, do when they are to be giving their officers their attention. Standing to and fro, he was open to receiving words from the warrant officer. Phuoc Thang was always a respectful guy. He listens to his friends, his teachers in school and military academy, and provides solutions to any problem he finds interesting in his times at Quenmin. Those actions are what made him earn the reputation of being a kind "goody-goody" person. Today, he might as well show the reputation to his superiors at the college today.

[Lzherusskia]

The day had started oddly for Anton Kharitonov.

First it had been his bunkmate’s morning greeting. As junior officers, he and Lieutenant Veselovski did not yet rate the comforts of a single room each and after two months of squabbling, they had reached a straight-forward détente – each would take an exact half of the room as their own, anything that spilled over into the other’s half could be claimed as the spoils of war, and there was to be no nudity. Shirtlessness would be acceptable, but nothing that might cause the censors to reach for their scissors had their lives been filmed.

Hence, it disquieted Anton tremendously to wake up not only late, but to the sight of Lieutenant Veselovski performing his traditional morning meditation without a stitch of clothing on. “Niko?! Good grief, cover yourself up, man! I’m right here!” he’d shouted, springing out of bed. “You know the rules!”

The other Lieutenant had only smiled, stretching his arms high above his head. “Rules change, Anton. What’s it matter to you, anyway? You’re going to be gone soon.”

Even in the moment it had been an odd thing to say, but the lack of an alarm call meant Anton had already been late for the day’s morning exercise period and even though the Drill Sergeant was technically the lowest-ranked man at the base, he still had the power of success or failure over his charges. He’d changed in record time and near-sprinted out of the barracks to find his classmates already engaged in tackling the assault course. “Drill Sergeant, I apologise,” he’d panted. “Alarm didn’t go off, I ran all the way here.”

The Drill Sergeant had given him an odd look. “Kharitonov? I thought you’d already left. What are you still doing here?” Dismissing the question with a wave of the hand, he’d continued “No matter. Get moving, I want you caught up to the class by the time they hit the plunge pool.” Anton had been about to question him when the Drill Sergeant jogged away, leaving him mystified for the second time that morning.

The picture had finally started to clear in the base’s changing rooms as the trainee officers showered after a harder-than-usual cardio and unarmed combat session. Anton was nursing what looked like the beginnings of a lovely black eye when he’d felt a friendly arm around his shoulders, and had looked up to see the grinning face of Lieutenant Tatiana Tavanova. “So I’m hearing congratulations are in order?”

“Why?” They hadn’t been sparring full-force, but Anton had fallen for a feint and dodged square into the punch he thought he’d been avoiding and he was nursing some sourness for it. “People have been saying strange things all day and I have no idea what they’re jabbering about.” It came out harsher than he’d meant it to, and his friend’s face had obviously fallen. “Sorry, Tatiana,” he tried to apologise before she cut him off.

“No, don't bother. I just wanted to say well done, but clearly it's not welcome,” she'd spat, and stalked away. Anton, thoroughly baffled, had stood under the warm spray for a full two minutes trying to parse the bizarre events before being interrupted again.

“WHAT?”

“Good morning, Lieutenant.” One of the few civilians on the base was standing at the door to the shower, ignoring the various nude men and women, and his presence had confused Anton even more. What on Atlas did the base commander's personal assistant want with him? “When you are finished, the Captain would like to see you.”

---

“Ah, Lieutenant Kharitonov. Sit down, please.” A small, spare man, Captain Vilkenov's title was something of a misnomer. Born with only his right arm and left leg, the Captain had nonetheless insisted he be allowed to serve his national service and despite his disability, he had joined the Armed Forces after his graduation. A little stumped as to how best to use him, the Captain spent some time as an ambassador and a specialised tutor before applying for the posting at the Robett Pesok officer training school. He had been given the rank Captain upon his promotion to the school's commander thanks to pure common sense, but often commanded little respect from his students who could not look past his missing limbs.

“Sir, what on Atlas is going on? People keep talking about congratulating me and how I'm going somewhere, and I've had enough of it!” Anton's irritation had finally boiled over at the unwisest of moments. Tapping his mouth and looking closely at Anton, the Captain stayed silent for a few long seconds.

“I will ignore the impertinence there, Lieutenant, because you are in a unique position.” Passing a slim folder across the desk, the Captain continued. “Did you hear anything about the White Rose program?”

Anton had, but only in passing. “Not in any great detail, sir. I remember the bulletins going up, but no more.”

The Captain nodded. “Yes, as I thought. The White Rose program was first brought to my attention four months ago from...on high. Not quite the Commissar, but one of his Honoured Ministers, so somebody close to him.” Anton opened the file curiously, still listening as he skimmed the first page. “The folder there contains most of the details, but the brief is that there is a nation by the name of Aeyariss, an Empire as they style themselves, opening one of their most prestigious military academies to the international community. We advertised for candidates to go, to represent Lzherusskia and to learn and, sadly, nobody who applied really matched our expectations.”

At last, the truth was starting to dawn on Anton. “Are you saying...”

“Yes, Lieutenant Kharitonov.” The Captain smiled slightly. “We are aware you chose not to apply, but myself and the Honoured Minister have agreed that you are the best candidate at our disposal.”

“But...I didn't apply,” replied Anton weakly. Two trains of thought were converging in his head. The first was a glorious golden thing, shouting that he should take pride in his accomplishment, that even without offering himself up he was still the best Robett Pesok had to offer, and so loud was that train that the second was but a whisper in comparison. “I...I don't...I'd rather...”

The Captain's smile had frozen. “Lieutenant Kharitonov, maybe I was not clear. This is an honour. You are an excellent student, an excellent soldier and I have no doubt you will become an excellent officer as well, and we wish to honour you with this opportunity.”

“But I have a life here, sir,” was the best he could manage. It was obviously not the reply the Captain was looking for. Though his words were polite, Anton could sense there was steel behind them, and the Captain took a very deliberate breath. “I...I cannot, sir.”

“Lieutenant,” returned the Captain, what little cheeriness there had been in his tone ebbing away by the syllable, “you are a soldier. You are a man of the Armed Forces. If you wish to consider this a promotion, if that will help you assimilate the decision, then you are welcome to, but this decision has been made. I was hoping you would appreciate the faith we are placing in you.”

“But...”

“Lieutenant, this is an order.” The Captain's eyes were hard and his jaw set. If he regretted having to pull rank, no sign of it showed. “You have been selected for this mission on a variety of grounds. You have been booked on a flight to Archangel that leaves in forty-eight hours, and you will be on that plane. You will be representing the Fatherland and the Armed Forces, and I expect you to comport yourself appropriately. I will ask you if you understand these orders in one moment, and any answer other than an affirmative one will be treated as disobeying a direct order from a superior officer.” The Captain leaned back in his chair – he'd unconsciously found himself leaning forward – and exhaled. “Do you understand?”

[Lzherusskia]

Long goodbyes were not in the Lzher nature.

Twenty-four hours to gather his things was more than sufficient for Anton to make his departures – promising to stay in contact with his firmer friends while abroad, a hug with Lieutenant Tavanova that would undoubtedly have immediately sparked rumours about the two of them, a slightly briefer embrace with a thankfully-clothed Lieutenant Veselovski – and if he harboured any ill will about Anton's reticence, the Captain refused to show it, accompanying him to Smyslova's Leonid Kulikovsky Airport personally.

He had drawn a few looks on the flight purely because of his dress – the full black-and-gold formal regalia of an officer of the Lzher Armed Forces, complete with a set of rank insignia made from pure Bazin gold, was hardly the most comfortable flight wear but as the Captain spent a good part of the drive impressing on him, Anton was no longer just Lieutenant Kharitonov but a personification of Lzherusskia itself. He would have to be strong, tough, brave, fearless, all the qualities that the enlisted men back home expected from their superiors and above all, had to look the part.

Sleep had eluded him on the flight, despite the complimentary three whiskies the pretty stewardess claimed had been sent by grateful members of the Lzher public, but no more than five minutes into the bus journey Anton had felt himself start to slip away, idly listening to his fellow students' chatter. Part of him wanted to fight back and keep listening – he'd put his headphones in and left them unconnected, because few things loosen tongues more than believing you're not being listened to – but the sandman was not to be denied.

Twitching awake as the bus pulled up at their destination, Anton rubbed his eyes with the balls of his hands and groaned quietly. The seats on the bus were certainly comfortable, but sleeping anywhere but a bed always left him with an aching neck and a need to crack his spine that he probably wouldn't have the chance to do for some time. He let the knot of students behind him depart first, straightening his jacket and adjusting the wide gold-coloured belt so it sat properly.

As he stepped off the bus, however, Anton immediately knew the full dress uniform wasn't going to last long. The top-coat and trousers were heavy ones, designed for the frigid Lzher climate, and while the clouds were helping if the sun made good on its threats to come out, it was going to get very hot, very quickly. Silently cursing the Captain and his emphasis that Anton cut a good figure, he claimed his trunk and stood at ease, hands behind his back and eyes watching for the intake's handlers.

There. The cacophony of the whistles would have drawn everybody's attention, but Anton had watching the white building and spotted the soldiers immediately. It wasn't hard to read their expressions and while he would never have done it, inwardly Anton rolled his eyes. They're going to treat us like we're the greenest boys and girls around, he thought sourly, when we're here because we're the best of the brightest. Damn you, Vilkenov.

"Group! ATTENTION!!!"

Smoothly, Anton stood to attention. He had no time for the fools who heard an order like that and would nearly rupture themselves trying to stamp the loudest or slap their hands to their sides faster or harder than their comrades. He wasn't the tallest or the most musclebound of the lot, but he could at least take pride in looking the sharpest...even if the black eye did spoil the look.

[New Roma Republic]

When the officer shouted for the group to come to attention, Ames snapped straight, despite a slight ache in his legs after the long ride. It felt good for him to finally stretch them. His armor clanked because he moved so quickly.

[Aeyariss]

The Assembly Area

Warrant Officer 1 Horton checked his wristwatch, the timing was impeccable as ever, and the convoy seemed to have arrived right as scheduled. The new intake as, bunched up in a small group, no doubt they gathered themselves according to the buses - which long gone by then - they had came from earlier. It was an unsightly view to the Warrant Officer, a view he kept to himself of course, seeing the bunch of 'children'. Untidy. Child-like. Unorganized. Most of them obviously still had their civilian lifestyle; long, uncut hair for both the men and women, donning their non regulatory attires, and one male candidate he saw was particularly somewhat overweight for White Rose standard.

Nevermind, he thought, as everyone here starts like this. Well, they won't be same for long anymore.

"Ladies and gentlemen, do you see the yellow painted footprints in front of you? Fall out and reform into a new line." Horton ordered.

In front of them, several feet, were perfectly lined up 'formation' sign, each divided into a full platoon size formation. A drill sergeant was assigned to be the leaders of each of this platoons, temporarily, before the final rosters has been finalized just to get the initial 'reception' process finished. A process which is planned to finish by 1800 H that day, just right before dinner at the main mess hall begins.

The new comer did just that, getting into a new formation, then they all continued standing at attention again. Those who were slow to react drew sharp reprimand from the drill sergeants, and they hasten up.

"At ease." Horton bellowed once again. "Alright, this is for you new people; welcome to White Rose." His introduction was quick, and as simple as that.

"I am Warrant Officer Samwise Horton, and I am the one responsible for all the non commissioned officers in the entire imperial academy. I hope you lot had a pleasant journey here and is well rested by now because we had a long day ahead of us. What's going to happen next, is that we will get you situated. First, you lot will be sorted out into your respective platoons - we're going to do that in after this, and you lot will receive your temporary access card which by God you will keep it safe for the next three years. Lose it, and you will learn the hard way of what you'll have to to do get another replacement."

Sam Horton held up high his own access card, which looks more like an identification card.

"This is what it looks like." He added. Some of the other drill sergeants too took out their own and display it to the entire formation. "It contains basically every single bit of information about you, your biometrics data, access code to the academy facilities. So this is a very important item that you cannot and must not lose. So, remember boys and girls, keep it safe, or I promise you will lose your head."

"Second, after you lot be organized into platoon, you lot will be billeted to your own dormitory. You will be given some time off, drop everything you have. Put all your belongings in a secure location - I'm sure your own private locker will require your access card to be opened, so don't worry no one will touch anything. A simple lunch has been arranged at the lobby of your dormitory. Take some rest if you need it. Then you will hassle back to this place before 1330 H."

"Third, once you all came back here. You will be issued all the essentials tools you'll need throughout your stay here; things like service uniform, dress uniform, PT uniform, new boots. Stuff like those. You will wear the designated White Rose uniform. You will be given free haircut and we will get your sorry look right again the army style. This will take sometime as we need to get the proper size for all of you. After that each and everyone of you will undergo a simple technical procedure to take up all your biometrics reading, digital handprint, your iris reading so your access key can be properly use."

"When all those is over, you lot will change into your uniform once again and stand by for dinner call."

"Questions?"

[United States of Conner]

Marcus shook his head as the WO1 yelled at them to form up again on the yellow line. He had always hated the formalities of army life, and he especially hated stuff like this. When Horton had finished his rant, and asked, 'Questions?', Marcus spoke up, his English accent poking through like it did whenever he was talking to authority. "Will classes be starting tomorrow, then, sir? Also - do we have to call you sir and such?
OOC: If Marcus is the 'overweight' guy, that 190 is all muscle.