Today was the day of the two platoon test. Joaquim would rather join zero platoon, but one had to start somewhere.
What would the test to join zero platoon even look like?
That was the question that passed his mind when Joaquim kicked the last stick figure hologram standing at a diminutive forest clearing that was conjured by the Kayaku app, the brainchild of the two platoon colonel himself.
This should teach you the basics to fend for yourself in kaya form.
Joaquim landed with his combat boots on the fake and shallow snow. The Ersatz Mountain Range platform was known for having a ski resort among citizens but Joaquim, and the restricted military area he was in, was nowhere close to it.
Hey, you're close to the defense manufacturing plant? Iker asked on the earthplexus call.
Joaquim yielded the next exercise from the Kayaku app, willing it to shut down. Ever since Iker introduced him to the martial arts app, he was also granted permission to access the earthplexus from anywhere in Ember City.
"Yes sir," Joaquim replied into the speaker icon floating above his forehead, remembering right before opening his mouth to call him sir in this context. Now that he was finally speaking with Iker, he walked towards a boulder almost as tall as him, and he jumped and spun at the same time to sit atop it.
"I need to tell you something though."
Perfect. You can tell me later. Lieutenant Tagore should be with you shortly. I know it was close to the jaunting portal, but we are not having the test close to the manufacturing plant.
Iker was right about someone approaching, Joaquim could hear a pair of combat boots crunching snow. Within the cracks of pine branches he spotted a camouflage hijab at first, then as she climbed down she revealed more of herself. Unlike Iker who managed to be both intimidating and aloof, she had a more pleasant air too her. Her smile did seem out of place in a military context.
"You came all the way here to train?" she asked.
"Group!" Joaquim yelled, noticing the floating hologram star on her shoulder. Lieutenant Tagore replied with laughter as he stood at attention.
"Did no one tell you that you are only supposed to do that indoors?" Lieutenant Tagore asked. "You can relax... but no need to do that outdoors."
"Oops. Sorry ma'am," Joaquim replied. "... my bad."
Now that she was closer, her round and amicable face was quite recognizable.
"Wait... do people call you Mercury by any chance?" Joaquim asked.
Lieutenant Fatima 'Mercury' Tagore earned her fame by killing a Byza capo in No Man's Land, and she nodded in response to his question. "That's me. I'll also be telling you how our musical chair test works."
"Musical chairs?" Joaquim asked, getting Lieutenant Tagore to nod again.
"Follow me, I'll take you to the location."
They walked in the direction Lieutenant Tagore came from, now climbing up the ravine. Joaquim glanced behind him once they left the ravine to find the last levitating tank heading towards the manufacturing facility that was only now a gray dot in the distance.
"Hey over here," Lieutenant Tagore said. She walked ahead while Joaquim was busy observing the row of machines. For the next ten minutes they got further away from the ravine and travelled above a sidewalk formed by many combat boots passing by it, now being more composed of mud and platform metal instead of snow and pinecones.
During that walk Lieutenant Tagore willed an earthplexus screen to spawn that explained the two platoon test while she read it out loud while adding her own snarky commentary, most of it friendly jabs at Iker. It seemed the two officers have known each other for a long time.
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Wait, they're both from No Man's Land too.
Joaquim turned himself back to the floating hologram screen between him and Lieutenant Tagore.
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There will be as many chairs as the number of players, and each chair will be assigned a number from 1 to 9.
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Drones will drop the chairs in random locations on the taiga platform. Once the chairs are dropped, the starting locations will have a map locating the chairs.
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The music plays when the round starts. When the song loop ends in 15 minutes, find a chair to sit on. You must push down the chair's plate all the way down to be considered 'seated.' If you mistake the end of the song as the song loop ending and you sit on a chair, you're disqualified.
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You must sit on a different chair each round to avoid elimination.
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Breaking a chair is an automatic elimination. The chair will eliminate everyone it detects while receiving major damage.
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When a round ends, players will elect which chair gets removed from play. If a chair wasn't or can't be chosen for any reason, the chair removed is chosen by random.
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Eliminated players do not receive any benefits from sitting on a chair.
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New recruits pass if Colonel Felix and Lieutenant Tagore are eliminated.
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The last person... sitting... wins a 2 week vacation. We will do our best to cover you for red missions.
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Multiple healers will be onsite, however there is no need to use lethal force. You're trying to sit on a chair, not trying to kill each other. I have the right to suspend you if I feel you are using excessive force. The healers can also be contacted through the earthplexus, just open the voting app we will use and look at the bottom of the screen.
The floating screen Joaquim and Lieutenant Tagore were sharing to read the rules was apparently from the same voting app Iker made for this test specifically.
"Okay, now that you know how to access the voting app, do you have any questions for me?" Lieutenant Tagore asked.
"It's not about the test, but it's something I need to ask... er... oh Colonel Felix and Lucia–"
"You mean Private Felix," Lieutenant Tagore interrupted. It took a moment to register, but Joaquim realized that she was referring to Lucia.
"Wait, is Private Felix in two platoon too? And when I say Private Felix we are talking about Lucia Felix the talking husky right?" Joaquim asked.
Lieutenant Tagore nodded. "Is that the question you wanted to ask me?"
"No. I am guessing I have to refer to him as Cadet Wami, but I am asking about Cadet Gabriel Wami. I saw him at home."
"Did you tell the Colonel about it?" Lieutenant Tagore asked.
"I was about to."
"I think it will have to wait until after the test," Lieutenant Tagore said. "Based on what the Colonel told me this morning... he didn't really go missing. If anything your brother was avoiding us for a week. At the very least your brother was safe the whole time."
Unsurprised, but still disturbed by the memories of the dream Ameen conjured, Joaquim glanced at the muddy ground. The trail they were on within the forest was coming to an end, but they were approaching the platform's manmade river, and eventually Ersatz Mountain itself was visible as the folds of pine ahead became less denser. And right by the rushing river was a steel panel. The screen on it was off, but Joaquim deduced that would be the panel where the chair locations will be revealed in certain phases of the test.
"By the look on your face, you seem to have already figured out this is a starting location," Lieutenant Tagore said.
"Where is everybody else?" Joaquim asked.
"Since this is not the first time two platoon has done this test, they already have their own favorite spots to start the test. They don't bother to look at the panel anymore," Lieutenant Tagore explained. "However, we also have another cadet trying to join, but he is at the other panel on the mountain."
"That's pretty far," Joaquim bemoaned.
"Not really. That mountain looks a lot bigger than it actually is," Lieutenant Tagore reassured. "Well, let me correct that. It is pretty big, but the restricted military area is on higher ground and closer to the tip of the mountain. You could climb it in less than an hour, and you could jump to the top within minutes using kaya form. On the other side is where the ski resort is, and that side of the mountain is much steeper too."
Joaquim nodded.
"Do you have any other questions for me before I go hiding?" Lieutenant Tagore asked.
"Wait, you're not starting with me?" Joaquim asked.
And somehow, Lieutenant Tagore's smile got even brighter. "Hell naw."
She vanished, the feedback from her sudden leap in kaya form making it clear she did not jaunt at all. Joaquim dug his boots into the snow to stand sturdy, and he covered his face with his elbow.
Then it was quiet. Now that Joaquim thought about it, the lieutenant was rather obtuse about giving information. She was deliberate with the musical chair game itself, but anything else she was trying to deliberately be mysterious. As if she was being careful about not revealing the true nature of the test.
Suddenly, Joaquim blinked and found himself in midair.
Someone grabbed him by the collar and was dragging him somewhere. He entered kaya form and kept jabbing the rogue hand to no avail.
For a second or two the hand let go and he was no longer being dragged. Time slowed and he was suspended in midair.
Then the gravel floor greeted him with a crash to the face and he rolled on the floor to receive multiple scrapes. He was trying to slow his roll, but he jammed his elbow to the ground the wrong way and it was quite painful. Luckily his newfound kaya form prevented more serious damage.
Joaquim rolled himself to face the sky to find Gabe, Farouq, and a shapeshifted Camilo standing over him.