Chapter 18

The sensation only lasted maybe thirty seconds and I managed to keep myself from vomiting for the third time today. I was suddenly in what looked like a desert, around me were the other 29 people left from my basic class. Like me most of them had hands on their knees, looking like they were trying to hold down their gorge. It looked like a few of them lost the battle.

As I gathered myself, I took stock around me. I spied Tom on the other side of the group, looking a bit disoriented. I worked my way over to him, taking a minute to focus on him to check his stats;

NAME: THOMAS GILIAN (NO ALIAS ASSIGNED)

CURRENT SQUAD: NONE ASSIGNED

TITLE: NONE ASSIGNED

BIOGRAPHY: NONE ASSIGNED

I frowned. So this is what Tay was talking about when it came to checking others status’. That could make it exceptionally hard to tell what someones real status was as their physical appearance could be extremely misleading. Someone the size of Tom would be obviously strong, but what about their bravery or intelligence?

I resolved myself to be able to gain more information on my enemies as quickly as possible at that moment. Knowledge was power after all. It was at that moment a realization clicked within me… wait, what about all the support functions I had heard so much about? What about all those jobs that I was told about when I joined? Technical Sergeant Mathias didn’t have me pick one, he said we would get to choose at some point during Basic… but I remember there were things like ‘base repairman’, ‘ammunition loader’, and more. Why, or how, would anyone in those jobs increase their stats? Which mattered for those jobs? It was obvious how these mattered for more combat related jobs.

As I approached Tom, he gave me a wave, the color seemingly returned to his face. “Hey brother! That was a thing now, wasn’t it?”

I nodded, “Yeah, it was. But I learned a lot, you?”

Tom nodded, a big grin spreading across his face. “Sure did. Just so ya know, I tried to inspect your status and didn’t get much outta it. I was curious, but it feels kind of like an invasion of someones privacy in a way, yeah?”

I let out a small chuckle, “Well I appreciate the honesty, I did the same. I can see what you mean in way, but we need to know the strengths and weaknesses of friends and enemies alike, you know?”

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Tom looked thoughtful at this point, “True. It doesn’t mean it feels right, though.”

I shrugged, “Well, if you feel weird about it, I’ll do the deed then. So what did your stats end up being?”

Tom thought for a second, then seemed to suddenly relax. I hadn’t even noticed he was tense until that moment. “Well brother, you can actually see an intermediate stat profile for members as part of your squad; I was told by Mr. McRuffleton it helps with coordinating with your team for missions and such.”

My hand hit my forehead at that, “Mr. McRuffleton? You picked the dog option I assume?”

Tom grinned, “Of course! You?”

I laughed at the ridiculousness of all this. What the hell man.

“I chose the female, I got Tay who was a very… eccentric girl with a very southern accent for whatever reason. Oh, did the dog keep the suit on?” I said with genuine interest.

Tom shook his head, “No, he has a white collar with a little red bowtie that spins when hes excited though. His voice is kind of like that dog from those really old cartoons, Scuba I think his name was?”

I nodded, “Scooby. Yeah, I’m familiar. All of this is… insane buddy. I don’t know what to think about it all. But here we are.”

Tom smiled at me, “Yep, that we are. Only one way - forward. Back to your original question…” before he could say anything else, a voice interrupted us.

HELLO AND WELCOME MEMBERS FROM THE 322ND TRAINING SQUADRON TO BABYLON! THIS IS YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD FRIENDLY AI, THEODORE, HERE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO YOUR FIRST BATTLEFIELD.

Theodores voice was in a very pleasant sounding male cadence, like someone who would announce things for a living. We still had sports teams, but a lot of the commentary was performed using AI chatbots that simulated old time sports announcers. I can’t really recall any names off the top of my head, it was never much interest to me, but this voice was definitely in that vein.

YOU ARE STANDING IN THE DESERT OUTSIDE OF BAGRAM AIR BASE, AFGHANISTAN, DURING OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM. THIS WAR LASTED FROM 2001 UNTIL APPROXIMATELY 2021. AFTER THE EVENTS OF SEPTEMBER 11th, 2021 THE UNITED STATES ATTACKED SEVERAL COUNTRIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST. WHAT FOLLOWED WAS AN OCCUPATION RESULTING IN COUNTLESS DEATHS, A VETERAN EPIDEMIC, AND CONTINUED TURMOIL FOR DECADES AFTERWARD. EVEN TODAY, OVER A HUNDRED YEARS LATER, THE WOUNDS FROM THIS PERIOD REMAIN.

ANYWAYS, ENOUGH OF THE BACKGROUND, LETS GET TO THE GOOD STUFF! IN THIS FIRST BATTLEFIELD SIMULATION YOUR CLASS WILL BE FACING OFF AGAINST ONE ANOTHER!

A trumpet sounded once again, like it was heralding some King coming down the road. What was with Theodore and all this fanfare?

ASSIGNING TEAMS NOW…

Suddenly I could see a little roulette wheel above each persons head. It was evenly split 50/50, one side was the flag of the United States, on the other was just colored red. That was curious, but as the wheel slowed and began stopping, Tays voice rang out inside my head.

YOU HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED TO THE RED TEAM; THE ISLAMIC STATE.

I blinked at this, and looked over to Tom who was frowning. “Well brother… I guess we aren’t on the same side for this one.”

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