Location: SOL Outdoor Training Arena
Time: 10:30 AM
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"...And then, strike!" The instructor’s baton arcs through the air, cracking against the training drone’s head with a satisfying thwack. The bot buzzes once and powers down.
Commander Yu turns to address the class, his voice firm but not unkind.
"You're all here because you need this mandatory training before you're cleared for off-world missions. One-G is your baseline. Out there?" He gestures skyward. "You're gonna be spinning in every direction. So we start here—but don’t think this is where you’ll finish."
He scans the lineup of cadets and points toward a short, dark-haired student in the front. "Alright, Ro. Let’s see what you’ve got. Step up, and don’t overextend on the follow-through."
Ro looks like he'd rather evaporate on the spot. "Uh… Commander Yu, I—I really don’t think I’m the best person to do the first demo..."
Yu sighs and turns to you instead.
"Alright then, Du. You give it a—"
CRACK.
The sound cuts him off. One moment he’s upright, the next he’s sprawling unconscious on the floor. Behind him, the drone flares to life with a guttural whirr, then lunges—straight at you.
Before you can react, a blur streaks in from the edge of the field.
A tall blond student slams into the bot with a metallic CRUNCH. His cybernetic fist punches clean through the drone’s core. Sparks fly. Bits of casing scatter across the training floor. He straightens with practiced ease, casually shaking off scrap metal from his arm like he’s done this before breakfast.
He turns to you, flashing a smirk that somehow manages to be both charming and irritating.
"You're Du, huh? What'd you do to piss that bot off?"
He extends a gleaming cybernetic hand.
"Good thing I’m great at punching problems until they stop moving."
Then comes the grin. Smug. Perfectly confident. Borderline unbearable.
"I’m Kade. Are you hurt, sweetheart?"
