ALLERIS MILITARY HEADQUARTERS, YEAR 2097

After-lunch was considered leisure for the men in green uniforms. It was during this time that rigorous morning trainings were finally over and their stomachs finally fed. It was an hour for sports and games— the only time when the cadets can actually “rest”. However, today was one of those strange days.

A slender figure with neat, black hair strode sternly among the white halls. All but two cadets eagerly paid salute to the high-ranked official as soon as they saw the figure. The two cadets faced about the officer as their muted voices reached the ear of the said official.

“I heard there’s another Lieutenant present in Lieutenant Wong’s office” whispered one cadet.

The other cadet leaned in “Yes. I met him when I handed the reports earlier. Apparently, they are related and of the same rank.”

“Then that would make the two of them both Lieutenant Wong” the other replied.

“But it’s the first time I have seen him. I reckon he was not stationed in Alleris before today”

“And Lieutenant Wong has never mentioned any sibling or relative. Apart from General Wong senior”

“Simply because it is unnecessary”

An overly familiar voice interrupted their conversation. Both cadets, face painted in red, immediately saluted “Lieutenant General Wong, sir!”

Lt. Wong did not bother to return the gesture as form of punishment. Instead, the dark haired official replied “Whispering in this sacred hall means you are not disciplined enough. Report this to your superior for an equivalent punishment.”

“Sir, yes sir!” both cadets replied sternly and waited until the lieutenant left before lowering their hand. Dejected, both cadets obeyed the order.

The office of the Lieutenant Colonel was as neat as usual. Everything was in order; from the stack of books till the medals, except for one. The person seated at the lieutenant’s chair.

“I see you’re still alive” Lt. Wong disgustingly remarked at the eye patch on the man’s left eye. The man had couple of bandages but it wasn’t as life threatening as the lieutenant thought.

“What an awful thing to say to your younger brother” the man replied.

“I have no brother in this office, Lieutenant”.

“This is why you don’t get married!” the younger lieutenant commented “Cut some slack. And seriously, sir?”

“Lieutenant Colonel Wong of Geoss, if you have no business here in Alleris, I’m afraid you have overstayed your welcome” the older lieutenant countered.

“Too bad I’ve been reassigned here by the higher ups. I’ll be a headache for you in the meantime, Angela”.

“Ey, Jackson!”

“Lucas!” Jackson greeted back.

Commander Jackson Wang was an old friend of Lucas during his reassignment in Geoss. Jackson, along with other soldiers, used to deliver weapons from Alleris as part of the Navy. Commander Wang had also been in charge of training new recruits during his time in Geoss.

“And here I thought you were good as dead. You don’t look like you’ve just been suspended” Jackson commented.

“Reassigned, Jackson” Lucas emphasized “I’ve already got an earful from Angela”.

“Reassigned for rehabilitation and recovery purposes still mean you’ve been suspended from your duty” Jackson said dryly.

“In Geoss” Lucas tried to counter “Angela assigned me to field inspections and train new recruits”

“Don’t act so proud. It’s quite shameful for your rank, isn’t it Lieutenant?” Jackson mocked.

Lucas gave a brief glare but quickly shrugged it off as he is in no condition for arguments “Where are you off to?”

“Fetching my sister from school” Jackson replied “we’re having a family dinner”.

“I remember you said your sister’s preparing for military school?” Lucas pondered.

Jackson nodded regretfully “She is already in it”

“You don’t look so happy. Your parents must be proud that she’s following you and your dad’s footsteps”

Jackson exhaled “She’s ecstatic. But mom doesn’t really like the idea. She thinks it’s going to be hard for her and she wants her to go a ‘safer’ path. I guess tonight will be another interesting dinner.”

Lucas sympathetically patted Jackson’s back “Can I come along?”

Jackson raised a brow “Are you sure you’re only going to check on the military program?”

“Dude, I’ve seen the new weapons in the headquarters and they’re way better than what we have in Geoss!” Lucas exclaimed “Of course I want to know what they have in school these days”

Jackson gave a regretful smile “Oh yeah. I forgot you were that kind of person.”

INSTITUTE OF ALLERIS

“It seems you’ve taken a liking in our biology class today” Elkie started as she approached the brunette girl in front of her. “Though I don’t get why you’re doing it handwritten”

“Just practice” the brunette replied with a smile “we grew up with computers, I was just curious how it feels to ‘write’”

“Did you forget your family basically did that?” Elkie said jokingly. “Anyways, don’t you think it’s time to go? Isn’t your brother picking you up, Yuqi?”

“He said he would but he probably forgot about it” Yuqi shrugged “Can we go to the sparring area for a bit? I’m just going to check on something”

“When you said ‘check’ I didn’t know it involved dissecting one of our sparring robots” Elkie sighed in disbelief.

“The other day, I discovered a virus during manufacturing that could potentially infect the sparring robots. This batch came here around the date I found the virus. Right now I’m installing a patch to see if this one had been infected” Yuqi replied excitedly “all set”

“And if what you made doesn’t work?” Elkie said warily, seeing as Yuqi set the robot into offensive mode.

Yuqi undid her coat and prepared for a combat stance as soon as the robot activated “If this one is infected, you need to go because I’ll probably get killed”

Lucas was in awe as soon as he entered the institute. Alleris is definitely worth calling the most prominent country.  Geoss was all about military grounds and discipline. Men in uniforms are always scattered around and strict rules must be followed. Alleris was a feast for the eyes for Lucas.

“Dude, look at that!” Lucas grabbed Jackson as he exclaimed like a child “Robots walk around like normal people! They even sell food!”

“How old are you?” Jackson questioned in disbelief “I understand you don’t see this in Geoss but you act like a kid, Lieutenant Wong!”

As Lucas continued to get awed by Alleris’ majestic world, Jackson froze as a single message he received sent chills in his spine.

“You’ve been awfully quiet—“

“Lucas, let’s go” Jackson immediately cut him off as he rushed towards the gated compound.

“Go where?” Lucas asked confusedly as he tails Jackson

“To the sparring area” Jackson yelled. I hope we’re not too late

The message, sent by his sister as an S.O.S. signal to his receptor:

SPARRING BLDG. HELP. IMMEDIATELY.