The next morning was the day Yuren was supposed to meet with his troops. They would start getting maintenance services to prepare them for battle today. It was also the day that he was officially appointed as the commander of the 701st Heavy Assault Battalion. His promotion was held in conjunction with a general meeting in a large auditorium with two hundred people sitting in attendance. It was presided over by Major General Sadeq and was attended by high-ranking officials from the Ministry as well as the general public.
The ceremony began with the Minister's address. He was followed by the Vice-Minister's speech, the first division commander's report on the status quo of the battalion, and then the second division commander's assessment of the situation. The other battalions gave their reports as well. The audience listened with rapt attention as they learned of each unit's current state of affairs.
After the speeches ended, Yuren took a moment to memorize the other battalion commanders' names. The Ministry must have briefed them well ahead of time. He wanted to be able to identify them if they ever came to see him during their routine inspections. He hadn't met them personally yet, but from the way they presented themselves, he could tell that they were veterans with an impressive amount of experience, along with their high aptitude level. He was happy his speech didn't draw their ire, but they clearly weren't impressed either, judging by their expressions.
The commander of the 532nd battalion, Colonel Adelah, looked at him with a smirk as she sat with the other officers. Yuren saw her dark skin and sharp features, which contrasted sharply with her hair color. She was wearing the white formal uniform of senior ranks, but with a red sash across the chest. Her hair was long and braided behind her head.
He sighed, and Lina put a hand on his shoulder, "They won't take kindly to a newbie. They expect you to die during a deployment."
"I'm aware. I know I have to prove my worth." The boy replied.
The 315th battalion's commander, Major Maisie, was a young woman who reminded Yuren of a fox: slender and quick-witted. She wore the normal black service uniform with a red stripe down the sleeves and a silver pin on her jacket's lapel. Her short brown hair was tied up, and her eyes were a bright amber and confident with intelligence. Her voice was low and husky, and she spoke in short sentences without pausing between each word.
"Show a bit of respect to the boy." A man spoke up.
Yuren turned towards the voice to find a more elderly man in a dark blue uniform; the pin on his collar indicated that he was an Admiral. He had an imposing figure with thick muscles and a strong jawline. "Of all the candidates, he was the only one who excelled in every test. His resonance is even higher than yours, Adelah."
Adelah snorted at the man's comment. "He's still a greenhorn."
The Admiral was unfazed by the back talk, "Only in terms of military operations, not in terms of combat experience. He's a survivor of the siege that befell east Taodor."
"Oh?" Maisie said curiously, "So he already knows how to fight?"
The older man nodded, "I'm certain he'll live up to your outlandish expectations, Major. We wouldn't have assigned him to the 701st if he didn't have the ability."
"I'll believe it when I see it. No disrespect intended, sir." Adelah said to the Admiral.
Yuren realized that they were talking about him and sighed again. He did understand how Adelah felt, though she needed to confirm whether he was the right person for the job. They were looking for a commander for this battalion, not another soldier who'd just be sent off to die fruitlessly. The Ministry was always reluctant to invest too much into a unit that couldn't be used effectively, and the 701st was neglected as a result, so it had been left to rot for years, with its morale at rock bottom and no hope for improvement. If he could turn things around and bring them up to standard, he would have made the right decision and proved his worth. It would also make him a hero for his family.
He had been hoping for a more positive reception from them; they didn't have positive hopes for him... He would need to be successful on the battlefield before anyone would actually accept his presence.
Yuren stood as he prepared to leave, looking over to the civilian seating section andn he spotted Yae among the crowd. He was surprised to see her there; Yae rarely showed up for any kind of official function. She'd normally avoid such events at all costs.
All the military personnel were leaving to return to their duties, but the meeting continued with Ministry officials and political figures. When he walked out of the room, he found himself walking past the main hall where the ceremony was being held. The doors were closed, and he could hear voices coming from the inside.
"Yuren..."
Yuren froze at the sound of Yae's voice. He was hesitant to turn and face her. He didn't know what to say or do, what if she was angry? He wasn't sure how much she knew about his appointment. But he was relieved when she spoke again, "Don't worry, I'm not mad. But you should still come with me."
She reached out and grabbed his hand as she led him through the crowded halls. Both Lina and Jia appeared ahead of them, blocking the way.
"Do you know this woman, sir?" Jia asked in a formal tone.
"We're close friends," Yuren responded calmly.
"And where are you going?" Lina asked, crossing her arms. "We have a lot of work today, you don't really have time for socializing." She looked at Yuren sternly as Yae held his hand.
"Isn't it fine? Can't I talk to the people I'm close to?" He asked Lina.
Lina scowled. "You're a very important individual now! You cannot recklessly go off on your own!"
"It won't take long, I promise. If it's my safety you are concerned about then just come with us." The young commander reassured Lina.
"If you insist," Lina relented, "But don't forget we have a lot to do today." She was not pleased to have to waste their precious time on something trivial. She took a look at Yuren and then at Yae and reluctantly agreed to follow them. "Come on, Jia, we have to watch over the commander..."
Yuren felt uncomfortable as the two girls followed along with him and Yae as they passed by other military personnel. It was only when they stepped outside onto the street that they stopped following him and watched from a distance.
"Is something wrong, Yae?" He asked, "Why did you drag us here?"
He was expecting her to be angry or upset. Instead, he saw a faint smile on her lips as she glanced away from him.
"This isn't about me." She muttered under her breath, she pointed over to a bench, and he saw a girl sitting there. It looked like she was waiting for someone. Yuren recognized the timid-looking girl with curly hair.
"Allia?!" The boy exclaimed. She was dressed so elegantly in a formal gown that he almost forgot who she was.
Yuren ran over to her, forgetting the others behind him as he fell on his knees in front of her, "Allia, what happened? Why are you dressed like this?" He looked up at her with concern. "Are you all right? Is there anything I can help with?"
She smiled softly, but Yuren could see the sadness in her eyes, "No, I'm alright... I came to give this to you," Allia handed him a small white box tied with a red ribbon. "Please open it when you get home."
He took it and signaled Jia to come over. "Please secure this in my quarters." He instructed the android soldier. "I know we're busy today so have it safely placed in the office."
Jia nodded and took the parcel from him. "As you wish, sir." She saluted respectfully.
"It's okay, Yuren. You don't have to worry about me. You're a commander now, the entirely of our nation's safety is more important than mine." Allia replied quietly as he turned back to her. She looked so frail and fragile; she had a gentle beauty that he hadn't seen from her before.
The boy looked back at Yae. She crossed her arms and gave a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I'll make sure she won't get in too much trouble... besides, I'm still repairing the railway, where could she possibly go?"
The boy nodded as he stood up and returned to Lina and Jia. Waving a final goodbye before leaving with them.
***
When they arrived back at the Battalion's office, Lina handed him a tablet. "Review the roster, before we go inspect the battalion's readiness."
Yuren opened the file and checked the details of the soldiers' skills and combat capabilities. He was pleased that half of them had cleared maintenance treatment already, while the others would be done later today. He was impressed by their record, and he was sure they were all eager to be deployed soon. He was happy that the Ministry had discounted the costs of their treatment and rehabilitation. They'd all be ready for the field within days. He had a good feeling that they would all prove their worth.
He spent the rest of his morning reviewing the battalion's equipment, training schedules, and other administrative tasks.
After lunch, he was finally able to leave the office to visit the battalion's barracks. He took the elevator down from his office to the access hall that connected to other parts of the base. Following the signs for block 14's entrance, he made his way towards the rear of the building.
The main doors leading out to the yard were guarded by three security officers: one was in charge of opening the gate for the incoming military vehicles. As he approached, one of the guards noticed him and signaled for the gate to be opened. The boy nodded politely in response before stepping inside the 701st's compound.
It still amazed him that his battalion had its own section of the base. The area was a little larger than any other block in the military complex, and it was separated from the other areas by high walls. The entire perimeter had floodlights to light it,t and armed men were stationed on the walls at all times. The main hall was large and spacious, with wide corridors and a main parade ground in the middle of it.
Most of it had been refurbished recently, and it had a fresh new paint job with the battalion's logo on the wall. There was also a fully-equipped engineering center with a full team of mechanics working on the vehicles and weapons. A separate room had been set aside as an infirmary and repair bay for the androids.
It seemed the services for the battalion were back in full operation after he and Lina allocated the budget for it. It was nice to see the battalion's block full of activity compared to his first day here.
"Oya oya? Is that the new commander?"
Yuren heard a voice from the side and turned to see who it was. A group of five soldiers stood several feet from him, staring up at him expectantly. They looked like theyhad just come out of maintenance, he could clearly see the mechanical lines on their arms.
"Yes." He responded simply, "Yuren Gotsutoa."
"The new commander?" One of them repeated, "You're Yuren Gotsutoa? We've heard all about you! I'm AWV14-Ola, Aerial radar pilot. I'm part of the 701st's reconnaissance squad." The woman saluted respectfully and held out her hand for him to shake.
"I'm ATI91-Kuno, artillery weapons operator. And I'm with the 701st's artillery force." Another android girl with a big grin said, holding up a fist.
"I'm NIT72-Yun, communications specialist." The third one said. She held her palm forward, and Yuren could feel her grip tighten when they shook hands. "You must be pretty strong then, huh!" She grinned at him, looking up with her head tilted slightly to one side as if she'd been struck by a thought. "The silent two are LDS23-Garra and VMS61-Eri, sniper team two." Both raised their hands straight up as if in salute.
They really were androids, Yuren was stunned. These were the military's super soldier androids, and he had a whole battalion of them under his command. He'd never seen any of their kind before; he'd only ever seen the ones used by the police. These androids all had their own personalities, he could tell from how they carried themselves. Some were shy or reserved,d like Garra and Eri. Others like Ola were bold and outgoing, even serious or calm like Lina and Jia.
He was amazed at the diversity he saw among them as he made the rounds to introduce himself. They didn't seem any different from normal human soldiers to Yuren; he couldn't quite believe these were all artificial humans. He once again found himself wondering how much the Ministry spent on creating such a thing.
The young commander watched them as they chatted with each other during their training exercise. Their mannerisms were very human.
"You should sync with them during the training period, Sir." Jia suggested quietly when she saw how fascinated he was by his troops. She pulled out her tablet and tapped on the screen as she spoke. "It will help you learn more about your soldiers and give you to ability to coordinate better."
"I nearly forgot, that's how I actually command them... I haven't actually used my NUWA implant yet." Yuren admitted to her.
"I assumed you'd atleast sync with Lina... you have to get used to communicating orders and instructions to us through your implant," Jia explained patiently. "It's extremely important when we're on the battlefield."
"Okay." He nodded, then closed his eyes for a moment, "All right..." He opened his eyes and placed his hand over his neck where the chip was implanted. He felt the familiar tingle as it began its work, "Here goes nothing," He whispered nervously as the signal entered the chip's receiver. He felt as though he was being sucked into another dimension as the signals flowed across the chip's network to reach his brain.
There was a brief sensation of numbness as the signal took hold, but Yuren soon came back to himself. Various information and details appeared in his vision – the names, faces,s and positions of the android soldiers began showing up for h,im as well as the status and location of the various things around the compound. It was all there the second he thought about it, and it all came so easily to him as the data was processed by his mind.
He saw a map appear in his mind's eye that showed him where every soldier was located, along with their statuses and other details. It was almost as though it had always existed in his head, waiting to be called upon.
"You synced to us all at once?!" Jia flinched with surprise and confusion.
"Oh, uhm..." He looked down and scratched his head awkwardly. "Yeah, that's what I did."
"I was told you have a high resonance... but this... this is amazing." Jia looked at him as she shook her head slowly, "Not even Adelah can connect to her entire battalion... I'm starting to see why the Ministry chose you for our battalion."
All the time he had spent with Lina and Jia had given him a thorough understanding of the implants, but seeing them in action made him realize what a rare gift this was. It was no wonder the Ministry was looking for individuals with high resonance for the military's android battalions.
Yuren took a deep breath as he shook off the dizziness. He noticed his soldiers were much more in sync with each other and flawlessly executed their drills. This was what the Ministry wanted and needed: a commander able to bring out the effectiveness of the androids' abilities. His confidence grew as he observed the battalion's efficiency increase by leaps and bounds.
He continued to monitor their progress as they went about their training. He quickly learned about their combat capabilities and their weaknesses in the field.
As they trained, they would occasionally receive new assignments, and Yuren would immediately issue commands. He'd take note of their responses and adjust their training accordingly. Within an hour,r he had already improved their accuracy by twenty percent.
"Everything is back up to speed, we're field-ready once again, Sir," Jia announced cheerfully as she walked towards him after their drill session ended.
"Good." He nodded as he turned away from her, "Send word to the Ministry that we're ready to deploy."
Jia nodded as she handed him a tablet before leaving him alone at the parade ground. He sighed as he put the tablet away and took a seat on the bench, watching as the soldiers finished packing their gear and returned to their quarters.
Yuren could feel his mind shifting gears, and the events of the last few hours replayed through his mind.
He was nervous.
It felt strange to him that he was feeling nervous when he had already led hundreds of men into battle in the simulations.
He wasn't scared, but he did feel worried for his soldiers. He had only seen the android soldiers in action for the first time today; he didn't know what to expect from them yet. They were the future of humanity; it was up to him to ensure they lived up to their potential. But the Ministry was reluctant to invest in them; he knew that. That was why he had to prove to the government that his battalion was worth keeping.
His heart pounded as he imagined the possibilities. There were many risks involved in this assignment; a lot could go wrong. But there were also rewards waiting for him at the end, if he succeeded.
Yuren was excited, yet he was terrified, too.
The sun was setting when he decided it was time to return to his office.