The neon glow of the numbers hovering in front of him reflected in Roman's sunglasses as he stared at the puzzle that was being projected from the holopad. The slight artificial breeze flung bits of dirt and dead leaves through the light projection, causing it to waver slightly. Roman glanced away from his sudoku puzzle to glare at the ground. It was the middle of fall now. Or, more accurately, the middle of the illusion of fall, as set by Luna's environmental parameters. Over the past few weeks, the temperature began to drop, and the leaves slowly started falling off the trees to blanket the ground with a layer of brown, red, and yellow. It had made Roman's new favorite spot much less comfortable, at least physically. The small bench, located in a less-used detour path through the park of Lunar Acadamy had become Roman's hiding place of choice over the past two months. Ever since the failure of Squad One's sic-man siege mission, and the resulting splitting up of the team, Roman had been looking for a place to conceal himself from everyone for long periods of time. However, to avoid anyone he knew who could be looking for him, Roman had elected to go to the last place they would think to look. Hiding in a closet certainly shielded you from the eyes of the people, but Roman knew better. A thousand eyes upon you could be just as good as none, so long as the context was correct. No one payed any attention to a person sitting on a public bench. Roman might as well have been as invisible as the Nephesh here.

The idea from the location stemmed from important, albeit extremely awkward conversation with Thessalia Minari a day prior to the catastrophic failure of a mission. Despite several people passing them by as they talked, not a single person cared to look at the two people, male and female even, sitting on the bench in silence. It would have showed the clear signs of a couple fight to those who would be deemed 'normal' people, but not even a casual glance has been sent their way. The spot was perfect. Well, except for the stupid weather. It has been near the end of summer at the time. The inclusion of the season in an artificial atmosphere was an important one, of course. Not for the environment, however. The seasons were in place for the people's sake. The economy to be specific. Lunar Acadamy was only a tiny section of the moon of Luna. An enormous colony of people lived in the huge complex, as the rock was a strategic logistics point for travel. The shift in weather allowed for more variety in business to crop up everywhere, as well as expand the need of essential items for sale. After all, if coats weren't necessary, no one would buy them. Roman wished he had a coat.

A small bout of shivering took over Roman's body, although for once it wasn't from anxiety. Trying to ignore the chilly wind, Roman once again banished the thought of traveling to a store. The thought of the shopkeeper was an unpleasant one. Calling home for one wouldn't work either. His parents wouldn't waste thousands of dollars in fuel and shipping costs just to send him a jacket. Plus, they would tell him to go to the aforementioned store and get one. The next time he needed parts for A.W.E. maintenance, he would have to remember to ask. Sighing, Roman returned his focus towards his puzzle. There were only eight squares still open. Lifting a finger, Roman was about to fill a square, when a beep made him jump. A small envelope symbol appeared in the corner of the projected screen. Roman frowned at it. Only one person ever sent him emails. Sighing again, Roman taped a finger to the envelope. The puzzle vanished, to be replaced with a short message:

[quote]To all of Squad One:

If you aren't dead or dying, get your ass in your dorm to meet me at 16:00 sharp.

-Col. Landsfeldt[/quote]

Roman's blood pressure began to spike. The dorm? The Colonel [I]never[/I] came to the dorm. Well, not true. The last time he stopped by, Douglas and Karl were taken away. Roman doubted that another person would be removed. This meant what he, Thessalia, and his third squad mate and childhood companion, Richard Williams, had speculated was true. The three of them had been sure that the Colonel had just been stalling for time to find another couple of members for Squad One. All missions had stopped to be replaced with individual training plans, save the occasional group free practice. This was not something Roman wanted to deal with today, and certainly not this suddenly. Glancing at his watch, Roman saw that it was just past 3:30pm. Standing up on shaky legs, Roman used all of his willpower to force them to stop. Berating himself, he felt ashamed as his sudden reversion to his old self. He had been practicing this. He had two bodyguards now. No one would be able to hurt him. No one wanted to hurt him anyway. He needed to remain calm. It was the same mantra that Paxton had been jamming into him for many years, and despite a temporary lapse during the first few weeks, the time alone and the conversation with Thessalia allowed it to make a comeback. He needed to remain calm. He needed to remember that the world was not out to get him. He needed to not forget that again. But of course he would.

[indent]***[/indent]

At the clock struck 3:58pm., Roman pressed a hand to the door to Squad One's dorm room. The familiar hiss of the door opening did nothing to help Roman's spirits. Slowly, he walked into the room, the hiss again emerging as the door closed behind him. Roman resisted the urge bolt towards the bedroom. He needed to remain calm. The walk back to the dorm had helped strengthen his resolve, but nonetheless, this was about to be the most intensive interaction he had to endure for a long while. He could handle it... With help. Glancing around the room, Roman saw that said help was already here: Richard half-asleep on the couch, and Thessalia sitting at the kitchen table.After noting their positions, Roman locked his eyes on his favorite chair in the corner and made a beeline towards it and sitting down on the edge. His watch now read 3:59pm. Any secon-

"Alright cadets, [I]line up[/I]!"

The voice of the Colonel came through the hissing door, causing Roman to jerk to his feet like he had been poked with a cattle prod. Half-scrambling, he began moving to the middle of the room, whee the rest of his squad was also heading. Once there, he took up his position to the right of Richard, with Thessalia to Richard's left. Staring at the opening, his right hand at his forehead to show attention, Roman used all his resolve to stand up straight and keep himself from shaking at the man in his full metal-decorated military jacket stood at his full height in front of the three students. Despite his zombie-like appearance of pale skin, hallowed cheeks, and completely white hair, the man's mind and body were still in perfectly capable shape, if his piercing blue eyes and the mechanical clicks from his many robotic augmentations were indication.

"At ease," barked the Colonel, waiting for the hands to drop before continuing, "I'd say I trust you enjoyed your time without missions, but I can already read the answers on your faces. The answers will be mixed." The Colonel's eyes lingered on Roman as he said this. Roman bit the inside of his cheek to keep his expression neutral. "But, not to worry. Tomorrow at 09:00, you will be going on your first mission... with your new teammates." The pause at the end was accompanied by a small smile, as the old man took note of the complete lack of surprise on the three faces. "But, of course you knew this would happen right after Karesh and Shanks were taken away, didn't you? Well, congratulations, you were right. It took a while, but after my mistakes, I didn't want to take any chances. They're fresh off the bus, but they should mesh well with you three."

Turning back towards the door and opening it with the accompanying hiss, the Colonel once again stepped outside the dorm. "I'm giving you five time to get to know each other before tomorrow. Don't screw this up again," the Colonel said, his eyes narrowing at the end, before turning his attention towards the hall, where Roman realized he could hear noise. "Get in, and play nice," the Colonel said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder towards the open door, before turning away and walking off down the hall. His footsteps along with the hum of his machinery echoed throughout it as Roman finally unclenched his jaw. His cheek was really starting to hurt. However, there was the chance it would bleed by the end of the night.