The eting room used to be a classroom.
The whiteboard was still there, though the surface was cracked and stained.
Old diagrams had been scrubbed off poorly.
Rows of mismatched chairs filled the space. None of them were comfortable.
Aiden sat in the third row with Reeves on his right and Lena on his left.
Sarah sat two rows ahead. Everyone faced forward, but no one looked relaxed.
A stack of folders sat on the desk at the front of the room.
That was enough to explain why they were here.
An officer entered without ceremony. No one announced him.
He didn’t ask them to stand.
"Sit," he said, and waited until the room settled.
He picked up the first folder.
"You’ve all completed accelerated combat conditioning," he said. "So of you perford above expectations. So of you barely t minimum thresholds. That no longer matters."
He let that hang.
"From this point on, training and combat are not separate phases."
He opened the folder.
"You are being assigned individually, not as units. Familiarity is secondary to operational need."
Reeves shifted beside Aiden.
Lena’s jaw tightened.
"These are not requests," the officer continued. "These are orders."
He began calling nas.
One by one, recruits stood, walked forward, received a folder, and returned to their seats.
So opened them imdiately. So didn’t.
Aiden didn’t pay attention to destinations at first.
He paid attention to reactions.
Relief. Fear. Confusion. Anger.
Sarah’s na was called.
She stood, walked up, took her folder, and returned without opening it. She didn’t look back.
Reeves went next.
He took the folder, flipped it open imdiately, then closed it again. His face stayed neutral, but his foot started tapping.
"Guess that’s that," he muttered under his breath.
Aiden didn’t ask.
Lena’s na was called.
She hesitated for half a second before standing. She took the folder with both hands, like it might fall apart if she didn’t.
She sat down and opened it slowly.
Her eyes moved across the page. She didn’t say anything.
Aiden’s na was called last.
"Aiden Holt."
He stood, walked forward, and took the folder. It felt heavier than paper should.
He returned to his seat and opened it.
FORWARD DEPLOYNT ASSIGNNT
RANK: CORPORAL
LOCATION: NEW YORK CITY TROPOLITAN DEFENSE ZONE
He read it again to make sure he hadn’t misunderstood.
New York.
The officer continued speaking, addressing the room as a whole.
"Assignnts are based on projected threat density, infrastructure value, and adaptability under stress."
He looked directly at Aiden for a brief mont, then away.
"So of you are being sent to areas with limited contact. Others are being sent to zones where contact is constant."
No one needed clarification on which category New York fell into.
"These areas are not collapsing," the officer said. "They are contested. That distinction matters."
Soone in the back raised a hand.
The officer looked at him. "Ask."
"Are these permanent assignnts?"
"No," the officer said. "Nothing is permanent."
That answer didn’t help.
"Dismissed," the officer said. "Transports depart within forty-eight hours."
Chairs scraped against the floor. People stood slowly, like gravity had increased.
No one rushed out.
Outside the room, conversations started imdiately.
"Where you headed?"
"Southwest."
"Europe."
"Pacific defense line."
Aiden stood near the wall, folder still in his hands. Reeves joined him.
"New York," Reeves said flatly.
Aiden nodded. "Yeah."
Reeves blew out a breath. "That’s... heavy."
"Strategic," Aiden said.
Reeves looked at him. "You don’t sound surprised."
"I’m not," Aiden replied. "They want people who don’t freeze."
Reeves didn’t argue with that.
"My assignnt’s convoy security out west," Reeves said. "Long routes. Ambush risk, but nothing like a city."
He paused. "I guess this is where we split."
Aiden nodded again. This ti it felt real.
Lena approached them, folder tucked under her arm.
"Europe," she said. "Urban defense. Smaller scale."
Reeves forced a smile. "Look at us. International."
Lena didn’t smile back.
Sarah joined them a mont later.
"Chicago," she said. "Sa situation as New York. Different flavor."
She looked at Aiden. "They put you in the deep end."
"They put where it matters," Aiden replied.
Sarah studied him. "That’s not the sa thing."
They stood there for a mont, the four of them, knowing this was the last ti they’d be together like this.
Reeves broke the silence. "Well. If we’re doing goodbyes, I’m bad at those."
"Then don’t," Lena said.
He nodded. "Deal."
That night, Aiden packed without rushing.
He didn’t overthink what to bring. He followed the list. Anything extra was weight.
When he finished, he sat on his cot and stared at the folder again.
New York City.
Population centers. Power grids. Financial systems. Data hubs. Transportation arteries.
If it fell, a lot fell with it.
He closed his eyes.
System.
The response ca imdiately.
[System Operational]
"Urban combat," Aiden said. "High density."
[Confird]
"Anything I should know?"
A pause.
[Environntal unpredictability increased]
"That’s obvious."
[Clarification: civilian presence complicates engagent decisions]
Aiden’s jaw tightened. "I know."
[Note: user response latency decreases under moral stress]
That caught his attention.
"aning?"
[User may experience hesitation when non-combatants are involved]
Aiden exhaled slowly. "I won’t freeze."
[Data indicates increased cognitive load]
"Then help manage it."
Another pause.
[Training Optimization Interface will prioritize decision clarity over speed in civilian-dense environnts]
That was new.
Aiden nodded once. "Good."
The next morning, he found Lena sitting alone near the periter fence.
"You ready?" he asked.
She shrugged. "As ready as anyone pretending this is normal."
He sat beside her.
"New York’s not a front like Ashen Plain," she said. "But it’s worse in so ways."
"Because people live there," Aiden said.
"Because people refuse to leave," Lena replied.
Aiden didn’t correct her.
When transport day ca, they boarded in groups.
Reeves shook Aiden’s hand once. Hard.
"Don’t be stupid," Reeves said.
"I won’t," Aiden replied. "You either."
Sarah gave Aiden a short nod. "If you end up leading, don’t forget you’re allowed to say no."
Aiden t her eyes. "I’ll rember."
Lena hesitated, then said quietly, "If you survive New York, you won’t be the sa."
Aiden answered honestly. "I don’t think that’s optional."
The transport doors closed.
As the vehicle lifted, Aiden looked out through the narrow window.
The base shrank below them.
Training was over.
Not because he was ready.
But because the war needed him sowhere specific.
New York waited.
And this ti, there would be no practice run.
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