Corporal Leon Treu stepped into the room and found it small, unadorned, and spartanly furnished with a desk and three chairs. Two of the chairs were on the far side of the desk; one chair was on the near side. An overhead lamp lit the desk, but little else. Leon sat in the lone chair closest to the door.

He waited.

This was his fourth week in the academy. The training was tough, the food minimal, the sleep constantly interrupted. His muscles were sore. His fingers and feet ached with blisters. His head was drunk with exhaustion. But he had this one week left. If he could make it through, he would graduate and be inducted into the elite corp of the ISXC Hoplites.

He almost nodded off. He was tempted to steal a few seconds of sleep right there as he waited. But then he reminded himself...

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