The test was mostly a recap, and Nivka finished quickly. She turned it in, and a few seconds later, she got notified. She had passed.

  Following directions, she exited the building and headed to her next location. It was a hanger bay, located off to the side of the base.

  She entered and saw a few others, mostly the test takers that had finished first. They were sitting on provided chairs and couches, so she joined them.

  It was make or break day, so she booted up the manual again. She saw a few others had done the same. Now, it was just waiting. It took 20 or so minutes, but everyone who would be here was here.

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  The Colonel arived shortly thereafter, and we all shot up. "At ease. I've some bad news. We've got 30 machines and there's 32 of you. David's, Veriticy, your being relegated to back line duty til' the next wave. You two have guaranteed slots. I'm sorry." He said.

  The two named straightened even further and saluted, before exiting stiffly. "Now, we have no more then a week to get through this. If you fuck up majorly, you get replaced by one of the two I sent out. You mess around, the same. Everyone get the jist?" He asked.

  "YES SIR!" We call out.

  "Good. Real world trials should go smoothly, as you all did well in the Sims. The minor differences shouldn't be a deal breaker. Throughout the week, there will be live fire exercises. There will be drills. There will be everything under the sun so you get ready as fast as possible."

  "Now, further in this hanger, there are the mechs. Grab one, start it up, and await orders. Dismissed." He said.

  We immediately moved to follow orders. This was startling to sound like a trial of some kind. Who would have guessed?