Rise of a Valkyrie

Part 20

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The instructors ordered the girls into evenly spaced lines, telling them to stand up straight, with their arms at their sides, and to look forward without fidgeting. A few tense minutes passed before the group was addressed by a woman wearing a jersey labeled Chief Instructor, who spoke in a thick Scottish accent.

"Welcome ladies, to Camp White," she said. "I am Chief Instructor McKinnon. My job is to prepare you mentally and physically for life in Valkyrie. Over the course of the next six months, you will be subjected to a demanding training course that will push you to your limits and force you to question your reasons for being here. If you pass, you will be eligible to continue to the Ranger training school, where your infantry skills will be developed.

"There is no passing quota I am required to meet. If I must reject all of you, have no doubt that is what I will do. At any time during this course, you may voluntarily withdraw; simply announce your intention to any of the instructors. A bus will be arranged for you, and you will be taken back to the starport in Tyr city for a shuttle flight home. We perform this process smoothly and quickly because we do it frequently. In fact, within the next month, I fully expect half of you to quit.

"Eventually, most of you will learn what Valkyrie is all about, and that your place is not among us. You should not be ashamed or disheartened by this—it does not make you a bad person, nor diminish from the significant achievements you have made, and certainly will make in your life.

Kayla shifted her feet. That might be true for everyone else, but not for her.

"Over the course of the next six months, we will be evaluating your physical fitness, and overall performance. If we find you are below our standards and are not making the effort required to keep up, you will be escorted out. If you are injured, you will be treated, and medically rolled into another class once you have recovered.

"So, that's the introduction over with. Now ladies, are there any among you who like horses? Don't be shy..."

A few hands were hesitantly raised.

"Excellent." The Chief Instructor gestured to the statue next to her. "This statue commemorates a horse named Sergeant Reckless. She was a member of an old and legendary band of warriors known as the United States Marine Corps. She is our camp mascot, and you would do well to study some of the literature we have about her in the camp library. If you adopt the Sergeant as your role model, you will certainly succeed in your training."

Kayla heard marching feet approaching, and she looked around. A group of two dozen recruits in hiking gear were approaching from a path in the nearby forest.

"It looks like we have been joined by the recruits of Camp Darzi," Mckinnon said with a smile. "This class started selection five months ago. They got up early this morning and walked twenty miles along the coast to get here."

"Quick break girls," A Darzi instructor called. "Take a moment to drink and grab a snack."

The group sat down on their packs. They were lean, filthy, and barely exchanged words as they wolfed down snacks. Their faces were blank, jaws set, and there was no life in their eyes. They made slow simple movements, but nothing was done half-heartedly. None of them so much as glanced at the crowd of nervous girls in front of them.

Kayla's stomach turned. Twenty miles with a full pack? She was fit, but she had never attempted a feat of such endurance.

"That's long enough, recruits," the instructor called after a few minutes. "Back on your feet and back to camp."