Book 4: Chapter 3
“Come on, Junior Platoon Commander! Get it together!”
I clenched my fists and teeth as Jei Su Long’s obnoxious crooning drilled into my ears. Even my mask of indifference was starting to slip as his constant badgering threatened to push me over the edge. It was only the fact that I knew that that was exactly the result he wanted, that kept me from lashing out and pummeling the little bastard in front of the entire battalion of army personnel.
It was our third day on the Xing Long and I was assembled with my platoon within the large hanger that I now knew to be the main assembly point for the military personnel on board. Ship time was training time, or so I quickly came to understand and one thing the army did better than anyone else, was marching drills.
In Du Gok Bhong, we learned the basics of military formations and drill routines, but we were like rank amateurs compared to even the most basic of the soldiers here. Normally, the Legionnaire Platoon on board would be on the viewing side of such activities, taking in the various drill routines and competitions as entertainment.
But the dumb asshole Jei Su Long decided to make us compete against the other soldiers, putting me in charge while he and his uncle lounged on the dais next to the General and watched us make fools of ourselves. With but a hour’s notice and practice, we were now trying to replicate the complex drill routines that the infantrymen knew from the depts of their souls.
“This is complete bullshit,” Juk Sui muttered as we failed yet another attempt to get the routine right. “Why are we being subjected to this loss of face?”
“Because that’s what the Senior Commander wants,” I said with just as much venom, but I had to at least try to keep my men’s morale intact. “Just deal with it for now. Remember our true mission.”
“But he brings us shame, Commander,” Jin Po, a stocky cultivator with deep brown skin and green eyes said. “We are being mocked as Graduate Legionnaires by common foot soldiers!”
His fellow countrymen, Li Hei and Ben Wu both nodded in agreement.