Commanders lined everyone up to walk through a gate opened by the Sage of Transit. There were only a few hundred volunteers, so it didn't take long to pass through. Hector had to be prodded by Esther to keep moving because of the distraction provided by Transit's realm.

"It's not that impressive," Esther commented as they finally stepped through the gate.

That claim bothered Hector. "Can you feel what he's doing to reality?"

"My insight into human bodies doesn't intersect with whatever portal insight Transit has, but I can pick up some of his influence. Matthias always said that his insight made him sensitive to the reality manipulation that Arahant Sages do. You'll just have to get used to it."

Hector shrugged off his fascination with the reality warping effect of Transit as he entered the camp on Aes. A wave of chaos on the mental band proved an effective distraction. He began his practice of mental cultivation, quickly realizing that there was no miasma tainting the purity of the chaos he found. A quick check with his mental sense proved there was no miasma at all in his surroundings. The environment was essentially his perfect cultivation environment.

His mundane senses reported less stellar news. The military camp was a crowded maze of storage depots, garages, and freestanding turrets. A tall concrete wall occluded the world beyond the base from view and caused everything to echo ominously. There was periodic gunfire in the distance – from the sound, it was a mixture of plasma, laser, slug, and explosive rounds. An ominous humming lasted for two seconds, its source seemed to simultaneously be a specific spot on the wall and from Hector's very bones. He went still as he recognized the effect from descriptions he'd heard from others. The camp apparently had one more type of weapon they employed.

"That's not a good sign that they're firing a schism beam two minutes after we get here," Mick said. The man looked like he was regretting his decision to join the reconquest for another tour.

Boots crunched on gravel as the new recruits awkwardly shuffled around, making room for the people waiting to use the gate in the other direction. Base personnel began processing the newcomers, calling out the alphanumeric codes that were their staging locations back on Union Central. Most of the recruits fell into three categories: gun-toting Jinn, immense Titans, and weapon-wielding Arahants. The remainder were mostly support personnel who looked like they had no business being near a battle.

A Jinn officer with shiny rank insignia chewed a cigar while he complained to a senior enlisted man at his side. "Fifteen hundred are rotating out and we get just half that number back. Are the politicians not paying for any more of their damn war films or something? We need bodies."

The senior enlisted grunted a gruff response. "We can handle a light rotation or two so long as they keep sending the ammunition."

As the crowd thinned, the officer caught sight of Hector, Esther, and Mick. "Great. More Xian to cause a ruckus. I want you to personally handle their orientation, Sergeant Major. Make it very clear how things run around here."

"I'll get them settled," the sergeant major promised.

Over the next hour the three Xian were issued uniforms, educated on the rules of Stronghold Gamma, and assigned to duty rosters. The sergeant major focused his attention on Hector once he pulled up their records and saw that Esther and Mick had previously served on Aes without issue. The orientation wasn't anywhere near as hostile as Hector worried it might be. It wasn't even particularly stern. The sergeant major delivered factual information, including the consequences for failing to obey orders.

There were a variety of recourses available for the leadership of Stronghold Gamma to handle problematic soldiers. They frequently used administrative punishments for minor matters, which took the form of losing privileges. More serious infractions would be handled with a discharge from service – meaning loss of pay for the deployment. And, should the undesirable behavior rise to a level considered mutinous, execution was a valid option.

"You three are granted the rank of recruit. It's best for you to assume that everyone you encounter outranks you. If your ego can't handle that, then you're in the wrong place. Recruit Esther, you have two prior deployments, so you will be eligible for a promotion to corporal after a month. Recruit Mick, since you had only a single deployment, you're going to need to serve for three months before we consider a promotion. Recruit Hector, promotion is unlikely during your service. If you return on another deployment, that will change."

They were passed off to a staff sergeant who walked them to their bunker assignment. It was a reinforced concrete dome not far from the external wall, with the designation 'G-B-22' stenciled onto the windbreak wall shielding the entry hatch. The staff sergeant turned them over to the bunker's leader, a sour-faced Titan introduced as Lieutenant Ringo.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

The lieutenant drew himself up as he sneered at his new recruits. "I have strict rules that don't bend for ignorant Xian savages. Within this bunker, you will have no food, no drink other than water, no pornography, and none of your kind's 'resources'. Food stays at the dining facility. Special Xian resources are consumed at the supply depot. I expect you to keep your assigned bunk clean and neat. You're also required to shower daily when the facilities are operational. I won't have unwashed Xian stinking up the place. Nor will you be fraternizing between the sexes inside the bunker. I catch anyone in the wrong bay and there will be consequences."

When their Titan bunker leader finished his impression of a martinet, he assigned them each a bay number between one and four. Esther went to bay one, which was female only. Hector and Mick were sent to two and four respectively. From what Hector gathered, four had a number of Jinn cyborgs in it. Bays two and three were reserved for Titans. Apparently Lieutenant Ringo wanted to separate the Xian enough to make an exception.

Hector entered his new home through a zigzagging blind and took in the layout. It was mostly open space inside the concrete box, with bunks and lockers taking up most of the floor. Along the inner wall was a door labeled as a latrine. Lights dangled from cords, gently swaying so that shadows shifted in an eerie dance.

The Titans inside noticed him immediately.

One groaned in disappointment. "Another Xian? We just got rid of the last one."

"No, this is a good one. Hey, Hector!" The speaker was none other than Ajax, who along with his brother, had been part of Misfit Squad on Eden.

"Hey, Ajax! How have you been?"

The familiar Titan came forward to offer a fist bump. "I'm still fighting, so that's something."

Nestor appeared by his brother but did not offer his fist – Hector was pretty sure he had done some damage when they traded punches during their first meeting. "What happened with the Ogre?"

"I couldn't kill her." Hector said it in such a way that everyone could sense there was more to the story. When his much taller audience leaned in to hear more, he continued. "I dragged her into my transit sphere and traveled her to Tian. From what I heard, a Xian Lord was selling tickets to people who wanted to fight a level ten Ogre."

Nestor chuckled and wiped a tear from his eye. "You are ballsy for a level five."

"Well, I'm actually level six now." Hector recalled that Titans were largely blind to forms of energy other than substantial energy and thus unable to see soul levels. "I spent some time doing a treasure hunt on Tian and that helped me improve my body enhancement a good bit. I recruited Cleo to help me out."

Ajax's jaw dropped. "You brought an Arahant to Tian? That sounds… risky."

"I paid her two hundred and fifty thousand credits for two weeks."

Ajax nodded. "Well, I guess she knew what she was getting herself into."

The three of them caught up with each other as the other Titans went back to their own business. No one seemed to object to Hector's presence since he'd been vouched for by the brothers. His friends were entertained by his story of the treasure hunt. Then it was his turn to hear of their time on Aes. Those stories were far less entertaining.

Increasingly the monsters encountered on Aes were classified as deviants. Meaning they were able to twist the normal forms of creatures to a greater extent. Instead of gigantifying an existing form – like a scorpion with claws large enough to snip an aircraft carrier in half – the miasma was mixing forms indiscriminately. There was an infestation of rat deviants with boar tusks and bat wings in the area that periodically attacked Stronghold Gamma. Their numbers never seemed to decline, so everyone assumed the monsters were reproducing in some manner.

Meanwhile, the background miasma level continued to rise. The weekly patrols became ever briefer until no one even pretended the reconquest would take more ground. They were at a point where clearing the area around the various Strongholds was more ambitious than wise. There wasn't much that could be done different. Miasma poisoning happened with disturbing regularity, placing soldiers on bed rest or, with some bad luck, permanent rest.

In short, the reconquest was failing. The Titan brothers reported all of this with an attitude of 'it is what it is', though Hector could sense the grief and rage beneath the surface. They knew that the lives they'd had before could never be again, but knowing their very world would rot into oblivion hurt. Hector sympathized. He'd once carried the burden of his own world.

"I don't know how much longer the Reconquest can ignore the truth," Ajax rumbled.

"Not as long as I can," Nestor shot back. "I will die here before I abandon home."

Ajax realized they'd drifted into morose territory and changed the subject. "Have you met Ringo the Dingo yet?"

"I had the distinct pleasure of meeting the lieutenant." Hector rolled his eyes.

"Watch out for him. He'll fuck you over in a second just because he can," Ajax said.

Nestor nodded. "The miserable shit gets off on punishing people. We only put up with him because the alternative is leaving Aes forever."

Hector frowned. "Why is someone like him in a position of authority around here?"

"Don't act confused. This can't be the first time you met someone who kissed the ass of everyone above them and pissed on everyone below them." Nestor sneered towards the doorway. "Those dick biters always figure out a way to climb up a hierarchy."

Ajax clapped Hector on the shoulder. "Enough about Ringo the Dingo. There's an open bunk near us. We'll get you set up, grab some grub, and then head back for nap time. Our illustrious bunker leader constantly volunteers us for night watch, so you need to sleep during the day."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.