Out of Character:
"Boot camp."
I stared across the open gardens of the Dirks Estate, a pensive expression haunting my eyes.
Imperial. So much had happened so quickly. Ever since we established our headquarters at Dirks Estate, my work had been building towards this. I had spent hours seraching through the cool, musty basements and pulling up supplies. Now I had my first batch of recruits to start training; four aspiring warriors. They came from very different backgrounds, and had different talents. I rolled my shoulders, enjoying the late-afternoon sunlight. By the time I finished with them, my recruits would all be fit fighting machines, ready to defend Imperial and bring its name new glory.
"But first... I'm gonna' have to kick their asses."
I remembered my own boot camp training from my life on Earth. I remembered it as one of the most physically and mentally demanding times of my life, and I had been at the top of the class. I doubted I would enjoy putting my recruits through the paces, but I knew it was necessary. You don't learn to kill and survive on the battlefield by swinging wooden swords.
I turned, putting my back to the sun, and surveyed the camp. Two large canvas tents stood right in front of me. The larger of the two held four bunk beds and eight footlockers, divided down the middle by a curtain to give the men and women privacy from each other. I had organized double the accomadations necessary for the number of recruits, a manifestation of my hope that more warriors would join our cause.
"It doesn't matter," I told myself, not wanting to waste thoughts on the past, "Work with what you've got, and you'll reap the rewards."
The smaller of the two tents was my own sleeping quarters. I would train and work with the recruits all day, but my position of authority afforded me a little more privacy. Fifty yards away stood a third tent, this one much larger than the others but made from the same tan-colored canvas. Inside there were showers, sinks, and toilets, the plumbing hooked up through an old obsolete system of fountains. The water would be ice cold, but we would have to deal with it.
My feet whispered on the low-clipped grass as I walked a final circuit around the meager compound. Everything was in order for the arrival of my troops. They would have one night's sleep in the tents, and training would begin the next morning at sunrise. Finishing my loop, I stopped in front of the two sleeping tents and waited for the recruits to arrive.
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