On the day of Eva's seventeenth birthday, Tess took her to a UEE office to register her DNA against the Valkyrie handle as per Jessica's will. Eva was standing in the registry office where handles are approved and registered, waiting for the clerk to file the final paperwork to register her handle. She glanced across into the neighbouring room through the glass walls and spotted a UEE recruitment officer. At that moment she thought about the time since her mother's death and about how she never really felt at home in Aunt Tess' house, and all of a sudden she felt like she was suffocating.

 

Without saying a word to Tess, Eva stood up and walked into the next room. Tess called after her but she ignored her and made her way directly to the recruitment officer. Tess didn't put up much of an argument, and when Eva looked back over her shoulder at her Aunt, she thought she saw a hint of an approving smile on the older woman's face.

 

After changing into her standard issue recruit uniform Eva stood in a line of strangers ranging in age from seventeen to others who looks like that are in their late twenties, each leaving their life behind for one reason or another. Looking at each of the faces around her she saw small groups of teenagers all laughing and smiling with typical youthful excitement as well as others who looked like they were about to soil themselves. Eva rolled her eyes and looked back towards the front of the line, waiting for her turn to be led into the next room.

 

They filed into a large room and were lined up in neat rows, five rows of ten recruits. A door in the far side of the room opened and a tall, middle aged man in uniform with a face that looked like it hadn't smiled in a decade marched in, stopped directly in front of the group and turned to face them abruptly.

 

"My name is Lieutenant Jenkins. You may come to know me as 'that asshole', but you will address me as Sir!" he began in a stern voice so loud he was practically shouting.

 

"I don't care who you used to be. I don't care who you think you are. As of this moment you belong to me. You will eat, sleep, speak and shit when I tell you to. This is your last chance to bug out, babies. If you leave now we will forget that your sorry ass ever stepped into this room. If you stay, but give up during training your records WILL be permanently marked as a failed UEE Navy recruit. So, do we have any early takers?"

 

There were a few nervous shuffles of feet, but whether by stupidity or a misguided youthful sense of adventure, no one left. Eva couldn't help but smirk a little at the man's speech, and it did not escape his notice. He strode up to stand toe to toe with her, glaring down at her. She looked up at him and met his glare with one of her own.

 

"Is something funny....." he glanced for a moment at the tag on her uniform before returning his glare to her eyes, "... Hawkins?"

 

"It's Valkyrie, Sir", Eva corrected him, making sure to put a sarcastic tone to the last word, and was rewarded with an aggravated twitch of one of his eyes and a tightening of his jaw.

 

"Ohhh I see! We have here a bona fide ace who believes she is entitled to a handle already. Let me tell you something, little girl. You handle, all of your handles", he paused to make an encompassing gesture with his arms to the entire group, "is maggot until I decide otherwise! Everyone, through that door and onto the shuttle. This is going to be fun!"

 

As the group moved to shuffle out of the room, Jenkins grabbed Eva by the shoulder and dug his fingers in painfully, "Keep it up maggot, and I'll snap you in two" he whispered to her.

 

Eva winced, knowing the grip would likely leave bruises but turned to match his gaze again, "Before my tour is done, I'm going to end you." she growled at him, and was rewarded with a backhand. She couldn't help but cry out a little at the force of the blow and tasted blood in her mouth. She wretched her shoulder out of his grasp and stalked into the next room behind the other recruits, some of which had turned to watch the exchange and were whispering amongst themselves. She composed herself and offered them a confident smile, with a trickle of blood from her newly split lip making the smile look obscene.

 

NEXT ENTRY: Initiation