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I boarded a Deuce with around ten other dragons that was headed for the range. I was startled at the coloration of them,blue,red white grey,even one with a bit of pink. I could tell that they'd never seen a dragon as big as I was either,I actually made the Deuce sag a bit with the extra 2 and half tons I added to the back. Most of them had looks of fear on their faces,I could understand why.

'when I first joined the Marine Corps,Hudson,Issac,Wyatt and myself,we were all skinny twigs of men,Hudson more than all of us. The drill sergeant took one look at us,and a wide smirk crossed his face. He saw Marines in us that we did not,he certainly brought them out. He once told us

"You are the best men I've ever had the pleasure of training."

It brought back memories as the Deuce went along over the potholes and bumps in the road,it was a rough ride,but I enjoyed it. For me,basic training was the best experience of my life,Alex,the drill sergeant,tough he always acted worse than Hudson,cared for everyone of us,if he saw a mistake,he would give us the push ups,show us what we did wrong and we never made the mistake again. Alex would often cause trouble with us when ever we got bored,the most memorable being the cherry bomb in the General's private restroom toilet,we all ate close to 2,000 push ups for it,but everyone laughed about it.

The ride to the range was long and drawn out,I'd say due to setting it up. Most of the other dragon's had fallen asleep,expect for me and one smaller,blue white guy who seemed to be frozen with fear. I could see him shaking.

"You don't have anything to worry about,I said placing my head between my paws,as long as you listen,you'll be fine."

"You sound like youv'e done this before,he said with a shake.

"This is my second time,I said,I was a Marine for the better part of my time as a human."

"What can I expect,he asked.

"Lots of screaming,I said,just keep cool and you'll be fine."

The truck jerked to a stop and the others were startled awake. A man came around and was going to undo the tailgate,but was startled when he saw me laying on it.

"Did you all have a nice ride,he asked sarcastically.

With my background,I knew better than to answer,but somebody didn't.

"Yes sir,he said with a shaky voice.

"Then get the hell out of my truck."

Everyone jumped out to avoid being yelled at. We all stood in line as four more Deuces pulled up. Guys pulled out crates,bags and metal pallets and started arranging the weapons vests on them. There were the ones I'd seen at the armory,as well as five new ones that I hadn't. Some of the new ones were bristling with quad M16s,dual KC-90 Shotguns,a Type-56 Mortar and the biggest was a Barrett M82A1,each of these vests boasted a MK-46 GPMG as a backup in addition to the usual SAW.

A dingy looking dragon hopped out of one of the trucks wearing a 20mm LRR. His colors were sporadicyellow and blue among others. I could tell just by looking at him he was not taking shit from anyone.

"Listen up recruits,he said,first,my name is Rolland,second,pay attention,because I will not repeat myself."

"Today you will choose your weapons,and learn to be proficient with them."

"Now you may be asking yourself,how does a dragon use a weapon other than teeth claws and fire?"

There was whispering among others. I kept my gaze firmly affixed on Rolland as he let off four shots from his 20mm. Everyone jumped from the shock.

"That's how,he said with a smirk. When you go into combat,you will be equipped with one of twelve weapons system,one of seven standard,or five special. All of the vests are equipped with an M249 SAW and one you will all learn to specialize in. All vests are equipped with gyroscopic sensors,similar to that of the AA 87 Apache Longbow MK 4,which means the gun will follow you where ever you point your head. Observe".

Rolland looked at me and his 20mm followed until it was locked at me. Fear washed over me from being on the end of the muzzle of a 20 mil,I now know what the term physiological warfare means. Rolland continued.

"The eye piece is your HUD,it displays the condition of the vest itself,how well the weapon is working,the total amount of ammunition remaining in each weapon as well as a level of zoom proportional to the weapons you are carrying and as of recently,heart rate,stress level and radar. The headband will monitor your brain waves,thus allowing you to fire your weapons simply by thinking."

"You will each be watched carefully with the weapons you have chosen,if you can use it easily,then you will more than likely carry it into combat,if not we will find you one that you are more comfortable with,if none fit you,you may need a custom job."

"Once you have found what works,you will have a vest custom made to fit your body." Also after today,you will be placed in squads of five dragons and five humans,with weapons to cover your weakness and make the team stronger as a whole."

Rolland had each dragon pick a vest and practice with him one at a time. The most interesting to watch was an Arctic Dragon with the Type 56 Mortar. She coludn't get the hang of it and the mortars would often go off way to close to them. It put a ring in my ears every time. Then my turn came to pick,I choose the 105 model that I had in the armory. The human who was helping me said,

"Hold still big guy" as he lifted it by himself onto my shoulders and connected a few straps to hold it too me. It was heavier than the one I'd worn in the armory,but was still a quite comfortable fit. "

"Look over here",the human said stepping to my left.

The SAW followed as I shifted my gaze.

"Look over here,he said stepping to my right,again,the SAW followed as I shifted my gaze.

He patted me on my shoulder as he turned to Rolland,"this one's good to go."

I walked over to Rolland.

"Follow me,he said as he led me to a range with dozens of metal targets,I'd say the farthest one that I could see was four miles out.

"Let's start with the SAW,Rolland said,I want you to pick out a target,and put a five round burst on it."

I quickly scanned the area,spotted a RPG carrying insurgent and placed the five rounds in a inch group right in his skull.

"Damn,Rolland said,your a good shot."

"Thanks",I said.

"Now for your 105,widen your stance so the recoil doesn't take you to your back. "See that T-62 a mile out?,it's taken three of your friends out of the fight,remove it,your in his sights,which means you have one shot and 20 seconds from the time you assume your firing position."

I adjusted my stance,zoomed in,and let the round off,taking the turret off the top." The recoil was unbelievable,it sent shock waves through my body and put a ring in my ears.

"Okay,Rolland said,good kill,now lets try the emplacement two miles out."

Rolland let off four shots,through the zoom,I could see the rounds strike a group of targets,knocking them back.

"Now finish it,Rolland said.

I let off a second round,turning the emplacement into a swirling cloud of fire and black smoke.

"Very nice,Rolland said.

I smirked,"Always did have big impact on the battle field.

"Now comes the three mile target,Rolland said,zoom in.

I zoomed to find a large gathering of targets around a Russian transport chopper,not only that,but there were dummies of US troops and a captured dragon as well.

"Your job,Rolland said,is to remove the helicopter from existence,while I take care of the guards,you have one shot,try for the upper part to avoid killing our guys." "I won't fire until you do,Rolland said,but we're on a timer,so think before you shoot."

I lay down,tucking in my legs and straightened myself out so I was a position similar to a tank. I elevated my 105,using an old tactic called Kentucky Windage,i clipped the top of the helo off as Rolland eliminated the guards. We did this in under twenty seconds. A wide smile crossed Rolland's face,

"Damn,he whispered,this guy knows what he's doing."

I smiled,Rolland reminded me of Alex,he knew when to be an ass,and he knew when to pay a guy a complement. Rolland patted me on the back,

"your damn good shot brother,he said smiling,anyone who goes into battle with you should be able to sleep in the middle of the combat zone."

I laughed,"I woludn't go that far."

"I never got your name soldier,he said.

"Tyro",I said.

"Well Tyro,he said,your a good shot and a damn fine soldier."

We started back to the trucks. We arrived back at the trucks to find a blue and white dragon trying to turn his Barrett 82 on himself,it was the same dragon that I had tried to calm down on the way in,I had obviously failed in my task.

"SOMEBODY STOP HIM,Rolland shouted,HE'S GOING TO KILL HIMSELF!!"

I closed the distance,and knocked the muzzle of the Barrett out of the path of his skull,just as it went off. I pined him under my entire from. The sound from the gunshot had echoed in the distance and had made everyone jump with shock. Being so close when it went off had put a ring in my ears.

"Let me go,he said crying,please just let me go."

Rolland came over to us,"What's wrong soldier,he asked softly,let us help."

"I don't wanna be here,he cried,let me go!"

Rolland turned to the others "40 MILE RUN,he shouted,NOW!"

I turned to leave,when Rolland stooped me

,"Not you Tyro,you stay put."

As the others cleared out,I let the dragon up,his face was covered in dirt from when I had forced him down and he had tears streaming down his face,making mud. One of the humans wiped the dirt off his face,then left on Rolland's order. I put a wing around the sobbing dragon. When he had finally stopped crying,Rolland asked.

"What's your name,in a gentle voice.

"Valstrath",he said with a few tears still.

"What was that all about,I asked,why would you kill yourself?"

Valstrath started crying again,"I don't wanna be here,he sobbed,I wanna go home!" His voice told me he was around twelve.

"Anything you say will make this worse,I whispered in Rolland's ear,I'm a dad so let me see if I can calm him down".

After he stopped crying,I asked,"Do you have a family back home?"

"Yes,he said sniffing a little,my Mom and Dad,and my older sister."

"Think about this,I said softly,how do you think it would make them feel if you killed yourself?"

Val looked at me,his expression was that of emptiness and all consuming fear. "I think it'd make them feel exactly what you are feeling right now,I said.

"You'll get out,I said,we all will."

"When I first enlisted,I was afraid,probably more so than you are,but my drill instructor was a good guy,I made some good friends and I ended up enjoying it. I get how being kidnapped and turned into a dragon is enough to instill fear into anyone,but trust me,you'll love it very soon."

"Is that what happened to you,Val asked with a few tears still in his eyes.

"Not exactly,I said,I became a dragon by my own choice,so I could live through injuries that would have killed me anyway,figured I had nothing to lose." "It turned out to be the best choice I ever made." "The point is,killing yourself may release you from torment at this very moment,but it will leave your family with grief for the rest of their lives."

"I get i"t,Val said sniffing a little.

"Head to the course Tyro,Rolland said,I'll give this kid a crash course on his gear then we'll meet you there."

On my CO's order,I flew for the course. I touched down before anybody else had arrived,so I had nothing to do but lay in wait. Shots from a Barrett M82 and a 20mm LRR rang in the distance as Rolland and Val practiced. After around a half hour or so,the first dragon showed up,panting a little. She was stunned when she saw me laying there.

"Took you long enough",I teased.

"But how did you",she stammered and then gave up.

The others arrived shortly after her,with Rolland and Val in pursuit.

"Okay maggots,Rolland said smirking,this course will test how well you will preform in a combat zone. The rules are simple,navigate the course,remove as many insurgents as possible,kill as few civilians as possible,as fast as you can."

"The score system works like this,10 points per insurgent eliminated,10 points per civilian unharmed,minus 10 per civiy kill and there are only 200 points for time,for every minute you take,you will lose 50 points from your time bonus."

"You will also be graded on ammo expended,versus targets dispatched,if your AE/TD ratio gets to high,you will lose the points from your score."

"Also,you will be graded on damage taken,take ten hits,your done and have to run the course again." "It's live ammo,so be careful."

"Vezoth,Rolland shouted,your up."

The pink dragon stepped up to the course. The second she stepped across the line,she took three hits from a sniper. "Sniper in the red building",I thought to myself. As she continued to run the course,she was shot twice more by a machine gun nest. "Machine gun in the burned out house." As she kept going,and RPD let rip,landing four more hits. "Machine gun in the taco stand." She made it through the course in 2:20,taking nine hits,two civy kills,35 insurgents killed with a AE/TD ratio of 6/1 her total score was in the area of 7-9 hundred. "

Not bad,Rolland said,but there's always room for improvement."

"Ator,your up."

Ator did much better,running the course in around 1:56 with 40 insurgent kills,three hits,no civiy kills with his AE/TD ratio around 3/1.

"Impressive,Rolland said,your score is 1,600."

The other dragons had good times and scores on the course,but no one was able to best Ator,who seemed to be a little smug about it. The entire time I was observing the locations of the terrorists and civilians and making notes on my HUD about their locations.

"Tyro,Rolland shouted,your up,show the maggots how a Marine runs a course.

There was snickering and sneering on the parts of everyone except Rolland,Ator,Val and Vezoth,who payed me close attention. I stepped up to line,switching from my SAW to the 105,I sprinted across and put a round right underneath the window of the red building that contained the sniper.

As I ran towards the burned out house,I let off another 105,finishing what the fire had started. I turned the corner and let a 105 drop trough the door of the taco stand,almost killing a civilian in the process. Rolland's words echoed in my head,

"Stop and think before you shoot."

As I burst through the door of the embassy,I switched controls from the 105 to the SAW,setting it for semi automatic,dropping the five hostiles with five well aimed head shots. I continued through the course with the SAW set for semi auto,one round per target. When I had cleared the course,Rolland shouted,

"Sprint to the exit,clocks ticking!"

I crossed the finish line panting,but otherwise unharmed.

"Time,Rolland said,44 seconds,all insurgents killed,no civilian kills,no damage taken,and your AE/TD ratio was,Rolland paused as a wide smile crossed his face,1/1.

"Tyro,you got a perfect score of 2,000."

"You can fight with me any day of the week soldier",Rolland said with a smile.

"Let this be a lesson maggots,Rolland said putting a paw on the back of my neck,taking notes and pasting them on your HUD can help your time and greatly increase your performance."

"Head back to your barracks,you'll get your squad placements tomorrow.

We started for the barracks,"Wonder what squad they'll put us in,Val asked. "

"Hopefully one that keeps us close",I said.

I was suddenly overtaken by a wave of uneasiness,something just didn't feel right......