She had barely gotten organized when the engine gave a toot, and the train lurched into motion. Andrew gave her a sidelong glance and decided she really was a delight to look at. She was probably a year or two older than him, which meant she wouldn’t be interested in him, but at least he’d have something nice to look at during the long, boring trip. She caught him glancing at her the third time, and rather than glaring at him, she gave Andrew a little smile. Which only served to embarrass him even more than if she’d been annoyed, and he felt his face heat up as he blushed.

The train followed the river to Mawillumbar past farmlands and a few smaller villages where the train didn’t stop. A smaller train would follow this one for the local traffic. More people got on at the large town or small city, although only a couple took seats in Andrew’s carriage. As the train got underway once more, he sat up and did a good look around at his fellow passengers. He decided most of the passengers in this carriage were probably recruits, and the rest were most likely military, who were returning from leave by the haircuts.

“Are you a new recruit?” He asked the girl hesitantly.

She smiled. “No, Andrew. I was on leave and am returning to duty.”

Wait, she knows my name? What the fuck! He studied the young woman closely and realized she was shielding. A very strong shield that made it impossible for him to tell how strong she was.

“How the fuck do you know my name? Who are you?” He demanded.

“I am Captain Sharon Greaves. OSF. I’ll most likely be the one evaluating you when we get to Singleton. Depending. I might be sent straight to the front. Things aren’t going well, last I heard.”

“Oh. So does your knowing my name and sitting here with me mean that I’ll be going straight into the Special Forces?”

She shook her negatively while giving him a wry grin.

“Huh. Very funny. No. You’ll get put through basic training like every other recruit, and then you’ll be evaluated by someone from SF, and maybe you’ll get picked. Or not. We’ll see. It used to be as much about personality as strength, but with the way things are going, provided you can control whatever power you have, you’ll likely be selected regardless. Just a warning, though. The OSF might be special, but they are still part of the army. You need to learn how to be a good soldier first and how to be a Special second. Do you follow?”

Yes, he could follow that. “Yeah, I guess. I thought they were desperate for troops to face these invaders, though?” “They were, and they still are, according to my colonel. We took many losses early because their troops were led by what they call mentalists. We’ve adjusted some of our tactics and methods, so we sort of have their measure now, it appears. They’re still gaining ground but at a considerably slower pace than they were at first. The high command seems to think we have enough reserves in the pipeline to shore up the front lines in the near future, and once this recruiting drive starts building us a whole new army, then we’ll be able to go over to the counterattack. I doubt that will be before the end of the year, though.