Chapter 10: Redder Than Blood

The visor turned on. A blue light erupted in front of Enlai’s eyes. He saw the words that appeared for his eyes to read. Power Armor Status: Green. Ammunition supply: 100%, followed by the ammunition used for his M14. His oxygen supply was at 99% and stable. The enclosed suit provided a perfect temperature for his body to handle. Multiple displays showed up for his visor to read. He could see what they were looking at from each of his team’s sights. The screens shortened down and went to the side to ensure that they wouldn’t crowd his vision. The camera from his gun allowed him to see directly where the barrel was pointing at. This even included a targeted assist network.

“Whoa...,” Enlai remarked. “So much to take in.”

“Oh ... Gavrill see too many,” Gavrill commented.

It was 0855, the morning of the established training period. The Lifen was preparing to start the first phase of drilling. The zero gravity of the Lifen lander’s Deck 2 passageway permeated the scene. Enlai looked at himself. He was fully armored up. The red and brown mechanized suit made him feel like he was a walking tank. He and the other recruits were in their own enclosed atmospheres. The magnetic boots kept him anchored to the deck. Enlai looked at the other three in their respected power armor. To his right side was Dariea. She was on the other side of the passageway bulkhead as she was getting a feel of the suit’s abilities. She was also armed with an M14. Behind Dariea was Isandro. He carried a PDW-20c. The carbine was linked to a massive sling arm that connected to his right arm. Isandro also had a sentry turret. The gray cylinder was connected to his left leg. Gavrill was behind Enlai. His larger M19 made him look like a bulldozer ready to level a building. He seemed to be fiddling with the controls on his left wrist control computer. He was making tweaks to make his suit more comfortable.

“Attention, all hands,” Javier’s voice queued into the overhead speakers. “Ship is entering a training team environment. A time-out can only be called by Lesser Adjunct Veleshar, Master Sergeant Stone, or Captain Shira. Actual casualties will be radioed as ‘actual casualties.’ The ship is now entering a training team environment.”

Phew ... Enlai’s nerves picked up. He tensed the grip on his gun. It was a flash of so many things at once. The long firearm stuck out from his right side and was pointed downrange. The internal visor provided a two-dimensional internal layout map of the ship that slid to the top right of his status screen. It showed the team to be on the opposite of the Lifen from their intended goal line. They had to reach the console directly ahead.

The entire layout of the passageway was dull to some. The slick gray and blue walls, combined with heavy flooding lights, illuminated the area. There were multiple crossways with doors that led to all sorts of rooms.

“I almost feel like I’m in a video game,” Isandro commented.

“Me too,” Dariea added. “Shock Commando V: Dead Reckoning.”

“I love that game. Better first-person shooter for the UWAN to handle.”

“Gavrill ready to make Itreans go boom,” the towering man nodded.

Everyone seemed nervous in various degrees, but there was also a sense of anticipation too. Enlai had to make sense of his feelings. Ninety soldiers ... against four. Something told him that this wasn’t going to be completed in one go.

“Alright, leader,” Dariea said to him. “What’s the plan?”

“We’ll head straight in,” Enlai explained. “The faster we reach that console, the less time we need to worry about resistance.”

“Junction point A,” Isandro asked gesturing ahead of him. “Do we take a left or right at the hallway ahead of us?”

Enlai knew what he was talking about, but he didn’t get a chance to say anything about it yet. A light dimmed on for the passageways. It gave a subtle flash as it turned off.

“Attention all hands,” another officer’s voice called through the intercoms. “We’ve been boarded! Itrean intruders have been detected on hatchway entry 2-B. Security teams please resond! I repeat...”

The words continued to be announced as Enlai took a deep breath. Red lights appeared on his screen. The intrusion alarm could pick up various signatures on his HUD. Sounds could be heard in the distance as other auditory beeps sounded off temporarily.

“Let’s move!” Enlai yelled out and briefly waved his hand to the team.

“Moving!” Dariea called out.

“Yeah...” Gavrill said. “Let’s do it!”

All four walked in unison. The heavy clumping of magnetic boots slapping the decks filled the scene. They immediately reached the first crossway in the central passageway.

“Open passageway left and right,” Enlai announced. “Team, blow through.”

Enlai looked to his left briefly while keeping his gun ready to aim forward and to the left. Dariea responded similarly but from the other direction. Within a split second, Gavrill and Isandro had their weapons pointed down the left and right as Enlai and Dariea moved forward.

“Isandro, Gavrill, maintain back cover,” Enlai directed.

The recruits moved past the crossway as they began their long trek to the next upcoming crossway. Rows of closed doors were seen on the left and right. Isandro and Gavrill were essentially walking backward.

“Stay in formation,” Enlai said. “We’re moving as fast as we can go!”

“Hard to do it,” Isandro remarked.

“Slow down, Gavrill having a hard time doing this,” Gavrill commented.

“Move your asses!” Dariea yelled at them.

“I’m picking up multiple signatures closing in on us,” Isandro said. “Sensors show ten ... coming in left side near the approximate location of... 2-B.”

“Fuck, they’re moving in fast,” Dariea added. “We’re heading straight towards them!”

“We can do this,” Enlai said as they kept moving forward. “Fire at will. Blow past the next crossway. Gavrill, hammer down the Itreans as we cross through.”

“With pleasure,” Gavrill happily replied.

“Fifty meters...,” Dariea commented as she was looking at her sensor feed. “Move faster, dammit!”

“I’m the one that’s in charge, Dariea!” Enlai yelled at her.

Isandro and Gavrill were doing their best, but it was challenging to keep moving backward. There was too much to keep an eye on, and Isandro ended up smacking his left arm onto the lip of the sealable bulkhead by accident.

“Agh! I can’t keep up,” Isandro said.

“You’re too tiny, little man,” Gavrill commented. “I can move faster than you!”

“Thirty meters!” Dariea announced.

Enlai’s vision was already picking up the brief red silhouettes from his augmented eyes. The four reached the next crossway. It was here that all hell broke loose. Enlai turned his body to the left to look down the passageway. There were ten Itreans that were moving down the corridor straight towards them. Four of them were Yutilians, being short, completely armored in shimmering green wrap armor. He was caught off guard. The armor made them look like mechanical dinosaurs. Even their tails, feet, and faces were fully protected. On the edges of the arms, the armored sections had razor-sharp blades in place of where the feathers were located. Two carried small assault rifles, while the other pair were armed with anti-material rifles. The reptilian women were intimidating even for their smaller stature. Enlai made out the fact that he could see small slanted red glowing lenses for their vision.

It didn’t end there. Enlai could also see the Shal’rein. They were twice the height of the Yutilians. They wore green and purple wrap armor and looked like giants. Their helmets were different than the Yutilians in having fin-like mechanical protrusions coming from the left and right earholes. Their fin-like tails were fully covered up in shimmering metal that flexed and pivoted as the women moved. They, too, had the appearance of anthro mechanical sharks. In their hands was a set of rather large assault rifles. Each gun had two barrels on them designed to fire heavy caliber rounds and the other, most likely being a grenade launcher of some sort.

“Move! Move!” Enlai tried to say. He pivoted his gun towards them, but the Itreans were already in perfect position. A single Shal’rein soldier had her rifle aimed at Gavrill that came barreling through. The four recruits were in the direct firing line of the Itrean squad.

“Shit!” Dariea exclaimed.

Gavrill turned and narrowly had his M19 aimed at the squad when the lead Shal’rein soldier fired her rifle. Two sets of rubber bullets flew and struck Gavrill straight in the top mid-section of his helmet. In less than a split second, Gavrill’s armor gave off ping alarms that indicated that he had been shot in the head. If it were a real bullet, the round would have easily pierced the visor and gone straight to his brain.

The same Shal’rein then turned the gun and fired at Isandro next hitting him in the shoulder, chest, and stomach. The rubber pellets made the proverbial thumb sound as Isandro knew that he was being riddled by enemy fire. His screen showed that he was “dead.”

All of this happened in less than a second as Dariea and Enlai turned to have their guns aimed at the Itreans. The very Shal’rein that took down Gavrill and Isandro then turned and fired two rounds gunning down Dariea just before she had her M14 aimed at the cluster of soldiers.

Enlai was last as his gun was aimed down range. The lead Yutilian’s anti-material rifle was aimed directly at him. Enlai, miraculously managed to pull the trigger of his rifle to fire a small burst of rounds before the Yutilian’s gun fired a single shot in return. Enlai’s shots hit the Yutilian in the shoulder and arm as her shot landed directly at his chest.

Before all four had a chance to yell or scream, the four displays registered the same thing on everyone’s HUD displays. The recruits showed simulated red. They were dead.

“Son of a bitch!” Enlai remarked.

“Dagh!” Gavrill stumbled on his magnetic boots. Both Isandro and Dariea were shocked.

“Cease fire, cease fire,” the overhead announcement called out. “Everyone reset to your positions.”

“That’s it?!” Isandro asked.

“Congratulations, to you dumbasses!” Stone’s voice could be heard in each of their helmets. “You call yourselves marines? You set a new fucking record. Dead in 43 seconds. I would think that you deliberately wanted to kill yourselves out there. Might as well stuck those guns to your own heads and pulled the damn trigger!”

Dariea took her boot and stomped it to the deck. “It’s not fair, Master Sergeant! One of them gunned three of us down in less than a second before we got a shot off.”

“Heh, heh,” a series of chirps and clicks could be heard from the same Shal’rein soldier as she hoisted her rifle to her shoulder. She held her two fingers up in a mocking salute to the recruits.

“Oh, you son of a bitch,” Dariea lifted her fist in her direction.

“Fair!? You want life to be made fair for you!?” Stone yelled back. “We’re in the middle of a fucking war and you expect the enemy to throw a slumber party for you, Private Razor?”

“Oh ... Gavrill not fast enough.”

The four began to walk back as one of the Itrean soldiers waved at the four, almost as if they were expecting to see them again soon. Dariea’s anger seemed to shine brightly as she grabbed one of the rubber rounds from the air.

“Where were you on that, oh glorious leader?” Dariea asked him.

“Me? I thought they we were going to make it,” Enlai protested.

“We didn’t even make it to the half-way point,” Isandro commented. “They actually targeted Gavrill first ... Ehm ... the one that shot at us.”

“Look, we gambled and lost. Let’s try again.”

“Umm ... let’s try not to deliberately walk towards them, next time, sir,” Isandro tried to be respectful.

“I’ll get them next time,” Gavrill protested. “Gavrill, wasn’t fast enough to blow them up.”

“Lessons learned, lessons learned,” Enlai said as they walked back. “We’ll make it next time.”

From the Lifen’s bridge, Javier had his thumb to his lip. He was doing his best to mask his laughter at the scene of events while still remaining professional. He was standing beside Shira, sitting and staying quiet, observing her console and the four recruits returning to their original starting position. She was composed in her strapped seating arrangement.

“Wow,” Javier said, trying to keep his voice down. “Not even a minute. That one Shal’rein did an amazing job.”

“A common expectation,” Shira said. “The trainees will only have thirty additional seconds in their next run.”

“You think we made this too hard for them?”

“No. They have all the means to achieve victory.”

“Even I wonder how they could pull through this.”

“Oh?” She rotated her chair and turned to look at him. “Was that a joke or sincerity in your voice?”

“Sincerity. That many soldiers versus an inexperienced team,” Javier shook his head. “The passageways are a death funnel. They only have three directions to take and two of them lead directly towards the boarding Itreans. The other one is only going to prolong their demise.”

“You are only partially correct.”

“Ah ... um...,” Javier gave a questioning look at Shira. “It sounds like they are just destined to fail.”

“Fail? If you mean that the trainees would survive such an encounter in real life, then the answer would be no. However, they can still achieve their goal. It’s a matter of finding the solution.”

“I see.” Javier only seemed to frown as he could see the marines getting closer to the starting to point. They were busy arguing with each other, but the volume was put on mute.

“Would you like to find a way to solve this?” Shira asked him.

“I don’t even know where to start. Ninety soldiers against four marines. Enclosed environment ... absolute experience against those that have so little.”

“The training that I have established is designed for everyone to learn something from this, not just them. Even if we are just outsiders, we are here to form our own ideas of how to establish a victory that seems unattainable. Even now, the four have learned a valuable lesson on the sheer power and skill that Veleshar’s soldiers are capable of doing. Through error, they gain wisdom. Nothing is purely lost, but only experience is properly obtained as a result.”

Javier seemed to think about it. He was left with so many questions in mind.

“Ugh ... I apologize, but it’s a lot to consider. Not only this trial but the one that is supposed to follow afterwards. It ... makes my head hurt.”

“Then that is good. Exercise of one’s mind is just as paramount as one’s body. Mental fatigue and physical fatigue are just as equal to humans or Itreans. If anything, you humans have a certain ... unique quality in warfare.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Itreans are quite experienced in fighting Itreans. It was only until the last year that the Itreans started fighting humanity. In reality, much was to be learned in the Battles of Cipra, both in defeat and in victory, in reclaiming such a planet. As much as I can ... criticize the effect of invading a low-value target, the results had still proven beneficial to both sides of the conflict.”

“And?”

Shira lifted her hand and pressed her fingers together. “In the early days before Cipra was taken, the Aksren forces were far from superior against UHN forces. The Aksren should have taken Cipra within the first two days of their arrival. They possessed the means to do so, but...”

“It didn’t...,” Javier said.

“Why is that?” She asked calmly. “Hundreds of thousands of battleships, dreadnoughts, carriers, and soldiers against a human naval force of hundreds.”

Javier seemed to think about it. “The Itreans lacked the information. They didn’t know our strength and avoided extending their entire fleets to attack the UHN.”

“Exactly,” She pointed her finger at him. “Every action that the Aksren made, they were just as scared that they would lose their forces in return. The simple knowledge of Cipra’s defenses would have made a drastic difference in their strategy and tactics. If they committed an enormous fleet and received heavy losses, it may mean that the Aksren would have lost precious resources that could have been used against their more crucial enemies. Finally, near the ending weeks of fighting, the Aksren finally made the decision to invade Cipra and take it. Regardless, their invasion was methodically slow ... slower than most invasions go through. The goal is to engage as quickly as you can and inflict as much damage as possible before enemy forces respond to you. It may surprise you that while the Aksren inflicted enormous casualties, they themselves still received their own set of losses.”

Javier looked at the feed of the recruits as they had reset themselves at the far end of the ship. All of this was happening one deck below him. Enlai seemed to be discussing or arguing something amongst the other three individuals. Isandro looked to his side, and an idea suddenly dawned on him. He began to reach forward to his side and pulled out the sentry turret. He then smiled, pointed at it, and seemed to be informing the three of something.

“Ah ... there we go,” Shira said as her eye looked upon the console. “What is he thinking right now, Javier?”

“The sentry drone ... he has an idea of using it for the next fight.”

“Precisely. This is something that you humans are capable of doing that is far greater than what Itreans are capable of doing in return. You are fast at learning and using your technology. Even if it is inferior to us, you know it so well that you adapt faster as a result. There are many reasons why the Itreans suffered so heavily against the Emphra. Past rivalries didn’t help, but Itreans scholars have a more definitive series of reasons. Contemporary studies have even been able to compare humanity when it is applied to past factors as well.”

“What did they have to say?” he asked.

“Besides the bickering of past conflicts in slowing down an alliance, the Emphra did very little in changing their tactics and strategy. My father struggled not only against an overwhelming force but the fact that the Itreans were buried with ideas that were guaranteed to have little effect. Stubbornness and pride were a threat more than strength. Adjustments were rarely made, and further heavy losses were a result. This doesn’t mean that my people were mentally inferior, but the fact that their concepts were flawed, and they didn’t make the appropriate adjustments until far later. The ultimate deciding factor was that the Emphra were even less adaptive in their tactics and strategy when compared to the Itreans. The Itreans wouldn’t have existed if they hadn’t learned to rely on simple maneuvers and mere expansion alone. For example, if the roles were reversed in this training exercise. If the four trainees were replaced with four Itreans against numerous UHN marines in return, the results might surprise you.”

“Hmmm ... I would have imagined that they would have inflicted numerous casualties onto our marines before they were gunned down.”

“When asked to repeat the exercise again, the Itreans may do nothing to change it. Some would simply yell at the others to aim better next time and repeat the process over and over again. That Shal’rein that almost took down the entire team, for example, has learned nothing. All she knows is that she can easily take them out again. However, if the team succeeds in their goal, she will have a new meaning and understanding of human thinking. She will realize that she not only failed to stop them but may likely fail to make future adjustments in preventing that defeat again. That is the strength that humans generally carry.”

“It’s an interesting way of looking at things. I imagine that your father had his hands full when he battled the Emphra.”

Shira looked at the screen with due intent. Isandro had taken his sentry turret and readied it. He tapped a few buttons with his gloved hand before nodding to the other recruits. Javier overheard ensign Behzad as he called out the next wave of Itrean soldiers that boarded the Lifen. Isandro took his sentry turret and tossed it down the passageway like tossing a ball. The zero gravity easily carried it to the destination of his choosing.

“Distraction...,” Javier commented with a smile. “Good choice.”

“Indeed, however, they will need to do far more than that if they are to succeed.”

Javier turned his attention to the sensor display on the console. He did have a moment of concern.

“I hope our pilots are doing alright,” Javier remarked.

“There is nothing to fear where they are,” Shira explained. “The engineering applied to the stealth vessels is more than adequate in their survival and needs.”

“I guess. Even with three additional days, I would have still ensured that the stealth shuttles were capable of performing their jobs. Two lives are on the line for this whole scenario.”

Shira had little to comment as she continued to watch the trainees march down the right passageway leading away from the Itrean boarding party’s starting point. They moved slower and more concisely as a unit. However, it could have been argued that they were overcompensating and were moving too slowly as if stealth was the key to winning the scenario. Another camera feed showed that the Itrean boarding team had split into three groups to fan out to the various directions of the passageway. If the team didn’t move fast enough, it was likely that one of the groups of Itrean soldiers would have been able to start gunning down the trainees as they encountered them on the opposite side of the ship. However, before hitting the corner, it proved to be too late. The Itreans that moved aft had encountered the team and started firing from long ranges. Gavrill tried to get a shot off, but a Yutilian with an anti-material rifle got him first. It wasn’t a completely unfair fight, however. Enlai and Dariea had managed to get some shots off and even take down the Yutilian that took down Gavrill, but it was evident that the battle was lost. Three Shal’rein then managed to get each recruit single-handedly with their rifles. It was as Shira had predicted. A minute and twenty seconds transpired before Behzad informed the recruits to return to their positions.

Javier shook his head as the trainees threw their hands up in frustration. Small rubber bullets were floating in the passageway. The XO knew that they had a good four hours to try to figure out a solution.

Far from the Lifen in the fringes of space lay the moon of Hesa. The small rocky sphere hovered in the endless expanse of nothingness. On the opposite side of the Lifen and Avastier’s docked location was an area that seemingly lay dead. A few lights could be seen on the surface of the moon where the near dormant mining colonies of Gu’ii’lo’trelda remained.

Upon zooming in closer to the countless craters of the moon was a singular black-winged ship that had been parked on the gray and black sand. The words “Stealth-Bro” was painted in fancy yellow cursive on the starboard side. The flat appearance and somewhat elegant look were only heralded by the fact that it seemed like nobody could pilot them.

Inside the ship was Mizu living in rather cramped conditions. The near-zero gravity given from the moon had at least put some pressure onto his stomach and chest as he rested inside the cockpit interior.

The cockpit consisted of a mixture of various display boards and a flight stick that rested in front and above Mizu’s head. The area was little more than a flatbed where his feet connected to a pedal and brake assembly. Straps wrapped around his body, but he didn’t really need them this time. For now, Mizu practically rested his head and continued to look at his display boards.

“Well, Dean,” Mizu remarked. “I feel snug, but I can’t complain about the conditions either.”

“I know, right?” Dean’s voice replied through the comms of the ship. “Like ... it’s just so comfortable that you can fall down and go to sleep. Just like me, you know?”

“Dean ... your ship’s floating in space. How can you act like you’re resting when you have straps keeping you in place?”

“Oh ... yeah, you have a point.”

“Ugh ... glad I’m not claustrophobic.” Mizu looked at the interior. Despite the great efforts in finishing the shuttles, these crafts had a mostly unlit empty interior. In time, it was hoped that more facilities would be implemented.

“It’s nice to have a toilet at least,” Mizu continued. “Got enough rations to last for some time. Wish my tablet had more games on it.”

“Oh man, like ... that would be totally nice, you know? So ... umm ... what games do you play?”

“Drakes, Merchants, and Temples Online ... well ... the non-UWAN version.” Mizu felt a wave of nostalgia hit him as he tapped a few buttons on his left HUD display. “Couldn’t get enough of that game. It’s so much fun whether you are playing the computer version of the game or the board game. The board game is better if you have friends to play with you.”

“Do you still play it?”

“Not as much since I got married and going to be a father. Hadn’t really had the time.”

“Oh ... dude, you should start playing it on the ship now. You have a bunch of friends and like ... you might find others that are interested in playing it too.”

“I ... umm ... don’t know if ... hmmm...,” Mizu paused as he began to think about it. “Maybe I could ... I would need the dice for it or a tablet device with an app for rolling chances. Actually ... I could try to.”

“You would make more bros, you know? Like ... men and women would come to see you play.”

“I would actually be the game master. I usually played GM for it. It’s an idea, though. Hadn’t really considered it, but ... you might be onto something.”

Instead of hearing Dean’s voice, Mizu began to listen to the sounds of smoking through the intercom. It was as if the other pilot was smoking something that might not have been recommended.

“Ummm...,” Mizu’s eyes narrowed. “Dean, you’re not taking more hits, are you?”

There was a pause as he could hear a large exhale. “Oh ... that’s ... just ... like ... so good,” Dean remarked with some stupor in his voice.

“Dean?”

“Wow ... like ... this weed is top quality. Heh ... the best that Cebravis can offer.”

“Oh no. Dean, common. We’re laying here in wait. We have a simulated engagement coming up. Ease up on that shit.”

“Huh? Mizu-Bro, it’s alright...” the sounds of more inhalation could be heard. His voice was calm and peaceful. “Wow ... sometimes you just have to relax and not like ... worry about things, you know? Besides, it helps take the edge off ... not worry about what life brings to you...”

“Dean, did it ever occur that it’s not what ‘you’ have to worry about when it comes to getting stoned but the ‘others’ around you that are more worried about it?”

The other pilot’s voice paused about it. “Yeah ... you have a point, Mizu-Bro. To me ... it just feels normal. Like ... my sister kept warning me, but ... she would take a hit at times. She always got worried when I got totally wasted and fly ... or drive ... or cook ... or went fishing. I just ... like doing it.”

“Why do you keep doing it?” Mizu asked him.

“I don’t know. Like ... remember what I told you about me making my first glider? Like ... before I made my first flyer-bro, I was scared. Really scared, you know? I spent all this time making this and ... umm ... I just remember looking at it and not knowing what to do. I must have spent days just staring at it ... and making little checks to make sure that it would work. Sometimes I would take a part out and put it back in, just to see that it ... didn’t break.”

Despite the stoned stupor, Mizu had enough time with Dean to hear the sincerity in his tone. He wasn’t lying about what he said and truly meant it.

“What happened next?” Mizu asked.

“I was wanting to fly, but I couldn’t fly, you know? I felt so much fear that my mind couldn’t do it. I never flew before. What if I ... like ... crash? What if I died from it? My dad ... he saw what was happening. I will always remember what he told me. He was like, ‘Son. There are times when you have to take a leap. You made this great contraption-thingy. It was your creation, your work of art. You’re destined to do great things, but first, you need to show yourself that you can fly.’ And I was like, ‘Whoa, Dad, like ... I hadn’t thought of it that way.’ And he was like, ‘I know, right?’ And I was like, ‘I still don’t know, you know?’ My dad, he was so smart. He was currently smoking something, and then he looked at me and said, ‘Son, I think it’s time for you to fly. Here, have some of my finest weed. You’re old enough ... take a hit.’ And I was like ‘Whoa, thanks, dad.’”

Mizu had his hand to his forehead. “And then?”

“I did as he wanted. I took my first hit, and you know ... I coughed, but ... I started to relax. I was like, ‘Whoa, I feel better ... like I can do this.’ Like ... don’t misunderstand me, Mizu-bro. Heh ... I know what you’re thinking. There’s all sorts of things to help you out when it comes to that, but I suddenly realized that my dad was right. Sharing that moment with him ... he saw me as a man, and I had to do it. I took a few more hits, got on my flyer-buddy and vroom ... I went soaring. It worked! I flew it for about ... ummm... 10 minutes before one of the pistons broke and down, I went. I crashed it, sure, but I flew. I climbed out of my craft, and my family cheered me for doing it. I learned two big lessons that day. One ... is to ummm ... never give up on yourself or your family. Two is that weed is your friend. Cebravis has it all, you know? That day, I learned that a little bit a day can make you fly high ... higher than you ever want, and sometimes more. Like ... from then on, I wanted to become a pilot, and it hasn’t failed me since.”