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Hello readers.
I'm CJ Simmons, a reporter for the Illal free press (or what's left of it) and I've been given a rare opportunity. For the first time in its three year history, I've been granted access to the Redstone Training Facility. Our offices even received special permission to include a photographer. The base has been off limits to all members of the press since it was created, for security reasons. So this is indeed an honour.
The facility is where all the new volunteers come when they sign up for combat duty. It is located in the neutral zone between the Sentium and Prosk borders. It's about five kilometres from each side and roughly five hundred kilometres north of the Ashihan region. As we fly over it in the transport (so kindly provided for us by General Hammond, the Base Commander), we can see just how big it really is.
We are here today, not to write a piece about the base itself, but to find out who is behind the face that greets all the new people. We're here to do an interview with the young woman we all know simply as, Laila.
Redstone is a hive of activity, where new recruits get to learn the basics in Mech combat, before they go off to their new employers. The base was set up just a few years ago to pool the resources of those who were outside the jurisdiction of the two main corporations. When we land, we are escorted to an office just off of the main hanger.
The hanger is a very busy place, with mechs and machinery everywhere and lots of noise. Once the door to the office is closed however, the noise level drops considerably. I wait for about ten minutes and then the door opens again. A beautiful young lady walks in dressed in military fatigues. She smiles at me as I stand to greet her and we shake hands. She takes off her helmet and gloves and apologises for making my hand greasy. She puts them on the table in front of us and sits down on the sofa next to me. I introduce myself at this point and the interview begins.
CJ. To start off with, let me just say what a pleasure it is to meet you. May I call you Laila? Or would you prefer Sergeant, or something else?
Laila. No no, you can call me Laila, I always think that Sergeant is a bit to formal for things like this.
CJ. Ok then, Laila it is. Now, you've been a mentor for a lot of people here and a lot of our readers have been asking all sorts of questions about you. About who exactly this lovely young lady is, why she is here and what it is that she does. So would you mind introducing yourself.
(Laila looks down and smiles, seemingly slightly embarrassed.)
Laila. Well, My name is Sergeant Laila Antonova and I am in charge of training all the new recruits who come though here every day.
CJ. I see, and what exactly does that entail?
Laila. Well, first I lead the new people through a virtual training mission. Just so that they can get to grips with the controls of an Axe, before we let them into the cockpit of the real thing. After this, I introduce them to one of the basic Axes that we keep here. This is usually a CRT Recruit, or as we like to call them, a Fred or TV head. Then I guide them through a series of training missions so they can get used to how the real thing feels.
CJ. I notice that you call the mechs Axes, why is that?
Laila. Well, that's a simple one. You see, a mech is what we use for everyday things like heavy lifting, transporting things, mining work and construction. An Axe however, is armoured and carries weapons. Axes are only used for one thing and that is fighting.
CJ. I see, I had no idea that there was a difference like that. I just thought that a mech was a mech.
Laila. I know, it's a common mistake that a lot of people do. I guess you have to be in this world to understand it.
CJ. I'd like to ask you about yourself now, if that's ok? Who is the real Laila, the woman behind the goggles and the helmet?
(Laila pauses to think for a moment.)
Laila. Well, I'm twenty four years old. I'm a Pisces. I have a degree in advanced mechanics. Ummmm, I'm half French and half Russian, but I was born here on Illal. My favourite colour is red, oh and I don't eat meat. I can also strip and rebuild a fusion engine in under two hours.
(I laugh at this. She seems to radiate a confidence and charm that is infectious.)
CJ. So, you were born here, can you tell us about your parents?
Laila. Of course, ummm, well they emigrated here from Earth. From the USE (United States Of Europe) during the first wave of immigration. My father worked for Prosk, he was a Captain in the Prosk Eighty Seventh Reacon Unit. He had his own battalion of recon Axes. My mother was a professor of Exobiology at the university of Yeltsov on the outskirts of Eugen.
CJ. They must be very proud of you.
(Laila looks down at this point then says in a slightly quieter voice.)
Laila. Actually, I lost them in the evacuation riots six and a half years ago, but I'm sure they would be.
CJ. Oh, I'm so sorry, I had know idea.
Laila. Its ok, a lot of bad things happened back then. Tore whole families apart.
CJ. True, true....
(We both pause for a moment to remember our lost ones. I break the silence by asking another question.)
CJ. Sorry to ask this next question, but it has been asked a lot, especially by our male readers. The question is, are you single?
(Laila laughs at this and answers with a smile.)
Laila. Well, I don't have anyone special in my life at the moment, so yes, I am single.
CJ. I'm sorry to ask this next question, but I have to get it out of the way. One of our readers asked this, why are you helping people to kill each other?
(Laila looks down again with a smile on her face and shakes her head a little.)
Laila. It's not the first time I've heard this one. The thing is this, we are not helping people to kill each other. We are actually helping people survive. You see, we have people coming through here from the ages of thirteen to over seventy. Everyone of them is looking for the same thing, a better way of life, more food, more supplies or more medical support for their loved ones. They are not forced to come here, they choose to come here. Most of them have no clue how an Axe works when they arrive, so we teach them. Unfortunately, this war is a fact of life and will be for some time, unless someone can halt the spread of the virus and the UTA removes the quarantine. So, all we can do is help these people stay alive by giving them the knowledge to keep them safe and hope that it ends one day.
(I could tell that she was passionate about this subject by the way she was speaking.)
CJ. Can you tell us some things about this base?
Laila. Sure, the base is about two and a half square kilometres in size and used to be a space port. We are located south of both Prosk and Sentium, in the neutral zone just north of the Ashihan Forests. The perfect place to train people. We have a large virtual reality complex where the pilots start their training. We have a dozen hangers where we keep the training Axes and then there are the other parts. Now these other areas are special. What they have done is recreate large parts from some locations around the planet where a lot of the worst fighting occurs. The pilots can train against AI and remote controlled Axes, or against each other. We use a mixture of dummy rounds and live ammo.
CJ. That sounds amazing. It must have cost a lot to build?
Laila. I would imagine so, but then we did have help from both Sentium and Prosk.
CJ. I hope you don't mind me asking this, but have you been in combat?
Laila. I have, yes. I actually spent two years in my Fathers recon unit. It taught me a lot. Made some good friends too.
CJ. Any memorable battles?
Laila. Well, I was in the first battle for Bunker 167. It was originally owned by Prosk, I don't know if you've heard of it?
CJ. No, sorry.
Laila. It's a bunker with high strategic value, in the Arctus region. My unit was stationed there for a while. We were out on a routine patrol, just sweeping the area. I remember that it was at night. All the flood lights were on. We had just finished the south east corner, by the outer marker, when they hit us. It started with ranged sniper fire from behind one of the hills that surrounds the area. One of my friends, who was in a Reaper, got hit first. He was ok, only got hit once. But after that, all hell broke loose. There were missiles and tracer fire coming at us from all angles. For a while, it was chaos. The battle lasted about two hours. We were out numbered and out gunned, but we held on for as long as we could. We couldn't call for back up because they were jamming us. I remember taking out three Sentium Axes before I was hit. I was in a modified Berserker at the time. It wasn't a fair fight at all, they had brought in a load of heavies, mainly Rocketeers. We ended up having to surrender, but it was a good fight. The best thing about it is that we didn't loose anyone.
CJ. That sounds really intense, what happened after?
Laila. Well, after we had surrendered, all our gear was taken and we were shipped off to the nearest Prosk base, which was over a hundred kilometres away. Of course, it wasn't in Sentium's hands for long. A week later, we went back with two full battalions and managed to get them out again. Ever since then, it's changed hands so many times, I've given up counting.
CJ. Wow, that sounds very scary to someone like me. What made you leave?
Laila. The game changed. At the beginning of the war, you had professional pilots who were fully trained going into fight. But then they opened it up for everyone and that's when things got ugly.
(She looked down at the floor again, shaking her head.)
Laila. The training that Prosk and Sentium were giving their new recruits was so inadequate, it was laughable. Most of the time you had complete rookies going up against seasoned veterans and it was a massacre. So, when I heard about this place, I resigned my commission. I travelled out here and signed up.
CJ. So what do you think of the situation now in regards to the training that you provide?
Laila. Well, it's not perfect, but it's about as good as we can get it, given the situation. You see, we're pushed for time. The typical turn around for a new recruit isn't very long. If I'm lucky, I get to spend a couple of hours with them to show them the basics and give them some practice time. Then, they're out the door and recruited by the Sentium or Prosk people we have here. That's how we manage to keep Redstone neutral. Both Prosk and Sentium have recruiters here. They have offices on either side of the base and keep out of each others way. But when a new batch of people come in, they all come out and start trying to get them. It's actually kind of funny to watch sometimes.
CJ. I'm going to move on to the next question now. It's one that has been asked a lot. What kind of Axes have you used, and do you have a favourite?
Laila. Hmmmm, that's a good question. Well, I've used every Axe there is, at the moment. I've spent at least one hundred hours on each. It's one of the things you have to do when you're an instructor. But which ones do I prefer? I think I would have to go with light Axes, because of the speed and agility. I started out on them when I joined my Fathers unit, so I have great memories. Out of all the light Axes, I would have to say that the Berserker is probably my favourite.
CJ. Why is that?
Laila. Well, it comes down to three things, first there's the speed. It's fast and agile, like I said. But then it has great air manoeuvrability as well. Then of course, there are the weapons that can be mounted on it. I usually go with the Vulcan, as it's a good burst weapon that can really stop an enemy in their tracks. It also looks the nicest.
CJ. Well, I would imagine that that was the most important thing. (We both laugh at this.)
CJ. So where do you see yourself in the future?
Laila. Oh, I don't think I'll be going anywhere any time soon. Besides, I love it here. I get to meet so many new faces every day, plus I love helping people.
CJ. Laila, I would really like to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to do this interview, it's been a real pleasure. I hope it hasn't interfered with your work to much.
Laila. You're very welcome. It's been fun, and don't worry about the work thing, I have plenty of people to cover for me.
After the interview is done, we go back out to the main hanger, where my cameraman takes some pictures of Laila for the article. While we wait for the transport back to our offices, we mingle with other staff members and some recruits.
I hope this has shed some light on the woman behind the face for you and I hope you have enjoyed reading it. This is CJ. Simmons, coming to you from the Redstone Training Facility, over and out!
I would like to thank my wife for editing this for me.
Edited by SandSpider2, 13 April 2015 - 07:58 AM.
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