Chapter Text
The sun had barely risen above the trees and it was already blazing. Sweat dripped off the faces of every single recruit lined up in front of the barracks and yet not a single one moved to wipe it off, or even swat the flies away. There were too many stories of rookies being picked on in initiation for little things like fixing their collars, and nobody wanted to be that guy.
Tharn felt everyone beside him tense up and straighten their backs as the officers arrived. The dark green jeep kicked up dust all down the road until finally it stopped a few strides away from them. Three people emerged from the vehicle, but it was obvious to everyone who was in charge...
Tharn wanted to lower his eyes but couldn’t. His gaze was fixed on the man who was assessing their ranks with his hands behind his back-
He wore the same uniform that all the station captains did; black slacks and coat with the silver threaded collar. The strap over the man’s shoulder attached his gun to his back, and Tharn had to count twice to be sure he wasn’t imagining the amount of medals he was wearing. Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen!
It seemed impossible. No one was that accomplished that fast… the man couldn’t be much older than him!!
“Look alive gentlemen, you're in the presence of your commanding officer!” The taller of the two trainers barked.
The line of recruits, Tharn included , placed their hands behind their backs and lowered their eyes to the dirt. The man with the fifteen metals slowly approached them, taking his time to walk down the line, seeming to notice little things about each and every individual. Tharn couldn’t help it, again . He glanced up without raising his head, just as the commander was passing him.
They made eye-contact. In those two seconds, Tharn felt like the world around him went completely out of focus, while every detail about the man in front of him was clear and mesmerizing.
Up close, Tharn could have sworn that the commander was even younger than him. His features were soft, but eye-catching at the same time. He had pale skin and eyes like drops of ink. Raven colored hair fell just behind his ears and a strand was hanging over his eye... the last thing Tharn noticed about the commander was the scar around his neck-
It was almost hidden by his high collar, but Tharn could still see where it drew a thick red line across the man’s neck, left to right.
After he’d walked past every initiate, the man turned and seemed to stare at the sun overtaking the tree-line in the distance. His expression gave away nothing, and Tharn wondered what he could possibly be thinking about behind those dark eyes.
“I want you to know,” the man said suddenly, as everyone went still-
“That I do not have compassion for cowards.”
He turned again to face everyone, as the two trainers whispered among themselves.
The commander’s voice was even, firm. He looked everyone in the eye at least once as he spoke...
“You will be conditioned for war, your bodies and minds will be pushed beyond their breaking point. It will not be easy, and I promise there will be many nights you fall asleep wondering why you are here. My job is not to hold your hand, or give you scraps of useless wisdom. My job is to make sure that when called upon, you are able to go to battle with not a single coward among you.”
Tharn felt the words wash over him, making his heart skip a beat simply at the sense of conviction in the voice-
The man still was absolutely un-readable…
Tharn wished to know something about him, anything. His name, age, where he was from. Why he spent five minutes staring at the horizon and what gave him that scar.
“Your trainers will divide you into two groups, show you to your accommodations and then begin your program.”
The commander started to turn away towards the jeep, and it was like lightning striking. Tharn was speaking, voice breaking from little use-
“Sir-”
It was not his imagination that every single person in line with him, turned their heads. The trainers shared a look with each other and Tharn was certain one of them was about to come over and lecture him about speaking to a higher rank, but then the commander turned his head.
As their eyes met once more, Tharn realized he didn’t care about everyone else staring at him. He didn’t care that he might end up being that guy , a story told around the campfire of what not to do on your first day as a recruit.
“Speak up cadet,” the man said evenly. “You want to go home, right?”
Tharn blinked and shook his head. “No, sir. I was just... wondering how to address you. Sir- ”
One of the trainers laughed loudly, and tharn could have sworn he heard others in line start whispering...
The commander paused for a moment, and Tharn might have been one of the only ones who heard him as he said his name, and then walked off.
Everyone watched with curiosity as he got back in the vehicle and drove away down the dusty road.
The trainers began barking orders, arranging the recruits into two even groups, and Tharn definitely saw some people giving him confused and annoyed looks, but he didn’t care. His head was filled with only one thing...
Commander Thiwat-
And the next time he’d see him.