�Rest. Next we do long jump.� David nodded, but did not speak. His eyes blurred, and he was still breathing just as hard. He stood straight, taking in rapid, deep breaths.
�Good. Now, let�s get moving.� David felt like telling her to �get moving�, to show her how difficult this was. The run he was fine with, even though he wasn�t used to regular air or normal gravity. It was his back that was giving him trouble, but he did not show any sign of the pain that enveloped him.
She led him slowly over to a set of platforms that sat high in the air. They were about ten feet long, and four feet wide. They sat almost twenty feet above the ground, each facing each other so that their short ends were closest. In between them, a large hole was dug into the ground. David stole a peek, and saw a pile of scrap metal. Sharp, scrap metal. His stomach churned slightly, but he pushed all signs of fear out of his mind.
A ladder ran down the side of one of the platforms, and David was ordered to climb it. He did so, and was soon up on top of the structure. He walked to the edge, and saw that the other platform was four feet away. He could easily clear it, as long as he didn�t screw up�
�Please move to the back, and jump to the other platform.� David backed up, inhaled, and started running. His foot connected with a spot near the edge, and he leaped. He overshot the edge by several feet, landing safely. Then, to his surprise, he heard a low rumble. He turned to the source of the noise, and saw that the platforms were moving apart. They had added an extra third of a meter or so between them, and David finally understood how this test was to work.
David landed with a loud thud. His heels had just made it over the edge, and David turned around to see the gap was now three meters. His back hurt like hell, each impact vibrating every vertebrae in his spine. The platforms moved again, and David got back to his edge. He sprinted, kicked off of the edge hard, and landed awkward. He barely landed with his toes, and he rolled along the platform. He stood there for a second or two, as if awaiting further instruction.
�Keep going,� ordered Kyu. Her voice was dull, as though she had not seen how close David had come to falling into the mess of metal below. He got back to his starting point, and sprinted again. Adrenaline ran through him, and time seemed to slow. He gave the ground his mightiest kick as he got to the edge of the platform, and he soared. But from the moment he had started running, he knew he wouldn�t quite make it. He leaned back slightly, and stretched his arms out. He began to see the platform�s top disappeared, as he lost altitude. His fingers caught a grip, and he held on to the edge firmly. Kyu was watching him, but said nothing.
The impact that pulled up on his body made his back pop, and David thought it felt great. It was almost loud enough to be mistaken for a bone breaking, but it only brought David relief. He strained, flexed his arms, and he rose. He swung his leg up and onto the platform, and pulled himself up. He knew now he could not make the next jump, but he was ordered to do so none the less. He ran, jumped, and flew through the air. At four meters, the jump was simply too far. He wasn�t even all that close to the platform when the top of it disappeared, and his mind sprang into action.
His feet lifted, and his body went parallel to the ground. They met the wall, and he let them compress. He pushed off with a violent kick, careful to also jump slightly to the left. He flew off of the wall, and rolled in the air. He saw the grass of his target, the ground near where Kyu stood. He stretched himself out, and landed with a loud thud on the grass, flat out on his belly.
He felt the wind get knocked out of him, but he got straight back onto his feet. His abdomen and chest slowly loosened up, and he breathed again. Kyu gave him a blank stare, one of astonishment and disgust.
�David, you realize we have Actigrav in place so as to prevent you from falling into that pit?�
David looked at her, a screwed up look on his face. He knew that they wouldn�t just kill him off like that, but he didn�t always depend on assumptions either.
�The Actigrav could have failed. I knew I would not make it, so I solved the problem. Would you like me to return to the platform?�
She looked down at her data pad, and chuckled under her breath.
�If you thought that was fun, Mr. Jackson, then you haven�t seen anything yet.� David didn�t know what to make of it. He felt a slight tingling sensation, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood.
�And to answer your query, no, you will not be required to return to the platform. You may, however, follow me to the next station.�
He walked with her, and they soon arrived at an obstacle course. From there, it was running up and down ramps, performing maneuvers, and climbing walls, all with a fifty kilo weight on his back. Their training ended after that, but restarted the next day. His back was sore and internally bruised, but the workouts made it all the stronger. His therapy would last another three days; not nearly as long as William�s, but still too long for an officer to be away from his men, while they fought out in the battlefield.
While he was away from his team.
