2-Tank

Damian stepped inside the diner, half damp from the shower he’d just taken. He’d changed into casuals: a dark top and loose dark brown pants paired with clean sandals.

The cashier behind the counter spotted him immediately and pointed him towards the back of the restaurant.

Damian waved back and headed towards the table.

The sergeant was mid-drink when his eyes landed on Damian.

“Get over here! We’re about to order.”

Damian made his way down the length of the table, patting the backs of Hassan, Marcus, Yuki, and a few other soldiers from base.

The sergeant pulled Damian into a firm side hug. When he released him, Damian noticed the drink in his hand.

“It’s 8:30,” He said, sliding into the chair beside the sergeant. “Isn’t it a little early?”

Fatima leaned forward from across the table, grinning. “Probably.”

Damian ordered a Sprite from the server and settled into his chair. Around the table were Hassan, Yuki, Marcus, Fatima and the sergeant, with three other soldiers from base: Chen, Rodriguez, and Davies.

“So,” Chen said, leaning back in his chair, “What are we getting?”

“Boss is paying!” Fatima informed Chen.

“Perfect! I can get that crab without breaking the bank.”

Rodriguez leaned forward. “By the way, I heard there’s a briefing tomorrow? Trina said something about it.”

“Can’t keep her mouth shut for a moment…” The sergeant mumbled, setting down his glass. “Right, listen up.”

“Tomorrow morning, everyone reports to my office at 10 AM sharp. The military are announcing reassignments.”

“Are we leaving Cape Town?” Yuki glanced at Davies.

“Not much left here to be honest, nothing the basic military police can’t already manage.” Davies said scratching his neck, looking at the sergeant. “What’s the brass prioritizing right now?”

Fatima set down her glass. “The greenification compounds are likely their priority. Most countries’ farming industries depend on them. Crop yields, soil regeneration and all that. And medically they’re still the best option for disease treatment.”

“Back in my day, we didn’t have any of this nonsense.” The sergeant said with a nostalgic smile. “Tell anyone you used fancy mushrooms for medication and they’d look at you like you’d lost your damn mind.”

“But… we do use mushrooms for medication?” Chen raised his eyebrow.

Rodriguez turned around in his seat, looking at Damian. “Hey, isn’t that what your thing is made of? That Augment?”

Damian nodded. “Yep.”

Rodriguez squinted at him. “Then why aren’t you green?”

Damian laughed, not thinking much of it. “I’m not a fan of the color, so they thankfully modified the compound mix.”

Hassan added onto Fatima’s prior point. “Yeah, well, it’s not all that easy to obtain when it’s at those depths.”

Yuki nodded, pointing a finger at Hassan. “Especially with those hybrids down there.”

The sergeant looked up from his drink. “That’s why they’re getting a new unit together.”

“The Deep Six,” the sergeant said taking a sip of his drink. “Mainly for hybrid breakouts and research. So safe to assume they’ll have some role with the greenification compounds too.”

Chen suddenly perked up. “Speaking of elite operations, have you guys seen that new film that just dropped? The Takeshi one?”

Rodriguez groaned. “My god, man.”

“No seriously.” Chen grinned. “His latest is supposed to be incredible! The story’s been in the work for years apparently. I’ve been wanting to catch it before it’s out of theaters.”

Yuki snapped her fingers repeatedly, trying to remember the director. “Takeshi… Nakamura? The one who did that video game adaptation show a few years back?”

“Yes!” Chen said enthusiastically. “And that ocean documentary that won like five awards. But this new one’s different though.”

Hassan was slightly intrigued, having been a fan of the earlier adapted series. “What’s it about?”

“I don’t want to spoil it, nor do I know a lot,” Chen said, “but it’s about someone trying to navigate a corrupt system from the inside.”

“So it’s one of the ‘Oh look at me I’m so smart!’ type of films.” Marcus said in mocking tone.

“No, It’s well thought out,” Chen corrected him. “There’s a difference.”

Yuki leaned forward with a smug look on her face. “Marcus says that because he isn’t smart enough for it.”

“And the most complex film you’ve ever watched is Toy Story.” Marcus retorted confidently, spinning his glass of beer at her.

“HEY! IT’S A GOOD MOVIE.”

“I’m not saying it isn’t!”

“When are you planning to go?” Fatima shushed the both of them.

“This weekend maybe? There’ll probably be a showing at the theaters,” Chen quickly thought of a schedule. “Anyone interested?”

Damian found himself nodding along with the others. The conversation drifted from talking about Nakamura’s previous work to Fatima discussing naming conventions for the octopus.

The team ordered their dinner, fully taking advantage of the sarge’s poorly thought out promise earlier.

It felt good to talk about things that didn’t really matter, except in Chen’s eyes, Takeshi Nakamura meant more to Chen than any mission ever could.

The dorm

Four bunkbeds arranged along the walls, personal lockers at the foot of each bed, a common area in the middle with worn couches, two washing machines in the corner and a wall-mounted screen that played whatever was on rotation.

The room smelled like laundry detergent and had the particular staleness of a room lived in by eight soldiers.

Damian was standing in front of his top bunk. Hassan was already half-asleep in his bottom bunk. Chen and Rodriguez were asleep in theirs across the room.

Marcus, Davies, and Fatima however were still outside somewhere, arguing in the hallway about a music album that had started at the diner.

Damian ran his fingertips along the blunt edges of the carbon fibre plate, barely thicker than a sheet of steel. Its surface had hundreds of evenly-spaced micro-needles. A thin amber line pulsed at the center of the augment.

He found the release mechanism at the edge and pressed it.

It wasn’t painful, but it was a bit uncomfortable. A series of tiny pinches as dozens of micro-needles retracted from his skin. Damian’s eyelid twitched as the augment gradually loosened from his side.

He pulled it away under his t-shirt and set it on his bed.

A small constellation of red marks was left behind on his rib cage, surrounding his pale surgical scar. The marks however, would fade within minutes.

The dorm door opened.

Yuki walked in, heading toward her top bunk on the opposite from Damians. She was in a sports top and loose pajama pants, her dark hair let loose.

She spotted Damian standing there. She walked over and patted his shoulder slowly “Good work out there, D.” She said partly yawning.

“Yeah, you too.”

That’s when she noticed the augment on his bed. “You good?” she asked a bit concerned, although it most likely was nothing.

“Yeah,” Damian said, rolling his shoulder. “Stretching feels great when you don’t have this on your side.”

Yuki nodded. She climbed into her top bunk and flopped down onto her pillow, staring at the ceiling.

“What if the new squad we get is a pain in our ass?”

Damian glanced over at her, seeing her exhausted profile against the dim light from the small window.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Like, different y’know.” Yuki continued, turning over to look at him. “What if they have terrible music taste and we have to listen to whatever they like for months?”

Damian found himself smiling slightly. “I don’t think they’d have a larger squad than eight these days.”

“Good point… probably just change in location then.” Yuki spread her arms wide. “Still though. I like it here.”

“Yeah,” Damian watched his phone light up with a notification. “But we’ll figure it out.”

Hassan mumbled below Damian. “We can plan our futures tomorrow.”

“Yeah…” Yuki yawned and rubbed her eyes. “Goodnight.”

Damian’s eyes half opened to the sound of whispers. He rubbed his eyelids slowly, processing that there were people standing in front of his and Hassan’s bunk.

Marcus, Rodriguez, Yuki, Chen, Davies, Fatima. All of them standing there and watching.

The moment his eyes focused, they erupted.

“And… he’s up!”

“Damian wins!”

Damian pushed himself up on his elbows, confused for half a second before remembering.

“Right, it’s Friday.” Damian climbed out of his bunk and stretched.

Hassan gradually woke up, hearing the ruckus in the room.

“Hassan’s feeding the tank,” Rodriguez grinned with far too much enthusiasm.

Hassan’s heart dropped. “No! Absolutely not. Find someone else.”

“YOU lost the bet,” Yuki pointed her finger at him. “Those are the rules. You know the rules.”

Hassan struggled to find an excuse, muttering under his breath. “I changed my mind about this whole thing. It’s too… too early for this nonsense.”

“Hey!” Marcus called him out. “I said the same thing last time!”

“Yeah, well, I’m not going in that tank,” Hassan countered, standing up. “Those things are horrible.”

“Someone’s scared.” Damian stuck his tongue out.

“Shut it, Thorne.”

The test tank was a massive containment unit filled with the docile creatures they’d caught and studied. Mostly passive. But they were also slimy, touchy, and incredibly curious about anything that moved in their environment.

Feeding meant getting in, inserting the food packets at the bottom whilst dealing with dozens of curious eyes, fins and tentacles trying to investigate your hands, your arms and whatever else they could reach.

Fatima spoke up, her voice cutting through. She pulled out a digital camera.

“As you all know,” she said, “the last person to wake up on Friday every week is subject to tank feeding. It’s our very sacred tradition.”

She held up the camera, pointing it at Hassan.

Hassan stared at the camera, then back at Fatima. “No, I am NOT getting in the tank!”

Damian reinforced, “Rules are rules, old man.”

“Hassan’s tank debut!” Davies called out, grinning at the old soldier’s mounting frustration.

Hassan held up his hand as he stared directly at Fatima, making his point crystal clear.

“There is no way,” he said slowly, “that I am getting in that tank.”

Fatima smiled.

“There is no way.”

The tank room was massive.

The containment unit rose thirty feet high, the glass so thick and heavily graded it earned the name ‘Toddler pool’ around the base. Military-spec lighting illuminated every inch of the tank, casting light onto the dimly lit surrounding.

The squad stood pressed against the glass, some phones recording.

A massive splash came from the top of the tank. Hassan propelled himself down into the water.

“Oh my god,” Yuki gasped, her phone recording. “He’s actually doing it!”

Her bracelet comm crackled. “Get lost.” Hassan came through, irritated.

“Alright, the all time record is a minute and 3 seconds, think you can beat that?” Marcus grabbed Yuki’s wrist.

“I couldn’t care less, I’m dropping the food and that’s it.”

As Hassan said that, a creature rocketed past the glass.

Davies let out a whoop. “He’s had this coming for a long time.”

At that moment, Hassan was caught by a red tentacle and was being flung back and forth across the tank like a toy.

“Remind me,” Hassan said, finally breaking free. “Why do we keep these things around?”

Two more creatures joined. All of them curious about the intruder who’d entered their space.

Damian was laughing so hard he could barely speak, his hand on his stomach. “We need the entertainment, what else?”

“Wait, send me the footage. We’ll show it to Aunt Noor!” Rodriguez said, getting approval from Damian with a high five.

“Good idea.” Fatima said, camera pointing at Hassan, her smile as wide as ever. “She’d want to know what her husband’s up to, right?”

“No video will be sent to her!”

Hassan propelled downward. “Come on—“ He muttered.

But then another tentacle caught him. A massive squid-like creature with 6 eyes wrapped around his torso and squeezed.

Hassan pushed his propulsion system to its limit, fighting against the creature’s hold.

The squid let go.

Hassan shot downward at an angle, directly into a dense patch of kelp on the sandy floor. He disappeared into the green, and the entire squad erupted in laughter.

Hassan emerged from the kelp, shaking his head and removing the kelp plastered on his helmet visor. He reached into his sash, pulled out the cylindrical food packet, and slotted it in its place.

The team laughed hysterically.

“None of that was funny.” Hassan asserted only to get more laughter in return.

The squid and the others were there, hovering in the water near him. Then, slowly, they all moved away.

It was almost like his test was over.

Hassan took the opening and swam upwards carefully, his eyes darting around for any sudden surprises.

He was almost to the ladder when an orange tentacle covered in suckers shot out from the side and wrapped around his waist.

Hassan let out a small gasp as the squid yanked him down, driving him back into the kelp forest and then throwing him back out the tank.

Hassan’s body launched through the water like a firework, his form rocketing toward the edge of the tank. His suit hit the glass rim hard half-in and half-out of the water, and tumbled over the edge like a kelpy meteor.

He crashed onto the floor, his nautical suit’s tough exoskeleton saving him from injury.

Everyone lost it. Rodriguez grabbed his phone and shoved it directly into Hassan’s face, his camera recording his soaked, kelp-covered form.

Hassan laid there with his helmet coming off, breathing hard.

Inside the tank, the creatures gathered near the surface. Their uncanny mouths formed something like smiles.

They’d gotten what they wanted.

The cafeteria.

Damian was working through a bite of a breakfast burrito.

Then a notification on his phone. The teams assignment notifications from command. A list of tasks with pairings and its respective time slots.

Damian checked his screen: Mapping prep, creature data cataloguing and route planning. No pairing.

Hassan got paired with Chen for perimeter maintenance work on the northern maritime barriers. Davies and Rodriguez were weapon testing in the armory. Yuki got patrol duty near the Cape town city perimeter and Marcus got cargo management.

“Weapon testing,” Davies said, reading his assignment. “Y’all?”

“I’ve got patrols,” Yuki said, not looking up from her tray. “Eight hours of watching nothing happen.”

“Better than perimeter lining,” Hassan said, scrolling through the details.

“Don’t know why you’re complaining,” Chen picked at his tray with a fork. “Great place to take a nap.” Which only got a loud, mocking raspberry from Yuki.

As they ate, Fatima walked up to their table.

“Guys, briefing in ten minutes,” she reminded. “Sergeant’s office.”

Yuki looked up from her food. “Wait—isn’t there anything else I could do? Eight hours of perimeter patrol is tortur—“

“No,” Fatima said flatly, turning away towards the next table before Yuki could get another word in.

Yuki stared at her retreating back, then looked down at her tray again, clearly irritated. “Vile woman.”

The sergeant’s office was decorated with a few flowers and military honors, a desk paired with a chair. Tactical maps on his holographic display floated above his desk, showing paperwork and his soldiers’ service booklets.

Damian, Hassan, Yuki, Marcus, Davies, Rodriguez, Fatima, and Chen stood in a loose formation near the door.

The sergeant looked up from the display. He dismissed the hologram with a wave of his hand. “Get inside.”

“Alright,” He said, leaning back in his chair. “I’ve gotten news from command that our platoon is shifting. We’re being relocated to the Caput City on the NPC.”

NPC. The Northern Pacifican Continent.

“They’ve found our handling of the marine fauna impressive,” The sergeant said in a matter-of-fact tone. “We will be the second squad posted there.”

The office erupted.

“Caput!” Marcus said, both his arms punched the air.

Fatima started geeking again. “Imagine what we’re going to find dow—“

“Imagine the food we’re going to find!” Marcus cut in, shaking her shoulders back and forth.

Fatima and Marcus jumped, pulling each other into a quick hug, both talking over each other about what they’d discover in the waters and in the restaurants.

Hassan put his hand up. “Sir, just want to confirm—“

“No worries,” The sergeant said immediately, cutting him off with a wave. “All family-related matters will be processed automatically. We know getting the green card is difficult in Caput but your wife will get her notification by end of day.”

Hassan gave a visible sigh of relief, and the celebration picked back up.

The sergeant raised his voice. “Tickets are booked for a week from now. Get your things ready. This weekend here is our last at Cape town, so let’s enjoy it!”

The squad cheered, all in huddles with each other

Then the sergeant put his hand up.

The room turned to look at his palm.

“But Damian…” The sergeant’s eyes locked directly on him. “won’t be going with us.”

Damian stuttered in his movement, his hand levitating towards his augment under his top. “What?”

The celebration stopped.

Chen stared at Damian, then at the sergeant. “What do you mean?” He was completely thrown off.

“He’s one of the best we have!” Yuki stated firmly, her hands on the chairs. “Why would we—“

“Yes, yes… I know,” The sergeant said.

He reached over and flipped the holographic display back to life showing a tactical map of Caput, zoomed in, showing the coastline and its assigned duties.

“Damian will not be joining our squad because the GDC want him elsewhere.”

Then the holographic display shifted. The map of Caput’s district faded. In its place, Harbor City; the major city of the SPC rendered.

SPC. Southern Pacifican Continent.

“Somewhere his skills would be better suited for,” The sergeant started walking towards Damian.

Marcus’s eyes shot up. Hassan turned his head towards Damian. Fatima leaned forward slightly.

Damian furrowed his eyebrows, a small crease appearing between them.

The sergeant’s voice dropped, final and absolute as he stood in front of Damian and offered his hand.

“Congratulations, You have been called up to the Deep-Six.”