Worth the risk (closed)

[susurrus]

The rest of the weekend I thought as little about the next week of class with Doc Legs and what she might have planned. The doc herself gyrated through my mind quite a bit, but she wasn't dressed like she usually was at those times. If I imagined her wearing anything at all, it was damn skimpy.

Monday morning, we gathered out front of the main building, where some legitimate military transports stood waiting. Beside each transport stood a soldier: one woman, two men. They stood impassively watching us gather,

Then, when us students had been staring at these military personnel for maybe five minutes, wondering what the fuck was next, one of the men glanced at his wrist, and an order was barked out.

Then the yelling began.

At the top of their lungs, all three soldiers started bellowing at us to "Get your sorry BEE-hinds into the transport" and "What's taking so long, ladies?"

We all loaded in as quickly as possible, more to stop the noise than anything and shortly after we were moving.

After all the yelling, you might think our drivers might be somewhat talkative. Not so. It would appesr that we were merely an assignment, and after that, they didn't care to see us ever again. A couple of the guys tried to strike up a conversation, but were met with stony silence.

Finally, we pulled into a military base. We were hustled out of the transports as politely as we'd been ushered into them and before long we stood in an alien world.

The Dean of the academy stood out front of a big tent, and once we had all climbed free and the vehicles drove off, he strode up to us, clad in military togs.

"This way, gentlemen," he offered politely. It was a nice break from all the yelling, because more of that could be heard in various locations around us.

We followed the Dean into the tent, where Doc Legs stood waiting for us.

She was dressed like ninety plus percent of the people we'd seen so far. The main difference being her oitfit was a difderent color.

She welcomed us to our new assignment and introduced us to her four assistants: two men and two women.

We were all too stunned to be cocky. Not a one of us guys had a smartass thing to say. We just sat there in that tent, wondering what the fuck the school had allowed us to get involved with...

 

[Asa]

For the duration of the week you will travel out here and back to campus in the same transport used today. At any point and time.your drivers will be placed in a driving situation where their job is to get.you safely here or back to campus in their offensive protective driving certification. You will be safe at all times during this. You will also be taken through a not so live love fire combat course. You will your the medical facilities here on base and get.to meet and talk with soldiers not that.much older than you that have served their country and broken their bodies and shortened their life expectancy for this country. You will get to tour other areas of the base and share meals in the mess ball with soldiers and talk with them.

The dean then steps forward and nodded saluting as she and her men returned the salute.

Have fun men as for me I have a meeting to attend and a long-overdue lunch with the base commander

With that he walked away.

Lt. Davis will be overseeing the freshmen. Sgt. Howell will lead the sophomores with Sgt. Campbell. I will take the Jrs. And Lt Adamson will have the Srs. Now break into your groups. Jr's you will be going through the infirmary first let's go.

 

[susurrus]

I tried not to let the whirlwind way things were happening faze me. 'Its the way the brainwashing begins,' I told myself. 'Don't let it get to you. It's only a week. You can handle it.'

When the doc announced I was in the group that was with her, I was glad. While I was sure the others knew exactly what they were doing, I liked the idea of getting to stick with my hot professor.

Getting up, I followed her out of the tent and through the activity around us toward a building that looked like every other building on the base...

 

[Asa]

Walking through she introduced those who were in a main long medical wing room to the students talking with some soldiers individually and letting the class ask questions to any who agreed to talk. She looked around and flagged one of the nurses down and quietly asked him some questions before turning into watch her class seeing some of the students looking fairly pale from some of the stories and some of the injuries the soldiers had.

 

[susurrus]

The infirmary was tough. I'd expected a base like this to be relatively empty, but apparently they treated patients from overseas here, ones that had been stabilized and brought home for further treatment.

Lots of amputees. burns. shrapnel. It was pretty gruesome. One of our number ran from the room. A few of us had the steel of stomach to ask questions. A lot of the answers were: "IED." Improvised Explosive Device. Very few were actual combat injuries.

I looked over at Doc Legs. Or was that Colonel Legs? Anyhow, she had her wry smile on. Some part of her was enjoying our discomfort.

I wasn't sure how long we stayed there, but by the time we did leave, I think most of us guys were more than ready...

 

[Asa]

Once everyone was reassembled at the tent she looked around. Seeing the shock, discomfort, sorrow, fear, and for some curiosity, she finally spoke. Tomorrow we will be back here and in the same groups as today as that seems to work out well. Once back on campus the Dean and I will both be available for an additional hour from our usual office hours if there are any questions about what you have experienced or seen today.

 

[susurrus]

When we were dismissed, I was a little surprised. That was it? We were just going to be shown things? For whatever reason, I was under the impression we were going to be going through something resembling basic training. That might be in the future. We'd just have to see.

Next morning, we all mustered at the tent, then broke into our groups. My group followed Legs to wherever it was she wanted to take us this time...

 

[Asa]

She had thrown them all off it would appear again. She assigned each group to where they were going as she and the Jrs went through a nearly live-ammo simulation after they watched her guide a couple of actual cadets through first then broke them up into teams of two and led them through.

 

[susurrus]

Doc led us to an area where she showed a couple female soldiers wearing goggles and face shields and some other gear. It almost looked like paintball gear, but not quite.

Then, they started out into this range, where other soldiers were firing at them. OF course, they were meant to fire back, but when they got hit, they got hit... it wasn't lethal, but from the reactions, it hurt like hell.

After about ten minutes watching this, we were told where to go to get our gear. Now, I was never raised around guns, but there's something that makes your testosterone bubble when someone hands you a weapon, whether it fires real bullets or not.

On the range, we were given a goal and told not to get killed. When the question arose how we'd know we were dead, the response was: "Trust me, you'll wish you were dead before you really are."

My partner got hit two minutes in. It was in his shoulder, but he screamed like his arm had been cut off.

"Motherfucker that hurts!" he said after a couple minutes. His left arm was as good as useless, but he said he could go on.

All over the range, we could hear other members of our group yelling bloody murder as they were hit by the non-lethal rounds. After about every third yell, we'd hear, "So-and-so, off the field. You're dead."

My partner got use of his left arm back somewhat after about ten minutes. Shortly after that, I got hit in the thigh, up high, damn near at my crotch.

Well, needless to say, I couldn't help but make a noise. As loudly as my partner had yelled, I yelled louder. What the hell - the fucking thing tried to take my goddamn balls off!

I was still screaming when I heard, "Cain, you're done. Femoral artery. You're going to bleed out in about two minutes."

I was still writhing in pain when my partner found someone else to team up with who'd lost their partner a few minutes earlier. Didn't make no fucking nevermind to me. After my experience, I was happy to be done with this fucking thing.

Eventually, the simulation ended. The real soldiers made it to their goals, while all us guys got hit - sometimes several times. None of us made it more than twenty feet inside the range.

When I saw the leer (at least, that's what it looked like to me) on Legs' face, I had a viscous urge to slug her. However, I knew she'd gone through this shit already. She'd probably see anything I tried to do days before I even thought to do it. I think it was the first day since I'd seen the woman that I felt anything but lust...

 

[Asa]

On the third day, Jrs got to go up in the choppers. On a "rescue mission". Day 4 for Jrs was tear gas chamber test and the last day they all went back through the live fire with a massive BBQ on the other side as the base's way of saying a good job to all of the students for only doing this for a week. A few were recognized for exceptional scores and others told how they could be an asset to the military if they ever chose to serve. A couple of Sts spoke with Dr. Legacy about enlisting. In what seemed an almost reunion type talk the Dean and a couple of heavy brass wearing uniforms talked and seemed to compare old battle scars. Eventually Dr. Legacy had joined them laughing and talking until it was time to head back.

 

[susurrus]

Day three was helicopters. Holy fuck, riding in a combat chopper really made a guy feel like he could lay waste to the world. Of course, our "mission" was to "rescue" three soldiers who'd been stranded behind enemy lines. More non-lethal shit. I was still limping from the shot I'd taken the day before. Had a bruise the size of my fist an inch below my ballsack. This time I got hit in the side and my right bicep. Fuck!

Day four was tear gas. They gave us ventilator masks which filtered the gas and allowed you to get through it. However, after being in it a couple minutes, we were ordered to take the masks off. A couple guys did so immediately and immediately regretted it. Those of us who hesitated got yelled at until we took them off. Immediately my eyes burned and teared, my nose ran and I could barely breathe. It was the worst thing I'd ever felt in my life. I wanted to die.

One guy, Pilner, refused to take the mask off, and even as the Colonel yelled point blank in his face, he shook his head, holding onto the mask for dear life. Then, we all watched as Colonel Legs rared back and punched him in the gut. When he doubled over, clutching his stomach, she grabbed his mask and pulled it off him. Now, I didn't think they were supposed to be able to hit us, but we weren't recruits, so apparently certain rules didn't apply. As well, I was pretty sure Pilner wouldn't be telling anybody about it later.

Tear gas was the worst. If I'm ever in a situation where I get threatened with it, I'm giving up on the spot.

Day five was "graduation," such as it was. We were dressed in the non-lethal gear again and told our party was on the other side of the field. While we had a long way to go, only about two-thirds of us got killed this time, though we all got hit.

Awards were given, even though they were really just symbolic. I landed toward the top of the middle in the total rankings among all us guys, and as we pulled away, Doc Legacy was laughing and enjoying time with what I assumed were a group of old army buddies, or at least old soldiers comparing notes and telling their own version of "big fish stories."

Us students went back and nursed our wounds and wondered what the next week of Doc Legs' class was going to be like...

 

[Asa]

Monday morning rolled around and lectures questions about the previous week and a Q&A about her past in the military serving with different world militaries her eclectic assortment of doctorate and other degrees ranging from occult studies to Archeological to psychology and human behavior. She was rather young to have all the degrees she had but then again she had started rather young and seemed to ace the within a decent enough time frame overlapping lessons from some to help with others.

 

[susurrus]

In class the next Monday, we got the opportunity to review the previous week and ask thd doc questions about her life before coming to The Rock. The answers she gave indicated that she was definitely bright and ambitious, but something still bugged me.

"Doc," I said at one point, "I get that you're very educated and have achieved a lot in a very short amount of time, and I respect that greatly, honest, I do. However, it seems to me that all those achievements had to have left you little time for human interaction outside of a regimented system. It sounds to me like you've never given yourself time to learn what it's like to really live."

 

[Asa]

That would be an assumption gauges on your view of truly living. However to humor a jaded question. No questions asked this far we're about more than living on a base and why I have particular degrees in the subjects that I do.

She smiled. Traveling the world and seeing countries and cantons and city-states that most barely ever hear of... Meeting cultures few people even in their own countries know still exist is a powerful experience. Yes sometimes those situations have come at the expense of battles and wars but that is a part of life too.

 

[susurrus]

"The cultural side to what you're saying sounds truly fascinating, and it sounds like you've seen a fair amount of the world, but the way you describe it sounds pretty lonely. Have you ever had the opportunity to experience any of these things with people who weren't dressed in military outfits?"

 

[Asa]

Yeah I was married and divorced but most things have been afforded through the military and my archeology travels. So your question at it's core is have I ever just tossed money around traveling like a civilian? No not really.

 

[susurrus]

"So, you've always had some kind of mission, then?"

 

[Asa]

Yes. Then again I have also seen countries and people even money can't get people access to so in a way it's a trade off. Why is that so important?

She watched him wondering where he was going with his questions. He so far had been really the only student to intrigue her.

 

[susurrus]

"Let me guess: the exclusive views you've had were under military control, and that's why no civilian would ever have access, nor would ever have the opportunity to get such access.

"I understand that the military has allowed you opportunities. However, do you have any life that doesn't revolve around the military? Do you ever 'Let your hair down' and actually have fun on occasion?"

 

[Asa]

Well also working as an archeologist yes I have had the opportunity to relax no military speaking. Hearing stories that are centuries old around campfires all over the world.

In the way you view it, no but I would not trade anything about my life save for ever having married my ex husband

She smiled as that brought a chuckle to the class

 

[susurrus]

I listened to what she was saying and nodded.

"I see. I don't know what went on with you and your ex, and I don't really care.

"So, aside from however long that lasted, all your endeavors have basically been lonely ones?"

 

[Asa]

Alone yes lonely no.

She smiled at him then turned to answer other questions.

 

[susurrus]

I didn't like the way Doc Legs dismissed me, but then, I was dominating the discussion. However, she was letting me do so. Besides, the guys were listening raptly, too. I think they wondered what I was getting at, also. The doc looked at me curiously, with that little smile on her face, but I think this one was different from the one she'd worn while she watched us guys get our asses kicked at the military base.

What it all came down to was: Was I going to be able to dredge up the guts to ask the doc out? Wasn't that what all this prying and vague innuendo was about?

I sure as hell wasn't going to do it in a crowded classroom...

 

[Asa]

When class was over the dismissed everyone and sat at the desk in her classroom and began going over paperwork. She had finally decided that off base housing was a good thing especially when she found out about the cabins on the outskirts of the national park. It would be perfect. Occurring her the peace of nature with the land to train and close to her work and her "home" the base. Otnsould also afford her the ability to possibly get her archeology students involved in some of the digs the park did from time.to time.

 

[susurrus]

I hung back after class was over. After parts of the ordeal at the base the previous week, I'd wanted little to do with "Doctor Legacy." Now that that was over, that had cooled, and I was back to wanting to get to know her in a capacity other than student/teacher.

When the last of my fellow students had sauntered out of the classroom, I watched the doc at her desk, seemingly oblivious to the fact that anyone was still in the room.

Not exactly sure how to proceed, I was surprised at my lack of confidence. Usually I was Mister Smooth with women. Of course, typically, that had been with women closer to my own age. Not that the doc was ancient, but there were a few more years between us than any of my other conquests had been.

From where I sat, I cleared my throat...