Echo: StarVis

"Is this why you were late to lunch?" Mira marveled at the hulking obstacle course. They stood outside a secluded, fenced-in field not far off base. The air was warm with the sun high in the sky; it gently breezed through Mira's hair. The course stretched across the field in a straight line sharing the height of a skyscraper. Well, not quite that tall, but it was multiple stories high. Definitely flight level. It was a well thought out design built to last. Engines whirred and arms moved. A warning sound to anyone braving its borders. It had five levels to it like a high ropes course for kids, but she doubted they would be getting harnessed in. With ropes and nets and wooden beams and rings which she could only guess were meant for swinging across the massive distance below.

"I did stop by this morning to do final checks."

Chavez whipped his head around. "Checks for what? You make it sound like it might fall at any second."

"It's entirely safe."

Mads stretched her arms, which were probably as sore as Mira's. "How long has this been here?"

"A few months." Julian stood with his hands on his hips, clearly gratified with the reveal. "It was built for the force to use in training, but they very kindly allowed us first crack at it. I believe they plan to open it up to the rest of CForce in a couple weeks."

"Wonderful..." Mads muttered.

Mira couldn't help but laugh."We're the guinea pigs."

"Makes me want to jump right in when you put it that way," Chavez said.

They all looked at Julian.

"Are we supposed to get to the top?" Mira asked, eyes rising higher and higher.

"We're only doing level one today. I doubt any of you will even make it through that. We'll go one by one starting with the highest PCT score and moving through to the lowest."

PCT: physical capabilities test. Once a year every CForce member was required to take it. It wasn't an easy test, but it was only an exam for administration to gauge the fitness levels of the force. She wondered if the obstacle course would be added to it now.

"That's you, Chavez," Julian announced.

The stocky combat specialist stepped forward eagerly.

"Hold on a minute," Finn said from the back. "Wouldn't you have the top PCT score?" Finn, Mira thought, was playing with fire.

Julian schooled his features, but not before a flash sparked his eyes. "If you want me to go first, Finn, just say so."

Intrigued, Mira watched—they all did—as their leader made his way to the beginning of the course. A grassy path led to its mouth. Beyond the first step were six enormous swinging balls on metal rods. They swung in a staggered motion with just enough room to run through if you were careful.

Julian took a moment to assess the timing, and once he had it he moved with alarming speed. He ran straight through the ball things, exiting on the other side. The next one was worse. Where the balls were linear, the second one was all over the place. Plush arms on twisting, wooden machines swung haphazardly through the air, slicing with dangerous speed. Some slashed from above, arcing down in a fell swoop, some slashed sideways. Again, Julian navigated through the chaos with ease. He dove between two horizontal beams racing toward him, twisting and rolling on the other side. It was like hand to hand combat but with machines, and you weren't fighting back you were dodging. After he cleared the arms of fury, Julian moved on to the last obstacle: a wooden pole wider than the circumference of her torso that stood twenty feet high. He scaled it too easily, touching the top before pulling himself onto a platform that led to the second level. He finished with a time of two minutes and eleven seconds. She made sure to keep track.