Lucky was excited about her next exam. She knew that she would have to walk through some sort of terrain, which she was pretty good at doing. She laid out some clothing for the trek, and made sure to bring plenty of water and some food. She knew she would have to walk back to base , what she didn’t know though , was how she would be evaluated afterwards. The weather was warm this time of year , so she would be wearing khakis and a T-shirt to the exam. That night, she went to bed early so that she would have plenty of energy the next day. She fell asleep wondering what the terrain she would be walking through will look like, and what kind of dangers would be in the area.

She awoke the next day refreshed and ready to tackle the challenges that would be presented to her. Getting dressed, she wondered where they would bring her for the task. She ate a big , filling breakfast before heading to her PC’s office. He would accompany her on the flight to the unknown destination with the instructor.

Twenty minutes later, she knocked on Riqimo’s door, and entered after waiting outside for a moment. Tall , muscular and young, Riqimo didn’t look his age. He looked a few years younger which was good, she guessed. She stood tall in front of his desk and saluted. “At ease” he said after saluting in turn.  He offered her a drink , she wanted one but declined because alcohol would make her thirsty. And she didn’t want to start drinking the bottled water until later, when she was actually trekking back to the Corps.

When they got on the transport vehicle which would bring them to her starting point, they made small talk about life in general. It allowed Doc , as he was commonly called, to know what was going on in her present life with the squad , amongst other things and it also gave her the opportunity to relax before the long walk back. The ride was short but rocky , though Lucky didn’t mind that much. She had watched the weather news for the next few days before coming , it would be sunny for the next four days and the temperatures would be warm during the day , and mild at night. She would get a chance to make the exposed skin tan a little so taht she didn’t look like a ghost as much. When she mentioned this to Doc, he laughed a good-hearted , warm laugh , and at that very moment, the instructor announced their arrival.

Lucky looked out one of the small view ports at the landscape. From what she could see, they were in the middle fo the woods. The spot the pilot had picked had a canopy of trees on top, so it was quite shady. The ramp was lowered , and lucky walked out with her pack on her back. She looked at her surroundings, knowing she was in one of the forests near the Stormtrooper Corps base, but she did not know which one.

“Your task, soldier is to find your way back to the Corps as quickly as possible. In your bag, you have everything you’ll be needing. As you are aware of, you are not allowed to use a compass, which is why I checked your bag before handing it to you on the ride over here. Good luck.”

With that, the ramp rose, and the two men slowly disappeared behind a sheet of metal plating. She waited for the ship to lift off and disappear before starting the long walk back. She looked up to see where the sun was located, and spotted it in the middle of the sky. That meant it was lunchtime.

She started to walk north, and only stopped an hour later to look at the sky , to see if she was on the right track and ate a snack. The weather was getting warmer, so she looked around for a spot where she could rest for a few minutes. Walking around near the trees, she saw a dip in the ground that could be used to her squad’s advantage for cover in battle, should they fight in a terrain like this. She walked over to the depression and sat in ut. It was quite comfortable, she could stay there in full armour for awhile.

After a short while’s rest , she got back up and continued on her long journey back to base. It would take her more than 24 hours to get back to the Corps, but she was up to the challenge. If she also travelled at night, that time may be cut in half. As she walked on , she constantly looked around at her surroundings to see if there was any other spot she could identify as a good hideout for a squad on a mission. She didn’t see anything of interest until she reached a steep but small mountain. She would have to climb up, she knew.

As she climbed, her arm muscles strained to lift her whole body over high ledges. A half hour later, she was at the very top of the mountain . She looked down and spent a few long minutes scrutinizing the environs , after which she decided to clamber down.

Once she was back on solid ground, she quickened her pace a bit. This would burn more calories, thus helping her lose weight, and she would gain more energy in the long run. It was getting dark, she decided to eat a meagre dinner sitting with her back propped against a boulder.

She rested for about an hour, just long enough to regain some strength and catch a bit of shut-eye before taking a torch out of her bag and turning it on. The wilderness at night looked surreal, shadows accentuated the looks of trees, fallen trunks, rocks, and pretty much everything else around her.

As she walked, she realised taht in a situation like this, in a mission of this setting, they were better off working at night since it would provide them more cover, and they couldn’t be detected as easily.  She could hear a rushing sound nearby A stream! Her water bottles had been dry of water fir a couple hours and she was thirsty. Using her keen sense of eharing, she followed the sound until it intensified so much , that if she spoke she wouldn’t hear the words coming out of her mouth.

When she reached the stream, she knelt at the edge and drank deeply. The water was cool and refreshing on her throat. She took out her bottles, filled them, hopped over the stream onto the other side and continued on.

As the hours went by , she looked up at the stars and used them to guide her. She passed meadows, clearings, animal trails , you name it. Exhausted, she slipped, fell and leaned her back on a tree trunk to rest. She found herself dozing off, and when she awoke again, it was dawn. According to her calculations, she had slept three full hours. She got up and stretched, she felt refreshed but thirsty. She took out one of the canteens and drank deeply. The water was still quite cold which was good, she didn’t like to drink warm water because it didn’t feel hydrating.

She walked another two miles before she found herself out of the forest. She took her time looking around and eating a well-deserved snack at the same time. Around her were green fields, hills and beyond that...The gates that surrounded the Stormtrooper Corps!

Happy to see a bit of what she now called home, she started to jog down the hill, but did so too quickly. She slipped, fell and twisted her knee. Wincing , she got back up, shifted most of her weight onto her left leg and limped along. In a few hours, she will be enjoying a nice, warm meal with all the other Army members.

With that thought in mind, she quickened her hobbling pace and sure enough, two and a half hours later, she spotted a pitched tent right in front of the entrance gates to the Corps. In it , the instructor was alone. When he saw her approach him, she saw a genuine look of surprise on his face.

“That was quick , soldier! Very impressive. Now tell me, in those woods, what two areas would give your squad an advantage in battle?”

In detail, she described in detail the depression and her theory about travelling at night.

“Very good” the instructor said after hearing her explanations. “It took you fifteen hours to get from there to here, thus you pass.”

Beaming , she saluted , as did he , and after being dismissed, she walked to the mess hall to eat a big lunch.

OOC:

Passed, very well done, you are clearly improving with effort.  Only little thing I see as an issue is calling Riq tall, he's on the opposite end of the spectrum no biggie