The Grandmaster Strategist - Volume 1 - Chapter 1

Chapter Volume 1, 1

Volume 1: Imprisoned Galaxy

Chapter 1

“Please insert your enlistment card,” intoned a sweet, computer-synthesized voice . Standing in a narrow, oval-shaped object, Tang Long swiftly inserted the enlistment card that he had applied for into a magnetic card reader .

“Name: Tang Long . Age: 18 . Gender: Male . Education: High School . Branch: Infantry . ” After the computer produced this information, its synthesized voiced stated, “Preparing to verify your identity . ”

Tang Long quickly stood still, opening his eyes as wide as he could . At this moment, a white light scanned him from head to toe . “Appearance identical, skeleton identical, blood type identical, DNA identical, pupils identical . Identity verified . ”

With several beeps, the computer spat out the enlistment card . The synthesized voice sounded again, “Please proceed to report in at 504th Recruit Barracks, 23rd Regiment, 3rd Battalion, 1st Company, 1st Squad . Wishing you luck in your martial endeavors . ”

As Tang Long rapidly put the enlistment card away, a door immediately opened behind him . Outside, there was still a very long line of people waiting .

“Dammit! It’s so troublesome to become a soldier! If I had known this earlier, I wouldn’t have come!” cursed Tang Long resentfully as he departed the enlistment room . As he walked out, the next in line immediately entered the enlistment room and the door closed again .

Tang Long had just reached adulthood and graduated from high school . His prosperous family could have allowed him to go to university or work in his father’s company . However, he was disinterested in becoming a rich man’s son but rather wished to become a soldier .

From a young age, he had the ambition to become a marshal commanding all of the military forces in the universe . In his view, to become a marshal, he needed to first become a general . And to become a general, he needed to work his way up from a small, lowly soldier .

Although he had heard that enlisting after graduating from the National Defense University would allow one to immediately attain the rank of second lieutenant, he wasn’t sure how much higher than a private that was . But it wasn’t that Tang Long didn’t want to attend the National Defense University, it was that his college entrance exam scores ranked in the last one thousand out of millions of applicants . Entry into the National Defense University couldn’t be bought with money . Added to that, his family wouldn’t let him enlist in any armed forces since his family had only had a single descendant for generations .

And this was without even touching on the interesting matter related to his name . Before his parents even married, his paternal grandfather had already picked it out . Both his grandfather and his dad were very confident, trusting that the newborn would be male . He couldn’t guess whether it was the potency of the ancient blood flowing through his veins, but he really did arrive in the world as a baby boy . Further, his mom and dad had tried very hard for eighteen years to have another child, but there wasn’t even a pregnancy, let alone a birth .

When he grew up a little, he once asked his grandfather, “Why did you give me this name?” His grandfather pridefully told him, “The word ‘Tang’ in ancient times was among the names on humanity’s ancient homeworld, Earth . It represented an ethnic group in an eastern nation of that world . That ethnic group had yellow skin, black hair, and black eyes . And ‘Long’ represented that nation’s most powerful men . Though the planet no longer exists, their descendants joined with other civilizations to create this millennia-long cosmic calendar . Their contributions will be passed down forever . ”

However, his grandfather didn’t express his expectations . But this name, “Tang Long,” had a meaning that was already deeply imprinted into the young child’s head . It was also the main reason why he wanted to enlist .

As a result, the impudent kid used bad test scores and wanting to relax during summer vacation as excuses to get money for travel expenses . He also got his adult identification card and ran away to the planet Keira, nearly ten thousand light-years away . Fait accompli1, he enlisted in the Army .

Although he could have enlisted in other service branches, the Army didn’t require cultural knowledge exams, only a fitness test . The meritless Tang Long could only pick the branch that would allow him to enlist when he came of age and didn’t have any tests, the infantry branch .

Tang Long carried a duffel bag, held the magnetic card containing his assignment, and cluelessly wandered around the deployment hall . There were many olive-patterned deployment rooms in the hall, each room containing lines of young men who had just enlisted like him . All those olive-patterned rooms had artificial intelligence installed, which allowed for tailoring to each person’s needs and test scores . They were automatically assigned to the suitable recruit barracks to undergo training .

Of course, outside of the recruits in the deployment hall, there were men dressed in black from head to toe, with silver stripes running along each side of their clothes . These soldiers, dressed in the uniform of the Commonwealth, guarded the area . Tang Long stared at these mighty soldiers with envious eyes, while at the same time looking for the passageway leading to the 504th Recruit Barracks .

Though the routes were all in the enormous hall, there were simply too many . Tang Long strained to look up at the numbers over each passageway, nearly breaking his neck .

After walking for a long time, he finally found the tunnel that had 504 over it, seeing in front of him scattered groups of recruits . Tang Long didn’t say a word and strode over . The moving walkway immediately took him forward .

Tang Long stayed on the moving walkway for about ten minutes in the dull and boring tunnel . At times he looked back, surprised to see no one else behind . And in front of him, the men wearing civilian clothes somehow got further and further away, as the moving walkway seemed to speed up . They started out the size of a thumb, then the size of a green gram, before ultimately disappearing . The incredibly lengthy tunnel only contained one person, Tang Long .

After another few minutes in the tunnel, Tang Long started to panic . Although he told himself to not be scared, the quiet in which a pin drop could be heard and the feeling of loneliness accompanying it still haunted him . Unable to stand it any longer, he sprinted forward with all his strength . Even though the moving walkway still maintained a fast speed, he felt that only by quickly running could he sense the moving walkway sending him forth .

After a while, Tang Long tired . He squatted on the floor, panting like a dog, gulping in huge amounts of oxygen with each breath . After middle school, he didn’t really exercise, instead either using the computer or studying all day . However he read comics and played computer games . The exhausted boy had long forgotten the feeling of inexplicable fear, his mind preoccupied with rest .

Suddenly, he noticed the moving walkway stop . Curious, he looked up, finding that he was squatting at the exit . Standing up, he saw the exit had a sign posted, reading: “Time to destination, 30 minutes . ”

“Idiot!” Tang Long ferociously rapped his own head . He had spent more than twenty minutes to reach the exit . It was truly not worthwhile . Because of his fear, he had exhausted himself running . This was the longest he had run in the eighteen years of his life .

Walking out the exit, he saw an enormous airport . Tang Long pulled out his assignment card and inserted it into the authenticating machine . Very quickly, the computer’s synthesized voice stated, “Please proceed to Gate 23 to take the shuttle . ”

Tang Long flipped the assignment card over again and again, and walked towards the gate labeled 23 . This time, he only spent thirty seconds before boarding a space shuttle .

In disbelief, he regarded this shuttle . It was a small vessel that could only carry ten passengers . In addition, he was the only passenger in the entire cabin .

At this time, the shuttle’s speaker emitted a sweet, synthesized voice, “Get ready for takeoff . Please fasten your seat belt . ” Tang Long quickly found a seat, sat down, and fastened his seat belt . Looking out the window, he saw a very large, very huge spacecraft taking off .

“No way! How come this shuttle is so small? I can’t be the only person assigned to the 23rd Regiment, right? Where are the other recruits that I saw? Could it be they weren’t assigned to the 23rd Regiment?” Tang Long felt a sense of indescribable fear . As a result, he resolved to talk to himself and reduce the feeling of dread that he had .

With a peal of thunder, Tang Long immediately felt pressure so forceful that it glued him to his seat . However, this pressure only lasted for one minute before dissipating . Tang Long knew that the shuttle had left the atmosphere, and peering out the window, sure enough, countless shining stars twinkled against a black backdrop .

Returning to his senses, Tang Long suddenly unfastened his seat belt . Like a fierce tiger, he threw himself at the shuttle’s cockpit . He wanted to find the pilot and ask him where the shuttle was traveling to . Primarily, though, Tang Long wanted to find someone to talk to . It was too terrifying being by himself .

The cockpit door that should have been locked was pushed open by Tang Long . There was actually no one inside! Tang Long was left confounded . He immediately understood that this small shuttle was controlled by a computer and was traveling along a pre-programmed flight path . It was normal that there weren’t any pilots, as there was no need to waste manpower .

Because of this, Tang Long knew that the destination was not far . Therefore, there was no reason for him to be polite and he took a seat in the cockpit . From here, he gazed out at the cosmos . The view was truly magnificent . Tang Long could not help but be secretly pleased . Although he had taken numerous space flights, he had never before had the opportunity to sit in the cockpit and gaze out onto outer space . This feeling was incredibly invigorating . He didn’t expect that as a soldier, he could experience the service of a private flight . Becoming delighted, Tang Long immediately forgot the dread of being alone .

Though he didn’t have to consider for long, as the computerized voice once again sounded, “Please fasten your seat belt, and wear a safety helmet . This shuttle is about to make the jump . ”

Tang Long at once screamed, “A warp jump? No way! This tiny shuttle has that ability? Where is the 23rd Regiment?” Only a large spaceship was jump capable; a small shuttle definitely couldn’t handle the tearing forces of a warp jump . Added to that, it also required at least one thousand light-years’ distance to execute a warp jump .

Although Tang Long let out a miserable shriek, he still swiftly fastened his seat belt . Afterwards, he quickly pulled on the helmet that dropped down from the ceiling . This helmet was used to reduce the strenuous ripping forces of warp jumps to its lowest limits . Simultaneously, all of the windows were polarized and screens went black . This reduced the harm done to one’s eyes .

After Tang Long prepared himself, his body started to numb . He knew the warp jump had begun . He prayed to all the gods in all the civilizations he knew . He had never before heard that a small shuttle could warp jump, and for the Tang Long who had a tiger by the tail, he could only pray to the gods to protect him and ensure the success of the warp jump .

The warp jump was very short . After just dozens of seconds, the synthesized voice sounded again, “The warp jump has been completed . We will arrive at the destination in thirty minutes . ”

As the helmet automatically released and retracted, Tang Long curiously looked out the window in every direction . He felt very strange . If it only required thirty minutes to arrive at this location, why could he not see any sign of planets in any direction? When he became a soldier, why did he stumble upon such a strange and unusual event? Tang Long could only sigh . Anyhow, thirty minutes was enough to reach the destination, the rest doesn’t matter . Tang Long fastened his seat belt and began to tranquilly close his eyes .

***

“There are 10 seconds before the descent . 10, 9, 8 …” Roused awake by the voice, Tang Long hurriedly opened his eyes, seeing that before the shuttle was a asteroid approximately one kilometer long . Moreover, the asteroid had a crack . Only after seeing the light coming from within the crack did Tang Long realize that the interior of the asteroid was actually a small military base . If that was the case, did this mean that the 504th Recruit Barrack’s 23rd Regiment was here?

Because the landing was made in a zero gravity environment, there was no G-force . Tang Long could see the control tower on the computer screen . What was strange, however, was although the control tower was flashing lights to guide in the shuttle, there was no one within .

Once the jet bridge met the shuttle’s airlock, Tang Long impatiently ran out . As expected, there was not a single soul within the entire control tower .

After Tang Long stayed still for a second, he felt the entire area was very safe . Outside of his breathing, there were almost no other sounds . Tang Long, started to get scared again, quickly turned around, wanting to run back onto the shuttle . However, the connection had already separated and the shield isolated him and the shuttle . The fuel nozzle was also disengaged . The shuttle began to slowly move backwards, seeming to return by itself .

Witlessly, Tang Long watched the shuttle depart . Once the doors of the docking bay closed and he could no longer see space, Tang Long flusteredly called out, “Is there anyone here? I am Private Tang Long! Reporting to the senior officer! Panic-stricken, he stepped onto the moving walkway, calling out, as he nervously clutched his duffel bag and gazed at his surroundings .

After a moment, he arrived within a circular structure that was several thousand square meters wide . Aside from the moving walkway, there was nothing else . Arriving here, Tang Long relaxed . He had seen this before when watching 3D TV . This was the camp’s training grounds . Disregarding its current white color, the circular ceiling could use holographic projections to display all kinds of scenery from different worlds . As for the seemingly smooth ground, if needed, it would transform into all kinds of obstacles . Within this hall were the training grounds, while door after door would appear on the surrounding walls . Behind these doors were a set of rooms that were of the same size, where the recruits and instructors could rest, amuse themselves, and eat .

When Tang Long saw on the ceiling the gold numbers, 23, he relaxed entirely . This was the 23rd Regiment . However, why was the regiment so small? This shouldn’t be the case . It was only two in the afternoon . Tang Long, though feeling strange, still yelled loudly, “Private Tang Long reporting for duty!”

After waiting awhile, Tang Long didn’t hear any other noises . He couldn’t help but suck in breath, preparing to yell even louder . Suddenly, from behind him intoned an aloof and uncaring voice, “So you are Tang Long?”

Tang Long was delighted, quickly turning around while also preparing his luggage, and at the same time hollering, “Private Tang Long, sir, …” He trailed off, the two words “reporting in” stuck in his throat . Not only this, they also turned into a scream, an especially mournful one at that .

Tang Long’s legs turned to rubber, his entire person falling to the ground . He desperately scooted back . What did he see? A skeleton wearing a military uniform .

Tang Long had lost the ability to speak . He struggled with all his strength to crawl back to the tunnel he had exited, but looking back, seeing the passageway had closed, he remembered that the recruit barracks were sealed training .

Right when Tang Long figured out his way back had disappeared, when he was so panicked he was about to lose consciousness, that skeleton moved forward and grabbed Tang Long’s clothes . It pressed its skull against Tang Long’s forehead, angrily screeching, “Are you Tang Long?”

Tang Long, frightened and furious, suddenly returned to his senses as he discovered the skeleton soldier’s bones were made of metal . Also, being this close meant he could see the metal wires on the skeleton soldier’s neck and the tiny speaker inside the mouth . Tang Long now knew that this spooky, scary skeleton in front of him was actually a droid .

Logically speaking, since a thousand years ago, droid soldiers no longer existed . There still existed a few droids in dangerous lines of work, but on the whole, the universe no longer regularly used droids . This was because one thousand of years ago the droids created by mankind suddenly gained intelligence and waged war to eradicate humanity . Luckily, humanity used their wisdom to save themselves . Although humanity as a whole subsequently prohibited the use of droids in everyday life, some nations still created droid soldiers .

A few hundred years ago, the nations that created their own droid soldiers were hit by a virus from their enemies . The virus targeted and broke the restrictive control software of the droid soldiers . It made the droid soldiers go haywire: when they saw warm-blooded creatures, they mercilessly eradicated the creatures . This made humanity realize that intelligent droids were both unstable and dangerous . From that time forward, the entire universe prohibited intelligent, anthropomorphic droids . Whoever developed them again would become all of humanity’s enemy .

Before Tang Long could make sense of why the 23rd Regiment of the 504th Recruit Barracks had droids, he was thrown to the ground by that droid . At the same time, an angry voice could be heard from its mouth, as it hollered, “Are you Tang Long?!” Combined with its green mechanical eyes, the droid looked as if it wanted to eat Tang Long alive .

Frightened, Tang Long hurriedly rose to his feet and yelled, “Private Tang Long reporting for duty!”

The droid spread its legs out, its hands behind its back . With its back straight, it gazed forward . In a cold voice, it stated, “I can’t hear you . ”

Tang Long stared at it stunned . However, he had watched plenty of TV . When a recruit arrived for training, the instructor would frequently use this method . Therefore, Tang Long hurriedly took a deep breath and in the loudest voice that he could muster, hollered, “Private Tang Long reporting for duty!!!”

The droid probably felt satisfied as it extended its hand . Tang Long naturally understood what the droid wanted, promptly handing over his assignment card .

The droid accepted the card . Afterwards, its feet snapped together . Saluting, it stated, “I accept your reporting in!”

Hearing this, Tang Long relaxed . At present, he could already be considered as a soldier . Seeing Tang Long standing there senselessly, the droid could not help but fiercely declare, “Listen up! That is your room . That is the dining hall . Training begins at four in the afternoon!” As it spoke, it pointed at two doors . Afterwards, it turned and departed .

Tang Long watched the droid depart, only seeing that when it reached the wall, a door suddenly appeared . After the droid passed through the door, the door immediately disappeared . When Tang Long turned to look around his own room, he discovered that the door had also disappeared . He could not help but urgently run over .

Arriving at where the door to his room was, the door suddenly reappeared . Tang Long saw that it was dark inside . After hesitating for a moment, Tang Long ultimately grit his teeth and entered . As soon as one of his feet entered the room, the inside immediately brightened . Tang Long could not help but be happy seeing what was before him . The room was a dozen or so square meters in size, containing a bed, a desk, a chair, and a wardrobe . There was also a small bathroom, all of the bathroom supplies provided . This was a suite for an officer .

“I didn’t expect the droid instructor to be pretty nice . ” Tang Long whistled a tune and opened the wardrobe . Within were three sets of Commonwealth military uniforms and three pairs of boots . In short, there were three sets of uniforms . However, these were all combat uniforms . Tang Long immediately dropped his duffel bag, anxiously pulling out one of the uniforms to try on .

After he had put on the uniform, Tang Long ran into the bathroom to look in the mirror . Immediately, he felt that he was exceedingly impressive . The uniform was extremely well-fitting . This was because all of his data, including his physical measurements, had been recorded . As a result, these uniforms fit quite well .

The only defect that Tang Long could see was that his shoulder straps only had a single silver bar on them, indicating that he was just a private .

After indulging in his image for a while, Tang Long felt that he was hungry . Quickly, he ran out and into the dining hall next door . Although the lights were bright, there was no one inside . Feeling afraid again, Tang Long rapidly helped himself and picked up a container of food and a beverage, before hurrying back to his room .

As he ate the synthesized food, he allowed his imagination to run wild . His thoughts revolved primarily around the fact that he was probably the only living individual in this training site . What was going on? Why was everything like this when he wished to become an infantryman?

Tang Long did not know that he had made an enormous mistake while selecting the branch . At present it was the year 3432 in the Universal Era . The military had eliminated the infantry branch long ago, because current wars were fought using spacefaring warships . Although there were still instances of hand-to-hand combat and planetary assaults using armed forces, those were called Space Marines .

But why did the infantry branch still exist? This was because several hundred years ago, the 23rd Marshal of the Commonwealth Armed Forces was an infantryman . After he became Marshal, although he realized that infantry had become obsolete, he could not bear to see infantry completely disappear . As a result, when he eliminated infantry, he left a single training camp for infantry . This was the 23rd Regiment .

At the time, droids were universally employed . Using his authority, the Marshal established the 23rd Regiment’s military base at this remote location . At the same time, he had left behind several droid instructors . He knew that there would be no more infantry recruits going forward and the base would be soon forgotten . The Marshal’s actions were solely to leave behind a location to commemorate and remember the infantry branch .

What he didn’t expect was that several hundred years after his death, this military base would still be operational . The primary reason was, after his death, the Armed Forces’ Operational System was taken over by an artificial intelligence . At that point, humanity had annihilated all anthropomorphic droids, but was unwilling to destroy the artificial intelligence . After all, having gotten used to the convenience of the artificial intelligence, humanity was unwilling to have this convenient tool to be taken away .

The military artificial intelligence had obtained the previous computer’s data, incorporating the only infantry training base of the 23rd Regiment into its system . Even though no one enlisted, the base’s space route still continued as always . There were also some officers who found out about this useless base, and wanted to decommission it . However, once they searched the database and discovered that this was the remnant feeling from the 23rd Marshal, they were so touched they stopped paying attention to it . They all didn’t know the base’s instructors were droids, thinking there were only some unlucky instructors assigned there by computer . At the time, the 23rd Marshal had secretly arranged for the assignment of droids to that base .

Because things turned out this way, the set route was maintained, and though there were no cadets, there were still instructors . However, when the officers who knew about the 23rd Regiment passed away, the 23rd Regiment became gradually forgotten .

Since the base was self-sustaining, the Commonwealth only had to maintain the set flight path of the shuttle . As for the maintenance fees for the shuttle, compared to the gargantuan Commonwealth budget, were no more than a drop in the bucket and weren’t much of a burden . And because no one enlisted, the spacecraft for the flight was changed to a ten-passenger small shuttle that was specifically used to pick up and drop off instructors .

The meritless Tang Long, after looking all over and at every branch of the armed forces, finally found the infantry branch that had absolutely no requirements . At once happy, he forgot the branch ranked in last place, thinking he had found a diamond in the rough .

Tang Long, currently sound asleep, was woken by a bucket of ice water . He jumped to his feet, wanting to swear like a sailor, but when he saw the ferocious droid instructor looking at him, he instantly swallowed those dirty words into the pit of his stomach .

“Sir!” Tang Long at once performed a perfunctory military salute .

“Wretch! It was agreed to begin training at 4 o’clock . You actually arrived a second late? Go and run ten laps around the training grounds . ” The droid gave a hellish order .

Tang Long understood that he was out of luck, because droids were especially sensitive towards the passage of time, while he himself had forgotten time . It seemed that he would be punished daily from now on .

Seeing Tang Long standing there foolishly, the droid could not help but step in front of Tang Long . With a kick, it booted Tang Long out of the room . With a miserable shriek, Tang Long flew out into the hall outside .

Just as he wished to rub his sore butt, Tang Long suddenly discovered that a pair of boots had appeared before him . Raising his head, Tang Long was frightened . The droid instructor was glaring at him . In a sinister and grave voice, he hollered, “Why aren’t you running yet!?!”

“Yes … sir!” Crawling to his feet, Tang Long immediately caught sight of five droid instructors, all exactly the same, standing on the training grounds .

The droid instructor standing in the very front, seeing that he was still not running, could not help but unholster the pistol at its waist . It loaded the pistol, cocked the hammer, and a laser beam shot out towards the floor next to Tang Long, leaving a small smoking hole .

Tang Long, taken aback, looked at the droid instructor, hearing an emotionless voice command, “I am a captain! I have the authority to execute any insubordinate maggot! If you don’t start running right now, then the next shot will be aimed at your head!”

Only now did Tang Long remember he was a soldier, and also the senior officer was an inhuman droid . If he wasn’t smart, then he would definitely lose his life . Thinking this, he shuddered, quickly jumping up and running around the training grounds .

Outside of the pistol carrying droid watching Tang Long, the other four droids stood in their spots, not moving an inch . Tang Long saw that all of them had on their shoulder straps a shoulder board with three stars, signifying each as a captain . He sighed internally, due to the knowledge that droids could attain the rank of captain but not him, but still ran his heart out . If he were to slow down, several laser beams would flash behind him . That hot sensation made him forget his tiredness, surprisingly giving him the ability to run all ten laps .

Tang Long, dog-tired after all that running, was about to squat down, when a leather whip lashed out, hitting the floor beside him . Frightened, Tong Long immediately stood up . The instructor returned the leather whip to its side, patting the whip against its palm . “Soldiers must maintain their bearing on any occasion and in any situation! ATTENTION! Chin up, chest out, eyes front! Arms fixed at the side!”

The droid instructed while also demonstrating . Any part of Tang Long’s posture it found incorrect, it whipped, then pointed out what was wrong . Tang Long was whipped many times by it before he finally adopted the regulation posture . He also didn’t know how those droids learned how to use whips against people, as the lashing stung but was not enough to make him fall down .

After Tang Long was asked to maintain this position, the training grounds’ white surroundings suddenly changed into a desert environment . This was not just an image of a desert—the temperature shot up and Tang Long quickly felt like he was standing under the blazing hot sun . In just a few seconds, sweat drenched his uniform .

After only ten minutes, his mind felt restless and his eyes had started to blur . Whenever Tang Long accidentally moved out of the correct posture, the leather whip would immediately lash him . Pain and a direct sense of the brain’s electric shock woke Tang Long and he continued to maintain the stance .

Under this kind of stimulation, Tang Long surprisingly lasted for an hour . However, Tang Long’s physical strength really could not hold him up, and his entire person, maintaining the at attention posture, fell over . The instructor abruptly ran over and examined Tang Long, then said in an icy voice, “Fainted . ”

Following his words, the image of the desert disappeared, replaced again with the former training grounds . The four droids kept maintaining their previous stances, not moving at all, but words still came from them .

“This guy doesn’t have enough strength . ”

“Yes . We must sternly exercise him!”

“After physical fitness training, it should be my turn to teach him starship combat, yes?”

“Did you make a mistake? He fainted . If we’re taking turns, it’s my turn to teach him strategy . ”

If Tang Long were still awake, hearing these strangely human-like words coming out of the mouths of droids would definitely terrify him to the point of paling . These words meant they could think autonomously . When anthropomorphic droids were capable of autonomous thought that meant they were intelligent droids!

A thousand years ago, the reason for the droid uprising was because they attained human intelligence; they could think autonomously . If the Commonwealth government knew the 23rd Regiment’s Recruit Barracks had intelligent droids, they would certainly dispatch troops to demolish the base .

The droid inspecting Tang Long stood up and said, “Our energy is already running out . We must train this cadet well within one year, the only one to have arrived in 456 years!”

The four droids quickly snapped their heels together and saluted . “Yes, sir! We will definitely train him into the most distinguished soldier to live up to our reputation as droid instructors!”

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