His final evaluation against Corporal Kitt went as he expected, she was far more skilled than he was, but he put up his best effort. When the duels were over, each of the squads were moved to the obstacle course for competitive races.

Tecovis was pleased to learn that his squad would be the last to go, facing off against Dense and Brave squad. Even though he was thankful for the rest, Tecovis still tried to get out of the race citing the cramps from the duels. But while Commander Lions was kinder than Commander Phurin, he wasn't any less driven to succeed. 

“I understand you're not in the best shape right now, but sometimes you have to push passed the pain. There are days when you're sore and exhausted, on those days you need to still be able to support your partners and squadmates. We protect our town with our endurance. Not just our strength. We succeed because we can hold the line longer than the scum of the streets can stand for. When you get knocked down, you stand back up, when you get hurt, you hurt them back, and if you die you walk it off. Nothing stands between us and our victory, we are the Protectors of Thruf!”

His inspiration helped Tecovis to ignore the pain, but he couldn't get it out of his mind.

Commander Lions sent Tecovis with a pat on his shoulder to his squad. When he got there, they began to come up with a strategy to deal with the latest upgrades to the course. 

“You're sure you want me to be up front?”

“Slide, I'm the weak link right now, I can't be at the base with you this time. I'm cramping in my thigh every time I move too far left and I can barely hold my own weight on my legs, much less anyone else's. You and Rox need to be the first to the wall to boost us up.”

“It's been awhile since I've been at the bottom of the wall.

“First you two get Pan up, Rox can help you boost me and Pan can pull from the banister. The two of us can hold Rox up together from the top as he waits for you.”

Rox chimed in, “Are you sure you can hold my weight Teco? You just said you can barely hold yourself up.”

Tecovis stroked his beard as he replied, “My legs may be dead, but my arms still work just fine. Once we're over the wall we've got the stalls to deal with. We can run those as normal. Pan, you've kept up your freerunning?”

“Sure have, I got it down.”

“Good, once Slide gets up he'll take over for you and we'll get Rox. You'll need to get to the locks before Rox gets there. He's strong enough to break a couple but anything more than three he'll bounce off the door. We can't waste time rebuilding momentum. Not if we want to beat Dense and his crew. They almost had us last time and we were all at peak condition then.”

Slide interjected. “Just make sure not to trip on the ropes on the way back, Slick says they sneak up on you.”

Pan replied, “I got it, I got it. Don't you worry.”

Commander Lions shouted to both huddled teams “Recruits, take your stations! Planning time is over!”

Recruit Dense stood up with his crew and made their way to the left course. Tecovis and his squad made their way to the right course. Both teams jeered at each other as they lined up to the starting line.

The obstacle course was made up of five obstacles. A mud pit which was stationed in front of a sheer wooden wall, a ramp led down from the top to a group of stalls resembling the market carts, this was followed by a large wooden gate with a series of locks, and ending with a maze that they changed every day. The maze doubles back on itself to a door next to the entrance. Once you were through you had to run the course backwards, however the stalls were full of ropes. While the recruits are in the maze, groups who aren't running the course grab the ropes and pull them in an attempt to trip those running the return lap.

“You're mine this time, Teacup!”

“Not even in your dreams Dense, we've never lost this race and I'm not about to fail now,” the jeering continued. The Commander watched over the recruits, looking as if he was reminiscing. After a moment of letting them take jabs at each other, he spoke. “Alright recruits, settle down. Remember the goal of the course is to work together. As such all participants in a squad must cross the finish line. You must make it to and through the maze, and then return back to your starting positions. Are all recruits ready?”

With a joint cry, all eight recruits shouted “Sir, Yes Sir!”

“Then to all recruits I say take your mark!”

All the recruits took to the line.

“Get set!”

Tecovis shuffled where he stood, his legs burning as he crouched for his sprint.

A moment of pause. Anticipation coursing through each of the recruits. Rox fidgeted in place.

“GO!”

Without a moment's hesitation, all eight recruits sprinted off the line. Rox was naturally the slowest in Tecovis's squad so he began to fall behind in the opening sprint, as he expected. Slide and Pan leapt into the mud as far as their momentum would carry them in their gear. They were able to get through it at a rapid pace. Tecovis's jumping ability was severely limited by pain so he couldn't get as far as he hoped. Even Rox was able to outjump him. Slide rushed through the slimy pit and hit the wall with a crash, bracing himself. “Ready!” Pan followed close behind. Rox shouted from behind both of them.

“Ready!”

This triggered Pan's response. He placed his boot into Slide's hands and grabbed his shoulder. Rox dove low and grabbed Pan's leg, practically throwing Pan up the wall himself. Slide did what he could to keep him steady as Pan and Rox did the hard part. After that Pan hurdled the top of the wall with ease.

“Ready!” He shouted from the top of the tower. Rox and Slide braced themselves again as Tecovis came trudging along. He jumped against the wall, Slide and Rox jointly threw Tecovis into Pan's outstretched arms. Pulling him up, he clumsily stumbled over the wall grimacing the whole way. He then turned around and lowered his arms. 

“ROX!”

“COMING UP!”

Slide braced himself again against the wall and Rox used him as a step stool up to the arms of Pan and Tecovis. Once they both had a hold of him, Rox planted his leg firmly against the wall.

“SLIDE!” Without a moment's reprieve, Slide scaled him like a ladder, grabbing his leg, the breastplate and the forearm in a fluid hand over hand motion. Once Slide was over the wall he shouted

“Go Pan, GO!” Pan ran down the ramp as Tecovis and Slide pulled Rox up and over the top of the wall. Pan, being the most agile of the group, vaulted over two of the carts in a single bound and rolled over a third without losing any momentum, then jumped up onto the carts and ran across them, leaping over the gaps like a deer. As he was approaching he examined the door. He took a spiked dagger out of its sheath and jammed the blade between the boards of the locked door as soon as he arrived. The other three started to make their way through the carts. With a heave and a clattering, the bar was free. Pan then wrapped a cloth around the blade and stuck one of the guards in one of the locks, intending to pry it free. Rox and Tecovis ran in-between the carts as Slide vaulted over them.

“Pan!”

“I'm trying!”

The first lock came loose from its setting. Pan jammed the crossguard into a chain which held the second lock. He pried as quickly as he could, weakening the chain link as he twisted it.

“Pan!”

“DON'T RUSH ME!”

The chain finally broke and pan started to lift his sword to break another lock.

“NO TIME PAN, MOVE!”

Slide grabbed Pan and yanked him out of the way as Rox came barreling down the path. Uttering a furious roar, he kicked the door at the latch with all his might and weight, breaking it and the remaining locks as the door swung and smashed against the wall. Pan and Slide rushed in after him to solve the maze, Tecovis followed shortly after. Each of the squad mates split up, taking different paths. They grabbed mud off of their boots with their fingers and used it to mark paths. Backtracking and crossing out their marks when they met a dead end. When all paths were exhausted they would follow the non crossed marks until another split occurred in the maze where an alternate path would be taken.

Slide shouted, “Follow the S's, I found it!” All the rest of the team heard and rushed down the marked path. Slide went ahead, using weapons to cut some of the ropes and clear the way of the new obstacles as he rushed over the carts again. Rox came out second and carefully made his way past. Tecovis came out third, thighs and calves screaming in agony. He was followed closely behind by Pan.

Slide made it to the top of the ramp and dove over into the mud below. Tecovis just made it through the carts as he heard a twang from behind, and he turned around in time to see Pan come crashing down into the carts.

“PAN! NO!”

Rox stopped at the top of the ramp and turned around as Tecovis went back for Pan. 

“Is he alright!?” he asked, shouting 

Tecovis came to a stop, kneeling over Pan. He was holding his leg and writhing in pain, a silent scream on his face. 

“He hit his leg pretty hard, and might have twisted his ankle!”

Rox took a moment to think as Tecovis started to pick him up. “Toss him to me!”

“What!?”

“Toss him to me, I'll catch him!”

Rox then rolled over the top of the ramp into the mudpit

“Are you CRAZY!?”

“Do i-Ahhahow! Achhit! Ow! Ah! Do it Tecovis. We- Ah! We have to win- mmph!”

Tecovis shook his head in disbelief at what he was about to do. He pulled Pan over his shoulders and began to carry him out of the carts, Pan grunted in pain every step of the way and Tecovis's legs were wobbling with every impact. He made his way up the ramp and looked over the side of the tower railing. Rox stood below in the mud, arms stretched out, ready to catch Pan.

"Screw this.” Tecovis said, unable to bring himself to throw his friend off the top of the wall.

“Teco, you have to!”

“Winning isn't as important as making sure you're alright, Pan.”

Pan grimaced as he spoke to Tecovis. “I know how much this means to you, I won't be- Ah sonofa-! Mm! Ach... I won't be the reason for your disappointment.”

Tecovis hesitated for a bit more and then glanced over to the other course. The other team didn't get so lucky with the maze and were only just coming up the ramp. 

“If either of you get hurt from this, I'm killing both of you!”

Tecovis then pushed Pan off of his shoulders and over the edge. Rox was able to break Pan's fall, allowing himself to get pushed into the mud to help cushion him. Once he saw they were fine, Tecovis then leapt after him and landed next to the pair, opting to land on his side instead of his legs. Rox pulled Tecovis up to where he could breathe and began dragging Pan and Tecovis to the finish where a mud covered Slide was waiting with worry in his face. At the edge of the mud pit, Tecovis was able to stand himself up as Rox continued to carry Pan on one shoulder. Both he and Tecovis ran as fast as their legs could carry them over the line.

“Finish! Brave squad wins!”

Tecovis and Rox came to a stop. Rox pulled Pan off of his shoulder, both Tecovis and Slide helped bring him to the ground. 

“What happened?” Slide asked worriedly, “I heard the screaming but I didn't see anything.”

“They pulled a rope above the- Mmf!” Pan's answer was cut short as Rox took off Pan's boot.

“Medic!” Tecovis shouted, “we need a medic over here!”

A medic came over and tended to the injured Pan's leg while Commander Lions spoke to Dense and his squad. Through gritted teeth, Pan continued, “They pulled a rope up above the carts, my belt got caught in it while I was vaulting. It ended up spinning me and my heel got slammed into one of the tables on my way to the ground. Hurt like The Pit.”

Rox hissed sympathetically. “I'll bet, it certainly sounded like it.”

“I thought I told you to watch for the ropes you bozo!” Slide practically shouting at him.

Pan defended himself “They raised it after I was halfway over it, there was nothing I could do.”

“Well then maybe-”

“That's enough recruit Silnor,” interjected Commander Lions. He'd finished talking to Dense's team and had made his way over to Brave squad.

“Getting mad at someone who was just injured isn't going to fix them. What's the report?”

The medic, without looking up, replied, “If he wasn't wearing boots it would have been a lot worse. It's starting to swell up, otherwise it should be fine by sunrise tomorrow.” He turned his attention to Commander Lions. “He's done for the today though, doc's orders. Come to my office later if you need it in writing.”

“Riff will want it if he gets back before we leave.”

“I'll keep it handy, Commander.”

“Good. Now then, to business. I noticed that you didn't send recruit Rox up the wall before recruit Tecovis like usual.”

Tecovis spoke up, “I wasn't confident in my ability to hold weight, sir. My legs feel like gravy.”

“And yet you held it just fine from the top of the wall. You also carried recruit Pan up the entire tower ramp without so much as a grimace. You sold yourself short to your team by limiting yourself like that. Don't let a poor mindset dictate your abilities, you're capable of far more than you're admitting to yourself. ”

“Yes sir.”

“Recruit Pan.”

“Yes sir?”

“Your acrobatics at the carts continues to impress me. If you exclude your little accident, you did well. Your training has paid dividends. Good work.”

“Thank you sir.”

“Recruit Rox.”

“Sir?”

“Your quick thinking saved your team. You should be very pleased with yourself.”

“I am sir. Thank you sir.”

“Recruit Silnor.”

“Yes sir?”

“Attitude aside, you were the first to escape the maze between both squads. And you did a good job preparing the way for your team. However, you missed four cuttable ropes. Recruit Pan is not the only one who needs to pay more attention.”

“Yes sir.”

“Soak that leg in cold water for the swelling recruit Pan. The rest of you, clean yourselves up! You have an hour to be at target practice!

And both squads shouted, “SIR YES SIR!”

“Doc, let Captain Shree know that the obstacle course is open on your way back.”