Welcome to The Ultimate Reality: Stories! Before you continue reading, I strongly recommend reading my main story, "The Ultimate Reality" first. The stuff that happens in this are based off events from that story.

As I was typing up The Ultimate Reality, I realized there were a bunch of side characters that were just left there. I wanted to develop them a bit more, so then I got the idea for this.

Each chapter is going to be a different POV, all of which are characters that appear in The Ultimate Reality.

This chapter here takes place during Chapters 1 and 3 in The Ultimate Reality.

(NOTE: Any similarities with any real names are pure coincidences. I made these names up on the whim).

(ALSO: This first chapter doesn't have much to do with Wings of Fire. That's why I recommend reading my main story to get how this relates to WOF).

So, enjoy diving into Adrun's mind!

POV: Adrun

The world was a scary place. Everywhere you went, someone was always there, ready to crush any dreams you had.

No matter if it was a friend, a family member or an enemy, they all had one goal: To fulfill their dreams. It just seemed like their dreams were to crush Adrun's own dreams. Stomp on them, shred it into little pieces.

His dream to be a professional basketball player? Crushed by his parents. His dream to become a lawyer? Spit on by the law school. His dream to live a happy life? Shred apart by his so-called friends in Poland.

The only dream that wasn't utterly destroyed was, ironically, the earliest one he had: be an astronaut. If Earth rejects you, just don't be on Earth!

As soon as Adrun turned 21, he took a train to Warsaw and entered the Pioneer Recruitment Agency. He sent in his application and took a few training classes.

He expected them to deny his application and shred his dreams, just like everyone else had. But, to Adrun's surprise, they actually accepted him. He was a Pioneer in Training.

Despite having no friends during the time, it was the happiest he had been since he was 7 years old. Flying in planes, learning how to use a slaser and using self defense were fantastic. It was the perfect place for Adrun.

And then it nearly all went away when he finally "graduated" from Pioneer Training. He was sent to Earth Orbit, along with five others from America and Western Europe. Their destination was the hub of exploration: the Galactic Exploration Station.

Adrun fully expected it to be an awful experience. There were a few team sessions during training, none of which he enjoyed. Plus, he had never met anyone who wasn't from Poland, although he assumed they were all as bad as Polish people themselves,

Luckily, his expectations were off by a mile. His squadron was actually really nice to him. They all helped each other succeed on their phase 2 training and now they were finally about to have a selection.

Which was still really scary. The idea of leaving Earth sounded fantastic, but the idea of leaving the solar system was a whole other thing.

As Adrun sat in his bed, waiting for the 6:00 alarm, he pondered over his friends. The only five people who he would trust with his life.

Amanda was his roommate, which admittedly freaked him out at first. Firstly, the idea of sharing a room with someone else was already alien enough to him. And of course, it was with a girl. He was pretty sure it was illegal in most places to put a man and a woman together like that.

But despite it, they actually got along well. Having a roommate wasn't actually that bad, especially when they didn't mind your own strangeness. And the girl thing was no issue, they both just had to make sure to let the other know when the bathroom was being used.

Then there was George. He was like the typical tough guy in school, but he had a streak of kindness to him. He also was technically the unofficial leader of the group. Everyone looked up to him for decisions that could impact the whole group. If there was anyone Adrun would pick to save his life, George would be the one.

Jeffrey was a weird one, though. He was probably the dumbest out of the whole group, although that wasn't saying too much. Everyone had to score high on the tests before being accepted into the program, so relative to the general public, Jeffrey was still really smart.

But holy crap, his brain seemed broken on some days. One time, he poured apple juice on the floor and slipped on it. He was stupid, but he was also the one who would defend his friends to death. It was great having someone who wouldn't backstab you in any scenario.

On the opposite end of Jeffery was Xavier. He was probably the smartest one in the group, his brains outpacing everyone else. Some rumors even say that Xavier got the second highest scores in Pioneer history, although none of the higher ups would confirm nor deny this. He also was the greatest at keeping secrets. Well, aside from myself.

And finally, there was Harvey. The most interesting one of all.

At first glance, he seemed like a dumbed down version of Xavier. They had so much in common and apparently, they had known each other since Middle School. Their friendship was so close that it made Adrun actually miss his friends.

Well, his old friends before they all backstabbed him and ruined everything.

Once Adrun got to know Harvey better, though, he learned there was much more to the guy. He also had a troubled past at school, similar to Adrun's. Except, he didn't have everyone backstab him in the end. Instead, Xavier stuck by him and he managed to get a reliable group of friends.

He still struggled with those times however, which surprised Adrun initially. Harvey seemed like the type of guy to forgive instantly and always spoke of his bad moments of life in a good way. Harvey telling his whole life story made Adrun a bit guilty about not saying a word about his past.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

THE TIME IS 6:00 AM, GALACTIC STANDARD TIME, April 6, 2117.

BEEP. BEEP. BEE-

The alarm startled Adrun out of his thoughts. It took him a few seconds to reach over and disable the alarm.

"I want to destroy that alarm so bad", moaned Amanda from the other side of the room. "Fucking ruined the best dream I had in a while".

Yikes, Amanda's having one of those days, isn't she?

"W-Well, gotta get up now e-eh?", Adrun tried joking. His stammer was something that he really tried to fix, but it was hard. It was bad enough around his friends, but around strangers, it was atrocious.

Amanda didn't say another word. She simply forced herself out of bed and entered the bathroom. In the meantime, Adrun got out of his own bed and changed into his training outfit. It was much higher quality than anything he had previously owned. Poland wasn't exactly known for its high quality clothing.

After a few minutes, Adrun was standing by their door, waiting for Amanda to arrive. Today was a big day for the squadron; their first selection. If Adrun was lucky, they would be assigned a whole squadron mission, although the chances of that were slim.

Finally, Amanda emerged from the bathroom, all ready to go. "Let's get outta here Adrun. I'm starving", she said.

The two walked towards the dining hall, where all meals were eaten. George and Xavier were already there, eating their food. Something was off about the food though. Instead of looking good, it looked fantastic.

"Did the chefs finally get their act together?", Amanda joked, also noticing the higher quality of the food.

"I-I think so", Adrun replied. It was hard to respond to a joke.

"Well, time to grab some food!", Amanda exclaimed. She ran over to the serving area, with Adrun close behind.

After grabbing their food, they walked back to the table where George and Xavier were sitting. They were focused on eating, so no one said a word until Harvey and Jeffrey entered the dining hall.

"Ah, look who finally showed up", George shouted. In response, Harvey grinned at him and his friends.

After he and Jeff got their food, they came to the table and began talking about the selection they would be having later. Adrun didn't contribute to the conversation, but he was listening intently.

"Dude, I bet ya that this assignment is BIG! After all, what better way to train us than to-", started Jeffery, before being interrupted by Amanda.

"Don't be an idiot Jeff. This is bound to be another routine mission, why would they send rookies on a potentially dangerous mission?", she said, in a way that mocked Jeffrey. Yikes, maybe cool off a bit Amanda.

George chimed in. "Amanda's right, never has anyone from a squadron had a level 3 mission or higher. And it's not like we are over the top or the best squadron in history", he said.

That's unfortunately true. We're still a new team.

"Well, I mean we all know that Harvey's bound to go. After all, he plays zero grav bowling with the administrator every weekend!", exclaimed Xavier, prompting a chuckle from the others. "Well Harvey, this is finally what you've been asking for. A mission!".

Adrun had heard Harvey complain many times about the fact that they didn't get a mission. It was especially true a year ago, although he had stopped complaining as much in the past year. He probably figured that the complaining delayed their mission somewhat.

"Yeah yeah, I know. I can't help but feel really excited", said Harvey, grinning. "After all, we can finally leave this dump".

That's a joke, right? Compared to his home in Poland, this place was like heaven. Then again, they probably didn't live on the brink of poverty like he had.

Not another word was said after that, as everyone was too focused on chomping down their breakfast. Everyone wanted to finish as soon as they could so they could squeeze in some extra training time before the selection.

Once everyone had finished, they all stood up. "I-I guess we are g-going to train more?", Adrun stammered. Jesus Christ, I need to work on that stammer.

"You bet your horses we are!", exclaimed George. Without another word, George marched out of the dining hall, with the others close behind. Ah, there goes George again, leading everyone to their destination.

As they walked over to their training room, they passed a couple of the other training rooms. In some of the more veteran ones, Adrun saw them using a slaser, which their group had yet to use. In fact, the others had never actually heard of a slaser when he had tried explaining it to them. It seemed strange that he was the only one who had learned how to use one.

After walking for a few minutes, they arrived at their training room. Strangely, however, the lights were already on inside. What's that about?

"Xavier, did you forget to turn off the lights?", asked Amanda angrily. Cool down Amanda!

"No! I very clearly remember turning off the lights", replied Xavier, somewhat taken aback by Amanda's accusation.

"Besides, even if Xavier did forget, these lights are supposed to turn off after 10 minutes of inactivity", added Jeffery.

"Well maybe someone's in here already. Maybe it's the janitor, he usually comes in the morning after all", said Harvey. He went in to check, while the others waited outside for a bit.

Xavier, however, had little patience. When Harvey didn't come back out in a minute, he barged in the room without speaking. "Oh my god Xavier", Jeffrey exasperated, before following him. The others were close behind.

Harvey was standing there, frozen in shock. "Dude, whats up? Why are you just stand-", began Xavier, before trailing off as he moved his eyes. Adrun did the same, to see an old man standing there. Not just ANY old man!

"G-G-General G-Graham. I-It's an h-honor to meet y-y-you", he stammered.

After introductions were done, they did a very lengthy training session. It took 4 hours to finish and everyone was extremely exhausted by the end of it.

As they sat on the benches on the side of the room, contemplating what happened during training, Graham spoke up. "Well done Squadron… what's your squadron name?", he asked.

"Squadron 47, or the Hella Tired Ones", said George breathlessly, earning a chuckle from everyone, especially Graham. This guy is a really cool man.

"Aha, that's a good one. Anyways, that is all for today's training", said Graham. He began to walk out, but was stopped by Xavier.

"Wait Graham, what about the selection?", asked Xavier.

Graham chuckled and told him, "Well, this selection isn't just for you guys. There are other squadrons too. Essentially you're competing with others".

Before anyone else could say a word, Graham was gone.

A multi-squadron selection?! That hasn't happened in ages!

"Well, that's quite the revelation, wouldn't ya say?", said Amanda once Graham had left.

"Certainly so. Why did we get picked for this?", replied George. "We aren't even that good at this shit".

"I wouldn't say that George", said Xavier, slapping Harvey's back. "Harvey here managed to evade that weird ass attack from Graham", he added. Harvey smiled in response.

"S-Speaking of w-which, how d-did you dodge that H-Harvey?", nervously asked Adrun. During training, General Graham had done a strange attack that was basically undetectable. Harvey, however, somehow, managed to evade it.

"Yeah man, Graham did that out of NOWHERE. Don't tell me you used that stupid quote of his?", added Jeffery.

"Well uh, that is indeed what I did, Jeff", replied Harvey. This earned a few confused looks from the others. "After that 'ambush' in the forest training, I began expecting anything to happen. It seemed to work out, I'd say".

'Always expect the unexpected'. It's a strange quote, and yet Harvey managed to use it.

After that, everyone got up and returned to their rooms. They still had an evening training session later in the day, so everyone was hoping to catch up on sleep.

Everyone except Adrun, of course. He was impressed with Harvey's skills, they were better than his own. After he got a little bit of rest, he was going to train on his own in one of the solo training rooms.

He waited until Amanda had fallen asleep before walking out of his room. If I remember, the solo rooms are near the central area.

As Adrun approached the central area, he saw Graham training through one of the one-way windows. Looking above the window, he saw that it was Squadron 38. Yikes, we're up against some competition.

He walked past the window and entered the central area. Adrun had been here often, when he would usually go out on his own to train. Down this hall, take a right here….

While he enjoyed training with his squadron, he liked to train on his own as well. Sometimes, you just needed to have some alone time. Collect your thoughts, recap what happened that day, figure out what you need to do to improve yourself. It worked out well for Adrun.

He walked to the solo training rooms, expecting a few to be taken. To his surprise, however, the hallway was blocked off by some red tape. That's weird. They never close off the solo training rooms completely.

Standing in front of the tape was a man, all dressed up formally (or as formal as you can get in space). He was busy doing something on his holopad, not noticing Adrun walk up to him.

"H-Hey", Adrun said, getting the man's attention. "Why a-are the t-training rooms c-closed?".

The man rolled his eyes. "Have you not heard? General Graham ordered all solo activities closed for the day", he replied. "Now go, I got business to do".

Why is this guy so rude? "Who are you?", Adrun asked, not stammering for once. He was a bit mad at the guy.

"That's none of your business, Pioneer. Go back to your room or I'll get the general to reprimand you", the man replied with an annoyed tone.

"Fine", Adrun said, a little pissed off. I really feel like reporting him, but I can't really do that if I don't know who he is.

Before he could walk off, however, another man came down the hallway. Just like the jerky one, he was dressed formally and held a holopad.

"The hell is going on here?", the new man said. "You better not have scolded this young Pioneer, reviewer".

Is that actually his name?

The reviewer looked a bit concerned for a second, before masking it once again. "No Gordon. I was conducting some reviews when he came up and rudely interrupted my business", he said.

"I-I did not!", Adrun exclaimed. Is this guy actually trying to start trouble?!

"Hmmm. Frankly, Reviewer, I don't quite trust your word", Gordon said, looking at the reviewer with suspicion. "Let's see what this guy has to say".

He turned to Adrun, putting on a smile. "Nice to meet you, Pioneer. I'm Gordon Harrisfield, the assistant to General Graham. What's your name?", he said.

"A-Adrun", he simply replied.

"Alright, Adrun. Can you explain what happened here?", Gordon said with a serious tone. He looked pretty friendly, however.

"O-Ok", Adrun replied. He told Gordon how he simply came to train on his own when he discovered the rooms were closed. He mentioned how he had asked why they were closed and was brushed off.

"When I-I asked who h-he was, he said i-it was none of my b-business", Adrun finished saying.

"Hmm. Honestly expected worse", Gordon simply said. "Sounds like the reviewer is just a bit angry".

"But there's nothing to worry about. It sounds like you already completed your training session with Graham, right?", Gordon asked.

"C-Correct", Adrun replied.

"And since all afternoon trainings were cancelled, you won't be able to train", Gordon mused, mostly to himself.

After not saying anything for a moment, Gordon piped up again. "Alright. Reviewer, move aside", he said, moving towards the reviewer. "Gotta let this guy through".

The reviewer didn't budge. "You're letting this kid go through? I'm sorry, but I can't allow this", he said, eyeing Gordon with suspicion. "The general's orders".

"Last time I remembered, I'm essentially third in command", Gordon shot back. "If you have a problem with it, bring it up to the general. But right now, I overrule you".

"Ugh, fine", the reviewer said, moving to the side. "One day, I'll shame you like how I will shame Graham", he added nastily.

Gordon simply grinned back. "Go ahead", he said.

The reviewer stormed off towards the central area. Meanwhile, Gordon turned to Adrun, still keeping the grin from before.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that, Adrun. But you're free to train here now", Gordon said. "Try returning to your squadron soon, however".

"O-Ok Gordon. Thanks for t-the help", Adrun said, grateful for the chance to train some more.

"No problem man. Let me know if there's any more issues", Gordon said, before continuing down the hallway. He gave Adrun a thumbs up before turning around a corner.

I'm glad Graham has a nice assistant. Hopefully I can see him again.

But now was the time for some extra training.

After doing some solo training exercises for an hour, Adrun had to leave. It turned out he was much more tired than he thought he was.

He stumbled his way through the station, trying his best to keep his eyes open. Luckily for him, his room wasn't too far from the solo rooms. Once he entered his own room, he didn't even bother changing out of his training suit.

His dreams were uneventful. Just him walking through a maze into a marketplace area. Just like the one back at home. The only place that wasn't completely miserable there.

The next thing he knew, Amanda was yelling at him.

"ADRUN! It's time for the afternoon training!", she shouted, looking inpatient.

"S-Sorry!", Adrun stammered, getting back up as quick as he could. There was no time to change his training suit, so he kept his own on.

They both ran out of their room and into the hall, where the others were already waiting for them.

"Heh, which one overslept?", George said sarcastically. "Bet it was Adrun".

"Oops", Adrun simply said, smiling.

The six of them walked to their training room, expecting Floyd, their trainer, to make them run. Instead, however, Floyd was waiting outside their door.

"Sorry 47, but it appears that all afternoon training headed by me has been cancelled for the day", Floyd said, smirking at them all. "Now go back to your rooms. I'd love to whip you all into shape, but orders are orders".

Huh? Why was it cancelled? Then, Adrun remembered how Gordon had briefly mentioned how afternoon training was cancelled for everyone. I probably should have mentioned that to the others.

As they all walked back towards their own rooms, they walked past Squadron 31's room. When they took a peek inside, they saw General Graham inside, leading the group in a training exercise.

"Are you serious right now?!", yelled Jeffery. "We're going against f***ing squadron 31?!".

Looks like it, Jeff. We got some major competition.

"Looks like it", Xavier said, echoing Adrun's thought. "Why in the world did Graham pick us, when they have those guys there?", said Xavier, sounding a bit angry.

I got a bad feeling about this. Last time Xavier got angry, he nearly destroyed the dining hall. Luckily, Amanda intervened just in time.

"Hey hey, calm down boys", she said, trying to think of something. "Perhaps he's lying about a selection? Maybe it's just some special day where we get encouraged to do the best we can?", she added. She didn't sound very confident in her words, however.

Before anyone else could chime in, Harvey gave his opinion.

"Listen, listen. We may be mad about this, but remember", started Harvey. The others looked at him before he continued. "The Pioneer Chief is very serious about training us, so her allowing any sort of change is a big deal. We'll see what happens tomorrow, alright?".

Harvey's words appeared to work, because Jeffrey calmed down. "I-I guess you're right, Harvey", said Jeffery, calming down. "We'll see what happens tomorrow then".

"But Harvey. He IS the Administrator. He could easily overrule the Chief", said Xavier, still noticeably angry.

Uh oh.

"But you're right. It's not like Graham does anything with us. I guess we'll find out later", he added, clearly not wanting to argue about this.

Adrun gave Harvey a thumbs up, although it seemed like he didn't notice. He made a good point and everyone calmed down. I wish I could do something like that.

After that interaction, everyone changed out of their training suits. It felt fresh not wearing something with his own sweat in it. Once everyone had changed, they all went to "the zone", where many of the entertainment activities were located.

After playing games for a few hours, the 15 minute warning for lights out went off. They got out of there pretty quick and entered their own rooms. Adrun himself settled in for a good night's sleep.

"Night A-Amanda", Adrun said.

"Good night Adrun", she tiredly replied back.

Adrun curled up into his blankets, which did a much better job of keeping him warm than the ones at home did. Soon, his mind had drifted into unconsciousness.

Ever since Harvey had officially been selected for a mission, training sessions have felt very strange. Without Harvey, the remaining five had to change up their tactics.

No one really knew what mission Harvey had been sent on. General Graham had refused to tell any details. However, considering the fact that none of the older squadrons had any their members leave, Adrun had a feeling that Harvey won the selection.

After another ruthless training session with Floyd, Adrun and the others were prepared to drag themselves to bed. Without Harvey's words to cheer the others up, it felt less enjoyable.

When they all reached their rooms, however, Gordon was waiting for them.

"Ah, hello Squadron 47", Gordon said with a grin, once he noticed them. "I assume I got the right people. Xavier, Jeffery, George, Amanda and, of course, Adrun".

George spoke up first. "What is it? If you can't tell, we're tired as hell", he said exhaustingly.

"I can tell, so I'll try to make this quick", Gordon said, still grinning. "Harvey is set to be sent out tomorrow on his mission".

This immediately snapped everyone out of exhaustion. "Really?! Where's he going?", Xavier asked, excited for his friend.

"Unfortunately, I can't say that", Gordon replied. "I'm letting you know, in case you wish to make your goodbyes".

"Of course we will!", Jeffery shouted. "He really thinks he will get away with kicking me out of that room!".

"I-Indeed. I'll be there", Adrun said. I gotta thank him for being a great friend up here.

"Fantastic! He's set to board the shuttle at 6:30 AM", Gordon explained. "I'd be there at 6:20".

"Got it", Amanda said, speaking for everyone. "Thank you for letting us know".

"No problem", Gordon said, grinning once again. "Adrun, I hope your solo training has been going well".

Adrun's cheeks flushed a bit from embarrassment. "U-Uh, thanks", he said. Why am I embarrassed? Nothing wrong with that.

"Well, see you all in the morning", Gordon said, before walking off.

Once Gordon was gone, everyone went into their rooms. While the excitement of being able to see Harvey again had woken them up temporarily, their exhaustion settled back in.

Adrun changed into his sleeping clothes and settled himself in for a good night's sleep. He and Amanda agreed on waking up 15 minutes earlier than usual, in order to get ready for tomorrow.

His sleep was mostly dreamless. No nightmares about Poland, no good dreams about being in space, just sleep.

The squadron was waiting for Harvey to walk out. It felt like they were press reporters, waiting for the astronauts to walk out prior to boarding their rocket.

Well, it sort of is like that, in a way.

They were at the docking area, which is where all spacecraft had to dock. As if these moments had been planned, there was a viewing area above the docking area, where they could watch the shuttle fly away.

"When is Harvey getting out?", Xavier asked Gordon, who was with them.

"Should be about a minute now", Gordon replied.

Everyone waited in silence, anticipating for Harvey to turn the corner. "Cmon Harvey! I need to give that guy a big hug!", Xavier said.

Finally, after what felt like an hour, Harvey's face appeared around the corridor. The second it happened, everyone dashed right at him, enveloping him into a group hug.

After a few moments, Harvey spoke up. "Gah, a little l-lighter?", he stammered out. The others backed away, but still gave Harvey large smiles.

"Dude, I'm so jealous! You get to go on a mission and we don't? Lucky b****", said George, pretending to be hurt.

"Yeah, I can't believe Graham did that! Picking you over the veterans, gotta be some sick joke", Jeffery said with a smile.

"Well, Harvey. If any one of us deserved to go on a mission, it was you", said Amanda. Adrun nodded his head in agreement. He's good at everything, I don't even know anything he's bad at.

"Thanks guys. I couldn't have asked for a better squadron to be with", Harvey said, tearing up a bit. "I wish I could stay longer. But sadly, my time is limited".

There was now a small gap in the words. Time to say what I practiced to say.

Adrun breathed in, then let out his brain. "It's ok. We understand Harvey", he began. "Good luck, brother. May god guide you to success".

Everyone else looked at Adrun in shock, as if they never expected him to say those words. Harvey, however, simply gave Adrun a genuine smile.

"Adrun, thank you for those words. I'll remember it on my journeys. May god bless you too", said Harvey, looking at Adrun with respect. "I promise I will return. I'll fight death to do it, if it ever came to it".

After Harvey said his goodbyes, he entered the shuttle that was waiting for him. Everyone else went up to the viewing platform, where there was a giant window. Looking through the window, you could see the docking area right below, while the Earth glowed in the background.

A few minutes passed, then the shuttle undocked from the station. It rotated so the thrusters faced up and began performing short burns. Everyone watched as the shuttle moved away, taking Harvey with it.

Even when the shuttle had disappeared from sight, his squadron was still there, staring out into the void of space. Eventually his squadron began to leave, hoping to return to training. Finally, Adrun was the last one there, staring down onto Earth.

Wherever you are Harvey, remember this. Your squadron will be waiting for you. God will guide you to success.

Go out there and show the universe what Squadron 47 is made of.

And with those final thoughts, Adrun left the window.

Hope you enjoyed it! This won't be updated as often as the main story, it's more of a side note.