RAM I looked into the eyes of the rest of the squad, they were ready, held up an open hand, and began counting down the fingers. 5, 4, 3, 2, the squad took a deep breath, the button was pressed, and the door rattled open. It was far too loud, and painfully slow, but there really wasn't any choice, the doors had no security and the walls were all but impossible to pierce. The rifleman stepped into the ship and scanned the first room, they gave the clear signal, then stepped to the side to cover the others. RAM I charged up to the first visible door and trained a gun on the opening. The grenadier followed and tossed a mine at the other door, before taking up a position opposite RAM I. They paused for an instant to catch their breath and their door opened up to let a large grey head into the room. The soldiers reacted quickly, piercing its forehead many times over and sending it to the ground. But then a second alien followed it, RAM I was taken off-guard and reacted too slowly. A thin beam emerged from an alien weapon and lit up RAM I's torso. RAM I slumped to the ground and looked about the room. The cardboard alien was promptly killed, the sound of mock grenades was heard from the next room, and shortly the all clear was declared.
The drill was declared a success, acceptable casualties and all that, and it was true enough, this war wasn't going to end without losses, the reports from the recent battles was sobering proof of that. Use more mines? Use more smoke? Wait for them? Charge in quick? No matter how many times they looked at it there was no easy way to clear these ships. The drills had done their part, the team knew their signals, they knew their weapons, and they were ready to use them. But drills could only go so far, RAM I felt death cheapening with every simulation, and these model aliens just didn't move right. Would the team be able to handle seeing their squadmates melting in front of them? RAM I was worried that they were getting too used to the simulations, and if they didn't see real combat soon they might not be ready for it...