Going through the two week ranking assessment is a chore for Cavallan, simple but necessary. Doing it under a pseudonym is a bit more of a tangle, but he's prepared to buckle down and just get on with it.
But when he arrives, he meets an old friend and makes a new one. Suddenly it isn't as much of a chore, but it's no longer simple, either.
Now he has to dance a knife-edge between truth and deception, and the only thing waiting for him if he slips is pain...
Testing Grounds follows a group of soldiers who, during a reassessment challenge, slowly discover that one of their peers is not all that he seems. Suspense builds as the group tries to figure out who exactly they are dealing with. An engaging story, and at novella-length, it makes for a nice afternoon read.