(3rd Pov)
June 12th 2518
Training Area Foxtrot, Fleetcom Military Complex
Reach
0600 Hours
Deep within the Spartan-II training facility, inside a conference room, the members of Alpha team stood shoulder-to-shoulder near the center of the room.
They stood at attention in olive green uniforms made for tropical environments. Their posture was perfect, as straight as a board, with no trace of their pitiful first attempts. Their heads remained clean-shaven, and each of them had picked up a scar or two, but in their eyes, determination gleamed brightly.
In front of the team of cadets, numerous instructors were scattered throughout the room. A few leaned against the walls, some stood straight facing them, and others sat reviewing files. Each of them wore a standard training uniform, but some wore their dust caps while the rest did not. Yet, on the arm of the tallest boy in the group was a small strip of fabric, 'Team Leader, ' it said.
Both groups appeared like statues; little to no movement took place in the room, and it was silent. Only the dull hum of lights and other electrical devices in the ceiling, floor, and walls could be heard.
Chhk-vzzzt
An automatic door at the back of the room opened, and the faint echoes of combat boots striking the floor filled the air. Franklin Mendez slowly made his way around the neat row of young soldiers and parked himself beside a holo-table projector.
Ahem
With a swift nod and the clearing of his throat, one of the instructors in the room hit the lights, and the room fell into darkness.
Until the bright blue glow of the projector cast light into every corner of the room. The Chief Petty Officer's face was illuminated in a ghastly glow, making him appear as some form of specter. He mashed a few buttons on the console of the table, and the image of a map of the entire planet of Reach appeared.
"As you might of heard for this month and the next we will be pulling teams from training for 'field training' elsewhere on Reach," the man began, "The first of these quasi-missions is the Wake island scenario," he gestured and the depiction zoomed in on a small spec off the eastern coast of the Eposz continent. A tropical island appeared fit with beaches, a forest, and what appeared to be a large military outpost.
"Here, your mission is simple. Inside here," he pointed to the outpost, "Is a flag. All you have to do is touch it with three or more of your teammates," he said in his straight-laced tone.
"You have 4 days to complete this objective. The conditions for failure are going over the time limit and losing two or more of your teammates to OPFOR," he vaguely motioned to the instructors behind his back, "Your equipment for this mission are: any two paint weapons, and a thirty lb (thirteen and a half kilograms) ruck sack, which we will weigh," he finished before giving a pointed look to an instructor and the lights in the room came back on.
"Any questions?" he asked, finished with the quick mission briefing.
The girl with 141 on her uniform raised her hand. Mendez nodded for her to speak, "Do we have any information on what kind of defenses we will be fighting against?" she asked coolly
"Expect the worst," he said point-blank. "Anything else?" he asked, looking around, only getting shakes of heads. "Should you fail this exercise, then you get to swim back," he said, not exaggerating in the slightest. A few of the cadets stood a bit straighter, swallowing back saliva, fully aware of the grim reality of possible failure.
"Very well, you have one hour before dusting off to port Themis near the gulf," he said before powering the table down with the press of a button, "Dismissed."
======================================================================
"So what's the plan, Dave?" Sheila asked the moment the five of them were left alone in the training armory. The entire team looked to David, ready to hear what he had to say.
David took a quick glance around the room at his options, "Alright, we only have thirty pounds to work with," he said before immediately moving to a row of sleek rifles. He grabbed one by the carrying handle before turning back to his team, "Everyone grab an MA2B, it's the lightest and most reliable," he said, getting a couple of nods in agreement.
One by one, the team grabbed their weapon and set them beside their rucksacks. David stepped back for a moment, pondering by the look on his face, 'Who knows what Mendez has cooked up on that island.' Mines, turrets, everything was on the table, but there was no way he could plan for every possible obstacle they would or would not encounter.
He swallowed his doubts, 'If we run into something we can't handle, then…. I'll improvise,'
Finally turning to Daisy he began issuing orders "We'll need to split up to gather everything. So first Daisy 'tactically acquire' 5 bed rolls. I don't care how you get them, just make sure we have them before we leave," he paused, "I have something else I'd like for you to get but grab those first, and we'll go from there,"
Daisy, though her expression appeared to have a splash of defiance, nodded before dashing out of the room. "Cal, in the storehouse, there should be multiple standard-issue survival kits. Crack a couple open and pull out the firestarters, fish line, basically anything in there that would be useful on a deserted island,"
"Understood," and with that, she had also departed
Lastly, he turned to Benjamin, who seemed eager though hesitant to be given a task, "Ben, raid the kitchen in the back of the mess hall. There shouldn't be anyone in there right now, but if there is, say that you are grabbing supplies for Chief Mendez. You need to get the 15 best MREs you can find," David expressed seriously
"Roger!" Benjamin practically sprinted out of the room towards the cafeteria, leaving only Sheila and David.
Sheila smiled widely, "Ooo ooo what about me, boss?" she jested exaggeratedly
"You," David pointed his finger, "Are going to help me load these magazines," he said, tossing her a plastic polymer 30-round magazine with an orange stripe running down it vertically.
Sheila immediately lost her previous excitement
"You're joking, right?" she asked, only for David to plop a metal ammo can with paint sprayed on the side, Paint Rnds .390 cal, "I am beginning to think you have favorites…" she grumbled, dropping a magazine accidentally
…
..
.
VRRRRRR
Hours later, sitting in a black rigid hull inflatable boat bouncing through a rough, choppy sea, the cadets of Alpha team rode quietly while keeping their eyes ahead on the island just off in the distance.
They swerved slightly in the surf, avoiding a large spire erupting from the ocean. It was pitch black, likely made of volcanic rock like Obsidian, a good landmark.
David sat in the front, watching his surroundings but remaining focused on the objective ahead. Every now and then, he'd cast a glance at the ocean water. Wiping some of the ocean spray off of his face, he shifted in place as a pistol magazine jabbed him from within one of the pockets of his fatigues.
He smiled, 'Got one over on him this time,' he thought smugly, remembering Mendez's face when he noticed his team's budging uniforms. While it was true that the chief instructor weighed every single Ruck sack, he found that each of them weighed no more than 30 lbs. But he never said anything about how much they were allowed to stash on their person.
When the man realized what they'd done, he didn't punish or force them to take the equipment back. Instead, he nodded, "Good for you," was all he said, and for a moment, David could have sworn he saw a flicker of amusement in the man's eye, seeing that he had found so many loopholes.
"Hey-uh- Dave, what's the plan?" Benjamin asked anxiously, scooting closer so that he could be heard over the engine and waves.
Cal's ears perked up as she leaned in to listen; meanwhile, Daisy snorted but still turned to hear what he had to say. Similarly, Sheila leaned back lazily but still gave her attention to David.
David turned, "I waited on giving a plan because I have no idea what lies over there geographically or defensively," gesturing to the island behind him, "But I figured we should play it like the battle of Iwo Jima back in 1943. That seems to be the theme that the chief was going for when he began crafting this mission," he said getting a nod from Cal.
But Benjamin looked a mix of confused and concerned, "Don't you think he might have wanted you to make that connection in order to trick us?" he asked, getting a chuckle from Sheila across from him.
"You're overthinking it, Benny," she said with a smirk. "When has Mendez been anything other than straightforward?" she asked sarcastically.
"Yeah, you're probably right," Benjamin rubbed the back of his head with an apologetic smile.
"Anyway, I figure today we scout and get a lay of the land. Then we quarter it off and clear the island section by section until we reach our objective," David said with a hopeful look, "Worst case scenario, we finish on the third day altogether unharmed."
With no objections or questions to the plan, David laid out the ride continued smoothly, and before long, they were only a football field away from the beaches of the island.
David was getting ready to disembark when suddenly the instructor began to veer along the coastline away from the perfect beach. He looked to the side, and his eyes locked with Daisy's narrowed, suspicious expression.
"Hey, drop us off there," she said firmly, pointing at the beach beside them.
"That wasn't the location I was given," the man said with a smirk.
David frowned, "Chief Mendez didn't mention a specific LZ," he said as he kept one hand on the rifle that was slung over his shoulder while his other hand slowly reached for the sidearm in his pants.
The man didn't say anything to that, but there was a noticeable increase in speed, and it seemed that the sea got choppier.
David glanced at his team members silently. Cal gave a nod, and Benjamin did as well, his grip around his rifle tightening. Sheila sat up, getting a cocky grin, and Daisy's scowl deepened before she finally nodded.
David quickly drew his pistol, a M6C with a green stripe on the slide, "Slow down and drop us off here, we'll wade our way onto shore ourselves," he said tightly. His eyes bored into the man's smug expression. While he wasn't completely certain that his actions were correct, he still remained confident enough to carry them out.
After a pause, the man let out a small sigh as he remained smiling, "Smart kids," David's eyes narrowed as he read the instructor's lips, as he couldn't hear over the engine.
But before David could lower his guard, his vision blurred as he felt his body suddenly jerk. In an instant, a pain erupted in his hip as he was flung over the side, and the deck of the boat below him disappeared. And then-
SPLASH
Ignoring the pain of being thrown out of the boat, David took an instant to reorient himself before bringing his legs down and standing up in chest-deep water, "Ptoo," turning his head to the side, he spat out what remaining salt water was in it, having swallowed a mouthful or two.
'So that's what it's like to be folded like laundry,' David thought with a wry smile. By now, he could hear the splashes of his team breaching the surface, "Benjamin…Cal…Sheila…and Daisy's…drowning," David did a quick head count before realizing that due to Daisy's short stature, she was struggling to keep her head above.
Thankfully, he was nearby as he moved as quickly as he could and reached down, lifting her to the surface by the back of her rucksack. She was draped in the water like a cat that was given a bath. She caught her breath before turning to David with an uncomfortable expression. "Thanks," she murmured, embarrassment evident on her face.
"Don't mention it," David brushed off her gratitude, simply seeing it as something anyone would have done in his position.
"Good luck! AND WELCOME TO WAKE ISLAND," All of the cadets' attention snapped to the loud shout of the instructor before he turned in the opposite direction of the island and floored the boat.
"What a dick," Daisy whispered, frowning as she watched the man leave while being held up still.
David agreed, "What a dick…"
==================================================================
So this chapter was supposed to come out yesterday but I got caught up in something and was unable to edit it (I had an abrupt look at a potential graduate school).
But I hope you like it. I plan for one more to be released sunday and then I think I may go 2 a week and maybe three depending on this semester of school.
Anyway that's about it this is the last mini-arc before augmentations I hope you are looking forward to it.