War Games: Gladiators of the 21st century

Via was silent as she taken in the conversation around her, and she knew it would take her a while to get used to this new squad. Not because she despised them and such, but it was just... so different from her old squad. Her old squad felt like home, but... it didn't exist anymore.

Via finishes her bowl of stew, placing the empty bowl by the washing up area as she forces herself to give a brief bow to her squad.
"I will see you again at the time of the mission. If you need me, I will be in the Quartermaster's Tent Pike informed me of." Via explains, then turns away as she heads out of the entrance to the mess hall, it not taking her long to find the Quartermaster tent. Taking her gear with her, she found the access to the camouflage facilities with a little guidance, and began to practice applying a desert-shaded camouflage onto the side of her arm. She was sure to mix the soft colours of pale yellow and beige carefully at her arm, so when she placed her arm at the ground, it was near invisible amongst the sandy flooring. Satisfied enough with the test product on her arm, Via began to smear the camouflage over her face, rubbing the mixture under her eyes carefully and across her cheeks with the help of the mirror, then lacing any loose strands of hair with it. She made sure she was alone, because for her, this was Via's version of relaxing, even if she found washing the stuff of afterwards somewhat tedious.
 
It had taken Jason a few minutes to get used to the rifle on the range, as he was accustomed to the power behind his prized Barrett. He decided he'd make it a habit to practice with more varieties of weapons in the future so as to not find himself only able to operate a specific gun. However, even out of his comfort zone he still managed to get a kill shot on every target on the range, much to the amusement of the soldier posted to oversee the station. He tried to start up a friendly conversation as he fired, but the guy kept calling him "sir" and after a while it got on his nerves so he decided he'd go back to just shooting. After about half an hour he started to feel a bit less stressed with his new found authority and came to the decision to take it in stride. Be fair, be a good leader and you'll earn the respect and trust of your squad. He breathed out heavily looking at his watch which read 0650 and decided he might as well head out for briefing. He thanked the man overseeing the station as he returned the rifle, and then started towards the tent.
 
Pike watched as his squad dispersed to their respective activities before quietly leaving the mess hall as well. There was no point for him to wait as the other soldiers seemed to think his unit was a spectacle to stare at. With nothing better to do, he headed on to the command tent and waited just outside, passing the time thinking on the unit and how they would each interact with each other.

Finally, the time came close for the meeting to begin and Nathaniel spotted Jason through the crowd. Remembering one of the tasks he had set for himself, Nathaniel quickly waved his superior over, "Captain, a word before we go inside, please."
 
Jason spotted Pike out front (you don't mind if he calls him Pike right?) and wondered how long he had been standing there. "Yes. What is it?"
 
(Pike would actually be the correct method of referring to him based on military protocols.) Nathaniel tried to keep quiet enough for only Jason to hear, "Sir, we may have an invisible enemy amongst us, namely Sergeant Tyhaun's past. Earlier, when I had asked her about her rifle, she mentioned that it had been given to her by a previous commander in recognition of her skills. The problem is that the commander is now dead and the event has caused emotional trauma for Tyhaun."
 
Jason listened with attention as Pike relayed his concerns over the newest addition to the team. "Yes, I thought the weapon was a bit odd for a non-officer but didn't think much of it." He bit his lip, trying to figure out how best to word his response without offending one of the senior members on his team. "I appreciate your attentiveness but don't you think you may be jumping the gun a bit too soon lieutenant?"
 
"I apologize, Captain, I simply believe in trying to remove a tumor before it becomes cancerous," Pike shook his head as Jason most likely wouldn't do anything about the problem yet. Turning away from his superior, he headed through the tent's entrance, "Time for the meeting, Sir."
 
"Lieutenant Pike," he called, gesturing with his hand for him to come back. "We still have a few minutes. And I'm not going to just ignore your concerns. Ignore your scout and you run the risk of walking into an ambush."
 
"And sometimes the scout makes a mistake, Captain. I've said my piece and for now, that is all you need of me," Pike snapped back as he disregarded the hand gesture and continued into the tent.
 
Jason frowned slightly. The conversation had given him much to think about. He stepped inside the command tent. The briefing room was set up a bit like a school classroom in the real world. Several chairs with small wooden panels to write on placed on rows to face the front where enough space was left for presentations and such. Jason stepped in, taking his seat a little ways away from Pike as he sat back in thought. Going through the last couple hours' events in his head.
 
Lathered in the camouflage paint and now practically invisible against the right surfaces, Via looked in the mirror, a reflection of an unrecognisable face with a pair of greyish-blue eyes looking at her. Just how she liked it in missions. She just wanted to be invisible, and unknown she was a female. She didn't want to be favoured in combat, or enemies to think 'oh we can't shoot her because she's a girl'. She just wanted to serve her role like every other man here. Snorting, Via kicked the dirt at her feet before heading to the briefing tent, still coated in her camouflage around her face, hair and arms although she barely cared. The mission would start soon anyway, and it was best to be proactive.

Vai took a seat as she entered the command tent plainly, awaiting the briefing. She was told she was in charge of the private, apparently, so that was a responsibility she had to hold. It made her comfortable not being the most inexperienced here, but then again she had to give some orders. She wasn't much of a leader or commander, she was just good at getting the job done: ruthlessly and effectively.

She sat a few seats away from the other members of her squad. For Via, she didn't care about their personalities. She would see who they really were in the heat of combat.

That was what mattered here.
 
Jason gave a polite nod as Sergeant Tyhaun entered, noticing the war paint, which doubled as camouflage, applied on her arms and face. He wondered if she had put it on herself. The work was good, very good in fact. He noticed as a few grunts started to set up the projector for the presentation. He looked down at his watch 0655 hours. That private better not be late he thought to himself, adjusting his position to make himself a bit more comfortable.

(Not expecting a post anytime soon. We agreed on five it's fine)
 
Pike began to watch the entrance to the tent while checking his watch, waiting for Samuel to arrive. I'm sure the Captain is watching as well, wanting to see if Samuel proves a problem child. Even so, how Samuel arrives and at what time will give insight into the man's behavior as a whole.
 
After he cleaned his rifle, Samuel lay in bed to pass the remaining time before the briefing. After falling asleep and jerking back to attention a few times, he checked his watch. It read 0654. He jumped up off the bed, grabbed his rifle, and stumbled his way to the tent entrance. Afterwards he ran as fast as he could to the command tent, knocking over a few fellow soldiers on his way. Once he reached his destination, he checked his watch yet again. 0657. Just in time, he thought. He entered the tent, trying his hardest to act as if he hadn't lost his breath and took the seat right beside Jason.
 
Barely arrived on time. Suggests loose regulations in his previous unit. Could point to him becoming careless on a mission. Pike rattled off in his head as he watched Samuel walk in out of breath. The man couldn't hide the fact he had run to arrive on time as his slight reddened face coupled with the thinly-veiled shortness of breath have him away. Nathaniel filed away the observations and turned to the front of the pseudo-classroom as he waited for the Commander to arrive.
 
(Really sorry guys. A few friends decided to show up and surprise me with a visit. Got sidetracked.)


Jason made a bad job of hiding a smile as he heard the heavy breathing of Samuel behind him. "Nice timing," he said out loud, chuckling lightly.


"Attention. We're ready to begin," Samson called out as he stepped into the presentation area in the front, signaling one of the men to dim the lights. "I'll keep this brief since we're working against the clock. Tonight at 2100 hours is the seventh season premiere of War Games. This means the light skirmishes we've been witnessing over the past month is going to break out into an all out war starting tomorrow."
 
Pike listened attentively to the Commander, already having ideas of where he was going with the presentation. Our unit is most likely to serve as a means to strike against the enemy first, giving our side the initiative in the coming days. Good reason to bring in at least two unknowns who the enemy will have no knowledge of, will catch them even more off guard. First raising his hand, he spoke up, "And our unit is to move preemptively against the enemy, Commander?"
 
Samson: "I'm getting to that," the commander intoned with an agitated voice. "The enemy is aware of this and is making last minute preparations to get it's affairs in order today," he continued, pacing back and forth. "Thanks to some good scouting work by private.. er.. lieutenant, Pike in the off season, we intercepted a detailed communication about the escort of a brigadier general through the battlefield to an adjoining base. Intel says it's a three humvee armored convoy. We had an unmanned UAV take pictures of the route from the air, as you can see here," he pointed out as slides started to go across the screen of several pictures, the route highlighted in yellow. "As you can see it is mostly in the urban zone. Your mission is to set up an ambush, capture the HVT, and bring him back for interrogation."
 
"Sounds easy enough. Is there a catch?" Jason asked, watching the slides go by.


Samson: "Yes there is. This military group is known for constantly rotating which vehicle precious cargo is in. It's a three humvee convoy but no one, not even the target will know which vehicle he'll be riding in until three mikes before they depart. So you have to either take all three or get visual contact before you strike." He timed his pace perfectly so he stopped in the middle at the end of his speech, tapping his heels on the floor. "Any questions?"
 
Pike remembered the operation Samuel spoke. Off-season always had the largest scouting operations as intel needed to be prepared well in advance of the war game. Nothing compared to the intel men like him gathered during off-season, and he had hit a treasure trove when he had aided in intercepting the information. The perfect target, the perfect time, the perfect setting. The perfect set-up for either a trap laid by the enemy or a masterful strike against our foes.

However, there remained a concern in his mind due to the trap possibility, "Sir, if the operation begins to fall apart and the target looks to be about to escape, are we allowed to eliminate him?"
 
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