[REQUEST]
A bustling hub of orderly chaos... that was the Fair Island military base. New and old technology mixed beautifully and soldiers of every breed imaginable all collided into a mass of incredible men and women. He was humbled by it all, yet excited to be among them all. Not once in his life did he expect to get anywhere, let alone being recruited by one of the most impressive special-forces squads on that coast. Redd Jankowski was a normal sized blond, well built, and in shape. His eyes were a deep hickory brown. He was wearing standard military casuals; camouflage cargo pants tucked into black boots and an olive t-shirt. Around his neck he wore a set of dog tags and he carried on his shoulder a duffle bag of minor necessities. Down the halls of the Fair Island base, he made his way to the vehicle bays, as he was instructed in the e-mail, to meet his commanding officer, Cederick Griffin. Looking through what he could find, Redd saw that Griffin had an incredible military career. He was capable, respectable, smart, and known for making tough choices that others were scared to make.
It was promising. As he neared vehicle bay 112, the swelling in his stomach began to tighten, churning his guts in the most congested mass of nervousness he could have ever imagined. Then he was knocked to the floor, his right side rammed hard by some object from a closet in that direction. As he reoriented himself, Redd saw that it was a tire and couldn't even register what exactly happened before he was being pulled to his feet. "I am SO sorry," came a flustered voice that was obviously trying to hold back laughter. Jankowski shook his head again and focused his attention on a man standing before him. He was Hispanic, ebony hair with a matching goatee. He had a strong build and dark eyes, but they were charming. "You alright, man?" The words came slowly to Redd and took a few moments to process.
"Uhh... Yeah..."
"Again, I am SO sorry. I was trying to pull it down from the rack and dropped it. I knew I should've listened to Keegan when he said I'd need help. Those things weight, like, A LOT. Hey... I'm Sargent Morales, but everyone calls me Manny." He held out a hand for Redd to take so he did and shook it firmly, letting his hand limply drop back to his side.
"Redd. Redd Jankowski."
"Jankowski? You're new to Dark Signal?"
"Yeah... That your unit?"
"Yup. I take care of the APC."
"Well... Uhh... I think your tire's running loose."
Manny, as things had it, gave a chuckle and rubbed the back of his head. "That it is... I... I better go catch it. Go see Griffin. You can explain to him why you're late. I'll take the rap. See you later, man." he turned heel and ran in the direction that the object had rolled off in, passing a wave as he did so. Redd smiled after him and continued on to bay 112. When he found it, there was a huge, black, 8-wheeled personnel carrier minus one tire from an empty rim. A few people were walking about, moving things or loading others onto the vehicle. One of them was wearing a patch on his shirt that indicated that he was in command. From the pictures, Redd knew it was Griffin.
"First Sargent Griffin?" the blond inquired. The man looked up from the box he'd bee packing and stood up tall. He was much taller than Redd and defiantly stronger.
"That's me," he rumbled in a low voice. "Who are you?" Redd shifted through his bag before pulling out a slightly wrinkled sheet of white paper boring the team's symbol.
"I was told to see you. My name is Redd Jankowski."
"Jankowski... A few minutes late..." The voice didn't become kinder.
"Sargent Morales held me up; said he could answer for me."
"Held you up?"
"Kinda hit me with a tire, sir." There was a bark of a laugh from across the bay. It came from a tall brunet with a gentle-looking face and kind eyes. The humor in his expression was somewhat calming.
"I told that cocky nut he needed help," the man scoffed. From what Manny had stated earlier, Redd guessed that it was that 'Keegan' character.
"Just keep loading those supplies, Sargent. As for you," Griffin looked at the smaller man, a stern, stone expression on his face, "You will receive a full orientation in one hour. Then, you'll get into our schedule for the day. Tomorrow, you'll follow Sargent Morales' orders, do as he says, and he'll get you used to our training routine. We have a specific set of tasks for all new members to complete. If you mess up, you're out; if you don't do it perfectly, you're out. We don't strive for good. We strive for perfection. Am I clear?" Redd swallowed subtly.
"Yes, sir." A smile broke across Griffin's features as he reached out a hand.
"Then welcome to Dark Signal, soldier." Redd took the hand and shook it the same as he'd the other he'd been offered. "Any questions before we get started?"
"Yes, sir... Just one. Why me?"
"Why you?"
"Yes, sir. Why did you pick me? There were plenty of better men opting for this position. I'm not complaining, but if another man was more deserving..."
"Son, if we picked you, there were no better men. The true worth of a soldier comes from more than their service record. Maybe one day, you'll be able to tell me what that is and show me that I was right. So far, I haven't been wrong. Now, when Sargent Morales returns, you tell him that he is your mentor for the next few months and that he needs to take you to orientation. Is that, all?"
"Yes, sir. I will, sir."
"Good. Dismissed." Redd felt a weight lift from his chest as the man walked away and almost let out all the air he'd been holding in one loud huff. At least he didn't screw up. With a sigh, he waited by the APC, a hand on the strap of his dufflebag. It was still sweating, but the heat was subsiding. God, he almost passed out. He wished he wasn't so nervous around new people. He wouldn't get nervous around ANY stranger, even those smaller and weaker than him. When he got to know them, the fears stopped and he became himself, but the initial reaction was irritating. After some many more minutes, Sargent Morales finally showed up at the APC with the escaped tire and began to put it into the empty rim of the vehicle. Redd swallowed hard and approached him.
"Sargent Morales." The man looked up at him, brow raised. Something burning in the blond's being and he hoped it wasn't his face. "First Sargent Griffin told me that you'd be my mentor and that you needed to take me to orientation, sir." A smile spread across Manny's face.
"Stop with that 'Sargent Morales' and 'Sir' shit, alright? I told you, everyone calls me Manny. Second, I need to finish changing this tire and then we'll get to the boring stuff... Well... More boring than this. Orientation isn't really fun, so don't get your hopes up. The higher-ups of the base will blab to you and some other newbies about respect, honor, responsibility, all that stuff. They'll fill you in on the daily news around the base, the routines, the rules, time-charts, and then you'll be under my charge for a year. In that time, you are to do everything I say, exactly as I say it, without hesitation. Not gonna ask you if you got it. I don't speak french. I'm sure you understood." The entire time he spoke, Manny was changing the tire, tightening the rubber onto the rim and placing the heavy-armor caps over-top. He stood and wiped his brow which left a small, black smudge on his forehead. "Alright. Leave the bag here with Keegan. Let's go." Redd dropped the bag next to the brunet and followed Manny out of the bays and into the command halls.
The halls themselves were the standard military olive with white tile floors and the ocational item hanging on the wall- mostly bulletin boards. Manny took him to the far end of the first hall then down onto a second hall off of the first one where it split in two different directions. They went to the right and though a pair of double doors. Inside was a deeply contrasted conference room with a long, dark-wood table. Navy carpets covered the floors and the walls were a deep grey. Around the table as certain spots were metal folding chairs. Standing before most of them was another young man or woman, obviously new to the base like Redd. Manny walk him around to an open spot with two free chairs. Manny stood before one and Redd before the others. At the front of the room, there were three people, all dressed differently. One was Griffin, another was a woman with dark hair and quite a few years in her complexion. She wore a prim, navy suit. The last one was another man with spicy-tan skin, close to Manny's shade, and light grey-black hair. He was wearing a normal ACU.
"Are we all here, now?" The woman asked, looking to Griffin. He nodded to her and she turned back to the group, expressionless. "Welcome, all of you, to Fair Island Military Facility. You are all here because you are some of the most skilled soldiers this country has to offer and have been hand-chosen to protect this entire Sea-Board. As you may have already noticed, you are split into three groups and your leaders are before you. For those who do not know, I am General Kelsie Kreig, head of the technical intelligence division. To my right is First Sargent Cederick Girffin of Dark Signal's combat attachment, and to his right is Commander Ryan Locke of the Advanced Operations and gathering Division. First, I shall address my own recruits..." Redd stopped paying attention at that point. It wasn't meant for him to hear, so he didn't really bother. He turned his attention to Manny with a side-glance and watched as the Sargent feigned a yawn and rolled his neck comically. It almost made the blond want to chuckle. This continued for some few minutes until a different voice disturbed the monotone drawl.
"To my recruit, Redd Jankowski," Griffin began, "I understand that you are confused as to why you were chosen and I tried to elaborate when we met, but a moment's meeting serves the topic no justice. You aren't the first to ask me that question. In fact, every single member of Dark Signal has asked me that question and I couldn't give them an answer. The answer to that question is something you have to find on your own because it'll be different for everyone. Don't get me wrong. Your combat scores were impressive, but I think there is something you just haven't tapped into, yet. I want to see you find it and, maybe, just maybe, you'll find that you belong here. We've lost plenty of members because they discovered where they were meant to be and it wasn't with us. I hope you'll be one of the ones that stays, as I do with everyone, but if you find what you're meant to do, don't hesitate. Go for it. Yes, this squad is meant for the greater good of our country, but you could find that you do an even greater good elsewhere. Until that choice is made, though, you will train with us, fight with us, and be one of us. You are very lucky to have Sargent Morales as your mentor because I don't think anyone is better at bringing out the best in people than he is. His methods may be... odd, but trust him. He knows what he's doing. As for you, Manny," Manny looked up, smile wide on his features, "You work him until he passes out from exhaustion. You run him until his legs give out, you push him until he is on the very edge. I don't want to see any slack, you hear me?" The Hispanic nodded. Redd didn't very much like the sound of that last part, nor did he the grin Manny gave him in response.
Still, though... Redd hoped he belonged there... He'd never been able to do anything right... his entire life... Now, he found himself in a promising place and hoped with all his being that he wouldn't lose it, too. 'Please... be what I'm meant to do...". be what I'm meant to do..."