Delta Has a Medic?
Chapter 1
A woman of average height stood before a COG officer waiting for her new squad assignment. She had jaw-length black hair with a streak of pink in the front. It was shaved on the right side and covered her left eye. She was one of the more well-endowed women, though you couldn't tell, due to the COG chest plate she was wearing. She had no sleeves to her uniform, seeing as the standard-issue forearm armor tended to get in the way when she was performing her duties as a combat medic and instead had black cloth wrapped around her forearms and wrists.
She had a lightly-tanned complexion and her face was thin with soft features aside from a long scar trailing down her right eye and ending above her lip. Her shoulder pads bore a red cross on each side and there was a larger one in the middle of her chest, replacing the normal COG emblem. Her pale-blue eyes took in every detail of the man before her and after a summary glance, deemed him unworthy of the time of day. Her name was Natalie Wylde and she was a combat medic, a Gear in the Coalition of Ordered Governments or simply known as the COG.
"You're being assigned to Delta squad, under Sgt. Fenix." The logistics officer informed Natalie as he double-checked the clipboard in his hands. "You should find them around the hospital, dismissed."
Natalie had just arrived at Jacinto less than three hours ago. Having been picked up by COG patrol during her attempt to make it back to the COG capitol after her squad had been wiped out by a locust ambush in which she was the only survivor. Shortly after arriving and being processed by COG command, she was sent to the armory in order to restock on ammo and then logistics to be reassigned.
'Seems eager to get rid of me.' Natalie thought to herself before offering a quick salute and a 'Thank you sir'. As she threw her duffel over her shoulder and grabbed her Lancer, she stopped briefly to look back at the assignment officer with one last question.
"Where's the hospital?"
The officer in question gave an annoyed sigh before gesturing towards the front door of the building they were located in.
"Out the door, hang a right. It's two buildings down on the right." He looked toward the next Gear in line before gesturing them forward. Natalie made her way through the crowded lobby to the front door and shouldered her way out into the open air where hundreds of Gears could be seen loading crates, marching in formation or just hanging about talking with fellow soldiers. As she turned right and began walking down the road she took in all the surrounding commotion and accidently bumped into another Gear, causing said gear to drop his lancer and duffel and almost fall on his ass if it wasn't for Natalie catching his shoulder and steadying him.
"Sorry bout that mate." She said as she helped him get his balance before grabbing his Lancer and handing it back to him after he re-shouldered his duffel bag.
"It's all good." The Gear replied cheerfully as he retook possession of his weapon. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to know where the hospital is, would you? I got assigned to Delta squad and the assignment officer told me where they were, just not how to get there."
"Ah, well you can just tag along with me. I got assigned to Delta as well so I'm on my way to meet up with em now." Natalie replied with a smile before gesturing with her head for him to follow.
"Oh thank god, I didn't want to make a bad first impression by showing up late." He sighed out. "I'm Carmine by the way, Ben Carmine."
"Natalie Wylde. Pleasure." Natalie responded. "So, you a new recruit?"
"Yeah, I just finished up basic a couple days ago." And it was pretty obvious too. Ben didn't move with the natural gait of a Gear used to the armor and the way he held his lancer simply screamed 'Rookie'. "What about you? How long have you been in?"
"It's been ten years for me. Joined when I was sixteen, five years after the war started." Natalie answered before spotting two Gears talking with a female officer. By her logic, an officer would know where Delta was. "Come on, we can ask that officer if she knows where Delta is."
"Good idea." Ben commented as they approached the group. "Excuse me, Ma'am?"
The three turned to look at Ban and Natalie before Ben continued.
"Do you know where we can find Delta Squad?"
"You're looking at 'em." One of the Gears, who was wearing a bandana stated in a gruff voice.
"Well, lucky break, I'd say. We've just been assigned to your squad." Natalie commented with a smile as she offered her hand out towards the Gear who had spoken. "Natalie Wylde, combat medic."
The Gear shook her hand and looked toward Ben, waiting for him to introduce himself.
"Ben Carmine, Sir." Ben stated as he tried to stand tall, but ended up dropping his Lancer again. The Gear simply shook his head while muttering something about rookies that Natalie couldn't quite catch, but it caused his two companions to smile and chuckle.
"First off, drop the 'Sir' shit, we ain't that polite here. I'm Sgt. Fenix and this is Dom, welcome to Delta squad." Fenix said while Dom shook Natalie's hand while Ben struggled to balance his Lancer and duffel which had slid off his shoulder when he bent down to retrieve his weapon. "We're going into the hospital. Carmine, link up with Alpha and patrol the perimeter. Wylde, you're coming in with us. See if you can make yourself useful in there."
"On it." Ben replied before running off to where Fenix had pointed.
"Come on." Fenix commanded before walking off with Dom while Natalie followed behind. Upon entering the hospital, Natalie immediately rushed off to where a group of wounded Gears were sitting around waiting for treatment. Pulling out her medical kit, she immediately got to work on the worst looking one.
"Where's it hurt and how bad?" Natalie asked the Gear.
"I took some shrapnel in the leg, I'll live, but it hurts like a bitch." The gear replied while gesturing to his right thigh where bandages were wrapped around.
"Alright, let's take a look." As Natalie finished up with the Gear's leg, she was about to move on to the next when the lights in the building flickered off for a few seconds before coming back on. Reaching up to her TAC/COM, she keyed her mic and called into Sgt. Fenix.
"Sgt. Fenix, this is Wylde, what just happened?"
"Got reports of a Locust raid inbound. Get outside and link up with Carmine. They're gonna need the extra firepower out there. We'll link up with you once we've cleared the hospital." Fenix replied over the radio.
"Copy that, Sgt. En route." Natalie packed up her gear and pulled her Lancer off her back before heading out the front door and turning in the direction that Carmine had run off earlier. "Carmine, what's your position? I'm en route to provide support."
"We're at the east barricade, Locust are hitting us hard! We have multiple wounded, no casualties yet, but I don't think that'll be the case for long." Carmine shouted over the sound of gunfire on his side of the net.
"Solid copy, ETA one mike!" Natalie sprinted down the street heading toward the sound of gunfire and screaming. It wasn't long before she spotted Carmine taking cover behind a jersey barrier and taking pot shots with his Lancer. The Gears were getting hammered and it seemed as though the Locust were going to breakthrough any minute now. Sliding into cover beside Carmine, Natalie poked her head out of cover quickly to try and spot the enemy locations. A few bullets impacting the cover next to her face forced her back behind the cement barrier with Carmine.
"We're gonna get overrun if we don't get some support up her fast!" Natalie shouted as she blind-fired over the barrier in the general direction of the Locust.
"The King Ravens are busy with the enemy Reavers and the Centaurs are taking a pounding on the west! We're on our own for now!" A random Gear shouted from the barrier to the right. "I'm Jace, by the way!"
"Fuck, we can't hold out much longer without support and those Gears are gonna bleed out if I can't get to 'em!" Natalie stowed her Lancer on her back before turning to Carmine. "When I say 'now', I need you to lay down a wall of lead! I'm gonna try and get to the wounded up there!"
"But there isn't any cover out there, you'll be a sitting duck!" Carmine warned as he poked his head out to see where the wounded had fallen. The closest Gear was lying in the middle of the road with no cover around him. He was trying to crawl to a barrier about fifteen feet away, but he was bleeding out fast from a gunshot to the side.
"Don't worry about me, just cover me!" Natalie shouted while preparing to sprint toward the Gear. "NOW!"
Carmine stood from his cover and began firing rounds toward the Locust in a sweeping motion. Natalie bolted from her cover and made a beeline for the wounded Gear with her snub pistol drawn. She slid to a stop next to the Gear and rolled him onto his back before grabbing the back of his collar. "I'm gonna get you to cover, but I need you to use that weapon soldier. Keep me covered, deal?"
"Just get me the hell outta here, I'll worry about the grubs!" He shouted as she began dragging him toward the barrier he'd been trying to crawl to, firing at the Locust with her pistol as she went. After a heart-pounding fifteen seconds, she had managed to get the Gear into cover and began pulling his chest plate off in order to get to his wound.
"You're gonna be fine, no organs were hit. I'm gonna patch you up and stop the bleeding and you'll be good to go." The Gear gave a visible sigh of relief when he heard that he'd survive.
"Thanks Doc, I didn't feel like dying today." He chuckled morbidly.
As she finished applying the quick-clot and bandages, she gave him a slap on the shoulder and began looking for the next wounded. The more Gears she could get back in the fight, the better her odds of surviving were. She called over to Carmine and informed him to do the same thing upon her command. Receiving a nod of acknowledgment, she prepared herself for her next suicide run.
"NOW!" Taking off toward the next Gear, Natalie stayed low since she'd be running through her allies lines of fire. She reached the Gear quickly and thankfully, he was better off than the last one with no bleeding injuries. Grabbing him by the collar, Natalie proceeded to drag him to the nearest cover which happened to be a burnt out car. Propping the Gear up against the side of the car, she began to try and rouse the dazed Gear by giving him a few slaps to the side of the head. With a groan, the Gear finally came to.
"Grab your gun and fight, we ain't outta the woods yet!" Natalie ordered while pushing the Gears Lancer into his hands. She looked back into the street and saw that the other Gear had managed to pull himself into cover and, locking eyes with her, gave her a thumbs up, indicating that he was fine. Replying with a thumbs up of her own, Natalie holstered her pistol and drew her Lancer.
"Carmine, Wylde, what's your status?" Fenix called over the TAC/COM.
"We're holding, but barely. Alpha is back in the fight, but Locust outnumber us. We need support ASAP!" Natalie responded as she blind-fired over the hood of the car.
"Acknowledged, we're in route to your location. Hold out for a little longer, we'll be there in two."
"Affirmative, we'll save a couple for ya." Natalie dropped her hand from her ear-piece. "Support inbound, two mikes!"
"REAVER!" The Gear next to her called out just before the massive creature slammed into the road in front of them.
"Concentrate fire, bring it down!" Jace ordered as they all started firing upon the Reaver. The Reaver turned toward where the shout came from and fired a rocket, forcing Jace to dive from cover. The barrier he'd been hiding behind erupted in a geyser of rock and flame as the rocket decimated the concrete. He scrambled to his feet and sprinted to where Carmine was taking cover, but halfway there, a bullet tore through his leg causing him to curse and fall face first five feet from Carmine's cover. Carmine tried to reach out to him, but fire from the remaining Locust prevented him from reaching him.
"Sgt. Fenix, we need you here NOW!" Natalie shouted into her com. "We have a Reaver at our location and it's tearing us apart. Locust are advancing freely. We're gonna get overrun!"
"We're almost there, just keep it together!" Fenix replied. Natalie swore as she saw the Reaver baring down upon the wounded Jace. Thinking quickly she saw the grenade on her cover-buddy's armor and snatched it from him.
"What are you doing?" He called out as he saw her lining up with the Reaver.
"Something really stupid!" Natalie took off, grenade in one hand and pistol in the other.
"No, wait!" The gear called in an attempt to stop her, but she was already sprinting out of cover. She made a beeline for the side of the Reaver, her heart pounding as she crossed the open road, bullets impacting the ground around her feet. Tunnel-vision set in as her focus zeroed in on her target.
As she got within five feet of the creature, she planted both her feet together and with every ounce of strength she could muster, she jumped. Everything moved in slow motion for her, the only sound she could process was her breathing. Breathe in: her arm swung forward, priming its deadly payload. Breathe out: she extended the spikes in the grenade as it collided with the flesh of the Reaver. In: she released the grenade as she continued her trajectory beneath it. Out: her feet hit the ground and she tucked into a forward roll. In: she stood up and sprinted to the nearest cover, barely aware of the Gear that was waving her over. Out: she registered a heavy impact on her shoulder, throwing off her balance. In: she dove forward past the Gear into cover, slamming her back against the concrete barrier.
"Everybody get down!" Carmine yelled as he finally managed to haul Jace behind cover while Natalie had distracted the Locust and Reaver. As the Gears ducked below the cover of their barriers, the Reaver turned to face a new target. Just as it lined up another shot, the grenade planted in its side went off. The explosion forced the Reaver to buck to the right, collapsing onto the ground and giving a few final death-spasms before detonating in an even greater explosion.
"Reaver's down, here's our chance!" Carmine called out as he rose from cover along with Natalie and the Gears of Alpha. The Locust weren't prepared for the Gears to take the offensive and were quickly beginning to be pushed back.
"ADVANCE!" Natalie shouted as she leapt over her cover and fired into the retreating forms of the Locust. Carmine and Alpha squad quickly joined in and together they pushed forward, retaking lost ground and dropping Locust like flies.
"That's right you bastards! Run!" Natalie shouted as she gunned down a fleeing grub. As the last Locust Drone disappeared from sight, Natalie lowered her Lancer and took a ragged breath. The adrenaline from the battle fading quickly and letting her feel just how tired she was, but she wasn't done yet. Jace still had a hole through his leg that needed to be patched up. As she turned around, she was met with the sight of both Dom and Sgt. Fenix jogging up to them.
"What happened, I thought you were being overrun." Fenix questioned as he lowered his Lancer to his side and looked around the battlefield.
"We almost were." Delta turned to see Jace supporting himself on the barrier he'd been behind. "If that crazy ass medic you sent us hadn't done what she did, shit, we'd probably all be dead."
Natalie quickly jogged over to him in order to patch up his wound, helping him to sit on the barrier before removing the armor on his legs and pushing his pants leg up. The remainder of Delta walked over to stand near when Fenix asked.
"What do you mean? What'd she do?"
"Oh man, it was awesome!" Carmine exclaimed as he began retelling what Natalie had done during the fight. "First off, she runs out in the open in order to save all of Alpha, except Jace. Then after she gets everyone patched up and into cover, she charges a Reaver by herself and sticks it with a grenade! It was freaking awesome!"
Natalie doesn't even acknowledge Carmine's recounting of events as she methodically cleans and bandages Jace's wound. Pulling his pant leg back over the wound she stands up before keying her TAC/COM.
"Control, Delta, come in."
"Go ahead Delta." Anya's answered over the net.
"Be advised, the East barrier requires a relief squad. Alpha is need of continued medical care and are deemed unfit to perform current duties until cleared by medical staff." Natalie continued as she packed her med gear into their respective pouches.
"Acknowledged Delta. Relief squad is inbound and will assume post in three mikes."
"Solid copy, Control. Delta out." Natalie turned to look at Delta and Jace who were all just watching her, waiting for her to finish.
"You know, I don't need to see a doctor." Jace commented. "I'll be fine."
He went to stand up until Natalie planted a hand firmly upon his chest plate and kept him from moving.
"You're going to the hospital to have that wound properly treated, mate. Even if that means I have to drag you there myself." Natalie answered with a smirk.
"If Jace says he's fine, then-" Fenix began, only for Natalie to cut him off.
"Sgt. Fenix, I understand that during a combat situation, your word is law, but right now, we're not in combat and this is a medical situation. Seeing as I'm the only medic in the immediate area." She paused to look him straight in the eye with an unwavering gaze. "My word is law and I will not allow a fellow Gear to potentially worsen a simple bullet wound because he was too 'Macho' to go to the fucking hospital."
Fenix stood there with his mouth slightly open and a confused glint in his eyes. Carmine simply looked between the two, fearing that Natalie was about to get her ass chewed out for interrupting Sgt. Fenix. Dom and Jace, however, were doing everything they could to hold back the building laughter. After a moment of awkward silence, it finally became too much for Dom and Jace.
"Haha, damn Marcus, she schooled you good." Jace laughed out as he bent forward clutching his sides.
"Never thought I'd see the day that Marcus got shut down, but here it is." Dom added in as he gave Fenix a slap on the back. "She's definitely Delta material, man."
Marcus finally regained his senses and for the briefest moment, a ghost of a smile appeared on his face. "You'll fit in just fine, Wylde. You too Carmine."
Carmine looked over at Natalie and gave her a thumbs up and receiving a smile and nod in return.
"Thanks Sgt." Natalie responded with a gracious nod of her head.
"It's Marcus. I think you two have earned the right." Marcus replied while turning away. "Let's go Delta. We got a mission brief in thirty minutes and I don't wanna have to run there. Jace, get yourself to the hospital ASAP."
As Marcus turned away and walked off with Dom following, Natalie turned back to Jace.
"Have one of your Gears help you to the hospital. Try to put as little pressure on your leg as possible until after you've been checked out. Understood?" Natalie still maintained her sideways smirk, but her tone left absolutely no room for discussion. Jace would obey or else.
"Yeah, I got it. Thanks doc." Jace replied as he waved one of his squad over. Natalie turned to Carmine and gestured with her head, adding a quick 'come on' before following after Dom and Marcus. Carmine jogged to catch up with her until they were walking side-by-side.
"That was really amazing." Carmine praised after a moment of silence.
"Hmm?"
"What you did back there." He explained. "It was amazing."
"More like stupid, but thanks."
"It may have been stupid, but if it hadn't been for you, there's no way we'd have survived that." Carmine countered. "And I won't lie, I was scared shitless until I saw you."
"What do you mean?" Natalie asked while glancing at the Gear walking beside her.
"Well." Carmine fidgeted a bit and rubbed the back of his neck. "We were caught completely by surprise and the Locust were advancing pretty quickly, but then you showed up and without even batting an eye, you were charging out into the open to rescue those Gears that had fallen. It gave me hope, I guess. I mean, I knew those Gears were still alive and that they'd probably die if they were left out there, but I was so scared for my own life that I didn't even think about rescuing them and then you showed up and ran out to them with no hesitation, risking your life for people you didn't know."
"Ben." Natalie started, causing Carmine to look at her. "I don't want you to think I wasn't scared, cause trust me, I was. Hell, it'd be stupid not to be scared, but I knew that I had to do something or else the Locust would have broken through and others would have been in danger."
Carmine nodded his head as Natalie talked. His respect for the combat medic quickly growing as she explained the reasons she did everything and helped him to feel better about being scared. As they fell into a comfortable silence, they both surveyed the damage to Jacinto. Locust bodies littered the road, mixed in with a couple of dead Gears here and there, the wounded already having been taken to the hospital. The COG had come through the attack with surprisingly few casualties, but Natalie wasn't foolish enough to believe that this would be the case if the Locust decided to do another raid. The crackling of their TAC/COMs halted the thought of any further chit chat.
"Carmine, Wylde, meet us at Command. Briefing starts in ten." Marcus ordered over the radio.
"Understood, we're three minutes out." Carmine replied.
Natalie and Carmine met up with Dom and Marcus in front of the main gate into the command center. Giving quick nods in greeting, Delta proceeded through the gate and up the large staircase that lead into the COG command center. The COG officer that had been talking with Dom and Marcus when Natalie and Carmine had first shown up was waiting for them inside the doors.
"Marcus, Dom." She nodded her head and gave a friendly smile to the two members of Delta before turning her attention to the other two. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced. Anya Stroud, mission coordinator and support for squads Alpha through Fox."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ma'am. I'm Ben Carmine." Carmine greeted while offering his hand for her to shake.
"Natalie Wylde, medic."
"So you're the one who benched Alpha." Anya stated with a smile. "But on to more important things, Chairman Prescott and Colonel Hoffman will be conducting the mission brief. It's being held in the amphitheater in order to accommodate the other squads."
"Any idea what the mission's gonna be." Carmine asked as Anya began leading them through the massive building where officers and Gears were running back and forth carrying files, equipment or relaying orders to squads in the field.
"We're taking the fight to the Locust." Marcus answered as he weaved through the commotion of Command. "No more questions, Hoffman'll explain everything during the brief."
Two hours later
Natalie was sitting on her cot in the barracks wearing a pair of spandex shorts and a crimson tank top that showed off her belly, her armor removed and piled neatly at the foot of her bed. Her weapons tucked safely under her cot, aside from her snub pistol which was hidden under her pillow as most Gears do. Carmine had taken the bunk across from her and the two had set up a wooden crate between them in order to play cards. Dom and Marcus had left after the briefing to meet up with two prior members of Delta in order to 'catch up'. Carmine had removed his armor as well and was now sitting, facing their makeshift table wearing his pants and a black tank top.
He had short brown hair, cut to be in compliance with COG regulations and bright green eyes that went well with his paler complexion. He was young, like really young. He honestly didn't even look old enough to join, but after Natalie had called him out on his age, he'd shown her his ID and sure enough, he was eighteen.
"What the fuck!" Natalie complained as Ben beat her for the fifth time in a row. "How the fuck are you so good at this?"
"I grew up with three older brothers in the middle of nowhere. Cards was one of the best ways to stay entertained." Carmine explained with a chuckle as he reshuffled the deck and began dealing the cards.
"Whatever. At least I was smart enough to decline strip poker. Otherwise I'd be giving the whole barracks a peep show." Natalie huffed out as she picked up the cards she'd been dealt.
"You know I was joking when I suggested that, right?" Ben asked as he arranged his cards in his hand.
"I know." Natalie replied. "But I also know that you were only half joking."
Ben visibly blushed at that, the only emotion he'd ever shown during their past five games. Coughing slightly, he threw a few more chips onto the table to raise the bet. Nat matched his bet and raised him, she had some damn good cards and was confident she'd win this round. After a few more bets, she finally laid her cards on the table.
"Three aces, beat that!" Carmine smirked before laying his cards down.
"Royal flush." He began sliding the poker chips toward himself with a smug grin plastered on his face.
"Fuck you." Natalie mumbled as she pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her waistband. "I'm gonna go smoke and when I get back, we're playing chess."
"Awesome, I love chess." Carmine replied as he started packing up the cards and poker chips. Natalie stood from her cot and slipped her bare feet into her COG boots before heading outside. It was only seven at night, but already the sky was dark and the stars were starting to shine. Sitting down at a table just outside the barracks entrance, she pulled out a cigarette and lighter.
"Mind if I join you."
Natalie turned around to the entrance where she saw a large man with long, jet-black dreads and dark brown eyes. His skin was the color of chocolate and he had a grin on his face as he sat down across from her, pulling out his own pack before realizing that he'd forgotten his lighter.
"Here." Natalie held out her lighter in order to light the man's cigarette before placing it back into her pack and taking a slow drag from her cig.
"Thanks." He said as he inhaled deeply of the tobacco.
"No worries, we all forget our lighter eventually."
"Not for the light." Natalie looked at him in slight confusion. "I'm thanking you for saving my ass today."
Natalie's eyes went wide in realization before a smile made its way onto her face.
"We're you the one who got shot in the side of the one who was knocked out?" She asked
The Gear pulled up his shirt to reveal bandages wrapped around his torso.
"The one who got shot. Name's Jackson, Tyler Jackson and you gave me the chance to see my wife and kid again. So seriously, thank you."
"I was just doing my job, but I'm glad you'll get the chance to see your family again." Natalie smiled before taking another drag of her cigarette. The two Gears continued with idle conversation until Natalie finished her cigarette and bid Jackson a good night. Returning to her cot, she sat down to find that Carmine had already set up the chess board and positioned it so that he could be black.
"Ready to play?" He asked with a smug grin on his face.
"I swear, if you turn out to be a chess genius as well, I'm gonna punch you. Hard." She growled out as she took her seat and made her first move.
Twenty minutes later
"Fuck you, fuck this game and fuck my life!" Natalie yelled as she lost to Ben. Rising from her cot, she leaned over the table and punched him in the shoulder causing him to shift back and laugh as he rubbed his arm.
"Hey, you said you'd only hit me if I was a chess genius." He laughed out.
"Fuck that, from now on, I'm just going to hit you every time you beat me." Natalie grumbled as she began putting the chess set back into its box.
"You're the one that suggested we play anything in the first place, so quit your griping." He chided as he lay back on his cot. Natalie had already walked off to return the board game to its spot on the barrack's game shelf.
"Never would've suggested it if I'd known you were unbeatable." Natalie returned the game to its shelf and turned around to see a man who resembled Ben in looks, but was of a larger, more muscled build and with shaggy, brown hair, talking to him and laughing. The two seemed as if they knew each other and judging from appearances, she guessed that this may be one of his brothers. Approaching the two, she took her seat back on her cot before softly clearing her throat. Causing the two men to look at her.
"Well, speak of the devil. I was just about to tell my brother, Clayton about you." Ben exclaimed as he gestured towards Clayton. Clayton however was just staring at Natalie, his eyes wide and mouth slightly agape.
"Umm, are you alright?" Natalie asked after a few moments of silence in which Clayton just continued to stare at her. Finally, Ben nudged him in the side and Clayton shook his head before smiling and offering his hand to her.
"Clayton Carmine, at your service."
"Natalie Wylde, pleasure."
"Oh, believe me, the pleasure is all mine." Clayton replied before giving her hand a kiss.
"Well aren't you the smooth one." Natalie blushed as Clayton gave her a wide grin and held her hand for just a fraction longer than someone who wasn't interested would. The two Gears simply looked at each other, one grinning and one blushing softly.
"Ahem, should I give you two some space?" Clayton and Natalie instantly regained their senses as Ben started chuckling at the two. "Clayton here is on Echo squad, though he's been trying to transfer over to Delta. Something about honoring Anthony's memory, but now that I'm on Delta he won't need to transfer."
"True, but now I have a different reason to wanna transfer." Clayton glanced at Natalie as he said this and winked before clapping his brother on the shoulder and telling him that they should grab something to eat next time they both had some down time. "Natalie, maybe I'll get to see you again soon."
"I look forward to it." Natalie replied with a soft smile and a light blush on her cheeks. She watched as Clayton walked away before she heard chuckling coming from in front of her. Looking towards Ben, she instantly adopted a scowl before growling out in a playful tone.
"Not a single word." Ben simply raised his hands in defeat before lying back on his cot and wishing her a good night. Natalie returned the well wishes as she too laid back on her cot, a warm smile gracing her face, but then thoughts of her previous squad entered her mind and she lost her smile. Shivering as the faces of her squad mates flashed across her eyes, she rolled onto her side and curled herself into a ball, silently wishing the images would go away.
'No!' She thought. 'There was nothing I could do, I tried my best and it wasn't enough. I'll get better and I'll make sure it never happens again.'
With a new sense of calm running through her, she let out a final sigh before allowing herself to drift to sleep.