It started off bad, hell, really bad. But it was the start of something great. Who knew that when they were transporting NATO warheads, that they'd be in Egypt, receiving a debrief from a General from some unknown organisation. Duke and Ripcord, the only NATO troops that survived the ambush, were now tasked with divulging all information that they knew, and Duke knew a little more than the rest. Baroness was his fiancée, and now he and Ripcord were in on the game that was called G.I. JOE. They were allowed to gain their JOE status once they had passed the course. It was an interesting start to the day, and about to get more interesting. They met the team again, the one the saved their behinds from getting roasted; Scarlett, Breaker, Heavy Duty and Snake Eyes. They were the moderators, the drawn line between G.I. JOE and going back home. Their training was about to start. First order of the day was the shooting range. They suited up, and got their guns. Guns that shot rubber bullets, and they were shooting at holograms of enemies. Scarlett was watching, mentally taking notes. They ran against time, Duke and Ripcord were damn near tied when the buzzer went. Scarlett smiled, about to leave, and Ripcord made her stay.
"Once I have a target in my sight, it doesn't get away." Ripcord stated, looking at the score board and leaning on an obstacle crate, looking Scarlett over.
Scarlett smiled, and pointed a remote at the scoreboard. The timer started again. Ripcord swore, got his gun and started the course again, only to get hit twenty shots in.
"Just so you know, some targets are harder to hit than others." Scarlett joked, stepping over him.
"Well I still think that I got a record." He jumped up and looked at the score board.
"No that's the record." Scarlett pointed out the only constant number on the board.
"Who's that? Snake Eyes?" He said, disregarding him as not human enough to have the high score.
"No, that would be me. I say if you're going to shoot something, kill it. Or take up knitting." She smiled and left, heading to Sgt. Stone a few feet away.
Heavy Duty took them to Snake Eyes, warning them that this was to be man on man combat. Ripcord volunteered to go first, and got taken down in the first three minutes. Duke went next, and Sgt. Stone came to referee. After he saw how Duke took down Snake Eyes in the ambush, his interest was piqued. Snake Eyes was relentless, knocking Duke down every chance he got. Duke got up, every time, and tried again. After fifteen minutes of solid fighting, Sgt. Stone called it a draw and Duke stepped back to catch his breath. Sgt. Stone looked at Duke; no one he ever knew could keep up that long with Snake Eyes. Sgt. Stone questioned Snake Eyes, with intermittent nods from the former to answer him.
"At least we know he's got the stuff JOE's are made of."
A woman, five foot six, blonde, petite, pale with shocking blue-grey eyes stepped up to Snake Eyes and Sgt. Stone.
"Edge. You watched?" Sgt. Stone turned to address her directly.
"I did. I'd like to take them to my course. The blonde is far too cocky." She answered, eyeing Ripcord and Duke boasting between them.
Snake Eyes nodded, agreeing with her.
"Well you'll get your chance. This is just practice. I'm going to check the video. Edge, would you like to join me?" Sgt. Stone asked.
"No thanks, I've seen enough."
Sgt. Stone dismissed them both, leaving Snake Eyes and Edge to their own.
"Don't go easy on the blonde next time." Edge addressed Snake Eyes.
He merely nodded and left. Ripcord was being observant, he saw the girl talking to Sgt. Stone and Snake Eyes. He felt like he knew her, recognised her. He knew he'd always remember a face that had saved his life. She was about to leave, following Snake Eyes lead. He strode over to where she stood, addressing her.
"Afternoon." He stated formally.
She spun around, and looked at him curiously.
"Weems?" she said quickly.
"Hey it is you, Chilli!" He hugged her, picking her off the ground.
She hugged him back, laughing. He put her back down; her smile spread wide across her face and creased her eyes.
"It's actually Edge now, but it's weird that you still remember."
"I'd always remember the name and face that saved my life. Geez, what happened to you after Qatar? You were classed MIA when I got back to the states." Ripcord happened to quickly glance at Duke, sitting on a crate watching.
"Yeah, I got another mission in Russia, and it got kinda messy and the JOE's came for me. I did a lot of training to get in and well, here I am." She said quickly, it sounded almost rehearsed.