Disclaimer - Some mild language, infrequent. No sexual references that I can pick up, but I may have let something past my radar. I don't own the characters apart from my OC, Shade.
Chapter 2 - Distant Thunder
The next morning, at 4:30 am, in the 141's rec room, the bulk of the team were seated at the table having breakfast. Ghost and Soap always had theirs in Soap's office, trying to maintain that shred of peace in the base. Meal times were usually the loudest times in the rec room, coming after parties and fights. Toad and Archer were up in the kitchen, cracking open some more eggs while Meat and Royce started bickering over who got the last strips of bacon. Ozone, Scarecrow, Rook and Chemo were reading copies of newspapers from both the local area and countries of origin. The others were making small talk about tactics, Shepard and Shadow Company, and home.
Roach had walked in still in the clothes he slept in, still half tired. The 5am starts still killed him, despite serving with the 141 for two years. In he walked, wearing a grey singlet, MTP combat pants, and grey runners, carrying a bottle of water and towel.
"Morning guys, what's new?" Roach asked while still yawning.
"Nothing much Roach," replied Chemo. "Someone got re-elected leader of some country, some team won some sports match and Magpul released a new series of stocks and grips." This got a laugh from most of the guys, Chemo's interest, or lack-thereof, for politics and sports showing.
"So, just another d- Meat!" shouted Roach, drawing attention to Meat and Royce, where the former had pinned down the latter to the table and ate the last piece of bacon in front of him. "Always the one to get the last piece Meat, it's no wonder that you got that nickname."
"Hey, I resent that" said Meat, still chewing the piece of bacon. "I got my nickname because I took a through-and-through to the leg on my first mission with Delta Force. I said it was just a flesh wound and I got 'Meat' as a result. Has nothing to do with my eating habits." With that, he released Royce from his grip, collected his plate and utensils, and stood from the table. Toad and Archer had given up on the eggs at this point, and were sitting in front of the TV set tuned to CNN. Roach took this chance to grab a bowl and some corn flakes. It wasn't until he smelt the aroma of sausages cooking on a frying pan when he realised he wasn't the only one in the kitchen.
"Hey, no one mentioned there being snags this morning," called Rook from the table, reading the comics in his newspaper.
"Rook, what have we said about using Aussie English in front of us?" said Archer. "For the last time, use terms that we can ALL understand. No one here knows what a fucking snag is."
"I do," said an unfamiliar voice. Roach spun his head, as it was the mystery cook behind him who said it. "If you were to use your brain for once Archer, you'd have figured that snag is another word for sausage, which is what I happen to be cooking up. Now, do you want one or not?"
"Hey, new guy, since when did you cook?" called back Archer, now curious.
"It's Shade, and I've been cooking since I was 15," said Shade.
"Shade, couple of questions. One, how did you get that nickname, and two, what the hell are those sausages made of, because they smell great," asked Rook.
"Well, Rook," started Shade, having to look around to identify the questioner. "I'll answer the first one after brekky, and they are beef sausages with chopped up chilli and salsa mixed in." With that, Shade turned off the hotplate and put the newly cooked sausages on a plate. Everyone had gathered around the table to see these snags, and to finally meet the new guy. Roach had finished his cereal at this point and was watching from the kitchen bench.
"So, I assume everyone had heard that I am the new guy," started Shade. "Well, allow me to introduce myself fully. I'm Thomas Williams, though I've gone by Shade for the majority of my military career. I came from the 2nd Commando Regiment, down in Australia, after serving just shy of four years with them. Before that, I was a standard run-of-the-mill infantryman for another four years. I like most forms of music, enjoy decent action flicks, and my weapon of choice is an F88SA2 Austeyr with an ACOG and front grip folded up."
"So Shade," started Roach. "Why were you pinned with that name?" Everyone lent forward, eager to hear how Shade got his name. The majority of operators that joined 141 arrived with some kind of nickname. Those that had bad ones or had nothing at all were given one.
"Well, after I had arrived to the home base of my unit, I spent the first few weeks sneaking around to avoid being interrupted when talking to my girl. This involved me hiding around corners, behind couches, sitting up the back at briefings, being the last in line for mess, all to keep in contact with loved ones. It got so bad that the regiment's Warrant Officer called me to a meeting about my shady behaviour. When word got out that I had been caught, the rumour was that I had been dealing with shady people doing shady things. So, the name Shade stuck. Even after it was revealed that I was just trying to talk to my girl. Thank god the rumour was the source of the name; otherwise I'd have been stuck with something like Lover Boy."
There was a second or two of silence, broken when Royce started to laugh quietly. This escalated when Meat, Toad and Rook also started to laugh, and it just got louder and louder until everyone other than Shade and Archer were laughing. When it started to settle, Toad was the first to speak.
"Well, that has to be one of the more pathetic ways to get a name. But, we'll let you keep it."
"So, any questions guys?" asked Shade, sitting down beside Archer at the table.
"Yea," started Roach. "Where'd you get all those patches that you have in your room?" The room instantly became silent.
"What patches? The ones I keep in that glass frame? Well, before I kill you for entering my room without my say so mate, I got them from exchange programs my unit had with other forces in the special operations community," explained Shade. "Any other questions?" When no-one spoke up, Shade stood up and headed towards the door. "Well, if you think of anything, I'll be at the range."
