The COG base was a morbid place to be. The buildings were rundown, more rubble than actual structures. The sky was a permanent murky gray, a near perfect reflection of the morale of fellow Gears. Troops were in dire need if humanity was to defeat the Locust Horde. Among the Gear divisions was Delta Squad. Their leader, Sgt. Marcus Fenix along with Dominic Santiago, Agustus Cole, and Damon Baird.

Delta Squad was one of the most known among the Gears, and today Marcus was hating it.

"Aww! Why do I have to train the rook?"

A new shipment of rookies had arrived earlier in the day and Marcus had been doing his best to not be assigned a rookie.

"Marcus, being Sergeant isn't all honor and privileges. You need to do some training too! Besides, Delta is a member short and like it or not, the rookies gonna be running with ya."

Marcus glared at the officer giving him the order before storming off with a muttered "Fine."

Dom, Cole and Baird were sitting among rubble outside of their apartment, waiting for Marcus to show had been sitting there for a good hour when Dom saw a shadow above him. He looked up, expecting to see Marcus but instead saw a girl.

" Can I help you?" Dom stood up and took a quick step back when he was able to get a good look at the girl. The first thing Dom noticed was her eyes, two pools of striking emerald green that held the gaze of a war hardened soldier. She had shoulder length mocha hair that looked messy and un-brushed. She was wearing a thight fitting blue shirt, as well as a pair of dirty jeans with a worn leather belt around the waist. Dom could tell it was there for decoration, not really keeping her pants up.

Cole gave a whistle off to the right of Dom and murmured, "Damn... she's tall!" And Cole was right.

Dom stood a good six-foot five, one of the tallest members of Delta. The girl he was looking at could look him in the eyes without tilting her head up.

Her eyes met Dom's with a fierce gaze as she asked with an Alpha voice, "Are you Sgt. Fenix?" Baird stood up and gave a hearty laugh.

"Oh, I know why your here! Hey, tell me though, how much is Marcus paying you?" Baird stood beside the girl and turned bright red when he realize she was much taller than him. "Damn... you ARE tall."

She turned to Baird. "What do you mean, 'how much is Marcus paying me?'"

Baird rolled his eyes before responding, "You know, hooker fare. Girl as fine as you must cost a lot. Tell me how much so I can pay you more."

Cole turned to Baird and gave him a glare. "Dude, dick move!"

The girl however simply looked down on Baird with a gaze that would've even Marcus crap himself.

"I'll give you one chance to say you're sorry." She said quietly, as if she was talking to a five year old who just said a bad word.

"Naw, just give me a chance to get my wallet." Baird responded.

His hand made it half an inch at most to his pocket before he was hit with a solid punch to the jaw. That punch as followed by a kick in the nuts and a shove face first into the mud. The girl rested her foot on the small of Baird's back, pinning him to the ground.

"If you EVER talk to me like that again, getting killed in your sleep by a Locust will be the least of your worries." Baird whimpered and nodded and the girl pulled him up so she could look into his eyes.

"Oh, I'm Nicola. Nice to meet you."

"Well Nicola, you can put Baird down now."

Nicola dropped Baird, who made a squishing sound as he hit the mud, and faced the owner of the gruff voice she heard. He was certainly a giant among met, standing at least six-foot eight if not more. His muscles could be seen through his black tee shirt and military issue cargo pants. A green bandanna covered his head and Nicola could see short, black hair underneath. His eyes were a pretty blue-gray, yet they held the undoubted gaze of a leader. Nicola scanned his features and her eyes rested on a scar on the right side of his face, running from his cheekbone to slightly above his chin.

"Marcus, thank God your here! This chick is crazy!"

Marcus looked from Nicola to Baird before glaring at Nicola.

"I have a rookie to train, ain't got time for some idiot messing with my squad."

Nicola stood in front of Marcus and the rest of Delta whistled when they saw the comparison in size of them. Even Marcus, the fearless leader, seemed shocked at Nicola's height but his face barely showed it.

"Rookie?" Nicola asked, "Last name Thompson?"

Marcus nodded his head and crossed his arms. "Yeah, you know him?" Nicola smiled. "I take it you're Sgt. Fenix then."

Marcus frowned. "Yeah... You... You're the rookie?" Baird muttered an audible curse as Cole and Dom high-fived. Nicola just smiled and held out her hand for Marcus to shake.

"Looks like your stuck with me, eh?"