2- Travel Orders

I awoke the next morning to Sass's gentle pulling at exactly 04:30. Her right arm was carefully wrapped around my shoulder as she pulled on me to wake me. I opened my eyes and looked into her deep purple eyes and examined her disheveled hair. "Morning Sass" I whispered as she noticed I was awake. Her eyes squinted from morning grogginess and she gave a long yawn before she replied to me with "Morning commander. Ready to start the day?" Her warm breath and the comfort of her next to me in bed tempted me to return to sleep, but instead, I said "Of course Sass. Ready when you are."

With our routines complete, we buttoned eachother's BDUs and exited the room, being sure to grab both of our parkas this time for the cold morning air. As we approached the mess hall, we were joined by commander Holst who let out a jovial laugh and grin as he caught sight of Sass and I. Once my squad arrived at the end of the mess hall line, Sass and I broke march formation and stood in line with the other squads while Holst went back to the doll dorms to collect the remainder of squad 50. "Lucky fucker. Get to sleep with your doll? Might want to hold off until oath, but to each their own." He said as he parted. Sass and I flushed crimson and intentionally ignored Holst as he left. Our hunger was a more pressing matter to distract ourselves with and we were growing impatient for the line to pass.

Later that morning after breakfast, every squad was marched down to the general purpose area which was a large square of concrete where the majority of rec-time was spent. It faced the shoreline of the mainland and at the front of the square was a large ship's mast with flags hanging from the lines attached to it. The mast was a mosaic of flags from every commander's home countries, as well as the flag of Smith Co showing three white stars arranged in a triangle on a black flag. Around the square was a post office, base supply shop, seating areas, and the commander's living quarters. Every squad stood in their place, with the order being oldest to newest squad from front to back. My squad stood at the very rear on the right side with Charlie Company, opposite to Delta Company on the left.

"Charlie Company, attention!" Called out the company head. From the left, Delta company followed suit. The sound of combat boots hitting the square echoed off of the surrounding buildings, disturbing the disciplined silence of the companies. From the back, I couldn't see past the other squads as a middle aged man stepped to the front of the square and addressed both companies. His voice was deep and resonant as if he were singing a bass line in a choir. "Base company, stand at ease.. stand easy". The squads moved in unison as they brought their left feet up and stomped them down at about a shoulder width apart from their other feet, while at the same time, their hands were placed behind their bodies. Their hands were then dropped to their sides in the "stand easy" position. Standing with Sass, I was unable to see the new base commander, but I was able to hear his voice.

"Good morning Charlie company and Delta company. I am Ervin Lee, and I have been appointed by SC to serve as the new base commander for Pacific base." Everyone attempted to catch a glance of the man as he paused to straighten his uniform. "I've served as a squad commander, and company head for 25 years since my acceptance into SC, so I do in fact have experience to lead." His speech bore on for 30 minutes as he discussed his plans for the base and the growing conflicts overseas. "... So good luck, and I look forward to begin working with you all. Charlie company Squad 51 standing fast, remainder of base company, dismissed." Confused, I looked to Sass for reassurance, but she seemed just as lost as I did when she tilted her head inquisitively to the front of the square. The company head of Charlie marched over to my division and halted before me. "Meet with commander Lee in the base office. That is all." He said before briskly marching away.

It was our third day, and my squad had already found ourselves in the base commander's office for the second time. I timidly knocked on the door and waited for a reply. "Come in" I heard from inside. I opened the door with caution and stepped inside with Sass behind me. Inside was base commander Ervin Lee. His voice sounded lighter off the square, and he looked much like any other SC head. His features were generic and his brown hair was beginning to turn grey. His skin began to show signs of age, yet he sat with a straight posture of pride and dignity. "Squad 51 reporting, sir". I said. He nodded with approval and gestured to the seat before him. I lead Sass to the chair and stood beside her across from the base commander at his desk. His brows lifted at this with a questioning stare, but he seemed to disregard it once he spoke. "As you may know, you as Squad 51 are currently our smallest squad in both Charlie and Delta company." I felt Sass's hand feel for mine, so I held it and gave her a gentle squeeze. "As our smallest combat-capable unit, the heads of Smith Co have decided to deploy you to the Alaskan regions where you will link up with an affiliated company to perform a small op against a local rebel base." He sighed with pity and looked me in the eye. "This is a well paying mission, and you're the only squad small enough to perform it without drawing too much attention. Are there any objections to this?" He worded it as a question but I knew refusal was unacceptable. "Then good luck, you leave at 06:00 tomorrow from the disclosed air terminal. Make SC proud, 51."

To limit attention, we were dressed in civilian clothes. Unlike our blue uniforms, I wore a pair of loose cargo pants and a inconspicuous grey sweater, while Sass had long sleeved white shirt and blue jeans. Our larger weapons were stowed away in our luggages, while I carried a Glock 30S pistol chambered in .45 ACP hidden in a messenger bag filled with documents and a book. We walked through the airport like any other person and waited in front of the entryway to our flight. We were already accustomed to one another from the past, so we sat in silence so as to not disturb any sleeping passengers. I felt Sass lean her head onto my shoulder and before long, I could hear her soft breathing as she slept. I slowly opened the buckle on my bag and removed my book in an effort to not wake Super SASS from her sleep. I had never familiarized myself with the weapon aspect of my partner, so I took the free time as an opportunity to do so. "Page 110, Super SASS, Armalite." I whispered to myself. I already knew the basics such as her calibre and effective range, but I wanted to learn more in an effort to get closer to my only squad mate. I found little in the way of useful information besides maintenance and construction, so I gave up and stowed the book away in my bag.

-Super SASS-

The rain was dense that day when the tactical doll commander applicants had completed their training with SC. They all wore black trench coats with the three star emblem of the PMC sewn onto the right side of their coat over the chest area. As each applicant was assigned a doll, they marched rigidly with their new companions towards one of many nearby APCs marked with the designated posting of each new commander and doll pairing. When cadet Arthur West was called, he was naturally given the least serious doll to match his own demeanor. Together, we were posted at the small inland base No. 25 for a year. While other commanders trained with their dolls and received new dolls through the course of their careers, West and I were unconcerned with much besides our role as a standard combat squad. However, we were never sent out, and as a result, it was only ever the commander and myself. Unlike the other commanders who amassed collections of dolls, the commander only had me, a rank 3 doll. Even so, he didn't seem to care about our position. He cared for me as if I were human, and we grew close during our training sessions as a squad.

Smiling with the memories in mind, I opened my eyes to see the commander sitting at the terminal next to me. Though he was young, his hair had begun to grey around the edges, and he looked more tired than I thought he felt. "Commander, there's a line forming in front of the desk." I told him. Hearing my voice, he stopped spacing out and looked in the direction I pointed. With our belongings in tow, we approached the desk and handed the staff dolls our tickets. We then proceeded to find our seats. When we did, Arthur pointed out the window seat for me as he lifted our baggage to the overhead storage above us and sat down beside me once he finished. He gave a yawn of exhaustion and proceeded to fall asleep on my shoulder like I had on his a few minutes prior. I directed my attention out the window and watched as the runway was seemingly pulled away from us, and I closed my eyes to enjoy the lifting feeling and the excitement it gave me. After a while, I glanced outside and watched the morning sky in awe as the sun rose over the clouds, turning them into an orange sea of cotton. The memories and the view of the sun rise were left in my mind as I slowly nodded off and lost consciousness.

Later in the day, the commander and I were woken up by the pilot's voice and the sound of the aircraft preparing for landing. "What adversities await us?" I thought to myself. Images of fierce guerilla fighters and hunter squads appeared in my mind across the cold tundras of Alaska. Gun fire spraying the air and tearing apart the very fabric of space around my body only for one to hit and sink into the commander or I. Biocomponents and human flesh alike laid down across the crisp white snow. I snapped out of it as I had a glimpse of the ground beneath us. It was bare, but still green. The wilderness seemed similar enough to the woods I was used to, and the commander seemed comfortable as he saw the terrain as well. My mind began to ease as I focused on the beautiful sights of the trees and fields on the ground.

At the small airport, the commander lead me to the parking lot where we were met with a large military truck. The words "PMC AEGIS" were painted on the doors of the truck underneath a shield that was superimposed over two crossed Springfield rifles. The back flap was lifted up by a man dressed in a thick white coat with a black kevlar vest on top. He beckoned for us to enter the truck, and when we did, the flap was closed, leaving us in darkness. Soon, I could feel the truck growl as the engine was activated, and we began to advance to our location.

In the silence, I was unable to see so I reached for the luggages and unzipped mine. I activated night vision and fumbled around with my zippers and buttons until I could slide my jeans off. I lifted my shirt over my head and dropped it in a heap beside me. With my clothes stripped, I searched for my BDU and changed into it. As I slipped my parka on, the flap lifted and we were summoned outside. I hopped off of the vehicle and landed on the concrete noiselessly and told the commander to change into his own BDU. After a few minutes, he emerged with his uniform and we followed the Aegis member to a series of barracks. We found a two person room for ourselves and unpacked our belongings as we awaited instructions. We heard a knock on the door as we finished removing our belongings from our baggage and found a Aegis FNC type doll standing at the door with two bags. In those bags were our new Aegis uniforms without the emblem sewn onto the chest. In its place, the tri-star emblem of SC was present. Besides the logos, our uniforms were identical to that of the Aegis members.

In the technologically advanced command room of the Aegis base, we examined a holographic map of a rebel compound north of our location and listened as the Aegis commanders discussed our role in the operation. As the smallest group, we would be inside the compound, disabling any equipment we could before fleeing and signalling the assault. The dim glow of the blue lights in the room cast eerie shadows onto the ceiling and walls. The commanders' eyes looked dark and hollow, as did mine I assumed. We all stood in that room like ghosts at a haunting, grim and ready. And so it was that at 00:30 the next day, mission 1 of squad 51 would begin as we snuffed the lives of the rebels.