Choices Define
Rated: M
Pairing: Hanson/Aubree
Author: Nightstar Fury
Disclaimer: I do not own HTTYD movies, shorts, or series. Also, don't own any songs I might use. Everything belongs to its original creator.
4; Drill Sergeant Time
Breakfast was over, and they had been firmly instructed by Hanson to get back to the barrack and change out of their PT uniform and into the ACU then meet outside Hanson's office until he got there. In the barrack, they were given time to use the bathroom, make sure things were cleaned up, and get dressed as ordered. From what Hanson told them, they would be in his office since they were such a small group and learn the basics of the military laws, regulations, etc. While killing time they just sat on their beds looking at one another.
"Is it bad that I still can't wrap my head around the fact Hanson has been here for the last eight years, that he's a Lieutenant Colonel and leader of this base?" Aubree finally said.
"No, none of us can either," Sawyer replied to her. "I can't believe he has a Night Fury!"
"What bothers me the most about it all is that he won't tell us why," Raelyn interjected.
"I agree with Rae. We were best friends with Hanson, told each other everything. It doesn't make sense that-" Franklin began now.
"That he would just bail and choose not to tell us about it," Taylor finished for Franklin.
"Maybe he felt you wouldn't approve or support his joining," Eli mentioned.
"He's got a point. Since finding out yesterday, you've been miserable about it and going along because you know you can't disrespect him without getting in serious trouble," Sylvia nodded in agreement.
"Well, come on. Hanson joined at fifteen years old and didn't say a word, and his father lied to us when we asked what happened to Hanson. At first, we just thought he was sick, but after five days, we knew it was more. Why would be happy with the fact he's been here, an hour and a half away and didn't even let us know?" Aubree argued.
"You might be friends, but he does have his a life guys. Hanson isn't obligated to tell you anything he does or chooses to do," Dustin informed.
"It just makes us feel like he doesn't trust us." Raelyn sighed. At this time, Vincent, Ricky, and Thatcher came in and looked at them as they stood up quickly at the foot of their beds at attention.
"You owe me ten bucks, Rick. They know to stand at attention when commanding officers enter," Thatcher grinned.
"Enough you two or you're both going to be giving me fifty pushups," Hanson rolled his eyes and entered the barrack while stepping ahead of them and looking at the small group of soldiers in training.
"Sorry, sir," Thatcher and Ricky apologized together.
"Just so you're aware, these barrack walls sit right next to my desk in the office, and I can hear everything you say." Hanson remarked as his six friends flinched a bit, "For the record, I had every intention of telling you that I joined when things settled down. As you were," he ordered, and they relaxed a little sitting back on their beds. "When I joined, there was no pauses. I signed up, went to MEPS, and straight to Reception Battalion within five days. Spent four days at Reception, then right here for Basic, Advanced, and Dragon Training." he informed.
"But Hanson, it's been eight years, surely you had just five minutes to call and tell us or write," Aubree looked over at him sadly.
"Why didn't your Dad tell us?" Sawyer inquired now.
"Because I wanted to be the one to tell you, so I asked him just to say I left. As I said, I had every intention of telling you, but things got crazy between training, tours, and promotions that with each, I had more responsibility and training to take on to do the job. I was literally too busy to call or write. Next time you see my Dad, ask him how often I got to talk to him. He'll tell you once a month and sometimes longer than that," Hanson retorted. "That was back when I was just a private myself, and now I'm Lieutenant Colonel being busier than ever before," he added.
"You don't know how worried we've been about you, Hanson..." Aubree cast her eyes to the floor now.
"Aubs worried the most because she li-" Raelyn was cut off by Aubree lifting her head and glaring hard.
"You finish that sentence, and I swear to Odin when I get access to a gun, I'm going to use you as a moving target," Aubree warned while tightening her hand into a fist that cracked with force. She brought it back to punch Raelyn, but Hanson moved between them and stopped Aubree's fist.
"Enough. First off, you don't threaten your teammates. Secondly, you don't hit them. Lastly, I know you have a crush on me." Hanson said as Aubree's eyes widened.
"H-How could you-" she began quickly.
"Awareness of my surroundings and the tone of your voice since seeing me again. You looked at me sadly when mentioned it had been eight years, and you cast your eyes downward when you said you were worried about me," Hanson replied as he released her fist and stepped back. "Also, I've known since the first tour because I asked my Dad how all of you were doing and he told me that you specifically cried after you had found out I left. Dad told you to stop worrying about because I wouldn't be back for a long time," he added.
"How many tours have you been on, if you don't mind me asking sir?" Franklin asked.
"Five, the last one ended six months ago," Hanson replied, and then his cell phone began vibrating from his hip where it sat on a clip hat hung to Hanson's belt. Hanson lifted it and pressed answer, "What's up Cay?" he greeted as the recruits looked at him quickly, who was he talking to? "I'm doing great, currently acting like a Drill Sergeant for ten late recruits," Hanson said after a minute, "How are you doing?" there was a small pause, "You didn't get hurt, did you?" he asked.
"Everyone okay over there?" Ricky inquired.
"I can barely hear you, Cay. You know the reception sucks, but I'm glad you're alright. I can't talk long, training recruits and it's only their first day. I'll call you at lunch okay, it'll around 1600 your time." he stopped now, "Yes, both of them are fine. I just checked in with Dad thirty minutes ago. Talk to you soon, " he said, then smiled, "You too," After another moment, he lowered the phone and placed it back on it holder.
"She get hurt?" Thatcher asked.
"They got ambushed on the mission last night; everyone is fine other than cuts, bruises, and small burns from the explosion. She's alright," Hanson told them. "Now, it's 0830 and time for training. Move out," he ordered firmly while leaving the barrack and going over to his office.
"Who was that on the phone with him?" Grant asked curiously.
"Hm? Oh, that was Hanson's girlfriend," Ricky said as the others widened their eyes. Hanson had a girlfriend?! "You have your orders, time for training until lunch hour," he added. Given there was no choice when it was an order, they left the barrack and walked next door to Hanson's office which they had never been in yet. Vincent knocked on the door twice and stepped back.
"Bring them in," Hanson said from the other side. Vincent opened the door and let the recruits inside where they saw tables set up with pull out metal chairs. "Five tables, two seats per. Sit with your battle buddy," he instructed as they quickly sat down. "Vin, Thatch, Rick. I'm grounding all dragon training flight until the storm passes. Winds are supposed to be over twenty-five miles per hour. Go pass the message along,"
"Yes sir," Thatcher replied as the three of them walked out and shut the door.
"You will find that I've placed a packet in front of you. It's yours to keep and use as a reference. Within the pages is military law, regulations, and protocol. And the biggest section of it is military history," Hanson began, "For today, we'll be using this first half of training to go over it. After lunch, we'll be moving into drill commands. They are listed in the packet, but I feel it's easier to learn them if you see them first hand," he informed afterward.
"When is the test on all this?" Sylvia asked with her hand up.
"Three weeks. At the end of every phase, there will be a test to complete to make sure you know the material. It's just like school only more hands on and things you will use every day. So let's get started we have three and a half hours until lunch," Hanson told them. Without another word, they began going over the packet. It wasn't terribly hard to them but a lot of it to take in for one day. Hanson wasn't unfair; he did give them a break everything thirty minutes to get up and stretch their legs because it did suck to sit for hours.
Lunch time came as they went to the chow hall, Hanson stayed in his office to talk to his girlfriend but came later on when there were twenty minutes left. After lunch had ended, it was back to Hanson's office with Vincent, Ricky, and Thatcher to start going over drill commands. How this went was Hanson read off the commands, and his team would demonstrate. Then it was the recruits turn to follow the orders and show Hanson they had been paying attention. More that they went over was how to respond to commanding officers, the officer ranks, how to ask permission to speak, and saluting. By the time all that was over four hours later, they were beat and wanted to sleep.
When Hanson dismissed them, they went right to the chow hall to eat. What worried them about this time was that after it was Drill Sergeant time. The two-hour window where it was them one on one with Hanson and he could either tell stories or yell at them for how the day went. Hopefully, he would yell at them because they felt they did pretty damn good for day one. At 1800 hours or 6:00 pm, they were back in the barrack and with just Hanson now.
"Alright, we're in Drill Sergeant time. You can ask me questions about military life only or my experiences since joining. You can even ask things about improving or matters from earlier in my office. Fair warning, I don't have to answer personal questions unless I want to do so," Hanson informed calmly.
"I had a question from something we got told at Reception," Heather began now.
"Alright, shoot." Hanson motioned to her.
"We got told before boarding the bus to come here that we would get placed in a Company, I guess...I'm curious what all that is about because we just got brought here," Heather asked.
Hanson leaned against his bed post now with his arms over his chest, but he didn't look mad or anything. "Probably should have covered that back in the office," he took a breath, "If you recall back during Reception, you got addressed as a Squadron. Now, this is a group of soldiers that can range between the numbers of eight and twenty-four. As you come to Basic, two Squadrons form together to make a Platoon or Troop which holds sixteen to fifty soldiers."
"So we're a squadron, what platoon does that make us a part of?" Aubree asked.
"That's the problem, right now, you don't have one because the other groups formed up and you came in the middle of a training session. This is why I'm your Drill Sergeant because the others can't just throw you in when you're five weeks behind the others. I can't place you in a platoon until you've completed all the training." Hanson admitted.
"I guess that makes sense. Once we get in a platoon, we'd be a part of a company?" Raelyn questioned.
"Let me put it this way. For all intensive purposes, you're in my platoon because it's down eight people from the last tour. You'll be in it officially when you finish your training," Hanson informed.
"And when in a platoon, you stay together right?" Eli asked.
"Yes. I've been in the same platoon with the same people, except for those who have passed away, for the last eight years and the same will go for you. Wherever we go, so will you." Hanson nodded.
"Okay, I have a question then. Does the platoon have a name?" Sylvia put her hand up now.
"Matter of fact, we do. 22nd Alpha Platoon. Thatcher, Vincent, Ricky, and I make up the Strike unit." Hanson smiled, first one they had ever seen too since arriving yesterday.
"What's a unit?" Taylor inquired.
"Small group of soldiers used for recon, contact, infiltrations, etc. Ranges from four to twelve people," Hanson shrugged.
"What was it like for you when you signed up?" Sawyer looked over now.
"You mean the processes and everything?" Hanson asked, and they nodded. "Signing up was pretty easy, went fast. Started at the recruiter office like most minors do and went onto MEPS a day later, left for Reception two after that. I was at Reception for five days because Toothless was being stubborn and refused to come for Fort Riddari without me, so I was brought by my father and Toothless flying over it. After that, it was same as you're doing. Basic, Advanced, and Dragon Training." he told them.
"What's dragon training like?" Aubree smiled a bit.
"It's amazing. Learn to bond, unless you did before hand. You learn to take care of them, things to watch out for, the dragon classes, and history. The best part is learning to fly," Hanson replied.
"So what was all that you were talking about jumping ranks?" Dustin leaned forward curiously.
"In this military, your rank is promoted based on well you do, and if you show the skills, it takes to have that rank. Most leave Basic as a Private or Private First Class; I graduated Basic at the rank of Sergeant. End of Advanced I was Master Sergeant, and after Dragon Training I was a Sergeant Major and also became a lead dragon trainer after facing off with a Titanwing Monstrous Nightmare who was terrorizing the base. I guess I have an unusual method of bonding, and they think I'm crazy for it but hey, it works," Hansen chuckled a bit. "Every rank I've made has a story behind it," he shrugged a bit.
"Will you tell us?" Franklin leaned forward with a big smile as did the others.
"If you really wanna know, then sure. Get comfortable," Hanson told them. They all moved closer towards his bed but sitting on each other's to listen to the stories; this was actually kind of fun for them. Drill Sergeant Time seemed to be the only time they could get him to talk about himself, and with any luck, they might get to hear why he chose to join the military and this girlfriend of his who he called 'Cay.'