(Disclaimer: As we all know I own nothing but my O.C.s and Bio Ware owns the rest.)
(A/N: Again I am sorry this update took so long but I had family issues that took precedence. Again I have to thank my Beta for turning this into a story and not a list of things. Hope you all enjoy.)
Chapter 10: Wait... What?
Two Weeks later
N7 Training Battalion Commander's office
"...All but five cadets are accounted for. Everyone else is in holding and we're about to start the 'capture' aspect of the training."
Commander Basalone was listening with half an ear as the Sergeant Major babbled on with the report, and had missed most of what he had said, save for that last bit.
"Wait... What was that 'all but five cadets' part?" Commander Basalone asked, looking up from the datapad in his hands.
Sergeant Major Warren smirked, "Only five remain at large Sir." he repeated.
Commander Basalone furrowed his brows and stared, "Which ones?" was all he asked as an eyebrow rose higher then its partner.
Sergeant Major Warren looked at his report in the datapad to read off the names, "Well, there's Cadet Lojdahl, Shepard, Tselikova, Wolff, and Zarr."
The Commander counted off the names, only to be a bit confused, "Wait a second... That's only two teams and a straggler. Who's odd man out?" he asked, sliding his own datapad away from him.
After a moment of consulting his datapad, the Sergeant Major popped his own brow, "That would be Cadet Lojdahl, Sir."
"And who is, or was her team member?" the Commander asked, threading his fingers together.
Sergeant Major Warren couldn't hold back his disdain, obvious by the light sneer of disgust that covered his features, "Cadet Lang, Sir"
Commander Basalone groaned low in his throat, "Ah... Him. But, that poses another question. How did we get him, but not Cadet Lojdahl?" he asked.
"That would require to relay what I was told." Sergeant Major Warren said, silently gulping as the tips of the Commander's ears began to turn pink with growing irritation.
Commander Basalone rapped his fingertips against his desk, waiting for his answer, but when none came, he cleared his throat, "Well?"
Sergeant Major Warren simply sucked in a long breath, "Well... We did have both of them, but Cadet Lojdahl was freed, or rescued as it were." he said, releasing his breath.
"Do we know who rescued her?" Commander Basalone asked, his voice flat and even.
"Yes." the Sergeant Major nodded with another silent gulp as he prepared for the impending storm that was about to make landfall.
Commander Basalone pinched the bridge of his nose, "Spit it out Sergeant Major."
"Cadet Shepard." another nervous gulp, making Sergeant Major's adam's apple hop.
Commander Basalone froze whilst rubbing an eye, "How accurate is that?"
"Very Sir" Warren could only stare as all of the Commander's ears turned pink and had spread down his neck.
At this point, Commander Basalone was growing rather irritated that the Sergeant Major was keeping something back. All he wanted was the report, but it was quickly turning into a chore to simply get the information from him.
Sighing as he crossed his arms, he glared, "Just spit it out already Sergeant Major. I'm getting tired of having to suck the information out of you." his throat rumbled with peaking irritation.
Shifting a bit nervously, the Sergeant Major forced a long breath out of his lungs and gripped the datapad just a bit tighter, "Cadet Lang gave the information to his interrogator seeking a reward."
Here comes the storm.
"THAT LITTLE FUCKER! WHAT THE HELL WAS HE THINKING?" Commander Basalone boomed, standing from his chair so fast that it toppled to the deck.
The Sergeant Major sidestepped a flying datapad just in time to be missed by it, "I don't think he really was, Sir." he shied into his shoulders when the Commander slammed a fist down onto his desk.
Basalone was still trying to calm down by sucking in long, unbroken breaths and resting his clawed hands on his desk. Never in all his military career had he seen someone so self centered come through his command. No one had ever put themselves over their peers, hoping, not even being promised, but hoping for a reward during their capture. It was unthinkable to sacrifice someone simply to better their own situation, as that was not their way. It was unfathomable.
"He violated articles three, four and five. For what? Why?" Basalone asked, his nails painfully digging into the top of his desk.
Sergeant Major Warren shrugged, but gulped again, "I wish I knew Commander, but unfortunately, there's more." he winced.
"Of course there is." Basalone grumbled.
"He uh... He got himself caught as well."
And round two.
"WHAT! ARTICLE TWO AS WELL?" Commander Basalone's voice was ricocheting through the office.
"I'm afraid so Sir. " the Sergeant Major said with a short nod, tapping a couple things onto his datapad.
Feeling the vein in his neck throb with anger, Commander Basalone turned and looked out of his window at the activity of his base. Vehicles and people alike went about their business to insure the base functioned as it was supposed to. Food trucks drove back and forth with loads, needed plenty to feel the amount of biotics they had not just on staff, but amongst their cadet ranks as well.
Luckily for him, watching things functioning smoothly, orderly, helped to calm him down and that, was good news for the Sergeant Major.
"How close is he to graduating?" Commander Basalone asked, glancing over his shoulder at the Sergeant Major.
"Very close actually. It all depends on how we score this evaluation." Warren said, looking over his information on his datapad.
Basalone nodded, "Good... Make sure he fails. I want that SOB out of my program, out of my brig, off my base and OUT OF MY SIGHT! I want it marked in his file that he's not to be reapplied to this program and all perks and special privileges are to be revoked." he said, nearly snarling through clenched teeth.
The Sargent Major swallowed, but a small smirk began to grow across his lips, "Of course. Is that all Sir?"
"No... I want him court-marshaled. He'll never see Lance Corporal by the time I'm done with him." Commander Baselone growled, having to drawing a long breath once more to stay his anger from reaching its boiling point once more.
"Agreed Sir. Will that be all?"
"No... I need a cigar." the Commander's throat continued to grumble.
"Um..." Sergeant Major Warren hummed, wincing when the Commander turned to look at him with a popped eyebrow.
"Um what Sergeant Major?" Commander Basalone asked, crossing his arms.
The Sergeant Major reluctantly handed the Commander his datapad with a list of missing items that had been compiled over the course of a week. He looked at it for a moment, his eyes narrowing a bit at the sheer number of items that were on the list, but when his eyes reached the bottom, the Commander just looked at the Sergeant Major with pink ears.
"You can't be serious... My cigars?"
The Cave
Kitrina still couldn't believe how much the cave had changed in the last two weeks. Hew had been busy gathering and making sure that they weren't attracting any attention, but the biggest surprise was that Laura was now with them. Whenever she would ask why, Hew would simply say that she was a medic, and he was not.
When Kitrina had opened her eyes, she found out that she had been asleep for two days while Hew had 'acquired' not only food, but bedding, racks, clean uniforms, and had even covered both the walls and cave floor with blankets from the base. She had no idea why he had done that, but to answer her questions, Hew explained that it was to hold the cold and moisture at bay and keep body heat and sound from escaping out into the open.
On top of all that, the ladies had used their biotics in an impressive display of precision control to not only clear debris away, but craft small aquifers to collect fresh water and even went as far as make a kind of bath. In about eight days time, the cave had gone from a hole in a mountain to what could be dubbed as a survival hide.
While Kitrina and Laura worked on the finishing touches in the cave, Hew was busy gathering wood and food from the base and on a few occasions, he had even brought them along. Those hauls were usually the largest.
Now, as Kitrina was looking through the latest collection of supplies from one of Hew's collection runs, she pulled out a box that utterly confused her.
"Cigars? Where did these come from?" She asked, looking toward the fire pit where Hew had sat to stoke the embers.
"Oh... That... From the CO's desk I think. Why?" Hew said with a light shrug as he flipped a piece of charred wood so the other side would burn.
Kitrina only stared, her brows pulled together some as she examined the rolled tubes of tobacco. They smelt halfway decent, to someone who would appreciate them, and they just looked expensive. Why Hew would take something like that was beyond her, but she was sure there was good reason, though it may not have been readily apparent right then.
Hearing a small noise coming from the cooking area, Kitrina sent her attention to see Laura at the camp stove that was from of Hew's earlier hauls. What she saw, was Laura trying her best not to double over in a fit of rolling laughter.
"Why are you laughing? This isn't funny. You can't steal for the CO." Kitrina said, replacing the cigar she held in her hand back into its place in the box.
"Why not? He is the Enemy Commander after 's all in fun, right?" Laura giggled, attempting to light the small stove to begin making something to eat.
Feeling like he was under someone's glare, Hew looked up from the fire to see Kitrina staring at him, waiting for an answer.
"What? Well it is, and he is." he shrugged with an entirely blank expression on his face.
"They're the CO's cigars Hew. If you would've gotten caught, then Laura and me would've had to fend for ourselves and lets be honest, you've certainly showed us that you know to survive." Kitrina said, setting the box down.
"But I didn't, so we're fine. It was just for a bit of fun anyways," he finished with the fire, "Well... I've gotta go check to see if Afon or Eva are at the meet up point. You two don't have too much fun while I'm gone ok?"
"We'll try not to." Kitrina deadpanned with a soft smirk as she watched Hew grab his combat harness and pack, and headed out of the cave.
The cave fell silent while the pair waited for Hew to get some distance from the cave, Laura chopping a few things with her knife so they fit in the pot easier while Kitrina stuffed the cigar box back into Hew's rucksack.
"That man is crazy." Kitrina said, slowly shaking her head as she lowly chuckled, finally accepting that stealing the CO's cigars was quite funny.
"And loyal, caring, strong, thoughtful, tall, broad shouldered, and rugged." Laura listed off without missing a beat.
Kitrina looked over her shoulder and stared, "You say that like you've been thinking about it for awhile." she said, not sure she liked how fluidly Laura was able to list off the words.
Laura stirred the pot's contents before she walked over to the ember fire with a turned down expression on her face, "Kit... I need to tell you something." she said with a nervous sounding sigh.
Kitrina slowly put the rucksack of supplies down and sat in one of the field chairs that surrounded the central fire pit. She studied her friend for a minute, seeing the nervousness in the way she rung her fingers together and it caused her to do the same. Her stomach flipped with the possibilities, but she had to force herself to think that there wasn't anything to worry about, especially when it came to her and Hew because they were always in each other's company.
As Laura settled herself in the chair next to Kitrina, she held up her hand to stop her friend from speaking, "Before you say anything, I really need to tell you something." she started, lightly biting her bottom lip.
"But..." Kitrina tried, only to be interrupted.
"Let me say my peace Kit... Please." Laura almost sounded like she was begging.
Kitrina sighed as she crossed her arms over her chest and settled back into her chair, giving Laura her full attention.
Laura took a moment to draw in her breath, settling her nervous a bit as she worried that she was about to destroy a friendship. That was not her intention, but then again, she honestly had no idea what her intention was. She just knew that she needed to get this off her chest before she lost anymore sleep.
"I wanna say I value our friendship Kit and that's why I'm telling you this." Laura started, tightly pressing her knees together out of nerves.
"I value our friendship too Laura, but I don't know what's going on. Should I be worried?" Kitrina asked, still confused as to what was about to happen.
Laura furiously shook her head, "Oh heavens no! All I ask ahead of time Kit, is that you don't freak... ok?" her eyes did the pleading for her.
Kitrina nodded.
Laura blew out her nervous breath, "Kit... I see how Hew treats you... How he acts around you. I can see how he feels about you and you wanna know something... I'm jealous."
Kitrina opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She had no idea how to respond to that.
"You have something great Kit. I mean, most women, and some men even, look their whole lives for what fell into your lap. You have no idea how lucky you are to have such a rare catch." Laura said, lightly rubbing the side of her neck from uncertainty.
Again, Kitrina tried to rummage through her brain for something to say, but there was nothing there. Laura had her completely speechless and she wasn't sure she liked it.
"Now... For the part I fear will ruin what we have," she sighed, "If you ever cast him aside, throw him away, or hurt him in any way, I'll be there." Laura admitted, biting her lip the hardest yet as she kept her eyes glued to Kitrina, looking for any hint of aggression.
Now Kitrina had something to say, "Now just wait a sec..." she got cut off again.
"Let me finish... I'm not gonna try to take him from you. I wouldn't try that because you and I both know he would never go for that, but, and I do mean but, if you cause him to leave, he won't have to sleep in a cold bed." Laura admitted, seeing Kitrina stiffen with recognition as to what she was talking about.
Kitrina scoffed, just trying to find the right words so she didn't sound like she was about to fly off the handle, "What exactly do you mean and please tell me it's not what I'm thinking. Wait... Is that why your here? To try and get him to notice you?" God I hope that's not it. She thought, trying not to cringe.
Laura sighed, "Kit... Hew is with you and not available and I respect that, but the moment he's not, that's when you'll have a fight on your hands. As for the reason I'm here, Hew was worried about you when you wouldn't wake up and next to you, I'm the next best medic we have and your my best friend. I would do anything to help a friend... Anything to help you Kit." she finished with a smile before she went back to the cooking stove.
Kitrina was in shock, only able to sit statue still with her mouth slightly parted from her stunned state. One of the few people she called a friend just told her that she had interest in the young man she claimed as her best friend and dare she say, boyfriend. The fact that Laura wasn't going to 'go after' him, as she put it, didn't make her feel all that better about the situation. She honestly had no idea why someone would divulge that to another they considered a friend, as it was only going to cause awkwardness and more then just a little animosity. That odd sensation of needing to watch her back started to make itself known and it wasn't alone, she also started to feel possessive. Laura should've just kept her mouth shut. Now it's gonna be nothing but awkward. Kitrina thought with a low, nearly silent grown as she lightly scoffed and went back to looking through the rucksack.
The Woods
Hew was moving through the woods, hoping over large roots and ducking through the thick vegetation as he headed for the water fall that was to be their meeting point. He couldn't understand why Afon and Eva hadn't arrived yet, as they were both extremely capable of surviving and evading the 'enemy forces'. When he had gotten into the holding cells, he hadn't see them, telling him that they hadn't been captured, so all he could do was think that they were in a hide of their own. Some people just wanna see if they can do it themselves... I can respect that.
As Hew trudged through more underbrush, he was drawn from his thoughts by the chatter of two people that weren't looking to evade anyone. They were looking to capture some.
"Can you believe it man? Two weeks and we still haven't see any trace of those guys. I mean, how can someone hide that long? They have to have left the AOE... Damn cheaters." one man rattled on, dressed in a hardsuit that looked like it had been smeared with mud from plenty of time spent in the woods.
"I don't know man. The perimeter net would have pinged if they had done that." the other man said, scratching the back of his head as he scanned the brush around them.
"You mean like the early warning satellites did? Yeah, that worked well." the first man asked with a popped eyebrow and more then his fair share of sarcasm.
His partner nodded, "Exactly... You know, they still don't know what caused that. My guess is a couple of the Asari instructors were messing around." he started to chuckle at the thought.
"Yeah yeah... Asari... Right," the mud man scoffed, "Hey... I gotta take a piss. I'll catch up." he started to adjust awkwardly in his hardsuit.
"Alright... Don't take to long."
Hew watched as the mud man went into the thicker bushes for a monicker of privacy to do his business, but he focused on the other as he walked on, leaving his partner behind. Seriously? Their splitting up? It has to be a trap. They must've heard me or something. Hew thought as he continued to watch the second man wonder off into the woods until he was out of sight.
With the partner gone, Hew shifted his gaze to the mud man as he ducked behind a tree and the sound of liquid hitting the dirt started to bounce off the brush. His brows furrowed as more pensive thoughts that it could possibly be a trap trotted through his head, but his curiosity was becoming too much to ignore. He moved quietly around through the brush until the soldier's back came into view, holding his breath as he waited to see if the mud man had a motion tracker, but the longer the sound of the man relieving himself went on, the more Hew thought that he didn't have one.
Trying not to snicker and give himself away, Hew did the only logical thing he could think of. he tapped the mud man on the shoulder.
"Dude... I said go on ahead. I'm still going." the mud man griped, not even turning around to see whom had tapped him.
Another tap to his shoulder.
"What man? You can't..." he finished and turned around, only to have his voice trail off as he saw who was there, "Uh... Your not Sam." he stiffened.
"Nope." Hew said, smirking with a crooked grin.
"You're one of those missing cadets."
"Yep."
"You're that guy."
"I'm that guy."
"I found you!" the mud man beamed.
"Wrong."
The soldier's brows furrowed, "Huh?"
"It seems I found you." Hew said, crossing his arms and squaring his shoulders.
"I don't... understand." the soldier stuttered.
"I can see that." both of Hew's brows popped up.
The soldier gulped, "What the hell do you want?" he asked, not sure he wanted to know the answer.
Hew's smirk grew into a smile, "Well... Since you asked."
Sam was getting tired of waiting for John, feeling more irritated then he should that he had to wait for his little bladdered partner to finish with his business. Disgruntled, he headed back to where he had left the guy, but when he got there, the sight he saw would live with him for the rest of his life. The fact that he couldn't stop laughing was most likely the reason.
Between gasps of breath, Sam was finally able to utter words, "How?" he sucked in a breath, "What the hell happened?"
Tied to a tree with a sock stuffed in his mouth, was a striped down Private, only left wearing his boxers and posed for all to see.
Unable to talk because of the sock, John could only grumble and wiggle a little bit with frustration until Sam finally had his fill and took the sock from his mouth.
"It was that damn cadet! Shepard! Guy took my gear and my weapon and left me here!" John growled, struggling against his binds to try and free his hands from the tree's trunk.
Hearing the cadet's name, Sam immediately stopped laughing and went to untie Sam from the three. However, his laughter only returned once John stood up and he got a look at his back.
We did not cheat
The Cave
The cave was uncomfortably quiet when Hew had gotten back. He had expected the girls to be chatting it up, but Kitrina was at the fire pit seemingly lost in thought and Laura was at the cooking stove, also seemingly lost in thought.
That wasn't the only thing that Hew found odd, it was also that he had been gone for over three hours and that was pretty much exactly where he had left them.
"Dinner done?" he asked, watching as his voice seemed to break the women from whatever spell they were under.
"Oh... You're back. You're just in time for dinner." Laura said smiling as she brought him a bowl of stew.
Briefly smiling back, Hew accepted the bowl and wasted no time in stuffing a spoonful into his mouth, grateful for the meal. The flavor was delicious, the mixing of meat, vegetables and broth causing his eyes to roll with delight and it was a considerable feet considering they were working with acquired ingredients.
"This is really good, but I don't remember grabbing any beef on the last raid. What's the meat?" Hew asked, spooning another mouthful past his lips.
Laura just sent him a quick wink as she smiled a bit and walked back to the stove, still with that smirk across her lips. It caused Hew's brows to furrow.
Huh... That was weird. He shrugged and swallowed his mouthful, "Hey Kitty... I brought you something." he said, gaining her attention from the glowing embers of the fire.
Kitrina hadn't even registered that Hew had returned from his outing, but when she heard her name, she finally broke from her internal musings.
"Huh? What?" she stuttered, quickly scanning the cave until she saw Hew standing with his bowl of stew.
Hew grinned at her, "I brought you a new toy... Think you can fix it?" he asked, grabbing his bag and heading over to the open chair next to her.
"Fix what? I'd need to see it before I can say yes or no." Kitrina said, trying not to smirk too widely.
Hew reached into his bag and pulled a helmet that was very much damaged. The front visor was crackled and there was a rather decent dent on the side of the helmet that looked like it hurt whomever's head was in it at the time.
"What happened to it?" she asked with a soft but crooked grin as she accepted the helmet from him and turned it over in her hands.
Hew rubbed the back of his neck as his face churned with a rosy blush, "Me." he smirked innocently.
Kitrina giggled, "What do you want fixed?" she asked, looking inside the helmet for anymore hidden damage.
"I mainly want the comm up and running." he said, clasping his hands together and resting his forearms on his knees slowly rolling the bowl of stew between his hands.
Again, Kitrina giggled quietly, "Well... I think it's salvageable. It looks like it's only got superficial damage. I should have it fixed in no time." she said, reaching into a cargo pocket of her trousers for a small bundle of tools.
"Good... I like to eavesdrop," he smiled, "I have a problem." only to let his smile turn into a large toothy grin.
Kitrina let out a brief roll of guttural laughter, "I assume it's so we can listen in on their progress?"
Hew nodded.
"That's clever." Kitrina smiled at him, letting her giggles subside.
Hew shrugged and smiled at her some more, "I have my moments."
As she took one of her tools from the pouch to start work on the helmet, a thought struck her, "Um... Where's the rest of it?" an eyebrow popped.
Hew grinned again as he begin empty his small pack and all the pouches on his combat harness, pulling a decent stack of medi-gel, omni-gel and food rations, "The hardsuit is at the bottom of the ravine to the north about fifteen clicks from here... Just to be safe." he smiled again at her.
"That would explain what took you so long huh?" Kitrina asked, already fairly certain that that was the reason for his several hour long outing.
"What? You think I ran off with someone?" Hew joked with another smile that immediately vanished when he saw the sudden look on panic across Kitrina's face, "Um... I missed something while I was gone didn't I."
As if that was their cue, both women answered him simultaneously.
"No."
O... K... That was weird. He thought with eyes that bounced back and forth between the two. Huh... If it's important, then Kitty'll tell me later. He continued to think as he settled back into his chair and continued eating his meal.
The cave drew quiet again with the only exception being that of the light clinking of Kitrina's tools as she worked with the helmet's comm unit and the low crackle of the ember fire. It only took her about an hour to get it working again, but when it fizzled and crackled back into life, what they heard surprised them all.
Commander's Office
"That's it... I'm calling it. Sergeant Major... Start SAR operations. They've been out there far too long. Pull everyone who isn't at a critical posting and get them in the air. All instructors and support are to keep their eyes open just in case they turn up. We need to find them." Commander Basalone ordered as he watched out his office window, holding the datapad with the report that the five cadets were still on the lamb.
"Yes, Sir." was all the Sergeant Major said before he headed to the communications room to relay the Commander's orders. I hope they're alright.
The Cave
"...I say again... This is a Search and Rescue operation. All personnel are to report back to the compound and assist. That is all."
Hew looked at Kitrina and Laura, whom had join them when the commed voice filtered into the cave, "Well... I guess that means we win huh?" he huffed with a brief smile.
Both Kitrina and Laura just stared at him, both with mouths slightly agape with wonderment.
"You can't be serious. This is bad Hew. They think we're lost and need help!" Kitrina said, blowing out a nervous breath at the fleeting thought that they had failed their mission.
"I get that part Kitrina, but it means they couldn't find us. That was the whole point of this wasn't it?" Hew countered, seeing her nervousness all over her face.
"So... Now what?" Laura asked the obvious question, but she too was a bit nervous that they had done something wrong.
"Well... That's simple... We put on our clean uniforms, polish our shoes and report in." Hew said simply and a little too evenly for their comfort.
All Kitrina could do was be shocked, "You can't be serious?" she breathed, rubbing the back of her neck.
Hew smiled with a cheshire grin, "Oh you have no idea."
The Base
Sergeant Major Warren was pissed. He was tasked with coordinating all the ground crews, as well asthe air aspect of their SAR operation and still needed more personnel, but when a fresh group of enlisted showed up in their service dress alphas, his relief was loud and obvious.
Without even looking up from his datapad that had the locations and reports of the fields he had out looking for the missing cadets, he set out to immediately assign the new arrivals to a job.
"Good... I need you three to go over to the hanger and assist there. They're getting backed up with getting eyes in the air to find these people." he ordered stiffly and more then a bit agitated.
"Aye aye Smaj." an obviously male voice replied.
However, the threaded snicker that was laced into the new arrival's voice drew the Sergeant Major's attention, "Where the Hell do you get off..." He trailed off when he realized who he was talking to, "Cadet Shepard?"
"Yes Sergeant Major. As well as Cadets Lojdahl and Wolff. I also found Cadets Tselikova and Zarr on our way back." Hew said, his snicker fading as the lot of them straightened up into a lazy attention.
Sergeant Major Warren's looked to the two cadets that followed the three that were clean and dressed. They were in much worse condition, having looked like they spent the last two weeks sleeping in a garbage dump, while others looked like they had just returned from a three day liberty call.
"What the hell happened to you two?" he asked, trying very hard not to start snickering at the mud smears and soot that had covered much of their uniforms and face.
At his question, Cadet Zarr rather strongly punched Cadet Tselikova in the arm, enough to make him stagger, but in his current condition, it probably wouldn't have take much.
"I told you we should have met up with Hew." Cadet Zarr mumbled as she glared at her partner.
Warren shook his head, "You five get your asses to the CO after you two get some food and get cleaned up. I'll tell the Commander you're on your way." he said, his throat rumbling a bit.
"Yes Sir!" the five Cadets responded in unison, much like they had done ever since they had begun their training.
The five cadets turned and headed for the barracks, all managing to smile a bit as they took in the state of the base. It was a scurry of activity as just about all the personnel assigned to the base was doing something and by the looks of it, it all pertained to trying to find them. Squads were gearing up to head out on their search, trucks were being loaded with field medical supplies and being sent out to sit and wait around the compound should someone radio in that they had found them. Shuttles flew over and in all directions in their own search patterns and squads were even returning from their searches that took them outside of the area of operation.
"How come you guys didn't meet up? I checked everyday." Hew said, deciding to catch up with the missing two friends since he hadn't seen them for two weeks.
Eva answered before Afon could, "Mister 'Wilderness Survival' here said he could handle it. He said it would be easy and it would be fun to spend time together." her glare made Afon blush through the caked dirt and he kept his head down because of it.
"Oh," Hew shrugged, "I'll admit, you guys look a bit roughed up." he nonchalantly pointed to their dirt and rather rank uniforms.
"Yeah, well that had to do with him. How did you guys keep your uniforms so clean?" Eva asked, feeling even more dirty then she did.
Hew shrugged, again, nonchalantly, "We washed them." he deadpanned like it was normal to be able to wash your clothes when your hiding from insurgents.
Unfortunately for Afon, that set Eva off, "You had enough water to wash your cloths? Afon! I'm gonna kill you! You said that adding two more would stretch their resources and make it easier to find us in a group of five! We had to move six times Afon! SIX! TIMES!" she snapped, punching Afon's arm again, "Hew... I'm sorry. We thought you were having a hard enough time with three." her voice was far nicer to Hew, then it was to Afon.
"Naw... We were fine. Actually had fun. The bath was a bit small though." Hew grumbled, unaware that he had stoked Eva's rising fury.
"YOU! HAD! A! BATH!" Eva again, punched Afon in the back, causing him to cringe.
"I'm sorry ok! You were right, I was wrong. We should've met up with them. There... You happy?" Afon finally said in his weak attempt to defend himself from Eva's anger.
"Not till after my shower." Eva grumbled as they slip off to get clean.
Commander's Office
One hour later
Sitting in his office with more datapads then he cared to have, Commander Basalone grumbled, wishing he had a cigar to take his mind off things. He may appear cold and robotic, but he had been worried when the five cadets were missing, but now, he had a bunch of paperwork to fill out and in all honesty, he was happy to report that they were alright.
All he had to do now, was wait for them to get to his office, but the moment he felt like he needed to go find them again, the distinctive sound of someone slapping the pine outside his door sounded.
"Enter."
His door opened and five clean and fed cadets stepped through the threshhold.
"Cadets Shepard, Lojdahl, Tselikova,Wolff and Zarr reporting as ordered Sir." Hew reported as the group stood in a line in front of his desk.
Commander Basalone tried not to smile, but failed, "Well I'll be."
He took a moment to study the five, noticing that Cadet Shepard, Lojdahl, and Wolff looked rested, well fed and clean while Cadets Tselikova and Zarr looked under fed and exhausted with their camp fatigues hanging off their frames. If it wasn't for the look in their eyes, he would have assumed they were broken, but the drive and fire he saw in all the cadets at the start was still there.
"So," he sighed, "Care to explain cadets?" he asked, pushing aside his current datapad to give them his full and undivided attention.
Hew tilted his head to the side, "Explain what Sir?" he asked, popping an eyebrow.
"Explain to me how you were able to evade for two weeks and we weren't able to track you?" the Commander asked again in more detail while crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back into his plush chair.
"Sir? I'm confused... Was that not the point of this whole thing?" Tselikova asked with confusion in his voice.
"Yes, of course it is, but we weren't able to pick up the emergency signal from any of you." the Commander said, resting his ankle on top of his knee.
"Emergency signal Sir?" Hew asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes... It's part of the bug out switch we gave you. It's so we can find someone if they go missing." Commander Basalone said with a long sigh through his nose.
"Ah... That's cheating Sir." Hew said, swallowing lightly.
The Commander smiled and started to chuckle as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "That's beside the point Cadet Shepard. The point is, is that's a safety device and when we activated yours, they all pinged in your respective barracks. Can you explain that?" he asked, looking up at the lot.
"That's easy Sir. That's where we left them." Hew said like is what every one did.
The Commander just blinked at them, "You left them in the barracks? Why?"
Hew shrugged, "So you couldn't track us with them." he said.
The Commander's brows furrowed, "Let me get this straight... You left a safety device behind so we couldn't find you in the event of an emergency? Explain to me how that was smart. I'd love to know."
Hew glanced as his fellow cadets, "In a real life situation we wouldn't have an safety device and even if we did, triggering it would allow the enemy to find us. So... I simply explained to my fellow cadets that we should 'train how we fight so we can fight how we train'." he answered.
The Commander eyeballed Cadet Shepard for a moment, wondering why he was answering all the questions, but it told him that he was the defacto leader of the little group. He seemed to be a natural born leader and those whom followed, did so without even thinking twice about it, but as he answered his questions, it became very apparent that he knew more then he should for a young man his age.
"That makes sense Cadet, but from now on, you follow orders to the letter. Understood?" the Commander said, leaning forward to clasp his hands together and rest his arms on his desk.
"Yes Sir." Hew nodded.
The Commander returned the nod, "Well... I think we're done here. You five are dismissed and on base liberty for the next three days. Go get ready for gradation cadets. You're dismissed." his smirked returned.
"Aye Sir." all the cadets said in unison.
Commander Basalone watched as the cadets turned on their heels and left his office, seeing the held back smirks cross their faces as they stepped out into the corridor. He slowly shook his head, watching Hew for a moment until he was out of sight as he thought that that particular cadet had vast potential, but his partner in crime, Cadet Wolff was something else as well. His street smarts coupled with her book smarts made them a pair to be reckoned with and in the future that lay directly ahead of them, things were about to get interesting.
Three days later
The excitement was thick in the air. Out of thirty hopefuls that had arrived at the classified base, only ten passed the course. Hew and crew were just happy that they all passed, but something bothered him. He just didn't know what.
"Do you guys really think all it takes is a couple of months and we're N7s?" he asked, sighing as his brain rampaged with thoughts.
"Why not man? It's not like it was easy. Hell... I broke more bones during hand to hand then I would care to admit." Afon said with a mild scoff.
"That's because you don't duck." Hew joked with a smug smile.
"Point." Afon conceded.
Before anyone else could speak up, the PA crackled overhead, "All Personnel gradating, report to the CO's office. That is all."
All five furrowed their brows.
"Well... That's our cue. Lets go." Hew said, grabbing his cover and heading to the Commander's office as ordered.
Going through the same ritual as always, Hew announced their presence and was told to enter where Commander Basalone was seated in his chair, and the other passing cadets were present as well.
"Good... You're all here. Let me offer you a congratulations on finishing the selection process for N7 training." he said, smirking as he saw all their faces drop.
After a moment of shock and chastising himself that he was right, Hew spoke, "What do you mean by 'selection processes' Sir?" he asked cautiously.
"Just what I said Ensign Shepard. A selection processes. What? You thought we could make you N7s in three months or less?" the Commander laughed out loud as he crossed his arms.
There were whispers, hushed conversations and disbelief in voices. Through all the hell they went through, the pain that was inflicted, the blood shed, the bones broken, it all turned out to be a selection processes. It was a weeding out term, meant to flush out the ones who couldn't hack it. Ten people made the cut and five of those were standing in front of the Commander because they had bonded as friends and helped each other through it.
After finally able to accept that it all wasn't over yet, Hew sighed, but there was something odd about how the Commander had addressed. He thought he was a cadet, not an Ensign.
"What do you mean by Ensign?" Hew asked, finally able to speak.
The Commander smirk, "Well... That's really simple actually. You all received your commissions as of 0730 this morning." his smirk turned into a full blown grin.
Everyone's eyes widened a bit.
"And what happens now?" Hew asked, very much hoping that there weren't anymore surprises.
"The real training starts, and you're gonna love it."
Having absolutely no words, the ten newly minted Ensigns were completely, utterly stunned, but that was completely overshadowed by their worry. The Commander was smiling, an honest to God, genuine smile and if their last few months had been true, if the Commander was smiling, an Ensign is going to cry.