Teaching

With the plethora of experienced professionals under the employ of Rhodes, it was inevitable that the less experienced, younger operators would require some help learning and gaining mastery over their skills and abilities over time. People like Dobermann and Whislash took to this responsibility with great glee, having plenty of experience in teaching and training before they joined Rhodes. Some, while experienced, did not take to the task with as much enthusiasm, not quite used to the act of teaching or training others.

And then there was Executor.

"Now as you can see on this diagram the most crucial points to aim for when disabling your target are the knees, the ankles, the joints and the head. Although the latter leaves little room for the target's survival for later interrogation on mission crucial information"

The stoic sankta droned on, holding up a pointer to a plain diagram of a body marked by red circles of varying sizes on the bodyparts he pointed out.

"The missions we are deployed on often only require the elimination of the target, but one can never be sure of what information can be pulled from a disabled enemy with the right application of force" He clicked the remote in his hand, the projector changing the diagram on the screen to a mildly graphic depiction of what looked like torture techniques. "There are many specialized methods of torture and interrogation one can employ for this, but on the field you often lack the tools required for it, so using alternatives is encouraged."

He turned to his audience, a few other sniper operators sitting in the classroom before him with varying reactions on their faces. Vermeil looked more exasperated than anything, Aciddrop had long stopped listening and was sleeping with her shades on, Jessica was in-between fainting from fear and shivering in terror, Adnachiel was, concerningly, eagerly taking down notes, May looked utterly horrified and Pinecone was already passed out unconscious on her desk, having fainted when the slide of the torture techniques showed up.

"Spare arrowheads instead of spikes, a belt should work as a decent substitute for a length of rope, any spare canteens of water can be used too-"

"EXECUTOR WHAT ARE YOU TEACHING THESE CHILDREN!?"

Suffice to say, he was relegated to only teaching the older operators his "techniques" after that incident.

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Chaos

Usually, Rhodes Island operators worked with a modicum of professionalism to them. Acting on the field with precision, efficiency and strategic decision-making reinforced and enhanced by commands and orders from the Doctor that befit their reputation as Rhodes Island Operators. Unfortunately, while they were operators, they were also still people with their own quirks, habits and strange behaviors. And usually it was up to the Doctor to manage those quirks and behaviors as best as he could to ensure their safety and the success of the mission, though he often cared more for the former than he did the latter.

Today was particularly difficult, considering the group he'd gathered for today's mission, a simple raid to destroy a Reunion cell hidden in an abandoned mining town. With little choice left but to fight back, it should've been a simple matter to eliminate them and return home.

Unfortunately, he'd brought along Ifrit, Red and Vermeil, and somehow those three had gotten into a "friendly" competition of seeing who could kill the most Reunion. This led to Ifrit waving her flamethrower around to douse the entire field in flames, which, while effective in suppressing and taking out Reunion forces, made it more dangerous for her fellow operators to move around. Vermeil was firing nigh indiscriminately, a wild grin on her face, and Red was little more than a blur on the battlefield, zipping from one enemy to the next and leaving a trail of bloody corpses behind her.

Not helping at all was the fact Ceobe had seen them having "fun" and decided to join in, throwing flaming hot knives at everything and everyone with reckless abandon. To add a final layer of chaos to things, W was cackling madly in the middle of it all, explosions and fire raining around her as she danced and laughed with a gleefully insane tone to her voice.

The rest of the operators decided to stay back with the Doctor after that, seeing no need to go onto the field with far more risk than it was worth. He didn't deny them, watching through the Eye of Priestess with a bird's eye view of the whole field awash in flames and littered with craters, broken bodies both lacerated, decapitated and pincushioned to death and the five operators responsible for all of it. Idly, he noted that Red and Vermeil were neck and neck on the kill count, more focused on getting the kills rather than inflicting chaos.

The Doctor sighed, comforting himself with the thought that the operation didn't involve too many injuries on their end at least.

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Not-So-Stoic

On off days where there weren't any urgent missions or operations, most Operators trained to keep themselves in top shape, ready for the next mission. Others chose to sit back, wind down and relax with a hard-earned break from the action. Usually, Shirayuki was one of the former, choosing to train and remain sharp as the shuriken she threw in preparation for an attack, assassination, raid, or whatever may come when others least expect it.

However, since she'd first arrived in Rhodes Island under the orders of the Princess, she'd started to loosen up, ever so slightly. Albeit, it was a little difficult to adjust at first, being in such close proximity to an individual like Closure, but over time she found herself forming a strange, budding friendship with the Sarkaz, even if it was mostly over mushy, romantic shows the two watched together. She was reminded of the times when she was younger and the Princess had gotten her into this other hobby of hers, the barest hint of a smile on her lips under the cover of her mask as she thought of it.

She was even further reminded of those times as she turned to see Closure practically bawling her eyes out with a box of tissues in her hands. Remembering in their younger years how Fumizuki acted the same when watching one of their favorite shows coming to a close with it's series finale. She shook her head and, in a rare show of emotion, plucked a few tissues from the box and grabbed Closure's cheek to start wiping the tears from her face, reassuring the girl with a tone she rarely used outside of the company of the Princess.

"There will be more shows to watch with their own stories to tell, but let us be happy that this one ended it's run on a happy note, no?"

Closure, stunned into silence, looked at Shirayuki with something akin to a mix of shock, awe and surprise. As the Anaty pulled back and threw the balled up tissue in her hands behind her, landing in a waste bucket with perfect accuracy, she worried that she might've said something out of turn.

Then Closure sniffled, her eyes growing wet again as she lunged at Shirayuki with a hug, crying again.

"WAAAAAAHHH! SHIRAYUKIIIII YOUR SO KIIIIIIND! I NEVER EXPECTED TO HEAR SOMETHING SO COMFORTING FROM YOOOUUUUU!" She said, babbling about more things the ninja couldn't quite make out as she awkwardly returned the hug, unable to resist the smile under her mask as she thought to herself.

'Assumptions correct. Almost like Fumi when we were younger… it's almost like I never left home…'

AN: Hey.

It's been a while huh?

Sorry 'bout that. Life got in the way. Such is how things go nowadays. But- motivation to write's been coming back in small bursts so I hope you enjoy this and whatever else I manage to put out while this inspiration and motivation lasts.

Peace