Prologue
"Alright, let's move onto the next. Winter, bring up the file."
"Yes, yes, yes. One moment - here we are. Beta-243. Adrien. He's quite exceptional."
"That so?"
"Sir, my personal recommendation is that he be moved. He's driven, works extremely hard, humble-"
"That alone isn't enough, and you know it."
"Let me finish. He has the fastest reaction times we've charted by a good margin. He's the best in hand-to-hand and close-quarters in Beta by a landslide."
"By how much?"
"He can win three-on-one, and honestly, sir, I suspect he's holding back. He doesn't push himself to the forefront. He could lead, but he acts like the perfect second to his squad leader. Supports his squad. They respect him."
"He works well in a team, and he's also passed all reconnaissance training with flying colors. Not the best, per se, but he has the skills."
"Alright, so we're agreed that he's too useful to use on the mainline missions. We could always use more headhunters."
"All due respect, sir, but he'd be wasted as a headhunter. He has the markings of a Cat-2 if I've ever seen one."
"Where do we place him, then? Most of the teams are already set."
"Gauntlet is lacking a reconnaissance specialist."
"Fergus' team?"
"He has done quite well with the members of alpha company that were sent to him. I believe he would be a good match for B243 based on his psych profile."
"Sounds like a fine idea to me, sir. They're lacking a fifth anyway. Couldn't hurt."
"Why do I feel like the two of you are ganging up on me?"
"Because we are, sir."
"Right. Alright, so we're agreed? Send him to Gauntlet?"
"Yes."
"Yes."
"Alright. Winter, get the paperwork done. We can ship him off in two days. Now, onto the next."