Chapter 3

The following morning, Meryl woke up from a troubling night. She sat up out of bed and made her way out of the barracks. She though about yesterday and the talk she had with Jacob about going to the surface and confessing his feelings for her. She expressed her concerns about starting a relationship with the male octoling, which he couldn't accept and left very disappointed in Meryl. Depressed about the events from last night she headed toward the mess hall to eat.

"Hey! Sergeant!" shouted a voice. She picked her head and saw an octoling waving at her as she approached. "I've been looking all over for you," the octoling said.

"Oh...hey, Octillia," she said in a mellow tone.

"That's sergeant-major Octillia, but I'll let it go. You seem down, what's going on?" the octoling asked Meryl.

"Oh it's just...(sigh) Jacob...we were talking last night and well one thing led to another and let's just things didn't work out between us. Jacob just needs to understand how things are right now," said Meryl.

"Let me guess, he asked you out...didn't he," replied the sergeant-major.

Meryl meekly nodded and rubbed her arm. "Look, I know you've liked for some time now...whatever you said to him, he'll just have to accept it. You were looking out for your best interest. He'll understand eventually, besides you're both in the army. It would raise questions, not to mention morale and ethics," said Octillia.

"That seems hypocritical, I've heard stories about the other octolings, especially the elites going to the bar looking for mates," said Meryl crossing her arms.

"Yeah, it does but...you know how it is...one night stands and hurry back to base the next morning, hoping no one says anything. Doesn't mean I'm totally against it, It's just... can cause issues down the road, especially if you're in the same unit," said Octillia.

"That's what I was thinking too, The thought of losing a loved one on the battlefield if we were to go to war is just too much to bear. I respect Jacob as a friend and I've set my feelings aside for him until things get better. You also know about my dream of going to the surface," said Meryl.

"Yeah, you've told me that back when were in boot camp. You know we can't...it would be considered abandonment maybe even treason. I don't blame you though. I hope the power crisis gets solved but I doubt it. Octavio and the top brass have got their minds set to declare war on the inklings and take the zapfish in order for us to survive," said Octillia.

"I'm really hoping we don't go to war with the inklings. It would be nice if somehow we could make peace with them," said Meryl.

"I'd say that's not going to happen. It was them that drove us underground and besides Octavio hates them. Peace would be unspeakable not to mention get you thrown in the stockades. It..would be nice...maybe someday we'll be able to shake hands and go to the surface, but who knows," said Octillia. "Anyway, I needed to talk to you about being reassigned to my new unit, apparently command wants someone of my "expertise" to train these scrapes. (deep sigh) And I picked you to help me as a co-advisor just in case I lose my cool," said Octillia.

"I guess I really have no say so in the matter and you are my friend, besides Jacob if he still is," said Meryl.

"We'll I'm sorry but if their going to "volunteer" me to lead these grunts then I'm volunteering you to be in this unit. No need to hog all the "fun" and when I mean fun, I mean a real pain in the tentacles," said Octillia.

"Gee thanks," said Octillia with sarcasm.

"I'll let you continue then, See you after you've eaten," said Octillia as she left.

"Nice, now I'm stuck helping Octillia if my day couldn't get any better," said Meryl as she headed toward the mess hall.

Meryl and Octillia had been friends since they were grunts at boot camp. Both of them coming from different backgrounds, Octillia and her sister have had a long family line of octarian ancestors that had served in the octarian army since the great turf war. The two sisters excelled among the ranks, making themselves exceptional soldiers in the octarian military. Octillia was critical of Meryl at first, being she was a farm girl and a draftee but she grew on her and the two became seeing the potential in her even though she didn't like being in the army.

Over time, when they became friends, they talked about each other's life stories before they came to boot camp. Meryl expressed her dream of going to the surface with Octillia thinking she was completely delusional. Meryl explained to her how she hated being down in the underground domes and how it would be nice to see the octarians return to the surface. Still believing she was naive, Octillia just humored her as to not hurt her feelings though as she thought about it. Octillia thought of how nice it would be to see sunlight and breath fresh air but knew that it wouldn't happen and that leaving the domes would be abandonment and self-exile.

After the two of them finished boot camp they were enlisted and became great friends, even though they had a different perspective of how surface life would be like. She had wished that the inklings and octarians would eventually reach a peace agreement and put their differences aside. She had dreams of going to the surface but like Octillia had said, she would risk never being able to come back underground. To never go back home or see her family. This put Meryl at unease and put her dreams aside to focus on her army life.

Moments later in the mess hall, Meryl was taking her time eating what food was available. Kelp-based food products which wasn't the most appetizing meal in the domes. Meryl slowly losing her appetite picked her head up from the depressing mood she was in. A figure across one of the tables in front of her caught her attention. It was Jacob, the octoling that expressed his feelings for her the night prior.

"Jacob...Jacob!" she shouted, waving to get his attention. Jacob was still eating not hearing or presumably ignoring her. "Jacob!" she shouted again but it was no use. After a moment another octoling regular walked over by Jacob and sat next to him. The two of them were talking and soon hit it off. "Jacob...who's that?" she asked herself. Just the two gave a quick kiss and stood up, leaving the table together as if they were a couple.

Meryl had a black cloud loom over her as she couldn't respond to what she had seen. She wanted to cry but she held her tears back and closed her fists. She quickly grabbed her tray and threw it on the counter before running out of the mess hall covering her eyes. She ran behind the mess hall and sat against the building crying for a minute. Sniffling and clearing tears from her eyes. A shadow came across and she looked up to see Octillia staring at her.

"(sniffle) oh, Sergeant-major...I..." started Meryl as the elite waved her hand at her.

"I saw you run out of the mess hall after I saw Jacob walking out with another octoling. I assume that's why you had your eyes covered and ran back here. Look... I know you like Jacob and what you told me about last night but I need you to keep your wits about you. If Jacob really understood and decided to move on to another gal, then you might want to let him go. We're soldiers and now is not the time to get all sentimental and broken up about soured relationships. I'm not telling you this to crush your hopes but because I need you especially if we go topside to fight the inklings. Now...c'mon," said Octillia as she held her hand out.

Meryl sniffled again and grabbed her hand. "I know...it just hurts. I told Jacob I wanted to wait but..." said Meryl.

"I wouldn't dwell on it. It's not the end of the world and like you're hoping. Things could change for the better. If it's not to be then it's not to be. Now let's head over to the training area. We got grunts to break in," said Octillia as she patted Meryl on the shoulder.

Meryl followed Octillia but as they were making their way to the training area she spotted Jacob and the other octoling talking. Meryl looked at him and then he spotted her. he shot her a displeased look and turned his back as he guided the octoling gal away and out of sight.

Meryl downed her head and held back her emotions and focused back Octillia and the job. The two finally made it to the training area where the recruits were waiting.

The night prior, Michael had set up camp that evening. He had built a fire from what wood and what resources he could find. Starting to get his bearings he decided to try and hunt for a way out of the underground dome. He looked around and didn't see a way up the canyon. The rock walls were flat without steps or anything grab a hold of. "There's gotta be a way up there, but how. I wonder how these domes got built and why there here? I wonder if those strange creatures built them," he said to himself.

Seeing no way up he turned back to the river to refill his canteen. As he was drinking the water from the river a noise caught his attention. He looked around and what sounded like a propeller was getting closer. "A chopper?" he said to himself baffled.

Nearby he spotted an object hovering over the river further upstream. He steadily looked and saw that it wasn't a helicopter. "What...is that?" he asked himself. He dropped his canteen and rushed back to camp to grab the goggles and activated the zoom mode on them. He looked through them and spotted the flying object. It was one of those creatures but it was wearing some kind of helmet with a propeller attached to it, causing it to hover over the river.

"Oh crap! More of those things!" exclaimed Michael. He put out the fire and grabbed his combat rifle. He crouched behind a rock near the campsite and waited to see if the creature would get closer. Preferring to stay out of sight he decided to not pick off the little creature. The flying tentacle flew closer and spotted the campsite. It looked around for any inhabitants but Michael aimed down the sights of his rifle toward it and pulled the trigger before it spotted him. He pulled the trigger as the creature descended examining the fireplace. The bullet struck its helmet causing it to get flailed backward and dropped into the river. It thrashed to try and fly out of the water but it just splattered.

"I guess it couldn't swim, That's good to know," said Michael as he saw the tentacle burst into the water. He looked around to see if there were any more. Still on guard, he laid his rifle nearby. "Well, I just got that fire started (sigh) all well," said Michael as he looked over the fireplace.

It was soon dark as the screens simulated a starry night sky. I guess without a fire means I won't draw attention and I'm not even sleepy, surprisingly," said Michael. He went over to his pack and grabbed the goggles. "I think these things have a night vision mode if I remember right," said Michael as he placed the goggles over his face. Turning the settings to NV mode, he could easily see through the dark canyon.

He decided to do some scouting, thinking he wouldn't draw attention if the creatures couldn't see him. He grabbed his rifle and traversed in the canyon alongside the river. For an hour he walked through the dark wilderness, being able to navigate through the rough terrain through the night vision goggles. "Maybe I can find a way out of the canyon," said Michael. Further up he spotted another ridge and climbed up with his weapon slung over.

He reached the top and scanned around. He didn't see any more of those flying creatures, but overhead was more floating platforms. He put the goggles in zoom mode and looked up to find some kind of entry or exit out of the dome. So far nothing, Michael was hunting for the tea kettle that he popped out of but couldn't find. He decided to give up and climb down but as he did he slipped and fell over, rolling down the ridge, striking some rocks on the way down. He was battered until he reached the bottom and caught his foot on the way down, twisting his ankle. Michael shouted and grabbed his foot.

"Shit!" he jeered. He started to stand up but stumbled over. "Just great, guess my scouting is over, I can't make it back to the camp like this and the goggles aren't working now. I guess the fall banged them around," said Michael deeply frustrated. He limped back toward the direction he was in and could hardly see the pathway. Fearing he would fall again he decided to stop and rest for a bit against a nearby tree. "I'm wondering how trees can even grow in this place, but nothing's normal here," said Michael. He slowly nodded off trying to stay awake. He eventually fell asleep and recanted his past memories before he was frozen in time.

Many of the memories were obscure except the events that took place just before he went into the pod. He remembered the man who shot him wearing the same uniform as him wondering who he was and why he did it. Michael laid against the tree for the rest of the night.

In the meantime, the man that shot him, Brooks was still inside the facility hunting for the exit. he decided to head to the server room inside the facility and find out what had happened over time and how long it had been since he was frozen in cryostasis.

The server room was dark and untouched for quite a while. The computers were dead and covered with moss and dust. He looked around for anything that could be intact and operable, but no luck until he reached the main server in the center of the chamber. "I guess I better find the power source to this place. I believe if I remember correctly these facilities were powered by an arc reactor. I just have to locate it," said Brooks.

He left out of the server room to find the power station that held the arc reactor. "The arc reactors are supposed to be a sustainable power source. Once powered it can provide electricity for this place for years to come," said Brooks. He walked down a corridor with his weapon and light until he reached the power station. Inside was a giant generator that was the arc reactor. Brooks looked around for a way to start it. A console sat next to the reactor assuming it was the start point for the powerplant. "I just hope I can get this thing started," said Brooks. Flipping dials and pulling down the lever. He popped open the plastic cover to the main start-up button.

"Well here goes nothing," said Brooks hoping he could get the arc reactor started. The turbine started to spin, grinding from age. sparks were flying as the turbine spun faster. The reactor hummed and glowed, soon it came on and slowly powered up the facility as the lights were coming on.

"Heck yeah! Now we're talking! Now to get back to the server room and find out what happened," said Brooks. He rushed back to the server room and saw the computers come back on with blue screens. He headed over to the main server and typed away on the terminal. "Alright now to find out how long it's been," said Brooks. He scrolled through all the data that had been displayed. He came across some data about the project that was conducted by the scientists in the facility before the floods wiped out civilization. "What's this?" he asked.

He spotted a file with a video on it and clicked on it. The video showed different subjects laying on beds being injected with some unknown substance. One of the subjects was Michael as well as Banks, the female soldier that was dead in the pod he found. Then he spotted himself as he rubbed his neck seeing the needle go in. He fast forward the video to when they were placed inside the cryopods. "What's going on? What are they doing?" asked Brooks watching the video.

A scientist appeared on the screen explaining the experiment being conducted on Brooks and the others. "The subjects have been successfully been injected with the serum provided to us by Kamabo. In theory, it is supposed to allow humans to adapt to the new conditions of the earth once the seawater levels lower if they ever do. We don't expect to survive in the underground domes that had been constructed for what humans were left on earth while the spacecraft Ark Polaris carries another chosen fraction of the population into space until the oceans go down and we can inhabit the Earth again. I hope the project is a success and that humanity can start again and learn from our mistakes,' said the scientist. The video went on for a couple of more minutes until it ended.

Brooks was in disbelief at what he had learned. "It's...been that long," said Brooks still in shock. He turned away from the terminal fearing there was no one left. Michael was missing and Banks was dead. He couldn't accept the new reality he was in and contemplated what to do next. He decided to find the exit and leave the facility, not knowing what to do once he reached top side.

Meryl and Octillia were busy training the new grunts for combat. watching them succumb to rigorous physical training and running through the obstacle courses. Half of the grunts if not most of them were already tuckered and ready to fall out. Octillia was already getting frustrated but Meryl was there to assure that the grunts would improve as she ordered them to take a breather. Octillia shook her head and walked away as Meryl followed her.

"(panting) this is bullshit (panting) I can believe they would draft me into the army. I'm just a technician...I'm cut for all this physical training much less to get sent on the frontlines to get my head blown off," said one male recruit.

"You mean a geek...yeah...you wouldn't last a second on the frontlines," said a female snidely. She was examining her hand as she leaned against the wall with a cocky demeanor.

"What's that supposed to mean?" said the male, agitated by what she had said.

"Oh nothing...that you would just end up getting turned into octo-pie when a splat bomb lands on your feet," she commented again as she stood up, shooting the male octoling a smug expression.

"Just who do you think you are anyway...the sergeant had to constantly harp on to about falling into formation with the rest of us...and why don't you lose that leather jacket and ring in your tentacle and follow the dress code. At least show some respect for the army," said the male getting more agitated with the female.

"Listen here squirt, don't think I won't put you on your ass before the inklings do whenever we decide to go to war. I had no choice but to come here and do this stupid ass army crap! It was either, go to the labor camp or join the army. Just in case you were wondering why...I was in a band of misfits, abandoned in one of the domes with some others. We stayed in and out of trouble until it caught up with us. It's a shitty life but he had to survive. Steal, mug, beat up in order to get by every day...I miss it," said the female who was face to face with the male.

You're nothing but a hoodlum with no honor. You shame your family. I can't believe the army would take you in. I think you should..." ranted the male but he was soon grabbed by the female who was angered by his comments and bared her fangs at him. She got a hold of him by the neck with one hand and formed a fist with the other.

"You think I should what?" she asked with malice.

"You two please stop..." exclaimed another female. She was the youngest in the group and the shortest. Her tentacles were a pinkish-red color and seemed larger due to her short stature. The two of them looked at her with the female narrowing her eyes and baring her fangs to frighten the little octoling girl. "Stay out of this shrimp!" shouted the female that had a hold of the male. "What's a pipsqueak like you doing here anyway. Shouldn't you be at home with your mommy," said the octoling with indifference as she gave a grin.

The little octoling girl faltered and was instantly intimidated by the older female octoling. "I...I'm, old enough...even though I don't look it...But...please, leave him alone," said the young octoling meekly. The older female just gave her a hateful look and decided to let go of the male and shove him to the ground. "dipshit's not worth my time, lucky the squirt saved your ass," she sneered as she walked away and leaned back against the wall with her arms crossed.

The male got up and brushed himself as the little octoling rushed over toward him. "Are...Are you...alright?" she asked him.

"Yeah I'm fine, thanks though...what's your name anyway. Mine's Kei," he said as he stuck his hand out as the little octoling was startled.

"Oh, my name is...Niko," she said hesitantly as she slowly shook Kei's hand.

"Look you don't have to be so shy, we're all here to train and get along...unlike some people!" shouted Kei looking at the older female who just scoffed at his comment.

"Well since we're all in the same unit, we might as well get to know each other," said Kei. He then turned to the older female who was leaning against the wall with discontentment. "Well I hate to ask...what's your name anyway?" asked Kei with irritation.

"Pfff...what's it to you!...But fine, it's Mirage if you gotta know," she said as she got off the wall and walked over with Niko hiding behind Kei, while he stood his ground if the octoling tried anything.

"Mirage, what is that, like a gang name or something?" asked Kei.

"Yeah, it's the name my "friends" gave me since I didn't have any parents to give me a name," said Mirage who was glaring down Kei, trying to get him riled up as Niko closed her eyes and whimpered. "Ha...and I thought dipshit wouldn't last long on the battlefield," said Mirage, taking a swipe at insulting Niko.

"You leave her alone!" shouted Kei who was ready to punch Mirage.

"I'm just being honest... you two will just end up being an ink puddle before the battle is over. I hate to be the bearer of bad news or wait...no I don't," said Mirage as she started to chuckle.

Kei growled and Niko just looked down at the ground assuming the octoling was right. Kei turned his attention to the little octoling. "Niko, don't listen to her...she's just a...well, I can't say it in front of you. You can prove her wrong, I know you can turn into a good soldier you just gotta have some courage and believe in yourself!" said Kei wit confidence as he kneeled down to Niko.

"You...really think so," said Niko with pleading eyes.

"I know so, now c'mon show me that spirit!" exclaimed Kei.

Niko gave a smile and gained the confidence that Kei empowered her with. Mirage shook her head and walked away. "She's gonna need more than motivation to even get her through the training course," shot Mirage as she walked away. Niko soon went back to her low self-esteem as Kei got agitated at the female.

Meanwhile, Octillia was sitting on a bench trying to put her mind at ease. "Octillia, what's wrong?" asked Meryl.

"It's nothing, it's just I've...never seen such a waste of ink. I can't believe my sister expected me to shapen up those octopi. Is this punishment for something?" she wondered.

"Octillia you just gotta be patient, they're grunts. I know they've never gone to boot camp due to the demand for personnel but it'll take time," said Meryl.

"I hate to say this but all I see is ink fodder. Heck, that little octoling won't make it on the frontlines. I can't believe the army would draft her like this, she looks like she just made it into her full bipedal phase. Is the army that desperate that they octopi like her," said Octillia.

"I hate to see a young girl like that in the army too but that gives you a better reason to train these guys. I don't wanna see someone like her on the frontlines either but I guess the top brass is running out of options. I just hope things don't spiral out of control to think Octavio is willing to use whatever resources he can to ensure victory. He doesn't seem to care about the well-being of his people," said Meryl as she crossed her arms.

"Listen, Meryl, we can't question Octavio's decisions. I'm telling you this because people will question your loyalty, especially if one of the officers hear you say that. I don't wanna see you placed in the courts for insubordination, I...agree with you but as of now, we follow orders," said Octillia.

"(deep sigh) I don't like this. Being in the army. Living in the domes. There's gotta be a better life than this. What happens when the domes completely shut down. What are we to do then? Talks of invading the surface and taking the zapfish from the inklings. Will that make us any better than them? Octillia...I know that this isn't the way...and I think you do to," said Meryl.

"Thinking like that will get you in trouble if not executed! Do you think I got a choice in the matter? Do you think I want war? No! I'm a soldier and you are too! Don't forget that! What else are we to do? Die off!" exclaimed Octillia who had lost her patience with the sergeant. Meryl just looked at her sadly and downed her head. Octillia's anger faltered, regretting what she had said to Meryl.

"Meryl...I'm sorry that I snapped off like that...I'm just..." said Octillia.

"No...it's ok, I shouldn't have said what I did. What am I thinking to believe that there's a better life than this. I'm...a soldier like you said. Jacob was right to think that things wouldn't change. I need to let go of these delusions and come back to reality," said Meryl as she saddened with herself.

"Meryl...you have all the right in the world to believe that there could be a better future for us...and I wouldn't give up on that. What are we to do though?" asked Octillia.

"Have faith," said Meryl.

"Faith... I think that's something every octarian needs. To think what would get accomplished if everyone was as optimistic as you," said Octillia. She placed her hand on Meryl's shoulder and smiled. "Well, let's get back to training those recruits, that would be a good start on our faith.," said Octillia. Meryl gave a slight chuckle and the two headed back to the group. "I still wanna stomp Mirage into an ink puddle if she doesn't ditch the jacket and fall in line with the rest of them," said Octillia.

"I'll be sure to hold you back when you decide to," said Meryl. Octillia pulled Meryl toward her as they laughed.

Lieutenant Octsana was on her way to the infirmary where the octotrooper was taken from being attacked by, supposedly an inkling. Outside in the main lobby, three more octolings were standing outside to inform the lieutenant of more information about the slain trooper. An elite among the group spotted the lieutenant and approached her.

"Lieutenant Octsana, you've made it," said the elite.

"Yes, I was informed about the incident yesterday evening, what else is there to report?" asked the lieutenant.

"I've dispatched a small squad of octocopters to the west dome, to investigate and see if they can spot anything. All the octocopters had returned with no reports except one of them never made it back," said the elite.

"An octocopter MIA, looks like we'll have no other option to deploy a platoon of octolings to the west dome. If there truly is an inkling or inklings in octarian territory than they've brokered the cease-fire and committed an act of war, especially after killing one our octotroopers," said the lieutenant.

"Speaking of that octotrooper, we have some more news. It appears it isn't dead?" said the elite.

"Wait, what? But the report came back that it was killed. The rest of the troopers accompanying it said they took fire and their teammate took a hit," said the lieutenant who was in disbelief at what she had learned.

"The doctors will explain once you head in. I'm not sure if this was an inkling or not. Even sending a unit of octolings make not be a good idea," said the elite. She and the other two regulars left the lobby as the lieutenant headed in to see what the elite was trying to explain.

Inside she met up a male octoling nurse who guided her to the room the little trooper was being held in. Two more octolings were inside the room, one of them being the doctor that had examined the supposedly slain trooper. "I've been told the trooper isn't dead, care to explain?" asked Octsana.

"The trooper is indeed still alive but in a comatose state. It was struck by a metallic projectile that entered into its head and only damaged it's brain, not enough to kill it though. The projectile was extracted and the wound is slowly healing. The trooper will be on its feet in no time. It just needs some rest before going out into the field but I'm not certain if it will remember anything though," said the octoling doctor.

"Metallic projectile?" replied Octsana in confusion.

"Yes, here it is," said the doctor handing her the bullet.

The bullet still had the troopers ink on it as she turned it with her fingers. "What on earth is this?" she asked herself.

"We're not sure ourselves, we'll take it to the lab and examine it. I seriously doubt an inkling did this to that octotrooper," said the doctor.

"I think you're right but right now I don't know who or what else could have attacked that octotrooper unit. I won't rule out that it wasn't the inklings but I also won't rule out that it was. Hopefully, the trooper will wake up soon and remember what happened, before I make a decision on sending some octolings to the west dome. I'm not sure what we're up against but I'm not causing a panic among my troops about this. Things are tense as it is and to deal with someone or something that's not shooting ink will trouble our personnel structure and drudge up uncertainties and anxiety," said the lieutenant.

"That's understandable, I can't blame you but what if this assailant makes it's way deeper into the valley. What are we to do if we face whatever wounded this octotrooper. I'm not sure if we'll be prepared," said the doctor with concern.

"I'm not sure what we're up against either. I just hope we can get to the bottom of this soon. Just inform when the trooper wakes up and hopefully we can get some answers. The other troopers, what I've been told we're too traumatized to talk or they couldn't give a clear explanation of what happened, said the lieutenant.

"I will, I'd like to know what done this as well," said the doctor.

Octsana left out of the room unsatisfied that she couldn't make a conclusion on the incident. She headed back to her office to report to command on what she had learned and what options were on the table. An hour had passed and she had been given the orders to send a squad of octolings to the west dome in full gear with weapons to investigate and see if they could locate the missing octocopter.

She thought about who she would send. Many of the octoling units were already assigned and stationed at the base to guard or conduct training. The octotroopers would prove more than useless for the assignment, so she looked out the window and spotted her sister, Meryl, and the recruits in formation with their weapons from coming back from live-fire training. They were the only squad available and Octsana had no other choice. She was conflicted with the thought of sending them to the west dome but she had no other options.

"I got no choice...I guess it's time to put those new grunts to the test. I trust Octillia and Meryl will keep them in line. Hopefully, the operation will run smoothly without any casualties. Maybe they'll come across the octocopter and they can return without incident," said the lieutenant.

"Damn it, I don't want to send my sister and that unit. All the other units are locked in place," she said in frustration. She pulled out her flask and took a big swig before placing it back in the drawer and slamming it. "Specialist!" she called over the radio intercom.

"Yes, lieutenant," she replied.

"Send someone to retrieve Sergeant-Major Octillia. I have an assignment for her and her unit," said Octsana.

"Right away, lieutenant," said the specialist.