AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey there! The inspirations that led me to write this fiction were my own story, Redemption, and also one of my favourite military T.V. series, Ultimate Force, and that's about all.

SUMMARY: When the ban on women serving in Ground Close Roles in the British Army is lifted in 2006 (fictional account, the actual date this happened in reality was 2018), Sarah decides that being a medic in the British Army is no longer good enough for her. Wanting to put her ability to the ultimate test, she decides to apply for immediate selection to the best Regiment in the entire world, the 22nd Special Air Service Regiment. Passing selection, Sarah is assigned to Red Team, Mobility troop, G Squadron, 22 SAS, where she meets, amongst others, Chuck Bartowski, who passed his own selection three years earlier.

DISCLAIMERS: Any missions described in this fiction are just fantasy formed inside of my mind, and if for some reason they detail something classified that has formerly occurred, then that wasn't my intention, and I had no idea! I also don't own Chuck, but I do own the original characters in this fiction, and the universe of this story, which I created.

WARNING: This fiction contains military violence and frequent cussing. With the cast being pictured as enlisted soldiers and the best of the best, I wanted/want to portray them in their raw, authentic fashion. So there will be colourful language aplenty in this fiction because that is the most authentic way to detail the real-life soldiers of this highly prestigious regiment.

Who Dares Wins

Chapter One: You're in the Army Now

Tuesday, 2 October, 2007

Stirling Lines

Credenhill

United Kingdom

It was just after zero eight hundred hours (8AM) when Corporal Chuck Bartowski clocked on duty at his highly classified and restricted special forces base. Chuck had departed from his on-base accommodation just a few moments ago, and the young-but-experienced Corporal was presently standing inside his barracks' hallway, gazing out of a window to take in multiple visible activities ongoing around the base.

Chuck was twenty-seven years of age, and he had been serving in the British Army since he was nineteen years old. Chuck had signed up to join the British Army the very same day he had received his college results, of which he received top marks in his A-Levels. Faced with the option of being accepted into any university worldwide because his results were off the charts or joining the army, he opted for the latter, which had been his dream and aspiration since a very young age.

His reason for signing up? Very simple and without any complications. Charles Irving Bartowski came from a proud military family, and so naturally, since the very first moment of his birth, he had, had his family's noble exploits in the military instilled into him by both his father and grandfather as they told him war story after war story, and they had detailed to him what an honour it was to serve your country.

Beyond the immediate history of Chuck's father and grandfather, the ancestry of the Bartowski family in the British Army dated back hundreds of years because there had always been a Bartowski in the British Army for the past three hundred years. Chuck's ancestors had fought in battles ranging from the American Revolutionary War, to the Battle of Waterloo, to World War One, World War Two and finally, to the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the Falklands War and the Gulf War in 1991 that his father had been a part of.

Chuck's dad was immensely proud of his child's achievements and his son's status in the military in becoming the first special forces soldier in his family's history. When Chuck received his highly coveted beige beret three years ago, it was the proudest moment for both father and son. And when Chuck had subsequently returned to his father after having passed selection to join the highly prestigious and elite 22nd Special Air Service Regiment, his father had told him that his achievement was no more than what Chuck deserved and that he was more proud than he could ever begin to tell him that Chuck had carried on in the footsteps and traditions of his grandfather, his great-grandfather his great-great-grandfather and so forth.

However, his mother and sister had been a little—a lot—more hesitant and reserved about his decision to join the army. But life in the British Armed Forces was everything that Chuck had aspired to do since a young age, and so they had accepted his decision on the condition that he had at least completed college first—which he had. His mother and sister had subsequently attempted to persuade Chuck to move on to a university, but Chuck had reminded them of their promise and condition that he finish his college exams and not university exams. Chuck's mother was an extremely bright investment banker, and she had met Stephen on a night out. Mary's friends had convinced her to let her hair down, and her group of friends spent the night in the company of Stephen and his army mates.

Chuck's sister, Ellie, however, was a doctor in the National Health Service. Eleanor Faye Bartowski lived with her fiance, Devon, who was also a doctor in the NHS. Chuck was proud of his family, and he loved them dearly. Chuck had always tried to visit his family whenever he could. However, since joining the Regiment, Chuck had been unable to see them much because when his squadron was tasked with counter-terror duties, he was restricted and confined to the area of Hereford-Credenhill (a small village 5 miles from Hereford) on immediate standby for any potential action. In contrast, none of Chuck's family lived close to his base, as they were all located throughout the U.K. Plus, if his squadron was deployed overseas on operations, then he obviously couldn't see them then, nor if he was on training or exercises. The reality was that you didn't get much downtime when you were a part of arguably the most elite fighting force in the entire world.

Chuck was entitled to twenty-eight days of paid leave per year. When Chuck was just a regular squaddie, he got 38 days of leave per year, which was more than most civilian jobs. So far, Chuck's combat deployments in the Regiment consisted of several months in length, with training deployments being a similar duration. Those deployments he had undergone were less than the standard six-month tour of duties for the regular soldier. But because of the intense nature of a special forces soldier's job, not many deployments lasted longer than just a few months. However, his counter-terrorist missions did last for six months—which was the current assignment of his squadron. When a squadron of the SAS was assigned the role of counter-terrorism, the squadron would split into four troops. Two of those troops stood ready on immediate notice to move. Therefore, the soldiers of those two troops must also remain in the area of Hereford, a small city of just under sixty thousand, at all times.

"Corporal?"

Chuck was disturbed from his thoughts, and he diverted his glance away from the window that he was formerly looking out of; instead, he began to gaze in the direction of his commanding officer, Captain Richard Wallace, who had just called out his rank to him. Chuck had built up a great rapport with his O.C in the time that he had been in the Regiment. His Captain was down to earth, and the whole squadron had tremendous respect for him, despite him being a Rupert (an officer). Chuck and every single teammate he served with would run through hell for their officer, and Captain Wallace had more than proved that he was prepared to do the same for them to keep them safe in the hellholes of Iraq and Afghanistan on previous deployments.

"Good morning, boss," Chuck replied to his O.C., accompanied by a cordial nod of his head.

"Good morning. I'm sure you're aware of the two recruits joining the team after passing selection today?" the Captain asked.

Chuck nodded. "I am, boss. I watched a little of their SERE (The Defence Survive, Evade, Resist, Extract Training Organization), and I thought they handled themselves quite well."

The Captain returned the facial gesture and continued his warm glance toward his seasoned and sharp-minded soldier. "It's why I've flagged you. The recruits will be arriving on base soon. Do you think you can be a good chap and show them around and have them collect their gear and show them to their quarters on base before our formal introduction at eleven hundred hours?"

Chuck nodded once more. "Consider it done, boss."

"Good man!" Captain Wallace promptly retorted in approval, and he shook Chuck's hand before he began to turn away from Chuck, and he departed to attend to his duties, leaving Chuck to be alone once more.

Once his commanding officer had disappeared from view, Chuck sighed aloud to himself for a short moment in frustration, as he had already made some morning plans with some of his teammates and friends on base. However, despite his frustrations, Chuck quickly recalled back to being the new guy himself. And on his very first day in the Special Air Service, he was given an introduction around the military installation by a man who quickly became his best friend, Sergeant Cole Barker, so the least he could do was to return that same gesture extended to him himself several years ago.

Having now shaken off his brief moment of frustration, Chuck promptly departed out of the barracks section of the base, and he began to stroll over to a red Range Rover, which was one of the vehicles of his troop. Having arrived at the vehicle, Chuck moved to enter inside the SUV, and on closing the door after him, he fired up the ignition and proceeded to drive towards the base's entrance. Arriving at the gate soon after, he parked up in wait, and he spent the next few minutes awaiting the arrival of his two new teammates.

-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-

A few minutes later

Chuck was still waiting, and the two newest G Squadron members had arrived outside the base. Chuck continued waiting patiently, and he observed as his new teammates cleared themselves to enter the camp by providing the armed military policemen with their new identity cards. Once the rookies passed the security checks, Chuck finally exited his vehicle from where it was parked, and he walked over to the gate to greet the two newest special forces recruits.

Chuck's new teammates wore civilian attire as they still needed to receive their new equipment from the armoury. Meanwhile, Chuck had his pager on hand and was dressed in his highly customised special forces combat uniform, as his troop was one of the two troops presently standing to on immediate notice to respond to any terrorist threat to the United Kingdom.

On arrival at the location of his new teammates, he sported his new comrades a warm smile, and he began to greet them both. "Hey. Chuck Bartowski," he said, and he extended his arm to offer them a formal handshake.

"Bryce Larkin," the first recruit replied as he moved to shake Chuck's hand, while the recruit also returned the smile to Chuck.

Chuck then adjusted his arm in the direction of the second recruit.

"Sarah Walker," the second recruit replied as she also shook Chuck's hand and returned the warm facial gesture to him.

"Welcome to the Regiment," Chuck declared, holding his warm glance towards the rookies.

"Thanks," Bryce replied as he returned Chuck's smile.

"Thank you," Sarah replied as she did the same.

Remaining idle close to the exit of his base, Chuck made light conversation, "You were both partnered during your SERE, weren't you?"

"Yeah," Sarah replied, and Bryce nodded.

"You both did a great job evading SFSG (Special Forces Support Group) the way you did. I was watching the exercise with great interest," Chuck declared.

"Thank you," Bryce replied.

"We managed to evade them successfully, and they didn't even get close, and yet we still got subjected to interrogation," Sarah complained as she shook her head and puffed out a sigh.

Chuck laughed briefly at the complaints of his newest teammate as he too had managed to evade the capture force with his partner at the time several years ago, only to then be interrogated also.

"It's just the way it is here. The Regiment needs to see if you have what it takes before they give you the beret," Chuck stated.

"Yeah, I get it," Bryce replied, and Sarah nodded in agreement.

"I was unable to see your interrogations due to other more pressing matters, so how were the interrogations?" Chuck asked with a mischievous smile because he already knew the answer. They were hell! Because he went through the very same thirty-six hours of interrogation himself. During the interrogations, the interrogators would subject you to flashing lights, sleep deprivation, would scream at you at the top of their lungs, strip you naked, insult you and your family, and if you gave anything more than your name, rank, serial number and date of birth, then your entire nine months of the most challenging training you could ever possibly undertake would have all been for nothing because you would be disqualified and returned to your unit. If you failed selection twice, you could not apply a third time either. You only got two chances at selection, and you must be under thirty-five, or they would not consider you for selection for this highly coveted unit.

"Horrible," Bryce replied laughingly, and he shook his head to emphasise his point, causing Chuck to begin to chuckle in approval.

"Awful. I thought I was about to crack. My interrogators really did get to me," Sarah admitted, which caused Chuck to laugh and nod his head in immense agreement and approval because his interrogators had almost caused him to crack too.

"Yeah. I remember mine. I still have nightmares about it more than three years on," Chuck replied tongue in cheek whilst sporting the two rookies a humorous smirk.

Smiling at Chuck and holding her gaze at him, Sarah said, "I can see why. I'm probably going to be the same way."

Chuck nodded, and he then shifted his gaze back onto Bryce.

"The female instructor didn't stop ridiculing me you know what," Bryce said, glancing down at his pants with a smirk, causing Sarah to laugh.

Chuck began to frown, and his face started to fill up with confusion as his brows narrowed. "Only that?" He asked in amazement. "You got off lightly then. They spent god knows how long yelling all kinds of nastiness about my mum and my sister."

"Oh, they absolutely did that to me too," Bryce interjected.

"That sounds more like it," Chuck declared approvingly.

Chuck then changed his glance towards Sarah. "What about you? What happened in yours?" he asked.

Sarah laughed briefly, and with a headshake, she replied, "I got stripped naked, and a group of male interrogators spent many, many hours explaining to me in vivid detail why they thought I was a lesbian and why I wasn't into men, amongst lots of other nasty things!"

Chuck burst into laughter and shifted his glance away from Sarah to look at Bryce, who had also joined him in the laughter. It took a short moment for the laughter between the new comrades to quieten down, and when it did, Chuck spoke to them once more. "Ahhh, good show! You know what? I'd love to get my own back and get a crack at giving an interrogation to one of the group that did it to me and see how they like it."

Nodding his head sharply in agreement, Bryce said, "Too bloody right, mate!"

"Same here!" Sarah agreed as she began to sigh.

"So anyway, why I'm here boring you both to death is because your new O.C. has given me the unlucky task of welcoming you both and detailing your responsibilities today," he paused to sigh, and they smiled with strong sympathy towards him. "Though I'm sure I'm not needed as you both seem to have your heads screwed on, and I'm sure you could find your way around yourself. Plus, you've spent the past nine months learning everything about the Regiment anyway. But if you'd like to follow me, then I'll give you a tour of your new home?" Chuck asked with a warm, inviting smile.

His new teammates began to nod before the three new comrades walked over to Chuck's Range Rover, which they entered together. With everybody inside, Chuck fired the ignition again, and he turned around the Range Rover before heading back in the direction he had come from earlier.

"I'll take you to the Regimental Quartermaster first and have you both collect your gear. We are stood to on counter-terror operations right now, which you will have both been apprised of by the Commanding Officer of 22 Reg in recent days when he paid a visit to you both after you passed SERE, I'm sure," Chuck said while glancing at Bryce in the front seat and then at Sarah in the rear-view mirror, and they both nodded their heads affirmatively.

"I'm assuming you've both had operational tours before?" Chuck asked as he glanced at Sarah and Bryce briefly before concentrating his focus back out of the windscreen to continue driving the vehicle.

"Yep," Sarah replied.

"Yeah," Bryce agreed.

"Which regiments were you in?" Chuck asked out of curiosity.

"Fusiliers," Bryce stated.

"Sarah?" Chuck then asked, and he glanced at her in the mirror again.

"Royal Green Jackets," she replied before adding a further comment, "What about you?"

Chuck glanced in the rear-view mirror at Sarah again, smiling at her. "Grenadier Guards. So what role did you both serve in?"

"Infantry," Bryce replied.

"Medic," Sarah stated, and Chuck nodded and smiled warmly at them both.

Chuck continued driving the SUV for a few moments more before making further conversation. "Have either of you killed before?" he asked as he glanced at Bryce and then Sarah in the rear-view mirror.

Bryce nodded at Chuck before responding verbally, "Yeah."

"Sarah?" Chuck then asked, glancing at her again.

"I'm not sure if a personal question like that is any of your business," she replied, but the veteran Corporal didn't even flinch at her reservations or her abruptness with him. He had heard a lot worse than that during his eight years in the military!

"Sarah, I'm not being insensitive, nor am I purposely going out of my way to make you feel uncomfortable. I had the same reservations about that question on my first day when my best mate asked me the same thing. But I soon learned to understand why I had been asked it, and so will you, trust me on that. The reality is that there is no room for feelings in the Regiment. You won't last long here, and you'll be returned to your unit faster than you can say Jack Robinson if you can't come to terms with what the Regiment is now going to be paying you to do," he replied, glancing at her via the driving aid once more.

"Well then, no, in answer to your question, I haven't!" she fired back with a lot of attitude attached to her tone, undoubtedly due to the topic of conversation. Still, as Chuck had told her, he had been asked the same question on his first day too, and he soon learned to understand why it was asked during his first days in the Regiment, and Sarah would too. When his new teammate is faced with the certain reality of taking a life, she would need her teammates to help her come to terms with that, and now that Chuck knew that she hadn't killed anybody, he made an instant mental note to help her when that day comes.

Chuck then nodded at Sarah in response before he continued driving for a short moment until he pulled the SUV to a stop outside one of the numerous buildings on their base. "Here we are. Let's get you your gear then," he said as he took out the keys from the ignition, and he departed the vehicle with Bryce and Sarah quickly following him inside the armoury...

-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-

Chuck entered the armoury accompanied by Sarah and Bryce. The Squadron Quartermaster Sergeant, dressed in No.13 barrack dress, was in attendance.

Chuck met the glance of the senior NCO, and nodding at him, he said, "Gary," as he moved to shake the hand of the veteran soldier.

Turning their attention towards the recruits, Chuck and the Squadron Quartermaster Sergeant made brief introductions before the quartermaster began to issue equipment to the Regiment's latest personnel.

Gear was standard for new recruits, but because Bryce and Sarah were now part of a highly specialised unit, they could acquire their own equipment at the expense of the Regiment if they so chose. Because G Squadron was the chosen squadron assigned counter-terrorism duties in the United Kingdom, Bryce and Sarah's new kit consisted of the necessary requirements to carry out those duties. As such, they were each supplied with an ac100 armoured helmet, an sf10 gas mask, standard army boots, body armour, flame retardant undergarments, a flame-retardant assault suit, fireproof knee and elbow pads, stun and tear gas grenades, an abseiling harness, a radio harness and finally, a Sig Sauer P226 pistol and Heckler and Koch MP5 submachine gun.

The two weapons provided both fired off 9mm rounds which were ideal for CQB (Close Quarters Battle) situations as they didn't usually pass through a target or a wall which was vital to minimise the risk of collateral damage in any kind of hostage situation that the elite team may face on their duties. However, multiple seasoned personnel in the unit opted for a long barrel, which fired NATO standard 5.56mm rounds. The soldiers who chose this option undoubtedly made the decision with the purpose of providing more firepower to their respective units.

Remaining idle in the armoury, Chuck watched with a vivid interest as his newest team members paid particular attention to their firearms, where they moved to play closer inspection. His new teammates' actions were much similar to his own, as he did the same thing when he joined the Regiment three years ago.

Chuck's first deployment with the Regiment was on counter-insurgency operations in Iraq in 2004, so his initial equipment assigned to him was entirely different to what the quartermaster had just given out today. However, in the years that had followed since Chuck's first day in 22 Reg, Chuck had highly customised his equipment to his taste.

Once the issuing of equipment finished, Chuck spoke again, "Gather your gear and place it in your rucksacks provided, and then I'll take you to your quarters on base so you can stow away your gear and then I'll show you around..."

-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-

A short while later

Chuck, Sarah and Bryce departed the barracks housing G Squadron together that Chuck had taken the recruits to so that they could stow away their gear in their accommodations while on base.

In close proximity to each other, they began to walk as a small party along the corridor for two minutes before they arrived at a door.

"Here is the best place on the base, the cafeteria," Chuck declared, and he glanced behind him with a grin.

His newest teammates smiled at him.

Sarah, Bryce and Chuck entered the cafeteria, and Chuck glanced around the room to observe who was inside the facility. There were around a dozen people present in the large room. Chuck could see numerous members of his squadron and his troop and noted several administrative and senior military figures. With his observations complete, Chuck walked deeper into the cafeteria with Sarah and Bryce following behind when three team members approached the new comrades.

"Hello, Chuck," Sergeant Cole Barker, Chuck's best friend, warmly greeted him.

Chuck grinned affectionately at his best friend. "Hi, Cole," he said softly.

"We were wondering where you were at, you bastard. But now we know," a Scottish SAS trooper said to his friend before glancing at Bryce and Sarah standing behind Chuck.

Chuck nodded and laughed briefly at the Scot. "Yeah. Wallace put me on babysitting duties. Heh," he finished with a laugh which caused his friends to join him in laughter.

"Better you than me, fella," a towering English SAS trooper replied, and Chuck laughed once more, and he nodded affirmatively at one of his good friends.

Chuck then moved to the side so his friends could properly introduce themselves to their new teammates.

"Cole Barker," Cole said with a warm smile and shook Sarah's hand.

"Sarah Walker," she replied, and Cole nodded as he shook Bryce's hand.

"Bryce Larkin," Bryce replied, and Cole nodded at him.

"John Murray," the Scottish SAS trooper said as he shook Bryce's hand, followed by Sarah's, and they shared a warm glance.

"Daniel Thomas," the English trooper said as he shook Bryce and Sarah's hands.

"Otherwise known as Big Dan," Chuck stated jokingly.

"Yeah, 'cause of the size of the bastard," another English SAS trooper stated endearingly on arriving in the vicinity of the small group and introduced himself, "Jamie Hughes."

"And you're next, you bastard!" Chuck said, pointing at Jamie, causing everyone to laugh, while Jamie frowned at the declaration.

"Huh, I'm next for what, mate?" Jamie asked.

"For giving the rookies the tour around the base, fella," Big Dan said.

Chuck pointed multiple times at the towering SAS soldier in approval. "Bingo," he replied, grinning.

With the main introductions now at an end, Chuck introduced Bryce and Sarah to some of the other soldiers inside the cafeteria, which also contained an R&R section with two pool tables and numerous other relaxing activities.

Once the introductions were complete, they departed the canteen, returning to Chuck's red Range Rover…

-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-

After leaving the cafeteria, Chuck showed Sarah and Bryce some of the sophisticated training facilities on the base. There was a Killing House where the SAS practised hostage rescue and close-quarter battle training. The point of the facility was to train the SAS operatives to enter a room and to be able to assess the situation and rapidly shoot any threats. This building was extra valuable to new recruits who hadn't killed before. It helped prevent them from freezing from pulling the trigger for a split second too long, which could have drastic consequences. The Killing House was a customisable two-storey building with four rooms on each level. It was designed just like a conventional building, with furniture, pictures, toilets, televisions, etc. The building also had special rubber-coated walls to absorb the live ammunition used inside the building, extractor fans to clear out fumes, and video cameras in all corners of the rooms to record the action so that it could be evaluated and studied. The Killing House was a top-rated facility. Over the years, numerous dignitaries, including Prince Charles, Diana, Princess of Wales and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, visited the facility.

America's Delta Force was so impressed with how successful the Killing House was; they decided to adopt and incorporate it into their training facilities. Delta Force, by no coincidence, first formed when a U.S. Green Beret served as an exchange officer with 22 Reg and exposed the U.S. Army's vulnerability in not having a similar SAS-type unit in their army.

After showing them the Killing House, Chuck took Sarah and Bryce to where part of a Boeing 747 aircraft was stored. The SAS used part of the Boeing 747 to facilitate the practising of the storming of aircraft.

Chuck hadn't taken them through the locations, as that particular task would be done at another time, undoubtedly at some point within the next few days. They had just paused outside the sites as Chuck briefly explained the training facility's features to his newest teammates.

After finishing the introduction, Chuck dropped his new teammates outside of their accommodations on base before he headed off to link up with his friends for some social activity before he was to be formally introduced to Sarah and Bryce along with the rest of his troop at 11:00 hours...

AN2 Please do not judge Chuck as a mindless killer and out of character after this first chapter (especially the killing question, which is IMPORTANT because once Sarah is faced with this reality, then Chuck will be able to help her, because he now knows, which is why I did the scene). If you do judge him in this way, and don't read on, I can only stress that you will be making a big mistake. Because if you read through the story, I promise everyone will see the same canon Chuck (he's just surer of himself, plus a consummate professional). WDW Chuck simply uses a necessary proportion of violence to ensure his safety, his friends, and the innocent civilians he must protect. Also, in WDW, Chuck never asks to be in the places he gets sent to, but the bad guys do ask to be there, and Chuck and his teammates respond appropriately. The only keystone difference between my Chuck in this story, and the canon one, is that in this story, Chuck has confidence in spades because that's how the army and many hundreds of people believing and trusting in him made him, plus soldiering being his dream because of his proud family's history.

AN3 Next Chapter: Sarah (with some of her background disclosed) and Bryce's formal introductions to Red Team, Mobility Troop, G Squadron, along with their first day.

So then, is there anybody who may want to share this Charah military story with me? Please leave a review and let me know.