After lunch Hachi and Nell led Sami over to a bus that was parked near the SF Training Room. All the other guys she had seen inside the Training Room were already on board and talking to each other. Cap was sitting on the aisle side of the front right seat and the guy who had boasted about Caps record sat next to him. Hachi looked at the rows. There was an open seat in the second left hand seat.
"Renegade, would you be so courteous as to let Sami take your seat and move over to Mach's seat." Everybody got quiet and stared up at Sami.
Renegade, the guy who was sitting next to Cap, was dumbfounded. He stumbled over his words as he tried to argue. "Sir… I… I mean… But…" He stopped and took a breath. "But sir, don't we go by rank?"
"Yes we do Ren. I'm your Commanding Officer and I just asked you to move your seat."
"But Sir! That's not fair!" Ren complained.
"Ren! Stop your bellyaching! You just failed Ren."
Ren stopped whining and looked up with the same amazed face he used when Hachi had asked him the first time. "What was that Sir?"
"Ren. When you first got here I told you I'd give you a test sometime during your career here. I've been noticing that you have had a problem with undermining my authority. If you don't shape up you'll never become a valued part of a Special Forces squad. Now get over there or I'll make you run alongside the bus."
Ren moved his seat and eventually the bus started up and everyone began talking again. Hachi soon began to explain what was going to happen.
"You see we have this huge training field out here, and when I say huge I mean it. It's one of the biggest training facilities in the world. In fact Yellow Comet's the only country that has topped it. We go there once a week and practice different kinds of situations that you'll be facing in real life. Every once in awhile we have a crew go out there and change it up a little. You're lucky; the field was just changed yesterday so nobody will have any advantage. If you make it through the SF training and become a full-blown CO you can register in the War room in the Octagon for a session on the field." The bus slowed to the stop. "Well it looks like it's time to get organized," he got up and stretched then called to the rest of the bus. "Alright guys! Lets go!"
Everyone got off the bus and lined up. Sami went over and stood right next Cap. Cap looked down uneasily. What was she doing at the front of the line? Cap was sure the only reason Hachi had asked Ren to move was so that Hachi could talk to Sami. She wasn't actually going to replace Ren, was she?
Hachi looked over and saw Sami standing next to Cap. "Uh, Sami."
"Yes sir."
"In case you didn't hear Ren, we go by rank order. So would you please move to the end of the line while I take roll."
"Sir, yes sir!" Sami said and gladly turned and began to move to the end of the line. Ren bent his head down and to the side a little so that he could see her.
"Yeah scrub. Get to the back of the line, that way when you fail this next test we won't have any spaces to fill," he muttered to Sami in a sour tone as she pasted behind him. He then spit at the ground in front of Sami as she walked on.
Cap overheard him say it and saw him spit and he did something he never expected himself to do; he swung and landed a huge fist in Ren's back. Screamed in pain and fell to his knees. Everyone turned to what the commotion was about. Cap looked around fearfully, how was he supposed to get out of this one. More importantly, though, how did he end up in this predicament? He turned to see Hachi look up from his clipboard.
"Is there a problem boys?" He asked.
Cap quickly bent down and picked Ren up. "Uh, no Sir! I saw a mosquito on Ren's back and I guess I sort of forgot my own strength."
Everyone chuckled; it was just like Cap to do something like that. Well, everyone chuckled except Ren. He stared at Cap in anger. He knew that it sure wasn't a mosquito that Cap had aimed to hit. Cap quickly averted his eyes over to Sami to see if she had noticed. She gave a little thank you smile and moved on. Had he done the right thing? He felt good but… Oh who was he kidding, Ren obviously had not learned from Hachi so as the highest ranked private there he was obligated to help reinforce it. Right?
Hachi went through the call and finally ended with Sami. He then called Sami and Ren up to the front. Sami was clueless as to why but Ren seemed to understand what was happening.
"Do I really have to fight with a scrub Hachi?" He asked. Hachi shot him a glance and Ren quickly corrected himself. "Sir."
"Yes Ren and if you don't watch it she'll probably switch places with you in line."
"Yes Sir."
"Okay Sami, did you have a chance to look at that sheet I gave you after you finished the written exam," Hachi said turning to Sami.
"Yes Sir!" Sami said cheerfully.
"So you have in mind some of the guys that you want to pick."
"Yes Sir!"
"Alright, you may chose first. Is that alright with you Ren."
"It don't matter to me." Ren said.
"Doesn't." Sami whispered.
"What was that!" Ren asked.
"Sorry," Sami blushed a little, "I have this habit of correcting peoples grammar."
Ren
glared at Sami, "Pick!"
"Cool down a little bit Ren.
Oh yeah, one more thing, neither of you can pick Cap. I'd like him to sit out
and help me judge on this one."
"Oh," Sami said disappointedly. She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. It was the list that Hachi had given her the other day. She took a pen out and crossed off Cap's name, which was circled, then ran down the list and circled another name.
Ren peaked at the list of circled names and laughed. Those are who you want!? Go ahead! You can have them all! I have no idea why you would want them but by all means take them! I'll have the other six."
Hachi looked at the list the circles were spaced out for the most part but several of them were towards the bottom of the fourteen-person list. "Are you sure those are the ones that you want?" He asked.
"Yep!" Sami confirmed.
"Alright, it's your fight." Hachi said rather confused. "Art, Mike, Ronald, Arnold, Sile, and Fred you're on Sami's team. You other six are on Ren's."
Three guys stepped out of line towards the front and three stepped out towards the end. The first set looked proud and experienced while the second just plain looked confused. They couldn't for the life of them figure out why they had been picked. They couldn't do as much as the others, though they did pride them selves in what they could do.
The two teams got on two different hummers and headed off in two directions. While on the bus everyone introduced themselves; Art added a P.G. to the end of his name and then introduced his "little" brother Mech-Mike, Ronald told Sami that he would prefer to be called Rollover, Arnold established that he was a sniper, and finally the Ms. Sile and Fred A.K.A Wizkid.
Mike was the first one to question Sami's choice, "You know Sami, this is actually the first time Wizkid, Ms. Sile, and I have ever been picked and frankly I think you may have made a mistake."
"Why's that?" Sami asked.
"Because there's not a lot that we can do. All the other guys are great at everything and can accomplish a lot more than us. I know that if I were a CO I would not choose me. I'm horrible with a regular handgun; I don't think I could hit the broad side of a barn with one. I only do good with the heavy guns because I don't need to be too accurate, I just pull the trigger, ya know?"
"And what about the others?"
Ms. Sile shot Mike a look and Mike quickly corrected what could have been implied, "Not that Sile's not good at what she does, it's just that normally we don't have any missiles on the field. So it doesn't exactly help to have her with us." Ms. Sile scooted towards Mike. "Not to say she isn't really good at everything else. And," he began to whisper to Sami, "frankly I don't even see the point of having Wizkid on any team. After all this is war and it's not like the tanks are computerized, so what would having a hacker on the team add?"
"Well perhaps you'll see it differently by the time we finish this battle," Sami said looking through her sunglasses into the rearview mirror where Wizkid was busy staring at the scenery as it passed.
When the team got to their HQ they began breaking out the equipment while Sammy went inside and studied the map. The map was labeled Duo Falls and it had modified in parentheses next to it. It was a predeployed map and Sami's team was presented with a Md. Tank, T copter, Artillery, and APC. Sami couldn't tell what the other team had, but she figured it'd be best to hide the Artillery, Md. Tank, and Mech-Mike in the forests that lined the road towards the bottom of the map. Before that they would have dropped Ms. Sile off at the silo that stood next to a run down base. Rollover would do best in the tank and Double E could probably use the Artillery.
Sami noticed 2 sets of mountains on either side of the road and on both sides of an old airport. That's where she would send Art with the APC. There he could rig up some explosives to slow down the enemy and perhaps damage them as well.
"We're all done unloading everything Ma'am," Wizkid said.
"Good."
***
Sami explained her plan on the way to the various locations. Wizkid had stayed back at base to help keep the updated. Ms. Sile was ready to target the enemy as soon as it came into view, as were Mike, Rollover, and Double E. Art was finishing up planting the explosives and Sami took up a lookout post on top of a nearby mountain.
It was starting to get dark and most of the people were getting board of waiting. They had put their walky-talkies on different frequency as to not bother each other. Sami could hear Double E, Mike, and Rollover playing cards over the radio when she tuned into their frequency, Art was singing show tunes to pass the time, and Ms. Sile was watching a small T.V. she had found in the main building. If it wasn't for the constant clicking of the keyboard Sami would never have known the Wizkid was still there. She felt kind of bad that she had left him back at the HQ with nothing to do. She wanted to some how prove that he was of use to the team but the truth was that she was starting to doubt his usefulness as well. She decided to start a conversation with the quiet kid to see if he could shed some light on his abilities.
"You still awake over there Kid?" She asked the walky-talky.
She heard Wizkid jump at the sudden sound that had come from nowhere. "Uh, ye-ye-yes Ma'am!" he responded.
"Ya haven't cleaned out the ration box yet, have you?" Sami joked.
Sami heard Wizkid take a deep breath of relief. Apparently he had thought that he had done something wrong, "No ma'am."
"What are you doing right now?"
"I'm trying to hack into the Orange Star army's spy satellite so that we can figure out what the other team has."
"Isn't that sorta illegal?"
"Hachi is always telling us that all is fair in love and war." Wizkid offered.
"So he'll be alright with it?"
"Yeah. They'll probably call him first before coming done here."
"Yo! Sami!" Art called over the walky-talky.
"Yeah Art?" She replied.
"I've been trying to get a hold of you. A recon unit passed my way a minute ago. I don't think that they saw me but he's heading your way."
"Thanks for the heads-up Art. Wait for a Md. Tank before you set off the charges. And keep at it Wizkid. I would appreciate knowing what we're up against."
Sami put down the walky-talky and picked up her gun. The recon came down the road at a leisurely speed. Sami was about to blast it when she realized something. She put the gun down and picked up the walky-talky again and tuned into Mech-mike, Rollover, and Double E's frequency.
"Tune into Art's frequency everyone," she said. She repeated the message to Wizkid and Ms. Sile.
"Listen everyone, ignore the little recon that's traveling around. Don't let it know that you are where you are. Can you see the main force yet, Art?"
"Not yet."
"Alright. Follow through with the plan then high tail it out of there. Once Art's done his job the rest of their team should be backed up behind the first vehicle. Once that happens and Art takes the APC to get out of the way, I want you to launch the missile, ok Ms. Sile? After that you guys down bottom should probably have no problem with them when they get down to you. Don't worry I'll give you a heads up. After that, we can all go back home and celebrate." A little cheer followed from most of the group.
A few moments later Art glimpsed a Md. Tank go over the bridge that connected the central island to the enemy's land. He readied himself to set off the explosives and make a run for it. The Md. Tank stopped at a little roadblock that Art had set up and prepared to blast it away. Just as Art pressed the button for the explosions Sami heard Wizkid gasp.
Baboom! The mountainside was blown away on both sides of the street and the rocks came tumbling down on the unexpectant Md. Tank. Art cheered and started running cheerfully down the mountain towards the APC.
"Art! Get out of there! Run faster! Quicker, quicker!" Wizkid yelled.
"Listen, Wizkid. I know you're like some kind of super genius, but I really don't think that I need to run any faster. Sile's not going to launch the missile until I'm out of the way and it's not like that Md. Tank is going to leaving anytime soon. How about you just let me enjoy my little demo," Art said.
"No! No! It's not Ms. Sile. It's-"
Art heard a noise overhead before Wizkid had finished his sentence. A rocket was beginning it's decent down towards where Art stood. Art ran as fast as he could, screaming the whole way. He jumped off a five foot cliff just as the rocket exploded behind him. Rocks rained down around him as he got the APC and opened up the driver-side door. He turned the key but the engine refused to start. Suddenly he saw a low frequency laser hit the ground beside him. He looked up and saw the recon unit firing from down the street. The recon was soon in close enough range that it could fire without missing. Art looked at the computer screen that was to the right of the steering wheel. It was displaying the amount of damage left until it would shut down and register the vehicle as destroyed. The vehicle was about to be destroyed when out of the blue a laser was fired from a nearby forest and hit the gunner in the recon. The gunner's gun was disabled and the computer in the APC registered that a player had been eliminated. Another shot was fired from the woods and the driver was eliminated as well. Art was expecting Double E to come out of the woods but instead it was Sami. Art was surprised that she could shoot that well.
"Come on!" she yelled as she commandeered the enemy vehicle.
Art jumped out of the APC and had barely made it to the passenger seat when Sami took off. Art struggled to sit upright as Sami pushed the recon to its top speeds.
"What's going on?" Art asked over the sound of the wind as the recon fish tailed around the corner heading west.
"Wizkid was able to hack into the Army's Satellite and was able to take a better look at the field," Sami yelled back.
"Is that legal?"
Sami shrugged. "Well it turns out that the enemy has somehow obtained more vehicles. Wizkid says that have three Md. Tanks and a Rocket."
Art went pail. "How the heck are we supposed to beat all that with just Mech-Mike, Rollover and his tank, and Double E's Artillery unit?" he asked.
"We can't," Sami stated.
"Then how are we going to win?"
Sami turned to Art, "Ya know, there's more than one way to skin a cat."
Sami and Art arrived back at the HQ a few minutes later. They jumped out of the recon and were greeted by Rollover.
"Everyone's here," he told her. "Ms. Sile shot off the missile before she left so that should slow them down a bit."
Sami walked over to where the group was standing. Everybody seemed ready and willing, that was good.
"Alright, does anyone know how to pilot a T-Copter?" Sami asked.
Everybody looked at each other and mumbled no's. Then a voice came from behind Rollover. Everyone turned in his direction and he stepped aside to see who it was himself.
"I know how to fly a T-copter," Wizkid repeated.
Sami smiled. "Alright then. Looks like we have ourselves a pilot. Everyone into the T-Copter."
"One problem with that Ma'am," Wizkid said.
"What's that?"
"We don't have enough room for everyone."
Everyone stopped moving and everyone was quiet.
"What do you mean?" Sami asked.
"T-Copters are designed to hold five infantry or mech units and one pilot. Right know we have one pilot and six infantry/mech units," he explained.
Sami looked around. Could it really be true? There was Ms. Sile, Rollover, Mech-mike, Double E, Art, and herself. He was right, there really were six. That meant that someone…
"I'll do it," said the solemn voice of Double E.
Rollover looked at him. "What do you mean," he asked his friend.
"I'll stay back, you'll need the rest of the force to take over the enemy HQ."
"I'll stay back too," Rollover volunteered.
"No," Double E said. "They'll need you back at the base incase they left some protection back there. Don't worry, I can take care of my self."
Sami looked at Double E for a moment then smiled. "Good luck," she said to him then turned back to the rest of the group. "Come on! Get into that T-Copter! We don't have all night here people!"
Everybody loaded into the T-Copter and Wizkid started up the propellers. They began to rise then the copter jerked forward a bit. Everyone looked up at Wizkid in surprise. His face turned a dark crimson.
"Sorry about that," he apologized. "It's, uh, been a while since I flew one of these things."
Mech-Mike let his head fall against the window. "We're going to die," he murmured pessimistically as Wizkid turned and headed south.
The quiet Double E couldn't help but grin when he saw the helicopter jerk from side to side as it headed away. "That kid will save our hide for real one day," he foretold. He then turned and headed with his trusty rifle into a patch of woods near the HQ.
***
Sami and the rest of the group stalked towards the enemy HQ cautiously. They had stashed the T-Copter a while back to keep from drawing attention to themselves. They finally made it to a patch of woods that was within spitting range of the HQ. Here they began to make a plan for getting inside the HQ.
As expected a Md. Tank had been left there to guard the HQ. Sami had got some intel on the HQ from Wizkid on the way there. She decided that the best course of action was to separate into two different groups. Mech-Mike, Rollover, and Art would stage a diversion around front of the HQ to keep the Md. Tank distracted. While this was going on she, Wizkid, and Ms. Sile would run into the HQ through the back door. The Md. Tank would hopefully not hear the alarm because of Mech-Mike and the others. Wizkid would turn off the security system as quick as possible and then he and the rest of the team would capture the HQ.
So after confirming what was going on Mech-Mike's team set off to accomplish their mission. Using the woods as cover they made their way to the HQ. The watchman, who Art identified as Ed, was currently on look out duty in the front of the base. Art peered around the corner of the HQ to attempt to find something to use as a diversion. He spotted a bunch of stacked oilcans a couple of feet from him.
Bingo, Art thought then turned to Mech-Mike and Rollover and explained his plan. "You two go around the other side. When you get there give a little wave while Ed isn't looking. I'll blow those oilcans and while he's distracted, hijack the Md. Tank."
Mech-Mike and Roll over agreed to the plan. They made it around the back to the other side of the HQ and signaled Art. Art, mean while had used his hands to make a tiny makeshift canal to the cover of the woods. He had then proceeded to poke a hole in the tank. The liquid poured out into the canal and down to a small hole. When Art was signaled he took a match out and dropped it into the oil. The fire moved quickly down the line and into the can. The can then exploded causing the others to blow up. The ed ran over to the fire and tried to think of a way to put it out. Rollover, meanwhile, had hopped into the tank and aimed it at Ed.
"Yo! Ed! Surrender or get blasted!" Rollover called out.
Ed dropped the gun he was carrying and put up his hands.
Sami's team had moved in and had disarmed the alarm. To simulate the capture of an HQ, a player or players had to go to each room and press a switch. These switches were sometimes guarded by automated defense guns to symbolize that some of the residents of the HQ could be armed. This was all too easy for Sami's team though because Wizkid had "accidentally" gone to the main control room, hacked the computer, and turned everything off. Sami was not accustomed to how you captured a base on the War Field so when Wizkid told her that all they had to do was to hit a couple buttons on the computer she really had no reason to doubt him. Ms. Sile turned the other way.
When they met back at their base in victory they found all four of the members who were not accounted for sitting around. Double E sat close by reading a novel in silence.
"What happened?" Sami asked as she walked up.
"Your sniper shot us all in the backs," Renegade complained angrily as he jerked his thumb at Eagle Eye. Ren seemed to be the only one angry about it; the rest of his group just gave a shrug. "It was so unfair! He wasn't even manly enough to give us a heads up before doing it," he turned towards Double E. "The truth is that he's just a little girl when it comes to real combat. He's too much of a wuss to face us like a man!"
Ren's girl comment infuriated Sami. "Are you insinuating that we females are the weaker sex!" Sami yelled at him and grabbed him by the shirt. Nobody tried to stop Sami, they knew Ren had this coming to him. Ren suddenly turned yellow and tried to talk his way out of it but Sami cut him off before he could get out his second word. "For your information, Ren, there have been women in this world who are a hundred time's braver and stronger than you are. I'd like to see you take on Ms. Nell! You know she's one of the highest-ranking CO's in the world. Pretty soon she'll be the commander of the whole entire Orange Star Army. You know that! And guess what, you were just beat by a girl!" Sami started huffing and puffing from her tirade, which gave Ren a chance to beg for forgiveness before she bashed his face in.
"Please! I'm sorry! I wasn't thinking! I-" he started to say.
"That's right! You weren't thinking! And you know I've noticed that that's a real problem you have! 'You think that maybe if you shut your trap once and a while instead of going off you might just learn something instead of being demoted!"
Double E chuckled a little to himself and Art whispered to his brother, "Listen, if I ever think about saying something like Ren said, duck tape my mouth."
The memory of the embarrassment on the buss came back alive in Ren's head and he began seeing red. To him Double E was laughing full out at him and Art was talking about him, saying how much of an idiot he was. Ren could not stand it. Against the better judgment that he had stashed away somewhere in the back of his mind he pulled his fist back and socked Sami. She fell backwards a couple feet and everyone started to take a step forward to come to her aid and restrain Ren.
"Stop!" Sami commanded holding her hand up. She spit a little bit of blood onto the ground and stood up. "If I am to be treated as an equal I will first have to prove myself as one."
Sami readied herself. Ren was going to make sure he made her know where she belonged, and that was back as an errand girl.
Ren ran forward and swung. Sami ducked and then jumped straight up with her fist in the air. Her fist connected with the underside of Ren's chin and sent him flying up and back. Ren landed on his back with severe pain. He then stood up minus a tooth. He was not about to let some new girl who was younger than him ruin everything he had worked for. He approached Sami more slowly this time. He swung and Sami sidestepped it. She went to punch him but he used his momentum to spin and raise his foot. He struck Sami in the stomach and she doubled over. She felt the same way Ren did so she got up and went on the offensive. She swung a left-right, which Ren ducked under. He was going to use Sami's openness as an advantage but Sami brought her knee up into his face before he had a chance. He gripped his face for a few seconds while he stumbled around a little stunned. When he removed his hands he nose appeared to be in pretty bad shape but his eyes screamed bloody murder. He charged at Sami in blind rage. She jumped sideways out of the way. Before she had a chance to do anything Ren changed direction and sacked Sami like a pro football player. He shoved his knee into her stomach so she couldn't get up. She tried to use her hands to shove him off her but he grabbed one and pinned it to the ground. He pulled back his free hand and brought it down towards Sami's face. She jerked her head to the side just in time then shoved her fingers into his neck. He gripped his throat with both hands which let Sami's other hand free. She grabbed Ren's shirt and yanked him forward. He fell off-balanced and started to fall forward. Sami used the momentum to flip Ren onto his back and bring herself with him. This left the two in complete opposite places. Sami pulled back her fist and brought it down. Ren closed his eyes as her fist was about to go into his face. But that never came. Sami knew that if she went through with it that she would be just as bad as Ren. Besides She was safe and now had the power, but if she were to use that moment to beat the living stuffing out of Ren then the only thing she could expect was for him to retaliate. Ren could feel Sami's weight come off his chest and as he opened his eyes he saw her reaching down to him.
"Come on," she said sounding a bit worn out. She knew that it was, in part, her fault for it all. She had been the one who had let her anger overwhelm her in the first place. But that was no excuse, even if Ren really had needed a talking to. She had proven that she was one of them and now all she wanted to do was help a fellow comrade out.
Ren didn't see it quite the same way. To him it would be an insult to take help from the enemy, and that's what Sami was to Ren now. He knew he would never be able to live it down. By taking her hand he would be giving up every once of dignity and pride he had. He was not about to do that. He was not about to be pitied.
He shoved Sami's hand away and got up on by his own strength. He didn't spare Sami a glance, turning and walking away with whatever dignity he could muster.
Nobody except Eagle Eye had noticed the jeep containing Hachi and Cap drive up a few minutes before. They had all been too preoccupied with the fight and Double D didn't bother to stop the fight because he knew how much it meant to Sami that she be treated as an equal.
Now that it was all over Hachi finally decided to speak up. "Are ya all done?" he asked.
Everyone except Double E jumped ten feet in the air, Sami and Ren especially. They began trying to explain at the same time.
"I'm sorry Hachi sir. I just," Sami began.
"It was her fault not mine," Ren said at the same time.
Hachi put his hand up and both of them stopped. "Alright, Alright! No need for apologies or excuses! It seems to me that what ever issue had been started here has been resolved and I think it's about time he all headed back for some rest." Sami and Ren exhaled, glad that they weren't going to be booted out of the program. But Hachi continued. "But just because I'm letting you all stay doesn't mean that I'm letting you off the hook entirely. First off, I don't want to see anything like that again with out my approval first, and secondly Sami, Ren, Wizkid, and Alex will all be serving and preparing the rest of you your meals for the next couple of weeks as well as breaking down and cleaning every piece of equipment we use and when their done I'm sure that they would love to install a new satellite dish for my office and recarpet the entire SF complex."
All the named groaned except for Sami. Instead she asked, "Is that it?" in a sincere voice. Compared to Vip's various assignments, this would be cake.
"Do you want more work?" Hachi asked.
Wizkid clamped his hand over Sami's mouth. "No sir," he answered for her, "I think that's enough."