Chapter Four
Earth Calendar January 26, 2553.
New Mombassa, Earth.
Umbrella Corporation Training Facility; Located on the Outskirts of
New Mombassa.
Neo and Reaver were quickly assigned a bunk as soon as they entered the camp. Both still were baffled as to why Umbrella brought them here from the Hive. Dozens of men in Marine green with the Umbrella Corporation symbol on their uniforms, walked around the camp.
Reaver and Neo went to their bunk, and had just sat down, and inspected the room when a man with Lance-Corporal brevets entered the room, and handed Neo a slip of paper. He saluted smartly, came to, and left the room, closing the door behind him. Neo scanned it, placed it on his bed, and turned to Reaver.
"It's our drill instructor assignments, we're to report to him immediately," and Neo turned to leave. Reaver grabbed Neo by the arm, and spun him around.
"Why?" asked Reaver. "They're still our enemies. Why go?"
Neo grinned. "Because they have the guns, and we might be able to get out of here."
Reaver grinned as well. "Good point." The two walked out of the room, and smartly jogged up to the Parade Grounds. They got into the first row of a long line of recruits, who were standing nervously at attention. A black man with Sergeant Major pips paced back and forth in front of the recruits. He pulled out a cigar from his uniform vest, and lit it.
"This is the most pathetic bunch of slime I have ever seen!" he shouted. He took a puff of his cigar. "Why, I'll bet if half of you were in the Covenant War, you'd come home to your mommas cryin'!" Neo grinned the man reminded him of his first basic instructor.
The man noticed it at once, and walked up to Neo, breathed out the smoke in his face, and yelled. "You think I'm funny, boy? Speak up." Neo replied sharply.
'Sir! No, sir!"
"What's funny then, boy? Do you respect Sergeant Avery Johnson?"
Neo didn't phase. "Yes, sir! It's just, sir, I was in the Covenant War, sir."
Johnson took another puff of the cigar, and grinned. "What unit?"
"Tenth Marine, sir." Neo said. "I was in the Alpha Halo campaign with the Spartans. So was my friend here." He indicated Reaver with a turn of his head.
"Marine, huh! You know a Spartan named Master Chief? Spartan-117?"
Neo paused, furrowed his brow, and responded. "Yes, sir. I do recall him."
Johnson laughed. "Well now, if you fought with the Chief, your ok in my book. I was at Alpha Halo too, son."
Johnson turned to the other recruits and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Well now, we have some real men here! Anyone else in the War?" No one budged. "Well then, I bet you're a bunch of overgrown sissies, gimme five laps around the grounds, now!" The recruits groaned. "
What? You're crying already? Not good enough, ten laps, and get moving!" He signaled for other instructors, who whipped into action, and started hitting some of the recruits with shock rods. "Move it!" The recruits didn't groan, and immediately in a disorganized fashion, started jogging. Johnson stood at the back of the line yelling, but motioned for Reaver and Neo to stay. "My room is here," he pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to Neo. "I'll see to it that you two are bumped up to squad leaders."
Johnson grinned, but turned, and immediately starting chasing after the recruits, yelling expletives as they ran.
Neo and Reaver looked at each other, grinned, and walked back to their room.
-
Two hours later, the same Lance Corporal from earlier knocked on their door. "Follow me, please," he said, and Neo and Reaver did so. The two were taken to a different part of the training grounds to the officer's quarters. The Corporal stopped at one particular room, with the letters A. J. Johnson inscribed into the door. The Corporal knocked twice on the door, and left.
A few moments later, Johnson still in his Marine armor, and sporting a UNSCMC hat opened the door. "Ah, it's the vets. Come in," Johnson said. Neo and Reaver entered his room. Neo looked around. The room was much larger than theirs, and had dozens of military citations and medals framed on the walls.
There was even a picture of Johnson standing in dress uniform
next to a green armored figure, with a blue AI standing next to him on
a small pedestal. Behind them in the background were dozens of Orbital
MAC Guns, and hundreds of UNSC ships over Earth. Neo walked up to
the picture curiously, and picked it up.
"When was this taken?" asked Neo. Johnson grinned.
"After I came back from Halo, there was an award ceremony for our actions at Halo; on the MAC gun Cairo. This was right before the Covenant invasion of Earth, near the end of the war."
"You were at Halo? The first Halo?" asked a dumbstruck Reaver.
"Yeah," said Johnson, taking his cap off. "I was assigned to the Pillar of Autumn with Captain Keyes on some wild classified mission. We found the first Halo, and blew it up. Only me and the Chief survived."
Neo looked on Johnson with awe. "I didn't think anyone survived that, except the Chief."
Johnson grinned at Neo. "That's what you get for thinkin'."
Neo grinned back. "So if you're such a decorated hero, what are you doing here in New Mombassa?"
Johnson frowned now; the first time Neo saw the black man do so. "After the war, the UNSC didn't need vets anymore, most of us got discharged."
Reaver and Neo both frowned, they knew too. "But Umbrella came to me with an offer, they'd let me be drill instructor, and play sergeant again. I figured, free grub and a room, why not?"
Johnson frowned again. "I just joined up about a week ago, and already I'm hearing rumors. Is it true you two came from the Hive?"
Neo and Reaver nodded gravely.
Johnson's eyebrows lifted up. "What happened? I heard something about Shadow going homicidal, but that's it." And so for the next half hour, Neo and Reaver told a recounting of their tales, not omitting anything: Johnson seemed trustable.
Johnson had taken a chair at his desk, and slumped back into it. He let out a laugh. "That's quite a tale," he said. He pulled out a box of cigars and offered one to Neo and Reaver. Neo accepted, but Reaver was dumbfounded.
"But its—"
"I'm sure it's true, and I believe you." Johnson pulled out a lighter, and lit his cigar; he did the same for Neo.
"I'm sure you didn't call us here to reminisce about old times," Neo said, taking a puff of his cigar.
"For a marine, you sure got a big vocabulary," Johnson grinned and Neo shrugged. "Partially. I managed to talk to the brass, and you," he points to Neo, "a squad. Reaver here is your XO. You get two separate rooms right here in officers' country." Johnson looked at the clock on his wall. "Well, it's getting' late. I guess I'll see you both at the mess hall." Neo and Reaver nodded, said their goodbyes, and went to find their new rooms.
-
The next day, Neo got up out of his soft bed as reveille was called. Neo groaned, made his bed, and found a sheaf of paper under his door. It was the listing for those who would be in his squad, their background information, and the usual.
Neo looked at the list, and read the background info on each person.
ODST Special Forces Squad Alpha
Commander: Captain Charles "Neo" O'Neil, Ex-UNSC Marine
2nd In Command: Lieutenant Niles "Reaver" Roberto, Ex-UNSC Marine
Alpha Team
Sergeant Avery "A.J." Johnson, Ex-UNSC Marine
Corporal Carl "Chaos" Phregos, Sniper
Private Ryan "Ramos" Reader, Heavy weapons specialist
Private Charlotte "Pica" Dennings, Sniper
Beta Team
Sergeant Gregory "Snake" Talos, Ex-ODST
Corporal Neil "Navy" Newcamp
Private Keith Neilson
Private Robert "Rogue" Hammings
Delta Team…
The list went on for another page, detailing special notes, medals, commendations from earlier training, and other officer mumbo-jumbo. Neo scanned the list; all and all, there were three-dozen men in his "squad". There was also a schedule for training. Neo looked at the clock, and the time on the schedule, and rushed into his uniform. He was to be at the parade grounds in five minutes.
As Neo was scrambling into his new officer's uniform, he noticed the irony that these were Umbrella Corporation men, and he was willingly training a squad for their use. Neo shrugged. While they maybe his enemies, it was good to play officer once again.
Neo finished buttoning his collar, and ran out the room, slamming the door. Neo ran as fast as he could to the parade grounds, and almost knocked over a young Private as he was jogging. Neo quickly apologized, saluted, and ran to the parade grounds. Thirty-six men and women stood at full attention, divided into four lines of nine, with Reaver standing at the front of the lines.
Reaver, however, stood at ease, and waited for Neo to jog over to his side. Neo slowed down, and marched next to Reaver. Sergeant Johnson grinned from his place in the line, Reaver didn't look as thrilled. Neo stood at ease too, and called for the squad to do the same.
"As you may or may not know," Neo shouted, trying to overcome the din of the parade grounds. Above, Pelicans flew to and fro, and the city of New Mombassa, being rebuilt, could be seen in the distance. "I am Captain O'Neil, your new CO. Most of my friends call me Neo, and I'm fine if you call me by that; but at all times you will address me as SIR! Do you get me!"
The men and women all shouted simultaneously, "Sir, yes, sir!". Neo was about to make a speech when an alarm sounded throughout the camp.
A male voice sounded on the intercom: Action stations, action stations. The camp burst into action, and panic. Neo, without further commands, ran off with Reaver to the command dome.
"What's happening?" asked Neo. General Ackerson stood over a functionary, as he the lower ranking officer typed away commands rapidly. Ackerson stared at the computer, and a holographic map of New Mombassa.
Ackerson didn't look up. "You're the new guy, right? The one we picked up at the mansion?"
Neo and Reaver stood at attention. "Yes, sir."
Ackerson looked up. "Ah, you're a fast learner. A few hours after we picked you up, we sent a team into the Hive."
Neo couldn't restrain himself. "You did, what?"
Ackerson frowned. "Your obviously not a good learner either. You did, what? Sir."
Neo's face contorted in anger. "You did what, sir?"
Ackerson grinned. "We sent in a team, apparently the T-Virus was released from the Hive, and has now spread to the city. We've sealed off the city, and sent in advance teams to secure the exits, but we need to extract the city of anyone left. That's where you and your team come in. I don't want any heroics. Just get in there, save as many people as you can, and sterilize the city."
Ackerson didn't seem to give a damn about the people, the way he said it, Neo noted. But Ackerson grinned slightly as he said "sterilize the city". The man was a monster, Neo knew, from talking to the man for a few moments, and from the reputation Ackerson developed in the war.
Neo didn't let his thoughts show, however. "Sir. I'll do the best I can, sir."
Ackerson smiled again. "I know you will, Captain. You're dismissed." Neo and Reaver saluted sharply, came about, and left the dome. The two marched back to their squad, who was still waiting at attention.
"Alright!" shouted Neo. "We have our orders. We maybe the newest unit out there, and we may have no formal training, but I know we are the best of the best! Our orders are to go into the city of New Mombassa, rescue as many people as possible, and kill as many T-virus infected creatures as we can. We'll brief you on the T-virus, contamination, and sterilization procedures enroute. Saddle up!"
With each team leader shouting orders, the squad moved into action; and within five minutes, three Pelicans with the Umbrella Corporation logo on the side, descended. The three-dozen men and women, in full ODST gear, weapons loaded, boarded the Pelicans, and they lifted into the sky.
Neo grabbed a handhold, and calmed his nervousness. He had a bad feeling about this, a bad feeling indeed.
