"Okay, Pasley, hand me the mesh cable, alright?" Lieutenant Scalia ordered Jonathan. Pasley walked over to a cart covered in parts and rustled them around a moment, finally coming up with a long tube. He'd been working in the repair bay for a little while now, long enough to get to know the two men he was working with now, Lt. Scalia and Crpl. Knight. By Jonathan's reckoning, they were both grizzled vets but they enjoyed every moment, in their own way. This usually implied some complaining.
"This one, sir?" Jonathan asked, dangling the cord in the air.
"Yeah, that's the one. And I told you already to stop calling me sir!" he barked, "Call me Jas."
"Why Jas?" Jonathan asked, passing the cable to him.
"Cause by the time you finish saying, 'Watch out Giovanni!' I'll be roastin' in hell!" Jas said, grinning. He inspected the cable and handed it to the resident mechanic, Corporal Knight, who turned to the Cuatro truck sitting on the hydraulic lift near them. He began to move toward the Cuatro's open access hatch but stopped and looked at Pasley.
"Are you watching, Pasley? If you're gonna be any use around here, you better learn some mechanical skills." Jonathan nodded his assurance that he was watching as Knight ducked his head into the Cuatro. "And you better be of some use or I'll get Top to post you on waste disposal," he said, only half-joking. Of all the jobs on the ship, waste disposal was the most hated. Mostly because it involved cleaning the ever-clogged waste disposal units a.k.a. toilets.
Scalia laughed, putting his hands on his hips and stretching. "Knight, I know Top better than you do, and I also know you can't get him to do shit he don't want to. Damn stubborn, them Brits." Knight simply grinned a bit, amused and annoyed at the same time. He resumed connecting the cables.
Finally he stood up and wiped his hands on his greasy coverall. "Well, that's got it. With that new battery cable in, this Cuatro should be set for at least six months."
"Yeah, these things are tough as nails," Jonathan pointed out.
"Ah, but you don't know just how tough, greenie." Scalia settled into a storytelling voice as they finished up work on the Cuatro. "I don't drive 'em, but I fly 'em down to you dogfaces. I've had one dangling under my Pelican and I took a hit from Covenant artillery. Part of my wing was blown off and one of the cables holding the Warthog on was melted. The other cables snapped and it fell a hundred feet to the ground. The infantry down below radioed up later that they found a Warthog dug into the ground, with it's outer skin half melted off. One of the Marines got in, punched the engines, and she started right up. That's tough for ya." They all gathered their things and began walking to the bunkrooms.
"I hear you. And man, those chainguns are amazing," Knight said.
"Those're the 14.5mm ones, right?" Jonathan asked.
"Yeah, that's some nice artillery there," Scalia responded. "Good weapon, I'm told."
"Speaking of weapons, why aren't you armed, Pasley?" Knight asked. Jonathan suddenly realized his lack of firepower and noticed the M6D pistols both Scalia and Knight had.
"Yeah, you're on duty then you gotta have a gun. This is a combat zone, boy!" Scalia said jokingly. He pulled his M6D from his chest holster and displayed it.
"Well," Jonathan started, "I haven't been issued anything yet. We had that firing drill yesterday."
"You mean test," Knight stated.
"No, I meant drill," Jonathan responded.
"Didn't you know? It's that drill helps them decide what you get issued." Knight told him. Jonathan looked at him a minute and shook his head.
"I didn't know, but I hope that means I'll get a rifle," Jonathan told them, smiling and rubbing his hands at the thought. They continued toward the elevator to the bunkrooms; they had almost reached it when the ship intercom came on: All new Marine recruits are to report to the armory at 1830 hours to receive their equipment.
"Well, that's convenient," Scalia observed. He looked at his timepiece. "Uh-oh greenie, it's 1823 hours now. Better get down there quick!"
"Ah hell, it's 1823 already? See ya'll later I better get moving!" Jonathan waved a quick goodbye and jogged off.
"Run greenie run!" they called after him, chuckling. They wouldn't see him again before the Battle of Reach, and Marines didn't tend to fare well in battles.