Apologies guys! I didn't think it would take so long to have more written, but it did. So without further ado I present chapters 5 and 6 of TSF

After another hour of running them through the course, Kyle sounded a whistle and called everyone over. They were exhausted and many doubled over to catch their breath. He placed his hands on his hips and shook his head.

"That was disgraceful!" He barked as he looked over his batch of recruits. "The lot of you are weak. I should call up the Baroness and tell her to just kill you all now; it will save me a whole lot of trouble over the next couple of months!" A couple of the recruits flinched, expecting him to shoot one of them again. Kyle narrowed his eyes and balled his hands into tight fists.

"Count yourselves lucky that I am not in the habit of giving up; even if you all are absolutely worthless. I WILL get you to be proper Cobra soldiers, even if it kills you."

Kyle looked over his ragged recruits and supressed a wicked grin.

"Rest up kids, because tomorrow I'm going to make your wish you had died long ago. Arby, take them to their quarters. See to it they get settled." With one last long look over his bedraggled troops, Kyle turned his back and walked away.

The group stood silently for a moment, the B.A.T. standing equally silent in front of them. Arby stuck out its arm, gesturing towards the door out of the training room. Slowly the group began to head towards the door and the B.A.T. followed silently after. As they walked through the facility their eyes were drawn to various sights. The main corridor spanned the length of the town above and every now and then large windows would offer a view into one of the adjacent rooms. At one set of windows the group faltered and came to a stop as the peered through the thick glass overlooking a full scale replica of a city block. A squad of Alley Vipers stood in the middle of the street checking over their gear and each other.

"Hey robot, what's going on down there?" Faulk asked, jabbing a finger against the glass. Arby came to a stop next to the group and looked down into the room briefly. He placed his hand against the glass and after a moment a holographic interface materialized. He tapped a few keys and the glass quickly became opaque. The group began to complain until a video appeared in the middle of the screen. The video depicted several different angles of the city and the Alley Viper team moving building to building in standard sweep and clear manoeuvre.

The camera feed quickly cut to the interior of a building just as the Alley Vipers kicked in the door. Holographic recreations of several Joes flickered into life in the room as two Alley Vipers carrying shield moved into the doorway. The Vipers cleared the room in just under a minute, with zero injuries and a total of three dead Joes before they moved onto the next room. Arby cut the video and, with a few button presses, returned the glass to its clear state.

"Pssh, I could do that…" Faulk muttered.

"No." Arby said. The others chuckled as Faulk scowled at the B.A.T., who deftly ignored him and ushered them onwards.

It was clear by the look of disgust mixed with surprise that now covered each of their faces that they had been expecting a typical barracks. Their quarters had once been a storeroom of some kind. The floor was scuffed and scraped where things had once been stacked, moved and stacked again. An odd stain was in the middle of the floor where something had obviously sprung a leak. A dozen simple, metal bed frames topped with thin mattresses were haphazardly spaced along both sides of the room.

"What the hell is this?" Raymond Watts muttered. He walked over to the nearest bed and placed a hand on the mattress. He pressed on it a couple times and then shrugged and climbed onto it. The springs protested loudly as he found a comfortable position. After a moment he let out a contented sigh. "S'okay guys. The beds aren't nearly as bad as they look." Slowly the other men dispersed amongst the other beds, leaving Mallory, Dahlia and Denise standing at the door. They turned and looked at the B.A.T., expectantly. After a few moments of silence Dahlia cleared her throat.

"Uhh, where are we supposed to bunk?"

Arby gestured towards the opposite row of beds. The ladies looked at them, looked towards the men they would be across from and then looked back at Arby.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a second. Ya mean we're bunkin' here," Denise said, gesturing over to the men, "Wit' them?"

Arby nodded. Mallory smirked and looked towards Faulk who winked.

"What's to make sure we behave?" she muttered softly. Arby looked between the two, quickly drew his pistol and snapped off a shot that blasted the leg off the bed that Faulk had been lying on. The bed clattered to the side and Faulk slid off. He scrambled to his feet and jabbed a finger at the robot.

"Hey! What the hell was that?!" he barked.

"That, was your one and only warning. There will be no fraternizing in the barracks." Kyle said as he patted Arby on the shoulder. The B.A.T. looked at him and stood aside, holstering his weapon. Kyle stepped into the room and a man limped in behind him.

"Find a bunk, Simon." he said to him. The man stepped around him, glaring daggers at him the entire time and muttering incoherently under his breath. Kyle ignored him and turned to face the women. "You too, ladies. Pick a bed." The women each took a bed across from the men as Kyle stepped into the middle of the room.

"I suggest you disregard any problems you might have with the current living arrangements and get some sleep. Tomorrow marks the beginning of your six month life span. Pray to whatever gods you may, that I can make you of value to Cobra in that time." He turned and pointed at Arby who stood by the door.

"Arby will remain here as a babysitter. If you attempt to leave, he will shoot you." Kyle cast a glare at Simon, who held up his hands defensively. "If you attempt to screw, he will shoot you." This time, the glare was directed at Faulk who was busy moving to another bed. "I'll see you all bright and early." he said. He turned and stepped up to Arby as the room erupted into conversations and swearing.

"Keep an eye on them, Arby. If anything happens, you'll break it up and come get me?"

"Yes."

Kyle nodded and stepped around the B.A.T., shutting the door behind him. He'd had his bunk moved to the room across the hall. With a group of misfits and troublemakers like this, he didn't want to be half a base away. He stepped inside the small bunk and sighed. This was going to be difficult.