"WELCOME HOME!" Jack shouted as he walked into the barrack. The room was grey, with two bunk beds side by side. One wall had a window, looking over the mountain terrain while allowing the sunlight to stream into the room.
"Nice place" May said
"RIGHT BUNK IS OURS!" Nick shouted as he ran to his bed and flopped down, still in his suit.
"A bunk all to myself, how nice" May said laughing
"And over here we have the bathroom, no shower though, that is in the locker room" Jack pointed to a door on the far side of the room "but it gets the job done"
May looked around, wondering if there was a fourth that would be joining them at some point. "is there anyone else rooming with us?" she asked
"Nah, just us three" said Jack proudly
"Yeah, unless a guest comes, then the empty bunk is theirs" added Nick
"Where did these beds come from anyways, I thought we only got cots?" May asked
"Oh Tobias found them and fixed them up, he is pretty good at that" Said Nick
"Yeah guy goes trash collecting once a week for some reason" Jack said "and man does he stink afterwards" Nick and May laughed as Jack held his nose and shook his head
Footsteps interrupted the merriment as a large man entered the room booming. "COMRADES!"
Nick and Jack looked up "OLAF!"
The large man looked at May "IS THIS THE NEW SCOUT? COME GREET OLAF!" as he lumbered over to hug the female
"Nice to meet you I'm May, you must be the heav…OOF!" Her statement was cut off by the zealous greeting
"Hey Olaf don't squash her, at least not till her first battle" joked Nick
Olaf dropped May on the ground, "awww I just say hello da?"
May laughed "its ok, nice to meet you Olaf!"
"I surprised leetle girl is new scout, you fast and strong da?" asked Olaf, looking over the girl
May nodded "I am also pretty good with my gun, so I hope I can survive on the battlefield"
"GOOD, is good to know your gun, I know my Sasha and Natasha better than anyone here!" Olaf boomed "PYRO! SCOUT! COME IS ALMOST DINNER TIME!" he added as he walked off
"Wow, your heavy is friendly and very…" May started
"LOUD!" Nick and Jack said laughing
"Yeah, that too!" said May
"Well he had one good idea, we should get dinner before the others eat everything and leave us to starve" Nick said
The main building was grey, but more lived in then the medical bay seemed. Footsteps seem to echo as you walked, wafting through the building was the scent of fish frying with some vegetables and rice. Nick and Jack smiled at the smell.
"Guess its Zander's turn to cook, he almost always does seafood" said Nick
"Yeah and it's always good" Jack added "unlike sarge's fish, yuck"
"Sarge's anything is yuck remember" said Nick laughing
"I take it our team leader can't cook?" said May
"Yeah, but we still have to suffer…" said Jack
"How come?" May asked, tilting her head to one side
"Rule of the base, everyone cooks at least one meal when their name comes up for it that day" said Nick
"We tried to make sarge the exception, saying things like him making up plans to get intel was more important but didn't work" said Jack sadly, May put her hand on his shoulder
"If it makes you feel better, I am an ok cook; I have to be at least better than sarge from what I am hearing" she said
"I'M a better cook, and all I can do is boil water and scramble eggs" said Jack laughing
The dining area and kitchen where in the same room, a metal table sat in the middle with ten chairs around it while the heavy sat and waved to the trio as they entered. The opposite wall held a couch where the medic was sitting, looking at some notes from the day's medical reports. Next to him was a fridge with a bottle opener tied to it, Jack walked over and grabbed some bottles of soda.
"Anyone wants a Coke?" he asked
"Sure" May and Nick said at the same time
"DA!" said Olaf
"Nien, I'll vill stay with vasser danke" said the medic disdainfully
"Vasser?" Nick said
"Vasser, you know vat comes out of the zee tap" said the medic
"You mean water sir?" May asked
"Ja, zat is what I said" the medic sighed
"You said it in German doc, we don't speak that remember" Jack snarked, May shook her head
"And I bet English isn't the doc's first language so he feels the same way" she pointed out, which led to the two having a faceoff with tongues out
"Vunderbar, we haff two children now" the medic scowled
"AW is funny, scouts just have leetle bit of fun yes" said Olaf laughing at the whole thing
"Yeah just goofing around" said Jack "good for the morale as sarge would say"
May opened her bottle and sat down at the table. She looked at the back of the room and saw what looked like the team's demoman cooking and singing a drinking song from either Ireland or Scotland, she wasn't sure. Jack flopped down next to the medic and Nick just leaned on the doorframe of the entrance as they waited for the rest of the team to arrive and dinner to be ready.
"Maybe one of us should set the table…" May said thoughtfully
"Yeah except getting near the stove when Zander is cooking is a great way of getting blown up later, and guess where the dishes are?" said Jack
"Perfect… "said May face palming Nick and Jack laughed
"Don't worry about it, once Zander puts the foil on the fish we can set up" said Nick "meantime you might get to meet the rest of us…"
"And see Tobias gripe about being taken out of his nest again" Jack laughed
"He really likes his sniper nest that much?" said May
"Da, sniper like high places, is safe for him" said Olaf
"Ve all haff our quirks frauline" said the medic "Ve haff adapted to each ozer vell"
May nodded "guess I'll have to do the same" she said
"Hey doc what are you looking at anyways?" said Jack peaking over the arm of the medic
"Zome medical records, notzing you need to vorry about" the medic said quietly
"Anything good, like if the spy has a third nipple or something?" Jack asked, trying to get a peek
"Now now petite lapin, none of zat…" said a silky voice from the shadows "my body iz only my business non?
"Let me guess, you are the spy of this team?" said May looking around the room, looking for the source of the voice
"Eric, come greet new scout, is polite no?" said Olaf
"Yes it is old friend" said the spy as he slowly faded back into sight with a puff of blue smoke "and yes madame lapin I am the spy of this team, and the only reason we win any fights"
"YEAH RIGHT! Don't I RUN the intel here while you just snag it and hope you don't get caught before handing off to me?" shouted Jack
"Jack has a point; every member of this team is needed last time I checked right?" May asked, a little irritated by the spy's apparent egomania
"Da we all make good team so long as we do jobs well!" Olaf boomed
"I vill haff to agree with zee scouts, ve are equal here, zere is no one member of zhe team that wins our matches." Added the medic coldly
"Ach, the laddie gets the intel once and he's the big hero, how about all the reds I blew up for ye, do they mean nothing?" boomed a voice from the stove "just fer that, ye get ta set the table!" the Demo walked over and shoved the dishes into the spy's hands and looked at the table as the rest of the team watched with great amusement "well now, which one of ye's the new one?" May nervously raised her hand "um that would be me sir…"
"Well now, we got a lassie? I thought we was getting a scout, not a maid" the Scotsman joked, "so ya think ya can handled us boys on the field there lassie?"
"um actually its May and yeah I am pretty sure I can handle it…" she said
"We'll see tommarra then, fer now let's test those legs of yours, go get the three stragglers before the fish is done" he boomed
"On it!" May said "be back before ya know it!" she said as she dashed off to the nest to find the first teammate.
"YE GOT 20 minutes!" shouted the demo after the running figure
The base was a bit darker in the twilight, but May could still see the sniper's nest clearly, though it helped that there was what seemed to be a lantern light flickering in the windows high over the landscape. Near the ladder that allowed entry to the nest was a bell that had the very crudely made sign stating "RING BELL FOR MEALS AND BATTLES ONLY" May reached out and rang the bell.
"WADDA WANT YA BLOODY SHE GREMLIN!" shouted an annoyed voice from high above
"DINNER'S READY IN 20!" May shouted back
"MINUTES?" The sniper answered back
"NO DAYS… YES MINUTES!" May shouted "JUST HURRY BEFORE WE ARE BOTH LATE!" with that she dashed off to find the other two before the sniper could grumble about anything to her.
May began to look around madly for either a workshop or other indicator of an engineer or a solider when she heard a very familiar sound "TEN HUT!"
"SIR!" May said, standing in salute almost instantly
"AND WHY AREN'T YOU IN THE MESS HALL MISSY?" Sarge boomed
"THE DEMO SENT ME TO GET YOU, DINNER IS IN 15 SIR"
"ALL RIGHT GO GET THE ENGIE AND REPORT BACK FOR DINNER DISMISSED!" with that Sarge marched off.
"Now where would the engineer be?" May muttered as she ran off looking for a workshop or a garage
After about five minutes of searching she saw a sign lit up with some hanging lights saying "workshop, do not enter if door is shut" May knocked as the door opened with her touch.
"Hello?" May said "is anyone there?"
"Well howdy, you the new kid?" said a friendly voice
"Yes, I am here to let you know dinner's ready in ten" she said
"Woof, is it dinner all ready, time sure flies, names Tex by the way" said the Engineer as he looked up from his work smiled
"I'm May, the new scout" May said "and I should get going before the foods all gone"
"Yeah I'll walk with ya, Zander's cooking right?" said Tex
"He is the demoman right?" May asked
"Yup, best one around too" said Tex proudly
"Then yes, he's cooking"
"WOO DOGGY you're in for a treat darling" said Tex rather happily "no one makes seafood like Zander"
"So I hear" May said laughing as they walked to the mess hall. All that was heard in the night air were the crickets and the rare owl.
The dining room of the base became a raucous area as the last two members of the team walked in and the smell of fish filled the room. The spy was grumbling as he set the last plate on the table.
"Ach five minutes to spare there lassie, not bad..." Zander boomed
"Not as fast as me though" boasted jack
May just shrugged as she sat down in the last empty chair at the table. The air was filled with the stories of the battle from that day, and the grumblings of a few who either did not perform well that day or from those unhappy about being taken from a place of safety to deal with their teammates. May just listened, enjoying some of the more, colorful moments where regaled by the heavy
"…and then I SMASH LEETLE RED SPY, HE MATCH HIS SUIT NOW" Olaf joked, everyone laughed at the thought
"Nice one!" Jack cheered "bet the spook didn't see it coming
"DA is not hard to outsmart someone with is too big for pants..." Olaf said
"huh?" Nick said "the spy's pants where falling off too?
"I think he means the spy was 'too big for his britches' not surprising, he makes Eric look modest" said Tex, laughing
May just shook her head "though having his pants fall off would have been hilarious I bet" she said smirking at the though
"AYE be a right good laugh for both teams if ye be asking me" Zander roar "So lassie whadda think of me fish?"
"Very good, I must have the recipe some time" May said smiling
"Ach sorry lass, family secret, only me wee ones will now it" Zander said "but one asks ye for a secret ye know ye did it right!"
May nodded as she enjoyed her meal
"So iz ze newest member ready for her first battle against our foes?" Eric asked slyly
"Yeah, I hope so, I am able to point and shoot my gun and swing my bat at least" May said
"Better zen the last new recruit, ze lad didn't last five minutes" Eric said sadly
"What happened?" May said
"He was a new solider, but he was too timid, he was here for a few days but one respawn later he was given a section 8" Sarge said, shaking his head "poor kid"
"Ouch, well I know war, even with respawn is taxing, I hope I am ready…" May said nervously
"Da, we hope so, leetle solider looked bad after that" Olaf said
Later that night, May looked out the window near her bed and smiled "I won't let this team down" she thought. She closed her eyes and went to sleep, she needed rest for her first battle after all.