2020 Hours, December 15, 2520 (Military Calendar) / Epsilon Erandi System, Reach Military Complex, planet Reach
Yellow Team had lost.
Carris cursed herself as she trudged back with her team mates towards the armoury and the showers. After Jorge had went down things were looking up, they managed to swing round and rendezvous with Walter on the far edge of the incline and followed him up the route that he and Albert had paved out before 002 had got himself shot.
They headed up and set an ambush around Green's entrenched position, while they were down three soldiers they had the element of surprise. They looked like they were on the verge of victory but someone, or more specifically Soren, made a mistake. He mistook Walter's hand single for 'head right' for the one 'engage' he opened fire and despite taking down two of Green's Spartans it just bought him a sniper round the chest from Linda.
With their cover blown there was no choice but to attack and the four remaining Yellows had charged into a kill box, mowed down by assault rifle fire. Carris had managed to get a couple of shots on target and take down a member of Green but for her efforts she received a smattering stun rounds up her right flank that had her still feeling numb and clumsy.
"I'm sorry guys" Soren pleaded as they marched silently "There was a branch in the way, I didn't see the signal properly!"
"Well I best be a bit more forceful with my movements next time" Walter hissed, trying in vain to hide his anger. Walter was always the first to admit when he had made a mistake and was always ready to share the burden of blame, but now was not a good time for him.
Carris did feel bad for him; Walter had been their de facto squad leader ever since they had started true combat exercises. He had a keen mind for strategy and always placed in the top five during Déjà's assessments; she couldn't help but feel they were letting him down, especially as their record in the past had been so strong. A
nd unfortunately, as was the way in the military, it was the commanding officer who picked up the flak for his soldiers failings; Carris expected that Mendez would have some strong words with Walter, ones that he didn't deserve.
Yellow Team reached the armoury and passed through the gates into the small compound. It is was a network of boxy grey concrete buildings that were covered equipment, vehicles, changing rooms and shower rooms, everything Spartans returning from or going to combat could possibly need. Green team were already there and exiting the changing rooms, out of their combat armour back into their plain grey fatigues, led by their instructor plain faced Sergeant Banks.
"You fought well today Spartans" Banks said as they passed "You very nearly had my guys out there"
"Thank you sir" Walter said, forcing conscientiousness.
"Just bad luck I guess. Better luck next time" Banks said with a smile and a friendly pat on Walter's shoulder before he led his team away at a stern jog.
Each member of the Green team gave the Yellows a nod as they passed. Carris reeled their names off in her head, Kurt -051, Naomi -010, Linda -058, Solomon -069, Uma -113, Buck -097, Toby -019 and Fhajad -084. They were the ones who had won; they were the ones who in the instructor's eyes were better. Carris felt slightly ill but saved face, she couldn't feel angry at them, they were just like she was, out to win.
As the Yellows crossed the yard they found Sergeant Hughes waiting for them at the entrance to the showers. He stood with his arms folded and was shaking his head, since they had first met him those three years ago Carris could not decide whether he had grown fatter or more muscular, but he still looked like an overstuffed sausage in his uniform.
"You guys look like shit" Sergeant Hughes scowled "Don't yah?"
"Yes sir" They all replied in unison, Hughes liked to do this every time they lost.
"You guys gonna do better next time and not embarrass me again?"
"Yes sir" They said again.
"Good now get yourselves cleaned up"
Again they replied in kind.
The six boys went one way and the two girls the other.
Carris found the showers warm and welcoming as the water washed away the caked on mud that covered her. Even after the most bitter loss the showers were always a treat and helped quell some of the ache. The water also helped bring life into the She washed herself clean quickly, grabbed a towel and made her way to the changing room, while she would have liked to have stayed longer she imagined the Sergeant wouldn't have it.
Carris entered the simple white tiled locker room and made her way towards her locker. Joanna was already there and changed, she gave Carris a weak smile as they passed at the door but she didn't say anything. Carris knew Joanna well enough to know she would still be hurting from being the first to get knocked out during the war game, let alone being sniped while she was sprinting and evading, the one skill she prided herself on.
Carris crossed the room and entered the combination on the dial of the tall steel locker. Inside there was nothing but a set of neatly folded grey fatigues with white underwear and a pair of standard issue heavy black boots. She towelled herself down and pulled on the loose fitting clothes before starting to rub her short and neatly cut black hair dry.
Things felt like they had changed a lot in the last three years but now her life before she was a Spartan was just a fast fading memory. She had been sure that today's date of December 15th once held some special significance to her, but she couldn't remember what. She had changed, everyone she knew had changed and the whole world looked a lot different. She was a Spartan now and she would stay and do her duty for mankind.
As she stood and finished up her hair she heard a set of heavy footfalls enter the locker room, she turned around to see Sergeant Hughes standing in the door way with his thumbs tucked into his belt loops.
"Get out here now meat!" Hughes bellowed.
"Yes sir. Sorry sir" Carris replied like clockwork and quickly threw down the towel and slammed her locker shut, marching across the room quickly and re-joining the other Spartans who waited outside.
Despite looking a lot better now they had washed the days grime, blood and sweat off them, a heavy air of disappointment still hung over the team. Carris knew none of them were angry at one another really. While they could all easily blame Soren for breaking cover or hold Walter responsible for not acting quicker to stop Green entrenching, they had all been through so much together one loss, even if it was another on a streak, was not about to break up their feelings of comradeship.
She gave her teammates a smile as she entered the fold of the group, but before she could say anything they all snapped to attention as Sergeant Hughes came upon them.
"You really are a bunch of useless shits" Hughes spat angrily "Can't even fucking shower quick enough"
Hughes strode forward and stood over Carris, his breath stunk of cheap cigars.
"You" He shouted right into her face, showering her in flecks of spittle "Drop and give me fifty"
Carris obeyed but she could feel anger welling up inside her. She got onto her knees, feeling the dirt and mud of the courtyard between her fingers and started. She knew fifty push-ups was child's play and it was not the having to do them that angered her, it was Hughes, everything about him, and she hated him more every day. While the other sergeants where firm but supportive Hughes never gave them anything but abuse and heavy handed scolding. His lessons where brief and useless, he rarely challenged them and his tactical advice ranged from reckless to completely moronic. All he seemed to do was shout orders at them and tell them how they were not as good as the other teams. Carris wished she could just knock him out for the count, she knew she could, but she also knew she would never strike a superior officer.
As she carried on and her arms pumped up and down she looked up and gave Hughes a defiant look, she wanted him to know that these were nothing to her, and that she could handle anything he could dish out. Hughes scowled at her, so she started to alternate arms, doing each press up one handed, still keeping her eyes looked on him. Carris knew she was better than him, stronger, faster and smarter and she wanted him to know that too.
As Carris stared at him the veins of Hughes' fat neck began to bulge and his face turned purple, she knew he could taste her insubordination and she loved that he knew. The sergeant stepped forward and pushed the other Spartans out of the way so it was just him standing over her. Raising his large booted foot her placed it into the small of her back and stomped down on her back. Carris was slightly winded and lost her balance, she fell face first into the dirt and lay their splayed for a moment.
"Come on you cocky bitch" Hughes barked "You still have fifteen more to do, let's see if you can do it"
Hughes put all his weight on her back and she could feel the crushing pain shooting through her. Carris sucked in what air she could and dug her finger nails into the mud. No, she thought, she wouldn't let him beat her, she could do this, she could handle it. She pushed off with all her might and did another push up, raising her body and fighting the pressure on her back. Sweat beaded across her forehead and her muscles screamed tirelessly, but she would not let him win. She did another and another, each time it got harder and soon it felt like the weight of everything was sat bearing down upon her. After twelve she slipped, falling back into the mud with a splatter, her freshly cleaned hair now caked in dirt once again. She forced herself into the thirteenth, she could do it, she knew she could, she thought she could. Carris forced herself up but half way she felt her shoulders just go, she had nothing left and once more she tumbled into the earth.
"Useless" Hughes spat as he continued putting his weight onto her "A useless piece of trash"
Carris snapped.
She found strength within herself and threw Hughes off of her, rolling away to the left and leaving him startled and stumbling. Quickly she scrambled to her feet and stood to face him, she clenched her fists and felt her teeth grinding together so hard they felt as if they could shatter at any moment.
The two stared at each other for a moment, her blue eyes into his black ones, she hated him, she wanted to hurt him. Hughes must have seen the fire in her as he took a brief step back before a devilish grin returned to his face. Without taking his eyes off her, he plucked a small handset from his belt.
"Command, this is Staff Sergeant Hughes. Over" He spoke into his radio
"Hughes this is Command, report. Over" The voice of a man manning the command post somewhere else in the compound crackled.
"I've got a problem with 137. Permission to pacify? Over"
Carris breathes were short and ragged as she tried to contain herself. She knew what was about to happen and she knew it was her fault. She had challenged her commanding officer and now she would have to pay the price, somewhere in her mind she knew she shouldn't have risen to his taunts and she should have just sucked it up, but she didn't care, she wanted this. There was a moments silence as Hughes awaited the response.
"Permission granted. Non-Lethal force only Sergeant and as little damage as possible. I will send a control team over to back you up. Over" The voice crackled again.
"Over and out" Hughes grinned before fastening the small handset back to his belt.
Carris stood ready; she wondered how long the fat-man could last. She cast a glance at the other Spartans. They had all backed off slightly into the courtyard, she didn't blame them and she knew they wouldn't help her, they were sensible. It was not uncommon for the Spartans to get into fights with their trainers or handlers, and normally it never ended well for either party, but Carris intended to enjoy this for as long as she could. She couldn't understand why Hughes' was still smiling though; didn't he know that she was going to pummel him into the ground? The sergeant had about forty years on her and was more than a bit out of shape, as well as being unarmed; she knew she could punish him.
But as Carris stood ready to attack she realised she had made a mistake. Hughes reached round to his back and pulled out a stun baton that had been concealed in his size-too-small trousers waist band. Before she had time to rethink her plan of attack Hughes had already lunged forward and was bearing down upon her. She raised her arm to block the oncoming strike but with his free hand Hughes caught it and twisted hard. Carris found herself screaming, she had made another mistake.
She tried to reel back but the sergeant's grip was too strong. With her free hand she went to strike and landed an open palm strike into the sergeant's face, feeling his nose shatter and two of his teeth break free of his gums. The sergeant backed off and clutched his face, spitting blood and his broken teeth into the muck. Carris retreated slightly before springing forward for another hit, while Hughes may have been strong, there was no way he could be fast.
She landed another strike to his belly, feeling through the layers of fat that there was in fact the rock-hard muscle underneath. Hughes took a step back but caught her second blow that was aimed once more for his face. Using his weight he pulled Carris in and wrapped his trunk like arm around her neck. Carris struggled but before she could react she felt the prongs of the stun baton drive into her lower back and a wash of stinging numbness wash across her body. Carris tumbled forward to the ground as the Sergeant released his headlock.
Groggily she tried to get to her feet but the stun baton was potent, her vision was blurred and her muscles felt sluggish. As she raised herself on her knees a heavy impact knocked her back down again, slamming her into the mud. She could taste a mixture of dirt and blood in her mouth.
Before she could rise again she felt the hefting form of Sergeant Hughes on top of her. He must have weighed at least three hundred pounds and he straddled her from behind, driving his forearm into the back of her neck. The Sergeant punched her twice in her right flank and then once in the back of the head, leaving her ears ringing, before he let his whole weight pin her to the ground. She struggled but no avail and before she could scream Hughes clapped one of his hands around her mouth. It stunk of earth and tobacco.
Please no, Carris thought.
She continued to writhe but the Sergeant just pressed down harder. Carris shook her head in his grasp, trying to break free and trying to shake off the effects of the first stun baton shock quickly. She had to escape; she would win. Carris pushed off with all her might and she bucked off the ground, taking the Sergeant's great weight with her. She felt his frantic hands go for her throat.
No, Carris thought.
She pushed off again and raised herself up, taking all the fat and muscle of Hughes onto her back. Her muscles screamed in agony but surged with adrenaline. Sweat beaded across her forehead and soon she was standing again but with Hughes's hairy forearm wrapped around her throat and his other arm around her waist. She elbowed him in the gut three times, she felt one of his ribs crack on the final blow and heard him let out a hiss of pain like a balloon deflating; but he would not let go. Carris felt his arm tighten around her throat and breathing became hard, her vision beginning to black out.
No, no, no, Carris thought.
With every ounce of strength she could muster she kicked off with both legs and sent both of them slamming against one of the armoury's concrete walls. There was a high pitched wail of pain and she was free, tumbling forward from the Sergeant's vice grip. She stopped herself from hitting the earth and turned around.
Hughes sat crumpled in a heap against the wall with his legs splayed. His beady black eyes stared forward and were glazed as he sat raggedly wheezing for breath. Blood bubbled around his lips and he made the most horrible guttural gurgling sounds as he died.
Oh please god no, Carris thought.
She realised what she had done and she had done something awful. She couldn't think, she didn't really know what he just happened, she couldn't believe what had just happened, she had just killed a man with her bare hands. Carris stood for a moment and just looked at the Sergeant's lifeless body. His eyes that once looked so cruel looked terrified, in his last moments he had feared her, he had feared for his life. Carris began to quiver, she didn't mean too.
She broke down and began to scream.