"No. No way. Not happening." Cal glared daggers at the ONI Official she was speaking with. "No."
"Are you refusing orders, Spartan?"
"What do you think? I'm not having them. Jack and Khalid didn't die so that they could be replaced. I'm quite happy with a team of four. I don't need six. I don't want six."
"You don't have a choice. They are yours now. Whether you like it or not."
"Yes, sir," she snarled, saluting and stalking away. There would be trouble later, but there would be trouble later anyway, because of her attitude. She wasn't sure what was wrong with her… she was normally far more professional than this!
She needed to kill something. Combat was usually the best way for her to vent when she was this furious, but real combat was not forthcoming. The hellish little iceball known as Hargentine had yet to be threatened by the war, which was, of course, why there was a major ONI facility on it. And why she and her team were stuck here until they could prove they were still fit for duty.
Cal sighed. Her team was fit. But perhaps she wasn't. She hadn't cried since the escape pod but she'd come damn close on a number of occasions. Jack and Khalid were her friends, her brothers, and damn it, she couldn't even be mad at anybody. An accident. Not killed by the enemy, no, they'd been killed by bad luck. Plain and simple.
Woe betide the new members of her team, because she was going to give them hell.
Kit watched with no small amount of trepidation as a furious Callum approached. It wasn't easy to piss her off this much. That Official must have said something really stupid. He had known Cal almost all her life and her control over her temper was almost legendary. Very little could affect her at all, much less this badly.
"Are you okay?" he asked her as she drew level with him.
"Do I look okay?"
Kit fell into step beside her, but kept a safe distance, a little stunned. Cal never snapped at him. Sure, Ash copped shit regularly, but Ash was a little too prone to losing his head under pressure. Kit doubted he would have as much patience with the slightly cowardly young Spartan as Cal did. And that, he supposed, was why she was the leader and not him. He watched her as they walked, and then after a few minutes of tense silence, he finally decided it was worth asking the question that was on his mind. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"No. I want to kill something."
Kit didn't understand the younger Spartans' tendency to turn to combat to deal with their feelings. It wasn't healthy. "Well you can't kill me, but maybe a good spar would help?" He had no idea why he was offering himself up as a punching bag. He just knew it felt right.
"Be in the ring in thirty minutes." Cal positively exuded a 'fuck off' vibe. Kit felt that for now, it was best to give her what she wanted and let her be.
"I'll be there. Don't go keeping me waiting." He split off down a side passage, thumbing his comm unit as he went. "Regal Three through Six to Conference Room Foxtrot, stat."
BANG.
The targets in the firing range were too unrealistic, but the sound of her sniper rifle ejecting rounds in excess of mach five was therapeutic, in an odd way. It helped Cal release some of the homicidal rage that had swamped her, out of nowhere and for no good reason. She didn't want to kill Kit, or even injure him, and she knew that if she didn't vent a little first, she wouldn't be able to hold back. When sparring matches turned into serious fights, things got ugly.
BANG.
She wished it was one of the newbies that she was going to fight. Beating the shit out of the people she didn't want was a much more satisfying prospect than sparring with Kit. Then again, there was a high chance she would take it too far, and if she killed one of them…
BANG.
The Spartan Psychiatric Facility on Reach was a very unpleasant place. She had been sent there once for the sake of a mission. Spartans who had lost their minds were incredibly dangerous and without highly specialized staff, it was impossible to keep them under control. The doses of sedatives and antipsychotics that it took to control a truly crazy Spartan were insane, and even the maddest of Spartans was smart enough to be able to get out of taking drugs they didn't want to take. It was a small facility, without many patients, and admittance was reserved solely for those Spartans who were known to be a danger to themselves or others. And who couldn't be kept sane with a cocktail of medications. But regardless of whether or not drugs could help her, if Cal killed a team member… even one she didn't want… she would have to live in that awful facility for the rest of her life.
BANG.
Not. Going. To happen.
BANG.
So really, it was a good thing that she was sparring with Kit, and not one of the newbies. Cal hadn't even bothered to learn their names. To her, they were just unwanted trash trying to take Jack and Khalid's places.
Kit glanced from face to face. Ash and Amber looked calm on the surface, but he knew them both well enough to know that Ash was disdainful of the newcomers and Amber was, oddly, a little afraid of the pale, lanky one called Weiss. He couldn't deny that Weiss was a little weird, but frightening? He didn't get that vibe at all. The other newcomer, an unassuming, plain-looking blonde woman called Rhae, was the one who gave off the 'lethal' vibe.
"I want everyone to understand that our new Three and Four are not replacements for Jack and Khalid. Those are some pretty big shoes that Lead does not want filled. But the fact is, we need Regal at full strength, and for that to be possible, we need six Spartans. Weiss, Rhae, starting tomorrow I want you both participating in team building activities. And Rhae?"
"Sir."
"None of that loner crap. I've seen your file. We don't tolerate that in this team. Understood?"
"Understood, sir."
"Good. Ash, Amber, make them welcome, and for God's sake, Amber, if you're going to worry about one of them, why is it Weiss?"
"I- I'm not worried, sir!"
"And I'm the Queen. Listen to me, all of you. Every single member of this team is to be treated exactly the same as every other. Cal isn't ready to accept either of you newbies, but as far as I'm concerned, you're Regal now. Until she accepts you, I'm in charge. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!" four voices rang out strong and clear.
"Good. It's good to have the team back up to full strength. When Cal realizes that, too, we'll kick off our first mission with our new members. Until then, we train. For starters, trust exercises. Three, Five, partner up. Four and Six, you too."
AN: Finally FINALLY got off my butt and updated this one. Weiss and Rhae don't have numbers decided yet, but any suggestions are welcome ^.^
Weiss is pronounced a lot like 'Vice' but not exactly the same. It's German, look it up if you want. Rhae is a weird way of spelling 'Ray'. And yes, I like giving my characters odd names. Callum, Kit, Weiss, Rhae, Ashley and Amberleigh. In team order. Weiss is Three, Rhae is Four.