"Then let's head to the chopper. The quicker we're out the better."
Tarkov was ready to go. He always had his pack ready before an op. He hoped Lara was prepared for extended field time. This op was going to be very up in the air about when it would end.
Larassa nodded in agreement, double checking her gear for a minute or two before saying, "Lead the way, merc."
She'd never been one to show a lot of respect to her higher ups so she didn't feel the need to act any differently around Tarkov. She just hoped this mission would go smoothly and they'd only be out in the field for a couple days at most.
Tarkov crisply wheeled around and began moving toward the helipad area.
As he did, he un-slung his rifle, checked the chamber, and began examining it again for cleanliness.
After a moment of doing so, he slung the rifle, took out his headset and heads-up eyepiece, switched them on, and put them on his head. He never wasted a moment, and constantly checked his gear.
Without saying any words, he made his way across the main barracks area, knowing the other soldiers were watching in curiosity.
Not like they'd have the clearance to have any idea who we were, or what we were doing, he thought.
He began adjusting his armor's straps, making sure everything was tight and consolidated.
He felt the mutant girl's following him in his peripherals, so had no worries of her. He assumed she, too, was preparing for the next mission.
This was what Tarkov referred to as 'the mental twilight'. It was while the troops were preparing to leave for a mission in that they became most nervous and unpredictable, much like twilight in the field.
He still wasn't sure how Larassa would function under stress. He was confident his mission would go well though. He had been in many more difficult ones before.
In his head, he ran himself through the pre-combat body checks. Limbered up, no current injuries, ate 2 hours ago; stomach steeled and full, full gear on, all kits packed, weapons clean, comms online, callsigns assigned - wait, need callsigns.
As they approached the chopper area, he signaled the pilot to begin prepping for takeoff by holding his hand with two fingers up and waving them in a circle, the universal sign for 'pack it up and move it out'.
As he did so, he turned to Larassa. "We need callsigns. Mine for this mission will be Tiger-6. Have any preferences for yours? We can inform command on the ride so they can get tracking on us."
This reminded him that he also would need to ping the commander before boarding the helo, so as he finished saying this, he pulled up the CO's comms on his HUD. He came to a stop outside the helipad and awaited Larassa's response.
Larassa watched Tarkov prepping himself as they walked towards the helipad with amusement. He really did seem to take his job seriously, much more seriously than Lara did.
She watched him signal to the pilot to start up the heli and then came to a halt when he stopped and asked her for a callsign. Going with her usual one, Lara said, "Wolf-7."
She looked over at the heli and wondered how long it'd take them to get to their destination. She'd probably try to get some rest on the ride. She struggled enough with getting proper sleep, but she always found it easy to take naps throughout the day.