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The following is a fan-based
FICTION
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"Not-so Fresh Meat"
February 8 2526 - Hour 0754
GYSGT Logan 'Log' Sutton
Damascus Materials Testing, Vhalkem, Planet of Chi Ceti IV
"Are they here?"
Silence broke at that question, my gaze aimed at Sif as she was 'meditating' over my chest, almost in peace and yet with a thoughtful concentration that remarked what she was really doing. It's been almost a week since that visit at the hospital to check on our lovely 'guest', and more surprises had come out as we were waiting for the next invitation to engagement: Cole wanted the brigade expanded to house new people. Good and well-trained ones, those that had already shown dedication and brilliance in the field. Four names had been brought up for now, and I recognized a few, same for the AI herself when it comes to two of those in particular.
"Yes," Sif confirmed with a slow nod. "I can go and alert Serin."
A smile appeared on my lips. "Please do. And make sure she isn't behaving too formal about it. It's a visit from new 'rookies', and some of them care little for that kind of pleasantries."
"Got it," The AI hummed before dematerializing to get the girl prepared. I stood up from my bed, fixing my current standard outfit and getting out of my room.
I waited for a while, just so that Serin was ready and coming out of her room. We were soon moving towards the labs, knowing that would be the proper rendezvous point for the incoming group. And so it turned out to be the case. Just as we arrived, the first of the four new 'recruits' had turned the corner to enter the room. Standing tall, muscular and with a sharp look on his face, Michael Baird was a towering Scottish man. Not at the same level as the Spartans, but enough to invoke fear on the smaller threats within the Covenant.
Shortly behind him, two other men and a woman. Arturo Rodriquez, Gage Yevgenny, and Felicia Sanderson. The former, a man with short black hair and with a Mediterranean tan was a native of Madrigal, while the other two, a bald man and a blonde both with blue eyes, were born in Harvest and yet have been far from the planet during training. They all paused as they saw me and were quick to provide a formal salute. One that I matched with Serin before going through standard procedure.
"At ease Marines," I ordered calmly, the four going to a less-stiff posture. "I'm glad to see that you four managed to make it with sharp punctuality. I was provided with your dossiers with all the praises that you received in the last few months or years- I will use them as guidelines for the time being, which means I will see if you will stand up to the expectations you have built around yourselves. I don't seek perfection, I only want you to be quick on your feet, ready to do your job and not disappoint to the point of having people killed. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir."
"Glad to know we are clear in this regard," I said while smiling. "My name is Gunnery Sergeant Logan Sutton, I'm in charge of the military business of the operation, your current boss. This one is Private Serin Celik, she is a bit of a second-in-command of mine, so I expect a degree of respect for her until she does a proper job within the role. Now, are there any questions you wish to know before getting through the rest of this first day in this group?"
Two hands went up, one was from Baird the other from Sanderson. "First the Scotsman, then the Harvestian."
Both looked surprised at the adjectives, but the former was quick to shed that shock to go through his question.
"The officer that approached me for this promotion mentioned that we were going to deal with some suicidal businesses, sir. Not ODST-Grade stuff, but enough to make everything count."
I slowly nodded. "That sounds about right in most parts, Lance Corporal. We're clearly not being sent to an early death all the time, but expect things to get really hot many times. It's war, and I don't need to explain that someone has to be around to take more heat compared to the others."
A nod that seemed to please him for the time being, but not it was the turn of the blonde.
"Sir, the suit that we're going to wear, the BALMUNG, is it going to cause any issues to our bodies?"
"I'm not exactly an expert in the details behind the suit, Corporal. That will be expanded on by Doctor Gerhardt since he is the brain behind the operation. Still, I can assure you all that the suit will not create you any issues if you go through the prescribed training. While the usage will not hurt you, it would be best to have it calibrated for your bodies so that the mobility isn't crippled while using it. Got it?"
"Yes, sir."
I nodded, turning to the closest terminal and eyeing the AI standing there. "That one is Sif, she will monitor the situation 'from above' and provide us with any info when we are on a mission. I suppose the doctor is ready to meet our new guests."
"He is ready, Gunnery Sergeant," She replied politely. "Please, pass through the door and he shall take care of the rest."
There was no hesitation as the four soldiers followed the order, leaving just me and Serin behind as I felt the need to have a few words in private with her.
"Serin, do you understand that this role I gave you isn't a benefit in most circumstances," I pointed out, my voice drawing the girl's attention. "Second-in-command means having to work with me to understand the others, and be able to know how to lead them to victory. It's a right to be in charge, yes, but it's also a duty I wish you will take seriously and with a single matter in mind I want you to promise me on."
She looked outright stunned by the seriousness of this conversation, having not expected this to escalate to this point. "A-And that is, sir?"
"Be a leader, not a ruler when the time comes. Because rulers in war are prone to become tyrants. While leaders... are there to help others when possible by doing their best with orders. I give you my trust- no, I give you the trust they will give you once you will end up in that possibility. Learn to administer it right and with personal discipline, okay?"
"...Yes, sir."
"I know you have it in you to be a formidable leader, but don't let this praise ever get to your head. I tell you this now because you need to hear it, because you may not hear it from me if the war goes south. Got it?"
"Yes... sir."
"When we are in private, treat me as 'Logan'. I thought we agreed on that already. We're a team now, we need to be more trustworthy towards one another to prevent issues in missions. Got it?"
Serin offered a smile. "Yes... Logan."
I swear, this girl is just adorable when she is not trying to.
In fact, she got huffing when I went on ruffling her hair a bit. "Consider it an admonishment for forgetting next time around."
Ah yes, I'm going to enjoy this.
The rest of the day went smoothly. I had nothing to really be concerned about as the new four 'kids' were easy to manage since I made a good impression with them. Nothing that would instantly say if they were going to follow my orders without hesitation, but I was somewhat glad that it wasn't the case. I needed soldiers, not cannon fodders ready to kill themselves if necessary.
I needed brains together with muscles, and I could tell they all had that kind of potential. And I saw that through training. Michael was the most driven, but the rest weren't slacking off with their own abilities. Felicia knew that she was going to be seen as the weakest link by some, but I could tell from the very beginning, right as I saw her in action, that she was a tough woman and one that was going to be quite troublesome for the Covenant. Gage was up there in terms of determination while Arturo was a silent hard-worker, speaking only when necessary.
They were all going to make good progress for a while, and I could tell this is going to bolster next missions' success rate. All in all, a formidable team in the making, but I could tell Cole hadn't reinforced the group with new manpower without reason. I could tell that things were going to get spicy once March came.
A not-so silent Storm was brewing, that much I could tell...
AN
The reason why the recruitment process for the BALMUNG Project is going with a sluggish pace is tied to two factors: 1) The 'recruits' need to have field experience that makes them acceptable for the project's standards; 2) They need to have no connection with ONI or other organizations that the Marine Corps/Navy sees as troublesome and conflict-causing within the 'pecking order' of the Project;
Also, a quick note: I have a Snippets/Story concepts thread in Questionable Questing. You would have to be 18+ and with an account to see it, since some stuff is NSFW (Not all, but some).
REVIEW Q&A!
Wildan: IRL or within story? Because I meant the latter. XD
Monkiepawn: Alba will get some cool and unique equipment due to her nature and combat capacity.
Blaze1992: She'll get something close to BALMUNG, but adapted to her sizes.
KneelPoultry: I ain't here to kinkshame. If you don't like something it's alright, but the story isn't going to be just about the smut. I will write those so that they are 'skippable' if the readers isn't into that kind of stuff.
Zhany: 24-25.
Austin: Sadly, not anytime soon. Not when the war is still unfolding this fiercely. There will be some culture shock since the turncoats will add more on the traditions and biological matters of their respective species. And about the Doom Story, I do have plans on something but I will first write a draft in Questionable Questing.
Maniacalharp747: There are plans for two-three Jackals, with one of those being female. All three would be canon to Halo Lore. The female isn't a sniper tho, more of a ship-officer within the in-story present.