Obstacle Course

Time had become kind of a blur for the members of the Foreclosure Task Force, now part of the Foreclosure Platoon, Bravo Company. Training was a fairly repetitive endeavor that became a simple part of their daily routine. From shooting practice to daily PT and running, the girls had put some muscle mass on. Hoshino looked back at the girls, however, as they trailed behind her on the Marine obstacle course.

The base's finest little implement of torture for new recruits, the Obstacle Course was three handred ugly meters of everything from mud pits to walls to scale via rope climbing and helping each-other and even a pit of mud beneath barbed wire with four Machine Guns firing over their heads. Currently, the leader of the FTF eyed the first wall which required a buddy climb.

She stopped in front of it, crouched and put her hand together, waving Ayane forward. The younger FTF member and the team nerd had received some new glasses specifically meant to stay attached to her head during PT, not for a lack of incidents where she nearly lost her normal glasses. When the girl reached it, mildly panting and slightly red in the face, she put her foot on her leader's/buddy's/Battle Buddy's cupped hands and immediately felt herself get boosted to the top.

Stopping there, she turned around and stretched out a hand for Hoshino to grab on. The girl smiled, putting a foot onto the wall and using it as leverage to jump up, grabbing onto her nerdy teammate's hand. They smiled at one-another, then turned toward the others, helping Nonomi, then Serika and finally Shiroko up to the top.

Hoshino also stopped to help May up to the top before they jumped down, with May calling out, "Thanks, girls!" as they ran through to the next big event:A balancing act on round logs with a deep mud pit below. They started running onto them as Hoshino gave May a thumbs up and a smile. Hoshino herself nearly stumbled off, but regained her balance.

Nonomi, however, dropped and fell into the mud, caking herself in the brown muck while Sergeant Diego called out through a PA system, "GET YOUR FAT ASS UP, DROP-TOP! BACK OF THE LINE AND ON THE LOGS AGAIN!" while Nonomi stifled some tears. The rest of the FTF had made it across unscathed, meaning a rope swing came next.

Hoshino sighed and said, "Alright, let's go before the other recruits catch up!" as she jumped onto the first rope, stretching her hand and using the momentum to swing forward. She grabbed the second rope, using the momentum from the switch to go to the third, then the fourth, then the fifth, then the sixth, then the last, jumping off right in front of the mud pit where the MGs were.

She heard the double-click of the bolt being racked back and rounds being fed into the chambers and looked ahead. For a moment, the stretch of mud and barbed wire ahead looked like a nightmarishly long bit of No Man's Land like in those old War Movies Shiroko loved to watch. She felt a pit in her stomach, recalling the events of Skopje again and wondering quietly if they couldn't burn the mud.

As Nonomi finally reached them, whining a little, Shiroko said, "At least you're already muddy," as an ice-breaker joke. The somewhat more well-endowed member of the team let out a mildly annoyed whine, but sighed and nodded in agreement while the rest of the Recruits that had joined them, May included, laughed. It was a nervous, communal laugh as they stared down the MG nests, which were staggered so as to not shoot each-other…

Hoshino and the girls could survive Fifty Cal just with the odd chance of getting knocked out by the sheer weight of bullcrap travelling at supersonic speeds. It was the pain that that kind of hit would cause, not to mention the concussive force, that scared them. Everyone else, though, ran the risk of taking a bullet that would certainly be fatal.

Hoshino, however, sighed deeply, then said, "Well, Feet First into Hell, Face First In The Mud, eh?" which got a few more awkward laughs, followed by gasps as she dived face first beneath the barbed wire, mud staining her face. The first rounds started, the guns chugging rhythmically as Hoshino scrambled forward, shots whizzing an inch above her Halo and a couple more above her head.

Dragging herself forward, Hoshino could barely hear the flaps and pops and movement of the others behind her, though she was acutely aware they were now moving, too, considering the MGs' fire almost sounded like it intensified. Her heart skipped a beat as she looked back, immediately seeing Shiroko right there with her, face dead serious despite the flecks of mud that now stained her own rosy cheeks.

Her wolf ears were folded in so mud didn't get into them, either. Clever girl, Hoshino thought. After she saw that the rest of the FTF was right behind her, she turned her gaze back forward, feeling a bullet skim so close to her head, it nearly took off her regrowing cowlick just moments later. She ducked, face filling up with mud, but kept on going.

The light at the end of the tunnel couldn't have been far. Even so, she heard some of her comrades struggle, kids yelling out in fear. May and her team, however, remained steadfast in the face of peril. And easily, their patience was soon rewarded. They reached the end of the corridor of mud and sharpened steel, climbing out and standing up, before patting off the mud from their clothes and darting through the last few, more minor obstacles. Hoshino then felt something bounce off her skull, but felt no blood, nor any form of concussion.

Reaching the end of the path and ringing the bell with her team, Hoshino finally allowed herself to breathe, cheers echoing through the air. The thump of boots sounded close as Diego approached, hands behind her back. She grinned, stating, "I guess those floating little decorations on your noggins are useful for something. PLATOON, FALL OUT AND GET YOUR ASSES TO THE SHOWERS, NOW! LUNCH IS IN THIRTY! DISMISSED!"

"Well, that was terrifying," May whispered, looking back at the Marines as they unloaded the Confetti Poppers, fifty-caliber machine guns that were wildly out of date for anything but this kind of training. She looked at Ayane, smiled and bumped her shoulder with her fist gently, stating, "Thanks for saving my butt back there. I nearly took one in the brainpan."

"You're welcome," Ayane offered with a kind smile, then looked at Hoshino.

The pink-haired leader, whose hair was starting to grow slightly back out now, smiled and gave a thumbs up again, before stretching, yawning and saying, "Uweh… That tuckered me out," while looking at her friends. She noticed all of them stared at her with a specific kind of stare. The 'we're not quite done yet' stare.

Indeed, showers and lunch had gone by quick. Aside from an upcoming Ruck March, the girls were now training with their future firearms. At a shooting range within the base itself, the entire Company had set up with MA37s, MA5Bs, Battle Rifle prototypes, M329 DMRs and even M90 CAWS, or Shotguns. Hoshino visibly gravitated toward the pump-action weapon, but was stuck wielding an MA5 for now.

With the iron sights in the cowling flipped up, the girl squeezed off single shots toward their targets. Spent casings dropped onto the dirt, brass glowing in the sunlight as sweat draped them all from head to toe, sticking dirt and dust onto their bodies, immediately after they'd taken showers, too… She sighed, feeling the dust irritating her skin as she mumbled something to herself.

Dust kicked up with each fired shot as the girls grew to get used to the 7,62x51mm bullets that the UNSC loved using for their ARs.

Her bursts were accurate, if a little sloppy, and the groupings left a bit to be desired. Something DI Diego was keen on letting her know, with yelling, "JESUS CHRIST, PINKIE, I COULD AIM BETTER THAN YOU AND I'VE GOT PRESCRIPTION GLASSES!" which caused a few of the others to let out silent laughs. She called out, "WHAT'S SO FUNNY YOU LITTLE SHITS?! SHE'S STILL SHOOTING STRAIGHTER THAN HALF OF YOU!" before she stomped over to Serika, grabbed her by one of her cat ears and said, "THE BULLSEYE IS IN THE CENTER OF THE SILHOUETTE, CATTY, NOT THE WHITE OF THE FUCKING PAPER!"

While Serika rubbed her ear, the Sergeant went bug-eyed as she saw Nonomi spray a full burst down-range and strike both around and on the target. She scoffed, barked at Nonomi, "DROP-TOP, FOR FUCK'S SAKE, THAT'S THE CORPS'S AMMO YOU JUST WASTED! HOLD! THE! GUN! TIGHT!" and she crouched beside her, forcing the girl to clasp the rifle firmly. She spoke, "I THOUGHT YOU LITTLE SHITS WERE SUPPOSED TO KNOW HOW TO FIRE WEAPONS, CONSIDERING YOUR PERSONAL BELONGINGS HAVE SOME ANCIENT-ASS DESIGNER ONES IN THERE!"

After reaming out May and Ayane a little, leaving the latter slightly discombobulated, but surprisingly alright, she paused, watching Shiroko. The girl fired precise, short bursts that drilled holes into the target. Center mass, perfect, tight groupings. She spoke, "GOD FUCKING DAMN, I GUESS ONE OF YOU CAN ACTUALLY SHOOT WORTH THEIR WEIGHT IN SHIT!"

She stopped by Shiroko's side, watching the young girl focus down the irons of the weapon, bursts spitting out of the barrel like nothing else. Patting her on the shoulder, she said, "MARKSMAN CLASS! THAT'S WHAT THE FUCK I'M LOOKING AT HERE! WOLFY'S EARS MIGHT TWITCH LIKE A MOTHERFUCKCER WHEN SHE SHOOTS, BUT SHE'S GOT STYLE!"

A small smirk crept up on Shiroko's face as she let out an 'Nn', before hearing the rifle click. She saw the girls looking at her, with Hoshino giving a thumbs-up and a smile, before sighing. Seemed as though next week would be them assigning weapons to the girls based on what they were shooting like. Hoshino already slotted in for using shotguns, with a proclivity for trying to modify her own at the Armorers' to fire the same eight-gauge slugs that the UNSC's M90s fired.

Regardless of it, the girls marched back to the showers for a second time today, weapons held close, without ammo and on safe. Their shooting scores were still well above the average of the Marine Corps, but Shiroko's were something else. Ayane gave Shiroko a pat on the back, to which the silver-haired wolf gave a thumbs up and her own small smile back to her and Hoshino.

Nonomi, meanwhile, wondered if she was ever gonna wield anything heavier than an AR into battle, though she didn't say it. Serika held no disdain for the fact their DI was being rough with them. Hell, she was glad the woman was driving them to work as hard as possible. May, meanwhile, looked haggard, tired, but happy, even as her sweat mixed with the dust they'd picked up off the ground.

The Sergeant-Major watched them all depart with their company. Kids, the lot of'em, she thought to herself, sighing deeply and rubbing her eyes. She'd make Marines out of them yet, but that didn't mean she liked where they were gonna be headed. Regardless of deployment, it was either gonna be facing human secessionists fully intent on killing them, or the Covenant, fully intent on killing them, but religiously.

And Hoshino… That kid took a slug from a fifty cal to the head like it was god-damn nothing. Julia acknowledged Halsey had sent the kids over of their own volition, weirdness and all. She had to know someone was gonna be staring at them ninety percent of the day, thinking of ways to get them to back out, so she gave them to her…

With a sigh, the Sergeant-Major departed for her room…

Later on. Communications Room

Say what one will about the Sergeant-Major, she was punctual. Especially when it came to answering questions from HIGHCOM regarding Halsey's newest little experiment. She felt a stab of guilt. She couldn't call the poor girls 'experiments'. Not to herself and not in front of anyone else, not without feeling hurt.

Regardless, through, now donning her Dress Blues for the upcoming secret conversation, peaked cap stuck under her arm, the woman stared at a holographic display as it linked, ran through several dozen security protocols, then clicked and activated. Four holograms appeared. One was Doctor Halsey, looking as disheveled as ever while buried in her work, another was a familiar one, Colonel James Ackerson, head of some of ONI's least savory projects, then Admiral Margaret Parangosky, the old hag and Commander-in-Chief of ONI herself and finally, Lord Admiral Terrence Hood.

Four of the most dangerous and capable people in one phone call and here Julia was, being literally just the paper boy, throwing the news out to them. The good drill instructor snapped a crisp salute at the group, most of whom returned it with varying levels of enthusiasm. Doctor Halsey, in the meanwhile, remained ever the stoic civvie.

"Sergeant-Major. I trust the girls are behaving?" Halsey joked, pushing her glasses up past the bridge of her nose. Parangosky and Ackerson seemed tense about this meeting, but Diego wasn't gonna let the two main Spooks talk. Nor was Halsey, if what she saw in the woman's posture was telling her anything.

So, she decided to reply with mild sarcasm, "Oh, they're fine and dandy, doc," before she shifted back to a more serious tone of voice, "Christ, you couldn't'a sent weirder kids if you told me you were sending me a Spartan's baby," though that last part was still a bit of an attempt at humor. One that seemed to get at least Lord Hood to snort under his hand.

"As interesting a mental image as that is, Sergeant-Major," Halsey offered, trying to maintain her own composure, "I'd like to know how they're doing in training," before she looked over her Tablet, which contained reports from the training. She had sent them with a bowtie and all nice and spiffy to the entire group that was currently here to ask questions.

Confirming the fucking reports… She sighed, annoyed.

"They're above average, at least. Note I think a couple of'em are holding back," Diego replied, crossing her arms to her chest, then sighed and spoke with more sarcasm saturating her tone, "but we've finally nailed down their weapon proficiencies, no thanks to their guns themselves," before looking at Ackerson.

"Your candor is appreciated, Sergeant," The Colonel remarked with his own mild hostility toward the woman. He then crossed his arms, casting a glance at Halsey and stating, "Good to know they're adapting well to military life," and waiting to see what the reply would be. Diego felt a chill shoot up her spine. ONI spooks were bad, but Ackerson was something that made even the most

"Agreed. We're still not sending them over…" Halsey replied rather bluntly, causing Ackerson to growl and Parangosky to roll her eyes. She looked at the Sergeant-Major, then said, "If they're lucky, their posting will be light and away from the fighting," with a somewhat hopeful tone. Hood nodded, while Julia cracked a proud, smug grin.

"I wasn't going to inquire about their redeployment to my side of the aisle, Doctor," The good Colonel retorted with barely-hidden disdain toward the Doctor. He blamed her, "We've got enough trouble with you not getting anything useful from them," to which the woman frowned, grip tightening on her tablet.

Man, Julia wasn't made for politics, she thought to herself. DI work, sure, but this shit? She wondered how the hell Hood was handling it so professionally. Man was a statue.

"I was not going to dissect them just to find out how their Halos worked, Colonel," Halsey replied, visibly appalled by the unspoken suggestion. She didn't bother putting away the venom this time, though, having heavily pressed on the man's rank, though her glare settled on Parangosky, who hired the son-of-a-bitch.

"It would have been useful if you gave us something more than 'I don't know', however," Ackerson handwaved the little warning away. He wanted to start again, but Hood cast a glance over to the ONI commander-in-chief's and chief bitch's side of the holographic comlink, waiting to see what she was gonna say…

"Colonel, Doctor, pipe down," The woman said to them with clear disinterest. She didn't seem to care that two of her most important assets were having a veritable catfight in the chatroom. Hood wanted a little more than that, though.

"Right… Apologies," Halsey calmly replied, looking at Hood.

"It's quite alright, doctor," The Lord and Admiral nodded, crossing his arms to his chest. At least someone was capable of cooling their jets. Catherine stowed her tablet in her pocket, took her glasses off and started wiping them with the hem of her shirt, before putting them back on and pushing a strand of brown hair out of her eye.

"The Covenant is fast-approaching, sir. With all due respect, I doubt it's 'quite alright'," Ackerson protested, giving a wave of the hand. He made a point of activating a new holographic display, causing their forms to shrink a little and motioning to the difference between Human space at the start of the war and just how deep the Covenant's spearhead had pierced into the Inner Colonies.

"Regardless… I presume you have more to report than how you feel about them, Sergeant?" Parangosky chose not to beat the dead horse there, looking back at Diego, who seemed eager to actually continue her report. Dieg, to her credit, had a part she hadn't written in the report all lined up.

"I do," The woman replied, then activated camera footage from the running course, focusing on the pink-haired heterochromia-having leader of the FTF. A red tracer visibly bounced off the top of her head, causing the group to gasp while Diego explained, "One of them took a FIFTY CAL round to the head and was fine… Either one of our MGs was pointed too low, or she poked her head just a little too high between the barbed wire, it doesn't matter. I saw her, Takanashi Hoshino, shrug it off."

"Sounds like the Halos are doing their job, as advertised. What's the problem?" Parangosky inquired, hiding a malicious grin behind her left hand. She was getting ideas, Diego thought, and that was never a good sign for anyone involved. Especially not a bunch of kids like Hoshino and the FTF. Even Halsey looked mildly perturbed.

Julia, however, replied clearly, "The problem is these kids might wind up relying on them too much. We already have Sunaookami who took a plasma bolt to the fucking chest, Admiral, with all due respect, and she still has the scars to prove it!" and she pulled up Shiroko's medical records and photographs of the healing plasma burns.

"Watch your tone, Sergeant," Ackerson warned, jabbing a finger her way.

"Oh, pardon the fuck out of me, sir," Diego almost snarled, throwing her hands up into the air. She looked at Halsey and demanded, "Doctor, this is batshit insane, why did you even accept to transfer them to the Marines?" while Ackerson fumed in his com room. The woman sighed deeply, arranged her glasses, then looked at the Sergeant.

Then, she solemnly replied, "Because I knew others would try getting their hands on them… And miss Hoshino seemed dedicated to helping us. Her friends follow her wherever she goes…"

"Let's hope that kind of Leadership shows up in the last exercise of their training. We're running a CTF match," Diego mumbled, rubbing her temples. The CTF game was going to be the final exam, so to speak, the one where they'd see whether or not the girls and their little Company of Heroes could make it through to be Marines… And if they'd face the worst of both Humanity and the Alien.

"Hope you don't mind if ONI sends some observers. We wanna see what the kids can do out there," Parangosky inquired, leaning her chin on her hand. Her eyes, dark as night, locked onto Diego, causing a chill to run up the woman's spine. If there was anything someone like good old Maggie could do, it was scare the living bejesus out of even a Marine.

"Send whoever you want," Julia replied with half a mouth.

"I'll have some of my own there to supervise the event, too. Safety's sake," Hood offered, having probably noticed how put off the Sergeant-Major felt. If there was anything she could say of the old man in overall Command of the UNSC? He was nothing if not careful with the needs of his people. Especially those whom he considered friends.

"... Thank you, sir," The DI smiled.

"With that in mind, this little meeting is dismissed. Let's get back to our usual work," Hood ordered, then looked upon the rest of the staff. Halsey gave a nod and, probably for the first and only time in her life, a quick salute to Lord Hood. He nodded back, saluted everyone, then disconnected the call after getting return salutes. Diego sighed in relief, scratched her chin, then began ordering preparations for their final test.

Barracks

The women's side of the barracks was quiet, despite some of the ongoing activity. Hoshino was sat at her bunk, looking over her shotgun, shield and pistol after they'd been returned to her. She'd made repeated requests to get them back. Right now, though, she had parts strewn about ahead of her, parts she'd acquired from the Armorer, in order to try and modify her guns to better fit UNSC service.

She heard May coming out of the shower while the rest of the girls lounged about in their bunks, then looked back. Slim built, just like she'd seen her during training, with her frame only covered by a towel, May walked over to her bunk and picked up clothes to change into. Noticeably, however, she had two necklaces, one of which was a cross and rosary.

Religious symbols weren't a rare thing, even in Kivotos. Heck, there were entire schools based on the concept of ancient Religions, but to see someone practicing a faith while they're out in the Great Beyond like this… Hoshi asked, "Hey, May? Where'd you get that rosary from?" while tapping on her own chest.

May perked up as she donned her tank top, then looked down and pulled out the small wooden cross. A melancholic smile appeared on her face as she replied quietly, "My mom gave it to me," before looking back, "We follow the Old Faith. Y'know, mostly because we think there's gotta be somethin' out there that created this, that created all of us. It can't be nothing."

"Hey. No need to explain yourself to any of us," Serika spoke, her cat ears twitching. She yawned, hand over her mouth, then said to her, "If believing in something gets you through the day-to-day, believe away. Just don't hurt anyone while doing so," and that got the others to give various noises in agreement.

May smiled, then replied to them, "Thanks. You girls have anything you have faith in?"

The four exchanged quick glances, each smiling as a specific memory about the same person resurfaced. Hoshino told her, "... A man who guided us all through life. Our Sen…" She scrunched her face up, scratching her noggin to think of the proper word, then said to a chuckling May, "Our head teacher. The man was old, but he had some sage wisdom about him any time we went out fighting to keep our school safe."

"He was something else," Chuckled Serika, "You'd think he was some old pervert at the start, but nope…" before she stood up. The non-FTF girls in the company barracks started giggling, while May looked at Serika. The catgirl explained, "He helped us keep our school open. Was still helping us by the time we disappeared from home…" before she frowned, "Wonder how he's doing…"

"He's probably fine," Ayane spoke, slightly jovial, "I mean… He always seemed to have his wits about him, if nothing else. Smart tactician, too," before she pushed her glasses onto the bridge of her nose, still smiling. Her elf ears flip-flopped up and down happily, which May seemed to find adorable, going by the giggling as she put on the last of her clothes and jumped into her own bunk.

"Nn. He was strong. But kind, too," Shiroko added, scratching one of her old injuries.

Nonomi nodded, visibly happier than before, "He was also very fun to be around. Always went along with some of our silliest plans!" before giggling while May listened in. She was smiling, that melancholy never fading from her face. Nonomi, meanwhile, decided to ask, "Hey… May. If it isn't too personal, how are your folks?"

She seemed to freeze like a deer in headlights at the question, face going through a dozen different emotions. She seemed to settle on a small smile, however, replying, "Oh, they're around. Probably waiting for me to finish my service, y'know?" as she leaned back into her bunk and looked up at the one above her. The girls exchanged quick looks, then chose mentally not to press it further.

Bidding a quick good night to each-other, they prepared for whatever other hell might come tomorrow with training. Hoshino, however, knew the kind of look poor May had. It was a look of longing. The kind of look one only got if they lost someone dear to them. Part of her prayed she was wrong, though… Mostly because May seemed like a nice girl.