Snippet #2298604

There were only four days between now and the invasion of Khyranus, the Statehood's capitol. There would be no mistakes; there would be no errors for that would be the downfall of an entire strike force. One mishap would leave a mess for another person to clean up, doubling their work, and that will and has proven fatal.

Aboard the U.O.S. Hell-blazer, everyone was making preparations for the assault; soldiers were moving supplies, gathering ammo, and training ever harder. In a rather dark room lit up by blue lights and five water tanks, a man stood pacing the platform above the water tanks. The rest of Haltaire team should be hear any moment, it was just a matter of when. When would they get here? It was only some moments ago he sent out a message to the rest of his team. In the tanks of water hung many wires, a respiration line, and a helmet, which one would put on and anyone in the water tanks would be immersed in a simulator which the Omega Division used for combat training. The tanks were mounted from the wall, and generated currents would help simulate what was happening in the virtual world and keep the trainees in place as the program proceeded. The simulation would end when either the last man of the team died or the team accomplished its objective.

With such little time, Locke was not about to waste any of it out drinking or playing billiards or anything else. This operation could bring about the end of the war, something that has produced casualty rates never seen in the history of mankind.

"Locke, are you sure they got the message?" one of the division technicians asked; he was the one who would be monitoring the team as they progressed in their training. Without proper supervision, one could have an induced state of cardiac arrest.

"I'm sure, Dylan. And if they ignore it, I'd shoot them myself," Locke said. "What about your team? What are they doing?" he asked; he stopped pacing and looked over to the computer terminals where Dylan was at.

"They got called off by Colonel Bernham to go help with the distribution of supplies," Dylan replied.

"At least they're doing something."

"You know, you are a little hard on your team some-"

"And what do you suggest? That we sit here idle as the most important invasion of the war yet just falls in our laps? Let's see how you do out on the field and see what you think then, Alex (Aleksey Harrison) will probably be the one hauling you off the field then, you concentrate on what you have to do," Locke reprimanded him. Dylan was almost a Corporal, and would probably be promoted before the assault begins. At this point, Locke was a bit annoyed with the ignorance of Dylan. There hadn't really been any Omega Division operations that called for use of the whole division, never-mind half, and there certainly weren't any this daring. Most Omega Division operations involved only a few hours of operating behind lines, extracting or capturing a VIP or taking out a fortified stronghold, but in that case a Euphamism tank, some infantry, and proper aerial support would have the job done like it was nothing. You could even argue that the Omega Division never really had a challenge, just moments of being stressed.

"I'm sorry, sir..." Dylan said, understanding his mistake.

"It's alright, Dylan, as long as you know for next time... that's what all of this means when we're at the safety of our ships and bases, it's just another way to learn." Locke looked up at a large screen on the wall which displayed how the simulation was laid out.

"Sir," Dylan smirked, "how come you're not my team leader?" Locke smiled slightly.

"They were talking about promoting me to platoon commander, but who knows?"

There hung a long silence between the two, enjoying the momentary peace they had. Silence, they understood, was a luxury to have on the cramped ship supporting its maximum capacity. But then again, anything seemed like a luxury in this war.