Ghost's Story

When the loudspeaker rang out, Caitriona was already at the door to the cafeteria - no, wait, what do they call them again? Caitriona wondered, the words of the loudspeaker already slipping out of her mind as she handed her ID over to the hall monitor. He was a very tall man in slim, but powerful looking armor with a large gun leaning next to him. She smiled absently at the man as she entered, still pondering about the question - oh, right. Mess hall. That's what it is, Caitriona thought.

She wandered around for a bit, receiving mild glares and odd looks from the other people walking to get their lunch. Caitriona smiled at them and continued her search for the table that she was supposed to sit at. It was supposed to be labelled but... Caitriona shook her head. In a room that large, it really didn't help all that much - not unless the label was the size of an elephant and judging by the lack of elephant-sized signs in her eye's view, it was really unlikely.

Finally though, spotted a table that, at an angle, looked like it had a small, paper-sized sign taped to one end that said Task-397 in large, bold letters.

Caitriona edged herself sideways and stood on tiptoe to get a better look. It was the right table - currently empty. Looking around, Caitriona marked the location in her mind, taking a moment to commit the picture to memory and then turned around and walked the other way, almost running into another soldier. Luckily, the man had been paying attention to where he was going and nimbly stepped to the side, though he gave Caitriona a mild glare.

"My bad," Caitriona returned, before continuing on. She lifted her nose and sniffed, almost dog-like at the aromas around her - it was good food, definitely. Most of the time, scents this - delicious - only came into her nose when she was at an expensive dinner.

For a moment, Caitriona was distracted from her dinner quest by a hissing noise. She glanced towards the sound - the large blast doors were being shut. She had a vague impression of a mouse in its cage as the door was slid down - there certainly were similarities in the two situations. Of course, Caitriona thought as she stepped up to receive a tray, not every mouse has five-star gourmet food served to her that's guaranteed to be good and healthy.

"Do you recommend anything?" She asked as response to the cafeteria worker's question.

The cafeteria worker blinked at her and then sighed. "Seared chicken with apricot sauce, light spices. Side of small fruit salad. Grilled eggplant and mushroom sandwich if you're vegetarian. Comes with some tomato soup. Best drinks are -" The cafeteria worker broke off and looked Caitriona up and down for a moment, judging her. "I'd recommend the iced tea or some mineral water."

After taking a minute to consider - causing irritation in the line behind her - Caitriona said, "I'll take the sandwich. And iced tea, please."

It took less time for the cafeteria worker to serve her and shoo her away than it took for Caitriona to turn around and scan for her table. When she'd figured out the right direction, she headed towards it.

To her mild surprise, there was someone sitting there now - a tall, muscular man with very close cropped black hair, dressed in a combat suit - a more casual - if a combat suit could be called that - one than the hall monitors had been wearing. He looked rather intimidating and his meal matched his looks - very simple and hard - as Caitriona walked close enough to see.

She placed her tray down and sat down. "Hi. I'm Caitriona - Cait. Are you..." She was unsure of what to say - she only knew the leader's name - "Ghost?"

"Yeah," Caitriona said, giving a small smile. "That's right." She blinked at Ghost for a moment and then looked down at her sandwich.

It was very neatly assembled with whole grain bread and layers of mushrooms and eggplants and other mysterious ingredients all with some interestingly colored sauce spilled sparingly throughout the ensemble. Still, Caitriona had a feeling that once she actually picked up the sandwich, it would probably fall apart in her hands. She wondered how best to solve the problem - and then shrugged mentally. Sandwiches were never easy to eat cleanly, and unless she wanted to staple the sides shut, this one would probably end up the same way.

Picking up the sandwich, she took a bite. There was a crunch and then a leafy green vegetable that wouldn't break until Caitriona used her fingers to separate the thing, getting mayonnaise on her hands as she did so. She gave her finger a light lick to clean it and then wiped it on a napkin before finishing her bite and taking a sip of the iced tea. There was very little sugar in it, and all that she could actually taste was tea and the faint, acidic scent of lemon. She took another bite of her sandwich, this time trying to find a place where the leafy green vegetable - spinach, it tasted like - would break evenly.

She continued this way for a moment until a shaved, cold-looking man walked over to them and sat down. He looked them over, silently drinking his juice.

Caitriona blinked at him for a moment, swallowed her bite and then said, in a very light way, "Hi."

Jace

The greeting received only a pointed look, Jace simply looking at Caitriona with almost a pained expression. He did not bother to explain it. Further responses were thwarted by the arrival of two more team members. The first, a male...was revealed to be the head-case that had been red-flagged in Jace's notes, this one received a quick glance, as the team's medic drank more juice. The files were in conclusive on this one, but ruled that he would be of use. However, his lack of compassion would be noted. It was not uncommon, but ran close to being dangerous in the long run.

The next to step up, and looking rather...fresh from the gym...was Fiona. 'Wings' as her file had nicknamed her. How quaint. A quick mental check allowed Jace to remember; she was to be his back-up, one of the only others here that could patch up the human form with any skill. It would do well to keep her alive, he thought, incase he needed any work done himself. It was always good to have back-up, but spoke to Jace on a personal level; those on high though him incapable. This did not bode well. If they felt a need to provide extra support..then this mission was nasty indeed.

All in all it was a nice team, healthy..for the most part, and rather sane...once again for the most part. They would be fine, though not all would survive. When did they? He would do his best however to keep the red stuff in, and the bad stuff out. Preventative medicine was killing the bad guys before they killed your team. He learned it that way when serving with the Marines, and it stuck with him.

The toast, always the toast. Some traditions seemed like a waste, this was one Jace could do without. He tried ignoring it one mission once, but it became such an issue that he had resolved to put aside his personal feelings on the matter. Jace frowned, lifting his juice, and speaking for the first time. "Three. Nine. Seven." Even tones, not soft spoken, just bland. He put forth nothing in his voice, just pushing out the words as they were needed.

There were a few things that a lot of people hated that Fiona did not. The traditional toast was one of them. She liked it only because it gave her a sense of belonging. A sense she hadn’t had growing up. She lifted up her water with a small one sided smile. “Three nine seven.” Without waiting she tipped her drink back not wanting to hold her arm in the air for long periods of time. Her muscles needed a small break so they wouldn’t knot together. She drank the water back letting it parch her throat before setting it back down. She gave a slight nod to the others before directing her attention to Zachary.

The woman managed a small smile at the punching bag comment before nodding her head. “Sure. Though if I had a husband to be caught in bed with another woman I sure wouldn’t have done that to it.” She stated lightly as she nibbled on her food not wanting to be rude but still hungry. The fact that he’d been watching her was a shock. Most of the time the other people in the gym never paid any attention to her unless she was making a spectacle of herself, showing why she had the name Wings. Then again she couldn’t say she hadn’t been watching him either. He was good. Better than she was and she wasn’t afraid to admit it.

Sparring with him would be fun and interesting to say the least. She knew she probably didn’t have a chance in hell of beating him… but there were better things that winning. She could learn a lot from the man. Of course, if they had a real sparring match she should be able to do her “tricks”. And if that were the case, she wanted to see how he handled them. If he could stop her from doing them, she needed to learn. But she knew she always needed help with her ground work – it was her weakest area.

“Sounds like fun.” She wasn’t sure if she should add his name or not wanting to seem to informal right after meeting. Fiona turned to look at Ghost. Before they came up with any definite plan they needed to know whether or not they had other business. She wasn’t sure if she would be up for a full contact match so soon after her workout and eating. An hour to at least let some of the food digest and maybe a shower to soothe the aching muscles.

The man gave her a look just short of a glare. Caitriona blinked at him and then looked up as two others joined them - another girl, with pretty strawberry-blonde hair and a semi-tall, lean man with blonde hair - a bit longer than most of the other soldiers had. They introduced themselves - Fiona and Zachary, respectively. Caitriona looked at the shaved man, who was, at the moment, the only one who was still nameless to her. But before she could ask anything, Ghost spoke up. She turned her attention back to him, although she wasn't very interested by his idea - a toast - it seemed a little early and a little - a little empty - there was no point in it as far as she could see, nothing to celebrate.

Still, she lifted her glass, saying the numbers lightly and then adding, in a mouthed whisper that only she could hear, "May God bless us." She had refrained from saying a prayer before she ate because she hadn't wished to impose on the others. After all, religion wasn't always the best topic to start on. She drank her glass and then put it down again with a soft clunk noise. She had picked up her sandwich again when Zachary began to speak with Fiona - something about sparring.

Caitriona was mildly interested, but decided to let it rest for a moment. She looked at the shaved man, who's name was still unknown. Not that names really mattered in this line of business, but it was always nice to know "What's your name?" She asked, keeping her voice light and calm. Her sandwich settled comfortably in her hand, she took a semi-medium bite and chewed.

As she waited for his answer, she listened idly to Fiona and Zachary talk. There was not a large difference in size between the two - Fiona was almost as tall as Zachary - but while Fiona looked slender and lithe, Zachary had a more hard muscle build. It would be an interesting fight. She was not a hand-to-hand combat person, but watching people fight was always interesting - and she could always use improvement. She swallowed and took a light sip and looked at Ghost for his answer. If he didn't have anything more to say to them, then maybe she'd ask to tag along - it wasn't as if she had anything else to do.

Jace

Tracking the conversations flowing about, while also going over some of his notes in his head, Jace held up a finger at the woman's question. Taking a small sip of his juice, he waits, a pause in the noise, so that he need not raise his voice. Such a pause comes shortly there after, the two chattering about a spar waited for an answer from Ghost, and he himself looked to be chewing..so it was a prime window.

"My name is Jace. I will be providing medical and combat support for this mission. I have extensive practice in both front-line action, and combat-trauma, as I spent time working with the Marines as a Corpsman." he pauses, eyes moving from face to face. "However, you should all have some basic first aid know-how. If this is not the case, you will report directly to me after this meal is over, I will be instructing basic use of emergency gear."

With a nod towards Ghost he continues, "This here is the leader, we all listen to him. He says jump, we are already in the air. However, by Standard Action Regulations I have full medical authority to over-rule an order that is counter inductive to the squad. Bear in mind however that given the grave situation that we all may be facing....that rule may have to go right out the window."

He turned to look at Cait and nodded slightly "While god may not have a hand in things, I certainly will do my best." his smile was hardly what one would call warm. He knew her file, and knew the place religion had in her life. It was not meant to be a shot at her, but a small poke. Jace was an intellectual, he had no place for fantasy and religion in his mind, he liked to tease those who did.

At first, Jace's words just slid over Caitriona, the name and the occupation absorbed, but nothing else. She listened as he listed his history a bit, but didn't bother to store the information under important files in her mind. After all, it was probably something that would never come up again - or at least, not on business anyway. And she didn't really think that this guy was up for making any small talk that didn't have to relate to a mission, so there was no point in storing the data.

Basic first aid... It definitely wasn't one of Caitriona's strong suits. She was a gunman - gunwoman, which meant that she rarely got very close to her target and even more rarely got injured. The times that she had... medics had always been available and willing to help. It was their job, after all.

She watched as he nodded to Ghost in deference, before he continued with a statement that was anything but. It made her smile absently, and she glanced at Ghost to see his reaction. Before she could register it though, Jace turned to look at her, nodding his head slightly. His lips spread in something that might have been classified as a grimace on someone else's face, but on his? Caitriona wasn't quite sure, but she had a feeling that the medic was giving her a smile, a cold one, yes, but still, a smile.

"While God may not have a hand in things, I certainly will do my best."

Her eyebrows rose, arching into fine bows, as she stared at him. From the look on his face and the tone in his voice, it was meant to be a quip on her. As if he knew her beliefs. She locked eyes with him for a moment and then blinked, relaxing herself and lowering her eyes.

Not everyone believed in God - she knew that very well. However, she also knew that God did exist. He might not interfere with life very often, but He cared about His creations and watched over them all the time - always and everything. God would protect her, and after death, He would welcome her into His kingdom. Those who didn't believe lived cold lives, sad lives - lives with no meaning in them. They didn't understand that every life was made by God and that every life is lived for Him. And unfortunately, it was their loss, not God's.

Still, even knowing that, Caitriona felt a bit of a pique under her skin. She felt challenged. Lifting her head, she smiled at Jace, keeping the smile light. "I think I'll take you up on that offer. I'd like some basic first aid training." Her eyes flickered to Fiona and Zachary. "If Fiona and Zachary don't mind, we could go watch their fight, and then afterwards, you could show me how best to take care of minor injuries." She looked at Fiona and Zachary. "Do you guys mind?" And then at Ghost, "Ghost, sir? Do you have anything for us to do?"

It seemed that several things could happen at once. The male who hadn’t spoken before finally opened his mouth. So he’s the one I need to continue training under. At least I know what he looks like now. Fiona thought as she continued eating. She took in Jace’s appearance before completely absorbing herself in her food until Toxin came over and the side comment about watching the sparing match if they were got one.

As the new female’s words reached the woman an odd twitch settled. Something wasn’t right. And instantly she had a feeling she and the other woman weren’t going to get along. She had always hated being addressed by mission names or even her nickname. So a woman who liked being called her code name and addressed everyone as the task didn’t bode well with Fiona. As much as she wasn’t a talker, she liked getting to know the people she worked with even if she lost them. Better to have known them for who they were than not.

Once their leader started speaking, she turned her head to glance at Ghost. There went the sparring match. Oh well, she knew her body needed a small reprieve first. She went back to eating knowing as much as everyone else that this could be their last meal. It was good and if it were to be the last at least it wasn’t crappy food. She finished off the spaghetti and leaned back. “If we survive in one piece we’ll get that match.” She commented to Zack. She wanted so desperately to fit in here, to have a family and she didn’t want to lose them so soon. But she couldn’t let anyone know how much she wanted to bond just for the fear of the rejection and the lose she knew she would eventually suffer.

“So do we get to know what we’re doing first?” She asked in Ghost’s direction. It would be nice to know if they were heading straight into the danger or not and their chances of coming back.