Snippet #2622113

So, that’s why they were all gathered? Was this assemblage of senior students the pinnacle of the academy’s operations? One thing they did accomplish for sure was making the air too sparse or heavy to breathe. The amount of carbon dioxide circulating through the hall was nearly unbearable, Ricochet was half-tempted to shout out at somebody to open a few windows. Of course, this order would be accompanied by a slew of unnecessary slurs and bashings, but that’s just how the guy rolled. Born and raised with a sailor’s mouth daunting enough to challenge Atlas’ finest navy generals. ”...I wonder how they managed to cook up all these missions? I don’t even see a single senior squad absent. Guess they were holding out on us~!” He didn’t take the academy heads to wait for all of these operations to accumulate. But surely they were expecting a few spineless units to drop out, so there probably weren’t that many to go around. A line was already coming into fruition, meaning that missions were already being plucked from the scroll, like grapes from a vine. It was like watching a bunch of conscripts fall into a column, a disjointed mess of forced soldiers greener than grass. Fortunately, most of the squads knew what they were doing since they had managed to survive for a few years.

Rico wasn’t always the most decisive person, but he had a good taste in picking their battles. Considering that he had just ran all the way from the port, he was planning on taking a few moments of respite to catch his breath. That was his plan, until he felt a surprisingly firm grip grasp his arm and pull him towards the line. Ricochet looked back at Natalie and Jackson with a pleading gaze screaming ”Please. Save me.” Yet rather than coming to the student’s rescue, they merely exchanged glances and left the brunette to his fate. It seemed that a teal-haired girl screaming at the top of her lungs dragging an armed student behind her was enough to clear a path. Soon enough the whole squad had assembled before the array of missions and delved into the countless passages of text. There wasn’t one which really piqued his fancy, most of them were just babysitting or blatant Search and Destroy tasks.

Team TNJR was one of the more lightly equipped squads, armour wise. Only Terry sported any type of clad, while the the other three advocated that any protective wear would slow them down. That would’ve been the case for their leader, if it wasn’t for her speed-enhancing semblance, which negated the hindrance of her armor and kept her on par with the rest. Missions which required speed and agility was the squad’s forte. Rico stared up at the board, an enthusiastic grin stretched across his face at the possibilities fulfilling his criteria. Both Natalie and Terry offered up their options, but it was ultimately the latter’s proposition which was decided upon. He was surprised to see his comrades so hyped for a mission entailing fighting mercs. Alacrity didn’t exactly have any non-lethal rounds possible for its chambering, so it was evident that blood was bound to be spread. Rico already had a mindset mentally prepared to kill others of his species, but he wasn’t so sure about his comrades. The boy just shrugged to himself as he read the remainder of the form and shoved it into his pocket. ”I’m not quite sure how grimm and bandits come into the same equation, but eh, can’t say I’m not fascinated by how such a feat will transpire. Sure, I think Alacrity’s fine with such a scenario.” He gave a boasting nod to the rifle slung around him and continued to sign the enlistment scroll.

”Not sure how long we have until we deploy… Preferably, I’d like to get a refill, but anything’s fine.” To prove his point, he chugged down the last of the refreshment and slipped the thermos into his coat. ”Hope you’ve overcome your motion sickness, Jackson. Not sure if they’ll have a surplus of barf bags whilst we’re fighting off waves of foes.” Rico playfully smirked at his fellow teammate, then turned to Natalie and Terry, ”Guess we should wrap up whatever we want to do on Beacon before our departure. No need for the long faces, we’ll be fine! We’ll just operate as usual, with Jackson and Terry on Vanguard, and Natalie and myself in the rear. Just same old same old.” He flashed the group his iconic grin of uncontained eagerness, but the set of teeth suddenly devolved into a more serious expression.

”...Is what I want to say. But something tells me things’ll be different this time. We need to keep our heads high and on the prize. No slip-ups, or the whole thing's botched.” It was very rare to see Rico actually taking things seriously, but such an abrupt change in demeanor was needed. The student quickly changed back to his nonchalant self and smiled yet again, ”Well. Let’s wreck a few adversaries, shall we?”