Surge Story: Chapter 3- "Game Of War: A feud of Lightning and Earth" [IC]

[Sutoratosu]

((Opening theme song of this chapter, Cadets))

Three long months have passed since the attack on Fort Bexly and the showdown at the Airstrip. In those three months, the good Staff Sergeant Surge and his soldiers in Fox1, the newest and most inexperienced squad of all those within the fort, have become known all throughout the base as Heroes; The slayers of the Ice Phoenix, as many have taken to referring to the mysterious bird, and not only that, but also the ones to locate the man responsible for the attack.

On that day, March 18, 2062, Fox1 went from being mere cadets in training, to being fully fledged soldiers in their deeds. On March 21, They cast off the name of Fox1, having finally decided on an official name for their Squadron... Spark Alpha. Their training, though they had yet to complete the official evaluation required, was deemed to be finished by U.S. General Arnold D. McCarthy, Head of the Land Division of the the newly formed branch of the military, the Genomic Weapons Corps. (GWC), born out of the "Genetically Altered Organism Wielder Program" following the US government to give the wing full independence from it's sponsor military branches two months following the assault on Bexly.

Surge is not one to allow his men to rest on the laurels of their deeds, however. Quite the Contrary, the work load has only increased since the Ice Phoenix incident. Under his diligent command, Spark Alpha has carried out numerous assignments around the complex and the surrounding areas, from Manning the front gates and guard towers, patrolling the Perimeter and forest, to Guarding teams of Bexly Research Scientist on Field Studies and Dish Duty at the mess hall. Life on the base falls into a steady routine for the soldiers, wake up each morning, report to the mess for breakfast, return to the Barracks, and wait for Surge to arrive with that day's assignment.

But the winds of fate are still blowing for Spark Alpha Squadron. One day, they are called out of the Barracks by their CO... but instead of a standard Mission debriefing, what they find is Surge standing out front, a manila envelope in his hand, ten supply packs and various pieces of gear lined up in a row on the barren ground behind him. At first many of the young soldiers believe that they're being deployed to some far off war zone in some country they've probably never heard of before... but then they realize the folly of that assumption; This is not the War on Terror. America has no active war zones anymore, nor has it for the past thirty years...

But that still begs the question: What's going on?

[K_H]

Kenny looked right at Surge, and asked a question.

"what is our Mission, Sir?"

[Ragnar]

"Yeah Sir, whats with all the stuff?" Sid added to Kenny's question.

[Sutoratosu]

"Spark Alpha," Surge said. "It appears we have no Mission today... nor for the next week." opening the folder under his arm and beginning to read over the text again... hell, even he didn't know what they were going to be doing, only that from what his superiors had told him, none of the Squads were going to be on any assignments for the next week. What he found inside the manila envelope explained everything though.

"War Games," He chuckled to himself. "Of course, good old War Games..." He turned his attention up from the de-briefing documents, looking at the assembled men. "We will instead be participating in a base wide Training program, known as the 'Urban Games'. Grey, Freeman, I'm sure you two probably already know what a war game is, but as for the rest of you..." He tossed the folder to the ground, scattering the papers to the warm june winds; after all, it's not like he was going to need them to explain one of his favorite things in the world. "A War Game is similar to a competition, the way it's done nowadays, Several squads are chosen and sometimes combined into units under the two acting COs joint command. The objective can vary from a couple of things; Capture the flag, Rescue the hostage, Kill the Tango Leader, retrieve the Classified data, and on and on. Basically any type of military operation you can conceive of, it's a possibility to be the challenge issued in a War Game. The Urban Games are a special type of War Game set in, as the name makes clear, Urban settings, and revolves around objectives that would be commonly carried out in an urban zone operation."

He looked at all of the squad members in turn, making sure what he was saying wasn't just going in one ear and immediately out of the other. "Any Questions so far, Soldiers?"

[Jory]

Jory snapped to, immediately raising his hand to indicate that he already had a question. "Will these be live-fire exercises, sir?"

[Chim]

Logan made the same movement as Jory did and added his own questions. “Do we have any allies in these Urban Games and who are our enemies, Sir?”

[Sutoratosu]

"Oh yes, Robertson," Surge said, turning his attention to Jory as he raised his hand. "These will indeed be Live-Fire Exercises...though, not as you might think they are. We will not be using actual guns for this excursion, but instead X19s and old M-16 models that have all been modified to shoot paintballs but retain all of the recoil and handling feel of the true rifles. As this is the GWC, however, obviously those won't be the weapons mostly focused on."

((For nostalgia's sake, Soldier))

Surge suddenly reach down to his belt and retrieved a Capsule from it, depressing the trigger and releasing his electric mouse from it's sphere. It tossed a quick look around at the Soldiers, then wasted no time in scurrying up Surge's leg and taking it's traditional perch on his right shoulder. "The weapons we will be mainly using and testing during these Urban Games, are your GAOs." He turned his attention to Logan next. "As for Allies and enemies, this is a free for all, more or less, meaning that there are no pre-assigned allies or teams. Ergo, we are free to decide who we form alliances with and who we will target."

The supplies sat in a neat assembly on the ground, each of the packs expertly assembled to most efficiently use the least amount of space needed, resulting in not one of them looking even the least bit bulky or chaotic from an outward appearance. Surge walked over to one, picking it up along with the Modified M-16 beside it on the ground. He read out a single name from a tag that had been attached to one of the bag's straps. "If there aren't any more questions, and no, I do not know what the challenge is, so don't ask me, then I'll issue out the Packs. Nathan Grey, Step forward, Soldier!"

[Chevaleresse]

Nathan stepped forward, eager to begin. His GAOs hadn't been active in the defense of the fort, so both he and them were eager to prove their worth. "Yes, sir!" he snapped, then slung the backpack across his shoulders and picked up the rifle.

[Sutoratosu]

Surge moved down the line and picked up the next pack and rifle as Nathan slung his over his shoulders. "Clint Cannon! Step forward, Soldier!"

[Supernovae]

Clint placed his crutches on the ground and pushed himself forward. "Here Sir!" He called while still leaning on his crutches, careful not to let his cast touch the ground.

His body still hadn't fully healed from the tarmac incident, though that wasn't something he should complain about. If he had been in the same type of condition he was at the tarmac just ten years ago it'd be likely that Clint Cannon would be resting peacefully in the ground right now. However, with the quick actions of the medical team that tended to him, not only was Clint still alive, but he could even still move around and chances were with enough work he'd be capable of full movement in just a few more weeks.

[Sutoratosu]

"Freeman, help Cannon with his pack!" Surge ordered.

"Yes sir," Erick said, taking the bag from surge and holding it out to help his injured friend put it on. Surge grabbed yet another bag and modded rifle and called out the next name.

"Kenneth Holmes! Step Forward!"

[K_H]

Kenny stepped forwards, ready and eager to start.

"Yes, Sir!"

Kenny then swung the Backpack over his Shoulders and then took the Rifle.

[Sutoratosu]

And Surge kept moving down the line, only 7 bags left. He picked up the next pack and rifle, calling out the assigned name "Jory Robertson, Step Forward!"

[Jory]

Jory stepped forward and wordlessly took the pack and rifle, giving a nod of acknowledgement to his CO. Over the past three months, all his GAOs had grown significantly stronger. In fact, Jory was relatively sure that he could battle Clint, who was a fearsome opponent, to a standstill. It was incredible the way Jory's GAOs were beginning to change him. No longer was he a hesitant young man who wanted nothing more than to be friends with his GAOs. After seeing Sampson hurt, Jory had resolved to become as strong as possible to protect his squad and his GAOs.

[Sutoratosu]

"Sid Maelstrom!" Surge continued, holding out yet another Pack and gun.

[Ragnar]

Sid walk towards Surge with a smile on his face, and just like the others he takes his 'stuff' and went back in line.

[Sutoratosu]

"Lionel Carter!" Surge called next. only a few more packs to go...

[Sutoratosu]

Not receiving a response from Private Carter in a timely fashion, Surge simply tossed the pack and gun to the young man, the supplies landing at his feet. He picked up two more bags, one of them a supply pack like all the rest, the other a Medic's satchel with a crimson cross emblazoned across the tan camouflage front.

"Carter, drop and give me twenty Soldier," he ordered without even looking at the young man. "We don't have time to waste twiddling our thumbs." then he looked up from the tags attached to the current equipment load out. "Logan Walker!" he said. "Step forward!"

((Yes, soldier, both bags in my hands are for you. as for Bibs, consider this me postponing you having to post for a while longer.))

[Chim]

Logan stepped forward. He actually looked forward to this exercise. During the past three months Ace and Flora became reliable companions while Crush remained a problem. Convinced that these Urban Games could help him convince Crush to listen to him, he answered Surge. “Yes sir!”

He then accepted both bags and fell back in line.

[Sutoratosu]

Just two more bags left...

"Lars Kaiser!" Surge called, reading yet another tag. "Step forward!"

[Flux]

Lars walked forward, the usual blank look apparent on his face. As he grabbed his bags, he thought about just how different life was here than it had been before. For starters, he had so much less free time, though his GAOs were certainly a good compensation. They seemed to be taking a liking to him at this point, and Malice had gone through the same sort of evolution as Dominance had before. Sleepy was the only one that had yet to change... He wondered why that could be. He shrugged off the thoughts as he returned to the line. It wouldn't do to be zoned out while Surge was speaking. Lionel had already been called out for it, and that wasn't something Lars wanted to go through.

[Sutoratosu]

And then there was only one pack and gun left. Surge picked them up, tearing off the special tags and slinging the bag over his shoulders and loading a clip into the modded M-16.

Erick was the only squad member left without a Pack. Surge looked over to him before he could say a thing, however. "All MPs will be remaining on the base as the Garrison, Freeman. You're to report to Command Central by 09:00 hours in order for duty assignment."

The man's face took on a noticeably disappointed expression, though all he did was stand at attention and say "Yes Sir...", checking his watch as he did so. only 15 minutes until the designated time.

Surge turned back to the rest of the Squad, Setting his eyes on Lionel once again. "Time to head out to the objective, Spark Alpha. Carter, have you dropped and given me those twenty yet, Soldier?"

((Where is Bibs, soldiers?))

[Sutoratosu]

((I need to move us on soldiers, so lets just skip ahead by a minute or two... that and I need to go back and further study how Bibs Characterized Lionel))

"Then let's move out, Spark Alpha," Surge ordered upon Lionel completing his disciplinary twenty. "We're to head to the Front Gates, at which point the...Fox Man will dispatch us to our mission objective." With that he turned and faced the south. "Ten hut!" He called. "SPARK ALPHA, FORWARD MARCH!"

((As I said before, You all learned how to march long ago.))

[K_H]

Kenny marched Southwards, following Surge.

Edited January 25, 2015 by K_H

[Jory]

Jory marched to the South, in line with the rest of his squad. I wonder what Clemont has in store for us today? he pondered as he continued the autonomous movement of his legs, heading toward the front gate.