[center][h1][color=8493ca]Eric Fenris "Wolf"[/color][/h1][/center] After a few moments of lying face first on the cold floor of the brig I decide to open my eyes and sit up. [color=8493ca]"Well, that went better than expected,"[/color] I say to myself as I rub my head. Lieutenant Sharp sure was rough dragging me down here, but it was expected. A few moments of silence passed before I stood up and took the two step necessary to get to the door of my cage. [color=8493ca]"Hey buddy!"[/color] I call to the crew member set to wait until I "woke up". [color=8493ca]"You heard the Lieutenant. I'm up now go get him."[/color] After the man ran off to get Sharp I pull a metal tin out of my cargo pocket and open it. Pulling out a fresh cigar I cut the tip of the filter and light it with a wood match before taking a nice long drag followed by a long sigh. [b][color=598527][h1][center]LT Commander Brine Sharp[/center][/h1][/color][/b] I had almost stopped my search for booze when I looked through Eric's bags and found enough to run a small bar, I'm glad I kept looking. In every nook and cranny, under the beds, in the air duct, everywhere, and I found it in the craziest places. [b][color=598527]Well at least he has imagination."[/color][/b] I say to myself just before one of the security staff tells me Eric is awake. That didn't take long at all, now too the fun part. As I walked back to the brig I think about how things are likely to turn out and none of them seem good for him, he was likely to freak out when I told him about the dog but I had other news he was going to like less! When I stepped into the hall just outside Eric's cell the unmistakable aroma of a fine cigar was hanging in the air. [b][color=598527]I see you're enjoying yourself Sargent, it's a good thing too because you're likely to be spending a lot of time in there. [/color][/b] I said as I stepped up to the door and nodded to the guard to let me in. [center][h1][color=8493ca]Eric Fenris "Wolf"[/color][/h1][/center] I watch the Lieutenant walk into the brig and take another long drag from my cigar. I listen to his comment about spending allot of time in the cell and laugh a bit, holding the cigar in the corner of my mouth. I take one more drag from the cigar after Sharp finishes before holding it in my bionic arm and blowing out the smoke slowly, savoring the flavor as I did. [color=8493ca]"Care for one, Sir?"[/color] I ask him, holding out the tin towards him. Waiting a few minutes after I take another small drag. [color=8493ca]"I hope you didn't hurt Lea when you caged her?"[/color] I ask, a small threat hidden in my words as I locked eyes with the Lieutenant. [b][color=598527][h1][center]LT Commander Brine Sharp[/center][/h1][/color][/b] I smiled, took one of the cigars and thanked him then stuck it in my mouth without lighting it. I had never been very interested in smoking, but I would chew on a cigar all day long. I pulled the cigar out of my mouth, held it in my hand and said. [b][color=598527]"Before I get into that sergeant, if you have something you want to say to me just say it, as long as you add a sir, But you will follow appropriate military protocols when addressing the Commander. Is that understood?"[/color][/b] I lean back against the wall and enjoy The rich, robust flavor of the cigar. He had good taste in cigars and booze even if his attitude was shit. [center][h1][color=8493ca]Eric Fenris "Wolf"[/color][/h1][/center] [color=8493ca]"Well,"[/color] I say while rolling my shoulders and rubbing my head, [color=8493ca]"Would it have killed ya to be a little softer on the drag here, Sir? Those stairs kinda hurt."[/color] I chuckled a bit at him before taking another drag. [color=8493ca]"Besides that.... Did you enjoy my little acting job back there, Sir?"[/color] This time I did not laugh. I simply held my cigar in my teeth and smirked at him. [b][color=598527][h1][center]LT Commander Brine Sharp[/center][/h1][/color][/b] I couldn't help but smile when I thought about the 'thunk thunk thunk' noise his head had made bouncing down the stairs. [color=598527][b]"No it wouldn't have, but it wouldn't have been worth it otherwise. To be frank, no I didn't. You made a complete mockery of everyone who had a hand in your training and the military as a whole, but you probably consider that an achievement don't you?"[/b][/color] I say, cigar still in my mouth. He probably thought he was clever or something. Maybe he thought it was going to keep him out of trouble. Well he'll learn he doesn't want to cross me at some point, but he doesn't strike me as a quick learner. [center][h1][color=8493ca]Eric Fenris "Wolf"[/color][/h1][/center] "That I do, Sir," I say in reply. I remain silent for a few moments, enjoying my cigar. "So you gonna ask why I did it? Or do you still think I was legitimately being a drunken ass, Sir?" I ask with another smirk. It was amusing to think my acting is good enough to fool everyone. [b][color=598527][h1][center]LT Commander Brine Sharp[/center][/h1][/color][/b] It didn't really matter why he did it but it might be interesting to see his reasoning on it. [color=598527][b]"I'm just partial to the drunken ass theory but I'll indulge you, why'd you do it Sargent?"[/b][/color] I say after a moment of contemplation. The more information I gleaned the easier it would be, everyone has a weakness you just have to dig until you find it. [center][h1][color=8493ca]Eric Fenris "Wolf"[/color][/h1][/center] [color=8493ca]"You see, Sir. I'm not an idiot, I'm grunt, a Soldier, but not an idiot. An idiot doesn't survive on the frontlines as long as I have. Unless they're in Rebirth that is."[/color] I say that last bit with a small laugh. [color=8493ca]"We all heard the briefing for this mission, at least what they're willing to tell us. This is a suicide mission, it's why most of you are all Rebirth. You die, then you come back no problem. I don't have that safety net, I'm not a member of Rebirth, nor do I care to be. It's not natural. Anyway, point is, once we actually get this mission underway, and bullets start flying, I don't need anyone here feeling bad if I get shot."[/color] I pause and give the Lieutenant a good hard look. [color=8493ca]"You tell me to run through the fire, I'll run, and I'll kill every single bastard on the other side, but there will not be anyone on this team following me. So, now that they all hate me to hell and back I don't have to worry about that now do I, Sir?"[/color] I ask, placing the cigar in my mouth and holding it in my teeth. [b][color=598527][h1][center]LT Commander Brine Sharp[/center][/h1][/color][/b] I stand there and chew on the cigar contemplatively for a long moment, ignoring his comment about rebirths, his reasoning seemed sound at first glance but he was factoring all the variables in. [color=598527][b]"I can see where you get that idea Sargent, but I don't think you're looking at all the angles here. I've been on more suicide missions than I can count, many of them before I was a rebirth, don't get me wrong I admire your self sacrificing spirit but the only reason I'm here today is something that you don't have."[/b][/color] I say thinking back on all the times we knew that a mission was going to go bad and we pulled it off anyway. How we pulled victory from the jaws of defeat for years. [center][h1][color=8493ca]Eric Fenris "Wolf"[/color][/h1][/center] [color=8493ca]"And what the hell might that be?"[/color] I ask, the cigar still in my mouth as I lean back against the wall and cross my arms over my chest. [b][color=598527][h1][center]LT Commander Brine Sharp[/center][/h1][/color][/b] It was only the single most important thing for any military unit. [color=598527][b]"Trust, you don't trust your teammates and they don't trust you. Without that you may as well pop yourself out an airlock right now because the only thing you're going to do is get someone else killed."[/b][/color] I said as I started pacing. [color=598527][b]"If you know that you can trust the man watching your back or rigging the explosive or sniping the guy with a gun to your head, then your team can accomplish the impossible, you will be more than the sum of the individual members. Moreover you won't need to throw yourself at the enemy, that's why us rebirths are here. We can die and be okay, so it only makes sense to let us take one for the team."[/b][/color] I say as I recall all the crazy shit we did. [center][h1][color=8493ca]Eric Fenris "Wolf"[/color][/h1][/center] As I listened I had to force myself not to laugh. Each word Sharp said was making it harder and harder though. Finally, after he had said his piece, I laughed. I laughed enough that I had to hold my cigar in my hand so it wouldn't drop to the floor. It took me a few moments to bring myself back together. [color=8493ca]"For a stiff officer, you really surprise me. You honestly didn't even bother to read my dossier after Commander Rin requested me for this mission did you?"[/color] I shake my head and take a quick drag. [color=8493ca]"My call sign is 'Wolf' for a reason. On the frontlines I am placed in the heaviest fighting, but given freedom to move where I need to. I have not had a team for years, Lieutenant, and that's because my skills are better used if I'm alone. Now why would the Commander request me specifically if she wanted everyone to work as a team? It makes no sense, and so I reinforce my point."[/color] I take another quick drag from the cigar. [color=8493ca]"Seeing as I'm the lone 'Wolf', and my ops are solitary. I don't need anyone crying over my corpse once I do my duty. That said, I'll play nice and proper with you and Commander Rin in private, but out there, with the others, I'll keep on being an ass. I don't need anyone following me into the ground, Sir."[/color] I finish speaking and take a long, prolonged drag, from my cigar as I look him dead in the eyes. [b][color=598527][h1][center]LT Commander Brine Sharp[/center][/h1][/color][/b] This had gone on long enough, I had tried to be reasonable and explain this nicely but he is one of those guys who truly believe that they are above the law simply because of their combat ability. [color=598527][b][b]"You just don't get it do you? So you're a badass, big fucking deal. Everyone on this team is a badass, and in case you missed it, this isn't a front line mission, your run and gun tactics won't do you any good here. Your former commander left out a few details in the personal file he sent, like your complete lack of ability to work cooperatively with anyone and your complete disregard from the chain of command. Had we known about that we never would have requested you."[/b][/b][/color] I say as I pull the cigar from my mouth and step up right in front of him still looking him in the eye. [color=598527][b]"Furthermore you don't get to decide whether or not you work with someone or not, you don't have the rank, information or the brain power required to make those decisions, Sargent, I do that's why I'm a Lieutenant Commander! I have more than fifty years of experience, Commander Monroe has more than that, you should consider that the next time you think you know everything. There may come a time when we need your particular skills but until then, and I'll be blunt so that you are sure to get this, Play nice with the other kids or I'll have your insubordinate ass relieved of duty and court marshaled at the space station. And you'll have a hell of a time trying to find your dog after twenty years in military prison."[/b][/color] I don't give a damn if he could single handedly win the war if he insisted on continuing to act like a spoiled little bitch I'd string his ass up and use him for target practice. [center][h1][color=8493ca]Eric Fenris "Wolf"[/color][/h1][/center] I shifted my cigar to the other side of my mouth after LT Sharp finished his little power rant. I stared him directly in his eyes. I was trying to be nice about this, but my patience was wearing very thin now. [color=8493ca]"If I was going to be canned for insubordination it would have been done the day I broke an admiral's jaw. Your threats don't scare me, Sharp. I'm not some damned green boy just out of boot. Now why don't you use your rank and brain to think for a second."[/color] I pause here and run my hand down my face in frustration. Talking to this man was like talking to a damned robot. The only thing he did was listen to orders and never think for himself. [color=8493ca]"Wrap your head around my career so far. Single Ops or free roam permissions on the battlefield since the day I graduated boot. Now that's not bragging, that's facts, and it's not hidden behind any red tape. Now think, as a battlefield Commander, how much could you accomplish if you had someone who you didn't have to worry about on the lines? Someone you just told to go do something and it would get done, and, until you had something else for them, they operated on self made objectives to ensure victory. Now with that in mind, how much more could you accomplish with an asset like that? You would be able to concentrate on more important or harder objectives without needed to track the smaller ones. That is why I operate the way I do. That is the reason I don't work in teams, and that is the reason I am still in the military and not some one armed bum sitting on the streets asking for handouts!"[/color] I pause again as my temper was starting to get ahead of me. I was trying to make a point not get into a fight with the man, even though it would make me smile to knock him around a couple times. [color=8493ca]"Point is, Sir. I am almost completely operate on a solo basis. I don't work well with others off the battlefield, I don't like other people and want nothing to do with them. Countering that, if you or Commander Rin tell me to help this guy, or escort that guy, I will, no question. You want anything more than that, forget it. So before you go on your next rant about rank, and experience, why don't you go consult Commander Rin about why she chose to include a grunt like me that likes to work alone on this little mission of yours."[/color] With that said I took long drag from my cigar, not caring if the smoke went into his face or not. Especially since he thought it was a good idea to get up in my face. [b][color=598527][h1][center]LT Commander Brine Sharp[/center][/h1][/color][/b] This guy just didn't get it, this really was the end of the line for him if he doesn't learn to play by the rules. [color=598527][b]"Look Sargent, Commander Monroe gave me a problem to take care of and said fix it or dispose of it, that problem is you. You have made yourself more trouble than you're worth and this is your last chance to fall in line before I sack you for good. I don't give a shit how good at what you are if you can't follow an order you are useless to me and the Commander. If you don't like it than your fuck out of luck, just because you got pushovers for Commanders in the past doesn't mean you can continue to do as you please here. I am not going to tolerate it and neither will the Commander, if you feel the need to take this up with her than do so but if I hear anything other than you doing exactly what I've told you to do then you'll find out just how serious I am."[/b][/color] I say making it as clear as possible that this is the end of the conversation and if he forces the issue any more there will be irreversible consequences, then I leave him there in the cell to stew or rant or whatever the hell he wants to do and go to make my report to Commander Monroe. [hider=credits] this post was a colab between TartanO88 and Demon Grave [/hider]