- Teo Dalakis -
- Do we have to fight? -


"How do I get out of here?" Teo looked around. "Do you mean out of this room, or out of this building, or out of me?" Regulus thoughtfully asked. "...out of you." "There you go Teo." The siren answered, pulling up the option on his display. After a few simple presses, Teo was disengaged from Regulus.

"Yes. Hurry up. You don't want to miss your friend's beating, now do you." Aideen rolled her eyes, "Let's stop the testing and have a fight. This is sure to benefit us in the long run. You know what, we should just break everyone's arms before we do any testing. Yes I like that idea." She seemed to be talking to herself so Teo didn't respond. "Well don't you agree!?" She suddenly snapped at Teo. "I don't really like the idea of breaking anyone's arms...but since I think you're being sarcastic I'll agree the fight seems...unnecessary."
"Shut up."

Teo nodded with concern to the woman and walked over to the ring, he then noticed Mel was holding a first aid kit, "Wow, you sure have a lot of confidence in him." He commented to the girl casually, making it difficult to tell if he was being sarcastic or not. "Yeah, I see this accomplishing something." Teo muttered to himself. 'Damn, I think that ginger is rubbing off on me.' He wanted to tell the two not to fight each other but who was he to tell two higher rank men how to act?

Instead, the most he could do is cheer on his sergeant. "Come on, Sarge! Kick his old, crusty ass!"

-Max Diaz-
-Is our "Leader" really that stupid?-

It didn't really take Max long to get used to dealing with the lack of recoil from the gun and so she had swapped to her crossbow not long before the announcement came over the intercom.

"Oh dear..." she heard Doc say.

She lowered her weapon and turned to Doc noticing he had a mildly worried expression while looking in the direction of Isaiah.

"What is it Doc?" Max asked and looked past him to see a large man preparing to face off with Isaiah. "Is that..."

"That is the CQC trainer Lieutenant Petrov." F.C.K.U. commented.

"Surely Sarge isn't that stupid..." She said as she eyed the large man. If he was meant to train them then he was probably better than even the experts in the group.

After Doc explained to her how to get out of the SIREN she turned to him, "You coming to watch?"

"Oh no, I don't care to see our new employees torn apart." Doc said shaking his head. "I'll be back soon though."

Max shrugged, "Suit yourself. I plan to see how long it takes for him before he's using Sarge as a tooth-pick."

"If you have time later, you still need to practice putting on your suit manually," Doc said as he left.

"Alright," Max called after him and then headed to the arena.

_________________
Zee Captain: "Better dig your heels in"
Mr. Snippy: "Why? What?"
Zee Captain: "..."

Ren - A girl's best friend

Ren had been noticing the arsenal the others were using, which all struck her as a little... odd. Was she really the only one who was testing the latest in the fields of weaponry? Well, besides the SIREN suits. I mean, some were even using weapons that could fit into a museum! Then again, one could make the argument that it was merely a matter of using what you were used to. Hell, she preferred using an outclassed revolver over an semi-automatic pistol. It had a flair to it and the kickback of that thing was like a mule, beautiful!

She turned back to the firing range, cycling through the available weapons. An assault rifle, SMG, shotgun and a crossbow. The crossbow seemed a bit out of place, but then again, she did take archery classes when she was a kid. A shudder went down her spine, those weren't happy memories. She picked the shotgun out of the list, making the assault rifle disappear in a magnificent display while the shotgun reappeared in it's place. A small window with weapon stats hovered over the gun in the HUD, displaying all manner of useful information. It was enough to get Ren giggly like a little school girl.

While Ren was having fun with her new best friend, the whole situation with Petrov happened. It was probably a good thing Ren hadn't been able to overhear what was happening, the chances of her pulling a gun on the man were very high. It wasn't until she received the message message that all SIREN units were to report in the CQC area, that she stopped firing. The shotgun had already livened her up completely, but a chance of getting her hand truly dirty? This day was getting better and better. It was a shame she had to leave the suit though, she would've loved to have seen the damage those babies could do.

"Vindictus, could you unlock the suit?" Ren asked, in a cheery mood. "Certainly Corporal." with hissing and clicking sounds, the suit slowly opened up, allowing Ren to step out. That was the moment her mood took a dip. She looked absolutely terrible... Her hair was a mess, her skin still hadn't really regained much of it's color and worst of all, thanks to all the panic sweat, the suit was now even more clingy. Thank whoever is up there that I decided to wear underwear under this. she thought embaressed as she made her way towards the CQC area, plucking the suit out between her ass cheeks. "Oh don't pull at it baby, it ruins the view!" came that blasted voice from behind her. Did he really have nothing better to do? She simply raised a middle finger behind her back, as she continued her way towards the CQC area.

She saw Isaiah getting ready to fight some big, burly man. Strange looking fellow, who kinda gave her the shivers. Something wasn't right about him, but that could also be the sedative from earlier. She moved next to Melani, hoping that she wasn't going to comment on her appearance. "Who's the bulky guy?" she asked, nodding towards what she could only assume to be Isaiah's opponent. It kinda irked her that Isaiah was going first, wasn't it ladies first?

_________________

~ Melani Engleton ~
~ Peanut Gallery ~

If Mel had a thought to comment about Ren's appearance, her very own appearance would have stifled the comment before it would have had a chance to be spoken. Luckily, the idea never entered her head, so Melly's inevitably resulting self-consciousness didn't have a chance to manifest.

Also, she would have had to be looking at Ren to make any sort of informed comment, and right now her gaze was reserved for the dreamy Isaiah and his scary-man opponent.

"Ah...His name is Lieutenant Petrov. He defected from Maldovan Special Forces like 15 years ago, and is apparently our Close Quarters Combat instructor. He, um...Well, I haven't personally spoken to him, but he wasn't very nice to Isaiah," she commented by way of explanation to Ren, hugging the first aid kit to her chest as she eyed the burly old man with a measure of what looked to be doubt, and then thankfully turned her eyes back to her much more aesthetically pleasing CO.

_________________

Official Forum Mom

"You're squad is so fresh yet so supportive of you. You should be proud," Petrov said with a sly grin as he simply stood by daring Isaiah to make the first move. The man had taken no kind of fighting stance, or even shown signs of doing so. Rather, he simply stood there like some kind of massive flesh covered wall, waiting. This of course irked Isaiah to no end, causing a familiar vein to pop out of the side of the Sergeant's skull.

"You going to take a stance anytime soon you maldy bit**?" Isaiah practically growled, causing the CQC instructor to exude the faintest of chuckles. The shouts of his squadmates distracted Isaiah for only a moment. For some reason he felt that if he so much as blinked Petrov would be using him as a five-iron before long. Even through all this though, Petrov continued to stand by idly as though he were waiting on the bus. Unable to take the waiting anymore, Isaiah dropped into his own stance, instantly getting a reaction out of Petrov as he did.

"Oh ho? Pencak Silat? Interesting. Most of you Analolies tend to shy away from Maldovan martial arts." Petrov's grin grew wider as he slipped into a stance almost identical to Isaiah's.

"It doesn't matter where it comes from. All that matters is that it's good for putting a**hole maldies like you in the ground." At this, Petrov practically burst into laughter.

"Oh, I'm going to enjoy this far more than I should. I really a-" Petrov didn't get a chance to finish his statement as Isaiah darted in at the first sign of an opening, driving his fist into the CQC instructor's collar bone. The obviously heavier man cringed as the force of the blow shot through his body before regaining his composure almost instantly. Before he had a chance to launch a counter offensive however, Isaiah had already shifted into his next striking position, this time driving the heel of his boot into the side of Petrov's knee, causing it to seemingly buckle. Rather than stumble to the ground however, Petrov extended his arm, wrapping it around Isaiah's neck and dragging him down to the ground with him. What followed was a brutal series of punches as the special forces commando laid into the young sergeant. Isaiah's face had already swollen into a bloody pulp as Petrov wrapped his legs around the squad leaders arm and promptly began to pull. Isaiah screamed as his elbow began to hyper extend, letting out such cries of agony that even Petrov might have cringed if he hadn't been enjoying himself so much. "Tap out, Sergeant. I don't want to break your arm on the firs-" Before Petrov could finish, a violent cracking sound emanated from Isaiah's elbow, followed by an even more horrible popping sound from his shoulder. "Eh?"

Petrov lifted his head up just in time to see Isaiah's heel flying towards his face. Isaiah's boot collided with the CQC instructor's nose, causing him to lose his grip on the gunman and both men to scramble to their feet. Petrov was dazed but far from hurt. Isaiah on the other hand looked like he had just finished a 12 month campaign in the trenches. His face was leaking fluids that quite frankly, even he didn't know it could leak, but more horrifying was the state of his arm.

"Fuuuuuuu** that hurt." Isaiah thought to himself between gasping breaths. "No broken bones but da** it if I didn't dislocate this bastard in two places." It was true. In a few brief seconds Isaiah had popped both his elbow and his shoulder out of socket just to have a chance at counterattacking. "Happy thoughts," he whispered as he seized his mangled arm with his only remaining good limb. With a violent jerk he pulled his shoulder back into place, followed shortly by his elbow. The pain was almost enough to rob him of what little consciousness he had left. Almost. "That all you got?.....Maldy bit**?"

For the first time since the start of the fight, Petrov seemed angry. "Are you stupid? Dislocating your shoulder AND your elbow? I admire your resolve but the fact is I'm still standing and all you've succeeded in doing is crippling yourself. Fu**ing idiotic Analolie."

"Anatolian."

"......What."

"I'm a fu**ing Anatolian.....you Maldovan piece of sh**." Isaiah lost all since of pain in that moment adopting what could only be described as the strangest fighting stance one had ever seen. To put it bluntly, he looked completely intoxicated.

"Drunken Boxing?......Ha......Ha-ha......Hahahahahahaha!!" Petrov again burst into laughter. "Where in god's name did you learn that?"

"O'maley's pub three nights a week for the last 10 years."

"Funny."

Without another word Isaiah again launched, or rather, stumbled towards Petrov, arms dangling in what appeared to be an absolutely useless form. The method to his madness soon became apparent though as Petrov through a single punch towards the sergeant. In one brief second Isaiah weaved out of the way as if nothing had happened. Isaiah had made one critical mistake however. He'd underestimated the dame done to his arm, and thus, missed the block for Petrov's followup attack. The CQC instructor's massive fist collided with Isaiah's temple, knocking him out instantaneously. The gunman fell to the floor limp as a noodle whilst a small pool of blood puddled around his mouth. Petrov knelt down besides the man, checking his pulse and sighing with relief as he felt a heart beat. "Corporal Engleton? Your Sergeant is in need of medical attention. Bring one of those rolling gurneys out of the back there and load him up. The medical team should have him all patched up by tomorrow."

The maldovan commando retreated to his corner briefly, wiping the sweat from his brow before tossing the towel out of the ring entirely. "Alright, who's next?"

Ren - Girl power

If Melani had paid any attention to Ren's face, she could have seen how it suddenly contracted into a scowl of anger and disgust. There was even a small twitch under her left eye, as Melani mentioned that the hunk of muscle was a Maldovan. Not only that, but ex-special forces! While the officials had never confirmed it, Ren knew that the squad that had hit hers had to have been Spec Ops, why else were they so far within enemy lines? If there had been a gun within reach, she would've pulled the trigger without even second guessing it. The only thing that would've mattered, was that there was one less Maldovan on this planet. Although she wasn't too pleased to see her Sergeant take on a Maldovian fighting stance, as far as Ren was concerned, everything about Maldovian was rotten.

Ren paced back and forth, clenching her teeth and fists tightly, as the fight between Isaiah and Petrov started. She didn't like that Isaiah had the first go at it, but as long as he took down that Maldovan, she was happy. But things didn't exactly go as planned, the man was good. For a Maldovan.

But then he got a good grip on Isaiah, there was no way Isaiah was getting out of that. Either he tapped out, or that man would bre- the loud crack told her enough. The idiot had dislocated his joints, a brave move, but this fight was over. Ren turned around and moved towards the dressing rooms, just before entering she glanced back one more time, only to see Isaiah enter his drunken boxing stance. What was that man thinking?

She quickly got out of the gimp suit, what a relief that was, and put on the gym cloths that were laid out already. She couldn't help but wonder how exactly they knew all the measurements already, but then quickly remembered what it was she was supposed to be doing now.

She was back just in time to see Petrov land the last hit and see Isaiah go down. Poor guy, he was going to feel that in the morning and probably the days after that. Ren climbed into the ring, still not speaking a word against the Maldovan. She wasn't going to waste any breath on him and any words that would come out would be anything but pleasant. This shouldn't be too hard of a fight, the man already went a round against Isaiah and took a few hits. And the adrenaline had almost completely removed any effects from the sedative she received earlier.

Ren took on a more traditional Anatolian fighting stance, rage burning brightly in her eyes. She wasn't going to hurt the man, she wasn't going to incapacitate the man, she was going for the kill. This fight was personal.

_________________

~ Melani Engleton ~
~ Learning to hate ~

It took effort to unclench her jaw when Petrov gave his heartless command, but she relaxed her grip on the first aid kit, blood flowing back into her extremities, which were white from gripping the white box too tightly.

She said nothing to the man, but retrieved the gurney and then climbed into the ring to inspect and collect her CO. As she passed Ren, she hissed out a whisper that was surprising in its vehemence: "Break him, Ishii."

She wrenched her gaze from the bulky old Maldovan and the anger flooded out of her as it came to rest on Isaiah, bleeding and unconscious on the floor. She crouched beside him, her breath catching painfully in her chest as she reached down to check his neck and spine for injury before she gently moved him to the rolling bed, to cart him out of the room.

Just before she passed through the door, she glanced back, sparing a murmur for the rest of the squad, "I'm going to stay with him until I'm sure he'll be okay. We'll be in the infirmary..."

She personally escorted the fallen soldier to the medical wing, and insisted on being party to his treatment, even going so far as to insist that she be the lead on his treatment if there were no actual doctor on his treatment team.

_________________

Official Forum Mom

((OOC: Hana ninja'd me while I was writing this. I don't think there are any conflicting details, so I'm leaving it as is. I suppose Melani could have conceivably wheeled Isaiah away during the Sharline-Myra debacle.))

Sharline – Foolish Games

Sharline's expression was dubious as she shepherded the recruits to the CQC area, everyone gathering around a traditional-style boxing ring. Before the match began, several people – including herself – stopped by the locker room to remove their SIRENs. The analyst didn't bother changing, returning to the ring in her white PVC pilot suit. Anxiety lingered in the pit of her stomach as she assessed the situation. I'm the head Epsilon person here right now... She bit her lower lip, looking up at Isaiah and Petrov. If something goes south, corporate could hang this around my neck. As Melani, Teo, and the others shouted words of encouragement, Sharline's expression was bleak. Such an unnecessary risk... Stupid people.

The fight began like any other sparring match. It was undoubtedly brutal – Sharline winced when Isaiah's face began bleeding – but the wounds seemed superficial enough. A bloody nose never killed anyone...then again, if there's brain damage... The young woman's gaze drifted away from the men, down to the base of the ring. The entire timeline of this project could be compromised if Isaiah is hurt... As she chewed over the situation, it was the loud crack of the recruit's arm that brought her to her senses.

Sharline's gaze darted back atop the ring. Isaiah's arm was hanging limply at his side. She felt her blood run cold. It's...broken? Before she could open her mouth, another agonizing sound was heard as the sergeant snapped his joints back in place. Sharline wasn't sure what she was watching, which also served to delay her reaction to the grotesque scene. She winced, covering her ears. –It's dislocated.

Either way, an arm dislocated in two places was definitely severe. It could easily impede the group's training, especially if it was the squad commander's. The analyst's brain was already formulating worst-case scenarios. She pictured Eckhart the last time someone from Epsilon had made a mistake – Dustin, who'd forgotten to test drive a SIREN before letting a curious senior executive use it. “What the fuck where you thinking!?” the CEO had shouted. A shiver ran down her spine. This is too risky. I'll have to stop– Suddenly, Petrov ended Isaiah's misery with a violent crack to the skull. The smaller man fell to the ground, blood dribbling from his mouth. Sharline snapped.

“Stop these proceedings immediately!” she screamed. The analyst darted through the ropes and into the ring, swiftly kneeling down beside Isaiah. She felt for a heartbeat in both his wrist and chest, before thoroughly checking his ears. There's no blood... A huge gust of air left the woman's body. Hemorrhaging from the nose and mouth wasn't necessarily severe, but bleeding from the ears was a telltale sign of brain damage. She looked up at the large hulk of a man, swatting his hand away as he bent down beside them. “Lieutenant Petrov, that's enough,” the usually elegant woman almost spat the words. “As the highest-ranking officer of Project Epsilon here, I cannot condone this behavior. Please remove yourself.”

A woman's laugh echoed around the room. It reminded Sharline of a villainess in a children's movie. Her brow furrowed in consternation. Who...? The girl looked around to see the figure of Myra St. Moritz, standing before the others. “Myra?”

“Honestly. That man is fine,” Myra's expression was bemused. “Sharline, to hear you talk, you'd think Petrov made him a quadriplegic.”

“W-what?” Sharline's tone was incredulous. “Did you see those blows? How long have you been here?”

“Long enough to know Isaiah Cole is fine. Petrov went easy on him, if anything,” Myra crossed her arms. “Cole broke his own arm.”

As the two women quarreled, Sharline saw a figure from her peripheral step into the ring. She turned to see Ren – garbed in the CQC gym clothes – assume a fervent fighting stance. You're kidding me.

The analyst jumped to her feet, planting herself firmly between Ren and Petrov. She shifted uneasily as she faced Ren's vengeful presence, almost wishing she was still in her SIREN. Sharline straightened her back unconsciously, using every inch of her height to tower over the shorter woman. “Corporal Ishii, you have been tasked – at Celsius's expense – with testing the SIREN unit by the Anatolian Army,” her tone was dark. “You cannot do that if you're a brain-dead vegetable. As the supervising officer of your unit–”

“Pipe down, Sharline. I'm the senior-most officer here,” Myra's voice came from her right. ...Huh? Sharline turned, her brow creasing in confusion.

“What?”

“You heard me,” the broad-shouldered woman stepped through the ropes and into the ring, strutting toward the analyst. Even though she was not wearing the same platform heels, the older woman effortlessly matched the younger's eye level. “I am taking over the rest of today's initiation exercises. You are no longer necessary.”

Sharline's face turned bright red. Myra had always treated her frostily, but she had never affronted her like this – and not in front of other people, either. The girl's eyes narrowed. “This buffoon,” she motioned toward Petrov as if he were a rock, “–is highly trained and extremely dangerous. He will decimate this unit.”

“This exercise is beneficial for our purposes. The military sent these people – we haven't screened them,” Myra's voice was nonchalant. “It's necessary to cut any fat from the program,” her tone turned sharp, glowering down at Isaiah as if the man were a sand flea.

Sharline's cobalt gaze was stormy, fierce. “You are sacrificing a covert operation,” her voice was hard. “Eckhart will hear about this.”

“Oh, he will? Really?” Myra met her gaze without flinching. An eerie glow lit up the woman's brown eyes. “...Where?” she murmured, a smirk playing out on her lips. “–In bed?”

Sharline felt like she was slapped in the face. Her jaw clenched down. To be usurped by Myra – some completely random superior – and then insulted in such a way... She shook her chin stiffly. That's it. Fuck this. She strode past Myra, not deigning to give the woman another look, before twisting through the ropes and disappearing past the north exit.

Myra's red lips remained in a smile. She slowly regarded Ren and Petrov, before turning to the mousy scientists and motioning them to take notes. She stepped out of the ring and rejoined the onlookers. “Please excuse that interruption. Continue the match.”

_________________

Slavik, The ring.

As the testing slowed, every member of the squad was told, or rather requested to view the 'spar' between the Sarge and this Maldovan defector. However Slavik merely grinned behind the helmet, "I think I'll remain in the...Siren for the time being. Test out the magnifying lens and gather some intel." He said to Fell zooming in on Petrov, the man was physically fit and clearly earned his rank and placement, "I can assume that the suit as some form of sound enhancer?"
"Well, yes, we bel-" Fell tried to explain but Slavik simply ignored the rest of the sentence wanting to turn his attention on gathering information on this Petrov though he did hear a vague comment about him being single minded... or something.

"Would you prefer a non-classified profile on l-" Spectre's AI began saying through the headset but Slavik dismissed it as well, "I am looking for first hand information to draw my opening observation, not second hand information."
"Affirmative."

"I'll give you a couple minutes to try it out, my colleague has asked you to remove it... but then this is an important field test. After all we haven't had a specialist try it out all the functions, may prove useful in the following calibrations." Fell mused as he stood back, "Spectre please make notes of what's said, I think it would be useful to know how subject Slavik operates, the staff might find it useful."

But as the scientist spoke, Slavik had already begun making his observations before Spectre began recording his own reflections.
Special forces, interesting. Appears the Sarge uses enemy tactics, useful considering it'll allow him to counter enemy strikes. But makes that stance vulnerable to disciplined Maldovan fighters. May also clash with more commonly used stances. An assumption, maybe proven wrong. Slavik whispered to himself focusing on what was happening in the ring, Petrov makes use of traditional Maldov styled combat, predictable and understandable. Effective.
As the fight began Slavik had the camera zoom out slightly to gather a better view of their movements, how they used the ring... or rather how they didn't. They seemed more fixed at the center of the ring, interesting.
Two shots in by Cole, collar bone and knee, mark for potential exploitation, note, avoid grappling. Not an option due to size difference, not unless using environmental advantage. Idiot! Sacrificing an arm in close combat isn't smart, Cole's anger is getting the best of him. Think man. He cursed quietly before the sergeant's next stance and following explanation caused him to raise an eyebrow, Interesting, unconventional use of combat, philosophy in principle is similar to Cernovian fighting in the manner that is; one must be unorthodox. Psh, but the loss of an arm caused Cole's downfall. Hopefully he'll learn from this, take into account your injuries before determining one's action. However I will not suggest it myself. Possibly demeaning and would question his command. Not suitable for the current situation. Petrov shows no signs of injury yet. Knee best option for now.

"Are we done yet? I'd rather not get scolded by the higher ups, you know." Fell pointed out as Cole was brought away. However Slavik had noticed the argument between the two... scientists as he zoomed out and instead focused on them.
"Almost done, Spectre bring up the name of the woman talking to McGovern."
"ST. MORITZ, Myra, Date of B-"
"That is all. Petrov may be holding back, caution, however St. Moritz may have a biased opinion. Cause; unknown, speculation... distrust and dislike for new recruits. May believe that the higher ups have chosen wrong. Throwing rank, does not seem to take diplomatic stances or approaches. First observation, subject to change. McGovern does not seem to hold Petrov in high regard. Clashes between members. Speculation. Nothing more. Appears primary observation to hold partial truth. Wishes to 'expunge' the weak from the program."

"Isn't that a bit harsh?" Fell mildly protested, "Even if it's true. You do know I'll be forwarding this to the rest of the staff."
"Fully aware. Doing my job. Psh, cheap shot, typical ankle biting backstage politics, unprofessional. Regardless of McGovern's relations with Eckhart. Possible sign of jealousy or perhaps a reflection of personality."
"Ankle bitting- Really? Wait... how many observations are you ma- okay out of the suit, right now. As much as I enjoy hearing you make those observations, it slipped my mind what it said in your profile."
"Brisk and Methodical, yes. "
Fell remained quiet for a while as Slavik began to remove his suit, "Your coming up with a worse case scenario, keeping tabs on everyone who might betray you... I remember now why I was somewhat happy I left the homeland, you're- no we're all paranoid."
"Perhaps, but better to expect the worse than be caught unaware. After all that is what cost us our home and what caused us to be chemical bomb-"
"Yeah, I am aware... I'm also aware of the fact you don't seem to be remotely fussed about either fact, I've been out long enough to know that... Urg, never mind. I think my main concern is that you don't seem to be angry or... affected by any of this."

"Facts are facts. Get carried away and you end up like Sergeant Cole. On a gurney. "
"I'd hate to be your roommate. To know that the person who shares the bunk is constantly watching my every move..."
"Who says he's the only one I'm observing. Like you said, I'm coming up with a worse case scenario for everyone, Cole, Zahari, McGovern, Petrov. Even the rest of the staff. You might want to ensure I don't wander about at night. Might help you sleep but then it might not. " Slavik said as he moved away from the Siren and Fell, making his way to the ring.
"You're a piece of work, aren't you."
"Doesn't that say so in my profile?"

It didn't take Slavik long for him to get by the ring, by now Ren was almost ready to rip off Petrov's head... or at least try to do so. Ishii appears to use a Anatolian stance, suspect that Petrov will know how to counter this, considering his role as Spec-Ops. Speculation regarding whether or not Ishii will realize this depends on mindset. Appears that she cares little. Something more than pride is going on. He reflected quietly to himself as he took his place without saying a further word to anyone in the squad.

Lieutenant Petrov ~ How's that saying go?

"Oh lord, there they go again...." Petrov thought to himself, sighing as Sharline and Myra got into their little cat fight. It wasn't that surprising really. Myra had gained something of a reputation for being the company bit**. Sharline's behavior was a bit surprising though. In all the years he'd known the woman, Petrov had never seen her take such a volatile stance. Her 'buffoon' comment caught him even more off guard. "Hey now....That's-" Yack, yack, yack, yack, yack, did all Anatolian women talk this much? Apparently not since Ren was practically speechless. "Ah, speaking of Ishii, quite some blood lust she's showing there." The maldovan commando eyed the woman with some peculiarity. "You might want to calm down there, corporal, especially if you're going to fight me with Anatolian Tae Kwon Do," he said, indicating the woman's fighting stance.

"For one, you're too stiff. If you were using the Maldovan style that wouldn't be as much of a problem but that's not the case here. Anatolian Tae Kwon Do requires more fluidity to be effec-" the instructor stopped his lecture, quickly noting that Ren had absolutely no intention in listening to him. With a heavy sigh, Petrov adopted the same fighting stance as Ren. "Have it your way then. Come on."

Ren - Fisticuffs

It was probably a good thing this Myra had come between her and Sharline, because there was no way she was backing down now. If needed she would've thrown Sharline out of the ring with force. Ren still kept her mouth shut, her jaws were clenched too tightly to get any words out.

Half of the things the two woman said went past Ren, she only had Petrov in mind. This was a fight she had to win, not for herself, but for her lost squadmates, the only people she ever felt really connected to. Justice was going to be served today.

When the two woman finally shut up, with Sharline even storming off in a little fit, the Maldovan fuck even had the audacity to give out tips! But she'd show him just how much she needed those tips. She had the advantage of both reach and speed, while the lumbering man had the advantage of strength. As long as she could prevent herself from getting hit, she should be fine. Whittle him down with smaller, faster attacks.

She started to circle the man, making sure to keep out of his range, while sporadically jumping in and throwing a few light kicks and punches, before jumping out of reach again. She was testing his defense and reaction speed, trying to find out where his weakspot was. Ren might be enraged right now, but she hadn't gone completely stupid. Don't stop moving, keep a cool head, watch for his arms.

Good thing she had some knowledge of the Maldovan fighting style, it focused on heavy punches and grapples. So as long as she could keep the man at bay and strike with kicks, this would be an easy fight.

_________________

Lt. Petrov ~ Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Maldovan

”Interesting….Sergeant Cole jumped straight into the fight but Ishii who, according to her profile, is the more hot blooded one is taking her time?” Petrov contemplated to himself as he simply swatted away Ren’s almost playful punches and kicks as if they were common house flies. ”Fast strikes, good use of footing, takes time to size up her opponent first. All good things,……still. I think I prefer Cole’s ‘rush-in’ mentality over this,” the maldovan commando allowed Ren to throw a few more easily blocked punches before finally starting to shift about the ring himself. Ren was right to assume that Maldovan Tae Kwon Do centered more around punches and grappling. However, it was quite plain from Petrov’s movements that he was a master of both.

Without so much as a word, Petrov lerched forward, raising his fist as if to strike towards the woman’s temple, much in the same way he had done to Isaiah when he rendered the man unconcious. However, before the strike even came close to connecting, Petrov pulled his punch, shifting his momentum downwards as he pivoted on his front foot. His feint successfully deployed, Petrov followed through with his intended attack, a spinning kick directed straight towards Ren’s gut. ”As light as she’s been on her toes this whole time she’ll probably step back out of the range of this strike and come in from my back side…..I’ll be waiting.”

Ren - The dance

So the man knew both styles? While it pained her to see the Anatolian way wasted on such filth, she couldn't help but think how much easier he had just made it for her. She knew something about the Maldovan style, enough to counter it's basic moves, but she was well versed in the Anatolian style, knowing full well how to counter that one. Fighting on my terrain? Fine by me.

The feint came somewhat unexpected, but he pulled away too fast, which made it easy to see what he was planning. She knew she had a few options here, jump back and counter attack, duck and hope that the kick was high enough to not hit her or opt for a more risky, but far more worthwhile, grapple.

In the split second she had, she chose for the latter. Just before the kick could hit, she moved along with it's arc, lessening the impact, while grabbing the leg. It wasn't exactly a complete success, as the kick pushed her further away than she had wanted, not to mention that it felt like catching a bowling ball shot from a cannon. No way was she doing that a second time, but at least she got a good hold on him now.

With a malicious grin she pulled his leg away from him, while pivoting on her own foot to deliver a backwards kick to his temple. Either he attempts to keep his balance, but that would mean a kick to the head, or he blocks the kick, which will most likely let me pull him to the ground. Either way, it's a win-win for me.

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"Lt. Petrov ~ This is gonna hurt.....Ren I mean.

"A grapple? As unexpected as it is unwise....." Petrov thought to himself as Ren launched her counterattack. More surprising than the grapple was Ren's ability to throw a kick at the significantly taller man's head while performing it. "Does she really intend to fight me on the ground? Bold,.....stupid too,.....but bold." In the split second before Ren's kick struck his temple, Petrov threw a bone shattering block into the woman's shin, wrapping his massive hand around her ankle in the process. As Ren had suspected, this allowed her to take Petrov to the ground. Unfortunately for Ren, the ground was to Petrov as water is to a fish. As he fell, Petrov used his one remaining leg to kick Ren's pivot foot out from under her, sending her toppling down to the floor with him. From there it was only a matter of time before Petrov had removed his leg from the woman's grasp and regained his footing. The maldovan commando then proceeded to seize the woman by her ankles and fling her across the ring like a rag doll.

"Do not fu** with me, Corporal! You're 100 years to early to beat me on the ground. If you plan on leaving this ring any other way besides me flinging your unconscious body from it, stay on your feet." Petrov waited for Ren to regain her footing before once again adopting the Anatolian Tae Kwon Do stance. "That ought to get her going a bit. Maybe now she'll start using strikes instead of holds like she should have been from the beginning."

Whilst the fight with Petrov raged, Mel and Isaiah's unconscious corpse were led to the infirmary where they were greeted by a series of medical staffers. The infirmary was possibly the only non-glass housed room in the complex with the exception of the barracks. It lay nestled in the wall of the facility and consisted of a long aisle of roughly 100 beds. Isaiah was among the first test subjects to be sent to the infirmary and thus didn't have to wait long to be treated (not that he would have known otherwise what with the being unconscious and all).

An aged man in his late 30's approached Melani with a clipboard in hand. "Hello, Corporal Engleton. Please fill out this form while I take Sergeant Cole to the treatment room. Once you're finished you can head upstairs to the observation room if you like. We should be done with him in about 45 minutes or so. Isaiah's body was taken through a series of double doors, leaving Melani alone in the lobby to fill out the chart. After removing his uniform and dressing him in the traditional medical garment (you know that one that's always one size to small and doesn't close all the way in the back?), Isaiah was wheeled into surgery where doctors first began to x-ray his mangled arm.

One of the surgeons whistled upon seeing the x-ray before looking down at the KO'd sergeant. "Petrov really did a number on you huh pal?" the surgeon let out a light chuckle under his breath before waving to a nearby nurse. "Bring me two C-30 injections and something for Sergeant Cole to bite down on." After a few moments the nurse returned with two horrifyingly large needles and a spool of medical gauss. After propping open Isaiah's mouth and stuffing the gauss between his teeth, the doctor picked up one of the needle and lifted the sleeve on Isaiah's gown. After wiping the area around his shoulder with disinfectant, the doctor shoved the needle straight Isaiah's arm. No sooner than did the needle enter his shoulder than did Isaiah wake up from his painfully induced slumber. The young sergeant's teeth slammed against the gauss as he let out the most horrifying scream imaginable. "Hold him down and make sure he doesn't swallow the gag. Fixing his arm is pointless if he suffocates." While the attendees processed this request, the doctor removed the needle from Isaiah's shoulder. Foam exuded from where the needle had entered until a nurse promptly covered it with a medical bandage. By now the flesh surrounding Isaiah's shoulder had bulged to about three times its normal size as the injection went to work repairing the damaged bone and nerve endings caused by their recent dislocation. "Just one more to go, Sergeant Cole. After this your arm will be good as new......It's going to hurt like hell before that though." Without wasting another second, the doctor drove the second needle into Isaiah's elbow, injecting the liquid foam once more. Another howling scream form Isaiah and a bandage from the nurse and the young sergeant was finally able to remove the gag from his mouth. Cold sweat tricled down his forehead as the nurses proceeded to clean him up a bit. As promised, exactly 45 minutes had passed since Melani had been handed the form, giving her plenty of time to see this gruesome display of modern science for herself. "Nurse, monitor him for another 15 minutes or so to make sure his immune system doesn't reject the injection. After that wheel him to bed 1 and let his squadmate sort him out."

Ren - Plan B

That didn't exactly go as planned. Fucker's stronger than I gave him granted. She thought as she got back up on her feet. His words didn't go unnoticed either, if looks could kill, then Ren's gaze would've been classified as a WMD. "I'll fucking break your neck, you Maldovan fuck." She finally hissed through clenched teeth, balling her fists and getting back into her fighting stance.

She quickly ran at him, feinting a high jumping kick, but instead delivering a devastating bodyguard kick, which consisted out of a simple front kick to the stomach, knocking his waist backwards, allowing Ren to follow up by a high kick to the forehead. She finished this combo off with a rear horse kick, pivoting on her feet to deliver a kick that would send him backwards and away from her. If only she could get that behemoth down, then she could get him into a choke hold and hopefully snap his neck. She made doubly sure that the man wasn't able to get a grab on her, he probably wouldn't be so merciful the next time he could get his hands on her.

Not allowing the man to recover, Ren started a barrage of swift spinning kicks, some were feints, some were actual kicks, anything to keep the man in the defense. Wherever she saw an opening, she would try to land an extra forceful kick. She always kept in motion, moving from side to side to see which side of him had the weakest defense, but also to prevent him from hitting her. Can't hit what you can't catch. And while not exactly in line with the whole honor system, Ren did try to aim for the crotch area as well. She was all too aware of what that could do to men, not using such a big advantage would just be stupid and she wanted this man to suffer as much as she could possibly do.

_________________

Lt. Petrov ~ Petrov.....PAUNCH!!

"That's the reaction I was looking for..." Petrov thought to himself as Ren issued her 'threat.' A false smirk emanated from Petrov as the woman charged in, attempting a feint much as he had done earlier. Petrov managed to block Ren's high kick but came up just short on the horse kick, causing the large man to take a few steps back before regaining his composure. "That's more like it. Nice use of combinations, and she's using the ring appropriately." The former commando continued his usual routine of swatting Ren's kicks away whilst quietly observing her.

A look of disappointment covered his face as Ren started her barrage of repetitive spinning kicks. "Oh what the hell is this sh**? I swear this woman can only fight intelligently for five second intervals......All the same, it's about time I ended this." Despite Ren's dancing about the ring, Petrov kept with the woman the entire time, never letting his guard down for even a second. After allowing the woman to throw a few more spinning kicks, Petrov finally made his move. The CQC instructor lunged in, jamming Ren's kick before her leg could fully extend. In doing so Petrov caught Ren in a rather vulnerable position. The maldovan cocked back his fist and promptly drove it into Ren's temple, leveling the woman in a single blow.

Petrov stood over the woman, fist still clenched in anticipation should she somehow recover from the blow. Satisfied, he turned back to what remained of the squad, eyeballing each of them before finally beginning to speak. "I hope you were all paying attention, because that was a perfect example of how NOT to fight. If there is a god I hope he helps you out if you're ever caught outside those fancy SIRENs because right now I can't for the life of me figure out how you've made it this far." Petrov scratched the back of his head as he stepped out of the ring, leaving the Ren to the care of one of the trainers. "As you may know already, my name is Lieutenant Petrov. I'll be in charge of your CQC and demolitions training from here on out. I only have three rules. Number one, no backtalk. Rule two, I don't want to hear any of your anti-Maldovan bullsh**. I've been here 15 years; I'm fu**ing Anatolian. Last but not least, rule three, use your brain. Years of experience won't help you if you don't think about what you're doing, as Corporal Ishii just demonstrated." Petrov wiped the sweat from his brow before wrapping the towel around his shoulders. "That's all for today. I'll be working with each of you individually throughout the next few months so check your schedules. They should be posted outside your rooms each morning. As of now you're all dismissed. Get your SIRENs back in the chambers and get some sleep. Don't worry I'll make sure Ishii and Cole make it back."

Myra – Lowered Expectations

Well, that was fast. Myra watched as the man ended Ren with a hard crack! to the skull. The young woman collapsed to the ground almost instantaneously. Myra looked on in displeasure. So...disappointing.

"Thank you, Lt. Petrov. A fine fight, like always," the woman's voice only slightly rose with the compliment. She looked at her nails as the Maldovan meathead chattered on about something or other. I wonder what Sharline's up to right now. Probably ran straight to Eckhart, and crying in his lap. Myra glared, blowing a lock of hair from her face. Or sucking him off. Little slut.

The woman noticed when Petrov's heavy voice ceased. "Yes, yes – thank you, Lieutenant," her words were blasé as she looked up from her nails. "Now, down to business. Lt. Petrov will be overseeing your training for the next eight months," although Myra's tone was clinical, she sounded vaguely comical in wake of the general's speech. Either way, she probably didn't care. "Dalakis, Diaz, Galia, Slavik, Zahari – all of us here at Celsius hope you'll live up to your reputations as 'specialists' in your fields." The agent thought back on Isaiah's pathetic fight from earlier. "Close quarters combat specialists" my ass. "–Suffice it to say, I hope you're a little more impressive than Cole and that woman," at the mention of Ren, Myra's glance turned on the KO'd combatant. "Speaking of, why is she still here?" Bleeding all over the ground...ugh. Myra flicked her wrist toward the lifeless form. "Can someone take care of that?"

Leona Ma, a timid raven-haired woman, broke from the group of researchers and hurried across the ring, kneeling down beside Ren. "Infirmary, infirmary, this is Ma. Can we get a stretcher in the stadium, stat..."

Myra had already turned back to the recruits. "Alright, that's all. I wanted to make sure this initiation went properly, but Sharline McGovern will be overseeing your daily activities in the program. Tell her if you have a problem, and she'll report it to us." In truth, the executive was only a general supervisor of another Epsilon unit – the same job description as Sharline's – but she let the inaccuracy slide. "By the way, my name is Myra St. Moritz. I'm an agent for Celsius," the woman paused, as if to consider divulging more, but deemed it unnecessary. She checked her watch. "Someone will see you back to the barracks..." 5:30. Shit! I missed the meeting to be with these losers.

"Later," she said flatly, turning and disappearing out the north exit.

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Max Diaz- Sage Advice?

After watching the entire spectacle, Max snorted in disgust. So much for thinking that those two were intelligent. When they were dismissed she shook her head and walked back towards the training area to see if Doc had returned. After an easy hunt she found him adjusting some settings on her SIREN. They briefly spoke, Max explaining that they had been instructed back to their barracks, and then she left him to tinker with the machine.

After following someone back to the barracks, Max returned to her room to change out of the horrid pilot suit and shower. Leaving her room in her more comfortable clothes, she made her way out of the barracks to find the clinic area where Isaiah and Ren were. Someone had to keep those two idiots from making the situation worse than it already was.

She walked into the room where the two of them where and sighed tiredly, "I apologize, but I am about to speak plainly, whether one of you is my superior or not." She continued, jumping straight to her point, "What the hell were you two thinking?" Giving them no room to cut in she continued so that she could get her point across, "They hired him to train us, do you really think you can beat him if he's meant to train 'CQC experts?'" She shook her head as she continued, "I know you hate Maldovans, - f***, all of us probably do - but that doesn't mean you need to lose your god-damn minds as soon as you see one. I think you'd know that from being in the field."

She continued harshly, "If there's one thing I learned on the streets, it's that if you're stuck in a situation where you have to deal with an enemy on peaceful terms then do it, but take them for everything they have. Use them until they've got nothing left and if you come to a point where you know you can beat them then you ruin them," she said, eyes flashing. "Make them lose any respect they ever had from others and for themselves. That -" she paused and looked at Isaiah, "should have been something you already knew since you learned one of their f***ing fighting styles." She looked at the two of them in disgust, "I know we just met, and you probably both want to kill me now, but at least think about what you've done. Lord knows the reputation of our squad doesn't need you two doing anything else stupid to drag it further through the mud. You've both already made me respect you less. If you don't care about that, then at least care about the squad as a whole. We succeed and fail as a group, and you two just made us fail." Her fiery gaze calmed a bit as she took a calming breath, "Now I hope you two heal well. I wouldn't wish anything bad on my team-mates." She waited calmly for the two to chew her out or attack her despite the fact that they were bed-ridden.

_________________
Zee Captain: "Better dig your heels in"
Mr. Snippy: "Why? What?"
Zee Captain: "..."

~ Melani Engleton ~
~ Infirmary ~

”Training does not involve beating anyone to a bloody pulp,” Melani said, from her position beside the door in the room her squadmates had been delivered to. She'd been with Isaiah from the moment they'd transferred him to his new bed, but her cheery smile was gone, replaced by a cold anger that the short medic hadn't felt since her body had been caught in the hormone crossfire of puberty.

”Training does not involve breaking bones, or bloodying noses. Training does not involve nearly breaking someone's jaw. That was not training. That was goading and humiliation and torture,” she said, pushing away from the wall and walking with clipped movements to stand in front of Max. ”Don't make apologies for that beast of an instructor, because he doesn't deserve any. Maybe there was a little hotheadedness going on, but this is completely out of line!” Her voice raised a little in volume as she tossed her hand to point at Isaiah and Ren. Ren, at least, she'd been able to medicate.

She'd witnessed the out-and-out torture that he'd been subjected to. Painful medical procedures attempted without sedation or any sort of analgesia were very much torture in Melani's mind, and although the miracle stuff that would make him better faster didn't play well with other drugs, it also didn't sit very well with Melani. His screams still echoed in her memory, and she had a pretty vivid memory to go with that imagination of hers. And now Max's words, well...they didn't help.

”You can get out. Now.”

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Official Forum Mom

Max - Reining in the stupidity

Max glared at the girl that until recent hours had been shitting rainbows, "The f*** I am you biased little bitch. The only reason you got so mad is because you're hot for the Sarge. You think you hide it so well?" Max scoffed, "I've been here for less time than the others and it's still clear. You light up like a Christmas tree when you see him."

She looked at Mel with disgust, "Really, if you actually got over yourself and thought about it, these two should be above being goaded that easily. They were already lost causes before they entered the ring just because of their attitude. Isaiah's worst injuries were self-inflicted. If he had tapped out like a person with a brain, he wouldn't have been in this state, but no, he let himself be blinded by his own emotion. Any fighter knows that doing that is the worst thing you can do. And Ren wasn't much better about that. Sure she held herself together for a while, but somewhere along the line she stopped thinking too. Multiple spin-kicks? Even I know that's terrible strategy, and I'm not even an expert in the field. As for the damn Maldovan, he more than held his own because of these two idiot's attitude. He might as well used them as mops. He fought fair and even tried to instruct them, - not that they listened - and I distinctly remember you telling Ren to 'break him,' yet you get angry when they get hurt for being stupid. Don't give me any of your high and mighty righteous bull-shit. No one likes a hypocrite."

_________________
Zee Captain: "Better dig your heels in"
Mr. Snippy: "Why? What?"
Zee Captain: "..."

~ Melani Engleton ~
~ Infirmary ~

Melani flushed as Max accused her of having the hots for Isaiah. It was true, but...was it really that obvious? To someone who'd only been with their group for a matter of hours?

The color drained out of her face, though, as Max continued, and Melani stood there clenching her fists to her sides. She flushed again, this time in anger rather than embarrassment, and since Max's ears were good enough to have heard Mel's whisper to Ren before, they would be more than good enough to hear the grinding of the medic's molars.

She didn't argue with Max's flawed logic, or present the point that no pain medication had been administered. Even if Isaiah's injuries were his fault, undergoing that kind of procedure, even if it was necessary, was torturous. If that ex-Maldovan bastard hadn't been so keen to prove his superiority, they wouldn't have had to use the method that called for no analgesia. And unless she were harboring lesbian tendencies that she wasn't even aware of, Max was completely wrong about Melani's anger being rooted in the fact that she was attracted to their squad leader, because she was also furious on behalf of Ren, who was most certainly not Isaiah, but Melani didn't correct her.

Instead, she just repeated herself: "Get out."

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Official Forum Mom

Slavik, Intervention

Both fights had ended in favor of Petrov, an outcome Slavik didn't find all too surprising considering that none of them had any intel on him other than his name, save perhaps Cole's deduction of his role in the Maldovan military. And once more the attitude shown by St. Moritz again proved that she disliked the recruits though he did admit having both Cole and Ren lose their cool was somewhat of a disappointment, however he give them the benefit of the doubt as there had to be a reason to why they lost it. After all they were the teams CQC and both had obviously fought against the Maldovans.

Still, Slavik held his tongue as he listened to both Petrov and St. Mortiz, taking note that Petrov seemed to disregard Ren's unconscious body. An act that irked Slavik severly that Petrov didn't adhere to the rules of sparring, from the Cernovian's perspective the senior fighter should be the one to immediately check to ensure the basics are covered before walking away from his sparring partner. Instead he merely cast her off to the nearest trainer who apparently didn't care either as it took some nudging from another scientist to get Ren some medical attention. Celsius didn't seem to care about it's recruits in the slightest, fancy rooms and tours meant little if they ended up brain damaged just because their 'trainer' wanted to prove a point.
I'll have to talk with Petrov about the finer points about unpadded strikes to the head. He thought darkly as he walked away from the ring, for now he had to observe each of them before taking action. He moved back to his designated SIREN to retrieve his blade before heading off to give his observations to Cole as well as to check up on his health. Yet when he arrived he was advised to return in a couple minutes as they wished to ensure the procedures were going as planned, they did assure him that Cole would recover soon and that the team's medic was already there just in case.

With a polite nod Slavik headed to his dorms, his room mate wasn't there when Slavik entered the shower allowing him to remove his contacts without fear of needless worry or fright. Taking a quick cold shower the man realized that his dye was starting to wear off, revealing bits of bright red hair. He'd have to request some dye from the supply officer at some point, but since they'd only be training for the time being it wasn't imperative that he dyed his hair. Putting on his 'casual' cloths Slavik made his way to his medical kit, making sure that Kirill wasn't around to see him replace his contacts with fresh ones. He had brought two back ups just in case the others were damaged.

Several minutes had passed now meaning that the medical staff should've finished with their check ups, thus that would allow Slavik to make his findings and reflect with Cole, assuming he was in the mood to hear him and assuming he was going to be full alert. Nearing the wards, the Cernovian could hear heated words of an argument, both voices he recognized one belonging to Diaz and the other to Engleton.

"Don't make apologies for that beast of an instructor, because he doesn't deserve any. Maybe there was a little hotheadedness going on, but this is completely out of line!

You can get out. Now."

"The f*** I am you biased little bitch. The only reason you got so mad is because you're hot for the Sarge. You think you hide it so well?"

Slavik sighed, signs of discontent were already playing through the squad and their leader had only been out for less than two hours, both women had their own points and reasons so Slavik would have to handle this delicately. While he didn't want to be an interloper in Cole's chain of command, Slavik decided to try and shift their focus away from arguing each other.
Making sure his sheathed blade was visible, Slavik entered the room and with a calm, level and dreadfully quiet voice, "Greetings Miss Diaz, Miss Engleton. May I ask what this commotion is all about." His voice remained relatively neutral as he looked at both women, his eyes were surprisingly alert now. "This is a medical ward and I'd hate to disturb our beloved leader, no matter how hot-headed he can prove to be, the man does need his rest without the excessive noise pollution."

"Oh hello there... Slavik was it?" Max said, startled by his entrance, "I had just come by to try and remind those two 'hot-headed' idiots not to do rash things without thinking first, and to wish them well in their recovery. Melani doesn't seem pleased with me though, so I was about to leave anyway." She shrugged, "I'm going to head towards the mess-hall to try out some of the company's gruel if anyone else wants to come." She turned to head out.

_________________
Zee Captain: "Better dig your heels in"
Mr. Snippy: "Why? What?"
Zee Captain: "..."

Isaiah Cole ~ Taking Back Control

Isaiah shuffled in his diluted state of consciousness. What the hell was with all the noise? Didn't anyone know better than to cause such a ruckus in the middle of a hospital? Then he woke up. "....Oh, right.....underground testing facility.....not a hospital," he groaned as he sat up, immediately regretting the decision to do so as he did. The young sergeant fell back against his cot which only caused him further pain. "The fuuuuuuu**!" he growled through clenched teeth as he attempted to lightly rub the horribly swollen sections of his mangled arm. "Oh hell it looks like I'm smuggling bowling balls in there...." Isaiah stammered whilst poking at his shoulder.

Mel was there. Good, he needed someone on the bright side of things right about now, even if she had an occasionally annoying habit of doing so. "How long did the doc say I have to-" he was interrupted by Max entering, followed shortly by 'scolding mother' rant. Isaiah rolled his eyes throughout her entire speech, just waiting for her to finish so that some form of peace and quiet might be restored to the medical ward. Of course it was then that Mel jumped in like some tiny blonde guardian angel. Before Isaiah could so much as get a word out the two women were going at it. Had Slavik not entered when he did Isaiah might have found himself in something of a cat fight.

Regardless though, by this point Isaiah's sense of duty had returned, accompanied by his usual attitude toward this sort of thing. "Diaz, the next time I want your opinion, I'll give it to you." he stated bluntly, not offering the woman another word as she left for the mess hall. "Mel, do me a favor and see if you can find my clothes. Those da** stripper suits were less revealing than these stupid medical gowns. Thanks." Isaiah did his best to avoid talking about Mel's potential crush on him. He had to. One of the first rules of being an officer was don't hit on your squad. Finally his attention shifted to Slavik, the only calm and collected member of his team in the entire medical ward at the time. "How're the rest of them holding up, Slavik? Please tell me they're not freaking out as much as these two."

~ Melani Engleton ~
~ Infirmary ~

"Yes, sir," she said, pasting on a smile that was not nearly as good a fake as the one she usually wore. Max's words had shaken her and reminded her of things that Melani didn't particularly like to be reminded of. It was hard enough to keep one's disposition eternally sunny in a war-torn world, but to have to do it when people are yelling at you, calling you names, and humiliating you in front of, well...okay, it was true...she did find Isaiah attractive. But Kirill was cute, too. And Slavik had this whole mysterious thing going on. It wasn't like she was drooling or anything...She treated Isaiah like she'd treated any other Commanding Officer she'd ever had...right?

As she slipped out of the infirmary and toward their rooms, her feet carrying her at a pace that was quick but wouldn't leave her winded, she turned things over in her mind. Was she a bitch? She tried really hard not to be...Yes, she'd been kind of brusque with Max, but...Max barging in and interrupting recuperative rest was just...just...mean and disrespectful. She blinked back the tears that stung at her eyes, and reminded herself that she wasn't a child anymore. She didn't get to cry over the littlest thing. Nobody accepted "she was mean!" as an excuse anymore.

She took a few deep breaths, trying to hold an image of herself in her mind that was identical to the one that she wanted to portray...that she wanted other people to see. She would never be beautiful like Ren...She wasn't a strong personality like Max...All she had going for her was that she was nice. And she would be nice, and she would let people think that she was happy with that. After all, things weren't really all that bad, were they?

Yes, she had all this emotional longing and she kind of felt like shutting herself up in her room and crying for the rest of the day, but...But Ren and Isaiah were going to be fine, she thought. They weren't dead and they weren't maimed and...And tomorrow was a new day and she could always apologize to Max later for being so out of line. And maybe, just maybe, the other woman wouldn't be a grudge-holder...

Yes. That was it. She sniffed, pausing at Isaiah's door to press the heels of her hands against her eyes, as if the pressure would clear the film of tears that made her sclera shiny and her eyesight a little blurry magically go away. It didn't, but the swipe of a knuckle against each eye did. Another deep breath helped to cleanse her spirit, and her following smile wasn't quite so fake anymore.

She did try not to think where she was when she rooted through Isaiah's room, letting an incessant voice in her head talk to her about sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows as she retrieved new clothing for him. She did have to talk herself into being an adult and not getting all blush-y or squeamish about handling his underwear, but that only took a second. She was a medical professional, after all, and a pair of underthings really shouldn't bother her.

Clothing fetched, she made a quicker pace back to the infirmary, and was breathing hard by the time she opened the door, bearing an armful of Isaiah's clothing with cheeks flushed pink from exertion and a more genuine smile on her face.

"Ta-dah!" was all she could manage to get out between breaths, although she really wanted to say something eloquent like, "Here you are, Sarge. I hope you're mending up well. The swelling should go down fairly quickly after the bones and ligaments have been re-knitted. I hope you're not in too much pain. Would you like me to see if I can fetch a cold or hot pack for you? After that, I should probably retrieve some clothing for Ishii, when she wakes up. Is that alright with you?" but, as always, the eloquent thing wasn't what came out of her mouth.

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Official Forum Mom