[Trace's MOB, after returning.]
"...and that's all, ma'am." Eve stood sharp at attention while she gave her report to her TRACE squad's handler. Shortly after arriving back at TRACE's MOB[1] and disembarking from the phantom hawks, she had bid her squad to the med tent and barracks to rest while she gave her account of the operation as the squad leader.
"Good job, sergeant.[2]" her squad's handler[3], a lieutenant, smiled. "Extremely good job, in fact, considering that was your first operation, and as a squad leader, no less."
Eve wasn't cheered up by the compliment. The injuries of her squad were still vividly fresh in her mind.
"...I just did my best, ma'am. Either way, I can't help but think that there were many better decisions I could've made. We could've come out with no casualties."
Her handler shook her head. "You did your best- this was your first operation, after all. Even if I have some little things to say and nitpick, your decision making was flawless. I would've made the exact same decisions as you." She paused for a moment before continuing. "However, don't let this get to your head. Remember your training. I expect better results in the future."
The lieutenant's voice softened. "Either way, good job. We did get some incredibly valuable intel from the Asphodelians tonight, and they made it out thanks to you and your squad. Be ready- depending on what it is as well as Command's reaction, they might want you on the job again." She let this dangle in the air for a moment before standing up, pulling her military cap over her head, and slipping Eve's report into a folder for later.
She sighed. "Good night sergeant, and good job. Go get some rest, and maybe you'll get some news in the morning. Dismissed."
Taking her cue, Eve saluted, and the lieutenant returned it. Turning around, Eve adjusted the strap on her rifle as she headed towards the armoury to sign it off for the night. The crisp night air blew around her gently like a mother nursing a child. As she walked, Eve looked skywards at the stars that glittered like diamonds in the night sky.
Eve thought to herself, willing the stars to answer her. Were you all watching tonight? Will you judge me? After all, I could've done much better- I shouldn't have let anyone get hurt. And I killed another person again today. I'm so desensitized at this point that I can do it without thinking. Am I even human anymore?
Cruelly, the stars could provide no answer. Eve sighed, and continued on her way to the armoury.
She quickly entered the building, cleared her weapons, then handed them off along with her spare magazines to a tired looking corporal who was on duty for the night. After signing her rank and name, as well as the time she returned the weapons, she finally headed back to her barracks to sleep.
- - -
[The next morning]
"At ease." It was 0700[4] sharp in the morning, and Eve stood at ease on the right side of her bunk, her head throbbing, wondering how the hell she slept so well after all that happened. In front of them, their lieutenant handler paced from one side of the barracks to the other. Eventually, she halted in the middle.
"Sergeant Glen."
Eve responded. "Ma'am!" Though she had no formal last name due to being orphaned at a young age, Eve had adopted the last name Glen when she was drafted into the military; after all, everyone was referred to by rank and last name.
The lieutenant continued calling names, each followed by a sharp call of ma'am.
"Technical corporal Seo[5]. Specialist corporal Taeyeon. Corporal Vian. Meet me by the helipads with your gear and kit bags packed by 0830. Do not wear any combat gear[6], have it stored in your kit bags. You are to come in your combat dress. Any questions?"
"No, ma'am."
"Good. See you in an hour and a half."
She turned 90 degrees and left the barracks in silence, shutting the door gently behind her. As soon as she left, the barracks relaxed, going back to their normal routine of doing their bunks before getting ready for morning mess. Meanwhile, as Eve redid her hospital corners on her bunk and tucked them in, Technical corporal Seo, her bunkmate and squad second in command, turned to her as she tended to the top bunk.
"What do you think it's about, sergeant?"
Eve continued emptying her footlocker and pulled her helmet out of the cubby she kept it in.
"If I had to guess, something related to last night. We were the only ones on that operation in this barrack, and we were the only ones called." Eve and Seo deliberately avoided talking about what the operation was about, or what the goal was.
Seo nodded understandingly. They both knew that it probably had something to do with the intel that they had gathered last night, but avoided the exact subject. Even though the operation was open, the exact objective as well as what the data analysts were looking for were classified, even to the rest of the barracks, who were all TRACE operators as well.
Eve shouldered her kit bag and carried her helmet in one hand as she clamped shut the combination lock on her locker and spinned it around several times before finally leaving it set to 0[7]. The other three TRACE operators did the same as Eve waited patiently by the door.
Soon, Seo, Taeyeon, and Vian were all packed up and ready to leave. Technical Corporal Seo took a step forwards and held the barrack door open.
She smiled. "After you, Sergeant, Specialist Corporal, Corporal."
Eve smiled back as she stepped out of the barracks, and a cold wind gushing over the operating base pushed gently like a brook against her glass-like skin. Her shoulder-length brown hair fluttered in the wind, and Eve tucked the stray strands behind her ear.
As the trio walked, Eve took a closer look at Seo, Taeyeon, and Vian as they made small talk, now that their faces weren't hidden behind masks. Even though they had trained together and that Seo was her bunkmate, Eve hadn't really seen their faces, nor pay attention to them if she did- throughout training, briefings, mock operations, as well as the actual operations, their faces were always hidden behind the mask and visor that extended from the helmet.
That was an intentional function of the mask- it dehumanized the TRACE operators to their enemies as psychological warfare, as well as dehumanizing them from anyone else. Even though variants of the helmet were issued to almost every branch of the Halcyon Armed forces, this was especially prominent with the TRACE operators, given their nature as the tier one special forces of the Halcyon Federation.
Technical corporal Seo had long, raven black hair tied back in a ponytail under her military cap, as well as an angled yet soft face, and large, doll-like eyes. She carried herself with an air of confidence, but also somehow with respect- she treated anyone, no matter their rank, better than she would treat herself while still being easily more capable than anyone except for Eve in their squad. This last fact Eve knew very well based on Seo's high performance as the squad second in command during the operation, as well as throughout training.
She spoke in a middle-toned voice that always sounded tired, and that was reflected by the dark circles under her eyes, undermining her otherwise doll-like appearance.
Eve honestly had no idea how Seo managed to look so tired while Eve always got the same amount of sleep and rest- perhaps it was just a personal thing? Regardless, She knew Technical Corporal Seo as a highly-trained professional, but had also grown to know her closely during training as someone she could rely on
Meanwhile, Specialist Corporal Taeyeon was their designated marksman. She was a withdrawn individual that tended to keep to herself, but could handle herself and keep her composure in every situation. She was a calming presence to be around, and kept the squad grounded when they knew that she always had their backs. Taeyeon was disturbingly accurate with her DMR[8] out to any range, and easily incorporated the rifle with ballistics guidance as well as any other information that her visor gave her.
In the operation, she was pulled from her position as the DM after eliminating the facility's security from the helicopter while in hover. That was no easy feat, taking into account that she was shooting from a moving vehicle, one that is flying, no less. Regardless, once they had landed, she had pulled out a secondary PDW[9] to help out with the extraction.
Taeyoon was of a smaller stature, but her combat uniform rested comfortably over her petite frame. Eve was not deceived, however; she knew that Taeyoon carried a lot more than the average riflewoman as the designated marksman. Her hair was a dark brown highlighted with streaks of dirty blond and was tied back in a neat ponytail, flipped through the hole in the back of her cap. Bangs that would be tucked into her helmet dangled daintily in front of her face, and her almond shaped eyes were framed by a pair of clear, thin-framed glasses.
Last but not least, corporal Vian was their breacher. The newest and youngest of the team, she filled the air with energy, and even though she was relatively inexperienced, she kept the energy up and went about her job with great efficiency. She was well trained, and while she lacked confidence, she performed well under pressure when it came to it.
Corporal Vian's dark brown hair was left short under her military cap, just a centimeter shorter than what the military's set regulations for loose hair. She had large, brown eyes, and exuded an innocence and youth that just made Eve's heart ache that she had to put someone like Vian through operations similar to the one last night.
Eve smiled. As they walked, they kept up the small conversation, and soon the four girls arrived at the helipad, where the lieutenant was waiting with a phantom hawk transport helicopter bearing a white camouflage paint scheme behind her. Eve dropped the bag by her side and waited as the other three formed up behind her at attention, then saluted.
The lieutenant returned the salute. "Early as always, Sergeant."
Eve lowered her salute. "Yes, ma'am."
The lieutenant glanced at her watch. "We're early, but we might as well leave now. You can stand at ease." She paused as Eve and her squad collectively snapped their hands behind them. "Easy. Relax[10] your heads, take a stretch." The lieutenant handler paused for another while before continuing.
"As you probably have speculated, this is regarding your mission last night. We have received information from command that makes them feel the need to make a move immediately, as well as getting TRACE involved." She said this last statement with an ominous feeling, as if a storm were coming.
"We do not know what they found in the intel, so don't ask me. All I know is that it was important enough to get us involved."
The lieutenant then pointed to the white and desaturated grey-green phantom hawk behind them. "How well do you all fare in the cold?"
Eve and the others blinked with the sudden change of topic.
The lieutenant smiled. "I hope the answer is well, because we're headed up to MOB 7 in the arctic region. We've been personally requested of by the lieutenant-colonel himself."
[1] Main Operating Base. A permanent military installation.
[2] One common misconception that I see in a lot of pop culture (cough, certain webtoons / webnovels, cough) is that everyone will refer to each other as sir / ma'am, or at least NCOs refering to each other as sir or ma'am. This is incorrect. You are only refered to as sir or ma'am once you've recieved your commission. It's hard to explain, so just search it up.
[3] Essentially a controller for Eve's squad. This doesn't really exist for militaries world wide, at least to my knowledge, I just threw this in here.
She will handle everything from logistics to communications.
[4] For those who don't know military time, the first two digits refer to the hour and the last two are minutes. For example, 7:00 am in our time would be 0700. There are some complications for the afternoon, however- 8:00 pm for us would be 2000 hours. You can tell the actual time and verse visa by subtracting / adding 12 (which would be the morning or am hours.)
20 - 12 = 8 = 8pm.
[5] In some militaries, technical sergeant, specialist corporal, etc. are actual ranks. Here, I'm just using it as a further refinement for what an individual does within a squad. You generally won't see it being used in this context in real world-militaries. Before anyone calls me out for being 'incorrect', this is my novel. I'll write what I want. :3
[6] Combat suit, Helmet, Ballistic vest / plate carrier, etc.
[7] During my personal experience, the standard for lockers during inspection will be 0. Every single numerical lock within the barracks should be set to 0 before inspection, and Eve is doing this as a habit. (Generally, if the lock doesn't have 0, it should be set to 1, and if it's alphabetical it should be set to A. If you have multiple sliders / rings do your lock, they should all be set to 0 / 1 / A. This is all from personal experience, so please make sure to check actual regulations of your unit / etc, and don't just take my word for it.)
[8] You would probably know if you play shooters, but DMR stands for Designated Marksman Rifle. It's more commonly known in shooters as the auto or semi auto sniper, even though this name is slightly misleading.
[9] Personal Defence Weapon. Recognizable names may include the FN P90, the H&K MP5, as well as the the AAC Honey Badger.
[10] Similarly, if you haven't seen or known much about the military, ease does not mean you can move around, it's simply just more comfortable than attention.
At the position of easy, you can make 3- second movements, with 3 seconds in between each (a cooldown, if you will.) That still does not allow you to relax. Only when the command to relax is made can you relax your body and move around.
There are a ton of nuances, but that's the gist of it.