Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Kelley looked down at her weapon once more, checking her clips making sure they were filled to the top. Kelley looked at her teammates, Becky kept a stone cold glare, Alex’s jaw was clenched as she held her weapon tight. Allie had her eyes closed, humming softly whereas Morgan was looking out the window. She noticed Tobin softly talking with Christen, presumably about the plan and she turned her head to see Emily’s knee bouncing up and down.
Kelley took a deep breath as their vehicle came to a full stop, meaning they finally arrived at their location. Kelley slowly stood up and checked her equipment once more, making sure everything was in check, which thankfully it was.
Emily knows she should’ve eaten earlier but food has never sat well during stressful situations. Stressful was an understatement, in this case, she nervously checked that her holster was in place again.
‘Get it together Emily’ she whispered to herself.
She noticed Kelley sitting near her, poker face and all, and couldn’t help but feel more nervous. The other girl looked so confident that she felt so small in comparison. Then, she gazed at all her new squadmates, they all seemed so tight-knit, like a family.
Emily shook her head and focused back on the present as their vehicle comes to a stop. She’s getting ready to step out of the vehicle when she felt Kelley’s arm on her shoulder.
“Don’t be nervous,” the older girl reassured her. Emily shot her a soft smile and nods, “Thanks,”
It turns out, not even Kelley’s encouraging words could’ve prepared her for what was yet to come.
The city that she grew up in was hardly recognizable. It was merely a shell of all the things it used to be, the memories, the laughter, all long gone. All that was left was a collection of buildings, roads, and abandoned cars. As they line up behind Becky a thought crossed her mind that in those streets, they might just be the only being of warm blood and flesh left.
“Today we are working on teamwork,” Becky said pacing in front of the squad.
She continued, “O’Hara, I want you close to Sonnett today, show her the ropes,”
Emily turned to look at the girl who offered her reassurance earlier. Kelley nodded at her and smiled, “She’s gonna do great,”
Becky smiled and threw her hand in the air, “Let’s go show the Sparx that their little rebellion has nothing on Nova!”
Emily felt herself relax she shot her arm up in unison to her team. Rifle shots broke her out of her thoughts as they stormed into the building. Her ear strained, trying to pinpoint which direction they came from. She looked around and scanned her surroundings as they proceeded down the dark secluded hallway. Her eyes focused on Kelley in front of her, they had split off from the rest of the team to go clear the south side of the building. She noticed dead rats but there was no odor, just the tell-tale noise, a screech of sorts. With every gunshot, she flinched and hoped it wasn’t her teammates receiving them.
Kelley led Emily into a secluded part of the building, completely cut off from the rest of the team. Kelley noticed the dead rats in the corner, being fed on by the hundreds of ants that littered the room.
Emily focused her attention on the gun that she was holding. It was a low-velocity weapon, less deadly than she wanted, but still deadly. She noticed Kelley’s distracted look as they continue ahead.
Kelley shook it off and continued to focus on the doorway in front of her, her gun raised, waiting as if she were a cheetah stalking her prey. As a rebel suddenly appeared, Emily started to move her finger onto her trigger. Within seconds Kelley simply pulled the trigger, ending the man’s life in seconds.
Emily realized that she didn’t even get the chance to pull her trigger or react. She can’t help staring. Can’t help staring at his cold dead eyes that reminded her too much of her father’s. Can’t help staring at his limp corpse on the ground that reminded her of her mother’s.
Kelley looked at Emily staring at the man with widened eyes, causing the older brunette to stifle a laugh.
“What you’ve never seen someone be shot before?” Kelley asked and Kelley swore she could have seen a flicker of sadness through her eyes but Emily simply shook it off and nodded.
“Yeah, but how did you know he was gonna come through the door?” Emily asked the older girl, her curiosity taking over.
“Em, it’s called footsteps. If you want to survive you need to use everything to your advantage. That’s the only way you get out in one piece. Take that as lesson 1.” Kelley told the rookie as they continued to make their way through the rundown building.
The duo continued to walk through the halls when Kelley heard footsteps behind a door. She held her hand up, signaling Emily to stop.
“So rook, what’s the plan?” Kelley asked Emily as she leaned against the wall, her weapon drawn.
“What? Me?” Emily asked, she was a rookie after all and Kelley was her superior so why was she taking point?
“Yes you, now what’s the plan? You need to be quick on your feet Em. You got this.” Kelley told her, giving her the slight boost of confidence she needed.
“Okay, you kick the door in, I throw in a flash then you clear the right side and I got left side,” Emily told her and Kelley nodded and backed up against the door.
She watched as Emily grabbed a flashbang out of her vest and ripped off the pin and as Emily did that Kelley brought her leg forwards and then kicked it backward, smashing the door in. Emily wasted no time in throwing in the flashbang and soon heard the yells of the men inside.
Kelley burst inside, weapon held high up to her shoulder as she took out the two men who were rubbing at their eyes. She turned around to see a rebel, smirking at her as he held his weapon to her head. Kelley clenched her jaw as she realized this was probably it for her.
Emily doesn’t even react, she pulled the trigger without thinking, all she hears is the second gunshot go off as Kelley shot the second rebel in the chest.
“You ok?” She asked checking on her older comrade.
She’s confused when she sees the biggest smile on Kelley’s face.
“Lesson 2, protect your team at all costs. Thanks for the save rookie.” Kelley told Emily who smiled and nodded.
“Of course,”
“Okay, this part seems to be clear, let’s rendezvous back with the team,” Kelley told the youngster who nodded and got into position next to Kelley and made their way to the team.
“Where’s the rest of the team?” Emily asked Becky who was set up with Moe behind a barrier of cargo crates.
“I sent them to try to extract some resources from their armory,” Becky replied simply and turned her attention back to returning fire.
“How many are left?” Emily asked as Kelley knelt down behind the crate with her.
“Nearly a dozen, but they are trying to leave with that truck and it has Hydra-4 chemicals in them. We can’t let them leave. But it’s nearly impossible to get to.” Becky told them and Emily nodded.
“Don’t worry, I got this,” Emily told her and Becky’s eyes widened as she saw Emily get out of position and start sprinting towards the truck, shooting anyone in her sight. Somehow she managed to dodge bullets from all directions and made it behind a barrel and began firing at the rebels across from her.
Becky watched as she saw a Sparxie sneaking up behind Emily so she stood up and sprinted full speed, screaming the rookie's name who was oblivious to the whole situation.
Just as the Sparxie began to fire his weapon Becky jumped in front of Emily and felt herself being blasted backward, pain engulfing her. Becky looked up at Emily to see her fear stricken face as she stared at Becky and watched as she was shot from behind and collapsed to the ground. She turned her head to the side to see Kelley and Morgan running towards them, only to be shot from behind as well. Becky muttered a few curses before closing her eyes
Everyone groaned as the screen in their headgears powered down into darkness. Emily ripped her headgear off and wiped the sweat off of her forehead. She felt a mix of relief that the simulation ended but ashamed that she was the reason.
“That was not the time for heroics!” Becky said sternly.
Emily looked down at her feet as she felt a dozen eyes on her.
“We easily could have taken out the rest when the others returned, but no, you had to run in and act like a hero. O’Hara, did you even teach her a damn thing? A bloody five year old could have acted better.” Becky snapped.
Kelley looked at Becky and rolled her eyes, “Come on Reeba, don’t you remember when on my first simulation I tripped on a landmine?” She argued some of her teammates snicker at the memory.
“We don’t have time for rookie mistakes anymore. Sparxie’s are developing. One damn mistake could end up being fatal. Have you all forgotten Cheney already.” Becky told them before storming out of the room.
Kelley felt like someone stabbed her in the chest at the mention of her fallen friend. She watched as Tobin looked down silently.
Emily looked up at her teammates, “I’m sorry, I was out of line, I promise I’ll do better next time,”
No one really said anything after the mention of Cheney still hung heavy in the room, on the way out Alex patted Emily on the back.
“We’ve all been here Rooks, don’t worry about Becky she’s just been dealing with a lot lately,” She said before following Tobin out of the room.
Emily sat down in front of her locker and put her face in her hands.
Kelley looked at Emily’s defeated form and sighed. She walked over to the girl and sat down next to her.
“Hey, don’t beat yourself up over what happened okay Em?” Kelley told Emily softly.
Emily looked up and ran her fingers through her hair in frustration, “I just feel like I don’t belong like I’m gonna let you guys down,”
“Em, you’re a rookie. Your gonna make mistakes. Hell, at least you made one doing something you thought was right. I tripped on a bloody landmine for my first one. You should've seen Becky’s reaction.” Kelley told her with a small smile.
“Yeah?” Emily looked at her, grateful for the girl’s company.
“Yeah. Now c’mon let’s go get something to eat.” Kelley told her as she stood up and lent out her hand to Emily.
“You sure know the way to my heart,” Emily joked lightheartedly.
“This isn’t my first rodeo, I bet I will know your ins and out in less than a week.” Kelley joked back.
__________
Kelley headed to the kitchen to help prepare dinner while the rookie headed back to the barracks. She felt concerned about Emily’s mental state but the rookie reminded Kelley so much of herself.
She shook the thoughts out of her head as she got out the ingredients needed for dinner. It doesn’t take her long to prepare a giant pot of soup and pasta, enough for everyone to have 3rds even. The soup was the color of the vegetable garden, filled with kale and broccoli just how Becky likes it. The hue was softened just a bit with the addition of cream cheese and parmesan, Tobin was gonna have a field day with the cheese.
She could already here Alex’s whines in her head, ‘Kelley putting cheese in everything doesn’t make it taste better,’
Alex’s arms scared her as her best friend reached over her and grabbed a piece of pasta, successfully popping it into her mouth.
“Where’d you come from?”
Alex smirked, “I teleported,”
Kelley rolled her eyes and groaned, “I’m too hungry for your smartass remarks,”
Alex’s face turned serious as she opened her mouth, “Do you think Becky was too hard on the rookie today?”
Kelley handed Alex the bowl of pasta to place on the table, “She’s a good one Alex I can feel it,”
Alex took the bowl from Kelley’s hands and set it down in the middle of the table, “I feel like there’s more to her story,”
Kelley nodded in agreement, “She’ll tell us when she’s ready,”
___________
Emily laid on her bed in the barracks, hearing the slight creak of the loosened wooden tile. She was alone, everyone was out in the break room playing pool and watching television. Emily couldn’t believe how much she messed up today, she desperately wanted to make a good impression and she did the complete opposite.
‘Why are you such a fuck up?’ Emily thought as she felt a few tears fall down her face.
Emily heard the door creak open and she quickly wiped the tears away as she sat up on her elbows. She grimaced as the lights were turned on and as her eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness she noticed Becky walking over.
“Mind if I sit?” Becky asked quietly as she pointed to the bed and Emily nodded as she sat up, swinging her legs off the bed and allowing them to touch the cold wooden floor.
“Emily… I’m sorry for how I reacted today. You’re a rookie, you’re meant to make mistakes. They are meant to be made during simulations. I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that.” Becky told Emily, who looked taken aback.
“It’s fine, you’re the captain, that’s your job,” Emily responded as she looked down at the floor.
“My job is to guide you all, not berate you. But please in the future, do not act without asking. We already have one impulsive teammate.” Becky told her with a smile and Emily nodded.
“Who?” Emily asked.
“Kel, literally the most impulsive person I’ve ever met, yet she is so experienced at it, she usually never messes up,” Becky told her, chuckling slightly.
She looked at Emily and noticed the sad demeanor she continued to give off, which bugged Becky to no end. She wanted to wrap up the lost girl in a hug.
“There’s more to your story isn’t there?” Becky pried, she was scared to push the young girl too far but she needed to know her story to help her.
Emily looked up at Becky, she’s trying so hard to hold back tears, ‘ what kind of soldier cries’ Emily beats herself up in her head.
Becky placed her hand on Emily’s shoulder and gave her an encouraging squeeze.
“My parents and my twin,” Emily started and stopped before continuing, “It was two days after my 20th birthday, we were celebrating at dinner when they shot up the restaurant.”
Becky’s heart broke at the thought of how lost Emily must’ve been these last two years.
“They just shot it up for some fucking revolution, No reason! No reason they just took my family’s life. For what? To make a fucking point!” Emily said calmly with emotion her eyes were glazed over and she was staring straight ahead.
Becky got up and walked over to her bunk and grabbed her helmet, Emily looked at her with confusion.
She flipped over the helmet and worked her finger underneath the shielding. She pulled out a photograph and handed it to Emily.
Emily stared down at a photo of her captain, she looked young and vibrant. Beside her was a man who looked strikingly similar to Becky.
“My brother,” Becky said taking the photograph back and admiring it for a second before carefully sticking it back into her helmet.
“He died in an ambush last year, he was only 19,”
Emily pursed her lip, “I’m sorry for your loss,”
“I didn’t show you that photograph for your pity, I showed you because every single person on our squad has a similar story, everyone here’s lost people. Good people, you’re not alone. On your darkest nights, there will always be hand to pull you out of the darkness, you’re part of the family now”
“Thanks, Becky,” Emily smiled at Becky.
Becky nodded as the dinner bell rang. Before she headed towards the door she turned back towards Emily.
“Sonnett?”
“Yea?”
“Stick close to O'Hara, she’s a good influence, trust me,”
“You got it, captain,”
_______
She heard her stomach growl as she rung the bell signaling dinner time. She laughed to herself as her squadmates came barreling down the hallway one after the other reminding her of dogs running towards a food bowl.
She made sure to sit down next to Emily who seemed more somber than she did earlier.
As everyone began filling their plates, Kelley whispered to Emily.
“Hey, you okay?”
“Yeah, I talked to Becky. Everything’s good.” Emily whispered back and Kelley nodded.
“Be sure to eat up, I worked extra hard on this food,” Kelley told her with a smile and Emily laughed lightheartedly and nodded.
“Holy crap this is amazing!” Emily commented as she finished her bite of her pasta causing her teammates to laugh.
“The only talent Kelley here has is how to cook Em,” Tobin commented as she began pouring more parmesan on her pasta until Christen snatched it out of her hands.
“You’re gonna get diabetes if you continue to eat like that,” Christen told her as she rolled her eyes.
“I’ve been alive for 25 years doing this and I’m perfectly okay thank you very much,” Tobin responded.
A buzzing was heard on the table and everyone looked at Morgan who lifted her phone up, reading a text.
Emily watched as Morgan’s smile dropped to a frown.
“Who’s it from Moe?” Alex asked as she took a bite of her pasta.
“Fabrice.” Morgan gritted out as she ignored the text and put it in her pocket.
“This guy really doesn’t know boundaries I swear to god,” Kelley mumbled and everyone agreed.
“Uh, still a rookie here, but who’s Fabrice?” Emily asked, confused as to who this new guy was.
“He’s a straight A douchebag who I hope gets his 5-centimeter pecker bit off by a dog,” Allie commented earning a slap from Christen who was right next to her.
“Allie, language!” Christen scolded but Allie just rolled her eyes.
“He’s my ex who thinks he’s all high and mighty because he’s a powerful government official. He showed his true colors when he said I wouldn’t last a week in the academy and now here I am.” Morgan told Emily who nodded.
“Fuck the patriarchy!” Allie cheered out of nowhere causing everyone to fall into a pit of laughter.
The night continued on, mini conversations running through the table like it was a wildfire. It was a good night’s end to a horrid beginning.