Post
by Darkblade Bug » Wed Aug 25, 2010 3:48 pm
As he heard the marines complaining around him, Sam Jack Dunn sighed and shook his head, tuning out their self-pitying whining by popping a pair of headphones into his ears and putting on some old Aussie folk music. As the soothing tones calmed his slightly frayed nerves, he read over the mission objectives on more time, and let out a dry, humourless chuckle. Of course they were getting a shitty mission. Did these people really expect that the brass would let their considerable experience go to waste on a milk run and set some other, less experienced unit on this one to get killed?
He went over the data another time. It wasn’t as bad as it looked. If there were bugs on the loose, then by the time they got there, containment would almost certainly be breached. If there were any Corporate mercenaries left after the bugs got loose…well, they’d have their hands full, wouldn’t they? Sam had known a fair few Mercs in his time, and he knew that most of them didn’t consider any amount of money worth dying for. They’d work with the Marines if it meant not getting face-raped and killed.
Still, he couldn’t take that for granted. Lesson one of combat – never take anything for granted, ever. The moment you did that, you’d assume things, and you’d stop checking, stop looking, stop planning. Then, you started dying. His mind drifted for a moment back to his old platoon in the SASR. They’d made that mistake, and it had cost them dear. Sam had gotten lucky – all he had lost was his eyes. He wasn’t about to make that mistake ever again. Shaking his mind back to the present, he heard the one called Morse whine a little more, and decided he’d heard enough.
Getting to his feet, the young soldier walked to Morse with murder glinting in his one good eye. He reached out with a gloved hand and grabbed the older soldier by the collar of his shirt, pulling him in close so that his nose was a mere inch from his. His teeth bared in an angry snarl, his words were filled with venom.
“Listen here, mate. If you keep your self-pitying whining up, I’m going to break a few dozen military regulations - starting with your face. All this talk of money and an easy ride is starting to make you sound a lot like a Corporate mercenary to me. If you’re in this outfit for the money, then I suggest you get your arse the fuck out before you get good people killed. Seriously, the Corporates pay a lot more and you’ll mostly be babysitting beakers with thick glasses. Seems like a good job for you, seeing as how you’ve obviously forgotten what the Marines are all about.”
He gripped tighter, though he leaned back slightly, to give the other man a tiny bit of space. When he next spoke, his voice had grown lower and quieter.
“I once fought alongside a soldier who thought like you. He didn’t have his heart in the right place and thought of the army as easy money for a little risk. He got his squad killed, then his platoon, then the platoon that went and tried to bail him out. That’s about fifty people dead because one person was too fucking selfish to stick his neck out for anyone else. I shot the son of a bitch myself, and if your actions get anyone killed, then you had better pray to whatever deity you hold dear for mercy, because I’ll be coming after you, and you’ll get no mercy from me.”
<Tag Morse>
He then let go of the man’s uniform and took a step back, turning to face the rest of the unit. He raised his voice so that they could all hear, his voice filled with scorn and disgust.
“You should feel fucking ashamed of yourselves. You whine at the brass because they give us the hard missions? Of course they’re going to throw the worst shit that comes their way at us – we’re the only people with a better chance than that of a baby in dingo territory of dealing with it and getting out alive. Why the hell do you think they formed this task force? Not because we’re going to win the Miss Universe Pageant, that’s for sure! We’re all here because we know better than anyone else the threat that these Xenomorphs face. Think about it. One single solitary bug is smart enough and tough enough to give a squad of heavily armed and highly trained marines the fight of their life.
What do you think would happen if that same bug got onboard a colony ship? Or a colony itself? What do you think the end result would be if a Xenomorph made its way to Earth? How long would your loved ones back home last against a little bug, let alone a big one? We’re here because if we do not stop these bugs right now, if we don’t get in there and kill every single one of them, then that’s what is going to happen. Maybe not today, maybe not this year, but if we back out because we’re not getting paid enough and the brass have to send in a platoon of marines without anti-Xeno experience…
…Then everything we hold dear is forfeit.
I know we’re getting a raw deal. I know we’re going to walk into hell and nobody’s going to thank us. I know there’s a good chance I’m not walking out again. I’m going in anyway. Because thanks to good fortune, I am a United States Colonial Marine. For those of you who forgot the oath you made when you joined, that means that we’re here to protect our people, our nation and our species from whatever is dumb enough to threaten us. So check your attitudes, and turn your creative talent from how you can get a pay-raise and start thinking about how we’re going to get through this obstacle course of fuckery without getting good people killed.
Because we’re the only ones who can.”
<Tag Everyone>
He shook his head, sighed deeply and turned away from the marines, a look of disappointment in his one good eye. He shouldn’t have been the one to say that – he’d gone and alienated his new unit on his first meeting with them. Still, it had been something that had to be said, and he didn’t regret his words. He walked back to his seat and picked up his PDA, going over the briefing one more time, turning his mind away from the soldiers around him. He shook his head again, and headed for the exit, opening the door.
“I’ll be in the armoury getting the gear packed and ready.” He said curtly, before walking out of the brief room.