"Welcome back girls. Y'all are actually serious about competing in the Fall tournament from what I heard?
"I guess so. Who told you Flint?" Emi asks as she waits by the counter along with Hikari, Mai, and Chiara.
"The members of Longhorn Squad were here earlier and told me everything. They are waiting for you at the training field. But before you head out, there's some stuff you reckon with first." He heads to back room and brings out Hikari's AN-94.
"It's done already?" Hikari enthusiastically reaches her hands out for her rifle.
"Sure is, but it was a pain in the butt to get it cleaned and lubed up. I don't recommend getting her dirty again. Keep the bolt closed and wipe away any debris before charging the bolt and you should be fine. She's quite sensitive just a heads up."
"Thank you Flint. I'll won't get my rifle jammed again."
"Oh it's no biggie, but there's another thing I gotta get you girls since you are going to compete in the tournament." He takes out a box from behind the counter. The box flaps open, revealing four matching sets of plate carriers in coyote brown, each equipped with universal magazine pouches, grenade pouches, MOLLE radio holders, and various other storage compartments. On top of each carrier, there’s a pair of black fingerless gloves and combat boots. But what really catches the girls’ attention are the custom patches: an armadillo holding a rifle, ready for action.
"How cute!" Exclaimed Emi as she picks up one of the patches, admiring the embroidered design.
Flint chuckles, watching them admire their new gear. "Tomio and his crew already got their own kits sorted out, so he figured y'all should have your own gear too. I got some fatigues in the back you can wear under those carriers, so you won't be runnin' around in civilian clothes on the battlefield."
"Oh...we get to pick our own fashion?"
"Nothing fancy or outrageous Hikari." Mai warns Hikari. "We have to be practical about our clothes. Your last outfit was burned up in the last match remember?"
"But that doesn't mean we can't be cute can we?" Chiara asks as she browses through some of the clothes on a rack.
"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you.
After the girls pick out their outfit, they are then teleported to the training zone. It's your typical boot camp layout with an obstacle course, a small wooden building labeled "The Kill House", and various dirty tracks where an APC and tank are positioned with red painted X's on various points on the armor. The girls look over at the bleachers not far from their position and see Tomio and his squad, all dressed in dark woodland green fatigues. Tomio stands out of the group with his red beret indicating his squad leader role in the group.
"Looking good Armadillo Squad!" Kimberly shouts from the bleachers.
Emi and the others wave back with smiles on their faces. "Tomio! It's good to see you again!" She calls back from the field.
Tomio gave her a little salute. "We wanted to watch you all train. I bet it's going to be real entertaining!"
"We'll see about that Tomio!"
Mai could not hide her growing frustration as she stared at her teammates, especially Hikari and Chiara. She crossed her arms and sighed, clearly unimpressed with their outfit choices. "Skirts?" Seriously? You think we're going to a concert or something?"
"Kimberly and Fio are wearing skirts too." Chiara notes as she points out the girls sitting at the bleachers."
Mai shot a quick glance at the other girls in Tomio's squad. Sure enough, Kimberly and Fio both sported skirts, looking completely at ease as they lounged on the bleachers smiling at them. Mai sighs."Yeah but..."
"It's more comfortable for us Mai." Hikari mentions as she bends her legs in place to prove her point.
"You could have just worn shorts like Emi." She glanced at Emi, who was stretching in her khaki tank top and black athletic shorts, looking like she was about to hit the track rather than a combat zone "These cargo pants aren't bad either." Mai does some squats to counter argument. "Plus I am not going to flash my panties by doing this.
Hikari stifles their laughter. "We’ll be fine. No one’s going to be looking. We're all girls here."
"Whatever. Oh and just a heads up. Respawns are enabled for this training map so don't worry about getting hurt during training. You all already know that you can't feel pain when you are shot in the simulation." Mai changes the subject as she addresses the girls. "I've done the obstacle course before, it's not too bad."
"That's reassuring to know." Emi nods and smiles after Mai informs them.
A small smirk forms on Mai's lips before speaking. "Also, instant respawn is enabled so I can do this." She aims her Type 56 SKS at Hikari and shoots her in the head, knocking her out instantly. Hikari's ragdoll lays on the floor before disappearing the moment Hikari respawns again in the same spot.
"Mai! What the hell is wrong with you!" Hikari scolds Mai before she gets shot again with her SKS, making her plop onto the ground unconsciously again only to respawn a second time. Mai is laughing uncontrollably. "This isn't funny Mai. I just got a "Betrayal" achievement because of you." Hikari growled, lunging at Mai to wrestle the SKS from her. The bleachers erupted into laughter, Tomio and the rest of Longhorn Squad barely able to contain themselves.
"What the bloody hell is going here?!" A stern voice with a British accent calls out from nearby. "Am I going to be training soldiers, or a bunch of drama club kids?!"
Hikari and Mai freeze as they see a tall authoritative figure approaching them. Emi and Chiara stand at attention with their rifles instinctively. The man has a green officer's uniform, a beret, a classic brown bushy mustache that makes him look like the Pringles mascot and an eye patch covering his eye.
"Well what do we have here!? The lot of you ought are acting like a bunch of battle royal players. That's rather embarrassing isn't it?!"
"Sir Yes Sir!" Emi shouts back loud and clear.
"Sir?!! Sir?!!! Who's Sir!!!?" The drill instructor snapped back furiously. I'll have you know I am not Sir! I am Drill Sergeant Perry! You shall refer to me as Drill Sergeant for now on or I'll make damn sure until it's stored in your small brains of yours. Is that understood everyone?!"
"Yes, Drill Sergeant!" The girls shout. Longhorn squad is snickering at the bleachers.
"It's about to get pretty entertaining." Kimberly whispers, nudging Ramirez beside her with her elbow.
"Yeah but it's for their own good." Ramirez notes as he crosses his arms and watches them quietly. “Everyone has to go through this before participating in the tournament.”
"Now then! I'm going to do roll call for...Armadillo Squad. Is that your squad name?!
"Yes, Drill Sergeant!"
"Right." He takes out a small notebook and a pen from his pocket. "God, what a silly name..." He grumbles to himself but just audible enough to hurt the girl's ego. "Oi! You there! What's your name?!" He points to Emi.
"I'm Emilie Cadieux! Emi for short, Drill Sergeant!"
"My God, what's with the outfit? Are you a runner or something?"
"I do track and field, Drill Sergeant!"
"Well you better hope that running experience isn't going to be used to run away from the battlefield. You're not a coward aren't you?"
"No, Drill Sergeant!" Emily responded firmly.
"I doubt it. For now on, your call sign is Trackstar. You better be sure to live up to that name. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Drill Sergeant!
The Drill Sergeant twitches his mustache as his attention moves onto Chiara. "You there. Tell me your name.
"Ch....Chiara.." Chiara murmurs.
"What?! I can't hear you?!!" Drill Sergeant Perry barks as he leans aggressively close.
"Chi...Chiara!" She finally shouts but her voice is shaky and her body twitches nervously.
"I STILL CAN'T HEAR YOU! TELL ME YOUR NAME!"
"CHIARA LORENZ!!!"
"Either I'm becoming deaf due to my age or your one of the most timid and soft spoken player I ever had the misfortune of knowing and considering I'm just an NPC so I'm placing my bets on the later. You're so quiet, not even a flea can hear you. I suppose that means you're the perfect fit to be a scout. Quiet as a Mouse. So small and unassuming the enemy won't even know you are there. Henceforth be labeled as Mouse. Is that clear?"
Yes Drill Sergeant!" Chiara feels a little bit of pride for her role and her call sign even if it's supposed to be insulting to her shy nature.
Drill Sergeant Perry then walks over to Hikari who is standing in attention but still a bit ruffled up from her little rumble with Mai. "You there! Give me your name!"
"Hikari Nakamura, Drill Sergeant!"
"That's a fine rifle you got there. Your pockets must be rather deep to be able to afford that fancy gear, Hime. Well let me tell you something. No amount of money is going to going to stop some poor sod with some rubbish AKM from eliminating you and your posh equipment!"
"I told you so..." Mai interjects casually.
"Did I ask you to speak?! Drop and give me ten right now!" He shouts furiously at Mai as she gets down onto the floor and starts doing push ups. His attention focuses back onto Hikari. "So you insisted on being the squad medic, Hime?"
"Yes Drill Sergeant!"
"Fair enough." He writes down on his clipboard before turning his attention to Mai who had just finished doing her push ups. "You...You're a load of trouble Mai Keighley, especially considering your height isn't the only short coming about you."
“Well, Drill Sergeant, I like to think I make up for it with personality.”
Drill Sergeant Perry snarls at Mai as he looks down on her. "If you really think you're going to breeze through this training with your new squad just because you've done this before, I got some news for you, Boomer." He snaps his fingers and a RPG-7 with a backpack of rockets spawns on Mai's back which causes her to almost lose her balance while standing at attention.
"You're the squad sapper, but you're also going to be the squad's anti-tank specialist! So you better start acting like it, Boomer! It's bad enough your rifle is older than the science used to program this simulation."
"Yes, Drill Sergeant." Mai groans as she feels her mobility strained by the extra weight on her back.
"Now then, it's about time we quit messing around and get on with training shall we?
"Yes, Drill Sergeant!" The girls say in uneven unison.