Participants:
| Scene Title | Fresh meat |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | FRONTLINE's newest recruit arrives, and meets several of her new squadmates. |
| Date | November 14, 2010 |
So, this was it.
Boots clack clack against the floor as a red-haired woman mills about the lobby, a duffel bag over her shoulder and a dark blue beret adorning her head as she looks around the room, smile on her face. This isn’t exactly where Hannah Emerson had seen herself this time last year, or even this time last month. But things were different, from the last time she had had this opportunity. This time, she couldn’t pass it up. So now, here she was. It felt almost like being a Private again, reporting in for the first time on her first assignment, a feeling she’d long since forgotten, until now. With word of her arrival given to the receptionist she backs away from a receptionist’s desk, looking further down the hall and into the complex.
She didn’t know who might be down to greet her, but she didn’t mind if it took some time for them to arrive. All teh more time to take in her surroundings – she knew she was going to be spending a lot of time here in the future. Hands slip into slacks pockets as she waits, a smile on her face.
There's a skinny bastard coming down the hall to greet her - tall, thin, in the black Frontline BDUs. His face is all sharp angles, narrow bright blue eyes, and a somewhat scruffy and in need of work high and tight haircut. Tired, now, those eyes sunken and the bones starker than ever. He steps forward, holds out a spidery hand. "Emerson? I'm Felix Ivanov. Pleased to meet you."
The sound of someone approaching has Hannah predictably turning to face it, her smile widening across her red framed face as Felix makes his approach. Making steps to meet him part way, she stops just short of him and her posture straightens, a hand moving to her forehead in a salute, if only out of habit. It lingers for a moment before she relaxes, taking his hand as she's addressed. "Hannah Emerson, pleasure to meet you, sir!" She sounds enthusiastic enough, giving a bit of a nod as she speaks. "One of my future squad mates, if I remember my primer correctly."
"I'm no sir, we're the same rank," Fel corrects, as he shakes her hand, firmly. "And yes, we are. I'm the speedster, you'll recognize the funny armor I wear when we're in the field. New tothe team, eh? Well, good timing. We need you." He's grinning - it's a little too broad for the narrow jaw.
There’s a bit of a chuckle from Hannah as she nods once more, returning the firm handshake before releasing. “So I have heard. You have my condolences for the hardships the team has faced in the past few weeks.” Her expression turns a bit more serious as she speaks, her own smile fading a little bit. “It is an honour to be here to help now, though. With the riots and the unrest, I am sure the help is even more appreciated.” Her grin returning a bit, the redhead steps back, giving Felix a hard look. “A speedster? I am impressed already.”
Felix makes a little moue, spreads his hands, shrugs. "No need to be. Ain't done nothing impressive yet," he says, before giving her that broad grin. "Glad to have you. Your background's army, I understand? That's good. I'm no real soldier. I was a cop, and then a Fed."
“Fed? Believe me, you’re probably more suited for a lot than I am, Felix.” Hannah’s grin widens a bit, the woman pulling her beret down from her head. “But yes. Army would be correct. Studied at VMI, spent four years in Iraq and Afghanistan.” Her posture once more becomes more rigid as she speaks. “Acting Sergeant of my squad before my tour ended in 2008. I’m hoping that my combat experience can help keep the peace around here as much as needed.”
"I hope so, too," Felix says, very gravely. "That's experience we'll need. Have you been shown around the base?"
Elisabeth is walking through the operations center when she notes two people outside. With Ruth no longer here, the animal contingent of the security systems is not exactly as useful as it once was — something she makes a mental note of. The blonde pauses in the doorway, leaning heavily on it as she looks outside, clearly checking up on the situation though she doesn't call out.
“I’m afraid not,” she replies simply, pulling her bag around front and unzipping it, slipping her beret inside. “I only just arrived back from Annapolis a short time ago. Truth be told, I should be beginning my Horizon training shortly. But I am sure there is time for a quick tour, if you are willing to give it. Otherwise, I can get a look around a bit later.”
"I got time, now," he says, still grinning like a fox. And then there's Liz, and his eyes narrow into bright slits. "Boss. Hey, boss. Fresh meat!" Oh, Felix.
She's already been informed that new recruits are inbound to shore up the numbers. Elisabeth's hand is on the jamb of the door and she nods slightly. Her voice is still a low rasp, though it sounds a bit better than it did three days ago. "So I see." Blue eyes skim over the new arrival and Elisabeth — who looks strained and exhausted still — add hoarsely, "Feel free to take her on a tour. Welcome to New York, Sergeant."
“Fresh meat?” Hannah repeats with a look of bemusement, even as her gaze slides over from Felix to Elisabeth. “It’s been a while since I was called anything like that. Though I believe I’d rather be fresh meat than be a Rat again.”Boss. From the report I read, you must be Elisabeth Harrison, then?” Her eyebrow quirks up a bit as she moves towards her new boss. Just with Felix, a salute is given when she reaches her, before relaxing and offering a hand. “A pleasure to meet you, m’am.”
'She blew out a gasket the other day," Fel explains, casually. There is a decided lack of deference in his posture. At least he doesn't kiss Liz. Emerson gets that insouciant smile. "It won't last long. The place is a meatgrinder."
Elisabeth rolls her eyes at the ex-Feeb expressively — there's a clear and apparent affection that shows in the gesture that speaks to their friendship. "Not a gasket, just a voice." We hope. "Pleasure's mine, Sergeant Emerson," Elisabeth replies in that low, husky almost-whisper. "I've seen your file, but I'm looking forward to getting to know you personally. It's going to be a bit of a hectic couple of weeks."
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Hannah replies with a nod as she hears of Elisabeth’s current ailment, a small hint of a grimace on her face. “I do wish I had been around to help during the riots, but helping to keep everything in order in these coming weeks is something I look forward to.”
Felix says, with real fervor, "I wish you'd been there, too." And then any hint of a grin fades, and he looks at Liz worriedly. "The rate of attrition…"
She shares a glance with Felix over Emerson's shoulder, and then nods slightly. "The worst of it should be past — in terms of fucking rioting zombie citizens, anyway. The rest is going to be ugly, but I doubt anywhere near as deadly," she rasps quietly. "C'mon in," she adds, moving out of the doorway. "We'll get you settled for tonight and then tomorrow I'll try to given you a brief orientation and get you back on a chopper for suit training." She glances at Felix. "Walk her about?" She looks like she needs to at least sit down if not lay down for a while. "I'll be up in operations if you need me tonight."
That grimace sits on Hannah’s face for a moment before she lets it break back into a grin, a nod offered to each of them. “Alright, then. That sounds like a fine plan to me. I will be sure to find you later, in the event I have any questions. If not, I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow.” A bit of a wave is given before the redhead turns back to Felix, looking about a bit. “So, what are the highlights of this facility?”
Felix is in his BDUs, talking with Hannah. Liz has just departed. "I like the rec room, personally," he says, tone all offhand. "But let me show you around."
That gets a very genuine laugh from Hannah, letting herself relax a bit more with every step they take, hands sliding back into her pockets. "The rec room is always a highlight, yes," she enthuses, grinning wide. "Even if a base only has a meger one, the good it can to keep someone from going crazy is astounding."
"Exactly. I've got a room here, though I don't generally live on base. It helps to be able to crash out as needed, y'know?" He meanders across teh courtyard in a funny, little boy's fashion. Indirect. And ….oh, look, hey, a bug.
Another enters the courtyard, female and clad also in BDU's. That seems to be quite the trend around here. In no rush, seems Gavyn Mitchell is just out for a breath of fresh air. She doesn't wander far from the building, stopping to stare up at the sky behind sunglasses, hands clasped behind her back. Relaxing, being outside.
"Frankly, I do have a place in town, but I am rarely ever there if I can help it," the soldier admits as she walks beside Felix, looking around the courtyard. "I do not mind giving it up in exhange for a place on base. At the very least, there should be enough to keep me from sitting around bored in my room too often." She grins, before turning ehr attention from Felix to the new arrival, an eyebrow quirked as she watches the woman.
Felix says, sunnily, "That helps, I find. Company, I mean, even if it's just your fellow grunts. But you'd know better than I. Never did a tour out of the country myself…." And then there's Gavyn, and he waves her over. "Hey. Come meet the new guy."
Gavyn's head lowers with a small exhale, and turns toward Felix and the 'new guy'. Question is written behind shaded eyes at first, looking Hanna over briefly. She joins them, nodding to Felix with her usual, "Hey, Ivanov." And to Hanna with an offer of a hand, "Name's Gavyn Mitchell."
The salute offered to Gavyn is more relaxed, quicker than the one she had given to Felix or Elisabeth, but it is given none the less. "A pleasure to meet you, m'am," Hannah replies with a smile, taking the hand and giving a firm shake. "Hannah Emerson. Felix is showing me around the grounds."
He's about to say something else, but the phone at his belt chirps, and Fel winces. ""Duty calls," he says, wryly. "I hate to leave the two of you by yourself….but I'm sure you won't blow the place up. Ladies, if you'll excuse me…"
The handshake is returned in kind, though Gavyn looks uncomfortable at the salute. "Yes sir," she asides to Felix with a small nod. "Keep safe." She looks at Emerson again, turning to pick up where the tour left off. Though in truth, she can't entirely find her way around without at least a couple wrong turns. "Please don't salute me. Pretty much the same rank as you are, Hannah."
"You'll have to forgive me. Force of habit, I'm afraid. Feliz said the same thing when I addressed him as 'sir'." Hannah's smile creeps a bit wider, and she nods. "I am glad to be meeting so many members of teh squad so quickly. I had worried, with Horizon training and having to move between here and Annapolis for the time being, it might be a while before I met most of the team."
Gavyn nods, and grins in her understanding. "He told me the same thing, and some habits die hard." Hands clasp once more behind her back as she takes a few steps toward the building. "I only recently signed up, former air force. Had a week of training before I was called back here with… everything." Her good nature faulters for a second, still haunted by the events only a week before. "…What about you, prior military?"
"Army," is Hannah succinct answer, moving to walk along side Gavyn. "Graduated VMI and served in the Middle East until a few years back. It seems FRONTLINE pulls itself from a variety of sources, I'm pleased to see it.” Reflecting on that for a moment, Hannah lets a moment of silence pass before she continues speaking again. “It sounds like you signed on just in time. As I was telling Felix and Elisabeth, as hellish as the last few weeks have been, I do wish I had been around to help. It seems I have a busy two weeks ahead of me, however.”
"Hell is a pretty good way to look at it," Gavyn says quietly. "It's good to have another new member, though. And I think I'm suppose to resume training now, so you'll probably see me down in Annapolis." Only a week of training before being called in, she'll check with Harrison on that. "So what'd you do over in the Middle East?"
“Well, it will be nice to see a familiar face down there, then,” Hannah replies enthusiastically, before looking ahead and giving a bit of a shrug. “What I could, really. The Army still doesn’t allow women to serve as infantry, so I mostly worked in communications and on transport ride alongs. Occasionally engaging in searches when necessary.” She closes her eyes a bit, sighing. “Not being able to be on the frontlines certinaly does not prevent from seeing combat was a lesson I learned rather quickly.”
Rubbing the back of her neck, Gavyn looks at Hannah. Even behind those sunglasses, she's got thoughts about that last comment well burried. "I was signed up to be a linguist, airborne. Got caught up in stuff here four years ago and found myself working intel at the guard base." Even then, there wasn't an escape from violence and distruction.
"A linguist?" Hannah repeats, sounding impressed. The look given over in Gavyn’s direction echoes this sentiment, and eyebrow arched and a grin on her face. “It takes a lot of work to accomplish something like that, I imagine. Good intel is always key to smooth operations, so I’m glad to work with someone who has experience in teh field.”
Gavyn tilts her head toward Hannah, sharing in the grin with a small one of her own. "Lot of school, is all. Lot of time in training." She pauses, then takes a turn to lead toward the rec room. She knows where /that/ is. "Is Harrison doing your training with the Horizon suit?"
There’s a thoughtful look on Hannah’s face as she walks alongside Gavyn. “I know she is handling my Orientation in the morning, and I would assume getting me accustomed with the rest of the team. I am unsure as to who exactly is handling my training, though I don’t think it’ll be Harrison.”
Gav nods, eyes turning toward Hannah briefly. "We're going through some changes," she says, acknowledging the fact. True, she's only been with Frontline for a couple of weeks, but the last one hasn't been the best for the group of officers. "She started my training is why I asked. Pretty good at it, too. But whoever trains you'll be just as good."
“The sad truth of things, unfortunately,” the soldier replies in the response to the idea of ongoing changes. “We’ll see! I certainly wouldn’t mind if she were the one to train me, it certainly would afford us time to get to know each other. If she plans on making trips down to Annapolis, I may even look into helping her. I’m not sure how I feel about spending sixteen hours a day in that armour, but that’s what I said about moirning routine in college too.”
"Sixteen hours," Gavyn says incredulously. "Ms. Kershner and Harrison both only said eight hours a day when I started." Though, maybe tactics are being changed… She stops and turns to Hannah, watching her from behind darkly shaded lenses. "So, if you don't mind me asking," she begins, changing the subject. "What do you do?"
“I may have the number wrong,” Hannah replies with a furrowed brow – she could be misremembering. Sixteen hours is a long time, after all, though she was more than confident in her ability to handle it. “What do I- oh.” A smile creeps up wider on Hannah’s face as she turns to face Gavyn. “I have no issue with you asking at all. I believe it’s important that squad members know what each other is capable of. I, some might say unfortunately, do not do anything as flashy as some of the stuff that makes the news. I am… more tolerant of fatigue, and pain. Able to push myself further.” She pauses, chuckling for a moment. “My sister once called me an Energizer battery.”
"/That/ can be handy." Gavyn sounds suitably impressed, even grinning more enthusiastically than she had previously this meeting. "Maybe you heard right then and it'll be sixteen hours in armor, though even that might not be a problem."
“It can be, yes. Certainly makes routine easy to get through, and I’m certain it will help a lot in adjusting to wearing the armour.” Hannah gives a bit of a causal shrug. “Maybe that’s why I heard sixteen for the first week. They want to see how far they can push the armour with… what I do.”
With a nod and a roll of her shoulder, Gavyn starts for the rec room once more. "Sounds logical to me." She casts a grin toward the other woman and shrugs.
Letting out a bit of a laugh, Hannah nods, turning her attention back ahead and towards the halls the walk. “Either way, we’ll find out soon enough. Who knows, maybe they’ll ship us back together. That certainly would make everything easier. Just hope they don’t decide we both need that many hours in the armour.” A bit of a sly grin is offered to follow that up, though it isn’t flashed in Gavyn’s direction. That grin is entirely for Hannah’s own amusement. It seems, that if nothing else, Hannah Emerson’s first day among the members of FRONTLINE is setting a tone for the days to come.
One can only hope things stay so good.
The bright outlook from the new member definitely is refreshing after the last week. Gavyn, though she doesn't hold quite to the same enthusiasm, glances over at Hannah and smiles faintly. She walks alongside the other, leaning toward a more companionable silence as the walk to the rec room is completed.