[Here's chapter four. Yea, I've been on and off lately. I seem to be getting more active now , at least a little bit. Anyway, there was a good point raised in the responses of last chapter about what time period this took place in. I imagine some time between world war two and Vietnam so you may see some weapons of both. More from ww2, less from Vietnam. Anyway, this is likely going to be fairly long so don't worry if your OC hasn't surfaced yet. It's just not their time at the moment. Now then, here you go]

Needles awoke with the rest to the sound of a banging pot, just as the others in his tent had. It was slightly irritating but filled the tiger with enough contempt to wake him up quickly.

With a sneer he spun to the edge of his bed and placed his feet on the mushy ground in his tent. He rubbed the flakes out of his eyes and took note of just how grimy he had gotten, nothing he hadn't been before however. His eyes scoured the tent, looking to see who was present. It still housed only a few tigers however.

Needles's eyes fell to Mel who was trying to wake himself up as he repeatedly nodded off. Needles watched him for a moment before speaking.

"Morning Mel!" Needles shouted in his ear which made him jump up and roll out of bed.

Mel hit the soft ground then pushed himself back up using his cot.

"What's the matter with you Needles!" Mel shouted back.

"Making sure you're awake, and making sure I've got someone to chat with on may way back out to this shit hole" said Needles.

As Needles finished his statement Malerie made her way past the two.

"Morning guys" said Malerie.

"Morning Malerie" replied Mel.

"Morning" said Needles.

The three cats stood up and left the tent in a group. The morning air was as thick and dank as ever but the three seemed used to it already. Their first destination was the flag pole though Needles seemed to have forgotten since he seemed intent on making his way to the mess hall. Fortunately the two by his side managed to remind him and he reluctantly followed. The three joined the line of tigers and various other animals who had aligned at the flag pole. As expected their commander Glades was already waiting for them.

"Alright I'm going to make this quick. We have a lot of business today, but first things first, get yourselves fed then go about your business. You may be addressed individually shortly, if you are addressed meet here at the flag pole if not then wait for further instructions now get going" ordered Glades.

Needles immediately set off for the mess hall followed shortly by Malerie and Mel. As they approached however, they noticed a number of unfamiliar troops making their way in and out, that is, unfamiliar to Needles, Mel and Malerie seemed to think otherwise.

"Hey, weren't those guys at the shooting range yesterday" Mel asked.

"Hmm?…yea, I thought so too. I thought they were stationed at a different camp though… wonder why they're here" said Malerie.

The three continued into the large room, inside were several tables already filled with troops and a couple noticeable recruits. The line however was fairly small meaning most had probably gotten their food already. It was not until the three noticed the tiger standing at the back of the line that they knew who this group was. When Needles noticed him he made his way towards him and made sure he had his place in line behind him.

"Hey, Zaz, what the hell are you doing here?" Needles asked in good spirits.

"Oh, morning Needles. Isn't it obvious, we've been invited here for breakfast" said Zaz.

"Ha, that's definitely bull. Don't you guys have your own mess hall?" Needles asked.

"We do, but we are needed here at the moment" said Zaz.

"Yea… and… what, going to fight somewhere?" Needles asked.

"Yes we are. I take it glades didn't inform you then?" inquired Zaz.

"Guess not… the prick… what, are we going to fight somewhere?" Needles asked slightly excited.

"We are yes, Glades has been sending out patrols for a few weeks, keeping an eye on an enemy encampment about… three miles north east of here. We believe they are planning on using it to stage an assault further inland" Zaz explained.

"So… then is it just you guys or are we going too?" Needles asked.

"Glades has assembled a team to send out, most have been informed but there is a chance that he may make some last minute adjustments… personally, I hope you don't get selected" said Zaz.

Needles stared a Zaz for a moment, not expecting to hear that.

"What? Why's that? You don't think I can handle myself?" Needles asked growing a bit agitated.

"Not that at all. I would rather just see you make it through this war alive, you are more than willing to fight, that much I know. But you should give it time before you start. You need to be sure you're ready for what is asked of you" said Zaz.

"What, shooting some asshole trying to kill me? Why wouldn't I be ready for that?" Needles asked.

Zaz went silent for a moment.

"You should just take my advice Needles, this is not a game you're playing" said Zaz.

"Yea, that's obvious, this place sucks" said Needles.

Zaz and the others finally reached the front of the line and retrieved their food, mainly potatoes and canned meats. After obtaining their food Needles and the others took their seats at an empty table near the counter where they had gotten their food.

"You know, I always thought military food was just scraps, yet here we are with meat… and potatoes that are actually pretty good" Mel pointed out.

"Oh yea… I think that's because they commission food from places that usually provide for markets, and some independent farming groups. Too bad it takes available products from civilians though" said Malerie.

"You are very knowledgeable young lady. I guess I should expect as much" said Zaz returning to his seat with coffee.

"Yea, you're really smart. Where did you learn all this?" Mel asked.

"Oh… umm… I'm not really that smart… I've just, learned some of these things" said Malerie.

"I see…" Mel replied.

"So, you guys know anything about this battle or whatever before now?" Needles inquired.

"No, nothing" Malerie replied.

"Me neither" said Mel following up.

"Huh, hope that Tame bastard get's picked and get's his head shot off" said Needles.

"He still on your mind Needles?" Mel asked.

"Annoying bastard, no, just thought about him getting picked then getting killed" said Needles.

"I can't see why you hate him so much, you two are a lot alike… well… maybe I can see that then" said Mel.

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" Needles growled.

"Nothing… let's just eat and continue on with our day" said Mel.

Needles scowled but continued eating with the others. After a bit more chatter they finally finished their meals, cleaned up, and made their way outside where a small group of recruits were gathered and being lectured by the camp manager's assistant Mazzie.

"Ah, Mel, Malerie, perfect timing, I was about to send for you. Glades has set up his platoons and you to will be joining them on an assault. Glades will fill you in on the details, he should be ready at any moment so you'd best join your peers" Mazzie explained.

"What? He didn't take me!" Needles growled.

"No, you are participating in drills today, that I am in charge of. You and whoever else he didn't want to bring" said Mazzie.

"You're fucking kidding me! Why are you bringing Mel and Malerie then!" Needles asked.

"I don't know, it wasn't my decision, this is simply what Glades has decided, given that he is in charge of this little group I'd say he knows how he wants things" said Mazzie, turning from Needles and making her way over to the group.

"Wha-what? They want m-me to go? Why me?" Mel asked.

"I don't fucking know, the dipshit who says he's in charge decided it, I doubt he even fucking knows why" Needles growled.

"Shouldn't you be glad you don't have to go? You're safe here" said Malerie.

"Fuck that, I'd rather be dead then spend a day doing fucking push ups and running in fucking circles all day" Needles growled.

"Umm… well, you're bund to have to fight eventually… and you'll be ready when you've got to" reasoned Malerie.

"Shit… fucking bullshit. Why the hell are they bringing you two anyway, you seem to know all this military crap, you probably know" said Needles.

"Well… I'm not sure. We are just recruits so maybe they want to get us some field experience" said Malerie.

"What, you mean like fighting? You seen me shooting, I couldn't do it without your help. Why would they send me to a fight?" Mel asked worried.

"Well… I don't think we'll be fighting too much anyway, the soldiers will be doing that. We're just going to be there if they need support, and to watch-" Malerie explained before being interrupted.

"Hey, didn't Mazzie tell you, you were to be ready, you're lucky I don't have time to scold you, now get your asses over here!" Glades shouted.

"Oh… sorry Needles, we'll be back soon" said Malerie.

Mel looked back at Needles, his expression seemed odd.

"See ya Needles" said Mel before he followed Malerie.

Needles watched the two make their way over to the small group, his frustration and annoyance finally leading to a sort of depression. His friend was heading off into battle, he was staying behind to perform drills, something that appealed to him in no way. This would be the first time Mel had done anything dangerous without him around and a sense of loss seemed to creep over him as well. He made his way nearer to the group and laid down on the moist ground, listening to the briefing.

"Alright, as some of you know or have just been informed we are about to lead your first assault. It's simple, the enemy has been staging an operation to move further inland, however we have several advantages over them for a counter attack. First of all they are unaware of our presents in these swamps, Zaz's men have made explorations very difficult for them and the terrain had made it even more so. No doubt they may expect something but are un prepared for it. Now, we have been watching them for a while now, they've been building up slowly thanks to the fact that they are concentrating so much defense on their beachfronts. As a result attacking them now would be key to holding them back. Although the force is not ready it must not be allowed to expand. When my scouts return you, my troops, and the troops of Zaz will be intercepting them and eventually destroying them at that location. Now then, one final piece of information, I will pe partnering you up with some of our troops to teach you the ropes, when fighting I want you to stay behind them and only fire when necessary or you find an opportunity. Mazzie will give you the names of your partners" Glades explained.

At this point Needles became uninterested in the briefing, just a bunch of names of people he didn't really care about until it came to Mel and Malerie.

"Ok then, next, Mel and Malerie. You are going to be paired up with a sniper by the name of Grant. You should recognize him quickly as he's a crocodile. He's also with a tiger by the name of Lenny who serves as his spotter" Mazzie explained.

Sniper… a long ranged and ultimately indirect and out of the way soldier. If that were the case then maybe Mel would come out fine after all. When the names began to mix into one another again Needles shut his eyes and fell asleep until he heard a voice that made his blood boil.

"Hey Needles, what the fuck's up. Looks like you're stuck here with the rest of the losers" said the voice.

Needles knew immediately that it was Tame and he shot up to confront him.

"What, you off to play soldier?" Needles asked.

"Ha, couldn't be so fucking lucky, looks like you got the shit end of the stick too" said Tame.

"No shit, looks like I'm stuck here doing fucking drills with you... Ha, fuck that, I'm gonna find something else to fucking do" said Needles.

"Ha ha, have fun, I'm gonna go fight a fucking battle" said Tame.

"What! I thought you were stuck here!" Needles asked surprised.

"Yea, I would if I gave half a shit about orders, you can stay and be their ass slave if you want, I'm gonna follow these pricks when they set out" said Tame.

Needles suddenly felt like an idiot, why didn't he think of doing that? He fell dumbstruck for a moment until he became curious about something.

"So then… why the hell did you come and tell me about this?" Needles asked.

"Ha, because no one else around here is any fun, not to mention… I think I'd like to see you get shot through the head" said Tame.

Needles almost felt like laughing since he had thought the same thing about Tame, but stopped himself.

"I see, you aint got the balls to head in there alone" said Needles with a grin.

"Ha, you wish" said Tame.

"Ha, don't worry, I'll protect you little puppy" said Needles heading towards his tent.

Instead of Responding, Tame made his way towards his own, bot were intent on gathering their equipment and waiting for the group to move out. Needles slung his bag over his back and his weapons in hand. He then snuck out through the back of his tent and made his way into a line of trees as he aimed to move behind them and get into a position to follow the group. As it was, Tame had the same idea and crashed into Needles as he looked for a spot to wait.

"Ah, damnit, watch where you're going asshole" Needles hissed.

"Shut up and keep moving, if we are going to follow them, we need to find somewhere to wait" said Tame.

"Yea, no shit" said Needles.

At that the two moved through the trees and marshy plants as they made their way around the camp and waited behind a boulder.

"So, when the hell are they going?" Needles asked.

"I don't fucking know, there's supposed to be a messenger or something coming whe-" Tame was saying until a small group appeared beside the recruits from out of the forest"

Needles could only make out a few of the words given the amount of distance between them all and the two waited anxiously for something to happen. Fortunately the wait was fairly quick as the group quickly began to move out.

"Ok ok, go go go" said Tame.

"Shut it" Needles replied, despite moving out anyway.

The duo's goal would be to remain out of the notice of the group while at the same time keeping an eye on them. Needles's dead leaves colorations could hide him well enough while Tame might need to remain a little more hidden. The two kept a good distance from the group, trying to keep an eye on them through the foliage. Fortunately there were plenty of them in sight. Needled looked behind himself, back at the cam but seen nothing, meaning they had obtained quite a distance. Looking forward again he seen that Tame had moved on ahead so he quickly followed up just before the group began searching their surroundings.

"Oh shit" Tame whispered and he ducked behind a tree.

"Ha ha, you stick out pretty well" whispered Needles going prone.

"Shut up cat" whispered Tame.

The two continued on, keeping focus on the group. The feeling of stealth was exciting to the both of them as they continued to tail their targets without being noticed by them. This fun could have gone on for a while, that is… until Tames hand sunk into the ground while he kneeled.

In an instant he and Needles were swarmed by a hive of angry bees who's home Tame had just disturbed. Still keeping noise to a minimum the two ran through the forest away from the stinging insect, yet neither screamed as to avoid being noticed. The stinging continued until it ended as suddenly as it began, Needles looked over himself. his fur seemed to protect him a bit but several stings still managed to get through leaving numerous welts all over him. Tame's situation was very much the same.

"Smooth move dipshit" growled Needles.

"I didn't know there's be a fucking bees nest in my way, since when do bees burrow anyway?" Tame said annoyed.

Needles looked around the area, not seeing the group in any direction.

"Shit, screw the bees, where are the people we were following?" Needles asked.

Tame looked around seeing nothing in any direction aside from trees. It quickly became painfully obvious that they were lost.

Mel and Malerie however were still well and with their group. They had their weapons drawn as they watched their surroundings, an order that had come when they grouped up.

"Wonder how your friend is doing, he seemed really angry that he didn't get to come" said Malerie.

"Ah, that's just Needles, he just wants to be where the action is, if he's not he feels left out" said Mel.

"I see… I hope he's not too bored, I kinda felt bad for him" said Malerie.

"Nah, I'm sure Needles is keeping himself entertained somehow… do you know where this place is by any chance? I know they tend to use occupied towns as bases" said Mel.

"No, I'm not really sure… I think it might just be a regular camp… maybe a few occupied homes but I'm not sure" Malerie explained.

The group suddenly slowed down as someone came towards them from the right. Malerie recognized him from his description however. It was that crocodile sniper she and Mel were assigned to. He had dark green scales and a purple belly and was slightly taller than the others. He also wore a vest with several pockets in it.

"I'll take Mel and Malerie from here. You might want to hurry up though, the troops are getting antsy" said Grant.

"Alright, they're all yours then" said Glades as he ushered the two to follow him.

Mel and Malerie left the group as they moved onward and stood beside Grant.

"Alright you two, come with me" said the crocodile.

The two followed him without question as the looked over the edge of the cliff they were atop of. A little past this point the forest ended and opened into farm land. It was clear to see the target resting very near to them. A large encampment occupied with several vehicles and troops milling around the place. The three stayed low as they made their way towards the top of the cliff where a blue tiger with white stripes sat. Grant took his position between two rocks with a gap in the center. His rifle was colored the same as them.

"How's it going?" the crocodile asked as he stared through the scope.

"umm… alright… umm, why were we paired up?" Mel asked.

"To train you of course" said the crocodile through a smile.

"Apparently they want the two of you on a team. They want you to snipe Malerie and they want you Mel, to spot for her" said Lenny.

"Spot?" Mel asked.

"Yea, it means that you will be helping me find targets, gathering information, and keeping a lookout for me while I snipe" Malerie explained.

"Thata girl, you know the deal" said Grant.

"What? What do you mean? I'm supposed to find people to shoot? Why does it matter?" Mel asked.

"Simple, as a sniper you have the most view of the battlefield… well, one of the people who do. You need to use your judgment to locate high priority targets. Hat's something both of you can do however. Unfortunately there's only so much you can see while looking through a rifle scope. To make you as deadly as possible a sniper and a spotter are a deadly force. Finding out what to take out that might be hard to get to at first is what you need to do. This is why we are together today, so you can see how we do things" Lenny explained.

"Ok… just wondering though… how safe is this?" Me asked.

"Well, you're a team of two. In concept you are far from the battlefield, yet taking down targets, seems easy. In reality it's not so much. Yea, you're hidden at first. Then when your position is discovered you can be attacked by other snipers, artillery strikes, aircrafts, or just a squad who snuck past the enemy to get to you. Plus, you may not always have a good position to shoot from. What you wanna do as a sniper is to make every single shot count. Miss a high priority target and they're gonna run to where you can't get them. You want to do as much damage as possible with only a single well placed shot. If you are discovered or arouse suspicion to your location you wanna move to another one. To do this you'll wanna plan ahead, learn your environment before making your plans… of course, what does explaining anything get you, you can only truly learn by doing it. When we receive orders to open fire, we're on our own, and we'll be leading the assault with a single shot" Lenny explained.

"Oh, ok… I think I see now" said Mel.

"Hey, you guys, how long have you been here. It looks like you've made this place like home" said Malerie.

"Hmm, hmm, a while actually. We've been watching since a few days after the place was taken over. They haven't moved any further yet… but it looks like they're about to, and now that we have enough firepower to take them out well… we're gonna take them out" said Grant.

Mel didn't know what to think of the situation, the more he learned, the less comfortable he grew. The demeanor of this crocodile didn't seem to help much either, he was always smiling, and his voice was too calm. Malerie didn't seem bothered by this however, instead, she watched the enemy through the scope of her rifle. Suddenly Mel heard a crackle coming from Lenny's direction and his gaze shot towards him to see that it was a radio.

"This is Hangman, permission to open fire" said the voice on the radio

Despite the distortion it sounded like Zaz.

"Ha ha, copy Hangman Hell's Highway, ready for traffic" said Lenny.

A soft laugh emanated from Grant as he lined up his shot.

"To those marked for death your fate is unforgiving. Till our paths cross again, sayonara" said the crocodile before he fired his shot.

Through Malerie's scope she watched as the bullet sailed into a commander's head. Malerie followed up by firing a shot into a truck's gas tank, igniting a fire and detonating it. The battle had begun.

Zaz and his troops detonated even more explosives that had been planted beneath a fence facing the forest. The blast sent the meager blockade sprawling in pieces and his troops moved in.

"Captain, right of the jeep near the road" said Lenny.

In a few seconds the target was down.

"Come on, spot for me Mel" said Malerie.

"What? How?" Mel asked.

Lenny tossed him a pair of binoculars which Mel failed to catch. He immediately picked them up and stared at them before finally raising them to his eyes and looking through them. Immediately he noticed somebody in a farm house who seemed to have a sniper rifle of his own.

"Uh-umm… s-sniper in the farm house umm… the white one" said Mel

Malerie moved the scope around to the house, noticing the number of tiger troops making their way inside. He moved to the window and after a second or so, took her shot, killing the target immediately. Mel was shocked, he had just watched his friend kill someone… still, he knew what he had to do and looked through the binoculars again.

"They're looking for us, come on, follow me" said Grant as calmly as ever.

Malerie looked to Grant, then to Mel. The two then followed their partners through tree thin tree line to an edge of the cliff a bit thicker with foliage than the last. There sat another sniper rifle, barely visible with its camouflaged paint job obscuring it in a shrub. There Grant positioned himself and awaited information from his spotter.

By now, Glades and his troops had joined into the fray, his weapon, an MG 42 pouring bullets through the window of a house. Upon orders, the houses nearest to the forest had already been swarmed and taken by Zaz and Glades. The bewildered troops inside hadn't been able to react fast enough. Of course, they could only remain in disarray for so long. On the top floor in the left of three houses Zaz orders his men to dig in. as was hoped, this battle was already going in the tiger's favor. The enemy however was set up on the opposite end of the town fighting from the windows of the structures there. Despite a handful of towers present in the town, there were no snipers available for them, and hope for eliminating them was almost non existent, aside from a small platoon sent to locate them. A group of about six troops had been dispatched through the opposite end of the town in an effort to sneak past the attackers. An vain attempt however when Lenny quickly noticed them.

"Six soldiers, looks like they're attempting to find us… looks like they're taking cover behind some logs. Not much of it between here and there though, still, best to dispatch them now, the town seems to be under control" said Lenny.

"Hmm hmm hmm, Gotchya" said Grant as he focused his aim on one who was exposed and fired, killing the target and alarming the others.

"Mel, you gonna spot for me?" Malerie asked.

Mel looked at her surprised. She could fire at any moment, she knew what she was doing, even Grant picked his own target well, yet she waited for him to find her a target. This confused him but he spotted anyway and gave her a mark. Again after a little delay it had fallen dead.

"Zaz, the west end of this base belongs to us, and casualties are to a minimal, what are your orders?" Frost asked, approaching him.

"It will be difficult to move any troops across the way safely. I believe Glades will make a move first so we will wait for him and follow up. This battle will not be a long one" said Zaz.

Glades who had occupied a house to the right of the tree had already been planning his next attack.

"Alright, Boles, once the snipers get back to distracting the enemy, I want you to take your platoon and storm the places on the other end, I'll have our rocket men make you some openings. Afterwards, I believe Zaz will follow suit. If the snipers take too long, we're going for it anyway" said Zaz.

At this time, the snipers were in the clear. Mel located the final one and Malerie followed the shot, eliminating the final threat before they were located.

"Looks like a stalemate down there… ok then, I don't think I need to pick your targets any more, ha ha, they're screwed" said Lenny.

Mel stared beyond the base at a long expanse of road, almost expecting something to arrive from that direction.

"Hey, umm… aren't you worried that they might have reinforcements?" Mel asked.

"Not really. They want to hold their beach heads right now. Yea, their defenses there are tough or we would have already taken them, but they're not going to risk it. The second they lose the beaches is the second they lose the war" Lenny explained as he readied a sniper rifle of his own and opened fire.

The enemy's reaction was immediate. if they weren't demoralized before they were now as the sounds of three sniper rifles rang out from lord knows where striking them as they tried to fight back. It was at this point that Glades's plan became active. As his men charged towards the enemies structures, a number of troops fired rockets into their walls, creating openings for the troops to pass through. Moments after Glades charged, Zaz did as well, in an effort to overwhelm the remaining enemies, a plan that worked well. The troops took cover within the house, swarming rooms with bullets and grenades until eventually they had been taken. The battle was quick and short, executed perfectly with long planning and skilful tactics. Possibly even more successful than expected.

The snipers had noticed this as well and put down their weapons with a sense of pride.

"So… is it over?" Needles asked.

"Looks like it kid, what did you think, this your kind of thing?" Lenny asked.

Mel was silent. Everything seemed to have happened so fast, even his own actions felt as if they happened in an instant. He felt tired and wasn't sure how to respond.

"Well… that was a lot to do… so… why did you wait until I told you to shoot before you shot?" Mel asked.

"Well, you're supposed to be my spotter right? I just wanted you to get some practice" said Malerie.

Practice… yea, he'd need it wouldn't he? Despite how he hated to see it, this war wasn't going to end soon. Not only that, but the likelihood of all of these battles going this smoothly was microscopic. The reality seemed to set in a bit easier now. Maybe it was because he was tired. Maybe it was because he got a taste for the action. At this time, he wondered if Needles seen that, he always seems so clueless, so maybe not…then it came to him how this was the most dangerous thing he had ever done in his life, something even Needles had yet to do. He felt out of place within himself. After a time the four stood up and joined with some of the troops.

In the forest however, Needles and Tame continued to wander around aimlessly, the only truly eventful things being their constant bickering towards one another… and the point when they covered themselves with mud so it might help the bee stings.

"Still no idea where the fuck they went!" Needles growled.

"Coulda sworn we lost them around here" said Tame.

"Here's an idea, how about we look for the fucking nest you stomped around it, that's what got us lost in the first place!" Needles shouted.

"Fuck off Needles, I don't see you with half a clue as to where they are!" Tame shouted.

"Fuck you!" Needles shouted.

Each one was expecting the other to draw there weapon… in fact, that's how they felt ever since being lost, maybe even before, yet not once did it happen. In the distance they suddenly heard the sounds of leaves crumpling and twigs cracking. The two fell silent as they stared off towards the noise. It sounded as if someone was walking towards them, multiple people in fact. Tame and Needles looked at one another and dashed for cover with their weapons at the ready.

"Ha ha, here comes my first kill" said Needles grinning and peeking around the corner.

"Fuck you, even if you fire first you can't hit shit" said Tame.

"Funny, I think I can hit you just fucking fine" said Needles.

"Yea good one asshole, too bad you cant shoot a gun like you can your mouth" said Tame.

"Tame? Needles? Odd to see you here" said a voice.

The two quickly raised their weapons and found themselves aiming directly at Frost. The two stared at her and dropped their aim.

"Where the hell did you come from?" Tame asked.

"I'm sure I could ask you the same, though I bet I've got a much better reason" said Frost.

"What the fuck is this! What are you two assholes doing outside of camp!" Glades shouted.

"Pissing you off it looks like" said Needles.

"You're damn right you are. Do you two assholes know that I can claim you as deserters for leaving camp without notice!" Glades growled.

"Relax Glades, I doubt they're here for anything wrong" said Zaz.

"You think disobeying orders isn't wrong Zaz, these two have been nothing but trouble since they arrived. If I was a lesser man I'd have punished them severely already but I let them off easy, I'm not sure how much longer I can let them off with insubordination!" Glades growled.

"Glades, we can discuss this more at camp with General Larks, come on, let's go" said Zaz.

By now night had fallen, three mile trip through the woods, a battle, and three miles back left the recruits exhausted, many troops had been able to stay behind and man the town, so they didn't have to weather the trip back. As they went, Needles traded stories with Malerie and Mel, though he found theirs to be much more interesting.

When they returned to camp the recruits and troops made their way into the mess hall and ate. Afterwards, they were instructed to wash themselves up in a nearby pool.

"This water's bitch'n cold" said Needles trying to wash himself.

"Not sure if it's the most sanitary though" said Mel.

While they bathed the leaders assembled inside the command tent. Inside sat Larks, the general who had greeted them all and his assistant Mazzie. The others were Zaz and Glades.

"So Glades, according to your reports, Needles and Tame have been giving you trouble from the start, What is it you plan to do about them then?" Larks asked.

"They are going to be punished natural. I've been too lenient on them thus far and it has not paid off" said Glades.

"I I may make a suggestion?" added Zaz.

"Yes, what is it?" Larks asked.

"Well, I have been thinking about it for a while now… I think I may understand why Needles is such a pain to Glades" said Zaz.

"Yea, I did too, he's a trashy little punk who won't learn" said Glades.

"There is more to it than that Glades. Well, you see, Needles is very family oriented, he cares more about the people he respects and respect him, than anyone else in the world. If he is not given respect, he will disrespect in return. Not only that he is stubborn and headstrong. Try to break him and he will bite back, he does not wish to respect anyone who will give him none in return" said Zaz.

"Bullshit, that is the most disrespectful, insubordinate son of a bitch I've ever seen, he and Tame" said Glades.

"Needles does not like authority figures, anyone that he feels is going to push him around is his enemy. Your tactics for training troops will not work on him, he always wants to feel he is doing it because he wants to. What I propose is that he and Tame be transferred to my unit" said Zaz.

"Fuck that, I can handle your nephew and Tame, they just need to be pushed harder" said Glades.

"No glades, you will never earn either of their loyalties by doing that. You see, Needles ant Tame are very similar to one another, why do you think you see them fighting so much, each one is trying to prove themselves better than the other at the same time as earning their respect. My proposition will eliminate any trouble with them. Needles respects me and likely enough Tame will find that too, because I do not behave like an authority figure" Zaz explained

"You make a legitimate point, honestly Glades I think you should take him up on the offer. Put your pride aside and think for a minute, if you're not stressing over those two then you will have more time to focus on strengthening those who will listen to you" said Larks.

Glades looked between the two generals then to the ground.

"You know, you might be right Zaz… fine, take them I have more promising recruits to attend to" said Glades.

"I would also like to request something else, I believe you should put some extra focus on Mel and Malerie. I may have requested them as well but Sniping is much more in your field Glades" said Zaz.

"Why them?" Glades asked curiously.

"Because, you know their potential as much as I do, and Grant's opinion of them was high enough to warrant the request" said Zaz.

"Good point Zaz, Glades, if you have no objections then I would request you do the same" said Larks.

"What? Special training then? Heh, I'll give it a shot. Unlike your nephew those two listen. I think I can take on this request as well. You're just full of ideas today aren't ya?" Glades asked.

Zaz chuckled and began to fill out the required paper work.

An hour or so had passed since the bath. After such a long day the recruits were exhausted Mel and Malerie fell asleep rather quickly but Needles stayed awake. Despite the huge let down today was fairly entertaining, sure he got lost in the woods with the most hated guy he knows but even that had some entertainment value. Needles stared towards the ceiling of the tent. He wasn't positive about what a real battle would be like but he was relying on his guess to be accurate enough to prepare him. For now all that was left was to sleep and see what tomorrow would bring, he could only wait.

[And that's a wrap for this chapter, thought I'd start picking things up a bit. So anyway review and I shall see you all when next we meet]