Flashback
The hot sun beat down over the Middle Eastern desert. A local FOB had been packed with tents filled with soldiers ready to head out for their approved missions. Staff Sergeant Xavier Aldin sighed softly as he barged into The first Sergeant's tent with breakfast chow in hand. "Wakey wakey Darkness, you're needed at HQ!" he said with a chipper smile while he watched a hung over Derek Sonata slowly get out of bed. Xaldin for the last time, it's First Sergeant now. Keep the cringy callsigns saved for missions." He said with a grimace while quickly getting dressed and blousing his boots. Xaldin just laughed and shook his head, "No can do top, rank up to Command fuckin' Sergeant Major for all I care, you'll always be the deep voiced young punk who shams out of every day mission he can so he can drink all night... you're lucky you even made to Staff Sergeant, I don't even know how you got to be Top!" Teased Xaldin. Derek just rolled his eyes. "And I don't know how I got stuck with such a disrespectful NCO." he retorted, but Xaldin waved him off. That's because I am the one who always covered your shifts you ungrateful fucker! you made your rank in TEN years, bare bones it's usually it's fifteen minimum, and daily courses or not, you'd still be my rank without all the slack your team took for you." He said with a grin. There was a pause as Derek faced him. "You're right... Thank you Xaldin." He told him as he went off for his mission briefing.
Derek sighed tensely as he looked around the convoy. He didn't like how spread out his team was, nor did he like the multiple changes the Officers were making. This entire Operation is turning out to be a shit sandwich... I don't want my men to be the ones that take a bite.." He muttered in the back of his Humvee. First Lieutenant Smith just glared at him, "First Sergeant Sonata, you JUST got your rank! Don't go thinking we won't take it if you don't stop questioning authority!" He yelled. Derek glared at the lanky man and just looked out the window. Before he could finish his thought, an explosion went off in front of them and took out the front of their vehicle. "IED!" Called Derek as he helped Smith out of the truck before checking on his Driver. "Call up the report, I'm going to check on the other trucks. He told Smith before running to make sure the other trucks were okay. After a few minutes, Derek heard gunfire off in the distance. "We're too spread too thin! I told you! he yelled at Smith as they filled empty seats and scurried back to base.
The next week had Derek as anxious as ever. The multiple papers he had to sign were nothing, most of his men were gone out on missions, some of them even missing for a few days Xaldin being one of the only ones left. After a few more days had passed, Derek could no longer take it and joined a rescue team, almost throwing a fit that the equipment was the top priority. "I don't care about toys, I want my troops back," he told Smith to his face before heading out. After a few hours, Derek saw a junked Humvee and stopped the truck he was on. he took Xaldin with him and followed the tracks in the sand. what he saw chilled him to the bone, it was two soldiers from his company, a seven foot tall muscular man with brown hair and blue eyes, and a similarly built African American man with a scar on his right cheek. "TRUCK! GOLEM!" HE screamed as he checked their wounds. Both men just coughed and leaned up "Heya Darkness.... lovely weather huh?" Asked Truck while Derek bandaged them the best he could, not noticing Golem writing on something. Derek sighed and just got Truck in the Combat carry position while Xaldin got Golem. "Don't worry bout us, First Sergeant, there's still an ambush out there, get them cleaned out.... before they get more of us." Muttered Truck. Derek sighed "Don't worry about that boys, we gotta focus on patching you both up, then we can set up......" Derek stopped mid-sentence when he saw Truck's arms dangling, he looked back and saw Xaldin had stopped a few feet behind for the same reason. "Xaldin?" He asked slowly. "Yeah, Darkness?
"Our men died in our arms didn't they?"
"..... Yes Darkness..."
Derek breathed a hard sigh before loading the bodies in one of the trucks before looking at what Golem wrote, it was a map leading to a small outpost, likely where Truck and Golem were attacked. "Come on Xaldin, we got some assholes to waste." He muttered Xaldin grabbed his rifle and nodded "Roger that First Sergeant." He said calmly as they marched through the desert heat.
